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Instead of a summary, I found it more insightful to create a "rant" post about my opinions on the topics brought up by the book here :)

Here is also a poster for Age of Adeline, which I mentioned at the last comment.

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Erased Lynching Series - Ken Gonzales-Day

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Erased Lynching Series - Ken Gonzales-Day

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Notice how the "lynched" or the victim was removed, and there was only a crowd present looking up to the "erased" hanging body. This "absence" was intentional in that the viewer was then forced (and not distracted) by the grotesque outcome, but instead understands that such horrific acts was portrayed as an amusement (like a circus act).

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Note the Remembering and Tribute in this example of a memorialized profile of a Facebook account.

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Mengele & Facial Reconstruction for Forensic Analysis

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Mengele & Facial Reconstruction for Forensic Analysis

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Investment in Death and the Body for Evidence

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Investment in Death and the Body for Evidence

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In the context of human rights and seeking justice, why is it that we need physical evidence for closure? Why do we consider death justice / closure?

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The protagonist, Anil Tissera, returns to her native Sri Lanka after 15 years away. She comes back as part of an international human rights fact-finding mission, and soon discovers that the killing, secrecy and atrocities are emerging from all sides.

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In the 1980s and 1990s, Sri Lanka was torn apart by a bloody civil war. The Tamil Tigers in the south and JVP in the north separately fought against the government.

From the author of The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje's Anil's Ghost is a fictional account of this period. The protagonist, Anil Tissera, returns to her native Sri Lanka after 15 years away. She comes back as part of an international human rights fact-finding mission, and soon discovers that the killing, secrecy and atrocities are emerging from all sides.

Some passages from Anil's Ghost are excerpted below.

THERE HAD BEEN CONTINUAL EMERGENCY from 1983 onwards, racial attacks and political killings. The terrorism of the separatist guerrilla groups, who were fighting for a homeland in the north. The insurrection of the insurgents in the south, against the government. The counterterrorism of the special forces against both of them. The disposal of bodies by fire. The disposal of bodies in rivers or the sea. The hiding and then reburial of corpses.

It was a Hundred Years' War with modern weaponry, and backers on the sidelines in safe countries, a war sponsored by gun- and drug-runners. It became evident that political enemies were secretly joined in financial arms deals. 'The reason for war was war.'...

IN A FEARFUL NATION, public sorrow was stamped down by the climate of uncertainty. If a father protested a son's death, it was feared another family member would be killed. If people you knew disappeared, there was a chance they might stay alive if you did not cause trouble. This was the scarring psychosis in the country. Death, loss, was 'unfinished,' so you could not walk through it. There had been years of night visitations, kidnappings or murders in broad daylight. The only chance was that the creatures who fought would consume themselves. All that was left of law was a belief in an eventual revenge towards those who had power. ...

WHENEVER A BOMB WENT OFF in a public place, Gamini stood at the entrance of the hospital, the funnel of the triage, and categorized the incoming victims, quickly assessing the state of each person--sending them to Intensive Care or to the operating theatre. This time there were women too, because it had been a street bomb. All survivors in the outer circle of the explosion came in within the hour. The doctors didn't use names. Tags were put on the right wrist, or on a right foot if there was no arm. Red for Neuro, green for Orthopaedic, yellow for Surgery. No profession or race. He liked it this way. Names were recorded later if the survivors could speak, in case they died. Ten cc's of sample blood were taken from each of the patients and attached to their mattresses, along with disposable needles that would be reused if they were needed.

The triage separated the dying from those who needed immediate surgery and those who could wait; the dying were given morphine tablets so time would not be spent on them. Distinguishing the others was more difficult. Street bombs, usually containing nails or ball bearings, could cut open an abdomen fifty yards from the explosion. Shock waves travelled past someone and the suction could rupture the stomach. 'Something happened to my stomach,' a woman would say, fearing she had been cut open by bomb metal, while in fact her stomach had flipped over from the force of passing air.

