#i love how in the end theres absolutely no baiting in this book

[notsp1derman]

a straightforward review of "the metamorphosis", by franz kafka

[may contain spoilers]

"The sister played so beautifully. Her face was tilted to one side and she followed the notes with soulful and probing eyes. Gregor advanced a little, keeping his eyes low so that they might possibly meet hers. Was he a beast if music could move him so?"

Finally, I've come around to read an author I've been very curious about for some time. Despite knowing already what the story entails, just from its status as a modern classic, I had no idea what the book's message actually was. But boy does it deserve this status.

With his simplistic writing, Kafka hides many layers of opinions, criticisms and symbolism, that can quickly escape your grasp if you don't pay enough attention. There are freudian slips, digs against figures of authority, some pretty relatable metaphors about mental illness and very obvious parallels between Gregor Samsa and Franz Kafka; all which can pass through unseen if you loose yourself in the more direct and absurd aspects of the book.

What stood out the most for me, however, was the slow change in Gregor's relationship with his family after being transformed, and how it was directly connected to his position as the family's only provider. Despite the hardships and him not really liking his profession, Gregor always made sacrifices for his family, a choice that persisted even though he thought himself less than human by the end of the narrative.

He was freed from the shackles of the average western life, but at the cost of his bonds with those closest to him, who shunned who they thought was a monster because they quite literally didn't understand him. And it is with this sense of absurdity and despair that we are left after the liberating but tragic closure. Much like real life, sometimes.

★★★★☆

[spookyseraphs]

supernatural and the x-files (specifically destiel and msr) parallels

this was intended to convert my spn friends to txf and my txf friends to spn and then it got out of hand. i got tired of finding sources for everything, so you’ll just have to trust me, i’m an expert on both subjects.

cas=scully

cas/scully's faith in god vs dean/mulder being non-believers (but believing in the other) (spn) (txf)

cas being the healer, scully being a doctor (spn) (txf)

cas is supposed to guard the michael sword but falls in love vs scully sent to debunk the x-files but falls in love (spn) (txf) 

cas and scully are both immortal (spn) (txf) (also)

cas/scully's families hate dean/mulder (spn) (txf)

cas/scully coming to believe in humanity/the paranormal (spn) (txf)

i'm an angel vs i'm a medical doctor (spn doesn’t have a compilation)   (txf)

they’re not like... the best drivers

hello dean vs mulder it’s me (spn) (txf)

dean=mulder

dean/mulder's fucked up fathers (spn) (txf)

dean/mulder's eldest child syndrome and their unhealthy need to protect their younger sibling (spn) (txf)

dean/mulder being the best in their respective fields (hunting and criminal profiling) and being well known for it

dean/mulder and their porn habits (spn) (txf)

no one has ever hated themselves the way dean and mulder hate themselves (spn) (txf)

dean and mulder both have issues with fire (spn) (txf)

both die, get buried, and then come back

sunflower seeds vs pie

also they both hate nazis (spn) (txf)

yellow fever vs war of the coprophages  (spn) (txf)

ship parallels

blue and green eyes (hazel is close enough)

for some reason theres a pizza man parallel? (spn) (pt 2) (txf) (pt 2)

mulder/krycek vs dean/crowley (spn) (txf) (also)

cas/hannah vs scully/pendrell (poor hannah and pendrell never stood a chance... and died)

also cas/scully get laid ONE TIME (april/ed jerse) and they almost die because of it and then never do it again (spn) (txf)

vs dean/mulder having plenty of love interests/hookups

cas/scully have never done anything wrong ever

dean/mulder... sigh... i love them... but they've made some questionable decisions (i'm looking at you mulder: fucking the vampire THE EP AFTER SCULLY'S ABDUCTION AND WHILE WEARING HER CROSS and dean, kicking cas out and locking jack in the ma’lak box?? really guys?) (spn) (txf)

creators who think their relationship is platonic despite everyone with eyes saying otherwise (spn) (txf)

also the way that neither were ever written or intended to be romantic

the fandoms were split heavily between shippers and non shippers 

they also both had to have scenes changed because they were being played too romantic

a kiss was cut from the episode memento mori and gillovny were always trying to hold hands (x)

jackles forever wanting to cradle misha's face and the cut i love you from the crypt scene (x)

