Written by Russell Kirkland
This discussion of "Taoism" in classical China will begin with the observation that there was actually no such thing, at least not in the sense that is commmonly accepted among non-specialists. Both in Asia and in the West, many scholars, and their students, have ignored the many advances in Taoist studies since the 1970s, and have continued to cling to outdated stereotypes of what Taoism was/is. In particular, they often cling to simplistic notions about "philosophical Taoism" that now seem unable to withstand critical analysis, in light of recent advances in textual and historical research. The concept of "philosophical Taoism" is, to a large extent, a modern fiction, which has been developed and embraced by people around the world for specific and identifiable social, intellectual, and historical reasons.
Current research reveals that the so-called "Taoist school" of classical times was actually "a retrospective creation": it began as the reification of a Han-dynasty bibliographic classification, and it took its present form in post-Han times, i.e., in the third century CE.
The importance of these facts is that we need to press non-specialists to re-evaluate their commonly accepted ideas of what "Taoism" is. For most of this century, there has been nearly universal agreement among philosophers, historians, and the general public — in Asia and in the West — that "Taoism" could simply be equated with a set of ideas that are embodied (or are perceived to be embodied) in the Tao te ching and the Chuang-tzu. Current research has begun to demonstrate that that common understanding is far too simplistic.
To begin with, it is now clear to most specialists that those two texts were not, in fact, the expositions of two great philosophers, but rather the product of a prolonged period of accretion. That is, each contains ideas from a variety of minds generations or even centuries apart, not to mention different geographical regions. The Chuang-tzu probably originated in scattered jottings of a man named Chuang Chou ca. 320 BCE, and was developed into its present form over the following 500 years. The earlier layers of the Chuang-tzu were apparently composed by someone who had never seen the Tao te ching. For its part, the Tao te ching dates only to around the beginning of the third century BCE, i.e., to several decades after the Chuang-tzu began to be compiled. But once again, there is no evidence that the Tao te ching's compilers were aware either of the ideas of the fourth-century writer Chuang Chou or of the text that eventually came to bear his name. Though the provenance of the Tao te ching is still the subject of debate, one current line of research suggests that it may have emerged from the re-working of oral traditions of a community in the southern state of Ch'u. So far, research has been unable to shed virtually any light upon the identity of its compiler or redactor. And I certainly do not expect to establish that identity here. But what is, in fact, possible is to examine possible evidence of that redactor's familiarity with another ancient text, a text of which few today — even among scholars of Chinese thought or religion — have ever heard. That text is a brief work, about one-half the length of the Tao te ching, entitled the Nei yeh (or "Inner Cultivation").
There is little doubt that the Nei yeh is several generations older than the Tao te ching. It seems to date to some time in the second half of the fourth century BCE. That is, it may have been compiled by a contemporary of Chuang Chou, though again there is virtually no data as to the compiler's identity. The Nei yeh fell out of general circulation when it became incorporated into a larger collection, the Kuan-tzu, sometime before the middle of the second century BCE. After that, it was seldom noted by Chinese scholars or philosophers until the 20th century, and even today its thought and significance have barely begun to be explored.
For instance, though it has never, to my knowledge, hitherto been noticed, the influence of the Nei yeh on Chinese thought was profound and extensive. For example, it is here that one first encounters comprehensible references to the personal cultivation of such forces as ch'i ("life-energy"), ching ("vital essence"), and shen ("spiritual consciousness"). The cultivation of such forces became a central theme in certain versions of modern Taoism, as well as in Chinese medicine. But there is also evidence that the Nei yeh may have profoundly influenced the Tao te ching. In this essay, I attempt to identify basic thematic differences between the Nei yeh, the Chuang-tzu, and the Tao te ching, and to suggest certain interpretive strategies for understanding the relationship among them.
The primary difference between the Nei Yeh and the Tao te ching is signalled by the title of the former. Nei means "internal," and in ancient times yeh meant in one sense "cultivation/production" and in another sense "what one studies." Thus the work's title refers directly to "Inner Cultivation" or "Inner Development." Its contents provide the reader with instruction and advice for applying oneself to a task involving what is inside oneself. That is, it teaches the reader how and why to practice certain specific forms of biospiritual cultivation. In fact, unlike the Tao te ching, the Nei Yeh is concerned with virtually nothing else besides biospiritual cultivation.
The Teachings of the Nei Yeh
The teachings of the Nei Yeh are quite distinct from the ideas that most non-specialists associate with "philosophical Taoism." Its teachings will sound more familiar to people acquainted with the traditions of modern Taoism that focus on the cultivation of ch'i. The Nei Yeh indeed begins with the assumption of a powerful salubrious reality called ch'i, "life-energy." In the Nei Yeh, ch'i is present both within all things and all around them. Within each being, ch'i is centered in the "essence," ching — which Roth describes as "the source of the vital energy in human beings [and] the basis of our health, vitality, and psychological well-being." But the central focus of the Nei Yeh's teachings have to do more with how the individual manages his/her hsin, the "heart/mind." The "heart/mind" is the ruling agency in the individual's biospiritual nexus, i.e., in the entire personal complex of body/mind/heart/spirit). The Nei Yeh's principal teaching is that one should make sure that one's "heart/mind" is balanced and tranquil, without excessive cogitation or emotion. If one can maintain a tranquil "heart/mind," then one will become a receptor of life's salubrious energies, and will be able to retain them; without tranquility, those healthful energies will leave, and one's health, and very life, will become threatened.
In the Nei Yeh, the specific nature and identity of life's desirable energies are still some-what vague. One key term that it uses is shen, "spirit" or "spiritual consciousness." "Spirit" involves perception and comprehension: it is the basis for all higher forms of awareness. According to the Nei Yeh, the practitioner must align his/her biospiritual nexus with the unseen forces of the world in order to attract "spirit" and receive it into one's quietened "heart/mind." One's ability to succeed in this endeavor is called te. Te has often been dubbed a key concept in "philosophical Taoism," but the meaning of the term in the Nei Yeh hardly resembles any of the common descriptions of the term as it is used in the more familiar Taoist texts. In the Nei Yeh, the term te does retain the generic meaning of "the inner moral power of an individual," and even the archaic (Shang-dynasty) concept of te as "a proper disposition toward the unseen forces." But here, te is clearly not a force that is intrinsic to our natures, as many modern descriptions of Te in "philosophical Taoism" would have us believe. Rather, te, like "spirit," is something that we acquire when all elements of the body/heart/mind are completely peaceful and properly aligned. Here we can discern the full meaning of the traditional Chinese explanation that the word te meaning "inner power" may be understood in terms of the homophone te which is the common verb in both classical and modern Chinese for getting or acquiring. In the Nei Yeh, te may be termed "the acquisitional agency," for it is not just what we attract and receive, but that whereby we attract and receive the higher forces of life (e.g., ch'i and shen). What is more, in the Nei Yeh one is told that one's te is something that one must work on each and every day. (Once again, such teachings vary widely from the concept of what Te means in common notions of "philosophical Taoism.") The practitioner builds up his/her te by practicing daily self-control over his/her thought, emotion, and action. One who succeeds at these practices can become a sheng-jen, a "sage." The "sage" is described as being "full of spirit" and "complete in heart/mind and in body."
One might well ask what role the concept of tao plays in the Nei Yeh. The way the term is used in the Nei Yeh does not always coincide with the way it is used in the more familiar texts. In the Nei Yeh, the term tao is actually quite vague: it is sometimes used rather indiscriminately to refer to the salubrious forces of life that the practitioner is working to cultivate. For instance, one passage reads as follows:
The Way is what infuses the structures [of the mind] yet men are unable to secure it. It goes forth but does not return, it comes back but does not stay. Silent! none can hear its sound. Sudden! so it rests in the mind. Obscure! one cannot see its form. Surging! it arises along with me. We cannot see its form, we cannot hear its sound, yet we can put a sequence to its development. Call it "Way."
One also encounters a line that is virtually identical to passages in the Tao te ching: "What gives life to all things and brings them to perfection is called the Way." But otherwise, the term tao is seldom identified in the terms that are familiar to readers the Tao te ching or the Chuang-tzu. In the Nei Yeh, the term is generally used as an equivalent of its technical terms for the spiritual realities that the practitioner is being instructed to attract and retain by means of tranquillizing the heart/mind.
Thematic Contrasts between the Nei Yeh and the Familiar "Taoist Classics"
Clearly, the Nei Yeh has a specific and identifiable focus, articulated in terms comprehensible to the careful reader. But it is also clear that if we are intellectually honest, the teachings of this text are quite distinguishable from those of the more familiar texts of classical Taoism. For instance, while terms like te and tao appear frequently in all the texts, they are used in different senses in different texts, as well as in different passages of the same text. Neither term is thus a "basic concept" of some general philosophical system: each term carried a variety of meanings among the people who developed "Taoist" ideas across ancient China. We should thus beware the common tendency of assuming that certain teachings of the Tao te ching and Chuang-tzu were in any sense representative of a coherent ancient Chinese school of thought, much less normative for identifying "Taoist" beliefs and values in general.
Secondly, it should be noticed that the portrait of the Taoist life in the Nei Yeh is in some ways quite dissimilar to that which we generally encounter in the Tao te ching and Chuang-tzu. For instance, the key to life in the Nei Yeh is one's diligent effort to attract and retain spiritual forces named ch'i, ching and shen. While each of those terms does occur here and there in both the Tao te ching and the Chuang-tzu, seldom in those texts do we find the specific teachings that are so basic to the Nei Yeh.16 In particular, it is hard to think of passages from either of the more familiar texts that suggest that the thing called tao is a force that can come into or go out of a person, or that one it is necessary to engage in specific practices to get the tao to come or to keep it from going away.17 In the more familiar texts, the term tao generally seems to suggest a universal reality from which one can never really be ontologically separated.
In addition, the practices commended in the Nei Yeh are much more clearly physiological in nature than we are accustomed of thinking of Taoist practice as being. Indeed, one of the reasons that some of the teachings of the Tao te ching have become domesticated in Western culture is that the public believes those teachings to involve no regular, definable practices that involve one's physical existence. According to such beliefs, the Taoist life is essentially stative: it never involves specific practices that carry historical or cultural baggage, and certainly never involves any work.
It should also be noted that the Nei Yeh never presents the spiritual life in terms of "practicing wu-wei." Here, the Taoist life is not a stative life of "just being," or of "being spontaneous," but rather a very active life of specific practices, practices that must be carefully learned and properly performed if one is ever to come into possession of such elusive forces as tao. In this framework, the Taoist life involves personal responsibility, dedication to a life of constant self-discipline, and conscientious daily practice. Moreover, this practice involves the purification and proper ordering of one's body as well as one's "heart/mind." It would be excessive to say that the Nei Yeh teaches a "Taoist yoga," but it clearly does assume that the spiritual life involves practices that also have physical components, even extending to moderation in eating. I thus refer to such activities more broadly as "biospiritual practices."
Neither the Tao te ching nor the Chuang-tzu are so clearly focussed upon biospiritual practices. While they do contain passages that allude to such practices, their writers (or at least the editors) have many other teachings to convey, teachings that are generally absent from the Nei Yeh. For instance, as Rickett observed long ago, the concepts of yin and yang are nowhere seen in the Nei Yeh. Modern beliefs egregiously exaggerate the centrality of those concepts in the Taoist tradition. In reality, the concepts of yin and yang were never specifically Taoist. The terms do appear in the Tao te ching and the Chuang-tzu, though in quite minor roles. But the world of the Nei Yeh is a world quite devoid of yin and yang.
Other differences between the Nei Yeh and the more familiar texts seem not to have been remarked upon by other readers. For instance, there are few teachings in the Nei Yeh involving issues of government. Though modern conceptions commonly associate Taoism with the life of the individual rather than with social or political concerns, such was never really the case. Social and political concerns always played an important role in Taoism, from classical times into the later imperial period. The Tao te ching, for its part, contains dozens of passages discussing the problems involved with ruling a state. Indeed, some respected scholars have long characterized the Tao te ching as "a handbook for rulers." Such a characterization is actually something of an exaggeration, but the point here is that the Nei Yeh displays little interest in issues of government.
In addition, the Nei Yeh differs from both the Tao te ching and the Chuang-tzu in that it never critiques or ridicules the beliefs or practices of Confucians. Once again, there is a common misconception that "Taoism" arose as a reaction against Confucianism, and that Taoists always clearly differentiated their teachings from those of the Confucians. However, there is nothing in the Nei Yeh that criticizes Confucian teachings. In fact, there are clear and unmistakable continuities between the teachings of the Nei Yeh and certain elements of the teachings of the 4th-century Confucian known as Mencius. What is missing from the Nei Yeh is the Confucian emphasis upon saving society by reviving within one's personal life the principles of proper moral/social behavior known as li. The reader of the Nei Yeh is taught how to align him/herself with the forces at work in the world, because doing so is necessary for one's personal well-being. There is little trace of a belief that one is responsible for changing society. On the other hand, those who held such beliefs are neither faulted nor mocked. So while sections of both the Tao te ching and the Chuang-tzu were composed by opponents of Confucianism, such sentiments are not found in the Nei Yeh.
Another theme conspicuously absent is the idea that the ideal society is a small-scale community without civilized technology or complex socio-political institutions. That idea is most familiar to the modern audience from the 80th chapter of the Tao te ching, though there are other examples in the Chuang-tzu. Several scholars have recently begun referring to such ideals as a distinct "phase" or "voice" of early Taoism, to which they refer as "Primitivist." But as some of those scholars have already noted, the Nei Yeh is completely devoid of such ideals. Thus, the Rousseau-esque idea that Taoism consists of a rejection of civilization in favor of simpler ways of living is inaccurate. It would seem that a person could follow the teachings of the Nei Yeh within nearly any social context, and that it never occurred to the text's compilers that any one type of social setting might be preferable to any other. The Nei Yeh does not, therefore, provide the antidote to the Industrial Revolution that Westerns have sometimes claimed to find in "philosophical Taoism."
So if we have here a form of Taoism that is fundamentally disinterested in social issues, would it be correct to say that it is basically more concerned with our place in the universe? Well, in a certain sense, yes, but it is important to note that the Nei Yeh is also unconcerned with many of the cosmological issues with which modern readers are often so fascinated. For example, there is no real discussion of cosmogony in the Nei Yeh. Other Taoist texts sometimes discuss the origin of the world, in terms that sometimes seem to combine poetry with philosophy. But the Nei Yeh contains no such passages. It alludes to no "Non-Being" from which "Being" comes, and it posits no eternal reality ontologically prior to, or separate from, the present world — no "noumenon" to contrast with the "phenomena" of life as we know it. The closest thing to a cosmogonic passage in the Nei Yeh would seem to be its opening lines:
[The vital essence (ching) of all things — This is what makes life come into being: Below, it generates the five grains, Above, it brings about the constellated stars. When it flows in the interstices of Heaven and Earth, It is called "spiritual beings"; When it is stored up inside [a person's] chest, He is called "a sage."]
But here we are clearly dealing with a life-force that operates within the world, a force of generation that is spiritual in nature, and can be localized either within independent spiritual beings or within a person who successfully collects and stores it. But there is no suggestion here of any noumenal reality that has an ontological existence separate from the reality of which we are all a part. "Being" does not come from "Non-Being," and the composers show no interest in constructing any cosmological theories. These facts are brought home most clearly when we encounter the term tao in the text, for as noted earlier, in the Nei Yeh the term tao clearly refers to a transient reality that a person needs to attract and to retain. It is not some universal transcendent that one attains by developing some "mystical gnosis" qualitatively distinct from normal experience.
Nor is there any discussion in the Nei Yeh of the theme of "change." There is little trace, for instance, of the notion that there is un unchanging cosmic force beyond the world of change. Nor is there a poetic image of a sagely person who blissfully flows or drifts along with life's ongoing processes. The latter idea may be present in passages of the Chuang-tzu, but there is nothing like it in the Nei Yeh, any more than there is in the Tao te ching. In the Nei Yeh, one neither transcends change nor adapts to it: there is, in fact, no mention of life as a process of change or flux. Rather, the Nei Yeh teaches that there is a salubrious natural force, or set of forces, that are elusive: they are not ephemeral — they are enduring — but they do not stay in one place unless a person has transformed him/herself into an efficient receiver and receptacle for those forces. A good analogy for them might be radio waves, which are constantly flowing around and through us, but can only be held and put to use by a device that is properly tuned. To extend this metaphor a bit more, the Nei Yeh seems to suggest that we are radios that were all properly designed, and were originally fully functional; but now we experience interference in the form of excessive activity in the heart/mind, and we need to re-tune ourselves to eliminate that interference and begin functioning properly again. For these reasons, it would be correct to say that the Nei Yeh requires self-corrective activity, just as the other Taoist texts do, but that the Nei Yeh's model for understanding and practicing self-correction is fairly unique.
The Nei Yeh also gives the lie to yet other misconceptions of Taoism, including some held by thoughtful philosophers. One such misconception is that Taoist teachings are deeply iconoclastic, antinomian, even revolutionary. According to this view, the basic thrust of Taoism is to jolt the individual into a realization that he/she should reject traditional beliefs and values, condemning them as the artificial constructs of an oppressive society. This interpretation of classical Taoism is not just the conceit of 1960s Hippies who saw it as a condemnation of "establishment culture." Generations of Westerners — Americans in particular, perhaps — have read the Tao te ching, and parts of the Chuang-tzu, as a post-Enlightenment gospel of individual freedom, freedom from the uncomfortable aspects of "Society" in general, and of Western culture in particular.
One version of this modern concept of Taoism can be seen in certain recent analyses by the respected philosopher Chad Hansen. Hansen seems to perpetuate the notion that Taoism is essentially an attempt to undermine acceptance of "convention." He argues that the Tao te ching and Chuang-tzu both begin from a "linguistic skepticism (which) arises against a background assumption that language is a social mechanism for regulating people's behavior." Speaking of the composer of the Tao te ching, Hansen says, "His political and practical advice is almost invariably the reversal of conventional political and moral attitudes. He reverses conventional values, preferences, or desires..." Why? "All learning of distinctions comes with dispositions to prefer one or the other... (But) trained discriminations are not a constantly reliable guide to behavior. Culturally motivated preferences based on those distinctions are, on the whole, unreliable. And they control us in insidious, unnatural ways." While Hansen may be partly or wholly correct in his assessment of the role of culture in forming individuals' dispositions, it is dubious whether that assessment was present in the minds of the Taoists of classical China, particularly in the mind in the compiler of the Tao te ching. Most of Hansen's "Daoist theory of knowledge" is woven from certain themes in Chuang-tzu, where such issues do indeed seem to be addressed. But such intricate treatment of "knowledge," "language," "convention," etc., are not found in the Tao te ching, which addresses concerns that are quite distinguishable from those of the compiler(s) of the Chuang-tzu, especially a variety of moral and political concerns. And in the Nei Yeh, there is no trace of any critique of the relationship between culture and knowledge or desire. The Nei Yeh does not critique "conventional society" and urge us to reject it, nor does it critique language, nor does it urge us to beware socially-inculcated valuations.
There are yet other distinctive features to the teachings of the Nei Yeh. For instance, unlike the Tao te ching, it has nothing to say about issues of gender. There are several passages in the Tao te ching that commend a "feminine" attitude or behavior, such as humility or yielding. Such passages appear to imply that what is wrong with our normal attitudes and behavior is that they are excessively "masculine." Such ideas, however, are seldom seen in texts like the Chuang-tzu, and they are likewise absent from the Nei Yeh. The compilers of the Nei Yeh do teach that there are attitudes and behaviors that we should forego, but there is no gender imagery associated with them.
In this connection, one might ask whether the three texts share the same intended audience. Were any or all of them intended specifically for men? Well, one may infer that when the reader is given advice presumed useful for achieving political goals, the reader was presumed to be male, since, in ancient China, political participation by women was not an option (except for a spouse or immediate family member of a man who held a position of authority). As mentioned earlier, the Nei Yeh is comparable to most sections of the Chuang-tzu in that the reader is seldom assumed to be someone attempting to engage in political rule. It is also true that in ancient China women seldom achieved literacy, so one could argue that any written text was intended only for men. But such reasoning ignores other possibilities, such as that of a family or group that included both men and women, all interested in learning how to live from a text that few of them could actually read themselves. One should also note that the Nei Yeh (like much of the Tao te ching) is composed largely in verse, and that some scholars believe that certain sections "may have been borrowed from some early Taoist hymn."28 We must bear in mind that though ancient China did produce some written texts, it was still largely an oral society, in which most people of either gender acquired and dispensed information and advice primarily, if not exclusively, by word of mouth. The Nei Yeh is almost certainly a text containing teachings that originated in an oral tradition. And there is little in the content of those teachings that would seem to be either more or less practiceable by members of either gender.
Another distinctive feature of the Nei Yeh is that it seems to lack the idea of "Heaven" (T'ien) as a benign guiding force in life. Both the Confucians and the Mohists shared some version of that idea, reflecting more generally held beliefs that dated back to at least the end of the second millennium BCE. Today such ideas are not generally associated with Taoism, for Taoists, by modern definition, believe in an impersonal reality called "Tao" that transcends all other realities, including "Heaven." Such is not entirely the case, of course. Several chapters of the Tao te ching speak of "the Way of Heaven" (T'ien-tao or T'ien-chih-tao), a beneficent force that seems to have will as well as agency. But there is little trace of such ideas in the Nei Yeh.
Finally, we should address the issue of morality. Are the teachings of the Nei Yeh concerned solely with internal self-cultivation? Is there any evidence that the practitioner is ever to give any thought to anyone other than him- or herself? This is a key question, because virtually all modern interpreters, Chinese and Western alike, have accused Taoism of being inimical to the idea that a person should be concerned about others:
{Taoism pictures the person as a wanderer in the void, and perceives his happiness to lie in drifting with the stream, unanchored by the network of demands and responsibilities....[In Taoism, the] happiness one is concerned with is one's own, logically independent of the happiness of others....[The] follower of the Way is necessarily a loner....}
Elsewhere I have attempted to demonstrate that such accusations are wholly inaccurate, at least in regard to the Tao te ching. That text enjoins the reader to practice "goodness" (shan), which involves extending oneself toward others impartially so as to benefit them. In the Tao te ching, the Taoist life is one in which one achieves self-fulfillment as one is selflessly benefitting the lives of others.32 Do we find such ideals in the Nei Yeh? I can find little evidence of them. There are a few passages for which one might be able to make an argument that the reader is to think of providing benefits to others, but none that seems clearly to express such ideals. Certainly, as compared to the Tao te ching, the Nei Yeh lacks any clear moral concern, and does in fact give the overall impression that "the happiness one is concerned with is one's own."
Conclusion
It is clear that the Nei Yeh is quite distinct in content from either the Tao te ching or the Chuang-tzu, despite the texts' many similarities. The Nei Yeh, we should recall, was earlier than the Tao te ching, and could even be interpreted as an example of "the earliest Taoist teachings." The Tao te ching shows clear evidence that its compilers were deeply concerned with the social and political issues that concerned members of other schools of thought, particularly the Mohists and Confucians. One could thus reasonably even characterize the teachings of the Nei Yeh as "original Taoism," and the teachings of the Tao te ching as "applied Taoism." Though the Tao te ching may have, in some sense, emerged from the same general tradition that produced the Nei Yeh, its compilers were interested in the issues of living in human society as much as, if not more than, they were interested in the practice of "inner cultivation." Further attention to the differences among the assumptions and concerns of all these texts should provide greater insight into the divergent communities that produced such materials, and of the divergent models of the Taoist life that they envision.

With only days separating us from the Centenary Edition of the 24 Heures du Mans, it's time again for the Le Mans Primer thread! This is the place if you’ve got any questions about the 2023 Le Mans event, no matter how small! There are no dumb questions about Le Mans!

CONTENTS

• The Race
• Session Times
• The Track
• The Classes
• The Legends
• Videos and Documentaries
• Entry List and Spotters Guide
• Endurance Chat podcast
• Broadcast Details
• Social Media
• Live Timing
• Get Involved!

The Race

It all comes back to Le Mans. A century ago, people asked ‘Could a car continue to drive for 24 hours straight?’, an event was made to test that theory, and a legacy in racing, motorsport, and motoring was born. The 24 Heures du Mans is the holy grail of endurance motor racing, and brings up its Centenary edition this year. In its 100 year history, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is recognised as the most prestigious and gruelling test for innovations and improvements in motorsport technology. Technologies such as disk and air brakes, streamlined bodywork, fuel, oil, and lubricant improvements, improvements to engine efficiency and longevity, even things as simple as LED lighting and windscreen wiper blades have been trialled and tested at Le Mans. The normally hot conditions in the middle of June stretch the limits of reliability, with all the teams knowing that in order to beat their competitors, they must first beat the event. A variety of different engine configurations, displacements, positions, fuels, and hybrids have won over the history of the event. So far, petrol-fuelled traditional piston engines have been the most successful. Mazda managed to win using a Wankel Rotary engine in 1991 with the Mazda 787b (oh god listen to that sound!), while Audi was the first to win with an alternate fuel, taking victory in the diesel-powered R10 TDI in 2006. 2012 ushered in the era of the Hybrid, with Audi taking victory in the R18 e-tron Quattro, featuring a flywheel hybrid engine.

