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.

Zombies in film: Undead

“Crazy has come to town for a visit.”

Film: Undead

Directed by Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig

Written by Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig

Produced by Spierigfilm

Story: In a small town in Australia there is a fisherman everyone says is crazy because he believes aliens are coming to turn us all into zombies. When the zombies come this fisherman is a prime example of how being prepared pays off even if everyone else thinks you’re a nut job. A small group of survivors try to find their way through acid rain, alien barriers and hordes of the undead until a surprise ending shows things are never what they seem and an even more surprise ending shows that the threat is never over.

Zombies: The zombies in this movie have a few problems with them. First off limbs continue to move and attack even if severed from the body and, in turn, the head. The realism of the movie is somewhat lost on the zombies who spring back to their feet like a rake being stepped on (never mind energy drinks being able to kill a zombie.) These strange events make it hard to pry fact from fiction in this film.

Survival Lessons:

• Three shotguns are better than one.
• Five shotguns are better than three.
• You can never have enough guns.
• Grabbing a new gun is sometimes faster than reloading, reload when it’s safe to do so.
• Don’t kill everything that looks like a threat.
• Don’t climb infinitely tall, spiky walls.
• Panic rooms won’t save you.
• Never let your guard down.

Warnings: It is hard to find the truth in this film through the entertainment.

This is an extremely enjoyable piece of film and covers a wide range of events and possibilities. Including aliens, acid rain, where zombies come from and most importantly that looks can be deceiving. Not everything that looks like trouble is but in the same vein most things that look safe probably aren’t. The film also proves that you will never kick yourself for having more handguns then your average western movie but even if you are the best it only takes a moment’s weakness for you to fall.

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.

Combat tactics: unarmed combat

Hello fellow survivors.

I would like you to think for a moment about your opponents. Note how they do not breath, they do not feel pain, they do not tire and they will only die with destruction of the brain. Facing these undead is unlike any fighting you've done in the past, or is it? The most efficient combat against humans is based around pain and distraction, two things that will not phase the undead. However there are advantages and training that can come in useful. Zombies do not think, they will not fight back; they will not maneuver, flank or use kung fu or cheap tricks. This makes fighting them not necessarily more difficult but simply different.
This sort of fighting is called zombat. It is the art of engaging in combat with zombies. When in zombat you must think in a different way than when facing a normal opponent. Everything about hand-to-hand fighting changes when facing the undead and many who try to engage in combat against these foreign creatures end up joining the ranks of the recently turned themselves.

Many modern styles of combat can still be used against the undead. Focus on forms that remove the opponent from your own space and put distance between you. Or styles which focus on defense and not letting the opponent touch you. Styles such as Judo and Aikido. These styles are readily available to study and both focus on controlling your opponent's body in order to protect yourself. Avoid boxing, karate or similar striking styles: the reason for this is they focus on knocking out or disabling an opponent with blows. Unless you have the strength and toughness to smash bone -namely, a skull- with your bare hands, these techniques will do little for you when facing the undead.

Note that to kill a zombie in hand-to-hand combat is not complicated but will require a level of competence and brutality very people are not capable of. This will change as time progresses but right now you must prepare on how to survive the first few weeks and the experience needed to actually kill the undead will come if you can survive long enough to earn it.


Below are described some basics which may help you get started in your training.


Basic Stance:

• Face forward, maintaining a straight posture with your upper body. Keep your shoulders square. Feet lightly wider than your shoulders.
• Place one leg forward about six inches, bending the knee slightly.
• Place the other leg about a foot and a half back, keeping it straight. Think of riding a motorcycle, that is how much room should be between your feet.
• Be sure both feet face forward and both heels touch the floor.
• Distribute about 60 percent of your weight over the front foot; 40 percent over the back foot.
• Arms at your sides with elbows bent slightly. Hands open and loose.

Label grab defense:
This defense is can be used if a zombie has grabbed you with both arms on your torso.

• Immediately grab one of the zombie's hands on your body with your opposite hand. Do this by reaching across your body over the top of both the attacker's arms. Place your palm on top of the back of the zombie's hand. It doesn't matter which hand you use if the zombie is holding you with both hands. You just have to make sure you are grabbing the hand on the opposite side of your body.
• Throw your other arm completely over the top of the zombie’s hands the other way. At the same time step back and turn your body sideways by moving your back leg backward. You will be pivoting your body on your front leg. Keep throwing your arm over until the hand you are holding is under your arm pit.
• Snap your body downward with all your weight. You must do this at the exact moment the zombie’s hand that you are holding is at a right angle to the ground. To do this throw both of your legs out while keeping a firm grip on the zombie’s hand.
• Slide your rear foot backward as you come down on the zombie's wrist. Sliding backward pulls the zombie off balance and focuses the impact on the wrist. If you do this in a fast, snapping motion the zombie's wrist will break and it will fall to the ground.
• Quickly get up and move away from the downed zombie.

