We'll miss ya little buddy...

ATHENS, Ga. -- Uga VI, the beloved University of Georgia mascot, has died from congestive heart failure at his home in Savannah.

The bulldog's owner, Frank Seiler, said he had the best winning record of any mascot in the school's history.

Seiler said he noticed the nine-year-old English Bulldog was breathing heavily Friday night. He passed away soon afterward.

Uga will be buried in a vault in the Southwest corner of Sanford Stadium with his predecessors. Private ceremonies are expected early next week.

Uga VI became UGA's mascot in 1999. He was the son of Uga V, the only college mascot to land on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

University of Georgia Athletic Director Damon Evans called it "a sad day for the entire Bulldog nation."

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Beautiful misunderstanding

The America Del Sur Hostel in El Calafate is the shiot. As I got out of bed and felt the nicely heated tiles under my feet, I felt strangely at home. Not necessarily at home, but the whole place exuded this amazingly homey feeling that was hard not to revel in. Ate a decent breakfast and soaked up the view of the surrounding Patagonian mountains towering over the massive El Lago Argentino. El Calafate is the quaint little town that supports the masses in their pursuit to get a glance at the Perito Moreno Glacier - a true masterpiece, as one of the only glaciers in the Argentina that is not receding and the world´s 3rd largest fresh water reserve. Anywho, today was the day to venture out to the glacier so we all had a little pep in our step.
Liam and I were lingering around the reception area coming up with any excuse necessary to hassle the Argentine beauty, Mariana, taking care of business on the other side of the desk. She caught wind of Liam´s name and immediately compared it to Liam Gallagher - who I now know is the head honcho in Oasis. In an effort to differentiate himself and voice an honest opinion, Liam responded, "Liam Gallagher is a cock." Fair enough, I´m not a huge fan myself - I mean the music is all right, I liked Wonderwall and all; but I thought they had disbanded until just recently, shows how much I know...but I digress. So, Marianna was a bit confused by this proclamation and inquired a bit more into the meaning of the statement wondering if he was referring to a cock as in a chicken. Well kinda, but an in depth definition was going to be too much effort. After a short ponder, Marianna concluded that if Liam Gallagher is a cock then - and I quote - "I love cocks." Which was simply priceless, and it was at this point that Liam and I lost it in an eruption of laughter. Such an honest misunderstanding of a common word that if used in the right context is wonderfully vulgar. After the giggling onslaught calmed a bit we explained that a 'cock' is also used as a synonym for the male genitalia. In my own pursuit to apprehend the Spanish language it is amazing to learn which phrases mean what and how something that would be preposterous in English is common slang in other places. It can be quite confusing, but really interesting and fun at the same time. None the less, the day was off to a brilliant start and the best was yet to come!

Fuego de Invierno

Signs that winter is heating up: They seem to have erected some sort of stage in the town square to parade around this winter´s Queen of Bariloche and the Snow Queen respectively, a barrage of fire works lit up the sky last night welcoming winter, the streets are packed with tourists and locals alike ready for a season in the snow, and the woman´s house across the street from our hostel went up in flames and nearly burned to the ground amidst all the festivities.

Jair and I were just sitting down to a nice steak sandwich take away meal at the hostel when one of our fellow residents (who sports a badass stache I might add) burst through the front door with a massively concerned expression on his face blurting out something about a fire. Before I had time to comprehend exactly what he was saying, I found myself rushing out the door with 4 other amigos to check out the scene. And it was a fire indeed. This woman's entire kitchen had gone up in flames and she was frantically trying to get as much of her stuff as possible out of the house before it all burned to the ground. We were the first people at the scene so we helped out as much as possible forcing a couch through the door along with her stereo and computer before the first fire extinguisher show up. It helped out a bit, but the stove had been disconnected from the gas line, so even the smallest hint of a flame would reignite the entire room. Soon enough we had gone through 6 different extinguishers from any neighbor who was around in an effort to slow down the inferno that was brewing. With the Snow Queen festivities goin on the the town square, most of the public officials were tied up so the firefighters were well delayed. The woman who owned the place was insistent on returning back into her house to recover anything and everything she could. We continually tried to persuade her to stop as the smoke was nearly crippling. It was this deathly black color that would both suffocate and blind you if you got close, even so you couldn't stand around idly as an old woman frantically tries to force a love seat through the front door. Just as the flames reached the roof the first set of fire fighters finally showed up. Within 10 minutes of their arrival the flames had been convincingly extinguished and the house was secure. We returned to our dinner and recounted the crazy scene that had just unfolded before us. I suppose an ole fashion house fire is one way to get your heart pumping on a lazy Sunday evening...

