Sometimes, sneaking into The Oracle‘s office yields gems of knowledge I can pass onto you, brave ZSC brigadiers. Other times, I’m chased out by a snarling beast that’s hitched a ride back to the Command Center during LK’s latest trip out to test her misbehaving flux capacitor.
Today’s Survival School lesson is more of a science experiment—how to safely create your own hydroelectric generator. The plans we’ve located are designed to be easily made by someone with a little skill and appropriate tools. All the supplies, mostly PVC pipe and a 5 gallon plastic bucket, are reasonably priced. The idea behind the generator’s design is to provide small-scale clean energy for developing countries at a moderate cost. Everything needed to make the generator is in the PDF file from engineeringforachange.org, including a full supply list, tools needed, and a step-by-step guide with color photos.
How much power can it provide? Well, you won’t be running an air conditioner off a plastic barrel, that’s for sure. However, with the right water flow, this generator can hit about 90 watts—enough to power 80 1-watt LED lights, or 3 30W UV water treatment systems.
I’ll be honest, my skill is with words, not engineering. But this generator—or any similar design—seems like it’d come in handy if the apocalypse does indeed take out the electric grid or we’re forced to take refuge in the wild for long. It’d certainly save us from using all our fuel on gas-powered generators
It’s been a while since we caught up with the undead trying to make a life in politically backwards Roarton. How successful has the Give Back Scheme been? What did the kiss between Kieren and Simon mean for the future and their mutual friend Amy? Episode four didn’t answer a lot of the questions burning a hole in my slowly rotting brain, but pushed up the stakes leading to the final episodes in series two.
From BBC:
Kieren is conflicted about seeing Simon behind Amy’s back and frustrated by his cult leader persona around the adoring Undead of Roarton. However, Simon proves how much he cares by stepping into Kieren’s world and having Sunday lunch at the Walkers’. Unfortunately, Amy witnesses the loved-up pair en route to Kieren’s house and is crushed by their betrayal.
After a positive start, the Sunday lunch descends into chaos. A tipsy and trouble-making Jem and Gary descend on the meal, provoking Kieren into a confession which sends shockwaves around the family – and astounds Simon.
Philip can’t reconcile himself with Maxine’s questionable politics and the two go head to head. Seeing Philip as a thorn in her side, Maxine orchestrates his downfall and is delighted when his Undead perversion is publicly revealed. Philip’s political aspirations come tumbling down around him, but a silver lining is provided by an unexpected romantic encounter.
Maxine, with help from the villagers who feel the need to persecute anyone not sharing their warped morals, go on a seek-and-destroy mission. Any PDS person not complying with the bizarre laws now governing the undead will be brought to justice—or their idea of it. Which ranges from public humiliation to murder. Their mission isn’t limited to PDS persons, either. Maxine uses her office to bully the mother of supposedly missing Henry Lonsdale into silence. She employs similar tactics to blackmail Phillip Wilson—village council member who is hopelessly in love with Amy and has been using PDS prostitutes to live out his girlfriend fantasies about his one-time lover. He had a solid plan, sneak in, get some cuddle time, and sneak back out. Too bad the old lady across the street is tech-savvy and recorded his comings and goings. Maxine gets her paws on the tape. But Phillip’s initial shame of being found out is overcome by his sense of what’s right when he’s ordered to perpetuate the lies Maxine cooked for Mrs. Lonsdale. He outs himself as a PDS-lover and brothel regular during the staged protest to undermine Maxine’s control and delivers a stirring speech outing the villagers’ hypocrisy. None of them are perfect, so who are they to judge how others find employment and comfort. Unfortunately, they’re all so comfortable in their hate, no one listens. Except Amy.
The mysterious side-effects from the Neurotripteline plaguing Amy aren’t getting better. She’s reflexively doing human things like making herself breakfast. Worse, though, is her memory loss and continuing nose bleeds. All of which she hides from Kieren and Simon. With her rekindled friendship with Phillip, can she find someone to confess her problems to? Phillip’s mother knows, but there’s only so much she can do to help. Amy’s reaction to the drug is unique, or simply not advertised by the drug makers to cover their collective backside.
One thing to be said about this show, it likes to push the limits. How many paranormal shows have a non-stereotypical gay main character, let alone a character who doesn’t instantly fall in bed with their main love interest seconds after their first kiss? Kieren, despite being attracted to Simon, is still wary of everything the guy says and does. He doesn’t completely agree with Simon’s politics and calls him out on the cult-like activity he perpetuates on behalf of the ULA. If Kieren were a woman, she’d giggle, flip her hair, and forgive her man his many sins after the kiss they shared at the end of episode three. Instead Simon has to work for Kieren’s trust, going so far as to apply the required makeup and contacts before they go to lunch with the Walkers.
