I Guess the Soviet Union Really IS Dead!

In my last post I touched on World Goth Day, digital cameras, and (very briefly) Zombie Walks (more here). Well, the Serendipity Gods smiled upon me this evening and, courtesy of Boing Boing, directed me to a Moscow Zombie Walk (I don't read Russian, much less Cyrillic; feel free to translate for me).

Achtung! Numerous Future Ex-Wives Alert!

Vincent Speaks!

Halloween Countdown Day 28

It just isn't Halloween without the mellifluous tones of Vincent Price and now, courtesy of a LiveJournal friend of my friend Anne, you can experience his full range with The Twelve Greatest Things Vincent Price Ever Did (A Personal List--Your Price May Vary).

I'd forgotten about the Shrunken Head Apple Sculpture Kit (1975) until I read this article. I'm 53 and I still want one!



Addendum: a YouTube video of the 2008 Richmond (VA) Zombie Walk!

G. W. Posts! Zombies Invade Richmond! Other Halloween Stuff!

Halloween Countdown Day 26

My friend Wayne writes:

"I've been Major Tom this week, I took my protein pills and put my helmet on . . . Just out in space deciding what direction seemed the one I needed to take. Then I realized it was Hallowe'en coming up, and last year around this time I was posting on the way cool song 'Frankenstein's Den' by The Hollywood Flames."

I relate, especially to the second sentence, except in Wayne's case he's been productive while all I've done is watch reruns of House and NCIS (not surprisingly, I have an incredible crush on Abby*) while sorting through my late father's coin collection.**

I even skipped out on the 2008 Richmond, VA Zombie Walk.

Well, it was cold and rainy and dreary, perfect zombie weather, but not so good for zombie photography,*** so I stayed home with the cat, figuring maybe they'd postpone the event to Sunday.

They didn't. Here's the proof.

*sigh* There's always next year.

In other Halloween-oriented news, Boing Boing links us to some Insanely Intricate Pumpkin Carvings...


And some seasonally appropriate artwork by horror virtuoso Clive Barker...


*And anyone who knows me and the character will understand why, but STAY AWAY! I saw her first on The Drew Carey Show!


**It's actually more of a coin accumulation, but that's a post for another time.

***And since I've only gone so as to document the event in years past (see my 2007 photos) I had a hard time mustering the motivation to go out into the drizzle. Yeah, I could have dressed up and left my camera at home and I may do so next year--with my body proportions I'm thinking of going as the zombified version of the Skipper from Gilligan's Island--a simple costume to put together assuming I can get the make-up right and find a willing individual to walk along with me as a half-eaten Gilligan.

The 2007 Richmond Zombie Walk

Okay, first we need to establish the mood and you can do that by clicking here and watching Commander USA sing "The Zombie Song" (it's a tad faint, so maximize your volume). I'll wait.

Done? Cool!

Today was significant for two reasons: (1) my friend Beth was pimping her new horror novel, Homeplace, at Creatures 'N' Crooks Bookshoppe in Carytown (she's even got a YouTube video for it done by illustrator Cortney Skinner!) and (2) the third Richmond, VA Zombie Walk was taking place... in Carytown, which meant I didn't have to forsake one for the other!

I hauled my lazy ass out of bed much earlier than I preferred for a Saturday morning (having stayed up way too late getting psyched by watching Saw III), whereupon I showered, shaved, dressed, grabbed my man purse, my Olympus digital camera, extra batteries, a bottle of Diet Pepsi (you know, the essentials!), and headed over to the parking lot of Benedictine High School where the zombies were receiving their last minute instructions (click the pics for a larger image).

"And if the mummies show up again this year let's try not to have any altercations. We'll do our thing and they can do theirs."

You couldn't have asked for a nicer day to take a Zombie Walk--deep blue sky, fluffy white clouds, temps in the low eighties. People were in a great mood, even the Zombie Pope!



Jesus drove up a little later (hey, He's one of the Living Dead, too!), but I didn't get a picture.



Having been briefed, the zombies then headed for the Krogers parking lot at the west end of Carytown while I scurried towards Creatures 'N' Crooks in the middle, but not before grabbing a shot of my future ex-wife loading a few things into her pick-up truck.




By this time Beth had been hanging out at the bookstore for about an hour with only Cortney and Hamilton the Cat for company...




...at which point I burst in announcing "Zombies a-comin!", which they were, but heading east on the other side of the street. This gave me a chance to purchase Homefront and Joe Lansdale's Lost Echoes (and yes, I apologized to Beth for being unfaithful) while catching up with Beth & Cortney and waiting for the crowd of... what? Fifty? A hundred? zombies to make the return circuit, eventually passing right in front of the bookstore.







I'll be linking to other, better pictures by those more skilled than I as they get posted, but in the meantime...