Miss Teaque's Blogspace

Κάτι κινείται στην ΚΑΕ Άρης

2009-08-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

Τα τελευταία χρόνια ακουγόταν όλο και πιο έντονα ότι στην ΚΑΕ Άρης γίνεται πολύ καλή δουλειά. Από οργανωτικής απόψεως, δηλαδή. Με άλλα λόγια, αρκετοί ήταν οι καλαθοσφαιριστές εκείνοι που δήλωναν εντυπωσιασμένοι από τον τρόπο λειτουργίας του Άρη. Δεν είναι άγνωστη η ιστορία συγκεκριμένου παίκτη (ονόματα δεν λέμε, υπολήψεις δεν θίγουμε) ο οποίος, όταν εκπρόσωπος της ΚΑΕ τον οδήγησε στο σπίτι του για πρώτη φορά – σε ένα από τα σπίτια που διατηρεί η ομάδα στο Πανόραμα – εκείνος κοίταξε γύρω του εντυπωσιασμένος και ρώτησε “με πόσους θα το μοιράζομαι αυτό;”. Όταν έμαθε πως θα έμενε εκεί μόνος του μόνο που δεν πήδηξε από τη χαρά του. “Στην προηγούμενη ομάδα μου έμενα στο μισό από αυτό το σπίτι, με άλλους δύο συγκατοίκους” έλεγε και ξαναέλεγε, υπογραμμίζοντας το ότι ο Άρης φαίνεται να σέβεται εκείνους που αφήνουν τις οικογένειές τους και τον τόπο τους για να παίξουν για εκείνον.
Δεν είναι, όμως, μόνο οι καλαθοσφαιριστές που μετράνε. Είναι και πολλά άλλα πράγματα, και μέχρι τώρα εκεί ο Άρης χώλαινε. Δημοσιογραφικοί κύκλοι μας ενημέρωναν ότι τα τελευταία χρόνια, από άποψη συνεργασίας με τα ΜΜΕ (εντάξει, ίσως όχι με όλους, βγάλτε τα δικά σας συμπεράσματα!), η ΚΑΕ δεν εμφάνιζε και το καλύτερό της πρόσωπο. Συγκεκριμένο παράδειγμα είναι ότι, όταν περιοδικό της πόλης χρειάστηκε να κάνει ρεπορτάζ για τις τρεις ομάδες (Άρη, Πάοκ, Ηρακλή), το γραφείο Τύπου του Πάοκ το κανόνισε μέσα σε μισή ώρα, το γραφείο Τύπου του Ηρακλή χρειάστηκε κάτι λιγότερο από μια μέρα, ενώ δύο χρόνια μετά, ακόμη περιμένουν το γραφείο Τύπου του Άρη να τους απαντήσει.
Όλα αυτά φαίνεται ότι βαίνουν προς αλλαγή. Γιατί το λέμε αυτό; Μα γιατί αυτό το καλοκαίρι άλλαξαν πολλά στα γραφεία της διοίκησης του Παλέ ντε Σπορ. Με ικανοποίηση και ελπίδα, λοιπόν, υποδεχθήκαμε την είδηση ότι ο Βασίλης Κεχαγιάς ανέλαβε τη θέση του υπεύθυνου επικοινωνίας στην ΚΑΕ. Άνθρωπος με κύρος, λέγειν, άποψη, και κυρίως, μυαλό και γνώση του αντικειμένου.
Δεν είναι άγνωστος ο Βασίλης Κεχαγιάς, ούτε στο χώρο της Θεσσαλονίκης, αλλά ούτε, φυσικά, και στον κόσμο της δημοσιογραφίας. Με ανοιχτό μυαλό και δημιουργικότητα, ο διευθυντής του Μουσείου Κινηματογράφου και επί χρόνια σινε-κριτικός και αρθρογράφος / δημοσιογράφος σε εφημερίδες της πόλης ελπίζουμε ότι θα φέρει τον καινούργιο αέρα που τόσο χρειάζεται αυτή η ομάδα. Εξάλλου, η δημιουργικότητά του δεν τίθεται υπό αμφισβήτηση, οι καλές του ιδέες αλλά ούτε και το καλό του όνομα στην “πιάτσα”.
Σιδεροκέφαλος, λοιπόν, και άντε, ας δούμε καμία βελτίωση.
Και μιας και μιλάμε για νέο αίμα, αυτό φαίνεται να κυλάει και στα πιο υψηλά κλιμάκια της ΚΑΕ. Ο Θανάσης Κουιμτζής είναι η καινούργια προσθήκη στη διοίκηση και από νωρίς φαίνεται να έπεσε στα βαθιά, μιας και τοποθετήθηκε στη θέση του αντιπροέδρου.
Πρόκειται για έναν καθ' όλα ευυπόληπτο επιχειρηματία που δραστηριοποιείται στην περιοχή της Σίνδου και είναι γνωστός από παλιά στις τάξεις των φιλάθλων του Άρη. Από εκείνους που ακολουθούν την ομάδα όπου μπορούν και είναι παρόντες όταν εκείνη τους χρειαστεί.
Ο Θανάσης Κουιμτζής είναι ένας άνθρωπος μορφωμένος, επιτυχημένος επιχειρηματίας, αμερικανο-σπουδαγμένος, δραστήριος, με ιδέες και όνειρα και όραμα για τον Άρη. Φίλος του Θανάση Τζεβελέκη από τον χώρο των επιχειρήσεων, δέχθηκε να βοηθήσει μόλις του ζητήθηκε από τον πρώην πρόεδρο του Άρη. Και φαίνεται ότι θα βοηθήσει, μιας και – πάλι σύμφωνα με πηγές, αχ αυτές οι πηγές μας! - έχει πέσει με τα μούτρα στη δουλειά και έχει αποφασίσει να “στρώσει” αυτό το μαγαζί, πάση θυσία!

