Friday, June 13, 2008

Play time, boys and girls — Friday the 13th Edition.


Ooooooh ... scary. Unless, of course, you’re Italian.

Italians believe that 13 is lucky which is sooooooo true; after all, this girl was born on the 13th — what could be luckier than that? As always, your answers in the comments, if you please.

1) While we’ve already touched on your favourite Hitchcock films, let’s return with a bit of a twist. Name the Hitchcock film that scared you the most and why.

2) Favourite femme fatale and why.

3) First concert you ever attended.

Me first.

1) Turns out my answers are one in the same ‘cause The Birds is my favourite Hitchcock film and it’s also the one I consider the most frightening. As I’ve said before, I think it’s the whole concept that’s so startling — birds go crazy and start attacking people for no reason. Come on ... birds? It sounds ridiculous but sweet dancing Jesus, did he make it work. The way he filmed the birds perching ominously on the wires and the play structure as Melanie hurries past with Cathy absolutely freaked me out the first time I saw it. Or the scene with the birds relentlessly pecking their way through the walls and ceilings {{shudder}} ... I’ve seen that movie countless times and it still has me on the edge of my seat every damn time I watch it.

2) Brigid O'Shaughnessy as portrayed by Mary Astor in The Maltese Falcon ... ‘nuff said.

3) Aaaahhhhh ... my misspent youth. The first real concert I ever went to was The Clash when I was about 14 or 15. They came to Ottawa in the spring right after my birthday and played at the Civic Centre. And, even though Mick Jones and Topper Headon had left the band by that point, Joe Strummer, Paul Simonon and some other guys put on quite the show in this girl’s eyes. I even got pulled up on stage to dance ... which mortifies my mother to this day.

And now a little edumacation — wherein LuLu explains the origin of Friday the 13th and its supposed bad luck (as learned in Catholic school, of all places). Via Wikipedia:

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici), commonly known as the Knights Templar or the Order of the Temple (French: Ordre du Temple or Templiers), were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders. The organization existed for approximately two centuries in the Middle Ages. It was founded in the aftermath of the First Crusade of 1096, its original purpose to ensure the safety of the many Europeans who made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem after its conquest.

Officially endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church around 1129, the Order became a favored charity across Europe and grew rapidly in membership and power. Templar knights, in their distinctive white mantles each with a red cross, were among the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades. Non-combatant members of the Order managed a large economic infrastructure throughout Christendom, innovating financial techniques that were an early form of banking, and building many fortifications across Europe and the Holy Land.

The Templars' success was tied closely to the Crusades; when the Holy Land was lost, support for the Order faded. Rumors about the Templars' secret initiation ceremony created mistrust, and King Philip IV of France, deeply in debt to the Order, began pressuring Pope Clement V to take action against the Order. In 1307, many of the Order's members in France were arrested, tortured into giving false confessions, and then burned at the stake. In 1312, Pope Clement, under continuing pressure from King Philip, disbanded the Order. The abrupt disappearance of a major part of the European infrastructure gave rise to speculation and legends, which have kept the "Templar" name alive into the modern day.

Anyone want to know the date that Philip ordered the arrests of the Templar Knights in France on trumped-up charges of heresy? Friday, October 13, 1307. And yes, I’m perfectly aware that many people feel that this is, in fact, not the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition but like I already said, this is what I was taught. And this is what I’ve always believed.

Conspiracy theorists, on the other hand, believe that the Templars, who were a monastic order of warrior priests and seemingly incorruptible, were persecuted and disbanded by Philip and Clement V because they knew too much.

Knew too much about what you may ask. Well, that is an interesting question, isn’t it? If you believe, like I do, that the Church is capable of anything in order to protect itself ... well then, the possibilities are endless.

18 comments:

Unknown said...

Lulu, you familiar with Marvel 1602? In essence, it's the big-name Marvel heroes if they had started appearing 400 years in the past or so. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but it's WAY better than that feeble tagline makes it sound, honest. I mean, it IS a Gaiman work.

Anyway, it posits that the Templars were indeed hiding something, and that their descendants continued to hide "it" even after all that persecution.

(SPOILER - The "it" was, in fact, Mjolnir; Tangible proof that there were gods other than Big Daddy J and and the angels, saints, etc. The Old ex-templar hiding it would of course, eventually be coaxed into using its power... END SPOILER)

For my part, I feel it's more likely the truth is much more prosaic. I'm entirely sure their alleged incorruptibility is a laughable assertion, for a start...

Sheena said...

1. The Birds because I hate getting my hair messed up.

2. Wendy Croy. Because I feel that we are soul sisters.

3. Dead Kennedys

Mike said...

1. The Birds because it was not just the first scary movie I ever saw, it was the first movie I ever saw, beginning to end. On TV when I was 4.

