The human race is obsessed with its own demise. We are mesmerized by tragic events, particularly natural disasters like tsunamis, earthquakes, and hurricanes. There is not a country in the world that has not experienced some catastrophic natural disaster. In 2011 alone, there was Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, another earthquake in New Zealand, the twister outbreak in the US, and massive flooding in Australia, all which contributed to making 2011 “one of the costliest years for natural disasters” (Llanos, 2011). Natural disasters show no prejudice; they can affect anyone, in any country, at anytime. Therefore, it is not surprising that the end of the Winter Solstice marking the end of the 13th Maya Calendar, on December 21, 2012 has generated an international interest.
The media has christened this event as the “end of the world” and although many scholars stress that the end of the 13th Maya Calendar this does not mean catastrophe, it is still considered an international phenomenon for the predicated results of mass destruction will affect the entire human race (Allsop, 2012). The social institute of the media has capitalized on the world’s obsession with death with the portrayal of this apocalypse through books, internet blogs and articles, movies, and commentaries. The movie “2012” depicting the shattering events in the year 2012, for example, generated a worldwide lifetime gross of $766,812,167 (Nash Information Systems, LLC, n.d.). Interest is rising in this fascinating prediction and more people will head off to Middle American to obtain information about the Mayans. Consequently, it is not surprising that Mexico, primary home of the Mayan Civilization, would also take advantage of and benefit from this event.
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...Mexico Tourism Benefits from End of Maya Calendar. Retrieved February 11, 2012, from Mexico Real Estate News and Blog: http://www.investmentpropertiesmexico.com/mexico-real-estate-news-blog/2011/10/mexico-tourism-benefits-from-end-of-maya-calendar
Llanos, M. (2011, July 7). 2011 already costliest year for natural disasters. Retrieved February 9, 2012, from MSNBC.com: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43727793/ns/world_news-world_environment/t/already-costliest-year-natural-disasters/#.Tzmpd8XLwos
Nash Information Systems, LLC. (n.d.). Movie Budgets. Retrieved February 9, 2012, from The Numbers: http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/records/allbudgets.php
The Sacramento Bee. (n.d.). Mexico Launches Mayan Tourism Campaign for 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2012, from mexicomeetingsnetwork.com: http://www.mexicomeetingsnetwork.com/news/mexico-launches-mayan-tourism-campaign-2012
It is very likely that most people have heard about the Mayan Civilization in one way or another. Whether fictitious or factual, this ancient culture iw idelt recognized. The Mayan people lived from about 250 to 900 CE in Mesoamerica. Which includes modern day Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, and parts of southern Mexico.These people had many remarkable achievements, all of which can fit under the categories of scale, genius effort, and significance. These achievements include an advanced trade system, an amazing understanding of numbers, and the ability to design and build cities that are still mostly standing today. However, their most impressive achievement is their complex calendars.
Drea Knufken’s thesis statement is that “As a society, we’ve acquired an immunity to crisis” (510-512). This means that humans in general, or citizens of the world, have become completely desensitized to disasters, we think of them as just another headline, without any understanding of their impact upon fellow
I am going to tell you about a famous, yet kinda eerie celebration that takes place in mexico. This is a tradition celebrated by the Mexican Natives, most Mexican Americans (including myself) don’t even acknowledge this day, unless they happen to be visiting mexico at the time of this event.
The Mayans were more of a remarkable civilization than the Aztecs. The first reason is that in the Mayan civilization their architecture was way more advanced than the Aztec’s architecture. In Document D it explains how the architecture in the Mayan civilization their architecture ranks as one of the great pre-industrial cultures of the world. They built many different types of building such as palaces, civic buildings, ball courts, steam baths, canals, reservoirs, and a domed observatory. The second reason is that the used a 3 calendar system throughout their civilization as mentioned in Document F. They used one as a sacred or ritual calendar with a cycle of 260 days. The second calendar they used was the civil calendar that consisted of
The human mind harbors a very rich imagination when it comes to the envisioning of our demise, demonstrating the individual’s appeal towards this notion, because we love to play with the idea of an impending apocalypse and what comes after it.
