Everyone helps hunt the poachers

• Oliver Holmes and Nick Davies, Revealed: the criminals making millions from illegal wildlife trafficking, The Guardian, September 26, 2016

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™

Queens Birthday Hat

“The Birthday Queen” ™ © Mado Flynn

Handmade in Italy by Mado Flynn

Arcovazzi’s Colonial Development and Welfare Acts

There is little privacy in these public latrines in Kroo Bay, Freetown, Sierra Leone. There is also a security issue, especially for women needing to go to the toilet at night, according to a report by Amnesty International. Photo: Anna Jefferys/IRIN.

Passing Strangers

“I have visited dozens of refugee camps in Greece, Turkey, Syria, Israel and the Gaza Strip and talked with all these people”, 艾未未 (Ài Wèiwèi) told a press conference as he presented his artwork show in Florence, Italy. “Those who are fighting for their freedom are the heroes of today and my work is none other than telling them the profound respect that I have for them”. His Florentine exhibit, dubbed “Ai Weiwei. Libero” (Free), started on Friday and will run until January 22 at Palazzo Strozzi. “I chose Florence for the exhibition because Italy is the country with the most refugees, it never rejects them, unlike other nations”, 艾未未 (Ài Wèiwèi) said.

The exhibit includes some 60 works, from installations to sculptures or photographs. Photo: AFP/Gabriel Bouys.

Monday’s Mood

Tomorrow is Monday, so we await for you to join the wild dance classes of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”! You know Arcovazzi’s gonna try with all his strength to keep you cut off from life, but you also know that following his “good advice” could make you seriously ill, so kick him off and take on dance!

A dancing frog
Photo: universityexpress.co.in

Hey Everyone!

Olympic Goddess 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) posted the above picture on her 新浪微博 (Wēibó) account on September 24, 2016, to thank all her friends and admirers who constituted a fan club devoted to her. Her caption read, “I thank all you fans of 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá)’s fan club. You know we’ve been quite busy founding it. It was a tough task! ♡”. Photo: weibo.com/wuminxia.

Network of suppliers

A poster illustrates the business venture between UMAWA and its customers in a pit-latrine-emptying venture in Kigamboni district, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Photo: WaterAid/Christina Chacha.

Arcovazzi Burning

Rumpitur invidia quidam, carissime Iuli, quod me Roma legit, rumpitur invidia. Rumpitur invidia, quod turba semper in omni monstramur digito, rumpitur invidia. Rumpitur invidia, tribuit quod Caesar uterque ius mihi natorum, rumpitur invidia. Rumpitur invidia, quod rus mihi dulce sub urbe est parvaque in urbe domus, rumpitur invidia. Rumpitur invidia, quod sum iucundus amicis, quod conviva frequens, rumpitur invidia. Rumpitur invidia, quod amamur quodque probamur: rumpatur, quisquis rumpitur invidia. There is a certain man, my dearest jewel! That bursts with envy, spite, and malice cruel, He bursts with envy, ’cause with wit I’m read; And let him burst; Gods, curse him till he’s dead; Because I’m pointed out, where-e’er I go, He bursts with envy; let him burst in two. Because restored unto my right I am, He bursts with envy; let him burst and damn; Because, in town, I’ve got a little box; He bursts with envy; let him burst and pox; And in the country too, a rural cot; He bursts with envy; let him burst and rot; Because I’m loved for mirth, and reckoned droll, He bursts with envy; let him burst his soul; Because in feasts, I’m asked to take a part He bursts with envy; let him burst his heart; Let all such wretches ever be accurst, And burst with envy, who with envy burst. Crepa di gelosia un tale, o carissimo Giulio, perché Roma mi legge; crepa di gelosia. Crepa di gelosia perché sempre in mezzo alla folla vengo mostrato a dito; crepa di gelosia. Crepa di gelosia, perché m’hanno dato due Cesari il diritto di padre; crepa di gelosia. Crepa di gelosia, perché oltre a una dolce campagna ho la casetta in città; crepa di gelosia. Crepa di gelosia, perché son diletto agli amici, che m’invitano spesso; crepa di gelosia. Crepa di gelosia, perché son cercato e stimato. Crepi dunque chiunque crepa di gelosia.

Martial, Epigrams, Book 9, XCVII
English translation by The Gentleman’s Magazine (1753)
Italian translation by Giuseppe Lipparini

Onomatopoeia

They Can’t Wait!

A huge inflatable toilet was installed outside United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York, United States, to mark World Toilet Day 2014. Photo: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images.

Ticket to Ride

Liverpool, United Kingdom: Jeremy Corbyn meets supporters outside the BBC studios, where he was appearing on the Andrew Marr Show. Photo: James Gourley/Rex/Shutterstock.

Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?

