From its humble folkloric beginnings to the release George Romero’s classic Night of the Living Dead in 1968, today’s current Walking Dead craze has taken zombie culture in America to new heights. And now that Halloween has arrived, our taste for adventures involving hordes of the undead has doubled. Whether you’re searching for candy treats or goodies of a fleshier variety, it’s the ideal time of year to dig a little deeper into the zombie phenomenon as it continues to fill up our film screens, televisions, and literature.
The zombie myth is timeless, with references to the dead rising up again found throughout the histories of various cultures. However, the actual term “zombie” has more specific roots in Haitian Creole traditions and African religious customs, where the zombies were simply mindless slaves rather than the insatiable, flesh-eating monsters they would become in the hands of American pop culture creators.
Regardless of origin, there’s no denying the zombie has come into its own in the last few decades, serving as a metaphor for everything from the danger of mindless consumerism to economic disasters and epidemics on an international scale. And while zombies still operate effectively as metaphors for large scale disasters, global, environmental, and otherwise, there’s are also more immediate messages in shows like The Walking Dead. As we as a society find ourselves relying more and more on automation and less and less on our own intellect, we’re in danger of becoming just as mindless as the monsters we fear.
We’re increasingly producing devices and systems designed to make our lives easier and safer, but at what cost? Automated home security systems that are designed to do our thinking for us in case of a threat to our family members or property are a prime example of the double-edged sword . By allowing an “intelligent” machine system to do the thinking, we decrease the possibility that we’d be able to respond appropriately to a threat should the system no longer operate.
The risk is also inherent in other types of so-called advanced technology, such as increasingly automated features on the vehicles we drive and labor saving machines replacing the humans in our factories. By allowing the machines to think for us, we run the risk of decreasing our own capacity for innovation and creative thinking and thus our ability to operate without technology. We’re in danger of becoming slaves to the technologies that were intended to serve us instead.
On some subtle level, we seem to be aware of and fear the dangers of our overreliance on automation, as witnessed by the popularity of television shows like The Walking Dead, a show supposedly about zombies but that focuses instead on the survivors of the global apocalypse rather than the cause of it. The main characters, although always in danger, nonetheless present a message that the more willing they are to adapt to a world without the technologies and creature comforts they no doubt relied on prior to the world disaster, the more likely they are to be able to survive the new reality. And it’s no accident that the ones most able to survive from the beginning are the Daryl Dixons and Glenn Rhees of the show, those willing to think creatively and who had lived life prior to the apocalypse without an over-reliance on technology.
While the newest zombie-based show on the scene has only aired its first six-episode season thus far, there’s likely an even stronger possibility of exploring the characteristics required to survive a global loss of technology that accompanies a zombie apocalypse.Fear the Walking Deadis set in the same universe as the original The Walking Dead but with a backed-up timeline meant to show the first days of the epidemic. So, while technology had begun to fail by the end of the first season, characters were not yet completely cut off.
There’s no doubt that advances in technology have numerous benefits for mankind, but when the technology is capable of more advanced thinking than we ourselves are, the dangers may just outweigh some of the benefits. If we want to avoid becoming mindless zombie slaves to technology, we have to be able to do our own thinking.
George A. Romero’s Vital Role in Paving the Road for Today’s Zombie Film
The first feature length film to employ zombies as a vehicle for social commentary was Abel Gance’s J’Accuse (1919), which is also memorable for featuring authentic footage from the battlefields of the first World War. In the 1930’s, many zombie films were inspired by mostly misinterpreted Haitian mythology. Today, zombie film and culture now permeate virtually all mass media, everything from video games, to TV shows, to graphic novels. Zombies are used as a narrative device to discuss any number of issues, from oppressive, military states, to contagions and pandemics, to xenophobia and social stigma. We owe most of this to George A. Romero.
Zombie films, and indeed exploitation films in general, would not exist as we know them today if not for Romero’s influence. From his early work with the groundbreaking films Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead (1978), and Day of the Dead (1985) that set the zombie genre in motion to his recent works like Land of the Dead (2005), Diary of the Dead (2007), and Survival of the Dead (2010) Romero set the standard for the zombie movie in ways that changed how we watch the genre entirely.
