Class 1: Montreal, CA

Keeping an eye on the news pays off eventually: when I caught a glimse of a police shooting in Montreal I gave the event my full attention. On February 5, 2011 police shot and killed a man in Montreal. A sad but not uncommon occurance. What was strange are the following:

• The man's name and background were not released.
• The events leading upto the shooting were not released.
• The men carrying the bodybag were wearing gas masks.
• There was a military officer seen in the news footage.
• No further information can be found on the event.

The news report also mentioned a similar event (with no details provided) which occured only a few days before. Also, only three days later all information on this event seems to be missing from news websites. This is strange considering all the shootings and gang violence in Montreal and how most of it does not seem to be censored but this has been.

No information about the man shot was released, for instance his history, was he in a gang or has a history of violence? Or was he an ideal citizen suddenly gone wild? Nor were the circumstances of the shooting given. Were there witnesses? Was he armed? -A dead give away to if it is a zombie or a crazed human is if the target tries to use a weapon of some sort.- Did he try to bite or otherwise attack anyone? Who called it into police? All questions left completely unanswered about this event.

The response to this event seems strange for a run of the mill shooting as well. The footage showed a large number of police and medical staff on hand. Also anyone shown near the bag holding the corpse of the man shot was wearing a gas mask. With the exception of one Canadian Armed Forces officer who was caught in one of the clips over seeing the body being put into an ambulance. This is something many people might not catch but instantly raises a red flag. Why would military personal be on site after a police shooting, even one that ended in a death? It would seem to be a local law enforcement issue, not something to involve the military, unless something larger was at stake. Esspecially if a number of similar events have been taking place in Montreal.

The details breakdown-
Location: Montreal, Canada
Time: Febraury 5, 2011
Infected: 1 (estimate)
Response: Police with military suporvison.
Media Coverage: Some footage, no details.

My suggestion: if you live in Montreal, or plan to be visiting soon like I will be, keep a close watch on any events the involve shootings or missing persons. The prolbem is because of all the gang violence in Montreal it may be hard to spot which is which. For instance a shooting which left two dead, two wounded and one man missing in the Famingo in Old Montreal, I would normally pass off as gang violence, even with my suspecious scrutiny but given the other strange shootings even this seemingly obvious gang hit might be something even scarier.

Stay vigilent, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,
Mike D.

Zombie lovers...

To most survivors this may seem off topic or random but this post will feature a couple of different things.


First I will bring your attention to some good friend's of mine and fellow zombie enthusiasts, Atomic Zombie Tattoo Artists. These valiant men and women are extremely open about their interest in zombies and while not all of their ideas regarding them are completely factual they show no fear in displaying those ideas and discussing new theories. This is in addition to being kick-ass tattoo artists. As a man without tattoos I often think about getting one whenever I see the work these people do. The company itself helps with events such as Zombie Walks or local Zombie films. I am always in favor of supporting people who will turn around and support their fellow survivors in the effort to spread the bad news.


Here is a link to their website:
http://www.atomiczombie.net/home.html


This post is obviously not following the format of many of the others so far so I don't feel it out of place to address anything that wouldn't fill up a post completely on its own. Like for instance there is a new poll up. Or that I am proud to see readers from different countries have tuned in and I hope that some great automatic translator is making sure they get the information as well. The undead are found in every culture and every area, the information presented here is from a Canadian viewpoint but help protect any survivor, any where in the world.


Another shout I would like to send out is to the potential survivors at NR92, NAIT's student radio station. I recently did an interview with them about my blog and the Zombie Research Society, NR92 is attempting to “Prepare you for the upcoming Zombie Apocalypse.” by putting local events and news in the spotlight. Here's what they had to say about me after our interview: “Local blogger and Zombie Research Society member, Michael Davidson believes it is not a question of if but of when.” Radio is an important part of preparation for life after the fall because many forms of power and thus satellites -especially those not automatically-ground or manually-space controlled- will eventually stop working and knowing how to understand and operate radio could proof the most efficient means of long range communication.


