Zeros

THRILLER Rises Again : A New Generation Discovers Michael Jackson’s Dark Magic It’s back from the dead — again. Michael Jackson’s Thriller , the album that defined an era and reshaped pop forever, has clawed its way back onto the Billboard charts. Forty-plus years later, the King of Pop’s most iconic creation is dancing with the living once more — and maybe, just maybe, the undead too. Every Halloween , Thriller sneaks out of its tomb and infects the world all over again. The song’s slow-burning synths and Vincent Price’s wicked laugh seem engineered to wake up buried memories — not just of the 1980s, but of a time when music videos could be mini-movies and MTV was the campfire every teenager gathered around. There was nothing family-friendly about it. Thriller was both pop perfection and horror homage — a bold mix of talent, terror, and taboo that no one would dare attempt today. But the surprise this year is who’s listening. Gen Z , raised on algorith...

The Zombie-Industrial Complex: How The Walking Dead Killed The American Mall Listen , I know you're still recovering from Halloween and absolutely nobody asked for this, but we need to talk about the elephant in the room. Or rather, the shambling corpse in the food court. America's malls are dying, and it's because we won't stop watching zombie movies. I can already hear you preparing your counter-arguments about Amazon  and, " changing retail landscapes ," and economic factors,  but consider this: Dawn of the Dead came out in 1978, and what's been happening to malls ever since? Exactly . They've been slowly deteriorating into the very zombie apocalypse sanctuaries we see on screen. Life imitates art imitates life eating brains. The evidence is irrefutable if you squint hard enough and ignore all contrary data. Every October, we collectively consume zombie media like it's candy corn we pretend to enjoy. We binge The Walkin...

The Blue Dogs of Chernobyl : A Halloween Mystery With Real Consequences As Halloween approaches, an eerie sight has emerged from one of the world's most haunting places. In early October, animal welfare workers in Ukraine's Chernobyl Exclusion Zone discovered something deeply unsettling: three feral dogs whose fur had turned bright blue. This isn't a costume. It isn't special effects. And that's precisely what makes it so concerning. The dogs were spotted by volunteers from the Dogs of Chernobyl program, an initiative run by the nonprofit Clean Futures Fund . For years, these dedicated workers have traveled into the 1,017-square-mile exclusion zone to provide veterinary care, food, and sterilization services to approximately 700 dogs that live in the contaminated area. These animals are descendants of pets abandoned when residents evacuated following the catastrophic 1986 nuclear disaster. The timing near Halloween feels almost too on the nose, but...

Breaking : Travis Kelce Has Opinions About Amusement Parks (And Possibly Buckeyes) Look, we need to talk about Travis Kelce . Not Taylor Swift's fiancé Travis Kelce—though yes, that Travis Kelce—but Travis Kelce, the grown man from Cleveland Heights who has actual investments and business interests and probably thoughts about roller coaster maintenance. For those keeping score at home, Kelce is reportedly an investor in a company that owns Cedar Point , the amusement park in Sandusky that Ohioans will defend with their lives despite the fact that it's basically just a peninsula of screaming and overpriced funnel cakes. This is the same Cedar Point that every Ohio child visited exactly once on a school field trip and then never stopped talking about. You know, the one with the Millennium Force ? The tall one? Look, Ohioans are very passionate about their roller coasters, okay ? But here's where things get delightfully awkward. Picture this : Tayl...

Understanding the CREEP Franchise: Films and Series Guide Halloween season drives horror fans to search for genuinely unsettling content, and the CREEP franchise consistently delivers. This distinctive found footage series has expanded from two films into a television phenomenon. For anyone searching for where to watch or what to expect, here's what you need to know. The Original Films The franchise began with Creep (2014), directed by Patrick Brice and starring Mark Duplass . The film follows a videographer who answers an online ad for a one-day filming job, only to encounter an increasingly unhinged client in a remote mountain cabin. The sequel, Creep 2 (2017), continues exploring the same disturbing character through a different victim's perspective . Both films are currently available on Netflix and various rental platforms like Amazon Prime Video. They're not typically available on free streaming services , though availability varies by...

The Empty Echo : What Happens When Our Malls Disappear? You're pulling the Halloween decorations down from the closet, and right behind them, there's the box marked,  Christmas . In a few weeks, you'll be shopping for gifts—probably clicking through Amazon at midnight, maybe making a quick Walmart run between errands. It's efficient. It's convenient. But something has been quietly vanishing while we've been adding items to our digital carts. Across America, the malls that once anchored our communities are being demolished. Eastland Mall in Columbus, Ohio—once a bustling center of commerce and community—began its demolition this year. The Outlets at Hillsboro in Texas, Jamestown Mall in Missouri, and dozens of others have met the same fate or are scheduled for the wrecking ball. These aren't just buildings coming down. They're town centers disappearing. The numbers tell a sobering story. Between 2016 and 2024, a net 18,730 ma...