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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, December 4, 2013 | 24 Novel tells story of Canadian war `zombies' by Abigail Cukier Special to the Beaver While the term zombies might conjure images of horror lms or the TV show The Walking Dead, in Canada, it also has a very different meaning. During the Second World War, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie-King promised no conscription for overseas service and introduced an act calling for conscription for home defence. Starting in April 1941, the young men called up were required to serve for the rest of the war with duties at home. But this did not satisfy some in the English-speaking parts of Canada, who represented the majority of volunteers for the armed forces. They called home defence conscripts, zombies -- half-humans -- and pressured them to serve overseas. It is believed there were 157,841 zombies in Canada. As a child spending summers in the Gatineau Hills, Ray Verdon knew there were zombies hiding there. In fact, his uncle Mac, a very colourful character, chased them. Memorializing uncle Mac To memorialize his uncle and write about his beloved Gatineau region, Verdon, now 71, has written Not Exactly a War Hero: The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Mondou. "One-third of this is history. One third is memoir and the nal third is BS," said the Oakville resident. "It is a rip-roaring tale of one of the zombies and the trouble he gets into trying to escape." The book centres on Mondou, who was pursued for years by the police, the military and bounty hunters. During his ordeal, he performed many heroics. He also had a relationship with Marian, which led to his wedding and funeral, both within one day. All the while, Mondou's most persistent pursuer, Mac Gleason, somehow learns about a secret network. Author Verdon was a business executive with Christie in Canada and its sister company Nabisco in the U.S. for many years. A desire to write He said he wanted to come back to Canada and enjoy his farm in the Gatineau Hills. He turned to public speaking and sitting on executive boards and spending time with his ve grandchildren -- with a desire to some day write a book. Verdon says he wanted to let more Canadians know about this part of the country's history and to honour his uncle. He gures he spent about 1,300 hours over three years on the book -- taking his time, writing one day, and gol ng the next. "Writing is fun. I love it. Getting published was like purgatory and distribution is like hell," said Verdon, who explains that to get the book on the shelves of independent book stores or Indigo, readers must request it. The book is available at www.rayverdon. com, Amazon.ca or Indigo.ca. "I thought I'd be happy leaving my artifact, but now that I have it, I would rather be working on the sequel," said Verdon, who foresees a second book or even a trilogy featuring Uncle Mac. Sheridan College's Trafalgar Road campus recently unveiled a plaque commemorating NBCUniversal's gift of 3D technology to the school's Centre for Animation and Emerging Technologies (SCAET), while putting on a 3D demonstration on Nov. 20. Here, Sheridan's Mark Bone (2013 grad) explains the 3D demo to, from left, Wanda Bradley and Ron Suter (vice-president of sales and executive vice-president, respectively, at NBCUniversal Television Distribution Canada), and Sheridan president and CEO Jeff Zabudsky. | photo by Eric Riehl ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog) NBCUniversal gives Sheridan the gift of 3D Sheridan lm students recently received the gift of 3D technology thanks to NBCUniversal. The media and entertainment company's offering will allow Sheridan to incorporate 3D stereoscopic content production into the curriculum of its lm and television programs, including a new Bachelor of Film and Television, which launches in 2014. "This gift enables the purchase of equipment that will allow our students to shoot, edit and deliver 3D content. It will also equip us to develop modular workshops for industry, and support our ongoing research activities at Sheridan's Screen Industries Research and Training Centre (SIRT)," Sandy McKean, associate dean of Film, Television and Journalism at Sheridan, said in a news release. Sheridan's new 3D capacity was on display last month at the 1430 Trafalgar Rd. campus, with a student demonstration of 3D lming, editing and playback. Representatives from NBCUniversal were on hand to watch the demonstration and took part in a plaque unveiling at Sheridan. "The 3D stereoscopic production is the latest evolution of lm production and is quickly becoming an integral part of the lm and television industry," Jeff Zabudsky, president and CEO of Sheridan, said in the release. "It's critical to embed this technology into our curriculum and ensure that our students are uent in 3D processes, work ow and production as they enter the media workforce. "Through this contribution, NBCUniversal is demonstrating its rm belief in Sheridan's strong reputation for turning out well-rounded and capable graduates. We are grateful for their support." Beauty & Spa Protect aging skin Just as the body changes with age, so do the needs of the skin. While acne and breakouts may have been the bane of existence as an adolescent, wrinkles and dark spots are concerns as we age. Sagging skin and wrinkles are two of the more common problems men and women encounter as they age. As people get older, connective tissues in the skin that promote strength and elasticity have a tendency of breaking down. Furthermore, the blood vessels of the dermis become more fragile, which can lead to bruising. Also, sebaceous glands may produce less oil, making the skin less able to moisturize itself. 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