BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Helen
Date: 22 Dec 12 - 01:43 PM

Recommended reading: Nevil Shute's "On the Beach"

Australia is the last country to be doomed by a radiation cloud making it's way down from the northern hemisphere.

(Nevil Shute is one of my favourite authors, by the way, so any day is a good day to read his books, IMHO, but especially when the world was supposed to end a couple of days ago, and we are still here.)

As to whether Australia has ever really been here at all, another favourite of mine is the tv series Fringe, where a key part of the story is the parallel universe. (That's about half way through the series. Sorry for the spoiler, if you know about the series and haven't seen those eps yet!)

So maybe Oz is in a parallel universe, which only some people are able to access. A bit like fairyland, I suppose, but don't go calling us fairies unless you want your lights punched out by a big, boofy Aussie bloke who doesn't like his sexual preferences being questioned.

Helen,
in Newcastle, Oz

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 22 Dec 12 - 09:59 AM

Actually, according to the Mayan descendants, the end of the cycle may be on Sunday:
   

Mexico's Maya heartland greets dawn of new era; Calendar cycle might not really end until Sunday

People gather in front of "Templo de los Guerreros," or "Temple of the Warriors," in Chichen Itza, Mexico, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012. Doomsday hour is here, at least in much of the world, and so still are we. According to legend, the ancient Mayans' long-count calendar ends at midnight Thursday, ushering in the end of the world. Didn't happen. AP Photo/Israel Leal.

By: Mark Stevenson, Associated Press

   
MERIDA (AP).- Ceremonial fires burned and conches sounded off as dawn broke over the steps of the main pyramid at the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza Friday, making what many believe is the conclusion of a vast, 5,125-year cycle in the Mayan calendar.

Some have interpreted the prophetic moment as the end of the world. The hundreds gathered in the ancient Mayan city, however, said they believed it marked the birth of a new and better age.

Genaro Hernandez stood with his arms outstretched to the morning light, all clad in white, facing the pyramids' grey stone, to welcome the new era.

"This world is being reborn as a better world," said Hernandez, a 55-year old accountant who wore an expression of bliss.

No one was quite sure at what time the Mayas' 13th Baktun would officially end on this Dec. 21. Some think it already ended at midnight. Others looked to Friday's dawn here in the Maya heartland. Some had later times in mind. One thing became clear to many on the site by Friday morning: The world had not ended.

Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History even suggested that historical calculations to synchronize the Mayan and Western calendars might be off a few days. It said the Mayan Long Count calendar cycle might not really end until Sunday.

Whatever the details, the chance to mark epochal change seemed to be the main concern among celebrants drawn to the Yucatan peninsula.

Hundreds of people were scattered around the vast central plaza of Chichen Itza, some kneeling in attitudes of prayer, some seated with arms outstretched in positions of meditation, all facing El Castillo, the massive main pyramid.

Ivan Gutierrez, a 37-year-old artist who lives in the nearby village, stood before the pyramid and blew a low, sonorous blast on a conch horn. "It has already arrived, we are already in it," he said of the new era. "We are in a frequency of love, we are in a new vibration."

But it was unclear how long the love would last: A security guard quickly came over and asked him to stop blowing his conch shell, enforcing the ruin site's ban on holding ceremonies without previous permits.

What nobody was calling the moment was the end of the world, as some people in recent years have interpreted the meaning of the end of the 13th Baktun — despite the insistence of archeologists and the Maya themselves it meant no such thing.

"We'll still have to pay taxes next year," said Gabriel Romero, a Los Angeles-based spiritualist who uses crystal skulls in his ceremonies.

Similar ceremonies greeted the dawn in neighboring Guatemala, where Mayan spiritual leaders burned offerings and families danced to celebrate the new era. Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina and Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla attended an official ceremony in the department of Peten, along with thousands of celebrants and artists.

If the chanting and dancing of a crystal skull ceremony held Thursday in Mexico weren't enough to end fears of an apocalypse, scientists chimed in, too.

Bill Leith, the U.S. Geological Survey's senior science adviser for earthquake and geologic hazards, said that by late Thursday, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary had been detected in seismic activities, solar flares, volcanos or the Earth's geomagnetic field.

"It's a fairly unremarkable day on planet Earth today, and in the last few days," Leith said. "There are no major eruptions going on."

There had been about 120 small earthquakes and a moderate temblor in Japan, he said. "That's very much a normal day."

