Admittedly, this isn't an actual "Como Nos Ven" piece that's translated an article of mine for Clarín readers (like this one from last February). But it's close enough: Two days after the NYT published a piece I did about the Boedo nabe, Clarín wrote an article about the article. Always tickled to say my name in the body of a newspaper story (well, when it's not in the Policiales section...).

I realized, well, right now that I haven't posted in over a month. Thankfully Cintra has taken up my ample slack with aplomb, but it's time to return. Blogging for fun comes packaged with plenty of self-analysis--Why am I here and why am I writing this? being the most obvious question--so it's good to take the occasional break. And thus I have. I'm back now, but just so you don't think I was slacking, I leave you with this: in the last few weeks, I've seen published “Rebirth of a Bohemian Barrio,” a piece about Boedo's artistic revitalization in yesterday's New York Times; a reprint of my September 2007 FSB story on U.S. winemakers in Mendoza, in the January 21 Fortune; and “The Other Riviera,” a January 12 WSJ travel piece on José Ignacio, Uruguay.

And now back to our regularly (un)scheduled programming.

Martin Luther King’s Birthday, which was actually on Jan. 15, is being observed in the U.S. of A. today. Here's a nice present, via the Associated Press:

"This year, for the first time, expatriate Democrats can cast their ballots on the Internet in a presidential primary for people living outside the United States."
--Americans abroad can now vote online [AP via Yahoo! News]

In today's papers:

San Luis province is rebelling against the government's time change and will turn its clocks back one hour on Monday at 0:00 hrs. Ha! That means Argentina will have two time zones next week to add to the confusion.

Se rebeló San Luis: dio marcha atrás con el cambio de hora [La Nacion]
San Luis desafía al Gobierno y vuelve al huso horario anterior [Clarín]

So, I'm not the only one frustrated by the time change that has the whole country just 2 hours off Greenwich Mean Time (and 3 long hours off NYC time). Are we saving energy? In some spots in Argentina, the hot summer sun may not set until after 10 PM. While that may save light bulbs from being turned on, it puts more of a burden on energy-guzzling air conditioners during peak evening hours.

Peddling back for a moment, it seemed crazy to me that daylight savings time was decreed on Dec. 26 & put into effect just 4 days later, on Dec. 30. Computers are still confused by the sudden move. As a temporary patch, Windows users are advised to switch their time-setting from "Buenos Aires, Georgetown" to "Mid-Atlantic." Any wonder I feel at sea?

I love the word "cacerolazo." It describes a protest, but it more literally means something like a "pot-bang" ("cacerola" = casserole or stew pot and then the suffix "-azo" denotes a striking or hitting action). There was another cacerolazo the other night in Caballito to protest the lack of electricity in the neighborhood amid a stifling heat wave. That was enough of an excuse for me to Google the fine word & borrow the image (above) & learn from Wikipedia that the term was actually coined on the other side of the Andes in Chile in the early 70s, when women banged pots in the streets to protest basic supply shortages under Allende. Argentina has since run with the tradition, most famously during the currency crisis of 2001.

In Palermo, our block was hit with a power outage early Wednesday morning. Too early to inspire me to grab pots and pans. I awoke at 3 AM, but was left stunned by the silence and sticky heat. The AC had shut off a while ago, judging by the temperature in our bedroom. The ceiling fan was absolutely still. We didn't get our power restored until 11 AM later that long, hot morning...

In today's papers we have the government's first admissions that they are cutting power to homes, amid record demand. Cristina blames global climatic changes and a heat wave. Nice tactic. No mention of the lack of investment in Argentina's infrastructure... Her chief of staff, Alberto Fernández, notes that's it's not an energy problem but a distribution of energy problem. Here's the story (with some feisty comments attached):

"No tenemos problemas energéticos" [La Nacion]

Right before heading north for Henry's second Christmas, we went to the fair at Mataderos to pick up some dashing bombachas, just like the gauchos wear. As you can see in the photos above and below, young Master Henry looked muy guapo in his pants from the pampas, paired with his alpaca sweater from the Andes. Our little Latino had much fun sliding on the snow and tearing through presents in the homes of his abuelos (both sides) and tios-abuelos. My only complaint: The trip home yesterday was a shock. Not only did we go from 16 F to 100 F in a single day, but we had that extra hour time-difference to befuddle my already clouded head. It's so strange to wake up at 7:30 AM, only to remember it's just 4:30 AM up in New York. In any case, a belated Happy New Year! to GoodAirs readers.