even google can be inane

when you have a blog on blogger.com (owned by google), there's a tab "monetize" that you can select and sign up to display ads on your site, through google's adsense program. for fun, i decided to see what happens when i follow the mad hatter down the rabbit hole.

it's a simple process, takes about 2 minutes, for you to provide some information, e.g. where you live, so that they can send you a check. at the end of it, you realize that you've filled out an application, since they tell you that your application will need to be approved.

so come today, i get an email in my account, contents are below.



Thank you for your interest in Google AdSense. Unfortunately, after
reviewing your application, we're unable to accept you into Google AdSense
at this time.

We did not approve your application for the reasons listed below.

Issues:
- Difficult site navigation

---------------------

Further detail:
Difficult site navigation: During our review of your website, we found
your site difficult to navigate. Potential navigation issues include:
redirects, pages behind a login or restricted access, broken links,
excessive pop-ups, dialers, and pages under construction or not yet
launched.



given that i don't have control over my blog and how it navigates, i think google's left hand needs to know what the right hand is doing.

ximending

Ximending is one of the oldest and most happening neighborhoods in Taipei. Went there today for some great food.



Above: directions and signage of Chang-Chi beef noodles and pot stickers.

Below: The image on the cup of THE starfruit place. Open since 1966!

i have to get me some biore.

a sweaty tango

Went to the weekly milonga in Taipei. It's a new space, just over a year old. Last year in March when I went, this new space had not yet opened.

I didn't meet any of the dancers I had met last year. I probably wouldn't have recognized them anyway. But I met a few more. Cory, who's an account for Deloitte, working in Hsinchu. Jean, who's teaching at the American school in Taichung. The level of the dancers in Taiwan are intermediate. And everyone seems to be at approximately the same level. So, while I didn't meet any great dancers, I also didn't have issues with any bad followers either.

YuanYuan, a tiny cute dancer with a happy persona, does this double-step/kick on a forward ocho. Has a nice flair to it.

perversity on childcare

Below is an article from today's LATimes. What does it say about a society where the state is proposing to pay parents to care for their own children?

L.A. County officials offer a novel idea to save millions
Supervisors suggest putting unemployed parents to work caring for their own children as part of proposed changes to CalWorks and other state government aid programs.

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske

June 17, 2009

With steep state budget cuts under debate in Sacramento, Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to push for changes to CalWorks and other government aid programs they said would save nearly $270 million.

Included in their suggestions is a novel proposal: Put unemployed parents to work caring for their own children.

"What we're saying is do not cut Welfare to Work outright: Target the cuts to the people who are the most expensive," said Miguel Santana, a deputy to the county's chief executive.

Parents now receiving assistance must attend job training and search for work. While they fulfill those requirements, they are eligible for subsidized child care, which typically costs the state about $500 a month per child in L.A. County.

The parents of children under age 1 may stay home and still receive benefits. Now, county officials propose expanding that to parents who have one child under age 2 or two children under age 6. Monthly job training and child-care costs for such parents often exceed their welfare check, Santana said.

In Los Angeles County, 8,000 households with more than one child under age 6 receive CalWorks-subsidized child care, according to the county's department of social services. If adopted, county officials estimate the proposal -- intended to counter Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's threat to eliminate CalWorks -- could save the state $140 million this fiscal year.

Some parents who would be affected by the change had mixed feelings.

After Antoinette Levenson's husband was laid off by a boat dealership two years ago, the mother of two applied for cash assistance and joined the state's Welfare to Work program.

Now Levenson, 27, is about six months from earning her associate degree in culinary arts and has a job lined up at Ralphs. She receives about $750 a month in assistance. The state also pays about $1,000 a month for her sons, Jaden, 4, and Gavyn, 2, to attend Canyon Vista Children's Learning Center in Chatsworth while she finishes school.

"If I had it my way, I'd stay home all day with my kids," Levenson said as she dropped the boys off Tuesday. "Then again, I love day care. My kids have learned so much."

Although Levenson said she is not sure she could replace her eldest son's preschool teachers, she is willing to try.

"There's times I just drive by and watch the kids," she said. "You'll never be able to get the kids' little years back."

But Priscilla Murillo of Canoga Park, a single mother with three children under age 5, said she wants to finish school and find a job as soon as possible. With her youngest child just a month old, Murillo, 27, could stay home now and still receive benefits. But she said the Welfare to Work program motivated her to continue pursuing her associate degree.

Murillo worries that if the state pays fellow single mothers to stay home, they will become dependent on welfare.

"I think it's good to push people," she said. "It helps them and it helps the economy."

Child-care providers also said they are concerned about looming cuts.

Michael Olenick, who heads the nonprofit Child Care Resource Center in Chatsworth, said 12,000 child-care staff members and parents in northern L.A. County alone rely on CalWorks.

"For many of them, it's the only source of revenue that they have," Olenick said of the CalWorks subsidies. "If they lose the revenue, then they end up on cash aid as well."

On Tuesday, a legislative budget committee in Sacramento rejected the governor's plan to eliminate CalWorks, proposing instead to cut it by $270 million. Those cuts include $175 million in reductions to child-care and employment services.

That would allow the county to move forward with its proposal, said Philip K. Browning, director of the county Department of Public Social Services.

"But it's still not a done deal -- the governor hasn't signed off on it yet," Browning said.

A spokeswoman for the governor said he will continue to push for the elimination of CalWorks but remains open to other options as he tries to close the $24.3-billion budget shortfall.

County supervisors -- who plan to pursue a waiver to get federal welfare funds even if CalWorks is eliminated -- also proposed Tuesday that the state cap and overhaul general relief for single people, as well as reduce payments to adoptive parents, disabled foster children and some child-care providers.

The proposal to allow more parents to stay home troubled some of the county supervisors, including Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who voted against exempting parents of children under age 2 from Welfare to Work.

"They should be seeking employment. In the long term it benefits everyone in the county," Antonovich said.

Supervisor Gloria Molina grudgingly voted yes.

"It doesn't fit with the spirit of Welfare to Work, but we're in a different situation," Molina said. "What we're doing is trying to say to them don't eliminate Welfare to Work -- here are some savings."

medical liability reform

The topic of medical malpractice never seems to be mentioned when discussing universal healthcare. I find it disingeneous to force doctors to lower their revenues but not allow them to lower their costs. If nothing else, I'm glad Obama is bringing it to light. The following is an article from the NYTimes today.

Obama Open to Reining in Medical Suits
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON — The American Medical Association has long battled Democrats who oppose protecting doctors from malpractice lawsuits. But during a private meeting at the White House last month, association officials said, they found one Democrat willing to entertain the idea: President Obama.

In closed-door talks, Mr. Obama has been making the case that reducing malpractice lawsuits — a goal of many doctors and Republicans — can help drive down health care costs, and should be considered as part of any health care overhaul, according to lawmakers of both parties, as well as A.M.A. officials.

It is a position that could hurt Mr. Obama with the left wing of his party and with trial lawyers who are major donors to Democratic campaigns. But one Democrat close to the president said Mr. Obama, who wants health legislation to have broad support, views addressing medical liability issues as a “credibility builder” — in effect, a bargaining chip that might keep doctors and, more important, Republicans, at the negotiating table.

On Monday, Mr. Obama will go to the annual medical association meeting to face a group that has come out against a central component of his broader health care proposal — his call for a new public insurance program that would compete with the private plans. The White House says he will make the case that “reform is the single most important thing we can do for America’s long-term fiscal health,” and how important it is to have the cooperation of doctors.

But whether he can get them on board is an open question. The speech comes as the president’s ideas on health reform are facing mounting criticism — not only from the A.M.A. and Republicans, who also vehemently oppose a new public plan, but also from the hospital industry, which is up in arms over a proposal Mr. Obama announced on Saturday to pay for his health care overhaul in part by cutting certain hospital reimbursements.

Medical liability is an important component of the debate, but that, too, is controversial. White House officials said Mr. Obama was likely to refer to the issue in his speech to the medical association, but would not offer any specific proposal.

Mr. Obama has not endorsed capping malpractice jury awards, as did his predecessor, President George W. Bush. But as a senator, he advanced legislation aimed at reducing malpractice suits. And Dr. J. James Rohack, the incoming president of the medical association, said Mr. Obama told him at a meeting last month that he was open to offering some liability protection to doctors who follow standard guidelines for medical practice.

