Pollyanna Rainbow Sunshine and the Needles of Doom

Anna-Liza here. No, I don’t mean Moxie. She’s a sweet, funny, mellow cat, but she’s more like the Kitteh of Ample Proportions. And nothing has happened to Moxie–she’s fine … tubby, but fine. See?

We just decided that it was time to get a companion for her, so we’ve acquired a kitten! He/she (we aren’t sure yet) is about 9 weeks old and may end up being called MojoJojo or possibly Ninja Kitty. We’re trying to get the kidlets to agree on a name, but I may just make an executive decision.

We’ve had her/him for a week now, and she/he’s just as fun as a kitten should be. She/he will play intensely for twenty minutes or so, then fall asleep on whatever lap (or chest) is handy.

Moxie hissed at her/him a few times at first, but with no real intent behind it. She’s warming up to her/him now–she let’s him/her chase her around, and lets him/her play with her tail a bit. But she also gets this look on her face that shows she’s channeling W.C. Fields fairly regularly, too.

I’ve had to remind Mr. B a few times that, when he picks up the new kitty (which he loves to do), the tail is supposed to be on the bottom, or at least the side.

He’s getting better at it now. Mr. R is a little disappointed that she/he can’t sleep with him–he sleeps on the top bunk and it’s way too high for the KEC to jump yet. And if he/she can’t jump up on his/her own, then it’s not safe for her/him to try to jump down again, either. And Darlin’ K lets her/him jump up on his desk while he’s working, which means he has to occasionally correct whatever she/he’s “typed” for him.

Other kitty name suggestions have been: Mist, Aang (from “The Avatar”), Ash, Little Kitty Ash, Puffball, Fluffy, Mr. Grey, Scooter. I’m personally leaning toward Mojo, but I may be overruled. Any ideas?

Oh, and you know how Moxie will lie in my lap while I’m knitting and won’t mess with the needles or yarn? The kitten? Not so much.

Anna-Liza here. And yes, I did say “piñata”. It’s supposed to be a dragon, but I’m not sure at the time of this writing how it will turn out.

Mr. R’s school is having a sort of carnival thingy as a fundraiser, and one of the events is a piñata contest. He reallyreallyreally wants to enter the contest, so we’re making one! He and Darlin’ K are crafting the armature even as I type,

    the papier-maché paste is cooling on the stove, and at any moment I will be called to begin what I refer to as “the messy part”. I will add updates as they occur. So, let’s call this “Day One”, even though they actually started the armature last night. See the egg cartons? Those are to support the wings and make it possible to adjust their position until we’re ready to add the papier-maché.

Day one — Mr. R and Darlin’ K have made the armature out of long cardboard tubes, medium cardboard tubes, short cardboard tubes, and 18-count egg cartons. Oh, yes, and the box that Lyda sent the Princes’ Quilts in (wings), and a lot of masking tape.

Darlin’ K is using two egg-holder thingies from the cartons for each set of eyes.

Did I mention this is a two-headed dragon?

Darlin’ K also came up with an ingenious arrangement with a sturdy piece of old clothesline to create loops for hanging.

This means we don’t have to worry overmuch about the weight distribution–we can attach the hanging string anywhere along those two loops to get it balanced.

Day one and a half– I have successfully made the Primordial Goop* and we took the whole works out to the front yard. The armature was turned upside down so we could work on the underbelly and support structure for the wings first.

We also wrapped the main tail section, neck(s) and parts of the heads. The entire thing is now in the garage, drying. I have to admit that, at this moment, it looks rather more like a long-tailed, two-headed goose (with fangs) than anything else.

But it’s not anywhere near finished yet.

Days two through five — sporadic progress on the papier-maché. We are able to accomplish this because I made a second batch of Primordial Goop and put it in a large, sealed plastic tub in the fridge. We can take it out, do a little papier-maché, seal the tub up and stick it back in the fridge. I put at least three tablespoons of salt in, so we don’t seem to be having any spoilage problems. I actually got up at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday to get another layer of papier-maché done, so it would dry in time. The dragon is looking more like a dragon. A newsprint dragon. Painting will have to wait until Saturday morning, the morning of the competition, because the papier-maché is still drying on Friday night …

Day six — Painting completed — as you will notice, this is a non-traditional dragon in a number of ways, including a sort of Pollockesque final treatment.

