Prepare for the Zombie Apocalypse.....No Really

       

 

  My son who was fascinated by zombies at 10.  He was sure there could really be a zombie apocalypse.  I have always tried to listen to his ideas and thoughts, even if in my mind I was thinking, "Yeah right, it would never happen." This was only his latest, first aliens, then bigfoot, now a zombie apocalypse. So in trying to answer him I tried to think of a situation where something like that could occur. After all the first time I saw "Night of the Living Dead", I was 13 and was sure that it was possible.

           In my mind I actually came up with a way, some medical virus would come along that rendered a human, "dead like" or "zombie like".  Where they were out of their minds, maybe they craved protein or something like that.  So they went after well humans which looked like walking kabobs. With the myriad of virus' that seem to become resistant to medication and grow and change form, this did not seem that out of reality.  In fact science fiction a lot of times becomes science fact.  Then the writers and producers of 28 Days and 28 Days Later stole my idea and made a ton of money. 


           Today as I was reading through articles on the net I came up with a link to a government, that is right I said US government site that has a blog called Public Health Matters Blog.  The blog was Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse.  Now keep in mind this blog was really about preparedness for emergencies of all kinds.  It gave the history of zombies (after all you need to know your enemy to defeat it).  The author likes "Resident Evil", as I said, I am more of the "Night of the Living Dead" person.  It states the origins of the word is Haitian and New Orleans voodoo rituals. It depicts that same idea I had that it is some infectious virus passed on through a bite, or a meal. That it sets up a craving.  What I thought was interesting is that it gave specific preparations to take to protect yourself. Here are some:

• 1 gallon of water per person per day
• non perishable items you would regularly eat in a day
• tools-utility knife duct tape, battery powered radio
• clothing-a change of clothing for each person and bedding
• documents-drivers license, gun permit(ok that one is mine), passport, birth certificate
• basic first aid kit (not helpful for zombie bites)

I have added some of my own:

• baseball bat (suggestion on comments to wack your way through zombies)
• shot gun or hand gun (your preference of course, head shot remember)
• hammer and nails-if you need to hole up in a house and have to nail doors and windows
• wood- this is only needed if you are going to hole up in a house
• gasoline and matches ( you can burn up zombies if needed) 

They also suggest finding the nearest zombie free refugee camp, sitting down with family and coming up with an escape plan, and meeting place in case you are separated. All really good plans for a zombie apocalypse or an other emergency, like Hurricane Issac. I found it interesting I discovered this blog the day after the hurricane.  Do you think the universe is trying to tell me something?  Ok, I will prepare for a zombie apocalypse.  To all the people in the gulf affected by Hurricane Issac, my prayers and thoughts are with you. Now I need to get my zombie kit together!!!

Is There a Need for Robin Hood?

 


The link below goes to an article about a Mayor in Spain who is marching through the Andalucia country side,  like a modern day Robin Hood. Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo is the mayor of a small town named Marinaleda in Southern Spain.  He is gaining fame by taking food from Supermarkets and giving it to the poor in his community. Is our world economy so out of balance, that Robin Hood and his merry band of men, need to rob from the rich and give to the poor?   Well  Mayor Gordillo does exactly that as he sets out on an anti-austerity walk.  He and the protesters have occupied banks and stole food to feed the poor, disturbing the government of Majarino Rajoy.

Mayor Gordillo has immunity from prosecution, so he can not be arrested. Though he is giving up that right to walk across Andalucia to protest. In fact he says it would be an honor to be jailed while standing up for the poor. His plan is to continue to occupy all the banks and grocers. As he stated, "The robbers who have caused this crisis must pay the consequences for what they have done."  He states, "he was attacking banks for repossessing the homes of people unable to pay their mortgages, and supermarkets for damaging local farmers. The euro is a fraud that enriches some and impoverishes the rest ... There are families going hungry, and small farmers who are ruined. We are asking for a change of the political model.”

In the USA we had the Occupy movement which was a movement against both social and economic injustice. Most large cities in the US had an occupy group that was active in their cities. It was cleared out mostly by December 2011. What started out as a committed non violent protest, turned in to a large sit in with undefned goals.  The movement is still active and is going globally, though now it seems more specific in goals. For example in the Czech Republic there was a protest of unions and civic associations that began April 28, 2012 and lasted about a month.

So my question is, have we the ordinary people of the world become so frustrated with the leadership of our nations, that we need to be rescued by Robin Hood?  Or do we need to step up and give a show of solidarity?  I remember a movie in the 1970's called "Network" that has this line that goes, "I am as mad as hell, and I am not going to take it any more." Is that where the civilized world is? I say yes, we are that mad! In the USA we are getting ready for a presidential election where there is no real winner, except for the elected official. The people are not necessarily going to benefit, so we do need Robin Hood and any merry band of men or women who will help us! Yes, and we need to give a show of solidarity.  So I say good For Mayor Gordillo of Marinaleda, Spain. Below is a link to the original article.

 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f1b089d2-e885-11e1-8397-00144feab49a.html#axzz23vcVQQTT

Spongebob Gay?

Ukrainian commission wants to ban ‘gay’ SpongeBob and Teletubbie ‘losers’

By Eric Pfeiffer, Yahoo! News | The Sideshow – Thu, Aug 16, 2012

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A Ukrainian commission wants SpongeBob Squarepants and other shows banned (Wikicommons)First they came for the Simpsons and now they want SpongeBob Squarepants. The Ukraine is considering a move to censor several children's shows after a new study from a conservative commission labeled the shows "a real threat" to the country's youth.

The Ukraine's National Expert Commission for Protecting Public Morality released the report, which attacks several U.S. and international programs as detrimental to the country.

Psychologist Irina Medvédeva is quoted in the study, alleging that children aged 3 to 5 years old, "pull faces and make jokes in front of adults they don't know, laugh out loud and repeat nonsense phrases in a brazen manner," after viewing the shows.
The Ukrainian paper Ukraínskaya Pravda reported on Thursday that some of the shows under fire include "Family Guy," "Futurama," "Pokemon," "The Simpsons" and "Teletubbies," which the report says are, "projects aimed at the destruction of the family, and the promotion of drugs and other vices."
The Wall Street Journal reported that the study results first appeared on "fringe Catholic website Family Under the Protection of the Holy Virgin."
While the accusations sound a bit silly, a 2011 study by a University of Virginia professor claimed that watching just nine minutes of SpongeBob could adversely affect the attention span and learning abilities of 4-year-olds.
The Ukrainian commission had previously attempted to ban other shows, including "The Simpsons."
Some of the accusations leveled against the programming in the study:

• SpongeBob Squarepants: "gay"

• Teletubbies: "Deliberately aims to create subnormal (men), who spend all day in front of the television with their mouths open swallowing all types of information," and promotes the "psychology of losers."

• Shrek: "containing sadism"

• South Park: "reincarnation propaganda"

• Japanese Anime: "A clear example of sexist propaganda"

The study concluded that the programming represents  "a large-scale experiment on Ukrainian children" to "create criminals and perverts."

So Americans whose children watch these shows, do we consider ourselves criminals and perverts?  So what about Bugs Bunny, and Elmer Fudd were better?  What about the Jetsons, Magilla Gorilla, Felix the cat? I say ridiculous, these are just childhood cartoons, they entertain, maybe teach a moral or two.  Anything more we attach to them is really an adult issue.