NOLA Zombi, a local group dedicated to “all things zombie,” is inviting you to their joyful human outburst this Saturday, 20 April, with its first annual Spring Zombie Walk and Pub Crawl.

What exactly is a zombie walk? The latest flavor of mass performance art? Some enigmatic form of symbolic political protest? The spontaneous manifestation of an obscure nerd subculture? Or an irreverent grotesquery of the aforementioned?

Here we’ll reference the excellent 1977 LP Zombie by Nigerian Afro-beat musician Fela Kuti and his band Afrika 70. A derisive and infectious indictment of the Nigerian military employing from the zombie metaphor, the album was embraced with wild enthusiasm by the oppressed and downtrodden people of the country, who would taunt soldiers in the streets with blank stares, stilted limbs, and cries of “zombie! zombie!”

Zombie! The irrational and joyful human outburst in the face of rationalized oppression, suffering, and misery on any scale, from brutal state violence to the inhumane treatment of animals.

Certainly the organizers of the Zombie walk promise a self-justified night of play and revelry: “You and hundreds of your closest undead friends will amble, stagger, and shuffle from bar to bar, drinking well, having fun, and raising the dead along Magazine Street.” But a sobering mission underpins the event, which will benefit the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in both Orleans and Jefferson Parishes.

These nonprofit organizations are dedicated to advancing the welfare of animals through adoption programs, spaying and neutering, and humane education, among other essential services. Notably, the Louisiana SPCA acted swiftly in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to save the lives of thousands of abandoned and stray animals, despite losing their longtime shelter on Japonica Street to floodwaters. The organization successfully lobbied the state legislature for a “pet evacuation bill” in 2006, and opened a new shelter on Mardi Gras Boulevard in 2007.

The first zombie walk took place at the gaming convention Gen Con in 2000. Since then, zombie-themed walks, pub crawls, and groups have popped up all over the world in a variety of functions, such as hunger marches, performance art, flash mobs, and straightforward gatherings of horror movie fans. Walks often take on an overtly political role, such as those that occurred nationwide in conjunction with the Occupy Wall Street park occupations of 2011.

In a New Orleans context, the emergent international interest in all things zombie carries particular historical resonance. The idea of the zombie as a resurrected, animated corpse originates from West African Vodou tradition, which was transplanted to New Orleans during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Legendary New Orleans voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau kept a pet snake named Li Grande Zombi in honor of an African snake deity, from which NOLA Zombi derives its unusual spelling.

The Spring Zombie Walk and Pub Crawl, organized by NOLA Zombi in benefit of the SPCA, kicks off at Balcony Bar, located at 1104 Harmony Street, where would-be zombies can register between 4:00 PM and 5:30 PM to receive wristbands for drink specials at each bar on the route, including Rendezvous Tavern, Parasol’s Bar & Grill, Tracey’s Pub, and the Half Moon Bar & Restaurant, which will host the Apocalypse After Party at 8:00 PM. Participants who make it to the after party will have the chance to compete for prizes in a costume contest and peruse the SPCA information table, while getting to know their fellow undead denizens over discounted drinks.

Via Nola Defender

- More Zombie Joy: Zombie Freakfest - Fun, For the Love of Zombies

Zombies lined up Saturday hoping to pick Michael Rooker’s brain, as the star of the hit series The Walking Dead talked to fans and signed autographs in Vancouver.

Rooker, who played bad boy Merle on the zombie apocalypse drama, is just one of more than a dozen celebrities at Fan Expo 2013, being held Saturday and Sunday at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Others include Nichelle Nichols, of Star Trek fame and Lord of the Rings star Sean Astin.

Merle was killed on the show last season, and although sad to leave the show Rooker took a lighthearted approach to his character’s early demise.

“People shouldn’t grieve too much for Merle,” he said, laughing. “Merle is in a better place.”

Rooker, who is also known for his roles in Days of Thunder and Cliffhanger, described working on The Walking Dead as “awesome,” most notably because of the excellent writers on the show, and, of course, the zombies.

“That’s the fun stuff, watching zombies be ripped apart, you know that’s just all in a day’s job.”

Some of The Walking Dead fans waiting to talk to Rooker were dressed in elaborate costumes dripping with blood, complete with creepy contact lenses.

Friends from Chilliwack Ray Verner and Dan Hoskins wore eerily realistic zombie costumes made by CFX, a company that makes movie-quality silicone masks.

