wall animation

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Andrew just sent me this link, an awesome video made in Buenos Aires. Wall paintings and graffiti and stencils and street art is one of my favorite favorite things about Buenos Aires. It is everywhere and it's out of control and it's interesting and beautiful.
Also, incidentally, I am feeling in a great mood. Not sure why, it's a cold gray rainy day out there but I'm feeling proud for having survived the past thirty years and excited about the day ahead of me.

wall animation

Robert Rauschenberg

Robert Rauschenberg died on Monday. I remember going to see the Rauschenberg retrospective at the Guggenheim museum in New York during my first year studying textiles at Parsons. Our drawing teacher Karen(?) brought our class to see the show and she talked about how Rauschenberg's paintings are related to textiles; they're about treating the surface, rather than creating an illusion of depth. He was one of my first favorite modern artists. I love that he uses old things, scavenged and salvaged. Here's a quote:

“I really feel sorry for people who think things like soap dishes or mirrors or Coke bottles are ugly,” he once said, “because they’re surrounded by things like that all day long, and it must make them miserable.”

cupcakes en español

this is my latest favorite baking recipe (for English readers, please read down to find the English version!), they are sooo easy and good i've been making cupcakes more often than chocolate chip cookies! i love that the cupcakes aren't too too sweet, but the frosting is totally sugary. argentines don't generally bake much, and never ever bake cupcakes (or choc. chip cookies) so people always get REALLY REALLY ridiculously excited when I turn up with homemade sweets. my spanish teacher asked me for the cupcake recipe, so I have translated it with loving care. perhaps you remember my previous effort to translate the toll house chocolate chip recipe into spanish? well, my spanish has improved a lot since then and I think I've done a much better job here!

Cupcakes de Chocolate con Frosting de Limón y Crema

ingredientes
cupcakes:
30 gramos cacao (en polvo, sin azucar)
120 cc agua hervido
125 gramos harina
½ cucharilla bicarbonato de sodio
85 gramos manteca, templada
100 gramos azúcar
1 huevo grande
1 yema grande

frosting:
2 cucharas Crema de leche
10 gramos manteca templada
100 gramos azúcar impalpable
Jugo de ½ limón

preparación
Caliente el horno. En un bol chico, mezcle el cacao con el agua hervida, hasta que el polvo se disuelva, y deje enfriarse. En otro bol, mezcle la harina, el bicarbonato de sodio, y dos pizcas de sal. En otro bol grande, bata la manteca y la azúcar, agregue el huevo y la yema, y bata hasta que esté bien mezclada. Agregue un tercero de la mezcla de cacao, mezcle bien, y agregue un tercero de la mezcla de harina y mezcle bien. Siga hasta que todos estén combinados. Con un poco de manteca, engrase un molde para muffins. Ponga la masa en el molde con una cuchara. Hornee 8 – 10 minutos, y de una vuelta, y hornee 5-10 minutos mas, o hasta que estén bien cocidos. Prueba con un palillo: meta el palillo en el centro de un cupcake. Si el palillo sale limpio, están listo!

Cuando las cupcakes estén cocinando, prepare el frosting. Ponga el azúcar impalpable en un bol y agregue la manteca, la crema, y unas gotas de jugo de limón. Mezcle. Agregue un poco mas de azúcar (si es muy liquido) o mas gotas de limón (si es muy duro) para que sea la consistencia perfecta.

Deje los cupcakes enfriarse antes de untar el frosting en cada uno.

Disfrute!!!


Chocolate Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Frosting!

ingredients
cupcakes:
1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 stick (6 tbsp) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 whole large egg
1 large egg yolk

frosting:
2 tbsp cream
1 tbsp butter, softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
Juice from ½ lemon

preparation
In a small bowl whisk together the cocoa powder and the water until the cocoa powder is dissolved and let the mixture cool to room temperature. In a bowl whisk together the flour, the baking soda, and a pinch of salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer cream together the butter and the sugar and beat in the whole egg and the egg yolk, beating until the mixture is combined well. Beat in the cocoa mixture alternately with the flour mixture, beating well after each addition. Grease a muffin tin and divide the batter among 12 1/2-cup muffin tins, and bake the cupcakes in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Turn the cupcakes out onto a rack and let them cool completely.

