In Honor of 2012
Whoever rules the apocalypse rules the world. That’s why, in celebration of the release of the disaster flick 2012 today, Friday the 13th, we’ll be publishing a series of articles about the 2012 phenomenon—a real, live, ancient apocalypticism for our time. New Agers, Mayan enthusiasts, climatologists, environmentalists, and NASA have all teamed up to give us the latest, greatest doomsday (or universal enlightenment; you choose) scenario since, well, 2000. And if, like that totally ineffectual millennium, nothing happens by the time 2013 rolls around, it’ll be another magnificent example of how we’re the most gullible sentient species we know of. And if 2012 does turn out to drastically alter the course of human and natural events, these may be the most important articles Killing the Buddha has ever published. Either way, KtB wins.
- “The 2012ologists” by Andrew Marantz
- “Why 2012?” (letter to the editor)
- “Times Reports: Crazy People Believe in 2012” by Jessica Weisberg
- “2012 or Bust!” by Jessica Weisberg
- “Oh Mayan!” (letter to the editor)
- “Long Count” by Alexander Zaitchik
- “Why Is the End of the World Such a Big Deal?” by Nathan Schneider
- “Crashing the Mayans’ Big Date” by Garrett Baer
Related: 2012, apocalypse, film
November 13th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Pinchbeck is a genius. He gets high and speculates about fantastic futures for a living. If I only I would have had the foresight to realize there was money in that, I would have dropped out of college and been rich.
November 13th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
Director Roland Emmerich has managed to destroy nearly every icon of human civilization, natural or man-made, in one film- amazing and ridiculous at the same time (the more spectacular the disasters get, the more ridiculous that the movies “heroes” actually survive them!) I think I agree with my son as far as the movie itself- it may just be so bad it’s good (for a laugh- or just pure blow ‘em up entertainment?) As far as the apocalyptic prophecy -well Y2K went nowhere so we’ll just have to see I guess. Meanwhile I suspect members of the Family have already built their getaway ships (or bomb-shelter bunkers)- just in case…
November 14th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
I saw it last night and thought it was so bad that it was actually bad!
November 17th, 2009 at 10:00 am
As the saying goes, the only two things that are universal are hydrogen and stupidity. Our gullibility knows no bounds — not when you consider that new devotees still come to sit at the feet of Charlie Manson, metaphorically speaking, and claim to find messages in his lunatic ramblings.
November 29th, 2009 at 12:57 am
In regard to the Y2K fears, it seems to be largely forgotten that there was an actual danger at that time.
When computers were being developed in the 20th Century, the space used for whatever you were doing was very expensive. For this reason, one of the cost-cutters was recording the date with only the last two digits of the 19– year.
As it got closer to 2000, computer experts finally got to realizing that 00 would be interpreted as being 1900. Fortunately, once it became clear that all computers–especially the computers used by governments, businesses large and small, utility companies, and hospitals, to name a few–turning to 1900 would be a very bad thing, there was a vast effort made to make all computers, and computer-dependent machines [like printers, jets and medical equipment], what came to be known as Y2K friendly, or Y2K compliant.
Those efforts made by computer experts were, happily, successful. As far as I could tell in my reading, no catastrophes occured anywhere when 2000 began.
However, there were a lot of tiny little glitches here and there. In the U.S., for example, a few prisons having the lists of convicts who would be released in 2000, found the computer records showing those prisoners as being released in 1900.
I, as another example, received two e-mails from two different e-addresses which looked completely normal. Upon closer inspection, however, the year in the date of one of the e-mails was 100. The year in the date of the other e-mail was 2034; checking a perpetual calendar, that day and date in 2034 were [will be] correct in 2034.
Lots of tiny little errors all over the world, but no disasters anywhere. As far as computers go, the experts did their job well, which is why the catastrophic Y2K bug didn’t show up.