I am no huge fan of Sebastopol, the town where my parents live, simply because I don't care for the smell of Patchouli and wheat grass. But the town does have its charms, like its public art, which is everywhere and is mostly bad. Driving to my parents on Christmas Eve we spotted this piece of Art on the outskirts of town. We stopped on the way home so we could take pictures.
It is supposed to be an angel but it looks like a) A Zombie (awesome) b) A white girl with dreadlocks and a tiara and c) someone tied to a tree about to get burned at the stake.
My favorite part was the 5-6 dumped, perfectly good Christmas trees around the statue. I don't know if this was part of the installation, an offering, or some drive-by critics thoughts about the piece.
This was also near the angel. It looks like Olivia Newton John in Xanadu.
I don't mean to make fun. Art is Art and good for Angel guy to put it out there. But really, it was kinda creepy. The above picture best represents my feeling about the Sebastopol Angel.
I am so blessed I received not one, but two zombies for Christmas. Here is a picture of me with both of them. BTW, I am rockin the new Jammies that mom got me.
This is my Zombie friend from Jonathan. I have not named him yet, and I am quite frankly worried about the Orange Menace tearing him apart, not that he would mind.
This is my new Zombie home girl named Shana. I named her Shana in honor of my friend Shoshanah, who hand-crafted her for me. She is beyond awesome and the Orange Menace agrees.
I also received an exclusive "I love Zombies" tote bag sure to be the rage next season. It will be perfect for tote-ing around my horror magazines and books.
My zombie doll has a zombie doll.
As I suspected the Orange Menace has decided that the zombie doll's zombie doll should be his. Maybe he is a ZOMBIE!?!?
I also received this cool candle holder from Howard, a kick ass movie set from my love (featuring Boris and Bela) and the "Zen of Zombie" book from Harold and Carla. Now I must really stop bitching about my zombie nightmares. I may have brought it upon myself. Next up: Creepy Christmas Angel.
We had a wonderful Christmas. It was great to spend the day with Family and Friends and Dogs and Cats. Such as SAM here, my parents bi-polar cat..
And Garfield, the stray cat who wisely adopted my father and now has complete run of the house.
This is Grandma's dog, who despite recently having a stroke is in great shape. I couldn't get her to sit still long enough for a non-fuzzy picture.
My sister and me (or I).
The happy Christmas couple!
My Nephew Tim showing off his new stuff for his apartment. The greatest kid ever!
Frodo looking for something to eat.
The Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.
Jonathan and Howard. Howard was frankly shocked and amused by the Christmas Carnage.
Val and my other nephew David. I got him the "Beers of the World" gift set and he really loved it.
See, Valerie is not sitting down.
I am off to the magical land known as my parents house. Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday.
All I want for Christmas, besides to disrupt the space/time continuum and have some Eggnog with Bela and Boris by the Christmas tree, is this DVD....
I only read about it this morning. And wouldn't you know it, Netflix does not have it!! I might have to buy it for next year. I smell a Holiday Tradition in the making! What the hell do He-man and She-ra do at Christmas anyway?
Check out this post by one of my favorite bloggers: http://wwwbillblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/all-limbos-clamor.html
Dammit, I am sick with the Plague again. My friend from the Cellar Door has it and I wonder if I caught it through the Internets. Thus far it is not really the plague, more like a minor sore throat, but like a walk alone in the woods on a cold rainy night no good can come from this..
But while I am home sick with the plague I can read my awesome new book "The Zen of Zombie" which my friends Harold and Carla got for me. I am halfway there since I feel like a zombie right now anyway.
In my ongoing quest to get everyone to read Lio, here is a Christmas greeting from the little man. Check it out at http://www.gocomics.com/lio/ Lio would be the easiest Halloween costume ever. All you would need is some hair gel and a Cephalopod.
Thanks to the most kick ass magazine in the whole wide world, Rue Morgue, I was introduced to Coffin Joe. Coffin Joe is a character created and played by Director Jose Mojica Marins in a series of Brazilian horror films. Yeah, I didn't know there was such a thing either. These films are so controversial in Catholic Brazil that they have been banned many times and the Director thrown in jail. Apparently the fact that the main character eats lamb meat on a Friday caused riots.
The first film featuring Coffin Joe is At Midnight I'll take Your Soul, realeased in 1963. It features, amoung other horrors, eating meat on Friday, multiple murders, rape, canary killing, zombies, ghosts, gypsies, suicide, and death by spider. It was pretty fantastic.
And the score would have made Les Baxter proud. It's a jazzy, howling, women screaming kind of deal which is actually kind of creepy. Thanks to the wonderfulness that is Netfix I was able to watch this masterpiece, as I doubt I would have found it at the local Blockbuster. The next film in the series is This Night I will Possess your Corpse which sounds stunning. 
Oh, the Horror, the Horror of seeing Santa Claus. The most terrifying ritual of Christmas. There is an entire book of these pictures out. I think my parents have a photo of me throwing a fit on Santa's lap somewhere.
I had to whittle this down from a list of about 25. A few runners-up: Bride of Frankenstein, Jaws, The Descent, The Mist (2007), The Devil's Backbone, The Ring (it kept me up all night), Nightmare on Elm Street ( a week of sleeping with the lights on), Poltergeist, and Picnic at Hanging Rock (not really a horror film, but it freaked me out good.)
I have been so busy I didn't hear about Forrest J Ackerman passing away on Thursday. He was 92 years old and known by many as Uncle Forry. He truly was the original Fanboy.
His magazine, Famous Monsters of Filmland, went a long way in revitalizing the horror genre and introducing monsters to a new generation of fans. I had a subscription to the re-vamped "Famous Monsters" years ago, but of course it wasn't as good as the original. I am glad that Forry had the chance to see the kick ass tribute that Rue Morgue did for him in the last Halloween issue.
I have been MIA because we have been opening the new store, but things have calmed down a little now. Cellar Door sent me this cool picture of my hero Frank. DisplayDude sent me this link to this awesome video by Cameo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz7qp8hZ60g I can't post it because it is owned by Universal Music group, but check it out if you get a chance. Look for a strange Miles Davis cameo (get it) at the 1:54 mark.
Time to Eat!! Happy Thanksgiving! I am Thankful for my family and friends, Spaghetti Cat, Yo Gabba Gabba, George Romero, and HP Lovecraft.
I am Thankful this is a real movie and I must see it!
And I am Thankful that the Zombie's haven't taken over (yet) 