Bigfoot erotica: In the news, but nothing new

When Bigfoot was trending on Twitter this week, it wasn't because anyone had discovered new evidence -- just some evidence of Bigfoot erotica.

Sasquatch's appearance in the news, and on social media, was due to him being brought up in the Virginia’s Fifth Congressional District race between Bigfoot believer Denver Riggleman (R) and Leslie Cockburn (D).

Riggleman is the co-author of the book Bigfoot Exterminators, Inc.: The Partially Cautionary, Mostly True Tale of Monster Hunt 2006, as well as "Mating Habits of Bigfoot, and Why Women Want Him."

And yes, Riggleman also posts about Sasquatch's junk on his own social media. He also talks running for office to allow good, smart people to believe "in whatever Bigfoot they want" (including gluten-intolerant ones).

Regardless of your particular stance on the cryptid's existence, you cannot blame Democrat Cockburn for utilizing this obvious fodder for campaign advertisements against Riggleman. Let's face it: Talking about 'squatchy balls does is low-hanging fruit for some mudslinging.

Still, Riggleman's posts do not really fit under the Bigfoot Erotica genre. But it does exist -- and both author Anne Rice and cryptozoologist Nick Redfern have agreed it is, well, something else.

Joss Whedon weighs in on politics - and zombies

We try not to get too involved in political discourse over here at Paranormal Pop Culture. As long as you vote PPC and allow us to assume our natural role as galactic overlords, we're just peachy. But occasionally politics inserts itself into our world, such as with this new Joss Whedon video.

A citizen concerned with the health of our country - and concerned with a zombie apocalypse - The Avengers director warns/endorses Mitt Romney for president because the Republican nominee will speed along the undead's rise.

Is Whedon right? Will Romney bring about zombie ruin? Is Whedon's next project going to be an Abraham Lincoln horror movie called Log Cabin in the Woods?

Watch and see for yourself.

-Aaron Sagers

Norm MacDonald brings paranormal to presidential debate

Norm MacDonald, courtesy Esquire

Sadly neither Pres. Obama or Gov. Romney spoke about their plans to battle zombies, preserve Bigfoot habitats or announce negotiations with aliens last night. But the paranormal, supernatural and horror worlds were regardless well represented at the presidential debates via a tweeting Norm MacDonald.

In a rather goofy string of tweets - that began yesterday at 2:16 a.m. and continued through the end of the debates - the comedian yucked it up with Laffy Taffy-worthy zingers (yeah, I used the z-word). The first ("The dracula with insomnia had to start drinking de-coffin-ated coffee") went on to include politically-tinged shout outs to vampires, werewolves, ghosts and even The Creature from the Black Lagoon from MacDonald and his followers.

Norm crafted gems like:

Zombie prez candidate gets newspaper endorsement

Courtesy AMC

A. Zombie is on a roll, ladies and gentlemen! After a six-state campaign, including stops at both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, the AMC-backed A. Zombie has officially been endorsed by Ed Anger of Weekly World News.

Why would anyone vote for A. Zombie?

According to Ed Anger: "Those two political conventions gave me gas, constipation and the runs. It's time for a new kind of leader, it's time to elect somebody who already is dead. Not someone who acts dead. Vote A. Zombie!" Check out Ed's press release in it's entirety at Weekly World News.

Have you lost your zombies? A. Zombie is here to help you get them back. According to his official press release, A. Zombie’s one and only mission is to rally zombie fans around the country who don’t have access to the AMC network to find an "alternative television provider before the highly-anticipated third season premiere on October 14, 2012 of A. Zombie’s favorite show, AMC’s The Walking Dead, the most watched basic cable scripted drama series among DISH subscribers, according to the Nielsen company."

As A. Zombie says, "The average American family has a lot on its plate. But frankly, nothing good on its DISH."

For more information see azombieforpresident.com and @AZombie2012 on Twitter.

