Ray, I just don't know what to say - wait, yes I do. I've never cared for Taco Hell, Taco Slime or any other "Mexican" food, but the real thing is a culinary treat. And remember, the origins of my favorite food, chocolate, are in Mesoamerica, and real Mexican food made with chocolate sauces (mole) is about as close to heaven as one can get in this life. The Mayan calendar is interesting and has given us a few laughs leading up to 12.21.12, but for my money their most important legacy is in the gastronomic arts, or to stay on topic, sciences. Without chocolate, the world might just as well have ended. As for Hostess products, well they aren't really food, are they? Kim -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Ray Druian Sent: Friday, December 28, 2012 1:25 AM To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Happy 13th Bak'tun Chuck hards noted that "I'm not too fond of corn, beans, and squash, anyway." I pretty much agreed with him, except for corn when it's popped, and beans when they're baked. Then, in my late twenties [I was born and raised in Chicago, and was thus culturally deprived regarding foods once eaten by Mayans], but then, finally, I discovered chile con carne (that didn't come from Cincinnati [Yucch!]), and tortillas. In those pre Taco Bell days, I began to develop a fondness for Mexican food. In spite of all the "Americanized" Mexican fast food chains, (my first "burrito" was a Taco Time crisp meat burrito. In spite of them being totally alien to any real burrito that I've had since, I still like them), I find the combinations exciting and complementary, even though I have a religious prohibition against eating meat and milk products at the same meal, I can still get by -- I just have to leave the cheese off my tacos and burritos and I think they taste great that way. Besides, we have to credit the Mayans with NOT having invented the Twinkie. BTW, when I was a little kid, Hostess made cupcakes and Twinkies in packages of two for a nickel. Then, overnight, the Twinkies were suddenly injected with some kind of ultra-sweet white glop, and the cupcakes were likewise changed, but they also had a strip of white slime drawn across their chocolate frosting. I haven't bought Hostess products in many years, but I think that when they went out of business earlier in the month, those twofers cost a buck or more! Icky-poo-poo-poo! If the Mayans had still been around when Hostess first slimed up their perfectly good products, I'm sure they would have done all in their power to keep the world from continuing to revolve and rotate, and the world would have come to an end many years before this one. -- Thanx, *Ray