Qualifying

The Qualifying format for Le Mans is unique to the event, and called Hyperpole. In this format, all classes are permitted to use the track in the 1 hour qualifying session on Wednesday evening. The top 6 cars from each of the 4 classes then progress to the Hyperpole session on Thursday night, which sets the top of the grid for each class. This means that each class will be segregated on the final grid.

Session Times

• Ligier European Series Practice 1 – Sunday June 4th, 08:00 Local, 06:00 UTC, 02:00 ET, 16:00 AEST – 45 Minutes
• Ligier European Series Qualifying 1 – Sunday June 4th, 09:15 Local, 07:15 UTC, 03:15 ET, 17:15 AEST – 20 Minutes
• Test Day Session 1 - Sunday June 4th, 10:00 Local, 08:00 UTC, 04:00 ET, 18:00 AEST – 3 Hours
• Ligier European Series Race - Sunday June 4th, 14:00 Local, 12:00 UTC, 08:00 ET, 22:00 AEST – 60 Minutes
• Test Day Session 2 - Sunday June 4th, 15:30 Local, 13:30 UTC, 09:30 ET, 23:30 AEST – 3 Hours
• Porsche Carrera Cup Practice 1 – Wednesday June 7th, 09:00 Local, 07:00 UTC, 03:00 ET, 17:00 AEST – 45 Minutes
• Ferrari Challenge Practice 1 – Wednesday June 7th, 10:15 Local, 08:15 UTC, 04:15 ET, 18:15 AEST - 45 Minutes
• Road To Le Mans Practice 1 – Wednesday June 7th, 11:30 Local, 09:30 UTC, 05:30 ET, 19:30 AEST – 1 Hour
• Free Practice 1 - Wednesday June 7th, 14:00 Local, 12:00 UTC, 08:00 ET, 22:00 AEST - 3 Hours
• Qualifying Practice - Wednesday June 7th. 19:00 Local, 17:00 UTC, 13:00 ET, Thursday 03:00 AEST - 1 Hour
• Road To Le Mans Practice 2 – Wednesday June 7th, 20:30 Local, 18:30 UTC, 14:30 ET, Thursday 04:30 AEST - 1 Hour
• Free Practice 2 - Wednesday June 7th, 22:00 Local, 20:00 UTC, 16:00 ET, Thursday 06:00 AEST - 2 Hours
• Ferrari Challenge Practice 2 – Thursday June 8th, 09:00 Local, 07:00 UTC, 03:00 ET, 17:00 AEST – 45 Minutes
• Porsche Carrera Cup Practice 2 – Thursday June 8th, 10:55 Local, 08:55 UTC, 04:55 ET, 18:55 AEST – 45 Minutes
• Road To Le Mans Qualifying Practice – Thursday June 8th, 12:55 Local, 10:55 UTC, 06:55 UTC, 20:55 AEST – 20 Minutes x 2 Classes
• Free Practice 3 - Thursday June 8th, 15:00 Local, 13:00 UTC, 09:00 ET, 23:00 AEST - 3 Hours
• Road To Le Mans Race 1 - Thursday June 8th, 18:30 Local, 16:30 UTC, 12:30 ET, Friday 02:30 AEST - 55 Minutes
• HYPERPOLE - Thursday June 8th, 20:00 Local, 18:00 UTC, 14:00 ET, Friday 04:00 AEST - 30 Minutes
• Free Practice 4 - Thursday June 8th, 22:00 Local, 20:00 UTC, 16:00 ET, Friday 06:00 AEST - 2 Hours
• Porsche Carrera Cup Qualifying – Friday June 9th, 09:00 Local, 07:00 UTC, 03:00 ET, 17:00 AEST – 45 Minutes
• Ferrari Challenge Qualifying – Friday June 9th, 10:15 Local, 08:15 UTC, 04:15 ET, 18:15 AEST – 45 Minutes
• Road To Le Mans Race 2 - Friday June 9th, 11:30 Local, 09:30 UTC, 05:30 ET, 19:30 AEST – 55 Minutes
• Ferrari Challenge Race 1 - Saturday June 10th, 09:30 Local, 07:30 UTC, 03:30 ET, 17:30 AEST - 45 Minutes
• Porsche Carrera Cup Race 1 - Saturday June 10th, 10:45 Local, 08:45 UTC, 04:45 ET, 18:45 AEST - 45 Minutes
• Warm Up - Saturday June 10th, 12:00 Local, 10:00 UTC, 06:00 ET, 20:00 AEST – 15 Minutes
• RACE START - **Saturday June 11th, 16:00 Local, 14:00 UTC, 10:00 ET, Sunday 00:00 AEST

The Track

The Circuit de la Sarthe covers 13.6 kilometres of the French country side. It combines the permanent race components of the Ford Chicanes, the pit straight, under the Dunlop Bridge and through to Tertre Rouge as well as the normal everyday roads of the Mulsanne straight through to Indianapolis and Arnage. The track has gone through many iterations over the years; originally, the cars raced into the heart of the city, turning just before the river Sarthe, before hurtling down the 8.6 kilometre straight. In 1932, the circuit removed the journey into the city, and more closely resembled the track we see today. Here’s a video of Mike Hawthorn touring the circuit with a camera and microphone attached in 1956, one year after his involvement in the Le Mans disaster. The addition of the Porsche Curves and the Ford Chicanes in 1972 added an extra dimension to the high speed, fast flowing track. In the late 80’s, the Group C prototype cars would reach over 400km/h, achieving average speeds of almost 250km/h in qualifying for the entire lap. This is an onboard of Derek Bell’s Porsche 956 in 1983, showing the ridiculous speeds on this configuration of the circuit. This configuration remained relatively unchanged right up to 1990, until FIA mandations required that for the circuit to be sanctioned, it must not have a straight longer than 2km. The 6km Mulsanne straight was cut down into three relatively equal length portions by two chicanes, giving the iteration of the circuit used today. Allan McNish takes you on an onboard lap of the 2008 circuit in this video. McNish is one of the gods of the modern prototype era, winning Le Mans 3 times; once with Porsche and twice with Audi. For a more comprehensive focus on the track, John Hindhaugh’s track walk takes you on a 30 minute exploration of the track, with in depth focus on corners like the Dunlop Esses, Tertre Rouge, Mulsanne Corner, and the Ford Chicanes.
For some modern on boards, check out the fastest ever lap in the Circuit de la Sarthe: Kamui Kobayashi's 3:14.791 in 2017 Q2, and last year’s Hyperpole lap, by Brendon Hartley, setting a 3:24.408
The Dunlop Bridge
The iconic Dunlop Bridge has been a part of the Le Mans track since 1932, making it the oldest Dunlop Bridge at any track. This part of the track requires a good launch out of the first chicane before cresting the brow of the hill, and plunging through the esses out onto the Mulsanne straight. As the LMP cars are much more maneuverable, caution must be taken passing the slower GT traffic, as Allan McNish discovered in 2011.
Tertre Rouge
Tertre Rouge is the corner that launches the cars onto the long Mulsanne straight. Maintaining momentum through this corner as it opens on exit is imperative to ensure maximum straight line speed heading down the first part of the Mulsanne. The undulation in the road makes for fantastic viewing at night, with some magic images of the Porsches throwing up sparks on the exit in 2014. Finally, this was the location of Allan Simonsen’s fatal crash in mixed conditions in the 2013 Le Mans. The Danish flags will fly at the corner in his memory.
Mulsanne Corner
After the incredibly long Mulsanne straight, the Mulsanne corner nowadays features a subtle right hand kink before the tight 90 degree turn. Here, the cars decelerate from 340 km/h down to below 100 km/h, resulting in a brilliant opportunity to overtake. Again, care must be taken overtaking slower traffic; unaware drivers have caught out faster cars attempting to pass through the kink, such as Anthony Davidson’s spectacular crash in 2012 resulting in a broken vertebra for Davidson.
Indianapolis and Arnage
The Indanapolis and Arnage complex is one of the most committed areas of the track. Hurtling down the hill from the Mulsanne Corner, the road suddenly bends to the right, a corner which only the bravest prototype drivers take flat out, followed by a beautifully cambered open left hander taken in third gear. A short sprint leads the cars into Arnage, the slowest point on the track. The tight right hander was the scene of heartbreak for Toyota in 2014 when the leading #7 broke down and had to be retired after an FIA sensor melted and shut off the electronics. Kazuki Nakajiima was unable to make it to the pits, leaving him stranded on the circuit.
The Porsche Curves
At a terrifyingly high speed, the Porsche Curves is the most committed part of the lap. Getting caught behind GT traffic in this section can mean losing phenomenal amounts of time. This was the site of Loic Duval’s horrific crash in practice for the 2014 event. Keeping momentum through the flowing right-left-right handers that lead into Maison Blanche requires 100% commitment and ultimate precision, with severe punishment for getting it wrong. The exit of the Porsche Curves underwent significant change in 2020, with additional run-off added in the middle part of the section. This has turned the treacherous and claustrophobic sweeping left-hander into an open and sweeping corner, encouraging every little bit of road to be used on the exit. What it hasn’t changed is the terrific consequences for making a mistake
The Ford Chicanes
The final chapter in the 13.6km rollercoaster that is Le Mans is the Ford Chicanes. Two tight left-right handers with massive kerbs are all that separates the driver from the finish line. Watching the cars bounce over the kerbs in beautiful slow motion is certainly something to behold, but 24 hours of mistreatment can lead to suspension and steering issues. The drivers have to be attentive until the very end, lest they throw it all away in the last minutes of the race.
The Circuit de la Sarthe requires over 85% of the lap on full throttle, with the cars accelerating from less than 100km/h to over 300km/h five times each lap. The challenge of having a car finish Le Mans is in itself, an achievement.

The Classes

The WEC consists of three classes on track at once, resulting in three separate races on track each in their own battle for 24 Hours. The classes are split based on their car type, with LMH and LMDh machinery facing off in the Hypercar class, purpose built prototypes with a spec engine and gearbox battling in LMP2, and GT machinery racing in GTE. Each class has its own set of regulations, driver requirements, and relevance for the Le Mans event.

Hypercar

The current top class of endurance sportscars is Hypercar, combining cars built to Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) and Le Mans Daytona (LMDh) specifications. Fighting it out will be LMH machinery from Toyota, Ferrari, Peugeot, Glickenhaus and Vanwall, while Porsche and Cadillac will be racing in LMDh cars. The LMH cars are bespoke sportscars, designed to a strict set of requirements dictating maximum power, drag coefficient, and weight, amongst other parameters, intended to limit the cost of the category. LMDh machines on the other hand are based on the future LMP2 chassis offerings, with manufacturers able to develop their own engines and bodywork, aligning with the power and drag coefficients of LMH. As part of cost-cutting, the Hypercar class is also subject to a Balance of Performance (BoP) formula, to level the playing field and ensure good racing! Hypercars are a little slower than their LMP1 predecessors, with lap times around the 3:24 mark for the Circuit de la Sarthe, which is on par with the 2014 LMP1 cars.

LMP2

The second prototype class is LMP2, and provides an excellent platform for endurance racing on a budget. The LMP2 class features a spec drivetrain and gearbox, using a Gibson V8 producing 400kW, and a selection of three chassis to choose from, of which the Oreca 07 has been the chassis of choice. This ensures that the competition in the class is very tight, and often comes down to the drivers and the team’s performance instead of just having the best car. While LMP2 was capable of 3:25 lap times in years previous, part of the ‘stratification’ of classes with Hypercar’s inclusion, the LMP2 class has lost some power and had some weight added. This should put LMP2 at the heels of the Hypercar pace, but with laptimes outside the 3:28 mark.
LMP2 is the first class that must feature amateur rated (FIA Silver or Bronze) drivers. The Amateurs must drive for a minimum of 6 hours in the car over the course of the race. This means that there's an element of strategy of when to use your amateur driver throughout the race, as the amateur driver is generally slower than the Pros. The pro drivers in this class range from up and coming talent, former F1 drivers, and some of the best sportscar pilots in the world, and with 24 cars in this class, LMP2 is sure to be a hotbed of action over the 24 hours.

LMGTE-Am

GT class cars are cars that are derived from production models, and feature some of the most iconic cars and brands battling it out at the top of the field. The GTE cars are on the border of aero dependency, and can lap Le Mans in around 3:45 in a professional driver’s hands.
This year is the last year of the GTE class, and features 21 cars in a Pro-Am category, with cars from Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, and Chevrolet on the grid. Despite the lack of a Pro category, the driver quality in GTE-Am is still incredibly high, with factory drivers, young stars, experienced champions and every level of experience in between on the grid, with each car featuring one Bronze and one further Bronze or Silver rated driver. With two amateur drivers, the strategy considerations multiply. While GTE-Am might be the class focussed on the least over the course of the race, the stories that come from this class are phenomenal, and it's well worth following.
The GT classes feature a range of different cars and configurations, and to equalise each of these against each other, the class goes through a process called 'Balance of Performance' or BoP. The organisers can adjust each individual car's weight, fuel tank, air restrictor, turbo boost pressures, and aero performance to alter performance levels to enable the different cars to race competitively. This can sometimes be contentious as every team will feel hard done by, but it is a necessary evil to having the variety of cars on the grid.

Innovative Car

Each year, there is the option for an Innovative Car, with untested or innovative technology, allowed to enter in it’s own category. In years past, this has allowed for entries from the Deltawing, or a modified LMP2 to allow amputees to race.
This year, the Innovative Car entry is a modified Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Next-Gen NASCAR, run by Hendrick Motorsports. The Next-Gen NASCAR features modifications to allow it to run safely on the Circuit de la Sarthe, and will be driven by multiple NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button, and Le Mans Overall Winner Mike Rockenfeller.

The Legends

Part of the allure of the Le Mans 24 Hours is the history, and the legends steeped in history over the course of its 88 previous editions. The race has had many headline battles in its history - periods of time where two or three teams went toe to toe for years, with the drivers, cars, and brands embroiled in these battles given the chance to elevate themselves above the rest, and show their prowess.
In 2019, we at /WEC, took our normal Le Mans Legends celebrations to a new level; each week, members of the community have been writing reviews on some of the closest, most fascinating finishes in Le Mans history! You can check out these reports below!

• The 1966 Dead Heat by kinkymulsanne
• 1983; Factory Porsche dominates with a 1-2 victory, but only just! by Floodman11
• 1987; The colossal struggle between Porsche and Jaguar (Part 1) by Lagiacrus7
• 2016; FUCK by Cybershrike
• 1979; Boogie Nights meets Days Of Thunder by SolHiemis
• 1991; the Hiroshima Screamer Prevails by AE_Racer
• 2010; the Day the Peugeots All Died by kiwichris1709
• 1999; The Le Mans Turning Point by starzonda
• 2011; The Final Audi vs Peugeot Rivalry by Stuff_And_More
• 1988; The colossal struggle between Porsche and Jaguar (part 2) by Lagiacrus7

Bonus CookieMonsterFL Write-Ups

• 3.5L: The Downfall of Group C
• Airborne Crashes

For a bite-sized history lesson on every Le Mans event, check out this post by u/JohannesMeanAd2, describing every Le Mans in a single sentence!
The early races were dominated by the Bentley company in their Speed 6, who won 5 of the first 7 races. Cars were separated into classes by their engine displacement, and the overall winner was based on distance covered. If two cars had finished with the same number of laps, the car with the smaller displacement was declared the winner. The race wasn't run during the second world war, and comparatively very little information is available on the stories of the early days of Le Mans.
After the second world war, teams such as Jaguar, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Aston Martin became the dominant teams. This era featured the legendary Jaguar D type, the Mercedes Benz 300 SLR, the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, and the Aston Martin DBR1. Jaguar won 5 times between 1951 and 1957, followed by an era of Ferrari dominance. Drivers such as Mike Hawthorn, Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio, and John Fitch became household names as Le Mans became a battle between German engineering and British "garagistas".
Ferrari and Ford was the story of the 60's, with Ferrari winning 6 times straight before Ford won four in a row with the GT40 Mk II, taking their first win in 1966. The story of their rivalry is legendary in it's own right - Henry Ford had almost successfully bought out the Ferrari motor company, only to be knocked back by Enzo himself at the 11th hour. In retaliation, Ford planned to hurt Ferrari where it mattered most; on the track. The Ford GT40 was so comprehensively dominant that it won the 1966 edition 21 laps ahead of the next car back - a Porsche 906/6. None of the Ferrari 330P3's finished the race. This battle gave drivers like Bruce Mclaren, Dan Gurney, and Jacky Ickx their first Le Mans victories, and propelled them to the forefront of motorsport stardom at the height of motorsport's popularity.
The 1970's saw the dawn of Porsche, with the 917k taking the brand's first win in 1970, with the same car winning the following year in the hands of Helmut Marko (yes, that Helmut Marko). It would be 5 years before Porsche would win again, with Matra taking 3 victories in the interim, each at the hands of Henri Pescarolo. Porsche returned with the 936 and the 956/962c dominating the race for the next 20 years. In fact, from 1970, Porsche won 12 times in 18 events, including 7 in a row, and they miiight have been a bit cheeky about it. Amongst these 12 wins, there were 4 for both Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell, and two for IMSA legend Hurley Haywood, as well as the first win for the Joest team in 1984. This era coincided with the introduction, and subsequent destruction of the Group C sportscar formula, widely regarded as the best Sportscar championship regulations of all time. Porsche’s dominance was eventually ended by Jaguar in the XJR-9LM, at the height of Group C’s magic. Ickx's 6 wins at this stage had earned him the nickname 'Mr Le Mans', a fitting title for one of the best drivers in the world at the time.
GT cars became a force to be reckoned with at the end of the Group C era, with classes being split into LMGTP and LMP. McLaren and Porsche had wins in GTP cars, in the F1 GTR and the 911 GT1 respectively, while Porsche, BMW and Peugeot scored LMP wins. 1997 saw the first win for Tom Kristensen, while the following year Allan McNish took his first victory, starting their journeys into the legend books of Le Mans.
The 2000’s ushered in the era of Audi, with all 13 of their wins coming since the turn of the century. GTP was disbanded due to safety issues, being replaced by GT1 and GT2. Audi picked up wins in the R8, the R10, the R15, and the R18, often dominating the might of the Peugeot 908. Audi's dominance elevated not only their drivers to legend status, but also their team managers, car designers, and race engineers. People like Reinhold Joest (team manager), Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Audisport director), Ulrich Baretzky (engine designer), Leena Gade, Howden Haynes (race engineers) behind the wall and Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo Capello, Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer have become household names in the sport not only for their wins, but their longevity and domination. Audi's dominance was only broken by a win for Bentley in 2003, running basically an Audi under a British racing green skin, and Peugeot in 2009, before being ended for good by Porsche in 2015. After both Porsche and Audi left the top class, Toyota rose to dominance, taking the last 3 Le Mans events in a row!
Between 2015 and 2017, Porsche added to their victories, now holding a record 19 overall victories at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Audi trail with 13, with Ferrari, Jaguar and Bentley holding the next three positions. Toyota finally took their first overall victory in 2018, and have won every year since. Tom Kristensen is has the most victories at Le Mans, with 9 overall victories over his career with Porsche, Audi and Bentley, inheriting the title of Mr Le Mans.

Videos and Documentaries

• Truth in 24 and Truth in 24 II - The story of Audi’s victories against testing conditions and the might of Peugeot in 2008 and 2011.
  
• Le Mans - made in 1971, this movie follows a fictional Le Mans race in 1970, featuring fantastic footage and sounds of the Porsche 917 and the Ferrari 512 starring Steve McQueen
  
• Michael Fassbender:Road To Le Mans Season 1 - Season 2 - Season 3 - The journey that Michael Fassbender has taken from movie star to Porsche GTE-Am driver, detailing his racing through the ranks of Carrera Cup, Le Mans Cup, and ELMS.
  
• The Deadliest Crash - The BBC documentary on the 1955 Le Mans disaster. For more information, see CookieMonsteFL’s amazing post on the incident
  
• Our Return: A documentary of our road to Le Mans 2015 - Porsche’s youtube documentary chronicling their return to Le Mans and their eventual win.
  
• McLaren at Le Mans: Pursuit of Perfection - The story behind McLaren's 1995 victory
  
• The fastest ever lap at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Kamui Kobayashi's 3:14.791 in 2017 Q2
  
• Mark Blundell’s explosive lap - Blundell was going so fast, he was overheating the blowers in the car. After being told to turn down the engine and abandon the lap, in true racing driver fashion he simply turned off the radio.
  
• Clearwater Racing: Journey to the 24 hours of Le mans
  
• Cetilar Racing: The Italian Spirit of Le Mans - A documentary on Cetilar Villorba Corse's journey to Le Mans in 2018
  
• McLaren at Le Mans: Pursuit of Perfection - The McLaren F1 road car's story and development for the historic LeMans race of 1995.
  
• Ford vs Ferrari / Le Mans '66 - Coming out late 2019, this movie tells (a stylised version of) the story of the battle between Ford and Ferrari at Le Mans in the late 1960's. While there are some inaccuracies, the movie has been widely heralded as one of the best Motorsport themed movies ever made, and has been enjoyed by critics and motorsport fans alike.
  
• Michael Fassbender: Road To Le Mans Season 1 and 2, Season 3, Season 4 – Actor and Amateur Driver Michael Fassbender documents his 4 year journey from Porsche Carrera Cup into the ELMS and finally, to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
  

Entry List

Spotters Guide to be added when released!

Once again, /WEC will have a community spotters guide thanks to the efforts of Ziombel_444! The planned release date is the 6th of June, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Check out Ziombel_444's other work at Spotters.Guide, and support this great effort!

Endurance Chat

/WEC's podcast, Endurance Chat, will have four episodes in the lead up to Le Mans, as well as a Pre-Pre-Race show in the hours before the event. Watch this space for updates!

• Endurance Chat S8E11 – The Centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans Preview - History, context, and insight into this year’s edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours
  
• Endurance Chat S8E12 - The 2023 Le Mans 24 Hour Hypercar Class Guide – COMING SOON
  
• Endurance Chat S8E13 - The 2023 Le Mans 24 Hour LMP2 Class Guide – COMING SOON
  
• Endurance Chat S8E14 – The 2023 Le Mans 24 Hour LMGTE-Am Class Guide – COMING SOON
  

In addition, Endurance Chat made a series of features detailing the history of sportscars in the late 60’s and early 70’s, at the transition point of GT and Prototype machinery. The series details some of the machinery, events, and drivers in one of the fastest and most dangerous periods in racing history. You can find a playlist to these features here!

Streaming and Television

In the past, the FIAWEC Broadcast has started from Qualifying Practice. We are awaiting confirmation if that is the case this year – Streams for non-FIAWEC sessions after that point will be subject to the organisers of those series broadcasting those sessions.

• Official stream OUTSIDE US ONLY - The Le Mans package gives you access to all WEC sessions (Practice, Qualifying, Warm Up and the Race) with a choice of on boards, cross platform compatibility, and up to 5 devices connected at once. Additionally, replays of the event are free after the event. Official comms headed by Martin Haven, Anthony Davidson, and Graham Goodwin, who in my personal opinion properly nail the tone of the event. Has been known to get overloaded and crash however
• Eurosport will likely be broadcasting the event in a variety of locales throughout Europe. This will be updated when confirmed
• Radio Le Mans will be streaming live radio for every session

For American audiences, unfortunately the Official stream is geoblocked for your area. American and English-speaking Canadian audiences can access coverage through Motortrend On Demand

• [Official TV Broadcast distribution](COMING SOON) Find out how to watch in your region!

Any further updates on TV or Streaming distribution will be added as they are released!

Social Media

If you're looking for more interaction, you can find most of the teams, drivers and commentators on Twitter, giving you instant interaction with those in the midst of the event.

If someone wants to make a twitter list for the teams/driveetc for this year, that would be greatly appreciated!

Live timing

• Official Live Timing

Be sure to join the discord for alternate timing solutions!

Get Involved!

