Staring at Strangers

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Politics at the Fragata
2007-12-17 01:31:00
It’s a clear and sunny morning, and I’m at the Buque Museo Fragata Presidente Sarmiento in Puerto Madero, considering whether to the descend the ladder-like stairs to view the cadets’ quarters. Seeing a well-dressed couple, perhaps a decade my senior, weighing the same decision, I decide to defer to them, figuring that if they can make it down the ladder, so could I. Instead the man asks me where I’m from, and before I can answer, he launches into his opinion of Argentine politics. Another unsolicited monologue: You know about the new president? What do you think of her? Let met tell you what’s wrong with this country: it’s the politicians. They are ruining the place, driving it into the ground. Now the military was bad, but the politicians are even worse. It’s terrible, and there is no end. You know that no one decent voted for Cristina? No one...
More About: Politics , Politic

You Never Really Leave Michoacn, Texas and Iowa
2007-12-15 03:43:00
You've heard the adage that it takes no more than eighty random people to come up with someone who shares the same birth date. The numbers are even less for running into someone from Michoacán. A few weeks ago, the first Estadounidense I met had roots in my adopted state. Her grandmother was from some town which started with a z, but she didn't remember whether it was Zitacuaro, Zacapu, Zamora, Zinapecuaro, Zurumbeneo, Tzintzunzan, or even Tzurumutaro. That part didn't really matter; what mattered was the amazing, or maybe not so amazing, odds of running into someone with Michoacán ties so quickly. "So, what is your Estadounidense connection?" she asked. "I vote in Texas ." The second person I met, of course, was a Texan. My roots, from college through a decade ago, were in Iowa . And what did I receive the day after? An e-mail from someone with Roosevelt High...
More About: Leave

Celibacy in the City
2007-12-15 02:03:00
It's time for our regularly scheduled sex post, and this is it. Rest assured, we don't like having to write about sex any more than you like reading about it, but those are the rules. The meet-and-greet at the meat market is just as different here as the beef is. And frankly, I'd take Argentine beef over whatever they offer in the U.S. and Europe any day of the week. Technorati Tags: sex,men,women,dating
More About: City , In the City

In Line at Disco
2007-12-15 01:35:00
This afternoon I stopped at Disco , the neighborhood supermarket, to pick up a few things. As I stood in line, wondering whether Friday was really a smart time to buy anything, given that everyone else had the same idea, a lady behind me struck up a conversation. Actually, it was more a monologue than a conversation: Can you believe the price of cheese? Cheese shouldn’t cost so much. How can cheese cost so much? This is the best grocery store in the city, and its prices are always reliable. Now, you can go to Carrefour, and they’ve got specials, but in the end, Carrefour always costs more than Disco. The damn government and the damn inflation. Cristina, she’s in bed with Chavez. The Wilson suitcase, why that’s just the beginning. You know, no one in this city voted for her, none of the decent people voted for her. But it’s...
More About: Line

Call Me a Taxi
2007-12-15 01:21:00
I am not one to take up conversations with cab drivers. All I really want is a clean taxi and a driver who knows where he’s going. In Chicago, it’s rare to find a cab driver who speaks English. They all have names comprised entirely of consonants, drive filthy cabs, act like they’re doing the world a great favor by ferrying passengers from hither to yon, and are rude to boot. I’m not even going to mention how bad they smell. If playing the “no change” game isn’t enough, they’re arrogant enough to expect a tip. A few months ago in Philadelphia, I encountered an incredibly rude cab driver. After he finished chattering away on his cell phone, I let on that I knew he was Turkish. That much I could tell from his conversation. Instantly his demeanor changed, and he became most gracious, telling me about what part of...
More About: Call , Taxi

Sensible Shoes
2007-12-13 03:18:00
Today Caras hit the newstands, and AR$8.30 (roughly $2.75 USD) bought me a better look at Cristina's garb. The shoes were totally wrong; no president should ever be seen in public wearing those witch-like needle-toed heels, even if it is Argentine summer where the white after Labor Day rules don't apply. Something from Taryn Rose would've looked a tad more well-heeled. But then I'm not in her shoes. And yes, I've been known to buy Caras in Mexico, just to see what the people who're invited to parties that I'm not are wearing. And to sit back and critique what they pulled out of the closet. Technorati Tags: shoes,Cristina Fernandez,Argentina
More About: Shoes

