An interesting question was posed by a reader named Derek. He says, "i would like to know if i am welcome in Libby MT if and when this zombie outbreak occurs?"
This is, of course, a major area of contention in zombie survival circles. Since it is such a heated topic I figured I'd make an actual post out of my response instead of keeping it in the comments section.
A lot of would-be survivors out there like to say "Trust noone, help even less" when attempting to survive zombies. I disagree. I believe if you're in a reasonably sized group that contains at least 6 or 8 good marksmen rescue attempts should be made whenever possible. There are several reasons I believe this.
1. A large number of live, healthy humans will be needed to repopulate once the apocalypse has ended.
2. One more live human = one more shooter.
3. No rescue attempt will be made if there's serious risk to our safety anyway, so why not make a rescue attempt whenever reasonably safe (obviously you're never totally safe, so reasonably will do)?
4. If the rescued individual has already been bit when he is rescued we will have no qualms shooting him/her in the head so as to prevent zombification.
Numbers three and four are key since they guarantee the survival of the survivors.
In short, my answer is: Yes - anyone is welcome to join our group of survivors and we will do whatever is needed to rescue who needs to be rescued while still maintaining our own safety.
Entries from June 2005 ↓
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”
June 30th, 2005 — From The Feeds
Zombie Outbreaks and Public Policy
June 29th, 2005 — From The Feeds
After reading Candace's latest blog entry I got to wondering some things:
How do we - as experts in the zombie survival arena - influence public opinion in order to bring about the fortification needed when the zombie apocalypse occurs?
When we succeed in our battle with public opinion do we try to pass bills authorizing fortification of cities or do we attempt to bypass the lawmakers and go straight to FEMA? Should the Department of Homeland Security be involved?
I support fortification just as much as the next guy and I think these are issues that need to be dealt with sooner rather than later. Bloggers Dylan and Ryan were at one point preparing a presentation for the city council to wall the city of Libby, MT. I would be interested to know what progress they've made in that area and how easy/difficult it has been to garner public support.
How do we - as experts in the zombie survival arena - influence public opinion in order to bring about the fortification needed when the zombie apocalypse occurs?
When we succeed in our battle with public opinion do we try to pass bills authorizing fortification of cities or do we attempt to bypass the lawmakers and go straight to FEMA? Should the Department of Homeland Security be involved?
I support fortification just as much as the next guy and I think these are issues that need to be dealt with sooner rather than later. Bloggers Dylan and Ryan were at one point preparing a presentation for the city council to wall the city of Libby, MT. I would be interested to know what progress they've made in that area and how easy/difficult it has been to garner public support.
Voodoo Zombies
June 28th, 2005 — From The Feeds
If you've been reading here for a little while than I'm sure you've occasionally heard references to "Voodoo Zombies." For the most part we focus our discussion on the form of zombism that produces the flesh eating horrors of George Romero fame. However for those interested in learning more about the Haitian variety check out this site. It's very different from what we are familiar with. The types of zombies created by the techniques of the "bokor" do not seem as dangerous as the zombies which we devote ourselves to informing the public about. Still voodoo zombie or not I would recommend keeping your distance, and shoot first and ask questions later.
Fortify, Fortify, Fortify
June 28th, 2005 — From The Feeds
Hello from Europe everyone!
I am sitting in an internet cafe in Salzburg and figured I'd take a few moments to pass on one of the great reminders that Europe has to offer regarding zombies, FORTIFY. Today I visitted Hohensalzburg Fortress (pictured below), and let me tell you, there aren't going to be any zombies getting in there. We would do well to heed their example.
I am sitting in an internet cafe in Salzburg and figured I'd take a few moments to pass on one of the great reminders that Europe has to offer regarding zombies, FORTIFY. Today I visitted Hohensalzburg Fortress (pictured below), and let me tell you, there aren't going to be any zombies getting in there. We would do well to heed their example.
NEW LINKS!!!
June 28th, 2005 — From The Feeds
Oh, the excitement! There is a new section of links over there for all of you to check out. Key to zombie survival is having the right weapons. I've gone ahead and posted some good weapons links over there so all of you can get started on your stockpiles. Stay tuned for upcoming links sections on survival (wilderness, zombie, etc.), gear (leather clothing, night vision, etc.), and probably a couple other things depending on how ambitious I am. Enjoy, folks.
Land of the Dead – Some Brief Notes
June 27th, 2005 — From The Feeds
Seven observations about Land of the Dead.
1. Dennis Hopper is awesome - zombies creep him out.
2. It frustrates me that dead creatures are perceived to be capable of evolving (i.e. get smarter).
3. A new aspect has officially arrived on the scene in zombie movies - humor. Thank God for a modern audience who requires more than mere gore to be entertained.
4. Once again - this movie proves that no matter how safe you feel in a city, if there's zombies around you're not. Get the crap out even if you're rich.
5. An armed society is a safe society - if the people in the building would have all had guns the zombies, as opposed to the humans, would have been overrun.
6. IF ZOMBIES ATTACK NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER....NEVER BE ALONE FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER!!!!!!!!!
7. Last, but most certainly not least - Operarate only in the daytime. Night time is for defensive perimeters. Daytime is when we have our advantage over zombies - EYES THAT ARE NOT ROTTING. Please people....attempt to use all 5 senses - don't sacrifice perhaps your most important sense in surviving a zombie attack for the sake of distracting zombies with fireworks! That's just ludicrous.
Aight....those are the important observations that I got. Obviously there's more...they just aren't very important.
1. Dennis Hopper is awesome - zombies creep him out.
2. It frustrates me that dead creatures are perceived to be capable of evolving (i.e. get smarter).
3. A new aspect has officially arrived on the scene in zombie movies - humor. Thank God for a modern audience who requires more than mere gore to be entertained.
4. Once again - this movie proves that no matter how safe you feel in a city, if there's zombies around you're not. Get the crap out even if you're rich.
5. An armed society is a safe society - if the people in the building would have all had guns the zombies, as opposed to the humans, would have been overrun.
6. IF ZOMBIES ATTACK NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER....NEVER BE ALONE FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER!!!!!!!!!
7. Last, but most certainly not least - Operarate only in the daytime. Night time is for defensive perimeters. Daytime is when we have our advantage over zombies - EYES THAT ARE NOT ROTTING. Please people....attempt to use all 5 senses - don't sacrifice perhaps your most important sense in surviving a zombie attack for the sake of distracting zombies with fireworks! That's just ludicrous.
Aight....those are the important observations that I got. Obviously there's more...they just aren't very important.
Zombie Dogs
June 27th, 2005 — From The Feeds
Most of us here are aware of the potential risk zombies bring against the human race and our survival on this planet. For those of you out there that insist on turning a blind eye to that threat consider recent experiments with dogs performed by U.S. Scientists.
Zombie Vaccination = Absurdity
June 24th, 2005 — From The Feeds
Reader WWinkler commented on the last poll by once again citing the Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency. I'm serious folks...Pecos is a retard. In the "true" story he recounts, he claims a zombie vaccination was available at the time of its occurance. As my colleague, Matt, and I have already shown (here and here), this Pecos guy is a nutbag. The idea of a vaccination presumes the truth of his theory that zombies are not truly dead. This, of course, is ridiculous as we have already demonstrated in the aforementioned posts. If the zombie is already dead then this is an obvious absurdity since there is no vaccine for death! The best we could hope for is some vaccine that would go to the brain and destroy it thus causing the reanimated corpse to deanimate. Even then the only way the vaccine could work would be if it was injected directly into the brain itself, since there would be no bloodflow to carry the vaccine through the body and to the brain. Pecos' ideas, again, are found to be wildly implausible. I have a feeling this Pecos guy is going to continue to be a thorn in the side of legitimate zombological research as long as the general public continues to give him credit merely because his name has the letters "D" and "R" in front of it.
Zombie Survival Poll Results
June 24th, 2005 — From The Feeds
And now the moment I know you've all been waiting for. Over the last week or so we've had a poll up (that's still up and will be coming down ASAP) that asked the following question:
In the event of a zombie outbreak where would you retreat to?
The results are in:
A small, deserted island - 31%
A small, sparsely populated town - 31%
An offshore oil rig - 25%
Alcatraz - 13%
A large city - 0%
First, I'd like to point out that I'm proud that our audience is zombie-informed enough to not have a single person choose "A large city". Next, I'll point out that my view is that a small, sparsely populated town is the way to go. This is obviously the subject of some debate. And lastly I'd like to thank everyone who participated in our poll and hope you'll continue to participate in the future.
In the event of a zombie outbreak where would you retreat to?
The results are in:
A small, deserted island - 31%
A small, sparsely populated town - 31%
An offshore oil rig - 25%
Alcatraz - 13%
A large city - 0%
First, I'd like to point out that I'm proud that our audience is zombie-informed enough to not have a single person choose "A large city". Next, I'll point out that my view is that a small, sparsely populated town is the way to go. This is obviously the subject of some debate. And lastly I'd like to thank everyone who participated in our poll and hope you'll continue to participate in the future.
After the Apocalypse is Over…..
June 19th, 2005 — From The Feeds
Ok, so I don't advocate the "I'm going to take over the world" mindset. However, if any of you are fond of it a perfect time to implement your evil plan would be in the state of anarchy immediately following the zombie apocalypse. It's always easier to rise to power without law enforcement to stop you. If you are successful in rising to power be sure you don't do anything stupid to inhibit your rise to and sustaining of power.
Again, I don't advocate it and I intend to be the hero you and your legions are battling against since I will be a co-survivor of the apocalypse.
Again, I don't advocate it and I intend to be the hero you and your legions are battling against since I will be a co-survivor of the apocalypse.
Bloggers Go Missing
June 18th, 2005 — From The Feeds
Ok, so they're not really missing. Contributors Ryan and Candace will be in Europe for the next three weeks. So if you're waiting for them to post don't hold your breath.