Events Calendar
In This Section
Cleveland R&B vocalist to make Akron debut
Actor Bernsen enjoying ride of derby movie project
End of an era: Oprah ending show after 25 years
Ohio native takes second place on 'Project Runway'
'New Moon' casts spell on fans
'The Blind Side' scores as feel-good crowd-pleaser
'Planet 51' is sci-fi animation lite
Barrymore's 1945 film co-stars Garson, Peck
Most Read Stories
Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
Man allegedly paid teens to spit in his face
Angel Food Ministries helps stretch grocery dollars
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your Saturday entertainment …
Akron Zips:
Hitchens leads Zips in second-half comeback
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Holmgren expresses interest in Browns position
Kent State Sports:
Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 13-47
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Indiana Pacers – Here’s to LBJ and Free Throws
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
Headed For Disaster
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Federal Judge Declares DOMA Unconstitutional
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
End of world is coming? Yes, in three years, if you believe certain books and movies about ancient Maya calendar
By Kim Hone-McMahan
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 08:08 a.m. EDT, Oct 18, 2009
If you haven't heard already, some believe the world is coming to an end on Dec. 21, 2012. The good thing? You won't have to find a Christmas gift for cranky ol' Uncle Clyde. The bad thing? You'll be dead.
Thousands of people believe that the day, smack in the middle of the holiday season, is doomsday. There are dozens of books written about the date and a major motion picture, appropriately named 2012, due to be released here next month. It's a sci-fi thriller that portrays disasters of biblical proportions.
Most who believe the apocalypse is imminent point to a calendar kept by the ancient Maya. The long calendar, as it is called, began in 3114 BC and concludes on Dec. 21, 2012.
Even the scientists, professors and philosophers who don't believe it will be a catastrophic day agree that the Maya, whose original home was in Latin America, were remarkable astronomers. So advanced were they when dealing with elements of time and the heavens, they built observatories. And they had an uncanny ability to pinpoint an eclipse — hundreds of years before it actually happened.
Of course, with the release of the movie on Nov. 13, Sony Pictures is hoping to cash in on the hype. Roland Emmerich is the director and producer, the same person who created the effects-laden disaster epics The Day After Tomorrow, Godzilla and Independence Day.
Don't expect the film to be the last look at the subject. Television has been producing shows about the world's end from things like fiery meteors and tsunamis. There's even an iPhone application that counts down to the day of doom.
John Major Jenkins writes in his book The 2012 Story: The Myths, Fallacies, and Truth Behind the Most Intriguing Date in History that the public ''is driven by urgent doomsday scenarios spun out by the mainstream media and opportunistic writers. And yet the date is not simply a newfangled gadget invented by the marketplace. It is, in fact, a true artifact of the authentic Maya calendar, which has suffered the cut-and-paste cosmologizing of wannabe wizards, pocket-protector prophets, and celebrity showmen.''
Pamela Frese, professor of anthropology at the College of Wooster and an expert on the Maya and New Age religion, explained that the Maya had many calendars. But the one that's attracted attention recently ends on the winter solstice of 2012, raising speculation that the world is damned. Of course, many don't agree.
''It's true that the long calendar, which fell out of use by the 1500s, and another calendar are coming to an end. But they begin again,'' Frese said. ''For the Maya, it's a time of death and rebirth. It's kind of like our new year, but much more significant because our new year happens every 12 months.''
The only known reference by the Maya to the 2012 date, Frese maintains, is a monument in Tortuguero in Mexico. It was erected in 670 A.D. and forgotten until it was rediscovered by Westerners who were exploring the jungles in the 1800s.
The monument reveals a figure — a god that some believe foretells the future. It's a god of war and destruction, but it's also a god of rebirth.
''It doesn't say anything about the cataclysmic events,'' Frese said. ''That's something attributed to the monument that just isn't there.
