In 1980, the movie The Final Countdown is released to great reviews and stars Martin Sheen- the actor of Apocalypse Now.  Ahem, coincidence?  The Final Countdown is a science fiction movie in which a Navy crew is transported by a supernatural storm to the day before the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Did you know that the Final Countdown was produced with the full cooperation of the U.S. Navy and filmed on board the actual USS Nimitz super carrier.  Amazing. Go forward thirty years and look at the current controversy surrounding the movie Zero Dark Thirty, aka “Kill Bin Laden.” Many complain of the amount of access the director had to the government.  But I digress. There are much, much, much more pressing matters at hand.  Tick tock. Going back to the Final Countdown, perhaps you can rent it in the next few hours? According to some the title of that movie might be quite prophetic.

Or if you don’t feel like watching a1980s science fiction movie, perhaps you want to listen to some good old 1980s rock. How about that song  “The Final Countdown” –which was written by Joey tempest and released by the Swedish band Europe in 1986.  Check out its lyrics:

We’re leaving together
But still it’s farewell
And maybe we’ll come back,
To earth, who can tell?

I guess there is no one to blame
We’re leaving ground (leaving ground)
Will things ever be the same again?
It’s the final countdown.

Wow. That song seems to capture quite eloquently –ahem- the current mood around what is to occur within a few hours.  There is also another type of final countdown going on right now. Tick tock. Tick tock. We are in the wee hours of the winter solstice.  Do you know what happens on the winter solstice? The top half of our planet (that’s Planet Earth for many of you) faces directly away from the sun.  In other words, it is the time at which the Sun is appearing at noon at its lowest altitude above the horizon. The solstice is pretty cool. It is a rebirth. It is the longest night. It is the first day of winter. In many cultures it has been viewed as the reversal of fortunes. Thus, I can not help but countdown to its arrival. 2012 has been a difficult year overall.  So, let’s see what the rebirth brings.

Now, while I am eagerly awaiting the solstice with bated breath, there are others that are just as eager for December 21^st but for a few, shall we say, slightly different reasons. See, there is this little thing people are predicting to happen on December 21 and that is The Apocalypse. Yes, the one and only for this week. The Mayan Calendar is supposed to end December 21.  However, there are those that are hedging their bets and are preparing for another apocalypse that is scheduled to occur in early January. So stay tuned. But for now, rest assured our government is ready to address any apocalyptic challenges that rise. For instance, many believe that December 21 will bring about a reversal of the magnetic poles. All this time, I thought the solstice was about reversal of fortune (and I do not mean monetarily).  Lo and behold however, NASA came out with a statement assuring us all that the magnetic poles will not reverse (not overnight). According to NASA, the North and South magnetic poles do gradually change and switch places, but the key word is “gradual.” The process takes place over thousands of years and has happened many times without disrupting life on the planet.  It is good to see that NASA I playing some role in this whole apocalypse prediction game.
Yet note, there is some precedence for these concerns. Look what happened in 1859 with the Carrington Event before sunrise. Specifically, telegraph systems worldwide went haywire and the skies emitted red, green, and purple auroras.  The auroras even at near tropical latitudes over Cuba, the Bahamas, Jamaica, El Salvador, and Hawaii.  Strange times have been with us for a really long time. It’s just that now we can capture them on instagram, tweet them worldwide and mobilize people into a flash mob in mere hours to a few seconds.

There are many who also believe that aliens and UFOs will appear on December 21, swoop in and carry the true believers away. This is not the first time that supposed UFOs and a Hispanic region were intertwined and part of a larger story and movement. Look at the “starchild skull” which was found in the early 1930s in the area around Chihuahua, Mexico. It was a child’s skull that was severely deformed. So deformed that many saw no way it could have been human. Rumors and then beliefs came about that that UFOs had landed in that area and that aliens had settled in. Hmm. Is that where they got the Roswell storyline from?

Well, the final countdown has begun.  I need to go wrap up some more gifts just in case there is no apocalypse.  Unfortunately, I have some major credit card bills due on December 21. Think I can argue that the apocalypse fried my computer and thus no e-pay capacity?

The final countdown.

Oh, We’re heading for Venus (Venus)
And still we stand tall
Cause maybe they’ve seen us
And welcome us all, yeah
With so many light years to go
And things to be found (to be found)
I’m sure that we’ll all miss her so
It’s the final countdown.

Well, my friends. If the apocalypse does come please do text me! Toodles.