HORDE #5 BREAKING 200!

What's occurrin' then?

Zombtober felt a little short this year, with almost a full week left of the month after the final Sunday deadline. Although I've still been painting zombies and survivors, I thought that this was a prime opportunity to catch up with a horde progress report. I hope other participants also take full advantage of this "bonus" time.

The welcome wagon needs to be dragged out of the storage shed. It's been given a wash, oiling and has balloons and streamers added! Why? Well it's a special occasion, my 50th follower! So, as is usual, let's have a big BZA welcome for my latest follower Bullcher Feb. WELCOME BULLCHER! He runs the Waaagghhh! blog, go check it out, it's really good. Buckle up Bullcher this journey is going to take awhile yet!

Amongst all the excitement and stuff, we can't forget the cultural mission. You know the one by now! So with out further ado, I present another great piece by stayinwonderland. Again more of a landscape or panorama, I must say I'm enjoying the change. This picture is entitled Infected zombie RPG artwork #2. Enjoy!

INFECTED #2

My fifth horde update, yes it has been quite a while since the last one. That's down to me making and painting other things to try and get this game off and running. I think it's going to be a little while yet, I appreciate your patience.

I'd completely lost count of how many zombies I'd painted for this project. Well as the title says, I've broken the two hudred barrier. Two hundred and two to be exact. It's great to say that Zombtober helped immensely getting my over that milestone!

Anyway enough gabble, on with the pictures!

THE HORDE IN ALL IT'S GLORY. LOL.

So after taking the group shot, my official photographer then took a few close ups of different parts of the horde.

SOMEWHERE ON THE RIGHT.

Yes, that's an old Heroquest mummy. He was at a Fancy Dress Party on zed day!

SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE.

Below is a selection of crawlers, don't know how many I'll need but there's loads in Rue Morgue.

SOMEWHERE ALONG THE FRONT.

Although there's a lot of repeat sculpts, I hope for now that my different colour schemes are enough to provide diversity. My conversion skills are not the best so for now they will have to do.

SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE AGAIN.

So that's my close to Zombtober, the end of the month at least. It actually feels like I'm getting somewhere. I've so much more left to paint! Half the TCM Toxic zombies, all the Prison Outbreak zombies, Rue Morgue zombies, loads more VIP zombies and  over half the stuff that came as part of the Infected kickstarter box. That's not including the survivors and zombivors! Let's just say, I'll be painting zombies for a fair bit yet.

Wow man! Is TWD ramping it up or what, best season yet!?!

Well, I guess that's all I got for this time dudes and dudettes. So until next time, try taking a leaf out of the DUDE'S book and "take it easy".

ZOMBTOBER 2015 WEEK #4.

What's occurrin' then?

Still ticking over steadily this week, this years Zombtober has felt quite manageable compared to last year when everything felt rushed and last minute. It's also really helped my get back to painting and keep me on track the last few weeks. Also discovered some new bloggers and their blogs, which I find the bonus side effect of the event. Gotta spread the infection, right? I think what I'm trying to say is that I enjoyed the whole experience much more than last year. Congratulations to everybody who took part and a big thanks to those who dropped by and made this year's event fun to be a part of.

Pressing on with the cultural mission, it is my pleasure to bring a new artist to your attention. He's a digital artist called Andy Walsh but he uses the name stayinwonderland, so that's what I'll be calling him. A different style too, more landscape than portraits of zombies. All beautifully rendered too, as they say, a change is as good as a rest. This fine example is called Zombie Alley. Enjoy!

ZOMBIE ALLEY.

So, we come to the last of this year's Zombtober offerings. More V.I.P.s from the infected box that came with my season 3 Zombicide kickstarter. I'm pretty sure a couple of these were kickstarter exclusives too!

So we have, I assume a cosplayer dressed as Princess Leia in her slave girl outfit. Next, what would the zombie apocalypse be without an undead Santa Claus. Finally an iconic punk rocker to round out this week's selection.

MORE V.I.P.'S

We used the V.I.P.'s for only the second time last Wednesday, I must admit to liking the mechanic. You have to collect five different V.I.P. walkers, just keep them on your survivor's card when you kill them. When you have five, you can trade them in for one of the cards from a deck of special weapons. Your supposed to include all of the "pimp" weapons you have into this deck too.

