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	<title>Toronto City Life &#187; halloween</title>
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		<title>How not to eat infants in a civilized manner, part 2</title>
		<link>http://www.torontocitylife.com/2009/10/27/how-not-to-eat-infants-in-a-civilized-manner-part-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.torontocitylife.com/2009/10/27/how-not-to-eat-infants-in-a-civilized-manner-part-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:53:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Patrick</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[B Sides]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pictures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2009]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[halloween]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kensington market]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[march]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[toronto]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[walk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zombie walk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zombies]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.torontocitylife.com/?p=5541</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After reading yesterday&#8217;s post about the harrowing zombie situation in Toronto, you&#8217;re probably eager to discover how I escaped completely unscathed. After all, researchers have used zombie scenarios to predict the spread of H1N1, so I believe this information will be quite relevant even after the zombies have retired. So where did I leave off [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>After reading <a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/2009/10/26/how-not-to-eat-infants-in-a-civilized-manner-part-1/">yesterday&#8217;s post</a> about the harrowing zombie situation in Toronto, you&#8217;re probably eager to discover how I escaped completely unscathed. After all, researchers have used <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/682691" target="_blank">zombie scenarios</a> to predict the spread of H1N1, so I believe this information will be quite relevant even after the zombies have retired.</p>
<p>So where did I leave off yesterday? Oh yes, the zombies had me surrounded and I&#8217;d run out of people to toss in their path. The situation was getting really ugly:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-2-10241.jpg" rel="lightbox[5541]"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5552" title="no sense of personal hygiene" src="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/plugins/image-shadow/cache/3e53a884af2c2b09654570c9689fbcdd.jpg" alt="no sense of personal hygiene" width="550" height="733" /></a></p>
<p>The great discovery happened when I pulled out my camera and started to take photos. I figured I could record my final few moments for TCL; become the first post-mortem blogger &#8212; I believe that would make for interesting content. But it wasn&#8217;t to be.</p>
<p>You see, it seems that zombies actually <em>like </em>to have their photos taken. Anyone in the crowd who happened to be brandishing a camera was given a wide berth and, often, cooperative smiles (or menacing grimaces – whatever the scene called for):</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-3-10241.jpg" rel="lightbox[5541]"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5553" title="easy street, gents!" src="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/plugins/image-shadow/cache/32326af1b5d4e86802c54636cad329db.jpg" alt="easy street, fellas!" width="550" height="733" /></a></p>
<p>And I feel that branding them all as brain-hungry murderers really isn&#8217;t representative of the zombie population. Being undead, apparently, isn’t enough to stave off the requirements of the workaday world, but the zombies seemed to take it all in stride. If it wasn’t for the homicidal tendency of ingesting live human brains, they’d probably make decent citizens.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-8-10241.jpg" rel="lightbox[5541]"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5554" title="cant txt. ded." src="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/plugins/image-shadow/cache/66e66b60fdb4b6de196ff7450e1768b3.jpg" alt="cant txt. ded." width="550" height="413" /></a></p>
<p>Haha! *insert social commentary here*</p>
<p>Speaking of commentary, who&#8217;s tailing the wag here?</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-9-10241.jpg" rel="lightbox[5541]"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5555" title="little zombie turd machine" src="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/plugins/image-shadow/cache/dac3651cc45267e4de08807c62010cd6.jpg" alt="leaving behind little zombie turds" width="550" height="413" /></a></p>
<p>That’s a little slice of a-okay, isn’t it? :D</p>
<p><span id="more-5541"></span>Basically, there was a very good chance that most of the non-zombie participants in <a href="http://www.torontozombiewalk.ca/http://www.torontozombiewalk.ca/" target="_blank">the walk</a> would have made it out had I not panicked. But like the army used to say, &#8220;gullibility costs lives&#8221;, which would&#8217;ve been especially poignant had I actually said it to someone <em>before</em> pushing them into the flesh-eating crowd. Or if that were a real army slogan. Or if it applied in any way.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-5-10241.jpg" rel="lightbox[5541]"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5557" title="all with clearly identifiable roles from their past lives" src="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/plugins/image-shadow/cache/fb9ac56083e72fe591fd2dac9499aa08.jpg" alt="all with clearly identifiable roles from their past lives" width="550" height="733" /></a></p>
