Ask the 5th graders attending classes at Horace Mann and they can tell you; they’ll even explain the sociological significance of these iconic creatures.

Dead Love spent the day at Buena Visa Horace Mann K-8 Spanish Immersion Public School in San Francisco on Friday, January 27th, 2012, sharing zombie stories with a room full of 5th graders. Many thanks for new ZIA (Zombie Intelligence Agency) member, Nancy A. for setting that up!

There were zombie questions, zombie prizes, zombie jokes, and a super scary taste of the book! The amazing Jack, who blogs for Left Coast Writers, came along and taped some of Linda Watanabe McFerrin‘s talk. Zombie finger puppets, Dead Love buttons and other wacky zombie paraphernalia were flying into clever kids’ hands. Pablo was clearly the most informed kid in the room, though he had lots of competition from the others who were also very well-versed in zombie and other supernatural lore.

No brainless zombies in that bunch!

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice

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Art courtesy of Bart Frescura, copyright Bart Frescura

British British anthropologist Roland Littlewood and Haitian doctor Chavannes Douyon have done case studies on three people who have returned from the dead.

All three individuals had the following zombie identifiers:

• inability to lift the head
• nasal intonation (imagine: BRAAAAINZZZ)
• fixed staring expression
• tendency to carry on a series of meaningless, repetitive actions

Well, that sounds like a lot of my friends.

You can read about the study here.

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice

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Art courtesy of Bart Frescura, copyright Bart Frescura

Wow! Oh, yeah, I am definitly one of the Walken Dead.

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice

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I don’t care who tells you it isn’t political; it is hijo. So no surprise that the undead turn up in Cuba in Juan de los Muertos (Juan of the Dead) or that the living swarm the cinemas for a look at ‘em. Who in Havana wouldn’t identify with the flick’s hero, Juan, and his sidekick, Lazaro, a Quixotic duo who are swatting zombies as the world falls to pieces around them?

Hmmmm,  this reminds me of the classic closing scene in George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead when the hero, a black man, having survived the zombie onslaught, is killed by the police. If you haven’t seen this you are missing one of the great political comments of the 20th Century. If you have, watch it again.

And … if and when Juan of the Dead, writer-director Alejandro Brugues smashing new addition to the genre, makes it out of Cuba, be sure to check it out.

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice

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Zombie image ©Bart Frescura, courtesy of Bart Frescura

Just need to find the right guy … er … I mean, ghoul to ask me to go. He’ll have to be able to get me there, though, and that will involve some serious travel as I’m here on the left coast and this prom is way the heck in Pennsylvania which is kind of the American Zombie Transylvania—think: famous zombie malls—or maybe that’s somewhere in Michigan.

This one is going to take place on February 18th, a little after Valentine’s Day, so all the dearly disappointed should be celebrating Dead Love in various ways. I’m determined to go and get bloody glamourous. Fashionistas, I’m thinking a bruise-green gown with a great gored skirt. Killer, right?

So here are the details: Zombie Prom!

If I don’t make it, my proxy will be a limited edition hard cover copy of Dead Love, given away to some delightfully dastardly deadling.

Stagger on PA!

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice

So if you aren’t a zombie yet, you might want some advice on how to withstand the almost inevitable zombie attack. Fortunately, there’s a great deal of direction out there. For example, here’s a video from Common Craft in their signature style with easy-to-follow instruction on exactly what you need to do. Pay special attention to the advice about high altitudes and water!

Now just make sure that the zombies you’re zapping are the real ones. Happy Halloween!

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice

Peaches Christ

Tonight, channel your inner zombie at California Academy of Sciences.

Zombie Research Society founder Brad Voytek will give a crash course in zombie science and there will be make-up artists on hand to help you play dead. But you might want to show your lively side and hang about for the Zombie Drag Show & Costume Contest hosted by the unquestionably creepy Peaches Christ and shake your broken bits at the “Zombie Prom.”

Zombies, pssssst, rumor has it that there will be actual brain specimens on hand …

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice

You can listen to Lilycat on Stuff on the web at: http://FCCFREERADIO.com on Sunday, October 23rd, from 12-2pm PST.

Call in during the show: STUDIO LINE – 415-513-5239 – to chat or creep us out with your news, views and questions about all things dark and desirable.

Podcast of previous show with Linda and Lilycat: Listen.

FCCFREE RADIO – SAN FRANCISCO’S ALTERNATIVE RADIO

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice

I took off, weaving through the side streets, then backtracked to Roppongi-dori and turned left on Gaien Higashi-dori. Twilight had unobtrusively draped itself over the city. Lights began to wink on. My pace slowed to a walk as darkness crept over the town. But the darkness offered no cover. I could still feel something following me in the gathering gloom. And I recognized it. Bad, ominous, so unpleasantly familiar: It was Takashita, the cabbie, Miura, Carlyle; it was him.

—DEAD LOVE/Chapter 14.4/Three-days-dead

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Dead Love

For those of you who don’t know abut the Carl Brandon Society, it’s an organization founded by people who felt that there should be a greater awareness and representation of people of color in speculative fiction and related fields. The idea grew out of the 1999 feminist science fiction convention, WisCon,  that took place in Madison, Wisconsin. African American SF legend Samuel R. Delany had recently published an article titled “Racism and Science Fiction” in the New York Review of Science Fiction (August 1998, volume 10 issue 12).

Well, as you can imagine the zombie message (think George Romero’s not-so-slant commentary on racism in Night of the Living Dead) is definitely in keeping with this mission. So, shall we hope for a win? We’ll see. Whatever happens, it’s a win for all if the hungry are fed.

Our ghoulish gang is thrilled about the award and the nomination. Go zombies!

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice

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