“If everyone is focused on saying, ‘How do we get rid of unnecessary costs,’ ” Dr. Rohack said, recounting the conversation, “if we as physicians are going to say, ‘Here’s our guidelines, we will follow them,’ then we need to have some protections. He listened and he said, ‘Clearly, that concept is worthy of discussion.’ ”

Health care experts estimate that preventable medical errors kill more than 100,000 Americans each year, yet doctors and hospitals, fearing lawsuits, do not openly discuss their mistakes — an impediment to improving quality of care. At the same time, doctors complain that “defensive medicine” — ordering tests and procedures out of fear of being sued — drives up health costs.

On Capitol Hill, Democrats drafting health legislation have so far shown little appetite for tackling the liability issue. But one Republican who met with Mr. Obama in April recalled that the president said he was willing to go against his party to get medical malpractice reforms into a health bill — but that he would expect Republican support for the legislation if he did so.

Mr. Obama also raised the issue at a recent meeting with two dozen Senate Democrats, some who attended said.

“He’s touched on this issue at a number of meetings,” said Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, who is also a proponent of liability reform. Mr. Wyden said the president articulated “the common sense message that if doctors act in line with their own professional guidelines, that ought to create a certain presumption that they have acted reasonably.”

As a senator, Mr. Obama joined Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2005 in proposing legislation aimed at reducing both medical errors and lawsuits through a program known as Sorry Works, rooted in the idea that injured patients value an apology as much as money. Their bill encouraged doctors and hospitals to investigate errors and apologize for mistakes, to facilitate what Mr. Obama described as “a reasonable settlement that keeps the case out of court.”

Although the A.M.A.’s highest legislative priority is capping jury awards, highly unlikely under the Obama administration, it does favor legislation like that proposed by Senators Obama and Clinton. Dr. Rohack said the group’s legislative experts were also working over the weekend to draft a bill that would set out a way to protect doctors who are sued if they have followed professional practice guidelines.

“We are supportive of anything that may reduce liability,” Dr. Rohack said, adding that he was heartened by Mr. Obama’s “recognition that defensive medicine contributes to unnecessary health costs.”

But to deliver a deal with doctors, Mr. Obama would probably have to defy senior members of his party in both houses of Congress. Many Democrats oppose putting limits on medical lawsuits because they believe it is ineffective and unfair to patients.

Senator Max Baucus of Montana, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is expected to outline his proposal for a health care overhaul this week, and aides said liability protection for doctors is not part of the plan.

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, resisted medical malpractice legislation when it was pushed by Republicans in the past. “The whole premise of a medical malpractice ‘crisis’ is unfounded,” Mr. Reid said on the Senate floor in 2006, in a speech that quoted extensively from a book titled “The Medical Malpractice Myth.”

And any effort to restrict patients’ legal rights to sue will face tough opposition from the American Association for Justice, which represents trial lawyers and has met with Nancy-Ann DeParle, Mr. Obama’s point person for health reform, to express its concerns. Linda Lipsen, the association’s chief lobbyist, said practice guidelines were established by unregulated medical societies and “should not be conclusive” in a court of law.

The association may have an ally in Mr. Obama’s health secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, who is a former director of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association. But Mr. Obama’s first choice for health secretary, Tom Daschle, who advised the president throughout the campaign, was a strong proponent of linking evidence-based medicine with protections against lawsuits.

And another top health adviser to Mr. Obama, Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, has written extensively on liability reform.

“There is no doubt that comprehensive health care reform requires a monumental change to the current malpractice system, which not only hurts both doctors and patients, but also is far too expensive,” Dr. Emanuel, the brother of the White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, wrote in a 2008 book, “Healthcare Guaranteed: A Simple, Secure Solution for America.”

But Mr. Obama has signaled that the solution may not be all that simple. Speaking to a group of chief executives in March, Mr. Obama said malpractice law changes should be part of the health care debate, although he conceded it would not be an easy sell.

“Medical liability issues — I think all those things have to be on the table,” Mr. Obama said. “And I won’t lie to you that everybody agrees on this theoretically until you start getting into the specifics.”

perversity of society's priorities

The complete text of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget speech to the Legislature this week, which his office also released as weekly remarks is below. How is it that we live in a world where the amount spent on inmates per year is approximately double the average income of a non-inmate?

Thank you. Thank you very much, Speaker Bass, Senate Leader Steinberg, Assemblyman Blakeslee, Sen. Hollingsworth, my fellow constitutional officers and my fellow servants of the people.

First of all, I want to thank you for the gracious invitation to address you here today and to address the people of California.

Today I want to talk about financial crisis. Three months ago the members of this body came together to set aside their ideological differences and did what they believed was best for California. We solved $36 billion of a $42-billion deficit.

But as you know, part of our budget agreement required us, by law, to go back to the people for approval, right at a time when the people wanted to send Sacramento a powerful message. And that message was clear: Do your job. Don’t come to us with those complex issues. Live within your means. Get rid of the waste and inefficiencies and don't raise taxes.

Now, as I stand here today, we are in the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. In the past 18 months one-third of the world's wealth has vanished. And because of that and because of California's outdated and volatile tax system, our revenues have dropped 27% from last year. And you can see this right here on the charts next to me; it's very clear.

We are now back to the same level of revenues we had in 2003, and when you adjust for inflation and population, we are back to the level of the late '90s.

Today, just three months after our February budget, we once again face a $24-billion deficit. California's day of reckoning is here. In order to deal with our....

...limited amount of money, I have proposed some dramatic changes in our May revision.

Those spending cuts represent much more than the hard decisions necessary to balance our budget. They represent the transformation of what services Sacramento can provide and how those services are delivered.

The immediate task before us is to cut spending to the money that is available to us. We have no time to waste. The controller has told us that we have 14 days to act or California is at risk of running out of cash. I've already used my executive authority to reduce the state payroll and I've proposed the necessary cuts to the three largest areas of our budget, which is education, healthcare and prisons.

I know the consequences of those cuts are not just dollars. I see the faces behind those dollars. I see the children whose teachers will be laid off. I see the Alzheimer's patients losing some of their in-home support services. I see the firefighters and the police officers who will lose their jobs.

People come up to me all the time, pleading, "Governor, please don't cut my program." They tell me about how those cuts affect them and their loved ones. I see the pain in their eyes and I hear the fear in their voices and I hear the demonstrations outside of our Capitol. It's an awful feeling, but we have no choice.

Our wallet is empty, our bank is closed and our credit is dried up. I know for many of you these will be the hardest votes that you will ever make. But the people sent us here to lead not only in times of prosperity but also in times of crisis.

We must make these cuts and live within in our means, because what is the alternative? If we don’t act, the state will simply run out of money and go insolvent. You see, we are not Washington. We cannot print our own money, we cannot run trillion-dollar deficits, and we can only spend the money that we have. That is the harsh but simple reality.

Now, at the same time, we cannot take this budget and make it just about cuts. There are also some great opportunities here for structural reform. Like Winston Churchill said, "A pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity, but an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."

So let's use this crisis as an opportunity to make government more efficient and to find innovative ways to stretch the taxpayer dollar. Can we not find a way to provide those services at a lower cost? For example, I've asked our State Board of Education to make textbooks available in digital formats.

Now, we expect the first science and math books to be digital by this fall. If we expand this to more textbooks, schools could save hundreds of millions of dollars a year, and that's hundreds of millions of dollars that could be used to hire more teachers and to reduce class sizes.

In so many areas of government there are opportunities like this for reform. All we have to do is go out and seize them. Spending on prisons has nearly doubled in the last five years. We spend $49,000 per inmate per year; the national average is only $32,000. Now, other states have privately run correctional facilities that operate at half of the cost. Why can't we?

We must also restructure the relationship between state and local government. We all hear from the local officials about the heavy hand of Sacramento. If we are providing fewer resources we have an obligation to cut most of the strings and mandates and to get out of the way.

California Rrepublican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reacts to news of the new state budget deficit

Right now we are cutting billions of dollars from our schools, so shouldn't we give districts more freedom and flexibility and not tie their hands with strict rules like who is allowed to mow the lawn or fix the roof, or do the plumbing?

I’m also proposing once again to eliminate and consolidate more than a dozen state departments, boards and commissions.

These include the Waste Management Board, the Court Reporters Board, the Department of Boating and Waterways and the Inspection and Maintenance Review Committee and so on.

