American Entertainment, Part 2: Pop Culture As A Multiplier Effect

So this is Part 2 of my post on American Entertainment. But I had the idea for this post specifically a while ago. But now, so much time has passed, I suppose I've "lost the fury". Lost my way? Lost my fire? I don't know, something. I'm sure there's a good Shakespearean or Dickensian quote I could/should use here, but, for the life of me, I'm not educated. I don't know Greek but I know to beware the Greeks bearing gifts. Do you think that's enough?

Anyways, in Part 1 of this post I talked about American Entertainment as an industry, a product, and an export. A great product indeed, an industry worth billions. Something we can be proud of I think. Some time back, years I am sure, probably in college, I was reading some book, probably the under/over-appreciated (for me over but so many people have insulted it I don't what to believe any more), I was giving some thought to American culture in a larger context. I was disillusioned at the moment, as I'm sure others were, still are, will be, and will continue to be, over American culture and our love of celebrity. We should think the inventor of the USB is a celebrity and praise him, his genius, his knowledge, his steadfastness, and his work ethic! Not Paris Hilton and her sluttiness (I'm not slut-shaming, just making a point) or, I dunno, whoever the fuck does Talk Soup now or whatever the hell show people watch now.* I mean, honestly, I could not give a FUCK about the royal wedding (sorry, you English bastards**), the royal baby, the royal baptism, the royal pregnancy, OR the royal bowel movement, MUCH LESS Blue Valentine or whatever the hell Jigga and wifey named their kid or Kanyeezy and Kim FamousForNoGoddamnReasonDashian named theirs.

I don't like pop culture, if it wasn't obvious. To me, it's silly, stupid, and pointless. But I shouldn't condemn it, for at least two reasons. One, it's not for me. It's not. It's for the fools who do. Go for it, kids. You want to see Justin Beiber (or is it Bieber? Who gives a...) banging some midget prostitute, excuse me, lady of the night, on a big wheel  while eating some falafel, be my guest. TMZ has the latest and some other douchebags have already created memes, gifs, and remixes.

As I said, it's not problem. I shouldn't get my blood pressure up over it. But it's my OCD, you see? I can't stand inefficiency, even if it has nothing to do with me. I hate seeing people wasting their time. I have to learn to get over it.

I also shouldn't condemn it because it's big money. Pop culture, while a thing, and a powerful force that, one that drives careers in contracts, would not exist without the larger arts around it. Or at least it would be significantly smaller. It would not exist without television shows (NYC), films (Hollywood), music, etc. I don't mean the fine arts, necessarily, or I guess what you would call the finer arts, classical music, paintings, less traditional, more modern, post-modern, ultra-modern, and sentient being art movements. Films and television certainly can be fine art (Breaking Bad for example or just the way Meryl Streep does everything perfectly in her movies). They just aren't Beethoven. Sorry. Kubrick came close, I imagine. It's a different way of being creative, anyway.

But the point is, pop culture comes out of these things. It makes these stars of music/movies/television shows even bigger than they otherwise would be. First comes the fame for some reason (unless you're an internet celebrity, in which case, fuck off***) then comes the obsession with the individual with the person, the star, the celebrity. It is natural, this fascination, of course. It has been around since time. These people make us feel good and, psychologically, we come to love them. We want to repay them with affection for the things they give us. But I really don't care, or even want to know, the size of Kate Winslet's last poop or that Justin Timberlake has a hangnail.

But the world is celebrity is good in that it makes the product, the package of all of this entertainment even bigger and more valuable.

I once learned (via NPR, I need to find the article/podcast/whatever) of how backwards the NBA is and how underpaid LeBron James is. He is so that more of the money paid to players can be spread around and you can have teams in places where normally the market wouldn't support it. Like Orlando, FL, or Sacramento, CA.***** But!**** But, the NBA is bigger for this reason. It reaches more markets, more people, and is this overall more valuable. So LeBron James sells more jerseys and shoes and makes up his lower salary in other ways.

