The Watering Hole: Wednesday, October 6, 2010 – Hump Day

Posted on by

12/21/2012 has long been touted by some as the end of the world; Armageddon; the Day Christ Comes and Claims His Kingdom On Earth.

Really.

Really?

If so, where the heck are the two witnesses?

3And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 4These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 5And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. 6These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. (Book of Revelations, Chapter 11, verses 3-6)

These two witnesses are supposed to prophesy for 3 1/2 years before God calls the game. That means we should have been hearing from them starting back in the summer of 2009. But we’ve continued to have rain, and no one’s been accused of turing water into blood, or calling forth all kinds of plagues.

So, either this part of the Book of Revelations is wrong, or those who predict the end of the world in 2012 are wrong. Something to keep in mind as certain Chrisians approach the end of the Mayan Calendar.

This is our Open Thread. Please feel free to add your thoughts on this, or any other topic that comes to mind.

Advertisement

94 thoughts on “The Watering Hole: Wednesday, October 6, 2010 – Hump Day”

  1. Good post. Personally, I think the end of the world scares are a load of guano. Ever notice that every year someone sends around an email stating that on 01/01/01 or 02/02/02 or 10/10/10 the world will end? I get these every year, usually sent out by the same people.

    Never does, though. :/

    As far as the whole 12/21/12 stuff goes, that’s just another scare tactic to fill pews and collection plates around the world.

    My view is this: If the world does end, no one will notice because we’ll all be dead. If it doesn’t end, a lot of finger pointing will happen and we will all laugh and wish we didn’t drink so much the night before. It will feel like the world ended, (hangovers are like that), but we will still have to go to work on the 22nd. And the 23rd. Life will continue.

    Darn it.

  2. “keep your eyes open, for you know not the day or the hour”

    It seems pretty arrogant to be to suggest any of us can know when the Earth will end. I have noticed that the endtimes cults always think it will happen in their lifetimes, again, arrogance. The Mayan priests performed their calculations about a 1,000 years ago and I imagine they just found 12/21/2012 a convenient stopping point.
    My autistic son is obsessed with disasters. He saw a trailer for the 2012 movie and is seriously concerned that the world will end on that date. I have to keep reminding him that he is mayan, and could just start the cycles over and extend the mayan calender. :)

  3. This quote from the Book of Revelations sounds like an LSD trip. Whoever wrote this must have been hallucinating. We know that we can’t refer to Palin or Beck as the two witnesses because neither of them would be caught dead or alive wearing a burlap sack.

  4. Yeah, and all the computers were supposed to crash on 1/1/2000.

    But.

    fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies:

    They’re not talking about Glenn Beck, are they?

  7. Outstanding,

    My understanding is that the Mayan Calendar is based on the galactic “year;” the length of time it takes the sun to circle the center of the galaxy.

    That being the case, 12/21/12 simply marks the beginning of another “year,” much as we get new calanders following 12/31 of any given year.

  8. I figure the next wingnut ‘ala carte’ ruse will be to assess everyone a $75 annual fee as prepayment for our fair share of the Rapture when it happens. No pay, stay here.

    Imagine it: “Left Behind” in a world without wingnuts. Works for me.

  9. Good morning.

    Finally got around to updating my blog.

    Try this sometime. I’m trying to be proactive and find out how much a procedure costs, how it will be billed, how much my insurance would pay for such a thing.

    No one really knows.

    I was so wanting single payer. :(

  10. I’m not convinced anyone has actually translated enough ancient Mayan to have a clue what the Mayan calendar says.

    The planetary/galactic alinement stuff is fabulously irritating to me. Tidal forces are a product not merely of the mass of the object in question, but the ratio of the distance of the object to your near side vs. your far side. This is why the tidal force of the moon is vastly greater than that of the sun, even though they sun is enormously more massive. And even though Jupiter is the most massive non-stellar object in the solar system (“the solar system consists of Jupiter and debris”) I’m not sure it exerts any measureable tidal force at all.

    So all the infantile stories about “the great line up” — all the other grotesque misrepresentations aside — are incapable of exerting anything even remotely approaching the daily tidal forces of the moon by itself.

    (And recall that these “one in a gazillion” “line ups” have been occurring regularly for at least the last 30 years. Anyone remember The Jupiter Effect, published by a pair of supposed astronomers?)

