A gas up in Sasol: qualitative research in a team

For the first time this week I was part of a team of qualitative researchers.

Okay, let me explain the difference between qualitative and quantitative research.

Quantitative research is surveys, statistics, census and other such research that promotes over-arching solutions to problems, sometimes a "one shoe fits all" approach.

Qualitative research is also often referred to as participant observation. Qualitative researchers spend a long time in their field, getting to know the people whom they are working with. Such research may use surveys or statistics as a spring board to delve deeply into issues.

I am trained in qualitative research and I do feel this type of research yields better results inasmuch as we are able to understand issues from the various perspectives of people affected, as opposed to presuming that one solution will fit all people.

However, that said, both types have their place in improving the social structure of the world and I am very excited to be working with the Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise, giving me the opportunity to learn more about quantitative work.

Our first project that we were rather quickly thrown into was, and still is, a project with Sasol. Sasol has employed the centre to conduct a rather rushed mixed methods assessment of various Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME) in the Sasolburg and Secunda area. Their rationale is that they wish to uncover SME's that may be unnoticed but that are florishing and supporting the economy of these town.

So as a team of twelve researchers we set out on our first leg of the project - semi-structured interviews.

An initial scout had found the various entrepreneurs and asked them to meet us at designated meeting halls. We spent up to two hours per person, learning about the various businesses.

Because we had such a short time to spend with each person, developing rapport with our informants quickly was vital to the success of the day. I had two interviews in Sasolburg and two interviews in Secunda. I was lucky with three out of my four interviews, in that developing such rapport came easily.

The most difficult part of qualitative research in balancing the power between researcher and informant. In many societies age deems a person to be higher up the hierarchy scale than say a 25 year old with little life experience. I have been brought up to believe that respect demands respect, however, I am also aware that some people who are older than me will expect a certain amount of due respect shown towards them. As such, time must be spent inquiring about their day and the health of their family.

My first informant was an elderly women, a teacher, in Early Childhood Development and when she saw my interest in her organisation, she opened up and gave me wonderful stories. The theorist Gertz might have called this 'thick description' - lots and lots of information, including my observations using my senses, of temperature, sounds, body language and movements etcetera.

My second informant was an elderly man, and similarly, he enjoyed being given the space, and my nodding silences, to tell me about the evolution of his business.

My third informant was a young woman, close to my age, and with such ease, without having to even think about it, we began chatting, slipped easily into the meat of the interview and only half way through did I mentally step back and realise that I did not have to make a concerted effort to get to know my informant.

My fourth informant was the most difficult to crack. We also had a bit of a language barrier. Even though I had checked with her to make sure she was comfortable with English and she had said yes, "but I am not professional", I could sense that she was sometimes not able to fully express her answers. Thus, near the end we became a bit bored with each others company. There was little conversation outside of the semi-structured interview questions, and I could tell she was, throughout the whole interview, a little shy and a little bored.

In my last large research project (my 2010 thesis) I was lucky that I did not have to sit down to such semi-formal discussions with my informants. The type of people they were (break dancers) and the type of situation in which we found ourselves (language of the body,  the same place over an eight month period), meant that I was able to conduct such questions in a very informal and relaxed situation. The Sasol project brought to glaring reality the constant negotiation of power and the give and take of personal information that qualitative researchers face in their work.

One last tip - when using such semi-structured interviewing techniques, remember to keep an element of conversation in the session; show that as much as you are asking them to give to you, you are willing to return the favour and let little snippets of yourself join in their stories to you. Conversation relaxes a person; quick fire questioning does not.

Everything ends

It's true you know. The only certainly in life is change, and with change comes the ending of phases in your life. And the beginning of new and wonderful opportunities.

This weekend marks major ends in my life. None of them sole and complete, never to surface again. But there is still sadness.

You know, no matter how much you want that promotion, that new job, that bigger house in the better part of town or what what, there is always an element of sadness at what you are leaving behind, no matter how small that element is... or how big...

