The Circus

John Shepler asked:


Have you ever wondered where the elephants go? As a child you saw perhaps dozens of elephants in zoos and circuses. But where are they now? What becomes of elephants when they get too old or sick to perform or greet the public? Or maybe the circus goes out of business. Or the zoo shuts down or decides that the elephant is just too expensive and too time consuming to care for. What then? Gulp. Do they… Do they… Do they meet some unspeakable end?

Sadly some do. Between the beatings, the confinement in cells sized for human prisoners, chained to the floor, or victims of biting cold in climates unsuited to animals of African and Asian origin, some elephants do endure a wretched existence until they can take it no more.

But not all. Some mercifully find sanctuary where they are welcomed as wanted guests and given everything an elephant needs to live in true elephant style. They spend their days roaming free in natural woods and pasture, socializing with other elephants, taking dust baths and splashing in ponds. There’s Winkie from the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin. There’s Dulary from the Philadelphia Zoo and Shirley from the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo. Many others spent their entire working lives traveling in circuses. Now they all roam 2,700 acres of natural-habitat refuge in Hohenwald, Tennessee.

Tennessee? Why, of all places, Tennessee? Surprisingly to most of us, Tennessee is the perfect spot for retired and weakened elephants. The climate is temperate, similar to many of the locations where elephants are born and spend their lives in the wild. It’s also a place where you can find thousands of acres still kept as a natural habitat and nowhere near the encroachment of urban sprawl. This is where you’ll find The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee.

I use the term find loosely. The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee is not a theme park, not a zoo and certainly not a resident circus. There’s no entertainment. In fact, there’s no access unless you are a member of the staff or on occasional volunteer days. This sanctuary is not just about elephants, it’s FOR the elephants. The whole idea is that elephants get to behave like elephants do naturally, but in a safe environment with minimal unwanted intrusion by humans. Oh, some interaction is wanted. Like the soothing foot soaks and fresh produce deliveries. Ahhhh.

The rest of the time, the elephants are on their own. They’re free to roam the sanctuary grounds, pick and choose who they care to hang out with at the moment, or come into their large protective barns when it gets a little nippy on winter nights. Most of the time they prefer to sleep outside, but the heated floor and translucent walls of the new barn can be very enticing.

Wouldn’t you just love to see what’s happening at The Elephant Sanctuary for yourself? There is a way. You can be an elephant voyeur right now and peek in on what they’re doing. Just click on the EleCam, a real time video feed from selected spots on the 2,700 acres. Perhaps you’ll see a group of elephants just browsing. Maybe its time to roll in the mud or splash in the pond. One look and you’ll find yourself coming back for a peek whenever you have a few moments to spare.

If seeing the elephants and reading their stories brings a lump to your throat, then you’ve found something you like to be part of. Instead of just writing a check that gets lost in the coffers of some megacharity, how about sending a few medical supplies or some copy paper to The Elephant Sanctuary? They always seem to need more replacement Verizon Wireless cell phones. For some reason they keep getting lost in the water troughs, foot soaks and muck. Do you have a favorite elephant? Perhaps one you met as a child? How about calling their favorite grocer and having some fresh produce sent over?

Of course, an operation this size has some pretty big needs as well. A tractor with front-end loader costs $35,000. That’s a huge sum for most individuals, but with a click of the mouse you can contribute something toward the goal. As of this writing, there is a matching grant that will effectively double your contribution. You be recognized almost immediately on the “Sanctuary Much” page.

There’s truly something important for The Elephant Sanctuary that will capture your imagination and bring a smile to your face as you click the link and place your order. Check the constantly updating Wish List and you’ll see.

Want to leave a lasting legacy? Endow an elephant. Each elephant has an endowment fund, kinda like a college fund, that will ensure there is enough money to feed and care for that elephant indefinitely. Put a little something away for a deserving elephant, just as you would for those nieces, nephews and grandkids.

