Mayan Elder Hunbatz Men Speaks about 2012 –

This is a quote from a letter sent from Hunbatz Men, Mayan Elder in the Itza tradition to Colin Andrews who is co-author of The Idiot’s Guide to 2012. It appears that, according to Hunbatz Men, 2012 is not an issue for native Maya.

the belief of
the year 2012 was invented by the American archaeologist Eric Thompson when he visited
the archaeological site of COBA, Mexico. He claimed he found that information in that place.

Mayan Elders Speak about 2012 – Authors of Idiots Guide to 2012

2012 Movies

I’ve been looking up 2012 movies to see how they compare with the one I’m working on. To my surprise, I’ve seen trailers for 2012 movies with what appears to be Tibetan Monks, something about the dead coming alive, a talking head movie of a young guy with such poor audio I can hardly hear what he’s saying who is denouncing the whole thing as a scam to make money, another talking head view of young man speaking at a conference.

Isn’t 2012 about December 21, 2012, the end of the Long Count Calendar of the ancient Maya? It appears as if there are few 2012 movies about the Maya people, ancient and modern, of Mexico. That’s what my 2012 movie is about.

Carol Chapman —

Where to find happiness?

Here’s an interesting observation as a result of my interview with 2012 expert Robert K. Sitler, Ph.D. He told me how he’s always sad when he comes back to the US from Guatemala or Yucatan where he’s been visiting with modern-day Maya.

I said, “Did I hear you right? Aren’t they very poor and live in one-room mud and wattle houses? Shouldn’t you be happy to get back to civilization?”

He said that I had heard him right. He is sad because they have such a richness of spirit, family and intimacy. In comparison, returning to the US feels cold, lonely and as if most people are depressed. He said that many modern-day Maya are very happy even though they have little material possessions. He said that their children are also very happy even though they don’t have toys but only use natural objects like stones and sticks for fanciful play.  They also revere the natural world in which they live.

Here’s my experience. On my way down to the Winter Star Party, every restaurant where we stopped that also had a gift shop, I wanted to buy something such as marble Easter eggs, bowls with rabbits painted on them, and stuffed bunnies for Easter. We decided to buy these items on the way home from our week of star gazing.

However, after the friendship, conviviality of fellow amateur astronomers as well as living in nature in a rustic cabin – we also lived by nature’s rhythms since we couldn’t use electricity after dark to preserve our night vision – I felt so content within myself that on the way home from the Winter Stay Party, all the things I thought I needed and wanted to buy meant nothing to me.

Was it because of the intimacy, friendship and closeness to nature – the way the Maya live – that I did not need things to make me happy?

Very interesting is all I can say!

Carol Chapman —

Asteroid Passes Close to Earth Yesterday!

Do you know that an asteroid passed closer to the earth than the moon on Monday? It was relatively tiny – only 200 feet wide – which probably explains why astronomers did not see it until three days before it whizzed by? It is amazing to me that it passed only twice as high as telecommunication satellites. It makes you wonder if the predictions about 2012 are about a larger asteroid hitting earth.

A small asteroid buzzed by Earth Monday, though only real astronomy geeks in the Pacific would have noticed.

The rock, estimated to be no more than 200 feet wide, zoomed past our planet at an altitude of 40,000 miles at 1:44 p.m. universal time — or 8:44 EST.

Dubbed 2009 DD45, it was discovered only on Friday by Australian astronomers.

Forty thousand miles may sound like a lot, but it’s only about one-seventh of the way to the moon, and less than twice as far out as many telecommunications satellites.

Had 2009 DD45 hit the Earth, it would have exploded on or near the surface with the force of a large nuclear blast — not very reassuring when you consider humanity had only about three days’ notice.

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com …

Surprise Asteroid Makes Near-Miss of Earth (Missed by 40,000 miles)

2012 Movie Includes Dr. Robert K. Sitler

Yesterday, I had a delightful interview with Robert K. Sitler, Ph. D., Director of Latin American Studies at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. I first learned of Dr. Sitler from his excellent article, “2012 and the Maya World” in the book, The Mystery of 2012.  

Dr. Sitler has visited and studied the Maya for over 30 years and brings direct knowledge of their culture and their perspectives on 2012. It was a great interview – about an hour and half in length – which I can incorporate in my 2012 movie.

Thank you, Dr. Sitler.

Carol Chapman —

Fantastic Galactic Center Photographs

I’m happy to say that the photographs that resulted from that part of my brain that wakes me up to take photographs are fantastic!

Both images of the Galactic Center sandwiched between Sagittarius and the circular tail of Scorpius with palm trees below and also the constellations – including all of Scorpius – turned out beautifully.

The digital photographs were taken at the Winter Star Party in the Florida Keys.

I took the photographs to illustrate the location in the sky of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy because there will be an alignment of the sun and earth with the Giant Black Hole at the Galactic Center on December 21, 2012.

I am very happy. And, I thank that part of my brain that wakes me up to take photographs!

