Margaret Atwood and the Apocalypse

The Apocalyptic theme seems to have no bounds. Margaret Atwood, the Canadian author of note has penned a novel of Apocalyptic fiction herself. Some would say her book 'The Handmaid's Tale' was of the same genre, but this latest work, 'The Year of the Flood' is very much the stuff of Doomsday literature.

Reading the description offers a clear indication, this newest offering is indeed Apocalyptic ...

"Adam One, the kindly leader of the God’s Gardeners – a religion devoted to the melding of science, religion, and nature – has long predicted a disaster. Now it has occurred, obliterating most human life. Two women remain: Ren, a young dancer locked away in a high-end sex club, and Toby, a former God’s Gardener, who barricades herself inside a luxurious spa. Have others survived? Ren’s bio-artist friend Amanda? Zeb, her eco-fighter stepfather? Her onetime lover, Jimmy? Or the murderous Painballers? Not to mention the CorpSeCorps, the shadowy policing force of the ruling powers… As Adam One and his beleaguered followers regroup, Ren and Toby emerge into an altered world, where nothing – including the animal life – is predictable."

http://www.yearoftheflood.com/ca/

Feed your mind, read: http://www.the-judas-syndrome.com/

9 - Tim Burton's Apocalyptic annimation

Looks like Tim Burton has released (09-09-09) a Post Apocalyptic film ... how did I miss this? Looks pretty cool, and an original story line to boot. But you'd expect an original storyline from Tim Burton.
From the looks of things, it tells the story of a puppet that has been given 'the spark of life' from his scientist 'father'. This puppet (9) sets out on a journey of sorts - for what I do not know- and struggles against the machines that have seemingly wiped out the human race.

I'm intrigued, and the animation is exceptional.

The book of Eli.

The Book of Eli... I have only just heard of it. Is it an Apocalyptic film? Looks like it. But what is it? It looks like a movie set in the post apocalyptic genre, but I can't be sure. The trailer looks like it is set in a devastated world, a burned out city scape. When I have more information I will let you know. but for now, I'd say yes. It is an Apocalyptic film...

For an Apocalyptic fix to get you through to the release in January visit The Judas Syndrome. www.the-judas-syndrome.com

Terminator Salvation, not that good.

I don't know, I didn't really like it much.
Did the writers see The Matrix movies too often and not realize they came to the same conclusion in this movie?
SPOILER ALERT!!!

Electric pulse weapons.
Okay, makes sense, but I found it all a little less than climactic.
The movie itself kept me entertained, visions of The Road Warrior danced in my head while I watched... It just seemed this movie borrowed a lot of stereotypical ideas and visual effects from other movies and frankly, didn't even feel like a Terminator movie.

I wouldn't see it again, and I've seen all of the Terminator movies a dozen times.
Oh well, I think they killed the Terminator franchise with this one.

Looking for an original take on the end of the world? Pick up The Judas Syndrome. www.the-judas-syndrome.com

The Judas Syndrome, write up by Sandra Bolan

Michael Poeltl and The Judas Syndrome write up:

December 04, 2009 05:48 PM

BY SANDRA BOLAN Michael Poeltl sees the world through glasses that are a little murkier than rose coloured.
So it wasn't hard to believe his first foray into authorship would centre around a post-apocalyptic world.
Described as a hybrid between William Golding's Lord of the Flies and Cormac McCarthy's The Road, with a hint of Hunter S. Thompson thrown in, The Judas Syndrome is about a group of friends who just graduated from high school and celebrated by going on a camping trip. However, upon their return to civilization, they realize there is no civilization, as the world has disintegrated and they must figure out how to survive.
"I've always had this story line I wanted to use and it lends itself to the end-of-the-world scenario," the transplanted Stouffville District Secondary School graduate said in his new home in Hamilton.
Mr. Poeltl actually started writing the book 15 years ago, but got sidetracked by a career in interpretive illustration.
"It turned out at the time, when I had to make the decision, art was more my forte," he said.
However, Mr. Poeltl spent much of his illustrating career working with authors who also thrived in the darker side of the literary scale.
"I was able to learn quite a bit from the writers I was involved with," he said. "This book almost became a graphic (novel) but it was an awful lot of work. ... (And I believed) it was a good enough book to stand on its own as a novel."
Last year, Mr. Poeltl finally finished the book, after accepting some editing help from a friend.
"That propelled me to actually look at publishing," he said.
However, like many first-time authors these days, Mr. Poeltl opted to self-publish the book.
"The angle I'm taking is to self publish and accrue as many reviews as I can and (utilize) free marketing through the Internet," he said.
It seems to be working. On amazon.com, where the book is available, reviews include: "Although I don't usually read apocalyptic fiction, the Internet buzz about The Judas Syndrome was so intense that I decided to check it out. I'm glad I did" and "The surprising but entirely believable ending was a big plus."
Next up for Mr. Poeltl is illustrating a children's book he and his wife Lisa are currently working on.
"It too has a dark side; I like the dark side," he said.

