…Is A Happy Mailbox

So the list goes:

• (BuyZombie)Ex-Heroes by: Peter Clines
• (BuyZombie)The Zombie Combat Manual by: Roger Ma
• (???)Unsettled
• (Contest: Fatally Yours)Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter by: A E Moorat
• (BuyZombie)Dead Earth: The Green Dawn by: Mark Justice and David T. Wilbanks
• (BuyZombie)American Zombie Gothic by: Kyle William Bishop
• (BuyZombie)Attack of the Vegan Zombies
• (ScaryMovies)The Landlord
• (Contest: Horror Society)Dante’s Inferno

This was a great week and a half between a combination of two GREAT contest wins (Damn you HS for such an addicting game! Thank you for FY for a book that’s being brought on my vacation next week!), a pile of new books and DVD”s to review for BuyZombie, and 1 film I have 0 memory of winning or requesting (but honestly I’m fine with that.) The only downside is the fact that half of the books I’ve recently received I’ll have to send out before I have a chance to read them to have them reviewed and that is a true shame as now I’ll be missing out on them. Alas, these are the prices I pay for not being able to get it all done by myself.

Still all in all it’s been an increasingly great month and I have one more contest win (that I know of) coming int he mail from the UK. It’s big, it goes on my wall, and it’s awesome. More on that when it comes in though.

On a side note – doesn’t my carpet look awesome? Yea I didn’t think so either. It’d be REALLY cool if someone like Horror Decor shipped out a “rough night bloody footprint mat” or better yet some of those pillows to lay these over that I would have to mention every post. How cool would these pictures be than? How much more blatant can I be for asking for free stuff? I really don’t know!

Want Extra Exposure?

Buy Zombie is taking guest posts! That’s right! My beloved site on the undead is currently taking as many guest posts as possible until March 18′th. I currently am set to be going on a cruise from March 20th-27th and while I absolutely love how many posts for a multitude of sites I will have to post ahead of time would love a bit of a relief as well!

Currently lined up is a few bloggers and authors who will be helping out with guest posts but we are taking more! So, if you are interested make sure to get in touch with me via Buy Zombie’s Contact Page in the next couple of days! Reviews, articles, zombie art, zombie fiction – just about anything is welcome! (I don’t want zombie sex tapes though. I don’t love the undead quite that much..)

BuyZombie Has Risen From The (fashionably) Dead

Working with Blue Tide Productions a new BuyZombie has been created.

• The most noticeable and immediate change is that we very clearly have a new look. There is now a featured section to show off the latest articles on the top of the screen and a much cleaner layout that is also easier to access and navigate.
• COMMENTS ARE FIXED! Comments were broken on the old theme for nearly 8 months and not only have they been fixed but upgraded. You are now able to comment both as a guest as well as login with either your Disqus, Twitter, Facebook, or Yahoo credentials!
• Easier to network with BuyZombie: It doesn’t matter if it’s by e-mail, twitter, facebook, or RSS it is now a lot simpler to be able to follow / fan / communicate with us
• Author boxes for posts! As more guest posts are being lined up we wanted to make sure knew a little bit about who you were reading an article from and be able to show off the great authors that are stopping in!

There were also a slew of changes on the back end for updating but most of that is going to prove boring to you so it’s not worth talking about. While Buy Zombie is of course my main project there is more changes on the horizon as well as more projects actually seeing updates and the light of day!

The Undead Are Online.. In Style

I’ve been working with Zach of Blue Tide Productions for the past month to map out and have him create a new layout for BuyZombie. As of yesterday the new theme is up and running. While I run a multitude of sites it’s clearly the most active of my sites and as it gets the most attention I felt it needed a website that didn’t look like it was straight out of the 90′s. OK it wasn’t that bad but if you had seen the old layout you know exactly what I mean.

Features

• Visually the site looks spectacular: It has a clean layout, is easy to navigate, and has a featured section
• Communication wise the comments were broken in the old theme. So as there have not been new comments in months we upgrades to Disqus to allow not just standard comments but being able to comment with Facebook and Twitter as well.
• Speaking of communication we also made it easier to connect with us on social networks, RSS following, and by e-mail!
• As there are more guest posters on the horizon there is also now an author box at the end of each post with a bit more information about the author of each post.

Thank You! My Ego Has Swollen!

Seriously to all of my friends, fans, and BuyZombie followers- Thank You!

with the comments out of commission until I have a new layout up on BuyZombie I only have Twitter and e-mails to know exactly how well I’m doing in keeping my readers both informed and entertained. Well that and the number of visitors to the site, however that can always be faulty and I never know if that is keeping people coming back for more flesh eating fun. Last night I wanted to hit 100 fans on Facebook and my friends answered the call. I asked just on Twitter to see if anyone was interested in becoming a fan of BuyZombie and push us to 100 fans… and you answered.

