SaltShaker

 Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
- William Blake, Poet
Mendoza, Argentina - Let the muttering begin… He’s been in Argentina for almost three years and he’s never been to Mendoza…? What kind of wine geek is he…?
You’re right, really, and I don’t have much of an excuse for not having been, not that […]

 I must possess all, or I possess nothing.”
- Skeletor

Buenos Aires - Collectors are an odd breed, regardless of what it is they collect. Wine collectors are a breed unto themselves - amongst those of us in the wine trade, they tend to get referred to as “Masters of the Universe” - generally with a roll […]

 More affectionate than a kiss is a well done hug in someone that you love. Have you ever notice how I can give delicious hugs?”
- Carmen Miranda
Buenos Aires - There was no question in my mind that the event to celebrate last weekend was Carmen Miranda’s 99th birthday. Actress and singer, famous for her elaborate […]

 The number e is one of the most important numbers in mathematics, alongside the additive and multiplicative identities 0 and 1, the imaginary unit i, and π.
- Wikipedia
Buenos Aires - Sometimes, you just have to feed that inner intellectual, the nerd, the geek, the schoolkid who actually studied. Or at least I do, but then, […]

 Once again, my life has been saved by the miracle of lasagna.”
- Garfield
Buenos Aires - A curious confluence of events occurred in the last week that brought a particular topic to mind. At first, I didn’t have a term to put on it, but then, my eyes lit upon a passage in the introduction to […]

 Millions long for immortality who don’t know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon.”
- Susan Ertz, Novelist

Buenos Aires - You’d think that at some point over the last three years I’d have made it to the famed Café Los Inmortales, Corrientes 1369, near Paraná - had a coffee, a pastry… a pizza… […]

 My time as President is fast coming to a close. For me, it has been a rare opportunity to make a difference and is the completion of one stage in my life’s mission. For Taiwan, these past eight years, though just a small stretch in the endless stream of history, have been an important stage […]

 Chant Yemanja (Goddess of the Sea)
Ago Lona O Ya Le -
Open the way for the most powerful mother
Ago Lona O Ya Le -
Open the way for the most powerful mother
Ya Le Ya Luma O -
Most able mother who protect children
Ya Le Omi Abe -
Mothers’ house of the deepest waters
A Ya Ba Omi O - Ruler […]