Category Archives: POP CULTURE

POP CULTURE

Zombies Prepare You for Terrorists and Emergencies

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Welcome to November – it seems like just yesterday we were putting candles inside of pumpkins and dressing up in costumes. Oh, wait. Halloween was last Wednesday. But while we regular citizens were dealing with trick-or-treaters or eating too much candy we bought for ourselves, many of our armed forces decided to do some zombie apocalypse training.

During a counter-terrorism summit yesterday on an island off a San Diego bay, Marines, Navy special ops, police, firefighters, and more brave men and women were put through a training experience unlike any other. These forces were presented with an scenario where a VIP and personal detail are trapped in a village that is being attacked by zombies, and when a bomb goes off, the VIP is wounded and they have to fight their way out to medical treatment and safety. Some of the personal detail would get bitten by zombies, while others would stay zombie-infection free.

Why would a zombie apocalypse scenario be presented at a counter-terrorism summit? Simply put, to prepare military, armed forces, and medical workers for the worst. Brad Barker, CEO of the security firm which hosted the event, said, “”No one knows what the zombies will do in our scenario, but quite frankly no one knows what a terrorist will do” [Detroit News].

“The defining characteristics of zombies are that they’re unpredictable and resilient. That may be a good way to prepare for what the Pentagon calls asymmetric warfare,” defense analyst Loren Thompson said [Detroit News].  You can see some of the zombie participants on the story’s video here.

This training scenario is not the first time government agencies have enlisted the zombie phenomenon to help them prepare for dire situations. Over a year ago, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) started a Zombie Preparedness page on their website, the goal of which was to bring awareness to the public about the necessity of being prepared for real-life emergencies. “If you are generally well equipped to deal with a zombie apocalypse you will be prepared for a hurricane, pandemic, earthquake, or terrorist attack,” says Dr. Ali Khan on the CDC’s Zombie Preparedness page.

The CDC’s zombie campaign was so popular in bringing attention to emergency preparedness that they kept it up, even bringing in a short novella in the comic book style about a couple preparing for zombies who are taking over their town. Apparently, by October 26 of 2011, “the novella had already been downloaded over 40,000 times, according to Khan, who called the initial success of the campaign somewhat surprising, with traffic temporarily ‘overwhelming’ the blog” [WNYC].

Given pop culture’s obsession with zombies the last few years, Khan and other CDC leaders probably should not have been surprised at their novella’s success. The novella also provided a checklist at the end so that families could make sure they had everything they needed in case of a real-life disaster. You can check out the zombie novella called “Preparedness 101: Zombie Pandemic” on the CDC’s website.

The fact of the matter is that biological warfare is still a serious threat in our world today, and though most people assume zombies could never happen, we could still very easily have to deal with a widespread virus at some point. After all, we may have held off the Cold War but we still haven’t cured cancer. The foreign or rapidly changing nature of many viruses is what terrifies us into believing in zombies could be real for the future. If viral zombies ever did come about, however, at least we would know the CDC, Marines, special forces, and other units would be ready to protect us.

Although if we get necromantic zombies, we’re going to have to find another way to deal with that.

POP CULTURE

Wizard World: 2012 Comic Convention, Austin TX

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Over this past weekend, the Wizard World Comic Con made its latest stop in Austin, Texas. The convention attracted thousands of comic book, movie, and TV lovers from all over Texas, who flocked to the Austin Convention Center to be a part of Wizard World’s fantastic event. I was lucky enough to be a part of all of the madness, and see some great costumes, celebrities, and comic book/movie related merchandise.

Although Friday convention goers were mostly comprised of fans looking to shop around at stations set up by local vendors, the Saturday crowd, for the most part, were people looking for autographs and pictures with their favorite TV and Movie personalities. Among the guests on Saturday were: Michael Rooker, Norman Reedus, CM Punk, Lou Ferrigno, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, and Patrick Stewart. Though I probably shouldn’t have been, I was absolutely amazed at how many Trekkies showed up. It was overwhelming how many people weren’t there for the comic related attractions, but for the meet and greet and panel with the Star Trek cast.

As I said earlier, Friday seemed to draw more of the comic book crowd, as local vendors were already set up, and the TV personalities hadn’t come yet. Perhaps the two biggest comic artists that showed up were Neal Adams (Batman, X-Men), and Will Conrad (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, X-Men). Both were there gladly talking with fans, and signing copies and original prints that were displayed at their section of the floor. I was lucky enough to have Neal Adams sign a print for me, and talk with him for a brief moment. During our conversation he told me that he is currently working on the next edition of The First X-Men.

