Every entry from the Signature Apocalypse Weaponry contest!

From COBB - Another excellent entry in our latest contest!

Here it is - all of the entries from our wicked awesome Signature Apocalypse Weaponry contest in one place - for archiving, linking and your enjoyment! Again, great work everyone, thanks for your support and engagement on this contest.

Aside from gratiutous gun/knife/gear enjoyment, there's also some merit in checking out what others are going to be running after the apocalypse. Sure, more than a few entries went extra heavy on firepower, but when you're hunting for zombies, that can be a good plan. We had 32 entries, which is a decent sample size. Of those, we had:

• 13 entries running some variety of 12 gauge shotgun, either as a primary or backup
• 10 entries running an AR-15 or variant
• 4 AKs and 1 SKS in 7.62x39mm
• 9 with pistols in 9mm
• 7 with pistols in .45 ACP
• 6 with pistols in .40 S&W
• 3 running a pistol as their primary
• 5 with .22lrs of some variety - 2 running a .22lr as a primary, three others with a .22 in a secondary role
• 4 entries without any kind of firearm - two from Europe, one new prepper, and 032125, who chose to go with heavy Viking steel
• Biggest bore rifle was SC's .30-06 bolt action; I was a bit surprised to see nothing in .308. Guess JWR needs to get on his battle rifle soap box more often these days.
• Biggest bore handgun was Neuro's .454 Casull Super Redhawk
• 2 entries had body armor (plate carriers with plates)

If we take this as a somewhat representative sample of preppers/survival types, 12 gauge is the most common across the board, AR-15s are the usual rifle of choice, and pistols in 9mm tend to be a bit more common than .45s or .40s, though not by a wide margin.

I've got to round up my gear and channel some of the creativity seen in this contest to show you guys and gals my personal selections for when the Nazi Zombies come knocking. Stay tuned for that, though you've seen most of the pieces at some point or another here on T-Blog.

This will take a while to load - if you've got a slow connection, you have been warned!

Signature Apocalypse Weaponry Update #10

One more updates in the queue after this one! Winners will be announced tomorrow night on Hala-ma-ween! The next (maybe last) update in the $40 a week series is going to be postponed 'till next week.

It's been a lot of fun and we're almost done!

If the dead do decide to rise tomorrow evening, I'm confident that you will all be ready to lay a hurtin' on them!

Remember to support the contest sponsors Choate Machine & Tool, Vigilant Gear, Tom Bihn and Red Dirt Stock Works! Check out their websites and give them your support for helping make this contest possible!

Signature Apocalypse Weaponry Update #9

Two more updates in the queue after this one--planning to make the final selections and announce winners on Halloween!

Remember to support the contest sponsors Choate Machine & Tool, Vigilant Gear, Tom Bihn and Red Dirt Stock Works! Check out their websites and give them your support for helping make this contest possible!

Signature Apocalypse Weapons Update #8

We are officially closed for entires now. I have several updates worth of entries waiting in the wings though, so expect 'em to come fast and furious over the next week. A huge thanks to all those who have entered!

 Remember, there are great prizes from Choate Machine & Tool, Vigilant Gear, Tom Bihn and Red Dirt Stock Works and us here at T-Blog up for grabs! Check out their websites and give them your support for helping make this contest possible!

Open Thread: Revolution

I only had time to catch the first 10 or so minutes of the episode, so I will update with my thoughts later tonight. I did notice that they may have added a blip to the open credits that explains the confiscation of firearms--note how only certain "higher ups" in the militia are allowed to have modern firearms - the rest have muskets and/or fairly cool swords/knives.

In the last comment thread, there are many griping about the lack of realism in the show. I personally never go into anything made by Hollywood expecting a ton of realism, and I don't need it to enjoy something. I will agree that the costumes/makeup need some improvement; things are too clean, polished looking for a world without regular showers, makeup and laundry. We've been spoiled by the Walking Dead, I think, which gets a lot of (most?) things exactly right.

Anyways, here's your place to discuss, gripes, reviews, lessons or whatever--enjoy!

Update:

Most laughable moment:  iPhone turning on after 15 years, then lamely shorting out like a TV when the magic amulet/USB drive stopped working.

Best Line:
"Well if you have a better idea..."
"Its easy to have a better idea than that because that idea is awful."

Scenes I Liked:

• Sniper holding back the militia forces and Jacob from Lost (commander character) absently throwing his men away to waste bullets.
• Uncle Miles gunning down the two robbers in flashback.

Overall:
Unfortunately, most of the characters are pretty boring (short shirt girl, brother, British mom), which drags the show. Great shows need great characters to keep you coming back; I know we're only a few episodes in, but the majority of the characters are pretty forgettable. The writers may be working on this, as the cast has been expanding over the past few episodes with more interesting characters (Jacob from Lost is better than either of the major villains we've seen so far).

I get the impression that there are some on the show that "get" the post apocalyse thing, and many who don't. iPhone working after 15 years, the frequent straight-from-Eddy-Bauer wardrobe, etc. There is good--some good lines, a few characters developing into something interesting, some good dystopian long shots, and it's proudly pro-2nd Amendment--so I'm hopeful.

Interview with the Union Creek Journal

By popular request, we've reached out for an interview with the author of The Union Creek Journal, Toby/Mudinyeri. 

Toby's a great writer, good guy and a fellow prepper. He had some interesting thoughts on the Journal--why he got started, what he has planned for the future--as well as some of his thoughts on prepping. Worth a read!

Toby, thanks for taking some time to talk with us. A number of our readers are big fans of the Union Creek Journal and were curious to learn more about the man behind it all and what makes him tick. What got you started writing the UCJ?

