Posts resume Saturday

Taking tomorrow off to do some Labor Day preparation stuff for Monday...

Will get it all done on Friday, and Saturday will get back to posting in this blog.

Hope all my readers have a good Labor Day weekend!

The Apocalypse of Overpopulation and Climate Change : Fighting for Water and Food

From Newd Junkie Food: The Apocalypse of Overpopulation and Climate Change : Fighting for Water and Food 

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As we are coming closer to December 21, 2012, anxiety is building up for many. It is of course the prediction of the Mayan calendar, the one of Nostradamus, and the belief of christian fundamentalists  that the fateful “judgment day” phase has already begun with a few potential candidates  playing the role of the anti-Christ. As a rationalist, I can not adhere to any of this and especially not the part of the return of Jesus. However, anyone able and willing to analyze our current human predicament knows that we are entering a very challenging period for our own survival. The two main causes are purely man made in the form of overpopulation and climate change. As a specie we are heading for a cliff to be forever sent to oblivion. We can only blame our own arrogance, selfishness, lack of foresight and stupidity.

We have a plethora of problems that our largely incompetent governments are not tackling. It is of course climate change, but also overpopulation and social inequality. The world will unlikely come to an end in 2012, but we might have entered the phase of “the end of the world as we know it”, and most of us are not prepared to make any significant adjustments from our current social behavior. With a world population already at six billion, not addressing this quickly ticking time bomb is the equivalent of global suicide. With the ice cap quickly melting, fertile and highly populated areas worldwide will be flooded and will become inhabitable for 600 million people within less than 20 years. Large migration of people, escaping the floods, will take place, and such migrations will likely cause conflicts with existing local populations.

We are living under the delusional concept of stability and permanence, as if our trivial mentality of “business as usual” will always prevail. But, with sea waters rising, extreme weather spreading destruction all over the world, and nuclear disasters poisoning our food supply, it seems that humans have created an unstoppable army of Frankensteins, with the ability to destroy our very own planet. Since the industrial revolution, the focus of development has been on constant growth of production and labor force to accomplish it. The concept of exponential growth is by essence unsustainable.

But in order to accommodate this exponential development drive our insatiable appetite for natural energy and mineral resources have depleted planet earth and compromised the natural balance necessary for our survival. Unfortunately, this obsession for energy and resources is even more prevalent today than it was 150 years ago. We have collectively raped the planet for one and a half century, and we are about to pay the price for it. Some of us already have: just ask Haitians or Japanese facing their respective man-made so called “natural” disasters.

My experience with a preview of such apocalyptic scenario  was in New-Orleans post-Katrina. It gave me a precise idea of what our life can be like when you can’t rely on standard first world amenities, such as electricity, gas, water coming out of the pipes and stores to buy food. In disaster situations such as New-Orleans, Haiti or Japan, governments usually fail, to some degree, and survivors are left to fend for themselves. Then, it is back to the basics, and it translates into the two absolute  human necessities: food and water.

Today humans are stupid enough to fight for the exploitation of resources such as oil, natural gas and charcoal. If we are unable to curtail this madness, the wars of the very near future will not be about energy, control of transport and access to cheap labor forces. Instead, they will be about basic survival. There is an international trend burgeoning all over the world, populated by people smart enough to understand that the proverbial feces is just about to hit the fan. The off the grid survivalists are trying to be self reliable, and they have the right idea.
In California, Los Angeles is overdue for a major earthquake, yet, is the population prepared? As a former resident of the City of Angels, I can say that the community is absolutely not ready to handle such a challenge. Globally, we should ask ourselves some critical questions.  How would we survive if all our utilities (water, power) were cut off for weeks? How and where would we get water and the food to feed ourselves and our  families?
Editor’s Note: All photographs of New-Orleans post Katrina  by Gilbert Mercier.

 

