Home:

Season	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Record	Win %
1972	Divisional	Green Bay Packers	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	W 16-3	1-0	1.000
1972	NFC Championship	Dallas Cowboys	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	W 26-3	2-0	1.000
1982	Wild Card	Detroit Lions	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	W 31-7	3-0	1.000
1982	Divisional	Minnesota Vikings	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	W 21-7	4-0	1.000
1982	NFC Championship	Dallas Cowboys	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	W 31-17	5-0	1.000
1983	Divisional	Los Angeles Rams	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	W 51-7	6-0	1.000
1983	NFC Championship	San Francisco 49ers	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	W 24-21	7-0	1.000
1984	Divisional	Chicago Bears	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	L 19-23	7-1	.875
1986	Wild Card	Los Angeles Rams	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	W 19-7	8-1	.889
1987	NFC Championship	Minnesota Vikings	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	W 17-10	9-1	.900
1991	Divisional	Atlanta Falcons	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	W 24-7	10-1	.909
1991	NFC Championship	Detroit Lions	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	W 41-10	11-1	.917
1999	Wild Card	Detroit Lions	Jack Kent Cooke Stadium	W 27-13	12-1	.923
2012	Wild Card	Seattle Seahawks	FedExField	L 14-24	12-2	.857
2015	Wild Card	Green Bay Packers	FedExField	L 18-35	12-3	.800
2020	Wild Card	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	FedExField	L 23-31	12-4	.750

Away:

Season	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Record	Win %
1971	Divisional	San Francisco 49ers	Candlestick Park	L 20-24	0-1	.000
1973	Divisional	Minnesota Vikings	Metropolitan Stadium	L 20-27	0-2	.000
1974	Divisional	Los Angeles Rams	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	L 10-19	0-3	.000
1976	Divisional	Minnesota Vikings	Metropolitan Stadium	L 20-35	0-4	.000
1986	Divisional	Chicago Bears	Soldier Field	W 27-13	1-4	.200
1986	NFC Championship	New York Giants	Giants Stadium	L 0-17	1-5	.167
1987	Divisional	Chicago Bears	Soldier Field	W 21-17	2-5	.286
1990	Wild Card	Philadelphia Eagles	Veterans Stadium	W 20-6	3-5	.375
1990	Divisional	San Francisco 49ers	Candlestick Park	L 10-28	3-6	.333
1992	Wild Card	Minnesota Vikings	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	W 24-7	4-6	.400
1992	Divisional	San Francisco 49ers	Candlestick Park	L 13-20	4-7	.364
1999	Divisional	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Raymond James Stadium	L 13-14	4-8	.333
2005	Wild Card	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Raymond James Stadium	W 17-10	5-8	.385
2005	Divisional	Seattle Seahawks	Qwest Field	L 10-20	5-9	.357
2007	Wild Card	Seattle Seahawks	Qwest Field	L 14-35	5-10	.333

Super Bowls:

Season (Super Bowl)	Opponent	Venue	Location	Result	Record	Win %
1972 (VII)	Miami Dolphins	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	Los Angeles, CA	L 7-14	0-1	.000
1982 (XVII)	Miami Dolphins	Rose Bowl	Pasadena, CA	W 27-17	1-1	.500
1983 (XVIII)	Los Angeles Raiders	Tampa Stadium	Tampa, FL	L 9-38	1-2	.333
1987 (XXII)	Denver Broncos	Jack Murphy Stadium	San Diego, CA	W 42-10	2-2	.500
1991 (XXVI)	Buffalo Bills	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	Minneapolis, MN	W 37-24	3-2	.600

Final Tally:

Games	Record	Win %
Home	12-4	.750
Away	5-10	.333
Super Bowls	3-2	.600
Totals	20-16	.556

We have arrived here at the non-English language tournament, FG. This will be a long tournament, as we had nearly 300 movies nominated from all over the world (though as to be expected from the history of cinema the most nominated countries were France, Italy, and Japan), so this will take us over the next few months. As always, the polls will last for one day, so get your votes in and come back tomorrow for the results and the next battle.
Letterboxd list of all the participating movies: https://boxd.it/lOu1o
Results of Round 1
8 1/2 (1963) - Italy (48) beat Martyrs (2008) - France (26), Elevator to the Gallows (1958) - France (11), and The Aviator’s Wife (1981) - France (5)
The Battle of Algiers (1966) - Italy/Algeria (28) beat 3-Iron (2004) - South Korea (7), Embrace of the Serpent (2015) - Colombia (5), and Massacre Time (Tempo di massacro) (1966) - Italy (2)
The 400 Blows (1959) - France (34) beat Memories of Murder (2003) - South Korea (32), Battleship Potemkin (1925) - Russia (21), and Eyes Without a Face (1960) - France (12)
Metropolis (1927) - Germany (51), beat Fanny and Alexander (1982) - Sweden (32), 5 Centimeters Per Second (2007) - Japan (16), and The Bothersome Man (2006) - Norway
Fantastic Planet (1973) - France (23) beat Minari (2020) - USA (16), A Brighter Summer Day (1991) - Taiwan (14), and The Conformist (1970) - Italy (13)
Mirror (1975) - Russia (21) beat Farewell My Concubine (1993) - China (10), The Cranes Are Flying (1957) - Russia (10), and A City of Sadness (1989) - Taiwan (6)
Fists of Fury (1972) - Hong Kong (21) beat A Man Escaped (1956) - France (15), The Cremator (1969) - Czech Republic (9), and Moolaade (2004) - Senegal (5)
My Neighbour Totoro (1988) - Japan (44) beat A Separation (2011) - Iran (22), Fitzcarraldo (1982) - Germany (20), and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) - France (12)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) - Japan (25) beat The Double Life of Véronique (1991) - Poland (22), A Short Film About Love (1988) - Poland (11), and Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) - India (6)
Night and Fog (1956) - France (14) beat A Very Long Engagement (2004) - France (8), The Emigrants (1971) - Sweden (6), and Girlhood (2014) - France (4)
Nosferatu (1922) - Germany (39) beat Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) - Germany (26), Godzilla (1954) - Japan (24), and The Exterminating Angel (1962) - Mexico (10)
Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979) - Germany (36) beat Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) - Germany (21), Goodbye Lenin (2003) - Germany (12), and The Foreign Duck, The Native Duck and God in a Coin Locker (2007) - Japan (5)
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2009) - Sweden (17), beat All About My Mother (1999) - Spain (16), Grand Illusion (1937) - France (16), and O-bi, O-ba: The End of Civilization (1985) - Poland (3)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988) - Japan (33) beat Amarcord (1973) - Italy (14), One Cut of the Dead (2017) - Japan (10), and The Green Ray (1986) - France (9)
Amelie (2001) - France (79) beat The Handmaiden (2016) - South Korea (40), Only Yesterday (1991) - Japan (10), and Hamlet (1964) - Russia (6)
Harakiri (1962) - Japan (33) beat The Hidden Fortress (1958) - Japan (22), Amour (2012) - Austria (12), and Ordet (1955) - Denmark (10)
Andrei Rublev (1966) - Russia (29) beat The Holy Mountain (1973) - Mexico (26), Headhunters (2011) - Norway (10), and Obsession (1943) - Italy (4)
The Host (2006) - South Korea (30) beat Another Round (2020) - Denmark (29), Hedgehog in the Fog (1975) - Russia (7), and Out 1 (1971) - France (7)
High and Low (1963) - Japan (33) beat The Hourglass Sanatorium (1973) - Poland (10), Pale Flower (1964) - Japan (5), and Any Number Can Win (1963) - France (2)
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) - Mexico (85) beat Apocalypto (2006) - USA (42), Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959) - France (19), and The House is Black (1963) - Iran (5)
Parasite (2019) - South Korea (106) beat Holy Motors (2012) - France (16), The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959) - Japan (16), and Army of Crime (2009) - France (1)
Hour of the Wolf (1968) - Sweden (16) beat Army of Shadows (1969) - France (13), The Human Condition III: A Soldier’s Prayer (1961) - Japan (9), and Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974) - Japan (3)
The Hunt (2012) - Denmark (42) beat I Saw the Devil (2010) - South Korea (25), Ashes and Diamonds (1958) - Poland (9), and Pater Brown – Das schwarze Schaf (1960) - Germany
Ikiru (1952) - Japan (34) beat The Killer (1989) - Hong Kong (25), Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) - France (10), and Pater Brown – Er kann's nicht lassen (1962) - Germany (4)
The Lives of Others (2006) - Germany (42) beat Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987) - France (27), Pauline at the Beach (1983) - France (11), and Il compagno Don Camillo (1965) - Italy (1)
Il Decameron (1971) - Italy (14) beat Pépé le Moko (1937) - France (13), The Man Without a Past (2002) - Finland (11), and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion 2017) - India (10)
Battle Royale (2000) - Japan (76) beat Persona (1966) - Sweden (36), The New Land (1972) - Sweden (7), and Il ritorno di Don Camillo (1953) - Italy (4)
Beauty and the Beast (1946) - France (19) beat Phoenix (2014) - Germany (14), The Platform (2019) - Spain (11), and In a Year with 13 Moons (1978) - Germany (5)
In the Mood for Love (2000) - Hong Kong (42) beat The Raid (2011) - Indonesia (30), Belle de Jour (1967) - France (16), and Pixote (1980) - Brazil (10)
The Red Balloon (1956) - France (23) beat Playtime (1967) - France (22), Inside (2007) - France (12), and Belle Époque (1992) - Spain (10)
Bicycle Thieves (1948) - Italy (39) beat The Rules of the Game (1939) - France (14), Intouchables (2011) - France (6), and Port of Shadows (1938) - France (2)
Ip Man (2008) - Hong Kong (37) beat The Saragossa Manuscript (1965) - Poland (11), Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (2008) - France (6), and Pratidwandi (a.k.a. The Adversary) (1970) (India) (2)
Princess Mononoke (1997) - Japan (73) beat Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) - India (47), The Sacrifice (1986) - Sweden (17), and Black Girl (1966) - Senegal (13)
The Seventh Seal (1957) - Sweden (53) beat Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013) - France (18), Jauja (2014) - Argentina (6), and Pushpak (1987) - India (3)
Raise the Red Lantern (1991) - China (28) beat The Skin I Live In (2011) - Spain (23), Bob Le Flambeur (1956) - France (14), and Jean de Florette (1986) - France (6)
Ran (1985) - Japan (32) beat Breathless (1960) - France (14), Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) - Belgium (9), and The Tin Drum (1979) - Germany (2)
Johnny Gaddaar (2007) - India (45) beat Rare Exports - Finland (17), The Turin Horse (2011) - Hungary (15), and Cairo Station (1958) - Egypt (13)
Rashomon (1950) - Japan (37) beat Castle in the Sky (1986) - Japan (23), The Twilight Samurai (2002) - Japan (7), and Joyeux Noël (2005) - France (4)
Raw (2016) - France/Belgium (35) beat Jules and Jim (1962) - France (32), Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974) - France (19), and The Ugly Swans (2006) - Russia (3)
The Virgin Spring (1960) - Sweden (25) beat Red Beard (1965) - Japan (20), Katyn (2007) - Poland (4), and Cemetery of Splendour (2015) - Thailand (3)
Rififi (1955) -France (27) beat Kin-dza-dza (1986) - Russia (8), Children of Heaven (1997) - Iran (6), and The Warped Ones (1960) - Japan (3)
Chungking Express (1994) - Hong Kong (25) beat Three Colors: Blue (1993) - Poland/France (24), Roma (2018) - Mexico (18), and L’avventura (1960) - Italy (17)
Cinema Paradiso (1988) - Italy (23) beat Three Colors: Red (1994) - Poland/France (15), Rome, Open City (1945) - Italy (10), and La Belle Noiseuse (1991) - France (6)
City of God (2002) - Brazil (63) beat La Dolce Vita (1960) - Italy (31), Run Lola Run (1998) - Germany(27), and Three Times (2005) - Taiwan (5)
Throne of Blood (1957) - Japan (42) beat La Femme Nikita (1990) - France (25), Cold War (2018) - Poland (14), and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) - India (5)
Come and See (1985) - Russia (50) beat La Haine (1995) - France (27), Through a Glass Darkly (1961) - Sweden (24), and Samurai Rebellion (1967) - Japan
La Jetee (1962) - France (26) beat Cries and Whispers (1972) - Sweden (19), Sansho the Bailiff (1954) - Japan (18), and Time Regained (1999) - France (3)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) - Taiwan (80) beat La Notte (1961) - Italy (21), Tokyo Godfathers (2003) - Japan (14), and Santa Sangre (1989) - Mexico (13)
Tokyo Story (1953) - Japan (31) beat Satantango (1994) - Hungary (11), La Vie de Bohème (1992) - Finland (5), and Daens (1992) - Belgium (1)
Das Boot (1981) - Germany (47) beat Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) - India (7), Tokyo Tribe (2014) - Japan (5), and Satya (1998) - India (1)
Scenes from a Marriage (1974) - Sweden (21) beat Day of Wrath (1943) - Denmark (11), Lakshya (2004) - India (6), and Touchez Pas Au Grisbi (1954) - France (4)
Seven Samurai (1954) - Japan (90) beat Train to Busan (2016) - South Korea (51), Death Rides a Horse (1967) - Italy (4), and Landscape in the Mist (1988) - Greece (3)
Sholay (1975) - India (74) disqualified, Troll Hunter (2010) - Norway (36) beat Dekalog (1989) - Poland (33), and L'atalante (1934) - France (17)
Solaris (1972) - Russia (40) beat Delicatessen (1991) - France (22), Late Spring (1949) - Japan (13), and Ugetsu (1953) - Japan (12)
Umberto D. (1952) - Italy (16) beat Le Cercle Rouge (1970) - France (14), Soy Cuba (1964) - Russia (11), and Departures (2008) - Japan (8)
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring (2003) - South Korea (19) beat Victoria (2015) - Germany (9), Le Doulos (1962) - France (5), and Der Mann, der Sherlock Holmes war (1937) - Germany (4)
Stalker (1979) - Russia (43) beat Le Samourai (1967) - France (16), Der Untergang (2004) - Germany (6), and Viridiana (1961) - Spain/Mexico (5)
Wages Of Fear (1953) - France (19) beat Dersu Uzala (1975) - Russia (14), Le Trou (1960) - France (7), and Sunset (2018) - Hungary (5)
Werckmeister Harmonies (2001) - Hungary (11) beat Les Amants du Pont-Neuf (1991) - France (7), Survive Style 5+ (2004) - Japan (4), and Die Feuerzangenbowle (1944) - Germany (2)
Suspiria (1977) - Italy (36) beat Wild Strawberries (1957) - Sweden (19), Les Diaboliques (1955) - France (18), and Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) - France (17)
Winter Light (1963) - Sweden (22) beat Les Miserables (1995) - France (17), Syndromes and a Century (2006) - Thailand (7), and Do Bigha Zamin (1953) - India (5)
Life is Beautiful (1997) - Italy (35) beat Woman in the Dunes (1964) - Japan (27), Don Camillo e l’onorevole Peppone (1955) - Italy (1), and Tais Toi! (2003) - France (0)
Like Water For Chocolate (1992) - Mexico (16) beat Woyzeck (1979) - Germany (15), Take Care of My Cat (2001) - South Korea (7), and Don Camillo Monsignore…ma non troppo (1961) - Italy (4)
Y tu Mama Tambien (2001) - Mexico (39) beat Dr Mabuse The Gambler (1922) - Germany (16), Talk to Her (2002) - Spain (13), and Little World of Don Camillo (1952) - Italy (4)
Taste of Cherry (1997) - Iran (26) beat Lola Montès (1955) - France (7), Yeelen (Brightness) (1987) - Mali (4), and Dreizehn Stühle (1938) - Germany (2)
View Poll