Touch ups done, although I think it would have been better with a third coat in spots. The newsprint still tends to show through the yellow. But on the whole, I’d say this is a fine looking two-headed, multi-colored dragon.

The piñata was successfully delivered and displayed at the Family Fun event. Piñata voting was taking place during the event, but final judging was to be during the following week. And the piñatas were to be displayed in the school.

Following week – Rowan’s two-headed dragon piñata did not win. (Please keep in mind that he was among the youngest participants. He’s in first grade, and his school goes all the way up to eighth grade.) However, he got to do a pretty big and complex project and get a lot of great feedback about it. His classmates were really impressed. We had fun working on it together, too. We might even try making another one! Probably not real soon. But you know, Primordial Goop, old newspaper, and cardboard tubes are pretty cheap. A little papier-maché crafting might be a nice messy ”together” project for your family this summer, too! (Yeah, definitely summer. Doing the messy stuff outside is a really, really good idea.)

*Primordial Goop: Heat 4 to 5 cups water to boiling in large saucepan. I used 5. While the water is heating, mix one cup all-purpose flour with 2 cups water, stir thoroughly to get rid of as many lumps as possible. This stuff will be lumpy no matter how hard you try, but you may as well avoid what you can.

Once the water is boiling, add the flour-and-water mixture and simmer for a couple of minutes, stirring the whole time, until it thickens. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of salt to help prevent mold. If you have to store it any length of time beyond, say, a couple of hours, it’s probably best to refrigerate it.

Anna-Liza here. Lyda may chime in, too (go ahead, BFF!).

Happy Mother’s Day to all my friends who are moms, and Happy Mother’s Day to all my friends who have moms!

Wha’dya get? I got to have almost a whole day to spend being absolutely idle. Yesterday, I spent the morning at Java Stop and the library, then Darlin’ K took the kids out with him to run errands in the afternoon, so I had a nap. Then we dropped the kids off with friends and went to a party. I haven’t had a day that unproductive, yet extremely pleasant, in I don’t know how long. I’ll have to reciprocate for Father’s Day. Somehow. It’s the same weekend as the Estes Park Wool Market, so Darlin’ K’s idle day will probably have to be the Sunday.

And wha’dya get your mom? Mine’s getting her usual long-distance phone call with me and her grandkids (Pollyanna contingent). And we’ll be going to see Darlin’ K’s mom and grandma this afternoon.

And I should probably say this. Unless your mom’s really into it, don’t get her a houseplant. I like houseplants, but I kill them. And the very last thing I think any mom needs (especially if her kids are still young/at home) is another thing to take care of. I suggested to Darlin’ K that, if he were going to buy me a gift, that it have something to do with the things I like to do. (He did an excellent job on that.) I think that’s a pretty good suggestion for anyone. You don’t know what your mom likes to do? Well, find out! Geez! What kind of son/daughter are you? (My mom loves houseplants and would thoroughly enjoy adding one to her collection, especially if it was something she doesn’t already have.)

Garrison Keillor had a funny and nice column about moms last Friday. The line that really got me was, “The cruel injustice of motherhood is that, out of devotion to her brood, she sacrifices so much of her own life that her children grow up to find her a little boring …”

You know what? I’ve been blessed with having a pretty interesting life. My mom has had one, too. (And Lyda and her mom? Yeah, baby!) If you don’t know what your mom likes to do, or if you tend to dismiss your mom and her life/interests as being dull … I suggest you take her out for coffee or drinks and have a real talk. I bet there are a lot of things you don’t know about her–if not things she’s done, then maybe things she’s always wanted to do. You’re an interesting person, right? You must have gotten it from somewhere!

Lyda here. The time has come to lick the pig again.

First, a plea to help find this flying pig. And the follow-up story. Check out the quiz here. 

And speaking of flying pigs…

The flying pig is an unofficial Cincinnati mascot. Check out the Big Pig Gig. 

While traveling in Amsterdam, you can stay at one of the Flying Pig Hostels. Or you can order a flying chocolate pig filled with bacon. Ewww. Link included to prove I’m not making it up. They also have a flaming chocolate heart that Marin might use for her next Black Valentines. 

