Well, week three is in the books and today we are finally having a bit of down time as it is raining off and on – the first rain (except for the one late night monsoon early in the vacation) since we came to Buenos Aires.
We went to the Zoo and the Eva Peron Museum this week and that was something.
The zoo was enormous, it took over two hours to stroll the grounds and even then we did not see all the attractions.
The thing that struck me the most was the number of fanciful utility buildings that were built in the 1800's to house things like pumping stations and the grand design of them.
We even saw a model shoot at a carousel - and this was the first carousel I have ever seen!
At the Eva Peron museum we actually were in a building that once was converted from a rich persons home to a shelter for homeless families and single mothers – just take a look at the stove used to prepare meals!
I learned quite a bit about the social programs she and her husband, Juan Peron spearheaded aimed at the poor, and the children of Argentina.
Strangely though, for a woman of the people, it seems that all her dresses were from Christian Dior!
The other night my wife wanted to have Italian for supper and off we went. Well, her spaghetti apparently was wonderful, my lasagna was another story indeed. Sometimes not being able to properly translate a Spanish menu can come back to haunt you and in this case what I thought was a meat based dish turned out one that was 90% spinach with a thick cheese spread for a topping – sigh! Oh well, sometimes things just are not meant to be so right then and there I made a solemn vow to stick to steak for the duration!
On to world news – such as I can find.
The federal elections in Russia are in early March – where have the first two months of this year gone? I think that Mr. Putin will return as head honcho for a third term. However I believe that he will find a different Russia than the one he presided over before. That is now the is the Internet and the infamous social network Twitter. As we have seen in the Middle East, these instruments can be big shapers of domestic opinion and, in cases, of discontent and forces of change. He will have to behave a little less autocratic now than what he has been used to.
I see the public relations campaign against Iran and its' nuclear industry is heating up. Interesting how it resembles that what was used to justify the invasion of Iraq isn't it?
It seems that the cold snap in Europe is slowly easing. Good thing as the continent really is not prepared for winters such as those that normally occur on the Canadian Prairies – this year being an exception however.
The Pope has installed a number of new cardinals this week. I saw a brief clip of this on CNN the other day, the robes, the ceremony, the jewelry – what a collection of pompous old men stuck in a world over 400 years ago. Do they still think that by putting on red hats that they are relevant to their flock? An order restricted to men – with a history of predatory tactics on young boys, opposed to woman's rights, birth control and say that they know how to counsel married couples? This tired old institution needs to change or will eventually be kicked to the curb by a society ever changing by social media and the day of instant world communication.
Syria – what more can be said? Slowly but surely this country is falling into the abyss. Civil war is now imminent and its leader continues to deny that there is fighting going on in the land – even while video smuggled out on YouTube shows that that is untrue. Now China is starting to slowly withdraw the steadfast support it was had, can Russia be far behind?
Well, that is it for this week, time to take the umbrella and go out to the local cafe for a breakfast of medialuna's and orange juice. Medialuna is a form or croissant and tasty as all get out.
Take care out there,
flatlander52
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