There’s so much more to the heartwarming stories of these elephants and their continuing adventures at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. If you crave more, visit their website to read the “Trunklines” newsletter and be sure to sign up for their email “eTrunklines” newsletter so you, too, can become part of the family.

Visit The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee to see all the elephants and get involved as much or little as you like (warning: this site is habit forming).



PATRICK

Andrew Eden asked:


You might think that the popcorn machine is modern. Well, popcorn has been known to humans for roughly 1700 years. The earliest popcorn machine resource found is from south America and is a shallow round vessel with a small hole and a handle to hold it over a flame.

Historians believe that kernels of popcorn were popped by heating sand in a fire and stirring them in.

More recently popcorn machines became acclaimed in the mid 1800’s. They were larger affairs, often 7 or 8 feet across  and either steam or gas powered.

However these weren’t very efficient and the popcorn machine only really came of age towards the end of the 19th century when an American sign painter and owner of a shop, Charles Cretors, was inspired to make one, having bought a mercantile steam powered peanut roaster.  He was fascinated by how things worked and started to make something better. All the foundry patterns were made by Charles Cretors using a foot powered lathe. He then obtained a license to be a pedlar and placed the machine outside his shop.  People were used to train engines, but not to anything so much smaller and were very fascinated.

Within a short time he had built a popcorn machine that was able to roast 12 pounds of peanuts, or 20 pounds of coffee and in addition make popcorn.

The  popcorn machine was more productive. However, he also brought his sign making skills to the fore with beautiful, hand painted designs on the machine. These included shining nickel plate signs and copper and brass parts. He also included the novelty of the Toasty Roasty man, a small automated clown on the popcorn machine that advertised his products by rotating a tumbler full of peanuts on the top of the roasting drum.

In 1900 he made the original big horse drawn popcorn wagon. He made them to meet the needs of particular customers and also sold them through his expanding sales force.  Electricity was starting to take off at this time as well, and Charles Cretors used it to make the first electric powered popcorn machine.

Over the next few years movies started to become all the rage and popcorn was in demand from cinema goers.

In the 1950’s television became more popular at the expense of cinema.  The popcorn industry suffered as well  and also had a somewhat old fashioned image burden. Popcorn makers were remodelled and started looking more fashionable, somewhat like the juke boxes that were also in demand then, and regained market share.

Now they are very everyday in most theatres and cinemas. And in addition fairs and carnivals. The price of a industrial  popcorn machine varies, depending on how large it is.

And smaller, table top popcorn machines are now available for everyone to have at home. Although enjoyable when pre-popped, either at a venue, or if bought from a grocery, popcorn tastes much better if eaten quickly after being popped.

It is a healthy and tasty snack that has lots of fibre and can be sugar free and fat free with few calories, depending on what ingredients have been used when they’ve been popped.



TRAVIS

Patrick Ocheni asked:


The fact remains that unless you perfect every skill as a basketball player, you will be considered deficient or “incomplete” as a player, which means that you don’t have a solid basketball foundation.  At some point, your shaky foundation will catch up with you-and it might be too late for you make the corrections needed to excel at the highest level!

One of the skills you need master is the jump for the tap as the referee tosses the ball into the air; otherwise known as a jump ball. Control of the tap in a tight situation can very often mean victory or defeat.  Still, few players spend much time learning how to jump and tap the ball.

The Jump.

As the right-handed player lines up for the jump, he should stand with his left side facing the offensive basket. The lefty should have his right side facing the basket.

The jumper’s feet are to be about shoulder-width apart with heels off the floor. To prepare for the spring upward, the jumper should bend forward slightly, then, by dipping the knees, lower the body as much as he can without losing balance.

The head is turned toward the ball, the hands hang free…This, then, is the jumper’s basic position.

As the jumper, however, you do not leap straight into the air from this position. It has been found that a player can get more height to his jump if he takes a little hop before the major takeoff.

