I caught a few minutes of an interesting featured book (and its author) on Book tv last night. The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries by Marilyn Johnson:

Ms. Johnson looks at obituaries and the people who write them. She also examines the regional and international differences between obituaries written about the same person. The author is interviewed by Adam Bernstein, staff obituary writer for the Washington Post, who is also featured in her book.

Watch it here.

It's when you talk about death you are forced to think about what it means to be alive and living it to the fullest.

Adding meaning to the matter at hand, a funeral car was parked in front of St. Mary's right when I walked to school this morning. You don't know how hard I try to avoid it, but too late, it was right on my path. I hate hospitals, I hate funerals.