[News] Zombies!
- Thread starter BananaHands
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GasBandit
Staff member
That's just what they'd say if it was real. Just puttin' that out there.
Yes.
I know.
Two totally unrelated, isolated events on other sides of the world?
This is where it starts, people.
This is where it starts, people.
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Zombie-Survival-Guide-Protection/dp/1400049628
Make sure to have this book people.
I had a friend in high school who got into a fight with another girl. The girl bit my friend's leg. Last I knew she still has a scar in the shape of the girl's bite with the individual tooth imprints clearly visible.
North_Ranger
Staff member
You've never read the book I take it.Only if you're American, Jay. Some of us dirty foreigners aren't for instance so fanatical about our guns and such
fade
Staff member
Well to be fair to North_Ranger that's the version from Amazon Canada, though. It just says apologize profusely to the zombie and offer it a beer.
Huh. The Belgian version says you should offer it a good helath care package, lots of vacation time and half your money.
North_Ranger
Staff member
Actually I have. I just consider some of the advice it offers somewhat America-specific, that's all. In regards of firearms in particular, but there are other culture-specific aspects as well.
North_Ranger
Staff member
Well, if the Zombie Survival Guide (and by extension, World War Z) is to be believed, the bears will start running just like everything else when Zack goes to the woods.
That's weird. The Swiss one says send the zombie back to the publicly-funded detox clinics where it belongs, and then go back to getting into fights with other Swiss people about joining the EU.Huh. The Belgian version says you should offer it a good helath care package, lots of vacation time and half your money.
I'm guessing you don't remember it then, because it actually says guns are the worst idea possible and to avoid them at all costs.
North_Ranger
Staff member
Eh, maybe. But it still suggests stocking up on firearms and appropriate ammo, just in case. Admittedly I enjoyed reading World War Z more, even though I detest the notion that public healthcare, roughly 70% of all men having received firearms training in the armed forces and the Finnish penchant for violence would not have cleared this zombie situation in a matter of weeks
Then again, there's the whole living next door to Russia thing...
Russian zombie... or just drunk on vodka?Eh, maybe. But it still suggests stocking up on firearms and appropriate ammo, just in case. Admittedly I enjoyed reading World War Z more, even though I detest the notion that public healthcare, roughly 70% of all men having received firearms training in the armed forces and the Finnish penchant for violence would not have cleared this zombie situation in a matter of weeks
Then again, there's the whole living next door to Russia thing...
Best not to take the chance.
I believe the "Guide" suggests against doing that very thing. I'll have to re-read it, but what I took away was that you want to stay as mobile and versatile as possible. So stock piling anything would be counter-productive.
I specifically remember the firearms chapter referring to a rifle and a handgun as your required arms. A rifle maintains a clean headshot at a distance, while a pistol is useful for emergencies. As I recall, a Shaolin Spade and crowbar are the most lauded weapons for use during a zombie crisis.
North_Ranger
Staff member
Incorrect. I specifically remember there being mention of firearms and ammo when you are fortifying your place of residence when Zack comes a-callin'. The Guide does recommend staying mobile, but firearms and (what I think they think is) a reasonable supply of suitable firearms are listed among the things you oughta have in your emergency home kit.
And yes, Shaolin spade is indeed crowned the ultimate anti-zombie weapon. Good luck finding one, though.
And yes, Shaolin spade is indeed crowned the ultimate anti-zombie weapon. Good luck finding one, though.
Years ago, I was instructed by my stepdad not to let my brother play video games for more than an hour during the day. When his hour was up, I told him to do something else. He wandered aimlessly until I gave him a comic book to read that had just been released that week (Starslip Crisis volume 1). He had not visited that site and never seen that book before. But as if he thought he would get to play video games that way, he looked me in the eye and said, "Oh, I already read this one." I explained to him how that was impossible, but he stuck by what he'd said. I asked him what it was about and he described the cover, but didn't know what was on the inside.
Not saying you're a liar, North, but since your argument has gone from "fanatical about guns" to "stockpile of firearms and ammo" to "keep a firearm in your emergency kit", are you sure you didn't just see the book cover and think you read it/mixed it with another zombie book's innards?
Not saying you're a liar, North, but since your argument has gone from "fanatical about guns" to "stockpile of firearms and ammo" to "keep a firearm in your emergency kit", are you sure you didn't just see the book cover and think you read it/mixed it with another zombie book's innards?
I mean there is a chapter in the book called "On the Defensive", but the overall message I got was that no place should be considered a permanent residence. And Max Brooks makes a point that all conventional gung-ho tactics will get you killed.
Here. On page 70, there's a firearms list of things to stock up on, which includes things like 500 rifle rounds and 250 shotgun shells. I wouldn't really call that an excess; considering a box holds like 50 rounds. I'm not sure how having 20-30 boxes of ammo for a rifle and a pistol "America-centric". I would consider that a standard amount an average hunter would stock. Actually, claiming that being a gun-yahoo is an explicit American trait is downright insulting and comes off as really xenophobic.
Here. On page 70, there's a firearms list of things to stock up on, which includes things like 500 rifle rounds and 250 shotgun shells. I wouldn't really call that an excess; considering a box holds like 50 rounds. I'm not sure how having 20-30 boxes of ammo for a rifle and a pistol "America-centric". I would consider that a standard amount an average hunter would stock. Actually, claiming that being a gun-yahoo is an explicit American trait is downright insulting and comes off as really xenophobic.
