Posted By John Sears on May 14, 2012

We talked the other day about a great looking Zombie Walk in Columbus, OH that was, reportedly, marred slightly by the uncouth Anti-Zombiism of our old nemeses the S.T.A.R.S. (who you may remember from Horrorhound Columbus).

(Yes, these guys were at it again)

However, one of the Columbus Zombie Walk’s organizers left us a rebuttal in the comments section on that post, and we are obliged to report her take on the matter here as well. Equal time, activism integrity and the like.

Vanessa Williamson says:
I am one of the organizers of the Columbus Zombiewalk, and first off I would like to thank you for the shout out and positive feedback. I’m almost positive that we broke records with our attendance of almost 4,000 zombies. Secondly, the STARS Columbus team helped me immensely with crowd control and food donations and I must commend them for all of their efforts. We raised 4,246 pounds of canned goods for our local food bank and near $700 in cash for the leukemia and lymphoma society this year. I am very thankful to all who participated!

(edited to remove comment formatting)

Ms. Williamson is right to point out the good works the S.T.A.R.S. team performed at her event, although we believe they do so merely to provide a cover for their odious Zombie oppressing. It is also a very good thing that her Zombie Walk has a charity fundraiser angle as well; you know we approve of such things here at the ZRC.

I for one am also glad that the militant S.T.A.R.S. members were able to restrain their violent tendencies to the extent they apparently did; we’ve seen firsthand the kind of equipment they take along to public appearances.

One worries about putting them in a position of authority in the future.

However, now you have another side to the story. We report, you.. should still support the Zombies.

Sorry, S.T.A.R.S.

Category: Zombie Media | 1 Comment »
Tags: Zombie Public Event

Posted By John Sears on May 14, 2012

As previously announced the ZRC will be in attendance at the 5th Annual Chicago Zombie March in downtown Chicago on June 16th, 2012. Some useful information for our readers (and so I won’t forget it either):

Chicago Zombie’s site on the March.

When? June 16th, 2012
Where: Starts at Millennium Park at The Bean sculpture at 3 pm.
The Route: Here! (Apparently the same as last year, which makes sense)
The Facebook: Here!

We hope to see you there. The ZRC will bring literature, signage, freebies and of course, our optimism about a better, Zombie Friendly future.

Category: Zombie Media, ZRC News | No Comments »
Tags: Public Appearance, Zombie Public Event

Posted By John Sears on May 13, 2012

We have received eyewitness reports (not that the Mainstream Media seems to have noticed much yet) of another wildly successful Zombie Walk in Columbus, OH.

Naturally the ZRC is very pleased with this largely peaceful and productive public outing and outreach opportunity.

*Un*fortunately, we have also received a report that some of the S.T.A.R.S. types we tussled with at Horrorhound Columbus (perhaps the same misguided individuals, perhaps others following in their jackbooted footsteps) disrupted the event to some degree with their usual threats of violence and oppression.

Which we find appalling.

Still, kudos to the city of Columbus and its many fine Undead citizens, who stand up in the face of such tyrannical injustice and triumph over the adversity, and the Adversaries, year after year.

For many fantastic pictures I heartily suggest you see the official Columbus Zombie Walk Facebook page. There were even some positive picket signs! Take this Pro Zombie Marriage one! Or this sign extolling Zombie Pride.

What a great event. Makes me want to attend the upcoming Zombie March in Chicago all the more. We need to do our part, after all, we are The Zombie Rights Campaign.

And it appears the message of Zombie Tolerance and Undead Equality is really starting to catch on nationwide.

Category: Zombie Media | 3 Comments »
Tags: Zombie Public Event

Posted By John Sears on May 12, 2012

We’ve praised the anime series ‘Is This a Zombie’ (Kore wa Zombie desu ka) here on the ZRC blog extensively. So I feel particularly saddened at what appears to be an authorized commercial tie-in with the upcoming Anti-Zombie spectacle ‘Lollipop Chainsaw’:

Warner Bros. released a full costume list on Thursday for its upcoming North American release of the Lollipop Chainsaw video game. These costumes include the previously-announced anime costumes that was later revealed would be released worldwide.

…

Haruna Costume – Haruna from Is This a Zombie?
Shiro Costume – Shiro’s costume from Deadman Wonderland
Manyu Chifusa Costume – Samurai costume from Manyu Scroll (Manyū Hiken-chō)
Miyamoto Rei Costume – Rei’s costume from Highschool of the Dead
Busujima Saeko Costume – Saeko’s Costume from Highschool of the Dead

…

Yes, it’s a virtual alliance of Anti-Zombiism from Japan, and then, oddly, ‘Is This a Zombie’. Which has a Zombie *protagonist*.

This seems rather directly contrary to the entire point of the show, where a Zombie is the hero, not cannon fodder for Buffy with a Chainsaw.

Very disappointing.

Category: Zombie Media | 1 Comment »
Tags: Videogames, What's Up with Japan?

Posted By John Sears on May 11, 2012

Today’s the last day, so we suggest leaving helpful, if pointed, ratings of the Anti-Zombiiest of the Anti-Zombie shirts in the CBLDF contest.

I know I will.

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Anti-Zombie Public Event, Clothing

Posted By John Sears on May 11, 2012

We’ve had issues with the short film work of Mad Lab Productions before; witness our review of ‘Rise of the Living Corpse’, for example. We also saw ‘Fitness Class Zombie’ at The Dark Carnival and were less than enthused.