There is absolutely no reason to hold onto those redundant boards in the crisis. We should not, and I will not, cut a dollar from education or a dollar from healthcare or a dollar from public safety or a dollar from our state parks without first cutting the Waste Management Board and other boards like it. [Applause] Every dollar that we save from those boards and commissions is a dollar that can help vulnerable citizens.

I'm also proposing to sell off state property, because Sacramento should not be in the real estate business, especially when we are in a fiscal crisis like this. Now, I know that the money that we receive from this property won't go directly to the general fund; it will pay off debt. But that lowers our debt payment, which then does help the general fund.

Everywhere I go, I hear stories about families selling off their boats and motorcycles to make ends meet. They have garage sales, they have yard sales. They know that you don't have or keep a boat at the dock when you can't put food on the table.

All of these proposals I have talked about for years and yet they never got done. I remember in 2004, I talked about blowing up the boxes and consolidating agencies. But now we are here in a crisis.

Then we had the revenues go up and we had the economy come back in a big way, so we couldn’t get it done. Now we're in a crisis and we are running out of excuses and we have run out of time. And the people have run out of patience.

Early this year we began consolidating all of our IT departments. My proposal to consolidate all of our energy functions is in the legislation before you right now. So is a proposal to consolidate the departments that oversee financial institutions, and I will soon send you legislation to merge our tax-collection operations.

These are all actions that we here can take, on our own, to save money and to make government more efficient, and we don’t have to bother the people with those things and we don't need permission from the federal government.

Now, I know that Sen. Steinberg is talking about reforming and restructuring the relationships between the state and local government, and Sen. Hollingsworth and the Republicans have some great ideas about performance-based budgeting. And in July, we should receive the bipartisan recommendation from our tax-modernization commission.

This will be a tremendous opportunity to make our revenues more reliable and less volatile and to help the state avoid the boom and the bust budgets that have brought us here today. Let's all work together on all of those issues and make it happen.

I don’t expect every single one of those reforms to happen within the next 14 days, but we can certainly get them done before this party adjourns for summer recess on July 17.

Now, there are other big reforms that I continue to believe in very strongly, like a spending cap and the rainy-day fund in order to further stabilize our revenues, but I’m not going to talk to you today about that because those reforms require voter approval.

As we all have learned just a few weeks ago, the voters will never trust us on those big issues until we show that we can do our job in this Capitol and make the tough decisions.

There is no doubt that the challenges before us are enormous. They will test our will. They will test our resolve. They will test our leadership. Many of those things that I’m proposing are despised by the special interests that rely on the status quo, and we are all too familiar with the interest groups and their army of lobbyists. But let’s not forget, it is our job. We have been sent here to Sacramento to lobby on behalf of the people and on behalf of the great state of California.

So in the coming days and weeks, the entire nation will be watching how we react and respond to this crisis. Last week Paul Krugman from the New York Times wrote that California is at a state of paralysis and that our political system has failed to rise to the occasion.

People are writing California off. They are talking about the end of California dream. They don’t believe that we in this room have the courage and the determination to do what needs to be done, or that the state is even manageable.

Let’s prove all the pundits wrong. Let us use this crisis as an opportunity, as an opportunity for great changes, lasting changes. Let’s not think just in short term; let’s think big; let’s think outside the box. Let’s think long-term and lay a new foundation for California’s future.

Let’s meet those challenges head-on without gimmicks. I don’t want to hand these problems to the next governor, and I know that you don’t want to hand them to the next Legislature.

So I have faith in all of you. I have faith in our ability to once again come together for the good of our state.

So I say let’s move forward and put California back on the path to prosperity. Thank you very much. Thank you.

happily ever laughter

this is love, as love should be, between two people, as people should be.

from the latimes
---

Happily Ever Laughter
JAY and MAVIS LENO on strong women, real men—and why theirs is a love for the ages
by Sue Smalley

When you first meet Mavis and Jay Leno, it’s the electricity between them that gets you and their long-lasting love that makes them the anomaly. Two strongs can make one—they fit.

She arrives first—on time—doesn’t need hair or makeup and graciously agrees to be touched up, as a team is waiting. Unassuming, thoughtful and at ease, she exudes an air of total calm, a quiet dignity that you somehow know is deep and true. An intelligence and genuine concern lead her to bring me up to date on the condition of women in Afghanistan, her lifelong passion, even as she allows us to curl those curls because “my husband likes them wild.”

Then her husband enters, one of the most famous faces in the world, with white hair that begs to be smoothed (yet why would you—it’s the trademark that says, “Let me be, it’s who I am”) and a presence that makes everyone smile. Jay’s eyes are tired (he’s just returned from a trip to Detroit, where he entertained unemployed autoworkers), but they light up when they focus on his wife of 28 years. They touch, and the bond between them envelops everyone. Welcome to the Lenos’ love story.

I met Mavis a few years ago at our monthly book club. (She is a voracious reader whose passion is English history.) I was first struck by her depth of character and self-awareness—she is someone with a strong sense of purpose, compassion and curiosity. What I have come to know is that she’s someone who turns her wisdom into action. She works unceasingly with the Feminist Majority Foundation to help girls and women around the world gain rights through education so that human equality is realized.

Given the never-wavering glare on celebrity couples, I was impressed with their authentic relationship, one that feels grounded and decidedly non-Hollywood. Although I liked her before our interview, I told my husband of 34 years that in its aftermath, I had fallen in love with Mavis Leno. By that I mean the kind of unbridled universal love we feel for others when we realize what qualities they bring to humanity. What I learned from the Lenos’ love is how much a partner can help us discover such qualities in ourselves. Jay brings out the best in Mavis, and Mavis brings out the best in Jay. That has to be the definition of a perfect marriage.

Sue Smalley: Jay, I’ve heard Mavis talk about you so many times and how much in love she is. I guess I always felt you should share that story. Even just having your pictures taken a few moments ago, I could feel how happy you are being next to each other. You’re best friends, aren’t you?
Mavis and Jay Leno: [In unison.] Oh yeah.
JL: I had this discussion with Drew Barrymore on The Tonight Show. She was asking about being married, and I said, “You should always marry your conscience.” By that I mean, in show business—it happens in sports and politics, too—you go through the usual avarice, and you need someone who will go, “What are you doing? You don’t act like this.” If you wind up with someone who enjoys those things, you go to hell pretty much together. I spent half of my life trying not to disappoint my mother and the other half trying not to disappoint my wife. I mean, you have to respect the standard. You need to be able to look in the mirror.

SS: Mavis says, from the bottom of her heart, “He could never disappoint me.”
ML: No, because I truly know him, and he truly knows me. I met Jay in 1976. I’ve known him—
JL: Over 33 years.
ML: It was in January—I don’t remember the day. But at the time I thought, Holy s--t! That comedian is gorgeous! I had gone to the Comedy Store with my girlfriend because I was writing comedy with some partners. Friends kept saying, “You have to hang out at the Comedy Store and the Improv—you’ll meet people who can give you jobs.” The first time I went, they sat us front row center—that means you’re this far from the comic. And there was Jay.

SS: Was that at the very beginning of your career, Jay?
JL: Yeah, pretty much. But the interesting thing is, I’ve probably lived with five women—and every one of them was born on the same day. I can look at a woman and go, “September 5.” I don’t know why that is. I don’t look for a woman born on September 5, I just wind up attracted to them.
ML: Just casually, he asked what my birthday was, and I said, “September 5.” He started laughing. I remember it so clearly. I said, “What?” And he said, “Aw, nothing.”
JL: I remember I had Cathy Guisewite [of the “Cathy” comic strip] on, and I said, “I’m happily married...don’t take this wrong...I am attracted to you but in an odd way. Were you born on or around September 5?” And she said, “Yes, on September 5.” I said, “Sorry, I’m not flirting,” and then I explained. It made me laugh.
ML: When he finished his act the night we met, I needed to go to the ladies’ room. What I didn’t know was in the Comedy Store back then, that area was the only place for the comedians to hang out. So when I came out of the bathroom, he said, “Are you that girl in front?” and I said, “Yes, that was me.”