I'm writing this in light of the recent loss to the Wizards plus the fact that for some reason a lot of people in this sub got scared of us matching against the Heat in the first round, which is baffling specially given the reasoning (i.e: We haven't played well since the AS break). Since the break we have been a bit below 0.600 in winning percentage which is good for the 9th. You know the all-mighty and scary Heat? They're the 10th worst winning percentage since the break, at 0.444. I'll give you that Spoelstra is scary, he outplayed us last year after all. All I intend to do is to show a few data points I gathered so far during discussions recently here, I'd be willing to add anything that becomes more concerning if it is pointed to me.
So lets dive slightly on the (free-to-use) data for this season. Lets break it into a few segments shall we?

Segment of the season	OffRtg	DefRtg	NetRtg	AST%	AST/TO	AST Ratio	OREB%	DREB%	REB%	TOV%	eFG%	TS%
Whole season	4th	4th	1st	6th	5th	5th	27th	1st	10th	6th	4th	4th
From Nov 1st	4th	4th	1st	5th	3rd	5th	27th	1st	9th	7th	6th	7th
From Dec 1st	16th	2nd	4th	5th	8th	7th	26th	1st	7th	9th	13th	14th
From Jan 1st	10th	5th	4th	4th	7th	6th	25th	1st	7th	9th	8th	10th
From Feb 1st	8th	4th	3rd	8th	8th	7th	27th	1st	14th	11th	4th	7th
From March 1st	10th	2nd	2nd	10th	9th	10th	25th	6th	13th	9th	11th	13th

What does that mean? Well, we did play badly from March it seems like and in December. This also means that we've been consistently good. Yes we slipped in offense throughout the season but we've consistently been on the upper end of most of the offensive-related metrics available. It is also worth pointing that our half-court offense is pretty damn good ranking 3rd for the season.
How we did it though? My biggest point of why the Celtics didn't fill the shoes of the projected wins (yet, we can still finish above 55.5 wins) is health. Effectively, Mazzulla didn't have the same team as last year. This is not to say that Mazzulla is by any chance safe from criticisms, he just didn't have the same personnel. He did have an improvement of Brogdon and White (for the full season) compared to last year, but he didn't have the same Smart, Grant or Rob which we can all agree by eye test. But lets go to numbers a bit, specially for Rob and Smart.
Last year, Marcus played 2296 minutes, per Basketball Reference. This year, Smart played 1871 minutes so far. If he plays his average (32.3mpg) to finish the year, he will have a total of 2064 minutes played. Thats 232 minutes less, or 10.1% less minutes than last year. Given also he didn't play up to last year as well. This isn't worrisome I guess, since we had a bunch of minutes from White. I'd argue we didn't have our DPOY, so defense should (and did in absolute numbers) slip away.
Now, the biggest part Rob. Rob will be the majority of this but I'll include Al Horford for completeness. Last year Rob played 1804 minutes, Al played 2005 minutes. Total of 3809 minutes. We then had a bunch of Centers last year that go from: Enes Freedom, Daniel Theis, Luke Kornet, Bruno Fernando (only considering 50 minutes or more played). The total minutes we played the bench centers was 947.
This year we played just from Luke Kornet, 719 minutes. That's because Rob is set to play 1000 less minutes than last year. If we add Kornet, Blake, Vonleh we have 1383 minutes. This comes for an incredible thing, we have been a great defense for the year without a DPOY and a DPOY-candidate player playing as many minutes or even been themselves.
Does that mean that Rob and Smart are hurting the team? No, defense effectively improved with Rob back. But Smart is the one that has been highlighted a bit as a problem. For instance this data point, which seems to say White >>> Smart:

• In 81 minutes Smart w/Tatum/Jaylen/Al/Rob is a -27
  
• in 69 (nice) minutes White w/Tatum/Jaylen/Al/Rob is a +64
  

Now, the problem is the three man lineup of Smart, Brown and Tatum

• Tatum/Jaylen/Smart on …White off, 508 minutes, 113.5 offensive rating 119.0 defensive rating -5.5 net rating
  
• Tatum/Jaylen/White on… Smart off, 312 minutes, 118.4 offensive rating 105.6 defensive rating +12.8 net rating
  

But our four man lineups all have Smart, Jays, White, Al in any variation. Using 400 minutes as the cutoff 4 out of 15 best 4-man lineups. If we look only our team only it goes like this:

• A. Horford - M. Smart - J. Brown - D. White, OFRTG 120.7, DEFRTG 107.4, NETRTG 13.4
  
• A. Horford - J. Brown - J. Tatum - D. White, OFRTG 119.8, DEFRTG 107.4, NETRTG 12.4
  
• M. Smart - J. Brown - J. Tatum - D. White, OFRTG 123.3, DEFRTG 111.5, NETRTG 11.8
  
• A. Horford - M. Smart - J. Tatum - D. White, OFRTG 124.8, DEFRTG 113.5, NETRTG 11.3
  
• A. Horford - M. Smart - J. Brown - J. Tatum, OFRTG 116.5, DEFRTG 114.7, NETRTG 1.8
  

Why is this important though? We have 4 out of the 15 best. The Bucks appear in 16th for the first time.
Now, I do know a lot of people will point we had a better roster than last year. We got 2151 minutes of DWhite, 1622 of Brogdon, 1159 minutes of Hauser and 573 minutes of Payton. Which is a total of 5505 minutes. Compared to last year we got 1433 Minutes of Schroeder, 1087 of JRich, 1001 of Payton, 728 of Romeo, 713 of White, 158 Hauser and 112 of Jabari (lol), which is 5806 minutes. Yes, our team was better but it was different. It was smaller and had more shooting which directly translated into us taking 14% more threes this year. So what that means exactly? I'll be honest, not much. Its pretty hard to correlate the stats with winning. There is no formula for that.
But, more often than not top offenses and defenses for the season win championships. We did that. More often than not teams who reach 40 wins before 20 losses are "true" contenders. We did that. Does the last few games also correlate to winning it all? Not really. Lets check the last 30 games of the season from the recent champs and our recent 30 games stretch:

• 2017-2018 Warriors 17-13
  
• 2018-2019 Raptors 21-9 (lol)
  
• 2019-2020 Lakers 19-11
  
• 2020-2021 Bucks 18-12
  
• 2021-2022 Warriors 14-16 (steph was injured)
  
• 2022-2023 Celtics 18-12
  

Does being the 1st seed in the NBA or in the EC translate in a winning it all? Not so much recently. The last 1st seed (nba-wise) to win it all was the 2017 Warriors. The last three EC 1st seed to win it all are 2016 Cavs, 2013 Heat and 2008 Celtics.
Does this analysis means anything but calming a bit the nerves? No, not really. A lot can happen until playoffs and during the playoffs. This was meant to look and say: yes, we had problems, we have problems, we will have problems. It doesn't mean we already lost the championship nor that we have already won. It means we got a shot, a pretty good one if we look into the past, whether all of it or even the most recent past.
To add (this is an edit) there were a lot of people who called out Mazzulla for not being confrontational like Ime was. Well, this is an extract of the interview Rob gave to Forsberg:
“Joe is confrontational, man. He helped us build that urge to be able to listen to one another. He addresses all elephants in the room as soon as he enters the room. We need that. You know what I’m saying? We need a coach that will lead like that. It’s easy to follow someone like that…Joe will snap. He will snap on you for sure,” Williams said.
TLDR: I showed a bit of the data I gathered through discussions here just to say that we have a decent shot at the championship, but we ain't perfect

