Sometimes research can be a pain in the ass, and sometimes it's simply fantastic. This past week I took a carnival ride with Katherine Ramsland and her fantastic book, Cemetery Stories: Haunted Graveyards, Embalming Secrets, and the Life of a Corpse After Death. I bought those little fluorescent tabs you can stick on the edges of pages, label, and use to find highlighted areas.
Waste of time. The book looks like a porcupine on acid and about 1/3 of it is highlighted in shocking, electric pink.
Ramsland gave me everything I wanted, from how they get scars off a corpse (sandpaper), to the procedure, steps A-z, when a person dies.
I needed the information for my current WIP, which takes place largely in a funeral home, where my MC has grown up and lives with her family. Honestly I believe the people who run small town funeral parlors do amazing work. They help us at our darkest hour, when we are very often too numb and broken to show the kind of gratitude we surely would under better circumstances. They deal with family snits and grief inspired rudeness. And they sandpaper the gash off Uncle Henry's forehead after the accident so Grams doesn't wig out on the casket.
Big shout out for this book. If you need to know about embalming, funerals, mortuaries, or anything about the dead and those who care for them... check this one out!
Showing posts with label research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label research. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Katherine Ramsland's Cemetary Stories
Friday, February 27, 2009
CPF News (copy of email)
Below is a copy of a recent email from the CPF.
The Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act (PFREA) has been re-ntroduced in Congress!
This landmark bill,reintroduced on February 13th, would create a national patient registry and increase public awareness of PF! Please note: he bill number has changed from the previous Congress. The NEW bill number is H.R. 1079.
This means that you, a CPF advocate, can now take action to change the future for all PF patients. Last year, over 20 new cosponsors were brought on to the bill because you asked for their support.
To remind you, this is a groundbreaking bill for Pulmonary Fibrosis, the first ever brought forward, and your help is urgently needed!
What the CPF needs for you to do!
* Call or email your member of Congress today to urge them to co-sponsor H.R. 1079 legislation that supports PF research and creates the first National PF Patient Registry. You can simply send an email by using the letter below.
* Email or call all of your family and friends and ask them to please take action. They will first need to register as an advocate."
The efforts of every CPF member are critical to the success of this Bill! Help us make history by continuing to advocate for all PF patients.
Last year, you may have made calls or sent letters or emails to your Members of Congress in support of this bill. Thank you for your efforts. Now, it's a new Congress (as of Jan. 1) and we need to ask you to do it again! Please contact your Members of Congress now and ask them to support this very important legislation.
Capitol in Spring
The PFREA represents the first Congressional legislation to increase federal funding of PF a progressive and ultimately fatal disease affecting more than 128,000 Americans. The PFREA was introduced today by two members of the House of Representatives who know personally the impact of PF. Congressmen Brian Baird (D-WA) and Mike Castle (R-DE), have both lost family members to the disease. Reps. Baird and Castle have been working closely with the CPF since early 2007 on this legislation. They first introduced the PFREA on July, 22, 2008 in the 110th Congress, and by the end of the year had secured 30 members of Congress to serve as co-sponsors - in large part because of your efforts!
What the PFREA will do:
* Fund the creation of a national PF patient registry, and call on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand and intensify PF research efforts.
* Mandate the creation of a National PF Action Plan, in conjunction with the NIH and CDC, which would focus on strategies to improve public awareness of PF, and accelerate patient and medical education strategies. The Action Plan would be provided to the Director of the NIH within one year of the PFREA's passage.
* Call for establishment of a National PF Advisory Board, which would make recommendations to the NIH and CDC concerning thestructure and management of a PF patient registry. The goal of the registry would be to improve understanding of the
cause and progression of PF, improve standards of care, accelerate research and find ways for new therapies to be developed sooner.
* Mandate the establishment of a National Summit on PF, to foster collaboration between Federal Agencies, researchers, patients and advocates to identify new approaches to research and treat PF. The Summit would be held every three years.
If your Member of Congress is listed below, you don't need to ask them to sign onto H.R. 1079 because they already have! Feel free to call or email them to thank them, though!