Asked what they thought of Merle’s departure, Hoskins said: “Boo it’s disappointing,”

But you know at least he got to go out in a good way, and turn into a zombie so that was pretty cool, but his brother Daryl finishing him off that was pretty sad.”

Like San Diego’s Comic-Con, Vancouver’s annual Fan Expo brings together fans from the holy trinity of geek culture: Science fiction, gaming and comics.

Many of the fanboys and fangirls dress up as their favourite characters — also known as cosplay — from books, games and films from popular culture.

“I love being a geek,” said Victoria resident Selena Lupkoski, 32, clad in a white Princess Leia outfit.

“You can be anyone you want to be and just have some fun.”

There were costumes that paid homage to old school films like Ghostbusters and original series Star Trek, as well as newer films like Batman, Superman and of course the whole gambit of Marvel characters.

Thor, the Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, and just about every X-Men character you can think of from Wolverine to Storm wandered through the centre clamouring for a few minutes with some of their idols.

The daddy of baddies Darth Vader was also on hand to chat with fans, though the actor Dave Prowse, from the original Star Wars trilogy, didn’t wear his helmet and black cape.

He said it was his first time to Vancouver and hoped that he would get to see a bit of the city before he left.

Rachel Nichols, the star of the new sci-fi television series Continuum, which is set in Vancouver, said at the expo that she planned to buy a home in Vancouver.

“It rained quite a bit last year, but you know I loved the city and this year it has been so much nicer. I’m actually going to buy an apartment out here. I’m not even kidding, that’s how much I like it.”

For many the greatest thrill was catching site of Mr. Marvel Stan Lee, who earlier Saturday delighted fans with funny anecdotes about some of his comic book characters at a meet and greet at the Fairmont hotel.

Sporting Star Trek uniforms, Brent and Donna Goodrich, who travelled form Ferndale, Wash., said the highlight was meeting Nichelle Nichols, the actress who played Lt. Uhura on the original Star Trek series.

Nichols’ Star Trek character was radical for the time, as it was unheard of to have a black woman as a bridge officer during a time when there was still much segregation and racism.

She’s also famous for the first interracial kiss on American television, when in the episode Plato’s Stepchildren she smooched William Shatner, playing Captain James T. Kirk.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Walking+Dead+Michael+Rooker+draws+crowd+zombie+fans+Expo/8272520/story.html#ixzz2RDTg4qBS

- More Zombie Joy: Zombie Freakfest - Fun, For the Love of Zombies

 

That’s the scenario that will face audiences at Summerhall this week, when LAS theatre’s new experiential production, Deadinburgh, locks down for a three-day run, beginning tomorrow.

Immersive and interactive, Deadinburgh’s audiences will become the last un-infected citizens of Edinburgh, a city, under martial law and cut off from the rest of the UK.

With the help of scientists they will have only hours to decide how to save the Capital and perhaps the world.

Imagine being in an episode of Channel 5’s The Walking Dead and you get the idea.

“There are definite parallels with The Walking Dead,” says director Barra Collins. “The success of that series is that it’s not really about the zombies, but about people in an extraordinary situation. In a way that is what Deadinburgh is too. It’s an extraordinary situation in which the audience are given access to the people inhabiting that world.”

Consequently, everyone has their own part to play in the piece, although Collins is keen to stress that interaction can be as much or as little as the individual likes.

“When the audience arrive, the actors will talk directly to them. They will be split into six companies, each accompanied by a pair of soldiers as they go through the building meeting different scientists along the way.

“Each group will have a completely unique experience. At the end, they will all gather together to decide what to do. There are three choices and the ending of the play depends on what they decide.”

With actors playing the infected hordes and besieged soldiers, the audience’s options are to destroy the city, cull the infected or search for a cure.

Joining the cast to help them solve the problem will be real life scientists Grace Coia and Sarah Keer-Keer.

Coia, a hypno-psychotherapist dealing with eating disorders, will address the undiscriminating rush to annihilate people with zombie-like symptoms.

Keer-Keer from Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, meanwhile, will attempt to help the audience understand what is happening at the molecular level, explaining cells, viruses and antibodies and how they spread and the impact they can have.

“The great thing about having real scientists is that they can hopefully answer any questions on the audience’s mind. If it was an actor, the actor wouldn’t necessarily be able to go off script.

“It’s certainly going to be a rewarding show for inquisitive minds but equally interesting for those who would rather take a more passive approach.”

