I am – Hercules!!
The world ends in six years, say the ancient Native Central Americans, who apparently enjoy scaring people even as they rot in their ancient Central American graves! I hope the world ends the day after I die. That’ll teach the world! I don’t think these ancient Mayans took Jesus as their savior, so I guess they’re all in Hell now. Don’t know everything, do you, ancient Mayans?
Anyway, longtime AICN fixture RoboGeek has a little plugola to disseminate:
Hiya, Herc,
I would be thrilled to tiny little shiny pieces if you could plug this project on Coaxial sometime between now and Thursday, as some very good/cool/nice/talented people I know worked very hard on it. I've seen quite a bit of it, and it's very "whoa"-inducing. Exceedingly cool, fascinating stuff.
I mean, dude -- MAYAN DOOMSDAY PROPHECY!!!
Many, many thanks!
DECODING THE PAST:
MAYAN DOOMSDAY PROPHECY
On THE HISTORY CHANNEL®
Premieres Thursday, August 3rd at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT
NEW YORK, NY, JULY 6, 2006 – Did the lost civilization of ancient the Mayans predict some of the most devastating events of modern times? What did the Mayans know about the world that present-day scientists have yet to discover? Is the secret to the end of our existence – not centuries from now, but just a few years away – waiting to be deciphered from within their complex hieroglyphics? The truth is uncovered using dramatic recreations that bring a vanished people to life on DECODING THE PAST: MAYAN DOOMSDAY PROPHECY, premiering on Thursday, August 3rd at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on The History Channel.
The Mayan civilization, more advanced than our own in many ways, was at its peak from about 600 to 900 AD in present-day Mexico and Central America. During that time, prophecies originated that some believe foretold such events as the Spanish conquistadors’ arrival in Mexico, the American Civil War, the assassination of Lincoln, World War II, and even the tragedy of September 11, 2001 with uncanny accuracy.
But of even greater interest is a Mayan prophecy still to occur – doomsday. “Almost every religion and every culture speaks of a doomsday. The difference between what other religions are saying and what the Mayan culture says is that the Mayan calendar, which is an instrument of time and space, actually names the specific date when humanity will end,” says Steve Alten, author of the book about the prophecy Domain.
As the program recounts, the Mayans used their advanced knowledge of astronomy, architecture and mathematics to discover repeating patterns in the universe. For example, they determined that every 26,000 years, the sun aligns with the center of the Milky Way. At the same time, the Earth completes a wobble around its axis. This incredible cosmic alignment, called procession, will next occur on December 21, 2012, the date the Mayans call doomsday.
Explains Bruce Scofield, Mayan astrology researcher, “The processional cycle was an astronomical measurement that was so slow that they saw it as a fundamental framework on which they could patch their history, and see where they were in the context of time.”
This cyclical notion of time forms the basis for the prophecies that emanate from the Mayan view of the universe. Experts studying one of the Mayans’ few surviving manuscripts discovered a blueprint of galactic activity for thousands of years to come. They have determined that the Mayans predicted a cataclysmic event just six years away.
As MAYAN DOOMSDAY PROPHECY describes, in Mayan cosmology, there are five great cycles, each lasting about 5,125 years, and four have already passed. According to Alten, “The four prior cycles all ended in destruction. So when we talk about the Mayan doomsday prophecy, we’re talking about the end of the fifth cycle, the very last day of which equates to December 21st in the year 2012.”
What will really happen on that date? Some experts say Mayan documents predict the destruction of the world in a great flood. Others have a more pragmatic view. Alten adds, “I think it’s easy to be skeptical about a two-thousand-year-old Mayan doomsday PROPHECY… Could humanity be wiped off the face of the planet on December 21st in the year 2012? Maybe the more important question is what are we going to do to prevent it?”
DECODING THE PAST: MAYAN DOOMSDAY PROPHECY is produced for The History Channel by 1080 Productions. Executive Producer for The History Channel is Dolores Gavin.
The History Channel® is one of the leading cable television networks featuring compelling original, non-fiction specials and series that bring history to life in a powerful and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. The network provides an inviting place where people experience history in new and exciting ways enabling them to connect their lives today to the great lives and events of the past that provide a blueprint for the future. The History Channel has earned three Peabody Awards, six News and Documentary Emmy® Awards and received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's Save Our History® campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. The History Channel reaches more than 89 million Nielsen subscribers. The website is located at www.History.com.
