Angela

I also met an angel on the train today named Angela. She is half German, half Argentinean, half Spanish (thats a lot of halves). She's gotta be 45+ and knows all the best clubs in the world from Ibeza to Paris and Neptune to Uranus and hot spots in Buenos. I hope we stay in touch. We shall see.

The Dead Weather

Warning: This song will get stuck in your head, but it is kick ass. I have been following these guys since they arrived last July. The new Dead Weather album is on its way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otfKjhtS2jU

Destino

My destiny has placed me in fantastic situations as of late. I am in an excellent zone right now in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I am riding the wave. There are infinite waves. And our waves clash with other waves. At the beach, I love watching when three waves from different directions meet at one point, then pop!

Gregorio Sherman was an honorable and inspiring guest. His beautiful insights have made me feel so overpoweringly awesome right now. I could wrestle a wild jungle pig right now!

I feel like I’m in the right place, but then again, even when things are shitty - it is still the right place, because you aren’t ever really stuck in one place for long. We are constantly changing situations, conversations, and contemplations. There is an infinite amount of energy constantly colliding. Sounds, colors, molecules - you name it. We have our individual paths - and when our destinies collide - that’s destiny. Reading my thoughts about destiny is your destiny! Right now!

Cut me off if I’m dragging on. A few too many “is love a metaphor and a metaphor is love” conversations have stretched me like silly putty. Made that’s what I was in a past life, silly putty…

Anyways, Greg and I started an untitled street band. But whenever we are on the street together, our talent will shine, as it did today in Tigre. I met him in the “muy linda” train station where we met my friend Ines, the coolest chick I know in Argentina. The three of us “kayaked on land with our feet” and sang great songs, including “Land Down Under”, "Roses" by Outkast and our rendition of “Dick in a Box”. I will now learn more songs. My set list is all-improvisational right now, and I think I need to change my approach. Learn some songs. I’ve already started a healthy list. It includes "Man of Constant Sorrow", "The Girl From Ipanema", Santana, and Amadou and Mariam. If you have any requests, suggestions, PLEASE let me know.

I have calluses on my fingers now. I play guitar every day. That is another contributing factor to my current state of extreme natural joy.

Back to Greg Sherman: may his destiny bring love and good times in Australia. I am his number one fan. My blog is a friend of whereisgregsherman.com Check it out. He is the man, my friend…currently traveling the world for 6 months.

On a closing note...for now, Stockholm is #1 on the city list of most beautiful girls and I strongly agree. I love Swedish women (they are the some of sexiest fish in the sea).
Also, Greg and I snuck into the Boca Juniors’ stadium yesterday (AKA one of the most popular, historic futbol clubs in the world). There are infinite doors in this world.

I will post more interesting things than a bunch of my words in the near future. Be on the look out for posts of songs I am currently listening, photos, and beyond.

May your destiny be a tasty one.

D-A-Go!

PS: Business that shit up!

Cataratas!

This weekend, my program went to Iguasu Falls...and I cannot put in words how amazing it was, probably the best weekend Ive had in Argentina. While the 13 hours bus ride there was not exactly the highlight of the trip, we made it alive and well-rested in north-east Argentina (Jungle Land). A day of Jesuit Mission Ruins (filled with lies) and a stomach-expanding asado at a ¨tranquilo¨ ranch was a nice prelude to the waterfalls (or cataratas) the following day. My camera ran out of battery when we arrived at the park, so I left the phototaking to my obnoxious aquantences. It was better because I could truly enjoy what was in front of me the whole day. If you ever go to Iguasu Falls, you must do the boat ride! It goes all the up to the waterfalls and you get drenched. The point of view, as my host dad would put it, is "expectacular!¨ But, after 8 hours or so, grand beauty turns normal. At the end of the day, I meditated alone with the waterfalls, shared a moment, and took them with me.

