Zombie Apocalypse Gift, Movies, Music

Ostensibly, the main point of this article is: who's on your zombie survival team? I figure you've got to have at least one person who is extremely good in the wilderness and what-not (a hunter/gatherer type), and I certainly have a few of those outdoorsy-type friends in mind. I've also got a friend who is certified as a gunsmith (although we're business partners in another venture now), so he's definitely on my team. You kind of need a doctor, although a paramedic or EMT type would probably do just about as well... although, thinking about the TV show "Lost", that doctor Jack fella really came in handy, knowing what to do when those ladies were preggers, and dealing with all the other crazy adversities. Crazy show, Lost.

You'd also need a strong leader type, and I think that I might fit the bill for this, although I've never been in a wilderness survival type situation, so who knows for sure. I can say that I have at least some limited expertise in dealing with nasty people and diffusing uncomfortable situations, and I think that would be an important trait to have among the survivors. We're going to need to work together, always seeing the bigger picture, and we can't be squabbling over petty things when we're not certain where our next meal will be coming from, or whether we're going to be a zombie's next meal!

Thinking in an abstract manner like this has been useful for me in terms of running a business, too. You never know when you're going to need to solve a problem on the fly, and if you're already used to categorizing people in terms of skill sets they have, you may find use in this same skill when putting together a team to tackle a project.

I think this cute little guy was called a "garden zombie" back when I ordered him in 2010. Man, this thing was absolutely hilarious on my girlfriend's front lawn until some d-bag stepped on him and he got broken. When she moved, I think we left him behind, but the zombie-thing was absolutely hilarious, and it (he?) lasted a surprisingly long time. This is a pretty good gag gift if you're looking for something to buy for someone who loves zombie movies and/or fantasizes about the zombie apocalypse.

I love that people are familiar nowadays with the term "zombie apocalypse", by the way. I don't think that has been the case until lately.

The Misfits sang about a lot of gory stuff, but one of my favorite subjects they sang about was zombies. From Astro-Zombies (inspired by the horror film of the same name), which very directly talks about zombies from outer space coming in to destroy the planet earth:

"With just a touch of my burning hand
I send my astro zombies to rape the land
Prime directive, exterminate
The whole human race"

...to "Brain Eaters", a bit more direct in its earthbound zombie descriptions:

"Brains for dinner
Brains for lunch
Brains for breakfast
Brains for brunch
Brains at every single meal,
Why can't we have some guts?"

the Misfits personified everything that was right with "horror punk", and exemplified zombie music at an early time. Later bands like White Zombie (and, of course, Rob Zombie himself) owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the Misfits and their pioneering zombie ways.

Here are a handful of great, classic zombie movies, if you're just looking for some fun watching. I've certainly enjoyed all of these at various stages of my life.

• Night of the Living Dead (the classic black and white flick that started it all)
• Return of the Living Dead (punk zombies!!!)
• Zombieland (great mix of hilarity and tension)
• Shaun of the Dead (simply hilarious)
• 28 Days Later (gritty and fantastic, and fast zombies!)
• World War Z (very new, and very good)
• Dawn of the Dead (George Romero continues his tradition)

What are some zombie flicks you've enjoyed over the years? Everyone loves a great zombie movie, right?