I'M STILL PAINTING THE BACK OF THEM.

There's some really cool weaponry in this deck, a golden AK-47, a Thompson sub machine gun and a pink M4 to name just a few. Plus you get to use all your "pimp" weapons even if there's no pimpmobile on the game board.

To finish off Zombtober I wanted to paint something a bit special, so this is the second Skinner Abomination that came as part of the kickstarter deal. Like one's not enough, right!

ALTERNATE SKINNER SCULPT! HE'S A BADASS.

This guy is a nightmare to play against! Not only have the rules for him changed, (he has no toughness stat anymore), meaning only Molotov's, the flamethrower and Will's Comet Launcher will kill him. He's also able to drag survivors into his square from all adjacent squares at the end of the zombie phase. Like I said nightmare! I guess that's why he's got really long arms, all the better to drag you in with!

AGAIN, I'VE PAINTED THE BACK OF HIM!

A group shot of everything I've painted this Zombtober, not amazing numbers but I'm happy enough, plus it's done the job and got me back painting regularly. Now that's a result in my book!

CLEETUS LOOKS LIKE HE'S IN TROUBLE!

I must ask how is everybody enjoying the new season of TWD? I'm loving it!

Well, I guess that's all I got for this time dudes and dudettes. So until next time, be more like the DUDE and "take it easy".

ZOMBTOBER 2015 WEEK #3

What's occurrin' then?

Zombtober seems to be progressing smoothly here at the bunker, which is news in itself. After a rocky start, I seem to have settled into a steady rythm, not back to the production levels of last year but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

Our cultural mission, whilst continuing, has come to a turning point. This is the final piece of the magnificent Bryan Baugh's work I'm going to show you. Yes, it's sad but this leaves us room to discover other amazing artists working in the zombie genre. As a farewell, this example has not one but two of Bryan's damsels in distress. Although the girl with the axe doesn't look too distressed. This is another tribute to Dead at 17. Enjoy!

Knockout rugby started this weekend. Wales into the quarter finals against South Africa. After an epic encounter we unfortunately came up short. Yet another defeat to a southern hemisphere team. Arse! At least we weren't alone.

Wasn't sure what to paint this week, so I had a good rummage through my Zombicide season 3 kickstarter. I didn't want to paint another survivor but there was plenty of zombies to choose from. I finally selected some of the seeker zombies from the Angry Neighbours expansion.

Haven't used these guys in anger yet, their rules seem rather interesting, basically when a seeker card is drawn all the seeker zombies on the board get an extra move. Thankfully it's only one action, but several cards in a row could potentially see these guys motor around the board. Another interesting tactical wrinkle!

SEEKERS ARRIVE!

The seeker zombies look a little more animated and ragged than some of the zombies we've seen in the Zombicide range. I think it has something to do with their special role and the amount of time after the initial outbreak.

SEEKERS LEAVE!

I also picked out Elvis, or at least an Elvis impersonator. He's another V.I.P zombie, in this case though I think he was a kickstarter exclusive. As is usual he's a chubby "Vegas" Elvis, in a spangly jumpsuit.

I'M ALL SHOOK UP!

Every year in sunny Porthcawl, they hold an Elvis competition to determine the best Elvis impersonator. Competitors come from all over the world to take part.

My town has it's own enterant. He's been rather successful, having won the best Welsh Elvis three years running and has now qualified to enter the European competition.

So all that means I guess, is that this is my representation of Darren "Graceland" Jones. He did a promotional video for our local council back last winter called "In the depot", set to the tune of "In the ghetto". It's priceless and can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6UerjFCLdI

ELVIS IS LEAVING THE BUILDING!

Now it's time to drag the old welcome wagon back out of storage. It needs dusting and oiling. I urge you all to put your hands together and offer up a big BZA welcome to my latest follower Dai Dead. WELCOME DAI! Can't find a blog for you Dai, let me know if you have one. Buckle up the journey's taking a while.

Well, I guess that's all I got for this time dudes and dudettes. So until next time, try and do as the DUDE does and "take it easy".

ZOMBTOBER 2015 WEEK # 2.

What's occurrin' then?

After last week's drama, this week was pretty calm. I even managed to pick my pace up a little. Painting a survivor last time, just didn't sit right with me. This is called Zombtober after all, so back into my comfort zone, zombies it is!

