laststandonzombieisland

Zombies are a metaphor of course. We are all afraid of something human, we just don’t want to admit it. If you know humans you know they are unpredictable. Today’s sane rational person can become tomorrows irrational monster– if provided enough of a engine of change. This engine can be life changes, drugs, comets, disease, riot, social ques, and any other long list of problems.

What would a blog entitled Last Stand on Zombie Island be without keeping track of this trend.

Here is what we have seen this week.

At the University of Rhode Island, doctors and health professionals are setting up a ‘clinic’ to hand out zombie vaccinations as a practice run. Of course, this helps to drive training in handling pandemics.

A company in Europe is offering two hour simulations in zombie survival. “During the zombie game, which is suitable for those aged 16 or above, groups of up to six people will be led around the Cold War bunker by a soldier clad in combat fatigues and armed with an assault rifle and a handgun. Other actors will play scientists wearing white bio-suits and gas masks or the infected, who will be covered with fake blood and bear horrific wounds. Shots will be fired and tough decisions will need to be made as the group battles for survival.” Can you say training for urban riots, TEOTEWAKI scenarios, et al.

Zombies on your ipad and iphone- a new app called ZDAY takes you through hundreds of scenarios to keep you sharp. Much like the Choose Your Own Adventure books of old, you are presented with scenario after scenario and asked to make a decision on which action you will take. Will your choice lead to survival or death at the hands of the zombies? The game engine continuously keeps track of your survival probability, based on the choices you make. Of course this sets the user in an adaptable state of mind.

A good overview of this continuing phenomena towards zombie prep can be found here at the London Free Press, “It’s impossible to reasonably prepare for these threats NASA says are unreasonable. But we can ready ourselves — gather our meat-cleavers — for any fight with the undead. You heard me. Don’t try to look away. It’s time for every man, woman and child to soldier up.From Los Angeles to London, zombie survival courses are filling up fast. In the ’50s, families worried about commies. Today, it’s reanimated corpses.

“In a time of catastrophe, some people find their humanity; others lose theirs,” explains Michigan State University professor Glenn Stutzky of his summer course, Surviving the Coming Zombie Apocalypse: Catastrophes and Human Behavior.

He’s interested in teaching behaviour through pop culture, such as Brad Pitt’s zombie movie World War Z, due out next year. If there is a next year.

Me? I’m interested in keeping my head.