Everyone was emotionally shattered by a public bomb. Months later survivors would come into the ward saying they feared they might still die. For those on the periphery, the shrapnel and fragments that flew through their bodies, magically not touching any vital organs, were harmless because the heat of the explosion would sterilize the shrapnel. But what did harm was the emotional shock. And there was deafness or semi-deafness, depending on which way one's head was turned on the street that day. Few could afford to have an eardrum reconstructed.

In these times of crisis junior staff members did the work of orthopaedic surgeons. Roads to larger medical centres were often closed because of mines, and helicopters were unable to travel in darkness. So all versions of trauma, all versions of burns, surrounded the trainees. There were only four neurosurgeons in the country: two brain surgeons in Colombo, one in Kandy and one in the private sector--but he had been kidnapped a few years earlier.

Meanwhile, far away in the south, there were other interruptions. Insurgents entered the Ward Place Hospital in Colombo and killed a doctor and two of his assistants. They had come looking for one patient. 'Where is so and so?' they had asked. 'I don't know.' There was bedlam. After finding the patient, they pulled out long knives and cut him to pieces. Then they threatened the nurses and demanded they not come to work anymore. The next day the nurses returned, not in uniforms but in frocks and slippers. There were gunmen on the roof of the hospital. There were informers everywhere. But the Ward Place Hospital remained open. ...

'WE HAVE SEEN SO MANY HEADS stuck on poles here, these last few years. It was at its worst a couple of years ago. You'd see them in the early mornings, somebody's night work, before the families heard about them and came and removed them and took them home. Wrapping them in their shirts or just cradling them. Someone's son. These were blows to the heart. There was only one thing worse. That was when a family member simply disappeared and there was no sighting or evidence of his existence or his death. In 1989, forty-six students attending school in Ratnapura district and some of the staff who worked there disappeared. The vehicles that picked them up had no number plates. A yellow Lancer had been seen at the army camp and was recognized during the roundup. This was at the height of the campaign to wipe out insurgent rebels and their sympathizers in the villages. Ananda's wife, Sirissa, disappeared at that time.' ...

SOMETIMES BODIES WASHED IN onto the shore, the combers throwing them onto the beaches. On the Matara coast, or at Wellawatta, or by St. Thomas's College in Mount Lavinia where they, Sarath and Gamini, had learned to swim as children. These were the victims of politically motivated murders--victims of torture in the house at Gower Street or a house off the Galle Road--lifted into the air by helicopter, flown a couple of miles out to sea and dropped through the fathoms of air. But only a few of these ever came back as evidence into the arms of the country.

Excerpted from Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje. Copyright 2000. Excerpted by permission of Vintage, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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FRONTLINE/WORLD . Sri Lanka - Living With Terror . Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje | PBS

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In the 1980s and 1990s, Sri Lanka was torn apart by a bloody civil war. The Tamil Tigers in the south and JVP in the north separately fought against the government. From the author of The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje's Anil's Ghost is a fictional account of this period.

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Charles Babbage, "On the Permanent Impression of Our Words and Actions on the Globe We Inhabit," Ninth Bridgewater Treatise (1837)

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Charles Babbage, "On the Permanent Impression of Our Words and Actions on the Globe We Inhabit," Ninth Bridgewater Treatise (1837)

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This book was written before the boom of detective activity. It is early in the works of criminal and detective imaginary.

Author mentions that his insights are not very applicable. Cut out is a higher being with mathematical abilities and devices that can track vibrations in the air. There are algorithms today that mimic this ability, but it is not possible to track all activities. There are and and will not be a technique for this in the near future.

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Norbert Wiener, "Newtonian and Bergsonian Time," Cybernetics, or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine (1948)

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Norbert Wiener, "Newtonian and Bergsonian Time," Cybernetics, or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine (1948)

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Wiener coined the term cybernetics, which is the precursor to computer science. He wrote in a moment of shift between deterministic Physics to probabilistic Physics.

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1. Denial

2. Anger

3. Bargaining

4. Depression

5. Acceptance

*Not necessarily in order

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Reactions appropriate to one cultural group may differ to another. Culture, therefore, is a very significant influence in the ways people express grief.

