Politics: The Immigration Issue

“We are really balanced here on a little precipice, and if this, pardon the pun, goes south, we could be in very serious trouble. If [Immigration Reform] stalls or is killed off by conservatives, we could take the Hispanic community and turn them into the African-American community, where we get 4% on a good day… We could be a lost party for generations.”

-- Paul Wilson

Republicans were opening up on the issue of immigration after the defeat of the 2012 elections, but then the Boston Marathon bombing happened by those self-styled Muslim jihadists. Now the Republicans seem to be reverting back to their basic ethnocentric instincts.

FOOD PORN

And, yeah, I am starving. It's a very late lunch.

Miley

Dressed in a midriff-baring vintage tee and Topshop pants, Miley Cyrus is barefoot dancing to her new hip-hop-infused sound at a Burbank, California, recording studio. A few feet away, Pharrell Williams, the megacharming megaproducer who helped to orchestrate this clever, heartfelt sonic breakthrough, leans effortlessly against a console, trading lyrics with the smiley 20-year-old determined to revolutionize her career. They are listening to “#GetItRight,” the possible lead single off her impending, first post-Disney album, and a sure Top 40 diamond with a whistling hook and clever sweetness that partially obscures the frank sexual nature of its lyrics. A global phenomenon since her Hannah Montanadays, the daughter of Billy Ray “Achy Breaky” Cyrus is widely recognized for kid-friendly hits and a corporate-approved persona. But after shedding her Disney veneer—genuinely, without the trappings of image strategy—Miley has revealed herself to be a far more compelling pop figure in the throes of a powerful transformation.

-- ONTD

Apparently, Miley is taking the road to rap music. I like the look, but cannot think much of the musical direction. But maybe it's my age and not being of the generation. It's just: she has a real voice and can carry a tune and everything, which seems wasted with rap.

Video Games

What time is it? 12:48! That means I won’t be eating until 1:30. That hour was costly.

What a day, what a day! I was able to do a morning mow, but I had to wait till after ten again. Dewey grass. But at least the mud in the backyard was not that soft, and this made the operation a ‘go’. But that hour proved costly, not only in terms of a late lunch. The sun caught up with me as I began to mow the back, but at least I had done the front already. It was not terrible, but hardly ideal. One has to remember that we are now into May, and you can only hope for so much in the way of cool weather.

If it were not for the cats, I probably would have gladly waited another few days, and let the grass grow a little more. But I still had the cats inside after that stormy night, and that’s a tough condition to meet once you let them free. And now the job is done and the cats can do as they please.

But then I blew my afternoon. I hinted at my interest in video games at PolitiCartoons, and one LJer urged me to go ahead and get BioShock Infinite. He said, “It’s wonderful! You should do it.” I then saw that the price is down from sixty to forty-five dollars, and I happen to be sitting on a little surplus.

I took out my disc of GTA 5 to give it a run and make sure that the XBox is still working, and to made an afternoon of it - the morning was shot, why not make a day of it? One of the reasons why the idea excites me is that I came up with the notion that I could indulge in video games and treat it as a vacation from my blogging. I would just play a game for a day or two every once in a while - get it out of my system.

It would give another dimension to my days, and it would keep me invested in video games, as I keep an eye out for the possibility that these games are only going to keep getting better. Who knows what kind of fantasy-immersion one will be able to get in a few years? It may be a good idea to keep one’s hand in the gamer world.

I checked my money, to make sure about that surplus, and I came that close to ordering BioShock Infinite.

However, as much as I enjoyed my round of GTA, I felt my age. Do I really want to spend that many hours playing a video game? Isn’t my dwindling time much better spent with good books? If I were still in my twenties, or even my thirties, I don’t think I’d give it a second thought, but I’d be getting into these games with some real alacrity. But now I feel as though I have only so many hours to live, and I’d rather spend those hours meditating upon great thoughts or great lives, rather than gawking at pixel-women and shooting at pixel-characters and essentially watching cartoons.

I suppose if money were not so dear, I probably would still give the games a whirl. I do have the surplus, but the fifty-dollar expenditure would come close to wiping it out. The cost in terms of both time and money is a bit too precious. Maybe if the games could be a lot sexier, that would tilt the debate the other way, but the truth is we can only get so much of our fantasies with these games.

Yet, the debate remains an open one. I did enjoy my afternoon as Niko, running wild in Liberty City. And BioShock Infinite does look like a gaming phenomenon, and there is a romantic angle to it with a pretty brunette who is your helpmate and enchantress.

Pessoa

To think a flower is to see and smell it,
And to eat a fruit is to know its meaning.

That is why on a hot day
When I enjoy it so much I feel sad,
And I lie down in the grass
And close my warm eyes,
Then I feel my whole body lying down in reality,
And I know the truth, and I am happy.

-- Fernando Pessoa, “A Little Larger Than the Entire Universe”

Britney Spears

Britney may not be the girl she was ten years ago, but she knows how to use her assets.

[ONTD]

Dreamy