By far the most fun you can have watching an endurance race is watching it with the official /WEC Discord! It's a lot of fun and a really great atmosphere to watch the race in!
If you want to have a go at picking who you think will be winning in each class, jump into mwclarkson's Fantasy Endurance Contest! It's free to enter, and if you win, you'll get the satisfaction and achievement of being right!
If there's anything you'd like us to add, or need clarification on, please comment below and we'll add it in!`

I'm shopping for an ebike with an internal gear hub on the west coast of Canada. I've settled on these three and I'd love to hear this sub's thoughts before I start taking test rides:

• Specialized Turbo Vado 3.0 IGH Step-through: Enviolo City hub with belt drive, CAD$5000
• Gazelle Ultimate C8: Nexus 8 hub with belt drive, CAD$5000
• Momentum Transend E+: Nexus 7 hub with chain drive, CAD$3900 (incl. lights and front rack)

I'd prefer a step-through frame, but I'm too tall for the Transend step-through model. :( I've heard some rumblings online about the Nexus 7 hub but it doesn't snow where I live so I doubt a belt drive is worth CAD$1100 to me. What are the other significant differences between these models?

🗓 Date: June 6, 2023 @ 5PM
🗺 Location: Long Beach Civic Center 411 W. Ocean Boulevard
📺 LiveStream (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/c/LongBeachTelevision
📺 Live Stream (City Website): https://longbeach.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=84
ℹ️ Details: https://longbeach.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1105633&GUID=B4766DE1-9B6A-41D5-A545-7D151BE969EC&Options=info&Search=
📄 Agenda (PDF): https://longbeach.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=1105633&GUID=B4766DE1-9B6A-41D5-A545-7D151BE969EC
🗣eComment: https://longbeach.granicusideas.com/meetings/4014-city-council-on-2023-06-06/agenda_items

Agenda Item

CD4 - Funds Transfer for Partners of Parks

Item #1 • File #23-0553 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Councilman Daryl Supernaw, Fourth District

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $200, offset by the Fourth Council District One-time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide support to Partners of Parks for their Long Beach Charity ProAm event; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $200 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

CD4 - Funds Transfer for LGBTQ Center Long Beach

Item #2 • File #23-0554 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Councilman Daryl Supernaw, Fourth District

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $500, offset by the Fourth Council District One-time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide a contribution to The LGBTQ Center Long Beach in support of their Black & White Ball 2023; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $500 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

CD4 - Funds Transfer for Wild West Women, Inc

Item #3 • File #23-0555 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Councilman Daryl Supernaw, Fourth District

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $500, offset by the Fourth Council District One-time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide support to Wild West Women, Inc for their inaugural Long Beach Woman’s Fair; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $500 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

CD5 - Funds Transfer to Support Community Events

Item #4 • File #23-0556 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Councilwoman Megan Kerr, Fifth District

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $2,000, offset by the Fifth Council District One-Time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide a contribution to: · $500 to Partners of Parks in support of the Long Beach Juneteenth Celebration; · $1,000 to support the Uptown Jazz Festival; · $500 to the Long Beach Century Club in support of the Mayor’s Trophy Charity Golf Tournament; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $2,000 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

CD4 - Funds Transfer for Rancho Los Alamitos Foundation

Item #5 • File #23-0562 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Councilman Daryl Supernaw, Fourth District

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $2,000, offset by the Fourth Council District One-time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide a contribution to Rancho Los Alamitos Foundation in support of their Summer Concert Series; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $2,000 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

CD4 - Funds Transfer for Long Beach Century Club

Item #6 • File #23-0561 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Councilman Daryl Supernaw, Fourth District

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $500, offset by the Fourth Council District One-time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide support to the Long Beach Century Club for their Mayor’s Trophy Charity Golf Tournament; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $500 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

Arcelia Delgado

Item #7 • File #23-0552 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize City Attorney to submit Stipulations with Request for Award for approval by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, and if so approved, authority to pay $169,300.13 for Stipulations with Request for Award with a life pension thereafter of $170.04 subject to COLA increases per week in compliance with the Appeals Board Order for Arcelia Delgado. The City of Long Beach is entitled to credit for payments previously paid in the amount of $69,532.31.

Michael Hannan

Item #8 • File #23-0551 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize City Attorney to submit Stipulations with Request for Award for approval by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, and if so approved, authority to pay $104,182.50 in compliance with the Appeals Board Order for Michael Hannan.

CA - Kayla Jentes

Item #9 • File #23-0557 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize City Attorney to pay sum of $200,000, in full settlement of a lawsuit entitled Kayla Jentes, et al. v. City of Long Beach, et al., Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. 20STCV29354.

CA - Joel Reyes

Item #10 • File #23-0558 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize City Attorney to pay sum of $399,000, in full settlement of a lawsuit entitled Joel Reyes, et al. v. City of Long Beach, Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. BC703737.

Martin Romo

Item #11 • File #23-0549 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize the City Attorney to submit two Stipulations with Request for Award for approval by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, and if so approved, authority to pay 1) $17,545.00, and also 2) separate authority to pay $72,500.00 in compliance with the Appeals Board Order for Martin Romo.

Mario Talavera

Item #12 • File #23-0550 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize the City Attorney to submit two Stipulations with Request for Award for approval by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, and if so approved, authority to pay 1) $27,695.00, and also 2) separate authority to pay $80,982.50 in compliance with the Appeals Board Order for Mario Talavera.

CC - Damage Claims

Item #13 • File #23-0547 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Clerk

Recommendation to refer to City Attorney damage claims received between May 15, 2023 and May 26, 2023.

CM - Federal Lobbyist RFP

Item #15 • File #23-0563 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Manager

Recommendation to Adopt Specifications No. RFP CM-23-236 and award a contract to Holland & Knight, LLP, of Washington, D.C., for federal legislative representation services, in a total annual amount not to exceed $130,000, for a period of two years, with the option to renew for three additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager; and, authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to enter into the contract, including any necessary subsequent amendments. (Citywide)

FM - Coastline Equip. for the purchase of a John Deere 332G skid steer

Item #17 • File #23-0566 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Bragg Investment Company, Inc., dba Coastline Equipment, a Long Beach distributor of John Deere Construction Retail Sales, of Moline, IL, for the purchase of a John Deere 332G skid steer, with related equipment and accessories, on the same terms and conditions afforded to Sourcewell, in a total amount not to exceed $153,097, inclusive of taxes and fees. (Citywide)

FM - Coastline Equip-John Deere 310P backhoe

Item #18 • File #23-0567 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Bragg Investment Company, Inc., dba Coastline Equipment, a Long Beach distributor of John Deere Construction Retail Sales, of Moline, IL, for the purchase of a John Deere 310P backhoe, with related equipment and accessories, on the same terms and conditions afforded to Sourcewell, in a total amount not to exceed $169,631, inclusive of taxes and fees. (Citywide)

Mayor - Cancellation of July 4th City Council Meeting

Item #23 • File #23-0560 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Mayor Rex Richardson

Recommendation to suspend Council rule contained in Municipal Code Section 2.03.020 (B) relating to the meeting schedule of the City Council in order to cancel the City Council meeting of July 4, 2023.

PRM/PW - Capital improvements at El Dorado East Regional, El Dorado Park West, Houghton, and Stearns Parks D4,9

Item #33 • File #23-0582 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Parks, Recreation and Marine
• Public Works

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to accept and expend grant funds from the California Department of Parks and Recreation for capital improvements at El Dorado East Regional, El Dorado Park West, Houghton, and Stearns Parks, in an amount not to exceed $15,400,000; Increase appropriations in the Capital Projects Fund Group in the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department by $342,000, offset by grant revenue; Increase appropriations in the Capital Projects Fund Group in the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department by $342,000, offset by a transfer of California Department of Parks and Recreation grant funds from the Capital Grants Fund; Increase appropriations in the Capital Projects Fund Group in the Public Works Department by $15,058,000, offset by grant revenue; and Increase appropriations in the Capital Projects Fund Group in the Public Works Department by $15,058,000, offset by a transfer of California Department of Parks and Recreation grant funds from the Capital Grants Fund. (Districts 4,9)

Resolution

CC - Destruction of Records

Item #14 • File #23-0548 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Clerk

Recommendation to approve the destruction of records for the Health and Human Services Department; and adopt resolution.

FM - Ray Gaskin Service for for the purchase of one Ford F-550 refuse truck

Item #16 • File #23-0565 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Ray Gaskin Service, an authorized distributor for New Way Trucks and Scranton Manufacturing Company, of Fontana, CA, for the purchase of one Ford F-550 refuse truck, with related equipment and accessories, on the same terms and conditions afforded to Sourcewell, in a total amount not to exceed $167,457, inclusive of taxes and fees. (Citywide)

FM - The Quinn Co. for the purchase of 4 Caterpillar 430 backhoe loaders

Item #19 • File #23-0568 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Caterpillar Inc., through its local dealer, Quinn Company, of City of Industry, CA, for the purchase of four Caterpillar 430 backhoe loaders, with related equipment and accessories, on the same terms and conditions afforded to Sourcewell, in a total amount not to exceed $1,016,512, inclusive of taxes and fees. (Citywide)

DS - Noise Element

Item #22 • File #23-0564 (Details, PDF)
Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record and conclude the public hearing; Adopt resolution approving and certifying the Environmental Impact Report EIR 03-20, State Clearinghouse No. 2019050009 and associated findings;

DS - Noise Element

Item # • File #23-0585 (Details, PDF)
Adopt resolution replacing the current Noise Element with the updated Noise Element of the Long Beach General Plan; and

ED - 702 Anaheim Shelter – LB Rescue Mission and First to Serve D3

Item #24 • File #23-0584 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Economic Development
• Health and Human Services

Recommendation to receive and file Contract No. 36576 with Long Beach Rescue Mission Foundation, Inc., a California public benefit corporation (Lessor) and the City of Long Beach (Lessee) and Contract No. 36578, a Sublease between the City of Long Beach (Sublessor) and First to Serve Ministries, Inc., a California nonprofit corporation (Sublessee), or its assignee, for approximately 17,000 rentable square feet of space at 702 West Anaheim Street, for use as an emergency shelter, made pursuant to Chapter 2.85 of the Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) and in response to the emergency proclaimed regarding homelessness. (District 1)

FM - Transfer of FY 23 gross operating revenue, from the Harbor Fund Group to the Tidelands Operating Fund

Item #25 • File #23-0569 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt resolution requesting that the Board of Harbor Commissioners approve the transfer of 5 percent of Fiscal Year 2023 (FY 23) gross operating revenue, from the Harbor Fund Group to the Tidelands Operating Fund Group, with a true-up adjustment, if necessary, to reflect the final gross revenue amount upon issuance of the Harbor Department’s FY 23 audited financial statements. (Districts 1,2,3)

FM - Velocity Truck Centers for the purchase of 7 CNG powered Crane Carrier LNT-26 trucks

Item #26 • File #23-0572 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Los Angeles Truck Centers, LLC, dba Velocity Truck Centers, an authorized distributor of Crane Carrier trucks, of Whittier, CA, for the purchase of seven CNG powered Crane Carrier LNT-26 trucks, with New Way rear loader refuse bodies, on the same terms and conditions afforded to Sourcewell, in a total amount not to exceed $2,951,446, inclusive of taxes and fees. (Citywide)

FM - Velocity Truck Center-10 CNG Crane Carrier Roto-Pac side loader refuse trucks

Item #27 • File #23-0573 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Los Angeles Truck Centers, LLC, dba Velocity Truck Centers, of Whittier, CA, an authorized distributor of Crane Carrier trucks, for the purchase of 10 CNG Crane Carrier, Roto-Pac side loader refuse trucks, with related equipment and accessories, on the same terms and conditions afforded to Sourcewell, in a total amount not to exceed $4,765,507, inclusive of taxes and fees; and Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute a lease-purchase agreement, and related financing documents, with Banc of America Public Capital Corp, of San Francisco, CA, for the financing of Roto-Pac refuse trucks, payable over a seven-year period at an interest rate to be determined when the agreement is executed. (Citywide)

FM/PW - Velocity Truck Center-20 CNG Crane Carrier side loader refuse trucks

Item #29 • File #23-0574 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management
• Public Works

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including subsequent amendments, with Los Angeles Truck Centers, LLC, dba Velocity Truck Centers, of Whittier, CA, an authorized distributor of Crane Carrier trucks, for the purchase of 20 CNG Crane Carrier side loader refuse trucks, with New Way side loader refuse bodies, on the same terms and conditions afforded to Sourcewell, in a total amount not to exceed $9,322,091, inclusive of taxes and fees. (Citywide)

PRM - Reso w/LAFCO-LA for final District Boundary Map

Item #31 • File #23-0581 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Parks, Recreation and Marine

Recommendation to adopt resolution in support of the formation of the Lower San Gabriel River Recreation and Park District; direct City Clerk to file the resolution with the Local Area Formation Commission - Los Angeles (LAFCO-LA); and, authorize City Manager to approve the final District Boundary Map on behalf of the City. (Citywide)

PRM/DHHS - Accept grant funds for Wrigley Greenbelt and Multi-Service Center D7

Item #32 • File #23-0577 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Parks, Recreation and Marine
• Health and Human Services

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute any necessary documents including subsequent amendments, to accept grant funds from the California Natural Resources Agency for capital improvements at Wrigley Greenbelt and Multi-Service Center, in an amount not to exceed $5,200,000. (District 7)

ABC License

PD - ABC License - Tacomasa D3

Item #20 • File #23-0576 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Police

Recommendation to receive and file the application of Tacomasa 1 LLC, dba Tacomasa, for an original application of an Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) license, at 4740 East 7th Street #130, submit a Public Notice of Protest to ABC, and direct City Manager to withdraw the protest if a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) or Conditional Use Permit Exemption (CUPEX) is granted. (District 3) Levine Act: Yes

PD - ABC License- Northern Café D3

Item #21 • File #23-0575 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Police

Recommendation to receive and file the application of TCRY Incorporated, dba Northern Cafe, for an original application of an Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) license, at 4911 East 2nd Street, submit a Public Notice of Protest to ABC, and direct the City Manager to withdraw the protest if a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) or Conditional Use Permit Exemption (CUPEX) is granted. (District 3) Levine Act: Yes

Ordinance

DS - Noise Element

Item # • File #23-0586 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Development Services

Declare ordinance implementing associated amendments to the Noise Ordinance, Long Beach Municipal Code Chapter 8.80, read for the first time and laid over to the next regular meeting of the City Council. (Citywide)

CM - Ordinance Amending LBMC 5.92

Item #35 • File #23-0532 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Manager

Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code by amending Chapter 5.92 to reinstate language related to the operation of adult-use dispensaries in mixed-used buildings in Downtown Long Beach, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)

Contract

FM - South Coast Fire Equip. for 10 Pierce Enforcer Triple Combination fire engine pumper trucks

Item #28 • File #23-0571 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt Specifications No. RFP FS22-175 and award a contract to South Coast Fire Equipment, Inc., of Ontario, CA, for the purchase of nine Pierce Enforcer Triple Combination Fire Engine pumper trucks, and one Pierce Enforcer Triple Combination Rescue Engine pumper truck, with related equipment and accessories, in a total amount not to exceed $11,328,555; and, authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to enter into the contract, including any necessary subsequent amendments; and Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute a lease-purchase agreement, and related financing documents, with Banc of America Public Capital Corp, of San Francisco, CA, for the financing of fire engine pumpers, payable over a 10-year period at an interest rate to be determined when the agreement is executed. (Citywide)

PRM - Great Scott for as-needed tree trimming

Item #30 • File #23-0579 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Parks, Recreation and Marine

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend Contract No. 35545 with Great Scott Tree Service, Inc., of Stanton, CA, for as-needed tree trimming and removal services, to increase the annual contract amount by $1,949,030 with a 15 percent contingency in the amount of $292,355, for a revised total annual contract amount not to exceed $3,211,410. (Citywide)

PW - As-Needed Architectural Services

Item #34 • File #23-0583 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Public Works

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend Contract No. 33926 with Architects McDonald, Soutar & Paz, Inc., of Long Beach, CA; Contract No. 33912 with Kardent, of Long Beach, CA; Contract No. 33913 with Mary McGrath Architects, of Oakland, CA; and Contract No. 33917 with Alomar Rania, dba RA-DA, of West Hollywood, CA, for as-needed architectural services, to extend the contract terms for an additional one-year period through July 19, 2024; Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend Contract No. 33498 with Hirsch & Associates, Inc., of Anaheim, CA, and Contract No. 33504 with RJM Design Group, Inc., of San Juan Capistrano, CA, for as-needed landscape architectural services, to extend term the contract terms for an additional one-year period through August 1, 2024; Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend Agreement No. 34375 with AKM Consulting Engineers, Inc., of Irvine, CA; Agreement No. 34376 with AndersonPenna Partners, Inc., of Newport Beach