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Key quotes:

"We should remember there is no universal model for 'dying well'."

"Palliative architecture rejects the machines for healing, and rejects pure rationalism."

Stephen Verderber and Ben J. Refuerzo

"The uptake of 'evodence-based design' suggests that the social projects of staging death will eventually be subject to 'best practices'."

"The rooms that soothe one person may alienate another."

"Hospice design and practice are necessarily and perpetually unstable."

"Were palliative design ever to become truly standardized, its ubiquity would be every bit as depressing as the mid-century mega-hospital."

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"Patients who receive palliative care may live longer than those who fight death with technology and medication."

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The media's coverage of death and its intersection with the funeral industry triggers a range of opinions, from concerns about corporate influence to recognition of the media's power in instigating positive change and fostering transparency. The evolving landscape prompts ongoing discussions about the delicate balance between business interests and the emotional needs of grieving families.

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"Fun Home" is a graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel that explores her relationship with her father, her coming out as a lesbian, and her father's possible suicide. The narrative delves into the complexities of family dynamics, sexual identity, and the impact of secrets.

Media and Critical Attention (It is really impressive, so I searched it up!):

The graphic memoir has received widespread praise for its honesty, emotional depth, and unique format.

Bechdel's work is lauded for its significant contribution to LGBTQ+ representation in literature.

Critics appreciate the narrative complexity and thematic richness, recognizing it as a powerful exploration of personal and familial experiences.

The memoir's use of storytelling through the graphic medium is acknowledged for its ability to address complex emotions surrounding loss.

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Remembering the Colleagues We Lost to COVID-19

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Remembering the Colleagues We Lost to COVID-19

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"In remembering those we lost to COVID-19" by MTA is a tribute that honors over 100 MTA team members who tragically lost their lives to the pandemic. The memorial, titled "TRAVELS FAR," serves as a testament to their dedication in serving the community. Lasting 8 minutes and 5 seconds, the video features photos shared by the loved ones of the departed colleagues.

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The National September 11 Memorial Museum

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The National September 11 Memorial Museum

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First-hand experience reflection:

When I first visited this memorial, I was a child and did not understand the gravity of the memorial. Reading this article now as a college student, I feel somewhat upset at myself as I remember the countless names written on the black stone. I did not realize that those people were dead in tragedy to this unfair event.

As the article suggests, the memorial does not highlight any event of the 9/11 tragedy, and thus I would never have know what happened and my parents did not want to bring up such a sensitive topic. Memorials should honor even bad memories to teach society lessons regarding disruptions of peace and importance of life.

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How the Possession of Human Remains Led to a Public Reckoning at the Penn Museum

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How the Possession of Human Remains Led to a Public Reckoning at the Penn Museum

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The article highlights the potential exploitation of the tragic events surrounding the MOVE organization bombing and the deaths of children by forensic anthropologists and the media. The use of remains for educational purposes, without proper consent, raises ethical concerns about the commodification of tragedy.

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The text offers a deep and intricate exploration of trauma, delving into psychoanalytic theories, the definition of PTSD, and the interplay between trauma and history.

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This excerpt discusses the concept of "Multidirectional Memory" in the context of remembering the Holocaust in the age of decolonization. The author challenges the idea of memory as a competitive, zero-sum game and introduces the notion of multidirectional memory, emphasizing the dynamic transfers and interactions between diverse historical events during acts of remembrance.

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"The Reverse Bug" by Erich Segal is a short story about a classroom discussion where a student, Paulino, reveals his father's mysterious disappearance after a visit to the American Consulate. The father, involved in sensitive post-World War II activities, is linked to historical guilt and justice. The narrative explores the consequences of past actions and the lingering impact of geopolitical events on individuals, using the concept of the "reverse bug" as a metaphor for the inescapable echoes of history.

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The definition of trauma has shifted over time, originally referring to physical injuries in the 17th century and later encompassing psychological harm in the 19th century.