Things you just don't get

[Betelgeuse]

To update what I was saying, I took a picture of the article where it says where this madness of the Mayans come from. I will try to translate it, also I upload the images, so if you can read in spanish is better.


Here it goes:

"The year 2012.

Now, just as the beginning of the actual world for the mayans of the Classic period ocurred in a registered date in the "Large Counting" as 13.0.0.0.0 - which is no other thing than 13 baak'tuunes, 0 k'atuunes, 0 tuunes, 0 winales and 0 k'ines, equivalent to august 13th of 3114 b.C. in our calendar -, december the 23th, 2012 - and not the 21st, as have been told- , is the day in which, after almost 5125 years, the complete cicle of the Large Counting goes back to 13.0.0.0.0. But this never meant the end of the world or the rise of a new era.

So, if the mayans never talked about an <<end of the world>> from where this believe came out? This belief is due to the american writer Frank Water who, in the 70's, noticed some archaelogical finds in the state of Tabasco, specifically in one mayan sricption called Monumento 6 de Tortuguero, in which the date is mentioned. Based on that, in 1975 he published his book Mystique: the Coming Sixth World of Consciusness, in which, mixing his interpretation of the mayan omens with the myth of the en of the 5th Sun of the mexicas, and some "hopis" leyends, he interpreted that date as the end of the world or <<creation of a new world>>. This book became the fisrt best seller of the new age literature, but, as we have seen, it doesn't relies on any knowledge endorsed by the academic comunity.

The Mayan people, nor the old, or currently, has been driven by fatalism, but by a deep religious reflection of their environment, which is not determined. For them, the story served to explain what had happened, to face what had been and would be."

I'm sorry if I had some bad grammatical errors or spelling errors.

 

[erictheobscure]

A thing I just don't get: why I often find myself shelling out money for internet access during a flight, when I have nothing to do on the internet except update my Facebook status update with, "I just paid for internet access on this flight so I could tell you I'm in the air."

In any case, greetings from up in the sky.

 

[Harold falcon]



A thing I just don't get: why I often find myself shelling out money for internet access during a flight, when I have nothing to do on the internet except update my Facebook status update with, "I just paid for internet access on this flight so I could tell you I'm in the air."
In any case, greetings from up in the sky.

Have a few of those little bottles of vodka. You'll be fine.

 

[erictheobscure]

I'm on hiatus from drinking for a few weeks. Long story, at once batshit crazy and totally banal.

 

[Rambo]



I'm on hiatus from drinking for a few weeks. Long story, at once batshit crazy and totally banal.

she sounds like she'd be great in the sack but i'm not quite sure why YOU'D have to stop drinking because of it.

 

[erictheobscure]

Would've been better if it'd been that kind of story. (Or not?)

 

[Bhowie]

Didn

I'm on hiatus from drinking for a few weeks. Long story, at once batshit crazy and totally banal.

Didn't you just pay for netwebz access and have nothing to do but update FB?

 

[deadly7]



God parents - at least as it's practiced in our extended family - are a couple who are picked due to their faith and character. The parents are responsible for all tasks re: upbringing within the church, but God parents are an auxiliary who are a resource for both parent and child in terms of the church's teachings. Maybe you don't fully understand a religious precept, or parent and child are disagreeing over something and you don't want to call the preacher. Or the child wants to talk something over but not with mom or dad.
However, in practice the responsibility varies widely. For some it's an honorary title, and for others I believe there's an expectation that you'll adopt the child should the parents pass on before the children reach adulthood - or at least bear the burden of keeping them linked to the church.
FWIW, I don't remember who my god parents are.

This is really helpful, thanks! Being a Heathen I most definitely have no church-related experience.

 

[Rambo]



This is really helpful, thanks! Being a Heathen I most definitely have no church-related experience.

+1. I always thought it was a legal definition wherein if you (the parents) die, then the godparents take over in your place.

 

[lasbar]

The concept of Godparents was very different before...

They would have step in in case of both parents dying...

They had the duty to provide the children with a Christian upbringing..

It was obviously a very imprtant responsability implying a very high level of trust and commitment..

It has become a more mercantile affair where presents and day outs are more the basis behind the choice..

It is still perceived as a mark of trust and friendship if taken seriously..

 

[Thomas]



+1. I always thought it was a legal definition wherein if you (the parents) die, then the godparents take over in your place.

Well, there's no legal recognition that I can recall (but I'm not a lawyer so...) - in the event of a child becoming orphaned, the state would cast about for relatives willing to adopt, and I guess that God parents would also be in the mix. In some circles it could be expected that the God parents should step up and offer to adopt, but that's not really a legal thing IMHO.

Now, before the agencies and CPS-types and all that, I could see the God parent adoption business being much more relevant.

Interesting: In some circles, God parents don't have to be married to each other, or married at all. They should be strong in their faith, though. Found that out from a prior boss.

 

[MrG]



...
Interesting: In some circles, God parents don't have to be married to each other, or married at all. They should be strong in their faith, though. Found that out from a prior boss.

Yup. I'm the godfather to a friend's daughter. The child also has a godmother, who is not my wife. I was honored to be asked, but, best I could tell, my only role was to be there when the kid was baptized and eat some snacks afterward. Both the godmother and I had to promise to guide her spiritually should something happen to the parents, but there hasn't been any talk about a parental/guardian-type role in such a situation. It's kind of a weird situation, to be honest, and it mostly just felt like a formality/tradition in which my friend wanted to say he'd participated.

 

[AMProf]

Why some ebay sellers price items way, way too high on a BIN (like north of 2x what an item has been selling for), get no takers, and keep listing the item for the same price, week after week after week. I would think the fees would begin to eat into your profit margin. Is there a logic to this approach?

 

[L'Incandescent]

Text of a local radio ad for a jeweler:

Lady 1: Whoa, you almost blinded me!
Lady 2: I've got mah high beams on!

Lady 2 is talking about some diamond earrings she got at the local jeweler. That has to be the least elegant way to describe the sparkle of diamonds I've ever heard. Why would a jeweler advertise that way?

 

[Gibonius]

Diamond nipple rings?