  12. hmm, I’ve always wondered: if a person has two deceased spouses – which one do you spend ‘eternity’ with? Is polygamy allowed in the ‘beyond’?

  13. I’d put my money on Stephen Hawking and his cronies having a better idea of when the Earth will end than the Mayans.

  14. “hmm, I’ve always wondered: if a person has two deceased spouses – which one do you spend ‘eternity’ with? Is polygamy allowed in the ‘beyond’?”

    Matthew 22:30 or Mark 12:25
    “For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage;”
    I doubt the afterlife, or heaven, or whatever you want to call it, is as some christians picture it, no mansions, no streets paved with gold. I am probably a heretic.

  16. Thanks OIMF. I’m one who sees death as the end – no ‘rising up’ or ‘going to hell’. Was just curious about those who believe and had more than one spouse in the living world if they all met in the beyond how that would be handled.

  17. 2ebb, complicated – how are Richard Burton and Liz Taylor going to make sense of it…?

  18. Outstanding — “I doubt the afterlife, or heaven, or whatever you want to call it, is as some christians picture it, no mansions, no streets paved with gold. I am probably a heretic.”

    Some years ago, a fundie “Christian” explained to me in some detail why I was going to go to hell when I die. Finally, I asked him where he figured he was going to end up. He said, “Heaven, of course.”

    I said, “Then I’ll see you in heaven because, rest assured, having to spend an eternity with a buttcake like you would be HELL for me!”

    The conversation ended abruptly, and he never spoke to me again before he died about a year later.

  21. Cats, I borrowed it from my dad. Decades ago, pop used a cuss word in front of a local fundie and the fundie chastized him, said he’d never get to heaven using language like that. Pop looked at him and said, “Are you going to heaven, Ben?”

    “Oh yes, definitely.”

    “Then I don’t want to go.”

    Crickets.

  22. The whole thing about which spouse for serial marriers (whether by choice or mishap) really is moot in the afterlife. The gud book even says so. Is that why they call it Heaven?

  23. Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

    When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
    There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
    There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

    All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
    The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

    They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

    You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

    Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….

    Author unknown…

  24. I don’t believe in the afterlife but if there is one I hope it’s the one above. Although as someone who feels guilty that I didn’t do enough for any animal who know. There’s the dog I put to sleep because he’d been suffering the night before from lymphoma and the cat I didn’t put to sleep with breast cancer because I’d felt guilty putting the dog to sleep … etc

  25. Excellent frugal and exactly how I feel. Can you imagine spending eternity with Sarah Palin?

  26. Shayne, that’s where I’d like to go.

    Again this would beg the question, do we meet all the animals we ever had that predeceased us? The turtles, rabbits, ants (yes some had ant farms as children), mice, rats, etc.?
    Seems to be a “Pied Piper” kind of thing – everyone going over the Bridge together!

  27. I gave up worrying about the afterlife many years ago. Figuring out what I’m supposed to be doing here was enough to keep me occupied. When I get where ever, I can start all over.

  28. It’s just that ‘blind faith’ in an afterlife begs so many questions as to what one will experience, see, etc.

    Quite frankly how do those who’ve been cremated ‘rise up’ – oh, never mind it’s all rhetorical.

    • A few years ago, my church lady sister was very upset that she wouldn’t be seeing me in heaven. I told her we just ought to see each other while we’re alive.

      I was more polite back then, so I didn’t ask her how she knew she was going to heaven, since having grown up together I knew a few things about her. And I didn’t tell her I’d save her a seat next to me in hell.

  30. Can you imagine spending eternity next to your sister Zooey? Even if it’s heaven it will feel like hell. :)

    • Shayne, it would probably be fine — if I could duct tape her mouth shut. :D

      This is the sister who actually likes me, and I like her too, but I liked her much better as a wild teenager.

  31. Shayne, we had a hamster for awhile. His favorite past time was when we put him in his little hamster ball and he would run around the house. Mook would chase him and bark. Dinny would aim his ball into places the dog couldn’t follow, wait for a bit and then pop out someplace else. It was hilarious.

  32. I always wanted an ant farm!!!!! And a hamster!!!!

    How many hamsters do you want? I deliver!
    I also have a special on gerbils!