just... gillovny vs cockles in general, i am not a real person shipper, HOWEVER they are both messy (spn) (txf)

their first meetings? iconic. chemistry? immaculate. dean/mulder are super defensive but tbh cas/scully fell in love at first sight (spn) (txf)

they also had no concept of personal space pretty much immediately (spn) (txf)

they have a baby (that has magic powers) together that they lose twice (jack dies and becomes god, william/jackson is adopted and then as far as they know he dies) (spn) (txf)

cas/scully also have a kind of kid (claire/emily) that dean/mulder are willing to co-parent regardless of the fact that they definitely aren't theirs (spn) (txf)

we get an i love you that still doesn't get taken seriously or make them canon (stuck in the middle (with you) and triangle) (spn) (txf)

dean keeping cas's trenchcoat vs mulder keeping scully's cross (spn) (txf)

they go absolutely batshit when the other is in danger or dies/is dying (spn) (txf)

they're also known and used by their enemies as each other's weaknesses (spn) (txf)

msr being mistaken as a couple vs every angel and demon cracking jokes about destiel being a couple (spn) (txf)

skinner and sam just off to the side looking frustrated while msr and destiel are having a couples moment (spn) (txf)

eating each others food (spn) (txf)

appreciating each others interests (spn) (and this one) (txf)

parallels except the roles are swapped

dreamland/small potatoes vs casifer, i just think scully/dean should have realized IMMEDIATELY (spn) (txf)

mulders fight the future speech vs cas's confession (spn) (txf)

they should have kissed and didn't

it almost ambiguously canonizes them both

AND THE SECRET TAPES, the most famous msr kiss isn't an actual canon kiss, it's a blooper of gillian and david making out in front of the camera (two different times) and it wasn't scripted it was literally just them messing around (x)

this is me manifesting jackles dropping the tapes and those tapes having the same energy

they just really love each other (spn) (txf)

non ship/general parallels

leyla harrison vs becky rosen being fandom stand ins (spn) (txf)

they were supposed to end on season 5

Good but bad (absolutely iconic) sci-fi shows

they both had two finales which both sucked

they shared soooo many cast and crew and both filmed in vancouver

they're such similar shows, motw/story episodes, the funny and serious episodes, dealing with the paranormal, they're basically siblings

also siblings in the way that they handle racism, misogyny and consent/rape/bodily autonomy

the supernatural book series vs the movie made about mulder and scully (spn) (txf)

mystery spot vs monday (spn) (txf)

tall tales vs bad blood  (spn) (txf)

 the benders vs home (spn) (txf)

why did both shows use live bees??? (spn) (txf)

the fbi's most wanted and the fbi's most unwanted (also everyone involved looks cute as fbi agents) (spn) (look how cute!) (txf) (cuties!!)

the syndicate vs heaven and the cigarette smoking man vs god

the bunker vs the basement office

every single side character on both shows deserved better!!! most of them literally didn't need to die!!! and i'm still angry!!!

the poor brothers adam milligan and charlie scully existing and then being literally forgotten about until the last season

the fandoms living for things cut from the scripts (spn) (txf)

team free will vs mulder, scully, and skinner

these ones are shippy, but more my opinion than factual

both pairs just keep getting traumatic events dumped on them for absolutely no reason

cas/scully both have major exasperated why do i love this man vibes

absolutely most iconic and slowest slow burn romances of all time and are just the longest games of will they/won't they, baiting, and were never INTENDED to be slow burns

they're always willing to die/kill for each other, however they WILL NOT talk about their feelings under any circumstances

in the field where i died, mulder says that he and scully have been around each other in past lives but never romantically and according to chuck, every other universe's castiel just pulled dean out of hell and listened to his orders

SO in these other lives/universes they were always linked to each other but only in this life/universe do they fall in love

the last seasons really fuck up my favorite characters

dean should not be that shitty to jack OR cas for that matter

and mulder shouldn't have left scully and william (and dearest dana?? DANA?)

and, controversial opinion, but cas/scully could do so much better and deserve so much better but dean/mulder... it's the best they'll ever get