Carol Chapman —

2012 Interviews & Galactic Center Photography

These were the last two days of the Winter Star Party.  Knowing how pragmatic my amateur astronomer friends are, I decided to wait until the last two days to interview people about 2012. That way, they would have had time to get to know me during the first part of the week and be comfortable with me. I surmised that if I started the week with questions about 2012, the end of the world, spiritual awakening, and a projected alignment of the earth and sun with the galactic center,they would have considered me to be pretty weird.

I was right. Even with my careful planning, I received numerous good natured reassessments of my character. They now know who I am. Nonetheless, a number of friends agreed to be interviewed on camera and have allowed me to include them in my 2012 movie.

After a number of hours of star gazing – it was a beautiful clear sky full of glowing nebulae, galaxies, and globular clusters – I went to bed content and satisfied that I had accomplished all that I had meant to do at the Winter Star Party.

As I drifted off to sleep, I instructed that part of my brain that wakes me up to take photographs that I already had two adequate images of Sagittarius and Scorpius with the Galactic Center sandwiched between them. And, I preferred that I NOT, I repeat NOT, want to be awakened at 5 AM (when these two constellations are enough above the horizon for picture taking) UNLESS, and I repeat UNLESS, the sky was absolutely perfect, and I mean PERFECT, which meant absolutely NO haze at the horizon where these two constellations sit this time of year.

Since a bank of clouds had begun to obscure the stars at around 11 PM because of a cold front descending into the Florida keys from the north, I felt pretty secure that I would be able to get a full night’s sleep for the first time since the beginning of the Winter Star Party. Days of clear skies have led to a serious lack of sleep.  

However, you can imagine my consternation when my eyes popped open at 5 AM on the button! I argued with that part of me that wakes me up to take photographs that this was likely a mistake and the sky couldn’t possibly be that good. I listened for muted voices around the telescopes. If I can hear people talking outside my cabin, I know the sky is good enough that they are awake viewing. I heard nothing!

Content, I drifted off to sleep until I woke up abruptly at 5:27 AM. Still no voices! But, I could not drift back to sleep. So, just to prove to myself that there was no reason to wake up and take photographs, I felt around for my red flashlight, turned it on, located my socks and shoes, put them on, and stumbled out into the darkness.

Immediately, I saw a moving dark form – one of my friends. By the way the man moved, I surmised it to be Dan, the fellow who taught me where to find the Galactic Center.

“Is that you, Carol?” he asked in a hushed tone so as not to wake up our friends sleeping in cabins and tents around us.

“Hi Dan,” I said.

“Thank God you’re up,” he said, “Sagittarius and Scorpius are fantastic – the best they’ve been this week! No haze at the horizon either! They’re already over the treetops!”

I grabbed my gear, attached my camera to its tripod using the red light from my flashlight, and took 60 second exposures of one of the most magnificent areas of the sky – the warm glow that marks the magnificent Giant Black Hole at the center of the Milky Way.

I kept holding the shutter down until the rising sun lit the sky so bright that I could no longer see the stars.

How does that part of me that wakes me up to take photographs know these things!!!!

Carol Chapman —

Sitting in the Dark with my Laptop

I sit in the dark with my laptop on my knees. That’s how I’ve been writing all my blog posts since I’ve been at the Winter Star Party if I write the posts at night.

It is nighttime now and dark outside. To guard our night vision, all bright lights have to be squelched. Only red filtered flashlights are allowed. 

The inconvenience is worth it because our eyes are adjusted to the darkness well enough that we can see the Milky Way Galaxy, that band of stars that are our home galaxy.

It’s a good feeling to be among my amateur astronomer friends looking at the heavens.

Carol Chapman —

A New Moon and an Old Venus

Tonight is a marvelous visible conjunction of the Moon and Venus.

Here, at the Winter Star Party, we can see, with telescopes, that Venus is a sliver of light similar to an old moon. The moon, on the other hand, is a new moon. 

We’re looking at a New Moon and an Old Venus!!!

Carol Chapman —

2012 Galactic Center Photo Yes! Video No!

After my great success making a digital photograph of the galactic center yesterday morning, I awoke this morning at 2:30 AM full of enthusiasm for making a videotape of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The galactic center is the place with which the earth will be lined up on the winter solstice, December 21, 2012. Many people believe this momentous event will herald great changes on earth.

Therefore, I wanted to photograph the galactic center which happens to be in the constellation of Sagittarius close to Scorpio. And I did.

However, when I woke up this morning and tried to take a videotape of the center of the Milky Way, I was not successful at all. As one of my amateur astronomer friends explained to me today, since the video camera shutter operates at 1/30th of a second, it is simply too fast to capture the night sky.

Yesterday, I had called my camera manufacturer and asked one of their technicians how to set the camcorder so it would videotape star constellations. The technician said it could NOT be done. I had to try anyway. I set the camcorder on “night” and gave it a try. As I said, it did not work. Now I know.

Carol Chapman —