Zombie in a Penguin Suit

While I was at Comic Con last weekend, I sat in on a panel entitled “The Architects of Scare Season.” In it, Saw 4 through 7 scribes Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, along with fellow horror filmmaker Stephen Romano, chatted a lot about what scares people and why. They also had some advice for aspiring filmmakers and screenwriters trying to break into the business: If you’re going to use an old trope, do something with it that’s never been done before. For that reason, I think they’d appreciate this short film by Chris Russell entitled Zombie in a Penguin Suit. Now, zombies are old hat, but zombies in penguin suits? Now THAT’s new. I could go on about its attempt to inject some humanity into the deathly grasp of the zombie and how strangely and beautifully melancholy the result is; but why on earth would I do that? Because it’s a ZOMBIE. In a PENGUIN SUIT. And really, that’s all you need to know. Enjoy!

Caped Socks Exist, and I Want Them

You guys. Caped socks exist. Socks with capes. CAPED SUPERHERO SOCKS. My brain just about exploded when I found them. But it’s true: Your feet can become superheroes, and all they need to do is put on these nifty socks from 80s Tees. Of course, then, the question becomes, which superhero do your socks feel like being? Are they the Caped Crusader of Gotham City? Are they an Amazonian Princess with a Lasso of Truth? Or are they a seemingly mild-mannered reporter capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound? Only they—or maybe you—can decide.

Interestingly, the Batman and Wonder Woman socks are both $15, but the Superman socks are only $10. Why the markdown for Superman? I’m not sure. Maybe it’s because they were made on Krypton. I hear things are cheaper there.

Read Geek Girl: Release the Kraken on the Cast of The Princess Bride!

 Haunt Your House with Pepper’s Ghost

You may not know what it’s called, but I guarantee you that you’ve seen the Pepper’s Ghost illusion at least once in your life (probably somewhere in a Disney park—the illusion is heavily used in both the Haunted Mansion and the Tower of Terror). It’s been around since the Victorian era, and yes, it was invented by a guy named Pepper—John Pepper, to be exact. Pepper found that through the use of plate glass and some clever lighting, it’s possible to make something resembling a ghost seemingly magically appear. Here’s how it works. Take a look at this picture:

A person looking through the red rectangle sees this image as a ghost floating next to the table. The green rectangle, however, is what causes this to happen: you see, it’s actually a large piece of glass or a half-silvered mirror. When the lighting is just right, the glass reflects the figure in the left hand corner, which is out of the viewer’s line of sight, into the area visible to the viewer through the red rectangle. Ta-da! Instant ghost!

 Have a Burning Secret? There’s an App for Ahat

A billion years ago, 2004 to be precise, Frank Warren started an art project where he posted signs throughout the metro DC area asking people to send him their secrets. That begat the website: PostSecret.com. Since its inception, he’s received over 500k secrets. Now you can download the app.

If someone’s told you something really incendiary, but you have to keep your mouth shut, you can upload the secret to the site using the PostSecret app. The app has guidelines and a community. For the first time, users can reach out to posters to show support, let them know that their secret has touched them. Users of the app also have a roster of organizations they can reach out to, including suicide prevention hotlines and chat services if they need it.

The PostSecret App is now available for download on iTunes for $1.99. Android will be available later this year.

Frank Warren occasionally has a live event. View an excerpt of one of his shows:

"PostSecret Live", 2011 from Frank Warren on Vimeo.

My Hormones Made Me Do It

Who knew there was a hormone for cuddling? Next they’ll tell me it’s some hormone’s fault that I cam currently craving apple pie. Wait, don’t tell me. The hormone’s name is Oxytocin. It’s normally released when humans bond, but guess what, you can also buy a synthetic version over the counter.

For only $60, you can purchase a bottle filled with cuddly goodness. Well, goodness if you use it and cuddle. Kinda sounds like a legal version of E, doesn’t it. Of course there’s a website  for that. And on the site they claim that their version of Oxytocin (I keep saying to myself Oxycontin- you know, “Hillbilly heroin”..um, that's somethingh else) can relieve stress, fights cancer, fights depression, autism and does windows. Okay, I added the windows thing.

I really doubt it’s a panacea, but it could be a cool Halloween costume.

All the News That’s Fit to Print…Literally

T-Post is a tee that’s a magazine that’s a subscription. You see, if you get a monthly subscription to T-Post. Every month you’ll get a tee that has a cool graphic on the outside and the inside has all the news. This month’s tee is a portrait of Mark “Facebook” Zuckerberg done the art team Craig & Karl. The duo has Apple, Nike and Vogue as their clients.

This is how it works:

Tees are shipped worldwide. Want a subscription? It’ll cost you $37.20. Oh, and you can give it as a gift. If you know someone who never reads the news, this might just get them started.

Lucia Peters is BettyConfidential's associate editor.

PJ Gach is Senior Editor: Style + Beauty at BettyConfidential.

Photos 1, 2, 3