HOWEVER, i feel like their love is MORE powerful BECAUSE cas/scully could do better but they don't want better or normal they want dean/mulder and they will fight to the death for it, it's not the easy choice, it's just what they want

and i say this with all the love in the world for both dean and mulder, but cas could have just followed his orders and returned to heaven like every other version of himself did. scully could have easily found a normal man to settle down and have 2.5 kids with. dean was always going to be stuck in chuck's plans, and mulder absolutely could not just go find a wife to settle down with.

cas/scully put up with SO MUCH SHIT from dean/mulder, while being ALWAYS FAITHFUL to them, it was never the easy option to love these men and stay by their sides, it was hard and they worked for it!!!

they’re both the greatest love story ever told, they tied

[harrieatthemet]

No Touching

angel baby is ALIVE and THRIVING!

this is why Harry wore one single earring to the met.

Everyone loves her. 

And rightfully so. It’s hard not to when a personality that big fits into a body so small. She’s got a knack, one she seemed to have pick up from her father, for easily reigning in the attention. She knows she’s good at getting the attention. She capitalizes off it. 

Today is no exception. The time, the place, and the occasion doesn’t stand as any kind of exception to her, regardless of the talking to she received in the car ride over here. She’s been made aware that this is Daddy’s night, and that her best behavior was not only requested but expected. So she knows that all the adults in the room right now are here for Harry and not for her. She’s well aware of that. She knows Harry is preoccupied with more important things, the importance of them unbeknownst to her. None of it keeps her from at least trying to get some eyes on her. 

“No no, moppet,” Harry sighs, sweetly redirecting her hands from his blouse hung up on the hanger, “not t’touch. S’very important, ‘member what mummy said.” 

In all honesty, she can’t remember much of what you said earlier. Harry had used a couple of treats in exchange for good behavior prior to yours and angel baby’s little chat, and the chocolate melting in her hand took priority over your lecture. 

She slinks off before analyzing the room, looking for something else to get into because she’s bored and Harry’s paying her no mind.  She can’t help but let a wry smile grace her faces  when Alessandro shoots her a quick wink, making sure she’s presenting herself as the absolute essence of innocence she’s known to be. 

She’s still little, still at that age where it’s imperative that she’s always got something entertaining her so she keeps her out of trouble. And it’s certainly not an easy task, especially when you and Harry are too caught up in picking the right pair of boots to pull his Met outfit together. 

It was his big idea to bring her. In fact, he had begged you to be on board. She’d never been to New York and he couldn’t think of a better way to commence his first Met gala other than having angel baby watching on TV a few blocks away. Clearly, your suggestion of leaving her to spend the weekend with Anne wouldn’t suffice. And of course, you had caved. But he’s beginning to understand your initial refusal as he watches angel baby on her tippy toes, her hands outstretched as they try grabbing at the needle for his ears. 

“Hey!,” he yelps, and he’s fast walking to grab before she pricks a finger, “Wha’ were y’told? No touching.”

She’s almost got it, and she’s trying her hardest to grab it before Harry can get to it first. So she’s jumping now, side eyeing both you and Harry as the two of you compete to see who can get to her first. 

A huff of defeat, interlaced with a bit of frustration, comes from angel baby as Harry wraps a hand around her arm before delivering a brisk tug to create some space between her and the needle. A few of Harry’s team members, a handful of friends as well, have no other choice but to swallow their laughs upon getting a glance at the look on his face. Even you are a little bit on edge, because he’s got enough on his plate as it is and this just might be the tip of the iceberg. 

Theres a new shade of red surfacing on his face, his lips pursed tightly as he towers over his mischievous toddler. And she’s staring right back at him, face stoic but eyes ablaze, almost like she’s challenging him. It’s rare that the pair ever go toe to toe because that’s his angel, his innocent little girl, and he almost never scolds her even if she is stirring up trouble. But he’s had it, everyone in the room can tell. 

“Wha’ did I tell yeh before we came?” His voice is dominating every other sound in the room, “stop touching. Won’t ask yeh again, got it?”

He can’t stand getting cross with her like this. And if it were any other time, any other place, he’d have left the reprimanding in your hands. Because God, he hates that look, the one she’s giving him right now. Her lip is just the slightest bit jutted, body recoiled from him as her eyes glaze over. But he can’t even apologize before he’s whisked off to another corner of the room, leaving you to have her take a seat by one of the blowdryers plugged into the vanity. 

