Judgment day or zombie apocalypse? Perhaps both.

According to 'Christian' broadcaster Family Radio, led by Harold Camping and widely reported by media worldwide, Judgment Day (or the 'rapture') will occur on Saturday, 21 May 2011. 5500 billboards announcing the event have appeared worldwide.

Billboard in Brisbane, Australia (photo by Benjamin Nichols submitted to ABC)

See San Francisco Chronicle.

Somewhat coincidentally, on 16 May 2011, the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) published in its blog a guide to the zombie apocalypse. Included in the plan are the following points:

Identify the types of emergencies that are possible in your area. Besides a zombie apocalypse, this may include floods, tornadoes, or earthquakes. If you are unsure contact your local Red Cross chapter for more information. Family members meeting by their mailbox. You should pick two meeting places, one close to your home and one farther away.

Pick a meeting place for your family to regroup in case zombies invade your home…or your town evacuates because of a hurricane. Pick one place right outside your home for sudden emergencies and one place outside of your neighborhood in case you are unable to return home right away.

Identify your emergency contacts. Make a list of local contacts like the police, fire department, and your local zombie response team. Also identify an out-of-state contact that you can call during an emergency to let the rest of your family know you are ok.

Plan your evacuation route. When zombies are hungry they won’t stop until they get food (i.e., brains), which means you need to get out of town fast! Plan where you would go and multiple routes you would take ahead of time so that the flesh eaters don’t have a chance! This is also helpful when natural disasters strike and you have to take shelter fast.

If the prediction of Judgment Day is correct, the righteous ascend to heaven. Given the timing of the CDC's notice, it is likely that the rest of us will be facing a zombie apocalypse, when the non-righteous dead, rise again.

Brisbane zombie walk

The fifth Brisbane zombie walk occurred yesterday.  Unfortunately, regular zombie reporter for the ABC, Gary Kemble, was unable to attend. Brisbane Times (Fairfax) reported that some 10,000 zombies shuffled through Brisbane yesterday. Excerpt

The Brisbane Zombie Walk 2010 attracted police car escorts and caused minor traffic delays as about 10,000 people dressed in fake-blood splattered costumes and moaning for brains walked from Wickham Park to Fortitude Valley.

“I do this every year,” said zombie walker Ged Maybury, of Logan, who only started making his costume on Saturday.

“I'm trying to catch up (with the crowd) but I keep having to stop for people to take my photo.”

Paige Vickers heard about the event from her flatmate.

She caught the bus into town covered in red food dye mixed with glucose syrup.

“I didn't care. Half the bus was filled up with zombies. There's thousands of us here,” she said.

Meanwhile blood-splattered bride Vanessa Campbell and her friends found yesterday was a nice day for a white - and red flecked - wedding.

“Who doesn't love dressing up?” she said.

The annual event raises money for the Brain Foundation Australia but organisers say the walk is also for fun and for those “obsessed with the living dead”.

Photos from facebook group

 (photo by Ryan Cunningham)

 (photo by Ellie Marie Whiting)

Here is a video footage, although the zombies appear to be a little too animated


Zombie walks also took place in Sydney, Melbourne and cities around the world.

How to survive a zombie 'outbreak'

I have previously written about zombies. What I have not considered (until now) is how to survive a zombie 'outbreak'.

Jake Halpern, a teacher at Yale and regular contributor at NPR, recently spoke about scenarios and how to survive.

For example: What would you do if the city of Boston were overrun with flesh-eating zombies, and you have to get to the last outpost of human civilization, which is nestled in the mountains in Winter Park, Colo.? Of course, first things first, you go to the gun store and pick up a heavy machine gun. Then you commandeer a car, preferably a Toyota Prius. Think about it — you really want to stop for gas?
...
For example, when fleeing zombies, [Max] Brooks advises against using a sedan. Instead, he suggests using an armored car. Even if you break down or run out of gas, you're still sitting pretty in a nice little fortress.
...
Brooks also scoffs at my notion of using a heavy machine gun, pointing out — quite rightly — that zombies can only be killed with a perfect head shot. I'd always imagined myself aiming my gun at head level, and then mowing down an entire crowd of the undead with one fluid spray of bullets. Not so easy, says Brooks, because zombies — like the humans they used to be — are not all the same height.