Yes we went up over 20 fans last night to break 100 and I just have to say, while it’s just a number, it’s one that makes me feel proud. I’d really like to thank you all. It means a lot from one fellow fan of horror, and specifically of the undead.

For those who are interested in checking it out (or becoming a fan!) just hit the following link to: BuyZombie’s Facebook Page!

A Little Social Networking Goes A Long Way – BuyZombie On Facebook

Last night I was looking at my fans on BuyZombie’s Facebook Page and realized I was at 81 fans. 81 seemed like such an uneven number and triple digits sounded like the best thing to have so I decided to ask on Twitter if there was any zombie lovers out there who wanted to follow the site in a new area. The results were overwhelming as within an hour I was able to break 100 fans! Social media can have an amazing response when you are friends with your readers and part of the community.

I have no doubt that it helped that I had a bit of a support from the author of Breathers – Scott Browne, the wonderful horror blogger BJC of Day of the Woman, and the geek favorite Seres Victoria. (All of you, and everyone else who Re-tweeted I GREATLY appreciate it!)

Or- Why There Is A Lack Of Project Updates

So I’ve been working on 5 projects as of late. The start of which is going to be the new Buy Zombie website. While visually the design my web designer had going it is completed he is bailing on me before the actual code part. So, I am now in need of having to find a new web developer to convert the .psd to a WordPress theme.

Past that I have my central company’s website that is mainly waiting on the logo to be completed, shortly after this there is another zombie themed website that will launch. Immediately after there are 2 projects that should be cranked out and while of all of these 3 are automated they still need to be setup. Lacking Photoshop currently is slowing me down greatly as I have to rely on the kindness of friends and readers and I hate pressing anyone to do artwork for free.

After these 2 shall be a rumored third project that I have been working on a dedicated and guest posting staff for over the past couple of months. I do have plans on launching a general horror review and news site in the near future and this is planned to be my ‘flagship’ site in the little hub of sites that are going up.

I will have more information as it comes up, I have a few possibilities for wordpress design that will at least get me going with the new BuyZombie layout and hopefully shortly after that everything else will be falling into place.

or – What I did last night while I was bored

Today’s post is also entitled, “Stu is a lazy ass who has nothing he feels like writing about today.” Yes instead of pre-writing a post for my homepage here, finishing going through the 12 e-mails currently in my inbox, or anything else productive. I sat online and watched The Wire. So what did I do last night online?

Twitter:
On my personal twitter that I haven’t used regularly in months I decided to start using it again! Being that the case, I talked to my buddy Matt and made sure to get a new background going on it that more fit the style of what I want it for. That being the case I ended up finally with adding a bunch of the friends I have on BuyZombie’s Twitter.Speaking of BuyZombie’s Twitter I also now have a new background on there as well. It’s not permanent but it does show off the new logo that we will be using in the near future. I figured ‘d share it with more of our readers.

Civin.org:
Well there are a couple changes you may see here and one that runs in the background. With using my personal twitter account again I installed a fun little plugin I use on BuyZombie to automatically post blog updates to my account. Bonus points for laziness. The other 2 small changes I made are slightly more visible here but will easily fall into the background. On the right side under my Author section I added a Connect section with links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts. Continuing with the trend on social networking, hey it felt right to go with the flow, I added a connect page up at the top for those looking to network with me on various sites. It will slowly expand as I add more in.

“Enjoy The Little Things”

My cousin Molly was able to procure us a couple of tickets for seeing Zombieland last night and I can honestly say I had a blast. It felt like one of the classic action comedy movies out there that just worked- with zombies. This is so far one of, if not my favorite movie of the summer. I really can’t complain about a single portion of the movie aside from the fact that it had to end and knowing Hollywood there won’t be a sequel, at least not with the same director and cast. This is one of those movies that should easily have a couple made. A franchise would probably ruin it but I’d be game for a sequel… possibly even a trilogy (though we do know how those tend to end up.) If your interested in reading my full review head over to BuyZombie.

A while lot of nothing new

(The above lyrics from from Rise Against – Audience of One and image is from the webcomic LilFormers and is brilliant. It has nothing to do with this post in any way shape or form but having grown up with both the cartoony pizza loving turtles and the darker comic based turtles I nearly died laughing from this. If you didn’t grow up with the Turtles and don’t get this don’t worry- I’m insane.)