''If you are Maya and thinking about this [the end of the long calendar] at all, what you are hoping for is the beginning of a new cycle. If you're oppressed, you're hoping for justice and relief from that oppression,'' the professor explained. ''If you are a believer of some of the New Age religions, especially those who share Christian beliefs of the apocalypse, then you may believe that 2012 is Armageddon.''
Heard it before
This is the not the first time, of course, that people have made end-of-the-world predictions. There have been hundreds of failed doomsday scenarios.
The Web site Universe Today, for instance, recounted a story from 1997 in which the Hale-Bopp comet was visible from Earth. It was an exciting time for scientists and people watching the celestial display. It was also a time when the Internet was gaining in popularity and the comet appeared on computer monitors around the world.
Unfortunately, as Universe Today pointed out, ''the excitement was also accompanied by paranoia, panic, and even a false sense of euphoria as many people believed it signaled the end of the world. The mass suicide of the Heaven's Gate [an American UFO cult] members drummed up even more doomsday stories.'' Thirty-nine cult members killed themselves, believing they would be taken to heaven in a spacecraft accompanying the comet.
Chances are, you recall the start of the new century when rumors of the end were running rampant. Disaster was predicted not so much for humans, but for computers — via the ''Y2K bug.'' There was even a prediction of a recession (maybe that's true, but it didn't happen in the year 2000).
The History Channel has thrown itself into the mix by featuring a series of 2012 end-of-the-world documentaries, ominous music and all.
One of the programs explains that four days before Christmas of that year, the Earth will be in exact alignment with the sun and the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Some geophysicists, the show notes, believe the mantle of the Earth will suddenly shift, resulting in planetary catastrophe.
Don Palmer, geology professor at Kent State University, says that theory has no basis.
''The mantle and Earth itself are remarkably stable,'' Palmer said. ''And the stability is derived from the fact that the sequential layers going down from the crust right to the center of the Earth increase in density. Further, very good geological records demonstrate mantle stability over periods of billions of years.
''Even if you had a small planet hit by a large asteroid, it could make a disruption, but even then, the evidence is quite good that a planet with any reasonable gravitational pull holds together very nicely.''
Still, if you're intrigued about the end of the world on Dec. 12, 2012, there are some places you can visit on a dark, stormy night with the help of your computer that might just scare the bejabbers out of you.
For example, typing ''2012'' and ''disaster'' into a Google search recently suggested more than 4 million sites. ''Doomsday'' and ''2012'' found 700,000.
If you want to follow an in-depth study by a 2012 follower, don't miss author and researcher Patrick Geryl's site (http://www.howtosurvive2012.com). There he explains his book of the same name.
''It is a blueprint for all of you who want to relive the story of Noah,'' Geryl says. ''I explain thoroughly all the problems we are going to encounter and which precautions we need to take. I expect to inspire enough people so that together we can resume life on earth in a new civilization.''
Mark Hitchcock is a pastor with a doctorate from Dallas Theological seminary. In his book, 2012: The Bible and the End of the World, he includes tips on how to face doomsday predictions.
''Don't panic or be drawn to carry out rash, impulsive actions encouraged by fanatics and survivalists who claim to know the exact date of the end of the world or Christ's coming,'' Hitchcock writes. ''They don't know when the world will end. Only God knows, and He isn't telling anyone when it will happen.''
So, back to the beginning — will the world end on Dec. 21, 2012? And is it wise to put off the Christmas shopping that year?
The decision is yours, but if there's no Armageddon, you'll be scrambling at the last minute to find something for cranky Uncle Clyde. If it does happen, that five bucks you wasted on the old geezer won't matter anyway.
To learn more about 2012, visit...
There are hundreds of sites on the Internet that focus on 2012. Some stand by the belief that the world will end as we know it on Dec. 21 of that year. Others debunk that theory. Here are a few sites to check it out:
www.thecityedition.com/2012/index.html
www.history.com/content/armageddon
http://sciencestage.com/v/9846/2012-debunked-1-of-2.html
www.youtube.com - conduct a search for any combination of "2012" and "doomsday," "end of the world" or "disaster."