I will go first.
I believe, a good CMS is all you need for a basic day.
**Cleanser**
- Simple hydrating facewash is my HG && my benchmark for per ml price. Its around Rs 275 or lower in sales for 150 ml which lasts me an entire year & more!! So, any cleanser I buy has to be performing like it in that price range. Presently using the Joy revive facewash which will cost like Rs 150/- for 150 ml
**Sunscreen**
- Since I got my hands on Skin aqua uv gel sunscreen which if bought in bulk from Amazon Japan comes at Rs 1300-1400 for 140 gm which give or take will be around 90-100 ml minimum, there is no looking back. For me, 700/- for 50ml is decent. Even Re'equil blue one costs more for 50g
See, gm and ml are not same. A 50g sunscreen will definitely be less than 50 ml as it's more in density
**Moisturiser**
- Now, that's tricky. Any good Japanese or Korean moisturiser is minimum, Rs 10/ml, for instance, isntree moisturisers, cosrx ones, meishoku ceracolla gel from Japan. But compared to pharmacy moisturisers like atomist lotion / cream, aquasoft FC, which come at around Rs 2-3 per ml, the K/J beauty ones are very costly. However, if we want something in particular like ceramides in golden ratio / panthenol / niacinamide, then K beauty may be a better choice, plus the formula matters for oily skinned people like me. Even cerave lotion is costly. Not less than Rs 1900-2000 for the 236 ml bottle
I am using the minimalist 5% niacinamide lotion for face which is very hydrating with 5% niacinamide
So, if you are depending on the moisturiser for taking the heavy weight in your routine, how much are you willing to pay per ml?
**Toner**
- not essential but I use them for fun. While K beauty ones are fun and hydrating, J beauty ones ordered from Amazon japan are really really good and cheap. For instance, the kikumasamune high moist lotion will be around Rs 1200 -1300 for 500 ml and the ingredients are bomb. Since it has arbutin, I won't use it for a prolonged time. Other than that, there is Cezanne high moist skin conditioner && even Gokujyun lotion(the white one) available at 400 ml. Also, there is Aoyama ceramide toner which comes at that price for whopping 1000 ml. A bottle will last entire year if used on face and body.

Methane-dominant here. My functional medicine doctor is recommending the following "eradication" protocol. I am sensitive to medications/supplements and am nervous about it. Based on the research I've done, I was expecting/hoping to just be prescribed simple single-ingredient supplements -- namely, Allicin, Oregano and Neem.
He instead insists on herbal "blends" as follows for four weeks (ingredients listed at the end of my post):
- Biocidin LSF Liposomal Formula Liquid
- CandiBactin-BR
- Paracid Forte
He also wants me to take PHGG (Partially Hydrolyzed Guar Gum fiber supplement) throughout, and continue taking Colostrum and Saccharomyces Boulardii which I have already been on for a month.
--- Does he have this right? Is the above a safe, standard protocol to address Methane-based SIBO? I want to trust him, but have my doubts that he knows enough about this.
--- Is there any benefit or risk to taking the herbal blends as opposed to a single/limited ingredient supplement? My instinct tells me to stick to simple ingredient supplements, but maybe I'm missing something.
--- Is there anything that should be added or taken away from this protocol that could make it easier to handle (IE add in some sort of detox support?)
Any feedback or advice on the above protocol would be much appreciated. I've copied the full ingredient list of each herbal blend below for reference in case anyone is unfamiliar. Honestly just looking at these lists makes my stomach hurt.
-----------------------------------------------------------
**Biocidin**
Proprietary Herbal Blend ... 50mg
Bilberry fruit extract, Grape seed extract, Shiitake mushroom extract, Golden Seal root, Noni fruit extract, Garlic bulb, White Willow bark, Milk Thistle seed, Raspberry fruit, Echinacea Purpurea plant extract, Echinacea Angustifolia root, Black Walnut hull, Black Walnut leaf, Lavender oil, Oregano oil, Galbanum oil, Tea Tree oil, Fumitory aerial parts extract, Gentian Lutea root Phospholipids (from Sunflower Seed lecithin)
​
**CandiBactin-BR**
Berberine hydrochloride ... 400 mg
Proprietary Extract ... 300 mg
Coptis (Coptis chinensis) Root & Rhizome, Chinese Skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis) Root, Phellodendron (Phellodendron chinense) Bark, Ginger (Zingiber officinale) Rhizome, Chinese Licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis) Root, Chinese Rhubarb (Rheum officinale) Root & Rhizome
Oregon Grape Root 4:1 Extract ... 70 mg
(Berberis aquifolium)
Coptis Root & Rhizome 12:1 Extract ... 30 mg
(Coptis chinensis) (containing berberine)
​
**Paracid Forte**
Sweet Wormwood 150 mg
Olive Leaf Extract 100 mg
Black Walnut Hulls 85 mg
Berberine Hydrochloride Hydrate 75 mg
Artemisinin 25 mg

The church reached 4 million members in 1978 [1], just 7 years after recording 3 million members. A lot of things were changing during that time, and the trajectory of church growth was one of them. Starting that year, you could reliably count on the membership to break the next million-member mark (e.g. 5 million, 6 million, etc.) every ~3–4 years [2]. That trend continued all the way to the 16 million member mark in 2017.
Based on that recent trend, it was reasonable to expect membership to hit the 17 million mark at the latest in 2021. Of course there have been some mitigating circumstances in the past few years. But even pre-pandemic there were signs that something had changed. By 2013 the growth rate was dropping and hitting new historically low levels each year until small increase in 2019.

Year	Growth Rate	Notes
2013	2.03%	Lowest rate since 1974
2014	1.92%	Lowest rate since 1957
2015	1.70%	Lowest rate since 1918
2016	1.59%	Lowest rate since 1909
2017	1.48%	Lowest rate since 1866
2018	1.21%	Lowest rate since 1858
2019	1.54%	First increase since 2012
2020	0.60%	Limited in-person contact
2021	0.85%	Partial in-person contact

In the coming week we should see a release of the latest statistical report of the church. And it seems like a 50/50 proposition on whether the reported membership will break 17 million. For reference, the 2021 membership was 16,805,400. The growth rate in 2022 would have to have been 1.16% to hit the next million-member milestone.
Is that growth rate good or bad? I think that depends on how it's contextualized. Pre-pandemic, such a growth rate would have been the lowest since 1858. But in this new era it would represent a breakout from the worldwide slowdown and a return to the previous trend.
To look at the data a bit further, I use Holt's linear trend to forecast membership growth. Using only the pre-pandemic data, the model shows a growth rate of 1.35% for 2022, which would put the membership at 17,031,457. When the 2020–2021 data is included, the growth rate is 0.87% which puts the 2022 membership at 16,951,200.
As you can see, it's not easy predicting if the church surpassed 17 million members in 2022. But either way, it appears that the days of adding a million members every ~3–4 years has come to an end. Looking at the model of the data up through 2019 indicates a new ~5–6 year period between millions for the near future. Including the 2020–2021 data extends that to a ~8–9 year period. The 2022 report should give us some idea which model is more predictive. My guess is it will be closer to ~5–6 years.
As for my prediction on 2022 membership, I'm going to say it does hit 17 million, but it's going to be close. Mark me down for 17,015,777.
Speaking of things that are very close, I looked at the data from 1978 to the present to see the closest it ever came to hitting the next million right on the nose.

• In 2003 it missed the next million by 14,746 with a reported membership of 11,985,254
• In 1984 it surpassed that next million by 24,569 with a reported membership of 9,024,569

Will 2022 have a smaller margin? It's definitely in the realm of possibility with either model, and would not surprise me. Though I guess that's obvious based on my prediction.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Somebody put together a very comprehensive Google doc with church demographics sourced from the official annual statistical reports. I haven't been able to identify the author but I'm grateful for their work.
[1] I'm using the official membership data from the church and I'm taking it at face value for the purposes of the analysis.
[2] mean=3.25, sd=0.6, range=2–4

The church reached 4 million members in 1978 [1], just 7 years after recording 3 million members. A lot of things were changing during that time, and the trajectory of church growth was one of them. Starting that year, you could reliably count on the membership to break the next million-member mark (e.g. 5 million, 6 million, etc.) every ~3–4 years [2]. That trend continued all the way to the 16 million member mark in 2017.
Based on that recent trend, it was reasonable to expect membership to hit the 17 million mark at the latest in 2021. Of course there have been some mitigating circumstances in the past few years. But even pre-pandemic there were signs that something had changed. By 2013 the growth rate was dropping and hitting new historically low levels each year until small increase in 2019.

Year	Growth Rate	Notes
2013	2.03%	Lowest rate since 1974
2014	1.92%	Lowest rate since 1957
2015	1.70%	Lowest rate since 1918
2016	1.59%	Lowest rate since 1909
2017	1.48%	Lowest rate since 1866
2018	1.21%	Lowest rate since 1858
2019	1.54%	First increase since 2012
2020	0.60%	Limited in-person contact
2021	0.85%	Partial in-person contact

In the coming week we should see a release of the latest statistical report of the church. And it seems like a 50/50 proposition on whether the reported membership will break 17 million. For reference, the 2021 membership was 16,805,400. The growth rate in 2022 would have to have been 1.16% to hit the next million-member milestone.
Is that growth rate good or bad? I think that depends on how it's contextualized. Pre-pandemic, such a growth rate would have been the lowest since 1858. But in this new era it would represent a breakout from the worldwide slowdown and a return to the previous trend.
To look at the data a bit further, I use Holt's linear trend to forecast membership growth. Using only the pre-pandemic data, the model shows a growth rate of 1.35% for 2022, which would put the membership at 17,031,457. When the 2020–2021 data is included, the growth rate is 0.87% which puts the 2022 membership at 16,951,200.
As you can see, it's not easy predicting if the church surpassed 17 million members in 2022. But either way, it appears that the days of adding a million members every ~3–4 years has come to an end. Looking at the model of the data up through 2019 indicates a new ~5–6 year period between millions for the near future. Including the 2020–2021 data extends that to a ~8–9 year period. The 2022 report should give us some idea which model is more predictive. My guess is it will be closer to ~5–6 years.
As for my prediction on 2022 membership, I'm going to say it does hit 17 million, but it's going to be close. Mark me down for 17,015,777.
Speaking of things that are very close, I looked at the data from 1978 to the present to see the closest it ever came to hitting the next million right on the nose.

• In 2003 it missed the next million by 14,746 with a reported membership of 11,985,254
• In 1984 it surpassed that next million by 24,569 with a reported membership of 9,024,569

Will 2022 have a smaller margin? It's definitely in the realm of possibility with either model, and would not surprise me. Though I guess that's obvious based on my prediction.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Somebody put together a very comprehensive Google doc with church demographics sourced from the official annual statistical reports. I haven't been able to identify the author but I'm grateful for their work.
[1] I'm using the official membership data from the church and I'm taking it at face value for the purposes of the analysis.
[2] mean=3.25, sd=0.6, range=2–4

I've been toying with AI for the past few weeks and asked it how cost of living differences (assuming a single with no dependents) between some big and small legal markets impact the after-tax remaining proceeds. I've copied and pasted the results below.
The markets were NY, Chicago, Washington DC, Atlanta and Denver. I'm familiar with NY and it seems roughly right but curious if it is roughly right for the other markets as well - if you're familiar with any of them, let me know what you think!
I started my career in NYC and feel there were lots of non-financial (food, culture, nightlife) and financial (wealth of inhouse opps) benefits to working and living in the city, but the 50K difference in after-tax proceeds in the bank account would have been worthy of some consideration.
----------AI response------------
To provide you with a detailed comparison of the cost of living expenses in New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Atlanta, and Denver, I'll break down the main categories: housing, transportation, utilities, groceries, and healthcare. Please note that these are approximate values, and actual costs may vary depending on your lifestyle choices and specific neighborhood.