I've finally re-watched the final two episodes of The Walking Dead. Season #5, in preparation for tomorrow's airing of Season #6. Episode 1. Anyone else as excited as I am? They are even showing the companion show, where they talk about the episode. I'm pretty sure it's called Talking Dead. We'll see how that goes too I guess.

Apart from TV, we are learning a little more about zombie art again We must remember the cultural mission we are currently on. So to that end I present you with another piece by the insanely talented Bryan Baugh. More monochromatic madness! Also featuring one his trademark damsel's in distress, almost sensibly dressed too. This lovely piece is entitled Cobweb Cave. Enjoy!

Well the rugby didn't go the way we wanted it to against the Aussies, at least they didn't score a try against us. I can take some comfort from that. Although we now have a ridiculously hard route to the final. We just have to beat the Springboks then the All Blacks to make it. A hard road indeed.

As I said, I picked my pace up a little this week. From a scrambled and last minute lone survivor, I managed to paint a relatively stress free three zombies. These zombies struck me as members of the late seventies, disco group Village People. These guys must have eaten the others, the cowboy and indian included. It made me smile, so I couldn't resist the reference.

DISCO FEVER IS OBVIOUSLY CONTAGIOUS.

Glorious sunshine, so we ventured up top to the outside world to take advantage of some natural lighting. A nice change from my usual dim yellow glow set up. If you squint a bit, they are even making the shapes M, C and A. The dance moves from their most famous hit Y.M.C.A. Hilarious!

SHAKE YOUR DISCO BOOTY!

All these guys come from the VIP #2 box, which isn't out for sale yet but I got these as part of the Zombicide season 3 kickstarter. Result!

There has been a really good response to Zombtober this year. It's been great to see everyone's work. And it's nice to see the infection growing with a few new participants.

Well, I guess that's all I got for this time dudes and dudettes. So until next time try and be more like the DUDE and "take it easy".

ZOMBTOBER 2015 WEEK #1. LATE AS USUAL!

What's occurrin' then?

These last few months I've really been struggling for motivation. To try and remedy this I've spent the last week watching all five series of The Walking Dead in preparation for the upcoming sixth season. It seems to have worked, I've actually picked up a paintbrush and started to flick paint onto mini's again. Look, I know they're late, but I got a really good excuse. Honest!

Even with all the excitement of Zombtober, we must not forget our usual cultural enrichment.  I hope your all enjoying the experience as much as I am. Another amazing piece of Bryan Baugh's work again this time. This fine work is called Blasted Zombie. Enjoy!

The Rugby World Cup is simmering nicely, we beat Fiji on Thursday, leaving us three wins from three games. Can't fault the boys at the moment. I must offer my commiserations to any England fans reading. I'll leave it at that!

Right then, about this good excuse. Well, my dog ate it! No honest! I've got a picture and everything. I'm sure your all thinking this is just a bad joke, where's the punchline. Sorry, but it's the truth. I'll direct your attention to the picture below, see evidence.

In the above photograph you'll notice that it wasn't the only casualty of my delinquent puppies mad rampage. Firstly we have my first week's entry, studiously and very carefully painted on Saturday. It was not in this condition when I went to bed Saturday night to dream of a Zombtober entry on time for once. Look back, you'll see what I mean! Even more disturbing is the pile of pieces next to it. This was formerly Mitch, a Zombicide survivor, came in a box of four figures, him, Uncle Honk and their zombivor's. My son bought me that!
Ffs! That's not including the bases and fences.

I remained surprisingly calm, given the situation that I awoke to Sunday morning. I swore for the rest of the morning, but only loudly for about two minutes, trust me, that's a result. She is only eight months old after all.

What was I to do? Luckily, I had been painting three figures, well I say painting, I'd basecoated three figures. You've already seen two of them.So instead of a nice relaxing Sunday just putting the final touches to the figure I'd painted the day before, posting it, then reading everybody's blog, who had entered this years event with a nice cup of coffee. It was spent madly painting the fellow below.

CLEETUS! I REALLY MUST START PAINTING EYES.

CLEETUS'S ASS!

He was painted yesterday but it was late and my official photographer was getting her beauty sleep. Nothing is worth rousing her mid-slumber, so I had to wait until  today.

