China and India

   

english

 

Chinese folk religion (simplified Chinese: 中国民间宗教 or 中国民间信仰; traditional Chinese: 中國民間宗教 or 中國民間信仰; pinyin: Zhōngguó mínjiān zōngjiào or Zhōngguó mínjiān xìnyăng) or, controversially, Shenism (pinyin: Shénjiào, 神教) are labels used to describe the collection of ethnic religious traditions which have been a main belief system in China and among Han Chinese ethnic groups for most of the civilization's history until today. Shenism comprises Chinese mythology and includes the worship of shens (神, shén; "deities", "spirits", "awarenesses", "consciousnesses", "archetypes") which can be nature deities, Taizu or clan deities, city deities, national deities, cultural heroes and demigods, dragons and ancestors. "Shenism" is a term was first published by A.J.A Elliot in 1955, and is described as a misleading terminology among scholars.

 

It is sometimes considered a type of Taoism, a Folk Taoism, since over the centuries institutional Taoism has been attempting to assimilate or administrate local religions. More accurately, Taoism can be defined as a branch of Shenism, since it sprang out of folk religion and Chinese philosophy. Chinese folk religion is sometimes seen as a constituent part of Chinese traditional religion, but more often, the two are regarded as synonymous. Unlike Taoism, the religious aspects found in Confucianism (worship of Confucius and his disciples, worship of Tian, rituals and sacrifices) never became doctrinally and institutionally independent and have thus remained for centuries part of Shenism.

 

With around 454 million adherents, or about 6.6% of the world population, Chinese folk religion is one of the major religious traditions in the world. In China more than 30% of the population adheres to Shenism or Taoism.

 

Despite being heavily suppressed during the last two centuries of the history of China, from the Taiping Movement to the Cultural Revolution, it is experiencing a major revival nowadays in both Mainland China and Taiwan. Various forms have received support by the Government of the People's Republic of China, such as Mazuism in Southern China (officially about 160 million Chinese are Mazuists), Huangdi worship, Black Dragon worship in Shaanxi, and Caishen worship.

 

Overview

 

Chinese folk religion retains traces of some of ancestral primal religious belief systems such as animism and shamanism,which include the veneration of (and communication with) the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, the Heaven, and various stars, as well as communication with animals. It has been practiced by the Chinese people for thousands of years, and since the start of the Common Era alongside Buddhism, Taoism and various other religions.

 

Rituals, devotional worship, myths sacred reinactment, festivals and various other practices associated with different folk gods and goddesses form an important part of Chinese culture today. The veneration of secondary gods does not conflict with an individual's chosen religion, but is accepted as a complementary adjunct, particularly to Taoism. Some mythical figures in folk culture have been integrated into Chinese Buddhism, as in the case of Miao Shan. She is generally thought to have influenced the beliefs about the Buddhist bodhisattva Guanyin. This bodhisattva originally was based upon the Indian counterpart Avalokiteśvara. Androgynous in India, this bodhisattva over centuries became a female figure in China and Japan. Guanyin is one of the most popular bodishisattvas to which people pray.

 

There are many free folk religion texts such as Journeys to the Underworld distributed in temples, or sold in gods material shops or vegetarian shops. Temples for Shenist worship are different from Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries, being administered by local managers, associations and worship communities.

 

Characteristics

 

Gods and goddesses

 

There are hundreds of local gods and goddess as well as demigods. After apotheosis, historical figures noted for their bravery or virtue are also venerated and honored as ancestral "saints", xians, or heightened to the status of shens, deities. The following list represents some commonly worshipped deities.

Pangu (盘古), the creator god in certain myths. He is usually depicted as a primitive, hairy giant with horns on his head and clad in furs. Pangu set about the task of creating the world: he separated Yin from Yang with a swing of his giant axe, creating the Earth (murky Yin) and the Sky (clear Yang).

Fuxi (伏羲), also known as Paoxi, a divine patriarch reputed to have taught to humanity writing, fishing, and hunting. Cangjie is also said to have invented writing.

Nüwa (女娲), also Nügua, an ancient mother goddess, attributed for the creation of mankind. In later traditions she is described as the twin sister or/and wife of Fuxi.

Shennong (神农), also identified as Yandi (炎帝), a divine patriarch said to have taught the ancient Chinese the practices of agriculture. He is often represented as a human with bull horns.

Huangdi (黃帝), or "Yellow Emperor", the divine patriarch of the Huaxia culture lineage. He is regarded as the founder of the whole Chinese civilization.

Guan Yu (关羽), also known with the templar names of Guandi and Guan Gong, the red-faced, bearded hero of Romance of the Three Kingdoms and symbol of loyalty. He is the patron god of policemen, war, fortune, and law, as he shows forgiveness, and often also serves as Wu Sheng.

Baosheng Dadi (保生大帝), a divine physician, whose powers extend to raising the dead. Worship is especially prevalent in Fujian and Taiwan.

Caishen (财神 "God of Wealth"), who oversees the gaining and distribution of wealth through fortune. He is often the deified manifestation of certain historical personalities such as Zhao Gongming or Bi Gan. His shape is sometimes that of a giant blue whiskered cat.

Shoushen (寿神 "God of Longevity"), who stands for a healthy and long life. He is portrayed as an old balding man with a walking stick in his right hand and a peach in his left.

Fushen (福神 "God of Happiness"), he looks like a traditional Chinese feudal lord with red clothing. He symbolizes happiness and joy.

Lushen (禄神 "God of Prosperity"), a god of success in work and life. In ancient times he was the patron god of success in imperial bureaucracy.

The Baxian (八仙), the "Eight Immortals", are important literary and artistic figures who were deified after death and became objects of worship. In Taoism they're worshipped as xians.

Huye (虎爺), a guardian spirit, often found at the bottom of Taoist temple shrines. Worshipers revere the tiger spirit to curse spiritual enemies. Rituals include stomping an effigy of a spiritual enemy in front of the tiger spirit, as well as sacrificing meat offerings, paper gold, and others.

The Jiuhuang Dadi (九皇大帝) refer to spirits of nine emperors, worshiped as emanations of Mazu, patron goddess of sailors. A festival is held over the first nine days of the ninth lunar month to celebrate the return from heaven to earth of the Nine Emperor spirits. This is celebrated primarily in Malaysia.

Mazu (妈祖 "Ancient Mother"), the patroness, also considered as the goddess of sailors. Shrines can be found in coastal areas of Eastern and South-Eastern China. Today, belief in Mazu is especially popular in the South and South-East, including Fujian (福建), Guangdong (廣東), Hainan (海南), Taiwan (台灣), Hong Kong (香港), and Vietnam (越南).

Qiye (七爺) and Baye (八爺), two generals and best friends, often seen as giant puppets in street parades. 8 is black, because he drowned rather than miss his appointment to meet with 7, even though a flood was coming. 7 has his tongue sticking out, because he hanged himself in mourning for 8.

Shangdi (上帝) is originally the supreme god, synonymous with the concept of Tian. This title/name was later applied to the supreme deity of various religions, including Yu Huang Dadi and the Christian God.

Cheng Huang (城隍), commonly known as "City God" in English, a class of protective deities: each city has a Cheng Huang who looks after the fortunes of the city and judges the dead. Usually these are famous or noble persons from the city who were deified after death. The Cheng Huang Miao (城隍廟) or "City God Temple" was often the focal point of a town in ancient times.

Tudi Gong (土地公 "God of the Earth"), a genius loci who protects a local place (especially hills), and whose statue may be found in roadside shrines. He is also the god of wealth, by virtue of his connection with the earth, and therefore, minerals and buried treasure.

Wenchangdi (文昌帝), god of students, scholars, and examination. He is worshiped by students who wish to pass their examinations. Inept examiners in ancient times sometimes sought "divine guidance" from him to decide rank between students.

Xi Wangmu (西王母), the "Queen Mother of the West", also known as Yaochi Jinmu (瑤池金母 "Golden Mother of the Jade Pond"), a mother goddess who reigns over a paradisaical mountain and has the power to make others immortal. In some myths, she is the mother of the Jade Emperor (玉帝).

Yuexia Laoren (月下老人 "Old Man Under the Moon"). The matchmaker who pairs lovers together, worshiped by those seeking their partner.

Zaoshen (灶神), the "God of the Kitchen", also Zao Jun (灶君), mentioned in the title of Amy Tan's novel, The Kitchen God's Wife. He reports to heaven on the behavior of the family of the house once a year, at Chinese New Year, and is given sticky rice to render his speech less comprehensible on that occasion.

Songzi Niangniang (送子娘娘) or Zhusheng Niangniang (註生娘娘), a fertility goddess. She is worshipped by people who want children, or who want their child to be a boy.

 

Places of worship

 

Shenist temples can be distinguished into miao (庙), called "joss houses", "deity houses" or simply "temples" in English, and ci (祠), called "ancestral halls" or simply "temples" in English. Both the terms actually mean "temple" in Chinese, and they've been used interchangeably many times. However miao is the general Chinese term for "temple" understood as "place of worship", and can be used for places of worship of any religion. In Chinese folk religion it is mostly associated to temples which enshrine nature gods and patron gods. Instead ci is the specific term for temples enshrining ancestry gods, human beings apotheosized as gods.

 

"Joss" is a corrupted version of the Portuguese word for "god", deus. "Joss house" was in common use in English in western North America during frontier times, when joss houses were a common feature of Chinatowns. The name "joss house" describes the environment of worship. Joss sticks, a kind of incense, are burned inside and outside of the house.

 

Shenist temples are distinct from Taoist temples (观 guan or 道观 daoguan) and Buddhist monasteries (寺 si) in that they are established and administered by local managers, associations and worship communities; only few or none priests stay in folk temples. Shenist temples are usually small, very colourful (by contrast with Taoist temples which by tradition should be black and white in color, and Buddhist temples which are characterised by a prevalence of yellow and red tonalities), and decorated with traditional figures on their roofs (dragons and deities), although some evolve into significant structures. Other terms associated to templar structures of Shenism and other religions in China are 宫 gong ("palace"), often used for large temples (even if mostly Taoist) built by imperial officials, and 院 yuan, a general term for "sanctuary", "shrine".

 

português

 

Religião tradicional chinesa é a religião do povo chinês. É uma religião politeísta, com certos elementos do xamanismo e teve influência do budismo, do confucionismo e do taoísmo.

Seu número de seguidores é difícil de ser calculado, mas as fontes variam entre 880 milhões e 390 milhões. Sendo uma religião sincretista, sua diferenciação de outras tradições espirituais chinesas é difícil.

 

Deuses e deusas

 

Guan Yu (關羽), o Deus-Supremo

Fu Shen (福神)

Hu Ye (虎爺)

Jiu Wang Ye (九皇爺), o 9o imperador divino

Mazu (媽祖)

Qiye (七爺) e Baye (八爺)

Shangdi Shangdi (上帝) (lit. Supremo Imperador)

Cheng Huang (城隍)

Sun Wukong (孫悟空)

Tu Di Gong (土地公)

Wenchangdi (文昌帝)

Xi Wangmu (西王母)

Yuexia Laoren (月下老人)

Zao Shen (灶君|灶神)

Zhusheng Niangniang (註生娘娘)

 

english

The Museum of the Orient (Portuguese: Museu do Oriente) in Lisbon, Portugal celebrates the history of Portuguese exploration with a collection of Asian artifacts. The museum opened in May, 2008, and is located in a refurbished industrial building on the Alcântara waterfront. The collection includes Indonesian textiles, Japanese screens, antique snuff bottles, crucifixes made in Asia for Western export, and the Kwok On Collection of masks, costumes, and accessories.

português

O Museu do Oriente está instalado no edifício Pedro Álvares Cabral, antigos armazéns da Comissão Reguladora do Comércio do Bacalhau em Alcântara, Lisboa.

O museu reúne colecções que têm o Oriente como temática principal, nas vertentes histórica, religiosa, antropológica e artística.

A exposição permanente engloba 1400 peças alusivas à presença portuguesa na Ásia e 650 peças pertencentes à colecção Kwok On.

O museu é da responsabilidade da Fundação Oriente e foi inaugurado no dia 8 de Maio de 2008.

A actual directora é Maria Manuela d'Oliveira Martins.

Foi classificado como Monumento de interesse público (MIP) pelo IGESPAR em 15 de junho de 2010.

عن عبدالله بن عباس رضي الله عنهما أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: «ما من أيام العمل الصالح فيها أحب إلى الله من هذه الأيام» يعني أيام العشر. قالوا: يا رسول الله، ولا الجهاد في سبيل الله؟ قال: «ولا الجهاد في سبيل الله، إلا رجل خرج بنفسه وماله، فلم يَرْجِعْ من ذلك بشيء»

[صحيح] - [رواه البخاري، وهذا لفظ أبي داود وغيره]

 

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:

 

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There are no days on which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than on these days." (Meaning: the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah).

 

They (the Companions) said: "O Messenger of Allah, not even Jihad in the cause of Allah?"

 

He said: "Not even Jihad in the cause of Allah, except that of a man who went to Jihad with himself and his property, but did not return with any of them."

 

Begin!

 

522. Then We made it a creation different from all others –who? the human being

 

ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَـٰهُ خَلْقًا ءَاخَرَ ۚ

فَتَبَارَكَ ٱللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ ٱلْخَـٰلِقِينَ ١٤

 

Then We produce it (as) a creation another.

So blessed is Allah (the) Best (of) the Creators.

Surah Al Mu’minoon, Verse 14

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Summa: After it was completed, his (the human being’s) formation and his temperament and shape was perfected upon the way of unique innovation and astonishing so he became a creature sensitive, active with will like all other animals…

 

Ansha’na hu: We produced Him i.e. We originated him and moulded him especially…

 

Khalqan aakhara: with another creation, inventing, specifically in this body (uniquely different from) amongst other bodies and this was that We blew Our Spirit in it so he should adopt Our Attributes and yattakhallaqu bi akhlaqina - be in his manners like Our Ettiquette and become deserving of being Our Vice-Regent and Our Appointee and it is appropriate that he becomes Our Mirror having the ability to reflect the Shadows of Our Perfected Names and Exalted Attributes…

 

Fatabaraaka: so how Glorious i.e. High and Dignified is…

 

Allahu: Allah Al Qadir, The Omnipotent, Al Muqtadir, The Only One Powerful with complete authority in such changes and progressions which leave the aql, the power to reflect, bewildered because of them and ability and understanding subsides before them.

 

And He is in His Essence…

 

Ahsanul Khaliqeen: The Best of Creators amongst those who ordain destiny and creation and (He is the Best) in perfecting evolution, creating and moulding even if it was considered that another could create other than Him, though it is impossible for the mind or practice (to consider such a thing).

  

507. Nor do they feel a moment of thirst and fatigue and hunger that is not recorded for them as a good deed for which they, the Muhsineen, will be rewarded

 

ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ لَا يُصِيبُهُمْ ظَمَأٌۭ وَلَا نَصَبٌۭ وَلَا مَخْمَصَةٌۭ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا يَطَـُٔونَ مَوْطِئًۭا يَغِيظُ ٱلْكُفَّارَ وَلَا يَنَالُونَ مِنْ عَدُوٍّۢ نَّيْلًا إِلَّا كُتِبَ لَهُم بِهِۦ

عَمَلٌۭ صَـٰلِحٌ ۚ

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ ١٢٠

 

It was not (for) the people of the Madinah and who were around them of the bedouins, that they remain behind after the Messenger of Allah, and not they prefer their lives to his life.

 

That is because not the affliction upon them of thirst and not of fatigue and not of hunger in (the) way (of) Allah, and nor do they step any step that angers the disbelievers and they do not inflict on an enemy an infliction except is recorded for them in it (as) a deed righteous.

 

Indeed, Allah (does) not allow to be lost the reward (of) the good-doers.

 

Surah At Tauba, Verse 120

  

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Dalika: that i.e. it was not made compulsory upon them, the bearing the hardship of heaviness and tiredness and the quickness towards battle and stepping towards it…

 

Bi annahum: because they i.e. because whenever he came out (for battle) (salutations and greetings upon his singular focus upon his Lord and that of his family)…

 

La yusibuhum dama’: they did not experience the trial of thirst…

 

Wa la nasabun: and extreme tiredness from exertion and they were not afflicted with pain from different kinds of pain…

 

Wa la makhmasatun: and they did not experience hunger…

 

Fi sabeel illah: in the Way of Allah for the victory of the religion and the Kalima Tauheed, pure words of His One-ness (La ilaha illalla Muhammad Ar Rasool Allah)…

 

Wa: and like this…

 

La yataouna mauti-an: they never step on a track and they do not tread in a place…

 

Yagheedul kuffara: which angers the disbelievers, (which it would) if they walked with him, the Messenger of Allah…

 

Wa la yanaloona min adouwin nayyla: and they do not receive from the enemy anything to be killed and being captured and being overcome and being defeated…

 

Illa kutiba lahum bihi: except that it would be written for them near Allah…

 

Amalun salihun: a good deed, guaranteeing for them blessings great and a high rank and overall…

 

Innallah: indeed Allah Al Muhsin, The Only Bestower of Favour, Al Muttafaddil, The Only Granter of Bounties for His Special Servants…

 

La yudee’u ajar al Muhsineen: He does not waste the rewards of the Muhsineen, the doers of good, who beautify their adab, manners with Allah and worship Him as if they see Him and with His Messenger, the one who is His Vice-regent and His Successor.

  

The first blessed stop: Medina Shareef

 

The prayer chosen for me to enter every place from Medina to Mecca to Mina to Arafat to Muzdalifa to the stoning to the Tawaaf e Ziarat to the Tawaf al Wida.

 

395. Ya Rabb who raises me only with His Gentleness - Make me enter with truth and make me leave with truth

 

وَقُل رَّبِّ أَدۡخِلۡنِی مُدۡخَلَ صِدۡقࣲ

وَأَخۡرِجۡنِی مُخۡرَجَ صِدۡقࣲ

وَٱجۡعَل لِّی مِن لَّدُنكَ سُلۡطَـٰنࣰا نَّصِیرࣰا

 

And say, "My Lord! Cause me to enter an entrance of truth,

and cause me to an exit of truth

and make for me from near You an authority helping."

Surah Al Isra’, Verse 80

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

O one who is on the path of Allah, O worshipper, and after that you reached towards it, (the station of Maqam e Mahmood), there will not be remaining for you a (higher) rank of completion and guidance but instead you are now completed and are the guided one.

 

When revelations come to you and permission is granted to you by Subhanahu, you will become a perfect Murshid, guide, for the people with shortcomings, incomplete, interceding for them by the Permission of Allah, for their deliverance from the compulsions of imkaan, possibilities, that lead one to the pitfalls of fire and you will make even them reach the atmosphere of heavens with the ability granted by Allah to you and to them.

 

Wa: And after your reaching from your striving and your struggling and the different times of waking up at night and your praying during the nights by the ability granted by Allah and the ease He gave you so that you reached the stations exalted and the ranks high …

 

Qul: say, beseechingly, to your Lord, seeking refuge from Him, focusing towards him as the desirer of the highest standard of capability and being firmly placed in the station which you have reached by His granted ability and His Help…

 

Rabbi: O my Lord who raises me by different types of Lutf, Kindnesses and Karam, Mercy…

 

Adkhilni: Make me enter by Your Fazl, Bounty and Jood, Generosity…

 

Modkhala sidq-in: the entrance of truth and the destination of being settled and it is the Place of Tauheed, One-ness, free of all kinds of additions and excesses and make me be in it forever without fluctuation and without staining…

 

Wa akhrij-ni: and make me exit the demands of my selfishness and my identity for the atmosphere of dissolution which connects to the honour of ever-lastingness and meeting (The Divine)…

 

Mukhraja sidq-in: the exit of truth without hesitation and shaking…

 

Waj’al-i: and assign for me in the moment of my ego quarreling with me, overcoming me with wrongdoing…

Mil ladunka sultan-an: from Your Authority i.e. proven in a way that nothing can overrule it, clearly revealed, witnessed in totality, so it becomes…

 

Naseera: a helper for the one who helps me against my enemies and frees me from their grip in the moment that they surround me.

  

The only prayer in Medina other than sending Darood Shareef. Why?

 

128. In worship what comes first Tasbeeh or Tauba? Tauba ,because only the one forgiven can praise Subhanahu. The verse that promises that forgiveness from Waaf e Al Qauli, The One who keeps His Promises…

 

وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَآءُوكَ فَٱسْتَغْفَرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ

وَٱسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ ٱلرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ تَوَّابًۭا رَّحِيمًۭا

 

And if they, when they wronged themselves, come to you and asked forgiveness of Allah,

and the Messenger (peace be upon him) asked forgiveness for them,

surely, they would have found Allah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Surah An-Nisa’, Verse 64

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Wa lau annahum: And if they, without doubt, due to the intensity of their ignorance and hypocrisy…

 

Id zalamu anfusahum: that which befalls them of affliction, (which is) harmful, from not submitting to you…

 

Jaa’uka: they must come to you as the ones who repent, the one who are apologetic because of that which happened from them…

 

Fastaghfarullah: then they ask for forgiveness from Allah (being) sincere and regretful…

 

Wastaghfara lahum Ar Rasoolu: and The Messenger (peace be upon him) also asks for forgiveness for them through intercession and praying before Allah, asking for the acceptance (of the person by Him) after they have come as the ones who are apologetic…

 

Lawajadullaha: surely, they will find Allah (to be) and they will testify to Him being the One who grants Bounty and Mercy…

 

Tawwaban: (and find Allah to be) The One who accepts their repentance…

 

Raheeman: The One who is Merciful to them and grants them ability to do this (go the The Messenger (peace be upon him).  

 

How to keep a sustained patience laced with gratitude in the journey in all circumstances for a complaint, silent or spoken, opens the door for Iblis? Zikr!

 

202. The ones who brought faith will find, without doubt, peace in the Zikr - remembrance - of Allah.

 

‏ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَتَطْمَىِٕنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ تَطْمَىِٕنُّ ٱلْقُلُوبُ ‎

 

Those who believed and find satisfaction their hearts in the remembrance (of) Allah.

No doubt, in the remembrance (of) Allah find satisfaction the hearts."

Surah Ar’Rad, Verse 28

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Alladina amano: Those who believe in Tauheed, One-ness…

Wa tatma’innu qulubuhum: the heart finds peace and steadfastness from the pangs of following falsehood and its colours, disappearing and vanishing…

 

Bi zikr illah: with the remembrance of Allah, Al Wahid, Al Ahad, Permanent in His Presence without fluctuation and enumeration and doubt. So indeed (this remembrance), causes to leave and disappear from the tablets of their hearts, the engravings of relying (on others) and thinking (of others) in totality.

 

Alaa: Beware, O Taliboon, the ones who are eager to seek the rank of Kashf, unveiling and Shahood, witnessing…

 

Bi zikr illahe: the remembrance of Allah Subhanahu, removes all which is extra (other than Him)…

 

Tatma’inno ul qulub: (it) gives tranquility to the hearts and keeps it firm in the Maqam Al Huzoor, the Place of Ever Presence, and gives it rest from chaos and paranoia.

  

And what is the ultimate Zikr?

 

500. What is the best word? The kalima tayyaba

 

أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ ضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًۭا كَلِمَةًۭ طَيِّبَةًۭ كَشَجَرَةٍۢ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌۭ وَفَرْعُهَا فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ ٢٤

 

Do not you see how sets forth Allah the example, a word good (is) like a tree good, its root (is) firm and its branches (are) in the sky?

 

Surah Ibrahim, Verse 24

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Alam tara: Have you not seen, Ayyoha Ar Ra’ee, O one who sees (saluations and greetings upon your seeing and your family), Al Mu’tabir, the one who gains admonition, Al Khabeer, the one who is well informed, Al Baseer, the one who watches…

 

Kaifa daraballahu: how Allah, Al Hadi, The Only Guide, sets forth for His Servants towards His Tauheed, His One-ness…

 

Masalan: an example, to warn them from Him, such that it was a parable…

 

Kalima-tan tayyiba-tan: a pure word which is the Kalima Tauheed – La Ilaha Illallah - which is uttered, which is pure, that there is no presence except Allah Al Haqq…

 

Ka shajratin tayyaba-tan: is like a good tree, which is the palm tree, which…

 

Asluha: in its origin and roots…

 

Saabitun: are firm in the earth so much so that the winds cannot uproot it and displace it at all…

 

Wa far’auha: and its branches i.e. its shoots and its twigs are high…

 

Fi: in the direction…

 

As’sama’: of the sky.

  

501. (The good word) gives fruit all the time by the Permission of Allah and sets examples for Mankind to remember

 

تُؤْتِىٓ أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍۭ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا ۗ وَيَضْرِبُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْأَمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ ٢٥

 

Giving its fruit all time by the permission of its Lord. And sets forth Allah the examples for mankind so that they may remember.

 

Surah Ibrahim, Verse 25

  

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Tu’ti-ukulaha: (That tree) gives its fruits…

 

Kulla heen: all the time from the specific times of yielding fruit…

 

Bi idni Rabbiha: by the Commands of its Rabb, its Lord i.e. by His Will and His Order meaning like the date tree which grows and gives fruit because its roots are firm in the earth and its branches are high towards the sky and from it are yielded fruit in the time of the harvest. Such is the Kalima Tayyaba, which is based on Allah’s Tauheed, One-ness, which is firm. Its roots are in the earth of (one’s) natural capability, its branches are high and its twigs are towards the sky of the Realm of Spirituality, which yield the fruit of unveilings and witnessing, which uproots and demolishes the thorns of others (than Him), which are growing from the additions from the Realm of Nothingness…

 

Wa: and there is no need for the people of the eyes of the heart and intellect, who are unveiling by the Essence of the One-ness of Allah, for examples of such warnings and instead…

 

Yadribullahu: Allah Al Mutta’li’u, The One All Informed, exemplifies the secrets of the capacities of His Servants…

 

Al amsala: the example mentioned…

 

Li-naas: for people who have forgotten their promises and their covenants with Allah due to the veil of their identities which are followed by the increasing and abundance (of the world)…

 

La’allahum yataddakaroon: so they may remember what they have forgotten from the example like these examples.

  

The most exquisite and ultimate reward of Zikr.

 

502. The reward of Zikr is becoming like His Beloved (salutations and greetings upon his perfection in manner and his family’s) in behaviour– insane!

 

Subhan Allah wa Ajmala ka wa Ahsana ka wa Akmala ka

 

لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِى رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌۭ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلْيَوْمَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَ وَذَكَرَ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرًۭا ٢١

 

Certainly, is for you in (the) Messenger (of) Allah an example good for (one) who has hope (in) Allah and the Day the Last, and remembers Allah much.

Surah Al Ahzab, Verse 21

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Then said Subhanahu to activate the passion of the Mo’mineen, the believers:

 

Laqad kana lakum: certainly there is for you, Ayyohal Mo’minoona, O believers, Al Mukhlisoona, sincere ones, Al Taliboona, the seekers, at-takhalluqa bi ikhlaq Allah, of adopting the Attributes of Allah, Al Hariboona, being those who run away from (adopting) the manners of His Enemies…

 

Fi Rasoolilla-hi: in the Messenger of Allah (salutations and

greetings upon the excellence of his behaviour and his family’s), the one sent for your instruction and your guidance…

 

Uswatun hasana-tun: an excellent model (of life) i.e. praised characteristics like no one else that mandate that you adopt them and make yourself characterized by them…

 

Liman kana yarjullahi: for every person who aspires to meet Allah i.e. meeting Him and seeing His Kareem, Generous, Countenance…

 

Wa: and he hopes also…

 

Youmil akhira: for the Last Day, (which has) promised in it this greatest honour (of that meeting) and for the sake of this hope and the overwhelming (feeling) of this great hope in his heart…

 

Wa zakaraallaha katheeran: and he remembers Allah much in all of his ordinary situations and times with satisfaction through Zikr, the remembrance of Subhanahu, until he achieves what is promised to him from the triumph of the honour of meeting Him.

 

And when he becomes like that (in the state of abundance zikr) and whoever decides on this firmly, then he becomes a follower of the Rasool (salutations and greetings upon the one who is the manifestation of Allah’s Aklhaq as are his family) in that most highly praised characteristics and the manners excellent, accepted near Allah which are raza, his satisfaction in all of what happened to him from fate decreed.

 

What is the Ka’aba?

 

520. The first House of Worship is the one in Bakkah and it is a guidance for humanity

 

إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍۢ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِى بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكًۭا وَهُدًۭى لِّلْعَـٰلَمِينَ ٩٦

Indeed, (the) First House set up for the mankind (is) the one which (is) at Bakkah, blessed and a guidance for the worlds.

Surah Aal e Imran, Verse 96

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Then when Hazrat Ibrahim (as) was steadfast upon the Sirat e Tauheed, Allah’s One-ness, upright upon it, Subhanahu made the first House of Worship for the ones who believe in His One-ness for the sake of the Prophet Ibrahim (as) so He said:

Inna awwala baiti wudi’a lin-naas: indeed, it is the First House of worship set up for Mankind so they worship Subhanahu in it and focus upon His Presence…

 

Lalladi bi bakka: the one which is at Bakka, the House which is before the making of the Masjid al Haraam, before the making of the Bait al Maqdas by 40 years and the state indeed, in which it is constructed…

 

Mubarakan: is fully blessed with abundance of blessings and benefit for its residents and its pilgrims, guiding them towards imaan, faith, in Allah and His Angels and His Books and His Messengers…

 

Wa hudal lil aalimeen: and it is a source of guidance for all Mankind, making them reach towards the Tauheed az Zaati, the Essence of His One-ness, if the secrets of its making and its legalization are unveiled for them. 

  

521. In it are clear signs of the standing place of the Prophet Ibrahim (as) and pilgrimage is incumbent on whom can find a way to it

 

فِيهِ ءَايَـٰتٌۢ بَيِّنَـٰتٌۭ مَّقَامُ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ ۖ وَمَن دَخَلَهُۥ كَانَ ءَامِنًۭا ۗ

وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ حِجُّ ٱلْبَيْتِ مَنِ ٱسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًۭا ۚ

وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَنِىٌّ عَنِ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ ٩٧

 

In it (are) signs clear, standing place (of) Ibrahim, and whoever enters it - is safe.

And (due) to Allah upon the mankind (is) pilgrimage (of) the House (for one) who is able to [it] (find) a way.

And whoever disbelieved then indeed, Allah (is) free from need of the universe.

 

Surah Aal e Imran, Verse 97

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

(From previous verse)

Wa hudal lil aalimeen: and it is a source of guidance for all Mankind, making them reach towards the Tauheed az Zaati, the Essence of His One-ness, if the secrets of its making and its legalization are unveiled for them because…

 

Fihi ayatun: in it are signs (which are) the proofs and evidence…

 

Bayyenatun: clear, proving the Tauheed az Zaati, the Essence of His One-ness, among which are…

 

Maqam-u Ibrahim (as): the Station of Ibrahim (as) and it is the Station of Raza, being contented with Allah, and Tasleem, surrender…

 

Wa man dakhalahu: and the one who enters it, as a guest, in submission, entrusting…

 

Kana aaminan: it will be safe (for him) from waswasat al ananiya, the whispers of selfishness and ego, and daghdaghatil ghairyiati, the provoking of another, and he will become characterized by the attribute of friendship.

 

Wa lillahi: And for the sake of Allah i.e. for reaching His Tauheed, One-ness, and being steadfast on the station of worshipping Him and ehsaan, His Favour, it is obligatory…

 

Alan naasi hajj ul baiti: upon the people to perform Hajj, which (the House) is made an example of to be like the qalb, the station of Recognition of Allah within the heart of His Friend, deserving of the garment of friendship…

 

Man istata’a: the one who can amongst you, Ayyohal Hayara, O ones wandering blindly in the desert of possibilities…

 

Ilaihi sabeela: afford its journey (18/10).

 

Wa man kafara: And the one who disbelieves in (the Hajj) and refuses it stubbornly…

 

Fainallaha: so indeed Allah is Al Mustaghni, Self Sufficient in His Essence from all His Appearances and Creations…

 

Ghani un an-il alimeen: beyond need of all the worlds. He is not concerned with them and their worship and indeed, they were made to appear and He made it obligatory for them worship and the return towards His Presence and focus towards His Door so they could be steadfast in the rank of worship and become established in it until they become deserving of Friendship and Vice-Regency, which is sprouting secrets of Divine Appearance and Manifestations.

   

One of the most important prayers of the Tawaaf

 

511. Rabbana aa’tina fid duniya – the prayer around the Ka’aba

 

وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَقُولُ رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةًۭ

وَفِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ حَسَنَةًۭ وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ

And from those who say, "Our Lord! Grant us in the world good and in the Hereafter good, and save us (from the) punishment (of) the Fire."

Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 201

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Wa minhum mayyaqoolu: Amongst them are those who have gathered their overt and inner beings, (zahir and batin) and keep this world and the Afterlife together,

 

Rabbana a’tina fi duniya: who say, “O our Lord, Grant us goodness which makes You pleased with us in this life…

 

Wa fil akhira: and grant us goodness in the Hereafter, which makes us reach Your One-ness (Tauheed)…

 

Waqina: and save us by Your Favour upon us…

 

Adaab an naar: from the possibilities that cause in a person paranoia and doubt.

  

A personal favourite for the Tawaaf:

 

335. The magical Prayer Subhanahu Himself taught His Beloved (salutations and greetings upon the one who was the most devoted and his family): Ya Rabbi, forgive me and hide me from my self and have mercy upon me so I become dissolved in You and You are the Best of those who show mercy

 

وَقُل رَّبِّ ٱغۡفِرۡ وَٱرۡحَمۡ وَأَنتَ خَیۡرُ ٱلرَّٰحِمِینَ

 

And say, "My Lord! Forgive and have mercy, and You (are the) Best (of) those who show mercy."

Surah Al Mo’minoon, Verse 118

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Wa: And after that Subhanahu made it certain, the success for the Mo’mineen, the believers, Al Muwwahideen, who are certain in the One-ness of Allah, in the beginning of this Surah and He deprived the Kafireen, the deniers of truth, Al Mushrikeen, the ones who associate others with Allah in the end (of the Surah)…

 

Qul: Say O Akmal Ar Rusul, O Messenger who completes the Messengerhood (greetings and salutations upon him and his family by His Allah who loves him), educating everyone who considers you his leader and follows in your footsteps and warning them as well of this and reminding them…

 

Rabbi: O my Lord who raised me by your Kunf, Protection and Jawar, Safe Guarding…

 

Ighfir: Forgive me and hide for me my egoistic self from my inner eyes…

 

Warham: and have mercy upon me by the negation of the essence of my nature and dissolve it in Your Essence.

 

Wa anta: And You with Your Essence and Your Names and Your Attributes…

 

Khair ur Raheemeen: are the Best of the Merciful, who are also demands of Your Attributes and reflections of Your Names and everything is with You and from You and there is no one who is Merciful except You and there is no Lord for me other than You.

  

What is the reality of the sa'ee? A striving for the union of duality within the self - Subhan Allah!

 

513. The sa’ee between Safa and Marwa is to gain a fusion of the overt and the inner being

 

۞ إِنَّ ٱلصَّفَا وَٱلْمَرْوَةَ مِن شَعَآئِرِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ

فَمَنْ حَجَّ ٱلْبَيْتَ أَوِ ٱعْتَمَرَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِ أَن يَطَّوَّفَ بِهِمَا ۚ

وَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًۭا فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَاكِرٌ عَلِيمٌ ١٥٨

 

Indeed, the Safa and Marwah (are) from (the) symbols (of) Allah.

So whoever performs Hajj (of) the House or performs Umrah, so no blame on him that he walks between [both of] them.

And whoever voluntarily does good, then indeed, Allah (is) All-Appreciative, All-Knowing.

Surah Al Baqarah, Verse 158

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Then when He gave insight, Subhanahu, towards the Al Ka’aba Al Haqeeqia, the inner Ka’aba rather than the Ka’aba Al Sooriya, the physical form of the Ka’aba, He wanted to inform of the signs of the inner Ka’aba with the signs of the Ka’aba in physical appearance…

 

Inna Safa wal Marwa: Indeed, Safa and Marwa, the signs of Allah i.e. the overt, the zahir of a person, and Marwa is their batin, the hidden, they are…

 

Min shai’r Allah: among the Signs of Allah and the Symbols of His Tauheed, His One-ness…

 

Faman hajja: so the one who performs Hajj, intending…

 

Al baita: the House, it is only the representation of the Al Manzil Al Haqeeqi, the actual truthful destination…

 

Au ae’tamara: or the one who performs Umra, upon the way of following the Sunnah, intending in it the focus on the Essence of Tauheed, the One-ness of Allah by turning themselves away from the connections which prevent it (that focus)…

 

Fa la junaha: so it is not a thing constricting or tiring…

 

Alayhi ayyataffa bi-hima: for them (the ones performing Umra or Hajj) to sa’ee, walk, i.e. he walks between the two, believing, connecting them both till that he can unveil by the union of the two (the Safa of their zahir and the Marwa of their batin).

 

Wa man tattawaa: So whoever does good, focusing his attention towards Him…

 

Khairan: with a pious act voluntarily above what is a command and obligatory…

 

Fa innallaha Shakir-un: then certainly, Subhanahu is As Shakir, The Most Appreciative and The One who makes it (the sa’ee and doing voluntary good acts) easier (for the seeker), pleased by their deed…

 

Aleem-un: and He is Well Aware of their states.

  

508. The Hajj ayaat begin – disconnect from the world and do not quarrel and be mindful of Allah

 

ٱلْحَجُّ أَشْهُرٌۭ مَّعْلُومَـٰتٌۭ ۚ

فَمَن فَرَضَ فِيهِنَّ ٱلْحَجَّ فَلَا رَفَثَ وَلَا فُسُوقَ وَلَا جِدَالَ فِى ٱلْحَجِّ ۗ

وَمَا تَفْعَلُوا۟ مِنْ خَيْرٍۢ يَعْلَمْهُ ٱللَّهُ ۗ

وَتَزَوَّدُوا۟ فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ ٱلزَّادِ ٱلتَّقْوَىٰ ۚ

وَٱتَّقُونِ يَـٰٓأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَلْبَـٰبِ ١٩٧

 

(For) the Hajj (are) months well known,

then whoever undertakes therein the Hajj then no sexual relations and no wickedness and no quarrelling during the Hajj.

And whatever you do of good knows it Allah.

And take provision, (but) indeed, (the) best provision (is) righteousness.

And fear Me, O men (of) understanding!

Surah Al Baqarah, Verse 197

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Then when ordered Subhanahu His Servants for the Hajj, that they come to His House from cities far away from all over the globe and highways distant, fixing for him the specific time from the times which has great excellence and a place near Subhanahu, so He said:

 

Al hajjo: Al Hajj i.e. the time of Hajj…

Ashharum malomaat: are the most famous months well known, blessed, recognized and they are Shawal, Zul Qada, Zul Hajj, all of them or some of them because there is difference in opinion about it…

 

Fa man farada: so the one on whom (the Hajj) was made obligatory…

 

Fi-hinnal hajja: in these months, with the commitment of fulfilling the conditions of it and its pillars regularized for him during these months, its completion is incumbent without disconnection from determination and (without disconnection from) the intention of the heart and (without the disconnection of) the sancitity of the forbidden things in it.

 

Fala rafatha: So do not have sexual relations i.e. no intercourse and no copulation regardless of the length of the stay…

 

Wala fusooqa: and do not transgress and do not exit the Boundaries of Allah with the committing of the forbidden things…

 

Wala jidaala: and do not fight and do not quarrel and do not show power in front of the servants and the friends…

 

Fi: in the days…

 

Ayyam al hajj: of Hajj because the Hajj is a symbol of the death of the will which shows the Hayat al Haqeeqia, the real life, and these matters (sexual relations, fighting, the will) are all from the characteristics of living in the natural (day to day) life.

 

So the one who intends to do the Hajj Al Haqeeqi, true, and intends for the Al Hayat Al Haqeeqia, the life truthful, so for him it is compulsory that he kills his nafs from the needs of that life from nature, borrowed, (which is) without stability, so he triumphs with the true life everlasting, permanent, forever, eternal and that is not available except without the exit from the demands of the aql al juz’ie, which is (in fact) a small thing (that power to reflect), stained with paranoia and imagination. Instead the aql, the ability to reflect, is dominated by the nafs which governs it forever.

 

And it cannot be gained (that true life, Al Hayat Al Haqeeqia) except for the Salik, the traveler, An Nasik, the one who sacrifices while performing the ways of worship, who Allah Al Haqq has pulled away from his nafs, self, from rank to rank, progressing his essence (of that Nasik) from realm to realm from the selected realms so that he comes to a rank and a station which enfolds all of the ranks for him and all of the realms become dissolved in him with their secrets and he also becomes dissolved in them.

 

And there is nothing in it that can make him fall. Instead he became stable and firmly established and contented in this Al Hayat Al Haqeeqia the way we witness such lives, as Mutahassireena, the ones envious, the Mutamanneena, the ones longing for it, when watching the lives of some of the Abdal (the replacements of the Prophets and the Auliya) of the time.

 

May Allah raise the shadow of such a person upon the parting of the people of Yaqeen, inner certainty and Irfaan, Recognition of Allah. And may his name be unfamiliar so that his glory remains unnoticed. How far is such a rank, its not suitable for us and its not for me that we can even speak about it.

 

Ghaus Pak (ra) prays:

 

جعلنا الله من خُدَّام تُراب أقدامه

 

May Allah Subhanahu make us from the dust of the footsteps of His Servants. Ameen!

 

And after Subhanahu commands His Servants for the Hajj of His House exalting Him and His House, He urges them towards charity and the spending of possessions for it and in its way, to establish in their nafoos, selves, this beautiful characteristic (spending in charity) because it is the preventer of the inclinations of the hearts towards the True Beloved and this wealth is the head of all temptations, thus He said:

 

Wa ma taf’alu: and whatever you did for the Raza, the Pleasure of Allah…

 

Min khair: from spending in charity, pure from the dirt of (making others acknowledge) kindness and hurting others, stripped from boastfulness and showing off, saved from the whisperings of devils and desires (from the self)…

 

Ya’lamullahu: Allah knows it with His Ever-Presence because such charities are happening on the Sirat e Mustaqeem, the Straight Path, which is the Way of Allah Al Adham, the Greatest of All, Al Aqwam, The Most Upright…

 

Wa tuzawwadu: and take provisions for the crossing of this Sirat of Allah with taqwa, mindfulness of Him from the world and everything in it…

 

Fainna khair az zaadi: so indeed it is the best provision for the Servants for the Day Promised which is…

 

At taqwa: mindfulness of Allah from all corruption…

 

Wattaqooni ya ulil albaab: and be conscious of Me, O people of intellect (who search for the marrow of knowledge), Al Mutawajjiheena, the ones who focus upon the origin of understanding, Al Mutamaaeleena, the ones detached from the veils (that veil) the Divine Presence.

 

Ghaus Pak (ra) prays:

 

Grant us understanding by Your Luft, Gentleness, Ya Khafi Al Altaf,

O One who grants kindnesses in secret!

  

509. Arafaat – the gathering of the pilgrims’ mari’fa – Subhan Allah

 

لَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَن تَبْتَغُوا۟ فَضْلًۭا مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ۚ

فَإِذَآ أَفَضْتُم مِّنْ عَرَفَـٰتٍۢ فَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ عِندَ ٱلْمَشْعَرِ ٱلْحَرَامِ ۖ

وَٱذْكُرُوهُ كَمَا هَدَىٰكُمْ وَإِن كُنتُم مِّن قَبْلِهِۦ لَمِنَ ٱلضَّآلِّينَ ١٩٨

 

Not is on you any sin that you seek bounty from your Lord.

And when you depart from (Mount) Arafat then remember Allah near the Monument [the] Sacred.

And remember Him as He (has) guided you, after surely you were among those who went astray.

Surah Al Baqarah, Verse 198

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Laysa alaykum: It is not upon you, Ayyohal Mo’minoon, O Believers…

 

Junah-un: any blame, so don’t feel constrained or exhausted, while you are being mindful of the Anger of Allah and (while you are) taking (as a provision) your taqwa, consciousness of Him…

 

An tabtaghu: whilst seeking i.e. all of you…

 

Fadlan: the Favour from the Ma’arif Al Yaqeenia, the Recognition of Certainty and Lazaat Ruhaniya, the tastes of spirituality…

 

Mir Rabbikum: from your Lord who is The One who raised with different kinds of Lutf, Kindness, and Karam, Generosity.

