Retro 1980s poster design in voxel style for the horror classic Friday the 13th from 1980.
You're invited to Sevensheaven.nl for more imagery.
Image via Wikipedia
Jason, the mysterious killer, in the Friday the 13th series is truly an evil monster. He kills without a conscience. Here are ten things that you shouldn’t say to Jason if you ever come across him:
- Would you like to play in a pick up hockey game?
- Your knife looks a little dull. Do you mind if I sharpen it for you?
- Have you seen my son Freddie around? He’s always getting into trouble. He’s not the sharpest kid on the block.
- You look like your dressed to kill. You sure are the strong and silent type.
- Man are you ugly. And your breath could kill an elephant.
- Do you have an axe to grind with someone? Next thing you know you’ll be waving around a chainsaw.
- Are you a reject from Camp Crystal Lake or are you one of the counselors?
- Would you like to date my sister? She’s almost as ugly as you are.
- You better stay out of the water. Otherwise, you’ll catch the death of a cold.
- Did anyone ever tell you that it is impolite to carry a bloody ax inside the house? You could leave stains on the carpet.
It's Friday the 13th! (Cue ominous music.) Have you had any bad luck today?
Tomorrow, an estimated 20 to 67 million people will experience a fear so paralyzing, it may keep them from getting out of bed in the morning. They may refuse to travel, call in sick, or not complete business. They may experience anything from nervousness to panic attacks to even heart attacks. What is it that will cause such a large group of people to have such incapacitating experiences tomorrow? And what's so special about tomorrow, anyway?
Those tens of millions of people are suffering from paraskavedekatriaphobia: a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th.
Any month that begins on a Sunday will contain a Friday the 13th. This day/date combo can happen anywhere from 1-3 times per year. But take heart, paraskavedekatriaphobes, as you'll have somewhat of a reprieve this year. 2008 has only one Friday the 13th, and tomorrow is it.
Friday the 13th is considered a day of bad luck in much of Western Europe, North America, and Australia. It is a superstition born of two separate fears: fear of the number 13 (covered yesterday), and fear of Friday. In the British tradition, Friday was the usual day for public hangings. Christians believe Jesus was crucified on a Friday. Adam and Eve supposedly ate the forbidden fruit on a Friday. Some theologians hold that the Great Flood and the confusion of the Tower of Babel both fell on Fridays.
So, to have the 13th day of the month fall on a Friday is some bad juju, indeed. The spectre of Friday the 13th is enough to cause otherwise rational people and even organizations to do seemingly irrational things to avoid it. The US Navy will not launch a ship on any Friday the 13th. Lloyd's of London, in the 1800's, refused to insure any ship sailing on a Friday the 13th. Some ocean liner captains will go to great lengths to delay a planned Friday the 13th launch until just after midnight, when it is technically Saturday the 14th.
People point to past disasters to support their fear/superstition: During the 18th century, the HMS Friday was launched on a Friday the 13th - and was never heard from again. The Black Friday bushfires in Victoria, Australia happened on Friday, January 13, 1939. Hurricane Charley hit near Port Charlotte, Florida on Friday, August 13, 2004. The plane carrying the Uruguayan Rugby team crashed in the Andes mountains on Friday, October 13, 1972.
And yet, there are still those who defy convention: Black Sabbath's debut album (you know, those big, round discs that came before cd's, that came before MP3 files) was released in the UK on Friday, February 13th, 1970. The thirteenth installment in A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket, was released on Friday, October 13, 2006. The Happening, M. Night Shyamalan's latest flick, is set to release tomorrow, Friday, June 13, 2008. And, a remake of the original Friday the 13th movie is planned for release on Friday, February 13, 2009.
Some believe whole-heartedly that tomorrow is a bad, bad day. Others believe it's all a buncha hooey. I fit somewhere in the middle, I think. So, for all my fellow fence-sitters, and for all those who plan to pull the covers over their heads and not come out 'til the 14th, I found some interesting things that may help you get through the day tomorrow, courtesy of Brownielocks.com: - Walk around your house 13 times on Friday the 13th.
- Hang your shoes out the window. (Really. That's what it said. No explanation. Just "Hang your shoes out the window." Perhaps it gasses out the bad juju?)
- Sleep with a mirror under your pillow for the first 3 Fridays before Friday the 13th. Then, on Friday the 13th, you have to dream of your true love. (Well, it's a little late now for this one. Just file it away for the next one coming up in February 2009. You could still try the dreaming part tomorrow, though. It could work...)
- Walk around the block with your mouth full of water. If you don't swallow it, you'll be 100% safe on Friday the 13th.
- Wear and/or eat garlic.
At best, these rituals will save you from bad luck. At worst, it will give your neighbors one more reason to talk about you.
Good luck!
My sources:
I saw this ride at a shopping outlet mall in Jackson, NJ.
I thought it was appropriate.
Alright, here's where I find out just how hard Bearuh's job was. The judging! Who do I pick? All of the excellent pieces stand out on different merits, making picking a winner so difficult! Just this once I'll list the challenge-takers I found here...
I chimed in first with a clash of children's illustrators, then there was Aeneadellaluna's beautiful piece, Diana Evans' sweet busy town, Emily did an arboreal busy town, Helen's Venice was certainly busy, Susan did a nice abstract, Samuli's always amazing comic book style, Emila's beautiful sketchbook drawing (welcome back!), Froggie's hilarious (and great Richard Scary style!) busy town characters, Pasuita's excellent interpretation, Richard Cardona's incredibly expressive illustration, and Señorita Pil's charming rendering.
It breaks my heart that I can't pick you all but I can only pick one. So I will choose the illustration I felt really showed a lot of elements of a busy town as well as a lot of emotion - new-comer Richard Cardona!
Congratualtions, Richard!
As winner, Richard can pick next week's winner or bow out and I will choose. Richard will recieve his award by email soon. Thanks, everyone!
Hope I'm doing this right, I just joined. And hello everyone!
A spread from a comic I did last year. Basically it's a Little Red Riding Hood -adaptation. It's in Finnish but the story goes like this: The guy's girlfriend gives him a pack of cigarettes to take to her grandmother. The guy doesn't smoke so when a bum asks him for a cigarette he just says he doesn't have any. Well, the bum just happens to be the old Finnish overgod "Ukko" (which is nowadays used as a word meaning "old guy" or "father" or "husband" -make of that what you will...) and sees the pack of cigarettes in the guy's back pocket. He takes offense and this is what follows.
Where I live there are a lot of people who live on the street. A lot of these people are in a really bad state but some of them are surprisingly lucid. Because they can be very strong characters and their outward appearance is quite similar to the depictions of Ukko, I just thought, what if Ukko didn't go anywhere when Christianity arrived?
The rest of the comic can be found on my blog. Just scroll down a bit.
This is a mixed media Illustration that I made for a Children's Book. A colourful busy town
set in the evening, with all the lamps and the children playing in the street!
Great job as always Metin...nicely done!
Once again fantastic stuff
Nice!