The Lady Wore White
2007-12-11 02:59:00
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and I have a lot in common. We’re both in Buenos Aires for the inauguration of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentina’s new president. Now, I’m not too sure about her politics, but I like her a lot more than Hillary Cloneton. Cristina Fernández has so much more style that her Estadounidense counterparts. What’s a president to wear? If you’re male, it’s easy: a suit. But for women, the decision is far more difficult. A dress for success suit just doesn’t cut it. And then there’s the matter of coming up with a color that doesn’t clash with the sash. Cristina wore an off-white lace coat with a princess collar and three-quarter length sleeves over a plain sheath of the same color. It was an absolutely perfect mix, matching the formality of the occasion without heading over to the Mother of the Bride department. At...
More About: White , Lady

2007 Christmas Cards Roundup
2007-12-09 17:39:00
Time for those Christmas cards, or should I use the more P.C. (politically correct) term "holiday cards." Hallmark reports that there will be 2.2 billion cards sent this December. How many trees get whacked for all of these cards sent by people throughout the world? No man can tell. The UK Guardian reports that a school banned Christmas card s in class. Why? Because they cause "tears and tantrums." Some students are upset because they don't get cards, so the school requests that each student bring in one card addressed to the whole class. Sounds like fun. Robin Summerfield, of the Calgary Herald, writes about why we should stop sending Christmas cards. She says that sending these cards are: - a waste of time - bad for the environment - foisted upon people who don't care about them anyway. The Lancaster Evening Post reports that police in the town of Preston...
More About: Roundup , Cards

Jefferson DeBlanc - WWII Pilot Downed 5 Planes in One Day
2007-12-06 21:44:00
There is a great obit in today's New York Times for Jefferson DeBlanc, 86, who in World War II shot down five Japanese planes in one day. A lieutenant in the Marines, he was engaged in a heavy air battle over the Solomon Islands, while protecting dive bombers that were attacking Japanese ships. His fuel gauge told him that he was low on fuel, but instead of returning to his base, he continued fighting as part of a six plane section of Marine Fighting Squadron 112. Mr. DeBlanc, in a 1999 interview in The Times-Picayune of New Orleans, reasoned, "We needed all the guns we could get up there to escort those dive bombers. I figured if I run out of gas, I run out of gas. I figured I could survive a bailout. You’ve got to live with your conscience. And my conscience told me to go ahead.” In...
More About: Pilot , Planes

Taxi Wisdom #1
2007-12-04 17:16:00
I did a very NYC thing this morning. I took a taxi to my trainer session at my gym. Somehow this sounds very foolish. No matter. My taxi driver drove like a fiend, shooting ahead of other cars, seeming to make spaces that were too small to pass thru bigger just by the force of his will. In other words, he drove just like I do in NYC. You only need to know one simple rule when you drive here. Do whatever you want so long as you don't hit anything. Simple. I commended him on his driving skills and he said something which I found very profound. "I'm not afraid of driving," he said. "If you are afraid, then you are dead." If you are afraid, then you are dead. A very wise observation that applies to a lot more than just NYC driving. Technorati Tags: NYC, taxi, wisdom,...
More About: Wisdom , Taxi

Unreal Estate
2007-12-02 19:21:00
The Wall Street Journal reported this past Friday that the Forbes family sold their Colorado ranch for $175 million to the appropriately named Louis Bacon, head of Moore Capital Management. The property consists of more than 250 square miles and includes three 14,000 foot high mountains and one of the state's largest elk herds. I guess they threw in the elk for no extra charge. Now here's the kicker: Mr. Bacon intends to use the home, the largest privately deeded ranch in Colorado, as a "seasonal retreat." I guess you can't expect that he will be living in the middle of Colorado full time. But the guy paid more money for this home (which sounds more like a small country) than most people could ever imagine paying for a home, and which is more money than most people could ever dream of making in a lifetime, but he is only...
More About: Estate , Unreal

Sudan: Thousands Urge Death for 54 Year Old Teacher
2007-11-30 23:54:00
As if 40 lashes weren't enough, thousands took to the streets on Friday in Khartoum, demanding the execution of the British teacher convicted of insulting Islam for allowing her students to name a Teddy Bear "Muhammad." I first blogged about this story here, but never expected things to get this heated. If a child brings in a teddy bear at her next teaching post (no doubt it will be in the UK this time), she'll probably throw it out the window, and the kid with it. Unfortunately, unlike in my first post on this subject, Winnie the Pooh was not available for comment. Technorati Tags: Sudan , teddy bear, Khartoum, lashes, Muhammad, Winnie the Pooh, British, teacher
More About: Death , Teacher , Year , Urge

