Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

GIVEAWAY #1

One winner will get to choose ONE ZOMBIE BOOK from BookDepository.com 

(up to $15 value). Open internationally if Book Depository ships to your country

Some authors to check out if your stumped on which book you might choose:

Gena Showalter, Mornin' O'Hara, Dana Fredsti, Amanda Ashby

Diana Rowland, Max Brooks, Jesse Petersen, Ben Tripp

Rhiannon Frater, Stephen Jones, Mark Tufo, David Wellington

Jonathan Maberry, Rusty Fischer, Lia Habel, Ann Aguirre

Ilsa J Bick, Harry Shannon, Ian D. Moore, Robert Kirkman

The possibilities are endless!

-Fill out the form to enter

-Entries must be received by October 31st at 11:59pm

-Winner will be chosen via Random.org

GIVEAWAY #2

Zombieland DVD

Shaun of the Dead DVD

The giveaway hop gods rule out any hard core gore so I chose two of the more comedic zombie movies.

-US only

-Must be 18 years or older or have permission from parent/guardian

-Fill out the form to enter

-Entries must be received by October 31st at 11:59pm

-Winner will be chosen via Random.org

Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead

 Photos & description from imdb.com

If the worst day of your life consisted of accidentally killing your girlfriend with an axe, chain-sawing your own arm off, and watching in horror as your closest friends were devoured by a zombified Nazi battalion, you'd have to assume that things couldn't get much worse. In Martin's case, that was only the beginning.

Dead Snow 2 will be in theaters in TWO DAYS! You better believe I'll be checking my local listings and making time to see it!  It may be hard for them to top the awesomely creative uses of intestines in first movie but I have high hopes that they will do just that!

What's your favorite zombie animal?

My husband isn’t nearly as into zombies as I am. He loves The Walking Dead and Zombieland but that’s about where it ends. Occasionally I can talk him into watching a zombie movie with me but unless it’s top notch, Grade A zombie (or involves zombie strippers…long story), he usually ends up playing on his ipad instead of watching. Ooohh the things he’s missing out on.

Recently, I told him he should watch Poultrygeist with me because I want to try to see movies with different types of zombie animals. He said ‘That’s weird.’ and then changed the subject. Haha! I haven’t seen Poultrygeist but I already know he won’t like it…sometimes I just love messing with him. Anyway, back to my point, what do you think of zombie animals? Do you love them like I do or think it’s weird like my husband?

So far I’ve read a book about a zombie goldfish and I’ve seen movies with zombie dogs, a rat type thing, a mosquito, a cat, and a tiger. Can I just tell you how excited I was when that zombie tiger popped up! I think it was the first time I had seen a zombie animal other than a dog. It’s still my favorite zombie animal to date.

Some zombie animals on my ‘to watch’ list are chickens, sheep, a cow, a gorilla, a horse, and a pig. There are also books about zombie hamsters and zombie squirrels that I want to read.

Am I missing any on my list? Which are your favorites?

National Preparedness Month

Did you know that September is National Preparedness Month?

 

It’s the perfect time to prepare for those unexpected situations. I’m a full believer in the phrase ‘anything is possible’ and that’s why I’ve decided to (finally) start compiling an emergency kit for my car. One of my main worries is getting stuck or having an accident in a snowstorm. I live in Pennsylvania and while we don’t get THAT much snow we do get one or two big storms per year.

“One of the worst, if not the worst, traffic accidents in the state's history took place on February 10, 2010 in Clearfield County.  It was actually a combination of accidents that began with the first one reported at 9 AM on the eastbound lanes at mile marker 116 involving 14 trucks and three passenger cars, with additional vehicles crashing until the final one made contact at mile marker 118 which brought the total to 30 trucks and 20 passenger cars.  The crash originated when two tractor-trailers jackknifed at mile marker 118, blocking both lanes and forcing the vehicles behind to collide with those two trucks.  The lone fatality was the driver of a vehicle that ran into the side of one of the trucks near mile marker 116.  Approximately 100 emergency responders had to access the site by traveling west in the eastbound lanes, and were on the scene for five hours.  Due to the enormity of the accident, some of the travelers had to be tended to at the scene then transported via Clearfield County-owned all-terrain vehicles to the locations of the ambulances.  Interstate 80's eastbound lanes were closed from Exit 111 to Exit 120 for 12 hours while debris was cleared.” Text from PaHighways.com

We don’t normally have a significant snowfall until January or February so I have time to work on my kit.

Plastic snow shovel - one already lives in my trunk but as of now that's the extent of my preparation

- Blankets - regular blanket and mylar thermal blanket
- Hand warmers
- Extra winter gloves, hat, etc.
- Water (3-day supply is recommended)
- Food (3-day supply is recommended)
- Flashlight/Batteries
- First Aid Kit

What do you think? Am I forgetting something?

