As promised...

This is a picture, which I've stolen off the interwebs, of Charles Dickens and his sexy mustaches.

This is the face of the man that both Raych and I would go back in time to make out with. Not necessarily at the same time.

He looks mad, bad, and dangerous to know, doesn't he? HOT.

Hey, I thought I was the president of Zombies Land?!?!

Today on Bookninja.com, I found an AWESOME video entitled Zombie Haiku. You can view it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd1Ws9QnmZY

I'm re-posting this great video because seeing it reminded me that I totally forgot my cool original plans for my post on World War Z; I guess I got distracted by all those other books and the bookstore closure.

My friend V. taught ESL in Japan for a couple of years and she came up with a great essay topic for her friend K.'s 3rd-year junior high class: "If I had one million zombies." She sent a fine selection of these stories back to those of us languishing in Canada and they were so good that I had her dig them out of the vault so I could post them with World War Z...and then, of course, forgot like the Silly Person that I am. Late and lamely presented, here they are. Their quality, however, speaks volumes that I cannot. (BRAAAAINSSSS!)

*******
I kill zombies with a gun. I kill zombies with a rifle. I kill zombies with a machine gun. I don't like zombies. Because zombies eat a human being. It is unpleasant. I go to their grave. Because there I will throw zombies. And I will return home. I will go to bed. Because I am very tired.

*******
I play with zombies. I play a band with zombies. I play a rock band with 1,000,000 zombies. The name of band is "Zombies x 1,000,000 Plus A Human Being." We become famous person. We do live. We songs one hundred a tune in live [concert]. We become attractive existence for guests. Some of guest be moved to tears. When live of us finish, my 1,000,000 zombies went on a journey with Kaori's zombies and Kanane's zombies. I follow zombies at once.

*******
I hire 1,000,000 zombies. And zombies serve me as my secretary. I surprise everyone (use zombies). 999 zombies build a very big house!! Left zombies earn 100,000 yen every day. Zombies work a haunted house. It's Kobe's large place. The place is famous. So guest is very very money. The cost is 100,000 yen. It is zombies' earn money. Attraction are souvenir shop and a haunted house. I'm the president of "Zombies Land." So my secretary (zombie) Jiji [familiar-bordering-on-impertinent name for an old man] do management. For example, Jiji pour coffee for me.

Haruki Murakami wants you to ask him a hard-nosed question

I got an email last night about this cool feature TIME.com does - they get famous people to agree to answer ten questions for them, but all the questions come from the reading public. This week's subject is Haruki Murakami and he'll apparently read through the questions himself and then answer the 10 he likes best.

So far, there are about 40 questions on the website and some are bad, some are okay, and some are quite intriguing. I would like to ask a question about how fame has changed what he writes and how his editor approaches his work (which is the work of the uber-famous, at least in fiction writing terms) but haven't yet found a way to do so without sounding combative. I do slag him for being the inspiration behind my naming of the Haruki Murakami Syndrome, but I really would like to get a real answer to that question.

Here's the link if you want to ask a question: http://time-blog.com/10questions/novelist-haruki-murakami/

And here are the submissions so far that I personally hope Murakami will address:

1) What brand of sneaker do you prefer to run in, and how often do you replace your running shoes?

2) I have never read any of your books but if you could only choose one for me to read, which one would it be?

3) What is the one book by another author that you wish you had written?

4) When you write, do you have an audience in mind? Or do you simply write the story that’s in you, for you?

5) When you write, do your ideas develop like images on a reel of film?

Alright, I need to get back to my convalescing. And my zombie book. BRAAAAINNNS!!!!

))<>(( (forever)

So, a postscript to my first Curious/Creepy post, in particular the segment devoted to making fun of No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July. Not long after posting, I received an email from Danai at VICE in the UK letting me know that Miranda had done a little video edu-film with their online channel VBS.TV; this filmlet is called "How To Make a Button" and it's really quite funny. You can check it out here: http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=1454975012

I was surprised and pleased to discover that the person who wrote the electric pink book of the month is also the person who wrote and starred in Me and You and Everyone We Know, which is a sweet, quirky, and often hilarious indie film about how bloody awkward sex and love are, regardless of either age or experience.

I really enjoyed this film, and not just because of the poop back and forth forever. It was just really refreshing compared to all the big budget Hollywood crap floating around out there (har, har) claiming to be romantic comedy. Romantic comedy should be really damned awkward, and this film is certainly that.

But now I'm just getting too far away from this blog's subject matter of books so I'm going to keep this short. Enjoy the button-making instructions!