| Author | Message | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 684 Registered: 8-2001 |
Due to a common practice, Mel was paid though his work was unusable. This outcome pleased both Mel and his employers. Later, a death resulted in his work being seen by over 900,000 people. The people were saddened by Mel's work. His employers were once again pleased and Mel had no reaction at all. Why? | ||
| Balin (Balin)
New member Username: Balin Post Number: 13279 Registered: 4-2010 |
Title relevant at all? The death - of a person? Of Mel? Of one of his employers? Is Mel H? A? M? | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 686 Registered: 8-2001 |
Title relevant at all? Yes, in a lateral way The death - of a person? Yes Of Mel? No Of one of his employers? No Is Mel H? A? M? Yes, HAM | ||
| Balin (Balin)
New member Username: Balin Post Number: 13282 Registered: 4-2010 |
Is the person related to Mel? Someone Mel knew? Worked with? | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 689 Registered: 8-2001 |
Is the person related to Mel?No Someone Mel knew? Yope Worked with? No, with a very slight "ish". | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2542 Registered: 7-2009 |
Does Mel work in an industry that is normally associated with Death? (e.g. funeral home, cemetery caretaker) | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 699 Registered: 8-2001 |
Does Mel work in an industry that is normally associated with Death? Yes (e.g. funeral home, cemetery caretaker) But not these. | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2545 Registered: 7-2009 |
Could Mel's work be described as artistic? technical? scientific? medical? physical labor? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2546 Registered: 7-2009 |
Ooh, I had another train of thought... Is Mel's work associated with death after someone dies? or before? | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 210 Registered: 2-2009 |
Is he an undertaker? | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 702 Registered: 8-2001 |
Noel Could Mel's work be described as artistic? Yes technical? No scientific? No medical? No physical labor? No Ooh, I had another train of thought... Those can be good... Is Mel's work associated with death after someone dies? or before? After Twilightseeker Is he an undertaker? No | ||
| Lynne (Lynne)
New member Username: Lynne Post Number: 4984 Registered: 12-2000 |
Does Mel carve headstones? | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 212 Registered: 2-2009 |
Does he make scary dead people look nice for their funerals? | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 213 Registered: 2-2009 |
Oh...or, does he paint portraits of dead people before they decompose? Several pretty well known portraits were actually done after their subjects were dead... | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 562 Registered: 2-2011 |
does Mel work in a slaughterhouse? is the death that of an animal? is Mel responsible for the disposal of corpses or parts of them? organ donation relevant? | ||
| Balin (Balin)
New member Username: Balin Post Number: 13297 Registered: 4-2010 |
Death masks? | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 712 Registered: 8-2001 |
Lynne Does Mel carve headstones? No Twilightseeker Does he make scary dead people look nice for their funerals? No Oh...or, does he paint portraits of dead people before they decompose? Nope Several pretty well known portraits were actually done after their subjects were dead... Huh, I did not know that. I guess it would eliminate having to tell your subject to "hold still". Shez Does Mel work in a slaughterhouse? No Is the death that of an animal? Yes, but... Is Mel responsible for the disposal of corpses or parts of them? No Organ donation relevant? No Balin Death masks? No | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 713 Registered: 8-2001 |
Shez- Is the death that of an animal? Yes, but... Ahem, I didn't remember that Balin had already asked, Death of a person? To which the answer was "Yes". So "Yes, a human animal". Sorry to mislead. | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 566 Registered: 2-2011 |
my bad - I should have been paying attention does Mel communicate with the spirits of the dead? or pretend to? | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 717 Registered: 8-2001 |
Does Mel communicate with the spirits of the dead? No Or pretend to? No | ||
| Balin (Balin)
New member Username: Balin Post Number: 13303 Registered: 4-2010 |
Does Mel work at a cemetery? A funeral home? | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 729 Registered: 8-2001 |
Does Mel work at a cemetery? No A funeral home? No | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2550 Registered: 7-2009 |
Is Mel a floral arranger? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2551 Registered: 7-2009 |
Do people see Mel's work at a funeral ceremony (the indoor part)? At a wake? At a viewing? At a burial? At a crematorium? In an obituary? Other places in a newspaper? | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 731 Registered: 8-2001 |
Is Mel a floral arranger? No Do people see Mel's work at a funeral ceremony (the indoor part)? No At a wake? No At a viewing? No At a burial? No At a crematorium? No In an obituary? YES Other places in a newspaper? No Returning to the puzzle statement - what's the common practice? Why did Mel have no reaction? And, for bonus points - Who died and what does my title have to do with anything? | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 570 Registered: 2-2011 |
is the common practice that of writing obituaries in advance for famous people? then one of them dies and people read the obituary...did Mel not react because it was just his job? or he didn't even know because someone had just grabbed the obit from a file and published it? had Mel himself died too? | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 733 Registered: 8-2001 |
Is the common practice that of writing obituaries in advance for famous people? YES! Then one of them dies and people read the obituary... Yes did Mel not react because it was just his job? No Or he didn't even know because someone had just grabbed the obit from a file and published it? He didn't know... Had Mel himself died too? ...because of this! So, anyone want to take a stab at who the obit was for? If not, I will post a you-know-what later tonight. | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 571 Registered: 2-2011 |
is the common practice that of writing obituaries in advance for famous people? then one of them dies and people read the obituary...did Mel not react because it was just his job? or he didn't even know because someone had just grabbed the obit from a file and published it? had Mel himself died too? | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 572 Registered: 2-2011 |
had Mel died 6 years earlier? | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 735 Registered: 8-2001 |
Your questions double-posted. I answered the first set...See above. Had Mel died 6 years earlier? YES | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 216 Registered: 2-2009 |
So, Mel had written his own obituary before he died? | ||
| Balin (Balin)
New member Username: Balin Post Number: 13308 Registered: 4-2010 |
Oh, shoot, I remember this story. It wasn't his own...but who was it? It was someone famous who just recently died...*checks Wikipedia list of people who died in 2011*... Elizabeth Taylor? | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 741 Registered: 8-2001 |
So, Mel had written his own obituary before he died? No Elizabeth Taylor? YES and now... **** SPOILER ***** The majority of the text used in the New York Times obit of Elizabeth Taylor, published March 23, 2011, was written by Mel Gussow. Oddly enough, he couldn’t really appreciate this fact having died in late 2005, almost six years before Taylor herself passed away. It is a common practice among Obit departments/staff to keep partially complete obits on famous people in an archive, sometimes updating them over numerous decades until the text is needed. You can read Mr. Gussow’s work HERE. | ||
| Gregoryuconn (Gregoryuconn)
New member Username: Gregoryuconn Post Number: 1227 Registered: 9-2010 |
Oh. As I recall, a few years ago CNN.com accidentaly published obituaries for several celebrities and politicians including Dick Cheney even though they weren't dead. | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 747 Registered: 8-2001 |
That does happen sometimes! |