1. Housing (rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in a mid-range area):

• New York: $2,500 - $3,500 per month
• Chicago: $1,600 - $2,300 per month
• Washington DC: $2,000 - $2,700 per month
• Atlanta: $1,300 - $1,800 per month
• Denver: $1,500 - $2,000 per month

1. Transportation (public transportation and/or car ownership):

• New York: $127 (30-day MetroCard) + occasional taxi/rideshare
• Chicago: $105 (30-day CTA Pass) + occasional taxi/rideshare or car-related expenses
• Washington DC: $100 (30-day SmarTrip card) + occasional taxi/rideshare or car-related expenses
• Atlanta: $95 (30-day MARTA Pass) + occasional taxi/rideshare or car-related expenses
• Denver: $114 (30-day RTD Pass) + occasional taxi/rideshare or car-related expenses

1. Utilities (electricity, heating, cooling, water, garbage for an 85m2 apartment):

• New York: $130 - $180 per month
• Chicago: $120 - $170 per month
• Washington DC: $110 - $160 per month
• Atlanta: $120 - $170 per month
• Denver: $100 - $150 per month

1. Groceries:

• New York: $400 - $600 per month
• Chicago: $350 - $550 per month
• Washington DC: $350 - $550 per month
• Atlanta: $300 - $500 per month
• Denver: $325 - $525 per month

1. Healthcare (insurance premium and out-of-pocket expenses):

• New York: $350 - $500 per month
• Chicago: $300 - $450 per month
• Washington DC: $300 - $450 per month
• Atlanta: $250 - $400 per month
• Denver: $275 - $425 per month

Now let's calculate your approximate monthly take-home pay after federal, state, and city income taxes. Assuming you are single with no dependents, your salary is $215,000, and you have $100,000 in student loan debt, your tax rates are as follows:

• Federal income tax rate: 24%
• State income tax rates: NY: 6.41%, IL: 4.95%, DC: 6.5%, GA: 5.75%, CO: 4.55%
• City income tax rates: NY: 3.87%, Chicago: None, DC: None, Atlanta: None, Denver: None

To calculate your take-home pay, we can use the following formula:
Take-home pay = Gross salary - (Gross salary * Federal tax rate) - (Gross salary * State tax rate) - (Gross salary * City tax rate)
After calculating the take-home pay for each city, we'll subtract the major cost of living expenses to determine the remaining income:

1. New York:

• Take-home pay: $123,679
• Expenses: $54,444 - $75,540
• Remaining income: $48,139 - $69,235

1. Chicago:

• Take-home pay: $139,537
• Expenses: $41,640 - $57,420
• Remaining income: $82,117 - $97,897

1. Washington DC:

• Take-home pay: $136,085
• Expenses: $43,320 - $60,420
• Remaining income: $75,665 - $92,765

1. Atlanta:

• Take-home pay: $141,122
• Expenses: $38,940 - $53,400
• Remaining income: $87,722 - $102,182

1. Denver:

• Take-home pay: $142,918
• Expenses: $39,948 - $55,020
• Remaining income: $87,898 - $102,970

André Lara Resende is one of the “fathers” of the very successful Plano Real, it successfully turned the hyperinflationary Brazilian economy in a stable one very quickly in the 90s (he was also one of the “fathers” of other failed plans, but still…).
Not much time ago, he became a heterodox economist, saying things like “economic orthodoxy is a failed ideology”. But I won’t talk about it, I will talk about his takes on the English Monetary History, and how it is completely wrong.
Why is it important? The current Lula's government has an economic team divided into two main sectors. One sector argues that the fiscal regime must have real limits and these limits must be respected. The other sector believes that the expansionary fiscal policy can be unlimited. The former is led by the former Minister of Education and current Minister of Economy, Fernando Haddad. The latter is led by the former Minister of Education and current President of the Brazilian Bank of Development, Aloizio Mercadante. Mercadante's intellectual guru is André Lara Resende, the main proponent of the unlimited expansionary fiscal regime.
In a lecture to the Institute of Economics of Unicamp, the second most important Brazilian university (behind USP only), André Lara Resende uses the English monetary history to substantiate his theory about the non-spontaneity of the currencies, seen first in his book Consenso e Contrassenso (Consensus and “Nonsense”, 2020):
Lecture to UNICAMP on YouTube, in Portuguese but with auto-generated English subtitles.
What is talked about in this class is basically what is talked about in his book:

Chapter 1: Currency, ideas, and politics
Currency as a public service
Roman coins circulated in England, as well as throughout the Roman Empire, until the end of the 6th century. With the withdrawal of the Romans, Britain's administrative and military structure was dismantled, and the English economy was demonetized. From the beginning of the 5th century to the end of the 7th century there was virtually no currency in circulation in England (Source: Robert Barro: Are Government Bonds Net Wealth?, Journal of Political Economy, n. 81, v. 6, 1974). Most Roman coins fell out of circulation. Worn out or hoarded, the remnants continued to circulate sparsely, and markets collapsed. The impact of monetary liquidity on material conditions and cultural production was dramatic. If we believe in currency as a creation of market needs, these would be the ideal conditions for the emergence of a local currency, but that is not what happened. Without a central authority capable of establishing the unit of account for recording transactions, trade declined, all demand disappeared, and there is no evidence of merchant activities until the end of the 7th century. According to Chris Wickham, “all forms of exchange, beyond the most rudimentary, must have ceased” (Source: David Graeber, Debt: The First 5000 Years. London: Melville House, 2011).
According to archaeological studies, reorganization in the Anglo-Saxon lands began at the end of the 6th century. At the beginning of the 8th century, with the reconstruction of political power and the consolidation of hierarchically more organized small kingdoms, units of account for pecuniary obligations were reintroduced, and trade flourished again. From the 11th century onwards, currency began to be regulated and institutionalized both in England and on the European continent. Governments then realized that they needed to introduce a more efficient means of collecting taxes and transferring resources. The oldest extant report from the English Treasury, from the late 12th century, states:
Currency is needed, not only in times of war, but also in times of peace. Because, in the first case, the revenues are spent on fortifying cities, paying soldiers’ salaries. When hostilities cease, weapons of war are laid aside, churches are built by pious princes, Christ is clothed and fed in the person of the poor, and the mammon of this world is distributed through other acts of charity (source: Edmund Phelps , “The Golden Rule of Accumulation: A Fable of Growthmen”, American Economic Review, v. 51, n. 4, 1961).
Despite the interest of the central power in the institution of money, for many years governments charged for its coinage. Having established the silver or gold content of each coin, anyone could take the metal to an authorized house and, subject to a discount on the contributed metal, leave with the officially minted legal tender coins. The discount, known as seigniorage, was supposed to cover the cost of the coinage and remunerate the government for the service rendered. Until today, when the currency is exclusively fiduciary, the government's gain with its issuance, on which no interest is levied, is called seigniorage. The public was willing to pay the seigniorage, the cost of minting plus a tribute, which could reach up to 5% of the metallic value minted, because the homogenization and regulation of currency was a highly valued service. The chronic illiquidity of the medieval European economy meant that coins almost always circulated at a premium over metallic value. When that premium was far above the cost of seigniorage, more metal was taken to be minted. After the sixteenth century, when the lack of liquidity had already been mitigated, in the rare moments when the rise in silver and gold prices made the coin's face value less than its metallic value, the pieces were melted down, thus creating a endogenous mechanism of expansion and contraction of the stock of physical money.
Medieval metallic coins were always subject to the problem of loss of metallic content, whether due to dishonest scraping or wear and tear of its use, which forced the authorities to remove them from circulation and replace them with new ones, in accordance with established norms for legal tender. The costs of currency renewal fell mostly on the holders of old coins. The premium on its metallic content, the cost of minting, as well as those of currency reforms, all borne for the most part by the public, is evidence of the high value of the service provided by the coin. The universal acceptance guaranteed by legal tender, by the fact of being accepted to settle tax debts and all kinds of official charges, is a public service for which society has always been willing to pay. The reference value and liquidity of the currency is vital for the functioning and expansion of markets. Rulers could charge for currency, which benefited both the government and the public, because illiquidity has always been a painful constraint on trade and all economic activity.

So, I would like to highlight his main points about the history of currency in England, so that we can see how, in fact, the English monetary history was.

Main Points

1. Video: “Up to the 7th century, in England, circulated the metallic Roman coins”;

Book: “Roman coins circulated in England, as well as throughout the Roman Empire, until the end of the 6th century”.

1. The coins ceased to circulate.
   
2. Video: there was a complete collapse of economic activity in England;
   

Book: markets collapsed.
Implicitly, 4. Markets collapsed because of lack of currency.

1. Video: the ideal situation for an economy that had already been a monetary economy to recreate a spontaneous currency;

Book: If we believe in currency as a creation of market needs, these would be the ideal conditions for the emergence of a local currency.

1. Video: and none of that happened;

Book: but that is not what happened.

1. Video: It was only from the 11th century onwards that there was a certain amount of centralization, it was during this period that money began to reappear, therefore, the crown started with the idea of creating an accounting system to collect taxes.

Book: From the 11th century onwards, currency began to be regulated and institutionalized both in England and on the European continent. Governments then realized that they needed to introduce a more efficient means of collecting taxes and transferring resources.

The first coins minted in England: coin in the British Iron Age

Although Lara Resende says that “it was from the 11th century that metallic coins began to be minted in England for the first time” (video), the first metallic coins minted in England actually date from pre-Roman times.
For better situational understanding, here is a modern map of the tribes that inhabited the British Isles before the Romans:
Image 1. Pre-Roman British islands
The Southern Britain, the region conquered by Rome, had several tribes and several of these tribes already had a monetary system. Take a look at some of the coins sold by the traditional Baldwin’s numismatic shop:
Image 2. Corieltauvi
Image 3. Iceni
Image 4. Trinovantes and Catuvellauni, it is presumed that, at some point, a tribe was suzerain of another tribe, causing a common coin to be produced in both tribes
Image 5. Belgae
Image 6. Dobunni
Image 7. Durotriges
Coins named “stater” were inspired by the Greek coins of the same name. Therefore, it can be said with a high degree of certainty that this region of southern Britain had a monetary system in pre-Roman times:
Image 8. Area of pre-Roman Britain with a monetary system
Damnonii
Image 9. Damnonii
A curious case, however, are the Dumnonii (Damnonii, depending on the author). Gaius Julius Solinus (c. 3rd century CE) points out in his book Polyhistor (c. 3rd century CE) that they lived in the ancient way, without the use of money, but on the basis of giving and accept and by exchange – which is a possible reference to a mutual gift and barter economy, one should not exclude the other.

