Colson Whitehead takes on the zombie trend

Colson Whitehead's new book puts an original spin on the post-apocalyptic genre, say reviews.

Colson Whitehead said in an interview with NPR that writing a book about one of the current monster phenomena was a little different from taking on his previous novels.

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?I did have to give myself permission because zombies were so popular,? Whitehead told NPR about taking on a horror theme that can be seen in everything from AMC?s popular TV show ?The Walking Dead? to Seth Grahame-Smith's 2009 parody ?Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,? soon to be a movie. ?But I think the idea is that if it's good, people read it. So all I could do is really salute my childhood influences and try to do the best I could in reinvigorating the genre, putting a new spin on it.?

If reviews are any indication, it?s a satisfying spin. The new book by Whitehead, author of books including "Sag Harbor" and "The Colossus of New York" and a 2002 recipient of a MacArthur grant, is titled ?Zone One? and will be released tomorrow. In Whitehead?s new novel, society collapsed when zombies (called skels in this world) took over, but now the survivors are determined to take back the city of New York. Groups called ?sweepers? are sent into Manhattan to roam the area and kill any skels they encounter; our hero Mark Spitz is one of them.

Whitehead said he was a fan of movies like ?Escape From New York? and ?Planet of the Apes? growing up and that ?Zone One? is an homage to movie depictions of a post-apocalyptic New York.

?I wanted to cut back on the Whole Foods lines and make it easier to get a cab for my main characters,? he said about his decision to destroy New York in his interview with NPR. ?If you get rid of 90 percent of the population, life gets a bit easier in the city.?

Reviews for the novel have so far been mainly positive, with many writers praising Whitehead?s fresh take on the subject matter.

?When a Macarthur Fellow takes a whack at zombie lit, you know the neighborhood has gentrified,? James Kennedy wrote in an article for the Wall Street Journal. ?But Mr. Whitehead comes by zombies honestly ? he riffed memorably on Romero's zombies in his last novel, ?Sag Harbor?? an astute and often suavely ironic explorer of race in America, Mr. Whitehead is clearly aware of the subtle racial legacy of zombie stories, but what truly drives 'Zone One' is a sincere love of the genre.?

Patrick Ness of The Guardian praised Whitehead?s character development.

?These are real, three-dimensional characters fighting for their lives, for the future.? Ness wrote of Mark Spitz and the other members of his sweeper team. ?And, what a surprise, that makes this zombie story rather affecting.?

Molly Driscoll is a Monitor contributor.

Join the Monitor's book discussion on Facebook and Twitter.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/oxJYw8jF9zQ/Colson-Whitehead-takes-on-the-zombie-trend

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Stop Windows From Adding the Word "Shortcut" to Every Shortcut You Create [Registry Tweak]

When you create a new shortcut in Windows, it annoyingly adds the word "Shortcut" to the end of the file. A very simple registry tweak can turn off this behavior.

This tweak's actually been around for awhile, but we never knew about it. All you need to do is hit the Start button, type regedit in the search box, start up regedit.exe, and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer. Click on the Explorer folder and you should see a registry key called "link" in the right-hand pane. Double click on it and change its value from 1e 00 00 00 to 00 00 00 00. Then, restart Windows Explorer or log off your machine. When you come back, all your newly-created shorcuts should have the same name as their original program, saving you quite a bit of tedious typing.

If you don't want to edit the registry manually, hit the link for a downloadable, two-click version. And be sure to check out our other favorite registry hacks for powering up Windows.

Remove "Shortcut" Text From New Shortcuts in Windows 7 or Vista | How-To Geek via How-To Geek

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You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.
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Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/gOHW6jdexzY/stop-windows-from-adding-the-word-shortcut-to-every-shortcut-you-create

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News Corp.'s Murdoch heckled during Calif. speech (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO ? Protesters associated with the Occupy Wall Street movement heckled News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch during a speech at an education forum in San Francisco.

Murdoch was repeatedly interrupted Friday as he talked at a downtown hotel about technology's role in improving the country's public education system.

Protesters accused Murdoch of trying to profit from the public education system. About half a dozen people were escorted out of the hotel, but they said they were not arrested.

Murdoch appeared unfazed, telling the crowd controversy makes things more interesting.

He was appearing as part of a two-day education forum sponsored by the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a group chaired by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. It champions school vouchers, charter schools and performance pay for teachers.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111014/ap_en_ce/us_school_reform_murdoch

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Occupy Wall Street's Brilliant/Inane 'People's Microphone' (Atlantic Politics Channel)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/148892633?client_source=feed&format=rss

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PFT: Cutler says the pressure makes him uneasy

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Vikings V.P. of public affairs and stadium development Lester Bagley joined PFT Live on Thursday for a comprehensive update of the effort to get a new stadium in Minnesota for the team.

Momentum seems to be building for a resolution of the situation, one way or the other.? Bagley said that, on Monday, Governor Mark Dayton and legislative leaders will meet in the hopes of identifying possible sources for the state?s $300 million contribution, and also to explore whether a special legislative session before the end of the year can be scheduled.

With the Metrodome lease expiring after the 2011 season, Bagley said the Vikings refuse to extend the lease absent a plan for a new venue.? And if the lease expires absent a plan for a new venue, all sorts of things could happen.