White Buffalo Day 2012: A Positive Sign

From Huff Post:  White Buffalo Day 2012: A Positive Sign

Every culture and religion has prophecies that concern future catastrophe and/or Earth renewal and rebirth. Maybe these are meant to be fate that is written in the stars, or mere warnings about possible futures. The Mayan date of 2012 has brought the discussion to the forefront of many peoples thoughts. Wether it is nuclear fallout from Fukushima, global warming, solar flares, pole-shifts, economic melt-down or political unrest, the "doom and gloom" predictions seem to take spotlight over the more positive notions of renewal. No matter what you believe, it is clear that we are in a time of uncertainty and unprecedented change. The White Buffalo Prophecy, handed down for 19 generations within the Lakota Tradition, has continued to unfold in magical ways that paint a positive future for humanity.
In 1994 Alison "Tootie" Montana, a prominent Black Indian Chief from New Orleans, had a vision of bringing together many tribes to celebrate their shared history. David Carson, Choctaw author of "Medicine Cards" and Kam Nightchase, a Lakota Pipe-Carrier also shared a similar vision. Reverend David "Goat" Carson of New Orleans led the organizational effort to make this vision a reality at Congo Square in Louis Armstrong Park. The gathering was called "Sacred Medicine Circle at High Noon" on Aug. 20, 1994.
Black Indians are descendants of slaves who inter-married with local indian tribes, as noted by the scholar William Loren Katz. Indians would raid plantations, free the slaves and escape into the swamps where they shared and mixed their cultures. This union was clearly seen as a threat to the colonists, who did their best to stomp out the resistance and make sure the history of it was also erased.
Congo Square, located in the Treme Neighborhood in New Orleans, was a place where slaves and free people of color gathered to drum, dance and trade on Sundays. The dance, with origins in Africa and throughout the Caribbean, is called the Calinda and is said to invoke the ancestors. Local American Indians had a prophecy that their ancestors would one day return with songs and dances to heal the nations of the world and the slaves were seen as the fulfillment of this prophecy. The coming together of African poly-rhythms with the Native America pow-wow drum birthed the blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll and hip-hop.
So it was fitting for a sacred medicine circle to be held on Congo Square to bring this history out in the open, bringing people together across tribal lines to celebrate unity and healing. However, the event was considered controversial for bringing up a history that is not much talked about in the deep south. During the ceremony, in acknowledgement of the controversy, Rev. David "Goat" Carson asked for a sign from the Buffalo Nation that this coming together in Unity was good medicine for the people. The event was attended by many tribes, including Lakota, Choctaw, Cherokee and others.
Meanwhile in Arizona, another event had been organized for the same week called The World Unity Festival to honor The Hopi Rainbow Prophecy. This prophecy talks about a time when people will come together from all religions, all cultures and colors, to restore the sacred hoop of life on Earth and bring healing. Neither event organizers were aware of the others event. The World Unity Festival culminated with Drumming Around The World, which included people drumming simultaneously in 38 countries and 42 U.S. States for unity and healing. The drumming was led by the late Baba Olatunji and was attended by members of Hopi, Dineh (Navajo), Havasupai, Apache local tribes and people from all over the world.
During that same week in Janesville, Wis., a White Buffalo was born named "Miracle" thus fulfilling a Lakota prophecy that is 19 generations old. In response to these events the City of New Orleans proclaimed Aug. 27 as White Buffalo Day to be celebrated from this day forward. Eighteen years later, and after many deep and meaningful cultural exchanges between tribes across the country sharing their own stories and prophecies for the future, White Buffalo Day is still being celebrated in New Orleans and all over the world. You can learn more at WhiteBuffaloChildren.org or read the actual city proclamations here.
Please enjoy the video of Chief Arvol Lookinghorse, 19th Generation Keeper of The Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe and Bundle, speak about the prophecies. As he states, "We all love our kids, we all have a gift of compassion and a gift of responsibility." Political institutions and religious organizations that are supposed to bring unity are currently the cause of so much fighting across borders and religious lines, perhaps White Buffalo is a calling to come together regardless of our backgrounds and create a better world for future generations. As Chief Lookinghorse states, "No one person is better than the other." It is truly a time to find spiritual unity or we may just inherit a doomsday future instead of a positive one.

 

Christian Science Monitor Mayan collapse mystery solved? Deforestation exacerbated a drought

From Christian Science Monitor: Mayan collapse mystery solved? Deforestation exacerbated a drought

The city states of the ancient Mayan empire flourished in southern Mexico and northern Central America for about six centuries. Then, around A.D. 900 Mayan civilization disintegrated.

Two new studies examine the reasons for the collapse of the Mayan culture, finding the Mayans themselves contributed to the downfall of the empire.
Scientists have found that drought played a key role, but the Mayans appear to have exacerbated the problem by cutting down the jungle canopy to make way for cities and crops, according to researchers who used climate-model simulations to see how much deforestation aggravated the drought.
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"We're not saying deforestation explains the entire drought, but it does explain a substantial portion of the overall drying that is thought to have occurred," said the study's lead author Benjamin Cook, a climate modeler at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, in a statement. [Dry and Dying: Images of Drought]
Using climate-model simulations, he and his colleagues examined how much the switch from forest to crops, such as corn, would alter climate. Their results, detailed online in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, suggested that when deforestation was at its maximum, it could account for up to 60 percent of the drying. (The switch from trees to corn reduces the amount of water transferred from the soil to the atmosphere, which reduces rainfall.)
Other recent research takes a more holistic view.
"The ninth-century collapse and abandonment of the Central Maya Lowlands in the Yucatán peninsular region were the result of complex human–environment interactions," writes this team in a study published Monday (Aug 20) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The team, led by B.L. Turner, a social scientist at Arizona State University, concurs that by clearing the forest, the Mayans may have aggravated a natural drought, which spiked about the time the empire came to an end and population declined dramatically.