Night of the Living Dead, although black and white and also shot on a shoestring budget, has a depth that was surprising for the time. Although the film didn’t shy away from explicit onscreen violence, it wasn’t the blood and guts alone that made this film revolutionary. After all, by 1968, exploitation filmmakers like Herschell Gordon Lewis had already been churning out over-the-top gory films like Blood Feast (1963) for a few years. What distinguished Romero’s film was that it didn’t rely exclusively on sensational gimmicks, but it endeavored to tell a meaningful story with characters that elicited emotional responses from viewers. The film focused more on the human relationships during the post apocalyptic backdrop, and it offered poignant commentary about humanity’s inability to reconcile conflicting self-interests in crisis situations. The film is also notable for featuring a black actor (Duane Jones) as its male lead. What’s more, the film had the audacity to have its main character killed off — and what’s more, the black male lead is shot by a white militia. Bear in mind that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated around the time of the film’s release, and Malcolm X had been assassinated a mere three years prior.
His next installment in the Dead saga was Dawn of the Dead (1978), which mostly takes place inside an overrun shopping mall and also focuses on the survivors of a zombie outbreak. We are told that the zombies flock to the mall because they have vague memories of the site holding personal significance for them. It’s Romero’s stab at consumer culture, and the unhealthy degree of importance assigned to material wealth.
In 1985’s Day of the Dead Romero envisions an underground military base where zombies have been kept for experimentation. It evokes sympathy for the zombies, and vilifies the power-crazed military officials (especially the psychopathic Captain Rhodes, who meets an especially gruesome end). Day, with it’s scaything criticism of governmental abuse of power and ethical issues surrounding military service, is perhaps the most socially relevant of all the Dead films. Not only is it attracting fresh attention because of regular screenings on TV, particularly the new grindhouse/horror-oriented El Rey cable network (more info here), but the film also laid the groundwork for modern zombie productions like The Walking Dead, and 28 Days Later. And moreover, his films have been remade and adapted, proving that they are still as relevant as ever to a modern day audience.
While his film Land of the Dead (2005) did offer unique criticism of the Bush administration, his follow-ups, Diary of the Dead (2007), and Survival of the Dead (2010) failed to gain widespread attention like his earlier works did but they still prove to be potent additions to the zombie film genre catalog. His most recent outings lack the potency as the earlier films. However, these movies were not totally without merit and, in fact, only upheld the idea that Romero is an incredibly important figure in the zombie genre who had an integral role shaping what it is today.
In more recent, unrelated works like The Walking Dead and 28 Days Later, the very ideas those films were founded upon are the same ideas that Romero laid out in his earlier works and upheld in his later films. Surely, if not for Romero’s works and contributions, the zombie genre that we know and love to today would seem infinitely less-thrilling, and considerably less relevant, than it is today.
Guilty as charged. It is easy to amass a sizable supply of food in a short period of time. This is especially true if you tend to purchase a little bit extra each time you shop. Before you know it, you have a closet or pantry full of stuff but no clue as to what is inside. In my case, I have some well marked buckets of food but no master list. I know I have 30 pounds of coffee beans – or is it 40? And #10 tins of freeze-dried meats, fruits and veggies? They are packed away in carton boxes and I know I have lots of cartons but just exactly what and how much?
I have been storing food for so long that I can not rely on memory alone to know what I already have and what is still needed. This is my number one mistake and one that I plan to remedy in two ways. First of all, everything new that I purchase will be inventoried right away. This is what I call my going forward plan. Then, as time allows, I will methodically inventory everything else.
The key, of course, is not to co-mingle the old with the new. Sure, I may end up with some duplicates but that is better than being so overwhelmed than to do nothing at all. Your plan may be different given the dynamics of your space and your time. All I can say is that if you are fairly new to prepping, don’t let this one slip by. Keep track of what you have from the get go and save yourself a lot of grief down the road.
2. Identifying the most likely risks and prepping for those first.
When I first started, I went off willy-nilly preparing for all sorts of calamities. Earthquakes, terrorist attacks, pandemics, nuclear melt-downs, civil disobedience – you name it, I tried to prepare for it all. These days, I recommend that one of the very first steps that you take when prepping is to evaluate the most likely risks in your area and within your personal domestic situation.
Most if not all city, county and state governments will have emergency management websites that will help you sort through the most likely disasters to occur in your area. Add to this an assessment of your location. Are you in a city where gangs, mobs or terrorist attacks are likely? Do you live in a remote area where the failure of transportations systems or the lack of fuel will cut off you off from supplies from the rest of the world? Is your employment situation tenuous requiring that you build up some cash reserves to get you by just in case the job goes away?