The practice jump…

Try this: take the basic position already described. Hop so that the feet go no more than an inch above the floor and come down in the same spot. Hop again. Hop again, but this time, as the feet strike the floor, let the knees dip and THEN make the jump for the ball. The principle is the same as that used when springing into a pool from a diving board; the diver goes up, comes clown to hit the board, then springs up and over into the water.

When jumping for the tap, you go up an inch, hit the floor and, with a great surge of power shoots upward.

The hop-and-jump, however, isn’t all that’s involved. As you go up for the ball, you should turn your body toward your opponent.

At the very top of the jump, your body is facing the offensive basket….

During this corkscrew turn, your hand nearest to your opponent is brought up so that the forearm crosses the stomach protectively.

The hand opposite the opponent before the jump is the hand used to tap the ball.

Use of the Hand.

Out jumping your opponent becomes meaningless if you cannot get the ball to the right spot. The tap must be just as accurate as a pass. It can be, if a player follows these suggestions:

Raise one arm straight toward the ceiling. Lay the wrist back as far as it will go. Spread the fingers loosely. Notice how the fingers form a cup.

Place a basketball on the tips of the fingers. Balance it there. Snap the wrist forward. Do this a few times and you will find that you can easily hit any target within a reasonable distance.

By turning the palm left, right or to the rear, you’ll be able to get the ball to any spot around you.

The arm and hand should be in the position described at the very top of the jump.

By following the guidelines above and practicing regularly, your ability to gain an “edge” over your opponent whenever you are involved in a jump ball should improve.  Visit http://www.basketball-drills-and-tips.com to find more information on this topic, and to

download a FREE copy of our Basketball E-Book ($29 Value) titled, “The Fundamentals of Basketball: A beginner’s guide for coaches and players.”



ALFRED

Daniel Sitar asked:


Britney Spears Ringtones are some of the hottest ringtones in America. Learn how to download Britney Spears Ringtones including the Circus Ringtone.

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Britney Jean Spears is an American singer-songwriter and entertainer. She is ranked as the eighth best-selling female recording artist in the United States according to the Recording Industry Association of America with 31 million certified albums and one of the world’s best-selling music artists having sold an estimated 83 million records worldwide. Circus debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 selling 505,000 copies in its first week. This became Spears’ fifth number one album, making her the only act in Nielsen SoundScan history to have four albums debuted with 500,000 copies or more. It is also Spears’ second album, the first being …Baby One More Time, to have charted two top-ten singles as “Circus”, the follow up single to the number-one hit “Womanizer”, debuted at number three on the Hot 100, making it her highest debut on the chart as well as her seventh top ten hit.

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LYNN

Daniel Sitar asked:


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Download the Circus Ringtone by Britney Spears. Get the Circus Ringtone on your phone right now! Circus is the hot new single from Britney Spears’s latest album. The Circus Ringtone has become one of the most popular ringtones in the world over the past few weeks. The track has also become a top download on iTunes and is getting frequent radio airplay across North America. Also, the Circus music video is one of the top clips on YouTune right now. Britney Spears has recorded some awesome songs, but Circus is definitely one of the best of all time! If you are looking for a new ringtone for your cell phone, the Circus Ringtone by Britney Spears is the perfect choice.

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If you are interested in downloading the Circus Ringtone for your phone, click on the link below and choose your mobile carrier. You will then need to enter your phone number and confirm it by submitting a PIN number which will be texted to your phone. Once you have confirmed the PIN, you will be able to instantly download the Circus Ringtone by Britney Spears directly to your phone. Don’t wait - the Circus Ringtone is one of the hottest ringtones in the world and you can get it on your mobile phone in less than 2 minutes! Click on the link below & sign up to download the Circus Ringtone now:

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HOUSTON

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


Not every bride and groom want kids out of their wedding. Some actually want kids in their weddings as members as well as guests. However it should be remembered that there are only few kids who mind their own works and a majority can very easily create a lot of confusion in the wedding. Before the decision as to if the kids have to be present or not all these factors have to be looked into.