And so no matter that I needed more challenge and mental stimulation from my current job, the people and the place was very good to me and they will be sorely missed.

No matter how excited I am about moving to Joburg, to be closer to my 'mini gang' of friends in Joburg, I am leaving behind some super incredibly important people in Pretoria. The most significant group of people in one space that I am saying goodbye to is my capoeira crew, Capoeira Meia Lua (Half Moon). One of our instructors and my dear friend is moving to Cape Town, and my other instructor, and dear friend, feels he cannot carry on on his own - plus he wants to focus more on his spiritual life. I completely understand him. The other kids are all getting super busy, I am moving to Joburg, and well there is just not enough of us together to continue the group.

And so with hugely heavy hearts and sadness, we had out last class on Thursday. And then it hit me on Friday. It is going to be a long time before we are all together again. And this was a group of wonderful people whom I saw twice a week for two and a half hours each time. They were like my anti-depressants. Closer that friends. Capoeira is my religion, they are my support structures within my religion.

There is a saying that there is nothing that a good roda of capoeira cannot fix. However, I want to add that while this may be so, there is nothing that thirty minutes with the kids at Meia Lua cannot fix. Even if there is no capoeira involved.

So while this month is a month of re-birth, it is bitter sweet, for an much as I gain, I am saying many goodbyes, even though they are not final. Even though none of us are dying and we are all still in the same province (except one) and maybe a 30 minute drive from each other, this weekend is a time of celebration and sadness.

And so, I suppose this is a letter to say thank you to Chris and Kyla - teachers are more important in life than they are given credit for. They mentor, guide, encourage their students to grow. And honestly, the world would never have got to where we are, in religion, spirituality, ballet, dance, sports, capoeira, without the guidance of teachers.

Imho, Luntu, Charlise and Jocshi, Gabe, Annamart (aka Annamom) Carin, Ac, Wehan and Kylene, my capoeira family of amazingness, good training, sweating and partying together!

To Debbie, Salim, Aletta, Levercia, Bobby and Nqobile, my work family, relationship counselors and clowns of amazingness.

To Pretoria, I never thought I would miss you but I might, just a little bit. You have been good to me this year.

To my people here is Pretoria who have been here since forever and whom are too numerous to mention (ballet, Botswana, horse riding, school, etc etc etc).

It's a big goodbye, albeit temporary.

And so I wish you all, all of you wonderful lights in my life, até que nós ver outra vez:

"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye."

#43

Magnolia Dell

It's a little park somewhere in Brooklyn, Pretoria. It is small and so very busy. There is a community vibe bustling in this little park that makes anyone and everyone want to join in with any form of dancing happening. I recently had a capoeira workshop in this park. The children loved it (and afterwards, the parents thanked us for providing so much entertainment for the children). Capoeira is a Brazilian martial arts, that includes maculele (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hCWpyyISxc&feature=related) and samba de roda (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFD6oyeYqag). The children joined us for our capoeira roda as well as the maculele.

That is dancing in public spaces for you.

November is Mo-vember, NoNoWriMo and #novembergratitude

November seems to be an awfully busy month. I wonder why peeps decide to do so much so late in the year?

Anyway, November is home to the following things:

- Movember: guys grow 'taches to raise awareness around the world about men who suffer from prostate and testicular cancer (like breast cancer awareness month. I have to be honest, Movember is a lot more catchy that BCAM - B Cam... That could catch on?)

- NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month. Every month, kids across the world, young and old, open a new word document on their computers and spend hours each day thrashing out a 50 000 word novel. There are prizes for all sorts of crazy goings on in the month, and kids are encouraged to send their works off for publication.

