Articles Posted in the Odd Places Category
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Never Forget
Today is the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and with each passing year there are fewer and fewer people alive who experienced the event that brought the United States into World War…
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A Dozen Weirdnesses
I firmly believe you can find weirdness anywhere. There’s no such thing as a boring day. If you haven’t seen or done something peculiar today, then it obviously happened while you weren’t paying attention. …
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What Once Was
I’m drawn to empty storefronts. Others may walk by a darkened window without noticing, but I have to stop and press my nose against the glass. I need to see what’s left. Sometimes it’s a…
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Temple of Caucasians
A while back I toured the new Mormon Temple in Rancho Cordova with some friends/coworkers. This was one of those “facing your fears” things for me, since I am seriously freaked out by religion. And…
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Gloom, Doom, Powder Room
For all the time I spend in cemeteries, you’d think I’d have a sixth sense (or whatever it’s called) to clue me in when spirits are afloat (or aloft, or wherever they are). No such…
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A Good Grave is Hard to Find
Many years ago I made a car trip across the country with a college classmate. Before the trip, I read a book of short stories by Flannery O’Connor. Not the wisest choice of reading material,…
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Soufflé Hooray!
What’s this? A restaurant review on Order of the Zombie? Well, think about it: the OZ team has to eat, either before or after visiting strange places. Sometimes we load up on a high-calorie breakfast…
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Mine Shaft Antiques
Driving through the main street of the quaint gold-rush era town of Plymouth, California, the OZ team stumbled upon an homage to a tale, born from scandalous rumors, told since the 1920′s. “Molly’s Ghost,” put…
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Virginia City Cemeteries
The legendary mining town of Virginia City blossomed in 1857 with the discovery of the Comstock Lode, the vast vein of silver high in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Today it’s a tourist destination, and the…
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Cubicles Above and Below Ground
Ugly, ugly office parks. Boring, soulless buildings ringed by parking lots ringed by immaculately-manicured lawns ringed by streets with names like “Trade Center Drive” and “Sun Center Drive.” Monday through Friday, these dreary boxes are…
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Life is Probation
The OZ cemetery team took a road trip to Mountain Cemetery in Sonoma recently. “Mountain” is the operative word here. We entered the cemetery through a side gate at the end of 2nd Street, where…
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The Last Remains of Clarksville
Drive on Highway 50 past the town of El Dorado Hills and you’re driving right over history. The town of Clarksville once stood here, only to be bulldozed and covered by El Dorado Hills’ subdivisions…
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Loved to Death – Taxidermy Art & Jewelry
Loved to Death, located in San Francisco, CA, is a combination curiosities shop and art gallery featuring a rotating showcase of artists and the taxidermy artistry works of curators Audra & Brennan Dance. I absolutely love…
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Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical History Museum
Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical History Museum offers a surprisingly large collection of medical artifacts tucked into every available niche on the bottom floor of the Sierra Sacramento Medical Society’s building. In their modest description quoted…
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Internment Camp for the Interred
The phrase “relocation camp” brings to mind endless rows of dusty barracks in a stark desert landscape, Japanese-Americans sent far away against their will, and blatant racism perpetrated by the U.S. government. What, then, does…
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Placerville, CA Cemetery Field Trip
The first official excursion of the Order of the Zombie was held on a beautiful April day. What better place to go on a lovely spring day than a cemetery – and an old, somewhat…