However having children is not a run off the mill act. It can cause a lot of problems. One doesn’t know if the kids have to be left to their own company and hope that they behave themselves or should they provide the kids with a room with also childcare so that they are just present there and nothing much. However the best solution would be to have a mix of both.

The first thing that has to be considered on knowledge that children shall be present at the wedding is their ages. Babies might have to stay along with the parents. Hence having the babies in another room wouldn’t be a good idea. But if they are around 12 or so then they can be left in a room with facility of childcare and that should keep them occupied for some time.

If the children have to be left in a room at the reception, it would be a good idea to have a coloring table or a film that is popular with the kids. This could actually be just enough for the time duration of the wedding reception. However it is necessary that there be an adult who would supervise the kids continuously. There should be an adult for every five kids if they are toddlers and an adult for every ten kids in case they are older. The kids cannot be expected to engage themselves and hence the child care provider must be asked to initiate some action.

What if the couple wish that the kids be a part of the reception activities? There are a plenty of activities that one can do to keep the kids engaged. One can plan a coloring table at the back of the reception where one can provide a lot of paper, colors, markers, color pencils, etc. Paints are not recommended for obvious reasons and the mother would be very happy if washable markers and crayons are provided.

Many brides go the extra mile and plan well in advance on how to entertain their small friends. One common option is to have entertainment paid for readily in hand. This can be planned to take place in a separate room elsewhere. A clown or a balloon artist can be hired or someone who can braid the children’s hair and give temporary tattoos. There can also be a children’s musician in case the kids are to be left in a separate room so that it doesn’t disturb the wedding proceedings.

If no plans have been made at the wedding for any presence of kids but the kids arrive some last minute plans have to be made. One sure option would be a”only children” dance which would allow the kids to shake a foot on the dance floor. All the attention would be enough to keep the kid silent for some time. Apart from being very cute to watch it would be very entertaining. Children are also considered good luck.



RAYMUNDO

Lee Dobbins asked:


If you are traveling to London, make sure to see Piccadilly Circus which can be found at the junction of Shaftesbury Avenue and Regent Street. Much like Times Square in New York, this centrally located area offers most anything that you may find interesting. With it’s neon lights and diverse crowds, no wonder it has the ability to attract tourists.

Besides the theaters, pubs, shops and monuments of London, here you’ll also find some very interesting people. This area was officially named in 1819 but was un-officially known as Piccadilly Circus since 1743.The Shaftesbury Memorial fountain is located here and was a technological innovation for 1893 because it was cast using aluminum. In 1980, it was moved from the center to it’s present day location.

Erected in 1859, the London Pavilion is located in the northeast corner and was originally constructed as a music hall. Shaftesbury Ave bisected the site in 1885 and a new music hall was put up in 1923. This new hall even had electric billboards. The original facade from 1885 was conserved when the building was rebuilt in 1986, after it became a shopping mall. Since that time it’s been attached to the Trocadero Center. The stores of interest that are located here are the Virgin Megastore, Lily Whites and the HMV. Below ground you will find the London underground subway system. The locals know it as the “tube”.

If you go to the Criterion Theatre, you will see the reduced Shakespeare Company, which is located close to the center of Piccadilly Circus. It’s a theater group that specializes in presenting Shakespeare’s complete works in only 97 minutes. It’s performances are fast-moving and very highly improvised. They’ve been performing here since 1995 and if you want to see this interesting event, you had better plan ahead, as the shows are often sold out

If traditional theater is more to your liking, the best of British theater can be found at one of London’s West End shows. These are so good that they are often adapted for Broadway. You might want to check out the latest technology that is fairly new here. It’s a huge curved TV screen that rivals even Times Square.

There are many interesting things in Piccadilly Circus including plenty of pubs. However, be careful when selecting a London pub, because some are for the tourists and others are for the locals, where they might be a little tourist unfriendly.



GREG

virgilio vallecera asked:


When planning your wedding, what type of entertainment are you coming across as for? A comedian? A clown? A 3-ring circus? Of course not ? you are becoming for high quality entertainment that is tailored to your vision for this once-in-a-lifetime event. Your wedding reception entertainment should tie up all the things you suffer been dreaming of for many, many months.

