Haiku…Week 1
A week’s worth of Haiku written by Richard Hernandez. Enjoy.
November 15:
Weary eyes need rest,
Mind yearns for peace, but alas…
Justin Bieber blares.
November 16:
Slow walkers be warned
Sadly, our paths may soon cross…
My bumper will win.
November 17:
Lies are being told…
Money without happiness?
Come on, it’s bullshit!
November 18:
Relief is instant,
You too can feel better…how?
Pop a pimple…see?
November 19:
Yes, more attitude,
aim to piss off the waiter!
…hmmm, soup tastes funny.
November 20:
In the morn, I wait…
Perhaps the sun will not rise?
Nope, guess I have work.
November 21:
Bitchy gays: If I
wanted to deal with a queen…
I’d move to England.
Harry Potter & the 21 year old fan
Has it really been 12 years since the US release of the novel Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone? The years have gone by so quickly that I find it hard to believe that more than a decade has passed since I was first introduced to Harry Potter.
There are few things to which I have been so loyal. In other divisions of the entertainment world such as television and film, I have rarely followed anything for more than six to seven years. Why? Usually the quality of a series (be it book, television, and/or film) diminishes over time. But with each new novel J.K. Rowling created new dimensions to the characters and to the fantastic wizarding world of which they live. Rowling was able to break the “Curse of the Horrible Sequel” and the equally scary “Curse of the Progressively Worse Installments”, and actually her books became progressively better. It was Rowling’s motherly care and love for her series that was responsible for the elaborate expansions in each consecutive novel. As a reader, paying close attention to the sometimes hidden details helped make the novels that much more enjoyable.
But at the age of 10, many details and aspects of the storyline are often overlooked; when the thrill of a Quidditch match or an intense duel has you quickly turning to the next page, it is difficult to focus on the subtleties of the relationships between characters. In fact, when recently revisiting the novels I was struck by the complexities of the story and how much of the story I had neglected to notice. Therein lay the secret to the success of Harry Potter.
Had the series been merely a fun fantasy book of wizardry devoid of substance and/or a book with an ending that could be easily predicted, it would have lost its appeal with the aging first generation of Harry Potter readers. However, a remarkably large portion of the first-generation Harry Potter fans have remained loyal to the series.
It is because Harry Potter, though marketed towards children, can cross the line between young-adult and adult fiction because of the themes targeted toward the appropriate audiences, thus an adult can find just as much enjoyment in the novels as a child can find.
When I go to the movie theater on November 19th to see Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 1, I will be attending as a child-turned-adult devotee who is still in awe of the magical world that J.K. Rowling has created.
12 years later and I still am, and always will be, a fan.
It’s been a long time
I’ve decided to return to blogging.
Tomorrow I will return with more to say.
I will deconstruct and analyze notable events (and random things that are not so notable), complain about pretty much a lot of shtuff, share amusing videos, talk about good recipes…the whole sha-bang.
That’s starting again….tomorrow.
SB1070 and the Boycott of Arizona
Sitting in the shadows of the great state of California is a state that is not always recognized: Arizona.
Most citizens of the “other 49″ know little about this gem-of-a-state other than that it is the home of John McCain, the ASU Sun Devils, and the Grand Canyon; and most people probably just think of it as the vast desert where many MLB teams go for spring training. However, with the passage of Arizona Senate Bill 1070 (SB1070) the state is getting an increased amount of attention and notoriety.
When it comes to illegal immigration, Arizona has a history of passing legislation and restrictions that are tough on businesses and communities that “give shelter to illegal immigrants and/or encourage illegal immigration”. Arizona is the state with the most illegal crossings of the Mexico-United States border, so it makes sense that the government would try to crack down on the number of illegals by passing strict laws with strict consequences. But with SB1070, the nation is wondering: has Arizona gone too far?
The main criticism of the bill is that it supposedly provides opportunities for racial profiling by police officers and government agencies.
First, let’s take a closer look at the provision that is getting the most attention.
After making legal contact, if a police officer/government agency has reason to suspect that a person is in the state of Arizona illegally, the officer/agency has the legal authority and right to ask the person for the appropriate documents to prove that they have legal status in the state and country.
