I've read that it's not good and it's purely for entertainment. I had a preview last night and I agree with the comments of RJ and Jo. I say: 2012 is purely an escapist movie, filled with jaw-dropping effects but bereft of a sensible storyline. The script is so awful, so out of synch with reality that I honestly wished all the adult characters would die in a single swoop of a tornado. Perhaps 2012 would have been better if only the kids were left alive midway in the movie. (I'm bad, ain't I?).

But this I admit: their movie website is impressive. They even have a survival sweepstakes for those who wanted to be saved when December 21, 2012 comes. Of course both the sweepstakes and 2012 doomsday are not real; purely imaginative inventions of the movie publicists.

Know this: we are being manipulated, people! Think: If the world is ending on December 21, 2012 then we should move PEBA04's awarding at an earlier date like September, for example. Just kidding.

Out of curiousity, I played the Survive 2012 Game. It's a multiple choice Q/A type of game where everytime you click the right answer, you get to move closer to Tibet, where the rescue facility is.



The questions (and the answers) are interesting (and sometimes comical), but may prove to be useful during real life situations.

1. If you're exposed to extreme cold, and you have a choice whether to eat a heavy meal, drink from a bottle of whiskey or drink a hot choco, choose the chocolate because it has calories which the body needs to re-warm.

2. When hiking and you find yourself caught near a wildfire, immediately go downhill (instead of run uphill) as fire travels uphill.

3. If your plane crashes over a lake and water starts rushing in, when are you supposed to inflate your life vest -- before or after the exit door? Answer: after. An inflated lifevest may trap you inside the plane.

4. There is a terrible earthquake at the beach and your boat is docked nearby, don't stay in the boat. Run as fast as you away from the beach as earthquakes cause tsunamis.

5. During a mountain hike, you get a terrible toothache and can't continue to the next village for assistance, put an aspirin on the gum above the tooth to stop the pain. It should temporarily stop the throbbing of the nerve until you reach a medical facility.

6. While making a campfire you burn your hand, and your choice is between a canteen of water or butter, choose the cold water. Butter does nothing to the burn.

7. You are in the trunk of a kidnapper's car. You have worked your blindfold but you have to get your hands untied (I honestly don't know how can we can free our blindfold without freeing our hands first), spit on your wrist which should make it easier for you to slip off the rope. "A slippery wrist is your best bet. Pulling hard may the rope make make it tighter." (I wonder though how you'd spit at the rope if your hands are tied behind you).

8. You are in a field when a bee stings you (you are allergic to stings), should you scrape the stinger or squeeze it? Scrape it with a flat rock or a small branch. Pressing it might release more venom into your blood stream.

9. When a mountain lion crosses your path while you are backpacking, should you be quiet or make noise? Answer: Mountain lions don't like confrontation. The more assertive and frightening you are, the better. Inversely, if it's a bull, stay calm because an agitated bull charges.

10. You are on a shore of a river when a crocodile rears its head in front of you, should you grab a stone and hit the crocodile in the snout? Apparently, no. You should run as fast as you can to escape.

11. As you open your front door, an assailant shoves you inside and slams the door and holds a gun on you, should you spit in his face, scream or do as you're told? This is funny but apparently, you should spit on the assailant's face to distract him, strike him in the head and then escape.

12. Fire is raging through your apartment building and you hear someone screaming from behind a locked door, don't charge at the door using your shoulders. Instead, front kick it near where the lock is. Your foot is less vulnerable to injury than your shoulder.

13. If you're traveling through the desert by car and you have to stop and rest, don't take a nap inside your car while the A/C is on. Leave the car and find a shaded area to sleep. Why? The car temperature will be about 110-115 degrees fahrenheit within 15 minutes. The last thing you wanted in that situation is for your battery to run out.

14. There's a flash flood and you race to your car but you accidentally drop your keys down a storm drain, the best way is to hotwire your car than to try to retrieve your keys. (This I honestly realized from playing the 2012 game: we should all know how to hotwire cars).

15. You get caught indoors during a volcano, should you get outside to escape the lava or lock yourself up? Answer: Never outrun a lava and mud once a volcano erupts.

16. You're driving on a busy street and your power steering fails, the best thing to do, instead of slamming on the brake or accelerating to see if it will unlock the steering column, is to take your foot off the gas and move tot he side of the road and stop the car.

17. If you're in a commercial flight and a panicking passenger storms the cockpit to force the pilot to land, the best thing to do is to confront the passenger instead of wait for something to happen. Do your best to delay him until others can subdue him.

18. There's a fire in the building and you are caught inside the elevator, instead of waiting for help, try to see if you can pry the doors open wide enough to crawl out.

19. After a thunderstorm, you notice that the air has a sharp smell to it and that the sky has a greenish tinge. It's unlikely a storm nor a gas leak, my friend. These are the signs of an approaching tornado. Hurry inside your home to prepare for cover.

20. You are driving fast on a twisty road at night when your headlights pick up an animal standing in your lane, should you stay in or change your lane? Apparently, it's better to stay in your lane and try, if possible, to hit the animal at an angle rather than hit another car on the road. (Hope PETA would say okay with this).

If you are interested in finding more survival preparedness information, feel free to read the following sites:

• Knowledge Hound lists a variety of sites related to emergency preparedness and disaster response procedures
• Jess of Lifemoto lists the survival things you may need during calamities
• Urbachletter offers a downloadable disaster survival guide
• Flood Emergency Preparation