From Motherboard. Well, since this isn’t the Middle Ages (also, see scaphism, an ancient Persian method of execution), the worst way to die is how many of us will—a lingering death, alone. Managing pain is no doubt the critical element.
Tag Archives: death
A Grief Observed—C. S. Lewis Quotes
83 worthy quotes on the subject of grief, by C. S. Lewis found at Goodreads.
Quote of the Day
“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day 
as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
—Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” – Steve Jobs
Revisiting the Branch Davidians and Waco
Ann Althouse offers this quote: “In the government’s eyes, the Branch Davidians were a threat,” from a Malcolm Gladwell article in The New Yorker.
Threat to whom?
After Life, by Joan Didion
From The New York Times, September 25, 2005 (Hat tip: Electric Typewriter) On the death of her husband…
Free Will…again
Reading the article God, Rape and Free Will in Talking Philosophy, I couldn’t help but think that these discussions have been going on for thousands of years, in one form or another, and they are not likely to ever be settled, except for people who think they have the answers.
Beware of people who think they know all the answers to life’s big questions…
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 James Ament 20 Famous Writers on Death and Mortality
From Flavorwire, their introductory remarks:
Today marks the publication of Mortality, confrontational journalist Christopher Hitchens’ posthumous work about his experiences with the cancer that killed him. We’ve lost a lot of great minds recently — Nora Ephron, Maurice Sendak, David Rakoff, and Hitch himself — and we think this end-of-life memoir in essays, full of Hitchens’ trademark wit and his clear-eyed dissection of life as he sees it, may just heal us a little bit, as books tend to do. To celebrate the book’s publication, and to help recalibrate our own perspectives on the loss of so many of our intellectual heroes, we’ve put together this selection of passages on death and mortality from a few of our favorite authors. Read through after the jump, and since there are an infinite number of these, add your own favorite to our collection in the comments.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 James Ament Updike on the Universe
Top five regrets of the dying
From the guardian:
A nurse has recorded the most common regrets of the dying, and among the top ones is ‘I wish I hadn’t worked so hard’. What would your biggest regret be if this was your last day of life? The article:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 James Ament How Christopher Hitchens Said Goodbye
From The Daily Beast, an essay by Simon Schama.
Christopher Hitchens confronted death with the same furious bravura that he deployed against purveyors of unreasoned pieties.
And more here.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 James Ament