That night, I followed the sounds of guitars blossoming from the hostel next door and met some ¨josha¨ locals. Two guitarrists were playing the blues and singing in Spanish. I am now obsessed with the Spanish blues! When one guitarrist starting noodling "Angel" by Jimi Hendrix, I asked "Jimi, sí?¨he nodded, and I asked "puedo cantar?" He nodded again and I took the microphone. THe three of us layed down eight songs that night. And for the first spontaneous time in a long time, I felt like a rock star. We hammered out "Red House", "Purple Haze" (which I played guitar), Led Zeppelin`s "Babe, I`m Gonna Leave You" and "Roadhouse Blues", "Love Me Two Times", and "Break on Through" by The Doors (or as I called em, Las Puertas). I had a fan club and was constantly handed free beers; and as a rock star should, got the girl.

I am now in Buenos Aires. Gregorio Sherman arrived last night at my doorstep and he is currently sleeping for theeeeee 12th hour or so. The man has been traveling and partying non-stop for 17 days and justifyably needs to recuperate. When he arises from his coma, I will take him to Tigre, where we`ll meet up with my friends and relax.

I hope you are happy and healthy.

Un beso grande!
-David, "El loco"

New Poetry Added!

La Playa de Mayo (nessa)

Nueve nubes
están flotando
debajo del rio

Reflejos en el sol
y sombras amarillas
sobre pájaros sin picos

Hay montañas
de pestañas
en la distancia

Una fuente de sangre
En la mente
De la gente pobre

En la Plaza de Mayo
Hay un nene decalzo
Se está riendo

Por que?
No sé.


TRANSLATION----

Nine clouds
Are floating
Under the river

Reflections in the sun
And yellow shadows
On birds without beaks

There is a mountain
Of eyelashes
In the distance

A fountain of blood
In the mind
Of the poor

En the Plaza de Mayo
A barefoot boy
Is laughing

Why?
I don´t know.

First Day of School

Chewing on glass
While throwing tomatoes
At a drive-through church
Scuba diving
In a cypress tree

Kicking thunder in the gutter
Ballon popping in a vacuum cleaner
Screaming lightning babies
and
Brontosaurus table tennis
Tongue book marks
The blood pressure
Off the shopping carts

Swimming sideways through wet cement
Cold hot ice pack
Bagel beagles bite lobster faces

Caressing cobblestones

Shards of glass
Stuck in shark gills
Chewing on my own teeth
Legal brainwaves
Gulping down gasoline
Licking up the
puddle of fire
dripping from my day dreams
Steam cracks the candle-wax
Nightlight screaming fish
Electric jellysandwich
Wrapping paper people
with kuala bear intestines
And presenting princess pancreas
with an anaconda heart

Crocodiles

Cold hands
Grip gallons of clams
Traveling bands
And see saw plans
You stand in a burning hospital
Naked and nurtured
With cultured vultures.
I prefer if you wouldn’t object
Inspecting intestinal perpetual pleasures
I gather opinions like onion strings.
I will knot if you ever cut loose.
Cut nooses.
Cut geese necks and red spruces.
Induced with another demise.
Rising down
With a clown
So torn to the bone.
Alone
Standing
On a cell phone.
Stones are tone deaf.
Unstressed with a cleft chin.
Spinning sidewalks talk to tongues tied
To a spy’s eye.
Relying on a relapse
The clams collapse
On a spatula’s cracked back.
Cold hands
Fade to black.

Smoke Rings

Choking on black tar
Coughing up smoke rings

Something
Brings me
Back to you

Through valleys of tires
On fire
Inspired

I climb over white clouds
Overflowing with glowing
Matchsticks

You lick my chin
As I begin
To light
These emerald embers
Back to life

Ablazed for days
Astrayed with glazed
Eyes aligned
With my last breath

My chest explodes
And unloads
1000 perfect circles
For you

View of Bariloche

Sunglasses! (Guess which ones are real)

Dodging Water Droplets

Its raining HARD in Buenos Aires. The sky is a grey haze and the ground a soggy cement. I hope my family will be able to fly out safely, if they get out at all. If not, Ill take em in. It has been a delightful treat having them here. I am incredibly lucky to have the family I have. I am very glad they came down and tasted the Argentine vibes.

