How to Escape a Zombie Attack

Zombies beware! The human race is getting ready for Z-Day! (Well, not exactly.) After watching a number of zombie movies (special mention goes to George A. Romero's 1968 masterpiece "Night of the Living Dead") and the Fox series "The Walking Dead", I'm convinced that the world should prepare for Z-Day.

A Zombie is a reanimated human corpse who feed on human flesh, often specifically, the brain. Sounds scary, right? Just like vampires, they could just very well be working underground waiting for the perfect time to come out and take over the world. So, for now, what can we do to prepare? With that in mind, I have come up with a list of things to do to survive a zombie attack.

Should you wake up one day, and find yourself surrounded by brain-hungry zombies, the first thing you should do is to find yourself a pretty comfy place to stay. The shopping mall is a pretty popular choice. Do take note that zombies love the city for they know that there would be lots of people to eat out there. However should you decide not to venture outdoors, lock yourself up at home, but please avoid windows.

Arm your self up. Preferred weapons include baseball bats, high-powered guns (stock up on bullets), axes and chainsaws. Never use your hands in battle. You can get bitten by 'em evil scums. Once you get bitten, you would never have the chance to use this list ever.

Should you find yourself in the presence of a zombie, you have two options: you can either hit them on the head (but please, don't miss!) or if you are unarmed, just run away like a madman. Important reminder though, always be sure to wear comfy footwear. Leather shoes are a no-no. And if you are unprepared for battle, just run away. There are conflicting reports on whether zombies can run or not. But to be sure, run away as fast as you can. I'm not sure if you can outrun a zombie. So choose your battles wisely.

Heroes became heroes for a reason. But for a zombie invasion, choose to save yourself first. No one will remember you saving someone from a zombie.  Don't be a statistic.

And finally, if you can't beat them, just join them. Another way to survive a zombie attack is to just act like one. Drench yourself with blood and guts from a corpse and act like a brain-dead looney by walking like a zombie. If don't know how to do a zombie walk, try to remember the time you got very drunk. That would be a good start. Imitate and observe their every move. But of course, be very aware of the weather. Don't go out in the rain. The blood you have so carefully placed in your body would just wash out and make you very vulnerable for an attack.

Its better to be prepared than be surprised when Z-Day finally comes. Print this list and post it on your refrigerator door. Stay safe and go beat 'em evil zombies.

* Disclaimer:
The author is not responsible for any unsuccessful attempt in surviving a zombie attack. Z-Day or zombie attacks may or may not happen in your lifetime.

And the 2011 Academy Award nominees are...

The nominees for the 2011 Academy Awards are out! And again, the critics say that the roster this year is one of the strongest and most diverse in history. Out of the ten nominated films for Best Picture, I have only seen 2 and I am looking forward in seeing all of them both on the big screen and on DVD.  The nominees for Best Picture this year are: "Black Swan", "127 Hours", "True Grit", "The Kids Are All Right", "Inception", "The Social Network", "The Fighter", "Winter's Bone", "Toy Story 3" and "The King's Speech". 

Kudos to "Toy Story 3" for making it on the list, it being an animated feature film. It becomes only the second computer animated film in history to be nominated for Best Picture (the first film to achieve this milestone was Disney Pixar's "Up" in 2010). Also, "Toy Story 3" is the only sequel to be nominated for Best Picture without any of its predecessors being nominated. Obviously, this is my personal favorite to win this year.

I'm also glad that "Inception" got a nod for best film of the year but I was somehow disappointed that Christopher Nolan was snubbed for his great directorial effort.

For the next 3 weeks, I will be watching all the nominated films. And just like any year, I will make my predictions on who will win the major awards before the trophies are handed out later next month.  I will be posting my "Oscar ballot" in the next few weeks.

Unfortunately, not all the nominated movies will be shown locally and after checking the movie listings, the following films are scheduled to be shown in Manila:

Feb 09- 127 Hours

Feb 23- Black Swan

Feb 23- True Grit

For the complete list of nominees, go to http://oscar.go.com/ 

The 83rd Academy Awards will be telecast live all over the world on February 27, 2011 and will be hosted by Anne Hathaway and James Franco.

The Story of the Lucky Charm Bracelet...

"Now, make three wishes..."

