The Walking Dead Season 3: The Governor 's Invitation vs A Job Offer

When Andrea and Michonne were "rescued" by the Governor's crew and given medical care and offered a place to rest and recuperate, I knew it had to be a bad deal. There was something creepy and dishonest about the handsome Governor. He was too friendly and easy-going, like a predator luring in his victim. He reminded me of a manager offering a job that seems to good to be true. When I was young and inexperienced I fell for that, but only once.This is how it goes:

The invitation: "We have a safe secure community with health care, utilities, warm beds and high walls." Or something to that effect. He insists they are free to go and to stay would be their choice. He assures them that they'll fit right in. Andrea, always giving her loyalty to the wrong people (Shane and the Governor) and pushing away her true friends (Dale and Michonne) eats it right up. She never learns or she just believes what she wants to believe.

The invitation reminded me of this:

The job offer: "We're a growing company with a lot of opportunity for someone with your skill set. If you decide to come grow with us, I see no reason why you won't advance and share in the profit that's in our future going forward." Business people always find a way to use the phrases "going forward" and "reach out" whenever they can.

The reality: You get hired and the guy doesn't even remember your name let alone give you the time of day. When you tell your new coworkers what he said during the job offer, they laugh and tell you it was line of bull. Then they regale you with stories of their own screwings by the boss to back up their statement. When you go see the boss and remind him of what he promised you in the interview, he tells you that you're lucky to have a job and no one is indispensable. He might even accuse you of not living up to YOUR promises.

Now you've left your last job, which wasn't as bad as this and your former position has already been filled. When the boss acts too enthusiastic to see you and overly friendly for the situation, don't accept the offer. Run away.

Michonne, in her great capacity for reading people, knew right away that this guy was trouble. I thought Andrea was never going to accept The Governor for what he really is. Even after Michonne exposed him to her and the evidence was in her face and under her feet and in his arms (dead zombie Penny), she talked herself out of running for her life. How arrogant of her to think she could mediate a cease fire between The Governor and Rick and avoid more deaths. As a former lawyer she should have known you can't reason with a nut job. I was surprised she lived as long as she did.

Last Day to Stream House on Haunted Hill on Netflix

House on Haunted Hill will be taken down on March 15. It's your last chance to stream it on Netflix. This is the 1959 version starring the late great scary Vincent Price. Aside from Vincent Price, you don't want to miss some terrifying blood-curdling screams and campy low-budget props including a corset-like device used for a fake hanging, a furry claw glove, a manikin apparently on wheels, a walking skeleton and more.

In one scene where the furry claw glove curls around a door frame in an attempt to entrap the pretty young victim of the movie, Nora, (Carolyn Craig) I was reminded of a Three Stooges episode where thieves pretend to haunt a house to scare the stooges away from their lair, especially after the victim slips out of its grip leaving the fake-furred hand hanging empty in failure.

The story was pretty well written in a now common plot where several mysteriously chosen strangers are invited or challenged to stay and survive a full night in a haunted house in order to win some sort of reward, usually monetary. In this case, $10,000. That amount of money went a lot farther back in 1959 when the movie was released! I thought of Dr. Evil's "One million dollars" demand in Austen Powers.

Certain characters were strategically placed to set the scene and the tone like Mr. Pritchard (Elisha Cook, Jr.) who described in detail the history of murders taken place in the house and his belief that evil spirits were lurking around planning to murder them all. The private conversations between the host, Frederick Loren (Vincent Price) and his young beautiful fourth wife Annabelle (Carol Ohmart) show the audience their loveless marriage, distrust for each other and lust for money as they stay married only to keep from losing or having to divide their millions in a divorce. Being 1959, it was implied that divorce wasn't an option and only death dissolved a marriage.Or maybe death just made the movie more fun!

The story had some pretty good twists and surprises which were the movie's focus rather than the premise of the strangers surviving the night without being scared out of their wits. At the end I wondered just how did his previous wives die and did he actually pay out that $10,000 to the survivors?