Shit

2009-04-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

Did everyone watch the news?
About the earthquake in L'Aquila??
Remember that town? That's where I was supposed to be. Remember the job in Italy I was offered and was thinking about taking?
That was there...

Nature is humbling. We take and we take, and we destroy and we burn, and we cut and we tear down and we suck the life out of this planet that has been so kind as to take us in and let us live on its back.
And every once in a while it decides to show us who's the real boss. And then we talk about "Nature's wrath" and lament lives lost and properties destroyed.
I hope we learn. We learn and respect. We respect and learn the planet. We learn the planet and fear its powers. We fear its powers and protect ourselves. We protect ourselves and live in harmony. Live in harmony with nature.
Only through respect we can do that, and we, the human race, are still, after millions of years on this planet, so far from it.

be my...

2009-03-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

be my..

be my little rock 'n' roll queen!

Snow

2009-02-21T22:15:00.000-08:00

Can you guys see the snow?

I know that for most of you it isn't a big deal, and you probably don't even like snow, cause it causes a lot of problems and all that...
But it doesn't snow that often here, and it almost never sets, so today? big day for me!
It's been snowing all morning (it's 12:47pm right now). I woke up at about 9, it started snowing about half an hour later. Nothing is white yet, just wet and probably slippery, but at least I can see snowflakes!
so... yeah...
snow!

Control

2009-02-20T20:58:00.000-08:00

I was watching "Control" again last night
it killed me once again, as it always does
Ian Curtis had been a personal icon for me, even though i was 4 1/2 when he died

What really shocks me is that this man never really got to know and realize - and I believe that he never even imagined, not to the millionth of its extent - how decisively he would change the fate of music, art, what a deep trace his existence and work would leave to the psyches and cultures of people all over the world

Icons such as him don't exist any more

Out to get you

2009-02-09T00:30:00.000-08:00

My work is killing me today. Their voices, the things they say, they just stab me right through the head, and I can’t stop them.

I took my earphones and placed them on my ears. I pushed the button and closed my eyes.

The music filled my head like only music can. I imagine the room emptying. There’s noone here but me. Now, not even me anymore.

Im so alone tonight, My bed feels larger than when I was small, back then, when things were easy. And beautiful. Now I’m Lost in memories, lost in all the sheets and all old pillows. My past is flowing by me, like butterflies, tickling my fingertips, caressing my shut eyelids, kissing my lips. So alone tonight, miss you more than I will let you know, Miss the outline of your back, miss you breathing down my neck. My breath is heavy, because I can see you. You’re standing there, by the door, so many years back, giving me that look, that stole my dreams so long ago. So deep in the past, and so near to my surface.
All out to get you, once again, theyre all out to get you, once again

It’s funny, this sweet taste a very bitter past can acquire through the years. Like all the pain is filtered away, and all you’re left with is a teary nostalgia, that walks with you everywhere you go. And, like a shadow, every time you reach out to touch it, it reaches out and touches you back. Only it can’t feel your touch. Only you can. Insecure, what ya gonna do, Feel so small, they could step on you. Called you up, answer machine, only I never did. Because you were only a dream, when the human touch Is what I need, what I need is you, I need you.

I need you...

Growing up is a bitch. Especially when all you have to show for yourself is compromise and dead dreams. Did you know that dreams never really die? Looked in the mirror, I dont know who I am any more The face is familiar, but the eyes, the eyes give it all away. They just stop their screaming in your head, and that’s when you think they have died. But all they do is crawl up on your face, dig a trench and live in there for ever. And steal their part of the gleam in your eyes. Because that’s what makes our eyes shine: our dreams. When we bury them, then we’ve nothing.
Theyre all out to get you, once again, theyre all out to get you Here they come again

Oh, here they come again… They’re after me, they’re after you, I’m after you, I was after you, I’ll always be, even when I’m not. But you’ll always be so far away… so Insecure, what ya gonna do, Feel so small, they could step on you, and haven’t they? Called you up, answer machine, when the human touch Is what I need, what I need is you

And all these years, all I ever wanted was to breathe. Let me breathe, if youd let me breathe

Theyre all out to get you, once again, theyre all out to get you

Once again…
I need you...