This was what the Chinese lady told me when I bought a lucky charm bracelet from her stall at the mall.  She placed the "Lucky Ram" bracelet (from the year I was born) on a metal bowl, gave it a gentle tap, and uttered chants in an apparent effort to bless it. So there was I, looking at this bowl while making three innocent wishes with a rather skeptical cloud around me. What do I have to lose, right? (besides my money of course).

After the purchase I went on my way to the the department store to buy some personal supplies. To the left of the store entrance was a really busy stall that caught my eye. It was a lottery outlet. Then, a light bulb moment! What if I test this supposedly lucky bracelet by betting in the insta-scratch lottery? Sounds like a plan to me. So I took out my lucky bracelet, wore it on my left wrist and handed out my twenty pesos to the Cashier and got myself a "Bee Lucky Game" ticket.

To win, I should match any of the two winning numbers with those six numbers I was given to scratch off. So I scratched the ticket and true enought, I got the surpise of my life... I won! I won!  (prize amount withheld LOL). Wow, this lucky bracelet does work! I was not out to push my lucky by buying another ticket, so I just got my winnings and drove home with a smirk on my face. Yes, I forgot to buy what I came to the mall for. Oh well, there's next weekend to buy them (and probably another lottery ticket).

The New Zodiac World Order. Enter Ophiuchus.

Enter Ophiuchus.

Ophiuchus is the thirteenth constellation that shocked the Astrological world. And yes, there is a new Zodiac world order. Apparently, due to shifts in the earth's rotation and orbit, the sun now moves through 13 constellations, not just 12. What was supposed to be a very trivial astrological development caused a stir in the news, and all the social networking sites. The inclusion of Ophiuchus in the Zodiac raised a lot of eyebrows (including mine). I'm not really sure if this is just an alternative list or if this now really how your Zodiac sign would be determined.

Now, who is Ophiuchus?  Its Greek name means 'serpent-bearer', and it is commonly represented as a man grasping the snake that is represented by the Serpens constellation. Having said this, go check out the new 13 signs of the Zodiac:

Aries: Apr 19 - May 14
Taurus: May 14 - Jun 21
Gemini: Jun 21 - Jul 21
Cancer: Jul 21 - Aug 11
Leo: Aug 11 - Sept 17
Virgo: Sept 17 - Oct 31
Libra: Oct 31 - Nov 21
Scorpio: Nov 21 - Nov 30
Ophiuchus: Nov 30 - Dec 18
Sagittarius: Dec 18 - Jan 21
Capricorn: Jan 21 - Feb 17
Aquarius: Feb 17 - Mar 12
Pisces: Mar 12 - Apr 19

As I checked out the new list of Zodiacs, it seems that my June 20 birthday now falls on the sign of Taurus. I used be to be a Gemini and I refuse to be a Taurus! All the people I know can affirm that I am a true blooded Gemini! I'm not really sure if I would follow this new Zodiac listing, or if I should be affected by it, but for an astrological junkie like me, this is truly earth-shaking news.

MMXI: A New Year Ahead

As much as I wanted to update this blog regularly, the reality of life prevents me from doing so. As with keeping all my new year's resolution, I guess it would be a long, uphill battle. But of course, I will do my best to keep this blog relevant.

2011. New year to start the new decade. Another 365 years to live life, experience new things and challenges to hurdle. On the first week of the year, I was informed of an opportunity at work that could possibly change my life forever. I decided to give it a chance, and now, I am just waiting for news on how things would turn out (*keeping my fingers crossed*).  The start of the new year also brought a bit of sadness: news of cancer striking a loved one, and more stories from family and friends relating of personal and financial hardships truly broke my heart. But as they say, life goes on and I hope everyone would all get their happy endings.

I also listed resolutions this year, but scrapped them all when I started breaking them on the first week of January. So instead of pressuring myself with resolutions, I am now just simply telling myself to do one thing this year: to just keep moving. To keep moving when things get bad or when things don't end up the way I wanted them to be. To keep on moving to discover more about myself and the world. To keep on moving and push myself to even greater heights. So Joey, just keep on moving to whereever life will bring you this year.

So to all my blog, Twitter and Facebook friends, however our years start (whether it be good or bad), I wish you nothing but the best this 2011. More success and happiness this year. Lets keep on moving!