 

Fa ida afadtum: So when you depart, Ayyohal Mo’minoon, O Believers…

 

Min Arafat-in: from Arafat, (which is) the Recognition of His Essence All Encompassing of all of His Divine Attributes which have been ranked for you, (Subhanahu is using the plural, Arafaat because it is a collection of the recognitions) of the approaching from all the approachers towards His Recognition by a way, specific so that after the arrival (of all the pilgrims), it becomes singular again, Arafa’, because it is in fact Allah’s True Essence without additions in them at all (with their focus upon His Essence).

 

Fadkurullaha: then (upon returning from Arafat to Muzdalifa) remember Allah, Al Mustajme’u, The Gatherer of yourselves…

Ayndal masha’ril haraam: near Muzdalifa i.e. with the characteristics of the Essence of Allah which are forbidden to prove in anyone other than Allah. Subhanahu uses the singular masha’ara for haraam instead of mashair because each one of us is being specified (there) with a special attribute by which His Rabb, Lord, is nourishing Him (all their lives)…

 

Wadkuruhu kama hadaakum: and remember Him as He has guided you with the entrusting of your matters, all of them, to Him and your mindfulness towards Him from the whispering of the devils who make you wayward…

 

Wa in kuntum min qablihi: and you were certainly i.e. before His Guidance…

 

La min ad-daaleen: surely the ones who were wandering disoriented, At Tae’heena, walking in the valleys of carelessness, An Naakebeena, the ones turning from the true guidance. 

  

510. After Muzdalifa ask forgiveness of Allah

 

ثُمَّ أَفِيضُوا۟ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَفَاضَ ٱلنَّاسُ وَٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۚ

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ ١٩٩

 

Then depart from wherever depart the people and ask forgiveness (of) Allah.

Indeed, Allah (is) Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Surah Al Baqarah, Verse 199

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Summa: Then when you complete your focus and your stay (in Muzdalifa) with the Ma’rifat Az Zaat, the Recognition of Allah’s Essence and you become steadfast on it…

 

Afeedu: then return from that (Recogntion of Allah)…

Min haithu afaad an naas: from where people depart towards the ranks which have been placed in order (for them) towards the Divine Attributes (i.e. from Ma’rifa, Recognition back to attributes)…

 

Wastaghfirullah: and ask forgiveness of Allah, Al Muhit, The One who encompasses you in them (those ranks).

 

Inallaha Ghafoor-un: Indeed Allah is Ghafoor, All Forgiving, Saatir The One who conceals your ranks and your essence…

Rahim-un: He is All Merciful for you with the reaching of your true origin.

  

511. Then after you finish the rituals of Hajj remember Allah like you remember your ancestors and more and some pray…

 

فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُم مَّنَـٰسِكَكُمْ فَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ كَذِكْرِكُمْ ءَابَآءَكُمْ أَوْ أَشَدَّ ذِكْرًۭا ۗ

فَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَمَا لَهُۥ فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَـٰقٍۢ ٢٠٠

 

Then when you complete[d] your acts of worship then remember Allah as you remember your forefathers or (with) greater remembrance.

 

And from the people who say, "Our Lord! Grant us in the world." And not for him in the Hereafter [of] any share.

Surah Al Baqarah, Verse 200

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Fai da qadaytum manasikukum: So when you have completed your methods of worship (of the Hajj) commanded for you from what to avoid from the demands of your natural life and to be characterized by to the requirements of Al Ayn Al Haqeeqia, the witnessing of certainty…

 

Fadkurullaha: then remember Allah, Al Hadi, The Only Guide, for you towards this rank (the witnessing of certainty)…

 

Kazikrikum abaaukum: the way you remember your ancestors without distrust and doubt…

 

Au ashadda zikrun: or more remembrance (than that) and instead remember Allah more fervently than the place of the remembrance of your forefathers because the remembrance (of them) has in it doubt as opposed to the Zikr of Allah, based on witnesses, which is followed by dissolution in that zikr because indeed it is empty of the stain of doubt.

 

Fa min an-naasi man: So there are some from the people who target their focus and their repentance towards Allah and beseech before Him for the world alone and…

 

Fa yaqoolu Rabbana a’tina fid duniya: he says, O my Lord, grant us in this world for what we are needy in it in the matters of livelihood…

 

Wa: even though if he gains it what he yearned for in the world…

 

Ma lahu min aakhara min khalaaq: there is not for him any share in the Hereafter because he has spent his capacity towards what does not make him benefited and instead is harmful for him.

 

(Repeated because of sequence in the Quran)

511. Rabbana aa’tina fid duniya – the prayer around the Ka’aba

 

وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَقُولُ رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةًۭ

وَفِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ حَسَنَةًۭ وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ

 

And from those who say, "Our Lord! Grant us in the world good and in the Hereafter good, and save us (from the) punishment (of) the Fire."

Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 201

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Wa minhum mayyaqoolu: Amongst them are those who have gathered their overt and inner beings, (zahir and batin) and keep this world and the Afterlife together,

 

Rabbana a’tina fi duniya: who say, “O our Lord, Grant us goodness which makes You pleased with us in this life…

 

Wa fil akhira: and grant us goodness in the Hereafter, which makes us reach Your One-ness (Tauheed)…

 

Waqina: and save us by Your Favour upon us…

 

Adaab an naar: from the possibilities that cause in a person paranoia and doubt.

   

512. Then for them is a share of what they earned and Allah is swift in His Judgement

 

أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ لَهُمْ نَصِيبٌۭ مِّمَّا كَسَبُوا۟ ۚ

وَٱللَّهُ سَرِيعُ ٱلْحِسَابِ ٢٠٢

 

Those - for them (is) a share of what they earned, and Allah (is) swift (in taking) account.

 

Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 202

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Ulaika: For them, Al Mawaffoona, the ones who fulfill their promises to Allah, Al Muwwahidoona, the ones who truly believe in Allah’s One-ness, Al Jami’oona, the ones who gather and possess what is ordered in both the ranks of the zahir, the overt being, and the batin, the hidden…

 

Lahum naseebun: for them is a share, portion, complete…

 

Mimma kasabu: of what they earned in the world and this is the harvest of the Afterlife which produce the recognitions of the Divine and the unveilings of the Divine.

 

Wallahu: And Allah is Al Muheet, The One All Encompassing of what is hidden (in their hearts)…

 

Saree’ul hisaab: swift in taking account. He calls them to account and rewards them upon what they earned (in deeds).

   

527. O ye who believe! Do zikr in abundance, katheera

 

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ذِكْرًۭا كَثِيرًۭا ٤١

 

O you who believe! Remember Allah (with) remembrance much

Surah Al Ahzab, Verse 41

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Then Allah informed to do Zikr in abundance and He gave it preference over reflection (HUGE!):

 

Ya ayyohalladina aamano: O ye who believe in Allah and recognized Him, the way it was worthy of Him being recognized and His Tauheed, One–ness and the perfection of His Divine Names and Attributes requisited by your imaan, faith and your irfan, Knowledge, continuously, paying close attention and in persistent application of His Zikr, remembrance…

 

Udkurullaha: Remember Him, Al Wahid, The Only One, Al Ahad, The One and Only, Al Fard, The One Single, As Samad, The One Above Everything, Al Muttasiff, characterized by the gathering of His Attributes Perfect, Al Mustaj’mi, The One who is the Possessor of His Beautiful Names which are uncountable and cannot be enumerated…

 

Dikran katheera: a remembrance abundant, comprehensively in all your times and states and be more than that in His Remembrance, so that you reach the certainty of knowledge (moving) towards a witnessing.

  

What is the Qurbani? Leaving the world

516. The Qurbani

 

لِّيَشْهَدُوا۟ مَنَـٰفِعَ لَهُمْ وَيَذْكُرُوا۟ ٱسْمَ ٱللَّهِ فِىٓ أَيَّامٍۢ مَّعْلُومَـٰتٍ عَلَىٰ مَا رَزَقَهُم مِّنۢ بَهِيمَةِ ٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ ۖ

فَكُلُوا۟ مِنْهَا وَأَطْعِمُوا۟ ٱلْبَآئِسَ ٱلْفَقِيرَ ٢٨

 

That they may witness benefits for them, and mention (the) name (of) Allah on days known over what He has provided them of (the) beast (of) cattle.

So eat of them and feed the miserable, the poor.

 

Surah Al Hajj, Verse 28

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

And certainly, We ordered them for the Hajj and made it a duty upon them…

 

Li yashahdu mana’fa’a lahum: so that they may avail themselves of its benefits i.e. the places which being in the presence of and staying in will benefit them, a benefit for the Hereafter and We will make it easy for them the walking on the Way of Tauheed, Allah’s One-ness, with dissolution and being dissolved and (We will make it easy for them) being cut off from the debris of the world and (We will make it easy for them) to make them take off their garments of pain and troubles and (We will make it easy for them) to be sincere in the requirements of the organs and (We will make it easy for them) wearing the beautifications of taqwa, the mindfulness of Allah and (We will make it easy for them) their preparedness so that they are worthy of being presented before Al Maula, The Only Lord and (We will make it easy for them) the freedom from that which is the hurdle in reaching the Dar al Baqa, The Everlasting Abode, from wealth and children (the life of this world)…

 

Wa yadkuru: and they should remember in these places…

 

Ismallaha: the Name of Allah, Al Mushtammil, The One containing all of His Names and Attributes, Al Muhit, The Only One All Encompassing of all things like the sun encompasses all the shadows and the rays, (He is) without any formation or distribution of parts and portions, especially…

 

Fi ayyam im maloomat: in these appointed days fixed by Allah Al Muttazzir, The One who is wrapped in the Cloaks of Exaltedness and Majesty, (they should remember Allah’s Names) for gaining focus and praying and these are the (first) 10 days of Zul Hajj, and in other traditions these are the Days of Sacrifice (9th till 13th of Zul Hajj)…

 

Ala: (they should remember Allah’s Names) upon slaughtering…

 

Ma razaqahum: what Allah has given them in rizq, livelihood and made lawful for them…

 

Min baheematil anaam: of the beasts of cattle which they possess, gaining the closeness of Allah through these animals as a offering (for the Hajj) or as a sacrifice (outside of Mecca)…

 

Fakulu: so eat from what you slaughter…

 

Minha wa at’imul ba’isal faqeer: of those animals and feed the poor who are covered by the pain of hunger and they are encompassed by the intensity of starvation.

  

517. Then let them end their denial and fulfill their vows and circumabulate the Kaa’ba

 

ثُمَّ لْيَقْضُوا۟ تَفَثَهُمْ وَلْيُوفُوا۟ نُذُورَهُمْ وَلْيَطَّوَّفُوا۟ بِٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْعَتِيقِ ٢٩

 

Then let them end their prescribed duties and fulfill their vows, and circumambulate the House Ancient."

 

Surah Al Hajj, Verse 29

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Summa: Then after offering the animals of sacrifice for the Hajj (in Mecca and outside of it)…

 

Layaqdu: let them clean and remove…

 

Tafasahum: their dirt i.e. their impurities which have come upon them from the rain of possibilities and the oppression of desires and the demands of selfishness.

 

Wa: And after they cleanse the impurity of possibilities…

 

Layoufu nudoorahum: let them fulfill their vows which are their vows in the cutting off from the valley of their worldly essence and the erasure of their desires from the slaughter of the cattle of their Nafs e Ammmara, the nafs that prompts towards wrongdoing, (making them) rebellious of the Straight Path…

 

Wa: after they are purified from the dirt and fulfilled their vows…

 

Leyattawwafu: they should circumabulate, Munkhali’eena, undressed from the dress of their worldly life, Muttaajarrideena, emptying themselves from the garments of being human…

 

Bil bait il ateeq: around the Ancient House and this pillar is old since forever which is not going to be demolished and it will not break and it will not fall so these orders are for the one who desires the way of Fana’, dissolution (in Subhanahu), and Hajj Al Haqeeqi, the true Hajj and the real tawaaf, circumambulation.

   

524. So the game from sea is lawful and game of the land is forbidden in ihram – but what is the ihram and what is the Hajj…

  

أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ صَيْدُ ٱلْبَحْرِ وَطَعَامُهُۥ مَتَـٰعًۭا لَّكُمْ وَلِلسَّيَّارَةِ ۖ

وَحُرِّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ صَيْدُ ٱلْبَرِّ مَا دُمْتُمْ حُرُمًۭا ۗ

وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِىٓ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ ٩٦

 

Is made lawful for you game (of) the sea and its food (as) provision for you and for the travelers, and is made unlawful on you game (of) the land as long as you (are in) Ihram, And be conscious (of) Allah the One to Him you will be gathered.

 

Surah Al Maida, Verse 96

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Uhilla lakum: It is made lawful for you, Ayyohal Muhramoon, O ones in ihram…

 

Said ul bahri: the game from the sea which is born in the sea except that which your temperament dislikes…

 

Wa ta’amahu: and eating it…

 

Mata’allakum: is a provision for you, you enjoy it for free…

 

Wa: and like this…

 

Lisayyarati: it is also for your trade and taking as a gift and your using it for other purposes…

 

Wa hurrima alaykum saidul barri ma dumtum huruman: and unlawful is made upon you the hunting of animals as long as you are in ihram i.e. from the time you are in it towards its end…

 

Wattaqullaha alladi ilaihi tuhsharoon: so be mindful of Allah, O Tasaqoon, you will be

taken, O believers.

 

And upon you is that you avoid and become conscious from exposure to that which is created by Him (in the world), (so that you avoid) His Qahr, Anger and His Ghalba, Domination, in all of your states, especially when you dressed in ihram which is the Kafn ul Fana, the shroud of dissolution in reality and Al Maut al Haqeeqi, the meaningful death (which is Hajj is) for the ones who are Ulil al Baab, the people of understanding, An Nadireen, the ones who keep their eye on the crux of the commands.

 

Just like the overt death does not allow the organs and apparent sensors to remain in signs and function and instead are suspended and finished and scattered so much so that there is no expectation from it (the body) at all. Like this is the Maut al Iradi, the death of the will, which is the expression of the Hajj Al Arif, the Hajj of the one possessing Recognition of Allah.

 

It is necessary that when he becomes of the ones wearing ihram, his organs become suspended, both overt and inner, from the demands of being human and the animalistic needs (sleeping, eating, sexual desires) and from all of the bodily determinations and spirituality and the unseen and the seen and the overt and the hidden.

 

And overall (also) from all of the additions and the abundance of veils so as to reach Al Wahid Az Zaatia, the Essence of His One-ness, which (those additions and veils) are vanishing in His Essence, and everything that he imagines from shadows and reflections (are also vanishing). In this sense the Maut al Iradi, the death of the will, happens, (and it is) worse in terms of erasing and more drowning in fana’, dissolution, than the overt death because the matter of Maul al Iradi, the death of the will, ends in (complete) nothingness and controls (the person in such a state) and there is an overall total fana, dissolving, such that the person cannot understand (or recognize) his own essence at all.

 

So how can life or death interfere and how can being or absence wander in the Lordship of Allah’s Courtyard and how can the aql, the power to reflect and opinions, wander in it?

   

Continued on: www.flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/52949930840/in/datepos...

  

Yeshiva University's annual hackathon, a 24-hour coding and technology event. Named Invent YU, this year's theme focused on Israel and the start-up culture in Israel.

 

Invented in Hungary in 1974, this toy didn't make its international debut until early 1980, when it was shown at the London, Paris, Nuremberg and New York Toy Fairs.

 

Despite not hitting the toy shelves until just before Christmas, sales rocketed. Children and adults alike had to get their hands on one, but as demand far outstripped supply they became almost as difficult to buy as to solve.

 

It won the 1980 Toy of the Year Award and continued to dominate the toy market in 1981 picking up the title for the second year running.

 

For kids in Britain, solving the cube usually involved peeling each sticker off one-by-one - a messy job which often ended in disaster as the coloured squares refused to stick back on. It made it easier to solve in future though, as it was now completely black.

 

Breaking the cube open with a screwdriver and rearranging the pieces was another favourite option. But if you did it often enough one wrong twist could send pieces scattering into orbit.

 

(Taken for MacroMondays Theme : 1980s)

ift.tt/29z7lVE

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was invented by a Vegetarian. His name is Rorion Gracie. It is the origin of octagon cage fighting and modern mixed martial arts as we have come to know it today in the octagon. The vegetarian also created the practice of cage fighting in an Octagon, the octagon was also invented by the vegetarian.

 

You may have heard of Gracie Jiujitsu. This was invented by Rorion Gracie's father, Helio Gracie, of the Gracie Family, the forefather of Gracie Barra. Helio Gracie, the inventor of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu GJJ was also a vegetarian.

 

Uncle Carlos is Carlos Gracie, brother of Helio Gracie, a vegetarian and that is who developed BJJ, Brazialian Jiu Jitsu. BJJ is a must-learn technique for every MMA fighter in the UFC today, if not in the world. That is, if they want to win, the meat-eater had better learn what was invented a hundred years ago by a Vegetarian man or they won't last the ring.

 

Pollo-Vegetarian Royce Gracie also won the very 1st UFC #1! And the vegetarian had to fight those who weighed up to 250+ pounds! Not only did he beat all the other meat-eaters, he beat all the other meat-eaters in 1 night!

 

And then to prove it wasn't an accident, he did it again! A vegetarian also won UFC #2 and vegetarians have been dominant in the UFC ever since, though you may not know it just like you probably didn't know vegetarians invented it.

 

Vegetarian Mac Danzig beat all the other meat-eaters to take the belt on THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER. Danzig is not just vegetarian, he is vegan, and he was the largest, most massive muscular man on the entire show.

 

Vegetarian Nick Diaz also won THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER. So did Nate Diaz, also a vegetarian. The StrikeForce middleweight champion Jake Shields is a vegetarian. Heavyweight Frank Mir ate vegetarian at 280 pounds. Randy Couture beat 6 foot 8 Tim Sylvia and Couture trains on an alkaline plant-based diet. The EliteXC martial arts belt holder is a vegetarian. UFC fighter Aaron Simpson is a vegetarian. Jon Fitch ranked #2 in the world at the current time is vegetarian. Ben Saunders MMA fighter is a Vegetarian. Luke Cuomo who made it to the semi-finals and the finals on The Ultimate Fighter eats vegetarian. WEC champion Urijah Faber trains on a plant-based diet. MMA fighter Kyra Gracie is vegetarian. Ryron Gracie of the Gracie Mixed Martial Arts clan is vegetarian.

 

Penny Thomas, the world Brazilian Jiujitsu womens champion is vegetarian. Nicolas Gregorades of the Jiujitsu Brotherhood fighting academy is virtually all vegetarian. Shanti belha, 2-time world Brazilian Jiujitsu fighting champion is vegetarian. Ahmed El Ghandouri, Brazilian Kiujitsu Black Belt is a vegan.

 

Dave Meyer of the American BJJ Academy and a blackbelt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Machado--is vegetarian.

 

The original ultimate fighters the roman Gladiators were mainly vegetarian. Kung Fu was developed by the Shaolin Monks who were vegetarian. The very Art of Martial Arts itself was invented by Bodhidharma who was from India, and was a vegetarian.

 

Bellator Fighting Championships Ricardo Moreira is a vegan. Eric the Bengal Castile, in the UFC is a vegetarian. Heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson is now a vegan. StrikeForce fighter and NFL Football player and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker is a vegetarian. The Dream3 Grand Prix Fighting championship belt is owned by a vegetarian.

 

The TITAN Fighting Championships fight winner Jason High is a vegetarian. Vegetarians are now ranked in the top 2,3,and 5 spots in the best p4p in the world in the UFC welterweight division, meaning that vegetarians hold 66% of the top rankings in the UFC's welterweight division. Antonio McKee who established Rampage Jackson's Gym is a vegan. AKC trains vegetarian UFC fighters. Noah Hannibal "The VEGAN TANK" is a vegetarian powerlifter who beat all his other opponents and took gold in the Australian Powerlifting championships. MMA Fighter Dale Hart is a vegetarian and has an unblemished 5 and 0 record. All wins.

 

MMA fighter Erik Purcell is a vegetarian. The vegetarian Purcell just beat 6 foot 6 inch Aaron Skates at the Reality Fighting Championships. King of the Cage fighter Tom Kenny is vegetarian.

 

UFC Heavyweight contender Shane Carwin is now training vegan. Heavyweight 120kilogram Jan Muller is vegetarian. JiuJitsu champion Henry Atkins is vegan. MMA Fighter Georgi Krakhanyan is vegetarian.

 

Finland fighter Harri Nieminem is vegetarian. So is James WIlks, vegetarian UFC fighter from England in the UK.

 

And many more. You probably didn't realize that so many UFC fighters and current belt holders and MMA champions were vegetarians, because they are often not preachy about it and don't make it known, but they have recognized the best most-athletic and muscular endurance diet for athletes and UFC fighters is plant-based vegetarian and vegan. Your cardio power shoots through the roof. You can out-last, out-hit, and out-muscle other opponents who don't know what hit them. Plus, nobody wants meat-eaters to find out that a vegetarian diet is better, that's like giving away the secret, so vegan and vegetarian fighters sometimes keep tight lipped and let meat eaters continue to post and convince all the others that meat or steak is what you need before a fight, that way their opponents will gas, get tired out, be weak and not have any strength, and once again lose do to a meat-based diet. Lowcarb is even funnier since you can actually get opponents to go around eating bacon, sausage, and piles of fat and get them loaded down, obese, and likely to fall over, that is if they even make weight. Likewise the Paleo Diet has now been found fake and scientifically wrong, proven wrong by actual Paleontologists. Turns out the original discoverer of Australopithecus, a real paleontologist revealed man's ancient ancestors were vegetarian, including Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus boisei, Ardipithecus ramidus, all vegetarian ancestors of man that came millions of years BEFORE paleo man. Turns out the Paleo Diet was fabricated by a "gym teacher" who was not even a paleontologist and was never on even 1 archeological dig.

 

The Paleo Diet was ranked 24th by experts in nutrition, problem is there were just 24 in the list for review, which means The Paleo Diet came in LAST place, the worst diet of all. --Yes, the Paleo Diet was found deficient, pseudo-scientific nonsense made to appear like it was scientific, and the Paleo Diet lost and landed in last place as the worst. This is also a reason why crossfit has become the laughing-stock of the athletic and fitness world, akin to the shake-weight of fitness. Or the mullet. Crossfit fitness centers often have what's called a "puke bucket" lying around. They like to claim this as somehow being proof that their workouts of little light burpees and things is 'so tough' but really it's just because crossfit people start eating the Paleo Diet and it tastes so bad and is so horrible for fitness and athletes that they vomit it back up. All kinds of partially digested meat and so forth, right there in the gym when they work out. Didn't know this? Do a search for "Crossfit Puke Bucket" you'll see it. They even wear T-shirts bragging about puking on it in crossfit, because the paleo diet tastes so bad. Imagine how much worse it tastes on the way back up. Robb Wolf recommending sausages and things. Great for sausage-lovers probably, but not real ironmen or mma fighters or real athletes.

 

Crossfit is pretty much like ladies' pilates. MovNat is like having someone come over and do your housework, carrying out the trash, and mopping up the bathroom for you. In any case, the foods recommended by the gym teacher who peddled the Paleo Diet were found nutritionally deficient, and Paleo Diet foods have now been linked to colorectal cancer (cancer of the butt). This is why Paleo and Crossfit have become ridiculed as 'so silly not even a caveman did it'. Referring to the fact that the Paleo Diet told to people in the books is NOT even what paleolithic man turned out to eat. For instance, on a real paleo diet, you'd have to eat maggots in your meat, afterall, paleo man scavenged putrifying meat. Also you can't refrigerate your meat, on a paleo diet, then you'll need to keep your meat outside, in the hot sun, because paleo man originated in Africa. So on Paleo you'll need to eat luke warm rotted meat, brimming with botfy maggots in it. Oh, and you can't drink treated disinfected water, cavemen didn't have tapwater out of faucets, sorry. Nor bottled water. So if you're on paleo you'll have to drink out of some watering-hole where animals wash themselves.

 

Drinking feces ound delicious? If you think so, then Paleo is for you. Just don't expect girls or the ladies to be around you because unlike vegetarians, men on a Paleo Diet it's been shown to cause horrible B.O. stink and odor. Oh, and paleo man didn't have a toothbrush. So ladies, if your boyfriend ot date is paleo, look forward to low stamina, offensive Body Odor smells, cavemen didn't have showers, and getting close to a mouth full of bacteria because paleo man didn't brush their teeth.

 

Vegetarians do not have this problem. And last longer, were scientifically measured in tests to have More Testosterone than meat eaters, smell better, comb their hair, and have higher stamina, and endurance. And better protectors. Afterall, vegetarians invented Martial Arts, BJJ, and the UFC.

  

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radiodervish - belzebù

 

(so di essere monotona, ma non è colpa mia se non fa che piovere!)

  

Please, View On Black

CARL BARKS

 

Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American Disney Studio illustrator and comic book creator, who invented Duckburg and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge McDuck (1947), Gladstone Gander (1948), the Beagle Boys (1951), The Junior Woodchucks (1951), Gyro Gearloose (1952), Cornelius Coot (1952), Flintheart Glomgold (1956), John D. Rockerduck (1961) and Magica De Spell (1961). The quality of his scripts and drawings earned him the nicknames The Duck Man and The Good Duck Artist. Writer-artist Will Eisner called him "the Hans Christian Andersen of comic books."

In 1987, Barks was one of the three inaugural inductees of the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.

 

Professional artist

At the same time Barks had started thinking about turning a hobby that he always enjoyed into a profession: that of drawing. Since his early childhood he spent his free time by drawing on any material he could find. He had attempted to improve his style by copying the drawings of his favorite comic strip artists from the newspapers where he could find them. As he later said, he wanted to create his own facial expressions, figures and comical situations in his drawings but wanted to study the master comic artists' use of the pen and their use of color and shading.

 

Among his early favorites were Winsor McCay (mostly known for Little Nemo) and Frederick Burr Opper (mostly known for Happy Hooligan) but he would later study any style that managed to draw his attention.

 

At 16 he was mostly self-taught but at this point he decided to take some lessons through correspondence. He only followed the first four lessons and then had to stop because his working left him with little free time. But as he later said, the lessons proved very useful in improving his style.

 

By December 1918, he left his father's home to attempt to find a job in San Francisco, California. He worked for a while in a small publishing house while attempting to sell his drawings to newspapers and other printed material with little success.

 

Disney

In November 1935, when he learned that Walt Disney was seeking more artists for his Studio, Barks decided to apply. He was approved for a try-out which entailed a move to Los Angeles, California. He was one of two in his class of trainees who was hired. His starting salary was 20 dollars a week. He started at Disney Studios in 1935, more than a year after the debut of Donald Duck on June 9, 1934 in the short animated film The Wise Little Hen.

 

Barks initially worked as an inbetweener. This involved being teamed and supervised by one of the head animators who did the key poses of character action (often known as extremes) for which the inbetweeners did the drawings between the extremes to create the illusion of movement. While an inbetweener, Barks submitted gag ideas for cartoon story lines being developed and showed such a knack for creating comical situations that by 1937 he was transferred to the story department. His first story sale was the climax of Modern Inventions, for a sequence where a robot barber chair gives Donald Duck a haircut on his butt.

 

In 1937 when Donald Duck became the star of his own series of cartoons instead of co-starring with Mickey Mouse and Goofy as previously, a new unit of storymen and animators was created devoted solely to this series. Though he originally just contributed gag ideas to some duck cartoons by 1937 Barks was (principally with partner Jack Hannah) originating story ideas that were storyboarded and (if approved by Walt) put into production. He collaborated on such cartoons as Donald's Nephews (1938), Donald's Cousin Gus (1939), Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940),Timber (1941), The Vanishing Private (1942) and The Plastics Inventor (1944).

 

Unhappy at the emerging wartime working conditions at Disney plus bothered by ongoing sinus problems caused by the studio's air conditioning, Barks quit in 1942. Shortly before quitting, he moonlighted as a comic book artist, contributing half the artwork for a one-shot comic book (the other half of the art being done by story partner Jack Hannah) titled Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold. This 64-page story was adapted by Donald Duck comic strip writer Bob Karp from an unproduced feature, and published in October 1942 in [Dell] Four Color Comics #9. It was the first Donald Duck story originally produced for an American comic book and also the first involving Donald and his nephews in a treasure hunting expedition, in this case for the treasure of Henry Morgan. Barks would later use the treasure hunting theme in many of his stories. This actually was not his first work in comics, as earlier the same year Barks along with Hannah and fellow storyman Nick George scripted Pluto Saves the Ship, which was among the first original Disney comic book stories published in the United States.

 

After quitting the Studio, Barks relocated to the Hemet/San Jacinto area in the semi-desert inland empire region east of Los Angeles where he hoped to start a chicken farm.

When asked which of his stories was a favorite in several interviews Barks cited the ten-pager in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 146 (Nov. 1952) in which Donald tells the story of the chain of unfortunate events that took place when he owned a chicken farm in a town which subsequently was re-named Omelet. Likely one reason it was a favorite is that it was inspired by Barks' own experiences in the poultry business.

 

But to earn a living in the meantime he inquired whether Western Publishing, which had published Pirate Gold, had any need for artists for Donald Duck comic book stories. He was immediately assigned to illustrate the script for a ten-page Donald Duck story for the monthly Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. At the publisher's invitation he revised the storyline and the improvements impressed the editor sufficiently to invite Barks try his hand at contributing both the script and the artwork of his follow-up story. This set the pattern for Barks' career in that (with rare exceptions) he provided art (pencil, inking, solid blacks and lettering) and scripting for his stories.

The Victory Garden, that initial ten-page story published in April, 1943 was the first of about 500 stories featuring the Disney ducks Barks would produce for Western Publishing over the next three decades, well into his purported retirement. These can be mostly divided into two categories:

Ten-pagers, comedic Donald Duck stories that were the lead for the monthly flagship title Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, whose circulation peaked in the mid-1950s at 3 million copies sold a month.

 

Humorous adventure stories, usually 24-32 pages in length. In the 1940s these were one-shots in the Four Color series (issued 4-6 times a year) that starred Donald and his nephews. From the early 1950s Barks undertook the quarterly adventures of Uncle Scrooge and the duck clan in Scrooge's own title.

 

He surrounded Donald Duck and nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie with a cast of eccentric and colorful characters, such as the aforementioned Scrooge McDuck, the wealthiest duck in the world; Gladstone Gander, Donald's obscenely lucky cousin; inventor Gyro Gearloose; the persistent Beagle Boys; the sorceress Magica De Spell; Scrooge's rivals Flintheart Glomgold and John D. Rockerduck; Daisy's nieces April, May and June; Donald's neighbor Jones, and The Junior Woodchucks organization.

 

People who work for Disney generally do so in relative anonymity; the stories only carry Walt Disney's name and (sometimes) a short identification number. Prior to 1960, the creator of these stories remained a mystery to his readers. However, many readers recognized Barks' work and drawing style, and began to call him the Good Duck Artist, a label which stuck even after his true identity was discovered by John and Bill Spicer in 1959. After Barks received a 1960 visit from Bill and John Spicer and Ron Leonard, he was no longer anonymous, as his name soon became known to his readers.

 

Barks stories (whether humorous adventures or domestic comedies) often exhibited a wry, dark irony born of hard experience. The 10 pagers showcased Donald as everyman, struggling against the cruel bumps and bruises of everyday life with the nephews often acting as a Greek chorus commenting on the unfolding disasters Donald wrought upon himself. Yet while seemingly defeatist in tone, the humanity of the characters shines through in their persistence despite the obstacles. These stories found popularity not only among young children but adults as well. Despite the fact that Barks had done little traveling his adventure stories often had the duck clan globe trotting to the most remote or spectacular of places. This allowed Barks to indulge his penchant for elaborate backgrounds that hinted at his thwarted ambitions of doing realistic stories in the vein of Hal Foster's Prince Valiant.

 

Carl Barks retired in 1966 but was persuaded by editor Chase Craig to script stories for Western. The last new comic book story drawn by Carl Barks was a Daisy Duck tale ("The Dainty Daredevil") published in Walt Disney Comics Digest issue 5 (Nov. 1968). When bibliographer Michael Barrier asked Barks about why he drew it, Barks' vague recollection was no one was available and he was asked to do it as a favor by editor Chase Craig.

 

He wrote one Uncle Scrooge story, three Donald Duck stories and from 1970-1974 was the main writer for the Junior Woodchucks comic book (issues 6 through 25). The latter included environmental themes that Barks first explored in 1957 ["Land of the Pygmy Indians", Uncle Scrooge 18]. Barks also sold a few sketches to Western that were redrawn as covers. For a time the Barkses lived in Goleta, California before returning to the Inland Empire by moving to Temecula.

 

To make a little extra money beyond what his pension and scripting earnings brought in, Barks started doing oil paintings to sell at the local art shows he and Garé exhibited at. Subjects included humorous depictions of life on the farm and portraits of Native American princesses. These skillfully rendering paintings encouraged fan Glenn Bray to ask Barks if he could commission a painting of the ducks ("A Tall Ship and a Star to Steer Her By", taken from the cover of Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 108 by Barks). This prompted Barks to contact George Sherman at Disney's Publications Department to request permission to produce and sell oil paintings of scenes from his stories. In July 1971 Barks was granted a royalty-free license by Disney. When word spread that Barks was taking commissions from those interested in purchasing an oil of the ducks, much to his astonishment the response quickly outstripped what he reasonably could produce in the next few years.

 

When Barks expressed dismay at coping with the backlog of orders he faced, fan/dealers Bruce Hamilton and Russ Cochran suggested Barks instead auction his paintings at conventions and via Cochran's catalog Graphic Gallery. By September 1974 Barks had discontinued taking commissions.

 

At Boston's NewCon convention, in October 1975, the first Carl Barks oil painting auctioned at a comic book convention ("She Was Spangled and Flashy") sold for $2,500. Subsequent offerings saw an escalation in the prices realized. The buyer of this painting, Jerry Osborne, quickly became one of Barks' close friends. Barks even painted Osborne into the scene of his 1976 "July Fourth in Duckburg." Jerry Osborne delivered the eulogy at Barks' funeral at Grants Pass, Oregon.[citation needed]

 

In 1976, Barks and Garé went to Boston for the NewCon show, their first comic convention appearance. Among the other attendees was famed Little Lulu comic book scripter John Stanley; despite both having worked for Western Publishing this was the first time they met. The highlight of the convention was the auctioning of what was to that time the largest duck oil painting Barks had done, "July Fourth in Duckburg", which included depictions of several prominent Barks fans and collectors. It sold for a then record high amount: $6,400.

 

Soon thereafter a fan sold unauthorized prints of some of the Scrooge McDuck paintings, leading Disney to withdraw permission for further paintings. To meet demand for new work Barks embarked on a series of paintings of non-Disney ducks and fantasy subjects such as Beowulf and Xerxes. These were eventually collected in the limited-edition book Animal Quackers.

 

As the result of heroic efforts by Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz and screenwriter Edward Summer, Disney relented and in 1981, allowed Barks to do a now seminal oil painting called "Wanderers of Wonderlands" for a breakthrough limited edition book entitled Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life and Times. The book collected 11 classic Barks stories of Uncle Scrooge colored by artist Peter Ledger along with a new Scrooge story by Barks done storybook style with watercolor illustrations, "Go Slowly, Sands of Time". After being turned down by every major publisher in New York City, Kurtz and Summer published the book through Celestial Arts, which Kurtz acquired partly for this purpose. The book went on to become the model for virtually every important collection of comic book stories. It was the first book of its kind ever reviewed in Time Magazine and subsequently in Newsweek, and the first book review in Time Magazine with large color illustrations.

 

In 1977 and 1982, Barks attended the San Diego Comic Con. As with his appearance in Boston, the response to his presence was overwhelming, with long lines of fans waiting to meet Barks and get his autograph.

 

In 1981, Bruce Hamilton and Russ Cochran, two long-time Disney comics fans, decided to combine forces to bring greater recognition to the works of Carl Barks. Their first efforts went into establishing Another Rainbow Publishing, the banner under which they produced and issued the award-winning book, "The Fine Art of Walt Disney´s Donald Duck by Carl Barks", a comprehensive collection of the Disney duck paintings of this artist and storyteller. Not long after, the company began producing fine art lithographs of many of these paintings, in strictly limited editions, all signed by Barks, who eventually produced many original works for the series.

 

In 1983 Another Rainbow took up the daunting task of collecting the entire Disney comic book ouvré of Barks—over 500 stories in all—in the ten-set, thirty-volume Carl Barks Library. These oversized hardbound volumes reproduced Barks´ pages in pristine black and white line art, as close as possible to the way he would originally drawn them, and included mountains of special features, articles, reminiscences, interviews, storyboards, critiques, and more than a few surprises. This monumental project was finally completed in mid-1990.

 

In 1985 a new division was founded, Gladstone Publishing, which took up the then-dormant Disney comic book license. Gladstone introduced a whole new generation of Disney comic book readers to the wondrous storytelling of such luminaries as Barks, Paul Murry, and Floyd Gottfredson, as well as presenting the first works of modern Disney comics masters Don Rosa and William Van Horn. Seven years after Gladstone's founding, the Carl Barks Library was revived as full-color, high-quality squarebound comic albums (including the first-ever Carl Barks trading cards) - the Carl Barks Library in Color.

 

Barks relocated one last time to Grants Pass, Oregon near where he grew up, partly at the urging of friend and Broom Hilda artist Russell Myers, who lived in the area. The move also was motivated, Barks stated in another famous quip, by Temecula being too close to Disneyland and thus facilitating a growing torrent of drop-in visits by vacationing fans. In this period Barks made only one public appearance, at a comic book shop near Grants Pass.

 

From 1993 to 1998, Barks' career was managed by the "Carl Barks Studio" (Bill Grandey and Kathy Morby—They had sold Barks original art since 1979). This involved numerous art projects and activities, including a tour of 11 European countries in 1994, Iceland being the first foreign country he ever visited. Barks appeared at the first of many Disneyana conventions in 1993. Silk screen prints of paintings along with high-end art objects (such as original water colors, bronze figurines and ceramic tiles) were produced based on designs by Barks.

 

During the summer of 1994 and until his death, Carl Barks & his studio personally assigned Peter Reichelt, a museum exhibition producer from Mannheim, Germany, as his agent for Europe. Publisher "Edition 313" put out numerous lithographs. In 1997, tensions between Barks and the Studio eventually resulted in a lawsuit that was settled with an agreement that included the disbanding of the Studio. Barks never traveled to make another Disney appearance. He was represented by Rev. Ed Bergen, as he completed a final project. Gerry Tank and Jim Mitchell were to assist Barks in his final years.

During his Carl Barks Studio years, Barks created two more stories: the script for the final Uncle Scrooge story "Horsing Around with History", which was first published in Denmark in 1994 with Bill Van Horn art. The Barks outlines for Barks final Donald Duck story "Somewhere in Nowhere", were first published in 1997, in Italy, with art by Pat Block.

Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein curated and organized the first solo museum-exhibition of Carl Barks. Between 1994 and 1998 the retrospective was shown in ten European museums and seen by more than 400,000 visitors.

 

At the same time in spring 1994, Reichelt and Ina Brockmann designed a special museum exhibition tour about Barks' life and work. Also represented for the first time at this exhibition were Disney artists Al Taliaferro and Floyd Gottfredson. Since 1995, more than 500,000 visitors have attended the shows in Europe, Reichelt also translated the Michael Barrier Barks biography into German and published it in 1994.

 

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have acknowledged that the rolling-boulder booby trap in the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark was inspired by the 1954 Carl Barks Uncle Scrooge adventure "The Seven Cities of Cibola" (Uncle Scrooge 7). Lucas and Spielberg have also said that some of Barks's stories about space travel and the depiction of aliens had an influence on them. Lucas wrote the foreword to the 1982 Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life and Times. In it he calls Barks’s stories "cinematic" and "a priceless part of our literary heritage".

 

Carl Barks has spent most of his life drawing, illustrating, painting and telling stories about ducks. He was editor and artist for the Calgary Eyeopener until he joined the Disney Studio in 1935. Barks wrote and drew thirty six early Donald Duck cartoons. Walt Disney was supervisor to his "duck unit". In 1942 he dedicated himself to the art form that made him famous: writing comics books and drawing them. Carl became the preeminent Disney comic book artist and remains so to this day. In 1996 his timeless work has been reprinted worldwide. He is known as the father of Donald Duck as well as the creator of the miserly Uncle Scrooge. Duckburg and most of the duck clan owe their existence to his pen and paintbrush. In 1968 Carl began a new career capturing the duck family in oil paintings. Many Disney Bark's products have been created from his work including silk-screens, lithographs, bronze and porcelain figurines. At 93 Barks went on an eleven country museum tour with his oil paintings. From Iceland to Poland forty of his paintings were received to rave reviews and huge crowds. In Denmark the 3rd grade was let out to meet Barks at the boat. When asked what he would most like to be remembered for he answers "storytelling."

Invented delights. Click here to read at The Delhi Walla.

When Dead Tree Fused With Picture Frames, One of the Most Spooky Wall Decor Invented

 

jh-siesta.com/art/when-dead-tree-fused-with-picture-frame...

Students mix and match ingredients to invent a new flavor of popcorn. Students then had to market their invention to other students.

 

Photo by Bill Drake of photodrake.com

Una "bidella" emozionata parla nella facoltà di psicologia:

"Il nostro lavoro non è affatto superfluo; chi non ha mai trovato nella bidella la spalla dove piangere perchè la maestra l’ha sgridato, valido aiuto a chiudere il giubotto che non ne vuole sapere, o chiederle aiuto con un thè, una camomilla perchè il mal di stomaco, vero o inventato, aiutasse a star fuori della classe a rischio d’interrogazione? oppure perchè, avendo litigato a casa, l’unica confidente che ascoltava era lei? oppure colei a cui chiedere aiuto per conoscere il biondino della 3C o la mora della 3F? anche questo accade a scuola sotto l’occhio vigile, di controllo, perchè non degeneri nessuna situazione...... e in più bisogna correre tra circolari, comunicazioni, accoglienza a meno fortunati con disagi e difficoltà vari......Già, i bidelli sono componente del personale non docente della scuola, ma assolvono all’interno dell’istituzione scolastica dei ruoli sempre più complessi e professionali. E ora???".

 

Cremaschi: Hanno detto che in Italia ci sono più bidelli che carabinieri....ma, santo dio, è una scelta di civiltà!

Masonic Lodge 229 Albert Street Victoria Harbour, ON L0K 2A0

 

Masonic Broken Column.

 

www.phoenixmasonry.org/broken_column.htm

 

THE BROKEN COLUMN:

Short Talk Bulletin - Vol. 34, February 1956,

No. 2 - Author Unknown

 

The story of the broken column was first illustrated by Amos Doolittle in the "True Masonic Chart" by Jeremy Cross, published in 1819.

 

Many of Freemasonry's symbols are of extreme antiquity and deserve the reverence which we give to that which has had sufficient vitality to live long in the minds of men. For instance, the square, the point within a circle, the apron, circumambulation, the Altar have been used not only in Freemasonry but in systems of ethics, philosophy and religions without number.

 

Other symbols in the Masonic system are more recent. Perhaps they are not the less important for that, even without the sanctity of age which surrounds many others.

 

Among the newer symbols is that usually referred to as the broken column. A marble monument is respectably ancient - the broken column seems a more recent addition. There seems to be no doubt that the first pictured broken column appeared in Jeremy Cross's True Masonic Chart, published in 1819, and that the illustration was the work of Amos Doolittle, an engraver, of Connecticut.

 

That Jeremy Cross "invented" or "designed" the emblem is open to argument. But there is legitimate room for argument over many inventions. Who invented printing from movable type? We give the credit to Gutenberg, but there are other claimants, among them the Chinese at an earlier date. Who invented the airplane? The Wrights first flew a "mechanical bird" but a thousand inventors have added to, altered, changed their original design, until the very principle which first enabled the Wrights to fly, the "warping wing", is now discarded and never used.

 

Therefore, if authorities argue and contend about the marble monument and broken column it is not to make objection or take credit from Jeremy Cross; the thought is that almost any invention or discovery is improved, changed, added to and perfected by many men. Edison is credited with the first incandescent lamp, but there is small kinship between his carbon filament and a modern tungsten filament bulb. Roentgen was first to bring the "x-ray" to public notice-the discoverer would not know what a modern physician's x-ray apparatus was if he saw it!

 

In the library of the Grand Lodge of Iowa in Cedar Rapids, is a book published in 1784; "A BRIEF HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY" by Thomas Johnson, at that time the Tiler of the Grand Lodge of England (the "Moderns"). In this book the author states that he was "taken the liberty to introduce a Design for a Monument in Honor of a Great Artist." He then admits that there is no historical account of any such memorial but cites many precedents of "sumptuous Piles" which perpetuate the memories and preserve the merits of the historic dead, although such may have been buried in lands far from the monument or "perhaps in the depth of the Sea".

