Hello? Neil? Are you out there? We’re sorry for thinking that you’re a paranoid militiaman wannabe. Fine, you want to hear us say it? You were right. Now please come and get us out of here!
Strauss’s recent book, Emergency, chronicles the former New York Times writer’s preparation for the cataclysmic breakdown in civil society, whether from famine, war, economic breakdown or pestilential bacon flu. Although it occasionally suffers from being a bit too self-indulgent, the book does offer many tips on how to go about ducking the apocalypse. We spoke to him a few months ago about how he would get out of certain fictional end-of-days scenarios. His answers can be found here.
It is the American way to capitalize on every single news cycle (much like I’m doing right now) to the greatest possible extent. So it should’ve surprised me not at all, in light of our latest health crisis, when yesterday I received an e-mail from a company called Ice-Qube, offering “preparedness kits,” a typical unit including batteries, face shield, flashlight, garbage bags, Ice-Qube emergency planner card, pack of Life Savers, Mylar blanket, poncho, toothbrush and water container. Kits are $4.99–$9.99, depending on the number of “face shields” you need. It’s probably best to get several, as you never know when SARS will make a comeback. Now, what’s missing from this list? First of all, if matters descend in to an Old Testament nightmare, I’m going to want some kind of firearm.
Some other thoughts on what should be included in an End of Days bag after the break.
As the number of swine flu victims continues to climb (according to reports on Monday night, 28 of the 40 reported U.S. cases are in New York City!), we’re on the hunt for ways to protect ourselves. Ways that don’t involve wearing those silly little masks.
1. Use hand sanitizers
The Purell hype might seem quieter these days, but while most companies seem to be losing money, its parent company reported earnings of $12.9 billion in 2008 (up 18.3 percent from 2007). And for good reason, too. According to a Harvard Medical School study, families that used alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel (like Purell) had 59 percent fewer gastrointestinal illnesses, compared with families that didn’t use sanitizer.
All right, people, nobody panic. We’ve dealt with virulent strains of deadly viruses before, and damn it, we can do it again. All we have to do is hunker down, tape up the windows and periodically send out interns to see if it’s safe. While you’re holed up in your office or home trying to avoid God’s rind-flavored plague, you might as well catch up on some reading. Here’s a list of upbeat books to help keep your mind off this year’s plague (bird flu is so 2008):
Ghost Map, by Steven Johnson Johnson, a far-ranging thinker who once sought to prove that video games are good for you, explored the unhappy marriage of cholera and London in his book Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic—And How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World. Cholera is a bitch, apparently.
For just $19.97 a year, you'll get hundreds of listings and free events each week, plus our special issues and guides, including Cheap Eats, Great Spas, Fall Preview, Holiday Gift Guide and more!
Time Out New York respects your privacy. We will only use your e-mail address in order to contact
you regarding to your subscription and to send you our weekly e-newsletter. We will not share this information with anyone.
Hello? Neil? Are you out there? We’re sorry for thinking that you’re a paranoid militiaman wannabe. Fine, you want to hear us say it? You were right. Now please come and get us out of here!
All right, people, nobody panic. We’ve dealt with virulent strains of deadly viruses before, and damn it, we can do it again. All we have to do is hunker down, tape up the windows and periodically send out interns to see if it’s safe. While you’re holed up in your office or home trying to avoid God’s rind-flavored plague, you might as well catch up on some reading. Here’s a list of upbeat books to help keep your mind off this year’s plague (bird flu is so 2008):