But this is just one contributing factor to their demise, Turner and colleagues write, pointing out that the reconfiguration of the landscape may also have led to soil degradation. Other archaeological evidence points to a landscape under stress, for instance, the wood of the sapodilla tree, favored as construction beams, was no longer used at the Tikal and Calakmul sites beginning in A.D. 741. Larger mammals, such as white-tailed deer, appear to have declined at the end of empire.
Social and economic dynamics also contributed. Trade routes shifted from land transit across the Yucatán Peninsula to sea-born ships. This change may have weakened the city states, which were contending with environmental changes. Faced with mounting challenges, the ruling elites, a very small portion of the population, were no longer capable of delivering what was expected of them, and conflict increased.
"The old political and economic structure dominated by semidivine rulers decayed," the team writes. "Peasants, artisan – craftsmen, and others apparently abandoned their homes and cities to find better economic opportunities elsewhere in the Maya area."

 

Let’s hope the Mayans were right in their apocalyptic predictions

From Troy Media:  Let’s hope the Mayans were right in their apocalyptic predictions

LEEDS, UK, Aug 20, 2012/ Troy Media/ – The end of the world will come in December 2012, if the inaccurate reporting of Mayan predictions is to be believed. But some people could be forgiven for thinking the Mayans were simply two years too early with their doom mongering. Let me explain.

Last week I found myself sitting in an airport lounge, checking my diary and fidgeting in my seat: I’d just had a chat with another passenger and it left me feeling decidedly nervous.

The passenger was a gentleman named Smith (no, seriously) and he had noticed I was huffing and puffing at the frustratingly slow speed of my laptop. Mr Smith, on the other hand, was smugly typing on his iPad (his smugness was purely an invention of my imagination; I just felt I needed another focus for my frustration).

He asked “You okay? Can I help?”

“Oh I just seem to be waiting forever for my laptop to process some data. I’m wondering if it’s got a bug or something,” I answered.

A hopelessly pathetic attempt to cover-up my technical ineptitude, but hey it worked for me. It also piqued his interest.

After a few insightful questions from Mr Smith (for which I had absolutely no answers), I agreed it would probably be wise to get a technician to look at it. I also listened to him for another 15 minutes.

It was one of the most interesting conversations I’ve had in a very long time; I now know that on 8th April 2014 Microsoft will stop supporting and security patching Windows XP.

Of course, those in the know are already moving away from XP and that Microsoft stopped sales of XP on new machines. As of June 2012, Windows XP market share was at 26.2 per cent, after having peaked at 76.1 per cent in January 2007 but, according to netmarketshare.com and Mr Smith, that still represents 870 million users worldwide. It’s a daunting number.

Mr Smith explained there are a number of options open to companies, large and small, but he then waved a cheery goodbye to go catch his flight (after I asked for his business card).

I know LOTS of companies which use Windows XP and they all might be au fait with the financial implications, technical obstacles and operational risks associated with the XP end-of-life date, but I then had a mini-Y2K déjà vu of late preparation and media-fuelled panic.

Will companies look at the price of migrating to Windows 7, and perhaps then upgrading to Windows 8, and simply bury their heads in the sand for now, hoping Microsoft delay the execution of XP? New 64-bit hardware will need to be added to many desktops so they are physically capable of running Windows 7 or Windows 8. Oh, and then there’s the server upgrades required if those PCs are on a network.

Now I’m in no position to say whether Mr Smith is right or wrong about the scale of the challenge that some very substantial companies may face, nor whether my tiny company is ready to consider moving its three laptops and a desk top, oozing with well-used and trusted Windows technology, to an alternative hardware and software, but it did open my eyes:

If I was unaware of the scale of the risk and investment required (because there WILL have to be an investment, one way or the other) what sort of risk assessment might a pan-European company with 100 000 pieces of kit need to do?

Perhaps more frighteningly, what other risks does my external environment pose to my future survival, and how do I ensure I’m regularly up to date with such things?

Then I paused: I vividly recall the hysteria about Y2K. I can’t help thinking perhaps this discussion about 8th April 2014 is in danger of becoming a greater issue than is really is, provided people address the question completely and soon.

I love my iPhone and maybe now’s the time to buy a Mac, an iPad, integrate it all in the ‘cloud’ and migrate to Google Apps, or perhaps I should just stay with Windows and upgrade.

Then again, if the reported Mayan prediction of the end of the world in 2012 is true, perhaps there’s time for one more pre-apocalypse coffee rather than worrying about Windows XP.

 

Fabled Spiritual Retreat Debates Its Future

From the New York Times:  Fabled Spiritual Retreat Debates Its Future

BIG SUR, Calif. — At twilight, not far from a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, a Mayan shaman spoke of the return of Kukulkan to dozens of listeners sitting on the floor inside a yurt: As Venus, a planet of special significance to the ancient Mayans, passed directly between the Sun and Earth in June, the forces out there were heralding the return of Kukulkan, the snake deity, and the start of a new age of spiritual enlightenment in 2012. 

“The cosmos is talking to us — we need to listen,” said the shaman, Miguel Angel Vergara. “Kukulkan shines in the infinite. Kukulkan is the sacred energy beating in every atom. Kukulkan is the feathered serpent living in your heart forever.”