It is like this with American entertainment and pop culture. Our pop culture makes our entertainment even more valuable. And that is fine. It is good.

But, to a larger part, to scale, to an multiplication, our entertainment is consumed by the entire world. Our music, our movies, our television. The popularity is a wholly separate matter. This is true for several reasons, I can only speculate, but one because we invest so heavily in it and, two, it is in English. We provide a great platform, with both of these things, for people to make, both the artists and companies. And consumers get a great product.

So, taking what I said about celebrity and our entertainment as a product, pop culture and obsession with it, with celebrities, it makes our entertainment even more valuable and we make even more money globally. And the pop culture extends in our countries, with our celebrities and their celebrities.

The end.

*I had something for this, come back to me

**I mostly love the Brits, it's just fun to play colonial wargames all over again with you cheeky fellows. Something something Harry Potter.

***If you are an internet celebrity turned real celebrity, a la John Lajoie or Childish Gambino, you're cool

****There's always a but

*****Yes, yes, yes, every team has had it's glory days

Update 1 (2013-12-20)

I gotta say, in re-reading what I've written thus, my post has not quite lived up to expectations. Whatever. I'll have someone from the Times be my editor.

American Entertainment, Part 1: Our Greatest Export

American woman.

American psycho.

American entertainment.

Let's just get this out of the way: I want to clarify and disambiguate between two things: American entertainment and pop culture. American entertainment is the production, distribution, and consumption of our films, music, television shows, etc. Pop culture is the obsession with these things and with celebrity. I'll talk about the former in the first part of this post and the latter in the second part.

Some people say America doesn't make anything anymore, doesn't build anything anymore. So I've heard. Look at the stevedores of Baltimore shipping in Season 2 of The Wire. The death of the American working class, indeed. Reminds me a little bit of Pretty Woman. What is it that Richard Gere says as he laments that his success has come with his company only breaking up and selling other companies? "We don't build anything." I wonder if he knew how poignant that quote would be today.

But for me, I really couldn't disagree with these people more. Absolutely America still builds things. You know, like buildings. We have manufacturing. The Mercedes Benz and AirBus plants in Alabama, I think BMW has one in North Carolina now. Motorola (now owned by Google basically) at least assembles in Texas, right? I guess the lamentations have quieted down recently. And we have companies that build all over the world. HP, IBM, and others have manufacturing in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.

And not only do we build, but we produce! What does California alone have? Facebook, Google, Apple. Washington has Microsoft. Ok, so we're pretty strong on the technology front, obvi. And for these companies, what I mean we're producing is services, so not tangible goods, but other things people want.

So, to the point of my post: American entertainment. I want to talk about it specifically because, for me, given the scale, it's rivaled by no one globally. Not even close. There are competitors I'd say, think Chinese cinema, Bollywood (it's a big industry in India but I don't see it consumed much outside of India and some surrounding countries and Indians abroad). South Korea is doing a great job with music (Gangnam Style). They really know how to throw money at that industry and make it work.

But American entertainment? Fuggedaboutit. Just one example: The Avengers, Thor. $200 million to make a movie that might lose $150 million or make $800 million. God look at that! What investment! What return! What loss! Over and over again! Without fail! We crank out TONS of movies and we haven't touch tv shows or music yet! $200 million on a single movie and it's not like we make one movie a year.

I believe we are the pinnacle of entertainment. We make the most and we make the best entertainment, year after year. It doesn't mean that we make the absolute best song every year or best movie ever year, but we product so much good entertainment. If you want to be big globally, you have to work in the US market. Take The Beatles. I'm paraphrasing here, but they said something to the effect of, "We don't want to come to the US until we're number one." Numero uno. Notice they didn't say France, they didn't say Germany, or Ghana, or China. The US. Rail against me all you want for being a Pro-America American and for being obnoxious, but when it comes to entertainment, we're kind of a big deal.

