#moMerle !

dispatchers: R.C. Murphy

with an assist from Juliette Terzieff

Our previous Twitter campaign was a massive success. Well grab your go bags, ZSC faithful. We’re at it again! It’s time we told the world that we want to see #moMerle on The Walking Dead next season.

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As a nice little twist, we will run our campaign on April 6, 2011. That just so happens to be Michael Rooker’s birthday! Mr. Rooker gave a heck of a performance as Merle Dixon and it’d be a shame not to see it again.

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Your targets: @GunnerGale, @RobertKirkman, @valhallapics, and @WalkingDead_AMC

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The campaign will begin at 12:00 AM on Wednesday, April 6th. Tweet your #moMerle messages to the targets throughout the day. And while you are at it, send birthday wishes along to @Michael_Rooker. Let him feel a little ZSC love.

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The retreat will sound at 11:59 PM April 6th. You have one day to make an impact. We know you are up for the challenge.

– R.C. taps her sword against her boot – Need I mention that we’ve got to keep this civil? No? Good. Knew I could trust y’all.

Sample tweets:

Hey, @GunnerGale. The #zombiesurvivalcrew wants to see #moMerle on #TheWalkingDead. Do it for Rooker’s birthday, please!

Psst, @WalkingDead_AMC… you know what’d make a great b-day gift for @Michael_Rooker? #moMerle in season 2. #zombiesurvivalcrew approves!

@valhallapipcs, please make the #zombiesurvivalcrew’s day & promise us #moMerle on #TheWalkingDead to celebrate @Michael_Rooker’s b-day.

You’re old pros at this, so let’s get out there on the 6th and let the world know we want #moMerle!

~R


Break in the Chain?

The Zombie Survival Crew members are awesome. Your responsiveness to building the communication chain has been much appreciated and we, the Fearless Leaders, salute you. *Crossbows raised* *whispers* Don’t worry, we won’t let Juliette get carried away and start shooting you. On January 29th, we announced the start of the Brigade Buddy system, and you, the faithful crew members have been hard at work attempting to establish communications with your assigned buddy and requesting orders when communications have not been established. Here is the plan:

  1. Attempt to establish communication with your assigned brigade buddy. Please give your assigned buddy until 2/5/11 to respond. With the weather conditions, your buddy could be holed up in the midst of an ice storm without any electricity or means to communicate at the present time.
  2. If you have not received a response from your buddy by 2/5/11, then please report back to the command by commenting on this post.
    1. Your report should contain your twitter ID and that you have been unable to establish contact with your buddy and are looking for reassignment.
    2. Do Not mention the current assigned buddy ID as this information needs to be kept secure.
  3. If you have established contact with your buddy, but no one has contacted you, then please report back to the command by commenting on this post.
    1. Your report should contain your twitter ID and that you have not been contacted.

Thank you once again for being Zombie Survival Crew Loyalists – we will establish a strong chain. Remember – report back on 2/5/11if you have not been contacted, or have been unable to contact your Brigade Buddy. Thank YOU!!


Neil Brown Jr. – Command Dispatch I

Call to Action: Zombie Survival Crew First Lieutenant Neil Brown Jr. – Guillermo from the Vatos episode of The Walking Dead – talks survival and what he learned during Battle: Los Angeles.

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Sometimes the fiction I portray helps me to understand real-life truths. Working on Battle: Los Angeles gave me some insights I thought wise to share with my Zombie Survival Crew brigades ahead of the film’s 3-11-11 release.

Battle: Los Angeles asks the broader questions about survival during a cataclysmic global event as major U.S. cities are attacked and marines are sent into Los Angeles to evacuate civilians before the government launches a massive counter-offensive. Sure, we’re battling aliens, not zombies, but many of the same rules apply.

Lesson 1: Stealth Tactics

Filming took us through some real Marine training and as much as I’d like to say the weapons work was the most valuable, the truth is how many of us are going to encounter military-grade weapons right off the bat during a zombie infestation? (Unless you have them already…)

No. The most valuable lessons were in learning how to really take cover during a firefight and how to conceal your presence. Tactics like the following:

– Don’t leave evidence of your presence. Pick up empty shell casings, cigarette butts, etc, etc.

– People do what you see in movies when a firefight breaks out. Big mistake.

– Process: Get low. Find solid cover. Identify source of fire or danger. Examine your environment.

– A car door will not protect you from bullets. The only safe places to take cover around a vehicle are behind the engine block or axles.

– In a house dry wall will not protect you. Get into the residence and take cover behind additional items such as a bookcase or table.

Lesson 2: Teamwork

As a cataclysmic event unfolds it is time to put aside differences and work together. This is about humanity, about survival. Everyone has something to offer.

