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The Write Way 13 June 2003 Ooh ... Scary ... Greetings, It's Friday. It's the thirteenth ... Now what did you expect me to write about? Well, to be honest, I did consider making the focus of this week's newsletter the State of Origin footy game that was held on Wednesday night ... State of Origin ... It's a three-game series held every year between arch rivals Queensland and NSW ... Queensland and ... Oh, never mind. Think of it as an excuse for friends and family to get together mid-week, have a laugh and a bit of footy tucker (I made some calzone, spring rolls, mini quiches, potato and feta polpettes, meatballs, felafel, chicken sandwiches ... put everything out on a platter for a cosmopolitan hotch-potch and we just grazed throughout the night). One of our radio stations broadcasts a spoof commentary of these games, so we usually turn down the sound on the telly and listen to Roy and H G. (You may have heard them during the Olympics in 2000 - they did their own special review of the day's events throughout the Games ... No? Sigh.) It's one of those occasions where we all make sillier and sillier comments as the night wears on - just as well the neighbours aren't too close. For me, the highlight of this first game was when one of the players stood on the sideline while the team medic stapled his head back on ... well, stapled his forehead back together. Then the goose ran back onto the field and proceeded to get tackled into the ground some more! It's that sort of game. But on reflection, I realised that not many people Out There would know (or care) much about this clash of the titans Down Under, so ... back to Black Friday. Just what is it about Friday 13th that makes normally level-headed and sane people go all superstitious?
Let's start with the number and try to find out what's behind our reluctance to book into room 13 when we're on hols, work on the thirteenth floor, give birth in bed 13, live at number 13, have 13 people to dinner and so on. A bit of a look around reveals that 13 has always been considered a sacred number because it represents the number of lunar months in year - there are thirteen full moons. Most cultures revere numbers and have assigned them values - above and beyond their use to quantify objects. F'r instance, to the ancient Egyptians, "life was a quest for spiritual ascension which unfolded in stages - 12 in this life and a thirteenth beyond, thought to be the eternal afterlife. The number 13 therefore symbolized death - not in terms of dust and decay, but as a glorious and desirable transformation." And we've discussed the importance of the number 3 previously: Meandering onwards a few centuries brings us to Pagan times when 13 was still seen as a "good" number (because of the moon thing). But according to one theory, it was precisely because it was seen as good by Pagans that it was considered evil by early Christians. So we have lots of stories emerging about the bad luck associated with 13: 13 present at the Last Supper; 13 witches in a coven; 13 loaves in a baker's dozen ... Oops - forget that one. And then there's Friday ... Going right back to early Christian myths, this was supposed to be the day Eve and Adam got stuck into those apples (and who was there to record this - AND to know it was a Friday? I hear you ask.) It seems that this was also the day in Rome when all executions took place. Maybe this is where POETS Day originated - get all the work done and you can go home early, eh? It was also a sacred day for our friends the Pagans, which is why it had to be the opposite for the early Christians ... Put the two together and no wonder rabbits peer fearfully over their shoulders in the weeks leading up to every Friday 13. But the "bad luck" attributed to Friday the 13th ultimately comes from the conviction that the date carries evil in its wake. Therefore, anything that goes wrong on the 13th is assumed to be the result of some supernatural evil, not our own foolishness or carelessness. It's much better to say evil was afoot, rather than you didn't see the truck because you were checking out the price of those shoes in the shop window as you drove by, or you were fumbling with your mobile phone, or looking for an address in your Street Directory. And as Sir Francis Bacon wrote: "The root of all superstition is that men observe when a thing hits, but not when it misses." This is an interesting examination of some of the more popular theories to explain the origin of this irrational fear of 13. More SuperstitionsWhen we can send messages across the globe at the click of a mouse, it's one of our endearing human foibles that we still hold tight to notions that have sustained us from that first interesting day when one of our ancestors looked down to discover he had an opposable thumb and promptly fell out of his tree. Here are some of the more bizarre beliefs many among us still harbour: Carrying a rabbit's foot in your pocket will bring good luck. (Why this is so, I'm not sure - it most certainly did nothing for the rabbit's good luck!)It's bad luck to light three cigarettes with the same match. (To light any cigarettes these days is just plain stupid. What sort of dingbat merrily opens a packet and consumes the contents of a product that screams out that it will kill you and your unborn children?) The dried body of a frog worn in a silk bag around the neck averts epilepsy and other fits. (My guess is that this would also go a way towards averting any human contact.) A wish will come true if you make it while burning onions. (And my wish would be ...?) Rosemary planted by the doorstep will keep witches away. (Yep! Gotta