Our entertainment, produced in the US (and, of course, filmed abroad where applicable) is eaten UP by the United States and the world. I mean, California would be, what, the world's 8th largest economy by itself?* It's true. You know it. I know it. American entertainment is consumed and loved by every corner of the world. It's like Coke. And people say the world hates us. Fuck yourself.**

All you have to do is travel a little bit to see it. People watch our shows, in English or translated from English in their language. They listen to our music in English. They watch our movies with subtitles. So many people abroad have heard of, watched, and/or loved Friends. I have heard non-Americans say "Yeah, of course we have music in our language, but in order to be known globally, you have to be in English so more people can understand and identify with your music. You're just reaching a much larger market."*** I've met people in Argentina who watching Breaking Bad. It's great.

Other countries have what other countries have. We build, they build. They are no better or worse than us for any of this. Please don't take away from this that I think America is the best country in the world or better than any other country in the world. But I do think our entertainment industry is the best in the world. You might have whatever you have. But America? We have The Hulk.

Coming up next week (i.e., whenever the hell I feel like): Part 2 - Pop Culture As A Multipliler Effect

*NO CLUE IF THIS IS RIGHT I MADE IT UP. And, of course, that's not just due to the entertainment industry.

**See, Ashley? It does work.

***Sure, this is more an argument for English, but bear with me

Uruguay In Four Parts - Cuz I Said That's How Many It Needed - Parte Cuatro - Punta del Este

So I'm doing a review/my thoughts on Uruguay in four equal installments (we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all installments were created equal):

1. Uruguay - an overall review and my thoughts on what they're doing right or wrong as a country
2. Montevideo - thoughts on the capital city
3. Colonia - one word: chivitos
4. Punta del Este - best beaches in South America (so far)

You are now experiencing Part Four. Enjoy.

IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

So, Punta del Este. It means "Point of the east". East point? West point? West Point? Whatever. So, first, GO. Go there. Do that. Do that thang. Seriously, it's beautiful.

I remember the first time I heard about Punta del Este. A beautiful Argentinian girl told me about it. Said it was her favorite beach to go to, at least in Uruguay, anyway. I remember her describing it to me as a "town", but I have a shitty memory, especially when I'm drinking.* I'm not sure if I like going to places with the wrong conception, or not conception for that matter, of said place. I should really do my homework. But I suppose I do enjoy the surprise. Especially when it's a nice surprise. I feel more endeared to a place that I haven't traveled there and found it to be a shithole. So, thanks, places.

This is all to say that, in my humble opinion, Punta del Este NOT a town. When I first saw it from a distance, I saw high-rise buildings, presumably hotels and condos. There's a freaking Conrad there, one of the high end brands of the Hilton chains of hotels. But tall buildings a city does not make. Punta del Este had some of the markings of a city but it still felt like a town. Driving through (we did this in a rental car in late November so it was before tourist season and we didn't have to deal with the bus station), Punta del Este is stretched out about, the curves of the road matching the shoreline, the touristy places nearer the point and the locals who run them living further inward. All hail consumerism.

But Punta del Este is beautiful. I loved it. To this point in my trip so far (and I have not been to Rio yet before you get all up in arms), the best beaches I have visited in South America. Beautiful. Comparable to beaches on the gulf, specifically Orange Beach in Alabama and Pensacola Beach in Florida in terms of cleanliness, sand (color, cut, clarity, and carat), day-beauty**, and overall ambience and beachiness***. It is more or less attractive than the control beaches in terms of seagulls. The girls are comparable, which I know is important to everyone.

It it, just, nice beach! The sand is warm and inviting. Go, put out a towel, and enjoy.

Unfortunately, I was only able to visit their for the day, not even one night. I could have spent a week there but I would have been like Odysseus with Circe. Five years would have felt like five days. I would have been lost. But a glorious five years it would be.**** If you get the chance to go, make sure you see the hand statue (see photo below). It is there in remembrance of those lost at see. There are two others, at least, once in Puerto Natalie, Chile, and another in the north of Chile somewhere. I'm not sure where. It is good for making photo.