You can listen to the students at NAIT at:
http://www.nait.ca/nr92/index.html


I would like to end by pointing out I will never run out of ideas for posts for the ZLC but comments and requests are more then welcome. I've had a couple of people e-mail me, one of those requests led to a post about vehicles. Thinking about which now, I should put another vehicle break down up soon. I'm also planning an exciting series of posts for the summer months while I am touring to other cities.

Be vigilent, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,

Mike D.

January Poll results

Panic! Panic!!! PANIC!!!
This will do no one any good. Panic is not in fact a natural reaction. Panic is what the untrained mind and body does when facing new or dangerous experiences. This result is easily avoided by careful training and preparation.

Celebrate! Kill everything that moves!
Also not a good choice. There will be other survivors around and you will draw a lot of unwanted attention from both the living and the dead. Note this is an unconfirmed report, the willingness to kill at the drop of a hat for unjustified reasons is not healthy. Just saying, get help.

Ignore it and go about your daily life.
This will suffice for the vast majority of outbreaks but ignorance will not always end in bliss. Eventually a Class 3, 4 or even a Class 2 outbreak will cause everyone with this mindset to become among the first (and most deserving) to turn.

Stay calm. Immediately prepare yourself for the worst and put your well laid out survival plans into effect.
I thought this would be the most popular response. But it is an incorrect one. This is because of the misunderstandings of what a zombie report is. You will never see dramatic news reports such as are commonly in films about “the dead walking among us” or “not enough room in hell.” By the time these reports start coming it will be too late for most people. Unconfirmed reports happen all around us. Last year in Edmonton, a woman was rushed off to hospital after her husband suddenly attacked and bit her. The husband was shot and killed by police, even though he was unarmed. This is an unconfirmed zombie report. The event did happen but the truth behind it is either unknown or covered up. Now this event obviously does not call for a full scale defense nor is it an immiedately life changing event.

Keep the event in mind and watch for similar activities or cover-ups.
Take the event described above, not cause for alarm but what we have here is a possible Class 1 outbreak: a small contained incident. If for instance the wife were to die and some sort of strange explaination is given, like she died of an fever, infection or even “complications” it could be a cover-up. Or watch for similar or related events, such as a sudden unexplained death involving a police officer who happened to be one of the ones involved at this household. These events together could make it reasonably certain it was an outbreak and could continue further. These events happen around us all the time and we simply ignore them but with only a little training and vigilance they can be spotted and used to keep track of outbreaks.
A Class 1 outbreak, especially an unconfirmed one is no cause for alarm but it should by no means be ignored incase events were to escalate.

Outbreaks can be put into four Classes.
Class 1 is a small, contained event. This event will probably only involve a few people, ranging from one to twenty infected. The entire event could last a few hours or up to two weeks and will not cover an area larger then a twenty-mile radius. Response will be minimal, either civilian or police. Media coverage will also be minimal if any.

Class 2 is a larger event in a more populated area. This event may range to involve possibly up to a thousand people and between a few dozen and a few hundred infected. The entire event lasts between a few days and up to a few weeks, this is from first contact to final clean up. The area may spread from a hundred mile radius or so to as small as a couple city blocks depending on the density of the population. Response will be slightly heavier, including local and federal law enforcement and possibly even some military support. Media coverage will be high but cover-ups, disbelieve and mixed information will keep most of the truth out of the reports.

Class 3 is the largest outbreak within reason. The number of infected will rise to the thousands, possibly tens of thousands) and the number of people involved could reach up to ten times that of the infected. The infection could cover several hundred square miles, entire states, small countries or boarders. The entire event could last between weeks and up to a few months including mop-up, cover-up and clean-up. Response will be military, heavy military ranging from armor to special forces. Media coverage will be heavy but over time and through dilusion of the facts most of it will never reach the public.