When we hear discussions or read articles about drug wars, killings, and illegal immigration into the United States, many of us immediately think of Mexico. As a nation, Mexico is a much greater country than these commonly referred to issues. Mexico is a country with a broad history, deep family culture, and an economy fueled by oil and tourism. The United States Department of State (USDS) offers a broad range of information on countries outside the US, including Mexico. I found a wealth of information about Mexico through the USDS Background Note provided on their website located at www.state.gov. I will outline for you the key information found in this report, and others, related to the Mexican economy, culture, and more.
The fear of the world ending has for a long time, even though the thought isn’t always at the top of our mind nor our biggest problem but it is still a worry that affects many. Whether it's an asteroid hitting earth, a zombie apocalypse, or a killer plague, we often think about what we would do when the world ends. We think about our families and our daily lives taking a turn for the worst. Some people even suffer daily from the fear that the world might end at any second and it's known as the doomsday phobia. Although most of us don’t have the doomsday phobia it is still something that we think about. Most of us think about the end of the world as only a sify movie while there are others preparing for a day that the syfi blockbuster movie
Diamond, Jared M. (2005) "The Maya Collapses.” Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Viking, 157-77.
As you can see, Mexico is a big jumbled mass of culture and problems. Although many want to solve Mexico’s issues, the funding isn’t there and the conflicts continue. Many traditions and culture happen in everyday life that is very symbolic to people in Mexico. ("Mexico and Central America." The Ford Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014). Crime and war is at an all-time high but Mexico continues to push for the top in all things to become the best country that they can be.
The Haiti earthquake that occurred on January 12, 2010 just fifteen miles south of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince was a severely large-scale earthquake, at a magnitude of 7.0. The initial shock was then followed by a series of aftershocks with magnitudes ranging up to 5.9. Over three hundred thousand people died due to this extreme chaos. Many buildings collapsed and disintegrated under the force of the quake; both the cathedral and National Palace in Port-au-Prince were heavily damaged. In the aftermath of this tragedy, efforts to aid the people of Haiti with medical assistance, water, and food were hampered by the loss of communication lines as well as by roads blocked by debris. Over one million people were left homeless due to this quake. Two days after the earthquake, journalist Leonard Pitts wrote “Sometimes the Earth is Cruel,” an article describing how the people of Haiti responded to the disaster. In “Sometimes the Earth is Cruel,” a major theme is that some things are inevitable.
In the Central America, most notably the Yucatan Peninsula, are the Maya, a group of people whose polytheistic religion and advanced civilization once flourished (Houston, 43). The Maya reached their peak during the Classic Period from around CE 250 to the ninth century CE when the civilization fell and dispersed (Sharer, 1). Although much has been lost, the gods and goddesses and the religious practices of the Classic Maya give insight into their lives and reveal what was important to this society.
"The Mayan Calendar - Predicting the End of the World?" The Mayan Calendar. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
Throughout the course of history, there have been some really tragic disasters that have claimed the lives of millions of people and destroyed our economy. To mention a few in recent times, Hurricane Katrina, Mount St. Helens, The Haiti Earthquake, The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, The 1993 Superstorm, etc. Not all mega disasters have caused death and destruction, but over time most have. Most causes for these disasters have been the combination of weather, climate, chemicals, and nature. For example, earthquakes are the cause of Earth's tectonic plates moving (not all of them are but most). Earthquakes cause the ground to shake and buildings to collapse.
I have chosen to write about the effect of natural disasters on our global society. Natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, tornados, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and floods have killed thousands of people over the past years. Studies have shown that natural disasters are becoming more common due to climate change. Natural disasters are classified into two groups, climate related and geophysical disasters. Climate related disasters include floods, wildfires, hurricanes, and tsunamis. Geophysical disasters include earthquakes, volcanoes, rock falls, landslides, and avalanches
Natural disasters can be traumatic and often heart-breaking for many individuals and there is no way to predict when and where these tragedies will strike. Towns, personal property, and even lives can be lost due to Mother Nature’s wrath. Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, blizzards, floods, wildfires and draughts are just a few of the natural occurrences that create both individual suffering but economic hardship. Businesses suffer, unemployment rates rise, crops are destroyed, trade is reduced, and fewer taxes paid all due to an unplanned natural catastrophe. Regardless of the type of cataclysm, the aftermath has the potential to cost the economy billions of dollars.