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Zombie warning road signs in Austin, TX?
Posted by ThriftShopRomantic • 1/30/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: austin texas, funny road signs, hackers, zombie plaque, zombies
Did you hear about the road signs in Austin which began warning commuters about a zombie plague ahead?
Heh, no, I'm telling the truth... that's what the signs said...
cabbages-n-kings.blogspot.com/2009/01/signs-of-zombies-and-my-new-zombie.ht...
So-- do you think it was really hackers, or simply an in-depth conspiracy to avoid a panicked public? You decide. 
User Comments
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I think maybe there really WERE zombies in the area, then they tried to cover it up on the news by saying it was hackers... BEWARE everyone... remember you heard it from me! -
See, that was my theory as well. An elaborate conspiracy to keep it hushed while they tried to contain it.
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LOL Yeah, I didn't read your post until after I posted my above comment. We think alike, Jenn -- THAT is what should disturb you...
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I lose sleep over that, Rooster. I really do.
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I agree. There was probably one right-minded rogue agent working in the Texas DOT who wanted to tell the truth, and what happened to him? They must have fed him to the zombies.
Hey, I went to Canada once and they had all these signs on the freeway saying 'Depressed Storm Drains.' Maybe it was because of the shorter days up there. You'd think they could maybe pour some Zoloft on the road with all the cheap Canadian drugs they have. -
Very possibly a case of seasonal affective disorder, I agree.
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What? No one believes that zombies come out at night anymore? Honestly!-
Well, they don't come out in the day!!! -
That depends on what kind of zombies...
The zombie like creatures in "I am" certainly didn't, nor in "The Dawn of the Dead" or "Attack of the Zombies".
But they did come out in "Resident Evil" and "Shawn of the Dead" and "28 Weeks Later".
it's just a matter of brand, my dear -
I don't know... Dawn of the Dead... Day of the Dead... Night of the Living Dead... They're pretty 24-7.
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Yes, I agree. I think the only tell tale difference is if the zombism was caused by nuclear meltdown, radiation, plague or magical necromancy of some sort....
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Your usual slow, shuffling zombie tends to be more of a night person... With the exception of it being in the London suburbs.
Faster, more hip and happening zombies seem to be a bit more diverse, and less schedule-oriented. -
I wonder what it is in the 'burbs that makes a difference?
Is it the water? The perfectly cut grass? Lawn chemicals?
Lawn gnomes?! -
Probably the same bored routines we all face. "Sean of the Dead" for instance, proved that there is very little difference between a weary commuter in the morning and the undead.
I agree with that. -
I think it's probably the local beer. -
Another good theory.
If the Steelers win the Superbowl on Sunday, we'll be seeing a lot of zombie hoards of that kind here, in fact.
Some of them prone to slurring, "I love you, man."
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I am a zombie each and every morning for about an hour. It's genetic - I passed it down to my daughter. I am involved in a mixed race relationship with a man who is "one of the living."
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How is that working out for you?
Do you, for instance, have a nice selection of breakfast brains for you and then nuke something preprepared for him? -
TSR- I own a brain-shaped jello mold that I use every Halloween. I tell the partiers it's only jello.
As a matter of fact, hubby does get nuked dinners quite often (he comes home late alot, barely escaping the other zombies). He got one last night! -
Sounds like you've found a good process that works for you. I think if more people could look at the commonalities instead of the differences, you'd be seeing human-zombie relationships on the rise.
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Ha ha I left this comment:
You're just not looking undead enough! I think the ketchup is gonna be too obvious and we don't want you smelling like a hot dog vendor. My suggestion corn syrup mixed with a little blue and red food coloring, you know not that I've been giving this thought.
And to answer you're question you know it's a conspiracy this is why I am stocking up on my white bread and 2%- ha ha
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Yeah, I've heard similar comments of me not looking undead enough in the post...
Fortunately, a friend of mine just photoshopped my pic into zombiefication-- a lovely job he did, so I've updated the post to reassure those so kindly concerned on my behalf.
Glad you're stocking up!
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That was a great piece, TSR--I left you a comment.-
Thanks, Melinda! I know the hacking was a 3rd level misdemeanor, but I have to say, if I'd been driving past those road signs, that just about would have made my commute!
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I hate to break up the theory, but BoingBoing had a "how to hack road notification signs" post in which the pictured sign read just that. I suspect it was a copy-cat (or a group thereof). Nobody reads those signs, so why would anyone put useful information on them?!
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That Boing-Boing article was just a governmental smokescreen designed to give credibility to the hacking theory.
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That makes sense. I knew those Boing-Boing people had to have federal infiltrators in their midst. This just proves it. Thanks for setting me straight. Now, where did I put that shotgun?
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No problem. I just didn't want you to have a false sense of security during something so critical.
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Those are much more exciting than our road signs if ours were hijacked they would still be dull "Cold out,isn't it." and "There's a documentary about Victorian jugs on radio 2 now."-
The artisanship and the guild politics involved with Victorian jugs, though, are rife with intrigue.
