Mayan Light Beam Photo: Message from Gods, or iPhone Glitch?

From Live Science: Mayan Light Beam Photo: Message from Gods, or iPhone Glitch?
When Hector Siliezar visited the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza with his wife and kids in 2009, he snapped three iPhone photos of El Castillo, a pyramid that once served as a sacred temple to the Mayan god Kukulkan. A thunderstorm was brewing near the temple, and Siliezar was trying to capture lightning crackling dramatically over the ruins.

In the first two images, dark clouds loom above the pyramid, but nothing is amiss. However, in the third photo, a powerful beam of light appears to shoot up from the pyramid toward the heavens, and a thunderbolt flashes in the background.

Siliezar, who recently shared his photographs with occult investigators, told Earthfiles.com that he and his family didn't see the light beam in person; it appeared only on camera. "It was amazing!" he said. He showed the iPhone photo to his fellow tourists. "No one, not even the tour guide, had ever seen anything like it before."

The photo has surfaced on several Mayan doomsday discussion forums. But was the light beam a sign from the gods — a warning about Dec. 21, 2012, the date that marks the end of the Mayan calendar cycle, and when some people fear the world will end? Or is it simply the result of an iPhone glitch?

According to Jonathon Hill, a research technician and mission planner at the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State University, which operates many of the cameras used during NASA's Mars missions, it is almost definitely the latter. Hill works with images of the Martian surface taken by rovers and satellites, as well as data from Earth-orbiting NASA instruments, and is fully versed in the wide range of potential image artifacts and equipment errors.

He says the "light beam" in the Mayan temple photo is a classic case of such an artifact — a distortion in an image that arises from the way cameras bounce around incoming light.

It is no mere coincidence, Hill said, that "of the three images, the 'light beam' only occurs in the image with a lightning bolt in the background. Theintensity of the lightning flash likely caused the camera's CCD sensor to behave in an unusual way, either causing an entire column of pixels to offset their values or causing an internal reflection [off the] camera lens that was recorded by the sensor." In either case, extra brightness would have been added to the pixels in that column in addition to the light hitting them directly from the scene. [7 Things that Cause UFO Sightings]

Evidence in favor of this explanation is the fact that the beam, when isolated in Photoshop or other image analysis software, runs perfectly vertical in the image. "That's a little suspicious since it's very unlikely that the gentleman who took this picture would have his handheld iPhone camera positioned exactly parallel to the 'light beam' down to the pixel level," Hill told Life's Little Mysteries.

It's more likely that the "light beam" corresponds to a set of columns of pixels in the camera sensor that are electronically connected to each other, but not to other columns in the sensor, and that this set of connected pixels became oversaturated in the manner described above.

"That being said," Hill said, "it really is an awesome image!"

Canadians Visiting and Living in Mexico Feel Secure; Invite Foreigners to "See For Yourself"

From the Sacramento Bee: Canadians Visiting and Living in Mexico Feel Secure; Invite Foreigners to "See For Yourself"
MEXICO CITY, Feb. 27, 2012 -- Canadian National Reporter Visiting Mexico Says "Calm Down, Mexico's Safer Than You Think" MEXICO CITY, Feb. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mexico, like all countries, has isolated and unfortunate instances of tourists facing incidents while vacationing and we take every incident seriously. But these isolated incidents have not stopped the more than 22.67 million tourists to come to Mexico last year – out of which 1.6 million happen to be Canadian. And neither have stopped the thousands of Canadians who live and/or work in Mexico and are still enjoying the vibrant economy, modern infrastructure and cultural attractions that the country has to offer.

In a recent Calgary Herald article, several Canadians contributed to it by sharing their personal experiences, including 66-year-old Calgarian Maureen McLeod, who has lived several years in Mexico with her family since 1979. McLeod said, "We feel safe here, but we don't take foolish chances. We are aware that there have been times when a Canadian has been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that kind of thing also happens in Canada."

Dustin Wilcox from Ontario also wrote, "I'm a Canadian living in Guadalajara. My experience has been nothing but enjoyable and secure. I can't recall when I didn't feel 100% safe in this city." Canadian Toni St. Clair also wrote, "I lived in Mexico City for a year in 2007 and was never faced with violence."

Calgarian Brent McAthey also contributed with his experience in the article and wrote, "When I was 15 years old I went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with a buddy and his parent. I loved it and have returned every year for the last 29 years, with longer and longer stays each time. I now spend 10 months a year in Mazatlan, own a house, and I am also an entertainer, and have managed to figure out how to make a living here." McAthey added, "We cannot understand why the media up north has projected such a bad image of such an incredible place. It's unfair. I have always felt safe here. I have traveled the world with my music, and can honestly say this is one of the safest places I have ever been."

Canadian Frank Lai also contributed with his experience and said, "Unfortunately, the few violent crimes involving foreigners have been overblown by the media. In our view, they were isolated incidents, and not truly reflective of the fabulous life enjoyed by residents, snowbirds and tourists alike." Lai added, "We invite you to visit Mazatlan and see for yourself. You will be impressed by a myriad of smiling faces and stunning sceneries that is the 'Pearl of the Pacific,' he concluded.

Canadian national columnist for Postmedia News Stephen Maher also shared his safety insights and how much he enjoyed his time in Playa del Carmen located south of Cancun on the coast of the Caribbean Sea. In a recent article he wrote for Canada.com, Maher shared how different and enjoyable Mexico is once you get to visit and put safety in Mexico into perspective.

"Mexico is not a place. It is a bunch of places, and some of them are safer than places in Canada."

"I had a great time in Yucatan province last week, inland from Playa del Carmen. We rented a car and drove to Chichen Itza, which is stunning, and spent a happy night at a fiesta among the welcoming people of the colonial city of Valladolid [sp], watching proud young people dancing in beautiful, hand-embroidered clothes," Maher wrote. And when comparing Mexico and Canada's safety, he stated, "The murder rate in Yucatan is 2 per 100,000. Thunder Bay's murder rate is 4.2 per 100,000. The expatriates I spoke to in the lovely beachside bars of Tulum, down the coast from Cancun, are more worried about potholes than being murdered. In Canada, we have nine road fatalities per year per 100,000 inhabitants. Compare that number to the number of Canadians murdered in Mexico, and you have to come to the conclusion that crime in Mexico is not worth thinking about very much."

Maher wraps up his article by saying, "Mexico is amazing. The chances of anything bad happening to you there are small," he concluded.

Positive experiences from Canadians are many as MexicoToday.org also caught on video from visiting downtown Mexico City where Canadians were among the majority of international tourists -- together with Polish and Americans in a recent weekend:

* A group of Canadians, led by the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), were part of a Mayan multi-site tour as part of a recent Mayan exhibition the ROM did in Canada.
* A Canadian theatrical performer from Toronto wondered around the streets of Polanco after participating in the musical "Mary Poppins" for the past two weeks. She enjoyed a "lovely" time as she states in this video.
* A Canadian man named David who has lived in Mexico with his wife for more than five years considers Mexico "a treasure" and says "it is very safe in Mexico"

* A Canadian student planning to stay until June in Mexico felt "safe" and is "really enjoying himself" with a group of other 10 students coming from Canada.

