Friday the 13th

Triskaidekaphobia (from Greek tris meaning "3", kai meaning "and", deka meaning "10" and phobia meaning "fear" or "morbid fear") is fear of the number 13; it is a superstition and related to a specific fear of Friday the 13th, called paraskevidekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia.

This Friday some people would have been so  paralyzed with fear they simply will not have got out of bed. Others l steadfastly refuse to fly on an airplane, buy a house, or act on a hot stock tip. It's Friday the 13th, and they're freaked out. "It's been estimated that [U.S] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do," said Donald Dossey, founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina.

The number 13 has been unlucky for centuries. Some historians peg the superstition to the 13 people who attended the Last Supper (neither Jesus nor Judas came out of that one O.K.), but ancient Babylon's Code of Hammurabi omits the number 13 in its list of laws, so the superstition dates back to at least 1700 BC. Thirteen is so unlucky, in fact, that in 1881 an organization called the Thirteen Club attempted to improve the number's reputation. At the first meeting, the members (all 13 of them) walked under ladders to enter a room covered with spilled salt. The club lasted for many years and grew to more than 400 members, including five U.S. Presidents: Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Despite the club's efforts, triskaidekaphobia (that's fear of the number 13) flourished; even today, most tall buildings don't have a 13th Floor.

The number's association with Friday, however, didn't take hold until the 20th century. In 1907, eccentric Boston stockbroker Thomas Lawson published a book called Friday the Thirteenth, which told of an evil businessman's attempt to crash the stock market on the unluckiest day of the month. Thanks to an extensive ad campaign, the book sold well: nearly 28,000 copies within the first week. In 1916 the book was turned into a feature-length silent film. Wall Street's superstitions about Friday the 13th continued through 1925, when the New York Times noted that people "would no more buy or sell a share of stock today than they would walk under a ladder or kick a black cat out of their path." Some stock traders also blamed Black Monday — Oct. 19, 1987 — on the fact that three Fridays fell on the 13th that year. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute estimates that $700-$800 million dollars are lost every Friday the 13th because of people's refusal to travel, purchase major items or conduct business.

Then came Jason. In 1980, Paramount Pictures released Friday the 13th (tagline: "Fridays will never be the same again"), a slasher flick about a series of murders at a summer camp. Apparently Jason, born on Friday the 13th, chooses that date to take revenge on oversexed campers much like the ones who allowed him to drown in Crystal Lake. So much for trust falls and lanyard-making. Friday the 13th grossed almost $40 million at the box office and inspired a long-running franchise: Friday the 13th Part II; Friday the 13th Part III; Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (it was not); Friday the 13th: Jason Lives; Friday the 13th: The New Blood; Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan (he left the summer camp?); Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday; Jason X; and 2003's Freddy vs. Jason. Maybe the number 13 isn't so bad after all.

Friday the 13th Myths:

• If you cut your hair on Friday the 13th, someone in your family will die. • A child born on Friday the 13th will be unlucky for life.  • If a funeral procession passes you on Friday the 13th, you will be the next to die.

Friday the 13th Anecdotes:

• In 1913, a New York pastor tried to assuage couples' fears by offering to marry them for free on Friday the 13th. • In 1939, a small town in Indiana forced all black cats to wear bells on Friday, Oct. 13. When the measure seemed to work (nothing bad happened, at any rate), the town continued the practice for the next three years. • At the time, Oct. 13, 1989, was the second largest drop of the Dow in history. Nicknamed the Friday-the-13th mini-crash, these days it's not even in the top 10. That might be the scariest fact of all.

News this week

Johannesburg - Building was halted at the Sandton construction site of the new home of embattled ANC Youth League president Julius Malema a week ago, according to a report on Friday. Beeld newspaper reported that Malema was allegedly unable to settle debt of R400 000 owed to his building contractor at the end of March, after which the company decided to transfer its workers to another project in Bedfordview. According to Beeld, Malema tried to transfer money from two accounts to pay Kwandisa Construction, but his second transfer failed. The SA Revenue Service had also reportedly approached Kwandisa Construction with queries about Malema's financial affairs.

News earlier this week was that Robert Mugabe was on deaths door somewhere in Singapore, the Devil is probably shitting himself having had Gadaffi, Kim Jung as well as Bin laden  arrive recently. I would  like to as you all ask a favour and that is we  all Pray for the Cancer family at this stage. I cannot even imagine what it must be like for that Cancer family to know one of its own has Mugabe disease.

 Bissau - Guinea-Bissau's interim President Raimundo Pereira was arrested by troops during an apparent coup bid in the troubled west African state, one of his bodyguards said on Friday. "He was arrested at his residence on Thursday evening by a group of soldiers... and taken to an unknown destination," the bodyguard said. Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior was also arrested after his residence came under attack on Thursday night, his wife said earlier.

SA: it would seem that JZ the president of SA will be putting us hard pressed tax payers under even more pressure by marrying his 4th wife next weekend. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm wonder how many kids we will be supporting after he is no longer president, perhaps for Zuma becoming president was more about the state (read taxpayers) paying for his extended family long after he is no longer “EL Presidente”

 Still going to gym and having weighed myself after a couple of months I weigh 1.5 kgs more...............I was under the impression that I was supposed to lose weight but it would seem that I have added the weight due to muscle growth.................MMM when I find the muscle that has grown will advise and take a photo.

Rugby this weekend say the Sharks not getting the “Blues” as they beat the Blues 29/23. The Stormers lost their first game of the season 24/31 against the Crusaders. The Cheetahs lost 33/39 against the top placed Chiefs after a great game and the Bulls beat the Lions (as expected 32/18. At present SA teams are 2nd ,4th, 8th, 11th and last.

Off to Grahamstown this afternoon to do training on Monday and Tuesday and I think I am going to EL next week. Weather looks like it may get wet so hopefully it stays away.

Well off to the gym, going to see if I can find that muscle.

Have a great week
Ciao
SPAD