Live Walking Dead goes Viral
But we knew it was already infected. Right?
Fellow blogger, Screen Writer and friend, Austin Hodgens has graciously agreed to an interview after his post The Walking Dead To Film Live Episode In Maine was taken a tad too literally.
I was instantly amused after Austin pondered on Facebook what the heck happened while he was at work Monday. As hits in the tens of thousands continued to climb on his blog, I responded with helpful comments like ‘LMAO!’ ‘WTH?’ and ‘You realize you have more hits than the Obama Care website?’ (I can always be counted on to be helpful in times of confusion.)
My first request was for any Walking Dead action figures that might come his way due to internet infamy (Hey, they’re on my Christmas wish list okay!)
Then I remembered I did interviews.
Sorry Dead fans – Walking Dead is not to be Live, nor filmed in Maine.
Austin’s brainchild, (brains – I had to get that in there) is: The Return of the Modern Philosopher and contains a LOT of very cleverly written satire.
The House on the Hill is home to an extremely creative native New Yorker who moved to Maine and has conjured up some very interesting neighbors. Among them, Zombies, Witches, Gargoyles, and Vampires (Oh my!) … none of which seem to mind his Toga.
It was only a matter of time until this avid jogger added the official Walkers to his blog. And no, it was not an intentional ‘hoax’ just a sampling of his imaginative writing.
I should mention – I like to conduct my interviews in a more organic way – via Instant Message. With follow up questions and a back and forth flow. Tonight was bonkers. Austin and I tried, and failed, multiple times to chat on Facebook.
I am convinced – the debacle that ensued was due to a Zombie Curse! But, because the show must go on – here are the questions I wanted to ask that he still graciously answered via email.
________________________________________________
Me: An environment where Norman Reedus would have to wear sleeves? It doesn’t make sense. How could people believe that?
Austin: A world swarming with Walkers doesn’t make sense, either, but the living learn to adapt. With that in mind, I think Daryl would spend the episode in a full length mink coat. He’d look like a totally bad ass pimp.
Me: Live zombies + lights, camera and action – could the Maine Zombie Census Bureau Agents have handled such a large herd?
Austin: As you know, the Maine Census Bureau Agents really just track the herds, keep population counts, and try to force the Zombies into certain parts of Maine, far away from the public. However, the Maine Zombie Hunters, also government employees, would be there to keep the Walkers under control. They can handle anything. Best bureaucrats in the business!
Me: Andrew Lincoln is a consummate professional. Do you really think he’d be so excited as to slip into his native accent? Maybe he could have pulled a ‘Love Actually’ card reading instead!
Austin: That’s the thrill of live television, Amanda, we never know what is going to happen. Lincoln is the consummate professional, but we don’t know how he’s going to react to live Zombies coming at him. Is he really that good of a shot? Englishmen are used to Werewolves in London, but are they prepared for Zombies in Maine???
Me: Why do you think there are no naked zombies? Surely someone had to have been bitten in the shower …
Austin: Naked Zombies? My question to you is: Why aren’t there Zombies in togas? Nothing is more comfy than a toga. If Zombies could form a Deep Thought, I would recommend they ponder on that. And why would you want to see a naked Zombie? Is that some form a zany British humor???
Me: Do you think Jeff Probst would be miffed if he knew the Survivor Maine post was outdone? (Or would that be ‘outplayed’)
Austin: Have to say this for Jeff Probst: he did address the Survivor: Maine rumors on Twitter and retweet my post, so he’s okay in my book. No word from The Walking Dead staff yet. My gut says Jeff would be upset to be outdone, and would start up rumors again just so that post got more hits. Of course, this gives me an idea for a future blog post… Survivor Maine: Humans vs Zombies!!!
Me: Maggie, you – who gets the third chair on the porch?
Austin: Bonus points for mentioning one of the most popular regular features on the blog. I’d conjure up a special episode for Maggie. One Chair on a Porch and she sits on my lap.
Me: Now you’ve stirred up the Walking Dead fans, do you have a Breaking Bad come back post planned?
Austin: I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I stopped watching Breaking Bad during the second season. Does that make me a bad person? I thought writing satirical posts that get strangers in an uproar was what made me a bad person. The Devil is sitting right here next to me, and he says I’m going to be spending eternity with him because I’ve riled up too many people on the internet!
I’m glad people read the post, and most happy that my biggest fan is incredibly proud of me…
________________________________________________
Monday Musing
Monday.
One of the first sentences I heard today was “I think you’re too hard on yourself.”
The source was a man who I work with by association, and he barely knows me.
I tend to take all comments to heart. I absorb them, dissect them, process them.
This morning though, not so much. I just said, “Yeah, I think you’re right”
And he is.
I need to be kinder to myself.
Just this weekend I realized in the process of striving to grow, heal and improve – I had become my own bully.
I find the people that barely know me, have a better perspective than those with a lot of information.
Who we are on the surface, if we’re being authentic, really is a very accurate glimpse of who we really are deep inside.
You can judge my book by my cover apparently – as I’m very easy to read and wear my heart on my sleeve.
And I’m open to hearing what my cover is saying to people.
I think that for me, not wanting people to judge me until they know ‘the whole story’ is a cop out. It’s directly contradictory to the theory that we decide how to behave and choose who to be. My story is nothing more than an excuse.
My actions today – my cover – my choices … are who I am.
Photo Sunday
Still in a photograph mood. So I’m going to indulge myself and share some of my favorites.
The above photo was taken nearby and when I posted it to my MySpace (yes, that long ago) someone stole it and was actually using it as their profile pic. How did I find out? I was playing Zynga poker and suddenly, my burro entered the room and sat at the table.