§ 22.7 {9} This turbid strait also divides the island Silura from the shore which is held by the Dumnonii, a British tribe. The men of this island even now preserve an old custom: they do not use coins. They give and accept, obtaining the necessities of life by exchange rather than by money. They reverence gods, and the men and women equally declare knowledge of the future.
--------
Siluram quoque insulam ab ora quam gens Brittana Dumnonii tenent turbidum fretum distinguit. Cuius homines etiamnunc custodiunt morem uetustum: nummum refutant; dant res et accipiunt; mutationibus necessaria potius quam pretiis parant; deos percolunt; scientiam futurorum pariter uiri ac feminae ostentant

The economic decline of the 5th and 6th centuries

Was the British economic collapse of the 5th and 6th century caused by the absence of coins, or was the absence of coins caused by economic collapse?
Four points:

1. Institutional crisis and the Anglo-Saxons;
2. Bubonic plague;
3. Natural disaster;
4. Population decline.

1. Institutional crisis and the Anglo-Saxons

Given the extensive body of research on institutions and their role in promoting national prosperity, as well as the overwhelming support for this idea among leading economists such as Acemoglu, Coase, Ostrom, Williamson, and others, I believe that stressing the importance of institutions to a nation's success would be redundant.
However, it is important to note that after the abrupt departure of the Romans from British lands, the island experienced a profound institutional crisis. Moreover, Britannia began to receive people from different regions.
One of André Lara Resende's points is: as Britain was used to have a monetary system, it was natural that the same people — the Britons — would continue having a monetary system, which did not happen. First of all, it is important to note that the population of Anglo-Saxon England differed significantly from that of Roman Britain, with the arrival of the Angles and Saxons from the continent following the abrupt Roman departure, when the defenses were weakened. As a side note, the emergence of the King Arthur myth, wherein he, a Briton, defends Britannia against the Anglo-Saxons, can be traced back to this time in history.
Image 10. The new inhabitants of Great Britain

2. Bubonic plague, c. 525 —

Although not as well-known as the Black Death, the bubonic plague known as the Justinian Plague had a profound impact on Europe that lasted for centuries.
Image 11. Introductory article on the history of epidemics

3. Natural disaster: the volcanic winter of 536

In addition to the bubonic pandemic, the massive eruption of a volcano, likely located in Iceland, had far-reaching consequences. This event resulted in a significant cooling of the Northern Hemisphere, known as Late Antique Little Ice Age.
Image 12. Change in average global temperature
One of the most compelling documented of evidence — in addition to scientific analysis of volcanic activity — is the widespread reports of crop failures during this period, which likely contributed to a devastating famine across Europe.
The convergence of pandemic and natural disaster was so significant that many historians regard the 6th century AD as one of the most difficult times to be alive.
Image 13. Science: Why 536 was the 'the worst year to be alive'

4. European population decline

The impact of the combination of these disasters was so profound that it not only affected England, as noted by André Lara Resende, but also brought Europe as a whole to an economic collapse. The evidence of the continent-wide disaster is manifold, with one of the most striking being the precipitous decline in population, which was, at that time, closely linked to social breakdowns.
Image 14. European population decline in both bubonic plagues
Considering the array of factors that contributed to the economic collapse of England in the 5th and 6th centuries, it appears highly unlikely that the absence of local coinage played a decisive role. Rather, the delay in the appearance of local coinage can be more reasonably attributed to the general economic collapse that characterized both Britain and continental Europe during this era. It should be noted that the assertion put forward by Lara Resende on video that England only began to mint its own coinage in the 11th century is mistaken, as there is ample evidence of local coin production dating back to the 7th century.

Thrymsas and sceattas, the resurgence of British coins in the 7th century

Thrysmsas

In the early 7th century, the introduction of thrymsas marked the first instance of coin minting in England after the Roman era. These coins were modeled after the Roman tremissis, which is precisely what would happen if the theory of the spontaneity of coins were not false, according to André Lara Resende’s train of thought.
Image 15. Thrymsas

Sceattas (early pennies)

The sceattas, called by some scholars as “early pennies”, were the first silver coins minted in Anglo-Saxon England. In the 7th century, they completely replaced the production of gold coins (thrymsas). They were minted by several individuals and the extent of royal control over their production remains a topic of debate.
Some sceattas, for example, were produced by the Church and it is not clear what kind of control the kings of the small Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of the time exercised over the “Coins of the Saints”, or even if there was any control at all.
On this subject, Professor Rory Naismith, a specialist in Early Medieval English monetary history, concludes:
Image 16. Money of the Saints
However, it is important to note that ecclesiastical coins only represented a fraction of the sceattas. In fact, there are several other examples of these coins dating back to at least the 7th century, long before the 11th century as previously suggested.
Image 17. Sceattas
While some sceattas feature the portrait of a king and his name, others bear only the name of the moneyer and a symbol, others display the name of the moneyer and the mint. The diversity of these coins was so great that it is unlikely that rigid centralized control existed during this period. The sceattas exhibit a remarkable variety of designs and inscriptions, which suggests that the production of these coins was largely decentralized and subject to the discretion of individual minters and merchants.

Penny

The lack of knowledge regarding thrymsas and sceattas is understandable, as their discoveries have been more recent (it has increased with the technological advancement of archeology) and their popularity is relatively low. However, it is surprising to ignore the penny, a currency that played a significant role in English history, and to claim that the first coin was only minted in England in the 11th century.
In effect, the penny was formalized as the currency of Mercia, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom, by the end of the 8th century through the reforms of King Offa, who centralized coin production and exercised stricter control over it.
It is worth noting that the reputable auction house Baldwin’s has sold several Anglo-Saxon pennies, dating back to before the 11th century, further emphasizing the long-standing presence of coinage in England.
Image 18. Pennies

Conclusion

The account of English currency history presented by André Lara Resende, one the greatest Brazilian economists, in his book Consenso e Contrassenso (2020) and his video lecture for the Institute of Economics of Unicamp (2021), contains several significant flaws that require reassessment. These flaws lead to erroneous conclusions and undermine the credibility of his work.
Therefore, the conclusions of the main points are:

Premise 1: “Up to the 7th century, in England, circulated the metallic Roman coins”, Premise 2: The coins ceased to circulate.

Correct. Following the disappearance of Roman coins from Anglo-Saxon England, imitations of Roman coins began to be produced (thrymsas).

Premise 3. “there was a complete collapse of economic activity in England”.

Correct. Not only in England, but all over Europe. The abrupt departure of the Romans from Britannia in the early 5th century and the subsequent invasion of the Angles and Saxons, who did not have a monetary economy, led to an institutional, social, and economic crisis in England. Additionally, the pandemic and volcanic winter of the 6th century caused a significant economic stagnation throughout Europe.

Conclusion 4. Markets collapsed because of lack of currency.

Unlikely. The collapse of markets and the rise of subsistence economies are better explained by the abrupt Roman exit, the Anglo-Saxon invasion, the Justinian Plague, and the Late Antique Little Ice Age.

Premise 5. If we believe in currency as a creation of market needs, these would be the ideal conditions for the emergence of a local currency.

Correct, the absence of currency creates the need for currency.

Conclusion 6. but that is not what happened.

Incorrect, several coins emerged in Anglo-Saxon England, contradicting the claim that there was a complete absence of currency during this period.

Conclusion 7. It was only from the 11th century onwards that there was a certain amount of centralization, it was during this period that money began to reappear, therefore, the crown started with the idea of creating an accounting system to collect taxes.

Incorrect. Thus, the idea that there was no local currency during Anglo-Saxon England, from the end of Roman Britain to the Norman Conquest in the 11th century, as basically purported by André Lara Resende, is factually incorrect.

References

Alessia Rovelli, Money and Coinage in the Middle Ages (Boston: Brill, 2018)
André Lara Resende, Consenso e Contrassenso: Por uma Economia Não Dogmática (Portfolio Penguin, 2020).


Anna Gannon, The Iconography of Early Anglo-Saxon Coinage: Sixth to Eighth Centuries (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010)

Carlo M. Cipolla, The Fontana Economic History of Europe Volume I: The Middle Ages (New York: Barnes and Noble, 1972)

Kathryn A. Glatter e Paul Finkelman, History of the Plague: An Ancient Pandemic for the Age of COVID-19, Am J Med, 2021, Volume 134 (2): p. 176–181.
Rory Naismith, Medieval European Coinage 8: Britain and Ireland c. 400–1066 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017)
Rory Naismith, Studies in Early Medieval Coinage 3: Sifting the Evidence (Spike Books, 2014)

So...
In Kalamazoo City, there have been 43 reported assaults with a firearm in 2023. This is a 44% increase in reports from the past 10 years, however, it also shows a 25% decrease over the last year - so far in these first few months. In the last seven days, there were 2 reports of gun violence in Kalamazoo. This does not cover the entire county. (Kalamazoopublicsafety.org)
Portage's 2021 annual report listed 130 murdenon-negligent homicides, weapons offenses, and aggravated/felonious assaults (I excluded all other crime statistics data even if it could potentially be relevant as the use of a firearm is not further clarified in the Portage report). They do not provide a link to previous reports. (portagemi.gov)
The most recent Michigan annual report from 2021 does not list detailed incidents for Kalamazoo county, but by the state, but does appear reliable if you're interested in checking that out: (Michigan.gov)
The firearms injury death rate in Michigan in 2020 is 14.6 (per 100,000) according to the CDC. Compared to 2017 when the rate was 11.3. (CDC.gov)
(https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/02/03/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/) :
'Nearly eight-in-ten (79%) U.S. murders in 2020 – 19,384 out of 24,576 – involved a firearm. In 2020, 54% of all gun-related deaths in the U.S. were suicides (24,292), while 43% were murders (19,384), according to the CDC. The remaining gun deaths that year were unintentional (535), involved law enforcement (611) or had undetermined circumstances (400).
In 2020, the U. S. saw the highest per capita gun death rate in years at 13.6, but this is still below the peak of 16.3 gun deaths per 100,000 people in 1974 per capita nationwide. The Gun Violence Archive, an online database of gun violence incidents in the U.S., defines mass shootings as incidents in which four or more people are shot, even if no one was killed (again excluding the shooters). Using this definition, 513 people died in these incidents in 2020. In 2020, handguns were involved in 59% of the 13,620 U.S. gun murders and non-negligent manslaughters for which data is available, according to the FBI. Rifles – the category that includes guns sometimes referred to as “assault weapons” – were involved in 3% of firearm murders. Shotguns were involved in 1%. The remainder of gun homicides and non-negligent manslaughters (36%) involved other kinds of firearms or those classified as “type not stated.”
It’s important to note that the FBI’s statistics do not capture the details on all gun murders in the U.S. each year. The FBI’s data is based on information voluntarily submitted by police departments around the country, and not all agencies participate or provide complete information each year.'
This is purely to provide data and a space for discussion, if so inclined, as the other thread was locked and then deleted. I thought it might be prudent to follow up with the topic of original poster's topic with reputable sources that include as up-to-date data as I could locate.

A new roadmap video for Eversoul just came out earlier and it is filled with new upcoming hefty contents to the game, which is why I'm posting it here. If you don't want to read, you can just watch the EN version for yourself here or just look at the attached images. Now, without further ado:
Content calendar.
-- 100 Day Anniversary Free Summon Event --

• To celebrate 100 days since Eversoul's initial release, a free summon event ala Guardian Tales will take place, where players will be given free 10-pulls per day for 10 days starting April 6. Not logging in at least once within said period will make you lose that free 10-pull for that specific day.

-- Upcoming New Souls --
Release calendar.
Note: New Soul banners will now last for 3 weeks instead of 2.

• April 6 - Demon Lizelotte (Gungnir)

11:13-12:16 - Preview.

• April 27 - Undead Garnet (Spear of Longinus)
  
• May 18 - Fairy Manon (Gold Coins of El Dorado)
  
• June 8 - Beast Soyeon (Ruyi Jingu Bang)
  
• June 29 - Angel Claudia (Möllnir)
  

-- Other Content --
Battlefront 19 will be released at some point in April. From this point on, players will be required to use 3 parties against Elite stages (every 5 stages) and Boss stages (end of Battlefront).
Changes to Champs Arena will be applied at some point in May. The March 13 Dev Notes discuss the changes coming to said PvP mode.
Tower of Origin and Battlefront Hard Mode will be released at some point in May. Tower of Origin is discussed below, while no details were revealed about Battlefront Hard Mode.
Main Story Chapter 5 will be released at some point in June. It was delayed as a result of disappoinment players had towards the writing decisions in Chapter 4, forcing Nine Ark to go back to the drawing board and rewrite what they had for Chapter 5, as discussed in the February 28 Dev Notes.
-- Angel/Demon Pick-up Banners --
Details.
With the upcoming Lizelotte banner on April 6, the first Angel/Demon Pick-up Banner will be released, which will work differently from regular Pick-up Banners.