Steve Walker has his head in the sand again. So much for the progress he’d made since the end of series one. He’s convinced the Give Back Scheme will be good for PDS persons. Considers it a work program that’ll give his son skills to use once he’s done his Give Back time to get a real job. Kieren had a job. Steve argues that it’s a good start. Kieren replies with, “. . . it’s not a start if it doesn’t go anywhere. It’s just showing up for that day’s humiliation.” Kieren’s pub job was nothing like what the council force him to do now, which includes ridiculous classes where PDS sufferers are taught to say, “Sorry I caused your anxiety . . .” and various other self-blaming phrases to use with the living.
The big revelation of the episode came during the Walker family lunch. Jem drags her patrol mate, and maybe-boyfriend, Gary along, putting two former HVF soldiers and two PDS sufferers at the same dining table. Kieren’s parents are willfully oblivious to the tension. Until Gary decides to share a gruesome and insensitive war story. Kieren retaliates, telling his rising story for the first time. Simon, who’d done his best to sit quietly and suffer through the meal in hopes of getting Brownie points, perks up and grills Kieren about his rising. By the end of the meal, Simon is convinced Kieren is indeed the First Risen.
What does this mean for Kieren? It’s unclear. But with two episodes left in series two, things are about to hit the fan.
Normally we hand off most reviews to our resident reviewer. But there was no way I’d let that cantankerous undead jerk steal my chance to see the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Director and writer James Gunn was tasked with breathing life into a talking, genetically-altered, cybernetic raccoon. His best friend, a giant talking tree—if you count a three word vocabulary as talking. A female assassin who has absolutely no damsel in distress inclinations. A guy covered in tattoos who speaks like he hasn’t read anything written after 1900. And their leader, a human kidnapped from Earth and raised by a gang of thieves called the Ravagers.
One of those thieves might have a familiar face. Just saying.
From Marvel:
An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.
Warning you guys now, it is impossible to go into this movie without expectations. Some will look at the concept on paper and write it off, watching only because it is a Marvel film. Others walk in humming the soundtrack, having memorized every line from the trailers. Try as I might—I do feel it’s my duty to present an unbiased review—I ended up being in the latter category. With absolutely no regrets once the first song poured from the theater speakers.
Unlike just about every other sci-fi action film, Guardians begins on a somber note—the death of Quill’s ailing mother. In his anguish, he runs outside to mourn without his family’s eyes on him. And in the process gets himself zapped onto an alien ship. The opening sequence said more about the Quill character than any of the numerous trailers, internet memes, and interviews combined. Going dark out the gate was a brave move. Movie-goers typically don’t like to cry in the first five minutes.
From there, the film jumps ahead to an adult Quill on a job to steal something. He has a certain . . . style to how he works. Which includes his trusty Walkman, good tunes, and using an alien-rat-thing that wants to eat his face off as a microphone. Sounds reasonable. Right? Hey, he got the job done. With one small, itty bitty, miniscule hiccup—henchmen from the Big Bad, Ronan the Accuser, show up to also steal the Orb Quill’s after. Oops. They should’ve checked the Thieves ‘R Us message board. That’s almost as bad as wearing the same battlesuit to a blaster fight.
ZSC brigadiers will recognize one devilish blue face amongst the Ravagers. Our very own Special Forces Commander Michael Rooker plays Yondu, Quill’s somewhat adoptive (reluctantly) father. Yondu isn’t a straight forward bad guy. Or a good guy. He’s a Yondu guy—liking whatever gets him what he wants, when he wants it, and with the largest paycheck at the end. Yet he’s got a soft spot for this kid he scooped up from Earth. Though if ever asked, it’s doubtful Yondu would admit to having a fondness for Quill at all. Ever.
The whole movie is bananas. A series of almost-fatal mishaps for Quill, who somehow wiggles free at the last moment. Usually with help from a group of people who tried to kick his backside across the galaxy the first time they met him. And thank goodness they decided to pick on him. The mix of Rocket, Gamora, Drax, and Groot is pure cinematic hilarity. How they managed to fly a space ship, let alone mastermind these hastily slapped together, and yet daring, save-the-galaxy plans astounds everyone.
Guardians is a road trip. Filled with good music, intelligent (most of the time) jokes, a lot of fighting, and a few figurative flat tires. But when you reach the final destination, it doesn’t feel like the end. The bond between the characters makes viewers want to hop in the car and drive anywhere with them again.
Luckily Marvel realized the goldmine it funded and announced at San Diego Comic-Con (a week before Guardians actually opened to the public) that Quill and company would be back for a second installment July 2017.
But, really, can we wait that long? I’m not sure I can even wait to see this film again, let alone wait three years for another masterfully directed film from James Gunn.
Hate to break it to you, brigadiers, but once the undead shamble from their graves, there’s a pretty good chance we won’t have the technology most of us rely on every day to keep entertained. Say goodbye to your tablet games once the battery dies, same with cell phones and laptops. Television, internet, anything requiring power will become rather expensive dust catchers. We’re breaking out in hives thinking about it. Boredom is a slippery slope. Most of our energy will be spent staying alive. But what happens once we settle down for a few days to recuperate? One can only patch so many clothes, do so much laundry, and gather supplies from nearby sources before going batty.
Before you take flight, here’s a few things you can pack or gather in order to keep your mind busy.
