Music Plays on for Hank Williams' Family

Hank Williams was just 29 when he passed away in 1953. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville is now opening a special exhibit to honor Williams' legacy. The Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy features personal items from the life of Williams and his family. It will remain open until the end of next year.

Especially noteworthy is the reproduction of the note that was found in Hank's right hand when he died. No one knows whether it was actually a note or scribbled song lyrics. It reads, "We met, we lived, and dear we loved, then comes that fatal day, the love that felt so dear fades far away. Tonight love hathe [sic] one alone and lonesome, all that I could sing, I you you [sic] still and always will, but that's the poison we have to pay."

We aren't sure either what exactly these words are supposed to be. But Williams was known to mix the serious with the humorous, as evidenced by his number one hit, "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive," sung here by his grandson, Hank III. And the beat goes on...

[CMT.com]

You Can't Plant Decomposition Without Composition

Piet Oudolf takes his gardening extremely seriously. For him, a garden - or even some hedges - is reflective of emotion. It can express a story. However, sometimes the stories are more tragic.

For Mr. Oudolf, in fact, the real test of a well-composed garden is not how nicely it blooms but how beautifully it decomposes. “It’s not about life or death,” he said, admiring the dark, twisting lines of the fennel. “It’s about looking good.”

"He’s gotten away from the soft pornography of the flower,” said Charles Waldheim, the director of the landscape architecture program at the University of Toronto. “He’s interested in the life cycle, how plant material ages over the course of the year,” and how it relates to the plants around it. Like a good marriage, his compositions must work well together as its members age."

The symbolism at play here is immensely powerful. Amid the beautiful and prosperous plants in Mr. Oudolf's garden are also many dead or decomposing ones.

“You accept death. You don’t take the plants out, because they still look good. And brown is also a color.”

However, we don't necessarily agree that brown is the assigned color of death. We tend to side with The Sixth Sense here that the color of death is red.

[New York Times]

With Hyde Gone, It'll Be All Jekyll, All the Time

It is with great pride that The Death Pool announces its first death in a form as old as today's deceased: the limerick.

There once was a Congressman named Hyde,
Who tried to oust Clinton, who lied.
He had an affair,
Vetoed abortion health care,
Regrettably, this morning, he died.

[USA Today]