As I was there for only a day, I did not get to experience the nightlife, so I have no thoughts or recommendations there. But it's the beach. Get some rum and make a party of it. Otherwise, like I said, make sure and see the hand statue and there's also this thing called casapueblo. Yeah, casapueblo. Google it if you're interested. I wasn't impressed. There's also a couple of good miradores for photos.

Love to all,
Ya Boy

*Big whoop, wanna fight about it?

**How beautiful the day is

***Scientific term of my own design. Patent-pending.

****Am I a beach bum? What's the definition of a beach bum? I think I'm a beach bum.

Uruguay In Four Parts - Cuz I Said That's How Many It Needed - Parte Tres - Colonia

So I'm doing a review/my thoughts on Uruguay in four equal installments (we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all installments were created equal):

1. Uruguay - an overall review and my thoughts on what they're doing right or wrong as a country
2. Montevideo - thoughts on the capital city
3. Colonia - one word: chivitos
4. Punta del Este - best beaches in South America (so far)

You are now experiencing Part Three. Enjoy.

Colonia, Colonia, everywhere, nor any drop to drink. Not sure why I put that. Apparently The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner is on the brain. Deal with it.

As I write this I'm sitting in a "VIP" lounge in the Santiago airport, at a nice computer with a nice keyboard so I thought I'd bang out a post. Ya dig?

Colonia. It's a little town in Uruguay. Why do people go there? First, it's to get there from Buenos Aires. When you want to go from Buenos Aires to Uruguay by ferry, you have two choices (there may be more but I don't know of them if so): Colonia or Montevideo. Colonia takes about an hour by ferry, I think Montevideo maybe 2. So Colonia is closer. If you're a non-Argentinian and want to make a run into Uruguay to pull some American currency (yes, Uruguayan ATMs rock and dispense USD) so you can convert it/change it back over in Argentina and get the sweet blue rate, Colonia is a great/easy option. I think round trip with taxes will run you $40-$50*, depending on when you buy your ticket (day of, day before, etc) and what day of the week you guy. I could also totally be misremembering the price.

Why else do people go there? Well, it's a cute little town. There's a lighthouse or two. I think when I was there for a day I saw two but I feel like people talked up the lighthouses a bit more. I think there are more than two lighthouses in Colonia is what I'm saying. And there's an old church, maybe, I don't know. It really is a cute town. It's not huge. It's got some old streets. I feel like we saw most of it when we were there. Not a whole lot to do.

One super fun thing to do is rent scooters there. They "red-line", which is a total crock, they don't, at 45 KM/H. Which is a joke! The ones we rented in Thailand had no trouble breaking 90! And they would still go faster! But Spencer and I took them around a lot of the town. As much as we could see, really. We saw a park and a lighthouse and whatever and then we just found the roads that take you out of town. I'm not saying we saw every square inch, but I'm not saying we didn't. The scooters were fun, regardless. It was great taking them to and from the hotel.

We also rented a golf cart and this was only fun when you had someone riding in the back and could terrify them with sharp turns. It was terrifying for them because (I know from personal experience) the backseat doesn't feel as stable. It feels like you're gonna lean to one side and tip the seat over or fall of something. But it was fun. It didn't go very fast, though. Bleh.

Colonia, as I'm sure you read in my post On Why Spencer Burness Is The Greatest Human Being Ever, has terrific chivitos. Get them from the chivito stand on the street. They'll rock your face off.

And Colonia is great cuz there's a Sheraton with a golf course and it's not super expensive to play (though we didn't play) and cool cab drivers and other things I'm not at liberty to mention. Although the bars did close awful early on a Wednesday compared to how Montevideo and Buenos Aires rock their nightlife.