Dollar Store Games – The majority of these games are designed to entertain kids while in the car. They’re compact. Simplistic. The pieces may be a bit small for younger children or adults who’re a bit clumsy. But, for a couple bucks, you can grab a handful of games that’ll pass the hours.
DIY Travel Games – Break out those mint tins we told you about a while back. With some paper, markers, and small magnets, you can make your own pocket-sized 4-in-1 game—chess, checkers, backgammon, and tic-tac-toe. Finding directions online is pretty simple. Or wing it. You can also get creative and make a miniature Scrabble game the same way.
Playing Cards – There’s about a billion card games you can play alone or with a group. If everyone packs a deck, you should be good to go with any game you can think up. Cards are also a good way to fairly divvy up camp chores, guard schedules, leave coded messages in camp, etc.
Dice – Like playing cards, there’s numerous dice games out in the world with endless variables to prevent monotony. Find a pocket book with game ideas to keep in your go bag.
Written Games – Pack a notepad/pen or a small dry-erase board to make your own Mad Libs, Hangman, cross-words, trivia, etc.
Good Ol’ Dirt and Rocks – No, we haven’t gone totally insane. Yet. There’s a few games that require little in the way of equipment. A stick in the dirt can draw just the same as a notepad and pen for written games. You can also strike up a game of Mancala, or any game that requires only spaces on a board (the ground) and markers (rocks).
In this episode, we take a slight detour and focus mainly on a side-character’s struggle to return to a normal life after the implement of the government’s Give Back Scheme. Can Freddy find normalcy? Can any of the PDS sufferers who’ve returned to Roarton regain their old lives?
From BBC:
Fate throws Kieren and Simon together on the ‘Give Back’ scheme, this time at the doctor’s surgery. Simon reassures Kieren that he’s not leading Amy on, but the pair come to blows when Kieren thwarts his plan to free two caged rabids.
We also get to know PDS sufferer Freddie Preston. Freddie returned from the grave to find his childhood sweetheart Haley shacked up in their marital home with her new boyfriend Amir. Haley and Amir are allowing Freddie to stay in the spare room until he’s back on his feet. This is not ideal, as Freddie struggles with the notion of ’till death do us part’ and is determined to win back the woman he loves.
When Kieren is thrust into the aftermath of Freddie’s plan, he sees Simon’s views in a different light. Even though he hates the thought of hurting Amy, he can’t help but follow his heart.
In the aftermath of last week’s accidental shooting by Jem, we see her attempt to do the correct thing . . . while the adults play “Hide the corpse in the woods.” Maxine and Gary do the exact opposite of what Jem needs to get her head on straight—with her guilt over shooting Henry and the PTSD she’s dealt with since the HVF was disbanded. As the adults in charge, they should take proper legal action. Instead, their hatred and fear of PDS people makes them accessories to her crime. The only reason Maxine isn’t upset is because Henry wasn’t the mythical “first risen” everyone’s searching for in Roarton, the undead who will ultimately bring about the second rising. After Maxine’s strange behavior—hello, talking to a suitcase—one begins to wonder how personal her efforts are to see this supposed second rising. Did she lose someone during the first rising, an undead lover or child who was slaughtered? Was she expecting someone to return who didn’t when Roarton’s graveyard vomited up its dead? She’s cagier than a parakeet, that’s for sure.
A large piece of this episode was dedicated to Freddy’s struggle to find his place in the village. After his release from the rehab facility, he returned home to discover during the years he roamed the countryside rabid, his wife had moved on and moved her boyfriend into the house they’d shared. As a favor, possibly out of pity, she’d allowed Freddy to stay with them. But they boyfriend’s had enough. Freddy is obviously still in love with his wife, but she’s having a hard time accepting that after years of mourning and maturing, whereas he’s stuck where he was the moment he died. His attempts to court her go awry. Freddy lures her to a place where they can be alone, where he tries to convince her one last time to run away with him. In the process, he forgets his meds and turns rabid. His inability to move on nearly cost him his life when Gary showed up. If Kieren hadn’t intercepted the call Gary put through to Jem asking her to help put Freddy down, they guy would be dead. And for what? A woman who said her goodbyes already and wants the freedom to settle down as she nears thirty? Freddy is desperate for anything to call his own. He’s been denied the opportunity to own his own business. He can’t even legally drive a car. And how can he make money to provide for himself when he’s forced into the Give Back Scheme? The PDS are stuck in a hole. Freddy is just the latest victim.
Kieren’s interactions with Simon started to heat up in the last episode. This time around, they’re fanning the embers. During the Give Back tasks for the day, the men are scheduled to work at the clinic as a clean-up crew, while Phillip traps Amy in the council office to play as his (unwilling) secretary. The guys argue over whether or not to free a pair of rabid undead caged in the clinic. When Kieren protests and stops Simon, Simon’s disappointment has teeth. He says a few times, his feeling for Amy aren’t romantic. Simon loves her, but not in the way she loves him. Has he used her to get to Roarton and Kieren? Undoubtedly. Everything he’s said in the last two episodes points to manipulation on his part. Amy is convinced she’ll marry Simon.
