Hello, Honeybee

The endangered Ili pika hadn’t been seen since 1983, that is, until it was spotted again in China, in 2014. 

According Li Weidong, a man that has volunteered his own time and money to search for the elusive mammal on the Tianshan mountains, there maybe only 1000 of them left.

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Here’s a fantastic looking trailer for Floyd Norman: An Animated Life, a documentary exploring the life of Disney animator Floyd Norman.

An intimate journey through the celebrated life and career of the ‘Forrest Gump’ of the animation industry: Disney legend Floyd Norman. Hired as the first African-American at Disney in 1956, Floyd worked on such classics as SLEEPING BEAUTY and 101 DALMATIANS before being handpicked by Walt Disney to join the story team on THE JUNGLE BOOK. After Walt Disney’s death in 1966, Norman left Disney to found Vignette Films, where he developed the original FAT ALBERT TV special and produced segments for SESAME STREET. He would later work at Hanna-Barbera on many classic cartoons, including SCOOBY DOO.  After Hanna-Barbera, Floyd’s talents took him to Pixar to work on TOY STORY 2 and MONSTERS INC. On Mr. Norman’s 65th birthday in 2000, Disney HR forced Floyd to retire. Refusing to leave his “home,” Floyd has “hijacked” a cubicle at Disney Publishing, unpaid, for the past 16 years, picking up freelance work when he can.  At 81 he continues to have an impact as both an artist and a mentor. Mr. Norman plans to “die at the drawing board.”

Nozomi Entertainment has posted the show to watch for free, 100% legally.

Revolutionary Girl Utena (1997) is a visually stunning, symbolically dense anime with an amazing and unique soundtrack. The action centers around Tenjou Utena, a girl who has decided she’s going to be a prince (not princess) when she grows up, getting caught up in a series of sword duels which she ends up fighting to protect Himemiya Anthy, a mysterious girl in her year.

It’s an anime about fairy tales, the confusion that comes with growing up, how patriarchy hurts everyone but the patriarchs, and escaping cycles of abuse.

It’s also an anime where one of the characters has a boxing fight with a kangaroo, another character spends a whole episode thinking people lay eggs, and a yaoi-lookin’ dude repeatedly rides shirtless on the hood of his corvette.

Revolutionary Girl Utena is probably the best anime I’ve ever watched.