You can buy many flying pig products. Or you can make your own animated flying pig.

Best of all, here’s a tutorial to make your own origami flying pig. Somehow, it’s fitting that my first ever origami is a pig, doesn’t it?

Lyda here. Good morning, ya’ll.

In my copious free time… as I “consider offers” to put it delicately - or wait for the next temporary assignment, to put it accurately. Did I mention that my assignment at Huge Corporation ended? Oh. It did. But I digress… I completed another of the books for Pollyanna’s Reading in Wonderland Challenge.

#2. Read a non-fiction or how-to book about a new topic. Choose something that you are curious about, something that is really far from your current life, work, college major, and hobbies.

So, I read “The Book of Vice: Very Naughty Things and How to Do Them” by Peter Sagal, the host of National Public Radio’s “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me.”

What? Vice is very far from my current life. Really! Well, mostly, anyway.

A vice is different from a sin. The author says, “As soon as sinning starts to be fun, it becomes a vice.” A vice may be a sin or may not, but it is done for the thrill. Drinking diet soda? Maybe a vice, but not a sin. Eating a second piece of chocolate cake? Possibly a vice, possibly the sin of gluttony.

Feeding off the brains of the living? That would definitely be a vice and a sin. Yet another reason not to become a zombie. Or hang out with them. Although I’m safe from their attentions, as I’ve mentioned before.

This book explores - carefully, because the floors are sticky - strip clubs, swinging parties, pornography, and gambling. It also looks at lying, conspicuous consumption, and eating.

But not eating as in “Let’s go grab a sandwich” or “I want more CAKE!” Eating in a way I didn’t even know existed: molecular gastronomy. Or, as some of the chefs object to that term, experimental cuisine. Skimming through various websites, like this one and this one, it doesn’t seem they are even talking about food.

This cartoon will give ya’ll the idea.

As Peter Sagal says of his evening at one of these restaurants, “My host for the evening… is insane.”

Ya’ll will notice, I didn’t write about the chapters on sex or gambling or lying - all of which were interesting and funny chapters equally worthy of discussing. No, I wrote about food. I guess we know what my vice is. CAKE!

Ya’ll, this is a seriously funny book. Interesting and informative, and a quick read. But most of all, funny. The kind of first book that has me hoping the author is already working on his next one. I highly recommend it.

Vice was never so much fun.

Lyda here. Ramblings and musings today…

My father bucked public opinion all his life. He joined the Marines at 17 and served in the Pacific in WWII. When he returned, it was expected that he would become a doctor like his father. Dad chose theater instead. Then he divorced his first wife to marry my mother. This was a huge scandal - it was the fifties. His parents never really approved of, nor understood, my father’s choices.

Mom was salutatorian of her high school class, and went to college on full scholarship. She took twice as many credits every semester as she was supposed to - each time, she had to convince the Dean of Women to give permission. Mom would say, “It won’t set a precedent, because I’m on scholarship and it probably won’t be renewed, and I have to get in as much as I can now. I won’t be here long enough to graduate.” But she did graduate, with very high marks, with a degree in English - it was her worst subject, so she kept taking more English classes to improve. Like Vimes, she wore her hair shirt on the inside.  She took math classes for fun, but could not major in it because the head of the mathmatics department did not think that women could do math. In one of her math classes, the professor told her to sit in the back of the class and to keep quiet, and then ignored her - for the entire semester. She received a B++++, because he refused to give a woman an A. Yeah, the fifties. We’ve come a long way baby. But not far enough.

My mother sang in the church choir growing up - she had a voice of great range and beauty. She shocked her parents when she stopped going to church - she had discovered that she violently disagreed with everything the preacher was saying. And then while she was in college, she went off to summer stock and brought home “that theater boy.” They married the day after she graduated. And then drove off to do more summer stock.

Dad and Mom worked shows together, and raised a family. Dad built sets, taught, directed plays, and wrote plays. And got his Ph.D. Mom taught, sewed costumes, did makeup, and whatever else was needed. And when we were lucky, she performed.