Harvesting:
When a zombie is moving toward you from the front you can use this defense. Note it is easiest to perform if you move your first leg as the zombie moves its same leg (your left and its left for example.)

• Place both of you arms to one side of your body, outstretched downward. As the zombie moves within arms’ reach slide your back foot forward in a large circular motion to make your opposite foot the back foot and bring your arms up in a circular motion above your head and to the same position on the other side of your body.
• Your leading hand should make contact with the arms of the zombie and continuing the circle will push them aside. Your back hand will make contact with the zombie’s head; grab the side of the head firmly to avoid it turning to take a bite.
• Continue the circle by moving your opposite foot which is now the back foot backward to bring your entire body 180 degrese. Continue the circle with your arms. When you are reaching the end of the circle the zombie should be falling of their own weight and momentum, you can help this along by giving a final push with the hand grasping its head. Be careful not  to hold onto the head too long or you will be pulled down with the zombie.
• Once the zombie is on the ground quickly move away from the downed zombie.

Grasp escape:
This defense can be use if a zombie grabs one of your forearms with its same side arm (your left forearm with its right arm.)

• Immediately position yourself so both of your hands are in front of your ki. Do this by touching your thumbs and pointer fingers together in the shape of a diamond. Then touch your thumbs to your belly button. Move your hands about four inches out from your body. This is roughly where your ki is (practice this and make sure to find your ki as it is important in any fighting style.)
• Once in your ki, move the foot furthest from the zombie backward along the ground until you are back to back with the zombie. Do this quickly and forcefully, never letting your hands leave your ki. This will break the zombie’s grip on you.
• Once facing away from the zombie quickly move away.

This technique is the starting point for a great number of techniques that can be used to knock over or destroy the zombie threatening you. Provided examples of each.

To knock down:

• Once stopped behind the zombie continue to move your upper body and slam your elbow into the zombie’s back, knocking it off balance.
• As soon as you have your balance, shoot out your pivoting foot to hit the zombie in the knee. This will knock the zombie over and with enough force break its knee.

To kill:

• Before the zombie is forced to let go of you, spin your moving leg and matching arm (left leg with left arm) in a circle to hit the zombie in the back with your foot and elbow.
• As soon as you make contact with the zombie’s back move the sliding foot back forward so you and the zombie are now spinning toward each other.
• As you come around slam your elbow into the zombie’s forehead. This entire move must be done quickly and with extreme force. It will snap the zombie’s head back and break its neck. This maneuver does not require an extreme amount of strength but is more difficult then it appears and must be done with a lot of momentum.

This can be done alternatively to knock the zombie down:

• When slamming your elbow into the zombie, hit it in the chest to knock it onto its back. This maneuver does not require an extreme amount of strength but is more difficult then it appears and must be done with a lot of momentum.

These are only a few examples of ways to use this technique. Of course avoiding being grabbed by a zombie is ideal but for situations when it does happen this technique will turn certain death into a variety of possibilities.

If you notice the key point of all of these techniques is the quick removal of you from the threat instead of removing or destroying the threat. Look for tactics like these when training for zombat. If the maneuver keeps you clear of the opponent’s mouth and gets you away from them then it is worth learning. If the maneuver is based on pain or harming your opponent pass on it, you may have to use these when facing raiders or bandits but the key threat of the zombie apocalypse, is zombies.

Be prepared, 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.

Zombies in film: Edge of Darkness

"So many zombies to kill. So little time."

Film: Edge of Darkness

Directed by Blaine Cade and Jason Horton

Written by Blaine Cade and Jason Horton

Produced by Zapruter Productions

Story: ... well... you see... it's an anthology... sort of... this movie sucked. There are three stories going on. One about the anti-christ, one about vampires and one about a computer that sucks the life energy out of things. I tried to put some sort of reasoning to this, such as hidden messages about living computers, narrateing each other's lives, things that live off destroying life, it didn't work. Upon reading up on the writer he has admitted the story failed. So if you are looking for any reasoning behind this film just stop it. Nothing ever gets explained or makes sense and there is no set rules to the universe these three stories take place in. The one good thing I can say about this movie is the character attempting to go about their daily lives as if nothing had changed. For many people this will be the only way to coop but it will not help you survive. Priorities must change and daily events must always play second fiddle to safety and zombie removal.


Zombies: The only thing that brings these stories together (besides the narrator having his own completely unrelated story) is there are zombies outside. Now the zombies are... good... they are slow, dumb, killed by destryoing the head. But don't actually play a very important role in the film besides being a deterant to going outside. They don't appear to pose any sort of threat as long as you are inside a building and don't have the anti-christ drawing them to your location.


Survival Lessons:

• Don't do gardening.
• Set traps but always know where your traps are so you and fellow survivors don't get caught.
• If your partner is simply a drain on resources and keepign you an unsafe location: lose him.

Warnings: This movie doesn't make sense. You've been warned!

In the end this movie looked good and had potential but turned out to be an experiment and a waste of time. Do yourself a favor and read Walking Dead instead.

Until next time, 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.