I could make excuses for my hiatus…so I will. I’ve been busy and boring. I haven’t gone anywhere exotic (though a prevalence of snakes and bottom-feeders renders Washington, D.C. fairly jungle-esque). But I have been writing. Which brings me to the main purpose of this post - to explain that while the medium may have changed, the message remains the same. Though no longer blogging, I’m now a contributing writer to an online magazine. The magazine started off as a side project, largely for shits’n'giggles, for a guy from the Wall Street Journal and his friend at Wired. Two years later, it’s evolved into a full-time job for one of them, and hopefully soon (inshallah), the other.

Really though, I’m quite grateful for anyone who’s been kind enough to waste 10 minutes at work peering into my trials and tribulations since that fateful day - Sept. 8, 2005 - I arrived in Buenos Aires (note above truth), with the exception of my mother, who would choose to do so even after work. So if the bone-dry soul of your work-evading being needs a-drenching, look no further.

Thanks.

My articles at Gelf Magazine (the magazine I work for)

My fake-news article at Flak Mag

For those of you who couldn’t care less and just want to know the goods on Argentina, here’s a list of my Blogging Greatest Hits

Moving to Buenos Aires: Illusion vs. Reality

Buenos Aires on 30 Pesos a Day

Craig’s List: A Treasure Trove of all Things Good and Indecent

Droppin’ Some Knowledge Vol. 1: The Madres of the Plaza de Mayo

Droppin’ Some Knowledge Vol. 2: Argentina vs. Uruguay

Droppin’ Some Knowledge Vol. 3: Musicology (by far the most read of the series)

According to notorious political gossip queen Matt Drudge - the D.C. equivalent of the folks at gawker.com - the GOP has decided to shelve an anti-Democrat TV ad produced by David Zucker, of “Naked Gun” fame, and, more recently, the venerable “Scary Movie” series, 3-5.

There’s no Leslie Neilson in this production, but after watching the Will Ferrell-esque (think Reno Time) caricature of Madeline Albright scrub a wall in Osama’s cave, you’ll no doubt be asking yourself, “Shirley you can’t be serious?”

Without any further ado:

‘Scary Movie’ Producer Makes Campaign Ad; Mocks Democrats

Who knew the Republican leadership had such a good sense of humor? I found it rather unoriginal when Dick Cheney articulated what Senator Patrick Leahy could do with himself in 2004. Ages have passed since I’ve chuckled so hard with them.

Another one of Zucker’s masterpieces (no sarcasm intended), this one dating from the 2005 Presidential election:

John Kerry Can’t Make up his Mind

1. No matter how hard you try, the Man always wins - which means now that I’m the consummate American office jockey, I no longer have the luxury, nor the energy, to stay up till 3 am or while away the afternoon lost in daydreams of grilled meat and exotic women cooing my name.
2. Like I just mentioned, I’m just a regular working stiff; I doubt anybody really cares to hear harrowing accounts of double-sided copying and paralyzing computer malfunctions. Besides, there’s nothing I could say that that Dilbert hasn’t already.

The other day I was casually checking this blog and I noticed that my most recent post was missing. Apparently the bootsNall server (the kind people who publish all my fanciful blather) broke down a week ago, wreaking total havoc on its own homegrown blogosphere. Fortunately I got off easy with just one post deleted - which was re-typed a few hours ago…but, according to bootsNall, when the hard drive wiped out in some cases it took entire blogs along with it. That stings. Which reminds me - I better make like Juvenile and back this thing up.

I still plan on posting and droppin’ some more knowledge on ya’ll, but the longer I’m away from Argentina, the closer my mind drifts to the current state of affairs. That’s not to say I haven’t anything interesting to comment on - just that possible topics to be broached may take on a less exciting tone. For example, in Argentina I was one of the few men of my generation living alone, and I was living in what is arguably the city’s most happening neighborhood. Now I go to sleep next to a bookcase stocked with Judy Blume and wake up being harangued to clean my room. Things have changed. At any rate, if you can weather the storm and bare with me for the time being, this will eventually morph back into original form as a travel blog after I take off on my next Latin American adventure to Mexico.

Saludos! Viva Mexico! Viva la revolucion! (Damn it feels good saying that)