Another Friday the 13th

  Yes, I think everyone or at least almost everyone LOVES Friday the 13th. I also believe everybody out there has a fear, nervousness, or is a bit leery of Friday the 13th. And of course the superstitions around that day. 

I also love the movie franchise that Jason can never die. 

Here is a little history/trivia or more like folklore about this day.

The earliest related lore I could find to Friday the 13th is the many executions of the Knights Templar's.

At dawn on Friday, October 13, 1307, scores of French Templar's were simultaneously arrested by agents of King Philip, later to be tortured in locations such as the tower at Chinon, into admitting heresy and other sacrilegious offenses in the Order. Then they were put to death.

1869 biography of Gioachino Rossini, who died on a Friday 13th.

Rossini was surrounded to the last by admiring friends; and if it be true that, like so many Italians, he regarded Fridays as an unlucky day and thirteen as an unlucky number, it is remarkable that one Friday 13th of November he died

In numerology, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve hours of the clock, twelve gods of Olympus, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, the 12 successors of Muhammad in Shia Islam, twelve signs of the Zodiac, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness. There is also a superstition, thought by some to derive from the Last Supper or a Norse myth, that having thirteen people seated at a table results in the death of one of the diners.

Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century's The Canterbury Tales, and many other professions have regarded Friday as an unlucky day to undertake journeys or begin new projects.

Friday is also the day when Jesus Christ was crucified, making it through folklore and adding to its unpopularity.

One author, noting that references are all but nonexistent before 1907 but frequently seen thereafter, has argued that its popularity derives from the publication that year of Thomas W. Lawson's popular novel Friday, the Thirteenth, in which an unscrupulous broker takes advantage of the superstition to create a Wall Street panic on a Friday the 13th.

Notable people who died on Friday the 13th. 

Person	Date of Death
Sam Patch	13 November 1829
Gioachino Rossini	13 November 1868
Diamond Jim Brady	13 April 1917
Sir Henry Segrave	13 June 1930
Arnold Schoenberg	13 July 1951
Martita Hunt	13 June 1969
Lily Pons	13 February 1976
Mickey Spillane	13 May 1977
Hubert Humphrey	13 January 1978
Ralph Kirkpatrick	13 April 1984
Christopher Wilder (serial killer)	13 April 1984
Benny Goodman	13 June 1986
Gerald Moore	13 March 1987
Chet Baker	13 May 1988
Stuart Challender	13 December 1991
Tupac Shakur	13 September 1996
Tony Roper	13 October 2000
Julia Child	13 August 2004
Tim Russert	13 June 2008
Edwin Newman	13 August 2010
Richard D. Zanuck	13 July 2012

Hope you all stay away from Camp Crystal Lake this weekend. And oh, definitely no sex in a strange cabin, tent, or building.

Try to avoid saying things like, "I’ll be fine, I promise", "You stay here and I’ll go check it out", "I'll be right back", "It's just the wind", "There's no one there", et al. 

Well, have a good weekend.

Cheers all

Remembering September 11th

Remembering September 11th 

The day September 11th, 2001 will forever live in the hearts and minds of all Americans. And this also can be said for the nations around the world. Marking this day a dark tragic day for America. You may be hard pressed to find a country anywhere in the world that does not know the tragedies that happened on American soil. 

If you ask most American's, they can recall the events of that morning regardless of how trite. For my morning started out as any other morning by waking up and heading to work. I usually started work around 7 am so that I could beat California traffic in both directions. I lived in Castro Valley and had to commute to Sunnyvale. The day prior, I received my eBay item that I bid on and won. The item I had won was a US military Vietnam War era flak vest. I placed it in my truck and headed off to work. I planned to show my co-workers the vest. When I left for work it was still dark outside. I drove to my favorite coffee shop, which was a mere shack drive-up type. I bought my coffee and drove off. I normally listen to talk radio or news in the morning.

The news broke that a plane had hit the Twin Towers building. My first thought was what a stupid pilot. How can you not see these two towers. I then thought it was probably a single engine Cessna or some other small type of plane. The news provided no more information that a plane hit the building. Driving further along the news broke once again. A second plane hit the Twin Towers. Now, I blurted out, "What the FUCK!" My first thought went to a malfunctioning Airport Tower equipment feeding incorrect information to the airplanes in the area. And I also thought that it might be a very stupid air traffic controller. 

But after that second aircraft strike, the events unfolded quickly. The news of this event was on all stations, music or not. And I was still commuting to work. The typical stop and go traffic down 880. More news bombarding the radio with the horrors happening across the country in New York. Then the order to halt all flights within the US. I turned onto 84 to cross the Dumbarton Bridge. As I crested the bridge, the reality and the gravity of what was happening hit me hard. The sky was empty, it was very still, quiet, solemn, and tranquil. It was also very eery. I could look to the south and usually see air traffic around San Jose Airport and sometimes some out of Moffit Naval Air Station. I could look Northwest and spot air traffic out of SFO and their normal flight pattern is over the bay. And look Northeast and see Oakland airport. This day nothing. 

I finally made it to work. I forgot about the flak vest in my truck. I went into work and the last thing on everybody's mind was work. At lunch time it was my turn to drive; when my co-workers jumped in one stated, "Do you know something we don't Porter?" I look towards him confusingly and then spotted the vest. "Ah, no this was coincidence that my eBay purchased showed up yesterday" I replied. 

Shortly thereafter, I was federalized and started missions for the Global War on Terrorism. When you are National Guard and Reserves you get federalized for missions.

God bless everyone, 

- John  

Sigma Phi Epsilon

Sigma Phi Epsilon

Today at UTA (University of Texas, Arlington), it was reported that a female student was sexually assaulted at the SigEp Fraternity house. This happened during a party. Since the reporting is new, I have no other information regarding the actual assault. But nonetheless, the frat house is now suspended and undergoing an investigation into the assault and unauthorized parties. 

I only write this because I am a SigEp alumni. I crossed over traditionally in the 90's; however, I am not sure if the chapter at UTA is a Balanced Man or traditional. I hope that the brothers at UTA can learn from their mistakes. 

Brotherly Love!