Sunday, June 26, 2005

And so ends Zombie Week

Well, it's been fun, but it is time for Micah World's Zombie Week to come to an end. Apparently, y'all enjoyed it, as well, because I hit 25,000 visits this past week (but that was due in large part to numerous searches for "Starbucks frappuccino girl" - look out Most Popular Search "Lindsay Lohan too skinny"!). A few odds and ends to tie things up:

-Land of Dead took in an estimated $10.2 million this weekend. Hopefully it will break even (movie's budget: $15 million), so that more zombie flicks will be made. DVD sales should be huge, so that probably won't be a problem. Reviews have been pretty positive, so that also bodes well for the perpetuation of the genre.

-There's a George Romero interview here. It validates some critics' likening of the Kaufman character to Bush, but I still don't really see it. Much of their basis for comparison has been tied to one statement the character says - "We don't negotiate with terrorists" - but that has been US policy way before W came into office.

-You knew it was going to happen: a zombie blog. For some reason, I find it endlessly humorous that each post's title is "Brains."

-Here's a fun short film titled When Zombies Attack. It gives a "Cops" take on the genre and follows a routine night in the life of the P.M.A.C. (that's the Post Mortem Animation Control). "Zombie tipping" - hey, you gotta love it.

-While writing a screenplay, comedian Patton Oswalt exposes how the zombie movie fits into the Nerd Trifecta in his always hilarious blog:

So, this thing I'm trying to finish is number one in the three-card deck of the Nerd Movie Tarot. The first card being the Future Dystopian Action Flick. This is where you've got heavily-armed scavengers wandering through a war-blasted desert, fighting other scavengers and mutants. Nerds - especially teenage nerds - love this card because, when you're a teenage shut-in like I was, you have so thin a grasp on how the world works that it makes writing easier if you simply wipe out civilization with a Long-Ago Nuclear Holocaust, and then have dudes galloping around shooting one another.

The trick to the Future Dystopian Action Flick is, you've got to really work out where you think the future will go wrong, and then how that'll affect human behavior. You've also got to remember, a Future Dystopia probably won't seem like a Dystopia to the people living in it. I mean, show anyone from 1905 - fuck anyone from 1945 - our present, and they'll think several apocalypses happened. Which puts me in a double-bind, as far as my pathology, to wit: it's bad enough to have whatever I'm writing affect my ongoing life - but now I'm mapping out how it will affect my future. Or, at least, this is how I think of it in my diseased brain.

(By the way, the other two cards in this deck? The Zombie Flick and the Space Opera. Future Dystopian Action starts with our present world long reduced to cinders. With a Zombie Flick, you've begun to realize how the world and the people in it work, but you've decided you want them killed by the walking dead. And, by the time you hit Space Opera, you've decided you can actually depict how the real world works - but it bores the living shit out of you, so let's go to Planet Zoomba and fuck a 30-foot woman with nine boobs).


So, there you have it. This week has been fun. Any ideas for future theme weeks?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Micah! I like your blogs. Devoid of profanity, mindless self-absorption and horrible grammar/punctuation...they provide a much needed foil to my own musings.

Incidentally, I finally saw that Starbucks commercial you were talking about. Holy rollers in Rocawear, Batman! That bird is fine!

I need to be alone now. Goodbye.

spydrz said...

I put another shameless plug for you over on my blog...

Micah said...

heartbreak - Well, I'm glad you like it! Let's break down the positive attributes of my blog:

-I'm a grammar nerd, not to mention a stickler for spelling. I guarentee you that in 10 - maybe 15 - years, it will not be uncommon for idiotic internet/chat room abbreviations and emoticons to be the norm in business reports, legal documents, etc. I worry for this generation.

-My personal life's not all that exciting even to me, so why bore everyone with every minute detail? Not that I'm against that - there's some personal diary blogs that I like to read. And I vent here from time to time, too.

-I try to keep the sailor talk to a minimum. This is a family blog. When comedic effect calls for it, I will curse, though.

Yep, Starbucks Chick is a winner. Check her Crush post - I posted a link of where you can download the commercial and enjoy it forever.

spydrz - Thanks. I'm catching up!

spydrz said...

You might want to check your spelling on guarantee there, Micah....

:)

Anonymous said...

thanks for reminding me about the link to the starbucks girl commercial. I will watch it forever and ever. But I will mute the sound and play Bad Company's classic, "Bad Company" instead.

Micah said...

spydrz - Occasionally, a misspelled word will slip by. But it's not uncommon for me to have the Merriam-Webster website open while I compose posts.

KPMD - Although the Duke Boys were a big part of my childhood, I can only conceive of two types of posts regarding the movie adaption: 1) one proclaiming Jessica Simpson's body a wonderland and 2) a rant on why Burt Reynolds is wrong for the Boss Hogg role. It'd be tough to stretch that for a whole week. But RomCom '05? Hmmmm...you may be onto something there.

heartbreak - Enjoy. The commercial also plays well with George Harrison's "Got My Mind Set On You" in the background.

Law Fairy said...

Gushing over Jessica Simpson's body:

Normal, if the gusher is Micah (or, hell, if it's me for that matter).

Horrific, if the gusher is Joe Simpson.

It just had to be said.

Oh, my random idea for another theme week -- the lost art of the adventure computer game! Okay, I guess it doesn't really tie into anything current, but that's precisely the problem. Am I the only one who misses Space Quest?

Robin said...

Hey Roomie!
I'm going to blogroll you and check out your digs when I have more time, but I really just wanted to drop by and meet my new roommate.
Robin Bloginski

Micah said...

law fairy - Joe Simpson is one creepy guy. And I'll take your adventure computer game suggestion up with the Micah World Theme Week Committee.

Robin - Did panthergirl pair us up? Cool!

jasdye said...

congratulations on doing a shakesparean sonnet-like whirlwind week on zombie themes, but i'm just glad that zombie week is finally over.

i was starting to feel alienated and alone in this cold, dark world. somebody hold me. or not.

how about classic animation week, in honor of tigger's passing? (ok, winchell hasn't done tigger's voice in 6 years, missing the last tigger-focused disney release, but as long as everybody's feeling nostalgic...)

and i'm an english teacher, but i refuse (REFUSE) to capitalize in the comments sections. not the same as grammar, really. of which i ain't got none.

Micah said...

That's what zombie flicks are all about - survival, brother.

I've seen recent Pooh releases and I think the same thing that I thought when Warner Bros. started to churn out non-Mel Blanc Looney Tunes: It just ain't the same.

Classic animation week. It's been noted.

jasdye said...

by the way, how in the world are you able to find how many people visit your site and where they come from?

is it a free service? is there a button on the blogger home page i'm just not aware of? i want to know how many dozens of people view my site a month. i don't think i would change much (hell, it's MY blog), but i'm just as curious as George (how's THAT for quaint?)

Micah said...

Site Meter is your friend.

If you want to see where they come from, make sure you install the javascript version.

Zombie Tom said...

Thanks for the link! I don't see what's funny, though. I take my brains seriously. And I take them with a side of whole wheat toast and apple butter, when I can.