Saks in the City
2007-11-29 16:08:00
Retailing company Saks Incorporated (NYSE: SKS) announced on Wednesday (28 November) that the company has opened its first Saks Fifth Avenue store in Mexico. The new tri-level, 150,000 square foot store is located in the Santa Fe Shopping Centre in Mexico City . Read on. Will Saks Off Fifth be next? Followed by Neiman Marcus? And when will anything good open at the Paseo Morelia? Technorati Tags: Saks 5th Avenue, shopping, Mexico City
More About: In the City

You Can Keep Your Kindle
2007-11-29 01:45:00
My name is jennifer, and I'm addicted to Amazon. Everyone who knows me knows this, catering to me by letting Amazon drop-ship books and books to their U.S. addresses. Each time I come back home from the U.S., my luggage is filled with the latest Amazon order. Amazon tried to ruin my life by introducing the Kindle . Even though I'm not particularly fond of e-books, there was the appeal of simply possessing the latest toy on the block. Its portability and style weren't selling points, nor was the idea of even buying books more cheaply. David Pogue of the New York Times always gives trusted advice, and his impression of the Kindle just wasn't that glowing. How long would Amazon's free wireless conductivity last? Surely, not forever. I read on. With Whispernet, you can be anywhere, think of a book, and get it in one minute. Unless you happen to...

Sudan: British Teacher May Get 40 Lashes Over Insult to Islam
2007-11-27 17:15:00
A remarkable story published by The New York Times today in both its print and online editions reports that a British grade school teacher in Sudan may receive 40 lashes for allowing her students to name a teddy bear "Muhammad." The teacher, 54 year old Gillian Gibbons, asked her class to think of a name for the teddy bear. They came up with eight names, with Muhammad winning out, getting 20 out of the 23 votes. In Islam , insulting the name of the Prophet Muhammad is considered a grave offense, and it is a criminal offense in this school's jurisdiction. I'm guessing that in Islam it is a grave offense to murder innocent people, but that hasn't seemed to slow down such activity in Darfur, located in Western Sudan, in which activities the Sudanese government is seen as being complicit. As a side note, it's interesting to observe the print...
More About: Teacher , Lashes

Overheard Today in NYC
2007-11-26 17:41:00
While walking to my office today I heard the following conversation. There was a line of traffic at a stoplight and a man in the driver's seat of a van was having a conversation with someone on a cell phone: Driver: You sure you don't want anything? [response] Driver: Thanks. You saved my life, you know. [response] Driver: Okay. Thanks again. There's drama in the streets here everyday. People saving other people's lives and wanting nothing for it. A city of 8 million people with 8 million stories. Technorati Tags: overheard, NYC, cell phone, traffic
More About: Today

Wanna Be Ahead of the Curve?
2007-11-25 03:28:00
Face it, you always hear about the latest, coolest product after half of your friends already know about it. Well, here's a way finally to be closer to the head of the list. Your path to coolness starts at I Like Totally Love It. Yeah, the name sucks, but the content is great. You'll find products in gadgets, fashion, foods, art & design, entertainment, furniture, toys, and personal care. Check out the Felt Mouse, which looks like it might be a lot nicer to have your hand around instead of the hard plastic of most computer mouse controls. For totally cuteness and an actually useful "desktop" gadget, check out the USB Desk Vacuum, which is an 8 inch high retro designed vacuum cleaner that cleans up the crumbs and dust on your desk and computer. It plugs into your computer's USB port, so no batteries are necessary. And then for...
More About: Curve , Ahead

Morelia-style Gazpacho
2007-11-22 07:55:00
President Bush's 2007 Thanksgiving menu features nothing out of the ordinary for typical Estadounidense Thanksgiving fare, except for one dish – Morelia-style gazpacho. Here in Morelia, gazpacho amounts to a finely diced medley of whatever's in season – cucumber, pineapple, mango, watermelon, cantaloupe, jicama – drenched in orange juice, sprinkled with grated cheese and ground chile. And served up in a plastic cup, along with a plastic spoon. It's a street food concoction bearing little resemblance to Spanish gazpacho, and it's as likely as a corn dog to be found on a restaurant menu. Did someone in the President's family visit Morelia and take a liking to our version of gazpacho? Or is a cook from Michoacán hiding out in the White House kitchen? I'm going to be real suspicious if corundas or uchepos show up on the White House menu. Technorati Tags: Mexican food, Michoacan, gazpacho, George Bush
More About: Style

