LABIRINTI E CASEMATTE: February 2021

Sunday, February 28, 2021

One Lonely Unicorn

A head of unicorn, painstakingly assembled and created with reused/recycled materials, is on display outside of the ZUC (Creative Utopian Zone) gallery in downtown Florence, Italy.

Sure, Edna, the world is big enough for all the born on the same day

Artwork © Andrea (@wolfieposey)

Saturday, February 27, 2021

To mention one, among many reasons why Olga is a story never to be forgotten, it may suffice to say that she was the fabled Number One Dime of the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”: “My first leotard, kilt and dancing shoe... The year was 1997!”. Photo: Olga Calamai.

Come on, Edna, don’t always think badly of everyone! It may well be only a coincidence that two people were born on the same day, and, of course, it may well be another coincidence that both wear glasses

Artwork © GeorgiaRose (@georgiarose_731)

Birthdays Around the World

Fédération Internationale des Échecs (@FIDE_chess)

Yes, Edna, no matter whether they believe that it is real or believe that it is fictional — they will bless you with wishes and gifts. So happy birthday to you!

Credit: MainStButtonShoppe

Friday, February 26, 2021

Mars Sol Date (MSD)

The above is the first 360-degree panorama taken by Mastcam-Z, a zoomable pair of cameras aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. The panorama was stitched together on Earth from 142 pictures taken on Sol 3, the third Martian day of the mission (February 21, 2021). Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/ASU.

Yes, Edna, there are things that are still far beyond the comprehension of science

Artwork © sebastian’s draws 🌫️ (@sebasdraw.06)

Nuances

No doubt Sofia has a sixth sense to know what colour is coming up next.

Thursday, February 25, 2021

A Sunset Touch

And the dance class schedule has just changed a bit. Once a month Olga, Sofia and Viola share a sunset at the provisional seat of the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”.

Rehearsing for Life

There are three types of dancers when it comes to unwrapping gifts, but in the end they do take the stage together.

Deep in the Ocean

And, finally, Viola gives a sweet smile as she wades in an ocean of hair.

Figuratively Speaking

Sofia sits amid her fellow dancers as if she has a very smiling scene before herself.

In Memory of Life

Olga, a ballerina of the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”, rehearses her unstaged dance to preserve her memory of what she used to do.

No, Edna, luckily they will never admit that they are wrong, but rather they will continue to flood mankind with their boasting and bragging

Artwork © A s i a 🌞 (@as.fs_drawing)

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

The Oyster and the Pearl

A visitor photographs Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images.

Yeah, Edna, the hidden meaning, artfully encoded in the “HTTP 404 Page Not Found” error message, is that your first-class air ticket will include not only meals but also unlimited cakes, pastries, ice creams and desserts

Artwork © 🐱том🐱 (@tone4kaleb)

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Back to Before

“Frankly speaking, there were a number of difficulties and misunderstandings in the process of selecting the venue for the second half of the Candidates Tournament. However, all such problems have been finally sorted out. To this day, Yekaterinburg is confirmed to be hosting the Tournament. In the second half of April, the city will be ready to welcome back both players and spectators”, Sophia Anatolyevna Karpova writes in Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Federal Issue No. 38 (8389), February 23, 2021.

Between Scylla and Charybdis

Ogni mattina il mio stelo vorrebbe levarsi nel vento
soffiato ebrietudine di vita,
ma qualcosa lo tiene a terra,
una lunga pesante catena d’angoscia
che non si dissolve.
Allora mi alzo dal letto
e cerco un riquadro di vento
e trovo uno scacco di sole
entro il quale poggio i piedi nudi.
Di questa grazia segreta
dopo non avrò memoria
perché anche la malattia ha un senso
una dismisura, un passo,
anche la malattia è matrice di vita.
Ecco, sto qui in ginocchio
aspettando che un angelo mi sfiori
leggermente con grazia,
e intanto accarezzo i miei piedi pallidi
con le dita vogliose d’amore.

Every morning my stem would rise in the wind
blowing away drunk with life,
but something holds it on earth,
a long heavy chain of anguish
which doesn’t dissolve.
I then get out of bed
and I look for a section of wind
and I find a square of sun
in which to rest my naked feet.
Of this secret grace
I will retain no memory
because even illness has meaning,
excess, movement,
even illness is matrix of life.
See, here I am on my knees
waiting for an angel of grace
to brush against me lightly,
and meanwhile I caress my feeble feet
with fingers longing for love.