Simon is about as willing to do that as she is to have another one-night-stand with Phillip. How will she feel when she finds out her undead best friend kissed her maybe-to-be fiancé? Who knows? Perhaps the betrayal will aggravate her still unknown condition. We saw what happens when a PDS sufferer’s meds wears off when Freddy forgot his dose.
Will the same happen to Amy? It’d be awful to lose her vibrant personality amongst the doom and gloom generation.
Much like year’s past, Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con was jam-packed, trembling in anticipation of the walker horde scheduled to shamble in over the weekend. AMC brought in the big guns, including nearly the entire cast and full producing staff, to discuss the upcoming fifth season for “The Walking Dead.”
And like year’s past, the actors stayed mum while the producers dropped what few hints they could about what to expect while the highlight of the hour was the preview clip they’d prepared.
Before we look at the clip, we’ll go over what everyone said, starting with the producers.
Will Rick and company make it out of the train car at Terminus? Duh. Producers seemed somewhat annoyed that anyone would think they’d downgrade the show’s quality to shoot an entire season inside a small set.
Where are the characters mentally after the chaos in season four? Show-runner Scott Gimple said, “Once they lost the prison—once they lost Hershel—all bets were off. And I think they did find out that you can’t come back from the things that you’ve done. You have to live with them. But also, those things that you have done make you incredibly formidable.” He went on to add, “This season is going to define the characters.”
Any flashbacks planned? It’s safe to say, yes. They plan to show how Terminus and its occupants came to be.
Robert Kirkman admits the show has taken a turn from the comics with the Terminus story line. But throughout the upcoming season, they’ll bring in more content from the comic books and bring the show back on track with them.
Gale Anne Hurd and Greg Nicotero said the makeup effects and sets are getting bigger and better. The world will continue to expand. Nicotero teased two walker makeups on the big screen—one a regular walker who has decayed with the same sort of progress we’ve seen thus far, and the second the Water-Logged walker from a scene where the survivors encounter a flooded room full of undead.
On the cast portion of the panel, Andrew Lincoln said while it was great for Rick to be reined in by Hershel, it feels right now to have his gun back and boots on.
Steven Yeun thinks Glenn’s unwavering hope will see him through the trouble ahead of the crew.
In Lauren Cohan’s opinion, Maggie will never be the same. None of them will. Even if there was a cure for the walkers, there will still be bad guys.
Newcomer Michael Cudlitz, who was slightly dazed at the number of fans in Hall H, didn’t feel pressured to become an exact replica of Abraham from the comics. The cast welcomed him with open arms.
When asked about the two sides to Michonne—the killer and the woman still mourning her losses—Danai Gurira said she loves the challenges posed by both sides, and readily admits she was afraid of the physical demands from the role.
Jokingly, panel moderator Chris Hardwick handed Melissa McBride a bouquet of flowers. Which she proceeded to march down the table to pawn them off on someone else. The cast hid. Norman Reedus wasn’t quite quick enough. When asked about Carol’s story arc from season one through season four, Melissa said, “I think the great thing about Carol is she’s kinda prepared to do anything.”
Chad L. Coleman said, “If you don’t have the heart, you can’t have the hope,” in reference to the tense confrontation between Carol and Tyreese last season, adding that Tyreese never lost sight of Carol’s humanity and bravery.
Beth is alive. Somewhere. So says Emily Kinney.
Norman Reedus was convinced he’d die during his second episode on the show and never thought he’d see Daryl make it this far.
Surprise guest—and first-time SDCC attendee—Chandler Riggs surprised the crowd in Hall H by walking on stage with a huge tub of chocolate pudding. Having grown up on the show (he’s 15 now) he said it’s been an awesome experience with great mentors in his cast mates.
We’ll let the preview clip speak for itself.
Mark your calendars. “The Walking Dead” returns to AMC on October 12th at 9 PM.
We’ve covered food quite a bit. Understandably. While a human can survive for three weeks without food, it isn’t pleasant. Starvation means no fuel to make our bodies move, and we’re all about mobility here at the ZSC. Staying put, unable to defend yourself is the very thing we’ve been preparing our brigadiers against. A stationary target becomes zombie chow pretty quick. But how are we supposed to maintain a balanced diet on the run? You won’t. However, if you focus on finding steady sources for protein, keeping one step ahead of the undead will be much easier.
The CDC recommends teens and older eat about 50 grams of protein a day. It may sound like a lot, but not when you consider that a single fillet of striped bass contains a whopping 28 grams of protein. Just remember, the more active you are, the more protein you’ll need to keep your muscles going. Despite running for your lives, you’ll need to self-check your health anytime you stop to rest.
–Are you overly exhausted despite adequate sleep? Lethargy and the overwhelming urge to sleep is a huge red flag for protein deficiency. If you’re having trouble finding motivation or focus to do anything or curling up for an afternoon nap when you’re normally not a nap person, time to take a look at what you’ve eaten the last few days.
–Feeling weak as a newborn lamb? Muscle weakness is one of the first signs that you need to up your protein intake. Look for trembling muscles, wobbly knees, along with trouble focusing your eyes.