The Dogs of Law
2007-11-22 05:19:00
Michael D.J. Eisenberg is Amicus Caninus, a blog about pet owners who are also lawyers. In his spare time, he's a District of Columbia lawyer specializing in federal appellate law. He thoughtfully uploaded Goodman the Nearly Perfect Doberman's photo to his site, so I'm giving him some free publicity in exchange. He's a stranger, since I've never met him in meatspace. Jane Wilkinson is a labor lawyer and employment arbitrator in the Pacific Northwest, but I didn't meet her within the context of practicing law. Better known as GringoDog, constantly compiling a roster of pet-friendly accommodations in Mexico, she and her husband Bill spend their winters driving all over Mexico with their pack partners in tow. A few years ago, we lunched together at the Hotel Casino in downtown Morelia, their canine family resting at our feet. Milo, the standard poodle, knew better than to accept proffers of red meat...
More About: Dogs

Foreign Relations and Native Tongues
2007-11-21 19:27:00
An overwhelming percentage of the immigrant population in Mexico was born in the U.S., but that wasn't always so. Up until a hundred or so years ago, the Spaniards and Guatemalans outnumbered the gringos. (Gringo, by the way, comes from griego, which means "speaking Greek." The term has nothing to do with the tune "Green Go the Lilacs" or greenbacks.) And, as everyone knows, Cortes and his merry band got here first. In time, Spanish was no longer a foreign language spoken in Mexico; it became the language de facto of the country, sparing millions from having to learn Nahuatl, Maya and a bunch of other indigenous languages. Today, the foreign language most frequently uttered in Mexico is English. But there was a time when Chinese was the most widely spoken foreign language in this country? And another blip in history when German-speakers were second only to English-speakers? Writing in...
More About: Foreign , Relations , Tongues , Native

Seen This Past Week in Times Square Subway Station
2007-11-21 16:48:00
I just love the variety of cultures we have here in NYC. And we're not bashing each other's brains out either. Here's my latest example, which I filmed with my trusty Nikon digital camera - Vongku Pak, a traditional Korean dancer, gives a performance. Technorati Tags: Times Square , subway, Vongku Pak, NYC, Nikon, digital camera, Korean, dancer
More About: Station , Week , Past , Subway

Cool Thing
2007-11-21 06:33:00
Here's a gizmo that you might actually use past your first week of ownership. Called TakeTV, it allows you to transfer movies from your computer and then play them right on your TV. No fuss, no muss, no burning DVD's. Just drag the films from your hard drive to the TakeTV drive letter on your Windows Explorer (or the equivalent in Mac), and they are transferred to the USB connected device, which is essentially a flash drive. Then you slip it into a cradle that is connected to your TV and you use the remote included in the package to choose and play your movies on your TV. There's an 8 gig flash drive model for $149.99 (10 hours of playback time) and a 4 gig flash drive model for $99.99 (5 hours of playback time). I'd buy the larger flash drive - I think that it's worth the extra...
More About: Cool , Thing

Death to the Three-Tequila Lunch?
2007-11-21 05:26:00
A Reuters story reports that the death knell is sounding for the "long Mexican business lunch, a tequila-fueled food orgy that could last past sundown" in Mexico City, but that extended lunches are still the practice out in the hinterlands. Maybe I don't hang out with the right people or at the right places, but my sense is that the habit died a long time ago. Or at least around the time it did in New York City. The entire tenor of the article is offensive, evoking crude stereotypes of Mexicans and the way they do business. Let's read on: A surge in women executives is also killing off the calorie-loaded "comidas" which could launch businessmen on a bar crawl that led to a strip club or into the arms of a mistress in a pay-by-the-hour hotel. Maybe it was a slow news day at Reuters. Technorati Tags: alcoholic lunches,...
More About: Tequila , Lunch , Death

Give Something to Tabasco's Animals
2007-11-21 04:47:00
The church ladies have been hitting up folks earlier than usual with their requests for monetary donations for the posada. They started making the rounds a full week ago, which struck me as just a tad strange, given that they usually ask for money sometime around Dia de Guadalupe, accompanying the request with an invitation to some dinner over at the rectory. I'm not going to donate this year. Not just because the request came just too damn early, and not because I'm still seething over the church secretary's refusal to call an ambulance when the old limosnero lie half-dead and bleeding in the churchyard until I gave her his name and mine. The Tabasco flood has left over one million people homeless. The entire area has been devasted. Some say that the disaster makes Katrina look like a day at the beach. Mexico gave what it could to help...
More About: Animals , Give