Kim Hone-McMahan can be reached at 330-996-3742 or kmcmahan@thebeaconjournal.com.
If you haven't heard already, some believe the world is coming to an end on Dec. 21, 2012. The good thing? You won't have to find a Christmas gift for cranky ol' Uncle Clyde. The bad thing? You'll be dead.
Thousands of people believe that the day, smack in the middle of the holiday season, is doomsday. There are dozens of books written about the date and a major motion picture, appropriately named 2012, due to be released here next month. It's a sci-fi thriller that portrays disasters of biblical proportions.
Most who believe the apocalypse is imminent point to a calendar kept by the ancient Maya. The long calendar, as it is called, began in 3114 BC and concludes on Dec. 21, 2012.
Even the scientists, professors and philosophers who don't believe it will be a catastrophic day agree that the Maya, whose original home was in Latin America, were remarkable astronomers. So advanced were they when dealing with elements of time and the heavens, they built observatories. And they had an uncanny ability to pinpoint an eclipse — hundreds of years before it actually happened.
Of course, with the release of the movie on Nov. 13, Sony Pictures is hoping to cash in on the hype. Roland Emmerich is the director and producer, the same person who created the effects-laden disaster epics The Day After Tomorrow, Godzilla and Independence Day.
Don't expect the film to be the last look at the subject. Television has been producing shows about the world's end from things like fiery meteors and tsunamis. There's even an iPhone application that counts down to the day of doom.
John Major Jenkins writes in his book The 2012 Story: The Myths, Fallacies, and Truth Behind the Most Intriguing Date in History that the public ''is driven by urgent doomsday scenarios spun out by the mainstream media and opportunistic writers. And yet the date is not simply a newfangled gadget invented by the marketplace. It is, in fact, a true artifact of the authentic Maya calendar, which has suffered the cut-and-paste cosmologizing of wannabe wizards, pocket-protector prophets, and celebrity showmen.''
Pamela Frese, professor of anthropology at the College of Wooster and an expert on the Maya and New Age religion, explained that the Maya had many calendars. But the one that's attracted attention recently ends on the winter solstice of 2012, raising speculation that the world is damned. Of course, many don't agree.
''It's true that the long calendar, which fell out of use by the 1500s, and another calendar are coming to an end. But they begin again,'' Frese said. ''For the Maya, it's a time of death and rebirth. It's kind of like our new year, but much more significant because our new year happens every 12 months.''
The only known reference by the Maya to the 2012 date, Frese maintains, is a monument in Tortuguero in Mexico. It was erected in 670 A.D. and forgotten until it was rediscovered by Westerners who were exploring the jungles in the 1800s.
The monument reveals a figure — a god that some believe foretells the future. It's a god of war and destruction, but it's also a god of rebirth.
''It doesn't say anything about the cataclysmic events,'' Frese said. ''That's something attributed to the monument that just isn't there.
''If you are Maya and thinking about this [the end of the long calendar] at all, what you are hoping for is the beginning of a new cycle. If you're oppressed, you're hoping for justice and relief from that oppression,'' the professor explained. ''If you are a believer of some of the New Age religions, especially those who share Christian beliefs of the apocalypse, then you may believe that 2012 is Armageddon.''
Heard it before
This is the not the first time, of course, that people have made end-of-the-world predictions. There have been hundreds of failed doomsday scenarios.
The Web site Universe Today, for instance, recounted a story from 1997 in which the Hale-Bopp comet was visible from Earth. It was an exciting time for scientists and people watching the celestial display. It was also a time when the Internet was gaining in popularity and the comet appeared on computer monitors around the world.