That said, a passive approach won’t stop you coming face to face with the dreaded zombies, or Palps as they are known in Deadinburgh.

“We’re not calling them zombies, they are PALPs – person affected with the Lazarus pathogen – and there may well be a boundary breach by the PALPs causing a stand-off between the military and the infected citizens desperate to get into the safe zone.”

It all sounds like exciting, if gory fun, but there is a serious side to the production, which uses the zombie epidemic to ask what it really means to be human?

“There will be people who say we have to destroy the infection or it could spread and then kill millions more. The other side of that is, these are real people, so when does a person stop being a person and become just infected tissue? The ethics of epidemics are addressed in the show. Do we really understand what is happening to these people? Could they be treated? What are their human rights? Are we in a position where we can shoot them? They might just have a brain degenerative disorder that is akin to Alzheimer’s, so does that mean if we shoot these people it might have a knock on effect on the way we treat other people with other illnesses?

“It’s about realising the consequences of our decisions and what they mean to the bigger world picture.”

 

Deadinburgh, Summer-hall, formerly the Dick Vet School, tomorrow-Sunday, 7.30pm, £15, 0845-874 3001

From TheScotsman.com

- More Zombie Joy: Zombie Freakfest - Fun, For the Love of Zombies

A purpose-built fenced-off military zone will act as the final outpost in an interactive theatre experience which is performed in real time as audiences are told a deadly virus has devastated New Zealand.

Apocalypse Z will see a crowd of “survivors” band together with a skeleton crew of soldiers in the hopes of surviving against those infected with the “Z” virus.

From the moment audiences arrive they will be instantly thrust into the role of survivors.

Creative producer Charlie McDermott says the show will be a completely new experience for Auckland audiences.

“We will ask them to accept challenges that will affect the outcome of the show and to make life and death choices,” he says.

“We want to seriously unsettle the audience and give them something totally different to the conventional theatrical experience.”

The team behind the show is hoping to attract young people, especially young men, to the theatre with the innovative approach.

Anyone else know of such a place in other countries?

- More Zombie Joy: Zombie Freakfest - Fun, For the Love of Zombies

Keep an eye out for: Go Goa Gone

- More Zombie Joy: Zombie Freakfest - Fun, For the Love of Zombies

It’s not clear exactly what prompted the cat to frantically run back and forth across 42nd street in Manhattan last Saturday night, but the frightened feline was chased out of one building after another as he tried to take shelter in a restaurant, coffee shop and movie theater. Then enters our hero, 22-year-old Coney Island native Jeremy Zelkowitz. With concerns that the cat would be struck by a car at any moment, Jeremy abandoned his post luring tourists into the horror-themed attraction Times Scare and gave chase while onlookers wondered if he was planning to rescue the cat or devour it.

“He was not very difficult to get a hold of, ” explained Jeremy who has grown accustomed to strange looks he gets when he’s in costume off-location. ”It took a little time, but I got him.”

Jeremy tried to calm the cat in his arms and the feline seemed undisturbed by the ghastly appearance of his new friend.

“After holding him there for about 20 minutes, he did try and jump out of my hands a few times,” Jeremy recalls. “He was scared so I asked someone to hail me a cab and I took him to a 24 hour animal clinic. When I brought him in they said they didn’t take strays, but I told them I didn’t want him to go to anywhere where they were going to put him to sleep after a certain period of time. I convinced them to take him for me and luckily they were able to scan him for a chip and were able to track down the owner.”

He’d Been Missing for Two Years

It turns out that the cat belongs to New York police officer Jimmy Helliesen, who hadn’t seen his cat Disaster in two full years. Disaster is just one of many stray cats that Officer Helliesen has adopted in his patrol area.

“He couldn’t believe it and thought we were playing a practical joke on him,”  BluePearl Veterinary Partners Administrator Steve Baker said of that phone call to Officer Helliesen (in an interview with the Daily News).

Our hero Jeremy Zelkowitz

Officer Helliesen said that he believes Disaster clawed through the screen of his Long Island home two years ago. That began the feline’s journey with hundreds of days unaccounted for. It’s not clear whether someone took Disaster in for a while and he escaped again or if he had been stray all that time, but in either case, it seems that Disaster may have somehow made it through the Midtown Tunnel.

And as for Jeremy, well, he’s back on zombie duty, but don’t let the stage makeup fool you. This ghoul is all heart.