It's a cute place to go and spend 1, maybe 2 days. 2 days max. If you're going from Buenos Aires to Montevideo, I recommend you take the ferry to Colonia, stay the night, and continue to Montevideo by bus the next day. Or reverse if you've already go to Montevideo and are going to return to Buenos Aires. It's worth a stop. A short stop.

That's all. Love you, Colonia. Peace out cub scout.

*Blue rate paid in dollaaahhhsss, not por tarjeta. Also, Colonia Express (not sure about Buquebus) has online specials. But you gotta pay by card to get it. So it's not really any cheaper. If Argentina ever fixes it's hilarious currency sitch, it will be worth it to book and pay online. But not yet!

Uruguay In Four Parts - Cuz I Said That's How Many It Needed - Parte Dos - Montevideo

So I'm doing a review/my thoughts on Uruguay in four equal installments (we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all installments were created equal):

1. Uruguay - an overall review and my thoughts on what they're doing right or wrong as a country
2. Montevideo - thoughts on the capital city
3. Colonia - one word: chivitos
4. Punta del Este - best beaches in South America (so far)

You are now experiencing Part Two. Enjoy.

Montevideo is a cool little city in the southwestish area of Uruguay. It's on the water (the west side still kind of touches the river stemming from up near Buenos Aires) and the south touches the Atlantic ocean and has a very busy port (allegedly. I don't know how to determine if a port is actually busy, but the port is certainly in use.) With I think 1.something million people (remember, Uruguay in total has 3 millionish people), it's pretty relaxed, especially compared to a Buenos Aires with 15 million people. That's not to say the people are lazy, but life loves a little more slowly there. It's nice and cute and usually quiet. The buildings are absolutely beautiful as the city still has a great deal of 18th and 19th century colonial architecture. The city is well-lit at night, but not as well-lit as Buenos Aires. Combined with the relative scarcity of people, the town can feel like a ghosttown at night, all spooky like, especially when there's a chill in the air and the wind is up. It's all "Where is everyboddyyyy?" and then you see the sign "Don't Open Dead Inside".

Montevideo is also very nice because, as I said, it's on the water, and when things are the water, what else are there bound to be? Beaches. That's right, betch. Beaches. There's plenty of 'em. And it's nice. And people go. And I get burnt. Also, when I was there, mid-November until beginning of December, it was hot. I mean, it did rain some, but, well, you didn't come here for a weather report, now did you? I saw a little volleyball, a little bit more futbol.

I'll take a minute to talk about a couple neighborhoods in Montevideo. First, Cuidad Vieja (Old City for you gringos and gringas). Cuidad Vieja is a nice part of town during the day, but watch yourself. People may try to rob you here. There is very, very little violent crime in Montevideo, so your odds of someone trying to rob you with a weapon are pretty slim, but don't take any chances. Watch your shit. And, just, don't go there at night. Just don't. Second, Pocitos. Pocitos, to me, is about the nicest neighborhood in Montevideo. Plenty of money, but people aren't flashy. But all around there, on the water, people are running on the sidewalks. People are like, superactive here. It's interesting because I heard Uruguay has the second highest rate of obesity or diabetes or something in the world, just after, you guessed it, the US. It's weird because when you're in Montevideo, it seems like everybody is trying to out fit each other.

Montevideo has some very nice parks. If you're there, go visit Parque Rodo. Pretty sweet. Also, around the city there are plenty of hamburger (hamburguesa) and hotdog (pancho) stands. Get a hambuger. You won't regret it. Seriously, these things are good. Put some peppers and shit on it.

Well, this post is getting long enough, but I wanna talk about one more pretty thing in Montevideo...the trees. Not kidding. Along the street and in the parks, the city has done a GREAT job with pretty trees.