<p>“Hmmm. No, you may not hide behind me and my camera. Go buy your own protective gear, cheap-ass!” *shove*</p>
<p>I did what I had to do to survive.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-6-10241.jpg" rel="lightbox[5541]"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5558" title="a zombie spock! haha! spock was a caucasian, dummy!" src="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/plugins/image-shadow/cache/010f7fc247fad962e1dbb1b08b39ac2b.jpg" alt="a zombie spock! haha! spock was a caucasian, dummy!" width="550" height="413" /></a></p>
<p>Eventually, I came to the conclusion that unprovoked, the zombies really just want to walk around complaining loudly about a lack of dietary cerebellum. That’s pretty much it. Only if you shove people into the throng will you get a reaction.</p>
<p>But, you know, I did what I had to do to survive. I’m not saying I’m proud of it.</p>
<p>Haha! Watching people turn into zombies is <em>awesome</em> though! The first symptom of zombiedom is a total loss of memory. Well, yeah. No brain!</p>
<p>“That’s right, fella, you’re with the rest of them! Yeah, good brains to you too!”</p>
<p>*yoink!*</p>
<p>And now I move in style :D</p>
<p><a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-7-10241.jpg" rel="lightbox[5541]"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5559" title="definitely worth a few bystanders!" src="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/plugins/image-shadow/cache/1751dd01056be33973508f261def365d.jpg" alt="definitely worth a few bystanders!" width="550" height="733" /></a></p>
<p>And sometimes you just need to direct the zombie’s attention away just because it’s kinda gross. Take the next gal (“that’s a girl in there?!”, someone exclaimed), for example:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-4-1024.jpg" rel="lightbox[5541]"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5560" title="i ... didn't ask" src="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/plugins/image-shadow/cache/fcd5f812001994eef3c85d2657a41511.jpg" alt="i ... didn't ask" width="550" height="413" /></a></p>
<p>Yeah, the “hands” are pretty creepy, and then there’s the chicken on the head. No thanks. Shove a sacrifice thataway and the zombie follows. It’s all about keeping it simple, effective, to the point. And grabbing the wallet before she gets her highly impractical “hands&#8221; on him.</p>
<p>Anyhow, the denouement of this story is a bit of a snooze so I won’t bore you with it. Needless to say, camera and hapless strangers helped to ease the journey until I eventually found myself outside the pack, and stumbled wearily back home.</p>
<p>But I don’t want to leave you with a totally bad impression; the undead population includes some interesting personalities so at least one of them was bound to show up at some point:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-10-1024.jpg" rel="lightbox[5541]"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5561" title="zombie jesus is risen. rejoice!" src="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/plugins/image-shadow/cache/7393c60b07bd6ab8fcf107e5553ffa3d.jpg" alt="zombie jesus is risen. rejoice!" width="550" height="413" /></a></p>
<p>There you have it, a Halloween tale to scare the pants off your friends. The attractive ones. And for that extra depantsing kick, you can tell them that most of it <em>really</em> happened! And for a small fee, I can even corroborate <em>your</em> presence in this  tightly-woven, <em><strong>explosive</strong></em> narrative. That’s guaranteed pantlessness!</p>
<p>You know how to <a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/about/" target="_self">get a hold of me</a>.</p>
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		<title>How not to eat infants in a civilized manner, part 1</title>
		<link>http://www.torontocitylife.com/2009/10/26/how-not-to-eat-infants-in-a-civilized-manner-part-1/</link>
		<comments>http://www.torontocitylife.com/2009/10/26/how-not-to-eat-infants-in-a-civilized-manner-part-1/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:30:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Patrick</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[B Sides]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pictures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2009]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[halloween]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kensington market]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[march]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[street]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[toronto]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zombie walk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zombies]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.torontocitylife.com/?p=5508</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A lot of people don’t know this, but Toronto has a terrible zombie problem. Most of the year they’re not really a nuisance; they pick through trash looking for brains and whatnot, but they mostly keep to themselves. But for the past seven years they’ve taken to the streets in an organized march. Every year [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A lot of people don’t know this, but Toronto has a terrible zombie problem. Most of the year they’re not really a nuisance; they pick through trash looking for brains and whatnot, but they mostly keep to themselves. But for the <a href="http://www.torontozombiewalk.ca/" target="_blank">past seven years</a> they’ve taken to the streets in an organized march.</p>
<p>Every year they keep demanding brains (like that’s gonna happen!) and better severance.<a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-9-1024.jpg" rel="lightbox[5508]"><br />