If we are to survive, we have to band together as I learned filming both The Walking Dead and Battle: Los Angeles. Understand the enemy – how they operate; what they want; the best ways to defeat them. It cannot be done alone.

Lesson 3: Strategic Choices

Every person has something to offer towards common survival in the case of a cataclysmic global event but having a good command team in place is essential. From my Battle: Los Angeles cast mates I’d offer up the following as top recruits.

Cory Hardrict – He’s the type of guy who will receive the phone call, look at the bottom line, come up with a plan and execute it. No questions. No doubts. But he’s also a team player.

Michelle Rodriguez – She’s kind of a nerd but down to fight to the death for anyone on her team. She’s gritty and grindy, and something to watch in a battle.

Will Rothhaar – This kid is young, ready for anything and fast. He’s a team player unafraid of a dangerous assignment.


Brigade Buddy

As mentioned in previous communication, the Zombie Survival Crew captains are developing means for ensuring communications remain open while maintaining security for all crew members. In order to maintain security, it is essential to develop a chain of communication along the cell theory, where no one individual knows the contact information or whereabouts of their fellow brigade members beyond the buddies they have been assigned. This reduces the possibility for capture of an entire brigade and will allow us to set up recovery plans in the event of a communications breach. Stand by as you will be receiving a message from @TheZSC advising you of your brigade buddy.

Your ZSC command expects you to establish contact with your buddy and develop a code word between the two of you, for use to ensure both parties have not been compromised. You have also been assigned to someone, so expect to be contacted. Once you have established contact with your assigned buddy and the code word has been established, please report your success to @TheZSC: a simple Mission Accomplished message will suffice. Safeguard your Brigade Buddy’s identity and make sure you are not the link that breaks the chain.

Here’s How It Works:

In the event of a global cataclysmic event, the command center will not have the time to communicate the message to mobilize to all crew members directly. Each brigade leader will pass the message to the first person in the chain.

  1. The first person in the chain then contacts their assigned brigade buddy.
  2. Before passing on the message, confirm your buddy is who they say they are and not an imposter through the use of the code word agreed upon between you.
  3. Once identity has been confirmed, pass the message.
  4. Your brigade buddy will then contact his/her brigade buddy and repeat the confirmation steps, pass the message, etc.
  5. Once the message has been passed to all brigade members, confirmation can then be given to @TheZSC
  6. We will cover what to do in the event of a communication breach in a separate post

Once all brigade buddies have been assigned and confirmed, drills will be conducted to test our communication chain. Will you be ready to heed the call?


13 Weapons for the Zombiepocalypse

At the ZSC we are all about preparedness. With that in mind we have compiled a list of weapons that will be helpful when the undead rise.

13. Explosives

Zombies are pack animals, much like hyenas. If you find yourself surrounded toss a grenade into the crowd and run like hell. For more strategic use, lay out claymore mines. These use a remote detonator, keeping you out of harms way. Explosives are very handy. However, we do not suggest flinging a vial of nitroglycerin at the zombies. That’s just asking for trouble…

12. Salt

Should you be faced with a magical (voodoo) zombie, the easiest and best way to deal with them is with salt (or salt water). Magic practitioners use salt as a cleansing and protective agent. In the case of zombies, you need to pelt them with it, or put it in their mouth to break the connection with their creator. Salt water works easiest for this. Squirt guns, anyone?

11. Machete

This weapon has a short, sharp blade that makes it easy to wield. Put enough strength behind a blow with a machete and it should cut deep enough to destroy a zombie’s brain. If not, aim for the neck then stomp on the zombie’s head when it hits the dirt.

Read more…


Zombie Survival Tactics: Part Three

Command loves the opportunity to demonstrate skill and promote zombie survival preparedness.

Our newest First Lieutenant Sean Patrick Flanery is no exception.

Notice the stance. The speedy reflexes. Notice Sean’s refusal to allow his opponent to get in too close… Things to remember during the zombiepocalypse.

Read more…


Get to Know the Enemy: What breed of zombie is it? (Part II)

Part II of some tips for the troops from the leader of the Orange Brigade ~ R.C. Murphy

Easily the second-most prevalent breeds of zombie are biochemical zombies. The scariest part about this breed is that they are manufactured, most of the time by secret government agencies. Wait—aren’t we working for a government agency?

Within the biochemical classification of zombie are a few different subspecies. Each movie, stand-alone or within a series, created its own version of the biochemical zombie. The Living Dead movie series (not to be confused with Romero’s Dead movies) utilizes a substance known as Trioxin to mutate the living and the recently dead. Trioxin zombies are highly intelligent, retaining their human memories and often work in packs like wolves. Unlike the other zombies explored, this subspecies ingests brain matter. Once the chemical mutates their system, they will begin to crave it. Live persons infected with the gas retain a human appearance longer. If you hear of this subspecies in your area, be wary of who you approach. And for heaven’s sake, do not invite one of them over for dinner!