  33. Reminds me of the time the Debbil gave George W. Bush a tour of hell. There was, down there, a replica of the Oval Office, and Clinton was at the desk. The Debbil told George he could move into the O.O. if he wanted to, to carry out his duty. He said ok.

    The Debbil knocked on the desk and said, “Ok, Miss Lewinski, you can leave now, your replacement is here.” She climbed out of the knee hole and the Debbil helped George climb in.

    Clinton, too, probably moved from heaven to hell at that same moment. But, well, it’s a bit hard to believe, really, allathat.

    Isn’t it?

    Hmmm.

  34. I remember a saying I read 50 years ago:

    The best use of life is to spend it on something that outlives it.

    Unfortunately I think I’m almost at that point where I’ve outlived my usefulness!

  35. Pachy — “Unfortunately I think I’m almost at that point where I’ve outlived my usefulness!”

    You’re not alone. We could start a club, probably. :)

  40. True about the whale’s loss of life – the situation allows for a rare necropsy to find out what caused its demise.

    • Oh great. We have a Denny’s on campus now, and it will stay open all night.

      Hallelujah.

      Except, all night actually means it’s open until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and midnight all the other days. I’m pretty sure that doesn’t count as all night.

      And the place they put it has ZERO parking, so I guess they’re counting on residence hall students to keep this rockin’ Dennys in business. Good luck!

  43. I’m starting to wonder if the ubiquitous nature of wifi isn’t secretly resonating with people’s brains. The frequency seems to have a stronger impact on those with an IQ in double digits.

    Dang, where’s my tinfoil?

  48. I don’t like it here all that much anymore. If I was something other than old and decrepit, I’d consider relocating to somewhere more pleasant than Amurka. The Society Islands, maybe. Rarotonga? Trade winds and coconuts instead of bluster and wingnuts? Has a nice ring to it!

    Milady, Shadow the cat, and moi on a sandy beach, the nearest Republican at least 10,000 miles in any direction.

    I like that.

    Well, it’s late. It’s after eight already. Yawn.

    Gettin’ old’s a bitch, believe it!

    To sleep, perchance to dream. If only I could remember the dream(s) come morning!

    It’s been a long day, but at least I’ve finished critiquing the first galley proof! Next up, a day off!

  49. Day off – I’m saluting that. I’m taking tomorrow and Friday. I’m cream-crackered actually. Play some footy tonight, and then that’s it until next week.

  51. Gettin’ old’s a bitch, believe it!

    But it beats the alternative. :)

    My dad thought hamsters were rats and he was afraid of them. Now I have too many bigger critters that would take them out. When my Jack Russell terrier was younger I was assured he would find some way to get to a hamster no matter what I did. My cat, well who knows. And my golden retriever would squash him accidentally.

  52. My daughter is playing Cobweb in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Apparently you have to sleep with somebody to get a good part at her school.

  54. I think I’d like to move to Canada when we retire. I’m not really all that fond of hot weather anyway.

  55. I’m cream-crackered actually. What the hell does this mean?

    Knackered. Done-in.

    From Urban Dictionary:

    Cream Crackered

    To be extremely tired and exhausted.
    Rhyming slang for knackered.
    Guy 1: Wanna go out later?
    Guy 2: No thanks, I’m Cream Crackered.

  56. Shane, some parts of Canada can get very hot … in the summer. You would be welcome to retire here.

  57. I just saw a promo for CNN’s new Parker Spitzer show. That wouldn’t be unusual, except that it was on MSNBC, during the Rachel Maddow Show!

    Now why is Rachel’s show shilling for Keith’s competition?

  58. House, they probably paid for the spot. Just like on progressive blogs there will be ads for conservative/gnopes. (Meg Whitman and Fiorina have ads on some – you’ll see Meg’s on TP sometimes.
    Bachmann has an ad on LGF (little green footballs).

    On Balloon Juice – conservative/goopers have ads: Stop Obamacare.

  59. My husband loves fishing there dycker at Lake of the Woods so maybe I can convince him.

    • I just got this email from a friend, an older lady who doesn’t have a clue what’s going on in this country, and just forwards stuff that looks scary — this is from one of her kids:

      I Just thought I would share with you a little bit of what we heard at last night’s Republican dinner here in Crawford County , Ohio .