Sorry, I didn't mean to jump down anyone's throat. I just get really defensive about American sterotyping.What does the survival guide say about surrounding my home with motion sensor activated treadmills all facing inward?
North_Ranger
Staff member
Take my expressions to contain a dose of hyperbole, okay? And seriously, Americans are more than a bit gun nut, at least compared to most Europeans. To me, the book's suggestion about having a rifle, a twelve-gauge shotgun, a pistol and a heavy crossbow along with suitable ammunition and various tools (silencers, various sights etc.) at home sounds quite "fanatical about guns", considering that even the most avid hunter in my extended circle of acquaintances owns only one or two hunting rifles, if memory serves. Page 70. Check it yourself.Years ago, I was instructed by my stepdad not to let my brother play video games for more than an hour during the day. When his hour was up, I told him to do something else. He wandered aimlessly until I gave him a comic book to read that had just been released that week (Starslip Crisis volume 1). He had not visited that site and never seen that book before. But as if he thought he would get to play video games that way, he looked me in the eye and said, "Oh, I already read this one." I explained to him how that was impossible, but he stuck by what he'd said. I asked him what it was about and he described the cover, but didn't know what was on the inside.
Not saying you're a liar, North, but since your argument has gone from "fanatical about guns" to "stockpile of firearms and ammo" to "keep a firearm in your emergency kit", are you sure you didn't just see the book cover and think you read it/mixed it with another zombie book's innards?
What does the Guide say about getting a Mountainbike as a means for transportation?
Just to be clear, we are talking about a book that's found in the comedy section of most bookstores (and a crossbow is not a gun). Rifle, shotgun, pistol - sounds like standard bear hunting gear to me.
I don't see why you keep assuming that it's fanatical to have three guns standard in a house and that it somehow translates to everyone in America being a gun-nut and that the book panders to that. Zombies are pretty popular right now as well as a lot of survivalist genres. I don't think it has anything to do with America's gun culture. Stockpiling weapons fits the description of the chapter (explains the crowbows etc...), but I don't think three guns is by any means excessive. I've never been to Finland, but would you like me to start making assumptions on your culture based on fictional books and stereotypes? Isn't that the definition of prejudice?
Is this a typical American according to your world view? I'm sure dudes like this exist in Finland too.
p. 108
"In a class by itself, this vehicle offers the best of both worlds. The common bicycle is fast, quiet, muscle-powered, and easy to maintain. Add to this the additional advantage that it is the only vehicle you can pick up and carry if the terrain gets too rough. People using bicycles to escape infested areas have almost always fared better than those on foot. For optimum performance, use a mountain bike.."
Thing is you'd be totally screwed with a bent rim or flat tire.
North_Ranger
Staff member
Aaaand I didn't read your post before I read it. Do remember, however, that gun legislation and gun ownership in general are treated very, very differently in Europe than in the States. I can't speak for the UK or France, though. My experience involves mostly Finnish gun legislation and gun ownership, and as I implied earlier, gun ownership is not as prolific over here as it is - according to my understanding - States-side. The gun legislation is also very strict over here, and likely to get stricter as there has been some pretty high-profile school shootings and other shooting incidents over here in the past few years.
Also consider the shit storm that - once again, according to my understanding - starts when people discuss the Second Amendment and what it means. Does it only apply to state militias/National Guard, or does it mean that every Tom, Dick and Harry has a god-given right to bear as much firepower they can carry and the government has no right to touch their stockpiles, thank you very much? Is it an archaic remnant of a bygone era, or is it the last line of defense against government power? Compare that highly emotional debate to what's happened over here: people don't really see the harder gun legislation as an issue.
So from the point of view of someone who can count people owning guns and the number of firearms they have among his extended circle of friends, family and family acquaintances with one hand, owning three different kinds of firearms and ammo (plus that heavy crossbow) and knowing how to use them sounds more than a little excessive.
Hell, to quote the Guide:
Even in World War Z, there are characters who actually point out such cultural dissimilarities when talking about such survival guides - yes, Max Brooks is pretty much saying that his own guide isn't supposed to be universal. If memory serves, the Japanese isolated-kid-turned-warrior-monk actually states that the part about firearms weren't that much of a help in heavily urbanized Japan where firearms were nowhere near as prolific as in the US.
I'm not trying to say that "being a gun-yahoo is an explicit American trait". I'm just saying that the whole big shebang about guns and gun ownership - downright fetishism, if you will pardon that earlier-stated preference of mine for hyperbole - is a much bigger deal in your side of the puddle than it is in here.
I think Max Brooks plays on stereotypes and popular conjecture in both novels. That doesn't mean it's real. But then again, most popular culture is a big caricature of real life anyway. My point is not to get caught up thinking it's an actual representation.
North_Ranger
Staff member
I'm sure such "dudes" exist, but not in numbers and organization that they do in the States, I reckon. No NRA here, for instance.
Also... "everyone in America being a gun-nut"? Please. Your words, not mine. All I said - with my tongue firmly in my cheek - is that the book makes assumptions about gun ownership that are more American in nature than universal.
Jesus, man, I thought Silent Bob was supposed to be the one who could take a joke. I always thought that skinny weasel was the one with no funny bone.[DOUBLEPOST=1341426607][/DOUBLEPOST]
That's putting it lightly, O funnier of the two stoners.Sorry, I didn't mean to jump down anyone's throat. I just get really defensive about American sterotyping.
But apology accepted. I hope you will accept mine as well. Once again, tongue firmly in the cheek, no harm intended.
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