Underblog.co.uk

…and not a bite to eat. You can’t eat zombies because you’d become infected by the zombie virus. Also, the flesh of the older ones is all rotted and would probably give you an upset stomach. However, they would have no such qualms about tucking into one or more of your tasty human limbs, so be on your guard.

Zombies are the current hot topic. Perhaps because of the recently released Dawn of the Dead film, or more likely due to some hushed-up zombie epidemic unreported by the mainstream media, several zombie survival blogs have appeared over the past month or so. Imagine: You have been attacked by the living dead and have holed yourself up in a deserted house with plenty of supplies and an old generator. The telephone isn’t working and none of your party thought to bring a mobile. Miraculously though, you have a working computer and internet connection. What do you do, once you’ve boarded up all the windows? Why, you start a weblog, of course.

I am aware of three such blogs. The newest, started little more than a week ago, seems to involve a group of schoolkids in california that came under attack during a camping trip. Much better equipped is Raptorman, a naval aviation officer who had the foresight to stock up his Texas home with ammo and ration packs. Finally, Mitch and Roy, also somewhere in California, seem to be taking the whole thing a bit better. They’re so sure of their defences that they’ve found plenty of time to get drunk and watch films:

Thank god for file sharing. Its given us a chance to remain in conctact with the outside world. We have now downloaded the entire 7th season of South Park. We also downloaded Kill Bill, The Matrix 2 and 3, and some killer tunes.

Those with a more adademic interest in the subject, will find the following links invaluble. The Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency was apparently disbanded in 1975, 25 years after the development of a vampire vaccine (a similar inoculation against the zombie virus having been created in 1911). But concerns remain that further outbreaks could result from genetic experiments involving vampire blood carried out by scientists. This zombie infection simulation examines the spread of a the virus through a city populaton.

Finally, at the end of this slightly too in-depth post, can I draw everyone’s attention to the film Shaun of the Dead, a “romzomcom” (romantic zombie comedy), to be released on the 12th of April. It’s from many of the same crew that made Spaced, a sitcom so good I put in on my sidebar. I’m anticipating good things.

What did cows evolve from? Is uranium added to false teeth to make them glow? Why are storks associated with babies? If you want to know the answers to questions such as these, and have a few days to spare, head on over to the Straight Dope Archives.

Via Burnt Toast.

Sometimes you read something that sets you thinking for hours.
Earlier I was absent-mindedly playing a game of “get from an american christian right blog to Belle de Jour using sidebar links only” (I know, I should get a job). The aim of the game, apart from the obvious, is to find interesting content you might not otherwise see. I came across a blog I’ve not seen before, called P.739 - Paul the Postman. Today’s entry, the story of Paul’s search for his half-brother, is fascinating and touching. The permanent links don’t seem to be working, so find the post in the archives. Scroll to the entry of March 27.

Elena likes to ride her motorcycle. Nothing remarkable about that. It is Elena’s choice of route that is unusual: She likes to ride through the chernobyl “dead zone”.

Her website displays eery photos of abandoned villages and towns:

From the first look ghosttown seems like a normal town, someone put their washing hungs on a balcony, some windows open, other [closed], here is taxi stop, there is grocery store… then, you read this slogan on building- “party of Lenin lead us to the triumph of a communism”- that helps to realise that clothes hung on balcony for 18 years and that town is empty..

Via Slashdot

But oh! It matters much to me
If wicked men with cunning ways
Should lull our fair Ukraine to sleep,
To better plunder, set ablaze…
- Taras Shevchenko, Haidamaki (1841)

I’m a relative newcomer to the blogosphere, but I think we’re beginning to see a sea change in attitudes towards the notorious Belle de Jour. Belle has been championed (no pun intended, Sarah) for the past few months as an example of innovative blogging excellence. Now, after big book deal and seemingly endless silly speculation as to Belle’s true identity in the mainstream media, bloggers are beginning to get a bit fed up with it all. Entries, such as Scaryduck’s, that follow the general “I don’t care” route are popping up all over the place. Gordon, of Something fame has even produced a graphic:

I’m so far ahead of the game that I am officially starting the anti-backlash backlash. Yes, I am the first proponent of post-don’t-give-a-fuckism.

Today I noticed 21 Grams is on at my local cinema, and it reminded me of this article in Life, the weekly science and technology supplement in The Guardian. According to the film’s posters, we will all lose 21 grams in weight at the precise moment of our deaths.

The movie’s promotional blurb moves quickly to quash those tempted to guestimate how much body fluid and gas one might expel in a parting gesture to cause a 21g drop in weight by inquiring: “Is it a person’s soul that constitutes those twenty one grams?” (Quick answer: no.)

The article explores the origin of the 21 gram myth.