Frankly, I can't believe the topic hasn't been split off into its own channel. -
Victorian jugs on pay per view might be misconstrued.
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Heh, yes, possibly.
Guest to hotel desk manager: "I paid $4.00 extra for... crockery?!" -
Hotel manager with a sneer "You filthy bastard, have you people no shame!"
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At last, zombies have been officially recognised. I see them quite often in my line of work - no longer scared. Good to put up signs for the people who might be though. Maybe there will be Beware of the Aliens signs next.-
Now they have to get civil rights. That's the hard part.
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Yes, we seem to have more of them at work on Fridays and Mondays... I wonder why.
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I have zombies who get on my bus frequently Oh wait it is possible they are just heavily medicated -
Ha! Yes, I recall taking mass transit regularly-- heavily medicated or zombie... really could go either way.
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Thanks, Margo!
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Hey, Zombies have a right to live, too. Don't you know Austin's theme? "Keep Austin Weird". We love our city.-
You guys also have the Austin LoungeLizards, who are terrifically funny.
I was, however, unaware of your "weirdness" proclamation.
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Haha...I made a comment for this one your blog. -
Wow, someone necroposted this thread from January. Zombie-riffic.-
Heh- I know-- I savored the taste of irony on this one.
At least the person who did it was on-topic, though, and not just spam. -
We haven't had a good zombie thread in a while though. You used to be quite prolific with the Zombie oriented advice.
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Yes, I'm saving up for it.
I'm waiting to read the Jane Austen and Zombies book and possibly see Zombieland, and see what posts stem from that.
I like to pace my zombie-oriented posts, or else my blog will have to be called:
"Of Cabbages and Kings... And a Hoard of Zombies."
Which, while it has a certain ring, is a bit wordy as a URL. -
I read that! It was zombie-kicking fun. I enjoyed it immensely. There is a follow up to that: "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters". Jane Austen meets 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
I wonder if Jane Austen is rolling over in her grave at the whole sub-category of popular literature she has spawned. On a recent trip to my local independent bookseller, I found at least half a dozen "sequels" to P&P involving Darcy and Lizzy's daughters, Darcy's sister, and Lizzy's remaining sisters. -
I did not know there was a sequel.
I did know about the first book because apparently I've gotten a strange reputation as being the blogger of zombie humor, and people kept asking, "Hey- did you hear about--?"
I haven't tried anything with sea monsters yet, though. -
I have to admit, I didn't like the imagery of Colonal Brandon as the squid face guy from "Pirates of the Carribean".
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I somehow don't think she'd find the funny in it, but who knows?
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I don't know, I think Jane was quite a witty lady. She might find it amusing.
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If her stories were just a little more gothic, I'd say she might.
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Hmm, that's is what your next novel should be.
Wuthering Heights and zombies.
It practically writes itself... -
Ah, yes-- "Catherine's Back (from the Grave)... With a Taste For Revenge."
I keep picturing actor Bruce Campbell as a swaggering, sarcastic Heathcliff, in a ruffled shirt, with a shotgun in one hand and swinging a shovel in the other.
I need to stop watching so many Netflix. -
That is so perfect! Jamie Lee Curtis as Catherine?
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I'd probably choose Fairuza Balk. A little less upbeat than Jamie.
There are already anger management issues in Wuthering Heights. -
Oh my god, I forgot all about her.
From the weirdly unhinged Dorothy to the weirdly unhinged witch in that movie whose title I can't remember. Do you remember seeing her in "Valmont"? I thought that was such a strange role for her, as naive ingenue she is not.
That entire movie was strangely cast. Annette Bening? Colin Firth? No offense to Milos Forman, but ghastly is the word I would use. -
No, I missed that one. (Just looked it up, though to see what you were meaning.) Yes, I don't picture her in period films... or at least not ones without zombies.
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Did you ever see "Return to Oz"? That was a children's movie that gave me nightmares. I remember the scene where the witch changes her head. That movie and Neil Jordan's "In the Company of Wolves" gave me nightmares.
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No, but I know the film you mean. I didn't realize that was her.
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I need to go and verify if I did in fact absorb the advice from my Zombie's Survival Guide. -
These Zombies were spotted in January. Are they still there? -
That's awesome. LOL -
sleep medication induced sleep-walkers - that's what they are -
If you know anything about Austin Texas, then you know they were Not Zombies, but a wandering band of hippies. Probably come up from "Hippie Hollow". But then, the sign did not say they were naked. So they were probably from "in town", and just wandered out onto the highway. They do that quite a bit down there. Depends on the quality of drugs going around which, hey, come to think of it; Drugs? Hippies? Zombies? Oh I think there maybe some similarities going on here.
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I lived in Austin for many years. You may have seen me reading Tarot Cards on 6th Street. That sounds very Austinish. I'm down for Ausin, Texas. Actually, that is the only city in Texas I am down for.
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