agree with this one - I've personally had rosemary planted at home and there's nary a witch to be seen.) You sleep best with your head to the north and your feet to the south. (Try sleeping with your head to the north and your feet to the west ...) A spider is a repellent against plague when worn around the neck in a walnut shell. (See above for dried body of a frog ...) The bride and groom must avoid seeing each other on the morning of the wedding day. (I can see the logic of this in the days of arranged marriages - no point in giving either side the option to run. Save the first view till after the knot is tied and it's too late ...) It's unlucky for the bride to see a pig running across the road on the way to her wedding. (Especially if the pig is on its way to the wedding.) Read about even more superstitions! So there you go - a few little superstitions you can include in your next piece of writing. This week's quiz: arcane, divination, bane, shaman, invocation, necromancy, ankh, spiritualism, amulet, chakras 1. a natural or created object that gives protection to the owner 2. something bad, evil or that causes harm 3. five pointed star enclosed within a circle 4. universal life charm 5. requiring secret or mysterious knowledge 6. a broom of twigs tied together on a long handle; witches' broomstick 7. seven major intersections of energy located on the vertical axis of the body 8. one who acts as a medium between the physical and spiritual worlds 9. belief that departed spirits communicate by physical means such as knocking on walls 10.the art of revealing future events by conjuring up the dead; black arts What do you call 13 Witches in a hot tub? - Self-Cleaning Coven Ankh if you love Isis! What's the best thing about Pagan friends? They worship the ground you walk on. Last week's quiz: segue, dailies, beat, mixer, looping, gaffer, cutter, dolly grip, best boy, breakaway 1. assistant to the electrician - BEST BOY 2. specially designed prop or set piece which looks solid by shatters easily - BREAKAWAY 3. electrician -GAFFER 4. screening of footage before it is edited - DAILIES 5. crew member who moves the piece of equipment that the camera sits on to allow mobility of the camera - DOLLY GRIP 6. chief of the sound crew; responsible for the quality of the sound recording on a shoot - MIXER 7. transition from one shot to another in editing - SEGUE 8. single unit of action - BEAT 9. person responsible for assembling the various visual and audio components of a film into a coherent and effective whole. - CUTTER 10.an in-studio technique matching, synchronizing voice to picture - LOOPING If you received this newsletter from a friend and you'd like to have your very own copy delivered to you on Friday, just click here: mailto:WritingTips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and why not spread the word? Send your friends a copy and invite them to join our merry band - we number nearly 7,000 now. A
Brief History of Medicine A Little Something Extra "Creating your fantasy world means building a world based upon reality and making sure that your reader knows the rules of that world. Your characters must remain true to those rules throughout your story. For your readers to accept and continue reading your story, they have to believe in your world and accept what is happening to your characters." Read the rest of this article by Penny Ehrenkranz about how to create a believable fantasy world: Fancy yourself as the next Tolkien or Rowlings? Then don't forget this excellent course to help you write your fantasy: I've just been to have another read of some of the great comments you've left on the Map of the World: http://pub37.bravenet.com/guestmap/view.php?usernum=3170114826 ? You can read the previous 99 messages by clicking on the List button at the top of the page. NB - check to make sure your message hasn't been replaced ... if it has, add another! Word of the week: There are a number of variants of this term - none of which you'll find in any dictionary. But they all sound good and really, when you think about it, if we have a special word for fear of ventriloquist's dummies (automatonophobia) ... then we should have one for fear of Friday 13th. Triskedekaphobes (n) Paraskevidekatriaphobics (n) Tridecaphobes (n) ... all words you can use to describe those afraid of the number 13 Oxymoron of the week: lucky stiff (That sort of luck we can all do without, n'est-ce pas?) This week's Latin phrase is one you can use when your unsuccessful associates complain that you get all the luck: Audentes fortuna iuvat. (Fortune favours the brave.) [ow-DEN-tays for-TYOON-ah EE-oo-whaht] Got a question about grammar, punctuation or any other language matter? Here's the place to go: http://pub37.bravenet.com/forum/show.php?usernum=3170114826 Regards, Jennifer P.S. Want to donate to the upkeep of this newsletter? Here's how: 1. Pay by PayPal:
2. Click here to subscribe for a full year OR 3. Use your credit card on my secure order form: http://www.write101.com/fund.htm (You can also access the PayPal subscription link from this page if the link above didn't work for you. With PayPal, you can use your credit card, PayPal account or pay online using your own cheque account.) OR 4. Send a cheque: http://www.write101.com/fund.htm Click here to subscribe for the next year: To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: mailto:WritingTips-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com or go to the web site, at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WritingTips This menu will also let you change your subscription between digest and normal mode. |
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