When it is time to appear for wedding reception entertainment, you need to contemplate many aspects. Cost may seem to be your highest priority at first, but as you weed through the list of considerations, you will need to find someone you belief to keep your special day flowing smoothly. Tacky rhetoric, horrible equipment, or lack of music to please your guests may not ruin your picture-perfect day.

You are able to like a DJ surrounded by a high quality, and guaranteed, sound system. The entertainment have got to provide a wide range of music to offer all your guests music properties are requesting. You like a DJ who will listen to your wishes and make suggestions, not mandates, as to how the reception should flow. You want felt wedding entertainment ? people who appreciate the pitfalls from years of past undergo - and can deal with little ?emergencies’ as they arise with grace and professionalism.

Your DJ/MC will weave all the activities of your reception into a tapestry of memories to be remembered for a lifetime. From the moment you arrive at your reception, your DJ could orchestrate the perfect dance between music, generations, customs, and cultures. Your wedding entertainment is !no! too just ?entertainment’; it is the life-blood of your reception.

Planning your wedding entertainment carefully pays off more as opposed to you is able to expect. Your attention when choosing the best wedding entertainment possible are able to ensure that in turn, your entertainment can attend to all the little details and form your day perfect in every way.



GREG

Alia Jocob asked:


Britney Spears, who recently turned twenty-seven years old, is ready to promote her latest studio album entitled “Circus”. Britney’s been busy with her tour, and has just come back from Offenburg, Germany where she performed her hit single, “Womanizer” at the 2008 Bambi Awards. She also won a Bambi award for Best International Pop Star.

Right before her album even hit record stores, she had attended a two-hour hearing in a Los Angeles courtroom regarding her ongoing conservatorship. She was also ordered to give updates on her upcoming album, her tour and her other promotions.

How did Britney celebrate her birthday party? She started the day with a taped appearance at the Rockefeller Center for the New York City Tree Lighting Ceremony. A source mentioned that the “Gimme More” singer had changed her mind several times before finally deciding on taping her performance. The source added, “She was originally supposed to perform live and then she wanted to pre-tape her performance instead.  Then she didn’t want to do that. She keeps changing her mind and now she’s not performing at all but she is still supposed to pre-tape at 7 p.m.”

She also performed in the “Good Morning America” show in which she wowed the audience. Robin Roberts, “Good Morning America” host, said Britney’s performance was “our concert event of the year”. Diane Sawyer added that, “There are about a gazillion people here.” After work, Britney decided to celebrate her birthday at the Tenjune night club and slipped into something more her style – a **** silver and black dress which showed off all her curves.

Britney has also been spotted making Christmas preparations. She took her two sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James, to FAO Schwarz to shop for some toys. She was also accompanied by her mother Lynne Spears and father Jamie Spears. It was observed that, “after 10 minutes of shopping with the boys, Britney wasn’t seen for the rest of the hour and a half shopping excursion. It was speculated that she might have snuck out of the store making a quick get away to lose paparazzi and go enjoy the Big Apple with some friends.”



GUILLERMO

Stephan Zimmermann asked:


A short while ago the election of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner elevated her to the presidency of Argentina. Despite the overwhelming result that swept the first elected woman into office following her husband’s term as president, the country remains at a political crossroads. The politics and economics and self-interest of Argentina are hedged between leftist president Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and George Bush.

More evenly dispersed wealth and prosperity for Argentina does not have to be elusive. The country is rich in resources and there exists substantial demand for its goods. However, increased and more equal education seems indicated and overdue. A general pause by the country as a whole to assess the willingness to absorb the tradeoffs required to achieve a universal better state of living is more than overdue. Perhaps the new leader of Argentina will take that pause and properly act on that reflection..

