To Do 07.09.20

BINGE: Avatar: The Last Airbender

This series created by Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko and Aaron Ehasz is more than 15 years old and has maintained a cult following. Yes, it’s an animated series, but it’s also a show that is thoroughly enjoyed by adults and still enjoyed by the kids-turned-adults who have been with the show since its inception because, simply put, it is a masterpiece in world-building, fantasy, drama, humor and cinema. At first glance, some might miscategorize the animated show as anime. Though it draws from some aspects of anime, it was created in collaboration with two studios in Korea (anime is Japanese by definition) and integrates Eastern modes of storytelling alongside Western. This is supposed to be a “kid’s show,” and kids will enjoy it. But the premise of the story begins with genocide. It also deals with absentee parenting, imperialism, the cyclical nature of war, psychological abuse and more “adult” themes. The world itself is built on cultures that are heavily inspired by different Asian and Pacific Islander countries, not just in costume and in scenery, but in details like diet, gender roles and morality. The magic system is easy to follow: There are four nations and/or cultures, and each can “bend” through a specific martial art based on real-world fighting styles such as Northern Shaolin Kung Fu or Tai Chi. One person, deemed the “avatar” can bend all of it, but hasn’t been found for over a century. The boundaries are simple, but from the simplicity comes solid character development and one of the best redemption arcs on television. Plus, it has some rad voice actors like Dante Bosco and Mark Hamill. The series has expanded into comic books, another spinoff animated series The Legend of Korra, and was reproduced into a live action movie by M. Night Shyamalan, (that was ill-received). Netflix is now producing a live-action series written and directed by the original creators. But for now, go to Netflix to watch the original.

READ: The State Budget

Perhaps you’re at the point where you’ve read and reread everything on your bookshelf. Perhaps you’re boycotting Amazon. Luckily for you, California resident, Gov. Gavin Newsom approved the state budget on June 30, and it’s 127 pages of searchable PDF gold. Nerd out. There are of course, downsides. Unlike reading fiction or narrative nonfiction, the numbers and figures within these pages are real-life projections of the likely future of the economy. A lot of it is grim – especially if you’re not a CalPERS (that’s Public Employee Retirement System) employee. But the takeaway should not be all doom and gloom. Finding the holes and inadequacies in funding may be your cue to show up at a board meeting and make your needs, and your communities’ needs, heard. Maybe you team up with a bunch of other folks in the state and bug Newsom or other state representatives to find those dollars or restructure the safety net. It has worked before. Either way, you have some reading to do. (See story, p. 10.)

MAKE: History

A lot happens at home during the pandemic. It seemed at the start of shelter in place, everyone was beginning to bake sourdough and ferment vegetables. Apparently, we’re now entering the raised garden bed/windowsill garden phase of shelter in place. Things have happened in between: babies were born, jobs were lost or gained, birthdays were celebrated, loved ones passed, protesters took to the streets. All of it – big or small – is history in the making, according to the California State Library. Monterey County Free Libraries is participating in the state library’s project, titled the California COVID Diaries. It seeks to collect stories of the daily lives of every kind of Californian during the pandemic, and the more stories, the richer our shared history becomes. In a statement, State Librarian Greg Lucas said, “Community-based archives like this empower marginalized community members to share perspectives that may not otherwise be recorded. One hundred years from now, our understanding of the Covid-19 pandemic will be shaped by the stories that we collect and preserve today. This project will help ensure that the historical record is inclusive of every Californian’s voice.” See? We can do things together, apart. Take the survey at bit.ly/CAcovidd