Appeasing the Gods

Allegedly over two dozen animals died during the making of Peter Jackson's forthcoming film version of The Hobbit, sparking claims of animal cruelty on-set.  Personally, I think that the people making these allegations have got it wrong.  Far from resulting from neglect or cruelty, I think that these animal deaths were planned:  they were actually blood sacrifices to the gods of Middle Earth, to ensure a smooth and trouble-free shoot.  I mean, just look at some of the animals reportedly killed: chickens, pigs and other farm livestock - just the sort of things favoured by crazy high-priests as sacrifices (if low-budget movies haven't lied to me).  Mind you, the dead horses are bit more difficult to explain - I don't ever recall having heard of an animal this large being used in sacrifices.  But hey, this is Middle Earth we're talking about, so all bets are off.  Anyway, the sacrifices seem to have done the trick as the film was shot without any incident or real controversy.  Except for the animal cruelty allegations, of course.

This being a post of two halves, perhaps we should consider some alternative explanations: maybe the animal sacrifices were to do with trying to ward off the End of the World - which, this year, is apparently scheduled for 21 December.  Personally, I think it is all a load of old bollocks, but many other people take it seriously.  Some even welcoming it, believing that, if nothing else, it will save them the expense of buying Christmas presents, as the world will have ended before the big day itself arrives.  Which, when you think about it, is pretty stupid.  What's the point of saving money if the world is going to end?  On the contrary, you should be spending it all - indulging in an orgy of debauchery so as to be sure that you enjoy yourself one last time in the final days of our existence.  Of course, all of this is dependent upon what we think The End of the World actually entails.  Do we mean that the world and everything on it will cease to exist, whether as the result of natural disaster, cosmological event or divine intervention?  Or do we mean that civilisation as we know it will end, with only a handful of survivors left to restart things after some cataclysm?  Then again, we could be talking about some kind of rapture situation, where the good are taken to heaven and the world left to us sinners and heretics.  Whichever it is, I very much doubt it will be happening on 21 December this year.