title: Hive date format handling
body: <p>I am handling JSON data containing a date as per this example 'MON 2014-01-03 13:00:00 +GMT0000' </p>
  
  <p>I need to compare records on date.</p>
  
  <p>Is it best to load as strings and manipulate as and when required?  </p>
  
  <p>A requirement will be to select the highest and lowest dates for a particular criteria, and calculate the difference in seconds.</p>
  
  <p>Thanks for looking.</p>