I said he, how rude of me! His name is Cleetus, he's got that slack jawed mouth breather thing going on, he could be a survivor or a gang member. For now he's on his own, so he's a survivor!

Let's hope there's less drama next week.

Before I forget, it's time to drag the welcome wagon back out of storage to welcome my latest follower. So give a a big BZA welcome to da Grobbo Groto. WELCOME DA GROBBO GROTO. Strap yourself in this is becoming quite a long journey.

Well, I guess that's all I got for this time dudes and dudettes. So until next time, I urge you to be more like the DUDE and "take it easy".

A SLIGHTLY BETTER WEEK. ONLY SLIGHTLY.

A better week in terms of production, well slightly. Any how let's start with what has become  a regular feature, another piece of zombie art. I have actually recieved a couple of comments about it, so it can not be falling on deaf ears.

SHE'S STILL HOT! EVEN WITH ALL THE CRAP STICKING OUT OF HER. (OR BECAUSE OF? NOT SURE.)

I'm sure that nearly all of you will recognise Julie Walker (played by Melinda "Mindy" Clarke) from Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993, directed by Bryan Yuzna). Not the best of the franchise but this is a beautiful piece of art.

As many of you will have realised, Christmas is on it's way. This really isn't my favourite time of year (Bah Humbug!). I find it far too stressfull and it gets more expensive every year. (Shut up Ebeneezer!) I find this impacting my mood and my hobby, I just don't want to do anything. This year has been no different, but to have something to post has made me push on with firmly gritted teeth. The results are the zombies from Zombtober are finished. Yay me!

Right let's get on with the introductions. From Left to Right. Just for Mathyoo, a ginger zombie. She's made up from a Deadzone torso, Mantic arms, legs and head, with my last two Space Wolf ponytails to give the male head some girly hair. She'll be called fugly Unig. Next in line is another female zombie, my least favourite sculpt of all the Deadzone zombies. I don't think my paint job helps, she looks like She-Hulk but not as pretty. Her name is Anarawd. Last but not least is another Deadzone soldier painted as a S.W.A.T. officer, who goes by the name of Ynawg.

ZOMBTOBER ZOMBIES FINALLY FINISHED.

I guess that's one thing less on the WIP list, time to crack on with the other things.

THREE MORE ZOMBIES SHUFFLE OFF TO JOIN THE HORDE.

Well I guess that's it for now. So until next time dudes and dudettes, try and follow the DUDE'S teachings and "take it easy".7

ZOMBTOBER 2014 WEEK4

What an awful week! The flu outbreak warning, on my hazard tape decorations, has not been heeded and I find myself a victim. I'm pretty sure the adorable Mrs. K brought this strain of vicious superflu back with her from her last family visit to deepest, darkest Devon. Obviously, in my case it has mutated in to Welsh Man Flu, considered the most virulent and toxic strain of all Man Flu's.

As a result of my incapacitation production has taken a hit. I did manage something, just not as much as I had planned, prepped and almost completed for a Zombtober finale. That being said, every month is zombie month here at BZA so I'm sure you'll see them soon enough.

Right then, enough feeble excuses and on with the show. As has become regular we'll start with the introduction of an example of zombie art.

Another great piece by the outstanding GRIMBRO. I'm pretty sure most of you will recognise Tarman (played by actor and puppeteer Allan Trautman) from the 1985 movie The Return of the Living Dead, directed by Dan O'Bannon.  Allan Trautman made his name as a puppeteer working with Jim Henson and The Muppets.

Next order of business is to welcome some new followers. Time to drag the welcome wagon back out of the storage shed, dust it off and oil the squeaks, to welcome BZA's latest followers. We have three to welcome, so let's get on with it. First in line is Sean, WELCOME SEAN, he runs the Sean's Wargames Corner blog. Go check it out!
Next in line is Hunterpest, WELCOME HUNTERPEST, he runs Project Zeke Miniatures. Nice blog and he sells some cool mini's too.
Lastly, but not least is Roy Williamson. WELCOME ROY, he runs R W Hobby Blog. I think this is Roy aka gingerbhoy, he's had to set up a new blog having run in to technical trouble with his previous one.
Thanks for joining guys, get comfortable because this is going to take a long time.