So it’s been awhile since I’ve done my last update here. Surprisingly there hasn’t been as much media consumption as usual! While there has obviously been some you have to keep in mind that it has been just over a full month since my last “What Stu has been watching / reading / playing update.” So aside from this what HAVE I been doing? Well there was of course Terror in the Aisles 2 that I attended which was a complete blast all the way through. I spent some time hanging out with Rose before she went back to school. Spent a day hanging out with Leah while she was recovering from a late night of drinking which was a blast. Had Bryan and one of his friends over one of the nights Rose was here for watching a couple movies. Neil was gone for a week and a half and I had the place to myself which made me realize that it wasn’t that bad of a thing. On that note- our condo is going up on the market next month which means when looking for a new place to live I’m going to see what I can find out the south side, with indoor parking, that I can afford solo. It’ll clearly be a step down from where I’m living now but it’s that or I look for a new roommate as I don’t think Neil is planning on staying in the city when the condo is gone.

Rather light on the social life too. Where has all of my time gone? I’m honestly not sure! I have been half assed working out again lately but not enough to make a dent and while I know I’ve been working with a programmer for the new design on BuyZombie and made a few changes here (profile picture, added a contact form, and some minor things) it really doesn’t explain what exactly I’ve been up to. Maybe I’ve gone the Fight Club route and developed a split personality that’s running me around at night? Whose to say!

Movies
I was able to recently see the Chicago premiere of Trick ‘r Treat and can’t stress enough that this is a must buy movie for any horror fan. There aren’t many horror movies that actually focus on the holiday of Halloween itself, even the aptly named Halloween only took place ON the holiday and otherwise did not really concern itself with it. Here we have in it’s greatest form a movie based around ancient rituals of paganistic religions that were the origins of our present day trick or treat experience. Centering this masterpiece of fun horror is an entity known as Samhain whose entire purpose is to enforce that everyone follows the ‘rituals’ laid forth and punish those who didn’t.

On opening weekend of what is meant to be an epic new science fiction film I saw District 9 with Rose and Neil. Now I’m not going to say that District 9 wasn’t epic in scale. I’m not going to say it didn’t have an original plot because the concept while used before WAS used originally in this film. I’m not going to say how it ends was bad because I loved the way the movie ended up. My complaints are two- exactly. The first of these 2 are the main actor. I’m sorry I just couldn’t feel bad for him even with how things ended up. I was far too annoyed by his character to see feeling bad for him when the time came that you knew you should. Things happened to him that you HAD to feel bad for him and most probably did but I just couldn’t. I mainly wanted to hit him. The second problem? I felt the beginning was too long. I think I ONLY felt this because of the actor as well. I loved how they showed us what happened to society and why but couldn’t enjoy it while trying to drone out the lead actor.

So I was a ‘small’ GI-Joe fan growing up so when Leah picked that as one of our movies to go see I have to admit I couldn’t pass up the offer. I knew what I was in for before it began- a summer action flick that would partially murder my childhood memories of a beloved franchise. I can’t say they overly commercialized it since the franchise was created OFF of a toy line. The cartoon would have never existed if it weren’t a marketing tool for the toys. With that in mind I have to say I really did have fun with it. I was a little annoyed with a few key plot changes; Scarlet should have been torn between Duke and Snake eyes, The Baroness was never ‘good’, Destro never had to have his mind controlled to be part of Cobra (loved how they did the mask for it,) and Cobra Commander’s ‘mask’ was asstastic. With those complaints aside I really had a great time watching the movie. It was a summer popcorn filled flick with a perfect sequel ending. An over the top plot that paid off in spades for entertainment and I am fully looking forward to the eventual sequel.

The ONLY selling point I had ever really heard for Prozac Nation was that hey- you get to see Christina Ricci. Being male this of course intrigued me! The movie though is a great commentary on prescription drugs, depression, mental illness, being accepted, and what people will do to have fun. On top of all this it is based off of an actual auto-biography of the writer Elizabeth Wurtzel and how she both got through college and started writing. Well acted, character development, amazing shots, overall (even without a nude Christina Ricci) the movie was a good watch and easy to be drawn into wanting to know how she would end up and unable to avert your eyes away from the train wreck she was making of her life.

What set of movies would be complete without at least one horror movie, and a zombie flick at that? Boy Eats Girl fits the mold perfectly! This Irish made horror movie went with the general zombie outbreak idea of the dead coming back to life, spreading through bites that kill, and these dead eat humanity. This movie has been fitting in once again with the idea of intelligent zombies. I feel this trend, with how commonplace it is becoming, is one that is here to stay. While it does work in some situations the entire idea of a horde of mindless man eating undead who feel and think nothing past how to kill the next of us is still more fun to work with. Having to accept the mindless zombies the ending of this movie makes up for how badly the ‘cure’ for turning into a zombie is- a nonstop over the top gore fest that is absolutely ridiculous. If you don’t mind intelligent zombies and can get over the teen romance angle it’s a fun ride.

