superfacilmente

Since moving to New York, my picture taking has increased quite a bit, and I can’t help but just popping pictures of things. I take pictures with phones, cameras, smaller cameras, video cameras, and it doesn’t matter if they are mine or not. I took this picture and emailed it to myself. I have no idea where it is from. Any faithful New York resident who stumbles upon this, please enlighten me?

Originally, when I started to realize that my time in BsAs had to come to an end, I wanted to try to exact a clever and somewhat fantastic deception, namely to never say that I was going. I, had, and unfortunately still have, a backlog of nearly 70 unpublished beginnings of posts about the fair city and my hope was to publish them before my return to the U.S., where I would at least be staying for a year. In an ideal world, I would slowly phase back some of merely BsAs production to tell stories from around South American World, not dissimilar to my other, rarely posted on, Media Masher blog and would be able to use the relationships I had developed as a means of producing fresh and interesting material at the same rate that I had in BsAs.

Sadly, of course, this did not come to be. Instead, I came to my new job, teaching 13 year olds, and have had it, until very recently, take up not just my regular 8-3:30 day but often hours before and after it. Sadly this has put writing of all kinds on hold, and would be something I would like to remedy.

A while ago, in Buenos Aires, I got into a fight with a friend over the nature of blogs like this and his. My friend argued that blogs should act as portals to the reader, a means of understanding a singular point of view about subjects, something that I wonder if the other bloggers in BsAs agree with. I at the time was thinking of putting all my ideas, and blogs, into one source, a website where those of interest could see not just a travel blog, but a blog on media, a blog on writing, and a blog of personal exposition.

However, priorities have changed. My camera has been replaced and I find myself once again in a new city, attempting to still go out and explore while not working. My writing as a general has stagnated and I need to keep it going. So, with deference to my friend, I have chosen to employ his theory in practice.

Hence “Superfacilmente” will now be at least somewhat changed. In addition to providing the 70 or so blog entries on Argentina that I had initially intended, and hopefully will keep those of you in Argentina connected and interested, I will be posting rather extensive entries of my adventures in New York City, which is, arguably, a city at least on par with that of BsAs. Expect new New York City graffiti sections and extensive writing on that subject, from rest ‘raunt reviews to museum reviews to just talking about our first day of snow (today!). In addition, I am going to incorporate my music/media interests, writing (fictional and not) and opinions into this. Do not worry. I will do my best to separate each of these into Categories/Sections on the blog, so nobody gets weight down with too many of these rants. However, please feel free to comment on this change, blogs, or life in Argentina, in the future.

Thanks for listening

-M

I took the picture below leaving the Plaza Italia stop from Palermo. I don’t know if this was common, but it got plenty of weird looks, not to mention coughing from pedestrians? Anybody know why this happened?

I have had a dream since I have been down here in BsAs to start making empanadas. When I first traveled here in March, I had the pleasure, on my first night in the city, to be led around by an extremely nice porteño who was selling empanadas in Palermo park for $1 each during a free Soda Stereo. He explained to us in detail his own recipe for the pollo and carne models. Since then, I have been following what some have called The Empanada Trail which has led me to weird and wonderful combinations of these delicacies that are completely missing in New York. My favorite empanada, at least on principal has been the wonderfully named picachu which had three different cheeses and pumpkin (calabaza) among other things. However, as many of us residents know, there are only a standard number of flavors ranging from meat (hot and suave), chicken, corn, etc.

Now, perhaps because I am weird, or perhaps because I come from a city where among other things peanut butter and rice pudding are done in odd and interesting flavors. I wonder why there isn’t a wasabi infused tofu empanada or perhaps a dulce de leche and banana ice cream cookie dough empanada. Hence, I will start what i call THE EMPANADA EXPERIMENT where I will attempt to put together some strange flavors with the help of Chinatown, liquor shops and anything I can get my hands on.

So please, throw any suggestions my way and I will happily try them and come back with results.

Another fascinating thought is The Empanada Diet but that can wait for another week

A Warning for people that want to use electronics from the US in Buenos Aires. Don’t use them with a power strip. I destroyed a plug today becauseI used one. I am angry and sad.

Una advertencia para personas que quieren usar electronicas de Los EEUU en Buenos Aires. No las usa con un “power strip.” Yo destruí un enchufe hoy porque yo usé uno. Estoy enojado y triste.

