Ok, this has nothing to do with the law, society, politics, or policy. It is just sooooo creepy that I have to post it so you will be equally creeped out. Angel Pantoja Medina, 24, was found dead under a bridge in San Juan and his family wanted to fulfill his desire to be standing at his own wake “ready to party.” So, Angel was embalmed in a special way to allow him to be standing and dressed as people put their arms around him and kissed him at the party.
Angel stood for his entire three-day wake dressed in his trademark Yankees baseball cap and sunglasses.
His brother Carlos said “We use to talk about this stuff. He said he wanted to be happy, standing, ready to party when it was his time.”
Well, I suppose it is not more creepy that some Irish wakes and at least one wedding that I know of.
Of course, it is not much different than Jeremy (“Greatest Good for the Greatest Number”) Bentham who stipulated that his body be preserved and stored in a wooden cabinet called his “Auto-icon” by his disciple Dr. Southwood Smith:
it was acquired by University College London in 1850. The Auto-icon is kept on public display at the end of the South Cloisters in the main building of the College. For the 100th and 150th anniversaries of the college, the Auto-icon was brought to the meeting of the College Council, where he was listed as “present but not voting”. Tradition holds that if the council’s vote on any motion is tied, the auto-icon always breaks the tie by voting in favour of the motion.
The Auto-icon has always had a wax head, as Bentham’s head was badly damaged in the preservation process. The real head was displayed in the same case for many years, but became the target of repeated student pranks including being stolen on more than one occasion. It is now locked away securely.
Now, there . . . I was able to work in something connected to philosophy after all.
For the full story and pictures, click here.
I just get freaked out with the whole viewing process all together but they are honoring his last wish and he got it.. I just can’t imagine how he died so young to begin with?
Now how do they bury him?
I hope all live a long prosperous life happy and praising god for giving us another day to live ! This is one reason we should spiritually be prepared and saved you never know when the “lord of host” “prince of peace” will call us or our number sadly to us tragic ways of passing happens and sometime fast sometime slow and painful but “the lord knows the day hour time and how you will leave this earth one day he will shew us all mysteries I.e things “mortals don’t understand”
Peace be with you all love one another life is so short and death is forever
Navywife, You’re right, no parent should have to lay their child to rest, it is the most cruel of fates. Please accept my condolence on your tragic losses.
Hmm… well I give him so much respect no matter how strange. he was what 23yrs young? Most old folk in their late 30’s plus won’t even discuss the subject of funeral arrangements and wills so for that I commend him this is what he wanted so he got it and death by no means is funny(for all those who laughed ) he never got a chance to discover anything be married or see his kids or great grands I think his mother is a great mom for deciding to go through with his final wishes he was just a baby:( I know she will hurt for as long as she lives no mother should have to bury their babies no matter how young or old my heart aches for you miss medina I just laid two babies to rest 1 year and 3 months apart from each other
Stay strong eventhough it hurts to wake up and you look for your baby and he’s not there you will never get over it. God bless you & be with you always !
It’s about time someone honors the dead’s wishes! This young man died a horrific death. His family honored his last wishes at his ceremony. People can fault it, but ask yourself, when your dead and gone, will someone care this much about you…..and grant your last wish?
In response to Bhudda Is Laughing,and his comment about “freebasing’
the grape powder.I thought tere had to be something more stronger than the normal “liquid kool-aid” making these repubs seeming to
be so spaced out.Thanks for the clue.LOL
I knew that I had seen this picture. It is from August, 2008 and has made the rounds of the morbidly inclined, such as myself. LOL
And as far as standing the corpse up in the corner of his own wake, I’ve heard that story so many times before; usually happening in Ireland or Scotland.
Didn’t Peter O’Toole and his drinking buddies have an actual agreement to lay their deceased friend on the bar while drinking in his honor?
Hey, Sam, I mean come on! Show a little respect! The guy’s dead and on display!
That alone makes him MUCH funnier than Dennis Miller.
Oh, Denny! What happened to you, cha cha? That’s what happens when you step it up from drinking the kool-aid to freebasing the raw grape flavored powder off Ann Coulter’s belly of dubious sexual identity, all the while massaging Rush Limbaugh’s oxycontin numbed buttocks and debating if torture is okay as long as it doesn’t happen to the “hip” kids and coming to the conclusion “of course it is”. You used to be funny. Now you just act like a Balzac. Get a career, baby! ha HA! (insert smirk and running fingers though hair with great relish and vanity)
Psst . . . and you suck as a sport commentator.
@Former Federal LEO
I dunno. Looks to me like he’s at least as good a standup comic as Dennis Miller.
JT
You can already pay to see it. Check out the film “Beetlejuice”. In a scene late in the film, Winona Ryder’s character, though not deceased, does pretty much what Mojo outlines.
Well, a Stand-up Comic he ain’t…
however, you could call him a real wallflower…
I’d be worried that people might be taking skin scrappings to sell to botanicas. Tourists used to bring mummies from Egypt by the boatloads and put them in their homes as souvenirs. It was all the rage for a while. Others got ground up for mummy powder which is still available in some botanicas.
Mojo:
Now that is something I would pay to see . . . not to wish your demise of course but it is sheer brilliance.
Wow. Oh, wow-oh-wow-oh-wow. Alright.
And I thought it would be funny to play samba music while my body was suspended by wires over the mourners and danced about like a puppet.
I’m revising that. It was a joke and nobody should carry out that drunken request.
Ever …
So are they going to take him to a taxidermist so that he doesn’t miss out on anymore parties?
I saw this story some time ago and all I can say is “creepy”. Well . . . and “unsanitary”.