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Pip Wilson

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It was impossible not to see that the love scenes were filmed like murder scenes, and the murder scenes like love scenes ... It occurred to me that in Hitchcock's cinema ... to make love and to die are one and the same.
Filmmaker François Truffaut, on Hitchcock

Here didst thou dwell in this enchanted cover,
Egeria! All thy heavenly bosom beating
For the far footsteps of thy mortal lover;
The purple midnight veiled that mystic meeting
With her most starry canopy.
Lord Byron; Childe Harold, Canto IV, alluding to Egeria, one of the Camenae, and her grotto

I know not what you believe of God, but I believe He gave yearnings and longings to be filled, and that He did not mean all our time should be devoted to feeding and clothing the body.
Lucy Stone, pioneer feminist, born on August 13, 1818; speech, 'Disappointment is the Lot of Women,' October 17-18, 1855

To make the public sentiment, on the side of all that is just and true and noble, is the highest use of life.
Lucy Stone; Morning Star

The politician is the creature of the public sentiment – [he] never goes ahead of it because he depends on it.
Lucy Stone; ibid

I am not a communist and neither is the revolutionary movement.
Fidel Castro, Cuban dictator, born on August 13, 1926; speaking in 1959

I am a Marxist Leninist and I will be one until the last day of my life.
Fidel Castro, 1961

Why are dictators of the left not scorned in the same way as those of the right? Was General Pinochet in his 17 years in power, less cruel or less bloody than Fidel Castro has been in his four decades ruling Cuba?
Mario Vargas Llosa, Nobel laureate novelist, The New York Times, November 1, 1999

For me, it meant 8,000 days of hunger, of systematic beatings, of hard labor, of solitary confinement and solitude, 8,000 days of struggling to prove that I was a human being, 8,000 days of proving that my spirit could triumph over exhaustion and pain, 8,000 days of testing my religious convictions, my faith, of fighting the hate my atheist jailers were trying to instil in me with each bayonet thrust, fighting so that hate would not flourish in my heart, 8,000 days of struggling so that I would not become like them.
Testimony of Armanda Valladares on life in a Cuban prison

I find myself increasingly shocked at the unthinking and automatic rubbishing of men which is now so part of our culture that it is hardly even noticed. We now have pretty much equality at least on the pay and opportunities front, though almost nothing has been done on child care, the real liberation … I was in a class of nine- and 10-year-olds, girls and boys, and this young woman was telling these kids that the reason for wars was the innately violent nature of men. You could see the little girls, fat with complacency and conceit while the little boys sat there crumpled, apologising for their existence, thinking this was going to be the pattern of their lives …This kind of thing is happening in schools all over the place and no one says a thing. It has become a kind of religion that you can't criticise because then you become a traitor to the great cause, which I am not. The most stupid, ill-educated and nasty woman can rubbish the nicest, kindest and most intelligent man and no one protests … Men seem to be so cowed that they can't fight back, and it is time they did.
Doris Lessing, British [feminist] writer; speaking at the Edinburgh Book Festival, August 13, 2001   Source

August 13 is the 225^th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (226^th in leap years), with 140 days remaining.
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Friday the 13^th (2004)

But once on a Friday ('tis ever they say),
A day when misfortune is aptest to fall.
Saxe: Good Dog of Bretté, stanza 3

Sir Winston Churchill might have said, "Friday is my lucky day. I was born, christened, married, and knighted on that day; and all my best accidents have befallen me on a Friday", Scots might prefer Friday for marriage, and Scandinavians might tend to see Friday as lucky, but in the traditions of most European countries, Friday is the unlucky day. When Friday falls on the 13^th of the month, as is well known, the day is said to be especially unlucky and articles like these appear all over the Net and in the media, particularly if not much news is about.

The number 13 has long been considered by superstitious Westerners to be unlucky. Even today, many towns and suburbs don't have 13 as a street number, or 13^th Street, and most hotels do not have rooms with 13 on the door. Many tall buildings do not have a 13^th storey, with the elevator going straight from Floor 12 to 14.

There are numerous origins given for the persistent superstition that in the West, Friday the 13^th is an unlucky day. The most likely of these is that Jesus Christ was killed on a Friday, and that Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed him, was the thirteenth person of Jesus and the 12 apostles.