SS: Did you really notice her?
JL: Yeah!
ML: My friends spent most of their time at the Improv, so that’s where I started going. It just gradually evolved, you know? I had made up my mind when I was little that I would never get married or have children, so I had no agenda.
JL: Then I started to work. Her family were like church mice—they didn’t have two cents. I mean nothing—not even, like, taxes.
ML: My father was an actor. Enough said.
JL: But you know, I had this insurance policy, and I thought if something happened to me, my girlfriend wouldn’t be covered, but if we’re married, we’re covered, so...we might as well get married. Not the most romantic. Mavis didn’t even get an engagement ring until—
ML: He was going to get me one, but we had just bought a house, so why would I do that? I’m not that kind of person. So this is what he bought me 10 years ago. [Laughs and looks at the large diamond on her finger.]

SS: Mavis, your parents were happily married...why didn’t you want to marry?
ML: Maybe because my parents were not the typical American couple of that time. They had a very egalitarian relationship—actually, most of the traits I have that people consider feminine, I got from my dad, and the common sense, self-control and practicality is from my mother. When I was little, we would watch The Honeymooners. Here’s a very attractive woman, and whenever her husband is with Norton, what are they talking about? “How can we get away from the wives?” “If only it wasn’t for the wives.” Meanwhile, this woman has nothing to do, lives in this tiny place, cooks his dinner and listens to him talk. As a feminist even then, it was difficult to watch.

SS: You’re mad about it now.
ML: I am! I would see Lucy and other shows—if they wanted money, they had to ask for it, like they were a kid. That was not my plan for myself.
JL: My mother was from Scotland, had a horrible childhood—came to the country by herself when she was 11. My grandmother had run off with a younger guy, and my grandfather was stuck with six kids.
ML: His mom was the youngest.
JL: But he could only afford to take care of five, so they took her around the neighborhood as a servant girl to try to see if people would keep her for a few weeks.
ML: Jay, how are you telling this story? Her father took her there but not as a servant!
JL: But it gets to the comedy angle. My mother was not a depressed person, but I always sensed a sadness. Every time I could get my mother to laugh, it was like a huge gift. My dad was Italian and very outgoing. He would say, “Show people you’re Angelo’s boy.” My mother would say, “Whatever you do, don’t call attention to yourself.” So it was hilarious to be stuck in the middle. When I made it sort of big, I bought my dad a Cadillac, and of course, he had to get the white Cadillac d’Elegance with the red velour interior. My mother was mortified. They would drive down the street, and she would sit below seat level, and people would say, “I saw your father driving and yelling at somebody.” Sometimes if she saw people looking, she would roll down the window and go, “We’re not Cadillac people. My son got us this.” My father would yell, “Of course we’re Cadillac people! We’ve got a goddamn Cadillac! We’re driving the goddamn thing. It’s paid for!”

SS: And they were together their whole life?
JL: My dad was never sick a day in his life, but when my mother died, he was gone in nine months.

SS: Interesting how that happens.
JL: My mom took care of the inside of the house. Dad took care of the outside. We went through three ovens in my lifetime.
ML: She was like a short-order cook. There would always be steam coming out of the kitchen, pots boiling.
JL: Every breakfast, lunch, dinner—always a full thing. She didn’t even buy a box of spaghetti. She would make her own.
ML: I was crazy about Jay’s parents.
JL: We married on their wedding day, November 3.


SS: On purpose? As an honor?
JL: I thought my mom would like that—November 3, 1980.
ML: We had a very small wedding at a friend’s house with a couple friends.
JL: We didn’t tell anybody.

SS: Mavis, you didn’t want to get married, and now there’s such a connection. What changed your mind? Was Jay different?
ML: It was just that by the time we were together, I was 34. I had been a feminist for years, and I finally realized that fight was won, you know? I was past it, although that was an important gesture for me to make—that I could live without being married.

SS: What was it about Jay?
ML: Well, I was insanely in love with him—but I had had a long relationship before and never for one minute thought about marrying that guy. My belief was that I was a voyager, that I was just going to spend some time on this island and sail along and spend some time on that island. But with Jay, I realized all this time I’d been sailing, he was the destination.

SS: Jay, what was it about Mavis?
JL: Well, probably the sense that you don’t want to be somewhere else when you’re together. I mean, I’m home every night after work. I don’t go out—no boys’ night, card night or any of that stuff. I don’t feel the need.
ML: He thinks the same things are important that I think are important, the same things are wrong that I think are wrong. We have the same temperament, and we understand each other completely. Before Jay, I had the opposite experience with men to what most women have, because my father was so demonstrative. He must have told my mother he loved her a million times a day. So I always had relationships with men who were that same way—gave lots of presents but were flaky and unrealistic, tending toward the depressive. Stuff that means so much to women means nothing to me. Just be there when I need you, but the rest of the time, I take care of myself. And that was—and is—Jay.

SS: Interesting that Jay picked a woman who’s so strong. He looks at you with the admiring sense of someone who is her own person.
ML: Funny thing is, when we first got to know each other, in the ’70s, it was that in-between time with feminism. Men had stopped saying it was awful and started saying they were supporters, because they could get laid that way.

SS: So it was inauthentic?
ML: Yeah, but the thing with Jay was, from day one, he just saw me. I remember saying that I often felt I was from another planet, that I connected to people but I wished I could meet somebody from my own species. The first time talking to Jay, I said, “Oh! You’re one, too! Hi!”


SS: I think that may be the definition of “soul mate.”
JL: Well, I always look for qualities in women that I don’t have. I am attracted to the do-gooder—the rescue-a-cat type.
ML: Don’t be ridiculous—you’re the most do-gooder type in the world!

SS: I guess Jay means he values it in another person.
JL: I always tell guys, “Look like a man, think like a woman.” That’s the best way to get through life.
ML: I think we’re both saying the same thing—the quality we admire is somebody who aspires to goodness.
JL: Yeah.
ML: Here is who Jay is: When we were first going out, he’d get off at the Comedy Store late at night, and we’d go get groceries at the all-night Ralphs on Sunset. One night, there was this man harassing a woman. Suddenly, Jay yelled, “Honey! Hold on, we’re coming!” and he started walking across the lot, and the guy took off. Jay said to the girl, “Do you want to me hang around or follow you a little way? To make sure this guy...” She said no. I’d lived almost all my life in Hollywood, and there aren’t any men I ever went out with who would have done that. He didn’t even think twice. Right there, I said, “Okay!” I mean, a component of love, really, has to be admiration. Of course, I thought he was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. I still do. And certainly, he was the funniest. He made me laugh till I almost died many times in the course of a lifetime.
JL: Yeah, it’s better than with women who are like, “I don’t get it...”

SS: I love thinking of those many nights you’ve been cracking up.
ML: I don’t think it’s an accident that comedians have the longest marriages in show business.

SS: Do they?
JL: Oh, yeah.
ML: Sure, think about it. Don Rickles, Bob Newhart, Bob Hope. You could go on and on. It’s a huge advantage. Being funny is just the best way to get through life in a relationship.
JL: I think that’s probably true.
ML: I mean, I can’t ever fight with him—he is very even-tempered.
JL: If you marry someone, there’s really nothing worth fighting about. I mean if you marry someone who is not crazy—that’s the first step. Because everything emanates from that. So when the wife says, “I have to do this.” Well, is this that important to you? All right, then.” It doesn’t matter that much, so why argue?
ML: Like I said, it’s the admiration. When Jay and I didn’t have that much money, when we were first married, we went to Monte Carlo because Jay was doing some stuff for—
JL: John Davidson.
ML: Yeah, The John Davidson Show. One night, Jay found a wallet lying on the ground. There was money and a work visa and, without thinking twice, Jay said we had to find this guy. He went back out in the square and just yelled—
JL: “Jean-Paul! Jean-Paul Tourneau!” I kept yelling, and this guy came running over, saying, “I am Jean-Paul!” like in one of those bad movies where the guy steps out of the dark and goes, “I am Jean-Paul—why you call my name?”
ML: That was funny, but the guy was in tears, you know. He was so glad to get it back. That’s Jay.

SS: You have the same values. And you laugh. Those are two key things to this marriage’s long life.
ML: Exactly. It’s really important to think the same things are funny. And the good examples—Jay’s and my parents’ happy marriages undoubtedly contributed. I think a lot of people have a very unrealistic idea of what a long relationship will be like.
JL: Happiness is a privilege, not a right. Read the fine print.
ML: People always say, “Work on a marriage.” I think if you work on knowing your own faults and trying to correct them, you’re not going to have to work on your marriage.
JL: I got a job. I don’t need another.
ML: When we got married, it dawned on me that his then manager, who was a lawyer, would want a prenup, even though Jay didn’t have a lot of money then. So I decided to preempt it for him. I told Jay, “You know your manager is going to want a prenup. I’ll be perfectly happy to sign it, so don’t worry.” And Jay got mad. He said, “What? You’re already planning we’re going to get divorced?” We just trust each other in a really deep way.


