Come to the dark side, we have cookies

Hope everyone had a great holiday and that 2009 has gotten off to a good start for you. Here in Toasterville, our main source of excitement and entertainment has been to watch a lot of movies recently, some of them on the new TV set that Santa left under our tree. The beginning of the new year traditionally is a favorite time for pessimists to come out of the woodwork predicting the end of the world, and our movie choices this week have to some degree reflected that. How would you like your cataclysm served up? If you think the end will come in the form of an environmental catastrophe, we've seen "An Inconvenient Truth", and "The Happening" (OMG, watch out! Killer trees!), while fans of the ever-popular alien invasion scenario might prefer 1996's "Independence Day", or perhaps even the tepid new remake of the 1951 classic "The Day The Earth Stood Still", starring Keanu Reeves as an interstellar harbinger of global destruction who looks, speaks, and acts curiously like Neo from The Matrix.

The new year is also sparking major awareness and interest in the prophesies of Nostradamus and the ancient Mayans, whose Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar seems to suggest that doomsday will arrive on a very specific date. According to many, the end of life as we know it will occur on December 21, 2012. These theorists believe that the Earth will experience unprecedented disasters ranging from massive earthquakes and tsunamis to nuclear reactor meltdowns. Of course, people have been aware of these predictions for some time now, but as we turn one calendar year closer to the actual date, the hype is really beginning to take off. Go to the official website, add your name to the "Believers List" and get your End Of The World T-Shirt! Or, you might be interested in this book which includes handy checklists of survival supplies you might need. (Tip: don't forget batteries.) For those who like their gloom and doom in nice, easy to digest hour-long bite-size chunks, The History Channel's Armageddon Week not only presents a special about 2012 under the banner of "Hindsight is 20/20; foresight is 2012", but also throws in The Seven Deadly Sins for good measure.

The fact that world events have been somewhat dire of late is no doubt contributing to the ominous tone. The environment continues to deteriorate; we face global warming and other natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes, the economic crisis is showing no signs of letting up, and the recent escalation of tensions in the Middle East plays directly to the fears of conservative religious types who believe that the region will be Ground Zero for the coming End Times.

But I'm not going to worry about any of that now, because ... we have a new TV set! Woo-hoo! Happy New Year, people!