END OF THE WORLD OBSERVATIONS FROM EVERYWHERE

The Guardian in London covered an art exhibit entitled “Apocalypse,” a showing of the doom-and-gloom, end of the world art work by 19^th-century artist John Martin. The works on display depict great vistas of cities aflame, falling skies, crushing boulders and so on and so forth. The exhibit has been on display for months and has attracted large crowds even though visitors pay £14 (just shy of $22) for tickets.

In Belize, according to PRWEB, the town of Chaa (sic) Creek is planning to host a year of events leading up to the magical date of December 12, 2012. According to Lucy Fleming of Chaa Creek, over the coming year there will be special tours, activities, events, seminars and workshops celebrating the Maya culture and civilization. It all kicked off on this past December 21 with a Maya breakfast featuring food from Chaa Creek’s Maya organic farm along with steaming mugs of Xocoatl, “the earliest form of hot chocolate made from roasted local cacao beans.” Basically, Chaa Creek saw a buck to be made from all of the nonsense and is putting together tourist activities while promoting Mayan history and culture.

GoGirlfriend.com, a site dealing with travel, issued a challenge to those believing the world will end: “…since you believe in the demise of the world on December 21^st, 2012, and that you will no longer be in need of money after that date, that you donate your savings to GoGirlfriend. We, who believe this is but a "Mayan New Year's" celebration, will take the gamble that we'll be around after the Dec. 21^st, 2012 date, and spend your donated funds on travel. Deal ?” A PayPal donation button is included.

WCPO, Channel 9 in Cincinnati, quotes Dean Regas of the Cincinnati Observatory: "Forget what you read on websites. Don't believe movies or the History Channel. The world will not end on December 21, 2012." And, if you go to the Cincinnati Observatory you can get the insights into the “unique astronomical events happening on that "fateful" day on the 2012 Winter Solstice.”
 

And finally, according to PR Newswire and just in time for New Year’s Eve, Serralles, one of the country’s oldest businesses, which has been producing Don Q rum for 145 years and in the spirit of, well, spirits, offers three new drinks to celebrate the coming apocalyptic year:

“Enlightened” starts with 1 1/2 oz. Don Q Gran Anejo rum 3/4 oz. orange curacao liqueur 2 oz. sour mix 1 orange wedge Sugar and cinnamon mixture Orange peel twist. In a cocktail shaker, add rum, orange liqueur, sour mix and ice. Shake vigorously. Rim a martini glass with the orange wedge and then dip in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Strain cocktail into the martini glass. Garnish with an orange peel twist.

“Apocalypse Punch” requires 1 750 ML bottle Don Q Cristal rum 1/2 bottle red wine 6 oz. fresh lime juice 6 oz. triple sec liqueur 6 oz. simple syrup 2 limes sliced in thin wheels 2 red oranges sliced in thin wheels. Add all ingredients into a large punch bowl and place in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving. Serve over ice in a punch glass.

BlackBeard's Rapture (aka:Dark & Stormy) calls for 2 oz. BlackBeard Spiced Rum 3/4 oz. lime juice 1/2 oz. ginger juice 1/2 oz. simple syrup (dissolve equal parts sugar in hot water) Ginger beer. In a cocktail shaker, combine the first 4 ingredients, fill with ice and shake vigorously until well chilled. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass and fill to top with ginger beer. Garnish with a lime wedge and candied ginger.

I offer these recipes because all of this end-of-the-world baloney requires a certain amount of libation to wash it down.