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5517" title="yeah, that &quot;give him a hand&quot; thing's been done to death." src="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/plugins/image-shadow/cache/6905a64941c30df87bf45a2380c37a11.jpg" alt="yeah, that &quot;give him a hand&quot; thing's been done to death. so's being &quot;handy&quot; to be around." width="550" height="413" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
<p>One of the things that shocked me about the whole thing was how punctual the zombies were. These days I’ve come to expect events starting thirty minutes to an hour late. But on Saturday, the undead were off and moving at 3:30 sharp.</p>
<p>Also shocking is the size of the demonstration, not to mention the aggressiveness of the group:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-1-1024.jpg" rel="lightbox[5508]"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5518" title="that's what you get for trespassing on ttc property!" src="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/plugins/image-shadow/cache/ee7305864535733df4c26f1e8d2b9e43.jpg" alt="that's what you get for trespassing on ttc property!" width="550" height="413" /></a></p>
<p>I only escaped unharmed because of one amazing fact. That I will share with you tomorrow. You see, the march was so prolific, I simply have no choice but to milk it for two whole posts. Besides, some of the zombies put so much effort into the event, I feel it’s only fair to give them a little air time:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-6-1024.jpg" rel="lightbox[5508]"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5519" title="zombie? there's a visine for that!" src="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/plugins/image-shadow/cache/cfbfea8e39684628e0021c331c9aaf1a.jpg" alt="zombie? there's a visine for that!" width="550" height="413" /></a></p>
<p>One guess as to what this fellow was demonstrating for. Yup, brains. I don’t get it, are they <em>that</em> tasty?</p>
<p><span id="more-5508"></span>They probably have no idea what they <em>really</em> want. I mean, they pick their leader based on who’s got an extra appendage:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-5-1024.jpg" rel="lightbox[5508]"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5520" title="i don't think that even belongs to him" src="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/plugins/image-shadow/cache/2bcdc866318f949a5dcacf269f102f99.jpg" alt="i don't think that even belongs to him" width="550" height="413" /></a></p>
<p><!--more-->What I found particularly interesting was that while zombies don’t have the wherewithal or the sense to eat infants in a <em>civilized</em> manner, they nonetheless possess the forethought to pack an umbrella for the impending rain:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-8-1024.jpg" rel="lightbox[5508]"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5521" title="better with ketchup, i bet" src="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/plugins/image-shadow/cache/4854aaaf5a3a0e7af4a62c66213318d1.jpg" alt="better with ketchup, i bet" width="550" height="413" /></a></p>
<p>You may be thinking that I escaped this terrible occasion because of the security forces attending the route. Haha! Wow, you’re <em>so</em> wrong. The security forces were useless. When they managed to hit their targets, it wasn’t in the head, so the zombies just got back up and kept on going. In fact, I don’t think the personnel were shooting <em>anything</em> by the number of zombies they managed to kill: zero!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-7-1024.jpg" rel="lightbox[5508]"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5522" title="they're already dead, don't shot them in the gut!" src="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/plugins/image-shadow/cache/0f3bcffdd1a4af56ef04c24391744671.jpg" alt="they're already dead, don't shot them in the gut!" width="550" height="413" /></a></p>
<p>Perched snipers seemed to have the same problem, and many of the security weren’t even armed. And the posts they gave them to guard … who thought of that?!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-3-1024.jpg" rel="lightbox[5508]"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5523" title="this should be a concern" src="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/plugins/image-shadow/cache/cacee0bff237c48916af1f5b8d4f6d4a.jpg" alt="this should be a concern" width="550" height="733" /></a></p>
<p>This guy managed to stand his ground for a little while. He beat down the first zombie that managed to climb up and then, wisely, decided to ditch his post:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-2-1024.jpg" rel="lightbox[5508]"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5524" title="if you've been paying attention, guns don't stop them. kicks probably won't either." src="http://www.torontocitylife.com/wp-content/plugins/image-shadow/cache/1b73d3ae075880fcf7167276748e202c.jpg" alt="if you've been paying attention, guns don't stop them. kicks probably won't either." width="550" height="413" /></a></p>
<p>He jumped into a nearby dumpster which proved to be even <em>less</em> effective in protecting against zombies. And they want <em>his</em> brains?</p>
<p>In the end he managed to rip free from their clutches and beat a hasty retreat around the corner of the building yelling, “28 days later!”</p>
<p>And then, the few civvies left were alone in a sea of zombies. We pushed through the crowd with whatever we could. Just when I thought I’d run out of compatriots to shove into the straining arms of the hordes, I discovered something incredible.</p>
<p>Tomorrow, the amazing tale of how I managed to preserve my voluminous brain; the secret to keeping zombies <strong>off</strong> you. You’re not gonna wanna miss it!</p>
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