Now I haven’t heard this about The International so wait with me a moment here, be patient, I hated the movie. Now your going to wonder why on this since literally it had me enthralled and was one of the better reviewed films this year, even slipping partially under the radar. So why did I hate this movie? THE LAST 5 MINUTES felt completely rushed and not in line with the spirit of the movie. It was an easy out for the character, an easy out on how it made no difference, and just didn’t feel that it did the film justice. I literally could not stop watching the movie and enjoyed every second of the plot and felt betrayed by the ending of the film. I’m fine with a movie that wraps everything up at the end in a bow if it has no plans for a sequel but the ending has to fit with the lead up. Who was killed, how they were killed, and the little newspaper clippings all felt thoroughly rushed and uncreative. The agent we’re rooting for who has to ‘turn bad’ in order to get his way isn’t forced to follow through negating the entire set of events he set into motion and it pissed me off. If your character isn’t taking the moral high ground he should be forced to make his choice completely and not have it taken out of his hands. I clearly enjoyed everything else with how angry I am about this ending which no one else has had an issue with but I felt let down with such a great build up in plot.

Friday the 13′th Part 6-10. So basically what happened in these movies is Jason Voorhees goes around and kills a bunch of teenagers that are having sex, doing drugs, or just having fun. Shocking isn’t it? Jason Lives, The New Blood, Jason Takes Manhattan, The Final Friday, and Jason X all told the same story of Jason going on a rampage butchering the innocent. There was a few fun changes of leaving Crystal Lake to take a trip into Manhattan and in one instance space but there really isn’t much you can do with a slasher flick series based off of a man in a hockey mask who never talks. At least Freddy spoke which lent us some originality. I did love how they mixed it up a bit in the later movies but watching these through straight just ended up being painful. One at a time mixed in with other movies these are all acceptable (and I love how the dress and speech clearly show the time periods they were made in) but a Friday the 13th marathon will never again happen on my TV. (Tune in next time for another Horror franchise that I kill any self-interest in seeing to completion in one sitting!)

On her day of relaxing at my place after a night of heavy drinking I felt Leah needed something that was just mind numbing entertainment which can always be fulfilled by the man- Bruce Campbell. My Name is Bruce felt like the perfect fit for a lazy day with B movie greatness in every second that you can’t help but love (even for the B movie haters out there.) He’s never had a problem mocking himself on film but this one takes the cake with an all out fest of a… simpler… town unleashing a curse and kidnapping Bruce. Not him acting but kidnapping him as a B actor. It portrays how ‘wonderful’ his life is these days- divorced, living in a trailer park, being screwed over by his agent (figuratively of course… though literally with his ex-wife,) barely running car, and not being able to land a job past sequel after sequel of horrible B movies that he constantly is panned for. If you love horror movies, B movies, or Bruce Campbell this is one to pickup.

TV
“The Wire was one of the greatest shows on television.” Neil said. “You HAVE to watch the damn show right now” he said. So I did, Season 1 at least and fine I’ll admit it- Neil was right. A great plot, acting, character development, well shot scenes, a series on cops vs drug dealers, every single aspect is a selling point for me. So why have I taken so long to start watching it? I suppose it’s from being stubborn (does that surprise any of you?) as well as telling myself I didn’t want to start another series. Well this one is 6 seasons, Battlestar is over clearing up a spot, and most of my shows are coming up to their season finales if they haven’t already had them. Basically I was bored and out of excuses so decided to pick it up.

Bonus note: I’m also caught up with True Blood Season 2 aside from the finale which is tonight. I’ll do a quick writeup of what I felt about Season 2 in it’s entirety in my next post.

Games
Shadow Complex came out on the X-Box 360 and I’ve been slowly playing through it. The ONLY reason I haven’t beaten it yet is because I know I will not see another game like it for some time, if ever. Anyone who gets me talking about modern video games will know I will eventually lead up to complaining that there aren’t enough side scrollers these days. I clearly love first person shooters or I wouldn’t be playing Call of Duty 4 2 years after it’s release and eagerly awaiting the sequel, but my heart is with the classics. Side scrollers and 3/4th view games (Zelda) are what always did it for me and now, finally, with Shadow Complex I can play a side scroller that is worth of the classics. With a metroid style shooter feel, a map the size of the castle from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, a level up system, AND modern graphics I’m hooked. I try to play for an hour or two at a time and while I know where the game can be beaten I haven’t fully explored the map yet and plan on doing so, slowly, before it comes to an end. I may never see another game styled in this manner that was made with such skill again. I need to enjoy it while I can.

Books
With everything else I’ve been slacking on doing you would think I would have finished more than 1 book. However no there was only one, however it was a great one! In The Woods by Tana French is a murder mystery that completely sucked me in. The writing style had me hooked from the get go and the character interaction between the two lead detectives on the case was eerily familiar to a few friendships I’ve had in the past. Add in the fact that there was a great mystery at the heart of it, character development, and a few twists along the way and yes I loved it. Oh did I mention one of the two detectives are from the town this murder happened in and seems to be related to the murder of two of his friends that he lived through as a child, the memories of which are locked away in his memory?