Boys Fighting Bulls
2007-11-20 05:11:00
Nearly all of the 155 commentators to the New York Times' article about teenage bullfighters in Mexico have their knickers in a twist. Barbaric, dangerous, most of them whine. Has the U.S. become a nation of ninnies and panty-waists? What about the Estadounidense kids who participate in organized sports? Or eat produce plucked from Mexican fields by underage workers? There's good reason that the Dangerous Book for Boys has become a best-seller. Even my co-blogger David Leffler recognizes the challenge of risk. See the New York Times video of the 13-year old bullfighter and decide for yourself. Technorati Tags: bullifght, matador, boys
More About: Fighting , Bulls

Doing Our Part for the Revolution
2007-11-20 04:49:00
Today is Día de la Revolución, honoring the start of the Mexican Revolution back in 1910. Well, actually the big day is November 20, but the DECRETO POR EL QUE SE REFORMA El ARTÍCULO 74 DE LA LEY FEDERAL DEL TRABAJO moved the November 20 celebration to the third Monday in November as part of a plan to create three-day holidays. My gardener showed up for work this morning. When I asked him why he wasn’t taking the day off, he informed me that the fiesta was tomorrow. All right, he can take tomorrow off. My plan for a second Sunday this week were dashed, so I went shopping. Most of Morelia did the same, judging from Costco and Mega’s shared parking lot. The U.S. has its grand kickoff of the Christmas season the day after Thanksgiving. In Mexico, the first day of the season really doesn’t begin on the...
More About: Part , The Revolution

Dwarf Dodging in the Americas
2007-11-19 17:50:00
Dwarf tossing got a bad rap several years ago, but that hasn't stopped the Original Bullfighting Dwarfs of Mexico from plying their talent, reports Chris Hawley of the Arizona Republic. So what if they only fight calves? It's just a matter of time before the People Eating Tasty Animals start to complain. Whoops, I got the URL wrong. The correct URL for People Eating Tasty Animals was decided by a federal court at 263 F.3d 359 (4th Cir. 2001). Technorati Tags: Mexico City, dwarfs, bullfighting, PETA, animal rights
More About: Americas , The Americas , Dwarf , Icas

Hanging with Bill, Hill and Huckabee
2007-11-15 05:10:00
Staring at Strangers is overdue with its mandatory law-related post. The late Robert R. Wright III invited a small group of his closest friends to Little Rock that fall. The year was 1995, and the friends were all lawyers. Bob showed us the best of Little Rock – the Central High School, a private club where Gennifer Flowers used to sing, the apartment building where state troopers chauffeured a former governor, Doe’s Eats Place, the Capital Club, The Rose Law Firm, the house which the Clintons rented when they didn’t live in public housing, a room at the Excelsior Hotel, The University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law, and the home of the federal judge who would mercifully put Jones v. Clinton, 990 F.Supp 657 (E.D. Ark. 1998) to rest. T.J. McDonough, my law school contracts professor, showed up unannounced at her home. But amidst...
More About: Hill , Bill , Huckabee , Kabe

Fly Me to Morelia
2007-11-15 04:00:00
It wasn't that long ago that Morelia didn't have an international airport. Anyone who wanted to get here from there had to either drive here or take the bus or train. Back in those days, we had the luxury of overnight passenger train service from Mexico City. When Aeromar initiated a shuttle to Mexico City, we were more than just a little excited. MLM keeps on expanding and expanding, and now it's even got two gates. Flights in and out of this airport are always booked. Today we have daily flights to and from Houston, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Jose, and just about anyplace within the Republic. It's a friendly, convenient airport, where you're always guaranteed to run into someone you know. Well, Michoacán is just that kind of place. There's even better news on the horizon. Before the end of the year, Aeromar plans to open a...

NYC Zeitgeist Report
2007-11-14 20:07:00
With a low rate of car ownership in NYC, I don't hear too much chatter about rising gasoline prices, but I do hear a lot about the proposed subway fare hikes. Broadway is closed down, partially. While many major Broadway theaters are shutdown due to a stagehand strike, there are about a half a dozen theaters that are under a separate contract that are open for business. Want to see Mary Poppins? No problem. Spring Awakening? Fuhgeddaboutit. I wondered if restaurants in the Broadway area are being affected by the strike. I spoke to the Maitre de at Le Madeleine, a really nice French bistro on West 43rd Street just off of Times Square where I was having dinner last night. He said that they hadn't been too badly affected because they happened to be located close to a number of non-striking theaters, but that there definitely was a downturn...
More About: Report , Zeitgeist