Found on web- Re: Rant Dec.2012 (One foot on the other side)

I'm not sure why you think most people feel the end is coming, it is actually a very small percentage that think this way. There have always been doom and gloomers and there always will be. Disaster sells and many people will try to make this into something that it is not even remotely close to being. Read up on the Mayan calendar and learn the truth about the Long count calendar. This is only the end of 1 Bak'tun period, and to the Maya people this is a great time to be alive. It is a great honor and a huge celebration takes place by those who are alive to see the end and the start of a Bak'tun cycle. There are 394.3 years in one Bak'tun so it is special to get to experience the start of a new one.

The Maya calendar started in 3114 BC and if you add 2011 to that you will see that this is the 13th Bak'tun. 20 Bak'tun are equal to 1 Pictun and when this day comes it will be a serious celebration. Here is a chart of the Mayan long count.

Days - Long Count period - Long Count unit - Approximate solar years


1 - 1 Kin
20 - 20 Kin - 1 Uinal
360 - 18 Uinal - 1 Tun - 1
7,200 - 20 Tun - 1 Ka'tun - 19.7
144,000 - 20 Ka'tun - 1 Bak'tun - 394.3
2,880,000 - 20 Bak'tun - 1 Pictun - 7,885
57,600,000 - 20 Pictun - 1 Kalabtun - 157,808
1,152,000,000 - 20 Kalabtun - 1 K'inchiltun - 3,156,164
23,040,000,000 - 20 K'inchiltun - 1 Alautun - 63,123,288

Myself, I'm contemplating a trip to either the Yucatan Peninsula or maybe Guatemala, where many Maya still live and practice their culture today. In some areas they still use the Mayan calendar and I would imagine this will be a huge celebration in these regions. How about it C listers, anybody up for a once in a lifetime event. We could even organize a raiding party and do a bit of pillaging while we're there. We could have a very interesting experience, exploring the ruins, during this special time and hopefully not become an actual sacrafice to the fresh beginning of a new Bak'tun.