Happy Easter from ZESOB

Remember just because it was ok for Jesus to rise from the dead it doesn't mean when your dead neighbor does that it is ok.

The GREATEST Threat in the Zombie Apocalypse......

Nobody wants to see the forest through the trees, nobody thinks in a quantum physics mind frame so nobody in either in cinema or television wants to show you the #truth when writing, directing or producing a zombie genre film.

The Walking Dead graphic novel, which I highly recommend reading does explore this dark forest however sadly the television series does not. *Spoilers* The end of season two takes us to a place where we see Rick approaching his "Ricktatorship" which is something that also occurs in the graphic novel however the creation of our anti hero and his decent into madness does not occur in that manner at all.

The Fall of Shane however in the television series, leads up to but does not conclude the topic of this blog. Shane as we assume was an honorable man before the zombie apocalypse. He was Rick Grimes's partner in law enforcement and small town best friend that holds himself accountable for Rick's injury/hospitalization and in the madness of the zombie apocalypse retrieves and protects his best friend's wife and son. Consequently however Shane and Lori end up having an affair until the return of Rick.
Now I have to say that by allowing Shane to remain around longer in the series then in the graphic novel you are given some additional insight that is missed in the graphic novel. We get to see the complexity of Shane's evolving feelings and emotional state.

Now if you haven't read all or any of the graphic novels beyond this point I must quote Dr. River Song, "Spoilers".

The progression of the graphic novel is much more hurried than that of the television series however it is also slower for other points. Some characters die off sooner, some later and some never existed at all. (I'm looking at you Daryl) However we must consider the media source and how a person perceives things. You can't drag out a story over 16 comics like you can in 16 episodes.

In the graphic novel Sophia was not a zombie in the barn but yes Hershel had a barn of zombies, the group did not stay at the farm for so long before finding the prison via an unsuitable gated community after dealing with some snow and Lori's growing stomach because although Lori is also pregnant on the show she's not showing yet but like any classical soap opera we never fully understand how much time has passed, for all we know 16 episodes could only be a month in their world.

Alas there is SO MUCH MORE TO COME! *Spoilers* We have the Governor (which has been cast and is coming) and the sick little Thunder Dome like community he runs (If only Tina Turner and those hoop earrings where in this show- we don't need another hero...we don't need a way home....") we have the little band of prisoners, we have the downfall of the prison, the dramatic loss of characters, falling like dominoes to death by zombie and survivor alike, a band of cannibals and up to the point where I am, we have what seems like a new home.

All in all however in the graphic novel and ever so briefly in the television series, i.e. band other survivors met and killed in the bar, does it explore the very edge of the forest in the trees that in the zombie apocalypse the greatest threat to your survival is not the flesh consuming corpse slowly walking down the street it is the thinking and breathing neighbor struggling for their own existence and in most cases lost an immediate family member in the chaos of your new existence.

We all like to think that we would survive when the dead begin to walk, we all like to thing that we would be zombie killing, gun slinging, sons of bitches with the best hideouts and survival plans and besides the people on Doomsday Preppers none of us truly have mapped out our survival strategy, (and Survival Katie) have a basic set of supplies ready or have even thought about the notion that our family members, closest friend and that guy across the hall would survive with us. None of us take into consideration that we will have to band together with other survivors in order to survive or "rebuild the community" and none of us consider that dark nature that the human mind can take when it is faced with it's own survival or that fact that we would have to come together with people we would not normally mingle with to get by.


"Are you my mummy?"

Something that The Walking Dead graphic novel explores that the series has not fully explored and I doubt will explore is the dark side of humanity. What we would consider evil in nature by our standards I like to believe is actual nature.

From an evolution standpoint if you so choose to believe like I, we have evolved from apes that in their lives would have killed and eaten things "savagely", even each other to survive and in our desperate attempt to separate ourselves from the animal kingdom, remove ourselves from natural selection have "risen above" with reason.



I believe in this state, the Zombie Apocalypse that we humans would return to a semi animal state. Not saying we will grow hair all over our bodies or become random quadrupeds but I think between the shock and trauma of zombies and the instinctual need to survive a strong portion of society will turn to motives and action that what by today's societal standards are barbaric and detestable and that in order to survive the pandemic you yourself might have to take that turn as well.

*** I am not endorsing the consumption of human flesh *** (especially now, so any of you cannibals out there reading this, do not justify yourselves with this as an endorsement) and there is a good chance that I might become vegan in a zombie apocalypse since I don't want to gut a rabbit or odd squirrel however I do understand I will have to do what I gotta do to survive and that at sometime you will have to ask yourself "Have you ever danced with the Devil in the pale moonlight?" and if you ever have to, can you waltz out of the darkness to face the next day or will you fall victim to your own inner darkness and never see the light of day again? Can you face true human nature?

Thirty & Zombie

So another calendar year has passed and with that we approach another yearly milestone, my birthday. This year is special compared to my previous birthdays. This year I turn thirty.

To start my thirties I've taken a chance, taken a leap into a new career. I've taken a pay cut, taken less hours and taken my nomadic ways. All this was done for me.....

In the few weeks on my new job a few things have come to surface that in my literal absence in my Buffalo Life I was not aware of. A few surprises that I thought would be cured by my return home to working in my hometown.

I recently had coffee with a former travel coworker/friend and in our conversation I had pointed that on the road, when times got tough I would dream of zombies and I thought that in my mind, if I could survive the zombie apocalypse I could survive the minor hassels of that job.

Since taking this job I have not been having those dreams but maybe I am also less exposed to the zombie influence.

With being at home I would like to be able to blog more. Be able to do more ZESOB things. See what I can do to build and expand the ZESOB name.