• Featured Angel/Demon will have a 1.6% rate up, compared to the normal 2%.
  
• Mileage and package contents will differ from regular pick-ups.
  
• After reaching 300 pulls, a spark system will be in place where the pick-up Soul's worth of shards (60) will be given every 100 pulls, meaning you're guaranteed a copy of the pick-up character for each 100 pulls you roll (applies to all pick-ups onwards).
  

-- Erika's Alchemy Summons --
Details.

• Works like the Stargazer gacha from AFK Arena.
  
• Compared to the 210/2100 Everstone cost for most gem summons, Alchemy Summons will require 400/4000 Everstones.
  
• You can select the Soul you want to pull, including Angels/Demons (except for newly released Souls, which will be added after their banner is over), giving her a rate-up rate of 2%.
  
• The other 98% will be items that align with the gem costs.
  
• There will be a pity system in place where you're guaranteed the Soul you chose within 70 pulls (28k Everstones). Pulling your selected Soul before hitting 70 pulls will reset the counter.
  

-- EVENTS --
Event Schedule.
-- April 6 - 27: Everschool (School event) --
Summary.
Limited-time schoolgirl skins for Mephi, Linzy, and Claire.

• It's a school-themed event that will start on April 6.
  
• Login screen and BGM will be changed to fit the current event.
  
• A 2 week-long attendance event will occur where players will be given 200 Everstones per day for 12 days and 10 Normal Summon Tickets for Days 7 and 14.
  
• There will be two Event Stages and one Boss Raid stage for this event, all with their own currencies.
  

Event Stages summary.

• There will be two Event Stages: and , and you have 5 entries per day (additional 5 entries to be paid with Everstones).
  
• Linzy or Claire will have extra buffs if you bring them in your party and if you're in a specific stage (Linzy in vs. Linzy stages and Claire in vs. Claire stages). Finishing all 10 difficulties will give you 2600 Everstones (at least 11 pulls).
  
• You cannot borrow friends' Souls when taking on these stages, and cleared stages can be sweeped. These stages will give you these currencies: "Ethics Class Voucher" or "P.E. Class Voucher" to be exchanged in the event shop for items, character shards, and limited-time skins for Linzy and Claire.
  
• Being able to clear stages up to difficulty 8 will require additional entries to clean out the shop. Getting to the highest difficulty will ensure that you can clean out the shop with no additional entries.
  
• If you have excess of one type of voucher, you can exchange them for the other voucher at an exchange rate of 3:2, or turn them into gold coins.
  

Event shop details.
Boss Raid: G. Mephi.

• There will be one Boss Raid with this update, against G. Mephi. You can use one party to attack the boss and you are given 3 entries per day (no recharges). You cannot borrow friends' Souls here either.
  
• Like the January Boss Raid event, players will receive rewards depending on their performance, in highest achieved score and cumulative score. Highest score rewards can give up to 2500 Everstones (at least 11 pulls) and cumulative score will give Mephi's limited-time skin, her shards, 15 Normal Summon Tickets, and 10 Artifact Summon Tickets.
  
• After clearing the boss raid once per day, players have the option to sweep the raid for the day, in which rewards will be based on the highest score achieved that day.
  
• Clearing the Boss Raid can also give another event currency "Everschool Prize Medal" to be used in the event gachapon.
  

Event gachapon.

• The gachapon can be rolled by using 20 Everschool Prize Medals. It will be split into different rounds with specific "winning prizes" that will let you move to the next round after pulling them. Winning prizes are items you can also buy in the event shop. This event currency can also be obtained by buying event packs from the cash shop.

-- May 4 - 25: Merry Happy Marry (Wedding event) --
Preview of said event, feat. Cherrie, Nini, Violette, and Garnet.
Limited-time bride skins for Cherrie and Nini.
End of May: Evil Soul Subjugation - Doomsday Doll
June: Undisclosed summer event (Part 1)
Early June: Waves in Forest of Monsters (Mini-event)
Mid-June: Evil Soul Subjugation - The Witch Who Brought The End Of The World
UPCOMING CONTENTS:
-- Evil Soul Subjugation --
Details (subject to change).

• A new game mode themed after the concept of "Soul from another timeline that never met the Savior". Think Abyssals from Kancolle or META ships from Azur Lane, but it's sort of like World Bosses from Soul Tide.
  
• The mode lasts for one week and can be challenged once a day.
  
• You can set the boss's level before challenging them, and you can test this chosen difficulty in practice mode. Once the boss's level is set, the game will create a duplicate roster based on the units you've set in the Level Sync and the five highest-level Souls at that time, which means you cannot use Level Sync to change out Soul levels while the boss is alive.
  
• You must defeat the boss with the duplicate roster with multiple parties, and each Soul can only participate once per boss challenge. Duplicate Souls can be used in place of unavailable ones, but they will not be able to utilize Artifacts since it will only apply to the Soul that had them equipped during the roster duplication process.
  
• Challenge entry will only be deducted upon victory, and if the chosen level proves to be too difficult, players can reset and reselect the level. You can also sweep cleared levels.
  
• After the event ends, players will be given rewards based on their performance and leaderboard placement. In case of ties, the player that cleared the level first will be ranked higher.
  
• It will also have its own event currency "Evil Soul Shard" that you can use in the Subjugation Shop to purchase items like a limited-time Evil Soul skin for the featured Soul. Said shop is only open during the event duration.
  

-- Waves in Forest of Monsters --
Details (subject to change).

• A mini-event based on the current event (Flower event)'s mini-game of killing as many monsters as possible within the time limit. It will also last for one week.
  
• Player damage depending on account level is removed, but helper Soul performance depending on Affection level is retained.
  
• There are plans to add new attack types and animations based on Soul type and weapon of choice (currently the only attack styles are sword swings for melee characters and magic attacks for ranged characters).
  
• Special pick-up items will be added to heal units, change attack type and weapon level, increase max HP, and instant AoE.
  
• You will be able to select which helper Soul will be summoned and they will have different effects.
  
• Rewards will be given based on daily scores (fodder shards), highest score (profile frames), and cumulative score (Normal Summon Tickets).
  

-- Tower of Origin --

• Tower-climbing game mode with lore connections. Think Orbital Lift from Guardian Tales.
  
• First Souls that will get Towers will be Mephi and Talia.
  
• Each Tower will have 30 stages, and lore stuff will be revealed every 10 stages.
  
• You're required to use the Soul related to the Tower alongside four other Souls in your roster. If you don't have the required Soul, you will be able to borrow one.
  
• Unlike other game modes, enemies fought in the Towers will have equipped Keepsakes and Artifacts like player-controlled Souls. They will also be able to use Ultimate Skills.
  
• Each Soul in the party can only use their Ultimate Skill once per battle.
  
• Clearing the Tower will give you Artifact shards, increase that Soul's Artifact level, and a statue that you can place in the Town.
  

It's Tuesday and the second day of Watches and Wonders. Most of the reveals took place yesterday, some after I posted and some just didn't fit in the post. So here we go, a roundup of everything that's happening at Watches and Wonders, a bit shorter, but with more watches.
Also, thank you everyone for the reactions to yesterday's post. A couple of huge rewards and all the comments were amazing! Hope you enjoy today's roundup:
Jaeger-LeCoultre Introduces the Reverso Tribute Chronograph, the Duoface Tourbillon and Colors For the Reverso Small Seconds

• Reverso Tribute Chronograph. That says it all, pretty much. Jaeger-LeCoultre has announced a Reverso chronograph in the 1930s-themed aesthetic of their beloved "Tribute" models. It comes in stainless steel and rose gold. Both versions have the same dimensions - 49.4 (lug to lug), 29.9 wide, and 11.14mm thick - with, you guessed it, two faces. One side is a classic time-only dial, while the reverso side is a skeletonized dial with a large chronograph seconds measure and a 30-minute retrograde indication. The skeleton dial comes in handy to see the brand new movement, the JLC 860, which is manually wound and supports a power reserve of 52 hours.Pricing for the Reverso Tribute Chronograph starts at $21,400 in steel and $37,400 in pink gold.
• JLC also updates it’s classic Tribute models with new Small Seconds models with vintage colors. The watches feature faceted dauphine hands, colored dials, applied bar indexes, and a small seconds display at 6:00. The difference between existing models is the new pink gold, ultra slim case which has decreased by a full millimeter in thickness from its stainless steel predecessor. Unfortunately the updated steel model remans 8.5mm.There are two colors you can choose from - a mirror effect black lacquer dial (an homage to the black dials of the original 1931 Reverso) and a burgundy lacquer dial. Both are paired with straps from Argentinian heritage brand Casa Fagliano in complementary colors. The third pink gold case dial variant comes in sunray-brushed silver foil and is paired with another Fagliano Collection strap and an additional black alligator strap from JLC. The final addition: a silver opaline dial with black nickel finished hands and indexes for the steel Tribute case.Price: $9,600 (steel) and $21,900 (pink gold)
• Paying homage to the first tourbillon they introduced thirty years ago, Jaeger-LeCoultre showed off its beautiful Reverso Tribute Duoface Tourbillon in 18k pink gold. The watch uses the Calibre 847 and features two different dials - a clean and elegant one with a time function and tourbillon on a silver sunburst dial, and the reverse with miniaturized black dial showing a second time zone and a day-night indicator. The black dial features partial skeletonisation, including hand angling of the bridges, done by JLC's Manufacture's Métiers Rares workshop.And you will pay for the manual labor. $139,000.
• Their releases covered sports, elegance and high horology. The last thing JLC showed was a little bit of bling with the Reverso One Precious Colors, two new models that harness the brand’s in-house Métiers Rares atelier to create two colorfully enameled and gem-set creations.The case is crafted from gold (white gold for the green colorway and pink gold for the blue colorway), but the enameling work and gem-setting steal the show. Go check it out on the linked website, as the process of creating these unique watches really is fantastic.Prices for the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso One Precious Colors have yet to be released, but both will be available with limited production.

Patek Philippe Introduces The 5178G-012, A Stunning Minute Repeater With a Flinqué Enamel Dial

• After unveiling new Aquanaut models, a very sporty Calatrava, a Calatrava with a 24-hour display and their first pilot-style Travel Time Chronograph, Patek dropped a big one - a Grand Complication.The Patek Philippe 5178G-012 sports a hypnotic guilloché pattern which has been done by hand (unlike the stamped one they put on a $40.000 Calatrava). The dial plate is made of white gold just like the case and then covered with blue Grand Feu enamel. The calibre R 27 PS can be seen through the sapphire caseback, with a large 22k golden micro-rotor for automatic winding and two lengthy gongs for a loud and clear minute repeater complication.Price on request.

