...for me?!

I'm flattered to report that I have been given a blog award! And it comes with instructions...

01. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
02. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
03. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

Right well, I wish to thank the wonderful Mother Firefly for deeming me a worthy recipient of the Kreativ Blogger award. I'm so pleased with myself that the logo and her kind words are already in situ on the sidebar on the right.

04. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.

1. I've been in love with Elvis Presley since I was 6 years old.
My parents had two Elvis LPs when I was little. My favourite was this one:

Even now I can't look at that picture without feeling very giggly and vaguely lovestruck.

Neither of my folks were huge fans, so my obsession came out of nowhere. I love it though, Elvis makes me happy in a way that borders on spiritual. I visited Graceland a few years ago, which was phenomenal. I spent the entire walk around the mansion on the verge of tears, then sobbed at his graveside. Then I was interviewed for Elvis radio. Best, most bizarre day ever.

I also have Elvis' first name, in his handwriting, tattooed on my left wrist ♥

2. I was a zombie pin-up for a day.
Rue Morgue held a "Rue Morguette" competition in 2009. Sadly I didn't win, but the photoshoot I did to find an image to submit was sooo much fun. I had wanted to paint myself green for ages, so it was pretty cool to have an excuse to do that, at the very least...

3. I compelled over 300 people dressed as zombies to meet in Central London for World Zombie Day 2008.

A lot of good came from WZD08: not only a lot of money and awareness being raised for a local charity, but strong friendships were also forged, too. Another by-product of the day was the birth of a group called 'WZD London', which I suppose you could say I am chief of. To date we have raised thousands of pounds for a homeless charity called St Mungo's, all through our zombie themed events.

At times I have been referred to as Zombie Queen of London... but it's never something I'd call myself ;)

4. America ♥!
Love the place. Have for as long as I can remember. Even in school in History class, the US facts always seemed more interesting and likely to stick in my head than anything else. I seem to have an unquenchable thirst for the place. To date I have visited six states (and probably passed through more, just not "experienced" them, so I don't count them) and I am so not done.

As an off-shoot from this, I'm really into North American popular culture of the 1950s, such as diner and drive-in culture, rock'n'roll (Elvis obviously falls under this too), greasers... all that kind of stuff. I'm not a hardcore obsessive in that I dress in 1950s attire every day or anything, I suppose it's just an ongoing, simmering appreciation - but a strong one all the same.

5. I got into horror because of my parents.

They put a TV in my room when I was in my mid-teens. So on a Friday night I used to stay up and look for juicy stuff to watch. If memory serves, I first saw Dawn Of The Dead this way.

As I've mentioned on here before, my Dad used to throw recommendations in my direction, too. The Shining, The Hitcher and Black Christmas were all viewed with his blessing when I still lived at home. He asked his friend at work to lend me a dodgy VHS copy of The Exorcist when it was still extremely hard to get hold of, and I was technically too young to be watching it. More recently he lent me The Mist. Coolest Daddy-O.

6. I have a weird fixation with the number six.

No idea why or where it came from, but I pretty much live my life guided by it one way or another.

7. The very first film I ever cried at was The Fly (1986).
The bit where Brundlefly picks up the end of the shotgun with his little pincer-hand, and puts it against his head.

Yup, cried like a newborn. NB: I tear up at the drop of a hat now.

05. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
06. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
07. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

And Now The Screaming Starts
Well first off, what a great name. Secondly, I have to confess that I am a loser when it comes to being a blog reader and I don't follow this one as closely as I should (eg: reading everything as soon as it is posted). Having said that, whenever I do take a stroll over to And Now The Screaming Starts, I am there for a long time and I love the way this guy writes. Thirdly, his profile picture kind of excites me. Maybe that's something I should keep to myself though. Definitely check the blog out!

Teen Dreams

This is something of a pre-emptive award. My friend Katie owns this blog, which features hilarious scans of eighties magazines. I don't wish to exert any pressure on the girl, but personally I want her to post more! Every time she tells me of ideas for it, they sound as amazing and impressive as the magazine collection they will be taken from.

Magraith Photography
Paul is very talented. I met him through zombie projects and he was my first choice as photographer for the pin-up shoot. He's hard-working, professional and one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. His main photography website is here.

Chris's Invincible Super-Blog
An extremely entertaining one, this. Those into comics will get the most out of it, but to be honest Chris is such a funny guy that I wouldn't say that was even mandatory. I won't tell him about this award nomination because I'm shy, but I just want to spread the isb love because every time I read it I guffaw.

BuyZombie.com
If you are a zombie fan, you seriously need to be reading this. You wouldn't think there would be so much zombie news to report. SO comprehensive it boggles the mind!

"Started in 2007, BuyZombie is a site for Zombie Fans. While the started as an ever-growing database of everything Zombie related you can buy or do on the Internet it has since grown to be a hub for zombie news, media, reviews, and announcements! As time goes on we hope continue to have a complete Zombie Product database, keep you up to date on the undead happenings, as well as more features for you all to enjoy."

Lovely Listing
Formerly It's Lovely! I'll Take It! this gives one the simple pleasure of looking into amusing real estate listings and the carnage therein. Funnier than it sounds, largely due to the the owner of the blog (Sara Lorimer), her writing style and obsession with lawn furniture.

remakemagicland
This is ingenious. These guys recreate shots from films using only materials found in their office. With hilarious results...

There, all done. Happy reading and big thanks again to Mother Firefly!