I'm in a huge state of flux in my life, my last job provided money and escapism. My current job makes me face my life the in which I'm uncomfortable and alone. In my mind, if I could survive the zombie apocalypse I can survive this.

New Year, New Things Zombies

A belated Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from ZESOB. I hope everyone had a safe, sound and zombie free holiday season.

One of the many joys of living in the north is that when winter comes we are fortunately zombie free for a few months however this winter season (possibly brought to us by global warming) is snow less and warmer than usual. This will not aid the zombie threat as colder temperatures will slow these creatures down or stop them completely.

Alas, one of the best Christmas gifts I've ever received is..........



a Zombie Survival Kit!

Now this gift was part of a hysterical gift exchange where we were required to purchase items at Hu's Discount Store. A wonderful local business filled with goods of all kinds.

It's a new year so it's going to be a new things zombie as well. I've changed my primary job so I am no longer lost and traveling the country, giving up part of my life and focus on things that I love.

I look forward to a new year and new things zombie and look forward in my attempt to bring them to you. More and exciting things ZESOB!

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope your canning those summer veggies!

Zombie Apocalyse: for no other reason

How do YOU classify your zombies?

No matter what your zombie is doing they are still deadly.

Survival During a Zombie Swarm

Trust.

Bacon and Zombies

fact number three......bacon lovers will survive the zombie apocalyae.

ZESOB Gift Shop NOW OPEN

That's right fellow zombie enthusiasts, if you are for or against zombies the ZESOB gift show is now open and you can pick up all your favorite slogans on a t-shirt or mug from our shop!

Items like "Friends Don't Let Friends Become Zombies" and "Oh You A Zombie, HUH" are up and available!

There is a large variety of items that you can get your favorite saying printed on and shipped directly to you for a fair on convenient price.

Great for any zombie fan or just fun to wear for this Halloween season so please check out the ZESOB Gift Shop!

http://www.cafepress.com/zesobny

Halloween is coming, blend in with the Zombie Horde

The Zombie Autopsies: Secret Notebook From The Apocalypse

So anyone that knows me knows that I am a huge geek for NRP and in my frequent listening I heard a story about what hopefully would turned out to be an awesome read. I was so interested in fact that I immediately went online and ordered the book for pick up from Barnes & Noble.

Sadly due to work obligations it has taken me a length of times to read it. The book is initially presented as being a found diary from a zombie researcher, then released publicly for us to read and gain an understanding of what he set out to learn. Now I'm not going to give away any details about this book in the event that you want to read for your own.

In fact there has been no bigger lie then the lead up to how interesting this book would be. I would have to say half to less then half of this book is actual "diary". The remainder of the book is "documentation, cliff notes, appendixes, etc" from an international agency set up to study and hopefully eradicate the zombie plague. These little inserts also pop up periodically in the diary section asking or directing how you pay attention to the reading material being presented before you.

The diary portion is interesting enough and at times your mind and imagination can get caught up into, visualising the creatures, the state of the research facility and the autopsies being done however it often falls short by the author's attempt and often over use of medical terms. In post review it appears that the author, Steven C. Schlozman, MD has little imagination and was unable to complete what he set out to do, write an engaging and creative diary from a scientist completing autopsies on zombies. I think the visualization that the reader creates is based mostly on the "drawing" our good doctor left behind with his diary and that an attempt to cover up lack of imagination filled the context with ob secure and made up terms to cause us to read through appendixes to understand him.

I am not familiarly with how many books Steven C. Scholzman has written, or if he's ever written fiction at all however he has sadly fallen far from a well written book and I have been coaxed into giving my hard earned money to him and his publisher.

Had he focused less on the medical terms and over use of that knowledge and taken the steps to build an environment that the reader could visualize, had he taken the steps to build a story for the reader to follow this could have been an enjoyable read. Sadly he did not.

Travel preparedness

If you are going to be setting off in the skies soon and haven't done so for a while check out this great articl! Travel preparedness

Walking Dead @ Comic-Con: Get the Premiere Date! A Chilling New Trailer! Season 2 Teases!

DYLAN DOG: Dead of Night Official Trailer

Designing the undead with Zilly Rosen - Buffalo Spree - March 2011 - Buffalo, NY

Designing the undead with Zilly Rosen - Buffalo Spree - March 2011 - Buffalo, NY

Dead Island: Official Announcement Trailer

Classis example of what not do to.

Hidden Zombies: Death Becomes Her

Death Becomes Her is a fantastic movie that stars Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis and Goldie Hawn (two of my favorite actresses). In this film they are both looking for eternal youth and through the magic of a potion obtain it. However a mishap that brings their death they come to find out that they are still "alive".

I always found this movie amusing in the past and found it a little sad that in the end they had trouble keeping up their appearances. While sitting here this afternoon with the movie playing it hit me. OMG they are zombies!

Both women of the film start the movie in their perspective living states however due to incidents that occur during the film that involve them trying to respectively kill one another the not so gruesome transformations occurs. The ladies mangle and destroy their bodies as the film progresses and comes to it's conclusion.

What was in this little magical bottle? Was it a magic potion that was meant to preserve their living bodies not accounting for accidental death or was it a carrier zombie virus that upon their death awakened causing them to rise from their deaths?

They may not have been bloody thirsty, brain eating, flesh craving zombies that we are use to but they are zombies nonetheless. This is a great reminder that we must be vigilant in our quest to be aware of the pending zombie threat, that zombies in any form can be any where. They can be a stranger, our neighbors, a family members, our favorite authors or a holiday celebrity.

Happy Valentine's Day from ZESOB!