Okay, so not everyone is excited about this ominous date. Some folks dread the bad luck and misfortune oddly associated with this day. A few even hide at home, fearing the worst if they venture out. Pretty ridiculous, but let's take a look at Friday the 13th.What's the deal? Well, it's certainly tied to the overall fear of the number 13, or triskaidekaphobia. Dave has attributed the phobia to there being 13 witches in a coven. The devout Christians at GTB look to the Last Supper and Judas as the most reviled #13 since Alex Rodriguez. Historians refer to Hammurabic code. There were 13 steps to the gallows (12 up, and one down). 13 proper studio albums for the Beatles before they split. Whatever the true origin, it's a creepy number that building architects acknowledge and fans of the space program swear by.
Then there's Friday the 13th. Again, tales of origin diverge. One such hypothesis, owing to "Friday, 13 October 1307, the date Philip IV of France arrested hundreds of the Knights Templar" is particularly . . . well, uninteresting, compared to the sordid saga that enters all of our minds when we think of Friday the 13th.
A young camper (seemingly) drowns whilst caretakers cavort. Revenge, misplaced as it may be, is merciless. And endless, as it turns out.The original Friday the 13th begat a sequel, then became a trilogy, then spawned such a litter that the series is now a dodecalogy. That's 12 films over 37 years. Yikes.
And even if you've never seen one frame of any of the 12, you know his name.
Barroom Trivia Question: Who's the killer in the film Friday the 13th?If you said Jason, you owe me a shot. (In the original, it's Jason's mom. Acceptable answers include Mrs. Voorhees or "his mammy.")
Bonus Trivia Question: Name the link between Kevin Bacon, Johnny Depp, and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Each appeared in the first installment of the major horror franchises of the 80's (Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween, respectively).
Anyway, our friend in the hockey goalie mask with the machete or chainsaw, Jason, is now the most lasting image of the day Friday the 13th. Destruction, terror, and mayhem. Any camp counselors, Jason will slay 'em. These moviemakers have done nothing to ease the dread of this calendric occasion.
Here's the thing, though. It doesn't need to be a bad luck day. Why begin any 24-hour period with even a passing notion that ill fortune is headed our way? 13's no big deal. Wilt the Stilt wore #13, and he . . . did well. Dan Marino and Steve Nash won a ton of regular-season games. Dave Concepcion. Lee Mazzilli (in 1986 for the best team in baseball).
Mill-ard Fill-more!
(to be shout-sung like R.E.M.)
Baker's dozens! Who doesn't like that extra doughnut (or cupcake)?
13 Songs! Very fine album (EP amalgam) from Fugazi, good for listening to while you're waiting in the waiting room.
Glenn Danzig wrote the song "Thirteen" for Johnny Cash. It supposedly only took him 20 minutes to pen, and it's full of misfortune and pain, so that tells you something about Danzig. Good tune, though. "Thirteen Sad Farewells" by Stu Larsen is also a fine listen.
Depressing and sad aren't the order of this Friday the 13th, however, so I'll close with this gem, maybe the best 13-based song of all time. Cue the Big Star:
Let today be a day of good luck. Stop wishin' on bad luck and knockin' on wood, good people. Make your own fortune, and wish well to your fellow gheorghies.
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18 comments:
I knew the Bacon/Curtis/Depp link! When I saw that Friday the 13th movie, it reminded me Bacon was roughly 30 y/o in Footloose.
Seeing the word "coven" reminded me of one of my favorite documentaries of all time - American Movie.
Score one for TR. Not sure how common that knowledge is. But the Friday the 13th question gets people every time.
MILLARD FILLMORE SHOUT OUT
TJ's Christmas gift:
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/21009660/newly-autographed-helmets-oj-simpson-hit-market
Russell Okung's open letter to the NFL surprised me--the NFLPA doesn't make all the players' contact information available in a directory so he has to resort to Twitter DMs to gather everyone's phone number and email address? The NFLPA can't pull this together in a matter of hours?
C'mon, Zman. How many burner phones do you think Antonio Cromartie has? That shit would be hard to gather.
I just read the Okung letter. Outstanding in its thoughtfulness and approach.
I agree with Zman that it should be a simple process to connect these guys, but the letter either says or implies that their disparate nature is by league design.
The union doesn't have email addresses? How is that possible? If the NFL has her much control over the union then it isn't a real union.
The NFL, she is powerful
This big beard trend has gone too far. Everyone looks like the woodsmen from Twin Peaks. And the Astros belong in the NL.
Don’t subtweet me, Zman.
I got an extra large Big Green Egg for my birthday. I’ve used a Weber bullet smoker for the past 4 years. Going to take my smoking game up to 11.
Fun game in the Carrier Dome.
I would love a smoker review and/or purchasing advice in a few months, Mark. Home reno should be done by Thanksgiving and I'll be ready to start smoking.
For those of you wondering if the skateboarding in that Apple Watch commercial is real, it is. The skateboarder is Kilian Martin. He must be Italian. First minute of this video is a bit slow, but the rest is mind blowing.
https://youtu.be/fHkEYu_PccM
Happy to provide some help, TR. a number of different ways to go depending on your interest level. Getting a smile is definitely a worthwhile investment.
*Getting a smoker. Goddamit.
Zman is also correct about the Astros. They should be in the NL. Them being in the AL allowed me in to adopt them as my AL team. Primarily because I love their hats. And Houston rap.
I will be in Houston for 3 nights next week. Was shaping up great for the playoffs, but games will be in NY when I'm there. So I'll have to be that a-hole in a Houston bar rooting for NY.
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