 

In this somewhat fanciful and poetic description of this monument, the author mentions an urn, a laurel branch, a sun, a moon, a Bible, square and compasses, letter G. The book was first published in 1782, which seems proof that there was

at that time at least the idea of a monument erected to the Master Builder.

 

There is little historical material upon which to draw to form any accurate conclusions. Men write of what has happened long after the happenings. Even when faithful to their memories, these may be, and often are, inaccurate. It is with this thought in mind that a curious statement in the Masonic newspaper, published in New York seventy-five years ago, must be considered. In the issue of May 10, 1879, a Robert B. Folger purports to give Cross' account of his invention, or discovery, an inclusion, of the broken column into the marble monument emblem.

 

The account is long, rambling and at times not too clear. Abstracted, the salient parts are as follows. Cross found or sensed what he considered a deficiency in the Third Degree which had to be filled in order to effect his purposes. He consulted a former Mayor of New Haven, who at the time was one of his most intimate friends. Even after working together for a week, they did not hit upon any symbol which would be sufficiently simple and yet answer the purpose. Then a Copper-plate engraver, also a brother, was called in. The number of hieroglyphics which had be this time accumulated was immense. Some were too large, some too small, some too complicated, requiring too much explanation and many were not adapted to the subject.

 

Finally, the copper-plate engraver said, "Brother Cross, when great men die, they generally have a monument." "That's right!" cried Cross; "I never thought of that!" He visited the burying-ground in New Haven. At last he got an idea and told his friends that he had the foundation of what he wanted. He said that while in New York City he had seen a monument in the southwest corner of Trinity Church yard erected over Commodore Lawrence, a great man who fell in battle. It was a large marble pillar, broken off. The broken part had been taken away, but the capital was lying at the base. He wanted that pillar for the foundation of his new emblem, but intended to bring in the other part, leaving it resting against the base. This his friends assented to, but more was wanted. They felt that some inscription should be on the column. after a length discussion they decided upon an open book to be placed upon the broken pillar. There should of course be some reader of the book! Hence the emblem of innocence-a beautiful virgin-who should weep over the memory of the deceased while she read of his heroic deeds from the book before her.

 

The monument erected to the memory of Commodore Lawrence was placed in the southwest corner of Trinity Churchyard in 1813, after the fight between the frigates

Chesapeake and Shannon, in which battle Lawrence fell. As described, it was a beautiful marble pillar, broken off, with a part of the capital laid at its base. lt remained until 1844-5 at which time Trinity Church was rebuilt. When finished, the corporation of the Church took away the old and dilapidated Lawrence monument and erected a new one in a different form, placing it in the front of the yard on Broadway, at the lower entrance of the Church. When Cross visited the new monument, he expressed great disappointment at the change, saying "it was not half as good as the one they took away!"

 

These claims of Cross-perhaps made for Cross-to having originated the emblem are disputed. Oliver speaks of a monument but fails to assign an American origin. In the Barney ritual of 1817, formerly in the possession of Samuel Wilson of Vermont, there is the marble column, the beautiful virgin weeping, the open book, the sprig of acacia, the urn, and Time standing behind. What is here lacking is the broken column. Thus it appears that the present emblem, except the broken column, was in use prior to the publication of Cross' work (1819).

 

The emblem in somewhat different form is frequently found in ancient symbolism. Mackey states that with the Jews a column was often used to symbolize princes, rulers or nobles. A broken column denoted that a pillar of the state had fallen. In Egyptian mythology, Isis is sometimes pictured weeping over the broken column which conceals the body of her husband Osiris, while behind her stands Horus or Time pouring ambrosia on her hair. In Hasting's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION AND ETHICS, Isis is said sometimes to be represented standing; in her right hand is a sistrum, in her left hand a small ewer and on her forehead is a lotus, emblem of resurrection. In the Dionysaic Mysteries, Dionysius is represented as slain; Rhea goes in search of the body. She finds it and causes it to be buried. She is sometimes represented as standing by a column holding in her hand a sprig of wheat, emblem of immortality; since, though it be placed in the ground and die, it springs up again into newness of life. She was the wife of Kronus or Time, who may fittingly be represented as standing behind her.

 

Whoever invented the emblem or symbol of the marble monument, the broken column, the beautiful virgin, the book, the urn, the acacia, Father Time counting the ringlets of hair, could not have thought through all the implications of this attempt-doubtless made in all reverence-to add to the dignity and impressiveness of the story of the Master Builder.

 

The urn in which "ashes were safely deposited" is pure invention. Cremation was not practiced by the Twelve Tribes; it was not the method of disposing of the dead in the land and at the time of the building of the Temple. rather was the burning of the dead body reserved as a dreadful fate for the corpses of criminals and evil doers. That so great a man as "the widow's son, of the tribe of Naphtali" should have been cremated is unthinkable. The Bible is silent on the subject; it does not mention Hiram the Builder's death, still less the disposal of the body, but the whole tone of the Old Testament in description of funerals and mournings, make it impossible to believe that his body was burned, or that his ashes might have been preserved.

 

The Israelites did not embalm their dead; burial was accomplished on the day of death or, at the longest wait, on the day following. According to the legend, the Master Builder was disinterred from the first or temporary grave and reinterred with honor. That is indeed, a supposable happening; that his body was raised only to be cremated is wholly out of keeping with everything known of deaths, funeral ceremonies, disposal of the dead of the Israelites.

 

In the ritual which describes the broken column monument, before the figure of the virgin is "a book, open before her." Here again invention and knowledge did not go hand in hand. There were no books at the time of the building of the Temple, as moderns understand the word. there were rolls of skins, but a bound book of leaves made of any substance-vellum, papyrus, skins-was an unknown object. Therefore there could have been no such volume in which the virtues of the Master Builder were recorded.

 

No logical reason has been advanced why the woman who mourned and read in the book was a "beautiful virgin." No scriptural account tells of the Master Builder having wife or daughter or any female relative except his mother. The Israelites reverenced womanhood and appreciated virginity, but they were just as reverent over mother and

child. Indeed, the bearing of children, the increase of the tribe, the desire for sons, was strong in the Twelve Tribes; why, then, the accent upon the virginity of the woman in the monument? "Time standing behind her, unfolding and counting the ringlets of her hair" is dramatic, but also out of character for the times. "Father Time" with his scythe is probably a descendant of the Greek Chromos, who carried a sickle or reaping hook, but the Israelites had no contact with Greece. It may have been natural for whoever invented the marble monument emblem to conclude that Time was both a world-wide and a time immemorial symbolic figure, but it could not have been so at the era in which Solomon's Temple was built.

 

It evidently did not occur to the originators of this emblem that it was historically impossible. Yet the Israelites did not erect monuments to their dead. In the singular, the word "monument" does not occur in the Bible; as "monuments" it is mentioned once, in Isaiah 65 - "A people...which remain among the graves and lodge in the monuments." In the Revised Version this is translated "who sit in tombs and spend the night in secret places." The emphasis is apparently upon some form of worship of the dead (necromancy). The Standard Bible Dictionary says that the word "monument" in the general sense of a simple memorial does not appear in Biblical usage.

 

Oliver Day Street in "SYMBOLISM OF THE THREE DEGREES" says that the urn was an ancient sign of mourning, carried in funeral processions to catch the tears of those who grieved. But the word "urn" does not occur in the Old Testament nor the New.

 

Freemasonry is old. It came to us as a slow, gradual evolution of the thoughts, ideas, beliefs, teachings, idealism of many men through many years. It tells a simple story-a story profound in its meaning, which therefore must be simple, as all great truths in the last analysis are simple.

 

The marble monument and the broken column have many parts. Many of these have the aroma of age. Their weaving together into one symbol may be-probably is-a modernism, if that term can cover a period of nearly two hundred years. but the importance of a great life, his skill and knowledge; his untimely and pitiful death is not a modernism.

 

Nothing herein set forth is intended as in any way belittling one of Freemasonry's teachings by means of ritual and picture. These few pages are but one of many ways of trying to illuminate the truth behind a symbol, and show that, regardless of the dates of any parts of the emblem, the whole has a place in the Masonic story which has at least romance, if not too much fact, behind it.

 

THE BROKEN COLUMN AND ITS DEEPER MEANING:

by Bro. William Steve Burkle KT, 32°

Scioto Lodge No. 6, Chillicothe, Ohio.

Philo Lodge No. 243, South River, New Jersey

 

The meaning of the Broken Column as explained by the ritual of the Master mason degree is that the column represents both the fall of Master Hiram Abif as well as the unfinished work of the Temple of Solomon[i]. This interesting symbol has appeared in some fascinating places; for example, a Broken Column monument marks the gravesite in Lewis County Tennessee[ii] of Brother Meriwether Lewis (Lewis & Clark), and a similar monument marks the grave of Brother Prince Hall[iii]. In China, there is a “broken column-shaped” home which was built just prior to the French Revolution by the aristocrat François Nicolas Henri Racine de Monville[iv]. Today “The Broken Column” is frequently used in Masonic newsletters as the header for obituary notices and is a popular tomb monument for those whose life was deemed cut short. Note that when I speak of The Broken Column here, I am referring to only the upright but shattered Column Base with its detached Shattered Capital, and not to the more extensive symbolism often associated with the figure such as a book resting on the column base, the Weeping Virgin (Isis), or Father Time (Horus) disentangling the Virgin’s hair. In this version the shattered column itself is often said to allude to Osiris[v]. While these embellishments add to the complexity of the allusion, it is the shattered column alone which I intend to address.

 

The Broken Column is believed to be a fairly recent addition to the symbolism of Freemasonry, and has been attributed to Brother Jeremy L. Cross. Brother Cross[vi] is said to have devised the symbol based upon a broken column grave monument dedicated to a Commodore Lawrence[vii], which was erected in the Trinity Churchyard circa 1813. Lawrence perished in a naval battle that same year between the Frigates Chesapeake and Shannon. The illustration of the broken column was reportedly first published in the “True Masonic Chart” by artist Amos Doolittle in 1819[viii]. There is however little evidence beyond the word of Brother Cross that the symbol was thus created[ix],[x].

 

Whether the Broken Column is a modern invention or passed down from times of antiquity is of little consequence; regardless of its origins the symbol serves well as a powerful allusion in our Craft, and as will be discussed, may have deeper meanings which align with other Masonic symbols which also incorporate images of columns and pillars.

 

Freemasonry makes generous reference to columns and pillars of all sorts in the work of the various degrees including the two pillars which stood at the entrance of Solomon’s Temple, the four columns of architectural significance, and the three Great Columns representing strength, beauty, and wisdom[xi]. The first mention of pillars in a Masonic context[xii] is found in the Cooke Manuscript dated circa 1410 A.D. The three Great Pillars of Masonry are of particular interest in this article even though it is the Broken Column and its deeper meanings which I ultimately intend to explore.

 

Three Great Columns:

 

The basis for the Three Great Columns can be traced to an ancient Kabalistic concept and a unique diagram found in the Zohar which illustrates the emanations of God in forming and sustaining the universe. The diagram also reflects certain states of spiritual attainment in man. This diagram, called the Sephiroth consists of ten spheres or Sephira connected to one another by pathways and which are ordered to reflect the sequence of creation. In accordance with Kabalistic belief Aur Ein Sof (Light Without End) shines down into the Sephiroth and is split like a prism into its ten constituent Sephira[xiii], eventually ending in the material universe. To discuss the Sephiroth in sufficient depth to impart a good understanding is well beyond the scope of this paper; however, a basic understanding of how the structure of the Sephiroth is related to the Great Columns is manageable, and is in fact essential to the subsequent discussion of the Broken Column. Be aware that the explanations I give are vast oversimplifications of a highly complex concept. In an attempt to simplify the concept, it is inevitable that some degree of inaccuracy will be introduced.

I would like to begin my discussion of the Three Great Columns by discussing the Cardinal Virtues. The Cardinal Virtues are believed to have originated with Plato who formed them from a tripartite division[xiv] of the attributes of man (power, wisdom, reason, mercy, strength, beauty, firmness, magnificence, and base kingship) presented in the Sephiroth. These concepts were later adopted by the Christian Church[xv] and were popularized by the treatises of Martin of Braga, Alcuin and Hrabanus Maurus (circa 1100 A.D.) and later promoted by Thomas Aquinas (circa 1224 A.D.). According to Wescott[xvi] the Four Cardinal Virtues are represented by what were originally branches of the Sepheroth:

“Four tassels refer to four cardinal virtues, says the first degree Tracing Board Lecture, these are temperance, fortitude, prudence, and justice; these again were originally branches of the Sephirotic Tree, Chesed first, Netzah fortitude, Binah prudence, and Geburah justice. Virtue, honour, and mercy, another triad, are Chochmah, Hod, and Chesed.”

 

broken-column1

 

Thus we have a connection between the Cardinal Virtues and the Sephiroth. The Three Pillars of Freemasonry (Wisdom, Beauty, and Strength) are associated with the Cardinal Virtues[xvii] and also therefore with the Kabalistic concept of the Sephiroth[xviii]. I have provided an illustration of the Sepiroth in Figure 1. This particular version of the Sephiroth is based upon that used in the 30th Degree or Knight Kadosh Grade[xix] of the ASSR. The Sephiroth, incidentally is also called “The Tree of Life”. Each of the vertical columns of spheres (Sephira) in the Sephiroth are considered to represent a pillar (column). Each pillar is named according to the central concept which it represents; thus in Figure 1 we have the pillars Justice, Beauty, and Mercy left to right, respectively. The Sephiroth is a very elegant system in which balance is maintained between the Sephira of the two outermost pillars by virtue of the center pillar. Note also that traditionally the Sephiroth is divided into “Triads” of Sephira. In Figure 1 the uppermost triad, consisting of the spheres Wisdom, Intelligence, and Crown represent the intellectual and spiritual characteristics of man. The next triad is represented by the Sephira Justice, Beauty, and Mercy; the final triad is Splendor, Foundation, and Firmness (or Strength).

According to S.L. MacGregor Mathers[xx], the word Sephira is best translated to mean (or is best rendered as) “Numerical Emanation”, and each of the ten Sephira corresponds to a specific numerical value. Mathers also asserts that it was through knowledge of the Sephiroth that Pythagoras devised his system of numerical symbolism. While there are additional divisions and subdivisions of the Sephiroth, the concept which is of interest to us here is that God created the Material World or Universe (signified by the lowest Sephira, Kingdom) in a series of ordered actions which proceeded along established pathways (i.e. the connecting lines between the Sephira in our Figure). Each of the Sephira and each pathway are a sort of “buffer” between the majesty and power of God and the material world. Without these buffers, profane man and the material world he inhabits would meet with destruction. On the other hand, enlightened man is able to progress upwards along these pathways to higher level Sephira and to thereby achieve enhanced knowledge of the Divine. Tradition holds that man once was closer to the Divine spirit, but became corrupted by the material world, losing this connection (i.e. The fall of Man from Grace. Note also the reference to the Tree of Knowledge and possible connections to the Tree of Life). God uses the Sephiroth in renewing and sustaining the material universe. Each new soul created is an emanation of God and travels to materiality (physical existence) via the pathways established in the Sephiroth. In a similar fashion, the spirits of the departed return to God via these same pathways, making the Sephiroth the mechanism by which God interacts with the universe.

 

broken-column2

 

The Broken Column:

 

In Figure 2, I have redrawn the Sephiroth as an overlay of the Three Great Columns; however in this version the Pillar of Beauty is Broken. Note especially that the center pillar, the Pillar of Beauty in the Sephiroth has a gap between Beauty and Crown, in effect making this column a Broken Pillar[xxi]. I believe this “fracture” symbolizes Man’s separation from knowledge of the Divine, and an interruption in the Pathway leading from Beauty directly to the Crown (which symbolizes “The Vast Countenance”[xxii]).

 

I would also like to extrapolate that if the Broken Column indeed represents Hiram Abif as per the explanation given to initiates, then the two remaining columns would then correspond to Solomon and Hiram King of Tyre[xxiii]. Certainly the Sephira (Wisdom, Justice, and Splendor) which comprise the column of Justice align well with the characteristics traditionally associated with King Solomon. Tradition unfortunately does not address Hiram King of Tyre although we can assume that Intelligence, Mercy, and Firmness or Strength would be a likely requirement for a Monarch of such apparent success. The connection between the Three Great Columns and the three principle characters in the drama of the Third Degree does have a certain sense of validity. The “Lost Word” associated with Hiram Abif would then allude to the lost Pathway.

 

In so many of our Masonic Lessons we initially receive a plausible but quite shallow explanation of our symbols and allusions. Those who sense an underlying, deeper meaning tend to find it (Seek and you will find, knock and the door shall be opened). Perhaps in our ritual of the Third Degree, that which is symbolically being raised (restored) is the Pillar of which resides within us. If so, the Lost Word has then in fact been received by each of us. It only remains lost if we choose to forget it or choose not to pursue it.

 

[i] Duncan, Malcom C. Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor. Crown; 3 Edition (April 12, 1976). ISBN-13: 978-0679506263. pp 157.

 

[ii] “Meriwether Lewis, Master Mason”. The Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation.

 

[iii] “WHo is Prince Hall ?” (1996). Retrieved December 5, 2008 from www.mindspring.com/~johnsonx/whoisph.htm.

 

[iv] Kenna, Michael. (1988). The Broken Column House at Désert de Retz in Le Desert De Retz, A late 18th Century French Folley Garden. Retrieved December 6, 2008 from Valley Daze. valley-daze.blogspot.com/2007/09/broken-column-house.html

 

[v] Pike, Albert. (1919) Morals and Dogma. Charleston Southern Jurisdiction. pp. 379. ASIN: B000CDT4T8.

 

[vi] “The Broken Column”. The Short Talk Bulletin 2-56. The Masonic Service Association of the United States. VOL. 34 February 1956 NO. 2.

 

[vii] Brown, Robert Hewitt. (1892). Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy or the origin and meaning of ancient and modern mysteries explained. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1, 3, and 5 Bond Street. 1892.. pp. 68.

 

[viii] “Boston Masonic Lithograph”. Retrieved December 5, 2008 from Lodge Pambula Daylight UGL of NSW & ACT No1000. lodgepambuladaylight.org/lithograph.htm.

 

[ix] Folger, Robert B. Fiction of the Weeping Virgin. Retrieved December 6, 2008 from the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon A.F. & A.M. freemasonry.bcy.ca/art/monument / fiction/fiction.html

 

[x] Mackey, Albert Gallatin & Haywood H. L. Encyclopedia of Freemasonry Part 2. pp. 677. Kessinger Publishing, LLC (March 31, 2003).

 

[xi] Claudy, Carl H. Introduction to Masonry. The Temple Publishers. Retrieved December 5, 2008 from Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry. www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/claudy4.html.

 

[xii] Dwor, Mark. (1998). Globes, Pillars, Columns, and Candlesticks. Vancouver Lodge of Education and Research . Retrieved December 6, 2008 from the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon A.F. & A.M. freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/globes_pillars_columns.html

 

[xiii] Day, Jeff. (2008). Dualism of the Sword and the Trowel. Cryptic Masons of Oregon – Grants Pass. Retrieved December 6, 2008 from rogue.cryptic-masons.org/dualism_of_the_sword_and_trowel

 

[xiv] Bramston, M. Thinkers of the Middle Ages. Monthly Packet. Evening Readings of the Christian Church (1893). Ed. Charlotte Mary Yonge, Christabel Rose Coleridge, Arthur Innes. J. and C. Mozley. University of Michigan (2007).

 

[xv] Regan, Richard. (2005). The Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance. Hackett Publishing.

 

[xvi] Wescott, William ( ). The Religion of Freemasonry. Illuminated by the Kabbalah. Ars Quatuor Coronatorum. vol. i. p. 73-77. Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. Retrieved September 29, 2008 from www.freemasonry.bcy.ca/aqc/kabbalah.html.

 

[xvii] MacKenzie, Kenneth R. H. (1877). Kabala. Royal Masonic Cyclopedia. Kessinger Publishing (2002).

 

[xviii] Pirtle, Henry. Lost Word of Freemasonry. Kessinger Publishing, 1993.

 

[xix] Knight Kadosh. The Thirtieth Grade of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and the First Degree of the Chivalric Series. Hirams Web. University of Bradford.

 

[xx] Mathers, S.L. MacGregor. (1887). Qabalah Unveiled. Reprinted (2006) as The Kabbalah: Essential Texts From The Zohar. Watkins. London. pp. 10.

 

[xxi] Ibid. Dualism of the Sword and the Trowel

 

[xxii] Ibid. Qabalah Unveiled .Plate III. pp. 38-39.

 

[xxiii] Duncan, Malcom C. Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor. Crown; 3 Edition (April 12, 1976).

 

The hula hoop is an ancient invention - no modern company and no single inventor can claim that they invented the first hula hoop. The Greeks used hooping as a form of exercise.

 

Older hoops have been made from metal, bamboo, wood, grasses, and even vines. However, modern companies "re-invented" their own versions of the hula hoop using unusual materials, for example; plastic hula hoops with added bits of glitter and noise makers, and hoops that are collapsible.

 

Around 1300, hooping came to Great Britain, homemade versions of the toy became very popular. In the early 1800s, British sailors first witnessed hula dancing in the Hawaiian Islands. Hula dancing and hooping look somewhat similar and the name "hula hoop" came together.

  

Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin founded the Wham-O company which helped popularize another ancient toy, the frisbee.

Knerr and Melin started the Wham-O company from their Los Angeles garage in 1948. The men were marketing a slingshot originally invented for training pet falcons and hawks {it slung meat at the birds). This slingshot was named "Wham-O" because of the sound it made when it hit the target. Wham-O also became the company's name.

 

Wham-O has become the most successful manufacturer of hula hoops in modern times. They trademarked the name Hula Hoop ® and start manufacturing the toy out of the new plastic Marlex in 1958.

 

Twenty million Wham-O hula hoops sold for $1.98 in the first six months.

 

Trivia

•Japan once banned the hula hoop because the rotating hip action seems indecent.

•On June 4, 2005, Australian Kareena Oates set a Guinness world record for hula hooping - with 100 hoops for three full revolutions.

•101 hoops were spun by Alesya Goulevich of Belarus on June 11, 2006

•105 hoops were spun by Jin Linlin of China on October 28, 2007.

•The world record for the largest Hula Hoop (by circumference) spun was set by American Ashrita Furman at 51.5 feet on June 1, 2007.

 

Skateboarding was first started in the 1950s, when all across California surfers got the idea of trying to surf the streets. No one really knows who made the first board -- instead, it seems that several people came up with similar ideas at the same time. Several people have claimed to have invented the skateboard first, but nothing can be proved, and skateboarding remains a strange spontaneous creation.

These first skateboarders started with wooden boxes or boards with roller skate wheels slapped on the bottom. Like you might imagine, a lot of people got hurt in skateboarding's early years! It was a sport just being born and discovered, so anything went. The boxes turned into planks, and eventually companies were producing decks of pressed layers of wood -- similar to the skateboard decks of today. During this time, skateboarding was seen as something to do for fun after surfing.

 

In 1963, skateboarding was at a peak of popularity, and companies like Jack's, Hobie and Makaha started holding skateboarding competitions. At this time, skateboarding was mostly either downhill slalom or freestyle. Torger Johnson, Woody Woodward and Danny Berer were some well known skateboarders at this time, but what they did looked almost completely different from what skateboarding looks like today! Their style of skateboarding, called "freestyle", is more like dancing ballet or ice skating with a skateboard.

 

Then, in 1965, skateboarding's popularity suddenly crashed. Most people assumed that skateboarding was a fad that had died out, like the hoola hoop. Skateboard companies folded, and people who wanted to skate had to make their own skateboards again from scratch.

 

But people still skated, even though parts were hard to find and boards were home made. Skaters were using clay wheels for their boards, which was extremely dangerous and hard to control. But then in 1972, Frank Nasworthy invented urethane skateboard wheels, which are similar to what most skaters use today. His company was called Cadillac Wheels, and the invention sparked new interest in skateboarding among surfers and other young people.

 

In the spring of 1975, skateboarding took an evolutionary boost toward the sport that we see today. In Del Mar, California a slalom and freestyle contest was held at the Ocean Festival. That day, the Zephyr team showed the world what skateboarding could be. They rode their boards like no one had in the public eye, low and smooth, and skateboarding was taken from being a hobby to something serious and exciting (Read more about the history of Dogtown and the Zephyr team). The Zephyr team had many members, but the most famous are Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta.

 

But that was only the first big jump in the evolution of skateboarding - continue to the next page for the rest of the history...

 

The Zephyr team, and all the skaters who wanted to be like them, also made skateboarding even more edgy in the public eye, and added a strong anti-establishment sentiment that still remains in skateboarding today.

In 1978, only a few years into the popularity of this new style of low-to-the-ground skateboarding, a skater named Alan Gelfand (nicknamed "Ollie") invented a maneuver that gave skateboarding another revolutionary jump. He would slam his back foot down on the tail of his board and jump, thereby popping himself and the board into the air. The ollie was born, a trick that completely revolutionized skateboarding -- most tricks today are based in performing an ollie. The trick still bears his name, and Alan Gelfand was inducted into the skateboard hall of fame in 2002.

 

Unfortunately, near the end of the 70's skateboarding faced its second crash in popularity. Public skate parks had been being built, but with skateboarding being such a dangerous activity, insurance rates got out of control. This, combined with less and less people coming to use skateparks forced most to close.

 

But skaters kept skating. Through the 80's skateboarders started to built their own ramps at home, and to skate whatever else they could find. Skateboarding began to be more of an underground movement, with skaters continuing to ride, but to make the whole world into their skatepark.

 

During the 80's, smaller skateboard companies owned by skateboarders started cropping up. This enabled each company to be creative and do whatever they wanted - new styles and shapes of boards were tried.

 

It was also during the 80's that the VCR came on the scene, and opened up the world of skateboarding to any kid, anywhere. Stacey Peralta and George Powell pulled together a team of young talented skaters and named them the Bones Brigade. Stacey had a talent for filming, and in 1984 shot the first of a long series of revolutionary skateboard videos - The Bones Brigade Video Show. The team included Steve Caballero, Tony Hawk, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain, Rodney Mullen, Stacy Peralta, and Kevin Staab, among piles of other huge named skaters. Peralta made more Bones Brigade videos - Future Primitive in 1985, and the famous Search for Animal Chin in 1987. There are many, many more. Skateboarding began influencing clothing styles, music and culture.

 

Unfortunately, near the end of the 80's, skateboarding started to dive in popularity again. Vert skateboarding quickly lost popularity, and most skaters only rode street. Each time skateboarding has fallen in popularity, it has fallen a little less. But these dips in popularity have huge impacts on pro skaters. Pure vert skaters like Tony Hawk had a very difficult time holding on through the late 80's and early 90's. The stress on Tony Hawk was incredible, and he even lost his first wife during this time.

 

Vert skateboarding took a dive in fame in the early 90s, but skateboarding still remained, though it became primarily street. It was then that Mike Vallely and Natas Kaupas came on the scene and pushed street skateboarding even further.

Skateboarding started to grow again in popularity in the 90's, this time with a more raw, edgy, and dangerous attitude. This coincides with the rise of more angry punk music, and the general discontent with the current system that raged throughout this time frame. Call it discontent, or call it Post Modern frustration, but the image of the poor, angry skater punk came to the surface loud and proud. Interestingly, this only helped to fuel skateboarding's popularity.

 

In 1995, ESPN held their first Extreme Games, in Rhode Island. This first X Games was a huge success, and helped pull skateboarding closer to the mainstream, and closer to being accepted by the general population (read more in the History of the X Games). In 1997 the first Winter X Games were held, and "Extreme Sports" were classified. Plenty of skaters resent the way skateboarding has slowly moved from underground to mainstream. However, the X Games did bring vert skateboarding back into popularity. The X Games and competitions like that have continued to keep vert skateboarding popular, even though vert few skaters actually ride real vert ramps. Vert skateboarding has slowly become a much loved spectator sport.

 

Since 2000, attention in the media and products like skateboarding video games, children's skateboards and commercialization have all pulled skateboarding more and more into the mainstream. The benefit of this is that, of course, skaters are more accepted, and the assumption that all skaters are criminals is slowly being torn down. Also, with more money being put into skateboarding, there are more skateparks, better skateboards, and more skateboarding companies to keep innovating and inventing new things.

 

However, there is a large group of skaters who miss the underground days, and who strongly disagree with the way skateboarding has been made more mainstream. One benefit of skateboarding is that it is a very individual activity. There is no right or wrong way to skate. However, if skateboarding is officially classified as a "sport", many skaters fear that this freedom will die out. There is currently a great deal of concern about skateboarding becoming an Olympic sport (read Skateboarding in the Olympics? for more).

 

But, with all this history crammed into such a short period of time, it's easy to see that no one knows where skateboarding will truly go from here. Skateboarding still hasn`t stopped evolving, and skaters are coming up with new tricks all the time. Boards are also continuing to evolve, as companies try to make them lighter and stronger, or try to improve on their performance. Skateboarding has always been about personal discovery and pushing oneself to the limit, but where will skateboarding go from here? Wherever skaters continue to take it.

   

Masonic Broken Column:

 

www.phoenixmasonry.org/broken_column.htm

 

THE BROKEN COLUMN:

Short Talk Bulletin - Vol. 34, February 1956,

No. 2 - Author Unknown

 

The story of the broken column was first illustrated by Amos Doolittle in the "True Masonic Chart" by Jeremy Cross, published in 1819.

 

Many of Freemasonry's symbols are of extreme antiquity and deserve the reverence which we give to that which has had sufficient vitality to live long in the minds of men. For instance, the square, the point within a circle, the apron, circumambulation, the Altar have been used not only in Freemasonry but in systems of ethics, philosophy and religions without number.

 

Other symbols in the Masonic system are more recent. Perhaps they are not the less important for that, even without the sanctity of age which surrounds many others.

 

Among the newer symbols is that usually referred to as the broken column. A marble monument is respectably ancient - the broken column seems a more recent addition. There seems to be no doubt that the first pictured broken column appeared in Jeremy Cross's True Masonic Chart, published in 1819, and that the illustration was the work of Amos Doolittle, an engraver, of Connecticut.

 

That Jeremy Cross "invented" or "designed" the emblem is open to argument. But there is legitimate room for argument over many inventions. Who invented printing from movable type? We give the credit to Gutenberg, but there are other claimants, among them the Chinese at an earlier date. Who invented the airplane? The Wrights first flew a "mechanical bird" but a thousand inventors have added to, altered, changed their original design, until the very principle which first enabled the Wrights to fly, the "warping wing", is now discarded and never used.

 

Therefore, if authorities argue and contend about the marble monument and broken column it is not to make objection or take credit from Jeremy Cross; the thought is that almost any invention or discovery is improved, changed, added to and perfected by many men. Edison is credited with the first incandescent lamp, but there is small kinship between his carbon filament and a modern tungsten filament bulb. Roentgen was first to bring the "x-ray" to public notice-the discoverer would not know what a modern physician's x-ray apparatus was if he saw it!

 

In the library of the Grand Lodge of Iowa in Cedar Rapids, is a book published in 1784; "A BRIEF HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY" by Thomas Johnson, at that time the Tiler of the Grand Lodge of England (the "Moderns"). In this book the author states that he was "taken the liberty to introduce a Design for a Monument in Honor of a Great Artist." He then admits that there is no historical account of any such memorial but cites many precedents of "sumptuous Piles" which perpetuate the memories and preserve the merits of the historic dead, although such may have been buried in lands far from the monument or "perhaps in the depth of the Sea".

 

In this somewhat fanciful and poetic description of this monument, the author mentions an urn, a laurel branch, a sun, a moon, a Bible, square and compasses, letter G. The book was first published in 1782, which seems proof that there was

at that time at least the idea of a monument erected to the Master Builder.

 

There is little historical material upon which to draw to form any accurate conclusions. Men write of what has happened long after the happenings. Even when faithful to their memories, these may be, and often are, inaccurate. It is with this thought in mind that a curious statement in the Masonic newspaper, published in New York seventy-five years ago, must be considered. In the issue of May 10, 1879, a Robert B. Folger purports to give Cross' account of his invention, or discovery, an inclusion, of the broken column into the marble monument emblem.

 

The account is long, rambling and at times not too clear. Abstracted, the salient parts are as follows. Cross found or sensed what he considered a deficiency in the Third Degree which had to be filled in order to effect his purposes. He consulted a former Mayor of New Haven, who at the time was one of his most intimate friends. Even after working together for a week, they did not hit upon any symbol which would be sufficiently simple and yet answer the purpose. Then a Copper-plate engraver, also a brother, was called in. The number of hieroglyphics which had be this time accumulated was immense. Some were too large, some too small, some too complicated, requiring too much explanation and many were not adapted to the subject.

 

Finally, the copper-plate engraver said, "Brother Cross, when great men die, they generally have a monument." "That's right!" cried Cross; "I never thought of that!" He visited the burying-ground in New Haven. At last he got an idea and told his friends that he had the foundation of what he wanted. He said that while in New York City he had seen a monument in the southwest corner of Trinity Church yard erected over Commodore Lawrence, a great man who fell in battle. It was a large marble pillar, broken off. The broken part had been taken away, but the capital was lying at the base. He wanted that pillar for the foundation of his new emblem, but intended to bring in the other part, leaving it resting against the base. This his friends assented to, but more was wanted. They felt that some inscription should be on the column. after a length discussion they decided upon an open book to be placed upon the broken pillar. There should of course be some reader of the book! Hence the emblem of innocence-a beautiful virgin-who should weep over the memory of the deceased while she read of his heroic deeds from the book before her.

 

The monument erected to the memory of Commodore Lawrence was placed in the southwest corner of Trinity Churchyard in 1813, after the fight between the frigates

Chesapeake and Shannon, in which battle Lawrence fell. As described, it was a beautiful marble pillar, broken off, with a part of the capital laid at its base. lt remained until 1844-5 at which time Trinity Church was rebuilt. When finished, the corporation of the Church took away the old and dilapidated Lawrence monument and erected a new one in a different form, placing it in the front of the yard on Broadway, at the lower entrance of the Church. When Cross visited the new monument, he expressed great disappointment at the change, saying "it was not half as good as the one they took away!"

 

These claims of Cross-perhaps made for Cross-to having originated the emblem are disputed. Oliver speaks of a monument but fails to assign an American origin. In the Barney ritual of 1817, formerly in the possession of Samuel Wilson of Vermont, there is the marble column, the beautiful virgin weeping, the open book, the sprig of acacia, the urn, and Time standing behind. What is here lacking is the broken column. Thus it appears that the present emblem, except the broken column, was in use prior to the publication of Cross' work (1819).

 

The emblem in somewhat different form is frequently found in ancient symbolism. Mackey states that with the Jews a column was often used to symbolize princes, rulers or nobles. A broken column denoted that a pillar of the state had fallen. In Egyptian mythology, Isis is sometimes pictured weeping over the broken column which conceals the body of her husband Osiris, while behind her stands Horus or Time pouring ambrosia on her hair. In Hasting's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION AND ETHICS, Isis is said sometimes to be represented standing; in her right hand is a sistrum, in her left hand a small ewer and on her forehead is a lotus, emblem of resurrection. In the Dionysaic Mysteries, Dionysius is represented as slain; Rhea goes in search of the body. She finds it and causes it to be buried. She is sometimes represented as standing by a column holding in her hand a sprig of wheat, emblem of immortality; since, though it be placed in the ground and die, it springs up again into newness of life. She was the wife of Kronus or Time, who may fittingly be represented as standing behind her.

 

Whoever invented the emblem or symbol of the marble monument, the broken column, the beautiful virgin, the book, the urn, the acacia, Father Time counting the ringlets of hair, could not have thought through all the implications of this attempt-doubtless made in all reverence-to add to the dignity and impressiveness of the story of the Master Builder.

 

The urn in which "ashes were safely deposited" is pure invention. Cremation was not practiced by the Twelve Tribes; it was not the method of disposing of the dead in the land and at the time of the building of the Temple. rather was the burning of the dead body reserved as a dreadful fate for the corpses of criminals and evil doers. That so great a man as "the widow's son, of the tribe of Naphtali" should have been cremated is unthinkable. The Bible is silent on the subject; it does not mention Hiram the Builder's death, still less the disposal of the body, but the whole tone of the Old Testament in description of funerals and mournings, make it impossible to believe that his body was burned, or that his ashes might have been preserved.

 

The Israelites did not embalm their dead; burial was accomplished on the day of death or, at the longest wait, on the day following. According to the legend, the Master Builder was disinterred from the first or temporary grave and reinterred with honor. That is indeed, a supposable happening; that his body was raised only to be cremated is wholly out of keeping with everything known of deaths, funeral ceremonies, disposal of the dead of the Israelites.

 

In the ritual which describes the broken column monument, before the figure of the virgin is "a book, open before her." Here again invention and knowledge did not go hand in hand. There were no books at the time of the building of the Temple, as moderns understand the word. there were rolls of skins, but a bound book of leaves made of any substance-vellum, papyrus, skins-was an unknown object. Therefore there could have been no such volume in which the virtues of the Master Builder were recorded.

 

No logical reason has been advanced why the woman who mourned and read in the book was a "beautiful virgin." No scriptural account tells of the Master Builder having wife or daughter or any female relative except his mother. The Israelites reverenced womanhood and appreciated virginity, but they were just as reverent over mother and child. Indeed, the bearing of children, the increase of the tribe, the desire for sons, was strong in the Twelve Tribes; why, then, the accent upon the virginity of the woman in the monument? "Time standing behind her, unfolding and counting the ringlets of her hair" is dramatic, but also out of character for the times. "Father Time" with his scythe is probably a descendant of the Greek Chromos, who carried a sickle or reaping hook, but the Israelites had no contact with Greece. It may have been natural for whoever invented the marble monument emblem to conclude that Time was both a world-wide and a time immemorial symbolic figure, but it could not have been so at the era in which Solomon's Temple was built.

 

It evidently did not occur to the originators of this emblem that it was historically impossible. Yet the Israelites did not erect monuments to their dead. In the singular, the word "monument" does not occur in the Bible; as "monuments" it is mentioned once, in Isaiah 65 - "A people...which remain among the graves and lodge in the monuments." In the Revised Version this is translated "who sit in tombs and spend the night in secret places." The emphasis is apparently upon some form of worship of the dead (necromancy). The Standard Bible Dictionary says that the word "monument" in the general sense of a simple memorial does not appear in Biblical usage.

 

Oliver Day Street in "SYMBOLISM OF THE THREE DEGREES" says that the urn was an ancient sign of mourning, carried in funeral processions to catch the tears of those who grieved. But the word "urn" does not occur in the Old Testament nor the New.

 

Freemasonry is old. It came to us as a slow, gradual evolution of the thoughts, ideas, beliefs, teachings, idealism of many men through many years. It tells a simple story-a story profound in its meaning, which therefore must be simple, as all great truths in the last analysis are simple.

 

The marble monument and the broken column have many parts. Many of these have the aroma of age. Their weaving together into one symbol may be-probably is-a modernism, if that term can cover a period of nearly two hundred years. but the importance of a great life, his skill and knowledge; his untimely and pitiful death is not a modernism.

 

Nothing herein set forth is intended as in any way belittling one of Freemasonry's teachings by means of ritual and picture. These few pages are but one of many ways of trying to illuminate the truth behind a symbol, and show that, regardless of the dates of any parts of the emblem, the whole has a place in the Masonic story which has at least romance, if not too much fact, behind it.

 

THE BROKEN COLUMN AND ITS DEEPER MEANING:

by Bro. William Steve Burkle KT, 32°

Scioto Lodge No. 6, Chillicothe, Ohio.

Philo Lodge No. 243, South River, New Jersey

 

The meaning of the Broken Column as explained by the ritual of the Master mason degree is that the column represents both the fall of Master Hiram Abif as well as the unfinished work of the Temple of Solomon[i]. This interesting symbol has appeared in some fascinating places; for example, a Broken Column monument marks the gravesite in Lewis County Tennessee[ii] of Brother Meriwether Lewis (Lewis & Clark), and a similar monument marks the grave of Brother Prince Hall[iii]. In China, there is a “broken column-shaped” home which was built just prior to the French Revolution by the aristocrat François Nicolas Henri Racine de Monville[iv]. Today “The Broken Column” is frequently used in Masonic newsletters as the header for obituary notices and is a popular tomb monument for those whose life was deemed cut short. Note that when I speak of The Broken Column here, I am referring to only the upright but shattered Column Base with its detached Shattered Capital, and not to the more extensive symbolism often associated with the figure such as a book resting on the column base, the Weeping Virgin (Isis), or Father Time (Horus) disentangling the Virgin’s hair. In this version the shattered column itself is often said to allude to Osiris[v]. While these embellishments add to the complexity of the allusion, it is the shattered column alone which I intend to address.

 

The Broken Column is believed to be a fairly recent addition to the symbolism of Freemasonry, and has been attributed to Brother Jeremy L. Cross. Brother Cross[vi] is said to have devised the symbol based upon a broken column grave monument dedicated to a Commodore Lawrence[vii], which was erected in the Trinity Churchyard circa 1813. Lawrence perished in a naval battle that same year between the Frigates Chesapeake and Shannon. The illustration of the broken column was reportedly first published in the “True Masonic Chart” by artist Amos Doolittle in 1819[viii]. There is however little evidence beyond the word of Brother Cross that the symbol was thus created[ix],[x].

 

Whether the Broken Column is a modern invention or passed down from times of antiquity is of little consequence; regardless of its origins the symbol serves well as a powerful allusion in our Craft, and as will be discussed, may have deeper meanings which align with other Masonic symbols which also incorporate images of columns and pillars.

 

Freemasonry makes generous reference to columns and pillars of all sorts in the work of the various degrees including the two pillars which stood at the entrance of Solomon’s Temple, the four columns of architectural significance, and the three Great Columns representing strength, beauty, and wisdom[xi]. The first mention of pillars in a Masonic context[xii] is found in the Cooke Manuscript dated circa 1410 A.D. The three Great Pillars of Masonry are of particular interest in this article even though it is the Broken Column and its deeper meanings which I ultimately intend to explore.

 

Three Great Columns:

 

The basis for the Three Great Columns can be traced to an ancient Kabalistic concept and a unique diagram found in the Zohar which illustrates the emanations of God in forming and sustaining the universe. The diagram also reflects certain states of spiritual attainment in man. This diagram, called the Sephiroth consists of ten spheres or Sephira connected to one another by pathways and which are ordered to reflect the sequence of creation. In accordance with Kabalistic belief Aur Ein Sof (Light Without End) shines down into the Sephiroth and is split like a prism into its ten constituent Sephira[xiii], eventually ending in the material universe. To discuss the Sephiroth in sufficient depth to impart a good understanding is well beyond the scope of this paper; however, a basic understanding of how the structure of the Sephiroth is related to the Great Columns is manageable, and is in fact essential to the subsequent discussion of the Broken Column. Be aware that the explanations I give are vast oversimplifications of a highly complex concept. In an attempt to simplify the concept, it is inevitable that some degree of inaccuracy will be introduced.

I would like to begin my discussion of the Three Great Columns by discussing the Cardinal Virtues. The Cardinal Virtues are believed to have originated with Plato who formed them from a tripartite division[xiv] of the attributes of man (power, wisdom, reason, mercy, strength, beauty, firmness, magnificence, and base kingship) presented in the Sephiroth. These concepts were later adopted by the Christian Church[xv] and were popularized by the treatises of Martin of Braga, Alcuin and Hrabanus Maurus (circa 1100 A.D.) and later promoted by Thomas Aquinas (circa 1224 A.D.). According to Wescott[xvi] the Four Cardinal Virtues are represented by what were originally branches of the Sepheroth:

“Four tassels refer to four cardinal virtues, says the first degree Tracing Board Lecture, these are temperance, fortitude, prudence, and justice; these again were originally branches of the Sephirotic Tree, Chesed first, Netzah fortitude, Binah prudence, and Geburah justice. Virtue, honour, and mercy, another triad, are Chochmah, Hod, and Chesed.”

 

broken-column1

 

Thus we have a connection between the Cardinal Virtues and the Sephiroth. The Three Pillars of Freemasonry (Wisdom, Beauty, and Strength) are associated with the Cardinal Virtues[xvii] and also therefore with the Kabalistic concept of the Sephiroth[xviii]. I have provided an illustration of the Sepiroth in Figure 1. This particular version of the Sephiroth is based upon that used in the 30th Degree or Knight Kadosh Grade[xix] of the ASSR. The Sephiroth, incidentally is also called “The Tree of Life”. Each of the vertical columns of spheres (Sephira) in the Sephiroth are considered to represent a pillar (column). Each pillar is named according to the central concept which it represents; thus in Figure 1 we have the pillars Justice, Beauty, and Mercy left to right, respectively. The Sephiroth is a very elegant system in which balance is maintained between the Sephira of the two outermost pillars by virtue of the center pillar. Note also that traditionally the Sephiroth is divided into “Triads” of Sephira. In Figure 1 the uppermost triad, consisting of the spheres Wisdom, Intelligence, and Crown represent the intellectual and spiritual characteristics of man. The next triad is represented by the Sephira Justice, Beauty, and Mercy; the final triad is Splendor, Foundation, and Firmness (or Strength).