On stage, she could sing like an angel, shriek like a banshee, and do any accent or vocal trick she’d ever heard. She was a powerful dramatic actor and a gifted comedianne. She could play a dangerously sexy vixen, a virtuous heroine, or an aged crone. On opening night of one melodrama, when she begged for alms, the audience threw her money. Without missing a beat, she said, “Throw the big ones, dearies, my old eyes can see them better.” And they did.  She brought audiences to their knees, and to their feet. She stopped the show.

My parents ignored what was expected of them. They reached for their dreams.

And that has made all the difference.

Lyda here. I really should finish teaching my Zombie Army the steps so we can get out on the road. There should be opportunities for dancing zombies, right? Unfortunately, we had to drop the tap number - their arms and legs kept falling off.

While waiting for the reattachments, I’ve had some unexpected time off to quilt and read, and of course to watch more TV and movies. Ya’ll know where this is going:

Movie reviews! I got two movies from the library and watched them over the weekend.

I watched “Damn Yankees” (1958.) Yes, I am a theater geek from way back, and I love musicals. Except for Tab Hunter as Joe, this fun version of Faust has the original Broadway cast, including Gwen Verdon as that vamp Lola who always gets what she wants, and Ray Walston as Applegate also known as the Devil - they both won Tony awards for these roles. Bob Fosse did the choreography, and performs a famous mambo number with Verdon. Fosse and Verdon were married, and she preferred working with him to any other choreographer. This is a fun romp in the ballpark, and the trademark Fosse dance moves are wonderful in every number.

ZOMBIE ALERT!

I also saw “Planet Terror” (2007). I saw the extended and unrated version, which was released as a 2-disc set, not the film as it was shown in theaters. I’m guessing that the version I saw has more nudity, and possibly more gore and extended gross moments. 

See, the bad guys release this experimental gas which mutates people into zombies when it touches them, and everyone the zombies come in contact with mutate, except some people are immune for some reason. As the infection spreads and more mutated zombies are created, the plot becomes more and more unreal. In a weird - and above all disgusting - way. Full plot and cast list here.

The film was directed by Robert Rodriguez (Sin City), and released theatrically as a double feature with Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof. Tarantino has a cameo as an infected soldier and gets to mutate in a particularly disgusting way. Yuck.  Rose McGowan stars as an exotic dancer who loses a leg to the zombies fairly early on. But it’s okay - she’s up and walking an hour later, because her former boyfriend and expert zombie fighter (played by Freddie Rodriguez) attaches a table leg to her stump, and later a modified M4 carbine and rocket launcher - which she can shoot at will. Somehow. Without pulling a trigger or anything. What? Does that seem far-fetched to anyone?  Bruce Willis plays the crazed Lt. Muldoon, and gets to chew the scenery in a couple of over-the-top scenes and then mutate. There are various other loonies and tough men and women - and lots and lots of zombies, shooting, explosions, and fires. Of course.

Some parts of the film were intentionally damaged to give it a 70’s grindhouse theater effect. At one point, a scene is interrupted with a ”Missing Reel” reel sign, and when the film continues, the plot has moved on. This is confusing but also kind of fun - if you are in the mood for this kind of weirdness.

Being in the mood for this movie is crucial for enjoying it. You have to suspend disbelief and just go with it all.

Zombie survival tip: During a zombie invasion, avoid hospitals.

And, apparently, barbeque restaurants. I guess your average zombie likes secret sauce as much as the next guy.

Which reminds me: Do not try to eat while watching this film. Don’t watch it right after a meal either, or plan on eating right after. Particularly barbeque. I may never eat barbeque again. Well, okay, not “never” but… for a while.

This film is definitely not for children, dogs, or anyone with a sensitive stomach. The unrated version at least is for adults only. Even I, your intrepid zombie reporter, had to look away from the screen rather a lot. But it’s not only the gore and extreme grossness that makes this inappropriate for teens; there is one rather explicit sex scene, an attempted rape, and pointless random deaths of a child and a dog.

On the Pollyanna West Zombie Scale, this film gets a 2 out of 5 Brains for Zombie Fun - and 5 out of 5 Brains for Gore. Plus - in a Pollyanna first - an additional 100 Brains for Grossness.

Hopefully, the next zombie movie won’t be this disgusting. I’ll be sure to let ya’ll know…

Lyda here. I’ve had a bit of extra time this week - which is why I had time to make up the reading challenge.

I went to the library and grabbed some books, and I’ve already finished my “fun” book (category #5) for the challenge: “Blood Is The New Black” by Valerie Stivers. A biting look at the bloodsucking fashion industry, if you get my drift. Blood, biting, a word beginning with “V” - yeah, ya’ll know what I’m talking about.  I started it yesterday, fell asleep reading it, grabbed it as soon as I woke up, and I finished it up over breakfast this morning.  Just a light semi-mystery book, with some quirky twists and an appealing heroine. Not really scary, but funny and quick to read. This is the author’s first book; it will be interesting to see what she writes next.

I love reading in bed in the morning. And at night. And in the afternoon. Reading in bed is one of life’s underrated pleasures. Not that there aren’t other good things to do in bed. Ya’ll know.

I had a great surprise visit from the Irish Beauty and her husband yesterday. We went to lunch and caught up over eggrolls. I definitely don’t see her often enough now that she’s living in the desert. After they got back home, she called and we talked for a couple more hours. We definitely must do this more often.

I also stitched together some more of my 2-inch squares, as I am making… mystery things for mystery recipients. All will be revealed in the fullness of time. And once the recipients get their goodies. Don’t hold your breath - might take a while.

I want to experiment a bit with quilting stitching before I quilt the Increasingly Inaccurately Named “Easy” Heart Quilt. And these little projects will give me the perfect chance to try some things out.

Tommy is curled up with his head upside down, snoring gently under my chair. “Stargate: SG 1″ is coming on in, and I have two movies from the library to watch - including a zombie flick. I may not leave the house today.

Life is good.

Lyda here. I’ve been reading about other people’s 2008 reading challenges, like the TBR Challenge that I read about here on Lisa’s blog, and Annie’s What’s In A Name Challenge. And for the ambitious, this 2008 Olympics Challenge (205 countries, 205 books). If I’d known about some of these in January, I might have joined up. Not the 205 one, though. I do have limits. That’s not what he said.

‘You don’t know much,’ said the Duchess, ‘And that’s a fact.’

So, having missed the bus (again) - mind that bus, what bus, splat! - I thought, why not come up with a reading challenge of our own?

Ours will be a little… different…

Bwahahahahaha.

So many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible.

What did you expect? Normality?

POLLYANNA’S READING IN WONDERLAND CHALLENGE

The semi-rules:

‘Begin at the beginning,’ the King said gravely, ‘and go on till you come to the end: then stop.‘

The Challenges in absolutely no particular order whatsoever

1. ‘…at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.’:  Read a fiction book in a genre you don’t usually read. Here’s a list of genres  - Oh, look, erotica… hmmm…  Plays and poetry books count too. Ask a friend who reads that genre, or a librarian, or just wander into a new section of books or the New Arrivals section in the library.

Dip your toes in a new pond.

2. “Reeling and Writhing, of course, to begin with,” the Mock Turtle replied, “and the different branches of Arithmetic—Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision.”:  Read a non-fiction or how-to book about a new topic. Choose something that you are curious about, something that is really far from your current life, work, college major, and hobbies. According to Dr. Amen, this is very good for your brain. Here’s one list of 100 best non-fiction.

3. “How doth the little crocodile”:  Read a biography or autobiography about someone whose life is/was vastly different than yours. Or, read a history book or historical fiction about a completely different time or place.

4. ”Well, if I eat it, and if it makes me grow larger, I can reach the key; and if makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door: so either way I’ll get into the garden, and I don’t care which happens”:  Read a book that includes food. You could read a cooking or travel book. Or a fiction book with recipes like “Fried Green Tomatoes At the Whistle Stop Cafe” or “Like Water for Chocolate.” Or a book that mentions food a lot, or has food as a plot point or part of the title. Here are some suggestions. However, definitely NOT one of these books. Eww.  Or maybe the book has the characters eating somewhere unusual. “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe“, perhaps?

Now try some of the food from the book. You can cook it, buy it, or eat out. If you’re going to the above-mentioned restaurant, please take us with you. We know where our towels are.

For the uber-ambitious: Get your friends to join you for a literary potluck. Everyone can bring or make their dish - and let everyone know what books the food inspirations came from, of course! A Wonderland themed tea party would be fun, but be careful with those magic mushrooms, ya’ll!