SS: You really do fit.
ML: I knew a lot of funny and interesting people, but I didn’t know very many trustworthy people. But with Jay, I didn’t have to think about it. When a quality is there, it stands out.
JL: There are no jokes about wives. If someone is joking about their wife onstage, consciously or subcon-sciously, they mean it.
ML: Jay’s thing is, you elevate the powerless person and make fun of those who are misusing their power.

SS: It’s funny, Jay, because in the beginning you said Mavis is your conscience, and that’s exactly what you show in your jokes.
JL: The Wall Street guy you can nail, the plumber—
ML: If he asks someone in the audience, “What do you do, sir?” and the guy says, “I’m a plumber,” Jay will say, “Oh, someone who does an honest day’s work!” But if it’s a banker, he’ll say, “Oh, so you screw widows and orphans for a living.”
JL: Hopefully funnier than that...
ML: Am I a stand-up? No.

SS: My husband and I have been together 39 years. When I look back, I can see our relationship change. Do you find that in yours?
ML: A couple of periods were a little more difficult. When Jay got The Tonight Show, the first years were hard for me. All of a sudden, Jay had this day job, and every person on the planet was asking him for something. So I thought, I’m going to be the one who doesn’t ask for anything. Then it gave him relief at home, but that can also feel like distance. I don’t know if he was aware of it because he was so swamped by the job—just the time demands alone, and the pressure.
JL: It’s not really a high-pressure job. Do I look like I’m under pressure? Write joke, tell joke, get check. It couldn’t be simpler. You go to a place like Detroit, and you meet people with real jobs. Show business, let me tell you: The higher up you go, the more retarded people assume you are. They’ll say, “Jay drove here by himself! He drove to the studio alone—yes, he did! He came in his own car!” [Applauds.]


SS: You’re in a business where people are so self-important, and yet you remain the same.
JL: I think that’s the key—not to take yourself too seriously. It’s not high pressure unless you make it that way. It’s not like doing CPR. I was always happy with whatever level I was at. If you’re always looking for the next level, you’re not going to be happy.
ML: At that time, for me, he was gone a lot, and it was not only a new situation for him, it was a situation I had never experienced. And I didn’t know anybody to ask, “Well, how did you handle this?” So it took a little while before I figured it out.

SS: Did it make your relationship stronger?
ML: Absolutely, because you know, however steadfast your feelings for each other, your life circumstances are going to go all over the place. We’ve been through the death of my parents and his and the loss of Jay’s brother. We started off with not very much money, and now we have a lot. But we’ve stayed the same. The great thing about Jay is whatever he says, that’s it. It’s genuine.
JL: That’s right! I put my foot down. It’s the law!
ML: No. If he says, “Oh, I’ll do that,” then it’s done. When we were first together, if I wanted to talk to him about something, I would fall into the mode I had used with men in my past, where I would come in with a chip on my shoulder, all my arguments marshaled. But Jay would just say, “Okay.” Finally I realized I don’t need to do all that.

SS: You thought you could depend on him, and now, all these years later, you have all this documentation that the theory was correct.
ML: The whole thing is simple: Pick the right person; be the right person.

SS: That’s a great line.
ML: If I have one more conversation with a woman about what she wants in a man and how little she’s willing to give in return—I mean, wake up. When Jay and I lived together for a year before we married, he had an opportunity to be in a show in New York. He was actually nervous when he said, “I have this chance...” I thought, That’s great—why is he so rattled? And he said, “If I take it, I have to be in New York—would you move?” And I said, “Of course. Look, I’m with you now—I’m really with you.” And then he relaxed. I asked, “Would you turn it down if I didn’t want to?” and he got serious and said, “My career is for us. Everything I do is for us.” And the last wall inside me fell—I knew he would be on my side in everything. If you can’t do it for the person because you love them—

SS: Then you’re never going to do it. Mavis, do you still go to the show after all these years?
ML: Off and on, but we watch The Tonight Show together every night at home.
JL: Look, I always tell people, you don’t fall in love with a hooker. That’s what show business is. You can enjoy show business...and then go home.

fashionable politics

More people tuned in to the tv show "lie to me" than they did to Obama's speech after his first 100 days. It seemed like yesterday (to use a cliche) that politics enveloped everyone's lives. How much of that enthusiasm was the result of fashion, i.e. it was the fad topic of the day?

buenos aires, damages

$800 flight
$140 to/from airports
$100 lodging
$240 food, milongas, taxis
$180 stuff bought in preparation for the trip

I never quite believed people when they said that the most expensive part of going to Buenos Aires is getting there. I can't not believe it anymore...

buenos aires, la ultima dia

It's my last day in Buenos Aires. I wake up at 7AM. Funny, that's the hour when I've been going to sleep. I finish packing at 8:30AM, and head out to make my last errand (print boarding pass) and for my last cafe con leche y medialunas.

Nothing is open. Buenos Aires is different than Spain in this manner. In Spain, in the morning, almost every coffee place open and filled with people, albeit mainly old men drinking their cafe con leches and reading the newspapers. Buenos Aires is dead at 9AM.

I enjoy being in Buenos Aires. But it seems like that everything about the city is just slightly off. There's no one awake at 9AM. The medialunas look like croissants, but taste more like soft bread. The cafe con leches are served like cappucinos. There's no street food to be found, no shawarmas. It's a port city, but seafood is rarely found, and if so, not good at all. It's the heart of tango, but most people in the city do not dance it. The tango scene is supported mainly by foreigners. I speak of this to someone at work, and she mentions that it's like the uncanny valley in animation.

My taxi picks me up at 9:30AM, and I head to the airport for a long ride back to Los Angeles.

buenos aires, domingo por la noche

On my way to meet Alu, Emily had texted me and told me to show up at a BBQ at 7PM. I told her that I wouldn't make it that early, given my plans, but I'd show up a bit later. After not meeting up with Alu, I wander around town a bit, and then finally go home. I planned to rest up a bit and then head over, but Emily texts me and says that the charcoal may not last, so I should show up soon.

OK, so I leave and try to find a carniceria. I go to 3 places, including one owned by Chinese people and the woman speaks to me in Mandarin. Good thing I understand Mandarin. She points me to a place, which sells chicken (but isn't a carniceria) that tells me that carnicerias are not open on Sundays. Gah!

So I head over to the hostel where the BBQ is being held (and where Kevin and Lacey are staying). I stop at the restaurant next door and order a bife de chorizo, thinking that I still need to bring something. This is where texting fails communications. I think I still need to bring something because otherwise, why would Emily tell me that the grill is dying? Emily thinks I'm being difficult by bringing my own food to a BBQ, especially given how much food there is. We get the situation cleared once she calls me while I'm waiting in the restaurant for my order. The restaurant originally won't sell me the beer to go. They get back ~AR$2 for each empty bottle. I promise them that I'd bring it back that night, and they finally relent. OK, now to the BBQ.

Wow is there a lot of food at the BBQ (pic above). I dig myself into a piece of grilled chicken leg. It's juicy and tender, and cooked perfectly, not burnt on the outside, nor raw inside. Props to the grillmaster-- Kevin. There's also plenty of chorizo, morcilla, and beef. What's an Argentine BBQ w/o the beef? We hang around a bit just eating, drinking and shooting the breeze. Raul, Veronique, and Anne eventually show up with a couple bottles of wine, and they load up on the food too. This is a successful BBQ.

After the BBQ, we decide to head to Torquato Tasso for a milonga. This was my first milonga, and befitting that it should be my last in Buenos Aires. I head back to shower first, because I had spilled some stuff on my pants. I am amazed once I arrive. It is so much more crowded than the previous week. And lots of good dancers too. Not many are native, and they are definitly more willing to dance with foreigners, given that they themselves are foreigners. Lacey comments that it's most similar to milongas in Los Angeles. I agree. We all have a pretty good time, and it ends at 2:15AM. There's talk of heading to La Viruta, but eventually no one really wants to go. Me, my head is pounding from all the drinks since 8PM, and I still have yet to pack for my flight in the morning. I say goodby to everyone, and head home.

That ends the last night in Buenos Aires for me.

buenos aires, domingo por la tarde

Sunday morning. It's my last full day in Buenos Aires.