Clearly, at the beginning, some choices will need to be made regarding the best use of your prepping budget. Just remember that food, water and first aid supplies should be at the top of everyone’s list. After that, assess the most likely risks and plan accordingly. A good place to start is 12 Months of Prepping – The First Year which is a recap of monthly supplies, skills and tasks to get you starting on the road to preparedness.
3. Preparing mostly to bug out rather than bugging in.
We all talk about having a bug-out-bag and without question, having your most basic survival items in a pack that you can grab and go if you need to get out of dodge in a hurry is important. But beyond that, over and over I see people acquire all sorts of gear for surviving on the run – perhaps in the woods or bush in a remote location.
I know that in own case and also with the majority of the readers on Backdoor Survival, hunkering down and bugging in will always be preferred to taking off into the unknown with our stuff. For many, the choice to bug in has to do with family, health concerns or financial considerations. That, plus the availability of stored supplies makes bugging in – or staying at home – the choice when a disaster strikes.
At the end of the day, take care of your bugging in needs first and foremost. Plan for outdoor cooking facilities (perhaps an existing charcoal grill?), supplemental lighting (like this $21 Dorcy Wireless Motion LED Flood Lite), stored water, and a portable generator now. Later, down the road, you can expand your supplies to include the essentials for truly bugging out.
That said, pay attention to mistake number 4.
4. Failure to evacuate at just the right time.
When the storm of the century is heading your way, know that it is time to evacuate. Load up your vehicle and go. As much as you feel that your are better off in your own home, if the authorities tell you to leave – and even if they do not – get out of harms way as a precautionary measure. Do so while you still have the ability to load up your vehicle with supplies and fill the tank with gas.
Sticking around when there is at least a 50% chance of a disaster occurring (hurricane, flood, landslides, tsunami,wildfire) is just plain silly. Remember mistake number 2 – failure to evaluate the risks? Part of your planning should be to determine the trigger point for evacuation as well as identification of an evacuation site and a route to get there. Better yet, plan an alternate route as well.
5. Having the gear but not knowing how to use it.
I am guilty of this one as well. I have a Kaito emergency radio as well as some Midland FRS radios. Sure, I know how basically to use them but what if I needed to use some of the more esoteric features? My bad. I also have a hand held compass – a nice one at that – and yet in these days of GPS navigation, would I know how to use it?
Get out the gear two or three times a year and put it through its paces. Not only do you need to know how to use it, but you need to make sure your gear is in good working order. Blades need to be sharpened, batteries need to be charged and skills need to be refreshed.
6. Underestimating other humans as a threat.
In a perfect world, we would all get along and go about our business in a mild-mannered way, not bothering anyone or causing others harm. Alas, as humans this has never been the case. From biblical times forward, man has opposed man. There have been and still are warriors, and armies, soldiers and dictators, enemies and foes.
As recent mass shootings have revealed, mental illness or drugs can make good people go bad. Add the uncertainly and chaos created by an unstable society and the potential for human threat because a major cause for concern.
Whether you embrace firearms or shun them, you still need a way to defend yourself, your family and your property. Consider pepper sprays, martial arts, and other defensive mechanisms in addition to traditional firearms. It is foolhardy to believe that having some means of defense is not needed because “there is no one out to get you”. Desperate people are dangerous people. And the lack of food, water and supplies will turn ordinary people into desperate people in a heartbeat.
7. Buying stuff while ignoring the need to develop skills.
Buying stuff is easy. Save up your money, select your merchandise and go to your local outdoor emporium or Amazon and make a purchase. On the other hand, learning new skills (or practicing old ones) takes time, patience and bit of study. Do you know how to start a fire without matches or a butane lighter? Do you know how to take advantage of natures bounty by knowing how to fish or hunt? And what about growing your own food? Could you do it?
Developing skills to become self-sufficient are every bit as important as having a closet full of the best gear money can by.
8. Lacking the knowledge to properly store your food supplies.
Okay, some might say there is a sixth enemy: namely the two legged type that gets into the tastier items (such a cans of brownie mix) and eats them without telling anyone.
Seriously though, storing food for the long term – meaning five years or longer – does take some care. Brush up on the basics of food storage and set up an active rotation program. You don’t necessarily have to store food for 10 years or longer but what you do store – even for a year or two – should be protected to the best of your ability.
One thing to keep in mind that except for the problem with pests, most food will still be edible even if it is not stored at optimal temperatures in a moisture and oxygen-free environment. But why not learn proper storage methods to insure maximum taste and nutrition. Here on Backdoor Survival, the following articles will help educate and there are plenty of others elsewhere on the internet including YouTube. A few hours of your time is all that it will take to make you a food storage expert.