2. Rita Hayworth in "The Lady from Shanghai"

3. Twisted Sister opening for Iron Maiden at Joe Lewis Arena in June of 1984....I was racking with the fine gentlemen from the Iron Coffins of Detroit...

Sparky said...

Not on topic (with the questions) but my sister just had twins today (at 4 a.m.)

2 babies on Friday the 13th :)

So you've got two more people that share your b-day, Lulu.

Father Shaggy said...

1) None of 'em. Sorry to disappoint, but I just don't scare easy.

2) Not sure if it counts, but Rachel Ward in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (because it's funny and she's hot). Either that or Jessica Rabbit (because she's not bad, she's just drawn that way).

3) Not counting Sharon, Lois & Brahm, it's D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince when I was twelve. They played Centennial Hall here in London.

sassy said...

1) The Birds - There was this flock of blackbirds in our neighbourhood which used to buzz/bomb us as we rode our bikes as kids.

2) ??

3) Jefferson Airplane - Vancouver (if memory serves me correctly it was 1968) Yes, I know, some of you were just a twinkle in your Daddy's eyes in '68 :)

Red Tory said...

1) None actually. I don’t find Hitchcock scary, just intriguing.

2) Favourite femme fatale would have to be Nimue, the “other” Lady of the Lake. I used to have a huge poster of The Beguiling of Merlin in my first apartments at a time back when I was hopelessly romantic and profoundly idle (read: stoned).

3) The first concert I went to was an obligatory performance of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf when I was about 8 or 9, but that probably doesn’t count, does it?

Lindsay Stewart said...

1) Psycho. Saw it alone in the house we had just moved in to. I was up past my bed time and trying to be really quiet so I wouldn't get caught watching a movie. Every unfamiliar creak of that new house had me jumping out of my skin. I think I didn't take a shower for weeks after that.

2) Milla Jovovich in .45 especially the scene where she pulls a gun out of the waist band of her miniskirt and sells it to me. She is even more gorgeous in person than on film. She also gave me a very nice little hug when we were wrapped that day.

3) April Wine with Thundermug at the University of Waterloo PhysEd Complex. I think it was sometime around '75 and it was the best concert I'd ever seen. I've seen rather a few performances since then, several better than that first. Queen was a total riot live. AC/DC was tremendous and very loud fun. The Clash was fucking brilliant. The Cure on the Pornography tour was smashing. Echo and the Bunnymen were among the tightest bands I ever saw. Iggy Pop was an experience every time I saw him. The Stones were sucked out shit when I saw them in '81, George Thorogood opened and wiped the stage with them. The Who in '82 was incredible, even without Moon. Bauhaus was stunning as was Nick Cave in those dark days down at Larry's Hideaway. Too many shows too much fun.

KEvron said...

1) i'm with rt: aside from the birds and psycho, hitch didn't really make "scary" movies. of the two, psycho was the scarier. the birds was effectively scary, i suppose, but i just didn't get it. psychosis i get. heh.

2) faye dunaway as lady de winter in richard lester's the three musketeers. so sexy and so evil!

3) around '79 or '80, i went along with some friends to the country club in reseda to see a lame band called mariner. i was too young to go into the club proper, but one of the friends knew the guy at the door, and he let us watch from back in the foyer. i hated it. a year later, i saw my second concert at the same joint and under the same conditions. the band was u2.

KEvron

Frank Frink said...

No fear of 13. Actually it isn't only the Italians who are not superstitious about the number. Neither are the Spanish, Latin Americans and Slavs.

Not that I'm Italian, Spanish, Latin American or Slav, but I was handed #13 my first year of minor hockey and have worn it ever since. Seriously. All of the hockey sweaters in my closet with one exception, Herb Carnegie's Quebec Aces #9, have a 13 on the back.

1) Psycho. It spooked me as a little kid the first time I saw it, and Anthony Perkins just plain creeps me out. In just about any role he's played, I mean.

2) I'm solidly in the Brigid O'Shaughnessy camp. She is the classic movie femme fatale - although I am also kinda partial to Lou Reed's musical version of the ff. (Hmmmm.. love those initials too). I flat-out love Huston's 1941 The Maltese Falcon on so many levels. I'm a huge Hammett fan. Huge fan of the hard-boiled dick genre. Love Bogey. The dialogue in that movie version is almost verbatim from Hammett's novel (see post below). She is Teh Evil your daddy always warned you about.

3) Pagliaro. Hey, I'm from Quebec. Nevermind what year. Some of you may not have even been born, some of you were in diapers. I still love Pagliaro to this day.

First concert by a name you might actually recognize? Deep Purple with Pavlov's Dog and Van Der Graaf Generator opening. Hey, I'm from Quebec. That will explain the bill. The year after Pagliaro. Some of you were still in diapers.

