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Category Archives: Mayan Calendar
A new Maya-interest conference debuts: “Maya at the Lago” in Davidson, NC (North of Charlotte)
Mat Saunders, creator of the excellent conference series “Maya at the Playa” in Palm Coast, Florida, is launching another archaeology-for-the-masses conference in North Carolina. The debut of this event comes a week from this writing, from 14-17 April 2011.
The lectures and workshops bring first-class Maya scholars and archaeologists into contact with the interested public, in a friendly and informal setting. This is a great opportunity to meet and learn from world-reknowned experts in the Ancient Maya such as National Geographic archaeologist George Stuart, the eminent Norman Hammond, and Marc Zender, a rising star in Maya Decipherment, co-author of the just-published “Reading Maya Art: A Hieroglyphic Guide to Ancient Maya Painting and Sculpture”
(highly recommended)… and of course, Yours Truly, promoting my own book.
Posted in Mayan Calendar
Tagged 21 December 2012, conference, End of the Maya Calendar, maya at the playa, Prophecy
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An Atheist Celebrates Xmas —er, the Solstice … Part 1
21st December, 2009 (cue background music: Paul Winter Consort)
Well, the “End of the Maya Calendar” is exactly three years away. Roland Emmerich’s computer-generated-apocalypse-fantasy “2012” has swept through like a tsunami, and we are confronted, like it or not, with Christmas. Luckily, I like Christmas music, or I would be forced into a hermitage for six weeks every year, away from shopping malls, television, radio, and Main Streets cheerfully blaring their music and bustling with cars sporting felt antlers. Actually, that sounds like a capital idea. Bah, Humbug…. Except I really do like harmonizing with all those upbeat, major-key carols.
The politically-correct phrase “Holiday Season” was coined, ironically, by that epitome of conspicuous consumption and planned obsolescence, the fashion industry. This highly intelligent, articulate, and largely non-Christian population refers to itself, with supreme cynicism, as “the Schmatte trade”. “Schmatte” is Yiddish for “rags”. (Their Capital is 7th Avenue in Manhattan, not far from 34th Street, home of Macy’s, Gimbel’s and the eponymous “Miracle”. If you haven’t seen the film with the 8-year-old Natalie Wood, sarcastic and cute as a button, do so. We call it a Classic for good reason.)
Posted in Mayan Calendar
Tagged 2012, 21 December 2012, abbreviations, Atheism, Atheist, Book of Kells, calendars, capitalization, capitalizing, Christmas, Dec. 21, End of the Maya Calendar, Greek, IHS, Kells, Latin, Majuscule, Roman capitals, schmatte, Solstice, sps, Xmas, XP, XPI
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