Why without George Romero, there is no The Walking Dead

Why without George Romero, there is no The Walking Dead

Posted inFilms, Geek Stuff, Television, Works by Eric
The following is an excerpt from Dissecting The Walking Dead: Slicing Into The Guts of Television's Hottest Show, available in paperback and for Kindle. Without George Romero, there is no The Walking Dead. His 1968 film, Night of the Living Dead, invented the modern zombie genre. Robert Kirkman himself has said on many occasions that his comic series and television show is essentially an extended take on Romero’s legendary film, borrowing all its core elements and reimagining them as an ongoing story rather than a single night of terror. In other words, if you want to understand where The Walking Dead…
It’s not music, it’s Memorex

It’s not music, it’s Memorex

Posted inMusic, Works by Eric
I used to work a really boring job juggling numbers. This has nothing to do with that. A few years ago, during a strangely relaxed period of my life, I sat down at night and thought peaceful thoughts while strumming blurry, hazy guitar drones. I recorded them. They turned into another m2 album, which for inexplicable reasons I sat on for several years. Well, now it's here. Cue up. Listen. Relax.   m2 Comfortable Clarity (2015) 1) To The Coast (7:56) 2) Picked My Fingers Clean Off (4:21) 3) Comfortable Clarity (11:51) 4) The Pickings (3:25) 5) This Florida Bullshit…
MAD MEN: Seeing the show as a Period Piece

MAD MEN: Seeing the show as a Period Piece

Posted inTelevision, Works by Eric
The following is taken from Celebrating Mad Men, available in paperback and for Kindle. MAD MEN AS A PERIOD PIECE “I’m interested in how people respond to change. Are they excited by the change, or are they terrified that they’ll lose everything that they know? Do people recognize that change is going on? That’s what the show’s about." – Matthew Weiner  . One of the great joys of Mad Men comes from being immersed in a time and place that is not our own. We delight not only in the look and feel of the show, but also in the way in which it’s instructive when it…
Breaking Bad’s 10 Greatest Moments

Breaking Bad’s 10 Greatest Moments

Posted inTelevision, Works by Eric
The following is taken from Breaking Down Breaking Bad, available in paperback and for Kindle. The idea of selecting the greatest moments of a show filled with memorable moments is, admittedly, like asking to be slapped around for how absent-minded you are. Such a list can only ever spark a flurry of “how could you forget Moment X?” comments from readers. Still, it’s worth revisiting these scenes not only because it’s fun to roll a mental highlight reel, but because many of them distill the essence of Breaking Bad down to a few memorable minutes. Yes, there are some that were painful to leave off the list…
Whispers of the Old Hag: why Sleep Paralysis is probably behind some of our creepiest myths

Whispers of the Old Hag: why Sleep Paralysis is probably behind some of our creepiest myths

Posted inWorks by Eric, Writing
This piece originally appeared in the July/August 2008 edition of Weird Tales magazine, issue #350. It once appeared online, but their online archives appear to be gone, so I'm taking it upon myself to post it here for posterity's sake. Halloween seemed like the perfect day to do it, too. If you've ever suffered from sleep paralysis -- waking up and being unable to move -- you should read this. WHISPERS OF THE OLD HAG by Eric San Juan The thing was made of light and shadow; skeletal, pale, with ribs like talons and deep eager eyes. I did not…