Last year, two Canadians, Geoff Fink and Tyler Ffrench, were among a group of North American volunteers who kindly volunteered to make the Pan American Games – the world's second largest sports event after the Olympics – a success in Guadalajara.

Canadians also flocked the headquarters of the Pan American Games as they met with Mexican organizers to share best practices as Toronto will become the next site of the Games. In fact, the Toronto Tourism and Conventions Association's communications director Andrew Weir and the Canadian Olympics Committee's communications coordinator Riley Denver shared their positive experiences while in Mexico.

Mexico is a modern, G-20 nation, with ancient Mayan ruins, beautiful beaches, stunning natural beauty, and the second largest economy in Latin America. This year, because it is 2012 and the year of the Mayan prophecies, Mexico is receiving tourists from all over the world who want to visit the Mayan sites at Palenque, Tulum, Chichen Itza, and elsewhere. Mexico is also a rich nation blessed with abundant natural resources and has become one of Canada's leading trade partners. There is so much to explore in Mexico, and we thank the more than 10 million visitors Mexico welcomed at the end of 2011 alone for visiting our country.

Five reasons the world won't end in 2012

From the Christian Science Monitor: Five reasons the world won't end in 2012

On Dec. 21, 2012, many doomsday believers fear the apocalypse — anything from a rogue planet smashing into us to our world spinning end over end. However, the world should expect nothing more next year than the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, NASA says.

Many people point to the end of the Mayan Long Count calendar on Dec. 21, 2012 as evidence of the coming apocalypse, but astronomers have been quick to stress that there is nothing to be concerned about.

According to the ancient Mayan calendar, next year's winter solstice marks the end of a 144,000-day cycle. This cycle, which begins at the mythical Maya creation date, has already been repeated 12 times. The 13th will end in 2012, capping a full 5,200-year Mayan cycle of creation.

This date has long been shrouded in mystery, with many claiming that it will bring destruction to our planet.

1. Rogue planet Nibiru?
One fear is that a rogue planet that has been dubbed "Nibiru" or "Planet X" is supposedly aimed at Earth. Self-proclaimed Nibiru expert Nancy Lieder, who says she is in contact with the aliens from Zeta Reticuli, first said Nibiru would cause widespread disaster in May 2003, only to change it to Dec. 21, 2012.

There is, however, no evidence that Nibiru is real.

"Nibiru is ridiculous because it doesn't exist — it never existed as anything other than a figment of the imagination by pseudo-scientists who don't seem bothered by a complete lack of evidence," astronomer Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object program office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., told SPACE.com.

There is no basis for the claim that it might be lurking behind the sun, as it could not have hidden from observation until now, Yeomans said. If such a planet was headed toward Earth by Dec. 21, 2012, it would already be visible to the naked eye.

2. Cosmic alignments?
There are also concerns that planets or stars might line up in ways that will transform Earth. For instance, some theorists claim that from our point of view, the sun will cross in front of the plane of our galaxy on Dec. 21. However, the sun already does this twice a year, Yeomans said.

In fact, the sun will eventually cross the plane of our galaxy. However, the sun is about 67 light-years from the galactic plane, so it should take several million years to do so, Yeomans said. Even then, when our solar system finally does cross the plane, nothing special will occur, he added.

The only bodies that have any significant gravitational impact on Earth are the moon and the sun, effects we see as the tides. Tidal effects from other bodies in our solar system are negligible at best, and in any case, we have experienced them for millions of years without notice.

3. Solar storms?
Solar storms — deluges of energetic particles from the sun — do happen, usually waxing and waning in cycles that last roughly 11 years. When these charged particles collide with Earth, they can trigger auroras and damage satellites and power lines, although not really inflicting any lasting harm, Yeomans said.

There are accounts of a solar "super-storm" slamming into Earth in 1859. Although that caused relatively little damage back then, there are concerns that such a storm might cause far more harm now that our world is more dependent on electronics.

Yet, there is no evidence that such a super-storm will happen on Dec. 21 of next year, Yeomans said.

4. Flip-flopping Earth?
There is some alarm that 2012 could see the flipping of Earth's poles — either the planet's geographical poles, which mark the Earth's axis of rotation, or its magnetic poles, which our compasses point toward.

But, there is no reason to fear such an occurrence, scientists said, because the moon stabilizes our planet's spin. The planet's magnetic poles do flip, but over periods of about 500,000 years, and not suddenly, "but over thousands of years," with no evidence of a flip on Dec. 21, 2012, Yeomans said.

Even if the planet's magnetic poles do flip, no real problems would occur, other than the inconvenience of us having to change our compasses from north to south, he added.

5. Cosmic impacts?
The Earth is always vulnerable to impacts by comets and asteroids, but giant impacts are rare, with the last major collision taking place 65 million years ago, ending the Age of Dinosaurs.

Still, astronomers do monitor the sky for near-Earth objects.

"There are no known near-Earth objects in 2012 that present a credible risk to Earth," Yeomans said. "None, zero, zip, nada."

But despite evidence to the contrary, doomsdays theorists have garnered attention, and similar prophecies will continue to proliferate unless scientists become more involved in bringing truth to these outlandish claims, Yeomans said.

Mounting hysteria regarding these unfounded doomsday predictions "will improve only if scientists get more engaged in debunking pseudoscience," he said.

Climate change may have caused Mayan civilization's collapse

From the Christian Science Monitor: Climate change may have caused Mayan civilization's collapse
For unknown reasons, the ancient Mayan civilization then disintegrated more than a millennium ago. The number of people declined catastrophically to a fraction of the empire's former size, and the ruins of its great cities are now largely overgrown by jungle.

The collapse of the ancient Mayan civilization may have been linked to relatively modest dry spells, researchers now say.

The ancient Mayan empire once stretched across an area about the size of Texas, with cities and fields occupying what is now southern Mexico and northern Central America, including the countries of Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras. The height of the Mayan empire, known as the Classic period, reached from approximately A.D. 250 to at least A.D. 900.

The ancient Maya had what was arguably the most advanced civilization in the Americas. For instance, they made dramatic breakthroughs in astronomy that helped them very accurately predict where the moon and other planets would be in the sky centuries in the future. They also left behind many books and stone inscriptions regarding the stories of their gods and the history of their divine kings and queens.

For unknown reasons, the ancient Mayan civilization then disintegrated more than a millennium ago. The number of people declined catastrophically to a fraction of the empire's former size, and the ruins of its great cities are now largely overgrown by jungle. Scientists have long drawn connections between the slow decline of the ancient Maya, which took about two centuries, "to climate change, and especially to drought," said researcher Martín Medina-Elizalde at the Yucatan Center for Scientific Research in Mexico. "No sound estimates had been made about the severity of this drought, but some have suggested extreme scenarios."