I have to vent about something, and that is the fact that some stores still set up shop at comic cons not willing to bargain with costumers. To me it is ridiculous for stores to show up to a comic convention with all of their merchandise set up and when somebody wants to purchase items in bulk, they cross their arms and say, “It’s priced as marked.” I understand that in some cases, the marked price is as low as you can go. However, when a vendor says the same thing to every costumer, on every piece of merchandise, and their prices aren’t even marked down at all, I think that’s garbage.

Something that surprised me was the lack of horror movie related merchandise. Not only was it advertised on the convention website that there would be horror merchandise, but being as close to Halloween as the convention was, I figured that the inclusion of it would be a given. Never-the-less, horror movie and TV merchandise was kept to a bare minimum, which in the end was completely over-shadowed by the excess of everything else. There was an over-abundance of comic related shirts, action figures, and books, which was the main draw for most convention goers anyway.

One thing that you can always count on at a comic convention, no matter what time of the year, is that you’re going to see costumes. This weekend’s comic con being so close to Halloween was no exception, as hundreds of people came in dressed as characters from their favorite comic books, movies, and TV shows. Although most costumes were either related to Batman or Star Trek, a few comic fans creatively strayed from the path by showing up in some off the wall apparel (IE: the Terrence and Phillip pic above).

Overall Wizard World put on an amazing comic convention in Austin. The amount of different ground they covered from local vendors, artists, and various celebrities was extremely vast. Dates have already been posted for some of the Wizard World Conventions for 2013, and they will be at various locations throughout the U.S. If you find yourself anywhere near the convention sites within the next year, be sure to check it out all the great attractions that Wizard World has to offer.

One of the greatest attractions at the convention!!

POP CULTURE

10 Things You Might Not Know About Arnold Schwarzenegger

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With the Governator’s recent biography release, I thought it was high time we take a look at some of the things Arnold has been involved in, that may have gone under the radar of most casual fans. Let’s see how many of these you knew already.

Continue reading 10 Things You Might Not Know About Arnold Schwarzenegger →

POP CULTURE

Album Review: Hot Fiction “Apply Within”

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The Before:

Two-man bands have been a staple to the post-alternative rock scene for the last ten or so years. I tend to make assumptions about the sound: blues-inspired grungy riff-rock. The names The White Stripes and The Black Keys certainly come to mind. I appreciate the straight-forward style and deceiving simplicity of much that this genre (is it fair to call it so?) has offered.

Much in the vein of the aforementioned bands, British band Hot Fiction, brings forth their sophomore effort, Apply Within, out October 18th. The band describes it as a “soulful awakening”, though I’m not sure if that “awakening” is meant for the band or the listener. Regardless of the intent, they better make their points quick, as the album clocks in under the 40 minute mark.

The band is comprised of drummer/vocalist Andy Yeoh and guitarist/vocalist Simon Miller.

The After:

The band has a comfortable feel. It certainly fulfills my expectation of blues-inspired grungy riff-rock. However it does consistently feel fresh mainly due to the tunes’ strong melodies (see Harder Than Before) and percussion work that has that pleasant clarity and subtlety of not being canned. The guitar work is appropriate for the genre (are we still good with this?) of two-man riff-rock, and doesn’t rely too heavily on effects to draw in the listener, which is something that I have found to be draining on my ear juice.

Yeoh’s voice is strange at times (Gotta Go); pulling in and out of pitchy, frail to bold, and even 1960s white soul to Nick Drake circa Northern Sky (see Broken In a Good Way). And while I’m trying to figure out and adjust, the vocals blend with Miller’s guitar work that has many of the same qualities.

Ultimately, what kept me interested in the songs was the constant push and pull between the simplicity and dissonance of the melodies (see Sweet Goodbye). There is a fluidity to this album, even though the separate tunes hearken to different influences, conscious or not, such as the afore mentioned Nick Drake in Broken In a Good Way, a less orchestrated and instrumented The Band in You’re Not Alone, and even a streamlined Blood Sweat and Tears on No Soul.

As a side note, this is the point where I am conflicted over the possibilities of more instrumentation verses the uncomplicated nature of two-man groups like Hot Fiction. On one hand you have such potential to show range and counter-melody, but on the other you have the ability to become highly cohesive and streamlined in approach and purpose.

Regardless of my ramblings, Hot Fiction has put together an album in “Apply Within” that grooves, moves, and flows. This is a band that I could see developing further from influenced to influential as they explore their sound and push away from the precedents.

I give this album 3.5 g-bears.

Hot Fiction’s YouTube Channel

POP CULTURE

Adele’s Skyfall Song is Double 0-Awesome

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This is a very self-explanatory post. Adele’s new song that has been teased for days is finally out today and it is the theme for the next James Bond movie, Skyfall. The song was released at 00:07 in London on Global James Bond Day, which is when Dr. No first came out 50 years ago. I’ll leave the YouTube embed below this before I give my quick thoughts. As a hint of the level my giddyness for this song, I’m downloading this on iTunes while I type this post up.