Yeah, I also saw The Who with Keith Moon, Genesis with Peter Gabriel, and AC/DC with Bon Scott. So, bite me. ;-)

Frank Frink said...

Some Spade/O'Shaughnessy exchanges from The Maltese Falcon.

Brigid: Do they have to know about me, I mean - can't you shield me so that I won't have to answer their questions...I can't tell you now. I will later when I can. You've got to trust me, Mr. Spade. Oh, I'm so alone and afraid. I've got nobody to help me if you won't help me. Be generous, Mr. Spade. You're brave. You're strong. You can spare me some of that courage and strength surely. Help me, Mr. Spade. I need help so badly. I've no right to ask you, I know I haven't, but I do ask you. Help me.
Spade: You won't need much of anybody's help. You're good. It's chiefly your eyes, I think, and that throb you get in your voice when you say things like 'Be generous, Mr. Spade.'
Brigid: I deserve that. But the lie was in the way I said it. Not at all in what I said. It's my own fault if you can't believe me now.
Spade: [smiling] Now you are dangerous.

Spade: You, uh - you aren't exactly the sort of a person you pretend to be, are ya?
Brigid: I'm not sure I know exactly what you mean.
Spade: The schoolgirl manner, you know, blushing, stammering, and all that.
Brigid: I haven't lived a good life - I've been bad, worse than you could know.
Spade: That's good, because if you actually were as innocent as you pretend to be, we'd never get anywhere.
Brigid: I won't be innocent.
Spade: Good.

Spade: [smiling] You are a liar.
Brigid: I am. I've always been a liar.
Spade: Don't brag about it. Was there any truth at all in that yarn?
Brigid: Some...not very much...Oh, I'm - I'm so tired, so tired of lying and making up lies, not knowing what is a lie and what's the truth.

Yeah, She Bad. Julie Couillard still has a bit to learn.

Lindsay Stewart said...

heh. saw genesis with gabriel as well. lamb lies down tour. i would have noted that in my list as well but my memories of the show are, um, dimmed by self medication. it was minty though. the frickin' twit seated beside us made sure of that when he yacked out a bottle of green creme de menthe at our feet. first time i ever saw lasers.

had tickets to see the who (with moon) in buffalo. but it was two nights after the cincinatti stampede that killed eleven kids. my mom tore my ticket into little confetti pieces. also had tickets for zeppelin twice. first time robert plant's son died and the tour was cancelled, second time was for the big-o in montreal but bonham died.

at this juncture i will also say that i am grossly offended by the stupid amounts of money being charged to see a concert. as kids we were able to see all of the biggest bands of the time and buy tickets with our pocket money. ticketmaster is an evil scam that should be scorched out of existence. there is simply nobody that is worth some of the extravagant ticket prices being charge.

Frank Frink said...

Couldn't agree more, PSA. I can remember the first time I paid more than $10 for a concert ticket - $11.50 for Bruce Springsteen in 1979 - and I really had to think hard about whether or not I really wanted to take part in that exercise. Could see where teh concert biz was heading That was pretty much where the incline started. The show was worth it though.

The second marker was when The Eagles (uugggh - I hate The Eagles) did their first reunion tour. That was the first $100 ticket on the market.

Said I couldn't agree more excpet for one thing. TM isn't responsible for the ticket prices - thank the music business overall, venues, artist management and a lot of the artists themselves for that (see Eagles above and Rolling Stones mainly). They got a clue that maybe they should charge what people would sheepishly shell out.

What you can blame TM for is charging $10 of service fees etc.. on a $25 ticket. Sadly, things would be no different without TM in the picture. There would just be another different agency charging just as much.

btw - So sad that you can't recall The Lamb tour show. It was brilliant. Also did see Zep twice with all four original members. Those shows are the one for which I have only vague recollections.

Beijing York said...

1. "The Birds" scared the crap out of me as a little kid. (Eyes being pecked out is scary!)

2. Barbara Stanwyck!!!

3. April Wine

Balbulican said...

1) Psycho. Not the silly ending, and not even the tour de force shower scene - it's Anthony Perkins.

2) Barbara Stanwyck, for one specific scene in one specific movie: "The Lady Eve", the stateroom scene where she reduces Henry Fonda to a molten puddle of bewildered lust. It may be the most erotic five minutes on film, and they don't even kiss.

3) The Clancy Brothers at the Capital Theatre in Ottawa.

Frank Frink said...

Balby, was that with or without Tommy Makem?

Balbulican said...

That was WITH, my man. The golden age of the Clancys, when Bob Dylan was still stealing melodies from them.

Frank Frink said...

Dylan always stole from the best.