When you walk down lots and lots and lots of the streets in Montevideo, they are lined with trees. In perfect formation. That is probably what makes you notice it more than anything. They are evenly spaced and for each tree that is on one side of the street, there is one that matches it on the other. There is, what I like to call, symmetry. And the the trees are large and strong and beautiful and many, if not all, have been cut or naturally made to bend so they angle themselves over the street. As they do such, since every tree on one side has a one-for-one match on the other, the trees meet in the middle and the all form a canopy down the road. It's magical.

It's quite impressive, really, because I don't think this is as easy as it looks, mainly because of the scale of the undertaking. Montevideo has what I call "half-blocks". That means that for every 1000 numbers in the addresses, it takes two blocks to cover that many numbers. A block, then, only covers 500 numbers. I am used to blocks covering either 100 or 1000 in numbers. But not in Montevideo. The point is, Montevideo has a LOT of blocks. And this is what I mean by scale. Montevideo, in the city, has lots of blocks and lots of streets. So to line every street with trees, and then to maintain them, is a massive undertaking. I'm not sure why they did this, but if nothing it certainly made the city very pretty.

And that's it. I doubt you want to read about trees any more. I just wanted to point out the fact that Montevideo has done something marvelous for its city with the trees and praise it as such. For whatever else they are doing, right or wrong, they got the trees right.

So that's it about Montevideo. Think I missed something? Want me to add something? Well, there's about 4700 different ways you can contact me via social media or whatnot, so have at it.

Update 1 (2013-12-18)

Oh, by the way, at some of the beaches, it looks like there are gold flecks in the water. I'm not kidding. The water is dirty but swimmable there so this additional detail doesn't deter me as well but I swear it's like you're wading into a bottle of Goldschlager. It's really weird. I didn't find what I was looking for when I didn't find it on the first page of my Google search results (which indicates the information exists nowhere in the world) so I gave up there. I also mentioned this to several people in Montevideo and they had no idea what I'm talking about so either I'm the only who can see the fortune/pollution (one man's trash, right?) in the sea or I've had a stroke. Anyways, if you DO know what I'm talking about and/or have any idea what it's about, let me know. Comment on this post, Facebook me, e-mail, tweet at me. Hell, Snapchat me. Whatevs. Outskees.

Uruguay In Four Parts - Cuz I Said That's How Many It Needed - Parte Uno - Uruguay As A Whole

So I'm doing a review/my thoughts on Uruguay in four equal installments (we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all installments were created equal):

1. Uruguay - an overall review and my thoughts on what they're doing right or wrong as a country
2. Montevideo - thoughts on the capital city
3. Colonia - one word: chivitos
4. Punta del Este - best beaches in South America (so far)

You are now experiencing Part One. Enjoy.

Why I wanted to visit Uruguay

I decided I wanted to visit Uruguay when I was planning this trip over this summer of 2013 for several reasons. First, I wanted to visit all the countries that make up the more of less "horn" of South America, which is Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil, and sort of Chile, but whatever. I very much enjoy south South America as I find that the further north I get, the more dangerous it is.* Second, it's very easy to get to Uruguay (Montevideo or Colonia or really a lot of places in Uruguay since Uruguay is a small country), so there's a convenience factor. Seriously. You can take a ferry from BA to Colonia in 1 hour. Or to Montevideo in not much more time, maybe 2 hours. It's, like, right there. And it'll cost you less than $100 USD for a 1-way trip. Really, it became a no-brainer. Visit Uruguay. It's right there. Get a feel for the country and get that stamp on that passport. Third, well, I want to experience as much of the world as I can. So why not? (Yes, this statement is similar to #2 but it's not the same). And I forgot all my other reasons for wanting to visit Uruguay.

A little background on Uruguay

Uruguay is a "tiny" (big in spirit and heart) country in South America bordered by Argentina to the east, Brazil to the sort of north and west and the Atlantic Ocean. It is also tiny in population, having maybe only 3 million people. It's cute, with great places like Montevideo (its capital city), Colonia, Punta del Este, Punta del Diablo, and, well, other places? They speak Spanish and their accent is similar to/the same as Argentina's, that is, they make the double L (ll) sound like a "shuh"**, not the "yuh" sound found in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Chile, and parts of the United States***, just to name a few places.