She’s watching with hazy eyes as Harry stands beside Alessandro and a few other people she’s seen scurry in and out. And she’s watching as you snap a couple photos on your phone, watching Harry as he finishes up putting together his outfit. 

It’s been long enough, and she’s getting antsy. She’s sick of her timeout, and sure enough, absolutely sick of being bored while you and Harry keep busy. It’s what prompts her to slither out of the seat, waiting until your back is turned to saunter from her corner of the room to the shelves holding some jewelry.

She’s always had an eye for Harry’s rings. And though the accessories are far too big to fit snuggly around her little fingers, it’s never kept her from slipping them on just for fun. But she’s got her attention fixated on something much more pretty, something she’s never seen before. 

Your jewelry box at home has all kinds of different trinkets tucked away inside, and she’s always found the prettiest things, she’s always liked your earrings. But she’s never seen this one before, a pretty little pearl set laying right on the edge, close enough for her to reach. 

“Pretty, huh?” A woman nods, glancing down at angel baby, “they’re for your daddy.”

It’s then that she realizes that maybe, only maybe, she should keep her hands to themselves. She briefly thinks back to a few minutes ago, about the tone of Harry’s voice and the bitter reprimanding she had received. And clearly, Harry had underestimated how troublesome his angel could be, because now he’s looking for his earrings and he can’t find them. 

“(Y/N),” he calls, “did yeh see them anywhere? Put them somewhere else?”

“No,” you furrow your eyebrows, only for a moment, before your face falls slightly out of realization, “no, I didn’t”

His eyes book it to the corner of the room, where angel baby was asked to sit, and they widen when he realizes she’s teetered off elsewhere. 

The two of you head off around the room, a few others tailing behind you, eyes scanning over small sofas and heads popping into closets. It’s not until he hears the running of the sink that his stomach flips, and his feet are carrying him to the other end of the room.

“No no no,” he breathes, “don’t do it, kitten. Please, don’t do it. M’sorry I yelled, yeah? Daddy’s so sorry.”

She’s got one hand on the toilet handle, her eyes glued on Harry, while the other hand holds one of his earrings in-between two of her little fingers. And you’re stood just behind him in the doorway, eyes wide because you couldn’t believe the balls on this girl. 

“Yeh give tha’ back t’me, ‘nd I’ll take yeh t’get some ice cream tomorrow.” He coos, holding his hand out for the earring in hopes she’ll change her mind.

For a minute, she considers it. Only for a minute, before the bathroom goes completely quiet. Harry waits with baited breath, his palm open to receive the earring. Of course, he doesn’t, and he hears the jewelry splash in the toilet water as angel baby releases it from her grip. 

He’s quick, just, not quick enough. Because his hand goes to grab it out, but angel baby beats him to the punch by pressing down on the handle. And all he can do is watch with wide eyes as the thing swivels down into the drain. 

She looks at Harry before shrugging, “Oopsies.” 

[theantisocialcritic]

