This blog still exists post-zombie class. We could strive to continue to make this blogsite the go-to for zombie information. Is anyone else down to continue to keep it alive....err undead?
[...]
During the last few months of any semester a few things can always be counted on. Homework will pile up, meal points will dwindle, and the souls of students will fade until they are resigned to sit in a desk in the library staring at nothing.
The semester always starts out with high hopes- my classes are so interesting, I'm going to work so hard, my social life is great, the marche is finally serving good food, etc. Then classes load on the work, the assignments, the extra readings, the required workshops, the group projects, the semester research papers, and life seems to stop. Meal points go toward coffee and whatever is leftover at whatever cafeteria is open when you finally drag yourself, half starved and twitchy from caffeine, out of your study hole. But coffee only works for so long, and you still need to be awake for classes, so redbull it is.
My desk is covered in papers, books, coffee cups, flashcards, and triscuits. I picked up my room some time last week -I think- and my trashcan is overflowing with redbull cans and burrito wrappers from New World. I can tell you exactly how many sticky notes are on my wall and how many tack holes are in my corkboard, but I couldn't tell you when the last time I did laundry was if my life was on the line.
I find myself people watching. When my work isn't going well I stare off into space, and accidentally stare at other people working in the library. They are just like me. Staring at nothing. Jumping at sounds, or when someone passes by too close to them and startles them. Reaching for coffee cups with shaky hands, and clicking pens. I could start a study on the relationship between coffee consumed, and overall sense of wellbeing. Spoiler: it's not good.
It's times like this, when I'm watching other people work and my brain is working so fast my body can't keep up, that I realize we're all zombies. We stand in lines to spend our meal points on coffee, we stagger to our desks- you know, the one you always go to and if someone else has taken it, it just throws you off for an unhealthy amount of time- and stare and stare and stare at our computers and books, until we need to find more coffee.
Categories:
Since reading WWZ I've been keeping an eye on China, and what I've seen has been disturbingly foreshadowing. It started with dead pigs being pulled out of the Huangpu river. My first thought was obviously that interview in WWZ when we think we've found the "source" of the virus - in a body of water in China. No, no, Jen. Stay clam. It's just China cracking down on contaminated meat leading to farmers having animals they can't sell to slaughter and disposing of them in any way they can.
Then there were waves of dead ducks. Just… dead ducks. Everywhere. This was when news of the new strain of bird flu was picking up speed, and everyone was freaking out- remember that picture of the mother and daughter screaming and running away from a goose? Yeah. These dead ducks could have been similarly affected by disease like the pigs, or their death could have been people's response to the new bird flu outbreak. But definitely not zombies. Nope.
Finally, the dead dogs. Thousands of them. Okay, okay, NOW it just might be zombies. At first they where just being found in the river (last count was 16,000 dead pigs pulled from the Huangpu river), but then they were being found in homes and farms in the Henan province- near chemical factories. And through all of these carcasses, the Chinese government still denies that they have anything to do with the new bird flue.
Yep. The zombie virus has started. Prepare yourself.
Categories:
In Zone One, author
Colson Whitehead describes the protagonist as having followed the “American
checklist.” The American checklist, like any agenda, results in zombifying
effects: you forget to think for yourself and question things, and follow the
agenda. This particularly concerning for our political system, which is mostly
represented by two very opposing sides. If you are a democrat, you must think
this way about x,y, and z. If you identify as a republican, it can be assumed
you have a particular stance on x,y, and z.
These opposing political agendas are representative of the whole
good vs. evil scenario, and even team sports. During the debates we crowd
around the tv and cheer for one democratic or republican representative while
booing the other, much like Superbowl Sunday. What our political system says to
me, is that we have a desire to pick a team in order to feel a part of something instead of think about what we are
participating in. It’s a given well participate, we just have to pick a side.
This is the political system many accept without thinking about. There’s no
hype around the question of the system itself, but again, who are the players
within it.
I know none of this is groundbreaking thought here, but it’s
reminiscent of what we know about zombies: they move aimlessly and can’t think.
The drive they have is impulsive, and its to eat brains. The living have
well-functioning minds and are able to have logic thought. Zombies can’t, but
they want brains more than we do. ….yeah, this whole ironic-ending thing didn’t
really work for me here, did it. Oh well. Keep calm and zombie on…I bet that’s
already on a t-shirt.
