Zombies have been hot this year. TV figured this out. Movies figured this out. And so did lots and lots of creative writers. You better believe we rejected a few off-season zombie posts. So many people wanted to get in their two cents about zombies that it got to the point where there was almost nothing new you could say about them.

Because of the played-out-ness of the zombie as subject of entertainment, I’ve decided there is just a short window of time every year when it is ok to think, dwell and pontificate about zombies. This starts today and lasts until the day after Halloween.

I picked today because my city, Minneapolis, is having what we call a Zombie Pub Crawl. I think what it is must be self-explanatory, because yesterday I had this conversation:

Me: I can’t hang out Saturday because it’s the Zombie Pub Crawl.

Mom: Huh? Oh … Hehehehe. Cool!

Last year I got my face decorated by a professional makeup artist for a video segment that was never published, and proceeded to drink a flask of Hot 100 between the space of the gas station and a taco truck. My boyfriend at the time had suffered a never-ending bloody nose that morning and his shirt was indeed covered with real blood. It was the earliest I’ve ever gone to bed.

This year will feature a performance by Andrew W.K., and also me pacing my drinking so that I can truly observe the mass behavior effects of zombie costumes. Expect further reflection soon, and possibly animated GIFs.

–Becky Lang