“I just love animals,” he says. “They are such innocent, loyal and loving creatures.”
Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/zombie-saves-terrified-times-square-cat.html#ixzz2Q0DQDl9X

- More Zombie Joy: Zombie Freakfest - Fun, For the Love of Zombies

SCOTTEVEST (www.SCOTTEVEST.com), creators of the TEC-Technology Enabled Clothing® line, announced their first exclusive product for ThinkGeek: the Tropiformer Jacket. SCOTTEVEST and ThinkGeek are hands down two of the most innovative and exciting companies in the fun side of the tech industry. While SeV products have been sold through ThinkGeek’s online store for years, this is the first joint product launch between the two companies. The Tropiformer Jacketis ideal for tech-oriented travelers, and is available in five great colors (Red, Blue, Green, Pewter and Cement) exclusively through ThinkGeek.com and www.SCOTTEVEST.com beginning on April 9, 2013. A video detailing its features is available HERE.

• Technology and clothing are merged.
• TROPIcal weight fabric and magnetically-attached TransFORMER Sleeves combine to create the TROPIFORMER Jacket.
• SCOTTEVEST and ThinkGeek unite on their first product launch collaboration!

The Tropiformer Jacket
 has all the unique travel-friendly features people have come to love and expect from SCOTTEVEST, with all the geeky goodness to make the product worthy of ThinkGeek’s spotlight:

• Transformer Sleeves – the jacket’s sleeves are removable and are held in place by tech friendly magnets to make it incredibly easy to transform your jacket into a vest and back again. Perfect for changing weather and that seat right under the A/C vent.
• iPad Pocket – less cuddly than pulling a rabbit from a hat, but far more practical: the PadPocket™ is one step away from magical.
• Quick Draw pocket – clear touch material lets you not only see, hear and operate a touchscreen phone through the clear pocket, but you don’t even need to take your hand out of your pocket to do it.
• Locking pocket – slightly paranoid: a one-way, locking zipper pull keeps protects an internal pocket-within-a-pocket making your wallet, passport and valuables extra safe from pickpockets.
• Patented Personal Area Network (PAN) for headphone wire and power management – it not only works to route headphones, but also works for power management. Put a 
  iGeek Large Capacity Portable Charger in one pocket and charge devices in your other pockets; freedom is constantly topping off.
• Packable – the entire jacket can easily be packed into itself, making it perfect for travel.
• The Difference is Inside™ – a ton of hidden pockets to carry all your tech gadgets without any bulges, and with everything balanced thanks to the integrated Weight Management System.

Tropiformer Jacket was designed and destined to be the ultimate undercover geek travel jacket, so the wearer could pass as a muggle at first glance, but under the surface have a carry-on worth of storage in their pockets. Meticulous attention has been given to the selection of luxurious, high tech fabric and a subtle mesh back that is super lightweight, extremely comfortable, and breathable. The jacket feels like a water resistant “second skin” (since gadgets don’t like water) and you’ll never mind wearing it in a variety of temperatures, hot or cold. TEC has also designed its own proprietary, high quality zipper pulls, and indicates the intended use for each pocket with a tiny icon, with an attached eyeglass chamois depicting a “pocket map” with the location of all the pockets. Yes, there are that many pockets, Long John Silver!

“I truly love this jacket, and this is hands down our best product yet,” said Scott Jordan, TEC by SCOTTEVEST Founder and CEO. “We took many of the coolest features of our Transformer jacket, and combined them with our Fleece 7.0 – both of which garnered a great deal of attention last year.”

“This is one of those things that fits ThinkGeek’s audience exceptionally well,” states ThinkGeek Mouthpiece Steve Zimmermann. “Working with TEC to come up with something that covers every kind of gadget has been incredible and we’re proud to be an exclusive retailer of the new Tropiformer.”

The Tropiformer Jacket is available April 9th, 2013 exclusively on ThinkGeek.com and www.SCOTTEVEST.com. It is sold in five distinctive colors: Red, Blue, Green, Pewter and Cement.

- More Zombie Joy: Zombie Freakfest - Fun, For the Love of Zombies

Check out the kickstarter project here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/999477805/open-source-zombie

Their first goal  has been reached! Any additional donations will go towards film production and other necessities to make the project awesome. Check it out:

The film will have two ways on how people can participate, they can film “plugins” or their own short stories that take part in the same apocalyptic world. There are only very few restrictions and even material made with mobile phones if it is good can be added to the actual film. Video/film makers all around the world can fill into the main plot by making their own side stories, and filming it THEMSELVES. It is like Iron Sky vs. Youtube’s Life in a Day, except a f%^$£ up realistic scenario of a Malthusian catastrophe in which humans form complex groups to fight each other and zombies. This would be 50% of material.