- #novembergratitude: the point of this post. carlakaywhite.com is hosting a gratitude drive. Each day, from the 1st of November until the 30 of November, she is challenging peeps all around the world to spend a few minutes a day thinking of one thing (or more) that they are truly grateful for. Share or don't share it. But Dooooooo Eeeeeeet. I thinks cats can get quite creative here - share on facebook (HappyTapper.com) or twitter (#novembergratitude) or get photographically creative on Instagram (#novembergratitude)

PS (fell free to share this banner. You can find more at http://carlakaywhite.com/2012/10/30-days-of-gratitude-are-you-in/)

Dancing in public spaces

So my mission is as follows:

a) To get hold of Joburg City Parks, Sappi or any other body corporate (such as Sappi, who does 'community outreach' by looking after some of the city parks)

b) to get some form of permission/go ahead/yes yes, we know you will be there so we don't get arrested to start playing capoeira in the CBD.

Sigh... permissions... I am tempted not to even bother... But me getting in trouble is one thing; the whole of Case da Capoeira getting in trouble is probably not the best decision to make in my life at the moment.

My target parks are the following:

- Joubert Park
- the park outside Joburg Theatre
- Pieter Roos Park
- the park along Rissik Street

There is already one dormant inner city capoeira project; the kids used to train in the Hillbrow Theatre. Hmmmmm, so the concept of capoeira is not completely foreign to all the city residents. At least I know this for sure, even if I know nothing else at the start of this project.

I will be posting the link to the project website shortly. This will also form part of my MA. I want to see the extent of website and blog interaction throughout an ethnographic study and if it in anyway affects the process.

My core question is this:

~To investigate the use of space in a city block in Johannesburg, with specific reference as to how the use of space influences and is influenced by the inhabitants of the space. This investigation will also look at the role of urban dance in public spaces in creating an identity for this city space and how this further affects the identity of the users of the public and private city space.~

I will be looking specifically for the extent to which dance is or is not visible in the city spaces. I will be running, concurrent to the theoretical research, experimentation into spaces in the city that could be used for public displays of dance. Hmmm, public displays of dance - PDD. PD2. P2D. This could get catchy!

Peace out public dancers of all shapes, ages and forms

#44

Arts of Main Rooftop Salsa

Ah my gosh! If I was doing a count down to the number one place to dance in Gauteng, this would most definitely be the top. Well, I am jumping ahead of the other 44 places still to be discovered - so it would be in the top of the top selection at least.

On the roof top, on the top of Johannesburg, in the sun, with a cold beer and the hip swaying rhythms of salsa tunes getting your feet a-jiving.

Every Sunday from 12noon until about 5pm. Before this you can browse through the Arts of Main market from 10am, drinking Ethiopian coffee, eating hard bitter sweet Ecuadorian chocolate and, to line your stomach before the beer arrives, Indian curry, schwarmas or Ethiopian Injera.

Here is a link to one of the videos of the salsa afternoon sessions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpV4ThCgi-g&feature=youtu.be

~Where there is dance, there is life~

Jahazi ahoy!

The Jahazi Literary and Jazz Festival kicks off again this year with spectacular performances and live readings. All in my favourite city in East Africa - Stone Town, Zanzibar.

If you are wondering what a Jahazi is... It is a large boat of the dhow variant. So ahoy, ahoy, ahoy!

Find out more at http://www.jahazifestival.com/

(And if you are going, please save space for me in your suitcase so I can come along with you!)

A walk on the lighter side of life. And Jo'burg

In the streets of Johannesburg...

Fig. 1: insert ballet barres, ballet rehearsal space.

I went for a walk the other day, a walk through Braamfontein. I had taken the Gautrain from Centurion to Park Station and I was on my way to a meeting with my supervisor-to-be at Wits (I'm starting my MA there next year 2013).

My project is going to deal with public urban space, how it is used, how it can be adapted and reclaimed.

I went for a walk the other day, a walk through Braamfontein and I saw so much public space that can be used to fill the city with little pockets of vibrant activity.

Fig 2: break dancing?

Fig 3: Parkour/urban freerunning

Fig 4: parkour and break dancing. Maybe even capoeira?

Fig 5: The roof, the roof, what can be done on the roof? Ballet, capoeira, break dancing.