Thanks for reaching out, Alexander.  The Journal has really been fun for me.  Most of my readers know that I started The Journal as an experiment.  I’ve been writing for decades.  I started writing stories as a kid.  My undergraduate degree is in journalism.  I’m published as a non-fiction technical editor by Que Publishing and I’ve published more than a dozen professional white papers. 

With all that behind me, the blog format, as a basis for a fictional work, caught my interest when I began reading Adrian’s Undead Diary.  The first-person, journal approach in Adrian’s Undead Diary also intrigued me.  I was working on a different book at the time and decided to set it aside for a bit to try out the almost-daily, first-person blog format for a fictional work.

Honestly, it’s been much more successful than I’d imagined.  I’m very grateful to my fans and readers.  Many of them take it upon themselves to “promote” my book in their own circles of friends.  To me, that’s one of the greatest compliments anyone can pay a writer.

Heads up - Close call with an asteroid

An aircraft carrier-sized asteroid is scheduled to fly between the Earth and the Moon today. It's travelling at speeds of around 29,000 miles per hour and will come within a few hundred thousand miles of the Earth. While it does not look like we will be seeing a real-life version of Armageddon this time around, NASA is saying it won't be until 2028 when an asteroid flies this close again.

Read more on WSJ.com >

Church & Son's Apocalypse Blades

These are jaw-dropping apocalyptic goodness, had to share. Made scavenged parts and with minimal tools. Handmade in a homemade charcoal forge, no electricity used. And the name? Judgement Day. I'm going to be keeping an eye on this maker! More pictures, info and purchasing at Church & Son's Blog.

Judgement Day = Tomorrow?

Well ladies and gentlemen, as you've probably heard, judgement day and the rapture are supposed to come tomorrow, on May 21, 2011. Apparently, the Bible is fairly obvious about these things. You see, do a little reading, make up a few numbers, throw in Biblical little math, and you come up with some random numbers that indicate that tomorrow is the big day! It's not quite the complete end of the world that some have been reporting - that's supposed to come five months later, on October 21, 2011. Of course.

What might tomorrow have in store for us? Here's a few points from a tract about the May 21, 2011 Judgement Day:

• Dead arise (the CDC was right about those zombies!)
• Death will be everywhere
• Five months of horrible torment (not just regular bad torment)
• People being consumed by fire

These folks are pretty certain about their predictions, claiming "there is no possibility that God will not follow through on His intention to destroy the world in 2011." No possibility? Not even a little bit?

So, if they're right, I guess this may be my last post. Don't anticipate there will be internet access during the 5 months of torment and zombie-ness. If that's the case - it's been groovy, friends. If you're not one of the saved, enjoy the ride.

Of course, if they're wrong, randomly un-scheduled updates will continue as usual. I'll see you on the other side.

World War Z

World War Z, a zombie novel by Max Brooks. I finished reading this about two weeks ago--read it in about two days. Very good book--great book for what you'd expect from a book about the "zombie war". The author writes from the view point of a reporter, interviewing survivors of the Zombie War. His subjects include people from all walks of life--each with a different, unique, and very creative story to tell. The execution is smart, sharp, and very well done.

Brooks approaches his subject--zombie survival--realistically and seriously. And it works. Set in the near future, the zombie plague begins in remote villages of China--it spreads quickly, but the Chinese government does their best to put a lid on its existence. Refugees flee from the growing hordes of undead, seeking medical attention for their ill family and friends. The zombie infection spreads quickly, engulfing the world in a pandemic of the living dead.

Brooks writes his interviews of people from all over the world--a rogue chinese sub commander, Japanese hacker, U.S. army grunt, the vice president, a Russian priest, the list goes on and on.

The creativity of the book is what really stood out to me. Brooks clearly spent weeks thinking "What if..." and considering what could happen in a world-wide zombie outbreak. The war against the zombies is truly a world-wide war, stretching to every corner of the globe, and Brooks considers dozens of different angles and scenarios.

The book is not a "perfect" read by any means; some of the survivor's stories are more interesting than others. Some of Brook's ideas are riveting and unique, while others may seem implausible and fall flat. World War Z throws lots of fun, creative ideas and stories at the reader, but does not take the time to fully explore any of them. There are several really great novels that could be written here...maybe Brooks will fully flesh out some of these tales at a later date. As the book jumps around from interview to interview, it can be hard to form any kind of attachment with the characters, and even some confusion about who is being interviewed. I think a second read could be beneficial here.

Nit Picks: As with a lot of zombie fiction, there is a healthy dose of violence, gore, and vulgarity (if you mind those things). For those who are into guns, World War Z may leave you a little wanting--many of the weapons are fictional, post-zombie outbreak creations.

All in all, as far as zombie books go, World War Z is very smart, interesting, and creatively done. It exceeds expectations and sets the imagination running.

Four stars ****

Check it out at: http://www.worldwarz.net/ (The website also has a zombie war survival quiz--take it to see your survival rate, although no one scores very high! Last time I took it, I scored 39% chance of survival)

The Beginning of the End...

Welcome to the first installment TEOTWAWKI Blog--your source for daily news, ramblings, reviews, tips, and web links about anything and everything concerning the end of the world. Over the next few months, I hope to post on a regular basis--3 to 5 times a week as my schedule allows.

As the blog title suggests, posts will be about all things apocalyptic, from movie and book reviews, to thoughts and ramblings about survival and emergency prep and links to great resources on the Web.

If you have any topic requests or suggestions for post, feel free to pass it along!