Class 4 is the worst possible situation. The event true survivors are preparing for. When civilization completely breaks down. The world will become a wasteland in which new societies will be formed and the undead will wear down humanity until an estimated 500,000 survivors remain to rule the barren ruins that will be left behind in the wake of the zombie apocalypse. This period in which the world is dying is what I refer to as the fall.

Signs to look for when spotting an outbreak:

• Homicides in which the victims were executed by head shots or decapitation.
• Missing persons, particularly in wilderness or uninhabited areas.
• Cases of "violent insanity" in which the subject attacked friends or family without the use of weapons. Find out if the attacker bit or tried to bite his victims.
• Riots or other civil disturbances that have limited media coverage.
• Disease-based deaths in which either the cause is undetermined or seems highly suspect.
• Any event in which media coverage was forbidden.

Once an attack has been identified keep tabs on it. Note where it took place, similar events in the area or a path of similar events. Note how far apart the event took place in time as well as distance. Note what sort of response was made by police, military or importantly, other “extremist” groups and the like. Once you believe an outbreak to be confirmed, than actions should be taken to regarding the size of an outbreak. It is vital to note that any outbreak may escalate very quickly into the next class and it is only a matter of time until ignorance brings about a Class 4.

 

Be vigilent, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,

Mike D.

Zombie: Dark Rum, Light Rum, Cherry Brandy, Orange juice, Lemon juice

Welcome once again fellow survivors,

Alcohol consummtion is already a danger and will only become more of one after the fall of society as we know it. Drinking alcohol is a very common drug used in times of stress and pain. Many people will turn to the bottle once the world starts to fall apart but this is a mistake for many reasons.

The dangers of being drunk are obvious and only a part of the problems drinking presents. It seems almost pointless to point out how not being sober is a bad idea when facing a zombie outbreak. Your wits and training need to be on your side: lack of coordination and loss of clear thinking are like loading the guns for the firing squad. If in need of an example, go to a bar and watch a drunk person try to fight.

If you do find yourself drunk when an outbreak first occurs the most important thing is to not panic but also to not think you are imagining it -even if you are, better safe then undead.- The priority needs to be to get yourself away from any dangers and find a place you can take the time to sober up. Try to think as clearly as you can. If someone is coming toward you, remember, if they can speak they are human, if they can't speak and immediately try to "hug" or grab you they are probably a zombie, run. Do not try to fight, if you have to just try to push zombies off of yourself. Do this by throwing your weight around and using momentum and simple but random movements, flail and make yourself hard to grab but remember the point is to escape. Get away and then keep going until you know you are in a safe enough are to sober up.

Even though getting drunk is such an obvious danger many people will fall to the temptation to drown the pain and sorrow, to try to forget, or even to purposefully put themselves in danger. This is completely self destructive behavior and such a risk must be avoided for a number of reasons besides the most obvious one.
The long term effects of alcohol dependance are complex and awful. Any sort of dependance is a sure path to destruction; be it dependance to drugs, sex, people, booze or anything else. Alcohol is a powerful depressant and easy to get addicted to. When keeping spirits high and finding reasons to live will become a part of life, alcohol can be a major obsticle.

Let's also not over look the fact that alcohol is a poison and a high calorie one at that. The long term effects of over consumtion on the body are harsh and can have negative effects on keeping a body that is fit and able to engage in zombat on a regular basis.