Archive Project - September 11, 2014 - Upcoming Fall 2014 Films

Yay! Its fall movie season! Blockbuster season is over and its time for Oscar Bait to rise! There is a lot of stuff coming out in the next 4 months, a lot of which I won't get around to reviewing. Lets take a look at what we're in for! September A Walk Among the Tombstones: Everybody loves Liam Neeson! The fall's first interesting movie stars him in something of a film noir murder mystery. The latter part of September tends to be when a lot of really underrated movies come out like Dredd, Looper, Prisoners and Rush. I have a good feeling about this one! Maze Runner: Hollywood will, for the fiftieth time this year, attempt to make the Hunger Games lighting strike again with another book adaption… This looks terrible… Tusk: If your a fan of the works of Kevin Smith your probably already dying for this one! Human Centipede with a Walrus! If your not familiar with the works of Kevin Smith… Go out and watch Clerks right now!! The Equalizer: Despite some early low reviews, film geeks are all clamming to see this movie! Hopes are high that Denzel Washington can create his own action series. Will it…? Probably not but hope so! October Annabelle: Fans of The Conjuring have been ranting about this too me for months now and i;ll take their word for it! I'm not a horror fan but this should be interesting! Gone Girl: The director of Fight Club, Seven, The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo brings us a Ben Affleck film! Theres a lot of hype around this! Should be a good movie! Alexander and the No Good, etc: This looks lame… Automata: Some critics in high places have been mentioning this a lot. I haven't seen much promotional material for it but its supposed to be a decent Sci-Fi movie! We'll see! The Judge: Robert Downey Jr. plays a Judge that must defend his estranged father in court. Sounds good to me! Crimson Peak: Guillermo Del Toro fans have been collectively flipping out about this new horror movie. Del Toro is one of the best directs of horror in Hollywood and has a strong grasp of subtlety and a morbid sense of creativity. Might be something brilliant here! Dracula Untold: This movie reminds me of I, Frankenstein… thats a baaaaaad sign…. Book of Life: Topping the list of my most anticipated movies right now is Book of Life! A Disney movie filtered through the cultural sensibilities of El Tigre with all the racism beaten out of it by Guillermo Del Toro! This movie is visually gorgeous and looks fiercely creative! I'm super excited! BoxTrolls: Have you seen Coraline and ParaNorman? YOU NEED TO SEE CORALINE AND PARANORMAN!! Also see this! A fun, creative stop motion movie by an incredibly talented team! ParaNorman flopped in theaters and BoxTrolls needs to succeed! KingsMan: The Secret Service: Matthew Vaughn's newest pick starts British SS agents in training that have to stop some sort of plot from happening! Vaughn brought us Kick-A** and X-Men: First Class! Both excellent action movies! KingsMan should be interesting! Rifftrax LIVE Anaconda: The last two live shows by Rifftrax have been amazing! The live roasts of Sharknado and Godzilla (98) were absolutely hilarious! Their next roast should be really great! November Big Hero 6: Disney is on a freakin roll!! Frozen, Wreck it Ralph and Tangled were all great animated films that managed to go beyond just being cynically made animated films. They were all genuinely great pieces of film and now they look to be about to make light night strike again! Adapting the barely known Marvel comic series the same way they approach classic fairy tales might be a stroke of genius and seeing it play out with the same energy and style of Wreck it Ralph and Guardians of the Galaxy. This is my most anticipated movie of the fall! Intersteller: Someone once said that if Nolan ever made a forth Batman movie it would have to goto space to be bigger than the Dark Knight Rises. At least part of that was true. In his first movie since the completion of the Dark Knight Trilogy, Nolan presents a high caliper Science Fiction movie about man's last attempt to stave off extinction, looking beyond into the stars for a new home. This movie might be great! Dumb and Dumber Too: sooo… This is a thing…. Theory of Everything: I haven't heard much on this but its an art house romance movie about Steven Hawking. Should be fascinating if nothing else. Fox catcher: Why am I imagining Channing Tatum as Cinderella Man here..? Fury: Brad Pit plays a WWII tank driver, fighting on the front lines with a rookie crew member after the loss of his best soldier. These men must survive the war. Should be fascinating. MockingJay Part 1: I'm not sure how to feel about Hunger Games now that Catching Fire has passed. The first movie was extremely boring but the followup was a vast improvement I rather enjoyed. From here though I don't know where the series is going to go and how well the characters work within the formula of the first two movies is beyond me.. well see.. The Penguins of Madagascar: I generally hate spinoff animated movies. They aren't always bad but they feel terribly cynical and i'd rather they don't exist. Penguins feels like a rather good idea though, simply because there is proof of concept that has me thinking this might be well thought through. The animated cartoon on Nick Penguins of Madagascar has been an intermitedly interesting exercise in cynicism but managed a few really great episodes that I enjoyed as a teenager. It helps of course that the Penguins were the best part of the Madagascar movies. This might be something great! December Paddington: A wacky British bear goes on wacky misadventures! I… don't know how to feel... Exodus: With the rampant success of movies like Son of God and Noah, Biblical epics are becoming popular again in Hollywood. Now Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator, Blade Runner) is throwing his hat into the ring with a retelling of the story of Moses. Despite the weird casting and crappy promotional materials, Exodus has a lot of potential and might be one of the year's cinematic highlights! Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies: What is the Hobbit Trilogy? A cynical, forced production? A party to celebrate the Lord of the Rings?  Whatever it is, these movies have been fun if nothing else. Finally the newest run through Middle-Earth will come to a conclusion. Can John Wattson defeat the voice of Khan…? Well clearly, he survives because he is in Fellowship… It'll still be cool though! Annie: I hate Annie… No amount of gimmicks and stunt casting will make me like it… Night at the Museum 3: I actually liked the first movie. It came out when I was young enough to find some enjoyment in it. The second one sucked… Now we have a long awaited by nobody third one which is anybody's guess. At this point the most interesting thing about it is that it is Robin William's last post-mortem performance so that will be fascinating. Into the Woods: This might be quietly brilliant. With Disney currently in the works on producing a full line of live action adaptions like Maleficient and Cinderella, a big production of the famed musical Into the Woods seems.. interesting… I'm not a huge fan to the musical but this might be what it takes for me to really get into it, depending on how they pull it off. The stage production is in my opinion a very disjointed story that only really gets by on its more anachronistic and surprisingly dark comedic moments. Seeing Disney try to pull it off however might be what it takes to elevate the story if they take it somewhere interesting! In any case, the cast is interesting and interested to see it. Unbroken: Angelina Jolie's directorial debut tells the story of an Olympic runner that is drafted to WWII, captured and forced into a prison camp. I don't know how good this is going to be, but at the very least it will be a strange, different sort of movie. The Interview: And to finish off the year, whats likely the thing that will finally spark WW3 with the North Koreans! Seth Rogen and James Franco are spies that infiltrate N. Korea and attempt to kill Kim Jong Un. Given Rogen's incredible recent filmography of This is the End and Neighbors, I think we are in for something special!   This will be an interesting season! Thank you for reading! Live long and prosper!