Read the interview in its entirety at: http://www.yorkregion.com/article/100294
http://www.the-judas-syndrome.com/

The Road, The Movie - no budget for marketing

I have yet to see it, but I think if I wasn't already a fan of the book and eagerly awaiting the movies release I would never have known when, or if it was coming out.
The Marketing powers that be have walked off the set on this one. Such great actors and from the trailer the FX look incredible, but where's the publicity? I know the story is amazing and the telling of it was beautiful, Cormack McCarthy should be very proud. But why hasn't the studio done anything to promote the film?
Seriously, I have not seen one commercial or one radio spot in an effort to promote The Road. The book got all the help it could ever ask for being chosen as a book on Opera's book club, but why, why haven't they pumped this movie up? 2012 did incredibly well, and I'm sure that was in large part because of the advertising dollars sunk into it.

I don't get it, this will be twice the film 2012 was and no one is promoting it. Shame on Dimension Films.

I will definitely be reviewing The Road. Look for an earlier blog where I review the book.

In any case, the movie is out now and the trailer can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbLgszfXTAY

Armegeddon, Doomsday, Judgement Day programming

Wow, that was a real marathon of Doom Sayers last night. But I eat it up! History channel played about 5 consecutive hours of end of the world, judgement day, live while you still have the time, programming.

First it was the "Lost Book of Nostradamus" which couldn't be proved one way or the other but was signed by the ancient "Seer". Then the 7 signs, a Biblical take on what's going on in the world today, and how it reflects on the Revelations in the Bible. Frankly, the bad things that are happening today, have been happening since the book of Revelations was written, so... as interesting as it was, not really buying into that scenario. Finally another Nostradamus episode that slightly differed from the 1st.

The common thread with these, and other shows that discuss the end of the world, seem to be the fact that every ancient culture predicted it. This is what has always drawn me to the subject. It's an inescapable fact, all cultures have believed the end will come, and many claim to have had visions.

There were several new theories brought up in the 7 Signs program. Red Tide, a toxic organism capable of turning the oceans the color of blood. Poisoning the waters of the world, killing off marine life and so starting a domino effect that ends with us.

But I encourage you to watch the programs, many of which you can view on-line at: http://www.history.com/content/armageddon

Alternatively, if you're reading this blog you're probably interested in the genre. Pick up The Judas Syndrome. Available in paperback. Get it at Amazon.com or directly via the author at http://www.the-judas-syndrome.com/

The Doomsday Warning System

Don't miss the Doomsday marathon on the History channel this Sunday, November 15th, 2009. And get The Judas Syndrome in paperback at Amazon.com.

www.the-judas-syndrome.com

Apocalyptic Fiction in Hamilton Ontario Canada

Gathering reviews by local and foreign readers alike, The Judas Syndrome, a work of apocalyptic fiction by Michael Poeltl is showing well with an average of 4 out of 5 stars.

Reviews can be viewed at:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Judas-Syndrome-Michael-Poeltl/dp/0557085241/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256759796&sr=1-1

The authors Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Hamilton-ON/Michael-Poeltl/97811089791?ref=ts

The authors personal page at GoodReads: http://www.mikepoeltl.com/

With books in print now available locally at select book stores in the Hamilton, Ontario region, Poeltl is looking to further distribute his novel to Chapters in Ancaster and Indigo books on the mountain.
Currently the Judas Syndrome is available at Bryan Prince Booksellers in Westdale: http://www.princebooks.net/home.html , a suburb of the city of Hamilton, and on James Street South at The James Street Bookseller:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hamilton-ON/The-James-Street-Bookseller/86678587229

Of course if you're looking for an end of the world fix, and can't get to one of the stores where it is available, you will be able to order the printed version directly from the author http://www.the-judas-syndrome.com/ or via http://www.amazon.com/.

