Apoclypse Hal: High Tech

Scavenging for rusty tins of pet food in the ruins of humanity will be dangerous. All those hungry undead prowling the zombie wastelands means you need to be extra careful. 

Luckily technology can give you an edge with those basic tasks like communications, lighting and detecting the walking dead.  

The downside with such high tech gadgets is the warranties will be void once the zombies appear. So be extra careful with your gear. Oh yeah, you will need a solar battery charge too.


Bite off more than you can chew

Mr Rimsky

Random Zombie Travel Finds

Greetings BZFers!

I am now home after my year-long experience in South East Asia. I had some great experiences, sweated a lot and learned many important lessons along the way. 

As you know, many of these lessons were valuable preparations for the inevitable Zombie apocalypse. Over the year my posts have included: South East Asia transport options during the apocalypse; breakdowns on the different types of Zombies you may encounter; apocalypse survival lesson from rural fieldtrips; how to spot patient 0 in transit; Chinese hopping Zombies; and tips on Zombie-proofing any accommodation.

To wrap up my travel series, I thought I’d begin by sharing a few random Zombie/apocalypse-related things I found over the year: 

Thing 1: Canned Gas 
This can was spotted on one of my first nights in Phnom Penh and it just seems like the kind of thing that would be helpful in the apocalypse. I mean, look at Mr Gas. He seems ready for anything! 

Thing 2: Skinfood 
Skinfood is a store in a giant shopping mall in Phnom Penh. To me, it sounds like the kind of place Zombies would do their groceries when they can’t manage to find a fresh human around… 

Thing 3: Neck and Neck 
This was spotted in the same shopping mall as Skinfood. The shop is actually full of children’s clothes, but don’t be fooled – Necks are a classic target areas for Zombies to bite, so I’m sure they’re behind this façade! 

Thing 4: Fly covered corn 
During my first fieldtrip in a place called Kampong Chhnang, we stopped for corn. After demolishing said delicious corn, flies swarmed my discarded corn shells…admittedly there were more flies before I whipped my Camera out, but food waste covered in insects kind of reminded me of the Walking Dead…a scene of things to come… 

Thing 5: Zombie inspired Magic Art in Bangkok 
During a brief trip to Bangkok, I googled something like ‘Zombies Bangkok’ and found a 3D Art museum with an awesome Thai horror zone which had many zombie related pieces: 

I tried to do a cool jumping shot with this, but it was hard with the camera timer. I found a nice Thai lady to help me, but this was the best we got: 

Thing 6: Street of The Dead (Singapore) 
This is one of those times when I did not seek out Zombie related things – in this case Zombie related things found me. My first night in Singapore I was casually wandering around Chinatown and I found this: 

Thing 7: Universal Studios Frankenstein 
On a trip to Singapore’s Universal Studios, I met Frankenstein (the original Zombie) for the second time. We first became acquainted back in 2012 and I was pretty excited to see him again in 2015!
 

2012 

2015 

Thing 8: Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights! 

The reason I was in Singapore was because there was a week long holiday in Cambodia to honour ancestors (Pchum Ben). But the reason I chose to go to Singapore, over say, Taiwan or Hong Kong, was because this was happening:

Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) is an annual Halloween event held at the various Universal Studios around the world! They spookify the whole park and set-up a bunch of differently themed haunted houses and Scare-zones. The show started with an opening SCAREMONY, which helped introduce the event by having characters from each theme yell at you and stuff. Also there was an explosion. 

The first haunted house I went into was Hell House! It was super creepy and hot, and included a few random body parts sticking out of walls and hanging from ceilings. They also gave us some paper which supposed to be some sort of Spirit world currency, and one of my main memories of this house was how amusingly jumpy the girl in front of me was (she tipped me off to the scariest bits). There was also a Jiang Shi (Chinese hopping Zombie) at the end with a massive tongue, although I couldn’t capture it due to the no photo policy.

The second Haunted House I went into was specifically Singapore themed to celebrate the city’s 50^th birthday. The line to get in was as long as my flight from Phnom Penh, but the inside was pretty cool - it had lots of security guys directing you through a Singaporean apartment complex that had been plagued by a horrible zombie-like disease.

Invaders wasn’t a haunted house but a ‘Scarezone’ which allowed guests to walk through freely and take pics, etc. It was full of giant scary aliens and wounded human soldiers. It was a very cool atmosphere and a good alternative to the Haunted House lines. It was a bit like walking through a live movie set.

Conterminated was another Scare zone that was set up to look like an abandoned diseased colony. The piles of rubbish bags impressed me the most as they looked all too real…

And finally HUNGRY GHOSTS was my favourite scare zone! It featured the Chinese hopping Zombie, who I followed around as it stalked the other guests: 

I would highly recommend going to a Halloween Horror Night if you ever find yourself near a Universal Studios around the end of October! They even had scary themed food:

And also spotted this disturbing bird-like creature who was on his (?) way to a Halloween themed show.

 
So there you have it BZFers! Proof that Zombies can be found all around the world! So no matter where you end up in this crazy planet of ours, remember that the Zombies can be lurking under every filthy hostel mattress; be stumbling through any overly priced tourists sites; or sitting next to you on a plane/train/tuk tuk or elephant!

Rise against the Risen!

Miss Ace

Apocalypse Hal: Layers

Well it is officially winter. 