Still, there were some who wouldn't truly feel safe until the sun sets Friday over the pyramids in Yucatan peninsula, the heartland of the Maya.

Mexico's best-known seer, Antonio Vazquez Alba, known as "El Brujo Mayor," said he had received emails containing rumors that a mass suicide might be planned in Argentina.

End-of-the-world paranoia, in fact, has spread around the world.

Dozens of schools in Michigan canceled classes for thousands of students this week amid rumors of violence tied to the prophetic date. In France, people expecting doomsday were looking expectantly to a mountain in the Pyrenees where they believe a hidden spaceship was waiting to spirit them away. And in China, government authorities were cracking down on a fringe Christian group spreading rumors about the world's end, while preaching that Jesus had reappeared as a woman in central China.

Vazquez said he was sure that human nature represented the only threat Friday. "Nature isn't going to do us any harm, but we can do damage to ourselves," he said.

Authorities worried about overcrowding and possible stampedes during celebrations Friday at Mayan ruin sites like Chichen Itza and Uxmal, both about 1 1/2 hours from Merida, the Yucatan state capital. Special police and guard details were assigned to the pyramids.

As Friday's dawn began sweeping around the globe, there was no sign of an apocalypse.

Indeed, the social network Imgur posted photos of clocks turning midnight in the Asia-Pacific region with messages such as: "The world has not ended. Sincerely, New Zealand."

Average residents of the Yucatan, where the Mayas invented the 394-year calendar cycles known as baktuns, the 13th of which ends Friday, were pretty upbeat about the day.

Yucatan Gov. Rolando Zapata said he felt growing good vibes.

"We believe that the beginning of a new baktun means the beginning of a new era, and we're receiving it with great optimism," Zapata said.

Even before the baktun's end, hundreds of spiritualists from Asian, North American, South American and European shamanistic traditions mingled amiably with the Mexican hosts at a convention center in Merida on Thursday.

Dozens of booths offered people the chance to have their auras photographed with "Chi" light, get a shamanic cleansing or buy sandals, herbs and whole-grain baked goods.

"This is the beginning of a change in priorities and perceptions. We are all one," said Esther Romo, a Mexico City businesswoman who works in art promotion and galleries. "No limits, no boundaries, no nationalities, just fusion."

___

Associated Press writer Romina Ruiz-Goiriena in Iximche, Guatemala, contributed to this report.


Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 10:56 PM

"Dunno about that Ed, I seem to have come back as myself which is contrary to expectations." - Pete Jennings

My karma is not nearly bad enough to for me to come back as me.

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: JennieG
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 08:55 PM

Ah well, Don......it's all a bit of fun, isn't it?

Cheers
JennieG now thinking Christmas

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 08:22 PM

Worse than that, Don! You're a bore. ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 05:41 PM

I think the exceedingly dumb assumption on the part of the "Oh, my God, the world is coming to an end!" crowd (they generally haven't found a doomsday scenario they didn't fall in love with) is that the end of the Mayan calendar means anything significant.

I have a wall calendar hanging about four feet away--scenic photo above, days and dates below--that indicates that today is Friday, December 21st, 2012. It runs out on Monday, December 31st. I have a 2013 calendar all ready to replace it.

Simple as that.

I have enough drama in my life without going into Lala Land looking for more.

Don Firth

P. S. "Firth, you're a party poop!"

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 05:41 PM

gnu, the Wheezers are fantastic, here's their official website - you can also find other tracks on youtube

enhjoy!

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: gnu
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 05:21 PM

Sandra... LOVE that band! Thank you!

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: JennieG
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 04:08 PM

Well.......we made it through OK! It's now 8.05am on 22nd December, and all in the household here is just fine. No more storms last night although we may get a little more rain today.

Now we can start gearing up for Christmas, I was so sure I wouldn't have to that not many preparations have been done.....

Cheers
JennieG

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Becca72
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 09:44 AM

And I feel fine

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Bobert
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 09:36 AM

So much for the Mayans...

I'm still here... Well, unless none of us exist and all this is just one big imagine thing that defies logic... BillD can explain it better...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 08:28 AM

Jack, if you look at the tall buildings under Godzilla's arm, one is at the top of my street & was still there when I came home from a concert 30 minutes ago.