This Praying Mantis was just outside my front door. I got down on my stomach and tried to stay as still as I could for the perfect focus.
P.J. (R.I.P) This was one of those moments that if I had not captured, I would have been kicking myself about still. (Much like the missed opportunity with the vultures not long ago – I take my ‘real’ camera with me to the laundromat on Sunday’s now … just in case I get a second chance.)
P.J. again – trotting home across the road – not giving the quail behind him the time of day.
The gummy eyeball. I love the colors. Much like the one below
The orange popsicle tongue.
And finally for now – my son and I – because we were just so happy, and making very silly videos at the time. We’ve had so many laughs on the couch, side by side – just being huge dorks.
Musings from the laundromat: Music in Black & White
I’ve been on a few tangents this morning – wondering what to write about.
I was going to do a ‘memory lane’ type post – which had me looking at some photos from the past, then focused on concert photos – and finally playing with those photos and making them black and white. Yes, I took them – yes, I intended for the grainy/newspaper clipping effect.
Without further ado – here are some of my favorite ones. Hope you enjoy!
Bret Michaels:
I saw Poison twice in the 80’s, so when Bret came into town – I had to share some nostalgia with my son – who happened to be just about the age I was when I saw Poison. Crazy!
Gwen Stefani:
Definitely at the top of my list for performances. She’s amazing – and gorgeous.
The Summerland Tour:
One of my favorite nights ever – the bands co-mingled, the energy was high – my son was with me.
Lit:
Lit joined by John of Marcy Playground:
Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray doing … I’m not sure what, with Lit:
Gin Blossoms:
Robin Wilson
Jesse Valenzuela – getting a little help (he does not need help)
Everclear:
Art Alexakis
Sugar Ray:
Mark McGrath and Robin Wilson:
John of Marcy Playground, playing on Sugar Rays stage
My favorite photo from that night, Nic, learning how to ‘concert’ like his mom. 🙂
The photo I obviously did not take – Robin Wilson and I hug it out.
Berlin:
The one, the only, Terri Nunn
It’s ‘Fine’
Yesterday, for a myriad of reasons – I was upset. Physically hurting and my emotional nerves exposed.
I was shamefully aware of my negative attitude.
I tried to sequester myself as much as I could, tried to limit the words that came out of my mouth – because I knew they were being tainted by my mood.
I still had to interact though – when people came to me. I kept my responses short – bit down on the bitchy verbal Tourette’s that strained to come out of my mouth.
I failed a couple of times – but owned it. I said to one person, ‘God, I’m sorry – I am being a completely unreasonable bitch.’
To be fair, (to myself for once), my responses were not completely unreasonable. But if there’s one thing I’ve practiced to a fairly consistent level of aptitude – it is choosing to filter my responses and to find a positive way to respond, rather than react.
Then my son called.
Why, oh why do we hurt the ones we love?
I think it has a lot to do with having more interaction with them than anyone, mixed with the arrogant assumption that our loved ones will forgive us. Also, lashing out stems from fear, and where there is great emotion – there is something that we care greatly about behind it.
The phone call came at a bad time, (Okay, any hour yesterday was a ‘bad time’) and unless he was calling to tell me he loved me and by the way, the house was clean, laundry done and a cake magically appeared in the fridge, there wasn’t anything he could have said to his advantage.
I was upset that he stayed up most of the night before – I was upset that our conversations about him doing more around the house had not resulted in him actually doing more around the house. I was upset that … let’s face it, I was just upset.
I spat words at him – and when he reacted – I struck again. Verbally. I reached a point where I could not be a part of the conversation any longer and … CLICK!
I hung up.
I’ve told him one of the worst things you can do is hang up on someone. It’s rude – it’s unkind – it’s immature. Apropos response on my behalf I suppose, considering I was being rude, unkind and immature.
5 O’Clock finally arrived.
I drove home – with my tail between my legs. (Which is a quite uncomfortable to sit by the way.)
When we finally spoke – I apologized. I calmly expressed my frustrations and we spoke eye to eye.
I apologized for the way I spoke to him and he said, “Mom, it’s fine.”
That didn’t sit well with me.
“No,” I said, “no it’s not fine. It may be forgivable – perhaps even to some degree understandable – but it is NOT ‘fine’ for someone to speak to you that way. Don’t you go through life thinking that it is.”
No matter how hurt, angry or exposed I feel, I will keep practicing the choice to respond positively – and if I can’t – I’ll practice removing myself from the situation until I can.
Because negative reactions are never ‘fine’.
fine1
-
1.of high quality.“this was a fine piece of filmmaking”
synonyms: excellent, first-class, first-rate, great, exceptional, outstanding, quality, superior, splendid, magnificent, exquisite, choice, select, prime, supreme, superb, wonderful, superlative, of high quality, second to none; More “fine wines”antonyms: poor -
(of a person) worthy of or eliciting admiration.“what a fine human being he is”
synonyms: worthy, admirable, praiseworthy, laudable, estimable, upright, upstanding, respectable More “a fine citizen” -
good; satisfactory.“relations in the group were fine”
synonyms: all right, acceptable, suitable, good (enough), passable, satisfactory, adequate, reasonable, tolerable; More informalOK“the initiative is fine, but it’s not enough on its own”antonyms: unsatisfactory -
used to express one’s agreement with or acquiescence to something.“anything you want is fine by me, Linda”
-
synonyms: impressive, imposing, striking, splendid, grand, majestic, magnificent, stately More “a fine old house”
-
-
1.in a satisfactory or pleasing manner; very well.““And how’s the job-hunting going?” “Oh, fine.””
Debauchery Soup 