To see how much rainfall the ancient Maya saw before the demise of their civilization, the researchers combined the four most detailed records of past climate changes known regarding the civilization's collapse — three from nearby lakes and one from a stalagmite, a mineral formation that grows upward from a cave floor. This helped develop a model of "the region's balance between evaporation and rainfall," Medina-Elizalde said.

The scientists found that rainfall in the region decreased episodically for periods as long as a decade at a time.

"Our results show rather modest rainfall reductions between times when the Classic Maya civilization flourished and its collapse between 800 to 950," said researcher Eelco Rohling, a paleoclimatologist at the University of Southampton in England. "These reductions amount to only 25 to 40 percent in annual rainfall, but they were large enough for evaporation to become dominant over rainfall, and open water availability was rapidly reduced. The data suggest that the main cause was a decrease in summer storm activity."

The timing of these dry spells might help explain why modest reductions in rainfall still may have helped cause the demise of a well-established civilization.

"Summer was the main season for cultivation and replenishment of Maya freshwater storage systems and there are no rivers in the Yucatan lowlands," Rohling said.

It appeared to Rohling that the ancient Maya had become reliant on continuous rainfall supplies, and had stretched the capacity of their farmlands to a fine limit based on normal levels of rain. "Then, even a rather subtle climatic change was enough to create serious problems," he told LiveScience. "Societal disruptions and abandonment of cities are likely consequences of critical water shortages, especially because there seems to have been a rapid repetition of multiyear droughts."

Rohling emphasized they are not saying that climate ended the ancient Mayan civilization. "We are documenting that there was a reduction in rainfall, and that reservoirs of water were evaporating," he said. This may in turn have led to societal unrest or diseases or both, "which are more likely to explain the actual collapse of society."

The scientists noted that the droughts they saw during the demise of the ancient Mayan civilization were similar in severity to those projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for the near future in the same region.

"There are differences too, but the warning is clear — what seems like a minor reduction in water availability may lead to important, long-lasting problems," Medina-Elizalde said. "This problem is not unique to the Yucatan Peninsula, but applies to all regions in similar settings where evaporation is high. Today, we have the benefit of awareness, and we should act accordingly."

The scientists detailed their findings in the Feb. 24 issue of the journal Science

Tribute to a legend: Documenting a treasure that surpasses cultural and geographical boundaries

From International Herald Tribune: Tribute to a legend: Documenting a treasure that surpasses cultural and geographical boundaries ISLAMABAD: To commemorate the 25th death anniversary of the legendary artist, “The Saga of Sadequain” was launched at Serena Hotel on Sunday.

Almost 100 people, including a number of artists, intellectuals and art lovers attended the book launch, which was held by Sadequain Foundation.

Addressing the audience, the author, Dr Salman Ahmed, said that the book, containing over 850 pages and 500 illustrations, is the largest publication to be written in the history of Pakistan.

The book, he said, contains carefully selected facts on Sadequain’s development as an artist and the way his lifestyle affected his work. It is the ninth book to be launched by the foundation.

The author, who left his profession as an engineer, has been on his mission to collect Sadequain’s work and compile the book for the past four years.

“He is not known to people despite his story being intriguing. There are a lot of people who talk about him but they can’t describe him,” said the author.

According to Ahmed, Sadequain has produced more murals than Diego Rivera and Michelangelo Buonarroti, and he is a subject of many books, doctorates and thesis.

“The multiplicity of his gifts is reminiscent of Picasso,” he added.

Sadequain Foundation is aiming to stock the book in the libraries 50 American universities and to display his work in 12 museums across the US.

Born in 1930, Sadequain started working at the age of 17 and produced 1,500 art pieces including gigantic murals, intriguing paintings, innovative calligraphies and exquisite drawings.

In addition to that, he has also composed thousands of introspective quatrains. He introduced monumental murals to the visual vocabulary of Pakistan by painting over 45 murals, two of which have been preserved at Mangla Dam and the head office of State Bank of Pakistan in Karachi. He died in 1987.

“[The legacy of] Sadequain is a treasure, which surpasses cultural and geographical boundaries,” said Ahmad.

Do you believe in the 2012 Mayan Doomsday?

A couple months old, but interesting. From Spring Herald Grove: Do you believe in the 2012 Mayan Doomsday? Dec. 21, 2012 - The end of the world! Wow, that's not too far away. The prediction comes from the Mayan calendar, which until the 18th century was more accurate than anything the European civilizations had up until that time.

As the time for this prediction gets closer, I have been asked about this more and more frequently. The only reason I am writing this article is that I was asked by two different well-educated people at two different businesses within half an hour about the Mayan prediction of the "End of the World."

Each conversation started in almost exactly the same way... "Dean, you know a bit about astronomy, what do you think about the Mayan 2012 Doomsday Prediction?"

I replied, "All those guys on TV who talk about the 2012 end of the world have bad haircuts, talk in funny accents, go by names like Cedric, Rupert and Percival, and are masters of the words 'could, if, maybe, might, perhaps, possibly, potentially and what.'

"Then they quote some obscure ancient documents made by the astronomer-priests who practiced human sacrifice and present that as ironclad proof that the 'End of the World' is imminent.

"To further cement the current hoax, they mention that the winter solstice will coincide with the rising of the sun with the galactic core, which is a mere 28,000 light years distant."

That indeed might sound pretty impressive except for the fact that the nearest star system to the Earth is Alpha Centauri, which lies 4.4 light years away - 25 trillion miles away.

The fastest spacecraft we have launched, Voyager 1, is traveling at 11 miles per second. At that speed you could reach La Crosse, Wis., in 3 seconds, (wouldn't that be nice!), but to reach Alpha Centauri would take 40,000 years.

But no matter; the conjunction of the Earth, sun and our galactic core will take place on Dec. 21, the winter solstice. How did they predict this in the first place?

The astronomer-priests of the New World, which included the Mayan, Aztec and Incan civilizations, were undoubtedly the greatest visual astronomers the world has ever seen. They could tell summer solstice, autumnal equinox, winter solstice and vernal equinox. These are all crucial to the planting and harvesting of crops.

In short, somebody had to have the ability to tell time. They did this by inventing three calendars: one, a five day "week;" second, a 260-day calendar that coincided with the orbit of Venus that had great impact for their religious purposes, and a 360-day solar calendar that gave them 18 months of 20 days.

The 260-day calendar and the 360-day calendar started on the same day only once every 52 years and this they called it "The Calendar Round".

