Ian Mount: Beef in Argentina

Buenos Aires' own Ian Mount reports on a subject close to the Yanq's heart: producing the beef that we all know and love.

Ian's piece on American Public Radio's Marketplace is only a few minutes but if I haven't been able to get through to you on this very important subject, I'm confident that Mount's fine audio piece will do the job.

Give it a listen here.

My wife and I are trying our very best to hold onto our cattle, unlike ALL our immediate neighbors who have had to "take the bull by the tail and face the situation" ...for their own survival.

Hats off, man! Good job.

The New Global Student

It's truly satisfying when good things happen to good people ...and the reviews filtering-in from allá regarding Maya Frost's new book are actually exciting.

I knew that Maya was working on this book for a long time ...and that impresses me even more; the timing of the release put this book in the vanguard of recession consciousness!

How'd she do that?

The number of parents willing to consider alternatives to the sudden sticker shock of today's 4 year institutions must be suddenly enormous. When that alternative is as attractive as what Maya describes, the book strikes me as a must-have for anyone with children reaching that age.

Although I've never been blessed ...I'm still fascinated at economic aspect of the subject.

The responsibility that parents feel ...and the responsibility they are trying to instill ...takes on a new aspect in what could be a long recession: student debt is crushing some of the US' brightest. A recent NYT article was most noteworthy for the more than 400 comments it generated, mostly from students describing the life-long hell they are facing in order pay the bill (more than one is pondering leaving the US permanently to escape the unpayable debt.)

Parents both with and without the means to pick-up the tab can't go wrong by adding Maya's book to their survival kit. Making sure that their kids are aware should be a cinch when it's presented as such an attractive and fulfilling alternative.

Buenos Aires Crapmongers

Looks like our ol' buddies, The Gang of 4, owners of baexpat dot org are up to their old tricks.

The Fox News of Buenos Aires forums has unleashed a bunch of their "fair and balanced" at the expat owner of a family cookie company, Frank Almeida of Sugar and Spice ...with all the reason and moderation that they're famous for.

If you know Frank, then you also know that you've met maybe the nicest expat that ever set foot on these shores. Stomping on him is a new, all-time low. I hope you'll write Frank and let him know how you feel.

I used to make a big deal in these pages about the scammers that run that site ...with their shill accounts, their Buenos Aires experts that secretly live 10,000km away, the rabid anti-Baires posters that they protect, the way the owners actually step-in to fan the flames if things calm down, the monthy dinner scam, and the wholesale banning of commenters that took issue with any of it.

It used to exist to drive traffic to something called indextar ...now I think it's worthwhile only for the owners to mine the last of the real estate trade from the expat community.

If you like that kind of stuff, have at it. But keep in mind that it's not particularly "Buenos Aires", "Expatriate" nor a "Group".

Robertson on "The Weight"

According to songwriter Robbie Robertson, "The Weight" was inspired by the films of Luis Buñuel, about which Robertson once said:

(Buñuel) did so many films on the impossibility of sainthood. People trying to be good in Viridiana and Nazarin, people trying to do their thing. In ‘The Weight’ it’s the same thing. People like Buñuel would make films that had these religious connotations to them but it wasn’t necessarily a religious meaning. In Buñuel there were these people trying to be good and it’s impossible to be good. In "The Weight" it was this very simple thing. Someone says, "Listen, would you do me this favour? When you get there will you say 'hello' to somebody or will you give somebody this or will you pick up one of these for me? Oh? You’re going to Nazareth, that’s where the Martin guitar factory is. Do me a favour when you’re there." This is what it’s all about. So the guy goes and one thing leads to another and it’s like "Holy Shit, what’s this turned into? I’ve only come here to say 'hello' for somebody and I’ve got myself in this incredible predicament." It was very Buñuelish to me at the time.^[4]

Only in this case, the traveler encounters the favor-asking people in Nazareth itself.

The Best in Argentina

When I look a little shaggy, which I certainly do from time to time, lemme assure you that it's only because I have not had time to go to my favorite barber in Argentina.

There are, of course, many great barbershops to be had here in the Paris of the Palmtrees ...but none so good as in the little peluquería in the town of Tapalqué.

Full disclosure: I'm a brushy-headed Polack. My hair is best described as "rebelde". If a barber cuts too much off, my head looks just like your shoebrush. If he's cool about it, I can get a great cut that makes me look human.

My buddy is a wizard with da skicissors.