It's not the best quality, but the subject matter is good. I stopped by Davenport Memorial Park in Davenport, Iowa, today after work and on my way to meet my husband, kid and parents to see "Godzilla." (Opening night, whoo hooo!)

I wasn't sure whether my iPhone and YouTube would allow for me to record a video filmed "sideways" and post it in a watchable way. While worrying about that, I neglected to switch the photo setting to video. So I wandered around talking about stuff for nearly five minutes before I realized all I had done was take a couple pictures. And this is why I'm in charge of social media for my day job ...

Anyway, I recorded another one that actually did what I hoped it would do--and I turned on the recording. The result is a bit jerky (motion-wise, not me ... at least I hope not!) and not very smooth. For a spur-of-the-moment video, I guess it's okay. At least I did it.

I also took a pic of the tower in Davenport Memorial and will post that and a postcard image of it I discovered on ebay on my cemetery/postcard blog.
I hope you enjoy the video, for what it's worth. I hope to do more this spring and summer!

Best,
Minda

Cemetery: Holt Cemetery
Location: New Orleans, La.
Style: Underground burials, paupers cemetery
Active or inactive: Active
Good to know: The grounds are very uneven, so watch your step. The cemetery is still in use, though no plots have been sold for years. Families who own plots are allowed to continue to bury family members in their plots. Many graves are the final resting places of multiple family members. Graves are dug by hand in this cemetery. (Learn more about Holt from an old blog post of mine.)
Notable graves: Buddy Bolden, Jessie Hill
Remarkable markers: Most of the markers in Holt are remarkable because they are homemade. Many are made from materials that were on-hand (yard landscaping items and decor, wooden planks, etc.).

What else you can do in town ...

What else to see: There are so many wonderful things to do in New Orleans, you won't have a problem keeping yourself busy.

Plan to visit other cemeteries? Make sure you go with a group to any of the cemeteries in the French Quarter. It's easy to get lost in them (the tombs are really tall), nad

Where to eat: Cafe du Monde for chicory coffee and beignets, Acme Oyster House, Corner Bar for oyster po' boys, Pat O'Brien's for hurricanes, Absinthe House for absinthe drink (if you like black licorice flavor), Muriel's for a fine dinner, Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop (bar) ... there are oh so many places to eat and drink!

Safe travels!
Minda

You can't really see it well, but the Mississippi River is in the distance, and beyond that is Iowa.

Cemetery: Granary Burying Ground
Location: Tremont Street (between Park and School streets), Boston, Massachusetts
Style: Burying ground established in 1660, mostly slate markers
Active or inactive: Inactive
Good to know: Self-guided tours are easy in Granary because there are informative placards throughout the grounds; for more information, check out the Wikipedia page
Notable graves: Paul Revere, three signers of the Declaration of Independence (Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Robert Treat Paine), Peter Faneuil, victims of the Boston Massacre, Benjamin Franklin's parents, Mary Goose (aka Mother Goose)
Remarkable markers: Beautiful slate gravestones depicting winged skulls (death's heads), winged effigies, urns, willows, skeletons, skulls and bones; obelisk marking the graves of Benjamin Franklin's parents' grave

What else you can do in town ...

What else to see: It's Boston--what can't you do in Boston? Definitely follow the Freedom Trail.

Other burying grounds: King's Chapel, Copp's Hill, Central (in Boston Common),Phipps Street, Eliot, Westerly

Cemeteries: Forest Hills, Holyhood, St. Joseph, Evergreen, Baker Street Jewish Cemeteries; Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge

Where to eat: Where to begin ... During my recent trip, I went to the Union Oyster House (oldest continually running restaurant in America--since 1826), Empire Garden Restaurant (Chinese dining in an old theater in Chinatown), Fajitas & 'Ritas (Texas cuisine at a great price in the Theatre District), Dunkin Donuts (I had to mention them because there are DD's on every block in Boston and beyond in Massachusetts). These are just a few of the restaurants you'll find in the city, so I really can't begin to tell you about the wonderful places I haven't been to yet. So here's a list of Boston Magazine's Best Restaurants & Food in Boston 2013.

Safe travels!
Minda

Cemetery: Oakdale Memorial Gardens (established in 1856 as Oakdale Cemetery)
Location: 2501 Eastern Avenue, Davenport, Iowa
Style: Rural/garden
Active or inactive: Active
Notable graves: Civil War generals; jazz cornetist Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke, education pioneer Phebe Sudlow; Count Nicholas Fejevary (Hungary); author Alice French (aka Octave Thanet); Dairy Queen founder John Fremont McCullough; members of the founding family of chiropractic and Palmer College of Chiropractic (Mabel Heath Palmer and David D. Palmer); founder of Grinnell College Julius Alexander Reed
Remarkable markers: Dillon monument (large obelisk); Soldiers Orphans Lot; more than a dozen private mausoleums; various mourning women; white bronze markers

What else you can do in town ...