Roughly 7 years ago u/TheGreatZiegfeld did an experiment of a post to determine what the best films of each year would be from 1940 to 2011 (before the 2012 S&S polls).
With the recently updated TSPDT and the 2022 S&S list, I decided to do the same from 1940 to 2021 regarding what critics thought were the best of each year.
Keep in mind this is all from a critics' poll, not from one specific critic's list. Also no short films or miniseries (meaning no Twin Peaks or Meshes of the Afternoon), as well as those from 2022 and beyond because of the last S&S poll.
With all that in mind, let's begin.
1940
Winner: His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks)
Other nominees: The Great Dictator (Charlie Chaplin), The Grapes of Wrath (John Ford), The Shop Around The Corner (Ernst Lubitsch), The Philadelphia Story (George Cukor)
1941
Winner: Citizen Kane (Orson Welles)
Other nominees: The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges), Sullivan's Travels (Preston Sturges), The Maltese Falcon (John Houston), How Green Was My Valley (John Ford)
1942
Winner: Casablanca (Michael Curtiz)
Other nominees: The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles), To Be Or Not To Be (Ernst Lubitsch), The Palm Springs Story (Preston Sturges), Cat People (Jacques Tourneur)
1943
Winner: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Powell and Pressburger)
Other nominees: Day of Wrath (Carl Theodor Dreyer), Shadow of a Doubt (Alfred Hitchcock), I Walked with a Zombie (Jacques Tourneur), Ossessione (Luchino Visconti)
1944
Winner: Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder)
Other nominees: Ivan the Terrible, Part I (Sergei Eisenstein), Meet Me in St. Louis (Vincente Minnelli), A Canterbury Tale (Powell and Pressburger), To Have and Have Not (Howard Hawks)
1945
Winner: Children of Paradise (Marcel Carné)
Other nominees: Rome, Open City (Roberto Rossellini), Brief Encounter (David Lean), I Know Where I'm Going (Powell and Pressburger) Les Dames du bois de Boulogne (Robert Bresson)
1946
Winner: It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra)
Other nominees: A Matter of Life and Death (Powell and Pressburger), Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock), My Darling Clementine (John Ford), Paisan (Roberto Rossellini)
1947
Winner: Black Narcissus (Powell and Pressburger)
Other nominees: Out of the Past (Jacques Tourneur), Monsieur Verdoux (Charlie Chaplin), The Lady from Shanghai (Orson Welles), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (Joseph L. Mankiewicz)
1948
Winner: Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica)
Other nominees: The Red Shoes (Powell and Pressburger), Letters from an Unknown Woman (Max Ophüls), Spring in a Small Town (Mu Fei), Germany Year Zero (Roberto Rossellini)
1949
Winner: The Third Man (Carol Reed)
Other nominees: Late Spring (Yasujirō Ozu), Kind Hearts and Coronets (Robert Hamer), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (John Ford), White Heat (Raoul Walsh)
1950
Winner Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa)
Other nominees; Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder), All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz), Los Olvidados (Luis Buñuel), In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray)
1951
Winner: The River (Jean Renoir)
Other nominees: Diary of a Country Priest (Robert Bresson), Miracle in Milan (Vittorio De Sica), Early Summer (Yasujirō Ozu), Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock)
1952
Winner: Singin' in the Rain (Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly)
Other nominees: Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa), Umberto D. (Vittorio De Sica), The Life of Oharu (Kenji Mizoguchi), The Quiet Man (John Ford)
1953
Winner: Tokyo Story (Yasujirō Ozu)
Other nominees: Ugetsu (Kenji Mizoguchi), The Earrings of Madame de (Max Ophüls), The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli), Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (Jacques Tati)
1954
Winner: Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa)
Other nominees: Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock), Journey to Italy (Roberto Rossellini), La Strada (Federico Fellini), Sansho the Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi)
1955
Winner: Ordet (Carl Theodor Dreyer)
Other nominees: The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton), Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray), All That Heaven Allows (Douglas Kirk), Floating Clouds (Mikio Naruse)
1956
Winner: The Searchers (John Ford)
Other nominees: A Man Escaped (Robert Bresson), Written on the Wind (Douglas Sirk), Aparajito (Satyajit Ray), Bigger Than Life (Nicholas Ray)
1957
Winner: Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman)
Other nominees: The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman), Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini), Throne of Blood (Akira Kurosawa), Sweet Smell of Success (Alexander Mackendrick)
1958
Winner Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock)
Other nominees: Touch of Evil (Orson Welles), Ashes and Diamonds (Andrzej Wajda), Ivan the Terrible, Part II (Sergei Eisenstein), The Music Room (Satyajit Ray)
1959
Winner: The 400 Blows (François Truffaut)
Other nominees: Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder), North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock), Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks), Pickpocket (Robert Bresson)
1960
Winner: Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard)
Other nominees: Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock), La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini), L'Avventura (Michelangelo Antonioni), The Apartment (Billy Wilder)
1961
Winner: Viridiana (Luis Buñuel)
Other nominees: Last Year at Marienbad (Alain Resnais), La Notte (Michelangelo Antonioni), West Side Story (Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins), Yojimbo (Akira Kurosawa)
1962
Winner: Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean)
Other nominees: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford), Jules and Jim (François Truffaut), Cléo from 5 to 7 (Agnes Varda), L'Eclisse (Michelangelo Antonioni)
1963
Winner 8 1/2 (Federico Fellini)
Other nominees: Le Mepris (Jean-Luc Godard), The Leopard (Luchino Visconti), The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock), The Executioner (Luis García Berlanga)
1964
Winner: Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick)
Other nominees: Gertrud (Carl Theodor Dreyer), The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Pier Paolo Pasolini), The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy), Black God, White Devil (Glauber Rocha)
1965
Winner: Pierrot Le Fou (Jean-Luc Godard)
Other nominees: Chimes at Midnight (Orson Welles), Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (Sergei Parajanov), Le Bonheur (Agnes Varda), Doctor Zhivago (David Lean)
1966
Winner: Persona (Ingmar Bergman)
Other nominees: Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky), Au Hasard Balthazar (Robert Bresson), The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo), Blow-Up (Michelangelo Antonioni)
1967
Winner: Playtime (Jacques Tati)
Other nominees: Mouchette (Robert Bresson), Le Samouraï (Jean-Pierre Melville), Belle de Jour (Luis Buñuel), The Graduate (Mike Nichols)
1968
Winner: 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick)
Other nominees: Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone), Rosemary's Baby (Roman Polanski), Memories of Underdevelopment (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea), Faces (John Cassavetes)
1969
Winner: The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah)
Other nominees: The Color of Pomegranates (Sergei Parajanov), Kes (Ken Loach), My Night at Maud's (Eric Rohmer), Army of Shadows (Jean-Pierre Melville)
1970
Winner: The Conformist (Bernado Bertolucci)
Other nominees: Wanda (Barbara Loden), Performance (Nicholas Roeg), Husbands (John Cassavetes), Tristana (Luis Buñuel)
1971
Winner: A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick)
Other nominees: Death in Venice (Luchino Visconti), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (Robert Altman), A Touch of Zen (King Hu), Out 1 (Jacques Rivette)
1972
Winner: The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola)
Other nominees: Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Werner Herzog), Cries and Whispers (Ingmar Bergman), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Luis Buñuel), Solaris (Andrei Tarkovsky)
1973
Winner: Amarcord (Federico Fellini)
Other nominees: The Mother and the Whore (Jean Eustache), The Spirit of the Beehive (Victor Erice), Don't Look Now (Nicholas Roeg), Badlands (Terrence Malick)
1974
Winner: The Godfather: Part II (Francis Ford Coppola)
Other nominees: Chinatown (Roman Polanski), A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavetes), Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Rainer Werner Fassbinder), Celine and Julie Go Boating (Jacques Rivette)
1975
Winner: Jeanne Dielman (Chantal Akerman)
Other nominees: Mirror (Andrei Tarkovsky), Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick), Nashville (Robert Altman), Jaws (Steven Spielberg)
1976
Winner: Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese)
Other nominees: News from Home (Chantal Akerman), Kings of the Road (Wim Wenders), In the Realm of Senses (Nagisa Oshima), The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (John Cassavetes)
1977
Winner: Annie Hall (Woody Allen)
Other nominees: Star Wars (George Lucas), Close Encounter of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg), Eraserhead (David Lynch), The Ascent (Larisa Shepitko)
1978
Winner: Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett)
Other nominees: Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick), The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino), The Tree of Wooden Clogs (Ermanno Olmi), In a Year with 13 Moons (Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
1979
Winner: Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola)
Other nominees: Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky), Alien (Ridley Scott), Manhattan (Woody Allen), All That Jazz (Bob Fosse)
1980
Winner: Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese)
Other nominees: The Shining (Stanley Kubrick), The Empire Strike Back (Irvin Kershner), Heaven's Gate (Michael Cimino), The Elephant Man (David Lynch)
1981
Winner: Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg)
Other nominees: Possession (Andrzej Żuławski), Blow Out (Brian de Palma), Mad Max 2 (George Miller), An American Werewolf in London (John Landis)
1982
Winner: Blade Runner (Ridley Scott)
Other nominees: Fanny and Alexander (Ingmar Bergman), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg), The Thing (John Carpenter), The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese)
1983
Winner: Sans Soleil (Chris Marker)
Other nominees: L'Argent (Robert Bresson), Videodrome (David Cronenberg), Nostalgia (Andrei Tarkovsky), A Nos Amours (Maurice Pialat)
1984
Winner: Once Upon a Time in America (Sergio Leone)
Other nominees: Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders), Love Streams (John Cassavetes), Amadeus (Milos Forman), Stranger Than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch)
1985
Winner: Shoah (Claude Lanzmann)
Other nominees: Come and See (Elem Klimov), Ran (Akira Kurosawa), Vagabond (Agnes Varda), Brazil (Terry Gilliam)
1986
Winner: Blue Velvet (David Lynch)
Other nominees: The Green Ray (Eric Rohmer), The Sacrifice (Andrei Tarkovsky), Aliens (James Cameron), Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen)
1987
Winner: Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders)
Other nominees: Where is the Friend's House (Abbas Kiarostami), The Dead (John Huston), Withnail and I (Bruce Robinson), Yeelen (Souleymanne Cisse)
1988
Winner: My Neighbor Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki)
Other nominees: Cinema Paradiso (Giuseppe Tornatore), Distant Voices, Still Lives (Terence Davies), The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris), Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata)
1989
Winner: Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee)
Other nominees: A City of Sadness (Hou Hsiao-hsien), Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen), When Harry Met Sally (Rob Reiner), The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (Peter Greenaway)
1990
Winner: Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami)
Other nominees: Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese), Days of Being Wild (Wong Kar-wai), An Angel at My Table (Jane Campion), Paris is Burning (Jessie Livingston)
1991
Winner: A Brighter Summer Day (Edward Yang)
Other nominees: Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash), The Double Life of Veronique (Krzysztof Kieslowski), The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme), Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou)
1992
Winner: Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood)
Other nominees: The Quince Tree Sun (Victor Erice), Orlando (Sally Potter), Life, and Nothing More (Abbas Kiarostami), Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino)
1993
Winner: The Piano (Jane Campion)
Other nominees: Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg), Three Colors: Blue (Krzysztof Kieslowski), Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis), The Puppetmaster (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
1994
Winner: Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)
Other nominees: Satantango (Bela Tarr), Chungking Express (Wong Kar-wai), Three Colors: Red (Krzysztof Kieslowski), Through the Olive Tree (Abbas Kiarostami)
1995
Winner: Heat (Michael Mann)
Other nominees: Underground (Emir Kusturica), Safe (Todd Haynes), Casino (Martin Scorsese), Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch)
1996
Winner: Breaking the Waves (Lars von Trier)
Other nominees: Fargo (Joel Coen), A Moment of Innocence (Mohsen Makhmalbaf), Secrets and Lies (Mike Leigh), Crash (David Cronenberg)
1997
Winner: Taste of Cherry (Abbas Kiarostami)
Other nominees: Happy Together (Wong Kar-wai), Lost Highway (David Lynch), Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson), Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki)
1998
Winner: Histoire(s) du Cinema (Jean-Luc Godard)
Other nominees: The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick), The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen), The Celebration (Thomas Vinterberg), Flowers of Shanghai (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
1999
Winner: Beau Travail (Claire Denis)
Other nominees: Magnolia (Paul Thomas Anderson), The Matrix (Wachowskis), Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick), All About My Mother (Pedro Almodovar)
2000
Winner: In The Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai)
Other nominees: Yi Yi (Edward Yang), The Gleaners and I (Agnes Varda), Werckmeister Harmonies (Bela Tarr), In Vanda's Room (Pedro Costa)
2001
Winner: Mulholland Drive (David Lynch)
Other nominees: Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki), La Ciénaga (Lucrecia Martel), A.I: Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg), The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson)
2002
Winner: City of God (Fernando Meirelles)
Other nominees: Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks (Wang Bing), Talk to Her (Pedro Almodovar), Russian Ark (Aleksandr Sukurov), Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay)
2003
Winner: Goodbye, Dragon Inn (Tsai Ming-liang)
Other nominees: Dogville (Lars von Trier), Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola), Elephant (Gus van Sant), Oldboy (Park Chan-wook)
2004
Winner: Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
Other nominees: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry), The Intruder (Claire Denis), Before Sunset (Richard Linklater), Sideways (Alexander Payne)
2005
Winner: Caché (Michael Haneke)
Other nominees: The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Cristi Puiu), Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee), The New World (Terrence Malick), Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog)
2006
Winner: Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
Other nominees: Inland Empire (David Lynch), Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro), The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck), Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron)
2007
Winner: There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)
Other nominees: No Country for Old Men (Coens), Zodiac (David Fincher), Silent Light (Carlos Reygadas), 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu)
2008
Winner: The Headless Woman (Lucrecia Martel)
Other nominees: WALL-E (Andrew Stanton), Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman), The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan), Hunger (Steve McQueen)
2009
Winner: The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke)
Other nominees: A Prophet (Jacques Audiard), Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold), Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino), Avatar (James Cameron)
2010
Winner: Uncle Boonmee (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
Other nominees: Nostalgia for the Light (Patricio Guzman), The Social Network (David Fincher), Mysteries of Lisbon (Raul Ruiz), Meek's Cutoff (Kelly Reichardt)
2011
Winner: The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick)
Other nominees: A Separation (Asghar Farhadi), Melancholia (Lars von Trier), The Turin Horse (Bela Tarr), Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
2012
Winner: Holy Motors (Leos Carax)
Other nominees: The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer), The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson), Amour (Michael Haneke), Tabu (Miguel Gomes)
2013
Winner: Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer)
Other nominees: The Great Beauty (Paolo Sorrentino), Blue is the Warmest Color (Abdellatif Kechiche), Ida (Pawel Pawlikowski), 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen)
2014
Winner: Boyhood (Richard Linklater)
Other nominees: Goodbye to Language (Jean-Luc Godard), The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson), Girlhood (Celine Sciamma), Interstellar (Christopher Nolan)
2015
Winner: Mad Max; Fury Road (George Miller)
Other nominees: Carol (Todd Haynes), Cemetery of Splendor (Apichatpong Weerasethakul), The Assassin (Hou Hsiao-hsien), No Home Movie (Chantal Akerman)
2016
Winner: Moonlight (Barry Jenkins)
Other nominees: Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade), American Honey (Andrea Arnold), Arrival (Denis Villeneuve), Certain Women (Kelly Reichardt)
2017
Winner: Get Out (Jordan Peele)
Other nominees: Zama (Lucrecia Martel), Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson), You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay), Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)
2018
Winner: Roma (Alfonso Cuaron)
Other nominees: Happy as Lazzaro (Alice Rohrwacher), Burning (Lee Chang-dong), An Elephant Sitting Still (Hu Bo), Shoplifters (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
2019
Winner: Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Celine Sciamma)
Other nominees: Parasite (Bong Joon-ho), Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino), Atlantics (Mati Diop), First Cow (Kelly Reichardt)
2020
Winner: Nomadland (Chloe Zhao)
Other nominees: Time (Garrett Bradley), Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Eliza Hitman), Days (Tsai Ming-liang), Quo Vadis, Aida? (Jasmila Zbanic)
2021
Winner: Petite Maman (Celine Sciamma)
Other nominees: The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion), Drive My Car (Ryusuke Hamaguchi), Titane (Julia Docournau), Memoria (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

The 190th nest migration happened yesterday!
[Calgary Nest Map] Direct link (http://bit.ly/YYCNestMap)
Nest Migration start: May 24, 5 pm
Next Nest Migration: June 7, 5 pm
Nests are as accurate at time of reporting. Please keep in mind that sometimes nests change when certain events begin/end.
The majority of the nest list has been provided by https://www.theraidmap.com/ If you want more pokemon, please consider subscribing.
In order to keep the nest list updated as timely as possible I would kindly request that nest only be reported in top level comments and avoid editing previous posts to include new nests. The easiest way for me to see when the list needs to be updated is to see when I have a notification from reddit and I only receive those on new top level comments. Thank you very much!
Thank you to all our nest reporters! Without you, this wouldn't be possible!
Please keep the following in mind when reporting nests:
Spawn points in nests have a 25% chance to spawn the nest Pokemon. If a nest only has a handful of spawn points it is common to not see any of the nesting Pokemon if you are only at the nest for a short period of time. Due to this please ensure you have spent enough time in a nest before reporting your findings.
Happy hunting!!

Reported Nests

Downtown Nests

Pokemon	Nest Location	Spawn Points
Houndour	Central Memorial Park	5+
Grubbin	Eau Claire Park	?
Joltik	Princes Island Park	20
Snivy	Shaw Millennium Park	6
Spearow	Stampede Park	49

North East Nests

Pokemon	Nest Location	Spawn Points
Purrloin	Munro Park	10+
Marill	Nose Creek Parkway / Confluence Park	22
Houndour	Rotary Park	5
Houndour	St. Patricks Island Park	11

North West Nests

Pokemon	Nest Location	Spawn Points
Snubbulll	Botanical Gardens of SS/Sarcee Park	13
Burmy	Bowmont Park	15
Phanpy	Bowness Park	12
Poliwag	Confederation Park	29
Tympole	Crescent Heights Park	?
Snivy	Dale Hodges Park	24
Buneary	John Laurie Park	7
Tangela	Nose Hill Park	35
Snivy	Riley Park	9
Phanpy	Shouldice Aquatic Centre	?
Houndour	Shouldice Athletic Park	15

South East Nests

Pokemon	Nest Location	Spawn Points
Poliwag	Carburn Park	14
Tangela	Lake Sundance	12
Phanpy	Pop Davies Athletic Park	13

South West Nests

Pokemon	Nest Location	Spawn Points
Oshawott	Canada Olympic Park	40
Wooper	Edworthy Park	?
Houndour	Edworthy Park (river side)	?
Bunnelby	Lindsay Park	20+
Sandshrew	South Glenmore Park	?
Foongus	Stanley Park	14

Unreported Nests

Downtown Nests

Pokemon	Nest Location	Spawn Points
??	Barb Scott Park	4
??	Bow River Pathway Eau Claire	5
??	Central Memorial Park	5+
??	Century Gardens	4+
??	Connaught Park	5
??	Connaught School	3
??	Eau Claire Park	?
??	Harley Hotchkiss Gardens	4+
??	Harry Hayes - Red Machine Stop	2
??	Haultain Park	3
??	James Short Park	2
??	Lougheed House	5
??	McDougall Centre	10+
??	Nat Christie Park	5
??	Olympic Plaza	6
??	Princes Island Park	20
??	Rouleauville Square	5+
??	Shaw Millennium Park	6
??	Sien Lok Park North	3
??	Sien Lok Park South	?
??	South Bow Park	3
??	Stampede Park	49
??	The Family of Man	?
??	Thomson Family Park	?
??	Tomkins Park	?

North East Nests

Pokemon	Nest Location	Spawn Points
??	40th Ave Park	5
??	Abberfield Playground	3+
??	Airways Park	?
??	Bridgeland Park	2
??	Bridgeland Sport Fields / Park	6
??	Cityscape Music Playground	?
??	Coral Shores Pathway	3
??	Coventry/Country Hills Pond	11
??	Coventry Community Garden	3-4
??	Coventry Nose Creek Park	?
??	Crossroads Park	2-3
??	Deerfoot Athletic Park	9
??	Deerfoot Business Park	?
??	Don Hartman Northeast Sportsplax NESS	4
??	Ecole la Mosaique in Martindale	2
??	Edward H. LaBorde Viewing Area	?
??	Genesis Centre	9
??	Grant MacEwan School	?
??	Harvest Community Garden	?
??	Harvest Hills Playground	?
??	Highland Park Urban Beautification	2
??	Lester B Pearson School Field	?
??	Marlborough Community Association	?
??	Marlborough Park	20
??	Martha Haven Cricket Ground	?
??	McCall Lake Off Leash Dog Park	?
??	Monterey Community Centre	?
??	Monterey Park Fields	13
??	Murdoch Park	5
??	Munro Park	10+
??	Nose Creek Parkway / Confluence Park	22
??	Pinecliff Park Soccer Field	3+
??	Pinehill Playground	2+
??	Pine Ridge Road Playground	?
??	Pineridge Playground	2
??	Prairie Winds Park	10
??	Redstone Participark	3
??	Renfrew Athletic Park	?
??	Rotary Park	5
??	Rundle Community Association	2-3
??	Rundle Park	?
??	Rundlelawn Park	?
??	Skyview Landing Playground	7+
??	St. Patricks Island Park	11
??	St. John Paul II School	?
??	Temple Community Centre	?
??	Templegreen Park	4+
??	The District Outdoor Gym	4
??	Tom Campbell Park	7
??	Tuxedo Park Community Association	3
??	Village Square Leisure Centre	?
??	Whitehorn Community Centre	4
??	Whitehorn Field	10-15

North West Nests

Pokemon	Nest Location	Spawn Points
??	12 Mile Coulee Pathway	15
??	14th Street Pathways	10
??	Arbor Lake School Park	5
??	Baker Park	10
??	Blakiston Park	?
??	Botanical Gardens of SS/Sarcee Park	13
??	Bowmont Park	15
??	Bowness Park	12
??	Bow River Pathway - Kensington	10
??	Bow River Pathway - Point McKay	2-3
??	BP Birthplace Forest	6+
??	Brenner Park	5
??	Brentwood Community Garden	6
??	Canmore Park	6
??	Castle Ruins	3
??	Catherine Nichols Gunn School	3
??	Childrens Village School Field	?
??	Chipmunk Playground (Ranchlands)	2
??	Citadel Pathways	3
??	Citadel Way Playground	?
??	Confederation Park	29
??	Confederation Golfcourse Playground	4
??	Country Hills Golf Course	?
??	Crescent Heights Park	?
??	Crowchild Twin Arenas	2
??	Crowfoot Crossing Pathway	5
??	Crowfoot Library	3
??	Dale Hodges Park	24
??	Dalhousie Community Association	10+
??	Dalhousie LRT Pathway	3
??	Dalton Park	4
??	Edgemont Off Leash 3	15
??	Edgemont Park	?
??	Edgemont Ravine	14
??	Egerts Park	3
??	Evansborough Way Playground	2
??	Evanston Pathway / Ball Diamond	3
??	Evanston Pathways	5-10
??	Foothills Athletic Park	?
??	Funny Wood Pillars	?
??	Giddy-Up Playground/Silvercreek Park	?
??	Hamptons Athletic Park	5
??	Hamptons Park	?
??	Hawkwood Pathways	3
??	Helicopter Playground	?
??	Hidden Valley Pathways North	10
??	Hidden Valley Pathways South	5
??	Hidden Valley Pond	2
??	Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Assn.	4
??	Huntington Blue & Red Playground	2-3
??	Huntington Hills Community Centre	10+
??	Huntington Hills Skatepark	?
??	Inland Athletic Park	?
??	John Laurie Park	7
??	John Laurie Pathway: 14th to 19th St	10
??	John Laurie Pathway: 19th St to Charleswood	8
??	John Laurie Pathway: Charleswood to Brisbois	5
??	Karl Baker Offleash Park	10+
??	Laycock Park	11
??	Macewan Glen Park	?
??	McHugh Bluff Park	20
??	Montalban Park	?
??	Montgomery Ave Playground	3
??	Nolan Hill Park	8
??	Nolan Hill Playground	5
??	Nolan Lake Pathways	8-10
??	Nose Creek Playground	?
??	Nose Hill Park	35
??	Nose Hill Spring Park	2-4
??	Panatella Hill North Pathway	3+
??	Panatella Hill South	2-3
??	Panora Close Playgroundy	?
??	Panorama Hills North Pathway	10
??	Panorama Hills Pathway	4
??	Panorama Soccer	3+
??	Parkdale Community Centre	3
??	Patches Hill	?
??	Patrick Burns Gardens	?
??	Poppy Plaza	?
??	Queen Elizabeth Park	?
??	Ranchlands Community Association	4-5
??	Ranchlands Off-Leash Dog Park	5-10
??	Research Park	4
??	Riley Park	9
??	Rocky Ridge Pathways	7
??	Rocky Ridge YMCA	?
??	Rocky Ridge Point Pathway	3-4
??	Rocky Vista Park	6
??	RRROCA Park	3
??	Rosedale Park	2
??	Sage Hill Pathways	3
??	Sandstone Area 3 Off Leash Dog Park	4-5
??	Sandstone Macewan	1-4
??	Sandstone Park	15+
??	Sandstone Place	2+
??	Shouldice Aquatic Centre	?
??	Shouldice Athletic Park	15
??	Silver Spring Nature Park	20
??	Silver Springs Outdoor Pool	?
??	Triwood Community Association	4
??	Triwood Park	?
??	Tuscany Club	6
??	Tuscany Fire Hall Greenspace	5+
??	Tuscany Valley Playground	2+
??	U of C: Athletic Fields	20+
??	U of C: C Train Station	2-3
??	U of C: Gallagher Library	2
??	U of C: Prairie Chicken	?
??	U of C: Science Theatres	?
??	Utah Drive Park	12
??	Varsity Estates Park	?
??	Varsity Ravine Park	?
??	Varsity Sport Fields	?
??	Varsity Soccer Pitch	4
??	Varsity Village Park	5-8
??	Watermark Community Gazedo	5-8
??	West Hillhurst Community Assn.	10+

South East Nests

Pokemon	Nest Location	Spawn Points
??	Acadia Community Garden & Art Society	?
??	Acadia Tennis Courts	3
??	Applewood Park	7
??	Auburn Bay Kids Only Pokestop	?
??	Auburn Bay Kids Park	?
??	Auburn House	?
??	Carburn Park	14
??	Chapala Drive Playground	?
??	Chaparral Ridge Circle	12
??	Copper Pond	?
??	Copperfield Community Centre	3
??	Copperfield Hoodoo Park	3
??	Copperfield Park	6-7
??	Copperfield Park II	?
??	Copperfield Park III	?
??	Copperfield Trifecta	2
??	Copperstone Blvd Park	?
??	Copperstone Grove Park	3
??	Dogwood Crescent Park	?
??	Douglas Glen Park	4
??	Douglas Glen Pathway	?
??	Douglasbank Park	?
??	Eaglequest Golf Pathway	?
??	Eastside City Church	4
??	Elliston Park	3
??	Fairview Off Leash Dog Area/Flint Park	?
??	Fairview Park	6
??	Fish Creek Park	100+
??	Flavelle Road Park	?
??	Fonda Park	7
??	George Moss Park	?
??	Great Plains Recreational Facility	5
??	Harry Huish Park	?
??	Inglewood 11th Ave Playground	2
??	Inglewood Bird Sanctuary	20
??	Inglewood Golf Course	?
??	Inglewood Wildlands	5
??	Inverness Park	?
??	Jack Setters Park	5
??	Lake Bonavista School Field	?
??	Lake Sundance	12
??	Legacy Playground	?
??	Max Bell Centre	?
??	McKenzie Meadows Golf Club	?
??	McKenzie Towne Park	?
??	New Brighton Central Park	6
??	New Brighton Park Playground	3
??	Pearce Estate Park	25
??	Pop Davies Athletic Park	13
??	Penbrooke Meadows Park	6
??	Prestwick Fountain Park	2
??	Prestwick Inukshuk	2
??	Olympia Drive Off-Leash	3
??	Quarry Park Pathway	?
??	Raddison Heights Park	?
??	Raddison Heights Park East	6
??	Rainbow Park	?
??	Ralph Klein Park	?
??	Ramsay Community Association	5
??	Ramsay School Park	6
??	Reader Rock Gardens	4+
??	Remington YMCA in Quarry Park	?
??	Riverbend Community Centre	6
??	Riverbend Pathway	?
??	Southview Park	10
??	Sue Higgins Park	15+
??	The Lone Pony	?
??	Valleyview Park	3
??	Walden Playground	?
??	Willow Park Gardens Playground	?
??	Wyldewood Estates Trellis	?

South West Nests

Pokemon	Nest Location	Spawn Points
??	AD Ross Park	3-4
??	Babbeling Brook Park	3-5
??	Bankview Community Association	2
??	Battalion Park	25+
??	Battalion Park School	10+
??	Braeside Park	10+
??	Braeside Park Tennis Courts	7
??	Britannia Slopes	9
??	Buffalo Park (Garrison)	?
??	Canada Olympic Park	40
??	Champlain Park	2
??	Christie Estates Playground	5
??	Discovery Ridge Pathways North	?
??	Discovery Ridge Pathways NE	?
??	Discovery Ridge Pathways NW	2
??	Discovery Ridge Ponds	5
??	Douglas Fir Trail Lookout Platform	6
??	Edworthy Park	?
??	Edworthy Park (river side)	?
??	Eversyde Park	3
??	Flanders Park	3
??	Galbraith Park Playground	3
??	Glamorgan Park	?
??	Glenbrook Park	3
??	Glendale Meadows Park	?
??	Glenmore Athletic Park	12
??	Griffith Park Playground	10+
??	Griffith Woods	30
??	Haysboro Community Park	10+
??	James H Gray Park	?
??	Jenny Elliot Elementary Field	2
??	Killarney Glengarry Community Assn.	5
??	Lakeview Community Assn.	20+
??	Lindsay Park	20+
??	Mahood Commons - Ambrose University	2+
??	Meadowlark Park	?
??	Millcrest Park	3
??	Millview Greenspace	3
??	North Glenmore	13
??	Old Banff Coach Hill Off Leash Park	1+
??	Optimist Park	40+
??	Patterson Place	2
??	Peacekeeper Park	3
??	Picnic Park	4
??	Poplar Park	2-3
??	Prominence Park	7-9
??	River Park	13
??	Riverdale Park	?
??	Roxboro & Erlton Offleash	7
??	Sandy Beach	9
??	Shaganappi Park	5-10
??	Shawnessy Pathway	10
??	Sienna Hills Playground	3
??	Signal Hill Old Fashioned Playground	4
??	Signal Ridge Playground	6+
??	Simcoe Playground	3
??	Silverado Skies Pathways	3
??	Sirocco Park	10+
??	Somerset Water Park	6
??	South Calgary Park	12
??	South Glenmore Park	?
??	South Mount Royal Park	2
??	Springbank Hill Community Park	21+
??	Springborough Playground	5+
??	Springborough Stormwater	4
??	Sprucecliff Community Association	?
??	Stanley Park	14
??	Strathcona Christie Aspen Community Association	?
??	Sunalta Park	5+
??	Turtle Hill Park	6+
??	Valour Park	2-3
??	Westside Soccer Field	5+
??	Wildwood Community Association	3
??	Woodbine Athletic Park	4

Thank you to our nest hunters!
Nest locations only: http://bit.ly/YYCNestLocations