As everyone knows, winter means dressing in layers to keep warm. Unless you are up north where it always bloody hot. Anyway, dressing in layers is also good for general disasters and zombie apocalypses. So get to know your layers.

Don't forget to accessorise!


Bite off more than you can chew.

Mr Rimsky

Panic buying, Eurovision and zombies

The reality of a zombie apocalypse is that in the initial days, hordes of unprepared people will panic buy everything in the stores. When cyclone Maria bore down on Yeppoon in 2015, some shops sold out of bananas in 30 minutes!

So it helps to have some experience with crazed mobs of shoppers. Something I discovered at the ADLI snow gear sale today. Whole families were there, some members dashing headlong into the frenzy while others carefully guarded their trolleys in nearby aisles. There were hand signals, strategic use of trolleys to block people and lots of ducking and weaving. And all I was after was milk.

And just because you are in a desperate survival situation doesn't mean you can't be fashionable. Eurovision likes to set new fashion boundaries so it was great to see Bosnia and Herzegovina rocking it with Mylar survival blankets as capes. They chose the classic bronze and sliver version, with that just unfolded, stylish grid pattern. At about $5 each they obviously had a big budget.

As for zombies there was an interesting piece in the issue 508 of The Big Issue. It covered the history of zombies, particular the pop culture side. But there was some deep discussion around how horror movies tend to be popular during uncertain, scary times. Times of economic troubles, civil unrest and boring election campaigns. So is the interest in zombies really a symptom of a society that, like a maggoty undead, is slow decaying away? Heavy stuff to ponder. Better stock up on more bananas. 


Bite off more banana than you can chew


Mr Rimsky

Budget, zombie soup and apocalypse cars

Well it has been an interesting week.

The Federal Budget was handed down early and as can be expected, no funding for zombie research. Guess the government refuses to believe in zombies, along with global warming.

But zombies must exist because I stumbled across a recipe for zombie soup. Sadly no zeds are harmed in the making of this dish. It doesn't actually contain any undead but is simply one of those jars full of dehydrated ingredients that you throw in a large pot of boiling water for a quick and easy meal. It's a prepper recipe, particularly good for when hordes of unprepared survivors (called zombies in the prepper lingo) turn up on your doorstop after a disaster.

If you are planning to be prepared, Tesla announced a new feature for some of its cars. A military grade bioweapons defense mode! While intended for dealing with pollution it is an awesome feature to have for the zombie apocalypse. In addition to filtering out 'gaseous pollutants' (the stench of the undead) it also removes bacteria, viruses, pollen and mold spores (possible zombie pathogens). No need to buy those car air freshers anymore.

Bite off more zombie soup than you can chew

Mr Rimsky

Survival tips

Let's be honest, the chance of a zombie apocalypse is rather low. Other disasters are much more likely, as we have sadly seen with earthquakes in Japan. In fact earthquakes are a big risk in Japan and the authorities are keen to get people prepared. 

 

So the prefecture of Tokyo has a number of handy publications available but naturally the Japanese do things a little differently. They have a cute cartoon character to brand the material and there is even a manga to reinforce what may happen in an earthquake. 

The Lets Get Prepared and Survival Tips publications are particularly interesting. For example, local parks have been designed as evacuation areas. Bench seats can be converted into cooking stoves, park lights are solar powdered and there are manual water pumps. And rows of manhole covers that can be turned into toilets. There are also handy details on making your furniture secure so it doesn't squash your cat in an earthquake. 

The Survival Tips also had some tips I had not seen before, like how to convert an AA battery into a C or D size battery. Very useful if the batteries in your old school ghetto blaster go flat. Another one was how to make a backpack out of a pair of trousers. 

 
Yes they are in English and the cartoon style, while simple, gives you a clear idea of what to do. The Manga was awesome but finished just when it was getting good.   


Bite off more instant ramen than you can chew 

Mr Rimsky

Serious zombie research

Been slack with the posts lately because I have been doing some serious zombie research. And you know what serious zombie research means. Movies!
 

Yes a bit of a time wrap watching (for the first time) some of the classics.

Night of the living dead 1968 - The one that started it all and pretty impressive for a low budget movie. Even features a helicopter. Key lesson, zombies are the least of your worries when you are trapped in a farmhouse with strangers.

Dawn of the dead 1978 - A pretty awesome action film. Even features a helicopter. Dated now but I do really love that 70s style.

Day of the dead 1985 - The first thing to spring to mind during the opening sequence was Gorillaz's track M1 A1 which samples the 'Hello, Anyone out there?' dialogue. Loved the various zombie characters at the end, a clown, a cheerleader, a football player. Loved Bud. Does Romero have a thing for helicopters?

Return of the living dead 1985 - Liked how the half dog and butterflies came back to life. But best of all was Tarman, who has that uncoordinated zombie shuffle down pat. 

Mr Vampire 1985 - Miss ACE's favourite and one I have seen before. Unfortunately the version I had didn't have English subtitles but luckily slap stick comedy and awesome kung fu fights need no translation. 

28 days later 2002 - Boy can Selena weld a machete or what? Featuring the infected living and a virus that can turn someone into a zombie within a few minutes. Another movie where the zombies are the least of your problems.

Shaun of the dead 2004 - Nothing like a bit British comedy, particularly liked the use of a cricket bat.


Bite off more popcorn than you can chew.

Mr Rimsky