What else to see: The Quad Cities consists of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa and Moline and Rock Island in Illinois. In Davenport, you can visit the Putnam Museum, Figge Art Museum and the River Music Experience. In Bettendorf, the Family Museum is a great time if you bring young children. In Moline, stop by the John Deere Pavilion (John Deere lived here and is buried here in Moline's Riverside Cemetery). In Rock Island, you try your luck at Jumer's Casino and Hotel. There are also riverboat casinos on the Iowa side. Just outside the Quad Cities, Niabi Zoo is located in Coal Valley, Ill.

Where to eat: Ross' Restaurant has been a local favorite for more than 50 years. It's located in Bettendorf at the base of the I-74 bridge. It's a diner with great food, and it's known for it's iconic Magic Mountain. Some famous patrons have included Bill Murray, Louie Bellson and Pearl Bailey, Bette Midler, Rachel Maddow (the owner and manager even appeared on "The Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC), and President Barak Obama.

For dessert, go to Lagamarcino's for the best handmade chocolates and old-fashioned soda fountain. The original store is in downtown Moline, and the second shop is in the East Village of Davenport. You also don't want to miss Whitey's Ice Cream. There are a number of stores throughout the Quad Cities. Whitey's is a QC original and has the best thick shakes and malts (known as "the best in the Midwest"). They have tons of gourmet and traditional scooped ice cream flavors, including Chocolate Peanut Butter Revel, Graham Central Station, Mississippi Mud Revel, Salted Caramel, Cup O' Joe Espresso, Strawberry Cheesecake and Coconut Joy.

There are a number of micro-breweries in the area, including Front Street, Blue Cat Brew Pub, Bent River,  Great River and more.

Safe travels!
Minda

I spent most of today prepping for and teaching a class on funerals and views on death. I didn't get home until 7 p.m., and that's when I heard about the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman. I've been a fan of his for years. The first movie my husband and I saw together was "Magnolia."

He's not always been the most easy actor to watch--but that's part of what made him great. Even when his characters were dispicable, you knew you were watching a master of the craft.

But I'm not writing this post to discuss his talent. Or to moon over yet another lost celebrity. People die every day who get no fanfare. So why do we get so emotional about people we've never met? Because it's a reminder that we can and will die. Even the larger-than-life movie stars who seeming shine so much brighter than the rest of us.

A celebrity death is also a communal loss. We connect with the roles they play, and many of them become part of our lives by being present. Magazines at the checkout counter, on the movie screen and our TVs, throughout the Internet, singing our favorite music, writing our favorite books. Fans of someone who have never met have something in common.

Funerals are a public display of grief. The audience is limited by geography or by those who know the deceased personally or someone who wAs close to that person. A funeral allows for closure and connection with fellow mourners.

The Internet--especially Twitter--allows us a different way to connect with a world full of other people feeling the same loss. People expressing feelings of loss for famous individuals are not saying only the famous are worthy of their sympathy. They are sharing a moment, reaching out and connecting with people. They are not belittling the lives of everyday people; they're seeking meaning in something scary and final.

With all of this being said, I'd like to share my thoughts about death by drug addiction. I read an article tonight where a doctor said, "We don't tell someone with asthma to stop having asthma." Someone with a drug addiction had an illness. And the complexity of addiction is mental and physical.

Celebrities are far from the only people to suffer from drug addiction. But even though I don't know someone personally with this affliction, the loss of an untouchable gives me a glimpse into the pain that accompanies it.

If you find yourself questioning the sincerity of people mourning the famous, remember that this is a way of connecting with others and paying respect. It is an acknowledgement that someone lived and died. And that that someone's life meant something.

Due to the crazy weather, crazy schedules and the busy times of the upcoming holidays, the Mystery Cemetery Tours will begin in Spring 2014.

The Mystery Tours will be scheduled ahead of time, but participants won't know which cemetery we'll be visiting until the day of or at least not long before the tour date or time.

Suggestions for the Mystery Tours are currently being accepted. You may email your ideas to [email protected].

How long have you been interested in cemeteries and why?
The answer lies--as it often does--in the music. As a young teen, I was influenced by my older brother who listened a lot to the John Peel Radio Show. And in the early to mid-eigthies, that meant it was full of Post-Punk, Gothic and New Wave. And that, naturally, leads to cemeteries. When I first saw the cover of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart," I wanted to see that angel for myself.