 

According to S.L. MacGregor Mathers[xx], the word Sephira is best translated to mean (or is best rendered as) “Numerical Emanation”, and each of the ten Sephira corresponds to a specific numerical value. Mathers also asserts that it was through knowledge of the Sephiroth that Pythagoras devised his system of numerical symbolism. While there are additional divisions and subdivisions of the Sephiroth, the concept which is of interest to us here is that God created the Material World or Universe (signified by the lowest Sephira, Kingdom) in a series of ordered actions which proceeded along established pathways (i.e. the connecting lines between the Sephira in our Figure). Each of the Sephira and each pathway are a sort of “buffer” between the majesty and power of God and the material world. Without these buffers, profane man and the material world he inhabits would meet with destruction. On the other hand, enlightened man is able to progress upwards along these pathways to higher level Sephira and to thereby achieve enhanced knowledge of the Divine. Tradition holds that man once was closer to the Divine spirit, but became corrupted by the material world, losing this connection (i.e. The fall of Man from Grace. Note also the reference to the Tree of Knowledge and possible connections to the Tree of Life). God uses the Sephiroth in renewing and sustaining the material universe. Each new soul created is an emanation of God and travels to materiality (physical existence) via the pathways established in the Sephiroth. In a similar fashion, the spirits of the departed return to God via these same pathways, making the Sephiroth the mechanism by which God interacts with the universe.

 

broken-column2

 

The Broken Column:

 

In Figure 2, I have redrawn the Sephiroth as an overlay of the Three Great Columns; however in this version the Pillar of Beauty is Broken. Note especially that the center pillar, the Pillar of Beauty in the Sephiroth has a gap between Beauty and Crown, in effect making this column a Broken Pillar[xxi]. I believe this “fracture” symbolizes Man’s separation from knowledge of the Divine, and an interruption in the Pathway leading from Beauty directly to the Crown (which symbolizes “The Vast Countenance”[xxii]).

 

I would also like to extrapolate that if the Broken Column indeed represents Hiram Abif as per the explanation given to initiates, then the two remaining columns would then correspond to Solomon and Hiram King of Tyre[xxiii]. Certainly the Sephira (Wisdom, Justice, and Splendor) which comprise the column of Justice align well with the characteristics traditionally associated with King Solomon. Tradition unfortunately does not address Hiram King of Tyre although we can assume that Intelligence, Mercy, and Firmness or Strength would be a likely requirement for a Monarch of such apparent success. The connection between the Three Great Columns and the three principle characters in the drama of the Third Degree does have a certain sense of validity. The “Lost Word” associated with Hiram Abif would then allude to the lost Pathway.

 

In so many of our Masonic Lessons we initially receive a plausible but quite shallow explanation of our symbols and allusions. Those who sense an underlying, deeper meaning tend to find it (Seek and you will find, knock and the door shall be opened). Perhaps in our ritual of the Third Degree, that which is symbolically being raised (restored) is the Pillar of which resides within us. If so, the Lost Word has then in fact been received by each of us. It only remains lost if we choose to forget it or choose not to pursue it.

 

[i] Duncan, Malcom C. Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor. Crown; 3 Edition (April 12, 1976). ISBN-13: 978-0679506263. pp 157.

 

[ii] “Meriwether Lewis, Master Mason”. The Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation.

 

[iii] “WHo is Prince Hall ?” (1996). Retrieved December 5, 2008 from www.mindspring.com/~johnsonx/whoisph.htm.

 

[iv] Kenna, Michael. (1988). The Broken Column House at Désert de Retz in Le Desert De Retz, A late 18th Century French Folley Garden. Retrieved December 6, 2008 from Valley Daze. valley-daze.blogspot.com/2007/09/broken-column-house.html

 

[v] Pike, Albert. (1919) Morals and Dogma. Charleston Southern Jurisdiction. pp. 379. ASIN: B000CDT4T8.

 

[vi] “The Broken Column”. The Short Talk Bulletin 2-56. The Masonic Service Association of the United States. VOL. 34 February 1956 NO. 2.

 

[vii] Brown, Robert Hewitt. (1892). Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy or the origin and meaning of ancient and modern mysteries explained. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1, 3, and 5 Bond Street. 1892.. pp. 68.

 

[viii] “Boston Masonic Lithograph”. Retrieved December 5, 2008 from Lodge Pambula Daylight UGL of NSW & ACT No1000. lodgepambuladaylight.org/lithograph.htm.

 

[ix] Folger, Robert B. Fiction of the Weeping Virgin. Retrieved December 6, 2008 from the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon A.F. & A.M. freemasonry.bcy.ca/art/monument / fiction/fiction.html

 

[x] Mackey, Albert Gallatin & Haywood H. L. Encyclopedia of Freemasonry Part 2. pp. 677. Kessinger Publishing, LLC (March 31, 2003).

 

[xi] Claudy, Carl H. Introduction to Masonry. The Temple Publishers. Retrieved December 5, 2008 from Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry. www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/claudy4.html.

 

[xii] Dwor, Mark. (1998). Globes, Pillars, Columns, and Candlesticks. Vancouver Lodge of Education and Research . Retrieved December 6, 2008 from the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon A.F. & A.M. freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/globes_pillars_columns.html

 

[xiii] Day, Jeff. (2008). Dualism of the Sword and the Trowel. Cryptic Masons of Oregon – Grants Pass. Retrieved December 6, 2008 from rogue.cryptic-masons.org/dualism_of_the_sword_and_trowel

 

[xiv] Bramston, M. Thinkers of the Middle Ages. Monthly Packet. Evening Readings of the Christian Church (1893). Ed. Charlotte Mary Yonge, Christabel Rose Coleridge, Arthur Innes. J. and C. Mozley. University of Michigan (2007).

 

[xv] Regan, Richard. (2005). The Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance. Hackett Publishing.

 

[xvi] Wescott, William ( ). The Religion of Freemasonry. Illuminated by the Kabbalah. Ars Quatuor Coronatorum. vol. i. p. 73-77. Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. Retrieved September 29, 2008 from www.freemasonry.bcy.ca/aqc/kabbalah.html.

 

[xvii] MacKenzie, Kenneth R. H. (1877). Kabala. Royal Masonic Cyclopedia. Kessinger Publishing (2002).

 

[xviii] Pirtle, Henry. Lost Word of Freemasonry. Kessinger Publishing, 1993.

 

[xix] Knight Kadosh. The Thirtieth Grade of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and the First Degree of the Chivalric Series. Hirams Web. University of Bradford.

 

[xx] Mathers, S.L. MacGregor. (1887). Qabalah Unveiled. Reprinted (2006) as The Kabbalah: Essential Texts From The Zohar. Watkins. London. pp. 10.

 

[xxi] Ibid. Dualism of the Sword and the Trowel

 

[xxii] Ibid. Qabalah Unveiled .Plate III. pp. 38-39.

 

[xxiii] Duncan, Malcom C. Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor. Crown; 3 Edition (April 12, 1976).

 

Don Preston, tecladista do Grande Mothers Re:Invented, durante show da banda em São Paulo. Mais fotos - UOL - musica.uol.com.br/album/thegrandemothers_sp_2010_album.jh...

MAX FLEISCHER

 

Max Fleischer (July 19, 1883 – September 11, 1972) was an American animator. He was a pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon and served as the head of Fleischer Studios. He brought such animated characters as Betty Boop, Koko the Clown, Popeye, and Superman to the movie screen and was responsible for a number of technological innovations.

Fleischer devised a concept to simplify the process of animating movement by tracing frames of live action film. His patent for the Rotoscope was granted in 1915, although Max and his brother Dave Fleischer made their first cartoon using the system in 1914. Extensive use of this technique was made in Fleischer's Out of the Inkwell series for the first five years of the series, which started in 1919 and starred Koko the Clown and Fitz the dog.

Fleischer produced his Inkwell films for the Bray Studios until 1921, when he and younger brothers Dave and Lou established Fleischer Studios (initially named "Out of the Inkwell Films") to produce animated cartoons and short subjects; Max was credited as the producer at the beginning of every cartoon as well. Koko and Fitz remained the stars of the Out of the Inkwell series, which was renamed Inkwell Imps in 1927. The Fleischer brothers also partnered with Lee DeForest, Edwin Miles Fadiman, and Hugo Riesenfeld to form Red Seal Pictures Corporation, which owned 36 theaters on the East Coast, extending as far west as Cleveland, Ohio.

Fleischer invented the "follow the bouncing ball" technique for his Song Car-Tunes series of animated singalong shorts beginning in May 1924. After a few films with unsynchronized sound (music and sound effects only), Fleischer added synchronized sound to this series, with My Old Kentucky Home (released April 13, 1926) with a dog-like character saying "Follow the ball, and join in, everybody." The sound entries in the Song Car-Tunes series — roughly 19 out of 36 short films — used the Phonofilm sound-on-film process developed by Lee DeForest. The Song Car-Tunes series would last until early 1927, just a few months before the actual start of the sound era. This was before Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie (1928), which is often mistakenly cited as the first cartoon to synchronize sound with animation. However, by late 1926, both the DeForest Phonofilm Corp. and Red Seal Pictures had filed for bankruptcy, and the Song Car-Tunes series came to an end.

In 1923, Fleischer made two 20-minute educational features explaining Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity (The Einstein Theory of Relativity) and Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Both features used a combination of animated special effects and live action. Fleischer also produced Finding His Voice (1929) illustrating how sound films worked.

Into the early sound era, Fleischer produced many technically advanced and sophisticated animated films. Several of his cartoons had soundtracks featuring live or rotoscoped images of the leading jazz performers of the time, most notably Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong and Don Redman. Fleischer's use of black performers was bold at a time when depictions of blacks were often denigrating and stereotypical.

In 1928, as film studios made the transition to sound, Fleischer revived the Song Car-Tunes series as Screen Songs, starting with the release of The Sidewalks of New York on February 5, 1929 through Paramount Pictures. Out of the Inkwell Films, Inc. was reorganized as Fleischer Studios in January 1929 following bankruptcy. During this time, Walt Disney was also gaining success with Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies. In August 1929, the silent Inkwell Imps series was replaced with the Talkartoon series, beginning with Noah's Lark. A year into the series, Fitz was renamed "Bimbo" and became the star of the Talkartoon series, starting with the cartoon Hot Dog (1930).

However, in August 1930, a Rubenesque poodle-human hybrid, Bimbo's girlfriend, made her screen debut in Dizzy Dishes, and quickly became Fleischer's biggest star; she would later be named Betty Boop. By 1931, Betty's floppy canine ears had evolved into hoop earrings, and she was transformed into a fully human girl (though she retained her romantic relationship with the dog for several episodes after her transmogrification). By the time of Minnie the Moocher (1932), Betty Boop was in a class of her own, and by August 1932, starting with Stopping the Show, the Talkartoon series was renamed as Betty Boop Cartoons; by now, as noted from even the opening song from Stopping the Show, Betty clearly became the self-proclaimed "Queen of the Animated Screen." Along with his standout star Boop, Fleischer had become one of the two premier animation producers; the up-and-coming Walt Disney was the other.

Fleischer cartoons were very different from Disney cartoons, in concept and in execution. The Fleischer approach was sophisticated, focused on surrealism, dark humor, adult psychological elements and sexuality. The Fleischer milieu was grittier, more urban, sometimes even sordid, often set in squalid tenement apartments with cracked, crumbling plaster and threadbare furnishings. Even the jazz music on Fleischer's soundtracks was rawer, saucier, more fitting with the unflinching Fleischer look at America's multicultural scene. But as popular as Betty Boop was for Fleischer, the Fleischer Studios would never come close to matching the huge international success of Mickey Mouse.

Fleischer would come closest through his deal securing the rights to the comic strip character Popeye the Sailor from King Features Syndicate. Popeye started out as a secondary character in 1929 in the newspaper feature Thimble Theater, and made his film debut in July, 1933, introduced in the Betty Boop short Popeye the Sailor. Popeye was an immediate hit for Fleischer, and would remain in production until 1957.

Fleischer's studio was a major operation in New York under the support of Paramount Studio. But as a recipient of Paramount cash, Fleischer was also at the mercy of Paramount's management. During the Great Depression, Paramount went through four name changes and reorganizations due to bankruptcies. These reorganizations affected the production budgets and created obstacles to Fleischer's development.

When the three-color Technicolor process became available, Paramount vetoed it based on their concerns with economic balance, giving Disney the opportunity to acquire an exclusivity to the process for four years, thus giving him the market edge on color cartoons. Two years later, Paramount approved color production for Fleischer, but he was left with the clearly inferior two-color processes of Cinecolor (red and blue) and two-strip Technicolor (red and green). The Color Classics series was introduced in 1934 as Fleischer's answer to Disney's Silly Symphonies.

These color cartoons were augmented with a Fleischer-patented three-dimensional background effect called "The Stereoptical Process," a precursor to Disney's Multiplane. This technique replaced the usual flat-plane, drawn and painted cartoon backgrounds with a circular 3-D scale-model background — a diorama — in front of which the action cels were positioned and photographed. As the character, say, hustled down a city street, the camera operator would rotate the diorama a click with each frame. The result was a constantly changing perspective of converging parallel lines that gave an amazing sense of depth. The process worked most dramatically with pans or tracking shots; for static shots, traditional drawn backgrounds sufficed. It was used to great effect in the longer format Popeye cartoons Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor (1936) and Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves (1937). These series of double-length (two-reel) cartoons were a gradual progression expressing Fleischer's desire to produce feature-length animated features. And while he had concepts for full-length features, it was not until the success of Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) that the stodgy Paramount executives realized the value of an animated feature as Fleischer had been proposing for the previous three years.

The popularity of Betty Boop was irreparably damaged as a result of the enforcement of the Hays Code in 1934. Her overt sexuality was downplayed, and her racy flapper attire was replaced with longer skirts and a less revealing neckline. While the production of the cartoons had become more refined with more structured stories, the level of the content was more juvenile, largely influenced by Paramount's front office, which was changing the tone of their films to reflect a more family-oriented audience by producing films more of the nature of MGM. Betty became a spinster career girl and maiden aunt character, a judgmental "good citizen" instead of the carefree, funloving Jazz Baby she had once been. As a result, she lost much of her audience appeal, and the era and musical style that she represented had already faded away with the coming of the Swing Era.

In 1937, film production at Fleischer's studio was affected by a five month strike, which kept his cartoons off theater screens through the rest of the year. The strikers represented by the Commercial Artists and Designers Union were not recognized by the IATSE, which represented the majority of the motion picture crafts. But after five months, Paramount Pictures urged Fleischer to settle. Then in March 1938, Fleischer Studios moved from New York City to Miami, Florida. The reasons were many. While it was reasoned that the relocation removed the studio from further union agitation, they were in need of additional space for the production of features. Coincidentally with the move, relations between brothers Dave and Max began deteriorating. A feud started simmering after Dave began an adulterous affair with his Miami secretary in 1938, and was followed by more personal and professional disputes.

While at Paramount, Dave Fleischer was asked by the studio to put the popular comic book and radio hero Superman into a cartoon series. Despite the high budgets that came from the series — triple the budget of typical Popeye one-reelers — Superman became the most successful cartoons in the late period of the studio. Its ultra-realistic drawing, stylish Art Deco look and magnificently intricate scoring made the Superman pilot the highwater mark of the studio's sophisticated output.

In the wake of Disney's inarguable triumph with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, Paramount top brass finally acquiesced to Fleischer's longstanding appeals to produce feature-length animated films — and now they wanted one for a Christmas 1939 release. In order to finance the new operation, Fleischer negotiated a loan with Paramount that in essence surrendered the studio's assets for the term of the loan, 10 years.

While Gulliver's Travels (1939) did moderate box office, it did not make back all of its costs since the production ran nearly $500,000 overbudget due to the relocation, transportation of film for processing and back, and costs of training new workers. At the time, it was also reported that the escalated war in Europe just three months before cut off Paramount's foreign release potential; however, recent information indicates that the picture was released in Europe but the returns were not reported to Fleischer Studios' accounting department. At the same time, returns on Popeye cartoons were also not properly accounted. These factors contributed to the continued financial losses for Fleischer's studio. The final blow came with the ill-fated release of their second feature, Mr. Bug Goes to Town (1941) two days before the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

On May 24, 1941, Paramount initiated takeover of Fleischer's studio. Max remained nominally in charge, but the long-simmering personal feud with his brother Dave further complicated the situation. Shortly after the release of Mr. Bug, a disgusted Dave left for California to take over as head of Columbia's Screen Gems animation unit in April 1942 — just one month prior to the renewal of Fleischer's contract. The move put Dave in breach of contract, for taking a position with a competitor while still contracted to Paramount. This breach, along with the substantial debt to Paramount, gave the bigger studio the right to take control of the smaller, forcing Max out. Paramount installed new management, among them Max's son-in-law, Seymour Kneitel. On May 25, 1942, the studio was renamed Famous Studios, and it moved back to New York within eight months.

Despite the disappointing performance of the feature films, the Superman series continued to do well. Nine episodes were completed by Fleischer Studios, with the final eight made by Famous Studios after the reorganization. Today, the Max Fleischer Superman cartoons are considered the final triumph of this great pioneer and his innovative studio.

After leaving his studio, Fleischer was brought in as head of the Animation Department for the industrial film company, The Jam Handy Organization. While there he supervised the technical and cartoon animation departments, producing training films for the Army and Navy and was also involved with research and development for the war effort. Following the war, he supervised the production of the animated adaptation of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1948), sponsored by Montgomery Ward. Fleischer left Handy in 1954 and returned as Production Manager for the Bray Studios in New York.

Fleischer lost a lawsuit against Paramount in 1955 over the removal of his name from the credits of his films. While Fleischer had issues over the breach of contract, he had avoided suing to protect his son-in-law, Seymour Kneitel, who still had a position with Paramount's Famous Studios. The lawsuit was lost because the court decided that, though Fleischer's case had merit, the statute of limitations had expired. In 1958, Fleischer revived Out of the Inkwell Films, Inc. and partnered with his former animator, Hal Seeger to produce 100 color Out of the Inkwell (1960–1961) cartoons for television. Actor Larry Storch performed the voices for Koko and supporting characters Kokonut and Mean Moe.

Although the rift with his brother Dave was never resolved, Max eventually formed a friendship with his old rival Walt Disney, who welcomed Max to a reunion with former Fleischer animators who were by then employed by Disney.

Fleischer, along with his wife Essie, moved to the Motion Picture Country House in 1967. He died from heart failure on September 11, 1972, after a period of poor health. On the day of his death, Max Fleischer was cited as a great pioneer who invented an industry, and was named by Time magazine as the "Dean of Animated Cartoons."[

His son Richard Fleischer, born in 1916, entered the film industry in the 1940s, and in retirement worked on merchandising Betty Boop.

    

Using the spiral shell design a a start, the experimenting led to something I "saw" as a future playground attraction. Giant video panels containing ever changing bold compositions of Nautilus shell imagery. Stuff that would delight the little ones. Maybe a few older ones also. Maybe add a tall strip of transparent steel (yet to be invented) on the left.

 

Samuel VAILE

Born in London

15th August 1828

Arrived in Auckland

23rd December 1843

Died 16th April 1913.

In 1882 he invented the

Stage or zone system of

Railway Administration

“Justus et tenax propositi vir” **

And

Annie VAILE

His wife

Died 11th January 1917

Aged 74 years

And to

Annie Blanche VAILE

Their daughter

Died 22nd June 1930

“Kind, kind and gentle was she”

And to

Hubert E. VAILE

Their son

Born at Auckland 9th July 1876

Died 17th May 1936

A GREAT CITIZEN

And a prominent supporter

Of the Auckland War Memorial Museum

 

**”Just and firm of purpose”

 

Samuel

 

The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Auckland Provincial District] published 1902

Mr. Samuel Vaile, the present President of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, is the second son of the late Mr. George Vaile, who, with his family, arrived in Auckland on the 23rd of December, 1843, in the barque “Bangalore,” the vessel that brought the second Governor, Captain Robert Fitzroy, R.N., to the colony. Like all the early settlers, Mr. Vaile in his boyhood, and early manhood, shared the hardships of life in a new settlement. In his youth he studied architecture under his father, but, in 1850, not seeing any opening in that profession, he decided to go to California, and accordingly left Auckland in the barque “Noble,” in February of that year. On the 23rd of March they made Pitcairn Island, and with the captain, supercargo and four fellow passengers, Mr. Vaile went ashore. The captain gave the five passengers leave to remain ashore for the night, and, with the supercargo, he returned to the ship. In the night he sailed away, leaving the five passengers ashore, with just the clothes they stood in. Eight weeks later Mr. Vaile landed in Honolulu with a threepenny piece (which he still retains) in his pocket, and not a whole suit of clothes. That was his start in life. He remained in Honolulu for nearly two years, made some money, and returned to Auckland, where he and a younger brother, the late Mr J. R. Vaile, established the well-known business carried on under the style of S. and J. R. Vaile. This business rapidly prospered, and in 1861 Mr. Vaile left Auckland to buy in the English and Continental markets for his firm. He remained in England till the end of 1869, when he returned to Auckland. While in the Old Country, Mr Vaile was elected a member of some of the leading scientific societies, and devoted a good deal of time to working among the poor, and studying the poverty problem. In 1876 the partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Vaile started the land and estate agency business, which is now carried on by the widely-known firm of Samuel Vaile and Sons. Mr. Vaile is well-known as a writer on such topics as co-operation, federation, finance, general politics, and especially railway management, and on single tax, which he denounces as “the propaganda of deception, fraud, and robbery.” In 1882 he invented the stage system of railway administration, an adaptation of which, under the name of the zone system, was put in force in Hungary in 1889, with marked success; and in 1894, Russia followed. In 1886 a Parliamentary Committee was set up to investigate this matter. Mr. Vaile attended, and conducted his own case. This enquiry lasted for ten weeks, when the Committee reported that the stage system ought to be tried. (Parliamentary paper 1—9 1886.) Mr. Vaile has worked at it ever since, but the Government still refuse a trial. In 1887 Mr. Vaile contested the seat for Auckland North, Mr. Thomas Thompson being his opponent. Mr. Vaile was declared to have lost the election by thirty-five votes, thirty-six having been thrown out as informal. In 1893 Mr. Vaile again offered himself for one of the city seats, but owing to Sir George Grey afterwards coming out also for the city, he did not seriously enter into the contest. In 1896, at fourteen days' notice, Mr. Vaile, under considerable pressure, undertook to contest the Parnell seat, against the sitting member, Mr. F. Lawry, and Mr. Arthur Withy, the Prohibition candidate, but Mr. Vaile was again defeated. At the earnest request of a number of citizens, Mr. Vaile, much against his will, was again induced to contest one of the city seats in 1899. A committee undertook to do all the work, and pay all the expense, but again he had only fourteen days to work in, and, as he expected, lost the seat. In 1893 the citizens of New Zealand presented Mr. Vaile with a very handsome silver salver and tea and coffee service, and also a fire-proof safe to keep the records of his public work in. Sir George Grey made the presentation, and, with the other speakers, very warmly eulogised Mr. Vaile for the energy, ability, and patriotism he had displayed in carrying on his public work under many difficulties and much discouragement.

 

A photo 1908 by Hubert Vaile of Vaile & Son’s business premises

www.digitalnz.org/records/29953697?search%5Bpage%5D=2&...

 

A photo dated 1914 showing the business premises of S VAILE & SONS:

www.reinz.co.nz/shadomx/apps/fms/fmsdownload.cfm?file_uui...

 

Photo of “The Avenue” home of the Vailes – 1905

www.digitalnz.org/records/29955612?search%5Bpage%5D=5&...

 

Photo of drawing room interior of Vaile home “The Avenue” 1904-5

www.digitalnz.org/records/30071460?search%5Bpage%5D=2&...

A photo of an elderly man mending a chair..quite possibly Samuel Vaile…

www.digitalnz.org/records/29953730?search%5Bi%5D%5Btag%5D...

also

www.digitalnz.org/records/29953731?search%5Btext%5D=vaile

Photos taken by Hubert Earle Vaile

  

Annie

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16436, 12 January 1917, Page 7

MRS. SAMUEL VAILE. The death occurred yesterday, at her late residence, Arney Road, Remuera, of Mrs. Annie Vaile, widow of the late Mr. Samuel Vaile. The deceased lady, who was in her 75th year, was born in London, where she married her late husband in 1866. She arrived at Auckland in 1869, and had lived in the city since that date. The late Mr. Vaile died about four years ago. Mr. E. E. Vaile, of Broadlands, Waiotapu, and Mr. H. E. Vaile, of Auckland, are sons of the late Mrs. Vaile, and there are two unmarried daughters. [2]

  

Hubert

 

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12274, 19 May 1903, Page 1

VAILE-MAHON On April 22 1903, at St Mark’s Church, Remuera, by Rev. W. Beatty, Hubert Earle, son of Samuel VAILE, Auckland, to Ethel Rose, daughter of Owen Mahon.[1]

 

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15810, 6 January 1915, Page 7

COLONIAL INSTITUTE

Aucklanders Honoured

Colonel Hazard and Mr. Hubert Vaile both of Auckland have ben elected Fellows of the royal Colonial Institute.[3]

 

MISSING AUCKLANDER

Mr. Hubert E. Vaile

Anxiety is felt by the relatives and friends of Mr. Hubert E. Vaile, of Gillies Avenue, as to his whereabouts. Mr. Vaile left his home on Sunday afternoon and has not since returned. Fullest inquiries are being made and any person able to give any helpful information is requested to communicate with his residence, 33 Gillies Avenue (telephone 20-397). [4]

 

Evening Post , Issue 118, 20 May 1936, Page 10

BODY IN HARBOUR

MR, HUBERT E. VAILE

WELL-KNOWN AUCKLAND MAN

(By Telegraph—Press Association.) AUCKLAND, This Day. The body of Mr. Hubert E. Vaile, one of Auckland's most progressive business men, was found in the harbour near the Orakei Wharf shortly before midday today. Mr. Vaile left home on Sunday, afternoon and his relatives became concerned. A boy aged fifteen was fishing for sprats from the Orakei Wharf on Monday forenoon when he hauled up a silver wristlet watch. The watch was still going, and he took it home. When the family read in yesterday's "Star" that Mr. Vaile was missing they noticed that the watch was engraved with Mr. Vaile's initials, and reported to the police, who dragged the vicinity of the wharf this morning. Within a few minutes they brought the body to the surface. Mr. Vaile was managing director of Samuel Vaile and Sons, leading real estate agents. He was born at Auckland and educated at the Grammar School. He was always active in social and civic affairs and took a large part in the establishment of the Auckland War Memorial Museum and the scenic reserve in the Waitakere Ranges. Mr. Vaile was formerly a member of the Epsom Road Board and was president of the Society of Arts for four years. He was associated with the Jubilee Institute for the Blind and the Auckland Savings Bank, president of the Auckland Institute and Museum for five years, and a member of the institute council till his death. In 1929 he unsuccessfully contested the Mayoral election against Mr. George Baildon, then the sitting Mayor. [6]

  

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 119, 21 May 1936, Page 8

DEATH OF MR. H. E. VAILE.

VERDICT AT THE INQUEST.

A verdict of suicide by drowning was returned by the coroner, Mr. Wyvern Wilson, S.M., this afternoon at the inquest concerning the death of Hubert F. Vaile, whose body was recovered from the harbour near the wharf at Orakei yesterday forenoon. Detective-Sergeant Meiklejohn conducted the inquest, and Mr. J. B. Johnston represented the relatives. Evidence was given by Detective- Sergeant Meiklejohn, Herbert Benjamin Harper, secretary and a director of the firm of Samuel Vaile and Sons, Ltd., and Dr. W. Gilmour, pathologist at the Auckland Hospital. After returning his verdict, the coroner read the messages written on paper on the inside of a cigarette tin which was found on the body. One message was: "10.30 p.m. Good-bye, Jock. Fill my place better than I did." Another message stated that Mr. Harper should be managing director of the firm of Samuel Vaile and Sons, Ltd. [5]

 

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22425, 22 May 1936, Page 12

EVIDENCE AT INQUEST VERDICT OF SUICIDE A verdict of suicide by drowning was returned by Mr. Wyvern Wilson, S.M., coroner, after hearing evidence yesterday concerning the death of Mr. Hubert Earle Vaile, estate agent, whose body was recovered from the harbour, near Orakei Wharf, by the police on Wednesday morning. Detective-Sergeant Meiklejohn represented tho police at tho inquest and Mr. J. B. Johnston attended on behalf of relatives. Evidence of identification was given by Herbert Benjamin Harper, secretary and a director of Samuel Vaile and Sons, Limited. He said he last saw deceased alive between 11 and 11.30 o'clock last Saturday morning. Witness said deceased wrote him a letter on May 17, which he received on the afternoon of May 18. This letter was handed by witness to the coroner. Witness then identified certain handwriting as being that of the deceased.

 

The Coroner: Did he ever express any intention he was about to take his own life? —None whatever. And you know of no reason whatever why he should have done so? No, I do not.

 

Mr. Meiklejohn described the recovery of the body from the water near Orakei Wharf on Wednesday morning. It was fully clothed, except for no hat. The pockets of the overcoat and the side pockets of the trousers were filled with stones. The legs were bound at the ankles with clothes-line rope, and the wrists were bound loosely with binder-twine. A cigarette tin which was found contained a tram-ticket with writing on it, and there was also writing on paper inside the tin. Dr. Walter Gilmour gave evidence that in his opinion death was due to drowning, and a verdict of suicide by drowning was returned. Questioned regarding the contents of the letter referred to by Mr. Harper, and the writing on other exhibits produced, the coroner said they were messages to deceased's wife and grandchildren and members of his staff. There were nothing but personal messages and the statement that his body would be found at the Orakei Wharf. One note read: "10.30 p.m. Good-bye, Jock; fill my place better than 1 did. —H.E.V." Another directed that Mr. Harper should be managing director of the firm.

RESOLUTIONS OF SYMPATHY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Reference to the death of Mr. H. E. Vaile was made, by the president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, Mr. A. A. Ross, at a meeting of the council of the chamber yesterday. Mr. Ross referred to Mr. Vaile’s association with public bodies, and said there was no doubt that by the death of Mr. Vaile the city had lost a valuable citizen. The following resolution was passed, members standing in silence as a mark of respect —"That this council places on record its high appreciation of the many and valuable public services rendered by the late Mr. Vaile. It deplores his untimely death, and extends its deepest sympathy to his bereaved family." Reference to the death of Mr. Vaile was made by the chairman, Mr. George Graham, at the annual meeting of tho Anthropological and Maori, Race Section, of the Auckland institute and Museum on Wednesday night. Mr. Graham said Mr. Vaile, when chairman of the Museum Council, had done much to bring about the erection of tho present museum building. [7]

 

Photographs by Hubert Vaile

Vaile[?] family group 1910

www.digitalnz.org/records/29956339?search%5Btext%5D=huber...

Dolly Vaile

www.digitalnz.org/records/29956336?search%5Btext%5D=vaile

Possibly Hubert and his daughter

www.digitalnz.org/records/29953811?search%5Bpage%5D=2&...

Photo of 2 girls 1914 possibly Hubert’s daughters.

www.digitalnz.org/records/29953815?search%5Btext%5D=vaile

Photos of 4 girls 1914

www.digitalnz.org/records/29953816?search%5Btext%5D=vaile

Other searches under Vaile on that site return more family photos

  

Annie Blanche

 

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 146, 23 June 1930, Page 1

…at her late residence, 9, Arney Road, Remuera, Annie Blanche, dearly beloved sister of E.E., H.E., and E.C. Vaile, and daughter of the late Samuel Vaile. Interred this day at Purewa Cemetery. [8]

  

****************************************************************

 

A son of Samuel and brother of Hubert, Edward Earle VAILE was a great benefactor of the Auckland Institute and Museum also

www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/vaile-edward-earle

  

SOURCES:

[1]

paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=s...

[2]

paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=s...

[3]

paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=s...

[4]

paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=s...

[5]

paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=s...

[6]

paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=s...

[7]

paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=s...

[8]

paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=s...

  

flickriver.com/photos/javier1949/popular-interesting/

  

Centro de Estudios Hidrográficos y laboratorio de Hidráulica del Ministerio de Fomento -CEDEX-

 

Paseo Bajo de la Virgen del Puerto, 3. Madrid

Arquitecto Miguel Fisac Serna. Proyecto: 1960 Obras 1960-1963

Estructuras: Julián González Montesino y José María Priego ingenieros de Caminos

Ampliación nave de ensayos: José Antonio Torroja, ingeniero, 1969

 

El Centro de Estudios Hidrográficos es uno de los edificios más singulares y carismáticos del arquitecto Miguel Fisac que se ha convertido en un referente de la Arquitectura Española de de la década de 1960, y que él describe en los siguientes términos: "Fue el mayor desafío estructural que había tenido, se trataba de crear un espacio rectangular de 80 x 22 m con una iluminación de bóveda celeste, totalmente uniforme, que me obligó a inventar una solución -es incluso una teoría estructural- completamente nueva. Tengo que reconocer que me divertí mucho en esta investigación en la que conté con dos extraordinarios colaboradores: José María Priego como calculista y Ricardo Barredo como ejecutor".

Uno de los primeros intentos para proponer el hormigón armado visto como principal material constructivo, además de ser pionero en Madrid en la cubrición de un espacio, de 22 m de luz, con vigas de hormigón pretensado con armaduras postensadas, sin apoyos intermedios.

El proyecto plantea dos edificios principales independientes: uno, para albergar el Centro de Estudios Hidrográficos, de siete plantas con volumetría vertical y prismática, plantas rectangulares y distribución encajada en una retícula ortogonal, destinado a despachos de dirección y de trabajo de ingenieros y personal auxiliar, sala de juntas, auditorio y aula de coloquios; y otro destinado al Laboratorio de Hidráulica formado por la gran nave de modelos, diáfana de 88 x 22 m, simple y luminosa y otras dos más pequeñas para túnel y ensayos, comunicados sólo por un pasillo en la planta primeras. El conjunto se completa con un edificio de dos plantas para despachos auxiliares, talleres, cafetería, comedor y vestuario de personal, a los que se adosa otro, también de dos plantas, para laboratorio de Reología y vivienda para guarda-conserje.

 

Fisac concibe el Centro con una gran sencillez formal y una absoluta expresividad estructural. Tanto sus elementos sustentantes y de cerramiento, como las calidades de ellos (hierro laminado en soportes, hormigón premoldeado y el realizado in situ, y aluminio en ventanas y puertas) se dejan en su calidad, textura y coloración originales. Todo ello muestra de una arquitectura en que, ante las necesidades funcionales de la edificación, prima la respuesta estructural clara y arriesgada del hormigón.

 

Especial atención merece la estructura de la cubierta de la nave de modelos. Fisac comenta al respecto: “la cubierta del laboratorio, para cumplir las exigencias requeridas de luz cenital, era la clave del problema que debería resolver”. Su forma responde a las exigencias de protección de las aguas de lluvia y de los rayos solares directos, consiguiendo una iluminación continua y homogénea. Así, ante la necesidad de obtener una rigurosa uniformidad lumínica que impidiese la incidencia directa del sol, diseñó una estructura de cubrición formada por vigas huecas de gran luz, realizadas en hormigón pretensado, apoyadas sobre muros lisos. Su pieza clave es un elemento de hormigón postensado, realizado con molde metálico, denominado "el hueso" formando vigas de secciones huecas con formas similares a estructuras óseas. Su sección podría asemejarse a la letra delta minúscula griega con sus trazos redondeados. Las vigas de cubierta se forman mediante alineaciones de piezas de 1 m de ancho, unidas con juntas elásticas intermedias y postensadas, montadas paralelamente de forma que entre cada línea se sitúa un cristal armado, acoplado con un bastidor de perfiles metálicos en L. La reiteración de estas piezas no sólo da respuesta a las necesidades estructurales del gran vano, sino que creaba unas posibilidades estéticas de contraste que constituyen la identidad del edificio. Su forma permite un homogéneo aprovechamiento de la luz cenital, su sección hueca un preciso aislamiento térmico y acústico, además de una gran facilidad para la recogida de aguas, y permitir el paso de instalaciones por su interior. Los “huesos” son resultado un concienzudo proceso de investigación con la colaboración, en sus comienzos, de Vicente Peiró.

En 1969 el ingeniero José Antonio Torroja amplía el conjunto con una gran nave de ensayos fluviales de planta triangular, en sierra, paralela al río que cierra la manzana y enlaza con la ejecutada por Fisac, manteniendo el juego de materiales básicos: paramentos de hormigón visto y carpinterías de aluminio anodizado en su color, si bien, en contraposición, se cubre mediante una malla metálica espacial.

 

Glenn Curtiss

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Grande Semaine d'Aviation in France in 1909

Born May 21, 1878

Hammondsport, New York

Died July 23, 1930 (aged 52)

Buffalo, New York

Occupation Aviator

Spouse(s) Lena Pearl Neff ( March 7, 1898 - until his death)

Children 2 children

Parents Lua Andrews

Frank Richmond Curtiss

  

Commemorative plaque. Claim on the plaque is controversial regarding invention of the aileron.

TombstoneGlenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation pioneer and founder of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, now part of Curtiss-Wright Corporation.

   

Birth and early career

Curtiss was born in 1878 in Hammondsport, New York to Frank Richmond Curtiss and Lua Andrews. Although he only received a formal education up to Grade 8, his early interest in mechanics and inventions was evident at his first job at the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company (later Eastman Kodak Company) in Rochester, New York.[1] He invented a stencil machine adopted at the plant and later built a rudimentary camera to study photography.[1] On March 7, 1898, Curtiss married Lena Pearl Neff, daughter of Guy L. Neff, in Hammondsport, NY.

  

Bicycles and motorcycles

Curtiss began his career as a Western Union bicycle messenger, a bicycle racer, and bicycle shop owner. In 1901 he developed an interest in motorcycles when internal combustion engines became more available. In 1902 Curtiss began manufacturing motorcycles with his own single cylinder engines. His first motorcycle actually had a tomato can for a carburetor. In 1903 he set a motorcycle land speed record at 64 miles per hour (103 km/h) for one mile (1.6 km). When E.H. Corson of the Indian Motorcycle Company visited Hammondsport in July 1904, he was amazed that the entire Curtiss motorcycle enterprise was sited in the back room of the modest "shop". Corson's motorcycles had just been trounced the week before by "Hell Rider" Curtiss in an endurance race from New York to Cambridge, Maryland. [2]

 

In 1907, Curtiss set a world record of 136.36 miles per hour (219.45 km/h), on a 40 horsepower (30 kW) V8 powered motorcycle of his own design and construction. He would remain "the fastest man in the world," to use the title the newspapers gave him, until 1911.[3] By this time, Curtiss' success at racing had solidified his reputation as a leading maker of high-performance motorcycles.[4]

  

Aviation pioneer

 

Curtiss, the engine man

 

Glenn H. Curtiss's pilot licenseIn 1904, Curtiss became a supplier of engines for California "aeronaut", Tom Baldwin. In that same year, Baldwin's California Arrow, powered by a Curtiss 9 HP V-twin motorcycle engine, became the first successful dirigible in America.[5] In 1907, Curtiss was approached by Alexander Graham Bell to provide a suitable engine for heavier-than-air flight experimentation. Bell regarded Curtiss as "the greatest motor expert in the country"[6] and invited Curtiss to join his Aerial Experiment Association (AEA). Over the next two years the AEA produced four aircraft, each one an improvement over the last.

  

Aeronautics

Curtiss primarily designed the AEA's third aircraft, Aerodrome #3, the famous June Bug and became its test pilot, undertaking most of the proving flights. On July 4, 1908, he flew 5,080 feet, to win the Scientific American Trophy and its $2,500 purse.[7] This was considered to be the first pre-announced public flight of a heavier-than-air flying machine in America. For this flight and for other achievements that were to follow, Curtiss received U.S. Pilot's license #1 from the Aero Club of America. The flight of the June Bug propelled Glenn Curtiss and aviation firmly into public awareness. At the culmination of the Aerial Experiment Association's experiments, Curtiss offered to purchase the rights to Aerodrome #3, essentially using it as the basis of his "Curtiss No.1", the first of his production series of pusher aircraft. [8]

 

Aviation competitions

In August 1909, Curtiss competed in the world's first air meet, the Grande Semaine d'Aviation flying contest at Rheims, France, organized by the Aero-Club de France. The Wrights, who were selling their machines to customers in Germany at the time, elected to not personally compete. There were two Wright aircraft at the meet but they did not win any events. Curtiss went on to win the overall speed event, flying a 10 km course at 46.5 miles per hour (74.8 km/h) in just under 16 minutes, six seconds faster than runner-up Louis Bleriot and winning the Gordon Bennett Cup. For this he was awarded French pilot's license No. 2 (Bleriot, who flew the English Channel in 1909, had been awarded license No. 1).

  

The pre-war years

During the 1909-1910 period, Curtiss employed a number of demonstration pilots including Eugene Ely, Charles Hamilton and Lincoln Beachey. Aerial competitions and demonstration flights across North America helped to introduce aviation to a curious public; Curtiss took full advantage of these occasions to promote his products.[9]

 

This was a busy period for Glenn Curtiss in general. In May 1910, he flew from Albany to New York City to make the first long-distance flight between two major cities in the U.S. For this 137-mile flight, he won a $10,000 prize offered by publisher Joseph Pulitzer and was awarded permanent possession of the Scientific America Trophy. A month later he provided a simulated bombing demonstration to Naval officers at Hammondsport. Two months later, Lt. Jacob E. Fickel demonstrated the feasibility of shooting at targets on the ground from an aircraft with Curtiss serving as pilot. One month later, in September, he trained the first woman pilot, Blanche Stuart Scott. The fictional character Tom Swift who first appeared in 1910 in Tom Swift and His Motor Cycle and Tom Swift and His Airship has been said to have been based on Glenn Curtiss.[10] The Tom Swift books are set in a small town on a lake in upstate New York.[11]

  

Naval aviation

On November 14, 1910, Curtiss demonstration pilot Eugene Ely took off from a temporary platform mounted on the forward deck of the cruiser USS Birmingham. His successful takeoff and ensuing flight to shore marked the beginning of a relationship between Curtiss and the Navy that remained significant for decades. At the end of 1910, Curtiss established a winter encampment at San Diego to teach flying to Army and Naval personnel. It was here that he trained Lt. Theodore Ellyson, who was to become U.S. Naval Aviator #1. The original site of this winter encampment is now part of Naval Air Station North Island and is referred to by the Navy as "The Birthplace of Naval Aviation".

 

Through the course of that winter, Curtiss was able to develop a float (pontoon) design that would enable him to take off and land on water. Demonstrations of this advancement were of great interest to the Navy, but more significant as far as the Navy was concerned, was Eugene Ely successfully landing his Curtiss pusher (the same aircraft used to take off from the Birmingham) on a makeshift platform mounted on the rear deck of the battleship USS Pennsylvania. This was the first arrester-cable landing on a ship and the precursor of modern day carrier operations.

 

Curtiss custom built floats and adapted them onto a Model D so it could take off and land on water to prove the concept. Back in Hammondsport six months later, in July 1911, Curtiss sold the U.S. Navy their first aircraft, the A-1 Triad. The A-1, which was primarily a seaplane, was equipped with retractable wheels, also making it the first amphibian. Curtiss trained the Navy's first pilots and built their first aircraft. For this he is considered in the USA to be "The Father of Naval Aviation". The A-1 was immediately recognized as so obviously useful, it was purchased by the U.S. Navy, Russia, Japan, Germany, and Britain. Curtiss won the Collier Trophy for designing this aircraft.[12]

 

Around this time Curtiss met the retired English naval officer John Cyril Porte who was looking for a partner to produce an aircraft with him in order to win the Daily Mail prize for the first transatlantic crossing. In 1912 Curtiss produced the two-seat "Flying Fish", a larger craft that became classified as a flying boat because the hull sat in the water; it featured an innovative notch in the hull that Porte had recommended for breaking clear of the water at takeoff. Curtiss correctly surmised that this configuration was more suited to building a larger long-distance craft that could operate from water, and was also more stable when operating from a choppy surface. In collaboration with Porte, in 1914 Curtiss designed the "America", a larger flying boat with two engines, for the Atlantic crossing.