Then another part the main plot is developed online in a collaboration by talented core people. This is where some writing talent is needed and real interest, but if you are up to it please step forth! This part is going to be filmed with rigor, and professionally with a good cinema camera. However as only about 40 minutes of material need to be shot this will bring down costs quite considerably, and effort can be put into making this very intense! Now again the zombies, actors, crew are all going to be part of the open source community!

We are going to create a “democratic” system in a similar manner to real life on our website. A voting system will be done so that important factors about the nature of zombies and their consciousness can be decided. There will be a main script, which can be influenced by taking part, but also on top of that There will be no black and white in this film, but 365 shades of grey. Morality, survivalism, altruism are factors that this film deals with. Iron Sky is very much an inspiration, but only in how they made the film.

We have thought about a few guidelines for zombies, which make them more based on science but moreover easier for people to concentrate on the important factors. Parasitic worms are the cause? Yes, this is a point that makes acting especially for amateurs easier. First the zombies are live creatures, and die easier making it easier to create realistic killings, but sure the easiest way is always to kill the brain as the worms secrete a powerful painkiller making the zombies numb to pain. The zombies if not very hungry would not eat other humans but drool maggot infested saliva on top of the victims, however the zombies might be starving thus need to eat what ever they can get their hands on. Now making realistic eating scenes is quite hard, and this is the reason why eating is a good option for only those that are into making outstanding VFX.

If you are not convinced about parasites then you should know that World Health Organization estimates that around 10% of humanity live with parasitic worms (600-700 million people suffer at this moment, some of these are extremely painful infestations) and also watch this national geographic video on how parasitic worms change snails into zombies www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go_LIz7kTok

Twitter www.twitter.com/opensourcezombb

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/OpenSourceZombie

- More Zombie Joy: Zombie Freakfest - Fun, For the Love of Zombies

Get an extensive arsenal of weapons

Obviously, you will need weapons – and a lot of them – if you’re going to survive in a zombie-infested world. You should get all the handguns, shotguns, assault rifles and ammunition you can get your hands on. However, any Walking Dead fan knows the importance of arming yourself with more than just guns. Not only will ammo be limited in supply, but loud and constant gunfire also tends to attract more zombies that are roaming in the area. For that reason, you’ll need to get creative in finding other ways to efficiently exterminate zombies.

Michonne (from Walking Dead) does pretty well with a steel-blade katana. Knives, swords, daggers and other bladed weapons are essential, but make sure to practice close-quarters combat so you’re able to dexterously dismember zombies. And by all means, always attack the head first! Listed below are some other weapons you could use to fight the undead:

• Chainsaw
• Dynamite and other explosives
• Flamethrower
• Crossbow
• Slingshot
• Flail
• Police baton
• Crowbar
• Nunchucks
• Baseball bats, golf clubs
• Grenades
• Landmines

Compile the necessary survival gear and equipment

During the zombie apocalypse – or any catastrophic event for that matter – you will need to have the proper gear and equipment to survive. Listed below is a list of essential items:

• Sturdy backpack
• Compass and map
• Canteen and water purification tablets
• Full body armor (special forces helmet, bulletproof vest, combat boots, Kevlar gloves, wool socks)
• Binoculars
• First aid kid (and any antibiotics and medicine you can get your hands on)
• Durable flashlight
• Quality multi-tool
• Sleeping bag
• Sunglasses
• Waterproof, handheld radio
• Duct tape

Get an extensive home security system

If you’re going to ward off a massive horde of bloodthirsty, flesh-eating zombies, you’ll need to see them before they see you. That’s why you’re going to need a wireless alarm system that’s adept proficient at detecting zombies, burglars or any bandits that may want to ransack your home for supplies.

- More Zombie Joy: Zombie Freakfest - Fun, For the Love of Zombies

Zombies do not recognize borders and since it’s clear that the USA is where the Zombie Apocalypse will start, Canada knows the time to talk about the possibility of a Zombie Invasion is now!

- More Zombie Joy: Zombie Freakfest - Fun, For the Love of Zombies