Long term drinking is not the only danger, binge drinking of alcohol, or drinking a large amount in a single night, presents its own set of risks. Some of which relate to the aspect of alcohol being a poison, and taking too much of it resulting in alcohol poisoning. Symptoms of poisoning include:

• Absent reflexes
• Slurred speech
• No withdrawal from painful stimuli (for instance from pinching)
• Confusion
• Difficulty awakening the person
• Erratic behavior
• Seizures
• Feeling very ill including long, drawn-out vomiting
• Slow, shallow, or irregular breathing
• Blue-tinged skin or pale skin
• Inability to make eye contact or sustain a conversation
• Unconsciousness (passing out)

These symptoms are very similar to the normal symptoms of simply being drunk. Note that this is because being drunk is infact simply the earliest warnings that the body is being poisoned. These effects are significantly more dangerous if mixed with narcotics, pain medication, sedatives and anti-seriuze medication.
Should someone be suffering from alcohol poisoning you should do what you can for them, this includes drinking water, a lot of water. Also trying to keep the person awake and alert. Watch from changes in breathing patterns, if breathing slows to less then eight breaths per minute consider CPR or at least assisted breathing. Lay the person on the side so vomit or the tongue do not cause choking. Do not for any reason give the person cafeine or salt, both of these will further dehydrate the body and fight against the goal.
If at all possible try to get the person to urinate regularily and to take in vitamins, even in the form of supplements. This is not ideal but neither is letting oneself get to the point of alcohol poisoning.

Now the normal means of simply watching the person until medical treatment arrives does not apply because medical treatment will not be coming. Survivors are their own doctors. This is why training in medical fields will make a survivor very valuable. But each survivor must also keep themself safe; do not risk yourself in order to stay with someone who may cause further issues or may fall into a coma or worse. If the person does manage to pull through, then steps must be taken to ensure the event does not happen a second time. That the survivor realizes the importance of staying away from alcohol once the dead walk.

The best use for alcohol will be one somewhat unexpected. Not for fuel or molotov cocktales as one might assume. Though that is a good use for them, fire can be dangerous and will not kill zombies quickly but will kill them (burning up the brain) and can spread to kill a great number of them if they are close together.
There are many variations of the molotov cocktail. The classic is a glass bottle filled with gasoline. A rag is placed in the neck of the bottle. The rag is lit on fire and the bottle is thrown. This method is extremely dangerous! The best way to make it safer is to take a tampon that is soaked in gas and place it on the side of the bottle neck. Then, tie a rubber band around the tampon. Make sure the bottle has a cap on it. Light the tampon and throw hard because the bottle must break! Note that origanally the bottles had gasoline in them. Alcohol will suffice as gasoline will become very valuable as fuel. The effects are not as grand but very cheap and easy.

The other use however is currency. Many raiders and bandits and other survivors will be willing to see past the dangers alcohol represents and will want to feel the numbness and escape. They will see alcohol as a drug, and its value will rise as such. Many current drugs need to be processed, some of these processes take time and effort that will be lost for a long time after the fall. Many of those who partake in drugs regularily will also fall out of the ranks of the survivors because of both being high and with drawls. Alcohol will be a great currency because other people will want to consume it while its value to the smart survivor will be little more then fuel for fires.

Be smart, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,

Mike D.

Surviving death

Hello fellow survivors! Welcome once again and I hope you are able to prepare yourself for the trials that lie ahead.

Before the apocalypse we are given the time to deal with our sorrow and grief over losing someone as we see fit and is true to our customs. This is part of being human, what makes us separate from beasts.

This is also part of the human need to be “okay” and to know others are “okay.”
When someone passes, “It will be ok.”
“We will be ok.”
“It’s ok, he just let go.”
“We’re all ok.”
Even when informed if that a person has suffered a lose others will almost without fail respond, “Are you ok?” or alternatively, “Is everything ok?” Often followed by questions about if the other people involved are ok.

What is this state of ok? Is it simply the state of going on? I believe so. Being ok, is to be able to keep living, so people just want to know that others are ok. As long as others are able to keep living then the asker feels he has done his job.