  

World War I

WIth the start of World War I Porte returned to service in the Royal Navy's Seaplane Experimental Station, which subsequently purchased several models of the America from Curtiss, now called the H-4. Porte licensed and further developed the designs, constructing a range of Felixstowe long-range patrol aircraft, and from his experience passed back improvements to the hull to Curtiss. The later British designs were sold to the U.S. forces, or built by Curtiss as the F5L. The Curtiss factory also built a total of 68 "Large Americas" which evolved into the H-12, the only American designed and American built aircraft that saw combat in World War I.

 

As 1916 approached, it was feared that the United States would be drawn into the conflict. The U.S. Army Air Corps ordered the development of a simple, easy to fly and maintain two-seat trainer. Curtiss created the JN-4 "Jenny" for the Army, and the N-9 seaplane version for the Navy. It is one of the most famous products of the Curtiss company, and thousands were sold to the military of the United States, Canada and Britain. Civilian and military aircraft demand was booming and this year saw their operations grow to employ 18,000 workers in Buffalo and 3,000 workers in Hammondsport.

 

In 1917 the U.S. Navy commissioned Curtiss to design a long-range, four-engined flying boat large enough to hold a crew of five, which became known as the NC-4.

  

Post World War I

Peace brought a downturn in military contracts which saw the Curtiss company shrink significantly, and Glenn Curtiss returned to his love of racing to improve product development, only this time with racing aircraft instead of motorcycles. Worldwide demand for increasingly larger seaplanes continued to be a mainstay in the Curtiss company's survival during the pre-World War II era.

 

Curtiss seaplanes won the Schneider Cup two consecutive races, 1923 and 1925. The 1925 race was won by U.S. Navy Lieutenant David Rittenhouse flying a Curtiss C.R.3 to 177.266 miles per hour (285.282 km/h).

 

Piloted by US Army Lt. Cyrus Bettis, a Curtiss R3C won the Pulitzer Trophy Race on October 12, 1925, at a speed of 248.9 miles per hour (400.6 km/h).[13] Thirteen days later, Jimmy Doolittle won the Schnieder in the same aircraft fitted with floats. Doolittle finished first with a top speed of 232.573 miles per hour (374.290 km/h).

  

Patent dispute

See also: The Wright brothers patent war

The patent dispute with the Wright brothers continued for several years until it was resolved during World War I. Since the last Wright aircraft, the Wright Model L was a single prototype of a "scouting" aircraft, made in 1916, the U.S. government, desperately short of combat aircraft, pressured both firms to resolve the patent dispute. In 1917, the U.S. government subsequently proferred a large and profitable contract to Curtiss to build aircraft for the U.S. Army.[14] The Wright Aeronautical Corporation, a successor to the original Wright Company, ultimately merged with the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company on 5 July 1929, forming the Curtiss-Wright company, just before Glenn Curtiss' death.[15]

  

Death

Curtiss died in 1930 in Buffalo, New York, from complications after appendix surgery, and was buried in Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Hammondsport, New York. He was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1964, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1990, and the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.[16]

 

mémoire2cité - A la fin des années 1930, sous le Front Populaire, s’amorce une démocratisation des loisirs et du sport. Cette massification des loisirs sportifs, et en particulier de la natation, s’intensifie après-guerre, grâce à la mise en place d’une véritable politique d’Etat en faveur du développement de la pratique sportive, accompagnée par la construction d’équipements de proximité. Cette politique conduit à redéfinir et à rationaliser la conception de la piscine, autant d’un point de vue architectural que fonctionnel.

 

I. Vers une étatisation des politiques sportives

 

1. Une idée en germe depuis les années 1930

 

Vers la fin des années 1920, le sport, et en particulier la question de l’équipement sportif, commence à s’imposer au niveau national, comme un objet incontournable de souci et d’action politique. La volonté de créer une structure institutionnelle chargée de concevoir et de contrôler cette politique publique relative au sport s’affirme de plus en plus. Cette idée est en germe depuis l’armistice, comme l’indique la réflexion d’Edouard Herriot, maire de Lyon : « Peut-être arriverons-nous ainsi peu à peu à la constitution d’un grand service central – ministère ou non – de l’Éducation physique » (Édouard Herriot, 1919).

 

Parallèlement, des revendications sociales se font entendre pour une meilleure accessibilité au sport par la classe populaire. Ces requêtes sont entendues par le Front populaire, qui initie une politique de démocratisation de la culture sportive, s’appuyant sur l’invention de notions telles que temps libre et loisirs. Dans le but de diffuser et de mettre en oeuvre cette conception du sport pour tous, est créé en 1937 (à l’occasion d’un remaniement ministériel), un sous-secrétariat d’Etat aux Sports, aux Loisirs et à l’Education physique (rattaché au ministère de l’Education nationale dirigé par Jean Zay), à la tête duquel est placé Léo Lagrange. Ce dernier entreprend une série d’actions, à la fois concrètes et symboliques, comme l’aide à l’équipement communal (dont la nécessité est rendue évidente par les conclusions d’un inventaire national des installations existantes) ou la création d’un Brevet sportif populaire. Cette conception du sport de masse n’obtient cependant pas la faveur de tous. On note d’ailleurs, dans le mouvement sportif national, le rejet d’une politique d’intervention autoritaire des pouvoirs publics. Si les actions du Front Populaire sont stoppées par la déclaration de la guerre, elles ont toutefois conduit à une véritable prise de conscience de l’enjeu politique sportif au niveau national.

 

Sous le régime de Vichy (juin 1940-juin 1944), est créé un Commissariat Général à l’Education Générale et Sportive (CGEGS), qui s’appuie sur le sport pour diffuser l’idéologie du gouvernement, prônant des valeurs de discipline, de redressement moral, physique et intellectuel et de retour à l’ordre. Dans ces années, où le sport est surtout un outil de propagande, s’esquissent toutefois de nouvelles prescriptions concernant l’architecture des piscines (qui se doit d’être épurée et rationnelle), et la volonté de rattraper le retard de la France en matière d’équipement sportif par rapport aux autres pays européens.

 

2. Quelques réalisations remarquables des années 1950

 

Au sortir de la guerre, la question sportive n’est pas une priorité et la période 1945-1957 se caractérise par une faible intervention publique. Malgré les constructions réalisées grâce à des politiques municipales sociales et volontaristes dans les années 1930, le nombre d’équipements sportifs, et en particulier de piscines couvertes et chauffées, est encore très faible par rapport à la moyenne européenne. Ce sous-équipement va rapidement poser problème, d’autant plus que l’accroissement démographique est en plein essor, entraînant une augmentation de la jeunesse et donc une recrudescence de la pratique sportive, parallèlement à une forte urbanisation. Si l’effort est d’abord porté vers la reconstruction (du secteur industriel et du cadre de vie : logements, services administratifs, voirie, etc.), les questions de la jeunesse, du sport, de l’éducation populaire et du plein air travaillent les esprits du gouvernement.

 

Dans les Hauts-de-France, de nombreuses piscines ont subi des dégradations pendant la guerre et nécessitent une rénovation (une grande partie des piscines cheminotes par exemple).

 

Le stade nautique olympique de Tourcoing est complété, en 1951, d’un toit en partie ouvrant, une première du genre, amené à un grand développement dans les deux décennies suivantes. Faute de moyens financiers suffisants (il existe des subventions, mais les moyens alloués à la Jeunesse et aux Sports restent faibles) et d’une volonté politique forte, le nombre de constructions de piscines entre 1945 et 1958 demeure restreint. Ainsi, à Lens, suite à la destruction du stade nautique pendant la guerre, la construction d’une nouvelle piscine est projetée dès l’après-guerre, mais faute de financement, il faut attendre les années 1960 pour que le projet aboutisse.

 

Les quelques installations nautiques nouvelles qui sont réalisées au cours des 1950, sous l’impulsion d’initiatives locales, sont majoritairement découvertes et ne sont donc exploitables que quelques mois dans l’année. Si ces édifices sont aboutis au niveau technique et architectural, ils ne sont pas en mesure de satisfaire les besoins en matière de bassins éducatifs praticables pendant l’année scolaire. Ils répondent plus à une volonté d’offrir à la population un équipement de loisirs sportifs. Il s’agit souvent de la réalisation de projets municipaux d’avant-guerre, n’ayant pas eu l’occasion de voir le jour.

 

Dans ces piscines des années 1950, le double bassin est définitivement adopté et elles répondent aux nouvelles prescriptions édictées dans les années 1940 en matière d’architecture sportive, qui se doit avant tout d’être fonctionnelle et pratique, largement ouverte sur l’extérieur par des baies vitrées, sa beauté résidant essentiellement dans l’harmonie de ses proportions et l’agencement de lignes géométriques pures.

 

Ainsi, dans l’Oise, la ville de Compiègne décide en 1949 (sous le mandat de Jean Legendre), l’édification d’une piscine en bordure de l’Oise, rendue possible grâce aux indemnités des dommages de guerre et de la reconstruction, ainsi qu’à une subvention élevée de la part du Secrétariat d’Etat à l’Enseignement technique, à la Jeunesse et aux Sports. La piscine, conçue par l’architecte-urbaniste de la ville, J. Gossart, est inaugurée le 1er juin 1952. Des bains-douches sont aménagés dans les sous-sols. Il s’agit d’un grand bâtiment blanc rectangulaire en béton armé, inséré sur la berge boisée de l’Oise, s’ouvrant en son centre sur les deux bassins de plein-air de la piscine (25 x 12,5 m et 8 x 12,5 m), avec un plongeoir à double hauteur (3 et 5 mètres). Les baigneurs surplombent l’Oise et évoluent dans un cadre propice à la détente, correspondant bien aux prescriptions d’avant-guerres recommandant la construction d’équipements sportifs et de loisirs en plein air, dans un environnement naturel. Les gradins d’environ 800 places, font également face à l’Oise. L’architecture est simple et fonctionnelle, sans aucun décor ; elle obéit à un modernisme pur et efficace. Elle est remarquable du fait de sa situation en bord de rivière, comme l’était également la piscine découverte de l’Hôtel-Dieu à Pontoise (Val d’Oise) construite en 1961 par l’architecte Jean Letu et aujourd’hui détruite. La piscine de Compiègne, ouverte de mai à septembre, connaît un grand succès, qui ne cesse de croître d’année en année. Fermée dès 1985 car son bassin souffrait de fuites (et remplacée par la piscine Mercières, construite en 1988), elle est aujourd’hui à l’abandon.

 

A Caudry (Nord), le stade nautique municipal est construit en 1951-1952, sur les plans d'Edmond Lancelle (1898-1957), architecte du Cambrésis actif pendant les deux périodes de reconstruction, grâce à la volonté du maire Albert Dhélin (maire de 1947 à 1965). L’architecte est associé à Marc Revaux, ingénieur-conseil spécialisé en construction de piscines. Son architecture semble inspirée de la piscine de Bruay-en-Artois et est similaire à celle du Cateau-Cambrésis, reconstruite en 1954 par la même équipe d’architecte-ingénieur. Elle allie le style Paquebot de l’Art Déco (présence d’oculi en forme de hublots) aux codes du mouvement moderne international des années 1950. Les bassins sont entourés sur deux côtés par les bâtiments des vestiaires, et sur le deuxième grand côté par des gradins surplombés par une terrasse avec buvette (dans l’angle). La forme de U renversé de l’élégant plongeoir associée à la ligne courbe du toboggan qui lui fait face, animent l’orthogonalité des alignements de cabines. Le portique d’entrée, reprenant ces lignes courbes, s’ouvre sur un guichet vitré aux formes dynamiques et sculpturales. La piscine est dominée par une grande tour-horloge, rythmant les séances de natation. On retrouve cette tour-horloge marquant l’entrée de la piscine, à la piscine olympique de la Scarpe à Arras (1955) et au stade nautique de Bapaume (Pas-de-Calais). A Bapaume, le bâtiment abritant l’accueil et les vestiaires est largement vitré et s’ouvre sur les bassins, entourés d’un portique. Son architecte, Emile Cauwet, est spécialiste de l’architecture scolaire (groupe scolaire Ferdinand-Buisson à Boulogne-Billancourt), industrielle et sportive, et prône une esthétique moderniste et fonctionnelle.

 

A Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais), une piscine municipale est judicieusement intégrée au nouveau casino, bâtiment monumental, manifeste de l’architecture des années 1950, conçu par les architectes Sonrel et Bonhomme, et situé derrière la plage de la station balnéaire. La piscine, localisée au rez-de-chaussée, est vitrée sur deux côtés et donne vue sur la plage. Le bâtiment en béton armé, monté sur pilotis (rappelant l’architecture de Le Corbusier), est décoré sur ses façades extérieures de mosaïques réalisées par l’artiste Françoise Lelong. La façade côté plage s’ouvre par un portique avec terrasse.

 

Ainsi les piscines des années 1950, souvent d’une grande sobriété correspondant aux préceptes architecturaux du mouvement moderne, s’inscrivent dans la continuité des piscines de la fin des années 1930. Il faut attendre les années 1960 pour qu’une nouvelle impulsion soit donnée à l’innovation architecturale dans le domaine des piscines, grâce à la mise en place d’une véritable politique interventionniste de l’Etat en faveur de l’équipement sportif sous la Ve République, dans le cadre de trois lois de programme planifiant la construction d’équipements sportifs et socio-éducatifs. Ce nouveau cadre législatif se traduit par une "mise en administration" du bâti sportif par l’État1.

 

II. Les mesures mises en place entre 1961 et 1976 par l’Etat en faveur de la construction des piscines

 

A partir de la Ve République, le sport et la construction sportive sont désormais perçus comme un service d’intérêt public du ressort de l’Etat. Déterminé, l’Etat entreprend une série de mesures incitatives visant à créer un maillage de piscines publiques praticables en toutes saisons (la plupart des piscines étaient alors découvertes et non chauffées) sur l’ensemble du territoire national. L’objectif principal est que tous les enfants aient accès à un bassin pour apprendre à nager, et qu’ainsi soit enfin mis en application l’apprentissage obligatoire de la natation à l’école (dans les programmes depuis la fin du 19e siècle). La priorité des piscines des années 1960-1970 est donc portée vers la jeunesse et l’éducation.

 

1. Les lois programmes : une nouvelle politique économique en faveur de l’équipement sportif

 

Lors de l’instauration du premier gouvernement de la Ve République, est créé un Haut-commissariat (puis Secrétariat d’Etat) à la Jeunesse et aux Sports (rattaché au ministère de l’Education Nationale), dirigé par Maurice Herzog. Ce dernier souhaite impulser de manière urgente une politique de construction afin de combler le sous-équipement en matière d’édifices à destination de la jeunesse : "Notre objectif, notre seul objectif est de mettre à la disposition de notre jeunesse, les moyens de s’exprimer plus complètement. Nous voulons que des millions de jeunes Français puissent aller au stade, à la piscine, se rencontrer dans les Maisons de Jeunes" (Equipements pour la jeunesse et les sports, 1962). Cette volonté se concrétise le 28 juillet 1961, avec la promulgation, dans le cadre du IVe plan, de la première loi de programme, qui instaure, sur une durée de quatre ans (1962-1965), un plan assurant un financement national durable et concret en faveur des équipements sportifs et socio-éducatifs. Ce plan prend la forme de subventions élevées (représentant généralement entre 20 et 50% du coût total) destinées à aider de nombreuses collectivités locales dans leur projet de constructions sportives. Ces aides se poursuivent et sont même revalorisées lors de la deuxième loi de programme d’équipements sportifs (1966-1970), votée le 2 juillet 1965. La troisième loi (1971-1975), votée le 13 juillet 1971, montre une détermination encore plus forte de l’Etat à augmenter massivement le nombre d’équipements à grande échelle, en particulier dans les nouvelles zones urbaines, et à former des éducateurs, ceci pour favoriser le sport de masse pour tous. Ces années marquent en revanche le début du désengagement financier de l’État, que l’on discerne par la baisse progressive des montants des subventions accordées. Ces subventions sont bien sûr soumises à certaines conditions. Et, pour assurer et contrôler la qualité technique et le respect des normes des piscines construites, les municipalités doivent en faire valider les avant-projets par l’Etat.

 

Certains dossiers de subventions conservés aux Archives nationales montrent que de nombreuses municipalités des Hauts-de-France bénéficient de cette aide dès les années 1960 (par exemple les piscines de Lomme, de Noyon, de Chantilly, de Lens, etc.).

 

Ces lois de programmes d’équipements ne se résument toutefois pas à ces aides financières : l’Etat développe également des mesures permettant d’inciter plus efficacement les collectivités à entreprendre la construction d’une piscine, en facilitant leurs démarches administratives et en réduisant les coûts de construction.

 

2. L’agrément de modèles de piscines : normaliser, encadrer et faciliter la construction

 

Suite à l’application de la première loi de programme, le Haut-Commissariat à la Jeunesse et aux Sports, constate que les prix de revient des équipements sportifs sont fréquemment trop élevés et que les architectes municipaux chargés de ces constructions ne sont la plupart du temps pas qualifiés pour ce type de constructions complexes et techniques. D’où la volonté de normaliser et de rationaliser les équipements sportifs, notamment les piscines, et de contrôler les projets proposés par de plus en plus d’entreprises, de constructeurs ou de bureaux d’études aux collectivités. Dans ce but est créée le 25 mai 1963 une commission spéciale dont la mission est d’agréer, sur le plan technique, des projets-types d’équipements susceptibles d’être réalisés dans toute la France. La commission est composée de treize sièges et se réunit plusieurs fois dans l’année pour donner son avis sur les projets d’architecture présentés à l’agrément. Pour ce faire, elle se base sur les qualités techniques du projet, sur les possibilités d’adaptation de l’architecture aux terrains divers, ainsi que sur les qualifications professionnelles des candidats à l’agrément. A partir de 1967, la commission se montre plus exigeante sur l’esthétique, l’harmonie, et l’originalité architecturale.

 

L’objectif principal de cette commission était de pouvoir proposer aux collectivités un panel de modèles de piscines variées et conformes aux caractéristiques définies par l’Etat, livrables clefs en mains et ayant des prix fixes. Cette procédure de normalisation devait de cette façon, assurer la qualité des équipements construits en France ainsi qu’une plus grande rapidité de réalisation. Le premier numéro de la revue Piscines informations résume avec enthousiasme tous les avantages que présente pour les municipalités le choix d’un projet-type agréé, se faisant ainsi le relais des services de l’Etat : "Plus que jamais, ces projets-types agréés sont la solution simple et économique. Prix plafonnés, projets clairement déterminés, normes parfaitement respectées, marché de gré à gré, financements faciles et par conséquent, réalisations rapides, tels sont les principaux avantages que permet d’obtenir le choix d’une exécution conforme à un projet-type agréé". Tout est mis en oeuvre pour inciter les collectivités à s’orienter de préférence vers un projet-type. Une documentation fournie permet en outre d’aider les maîtres d’ouvrages à choisir un programme (nombre et taille des bassins, piscine couverte ou non, etc.) adapté aux besoins de leur commune, notamment en fonction du nombre d’habitants.

 

Il faut attendre 1966 pour que les premiers projets-types soient validés par la commission d’agrément, qui est alors placée sous la responsabilité du nouveau ministère de Jeunesse et des Sports, créé en janvier 1966. La procédure d’agrément est un succès auprès des constructeurs, ingénieurs et architectes. Ils sont ravis de pouvoir bénéficier de ce moyen permettant d’officialiser leurs projets, et mettent à profit leur savoir-faire et leurs idées au service de l’élaboration d’une nouvelle architecture des piscines. Ainsi, parmi les 134 projets-types validés par la commission d’agrément entre 1966 et 1971 (date de mise en arrêt de la procédure), on compte 64 modèles de piscines. La plupart de ces projets présentent des programmes simples et polyvalents, avec un ou plusieurs bassins susceptibles de s’adapter à différents besoins. Avant le lancement de la procédure, toujours dans le but de promouvoir l’apprentissage de la natation, le secrétariat d’Etat avait également agréé trois modèles de piscines-écoles, bassins de natation découverts ou couverts. Ces piscines scolaires, en matériaux préfabriqués, sont constituées d’un bassin métallique suspendu sous lequel sont situées les cabines de change et les installations techniques. Une carte postale montre un de ces bassins découverts (type PF) construit à Barlin (Pas-de-Calais).

 

Seuls certains de ces modèles agréés ont eu du succès et ont été sélectionnés à plusieurs reprises par les municipalités mais ils n’ont pas véritablement été construits à grande échelle. Pour "vendre" leurs piscines, les constructeurs n’hésitent pas à vanter les avantages de leurs projets agréés à travers de nombreuses publicités diffusées dans la presse spécialisée2, ou grâce à des brochures publicitaires envoyées aux municipalités. Dans les Hauts-de-France, on dénombre onze modèles adoptés une ou plusieurs fois par les communes, conduisant à la construction de vingt-trois piscines couvertes. Certains modèles de piscines sont construits avant que les architectes en demandent l’agrément : par exemple la piscine S.5 de l’architecte Michel Denisse, qu’il met en oeuvre dans sa ville natale, Hénin-Liétard, et pour le district urbain de Montreuil-sur-Mer en 1966, alors qu’il n’obtient l’agrément qu’en 1967. C’est le cas également pour la piscine couverte de Cambrai, inaugurée en 1964, qui sert de prototype à Pierre Prod’homme et René Lancelle (architectes à Cambrai) avant de proposer à l’agrément un modèle de piscine.

 

On relève toutefois que, si la commission privilégie l’agrément de piscines couvertes ou transformables (c’est-à-dire pouvant s’ouvrir aux beaux-jours), en ne validant qu’un seul modèle de piscine de plein-air, c’est encore ce type qui est majoritairement construit en France, en raison de son faible coût de fabrication.

 

Ainsi les résultats de la procédure d’agrément sont plutôt satisfaisants mais pas suffisants pour l’Etat qui souhaite intensifier davantage l’implantation de piscines publiques exploitables toute l’année en France, en particulier dans les petites et moyennes communes, ou les quartiers populaires de grandes agglomérations, dont les budgets sont très modestes et qui n’ont pas pu bénéficier de l’élan de construction des décennies précédentes. Pour ce faire, le ministère de la Jeunesse et des Sports, lance, suite à l’organisation de plusieurs concours d’architecture sur le thème des piscines économiques et transformables, une opération nommée « Mille piscines » visant à une répartition uniforme et égalitaire des piscines sur tout le territoire, afin que désormais tous les enfants puissent apprendre à nager. La création d’un réseau d’équipements natatoire apparaît d’autant plus nécessaire depuis la décentralisation de l’enseignement du second degré en 1964 et la création de collèges d’enseignement secondaires (CES) dans des petites villes.

 

3. L’opération "Mille piscines" : une industrialisation totale des piscines pour équiper le territoire à grande échelle

 

Mise en place de l’opération Mille piscines

 

La troisième loi de programme prévoit, en 1971, la réalisation prioritaire, entre autres équipements, d’un millier de piscines (dont 850 industrialisées et 150 destinées à la compétition) en quatre ans (1972-1976). Cette opération, appelée "Mille piscines", entre dans la continuité des volontés étatiques édictées depuis le début de la Ve République en matière d’équipement natatoire, mais elle est également motivée par deux évènements qui ont frappé l’opinion publique à l’été 1968 : la noyade de 150 personnes, dont une majorité d’enfants, suite au naufrage d’un bateau de plaisance sur le lac Léman à moins de 50 mètres de la rive ; et les mauvaises performances des nageurs français aux jeux Olympiques de Mexico. Le général de Gaulle donne alors pour mission à Joseph Comiti, secrétaire d’Etat à la Jeunesse et aux Sports, d’équiper la France d’un maximum de piscines afin d’enseigner la natation à toute la jeunesse française.Devant l’importance de l’objectif à atteindre : mille piscines, pouvant s’adapter aux possibilités financières souvent limitées des petites et moyennes communes (de 8000 à 15000 habitants) et dont le programme doit concilier l’apprentissage de la natation, la détente et l’entraînement sportif quelle que soit la saison , le secrétariat d’Etat oriente résolument la recherche vers le développement de techniques de préfabrication et d’industrialisation totale de l’architecture, afin de pouvoir produire des piscines en grande série à moindre coût (le prix de revient doit être situé autour de 1 200 000 francs). Pour augmenter l’efficacité et la rapidité de l’opération, l’Etat centralise et facilite le processus administratif (conception et passage des marchés), assure le suivi des réalisations et des travaux, devenant ainsi le maître d’ouvrage des opérations, dont il subventionne largement le coût auprès des villes qui se portent acquéreurs. Les municipalités doivent seulement fournir le terrain et se décider pour un modèle de piscine parmi ceux proposés. A noter que l’Etat se réserve toutefois de refuser ce choix et d’attribuer un autre modèle à la commune, compte tenu des obligations liés aux marchés de série. Pour aider à choisir et expliquer les démarches à mettre en oeuvre, le secrétariat d’Etat diffuse auprès des communes intéressées une documentation abondante et incitative (dépliants, brochures, albums techniques, etc.). Ce système très rationalisé laisse donc peu de marge de manoeuvre aux petites communes qui, si elles souhaitent s’équiper rapidement d’une piscine, sont quasiment obligées de passer par ce système. Ainsi, il s’agit, selon Patrick Facon (2006), de "construire plus vite, moins cher, sans viser d’emblée la perfection – mais en donnant des outils même rudimentaires dans les meilleurs délais".

 

Dès 1970, l’Etat amorce le lancement de cette opération avec la création de 50 "bassins d’apprentissage mobiles" (B.A.M.), dont la fabrication, la conception, le montage et la mise en service sont réalisés par deux entreprises sélectionnées sur concours en 1969 : Walrvae Nausicaa et la société Techniques et Loisirs. Ces bassins de 12,5 x 6 m, peu onéreux et facilement mis en oeuvre, en service d’avril à septembre, sont à affectés par roulement à des communes ne possédant pas d’établissement natatoire. Ils ont pour but de faire patienter les municipalités pendant l’avancée de l’opération "Mille piscines", et de sensibiliser, en attendant, les futurs usagers des piscines industrialisées et ainsi amorcer le développement de la pratique massive de la natation à l’école. Ce service rencontre un grand succès et le secrétariat passe une deuxième commande de 45 B.A.M. en 1972. Ces installations ont été mises en service dans plus de 700 communes jusqu’en 1976 (date fin de l’opération "Mille piscines").

  

Les concours nationaux d’idées de 1969

 

Précédant le lancement de cette opération, l’Etat avait organisé en 1969 et 1971 des séries de concours d’architecture nationaux sur le thème de la piscine, qui devaient conduire à une sélection de modèles de piscines facilement industrialisables. Les deux premiers concours sont lancés le 22 mai 1969 et ont pour objectif de recenser et de comparer toutes les idées nouvelles en matière de piscine. Ces concours sont avant tout ouverts aux architectes, contrairement aux agréments qui mobilisent plutôt des entreprises.

 

Le premier concours porte sur les "piscines transformables", confirmant l’orientation voulue par le ministère de favoriser la construction d’équipements conciliant, en un seul équipement, les bénéfices d’une installation de plein-air et d’une piscine couverte. Les architectes doivent imaginer une piscine ouverte aux beaux-jours, destinée aux agglomérations moyennes et aux quartiers de grandes villes et comportant les équipements suivant : un bassin sportif de 25 m sur 15 m équipé d’un plongeoir, un bassin d’apprentissage de 15 sur 12,5 m, une pataugeoire de 30 m2 et des annexes fonctionnelles et techniques.

 

Le second concours concerne les "piscines économiques". Le programme, plus dépouillé, visant à l’économie tant du point de vue de la construction que de la gestion, correspond aux besoins des petites villes : un bassin mixte de 25 m sur 10 m (dont la profondeur varie de 0,7 à 2 m) permettant de nombreuses activités (baignade familiale, entraînement sportif, apprentissage, compétition, détente) et des annexes fonctionnelles et techniques. Comme pour le premier concours, la façade ou la toiture doit être largement ouvrable. L’architecte doit également prévoir la possibilité d’extensions par l’ajout de bassins de plein air.

 

Ces deux concours connaissent un grand succès : d’après Joseph Comiti, 400 architectes s’y sont intéressés et 150 projets ont été reçus. Neuf avant-projets de piscines transformables sont retenus et quatre pour les piscines économiques. Ces projets, d’une grande originalité, présentent tous des systèmes inédits de toitures ou de façades escamotables permettant l’ouverture complète de la piscine sur l’extérieur. La piscine Tournesol de Bernard Schoeller remporte le premier prix aux deux concours. Robert Hirt gagne le deuxième prix pour les piscines transformables, tandis que le deuxième prix pour les piscines économiques est attribué à la piscine Caneton de Jean-Paul Aigrot, Franc Charras et Alain Charvier. Tous les avant-projets primés doivent normalement faire l’objet d’un prototype en vue d’étudier les possibilités concrètes d’une industrialisation. Mais au final, peu de projets s’y prêtent véritablement. Quelques projets du premier concours sont construits à titre expérimental, et seuls les deux premiers projets lauréats au concours des piscines économiques (Tournesol et Caneton) sont retenus en février 1970 par le secrétariat d’Etat pour la poursuite des études techniques en vue d’une construction en série. Les architectes sont mis en contact avec le bureau d’études SERI-Renault pour approfondir leur projet, puis un appel d’offres international pour les différents lots (tous les éléments doivent être préfabriqués en usine) est lancé en août 1971 pour la construction de prototypes. Pour la réalisation de la coque de la piscine Tournesol, c’est la proposition de la société Durafour qui est retenue, et l’entreprise générale GBA pour la piscine Caneton. Les prototypes primés sont construits à Nangis (Seine-et-Marne) pour la piscine Tournesol et à Salbris (Loir-et-Cher) pour la piscine Caneton. Après une année d’observation et de fonctionnement, les marchés en série sont conclus en décembre 1972 et les premières piscines Tournesol et Caneton sont construites sur tout le territoire national à partir de 1973. Il est prévu de construire 250 exemplaires de chaque piscine. En réalité, 183 piscines Tournesol ont été réalisées en France, et 196 piscines Caneton.

 

inventaire.hautsdefrance.fr/dossier/les-piscines-des-tren... -

 

les Piscines TOURNESOL En réalité, 183 piscines Tournesol ont été réalisées en France, et 196 piscines Caneton.

 

inventaire.hautsdefrance.fr/dossier/les-piscines-des-tren... - @ les pisçines Tournesol ↑ a et b Dossier sur la piscine de Carros

 

↑ Notice de la piscine de Bonneveine [archive], sur le site de la DRAC de PACA.

 

↑ Notice de la piscine de Carros-le-Neuf [archive], sur le site de la DRAC de PACA.

 

↑ Bilan 2011-2012 : Patrimoine architectural du xxe siècle, édifices « labellisés », édifices « labellisés » inscrits ou classés [archive], sur le site du ministère de la Culture.

 

↑ Christine Lescoutte-Gardent, « La piscine en travaux », Sud Ouest,‎ 9 février 2013 (lire en ligne [archive]).

 

↑ Marc Gaillard, Architectures des sports, Éditions du Moniteur, coll. « Architecture / Les bâtiments », 1981 (ISBN 2-281-00014-1), p. 54.

 

↑ « Piscine de Carros » [archive], 2006 (consulté le 9 décembre 2017)

 

↑ « Les piscines Tournesol de Monsieur Schoeller » [archive], sur archipostcard.blogspot.fr (consulté le 9 décembre 2017)

 

↑ www.pss-archi.eu/immeubles/FR-50129-19686.html [archive]

 

↑ « Piscine du bois du château à Lorient » [archive], sur guide-piscine.fr, 1er juin 2016 (consulté le 21 août 2016)

 

↑ « Piscine de Baud » [archive], sur guide-piscine.fr, 28 juin 2016 (consulté le 21 août 2016)

 

↑ a et b « La piscine Tournesol en phase de démolition » [archive], sur ouest-france.fr, Ouest France, 27 novembre 2015 (consulté le 21 août 2016)

 

↑ « Démolition de la piscine communautaire | CCB – Communauté de Communes du Bouzonvillois » [archive] (consulté le 29 août 2016)

 

↑ « Lille : la piscine tournesol de la rue françois coppee, c'est déja fini » [archive], sur www.lavoixdunord.fr/ [archive], 26 avril 2016 (consulté le 9 janvier 2017)

 

↑ « Fermeture définitive de la piscine Tournesol à Louvroil » [archive], sur Agglo Maubeuge-Val de Sambre, 24 mars 2016 (consulté le 9 janvier 2017)

 

↑ Dixième anniversaire de la piscine Atlantis. [archive]

 

↑ « Sa démolition a débuté : la piscine à ventre ouvert ! » [archive], sur lavoixdunord.fr, 19 décembre 2012 (consulté le 9 janvier 2017)

 

↑ Emmanuel Delahaye, « La piscine Tournesol a vécu », L'Alsace,‎ 5 février 2016 (lire en ligne [archive])

 

↑ « La piscine a été démolie », L'Alsace,‎ 12 janvier 2014 (lire en ligne [archive])

 

↑ CMS Anan6, « Communauté de Communes du Sud-Ouest Amiénois | Piscine communautaire » [archive], sur www.ccsoa.fr (consulté le 9 janvier 2017)

 

↑ Schoeller, Bernard, Piscine tournesol, plans de projet M 1:100, Archives Commune de Larochette, Paris, 1974.

 

↑ Galerie d'architecture moderne [archive], sur citedechaillot.fr.

 

↑ [PDF] Plein air, Beauvais, Diaphane, 2008 (ISBN 978-2-9530799-1-3, lire en ligne [archive]), chap. 15 (« Jurisprudence, dénomination, botanique »), p. 40–41.

 

Bernard Schoeller et Secrétariat d'État à la Jeunesse et aux Sports, Projet Tournesol : Opération 1000 piscines, dossier technique de présentation, Paris, R. Lacer, 1972, 31 p. (OCLC 1505704, notice BnF no FRBNF35900611, LCCN 75503940)

 

Gérard Monnier (dir.), L'architecture moderne en France, vol. 3 : De la croissance à la compétition : 1967-1999, Paris, Picard, coll. « Librairie de l'architecture et de la ville », 2000, 311 p. (ISBN 2-7084-0571-3), « Les piscines Tournesol », p. 16–18

 

Patrick Facon, « Les piscines Tournesol », dans Gérard Monnier (dir.) et Richard Klein (dir.), Les années ZUP : Architectures de la croissance, 1960-1973, Paris, Picard, 2002, 301 p. (ISBN 2-7084-0629-9), p. 91–110

 

« Remise à neuf de la coupole d'une piscine 'Tournesol' », Les Cahiers techniques du bâtiment, no 279,‎ mai 2008, p. 32–34 (ISSN 0241-6794)

 

Odile Fillion, « Volumes d'eau », D'A. D'Architectures, no 104,‎ août-septembre 2000, p. 36–51

 

fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piscine_Tournesol

Con el correr del tiempo Emily logro despojarse de todo lo que pensaba que le hacia mal, la doble culpa, las verdades que se acercaban a ella como hombres mariposas o pajaros negros anunciando un mensaje intraducible. Se sentó y aulló a la luna, no era más que una puta desesperada buscando amor, o tal vez ya no era nada. Busco paz en el sueño, y durmió pensando en faros y pajaros, su sueño no era como su vida. Para nada, adentro del sueño había color y se propuso hacer un inventario....

. . . South Asian sweets are the confectionery and desserts of South Asia. Thousands of dedicated shops in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka sell nothing but sweets; however, outside of South Asia, South Asian sweet shops are uncommon.

 

Sugarcane has been grown in India for thousands of years, and the art of refining sugar was invented there. The English word sugar comes from a Sanskrit word sakhar, while the word candy comes from Sanskrit word khand (jaggery) - one of the simplest raw forms of sweet. Over its long history, cuisines of the Indian Subcontinent developed a diversified array of sweets. Some claim there is no other region of the world where sweets are so varied, so numerous, or so invested with meaning as the Indian Subcontinent.

 

In India's diverse languages, sweets are called by numerous names, one common name being Mithai (मिठाई). They include sugar, and a vast array of ingredients such as different flours, milk, milk solids, fermented foods, root vegetables, raw and roasted seeds, seasonal fruits, fruit pastes and dry fruits. Some sweets such as kheer are cooked, some like burfi are baked, varieties like Mysore pak are roasted, some like jalebi are fried, others like kulfi are frozen, while still others involve a creative combination of preparation techniques. The composition and recipes of the sweets and other ingredients vary by region. Mithai are sometimes served with a meal, and often included as a form of greeting, celebration, religious offering, gift giving, parties, and hospitality in India. On Indian festivals - such as Holi, Diwali, Eid, or Raksha Bhandan - sweets are homemade or purchased, then shared. Many social gatherings, wedding ceremonies and religious festivals often include a social celebration of food, and the flavors of sweets are an essential element of such a celebration.

 

HISTORY

Ancient Sanskrit literature from India mention feasts and offerings of mithas (sweet). One of the more complete surviving document, with extensive description of sweets and how to prepare them is the Sanskrit document, Mānasollāsa (Sanskrit: मानसोल्लास; literally, the delight of an idea,[or delight of mind and senses); this ancient encyclopedia on food, music and other Indian arts is also known as the Abhilaṣitārtha Cintāmaṇi (the magical stone that fulfils desires). Mānasollāsa was composed about 1130 AD, by the Hindu King Somesvara III. In this document, meals are described to include a rice pudding it calls payasam (Sanskrit: पायसं), which is another word for kheer. The document mentions seven kinds of rice.

 

Mānasollāsa also describes recipes for golamu as a donut from wheat flour and scented with cardamom, gharikas as a fried cake from black gram flour and sugar syrup, chhana as a fresh cheese and rice flour fritter soaked in sugar syrup that the document suggests should be prepared from strained curdled milk mixed with buttermilk, and many others. Mānasollāsa mentions numerous milk-derived sweets, along with describing the 11th century art of producing milk solids, condensed milk and methods for souring milk to produce sweets.

 

The origin of sweets in Indian subcontinent has been traced to at least 500 BC, where records suggest both raw sugar (gur, vellam, jaggery) as well as refined sugar (sarkara) were being produced. By 300 BC, kingdom officials in India were including five kinds of sugar in official documents. By the Gupta dynasty era (300–500 AD), sugar was being made not only from sugar cane, but other plant sources such as palm; sugar-based foods were also included in temple offerings, as bhoga for the deities, which after the prayers became Prasād for devotees, the poor or visitors to the temple.

 

VARIETIES

BARFI

Barfi is a sweet, made of milk solids (khoya) or condensed milk and various other ingredients like ground cashews or pistachios. Some barfi use various flours such as besan (gram flour). Barfi may be flavored with pastes or pieces of fruits such as mango, banana, berries, coconut. They may include aromatic spices such as cardamom and rose water to enhance the sensual impact while they are consumed.

 

Sometimes a thin inert silver or gold layer of edible foil is placed on top face of burfi for an attractive presentation. Gold and silver are approved food foils in the European Union, as E175 and E174 additives respectively. The independent European food-safety certification agency, TÜV Rheinland, has deemed gold leaf safe for consumption. Gold and silver leaf are certified kosher. These inert metal foils are neither considered as toxic to human beings nor broader ecosystem.

 

CHAM-CHAM

Cham Chams are prepared from flattened paneer (a form of curdled milk solids, cheese) sweetened in syrup.

 

CHENA MURKI

Chhena murki, or chenna murki, is a sweet made from an Indian version of cottage cheese, milk and sugar in many states such as Odisha. Milk and sugar are boiled to a thick consistency. Round, cubes, cuboid or other shapes of cottage cheese are soaked in the milky condensate. Other flavors and aromatic spices are typically added. It is also known by Bangladeshi and Guyanese people as pera.

 

CHIKKI

Chikki is a ready-to-eat solid, brittle sweet generally made from casting a mix of dry nuts and hot jaggery syrup. Peanuts and jaggery mix are most common. Other than almonds, cashews, walnuts, sesame and other seeds, varieties of chikki are also prepared from puffed or roasted Bengal gram, puffed rice, beaten rice, puffed seasonal grains, and regional produce such as Khobara (desiccated coconut). Like many Indian sweets, Chikki is typically a high protein delicacy.

 

GAJRELA

Gajrela, also called Gajar halwa, is a seasonal pudding-like sweet made from the root vegetable carrot. It is popular in Punjab regions of India and Pakistan, agricultural belt of North India, now common in many parts of South Asia. It is made by slowly cooking carrot with ghee, concentrated and caramelized milk, mawa (khoya) and sugar; often served with a garnish of aromatic spices, almonds, cashews or pistachios. The recipes vary by region, and Gajrela may be cooked without ghee, then include cheese or other milk solids for sophisticated mix of flavors. It is common in Indian restaurants, and also a seasonal street and cafe food during post-monsoon through spring festive celebrations.

 

GULAB JAMUN

Gulab jamun is a common sweet found in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. It is made out of fried chenna (milk solids and cheese) balls soaked in sweet rose-water flavoured syrup.

 

JALEBI OR IMARTI

Jalebi is made by deep-frying a fermented batter of wheat flour with yoghurt, in a circular (coil-like) shape and then soaking it in sugar syrup. Imarti is a variant of Jalebi, with a different flour mixture and has tighter coils. Typically Jalebi is brown or yellow, while Imarti is reddish in colour. Often taken with milk, tea, yogurt or Lassi. In classical Sanskrit literature, jalebis have been referred to as kundalika or jalavallika.

 

KHAJA

Khaja is a sweet of India. Refined wheat flour, sugar and oils are the chief ingredients of khaja.

 

It is believed that, even 2000 years ago, Khajas were prepared in the southern side of the Gangetic Plains of Bihar. These areas which are home to khaja, once comprised the central part of Maurya and Gupta empires. Presently, Khajas are prepared and sold in the city of Patna, Gaya and several other places across the state of Bihar. Khajas of the Silao and Rajgir are known for their puffiness.

 

Khajas have travelled to some other parts of India, including Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Khaja of Kakinada is a coastal town of Andhra Pradesh. Where as khaja of Puri is too famous. At first, the batter is of wheat flour, mawa and oil. It is then deep fried until crisp. Then a sugar syrup is made which is known as "pak". The crisp croissants are then soaked in the sugar syrup until they absorb the sugar syrup. In Kakinada, Khaja is dry from outside and full of sugar syrup from inside and is juicy.

 

KULFI

Kulfis are traditional South Asian ice-cream, where flavored milk is first condensed and caramelized by slow cooking in presence of a small quantity of rice or seasonal grain flour; once condensed, dry nut pastes and aromatic spices are added, the mix frozen in small earthen or metal cans. This creates one of the densest known form of frozen sweets; it is typically served between -10 to -15 C when they are easier to spoon and eat. It comes in a variety of flavours such as mango, kesar, pistachios, badam (almond), coconut and plain. It is also a street side urban as well as rural India summer time snack and festive sweet, where food hawkers carry around frozen mounds of kulfi in a big earthen pot and play a particular horn music to attract customers. These vendors are known as "kulfiwalla" (one who sells kulfi).

 

KHEER OR PAYAS

Kheer is a pudding, usually made from milk, sugar and one of these ingredients - vermicelli, rice, Bulgar wheat, semolina, tapioca, dried dates, and shredded white gourd. It is also known as "Payas".

 

As sweet rice pudding, payas has been a cultural dish throughout the history of India, being usually found at ceremonies, feasts and celebrations. In many parts of India, ancient traditions maintain that a wedding is not fully blessed if payas (or payasam as known in South India) is not served at the feast during traditional ceremonies like marriage, child birth, annaprasan (first solid feed to child), and other occasions. Other than sweet yoghurt, some families include kheer in the last meal, as hospitality and auspicious food, before a family member or guest departs on a long journey away from the home.

 

LADDU

Kulfis are traditional South Asian ice-cream, where flavored milk is first condensed and caramelized by slow cooking in presence of a small quantity of rice or seasonal grain flour; once condensed, dry nut pastes and aromatic spices are added, the mix frozen in small earthen or metal cans. This creates one of the densest known form of frozen sweets; it is typically served between -10 to -15 C when they are easier to spoon and eat. It comes in a variety of flavours such as mango, kesar, pistachios, badam (almond), coconut and plain. It is also a street side urban as well as rural India summer time snack and festive sweet, where food hawkers carry around frozen mounds of kulfi in a big earthen pot and play a particular horn music to attract customers. These vendors are known as "kulfiwalla" (one who sells kulfi).

Kheer or payas

 

Kheer is a pudding, usually made from milk, sugar and one of these ingredients - vermicelli, rice, Bulgar wheat, semolina, tapioca, dried dates, and shredded white gourd. It is also known as "Payas".

 

As sweet rice pudding, payas has been a cultural dish throughout the history of India, being usually found at ceremonies, feasts and celebrations. In many parts of India, ancient traditions maintain that a wedding is not fully blessed if payas (or payasam as known in South India) is not served at the feast during traditional ceremonies like marriage, child birth, annaprasan (first solid feed to child), and other occasions. Other than sweet yoghurt, some families include kheer in the last meal, as hospitality and auspicious food, before a family member or guest departs on a long journey away from the home.