Mr. Vergara would soon lead his listeners in breathing exercises and chants to Kukulkan, as part of a weeklong workshop mixing yoga and Mayan rituals at the Esalen Institute, the fabled spiritual retreat here. Hidden along an extraordinarily scenic stretch of California’s coast, with only a small sign alerting drivers to its existence along Highway 1, Esalen helped bring once-alien concepts and practices, including personal growth, yoga and organic food, to the American mainstream while celebrating the oneness of mind and body in its workshops and clothing-optional hot springs.

These days, as the retreat prepares to observe its 50th anniversary next month, people are still making pilgrimages here, drawn by Esalen’s focus on healing, melding of traditions and mantra of “spiritual but not religious.” Guests and workers still perform emotional “check-ins” in group “weather reports” during their stays, which can extend from a weekend to months, depending, an Esalen spokesman said, “on how far down the rabbit hole you go.” Esalen’s leaders say they are tweaking the institute’s balance between the personal and the social with an emphasis on the latter so they can present the next “edge” to America.

But others, including people formerly and currently associated with Esalen, say it is losing its relevance in a culture where New Age has become a cliché. The retreat’s half-century anniversary has coincided with continuing protests over the layoff of longtime employees as part of a management restructuring. Staff members and others have gathered in circles of silence here; on the Internet, including on a site called Esaleaks, other protesters have assailed Esalen’s management as corporate types bent on transforming the retreat into a boutique resort.

Michael Barry, a retired television writer who is now an investor, said he has been coming here since 1971. In the 1970s, his marriage broke up, and he came here with “his tail between his legs.” An acquaintance working in the laundry room let him sleep on laundry sacks while he healed himself.

“In my life, Big Sur and Esalen have been a through line for me,” said Mr. Barry, who was sitting at the back of the yurt with his wife, Sharon. He added that a “Mayan shaman talking about 2012 and the return of Kukulkan” was a “good example” of how Esalen had remained on American culture’s cutting edge.

But Peter Meyers, an Esalen regular for the past 25 years who was leading a workshop on public speaking, said the center was not moving fast enough to keep ahead of the times.

“For a long time it was the only game in town,” he said in the main lodge, where a lunch of products from Esalen’s organic gardens was being served. “You wanted to take yoga and study Eastern mysticism. Now, next to every nail place on every street in L.A. there’s a yoga studio, and there’s an ashram right next to it.”

As a culture, he said, America had also evolved beyond some of Esalen’s focus on personal emotions and growth. “Letting it all hang out — that’s passé, so what is the next edge?” he said. “The risk is that if Esalen rests on its laurels, it’ll become a museum.” 

In recent years, Esalen has engaged in “stocktaking” about its mission and vision, said Gordon Wheeler, a Gestalt psychologist and the center’s president. 

“We’ve always said we’re about personal and social transformation,” he said. “If anything, we’ve stepped up the social. The world is more demanding now. The call of the world is more urgent. And we looked at each other and said we have to step it up.” 

Mr. Wheeler pointed to a workshop on how to turn spiritual practice into social service as an example of this new effort. 

Part of the stocktaking, he said, also included improving the management of Esalen, a nonprofit organization. A new office in Carmel, about 40 miles up Highway 1 from here, provides services not found here, including fast Internet and good cellphone coverage. The recent layoffs of longtime employees, he said, were particularly difficult because many staff members also live within the Esalen compound. 

But critics said the new direction points to a growing corporatism. The Carmel office, they say, has weakened the sense of community as managers spend part of the week there. The recent appointment of a boutique hotel founder to Esalen’s board of trustees, they say, reflects the increasing emphasis on moneymaking packages, which range from $405 for sleeping bag accommodations for a weekend workshop to $1,595 for a luxury room. 

“I feel that the corporate model doesn’t always serve the seeker and the spiritual path,” said Jasmine Bangoura, who teaches at the preschool here and grew up in Esalen, where her mother worked as a massage therapist. 

David Price, the son of Dick Price, a co-founder of Esalen who was killed by a falling boulder while meditating here in 1985, said the worry that this place would become just another luxury resort was a perennial one.

“It was always a fear, but pretty abstract in the past,” said Mr. Price, who served as Esalen’s general manager from 1995 to 2003. “But now people are building more compelling arguments. There is definitely a greater level of fear.” 

Michael Murphy, the other co-founder of Esalen and a member of its board of trustees, said that the recent changes were necessary for the center’s financial survival and that it was “built into the DNA of the Esalen leadership to not become a commercial operation.” 

Whatever Esalen may become, people seeking something are still gravitating here. Bhavani Werning, 30, and Rebecca Popp, 21, had come from Germany to work for several months at Esalen in exchange for participating in its workshops. 

“I’m very interested in the Mayan prophecies,” Ms. Werning said. 

