Deceptive Horses: Uffington White Horse and da Vinci

The famed Uffington White Horse gained a rider this month.  Paddy Power, an online betting service, added a giant jockey stylized to match its mount, a Bronze Age earth sculpture carved into the hills of Oxfordshire. Unlike the Paddy Jockey, the origin of the ancient horse is shrouded in mystery.  About 3000 years ago, regional tribes carved the horse out of the chalk hills.  Why?  Either the horse symbolized the tribe, marking its territory, or the carving had religious significance, evoking the one of many deities associated with horses and the sun.  Today, the White Horse is one of the most important cultural artifacts of England, thus it is a great target for creative advertisements.

Uffington White Horse with Rider

In other horse retaliated news, the lost Battle of Anghiari by da Vinci may have been discovered behind a Vasari mural in the Palazzo Vecchio.  

Vasari's Battle of Marciano may hide a long lost da Vinci.

Texas Gets Its Grove On

By a Concurrent Resolution of the House and Senate, Texas has adopted Western Texas Swing as the official dance moves of the Lone Star State.  

In other news, House Bill 716 seeks to protect the right of ranchers to hunt hogs and coyotes by helicopter. Unbeknownst to me, feral hog hunting by helicopter is an active sport/business in South Texas.  

The Passing of Knut

Baby Knut attacking a (stuffed)
Baylor bear.

Yesterday, the famous polar bear of the Berlin Zoo unexpectedly died.  After Knut's birth in 2006, his mother, Tosca, cruelly rejected him.  The bear handlers at Berlin took Knut home, defying German animal rights activists who said the bear should be killed.  The endless videos and photos of baby Knut romping around and shredding the apartment of his human parents propelled the cub to international fame.  As with any rags to riches story, there is a nefarious sub-plot.  The commercial success of the Knut brought unbudgeted wealth to the Berlin Zoo...  Neumünster Zoo, the home of Knut's father, Lars, wanted a cut of the action and filed suit against the Berlin Zoo.  As part of the original breeding agreement, Berlin Zoo agreed that the first born of Tosca and Lars would belong to Neumunster Zoo.  Berlin reneged on the deal.  Ultimately, Berlin shared some of the cash (430,000 euros), but not the bear.  Despite getting "less cute" in his maturity, Knut continued to draw large crowds at the zoo.