Most significantly, Bagley said that ?more than one community? has contacted the team about a possible move.? Though Bagley declined to identify the communities involved, he believes that the efforts will become public if/when the lease expires.

Obviously, there?s a chance that the Vikings are bluffing ? not about the fact that other communities want the team to move there, but about the Vikings? genuine willingness to relocate.

Either way, the powers-that-be in Minnesota won?t know whether it?s a bluff until the powers-that-be call the bluff.? And if they call the bluff and it?s not a bluff, the Vikings could be playing elsewhere as soon as 2012.

Look for things to move fairly quickly.? Minnesota needs to decide, once and for all, whether it will build a new stadium.? And if the new stadium won?t be built, the Vikings need to decide, once and for all, what they plan to do.

A year-to-year arrangement simply won?t work.? Fans will begin to detach from the team absent some closure as to whether the team will be staying or going.

Thus, build it or not, move or not, now is the time to bring this issue to a boil.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/13/cutler-says-pressure-makes-me-uneasy/related/

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Swank 'regrets' attending Chechen concert

MOSCOW?? Hollywood celebrity Hilary Swank said she "deeply regrets" visiting a concert held on the birthday of the Kremlin-backed Chechen leader, who is accused of torture, abductions and killings by human rights groups.

The two-time Oscar winner said that she was unaware of the disappearances, house torchings and extra-judicial killings reportedly orchestrated by Ramzan Kadyrov in the southern Russian republic.

"I deeply regret attending this event," Swank said in a written message to The Associated Press. "If I had a full understanding of what this event was apparently intended to be, I would never have gone."

Story: Hilary Swank slammed for going to Chechnya leader fete

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Swank issued the message after the Human Rights Watch criticized her ? along with Belgian actor Jean Claude Van Damme and British violinist Vanessa Mae ? for attending a show that, it says, "trivializes the suffering of countless victims of human rights abuses."

Representatives for Van Damme and Mae have not responded to AP's requests for comment.

On Kadyrov's 35th birthday on Oct. 5, his government organized a lavish concert in Chechnya's provincial capital, Grozny, that has been restored after being flattened during two wars between Chechen separatists and Moscow since 1994.

The celebrities ? as well as dozens of Russian politicians and pop stars ? showed up to congratulate and lavish Kadyrov with praise from a stage arranged between a gigantic mosque and a newly-built business center.

During the birthday show, Swank said that she had been taken by the Chechen government's "passion to make peace and to make something beautiful." She claimed in her apology that her invitation to the concert made no mention of Kadyrov's birthday.

Story: Fall movies offer some very familiar faces

At the show, Swank also appeared to be one of the few women to wear no headscarf even though women in Chechnya are compelled to adhere to an Islamic dress code. Those who refuse to obey have reportedly faced threats and harrassment from Kadyrov's feared security forces.

Swank won Oscars for her roles in "Boys Don't Cry" and "Million Dollar Baby." Her screen credits also include "Freedom Writers," "P.S. I Love You" and "Amelia."

Kadyrov is a former separatist rebel who has boasted of killing his first Russian soldier at age 15. He went over to the federal side at the start of the second Chechen war in 1999.

A string of Kadyrov's critics and political rivals have been brutally murdered in recent years in Russia, Austria, Dubai and Turkey. Kadyrov has consistently denied involvement in any of the killings, saying the accusations are fabricated to blacken his name.

The birthday show was the latest in a series of expensive and extravagant events sponsored by Kadyrov's government despite Chechnya's high poverty and unemployment rates.

He has spent millions of dollars to acquire well-bred horses that have competed in some of the world's richest races and to renovate a soccer stadium in Grozny. International soccer legends have visited Chechnya to play friendly matches.

Under Kadyrov's leadership, Chechnya has become relatively quiet, and the insurgent violence has largely migrated to neighboring republics of the volatile North Caucasus region.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44887040/ns/today-entertainment/

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Jack Osbourne expecting first child

To be a fly on the wall when Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne first heard the news!

The rock 'n' reality-TV stars' son Jack Osbourne is expecting his first child with fianc?e Lisa Stelly. That means Sharon is finally going to be a grandmum and Ozzy will have five grandchildren!

Wait, what?

READ: Jared Padalecki and wife expecting their first child together

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Ozzy's son and daughter from his first marriage each have two children, but this is the first grandchild to stem from his and Sharon's brood.

"I'm excited. I'm a little nervous," Jack said upon revealing the happy news Tuesday during a sit-down with his parents for Piers Morgan Tonight.

Story: Ozzy's son Jack Osbourne gets engaged

She missed out on this interview, but sister Kelly Osbourne is obviously rooting for Jack and his soon-to-be missus.

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"Just spent the last hour on the phone with @MissKellyO ....she will be the best sister-in-law ever!" Stelly tweeted this afternoon.

Stelly's certainly joining a close-knit family.

GALLERY: Famous Families

"@shabooty shut your ... mouth!" Kelly tweeted in response to a hater who had written, "What an idiot, you're not supposed to knock up your model girlfriend :P."

Looks like Jack's little one already has the fiercest aunt in town.

? 2011 E! Entertainment Television, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44871792/ns/today-entertainment/

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