9. Relying only on yourself and ignoring like-minded members of your community.
When I first started prepping, I did not mention my new little “hobby” to anyone. You know, OPSEC and all that. But about a year into it, I realized that I could not do it all on my own. There were things I was having trouble grasping on my own and I needed help. As I tip toed around the edges of my community, I found some like minded people and much to my surprise, I found that I had skills and knowledge that they lacked.
The mutual exchange of skills and knowledge ensued along with some informal agreements to team up if circumstances required us to be on our own for any period of time. This included teaming up for shelter and food as well as defense.
The importance of having a peer group of like minded comrades in my own community was strengthened as I read R. P. Ruggiero’s Brushfire Plague and continues as I explore other truer than life survival stories,. How you decide to expand your community contacts is up to you but be advised that when it comes to survival 1 plus 1 will definitely add up to more than 2.
The Final Word
These days I feel fortunate that I have come so far with my prepping activities. Moving beyond obsession, the prepping way of life is now a part of my core. It is “what I do” as well as being a hobby and a passion.
Indeed, I have made some mistakes along the way and many of them are listed above. There will surely be others down the road but I know that will be okay since they will afford me an opportunity to learn and grow. At the end of the day, life is all about growth, opportunity and the ability to take care of oneself physically, mentally and spiritually. To me, that is what prepping is all about – mistakes and all.
In a bizarre parasitic death sentence, a fungus turns carpenter ants into the walking dead and gets them to die in a spot that’s perfect for the fungus to grow and reproduce.
Scientists have no clue how the fungus takes control of the brains of ants so effectively. But a new study in the September issue of the American Naturalist reveals an incredible set of strategies that ensue.
The carpenter ants nest high in the canopy of a forest in Thailand, and they trek to the forest floor to forage. The fungus, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, prefers to end up on the undersides leaves sprouting from the northwest side of plants that grow on the forest floor, the new study showed. That’s where temperature, humidity and sunlight are ideal for the fungus to grow and reproduce and infect more ants.
Once infected by the fungus, an ant is compelled to climb down from the canopy to the low leaves, where it clamps down with its mandibles just before it dies.
“The fungus accurately manipulates the infected ants into dying where the parasite prefers to be, by making the ants travel a long way during the last hours of their lives,” said study leader David P. Hughes of Harvard University.
After the ant dies, the fungus continues to grow inside it. By dissecting victims, Hughes and colleagues found that the parasite converts the ant’s innards into sugars that help the fungus grow. But it leaves the muscles controlling the mandibles intact to make sure the ant keeps its death grip on the leaf.
The fungus also preserves the ant’s outer shell, growing into cracks and crevices to reinforce weak spots, thereby fashioning a protective coating that keeps microbes and other fungi out.
“The fungus has evolved a suite of novel strategies to retain possession of its precious resource,” Hughes said.
After a week or two, spores from the fungus fall to the forest floor, where other ants can be infected.
Making nests in the forest canopy might be an evolved ant strategy to avoid infection, Hughes figures. The ants also seem to avoid foraging under infected areas. This too might be an adaptive strategy to avoid infection, but more study is needed to confirm it, he said.
How the fungus controls ant behavior remains unknown. “That is another research area we are actively pursuing right now,” Hughes said.
The Skinny: This insanely symmetrical, moat-surrounded masterpiece was designed by architect Charles Sieger. While it lacks a working drawbridge, simply destroying the only path that leads into the compound would be a logical first step.
Bonus Zombie Defense Feature: The rapper Birdman filmed a music video here, so there’s likely to be an automatic weapon or two that got left behind.
The Skinny: For a home that can withstand a zombie apocalypse, not to mention a nuclear apocalypse and other various apocalypses, $750,000 is a freakin’ bargain. Anyway, it’s a former nuclear silo-turned-luxury home. How cool is that?
Bonus Zombie Defense Feature: Paved air-strip gets a nod, but the real bread and butter is the former launch control center that sits behind doors made of three-inch concrete and mesh, 125 feet underground. Oh, and there’s a Jacuzzi down there, too.
The Skinny: This crazy compound is the (paranoid?) masterpiece of one AI V. Corbi, the founder of a company called SAFE (Strategically Armored & Fortified Environments) that specializes in stuff like mounting lasers on sharks, build missile-proof yachts, line Escalades with tank armor, panic rooms, etc. It’s also set on a private hilltop behind a pair of gates, and has a helipad.
