Is it about to be the End of the World as we know it? Do you feel fine...?

So according to the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar (most notably used by the Maya), time as we know it ends on 21 December 2012 (just over 5 weeks from now).

This has caused some commotion in the minds of doomsday lovers all over, who eagerly await the date just so that they can say "See? I told you so!".
Thing is, if the world does actually end on 21 December 2012, there 'aint gonna be no morning after to tell anybody anything anyway :)

So why do humans have this morbid fascination with the end of time?
From religious sects and cults who threaten imminent damnation upon us all, to New Age movements who throw their own spin on the theme, back to Biblical times and probably even before that too.
The Jehovah's Witnesses are especially good at (unsuccessful) end-of-world predictions, having conjured up many (failed) apocalypse dates, and they continue to do so even now. Keep up the good work guys!

Let's not forget that for some people, the 21 December 2012 will in fact be the end of their world (old age, illness, crime, car accidents, natural disasters etc. - we all gotta go some time!)

So where will you be on "Armageddon's Eve"...:
- Partying it up like there is (literally) no tomorrow?
- Chilling out and watching the event on a big screen somewhere?
- Engaging in activities that you otherwise might not engage in, were tomorrow not the end of the world?
- Indifferent to it all?

All I can say is this:
I personally think that we are all going to wake up quite healthy on the morning of 22nd December 2012, and those of us who didn't buy into the apocalypse are going to be damn relieved at the thought of all the things we didn't get up to the night before... :)

Time will surely tell...

Related articles

• Hotels Ready For The End Of The World
• 10 Ways Of How The World Can Be Destroyed
• End of the World Survival Kit
• T-Minus 46 Days Until the End of the World
• Waiting for doomsday: Our apocalypse obsession likely to last long past 21/12/12

Read More

What does "Armageddon" mean to you?

I often refer to a classic passage from Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series.
The passage speaks about bad news, and how nothing travels faster. To quote the late genius himself:

"One of the problems has to do with the speed of light and the difficulties involved in trying to exceed it. You can't. Nothing travels faster than the speed of light with the possible exception of bad news, which obeys its own special laws. 
The Hingefreel people of Arkintoofle Minor did try to build spaceships that were powered by bad news but they didn't work particularly well and were so extremely unwelcome whenever they arrived anywhere that there wasn't really any point in being there...."

The late, great Douglas Adams, contemplating... :)

In any case, this does not tie into the post title at all. What I am trying to do is show just how correct his views on bad news were :)
People just love bad news. This much is true.
What's more, people just love to indulge in their own special conspiracy theories about the world in general.

One of the biggies at the moment (and for the past few decades, and possibly well before that too), is the theory of Armageddon - The End of the World - The Apocalypse - The End of Days - 2012... you get the idea.
Humans are in love with this concept. Each person has their own unique take on how we are all going to die when the Earth eventually gives it all up, in what should be a rather impressive show of fire and brimstone :)

The word "Armageddon" as far as my knowledge goes, comes from the Revelation according to John in the Bible - it was referred to as the place where the final battle between good and evil is (was?) to occur.
A little-known fact is that "Armageddon" translates to "Mountain of Megiddo" - Megiddo is a real place in modern Israel, known for its historical, geographical, and theological importance.

Another commonly used theme from Revelation is the number "666" - the number or mark of the Beast, as John calls it.
Nowadays this number is seen as a mark of evil, and a lot of people believe that it is somehow related to an "Antichrist" figure and a pending Apocalypse, as supposedly outlined in the Book of Revelation.
Some religious sects like to concoct outrageous and far-fetched mathematical calculations around the number, in an attempt to try and prove that their Antichrist theories /apocalyptic prophecies are in fact true.

Another little-known fact creeps in here - the number "666", as used in the Hebrew Numerology of gematria, represents the name "Caesar Nero". At the time of writing, the Emperor Nero was known to have been responsible for especially vicious attacks on Christians in Rome.
Also, although Nero had at the time already committed suicide, it was not yet widely known and many people would have assumed that he was still alive.
John, being one of the many persecuted Christians of the time, would reasonably have had a bone to pick with the Roman Empire, and specifically with the Emperor Nero himself. He would therefore also reasonably need a way to communicate his message in a way that the Romans could not understand - hence the Hebrew Numerology of gematria.

So would it be totally unreasonable to conclude that John was in fact referring to a literal place "Armageddon" i.e. the Mountain of Megiddo, where a decisive battle was to take place between good and evil (Roman Empire (evil) vs. the Angels of Heaven (good))?
Further, would it be unreasonable to conclude that the "666" referred to in Revelations was in fact a direct reference to the Roman Emperor Nero, and those who carried the "mark" of the Empire?

From a historical perspective (at least to me), this theory seems to hold a lot more water than does some dreamt-up mish-mash about an alleged Antichrist, an alleged Apocalypse, and other such apocalyptic theories that are flying around the internet nowadays... :)

SHEEWEEEE... what a mouthful :)

Read More

2012... are we all gonna DIE?????!!!

Well 2010 is almost upon us (that's "twenty-ten", not "two-thousand-and-ten" ok??), and this 21st century is just rocketing away at a furious pace.

Just last night I saw the trailer for the apocalyptic movie "2012", soon to hit our movie circuits (maybe it already has...?). It showed off some cool effects depicting massive disasters and crazy geological happenings, effectively spelling the end of the Earth and humanity.
The tag line then read: "How will you survive?", which I think is a bit silly, being that an "apocalyptic" event by definition is an event in which nothing will survive :)

The "2012 Phenomenon" is largely based on the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar, the supposed end-date of which falls on the 21st December 2012.
There are so many theories around this date, ranging from the end of the world as we know it, to large-scale worldwide spiritual transformation and "enlightenment" of humankind.

The point of view of scientists is largely sceptical, stating that there is no evidence of anything here on Earth or out in space that can reasonably be expected to wipe out the Earth.
What annoys me a bit is the viral marketing campaing that the makers of "2012" embarked upon, in a effort to gain pre-launch publicity for the film. The campaign centres around a the website http://www.instituteforhumancontinuity.org/ - a fictional body called "The Institute for Human Continuity".

The site states "... we know in 2012 a series of cataclysmic forces will wreak havoc on our planet. The IHC has developed a number of initiatives to prepare the world for this inevitability"

What a load of speculative nonsense - gullible internet users will be taken by this and totally buy into the hype of it. When dealing with a sensitive topic (The Apocalyse no less!!), the internet becomes a nasty tool of manipulation.

Well that's just my opinion... :)
What's yours?

Is the end really nigh?
Or will we all wake up on the 22nd December 2012 and curse having to go into the office once again... ;)

Read More