Now, some specifics...

What Uruguay is doing right

First, a disclaimer: To this point in my blog, when I am not in Argentina, you will see me make a lot of comparisons to Argentina, just like I made comparisons of Argentina/South America to India, as before this trip, India was my only prolonged time outside the country. It is only natural.

• Trade - Uruguay is doing trade alright, well, at least better than Argentina. They don't seem to have as many tariffs on their goods, meaning they can import more goods and provide a wider selection of goods for their people. This is a good thing. More sales = more sales tax, if they have a sales tax. I'm not sure if they do. And if they did like Argentina and had companies make their own versions of those goods, those goods would suck, or at least not be as good as if they imported said goods from real companies. So, good job Uruguay.
• Cars - piggybacking off of the trade topic, I saw nicer cars. I assume it's because a) it's easier import good cars, or at least cars people like and want to buy and b) Uruguayans have the money for it. And Uruguayans have a good sense of style. About the money, as always, one of my economic indicators for an area/city/country is the cars because they are so widely seen, so having seen some good cars in Uruguay, seems like their doing alright.
• FOOD - OMG THE CHIVITO. Have I written about the chivito yet? Oh yeah, I have, in my blog post On Why Spencer Burness Is The Greatest Human Being Ever. But yeah, over fries or "al pan" (in sandwich form, put seared steak, ham, egg, cheese, and an assortment of spices, sauces, and lettuce and tomato. Dee-lish. But Uruguayans have other good food like...well, they share a lot of the same food as in Argentina, so you'll find parillas (lots of meat), alfajores, milanesas (not as good as "El Club de la Milanesa" milanesas, but they're only human). One great thing you'll find in Montevideo is an abundance of hamburger/hot dog stands and they do hamburgers right. Same great bread as the chivitos in Colonia and they will load it up with spices and sauces and for you, and mozzarella, bacon, and ham if you pay extra. I mean, it's almost a damn chivito again. And the hotdogs aren't bad either! I did find sangria to be more popular in Uruguay than in Argentina. Wine, baby. What up.
• Marijuana - from what I can tell, Marijuana is decriminalized in Uruguay. You can "consume" it, but I'm not sure the laws around producing (growing)/packaging/distributing/selling it. I assume it's legal to sell (and, in the same way, consume) in small amounts cuz you gotta buy it from somewhere, right? I heard that even soon the state, the government of Uruguay, is going to take over producing and selling (so they can tax it) marijuana. Smart. Very smart. Good job, guys. Way to be progressive.****
• Weather - I was there during the spring so I did have great weather in Uruguay, so there's that. I heart they've got some nasty winters, though. So maybe winter there sucks. And with little else to do...
• Beaches - Uruguay got some great beaches. In Montevideo and Punta del Este you can go lay out and enjoy it. Lots of people are out walking/running/biking along the beach (I mean, LOTS of people in Montevideo. It's incredible.).
• Um, other stuff - I'm sure Uruguay is doing other stuff right. So yeah. Maybe I'll come back and update later if I think of more.

What Uruguay is doing wrong

• Population - you can always question the wisdom of "we need more people". More people means more resources get consumed, etc. I get that. But Uruguay could do with more. Really not because they only have 3 million, but because the ones that are there are leaving (or so I've heard). So, that's not going to bode well for you in the future.
• And, you know, probably other stuff. Can't think of more right now. I've written a lot.

My final verdict: lookit, I think Uruguay is cute. And I'd totally support it's application to become part of the US as the 51st state.

*Feel free to argue with me on that

**This is not the only difference in dialect, but it's one of the biggest

***That's not a racist joke, I'm just dickin around

****I mean, hey, it's getting legal in parts of the US, right?