–Not filling out your clothes the same anymore? It’s an old wives tale that says a starving body will go for the fat first. Bodies need protein to keep internal organs going. They’ll start cannibalizing healthy muscle tissue in order to get what it needs. Sure, you’ll look like you lost weight, but you won’t be able to swing a q-tip, let alone an ax at a zombie.
–That cut on your arm refusing to heal? Slow healing goes along with the bit up above. Your body will focus on keeping your internal organs going, only sending excess protein to help rebuild damaged tissue such as wounds and sprains. If you have a fellow survivor who is injured, don’t think their lack of mobility means they need to cut back on food.
–Bald isn’t your hairstyle of choice? Hair loss and brittle finger/toe nails happens for the same reasons stated above—your body is conserving protein and energy for vital functions.
Where can you find protein? Below are two lists, arranged from the highest amount of protein per serving size on down.
Protein sources to pack: Dry whole milk, pork chop, chicken thigh, chicken breast, turkey breast, edamame, non-fat dry milk, steak, chicken leg, ham, kidney beans, white beans, lima beans, black beans, fava beans, mung beans, canned tuna, non-fat/low fat cheese, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, beef jerky, almonds, pistachios, sunflower seeds, tofu.
Protein sources to find in the wild: Rainbow trout, beaver, striped bass, bear, catfish, deer, muskrat, rabbit, squirrel, opossum, boar, horse, goat, raccoon, freshwater bass.
The wild resources are numerous and vary by location. Best bet is to fish for your supper. One fillet of rainbow trout is well over half of what you need per day at 33 grams of protein.
A quick note for those thinking, “Why don’t I just pack a bunch of protein bars?” While that’d seem like a good idea, it isn’t. Most of the popular protein bars are a bunch of sugar and fat wrapped around a minimal amount of protein. The kick you feel from eating one isn’t from the fuel you need, but from the junk they used as filler. During my research, I found one protein bar that wasn’t full of fat and sugar. For the 20 grams of protein it’d give you, the cost (over $2 per bar) isn’t worth it. You’d get more from buying $2 worth of kidney beans.
You’ve got your shopping list. Better make sure your emergency food supplies include most of the dry ingredients listed above. They’ll keep you going long enough to establish camp and hunt.
Just when we thought we’d get to see the world outside Roarton, our hopes—like Kieren’s—were dashed. With the Vicar’s death, changes are afoot. None of them beneficial for the undead. Before we get into what happens in the episode, let’s have a quick rundown.
From BBC:
Kieren’s dreams of escape are left in tatters when Maxine imposes an Undead travel ban on Roarton, also introducing stringent measures for PDS Sufferers to pay back their debt to society. However, being thrust together with Simon on Maxine’s ‘Give Back’ scheme has its benefits. The two have a connection, and Kieren agrees to go to Simon’s Undead party that night, where Simon makes a surprising declaration.
Jem is troubled at school. A 19-year-old amongst 16-year-olds, she feels completely alienated, until she’s revealed to be an ex-HVF war hero. Jem’s reputation soars and she is befriended by the popular girls. However, when a PDS prank goes wrong, resulting in a terrifying rabid in the corridors, Jem is humiliated in front of her classmates. She gravitates to Gary, finding solace in a world she understands – hunting rabids in the woods. But it’s here that disaster strikes.
Kieren’s escape route is blocked. He’s denied what he considers a chance to start again in a city that may or may not allow him to be himself, unlike the small minds in Roarton. Given the fact that his father insisted to send him on his way with a French-themed breakfast—complete with awful “French” music, berets, French-pressed coffee, and French toast (the latter two Kieren can’t even enjoy)—the poor kid needs to get away. Instead he’s ordered back to town after being refused a train ticket. Amy, too even though she wasn’t trying to leave. She tagged along to convince Kieren to stay, acting on Simon’s orders. Most of what Amy has to say comes from the heart, though. Kieren is running away from his problems. He isn’t trying to fix anything. This trip isn’t so much about finding himself as putting distance between him and the painful emotions in Roarton—his parents’ failure to understand who he really is, the town’s small-minded anti-gay sentiment, and Rick’s second and final death. Try as he might to start over, Kieren’s problems start and end with his inability to accept himself. He’s hiding behind layers of makeup, lies, and evasion.
Amy said it best: “How many miles will you have to travel to be able to take it all off?”
What’s so special about the undead in Roarton? This underlying question has filtered through the first episodes for series two. The longer they pull out this question, it becomes more and more apparent that Kieren is the man of the hour. Everyone is focused on him, from Simon and his mission passed down from the Undead Prophet to Maxine and her hush-hush info search through the town records. Could Kieren be the first risen? What does that mean for the PDS community?