Another option is the ebook. Poeltl has included his debut novel as a download at:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/4813 where it is available in many ebook reader formats at a very reasonable price.

With the buzz around 2012 and our impending doom, Poeltl is right on track with humanities fears of the end of the world as we know it, and plays on those fears to put together the quintessential apocalyptic novel.

Hope for 2012?

As I research deeper into the mayan culture and refer to experts like Namaste Birgitte, of www.maya-portal.com, I am begining to see both sides of the 2012 argument. As much as I have been one to jump on the 2012 band-wagon, I am also happy to hear - from noted experts - that 2012 holds no more fear for the end of the world than does tomorrow.
One such expert has offered this to one of the many groups I belong to in researching societies fear of the number; 2012.

"To respond to the question of 2012. There is indeed a great deal of speculation about the date 12/21/2012, which according to some scholars is the end of the Long Count, the Mayan calendar which keeps track of vast stretches of geologic time. Please note that the Maya had a number of calendars, which they used for differing purposes (the Tzolk'in is the personal calendar, while the Haab was used for agriculture and accounting), so the "end date" just happens to be the closing of a five-thousand-year cycle, and the beginning of another, in the Long Count. And because that sort of thing happens only once in a lifetime, it's a pretty awesome concept. Other scholars, such as Dr. Carl Calleman, state that the end date should in fact be October 28, 2011. However, the Maya themselves do not particularly concern themselves with any end date, but instead refer to a "year zero" which does not have a specific date, per se; in fact, they are baffled by the West's intense interest in 2012. "

Apocalyptic fiction available in ebook formats

The Apocalyptic novel The Judas Syndrome is now available for immediate sampling and purchase in multiple ebook formats, readable in virtually all ebook reading devices such as the Sony Reader and the Amazon Kimble.
Go check it out at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/4813

Observing fluid motions in the Earth's core could help scientists predict future changes

An interesting study on a future end to life as we know it from MSNBC. Imagine, if the "Earth’s overall magnetic field has weakened at least 10 percent over the past 150 years, which could also point to an upcoming field reversal", what will happen to our communications? Read further for the answers.

Something beneath the surface is changing Earth’s protective magnetic field, which may leave satellites and other space assets vulnerable to high-energy radiation.
The gradual weakening of the overall magnetic field can take hundreds and even thousands of years. But smaller, more rapid fluctuations within months may leave satellites unprotected and catch scientists off guard, new research finds.
A new model uses satellite data from the past nine years to show how sudden fluid motions within the Earth’s core can alter the magnetic envelope around our planet. The outer core extends from 2,500 to 3500 miles below the earth’s surface.

This represents the first time that researchers have been able to detect such rapid magnetic field changes taking place over just a few months.
“There are these changes in the South Atlantic, an area where the magnetic field has the smallest envelope at one third [of what is] normal,” said Mioara Mandea, a geophysicist at the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences in Potsdam, Germany.

Even before the newly detected changes, the South Atlantic Anomaly represented a weak spot in the magnetic field — a dent in Earth’s protective bubble.
The Earth’s magnetic field extends about 36,000 miles into space, generated from the spinning effect of the electrically-conductive core that acts something like a giant electromagnet. The field creates a tear-drop shaped bubble that has constantly shielded life on Earth against much of the high-energy radiation flowing from the sun.
The last major change in the field took place some 780,000 years ago during a magnetic reversal, although such reversals seem to occur more often on average. A flip in the north and south poles typically involves a weakening in the magnetic field, followed by a period of rapid recovery and reorganization of opposite polarity.
Some studies in recent years have suggested the next reversal might be imminent, but the jury is out on that question.
Measuring interactions between the magnetic field and the molten iron core 1,864 miles down has proven difficult in the past, but the constant observations of satellites such as CHAMP and Orsted have begun to bring the picture into focus.
Mandea worked with Nils Olsen, a geophysicist at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, to create a model of the fluid core that fits with the magnetic field changes detected by the satellites.
However, the rapid weakening of the magnetic field in the South Atlantic Anomaly region could signal future troubles for such satellites. Radiation storms from the sun could fry electronic equipment on satellites that suddenly lacked the protective cover of a rapidly changing magnetic field.
“For satellites, this could be a problem,” Mandea told SPACE.com. “If there are magnetic storms and high-energy particles coming from the sun, the satellites could be affected and their connections could be lost.”
The constant radiation bombardment from the sun blows with the solar wind to Earth, where it flows against and around the magnetic field. The effect creates the tear-drop shaped magnetosphere bubble, but even the powerful field cannot keep out all the high-energy particles.