Just as tridecaphobia (Hyper Dictionary prefers triskaidekaphobia) is purportedly the official name for the morbid fear of the number 13, so various other fanciful terms are given by different commentators for the phobia associated with Friday the 13^th, including paraskevidekatriaphobia and friggatriskaidekaphobia, though one suspects these were invented by journalists on slow news days. In Australia, where people are not too bright and will bet on two flies crawling up a wall, the New South Wales State Lotteries report that Friday the 13^th is always one of their biggest days, with turnover about 50 per cent up. Eric W Weisstein, by the way, shows that Friday is slightly more likely than any of the days of the week to fall on the 13^th.

Frigg's day

In ancient Rome Friday was known as dies Veneris, the day dedicated to Venus, hence the French vendredi. In the northern nations, the sixth day of the week was named (perhaps in imitation of the Roman custom) for the goddess Frigg, or Freya (pictured), mother of Balder; in Old English it was called Frig-daeg ...

Read on at Friday the 13^th  folklore and origins in the Scriptorium 

Second Friday in August, Burry Man, South Queensferry, West Lothian, UK

If you're in South Queensferry (a town that is part of the City of Edinburgh, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth) on the second Friday in August, which is during the Ferry Fair, you're likely to see a man parading around town in a costume completely covered in burrs of Arctium lappa and Arctium minus, Britain's two native species of burdock (pictured), a variety of thistle. In either hand he carries a stick decorated with flowers, and his head is covered in roses. His face, however, is covered in burrs.

The 'Burry Man', as he is called, is required to walk around in his heavy, uncomfortable suit and call at each of the pubs in town, where he receives a drink of whisky through a straw. He also visits the  house of the town kirk's provost who pours him yet another drink as a necessary part of the very ancient rite.

How it began, and what it all means, is lost in the proverbial (Scotch) mists of time. It might have once been a kind of 'beating the bounds' ceremony, or perhaps the Burry Man was a form of scapegoat, as his discomfort implies.

" … he used also to be seen at Buckie and at Fraserburgh, both fishing ports, in ceremonies thought to be conducive to the herring fishing. Some say it is a novel way of beating the bounds, others that it commemorates the landing of Queen Margaret, from whom the town took its name and whose husband the King once hid nearby from the English, covered in burrs."   Source

For the 25 years preceding 1999, the position of Burry Man had been held by a Mr Alan Reid.

Folk herbalists, by the way, consider dried burdock to be a diuretic, diaphoretic, and a blood purifying agent. 'Dandelion and burdock' is a soft drink that has long been popular in the United Kingdom.

Picture    More   And more

"The locals of Cranham, Gloucestershire, had the right to take deer from the nearby woods. Each year they reminded everyone of their right by holding a banquet and roasting a deer. This three-day festival still begins with a feast of roast meat and always finishes on the second Monday in August."   Source

 

Vertumnalia, in honour of Vertumnus and Pomona, Roman Empire

In Roman mythology, Vertumnus (Vortumnus, Vertimnus) was the god of seasons, change and plant growth, as well as gardens and fruit trees. Like the seasons and the fruit trees, Vertumnus was a shapeshifter.

Vertumnus's cult arrived at Rome around 300 BCE (from his Etruscan counterpart: Voltumna) and a temple to him was constructed on the Aventine Hill in 264 BCE. A statue of him was placed at the Vicus Tuscus.

Using his shapeshifting power, he tricked the dryad (wood nymph) Pomona, the patron of orchards and gardens, into becoming his wife by disguising himself as a crone. The Fauns and Satyrs would have given anything to win her love, and so would old Sylvanus, and Pan. But Vertumnus loved her best of all; yet his luck with her had been no better than theirs, until he tried this ruse:

The old hag sat down on a bank, and looked up at the branches laden with fruit that hung over her. Opposite was an elm entwined with a vine loaded with swelling grapes. She praised the tree to Pomona and its associated vine, equally. "But," she said, "if the tree stood alone, and had no vine clinging to it, it would have nothing to attract or offer us but its useless leaves. And equally the vine, if it were not twined round the elm, would lie prostrate on the ground. Why will you not take a lesson from the tree and the vine, and consent to unite yourself with someone? I wish you would. Helen herself had not more numerous suitors, nor Penelope, the wife of shrewd Ulysses (Odysseus).

"Even while you spurn them, they court you, rural deities and others of every kind that frequent these mountains. But if you are prudent and want to make a good alliance, and will let an old woman advise you, who loves you better than you have any idea of, dismiss all the rest and accept Vertumnus, on my recommendation.

