Google doodle Borges

Google has celebrated what would have been the112th birthday of Jorge Luis Borges with a homepage doodle to celebrate the famous Argentine writer’s achievements; in particular his surreal approach to literature.

The doodle is a montage which shows an elderly man staring at a colourful labyrinth of staircases, forking paths and a library, which when clicked on returns search results for the Argentine maestro of the written word.

It makes particular reference to the Borges’ story ‘The Garden of Forking Paths’ published in 1941 which the author described as a hypertext novel. Hypertext is the computer text which links readers immediately to other texts and so many consider the work as one that captures the spirit of what would eventually become the internet.

BA Cast - Mandatory vs. Voluntary Vote

I was recently invited by Daniel Karlin and Fernando Farías from BA Cast - The Buenos Aires Podcast to participate in a chamullo on whether voting ought to be Mandatory or Voluntary.

The Primaries

So Cristina Fernández de Kirchner came out well on top in the primary elections that took place on 14 August and looks to have set herself up for somewhat of a comfortable victory come the actual Presidential elections this October.

CFK obtained 50.07% of the votes, way ahead of her closest rival, Ricardo Alfonsín, the UCR candidate and son of the first democratically elected president post military dictatorship Raúl Alfonsín, who got 12.17%.