Saturday, April 30, 2016

Are You Prepared for Zombies?

Are You Ready?

Today is National PrepareAthon Day, While the government doesn't do a great job on Zombies in films and on TV shows, it does have plenty of tips about how to get ready for a all kinds of emergencies.  They urge you to think about the likely disasters that your community might face and plan accordingly.  Check out their guidance on how to make a plan here.

http://www.cgpgrey.com [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Disaster Supply Kit


Every family should at least have a basic disaster supply kit.  According to FEMA, at a minimum you should have at least 1 gallon of water per person per day for 3 days.  You should also have a three day supply of non-perishable food.  To see what else you should have - check out their basic disaster supply kit online.  If Zombies are in the mix, you should have everything in the government-recommended kit, plus zombie apocalypse weapons like an axe, a baseball bat, and a big ass knife.



As I look at the calendar of events, there aren't too many things scheduled.  But, individually and as families, there are activities to become more prepared. Since the Zombies could show up any day now, this is a good time to get the kids together and get ready for them.  Be ready for tornadoes, for floods, and for other bad days.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Zombie Pranks - Milicent versus the Zombies

Convincing a Younger Sibling that Zombies Are Coming


The Zombies are coming!  The Zombies are coming!  In America, we have a long and proud tradition of pranking our younger siblings.  We convince our younger siblings that they were adopted, that they were dropped on the doorstep in a paper bag, or that they just got bit by the poisonous Kamungamunga Spider.  These guys convinced their little sister who was doped up from wisdom teeth surgery that the Zombie Apocalypse was in progress.  It's pretty funny:


These guys did a good job of controlling the situation.  I don't advise actually pulling this prank on anyone.  After all my little brother knew where we kept the machete and the baseball bat. 


Monday, April 25, 2016

Indie Movie Project - Zombie with a Shotgun

Have you ever thought of getting into the movie business?  The upcoming Indiegogo funded movie, Zombie with a Shotgun, could be your ticket to the bright lights.  Of course, since it is a Zombie flick, the red carpet might have started out as white.  Blood could run every where!

Here's a quick preview with clips and information:


This movie promises to break many of the rules for Zombie films.  You can check out the project here:  https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/zombie-with-a-shotgun#/

Sunday, April 24, 2016

How to Trap a Zombie

It's quite easy to trap a Zombie.  Zombies are stupid.  They follow some primal dead instinct to pursue a food source and consume it.  Zombies don't hunt.  Zombies don't stalk.  Zombies don't ambush.  They simply take a direct path to follow food and eat it.  For survivors, this is a tremendous advantage.  All you have to do is lead a Zombie into a trap that you can easily escape and spring the trap.

Examples of Zombie Traps


Zombie Barn Trap.  A classic example of a Zombie trap might be a barn.  You could run into a barn through an open front door, close the back door behind you and then circle back around to close the front door and trap the Zombie.

National Park Service Photo
Early in The Walking Dead series, Herschel Greene kept his Zombie neighbors in his barn in hopes that a cure for the infection would have been found.

Scott Wilson (Actor who played Herschel Greene on The Walking Dead) Photo by Gage Skidmore [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons


Zombie Pit Trap.  Another classic example of a Zombie trap would be a pit trap.  You could run from a Zombie, leap a covered pit trap, and watch the Zombie fall right in.  If there is ever a Zombie apocalypse, you will see that Zombies regularly fall into wells, pits, rivers, etc.  During the Vietnam War, the Vietcong guerillas and North Vietnamese set up all sorts of well hidden pit traps that were filled with spikes.

Photo By Jorge Láscar from Australia (A booby trap with bamboo spikes - Cu Chi tunnels) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Zombie Spike Trap.  Since Zombies don't feel pain, they can also be lead to impale themselves.  The earth works at the Yorktown Battlefield in Virginia (photo below) provide an example of wooden spikes set to deter a charging enemy.  If the spikes were sharp enough, they might simply impale an unfeeling Zombie.
 
Yorktown Earth Works - National Park Service Photo
In Season 3 of The Walking Dead, a crazed and grief-stricken Morgan Jones makes good use spike traps to impale Zombies in his community so that he can kill them and release them from their wandering.

Lennie James (Actor who plays Morgan Jones in The Walking Dead) Photo By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America ([1]) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
The key to trapping Zombies is to use your live, human, brain to outwit the Zombies and lure them into a situation that they simply cannot escape.  They'd do the same to your if they could just get one bite!

