In the early 1990's, Robin Williams could do no wrong. His name on a comedy's poster was an almost guaranteed success. Of course, there were exceptions. Toys was released in December of 1992, poised to sweep up an eager crowd of families looking for a nice holiday family comedy. What... Continue reading

Sit tonight under the moonlight and dream all the possibilities, then go sleep on it. In the morning, journal about your ideas and choose 1-3 topics you will focus on in your program or practice creation. What stops many of us from moving forward is that we can do so... Continue reading

Assess your readiness - do you feel like you know how to be with families at the end of life? Do you know how to respond to various situations within yourself, let alone helping them deal with what comes next? Take stock and make sure you get the experience you... Continue reading

Identify where you are, as a person, in the three key needs of a death doula - The Calling, Knowing What You're Doing, and Spiritual Grounding. Reflect on your current strengths, and identify weaknesses that need to be worked on. My life's work, to this point, has been largely stressful.... Continue reading

The Silent Hill video game series is one of those frustrating, artsy, impossible to nail down creations that has as many interpretations as it has puzzles to solve. For those unfamiliar, Silent Hill is a horror series about a sleepy little town that happens to host a horrible cult bent... Continue reading

“Life is like a movie, if you've sat through more than half of it and it’s sucked every second so far, it probably isn't going to get great right at the end and make it all worthwhile. No one should blame you for walking out early.” - Doug Stanhope In... Continue reading

Write about what you want to learn next. Then narrow down to 3 trainers who offer this exact thing. Then engage with them to see what truly will be a fit. Then, Take Action! What I am looking for next is practical guidance. The philosophy, the spirituality, the theory of... Continue reading

After watching the video, take some time to center yourself. Write about how you feel regarding each of the 3 topics addressed. In making a decision where you stand, you will empower yourself to move forward. In my view, our eventual goal as a movement, if not a society, should... Continue reading

Deanna Cochran has recently launched a great resource for aspiring Death Guides, or Death Doulas, or whatever new-agey term you want to adopt for people working in the home funeral movement. As part of me stretching my tentacles into a more hands-on approach to that world, I decided to go... Continue reading

On my desk, in my home office, I have a human vertebra sitting beside my external hard drive. It's almost 150 years old, from the late 19th century, at least judging by the patina and degradation. The bone is yellowed, almost the color of honey, and is so brittle that... Continue reading

Stranger Things is a show about a genre. The low-budget horror films of the 1980s were the precursor to contemporary “Torture Porn” movies like Saw and Hostel, but there is so much more than exploding blood packs and off-screen murders at work. Let’s take a closer look at the identity... Continue reading

Like most late-90s goths, my introduction to all things dark and spooky came from Tim Burton. Growing up, Lydia Deetz and Edward Scissorhands were my role models, and when anything black or pleather snuck into my high school wardrobe, it was my way of showing off my inner Bio-Exorcist. Now,... Continue reading

I’m sitting in the Ridgeway Diner. It might be my favorite place in New York - it’s at least near the top of that list. Ducking out of the frigid piss-scented air of sixth ave, you sidle through a tiny hallway occupied by an ATM and a health-code sanctioned wall-mounted... Continue reading