Great company and lots of perks, like the hotel I am currently writing from and a fantastic last lunch - the seafood grill platter at Ferdo was gigantic and delicious. My dad and I went to work...

Packing up now. We will split ways soon, but not for too long.

Thank you ma, pa and Lay-a.

Love
Dave


...I just finished reading Stieg Larsson's "The Girl That Played With Fire" .... Wow

The 3000 Calorie Burger

I learned how to drive a stick-shift today. I feel like a man. Well, almost. While trying to make a U-turn, the car stalled twice - in the middle of the road - and I was kicked out of the car. All our hearts were racing and I gotta say, thats love. I give my mom and sister kudos for staying in the car while I drove...even though they had no choice.

This car was no ordinary car, it was a silver four door Chevy with a moderately awesome size trunk and funky seatbelts. We took Chevy to Villa Something where we left for a huge hike: which included lots of trees, good smells, big rocks, celestial views and mosquito repelant. I give my dad props for goin all the way up the mountain. He had knee replacement surgery 3 months ago. What a beast.

In other news, I finally found a hat! It has been many a long time since I began searching for this ONE hat. And there is sat, beneath all those other hats. But this hat, with it smooth wool skin, its lushious green aura, and water repelent and "crushable" powers shine above all other hats in hatland.

Hatland is my 5 second old nickname for Bariloche. The town of Bariloche is loaded with chocolate stores and 3000 calorie burgers topped with: burger, ham, fried egg, red pepper, lettuce, mayonaise, ketchup, cheese, onion rings, and fried on the side. With a Quilmes Stout on the side, I was "THIS!" close from a heart attack.

I think Ive gained a lot of weight since leaving LA and the month of January. Its hard to slow down when the food keeps coming. Hey, how can I say stop?

In belated news, we went on a chairlift/great glass elevator ride up a gigantic mountain. My mom was scared shitless, but I think my stick-shift skills did worse.

Anyways. It is time to skidaddle. I wish you love and happiness. ("Love and happiness...(Al Green, baby))!"

-D-A-Go!

PS: D-A-Go! is going on a mega galaxy tour this spring. He just needs to clear the dolphins shot out of a canon section of his uberbighumungoexplosive breakout tour before he can get underway. Look out!

Bariloche

I met my fam after class last night. We hitched a cab in the rain and ate a scrumptous Italian dinner. We still have leftover, o yeah. After a flight´packed with Nextel representative that stood in the aisle the entire flight, we got into Bariloche and it is indescribably beautiful. The hotel is the Llao Llao (http://www.llaollao.com/esp/), probably one of the top hotels on my list, number 1 being the palace in Lake Como (name i forget). I went for a massive mountain bike ride through a "walking trail". I stopped on the beach, skipped rocks in the water, and continued off roading until I hit a dead end, contemplated the time and my next move, and pressed on. I stopped at anothe rpoint and practiced Tai Chi. I felt like a was injected with a heavy dose of natural energy and almost fell over. It felt so good. I looked at the dreary sky and moved moved forward, eventually hitting the highway on the other side. You know you are really working out when you start talking to yourself, then yelling at yourself. I stopped to help a struggling Isreali biker with a busted chain. I did the same trick I learned in New Orleans and it worked! Hey! Pushed on and eventually made it back to the hotel, drenched in sweat in need of a shower. My parents have the nicest room in the world. Leah and I have a closet.

I will post pictures as soon as I can. The problem is it takes cerca 5 minutes to load one. I will...O yes I will. Well, I gotta change and get going. O! I have a new alter-ego named D-A-Go! The best pop singing phenomenon in the galaxy.

Signed,
D-A-Go! buy my record

SOMOS LUZ!

