We're getting close to the Mayan calendar apocalypse date (which is either 12/21 or 12/23, depending on...something.) But today's is the date that may really be freaking people out.
Sure, for some it's a great day to get married, gamble, hold a benefit concert, or ascend into a higher consciousness. But beneath the shininess, isn't there something ominous?
Why? I'm guessing it's because it will the last of its kind for a long while. With the possible exception of some of the infants among us, it's the last of our lifetime.
As I've mentioned, there were repeated digits in the 20th century--I even recall 6/6/66 being noted on the Huntley-Brinkley Report. The exact repetition of three dates however hadn't happened in my lifetime until the 21st century, when we had a bunch: 1/1/1, 2/2/2 etc. But this is the last one. After this, the numeral of the year outruns the 12 month cycle. So there will be slant-rhyme dates like 12/21/12, 3/1/13, 1/4/14 or 5/15/15. An even closer symmetry won't happen until 2/22/22, and it gets more distant after that (there will be no 3/33/33, unless our calendar runs out.) It won't get to the pure repetition until the 22nd century.
So what does it mean? I can't recall anything memorable about those previous dates. It's all basically artificial: not just the notation (the full date, after all, is 12.12.2012, which is close but not a full repetition --12.12.2112 comes closer ) but just the fairly arbitrary dating system, a relatively recent calendar in its details and its wide acceptance. Nevertheless, this one may be "the luckiest day of the year" for some, but for others it may also add a little to the general apocalyptic anxiety that seems to be the unconscious undertow of our present.
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