...why not a little US Senate update

In honor of the arrival of my absentee ballot I thought I might clue you into the happenings regarding the possiblity of Regime Change in Yanquilandia.

In my earlier post I noted that there were 13 seats in play this year and that the Democrats have to win 11 of them in order for me to enjoy observing some well-deserved war crimes trials.

The conventional wisdom at the time of my last post had 7 states, MD, MI, RI, WA, MN, OH, and PA leaning Democrat.

Republicans were favored to win 3 states: AZ, TN, and VA.

3 states were considered toss-ups. MT, NJ, and MO were too close to call.

This gave a nigh onto impossible chance of a Democratic Senate come "the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November."

However...the joint is currently jumpin':

The Arizona race, a Republican stronghold, is now virtually tied in the polls.

Tennessee is now in toss-up status; a tremendous development for a Black candidate in a "border state".

Rhode Island firmed up for Republicans with Lincoln Chafee's narrow victory in the primary but now looks to close to call.

Virginia, another Rep stronghold, has tightened beyond all prediction with the Republican "good-ol'-boy" son of a famous football coach becoming embroiled in racist comments and, days later, vehemently denying a report in an Israeli newspaper that his mother is Jewish.

Montana, as a whole, seems to be trending Dem and giving some serious problems to Rep incumbent Conrad Burns.

The two other original tossup states, NJ and MO look to stay with their respective incumbents due to the way campaign fundraising has developed.

In the interest of condensing my future posts, I'll confine myself to the above states of AZ, TN, RI, VA, and MT. A strange shake-out in the last 11 days!

Gin and Tonic

Which brings us back to the ice. You might have noticed in your local kiosco the Argentine fondness for agua tonica...I certainly did today. On the 180 mile drive back, much ice and soda was purchased.

Among those floating in the cooler was Cunningham Indian Tonic...the best tonic water I have ever tasted. A bit too tonicy for use as a soft drink, in my opinion, but thank god for it's legion of fans here that have made it available for the use to which I have put it tonight.

Fresh limes are a staple in my fridge...so there was only to shower, shave and duck out to make myself poorer to the tune of 60 pesos the liter for some Tanqueray.

Goodnight...and this from the "beeb":

"History of Gin and Tonic

Gin and Tonics were -like Gin itself- originally developed as a medicine. In this case to help fight malaria. When the British were in the East they became susceptible to malaria and eventually found out that quinine (an ingredient in Tonic Water) was useful for getting rid of the disease. Well, as you would probably expect, drinking Tonic Water by itself is pretty nasty (unless you've acquired a taste for it) and they had problems getting the British in the East to drink it.

Along comes our friend Gin to be mixed with the Tonic Water, which not only made drinking it much more pleasant, but also created an excellent drink that would be remembered from then on, even if its relationship to the disease was forgotten. So, as you can see, Gin and Tonic Water came about due to medicinal reasons, then caught on later for thier more pleasurable aspects.

On a minor note, the Lime (served in any GOOD Gin and Tonic) being a citrus fruit (and therefore containing Vitamin C) helps to prevent scurvy. Usually the limes are not the dominant ingredient of Gin and Tonic, so they won't actually get rid of scurvy if you've already got it - unless you drink A LOT of Gin and Tonics of course."

El Abuelo

When all was said and done...and the last knuckle busted...and the last shin kicked by a vengeful calf looking for sneaky payback for his now missing testicles...what better than to place a fresh sprig of that iris on the ol' rolltop for FOR HIM WHAT BRUNG US ALL.

Work.

In case it looks like the spring roundup was just lying around in the flowers with a camera, let me assure you that there are few places on my body that do not hurt. Our gauchos, Miguel and Gabriel have me by 20 years from the git-go and I did my best to keep up with them (sissy yanqui is the one wearing gloves.)

500 bovines of all description later...we were finished. From 600 kilo bulls to newborns that still showed traces of their umbilicals, they all passed thru our loving care...and under the demanding gaze of she who acts like she invented animal bienestar, Mrs. Yanqui Mike.

flowers 7

This was a real surprise. These are the blossoms of a huge bay laurel bush that grows in front of the casco.

So strange and incredibly sweet and strangly herbal and complex and CRAZY was the perfume that it filled the air with...I was tempted to pick every last one of them and brew-up a perfume or a liqueur.

16,000 provincial honey bees whispered in unison that I was insane.

flowers 6

A bit of a breeze kept this beauty out of perfect focus but she's almost more alluring that way.

These irises are so dense at the "back" of the house that you can see their rhizomes along the whole wall...as thick as the fresh ginger at Disco!

The old heirloom types are big on perfume but so short-lived that Mamá didn't even remember having seen them before.

flowers 5

Clocking in at flower fifth but not least is Mamá resplendant in some beautiful white sweater that she probably knitted herself...soaking in some exquisite rays while discussing the details of this year's Spring Roundup with her daughter. (Strange Yanqui yerno lies on the ground with a camera much to her dismay.)

Flowers 4

These little white ones have been with us to some degree all winter long. The purple one, however, is one of a 1000 new arrivals that adorn the entire tree next to her. For some reason, this one here is a ground dweller.