It had become dark by the time the Mayan shaman began wrapping up his talk on the return of Kukulkan. Innumerable stars lit up the sky above Esalen, and the Milky Way shone so clearly that it seemed within everyone’s grasp. 

“Please close your eyes,” the shaman said, instructing his listeners to invoke Kukulkan. “Breathe in, breathe out.” 

“Ku-kul-kan,” he said, pronouncing each syllable separately and banging slowly on a drum as his listeners repeated after him. “Ku-kul-kan.”

Soon, the chanting and drumming grew faster and louder, building into a frenzy with cries of “Kukulkan!”

“Breathe in,” the shaman said, “breathe out.”

"“Breathe in,” the shaman said, “breathe out.”

 

The Great Convergence 2012 Will Party at the Pyramids

From Music Festival Junkies: The Great Convergence 2012 Will Party at the Pyramids

The 2012 winter solstice may mark the end of the Mayan calendar, but it also will mark the beginning of The Great Convergence, a three day music festival set at the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Running from December 20-22, 2012, The Great Convergence promises a lineup of world class DJs including Beats Antique, Apparat, Random Rab, Bluetech, Gaudi, Govinda, Desert Dwellers, David Starfire, DJ Dragonfly, Imagika, plus Moontribe DJs: Treavor, Brad, and Dela.

From the website:

The Great Convergence is a calling of the tribes to gather from across the globe for a once in a lifetime experience to intentionally celebrate this potent, transformational time in our lives culminating in a prophesized galactic astronomical alignment that happens once every 26,000 years.

And if epic pyramid raves aren’t enough, there will be a four night, five day Nile River Cruise from December 23-28 that takes festie fans from Luxor to Aswan. Tickets for the music festival and the cruise are sold separately. Three day passes to the music festival start at $550 with a variety of packages. Click the link below to get more information.
via The Great Convergence

Google adding panoramic views of Mayan ruins

From Boston.com:  Google adding panoramic views of Mayan ruins

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Google Inc. is adding interactive images of dozens of pre-Hispanic ruins to the ‘‘Street View’’ feature on its Google Maps website.

Google Mexico and Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History announced Thursday that 30 sites have been added to Street View, and dozens more will be coming online this year. The eventual goal is 90 sites.

The feature allows users to click on map locations to obtain 360-degree, interactive images composed of millions of photos taken at street level by specially equipped vehicles. Google uses a special, three-wheeled bicycle to generate images of the Mexican sites, many of which don’t have paved areas.

The sites already online include Chichen Itza, Teotihuacan and Monte Alban

 

Words of Faith: Mayan calendar reminding us to look for change of heart

From MyDesert.com, an op-ed piece:  Words of Faith: Mayan calendar reminding us to look for change of heart

There is a calendar that many of us may not be aware of. It is the Mayan Indian calendar.
The calendar spans back to 3,114 B.C.


Their belief was that we enter a cycle every 5,125 years. These cycles were foretold by ancient mystics of the Mayans, Hopi, and Hindu, as well as many more.


The Mayans were geniuses when it came to mathematics, time and calendars.


They devised two calendars, one for rituals, which was used for religious celebrations and astrological predictions, and the other a solar calendar.



Their knowledge of the cycles of the galaxies, planets and our relationship to the sun was profound.
One of the prophecies of the Mayans is that our hatred and materialism will come to an end. On this certain day in 2012, our choice will be to honor all humanity, that the thinking species must disappear as they are destroying the planet and evolve instead toward harmonic integration of the universe, including everything that is alive and conscious.



The Mayans suggest that we are all part of the whole and that we can exist in a new era of light — a time in which all humanity, by conscious decision of each other, decides to change, to eliminate fear and the lack of respect in all our relationships.


Walter Starke, author of “The Star Keys” writes about the Mayans in his introduction.


Starke states, “Humanity has been on a long journey of expanding consciousness and is now emerging from a cycle where predominant focus of consciousness was on objective effects as cause rather than on the true subjective nature of the universe.”


Our lives have been governed by objective laws rather than spiritual principles.


It's time to get our priorities straight.


It is time to become fully aware, spiritual beings, not only connected globally but cosmically.


The calendar year of the Mayans ends Dec. 21, 2012 — an evolution in the awakening consciousness.


Be ready; we're all in this together

 

Google, Mozilla and Wikimedia projects get Maya language translations at one-day 'translathon'

From Engadget.com:  Google, Mozilla and Wikimedia projects get Maya language translations at one-day 'translathon'

Twenty native speakers of Yucatec, Mexico's most widely spoken Mayan tongue, met last Thursday to help bring the language to Google, Mozilla and Wikimedia projects. The event, dubbed Mozilla Translathon 2012, was organized to provide translations for Firefox, Google's Endangered Languages Project, the WikiMedia software that powers Wikipedia and 500 crowdsourced articles, to boot. Finding the right words, however, can often be a tricky proposition.