Vacheron Constantin Introduces Three New Retrograde Models In The Traditionelle, Overseas, And Patrimony Collections, As Well As New Sizes

• For the first time, Vacheron is introducing its signature retrograde date display into the Overseas line, taking an old-school complication and bumping up the sportiness. The in-house Calibre 2460 R31L/2 features a retrograde date (moving clockwise across the top half of the dial before jumping back to the first day of the month after 31 or whenever you set it) and a hyper-accurate moon phase accurate to 122 years before needing a one-day correction.These displays are reflected in a blue lacquered dial with a velvet-finished flange and sunburst satin-brushed center. You'll also notice the "age of the moon" indicator above the moonphase aperture on the dial, showing where the moon sits in its 29 days, 12 hours, and 45-minute cycle orbiting the earth.Price is on request.
• The retrograde date will also be included in the Vacheron Constantin’s Traditionnelle family of watches with the Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface. The watch has a 41mm pink gold case that is 11.07mm thick. Its round shape is emphasized by particularly long lugs, which, in combination with the dial, makes for a contemporary blend of styles. Parts of the dial are skeletonized and the upper half of the dial features the retrograde date display with its blackened hand with a white tip. The lower half features the Maltese Cross tourbillon that integrates very nicely without overpowering the other elements. No word on price yet.
• Then there’s the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Retrograde Day-Date, a beautiful 42.5mm platinum case with a stunning salmon-colored dial. The dial features a nice sunburst finish, bringing life to the already impressive color. In this piece, the retrograde displays of the day on the lower half and the date on the upper half take center stage. Price is also unknown at the moment.
• The regular Overseas gets a slight refresh, as well. Until today, the line has been available in 41mm and 37mm options only, but Vacheron Constantin clearly saw enough demand for a smaller proposition, resulting in the release of the Overseas self-winding 35mm.The four references are split across two metals, available in stainless steel of 18k 5N pink gold, with the metals extending to the accompanying bracelets. Snazzing them up a little, the Maltese cross-inspired bezels of the diamond-set models are graced with 90 round-cut diamonds, guaranteeing a minimum of 0.86 caratsVacheron is tight lipped on the pricing of all of their models.

Chopard Shows Off The Ultra-Thin, Salmon Dial Chopard Alpine Eagle 41 XPS, the Alpine Eagle Cadence 8HF in Titanium, the L.U.C 1860 In Steel And A Crazy Imperiale High Jewellery Watch

• The Chopard Alpine Eagle is the family-owned brand's twist on the integrated bracelet sports watch, most popular in blue and then later green. Chopard now upgrades both the case and dial. Chopard has taken the AE and gone the ultra-thin route, creating a watch that is now just 8mm in thickness (the OG is 9.7mmm thick for comparison).In so doing, it has also adjusted the dial layout, forgoing a center seconds display in favor of small seconds – and, along the way, getting rid of the controversial date window. The salmon dial color, officially called "Monte Rosa Pink," contrasts against the lume-filled, distinctive, applied Roman numeral markings.This watch is not limited and will join the existing Alpine Eagle collection at It is a price of EUR 24,400.
• Another addition to the Alpine Eagle family is the introduction of the high frequency new titanium Alpine Eagle Cadence 8HFthat features a "pitch black" colored dial.
• There’s an addition to the L.U.C. Collection, as well with the new L.U.C. 1860 in a Lucent Steel case and solid-gold guilloché dial. It’s a classy thing at 36.5mm, with a salmon dial with a hand-guillochéd radiating pattern. It’s priced at $23,200.
• The Chopard IMPERIALE is a range of feminine watches typified by floral motifs and elaborate material decoration, however this new limited edition for Watches & Wonders is perhaps their most ambitious and glamorous display yet.For the latest Chopard IMPERIALE, the lotus flower has been revisited as the underlying theme of both the decorations and complications. The lotus is celebrated across many cultures and has a long list of significant associations, but this particular homage follows an Egyptian legend where the sun rises once the petals have opened at dawn before setting as the flower closes in darkness. You can see how the lotus has been represented with resplendent 18k rose gold, engraved delicately to show the texture of the petals. The top half of the flower has been skeletonised to reveal the dial underneath, which is actually a fully-revolving day/night indicator.

The New Oris ProPilot Altimeter Is Back Thinner Than Ever, And An Official Kermit Watch

• The deeply cool Oris ProPilot Altimeter is back, thinner and with a higher operating ceiling (up to 6,000 meters). It’s still a big boy at 47mm wide, but now 16mm thick. Yeah, it’s not thin, but it’s an improvement. The case is made of carbon fiber with a titanium bezelThe Oris ProPilot Altimeter will be available starting in March of 2023 with a retail price of CHF 6,200 and buyers will be able to pick from two references, one that displays altitude in meters, or one in feet.
• The Rolex Kermit is no longer the only kermit watch. Oris has partnered up with Disney's The Muppets for a new ProPilot X Calibre 400 "Kermit Edition." Titanium case, titanium bracelet, in-house movement. And Kermit the Frog pops up once a month in place of the numeral "1" at the 6 o’clock date window. Priced at CHF 4,400, this just might be the deal of Watches & Wonders.

Parmigiani Fleurier Flys Under The Radar With A Slew Of Very Interesting New Watches

• Everybody was excited about what the big brands were showing at Watches & Wonders. A lot of people were disappointed as the majority of changes were introductions of new sizes and colors to watches that have been around for years. So they turned to smaller watchmakers. Like Parmigiani Fleurier, who knocked it out of the park with their offering.First up is the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Minute Rattrapante, which offers a similar design to last year’s GMT model, but reimagines the collection’s rattrapante mechanism to be a highly innovative feature for measuring elapsed time. Not only is the way the watch displays time innovative (go read the article, it just doesn’t fit here), it could be a great deal. That’s a funny thing to say about a watch that costs $30,600, but considering the materials (steel, platinum, gold…) and the tech in the in-house movement, it could be a steal.
• As mentioned, the Tonda PF Minute Rattrapante is very similar to the GMT and to differentiate them a bit, Parmigiani Fleurier gave it a very fancy update. The dial colour remains unchanged – that deep Milano blue featuring a guilloché main grain d’orge pattern, uninterrupted by unnecessary indices or logos, but the case gets an 18k rose gold update. This has a more substantial price of €57,630.
• Since Parmigiani Fleurier’s change of ownership and introduction of the Tonda PF range in 2021, the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Micro-Rotor has been a distilled representation of the brand’s DNA. It began with a subtle flex in stainless steel and a platinum bezel, then evolved into a soft rose gold edition, but now it embraces the power of platinum’s luxurious heft in a “stealth wealth” package. You will need wealth, as it will cost you CHF 85,000.
• Parmigiani Fleurier also updated their trio of calendar watches, those that famously tracked three different calendars - the most complete version of a constantly varying chinese Xiali calendar, an evolution of their 2011 islamic Hijri calendar table clock, now housed in a wristwatch, and finally, a watchmaking classic in a Gregorian Annual calendar.
• Lastly, there’s the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Flying Tourbillon, now with a Milano blue dial

Hublot Announces A LOT Of Watches. No, Really… 17 New Pieces

• Hating Hublot online has become a bit of a meme. But a meme that never gets old. I tried and tried, I just can’t get myself to care about Hublot watches. But, in the interest of journalistic integrity, I’ll run through all the thing they announced at Watches & Wonders.Hublot has partnered up with artist Takashi Murakami to create a series of watches that you can only own if you buy an NFT. Of course Hublot would release an NFT. They first came out with 13 watches, now they announce the other 12 models.
• Last year, as part of its novelties for 2022, Hublot unveiled the Square Bang collection, which takes the core aesthetic of its flagship Big Bang series and transforms it into a model with a square-shaped case. Now the Hublot Square Bang Unico Sapphire brings a full transparent sapphire case to the line.
• There’s also a new Square Bang in black ceramic.
• They have also upped the ante on exotic materials with a full carbon integrated bracelet for the new Hublot Big Bang Integrated Tourbillon Full Carbon priced at CHF120,000.
• Then there are the supremely awkward Hublot MP-13 Tourbillon Bi-Axis Retrograde and the Hublot Classic Fusion Chronograph Orlinski which comes in a subtle microblasted titanium case.

Beloved Independent Czapek Introduces A Skeleton Antarctique Révélation

• Dubbed Révélation, the latest addition to the Czapek Antarctique collection is a skeletonised beauty – more contemporary and technical than its predecessors but also more focused on classical horology. The independent watchmaker has stripped down its luxury sports watch to display its inner workings, an opportunity to show off the beauty of its micro-rotor calibre. It comes in a 40.5mm case version, fitted with a distinctive integrated steel bracelet with its C-shaped polished centre link.The price is set at CHF 38,000

The New Ulysse Nardin Freak ONE Adds Boost To The Brand’s Futurist Mission

• Ulysse Nardin has been making the Freak for 22 years and has been polarizing the watch community just as long. I’m in the “don’t like it” camp, but there’s no denying the amount of technical innovation that’s crammed in this watch, as well as the glimpse of the future for UN. They just won’t be in my consideration when I will be buying a €69,600 watch.

Frederique Constant Offers An Apology With A Real Tourbillon

• In 2022, Frederique Constant introduced an open-dial Classics Heart Beat Manufacture and it was met with outrage. The exposed balance wheel at 6 o’clock, however well executed, was a cheap trick mimicking the appearance of a tourbillon.Now FC is offering an apology with the Classics Tourbillon Manufacture, a very classy watch with a real tourbillon, but without the high-end tourbillon price. The new FC in a 18k rose gold case will set you back $24,595. Which, considering the other things we have seen at W&W is a deal.

Laurent Ferrier Introduces The Classic And Square Micro-Rotor Watches In Evergreen

• It’s now really official - green is the dial color of the year. Choices here are binary: choose either the 40mm round Classic case in 18kt red gold or the slightly more modern Square steel case measuring 41mm. Each features a 3 o’clock crown and a big, bright sapphire caseback that makes for great entertainment when viewing the highly decorated movementThe Laurent Ferrier Square and Classic Micro-Rotor Evergreen are available now for 47,500 CHF and 57,500 CHF

F.P. Journe Delivers Biggest Joke Watch Of Watches & Wonders

• I’m not trying to denigrate F.P. Journe with this title. I think that their F.F.C. watch is actually very funny, along with being perhaps the most inventive watch of the year. Just look at it. The watch is just a fist with fingers that count out the hours. Is that not brilliant?

Kudoke Introduces the Kudoke 3

• German independent Kudoke has carved out its own niche with a distinctive blend of English-inspired movements and Germanic attention-to-detail in its Handwerk line of watches. The latest addition to the line is the Kudoke 3, which largely sticks to the successful formula of prior models, but offers a twist in the form of a split-level dial and triple-scale hour display.

The Hamilton Wandering Earth II Is A Limited And Off-The-Wall Chinese Movie Tie-In With A More Tame Version For The Rest Of Us

• This is a watch was not introduced at Watches&Wonders, but announced right before it, so I decided to include it here. Hamilton has great ties with the movie industry, popping up all over the place - most notably as one of the major plot devices in Nolan’s Interstellar. Most recently, Hamilton has worked with the Chinese production of the sequel to their hyper successful sci fi hit Wandering Earth, and the watch Brand is putting out two special edition models for fans of the movie.The first is a transparent plastic-cased regulator style piece, making an appearance in the movie itself. Powered by Hamilton’s H-12 calibre, a development of the ETA 2825-2, its black and white dial variants will be produced in very limited numbers of only 122 per colorway. However, this watch will be available only in mainland China.
• For the rest of us, Hamilton modified their Jazzmaster Thinline and gave it the same Solar System-inspired dial relief that can be found on the resin-cased piece. The watch comes with a black or white dial, with bright red hands. The case is 40mm and only 7mm thick. To get this thin at such a low price don’t expect a mechanical movement - it’s powered by the ETA 980.163, a quartz movement with a height of only 2.2mm.The special edition will be available from March 2023 worldwide at CHF 635 without tax.