After having spent nearly six months prior to the election in Argentina, one thing is certain. No matter how hard a new president may try to change matters, the facts seem to imply that the majority is too complacent to welcome any major change from the status quo, vociferous noises from a vocal minority notwithstanding. One young person was overheard to say in seeming jest, “What this country needs is a good war!” With the history of violence of several past governments, a wide gap between rich and poor, as well as ingrained cultural patterns spanning centuries, such complacency should not be unexpected.

Nonetheless, from an outsiders’ perspective, certain basics spell renewed disaster for the once-prosperous nation.

In a recent conversation with a bright, educated Argentine student, the young fellow seemed to think nothing of leaving his country. In his early twenties, he intends to live, study, work and earn overseas and save or invest his money in a country “that works.” Little thought was expressed as to the wide and growing gap between the prosperous and impoverished denizens of the Argentine landscape. He provided a perfectly good example that the dwindling middle class aspires only to join the “rich” as long as it can avoid sinking to the morass of “the poor.” The fact that Argentina’s problems have been even further exacerbated by more impoverished immigrants from Bolivia, Peru and other South American nations was explained away by suggesting that, in his view, “Argentina needs a labor pool willing to accomplish unskilled labor others are not willing to do.”

Whether one agrees with the young student’s perspective is somewhat irrelevant. One can agree or disagree with his philosophy and potential course of action. Missing from the entire discussion, however, is the fact that only a miniscule “middle class” exists in Argentina. As in other cultures, the term “middle class” is vague and imprecise. Yet, it is precisely the “middle class” and a functioning, private and governmental infrastructure that are two key elements that produced success in most of the world’s advanced nations. Despite relative growth in Gross Domestic Product, progress has often been stunted in nations replete with a large, wealthy land-owning class, especially in Latin or South America.

Although often disparagingly referred to as a “nation of shopkeepers,” England prospered from the times of Elizabeth I. It expanded most noticeably following the times of Adam Smith and other notable thinkers of the eighteenth century. It was the formation and expansion of the middle classes, its manufacturing base, and its financial acumen coupled with powerful colonial resources and inexpensive labor that propelled England through the centuries.Wealth filtered to the growing middle classes and a working infrastructure in England, as elsewhere in Europe, the United States and now in China and India. The phenomenon is evident world-wide.

A working country’s civil infrastructure does not have to be limited to roads and highways and other facilities, although the lack of these significantly impacts any nation in past or present centuries. Infrastructure can be expanded to include a society’s ability and willingness to provide communications and education, to banking or medical care, and to a general freedom from governmental bureaucracy to impede entrepreneurship and the production and distribution of goods and services.

Argentina may reasonably boast of a classic infrastructure. It certainly has thousands of kilometers of maintained roads and highways, developed airports and docks, and public utilities. It has been in the forefront of South American communications, banking and medical care. Many of those services are owned by foreign entities. Why? Because there does not exist a strong middle class to undertake entrepreneurial risks. The wealthy prefer to keep their capital outside the country, while the poor are too uneducated and have little, if any, capital.

In addition, Argentina’s general production and distribution of goods and services, domestically and internationally, are predominantly hampered by a vast and powerful bureaucracy that strives not for efficiency, but rather for patronage and continued employment.

Beyond infrastructure, a country’s perception and self-perception are equally as important. These factors may have even more influence on the state of a nation’s life than even the most advanced infrastructure. This self-perception and resultant philosophy may be often more responsible than the lack of certain economic amenities. It breeds a lack of concern and indifference on the part of the population, rather than active and positive work and competition and accomplishment.

Despite the brave political words and a rebound from the worst of economic shocks, default on its economic debt, Argentina still suffers from a markedly decreased optimism and a widening gap in confidence in government. Although Argentina has spent the last two decades free from civilian or military dictatorship, people’s attitudes change slowly. Partly, this lack of optimism and confidence stems from Argentina’s continuing practice of turning a largely blind eye to graft and corruption inside and outside of government.