Nigel David Short (@nigelshortchess)

On any Sunday

Tomorrow is Sunday and we give you a day off (provided you don’t waste it playing chess!), but since Monday we await for you to join the wild dance classes of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”!

Flamingos perform a ritualized dance at Lake Bogoria in Kenya, staying in step with each other and with perfect posture. Photo: Barrie Britton/BBC/Discovery Channel.

Self-Portrait Without A Self

All are not thieves that the dogs bark at. English proverb

Artwork © GothianaVampet

Cartesian doubt

Cum peteret seram media iam nocte matellam arguto madidus pollice Panaretus, Spoletina data est sed quam siccaverat ipse, nec fuerat soli tota lagona satis. Ille fide summa testae sua vina remensus reddidit oenophori pondera plena sui. Miraris, quantum biberat, cepisse lagonam? Desine mirari, Rufe: merum biberat. When Panaret, maudlin, with snap of the thumb, At midnight commanded the needful to come; A spoletime came, which himself had just drain’d: Nor had it sufficed that the flagon contain’d. With utmost good faith redecanting his store, He crown’d the vast vessel as high as before. Capacious, you wonder, the pot as the cask! This pure had imbided; which accounts for the task. La mezzanotte era già finita quando, ubriaco, Panareto schioccando le dita domandò un orinale. Gli fu presto portata una brocca spoletina da lui stesso tracannata, né tutta intera bastata gli era, ma lui fedelmente orinando giulivo in quel recipiente rimise il contenuto primitivo. Ti meraviglia che quella brocca tanto tenesse quanto aveva messo in bocca. O Rufo, non restare senza fiato, perché quel vino non fu certo annacquato.

Martial, Epigrams, Book 6, LXXXIX
English translation by James Elphinston
Italian translation by Franco Zagato

劉勃麟 (Liú Bólín), Hiding in the City No. 96 – Supermarket No. 3, 2011. Courtesy of 劉勃麟 (Liú Bólín).

En busca del paraíso

Mexico City’s lavatories may not cope with its creaking sewage system, but what they lack in efficiency they make up for in creative design. “Incredible improvisation... Unlike most European and U.S. cities, Mexico has no rules to dictate public sanitation design”, says Kurt Hollander, who must also be credited for the above picture.

The Man Who Knew Fischer

Eugene Torre – Axel Rombaldoni
42nd Chess Olympiad; Baku, September 9, 2016
Dutch Defence A40

1. d4 e6 2. Bf4 f5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 d6 5. h3 h6!? Rombaldoni plays aggressively, hoping to outplay his expert opponent – that is a responsible decision, since Torre is a superb positional player. 6. Be2 g5 7. Bh2 Bg7 8. c4 b6 9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. 0-0 0-0 11. Rc1 Bb7 12. b4 a5 13. a3! Torre didn’t even consider the stereotyped 13. b5 Ne4 which, renouncing to aim for the opening of the a-file, would give Black much less problems. 13. ... axb4 14. axb4 Ne4 15. Nxe4 Bxe4 16. Nd2 Bc6 17. c5 Ba4 18. Nb3 bxc5 19. bxc5 d5? So far Romaldoni’s managed to elude particular trouble, but now his decision to create a light-square fortress will prove to be wrong. Sounder was 19. ... Qe7 with a tenable position. 20. Qd3 c6. If 20. ... e5 then 21. c6 e4 22. Qc3 followed by Nb3-c5 with advantage to White. 21. Bd6 Rf7 22. Bh5 Bb5 23. Bxf7+ Kxf7 24. Qc3 Bxf1 25. Rxf1! A superb display of chess understanding! It will become soon clear why the retake with the King would have been out of place. 25. ... Ra4? This runs into an inexorable refutation. 26. Ra1 Qa8 27. Rxa4 Qxa4

28. Qa5! An elegant and decisive Knight pseudo-sacrifice which crowns Eugene’s day. 28. ... Qxb3. It should be noted that had the White King been on f1, now the effect of this move would be more than satisfactory due to the threat of mate on d1! The text loses outright, but Black must not regret as after 28. ... Qxa5 29. Nxa5 the c6-Pawn falls, and with it the game. 29. Qc7! The coup de grâce. 29. ... Qb1+ 30. Kh2 Qe4 31. Qxd7+ Kg6 32. Qxc6 f4 33. Qe8+ Kh7 34. Qf7 fxe3 35. fxe3 1 : 0. I’ll say it once again: not bad for an old boy who was playing his 23rd Olympiad!

Eugene Torre
Photo by Josh Albelda/Rappler

The Golden Ratio

王雷 (Wáng Léi), Knitting Toilet Paper, 2010
Photo courtesy of 中央美术学院 (China Central Academy of Fine Arts)

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

Cozumel, Mexico: Great Britain’s Alistair Brownlee helps his brother Jonathan cross the finishing line in an end to the World Triathlon Series. Alistair Brownlee shunned the chance to win the race to come to the aid of his brother. Photo: Alexander Koerner/Getty Images.

