The end of the world : As it happened (or not)
Follow of the end of the world (or not) live
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Armageddon some!: As the Mayan apocalypse nears, New Yorkers make love like there's no tomorrow
-- the puntastic headline from IV Drip on the news that in the US there's been a rise in singles ads posted on sites like OKCupid.com and Craigslist.org seeking "end of the world sex." Read the full story here. -
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Temporarily swapped the @IndyVoices @Chartbeat screen for end of the world countdown... pbs.twimg.com/media/A-oSGkuCcAEeE7I.jpg
by _JackRiley via twitter 12/21/2012 9:41:11 AM -
“I am making an appeal to the world – do not come to Bugarach.”
- Mayor Jean-Pierre Delord of Bugarach
Perhaps optimistically, Will Dean asks today what now for Bugarach, the French town whose mountain, the Pic de Bugarach, is thought by some to be a sacred place that will protect them from the end of the world.
Here are some of his suggestions for how the town could benefit:
* Statutory peak hotels rates for documentary-makers Jon Ronson and Louis Theroux.
* Erect a garden gate atop the mountain. Call it the “Pic de Bugarach Alien Gateway” and charge punters €20 to walk through. Boom. Now buy a new library.
* “I Went to the Pyrenees and all I Got Was This Lousy Interplanetary Redemption” T-shirts.
* Tax breaks to encourage an alien-tackling John Nettles spin-off, “Bergerac in Bugarach”.
Read the full list here -
Mayan apocalypse 21/12/12: 'The planets are aligned the sun will activate, let the deluge come'
An end-of-the-world party in Moscow was charging $1,000 for entry. Still, you can’t take it with you
Read more: ind.pn -
Meanwhile in Russia, for the equivalent of £600 a ticket you can watch society's total destruction at the hands of an unspecified cataclysmic event from the safety of a bunker designed to save Soviet leaders from a nuclear blast. Tour guide Alexei Pavlovsky (who is presumably hoping for a promotion should the apocalypse happen) explained -
"Many people would feel much calmer if they could spend this critical day enjoying maximum comfort and safety. There'll be a children's room with cartoons; for adults, there'll be movies, talks dedicated to the end of the world and tours of the museum. There'll be live broadcasts from other bunkers in other countries."
Have a look at pictures of the bunker from which the children of those luckier than us will observe our demise between episodes of Mickey Mouse here. -
No, the end of the world isn’t near! An explanation of the Maya calendar
There has been much speculation about December 21, but the Maya calendar didn't predict the end of the world.
Read more: ind.pn -
Calls to Nasa triple and site debunking end of the world myths gets 4.6m views as anxious US prepares for Armageddon
Some believe the 21st of December will signal the end of a 5,125-year cycle known as the Long Count - and will bring about the apocalypse
Read more: ind.pn -
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People on Copacabana beach early on 21 December, 2012. Doomsayers hunkered down to await the coming apocalypse on December 21, but most took a lighthearted view of a Mayan 'prophecy' of the world's destruction, laying on stunts and parties to while away the end. ANTONIO SCORZA/AFP/Getty Images
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Those spoilsports over at Nasa have comprehensively debunked most of the end of the world theories knocking about: 1.usa.gov -
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End of the World Playlist: get into the doomsday groove
Whether tomorrow brings destruction or disappointed speculation, we've got the music to get you through it
Listen to our playlist ind.pn -
"This is not the end of the world. This is the beginning of the new world," Star Johnsen-Moser, an American seer, said at a gathering of hundreds of spiritualists at a convention centre in Mexico's Yucatan city of Merida, an hour and a half from the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza. (AP).
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The Mexicans seem to have it right: "Thousands of mystics, hippies and spiritual wanderers will descend on the ruins of Maya cities on Friday to celebrate a new cycle in the Maya calendar, ignoring fears in some quarters that it might instead herald the end of the world" (Reuters)
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Don't forget today is, of course, the Winter Solstice and some hardy folks are set to congregate on Salisbury Plain: bbc.in
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One plucky punter is hoping he has less than an hour to go... until he can claim £50,000. According to reports, Martin Muller, who made the £10 wager on the world ending today in accordance with the Mayan calendar, has since offered the following response: "I haven’t planned ahead". -
SUGGESTIONS PLEASE!
End of the World Playlist: get into the doomsday groove
Whether tomorrow brings destruction or disappointed speculation, we've got the music to get you through it
Listen to our playlist ind.pn -
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Always look on the bright side of life...
The end of the world is an opportunity, not a threat
www.newscientist.com -
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The Manchester Evening News reports on a Stockport man who spent £22,000 stockpiling essential supplies for the end of the world. Apparently he's off into work today: bit.ly
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Do you think the world will end today? 8% of you think yes 17% maybe...
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End of the world on 12/21/12? Not just yet, says the Vatican's top astronomer - from The Christian Science Monitor ind.pn
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Texan video game mogul Richard Garriott de Cayeux (great name) is to host an elaborate end of the world party: "Two years in the planning, the party will take guests through games, challenges and performances by hedonists, evangelists, UFO watchers and transcendentalists, all set up in camps along mythical ley lines, or earthly energy fields, which they say crisscross the Garriott de Cayeux property in Austin." Reuters reports.
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Still don't understand the Maya calendar? Fear not...here's an an explanation from an expert
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Reassuring: "I'm pretty sure the world will end with the expansion of the sun, which will envelope all the inner planets," said Garriott de Cayeux, 51, who wore a Mayan headdress at a dress rehearsal on Wednesday night. "But I think we have a little while yet."
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People take part in a Mayan ritual during the ancient Chickaban feast to honor the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl and the storm god Kukulcan, in the site were it was placed the circular temple, at the Xoclan Archaeo-ecological Park in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico (Luis PEREZ/AFP/Getty Images)
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Why do we love to ponder the end? Our history of the imminent apocalypse
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Some responses have come in on Twitter to our question "If the apocalypse can only be averted by one film star, who should it be?"
"Probably Jamie Bell. We could all pirouette to safety" - @AnnifaBella
"Bruce "Muther Luvin" Willis" - @Robbill123
"Woody Allen, the plot wouldn't make any sense but you'd be happy for him succeeding" - @thepaulturvey
"Kevin Spacey" - @egerton29 -
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1
Gay couple beaten in park urge MPs to moderate language on gay marriage
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Swedes set up 'ultimate Viking movie'
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After woman sells virginity for $780,000, here are the results of our prostitution survey
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China agrees to impose carbon targets by 2016
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Far-right French historian, 78-year-old Dominique Venner, commits suicide in Notre Dame in protest against gay marriage
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