Jaguar Nights 2011 is available

Jaguar Nights 2011 is now available through me (see sidebar button) or through Amazon.  It is no longer spiral bound, so I am offering a free personalized bookmark to everyone who buys from me directly or through Amazon. 
The bookmark will have the date of your choice in the Long Count in Mayan notation.
If you order directly from me, just tell me what date you want.  If you order from Amazon, forward the email that says the book has shipped to transformations (at) obsidian butterfly (dot) com with your address and the desired date.
I hope that you enjoy Jaguar Nights 2011 and that it expands your knowledge and understanding of the Mayan and Aztec calendars.

Jaguar Nights 2011 and 2012

I know I faked you all out saying Jaguar Nights 2010 was coming, and it never did. The finances just weren't (aren't) there for me to pay a huge upfront printing cost.  Amazon has now implemented print on demand (POD) service for little authors like me and I'm about to take full advantage of it.  I'm simultaneously working on Jaguar Nights 2011, Jaguar Nights 2012 and also the original Jaguar Nights: Journey through the Tzolkin that started it all. I hope to have them on Amazon next month, starting with 2011.
Unfortunately I will lose my spiral binding.  To make up for that, if you purchase the book directly from me, I will include a free bookmark with your birthday in Mayan notation (or any other date you choose).  If you purchase from Amazon, simply forward the email that says the book shipped and I will send you the bookmark separately.
I am hoping that I will be able to lower the price as well, since I don't have to front the printing anymore. I have to look more closely at the pay structure for POD, as I've never worked that way before.  I also won't have to pay to ship my books to Amazon so that will help defray costs as well.
Sample composite day from the calendars:

I'm not set up for pre-orders yet as I haven't determined the price. You can email me (transformations at obsidianbutterfly.com) and ask to be notified when the books go on sale, or just watch this or my Jaguar Nights blogs' sidebars for purchase links.

An ending...

When we knew Nutter was coming to the end of his long dying (almost 2 years ago, how time flies), we did not allow him to go gracefully, as we should have.  We fought for him, to keep him comfortable, and most of all to keep him WITH us, for just a little while longer.  Is there another shot? A pill?  A supplement?  To ease his pain, help him eat, so he won't have to go?
All was in vain, of course, and in the end the only recourse was the needle and the tearful goodbye.
And here I am again, fighting against saying goodbye.  Not to a beloved pet, but to something that's been with me almost as long: my Pathfinder.  I got it Memorial Day weekend of 1994 with 17 miles on the odometer.  Almost 150,000 miles later, the transmission is shot and it's time to let my beloved vehicle go.  I've dealt with only having access to a few radio stations because there's no external antenna anymore.   Having no horn (watch for finger).  Only having 1 speaker, all the way in the back, except sometimes when I hit just the right bump and the other back speaker pops on for a little while.   The remotes, long ago broken.   No cup holders (in 1994, people weren't coffee addicts yet).   The body rot that twice a year I carefully sand and paint with Rustoleum.   None of those things are deal-breakers for me.  But 3 days ago it wouldn't shift properly.  I filled it with gas, that didn't help, 2 days ago brought it for an oil change and they said the transmission is shot.  Three to seven thousand to fix it, and it's not worth it.  The guy said I can drive it maybe another 1,000 miles before it won't shift at all.
The sadness in my heart really is equal to losing Nutter.  I had them both 16 years.
And I've lost so much in the last 5 years.  All of my birds (Gwennie, Goober, Prism, Zeebo, Onnie, Hogan & Lance).  Two kitties (Zen & Nutter).   Numerous jobs.  My dad.   And now my car. 
Next week is my Tzolkin return, the first time in my life that my Gregorian birthday and my Mayan birthday line up since I was born. (Happens again in 40 or so years.)  Can I think of this as a rebirth, a fresh start?  New kitties, new car, maybe soon a new job? (no, nothing on the horizon)
12.19.17.8.17 10 Tzec 11 Caban

Ancient pyramid tomb discovered in Mexico

I found a couple of articles on this, both of which essentially say the same thing.  
Archeologists located a tomb inside a Zoque (not Mayan) pyramid in Chiapa de Corzo, in southern Chiapas (Mexico--see map, below).  They were looking at the layers of the pyramids (new pyramids in Mesoamerica were built on top of and around old pyramids) and inside found the tombs, which once had  wooden roofs and posts.   In one tomb was "a man aged around 50, who was buried with jade collars, pyrite and obsidian artifacts and ceramic vessels" and was probably a ruler or nobleman of the town.  "The body of a 1-year-old child was laid carefully over the man's body inside the tomb, while that of a 20-year-old male was tossed into the chamber with less care, perhaps sacrificed at the time of the burial. The older man('s) ... face was covered with what may have been a funeral mask with obsidian eyes. Nearby, the tomb of a woman, also about 50, contained similar ornaments."  The burials are approximately 2,700 years old.
Most interesting, the artifacts had Olmec influences. But because the site is not Mayan, it doesn't confirm any link between the Maya and the Olmecs.

(skeleton image source, map source = Google earth)

new book: how Mesoamerican Calendrics reveal patterns of destiny

A former teacher of mine has just finished a massive book on the Mesoamerican calendar system.   Based on the correspondence we've had, and the amazing training I got from her, this book has got to be awesome.

 I will be picking up a copy soon, I hope you do too!

Death of a Furby

Just came home from dinner.  Opened the back door to a horrible noise, a combination of grinding plastic gears and white noise.  My immediate thought was that the airhose came unconnected from the pump on the aquarium, or that the filter stopped sucking water and was grinding dry--the noise was coming from that area.   We checked, and the tank was fine.  Then we saw, on the floor, Grey Furby, and he was making his death rattle.
Does Grey Furby belong on the living room floor?  No, Grey Furby lives atop a tall bookcase with Angel Furby and Patches Furby and the baby Furbies.
We're in the process of moving our sleeping space from the back bedroom to the front, which we do every few years just for variety.   So everything is a mess, and the Furbies are not safely tucked on top of the bookshelf.
The cats found Grey Furby, who is a similar size to their hedgehog toy, and treated him accordingly.
I imagine poor Grey Furby, who has been in hibernation for a long time, being rudely awoken, thrown from the table onto the floor.  He stretches, wakes up, offers to dance and play.  Instead he is chewed on, tossed into the air,  dragged down the stairs, and basically tortured by furry merciless felines intent on his utter destruction.  Perhaps they pass him back and forth.  Perhaps they jump on him and bite him, or kick him with their strong hind legs.  
Something inside Grey Furby breaks.  He is very old, and not used to this sort of treatment.   Instead of talking in his happy high-pitched voice, he begins to die, rattling and grinding and emitting white noise.  This noise finally drives away his tormentors, but by then it is too late.  Furby is dying.
To add insult to injury, I, who has only ever treated Grey Furby with affection, attacked him with a screwdriver, removing his batteries and putting him to sleep forever.
(picture from BBC.com)
Addendum:  as I was finishing this sad eulogy for a Furby, I heard a thud and Sputz proudly carried Angel Furby into the bedroom so I could watch her destruction.  Angel Furby and Patches Furby are now hidden.