They knew that they had to throw in five extra days at the end, which where considered "unlucky." Even more impressive, in my opinion, was that they could forecast lunar and solar eclipses, which must have seemed like magic to the average populace. But for me, the most astounding thing that they accomplished in visual astronomy was that they knew that for a star to rise one calendar day later than in the previous calendar year, it took 72 years to accomplish this. This is what causes the precession of the Earth's poles, which takes 25,800 years to shift from current pole star to come around again to the one we see in our sky. This fascinated me to no end, because the average lifespan of a New World astronomer-priest/human sacrificer was only roughly 50 years. How could they accomplish this? The answer is simple. They stared through a hole in the wall of their temples and timed when a prominent star arose. Since the rise of that star took more than their lifetimes, the information had to be passed down from father to son, or elder to apprentice. This would have taken incredible patience, and probably would have beaten watching television. It also may have explained why human sacrifice might have made up for the tedium of proving the existence of precession, but knowing this was vital to knowing of the passing of a "world age." When the sun did not rise in a certain constellation in the sky, or in the case of the New World astronomer-priests, they often used the dark nebulas in the Milky Way to judge this. Then when the sun passes from one mark to another, which also makes our Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn no longer pertinent, to them it was the end of a World Age. Since they were exceptional visual observers, but had never looked through a telescope, how wonderful it would be if I could get one of them to Eagle Bluff one night, overcome the language barrier, have the guy dressed for Minnesota cold and could persuade him not to sink his obsidian knife into my chest to cut my heart out. We could have learned a lot from each other. But the chances of that are the same as the Mayan Doomsday prediction coming true on Dec. 21. Once again, we are faced with that (at least to Cedric, Percival and Rupert). We are now faced with the End of the World. This has to rate right up there with the Y2K scare of 2000 and the Millerite end of the world prediction of 1859, which was tried twice. What will happen on Dec. 21, 2012? Well, I can tell you just what will happen. Cedric, Percival and Rupert will be down at their favorite bar with decent haircuts, no longer talking in funny accents and calling each other by their real names of Charlie, Pete and Bob, and they'll be bragging about how much money each of them made by scaring the hell out of people while they are enjoying a cold beer. Then they will start brainstorming about the next big End of the World event when the asteroid Apophis will make its close pass to Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029. (Ooooh! Scary!) Stand by, astronomy fans, I'm sure there will be more on THAT to come. In the meantime, one word of advice, BE SURE TO GET YOUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING DONE EARLY! Because when the poor saps who have bought into this farce wake up on Dec. 22 to find that they are still here and the world hasn't come to an end, the malls are going to be packed!

Sedona, CA, Mar 23: Mayan 2012 Predictions Talk and Concert with Thunderbeat

From Sedona.biz: Mayan 2012 Predictions Talk and Concert with Thunderbeat Friday, March 23rd 7PM, at the Sedona Creative Life Center, Sedona, AZ
Sedona AZ (February 19, 2012) – This gathering is in honor of the spring equinox and events to come in 2012, with a multimedia performance by ThunderBeat & the Sexy Skulls. Multi award winning ThunderBeat is an inspirational speaker, author and composer, Baluhecjah, on didgeridoo and Daniel Dreaming Eagle on flute.

ThunderBeat has been traveling since the early 1990′s to the Mayan lands speaking with many Mayan Shamans, has worked with John Major Jenkins and has conducting master ceremonies in the pyramids. She has received knowledge that is not in any books.

At this special gathering she will be speaking about the Mayan Prophesy and the December 21, 2012 date, the Shifts, time speeding up and the Spanish/Mayan holocaust.

ThunderBeat will share her magical experiences at the Mayan temples and her past life as a Mayan High Priestess.

During the one hour concert following the presentation, ThunderBeat will perform her Multimedia light show and Mayan tribal music with Ancient Activational tones that bring you into higher states of consciousness.

Her CD, MAYAN LANDING 2012, was honored with the Native American Music Award for Best World and New Age Recording.

ThunderBeat is a Native American of Choctaw and Shawnee heritage. She has studied at the prestigious Eastman School of Music. Her healing mystical drumming is revered by Shamans all over the world. ThunderBeat has performed with Mayan Shaman Jose Arguelles (The Mayan Factor) and she has been nominated for five Native American Music Awards. ThunderBeat is greatly known for her drumming but is also a multi –award winning composer, sound healer, author and teacher.

She is a healer and psychic whose talents have been used to solve major criminal cases. She has recorded numerous CDs internationally for ThunderVision Records.

Come and experience a phenomenal evening of insight for the future and music that will raise you Vibration! $20 tickets available at Crystal Magic. $25 at the door. For more information, call 928.204.0752.

Interviews The 2012 Mayan prophecy according to Ed Barnhart, director of the Maya Exploration Center

From Denver Westword Blogs: Interviews: The 2012 Mayan prophecy according to Ed Barnhart, director of the Maya Exploration Center
Wonder what's going to happen on December 21? Ed Barnhart, director of the esteemed Maya Exploration Center, has been studying the Mayans since long before 2012 conspiracy theorists dreamed up this whole end-of-the-world thing, and he'll be lecturing on "Misunderstanding the Maya: 2012 and Why You Shouldn't Worry" at the Denver Art Museum on Sunday, February 19, at 2:30 p.m.

We recently caught up with him to ask why he doesn't think we should worry, what might happen on December 21 and more:

Westword: How did you first become interested in the Mayan culture?

Ed Barnhart: In some regards, it began as a kid. I really was enamored with the idea of exploring places that had been lost forever, so when I went to college, I had the idea of going to South America. I was fascinated to think that Macchu Picchu had been found, and the Andes are such forboding places that there must be more there. I walked into college with a desire to explore and find new places. I found at the time that very few people were doing research in South America, and at CU-Boulder, I found a professor discussing the Maya. His name was Payson Sheets, he's a great archaeologist, and he introduced me to the world of the Maya. In my very first class with him, he told the class there was going to be a school in Honduras, there were only a few openings, so I fired off my last hundred dollars as a college freshman, and I made it in. I went to Honduras for a month where I met who was to become my mentor and teacher, Linda Schele. Those two excellent teachers gave me the buzz. So that was the beginning of my Mayan experience.

What will you have to say in this talk?

I was interested in the Maya calendar and mathematics and astronomy long before any of this business about 2012 came up. My father's a scientist, so I always leaned toward the more scientific aspects when I was studying the Maya. Then all this business about the end of the calendar comes up. I do not believe that this is the end of the calendar, and I do not see any prophecy. My talk is entitled "Why you shouldn't worry," and here's why: Number one, there are no prophecies, so that's one of the things I want to explain there. And number two, I think we are making a mathematical error, an assumption from a Western point of view, about the calendar. I don't believe it ends or resets in 2012. I believe that we have been misled, that there are no prophecies pointing to 2012 or any other date. I am going to talk a little bit about pseudoscience ideas, people's worries about polar flares and magnetic pole shifts, I'm going to address some of that.

Why do you think people have latched onto this date the way they have?

It's human nature, I believe, to be fascinated with the idea that there's some sort of end in the future, and that people, either ancient or modern, can predict how and when it's going to happen. We just went through Y2K, that was such a big thing, and we passed it and looked, as humans, toward something new. There have been talks about Nostradumus and how his writings are supposed to link up toward this supposed dates of the Maya. When this goes, we'll pick something else. One of the things I'll go through in my talk is that through the past five thousand years in human history, every generation has someone saying the world is going to end, and now it's the Mayas turn.