Graveyard Travels

Ye Olde Burial Ground

I like visiting cemeteries, not only to wonder about the mystery of death and where we might go after our bodies die, but also to appreciate history. This cemetery dates back to the American colonial days of the 17th and 18th century. I've studied enough history to know that I'm glad I didn't live back then! I really appreciate modern conveniences like public utilities, indoor plumbing, central heating, etc. Not to mention modern transportation.

However, there were some pretty cool things going on back then and it's interesting to learn how people thought and what they believed and see how our culture has changed over the centuries. Most of the words are worn from these stones, unfortunately, but many of them are still legible. Rubbings are not allowed in this graveyard because the stones are so fragile; visitors are discouraged from touching them. I was intrigued by those two memorials in the photo that are shaped like tables. they look kind of awkward and crowded, even out of place.

After a small amount of research I learned that they are simply elaborate gravestones that resemble altars. Elaborate mostly because of the financial expense as well as standing out from the rest. The people buried under them must have had lots of money! Probably very high ranking in the community too. I've read in several sources that later in the 19th century, cemeteries were built in park-like settings where people would go for walks and bring picnic lunches to visit graves and enjoy the scenery. In fact, both my mother's ancestors and my father's ancestors are buried in cemeteries that fit that description. 

I don't know if that was the case in the earlier centuries when these altar-like monuments were erected, but it seems as though the markers would have come in handy for the picnics!

Zombies Crave Fat

After watching Episode 2 of Season 3 of The Walking Dead, on Netflix I've started to notice sort of a pattern regarding zombie attacks and fat guys. Obese men seem to be easy pickings for zombies, but have you noticed how few zombies are fat? Is it a reflection of our society's habit to regard fat people as inferior to thin people intellectually as well as physically able to escape or overcome pursuers, even dead brainless slow moving pursuers?

Without the complex characters that make up the group of survivors in The Walking Dead, the show would just be another boring zombie story. Face it, zombies are boring unless you or a loved one is the one who's being attacked. When The Group gains entrance to the prison and sets up residency there, they meet a small group of inmates; one of whom, a really huge guy called Big Tiny. At first I wondered whether the two groups could join together, keeping in mind these guys are convicted criminals guilty of who knows what. Wouldn't that have been a good sign for humanity and human nature in general? However, Rick decides they could live in the same prison, but not the same cell block. In aiding the prisoners along their zombie-filled path to the adjacent cell block Tiny is severely scratched by a zombie. I was disappointed since Big Tiny seemed to be the nicest guy of the prisoners. It would have been an interesting dynamic to add him to The Group. But no, not only was he the first of the guys to be tagged by a zombie, his crazy lisping leader chopped him into smithereens, showering himself in his blood.

In Season 2 there was poor sweet Otis who had more integrity than many survivors we viewers have met so far outside of The Group and a heart as big as his belly. His only mistake was trusting crazy, self-serving Shane who took advantage of Otis' physical size by marking him as weak and not as valuable as his own buff self and fed him to the zombies to ensure his own selfish escape. Otis knew his physical limitations but was smart and, until he teamed up with Shane, could figure out alternative ways of getting things done. Would he have survived even if Shane hadn't shot him in the leg to leave as zombie bait? Probably not. He was exhausted and on his last round of ammo. But, he did go a long way toward the success of their plan of getting needed medical provisions and fought a great fight despite his size. But he only last a couple of episodes.

After that, same season, Rick, Glenn and Hershel meet two strangers, Dave and Tony, in the town bar. Tony is pretty rotund and it's obvious, he's the dumb sidekick of the pair. He whips it out and pisses on the floor, remarking how he hasn't been laid in ages and asks the men if they have any women with them. Suddenly, it's the wild west as these strangers pose an obvious threat to The Group with their barbaric and misogynist remarks and their insistence that the men let them visit the farm. Rick skillfully shoots them both as Dave reaches for his gun in a 21st century old west showdown. Dave gets one shot to the head while Tony, the fat guy, gets three bullets.