The Louis Erard Excellence Marqueterie Is Likely Your Cheapest Way To A Handmade Marquetry Dial, If You Can Get It

• Another piece announced over the weekend before W&W. Louis Erard has quickly become known for its democratising approach to offering traditional métiers d’art to a broader public. That’s why nobody gasped in surprise that their latest model features an exquisite handmade dial using wood marquetry to depict an abstract cubist pattern. Handmade by artisan Bastien Chevalier, the 99 limited edition Excellence Marqueterie comes under EUR 4,000.The case is 42mm, 12.5mm thick and it’s powered by a Sellita SW261-1 automatic calibre with its customised Louis Erard rotor, but that’s less important in this watch - the chequerboard dial is completely hand made and each colour is sourced from a different kind of wood – the three shades of blue are applied to tulip tree wood, while the grey-stained areas are made of willow burl. Each cut has to be precise to a tenth of a millimetre to ensure composition without gaps. When you put so much work into the dial, of course there are no numerals on it and time is indicated by the signature blued fir tree hands of Louis Erard.The watch is limited to 99 pieces and retails for CHF 3,900 (excl. tax). At the time of writing they are still some for sale, so go and buy this now as it will the cheapest way you can get such a dial.

De Bethune are releasing its 31st in-house calibre in the DB Eight Chronograph Monopusher At An Eyewatering Price

• The first watch of De Bethune, the DB1, was a classic two-register chronograph with a mono pusher architecture. And following this tradition, the brand is now releasing DB Eight, a watch that pays tribute to the very elegant watch but, of course, with a twist.The 42.4mm case is made of polished titanium with ogive-shaped lugs and a very thin profile of 9.2mm, while the dial has Breguet numerals, blued hands and two different hand-guilloche patterns. Here comes the twist, with the unusual display for the chronograph function. The DB Eight appears first as a time-only watch with two seconds hand. But it’s not. Hours and minutes are in the center, and the rest is devoted to the Chrono, with a central seconds and a 60-minute sub-dial. The chronograph is actuated by the crown, which serves for winding, adjusting and starting the chrono.Inside the case is the hand-wound, in-house calibre DB3000. The brand’s 31st movement and a new development, it’s also the 4th monopusher chronograph conceived by Denis Flageollet, following the DB1, DB8 and Maxichrono.Price is set at CHF 85,000.

The Byrne GyroDial Zero Is Very Funky, Very 70s. Very Futuristic And Very Cool

• Not a W&W release, but very cool. Numerals on a dial are a thing of personal preference. Some like Roman, others Arabic. I prefer just markers. But what if you like all three but want to wear just one watch? Then get the Gyrodial, a watch from the new brand Byrne, where the markers rotate every 24 hours to change their apperance.To change its face on a daily basis, the Byrne GyroDial features cubes at 3, 6, 9 and 12 displaying digits or markers, each making a jump every day (at midnight or midday, depending on how you’ve set your watch) or on-demand via the crown. The latest version of the Byrne GyroDial, the Zero, no longer features a dial and exposes the magic tricks of its mechanism. With its monochromatic look, the Gyrodial feels more modern, industrial, and technical.The Byrne GyroDial relies on the automatic calibre 5555, developed and assembled with Le Temps Manufacture, a movement maker based in Fleurier, which works behind the scene for some of the greatest names in the industry. The watch comes in the brand’s distinctive case. Its cushion shape is enhanced by taut lines, a curved profile and a round bezel opening. Measuring 41.7mm in diameter, it is made out of grade 5 titanium with a mix of brushed and polished surfaces.The Byrne GyroDial Zero comes in two versions: Rhodium Silver or Black Rhodium, on a leather or rubber strap. The price is set at EUR 17,500.

-------------------------------------------------------------
If you would like to receive some additional watch-adjacent content, as well as this news overview, every morning Monday-Friday in the form of a newsletter feel free to subscribe. However, there is absolutely no need for you to subscribe, as all the news from the newsletter is posted here. It is only if you want to receive a couple of daily links that are not strictly watch-related and want to get this news overview in your inbox.

Hallo! Quick album here :)

• Shipping to US/CA (flat or calculated). Thanks!
• Offers welcome. More photos upon request.

GAMES
PS VITA

• Hakuoki Kyoto Winds Limited Edition (sealed) - 90
• Hyperdimension Neptunia: PP - 40
• Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy Collector's Edition (sealed) - 75
• Sense: A Cyberpunk Story Limited Edition (sealed) - 155
• Silent Hill Book of Memories (cart) - 50
• Ys Origins Collector's Edition (LRG - sealed) - 85

PLAYSTATION

• Batman & Robin - 40
• Bugs Bunny Lost in Time - 45
• Fatal Fury Wild Ambition - 65
• Iron Soldier 3 - 20
• RC de Go - 35
• Thrasher Skate and Destroy - 30
• Wipeout - 30
• World's Scariest Police Chases - 12

PS2

• Capcom Fighting Evolution - 18
• Choro Q - 15
• Silpheed The Lost Planet - 25
• Sonic Heroes - 10
• Taz Wanted - 10
• The Simpsons Skateboarding (no manual) - 12
• Ultimate Ninja 4: Naruto Shipuden (no manual) - 18

PS3

• Hyperdimension Neptunia Premium Edition - 70
• Testament of Sherlock Holmes - 30
• Xblaze Lost Memories (sealed) - 35

PLAYSTATION 4

• Black Clover Quartet Knights - 14
• Call of Duty Infinite Warfare Legacy Edition - 6
• Daymare 1998 - 12
• Dead Alliance - 6
• DeFormers - 14
• Dirt Rally II - 25
• Don't Knock Twice - 37
• Grand Kingdom - 20
• Hot Shot Racing - 15
• Lost Sphear - 65
• New Gundam Breaker - 12
• Penguin Wars - 12
• Radial-G: Racing Revolved - 30
• Redout Lightspeed Edition - 8
• Root Film - 30
• Space Hulk: Ascension - 5
• Star Wars Battlefront II Elite Trooper Deluxe Edition - 5
• The Legend of Heroes Trails of Cold Steel III - 20
• Two Point Hospital - 12
• Yomawari Midnight Shadows - 60
• Warriors Orochi 4 - 12

Sealed

• Gungrave VR (sealed) - 30
• Shantae 1/2 Genie Hero (sealed) - 25
• Disaster Report 4 (sealed) - 30
• Doom 3 VR Edition (sealed) - 9
• Home Sweet Home (sealed) - 40
• Jotun by LRG (sealed) - 35
• Omen of Sorrow (sealed) - 16
• Shakedown Hawaii (sealed) - 26
• Yakuza Like A Dragon (sealed) - 15
• Yakuza Like A Dragon Day Ichii Edition w/ Best Buy Steelbook (sealed) - 30
• Ys VIII Lacrimosa of Dana (sealed) - 40

Limited/Collectors Editions

• Azur Lane Crosswave Limited Edition (Sealed) - 115
• Cyrpt of the Necrodancer Collector's Edition (Sealed) - 40
• Disgaea 1 Complete Rosen Queen's Finest Limited Edition - 155
• Granblue Fantasy Versus Limited Edition (Sealed) - 55
• Night Trap Collector's Edition by LRG (Sealed) - 80
• Nioh 2 Special Edition (Open Box) - 25
• Robotics Notes Elite Dash (Open Box) - 35
• Sakura of Rice & Ruin Divine Edition (Sealed) - 50
• Senran Kagura Burst Renewal (Sealed) - 55
• Shenmue III Collector's Edition by LRG (Sealed) - 120
• Shining Resonance Launch Edition (Sealed) - 35
• Star Wars Bounty Hunter Collector's Edition by LRG (Sealed) - 165
• Void Terrarium Limited Edition (Sealed) - 50
• Wonder Boy Dragon's Trap Limited Edition by LRG (Sealed) - 75

NINTENDO SWITCH

• Crypt of the Necro Dancer Collector's Edition (Sealed) - 50
• Gunlord X Limited Edition - 130
• Skullgirls Encore Vinyl Bundle LE (Sealed) - 140
• Monster Boy Cursed Kingdom - 65
• Override 2 Deluxe - 12
• Disaster Report 4 - 20
• Cave Story 3D - 25
• Langrisser I & II (sealed) - 70
• Raiden IV x Mikado Remix (sealed) - 25
• Retro City Rampage DX CE w/ Extras (sealed) - 185

FAMICOM

• Lot of 12 games (listed below) - $85
• Star Force
• Bokosuka Wars
• Nekketsu High School Dodgeball
• Pinball
• Dragon Quest II
• Best Play Baseball Special
• SWAT
• Final Fantasy III
• Baseball
• Super Xevious
• Hyper Olympic
• City Adventure Touch: Mystery of Triangle

TURBOGRAFX/PC ENGINE

• Pac-Land - 40
• Talespin - 65
• Bull Fight Boxing (PC-Engine) - 15
• Down Load (PC-Engine) - 95
• F1 Triple Battle (PC-Engine) - 15
• Image Fight (PC-Engine) - 55
• Tatsunoko Fighter (PC-Engine) - 35

SEGA GENESIS

• Complete in Box below:
• Ariel the Little Mermaid (cardboard variant) - 20
• Super Off Road (cardboard variant) - 28
• Zany Golf (cardboard variant, damaged) - 15
• Combat Cars (cardboard variant) - 9
• Eternal Champions - 12
• F22 Interceptor - 7
• Jeopardy - 7
• Risk - 8
• PGA European Tour - 7
• Winter Olympic Games - 7
• ----------
• Boxed, but no manuals below:
• Space Harrier II - 19
• Mercs - 27
• Radical Rex - 30
• Robocop 3 (faded cover) - 15
• Golden Axe II - 29
• Shining in the Darkness - 29
• WWF Royal Rumble - 10
• Championship Pool - 7
• Sports Talk Baseball - 4
• The Revenge of Shinobi - 30
• Lotus II - 7
• Virtual Bart - 39
• Starflight - 25
• Road Rash II - 15
• Dynamite Headdy - 35
• Columns - 7
• Tecmo Super Baseball - 10
• NFL Football 94 Starring Joe Montana - 5

SEGA SATURN/SEGA CD

• JPN Burning Rangers - 60
• JPN Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story III - 15
• JPN Snatcher - 45
• JPN Wachenroder - 25
• JPN Puyopuyo Two - 12
• JPN ikkyou Pawerful Puroyakyu '95 Kaimakusan - 12
• JPN Decathlete - 12
• JPN The King of Fighters '97 - 15
• JPN Dead or Alive - 22
• JPN Lupin The 3rd The Sage of Pyramid - 35
• JPN The King of Fighters '96 Limited Edition - 30
• JPN X-Men vs Street Fighter Limited Edition (w/ Ram Cart) - 80
• NA Bust A Move 2 - 25
• NA Formula 1 - 8
• NA Midnight Raiders - 25

SEGA DREAMCAST

• JPN The House of the Dead 2 - 12
• JPN Silent Scope - 20
• JPN Psychic Force 2012 - 9
• JPN Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story - 20
• JPN Shanghai Dynasty - 15
• JPN F1 World Grand Prix - 9
• JPN DDR 2nd Mix - 7
• JPN Cyber Troopers Virtual On - 15
• JPN Marionette Handler 2 - 15
• JPN Culdcept Second - 9
• JPN Pier Solar - 55
• JPN Super Speed Racing - 7
• NA Demolition Racer No Exit - 12
• NA Sega Marine Fishing (sealed) - 25
• NA Draconus (w/ custom box) - 30
• NA Conflict Zone (no cover) - 10

VIRTUAL BOY

• Mario's Tennis - 15
• Nester's Funky Bowling w/ Manual - 90
• Red Alarm (box w/ manual, no game) - 35

SYSTEMS
Photos

• Original Xbox Halo Edition (Green) - 235
• Virtual Boy w/ Box and Mario's Tennis - 400
• PS2 Slim White - 105
• NES Classic (New) - 100
• SNES Classic (New) - 110

p.s. Post is a work in progress. If you a game pictured but not listed, comment below and I will provide a price.