In the early 90s, my girlfriend (she's now my wife) introduced me to photography, and on a trip around south Europe, we visited a cemetery in Madrid. I guess that's where I caught the bug ....

What are your favorite cemeteries? (we all have more than one!)
The Camposanto Staglieno in Genoa, Italy springs immediatly in mind. Nothing comes even close. On second place comes the Cimitero Monumentale Milano. The best in Germany was--so far--the Melaten-Friedhof in Cologne.

This interview gave me the opportunity to dive again into my huge collection of cemeteries, and again I cannot help to recognize that cemeteries tend to be far more interesting and beautiful if they are Catholic. At least if you're after sculptures, which I am. I've visited 46 cemeteries since 2009 (the year I really took off) and made until today 6,843 pictures that are worthy to be kept (at least i think they are worthy). And of these 46 Cemeteries I've visited five in Italy. And made about 1,900 pictures there. That's how good they were.

What are your favorite monuments?
That is a tough one. I would distinguish between the monuments themselves and the pictures I've made. And since the list of my favorites changes all the time, I'll give you my all-time favourites that are not all-time at all but rather like a snapshot of favorites I have this time of the week .... (see pics below).

The first one is a sculpture of a naked beauty at the Staglieno Cemetery. It's an amazing piece of art.

The next one is, scuplture-wise, not very notable, but I love the photo. That's one I'm really proud of.

The third was taken in Verona, Italy. It's just unbelievably beautiful. That man is desperately clinging to his wife who is ascending to heaven.

My last selection is from Bielefeld, Germany, about half an hour from my home. I love her expression! And I'm quite proud of that photo ....

I can't tell you the name of the monuments because I mostly don't bother about facts like that. I try to make good pictures of beautiful and/or interesting monuments, regardless the owner. I'm not sure if this is unusual for a Tapophile, but then i've never met another in the wild to discuss this matter.

What is the farthest you've traveled to visit a cemetery?
I would say the Prazeres Cemetery, Lisboa, Portugal. It's about 1,400 miles from home. But it's a bit like cheating, because the main purpose of that trip was a family holiday. On second place would be Budapest, Hungary. That is about 600 miles from home. 

What has been the most surprising thing you've seen in a cemetery?
The sign at the entry of the Cimitero Monumentale Torino that clearly depicts that taking pictures is strictly forbidden. That was not only surprising. It was shocking!!

What do you tell people if they think your cemetery infatuation is weird?
What's wrong with being weird? Everybody is weird. Some more, some less. I myself take pride to be bonkers. 

What cemeteries are on your bucket list?
Every single cemetery in any city in Italy that has more than 30.000 residents is worth a visit. So the list is rather long. Then there's London: The famous cemeteries in London are called the "Magnificent Seven". I've seen three of them so four remain. On top on that list is a revisit to Paris. The last time i was there we only had an analog camera and not enough film. 

Visit Martin's website.

Maybe you're not a trained cemetery preservationist, but you want to help your local cemetery anyway. Here are three things anyone can do to help out.

1. Keep it clean. Whether you make a morning or afternoon of it, or just take a plastic bag with you the next time you head out to take photos at your favorite cemetery, there's always trash to pick up among the headstones and trees. Speaking of trees, you can also pick up sticks and move small branches out of pathways and off gravestones.

2. Volunteer at the office. If a cemetery has an office, there is always plenty of work to do. Potential projects may include photo databases, archival projects and data inputting. You can help out with cemetery events as a tour guide, staff assistant, etc. If gardening is your thing, you can offer to assist with gardening projects.

3. Research. You can research the history of the cemetery or the people interred there. Visit your local library or historical society to gather information. Search the Internet. Compile your findings electronically and share them with the cemetery.

Do you volunteer at a cemetery? What type of work have you done to help out?

Check out more funny signs at funkysigns.tumblr.com.

The Schlafly Brewery has branded one of their beers for the upcoming 2nd Annual Beer Baron's Tour at Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri. I personally seldom drink beer (or much of anything really), but I would love to have a bottle of their R.I.P. Rye India Pale Ale, complete with winged soul art on the label. How cool is that?

If you are in the St. Louis area, the tour will take place on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 1-4 p.m. Tickets are $40, and the proceeds will benefit the Friends of Bellefontaine Cemetery.

I wish I could be there, but my daughter's Daisy Troop is going to be in our local Halloween parade that weekend. Even a cool cemetery event won't drag me away from that.  :)