 

MALPOA

Malpoa is the most ancient homemade sweets of India. It is a form of pancake (made of wheat or rice flour) deep fried and sugar syrup.

 

NARKEL NARU

Narkel Naru is a dessert from Bengal. They are ball-shaped and made from khoa/condensed milk and coconut, a traditional food during Pujas such as the Lakshmi Puja

 

PARWAL KI MITHAI

Parwal Ki Mithai is a dry sweet made of the vegetable parwal, a kind of gourd. The shell of parwal is filled with milk solids, then cooked. It is rather popular in Bihar, but also found in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

 

PATHISHAPA

Pathishapta is a Bengali dessert. The final dish is a rolled pancake that is stuffed with a filling often made of coconut, milk, cream, and jaggery from the date palm. These desserts are consumed in Thailand as well.

 

RASGULLA

Rasgulla is a popular sweet in South Asia. They come in many forms, such as Kamalabhog (Orange Rasgulla), Rajbhog (Giant Rasgulla), Kadamba often served with kheer, Rasamundi, Raskadamba, and others. Some are white, others cream, brown, gold or orange colored. They are called Rasbari in Nepal. This dish is made by boiling small dumplings of chhenna and semolina mixture in sugar syrup. Once cooked, these are stored in the syrup making them spongy. Increasing the semolina content reduces the sponginess and hardens them, creating variety of textures. Some Rasgulla are stuffed inside with treats, such as dry fruits, raisins, candied peel and other delicacies to create a series of flavors experienced as they are consumed. Some versions, called danedhar, are removed from syrup and sugar coated into shapes of fruits and other creative designs. These are festive foods found year round, in many parts of India.

 

SANDESH

Sandesh is a sweet made from fine cheese made from cow's milk kneaded with fine ground sugar or molasses. This is a sweet from West Bengal and Odisha. Revered for its delicate making, and appreciated by the connoiseur, this represents sweet making at its finest. Sandesh comes in two varieties, "Norom Pak" (the softer version) and "Koda Pak" (the harder version). The softer version although more gentle and considered better, is fragile. The harder version is robust and often easier for storage. Molasses made from dates can be used to make a special variation of Sandesh called "Noleen Gurher Sandesh" (a Sandesh made from "Noleen Gurh" or molases from dates) or simply "Noleen Sandesh".

 

SEL ROTI

Sel roti is a Nepali home-made circular-shaped bread or rice donut, prepared during Tihar, a widely celebrated Hindu festival in Nepal. It is made of rice flour with adding customized flavors. A semi liquid rice flour dough is usually prepared by adding milk, water, sugar, butter, cardamom, cloves and other flavors of personal choice.

 

SHRIKHAND

Shrikhand is a creamy dessert made out of strained yogurt, from which water is drained off completely. Dry fruits, mango puree, saffron or cardamom and sugar are added to the thick yoghurt to get the desired flavour and taste. It is served chilled. It is a West Indian traditional dish.

 

OTHER INDIAN & PAKISTANI SWEETS

Other traditional Indian sweets and desserts famous throughout the history of Indian food include:

 

- Mysore pak (a dessert made out of ghee, sugar and chick pea flour),

- Halwa (or Halva in modern English spelling); made out of flour, butter and sugar

- Jangiri

- Jhajariya

 

WIKIPEDIA

 

Speech given by Mr. Alain Simard

President and CEO of Équipe Spectra

(as delivered)

   

December 10, 2002

   

LA CULTURE ET LES COMMUNICATIONS COMME AXE DE DÉVELOPPEMENT POUR MONTRÉAL

    

Oui, le monde a changé depuis 25 ans, et il va continuer de changer, pour le meilleur ou pour le pire…

 

Chez Spectra, même si ça peut sembler naïf, nous avons toujours eu comme motivation première, le désir de partager notre passion pour la culture, d'élargir les horizons du monde, de leur faire découvrir de nouveaux artistes venus de partout, en offrant au grand public des contenus culturels novateurs et de grande qualité. Et on croit encore que ça vaut la peine de faire notre petite part pour faire évoluer le monde.

 

Vous savez, il y a 25 ans, quand j'organisais des spectacles «underground» depuis ma «commune hippie», j'étais loin de me douter que je développais de nouvelles approches marketing pour rejoindre une clientèle qui deviendrait bientôt très convoitée : «les babyboomers». Puis quand nous nous sommes diversifiés, un peu instinctivement, dans le disque, la télévision, les produits dérivés et les salles de spectacles, c'était d'abord et avant tout pour contrôler la qualité artistique de nos projets et leur distribution... on n'avait jamais entendu le mot «convergence» ! Mais ce dont je suis le plus fier, c'est d'avoir contribué à bâtir une nouvelle industrie du divertissement et de l'événementiel en développant de nouveaux créneaux inexploités, en inventant souvent de nouvelles formules, plutôt que de concurrencer ce qui existait déjà, et en partageant le fruit de nos succès avec nos partenaires et employés.

 

Il faut savoir que L'Équipe Spectra amène de l'eau au moulin à toute l'industrie culturelle avec qui elle fonctionne en complémentarité avec une éthique irréprochable : nous louons nos salles aux autres producteurs qui seraient normalement nos compétiteurs; nous engageons leurs artistes dans nos festivals ou nos émissions télé, et jamais, en 25 ans nous n'avons été accusés de maraudage, de favoritisme ou de conflit d'intérêt. Nous avons d'ailleurs depuis nos débuts un code d'éthique rigoureux, dont l'application est vérifiée par la SODEC, et qui régit toutes les transactions de l'Équipe Spectra avec les festivals qui sont des organismes à but non lucratif. Et j'aimerais en profiter pour remercier aujourd'hui tous les partenaires qui nous ont appuyés depuis 25 ans car on n'aurait pas pu bâtir ça tout seul : on avait peut être la foi qui transporte les montagnes, mais pas le porte-monnaie…C'est sans doute grâce à cette passion authentique que nous avons pu développer une vision et une crédibilité qui nous ont mérité l'appui des médias, des pouvoirs publics et des commanditaires sans qui nous n'aurions jamais pu réaliser nos rêves les plus fous.

 

Je dois dire qu'on n'était quand même pas les seuls à rêver il y a 25 ans ! Combien d'autres lançaient à cette époque soit une troupe de danse ou une troupe de théâtre, (ou même un cirque !), soit une compagnie de production télévisuelle ou de cinéma, soit un magazine, une nouvelle station FM, une maison de disques ou d'édition, un projet multimédia, un atelier de décors, une galerie d'art, un studio de son, une petite agence de publicité, un cinéma parallèle, un café d'artistes ou un restaurant nouvelle cuisine.

 

Il y a 25 ans, alors que tous ces jeunes profitaient des loyers modiques d'un centre-ville au marché immobilier à tout le moins morose, qui aurait pu imaginer que l'effervescence culturelle qui en découlerait deviendrait un jour un avantage stratégique dans le positionnement international de Montréal et que sa personnalité festive deviendrait le symbole de sa qualité de vie, à tel point que d'autres grandes villes, comme Toronto, deviendraient jalouses de son «indice bohémien» !

 

Depuis trois ans, presque tous les grands magazines internationaux, de National Geographic Traveler à Wallpaper Magazine en passant par Condé Nast et Travel & Leisure, ont classé Montréal dans leur palmarès des villes les plus «trendy» de la planète, à cause de sa qualité de vie, de ses festivals et de son activité culturelle. On compare son dynamisme à celui de Barcelone ou de San Francisco…

 

C'est un fait que le centre-ville de Montréal bouillonne aujourd'hui d'activités diverses, démultipliées grâce à son bilinguisme et son multiculturalisme : nous avons ainsi accès à un choix inouï de productions aussi bien locales qu'américaines ou européennes de même qu'à une foule de lieux et d'activités pour agrémenter nos sorties.

 

Lors d'un récent sondage auprès de ses clients, Destination Centre-Ville, l'association des marchands de l'artère commerciale la plus achalandée au Canada, la rue Sainte-Catherine, découvrait que le divertissement est la motivation première de cet achalandage, et ce, dans 51 % des cas. Ce sont donc les spectacles, les cinémas, les festivals, les restaurants et les bars qui attirent la majorité des gens qui en profitent pour magasiner…

 

Si l'on veut préserver et maintenir cette effervescence propre à l'expérience montréalaise, il faut aujourd'hui prendre des mesures pour protéger et stimuler le milieu de la création culturelle qui est à l'origine de cette personnalité distinctive. Pour ce faire, il faut bien sûr augmenter significativement le budget du Conseil des arts de Montréal, tel que promis par l'administration municipale, ce qui lui permettrait de s'impliquer davantage dans la création d'œuvres originales dans les institutions du centre-ville, notamment dans le cadre des grands festivals qui doivent constamment offrir des contenus culturels crédibles pour conserver leur couverture de presse internationale et ce n'est pas le rôle des subventions de développement économique ou des commandites privées de leur donner la marge de manœuvre pour le faire.

 

Il faudra aussi trouver la façon de compenser pour la «gentrification» croissante de l'arrondissement Ville Marie et la hausse de sa valeur locative, histoire de ne pas évincer les artistes et créateurs qui auront contribué à son succès… Il importe donc de prévoir des mesures incitatives pour favoriser l'accueil ou la relocalisation des petits organismes culturels et des créateurs pour retenir et favoriser leur concentration dans le secteur.

 

C'est pour cette raison que je proposais, lors du récent Sommet de Montréal, de prioriser le domaine de la culture et des communications comme axe de développement pour l'est du centre-ville, en y incluant la «Cité des Ondes» (SRC, TVA, TQ), le quartier Latin et ses institutions du savoir, le futur «quartier des spectacles» et le Vieux Montréal avec sa vocation patrimoniale, muséale et touristique.

 

Voilà une avenue naturelle pour le développement du centre-ville de Montréal où sont déjà concentrés 80 % des emplois du domaine de la culture et des communications au Québec, soit plus de 100 000 personnes qui en façonnent la personnalité, d'autant plus que la plupart des autres grands secteurs économiques comme l'industrie pharmaceutique, les biotechnologies ou le secteur de l'aérospatiale sont généralement localisés en périphérie. En outre, cette stratégie est des plus structurantes pour l'industrie touristique qui crée, ne l'oublions pas, plus de 64 000 emplois principalement concentrés dans le centre-ville. Il faut savoir qu'à Montréal, les hôteliers paient annuellement près de 200 millions de dollars en taxes foncières et 100 millions de dollars en TPS et TVQ. N'oublions pas qu'il s'agit d'argent neuf dans notre économie, parce qu'il provient des touristes venus d'ailleurs….Tout ça pour dire que ces secteurs économiques constituent certainement la base sur laquelle peut se construire l'avenir de l'arrondissement Ville Marie et de Montréal.

 

Pourtant, il y a 25 ans, la culture, le divertissement et le tourisme étaient souvent considérés comme les parents pauvres de la «grande industrie» et du monde de la finance, avec des emplois jugés précaires et sans avenir…Qui aurait cru que ces secteurs deviendraient des locomotives de l'économie de l'an 2000, selon l'Organisation mondiale du commerce.

 

Lors du colloque «Tourisme et divertissement» organisé le mois dernier par la Chaire de tourisme, on apprenait que la tendance touristique en plus forte croissance dans le monde sont les séjours urbains de courte durée et qu'ils sont intimement liés à l'expérience culturelle et à l'ambiance que peut offrir une grande ville. On y démontrait que les festivals et événements de même que les complexes thématiques de divertissement, les casinos et les musées contribuent à positionner une ville sur l'échiquier international, «favorisant la venue d'investisseurs, la tenue de congrès, l'arrivée de nouveaux citoyens et enfin la revitalisation et la prospérité de la cité». Selon Robert Sprazzichino, expert européen en matière d'aménagement urbain, «la culture, le tourisme et les loisirs sont aujourd'hui considérés comme des facteurs essentiels et même comme des moteurs de régénération et de redynamisation urbaine».

 

Montréal n'a peut-être pas de Statue de la Liberté, de tour Eiffel ou de Disneyworld, mais elle jouit maintenant d'une réputation enviable, celle d'être la «Ville des festivals». Et cette «marque de commerce», cette personnalité distinctive exploitée avec succès par Tourisme Montréal depuis quelques années, a permis cet été à Montréal de «surclasser» pour la première fois Toronto et Vancouver, à la fois pour le nombre de touristes étrangers et pour le tarif moyen des chambres d'hôtel. Après les événements du 11 septembre, nous étions la seule ville canadienne à connaître une augmentation du taux d'occupation des hôtels !

 

Il y a 25 ans, quand j'écrivais, dans une demande de subvention pour la création du Festival International de Jazz de Montréal «qu'un jour, cet événement attirera des milliers de touristes américains», je peux vous dire que j'ai sérieusement fait rire de moi… et ça a pris 5 ans avant de finalement toucher une première subvention de 10 000 $ !

 

Même moi, je n'aurais jamais cru que ce projet quelque peu utopique puisse devenir un jour l'un des plus importants festivals au monde avec 1,7 million de participants, et même être choisi par Attractions Canada comme l'une des 8 principales attractions touristiques au pays, avec les chutes Niagara et les Rocheuses !

 

Depuis plusieurs années, un participant sur cinq au Festival de Jazz vient de l'extérieur de Montréal, la moitié en provenance des États Unis, soit une personne sur dix. Le plus remarquable, c'est que 86 % des visiteurs du Québec et 80 % des touristes étrangers sont venus à Montréal spécifiquement à cause du Festival de Jazz! Et, selon l'étude effectuée par KPMG en 2001, ces seuls touristes venus au Festival de Jazz ont dépensé à Montréal 44,5 millions de dollars, générant 10 millions de dollars de recettes fiscales pour le gouvernement du Québec et 7,2 millions de dollars au fédéral - toujours de l'argent NEUF dans notre économie et près de 10 fois ce que le Festival a reçu en fonds publics !

 

Même les FrancoFolies, un événement en croissance qui touche principalement les jeunes et les communautés culturelles, à qui nous voulons donner le goût de la musique francophone, rejoignent maintenant 18 % de touristes dont les 2/3 proviennent de l'extérieur du Québec, avec un total de 700 000 visiteurs en dix jours. Quand on y ajoute le Grand Prix de Formule Un qui démarre la saison d'été en lion, La Feria du Vélo, Juste Pour Rire, Le Mondial SAQ, les Internationaux de Tennis du Canada et le Festival des Films du Monde qui vient clôturer «l'été des festivals», on obtient une masse critique d'événements qui assurent un rayonnement international ininterrompu pour Montréal pendant trois mois, avec des télédiffusions multiples dans des dizaines de pays à longueur d'année.

 

Et souvent, les événements montréalais ont ceci d'unique au monde qu'ils ont la capacité d'accueillir des centaines de milliers de spectateurs avec des activités d'animation urbaine gratuites, dans les rues du centre-ville fermées à la circulation automobile, alors qu'ailleurs ils se limitent à des sites fermés et souvent payants.

 

Il faut savoir qu'en conséquence les organisateurs sont souvent seuls à couvrir tous les coûts d'aménagement, de programmation, de sécurité, de nettoyage et de publicité pour des activités qui rapportent à tous sauf à eux. De là le besoin d'un apport indispensable des commandites privées et des aides gouvernementales pour assurer la survie de cette jeune industrie typiquement québécoise, souvent subventionnée à moins de 20 % de son budget alors que ses concurrents internationaux le sont souvent de 40 % à 60 %, grâce à des taxes dédiées à l'hébergement, comme à la Nouvelle Orléans, Chicago ou Edimbourg.

 

Une récente étude de KPMG pour le compte du REMI (Regroupement des Événements Majeurs Internationaux) démontre que ces dix-neuf événements représentent globalement une activité économique de 300 millions de dollars, créant plus de 7000 emplois annualisés au Québec qui génèrent directement plus de 58 millions de dollars de recettes fiscales pour le gouvernement du Québec, et ce, sur les seules dépenses des touristes, en plus des 10 millions de dollars encaissés à même les dépenses des événements eux-mêmes!

 

C'est pourquoi il faut saluer la vision du gouvernement du Québec pour avoir créé, il y a trois ans, un fonds de 10 millions de dollars par année pour soutenir cette industrie et l'aider à développer son produit, un investissement qui a donc profité à toute la société, ayant provoqué une croissance des retombées touristiques de 23 % en seulement deux ans! De plus, chaque dollar investi dans les événements a été multiplié par cinq grâce à l'effet de levier qu'il a donné aux organisateurs pour aller chercher plus de commandites et de revenus du grand public!

 

C'est pourquoi il est indispensable pour les événements que soit renouvelé ce fonds triennal qui échoit cette année, histoire d'en conserver leurs acquis et maintenir leur potentiel de croissance. Il est de plus impératif que le gouvernement fédéral (qui touche lui aussi près de 40 000 000 $ d'argent neuf chaque année) reconnaisse enfin cette activité économique et touristique florissante, même si elle est surtout concentrée au Québec. Les événements souhaitent évidemment qu'Ottawa crée un programme normé pour aider à financer leurs infrastructures temporaires, en remplacement du programme quelque peu controversé des commandites…

 

Il faut se rappeler que si d'aucuns ont questionné les modalités d'attribution de ces programmes gouvernementaux, personne n'a jamais remis en question la pertinence d'investir des fonds publics dans les grands événements populaires et touristiques. Il faudrait donc faire attention de ne pas jeter le bébé avec l'eau du bain…

 

Fort de ce succès, nous avons devant nous un défi pour maximiser l'impact des événements à longueur d'année pour Montréal : la désaisonnalisation. C'est donc pour consolider l'image de la «Ville des festivals» comme destination culturelle et gastronomique, même dans la saison creuse d'hiver, que nous avons créé en collaboration avec Tourisme Montréal et les trois paliers de gouvernement, le Festival MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE.

 

Ce projet, retenu comme une des priorités du Sommet économique de 1996, regroupe au sein de son conseil d'administration les représentants des milieux économique, touristique et culturel, dont la Chambre de commerce, l'Association des Hôteliers et la Place des Arts.

 

Après seulement trois ans, déjà près d'un demi-million de visiteurs, dont 15 % venus de l'extérieur de Montréal, étaient comptés l'hiver dernier aux différentes activités des trois volets de l'événement : la Fête de la lumière Hydro Québec, les Plaisirs de la table SAQ et les Arts La Financière Sun Life.

 

En association avec les Productions l'Entracte (à qui l'on doit le récent défilé du Père Noël), nous nous attaquons maintenant à la saison automnale en collaboration avec les marchands du Vieux Montréal et le Vieux Port : dès octobre prochain, «La Grande Mascarade, la fête de l'Halloween» transformera ces sites historiques en des lieux magiques et mystérieux qui pourront accueillir de grandes foules avec de multiples activités gratuites aussi amusantes qu'épeurantes…

 

Cette nouvelle fête populaire possède un énorme potentiel de croissance et vise à moyen terme à devenir l'un des événements majeurs entourant l'Halloween et la fête des Morts en Amérique du Nord, une autre façon de confirmer la réputation festive et ludique de Montréal à longueur d'année.

 

Dans la foulée de cet objectif qui fait largement consensus, il faut retenir deux grandes tendances qui se sont imposées au colloque Divertissement et tourisme (où je prenais d'ailleurs la parole, en compagnie de Normand Legault, du Grand Prix de Formule Un, et Daniel Lamarre, du Cirque du Soleil) : la création de mégacomplexes culturels et de divertissement, de même que la «thématisation» comme stratégie de «branding» pour consolider le positionnement d'une ville comme destination internationale. Comme ils répondent à ces critères déterminants, j'ai choisi pour terminer mon exposé de vous parler brièvement de projets qui me tiennent particulièrement à cœur : le Complexe Spectrum, la future Place des festivals et le Quartier des spectacles.

 

Il y a 20 ans exactement, quand nous avons lancé le Spectrum dans l'ancien cinéma Alouette (là-même où mon père m'avait amené voir Bambi pour ma première sortie au cinéma), jamais nous n'aurions imaginé que cette salle pourrait devenir ce lieu mythique du spectacle montréalais, encore moins qu'elle serait un jour au cœur de la revitalisation de la rue Sainte Catherine.

 

Après avoir déménagé le Festival International de Jazz de Montréal dans ce secteur pour profiter de ses nombreux terrains vacants et de la proximité d'une dizaine de salles de spectacles, je peux vous dire que je connais ce quadrilatère situé entre Bleury et Jeanne Mance comme le fond de ma poche. Depuis 20 ans, je rêve de voir revitalisé ce no man's land, avec ses quatre stationnements à ciel ouvert et ses deux terrains vagues qui coupent encore la Place des Arts et le Complexe Desjardins du reste du centre-ville. C'est d'ailleurs là que se situe la véritable démarcation entre l'Est et l'Ouest de Montréal : aussi bien les anglophones que les francophones s'y sentent chez eux, que ce soit au Spectrum ou au Festival de Jazz.

 

Construit sur un terrain d'un acre situé angle Bleury et Sainte Catherine, le Complexe Spectrum comprendra l'actuelle salle de spectacles ainsi qu'un club de jazz, quatre nouvelles salles de cinéma Ex Centris et neuf salles de cinéma Alliance Atlantis, des restaurants, une librairie / disquaire ainsi qu'une billetterie centrale, ouverts tous les soirs. Jouxtant la future Place des festivals et en face du nouveau Complexe de 280 millions de dollars annoncé par le gouvernement du Québec (comprenant les Conservatoires de Musique et de Théâtre ainsi que la future salle de l'OSM), nous voulons faire du Complexe Spectrum le vaisseau-amiral du Quartier des spectacles, un haut lieu de la culture populaire montréalaise, toujours dans la mire des caméras de Musique Plus et de Musimax, situés de l'autre côté de la rue Bleury.

 

Incidemment, cet investissement de 40 millions de dollars, réalisé par l'Équipe Spectra en partenariat avec Daniel Langlois d'Ex Centris et la SGF, générera suffisamment de nouvelles taxes foncières pour permettre à la Ville de Montréal de recouvrer son investissement de six millions dans la Place des festivals en seulement quatre ou cinq ans. Ce projet d'agora publique, annoncé par le maire de Montréal et le premier ministre Bernard Landry le printemps dernier viendra compléter cette revitalisation du centre-ville tout en assurant la pérennité du plus beau site d'animation urbaine au monde. Ce nouveau lieu public, qui pourra être utilisé comme patinoire l'hiver, servira à tous les Montréalais à longueur d'année et deviendra une attraction touristique à la façon du Rockfeller Plaza, à New York, ou encore de la Place d'Youville, à Québec.

 

Il faut se réjouir de voir tous ces projets qui vont transfigurer le centre-ville de Montréal d'ici cinq ans, avec des investissements évalués à 350 millions de dollars. Mais on est loin du milliard déjà engagé par Toronto pour en faire la «capitale culturelle du Canada».

 

Pour garder un de nos rares avantages stratégiques de Montréal, je crois qu'il faut se retrousser les manches et se donner en priorité comme objectif commun de concrétiser l'aménagement du Quartier des spectacles, une des pistes d'action principales issues du Sommet de Montréal. La beauté de ce projet de l'ADISQ, c'est qu'il vise d'abord à consolider des acquis et des équipements culturels qui n'ont jamais été mis en valeur comme un tout : il existe dans l'axe de la rue Sainte Catherine, entre Bleury et Saint Denis (et sur Saint Laurent), une masse critique de 25 salles de spectacles et théâtres qui totalisent (avec la nouvelle salle de l'OSM) 28 000 sièges, alors que Broadway en compte 46 000 à New York. Il s'agit donc de structurer, de revitaliser et d'embellir ce quartier aussi connu comme le site des grands festivals, en le «thématisant» officiellement comme «quartier des spectacles» pour maximiser son pouvoir d'attraction au moyen d'une intervention urbanistique prévoyant une signalisation propre, un mobilier urbain et un plan d'éclairage spécifique, ainsi que des services d'entretien et de sécurité accrus.

 

Pour en exploiter tout son potentiel de développement touristique, il faudra relier le Quartier des spectacles par des axes piétonniers invitants avec le Palais des Congrès, le Vieux Montréal, la Cité internationale et le Quartier des affaires. Tourisme Montréal et les organismes culturels travaillent déjà à créer une billetterie centrale accessible aux touristes et congressistes séjournant dans les grands hôtels pour prolonger leur séjour et avoir un impact à long terme dans la forfaitisation de la destination.

 

Le momentum est mûr pour une action collective et concertée, à l'heure où d'autres projets structurants sont à l'horizon, dont l'agrandissement du Musée Pointe à Callières, la revitalisation de La Ronde par Six Flags et surtout l'investissement de 470 000 000 $ dans le Casino pour en faire un équipement de classe internationale afin d'en augmenter la vocation touristique.

 

De la même façon que nous avons réussi la revitalisation du Vieux Montréal et du Vieux Port depuis 10 ans, puis du Quartier international qui s'apprête à voir le jour avec un Palais des congrès agrandi (qui nous permettra de garder notre titre de 4e ville de congrès dans le monde - encore de l'argent neuf !), nous devons concrétiser aujourd'hui nos énergies dans l'aménagement et la mise en valeur de ce Quartier des spectacles, investir encore plus dans la création culturelle pour renforcer la personnalité festive et ludique du centre-ville, locomotive du développement économique, social et culturel de la région métropolitaine.

 

C'est un investissement à la fois pour la qualité de vie de tous les citoyens, et un acte de foi dans l'avenir de Montréal comme métropole culturelle internationale et l'une des grandes destinations de la planète.

      

www.twitter.com/Memoire2cite Les 30 Glorieuses . com et la carte postale.. Il existe de nos jours, de nombreux photographes qui privilégient la qualité artistique de leurs travaux cartophiles. A vous de découvrir ces artistes inconnus aujourd’hui, mais qui seront peut-être les grands noms de demain. 69 BRON PARILLY LA VILLE NOUVELLE LES UC, UNE CITÉ DU FUTUR @ UN TOUR DE VILLE AUTOUR DU TEMPS Le préfabriqué @ Invention capitaliste française de l’après guerre, devenue symbole du socialisme triomphant dans les années 60, le panneau en béton lie le destin des peules. Un film historique sur une réalité partagée racontée par des habitants et par des archives inédites. www.dailymotion.com/video/x413amo Dans l’Est de l’Europe, un élément répétitif marque les villes et standardise le paysage. C’est un panneau en béton préfabriqué qui s’expose inlassablement sur des kilomètres de barres d’habitation. Des millions de personnes vivent dans des logements identiques de Paris à Moscou. www.dailymotion.com/video/x413amo Apres la guerre les Français n ont plu de toit...le gouvernement lançe alors 1 vaste progr de constr de lgts.. les Cités Modernes @ Il faut batir à échelle industrielle, il faut penser à l echelle des Villes L'invention du préfabriqué desormais le permet. dailymotion.com/video/x413amo Le bonheur est dans le béton ... Le logement préfabriqué, victime de son succès en France, fut exporté en Europe de l'Est. Qui se souvient de tout ça .. Il y avait l idee de construire massivement au plus vite ds un temps record et le moins cher possible @ Le quartier des UC à Parilly, a été la première des grandes cités construites en France, au milieu du 20e siècle, et fut en son temps un modèle. 1950. La Seconde guerre mondiale a laissé derrière elle un champ de ruines. En France, plus de 800.000 habitations ont été détruites. Partout on manque de logements : sur la côte atlantique, où des villes entières ont été rasées, mais aussi à Paris et en région lyonnaise. Pour couronner le tout, les Français se mettent à faire des bébés à tour de berceaux - le baby boom commence ! Du coup, les jeunes mariés ne peuvent dénicher un toit et restent chez leurs parents. Les mieux lotis s’entassent à 4 ou 5 dans une seule pièce, avec WC à l’étage et un évier en guise de salle de bains. Les personnes sans le sou, elles, peuplent les bidonvilles qui cernent Lyon comme à Bombay ou à Rio. Souvenez-vous de l’abbé Pierre, et de son appel de l’hiver 1954. Reloger la population constitue pourtant une priorité du gouvernement. On a nommé ministre de la Reconstruction et de l’Urbanisme un héros de la Libération, pétri des idéaux sociaux de la Résistance : le député de la Loire, Eugène Claudius-Petit (1907-1989). Monsieur le Ministre veut non seulement redonner un toit aux Français, mais les doter du nec plus ultra en matière de logement, une architecture moderne et colorée, entourée de verdure et d’espace. Dès 1951, Claudius-Petit programme la construction de six grands ensembles : à Angers (677 logements), Boulogne-Billancourt (800), Le Havre (1400), Pantin (800), Saint-Etienne (1262) et enfin à Bron, où doit naître la plus imposante de toutes ces cités, avec 2608 logements. Il en confie la réalisation à l’Office des HLM du Rhône, alors dirigé par Laurent Bonnevay, tandis que sa conception revient à de jeunes architectes Lyonnais disciples de Le Corbusier, dont René Gagès et Franck Grimal. L’emplacement de la future cité est vite trouvé : dans la partie nord du parc de Parilly, sur 27 hectares de terrains appartenant au Conseil général. Ainsi, les immeubles se glisseront entre les arbres et les pelouses, en un mariage heureux de la nature et du béton. La desserte du quartier sera assurée par le boulevard de Ceinture et par l’avenue Jean-Mermoz, deux belles avenues où il fait bon se promener, à pieds ou à vélo, au milieu de quelques autos - l'une et l'autre n'ont pas encore été transformées en voies autoroutières… Cinq ans à peine, de 1951 à 1956, suffisent pour faire sortir de terre une douzaine de grands immeubles, l’équivalent d’une ville : les quatre tours et les deux barres en S des "Unités de Construction" (UC) 5 et 7 le long du boulevard Laurent-Bonnevay ; l’UC 1 à l’angle du boulevard et de l’autoroute A43 ; enfin les quatre immeubles en L des UC 2 à 5, le long de l’A43, à l'endroit où vous vous trouvez. Leur construction utilise des procédés révolutionnaires pour l’époque : chaque appartement, qu’il s’agisse d’un T2 ou d’un T6 en duplex, reproduit un plan type aux dimensions standardisées de 5 mètres de large, 11 mètres de long et 2,5 mètres de haut, dont les éléments sont fabriqués en usine et seulement assemblés sur le chantier, ce qui permet d’énormes gains de temps. Les premiers habitants découvrent leurs appartements, ébahis. Un F3 par exemple, leur offre une salle de séjour de 18 m2, deux chambres de 10 m2, une cuisine équipée de placards et plans de travail, des WC, une salle de bains, d’immenses baies vitrées et, luxe inouï, un grand balcon peint en jaune, en rouge ou en bleu vif, transformant leur immeuble en une mosaïque multicolore. Les Brondillants passent d’un coup du taudis à l’Amérique, et de Zola au 20e siècle. Telles étaient les UC, il y a une soixantaine d'années. Une cité modèle, dont les photos couvraient les cartes-postales locales, et les magazines du monde entier. Après les UC, d'autres grands ensembles voient le jour à Bron au cours des années 1950 à 1970 : les immeubles du quartier des Essarts, près des Galeries Lafayette ; les copropriétés de la route de Genas, à côté de l'ancienne caserne Raby, et surtout les immeubles du quartier du Terraillon, au nord-est de Bron. Ces nouveaux logements, tous très prisés au moment de leur construction, font bondir la population de Bron de 12.500 habitants en 1946, à 42.000 habitants en 1968. Les experts de l'époque prédisent même que le seuil des 100.000 habitants serait atteint vers l'an 2000 ! Le temps du village était révolu. Bron devenait une ville importante de la banlieue lyonnaise.

@ LES GRANDS ENSEMBLES @ Bien qu’ils échappent à une définition unique, les grands ensembles sont ty-piquement des ensembles de logement collectif, souvent en nombre impor-tant (plusieurs centaines à plusieurs milliers de logements), construits entre le milieu des années 1950 et le milieu des années 1970, marqués par un urba-nisme de barres et de tours inspiré des préceptes de l’architecture moderne.

Ces grands ensembles, dont plusieurs centaines ont été construits en France, ont permis un large accès au confort moderne (eau courante chaude et froide, chauffage central, équipements sanitaires, ascenseur…) pour les ouvriers des banlieues ouvrières, les habitants des habitats insalubres, les rapatriés d’Algérie et la main-d’oeuvre des grandes industries.

Ils se retrouvent fréquemment en crise sociale profonde à partir des années 1980, et sont, en France, l’une des raisons de la mise en place de ce qu’on appelle la politique de la Ville. Définition Il n’y a pas de consensus pour définir un grand ensemble.On peut toutefois en distinguer deux :

• Selon le service de l’Inventaire du ministère de la Culture français, un grand ensemble est un «aménagement urbain comportant plusieurs bâtiments isolés pouvant être sous la forme de barres et de tours, construit sur un plan masse constituant une unité de conception. Il peut être à l’usage d’activité et d’habitation et, dans ce cas, comporter plusieurs centaines ou milliers de logements. Son foncier ne fait pas nécessairement l’objet d’un remembrement, il n’est pas divisé par lots ce qui le différencie du lotissement concerté».

• Selon le «géopolitologue» Yves Lacoste, un grand ensemble est une «masse de logements organisée en un ensemble. Cette organisation n’est pas seulement la conséquence d’un plan masse; elle repose sur la présence d’équipement collectifs (écoles, commerces, centre social, etc.) […]. Le grand ensemble apparaît donc comme une unité d’habitat relativement autonome formée de bâtiments collectifs, édifiée en un assez bref laps de temps, en fonction d’un plan global qui comprend plus de 1000 logements».Le géographe Hervé Vieillard-Baron apporte des précisions : c’est, selon lui, un aménagement en rupture avec le tissu urbain existant, sous la forme de barres et de tours, conçu de manière globale et introduisant des équipements règlementaires, comportant un financement de l’État et/ou des établissements publics. Toujours selon lui, un grand ensemble comporte un minimum de 500 logements (limite fixée pour les Zone à urbaniser en priorité (ZUP) en 1959). Enfin, un grand ensemble n’est pas nécessairement situé en périphérie d’une ag-glomération.

Comme on le voit ci-dessus, la détermination d’un seuil de logements peut être débattue. Les formes du grand ensemble sont assez récurrentes, inspirées (ou légitimées) par des préceptes de l’architecture moderne et en particulier des CIAM : ils se veulent une application de la Charte d’Athènes4. Pour autant, on ne peut pas dire qu’il s’agisse d’une application directe des principes de Le Corbusier. Ils sont aussi le fruit d’une industriali-sation progressive du secteur du bâtiment et, notamment en France, des procédés de préfabrication en béton.Histoire La Cité de la Muette à Drancy, construite par Eugène Beaudouin, Marcel Lods et Jean Prouvé entre 1931 et 1934 pour l’Office public HBM de la Seine, est traditionnellement considérée comme le premier grand en-semble en France. Elle est même à l’origine du terme de «grand ensemble» puisque c’est ainsi que la désigne pour la première fois Marcel Rotival dans un article de l’époque6. Cette cité, initialement conçue comme une cité-jardin, se transforme en cours d’étude en un projet totalement inédit en France, avec ses 5 tours de 15 étages et son habitat totalement collectif. Cependant, cette initiative reste sans lendemain du moins dans l’immédiat.Après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, le temps est à la reconstruction et la priorité n’est pas donnée à l’habitat. Le premier plan quinquennal de Jean Monnet (1947-1952) a avant tout pour objectif la reconstruction des infrastructures de transport et le recouvrement des moyens de production. Par ailleurs, le secteur du bâtiment en France est alors incapable de construire des logements en grande quantité et rapidement : ce sont encore de petites entreprises artisanales aux méthodes de constructions traditionnelles.

Les besoins sont pourtant considérables : sur 14,5 millions de logements, la moitié n’a pas l’eau courante, les 3/4 n’ont pas de WC, 90 % pas de salle de bain. On dénombre 350 000 taudis, 3 millions de logements surpeu-plés et un déficit constaté de 3 millions d’habitations. Le blocage des loyers depuis 19147, très partiellement atténué par la Loi de 1948, ne favorise pas les investissements privés.

L’État tente de changer la situation en impulsant à l’industrialisation des entreprises du bâtiment : en 1950, Eugène Claudius-Petit, ministre de la reconstruction, lance le concours de la Cité Rotterdam à Strasbourg. Ce programme doit comporter 800 logements, mais le concours, ouvert à un architecte associé à une entreprise de BTP, prend en compte des critères de coût et de rapidité d’exécution. Le projet est gagné par Eugène Beau-douin qui réalise un des premiers grands ensembles d’après guerre en 1953. En 1953 toujours, Pierre Courant, Ministre de la Reconstruction et du Logement, fait voter une loi qui met en place une série d’interventions (appelée «Plan Courant») facilitant la construction de logements tant du point de vue foncier que du point de vue du financement (primes à la construction, prêts à taux réduit, etc.) : la priorité est donnée clairement par le ministère aux logements collectifs et à la solution des grands ensembles.

La même année, la création de la contribution obligatoire des entreprises à l’effort de construction (1 % de la masse des salaires pour les entreprises de plus de 10 salariés) introduit des ressources supplémentaires pour la réalisation de logements sociaux : c’est le fameux «1 % patronal». Ces fonds sont réunis par l’Office Central Interprofessionnel du Logement (OCIL), à l’origine de la construction d’un certain nombre de grands ensembles.

Mais le véritable choc psychologique intervient en 1954 : le terrible hiver et l’action de l’Abbé Pierre engage le gouvernement à lancer une politique de logement volontariste. Un programme de «Logements économiques de première nécessité» (LEPN) est lancé en juillet 1955 : il s’agit de petites cités d’urgence sous la forme de pavillons en bandes. En réalité, ces réalisations précaires s’avèrent catastrophiques et se transforment en tau-dis insalubres dès l’année suivante. La priorité est donnée alors résolument à l’habitat collectif de grande taille et à la préfabrication en béton, comme seule solution au manque de logements en France.Une multitude de procédures administratives

Grands ensembles du quartier Villejean à Rennes par l’architecte Louis Arretche.Il n’existe pas une procédure type de construction d’un grand ensemble pendant cette période. En effet, de très nombreuses procédures techniques ou financières sont utilisées. Elles servent souvent d’ailleurs à désigner les bâtiments ou quartiers construits à l’époque : Secteur industrialisé, LOPOFA (LOgements POpulaires FAmiliaux), Logecos (LOGements ÉCOnomiques et familiaux), LEN (Logements économiques normalisés), l’opération Million, l’opération «Économie de main d’oeuvre». L’unique objectif de toutes ces procédures est de construire vite et en très grande quantité. Le cadre de la Zone à urbaniser en priorité intervient en 1959, avec des constructions qui ne commencent réellement qu’en 1961-1962.Les contextes de constructions Le quartier de La Rouvière (9ème arrondissement) à Marseille construit par Xavier Arsène-Henry.On peut distinguer 3 contextes de construction de ces grands ensembles à la fin des années 1950 et début des années 1960 :

• de nouveaux quartiers périphériques de villes anciennes ayant pour objectif de reloger des populations ins-tallées dans des logements insalubres en centre-ville ou pour accueillir des populations venues des campagnes environnantes (cas les plus fréquents).

• des villes nouvelles liées à l’implantation d’industries nouvelles ou à la politique d’aménagement du ter-ritoire : c’est le cas de Mourenx (avec le Gaz de Lacq), Bagnols-sur-Cèze ou Pierrelatte (liées à l’industrie nucléaire). On voit aussi des cas hybrides avec la première situation, avec des implantations proches de villes satellites de Paris, dans le but de contrebalancer l’influence de cette dernière : c’est le cas de la politique des «3M» dans le département de Seine-et-Marne avec la construction de grands ensembles liés à des zones in-dustrielles à Meaux, Melun, Montereau-Fault-Yonne.

• des opérations de rénovation de quartiers anciens : le quartier de la Porte de Bâle à Mulhouse, l’îlot Bièvre dans le 13e arrondissement de Paris, le centre-ville ancien de Chelles.

Il est à noter qu’un grand ensemble n’est pas forcément un ensemble de logements sociaux : il peut s’agir aussi de logements de standing, comme le quartier de la Rouvière à Marseille. Les modes de constructions

Le Haut du Lièvre (3000 logements, construits à partir de 1954), deux des plus longues barres de France, construite par Bernard Zehrfuss sur une crête surplombant Nancy.

Tout est mis en oeuvre pour qu’un maximum d’économies soient réalisées sur le chantier :

• la préfabrication : de nombreux procédés de préfabrications sont mis en oeuvre sur les chantiers permettant un gain de temps et d’argent. Expérimentés au cours des chantiers de la Reconstruction après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, ces procédés permettent la construction en série de panneaux de bétons, d’escaliers, d’huisseries mais aussi d’éléments de salles de bains à l’intérieur même du logements. Ces procédés ont pour nom : Camus (expérimenté au Havre et exporté jusqu’en URSS), Estiot (au Haut-du-Lièvre à Nancy) ou Tracoba (à la Pierre Collinet à Meaux). Les formes simples (barres, tours) sont privilégiées le long du chemin de grue (grue posée sur des rails) avec des usines à béton installées à proximité du chantier, toujours dans une recherche de gain de temps.

• une économie de main d’oeuvre : la préfabrication permet de faire appel à une main d’oeuvre peu qualifiée, souvent d’origine immigrée. De grands groupes de BTP bénéficient de contrats pour des chantiers de construc-tion gigantesques, favorisés par l’État.

• les maîtres d’ouvrages sont eux aussi très concentrés et favorise les grandes opérations. La Caisse des dépôts et consignations est ainsi l’un des financeurs incontournables de ce mouvement de construction avec notam-ment sa filiale, la SCIC (Société Civile immobilière de la Caisse des dépôts et consignations), créée en 1954. Elle fait appel à des architectes majeurs des années 1950 et 1960, tels que Jean Dubuisson, Marcel Lods, Jacques Henri Labourdette, Bernard Zehrfuss, Raymond Lopez, Charles-Gustave Stoskopf et elle est à l’ori-gine de nombreux grands ensembles situés en région parisienne, tels que Sarcelles (le plus grand programme en France avec 10 000 logements), Créteil, Massy-Antony.

Les désignations de ces grands ensembles sont à cette époque très diverses : unité de voisinage, unité d’habitation, ville nouvelle (sans aucun rapport avec les villes nouvelles de Paul Delouvrier), villes satellites, ou encore cités nouvelles, etc.Pendant 20 ans, on estime à 300 000 le nombre de logements construits ainsi par an, alors qu’au début des années 1950, on ne produisait que 10 000 logements chaque année. 6 millions de logements sont ainsi construits au total. 90 % de ces constructions sont aidées par l’État.