-Melissa Harkness

A Zombie enters the presidential race

Courtesy AMC

Watch enough political coverage this presidential season and you're likely to feel a little dead inside. This is probably appropriate since most politicians already view voters like members of a brainless horde, eager to eat up whatever they spoon feed them.

But if this sounds cynical, good news, everyone! If you're zombified by politics, then there is a new candidate for you.

Supported by AMC's The Walking Dead, America's first zombie presidential candidate - A. Zombie - is entering the race with campaign stops planned across the country (including at the RNC and DNC conventions).

Here's the press release in full:

Why are states so...Paranormal?

Courtesy Sterling

Quick, what are the words you associate with Florida? California? Pennsylvania?

Well, Renee DiResta of No Upside asked that question in the couple months leading up to the presidential election when our differences seem to be the most highlighted and "the quality of political discourse hits new lows."

She writes: "I started wondering, how do Americans really think about 'those people' in other states? What are the most common stereotypes? For each of the fifty states and DC, I asked Google: 'Why is [State] so' and let it autocomplete. It seemed like an ideal question to get at popular assumptions, since 'Why is [State] so X?' presupposes that X is true."

It is a really clever idea that led to her creating this map where you can roll over each state and see the top four autocomplete responses.

For our paranormal purposes here, it was interesting that the assumptions connected to Pennsylvania and Connecticut were "so haunted," while West Virginia, Oregon and Florida (my home state) was so "weird." There is a lot to think about with this map, but it's especially interesting to see how the unexplained is at the top of our collective minds.

...It also makes me want to spend more time in Oregon.

(via Chris Cillizza, WaPo)

-Aaron Sagers

'Game of Thrones' political attack ads

If you've wondered how the citizens of Westeros can stand to follow a king like Joffrey, or who would be able to trust a Northerner like Robb Stark who hangs out with wolves and locked up his own mum, you're not alone. Mother Jones magazine has released a series of political attack ads that target characters from HBO's series Game of Thrones.

Check out all three videos that explore how Super-PACs (and dragons) might figure into the politics of the Seven Kingdoms... (after the jump)

Daenerys Targaryen: Wrong For Dragons, Wrong For The Realm

'Blood Oath': Mr. Dracula goes to Washington in new book

Combining vampires and politics sounds natural for anyone who's ever been sucked dry by taxes (amiright, amiright?), so Chris Farnsworth's new bloodsucker book Blood Oath - about an undead secret service agent who has protected the presidents for 150 years - sounds like a fun read.

The action book is getting pretty good reviews for its James Bond-as-vampire treatment, and for the compelling lead character of Nathaniel Cade, and has already been optioned for a movie, reports The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog.

I'll be cracking open the book this weekend because I'm a big vampire fan hungry for something that doesn't involve tweens - and something to pass the time until June 13.

The trailer for the book embedded after the jump ...

Demon sheep! Politics gets paranormal (and very weird)

Frankly, I don't know what's more paranormal about this California campaign advertisement below:  The demon sheep with robot eyes or the friggin cuh-razy craisin-munching crazytown residents who thought it would be a good idea to make.  Whatever makes this paranormal, it's certainly indefinable.

The attack ad by senatorial candidate Carly Fiorina is aimed at fellow Republican Tom Campbell. Featuring voiceover by a dude who sounds like an evil Morgan Freeman - and could surely lend gravitas to any bat-crap insane phrase such as, "The End is Nigh ... and we are out of Rocky Road ice cream!" - the spot suggests that Campbell is the dreaded, awkwardly-named FCINO (Fiscal Conservative In Name Only), that fiscal conservatives (or is it his voters?) are sheeple, and that Campbell may be attempting to destroy the world by posing in an ill-fitting, but incredibly soft, fleece outfit with a lame lamb mask and glowing Terminator eyes.

The video has gone viral, but I don't think in the good way Fiorina may hope.  As Steve Pendlebury writes in his roundup of reactions, it makes her look unstable - even if it gets people talking about her. In fact, it seems like the kind of spot our friend the Conspiracy Nut might produce with Final Cut Pro and a small budget.