The trouble comes when a person is not ok: at that point something must be done by someone. Sometimes an outside hand is needed to change events or offer support and make the person ok. Or sometimes the person can make those changes and coping mechanisms on his own. Someone who is not ok will be distracted and unable to accomplish the goals that must be carried out in day-to-day living. Because of that ok becomes subjective to how demanding the tasks a person must accomplish. And survivors must accomplish a great number of vital tasks every day.  But it is important to realize that after the fall just like in today’s social world, if someone cannot be made okay, a survivor must look out for his own safety first and certain customs must be forgotten.

The feelings vary but loss, sadness, confusion, love, empathy, connection, disconnection, despair can all be part of it. Often all at the same time. Every task seems annoying and pointless, life needs to have some sort of point and goals must be accomplished with every move!

The truth, nothing has changed. There is one fewer soul in the close, safe, immediate world. Mortality comes for all survivors and we can only do our best to choose the circumstances of life leading up to it.This seems like a harsh reality but a reality it is. There will be no time for days of mourning, proper burials, cremations, week long festivities. This however does not mean we should not remember and honor our dead. We own much to those who pass, the things they teach us in life and the things they teach us in leaving this world. Even so much as owing to them for things they have taught others who then pass the knowledge on or use it to better our chances of survival. Much is owed and even animals remember and honor their dead. It is possible to still honor without spending too much time or becoming dangerously emotional. The fine line is, what is too much or dangerous?

This will vary group by group and even person to person much as it does now. You will not always have time, especially in the heat of zombat to bury your dead or even recover their bodies. There are ways to work around this however, some may seem morbid but can become a ritual of their own and in fact therapeutic. Below are a number of practices that can be followed before and after death to make it that much easier to become “ok.” People should be encouraged to find their our methods to deal with the loss of other survivors so long as it does not interfere with their ability to perform their duties, i.e. to be ok.

One way to save time is during down time to dig graves. These serve dual purpose; once the time comes you will not have to find time and struggle to dig fresh graves. They can also act as a sort of defense if positioned properly and the undead are made to walk through them.

Decapitation/destruction of the brain, while not the prettiest of retinues is one of the most important and over time will become as second nature as the idea of burying the dead. The number of ways to do this are countless and people may prefer different ways to do it or to even let someone else do it. Rolling the deceased onto its stomach and striking once near the top of the spine with a pickax or similar tool is a relatively clean and quick way to make sure. Using a smaller tool like an ice pick requires a little more strength but will not pierce the front of the head.

It will be hard to give everyone the burial survivors may think they deserve. Because of this and because most deaths will occur quickly and brutally, it is easier to put the memories of these people aside for a short time so that you will survive to remember them. Once you are relatively safe and things have calmed down take the time to remember them with a few words and perhaps a burial of something they owned or a symbol of them.

A powerful way to move on is to forgive. The power of a person’s emotions and will is beyond comparison and few things will wear it away as much as not being able to forgive the dead. This extends to both the undead and the truly gone.

Writing is another way to remember those passed. Writing a letter to or about the deceased will allow a survivor to say goodbye. Many things can be done with the letter, it can be burnt, buried, sent over a cliff or into the sea.

Letting go can be difficult for many survivors. Often it is hard to even realize how difficult until the very moment when a person passes on while in the arms of another survivor. Consider with this the added stress that every person who falls is now a much larger percentage of the human population as a whole. This weight can be over bearing. The danger of becoming “not ok” will continue to grow. To survive this a survivor must become hard and practical. Things we view as humane will begin to fade and the grey lines will blur. THIS MUST HAPPEN! Do not be afraid to let go of things gradually, the danger becomes letting go of everything completely. Eventually surviving will not be enough and the lone survivors will need to band together to form new societies and communities. These societies will have to be rough and hard to thrive but they do not need to be heartless. Make no mistake the world will change and those unwilling to change with it will be swept away. When the dead pass let them fade, keep their teachings and memories but do not let the loss of a live among billions distract and inevitably cost more lives.

Remember that time for mourning has past. Now the greatest honor to give those loved and lost is to keep living. To be “okay.”

Always okay, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,

Mike D.