I don't know why, but I've had a number of vivid zombie dreams lately.
The other night I had this dream where zombies invaded a large city, possibly New York, where we were living in an apartment in one of those high-rise skyscrapers. It was almost Christmas-time, a warm one but with a little snow. There was blood and screaming and running.
And there was a cabal of mad scientists with skinless zombie-gorillas in cages, all their muscles red and bared for the world to see, ready to be released upon the unsuspecting public.
We desperately sought out supplies to stock our shelters -- large steel boxes with time locks and all the amenities of home -- created to try and ride out the invasion. Then our neighbors discovered our shelters, and my wife said she couldn't abandon all of them, for she was the last library of the world.
The dreams may be because I've been thinking about and working on The Children of Uru a bit lately and because I watched both I Am Legend and The Last Man on Earth around a week ago with my oldest daughter.
I've also ordered History is Dead -- an anthology of zombie-related stories set throughout history. I admit, I ordered it for the story about Viking zombies.
My oldest daughter is really getting into the old horror movies; she liked "Last Man..." up until the ending, I quote, "That's the end? That was stupid." And I was forced to agree; it kind of was stupid. Too abrupt, not enough build-up.
We also watched "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" over the last two nights, at her insistence. She fell asleep half-way through the first time since it was so late (well after midnight, if I recall correctly), and so we finished it yesterday afternoon. If we'd had it her way, she wanted to finish it that night when I woke her up ("No, my eyes betrayed me. I'm not falling asleep again.").
My other two daughters also watched the ending half with us. My middle daughter sat with her hands balled up in front of her mouth in that unconscious "nervous and worried" pose people fall into when they are really focused on something -- it was cute. And despite being scared, the younger two refused to be chased out of the room, though my son ran out the minute he was told it was a horror movie.
Oh, and my oldest daughter also wants to do a short film for Chiller's next Halloween film contest.
Autumn Winds
06 January 2008 @ 01:05 pm
Zombies on the Brain
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26 April 2006 @ 03:51 pm
To Read or Not To Read?
Amazon occasionally sends me e-mails about books and such things they think I will like based on previous purchases and so forth. Today I recieved an e-mail about the "War of Souls" triology.
Now, I've done a pass on the whole "War of Souls" triology because...well, it's DragonLance. The first triology was good reading, back when I was in early high school, but most of the books put out by TSR that bore the DragonLance name sucked big. I know because I purchased and read them all until a number of years ago when it just wasn't worth the expenditure any more (in time or money).
Plus, Tracy Hickman is an arrogant fundamentalist who believes non-Christians are not just deluded, but broken people with serious mental problems, and said so to my face a few years ago. I wish I still had the e-mails or the "Boycott Tracy Hickman" webpage I had quoted them on, but all are long lost to the ethers of cyberspace at this point. Honestly, I don't hate the guy, but I'll be damned if I'm ever going to support another thing with his name on it or with his hand in the work given that treatment.
In his defense, he did half-apologize, that is, he later stated he didn't believe we should focus on our differences but on our similarities. Which isn't really an apology; it's shitting on someone then trying to pretend it isn't a big deal you just shit on them: "You're a a broken, disturbed man because you aren't a Christian, but can't we just get along anyways, you pathetic thing?"
Anyways, the reviews on the product this time around made me stop and consider actually reading the series...and now I realize I won't, even though I am intrigued by the positive non-fanboy reviews. The memory of that whole conversation and the condescending bigotry it involved just talked me out of the possibility. Ah well.
Now, I've done a pass on the whole "War of Souls" triology because...well, it's DragonLance. The first triology was good reading, back when I was in early high school, but most of the books put out by TSR that bore the DragonLance name sucked big. I know because I purchased and read them all until a number of years ago when it just wasn't worth the expenditure any more (in time or money).
Plus, Tracy Hickman is an arrogant fundamentalist who believes non-Christians are not just deluded, but broken people with serious mental problems, and said so to my face a few years ago. I wish I still had the e-mails or the "Boycott Tracy Hickman" webpage I had quoted them on, but all are long lost to the ethers of cyberspace at this point. Honestly, I don't hate the guy, but I'll be damned if I'm ever going to support another thing with his name on it or with his hand in the work given that treatment.
In his defense, he did half-apologize, that is, he later stated he didn't believe we should focus on our differences but on our similarities. Which isn't really an apology; it's shitting on someone then trying to pretend it isn't a big deal you just shit on them: "You're a a broken, disturbed man because you aren't a Christian, but can't we just get along anyways, you pathetic thing?"
Anyways, the reviews on the product this time around made me stop and consider actually reading the series...and now I realize I won't, even though I am intrigued by the positive non-fanboy reviews. The memory of that whole conversation and the condescending bigotry it involved just talked me out of the possibility. Ah well.