Today’s holidays: Thursday of the Third Week of Advent (Roman Catholicism), Feast Day of St. Cheech/St. Chong (Church of the SubGenius), Mother Night (Neopaganism), Saturnalia (Roman religion).
Greetings.
I apologize for having not posted for some time now. I have been busy with other matters, such as computer programming, and certain things have not been my highest priority. (Trust me: you do not want to hear me play the mezzo arpeggione right now, I have practiced so little since ’Elul. It sounds like I am trying to torture my instrument to death.) This week I have made a good deal of progress on a review of Neopagan material, but I still need to write about another two books. (And after that I need to look into and write about Discordianism, the Church of the SubGenius, The Secret, older magical materials, and so on ad infinitum…)
In the meantime, I cannot ignore that many people are worried that tomorrow is the end of the World (as we know it, at least). I strongly doubt this is correct. While few think that this world will last forever, many have predicted its imminent demise in recorded history, and so far they have all been wrong. I see no reason to think that the current crop of doomsayers are correct. Rather than wax poetic about why the current predictions of impending destruction are baseless, I am going to refer you to some good articles which explain why:
- “Maya Apocalypse 2012: Doomsday end-of-the-world prophecies are nonsense.” by Phil Plait
- “The 2012 Apocalypse, or Why the World Won’t End This Week” by Caroline Dodds Pennock
Those who want to understand why people predict the end of the World may wish to read “Psychology Reveals the Comforts of the Apocalypse” by Daisy Yuhas.
I have also found a number of articles detailing the unusual behavior of people expecting the end of the World:
- “Maya apocalypse and Star Wars collide in Guatemalan temple” by Mike McDonald (and, no that title is not a typo)
- “Russians pay $1,000 for doomsday party in Soviet bunker” by Anastasia Gorelova
- “As "Doomsday" looms, Serbs cash in on mystical mountain” by Aleksandar Vasovic
I hope to post again next week. Until then, please follow the advice written on the cover of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: “Don’t panic.”
Peace.
’Aharon/Aaron
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