"There are words that can't be translated," Mozilla's Mexico representative Julio Gómez told CNNMéxico. "In Maya, file doesn't exist. Tab doesn't exist." Gómez continues to explain that the group may keep foreign words as-is, or find other terms to represent the same ideas. In addition to software localization, it's believed that the effort could allow Maya speakers to "recover their identity and their cultural heritage," according to Wikimedia México president Iván Martínez. 

60 is the new 40

On August 10, 2012, the Cheyenne chapter of the AARP hosted a seminar called Gray Matters - which was free and provided a free lunch - unfortunately fish and cheesecake, blech - from 4 to 6 was a reception for all travelers who had come in for the AARP National Spelling Bee to be held on the 11th.

I attended that and it was a lot of fun. The emcee introduced a few folks, we talked about words, there was a "mock" spelling bee (which only consisted of about 20 people getting up and being questioned on one word...) and so on. And there were finger foods there - Chinese food to be precise. Don't know where they got it from or if they cooked it on site (Little America is a hotel and resort where people come to play golf among other things) but it was delish.

The spelling bee started at the ungodly hour of 8:30 am (Well...8:30 is not so ungodly but I had to get up at the ungodly hour of 6:30 to get there in time for registration, etc.) It started with 4 rounds of 25 words each - which was a Written Test.

The first 25 words were extremely easy. They asked words like "Greetings" and "Navel" and "Mince." I suppose a few might have been considered difficult... "Animus" and "Lacuna."


The second 25 words were equally easy, but I did miss MUGWUMP.


I assume they did this just to help everyone settle the nerves and get new people used to what was going on. People had trouble hearing some of the words (hey, they were all over 50 and most over 60) and the Pronouncer  would come down and tell them the word face to face and have them say it back, etc. Indeed, the Pronouncer did an excellent job.


Third round was where they started asking the difficult words.


I missed:
QUESTIONARY INERCALATE
TUATARA
SKOSH
VIRIDITY
WIMBLE

The fourth round was the real killer. I only got 12 out of 25 right. I missed:

FELICIFIC
DOVEKIE
FLYTING
NAPERY
COTYLEDONARY
WELTSCHMERRZ
OPPUGNER
AECIOSPORE
SYNCYTIAL
KNUR
IRIDIUM
TUYERE
HYOSCYAMINE

I then stayed for the Oral rounds and was joined by one of my friends from my Scrabble Club. (I think an audience could have assembled for the Written rounds, too. There were chairs there and family were in them...but I think most people only wanted to come see the Oral rounds where you actually saw the speller's faces as opposed to their backs, etc.)

Two of the people I met last night at the reception made it to the Orals. One of them it was his first trip to the Bee and he was successful his first time out. Made it through about 10 rounds. (In the Orals, you miss two words and you're out.) Another one was an elderly woman from Minnesota who also got through about 10 rounds before being knocked out.

There were three sisters and a brother who had come as a sort of family reunion. The eldest sister made it to the Oral rounds but was bounced after only two rounds. This was too bad and it was because she was a bit unlucky - she got two 6-syllable words in a row while some of the others were getting much easier ones (but still, not ones I could have spelled). But she was disqualified along with several other people in the same round, so hopefully she didn't feel too bad.

The words in the Oral Rounds were extremely difficult. Several times more difficult than the toughest words in the final round of the Written.


But, had I studied for a year, I think I could have handled them.


And it is my intention to study for a year and  get into the Orals next year.


So, why is the title of this blog entry 60 is thenew 40?


Because it is.


People are living longer. You don't want to outlive your money and more importantly you don't want to outlive your sense of enjoyment of life. And learning new things every day is enjoyment and keeps the mind active.


The AARP Spelling Bee is held every year, and it gives you an excellent reason to travel to Cheyenne and see The Cowboy State. You'll meet lots of interesting people.


You do have to study.


I studied very desultorily for about a month...combine all the time I studied and it was about 10 hours. Not nearly enough, but then, I'm a good speller so the Written Rounds were relatively easy - except for that killer last round.


Why learn words that you'll never, ever say in real life?Well, because they're interesting. And the concepts of what you'll learn, you can apply in other areas. So it's a win win.


So start planning to live a long, healthy, active, intellectual life, and do it now, however old you might be!

Posts resume Monday

I'm participating in the AARP Cheyenne Spelling Bee today, Saturday, and need to recover Sunday....

So Monday, posts resumes.

2012 a boom year for emergency food and water suppliers - Sydney Australia

From Virtual Strategy Magazine:  <a href="http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2012/08/06/2012-boom-year-emergency-food-and-water-suppliers-sydney-australia#McoXicW02eGjJ7LI.99">2012 a boom year for emergency food and water suppliers - Sydney Australia</a>

 

(1888PressRelease) Sales of emergency preparation supplies have increased in 2012 due to the increased scutiny of media and social groups on natural disaters and the Mayan long count calendar end.

2012 has long been regarded with interest by scientists, historians and doomsayers all over the world.