Bonus Zombie Defense Feature: Property includes not only a dock, but also a helicopter pad for making your escape, which might come in handy if the zombies pull a “Dawn of the Dead” reboot and figure out how to make a ship out of corpses.
The Skinny: A massive and secluded mountain castle that could potentially provide residence for the masses. Also includes a six-floor “Gate’s Keeper” cottage, great hall and other structures.
Bonus Zombie Defense Feature: A pair of guard towers and other tall structures for scouting and medieval archer (and sniper) defense.
The Skinny: Concrete façade and a rooftop deck for headshot contests. Just under 4 acres and over 12,500 square feet provides enough room to take in a roaming survivor or two, you know, to help fight off forces, grow crops, repopulating Earth, etc. Pick and choose wisely, folks.
Bonus Zombie Defense Feature: 200-foot wood and steel escape home that leads from the main home to a private boathouse on the lake.
Bonus Zombie Defense Feature: If you manage to get this thing running, you might be able to contact an extraterrestrial life force to do one of two things: 1) kill the zombies or 2) repopulate the earth with half-human, half-alien beings.
I received the following input from an undisclosed source… with regard to the truth of what is going on with chem trails and what may be contributing to this growing proclivity for zombi-izm in America if not the rest of the world. Suffice to say that this information came to this person from channels within EUCOM. Food (!) for thought.
Chemtrails have been employed for numerous desired effects. These include ‘sickening’ the general populous and lowering the soul vibration/hindering the consciousness of the populous. This is coupled with contamination of the water/food supply to achieve the same things.
People know this is happening, they only have to look into the sky to see it.
In recent years we are now seeing, what I call the second phase. The introduction of designer drugs that contain chemical compounds that either ‘activate’ or act as a catalyst for the chemicals dispersed over us in the form of chemtrails.
The active chemicals or molecular structures in these so called ‘Bath salts’ or whatever other synonym you know them by, could also be implemented in regular pharmaceuticals. Drugs, lotions, moisturisers, make up etc.
Nevertheless, no matter how you receive the ‘active agent’, the outcome will be the same. Psychosis, insanity, mental breakdowns. Whatever. The behaviour that has been experienced in Florida recently, I fear is going to become commonplace as the frequency and intensity of both ingredients increase.
This is how I feel they are trying to cause mass hysteria and panic, all within a comfortable time frame of the 2012 Olympics and the upcoming December events (whatever they may be.)
My reply which should at least ease the minds of some… was as follows:
I agree that it certainly looks very plausible that whatever is in the chemtrails contains a number of actionable agents that could increase receptivity to outside electromagnetic or other affects and also lowering immunity etc.
The good news is that if you raise your frequency they can’t get at you in any case. Of course that doesn’t help that those around you may be vulnerable and losing their minds or whatever the case may be.
If you’re a zombie buff, you obviously have been paying attention to the slue of bizarre news that has been happening over the past week or so. By bizarre I mean zombie related. People getting their faces eaten off, someone cutting themselves open and throwing their intestines at cops, and someone else killed his roommate and then ate his heart and brains. Yes, it sounds like something out of the zombie movies that we’ve seen over the years and quite honestly, it’s frightening.
Can you imagine if a zombie outbreak really did occur? I can honestly tell you won’t be as badass as Frank West or any of the cast from Left 4 Dead. Most people will die horrible, horrible deaths and it’s going to be tragic!
I, on the other hand, will survive and be just fine thanks to this new zombie proof house by KWK Promes. This is something any zombie fan and most importantly, any zombie outbreak survivor would love to have.
“The most essential item for our clients was acquiring the feeling of maximum security,” begins the designers’ website in the summary of the structure. Maximum security is an understatement here.Even the windows are covered with a slab of concrete when the structure is on “nap time.”
With moveable walls, only one entrance (located on the second floor after closing the drawbridge), and a metal gate; this house is definitely something you’ll want to invest in especially with the current events that have been taking place.
Not only is the house zombie proof, but it’s also extremely luxurious. Glossy wooden floors, indoor pool, very modern kitchen, and several more great amenities that will make any zombie survivor completely comfortable.
How safe are you when the zombies come for your brain? Photo: Google Maps/Doejo
The Walking Dead teaches us that well-stocked pantries and armories are paramount to the survival of the human race after a zombie infestation. Canned food and ammunition: You can never have enough of these key essentials.