Camera Vigil will be postponed until tomorrow

UPDATE: A multi-voltage Buenos Aires Adaptor seems to have fixed all of my problems

I had an idea long ago for my college newspaper to make a contest where people could submit their best cell phone photo. Since I have lost my camera, (which I swear will not be as much of a subject in about a week) I have gone to using this cheap camera that looks like it takes the same sort of grainy pictures a cell phone would. I wanted to try a little contest on my site and will consider doing it a few times, where people submit their best Cell Phone picture that they have and I will take any or the best and put them up.

Cell phones are a fun medium for pictures because they come out grainy, messes with colors, etc. I don’t have a cell phone yet in BA, but I am getting one soon, so that will be another way of taking pictures and another way of contributing to this contest. So, please send your cell phone photos to me and we’ll see what goes up. Or send any photos and see what happens. I may be generous. No, they don’t have to just be of BA, though exotic locales are always a plus (exotic people too!)

Here are some old cell phone pics that might inspire some thought.

Before I lost my camera, I took a picture of the wonderfully bizarre key that are used in my apartment:

I know very little about keys, but I couldn’t help but notice that they were a) modeled along the same lines as other keys I had seen in San Telmo in March, and b) they look absolutely nothing like the keys back at home.

I can’t help but wonder about these security tools (that is what keys are right?). As a consequence, I submit the question of keys to my readership… Why are the keys this way down here, when they are so different in the US. is it like metrics? Security issues? American Lutheranism? Please… someone tell me!

UPDATE: I have confirmed at very least that my keys are certainly not abnormal in the case of BA. Check out the keys in this shop

I am afraid the pictures will not be as much of a presence on this website because today I was robbed of my favorite possession, my camera. I suffered from apparently what is an old trick in Buenos Aires. Two women approached Kira and I from behind as we walked to see a fairly popular tourist sight. Little did we know it then, but we were squirted in the back with some smelly goo. The women then came to help us clean up and like idiots, we accepted.

After about 10 minutes of cleaning they left and I, who had noticed my camera case was opened quickly looked in and my camera was gone. Why I, someone who happily guards his possessions at home, let his guard down is beyond me. My trust and my happiest passion here have been dashed in one fell swoop.

Apparently we are far from the first people this has happened to. The police mentioned it is a common occurrence, but I am quite upset that something that was a representation of my hard work at college, as well as the pride that my mother had of me graduating (it was a gift from her) was taken. I would have much more happily given them my coat or something else had I the choice, for as you all have seen, my camera was something that I used often here taking upwards of 700 pictures in a day.

I might take advantage of paypal, the Internet, and my readers to request submitting dollars, cents or whatever you have to help replace the camera over time. I hope my pictures had some value. I will take more pictures the minute I get my hands on even a cheap digital camera as a way of saying thanks for any donations and will update the site the minute donations are available. The camera was a Nikon d40x and if it is seen in any pawn shops in BA, please let me know.

So a warning to those who decide to come here, and I hope this is the low point of my time here. If you get squirted with gunk, just run, or walk quickly away from people, or at very least remember that your stuff can get stolen at any time or place, so never let the things that you value most go.

UPDATE: For those who want to search the internet and pawn shops for the camera, which I would of course appreciate, the serial # NKD40X1855KGU

Ahora Kira y Yo estamos en un cafe en San Telmo. Es el segundo de la tarde para nuestros. Buscamos para un cafe con buen internet porque el internet en el apartamento es terrible. No puedo hacer mucho con el internet muy lento. Leo blogs de Buenos Aires. Me gusta un blog de búsqueda para unaempanada perfecta. Es un búsqueda muy difícil en este ciudad.

Now Kira and I are in a cafe in San Telmo. It is the second this afternoon for us. We are searching for a nice cafe with good internet because the internet in the apartment is terrible. I am not able to do much with slow internet. I read blogs about Buenos Aires. I liked a blog about the search for a perfect empanada. It’s a difficult search in this city.

I am currently pouring over 2 websites to find out info on foreigners, locals and traveling in BA. First is Buenos Aires Expats which seems fair enough though harsh on the traveler (see thread on if you don’t speak Spanish). Second is simpler, but award winning Wiki Travel. What do you think of these sites? Any recommendations?