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Writing in the Observer, Ralph Gardner Jr. considers the tragic downside of so many famous people dying these days: the excessive real estate they consume on the obituary page:

I m 0 for 2 with The Times obit department lately. In October, when my grandmother died at 104, I tried unsuccessfully to persuade the newspaper of her significance... I m left to mourn my father with the feeling that perhaps I could have done something more to secure that small place in history that goes to the dead who win the New York Times obituary department s seal of approval.

For Gardner's kin, and all disposed souls, there is one hint of salvation: former/future/forever Gawker blogger Andrew Krucoff has launched a new blog dedicated largely to obituaries. Get your death on at YoungManhattanite.com while supplies last!
Tough Times for Obits: Pope, Bellow, Cochran Will Dad Make the Cut? [NYObserver]
Young Manhattanite [youngmanhattanite.com]