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Zombie Short Film - The Next Day

I'm not one to sit and watch a long movie on Youtube.  I like shorter videos.  This short Zombie film, The Next Day, also brings a useful technique to the viewer.  It's called running away!


When it comes to the fight against zombies, he who runs away lives to fight another day. However, the urban running and obstacle course techniques shown in this short movie are really part of a freerunning martial art called parkour.  It's not something to take on lightly and, if you aren't prepared and trained, you can risk very serious injury.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Fear of the Walking Dead Binge Watch Report - Lessons Learned

I've recently been binge watching The Walking Dead spinoff series Fear of the Walking Dead on AMC.  I had been stockpiling episodes on the DVR for months and finally had a chance to get started.  I had trouble getting through the rather longish and talky pilot episode, but now the series is rolling along.  It was well worth the investment to get into the meat of the series.

Photo by http://www.cgpgrey.com [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons


Fear of the Walking Dead offers some very interesting and different perspectives on the Zombie Apocalypse.  Set in anti-gun and pro-riot California, it's easy to see how a Zombie infection could spin out of control.  In the South where everyone is armed to the teeth and has protection via Stand Your Ground and Castle Doctrine laws, it really takes more of an imagination and a suspension of disbelief to think of Zombies spreading very far beyond liberal bastions like the cities of Atlanta or Raleigh.  In Fear of the Walking Dead, the survivors are initially much more dependent on government support for safety and survival.

So far, I've learned a few things:

1.  Own a Gun.  If you don't own a gun, fighting Zombies becomes far more difficult.  You literally have to bash their brains in.  However, you shouldn't use shotguns in the house if you can help it.  It really does make a mess.

2. Don't Rely on the Government.  When you can choose self-sufficiency, you should.  If there ever is a Zombie apocalypse.  don't rely solely on the government for your safety and sustenance.

3. Know where supplies are stored.  Everyone knows that looters will strike all the obvious places.  Therefore, you need to remember the little places off the beaten path that will have the supplies you need.

Friday, April 15, 2016

Best Combat Techniques Against Zombies

Martial Arts Techniques Against Zombies


Friday nights are made for fighting!  Fighting Zombies that is.  But, the big question is how?  How do you fight a zombie and win?  One thing you can do is use the unthinking Zombies momentum against him with Aikido style moves.  This video from Zombie Attack explains some of the Best Combat Techniques for Fighting Zombies!


Of course, don't try this at home.  Unless, the Zombies really are coming!

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

New Name - How To Fight Zombies!!!

Zombies are relentless.  They don't go away.  They keep coming!  That's why we've made a giant leap with this blog.  We've changed the name of this blog.  We're now www.howtofightzombies.com.  If the Zombies are going to bring it, we'll bring it right back at 'em!

Zombies in Pontevedra graffiti - photo By Zarateman (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
This blog will cover how to prepare for zombies, how to elude zombies, and most importantly how to fight zombies!  We'll also share interesting information and humor from the Zombie world.  Finally, we'll also include helpful information on prepping and disaster preparedness.

Our new URL is easy to remember.  Whether you hear shuffling at your door or just need a quick zombie fix, come visit www.howtofightzombies.com

Friday, April 1, 2016

Creating a Custom Anti-Zombie Bat

One tried and true product for fighting Zombies is the baseball bat.  It's a legal piece of sports equipment by day and a wicked home defender by night!  Did you know that you can refinish and refurbish a baseball bat?  That's one way that a beat up old baseball bat can go from ratty to rugged in one fell swoop.  If you have a specialized "anti-zombie" baseball bat, you'll feel more confident when you do go up against a zombie, a burglar, or a new pitcher.

An Assortment of Baseball Bats - photo by Spitzgogo_CHEN (Nokia 6230i) (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

There are several articles on the web that explain how to refurbish a baseball bat.  The process is simpler than you might think!

According to this eHow on How to Paint a Softball Bat, all you need is aluminum epoxy paint remover, aluminum wool, fine sandpaper, aluminum coating chemical, masking tape, epoxy spray paint, 600-grit sandpaper, and epoxy spray sealer!



This refinishing article on Painting a Softball Bat show you how the process works in pictures.  This could make for an awesome custom anti-zombie bat.