Things I Learned on the Internet This Week (ish)… Third Week of August, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5D8PwkCMT8

Did you ever re-discover a children’s film you loved watching when you were little, and wonder what you were thinking? This is not one of those times. I’ve just discovered, whole and entire on YouTube, a brilliant little gem put out by PBS more than thirty years ago (wow, I’m old), and it’s every bit as fun to me now as it was when I was my daughter’s age. Big Bird In China is a genuine piece of art which happens to be educational and for children. A brilliant combination of Chinese myth (which I love), muppets (which I love) and actual information. I’m going to show this to my daughter soon as I can. The traditional Chinese dancers playing the Monkey King have fascinated me for decades. They’re brilliant.

Okay, moving East from gorgeous ancient Chinese myth to mystifying modern-day Japanese kitsch…