With the Mayan calendar fronting the race to predict the end of the world in December 2012 mainstream media has kicked into gear with a myriad of historical, investigative and reality TV shows to fuel this increase of interest.

SurvivalStorehouse.com, an Australian online retailer has seen a marked increase in website traffic and online sales of its Mainstay 5 year shelf life food and water emergency survival kits in 2012 since the increase in media interest.

"Every time there is a new documentary and especially after an episode based on reality interviews with so called 'doomsday peppers' we see a direct correlation with sales through our website shop

If this is an indication people are worried about the end of the world or just increasing the awareness of people that they need to be prepared for the unexpected we can't say, although what we can say is that December 21 2012 will be an interesting date to see come and go!" - SurvivalStorehouse.com

About Survival Storehouse
Survivalstorehouse Pty Ltd is and Australian company and has been importing Mainstay 5 year shelf life food and water product into Australia from the USA for the last 3 years. They are based in Sydney Australia and provide emergengy food and water kits nationally.

 

Hotel Xixim, Yucatan, Mexico, Announces Rates for Yoga and Wellness Group Retreats

From Virtual Strategy Magazine:  <a href="http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2012/08/07/hotel-xixim-yucatan-mexico-announces-rates-yoga-and-wellness-group-retreats#cr27GDrjQmMKkTAC.99">Hotel Xixim, Yucatan, Mexico, Announces Rates for Yoga and Wellness Group Retreats</a>

Celebrating the 2012-2013 Mayan Calendar New Era, Hotel Xixim is offering special “New Era” yoga and wellness retreat group rates in Mexico, including free massage in their new Wellness Center. Located in the Celestun Biosphere Reserve of the Yucatan Peninsula, an inspirational natural seaside setting, the hotel has created new group rates and packages making a Mexico yoga or wellness group retreat surprisingly affordable.

Celestun, Yucatan, Mexico (PRWEB) August 07, 2012

Located on the white sand beaches of Celestun, about one hour west of the city of Merida, Yucatan, Hotel Xixim (which means “sea shell” in Mayan) offers new affordable Mexico group rates and amenities designed especially for yoga and wellness group retreats or teacher training. (http://www.hotelxixim.com). The hotel provides group transfers to and from Merida’s international airport. Nonstop flights arrive daily to Merida from Houston and Miami with connections from most U.S. and Canadian cities. Connecting flights are also available via Mexico City.
Hotel Xixim offers incentives to provide for group leader, presenter, or instructor accommodations, meals, and transfers. Depending on the size and interests of the group, local boat excursions are available at a group discount to observe the northern hemisphere’s largest pink flamingo population. Complimentary activities include a welcome group juice therapy drink, a group beach bonfire night, one free 30-minute back massage or reflexology treatment, bicycles and kayaks. Guests can also stroll several interpretive nature trails within the nature reserve, observing birds, mammals, and native flora.
Hotel Xixim was designed to accommodate groups of various sizes up to 64 guests on a double occupancy basis. More guests can be lodged on a triple basis. A group is considered 10 guests or 5 rooms. Discounts increase depending on the size of the group. The 32 bungalows, the Wellness Center, and all other Mayan style structures are nestled in tropical coastal vegetation reached by meandering paths, creating privacy for hosting several smaller groups at the same time. The 24 spacious junior suite Mayan bungalows offer two queen beds and the 8 master suite Mayan bungalows provide King beds and a separate sitting area. All have private outdoor showers. Complimentary coffee or tea plus fresh homemade bread is delivered to each bungalow in the morning.
The new Wellness Center includes a yoga or group pavilion with vaulted, thatched roof, 43 feet in diameter with sea views, wooden floor, screens, ceiling fans, props, and electrical connections for music or videos. The pavilion is suitable for up to 30 yoga, Tai Chi, or active dance practitioners. Workshop capacity in this pavilion can accommodate up to 80 people. Additional group facilities for 16-20 are available as well as a second yoga practice area for groups of 25-30. Outdoor sunrise and sunset-facing terraces offer sea views for meditation or yoga practice. All meeting space is complimentary.
Additional facilities in the Wellness Center include a SPA with private massage bungalows, traditional fitness gym, circular pool, round Jacuzzi, oval poolside beds, juice therapy bungalow, and snack bar with vegetarian options. The main restaurant offers international, Mayan-Mexican fusion and vegetarian dishes. Various dining venues are available, both inside with sea views, and outside on sea view terraces.
For “Mayan Calendar New Era” retreat group rates included in a customized group quote, group organizers, yoga instructors, and presenters can contact the hotel at groups(at)hotelxixim(dot)com.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebmexicoyogawellness/mexicogroupretreat/prweb9758920.htm
Read more at http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2012/08/07/hotel-xixim-yucatan-mexico-announces-rates-yoga-and-wellness-group-retreats#cr27GDrjQmMKkTAC.99

End of capitalism': Bolivia to expel Coca-Cola in wake of 2012 Mayan 'apocalypse'

Bolivia has a right to do what they want in their own country. I just hope we no longer send them foreign aid, since they don't like capitalism.

