The Inevitable Zombie Apocalypse

A while back, I posted my very first guest post. It was a dream-team list of zombie-killing badasses, contributed to the site by Jay Clarke of The Horror Section. It was awesome and if you haven’t read it yet, click that link back there and get on it. We’ll wait.

Back? Great. That brings us to today’s Undead Diversion. See, no such list can be definitive. There are pros and cons to each member, everyone has their own way of approaching problems and, most importantly, among 50,000 zombie movies, games and books, there’s a lot of options to be utilized. Besides, it’s fun to read other lists, right? Thus I was quite pleased to stumble across another fine zombie apocalypse dream team list recently, and I’d like to share it with you. It’s by Justin Robinson of The Satellite Show and I knew it was worth my time before I finished the first blurb. Have a look:

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Where I come from, people love to hunt. Deer, elk, duck — whatever. If it flies, runs and/or can be cooked or stuffed, it’s fair game. And having grown up in this culture, I couldn’t help but appreciate today’s video, where we follow an intrepid zombie hunter on the track of a wily “zomber.” The narration, the after-kill photos — it just rang true to many a hunting video I’ve seen.

The video itself is a commercial of sorts for the Zombie Blood energy potion and zombie jerky of Harcos Laboratories. The commercial aspect is pretty light — there’s no outright shilling for the product, so even if you hate commercials, you can still enjoy the zombie hunting goodness within.

What’s cute, gory and another way to blow your money on Etsy? This guy! Lately I seem to be finding all sorts of cute-and-cuddly zombie shit — must be something in the air. Anyway, when I heard about a zombie crafter (that’s a crafter who makes zombie stuff, not an undead person who crafts) right here in my hometown of Denver, I knew she’d be this week’s Undead Diversion.

Her name is Corinne Buchholz and she goes by the moniker of mischiefmaker on Etsy and she makes lots of non-zombie stuff, too. But hey, we’re here to talk zombies, damn it. This handsome, bloody chap goers by the name Benny and will set you back $35. She’s got another zombie pal named Melvin, who you cna see after the break, that’s $30. Not bad, considering their hand made. And when it comes to introducing the offspring to the world of the undead at a tender age, is price really an object?

Undead Diversion is your Friday afternoon cool link/video/etc. to help you transition to the weekend.

[Via Examiner.com]

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This week’s cool thing is the LiveDead campaign. If I’m not mistaken, it’s a viral advertising campaign for the upcoming AMC TV series The Walking Dead. Besides the use of the images, there’s also the use of the term “walkers” to describe the zombies, which the series is also using. If I am mistaken, expect the people behind LiveDead to receive a cease-and-desist from AMC damn soon, because those are clearly images of zombies from the series all over their page.

Yep, seen this guy before...

I caught wind of it from this blog from io9 from Comic Con. Apparently you could get the bracelets you see above there for $1! Unfortunately, the LiveDead site seems to be purely decorative — none of the links work, you can’t go the “store,” etc. Bummer. But maybe AMC (if they are, indeed, behind it) will make it go live as the series gets closer? I hope so. I want a LiveDead bracelet to go with my DeadStrong one. Are you listening AMC? I will give you real American dollars for one of those bracelets!

Undead Diversion is your Friday afternoon cool link/video/etc. to help you transition to the weekend.

Happy Friday, all. Today’s undead diversion is the first episode of a promising new webseries called Matt and Wes vs. the Zombie Apocalypse. It’s got hipsters, zombies, a deep and nuanced discussion of what makes a zombie, lots of blood and some great jokes. I’m quite taken with it and can’t wait for the continuation. It also works beautifully as a stand alone zombie skit, so don’t hesitate to hit play even if you aren’t up for the “commitment” of watching a new webseries, or are worried you’ll get into it only to have it die a premature death (with no subsequent undead revival, of course).

Undead Diversion is your Friday afternoon cool link/video/etc. to help you transition to the weekend.

