2012 (2009)

2012: Apocalypse Of The Dead (Zone Of The Dead) [2009]

This is an extremely good example of a film deliberately being rebranded because of the 2012 craze.  It is, in fact, a perfectly decent shoe-string budget zombie film, originally Zone Of The Dead, that takes place in Serbia and involves Interpol agents attempting to move an ex CIA spook type, when all of a sudden everyone finds themselves surrounded by slow moving (or in some cases not so slow moving) grunting people who do not respond to commands or questions.  Of course, they are zombies...but only the spook knows what they really are.  

I'm actually kind of surprised that no one made a serious pitch to actually make a 2012 zombie film.  When watching this for the first time, anyone expecting any 2012 tie in would understandably be confused.  There is some mumbo-jumbo about a "day" and a "prophecy," but these are presented as Serbian Church teachings that are only barely mentioned.  So, someone, somewhere, heard these, and thought, "hey he said "prophecy" once:  let's put this on television as a 2012 thing---totally makes sense!."  As I mentioned, as a zombie flick, it's really not bad.  It's big claim to zombie fame is that it stars Ken Foree, who is really well known amongst us horror fans as a main character in Romero's Dawn Of The Dead (and as a cameo in the 2004 remake), and lately of Rob Zombie films.

Mayan Apocalypse 2012: National Geographic

This is probably the most serious thing posted here today.  It's actually a pretty decent little documentary put together by Paul Murton for the National Geographic Channel (which re-airs tonight @ 10 PM EST).  He examines all sorts of phenomena related to human reactions to the date.  In all seriousness, I would personally love a good documentary the focuses on modern Maya Calendar Keepers--one that shows the Mayan understanding of the year/the date; which differs quite a bit from the commercial side of it that has been splashed all over the Internet of late.  But this will do nicely.  A couple of the topics that he hits on include so-called "prepers," religious takes on it as separating of good from evil, or as one guy calls it "the separation of the righteous and unrighteous" (which is bunk!), etc.  Murton's response to this is to actually seek answers among the modern Maya.  There he finds that Maya who are aware of what is happening in places like the US are commercial exploitation of this calendrical concepts.  It is this commercialism that I am really trying to make light of here today...since this is not supposed to be a serious blog in the first place.  What is scary about this documentary (since that is the basic criterion of the blog in the first place) is the appropriation of one groups important sacredness and turn it into something rather monstrous and yes, scary.  I do recommend giving this one a look.  For the Maya, this is really a date of celebration. So my attempt in being silly about this date is to encourage a little light celebration of the day, since we have had a week of horror from last Friday!  BTW the Mayan date on their Calendar Wheel today is 4 Ahaw, 3 K'ank'in.

Nostradamus Effect: 2012 Extinction

Embed Curtesy Of Hulu

Ancient Aliens: The Mayan Conspiracy

This is a very silly show that I get a kick out of watching.  It fascinates me because it goes out of it's way to show some of the most amazing and astonishing accomplishments of human civilizations all over the world...but, of course, they all have to be the work of aliens that visited various ancient peoples....if that were the case, why the differences in these cultural accomplishments?  They try to point out that these differences are less than their supposed similarities (pyramids being the ultimate example), when, in fact, all one has to do is watch to see that the differences matter a great deal more than the real or imagined similarities.  In this, the old, really over tired notion of "King Pacal"--real name Ki'nich Janaab Pakal, is supposedly see in an ancient flying machine on a large stone burial sculpture.  This is really a depiction of Lord Pakal descending into the traditional death vase....but it doesn't stop the from fashioning a "flying machine" out the pict (see below).  This was first put forward by Erich von Däniken, who incorrectly stated that it was fro Copan; it is in fact from Palenque.

If you look carefully at the "seat" on which Lord Pakal is resting on, you will see the image of the Death God--not utilized on the model.

