Pashley's First Train Ride.

I have a thing for zombie movies. It all started one Halloween when I had a little party for pumpkin carving. We lit up the pumpkins afterwards and all watched the original Dawn of the Dead by jack-o-lantern light. It was great! Especially the movie. Afterwards I couldn't stop thinking about which mall I would head to in Edmonton, in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Then I would think about which friends I would want to have with me, and who would be useful in such a situation. Don even bought me a pink aluminum bat as one of my Christmas gifts last year.

Naturally, when I saw a preview for Zombieland I knew I had to go see it. Even if it's a bad zombie movie, I'll still go see it for the purposes of reconnaissance. And for the record, I hate the ones with really fast zombies. I just don't understand how evolution would allow zombies to be that fast... like the ones in 28 Weeks Later? Terrifying.

Every now and then I need to watch a feel good zombie movie like Sean of the Dead or Fido to remind me that it's not real... ha... ha... (nervous laughing).

Last summer my friend lent me his copy of World War Z. I'm sure you can all imagine what it's about. It's basically a collection of fictional testimonials from survivors of WWZ. There is this one guy in it who doesn't get bitten by zombies because he travels by bike! He doesn't get stuck on the major highways or streets that are clogged up with deserted cars. He can travel for long distances without getting tired. He can carry cargo. And he can go way faster than the shuffling undead. You can guess what I'm going to be taking in the event of a zombie apocalypse... the only question will be which bike. I've often debated what bike would make the best post-apocalyptic ride. Suggestions?

In one of the narratives, dogs were also trained to help in zombie fighting. They would jump on zombies to knock them down or bite the zombies' ankles. Once the zombie is out of commission the human can destroy the brain or remove the head! Can't you all just imagine Dougal as a wonderful zombie killing accomplice?

Back to the movie.

I had limited time to get to the theatre after work, so I did a bike-train combo to maximize my speed. It was Pashley's first time on the train. That's her up there waiting on the platform.

The movie was entertaining. Not my favourite Z movie, but I had lots of fun seeing it with my people. I also love going to the theatre downtown because it's one of the few in the city that isn't crawling with people I find insufferable. Do you know the people I'm talking about? Dumb people who talk really loudly. People who text throughout the movie. There seems to be a higher concentration of these losers at the theaters out in the big box complexes. The theatre downtown is more often hits than misses. Other than the little boutique theaters in Edmonton, downtown is my place for mainstream listings.

Also, my mom was a model in a city centre spring campaign three years ago and there's STILL one last poster of her hanging outside of the downtown cinema. Here I am attempting to recreate her look.





It's nice to take the train with friends. They take the bike on the elevator and hold Pashley for me while I'm relaxing.





Sometimes they sit on her too.






On the way home I sat on the bike, held on to the train with my left hand, and used my right hand to brake so I wouldn't fall over. There was this girl ogling either the bike or the shoes or who knows... but I was just happy to add to the urban landscape.

I get so tired of seeing really loud 14 year old kids overcompensating in the presence of their friends. Generally they will be sitting on their bmx (with pegs) and will be pontificating with the frequent use of the word, "bitch," and other things of the like, with outside voices. Sigh.

Sometimes I'm not sure what I fear more. The movie zombies who eat brains, or real life zombies that don't know how to use their brains.