It is very comforting to be part of a loving group of people who you love and love you back. I love my Tigre friends so much... After my history teacher didn't show up to class (which I hear is very common in this country), I took The Mitre north and met Inez and her boyfriend (unknown name with a great singing voice) at the train station. It was the first time I had experienced Tigre in the day. The three previous occasions were all at night. Tigre is much more beautiful when you can see your environment. We blazed our way through the Plaza park which I had passed through 3 times before, but never appreciated. The energy there was amazing. I practiced some lying-down meditation (which I have fallen from recently) and the affects were cleansing and thought provoking. Inez asked me why it's been so long since I'd been to Tigre. It had only been five days, which could mean many things depending how you look at the time. I took it as a sign that these people really care about me, which feels so good.

One of my Tigre friends Rosillo, who I happen to have a crush on, has a back house which we are turning into a creation station. Ro and her friends make bricolage art, or changing the function of an object(s) into something completely different. Above and below newly established shelves and wall tables are the words - in Spanish:


SOMOS LUZ! (WE ARE LIGHT!)

Vivimos durante miles de anos bajo los arboles (We live thousands of years under the trees)

Somos las frutas de nuestro ayer. (We are the fruits of our yesterday)

and Deja que entre el sol (Let the sun in - written on the door)

I added to the love shack by adding some "locura" to the mix, improvise painting a mesh of faces, breasts, trees, and phallic symbols (which is a common theme of my painting these days). My hands are still green and yellow and my arms demolished my mosquitos. It was well well worth it. I also found some bamboo sticks (which are common in Tigre) which I hope to turn into puppets that I learned to make in U of Ms Festifools (giant puppet making class). Connections and signs, positivity and love.

Today. I bought a soccer ball and sports bag. Thank you Sam for the new Nike Predators! I will put them to good use!

Tonight, I will meet my parents and Leah after class. We had an asado at my house with my home stay family. I am so glad they all got to meet. My 'rents now have a healthy image of where I am. They have been in Iguasu Falls (the most beautiful waterfalls in the world that connect Argentina, Brazil, y Paraguay) where Ill journey next week. Tomorrow, we head for Bariloche where we'll do some hiking, extreme relaxing, and good fun. Gotta move.

David.

WE ARE THE ALIENS!!!

Familia

quick little ditty...

my parents got into town yesterday and it has been so lovely. lovely indeed. they are staying in a part of town called the Recoleta, the fansy shmansy elegant part of town. It has been my first time - besides a BS school bus tour - that I have seen the Recoleta. There is a linda (a popular word for beautiful) park next to the cemetary, about two blocks from the hotel. Yesterday, we went to a park nearby where we experienced live jazz music and lots of sun. It was a gorgeous day, and I strayed from my parents to play a childrens game with a group of bohemians with bass drums.

Leah, my sista, got in this morning. I am glad she slept 6 hours on the airplane from Dallas because we were able to wander after she arrived. After an amusing cab ride with Fabian, who lives right by my house in vicente lopez, we walked around La Boca - a relatively dangerous district, but it has a safe tourist center with tons of brightly colored buildings, live music and tango shows in the street, and countless hasteling flyer-hander-outers. After La Boca, Fabian (again) drove us to San Telmo for the popular Sunday feria. We bought argentinian soccer jerseys and cheap sunglasses - I still haven't found the right hat (my head is ginormous, especially with all the hair currently on my head). In San Telmo, I saw my ol' friendly street venders (Carlos and Muhhamed), who I introduced to my family. After a hike of a walk, we finally made it to Cafe Tortonni, a 130 year old restaurant with beautiful architecture, high ceilings, and mediocre pizza. those beers tasted like gold, though.

now. after a well deserved nap and fansy shmansy tea (this hotel is absurdly nice), we are preparing for a tango show in Ambosta (which I hear has "nice" girls). Hasta lluego.

D

Abrazos y Besos

I ditched my 7 year old PUMA sneakers in a ditch after stepping 4 feet in mud......it was time.