2012: Doomsday (2008)

The above title post is a bit confusing since obviously today is supposed to be doomsday and the year is most decidedly 2012!  Actually this is a made for Syfy movie that was ostensibly made to cash in on the 2012 Phenomenon.  That would have been fine, I have a lot of schlocky love for a lot of their really bad Saturday afternoon fare...however this is something that I really didn't expect from them....I rapture film.  It's Christian propaganda film, based on the idea that what the Mayan Long Count calendar was really counting down to was the taking up of all the true believers, and all us sinners are to be left here to face Christian "end times."  Some archaeologists find a crucifix in a ancient Maya temple and start babbling something about Christians being there long before the Spaniards arrived in the 16th century.  I don't know who these earlier Christians could have been, since the religion is only 2,000 years old and the Long Count had been counting down 3,000 years before Jesus was born.... It doesn't make any sense.  The long count calendar ran out about a little over 3 hours ago, according to the winter solstice....looks like everyone is still here, whether anyone likes it or not....  Wish I could recommend this a "fun Syfy crap"--but it's not.  Even the daughter of The Monkey's Mickey Dolenz, Ami, can't save this one!

Countdown To Baktun 13: Scary Maya Image Of The Day

The Ruins (2008)

Ahh...the ultimate movie to celebrate Arbor Day!!  For this house it's pretty much got everything a good horror movie should have...stupid kids that go where they know they shouldn't and get eaten, annoying spring break moments that make you want them to get eaten....and tons of gore.  Oh, and aside from those killer killer vines, it also has Mayans...with, like, real Maya language being spoken and all!!  I mean this is the year of the Maya.  Incidentally, today is exactly 237 days from Baktun 13 when the Maya long count runs out.  

Vernal Equinox In Mayan Territory

The rising of the Spring Sun 2012 Chichen Itza

Although today is April Fools day, 12 days ago, the Vernal Equinox came a little early this year on Mar. 20--it's taken a little time to find photos from celebrations that took place in various Maya sites.  Like other ancient monuments around the world from Egypt to England, most Maya ceremonial sites have temples that are aligned to show off the rising of the "returning sun."  In Chichen Itza, the sun shows off one side of the Temple of Kulkulkan with pure sunlight on one side of the structure leaving the other side in complete shadow, the resulting effect makes the side of the building look like an undulating serpent--which precisely the point, since Kulkulkan is the Maya name of the feathered serpent deity that is better known to the rest of the world by it's Nahautl name:  Quetzalcoatl.

Here's is that effect 2012

As the sun rises higher, the serpent effect shifts to the stairs of the temple.  See video below from 2007:

Other Maya structures that are some what older than the temple at Chichen Itza have a vernal equinox alignment with the sun that is similar to that of Stonehenge in the UK.  For example,  at Dzibilchaltún in Merida not far from Chichen Itza, the sacred structure there, known as the Temple of the Seven Dolls, captures the rising of the spring sun between it's pillars.

Here is one article from the Native American run newspaper Indian Country showing the spacial relation of the exact vernal equinox in 2012.  Here in another informative article from Indian Country, there are videos that range from Dzibilchaltún to Chaco Canyon.

Of course, with the Spring Equinox (which last came this early 100 years ago) being big business in the so-called "Maya Rivera"--the Mexican government, much like the Egyptians from time to time, just cannot resist the temptation to "tart up" the event with lights on the pyramid.  It's 263 days to Baktun 13, Friday, Dec. 21.

The Statues Of El Baúl In Guatemala

Today Is

12.19.19.4.15 Long Count Calender

12 Men 3 Wayeb Calendar Round

264 Days To Baktun 13

Early Stele Preservation

Once a much larger archaeological city ruin, the whole southern part of the acropolis was deliberately destroyed in 1997, part of the so-called "urbanization" of the area.  In fact, it was destroyed for no particularly good reason to expand a city that did not need to expand in that direction.  The city is quite old and was founded during what is known as the Formative Period, which just precedes the important Classic era.  The this reason, a great deal of the statuary has a look that appear non-Mayan on first observance.  Further examination reveals some Mayan styles emerging that would be perfected and decimated during the Classic period and recognizable as strictly Maya in origin.  El Baúl is part of the larger Mayan archaeological "zone" known as Cotzumalhuapa; the ballcourt is still in existence and some parts of the northern acropolis has been excavated; but most of the city remains under sugar cane fields--a non-native crop from Asia.  The vast majority of what is left of the city on any kind of display for tourism are carved stele and statues.  The site is near an active volcano, and it is suspected that it was abandoned long before the dawn of a cohesive Maya civilization because of the volcano.  Here is a gallery of the unique works from this little known early Maya city.

Here is an illustrated detail of the above Stele, the engraving is easily recognized as being in the Maya style.