I have seen a lot of posts on this sub from former Conservative voters, saying why they are voting NDP. I have also seen a lot of posts from NDP supporters asking why Conservative voters support the UCP in this election.
So, I thought I would put together a post to try to provide a factual perspective on the argument for the UCP. I'm hoping it doesn't get reflexively downvoted by those who don't like my conclusions, but I will try to keep it as factual as possible.
​
The Economy
For me, the economy is usually the most important issue. I think a false dichotomy is often drawn between economic concerns and social programs. The reality, in my view, is that economic growth is what makes funding for social programs sustainable in the long term. Alberta's program spending per capita was the highest among the country's four big provinces in 2021-22, without the help of equalization dollars. We are able to maintain a comparably high level of spending in this province because we have the most productive economy in the country (tops in GDP per capita by a wide margin).
Growing the economy grows the government's tax revenue, which allows for the funding of more and better social services.
When it comes to the economy, too much of the discussion in this election has been about oil. Whether it's the UCP talking about how Notley will destroy the oil industry, or the NDP handwaving away their entire economic record because of the oil price crash that happened before they took office, the rest of the economy seems to be entirely ignored.
Part of why I voted for Notley previously was the idea that she would be working to diversify the economy. Unfortunately, she failed pretty spectacularly at doing that.
The Alberta Economic Dashboard is a useful tool for statistics. I think the investment numbers are the most important ones in there, as they show a government's ability to attract investment. It may take years for a project to start contributing to GDP, but it is usually the policies in place when the investment decision is made that are the most relevant. Companies aren't necessarily going to throw away millions in sunk investment because a new government came into power and changed things, but they will avoid investing in a place if changes made before the investment is made affect the calculus of their investment's expected return.
If you poke around the investment numbers, remove the oil investment numbers, and just look at the non-oil investment numbers, you will find that non-oil investment in Alberta fell 1.38% during Notley's term. Meanwhile, under the UCP, those same figures rose 11.96%.
That's a pretty wide gap, especially since the UCP had a pandemic which lasted for most of their term. Notley had an oil price crash, too, but the crash happened in 2014, she took office in 2015, and she had produced no tangible momentum in investment in non-oil industries by the time she left office in 2019. I just don't accept the argument that she couldn't produce any positive results in non-oil industries by 2019, based on an oil crash that happened in 2014.
The UCP also secured huge successes in multiple different non-oil industries which Notley had herself identified as being priority areas.
One area of high priority for Notley was renewable energy, and she complained very loudly when her highly regulated renewable energy program was scrapped by the UCP. But, despite Notley's talk during the election of the jobs and investment in renewables, the ones who actually brought in that investment were the UCP. The UCP's free market approach to renewables has been incredibly successful. It has been so successful, in fact, that in 2022, 75% of all new wind and solar capacity added in Canada came from Alberta. Notley talks about the importance of renewable energy investment, but the ones who actually brought the results were the UCP.
In tech, it's a similar story. Another focus area for Notley, yet another area where investment has been booming under the UCP.
Aerospace is another really promising area for diversification. Last year, airplane manufacturer De Havilland moved their headquarters from Toronto to Calgary, and committed to building a manufacturing and aerodrome near Strathmore. Maybe even more important was the deal thr province struck with Westjet which will see them move assets from Vancouver and Toronto and prioritizing Calgary as their main transfer hub. The move will double Westjet's capacity through Calgary, increasing destinations from Calgary, boosting the tourism sector (easier to travel to places with direct flights), and providing secondary benefits to any industry with mobile workers (eg. it's easier to have a consultancy in Calgary if your consultants can easily travel to clients without transfers).
In various other industries, hydrogen investment has been rapidly increasing, with Air Products currently building a $1.3B processing facility in Edmonton. Dow has invested $10B in their plastics manufacturing facility in Fort Saskatchewan. McCain doubled the size of their Lethbridge plant. Major biofuels plants are going forward in Calgary, Lethbridge and on Siksika Nation Land.
The list goes on. Alberta is doing great right now, and there is real economic momentum. It's momentum that is not being driven by oil. It's the momentum that Notley says she wanted to achieve, yet, was achieved under UCP policies she intends to scrap.
Unfortunately, Notley's approach seems to be too ideological, and she doesn't seem to be learning from her mistakes. Her tax proposal is to increase corporate taxes, and while the response from many has been, "yeah, those oil companies should pay more", that's not how that works.
Corporate taxes are a tiny part of an oil company's tax burden. The much larger part for them is royalties. It's like an industry-specific tax. Last year, the Alberta government made $27.5B in royalty payments, primarily from oil companies. Those payments come from a single industry, and mostly from a handful of companies. As many people have rightly pointed out, oil companies aren't going to leave Alberta (well, at least, not all of them will, a couple have) because the oil is here. But, other companies in other industries have more mobility. Last year, the Alberta government only made $6.4B in corporate tax revenues. Unlike royalties, those apply to every industry. For oil companies, corporate taxes represent a tiny fraction of their tax bill, and pale in comparison to royalties. For other industries, however, corporate taxes are their main tax liability. As such, by raising corporate taxes (as opposed to, say, royalties), Notley is not targeting oil companies, she is promising to disproportionately increase the tax bill of non-oil industries, hurting efforts to diversify, and reducing Alberta's ability to attract non-oil investment dollars.
​
Power Grid Promise
I wanted to include this one in a separate section, even though, my big concern here is the economy.
Notley promised to bring our power grid to net zero emissions by 2035, which contrasts with the UCP's 2050 target date. The estimated cost of that promise if $52B.
First of all, let's talk about the emissions that this will save. Last year, Canada produced 670 megatonnes of emissions. Alberta's energy grid produced 0.008 megatonnes. Canada is responsible for 1.5% of the world's emissions. As such, the emissions savings we are talking about here are 0.000019% of Canada's emissions, or 0.00000018% of world emissions.
Cutting emissions is an important goal, but you still need to do a cost benefit analysis. Looking at those numbers, we are not talking about world changing effects here. We are talking about a tiny fraction of emissions, for a huge cost.
The $52B cost gets passed along to consumers, which means two groups: 1. consumers, and 2. industry.
For consumers, estimates are that the cost of these measures could increase energy rates by 40%. While Canada's cost of living crisis is not as bad here as it is in other provinces, that's still a huge amount of additional cost inflation for consumers.
For industry, if the plan is to try to diversify away from oil and gas, what are we diversifying towards? If part of your answer is manufacturing or any other industrial sectors which provide lots of good blue collar jobs, then you need to consider energy costs, which are a huge part of the cost base of any company running large industrial power-hungry plants. Those costs make manufacturing in Alberta more expensive, and therefore, less competitive. The result is driving away the non-oil investment capital we need to diversify the economy.
For some perspective, the only form of renewable energy which has had a cost advantage over hydrocarbons for more than a few years is hydroelectricity, which has been the most efficient energy source in the world for over a century. Some provinces, like BC, Quebec and Ontario, are blessed with abundant hydroelectric resources, but waterfalls are in short supply on the prairies. As such, our energy grid grew up around what we did have: hydrocarbons.
As a result, our grid produces 75% of its power through hydrocarbons like natural gas. Ontario, by contrast, only has 8% of its energy grid power provided by hydrocarbons, yet it has balked at the 2035 target, and is instead building new natural gas plants. Why? Well, Ontario is the country's manufacturing center, and cheaper natural gas power will help to keep energy costs down for its industrial consumers, helping it to continue attracting industrial investment dollars.
Alberta is already taking large steps in bringing our grid to net zero. I discussed the huge increases in solar and wind power above. I mentioned hydrogen, and we have new communities being built to run entirely on that fuel. We are working on small modular reactors, and our technology to use abandoned wells to produce geothermal power has been so successful that it is being exported for use elsewhere.
Progress is being made, and it is being made very fast, but 2035 is a reckless target, and the cost-benefit analysis does not support the approach. It takes time for hydrogen production to ramp up, and for new communities to be built or retrofitted to run on it. It takes time to build modular reactors, to build solar and wind capacity, etc. But, we are leading the country in these efforts, but it is still a long journey.
The federal policy wasn't designed to be achievable for Alberta's grid, which runs 75% on hydrocarbons, it was designed to be achievable for Quebec (who get 94% of their power from hydroelectricity), BC (who get 84% of their power from hydroelectricity) and Ontario (who get only 8% from hydrocarbons, with the majority of their power being from hydroelectricity and nuclear). We do not have the geography of those provinces, and the only pragmatic approach is to tackle the issue based on our own circumstances, not taking an ideological position that will damage our economy.
​
Sovereignty Act
The Sovereignty Act has been much maligned, but as a lawyer, I think I have a pretty different understanding of its practical application than most.
First of all, to address the constitutional question: no, the act is not unconstitutional. Theoretically, it could be used in unconstitutional ways, but the act itself is not unconstitutional. The act is a tool. You can use a hammer to build a house or to hit someone on the head. The hammer isn't the problem, but how it is used can potentially be. The Act's wording only allows Alberta to refuse to enforce federal laws that are unconstitutional. Obviously, it can't be unconstitutional to refuse to enforce an unconstitutional law, so the constitutionality depends on the use that is made of the Act, not the Act itself.
But, that's the theory, what's the practical effect and purpose of the act? Negotiating leverage.
To explain, let's take a look at a tactic that has been used to Alberta's disadvantage for a long time. With the Keystone XL pipeline, there were numerous environmental groups which challenged the project. Each and every one of them failed, and yet they succeeded in killing the line. How? By running out the clock.
Courts can't kill pipeline projects, they can only delay them. Like with TMX, if the court strikes down a regulatory approval, the company can just re-do the process, and re-apply, fixing the omission and getting the approval. The only one who can kill a project is the government.
With Keystone XL, the environmentalists lost every single challenge, but they ran out the clock, and kept court challenges going long enough for the next election to happen. Biden beat Trump, and then overturned the Presidential Order Trump had given approving the border crossing. In doing so, he killed the project.
The history of pipeline litigation makes the Sovereignty Act rather ironic. What the Sovereignty Act does, in practicality, is essentially the same.
Normally, the feds would implement a law, and the provinces would enforce it. The province might decide to challenge the constitutionality of the law, but the law would be enforced while that challenge occurred. If the province is successful, then the feds got to keep an unconstitutional law in place for the years that the court challenge took.
The Sovereignty Act reverses this situation. If used, the feds would not be able to implement their law in Alberta until they challenged the use of the Sovereignty Act (which would prevent the implementation). The feds would have to justify the constitutionality of their law against whatever the province says is unconstitutional about it. If the feds fail to justify their act, then it is struck down and the Sovereignty Act prevents an unconstitutional law from being enforced on Alberta. If successful, the feds could introduce their law after the court case is resolved. But, the use would be delayed by the court case, likely for years.
Unlike what many people think, the Courts aren't really about trials. Well over 95% of cases settle before they ever see the inside of a courtroom. Having a good or bad case is more about leverage than anything. A good case means good leverage, and likely a good settlement.
Similarly, the point of the Sovereignty Act isn't to use it to kill laws, it is to use it as a negotiating tool.
If the feds want, for instance, to implement a mandatory cut on fertilizer use by farmers, the Sovereignty Act could be used to prevent that. The feds would fight the battle in the courts, but, in the meantime, farmers would be able to keep using fertilizer. That leaves the feds a choice: either work collaboratively with the province and negotiate an agreement that both sides can live with, or go to court, have the policy delayed for years, and have that hanging over your head in the next election (as a win by your competitor could result in the policy being killed, just like Biden did with KXL). It is a public embarrassment to the feds, if it happens, and hurts their agenda, so they are incentivized to negotiate. Maybe that means a less restrictive fertilizer allowance, or phased-in implementation, or funding to enable a transition to more environmentally fertilizer options, etc.
This exact scenario actually played out at this year's budget. The feds threatened to implement three proposals which the province said it would use the Sovereignty Act on (fertilizer, the emissions cap and banning natural gas for electricity generation). There is a very strong argument that all of these matters are within provincial jurisdiction, since the province has constitutional authority over intraprovincial industry (ie. business that takes place exclusively within a single province). To implement the proposed policies, the feds would need to rely on the POGG provision, which is an exception that can allow the feds to pass legislation that encroaches on provincial authority, if it meets a certain test (the carbon tax was deemed constitutional based on the court finding that this exception had been met). Nothing about those constitutional challenges would have been a frivolous claim. The result of the threat was that the feds did not include those measures in the budget, and instead engaged collaboratively with Alberta. None of those measures have yet been implemented.
Unfortunately, this is the approach we need with the feds right now. Trudeau knows he has no shot of winning significant seats in Alberta, so his policies are focused on winning seats elsewhere. Some of this is with policies that apply cross-country on the surface, yet have disproportionate effect (like the 2035 grid policy I discussed above). Some of this is with policies that directly target the oil industry in Alberta (there is no emissions cap being contemplated for Ontario or Quebec's manufacturing sector, nor was there ever legislation targeting the manufacturing of cars and planes made in those places that run on Albertan hydrocarbons, and the shipping industries of the Atlantic Provinces and BC were never targeted either, despite being one of the world's most carbon intensive industries).
We needed leaders like Lougheed to stand up to the feds when Trudeau's dad was targeting the province, and unfortunately, we need that now, too.
Notley's plan, of course, is to get rid of the Sovereignty Act, based on unfounded allegations of chasing away investment (which, as I discussed in the Economy section, continues to boom right now). I wish her "be nice to the feds and maybe they'll be nice back" approach worked, but it didn't, and, as a professional negotiator, that doesn't surprise me at all.
Hard bargaining is far from the only negotiation strategy out there, but it's a tool you have to have. Negotiation theory means little without leverage. Many softer negotiation approaches are useless in litigation if your opponent knows you aren't willing to go to court, because they have no incentive to work collaboratively with you if you have no leverage. The ability to go to court is the source of your leverage. A successful trial lawyer will get better settlements in their cases because their trial record gives them leverage (ie. "if I don't settle with this guy, he is willing to go to trial). Lawyers who don't have credibility as a trial lawyer will get less on the same cases because they lack that same leverage. They don't even have to be good trial lawyers, they just have to be willing to fight a trial, because just the costs of a trial act as a significant incentive to work out a deal.
So, where is the source of Notley's leverage? Last time around, I thought she had a real shot to use the leverage of using her position as a non-conservative to give Trudeau an opening in Alberta. In 2015, Trudeau nearly tripled his predecessor's popular vote total in Alberta (9.3% in 2011 to 24.6% in 2015). Working collaboratively potentially gave Notley something Trudeau wanted (the promise of a breakthrough in Alberta). But, instead of using her leverage to get a solid commitment (like a commitment to retain the approval of Northern Gateway), she volunteered to champion his climate initiatives for vague promises of "pipelines for social responsibility".
The rest is history. In 2015, it was commonly known that Alberta's pipelines would reach capacity in 2018 when Fort Hills went online, since production levels in the oil sands are set 5-10 years in advance. Only two pipelines were set to be completed by 2018: Northern Gateway and Energy East. The TMX issue with BC didn't even arise until 2018, when the pipeline crisis had already started. There was never any chance that TMX could avoid the crisis. Notley didn't get a commitment on Northern Gateway, and it was killed. Energy East fell to a similar fate. Bill C-69 was dubbed the "No More Pipelines Bill" by Kenney in the last election, and, as predicted, there have been zero new export pipelines that have even entered the regulatory process since Trudeau took office in 2015.
Obviously, no one is perfect, and, although Notley's mistake was costly, you would hope that she would take that lesson and learn from it. But, as discussed earlier with the 2035 energy grid promise, she is doing the same thing again. What did she negotiate for in return from Trudeau for the 2035 commitment? Could she not at least have asked for federal dollars to subsidize the transition, in exchange for the accelerated timeline? And, why is she dead-set on throwing away her negotiating leverage by killing the Sovereignty Act? If she's not going to use the Act in an unconstitutional way, then what does she gain from taking a tool out of her tool bag? It's not like getting rid of the Act would stop a future UCP government from re-introducing it after a future election. The move is symbolic, at best, and takes away a practical tools from her arsenal.
Ultimately, I just don't trust Notley to negotiate with a federal government that I do not believe has Alberta's best interests at heart. With a different federal government it might be less of an issue for me, but we are where we are. I thought Kenney's approach of verbal grandstanding against the feds was similarly useless. But, the Sovereignty Act is actually a practical tool that has real weight. It's the first time an Albertan government has implemented one of those practical tools since the days of Lougheed and Klein. I don't understand why Notley would take away a tool like that which could work to protect Albertan interests.
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Healthcare
Despite being the focus of the NDP's election campaign, I consider this one to be a nothingburger issue, but I wanted to explain why.
Before the last election, there was similar fearmongering about the UCP's approach to healthcare. In response, Kenney signed a healthcare pledge that he would not cut funding to the healthcare system, nor would he delist any service that was currently covered by AHS. He kept that promise, increasing healthcare funding each year, and not delisting any services.
Smith took power last year, and in her one budget since taking power she also increased healthcare funding. Her promise is to increase funding further. She has also made a similar pledge to Kenney's, which went along with the statement, "It means that a UCP government, under my leadership, will not de-list any medical services or prescriptions now covered by Alberta Health Insurance. No exceptions."
Moreover, the federal Canada Health Act also mandates what services have to be covered by provincial healthcare plans. There is no option under the Act to defund family doctor visits or any of the other services that have been talked about.
I have zero concerns about the healthcare issue, and it is ridiculous to me that the NDP have focused so much of their advertising budget on it.
The really sad thing about it, to me, is that the NDP approach is shutting down a conversation on healthcare that we really need to have.
Canada's healthcare system is the 7th most expensive per capita in the world, yet we only rank 35th in terms of quality of care. We are not getting our money's worth, and the situation is also continually getting worse, with per capita inflation-adjusted costs of healthcare increasing in 22 of the past 24 years.
I talked above about my economic concerns relating to the ability to sustainably fund social services, and the same thing applies here. Healthcare spending accounts for 13% of our GDP, which ranks 2nd highest among OCED countries. That's not sustainable.
While many talk about us having "free" healthcare, we don't: we have very expensive healthcare. We just pay for it once a year at tax time, not on a per-service basis.
Unfortunately, we need to have a real talk about our healthcare system, but every time it is brought up by a politician you get this false dichotomy fearmongering about how basically the only two options are our system vs the US system, and how we're going to have our chemistry teachers cooking meth to pay for medical care like Breaking Bad if we do anything but keep throwing money into propping up a broken system.
In reality, many of the world's best healthcare systems are hybrid systems, with private delivery and public funding being a very successful model (in other words, the government still pays 100% of healthcare costs for everyone, but delivery is provided by profit-motivated private companies who prioritize client service and efficient delivery of services to maximize their own profits).
The current system is a monopoly system. Both sides of the aisle seem to agree on the dangers of monopolies, and how they provide substandard service and higher costs to consumers. I don't know why so many people ignore that government bureaucracies are inherently monopolies, with no profit motive or market competition in place to drive innovation or force them to seek efficiencies.
Anyway, that's a bit of a theoretical rant, but, for the time being, the point is that healthcare shouldn't be a major issue in the election, and I really don't expect to see any noticeable change in healthcare services after this election, regardless of which party wins. Both parties have committed to throwing more money to prop up a broken system, and voter pressure seems to, again, be stopping politicians from having a productive discussion about how we could actually try to fix the system.
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Conclusion
While there are other issues in the election, my post is probably long enough, at this point. If you made it all this way, then bravo.
I fully expect that many on this sub will disagree with my opinions, but I hope, at the very least, that people will read this and understand that there is another side to the story here. There are legitimate reasons to vote UCP, and many of us who are voting UCP are well-educated, very well informed on the issues and have considered them carefully, as opposed to just voting based on election sign colours or team loyalty.

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Happy Monday everyone, welcome to another UPG of the Week. Meet the Turks in Bulgaria!

Region: Bulgaria

https://preview.redd.it/duvsinh86e1b1.png?width=425&format=png&auto=webp&s=4144f4cfd5b313cb50f3c99f8ae73a601783f45a
Stratus Index Ranking (Urgency): 107
It has been noted to me by u/JCmathetes that I should explain this ranking. Low numbers are more urgent, both physically and spiritually together, while high numbers are less urgent. The scale is 1-177, with one number assigned to each country. So basically on a scale from Afghanistan (1) to Finland (177), how urgent are the peoples physical and spiritual needs.

The Stratus Index - Synthesizes reliable data from different sources to clearly display the world’s most urgent spiritual and physical needs.
The vast majority of missions resources go to people and places already Reached by the Gospel, while only 3% of missionaries and 1% of missions money are deployed among the Unreached. This is the Great Imbalance. As a result, there are more people without access to the Gospel today than a decade ago. Stratus seeks to equip the global church with fresh vision to accomplish the Great Commission by addressing some of the factors that perpetuate the Great Imbalance. We hope this tool allows the church to better understand what steps will be required to overcome the barriers that prevent needs from being met, spurring informed and collaborative missions strategy. Stratus Website

Climate: Bulgaria has a varied and changeable climate, which results from being positioned at the meeting point of the Mediterranean, Oceanic and Continental air masses combined with the barrier effect of its mountains. Northern Bulgaria averages 1 °C (1.8 °F) cooler, and registers 200 millimetres (7.9 in) more precipitation, than the regions south of the Balkan mountains. Temperature amplitudes vary significantly in different areas. The lowest recorded temperature is −38.3 °C (−36.9 °F), while the highest is 45.2 °C (113.4 °F). Precipitation averages about 630 millimetres (24.8 in) per year, and varies from 500 millimetres (19.7 in) in Dobrudja to more than 2,500 millimetres (98.4 in) in the mountains. Continental air masses bring significant amounts of snowfall during winter
Rila, the highest mountain range in the Balkans and Southeast Europe
Terrain: The most notable topographical features of the country are the Danubian Plain, the Balkan Mountains, the Thracian Plain, and the Rila-Rhodope massif. The southern edge of the Danubian Plain slopes upward into the foothills of the Balkans, while the Danube defines the border with Romania. The Thracian Plain is roughly triangular, beginning southeast of Sofia and broadening as it reaches the Black Sea coast. The Balkan mountains run laterally through the middle of the country from west to east. The mountainous southwest has two distinct alpine type ranges—Rila and Pirin, which border the lower but more extensive Rhodope Mountains to the east, and various medium altitude mountains to west, northwest and south, like Vitosha, Osogovo and Belasitsa. Musala, at 2,925 metres (9,596 ft), is the highest point in both Bulgaria and the Balkans. The Black Sea coast is the country's lowest point. Plains occupy about one third of the territory, while plateaux and hills occupy 41%. Most rivers are short and with low water levels. The longest river located solely in Bulgarian territory, the Iskar, has a length of 368 kilometres (229 mi). The Struma and the Maritsa are two major rivers in the south.
The village of Cherven, Ruse Province
Wildlife of Bulgaria: Overall, 41,493 plant and animal species are present. Larger mammals with sizable populations include deer (106,323 individuals), wild boar (88,948), golden jackal (47,293) and red fox (32,326). Partridges number some 328,000 individuals, making them the most widespread gamebird. There are also bears, wolves, hedgehogs, egyptian vultures, otters, and lynx. Thankfully there are no monkeys in Bulgaria. Praise the Lord.
The Golden Jackal in Bulgaria
Environmental Issues: Bulgaria, a member of the European Union, faces serious environmental challenges, including air pollution from industrial emissions, river pollution and deforestation.
Languages: Bulgarian is the only language with official status and native for 85% of the population. It belongs to the Slavic group of languages but has a number of grammatical peculiarities, shared with its closest relative Macedonian, that set it apart from other Slavic languages: these include a complex verbal morphology (which also codes for distinctions in evidentiality), the absence of noun cases and infinitives, and the use of a suffixed definite article. Other significant languages spoken in Bulgaria are Turkish and Romani, which according to the 2011 census were spoken natively by 9.1% and 4.2% of the population, respectively. The Turks speak Turkish.
Government Type: Unitary parliamentary republic

People: The Turks of Bulgaria

A Turkish man
Population: 557,000
Estimated Foreign Workers Needed: 11+
Beliefs: The Turks of Bulgaria are 0.1% Christian. That means out of their population of 557,000 there are roughly maybe 557 believers. That is roughly 1 believer for every 1,000 unbeliever.
Most Rumelian Turks in Bulgaria are Sunni Muslim, even though the communists closed most of their mosques and converted them into schools, libraries, museums, and government buildings. Today, the mosques are being restored and rebuilt. Financial support from Turkey and Saudi Arabia has enabled Rumelian Turks to build Islamic schools and finance the training of Muslim teachers. Although Muslim missionaries from Turkey and Iran are endeavoring to make Rumelian Turks stronger Muslims, many Turks consider themselves secularists or atheists because they are frustrated with Islamic fundamentalism, corruption and hypocrisy. They are not open to Christianity because they have had so many Christian enemies in their past.
Banya Bashi Mosque in Sofia, Bulgaria
History: Rumelian Turks are descendants of the Ottoman Turks who migrated from Central Asia during the thirteenth century, conquered Anatolia (modern day Turkey), and eventually established the Ottoman Empire. At its peak, the Ottoman Empire encompassed the Balkan Mountains, Arabia and North Africa. During this time Turks settled in Bulgarian towns and served as military personnel or administrators or worked as craftsmen. The nearly five hundred years of Ottoman-Turkish dominion significantly impacted the Bulgarian language, culture and economic development. The large Turkish minority in Bulgaria and the strained relations between the Bulgarians and the Turks—both individually and nationally—are partly the consequences of this period. Since Bulgaria's independence in 1878, thousands of Turks have migrated back to Turkey. The remaining Turkish community has suffered growing discrimination and resentment by the Bulgarian population. During communist rule in Bulgaria (from 1947 to 1989), Muslim Turks, with their "outdated" religious customs, were considered an obstacle to a modern industrialized society. From 1984 to 1989, the communist government carried out a bitter persecution program against the Turks, forcing them to take Bulgarian names, destroying Muslim sections in cemeteries, and forbidding Islamic religious practices. Thousands were beaten, imprisoned or killed. At the height of the persecution in 1989, an additional 350,000 Turks fled to Turkey, overwhelming that country with refugees at a time of high unemployment.
Turkish refugees ca 1877
Culture: Typical qualification that all people groups can't be summed up in small paragraphs and this is an over generalization.
A palace coup in 1989 brought down the communist dictator. They reinstated Turkish names, Turks were allowed to speak Turkish openly, and Bulgaria lifted restrictions on Islamic religious practices. The cultural rights of Turks are now generally well respected, but they are disadvantaged relative to the Bulgarians in terms of income, presence in the professions and in the commercial sector. Because of religious, linguistic, and social differences, Turks have not often intermarried with the local Bulgarians. If Turkish men marry outside their community, the usually chose Muslim, non-Turkish women. The Turks favor dishes made with lamb and vegetables. They also enjoy milk products such as yogurt and cheeses, as well as strong Turkish coffee. The export-oriented agricultural business is where most Rumelian Turks now work.
Prayer Request:

• Pray that the sheer wonder of knowing Jesus and the impact he has on their lives and the joy he brings spur believers to share Christ with the Turkish people in Bulgaria.
• Pray the hearts of the Turkish people would be stirred by a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit readying them for the time when they hear and respond to the gospel.
• Pray Turks will experience dreams and visions of Jesus leading them into a saving relationship with him.
• Pray for an unstoppable movement to Christ among the Turks in Bulgaria.
• Pray against Putin and his insane little war.
• Pray for our nation (the United States), that we Christians can learn to come alongside our hurting brothers and sisters and learn to carry one another's burdens in a more Christlike manner than we have done historically.
• Pray that in this time of chaos and panic that the needs of the unreached are not forgotten by the church. Pray that our hearts continue to ache to see the unreached hear the Good News.