A large sunspot set off a major radiation storm in 2006 that temporarily blinded some sun-watching satellites. Astronauts on the International Space Station retreated to a protected area as a precaution to avoid unnecessary radiation exposure.
The Earth’s overall magnetic field has weakened at least 10 percent over the past 150 years, which could also point to an upcoming field reversal.

Mandea and Olsen hope to continue refining their model with updated observations, and perhaps to eventually help predict future changes in the Earth’s magnetic field.
The study was detailed in the May online edition of the journal Nature Geoscience.

2012 - The Movie

The buzz behind the End of the World has not fizzled, in fact, with the new movie 2012 coming out, the genre has stepped it up a notch.
Not since the 1950's have we seen such a resurgence in apocalyptic literature and film. Even on T.V.
I am anxiously awaiting the release of The Road to film, but 2012 looks to be the blockbuster of all End of the World flicks. Directed by the same guy that did The Day After Tomorrow, Roland Emmerich (does this guy love this genre or what!) it looks like a digital masterpiece. Hope John Cusack is the right lead for this movie.
http://www.whowillsurvive2012.com/
Up for release in mid November.

For more options when looking for literature on the end of days check out www.the-judas-syndrome.com

This Is The End Blog

Here's a great resource for information on the end of the world! This also links directly from the official 2012 movie website. http://thisistheend.com/
His name is Charlie Frost and whether he's in this to make some money or just to throw information around it's an interesting blog if you're into the end of the world, or anything 2012!

New Apocalyptic fiction at Amazon.com

Wondering about the end of the world? Find out how it ends! Read, The Judas Syndrome.
Brand new fiction from Michael Poeltl is now available for purchase on http://www.amazon.com/. The apocalyptic novel; The Judas Syndrome is the newest work of fiction by author Michael Poeltl and is garnishing some rave reviews accross the on-line book lovers communities.

You can read these at http://www.goodreads.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.authonomy.com/ and on the facebook fanpage :http://www.facebook.com/michael.poeltl?ref=profile#/pages/Hamilton-ON/Michael-Poeltl/97811089791?v=app_6261817190&viewas=665955073&ref=ts





Get your copy today!

www.the-judas-syndrome.com

Knowing, apocalyptic film

Having seen Knowing on my satellite yesterday, I'd like to quickly review it - an apocalyptic movie in absolute terms.
The way he comes to "know" is very well done. In fact the first half was definately my favorite part of the movie.
I liked the idea that they used the aliens that met biblical characters thousands of years ago. That was a theory I had read up on a while ago myself.
The movie could have gone without that aspect, but in the end, they were the only ones offering any hope at all.


All in all I enjoyed it. 8 out of 10 from me.

Apocalyptic book trailer

Check out the book trailer for The Judas Syndrome, the apocalyptic novel now in print. See the trtailer at Book Screening

Press release for The Judas Syndrome, Apocalypse, literary fiction

Getting the hype out into the world concerning the new novel of apocalytic fiction by Micahel Poeltl. Press Release: How will it end? Find out in the new literary fiction by Michael Poeltl

The Judas Syndrome is now available

Teh Judas Syndrome, by Michael Poeltl is now availablew for purchase from the writers' website http://www.the-judas-syndrome.com/ and direct formthe publisher http://www.lulu.com/. It is advised for international sales to go through Lulu.com and national (Canadian) sales to go throguh the website.

"I know that a single action can put in motion a series of repercussions. Should the action be positive, the repercussions are reqarding, but when that action is negative, so too are the events to follow. A single action can change you forever. Sometimes, if the deed is large enough, if the intent evil enough, the results can be disastrous." - Joel

A work of apocalyptic fiction that is akin to Lord of the Flies and The Road.

In this powerful debut novel, Michael Poeltl delivers an unforgettable portrait of survival against the odds...

The Road - The Movie

If you read the book, you know what we're in for, if you watch the trailer http://www.popoholic.com/video/the-road.html, I'm not sure we're getting the book. The Road was a beautifully written story about surviving the apocalypse. The book gives nothing away as to how the end came, but the movie seems to be eluding (from what the trailer is telling us) that it is a natural disaster that brings us down.
Have a look at the trailer for The Road and tell me if you think the movie will be The Road "Lite".
I think so... But I'm going to see it anyway.