![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjscIoW2ghMMvULvFbY32w0MgpQrtwNv0tRMKYcN6jRzAqn9pIcnP3Z81N-dSxWtq4vt0TTHR63BfshQRofkPL4K6Joy7exiDVJUcQ8giiWC_WnDkpwM9c-zZxBqSIi_ku7fN8YfQI4Tw4/s400/undertaker1.gif)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMdZkvVCT4IdTgOnSRWOS2d-noZEkmpDIq8UEBEJvl3OTNxHcVk7JvJLR31sEKHd7GwWHUNXDQTk-D1X7dddYFufjQlNxVj3i9wUoyXaoWwY20xl0UqV3Fk59Q2eUd42MHymLgd2OcOss/s400/ladyinblack2.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8q_YfcQUdDsG_TTcuYK5rYG6HzeouUGe9uJIZgk0p2TViCsi7h22SfvTUQF5XnAjBe9ffKySuuii6CkTMTJvExy62zdx2KxK34jLe_tIZN2sL6HIu1Fep0MmrFQbvf2mCf8rC0C1WzY/s400/1898mourning.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEKWLAk3RJkiZ7s8IPOE0EsXflMA-n-sIdZGO6auoQU_N5S6855qvX0Fy4TLE36_yrcykPP-FVV67xdYb6-8wVHc3N_R8QDB0ZKEKwqy60IdS9_-hAg5F8kUpr_eHSj_8_prXqbjnXmbk/s400/youngwidow_johnson.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPqeUEkR_kNOY_X2FzsP9IDL-eepXGUVL8LH0b3Z2NnK8BjCOGxUSomzPWfTcbzb__QmoEiW-xczP-BrtpfF0vBrrNPRAWeMULyMQ6_EPVNvEVy4bG7BT-99uxaO2Mju058QOrCJzvSk/s400/mourning.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirntj6lHuBb-PZ5DuTq6Nqddc6OdSSpCXpeJPoghA_uvV0T6rJeVcNusTZNP_KjNEMD8xMoUsRIcgJ_ArTe3SiebZ9lCyRBU2jqIZxNz8qkaRjOyaE6oqGZrv3uOZ3PJQyFF8hyphenhyphen6dwpPs/s400/victintype.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH2Fv4xmQNjjAUHgtqVljyTEdRscdNhQYt1yOY1dVnXu_HiygiaMDCRE6jrIObgyXbRzpYADj9LH6QesQgDggnOs0h518Ay1tw88Rf0e7RXqluhBdrIBkh2sjTQjFhNeBCSHBSWueTZ60/s400/GothicP25b.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicaEphr7ASQ9Qs4efd7LdO9Q4ITN0RhW6MUo80lxtsqRhhl8LduH_yyegxUbbxYu9xTAo56FRpWFLnGtnh4_HQoxkVBKPpiT6tL8eZwQeCr_qZZ_zGcB-LJkntDd3js3osJKmOgI9NkTo/s400/mourning.gif)
A dose of mid-week mourning seems like a major downer now that I consider it. Oh well, I'm going with the theme anyway...
A short absence in the blog world seems like the equivalent of an entire year somehow, doesn't it? I've been so busy. I took on a freelance photo editing project last week for a book on medical forensics {a random assignment...not an area of expertise by any means}, and I had no time to pay attention to my beloved blog. I hope she {and you} will forgive me. Needless to say, I was up to my eyeballs in photos of decapitations, bullet wounds, and diseased organs. Yes, a bit yuck. But also fascinating. Needless to say, this got me thinking a lot about death: not in a depressing, teen-angsty kind of way, but in a morbidly romantic kind of way. And who was more morbidly romantic than the Victorians? I sort of wish we hadn't forgotten how to make death a beautiful ritual...
::Check out Chrissy Piper's lovely Victorian mourning photostream on flickr / Learn about Victorian mourning rituals here / Have a look around this fun site that features Victorian low-brow art and objects, including Memento Mori...more goodies for my curiosity cabinet!