The "swine flu."

A couple of months ago I read World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War mostly because a friend of mine read the jacket and asked himself, "When did this happen? I'm a well-read individual. I keep up with current events and know a thing or two about history. How come I never heard about this?"

That still cracks me up.

Anyway, I came across this book in the library and decided to give it a read. I was surprised at how much I liked it. I was never a big fan of horror or zombie movies. I did like Dawn of the Dead (2004), Shaun of the Dead, and I Am Legend (of course) but that was the extent of it. After reading this book however, zombie stories now intrigue me. I have always been a fan of stories that take place after a cataclysm and how people struggle to survive. Zombie stories seem to put a fresh twist on this genre for me. If you haven't read it, I recommend you pick up a copy and give it a go.

I am currently reading The Zombie Survival Guide by the same author, Max Brooks. It's pretty good so far. I like that it puts some logic behind the whole fantasy of zombies. It reminds me of the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual which does the same thing for the Enterprise.

Since I've had zombies on the brain recently (no pun intended), I can't help but see the parallels between the current swine flu outbreak and the impending zombie apocalypse. I recommend mentally switching out the words "swine flu" with "zombie plague" whenever you come across it in the news. It puts an interesting twist on things.

Remember, containment is key.