Fig 6: ballet, capoeira, break dancing

Fig 7: capoeira, capoeira, capoeira

Fig 8: using public space; true space

Street Talent

I wish I could give yall more but camera went on the blink so I don't have any of my own material... So here are two videos of the Red Bull Beat Battle(credit redbull.co.za)

http://www.redbull.co.za/cs/Satellite/en_ZA/Video/From-the-Streets-to-the-Stage--Video--021243215966544

http://www.redbull.co.za/cs/Satellite/en_ZA/Video/Red-Bull-Beat-Battle-Some-lights,-few-cameras-and-021243217507767

Word.

Red Bull Beat Battle

 I have never been to a dance battle.

I have watched them on television. I have seen them in movies. I am a dancer and in our small inexperienced ways, my friends and I have had dance battles. I have played imaginary dance battles across my closed eyes at night, trying to feel what it must feel like to be in the space.

Never before, however, have I actually been in the cypha[1], cheering, watching and appreciating the dancers in front of us. 

On the 26^th of May 2012 I went to my first dance battle. And like the first ballet that I ever watched, the catalyst for me to study dance, I will remember it always – the emotions, the colours, the sounds, the dancers names, the feeling of being their physically and emotionally.

I have studied dance, I have theorised dance, and I have written a thesis on break dancing, the body and the use of the body to identify oneself as an entity. No words however, can really do justice to what the body does when confronted with music. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI), the winners of last year’s battle, took to the stage to defend their title. Added to the mix, Vintage (semi-finalists on eTV’s Step Up or Step Out), Phly Nation (the only All-bgirl/freestyle crew and the only representation from Pretoria), Ninja Turtles (old skool bboy’s from Cape Town), two Patsula crews representing old skool Mzanzi, iSbujwa and many other freesyle, krumping, pop ‘n locking and hip hop. There were eight crews in total, battling for one prize – the top crew, and a spot in the Red Bull Beat Battle finals in Brazil.

Not at any moment throughout the night was the audience disappointed, or bored, or uninvolved with the event. Crews brought their A-game, with Vintage knocking AI out of the running for this year’s title. Reptilz, fairly consistent in their performances, blew the roof off in the final. Or it could have been the fairly disappointing  performance of Vintage. Strong throughout the battle, Vintage gave it their all in their battle against AI, yet their final piece could not hold against Reptilz. In the end it was “Reptilz!” that was being chanted by the crowd. 

MC for the night, AKA, kept the crowd entertained during and between rounds, and the various DJs and performers, including Pro, had us dance, dance, dancing to their sounds. After the show, who takes over the stage but TKZEE, keeping us jamming until long into the early morning.

The next step? Brazil!

I could not have asked for a better first dance battle experience as I got that night.

---

[1] The Hip Hop/street/dance work for a circle of people who form around either a dance battle or a beat/rap battle.

 PS - pictures to follow shortly, thanks for all the interest and demand to see the pics - camera malfunction soon to be remedied.

Attention all lovers of dance: this is a link to watch a video of the night - take a gander, it gives you a good idea of the vibe of the night, and then talent of the dancers:
 
http://mg.co.za/multimedia/2012-05-31-centre-stage-urban-beats

#44

Baseline

Well this one is a bit of a cheat but it can count none-the-less.


I went to a dance battle called Red Bull Beat Battle, held at Baseline in Newtown. So we were spoilt not only with the amazing dancing, we also had A.K.A as MC, Pro and other amazing SA acts (I can't remember off hand who was all there) and then after the show, Tkzee performed.

In between dance rounds we danced, danced, danced to the beats of great rappers and DJs.




As a friend told me, "Any event at Baseline is a good event".

So get yourself there.

Footnote** Baseline is found in the Newtown Precinct, one of the spaces in Johannesburg CBD that was redone as part of the urban rejuvenation project of Jo'burg City Council. The statue outside Baseline is of Brenda Fassie, also known as Ma Brrrr - Kwaito diva extrodinairre of South Africa who died of a drug overdose in her thirties.

