...In which our heroine is continually amazed.

You know what an ideal day for Katydid is like? It was yesterday.

Kathleen, Julia, and I made the trek up State Street to find the mega three story Borders so I could get books for my memoir writing class (seventy-four effing dollars for four books) and I just couldn't help the special edition of True Romance was half off. I was glad to explore State Street and see all the discount retail stores that I'm sure many pilgrimages will be made to.

After hitting up the student discount at Pizza Hut, the group dispersed to go to the Chicago Jazz Festival, Kathleen and I went back to the apartment and watched the best television show ever, Freaks and Geeks, for four hours before we decided to go be social. It was both Kris and Paul's birthday, but Paul was being Paul, so we ended up hanging out with Kris. I felt kind of bad that it was his 21st, but he had been left by his roommate Benny

So, we ended up coming back to the apartment to watch the perfect cinematic duo of Dead Alive and Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn, two of Kris's favorites. And I made an amazing batch of katehagen brownies.

Dead Alive is one of Peter Jackson's first films, and according to Wiki, the single bloodiest film ever made. It's a treat. Well, not really, but it's just one of those things you have to watch. The sick, sick humor makes the gore almost tolerable. Almost. Gore doesn't bother me, but there's a scene in the movie that stimulates my gag reflex. Hard to believe that Peter Jackson went on to make Lord of the Rings after creating nuggets like this, which Youtube correctly says is not suitable for minors, or frankly anyone of sane mind:


There would be no Dead Alive without Evil Dead II, considered a classic amongst geeks like me. It's my favorite horror movie and makes my Top 10 of all-time. After Dead Alive, the gore in ED II felt tame. Kathleen said she'd become totally numb to any kind of gore, although the best scene in the movie isn't gory at all:


So yeah, it was a perfect day.

A couple cool links:

• Crazy 4 Cult Poster: It's an event that I know Kevin Smith is influential in that showcases artwork inspired by cult film. This year's poster is beyond awesome and I need it. See if you can figure out who all the characters are. I think this might just have to be a dumb impulse purchase.
• In the same vein, there's Montygog's Art-O-Rama, which offers adorable little sketches of movie/comic/televison characters from all over the place. I currently am featuring cartoon Ash as my desktop background.
• Oh look, it's a preview screening of Choke with a Q&A with Sam Rockwell in Chicago. It'd be cool to have tickets for that. Hmm, I guess I do.