Rep. Mike Castle (DE), Rep. Norman Dicks (WA), Rep. Jane Harman (CA),
Rep. Mark Kirk (IL), Rep. Zoe Lofgren, (C), Re. John Tierney (MA),
Rep. Nathan Deal (GA), Rep. Jim Gerlach (PA), Rep. Marcy Kaptur (OH),
Rep. Steven LaTourette (OH), Rep. Zachary Space (OH), Rep. Bill Young,(FL).
You are an important Member of the CPF's Advocacy Team! Please reach out to your Members of Congress today and ask them to support this important legislation!
Sincerely,
The Staff of the CPF
Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis
Suite F, #227
1659 Branham Lane
San Jose, CA 95118-5226
(888) 222-8541
info@coalitionforpf.org
The Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act (PFREA) has been re-ntroduced in Congress!
This landmark bill,reintroduced on February 13th, would create a national patient registry and increase public awareness of PF! Please note: he bill number has changed from the previous Congress. The NEW bill number is H.R. 1079.
This means that you, a CPF advocate, can now take action to change the future for all PF patients. Last year, over 20 new cosponsors were brought on to the bill because you asked for their support.
To remind you, this is a groundbreaking bill for Pulmonary Fibrosis, the first ever brought forward, and your help is urgently needed!
What the CPF needs for you to do!
* Call or email your member of Congress today to urge them to co-sponsor H.R. 1079 legislation that supports PF research and creates the first National PF Patient Registry. You can simply send an email by using the letter below.
* Email or call all of your family and friends and ask them to please take action. They will first need to register as an advocate."
The efforts of every CPF member are critical to the success of this Bill! Help us make history by continuing to advocate for all PF patients.
Last year, you may have made calls or sent letters or emails to your Members of Congress in support of this bill. Thank you for your efforts. Now, it's a new Congress (as of Jan. 1) and we need to ask you to do it again! Please contact your Members of Congress now and ask them to support this very important legislation.
Capitol in Spring
The PFREA represents the first Congressional legislation to increase federal funding of PF a progressive and ultimately fatal disease affecting more than 128,000 Americans. The PFREA was introduced today by two members of the House of Representatives who know personally the impact of PF. Congressmen Brian Baird (D-WA) and Mike Castle (R-DE), have both lost family members to the disease. Reps. Baird and Castle have been working closely with the CPF since early 2007 on this legislation. They first introduced the PFREA on July, 22, 2008 in the 110th Congress, and by the end of the year had secured 30 members of Congress to serve as co-sponsors - in large part because of your efforts!
What the PFREA will do:
* Fund the creation of a national PF patient registry, and call on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand and intensify PF research efforts.
* Mandate the creation of a National PF Action Plan, in conjunction with the NIH and CDC, which would focus on strategies to improve public awareness of PF, and accelerate patient and medical education strategies. The Action Plan would be provided to the Director of the NIH within one year of the PFREA's passage.
* Call for establishment of a National PF Advisory Board, which would make recommendations to the NIH and CDC concerning thestructure and management of a PF patient registry. The goal of the registry would be to improve understanding of the
cause and progression of PF, improve standards of care, accelerate research and find ways for new therapies to be developed sooner.
* Mandate the establishment of a National Summit on PF, to foster collaboration between Federal Agencies, researchers, patients and advocates to identify new approaches to research and treat PF. The Summit would be held every three years.
If your Member of Congress is listed below, you don't need to ask them to sign onto H.R. 1079 because they already have! Feel free to call or email them to thank them, though!
Rep. Mike Castle (DE), Rep. Norman Dicks (WA), Rep. Jane Harman (CA),
Rep. Mark Kirk (IL), Rep. Zoe Lofgren, (C), Re. John Tierney (MA),
Rep. Nathan Deal (GA), Rep. Jim Gerlach (PA), Rep. Marcy Kaptur (OH),
Rep. Steven LaTourette (OH), Rep. Zachary Space (OH), Rep. Bill Young,(FL).
You are an important Member of the CPF's Advocacy Team! Please reach out to your Members of Congress today and ask them to support this important legislation!
Sincerely,
The Staff of the CPF
Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis
Suite F, #227
1659 Branham Lane
San Jose, CA 95118-5226
(888) 222-8541
info@coalitionforpf.org