I’ll get this out-of-the-way: I love Adele. Yeah, she got extremely overplayed and it now drives people nuts when they hear “Rolling in the Deep” or some might cry profusely when “Someone Like You” comes up on the playlist or radio. But you cannot deny her voice and holy crap, her voice was MADE for a Bond theme song. Hell, I know the YouTube video isn’t the opening title sequence but if they made more silhouettes of girls in the background and random plot elements, this could pass easily as one. Letting the orchestra take over at the chorus is brilliant after the piano start and it just builds into a true Bond song. The lyrics are undeniably James Bond and yet not cheesy or forced. “For this is the end/I’ve drowned and dreamt this moment/so overdue I owe them/swept away I’m stolen”. Effin’ love it. She co-wrote this song with her “Rolling in the Deep” collaborator Paul Epworth. If this isn’t the first Bond song to hit number one on the charts, I’d be shocked. Like I said, it’s just that good. There have been lots of Bond songs that have been awesome (I don’t care what you say, I dug the Jack White/Alicia Keys one) but I think this might be up there now. Thoughts, comments? You know where to leave them.

POP CULTURE

“Iron Man” Nazi Statue News Plagiarized?

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Yesterday, science and science fiction sites alike exploded with the news that German scientists had found out some interesting information about a carved Tibetan statue originally discovered by Nazis in the 1930s.  The Nazis were definitely not known for their interest in Buddhist-type religions, yet the swastika-like symbol on the statue’s chest is probably what drove the Nazis to bring it back with them to Germany.  But this is not the main reason scientists find the statue that they name “Iron Man” to be so interesting.

Remember, I mentioned that science fiction sites also had this news posted?  Normally, science fiction involves matters of space, like aliens.  Well, it turns out the “Iron Man” sculpture happens to be from space.  The German scientists studied the material the figure was carved from, and it’s made of a substance called ataxite, a rare form of iron with high levels of nickel (thank you, Wikipedia).  After more investigations, the scientific team surmised that the statue was carved from a Chinga meteorite fragment, a field of which had been discovered around the Mongolia and Siberia borders in 1913 (near modern-day Tibet).

Currently, “the Iron Man statue is the only known illustration of a human figure to be carved into a meteorite,” said lead researcher Elmar Buchner [Gizmodo].

As quick-catching as this news is, I found it interesting, but nothing to get worked up over.  I realize that carving into a very, very hard form of meteorite metal was a feat in and of itself, but many people have accomplished incredible feats throughout the centuries; this is just one more to appreciate and add to the book.

I think the reporting of the story is what made it seem so hyped to me as an ethically-trained journalist who believes you tell the truth as accurately as possible.  All the news stories made the story seem a little sensationalist, using titles with words in them such as extraterrestrial and alien origins.  If you take those words at their literal definitions, they 100% fit the description of the statue being made from something not organic to this Earth.  However, since extraterrestrial and alien have very science fiction-y connotations of other beings existing in the universe, these stories’ titles initially made it seem like the statue was originally carved by these beings before arriving (or being “sent”) to Earth.  That’s good marketing, but definitely misleading reporting.

“Yeeeeess, I carved that statue you found, you insignificant Earthlings.”

Also, I found it curious that after the plagiarism scandal by Time editor-at-large and journalist Fareed Zakaria, that much of the news stories I found yesterday regarding the “Iron Man” statue were bordering on their own plagiarism issues.  For example, the Gizmodo article about the “Iron Man” starts, “No, it isn’t the plot for the next Indiana Jones movie” [Gizmodo].  And take this opening line from The Mary Sue: “It’s like Indiana Jones, Marvel and 2001: A Space Odyssey all in one story” [The Mary Sue].  Or what about this line from the Huffington Post: “It sounds like a mash-up of Indiana Jones’ plots” [Huffington Post].

Fareed Zakaria
Fareed congratulates you “Iron Man” reporters on plagiarizing each other’s ideas.

And this isn’t stealing each other’s ideas… how?  If Zakaria can take another author’s ideas and simply reword them and be called out on plagiarism, all of these articles’ authors seem to be doing the exact same thing in regards to the Indiana Jones reference.  I realize that it’s getting harder and harder to be original on the Internet when you’re racing to get news out, but it seems a little too ironic that all of these authors would be thinking about Indiana Jones as they wrote their articles (or maybe they’re just more geeky than I realize).

Speaking of ironic and all this iron meteorite talk, I’m going to end on a quote for you to consider from our beloved Caboose: “I think it would be ironic if we were all made of iron.”

Caboose
I like me.