单程票 (One Way Ticket)

China’s first prototype space station, 天宫一号 (Tiāngōng-1), or “Heavenly Palace”, launched into orbit in September 2011, got totally out of control and, although it will mostly burn up in the atmostphere, there’s a chance that a “significant” portion will fall to Earth. Officials of 国家航天局 (China National Space Administration) admitted that they have lost control of the station, and that it is moving too fast to accurately predict where debris from the 8.5-tonne module will crash. Photo: Shutterstock/Rex.

The Count of Monte Cristo

Party leader increases mandate after beating Owen Smith, leaving rebel MPs to decide whether to return to the frontline Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to “wipe the slate clean” after winning a convincing victory in Labour’s bitter leadership battle, securing 62% of the vote. [Read more].

• Heather Stewart, Labour leadership: Jeremy Corbyn wins convincing victory, The Guardian, September 24, 2016

Jeremy Corbyn celebrates his victory at the Labour conference in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Photo: Danny Lawson/PA.

No matter where (I guess) he’s at

By now it should be clear that you don’t have to ask Arcovazzi any permission for doing what you want to do! So, for your own good, leave him where he’s at and join the dance classes of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”!

Two Western grebes engage in a courtship dance called “rushing”, in which the birds walk on water. Photo: Paul Souders/Corbis.

第十四屆世界游泳錦標賽 (14th FINA World Championships)

吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) winning women’s 3 metre springboard final at the World Aquatics Championships in 上海 (Shànghăi), China on July 23, 2011.

Last Tango Under the Volcano

Nature, volcanoes, bears and 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

Sergei Yuryevich Shipov, September 21, 2016

I returned yesterday from Kamchatka. It was a most scenic and interesting trip!
Highlights: nature, volcanoes, bears and 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán).
Kamchatka is basically an island, with no roads to the mainland. It is necessary to fly by plane or sail to Vladik, and already there ...
Hence, life in Kamchatka is special and particular. But our people live there... as well as our bears. Harsh and sincere. Both of them live off fish. And only a little bit — on the shoulders of the tourists.
Most of the land is wild and virgin. Therein lies its beauty and danger. The energy of dozens of active volcanoes, of the ocean, of geysers, of rivers and of many thousands of bears gets automatically transferred to every visitor. This is not calm, opulent Switzerland. There is no comfort in Kamchatka, but a struggle for survival in a symbiosis with nature.
The match between 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) and Inarkiev ended in a draw, but luck favoured the Women’s Champion. I’ve already written about it, so won’t repeat myself here.
I held a lecture (chess as usual, with an emphasis on educational moments), played a blitz tournament with local players (I passed the exam) and gave a simultaneous exhbition to the best youth of Kamchatka. The last test proved to be the most difficult. I was especially pleased with a girl (I do not know her name, alas!), who roasted me with Black in the Hedgehog in the style of the young Shipov. She knew very well what she had to do! The contemporary Shipov, with White, barely jumped off it in time... Oh, what a luck.
侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) gave a distinct and very vivid impression. I knew her as an outstanding player, and now I was knowing her more closely from a human perspective. I already had a long experience of dealing with lots of champions. But I have never met a champion as polite, humble, patient and friendly as she is.
Fanechka took with philosophy all minor adversities and annoyancess (which, alas! occurred). She was kind and open-minded with everyone. Along the way, she had the opportunity to relax and skip some of the scheduled commitments, but she never took advantage of it. The Women’s Champion reminded me of that invisible character in Filatov’s play poem The Tale of Fedot the Strelets, who said: “I’m all for it for I expect / It’s a bright and useful prospect, / I can make myself at home / Even in a wild bee swarm! If you want me to, I can”.
She also took with her half a suitcase full of gifts — which truly surprised me. Usually, the true champs — i.e., the ordinary champions — come to the strangers, in unknown lands, and just limit themselves to making their hosts happy with their divine presence, accepting all gifts — and leaving back home with a sense of accomplishment. Instead, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) would repay any kindness with kindness, and even more than that. Indeed I didn’t give her anything, but she did — yes!
On the whole, I was subdued by her — she fascinated me. I will be rooting for her now.
And of course, in the future I will most certainly find reasons to return to Kamchatka again. Whoever has once been here will always wish to return...

(English translation by I, Robot)

Masha & the Bear. Photo: Sergei Yuryevich Shipov.

Grand Slam

Portable toilets waiting for dispatch. Glastonbury Festival took a break in 2012 in part because organisers thought the cost of cubicles would have exceeded their budgets. Photo: Kevin Frayer/AP.