Time and Superstitions: Friday the Thirteenth

Frigga Spinning the Clouds (1909). J. C. Dollman.

Friday the Thirteenth is considered unlucky due to two main sources: Christianity and Paganism.  Fortunately, this is the only Friday the Thirteenth we will have this year.  The Christian part comes from the thirteen attendees at the Last Supper and Christ being crucified on a Friday.  Thirteen is considered an unlucky number because it is one beyond twelve, the latter thought to be a number of completeness and perfection.  Thirteen is also problematic because of the way many societies count months according to the lunar-solar calendar.  When drawing up a calendar of twelve months, there's always some time left over, a hidden thirteenth 'month' in the year that we don't know what to do with an don't acknowledge.

Retro-Futurism 1: The Legendary Hallucinations by William Stout

One page from Hallucinations. © William Stout (2006).

Welcome to a new dimension of Retro-Futurism.  On July 15th, a remarkable book of illustrations entitled Hallucinations came out by William Stout.  The Beat just reported that Flesk Publications, which published this book, will have a table at the upcoming San Diego comics convention.  The book blurb: "the multi-award-winning artist presents illustrations that capture the very essence of the good folk and odd creatures who populate the dark woods and sun-filled glades of Aesop’s Fables, who wander the wonder-filled roads of the Land of Oz or who tread the blood-red soil of the planet called Barsoom, which we know as John Carter’s Mars."