reality, and Monday media

[ironymaiden]

tonight is our third night of curfew.
i spent the afternoon coding on Saturday and would have had no idea anything had happened if my phone hadn't gone off, because i am very careful about what news i get. i am sick with worry and fear whenever i turn my mind to the state of my country, and as a white person i feel only the tiniest fraction of the weight.

***
we're watching Avatar: The Last Airbender for the first time and enjoying it a great deal. C and i have managed to be completely unspoiled so it's been a great pleasure both to watch and to speculate together about what will happen. we're just starting season 3.

when i wasn't coding this weekend (or watching AtLA) we took in some classic films on HBOMax. first Million Dollar Mermaid (water sequences super-cool, ended abruptly in a perplexing spot) then a couple Showa-era Godzilla movies. there's a surprising number of Criterion Collection restorations available on the service. i'm excited.

we didn't watch the Rankin-Bass The Hobbit, but we will because we are of a certain age and it is written on our hearts. (they also have Watership Down but we're not watching that. it's like Pan's Labyrinth - great work, want to support it, people should see it, i'm not watching that thing again because i don't like nightmares.)

Comments

[varina8]

I look at the news more than I should and want to weep. It's been oddly quiet here in the immediate neighborhood. The freeway is either closed or lightly traveled. Few pedestrians are on the street. The King County Sheriff's helicopter uses our building for some kind of marker when the protests are active. They have been in the vicinity for most of the last three days. It sounds like tonight will be the same.

[ironymaiden]

higher-ups at work did an excellent job of addressing it - there's counseling and small group discussion available, reminders that we have donation matching - and shared some thoughtful content including Killer Mike's speech and a Medium piece about how difficult it is to "be professional" for black folks right now. it was valuable, it was a hard way to start the day.

[varina8]

Yes, very hard. I'm glad you have landed in such a supportive environment. I read the one piece and listened to the other last night. Both were great. I'm trying to listen far more than I talk right now. Seems like the right thing to do.

[buhrger]

i agree completely about the great pleasure that is AtlA. and being very careful about what news i get.

[swingandswirl]

Just stepping in to offer hugs, and an offer to vent if you need one.

(and if you need more gentle, uplifting TV, Masterchef Australia (NOT US!) is lovely, as is Nadiya's Time To Eat on Netflix.)

[jesse_the_k]

I'm so glad you have the wonders of AtLA to distract you from real life, which is .... not as good as a multicultural cartoon about found family and geopolitics!