Marked This Day

This day in 1987 began the Harmonic Convergence, a campaign launched by Jose Arguelles to unleash peace and prosperity during the final 26 years of 5,125 year Mayan Great Cycle. There were sun dancers. And coordinated prayers. Meditation. And there is nothing inherently wrong with any of this. I love a good Sun Dancer as much as the next Joe. But I’ve always questioned looking to the Mayans for calendar advice. They were an undeniably a great civilization. They gave us many things. Temples. Human Sacrifice. Chocolate. Gold. Crystal Skulls. Skimpy loincloths that actors still use to be “movie naked.” You’re welcome Channing Tatum. And all of that stuff is great (you could talk me into thinking Human Sacrifice is not the most productive way to get things done, but I don’t judge). So yeah, the Mayans were great. But calendars? December 21, 2012 was the end of the Mayan calendar and the 1987 Harmonic Convergence was to “unlock the doors” to these finals years. But notice that I didn’t pu...

Jobs are pretty much like anything else in this life. There are pros. There are cons. Some more than others. Don’t think many people are lining up for septic tank disposal, but perhaps people’s bullshit seems less annoying when you deal with actual shit all day. Which brings me to Steven Slater and this day in 2010. Slater was a JetBlue flight attendant. Had been for 20 years. And Steven Slater was fed up with people’s bullshit. So much so that after being disrespected by a passenger (according to him) he went on a profanity-filled tirade over the intercom, quitting his job before grabbing two beers, deploying the emergency exit chute, and sliding into infamy. Pretty much the most epic “I quit” circumstance I can remember. Of course, he had to deal with all the legal matters. Apparently emergency chutes are quite pricey. But almost everybody has thought about doing the equivalent. Not saying Slater was right. It’s true that people can suck. And they can suck even more when dealing with...