Sunday June 15th, after a seven year battle with multiple myeloma, Stan Winston passed away at the age of 62. Stan Winston began his FX career as an apprentice at Walt Disney Studios in 1969. In 1972 he established Stan Winston Studio. Stan Winston would become a household name in the 80's with the release of The Terminator, Aliens, Edward Scissorhands, Predator, Monster Squad, and finished the decade with his directorial debut Pumpkinhead. Stan continued throughout his career to raise the bar with FX wonders such as T2, Jurrasic Park, and Titanic.

A spokesperson for the family said that "Stan died peacefully at home surrounded by family."

He will be missed by many.

Do not worry, I have not seen signs of a coming zombie invasion. I will however be at the cabin this week. My wife is calling it a vacation but it is more like a recon mission. I will be checking the proximity switches, the motion sensing cameras, the razor wire, the purity of the water in the stream, you know, the important stuff. I would tell you where it is but then I would have to tell you where all of the mines and traps are and that just wouldn't be smart at this time. I should be back next weekend. If you do not hear from me then it has hit the fan and you need to find a safe place. Either that or I just decided to stay an extra day or two. Anyway, I will give a full report when I get back.

I have received a lot of grief over the fact that I do not except certain movies as zombie movies even though they are advertised as such. Not that I really care about what others think I do feel that I owe it to my peeps to give some clarification on why I am so anal about the subject. So, let me explain.

A zombie is a reanimated corpse. Whether your flavor is voodoo, toxic substance, cosmic radiation, or someother form of inducing a zombie state, the cause must kill the body before it is reanimated. 

Films such as 28 Days Later, which I thouroughly enjoyed, and the god forsaken piece of filth that is the remake of Day of the Dead have humans that are not reanimated corpses but rather humans infected by a virus that causes changes while still alive.

Although I am not willing to alter my impressions on this subject, I am willing to say that I am more than acceptant of a new sub-genre where these films can be correctly labeled.