All across Newtown you will see similar public art sculptures in memory of great South African artists.

#45

Great Danes

Bar-cum-dance hall-cum-hipster hangout, this is a well nice place to hang out with friends. Whiskey is cheep(ish), music is good(ish) and much fun can be had. It is next door to Kitcheners. But you have to pay entrance at Kitcheners

Plus it stays open later that 2am - the time most bars and clubs seem to close in Gauteng.

For Rhodents, it is like Friars but with class.

For the rest of you, it is in Braamforntein, not Newtown, so it is a different vibe and different music. If I understand correctly, the vibe changes with each new concert or event held there - as each event brings with it different music.

Also, there is a password that you need to be able to enter. It changes all the time. When we went it was Bobocop.

The Midrand Creative Base

The new project begins...with a Face Book page. Honestly though, how easy is it to create a web presence for yourself without having to register domains or set up websites?

So I am beginning to create a web presence for the Midrand Freelancer's Creative Base. Maybe the name is too long. Brownie points to anyone who can come up with a better name? Seriously, we will have a plaque with your name on it installed in the building...?

So I am asking a question or three...

The urban space have three important functions:

1. a source of community
2. a source of economic opportunities
3. a way to link people across countries
 

1) what makes a community strong, 2) give old and new ways of embracing these economic opportunities and 3) how can a city inspire us and keep us linked?

If you feel inclined to answer here you may. Or email me info@easyofficesuites.co.za. or better yet, join the Face Book Page and join the conversation... https://www.facebook.com/groups/254684527969836/

 Or read this blog, don't do anything and the world will continue on its merry way.

 But I dare you to participate. To borrow from a Checkers advert - "It may not change the world. But it may change the way we live in it."

 And in my view,that will change the world. 

 

Florida's rooftops

Did you know that, for almost nothing, you can rent rooftop space in Florida? Yes, Florida in the USA. But then in Stone Town, rooftops are a big plus in any house, and I don't think it is even worth asking to rent someone else's rooftop - they will fight you back. Read more here:

http://ashkuff.com/blog/?p=574

When in limbo, learn as much as you can - travel

Checklist:

1. I am not 22, I am 25
2. I am very fit
3. I am always hungry (for food and for knowledge)
4. The biggest urge to travel, already been partly fulfilled
5. I have slept on the floor (in a train station to be particular, In Mbeya, Tanzania)
6. Learnt how to cook like a Malawian and a Mswahili lady (from Zanzibar)
7. I have lived like a Mswahili
8. And I have eaten like a Mswahili
9. I have learnt so much I cannot even begin to condense it into one sentence - wait I can: I learnt how to hitch hike

There you go ~Antony Bourdain~

A change of space

I am now working at a property development company.

How random is that? Yet I fit in more here than at the advertising company? Why? Because the company deals with space and I am obsessed with space. Yes Whiz Property is concerned with building buildings and selling the space, and I am concerned with the use of space and how it affects our social lives.

But the two have married in my latest experiment: assessing the changing use and need of space in the urban environment.

Hello new love affair!

The need for space and the use thereof is changing. Just as the internet, two years ago, did not know that a single "like" button on a face book page could revolutionise the spread of information, so space and place in the urban context has speedily generated a need for us to think differently.

 Exhibit number one: the freelancer. The free one, the no boss one, the 4pm-and-still-in-your-pajamas one, the obsessed-with-contents-of-fridge one.

San Francisco has come to the rescue, in the form of a Writers' Grotto. It is not being acknowledged that it is not only corporate business people who require the structure and motivation of working hours in a working only space. Writers, freelancers and other people and their dogs are beginning to realise that even us bohemian artistic, creative, writing and philosophising types need structure, schedules and other such 'corporate' motivations in our lives.

And to the Writer's Grotto was born.

This is a niche market that, it appears, does not exist (at least in profusion) in South Africa.

So the space begins to change.