The government plans to use PDS sufferers as slave labor. They’ve concocted a scheme in which the undead “give back” to their communities after leaving rehab. If they’re good, their cases are reviewed after six months and their rights as a living person renewed. It sounds almost reasonable. Until you stop and really think about it. They’re making people who had no control over their return from the dead earn a place in society again as though they’re car thieves and drug addicts. We make criminals work community service hours in order to prove they can be trusted and let off the leash, so to speak. And there is no guarantee PDS people will actually regain their rights. The law is written to only promise their cases be reviewed, nothing more. It’s entirely possible that every PDS sufferer whose case is reviewed in six months is ordered to complete more “give back” hours. A reality Kieren is now considering after a talk with Simon.
Naughty Phillip, the newest council member in Roarton, has been visiting PDS prostitutes. But not necessarily for the obvious reason. He’s using them to replicate his fleeting relationship with Amy. Which I’m pretty sure was a just a one-night-stand. Someone is watching him. They know what he’s up to. The fall-out from his nightly visits will rattle the council again.
The major focus of the episode wasn’t so much Kieren and the other PDS trapped in town—who make the most of it by partying and getting high on lamb’s brains—but Jem’s continuing failure to seek treatment for her PTSD. She has a fleeting moment where everything seems okay. The kids at school find out she’s a HVF “hero” and the harassment turns into a form of worship. She’s bringing friends home to hang out. Going out to spend time with the girls. Sure, Jem still suffers hallucinations, but they’re easier to brush off. Until an idiot PDS kid gets his hands on Blue Oblivion and turns rabid at school. Of course everyone will think sending the hero in to kill the rabid undead is a good idea. They don’t understand what it was like for Jem—who was only fourteen during her first mission—during the rising. Of course she panics at the school. Fails to dispatch the “rotter”, which is a good thing because the drug does wear off. Something we hadn’t seen before. Instead of talking it out, getting help for her PTSD, Jem decides to arm up and resume patrolling for rotters. And kills an innocent PDS boy who had the biggest crush on her.
The next episode should be interesting. There’s a lot secrets in the air and given what Jem’s done, what Kieren is beginning to understand about the way his people are being treated, a whole world of chaos is about to fall on Roarton. Hang on to your hats.
We’re still trucking along with BBC’s “In the Flesh” here in the ZSC command center. By “we,” I mean I am still watching. Everyone else is busy cleaning weapons and ignoring my requests for show time snacks. Would it hurt them to take a little time to bring in a leg of someone delicious? Really, sometimes I feel trapped in this gig. What’ve the folks in Roarton been up to during the series break? Nothing good.
From BBC:
Kieren Walker, in the now seemingly PDS-friendly world of Roarton, is keeping his head down, working soul destroying shifts in the Legion pub and squirrelling money into his ‘escape fund’. The only problem is that he can’t escape himself.
In the wider world, tensions are re-igniting. The radical pro-living party, Victus, is whipping up hatred and the Undead Liberation Army is retaliating violently. When Victus MP Maxine Martin enters Roarton, Kieren is dismayed, sensing that danger is encroaching. And when Vicar Oddie violently clashes with her, it seems Kieren’s instincts are right.
Kieren is also overjoyed by the return of his BDFF (best dead friend forever), Amy Dyer, though his delight is cut short by a tense encounter with Amy’s opinionated beau, ULA member Simon. When Amy and Simon reveal the prejudice still bubbling under the surface in Roarton, Kieren knows he needs to leave the village immediately.
The episode opened with a supposed ULA attack on a busload of innocent bystanders—including the man who killed Bill Macy during the first series finale and his young son. This is only the second time they’ve shown the effects of the Blue Oblivion drug, and it doesn’t look like a good time for anyone involved. Blue Oblivion negates the effects of daily government mandated Neurotripteline treatments. PDS sufferers must use the treatments in order to pass from the rehab facilities back into the world. Without, they’re considered rabid and put down or held in rehab and forced to receive treatment. The legalities around PDS abuse isn’t clear. How many rights do they retain after release from rehab? It’s clear they are capable of finding jobs, as Kieren has once the village calmed down and accepted the returned citizens. They even disbanded the HVF and declared the village a weapons-free zone. To protect themselves or their PDS citizens? Who knows? It’s just a good thing the guns are gone, some of the former HVF “heroes” can’t let go of the past and are itching to stir up trouble everywhere they go. Dead guys can land jobs, but these HVF members can’t be bothered to try, blaming Kieren and his kind for their unemployed status. Not their bad attitudes, lack of hygiene, and lack of motivation to get off their backsides.
Despite the tension rife within almost every character interaction, the tone for the second series is, so far, much lighter. Even the color pallets are brighter. Except Kieren. He’s still a blob of drab compared to Amy’s vibrancy. Part of it may well be that he wants to blend in as much as possible. Fall into the background, work, earn money, and get gone before people realize he’s still there. Still the loner. And most importantly, still the boy who killed himself and rose from the dead. How often each day does Kieren curse his family for burying him instead of cremating him, as he’d requested? His parents are coping. Slowly. Sue fell back to her role of, “don’t rock the boat,” “everything is normal.” Steve’s adjustment period is taking much longer. He’s at the over-sharing stage of talk therapy. Anything and everything bothering him comes out his mouth. Unfortunately, it’s usually something that pains Kieren or embarrasses him. Jem, unlike the others, is having the hardest time moving on. She’s back in school. A loner now, like her brother. Worse is the PTSD she won’t talk about with anyone, but it’s begun to affect her life day and night.