While the cupcakes are baking, prepare the frosting. Mix the powdered sugar, butter, and cream in a bowl. Add a few drops of lemon juice. If the frosting is too liquid, add more sugar; if it is too stiff, add more lemon juice.

Let the cupcakes cool before spreading them with frosting.

Yum! Enjoy!

we used to microwave, now we just eat nuts and berries

yesterday I was humming along to the Talking Heads and thinking about my (weird?) passion for post-apocalyptic stories. when I was a little kid I loved wandering around in the woods near our house and finding old old piles of garbage, decades-old beer cans and rusted things covered by leaves and sprouting saplings, and old bricks and foundations showing where houses or factories once stood. If I walked far enough through the woods I'd come out into the backside of the town dump. There was a great swath of dishwashers and washing machines people had thrown out over the past fifty years. Looking out across a field of discarded "white goods" makes you think a lot about the fragility of modern life as we know it. One day this fridge was sitting in that maytag dealership out by the traffic circle, smelling new, waiting for someone to take it home and fill it with food and then another day it was nestled sideways against a pile of washers, peaceful and sprouting vines. Like any kid, I loved sneaking into abandoned buildings, tiptoeing through the dust, touching things and imagining who used to use this place and why they left it. what if I woke up one morning and the whole world was like this? what if I was the only one left? i could just go into peoples' houses and eat the food in their cupboards or try on their clothes. what if there were only three people left in the world? who would they be? i'm not sure if this is a natural and universal obsession or if it seems morbid. i never imagine what could happen to everyone to make them disappear, i only savor the imaginary quiet, spooky, empty world, grass sprouting through sidewalks and vines twining around refrigerator doors.
so, over the years I've come across lots of stories that cover this kind of territory. Here's a list of some good post-apocalyptic stories. They're mostly scary, because really apocalypse is scary. But it's still perversely fascinating. One of my favorite elements of post-apocalyptic stories is the seeds of hope. Ultimately I think what's compelling about these stories is the idea of a clean slate and the possibility for something new to grow, something better, purer, smaller or less complicated than what came before. I think a lot of us secretly wish that the world would suddenly be different, that we would suddenly all have a reason to stop overconsuming and survive on what we have.

(Nothing But) Flowers, song, Talking Heads, 1988

Wump World, childrens' book, Bill Peet, 1970.

Parable of the Sower, Parable of the Talents, novels, Octavia Butler,

28 Days Later, zombie movie, directed by Danny Boyle, 2006.

The Road, novel, Cormac McCarthy, 2006.

The World Without Us, nonfiction, Alan Weisman, 2007

The Rapture Index, crazy christian shit.

Oryx and Crake, novel, Margaret Atwood

Children of Men, movie, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, 2006

well, I think this is only a partial list, but it's a start. a few weeks ago, Mike and I were sitting in Lo De Roberto, an old tango bar, on a quiet night and the electricty went out and we were drinking our beers in silence, in the pitch dark. I was thinking about connections between the political atmosphere of our particular moment in history, and the current appeal of these post-apocalyptic stories. I feel like there's some kind of apocalyptic currents bubbling around us, ever nearer to the surface of popular culture. or is it just me? everyone's suddenly obsessed with global warming and what, exactly, will happen to us if we don't shape up. we're losing a never-ending war in Iraq. the news is all recession, downward economic spiral, home foreclosures, serious stuff. and meanwhile, are there more and more post-apocalypse books and movies popping up all the time? I remember reading that at the change of a century, there is always an increased popular obsession with doomsday for a few years before and afterwards. Maybe this is all a millennial thing.

(nothing but) flowers

i was listening to the talking heads last night and realized that this song goes on my list of post-apocalyptic stories.