Office space is no longer going to be for the clock-inners and outers, the eight to fivers and the CC owners. Now it will be for people like me, or Luntu or Kylene, who take some writing here, a design job there, some film editing next door, but end up cleaning the top of the top cupboard a day before deadline.

If anybody who reading this (very witty and informative) post finds themselves in the Gauteng province experiencing just such a scenario of freelance work and rabid spring cleaning then comment on this post and we will hook you up dawg!


Culture is made in the physical space. I want to create a culture of creative, enterprising, networking individuals who will take the Gauteng province by storm. The physical space says a lot about us - why we choose to live in a space, how we react to a space, what we get from a space.


So now it is time for me to build a city. Of space. And begin to explore the these spaces as cities of creative collaborations.


That is all.

Johannesburg CBD

  Old and New - Juta Street

 City of Gold Urban Arts festival 2012 - Cape Town artist (Braamfontein)

 City of Gold 2012 - Solo1, England (Braamfontein)

 Johannesburg Crew - City of Gold 2012 (Braamfontein)

 Commissioned graffiti mural and commissioned wooded heads (Newtown cultural precinct)

 Once again, the commissioned wooden heads in Newtown. There are 500 head all around city centre, all commissioned by the Municipality as part of urban space regeneration. 

It is said that one should not wait until a space is clean and then install urban art; one should instal urban art and then watch as the space becomes clean.

Some old urban art, on the steps up to Museum Africa.

If you find yourself in the centre of Johannesburg, take a stroll and watch the space around you. See the the city as text and begin to understand the people living there.

Young, gifted and black

In the post -The Spear-racism-disrespectful out-cry of exposing the presidents genitals and the vandalism thereof, let us not forget that there is a dream that needs to be lived by everyone of us - a dream of being young and gifted.

http://vimeo.com/11074313

This video is a reminder of what we should all be living up to.

re-Writing Stone Town #2

Some of you might remember a similar (if not the same) titled blog post a few months back. Well this time, that little story has been published! Check it out on the link bellow.

http://blog.africabespoke.com/re-writing-stone-town-zanzibar/

#46

...of the top fifty dance spaces in Gauteng... And in this post we shall tackles the top places not to go and dance.

Tiger Tiger/Billy the Bum in Garsfontein area.

This was the type of dance place that I was first introduced to when I was a wee one and I now look back and realise just why I did not like to "go out" for the night.

Who ever, I wonder, thought that it would be a good idea to make people dance to the music that was playing? Throughout the whole night, three good songs were played: Nena 99 Red Balloons, MJ The Way You Make Me Feel, and then just as I was leaving, a god hip hop song thumped invitingly over the speakers.

The music is quite un-dance-able, so you end up swaying awkwardly in a corner. The other option is to get severely drunk and then stumble about everywhere, meaning you have eliminated the need to attempt to dance to the music or in some other way pass the time.

We all went to said establishment as part of a farewell to a dear capoeira crew member. So myself and some other good-music-lovers sacrificed our ears to spend time with him. And it was a good evening.

I will just not be going there again.

My final poke of fun at Tiger Tiger: I think this poster advertising a promotion speaks volumes as to the type of place it was... (http://www.billythebums.co.za/home.php)

Simply Bee Bakery in America

For the last month or so, I have been doing a writing internship - an electronic one, for a company based in the  States. I write about any number of topics. The organisation is a sustainable furniture company based in Alabama and so the topics range from sustainable building, slow food/local food, environmental issues etcetera. The internship was advertised on craigslist as a place to talk about life in the Southern Hemisphere. Here is my first (finally edited) published article:

http://jrobinw.squarespace.com/simply-bee-bakery-johannesburg/

Next assignment, walnut furniture in South Africa. This could be interesting!

#47

Rust

Apparently also sometimes called Crust...? An outdoor-vibe of a bar-cum-dance floor place. Rather difficult to classify this one. Unless you go with good friends, the place could be a bit boring.

But add in the right amount of silly and a drink or three and suddenly the music (drum and base, sometimes really good, sometimes no so much) has you jiving on the dance floor as if you were born on a dance floor.