We should all think about our escape and survival plans and read Max Brooks' book, The Zombie Survival Guide.

more on Brisbane zombie walk

According to a more recent report by Gary Kemble on ABC News, there may have been as many as 5000 who attended Sunday's zombie walk in Brisbane, which may have set a new world record. Except

Queensland Police say five police were tasked to help with the zombie walk, based on estimates from event organisers that 1,500 people would take part.

"A much larger number of people participated in the walk than expected, possibly as many as 5,000, however the exact number is not known," the statement said.

Ms Westworth says she was shocked and delighted by the turn-out.

"We'd been expecting a good 2,000 or so people and we'd speculated maybe 3,000 or so people turning up due to the amount of last-minute press we'd received the week before, but not in my wildest dreams had I thought we'd get that many people," she said.

"Luckily for us the police were really helpful and did an excellent job of getting all those people through the city without incident and even managing to close off roads so efficiently and without prior planning."

She said unfortunately the event didn't raise as much money as they had hoped for.

"But we figure every little bit helps and at least we know what we need to do differently next year in order to raise more money or the Brain Foundation, who we'll keep using as our chosen charity," she said.

Ironically, the event's success has landed organisers with a new headache.

Mr Radaza wrote on the Brisbane Zombie Walk Facebook page that if the same numbers are expected next year, organisers will have to foot half of the policing bill.

The official police statement says police will continue to work with organisers to plan and manage future zombie walks.

"Having due regard to potential crowd sizes and their impact upon public safety and amenity, police will negotiate with organisers as to the provision of policing resources considered necessary to support the event. This may include some costs associated with police involvement," the statement said.

The official World Record for a gathering of zombies is 4,026, at the Big Chill festival in Ledbury, UK, in August.

another awesome photo from ABC News by Giulio Saggin

Interestingly, Gary Kemble who authored that article is also actively posting on the facebook page mentioned. A news reporter also being actively involved in the story is usually a conflict of interest, but in this case, justified. I hope he was also dressed as a zombie.

He also has an interesting blog - The Kemblog.

Next year, participants should contribute more, perhaps $10 each, which would raise over $50,000 for charity.

Brisbane zombie walk

The fourth Brisbane zombie walk happened yesterday. It used to be held earlier in the year, so it was many months late. Reported by Gary Kemble for ABC News

Zombie brides, zombie doctors and nurses, zombie strippers and zombie Santas were popular at this year's walk.

Zombie Darth Vader, zombie Where's Wally, and even zombie Hunter S Thompson turned out at the walk, which raised money for the Brain Foundation.

First-time lurcher Lara Shprem said the walk was more than just a fun day out for her.

"The charity is apt and ironic and funny, but it also has personal meaning for me," she said.

"My Mum's suffering from brain lesions so we're hoping to raise heaps of money. It may not help my Mum but it will help other people facing similar issues."

Organiser Cara Westworth said she was happy with how things went, and was looking forward to next year's walk.

Police said the zombie walkers were well-behaved and there were no problems reported.

The earliest recorded zombie walk was held in California in 2001, and have become popular since through the rise in zombie-related video games and movies.

photos from ABC News by Giulio Saggin






One day, a real zombie might appear and infect the others for real!

When zombies attack

I did not understand why a philosopher professor would write about zombies. Scientists or mathematicians on the other hand, I can understand. Researchers at the University of Ottawa have published a paper in Infectious Disease Modelling Research Progress modelling a zombie attack called 'When zombies attack! Mathematical modelling of an outbreak of zombie infection'- abstract

Zombies are a popular figure in pop culture/entertainment and they are usually portrayed as being brought about through an outbreak or epidemic. Consequently, we model a zombie attack, using biological assumptions based on popular zombie movies. We introduce a basic model for zombie infection, determine equilibria and their stability, and illustrate the outcome with numerical solutions. We then refine the model to introduce a latent period of zombification, whereby humans are infected, but not infectious, before becoming undead. We then modify the model to include the effects of possible quarantine or a cure. Finally, we examine the impact of regular, impulsive reductions in the number of zombies and derive conditions under which eradication can occur. We show that only quick, aggressive attacks can stave off the doomsday scenario: the collapse of society as zombies overtake us all.

Finally, some valuable research on the zombie phenomena. See also BBC News. I liked this bit

The study has been welcomed by one of the world's leading disease specialists, Professor Neil Ferguson, who is one of the UK government's chief advisors on controlling the spread of swine flu.

