damn the muse

The Justice Department just sued the city of Boston for failing to provide translators and other materials that would assist individuals in voting here in the United States, especially when English happens not to be their native tongue.

Under the Voting Rights Act, if more than 10,000 of a city's voting-age citizens are members of a single-language minority with limited English skills, all elections materials must be available in their first language. The city is required to offer all ballots and instructions in Spanish for the 34,000 Hispanic citizens of voting age in Boston. The federal law also forbids officials from imposing any requirement or procedure that denies or abridges the rights of minority citizens to vote.

Why are they voting, again?

No, really. You want to be a United States citizen, enjoy what this country reaps and sows, yet you can't bother to learn the language? I realize voting is a constitutional right, and yes, strict scrutiny would probably apply in this case, but it's ridiculous. I don't know how many years it takes to become a citizen, but it's long enough to learn and understand the language. There shouldn't be a need for translations or instructions in Spanish, Chinese, or French. If they're necessary then maybe you have no business voting.

Via Wizbang

Posted by yasmín at 9:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have thoughts about Harry Potter. I started it yesterday after the bar and finished it this afternoon. I would love to ramble on and on about what I thought except:

a. I can't see straight.
b. I'm exhausted.
c. I'm surprised I've mustered enough energy to write a blog entry.
d. I think I'm going to keel over and sleep all weekened.

Pick the best answer.

I really do want to chat about the book, though I think my thoughts will parallel pretty much everyone else's. That, and I'm afraid of a lack of coherence. Tomorrow then.

Posted by yasmín at 9:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ok, I'm in panic mode. I won't deny it. So please, ignore this little ramble of mine as I try to convince myself that these next three days of hell will actually be worth it this time.

I should be leary of the migraine I'm going to get thanks to the stress. Stress. Bad.

I should be looking foward to Harry Potter 6, but thanks to Prof. Yin and his lovely rss feed, the book was just spoiled for me. Hello.

Thursday is almost here. On Thursday I will be an attorney. I may have to wait for the official announcement in November, but still. I have a good feeling about this, which isn't to say that I'm not dreading the difficulty of this exam. It's a bitch. The hours, the opening of pages, reading the questions and thinking, "what the fu..." Then reason steps in and the answer pops into my head. I'm determined not to be nervous, or anxious. It's not a conspiracy, and no, the court reporter and procter don't know the answers, so they don't know I'm an idiot. I can do b.s. And, I am going to own the MBE.

Tomorrow, Day 1 will pass me by and I'll go see a movie, maybe look over some flashcards and outlines, and just keep thinking about how smashed I'm going to get on Thursday. It will be a celebration.

Buena Suerte, all ya bar bloggers.

Posted by yasmín at 7:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Visiting some of the Battlestar Galactica forums can be an experience all to its own. I just have one thing to say: Starbuck and Lee 4Eva!!!!!

All girlie fantasies aside, last night's episode, which I saw today, made me jump out of my seat. And the music!!!! Stephen, if you are reading this you would be drooling over it like I was. They used a composition by Philip Glass, and now I have to go digging through my cd collection, and hope I can find The Truman Show. It's not confirmed, but rumor has it that it's from there.

Posted by yasmín at 9:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

is now officially broke for this month! Painfully so, but ya know what? I'm going to see Nine Inch Nails in concert in October, and it looks like the accessible seating is right in the center. Oh yeah!

::does the happy dance::

Posted by yasmín at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's never a good thing to wake up, turn on the news, and suddenly have a breaking report cut in saying that there's been yet another "incident" in London. Part of me wants to stay glued to the tv set, but the other part, the hysterical, panic-stricken, reasonable part, knows that if I want to pass next week, I should at least get some essays done.

Regardless, the news is horrific, and the only thing that kept creeping into my head was, when are we next? It's such a horrible thought, but I couldn't help it. That, and I seriously hope that Londoners continue to not be afraid. Scumbags who do horrible things like that deserve to be locked away, the key mysteriously lost.

Anyway, Wizbang has the latest.

Posted by yasmín at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm a sci-fi geek. That's not news, really. So while taking a much needed break, I was positively heartbroken to find out that James Doohan had passed. Earth just won't be the same without him, but thank you for the lovely memories.