[kampa77-blog]

You don’t have to be a genius to know that at any given moment something could happen, and everything changes.  Our very way of life may be impacted.  I’m not talking about small things like a new convenience store opening up down the road or the neighbours replacing the picket fence with a 5 foot wall.  I’m talking about real events.  Of lately the weather has made more than few scientific professionals scratch their heads.  Countryside has been ravished by fires, and quaint riverside towns be innondated by flood water.

If you were in the firing line for an event like the ones I’ve just listed, would you be able to evacuate your home at a moments notice ?  A good percentage of people would answer no.  Theres nothing wrong with that, except for when your or the life of the ones you love are at risk, could you be depended on to up and leave with just a moments notice ?

In the worlds media, where every third TV show is about survival, armageddon and doomsday shelters, we all sit in the comfort of our homes, cat in lap purring happily, hot cup of tea and a couple of chocolate Tim Tams ready to be devoured, we watch a family on TV be rated by an invisible panel, on their ability to survive a nuclear attack.  The family before had been training on how to use weapons to protect their house while loading chickens, drums of water and sacks of grain into their fortified bus for a secret location, following the release of a biological weapon.

Are these shows portraying a realistic approach to survival ?  Are the scenarios even possible ?  Yes !!  People will always do what they think is right to protect themselves and their family.  The scenarios, today, anythings possible, so why not be even just a little prepared.

I’ve caught myself thinking about scenarios where I’d need to escape the suburbs for the safety of seclusion.  Which roads would I take ?  Would the bridges be passable ?  What if I couldn’t drive ?  These passing thoughts concern me.  Is the world really so unstable that these are things we should have a plan for ?  Just look at the media, (true of fake) things aren’t running smoothly at the moment.  Here in Australia we have the South China Sea tensions on our door step, Bush fires that are continuously burning, and then theres the really exotic stuff, solar flares that wipe out all electronics, meteorite, or maybe a old fashioned run of the mill economic free fall.

Without electricity, where I live, I could possibly sustain my normal way of life for maybe 3 days before I run out of water, my food in the fridge and freezer expires and I would have to leave in search of more.  I guarantee people, tens of thousands of people, would run out before me.  They’d load up they’re car and start searching, but not before attempting to get fuel.  Fuel pumps need electricity right !  We pretty much live in a cashless society, how do pay when there’s no card facilities ?   Thats a lot of frustrated people.

  Being a regular camper I now the importance of being prepared.  I have sealed containers stored and ready to be loaded into my vehicle.  These boxes contain canned goods, bottled water, gas cooking facilities, even an inverter, solar panel array and dual batteries fitted to my jeep. This is all good and well so long as theres not a solar flare or EMP.  