"The paper considers something that many of us have worried about - particularly in our younger days - of what would be a feasible way of tackling an outbreak of a rapidly spreading zombie infection," said Professor Ferguson, from Imperial College London.

However he thinks that some of the assumptions made in the paper might be unduly alarmist.

"My understanding of zombie biology is that if you manage to decapitate a zombie then it's dead forever. So perhaps they are being a little over-pessimistic when they conclude that zombies might take over a city in three or four days," he said.

Yo.

Why won't these zombies die?

Films about zombies are now their own sub-genre of horror. Nobody has explained why zombies, which are dead and decaying, need to eat flesh. It's not like they are able to digest.

Anyway, Anne Billson wrote a good article in The Guardian about why the sub-genre is popular

Because zombies, even more than vampires, are symbols of so many of today's subconscious fears. They stand for any section of society that can be easily depersonalised for social or political reasons. They represent the great unwashed, that fearsome underclass of knife-wielding hoodies certain newspapers are always warning us about. Or they're metaphors for poverty, influxes of immigrants or refugees who (we're told) will steal our housing and jobs. They could be gangs of feral children, football hooligans or those anonymous carriers of swine flu, at first kept at a safe distance but spreading infection ever closer to home to threaten us and our communities.

At their most basic level, zombies represent anarchy, threatening to upset the established order. Whereas a decade or so ago this might have seemed undesirable, now we're not so sure, because the established order hasn't been doing us any favours lately. In fact, its representatives have taken refuge in their own version of Fiddler's Green, where they have been leading a life of hedonism, paid for by the sweat of our labours. So whereas zombies might once have been a metaphor for the dreaded underclass, the recession is a reminder that we are that underclass, those faceless masses that need to be contained lest they take bites out of the bankers and politicians.

Take a look at the footage of the G20 demos in London, which shows crowds of people herded, clubbed and beaten back by heavily armoured police. The establishment is treating people like the zombies in Romero's films - as a faceless mass, less than human, a tide of contagion to be stemmed at all cost. They are no longer just reminders of our mortality. They are us. We are all zombies now.

Interesting point Ms Billson, but why do they need to feed on the living?

Brisbane zombie walk

There was another zombie walk in Brisbane yesterday from 3pm. The third year in a row. More than 1500 people participated... in 'costume'. Surely there may have been a few real ones.

See - 'Undead take over city' in Brisbane Times









I think these people are crazy. Strangely, I know if I was there that I would join in.

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This week is a short week at work thankfully.

zombies are coming

The Establishment

ZombiesAreComing.com is an online organization, established in 2007, for the purpose of promoting zombie awareness and preparation for the coming tides of darkness.

While outbreaks have been limited in the past to controllable levels, this trend is changing, and we must be proactive in defense of our homeland. Those in power have been able to contain and downplay any and all outbreaks, despite underground movements to inform the general public of pending danger. This site will help you take matters into your own hands and regain your options for self-defense against any ghoulish outbreak. Here, you are free to discuss with other survivalists about tactics, equipment, weapons, buildings, and any other methods to prepare for the days that the dead walk the face of the earth.

We have to take matters into our own hands, folks. It is us or them. This is our time to be prepared. This is our time to live.

Don't say you weren't warned!

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Today I watched episodes 8-13 of the second season of Kyle XY online. It took up a lot of the day, but it was entertaining.

I also mowed half the lawn (chest high over-grown weeds) in the backyard. I will do the rest on Tuesday evening.

these people are crazy.... Brisbane zombie walk

There was a 'zombie walk' in Brisbane, Queensland today. Hundreds of people walked a route in the city scaring passersby. It was not an April Fool's joke. These people must be crazy.

See
- Brisbane Zombie Walk (link)
- Courier Mail news article (2 April)

And the crazies from last year's inaugural walk




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This afternoon I returned to the club to watch more football (not on free to air TV) - it was the game between Essendon Bombers (my other team) and Adelaide Crows. It was a good game as Bombers won and played well (see report).

When I returned, Margaret took me to her new house two streets away (about a 10 minute walk) where Mary was making a slow cooked goat dish for dinner. Margaret has moved out after nine weeks. It is good to get the house back again, but somewhat sad that Keiser is no longer here (she would have liked getting her other room and bed back again).