2012: End of the World

About the Mayan calendar there are lots of interpretations, some ones more serious than another, since that the end of the calendar means the zombie invasion of the planet until that the calendar is not really about the world time, but it’s the representation of the baby’s gestation period.

First, we must to know that the most spread interpretation of the Mayan calendar said the count of the calendar is coming to an end, after over 5,126 years.  “The long count was not the only calendar used by the Mayans.  They had two yearly calendars: the solar and the religious.  They also had a 52-year span called a calendar round”[1].

I think that we must to be very careful with the interpretation of Mayan predictions, because we have a completely different to conceive the world, especially in the time perception: we understand the time in a lineal way, instead the American pre-Columbian cultures conceived the time in a circular way. So, the “end” in their calendar can means the beginning of a new cycle.

Personally, I think that these predictions are more related with astronomical matters than with the apocalyptic nature that the medias has give it to this. I think that the apocalyptic thing is  something very rentable for the entertainment industry, and it is something that always attract to the people (for the same reason, every end of the millennium blows all types of legends related with the end of the world)

But if the world was going to come to an end in December this year I would like to do a lot of things that I didn’t do it yet, like travel around the world or eat all the ice-cream that I can!

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[1] http://www.mayanpredictions.net/long-count-the-mayan-calendar/.html

How green I am?

Before, it was very difficult to learn about environmentally friendly practices, but I think know is easier. There is more ways to find information, now it not only exist radio and television, we also have internet (even with all the problems and polemics about the free flow of information online) and the awareness of people about this subject has increased.
In my life, I try to recycle, but it’s not so easy, because most garbage bins are not divided according to types of waste (cans, paper, cardboard, plastic, etc.). Even with these conditions, my family and I always try to separate some garbage (plastic bottles, tetrapack boxes, glass bottles) and recycle the organic trash into our garden.
Personally I try to do simple things to be friendly with the environment, like turn off the lights when I’m not using them, use only the necessary water or always use the public transport instead of the car (I can’t use my feet in almost all case, because I live too far from everywhere). But my commitment is not very strong, because I had never joined or supported any eco-organization; I had never had the necessary motivation. Or I had never really worry about my footprint, except for some basic things like stop taking sprays or open the refrigerator the least possible.
For that reason I’d like to be able to compromise me more with the issue, and have the opportunities and the enough motivation to help to improve our life conditions and the conditions of the entire world.
Although for that is necessary that the all society improve its conscience and its habits, and also it’s necessary that the city conditions and facilities for this issues improve, and of course, the most important is that the education about this issues improve and extend it for all the people.

What is the sense of life?

This sentence is one of the most common questions.  Everybody, at least once in life, try to answer this difficult question.
Although people think about this, the results are variables. This is because we associate the answers with our own experience. We have personal dreams and projects, and we transform these into real engines to motivate our life and continue it, like a inspiring to stay alive.
On balance, the sense of life is defined by our experiences, our environment and the reality of the moment. At 15 years the road will be determined by individual dreams, independence and self-discovery. On the contrary, at 40 years the sense will be guided by the family, children, work and harmony.
Despite of that, these have in common that aim to improve daily living, enjoy the little moments and be happy people.  No matter the age or condition, we need something that help us to discover the world and life, because is only one. We have to learn about bad things and good things that we happen, look ahead and keep a joyful stay.

India's children reap the bitter harvest of endosulfan

This news was published on January 11 this year. It’s about some Keralan villages- in India- where half of the families "have a severely disabled child" and the reason of that is the use of pesticide spraying with a danger product called endosulfan.　This pesticide sprayed over the plantations in the 80s and 90s, since then women, child and old people presented hormonal changes and difficulties in the nervous system. In the other hand, the manufacturers says that they aren’t guilty, "the real culprits are western companies, they have been promoting this ideas because the truth is they –western people- want that us buy their new pesticide".

Despite this, the researchers compared people of different places -where endosulfan had been sprayed and where had not been used - they found higher levels of skin complaints, epilepsy and cerebral palsy.
In addition, people of this part of India are very poor and for that, the government motivated the creation of public health policies that support these issues and banned the use of endosulfan.
On balance, this culture has been genetically altered and anyone has taken responsibility, also the population continues with problems and they are concerned for this.

The top-hat guy

I woke up that morning feeling really strange. I didn’t know exactly what it was… there was some weird smell in the air. The last think that I could remember was that last night I went to a party with my friend. But we didn’t drink, so it was very odd, because I couldn’t remember anything else…

I began to walk around the place looking for my friends, who suppose were there too.  But all that I could see was candies… absolutely everything was made of candies! Just like in the Charlie and the chocolate factory movie. I discovered than the strange weird smell, that I felt in the moment that I woke up, was a huge and delicious chocolate´s cascade. In that moment I suddenly remembered a very extravagant man who was in the party the last night. He had a very funny hair and a top-hat… I started to follow him and he entered for a very big and ornamented door. When I cross the door everything were going white… and I woke up in this strange place without my friends!

In that moment I saw again the odd man, I felt a dejavù… I knew this story or something very similar. Then I woke up and discovered that all was a dream, a very strange one, because the party will be in a few hours and everything is happening just like in me dream…