Henry in a nutshell

Spring turns to summer this week, and Henry hits his 3-month mark. I'm told that in Portuguese there's a different word for a pre- and post-3-month infant.

Los abuelos get on the plane today, arrive tomorrow, to see Henry 2.0 -- or whatever we call this post-3-monther in English.

Ian snapped this photo almost two weeks ago, when baby was enjoying his first boutique hotel. What you can't see here is how long the guy's legs are (he enjoys sleeping with legs in the froggy pose). He's been called a long drink of water -- and we think he'll be a tall drink of water once he can stand.

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One more PSA, Roddy style

Yesterday, in New York City, MTV shot a public service announcement promoting the use of condoms for safer sex. My brother, Roddy Scott, wrote the script and shared his ideas for directing it before he died last year from diabetic ketoacidosis (a lethal complication of type 1 diabetes). Rod's good buddy, the talented Nat Faxon, played the one part not intended for somebody made of rubber. Jere Orlandi, Rod's partner in crime, produced the whole deal.

My mom, who had never seen the inner workings of MTV promos like this before, went as Jere's guest to the set and then sent this report:

The shoot was a hoot! Old mansion (7 East 95th), armor, table set with silver and candles and FOOD, etc. It took 25 people climbing around one room: Nat Faxon, a "food stylist" who kept spritzing the lobster, wardrobe, makeup, director, A.D., guys who moved rugs and furniture and ran cables, a girl whose sole job seemed to be opening and closing large doors before and after "takes", sound guys, guys who looked at the five monitors set around the room and suggested imperceptible changes in lighting or angle, people who shouted "take" and "cut" and "silence" from this or that corner of the room, etc. They started setting up at 6:00 AM, I arrived at 9:30, the shoot started at 10:00, we broke for lunch at 12:30 (and for a change of EVERYTHING in the room so they could film the other end of the dining table), resumed at 1:30 and was over about 3:00. I expect all the stuff was out by about 6:00, including the 4 or 5 caterers--not counted in the 25 above--and all of their gear. They served snacks all day and a very elaborate lunch at noon.... The sweet kids credited Rod as Director and gave us one of those "take two" click boards engraved with same to keep. Lovely day!

Now that you've heard the backstory, look for the spot on MTV. (Bonus points for spotting "Rodman" condoms in the mix.)

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Merry Mary's Day?

Argentine stores love using English in their ads, sometimes to comic effect. Now, before I throw any proverbial stones, I'll admit that I say a lot of really stupid things in Spanish (the guy painting our house just had a good giggle when I called door handles "picapuertas" instead of "picaportes"). But I'm not pretentious about my mangled Spanish the way, say, Legacy is about peddling its polo, rugby and all-around anglophiliac clothing. So, I love Legacy's suggestion that we're really celebrating the day of the Ma of Christ here.

While I'm on the subject, I have to slip in my favorite local store name: Personality Store Man. Yes, Personality Store Man -- which has provided much glee to my subte rides with its ad campaigns -- can be found online at www.personalitystoreman.com.ar

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Private Clubs No Longer So Private

Today's New York Times travel section sports a a short piece by yours truly on the rise of private and hidden clubs in Buenos Aires. Rather than explain the piece--which you can read yourself--I'd like to take a trip down Travel Story Lane. First came my initial observations here in GoodAirs. Then, there were two posts I put on Gridskipper in July and August. Then, after pitching, delving, crafting and editing with the folks at the Gray Lady, we have the 500 words of definitive fun in the NYT (not to mention this shameless attempt to flog traffic to the story). Now I think it's time for me to swear to never touch the subject again.

But seriously, there are a bunch of new private/hidden clubs, bars and restaurants in Buenos Aires. Several that only get a short mention in the article--Ocho7Ocho and Providencia--are great places. And another to note, not in the piece, is a place called Almacén Secreto (call 11 4775 1271 in Buenos Aires), that serves northern Argentine cuisine and does not accept walk-up business, only reservations.

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Palermo police troubles

Call me naïve, but I was shocked when I read in yesterday's paper that 3 policías from my local ward -- Comisaría 23a. on Sante Fe at Gurruchaga -- attempted to rob a supermarket in José C. Paz (outside Cap. Fed.). They used their official weapons to take something like 20 onlookers hostage. One youth was then used as a human shield as they attempted to flee the local police (who were also armed).

