Books

 

This is an interesting book in that it is all about the losers - those that don't have the obscurity of finishing fourth.

"What losers?" I hear you ask.

The last Eurovision Song Contest is a memory now but this book harks back to an earlier time bracketing 1978 in Paris with 2003 in Riga.

My earliest recollection of the ESC is from Naples in 1965 with France Gall singing, "Poupee De Cire, Poupee De Son."

Since then, we have had all manner of wonders: bare footed singers, strange song titles, odd dress sense, hot-pants, cat-suits, tank tops, dungarees, girls getting their skirts ripped off, drag artists - I am sure you add to the list.

But, to the book.

Time Moore travels the continent to visit those unfortunate enough to score the Nul Points of the book's title.

He discusses with them what the contest was like for them, what it felt like to hear all the Douzes as fas as the Uns go to someone else. He finds out what they are all up to now. It is all interspersed with little snippets about the contest such as when the native-language rule was abolished, or when the orchestra was removed, or when the voting rules were amemended, a little bit of Europe's history is also in there.

The blurb on the back says the author is a comic writer - I was not falling down laughing but I did find myself with a fairly permanent, wry smile on my lips each time I picked up the book. I'm tempted to find out if Doctor Who really said "Nul Points!" to the Daleks.

Comments, as always, more than welcome.

Zombies

Zombie (Haitian Creole: zonbi; North Mbundu: nzumbe) is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft.^[1] The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli. Since the late 19th century, zombies have acquired notable popularity, especially in North American and European folklore.

In modern times, zombies became a popular subject in horror fiction, largely because of the success of George A. Romero's 1968 film Night of the Living Dead ^[2] and they have appeared as plot devices in various books, films and in television shows. Zombie fiction is now a sizeable sub-genre of horror, usually describing a breakdown of civilization occurring when most of the population become flesh-eating zombies – a zombie apocalypse. The monsters are usually hungry for human flesh, often specifically brains. Sometimes they are victims of a fictional pandemic illness causing the dead to reanimate or the living to behave this way, but often no cause is given in the story.  This according to Wikipedia retrieved 20:45 04/08/11

Up until now, I haven't watched many Zombie films (unless you count a soft porn flick from the 70s) and I certainly haven't read any Zombie books. Until now.

Yes, my virginity was lost with "The Night of the Living Trekkies" by Andersen/Stahl.

The only reason I bought this particular item was the Star Trek connection - yes, I am a Trekkie!

I can tell you who said "Beam me up, Scotty", or didn't. I know which side of Bele's face was black, I know what IDIC stands for...but back to the Zombies.

The story takes place at a science-fiction convention: Klingons, Vulcans and Ferengi are all there along with an uninvited guest.

The uninvited guest is a virus that transforms its carriers into Zombies.

It is then up to our Geeks and Nerds to save the day.

An interesting, light-hearted romp through the original series with a nod or two to the re-incarnations of later years.  A nice before bedtime. No stress, no worries. Just a light-hearted chuckle.

As usual, comments are welcome whether you go on to read the above book or not.