Tag: Walking Dead

It’s baaaaaa-aaa-ck! Walking Dead!

PEOPLE!

WALKING DEAD resumes Sunday February 9th. Check your local listings so you, too, can get swept up in the madness.

As many of you know, I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about the ZA (Zombie Apocalypse, for those of you not briefed). You can see that here. And here. And here, here, and here. Oh, geez. Here, here, and here, too. Oh, and this one is about SEX.

Damn. I’ve blogged a lot about the ZA. That’s not even all the blogs. Maybe I should get out more.

Anyway. Here’s a sneak peek from the upcoming f*ck-up-ed-ness that is sure to be the second half of season 4.

And here. Find out how long you’d live in a ZA. Take this quiz here. And you can download the “Dead Yourself” app to see how’d you look as a zombie.

All right, peeps. PREPARE!

Happy Friday!

by Categories: Apocalypse, TV shows, ZombiesTags: , 8 Comments

What I learned about writing from zombie plots

Hi, kids–

So I’ve been following the series Walking Dead, as some of you know. It’s a zombie apocalypse series, and what I find interesting about it is how interpersonal human drama plays out against a backdrop like this.

In that regard, Walking Dead is what I’d call a mixture of Lord of the Flies, The Road Warrior, and Night of the Living Dead. Because ultimately, what apocalyptic and dystopic scenarios come down to is the people dealing with them, and the power struggles within the groups of survivors.

There’s no story in a zombie apocalypse if there aren’t non-zombies therein having to cope with it. And there’s no story in a dystopic society in which a tyrant rules all unless there’s a segment of the population battling that or thinking about battling it. Stories are all about conflict, whether internal or external.

So let’s go have a think about that, shall we? 😀

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by Categories: Writing, Writing tips, ZombiesTags: , , 5 Comments

Drama at the end of the world

Hey, kids–

Have you been watching the continued second season of AMC’s Walking Dead?

That is some serious drama. It’s not just about zombies and avoiding them. It’s about negotiating and creating new social and cultural rules in a world that no longer has any. Humans are a remarkably drama-laden species and sure enough, we’re bound to bring that into the post-apocalyptic landscape. In crisis situations, I think the true essence of people starts to emerge and adjust to the new conditions. Issues that we had prior to the apocalypse might be exacerbated, which might also create problems if we try to make a go of it in a group situation.

But as I’ve noted in many of my end of the world spiels, other surviving humans are probably going to be the worst thing to deal with. No rules means your life isn’t worth the energy it takes to work up a spit, so don’t rely on appealing to anybody’s higher angels. You are a potential threat to their limited resources, a potential threat to their safety, and a potential threat to the delicate dynamic they’ve already worked out with whatever group (or not) they’re running with. So do no expect help from other survivors. Chances are, you won’t get it. And the longer a post-apocalyptic situation goes on, the more likely that survivors will continue to descend into more feral behaviors.

Want more? Keep on!

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by Categories: Apocalypse, Disaster preparednessTags: , , , ,

When an apocalypse hits…

where will you be?

Hi, folks–

Here we are on zombie and/or apocalypse Saturdays. First, tomorrow is the next episode of AMC’s Walking Dead, which has been on mid-season hiatus until now. So if you’ve been following that, there you go. I’m already getting my therapy lined up…

Second, Tuesdays, the National Geographic channel is airing a program called “Doomsday Preppers.” It’s exactly what it says it is. Each hour features about 20 minute segments with a different person or people preparing for an apocalypse. The form that apocalypse takes (e.g. financial, grid collapse, natural disaster) depends on the people. So you get, say, 3 people an hour who are serious apocalypse preppers. Then the NatGeo crew provides some feedback to each prepper, and offers suggestions (if necessary) to improve their prep. Then the commentator tells you, the audience, what the actual chances are that an apocalypse like the one the people are prepping for will actually happen.

The website (link above) offers a breakdown of the episodes, tips from preppers, and bios of the various preppers. Kind of interesting, if that’s your thing. I rather enjoyed it.

And third, author Julianna Baggott has released Pure, the first in her post-apocalyptic series. It’s getting rave reviews and she has an excerpt posted on her website. Seriously. Check this out. Click HERE for those opening pages.

Wow. Lyrical, tactile, narrative gold. Do yourselves a favor and pick this one up. It’s been optioned for film rights. Personally, I think the book’s vision will be ever Pure-er than any movie could make it, but I’m sure the visual impact of the movie will be pretty darn amazing. 😀

There you go. Some doomsday stuff for you to consider and enjoy, if you’re weird like me.

Happy reading, happy writing, happy watching!

by Categories: Apocalypse, Books, Cool stuff to read, Disaster preparedness, TV showsTags: , , ,

ZOMBIES walk in AMC

Hi, all!

Good gracious this week sucked giant butt in terms of the ol’ busy-ness. Sorry about that, friends.

So what’d you think about the season 2 premiere of Walking Dead? The show has different writers than last year, but I was glad to see some character consistencies. However, I do have to say that the commercials on AMC really interrupted the flow of the program and decreased its length from “90 minutes” to probably about 60. WTF? Season 1’s premiere, if I recall correctly, ran 2 hours, with minimal commercial invasion. Sigh.

Read on for deeper analysis!

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by Categories: Apocalypse, ZombiesTags: ,

Walking Dead and other stuff

Hi, kids!

This week was crazy busy. First things first. I’m trying to get all validated for the site Goodreads. I’m sure many of you are familiar with it. Once the elves over there ascertain that I am, actually, Andi Marquette and the books they have with that name were actually written by your truly, then I’ll let you all know. I’ll be doing some giveaways and groovy stuff like that over there. WOOOO!

And the other thing is that I decided to try that Kindlegraph stuff. So yes, my books are available through Kindlegraph for online signing. If that’s your thing, go on over and I’ll be glad to sign away.

And finally, I hope you’re getting ready for Walking Dead! Season 2 premiere is this Sunday the 16th. I posted about it HERE. Check that link out to see what it’s all about if you’re not familiar with it.

All rightie, that should hold you for a little bit. Hope you’re all well and happy Friday!

by Categories: Announcements, TV shows, ZombiesTags: