08/01/2004: "Crampy hand"

First off, I just re-read that entry about the song/dream that I wrote right after I woke up Sat. morning. How embarassing! It's funny how something can seem so powerful in a dream, you know, where it can feel like you've had a vision...and then later after you've had a chance to wake up a bit more, drink your coffee, take a shower...suddenly you don't feel so brilliant anymore.

I helped a friend move into a new little cabin by the ocean yesterday. It was the cutest cabin I've ever seen in my life. Right on the water, she has her kayak on the beach, she's in the woods, the cabin is an A-frame with stained glass windows in the apex of the A-frame and huge windows facing the water...including this large wooden porch. The floors were made from stream rocks and the walls and all the cabinets and shelves are made from this gorgeous solid blonde wood. I wanted to move in myself! For the first time since I bought my house almost 3 years ago I wondered if I should have looked around more.

Last night I got started painting again and used an entire 200ml tube of zinc white, just in painting the background texture. It took a lot longer than I thought it would and my hand really started cramping up. I tried wearing my wrist brace that I use when i type, but it didn't help at all and I found it difficult to paint with it on. I had to keep stopping to massage my fingers and wrist. It's so annoying. It still hurts this morning and I'm really in the mood to paint this morning. Now I'm starting to have a panic attack about what will happen if I can only paint some of the time...with two solo exhibits coming up in the next 8 months I can't afford to waste time. Especially on the weekend, which is the only time I can paint uninterrupted for long enough to really get into the groove.

Oh yah, last night while I was painting I watched Romero's "Night of the Living Day", "Day of the Dead", and "Return of the Living Dead"! I hadn't seen them in awhile and I realized more than ever the number of references to these films made in 28 Days Later.

Replies: 9 Comments

on Sunday, August 1st, Dio said

Zombie Geek Alert! Return of the Living Dead isn't Romero! Its Dan O'Bannon, but still a mighty fine flick and one of my all time faves along side the Romero flicks.

You should do the Trilogy in order - Night, Dawn and Day, its a brilliant way to spend an evening. You notice little things in each one that echo earlier films from refrains in the soundtrack to lines, situations and shots.

28 Days aped lots of the classic 80s Italian Zmbie flicks as well as the George Romero ones. For all that its still a brilliant film. I recently watched Resident Evil, that was another modern Zombie film with loads of references to older zombie flicks - in fact at one time I think George Romero was down to direct it.

Have you ever seen Romero's modern (well 70s now) vampire flick Martin? That's another clssic film worth checking out if you are a Romero fan. In someways I like it more than the Zombie films. Its a beautifully bleak little film.

Hope the hand holds out a bit longer. That's a real pain to have to deal with, especially if the muse is with you. :(

on Sunday, August 1st, support@elisetomlinson.com">Elise said

Hey Dio, you're right of course! I would have watched Dawn of the dead, only I was watching them TIVOed from cable and SiFi channel played Return of the Living Dead after Day of the Dead and I own Night of the Living Dead so I just watched it first. I haven't seen Dawn of the Dead in a long long time and I've never seen Martin, I'm not even sure if it would be available in Juneau, we don't have much in the way of video stores here...but I'll look into it. Thanks for the advice though.

on Sunday, August 1st, support@elisetomlinson.com">Elise said

oh yah, a couple things I noticed right off the bat from Day of the Dead, it starts out with the main survivor looking for other survivors by yelling out "Hello" in exactly the same inflection as 28 Days later, next you see the money blowing in the wind, the newspaper headline saying "The Dead Walk" then, having the zombie chained up around the kneck to experiment on who later gets free and kills the good/bad guy. The civilian survivors initially needing the protection "of" the military, next needing protection "from" them...plus the sexual threat to the woman from the soldiers...The lead commander going round the bend...And from many other zombie films including Night of the Comet...a compulsory shopping scene (major consumer fantasy).

Still, I think there's a fine line between making a nod to a classic (or series of classics) sort of an homage, and just stealing or plagiarizing. I don't think 28 Days Later crosses that line.

on Sunday, August 1st, holly said

Have you tried those fingerless super-spandex "quilter's gloves"? They provide a lot of support but give you a lot of mobility.

on Sunday, August 1st, Howard said

OH gawd my roomate loves this stuff. I have no idea how many times he's made me sit through them. He's played Resident Evil to death as well. MY favorite is Return of the Living dead just for the campiness. Is It just me or is that little gang of teenagers a spoof on the movie The Breakfest Club?
I don't know how many times he's told me the tale of the near mythic, yet to be made, Twilight of the Living Dead.
I'd recommend The Omega Man, either version, but I prefer the older Vincent Price version over the Charlton Heston one. Still, you got to love Heston. Just watched Planet of the Apes again the other night.

on Sunday, August 1st, support@elisetomlinson.com">Elise said

Holly, I haven't heard of quilters gloves but it's worth a shot, I'll see if they sell them here in town.

Howard, I, like your roommate, love zombie movies. I've watch Resident Evil many many times as well.

And though I've seen all the "Night of the Living Dead" movies, my friend and co-worker Danel made me promise to not go see the remake of Dawn of the Dead because originally Romero was supposed to direct but he got replaced by Zack Snyder (or so the story goes) and even though I keep hearing about Twilight of the Dead, i don't think it's in production.

Actually, I'm a huge fan of the whole post apocalyptic genre.

I think it's because my parents were always buying into some "end times" theory or another. My dad had a cache of semi-automatic guns and ammo in the cellar along with army c-rations and bottled water. My sisters and I were taught survival techniques (like the difference between cover and concealment) ;he would also take my friends and I out for target practice (only targets, no animals) for my birthday parties.

If the end does come, I suppose I could catch a monkey with the best of them.

I just took this quiz: In A Post-Apocalyptic World, Who Would You Be?
brought to you by Quizilla

You are a Wasteland Warrior!

on Sunday, August 1st, Howard said

Your Are A Bounty Hunter
You are a Bounty Hunter

In A Post-Apocalyptic World, Who Would You Be?
brought to you by Quizilla

on Monday, August 2nd, Dio said

Blimey, there's a coincidence you mentioned Night of the Comet - I ripped a VHS of that film this weekend to DivX and upload to some of my community horror fans - if you have BitTorrent and Broadband you can download yourself a copy.

I remember seeing it years ago but haven't had a chance to rewatch it yet. It looks fun.

on Monday, August 2nd, support@elisetomlinson.com">Elise said

I *loved* Night of the Comet. It came out when I was about 13 or 14 years old. We had HBO at the time and they used to play it all the time, I must have seen it 10-15 times.

I just recently (a month or so ago) had a chance to watch it again and even though it's a lot more campy than I remembered, I still really liked it. It also has the requisit shopping scene (in the mall)...the authority figures you originally think have saved them who turn out to be the bad guys, etc.

Tell me what you think after your viewing as an adult. It's funny how are perspectives change (or don't) as we get older.