Here we stand
Like an Adam and an Eve
Waterfalls
The Garden of Eden
Two fools in love
So beautiful and strong
The birds in the trees
Are smiling upon them
From the age of the dinosaurs
Cars have run on gasoline
Where, where have they gone?
Now, it's nothing but flowers

There was a factory
Now there are mountains and rivers
you got it, you got it

We caught a rattlesnake
Now we got something for dinner
we got it, we got it

There was a shopping mall
Now it's all covered with flowers
you've got it, you've got it

If this is paradise
I wish I had a lawnmower
you've got it, you've got it

Years ago
I was an angry young man
I'd pretend
That I was a billboard
Standing tall
By the side of the road
I fell in love
With a beautiful highway
This used to be real estate
Now it's only fields and trees
Where, where is the town
Now, it's nothing but flowers
The highways and cars
Were sacrificed for agriculture
I thought that we'd start over
But I guess I was wrong

Once there were parking lots
Now it's a peaceful oasis
you got it, you got it

This was a Pizza Hut
Now it's all covered with daisies
you got it, you got it

I miss the honky tonks,
Dairy Queens, and 7-Elevens
you got it, you got it

And as things fell apart
Nobody paid much attention
you got it, you got it

I dream of cherry pies,
Candy bars, and chocolate chip cookies
you got it, you got it

We used to microwave
Now we just eat nuts and berries
you got it, you got it

This was a discount store,
Now it's turned into a cornfield
you got it, you got it

Don't leave me stranded here
I can't get used to this lifestyle

Montevideo

was fun! We thought we might not be able to go, because of all the smoke. On Friday the smoke was so thick in Buenos Aires that there was no visibility at all and the port had to close down. All the highways were closed and the bus station closed too, so I was feeling really trapped! But at the last moment the smoke lifted a bit, they opened the port, and we caught our ferry over to Montevideo. We had an hour-long ferry ride to get across the river and then a two-and-a-half-hour bus ride to get to Montevideo.

People say that Montevideo is boring and quiet, and it was kinda true, but I liked it. In general I think the vibe of the city is much more relaxed and quiet than Buenos Aires, and at night (or on Sunday morning) it can be pretty spooky, like a ghost-town. The architecture is pretty similar to Buenos Aires, which I love. On Saturday morning we went to the Old City and there were some lively bustling touristy areas. There was a fun antiques-market in Plaza Matriz. We bought some old lino-prints from the seventies to add to our growing collection of cheap art. The Ciudad Viejo in Montevideo seemed a lot like the San Telmo neighborhood in Buenos Aires; that is, lots of beautiful old buildings and cobbled streets, and some intense touristy spots and other areas that are just quiet and old. When we returned to the Ciudad Viejo in the evening, we wandered off the main drag looking for a restaurant, and suddenly all the streets were SO dark and absolutely silent and deserted, it was totally spooky and we hurried back to the main plaza.

We rented bikes for the whole day on Saturday and rode all around town. That was my favorite thing about Montevideo. It cost about US$10 to get two bikes for eight hours, and the traffic in Montevideo is totally chill. There is a bike/walk path beside La Rambla, the road that follows the seashore all around the city, past piers and parks and fishing clubs. It was beautiful riding all along the shore and looking out to sea, going past people fishing off the piers or sitting on the wall drinking mate. We also rode around the streets, which are beautiful and quiet. The cars drive in single-file (unlike in Buenos Aires) and nobody ever tries to run you over. The city is a bit hilly, but not too much.

We stayed at Red Hostel Montevideo, which was really beautiful but terribly disorganized. It's a gorgeous big old stone building that's been nicely renovated, with a cute little woodstove in the middle and a gorgeous stained-glass skylight, and a nice terraza with a bar on the roof. Our first night there, they had screwed up our reservation and had given away the room we'd reserved, so they put us in a terrible little room with awful beds, but the second day we got to move to the room we'd reserved. Then they kept asking us to pay for our room, even after we'd already paid. So, I recommend the place because it's so beautiful but they were as disorganized as any hostel.

