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Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Hallowe'en

It's Hallowe'en night, a great night for zombie fans.  Hope everyone's having a good time, but be careful if you're dressing up as a zombie.  Don't be too convincing, or you could find yourself being attacked by defensive non-zoms.  Maybe throw in an "I'm alive!" between moans.  You can't be too careful; nothing could be more confusing than a zombie outbreak on Hallowe'en night.

Good luck and happy Hallowe'en!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

ASSIGNMENT - 'Why Twitter Will Endure' for Public Relations Class

Twitter.  Just hearing the name of it used to be enough to make me sick to my stomach.  I felt it was the incarnation of everything stupid the internet had to offer.  "What a waste of time" I thought, and yet it was spreading (not unlike a zombie plague).

Zombies using Twitter.


And now, as I write this blog post, I can tell you that Edgar Wright composed a horror movie marathon list for the A.V. Club website, I can tell you that Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes will be giving out some 'oral pleasure' in a SModcast in 15 minutes, and I can even tell you that 3 hours ago, my own teacher Kenton Larsen dropped a pile of cash at Danier so he could look more 'leathery'.

I can tell you these things, because I am checking my Twitter feed.  Granted, I only ever signed up for Twitter because it was a requirement in one of my classes, but I do check it of my own volition.  I didn't survive the outbreak...

A Demotivational Poster.
Now, what I've come to realize is that Twitter, like pretty well any other social media website, is whatever you make it.  Twitter is as useful or useless as the visitor allows it to be.  And I don't know, perhaps in the beginning it was riddled with "I just ate a ham sandwich" tweets; but I can tell you by the time I started using it, that certainly wasn't the case.

Twitter is an effective tool for discussions, event planning, staying in touch, networking, comedy, breaking news stories, and just finding out what the hell's going on in the world.  Perhaps if there ever was a zombie outbreak, Twitter may actually be our savior.  We could quickly let people know it's happening, as well as effectively organize to fight back.

Don't make the same mistake Kevin did.
So not only do I think Twitter will endure, I think it might save us...

The Walking Dead: Zombie Make-Up Tips for Hallowe'en

It's almost Hallowe'en folks, so I found this video on The Walking Dead website which gives you some tips from experts on how to do your make-up if you're planning to dress as a walker.


If you haven't seen The Walking Dead, you should definitely check it out.  It airs Sundays on AMC and is coming up on the third episode of the second season.  You can buy the first season or check it out on Netflix to get caught up.

The show is based on an equally good comic book series of the same name, and I plan to compare the two story lines on this blog in the future.  But for now, watch it, read it, do what ever you can to enjoy it.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Winnipeg Zombie Walk 2011

Photographic Evidence by Nikki Basset.

There was a zombie outbreak on Friday.  The point of origin seemed to be Stephen Juba Park.  Two of my friends and I drove right into the swarm as it writhed down Waterfront Drive.  We were stuck there, as the undead relentlessly clawed at my car.


My friend made the unfortunate mistake of rolling down his window to see if there was an end to the sea of ghouls in sight.  He was immediately attacked and bitten.  We got the zombie off him (who was kind enough to apologize for any blood she may have gotten on him) and rolled up the window.  I saw an opening in the swarm, so I stepped on the gas and we got out of there.


My car had taken a beating, the windows were smeared with blood.  We decided to head out on foot, hoping to find someone who could help my friend.


We made it to The Forks, but the zombies got there first.  They seemed to be gathering there, the sounds of their collective moans sent chills up my spine.  The place was a wreck.  Innocent shoppers were mercilessly attacked.


Oddly, I saw some zombies feasting on snacks from the food court.  They must have been desperate as the amount of them greatly surpassed the amount of humans to feast on.


We found a man in a doctor's outfit, and I thought there might be some hope for my infected friend.  But the doctor, covered in blood, grabbed my friend and screamed frantically for us to take him to the nearest hospital.  It was only a matter of time before he turned, and the same went for my friend, so we moved on.


We thought our luck had changed when we saw members of the police, the S.W.A.T. team, and the army.  But we quickly realized they had all been turned to members of the undead.  The only uninfected we saw seemed to be church goers with signs that said things like "The End Is Nigh" and "God Hates Zombies".  The only survivors were the prepared.

The Forks were overrun.  We headed to Osborne, with the entire zombie mob in pursuit.  There must have been over 1200 of them by now.  My friend was in bad shape.  I knew he couldn't make it much further, so we ducked into Ozzys.  Unfortunately, the place was filled with infected.


Things looked bad, we weren't going to make it out.  Just then, this horrible sound began.  It was like music, but remixed to be full of bass and rapidly repeated beats.  I'm told it was called 'dubstep'.  It was intolerable to the human ear, but when the zombies heard it... they began to dance.


So the DJ saved my life, and the outbreak seems to have been quelled.  Of course my friend eventually turned.  I now keep him chained up in my tool shed.  Perhaps next year, I'll let him roam free for a night.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Vampires and Werewolves and Zombies, Oh My!

There is a group of famous contagious monsters that I like to call the 'Big 3': vampires, werewolves, and of course, zombies.
The Big 3.

But the trends of fiction have shown only one to be capable of world domination.  While there are a few cases I've seen depicting a vampire apocalypse, I have never seen this done with werewolves.  However, the zombie achieves this feat over and over.  I'd like to take a look at why this is.


Klaus Kinski as Dracula in Nosferatu the Vampyre.

Vampires

While vampires' greatest strength may be their intelligence (zombies are mindless, and werewolves minds are taken over by feral rage), this can also be seen as a big reason they don't pose as large a threat to society.  Vampires keep their own human morals, which means although it may be extremely difficult for them to resist the temptation to feed, it is still possible.

Also, vampires' allergy to the sunlight means they can only hunt and spread by night.


David Naughton transforming in An American Werewolf in London.

Werewolves

As with vampires, one of werewolves' greatest strengths also becomes a weakness when it comes to spreading to an apocalyptic proportion.  A werewolf can be considered the most brutal attacker.  With their animal strength and speed, and their overwhelming rage, they make excellent killers.  But a dead victim cannot transform into a new werewolf.  This means that it is more common for one werewolf to kill many people in a certain area, then for werewolves to spread.

Also, by classic rules, the werewolf is confined to hunting only during a full moon, giving it even less time to spread than the vampire.


Allan Trautman as 'Tarman' from The Return of the Living Dead.

Zombies

Zombies may be dumber than vampires, and weaker than werewolves; but we still see them over and over again biting their way to world dominance.

This is because zombies don't have limits as to when they can hunt.  They spend day and night trying to complete one task: consume flesh.

Also, zombies have no morals.  A zombie will NEVER decide against killing.  They don't have the capacity to stop themselves, even when faced with chowing down on a former loved one's brains.

As well, zombies slow movements and normal human biting capabilities make it fairly easy for a human to "survive" an attack.  Of course surviving with a wound means later dying and joining the undead ranks.


Sure, a vampire could easily outsmart a zombie, and a werewolf could tear one apart.  But the zombie's strength has always been in numbers.  Zombies can always be counted on for apocalyptic fiction.  They leave the 'night in a creepy castle' and 'terrorized little village' scenarios to the other guys.

Monday, October 03, 2011

Zombie Soccer

Does anyone remember this video?  Don't worry, I'm not a Gob fan, but this is a great idea for a music video.

Music video for I Hear You Calling by Gob.