Sundays, the main street of San Telmo, La Defensa, is shut down to automobile traffic. Venders setup shop and create an outdoor bazaar. I head there when I wake up. There is not much to see, the typical trinkets, souvenirs, etc. And lots of stands selling old junk-- spoons, knives, telephones, etc. There's a stand that is selling CDs, 3 for AR$100. The woman is quite pushy, but even so, I am tempted. Among the CDs, some Buddha Bar collections, which run US$30 usually. Just one alone is worth it. There's also the new Daniel Melingo CD. I love Daniel Melingo. The musicality of his songs are very engaging. Alas, I have no cash on me. I had planned an ATM run later in the day, but in the name of minimizing consumption, I decided not to make that run.

I had plans with my friend Alu, so I head to Palermo. I get there on time, at 5PM. Then I wait around for 30 minutes, but she never shows. I finally check my email using my phone, and she had sent me a message earlier in the day, saying that she was sick. I hadn't read it because the internet had been down in my entire neighborhood. Movistar was giving me problems the night before-- I could text, but couldn't make or receive calls. Now I know what people mean when they bitch about Movistar. I head back and get read for the night.

buenos aires, sabado por la noche

Saturday night the plans were up in the air. I was OK with, but didn't particularly want to go to La Viruta again. Not sure if I can take the combination of constant rejections and overly crowded dance floors. Emily was hanging out with a friend, so I was pretty much on my own.

I ended up having dinner with a guy from Portugal (Raul) and a couple of French girls (Veronique and Anne). After dinner, they were thinking of going to Palermo for a party, but not until later. So, we hung around and ended up at Plaza Derrego, the main outdoor square in San Telmo. The square was jam packed with people. There we met a couple friends of Raul's, and had a beer with them. I was shocked at the prices of the beers (AR$14 for 330cl). Definitely the most expensive I've paid here-- that the square is a popular tourist trap does not help.

Raul's friend Sebastian suggests that we go clubbing, and tells us of a club where his friends are. It's quite far, and no one really wants to take a taxi there, so we end up wandering around San Telmo a bit looking for a local club. Brad, Sebastien's friend, chats up some guy on the street who points us to Balcarce. We head there and the area is pretty happening. We pass by a place that has Argentine music pouring out, and I try to take a look in the door, but is pushed away by the bouncer. I try to tell him that I just want a quick look, but he won't let me anywhere near. WTF? Anyway, the guys find some club; the cover is 20 pesos. At this point, I decide that I really don't want to pay AR$20 to go clubbing-- that I'd rather be dancing tango. So I left them and did just that.

I first go to Independencia, and that's empty. Then I go to Peru 571, which has a few more people, but even then, dying pretty quickly. The night turns out to be pretty much of a bust.

Emily had texted me the address of a milonga that she was going to go at 3AM. 2450 Peron. I wish I had went. I had thought that was the address of La Viruta, and at that point, I didn't want to take the taxi ride all the way there. But it turns out this was an outdoor milonga, in the courtyard of a church. That would've really cool. Oh well. Live and learn.

buenos aires, sabado por la tarde

Strange, I am awake at noon, and cannot fall asleep again. For the day, I planned to explore Puerto Madero, the barrio that hugs oceanside. It's only 5 minutes walk, a beautiful day.

I get to Puerto Madero, and I am amazed by the serenity and tranquility of the neighborhood. Granted, there is a lot of new construction going on. Granted, the restaurants that overlook the river seem overpriced and directed towards rich, clueless vacationers. It is absolutely serene. It is at this point that I finally fall in love with Buenos Aires. I've been in various barrios-- San Telmo, Palermo, Congreso, etc. All of them overwhelm my senses, with the typical problems of overpopulation. This is not the case with Puerto Madero. The buildings are old, but they have all been renovated and are rather quite contemporary. I've decided. If I ever move to Buenos Aires, then Puerto Madero is where I will live.

I keep walking towards the ocean. I imagine that BA, being a port city, should have a dock for people to peer at the ocean. I walk around for 3 hours, but cannot seem to find it. Finally, I stumble upon a map, and it seems that the "ecological reserve" seems to prevent people from actually seeing the ocean. I don't go into the reserve itself. Perhaps I should have rented a bicycle.

As I walk along the edge of the reserve, the street is lined with street vender parilladas. Finally, this is where the street venders are! I am hungry, so order a bondiola (see pic above). It is seared, tender pork, in a french baguette. They have a lot of toppings to go with it, and I load up on chili peppers and tomatoes. Yum. And only AR$8. Afterwards, I find a juice stand and order a fresh squeezed orange juice. It is huge, and costs only AR$4. Not a bad lunch for just over US$3.




A couple pictures of Puerto Madero.


On the way back, I take a different route, and pass by a car that's been completely burnt. I guess there's no tow truck service in Buenos Aires.

buenos aires, viernes por la noche

Dinner was to be at el restaurante El Espanol at 10PM. Knowing Emily, that probably means 10:30PM. By 8PM, I was getting ansy. This is the part I hate most about vacation-- I actually have free time on my hands that I don't know what to do with! I start getting ready at 9:30PM, and arrive at 10:15PM. Yup, Emily is not yet there. But she shows up soon, so she's actually early ;)

There are 8 of us, all of whom know Emily, but don't really know each other. There's Chris, a string bass player from Boston. Chelsea, from Portland, but has been in the LA tango scene. Kevin and Lacey, also from the LA scene. Luiz, a dancer in the porteno tango scene. And Michael Ragland, whom I actually know from LA. El Espanol is a parillada, which is a grill house. So, they serve meat. I order the parilla vacio. Vacio literally means empty. That means that what I ordered does not have bones, and man, is it great. There's a chorizo, mancilla (blood sausage), chitterings (I can't remember the Spanish term), rinon (kidneys), and a de-boned piece of cross-cut (Korean style) rib. Pic above. Emily and Luiz share a parilla asado (mixed grill, all with bones) and it's massive, but I think mine's better ;) Chris orders a bife de chorizo, and it's even bigger than the one I had the other day. Chelsea had a bife de lomo, and that cut is tasty. Our table also goes through 4 bottles of wine (2008 Norton Malbecs) and 6 desserts. Depending on our orders, our total costs are different. Mine is AR$70 (less that US$20).

Someone mentions that while it seems cheap in dollars, because of the differences in income, that AR$1 to an Argentine is approximately equivalent to US$1 to an American. That actually seems about right, given everything I've spend money on, I'd have been happy to spend the same numeric amount in American dollars in the US.

We finish dinner around 2AM, and then head over to Villa Malcolm, arriving around 2:30AM. We get in for AR$5, because it's about to end. But we do get to see the performance. I look around, and I think this milonga has the highest female:male ratio of any milonga I've attended in BA. Obviously, would be good for me. But alas, I only have one tanda, and the milonga ends.





Afterwards, everyone heads over the next milonga-- La Viruta (above). It's free after 3:30AM, so we stroll there, and when we get there, there's a huge group of people waiting until 3:30AM to enter. It's the same one as last night, in the Armenian Association. This time though, it's jam packed. We're able to find ourselves a seat and order beer. I dance a tanda with a girl from Germany. She's quite good at the dance, and I also notice afterwards, she's very proactive about cabaceos. Her MO is to basically find some guy, stare them down, and when she catches the eye, wait from them to ask. It seems to work-- definitely worked on me! But that's the only tanda I get, I get rejected time and again. Eventually, I just sit back and enjoy the beer. Then Emily orders a cafe con leche and medialunas for me. She says the medialunas are the best she's had, and they're quite good. Hits the spot.

The milonga ends at 6AM, so like previous nights, head home, in bed by 7AM.

buenos aires, viernes por la tarde

It's now Friday. I can't believe that I'll be leaving so soon.

I wake up after noon. And this shows how lame I am-- the first thing I do is to check my email using my iPhone. I get an email from my friend Alu. She proposes that we meet Sunday afternoon for ice cream. I'm so excited. I haven't seen her in 6 years, and I thought I would miss her, because she was going to be out of town this whole week.

I head out for my daily cafe con leche y medialunas. Having raved about them so many times, I figure I'd take a picture of them (see above). I also hit up the ATM. This time, I pass by a bakery that I could not resist, enter to buy some pan dulce with custard on top. It's a huge loaf, and only AR$6. I'm not sure when I'll be able to eat it in the next couple of days, but I'm going to try, damn it. I'll also have to buy more Monday morning so I can enjoy it on the plane and when I return State-side.

