No Use Permitting Some Prophet of Doom to Wipe All The Smiles Away

Guys, this will be a short post. You see, I quit my job and sold all my belongings to pay for a bill board warning of Armageddon. And now I'm in a bit of a pickle, with barely enough for 5 minutes Internet time.

I jest. And I should not mock those who have sufficient faith to take such drastic steps. I should also stop quoting Cabaret (see post title).

I was only aware of the predicted end of days from about Thursday last week. Perhaps it was bigger news across the pond?

Like Allison, The Road sprang to mind. As if the prospect of armageddon wasn't uncomfortable enough, I was now reminded of Cormac McCarthy's sparing use of grammar (*shudder* Great book, other than that).

Is it weird that at 26 years of age, prophets of doom still have the power to keep me awake? Is it not even more bizarre that I'm not religious and still let predictions based on religious texts scare me?

In my defence, I suppose it's natural to fear the end. That point when all of mankind's history, progress and ambition crashes to a halt. When everything you've worked for or collected suddenly becomes pointless, and all your hopes for the future impossible.

Predictions like this - and I gather the Biblical support for it is thin on the ground - tap into this fear. Was it exploitation? Did he somehow make millions from it? Or was it a genuine mistake by a genuine believer? I don't know. All I know is that I could have done with a bit more sleep on Friday night, I've enough on my plate without worrying about how to survive the end of the world.