We were so busy singing along with the Wheeze & Suck band that we didn't notice the official end-of-the-world time which was apparently 10.11

sandra (12.30 Saturday morning in Sydney)

it's not the best quality, but if you look carefully outside the tent you can see occasional Mudcatter Chris Maltby in the green tee shirt. He was part of our party tonight!

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 07:22 AM

Mmmm... Dunno about that Ed, I seem to have come back as myself which is contrary to expectations. I was hoping to come back as a rock star...

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Ed T
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 07:17 AM

Could we all be dead and this is actually the afterlife?

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 07:06 AM

Just gone midday in the UK. Any aussies still sober enough to post?

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 04:22 AM

4:19 am here, 19:21 before we are safe, I guess. I'm a little concerned for Sandra what with the meteors an giant lizards and all.

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: JennieG
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 03:08 AM

Well.....it's now 7.07pm, and for the past few hours we have been having severe storms.....thunder, lightning, very heavy rain. We even had a short blackout. The storms have ceased for now, but there are more on the way - do you reckon it has anything to do with the end of the world being nigh?

Cheers
JennieG

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: mg
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 02:54 AM

Half an hour later in Newfoundland.

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: andrew e
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 01:22 AM

Still here in Noosa, Qld, Australia! 4:20pm

Remember this one?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgcy-V6YIuI

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Joybell
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 12:48 AM

Sandra? Sandra?

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 11:06 PM

Who is in Sydney? Is this accurate?

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Don Firth
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 10:28 PM

What can I say?

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 09:57 PM

Here in RI, I figured I'd stay up until midnight. Now Little Hawk has made me think I have to stay up until past 1 AM. It's a good thing I'm a night owl.

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Bobert
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 09:45 PM

Hey wait... The Mayans didn't say what time Australia was going over to the other side...

No, wait... Maybe this is a northern hemisphere thing...

Come on, folks... There's still some hope...

HEY!!! Like why would the Mayans want to wipe out a bunch of folks they didn't even know existed??? Huh??? Yeah, answer me that one, will ya'...

We folks up north of the equator are history... I mean, gone, gone, gone...

So, lets get drunk...

B;~)

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 09:42 PM

Awesome party idea.

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: JennieG
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 09:29 PM

Sounds like a good idea to me, Mal......and no hangover tomorrow!

Cheers
JennieG where it's 1.28pm and the world is still turning.....

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Tangledwood
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 09:21 PM

It's going to be a great evening in Brisbane. A friend is hosting a combined birthday/solstice/end of the world party. The best thing is we can drink as much as we want because after everything ends we don't have to drive home.

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Ebbie
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 09:00 PM

Frankly, there has never been a mystery as to the date. The Mayans had to stop somewhere.

On the other hand, their calendar would not be our calendar- we must stay fearfully a-watch.

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Rumncoke
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 08:38 PM

drat.

I just spent hours creating a jersey with sonic the hedgehog in amazing primary colours and my grandson might not get it for Christmas.

Somebody might just have mentioned this end of the world thing - it can hardly be coming as a surprise - well it is to some, but at least then I could have turned out the blue hedgehog for his birthday in July and he could have got some wear out of it after all the effort.

I nearly got it finished. I've reached the ears, and then someone just has to mention that the world is going to end.

drat drat drat

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 08:36 PM

"had I but posted before I went to bed at 2.30 this morning ."

Yes Sandra, the next time the world is forecast to end please show more consideration. ;-)

Thanks for the update JennieG.

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: gnu
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 08:27 PM

"16 hours ahead of Ontario"

I need another beer... I think... ?

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: JennieG
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 07:42 PM

Right now it's 11.42 NSW DST time here on the hill; Joybell, Sandra and I are all in the same time zone although we are hours and hours (and hours and hours) apart. We are two hours behind NZ, 16 hours ahead of Ontario/NY time. We have a small clock on the computer shelf set to Ontario time because our son lives in Tronna.

Cheers
JennieG

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 07:26 PM

had I but posted before I went to bed at 2.30 this morning ...

sandra (11.25am Sydney)

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: SINSULL
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 06:38 PM

Oh Screw it!
I'm drinking my end of the world champagne anyway!
It's Napa Valley. If Christ were coming I'd go for the expensive stuff.
SINS, celebrating a friend's good news.

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Gurney
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 06:19 PM

Anyway, what about them Mayans, then! Stone-age savages, believing in human sacrifice.
What would they know. They don't even play football!

Not that I'm against human sacrifice. I just wouldn't sacrifice young girls.