      John Kasich (running for Gov. of Ohio) was the keynote speaker for the event. Also present were many politicians, most notably, Bob Latta,
      our fine conservative U.S. Congressman. Mike and I walked up to Congressman Latta and thanked him for his conservative voting record and voiced our concern about what is going on in Washington these days. He made some funny botox remarks about Nancy Pelosi and then agreed with us that we have every reason to be very concerned.

      As there were others waiting to talk to him, our time was brief. Although what took place later that evening should make chills run up and down everyone’s spine to hear. He was asked to speak a few words at the end of the night and went up on stage. He proceeded to tell the crowd how bad things really are in Washington . He said if he had time to tell us even half of what the agenda is and what this administration plans to do to our country we couldn’t sleep at night.

      He said he only gets 4 to 4-1/2 hours of sleep a night and worries constantly about what they want to do to this country.

      He said that Pelosi, Reid and Obama have to be stopped no matter what the cost. He said, “You know, you always hear this is the most important election blah blah blah, but I am telling you people…whatever you have to do to wake people up you need to do it now! We have got to vote them out in 2010 or with the things they have planned for this country we won’t even be a free country by 2020! in Ten years or even less! I just don’t know if I have the ability to convey to you just how serious of a situtation we are in right now. But I hope you will realize, this is every bit as serious as the night Geo. Washington crossed the Delaware . He was on a do or die mission and he knew it. That is how we should all feel about November’s elections.”

      You could see the look of desperation on his face as he spoke.

      He talked about the huge debt. He talked about how the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) gets their “figures.” He sits on the finance committee and listens to the ramblings of Geithner and Bernanke. He said, “If you think that the Chinese won’t hold this over us with all our debt you have another thought coming. Our children will have nothing. Let me repeat that, “Our children will have nothing to look forward to. Our grandchildren and perhaps all future generations will be enslaved to China . And it will all be because we blindly elected a man to be president because he was good looking and spoke well. But we knew nothing about him. Now we know and we should be very, very afraid!”

      “I don’t care if you have to go out door to door, tell at least 10 people who will then tell 10 more people. We have to do this friends! This is the single most important election ever in the history of this country. The change that Obama promised us is NOT the change people thought he meant. he means to completely change this nation into a socialist communist Nanny State that will dictate every single thing you do in life. Believe me when I say you will no longer be free!”

      I told her I would definitely be in the voting booth on November 2, but with facts, not scare tactics. Since she’s in her 70s, I refrained from writing, “Bitch, don’t ever send me that shit again.”

  60. Oh, dear, dear, dear Chicken Little lives: the sky is falling.
    And who the hell needs ‘facts’ to put fear in people.
    Just talk about China and the black man that is the President of the United States.

  61. Jezzus Fucking Christ, I’ll be 70 in March, FSM willing, and my mind is better than that of her son, who maxes out at 66 if she is 79 and 8.967 months (I counted back.) Come to think of it, he could have age-induced dementia!

  63. Done Zooey. As hard as some of these lenders have made it to modify mortgages by selling mortgages several times and hiring servicing entities to do the paperwork, I see no benefit in making it easier for them to falsify documents.

    • Thanks, Outstanding.

      Taking someone’s home should never be “easy.” If it’s too easy, then mistakes are made. Americans must have recourse to show that mistakes have been made, but this bill greases the skids for mortgage holders to foreclose on a home that shouldn’t be in foreclosure! That is insane.

  64. Done here as well.

    I’m thinking that while the German Fascisti made it easy to confiscate the property of Die Juden, they were unlike the American Fascisti who want it made easy to confiscate ANYONE’S property at any time.

    These people today won’t stop till every last available red cent is redistributed UPWARD.

    Screw that.

  65. What I find interesting about this foreclosure bill, is that here in Minnesota, the Attorney General is actually trying to get a moratorium on all foreclosures pending investigations to see if all the proper regulations are being followed.

  67. Yes she is.

    But I wonder (and I’ve not had time to read more about the bill in question) if a lot of states have been trying to crack down on this, hence the bill?

    But this bill really makes little sense to me.

  69. Mary Lacewing at TP brought this to our attention:

    Obama Will Not Sign Bill Seen As Cover For Bank Foreclosures

Comments are closed.