The result: One of the three police-bandits was shot and killed while trying to flee. The other two were expelled from the force, I'm happy to hear. Here's the full story in La Nacion:

Tres policías federales roban un local

There was more bad news in a related article. As suggested earlier on this blog, some officers were allegedly demanding cash from local businesses for protection. (Yet they seemed so nice in the 23rd when I went to them for a certificado de domicilio last week.) Read:

Una comisaría con muchos problemas

But today's newspaper saved me from losing all faith in the ward. One Palermo patrolman chased down and apprehended a rapist who attacked a travesti in the local park yesterday:

Violan a un travesti en los bosques de Palermo

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It Happens in Buenos Aires

Each time I visit I fall a little more in love with Pasa en Buenos Aires, the city's official blog. A hip city blog? With tons of user comments? Recent posts bring the unveiling of the new all-pedestrian design for the Plaza de Mayo (picture above), to which the first of 50+ comments is a perfectly in-character Porteño reply--"Me parece horrible"; a post about the city pushing stores to use more human sized--non-anorexic--mannequins; and city desputies who, "quieren declarar a la milanesa napolitana y otros platos como la pizza con fainá, los sorrentinos y otros emblemáticos alimentos del menú porteño en Patrimonio Cultural de Buenos Aires." Good stuff all.

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The Purse Snatching That Keeps on Giving

No, it wasn't enough that Barbara Bush's handbag and cellphone were stolen while she and her sis were visiting Buenos Aires's San Telmo nabe. Bueno? Siiii. Pero bastante? Noooo. Happily, the thief (or someone with a sense of humor) posted the phone for sale--including a number directory replete with "George Bush's private number plus Michael Jackson's, Madonna's, Paris Hilton and Ozzy Osbourne's"--on MercadoLibre.com (Argentina's eBay). [ed. note: Michael Jackson?] The kicker: "No te pierdas esta increíble oportunidad. "El mismo Bin Laden te lo lleva en moto!" ("Don't lose this incredible opportunity. Bin Laden himself will deliver it on a scooter!"). The asking price? 1,000 pesos, or about $320.

Sadly, it got pulled off the site before anything came to pass.

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Oh, the vanity!

The new hotel in our neighborhood has a name and it's VAIN. Yes, Vain Boutique Hotel is expected to open in just a couple of weeks. From the website's English text:

We consider modesty as a good quality, but everyone needs a touch of vanity once in a while...

Unleash your vain side at VAIN.

If, amid the current hotel boom in Palermo, this new hotel somehow doesn't succeed.... Well, it'll be too easy a target, with their charging USD $190 for some rooms in Vain. (Sorry.)

(Webnote: The URL, www.vainuniverse.com, must take its cue from Alan Faena's immodestly titled Faena Hotel + Universe.)

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Buenos Aires Blue Province

Out friends at Yanqui Mike--well, actually Yanqui Mike himself--asks if we'd help promote the nacent Buenos Aires branch of Democrats Abroad. And here we do. Now that I think of it, while Buenos Aires, like Texas, is located in the south, has a lot of cattle, and is largely Spanish speaking, it's definitely very much the blue state.

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Adverts Back in BA

Now that we're back home and readjusted to our Argentine schedule--and missed blogging the Bush twin madness--it's time to get posting again. So without further ado, here are two photos taken yesterday of some of the advertisements that made Buenos Aires what it is:

These rickshaw driver ads--for Chenson bags--are yet one more link in a chain of labor-intensive advertisements that one sees around town, from people who walk in front of traffic at red lights with an advert for a yogurt brand to the thousands of promotoras--the uniformed girls handing out samples--you see on so many streetcorners. Which always makes me wonder: is it just that labor is so cheap here that hiring people to be walking ads--sandwich boards done in mass--is economical advertising, or are people here that much more succeptible to advertising? I suspect the former.

This bus stop ad shows the current state of Argentine economic theory:

With price controls the current rage with the Casa Rosada, it makes perfect sense to publish the government-mandated prices for fruits and vegetables. Remember--don't pay a centavo more for your kilo of apples!

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