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1)
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Here are the previous weeks threads on the UPG of the Week for Reformed from 2023 (plus a few from 2022 so this one post isn't so lonely). To save some space on these, all UPG posts made 2019-now are here, I will try to keep this current.

People Group	Country	Continent	Date Posted	Beliefs
Turks	Bulgaria	Europe	05/22/2023	Islam
Kinnara	Sri Lanka	Asia	05/15/2023	Buddhism***
Yonaguni	Japan	Asia	05/08/2023	Animism
Persian	Iran	Asia	04/10/2023	Islam
Ngazidja Comorian	Comoros	Africa	04/03/2023	Islam
Uyghur (2nd)	China	Asia	03/27/2023	Islam
Aimaq	Afghanistan	Asia	03/20/2023	Islam
Shughni	Tajikistan	Asia	03/13/2023	Islam
Punjabi	Canada	North America	03/06/2023	Sikhism
Kurds	Turkey	Asia**	02/13/2023	Islam***
Krymchak	Ukraine*	Europe**	02/06/2023	Judaism
Talysh	Azerbaijan	Asia**	01/30/2023	Islam
Shan	Myanmar	Asia	01/23/2023	Buddhism***
Shaikh - 2nd post	Bangladesh	Asia	01/09/2023	Islam
Hindi	United States	North America	12/19/2022	Hinduism
Somali	Finland	Europe	12/05/2022	Islam
Hemshin	Turkey	Asia**	11/28/2022	Islam
Waorani (Reached)	Ecuador	South America	11/21/2022	Christianity

* Tibet belongs to Tibet, not China.
** Russia/Turkey/etc is Europe but also Asia so...
*** this likely is not the true religion that they worship, but rather they have a mixture of what is listed with other local religions, or they have embraced a liberal drift and are leaving faith entirely but this is their historical faith.
As always, if you have experience in this country or with this people group, feel free to comment or let me know and I will happily edit it so that we can better pray for these peoples! I shouldn't have to include this, but please don't come here to argue with people or to promote universalism. I am a moderator so we will see this if you do.
Here is a list of definitions in case you wonder what exactly I mean by words like "Unreached".
Here is a list of missions organizations that reach out to the world to do missions for the Glory of God.

Thanks for the encouragement team, here you go: (You can probably tell where I'm up to since the descriptions change a bit partway through.) Luckily I dont mind spoilers!
To summarize:
Not taking any off-camera sales into account, agents who sold this season are (from highest to lowest earnt):

• Mary $1,050,000
• Brett $525,000
• Heather $510,000
• Emma $171,780
• Chelsea $117,000
• Jason $94,500

​
Harry Styles’ old house
Listed for $7,995,000 commission of $239,850
1271 Saint Ives Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90069 MLS #22-208297 Zillow
Currently still on the market. Price has dropped to $7,245,000 commission of $217,350
​
The Penthouses Romain is working on (AKA Jason’s money pit)
West penthouse listed for $6,995,000 commission of $209,850
7135 Hollywood Blvd PENTHOUSE W, Los Angeles, CA 90046 MLS #22-215019 Zillow
East penthouse listed for $7,495,000 commission of $224,850
7135 Hollywood Blvd #E, Los Angeles, CA 90046 MLS #22-215021 Zillow
They’re both still for sale.
​
The house from Emma’s brokers open – Micah’s house
Originally listed last season (6/2/2022) for $18,995,000 commission of $569,850
9406 Lloydcrest Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 MLS #22-163023 Zillow
Sale fell through Dec 2022, re-listed Jan 2023 for $12,995,000 commission of $389,850
It’s still for sale. Interestingly the listed agent is Peter Cornell (AKA Christine, Emma, Heather’s - and possibly Jason’s with his track record – ex) not Emma.
​
Chelsea’s Santa Monica house
Price listed as TBD.
1115 Georgina Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90402 Zillow
Was never listed for sale so maybe an off market deal? Last sold in 2016 for $7,500,000. Listed for rent in Dec 2022 for $125,000 per month, price dropped to $85,000 per month in Jan 2023, removed March 2023.
Zillow price estimate $20,450,000
​
Emma’s listing – Micah’s old house
Listed for $5,495,000 commission of $164,850
8469 Hillside Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90069 Zillow
Sold for $5,726,000 on 11/10/22
Commission $171,780
​
House Heather and Bre visit
Listed for $24,995,000 commission of $749,850
1871 N Stanley Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046 MLS #23-240503 Zillow
Still for sale, price dropped to $22,000,000 commission of $660,000
​
Not shown but mentioned:
Mary’s $35,000,000 sale
500 Perugia Way, Los Angeles, CA 90077 Zillow
Had been on the market (originally for $45,000,000) since Aug 2021, price dropped to $39,500,000 in Oct 2021 then removed in Feb 2022. This was sold July 2022, Mary also mentioned it on her Instagram.
Commission: $1,050,000
​
Chelsea’s Manhattan Beach house
Listed for $21,999,000 commission of $660,000
300 The Strand, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 Zillow
Still listed for sale (for original asking price) on The Oppenheim Group website although Zillow says it was removed from the market on 06/01/22. It was only on the market for just over a month before it was pulled. (Listed 04/26/22)
Now for rent for $50,000 per month with a different agency. Also listed on Oppenheim Group website for $55,000 per month.
​
Nicole’s listing
Listed for $11,990,000 commission of $359,000
1151 N Doheny Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90069 Zillow
1151 N. Doheny Dr. - The Oppenheim Group Real Estate (ogroup.com)
I’m showing both the Zillow and Oppenheim Group website listings because the interior and specs are different, but it’s quite clearly the same house. I’m wondering if The Oppenheim Group site is counting the guest house in the sqft? Or the magic of tv….
It’s still for sale. Listed on the Oppenheim Group site for an off market for sale. According to Zillow it was last sold in Aug 2019.
​
Woodvale Rd
Listed for $25,000,000 commission of $749,850
15930 Woodvale Rd, Encino, CA - 8 Beds for sale for $25,000,000 (theagencyre.com)
15930 Woodvale Rd, Encino, CA 91436 Zillow
Sold in Feb 2023 for $17,500,000, but by another agency.
​
Benedict Canyon
Listed for $8,995,000 commission of $270,000
2231 Benedict Canyon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 Compass
2231 Benedict Canyon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 Zillow
Sold in Sept 2022 for $8,956,000, but by (and bought through) another agency.
​
Oak View Drive
Listed for $7,895,000 commission of $236,850
17140 Oak View Dr, Encino, CA 91316 MLS #22-170991 Zillow
Still for sale. Listed for $6,500,000 no longer with The Oppenheim Group.
​
Londonderry Place
Listed for $33,000,000 commission of $1,000,000
1369 Londonderry Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90069 Zillow
Removed from sale Aug 2022
​
Zorada Court
Listed for $9,990,000 commission of $297,000
2341 Zorada Ct, Los Angeles, CA 90046 MLS# 22-220851 Redfin
Sold for $6,850,000 in March 2023 by another agency
​
Chelsea’s Manhattan Beach house, part 2
Listed for $3,950,000 commission of $118,500
121 15th St, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 MLS# 22-192181 Redfin
121 15th St, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 Zillow
Sold for $3,900,000 in Nov 2022
Commission $117,000
​
Beverly Blvd
Listed for $17,950,000 commission of $538,500
8899 Beverly Blvd #7BE, West Hollywood, CA 90048 Estately 🧡 MLS# 23228719
Sold in Jan 2023 for $17,500,000 by Brett
Commission $525,000
Heather sold her clients another penthouse in Century City
1 W Century Dr Unit 38A, Los Angeles, CA 90067 MLS# 21-760964 Redfin
Sold for $17,000,000 in Oct 2022 (Heather)
Commission $510,000
​
19th Helena Drive
Listed for $8,800,000 commission of $264,000
12318 19th Helena Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90049 MLS# 22-204739 Redfin
12318 19th Helena Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90049 Zillow
Sold for $7,000,000 in March 2023 by another agency.
​
Sunset Plaza Drive
Listed for $4,995,000 commission of $149,850
2161 Sunset Plaza Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90069 Zillow
2161 Sunset Plaza Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90069 MLS# 22-191041 Redfin
Sold April 2023 for $3,150,000 by Jason
Commission $94,500

From my travel report (2013):
Who was once in Lisbon is usually so enthusiastic about this worth seeing city that he always comes back - like us.
This time we had a hotel near the famous Praca Comercial. The Praca Comercial is a very spacious square surrounded by arcades with a flight of steps leading to the Tagus. Most of the government buildings are located here. If you walk from the Rua Augusta to the Praca Comercial, you can see the equestrian statue of King José I through the triumphal arch. The Rua Augusta - from the Praca do Comercio to Rossio - is a pedestrian zone and one of the shopping miles of Lisbon with many small stores and cafes.
We took streetcar No. 28 to the end of the line. From there we took the bus to Largo da Graca and then walked to the Pantheon. Construction of this building, intended as a church, began in the 17th century and was not finished until the 1960s. However, the Igreja de Santa Egracia was never used as a church, but was transformed into the National Pantheon. Here many important Portuguese personalities found their last resting place.
On the way to the Castello, we passed the church of Sao Vicente de Fora with its double towers, consecrated in 1629. The Castelo de Sao Jorge was a fortress in earlier times to guard the mouth of the Tagus River. Until the 16th century it was the royal residence. In the great earthquake of 1755, the castle complex was destroyed, as was almost the entire city.
From the Mirador de Santa Lucia we walked further downhill and came to the medieval cathedral, which was built after the victory over the Moors instead of a mosque. The massive church was built in 1147 and is the oldest structure in the city. Of course, the cathedral has been restored several times in the meantime.
We took the metro to Praca Marqués de Pombal (Rotunda) a circular square with the monument to the Marqués in the center. From there we walked the boulevard of Avenida da Liberdade to Rossio Square. There are still some magnificent old houses along the Avenida, some of which date from the early 19th century.
From Praca Rossio we walked on to Praca dos Restauradores. From there, the Elevador Gloria climbs about 265 meters to Barrio Alto, covering 45 meters of elevation.This funicular is over 100 years old and was operated by steam until 1915, when it was electrified. From the Mirador de Sao Pedro de Alcanera you have a very nice view up to the Castelo Sao Jorge.
On the way back to the Praca do Comercio we passed the city hall "Pacos do Concelho", which was built in 1755 after the great earthquake in neoclassical style. At this place the Republic of Portugal was proclaimed in 1910. After a fire in 1996, the building was extensively restored.
The "Mercado da Ribeira", built in 1876, is located directly on the banks of the Tejo River. This is the oldest and largest indoor market in Lisbon with a wide range of fruits, vegetables and freshly caught fish.
The Alfama is the oldest quarter of Lisbon. There are very well preserved old houses here, as this neighborhood was largely spared in the great earthquake of 1755. In Barrio Alto, the church of Sao Rocque is located on Praca Trindade Coelho an. This Jesuit church has a plain facade but a spectacular interior. With 16th-century azulejo walls and capelas decorated with gold, precious woods, ivory and gems, this church is one of the most glamorous and magnificent in Europe. During the great earthquake of 1755, this church was not destroyed.
In Rua Nova de Trindade you can find a traditional beer house with a traditional cuisine in a former convent with magnificent azulejo walls from the 19th century.
From Lisbon you can easily take the Eléctrico to Belém. And the first thing you will see is the Hieronymite Monastery in Belem "Mosteiro dos Jerónimos". This monastery is one of the most impressive buildings of Lisbon. The construction of the monastery, built in the Manueline style - a variant of the late Gothic - was begun in 1502, but it was not finished until about 40 years later. On the pillars, windows and portals one can see many Indian-oriental motifs. The construction was financed by the flourishing overseas trade of Portugal at that time and also stood for the power and wealth of the country at the time of the discoveries. The monastery existed until 1834, then became an orphanage for a time, and today contains various museums. The double-story cloister is considered one of the most beautiful in the world. Also worth seeing are the azulejos in the refectory.
In addition to the sarcophagi of the royal family, there is also that of Vasco da Gama, among others. In 1983, the monastery was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The garden in front of the monastery is very beautiful.
From the monastery you walk through a beautifully landscaped park, past the marble colossus of the Palace of Culture to the Monument of the Discoverers. The Palace of Culture is a large cultural and exhibition center, design museum, art gallery, drama and conference center with constantly changing exhibitions and concerts
The Monument to the Discoverers, a concrete structure 52 meters high, was opened in 1952. It depicts 30 important Portuguese personalities, at the top Henry the Navigator and, of course, Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan, among others - to name the most famous. Inside there is a museum and on the roof there is a viewing platform
You pass the 8 m high lighthouse, which was built in 1865. Also worth seeing is the replica of a seaplane of the type Fairey II-D MKII. In 1922, Portuguese pilots made the first South Atlantic crossing from Lisbon with such a type of aircraft - in several stages and with several planes.
Then, from afar, you can see the 35-meter-high Torre de Belém, gleaming white like a moated castle. The landmark used to stand on an island and guard the entrance to the harbor. Due to the silting up of the river, the tower now stands directly on the banks of the Tagus and greets the arriving ships. The tower was built in 1521, when Portugal was still a leading naval power. On the battlements you can see the cross of the Knights of Christ, oriental and Manueline architectural elements are visible. The tower was also used as a dungeon at times, both by the Spanish conquistadors and by King Miguel as late as the 19th century. The tower, from whose 35 m high observation deck one has a beautiful view, is today a World Heritage Site.
Inaugurated in February 2000, the monument was erected in memory of the fallen Portuguese soldiers in the overseas battles. The names and years of death of the approximately 10,000 fallen soldiers are inscribed on stone plaques on the wall. The monument is a pyramid-shaped glass structure surrounded by water, overall a simple construction. In the center burns an eternal fire and in front of the monument always patrol two soldiers.
If you want to escape the hustle and bustle of Lisbon with its many tourists, it is a good idea to take the ferry from the Cais do Sodré next to the train station across the Tagus River to the village of Cacilhas on the opposite side. The round-trip fare is only €2.90. The ferry is used mainly by many locals who live in Cacilhas and work in Lisbon. Once on the other side, the first thing you are excited about is the great view of Lisbon. The place Cacilhas is in and of itself quite modest. But people - especially from the capital - come for the good fish restaurants. At the other end of the village we discovered an old sailing ship right next to a submarine. Above the village is the monumental statue of Christ, erected in 1959, in gratitude for the fact that Portugal - partly because of its neutrality - was largely spared the horrors of World War II.
Only about 40 km from Lisbon and about 20 km from Sintra - also easily accessible by public bus - is the magnificent complex of Mafra - the most important baroque building in Portugal. The PALÁCIO NACIONAL DE MARA - the largest castle and monastery complex in Portugal. As if from nowhere, the palace Convento de Mafra appears imposing and unreal like a backdrop. At the beginning of the 18th century, half the world belonged to the seafaring nation of Portugal, while the dark spirit of the Inquisition reigned in the mother country. In addition to the baroque Franciscan monastery, King Joao V had the palace, a magnificent basilica, a hunting ground of 1187 hectares, an elaborate library and the baroque park "Jardim do Cerco" built for himself and the royal family in record time between 1717 and 1730. The origin of this oversized "monastery-palace" is said to go back to a vow. The king, who was childless until then, vowed to endow a monastery if an heir to the throne was born .An heir to the throne was not born, but nevertheless, after the birth of a daughter, the construction of the monastery began, which is said to have involved up to 45,000 workers and 7,000 soldiers. The palace and the monastery are of enormous dimensions (about 1200 rooms, about 4700 doors, 156 staircases, and 29 patios and has a floor space of 38,000 square meters), comparable to the "Escorial" in Spain this was intended by the king, who was considered very extravagant.
The construction was financed - like so many others in this time - mainly by gold and diamonds from Brazil... The magnificent palace and monastery complex in Mafra was built from 1717 to 1730. Due to high revenues from gold imports from Brazil, the construction of this elaborate complex for more than 300 monks was possible. After the inauguration, construction work continued until 1755.
In 1730, the basilica - as large as a cathedral - was consecrated. The construction of this complex was intended to eclipse Spain's Escorial, and so it is an example of the royal megalomania of that time. The basilica is entirely covered with local marble of different colors. The figures, facades, side chapels and the side altars are made of Italian marble.
The church of the monastery is dedicated to "Saint Anthony" and "Virgin Mary". It has six historical organs from 1807. You can visit the high rooms, halls, the music hall, the ornate library, the hunting room with trophies, the queen's bedroom and the king's private chambers.
The monastery with its simple cells, the dining room, a medieval infirmary, an apothecary and the kitchen of the Franciscans can be reached directly from the castle chambers. Their original equipment and furniture can be visited.
The convent has one of the most important libraries in Portugal - about 40,000 volumes, mainly 18th century knowledge. Architecturally, the library is a work of art. Thousands of precious books and treatises stand on the artistically designed wooden shelves. Among them are rare first editions and other scientific works, many of them bound in leather. The floor is made of marble mosaic
The pretty town of SINTRA lies at the foot of a densely covered rocky mountain range Sintra is an ancient Moorish town and was conquered by the Portuguese in 1147. Since the Middle Ages Sintra was the summer residence of the Portuguese kings and nobility. Apart from the famous and much visited castles, the town also has its charm with the winding streets.
In the center is the National Palace, which was continuously inhabited from the 15th century until the end of the monarchy in 1910. Two huge chimneys rising up from the kitchen are striking.
The extravagant colorfully painted Palacio de Pena, built in 1842, has been called the Neuschwanstein of Portugal - a hodgepodge of styles. The palace sits in the middle of a subtropical park high above Sintra and is surrounded by forests.
The battlemented walls of CASELO DOS MOUROS are clearly visible from Sintra. A steep paved path leads to the castle ruins. From the top you have a beautiful view of the city. This "vantage point" had already been used by the Moors in the 9th century to "keep an eye" on the sea and the region, so to speak. But in the 12th century the fort began to decay, and this was further destroyed by fire and earthquakes in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Just outside Sintra is the famous MONSERRATE PARK. The English millionaire Sir Francis Cook had this park and the castle built in Moorish-Gothic-Indian style in 1856. The whole estate has an area of 50 hectares, the park is about 15 hectares. In addition to about 1000 native plants, Cook imported many exotic specimens - rare trees and shrubs from all over the world. Exotic tree giants grow in this park, there are 25 palm species alone; and the fern trees were imported from Australia by Sir Francis Cook himself.
You can walk along the so-called botanical path, and see the variety of plants. There is a rose garden, a Mexico valley, a Japanese garden, a valley of ferns, and many exotic plants that amazingly could be acclimatized here: Bunya-Bunya tree and rubber tree from Australia, cypress of tears from China, Mexican cypress, etc.
In the palace you can see the main atrium with a beautiful wooden stucco dome, in the center of which there is an alabaster fountain in Moorish-Andalusian tradition. Cook imported Persian carpets, Indian furniture, Japanese vases and valuable porcelain.
The library has walnut shelves, the living room Indian furniture, and Cook acquired a desk that once belonged to the Doge of Venice. There is a music hall and a small chapel. The gallery with arches and columns is also very beautiful.
From Sintra it was not far to CABO DA ROCA - the westernmost point of Portugal. The rough headland with the steep coast is 150 m above sea level. The roaring waves of the Atlantic Ocean thunder against the rugged rocks. The plants growing here must be very hardy because of the salty air and strong winds.
The lighthouse from 1841 has such a strong light that it can still be seen at a distance of about 46 km. At the cape you can see the mighty monument with the cross on the top from far away. The famous Portuguese poet Luis da Camoes (1524-80) wrote the inscription "Where the earth ends and the sea begins".
Nearby is Praia Grande, an extensive sandy beach. The consistent high waves are ideal for surfing and bodysurfing.
From Sintra, our journey continued along the coast to the popular and exclusive beach resorts of CASCAIS and ESTORIL. Between these two places there is a beach promenade.
Both places have developed from small fishing villages to popular resorts. Estoril is still considered a fashionable seaside resort, you can still see many noble old villas and hotels from the 19th century.
From Estoril we went over the Tejo bridge "Ponte de 25 Abril" first to SETUBAL. The city - 32 km south of Lisbon - is located at the mouth of the Sado and is with 95,000 inhabitants the third largest port and industrial city of Portugal.
Worth seeing is the cathedral Santa Maria da Graca from the 16th century with beautiful wall tiles. Above the city is the 16th century Castelo de Sao Filipe, today a luxurious pousada. A ferry takes you to the Troia peninsula with dunes and sandy beaches and many tourist facilities, visited mainly by the Portuguese. Already during the Roman times there was a fishing port here. Today Setubal is a large tourist center with pedestrian zones in the old town and many parks.
From Setubal we drove the coastal road to LAGOS. There we rented a nice apartment directly at the sea. The apartment house is located above the famous beach "Praia do Porto Mós". From the house we could also make a hike on the cliffs above the beach in the direction of Porto Luz, with always beautiful views of the sea. Below our apartment house is the "Praia de Porto Mós", a very long and wide sandy beach.
Lagos is an old port city and was once a transhipment point for slaves from Africa. In the center of the city - Praca da República with a statue of Henry the Navigator - the slave market took place. The first Portuguese voyages of discovery were also made from here.
In the old town is the church "Igreja de Santo Antonio", built in the 18th century in Portuguese Baroque style with gilded carvings in the altar area.
The city walls (Mulralhas) are originally of Carthaginian origin, were first extended by the Arabs, and then again in the 14th and 16th centuries as the city grew larger. The Castelo de Governadores was built in the 14th-16th centuries where an Arab castle once stood.
Although the city was badly damaged by the earthquake in 1755, the old town still has many historic houses with traditional brickwork, wrought-iron balconies and shaded courtyards. In the pedestrian zone you can find numerous restaurants. The marina, on the other hand, has a modern flair with its apartment buildings, stores and restaurants.
The coastal town of Lagos with its many different sandy beaches is now popular and well known and attracts many tourists every year. First of all there is the 7 km long beach "Praia Meia" bordered by dunes in a large bay. There is plenty of parking everywhere, the beach is well suited for swimmers and water sports enthusiasts, and you can also find restaurants everywhere. The beach "Praia Dona Ana" is framed by the famous rock formations of the Algarve. The beach is very busy, and since it is not very big, it can get a bit crowded. From here also the boats start to the grotto trips.
To the "Ponte de Piedade" with the lighthouse you should definitely go. From here you have a beautiful view of the cliffs and some small beaches. E.g. the "Praia do Canavial", which is however badly accessible. Near the Ponte de Piedade there is also the "Praia do Camho". From the parking lot, steps lead to two small sandy beaches connected by a tunnel. The "climb" - especially when it is hot - is quite tedious.
From Lagos we also made a trip to the west. First we drove to LUZ, an idyllic seaside resort in a bay with a sandy beach and a black volcanic rock. There is a beautiful approx. 1 km long beach promenade "Promenade Avenidas dos Pescadores" with the typical Portuguese street pavement. Worth seeing is the village church "Senhora da Luz", built in 1874, simply whitewashed, inside the altar is decorated with wood carvings covered with gold leaf. In the former fortress Fortaleza is now a restaurant.
We continued to BURGAU with a 300 m wide sandy bay. From there, all paths go more or less steeply uphill to get to the village with the houses lying close together. Between the houses are mostly only tiny staircases. The village is still a fishing village, as evidenced by the numerous boats on the beach. There are some restaurants, but most of them are frequented only by locals.
20 km away from Lagos is the old fishing village SALEMA. The beach is surrounded by rocks. In the small center by the sea you can find stores. Restaurants and accommodations. Fortunately the place was not overcrowded yet.
PORTIMAO is a port and industrial city and is located at the mouth of the Rio Arada. After Faro it is the economically most important city of the Algarve. Quite beautiful is the river promenade in Portimao. And people are proud of the shopping center "Aqua Portimao", which was opened in 2011.
In this area, tourism is most pronounced in the Algarve. To the south is the 1.5 km long beach Praia da Roche with mighty, bizarrely shaped boulders. This fine sandy beach has attracted tourists since the turn of the century. Today you can see from the beach the many partly ugly buildings of hotels and apartment houses.
The small fishing village ALVOR has remained more original with its narrow streets and typical Portuguese houses. There is tourist infrastructure, but the Portuguese character has been preserved. The village has beautiful old streets, which can be best explored on foot.
On the lagoon, apart from the new promenade, there is a fishing port with colorful boats. Dunes separate the sea with a beautiful beach from the lagoon and wetlands. Alvor is not constricted by rocky coasts like many other places in the Algarve, so it has a wide long beach.
A beautiful drive took us to the most southwestern end of Europe - to CABO SAO VICENTE, a 100 m long and 37 m wide rocky plateau with a barren cliff about 60 m high. About 2 million visitors come here every year.
Already in the antiquity there was a holy place here, which was consecrated to Saturn. The Christians named this last tip of the mainland - also called the "end of the world" - after Saint Vicente. The fortress (Fortaleza Beliche) was built in the 16th century to protect the Franciscan convent next to it from pirate attacks. The lighthouse at the cape was originally built in 1846, but was gradually enlarged and modernized. The cone of light from the lighthouse can be seen 90 km across the Atlantic Ocean, it is the most luminous in Europe and monitors one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Unfortunately, every year there are also some crashes on the cliff from careless tourists and even local fishermen. Outside there are some souvenir stands and the "unavoidable" "Last Bratwurst before America" - whoever likes it...
On the way to Sagres - with beautiful beaches - you come to FORTALEZA DE SAGRES on a 1000 m long and 300 m wide rock plateau. Inside the former fortress there is said to have been the legendary nautical school of Henry the Navigator. However, no remains are found because it was never located here.....
But in any case, the Portuguese explorers sailed from here into the unknown, and Henry the Navigator also made his discoveries from here. Thus, this area also became the center of seafaring.
The fortress is Portuguese national monument, originally from the 15th century, destroyed by Sir Francis Drake and rebuilt from the 16th century. One enters the fortress through a wide entrance gate with the coat of arms of Henry the Navigator. The first thing you see is a circle with a diameter of 43 meters and 32 spokes carved in stone from the time of Henry the Navigator. Generally, this circle is thought to be a wind rose (Rosa dos Ventos). However, there are also opinions that this could have been a sundial.
On the site there is also the Church of the Virgin of Graces (Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Graca) with an image of Saint Vicente, built in the 16th century on the foundations of the Church of Santa Maria. It is recommended to take a walk on a 3 km paved path along the cliff around the rock plateau to enjoy the beautiful views.
In the area of Sagres there are also a large number of megalithic sites that indicate prehistoric past.
The small town of SAGRES is located at the westernmost tip of the Algarve, and in the surrounding area you can experience the roaring sea, see the immense cliffs and swim or surf on the extensive beaches.