Enter the Map of the Dead from Doejo, which overlays zombie danger zones and potential supply locations on a Google Map of your local haunts. Red areas denote population centers where zombies might graze, while dark gray zones cover parks and wilderness areas, which are most likely to be walker-free. Supply locations are annotated with helpful descriptions — liquor stores, hospitals, gun shops, military bases and cemeteries are just some of the locations highlighted.
The map uses Google APIs and keyword searches to determine the location types that appear on the maps. The developers at Doejo are looking into adding more location types, such as schools, pawn shops and barricades. Unfortunately, certain keywords are currently returning too many false positives for these types of landmarks.
As for user-generated content — in other words, crowd-sourced supply and hiding place annotation — it’s something Doejo is exploring, but has no definite plans to implement. Which might be good. You don’t want to share your favorite fortified sniper perch with the whole world.
Still, with the Doejo maps, you can better plan for the coming zombie apocalypse, and even other natural disasters. At Gadget Lab, we scanned not only our local San Francisco environs, but also Chicago and New York City to determine safe zones should the worst come to pass. (We briefly considered a quick survey of Los Angeles, but decided that traffic snarls will doom the City of Angels to a quick and unstoppable zombie epidemic. Sorry, LA. We’ll miss your movie blockbusters and sunny beaches.)
Here’s a quick look at how well our three metropolitan areas are set up for riding out the zombie plague.
Manhattan
Shut down the bridges and start rooting out the undead. Photo: Google Maps/Doejo
Manhattan is an island, which gives it an advantage over outlaying areas, insomuch that once the city shuts down the bridges and tunnels, survivors can start rooting out the water-locked zombies. On the flipside, a quick look at the map shows only three gun stores.
Sure, you can kill a zombie with a well-placed smack to the head, but who wants to get that close to something that wants to chew on your shoulder? Also, be careful about that military base between the two cemeteries — it’s actually just a recruitment center. And, of course, stay far away from cemeteries, which are typically popular spawning points for the undead.
As with all the Doejo maps of metropolitan areas, the Manhattan map only shows major stores, and leaves out neighborhood bodegas. So make friends with the owners of these stores right now. A few pleasantries today could prove fruitful tomorrow.
Chicago
Zombies don’t want deep dish, they want brains. Photo: Google Maps/Doejo
The Windy City is surrounded by suburbs on three sides. That much open space could help the citizens of Chicago escape early in the infestation. That said, if you’re trapped in the city, it’s best to stay near the shore, as it’s easier to defend three sides than four. Plus, if you have an escape boat, you can head to Canada where the zombies are allegedly nicer.
Four military bases are within the immediate Chicago area, and could potentially help keep zombie infestation to a minimum. Or, conversely, the soldiers could become zombies — military-trained zombies with access to guns. It’s a judgement call. You have the map, so at least you know your options.
San Francisco
All those peace rallies could suddenly become zombie buffets. Photo: Google Maps/Doejo
San Francisco has the advantage of being at the tip of a peninsula. Shutting down the two bridges the lead into the city should be no problem. The disadvantage of San Francisco is that it’s San Francisco, home of pacifism and protest. People here may not have the gumption to mount an effective counter-attack, and no amount of pacifistic protesting will stop a zombie from popping open your skull, and devouring your brain like it’s soup inside a sourdough bread bowl.
Our lack of local gun stores is especially disturbing. Hopefully, the thin design of the MacBook Air — you can find four or five in every local hipster cafe — will help these notebooks serve as effective weapons for zombie decapitation.
San Francisco’s saving grace may be its DIY resourcefulness. Within a few days of the collapse of society, someone will probably have an open-source 3D printable weapon that not only kills zombies, but also offers a much lower carbon footprint than your average bullet.
Plus, San Francisco moved all of it’s dead to the nearby suburb of Colma. That should cut down on the first wave of zombies that wander the streets lusting for brraaaiiinnnsss.
and I know I have lots of cartons but just exactly what and how much?
When the storm of the century is heading your way, know that it is time to evacuate. Load up your vehicle and go. As much as you feel that your are better off in your own home, if the authorities tell you to leave – and even if they do not – get out of harms way as a precautionary measure. Do so while you still have the ability to load up your vehicle with supplies and fill the tank with gas.
as well as some 
In a perfect world, we would all get along and go about our business in a mild-mannered way, not bothering anyone or causing others harm. Alas, as humans this has never been the case. From biblical times forward, man has opposed man. There have been and still are warriors, and armies, soldiers and dictators, enemies and foes.
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