"I know him as well as he knows himself. He is not a wandering deity, but belongs to these mountains. Nor is he like too many of the lovers nowadays, who love any one they happen to see; he loves you, and you only. Add to this, he is young and handsome, and has the art of assuming any shape he pleases, and can make himself just what you command him. Moreover, he loves the same things that you do, delights in gardening, and handles your apples with admiration. But now he cares nothing for fruits nor flowers, nor anything else, but only yourself. Take pity on him, and fancy him speaking now with my mouth. Remember that the gods punish cruelty, and that Venus (Aphrodite) hates a hard heart, and will visit such offences sooner or later."

Pomona found the crone's persuasiveness irresistible and married Vertumnus. Pomona feared the country people, and kept her orchard locked, so men would not enter. Her name is derived from the Roman word pomus, or fruit. She is also the goddess of cultivated gardens and of apples, and goddess of the Tree of Life. Her high priest was called the flamen Pomonalis. She is depicted carrying a pruning hook, though in 19^th-century statues and building decorations she is usually shown carrying either a large platter of fruit or sometimes a cornucopia, as she is usually associated with abundance.  

The Ides of August was also sacred to Jupiter and known as the feriae Jovi, or Festival of Jove, and to Diana, the goddess of the moon, and called the Festival of Diana. Diana was sometimes viewed as Jupiter's female equivalent (not his wife, who was Juno). On this day, Diana's temple on the Aventine Hill was consecrated; today cow horns (symbols of Hercules), were hung in the front of the temple.

Death of the Virgin Mary

"On August 13^th, the pre-Christian feast of the Mother Goddess Diana, or Vesta, was once celebrated with cider. Another name of this Goddess was Nemesis, from the Greek nemos or 'grove,' which in Classical Greek connotes divine vengeance. Nemesis carries a wheel in her other hand, to show that she is the goddess of the turning year, like Egyptian Isis and Latin Fortuna, but this has been generally understood as meaning that the wheel will one day come full circle to exact vengeance.

"This feast was converted in the middle Ages into that of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin [ie, her raising up to heaven, August 15]. Since the Virgin was closely associated by the early Church with Wisdom – with the Saint Sophia or Holy Wisdom, of the Cathedral Church at Constantinople – the choice of this feast for the passing of Wisdom into Immortality was a happy one."
Excerpted, with minor edits, from Robert Graves, The White Goddess, 1948 Ch. 4   Source