Flowers 3

My darling wife, Alicia, poses as our third flower.

While not a surprise showing, she was more radiant this Saturday morning than any other.

Flowers 2

Like catching a glimpse of a firework just as it is beginning to ignite, the campo is getting into Spring in a big way. Among the many flowers of this weekend's visit was this plum tree that was in such full bloom that it had only begun to coat everything below it in a snow of petals.

Flowers 1

As of course would be proper, every visit to see the "girls" comes with at least one new flower.

Las violetas, however, have been thick on the ground for months. So much so that we could have picked 100 bunches without trying very hard.

Ice

I've heard it said more than once that U.S. prisoners of war...upon being released...will have a first request that is so common as to be a cliche among those that administer their first moments: a drink with lots of ice cubes.

One man said that the very sound of them clinking in his glass was better than if they had tolled the Liberty Bell for his return.

I don't why this is such a Yanqui obsession but I have never been anywhere in the world (tourist resorts that cater to Americans, excepted) that assumes anyone in their right mind would have the bartender or soda jerk begin with filling your glass beyond the brim with ice. Truly, however, it is in our DNA.

My Porteña wife is of the "normal" persuasion that enjoys a cube or two...or sometimes likes to forego the thang that I absolutely require when weather turns warm. When we lived in Chicago she found it impossible to order a drink without ice. When she was successful...they brought ice on the side...just to make sure that there was no misunderstanding.

...face to a blog

Today's NYT has a piece that reminded me of the fine café I enjoyed along with meeting the alluring Ms. TihE at www.estcafe.com.ar yesterday.

One of the references in the article was down-right Argentine:

And though almost all of the coffee used to make espresso in this country is roasted to a shiny black color, the beans typically used in these cafes are somewhere closer to a medium-dark roast. J. D. Merget, the owner of Oslo, explained: “It’s like grilling meat; if you char it but don’t burn it, you get to taste both the meat and the char. If you burn it all the way through, you’re just tasting char.”

After having met Ian and Cinta from Good Airs I'm left with the feeling of a nascent "blog family" here in BsAs.

It was a lovely early Spring afternoon to spend with La Tanguita in Palermo...on the cusp of Recoleta...if you're not reading her blog, you should be.

...from the World Health Organization

Buenos Aires, Noisiest LatAm City

Buenos Aires, Sep 8 (Prensa Latina) The capital of Argentina is Latin America s noisiest city, according to a survey carried out by the World Health organization and published in this city on Friday.

According to the WHO report, thousands of unmuffled buses and trucks are mainly responsible for the alarming level of noise that affects Buenos Aires capital residents.

The WHO says that the human ear can tolerate up to 70 decibels of noise, but more than that can damage the hearing system.

Representatives of civil Hear Better organization informed that measurements they took in key points of Buenos Aires revealed levels between 85 and 95 decibels.

They said that construction activities, currently very increased in the city, join the traffic problem since builders work without any protection or security measures to reduce noise pollution.

"¡Hay, que bueno!" mi mujer me dijo. "¡Entonces no estoy loca despues de todo!"

Weird things in Buenos Aires...

This is the first in a long over-due series: Very Common Things in Buenos Aires that a yanqui or at least a midwesterner would find unusual in the extreme.

For our first installment: keys.

Now, why would regular house keys be so radically different than those of, say, Chicago that they would bear notice? I have no idea. However, as you can see, they are indeed strange and wonderful.

To be fair, I have, on the rare occasion, seen what we would term "regular" house keys. But the "Kwikset" type are true rarities.

What roused me to comment on keys and begin this series was the escandalo surrounding the "bump key" that apparently opens about every lock that we norteamericanos have ever seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WexoP5ZDWgg

If you have one or a bunch of these, however, you'll be pleased to know that these types are known as "lever" keys and are immune from the bump!

The Senate back in Yanquilandia

I promised a little on this recently.

I think the House is a given at this point. The Senate, however, is MUCH tighter. Here's the lowdown, Brown:

33 are the seats up for election.
13 are a Dem lock...no way we can lose.
7 are a Rep lock...no way they can lose.
13 are left in which there is some measure of play.

Of those 13:
there are 7 that "lean" Dem.
there are 3 that "lean" Rep.
and there are 3 that are "toss-ups" that don't seem to lean either way.

Not bad for our side actually...until you realize that we need 11 of those 13 to regain control of the Senate. Without control there can be no war crimes investigations.

Specifics and particulars to come.

Guess the mystery pup...

...AND WIN A FREE BEER!*
Watch this space!

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Yer joe...

...yer mud, yer murk, jolt, jamoke. Importantísimo.

Afortunadamente the city is full of good stuff (not that you can't get served umbrella juice when you least expect it.)

There is one very big coffee problem in Buenos Aires, however: sometimes you want yer java before exposing any or all parts of you to the general public...not even so much as to crack open the door wide enough to pull in a styrofoam cup from the delivery guy.

That's right, folks, when it comes to en grano para la casa this can be a cruel, cruel town.