In other news, I am doing sick nasty here in Argentina. Thats a good thing for all you non-slag-un-hip hoppers out there reading this blog. Speaking of slang, theres an encyclopedia full of Argentinean slang words and expressions (no joke!). Im on my way, and with the help of my new Tigre friends, I have no problems uttering, "Man, I gotta piss" "Stop breaking my balls!" "That's a fine ass" and "Go to the shell of your mother!" Yes, I am learning a lot.

Abril, the granddaughter sometimes living in my home stay, has a group of amazingly beautiful (inner and outer) friends in TIgre - a "tranquilo" spot about 40 minute from my house by train. Last night, I journeyed to Tigre without Abril and us jovenes went down to Ahora Club, the hottest boliche (dance club) in Tigre on Thursday nights. Wow, that place got packed and awesome fast! Fernet is the Jaegermeister of Argentina. If you don't like Fernet, they banish you to Uruguay.

A word about being an extranjero (foreigner) in Buenos Aires......EVERYONE wants to talk to you! Its like I am some saint from Los Angeles that has landed in their presence to shed words of either English or Spanish wisdom or just sheer entertainment on their souls. Either way, it is undoubtedly fantastic that I have a social charm and can speak Castellano. I can make friends quickly - which has led to some nice perks. Last night, I met two guys, one whose father can get me a Brazilian visa whenever I desire, and the other who knows where to find the best live music in BsAs, and loves to jam....score!

I started school this week (notice how it is not at the top of this blog entry...). Gripping into school life after months of freedom is like holding on to a rope swing no hands. While I wanted to take all classes in Spanish, Contemporary Art was deathly boring, and the Literature classes will eat me alive. I might take an Argentine Lit. class in English - that way, I can actually learn, read, and apply the Canon instead of drowning in a dictionary for 4 months. And, after switching things around - tryin a lil this and that - I think I have a good schedule. Classes Tues, Wed, and Thurs. Argentine Culture, History of Argentine Economics, and Spanish grammar all in Castellano, and Arg. Lit in English. Not bad.

There must be a 4/5 girl guy ratio in my school which is AWESOME for me and the other gentlemen. And, the girls are smoking hot. I flirt around using Spanish slang here and there. Yesterday, I told the photocopy girl that she had beautiful eyelashes (which they were - purple).

Fresh plums at 7 in the morning after a night of dancing can work wonders. My parents get into town tomorrow...WhooOoOA! I hope they get over their jet lag fast - cuz I wanna party!

Un beso,
David


And I will post some fresh poetry shortly.

Buenos Aires

In Buenos Aires...

You have to hail a bus.
Rush to get on the bus.
Always have enough change so your can RIDE the bus (no bills accepted).
Always have small bills.
Always check for counterfeit money.
Everyone greets you with a kiss on the cheek.
And you can drink in public.

Whenever I thank someone here, they always reply "O, please, its nothing!"

I have yet to find the incredible steak and wine restaurants for 10 bucks that everyone has told me about. Things are more expensive than I imagined, but then again, its not all that bad. I am pretty cheap already, but now I am beginning to see pesos as dollars and get outraged over the smallest prices. The ferias are the best. I went to the feria in San Telmo yesterday and had a blast. Bought a mate (which I now know hoe to drink), delicious sausage, and beer. Lovely.

A couple nights ago, I connected with Joey (you know Joey? Hes the best!)´s friend Diego, who hosted an asado at his apartment. An asado is a get together centered around a ton of meat and wine. Good company. Incredible food. Fun times. Afterwards, we went to a peña, a traditional folkloric dance fiesta, packed with people and live music. I "danced my ass off", burnt all the calories I put on before the peña, and made it home just before sunrise. Argentine clocks run much later than the US. Its normal to come home around 6-7. Im glad my classes are in the afternoon. Speaking of which! I start school today! I should get going. Ill let you know how it goes.
Chau

Daveed

Snails

Yesterday was cosmic,

I went for a run along the filthy river. It must have been 1000 degrees and I was beastly sweating as usual. I stopped and walked towards the water where I met three fisherman. We shot the shit and I had a few swigs of their gigantic beer. Beneath our feet lived a bunch of GIANT SNAILS. One fisherman, Gabriel, gave me a snail and told me to put it my garden. I felt a little iffy - taking this snail out of its enivorment - but then again, it looked SO COOL and I thought it would be a good addition to the house. So I ran home, snail in hand, when all of a sudden, A KILLER DOG started chasing me! I ran faster than Ive ever ran before, heart racing, praying for life. When the dog came close, I spun in midair and barked back, judo-chopped the wind, and loudly cursed (in English). The dog stopped running, but continued to bark and shine his massive fangs. Eventually, he backed off and I was free to go.