Maxine Martin is a new/old face in Roarton, with a completely unknown agenda. She’s supposedly there on official business, but there’s glimmers of something under the surface of what she’s saying to the Vicar and others in the village. She’s hunting for something. Or someone. And her fixation on the PDS sufferers in town, especially Kieren, is unsettling. Could she be connected to Lisa, the girl Kieren ate before Jem found him and sent him to the rehab facility? Is she searching for a loved one who was buried in Roarton, hoping they rose and simply weren’t found or reported? We have no clue. It is clear, though, that she’ll do whatever necessary to obtain information and keep her cards close to her chest about her true intentions. Just ask the Vicar. Oh, wait . . . . That ship may have sailed.
So far, this series of “In the Flesh” is much more complex than the last. Can’t wait to see how it unfolds over the next five episodes.
Ideally, when plotting your escape routes it’s best to remain on the road. Venturing into the landscape is dangerous, full of unknown dangers from more than just the undead. In reality, you’ll need resources like flowing water, edible vegetation, and game animals who shy away from busy roads. Once away from the beaten path, it’s easy to get turned around and lose sight of your escape route. Relying on GPS during the apocalypse (or heck, even driving through Texas today) isn’t a good plan. We have no clue how long technology will continue to run post undead uprising. Now it the time to start honing your navigation skills. Below are some tips and tricks to keep you from relying on breadcrumbs to find your way.
Learn How to Read a Map
We’re all about being prepared, which means you should know well in advance what escape routes you plan to take.
Make sure you have a map, or numerous maps, in your go bag covering the locations you must travel through. Take a little time to study them. Find roads that take you near moving water sources so you can top up on fresh water and have a chance to bathe, catch fish, and gather edible vegetation growing nearby.
An easy map-reading guide:
Check the map key. It’ll tell you what various symbols mean. Important for navigating via landmarks or finding towns/cities large enough to safely resupply.
Learn how to gauge distance using the map scale. For 1:24,000 scale maps, one inch equals 2,000 feet. For 1:25,000 maps, 5 centimeters equals 1,250 meters. Most maps are drawn on grids to help facilitate calculations.
For the most part, maps are color coded the same: Black – man-made structures, roads, train tracks, pipelines, and property boundaries. Brown – topographic features such as contour lines. Green – Vegetation features, like forests. Blue – Rivers, lakes, streams, swamps, water reserves. Red: Main roads, highways, and sometimes tunnels or survey lines.
Use Major Landmarks
Once you’re on the road, keep going for as long as possible before making a pit stop, especially if the area you’re traveling through is mostly wilderness. It’s no good putting yourself in unnecessary danger for a drink of water when you’ve got a full supply in the car. But once supplies start running low or you can’t stand the body odor of your traveling companions, take a few vital steps before heading into the woods:
Find a spot in the road nearest to the body of water you seek.
Double check with your map to make sure the water source is a river, large stream, or lake. Swamps and the like are stagnant and chock-full of harmful bacteria that won’t boil out using emergency purification techniques.
Locate at least two major landmarks on the map, and then make visual confirmation from the point where you leave your car. This gives your brain something physical to work from while calculating which direction to walk on your return trip.
Note which direction the sun is moving.
Calculating Distance
Using the map scale, judge how far your trip will take you from the road. Keep hikes short. Not only will this reduce exposure to danger, but it’ll use less energy to take a 30 minute hike compared to a 2 hour hike. Less energy means fewer calories burned. It’ll make your food supplies last longer. Also be mindful of the time of day. Schedule your trip so you have ample time to return before dark. Improvised camping is dangerous. You don’t know what native beasts lurk in the woods. Without proper shelter, you could wake up cuddling a snake. Or not wake up at all in the belly of a desperate, hungry mountain lion.
Map and Compass Work
The easiest way to navigate new territory is with a map and compass to keep yourself oriented, even after scouting a few major landmarks. I won’t pretend to be an expert here. Heck, I get lost in the mall all the time. But that’s what the internet is for. Here’s a link to an excerpt from The Backpackers Field Manual by Rick Curtis that covers the basics of map and compass work.
Navigating without a compass
While we don’t advise leaving your compass at home once you’re on the run from the undead, accidents happen. Things get lost or broken in the shuffle. The dog ate your compass. Whatever. So on the off-chance you’re stuck without, here’s a couple simple ways to find north so you aren’t a lost babe in the woods, Hansel.
Never Eat Soggy Waffles. This is a mnemonic, a cheeky phrase used to memorize North, East, South, and West going clockwise. So once you’re facing North, East is to your right, South behind you, and West to your left.
Watch the sun: It rises in the East and sets to the West. If you don’t have time to watch the sun, there’s a quick-ish method to determine which way it’s moving:
Find a tall stick and set it in the ground.
Mark the top of the stick’s shadow with a rock (or whatever’s handy).
Wait 15 minutes.