A nice mix of a more quite outside and a dance floor, if you find yourself in Pretoria East side of the world (in other words, you have crossed the boerewors curtain) check out Rust.

#48

Capoeira Meia Lua

Milk Street, Scout Hall.

Capoeira angola, benguela and regional. The best 2-2, 5 hours of dancing and martial arts you can have. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening 6:30-8:30. Beginners class first Tuesday of every month and from there on, beginners join class as normal (slowly slowly at first).

Clothes needed - stretchy pants, semi-loose top (just not too loose so that you get stuck in it when you move).

Come enter the world of capoeira.

Click on this link to see a video of the crew http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl8saprbKKo

#49

Stones, Hatfield

Good music + good friends + a great student hangout in the centre of a student hangout. A good mix of all sorts of music (no "Oldies" however, when I was there). Urban nightlife at it's best.

http://www.whatson.co.za/venue.php?venue=259&name=Stones%20Hatfield

#50

Ko'spotong...
...hip hop, Kwaito, house, RnB, rock, drum and base, dubstep. All in the arty farty space of Newtown. Do yo'self a favour and go dancing there at least once.

http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/pendock/2010/06/30/strongbow-synchronicity/

Friday the 13th (of July)

http://elegantlysaid.com/2012/01/10-fun-facts-about-friday-the-13th/

Did you know that there is no row 13 on an aeroplane?

For some reason Friday the 13th is deemed a bad luck day yet no one can properly and accurately trace its origin...

But did you know that on such a day 17-21 millions Americans suffer from increased fear and stress that something is going to go wrong (in this world we seem to love to be scared of something. All the time. "Scratching your nose could cause early onset of bankruptcy")... Apparently people stop going about their regular day for fear of something terrible happening and instead stay locked up at home.Who says their house wont burn down in Death is really after them.

Since the adoption of the Gregorian Calander, in the last 4 800 months since commencement, there have been 684 Saturday the 13th's, 687 Wednesday the 13th's BUT 688 Friday the 13th's.

Tupc died on September the 13th 1996
On the 13th January 2012, the Costa Concordia sank

On the 13th January 2012, we had out first Friday the 13th. Thirteen weeks later we have our next Friday the 13th (today). In thirteen weeks time, on the 13th of July, we will have our third Friday the 13th.

Legends of the number 13: 

- If 13 people sit down to dinner together, one will die within the year.
- The Turks so disliked the number 13 that it was practically expunged from their vocabulary (Brewer, 1894).
- Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue.
- Many buildings don't have a 13th floor.
- If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck (Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names). - There are 13 witches in a coven. (http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/friday_the_13th_2.htm)

The Devil's Dozen

Consider this, that the idea that 13 is an unlucky number is as old as counting. In cave days, we had ten fingers and two feet to serve our counting means. That means we could count to 12. What lay beyond, 13, was a mystery and couldn't be comprehended.

The LUCKY number 13

The Chinese consider 13 as a luck number...  So did the Egyptians. For Egyptians, life unfolded in stages; 12 on earth, the 13th on the afterlife.

The crucifixion

Took place on a Friday... And staying with the Bible legends, Eve tempted Adam on a Friday. Friday is a bad day.

The number three

The number three, and numbers in groups of three, numerological-ly speaking, is a lucky number, or combination of numbers. Therefore, because there are three Friday the 13ths in 2012, people are taking that as a sign of good luck. And because apparently the world is ending this year, we need all the luck we can get.

Conclusion

So, in conclusion, 13 represents the mysterious, fearful unknown, because we could not physically count further than thirteen when our great grannies and granddaddies lives in drafty caves. And Friday is bad luck day. I suppose it is that day when masses celebrate the end of a tough work week, and end up regretting what they said, how much money they spent, who they kissed, where they woke up (Eve shall forever more tempt Adam - to Adam's never learn?). And because it is bad luck Friday, it had absolutely nothing to do with how intoxicated you were.