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Today's Reading, via Project Gutenberg:

VI

It is to Mr Lane's extraordinary enthusiasm, energy, and love of Art that we owe the pleasure of this beautiful collection of pictures, and, that it may not be but a passing pleasure, it is his proposal to collect funds for the purchase of these pictures, and to found a Gallery of Modern Art in Dublin. A few days before the Exhibition opened he came to ask for an article about these pictures but it seemed to me that all I had to say about pictures in the form of articles I had already said; and I did not dare to accept his proposal to deliver a lecture on French Art until it occurred to me that being probably the only person in Dublin who had known the painters whose works hang on the wall, I might, without being thought too presumptuous, come here—I will not say to discuss French Art—I prefer to say to talk about Manet, Degas, Renoir, Pissaro, Monet, and Sisley, and in doing so to discuss French Art indirectly. But before beginning to talk of these great men I must tell how I came to know them, else you will be at a loss to understand why they consented to know me.
When my mother offered me my choice of Oxford or Cambridge, I told her that I had decided to go to Paris. My dear boy, your education—you learned nothing at school. That is why, my dear mother, I intend to devote myself entirely to my own education, and I think it can be better conducted by myself than by a professor. You are taking William with you? my mother asked. I answered that I had arranged that he should accompany me. My mother was soothed, for a valet means conformity to certain conventions. But the young man who sets out on artistic adventure must try to separate himself from all conventions, whether of politics, society, or creed, and my valet did not remain with me for more than six or eight months; for, like Lord Byron's, his continual sighing after beef, beer, and a wife, his incapacity for learning a single word of a foreign language—the beds he couldn't sleep on, and the wines he couldn't drink—I forget how the sentence closes in the letter (addressed, perhaps, to Mr Murray)—obliged me to send William Malowney back to England. But too much love of living was not the sole cause of William's dismissal. I had begun to feel that he stood between me and myself; I wished above all things to be myself, and to be myself I should have to live the outer as well as the inner life of the Quarter. Myself was the goal I was making for, and to reach it I felt that I must put off the appearance of a gentleman, a change that my William resented; and being unwilling to reduce him to the servitude of brushing French trousers and hats, I gave him the sack. He died in Brompton Consumption Hospital.
In the Middle Ages young men went in search of the Grail; today the café is the quest of a young man in search of artistic education. But the cafés about the Odéon and the Luxembourg Gardens did not correspond to my need, I wearied of noisy students, the Latin Quarter seemed to me a little out of fashion; eventually I migrated to Montmartre, and continued my search along the Boulevard Extérieur. One evening I discovered my café on the Place Pigalle, La Nouvelle Athènes! Who named it the Nouvelle Athènes I cannot say; some ancient cafetier who foresaw the future glory of his house; for it was La Nouvelle Athènes before the Impressionists, the Parnassians, and the Realists came to spend their evenings on the Place Pigalle. Or was it the burly proprietor, associated always in my mind with a certain excellent râble de lièvre? The name sounds as if it were invented on purpose. You wouldn't have thought it was a new Athens if you had seen it in the 'seventies, still less if you saw it today, though it still stretches up the acclivity into the Place Pigalle opposite the fountain, the last house of a block of buildings. In my day it was a café of ratés, literary and pictorial. Duranty, one of the original Realists, a contemporary of Flaubert, turned in to stay with us for an hour or so every night; a quiet, elderly man who knew that he had failed, and whom failure had saddened. Alexis Céard, and Hennique came in later. At the time I am speaking of Zola had ceased to go to the café, he spent his evenings with his wife; but his disciples—all except Maupassant and Huysmans (I do not remember ever having seen them there)—collected every midnight about the marble tables, lured to the Nouvelle Athènes by their love of Art. One generation of littérateurs associates itself with painting, the next with music. The aim and triumph of the Realist were to force the pen to compete with the painter's brush, and the engraver's needle in the description, let us say, of a mean street, just as the desire of a symbolistic writer was to describe the vague but intense sensations of music so accurately that the reader would guess the piece he had selected for description, though it were not named in the text. We all entertained doubts regarding the validity of the Art we practised, and envied the Art of the painter, deeming it superior to literature; and it is hardly an exaggeration to say that we used to weary a little of conversation among ourselves, just as dogs weary of their own society, and I think there was a feeling of relief among us all when the painters came in. We raised ourselves up to welcome them—Manet, Degas, Renoir, Pissaro, Monet, and Sisley; they were our masters. A partition rising a few feet or more over the hats of the men sitting at the four marble tables separated the glass front from the main body of the café; two tables in the right-hand corner were reserved for Manet and Degas, and it is pleasant to remember my longing to be received into that circle, and my longing to speak to Manet, whom I had begun to recognise as the great new force in painting. But evening after evening went by without my daring to speak to him, nor did he speak to me, until one evening—thrice happy evening!—as I sat thinking of him, pretending to be busy correcting proofs. He asked me if the conversation of the café did not distract my attention, and I answered: No, but you do, so like are you to your painting. It seems to me that we became friends at once, for I was invited to his studio in the Rue d'Amsterdam, where his greatest works were painted—all the works that are Manet and nothing but Manet, the real Manet, the Parisian Manet. But before speaking of his painting some description of his personality is essential to an understanding of Manet. It is often said that the personality of the artist concerns us not, and in the case of bad Art it is certainly true, for bad Art reveals no personality, bad Art is bad because it is anonymous. The work of the great artist is himself, and, being one of the greatest painters that ever lived, Manet's Art was all Manet; one cannot think of Manet's painting without thinking of the man himself. The last time I saw Monet was at dinner in the Cafe Royal, and, after talking of many things, suddenly, without any transition, Monet said, speaking out of a dream: How like Manet was to his painting! and I answered delighted, for it is always exciting to talk about Manet: Yes, how like! That blond, amusing face, the clear eyes that saw simply, truly, and quickly. And having said so much, my thoughts went back to the time when the glass door of the cafe grated upon the sanded floor, and Manet entered. Though by birth and by education essentially Parisian, there was something in his appearance and manner of speaking that often suggested an Englishman. Perhaps it was his dress—his clean-cut clothes and figure. That figure! Those square shoulders that swaggered as he went across the room, and the thin waist; the face, the beard, and the nose, satyr-like shall I say? No, for I would evoke an idea of beauty of line united to that of intellectual expression—frank words, frank passion in his convictions, loyal and simple phrases, clear as well-water, sometimes a little hard, sometimes as they flowed away bitter, but at the fountain-head sweet and full of light.
A man is often well told in an anecdote, and I remember a young man whom Manet thought well of, bringing his sister with him to the studio in the Rue Amsterdam—not an ill-looking girl, no better and no worse than another, a little commonplace, that was all. Manet was affable and charming; he showed his pictures, he talked volubly, but next day when the young man arrived and asked Manet what he thought of his sister, Manet said, extending his arm (the gesture was habitual to him): The last girl in the world I should have thought was your sister. The young man protested, saying Manet had seen his sister dressed to her disadvantage—she was wearing a thick woollen dress, for there was snow on the ground. Manet shook his head. I haven't to look twice; I'm in the habit of judging things.
These were his words, or very nearly, and they seem to me to throw a light upon Manet's painting. He saw quickly and clearly, and stated what he saw candidly, almost innocently. It was not well mannered perhaps to speak to a brother of his sister in those terms, but we have not come here to discuss good manners, for what are manners but the conventions that obtain at a certain moment, and among a certain class? Well-mannered people do not think sincerely, their minds are full of evasions and subterfuges. Well-mannered people constantly feel that they would not like to think like this or that they would not like to think like that, and whosoever feels he would not like to think out to the end every thought that may come into his mind should turn from Parnassus. In his search for new formulas, new moulds, all the old values must be swept aside. The artist must arrive at a new estimate of things; all must go into the melting-pot in the hope that out of the pot may emerge a new consummation of himself. For this end he must keep himself free from all creed, from all dogma, from all opinion, remembering that as he accepts the opinions of others he loses his talent, all his feelings and his ideas must be his own, for Art is a personal rethinking of life from end to end, and for this reason the artist is always eccentric. He is almost unaware of your moral codes, he laughs at them when he thinks of them, which is rarely, and he is unashamed as a little child. The word unashamed perhaps explains Manet's art better than any other. It is essentially unashamed, and in speaking of him one must never be afraid to repeat the word unashamed. Manet was born in what is known as refined society; he was a rich man; in dress and appearance he was an aristocrat; but to be aristocratic in Art one must avoid the aristocracy, and Manet was obliged for the sake of his genius to spend his evenings in the café of the Nouvelle Athènes, for there he found artists, lacking in talent, perhaps, but long haired, shabbily dressed, outcasts by choice and conviction, and from them he could get that which the artist needs more than all else—appreciation. He needed the rapin as the fixed star needs the planet, and the faith of the rapin is worth more to the artist than the bosom of the hostess, though she thrives in the Champs Élysées. The rapin helped Manet to live, for in the years I knew him he never sold a picture, and you will ask yourselves and wonder how it was that in a city like Paris great pictures should remain unsold. I will tell you. In many ways Paris is more like the rest of the world than we think for; the moneyed man in Paris, like the moneyed man in London, admires pictures in proportion as they resemble other pictures, but the rapin likes pictures in proportion as they differ from other pictures.
After Manet's death his friends made some little stir; there was a sale, and then the prices sank again, sank almost to nothing, and it seemed as if the world would never appreciate Manet. There was a time, fifteen or sixteen years ago, when Manet's pictures could have been bought for twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty pounds apiece, and I remember saying to Albert Wolff, some years after Manet's death: How is it that Degas and Whistler and Monet have come into their inheritance, but there is no sign of recognition of Manet's Art? Wolff answered: The time will never come when people will care for Manet's painting; and I left Tortoni's asking myself if the most beautiful painting the world had ever seen was destined to remain the most unpopular. That was fifteen years ago, and it took fifteen years for the light of Manet's genius to reach Ireland.
I have been asked which of the two pictures hanging in this room it would be better to buy for the Gallery of Modern Art, the Itinerant Musician or the portrait of Mademoiselle Gonzales. Mr Lane himself put this question to me, and I answered: I am afraid whichever you choose you will regret you had not chosen the other. The picture of the Itinerant Musician is a Spanish Manet, it was painted after Manet had seen Goya, but it is a Manet as much as the portrait of Mademoiselle Gonzales; to any one who knows Manet's work it possesses all the qualities which we associate with Manet. All the same, there is a veil between us and Manet in the Spanish picture. The veil is very thin, but there is a veil; the larger picture is Manet and Goya, but the portrait is Manet and nothing but Manet. And the portrait is an article of faith, for it says: Be not ashamed of anything but to be ashamed. There are Manets that I like more, but the portrait of Mademoiselle Gonzales is what Dublin needs. Salvation comes like a thief in the night, and it may be that Mademoiselle Gonzales will be purchased; if so, it will perhaps help to bring about the crisis we are longing for—that spiritual crisis when men shall begin once more to think out life for themselves, when men shall return to Nature naked and unashamed.
The glass door of the café grates upon the sand again, and Degas enters, a round-shouldered man in a suit of pepper-and-salt. Now there is nothing very trenchantly French about him, except the large necktie. His eyes are small, his words sharp, ironical, cynical. Degas and Manet are the leaders of the Impressionistic school, and their friendship has been jarred but once, when Degas came to the Rue Amsterdam and sat with his back to the pictures, saying that his eyes were too weak to look at them. If your eyes are too weak you shouldn't have come to see me, Manet answered. Manet is an instinct, Degas an intellectuality, and he believes with Edgar Poe that one becomes original by saying, I will not do a certain thing because it has been done before.
So the day came when Degas had to put Semiramis aside for a ballet girl; the ballet girl had not been painted before; it was Degas who introduced her and the acrobat and the repasseuse into art. And remembering that portraits lacked intimacy, he designed Manet sprawling on a sofa indifferent to his wife's music, thinking of the painting he had done that morning, or of the painting he was going to do the next morning. If Leonardo had lived in the nineteenth century, I said, he might have painted like that; and I wandered on through the Louvre thinking of the twain as intellectuals, till Rembrandt's portrait of his wife absorbed me as no other picture had ever done, and perhaps as no other picture will ever do again. The spell that it laid upon me was conclusive; when I approached the eyes faded into brown shadow, but when I withdrew they began to tell the story of a soul—of one who seems conscious of her weakness, of her sex, and the burden of her own special lot—she is Rembrandt's wife, a servant, a satellite, a watcher. The mouth is no more than a little shadow, but what wistful tenderness there is in it! and the colour of the face is white, faintly tinted with bitumen, and in the cheeks some rose madder shows through the yellow. She wears a fur jacket; grey pearls hang in her ears; there is a brooch upon her breast, and a hand at the bottom of the picture passing out of the frame, and the hand reminds us, as the chin does, of the old story that God took a little clay, etc., for the chin and hand and arm are moulded without display of knowledge as Nature moulds.
The Mona Lisa, celebrated in literature, hanging a few feet away, seems factitious when compared with this portrait; her hesitating smile which held my youth in a little tether has come to seem to me but a grimace, and the pale mountains no more mysterious than a globe or map seems at a distance, a sort of riddle, an acrostic, a poetical decoction, a ballade, a rondel, a villanelle, or ballade with double burden, a sestina or chant royal. The Mona Lisa, being literature in intention rather than painting, has drawn round her many poets, and we must forgive her many mediocre verses for the sake of a prose passage that our generation had by heart. The Mona Lisa and Degas's Leçon de Danse are thoughtful pictures painted with the brains rather than with the temperaments; and we ask sooner or later, but assuredly we ask, of what worth are Degas's descriptions of washerwomen and dancers and racehorses compared with that fallen flower, that Aubusson carpet, above all, the footstool? and if any one of Degas's pictures is bought for this gallery I hope it will be one of these early pictures, the red-headed girl, for instance, an unfinished sketch, exhibited some time ago at Knightsbridge, the property, I believe, of Durand Ruel.
In the days of the Nouvelle Athènes we used to repeat Degas's witticisms, how he once said to Whistler, Whistler, if you were not a genius you would be the most ridiculous man in Paris. Leonardo made roads, Degas makes witticisms. I remember his answer when I confided to him one day that I did not care for Daumier—the beautiful Don Quixote and Sancho Panza that hangs on the wall I had not then seen; that is my apology, an insufficient one, I admit. Degas answered, If you were to show Raphael a Daumier he would admire it, but if you were to show him a Cabanel he would say with a sigh: That is my fault—an excellent quip. But we should not attach the same importance to a quip as to a confession. Manet said to me: I tried to write, but I couldn't; and we must esteem these words as an artist's brag; I am a painter, and only a painter. Degas could not boast that he was a painter and only a painter, for he often wearied of painting; he turned to modelling, and he abandoned modelling for the excitement of collecting pictures—not for himself but for the Louvre. I've got it, he said to me in the Rue Maubeuge, and he was surprised when I asked him what he had got; great egotists always take it for granted that every one is thinking of what they are doing. Why, the Jupiter, of course the Jupiter, and he took me to see the picture—a Jupiter with beetling brows, and a thunderbolt in his hand. He had hung a pear next to it, a speckled pear on six inches of canvas, one that used to hang in Manet's studio, and guessing he was about to be delivered of a quip, I waited. You notice the pear? Yes, I said. I hung it next to the Jupiter to show that a well-painted pear could overthrow a God. There is a picture by Mr Sargent in this room—one of his fashionable women. She is dressed to receive visitors, and is about to spring from her chair; the usual words, How do you do, Mary, are upon her crimson lips, and the usual hysterical lights are in her eyes, and her arms are like bananas as usual. There is in this portrait the same factitious surface-life that informs all his pictures, and, recognising fashionable gowns and drawing-room vivacities as the fundamental Sargent, Degas described him as Le chef de rayon de la peinture. Le chef de rayon is the young man behind the counter who says, I think, madam, that this piece of mauve silk would suit your daughter admirably, ten yards at least will be required. If your daughter will step upstairs, I will take her measure. Vous pouvez me confier votre fille; soyez sûre que je ne voudrais rien faire qui pût nuire à mon commerce.
Any one, Degas said once to me, can have talent when he is five-and-twenty; it is more difficult to have talent when you are fifty. I remember the Salon in which Bastien Lepage exhibited his Potato Harvest, and we all admired it till Degas said, The Bouguereau of the modern movement. Then every one understood that Bastien Lepage's talent was not an original but a derivative talent, and when Roll, another painter of the same time, exhibited his enormous picture entitled Work, containing fifty figures, Degas said, One doesn't make a crowd with fifty figures, one makes a crowd with five. Quips, merely quips, and there were far too many quips in Degas's life; and I include in my list of quips a great number of ballet girls and racehorses. His butcher's corpulent wife standing before a tin tub was much talked about in our cafe, until Monet returned after a long absence in the country, bringing with him twenty or thirty canvases, a row of poplars seen in perspective against a grey sky, or a view of the Seine with a bridge cutting the picture in equal halves, or a cottage shrouded in snow with some low hills. Pissarro admired these, of course, but his preference ran to Sisley, who, he said, was more of a poet; and should a Sisley come later into this collection, my hope is that it will be a picture I saw years ago in the galleries of George Pettit: the bare wall of a cottage, a frozen pond, and some poplar-trees showing against the first film of light, a vision so exquisite that Constable's art seems in comparison coarse and clumsy.
Monet's art is colder, more external, and those who like to trace individual qualities back to race influence may, if they will, attribute the exquisite reverie which distinguishes Sisley's pictures to his northern blood.
Monet began by imitating Manet, and Manet ended by imitating Monet. They were great friends. Manet painted Monet and Madame Monet in their garden, and Monet painted Manet and Madame Manet in the same garden; they exchanged pictures, but after a quarrel each returned the other his picture. Monet's picture of Manet and his wife I never saw, but Manet's picture of Monet and Madame Monet belongs to a very wealthy merchant, a Monsieur Pellerin, who has the finest collection of Manets and Cézannes in the world. Cézanne exhibited with the Impressionists, but I do not remember having seen him in the Nouvelle Athènes or heard his name mentioned by Manet or Degas. Alexis told us once that he had breakfast with him that morning at the Moulin de la Galette, and that Cézanne had arrived in jack-boots covered with mud and had spent thirty francs on the meal, which was an unusual feat in those days and in those districts. Alexis was struck by the resemblance of Cézanne to his pictures. A peasant come straight out of The Reapers, he said; I thought of Manet, and we congratulated ourselves on the advancement of our taste, forgetful that the next generation may speak of Cézanne's portraits as the art of the trowel rather than of the brush. The word masonry must have been in Zola's mind when he exalted Cézanne in L'Oeuvre, and at the dinner given to celebrate the publication of the book declared him to be a greater painter than Manet. Both came from Aix; both had talent; and both were denied the exquisite vision and handicraft of Sisley and Verlaine.
Within the Impressionist movement were two women, Mary Casatt, who derived her art from Degas, and Berthe Morisot, who derived hers from Manet. Berthe Morisot married Manet's brother, and there can be little doubt that she would have married Manet if Manet had not been married already. I remember him saying to me once: My sister-in-law wouldn't have been noticed without me; she carried my art across her fan. Berthe is dead, and her pictures are very expensive and picture-dealers do not make presents, but Mary Casatt is alive, she is a rich woman, and I take this opportunity of suggesting that she should be asked to give a picture. After an absence of many years I went to see her and found her blind, but talkative as of yore, and we talked of all the people we had known, till at the end of breakfast she said, There is one we haven't spoken about, perhaps the greatest of all. I said, You mean Renoir? And she reproached me with having been always a little indifferent to his art. I don't think that this is true, or if it be true, it is only true in a way. I know of nothing that I would sooner hang in my drawing-room than one of Renoir's bathers, or a portrait of a child in grey fur dressed to be taken to the Bois by her mother. Some of his portraits of children are the most beautiful I know—they are white and flower-like, and therefore very unlike the stunted, leering little monkeys that Sir Joshua Reynolds persuaded us to accept as representative of tall and beautiful English children. I think it was at the end of the 'sixties that Renoir painted the celebrated picture of the woman looking into the canary cage—a wonderful picture, but so unlike his later work that it may be doubted if anybody would recognise it as being by the man who painted the bathers. By the bathers I mean all the plump girls whom he painted on green banks under trees, their fat so permeated with light that they seem like luminous flowers; yet they are flesh, and full-blooded flesh that would bleed. It may be that Manet never painted naked flesh so realistically. His art is less casual, less modern, less actual, than Renoir's. It came out of a different tradition, and upon it is the birthmark of easy circumstances and the culture thereof; whereas Renoir was a Parisian workman; he began life in a factory painting flowers, and his talent was not sufficient to redeem his art from the taint of an inherited vulgarity. Whistler would have cried for an umbrella to hide himself under were he asked to consider The Umbrellas.
The man I see when my thoughts return to the Nouvelle Athènes is a tall, lean man with red in his ragged hair and beard, and his voice has a ring in it. If Renoir had not been an aesthete he wold have been a Socialist orator. Some of his denunciations are quoted in Confessions of a Young Man, and here is an anecdote that a few may think instructive. Money suddenly began to accumulate at his bank, and he bethought himself of a stock of wine and cigars, a carriage, several suits of clothes, or a flat in the quarter of the Champs Élysées with a mistress in it. But turning from these legitimate issues, he went to Venice to study Tintoretto, and on his return to Paris he laboured in a school of art until it became plain to him that his studies, instead of decreasing, were increasing the distance between himself and Tintoretto. I remember his embittered, vehement voice in the Nouvelle Athènes, and I caught a glimpse of his home life on the day that I went to Montmartre to breakfast with him, and finding him, to my surprise, living in the same terrace as Paul Alexis, I asked: Shall we see Alexis after breakfast? He would waste the whole of my afternoon, Renoir muttered, sitting here smoking cigars and sipping cognac; and I must get on with my picture. Marie, as soon as we have finished, bring in the asparagus, and get your clothes off, for I shall want you in the studio when we have had our coffee.
The evenings that Pissarro did not come to the Nouvelle Athènes were so rare that I cannot think of the Nouvelle Athènes without seeing him in the far corner on the right, listening to Manet and Degas, approving of all they said. I remember his pictures, many of them, as well as his white beard and hair, and nose of the race of Abraham. He figures in Confessions of a Young Man, and turning to this youthful book I find an appreciation of him, and, as I think today as I thought then, I will quote it. Speaking of a group of girls gathering apples in a garden, I wrote: Sad greys and violets, beautifully harmonised with figures that seem to move as in a dream on the thither side of life, in a world of quiet colour and perfect resignation. But the apples will never fall from the branches, the baskets of the stooping girls will never be filled, for the orchard is one that life has not for giving, that the painter has set in an eternal dream of violet and grey, an apple orchard with peasants gathering the spare fruit of the mildew collected on a planet's surface. The picture in the present exhibition represents Pissarro in his first period, when he followed Corot; I hope Dublin will acquire it. And having said this much, my thoughts return to the last time I spoke with this dear old man, so like himself and his race. It was at Rouen about six years ago, whither he had gone to paint the Cathedral. For Monet having painted the Cathedral, why not he likewise? Why not, indeed? for he always followed somebody's dream. But though his wanderings were many and sudden, he never quite lost his individuality, not even when he painted yachts after the manner of Signac.
Who had invented Impressionism? was asked when he died, and attempts were made to trace Monet back to Turner. Monet, it was said, had been to England, and in England he must have seen Turner, and it was impossible to see Turner without being influenced by Turner. Yes! Monet was in England many times, and he painted in England, and one day we went together to an Exhibition of Old Masters in Burlington House, and there we saw a picture for which many thousands of pounds had just been paid, and Monet said, Is that brown thing your great Turner? It is true, the picture we were looking at was not much more interesting than brown paper, and I told him that Turner had painted other pictures that he would like better, The Frosty Morning, and he said he had seen it, remarking that Turner had painted that morning with his eyes open. Whistler likes Calais Pier better than The Frosty Morning, for it was more like his own painting, and no very special discernment is required to understand that Turner and Constable could not have influenced painters whose desire was to dispense altogether with shadow. Whether, by doing so, they failed sometimes to differentiate between a picture and a strip of wallpaper is a question that does not come within the scope of the present inquiry. Mr Lane is asking us to consider if a collection of Impressionist pictures would benefit Dublin, and it seems to me certain that Manet, Monet, Sisley, and Renoir are more likely to draw our thoughts to the beauty of this world than a collection of Italian pictures gathered from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