So what - if anything - do you think will happen on December 21?

With all of these people thinking these various things, I am a proponent of self-fulfilling prophecies. I think there's going to be a lot of people expecting something. But I think the day will pass like any other day. I think there'll be lots of people in the Maya ruins. I fear there may even be some cults who try to bring themselves to an end. I hope there's not a Jonestown sort of thing among any folks, I hope that doesn't happen to people. But I think as far as the world and people, it'll be a day like any other day. Now I do believe that the Maya would see this date coming up, December 21, 2012, as an important junction in their calendar. Kind of a grand anniversary, even. It's the completion of thirteen baktuns, which are four-hundred-year periods. The reason we get this date to begin with is their creation story tells us that the third creation ended when thirteen baktuns were complete, and now we're in the fourth creation, and we're coming up on thirteen baktuns again. That's why people are assuming everything will start again. And I believe the Maya had an idea -- instead of prophecies, what they had is kind of a cyclical view of time and the cosmos, and there were certain times where cycles came around, and it was kind of your obligation, or at least a good idea, to change the way you live. And I think this is one of those times. So the Maya themselves would be expecting a time of what some people call transformation and renewal. But it's something we do, not something that happens to us.

And what about people who think the date signifies a shift in consciousness instead of the end of the world?

That is looked at through a Western lens. The folks that are saying there's going to be a big shift in consciousness are implying that it's just going to happen to us, that we can stand around passively and receive this gift of transformation. That's not at all what the Maya would be saying about that. It's an opportunity for us to enact change. There's a sort of entitlement mentality that goes along with the idea of a consciousness shift. That's not what the Maya would say, they'd say it's a good time to go out there and be the change. Nobody gets something for nothing, right?

The Mayan Calendar 2012: End Timing Is Not Everything

From the National Catholic Register: The Mayan Calendar 2012: End Timing Is Not Everything The end of the world is once again nigh.

Or so claim interpreters of the so-called Mayan calendar.

But Catholics are advised to ignore this year’s end-times fantasy, just as they did regarding last year’s Bible-inspired prediction promoted by Protestant radio-show host Harold Camping.

Regis Martin, professor of theology at Franciscan University at Steubenville, Ohio, and author of The Last Things: Death, Judgment, Hell, Heaven, told the Register that “The surest thing we know about the end of the world is what Jesus said about it: ‘No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.’”

Given that Jesus, “in his divine humanity,” did not know when the end would be, Martin warns Catholics to be wary of anyone who claims such knowledge.

Catholics and other Christians agree that the end of the world will come and that it will include the physical return of Jesus and the Last Judgment. Beyond that, however, disagreement reigns supreme — and not least on the subject of the event’s timing.

Nor does the Mayan calendar actually predict the end of the world, according to Jimmy Akin, a radio commentator, apologist with California-based Catholic Answers and NCRegister.com blogger. “The Mayan calendar is not coming to an end in 2012. It’s coming to the end of a cycle, like our own calendar did in 2000. Its cycles are called ‘long counts,’ and one of these is ending in 2012.”

No Mayan Doomsday
Experts in archeology, such as Kathryn Reese-Taylor of the University of Calgary, add that the Maya built impressive stone tablets to record their calendar but made no predictions about the end of the world. The Aztecs and Hopis did, however, and, in 1966, an American academic named James Coe linked them with the Mayan calendar to spark the current apocalyptic focus on Dec. 21, 2012, the precise end of the calendar’s latest cycle.

Said Reese-Taylor in an article printed by a dozen newspapers across Canada: “We invented this doomsday scenario, not the ancient Maya.”

Interest in the end times has always been with us. Jesus was born at a time when many Jews hoped for a worldly Messiah who would free them from Roman rule and bring in a golden age.

Though Jesus did not believe the end times were imminent, Martin said, “I think some of his followers did and may have died dismayed that they hadn’t lived to see the end.”

Martin related how St. Augustine disputed with a bishop from Dalmatia who contended the Second Coming was imminent. The end of the first millennium sparked fears of the end. The rise of Protestantism and its subsequent revivals in Europe and America also inspired millenarian beliefs.

Mark Noll, a professor of history at the University of Notre Dame, said the immigration of Protestant dissenters to America from colonial times onward guaranteed plenty of speculation about the end times. Many were literate, avid readers of the Bible, and in America were free to expound their interpretations of its meaning, which were often literalistic. Many saw their new freedom from the doctrinaire pressure of established religions in Europe as a precursor of the return of Jesus and his 1,000-year reign. The American Revolution was another such sign. “The future was not always foreseen to be negative. Sometimes it’s about a much better world,” said Noll.

Failed Predictions
The 19th century was a period of great religious fervor in the U.S. that generated many millenarian religions, according to Noll, notably Seventh-Day Adventists, Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, which all managed to survive the failure of their initial predictions of Christ’s return.

“Most conservative Protestant theologians believe in the Second Coming and the end of the world,” said Noll, “but they would never try to predict it.”

However, a very persuasive minority of biblical interpreters, beginning with the 19th-century Irish preacher John Nelson Darby, did and do make precise predictions.

Hal Lindsey’s bestselling book, The Late, Great Planet Earth was the top-selling American book throughout the 1970s, and it spawned a host of imitators including Timothy LaHaye’s currently popular Left Behind series of novels and movies.

Some promote Darby’s view that Christ would return after a period of persecution called “Tribulation” that would begin with the “Rapture” — the assumption into heaven of all believers. They find support from Jesus’ calls to vigilance in Matthew 24, such as: “Two men will be out in a field; one will be taken, and one will be left.”

Any View Gets a Hearing
In the same vein was the prediction by Christian radio personality Harold Camping that the world was to end on May 21, 2011. Commented Noll, “What is characteristically American about this is that here any viewpoint can get a hearing, if the presentation is convincing.”

Much of the biblical-proof texts for those claiming to know the details of the end times are taken from St. John’s Revelation. Protestant millenarians often match fantastic figures in John’s vision with contemporary events and personalities to prove the imminence of the Second Coming. “Stalin was seen as the anti-Christ, and then Saddam Hussein was seen as the anti-Christ,” Martin said, adding that the Catholic Church teaches that Revelation should be taken as a metaphor for the ongoing daily spiritual battle that Christians and the Church fight with evil — and often with the evil within themselves.

As for those passages in Matthew’s and Mark’s Gospels in which millenarianists say that Jesus predicted the Tribulation and Rapture, Martin said that these should be taken as cautions to us all to ensure we are always in a state of grace, because death can come at any moment. “We need to be ready,” Martin said.

Catholic Answers’ Akin attributed the ongoing popularity of end-times speculation to people’s natural concern for the future, spiced up with “a certain excitement of acquiring lost knowledge” from, for example, the Bible or Mayan calendars.