I WIN

Woke up feeling pretty jaded after a little romance with the whiskey the previous evening. We decided that the grocery store would be the best bet for a quick bite to take on the road with us to El Chalten, and a little empanada meal with some snacks for later on sounded quite appealing to me at the time. So I gathered my supplies and made it to the check out line. It came out to be around $26 so I handed over my $50 peso note and patiently waited while the woman examined the bill to ensure its validity. My mind began to wonder a bit recounting the brilliant day we had experienced just 24 hours earlier. Mariana and her Freudian slip, getting that first view of the Perito Moreno Glacier and then later getting right down next to the masterpiece, the PV handover, the unforgettable run-in with the Patagonia skunk, the puma with his roller skates and - WHHAANNKK!! Right in the middle of my mid morning space-out in the check out line at the grocery store the cashier pulled out a big horn and gave it a proper honking. I let out a spout of nervously bewildered laughter which was rewarded with a round of applause from the rest of the staff in the supermecado. The woman behind the cash register happily gave me back my $50 bill and her applauding supervisor came over to get my info. She got the Andrés right off but wanted me to write in the McCarthy bit to ensure the correct spelling as I am sure they will hang up some sort of plaque in my honor. I must have been the 1000th customer or something along those lines. My traveling compadre, Paul - aka Skunkboy - who was still packing his selections into their bags whilst this was all taking place, finally asked with a confused and amazed look on his face, ¨What the hell just happened?¨ To which I replied, ¨I am not exactly sure, but I think I just won!¨

¡Claro!

It all seems so easy now, how have I never realized it before? I am referring of course to my recent discovery for the cure for those pesky hangovers that continually plague my weekends. Its really not all that hard. What ya do is get on a bus, ride for 20 minutes or so (which is the one risky part of the process, as you can easily become rather nauseous along the way). Then you pay 35 pesos, which seems pretty expensive, and is actually straight up extortion, but don't worry as its worth it in the end. Take the cable car to the top of Cerro Otto, maybe have a little chat about the looming puma population or the mating patterns of the local bird population on the way. Then just straight up chill for the day and let nature do its work. The natural high that the stunning landscape gives you seems to just dissipate all wreckage you placed upon your body from the night before and before you know it - no more hangover - its great! On this particular day we managed to gather a group from a rather varied geographic background, but we all managed to keep the important stuff in common: 1) a hangover, 2) a rather vulgar and lets call it flexible sense of humor, 3) the ability to quite easily carry on an entire conversion about complete nonsense, and 4) a strange fascination with little people or midgets as they are known in certain circles. Anywho, next time you have a hangover, I suggest you try it. Even if the excursion doesn´t cure your hangover, you are sure to have a good laugh.

The Rousing Adventures of Skunkboy, Crazy One-eye, Senorita, PV, and Me

Just returned from a nice 9 day road trip adventure through Argentine Patagonia. The good times were a plenty and even though we didn´t accomplish all that we wanted the trip was definitely one for the ages. There were 5 of us really, well it was yours truly, 2 English lads known as Skunkboy and Crazy One-eye, Senorita - our beautiful Chevorlette, and the infamous Pink Vest. Started off in Bariloche, drove down to Esquiel, then transversed over to Puerto Madryn and Penisula Valdez, down again to San Julian, back up into the mountains to El Calafate and the Perito Moreno Glacier, up to El Chalten and Mnt. Fitz Roy, back to the coast to Comodora Riviadavia, and finally returning to Bariloche. I have wrapped up a plethora of stories to tell with titles including: I win, Touching the Glacier, The Sea was Angry that Day, and ¿I Love Cocks? , among others. No reason to get worked up, that last one is completely innocent. More to come soon!

research...

My apologies for the lack of posts as of late, I have been busy gathering useful information to report on. The plan was to go to Bariloche and find work right away; but some new friends, a bit of the drink, and my curiosity of the unknown has got in the way. Currently road trippin around Argentine Patagonia in a beautiful Chevy Corsica we have appropriately named 'Senorita'. Cruising around for couple weeks to get the sites in and satisfy my travel hunger; then its back to Bariloche for the ski season. The posts are sure to be plentiful soon, but in the mean time I shall leave you with some wise words from ole blue eyes himself...

"I've lived a life that's full.
I've traveled each and ev'ry highway;
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Regrets, I've had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way.

I've loved, I've laughed and cried.
I've had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.

To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,
"No, oh no not me,
I did it my way".

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!"

-Frank

Just arrived

Strolled into Bariloche on Friday and been thoroughly enjoying myself thus far. Its not a big place, but there is a good night life and the scenery is magnificent. Kinda reminds me of Queenstown, but a little bigger. The ski season won´t start for another 3-4 weeks so its pretty quite at the moment, but its one of those where you show up in town and just have a good feeling about it. The vibe is right where it needs to be and on Saturday, my first full day in town, I found myself happily realizing I could easily settle down here for a bit.

Late Night Nightlife

I think my time in Montevideo pretty much sums it up. I was meeting up with some Irish mates I had met in New Zealand 2 years previous and they are Irish so a good bit of drinking was in order. There is a cool pedestrian street in Montevideo lined with bars, restaurants and clubs that attracts most of the party goers, so naturally we stayed out at the club until somewhere between 5 and 7am both nights we were in town - which is actually rather early. Didn´t see too much during the day, but got a nice taste of the club scene. Its quite peculiar down here, as you don´t eat dinner until 9, 10 or 11 and you never go out before 1 or 2. It is kind of hard to get used to especially if you start drinking early. I usually can´t make it past 6, but it is not unheard of to stay at the club straight through breakfast and into the afternoon. My Irish buddies had been rockin the gringo trail through South America for the past 4 months and confirmed thats is pretty nutty in most decent sized cities down here. Crazy ass sudamericanos, they definitely put the North American night life to shame...