12.30.2007

Luz Antonia Graham Urquilla


Born December 29, 2007 at 10:40pm.

Amazing!!

12.18.2007

Nights like this

Me and my Boo, laid up...
D'Angelo docked, croonin' over
belly-rubs. talkin' to Baby Girl,
Urquilla-Graham

We have 23 days to go, folks! All the books and advice and doctor's visits and therapy have us at least a little prepared for what awaits. But little B.G.U.G. will show us what's up.

Excited, anxious, happy, together. Marta and I are enjoying this last phase of the next phase of our lives. Everything is everything!

12.11.2007

Mortified

Apparently, I don't know how to use the spell-check function.

So...

B-a-t-t-l-e-s-h-i-p.

I stand corrected.

12.04.2007

Fresh-squeezed orange juice

My wife and I are "playing Batteship" this morning; laptops back to back: Facebook, Huffington Post (yikes!), and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Thirty-two days till baby-girl "to be named" is due. Life is beautiful :)

12.01.2007

Now that that's over...

I took the LSAT this morning at Howard University. (Not in Ernest E. Just Hall, as advertised, but in the Dental Building, as re-located). I chose a seat in the front row, right corner, figuring it would offer me less distractions.

In a bold violation of test center rules, I stowed my jacket, gloves, scarf and (black brushed wool) Kangol on top of the piano in the corner rather than under the desk with the gallon-sized Ziploc holding my pb&j, carrots, nuts-n-berries, and Penland water bottle. Unlike other, bolder violators, I left the cell phone at home. I have yet to ascertain whether Marta is at High Tea with the ladies (as scheduled) or at Virginia Hospital Center (as re-located). Now that I've both called and texted, I hope to find out soon.

The test itself came off as well as I could expect. My front row-right seat kept me from fixating on everyone else. Hewing close to the LSAT prep book strategies, I prioritized the questions that made sense to me in order to increase my score. I hit my targets
  • 20 questions on each logical reasoning section
  • 3 passages in reading comprehension
  • 2 of 4 games
for each of the first four sections - I even got through part of the third game in Section III! Writing came naturally. Too bad it's not scored.

The reading comprehension at the end of the day was harder than at the beginning. Still, I finished three of the passages and "bubbled in" answers for the fourth. Not bad.

I am thankful for all the love, support and advice that prepared me to sit in the re-located test center this morning with an open heart and mind. I feel good.

Marta - I love you. We're gettin' there, baby!

11.27.2007

The LSAT is Coming

Saturday, December 1, 2007 - the countdown is in effect.

11.14.2007

The Truth

Was it Eddie Murphy who did a sketch about "President Jesse Jackson's Inauguration" - wherein he ducked and dodged throughout the speech to confound would-be snipers?

The truth ain't too far from fiction.

11.13.2007

Downward Mobility

Depressing realities statistically confirmed. Thanks, Pew!

/lede/
Nearly half of African Americans born to middle-income parents in the late 1960s plunged into poverty or near-poverty as adults, according to a new study -- a perplexing finding that analysts say highlights the fragile nature of middle-class life for many African Americans.

/snip/
"That's a stunner," said Orlando Patterson, a Harvard University sociologist, when told about the Pew finding. "These kids were middle class, but apparently their parents did not have the cultural capital and connections to pass along to them."

Another reason so many middle-class blacks appear to be downwardly mobile is likely the huge wealth gap separating white and black families of similar incomes. For every $10 of wealth a white person has, blacks have $1, studies have found.

"We already knew that downward mobility was much more likely for blacks," said Mary Pattillo, a Northwestern University sociologist who studies the black middle class. "But this is an even bigger percentage drop than I have seen elsewhere. That's very steep."

11.12.2007

Foreign Corporations, si! Foreigners, not so much...

Northern Virginia welcomes foreign-owned companies while Prince William County is up in arms about the foreigners in their midst.

11.07.2007

Put up or shut up!

Benazir Bhutto has an excellent op-ed in today's New York Times, challenging the world - particularly, Western democracies - to act against Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's Martial Plan.

Much can be - has been - said about Bhutto's own bona fides, but she is correct to call the question: do promoters of freedom and democracy actually believe what they are saying?

Aaaah... now I'm thinking of Sweet Honey in the Rock:
"Ella's Song"
We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes

I believe.

Last night I spent a few hours driving to and from Prince William County, VA. My wife and I went and had a celebratory meal with Aracely Panameno, her brother and his two daughters. Aracely mounted a write-in campaign for County Supervisor against a 26-year incumbent and really shook some people up.

Election workers had to rediscover the laws and poll duties they have taken for granted. The larger electorate had to face the truth that "a change go'n come."

Big up to Aracely for Upsetting the Setup!


10.29.2007

10.26.2007

Aracely Panameno for County Supervisor

A worthy candidate at a critical juncture.

Genarlow Wilson - Free at Last

Genarlow Wilson - freed from jail. The Georgia Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that his sentence violated the Fourth Amendment.

Obama - WTF?

From Americablog:

One + One = Two

Interesting

What can I learn from Tyler Perry?

10.24.2007

Home Fires are Burning

My family isn't evacuated yet, but the bags and cars are packed just in case.

My alma mater, Mira Mesa High School, has been converted into an evacuation shelter.

Worried. Very worried.

Do you like saving online articles?

Check out Times Files - a service of NYT online that lets you save articles to their server.

The cooler trick is putting the Times File button on your toolbar. Presto! You can archive all the stories you like and empty out that 'Articles' folder you've set up in your e-mail account.

10.16.2007

Constitution? Not so much...

Quaintly, the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution asserts:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Yet, and still...
/snip/

Verizon Says It Turned Over Data Without Court Orders

Yesterday's 13-page Verizon letter indicated that the requests went further than previously known. Verizon said it had received FBI administrative subpoenas, called national security letters, requesting data that would "identify a calling circle" for subscribers' telephone numbers, including people contacted by the people contacted by the subscriber. Verizon said it does not keep such information.