Categories:
This semester I took a course called adaptation to climate
change. In it, we discussed how communities respond during disastrous events, how
they may become more resilient in the aftermath, and general sentiments
regarding environmentalism—which often include a kind of fatalistic outlook.
Professors in the environmental studies department try not to appear “doom and
gloom” about the state of the world and the rate in which we exploit our
natural resources and destruct nature. Inevitably, one can become hung up on
such attitudes in the environmental field, which one of my professor calls “an
infatuation with fatalism.”
The explosion of zombies in our culture seems to reflect a
societal scale of an infatuation with fatalism. As we’ve discussed in class,
zombies serve as a metaphor for many things, including a fear of the
unknown. We’ve come to understand the many things and
fears zombies represent, but we maybe, mostly don’t know why our society is
hung-up on feelings of anxiety, fear, or the unknown.
I know I don’t know why we have the tendency for an
infatuation with fatality, but I see this everywhere. I see this pessimistic,
anxious mindset, ingested and regurgitated on the media and in my interactions
with friends and coworkers. Our news headlines and front page text of magazines
always consist of some kind of gruesome or disturbing one-liner that dramatically
exacerbates the situation this news source has intended to inform us about. Broadcasters
and news anchors who covered the Boston marathon tragedy ping-ponged questions such
as, “do you think this attack was domestic or not?” back and forth another for
hours, even though no one had a way of knowing yet. These questions and this
anxiety everyone felt was framed as news; part of their job that day was to
mirror our fear and anxieties, resulting in more general fear and paranoia
amongst the masses.
I see this collective, team-work effort of anxiety building
among students at the library and coworkers. I always witness this interaction
once during a visit to the library.
“Hey I haven’t seen you in so long, what’s up?”
“Ugh studying for my exam/writing a _ page paper/ preparing
for my_/working on a project that counts for _part of my grade…I’m so screwed”
“Aw man that sucks, I’m studying for my exam/writing a _
page paper/ preparing for my_/working on a project that counts for _part of my
grade…shoot me now right?”
And then both people continue to go on and list each of
their academic and personal responsibilities they have to accomplish, as if it
was a contest. Whoever has the most tasks to fulfill wins. And for some people,
this is a victory. They like seeming as if they’re the busiest or most
accomplished. Because sometimes for them it feel smart, or important.
What this interaction also serves to do, is provide an
outlet for anxiety. It’s a little backhanded though, because at the same time,
it generates more anxiety. The person who does not win the “I have more going
on in my life than you do” match now suddenly feels stressed out that they have
all these things to do, but they’re still not the busiest or seemingly more
important in comparison to those who lead similar lifestyles in which it makes
sense to compete in this match with one another. This in and of itself is not representative of
an infatuation with fatality, but is born from the same place.
Categories:
The Bad Lip Reading of The Walking Dead
I came across this and I had to share so all of you to enjoy. The voices are actually well done and it makes even the most disappointing scenes of the series, enjoyable.
And also, I want to know what direction you think the series is headed in!
[...]
I came across this and I had to share so all of you to enjoy. The voices are actually well done and it makes even the most disappointing scenes of the series, enjoyable.
And also, I want to know what direction you think the series is headed in!
Categories:
We spent a lot of time playing the "what if" game this semester. It was fun...a lot of fun and I certainly learned a lot and thought about a lot of cool things. Thats the fun with things that are fantasy..its just that..fantasy it probably wont happen. On the other hand, the reason its fun to think about is that it could happen. I'm feeling a little nostalgic pending graduation and so I'm curious if, and this is more of a question to myself, what will happen when it happens? In 4 months I will be sitting at a desk, unfortunately I will be sitting behind a desk for the next 40 years (maybe) and I'll have a lot of time to think. What will I do? Will it ever happen? Frankly, I dont know. I think thats the point, or at least what I took away from the course...no matter what it will really suck if and when the zombies come. The sad thing, people, besides ourselves, probably have not spent as much time as we have thinking about it. So what will happen? Will it be The Walking Dead? Will it be Warm Bodies? Will it be World War Z? I think the answer is that it wont be any of them. It'll be its own thing but I'll be prepared because I have read those books and seen those movies and had those conversations. Thats cool but I will still probably become a zombie. Im okay with that.
[...]
Categories: