The Power of Five (10)—Tour(s) de France (1903-2013)

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "The Power of Five"
One year ago on Round and Square (30 June 2012)—Primary Sources: Through the Mountain Tunnel
Two years ago on Round and Square (30 June 2011)—Flowers Bloom: An Open Book

[a] Distant Goal RF

Below, I list the "Five Tour(s) de France.

The timing for this should be obvious. Stage One of the Tour de France just wrapped up yesterday, and three weeks of riveting pictures of France, its countryside, and toiling riders climbing steep mountains will follow. If today was any indication, we'll see some mass sprints and crashes, as well. It's all part of one of the world's greatest sporting spectacles, and the only one that is annual (sorry World Cup), multi-stage (sorry Super Bowl), and really packs in interest—these days—from all over the world.

[b] Spectacle RF

And it's all about pedaling...and peddlers. If you haven't taken a close look at the Tour de France for a while, notice the swarming and swirling commerce that affects every element from the riders, their jerseys, and their bikes, to the vast spectacle of watches, bank credit, and clothing products on sale in every nook and cranny of the event.

This is an event that circles France (depending on the year, in clockwise or counter-clockwise fashion) and ties together a heritage that was cemented from loose origins into a nation state with an abiding entity today. The Tour de France was no small part of that "national" transformation. 

July is filled with re-tying and tightening national knots (the Tour itself is called Le Grande Boucle, or the Great Buckle). It all comes together in a Durkheimian display of secular commemoration. It is shown forth to the world in spectacular fashion all month, and people from Missoula to Canberra, and Sapporo to Santiago watch it every single day for more three weeks and four weekends. 

July is consumed by it.

And then the French go on vacation in August.

[c] Consumed RF

That is a tough combination to beat, and there is a reason that the spectacle of Le Tour gets bigger and bigger every year—even with close to two decades of doping scandal (this could be extended almost to the full one-hundred runnings of the Tour, and with only small change in definitions). You see, on some levels...the Tour de France is so big...that the bike race is only a part of something much, much more grand(e).

So, of all the exhilarating Tours from which we could choose, these are the five. Together, they represent are the totality. 

Remember, if you think that this is a "top-five" list, such as you read on Yahoo, you are very badly mistaken. No, these are totality. True, this one comes as close to seeming like a "best of" list as you will encounter in this series. 

Well, it isn't "The Best of..." It is totality. These five Tours are Le Tour.

If that doesn't make sense...go back and read the introduction and the links!

[d] Alsace RF

The Five Tours de France
(feel free to click the links)
 
1910 The Tour Adds Mountains 
("You are assassins...assassins")

1926 Lost in the Pyrennes 
(It's midnight; do you know where your riders are?)

1949 Epic Battle 
(Coppi emerges, with panache)

1969 The Cannibal 
(Eddy devours the field, and all the jerseys)

1989  Last Day Drama 
(Greg nips Laurent, and both become icons)

[e] Watchin' RF

Honorable Mention**
Le Tour de la France par deux enfants

Charlemagne

Attila the Hun

** The RSQ board will occasionally make use of the "honorable mention" opportunity to throw in a few more things to think about. Read the first (click the link). This is the greatest Tour...ever. The examples below it engage the words (and ideas) "Tour de France" in strange and even counter-intuitive ways. The RSQ Board has its reasons.

 A brief (sort-of) explanation. Some were close and some were blow-outs. Together, they create totality. 1910 was the first to add the Pyrennes, and "first" rhymes with "cursed," which is what the riders did to the organizers. 1926 saw an unusually cruel (even for Le Tour) stage of 200 miles through the Pyrennes. Some riders hadn't finished by midnight, and had to be rescued. 1949 saw the greatest panache ever displayed. 1969 saw the most dominant victory...ever...by the Tour's most dominant champion (he won all of the jerseys). 1989 was the highest-drama and closest finish that could be imagined. As for the honorable mentions, click the links on the first one. The others have a little bit of historical relevance, too (even if they are counter-intuitive...in a way).

'nuf said. The cosmologists have the last word. These are The Five.

Tomorrow
The Five Diets

[f] Nope. You get only two wheels. RF

China's Lunar Calendar 2013 06-30

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"  

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT July 7.....................................................................................................June 30 RIGHT

This is one in a never-ending series—following the movements of the calendar—in Round and Square perpetuity. It is today's date in the Chinese lunar calendar, along with basic translation and minimal interpretation. Unless you have been studying lunar calendars (and Chinese culture) for many years, you will likely find yourself asking "what does that mean?" I would caution that "it" doesn't "mean" any one thing. There are clusters of meaning, and they require patience, reflection, careful reading, and, well, a little bit of ethnographic fieldwork. The best place to start is the introduction to "Calendars and Almanacs" on this blog. I teach a semester-long course on this topic and, trust me, it takes a little bit of time to get used to the lunar calendar. Some of the material is readily accessible; some of it is impenetrable, even after many years. 

As time goes on, I will link all of the sections to lengthy background essays. This will take a while. In the meantime, take a look, read the introduction, and think about all of the questions that emerge from even a quick look at the calendar.

Section One
Solar Calendar Date
(top to bottom; right to left) 
三
十

日期星

Sixth Month, Thirtieth Day

Astral Period Sun
Sunday, June 30

———————————————— 
Section Two

Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)

天玉
恩堂

Jade Court
Heavenly Kindness

—————————————————

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left) 
申辰子

中中凶

酉己丑

凶中中

戌午寅

中吉吉

亥未卯

凶吉凶

23:00-01:00 Inauspicious
01:00-03:00 In-Between
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 Inauspicious

07:00-09:00 In-Between
09:00-11:00 In-Between
11:00-13:00 Auspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
21:00-23:00 Inauspicious

The hours above are for Hong Kong. It is up to you if you want to recalibrate or to assume that the cyclicality of the calendar "covers" the rest of the world. This is a greater interpretive challenge than you might think.

————————————————— 

Section Four
Activities to Avoid 
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

忌

穿理
井髮

Patterning Hair
Boring Wells

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
三
丁
卯
火

昂
收

Twenty-third Day (fifth lunar month)

Cyclical day: dingmao (4/60)

Phase (element): Fire

Constellation: Pleiades (18/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Receive (10/12)

————————————————— 

Section Six
Appropriate Activities 
(and Miscellaneous Information)
(top-to-bottom; right to left)

 宜
祭
祀

兔水
口痕
重班
喪煞

Appropriate Activities   
VENERATE ANCESTORS 

Miscellaneous Information    

Water Scar
Classified Balefulness
Rabbit Mouth
Repeat Mourning

 —————————————————  
Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

(right to left)
人 州
Person, Continent

—————————————————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

(Top to bottom; right to left) 

倉
門 庫

Granary
Gate, Storehouse

The Power of Five (9)—Interstate Highways

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "The Power of Five"
One year ago on Round and Square (29 June 2012)—Primary Sources: In the Park
Two years ago on Round and Square (29 June 2011)—Seinfeld Ethnography: Sleep Desk

[a] Connected RF

Below, I list the "Five Interstate Highways." U.S. Interstate Highways.

This vast river system was created during the Eisenhower administration, and the many millions of vehicles that float upon it in all parts of the country—and in all of the cardinal directions—are testimony to the awesome power of it all. The beauty of these rivers is that their currents go "both ways." They are dotted with construction cones, little green mileage markers, as well as big green (and brown) signs. Vast oasis sites are scattered like so many sand bars in our midst.

[b] River System RF

The "boats" range from little Hyundai canoes to big, fast, scary barges with funny names like Peterbilt, Kenworth, and International. They have even funnier nicknames, such as Tiltin' Hilton, Anteater, and Flying Coffin. And don't even try to transfer the terminology you will learn to even other English speaking nations. No, that is a little too much load to put on the ol' lorry...or ute.

I remember, many years ago, reading the opening lines of William Least Heat Moon's Blue Highways. He excoriated the Interstate highway, and stressed that "real life" takes place on state highways, county roads, and various American byways. At the time, I was impressed. Over the years, though, the image stuck with me, and began to cloy. I mean, really? 

In an otherwise engaging book, this seems to be just an American traveler-way of expressing "exoticism." It's a little akin to an anthropologist saying "Oh, so you did your fieldwork in, um, Britain? How nice. I did mine in New Guinea." You see, New Guinea always wins the prestige argument among anthropologists, with almost any place in sub-Saharan Africa a close second. Well, "...real life takes place on backroads" is just a little bit too much of a display of authenticity for my tastes.