En 1965, le programme des villes nouvelles est lancé, se voulant en rupture avec l’urbanisme des grands ensembles. En 1969, les zones à urbaniser en priorité sont abandonnées au profit des zones d’aménagement concerté, créées deux ans auparavant. Enfin, le 21 mars 1973, une circulaire ministérielle signée par Olivier Guichard, ministre de l’Équipement, du Logement et des Transports, «visant à prévenir la réalisation des formes d’urbanisation dites « grands ensembles » et à lutter contre la ségrégation sociale par l’habitat», interdit toute construction d’ensembles de logements de plus de 500 unités. La construction des grands ensembles est définitivement abandonnée. La loi Barre de 1977 fait passer la priorité de l’aide gouvernementale de la construction collective à l’aide aux ménages : c’est le retour du pavillonnaire et du logement. Les banlieues populaires apparaissent dans les médias à travers le prisme de la délinquance et des émeutes. Pourtant, leur histoire doit s’analyser dans la moyenne durée des deux siècles d’urbanisation et d’industrialisation, puis de disparition de la société industrielle. Les banlieues françaises, à la différence des suburbs anglo-saxonnes qui logent les classes moyennes blanches, ont été créées dès la fin du XIX e siècle pour loger les classes populaires. Les besoins de logement expliquent les strates des paysages urbains : petits immeubles de rapport de la Belle Époque, pavillons des lotissements défectueux de l’entre-deux-guerres, barres et tours de logement social et villes nouvelles des Trente Glorieuses. Trois moments de la constitution des banlieues populaires se superposent, encore visibles dans les paysages-palimpsestes : l’âge des faubourgs industriels, devenus peu à peu friches avec la désindustrialisation qui débute dans les années 50 ; le temps des banlieues rouges et du socialisme municipal ; la construction des grands ensembles et l’entrée en crise du modèle à partir de 1970. Des faubourgs industriels à la désindustrialisation La banlieue contemporaine naît de l’entreprise de modernisation de la capitale et des grandes métropoles sous le Second Empire. Le modèle haussmannien, bien connu, régularise la ville ancienne par l’imposition de percées dans le tissu urbain existant, l’équipement en réseaux divers, la construction d’immeubles neufs le long des nouvelles percées et l’exode partiel des anciens habitants du centre vers les arrondissements annexés ou vers les faubourgs. L’agrandissement de Paris complète les ambitions d’Haussmann et de Napoléon III : au premier janvier 1860, en application de la loi du 3 novembre 1859, 5100 hectares sont ajoutés aux 3402 hectares de la capitale, qui trouve ainsi sa taille définitive et passe de 12 à 20 arrondissements. L’annexion des communes suburbaines s’accompagne d’une vision, en creux, de la nouvelle banlieue au-delà des murailles. Le projet est d’homogénéiser la nouvelle ville-capitale en généralisant les équipements urbains, notamment le métro à partir de 1900, de desserrer la pression démographique du centre vers l’extérieur, de transférer l’industrie au-delà des Fortifications. Dans ces « cayennes », les salaires sont plus bas qu’à Paris, la discipline plus rude, la taylorisation plus précoce que dans les ateliers parisiens ou lyonnais. La banlieue est livrée à elle-même, ignorée par la puissance publique. Ses espaces libres accueillent les entrepôts, la grande industrie et les fonctions que la ville transformée rejette : cimetières, hôpitaux, champs d’épandage, logements sociaux 1. Les décrets sur les établissements classés, datant du Premier Empire et repris sous la Restauration, sont à l’origine des zones d’industries polluantes en proche banlieue, notamment autour de la chimie organique. Aubervilliers est célèbre par la concentration d’industries chimiques (Saint-Gobain…). Les derniers de ces établissements classés ont cessé leur activité il y a peu de temps, sous l’impact des revendications des associations écologistes : à Saint-Denis, la Saria, entreprise d’incinération de carcasses animales, a dû fermer. L’industrialisation, comme l’avait envisagé Haussmann, se fait par le transfert des grandes usines de la capitale vers la périphérie. Après la crise économique de la fin du XIXe siècle, l’implantation de nouvelles technologies – automobile, aviation, constructions électriques – transforme des communes (Boulogne-Billancourt, Puteaux, Suresnes, Vénissieux) en technopoles de pointe. Dans ces « cayennes », les salaires sont plus bas qu’à Paris, la discipline plus rude, la taylorisation plus précoce que dans les ateliers parisiens ou lyonnais. Sans unité administrative, la banlieue constitue un domaine fragmenté en espaces socialement très différenciés : villégiature et résidence bourgeoise souvent à l’Ouest, banlieue « noire », celle des faubourgs industriels limitrophes, friches dues à la déprise agricole et maraîchère, que lotissent de petits spéculateurs. La Première Guerre mondiale renforce l’industrialisation des métropoles situées loin du front, Paris, Lyon ou Toulouse. Puis une volonté de décentralisation transfère les usines en grande banlieue : Simca glisse de Nanterre à Poissy au milieu des années 50 ; une usine Citroën de 6500 salariés, dont 4300 OS, s’ouvre à Aulnay-sous-bois en 1973. Cependant, en région parisienne, cette politique précoce et continue de désindustrialisation conduit à une diminution des emplois industriels dès les années 60, avec la politique de délocalisation menée à partir de 1955, amplifiée par la Datar. En Plaine Saint-Denis, en 1960, le secteur industriel représente 46 % des emplois contre 44 % au tertiaire ; en 1990, le secteur industriel représente 21 % des emplois et le tertiaire 72 %. Des secteurs entiers disparaissent – métallurgie, machine-outil, chimie – dont la présence structurait les sociétés ouvrières. La crise économique qui commence à partir de 1973, la division planétaire du travail et un demi-siècle de volonté décentralisatrice entraînent la disparition des banlieues industrielles, malgré des combats défensifs : l’usine Chaix de Saint-Ouen ferme après cinq ans d’occupation et de luttes à contre-courant. L’invention politique socialisme municipal et banlieue rouge Dans l’entre-deux-guerres, les banlieues populaires se couvrent d’une marée pavillonnaire de lotissements médiocres 2. La crise du logement en région parisienne conduit 450 000 nouveaux banlieusards, Parisiens et provinciaux, à s’installer dans 16 000 hectares de nouveaux quartiers pavillonnaires. Ces petits accédants à la propriété – les « mal-lotis » des années 20 – payent à crédit leur parcelle et s’installent sur des terrains dépourvus de tout équipement. Le scandale de ces petits propriétaires méritants qui campent dans la boue des banlieues, sans routes ni lumière, devient public au milieu des années 20. La loi Sarraut votée en 1928 met l’État à contribution avec les intéressés, ce qui permet de financer les aménagements indispensables, en premier lieu le réseau de voirie. Les lotissements, ces quartiers de pavillons, improvisés à partir des années 20 sur des terrains bon marché découpés au hasard de la spéculation et des opportunités foncières, incarnent le rêve populaire d’accès à la propriété. Le mal-loti devient la figure emblématique de l’exclusion banlieusarde : trompé par les lotisseurs, il se retrouve privé des éléments élémentaires de l’urbanité, aux portes de la capitale illuminée où « les rupins font la noce ». Le jeune PC (Section française de l’Internationale communiste) prend en charge les revendications de ces parias, fournit une analyse de leurs difficultés en termes de classe et s’implante dans les communes ainsi bouleversées à partir des élections municipales de 1925. Il s’appuie aussi sur le nouveau prolétariat des grandes usines. Dans le contexte du Front populaire, 1935 marque un tournant dans l’histoire de la banlieue parisienne. Les 5 et 12 mai, les Français sont appelés à élire leurs conseillers municipaux et cantonaux. Dans les 80 communes suburbaines du département de la Seine, au lendemain du second tour, 26 municipalités sont dirigées par un maire communiste. Elles n’étaient que onze au sortir du scrutin municipal de 1929. Sept autres municipalités comptent aussi en leur sein une minorité communiste. Aux législatives du printemps 1936, l’essai se confirme lors de l’élection de 27 députés communistes en banlieue parisienne sur les 72 que compte le groupe parlementaire. Le pacte germano-soviétique, la guerre, la guerre froide puis le gaullisme n’affaiblissent que temporairement la ceinture rouge, construction socio-politique qui perdure jusqu’aux années 80. Bastions rouges et cités socialistes offrent un cadre durable à l’expression des cultures populaires urbaines. La densité d’un réseau d’organisations militantes, la fréquence des fêtes locales, la politisation de l’espace quotidien grâce à la toponymie, ont créé, autour des maires, un patriotisme local à base de classe, culture du pauvre capable de retourner la stigmatisation attachée aux banlieues ouvrières. Modèle d’encadrement plus paternaliste, le socialisme municipal construit des cités-jardins, dont Suresnes, Châtenay-Malabry et Villeurbanne sont les fleurons ; elles sont pensées par des maires visionnaires, Henri Sellier ou André Morizet, comme des prototypes permettant, si elles étaient généralisées, de résoudre la question du logement populaire et en même temps la question sociale. Bastions rouges et cités socialistes offrent un cadre durable à l’expression des cultures populaires urbaines. Les grands ensembles de l’Abbé Pierre à la circulaire Guichard Dans le contexte du baby-boom, du début de la croissance économique et de la reprise de l’immigration provinciale et étrangère, la population urbaine augmente. Cet afflux aggrave le déficit séculaire de logements populaires et la fin de la Reconstruction n’y met pas fin. La crise du logement devient intolérable. Rares, surpeuplés, les logements anciens sont sous-équipés, comme le montre le recensement de 1954 : ni sanitaires, ni w-c intérieurs dans la plupart des cas, et l’eau courante dans à peine la moitié des logements. La crise du logement devient une affaire d’État. Sa médiatisation par l’Abbé Pierre aidant, l’idée du droit à un logement décent pour tous émerge de la misère urbaine des années 50. Avec la construction des grands ensembles, les anciens objectifs des réformateurs sociaux deviennent une politique publique nationale : sortir les classes populaires des taudis, faire bénéficier l’ensemble des salariés des bienfaits de l’hygiène et de la modernité, contrôler l’usage prévisionnel du sol urbain, donner à tous les enfants air, lumière et soleil. Après les tâtonnements du Plan Courant (1953), la maîtrise technique et financière de la production de masse est acquise au début de la Cinquième République (décret du 31 décembre 1958 sur les Zup). De 1946 à 1975, le parc immobilier français passe de 12,7 millions de logements à 21 millions. Pour ces 8,3 millions de logements neufs – dont 8 millions entre 1953 et 1975 –, l’engagement de l’État a été important puisque près de 80 % des logements construits durant cette période le sont grâce à une aide publique. Le nombre de logements sociaux passe de moins de 500000 à près de 3 millions, dont un tiers sous forme de grands ensembles : environ 350 sur l’ensemble du territoire, dont 43 % en région parisienne, où la demande est la plus forte. Sans débat public sur la forme urbaine, le consensus pour une production massive de logements s’établit autour de quelques représentations partagées : la ville ancienne et dense n’est plus réformable – les îlots insalubres, délimités à la fin du XIXe siècle ne sont toujours pas éradiqués ; l’hygiénisme exige de séparer l’habitat des usines ; la hantise du taudis fait accepter l’édification de logements seuls, sans équipements, où les classes populaires accèdent pour la première fois à du neuf. Les banlieues françaises se couvrent de cités nouvelles, édifiées rapidement, d’au moins 1000 logements, voire de plus de 10000 aux Minguettes (Vénissieux) ou à Sarcelles. L’industrialisation du bâtiment, l’avance de l’industrie française du béton armé, l’imposition de normes et de plans types pour les appartements conduisent à privilégier des formes simples, des barres et des tours sur des grandes parcelles de terrain. Cités dortoirs, elles sont en général construites sur des terrains agricoles ou maraîchers, en périphérie, faute de réserves foncières ; la rapidité de leur édification et la complexité des modes de financement expliquent l’absence d’équipements collectifs, à l’exception des écoles primaires ; ceux-ci suivent tardivement, ainsi que les moyens de transports en commun, ce dont se plaignent les banlieusards. Les populations logées varient évidemment suivant les cités : ce sont des familles françaises chargées d’enfants du baby-boom, souvent migrants provinciaux ; les populations de rapatriés de la décolonisation de l’Empire français les rejoignent ; pas de personnes âgées, ni d’adolescents au début du peuplement. Ces familles de salariés sont sélectionnées par les gestionnaires des cités de logement social, et non par le libre jeu du marché immobilier : autour d’une majorité d’employés et d’ouvriers, on trouve des cadres moyens et supérieurs en nombre variable suivant la politique du gestionnaire. Le logement des étrangers est conçu alors sur le mode de la différenciation : soit ils se logent par eux-mêmes dans le parc ancien, soit la puissance publique contribue à leur fournir des logements à part, aux normes de confort inférieures. Mais les plus pauvres, les familles très nombreuses, les populations étrangères et immigrées sont logés ailleurs : taudis des villes anciennes, bidonvilles, foyers pour célibataires immigrés, hôtels meublés, cités de transit ou d’urgence. Ces logements spécifiques, avec parfois un fort encadrement de travailleuses sociales, sont explicitement destinés aux « inadaptés sociaux », qu’il faut éduquer avant de les loger dans les cités nouvelles construites pour les salariés français, suivant des méthodes expérimentées dans l’entre-deux-guerres dans les cités-jardins. Le logement des étrangers est conçu alors sur le mode de la différenciation : soit ils se logent par eux-mêmes dans le parc ancien, soit la puissance publique contribue à leur fournir des logements à part, aux normes de confort inférieures. Mutations et crises, de Giscard à Mitterrand Dans la décennie 1970-1980, une série de décisions conjoncturelles et sectorielles ouvre, à terme, une ère de crise pour les banlieues populaires. La critique des grands ensembles, chronique depuis les années 60 avec l’émergence du thème de la « sarcellite » ou maladie des grands ensembles, qui générerait ennui, suicide, délinquance et toucherait en particulier les femmes et les jeunes, s’amplifie après mai 1968. Les responsables politiques s’interrogent sur le type de société urbaine qui s’édifie dans les périphéries : comment donner une âme à ces nouveaux ensembles et recréer une communauté entre des habitants venus de partout ? La dégradation de bâtiments conçus comme provisoires s’ajoute aux critiques. Olivier Guichard, ministre de l’Équipement, arrête la construction des grands ensembles par la circulaire du 21 mars 1973, qui interdit les opérations les plus massives et tente de mieux insérer les nouvelles constructions dans les villes existantes. À partir de 1965-1970, les investissements publics privilégiaient d’ailleurs les villes nouvelles, imaginées par Paul Delouvrier comme l’antithèse des grands ensembles. L’État réoriente sa politique et ses crédits vers l’aide aux ménages qui veulent accéder à la propriété individuelle de leur pavillon : les banques rentrent sur le marché immobilier et la promotion publique s’effondre à partir de 1976. La loi Barre (1977) privilégie l’aide sélective aux ménages au détriment de l’aide à la pierre, afin de rendre le marché plus fluide et de résoudre la crise naissante des grands ensembles, dont témoigne l’invention des procédures Habitat et Vie Sociale (1973-1977) qui financent les premières réhabilitations. La conséquence est que les classes moyennes quittent les logements sociaux pour les pavillons en accession à la propriété des communes alentour, comme les Minguettes à Vénissieux, abandonnées pour les pavillons de Corbas, Solaize ou Saint-Laurent-de-Mure. Sous l’effet des chocs pétroliers et de l’entrée dans la crise économique, le gouvernement met en œuvre une nouvelle politique d’immigration : fermeture des frontières, aide au retour pour les étrangers jugés responsables de la crise, maintien en l’état du nombre d’étrangers et autorisation du regroupement familial. Cette politique, lancée par Lionel Stoleru, aboutit au décret du 29 avril 1976 relatif aux conditions d’entrée et de séjour des membres des familles des étrangers autorisés à résider en France. L’intégration des familles passe par des conditions de logement semblables à celles des travailleurs français. Les mouvements de mobilité résidentielle, comme les règles d’attribution des logements HLM, qui jusqu’alors ignoraient les travailleurs étrangers, allaient faciliter leur installation 3. Il en résulte d’importantes modifications du paysage des banlieues populaires : les 255 bidonvilles de métropole, dont 120 en région parisienne, qui logeaient 50000 immigrés, sont résorbés et leur population relogée dans des grands ensembles sociaux ; le logement social s’ouvre de façon très volontariste aux familles étrangères, qu’on espère ainsi conduire aux normes de vie urbaine de la société française. Les employeurs payent, à partir de 1975, une taxe sur les salaires de leurs travailleurs étrangers pour construire de nouveaux logements, mais les fonds seront surtout utilisés pour rentabiliser ou construire de nouveaux foyers et très peu pour accroître l’offre locative sociale. C’est par le jeu des départs que se fera l’entrée des familles d’ouvriers issues de l’immigration dans le parc social. Les organismes qui gèrent les cités d’habitat social accueillent ces nouveaux locataires, d’autant que la loi Barre rend solvables les familles les plus modestes. L’idée est de répartir les familles immigrées au milieu des ménages français, suivant des quotas d’environ 15 %. Mais le souci d’intégrer les immigrés dans le logement social conduit à des logiques territoriales de regroupement communautaire qui n’ont été ni pensées, ni anticipées : les familles maghrébines deviennent majoritaires aux Minguettes au cours des années 1970. En Seine-Saint-Denis, la population scolaire étrangère passe de 17 % à 30 % entre 1975 et 1983. En 1992, 74 % des ménages maghrébins sont locataires d’une HLM. Les premières violences imputables aux jeunes sont minimisées et incomprises. Après les élections municipales de 1977, le communisme municipal se délite et la banlieue rouge disparaît, sur fond de crise généralisée des encadrements partisans. En Seine-Saint-Denis en 2001, on compte encore quinze municipalités rouges sur quarante, dont douze ont un maire communiste depuis 1945 4. Le déclin du magistère communiste s’explique certes par l’effondrement du bloc socialiste, mais aussi par l’incompréhension des phénomènes qui s’accélèrent à partir des années de crise. Les municipalités ouvrières refusent la désindustrialisation et la mixité sociale, évitent de construire de l’accession à la propriété et s’opposent aux premières procédures de la politique de la ville. Ces conceptions strictement défensives, fondées sur une vision des territoires communaux comme bastions, n’évoluent qu’à partir des années 90. Les premières violences imputables aux jeunes sont minimisées et incomprises. À La Courneuve, en 1971, un jeune est tué au café Le Nerval ; dans la même cité, en juillet 1983, un enfant algérien de dix ans est tué d’un coup de fusil par un habitant, et le quartier s’embrase ; en banlieue lyonnaise, premiers incidents en 1971, à Vaulx-en-Velin, dans une cité construite pour accueillir des harkis ; 1975, premières mises à sac de locaux scolaires ; en 1978, premiers « rodéos », généralisés aux Minguettes en 1981, où la presse nationale rend compte du phénomène pour la première fois, avec des reportages télévisés qui montrent les voitures qui brûlent au pied des tours, laissant « hébétés » habitants et élus. La gauche, arrivée au pouvoir en 1981, institutionnalise la politique de la ville, en gestation dans la décennie précédente. Décentralisation, interministérialité, zonage des quartiers en difficulté sont les principes, alors nouveaux, de cette politique, que l’alternance maintient. En 2000, en Seine-Saint-Denis, 24 communes sont classées en politique de la ville dans le cadre du contrat de Plan État région. En 1996-1997, l’Union européenne choisit Aulnay-sous-Bois et Clichy-sous-Bois comme éligibles aux fonds structurels européens. Dans les quartiers, les professionnels de la politique de la ville remplacent les militants politiques, et l’État décentralisé se substitue à l’encadrement partisan ; en Seine-Saint-Denis, les effectifs des services de l’État restent stables, passant de 45000 en 1982 à 44836 en 1999. Ainsi, replacée en moyenne durée, la crise des banlieues populaires s’explique par la désindustrialisation et la disparition des sociétés ouvrières à base partisane – ce qui ne signifie pas que les ouvriers aient disparu des banlieues –, la mutation non maîtrisée des fonctions du logement social et la crise du communisme municipal, sur fond de chômage structurel. L’amnésie qui affecte cette histoire récente, comme les décisions de politiques publiques prises alors, ne peut qu’ajouter au déficit de sens et favoriser les analyses incomplètes. le temps des barres et des tours..Certes, ces quartiers de grands ensembles, de barres et de tours, emblématiques de l'urbanisation fonctionnaliste des décennies 1950, 1960 et 1970, de FRANCE ...Le tourisme a toujours fonctionné par extension : les lisières d’hier sont aujourd’hui des hauts lieux touristiques, que l’on pense par exemple au bord de la mer, longtemps déprécié. Sur le terrain contemporain de la ville, ce sont les quartiers populaires péricentraux qui sont à présent saisis par un engouement et une économie touristiques ; plus inédite encore, la découverte par les touristes des quartiers populaires nettement périphériques. C’est le cas à Marseille, dont les quartiers nord, espaces emblématiques de la « crise des banlieues », sont désormais l’objet d’un « front » touristique et patrimonial, animé par une coopérative d’habitants particulièrement active. Cette problématique de l’émergence d’un nouveau lieu d’intérêt touristique se fait particulièrement saillante en ce qui concerne des quartiers d’habitat social en hauteur, nombreux dans ces quartiers nord. Les grands ensembles, en effet, symboles de l’urbanisme moderne honnis des décennies 1950, 1960 et 1970, mobilisent eux aussi de nouvelles pratiques. Tantôt touristiques, tantôt artistiques, elles se combinent parfois : l’article présente ces pratiques « récréa(r)tistes » d’un nouveau genre. Plus largement, il s’agit de rendre compte et d’analyser le statut, la fonction et les enjeux de pratiques réputées à l’ombre du tourisme urbain institué. Les mutations touristiques contemporaines font valoir une mobilisation de nouveaux espaces (les quartiers populaires) et de nouvelles pratiques (participatives). À cet égard, le quartier de Belleville à Paris est un laboratoire exemplaire (Chapuis, 2009). Ces nouvelles modalités touristiques traduisent une évolution culturelle conjointe à certaines dynamiques propres de l’offre touristique. Si ces espaces d’habitat populaire ont longtemps fait partie du négatif urbain mis en tourisme (qu’aller faire dans ces quartiers ?), ils sont aujourd’hui l’objet de « fronts » touristiques, qui en manifestent l’annexion spatiale et sociale aux offres urbaines traditionnelles, voire patrimonialement labellisées. Cette ligne de front se déplace, à présent, des quartiers populaires péricentraux aux quartiers nettement périphériques de banlieue. Certes, ces quartiers de grands ensembles, de barres et de tours, emblématiques de l’urbanisation fonctionnaliste des décennies 1950, 1960 et 1970, souffrent depuis longtemps d’une situation critique (pauvreté économique et sociale, relégation territoriale) et de représentations elles-mêmes péjorées et péjoratives. Or, dans certains de ces mêmes espaces se développent aujourd’hui des pratiques de découverte, de visite et de valorisation s’inscrivant dans un processus de connaissance et donc de reconnaissance de leurs identités architecturale, sociale et culturelle (Vayssière, 2002 ; Pouvreau, 2011 ; Veschambre, 2013).Cette trajectoire fait émerger et mobilise de nouvelles pratiques, tantôt touristiques, tantôt artistiques, qui se combinent parfois : nous présenterons ici ces pratiques « récréa(r)tistes » d’un nouveau genre. Toutefois, mise en scène et parcours ont de quoi surprendre, tant le décalage est effectivement grand entre un imaginaire touristique dominant – sites plaisants et accueillants (Amirou, 1995) – et ces espaces, objets d’une imagerie urbano-pathogène (Avenel, 2004). Dans l’imaginaire collectif, ces quartiers sont, au mieux, sans intérêt, au pire, synonymes de menaces. Tout concourt à associer ces territoires à une banlieue hors des sentiers de l’intéressant. Nous explorons ici les acteurs concernés (visiteurs, « guides », hébergeurs, artistes) et les mises en œuvre dans les quartiers nord de Marseille, qui élaborent et proposent ces offres d’un nouveau genre pour rendre compte et analyser le statut, la fonction et les enjeux de ces pratiques. Ces dernières, en procédant à des mélanges de genres (lieux touristiques estampillés par opposition à marges de découvertes, hébergement en cité opposé à bastides provençales, tourisme ou projet politique) ne manquent évidemment pas d’interroger les catégories d’approche et d’analyse longtemps usuelles de l’objet « tourisme ».La carte touristique de la ville de Marseillemontre combien l’offre touristique marseillaise des acteurs territoriaux promeut essentiellement les lieux, les sites et les déambulations dans les centres de la cité. Le pluriel ici s’impose dans la mesure où à la ville et ses hauts lieux traditionnels (Roncayolo, 1990) (Vieux-Port, Notre-Dame de la Garde, cité radieuse de Le Corbusier, palais Longchamp) se sont récemment ajoutés les quartiers réhabilités et gentrifiés (le Panier, les docks de La Joliette). Ce faisant, la carte de la ville distribuée par l’Office de tourisme ignore un pan entier de son territoire et des ressources qu’il abrite. Sauf un encart pour l’Estaque (non reproduit ici), les quartiers nord de Marseille n’ont pas droit à la représentation officielle et promotionnelle, soit une exclusion de près de 8000 hectares et d’environ 250 000 habitants. Au lendemain de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale, le secteur du bâtiment connait un bouleversement sans précédent. Les besoins en termes de reconstruction sont tellement immenses qu’il faut penser une nouvelle façon de construire. C’est là qu’entre en scène Raymond Camus qui invente un système de préfabrication à échelle industrielle. Avec ses panneaux en béton préfabriqué,Le logement préfabriqué, victime de son succès en France, fut exporté en Europe de l’Est. Qui se souvient aujourd’hui que ces logements symboles de progrès devinrent, en pleine guerre froide, la marque de fabrique du collectivisme ? Jacqueline a 50 ans et vit à la cité des Courtillières à Pantin. Elle se souvient lorsque, enfant, elle quitta avec ses parents le « une pièce parisien » sans commodités pour un appartement spacieux et moderne dans cette cité. La cité des Courtillières est alors une cité pilote, censée réaliser le rêve d’une vie nouvelle dans une France qui manquait à la Libération cruellement de logements.Comme tant d’autres Jacqueline enfant ignorait qu’elle devait à Raymond Camus architecte génial, créateur du panneau en béton préfabriqué, cette invention qui promettait un futur radieux pour tous. Sydney, voisin de Jacqueline, se remémore lui, les bus remplis d’architectes venus d’Union soviétique pour visiter sa cité…La marque de fabrique du collectivisme Le logement préfabriqué victime de son succès en France est exporté en Europe de l’Est. Qui se souvient aujourd’hui que ces logements symboles de progrès devinrent en pleine guerre froide, la marque de fabrique du collectivisme ? Pour Julie, à Prague, ou Susanna à Berlin Est, l’arrivée du préfabriqué dans leur vie revêt une toute autre signification. Utopies sociales, idéologies politiques et avant-garde architecturale commencent à se mélanger. Le rêve du bonheur tourne vite au cauchemar…En République tchèque, l’antique ville de Most est détruite pour des raisons économiques pour être reconstruite grâce au panneau de béton. Au travers d’archives inédites et de témoignages des habitants, l’histoire incroyable de panneau en béton se raconte pour la première fois de Paris à Moscou, de 1950 à nos jours.@ Les films du MRU -Industrialiser la construction, par le biais de la préfabrication.Cette industrialisation a abouti, dans les années 1950, à un choix politique de l'Etat, la construction massive de G.E. pour résoudre la très forte crise du logement dont souffrait la France C’est là qu’entre en scène Raymond Camus qui invente un système de préfabrication à échelle industrielle. Avec ses panneaux en béton préfabriqué, il va inonder la France entière, permettant ainsi de créer des villes nouvelles et notamment, les innombrables cités dortoirs qui pullulent en périphérie des grandes villes. Un succès grandissant qui rencontrera une renommée à l’internationale, puisque le procédé sera repris en Europe de l’Est. Les villes socialistes qui se ressemblent toutes les unes aux autres, de la France en passant par la République Tchèque jusqu’en Allemagne. Lorenz Findeisen nous invite à un voyage architectural à travers ces trois pays où grâce aux images d’archives et aux témoignages des habitants, on redécouvre ce qu’était l’utopie du collectivisme et l’émergence du béton préfabriqué. Révolutionnaire pour l’époque, plébiscités par certains, décriés par d’autres, aujourd’hui ces cités s’apparentent plus à des verrues qu’autre chose. Ces grands ensembles d’immeubles souvent mal pensé, sont très souvent excentrés des centres-villes et donc des commerces. Ce documentaire retrace la vie d’une cité pilote, La Cité des Courtillières à Pantin. Cette cité était censée réaliser le rêve d’une vie nouvelle dans une France qui manquait, à la Libération cruellement de logements. Comme tant d’autres Jacqueline enfant ignorait qu’elle devait à Raymond Camus architecte génial, créateur du panneau en béton préfabriqué, cette invention qui promettait un futur radieux pour tous.France 3 Paris Île-de-France avait mis en place, à l’occasion des 60 ans de la création des « grands ensembles » et des villes nouvelles, une programmation exceptionnelle de documentaires inédits de 52 minutes autour de la thématique «Octobre des Cités, le mois des grands ensembles » Composition et production de la musique originale du film de Lorenz Findeisen « Concrete Stories » (52/120 mn). Documentaire primé « étoiles de la SCAM », diffusion France Television et festivals internationaux. (Co production franco-germano-tchèque) Béton et musique synthétique Au cours de l’été 2015 le réalisateur Lorenz Findeisen commande à Etienne de la Sayette une musique originale pour son film Le bonheur est dans le béton (diffusé sur France 3 et dans divers festivals de film documentaire internationaux). Le réalisateur, qui connaissait bien le travail d’Etienne de la Sayette, principalement basé sur des instruments acoustiques, le prend à contrepied en lui demandant une musique synthétique minimaliste “à la Kraftwerk”, pour accompagner les vues de paysage bétonnés des années 70, s’étendant à l’infini depuis les abords des villes. Le jour même où Etienne de la Sayette accepte la proposition, il tombe par hasard sur un Roland SH 2000 poussiéreux dans un marché aux puces de Seoul. Il y voit un signe du destin et effectue des razzia dans les vides greniers et magasins d’occasions de Seoul afin de se procurer en quelques jours un tas de vieux synthés analogiques, boites à rythme et pédales d’effets… Pas de séquenceur, pas de programmation, rien de numérique, tout l’intérêt est de se salir les mains et de jouer ces machines comme de n’importe quel autre instrument acoustique. Au final, pas moins de 30mn de musique ont été produites sur mesure, une musique qui joue le rôle de narrateur dans un film dépourvu de voix off.

Production les Films du Tambour de Soie www.dailymotion.com/video/x413amo

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR_jxCANYac&fbclid=IwAR2IzWlM... … Le temps de l'urbanisme, 1962, Réalisation : Philippe Brunet www.dailymotion.com/video/xgj2zz?playlist=x34ije … … … … -Les grands ensembles en images Les ministères en charge du logement et leur production audiovisuelle (1944-1966) MASSY - Les films du MRU - La Cité des hommes, 1966, Réalisation : Fréderic Rossif, Albert Knobler www.dailymotion.com/video/xgiqzr?playlist=x34i - Les films du MRU @ les AUTOROUTES - Les liaisons moins dangereuses 1972 la construction des autoroutes en France - Le réseau autoroutier 1960 Histoire de France Transports et Communications - www.dailymotion.com/video/xxi0ae?playlist=x34ije … - A quoi servaient les films produits par le MRU ministère de la Reconstruction et de l'Urbanisme ? la réponse de Danielle Voldman historienne spécialiste de la reconstruction www.dailymotion.com/video/x148qu4?playlist=x34ije … -les films du MRU - Bâtir mieux plus vite et moins cher 1975 l'industrialisation du bâtiment et ses innovations : la préfabrication en usine, le coffrage glissant... www.dailymotion.com/video/xyjudq?playlist=x34ije … - TOUT SUR LA CONSTRUCTION DE NOTRE DAME LA CATHEDRALE DE PARIS Içi www.notredamedeparis.fr/la-cathedrale/histoire/historique... -MRU Les films - Le Bonheur est dans le béton - 2015 Documentaire réalisé par Lorenz Findeisen produit par Les Films du Tambour de Soie içi www.dailymotion.com/video/x413amo?playlist=x34ije Noisy-le-Sec le laboratoire de la reconstruction, 1948 L'album cinématographique de la reconstruction maison préfabriquée production ministère de la Reconstruction et de l'Urbanisme, 1948 L'album cinématographique içi www.dailymotion.com/video/xwytke

archipostcard.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-02-13T... -Créteil.un couple à la niaiserie béate exalte les multiples bonheurs de la vie dans les new G.E. www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT1_abIteFE … La Ville bidon était un téléfilm d'1 heure intitulé La Décharge.Mais la censure de ces temps de présidence Pompidou en a interdit la diffusion télévisuelle - museedelacartepostale.fr/periode-semi-moderne/ - archipostalecarte.blogspot.com/ - Hansjörg Schneider BAUNETZWOCHE 87 über Papiermoderne www.baunetz.de/meldungen/Meldungen_BAUNETZWOCHE_87_ueber_... … - ARCHITECTURE le blog de Claude LOTHIER içi leblogdeclaudelothier.blogspot.com/2006/ - - Le balnéaire en cartes postales autour de la collection de David Liaudet, et ses excellents commentaires.. www.dailymotion.com/video/x57d3b8 -Restaurants Jacques BOREL, Autoroute A 6, 1972 Canton d'AUXERRE youtu.be/LRNhNzgkUcY munchies.vice.com/fr/article/43a4kp/jacques-borel-lhomme-... … Celui qu'on appellera le « Napoléon du prêt-à-manger » se détourne d'ailleurs peu à peu des Wimpy, s'engueule avec la maison mère et fait péricliter la franchise ...

museedelacartepostale.fr/blog/ -'être agent de gestion locative pour une office H.L.M. en 1958' , les Cités du soleil 1958 de Jean-Claude Sée- les films du MRU içi www.dailymotion.com/video/xgj74q présente les réalisations des HLM en France et la lutte contre l'habitat indigne insalubre museedelacartepostale.fr/exposition-permanente/ - www.queenslandplaces.com.au/category/headwords/brisbane-c... - collection-jfm.fr/t/cartes-postales-anciennes/france#.XGe... - www.cparama.com/forum/la-collection-de-cpa-f1.html - www.dauphinomaniac.org/Cartespostales/Francaises/Cartes_F... - furtho.tumblr.com/archive Le Logement Collectif* 50,60,70's, dans tous ses états..Histoire & Mémoire d'H.L.M. de Copropriété Renouvellement Urbain-Réha-NPNRU., twitter.com/Memoire2cite tout içi sig.ville.gouv.fr/atlas/ZUS/ - media/InaEdu01827/la-creatio" rel="noreferrer nofollow">fresques.ina.fr/jalons/fiche-media/InaEdu01827/la-creatio Bâtir mieux plus vite et moins cher 1975 l'industrialisation du bâtiment et ses innovations : www.dailymotion.com/video/xyjudq?playlist=x34ije la préfabrication en usine www.dailymotion.com/video/xx6ob5?playlist=x34ije , le coffrage glissant www.dailymotion.com/video/x19lwab?playlist=x34ije ... De nouvelles perspectives sont nées dans l'industrie du bâtiment avec les principes de bases de l'industrialisation du bâtiment www.dailymotion.com/video/x1a98iz?playlist=x34ije ,

www.dailymotion.com/video/xk6xui?playlist=x34ije , www.dailymotion.com/video/xk1dh2?playlist=x34ije : mécanisation, rationalisation et élaboration industrielle de la production. Des exemples concrets sont présentés afin d'illustrer l'utilisation des différentes innovations : les coffrages outils, coffrage glissant, le tunnel, des procédés pour accélérer le durcissement du béton. Le procédé dit de coffrage glissant est illustré sur le chantier des tours Pablo Picasso à Nanterre. Le principe est de s'affranchir des échafaudages : le coffrage épouse le contour du bâtiment, il s'élève avec la construction et permet de réaliser simultanément l'ensemble des murs verticaux. Au centre du plancher de travail, une grue distribue en continu le ferraillage et le béton. Sur un tel chantier les ouvriers se relaient 24h / 24 , www.dailymotion.com/video/xwytke?playlist=x34ije , www.dailymotion.com/video/x1bci6m?playlist=x34ije

Le reportage se penche ensuite sur la préfabrication en usine. Ces procédés de préfabrication en usine selon le commentaire sont bien adaptés aux pays en voie de développement, cela est illustré dans le reportage par une réalisation en Libye à Benghazi. Dans la course à l'allégement des matériaux un procédé l'isola béton est présenté. Un chapitre sur la construction métallique explique les avantage de ce procédé. La fabrication de composants ouvre de nouvelles perspectives à l'industrie du bâtiment.

Lieux géographiques : la Grande Borne 91, le Vaudreuil 27, Avoriaz, Avenue de Flandres à Paris, tours Picasso à Nanterre, vues de la défense, Benghazi Libye www.dailymotion.com/video/xk6xui?playlist=x34ije , www.dailymotion.com/video/xk1dh2?playlist=x34ije : mécanisation, rationalisation et élaboration industrielle de la production. Des exemples concrets sont présentés afin d'illustrer l'utilisation des différentes innovations : les coffrages outils, coffrage glissant, le tunnel, des procédés pour accélérer le durcissement du béton. Le procédé dit de coffrage glissant est illustré sur le chantier des tours Pablo Picasso à Nanterre. Le principe est de s'affranchir des échafaudages : le coffrage épouse le contour du bâtiment, il s'élève avec la construction et permet de réaliser simultanément l'ensemble des murs verticaux. Au centre du plancher de travail, une grue distribue en continu le ferraillage et le béton. Sur un tel chantier les ouvriers se relaient 24h / 24 , www.dailymotion.com/video/xwytke?playlist=x34ije , www.dailymotion.com/video/x1bci6m?playlist=x34ije Demain Paris 1959 dessin animé présentant l'aménagement de la capitale dans les années 60, Animation, dessin animé à vocation pédagogique visant à promouvoir la politique d’aménagement suivie dans les années 60 à Paris. Un raccourci historique sur l’extension de Paris du Moyen Âge au XIXe siècle (Lutèce, œuvres de Turgot, Napoléon, Haussmann), ce dessin animé retrace la naissance de la banlieue et de ses avatars au XXe siècle. Il annonce les grands principes d’aménagement des villes nouvelles et la restructuration du centre de Paris (référence implicite à la charte d’Athènes). Le texte est travaillé en rimes et vers. Une chanson du vieux Paris conclut poétiquement cette vision du futur. Thèmes principaux : Aménagement urbain / planification-aménagement régional Mots-clés : Banlieue, extension spatiale, histoire, quartier, ville, ville nouvelle Lieu géographique : Paris 75 Architectes ou personnalités : Eugène Haussmann, Napoléon, Turgot Réalisateurs : André Martin, Michel Boschet Production : les films Roger Leenhardt www.dailymotion.com/video/xw6lak?playlist=x34ije - Rue neuve 1956 la reconstruction de la France dix ans après la fin de la seconde guerre mondiale, villes, villages, grands ensembles réalisation : Jack Pinoteau , Panorama de la reconstruction de la France dix ans après la fin de la seconde guerre mondiale, ce film de commande évoque les villes et villages français détruits puis reconstruits dans un style respectant la tradition : Saint-Malo, Gien, Thionville, Ammerschwihr, etc. ainsi que la reconstruction en rupture avec l'architecture traditionnelle à Châtenay-Malabry, Arles, Saint Étienne, Évreux, Chambéry, Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, Abbeville, Le Havre, Marseille, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Dunkerque. Le documentaire explique par exemple la manière dont a été réalisée la reconstruction de Saint-Malo à l'intérieur des rempart de la vieille ville : "c'est la fidélité à l'histoire et la force du souvenir qui a guidé l'architecte". Dans le même esprit à Gien, au trois quart détruite en 1940, seul le château construit en 1494 pour Anne de Beaujeu, fille aînée de Louis XI, fut épargné par les bombardements. La ville fut reconstruite dans le style des rares immeubles restant. Gien est relevé de ses ruines et le nouvel ensemble harmonieux est appelé « Joyau de la Reconstruction française ». Dans un deuxième temps est abordé le chapitre de la construction des cités et des grands ensembles, de l’architecture du renouveau qualifiée de "grandiose incontestablement". S’il est précisé "on peut aimer ou de ne pas aimer ce style", l’emporte au f

Dangerous Liaisons

by Choderlos de Laclos

An article by Valerie Mamicheva

 

Choderlos de Laclos, an eighteenth-century French novelist, is best remembered for Les liaisons dangereuses, or Dangerous Liaisons. This epistolary novel tells of the unscrupulous libertinism practiced by the central characters, Valmont and Merteuil. Together they plot for pleasure and power, but their scheme turns against them.

 

Laclos was a reasonably successful army general in his time. Although at one stage he was imprisoned for his work on Les liaisons dangereuses, the novel was an enormous success (and a veritable scandal).

 

And, obviously, the main characters of "Dangerous liaisons" are vicomte de Valmont and madam de Merteuil. Exactly they braid all intrigues together and spoil the lives of so many people. That is what we see on the example of Cecile de Volanges and madam de Tourvel. The famous director Milos Foreman in his filming of "Dangerous Liaisons" remarked, that the main theme and idea of the novel is opening of the image and the goal of of the deeds of unamendabled lover Valmont, his growing up under influence of madam de Tourvel's love? That's why Milos Foreman renamed his film from "Dangerous Liaisons" to simply "Valmont". Exactly, in Valmont Choderlos de Laclos wanted to show vices of his century, Valmont is its reflection. But madam de Merteuil hasn't gone too far from Valmont. In the novel we are watching their correspondence. Why Choderlos de Laclos chose epistolary genre? Because only in a letter we can clearly consider and perceive some thoughts and feelings of a man. Even a style of writing a letter can can tell us much about him. For example, let us take madam de Merteuil – she writes in a exquisite and dainty style, using many epithets and specific words, in her "speech" we see utterances of the famous philosophers of her time, her own dictums. And more, this dainty schemer owns a flexible and sharp wit, sense of humour, and she is well educated and interested in all latest news about theatre and music. She is an interesting person to deal with. Madam de Merteuil can stand for herself, she can get every man she wants, she can be charming and attractive, virtuous and modest (remember her relationships with madam de Volanges). She early understood that a woman can conquer a man, subordinate him, if she wants so. But this woman is ought not only to be able to talk about a fashion and to have good manners – wise marquise consulted with philosophers, writers, moralists. She knows how to behave herself with men and she knows what she wants. She enjoys this "game of love" and a sharp intrigue she twisted between the lovers -- chevalier Danceny and Cecile de Volanges. It gives her pleasure and joy. Cecile is too young and naive to understand a cunning plan of de Merteuil. But Danceny revealed her bad nature at the end. Her accomplice is skilful in love vicomte de Valmont.

 

Valmont is a face of his age. It is worth of thinking, was Valmont the only representative of such "tending to love" in all Paris? Off course, no. But, maybe, Valmont isn't so insidious lecher as it seemed at first. Maybe, the matter is in marquise de Merteuil, who supplies this poisonous source in his soul and culls her vanity in it. That is what Valmont couldn't understand, he was only a toy in the hands of the cunning marquise, who calculated everything. Yet, marquise realized that Valmont's new love (madam de Tourvel) began to ennoble him and change him. And she insisted on his brake with madam de Tourvel because she is afraid to lose him. The intrigue with de Tourvel went too far, she considers. Not realizing – that, Valmont fights for his love he suggests an alternative to marquise, she chooses a war. And he loses, he dies, he has a talk with Danceny, to whom he opened what he understood quite recently – now he knows all essence of this maleficent woman. He died, but morally towered over her. He died free from burden of his sins.

 

And what do Valmont and de Merteil have common and and different? Both of them – mean souls, capable to fraud and treason, connoisseurs of a sharp intrigue and they are interested in its flexible uncoupling. To use surrounding people in your own purposes is the greatest pleasure. An intrigue for them is a whole art, ability to stay alive and to get wishing. Hundreds, or even thousands of people got victims of this art. They are accomplices in their sins, the plans they invent together. That is what united them. But their lives in society ended differently. For madam de berteuil – it was a great disgrace, departure in big hurry from France, she got ravaged and ashamed. Valmont – he dies in a duel with Danceny, but he dies with realization of his terrible way of life, he understands that he spoiled a lot of women's reputations, and he is sorry for that. He apologizes to Madam de Tourvel, his soul is saved from marquise's poison. His did exalted him.

 

One more heroine of "Dangerous liaisons" is Cecile de Volanges. She has just arrived from the monastery, she is young and inexperienced, trustful and lightheaded. She fell in love with Danceny. Having fallen into the trap made by Valmont and marquise de Mereuil she let them use herself how do they like. She is defenseless before their cunning and dainty cruelty. And the love to Danceny made her absolutely simple victim. De Merteuil wants to revenge her last lover and Cecile de Volanges is only one section in a chain of cunningly braided intrigues. They shamed her before the all society, before her own mother. Poor Cecile, at the end, went to a monastery. Her pure and noble soul couldn't solve this riddle. Her mother didn't find out the all truth about what had happened.

 

One more noble heart and virtuous soul is madam de Tourvel. For Valmont to spoil a woman with a high moral principles and pure soul is a real victory. But for madam de Tourvel it was a real pure and beautiful love which happens only once in a life. Valmont's letters she read for hundreds times and knew them by heart. But for him it is only a fine game, light amusement. Madam de Tourvel couldn't betray her moral principles, her husband and a religion. Valmont made her do it. Gradually, Valmont didn't mention himself to fall in love with madam de Tourvel. He didn't notice that his feelings began to change from shameful and dirty into gentle and romantic. He wanted to donate his love in the name of his reputation of the "first reprobate in Paris". The result of his mistake was madam de Tourvel's death. Though he was in time to analyze his mistake and not only this one, but others either. At the end, we can say, that "Dangerous Liaisons's goal was not only the reflection of the atmosphere of dainty libertinism and lie hidden with virtue but to suppress these vices and others on the example of Valmont and madam de Merteuil.

 

"Dangerous liaisons" is very moral, special philosophical-moral-ethical creation.

 

— Valerie Mamicheva

 

Back in WW I, the aeroplane had only been newly invented, and was not yet well understood from an aerodynamic point of view, or lightweight structures, or power-packs. To lift much more than a man with some machine guns you needed some serious power, and some serious wing area. The wing area issue had been addressed earlier by tri-plane designs, but this limited the maximum speed at which planes could travel. A shift to bi-plane design required a longer span or aerofoil section width, both enabled by the LUSAC-11 with a large 415.5 sq.ft wing area. Power was provided by a 425 Packard-developed V12 Liberty engine. Original orders stood at 3,525 units to be assembled by the body-builders at Packard, Brewster and Fisher-Body (later part of General Motors), however WW I ended earlier than the expected production schedule, and in the end, only 30 planes were produced, in total, including prototypes.