New Music Friday is the weekly thread dedicated to cataloging all the Album/EP releases that came out this week, including non-subreddit relevant releases. This is also a great place to discuss these albums, or bring to attention other albums released this week.

❓ "this seems intriguing after a cursory look"
⭐ "im interested in this for one reason or another"
❤️ "ive been waiting for weeks, months/i'm absolutely in love with this"

⭐ Mandy, Indiana - i've seen a way
Label: Fire Talk
Genre: Post-Industrial, Dance-Punk, EBM
bar italia - Tracey Denim
Label: Matador
Genre: Slacker Rock, Indie Rock, Post-Punk
Hannah Jadagu - Aperture
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Pop, Singesongwriter
Alex Lahey - The Answer Is Always Yes
Label: Liberation
Genre: Indie Rock
⭐ Mega Bog - End of Everything
Label: Mexican Summer
Genre: Synthpop, Art Pop
💙 Sleep Token - Take Me Back To Eden
Label: Spinefarm
Genre: Alternative Metal, Art Pop, Alternative R&B, Post-Metal
❓ PONY - Velveteen
Label: Take This to Heart
Genre: Power Pop, Alternative Rock
❓ Khanate - To Be Cruel
Label: Sacred Bones
Genre: Drone Metal, Avant-Garde Metal
Sufjan Stevens - Reflections
Label: Asthmatic Kitty
Genre: Modern Classical, Ballet
Horse Jumper of Love - Heartbreak Rules
Label: Run for Cover
Genre: Slowcore, Singer-songwriter
Temps - PARTY GATOR PURGATORY
Label: Bella Union
Genre: Experimental Hip Hop, Art Pop
The Murlocs - Calm Ya Farm
Label: ATO
Genre: Blues Rock, Folk Rock, Alt-Country
Alpha Maid & Mica Levi - spresso (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Noise Rock, Stoner Metal
Sweet Pork - Sweet Pork (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Pop
FIDLAR - Don’t Fuck With Vol. 02 (archival) (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Garage Punk, Indie Rock
Karen Took The Kids - Career Pulp (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Chunes in the Garage
Foals - Life Is Dub (RMXs)
Label: Warner
Genre: Electronic, Dub
❓ ASBEST - Cyanide
Label: A Tree in a Field
Genre: Post-Punk, Noise Rock
Tinariwen - Amatssou
Label: Wedge
Genre: Tishoumaren
Tanlines - The Big Mess
Label: Merge
Genre: Synthpop, Indietronica
❓ Pozi - Smiling Pools
Label: Prah
Genre: Post-Punk, Art Punk
Opus Kink - My Eyes, Brother! (EP)
Label: Nice Swan
Genre: Art Punk, Post-Punk, Jazz-Rock
Cathedral Bells - Everything at Once
Label: n/a
Genre: Dream Pop, Ethereal Wave
Daddy's Beemer - Tangles
Label: n/a
Genre: Rock
Andy Bell (of Ride) & Masal - Tidal Love Numbers (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Ambient, Neo-Psychedelia
❓ Gavial - VOR
Label: n/a
Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Power Blues
Surf Rock Is Dead - drama ~ but chill (EP)
Label: Born Losers
Genre: Indie Rock
Helvetia - Everybody Come On Man
Label: n/a
Genre: Slacker Rock, Indie Rock
❓ La Femme - Paris-Hawaï
Label: n/a
Genre: Ambient Pop, Hawaiian Music, Neo-Psychedelia
Dan Croll - Fools
Label: Communion
Genre: Indie Pop, Singer-songwriter
GracieHorse - L.A. Shit
Label: Wharf Cat
Genre: Indie Rock
Paper Bee - Thaw, Freeze, Thaw
Label: Get Better
Genre: Emo, Punk Rock
Allie Crow Buckley - Utopian Fantasy
Label: Nettwerk
Genre: Singer-songwriter, Chamber Pop
❓ Califone - Villagers
Label: Jealous Butcher
Genre: Alt-Country, Psychedelic Folk, Folk Rock
Jealous of the Birds - Hinterland
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Pop, Indie Folk, Indie Rock
Lauren Early - Don't Take My Dream Away
Label: Danger Collective
Genre: Indie Pop, Art Punk
Foyer Red - Yarn the Hours Away
Label: Carpark
Genre: Art Rock, Math Pop
salami rose joe louis - Akousmatikous
Label: Brainfeeder
Genre: Neo-Psychedelia, Ambient Pop, Nu Jazz
Leith Ross - To Learn
Label: n/a
Genre: Singer-songwriter, Indie Folk
Khruangbin & Friends - Live at Stubb’s
Label: Dead Oceans
Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Funk, Lounge
Blue Mena - Multi Adolescence
Label: n/a
Genre: Art Pop
❓ Stella Rose - Eyes Of Glass
Label: KRO
Genre: Alternative Rock, Gothic Rock
❓ Leaving Laurel - when the quiet comes
Label: Anjunadeep
Genre: Ambient House, Progressive House
Thee Oh Sees - Live at LEVITATION (2012)
Label: Reverberation Appreciation
Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Garage Punk
Summer Salt - Campanita
Label: Wax Bodega
Genre: Indie Pop, Indie Surf
The Parlor - You Are Love And I Am You
Label: n/a
Genre: Neo-Psychedelia, Dream Pop
❓ The Telescopes - Of Tomorrow
Label: n/a
Genre: Shoegaze, Space Rock Revival, Noise Rock
Estee Nack - Nacksaw Jim Duggan
Label: Griselda
Genre: East Coast HIp Hop, Gangsta Rap, Drumless
Cobra Man - New Paradise I (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Pop, Hypnagogic Pop
Mavi Phoenix - biggest asshole in the room
Label: n/a
Genre: Hip Hop/Rap
The Cavves - Settle Down in a Guest Bedroom
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Rock, Surf Rock
❓ Lucy From The Internet - Lucy From The Internet
Label: n/a
Genre: Pop
J Navarro & The Traitors - All Of Us Or None
Label: n/a
Genre: Ska
❓ Sir Chloe - I Am The Dog
Label: Atlantic
Genre: Indie Rock
Dev Hynes - The Master Gardener (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Label: Milan
Genre: Film Soundtrack
Eli Keszler - LIVE
Label: n/a
Genre: Free Improvisation, Avant-Garde Jazz
Dylan Conrique - pieces (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Pop
Paul Simon - Seven Psalms
Label: Owl
Genre: Singer-songwriter, Chamber Folk
Shy Martin - Late Night Thoughts
Label: n/a
Genre: Pop
Summer Walker - CLEAR 2: SOFT LIFE EP
Label: LVRN
Genre: Neo-Soul, Contemporary R&B
Lewis Capaldi - Broken by Desire to be Heavenly Sent.
Label: Universal
Genre: Adult Contemporary, Singer-songwriter
❓ KAYTRAMINÉ, Aminé, KAYTRANADA - KAYTRAMINÉ
Label: n/a
Genre: West Coast Hip Hop, Pop Rap, Neo-Soul
Kesha - Gag Order
Label: RCA
Genre: Alt-Pop, Electronic, Singer-songwriter
OmenXIII - Sorry,
Label: n/a
Genre: Cloud Rap, Trap, Emo Rap
Thirstin Howl the 3rd - Thoughts Skillustrated
Label: n/a
Genre: East Coast Hip Hop, Boom Bap
Steel Banglez - The Playlist
Label: n/a
Genre: Hip Hop
Smoke DZA - Worldwide Smoke Sessions, Vol. 2
Label: n/a
Genre: East Coast Hip Hop, Hardcore Hip Hop, Trap
Sharc & Pi’erre Bourne - Sharc Wave
Label: n/a
Genre: Trap
Belly - Mumble Rap 2
Label: XO
Genre: Trap, Pop Rap, Hip Hop, Alternative R&B
K.A.A.N. - Ignorance Is Bliss
Label: n/a
Genre: Conscious Hip Hop, East Coast Hip Hop, Pop Rap
6ix - 6ixtape
Label: n/a
Genre: Hip Hop/Rap
❤️ The Ocean - Holocene
Label: Pelagic
Genre: Progressive Metal, Post-Metal, Electronic
Blindfolded and Led to the Woods - Rejecting Obliteration
Label: Prosthetic
Genre: Technical Death Metal, Dissonant Death Metal
⭐ GOZU - Remedy
Label: Metal Blade
Genre: Stoner Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Grunge
Frozen Soul - Glacial Domination
Label: Century Media
Genre: Death Metal
Yes - Mirror to the Sky
Label: InsideOut America
Genre: Progressive Rock, Symphonic Prog
Ghost - Phantomime (covers EP)
Label: Loma Vista
Genre: Hard Rock, AOR, Pop Rock
Charonyx - Persistent Soul (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal
THE END OF SIX THOUSAND YEARS - S/T (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
❓ Henget - Beyond North Star
Label: Season of Mist
Genre: Avant-Garde Metal
Heretoir - Wastelands (EP)
Label: AOP
Genre: Blackgaze, Post-Metal
❓ Last Rizla - Noise Without Decay
Label: Venerate
Genre: Noise Rock, Sludge Metal
Magick Touch - Cakes & Coffins
Label: Edged Circle
Genre: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal

The Codex Aubin , Aztlan was a place where the Aztecs were subject to the Azteca Chicomoztoca - the tyrannical elite. To escape the Chicomoztoca, the Aztecs fled Aztlan, led by their priest . In the legend, the god Huitzilopochtli told them they could not use the name Azteca, and they would be known as Mexica. This is the sun called Nahui-atl, '4 water.' Now the water was tranquil for forty years, plus twelve, and men lived for the third and fourth times. When the sun Nahui-atl came there had passed away four hundred years, plus two ages, plus seventy-six years. Then all mankind was lost and drowned, and found themselves changed into fish. The sky came nearer the water. In a single day all was lost, and the day Nahui-xochitl, '4 flower,' destroyed all our flesh... (Plato says the islands sank in a single night)[
Footprints of Tarawa
Apkallu Maya Popul Vuh details the 3 sons of the Kings of Quiche "determined to go as their fathers had ordered to the East, on the shores of the sea whence their fathers had come, to receive the royalty, 'bidding adieu to their brothers and friends, and promising to return.' Doubtless they passed over the sea when they went to the East to receive the royalty. .And when they arrived before the lord Nacxit, the name of the great lord, the only judge, whose power was without limit, behold he granted them the sign of royalty and all that represents it . . ." - Plato saying 'the King's of Atlantis held dominion over the great opposite continent'. He says of their religious beliefs that "they made no regular sacrifices but fruits and flowers; they worshipped the sun."
In Peru a single deity was worshipped, and the sun, his most glorious work, was honored as his representative.
Quetzalcoatl, the founder of the Aztecs, condemned all sacrifice but that of fruits and flowers.
"The first religion of Egypt was pure and simple; its sacrifices were fruits and flowers; temples were erected to the sun, Ra, throughout Egypt." In Peru the great festival of the sun was called Ra-mi...
Again from the Popul Vuh, is the dire character of the disaster. It says that the roar of fires was heard above. The earth shook and things revolted against man. It rained tar with water. The trees were swinging, houses crumbling, caves collapsing. Then day became black night. The Chilam Balam of Yucatán asserts that the motherland of the Mayas was swallowed up by the sea amid earthquakes and fiery eruptions in a very distant epoch. An indian tribe Paria, used to live in Venezuela, in a village with so significant a name as Atlan. They had a tradition of a calamity which had destroyed their country, a large island in the ocean. A perusal of American Indian mythology discloses an interesting fact that over 130 tribes have legends of a world catastrophe.
thought id share this article 1923 LA Times -A People of Mystery:Lemurians on Mt Shasta it's an interesting read
Lhasa Record (Buddhas,Tibet)-"They sought refuge in their temples and citadels, and the wise Mu - the Hieratic Ra Mu - arose and said to them: did I not predict all this? And the women and the men in their precious stones and shining garments lamented 'Mu, save us!' and Mu replied: 'You shall all die together with your servants and your riches, and from your ashes new nations shall arise. If they forget they are superior not because of what they put on but what they put out the same will befall them"
• Hopi believe the Father Creator is KA. The Sumerians believed the Father Essence was KA. • The Hopi believe Taiowa, the Sun God, is the Creator of the Earth. The Sumerians believe TA.EA was the Creator. • The Hopi believe two brothers had guardianship of the Earth. The Sumerians believed two brothers had dominion over the Earth.
• The Hopi believe Alo to be spiritual guides. The Sumerians believed AL.U to be beings of Heaven. • The Hopi believe Kachinas (Kat'sinas) are the spirits of nature and the messengers and teachers sent by the Great Spirit. The Sumerians believed KAT.SI.NA were righteous ones sent of God.
• The Hopi believe Nan-ga-Sohu is the Chasing Star Katsina. The Sumerians believed NIN.GIR.SU to be the Master of Starships(Egyptian-Sahu- stars of Orion)
"Man does not know. For man often forgets. But they know. The stones know, And they remember. Airships were flying. Came pouring a liquid fire. Came flashing The spark of life and death. By the might of spirit Stony masses ascended. Scriptures guarded wise secrets. And again all is revealed"
Hopi "Down on the bottom of the seas lie all the proud cities, the flying patuwvotas, and the worldly treasures corrupted with evil..."
This article was published recently & was fascinating to me personally, because it specifically highlighted the Ainu of Japan. American Journal of human genetics- Japanese/Chinese in Americans - In Australia-Perth the Ko Ka or Kokka people came from a place called Shurin and was later changed to Quairading by the English. Totem is the Koya and there is a mt Koya in Japan. Also their town called Wagin, the same in Japan.
Nature-DNA South Americn,Native American, Sub Saharan African in latin America
Y chromosome East Asia Genetic Evidence for Convergent Evolution Twenty individuals each from the following populations were typed on the Affymetrix 10K whole-genome sampling assay (WGSA) Mapping Array (Santa Clara, CA): West African (Mende from Sierra Leone), Island Melanesian (Nasioi from Bougainville), South Asian (Indians from Andhra Pradesh), Native American (Nahua from Mexico), East Asian (Chinese and Japanese from Coriel Human Cell Repository)
"Like its northern counterpart (R1b-M269), R1b-V88 is associated with the domestication of cattle in northern Mesopotamia. Both branches of R1b probably split soon after cattle were domesticated, approximately 10,500 years ago (8,500 BCE). R1b-V88 migrated south towards the Levant and Egypt. The migration of R1b people can be followed archeologically through the presence of domesticated cattle, which appear in central Syria around 8,000-7,500 BCE (late Mureybet period), then in the Southern Levant and Egypt around 7,000-6,500 BCE (e.g. at Nabta Playa)
This was the stele Flinders Petrie himself uncovered in Abydos, Kings of Anu: Tera-Neter. That's the divine script, it says Het-U :Temples , of the God Seth, Net Annu-u-Cities of the people of Anu, Tera-Neter: devoted to the 1 God. The Sumerian Kings list tells us the antediluvian patriarchs founded the Kish Dynasty (Egypt, india,Syria, Ethiopia). Anu was also regarded as the Divine Source of Human Kingship.According to the earliest Egyptian traditions Osiris was also an Anu. It is the Anu who invented architecture, writing , irrigation and dry agriculture in the Nile Valley. According to the DNA & archaeological evidence cited above, these people domesticated cattle near Göbekli Tepe, then migrated to Egypt. So the legends of Enki’s 7 Lineages bringing Arts & civilization to humanity after the cataclysm are supported by science.
Going further, Abul Hasan Ali Al-Masudi, an Arab historian from the 10 th century A.D., wrote about ancient Egypt and the methods he alleges they used to move massive stones, including those used to build the pyramids . He claimed that a magic papyrus imprinted with symbols was placed under each stone, after which a metal rod was struck against the stone to initiate the levitation process. What scientist recently achieved acoustic tractor beam
According to Al-Masudi, the stone would be guided along a fenced path with metal poles placed on each side. Some believe these poles could have been used to create high-frequency sound vibrations, which would have been responsible for creating the levitation effects."In Egyptian mythology the falcon god horus is associated with harpoons, the clearest evidence for sonic drilling has been staring us in the face for millennia. One common symbol or object that is seen so often in ancient Egyptian art is the ‘scepter’. It appears in relics art and hieroglyphs associated with the ancient Egyptian religion. It is a long straight staff with a forked end. I've previously cited the Was Scepter & at sites like Pictish, & Abernathy you see not only the tuning fork but the hammer right beside it. There are TONS of Was scepters at Cairo museum with string in-between the forked ends that vibrate when plucked.As for energy, indigenous African cultures have been using the Geothermal energy of the Earth's faults for a long time. In the recent thread was an article about Indigenous Kenyans /Corp who produce Geothermal energy and how successful the project has been over the past few years. The Anatolian fault is probably the largest in the world, and the only Aquifer bigger is found in Africa...where Egypt built their civilization....Foundations are the stones......the water. The answers have always stared us in the face.
For the Egyptians, they didnt place titles like "Book of...." so the title "Book of the Dead" is a Western addition, like much of the names and places youre familiar with. Egypt has the most ancient texts, artifacts, traditions that speak of that sunken mother country.
The true title of "the book of the Dead"(Vignette 81) the divine script shows a head, which represents Egypt.As shown by the headdress.The head has arisen out of a lotus, The lotus is shown as dead and closed. In the vignette the lotus is dead Mu.
Translated it reads: "The Egyptians came from Mu, a land which is dead and exists no more."
"I am a pure lotus" means: "I am a pure descendant from the people of Mu." "Sprung from the Field of the Sun" corroborates the lotus. "The Field of the Sun" also means the Empire of the Sun, the imperial name of Mu.
Mu in the tongue of the Motherland meant: "mother, land, field, country, empire" and "mouth." A free reading means
"I am an Egyptian of pure descent; my forefathers came from the motherland Mu, the Empire of the Sun, which is now dead and gone." The indigenous groups i mentioned last time each still believe in Duat & carry the sacred knowledge of The Egyptians, Inca, Naga-Maya & have death cults responsible for burial ceremony which symbolizes the deceased returning to the "motherland that sank in the West". That's why false doors in Egypt were placed on the Western Wall, where the Goddess of the West could bring nourishment for the Ka.( Valley of the Kings on the West Bank of the Nile) The sunken land is where the the underworld is. Kui-Land or the Land of Kui, according to the Maya language, was the birthplace of the goddess Maya, the mother of the gods a pure Lotus sprung out of the Field of the Sun."
Egyptologists, and most academics today are sadly deficient in symbology.All fail to differentiate between the symbol and what it represents. They fail to remember that the ancients used a special symbol for every attribute of the Deity, and that the sun was the collective symbol of all the attributes of the Deity, and therefore represented the Deity Himself.
Wandering Bes: Emissary of Ancient BaTwa Pygmy Philosophy and Lore Within Dynastic Egyptian and Bronze/Iron Age Cultures
Anu Dwarves or Twa Pygmies are also carved into the Narmer Palette that Nu is (Akkadian: ANU, from An “Sky”, “Heaven”) or Anum, originally An (Sumerian: was the divine personification of the sky, king of the gods, and ancestor of many of the deities in ancient Mesopotamian religion.Egypt and the lunar calendar system of Assyria coincided in the same year -- 11,542 B.C., when both calendars were presumably created. We now have the DNA evidence supporting what we already knew, the Egyptians & Sumerian Priesthood were of the same bloodlines. Same is found in Mesoamerica.
-Some ancient accounts of acoustic levitation From ArchaeoacousticsA story was told by the local Aymara Indians to a Spanish traveller who visited Tiahuanaco shortly after the conquest spoke of the city's original foundation in the age of Chamac Pacha, or First Creation, long before the coming of the Incas. Its earliest inhabitants, they said, possessed supernatural powers, for which they were able miraculously to lift stones of off the ground, which "...were carried [from the mountain quarries] through the air to the sound of a trumpet"
Shaman known to locals in San Agustin as "magicians" & the religious practices and astronomical worship of the Mother Goddess complex (Venus, the Dogon Sirius observation and the Venus worship of the Olmecs, the use of the ax in the worship of Shango among he Yoruba of West Africa and the use of the ax in Olmec worship as well as the prominence of the thunder God later known as Tlalock among the Aztecs)
Lastly, something ive wanted to mention ...In the Early 17th century, known as the 'old charges' tell how everything dear to mankind existed before the disastrous Flood and had to be reconstructed by the survivors. Serpent wisdom is always accompanied wth the mother Goddess(Isis) & Venus which is represented as a five-pointed star. The smaller star found depicts more than 7, its not Venus at all. . It’s the ‘missing star’ above the ‘missing pillar’ of Enoch.
If Dr Griaule was alive, he and any other initiate of could tell you that the Masonic Landmark symbolizes the ‘cause’ of the disastrous Flood. That's the “Sun of Righteousness”—
Its The Freemason’s blazing star, the Tibetan Bal Star..i mentioned Griaule because the Dogon refer to it as 'that Celestial intruder 'Ni-biru'