[c] Back road RF

And life? You want to see life? Go to a big truck stop, such as the Iowa 80 Truckstop near Walcott, Iowa. Better yet, go to a smaller one, get yourself a cup of coffee, and just watch and listen. 

Now that's fieldwork.

Just make sure that you are not on an intestate highway. That could be a problem.

So these are the Five Interstate Highways. From many, five. I have a suspicion that this list could get some opinion going. I'm not sure, but there is something about long-traveled routes and a little bit of aging that creates nostalgia. Car and Driver nostalgia. 

So, of all the winding ganglia that could be chosen, these are the five. Together, they represent are the totality. 

Remember, if you think that this is a "top-five" list, such as you read on Yahoo, you are very badly mistaken. No, these are totality. 

If that doesn't make sense...go back and read the introduction and the links!

[d] Flow RF

The Five Interstate Highways
(feel free to click the links)
I-95
I-10
I-35
I-5
I-90

Honorable Mention**
Route 66 
I-40
I-25
I-75
I-80
** The RSQ board will occasionally make use of the "honorable mention" opportunity to throw in a few more things to think about. The board quite obviously had tongues in cheeks with the first one.

'nuf said. The cosmologists have the last word.

Tomorrow
The Five Great Tours de France

[e] Haulin' Long RF

China's Lunar Calendar 2013 06-29

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"  

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT June 29.....................................................................................................June 22 RIGHT

This is one in a never-ending series—following the movements of the calendar—in Round and Square perpetuity. It is today's date in the Chinese lunar calendar, along with basic translation and minimal interpretation. Unless you have been studying lunar calendars (and Chinese culture) for many years, you will likely find yourself asking "what does that mean?" I would caution that "it" doesn't "mean" any one thing. There are clusters of meaning, and they require patience, reflection, careful reading, and, well, a little bit of ethnographic fieldwork. The best place to start is the introduction to "Calendars and Almanacs" on this blog. I teach a semester-long course on this topic and, trust me, it takes a little bit of time to get used to the lunar calendar. Some of the material is readily accessible; some of it is impenetrable, even after many years. 

As time goes on, I will link all of the sections to lengthy background essays. This will take a while. In the meantime, take a look, read the introduction, and think about all of the questions that emerge from even a quick look at the calendar.

Section One
Solar Calendar Date
(top to bottom; right to left) 
廿
九

六期星

Sixth Month, Twenty-ninth Day

Astral Period Six
Saturday, June 29

———————————————— 
Section Two

Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)

天天天月
醫喜貴德

Lunar Virtue
Heavenly Preciousness
Heavenly Happiness
Heavenly Physician

—————————————————

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left) 
申辰子

凶凶凶

酉己丑

吉中中

戌午寅

中吉中

亥未卯

凶中吉

23:00-01:00 Inauspicious
01:00-03:00 Auspicious
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 Auspicious

07:00-09:00 In-Between
09:00-11:00 Inauspicious
11:00-13:00 In-Between
13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
21:00-23:00 Inauspicious

The hours above are for Hong Kong. It is up to you if you want to recalibrate or to assume that the cyclicality of the calendar "covers" the rest of the world. This is a greater interpretive challenge than you might think.

————————————————— 

Section Four
Activities to Avoid 
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

忌

祈祭作修
福祀灶廚

Repairing Kitchens
Stove Work
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
二
丙
寅
火

胃
成

Twenty-second Day (fifth lunar month)

Cyclical day: bingyin (3/60)

Phase (element): Fire

Constellation: Stomach (17/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Completion (9/12)

————————————————— 

Section Six
Appropriate Activities 
(and Miscellaneous Information)
(top-to-bottom; right to left)

 宜
修交納入
倉易采學
栽修嫁會
種造取友
納動醫出
畜土病行
安上開訂
葬樑市婚
忌歸 
陽大白小
   將煞虎亡空＊

Appropriate Activities   
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Physician Visits
Opening Markets
Commerce and Trade
Repairs and Building
Moving Soil
Erecting Beams
Repairing Granaries
Planting Crops
Livestock Payments
Positioning Graves

Return Taboo

Miscellaneous Information    

Small Disaster-void
White Tiger
Great Balefulness
Yang General

 —————————————————  
Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

(right to left)
人 水
Person, Water

—————————————————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

(Top to bottom; right to left) 

爐 灶 廚

Furnace, Stove, Kitchen