We’re starting out this special Zombie (Good) Friday with an announcement that directly affects how awesome Halloween will be for the next couple of years. Unlike 2007, Halloween in 08′ and 09′ will be falling on perfect party days: Friday and Saturday! Since school and work won’t get in the way for many of us, that will result in more of everything we love about the holiday. More events and parties, entertainment on TV and in theaters, and even more crazy costumes and various stuff from Halloween retailers. It’s going to be one hell of a Halloween, folks. If you’ve ever thought to yourself “one of these years I’ll go all out for Halloween”, then you’ll be in great company in 2008.

And now, onto the undead!

Our 2nd favorite pop culture site in existence, RetroCrush, interviews George Romero and (positively) reviews Diary of the Dead. Robert, the brains behind the site, can also be seen in Zombie Walk, which is in the running to be a special feature on the Diary of the Dead DVD. If you want to see Zombie Walk or any of the other contestants immortalized in DVD format, be sure to give them a thumbs up vote.

Are you hazy on the connections between the Living Dead movies? Not sure if the Italian “sequels” really came from Romero’s original films, or how the Return series fits into the big picture? And what’s with all the remakes? The Genealogy of the Living Dead movies diagram will explain everything. How did I discover this? Oh, I was just browsing reviews of every zombie movie ever made in the ENCYCLOPEDIA ZOMBICA at Analog Medium. There’s actually a lot of zombie related reviews and info there, so it’s well worth a visit.

Delving even deeper into zombie movie reviews is the aptly named 365 Days of the Dead blog. It’s an experiment where the author one watches and reviews 1 zombie film a day for a whole year. Wow. Razor sharp reviews and and lots of embedded YouTube videos make it a lively read. Keep and eye out for DotD contest entries, which provide lots of unique fodder in a sub-genre that’s dying for some fresh blood. ZING!

So enjoy the rest of your Friday, and remember that it’s never too early to start thinking about Halloween. Now that you know it will fall on a Friday this year, will that change your plans? Are you likely to put more effort into your costume, party, haunt, etc?

Thanks to Shawn Wall for use of his ghastly photo above.

Inspiration can come in the most unexpected places. So can Halloween decorations. A few days ago, some aimless browsing on eBay produced a wondrous discovery: the Vintage Science & Medicine category. Talk about the mother-lode! Collectors of antique items are probably the most frequent visitors, but for a creative Halloweenie it’s a treasure trove of creepy old artifacts that would be perfect to decorate a Halloween mad scientist party. Here are just a few of the curious, archaic, and sometimes chilling items that I found;

• 18th Century Pewter Leaching Jars (you know, to hold your leaches)
• Exceptional antique brass microscope (functional)
• 61 Year Old Syringe and 12 needles (mint condition)
• Antique dental chair (with spooky padded-electrode-looking headrest)
• Victorian Anatomical Watercolor Posters of creepy skin conditions

With a Steampunk aesthetic that merges medical past with a more technological future, you can create an amazing DIY mad science lab. For a quick Martha Stewart inspired Mad Science Halloween party, check out this how-to. A more DIY version can be seen at ljcfyi’s Mad Scientist Dinner Party, complete with tons of inspiring pictures. Want to see what can really be accomplished with a lot of creativity and 80 hour work weeks? AlexCF is a an amazingly talented artist who creates “things you wish existed in forgotten attics or secret rooms“, deftly mixing the past with imagined technology. His work is wildly imaginative and instantly seems to draw you back into a time of wonder that may, or may not have happened…

And if you’re interested in conducting some genuine feats of mad science, I direct you to- of course- Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories. And some safety goggles.