Maciej Ceglowski said it best in this post of his, possibly the greatest quick-take (he wasn't here very long!) on Argentine food ever written:

"Other dangers lurk in the Argentine pantry. Worst and most puzzling in a country settled by Italians is the horrible ground coffee. Most cafés and restaurants serve good espresso, but you are in the wilderness as soon as you try to find something you can brew at home. The idea of purchasing beans to grind seems to be a great novelty - it took several days of hunting to find both a grinder and something to put in it. Grocery store coffee is inevitably sold pre-ground and roasted with sugar, giving it a dark color and the taste and aroma of burnt socks. It's possible that coffee, like Argentine yogurt, is just meant as a delivery mechanism for sugar."

If you have a good source, please share. If you don't, may I suggest some find grind for you from Establecimiento General de Café (www.estcafe.com.ar)

Like a lot of places it's good for a great cuppa in the classic porteño style...pretty special, tho, in that you can order your doble by varietal if you wish.

But it's claim to fame with me is the beans. Some of the best I've ever tasted.

Now I'll admit it, I'm not much of a coffee snob. I guess you could describe me as a "roaster" snob in that I'm happy to accept a lower order of arabica that's fresh from the roaster rather than some loftily pedigreed stuff that's just plain been waiting for adoption too long. (Please Note: only the Av. Pueyrredón location does the roasting...go there.)

Having said that I'm happy to report that I cruised all over their map of varietals to my complete satisfaction. All or most of my favorites are on the card.

Coffee being what it is (one of the original exotics) you're going to be paying like you do for everything imported here...way out of the Peso League. After my 'round-the-world with my darling Muse of the Morning I started to question my financial sanity.

That's when I thought I'd give the house blends a try. There are three and they are much, much more affordable.

À la Goldilocks, I first tried the Terciopelo. As the name suggests, it was very smooth...too smooth for me. High quality, freshly roasted, but I like a little bite with mine. Still, I was ecstatic to find something affordable for daily fixing that was this good.

Toward a more edgy cup, I next scored a half a key of the Expresso. I know, I know: espresso blends...the dumping ground of grounds...usually roasted beyond recognition even if it might contain good beanage. Not this one, tho. Pretty damn good it is. It certainly satisfied my taste for something a bit more amargo but didn't leave me feeling like I'd bought the sweepings out of the drum.

Last on my list was just right. A nuanced balance between richness...and poverty! The Portobello. Se dice "similar a aquellos cafes de la Piazza Spagna, pero con un toque artesanal." Gotta love that. Stumble no more would I into the shower when I craved my dark stuff...now I stumble into the KITCHEN AND BREW MY OWN!

Since cafés were way up at the top of my list of reasons for emmigrating here, I admit to being a little conflicted not frequenting my favorite boliches quite like I used to. I'm working thru that.

Don't forget to share any good-for-grind joints that you throw your trade to.

Maybe soon we should discuss the available options for your "set of works."

'tis the season once again

The September holiday ushers in the election season this year.

The Yanq bein' a Yanq is interested in the upcoming election and unabashedly Dem. Be that as it may, I would not only like to encourage all of my fellow exiles to vote remote...but I would like to help if at all possible.

Be you of whatever political stripe (you didn't think English had a subjunctive, didja!) please take a look at this link and figure if there is still time to register.

If you are registered and are having trouble swimming through the process, please drop me a comment and I will try to help you in anyway I can.

In some upcoming posts I'll follow the US Senate races since a Dem reconquista of the lower house seems assured.

Labor Day

I hope you had fun on this yanqui labor day. In case any porteño friends wondered why in the world you would celebrate it in September...wiki 'em!

"The origins of the American Labor Day can be traced back to the Knights of Labor in the United States and a parade organized by them on September 5, 1882 in New York City. They were inspired by an annual labor parade held in Toronto, Canada. In 1884 another parade was held, and the Knights passed resolutions to make this an annual event. Many other labor organizations, notably the affiliates of the International Workingmen's Association, favored a May 1 holiday. With the event of Chicago's Haymarket riots in early May of 1886, president Grover Cleveland believed that a May 1 holiday could become an opportunity to commemorate the riots. Thus, fearing that it might strengthen the socialist movement, he quickly moved in 1887 to support the position of the Knights of Labor and their date for Labor Day.

Labor Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in the United States since the 1880s. The September date has remained unchanged, even though the government was encouraged to adopt May 1 as Labor Day, the date celebrated by the majority of the world. Moving the holiday, in addition to breaking with tradition, could have been viewed as aligning the U.S. labor movements with internationalist sympathies.

Labor Day is generally regarded simply as a day of rest and, unlike May Day, political demonstrations are rare. Forms of celebration include picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays, water sports, and public art events. Families with school-age children take it as the last chance to travel before the end of summer. Some teenagers and young adults view it as the last weekend for parties before returning to school.

According to Howard Zinn in his research in A People's History of the United States, the original parade in 1882 organized by the Knights of Labor had a loose affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan, a main reason why the more progressive supporters of a labor parade preferred the May Day march."