Martin agrees. On the one hand, there is a purely natural, “psychological compulsion” at work in these movements, which are especially pronounced in times of great anxiety about the future. “What drives it is a need for security, for certitude,” he said.

On the other hand, Martin also sees in the desire to pin down the timing of the Second Coming an element of Gnosticism, a heresy that held the material world to be either illusory or evil, while only a select few possessed secret wisdom: “We see a small group claiming to have secret knowledge or privileged insight that makes them superior. It gives them an edge.”

A Primer to the End Times
Pre-Millenialist: Christ returns physically to begin literal rule of the world, in some versions for an actual millennium, but in most, just for a long time. This will be followed by the Final Judgment.

Post-Millenialist: Christ returns after a 1000-year period of peace and conversion of the world to Christianity for the Final Judgment.

Amillienalist: Catholic teaching is consistent with this view: We are already in the period of Christ’s rule, through the Holy Spirit in the Church. It will end with a period of persecution called the Tribulation, followed by Jesus’ second physical coming, at which time the faithful will be lifted up to heaven in the Rapture, as will all who have ever lived, for the Final Judgment.

The Rapture: Theories as to its timing also fall into three camps, depending on whether it is held to happen before, after or in the midst of the Tribulation period. The website ScriptureCatholic.com points out that only the post-tribulation view is consistent with Catholic interpretation of Scripture, which describes the Rapture as coinciding with the second coming of Christ and the Final Judgment. The other two views require Christ to come three times: at Bethlehem, at the Rapture and at the Final Judgment.

Mexico Sets New Tourism Record

From MarketWatch: Mexico Sets New Tourism Record
MEXICO CITY, Feb. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- SECTUR, The Mexican Ministry of Tourism revealed that 2011 was a record breaking year for tourism. 22.67 million international travelers visited Mexico in 2011; this represents an increase of 2 percent on 2010, a 5.7 percent increase on 2009, and a 0.2 percent increase on 2008 - historically Mexico's best year for international tourism.

"We are overjoyed that Mexico has broken our longstanding record with regard to international visitation," said Rodolfo Lopez-Negrete, Chief Operating Officer of the Mexico Tourism Board, "these figures clearly demonstrate that the bold diversification strategy we have implemented, promoting a broad tourism offering and targeting an expanded breed of global consumer, is succeeding."

Following efforts to attract a more diverse cohort of tourists from a range of international markets, Mexico saw in a significant increase in visitor numbers compared to 2010 from Brazil (66 percent), Russia (55 percent), China (30 percent), Colombia (23.2 percent), Italy (13 percent), Australia (13 percent) United Kingdom (11.6 percent), France (10 percent), Japan (9.3 percent) and Canada (7 percent).Mexico remains the most popular international destination for U.S. tourists. The economic environment in the U.S. translated to fewer Americans traveling abroad in 2011; according to the Department of Commerce international air travel from the U.S. declined 4.1 percent in 2011. Mexico, however increased its market share in the US from 14.1 to 15 percent.

A key focus for the Mexico Tourism Board in 2012 will also be to capitalize on, celebrate and promote the start of the new Mayan calendar, promoting travel to the five state which comprise the Mayan World - specifically Quintana Roo, Campeche, Tabasco, Chiapas and the Yucatan.

"Building off an exceptionally strong 2011 we are confident that 2012 will be another record breaking year, particularly in light of the upcoming campaign to promote Mundo Maya."

For more information or to arrange an interview please contact:Jennifer RisiOgilvy Public Relations Worldwide+1-646-240-6297

SOURCE SECTUR, The Mexican Ministry of Tourism

Cosmic destruction: The end of the dinosaurs

From the Canton (Ohio) Daily Ledger: Cosmic destruction: The end of the dinosaurs
CANTON — The Yucatan area of Central America, one of the hubs of Mayan civilization, is home to a large number of sinkholes, called cenotes in the Mayan language, which served as drinking holes and bathing pools for the Maya before recorded history.

Arranged in a semi-circular belt, these holes radiate from the land to under the waters of the Caribbean. Scientists believe these sinkholes were the inner rim of a large crater caused by an asteroid hitting the earth. The impact of the crash, according to most scientists today, was the cause for the extinction of the dinosaurs. The area where the crater is located goes by the name of Chicxulub (Chic-shoe-lube), which means sign of the horns or tail of the devil in Mayan. The Maya, of course, were the ones doomsday advocates say predicted the end of the world in December of this year. And while the coincidence is interesting, any idea that the asteroid impact and the supposed Mayan doomsday prediction are related is hard to credit.

The reason? The Chicxulub impact reportedly occurred about 65 million years ago, thousands of centuries before our earliest ancestors were around, according to the evolutionary theory.

For years scientist believed the extinction of the dinosaurs was a gradual change, based on the law of natural selection and a response to slowly changing climatic conditions and/or competition from other species. A few scientists, however, believed the extinction was the result of a catastrophic event, such as a massive asteroid impact or volcanic eruption.

Evidence, however, began to swing toward the catastrophic theory. Geologists and archeologists noted a worldwide layer in the earth's crust with unusual mineralogical characteristics which could be accounted for by a collision with an asteroid. They also noted dinosaur fossils were found under but not over this layer.

But the acceptance of the impact theory led to another controversy--where was the impact site? Since most of the earth's surface is ocean, it was quite possible for the crater caused by the impact to be at the bottom of the sea, making it difficult to find. Another problem was natural erosion, which could, over millions of years, have eradicated the site. And because there are so many craters around the globe, it was difficult to pinpoint which one was the culprit or culprits, since the extinction could have been the effect of a number of impacts.

Scientists finally narrowed the site to the Chicxulub crater because of its size, the time frame in which it occurred, and other geological factors.

According to Charles Frankel in his book "The End of the Dinosaurs," the projectile which created the Chicxulub crater was roughly one thousand billion tons, hitting the earth with a force "10,000 times the explosive energy of the world's entire nuclear arsenal, American and Russian bombs combined."

Only 1 percent of the impact was transmitted to the ocean and atmosphere, which was enough to produce hurricane-force winds and a giant tsunami in the gulf. And the vacuum created by the blast caused the air to flow back into the area, creating a "two-way" hurricane effect.

While the hurricane winds caused by the impact were probably limited to the Gulf Coast and Central America, tidal waves could have been felt as far away as the Atlantic coasts of Europe and Africa. Water also raced far into the North American continent, drowning everything in its path.

The land effect was even more pronounced. The impact itself created ground waves measuring 10 on the Richter scale, 1,000 times more energy than the strongest recorded earthquakes. The impact also caused earthquakes on the other side of the world in the southwestern Pacific.

Thousands of billions of tons of rock--vaporized, molten and solid--were thrown up into the air, with a plume of thermal energy spreading in all directions, fueled by the near vacuum caused by the asteroid's plunge through the atmosphere. The upper layers of the atmosphere became a blazing inferno, and the amount of heat reaching the earth would have caused soil temperatures to rise to the heat level of an oven set on broil. Fires would have been ignited all over the world, burning animals and plants to a crisp. As Frankel put it, "one might even wonder why there were any survivors at all."