The weather, which had cooled down the past couple of days, heated up again today. I've been very fortunate on this trip, as there has been no rain at all. Very unusual for a tropical climate area that rains year round, but I'm not complaining. So as I'm strolling, I head into a market to buy some water. It's AR$3.10. Not expensive, but more so than a commercial supermarket. And thinking about it, of all the places that I've bought water, the commercial markets are the cheapest. Which makes me wonder, how the small mom&pop shops expect to compete? I also notice cans of sardines for AR$3.90. That's ridiculously cheap. I may have to buy a bunch and bring them home, as my friend Dima has been looking for sardines, and not able to find any.

That's it for now. I'm just going to chill before heading out tonight. Obviously, going to be going to a milonga. We were going to go to a performance by Otros Aires at Villa Malcolm, but Emily says that they've cancelled the performance. I think we're still headed there, because it's still a good place to dance. And maybe then to La Viruta (the Argentine Association one) afterwards. But, as I've learned about portenos, plans may change.

buenos aires, jueves

I can no longer keep count of the days and nights, so I'll just go by the day of the week.

As mentioned in the previous post, Thursday I slept till close to 3PM. The rest of the day was spent trying to recuperate. I went out for cafe con leche and medialunas (I think) To be honest, at this point, I'm not really sure. Emily and I arrange to meet for dinner before her class, but at 7PM, she texts (yes, I'm learning to text) and says she can't make it. I then head out to get some food, because I haven't had anything substantial. I have a craving for choripan, but there's nowhere close for it. I followed with roasted chicken, but I just had that the day before. So I went to a restaurante arabe that I passed by a couple days earlier, thinking, shawarma (sp?). They have it, but there's no roasting pit in sight. So I order instead a keppe al horno, which is quite similar to a meatloaf, except much tastier.

I was really excited by the night. Tanghetto would be performing at Salon Canning, and we had 2 for 1 tickets! Around 11PM (which could not have arrived early enough, because by then, I was recuperated and getting restless), I get ready and catch a cab to Emily's place. She complains that I arrive too early, that even though the event starts at 11PM, porteno time dictates that 1AM is probably more like it. OK, well, I had nothing better to do, so I wait around while she gets ready. She shows me pictures of her shoe collection. It's crazy. We discuss a possible business venture for tango shoes. Sounds promising; I'll have to learn more about it.

Finally, we head out after midnight. At this point though, I'm feeling a bit hungry and really in the mood for a choripan. And my talk of it apparently prompts Emily to crave one too. So after catching the bus to Canning, we get a couple choripans from the kiosk across the street. AR$8 for two of them. We scarf them down really quickly, then enter the milonga. The picture is an image of the salon that I took while the lights were on. And proceed to order a bottle of wine (Trapiche is the winery). I still can't get over that it's only AR$24 (US$6.70) for a bottle of decent malbec in a bar.

Around 1AM, Tanghetto comes on. They're good, but nowhere as exciting as Bajofondo. The dancing though, was dismal. The first woman I danced with asked to stop after 2 songs because she does not like nuevo tango. So why is she there, instead of being at El Beso (a very traditional milonga)? The second woman wouldn't talk to me or look at me between the first and second song, and then said "gracias" just as the second song hit the last note. The third woman was from San Francisco, and quite beautiful, but one could feel that she was not into the dance. Apparently she didn't like milonga style (which was that particular tanda). This is stupid, why do they agree to dance then? Oh well, at least I got to watch Tanghetto.

We then head to another milonga around 3AM. It's at the Armenian association, called La Viruta. So if anyone see Varo, tell him that I'm now part Armenian ;) Seriously though, its rather empty when we arrive, and there's really no one to dance with. I don't even change my shoes. The milonga ends at 4AM. By then, Emily had only danced 2 tandas, Luis (Emily's friend) only 1. Not a very productive night. So we head home. First we catch a bus back to Emily's place. That's actually one of the best things about BA-- all the buses run 24H, and all for AR$1.25 (US$0.35).


From Emily's place, I catch a cab. The cab driver is hilarious. He strikes up a conversation about my sex life. He asks if I'll be sleeping alone tonight. He asks if I like the city, if I am getting any in BA. He asks if I get a lot in Los Angeles. And he does it by using the term "focky-focky". And all in Spanish.


Again, around 5AM, I go to bed.

buenos aires, part 4

Not much happened during the day, so I'll combine the posts.

The weather got better, in that it was less humid, and much more tolerable. I went back to NonnaBianco for cafe y medialunas. This time, I got 3 medialunas. And still only AR$9. Crazy. I also wandered into a shop in the afternoon and bought grilled chicken leg, flan, and Fanta. Total: AR$13.50. Wierd how I have these cravings when I'm travelling.

At 9PM I head to a tango class in San Telmo. The address is Peru 708. I get there, and it turns out that the class doesn't start until 9:30PM. So I head up the street and end up back at Cafe La Poesia. Order a glass of Finca Gabriel tinto (see above), which was only AR$10. And did they load up on that glass.

Took the class, and afterwards headed over to a milonga a block away, at Peru 571. I invited the instructor to come along, and she came for a tanda. Which is always good in a milonga, when your first tanda is with someone who is recognized. This milonga has a live band, and damn, they are good. There are a lot of non-dancers there, who simply go to watch the performance, but they leave soon after midnight.

I see Rebecca, the woman who I danced with on Sunday, and who had invited me to this milonga. We talk a bit, dance a bit, and she gives me more BA insider tips. One of the things she mentions is that the level of dancing at the milongas in San Telmo is a whole step below that of those in Palermo. And she is right. Canning was probably 3 times more crowded, but I never had a problem with people bumping into me. At this place, people kept crossing the line of dance and doing more nuevo moves, thereby resulting in more injuries.

At PracticaX, I had discussed the embrace with Emily, and she pointed out that mine is too subtle, and does not convey an intension of desire. So she gave me some tips about how to convey that sense of "I want to be here dancing with you" in el abrazo. I see what she means, and it will have to be something to work on. I try to work on it at this milonga, but I struggle. Ultimately, I enjoy distance-- both emotionally and physically. We'll see how that goes.

The milonga ends at 2AM. I'm pretty hungry, but don't want to eat that much, so just get a grilled ham sandwich on the way back. Costs only AR$4.50. Once I get back, there are some people sitting around the outdoor patio smoking and drinking beer. I join them. We start off with 6 people, but by 4AM, it's just two of us left. The other person is Laura, a Canadian woman who came with us to Canning the other night. So we keep chatting, and keep buying bottles of beer from the receptionist. I think we went through 4 1L bottles. Soon the sun comes up. At that point, we decide that we're hungry and go for breakfast. cafe con leche y medialunas (3 of them)-- AR$9.50.

Afterwards, I head straight to bed, and finally wake up close to 3PM. As I walk out towards the common area to come blog, the receptionist strikes up a conversation, and laughs at me. I am confused... Apparently she was there when we returned from breakfast at around 8:30AM, but I just didn't see her. And I guess I'm earning a reputation for partying... A different person has seen me return home early morning each day. I suppose that means its a good vacation...

buenos aires, night 3

So it's been 2 days since I last blogged, and my memories of what happened are fading fast.

I head out to a practica at 10PM that's being held by Diego and Gabriel somewhere in Palermo. I don't know their last names, but Emily says they are world famous. This is a problem for me... I don't know the names of all the famous dancers, so my appreciation for this whole scene is, relatively, quite muted. The practica is good-- what was supposed to be 1 hour turned into 3 hours. We did three steps, and it was quite hard. I realize that I currently do not have good enough balance. Emily was very nice and worked very hard to help me on the moves, but in the end, it's just something that I need to practice more.

Around midnight, we are starving, and get choripans (grilled sausage on French baguette with chimichurri sauce) from the place next door. At only AR$5, I wish I ordered more. What seemed ridiculous to me is that the studio where the practica was, sold us sodas for $AR6. Only in Argentina is meat cheaper that beverages.

I also notice that I am beginning to calculate prices like a porteno. For example, I had bought a monedero (debit card for the subway) and put AR$15 (US$4) on it. Then I instantly regretted it, because there was no way I would ride the subway 13 times the rest of the week, and wished that I had saved myself AR$10. The other example is in a practica, I had to purchase a small bottle of water for AR$4. That's just slightly more than US$1. But I was not happy, because one can buy a bottle 3x the size outside for AR$2.70.