 

The link between the aeroplane and the car is the V12 engine.

 

As the USA entered WW I against Germany the Aircraft Production Board summoned representatives from the Auto industry to develop a lightweight, high power engine for aircraft. To cut a long story short, the Liberty V12, designed by the Packard motor company was the outcome. The engine was produced by multiple engine suppliers, including Packard, Marmon and Lincoln motor companies. The engine was or 27 litre swept capacity (1649 CID). Though not used in automobiles, the production technologies, tooling and engineering development expertise allowed these luxury marques, and additionally Cadillac, to produce V12 designs capable for automobile use.

 

The 1922 Packard Twin-Six 3-35 Roadster shown here was a development of the first automobile production V12 produced. First produced in 1916, this first series ran until 1923.

 

In three series between 1916 and 1923, Packard built slightly more than 35,000 Twins, including numerous chassis for custom bodies. The Twin Six was the chief reason why, when the wealthy ordered a custom-bodied car, they tended to choose a Packard chassis.

 

Jesse Vincent, Packard's chief engineer, liked the 12-cylinder layout for three reasons: performance, smoothness, and silence. "A six-cylinder motor is theoretically in absolutely perfect balance," he wrote. "This is because the vibratory forces due to the rise and fall of one piston are neutralized by equal and opposite forces due to another...Now it is only possible to cancel out forces in this way if they are tied together strongly."

 

This meant a heavy crankcase and crankshaft and a rigid flywheel. But a Twelve or "Twin Six," Vincent continued, would provide the same rigidity and smoothness with less piston, crankcase, flywheel, and crankshaft weight -- and provide more horsepower and torque, to boot. He preferred a V-12 to a V-8 because a V-8 would require a wider frame, larger turning radius, and more complicated steering gear.

 

The Twin Six engine duly embodied the above principles, with two banks of L-head cylinders set at a 60-degree angle (versus 90 degrees in Cadillac's V-8). This allowed accessories to be bolted just below the frame, where they were protected from road hazards, while keeping the valves accessible.

 

Delivering 85 horsepower at 3,000 rpm, a bore and stroke at 3.00 × 5.00 inches resulted in a displacement of 424 cubic inches. Rockers were eliminated, with a separate cam for each valve, and all valves were located inboard of the cylinder blocks. A short, light crankshaft ran in three main bearings.

 

The car shown here is a 1922 Series-3 car, bodied as a Roadster.

 

The Packard-Le Père LUSAC-11 (1917) and Packard Twin-Six 3-35 Roadster (1922) have both been modelled in Lego miniland-scale for Flickr LUGNuts 79th Build Challenge, - "LUGNuts goes Wingnuts", - featuring automotive creations inspired by, named after, or with some connection to aviation.

Little Walter. Short, aggressive, alcoholic. He invented blues harp, using a taxi radio control microphone to blast his harmonica through amps in Chicago blues clubs. This meant he could play with echo, reverb, distortion, soft blow, full blast, suck and rasp. He was the Hendrix of the harmonica. This compilation has his choice cuts from the Chess years, apart from ‘Juke’ and ‘Boom Boom, Out Go the Lights’ which you should go hunt down. Essential.

Most tunes are instrumentals, others sung with a loud and proud vocal from Mr Little. ‘Boogie’ kicks this off and has pretty much everything a Little Walter tune needs; rolling beat along with the harmonica’s high notes, drawn out notes, stabs, rhythmic riffs. ‘Fast Boogie’ and ‘Last Boogie’ chug and stomp in the same vein. ‘Tonight With a Fool’ is slowed down blues with rippling piano and deep tone harp. ‘Quarter to Twelve’ even slower, sleepy blues with moaning harp. ‘Blue and Lonesome’ blues again, but still in bed, with squeaky drum pedal, scrabbling guitar with Swanee River harp. ‘Lights Out’ deep bass and controlled slow harp. ‘Don’t Have to Hunt no More’ a shuffling groove with echo and big drums with Walter squirting over the top. ‘Crazy for my Baby” a stop/start lurch. ‘Too Late’ flies and shuffles with solid riddim. ‘Ah’w Baby’ fluid with snappy slap drum and sleazy yelp voice. ‘Thunderbird’ another solid locked down groove. ‘Key to the Highway’ yearning, keening guitar and wah-wah sounding harp note bends. ‘Back Track’ shuffles and shakes. ‘Who’ bounces crisply. “Going Back Slow’ a glorious shimmy. Other tracks do the same. Rhythm AND Blues.

Boogie round your kitchen with this crazy, fast livin’ cat…

 

...from the days before punctures and blow-outs were invented.

 

Seen on the front axle of a Thornycroft 'J' Type platform truck of 1919 at the Alton bus Rally 2013

Surface detail of the beer planet.----------------------------------

 

Detall de la superficie.

The Gallia Permanent Waving machine for hair styling was invented by Gaston Boudou around 1919 and in partnership with René Rambaud set about building up a business selling their Gallia machines. Over the years, the Gallia machine and reagents used had been improved and by 1929, there were many Gallia Hair Clinics operating throughout Europe and the US. The clinics also trained Gallia machine operators who were awarded their certificate and badge on successful completion of the course. Gallia was but one type of hair permanent waving machine available to hairstylists at the time.

 

A ‘permanent wave’ is commonly called a ‘perm and during the late 20’s a first class permanent wave would cost close to 300 Francs. Such a perm involved the use of chemical reagents to break down the keratin’s di-sulphide links and heat to re-form the hair into its new shape. A Permanent Wave could last up to six months before the hair outgrew it and a re-perm was required. Standard ‘non-permanent’ hair waving cost a fraction of that amount and at best, could last up to two weeks before it needed renewal.

 

.

References:

 

Producing fashion: commerce, culture, and consumers by Regina Lee Blaszczyk (University of Pensylvania Press 2008, pp237-239).

 

golfgal.hubpages.com/hub/The-Permanent-Wave-That-Was-Only... (Interesting link about Permanent Waving with pictures of the types of machines involved, including one of Shirley Temple getting her curly locks renewed).

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perm_(hairstyle)

 

.

Enamels: 1 (blue).

Finish: Gilt.

Material: Brass.

Fixer: Pin.

Size: 1 ½” x ¾” (about 38mm x 20mm).

Process: Die stamped.

Makers: Thomas Fattorini Ltd, Regent St, Birmingham (1933-1961).

 

.

Thank you for reading.

Stuart.

 

Students mix and match ingredients to invent a new flavor of popcorn. Students then had to market their invention to other students.

 

Photo by Bill Drake of photodrake.com

Yo creo que habría que inventar un juego en el que nadie ganara.

 

Jorge Luis Borges

Summer holiday 2014

In and around Berlin Germany

  

Berlin

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Jump to: navigation, search

  

This article is about the capital of Germany. For other uses, see Berlin (disambiguation).

  

Berlin

 

State of Germany

Clockwise: Charlottenburg Palace, Fernsehturm Berlin, Reichstag building, Berlin Cathedral, Alte Nationalgalerie, Potsdamer Platz and Brandenburg Gate.

Clockwise: Charlottenburg Palace, Fernsehturm Berlin, Reichstag building, Berlin Cathedral, Alte Nationalgalerie, Potsdamer Platz and Brandenburg Gate.

 

Flag of Berlin

Flag Coat of arms of Berlin

Coat of arms

 

Location within European Union and Germany

Location within European Union and Germany

Coordinates: 52°31′N 13°23′ECoordinates: 52°31′N 13°23′E

 

Country

Germany

 

Government

  

• Governing Mayor

Michael Müller (SPD)

 

• Governing parties

SPD / CDU

 

• Votes in Bundesrat

4 (of 69)

 

Area

  

• City

891.85 km2 (344.35 sq mi)

 

Elevation

34 m (112 ft)

 

Population (December 2013)[1]

  

• City

3,517,424

 

• Density

3,900/km2 (10,000/sq mi)

 

Demonym

Berliner

 

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

 

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

 

Postal code(s)

10115–14199

 

Area code(s)

030

 

ISO 3166 code

DE-BE

 

Vehicle registration

B[2]

 

GDP/ Nominal

€109.2 billion (2013) [3]

 

NUTS Region

DE3

 

Website

berlin.de

 

Berlin (/bərˈlɪn/; German pronunciation: [bɛɐ̯ˈliːn] ( listen)) is the capital of Germany and one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.5 million people,[4] Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union.[5] Located in northeastern Germany on the River Spree, it is the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, which has about 4.5 million residents from over 180 nations.[6][7][8][9] Due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers and lakes.[10]

 

First documented in the 13th century, Berlin became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1417), the Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and the Third Reich (1933–1945).[11] Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world.[12] After World War II, the city was divided; East Berlin became the capital of East Germany while West Berlin became a de facto West German exclave, surrounded by the Berlin Wall (1961–1989).[13] Following German reunification in 1990, the city was once more designated as the capital of all Germany, hosting 158 foreign embassies.[14]

 

Berlin is a world city of culture, politics, media, and science.[15][16][17][18] Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the service sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media corporations, and convention venues.[19][20] Berlin serves as a continental hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination.[21] Significant industries also include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction, and electronics.

 

Modern Berlin is home to renowned universities, orchestras, museums, entertainment venues, and is host to many sporting events.[22] Its urban setting has made it a sought-after location for international film productions.[23] The city is well known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts, and a high quality of living.[24] Over the last decade Berlin has seen the upcoming of a cosmopolitan entrepreneurial scene.[25]

  

20th to 21st centuries[edit]

     

Street, Berlin (1913) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

After 1910 Berlin had become a fertile ground for the German Expressionist movement. In fields such as architecture, painting and cinema new forms of artistic styles were invented. At the end of World War I in 1918, a republic was proclaimed by Philipp Scheidemann at the Reichstag building. In 1920, the Greater Berlin Act incorporated dozens of suburban cities, villages, and estates around Berlin into an expanded city. The act increased the area of Berlin from 66 to 883 km2 (25 to 341 sq mi). The population almost doubled and Berlin had a population of around four million. During the Weimar era, Berlin underwent political unrest due to economic uncertainties, but also became a renowned center of the Roaring Twenties. The metropolis experienced its heyday as a major world capital and was known for its leadership roles in science, the humanities, city planning, film, higher education, government, and industries. Albert Einstein rose to public prominence during his years in Berlin, being awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921.

     

Berlin in ruins after World War II (Potsdamer Platz, 1945).

In 1933, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power. NSDAP rule effectively destroyed Berlin's Jewish community, which had numbered 160,000, representing one-third of all Jews in the country. Berlin's Jewish population fell to about 80,000 as a result of emigration between 1933 and 1939. After Kristallnacht in 1938, thousands of the city's persecuted groups were imprisoned in the nearby Sachsenhausen concentration camp or, starting in early 1943, were shipped to death camps, such as Auschwitz.[39] During World War II, large parts of Berlin were destroyed in the 1943–45 air raids and during the Battle of Berlin. Around 125,000 civilians were killed.[40] After the end of the war in Europe in 1945, Berlin received large numbers of refugees from the Eastern provinces. The victorious powers divided the city into four sectors, analogous to the occupation zones into which Germany was divided. The sectors of the Western Allies (the United States, the United Kingdom and France) formed West Berlin, while the Soviet sector formed East Berlin.[41]

     

The Berlin Wall in 1986, painted on the western side. People crossing the so-called "death strip" on the eastern side were at risk of being shot.

All four Allies shared administrative responsibilities for Berlin. However, in 1948, when the Western Allies extended the currency reform in the Western zones of Germany to the three western sectors of Berlin, the Soviet Union imposed a blockade on the access routes to and from West Berlin, which lay entirely inside Soviet-controlled territory. The Berlin airlift, conducted by the three western Allies, overcame this blockade by supplying food and other supplies to the city from June 1948 to May 1949.[42] In 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in West Germany and eventually included all of the American, British, and French zones, excluding those three countries' zones in Berlin, while the Marxist-Leninist German Democratic Republic was proclaimed in East Germany. West Berlin officially remained an occupied city, but it politically was aligned with the Federal Republic of Germany despite West Berlin's geographic isolation. Airline service to West Berlin was granted only to American, British, and French airlines.

     

The fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989. On 3 October 1990, the German reunification process was formally finished.

The founding of the two German states increased Cold War tensions. West Berlin was surrounded by East German territory, and East Germany proclaimed the Eastern part as its capital, a move that was not recognized by the western powers. East Berlin included most of the historic center of the city. The West German government established itself in Bonn.[43] In 1961, East Germany began the building of the Berlin Wall between East and West Berlin, and events escalated to a tank standoff at Checkpoint Charlie. West Berlin was now de facto a part of West Germany with a unique legal status, while East Berlin was de facto a part of East Germany. John F. Kennedy gave his "Ich bin ein Berliner" – speech in 1963 underlining the US support for the Western part of the city. Berlin was completely divided. Although it was possible for Westerners to pass from one to the other side through strictly controlled checkpoints, for most Easterners travel to West Berlin or West Germany prohibited. In 1971, a Four-Power agreement guaranteed access to and from West Berlin by car or train through East Germany.[44]

 

In 1989, with the end of the Cold War and pressure from the East German population, the Berlin Wall fell on 9 November and was subsequently mostly demolished. Today, the East Side Gallery preserves a large portion of the Wall. On 3 October 1990, the two parts of Germany were reunified as the Federal Republic of Germany, and Berlin again became the official German capital. In 1991, the German Parliament, the Bundestag, voted to move the seat of the (West) German capital from Bonn to Berlin, which was completed in 1999. Berlin's 2001 administrative reform merged several districts. The number of boroughs was reduced from 23 to twelve. In 2006 the FIFA World Cup Final was held in Berlin.

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin

  

Alexanderplatz

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Jump to: navigation, search

     

View over Alexanderplatz

    

Neighborhoods in Berlin-Mitte: Old Cölln [1] (with Museum Island [1a], Fisher Island [1b]), Altberlin [2] (with Nikolaiviertel [2a]), Friedrichswerder [3], Neukölln am Wasser [4], Dorotheenstadt [5], Friedrichstadt [6], Luisenstadt [7], Stralauer Vorstadt (with Königsstadt) [8], Alexanderplatz Area (Königsstadt and Altberlin) [9], Spandauer Vorstadt [10] (with Scheunenviertel [10a]), Friedrich-Wilhelm-Stadt [11], Oranienburger Vorstadt [12], Rosenthaler Vorstadt [13]

Alexanderplatz (pronounced [ʔalɛkˈsandɐˌplats] ( listen)) is a large public square and transport hub in the central Mitte district of Berlin, near the Fernsehturm. Berliners often call it simply Alex, referring to a larger neighbourhood stretching from Mollstraße in the northeast to Spandauer Straße and the Red City Hall in the southwest

 

History[edit]

     

Alexanderplatz in 1796

Early history[edit]

 

Originally a cattle market outside the city fortifications, it was named in honor of a visit of the Russian Emperor Alexander I to Berlin on 25 October 1805 by order of King Frederick William III of Prussia. The square gained a prominent role in the late 19th century with the construction of the Stadtbahn station of the same name and a nearby market hall, followed by the opening of a department store of Hermann Tietz in 1904, becoming a major commercial centre. The U-Bahn station of the present-day U2 line opened on 1 July 1913.

 

Its heyday was in the 1920s, when together with Potsdamer Platz it was at the heart of Berlin's nightlife, inspiring the 1929 novel Berlin Alexanderplatz (see 1920s Berlin) and the two films based thereon, Piel Jutzi's 1931 film and Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 15½ hour second adaptation, released in 1980. About 1920 the city's authorities started a rearrangement of the increasing traffic flows laying out a roundabout, accompanied by two buildings along the Stadtbahn viaduct, Alexanderhaus and Berolinahaus finished in 1932 according to plans designed by Peter Behrens.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexanderplatz

A pulled rickshaw (or ricksha) is a mode of human-powered transport by which a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two people.

 

In recent times the use of human-powered rickshaws has been discouraged or outlawed in many countries due to concern for the welfare of rickshaw workers.

Pulled rickshaws have been replaced mainly by cycle rickshaw and auto rickshaws.

 

OVERVIEW

Rickshaws are commonly believed to have been invented in Japan in the 1860s, at the beginning of a rapid period of technical advancement.

 

In the 19th century, rickshaw pulling became an inexpensive, popular mode of transportation across Asia.

 

Peasants who migrated to large Asian cities often worked first as a rickshaw runner.

 

It was "the deadliest occupation in the East, [and] the most degrading for human beings to pursue."The rickshaw's popularity in Japan declined by the 1930s with the advent of automated forms of transportation, like automobiles and trains. In China, the rickshaw's popularity began to decline in the 1920s. In Singapore, the rickshaw's popularity increased into the 20th century. There were approximately 50,000 rickshaws in 1920 and that number doubled by 1930.

 

DESCRIPTION

The initial rickshaws rode on iron-shod wooden wheels and the passenger sat on hard, flat seats. In the late 19th century and early 20th century. Rubber or pneumatic rubber tires, spring cushions, and backrests improved the passenger's comfort. Other features, such as lights were also added.

 

In the city of Shanghai, public rickshaws were painted yellow to differentiate from the private vehicles of the wealthy citizens, which were described as:

 

... always shiny, were carefully maintained, and sported 'a spotless white upholstered double seat, a clean plaid for one's lap, and a wide protective tarpaulin to protect the passenger (or passengers, since sometimes up to three people rode together) against the rain.'

 

The rickshaws were a convenient means of travel, able to traverse winding, narrow city streets. During monsoon season, passengers might be carried out of the carriage, above the flooded streets, to the door of their arrival. They offered door-to-door travel, unlike scheduled public bus and tram service.

 

COUNTRY OVERVIEW

AFRICA

EAST AFRIKA

In the 1920s, it was used in Bagamoyo, Tanga, Tanzania and other areas of East Africa for short distances.

 

MADAGASCAR

Rickshaws, known as pousse-pousse, were introduced by British missionaries. The intention was to eliminate the slavery-associated palanquin. Its name pousse-pousse, meaning push-push, is reportedly gained from the need to have a second person to push the back of the rickshaw on Madagascar's hilly roads. They are a common form of transport in a number of Malagasy cities, especially Antsirabe, but are not found in the towns or cities with very hilly roads. They are similar to Chinese rickshaws and are often brightly decorated.

 

NAIROBI

Rickshaws operated in Nairobi in the beginning of the 20th century; pullers went on strike there in 1908.

South Africa

Durban is famous for its iconic Zulu rickshaw pullers navigating throughout the city. These colorful characters are famous for their giant, vibrant hats and costumes. There were about 2,000 registered men who pulled rickshaws in Durban in 1904; Since displaced by motorised transport, there are approximately 25 rickshaws left whom mostly cater to tourists today.

 

ASIA

CHINA

In China, from the ancient times and until the 19th century, rich and important people, when traveling overland, were commonly transported in sedan chairs carried by bearers, rather than in wheeled vehicles. This was at least partly explained by road conditions. It is thought that it was from China (or East Asia in general) that sedan chair (a.k.a. "palanquin") designs were introduced into Western Europe in the 17th century. However, wheeled carts for one or two passengers, pushed (rather than pulled, like a proper rikshaw) by human servant, were attested as well.The proper rickshaw (pronounced renliche in Chinese) was first seen in China in 1886, and was used for public transportation in 1898. It was commonly called dongyangche for Japanese vehicle or "east- foreign-vehicle."

 

Rickshaw transportation was an important element in urban development in 20th century China, as a mode of transportation, source of employment and facilitation of migration for workers. According to author David Strand:

 

Sixty thousand men took as many as a half million fares a day in a city of slightly more than one million. Sociologist Li Jinghan estimated that one out of six males in the city between the ages of sixteen and fifty was a puller. Rickshaw men and their dependents made up almost 20 percent of Beijing's population.

 

Shanghai's rickshaw industry began in 1874 with 1,000 rickshaws imported from Japan. By 1914 there were 9,718 vehicles. The pullers were a large group of the city's working poor: 100,000 men pulled rickshaws by the early 1940s, up from 62,000 in the mid-1920s.Most manual rickshaws, a symbol of oppression of the working class, were eliminated in China after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

 

HOG KONG

Rickshaws were first imported to Hong Kong from Japan in 1880. They were a popular form of transport for many years, peaking at more than 3,000 in the 1920s. However, their popularity waned after World War II. No new licenses for rickshaws have been issued since 1975, and only a few old men—four as of 2009—still bear a license. It is reported that only one of them still offer rickshaw rides on The Peak, mainly for tourists.

 

INDIA

Around 1880, rickshaws appeared in India, first in Simla. At the turn of the century it was introduced in Kolkata (Calcutta), India and in 1914 was a conveyance for hire.

 

SERVICE AVAILIBILITY

Though most cities offer auto rickshaw service, hand-pulled rickshaws do exist in some areas, such as Kolkata, "the last bastion of human powered tana rickshaws". According to Trillin, most Kolkata rickshaws serve people "just a notch above poor" who tend to travel short distances. However, in a recent article by Hyrapiet and Greiner, the authors found that rickshaws also transport middle-class residents who use their services out of convenience and for short distance trips to the local marketplace. Rickshaws are used to transport goods, shoppers, and school children. It is also used as a "24 hour ambulance service."

 

Also according to Hyrapiet and Greiner, rickshaw pullers have acted as peer-educators for the Calcutta Samaritans prodving critical information on HIV/AIDS because of their access to marginalized groups within Kolkata's red light districts.

 

Rickshaws are the most effective means of transportation through the flooded streets of the monsoon season.

When Kolkata floods rickshaw business increases and prices rise.

 

The pullers live a life of poverty and many sleep under rickshaws.Rudrangshu Mukerjee, an academic, stated many people's ambivalent feelings about riding a rickshaw: he does not like about being carried in a rickshaw but does not like the idea of "taking away their livelihood."Motor vehicles are banned in the eco-sensitive zone area of Matheran, India, a tourist hill station near Mumbai so man-pulled rickshaws are still one of the major forms of transport there.

 

LEGISLATION

In August 2005, the Communist government of West Bengal announced plans to completely ban pulled rickshaws, resulting in protests and strikes of the pullers. In 2006, the chief minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, announced that pulled rickshaws would be banned and that rickshaw pullers would be rehabilitated.

 

JAPAN

There are several theories about the invention of the rickshaw. Japan historian Seidensticker wrote of the theories:

 

Though the origins of the rickshaw are not entirely clear, they seem to be Japanese, and of Tokyo specifically. The most widely accepted theory offers the name of three inventors, and gives 1869 as the date of invention.

 

Starting in 1870, the Tokyo government issued a permission for Izumi Yosuke, Takayama Kosuke, and Suzuki Tokujiro to build and sell rickshaws. By 1872, they became the main mode of transportation in Japan, with about 40,000 rickshaws in service. The rickshaw's popularity in Japan declined by the 1930s with the advent of automated forms of transportation, like automobiles and trains. After the World War II, when gasoline and automobiles were scarce, they made a temporary come-back. The rickshaw tradition has stayed alive in Kyoto and Tokyo's geisha districts only for tourists as well as in other tourist places. The tradition completely disappeared once, but a few people revived jinrikisha (human-powered rickshaws) for tourists in the 1970s-1980s and the rickshaws became popular as a tourism resource in the 2000s. The modern rickshaw men are a kind of tourist guide, who take their clients to some tourist spots and explain about them. Many of them are part-time working students and athletes who like running or exchanging cultures.

 

MALAYSIA

Rickshaws were a common mode of transport in urban areas of Malaysia in the 19th and early 20th centuries until gradually replaced by cycle rickshaws.

 

PAKISTAN

Pulled and Cycle rickshaw (qinqi) have been banned in Pakistan since November 1949. Prior to the introduction of auto rickshaws in cities, horse-drawn carriages (tongas) were a main source of public transportation.

 

SINGAPORE

Singapore had received its first rickshaws in 1880 and soon after they were prolific, making a "noticeable change in the traffic on Singapore's streets." Bullock carts and gharries were used prior to the introduction of rickshaws.Many of the poorest individuals in Singapore in the late nineteenth century were poor, unskilled people of Chinese ancestry. Sometimes called coolies, the hardworking men found pulling rickshaws was a new means of employment. Rickshaw pullers experienced "very poor" living conditions, poverty and long hours of hard work. Income remained unchanged from 1876 to 1926, about $.60 per day.Rickshaws popularity increased into the 20th century. There were approximately 50,000 rickshaws in 1920 and that number doubled by 1930. In or after the 1920s a union was formed, called the Rickshaw Association, protect the welfare of rickshaw workers.

 

NORTH AMERIKA

UNITED STATES OF AMERIKA

From A History of the Los Angeles City Market (1930-1950), pulled rickshaws were operated in Los Angeles by high school teenagers during that time period.

 

CANADA

Foot-driven rickshaws have enjoyed several decades of popularity in Halifax, Nova Scotia; in addition to providing tours of the historic Waterfront, rickshaws are also occasionally used for transportation by local residents. The city is home to the oldest rickshaw company in Canada.Rickshaws are a popular mode of transportation in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, providing tours of historical Byward Market, in the summer. Ottawa's rickshaws stay true to the traditional foot-driven rickshaw model, but feature modern sound-systems.

 

WIKIPEDIA

This is my Lego Ideas project, so if you can, please support it here: ideas.lego.com/projects/7d059690-be78-43c3-a590-09228df65c6d

This is the Lego version of the Greek Myth Daedalus and Icarus. You can find a more thorough description of this on the Ideas site.

I did not invent this tower construction method.

Come sempre è il divieto a rendere più affascinante una cosa.

Questa filosofia può applicarsi tal quale al gioco così caratteristico della tombola a Napoli.

Nel 1734 Carlo III di Borbone decise di sottrarre il gioco del lotto alla clandestinit, soprattutto perchè questo sottraeva soldi alle casse del regno. La decisione regia però indispettì il clero che riteneva il gioco del lotto, legato come si sa all'interpretazione dei sogni e dei segni, qualcosa di assolutamente immorale.

Per andare incontro alle rimostranze del clero medesimo Carlo III decise allora che il gioco del lotto poteva essere giocato tutto l'anno con eccezione del periodo natalizio.

I cittadini però non furonoa ssolutamente d'accordo con questa decisione ed inventarono un gioco sui novanta numeri che non aveva più le caratteristiche del lotto, ma che in qualche modo lo ricordava.

Comparve così un "panaro" intrecciato in cui i 90 numeri venivano messi e le cartelle disegnate a mano con un significato attribuito a ciacun numero. Questo consentiva di costruire delle storie sulla base dei numeri che venivano estratti, ed anzi in molti casi non si citava nemmeno il numero medesimo, ma direttamente il suo significato.

Inoltre in alcuni casi si origina una sorta di botta e risposta. Ad esempio al numero 6 chi tira i numeri dice: "chella che guarda 'nterra", e chi segna il numero risponde "e nun piglia maje 'o sole"

Molti dei significati associati all'originale tombola del settecento sono rimasti inalterati fin'ora, altri hanno assunto altri significati.

Ecco una lista delle corrispondenze più classiche:

1 L'Italia

2 ' A criatura (il bimbo)

3 'A jatta (il gatto)

4 'O puorco (il maiale)

5 'A mano (la mano)

6 Chella che guarda 'nterra...e nun piglia maje sole (chiaro riferimento all'organo sessuale femminile)

7 'A scuppetta (il fucile)/Sette so’ ‘e peccate murtale (sette sono i peccati mortali)

8 'A maronna (la madonna)/’Nu vase e ‘na cocotte (un bacio ad una cocotte)

9 'A figliata (la prole)

10 'E fasule (i fagioli)/‘O Ciucce llà mieze (il ciuccio là in mezzo)

11 ‘O Suricille (il topolino)/ ‘e zucculelle (le zoccolette)

12 'E surdate ( i soldati)

13 Sant' Antonio/

14 'O mbriaco (l'ubriaco)

15 ' O guaglione (il ragazzo)/'o rre (il re)

16 Tutte ‘o tenene, …. ‘o culo (tutti ce l'hanno...il sedere)

17 'A disgrazia...muglierema (la disgrazia ... mia moglie)

18 ’O Sanghe.... aita jettà ( il sangue...dovete buttare)

19 ' A resata (la risata)

20 'A festa (la festa)

21 'A femmena annura (la donna nuda)

22 'O pazzo (il pazzo)

23 'O scemo (lo scemo)

24 'E gguardie (le guardie)

25 Natale

26 Nanninella (diminuitivo del nome Anna)

27 ' O cantero (il vaso da notte)/ E' muscio (è moscio...)

28 'E zzizze (il seno)/’Zizze, prievete e cuseture....una mesura

29 'O pate d''e criature (organo sessuale maschile)

30 'E palle d''o tenente....tu 'e sciacque e je ‘e tenghe mente

31 'O padrone ' e casa....vene ogne mese e t’ ‘o ‘ncase

32 'O capitone (il capitone)

33 Ll'anne ' e Cristo (gli anni di Cristo)

34 'A Capocchia

35 Zuì, Zuì , fà l'aucelluzze

36 ‘E castagne – ‘o Castagnare

37 'O monaco (il frate)

38 'E mmazzate....‘nce vonne pe’ femmene (le botte)

39 'A funa 'nganna (la corda al collo)

40 'Aguallera - 'A paposcia (ernia inguinale)

41 'O curtiello (il coltello)

42 'O ccafè bbuono (il caffè)

43 ‘Onna Pereta ‘nbalcone

44 'E ccancelle (il carcere)

45 'O vino (il vino)

46 ‘A pummarola ‘ soreta

47 'O muorto (il morto)

48 'O muorto che parla (il morto che parla)

49 'O piezzo ' e carne (il pezzo di carne)

50 Ppane e pacienza (il pane e la pazienza)

51 ‘O Ciardenielle

52 ‘e mammà....cacaje 'o....a papà (la mamma)

53 'O viecchiariello (il vecchietto)

54 'O schaivuttiello (lo schiavetto)

55 'A museca giapponesa (la musica giapponesa)

56 'A caruta...carette (la caduta)

57 'O scartellato (il gobbo)

58 'O paccotto (l'imbroglio)

59 'E pile (i peli)http://www.flickr.com/photos/14151928@N02/5344368502/

60 so sante 'e cartelle meje (sono sante le cartelle mie, assonanza con il sessanta)

61 'O cacciatore (il cacciatore)

62 'O muorto acciso (il morto ammazzato)

63 ‘A Tena cavera e pelosa ‘a sposa (la sposa)

64 'A sciammeria (la marsina)

65 Chiagneva Lucia (piangeva Lucia, in genere gli altri chiedono: a che età?)

66 'E ddoie zetelle (le due zitelle)

67 'O totano int''a chitarra (il totano nella chitarra)/'O sei se 'mpezzaje rint'o sett'

68 'A zuppa cotta (la zuppa cotta)

69 Sott'e'ncoppo (sottosopra)

70 'O palazzo (il palazzo)

71L'ommo pusitivo/L'ommo 'e merda (l'uomo senza princìpi)

72 'A meraviglia (la meraviglia)

73 'O spitale (l'ospedale)

74 'A rotta (la grotta)

75 Pullecenella (Pulcinella)

76 'A funtana (la fontana)

77 'E diavule (i diavoli)

78 'A bella figliola (la bella ragazza)/Ha strutt''e tacch'

79 'O mariuolo (il ladro)

80 'A vucchella (la boccuccia)

81 'E sciure (i fiori)

82 'A tavula 'mbandita (la tavola imbandita)

83 'O pireto

84 'A cchiesa ( la chiesa)

85 Ll'aneme 'o priatorio (le anime del purgatorio)

86 'A puteca (il negozio)

87 'E perucchie (i pidocchi)

88 'E casecavalle (i caciocavalli)

89 'A vecchia (la vecchia)

90 'A paura (la paura)

Gianna Nannini

Mediolanum Forum - Assago (MI)

27 Aprile 2013

 

© Mairo Cinquetti

 

© All rights reserved. Do not use my photos without my written permission. If you would like to buy or use this photo PLEASE message me or email me at mairo.cinquetti@gmail.com

 

Immagine protetta da copyright © Mairo Cinquetti.

Tutti i diritti sono riservati. L'immagine non può essere usata in nessun caso senza autorizzazione scritta dell'autore.

Per contatti: mairo.cinquetti@gmail.com

 

1956 - Gianna Nannini nasce a Siena 14 giugno.

1975 - A 19 anni, e con 7 di conservatorio alle spalle, lascia la famiglia per andare a vivere a Milano. Qui frequenta numerosi locali ‘off’ dove si fa subito notare dalla storica Dischi Ricordi che le offre il primo contratto e pubblica il suo primo album: GIANNA NANNINI.

1977 - Intreccia le prime collaborazioni importanti, come quella con la PFM. Esce il secondo Lp, UNA RADURA. Inventa i suoi primi concerti piano- voce.

1979 - Esce l’album CALIFORNIA, il disco della svolta rock che, insieme al singolo "America", metafora del sogno masturbatorio/narcisista americano, la farà approdare, nel 1980, ai primi posti delle classifiche anche in Germania e nel Nord Europa

1981 - Dopo l’uscita di “G.N.”, album dal sapore sperimentale, Gianna incontra Peter Zumsteg, manager di vasta esperienza internazionale, con il quale fonda l’etichetta autogestita Gienne. La loro collaborazione durerà ventitre anni .

Compone la colonna sonora del film “Sconcerto Rock” di Luciano Mannuzzi, prodotto da Bernardo Bertolucci.

1982 - Dall’incontro col produttore Conny Plank (Eurythmics, Devo, Kraftwerk, Ultravox) nasce LATIN LOVER, a cui collaborano musicisti come Annie Lennox, Jackie Liebezeit (Can), Hannette Humpe. Questo quinto album è un grande successo europeo (disco d'oro in Germania, Austria e Svizzera) a seguito del quale, nell’ottobre dello stesso anno, Gianna salirà sul palco del leggendario Rockpalast di Essen insieme a Kid Creole & The Coconuts e a Little Steven.

1983 - Interpreta il ruolo di Titania nel primo film di Gabriele Salvatores “Sogno di una notte di mezza estate”; collabora anche alla colonna sonora del film.

1984 - Esce PUZZLE. La canzone “Fotoromanza”, il cui videoclip porta la firma di Michelangelo Antonioni, è il leit-motiv dell'estate e le fa vincere il Festivalbar, Vota la voce e Telegatto d'oro. In primavera il suo tour europeo riscuote grande successo; a questo fa seguito, nell’estate dello stesso anno, il tour italiano che sfocia nella registrazione del primo cd live di Gianna, TUTTO LIVE. Tiene concerti a Berlino, al Montreux Jazz Festival, a Siena e a Colonia.

1986 - Sull’onda dei grandi consensi internazionali, esce il nuovo album, PROFUMO, che viene rilasciato in tutta Europa e vende oltre 1.000.000 di copie.

1987 - É l’anno della consacrazione di Gianna: con MASCHI E ALTRI, sua prima raccolta di hit, vende oltre un milione e mezzo di copie in Europa; il 1° maggio partecipa a un concerto eccezionale: insieme a Sting e Jack Bruce canta, alla Schauspielhaus di Amburgo, una selezione di canzoni di Bertoldt Brecht e Kurt Weill. Lo show verrà trasmesso sulle reti Rai e su diversi canali televisivi europei. Il successo di critica e di pubblico in tutta Europa è ormai grande.

1988 - Esce l’album MALAFEMMINA prodotto insieme ad Alan Moulder (Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails).

1989 - É l’anno dei Mondiali di Calcio in Italia. Gianna scrive un testo assieme a Edoardo Bennato, e lo canta su musica di Giorgio Moroder: è “Un’estate italiana”, la sigla di Italia '90, le cui royalties relative al testo vengono devolute ad Amnesty International.

1990 - Nasce l’album SCANDALO prodotto con Dave M. Allen (The Cure) e una band di musicisti di diversi paesi europei insieme ai quali, ancora una volta, Gianna riempie gli stadi di mezza Europa. Il successo della trionfale tournée è documentato da un album dal vivo e da un long form video dal titolo “Giannissima”.

1993 - Esce in tutta Europa il nuovo album X FORZA E X AMORE, album radical folk, contenente canzoni ispirate al “cantar toscano”. Il singolo ‘Radio Baccano’ ospita anche la partecipazione di Jovanotti

1995 - Esce DISPETTO, un album che per la terza volta vede la collaborazione di Dave M. Allen, già produttore dei Cure. Nello stesso periodo Gianna si laurea in filosofia con una tesi dal titolo “Il corpo nella voce - Relazioni corpo-voce in una prospettiva di antropologia musicale”. In questi anni l’impegno di Gianna per le cause civili e umanitarie si rafforza: tra gli appuntamenti più importanti, il Concerto di Solidarietà per gli Immigrati a Cinecittà, in cui Gianna si esibisce sul palco insieme, tra gli altri, a Pino Daniele, Jovanotti e Luca Carboni; il Concerto per il Tibet a Torino, che la vede protagonista assieme a Timoria, Nomadi e un Coro di 16 Monaci Tibetani e l’Extravaganza Club Tour, organizzato usando esclusivamente energia solare. Quest’ultima iniziativa segna l’inizio della collaborazione di Gianna con gli attivisti di Greenpeace, fino a vederla, nel luglio del 1995, al centro dell’azione più eclatante dell’organizzazione ambientalista in Italia: alle 11.40 del mattino, con un “commando” di attivisti, Gianna si arrampica su un balcone di Palazzo Farnese a Roma, sede dell’Ambasciata Francese, e improvvisa un concerto di protesta contro la decisione di riprendere gli esperimenti nucleari nell’atollo di Mururoa. Il 1996 è anche l’anno di BOMBOLONI, antologia di alcuni dei suoi greatest hits.

1997 - Dalla partnership con il produttore Fabrizio Barbacci (Ligabue, Negrita) prenderà vita nel settembre del ’98 il nuovo album CUORE.

1998 - CUORE porta alla collaborazione artistica con Wil Malone (The Verve, Depeche Mode, Who, Dido, Massive Attack) che curerà gli archi dell’album.

2000 - Gianna inaugura il nuovo millennio a Torino davanti a 500.000 persone.

2001 - Gianna si trasferisce per qualche mese a Catania dove collabora con un trio post-punk di Catania e con la scrittrice Isabella Santacroce; da questo nuovo incontro nasce il disco ARIA (2002) dove Gianna compie una grintosa escursione fuori dagli schemi, fondendo il suo rock melodico mediterraneo con un pop-rock elettronico contemporaneo.

Nello stesso periodo Gianna comincia a lavorare alla colonna sonora del film “Momo alla conquista del tempo”, su incarico di Enzo D’Alò, il più celebre regista italiano di cartoni animati.

Da sempre impegnata a favore del disarmo, ma con discrezione, al fine di scongiurare qualsiasi strumentalizzazione, in risposta all’11 settembre Gianna partecipa in incognito alla Marcia della Pace Perugia-Assisi.

2003 - Per due volte consecutive si reca a Baghdad per dare il suo contributo alla ricostruzione dell’accademia delle belle arti e alla scuola di musica.

2004 - E’ l’anno di PERLE: la sua aggressiva anima rock fa posto a una dimensione più intimista, riproponendo al pubblico 12 piccoli gioielli della sua discografia e l’inedito “Amandoti”, cover dell’omonimo brano di Giovanni Lindo Ferretti, in versione acustica.

Dopo l’uscita di questo album Gianna decide di voltare pagina e di affidare il suo management ad Adele Di Palma per Cose di Musica.

2005 - Pubblica con Rizzoli il suo primo libro: IO, “autoscatto senza rimpianti”, antidiario a ritmo di rock.

2006 - Il 27 gennaio esce GRAZIE, album coprodotto con Wil Malone, subito al primo posto nelle classifiche italiane e disco di diamante (350mila copie) dopo solo 6 mesi.

2007 - E’ l’anno della PIA. Opera lirica moderna (libretto di Pia Pera) composta da Gianna già 12 anni prima. Nell’attesa che l’Opera venga messa in scena da David Zard, viene realizzato l’album PIA COME LA CANTO IO, anche questo con la produzione musicale di Wil Malone. Il disco rappresenta una sorta di florilegio della stessa Opera, dove la voce di Gianna interpreta tutti i personaggi. Questi come altri testi dell’opera saranno inclusi in una tournée di concerti in tutta Italia; storico quello all’Arena di Verona, sotto la pioggia, come pure le due serate di tutto esaurito a Roma.

2007/2008

É anche l’anno dell’album GIANNABEST, in pochi mesi ancora disco di diamante, una raccolta dei suoi più grandi successi, accompagnati da tre inediti. Seguono concerti nei principali palasport Italiani e teatri di tutta Europa, che segnano ogni volta il tutto esaurito. A Londra si esibisce al famoso Sheperd’s Bush Empire.

2008 - La canzone “Colpo di Fulmine” scritta da Gianna e interpretata da Lola Ponce e Giò di Tonno vince il Festival di Sanremo.

2009 - Esce il nuovo bellissimo album GIANNADREAM (Solo i sogni sono veri), che ancora una volta si avvale della collaborazione di Wil Malone. Contiene 10 canzoni inedite: qui il rock, una volta di più, si apre alla melodia sinfonica.

la main de Salomon, (cela ne s'invente pas) notre guide porte un nom mémorable;Le SISTRE comporte des disques métalliques qui s'entrechoquent en glissant sur des tringles fixées entre les branches d'un hochet en forme de U. Ce type d'instrument fut en usage chez les anciens Égyptiens, Grecs et Romains. On l'emploie encore de nos jours dans la musique religieuse d’Éthiopie et parfois dans les orchestres pour donner une note orientale.

Selon certains écrits, on jouait déjà du sistre 3 000 ans avant notre ère en Asie mineure. Il est toujours en usage chez les Coptes (secte chrétienne) et dans l’église chrétienne d’Éthiopie, d’où vient l’instrument illustré ici.

 

Dans l’Antiquité, les Égyptiens se servaient du sistre au cours de cérémonies religieuses pour chasser les mauvais esprits. Source, www.instrumentsdumonde.fr/instrument/162-Sistre.html

" A few years ago, I was standing outside of an office in the Viacom building in Times Square in New York City. My palms were sweaty and I remember feeling like I was going to throw up. I was nervous beyond belief. You see, I had just started teaching hip-hop class at Crunch gym and, as luck would have it, a producer from MTV was a student in one of those classes. Apparently, she thought I was pretty good and asked me to come to her office to interview for a “choreographer / producer” position on a show she was working on. Now you have to realize something: I had NO prior dance training or experience. I was as green as you could get in the “dance/choreography” world and was operating on pure passion. When I was invited to interview for the choreographer position, the instant thought that popped into my mind went was, “I'm not ready yet.” - I mean, c'mon!! Couldn't this opportunity show up just a wee bit later when I finally figured out what the heck I was doing?! But like some of the BEST things in life, you can't control the timing. Amazing opportunities often present themselves way before we think we’re ready. When I finally stepped foot into that office, I made a decision that I was going to go for it, even though no part of me felt “ready.” It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I KNEW I'd regret it forever if I let my fear hold me back from something I truly wanted. I went through the interview (sweaty palms and all!) and wound up getting the gig. That ONE decision, to start before “I was ready,” was the launching off point for what became a very successful and lucrative career for me in dance and fitness. That one decision, to start before I was ready, changed everything for me.

 

Years later, I've seen that every successful person I know starts before they feel ready. - Think about it. I’ll bet you have proof of this in your own life. I’ll bet that some of your best decisions have come because you bypassed your fearful “I’m not ready yet” thoughts and followed your heart's desire to express your full potential.

Written by Marie Forleo " marieforleo.com/ through www.facebook.com/MyExceptionalLiving

 

- This is definitely a reason why innovations get delayed - we are encouraged to wait until we'll have something concrete to show others. But the point at which to hit the road appears much before! - Let's listen carefully and learn to feel different impact and inputs within our extended networks than before. Let's re-invent curiosity together :)

Thanking my extended networks for all recent idea-impulses

 

We can all use a little boost to get started in the morning. Make a photograph of your morning beverage of choice. www.todaysposting.com/TPAssignment.php?TP=198

"Space ships were invented much earlier than we thought so far. Old construction plans were recently revealed when working on sewage pipes underneath a former university building in Prague. (Czech Republic). It is assumed that scientists kept them undisclosed in order not to frighten the public."

 

A series of AI-generated construction drawings of an early space ship.

To be continued.

Pictures made with Midjourney.

 

I'm always happy to accept invites to groups as long as I can see their content. Should I see "this group is not available to you", my pictures won't be made available to that group. Thanks for your understanding.