It should be noted that legitimate, lawful contact IS REQUIRED prior to the police officer’s request for documentation–
SB1070 (summary):
“1. Requires a reasonable attempt to be made to determine the immigration status of a person during any legitimate contact made by an official or agency of the state or a county, city, town or political subdivision (political subdivision) if reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the U.S.”
(http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/summary/s.1070pshs.doc.htm)
–meaning, the officer/agency must have legal reason to come into contact with the person before making such a request. The person has to be breaking the law and/or the police officer must have suspicion that the person is in the act of breaking the law before he or she can legally ask for the documents. **This little, but very important, part of the bill has been ignored by much of the media and many of the critics of SB1070 in their own interpretations of the bill.**
SB1070 co-author and Kansan, Kris Kobach, gave this example: “An officer stops a group of people in a car that is speeding. The car is overloaded. Nobody has identification. The driver acts evasively. They are on a known smuggling corridor.” With the new law, the officer/agency would now have the authority to contact U.S. Immigration and Customs to check on the legal statuses of the people in the car if he/she/they suspect that they people are unlawfully present in the United States.
Now, let’s get back to “racial profiling”. Dissenters of the bill assert that the power given to police officers and agencies is too much and that those persons/agencies will use skin color and other physical and economical factors to target individuals. Once again, contrary to popular belief, an officer cannot pull over someone for “looking illegal”, they have to break the law and the officer then must make a judgement-call, based on the circumstances, as to whether or not investigate the legal status of the individual.
Many seem to have little faith in the integrity of our law enforcement, believing that the officers and agencies will wildly persecute individuals because of appearance. While racial profiling does exist and may occur in some cases (past and present), many officers hold their personal integrity to a higher standard–and the lack of faith in our law enforcement and the belief that they will carelessly pervert the law is unnerving. Again, there must be legitimate reason/suspicion for the officer to pull over the individual(s) before asking for the appropriate documents.
Furthermore, when a document is produced showing that you are a citizen of/legal resident of/lawfully-in the United States then the officer’s “reasonable suspicion” has been satisfied. Ladies and gentleman, pull out your state-issued driver’s license, and in most cases this is sufficient proof as to your citizenship and legal status. We show our driver’s license anyways when we get pulled over.
SB1070 is not racist. Read the bill, it’s only 17 pages long. Here’s the link:
Responses to the bill have been mixed, polls have been varied–look that info up if you’re interested.
But at this time, I want to respond to the proposed boycotts of the State of Arizona and the businesses of Arizona.
My favorite has been the boycotting of “Arizona Iced Tea”; many people are saying that they will stop drinking this beverage because of the passage of SB1070. Unfortunately, these fine citizens have failed to research the product–the Arizona Beverage Company is based on Long Island, New York and brews their teas in Queens, New York. Fail there.
On a more serious note:
San Francisco and Los Angeles are just two cities considering proposals to sever ties and cease business relations with companies in Arizona because of the passage of SB1070. Mayor Gavin Newsom (San Francisco) has even convened a group to analyze how a boycott will “affect city contracts and purchasing”.
First off, I think it’s completely idiotic that any city would consider punishing the businesses of Arizona for the acts of the government! In the midst of an economic recession, people are considering stopping business relations? How do you think that will affect the economy?! And furthermore, the businesses did not pass the bill–it was the state!! Taking it out on the people of state? That’s really stupid!
Second, Mayor Newsom is running for Lieutenant Governor. He’s “investigating” for political reasons–he’s going to gain votes by doing this, he’s playing the game just like all the other elected officials who are saying similar things and proposing similar plans. Actually suspending travel and ceasing business relations with Arizona companies is illogical, but talking about doing it gets public attention and therefore may gain support and votes.
In short, boycotting Arizona based businesses will only bring about more problems and create hardships for the residents of Arizona. Don’t boycott, it’s a bad idea.
I hope you read SB1070 and make up your mind about it without the influence of the media. Take some time to read the bill and then form your opinion. As far as I can tell, this bill is not a racist bill..it just isn’t. But that’s just my humble opinion.
It’s strict, and we need strict in order to deal with the problem of illegal immigration.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post.
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