Jamie's Hero and Villain of the Week #18

It is Friday once again, and that means it's time again to reveal my hero and villain of the week!

Hero of the Week:  Charles Dickens 

Mr. Dickens may seem like an unlikely hero given how much I complained while reading Great Expectations in high school, but he is the father of a very popular storytelling technique: the cliffhanger.  You see, ol' Chuck originally published his novels in serial format, so ended each installment at the height of a conflict.  That way, his readers would have to purchase the next installment to find out what happened.  He famously ended one installment with a character literally hanging from a cliff, hence the term "cliffhanger."  As it is season finale time for most television shows, I've been reminded this week of how important the cliffhanger is to modern storytelling.   Is Stefan going to go all crazy blood-addict again now that he's under Klaus's control?  Will Jasmine take Crosby back?  Is Neil going to revert to his criminal ways?  What do you mean PETER NEVER EXISTED?!?!?!?!?!  So many questions, and I'll just have to watch next season to find out.  Well played, Mr. Dickens, well played.

Bonus point for Charlie:  One of his quotes could be the motto of JA Greetings:  "Fan the sinking flames of hilarity with the wings of friendship; and pass the rosy wine."

Villain of the Week:  Friday the 13th

Yes, Friday the 13th is just a day that occurs between 1 and 4 times a year, but lots of people of truly afraid of it.  While there are multiple stories that account for the superstition, such as the ousting of the Norse god Frigga leading to her subsequent unholy meetings to plan the ill fate of the world or King Phillip's   order to arrest and torture the Knights Templar, the mass fear is a relatively new phenomenon.  According to Wikipedia, which could never be wrong, fear of this day was practically non-existent about 100 years ago.  Now, however, it's estimated that there is an $800 to $900 million loss in business because people are too afraid to leave home.  That kind of intense debilitating fear is known as  friggatriskaidekaphobia.  Any day that can inspire enough fear to spawn a series of slasher movies is definitely a villain in my book!

On a different note, happy birthday to our wonderful sister Kristen!  All of us at JA Greetings are so happy to be related to you, and we're glad you don't suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia.  Enjoy your day!