Scientists have projected this was followed by a dust cloud covering the earth for an estimated two years, with total darkness for months and a disruption of the process of photosynthesis, causing problems for the plants which are the basis of the food chain. Temperatures plummeted and then a warming trend caused by the greenhouse effect of the released gasses enveloped the earth for thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of years.

Since ocean plankton and terrestrial plants were seriously affected, the animals who used them for food were also impacted. And the chain of extinction continued as the reduction of herbivores lead to starvation for many carnivores.

Species which survived did so, in part, because of smaller size. Since it takes less food to sustain smaller animals than larger ones, less available food would have a more direct impact on larger animals such as dinosaurs. Another factor was what Frankel termed the "bunker effect," with amphibians and sea-bottom species protected by diving to the bottom of the oceans and lakes, and mammals burrowing into the earth for protection. Most important, however, could have been the fact that surviving species were more diversified in their sources of food, while those which went extinct were more specialized.

And while the effects of the Chicxulub impact caused what scientists refer to as quick extinction, the end of the dinosaurs did not happen overnight. The dinosaur extinction took place over thousands of years, a long time for us but a mere blip in geological time.

But the death of the dinosaurs was not the first extinction in earth's history, or even the most lethal. Next, we turn our attention to those earlier mass extinctions. The Yucatan area of Central America, one of the hubs of Mayan civilization, is home to a large number of sinkholes, called cenotes in the Mayan language, which served as drinking holes and bathing pools for the Maya before recorded history.

Arranged in a semi-circular belt, these holes radiate from the land to under the waters of the Caribbean. Scientists believe these sinkholes were the inner rim of a large crater caused by an asteroid hitting the earth. The impact of the crash, according to most scientists today, was the cause for the extinction of the dinosaurs. The area where the crater is located goes by the name of Chicxulub (Chic-shoe-lube), which means sign of the horns or tail of the devil in Mayan. The Maya, of course, were the ones doomsday advocates say predicted the end of the world in December of this year. And while the coincidence is interesting, any idea that the asteroid impact and the supposed Mayan doomsday prediction are related is hard to credit. The reason? The Chicxulub impact reportedly occurred about 65 million years ago, thousands

of centuries before our earliest ancestors were around, according to the evolutionary theory. For years scientist believed the extinction of the dinosaurs was a gradual change, based on the law of natural selection and a response to slowly changing climatic conditions and/or competition from other species. A few scientists, however, believed the extinction was the result of a catastrophic event, such as a massive asteroid impact or volcanic eruption.

Evidence, however, began to swing toward the catastrophic theory. Geologists and archeologists noted a worldwide layer in the earth's crust with unusual mineralogical characteristics which could be accounted for by a collision with an asteroid. They also noted dinosaur fossils were found under but not over this layer.

But the acceptance of the impact theory led to another controversy--where was the impact site? Since most of the earth's surface is ocean, it was quite possible for the crater caused by the impact to be at the bottom of the sea, making it difficult to find. Another problem was natural erosion, which could, over millions of years, have eradicated the site. And because there are so many craters around the globe, it was difficult to pinpoint which one was the culprit or culprits, since the extinction could have been the effect of a number of impacts. Scientists finally narrowed the site to the Chicxulub crater because of its size, the time frame in which it occurred, and other geological factors.

According to Charles Frankel in his book "The End of the Dinosaurs," the projectile which created the Chicxulub crater was roughly one thousand billion tons, hitting the earth with a force "10,000 times the explosive energy of the world's entire nuclear arsenal, American and Russian bombs combined."

Only 1 percent of the impact was transmitted to the ocean and atmosphere, which was enough to produce hurricane-force winds and a giant tsunami in the gulf. And the vacuum created by the blast caused the air to flow back into the area, creating a "two-way" hurricane effect.

While the hurricane winds caused by the impact were probably limited to the Gulf Coast and Central America, tidal waves could have been felt as far away as the Atlantic coasts of Europe and Africa. Water also raced far into the North American continent, drowning everything in its path.

The land effect was even more pronounced. The impact itself created ground waves measuring 10 on the Richter scale, 1,000 times more energy than the strongest recorded earthquakes. The impact also caused earthquakes on the other side of the world in the southwestern Pacific.

Thousands of billions of tons of rock--vaporized, molten and solid--were thrown up into the air, with a plume of thermal energy spreading in all directions, fueled by the near vacuum caused by the asteroid's plunge through the atmosphere. The upper layers of the atmosphere became a blazing inferno, and the amount of heat reaching the earth would have caused soil temperatures to rise to the heat level of an oven set on broil. Fires would have been ignited all over the world, burning animals and plants to a crisp. As Frankel put it, "one might even wonder why there were any survivors at all."

Scientists have projected this was followed by a dust cloud covering the earth for an estimated two years, with total darkness for months and a disruption of the process of photosynthesis, causing problems for the plants which are the basis of the food chain. Temperatures plummeted and then a warming trend caused by the greenhouse effect of the released gasses enveloped the earth for thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of years.

Since ocean plankton and terrestrial plants were seriously affected, the animals who used them for food were also impacted. And the chain of extinction continued as the reduction of herbivores lead to starvation for many carnivores.

Species which survived did so, in part, because of smaller size. Since it takes less food to sustain smaller animals than larger ones, less available food would have a more direct impact on larger animals such as dinosaurs. Another factor was what Frankel termed the "bunker effect," with amphibians and sea-bottom species protected by diving to the bottom of the oceans and lakes, and mammals burrowing into the earth for protection. Most important, however, could have been the fact that surviving species were more diversified in their sources of food, while those which went extinct were more specialized.

And while the effects of the Chicxulub impact caused what scientists refer to as quick extinction, the end of the dinosaurs did not happen overnight. The dinosaur extinction took place over thousands of years, a long time for us but a mere blip in geological time.

But the death of the dinosaurs was not the first extinction in earth's history, or even the most lethal. Next, we turn our attention to those earlier mass extinctions.

Book Review: 2012: A New Maya Nation Emerges by Edward D. Curry

From the Seattle PI: Book Review: 2012: A New Maya Nation Emerges by Edward D. Curry Edward D. Curry's intuitive nature, vivid imagination, and extensive research are evident in 2012: A New Maya Nation Emerges, the dramatic climax to the third novel in his Maya adventure series.

Through the use of a short but comprehensive prologue, Curry provides a synopsis of the earlier books in the series: Temple of the Two Jaguars and 2012 Maya End Date: A New Beginning. This synopsis introduces new readers to the series and serves as a reminder to his followers of the main events leading up to the current book in the series, 2012: A New Maya Nation Emerges.