Posted by yasmín at 9:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There are a list of things I have left to do before that "little" quiz, and since the pressure on my chest has come back this week, methinks this might be the best way to deal with it.

First, no more reading bar blogs. Not that I don't love reading about y'alls trials and tribulations, but talk about loading on the anxiety.

Second, full on focus on the essays. I should also try to do Civil/Criminal procedure questions everyday this week.

Last, finish the blue PMBR book this week. If I can do that this week, or by Monday next, then I have a fighting chance.

I admit I've focused mostly on MBE, so this week will be an absolute crash course in everything else. I think that's why I'm freaked, and that's why I need to keep telling myself to chill. I've seen this before, so I will be ok. Besides, my reward for all my hard work will be Harry Potter. Now, if only people would stop spoiling it for me...

Posted by yasmín at 6:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So, these last two days have been spent looking over my answers for the practice MBE in the blue PMBR book. Let me tell you, I must have looked like a mad woman when I realized I had accidently marked a right answer wrong, which coincidently made me go YAY in the middle of the study section of Barnes & Noble.

Anyway, I was feeling guilty today because I haven't done any practice questions, and I was banned from the living room thanks to the roomie's new voice student (dear god was he tone deaf... excruciating...), so I couldn't work there. I opened up StudySmart, and I am now convinced that BarBri questions are evil. Everything I've learned via PMBR feels useless. This is not something I need to learn a week and a half before the exam, people. Granted, the intermediate questions could just be their way way of trying to start being tricky, and hey, this is their way of scaring me shitless, but ya know, it ain't happening.

Screw BarBri. Except essays, which I should probably start looking at....

Posted by yasmín at 9:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There are no rss stat counters, and if I want to know my stats I would have to join a site like feedburner. Um, no thank you.

Fortunately, my host has AWStats, which after much scrutinizing and disecting I've determined that my counter is worthless. Last month I had over 1100 hits to the .xml file and close to 700 for the .rdf file, so um, yeah, you crazy people like to read my ramblings.

I'm so sorry. ;-)

Posted by yasmín at 6:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have a question. Is MT 3.2 going to be free? Not that I wouldn't mind paying a reasonable price for the upgrade they seem to be hinting at, except I will be at a crossroads. A dilema. MT 3.2 or NIN tickets that go on sale next Saturday, which by the way both my siblings have seen in concert, and I have not. Hmm...Trent and Queens of the Stone Age versus MT. Gee...

Oh, and Texas sucks. We are the state obsessed with beauty pageants. A beauty pageant will pre-empt an important showing of Battlestar Galactica on NBC! As if I wanted to see near anorexic women feigning to want world peace on a Saturday night. Give me starship battles, and sex, and, and, ohhh what about that cliffhanger!

Another beauty pageant! I started watching the Miss Texas Pageant two weeks ago, and some cities have their brains screwed on wrong when it comes to their ideal beauty. I think a gal with poofy blond hair won, but then again I really wasn't paying attention. I stopped caring when all the lovely hispanic ladies were shut out.

And did I mention it was my mother's birthday yesterday. Feliz Cumpleaños, mami. Today it's my parents wedding anniversary. 29 years. I hope they throw a huge party for their 30th.

Posted by yasmín at 1:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I am going to pass the frickin' BAR EXAM!! You know why? Well, besides the fact that I'm a 4th timer, and I'm still only averaging 55% on questions, I feel good. 55 is not bad when the questions consistently get harder, and seriously, PMBR enjoys making me look bad. I can now rest assured that I'll probably ace Torts. Everything else is in the toilet, but it's ok. I've done 50 questions every single day, which has been a pain in my ass, but I've done it. I just wish I could stop making stupid mistakes. Grr.

The highlight of my week has been watching The Inside and twice wondering out loud what kind of legal issues the show brought up. I need a life.

Posted by yasmín at 8:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Just read the news, and it's breaking, and it officially sucks today. Goodbye swing vote.

I'm going to go see War of the Worlds today.

Posted by yasmín at 9:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)