When I returned home, my body was covered in sweat. I put the massive snail on the counter and dove into our cool pool. While the water was refreshing, my body took a quick leap in body tempturature which I found out later - was a bad idea. After the dip, I showered and passed out in my bed. I awoke in a pool of sweat and my head was pounding. I tried speaking as clear Spanish as I could to Abril and Jose, but my head hurt so much. My headache soon turned to nausea and I had to vomit, but couldn´t. The pain grew so intense that I became scared. The thought of death sounded more pleasing than this overwhelming wave of uncomfort. Eventually, I vomitted...a lot, and passed out. The rest of the night I spent in bed recovering, sleeping, souping, and resting.

Before I took my final sleep, I read a little of the novel "Big Fish". In this chapter, the main character wants to leave his hometown, but must pass a dreary mid-point where souls are left to rot for the rest of eternity. If given admittance by the gatekeeping Dog, the travelers are allowed to pass, if not, the Dog bites off their fingers and they must remain.

While my homestay family doesnt agree with me, I think my sickness was a direct result of the snail. I am a snail. I took a brother out of his natural home and almost killed it. The dog on the street was looking out for his animal companion, and sought to bite my fingers. While the dog couldn´t get me, sickness could. This morning, I returned the snail to the rocks by the river. I feel a lot better now.

Sonidos de la cuidad

No me gustan los estudiantes en mi programma. Ellos solo hablan en ingles y tienen mala onda. Onda. Attitude. Yo he caminado mucho en la calle y he hablado con mucha gente. Prefiero hablar con las personas Argentinas mas de personas Americanas. Ayer, durante el autobus tour, sali con dos chicas muy bellas de Francia. Caminamos en el centro del ciudad. Es loco en el centro. Hay muchos coches, edificios altos, ruido, y gente muy cerca. No la me gusto mucho. Pero, hay un calle en el centro se llama Tacahuano. La calle tiene muchas tiendas de musico. Hable mucho con la gente en las tiendas y negosie mucho. Finalmente, yo compre una buena acustica con una funda (soft case), correa (strap), mas cuedras (extra strings), y pics por 500 pesos (130 dollars or so). No habian muchas acusticas en las tiendas y este era la mejor y la primera que yo la toque. Despues, monte el subte (subway) con mi guitarra nueva y mochilla. Hace mucho calor en el subte y monte mucho para regresar a casa. Cuando sali el subte, tenia mucho hambre y buscaba a un resturante pequeno con bebidad y comida, y buena onda. Cuando llegue en una afuera de Avenida Cabildo, les dije "Necessito una cerveza ahora mismo!" Yo tome una cerveza grande y comi un sanwich grande de jamon, queso, huevos, lechuga, tomates, y queso. Hablaba con los empleyados en el restaurante. Estaron muy amables. Tambien, yo toque la guitarra y cante a mis nuevos amigos. Hablabamos en castellano por mucho tiempo. Cuando regrese a casa, me bane y comi una buena cena de pollo frito, banana frita, papas fritas, una salsa de maiz. Que rico! Me encanta la comida en casa. Despues de la cena, toque la guitarra a mi familia. "Muy bien! Bravo!" No sali anoche porque estaba cansado y llovia mucho.

Ahora, mi amigo mejor es mi guitarra. Me siento como un rebel sin amigos en esta ciudad. Yo tengo un talento a hablar y hacer amigos con gente en la calle. Es la vida para mi ahora.

David