After the practica, Emily takes me to PracticaX. It's a nuevo style milonga, even though it's called a practica. That is, people there dance more nuevo style, but the music is still classico. I find it interesting that the cortinas in BA often are nuevo tango, because people here seem to dislike dancing to it. The space is huge, but unlike Canning, well ventilated. To the point where it almost felt cold. The milonga ends at 4AM and we share a cab home. I finally crawl into bed at 5AM.

One final observation. Before I left my trip, everyone who had visited BA kept telling me how much I would love it, how they loved it, etc. Everyone except one person. She warned me that I would feel something was missing. I asked her to elaborate, but she was vague. I'm beginning to feel that to some extent. Not sure how to describe it, but I'll try over the posts over the next few days...

buenos aires, day 3

I couldn't wake up this morning. I think I finally dragged myself out of bed by 2PM. Head out for a cafe con leche y medialunas. However, everything is closed. I finially found this place, Cafe La Poesia. It is crowded, and I have to wait a while for a table. At this point I'm starving and needing to eat some meat, so I order a bife de chorizo (thinking that it would be a sausage). And a cafe con leche as well. Turns out a "bife de chorizo" is a cut of steak, and not sausage. Pictured above. It's a huge steak with bacon and an egg on top. A bit overwhelming, and definitely too oily. So what can I do, but to order a beer to wash it down? Total cost: AR$50 (~US$14), including tip.

I head back to my room for a nap, and and wait for my friend Emily. Once she arrives, we had to La Boca. La Boca is a neighborhood in southern Buenos Aires with very colorful buildings. She took pictures. I avoided being in them ;)

We sit at a cafe for cafe con leche y medialunas. Then the funniest thing happens. Across from us is a store that sells tango souvenirs. And hanging in the window are pictures of tango poses. She looks carefully, and then tells me to walk over there and look at them. Turns out, they are of her and her boyfriend Sergei.

Anyway, we finish up and head towards the bus. At this point, she explains the mentality of hoarding coins in Buenos Aires. And it's true. Now that it's been explained to me, so much makes sense.

That's it for the day... now onto the night.

buenos aires, night 2

met up with my friend Emily for dinner. we went to a petit restaurant, where I ordered some beef ribs (cross cut, Korean style) and a bottle of beer. Total cost: AR$30 (~US$8.50). I learn something that I find extraordinarily ironic, and a bit sad. However, to protect the involved parties, I won't blog it.

After dinner, she went to a tango workshop, and not having a partner (it's couples only), I hung out until the end of the class, at which point, we met up, and a total of 6 of us went to Salon Canning.

Salon Canning is supposed to be one of the best milongas. We got there around 1AM, and and it was jam packed. And very hot. Everyone was fanning themselves with something, and I started sweating-- I never sweat! Some observations about the (mis)conceptions of milongas. I was told how formal everything here is, but it is not at all. Plenty of men were wearing T-shirts and jeans. Everyone had taken off their jackets because of the heat, so it would've been OK to not have worn one upon entry.

I got a lesson of the politics of tango, about how people are seated, about how people interact and how that demonstrated relationships, and how that translates into the dances one gets. Being new in town (the caliber at Canning is different than that at Tasso), I only got a few cabaceos. My proudest moment was that I conducted an entire conversation in one tanda in Spanish. The woman was quite interesting-- she's a professor of German who moved from Germany 6 years ago and has stayed ever since. I also got shot down a few times. Its amazing how impersonal people are, how judgemental they can be.

The next day is a holiday (don't ask me which one) so the milonga goes until 6AM. By then, the 4 of us left had gone through 2 bottles of wine. We then catch a cab home, and I finally go to bed at 7AM.

buenos aires, day 2

I didn't wake up until past 11am. The breakfast service had stopped, and the receptionist was so apologetic. I told her it was OK, I was heading out for a cafe con leche and a medialuna (croissant) anyway. I find this place that is part internet cafe, part Asian themed coffee shop. Order, sit down, and a few minutes later, comes a tray service not unlike those at Funnel Mill. I was surprised as she brought over two croissants. Anyway, I sit there, use the computer a bit, and enjoy my brunch. Total bill? AR$9 (less than US$3)!

Next, to take care of the business of the day. Two things I have to do-- buy a SIM for my phone, and withdraw more money. The latter is quite easy. Once I hit one of the major streets, there are plenty of banks. The former, a bit more troublesome. After winding around everywhere, I finally find a place that sells a SIM for Movistar. I needed Movistar because they are known to work for iPhones unlocked using yellowsnOw. So now I have a phone. The number is 11-5949-1529. Don't ask me how to call it. Argentina has a screwed up system where the prefix changes based upon where you're calling from. Here's a page on the info.

Thats it for the day. Just resting up now, and waiting for the phone to be activated so I can add money to it.

what a day.

What a day.

I finished packing and my usual pre-travel preparations around 9pm. Oxygen milonga was that night, and my flight wasn't till 2am, so what the heck, I shuffled to the milonga. Danced with many familiar faces, a few I hadn't seen in a while. At the stroke of midnight (or, just a minute before), I rushed for my car just like Cinderella did for her carriage. Got to the airport and went through security in 5 minutes. That's the good thing about travelling at 2am. Though that just meant I sat there waiting for the flight and wishing I was still at Oxygen.

15 hours later...

We landed in Buenos Aires at 9PM local time. Went through immigration-- got my first Argentine stamp! And on my new RFID passport, no less. Then spent the next hour trying to get Argentine pesos. The ATM (cajero automaticos) rejected all 3 of my debit cards. Calling the bank collect kept connecting the call back to me. I finally gave in and went to the currency exchange, ready to exchange what little American dollars I had for backup. And I complain to the guy about the ATMs. He tells that the maximum withdrawal is 300 pesos. WTF? That's not even $80US! OK, so I go back and finally is able to withdraw some money. But at that rate, I'll probably have to hit the ATM everyday.

Take a taxi, costs me AR$98. The ATM had only given me AR$100 bills, so I felt bad about giving the guy only AR$2 for tip. Check in. Ask the receptionist about milongas. She calls around and points me to this place that's 2 blocks away. It's on the same street as the restaurants that she points me to, but in the other direction.

Not knowing how late these places might be open, I head towards the restaurants first. Ended up at this place called Todo Mundo and sat at their outdoor seatings. I chose that table because it was right next to the outdoor milonga happening right in that square. Of course I had to be there. Ordered a canejo florentino. Or I think that's the name. It's rabbit in florentine (rosemary tomato) sauce. It also came with scallopped potato fries. Total including tip comes out to AR$50 (i.e. US$14). Not bad. I finish paying, and head to the floor. I dance with this tall blonde. Her friend had left her empty cup on my table as they were headed to the milonga. The blonde is from Russia, her friend from Spain. The milonga ends at midnight, so I only got 2 tandas in. Oh well, onto the next milonga.

The next milonga was a bar/restaurant, so there was no cover. If only I had known that there would be places still serving food past midnight, I'd have just danced my heart out in the outdoor milonga. Oh well. I order a cerveza. They only have 1 brew, an import from Germany. It was large (500ml) and quite good, and best of all, only AR$12. Where in Los Angeles can you get a large beer for less that US$3.50? El Baron charges US$4 just for a small bottle of water! The place was only half full when I arrived, but within a few minutes, filled to capacity. I recognize a few people from the outdoor milonga-- I guess I came to the right place! I dance a few tandas. One with a Canadian expat, who is living in Buenos Aires while writing her dissertation. How I envy her-- I wish I could do the same, to live in a foreign city without interrupting your work/life. And just as quickly, the crowd dispersed after 2AM. So, I head back to my room for some sleep.

Ok, that was more than 24 hours, but, what a day.

There have been articles and blogs lately about eating frugally. The metrics for these is a fixed amount per day ($1/day) or within a particular standard (amount of governmental food stamps). They all seem to make the effort seem hard, by going to extremes such as eating lots of peanut butter and cutting out fruits. I argue though, that it's not that hard to do so, and the difficulties presented are simply evidence of the freespending ways from which people need to refrain. Some examples:

• http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-stamp11-2009mar11,0,5424533.story
• http://lessisenough.wordpress.com/

Here are some calculations on what food can cost:

* carbohydrates, e.g. rice, pasta
* vegetables
* fruits
* dairy
* meats
* sweets