One simple but painful indictor of festering problems stems from the fact that the Argentine government continually runs short of ordinary coins in circulation. This shortage does not stem from lack of materials from which to shape coins. Rather, it derives from a combination of a lack of confidence and graft. Recently, very small denominations starting with the peso coins were actually hoarded by the population. Incorrect as it may be, there is apparently more faith in coins than in paper money, not simply the opportunity to make three to five percent profit on hoarding and reselling small change. Taxi drivers and small kiosks repeatedly fail to have change available for the smallest of purchases for these reasons, as do government institutions like the post office or public utilities.

In an economy based largely on cash transactions, rather than checks, debit or credit cards or electronic banking, this attitude foreshadows only the tip of the iceberg of problems confronting the country. Argentina certainly has most of the necessary computer availability. Most large banks are well interconnected across the country.

However, “most of the people would not know how to deal with automated banking, like paying bills,” one source offered. While that lack may be ascribed in part to a poor educational system, it leaves wide open the door to engage in tax evasion and other forms of corruption. Inefficiency aside, long lines inside a bank branch ironically seem to be positive indicators of solvency, increases in cash and employment to the general populace. That image of illusory prosperity may persist if one ignores the beggars, including very young children, lining the streets asking for pesos. It does nothing for improving personal or national efficiency.

Remarkably, the majority of the population appears to tolerate the long lines and general inefficiency in the infrastructure with barely a sniffle. “Oh, it’s only Argentina,” one property-owning person suggested, trying to explain away whatever daily problems occurred, whether simple plumbing or a citywide taxi strike.

Whether the archaic social custom of closing businesses or schools for two to four hours at midday, or utility or other regular bills are invariably paid in person by cash, these and other customs may be quaint for the tourist, but they are inefficiencies that abound throughout the country.

Perhaps some of these inefficiencies are designed purposely to maintain and increase employment. Perhaps some are reminiscent of an older, more personable way of doing business. Some, perhaps, are steeped in traditions where efficiency counts much less than relaxation and which have resulted in the classic Latin “manana” epithet. Whatever the reason does not stand the country in good stead for its competitive position in a global economy against the materialistic leaders of the world.

Despite rampant inefficiency and visible poverty, many visitors or potential expatriates to Argentina expound at length on its inexpensive and perceived more relaxed, cultural way of life. Often, daily problems with infrastructure or the local population are dismissed by visitors with a shrugged shoulder. Many have to deal with neither. For a few Argentine pesos, hotel or short-term apartment staff can generally accommodate the transient visitor by shielding him from crime, corruption or inefficiency.

“Inexpensive” is certainly true of Argentina when compared to Europe or the United States or even many competing places in South America. This is most definitely true after the currency devaluation less than a decade ago. Spending Euros or American dollars at the official exchange rate easily permits one to overlook many of the vagaries of life in Argentina. Cheaper black market rates, readily obtained from mobile sellers on street corners, can make life even less expensive. Focusing on the natural beauty of Bariloche, the colonial architecture of Salta or the night life and its tango in Buenos Aires is a simple process for a transient visitor. Life in Argentina, however, is certainly not inexpensive for full-time residents, trying to eke out a living, even with a fairly decent job, any more than it would be in Lima or Santiago or Caracas.

Neither is life in this land of natural beauty any more or less “cultural” or more relaxed than in London, or Paris or New York for the permanent denizen of Argentina. From a tourist perspective, the quaint, small streets of Salta, bustling with humanity and traffic, may seem to be like a picturesque Hollywood movie film set. For the single mother of four, working as a part-time maid, however, everyday life is no easier than it is in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a cultural mecca in the United States.

Few except those with disposable income in Argentina neither know of an opera, been to an art exhibit, nor heard a live symphony concert. Many have not even made the lengthy trip to Buenos Aires from their particular village in the vast country. Much the same can be said, of course, of other nationalities who have never seen an art exhibit at the Louvre or Tate museums in France or London, attended a concert at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, nor seen a dance recital at the Bolshoi in Russia although they may have lived in the respective countries all their lives.