Pictured: Mary Moon Goddess ascendant; El Greco

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International Left-Handers Day Promotes awareness of the inconveniences facing left-handers in a predominantly right-handed world. Left-handed facts "Four of the five original designers of the Macintosh computer were left-handed "One in four Apollo astronauts were left-handed - 250% more than the normal level. "Most left-handers draw figures facing to the right "There is a high tendency in twins for one to be left-handed "Stuttering and dyslexia occur more often in left-handers (particularly if they are forced to change their writing hand as a child, like King of England George VI). "Left-handers adjust more readily to seeing underwater."   Source   Famous left-handers Entertainment Artists Actors Actresses Authors Cartoons Comedians Fashion Film Journalists Music Other Poets Radio TV History Biblical Criminals Leaders Philosophers Royalty Politics - UK Politics - US Politics - Other Saints Miscellaneous Professions Astronaut Business Doctor Explorer Inventor Lawyer Scientist Sport American Football Athletics Badminton Baseball Basketball Billiards Bowling Boxing Broadcasting Cricket Diving Fencing Football (soccer) Sport Golf Hockey Motor Racing Miscellaneous Snooker Swimming Table Tennis Tennis Wrestling Source   Send a free e-card Anything Left Handed    The Left Hand - Left-Handed Products    Left-Handed Writers Page    More   The Perseids The Perseids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle, and very bright at this time of year (generally visible between July 23 and August 22, peaking around today). Thus, in England the meteors in medieval times were called 'the fiery tears of St Lawrence' as they were visible on his day, August 10, and also related symbolically to the torments of the martyr.   Perseus cluster of galaxies (seen at left of image). Click to expand. Photo reproduced by kind permission of Robert Lupton "Perseid activity increases sharply in the hours after midnight, so plan your observing times accordingly. If time is short, you can simply set your alarm for 3 a.m. and watch the last couple hours of the event. We are then looking more nearly face-on into the direction of the Earth's motion as it orbits the Sun, and the radiant is also higher up, so viewing conditions are optimal … "Many years ago, a phone call came into New York's Hayden Planetarium. The caller sounded concerned about a radio announcement of an upcoming Perseid display and wanted to know if it would be dangerous to stay outdoors on the night of the peak of the shower (perhaps assuming there was a danger of getting hit). These meteoroids, however, are no bigger than sand grains or pebbles, have the consistency of cigar ash and are consumed many miles above our heads. "The caller was passed along to the Planetarium's chief astronomer, who commented that there are only two dangers from Perseid watching: getting drenched with dew and falling asleep."   Source     Perseid folklore at August 10 (St Lawrence's Day) in the Book of Days Were meteor showers responsible for omens in ancient sacred texts?    More List of meteor showers     Meteor observing calendar Meteors and the Native Americans    Sky map   See also Leonid and Lyrid meteor showers in the Book of Days If you can't see nuthin' ... join the International Dark-Sky Association and help lobby governments to pass some laws to help save the human spirit!     Horns of Hathor "Isis gained the Horns of Hathor today. This day is also the date of the battle between Horus and Set."   Source Panathenaea, ancient Athens, in honour of goddess Athena (c. Aug 8 - 17) Sixth day: gymnastic contests. "In celebration of the birth of the Goddess Athena, an all-night vigil called the Pannukhis was held beginning at sundown on this night. At sunrise, the Panathenaia procession began. After a sacrifice was made to Eros and Athena, a sacred fire was carried by torch race from the altar of Eros to the altar of Athena. Also remembered at an altar was Prometheus, who brought fire to mortals at a terrible cost. Sacrifices are made for Athena Hugieia, in her aspect of the Goddess of Health, and Athena Nike, in her aspect as the Goddess of Victory. Some feast the Goddess Hecate, the Goddess of Darkness and Magic, who is considered by some to be an aspect of Athena as a triple-Goddess." Source: Earth, Moon and Sky Feast day of the Camenae, Roman Empire In Roman mythology, the Camenae were originally goddesses of springs, wells and fountains. They were worshipped in the nemeton (sacred grove) and sacred spring near Rome, known as Porta Capena, from which the Vestal Virgins drew water each day. Since Livius Andronicus (Odissia, Fr. 1) they were identified with the Greek Muses. Libation was made to them with milk and water. Festival of Nemoralia (Festival of Torches for Diana), Roman Empire "On the day of the foundation of Diana's temple in Rome, the slaves had a holiday. This was also considered her birthday. Women whose prayers had been answered made a torchlight procession to the grove of Diana at Aricia. The Goddess's aid was invoked to turn storms which might injure the coming harvest. The largest temple to Diana was in the Aventine, founded by Servius Tullius. The Greeks honored Hecate on this day."  Source The ides of August, ancient Rome Runic half-month of As commences In Norse (Viking, or Ásátru) religion, the rune 'As' is sacred to the deities of Asgard. It's a time of stability, and corresponds with the ash tree. The world ash, Yggdrasil, symbol of continuity in times of change and chaos. Bon Festival (Obon; O-Bon; Bon Odori), East Japan (Jul 13 - 15, or Aug 13 - 15 according to the lunar calendar) "The Japanese celebrate the Days of the Dead in the middle of summer, on either July 13-15 or August 13 - 15. On the first day of the festival, they decorate the graves of their ancestors with fruit, cakes and lanterns. On the second day, people set up spirit altars called tamadana in their homes. They set the memorial plaques of their ancestors on a rush mat, surrounded by vegetarian dishes and cucumbers carved to resemble horses on which the spirits can ride. The third day is the day for the bon-odori, a slow hypnotic dance performed in concentric circles or multiple lines. At evening, tiny lanterns are set adrift on rivers or seas, to light the way for the souls returning to the other side." Anneli Rufus, The World Holiday Book: Celebrations for every day of the year, Harper San Francisco, 1994 [paraphrase]   Source Tetsuya Odori Festival, Gujo-Hachiman, Gifu Prefecture (Aug 13 - 16) "Major Bon Festival for which many thousands come to watch and dance through the night."   Source Awa Odori Festival, Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture (Aug 12 - 15) Sanuki Takamatsu Festival, Chuo Park, Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture (Aug 12 - 14) Feast day of Our Lady of the Good Death, Cachoeira, Brazil (Aug 13 - 15) Feast day of St Benildus     Feast day of St Cassian of Imola, martyr He was a 4th-Century Christian schoolteacher at Imola, Italy who was stabbed to death with iron pen-nibs by his pagan pupils, a punishment ordered by the authorities because he refused to honour the pagan gods as so ordered by the current emperor, Julian the Apostate, and for the many punishments he had inflicted on people in his charge. He is thus the patron saint of schoolteachers, also of Mexico City, of shorthand-writers and of parish clerks. More Feast day of St Concordia Feast day of St Gertrude of Altenberg Feast day of St Helen Feast day of St Herulph Feast day of St