So when we were approached by the Mad Lab guys on Twitter about their new film I was a bit reticent. However, I think we can safely say it’s a major improvement.

Here, see for yourselves:

The description: “IT’S THE SIMPLE THINGS THAT MAKE LIFE WORTH LIVING. EVEN IF YOU’RE DEAD.”

As I pointed out on Twitter, we have to object a bit to referring to Zombies as ‘Dead’. Dead things don’t typically have legal rights, and we want to keep that distinction clear.

It also might be troubling that the Zombie is clearly eating a human arm, but I’m going to go ahead and give the film the benefit of the doubt and presume it was donated peacefully, perhaps through our Zombie Organ Donor program.

The Zombie Rights Campaign is pleased to see a short film from Mad Lab Productions that features a Zombie, wistfully and non-violently enjoying his Unlife. We rate it as Zombie Friendly, accordingly.

Category: Zombie Media | 9 Comments »
Tags: Movies, ZRC Reviews

Posted By John Sears on May 11, 2012

I can’t say I approve of either of these movies, but the ZRC would be remiss if we didn’t highlight the opportunity for some outreach at a drive-in theatre:

What do you get when you mix classic zombie films and a drive-in double feature? WBEZ’s Off-Air Series gives you a chance to find out next Thursday, May 17.

The Cascade Drive-In, one of the few left in the Chicagoland area, will host the Drive-In Double Feature! Zombie Apocalypse. Two classic zombie films — the American “zom-com” Zombieland immediately followed by Britain’s zombie genre parody Shaun of the Dead– will bring out the zombies in everyone.

I have a certain fondness for drive-ins from my childhood, when the family saw a lot of movies at a local drive-in theatre in Pennsylvania. The last time I was at an actual one was for a Dark Carnival Film Festival event, though; I don’t know where the nearest one is to the ZRC Compound. I suspect Wisconsin has fewer, given our relatively short summers.*

But hey, Chicago-area Zombie allies, if you wanted to go out and lament a couple of bad movies under the stars, you get your chance in a week.

Category: Zombie Media | 1 Comment »
Tags: Anti-Zombie Public Event, Movies

Posted By John Sears on May 11, 2012

A truly harrowing and disturbing story about the real experience of a ‘Run for Your Lives’ race:

Race day was cool and overcast. We parked offsite at a nearby greyhound track and lined up for the bus to the course. Our line grew quiet as a bus pulled up and unloaded a round of earlier runners. Every eye watched the door for hints of what lay ahead. Runners tumbled out disheveled and muddy. Some limped.

A short drive later, we pulled into Amesbury Sports Park, where the main building was transformed into a zombie staging area. Newly minted zombies in fresh makeup milled around the porch; one sat on the edge facing us, idly swinging his legs. I realized the returning runners we’d seen earlier were actually the cleaned-up version: fresh off the trail, survivors were dazed and drenched head-to-toe in slick, brown mud. By now, thousands had tramped through the already-muddy trail, and less than a mile of solid ground remained; we were about to trudge for our lives, rather than run.

We hardly need point out the very long history of using physical exhaustion and trauma to break down subjects for indoctrination and programming; by the end of such an experience I’m sure the runners were even more receptive, tragically, to the hateful Living Supremacism on display.

The ZRC also finds the tacit governmental backing of the event, and its overt militarism, alarming:

US Marines kept watch, lending a creepy verisimilitude; at Atlanta’s event earlier this year, the CDC even made an appearance.

Read the linked post for the full, awful, disheartening tale.

So sad that physical fitness has to be used as an excuse for division and sowing of discord.

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Anti-Zombie Public Event

Posted By John Sears on May 9, 2012

This seems like another case of Don’t Use the Zed Word to me, but it unintentionally makes Zombies sound pretty awesome:

FRAMINGHAM —
World-traveling author Tim Ward will recount meeting “zombies” while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with his son, Josh, Thursday evening at REI Framingham.

The author of six critically-acclaimed books, he will discuss his new travel memoir, “Zombies on Kilimanjaro: A Father-Son Journey Above the Clouds,” from 7 to 8:15 p.m. at the outdoors equipment store at 375 Cochituate Road.

…

What about those “zombies” Ward saw? He explained some climbers earn that nickname on Kilimanjaro when they turn pale from the high elevations and low temperatures on a climb that affects even experienced mountaineers with high altitude sickness.

See, they’re Zombies just because.. they’re pale? Isn’t that more a Vampire stereotype?

But wow, peaceful ‘Zombies’ who climb tall mountains. That doesn’t seem so bad really! What’s not to like about those ‘Zombies’?

I wish we could keep people away from the unnecessary pejorative usage of the term ‘Zombie’ though. Work to do. Work to do.

Title Updated to reflect spelling in real world, not in my head and my spellchecker’s bad word list.

Category: Zombie Media | 2 Comments »
Tags: Books, Don't Use the Zed Word

Posted By John Sears on May 9, 2012

An interesting wrinkle. Apparently in the Zombpocalypse your choice will be to get eaten by Survivalists or, allegedly, Zombies:

Given the fact that so many survivalists afraid of the ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ hoard food, I’d hope they wouldn’t also resort to cannibalism, but.. well, we’re not talking about a high empathy crowd, are we?

Sad.

This trailer via the Horror Society.

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Movies