Now, none of us like to admit to mistakes but it has been brought to my attention that I made a howler last post. It appears that I didn't tell you the zombies names, what an idiot. I would like to address this now.

THE NAMELESS ARE NAMED.

So the zombie in the prison overalls is Govannon and the zombie in the bloodied jeans is called Iwan. Thank you all for not pointing this out and making me feel like a bigger clown than I already do.

Now let's get to this week's feeble offering. Yet again another conversion involving a set of Studio plastic legs and a Mantic torso and arms, the head came from the Mantic Deadzone zombie sprue just to change things up a little.

So without further ado I present my final 2014 Zombtober entry, Pebin.

Hey, at least he's in focus this time.

A LONE STRAGGLER SHAMBLES IN FOR ZOMBTOBER ROLLCALL.

THE FINAL 2014 ZOMBTOBER ZOMBIE SHUFFLES OFF INTO THE SUNSET.

Well it ended with a whimper rather a bang, but it did get me back to painting again. It also introduced me to some like minded bloggers, who I never knew existed till Zombtober, which was great.

Here's hoping to see you all again next year, to see if my love of deadlines has improved (I seriously doubt it!) and my painting's got any better.(I doubt that too).

At BZA a zombie is not just for Zombtober, it's more of a lifestyle choice, so whenever you call in I'm sure there'll be zombies or something related to zombie wargames.

Well, all this excitement has left me exhausted so until next time dudes and dudettes, follow the DUDE'S example and "take it easy".

ZOMBTOBER 2014 WEEK 3 FASHIONABLY LATE.

Late for my own funeral, that's what the adorable Mrs. K always says I'll be. Bless her, she's bloody right though. I'm sure I mentioned last post that time management was not one of my strong points. I just like to pootle too much.
Anyway let's not make too much fuss I'm here now.

As has become the done thing, we'll kick off with an attempt to bring culture to the proceedings. So without further ado, I give you some zombie art.

THE BIG YIN HIMSELF.

Another piece by the excellent zombie artist GRIMBRO. I'm sure some of you dedicated zombiphiles will recognise the titular character Fido. From the 2006 horror-comedy, directed by Andrew Currie. Fido is played by none other than Billy Connolly. I'm now sure we have had enough culture for one post, on to the show and tell.

TWO MORE SHAMBLE IN FOR ZOMBTOBER ROLLCALL.

These two are simple little conversions. The first is a result of having seven torsos and five sets of legs on the Deadzone zombie sprue. I took one of the left over torsos and married it with Mantic fantasy zombie legs. Again to get around the problem of the ragged clothing, I painted it orange to look like a prison overall.

THESE LOOK ANNOYINGLY OUT OF FOCUS.

The second is a Mantic fantasy zombie torso, head and arms together with a Studio plastic set of legs. Cutting the Studio mini in half and cutting the torso to fit after. I have to thank Vampifan for the inspiration for this idea, following one of his recent posts, where he did it to a couple of Zombicide runners. Cheers Dude!

I really don't have anything else this time, dudes and dudettes. So until next time try and be like the DUDE and "take it easy".

ZOMBTOBER 2014 WEEK 2

WOW! Doesn't a week fly by when you've got a deadline to stick to. Time management was never one of my strong points, I'd just rather pootle along at my own pace, having breaks when I want. Having a deadline almost takes the fun out of painting, almost. Lot's to do so let's get on with it.

First order of business, to bring culture to the world of zombies. This shall be accomplished by the strategic use of zombie art. That's art with zombies in it for you at the back. This is another fine piece from my current favourite zombie artist GRIMBRO.

GIVE US A KISS!

Some of you may recognise the zombie nicknamed "Dr. Tongue" by Tom Savini from the opening scenes of the 1985 movie Day of the Dead. Despite a fair bit of research, I've been unable to find out who played him. If anybody knows the answer, let me know. Completeness is the watch word.

