Man's best friend is less than friendly

We love climate change.

Let's be more specific... we love the way that EVERYTHING is to blame for climate change, if you look closely enough.

Some researchers have claimed that Spot may have got us into a spot of bother far sooner than the gas-guzzling road behemoth his owners bought to ferrying him around in.

According to a study titled Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living, dogs have a greater eco-footprint than Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), that's 4x4s to us backward cousins on the wrong side of the Atlantic.

They claim the amount of land needed to produce the food to feed a single pooch is more than double the amount required to produce the energy to power an SUV driven 10,000 miles a year.

But hark, is that a healthy note of scepticism in the air?

"When I saw the study I ran some quick numbers," Clark Williams-Derry, chief researcher at a the Sightline Institute, a Seattle-based sustainability thinktank, told the Seattle Times. "The average dog has to eat at least twice as much as the average person for this to be right. People are just heavier than dogs so, I just had to scratch my head at that."

BUY THE END IS NIGH #4!

Yes folks, you can now pick up a copy of THE END IS NIGH #4 through our so-cool-it-actually-reverses-global-warming website!

Crafted by our wonderful and patient-above-and-beyond-the-call-of-duty webmaster, Mr Paul White, you can now buy a copy of #4, download a FREE copy of #2 and either get in touch or loop back round to this blog. There's a brand new opening page (yes, I have just got a copy of Fireworks, why do you ask?)

And there's even a quote from the living god that is Mr Alan Moore, speaking about how much he likes us. And we like him too.

To reap the contents of this issue:

Our first issue since 2006 sees writers Alan Moore and Iain Sinclair pay tribute to the post-apocalyptic genius of JG Ballard, we mark the forthcoming milestone of 1,000 days till the end of the world, we examine The Rise of the Machines, we ponder on which animal will unleash the next killer flu plague, we ask 'Is Obama the Antichrist?' ... and it all comes with a free game of END TRUMPS, where the fate of mankind truly is in your hands!

The whole thing is topped off with an amazingly apocalyptic cover by Defoe artist Leigh Gallagher! We also have contributions from writer John Reppion, along with 2000 AD boarders Ed Berridge and The Emperor!


SO NOW GO BUY THE END IS NIGH 4 ... BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!

2012 hype "fuelling real fears"

While we're sure every snake oil salesman and book writer will be cashing in on the hype surrounding 2012 supposedly being the end of the world, we're also convinced that few of them will think about the consequences:

"NASA's Ask an Astrobiologist Web site, for example, has received thousands of questions regarding the 2012 doomsday predictions—some of them disturbing, according to David Morrison, a senior scientist with the NASA Astrobiology Institute.
"A lot of [the submitters] are people who are genuinely frightened," said Morrison, who thinks movie marketers, authors, and others out to make a buck are feeding some of the fears.
"I've had two teenagers who were considering killing themselves, because they didn't want to be around when the world ends," he said. "Two women in the last two weeks said they were contemplating killing their children and themselves so they wouldn't have to suffer through the end of the world."

The computer says no ...

As pointed out in our latest issue, the year 2000 seemingly taught nobody anything. While we don't have a Y2K bug to scare us, that's not stopped the hype surrounding December 21st, 2012 from getting out of all proportion - even with more than a 1,000 days still to go.

What marks this one out as unusual is that NASA scientists have been forced to issue what constitutes the most comprehensive denial in history, after continually being deluged with queries from concerned citizens, demanding reassurance that they'll see at least another three Christmases.

Q: How do NASA scientists feel about claims of pending doomsday?
A: For any claims of disaster or dramatic changes in 2012, where is the science? Where is the evidence? There is none, and for all the fictional assertions, whether they are made in books, movies, documentaries or over the Internet, we cannot change that simple fact. There is no credible evidence for any of the assertions made in support of unusual events taking place in December 2012.

Well, thank goodness for that ...

Failed US doomsday prophet dies

The woman behind a Montana sect that prepared for a nuclear holocaust that never came has died, leaving her followers pretty much directionless.

Elizabeth Clare Prophet - "Mother" to her thousands of followers - died, aged 70, following a decade-long fight with Alzheimer's disease.

Back in 1990, such supposed made a doomsday prediction that, predictably, failed to occur. The Church Universal and Triumphant still keeps its 750-person underground shelters stocked with food, though attempts to find a successor to Mother have so far produced none:

"Since Prophet fell ill, at least 15 people have stepped forward claiming to be the next messenger"

The end of the world ... YESTERDAY!!

The web bots and others are predicting total global economic collapse this coming week. Here is what George Ure writes (note the October 25th date has been delayed until November 9th)

Yeah, that's what we thought - it's gonna have to be put back AGAIN. Tsk. These dates, eh? Soooo unhelpful when you're trying to predict the end of the world. This pesky planet just KEEPS ON TURNING!

If I am right, here are the events that will occur before the end of November 2009:
1. Total global economic collapse.
2. The Rapture.
3. Destruction of Damascus.
4. War of Gog and Magog--Ezekiel 38 & 39.

And if he's wrong ... well, I guess I have to keep saving for Christmas presents, don't I...

The end was nigh ...

Well didn't that go splendidly ...

THE END IS NIGH #4 launched with a tea-and-cake-shaped bang at the Impressions Gallery in Bradford, with Plastic Scouse and cover artist Leigh Gallagher making an appearance to delight all with his artistic talent and marsh-like wit.

Pictured from left are some of the star attendees, including the delightful Gabrielle, APOCALYPSE OVERHEARD artist Oliver Redding, deputy director of Impressions Gallery Sarah Read, editor Michael Molcher (centre, with idiot grin on his face), Leigh (pointing) and his (for too) good (for him) lady Niki. Ta to Gallagher for the pic.

The editor's speech went down VERY well, considering he wrote it about ten minutes beforehand, and it even received one or two laughs! I know, it surprised him too. Especially as it was straight after he'd told a joke ...

The website should hopefully be updated soon, with a handy link through which you can buy THE END IS NIGH #4 for a more-than-palatable £3.99 (plus p&p)

Now, normal blogging shall resume ...