Much of Argentina’s mystique has been carefully and skillfully cultivated by the tourist boards. The image is, in turn, mindlessly nurtured and perpetuated by the casual traveler. Inefficiency becomes a more “relaxed” way of life, while a simple dance in the town square becomes “culture.”

More than simply dazzling the tourist with a broad-strokes display of natural beauty and a seemingly contented populace, Argentina seems more to cater to its well-to-do, short-term transients rather than to its own people. Fortunately, the transient visitor hardly ever sees the seething resentment boiling just below the surface veneer of smiles and politeness, nor the petty crime and bribery lurking at the next street corner or with the sales clerk at a local business.

Before its collapse, the ancient Roman Empire was known for its policy of “Bread and Circuses.” Certainly, Argentina seems to subscribe to that maxim. While the price of bread and other staples continues to escalate in local shops or supermarkets, Argentina tries to keep its citizens entertained by its “circuses” through its extensive television channels. There is no dearth of television offerings on its many cable channels, from chat programs to quiz shows, to sports and movies to keep the populace entertained.

Interesting, though, one can legitimately ask for whom the telecasts are intended. Certainly, soccer matches and other competitions draw great local viewing audiences whether on off-the-air stations or the Latin version of ESPN. So do various movie channels.

Yet, while nearly ninety percent of films aired are of American or British origin, most of these are in spoken in English, subtitled in Spanish. That may be wonderful for tourists or other foreigners whose first language is English and who choose to take the pose of a couch potato at night. Unfortunately, it does little for native Castellano speakers, let alone the local indigenous population whose command of Spanish is hazardous at best. Reading rapidly changing subtitles can hardly be conducive to learning English when it is far more interesting to see the action developing on the screen. Moreover, much of the population can ill afford the relatively modest charges for a television set or a cable hookup.

Maybe it is necessary to entertain the masses to keep them from exploding into chaos. Maybe such entertainment can offer a necessary respite to the everyday worker in whatever occupation. Maybe it allows a vicarious view of other cultures. Unfortunately, it may also breed envy and, worse, emulation of the violence so readily broadcast, especially by the modern fare of Hollywood’s output.

American television offerings of violence are hardly conducive to the youth of Argentina that easily succumbs to the greed or envy generated by the silver screen. Worse, it only underscores the lack of education in the classrooms. While Argentina may have the highest literacy rate in Latin and South America, according to most studies more than fifty percent of students fail to continue their education beyond the age of fourteen, the legal mandatory age for leaving school. Since education, including the college level, is free for students attending government-run schools and colleges, one may properly ask why such a large dropout rate exists.

Once again, the overall picture of Argentina is misleading. Despite the high literacy rate, the high dropout rate at an early age tells a different story. A recent Interamerican Development Bank report showed that the causes for a highly unequal outcome between Buenos Aires students and those of rural areas results from both lack of high quality of school facilities and lack of skilled teachers and instructors in rural areas. Moreover, even Buenos Aires, the capital city known for its university with nearly 140,000 students, is even more renowned for the more rapid growth and enrolment of students in private, rather than public schools.

Since education is but one all-important factor in Argentina’s development in the twenty-first century, one must clearly ask if the recent governments – even after the devaluation – are inclined to perpetuate the growing disparity between rich and poor, spelling certain doom for the nation as a whole. Yet that disparity is likely to increase if government lacks the will to change quality public education versus private education, such as in Buenos Aires and Cordoba or Mendoza.

Quality and success of education also derives from a myriad of social factors, many of which result from the disparity of income and the lack of a “middle class” in the historic sense. Argentina would be well warned by the young man’s quip that the country “needs a good war.” While no war from the Falklands to Iraq can ever be termed a “good war,” no matter who the perpetrators, a growing disparity between rich and poor in Argentina makes just such an exercise a probability, whether as an outright war or a disguised dictatorship. Bread and circuses or a lack of change are only preliminary indicators. Only the will and perception of the country’s people can make the difference.



HIRAM