Representatives from the Mexican government, Mayan leaders, and the Smithsonian Institution convene in Mexico City to consider presentations on the Celestial Awareness Program, the Maya end date projection, the future of Mesoamerica, and the advancement in plate tonic and remote sensing technology, (specifically LiDar and ALSM) for penetrating jungle foliage.

Plans are set in motion for a new Maya culture with a strategy for formation and relocation of the Maya to a newly created town, Nuevo Ciduad, in Guatemala. A cast of over 40 "real-as-life" characters, intricately interacting, add a unique dimension to a masterful character-driven plot which includes intrigue, suspense, adventure, and romance. Curry baits the reader with dialog that includes the promise of action and danger just ahead to build suspense, tension, conflict, and resolution. Ryan Keshaw's first person narration, sometimes overtly casual, helps the reader identify and become engaged in his characters. His stimulating dialog also helps move the story forward and establishes important background information. A behind the scenes look into life with his precocious young daughter Lynn, their new baby son Ryan, his own work with the Ryan Keshaw Consulting firm, and his wife Allie's position as lead archaeologist at the Smithsonian, helps the reader relate to their personal hectic lifestyle, balancing parenting with successful careers.

Chapter titles add a touch of humor and lightness to a subject matter that might otherwise be wholly academic even as a work of fiction. Ryan's humorous quips and uncanny wit left me quietly guffawing with a lingering smile right on through to the next chapter.

In a narrative beautifully describing the customs and simplicity of a Maya wedding, an emphasis on harmonious interaction with Mother Nature, and glimpses into the sacred book Popol Vuh, the introduction of demons residing in underground caves, psychic talent and crystal balls add another dimension to the range of topics considered in a storyline filled with the unexpected.

Curry's writing is compelling. Rather than painting a doomsday scenario, he draws a picture of a world on the verge of change as a result of the 2012 Maya end date, which will impact the populace and economy extending beyond Mexico, Guatemala, and United States. This is intense, believable, historical fiction reflecting day-to-day living in a contemporary setting. The reader is transported to the highlands of Guatemala. Graphic descriptions of ancient rituals, rites, and ceremonies add to the colorful history of the Maya.

Curry combines information and insights from the studies of anthropology, Latin American history, ancient religion, mysticism, and astrological forecasting in the fictional account of the Mayan Civilization, its history, culture, art, architecture, symbolism, mythology, superstitions, and contributions to civilization

2012: A New Maya Nation Emerges is compelling, scholarly, entertaining creative fiction with a unique twist of wry humor. This is a must read for astrology followers, archeologists, and anthropologists - and just about everyone else.

Farmers, mark your calendars

Not a news report on people preparing for TEOTWAWKI, but rather just someone referencing it humorously.

But that's the type of thing I report here as well as real news, so:

From the Jamestown Sun: Farmers, mark your calendars You may have heard that the Mayan calendar ends in 2012, and that it might be the end of the world. Just for your information, the Mayan calendar ends like ours ends, on Dec. 31. As the song goes, “don’t worry, be happy.”

There is another thing to put on your calendar this year. It is the second annual “Ag Outlook Seminar for Farmers and Ranchers.” Last year, the event was well attended, the food was good, and it didn’t cost the attendees a cent.

There were a lot of positive comments from last year’s seminar. I have received a lot of requests to do it again this year. With all of the changes in agriculture, I’m sure that you will not want to miss this.

This year, it will be held at the North Dakota Farmers Union Conference Center in Jamestown. Again, there will be another free meal, and this year it is sponsored by Stutsman County Farmers Union.

Registration will be at 9:30 a.m. The first presentation at 10 a.m. will be “Crop Outlook” and will cover wheat, corn, soybeans, and sunflowers. The next speaker will discuss “Cash and Flexible Cash Land Lease Arrangements and Strategies.” This topic will cover the different types of cash and flexible cash land leases and will include the concept of bonus payments.

A discussion on “Crop Share Lease Agreements” covering the risks and rewards of a crop share lease will follow. Spreadsheets will be used to show how to set up an equitable share lease by crop and region.

We will hold nominations and elections for the North Dakota Sunflower representative from our county right before lunch. It is critical that you show for this if you raise sunflowers (and I know who you are). Even if you don’t run, it is important that you are there so that you can have a voice in this process.

After lunch will be a presentation on “Crop Selection/Input Costs.” This information can save you “the producer” a lot of money.

The last presentation on “Cattle Outlook” will be given by Dr. Tim Petry. His presentation is done last so that cattle producers can complete chores and have an opportunity to hear this great presentation. Last year many of the crop producers stuck around to see how their crops would fit in this process.

General Motors will keep airing Mayan calendar ad despite Ford's request to stop

From the Detroit Free Press: General Motors will keep airing Mayan calendar ad despite Ford's request to stop General Motors stands by its Super Bowl ad that plays on the apocalyptic end of the world according to the Mayan calendar that stakes survival on driving a Chevrolet Silverado. The ad, which can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/user/Chevrolet/home">http://www.youtube.com/user/Chevrolet/home, is scheduled to run in the first quarter of the Super Bowl. It is one of five Chevy spots to run today. GM released a statement today saying Chevrolet was asked by Ford on Saturday to stop airing the ad that suggests the owner of a Ford F-150 pickup did not make it to the meeting point. GM points out the “2012” ad is an over-the-top spoof with “the devastation and destruction predicted to occur this year by the Mayan calendar includes giant attack robots, meteors and frogs falling from the sky.” “We stand by our claims in the commercial, that the Silverado is the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size pickup on the road. The ad is a fun way of putting this claim in the context of the apocalypse,” said GM Global Chief Marketing Officer Joel Ewanick. Jim Farley, Ford’s global marketing chief, said Ford takes pride in its sales supremacy in the truck segment for 35 years. “So from an advertising standpoint, we will absolutely defend our leadership in the market.” Farley said the letter was intended to challenge the assertions GM is making about durability. “I write to demand that you refrain from running this commercial,” Ford lawyer Lynne Matuszak writes in the letter first obtained by the Detroit News. Ford demands that Chevrolet “immediately cease and desist from making any unsubstantiated and disparaging claims regarding Ford's pickup trucks” and insists that GM not run the ad during the Super Bowl; remove it from their website, YouTube, Facebook and any other Internet sites. Spokesman Mike Levine said Ford has more trucks on the road with at least 250,000 miles on them. “That demonstrates how durable they are in the real world.” Farley said Ford has made its point and the ball is in GM’s court. Further action is not planned on Ford’s part, he said, although the letter threatens “if Chevrolet does not comply with the above terms prior to the start of the Super Bowl, then Ford will take all appropriate steps to enforce and protect its reputation.” As for GM, “we can wait until the world ends, and if we need to, we will apologize,” Ewanick’s statement said. “In the meantime, people who are really worried about the Mayan calendar coming true should buy a Silverado right away,” Ewanick said. Ford did not have an immediate comment.

Hello New Subscribers!

Sorry to not have posted so much in the last few days...dealing with a family illness.