Unfortunately, as Universe Today pointed out, ''the excitement was also accompanied by paranoia, panic, and even a false sense of euphoria as many people believed it signaled the end of the world. The mass suicide of the Heaven's Gate [an American UFO cult] members drummed up even more doomsday stories.'' Thirty-nine cult members killed themselves, believing they would be taken to heaven in a spacecraft accompanying the comet.
Chances are, you recall the start of the new century when rumors of the end were running rampant. Disaster was predicted not so much for humans, but for computers — via the ''Y2K bug.'' There was even a prediction of a recession (maybe that's true, but it didn't happen in the year 2000).
The History Channel has thrown itself into the mix by featuring a series of 2012 end-of-the-world documentaries, ominous music and all.
One of the programs explains that four days before Christmas of that year, the Earth will be in exact alignment with the sun and the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Some geophysicists, the show notes, believe the mantle of the Earth will suddenly shift, resulting in planetary catastrophe.
Don Palmer, geology professor at Kent State University, says that theory has no basis.
''The mantle and Earth itself are remarkably stable,'' Palmer said. ''And the stability is derived from the fact that the sequential layers going down from the crust right to the center of the Earth increase in density. Further, very good geological records demonstrate mantle stability over periods of billions of years.
''Even if you had a small planet hit by a large asteroid, it could make a disruption, but even then, the evidence is quite good that a planet with any reasonable gravitational pull holds together very nicely.''
Still, if you're intrigued about the end of the world on Dec. 12, 2012, there are some places you can visit on a dark, stormy night with the help of your computer that might just scare the bejabbers out of you.
For example, typing ''2012'' and ''disaster'' into a Google search recently suggested more than 4 million sites. ''Doomsday'' and ''2012'' found 700,000.
If you want to follow an in-depth study by a 2012 follower, don't miss author and researcher Patrick Geryl's site (http://www.howtosurvive2012.com). There he explains his book of the same name.
''It is a blueprint for all of you who want to relive the story of Noah,'' Geryl says. ''I explain thoroughly all the problems we are going to encounter and which precautions we need to take. I expect to inspire enough people so that together we can resume life on earth in a new civilization.''
Mark Hitchcock is a pastor with a doctorate from Dallas Theological seminary. In his book, 2012: The Bible and the End of the World, he includes tips on how to face doomsday predictions.
''Don't panic or be drawn to carry out rash, impulsive actions encouraged by fanatics and survivalists who claim to know the exact date of the end of the world or Christ's coming,'' Hitchcock writes. ''They don't know when the world will end. Only God knows, and He isn't telling anyone when it will happen.''
So, back to the beginning — will the world end on Dec. 21, 2012? And is it wise to put off the Christmas shopping that year?
The decision is yours, but if there's no Armageddon, you'll be scrambling at the last minute to find something for cranky Uncle Clyde. If it does happen, that five bucks you wasted on the old geezer won't matter anyway.
To learn more about 2012, visit...
There are hundreds of sites on the Internet that focus on 2012. Some stand by the belief that the world will end as we know it on Dec. 21 of that year. Others debunk that theory. Here are a few sites to check it out:
www.thecityedition.com/2012/index.html
www.history.com/content/armageddon
http://sciencestage.com/v/9846/2012-debunked-1-of-2.html
www.youtube.com - conduct a search for any combination of "2012" and "doomsday," "end of the world" or "disaster."
Kim Hone-McMahan can be reached at 330-996-3742 or kmcmahan@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Akron, OH
Posted 08:57 AM, 10/19/2009
Well, at least THAT would get Plusquellic and his cronies out of office.
uniontown, oh
Posted 11:49 AM, 10/19/2009
How many of us will believe this? Wasn't that long ago that "all the computers in the world" were going to stop at 1201am on 1-1-2000. So now its the end on 12-12-2012. Pass the pipe and the Twinkies dude and party on. I will definitely inhale and I'm not lying this time. Good luck.
Tallmadge, Oh
Posted 02:15 PM, 10/19/2009
This is Mayor Don's fault!