Have a look at the awesome, bloody mess of a video above. It’s the German punk band Die Ärzte for their song “Junge.” The name apparently translates to “Boy,” and it’s about “kids these days ruining their lives” (sarcastically, one would presume) if this Wikipedia article on the tune is to be believed. I don’t know about any of that, because my German is strictly limited to ordering beer (“Ein bier, bitte”) and asking where the bathroom is (“Wo ist der WC, bitte?”) — Sorry, Herr Tonkovich, it’s all that stuck.

What I do know is the video is full of awesome zombie mayhem and a pretty decent tune, which makes it good enough to make the cut for today’s inaugural edition of Undead Diversion. That’s the new weekly Friday afternoon post that will take the place of the Friday review. From here on out, reviews will alternate with feature-type content and arrive on Wednesdays. So, Monday is Fashion Zombie (clothing for the undead-minded fashionista), Wednesday is features and reviews of all types, Friday is Undead Diversion, a cool link/video/etc. to help you transition to your weekend. And of course, you still get a daily news post, all for the low, low price of nothing! Although, feel free to shower me with gifts, donations or even just click on my ads if you are feeling generous.

If you’re bored at work this afternoon, or need something fun and zombie-centric for the weekend, how about the documentary Zombie Girl? If you haven’t heard of this, it’s a documentary that follows the efforts of 12-year-old filmmaker Emily Hagins to make her own zombie film.

Let me repeat: 12-year-old filmmaker. Wow.

I haven’t had a chance to watch this myself, but I have heard some good things. I’ll probably get around to it this weekend (with a review to follow shortly if I do) but I wanted to get the word out so people who want to watch it can, before it goes away. It’s free, and though it looks to be embedded, that’s actually a widget — click on it and you’ll be taken to the Snag website to view it. Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

What does Final Girl think of this zombie?

Well, shit. My paying work is keeping me really busy these days and I haven’t had time to make a dent in the mountain of cool stuff I have lined up for this site. In the meantime, how about you enjoy this post from Final Girl? She is one of my top three favorite horror bloggers and about a week ago she did a really cool post about her favorite zombies. Her list is a nice mix of the obvious (Bub from Day of the Dead, cemetery zombie from Night of the Living Dead) and more original choices (not going to spoil those, go read the article!).

As with everything she writes, her unique voice and slightly off-kilter charm shine through. Seriously, I could read this woman’s musings on cereal production in the Great Lake states from 1956 to 1973 and be riveted. But when she talks about something as near and dear to my heart as the walking dead? Well, that’s just gravy.

Read all about Final Girl’s Favorite Zombies.

I’m more of a reader than a listener, but when I am in the car (like I will be a lot on my vacation) podcasts are just about the perfect way to speed the journey. So while I am away, I’ll be catching up on the backlog of Mail Order Zombie, the best zombie podcast I’ve found. The show originally focused on direct-to-DVD zombie movies, but has since expanded to all things zombie, from books, to movies to games and more. It’s a once weekly, two-ish hour podcast with the hosts Brother D and Miss Bren, plus assorted guests. Each week, they review a few movies, answer some listener questions or respond to feedback, have a few guests, talk about their daily lives — you know, the usual podcast thing. It’s very professional sounding, apart from the fact that Brother D is not blessed with one of those incredibly deep, resonant “radio voices” you’re used to hearing on commercial radio. Apart from that very minor quibble, Brother D is entertaining and well-versed in all things zombie and an excellent, engaging host. I fully expect he’ll help the miles fly by. Check him out and tell him I sent you.

Got an e-mail today informing me about an intriguing new site/twist on the zombie mythos. It’s called The Zombie Wilson Diaries, by Tim Long, and it is about a man shipwrecked on a deserted island … with a zombie. A once-hot female zombie, no less. The story is told, as the title suggests, diary-style (which is clearly the best format for a man-alone/desert-island tale) and it looks promising. I haven’t had a chance to read the entire thing yet, but what I have read is well written with some nice horror and comedic elements. When I have a chance I’ll read the entirety of it, but for now I wanted to put it out there so all of you hungering for something new and zombiesque could enjoy it.

Visit The Zombie Wilson Diaries.