….and this time I’m not even being sarcastic!

We kicked things off this Friday with, as I previously reported, the Seattle Zombie Walk sponsored by the Fremont Outdoor Cinema. It was a hoot and a half. Turnout was nothing short of amazing: the line to register for the walk (only registered participants would count towards the Guinness Book World Record attempt) wrapped around the corner and two blocks down the street. The variety of costumes was staggering: there were punk zombies, homeless zombies (one carrying a sign reading “WILL WORK FOR BRAINS”), more than a few bridal zombies, a cornucopia of Elvi, and even a zombie Billy Mays. The number of children participating was also amazing, from babies up to tweens….some of them could really get their creepy on, too. Once registered, the zombies were sent out in groups of—oh, I don’t know, two hundred or so?—to roam the neighborhood of Fremont in a more or less organized fashion for a few square blocks before being rounded up and returned to the Fremont Outdoor Cinema. It was quite a wonderful exercise in Freaking the Mundanes: we shuffled along, moaning and lolling our heads around on our necks. Every once in a while there would be a rallying cry of “What do we want?” “BRAINS.” “When do we want them?” “BRAAAAAAAINS.” Zombies would reach through the decorative greenery of streetside cafes towards the (remarkably tolerant) diners within, or paw at the windows of local ice cream shops, staring vacantly at the folks inside. A few of the more adventurous and less well-mannered zombies stepped into the streets to mob passing cars that were stuck at traffic lights….a breach of zombie walk etiquette that was taken in stride by the motorists.

The numbers aren’t fully tabulated yet, but barring some sort of massive miscount—or intervention by the Supreme Court—we easily topped the previous record of 3,370 participants. Eat my entrails, Grand Rapids! 😈 There was also an attempt at the world’s largest group of people doing the Michael Jackson “Thriller” zombie dance, which I understand we also achieved, but by that time we had bagged out because we had to get to bed at a reasonable hour. We also missed an outdoor showing of the classic flick Shaun of the Dead. Here’s a page of photos from the event. I’ve also put together a highlight reel for you to check out. Requires Apple’s QuickTime.

The second big shebang (heh heh) this weekend was, of course, our annual 4th of July party. We aren’t horribly social people, but two or three times a year we put on a serious bash, and this was one of those. They’re nothing like my sister Meg’s shindigs, where she and her husband choose themes for the party and the two hundred people attending all come in lavish and outlandish costumes, but for people who have neither the stomach for such brobdingnagian endeavors nor two hundred friends to invite, we do seem to hold our own. We had about 24 people over for barbecue and kaboomables, both of which were present in truly epic quantities. We made hamburgers, bratwurst, hot dogs, and something that looks and tastes suspiciously like Huli Huli Chicken. For those who did not grow up in Hawaii, Huli Huli Chicken is a staple of charity fundraisers all over the islands. The recipe is fairly straightforward:

1. Marinate chicken in some sort of liquid
2. Place chicken over fire
3. Burn holy bejeezus out of chicken

Tastier than it sounds. Other folks brought their own contributions such as baked beans, veggie plates, dips, cookies, extra beer, ice cream, and even fresh oysters to grill. Folks ate, drank and made flammable until about midnight.

The sheer volume of ordinance we brought together for this year’s extravaganza was….well, disturbing. Three separate members of our party emptied their piggy banks at the local indigenous fireworks stands.

This year we concentrated most of our buying power on artillery shells and canisters—things that launch from a mortar-style tube and detonate high in the air with a shower of sparks and an earth-shattering kaboom—and cakes: large multi-shot boogers that shoot flaming balls high into the air, with various sound and light effects. Comparatively few bottle rockets or propellers this year, which was a boon to the after-party cleanup, lemmetellyou.

Everyone seemed to have a good time, and we really enjoyed having our friends and family over. Thanks to everyone who helped make this year’s Independence Day hullabaloo a rip-roaring success. 🙂