Dog vs. Cat Diary

Once again Will sent me the most hilarious thing of all time. How does he do that? I have no idea. But this one is a real keeper. A day in a dog's life vs. a day in a cat's life.

Forget Halloween for Humans

I have been feeling less than inspired since a) moving to a country where Halloween is not sacred as in the US, and b) graduating from college and leaving my insanely fun/creative roommates. One year we went as Lawn Ornaments (I was the reindeer made of Christmas lights, another girl was a flamingo, and we also had a lawn gnome, a bird bath...) and the next we went as Celebrities Who've Been to Rehab. I love group costumes! They're so much more fun than "slutty policewoman." What? That isn't even a real thing.

Anyway, part of my obsession with dogs also has to deal with dogs in costume. Refinery 29 just posted this slideshow of DOGS IN HALLOWEEN COSTUMES !!!! Enjoy my favorites:

Awkward School Portraits

September is an appropriate month to recall those days of elementary and middle school portraits that caused so many of us anguish. Documenting our most unflattering years in all their glory, these photos could then be ordered in any variety of formats: magnets, gigantic headshots, stickers!!! However bad my pictures seemed to be at the time, nothing can top these images ... Thanks to NBC for the slideshow

Cat Yodeling

Cats scare me (because they always seem to want to attack me, sensing my fear), but I am not ashamed to proclaim my love for weird cat videos ... I mean, who doesn't enjoy watching these things? Regardless, Advanced Cat Yodeling cracks me up because my dear Godmumsy Carolee used to make her Lily squeal and yodel like a feline accordion. For some reason I find this utterly hilarious. So I decided to let you all in on the fun. Once you start, you just can't stop.

T.I.A

I'm sure most of you have seen "Blood Diamond" at some point (Hot Leo, rugged mountain-man with an incredible colonial accent .... Jennifer Connelly, stunning and more beautiful than anyone could ever be -there, I said it). When Leo is describing how things are done in Africa, or the lawlessness that leaves the soil red with blood, he throws in the conveniently abbreviated "TIA."

This is Africa.

Luckily, this phrase (and its connotations) apply to Argentina as well.

This is Argentina.

There's even a Facebook group dedicated to it. Mostly funny, sometimes sad in how lamentable and true the entries are. It's a wonderful way to release the stress of living in a land where rules and laws apply about 70% of the time.

Here is a photo that a friend of mine here in BA took outside his office:

The caption reads: "Outside my office, typical Argie drivers play chicken at an intersection. Yes, there is a stop sign there. No, there was no accident in this scene... just almost 5."

We live in a comedy of errors. A house of cards! On the verge of collapsing with the slightest misstep. Somehow, things get done. Somehow, the country manages (more or less) to keep it together for just one more day. "Atalo con alambre" (Just tie it up with some cords) ... TIA.

My Life.

My friend Greg works in publishing and has always had a sarcastic quick wit. When we were in highschool we actually came up with absurd book titles (some favorites: "Albania: Land of Milk and Honey", "Aladdin: Disney Character or Al-Qaeda Operative?") ... That list is somewhere. Anyway, he just sent me this incredible website "Better Book Titles" - it saves you the laborious task of actually reading the book and basically sums it up for you succinctly via the revised title. Here is my favorite ...


Story of my life. This book has and always will describe how I feel when I'm having a bad day. It's one of the few stories that I remember reading repeatedly when I was younger and it still rings so very true as I shuffle toward adulthood (or maybe I'm already there? At what age are you considered an adult? Not legally, but like, when are you supposed to have your life together? Any help would be appreciated)

When AIM Was King

Up with the sun (or before it).

José left for his business trip so we had some nice tea together before he left for the land of poultry.

Le sigh. I miss him already.

Today should fly by though, thank the lawd.

Loved this article, written to mark the death knell of AOL's Instant Messenger. It's a great bit of nostalgia for those who remember what the world was like with dial-up internet connections and life before Facebook. It's a humorous and interesting little piece, so if you remember the 90's as the decade you had a crush on Zack Morris, played Oregon Trail in elementary school, or thought that Peace Frog shirts were the most chic item one could own ... Mosey on over.

Weekly News Roundup - April 8th

I make no secret of my crush on Adrian, the witty genius behind the "Thoughts of a Foreigner" blog and the man behind the news roundups at the paper where I work, The Argentina Independent. When I read his presentation of current events in and around Argentina I can't help but laugh out loud (right before I hang my head and weep because it's all so pathetic and true). For those who don't live in BA, it's a fun way to sneak a glimpse into life in crazytown, and for those of us who are brave enough to weather the tough times, it provides a strong (and much-needed) dose of comic relief.

Here is the link to this week's roundup. I have to include some of my favorite excerpts though, it's just too good.

"....So in closing, this whole debacle can only be attributed to the extreme ideological differences between President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (Victory Front party, center-left) and Buenos Aires City Mayor Mauricio Macri (PRO party, center-right) who keep fighting over the stupidest things every day. Oh, just fuck already."

"Welcome to Argentina, Michael Buble! And now that you’re married to an Argentine chick, the country is ready to make you feel at home. That’s why, while you were celebrating the joys of holy matrimony in an over the top party with your family last Saturday, robbers broke into your wife’s house and stole a bunch of stuff. And every expat knows that nothing says “welcome to Argentina” like getting robbed on the second day you move here! So in fact, you should be flattered by the whole thing. It means you’ve joined the club! (Although I admit that throwing your wife’s VCR and DVD players in the swimming pool just for fun may have been too much). Come to think of it, who the fuck owns a VCR in 2011? I say, throw that shit in there."