Don’t get me wrong, theres still things I’d need, but I’d be perfectly sustainable for quite a while.  No, I’m not a “Prepper” or maybe I am.  The very word “Prepper” is defined as someone who’s made steps to be prepared, but I’m a camping addict thats ready to head away for a weekend at a moments notice.

  Over the past few years, I have noticed the increase in interest towards preparing for something to happen.  Just like having a first aid kit in your car, people are becoming knowledgeable in areas such as where their local fire shelter is, how to preserve perishables and even what radio station the emergency broadcast is on.  Television, movies, documentaries and books are increasingly showing “end of the world”, “environmental apocalypse” and “When someone foreign Attacks” type genres.  Are they really trying to make the audience think, in an attempt to soften the blow of what might actually happen ?  Maybe.  It wouldn’t be the first time.

  A friend of mine, a little while back, took great pride in showing me his “Bug out bag”.  A bug out bag is a backpack containing items of importance that may assist you in the event of forced evacuation or escape.  His bag contained his passport, cash, first aid kit, dried food, a utility knife (Swiss Army), matches/flint, compass and various other items he deemed important.  At the time, I thought he might have held his head a little close to the microwave oven, but as time goes on, my opinion has changed.  I have a bug out bag of my own now.  If nothing else, its a great way of being able to find a bandage or my passport when needed.  Being prepared might make a difference some day.

Meeting places ensure your not walking around looking for your friends.  They make life easier.  Over a dinner I had an awkward conversation with some family members about what we’d do if something happened and we needed to escape the suburbs.  Where would we go ?  The general consensus was that safety in numbers was paramount.  But if we were all at work, in different places where would be meet up.  Going home mightn’t be an option as we might have to find higher ground or shelter.   Suggestions were passed around, and as it turned out, depended on the scenario.  A decision was made, everyone knows about it, but we’re not going to feature on a TV show.   Just like people living in  bushfire prone areas, you must have a plan.

Skills are an important attribute to have as well, not just for the continuity of a certain lifestyle or job, but to ensure survival.  Being prepared for anything is a very important skill not many people have.  We usually have enough skill to get by in our lives, but what if someone needed first aid, and you were the only one around ?  Could you bait a hook to catch your dinner, or rig a snare ?  The elements have taken many a life which could have easily have been avoided if the person knew how to make a simple lean to, or shelter.  Could you start a fire to keep warm ?  These are very simple skills that can be learned by simply watching YouTube clips or participating in an all important first aid course.

I overheard a man talking to a friend over a beer at my local bar.  They were talking about what they would do if there was a Nuke attack.  My ears pricked up and I listened attentively.  The drunker of the two pointed to a nearby manhole cover and said “I’d jump in there”.  To me, it didn’t sound like a bad idea.  I bet I could reach it before he did.  The conversation developed into the whole China, North Korea dribble a couple of guys on their 7th beers talk about.  It got me thinking though.  I turned to the internet when I got home and found an informative video from the 60’s about what to do in the even of an atomic bomb.  Great !!!

As it turns out, Melbourne has absolutely nothing planned for its citizens in such a case.  London has its underground, Moscow has just completed city wide drills, but we don’t even have a local shelter thats not made of wood with a civil defence sign out front (thats made of wood).  I feel like a little piggy with the big bad wolf outside.  I do know of an old gold mine but making entrance in time would mean I’d need at least an hours notice before the flash and mushroom cloud appeared.  Unlikely.  A bomb shelter is out of the question here.  You need council permission to change the paint colour of your house, let alone installing an underground shelter.    I guess Im on my own on this one.

At the end of the day, everyones different and each of us have a different idea of what we should do, where we should go and how we should attempt to survive.  Some of us will simply wing it and be ok, but one underlying fact still remains, those without plan will find it harder to remain safe, healthy and protected than those with one.  In times of pandemonium you might have no-one but yourself to rely on for food, water and shelter.

There are small ways each of us can learn how to survive, some of them are fun, some not, but they’re all important.

Be prepared……..

    Oh and if a zombie comes for you, the only shot is a head shot !!!  

    The fear of what’s coming, are you prepared ? You don't have to be a genius to know that at any given moment something could happen, and everything changes.