For Mayan Out Loud

It is the eve of the first day of winter, the winter solstice, and the birthday of our dear and beloved daughter in-law Anoush.  Happy birthday Anoush!  

 It is also the eve of the day the world is supposed to end according to the Mayan calendar. 

There has not been the intense interest and discussion on this end of the world prediction.  It seems to me that previous end of the world predictions were taken much more seriously and discussed.  Maybe I have simple been too busy.  Maybe there have been too many false scares, to many cries that the sky is falling, so we have become immune to doomsday prophecies.  I am in the same state of mind.  I am

Just a year and a half ago, many were seriously anticipating The Rapture on May 21, 2011.  That day came and went with nothing happening except for the making Harold Camping, the primary force behind the non-event, look like a fool. 

There have been some great quips, tweets, facebook posts, and graphics that people are having fun with.  Greg Nigosian was offering an "out of my Mayan sale" for some of his software products.  Greg Hosharian posted the following on facebook:  "It was nice knowing you all just in case this is our last day on earth!  Ha ha this is so silly."

Maybe I spoke too soon!

I am typing this at 10:24 in Chicago.  It is already December 21st in many other parts of the world.  Nothing has happened... yet.  The Mayan calendar never did predict the time zone in which it would all begin.  I would assume that since the Mayans were in what is Guatemala and Mexico today, the end would occur in that time zone.  So, I have a few hours left.  Maybe the end will not come at the stroke of midnight today but rather sometime before the stroke of midnight tomorrow.

I might have a scotch to sip on as I contemplate the possibilities and low probabilities.

So, what was with the Mayans.  They did not seem like good folks in the movie Apocalyto which I have watched over and over again.  Their leadership was portrayed as mean, manipulative, barbaric, and yet very good astronomers.  Of course, they did not have television or the internet to distract them.  They just had the heavens to watch.  I have been to their magnificent temples in Tikal.  I have climbed those temples.  I was impressed with the precision in which they placed them so they would line up perfectly at solstices, equinoxes, the comings and goings of comets, eclipses both solar and lunar, and who knows what else.  It is no wonder we take their calendar so seriously.

I wonder what the next end of days day will be?  May I suggest, September 3, 2077.  Why that day?  Am I a shaman?  A seer?  A reader and interpreter of the heavens?  No.  Simply, it is a random date that is most like after I am gone and thus I will not have to deal with all the buzz about the date.

My two favorite graphics of this event or non-event were posted on facebook.  I just love the weather forecast.  I also like the similarity of the Mayan circular calendar to the Oreo cookie.   Maybe there is some mystical runic connection between the two.  Probably there isn't.  Most people commented that their faith was in the Oreo over the Mayan apocalypse.  Ah, the power of brand marketing.  As the oracle said in the movie The Matrix, "have a cookie, you'll feel better."