Trioxin is a tricky thing. As a gas it passes easily through the air, but can be contained. However, the infected are rather difficult to kill. Fire destroys them, but the smoke carries Trioxin into the clouds, leaving potential to infect an entire city. Electricity is the best method of termination for Trioxin zombies. The government has been known to collect the infected dead, though. Be advised when storing or destroying these corpses, the Trioxin is still active despite the lack of movement in the infected.

Read more…


Get to Know the Enemy: What breed of zombie is it? (Part I)

Part I of some tips for the troops from the leader of the Orange Brigade ~ R.C. Murphy

As you can see, the living dead are not walking amongst us. They are not banging down farmhouse doors in search of flesh to sate the unrelenting hunger that drives them. Right this moment the dead are doing what they do best; staying dead.

However, signs of the pending Zombiepocalypse are popping up around the globe. Birds are falling right out of the sky. Fish started doing the glossy-eyed backstroke. Bees are making themselves scarce. While some might argue the last as a good thing, others are concerned. Rightfully so, we think.

That is why we at the ZSC are encouraging members to get to know the enemy now, before the first zombie rises. Obviously there are no animated corpses for us to study, however there are numerous films and television programs that will suffice until the time comes to kick some undead butt.

Thanks to George Romero and his Dead series of movies, most of us grew up knowing only one kind of undead menace. In Night of the Living Dead the Romero zombies were slow, stupid, and died pretty darned easy once one learned that you had to damage the brain to kill them. However, these zombies did something none of the others have. They evolved. Or more accurately, they re-evolved; becoming a shadow of the human they were before death. Romero zombies (as of the 2009 release of Survival of the Dead) are smart enough to use crude weapons. However, these zombies are still lacking speed and death is certain if the brain is damaged, making them the easiest breed to dispose of.

Movies with a similar breed of zombie are Zombieland (2009), Shaun of the Dead (2004), and Fido (2006). The cause of resurrection is unknown in this breed of zombie. Theories abound. Some consider it an alien attack. Others blame radiation from a meteor. Whatever the cause, the virus that mutates the dead is unpredictable. It will kill the host slowly, painfully. Resurrection time after death seems to vary, even within the Romero series, which is considered the “zombie bible” for some fans. The best course of action if one of this breed bites a fellow crewmember is to dispatch the victim with a single bullet to the brain. This will save them from agonizing pain and ensure they do not rise from the dead to gnaw on your kneecaps.

A lesser-known breed of zombie is the Nuclear zombie. This breed consists of humans that have been mutated due to exposure to nuclear waste or radiation from a nuclear bomb. Examples of Nuclear zombies can be found in Dance of the Dead (2008), I was a Teenage Zombie, and the short film “Zombie Prom” (2006). Like the Romero zombie, these undead move slowly and retain little of their human selves. (Except for “Zombie Prom”, which is an adaptation of a stage musical. Yes, dancing zombies, folks.) Killing them is simple, blunt trauma to the skull/brain.

Nuclear zombies infect victims in a similar method to Romero zombies, by swapping bodily fluids. Not as disgusting as it sounds, though you won’t see any of us lining up and offering to play lunch buffet for a zombie. The radiation that resurrects the zombies mutates their saliva and blood. Exposure to nuclear waste or radiated bodily fluids of the undead turns you into one almost instantly.

That is the conclusion of part one, lesson one. Take your time to research the zombie breeds we have covered. Visit again tomorrow for part two of What Breed of Zombie Is It?


Zombie Survival Tactics: Part Two


How To Survive A Zombie Apocalypse

This is an all-around instructional video on how you can survive the coming Zombiepocalypse. Pay close attention, as Jinxie G picked this one specifically for some of its content, with exception to the comments about women because Jinxie is an amazon, not a screaming little girlie-girl who’s going to freeze at the sight of a zombie . . . unless they’re running. She does not, however, take issue with shooting you in the event you’ve been bitten.

Happy zombie hunting prepping while we put our rescue plan together to get Juliette and Anthony out!


Zombie Survival Tactics: Part One

Yes, we know it’s a commercial, but honestly, what would you do in this situation? Would you make it to your car, or would you become zombie food?

For example, I (Jinxie) have an Avalanche. It’s pretty. Anyway, the key fob allows me to open one door or all doors. Don’t really want all doors unlocked when I’m trying to escape zombies and if I’m alone. Maybe zombies know how to open doors? You never know. Watch Land of the Dead. *shudders* So my ‘lanche allows me to open the only door I need in the event I must escape the shambling hordes. I’m not too concerned with key confusion, like the girl in this video. I don’t have that many keys on my key chain.

So, what would you do, dear crew? Do you have a plan for this?