gujjuland

you know you're in Gujarat when you read this...

friday the 13th

It hit me when the better half of the day was already over that today is Friday the 13th. Now I always knew that there is a scary movie with the same title and that this day is associated with bad omens and wrong luck but I never knew why. Being more inquisitive and not at all superstitious, I googled 'today' and came across some really interesting facts. Some of them:

1. Fear of Friday the is 13th called paraskavedekatriaphobia as well as friggatriskaidekaphobia. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13.

2. Many hospitals have no room 13, while some tall buildings skip the 13th floor and some airline terminals omit Gate 13.

3. President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and President Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13.

4. Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12." Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.

5. The number 13 suffers from its position after 12, according to numerologists who consider the latter to be a complete number — 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.

By what I've read, the cause of such a strong association between this supposedly satanic duo seems vague. The cause might just date back to Biblical times as the 13th guest at the Last Supper betrayed Jesus.

If Friday the 13th is indeed unlucky somehow, then 2009 has more than its share as it'll witness 3 such days during the year. The first was in February, the second being today and the later in November.

With the global recession and terrorist activities managing to capture most of the limelight and headlines these days, it shouldn’t be long before economists, politicians and even exponents of this "Friday the 13th" and other related phenomena, deem 2009 as a euphemistic year.

But seriously, being at the place we are right now, talking about all the progress and advancement that we seen around us, shouldn't we being drawing a curtain over this belief which since the Middle Ages has considered both Friday and 13 as bearers of bad fortune. Isn’t it time enough that we give Friday (a day of the week people look forward to even more than the weekends) and 13 (poor number, after 12, happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time) a much deserved break!!!

whats the big fuss about birthdays anyways...

For firsts, they're really good for you; the more you have the longer will you live. Second, they're supposed to be pre-decided optimistic days; for a change, we don't need to do anything to be happy, our parents have already done the needful. Thirdly, if you're turning 18, it opens a whole new world for you, that is only if you haven't already seen, drank, experienced or lost it. And then there are the hugs, the kisses, the gift, the surprises... now who would not want that! So I guess, the question shouldn't be 'whats the big fuss about Birthdays?', but rather 'why can't I get more than one birthday?'

They're amazing days. Even more if you've friends who are there to wish you at 12, those who'll spend the entire day with you 3 days before their exams, who will make the most amazing hand-made cards and gifts, who will beg, borrow or steal to make sure that the 'dryness' of our state doesn't affect the party, who will study for 3 days before so that they can attend your party, who will play the same song over and over again on his guitar just because it cheers you up, who will reach your party half an hour after landing from another city, those who actually make you feel like Superman, who in spite of being your senior refuse to let go off your side, who're always there to share a pint while watching a Man U match, who has been your dancing partner even though you dance like a monkey, who has always been there and worked even for your past birthdays to make sure each and every birthday is as perfect it can get (best things do come in the smallest of proportions) and who will delay his birthday by 20 days just because he wants to celebrate it with you.

The place might have been beautiful, the water would have been just the way it should be, the cake cutting couldn't have been better, the weather was awesome, the party wasn't dry ;), the gifts couldn't have been better... but for me, you guys made it perfect. Thanks a lot for being there.

drinks anyone?

walküre

Much of how many of us feel about wars, they haven't ceased; they probably never will. The world has witnessed 2 world wars, the later one much attributed to a Chaplin moustached individual.

Based on one of the 20 known & failed plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler during the II World War, Valkyrie, directed by Bryan Singer (off X-Men & Superman Returns fame), shows that all of Germany wasn't Hitler. There were a bunch; probably more, who did resist and tried to stop the Führer in his quest for world domination and ethnic cleansing. I saw Valkyrie last night. Not really being a movie critique but more of a historical enthusiast, I really liked the movie. Having tit-bit knowledge about the II world war and Germany's involvement in it from what my Xth standard Social Studies taught me, it felt good to see all off it and ever more on the big screen. The Pianist, Schlinder's List and Der Untergang had had the same effect; and as I sat scanning one Wiki page after another post seeing these movies, I discovered a whole new section of German history after yesterday and a browser-full of Wikipedia pages as well.

If one is even remotely interested in history specially that during WW II and German history, Valkyrie is a must watch. Apparently, Germans not only have a cool accent but an interesting history as well.

The night didn't end there. On our way back from the theatre, we were hauled up twice by policemen and asked for identification. All the crossings were covered by barricades and by 10-12 policemen stopping and checking every vehicle that passed. Whether this sudden awakening of the local police was to check for alcohol, dope or because of the recent global events (see: to the left of India), Krishna only knows. The deserted streets occupied by uniformed figures verifying identifications all around, seemed pretty similar to how Germany was shown in Valkyrie.

P.S. - Love the movie poster!