It's not only The Walking Dead that kills off fat people pretty quickly. The movie Zombieland (one of my favorites) shows a fat guy futilely running for his life across a football field trying to escape a pursuing zombie. The image is an illustration for the main character Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) as he suggests the importance of cardio as a necessary attribute in surviving the zombie apocalypse. He sighs, "Poor fat bastard," as the terrified man is overpowered and devoured by the zombie. I don't think the contrast of the lack of fitness and the victim being portrayed on the athletic field was random. On the other hand, the other fat-guy zombies in the movie are shown wandering aimlessly in a grocery store as Columbus and Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) enter on a quest for Tallahassee's constant search for Twinkies. Is the grocery store as a home for fat-guy zombies a random coupling? I don't think so.

Are heavy people born to lose, even in the highly humane show The Walking Dead? Why are they depicted as dumb or at least not as smart as thin people? Why are the obese live characters still heavy when they're scrounging for food and have been for months? Why are all the zombies skin and bones? Do they become that way over time or do they lose all flesh at resurrection?

Can't Stop Watching The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead is the most addictive show I have ever seen! From the very first episode, I was hooked and I'm now just into Season 3. Usually, I have to let a show grow on me and more often than not, sooner or later give up on it. I've been streaming it on Netflix and it's a darn good thing because if I had started watching it on AMC from day one I don't think I could stand the suspense. I would absolutely go insane waiting, not only for the next season, but the next episode!

I'd like to know how anyone who's been watching it as it airs on AMC how they can stand the wait. I think I'd pull my hair out and look like a crazed zombie myself from the suspense. Thanks to The Walking Dead I now have another reason to live.

Free Vampire ebook for Read An Ebook Week

 Please download my free ebook, Whaling City Vampires: Love After Death, at Smashwords.com. You don't even need a Kindle or any other kind of ebook reader. You can download it in PDF format and use the free Acrobat Reader download if you don't already have it.

I wrote it to get some use out of my English degree and also to honor my father's memory. He was raised in the Whaling City and loved working there and devoted his free time to volunteer work, although he never mentioned seeing any vampires.

The story takes place in the mid 19th century when the whaling industry was still strong, but the industrial age was moving into town full force. Amy doesn't know her handsome lover is a vampire until he appears on the balcony outside her bedroom, turns her into a vampire so they can be together and swoops her away into the night never to see her family again.

When he suddenly and mysterious disappears Amy is devastated and in her desperate loneliness turns two other young women into vampires as companions. She then struggles to show them the advantages of the vampire life without being discovered and destroyed and solidly maintains her belief that her lover will return to her.

The Walking Dead: Guillermo and Felipe

http://walkingdeadbr.com/personagens/serie-de-tv/guillermo/

Something I like to do while watching The Walking Dead (I'm about halfway through Season 2) is to notice how the apocalypse has effected the characters' values and personalities. I'm sure a lot of other fans must do the same thing because it seems like the writers focus pretty nicely on it. The first people who really made a big impression on me were Guillermo and Felipe in Season 1, Episode 4. At first they seemed like ruthless thugs when they took Glenn hostage and Rick desperately tried to devise a way to rescue him without having to hand over the bag of guns they were competing over. 

When Abuela came wandering out looking for Felipe I was kind of confused about her presence but then was impressed with the respect the men showed to her as she interrupted a very intense standoff. I assumed they would consider her an annoying pain in the butt, but instead they were very attentive and respectful toward her and finally, on Abuela's gentle insistence, backed down led their "enemies" straight into their safe house.

What a surprise to find they were protecting helpless elderly nursing home patients who had been abandoned by the staff who had either been killed or ran away! I felt that Guillermo and Felipe must be earth angels or saints or something to that effect to be so compassionate and caring to sacrifice their lives to care for and protect the lives of these elderly patients. They could have escaped with the other employees, but chose to stay instead.

I don't know if I would have done the same thing.