5. Alice thought the whole thing very absurd, but they all looked so grave that she did not dare to laugh:  Read a book that’s just for fun. This could be anything - a historical romance, a cosy English mystery, P.G. Wodehouse, lighthearted non-fiction, a classic Erma Bombeck, complete and utter porn - whatever. Anything that makes you happy.

Yes, you could choose a wonderful literary masterpiece. Or you could read a trashy romance novel. Go ahead. “I had to read it, Pollyanna made me.”

6. ‘Why is a raven like a writing-desk?’:  Find a book that has been made into a movie. Read the book. See the movie. In whatever order works for you.

7. The chief difficulty Alice found at first was in managing her flamingo:  Read a classic book you’ve never read and always meant to. Here’s a list  and another list and yet another to give you some ideas.

8. ‘But what did the Dormouse say?’ one of the jury asked. ‘That I can’t remember,’ said the Hatter. ‘You must remember,’ remarked the King, ‘or I’ll have you executed.’:  Re-read one of your all-time favorite books. Remember all over again why you love it. Blog about it so we will all want to read it too.

9. ‘And what is the use of a book,’ thought Alice, ‘without pictures or conversations?’ :  Read a children’s picture book. If you don’t have any small ones in your life to share their books with you, go to the bookstore or library. Find a picture book that really appeals to you and read it. I highly recommend you don’t skip this one. There are some amazing picture books out there. Try this one for some good pig-licking fun.

10. “Oh my fur and whiskers!”:  Read a children’s or young adult book. It can be something you loved as a child, or one you’ve never read. Great books can get missed because they are considered kid’s books.

11. “After a fall such as this, I shall think nothing of tumbling downstairs!”:  Read a banned or challenged book. There’s a list here. And there are more here.

12. ‘But I don’t want to go among mad people,’ Alice remarked. ‘Oh, you can’t help that,’ said the Cat: ‘we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.’:  Read a book from a different country and culture. The author can be from a country you have never visited. The book can be translated from a different language. The book can be set in a country you have never visited. If you read a lot of books from one country, for this category, read something different. So I need to read something that isn’t English.

13. “Curiouser and curiouser!”:  Read another book, any kind, any genre, anything. Something you’ve read a million times or something you’ve never read. Here’s a whole list of lists of books. Read what strikes your fancy. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry. Self-help. A knitting book. A funny knitting book. A funny semi-knitting book. A knitting cartoon collection.

A zombie preparation guide. Whatev.

At last the Dodo said, ‘everybody has won, and all must have prizes.’

Give yourself a prize. You’ve earned it.

Lyda here. Another book review today.

I read this book, “Change Your Mind, Change Your Life” by Dr. Daniel Amen - and it did change my life.

I actually read the book straight through once, then re-read an especially pertainent section, then read the whole book straight through again. Obsessive much?  Plus, I watched the PBS show by Dr. Amen on this book. Which I recommend, if you can find it on your local listing. The PBS show is how I found out about the book, which has been out for years.

I learned a lot about how the brain works, and how different areas of the brain affect human behavior. This is a book that is not just general knowledge, “oh, isn’t this interesting” stuff. This information applies very specifically to the behavior of people.

People I know.

And me. Cleaning obsession? Now I know what part of the brain is pushing me.

Fascinating.

And I found, as I read certain parts for the second time, that I was shedding ancient resentment and anger at someone specific. This person, I realized, had acted based on what was happening, chemically and otherwise, in their brain. It really was not their fault. I had worked a lot on this stuff, so I was surprised at how much I still had to let go. But there it was, and there it went.

Liberating.

There is great information on dealing with people one finds difficult. Which we all have to do - because we all have “difficult people” in our lives somewhere.

And sometimes, as Pogo says, “we have met the enemy, and he is us.”

There is excellent information on dealing with one’s own issues, behavior, and thoughts. It’s like reading the Rosetta Stone for your own personal brain.

Awesome.

This book really did change my thinking on a lot of things, gave me insight and clarity and helpful tools to shift some things and to deal with others. Both my own stuff and other people’s.

Anyway… everyone who has talked to me for more than ten minutes this month has already heard how great this book is. And now, so have ya’ll.

Brains………..

Not just for zombies anymore.