The End Of '12

Against the expectations of a fair number of Apocalypticals we seem to have made it.

The World-As-We-Know-It didn't end, but 2012 soon will.

Many good people will have gone with it.  The World has shed some famous souls this year past, and their passing will be sorely felt, as will the more private gaps left by their fellow-travelers into the mists - those who were known only to their friends and family, or who gained a brief notoriety from the circumstances of their deaths.

Many are gone, but the World goes on.  And we should hope for a better year in 2013.

Not that 2012 was a complete disaster.  We didn't have another super-tsunami, and the US re-election of Barack Obama seemed to buoy the spirits of many.

But 2012 won't be missed.  'Superstorm' Sandy reminded us of our fragility. Conflicts continued in Afghanistan and Syria; Congressional deadlock and the 'fiscal cliff' left US leaders with the well-earned contempt of the general public; and Hollywood continued to release '3D' movies.

Of course, we don't yet know what 2013 will bring us.  It's been a hundred years since we last lived a year with '13' in it's name, and 1913 was a mixed bag (1913 events).  It's amazing how true it is that the more things change, the more they remain the same, but I sure hope 2013 doesn't sow the seeds of global war as 1913 did.  Or should I say, I hope those of us living in 2013 are better at avoiding the pitfalls of arrogance and blind self-interest than those of 1913 were.  (Well, OK, it's a long-shot.)

No matter what comes next, it's safe to say that we have once again persevered another transit about the Sun.  What the next roundtrip will bring shouldn't worry us too much as we celebrate on December 31, 2012.

Happy New Year

14 December 2012

If you were anticipating the approach of the Mayan Apocalypse, or just looking for signs it was on schedule for the 21st of this December; then you would have seen and heard hard evidence in every news outlet in America on the 14th.

Even if you don't believe the World is Ending on December 21, 2012, you would be forgiven for believing that American Public Innocence - or rather the popular myth of it, had ended with the deaths of those 20 children and their teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut.

For certain it wasn't just the people at the school, the 20-year old gunman, or his mother the first victim, who died on the 14th; we all of us lost something that we might never get back.

If we are to have a chance at redemption after this tragedy, we must finally heed the calls that began in earnest with Columbine, but have lapsed to barely register in public discourse.

Somehow, some way, we must get to a point where these mass killings by guns can no longer happen as easily as they seem to do.

We can't fail in this.

Not if we want the memory of the 14th of December, 2012, to mean something more than just another step down the road to our Apocalypse.

12-12-12

It's not often a day assumes once-a-century significance on nothing more than its name, but then there's Wednesday, December 12, 2012, or 12-12-12.

The coincidence of having all digits the same has been a yearly experience since the second year of the new millennium (2001), but the run is over.  After tomorrow, we won't see the like again until 01-01-2101, some 89 years in the future.

I haven't got 89 years in the tank, do you?  If you are old enough tomorrow to understand what's up, probably not.

So this is it.

Make the most of it.

Engaged?  Move up the wedding.

Getting Divorced?  Why not add a little more significance.

If you have to sign checks this week, do them all tomorrow.

Save a newspaper (double-bonus: you can get one now, but in 2101?)

If Wednesday is your Birthday take lots of pictures with date stamps visible.

Planning to sign a contract for a new car or house soon? Do that tomorrow.

Whatever you do to mark this Wednesday, 12-12-12, as special, enjoy the precipitous vibe.  It'll prepare you for (1) the Fiscal Cliff, and (2) the Mayan Apocalypse (whichever gets us first).