 

Do you have an emergency kit for your house or car? With just a little preparation you will be much better off than the average person in an emergency situation.

Fall Lineup

I don’t know about you but I’m incredibly excited for September! It’s the beginning of what will surely be an awesome zombie filled Fall!
 

First we have the premiere of Z Nation on September 12^th. I’m curious to see how this will stand up against the Walking Dead. Will it be original enough to survive or will die hard WD fans just shake their heads at the attempt? Time will tell. I am going to try to keep an open mind BUT at the same time it would be impossible to not compare the two.

  

Syfy's Z Nation page
 

Then there’s WALKING DEAD SEASON 5!!!! How WILL they fair against the Termites! I don’t know but I’m hoping for a bloody and action filled season. You better believe I will be tuned in October 12^th...and every Sunday after that!
 

AMC's Walking Dead page

Lastly, CW is going to be airing a drama, crime zombie show. iZombie, if I understand correctly, will premiere mid fall but I haven’t found a specific date yet. It will be about a zombie doctor who works at a morgue to have access to um ‘food’. She absorbs memories from said ‘food’ and uses them to solve homicides. It should be interesting to say the least.
 

CW's page on iZombie

What's on?

I'm a huge TV lover and I'm always searching for new movies to watch.

My TV guide treasure hunts gave me the idea to list upcoming movies and their air times here at Z-News. It will be a one stop shop if you're looking for zombie, disaster, or crazy creature movies to watch.

Where is this awesome list? Look for the 'What's on?' button under the Z-News header. There is quite the list already so you can be well prepared for the holiday weekend!

Here's a glimpse of what to expect :

Friday, August 29

Sand Sharks (Syfy) 10:00am
Beyond Loch Ness (Syfy) 12:00pm
Warm Bodies (More MAXHD) 2:05pm
Jersey Shore Shark Attack (Syfy) 2:00pm
Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus (Syfy) 4:00pm
Mega Python vs Gatoroid (Syfy) 6:00pm
Armageddon (MAX) 9:00pm
 

Saturday August 30

Zombies of Mass Destriction (Chiller) 9:00am
Evil Dead 2 (Chiller) 11:00am
Dinoshark (Syfy) 11:00am
Malibu Shark Attack (Syfy) 1:00pm
Mega Shark versus Mecha Shark (Syfy) 3:00pm
Sharknado (Syfy) 5:00pm
Warm Bodies (MAX) 6:15pm
Sharknado 2: The Second One (Syfy) 7:00pm
Bait (Syfy) 9:00pm
Dawn of the Dead (MAX) 10:00pm
Sharktopus vx Pteracuda (Syfy) 11:00pm
Evil Dead 2 (Chiller) 11:00pm
 

Sunday, August 31

Sharktopus (Syfy) 1:00am
Zombies of Mass Destruction (Chiller) 9:00am
Dinocroc vs Supergator (Syfy) 3:00am
Armageddon (MAX) 5:40pm
Warm Bodies (MAX) 6:15pm
Land of the Dead (IFC) 8:00pm

It's going to be a great Syfy movie weekend and my DVR is prepped and ready to record!

Welcome

Welcome! I’m Jen, your hostess here at Z-News.  

Below is some background on how Z-News came to be. It’s a little long so feel free to skip to the bold paragraph if you’d prefer the short version.

When I was little my parents were determined to prevent my brother and I from being afraid of bad weather. They used what I’ll refer to as the Porch Method. Basically they would have us watch storms with them from our porch. Now keep in mind that we lived in a trailer which was essentially a tin box on the top of a big hill so maybe the Porch Method wasn’t the best idea ever. It was a little scary and yet exciting at the same time and although it didn’t necessarily wipe away all of my fear it did create a sort of respect and fascination for weather.

That fascination turned into a love of disaster movies and somewhere along the way I fell in love with apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic books as well. Later I made the jump into the wonderful world of zombies which is where my current obsession passion lies. I recently decided that my obsession passion needed a home and so Z-News was born.

Z-News will be a mash up of news, articles, book reviews, movie reviews, and pretty much whatever else I come up with. I will mostly stick to zombies and natural disasters but I may throw in the occasional crazy creature review as well since I have been watching A LOT of Syfy lately. Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda anyone?!

A few of you may have found me through my other blog, At Random. If so, thank you for tracking me down! Don’t be surprised if you see a few relevant posts recycled from there. Going forward At Random will have more of a romance angle and Z-News will be all things dark and dangerous :). Jekyll meet Hyde.

Anyway, to anyone who happens to stumble on this blog, I hope you enjoy my random zombie & disaster musings. Thanks for reading!