Last night Senior and I finally sat down and watched "American Blackout" on National Geographic.We recorded it on the DVR over a week ago at the suggestion of Harry Flashman.
Holy cow !
It was every thing Harry said it was and more. It was very realistic, and made Senior and I both stop and think that this scenario could be reality, and about how our own preps are going.
While I knew they were actors, you got in to the lives of the characters and the scenarios that they faced. I found myself rooting for the good guys, and wanting to slap the faces of the stupid people.
Since I recorded it, I fast forwarded through commercials, just so I could see what happened next.
During and after the show we talked about how as a country we are so dependent with our electronics, that is almost like a love affair. The computer age was all ready in the making with the very first IBMs and APPLEs, but along came the mid 90s and that is when technology really began its upward climb. The public has things like Facebook, twitter and instagram to where they can post every thing they do in their lives. I can't get over how much people are dependent on these things. I' ve looked at friends Twitter accounts, and it amazes me how they are just so addicted to it all. Then there is how much electricity and water we as a nation use every day, it is simply mind blowing.. And when all those things are suddenly just cut off...the reaction of the people is chaos.
I went to bed with it all on my mind, and I woke up with it on my mind, All day I have thought about it. And the lingering question of "Could you imagine" ? has been there. That is a question though I all ready know the answer too because it has happened with the 2003 Northeast Blackout, Katrina, and Super Storm Sandy- it is only a matter of time before it happens again.
I suggest if you have not seen the show..then it will be re-aired on Wednesday November 13 @ 9pm.
-JUGM
Ya know I wasn't all that impressed by the show. For one thing the elevator situation was completely unrealistic in my opinion. I admit my experience is limited to only a few buildings and local laws but I always assumed those fail safe and escape measures were an OSHA type national thing and that building they were in was too new to have missed them.
ReplyDeleteI must admit I smiled when the yuppie couple got their taste of reality.
The survivalist family scenario also kinda bothered me. With the kind of money he obviously had you would have thought he would have designed the entrance to the bunker to allow coverage of the court yard without going outside. That bunker had a concrete building around the entrance with everything else he thought of why not that? If losing the fuel was such a problem why did someone who paid attention to so many other details leave that out?
If anything I think the show did not go far enough or mean enough.
I thought it was good, because it could make a person think about the potential of it happening.
DeleteSenior and I both questioned the elevator scenario...he thought the newer ones have a sort of hydralics that would lower it slowly.
I wanted to slap the yuppie couple. The preppers, I do agree...if they had all that money why not have your important commodity such as the fuel better secured, and why would you let your little kid do security at 1am.....
they could have showed more carnage, and it was too much "the government swooping in on a white horse" for everything to suddenly be okay again..
While it was TV, just shows you how dependent people are modern convienences...have those thing suddenly taken away and they are lost and chaos ensues
I thought it was ok. Not perfect, but better than watching a rerun of Walker Texas Ranger for the umpteenth time. I detested the Sheeple in the 47th floor apartment. My brother watched the show and he said the best part was when the home invaders broke in and got them.
ReplyDeleteI want to see the British version, which I haven't been able to find over here yet.
like I told PP...I wanted to slap the people on the 47th floor.. once he got cut by opening the can, I knew what would happen.
Deleteit was better then most things on TV...
hmmm a British version..may need to look for that as well.
If that one got to you, go read SM Stirling... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/116445.Dies_the_Fire
ReplyDeleteI have been looking for some new stuff to read. Thanks for the link! Now I know what I am going to buy
DeleteAhhh you mean the one where the SCA "nobles" and the Tolkien fans take over most of America? Except for the devil worshipers disguised as Crusader Jesus freaks known as the CUT (Christ Universal and Triumphant).
DeleteLOL I actually liked those books but for entirely different reasons.
I'll have to catch it next week. The whole San Diego area had a blackout back in 2011 on one of the hottest days of the summer; some worker at the electric company switched the wrong switch or something and lights went out so to speak. Our power was off for about 12 hours, some came back sooner, some later, but most were back on in that 12 hour mark. What struck me during the time was how people banded together to help others, checking in on older neighbors to make sure they were safe, people outside fellowshipping with each other, families playing board games together, etc. Lesson I learned was to eat the ice cream first in the freezer and not try to save it, wondering how long the power would be off :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, it did open people's eyes to being more prepared for emergencies like this. My husband always is so he started getting this and that together with flashlights, candles, etc.
And of course traffic was a nightmare driving home that day on the freeway and side streets since no stop lights were working .
We are spoiled indeed with our electricity availability and water too.
betty
In this movie the blackout is nationwide. It starts out like you described, but then as the realization hits that power is not coming back on, you start seeing a different side to people and how desperate they get after a few days of it....
DeleteJUGM,
ReplyDeleteHubby and I wanted to watch it and something came up. We will go back on the Nation Geographic website and run it to the TV to watch.
Granted several area's across the US have experienced loss of power for periods of time due to weather situations. If this country were to lose total power from an EMP, most Americans(not those who have prepared) wouldn't know what to do with themselves.