May 21 2011 End Of The World

I Belive Time Has An End. . . Just Not Today

Today is the day!  Harold Camping has announced that the end of the world is. . . well, about 3 hours ago.  According to Camping, there was supposed to be a super big earthquake in New Zealand that would start rock and rolling across planet earth and arrive at California at 6pm PST.  It's good when God operates on Pacific Standard Time, isn't it? 

Camping is a false prophet.  I'm a evangelical, Bible believing follower of Jesus.  Yes, I believe in The Second Coming and a final judgment.  I suspect the world will not end today.  In fact, on any other day, I would say, "Maybe."  But today, I imagine the Lord will let Mr. Camping sweat. 

For sincere believers, Camping is an irritation. The Bible says that if someone falsely makes a prophecy in the name of the Lord, they should be stoned (the old fashioned way!).  I think Mr. Camping will be hiding in doors quite a bit in the days to come.

YO!  What I really like is that false prophet Camping thinks God needs HIM to do an advertising campaign for the Parousia (visible coming of Christ).  Camping has T-Shirts, buttons -- I ordered my own "free" bumper stickers.  But, they never came.  I was bummed.  My fine collection of heresy will have to do without. 

I read this (and like it) --

 St. Francis of Assisi, while hoeing in his garden, was once reportedly asked what he would do if he knew that Christ was coming back that very day.  He answered, “I’d keep right on hoeing.” So, it stands to reason, he would probably be hoeing today.

End Of The World Movies

I was interested in a news article that cited several "End of the World" movies.  I realized. . . I like end of the world movies.  Funny thing, this article didn't catch The Stand. 

Here are a few favorite SK End of the World stories:

• The Stand.  Plagues -- the Darkman (sometimes actually called the anti-Christ) -- this is heavy duty.
• Maximum Overdrive.  Earth passes through a comet, and now our cars are angry with us.  Blenders are also on the slightly upset side.
• The Dark Tower.  Come on, you know this story is really about the end of days, right?  If the Tower falls. . .
• Cell.  Don't answer that phone, or you may discover you have a strange craving for human flesh.
• The Mist.  The movie makes this less mysterious, but in the novel it seems possible that the entire world has been covered in the eerie mist.

Not SK End of the World Movies I Like:

• Deep Impact.  My favorite of the "something big is going to hit earth" movies.  Only, it backs down from its own idea.  As if the movie scared itself!  Original idea: A huge comet will hit earth.  Humans will survive underground in an elaborate cave system called "The Ark."  But, instead, just a little comet hits, and so people just climb up into the hills to survive.  Ahhh, if only surviving the end of days were so easy.  But still, it's a good movie.
• ID4 (Independence Day).  This movie is great!  I mean, really great.  The president flys a fighter against an alien invasion force.  The real gem is Will Smith chewing out the alien corpse as he drags him through the Grand Canyon.
• Mars Attacks.  I went to the theater thinking this was a serious film.  I was really bummed it was so campy (Camping).  But now it's one of those movies I love.  Root for the bad guys, it's more fun. 
• The Martian Chronicles.  This one is the big one!  Ray Bradbury actually lets earth have it.  I mean, KA-BOOM!  The mini-series was scripted by Richard Matheson, and though slow at points, I find it a lot of fun.  This story gives the end of the world a unique twist.  Humans travel to Mars, accidentally kill all the Martians.  Humans begin to colonize Mars, but the project never gets beyond the initial phases before earth blows itself up!  Thus, humanities future lies on Mars.  It's good stuff, trust me.
• War of the Worlds.  Seems Mars has a big role in the end of the world, doesn't it?  We should nuke them first -- preemptive strike.  I like the classic version.  I am not a fan of H.G. Wells writing.  But that old movie was great!  End of the world?  Yep, it's there!  My favorite scene is the guys standing in front of the spaceship waving a white flag.  "Everyone knows the white flag," they reason.  Now, the new one is okay, but it's hard to stomach Tom Cruise -- and that girl screams through the entire movie.
• Day After Tomorrow.  Who can't enjoy a movie where global warming leads to huge storms, snow and ice?  It was called "Global WARMING" right? 
• The Matrix.  This movie has a wonderful moment in it when you realize that the world you see is not the world that is!  The world as we know it ended, and lives on only in group imagination. 
• I Am Legend.  This movie is based on a short novel by Richard Matheson. 
• The Walking Dead.

I just can't swallow Armageddon.  Sorry.  I find myself asking: Why did they put guns on the space module?  Also not a big fan of 2012.  Honestly, I didn't really understand most of it.  I'm the kid in the back of the class, "Excuse me. . . I don't get it." Also worthy of mention is The Core -- But, it's not worthy of much mention!  Does Walle count as end of the world?  I don't even know if it counts as a real movie.

I have not seen: Reign of Fire, Left Behind, End of Days, 12 Monkeys, Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later, The Children of Men (but it looks cool).

Books that never became movies, I offer just one: Swan Song.  Hey, where's the Swan Song movie?  Man!  Carrie is on remake #4, and we still don't have a Swan Song movie?

By the way -- CDC (Center For Disease Control) is saying we should be prepared for Zombies.  Shouldn't they be worrying about things like -- disease? The primary concern with Zombies is not disease, it's being eaten!  Certainly you don't want to french kiss a zombie, but when encountering one, your primary concern is not disease -- it's "can I run faster than this thing?"  Do these people drink Kool aid with Mr. Camping? 

I'm sure I forgot A LOT. . . so go ahead, what end of the world movies / books / TV shows do you love?