Now and then Time cleans house, tossing one thing, adding another. It is not a predictable process. Rhinos have watched this business for 50 million years; if it is Logical, We’re not sure how.
But Time’s Broom sweeps Big.
Note to self: stay on your toes.
Today, in 1492, Mr. Christopher Columbus and 87 sailors set off to find China in three ships . Two months later they arrived in San Salvador, delighted to get to dry land. Needless to say, it was not China.
It seems too bad that Mr. Columbus felt bad about this dud trip, but that is what often happens when only one Outcome will satisfy.
Rhinos, Beware.
Jean Dubuffet, b. 1901, was an influential painter and sculptor, with a noteworthy career in France and the USA. He helped form a movement called Art Brut, looking for immediacy, a gritty approach outside traditional academic expectations.
It’s no wonder Rhinos think of M. Dubuffet as a pal. Talk about Inner Rhino!
We call this work “Rhino Gone Wild”. Where else would We go?
Georg Grosz (b.1893) specialized in a grim sort of caricature, showing a decadent Berlin in the 1920s and 30s. Mr. Grosz had a singularly merciless take on humankind.
Rhinos seldom go over to the dark side. We are too busy.
Also, We do not smoke. Beyond other issues, it involves fire. We used to enjoy chocolate cigarettes, but they are no longer in fashion.
Machu Picchu, a ruined Inca settlement on a mountaintop in Peru, was discovered July 24 in 1911 by Hiram Bingham. He was guided by a local boy, though the native people had no particular interest in the site. Many visitors today feel it has a mystic quality to it.
What importance it had for the Incas is still not known, despite the astounding engineering it must have taken to create it. The Spanish killed the last Inca in 1578.
Rhinos are not native to South America, but We do get around.
Scheherazade is known for her story-telling, spinning out tales of Sinbad, Aladdin, Ali Baba, and their many Adventures.
Since We at Your Inner Rhino are in a period of celebration, We felt this would be an appropriate time to remind the Readership of Scheherazade’s work.
Why not?!
(Also, anything that requires tassels, beads, and bangles resonates at Your Inner Rhino. That’s just how it is.)
On May 29, 1953 Mr. Edmund Hillary (b.1919) and Mr. Tenzing Norgay reached the top of Mount Everest, the first people to do it. Many had tried and failed, so it was a Big Deal.
Everest (aka Chomolunga, Sagarmatha, Zhumalangma Fegn) is treacherous because of weather, terrain, formidable winds, and thin air at the top. It’s not a climb for the faint-hearted. Or for most Rhinos either.
(see: May 24, 2017 Your Inner Rhino)
Mr. Raold Amundsen (b.1872) lead the party that first arrived at the South Pole. It took them 49 days to get there, trekking 870 miles. Mr. Amundsen credited rigorous preparation, which seems to have paid off.
Rhinos were not invited along. We might have sent our regrets anyway; not much vegetation there. There they grow Snow and Ice.
What holds Rhino Attention is that from the South Pole, you can only go North! Pretty neat, when We think about it.
Given the astounding expertise of this French Mime, it seems unnecessary to point out that this is a performance of the Fall of the Bastille, a notorious Parisian prison. It fell in 1789, kicking off the French Revolution, which was a really big mess.
Still, the French people celebrate Bastille Day annually as a day of national pride, and although Rhinos don’t quite grasp the idea, We don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade.
Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite from Your Inner Rhino, you French people. (We do not know how to add accents, so don’t complain, s’il vous plait.)
Today, in 1405, Zheng He led a mighty Armada of 300 ships and 62 Treasure Ships off to sail around Asia, as shown. It took 7 separate trips, but he logged lots of nautical miles over the next 28 years. Why he went is a bit hazy to this day.
His ship was 1.5 football fields long (450 feet) and 60 yards wide. Nine masts, and housing 1,000. This presented ideal circumstances for Rhino stowaways, since We blend into crowds with ease. Cagey, that’s Us.
Rhinos are not natural sailors, so We would get off and walk, whenever possible. Sumatra and Java are always R party countries.
Your Inner Rhino 