The food in Uruguay seems to be mostly the same as Argentine food, but they do have this special combination, Chivito, that's served at all the restaurants:

It's a big steak with ham, cheese, bacon, and a fried egg on top; sitting atop a mound of french fries, melted cheese, potato salad, lettuce, tomato, carrots, beets and green beans.

sweet relief

these pics are from last week, the left hand one is in Buenos Aires during a relatively breathable moment on Friday afternoon and the right-hand one is in Montevideo on Saturday. the smoke is lots better now. that sucked. i guess the fires are still burning, so the wind could bring the smoke back this way again anytime, but i pray it doesn't.

i heard that last week the subways were closing down because the city was so smoky that the conductors couldn't see for all the smoke in the subway tunnels! que fuerte.

OH GOD THE SMOKE!

........... i promised myself not to post any more boring whiny quality-of-life posts (see: internet disaster) for a while, but OH MY GOD. this is so so so so intense i can't not write about it. Buenos Aires is totally filled with foul, evil-smelling, thick smoke. It's been here for 3 days and it's really hard to live. I mean, it's stinging my eyes and hard to breathe, and it hurts my throat and it makes my head hurt and it makes me feel sick and it wakes me up at night when I can't sleep for the stench. It's like an evil thick thick milk fog in the streets outside, but it goes all the way up into the sky and it comes inside the houses and buildings. Last night we went to see a movie at the mall, and the mall was filled with smoke and inside the theater you could see the smoke, thick in the beam of the projector. I am praying that there is no smoke in Montevideo because I can't stand it any longer. Also, I don't know if we'll be able to get to Montevideo this afternoon because I think they've closed down most of the city's roads and transportation, and maybe the port, due to low visibility.
The story is that farmers in Entre Rios have been burning fields and pastures, and that the fires have spread out of control, and the wind is bringing all the smoke straight into the city. Fires have spread to islands in the river delta, now most of the fires are on islands, which are hard to reach and extinguish. Clarin says that only a "change in the weather" can put out those fires, and firefighters are now just fighting to contain the fires from spreading further. The thing is that last week we also had one day of intense, fierce smoke, and it barely hit the news - though the brief statements said it was also attributed to farmers burning land. At that point i was all freaking out already, like "why doesn't someone do something about this?" and the president and the mayor were totally silent and there was no mention of, say, putting out the fires, or prohibiting intentional burning of farmland. Last week they just ran a statement saying it was no big deal and the smoke's not toxic. NOW the smoke is back, and it's much worse, and the government's all "oh god, it's out of control, we're doing everything we can but we can't put the fires out! we'll never allow this to happen again!" So it makes me feel like they just ignored the problem until it became too big to control, and now it's too late! Not sure if that's really accurate, but everybody knows it makes you feel a tiny bit better if you can blame someone for your suffering. The paper says the smoke is not toxic because it's coming from organic materials, but I am skeptical about that, I'm pretty sure this is not good for living creatures.
Anyway... this sucks. Really really sucks. Can't breathe. Head hurts. I wish I could get out of this smoke, I wish I knew somewhere to go. I wish I could go up to Maine and breathe fresh air for the weekend. I hope this isn't giving me brain damage or something. I read that the smoke has reached Montevideo too, but I'm hoping maybe it's not as bad there. And hoping they will open the port in time for our ferry this afternoon! HELP! got to get out of here. "Buenos Aires," my ass!

Montevideo here we come!

We're still here on tourist visas, which means we have to renew them every three months. We braved the bureaucratic maze of the Migraciones office in Buenos Aires to get ours renewed three months ago, but you can't do that twice in a row, so this time we really have to leave the country and come back in again! Usually we go across the river to Colonia, Uruguay for a day, which is lots of fun but after the fifth trip, it's getting a tiny bit boring. So we decided to go a bit further and spend the weekend in Montevideo, Uruguay! You take the same ferry across to Colonia, and then get on a bus up to Montevideo. We're expecting a chill, laid-back weekend of strolling, sitting in cafes playing cards, exploring and walking on the beach! In truth, most people in Buenos Aires really have nothing good to say about Montevideo, like "if you want to be in a city, stay in Buenos Aires! why bother going to Montevideo, it's small and boring!" but I'm sure it will be fun just to get out of town and see a new place. Also, I love beach cities so I think I'm going to enjoy it. Of course, I'll post pictures and stories when we get home!