Second order of business, welcomes. So let's drag the welcome wagon back out of storage, we have a few to get through. This seems to be a direct result of participating in this years Zombtober. Which is a great reason to join in, finding like minded bloggers is always a bonus.
So let's welcome aboard my latest followers. First is cedric mauvielle, he runs the Lost Wargamer in HK blog where amongst other things you'll find the excellent "Reich of a thousand dead" , a Weird World War 2 campaign. WELCOME CEDRIC!
Second is Finch, who runs the Minis by Finch blog. WELCOME FINCH!
Thirdly is Blaxkleric who runs the Fantorical blog. WELCOME BLAXKLERIC!
I haven't yet had much of a chance to check out these two blogs in any detail yet, but what I have seen looks pretty good to me. You should all pop along to these and check them out, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
Two more followers who seemed to have slipped in under the radar are Mike Collard and David Churchill. I can't find blogs for these guys, so if you have one let me know. WELCOME MIKE! WELCOME DAVID!

Official duties taken care of, on to the fun bit.
Zombie painting. Two more Deadzone zombies for you this time. (I'm still not back up to full production speed, that may take some time.)

TWO MORE SHOW UP FOR ZOMBTOBER ROLLCALL

THE OBLIGATORY BACK SHOT

So we have another hazmat zombie again this week, pretty similar to the other one TBH. We'll call him Dr. Teirnon. The other zombie is dressed in some kind of future military uniform, akin to that worn by the Colonial Marines in Aliens, this didn't really fit with my contemporary setting so I painted him as a SWAT team member instead. I present Officer Ifor Jones.
( I think I got away with it.)

SWAT guy was a simple conversion. Using an arm with no hand (for another pose), I added a piece of bone to wrist area. He was also given a holster from a german WW2 figure, to complete his "cop-ness".

Well that's all I got for this time dudes and dudettes. So until next time, take a leaf out of the DUDE'S book and "take it easy".

ZOMBTOBER 2014. WEEK 1.

What's 'appening? Long time no post! Things at the bunker have slowed to a glacial rate recently, my humblest apologies loyal readers. Real life must take a front seat now and again, no matter how much you don't want it to.

This is my first Zombtober so not quite sure what to expect exactly. I had to jump at the chance because with my card modelling adventures the last couple of months, my painting has fallen way behind schedule. I couldn't believe I hadn't painted a mini for almost 8 weeks, until yesterday.

We still have the usual rounds of business to get through before I reveal my woefully inadequate offering. So let's get on with it!

Continuing my attempt to bring some culture to the proceedings I shall yet again show some zombie art. This is another great piece by my current favourite zombie artist GRIMBRO.

RATHER MORE COLOURFUL THAN HE APPEARED ON SCREEN.

Some of you may recognise the zombie pictured (officially credited as Zombie #1) as the one that attacks Barbara in the cemetery,  at the beginning of Night of the Living Dead. The 1968 original, directed by George A. Romero, not one of the many remakes. Zombie #1 was played by Bill Hinzman.
I remember watching this at a very young age, I was probably around 10 or 11, it did two things. Firstly, it scared the shit out of me, second it started my lifelong romance with zombies.

Second order of business is to get the welcome wagon back out of the shed, it's been a while so I had to oil it and dust it, to welcome my latest follower. As is now traditional a big BZA welcome goes out to r.a.e. gingerbhoy. WELCOME ABOARD GINGERBHOY! Settle in, this is taking ages.

Third order of business. It has been brought to my attention that we have surpassed nine thousand pageviews since my last post. (And gingerbhoy makes it thirty followers). I find this news absolutely astounding and must take this oppurtunity to thank my followers, commentors and those of you who just drop by to check out the nonsense I continue to post. A MASSIVE THANKS TO YOU ALL.

Right then, enough bloody waffle, on with the show and tell. As I mentioned earlier, I was shocked at the realisation that I hadn't painted a mini for about 8 weeks. So please excuse, what I feel is a rather rusty couple of figures.

A LITTLE RUSHED, BUT THEY MADE IT.

INSERT YOUR OWN ARSE JOKE!

The zombie is from a sprue of Deadzone zombies by Mantic. Whilst not quite as crisp as their fantasy zombies, I love the fact that some of them are dressed in what I took to be hazmat suits. Of course they could equally be space suits. He's called Elgan Evans.
The survivor is Josh, (based on Jessie Pinkman, a character from smash hit TV show Breaking Bad) from Zombicide season 1. He's my first non-zombie mini in quite some time, it was hard to resist the urge to cover him in gore.

Hopefully, I'll get a week to paint some more, instead of just a day.

Well that's all I've got for this time dudes and dudettes. So until next time try and emulate the DUDE and "take it easy".