Alda Merini
English translation by Stephanie Jed and Pasquale Verdicchio

“Stick together” (but not too much), “take care” (but do not exaggerate), “stay strong” (but, above all, stay human), “be kind” (but not servile). Photo: Richard Saker.

Of course, Edna, that is only a springboard to all the new worlds you long to conquer and govern

Artwork © Eudy Rivas (@audyo_signs)

Light Up the Sky

Monday, February 22, 2021

Eating Heaven

Women have a picnic on the rooftop of a residential apartment building in Paris, France. Photo: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters.

I told you, Edna, they count for nothing at all and will fade away by themselves

Artwork © an angry bird (@excelsior.art)

Sunday, February 21, 2021

Multiple time dimensions

Brunelleschi’s Dome is reflected in the window displays of Panerai, a legendary watch manufacturer, just in time to wish 新年好 (Happy Chinese New Year) to anyone and everyone many time zones away.

The Solitude of Prime Numbers

As they say, never loan a book to people with the expectation of getting it back, and so here I am, in the queue at the bookshop’s cash register.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

Policies in bookshops continually change over time, and the IBS.it bookstore was no exception. But, if nothing else, chess Grandmaster Yuri Lvovich Averbakh, who celebrated his 99th birthday last February 8, has not gone out of fashion.

🚫📶

I always stop at some bookstore because, just to paraphrase Martial, it pays me this: my phone does not get signal there.

When Time Stopped

Almost one year has passed since the clock on the Tower of Arnolfo in Piazza della Signoria suddenly stopped. And much has happened since then.

People who Count

Many rich people justify their opulence by saying that the percentage of homebuyers who purchase a luxury home is approximately the same as the share of those who are forced to sleep on the street.

From Out of Nowhere

This afternoon the San Lorenzo market was utterly overcrowded by invisible masses that came from out the nothingness.

Saturday, February 20, 2021

Aelita Prize

Courtesy of Rain Shades (@rainshades)

Friday, February 19, 2021

Yes, Edna, philosophically speaking, one could interpret the difference between a luxury courtesy car and an old rusty bicycle as a sign of intelligent life

The Cyberiad

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán): “Sunshine means onlyness, warmth, hope, and infinite happiness”

高志明 (Gāo Zhìmíng), 晶报 (Jīng Bào), February 19, 2021

As winner of the “光彩大奖” (“Glory Prize”) of the 2012 晶报 (Jīng Bào) Sunshine Award, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), a four-time Women’s World Chess Champion, has forged an indissoluble bond with 晶报 (Jīng Bào). This was shown by an awarding ceremony which 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), who was 18 years old at the time, valued very much. “Oh, yes, when I won the ‘Glory Prize’ — I had a dress made especially for the occasion and I felt really fabulous!”.
In 2019, as a Rhodes Scholarship award winner, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) was appointed as a full Professor in the School of Physical Education, Normal College (Faculty of Education), 深圳大学 (Shēnzhèn University), where she began her teaching career. The chess movement in 深圳 (Shēnzhèn) is booming, with a population of over 400,000 chess enthusiasts. In her spare time, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) uses to visit schools and educational institutions giving talks and demonstrations to students on chess — something which has become an extra work in addition to her studying and teaching hours.
As for chess, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) is already at the pinnacle: a four-time Women’s World Chess Champion, she won her first title at 16, the youngest World Champion ever, and she is the only woman in the top 100. Academically, she was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship, which most students can only dream of getting. In 2018, she studied for a Master’s Degree in Public Policy (MPP) at the famous University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Whether chess or academic, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) has achieved the most brilliant victories.
晶报 (Jīng Bào) reporters have interviewed 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) many times. At each interview, her eloquence was more graceful and fluent. And her humble attitude also made her quite popular among reporters. Now, as a full Professor at 深圳大学 (Shēnzhèn University), 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) shines in 深圳 (Shēnzhèn), and she will dedicate her wisdom and talents to the city’s educational and cultural life.

▲ 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) is being awarded the “光彩大奖” (“Glory Prize”) of the 晶报 (Jīng Bào) Sunshine Award.

(English translation by I, Robot)

Today Olga, the historic prima ballerina of the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”, bought three succulents, including cacti, at the Thursday flower street market running under the arcades of Via Pellicceria and past the Palazzo delle Poste in downtown Florence. Photos: Olga Calamai.