;-)

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: gnu
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 05:49 PM

Yer gonna get Donked, Ed.

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Ed T
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 05:40 PM

OK, Australia may actually be "there" but maybe not really "here".

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Ed T
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 05:38 PM

Any proof of that? Or, a valid case to put forward that Australia was ever really "there"?

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: gnu
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 05:22 PM

Perhaps it's because the Kiwis are low key. Almost as low key as Canucks.

Yes, it seems they are more low key but we Canucks like to laud our low key. >;-)

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 05:02 PM

Puppies are good! Thanks for the Kiwi Report Gurney! Maybe we should Have regular reports as the day reaches our members!

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Gurney
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 04:37 PM

Why did you ask the Aussies? Kiwis are a hour earlier!

We're still here, too.

Banter on NZ radio.
"Why such a fuss about a calendar? You can just buy a new one!"
"Yeah. That's what the Mayans say."
"This new calendar: is it the one with the puppies on?"

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: gnu
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 04:31 PM

LH... but, by then, it might be too late. So, if Oz doesn't matter until the Mayan's time zone is reached, there is still time to max out, stock up, lock and load, crawl into a hole and kiss yer ass goodbye.

I think I'll have a beer and watch it on the TV.

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 04:17 PM

Yeah, that's right, Jack. It would be mere trivia.

Well, were they really predicting the end of the World? Or were they predicting the end of a particular Age or epoch of the World? Seems to me it was probably the latter. They appear to have known something about planetary and solar cycles on a very long timeline, something that the ancient Egyptians and pre-Egyptian civilizations in North Africa may also have known about. There's some very interesting literature out there about it, but I don't necessarily subscribe to any particular theory. I just find it interesting to read about and wonder about...

If anything of note does happen, we'll find out when it does, not ahead of the fact....but theories about possible future events will always keep people entertained.

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 04:03 PM

Thank you Aussies!! I am very relieved. What Little and Bill seem to have missed is that if the Mayans could predict the end of the world thousands of years in advance, the mere prediction of time zones and electronic communication with the other side of the world would be mere trivia.


Again, Thanks, Jenny and Joybell. I will now cancel my order for the site delivered concrete bunker pre-stocked with Gatorade and Twinkies.

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Joybell
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 03:49 PM

Hello! Hello! Is anyone out there? I'm still here -- in Aus. Mind you I'm way down south maybe the rest of Austraalia is gone. It is rather quiet. Jenni posted yesterday from further north but is she still here? It's almost 8.00 am on Friday morning here.
Joy in the morning.

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Bill D
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 03:44 PM

That's what I said, LH...more succinctly. It only applies to Mayaland

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 03:41 PM

Hmmm. Just had a thought here. Let's suppose that the Mayans did predict something to happen on...or by...a certain day. Would they time that by taking into account all of our present set of international time zones, therefore bringing Australia into the picture?

No. They wouldn't. They'd time it according to where they themselves were located, and that was in the Americas...central America.

Pretty much the same time zone that we in eastern and central North America live in. Worrying about where our arbitrarily selected international timelines are set up, and they were set up long after the Mayans, is not a factor that would have entered into the Mayan calculations at all. They'd have calculated according to astronomical (and possibly other) observations made strictly from their own geographical location.

So, there's no point even talking about what's going on in Australia...but it is kind of fun to do so.

A lot of people around here are planning to have "End of the World" parties on Friday. A bizarre idea! If I thought the world was going to end, I sure wouldn't want to spend the last few hours in a damn party. I'd want to be somewhere quiet.

When it comes to parties, though...I guess any excuse will do if that's what you're into. ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 03:30 PM

What time of day is it in your neck of the woods, Jennie?

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: JennieG
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 03:27 PM

Yep, I'm still here....Himself is still here too.....and both cats. And the birds in the trees, and the horses and cattles on the hill beyond our back fence are all here too.

All seems to be well in our little corner of Godzone.

Cheers
JennieG

Subject: RE: BS: 12-21-12 Australia still there?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 02:58 PM

Hey, if the world is supposed to end on a certain day....there's no guarantee that it will end on the first second of that day, is there? You're not off the hook until the entire 24 hours of that day has gone by and you're starting the next day. Get set to do a whole lot MORE worrying, Jack! ;-D

(the emoticon is not meant to make fun of you. It's meant to indicate that I am joking)

Any word from Australia yet?