Now mark the stick’s shadow with another rock.
Put your left foot near the first rock, your right near the second. Now you’re facing north.
Using the stars: This takes a little more work, depending on visibility and your location. In the Northern Hemisphere, there’s two ways to find the North Star (Polaris).
Big Dipper method: First, find the bugger. Then using the two stars forming the side of the ladle away from the handle, mentally draw a straight line until you hit a super bright star. That’s Polaris.
Little Dipper method: Polaris is the final star in the Little Dipper’s handle. Super easy to navigate by, if you can find it.
There you have it, a few tips to prevent you from getting lost in your quest to find food and water while on the run from zombies.
We’ve covered food quite a bit. Understandably. While a human can survive for three weeks without food, it isn’t pleasant. Starvation means no fuel to make our bodies move, and we’re all about mobility here at the ZSC. Staying put, unable to defend yourself is the very thing we’ve been preparing our brigadiers against. A stationary target becomes zombie chow pretty quick. But how are we supposed to maintain a balanced diet on the run? You won’t. However, if you focus on finding steady sources for protein, keeping one step ahead of the undead will be much easier.
Kieren’s escape route is blocked. He’s denied what he considers a chance to start again in a city that may or may not allow him to be himself, unlike the small minds in Roarton. Given the fact that his father insisted to send him on his way with a French-themed breakfast—complete with awful “French” music, berets, French-pressed coffee, and French toast (the latter two Kieren can’t even enjoy)—the poor kid needs to get away. Instead he’s ordered back to town after being refused a train ticket. Amy, too even though she wasn’t trying to leave. She tagged along to convince Kieren to stay, acting on Simon’s orders. Most of what Amy has to say comes from the heart, though. Kieren is running away from his problems. He isn’t trying to fix anything. This trip isn’t so much about finding himself as putting distance between him and the painful emotions in Roarton—his parents’ failure to understand who he really is, the town’s small-minded anti-gay sentiment, and Rick’s second and final death. Try as he might to start over, Kieren’s problems start and end with his inability to accept himself. He’s hiding behind layers of makeup, lies, and evasion.
The government plans to use PDS sufferers as slave labor. They’ve concocted a scheme in which the undead “give back” to their communities after leaving rehab. If they’re good, their cases are reviewed after six months and their rights as a living person renewed. It sounds almost reasonable. Until you stop and really think about it. They’re making people who had no control over their return from the dead earn a place in society again as though they’re car thieves and drug addicts. We make criminals work community service hours in order to prove they can be trusted and let off the leash, so to speak. And there is no guarantee PDS people will actually regain their rights. The law is written to only promise their cases be reviewed, nothing more. It’s entirely possible that every PDS sufferer whose case is reviewed in six months is ordered to complete more “give back” hours. A reality Kieren is now considering after a talk with Simon.
Naughty Phillip, the newest council member in Roarton, has been visiting PDS prostitutes. But not necessarily for the obvious reason. He’s using them to replicate his fleeting relationship with Amy. Which I’m pretty sure was a just a one-night-stand. Someone is watching him. They know what he’s up to. The fall-out from his nightly visits will rattle the council again.
The major focus of the episode wasn’t so much Kieren and the other PDS trapped in town—who make the most of it by partying and getting high on lamb’s brains—but Jem’s continuing failure to seek treatment for her PTSD. She has a fleeting moment where everything seems okay. The kids at school find out she’s a HVF “hero” and the harassment turns into a form of worship. She’s bringing friends home to hang out. Going out to spend time with the girls. Sure, Jem still suffers hallucinations, but they’re easier to brush off. Until an idiot PDS kid gets his hands on Blue Oblivion and turns rabid at school. Of course everyone will think sending the hero in to kill the rabid undead is a good idea. They don’t understand what it was like for Jem—who was only fourteen during her first mission—during the rising. Of course she panics at the school. Fails to dispatch the “rotter”, which is a good thing because the drug does wear off. Something we hadn’t seen before. Instead of talking it out, getting help for her PTSD, Jem decides to arm up and resume patrolling for rotters. And kills an innocent PDS boy who had the biggest crush on her.
Despite the tension rife within almost every character interaction, the tone for the second series is, so far, much lighter. Even the color pallets are brighter. Except Kieren. He’s still a blob of drab compared to Amy’s vibrancy. Part of it may well be that he wants to blend in as much as possible. Fall into the background, work, earn money, and get gone before people realize he’s still there. Still the loner. And most importantly, still the boy who killed himself and rose from the dead. How often each day does Kieren curse his family for burying him instead of cremating him, as he’d requested? His parents are coping. Slowly. Sue fell back to her role of, “don’t rock the boat,” “everything is normal.” Steve’s adjustment period is taking much longer. He’s at the over-sharing stage of talk therapy. Anything and everything bothering him comes out his mouth. Unfortunately, it’s usually something that pains Kieren or embarrasses him. Jem, unlike the others, is having the hardest time moving on. She’s back in school. A loner now, like her brother. Worse is the PTSD she won’t talk about with anyone, but it’s begun to affect her life day and night.
