Movie Review: Goodbye World

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Mark Zeiger

Imagine my delight when, smack dab in the middle of another if my frequent Apocalyptic/Post Apocalyptic fiction binges, a new movie came out called Goodbye World (paid link). In it, friends of a young family (wife, husband and daughter, no less) who live off grid descend on their compound after a global upheaval. The general assessment that the story was basically The Big Chill (paid link) for a younger generation played out in the first days of a major crisis, sounded just fine to me.

The film did poorly at the box office, so the DVD released shortly afterward. Before very long, I got my chance to see the movie. Continue reading →

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A New Toad Sighting

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Mark Zeiger

On a recent sunny day, I stood in the cleft in the rocks that form our Power Point, the promontory that holds our wind generators and solar panels. A small expanse of gravel between two low walls of dark stone gathers and reflects heat. I maintain our primary firewood drying rick there to take advantage of this.

Limbs of nearby spruce trees overhang one end of the dip. Native grasses, pineapple weed, and other wild growth sprout beneath them in summer.

I don’t recall what errand took me there, or why I stood looking at these branches, but suddenly, the weeds agitated and swam before my eyes. I saw motion, and what appeared to be a long, thin animal pushing through the plants away from me. I couldn’t make sense of I saw until too late: a rather large toad, exquisitely camouflaged, “ran” from me, stretching out its long hind legs to make its way. Continue reading →

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