If we send it to them, and they accept it...they'll be hypocrites. So I'm sure they won't...

From RT:  End of capitalism': Bolivia to expel Coca-Cola in wake of 2012 Mayan 'apocalypse'

n a symbolic rejection of US capitalism, Bolivia announced it will expel the Coca-Cola Company from the country at the end of the Mayan calendar. This will mark the end of capitalism and usher in a new era of equality, the Bolivian govt says.
“December 21 of 2012 will be the end of egoism and division. December 21 should be the end of Coca-Cola,” Bolivian foreign minister David Choquehuanca decreed, with bombast worthy of a viral marketing campaign.
The coming ‘end’ of the Mayan lunar calendar on December 21 of this year has sparked widespread doomsaying of an impending apocalypse. But Choquehuanca argued differently, claiming it will be the end of days for capitalism, not the planet.

“The planets will align for the first time in 26,000 years and this is the end of capitalism and the beginning of communitarianism,” said Choquehuanca as quoted by Venezuelan newspaper El Periodiquito.
The minister encouraged the people of Bolivia to drink Mocochinche, a peach-flavored soft drink, as an alternative to Coca-Cola. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez followed suit, encouraging his country to ditch the American beverage for fruit juice produced in Venezuela.
­

McFailure

Last year, Bolivia became the second Latin American country not to have a single McDonald’s. The fast food giant finally gave up on Bolivia after being unable to turn a profit in the country for over a decade.
Following this failure, the monolithic multinational released a documentary titled ‘Why McDonald’s failed in Bolivia.’ Referencing surveys, sociologists, nutritionists and historians, the company came to the conclusion it was not their food that was the issue, but a culturally driven boycott.
Bolivian President Evo Morales has a reputation for controversial policies similar to the Coca-Cola ban. Morales pledged last month to legalize the consumption of coca leaves, one of the main ingredients of cocaine.

“Neither the US nor capitalist countries have a good reason to maintain the ban on coca leaf consumption,” said Morales.
The coca leaf was declared an illegal narcotic by the UN in 1961, along with cocaine, opium and morphine. The consumption of coca leaves is a centuries-old tradition in Bolivia, strongly rooted in the beliefs of various indigenous groups.

 

Tomb of Mayan prince discovered in jungle ruins

From FoxNews:  Tomb of Mayan prince discovered in jungle ruins

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Excavators have uncovered what they believe to be the 1,300-year-old remains of a Mayan prince entombed within a royal complex of the ancient city of Uxul, located in Mexico near the Guatemalan border.
The fossilized man, who researchers estimate was between 20 and 25 when he died, was found lying on his back, with his arms folded inside a tomb 4.9 feet (1.5 meters) below the floor in a building within the city's royal complex.
When the researchers first slipped a camera into the tomb to peek at what was inside they saw ceramics at the feet of the skeleton, said Kai Delvendahl, field director for the project with the University of Bonn.
They found a total of nine pieces of ceramics, including a plate painted in the distinctively black-lined Mayan Codex-Style covering the man's skull. At Mayan sites, it is not uncommon to find plates placed over the skulls of the deceased, Delvendahl, said. [See Photos of Mayan Prince's Tomb]
The other ceramics offered additional clues. One bore hieroglyphics reading: "[This is] the drinking vessel of the young man/prince." A second vessel also bore a mention of a young man or prince.
However, if this young man had been a prince, he did not appear to be in line for the throne, the researchers believe, since certain status markers, such as jade jewelry, were not found.
One of the ceramic vessels bears a scene, which includes a date that corresponds to the year A.D. 711.
"Maybe the drinking cup was dedicated at that time, and if we assume the cup belonged to a person who died at age 20 to 25, we can more or less restrict the death," Delvendahl told LiveScience, meaning that the date on the cup gives archaeologists an idea of when the man died.
This is not the first tomb archaeologists have discovered in Uxul, as other, simpler tombs have also been uncovered, Delvendahl said.
The Mayan city of Uxul is located deep in the jungle, and accessible to archaeologists only for two to three months a year during the dry season. The researchers have found evidence that Uxul was ruled by the dynasty of Calakmul, a regional center 21 miles (34 kilometers) to the northeast.
The date on the vessel indicates the man was buried during a 90-year period after the Calakmul rulers had lost power in Uxul, and before Uxul was abandoned, Delvendahl said.
"We feel that the person that was buried there is a son of a local ruler, someone who was not in direct line to the throne, but we feel this ruler still had certain connections to the Calakmul dynasty," a connection supported by the style of the ceramics, he said.
Uxul has been the site of looting in the past, but the researchers found only one looter's trench into the building that contained the tomb, so they are hopeful they will find more tombs inside it.
Nikolai Grube, also of the University of Bonn, is project director for the research at Uxul, which is funded by the German Science Foundation (DFG). This latest discovery has not yet been published in a scientific journal.