Home

2009-02-03T21:19:00.000-08:00

I stayed at home today, meaning that I didn't go to work. I called in, not sick, but very tired and worn out.
I'm very happy I can do this with my boss, even though I don't really like my job. The truth is, I'm on antibiotics for, well, something, and they hurt my stomach. Last night I was feeling drunk, even though I haven't drunk in ages... The room was spinning, I couldn't see clearly and my stomach was feeling like a stupid... uhm... I'll say "rock", cause no good word or metaphor comes to mind. I slept few to zero hours last night - Panos, good man, - my boyfriend, for those of you who don't know- refused to stay at his home (we were at his place when it happened, but I couldn't stay there) and drove with me to my place and stayed at my place, even though his (stupid) cat was pissed at him for leaving (I swear, this cat is human, and he hates me!), so I was feeling secure.

To stop everyone right there, before you start saying I'm sick and getting all worried and everything, I'm not sick, I just need to take these antibiotics till Saturday or Sunday for this tiny little unimportant thing I have, and then everything will be better! I just think Augmentin is a bit strong for me, but I'm already better.

I thought I'd work on my Ronda thing today, that I'm at home, but the truth is, it's already noon, and I am still watching stupid shows on TV, my brain is already mushed from watching too much Menegaki (seriously, consider yourselves lucky for not living in Greece and not having the Menegaki option when staying at home) and I don't think I can be creative in any way.
The truth is, I don't really know what to do with my time, once I'm at home, and not at work. When thinking of the prospect of staying at home, I have all these plans for what to do with my day. "I'll do this, I'll write that, I'll shop there, I'll jog here" and all that. When the time comes, I find my ass glued on my couch, I don't even carry my laptop to my desk, so my feet take turns falling asleep from sitting in weird positions, trying to make myself comfortable on a couch I only like sitting and not lying on! I need to be more organized, or I'll never finish my Ronda*.

*yes, my Ronda is a book

I am thinking of doing so many things in the future, that I am sure I won't be doing any. I am still considering L'Aquila, though my initial enthusiasm is kind of fading away... I mean, yes, I do want to get out of here, but how is going to some village in Italy and stopping what I'm doing in order to do something completely different going to help me at all? But I'm considering going to Dublin. Or London. Or even New York (though that would be truly expensive, and I don't want that). Panos said he'd consider going to Chicago with me, if we could find jobs... HEY, ANYONE IN CHICAGO, WE'RE GOOD AT WRITING, AND GREAT ON THE RADIO! ANY JOBS OUT THERE FOR US??
Anyway, I have no idea how to get a job in another country. In Greece it's all about the people you know, and I don't know anyone in Chicago.

The bottom line is, I really need a change in my life. When I was younger, these points in my life were more frequent, and when they came, I'd change boyfriends, jobs, go on trips, completely change my hair, you know the feeling? Well, I like my boyfriend (which is really a first for me!), I don't reaaaaaally want to change my hair, I wish I could find another job, but it's difficult, and I really can't afford to take another course at the NYFA, the last one cost way too much money! Plus, I feel like I can't get myself organized to think of anything, and plan anything, and I need a break from work. I still have 12 vacation days left from last year, but I can't take it yet... And 2 weeks (that's how long that is) is really not enough!

Anyway
Am I ranting?
Was that a rant?
who cares?
I'll let you in on a little secret: I typed more than half of this with my eyes closed!

A birthday wish

2009-01-26T09:06:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I have a birthday wish
that is a little bit different
than any other birthday wish I've given
I have a birthday wish that goes out to an angel

I wish you a happy birthday
I wish you know that you changed my life
I wish you feel no more pain
I wish you are still dancing
I wish you got to see Iceland
I wish you found that faeries exist and danced with them to eternity
I wish your days are filled with music
I wish you know you are special
I wish you are loved
I wish you know how loved you were
when you were down here with us
I wish you know you still are loved
I wish that heaven is treating you well
and the clouds you are wearing are fluffy enough to your liking
I wish I never forget you
I wish I always remember the things you taught me
I wish we had more time
and I wish one day we meet again
some day
Until then
I'll always be remembering you
every day
I wish you are well
Happy birthday

Stolen

2009-01-12T00:29:00.000-08:00

So, shoot me

i have blogger's block, so i have to do this
I stole it from Erin's blog, which rawks

What is on your bed right now? new sheets, thank you very much, yes I am clean

When was the last time you threw up? oh, during my forgotten years, that was about 10 years ago.. uh-huh!

What's your favorite word or phrase? I don't know... wait, that's not my favorite phrase, i just really don't know!

Name 3 people who made you smile today? Three??? Are you kidding? Do you know the people I have to deal with? Ok, Panos made me smile today, and Antigone, and I was laughing with (not at) Kalouda on MSN, so that might be 3 if I can count

What were you doing at 8 am this morning? I was having breakfast, realizing that I'll probably be having a bad day stomach-wise... I was right, there was pain! :D

What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Trying to get the cat that found the door open and ran outside

What is your favorite holiday? Erin said "Halloween" and I agree

Have you ever been to another country? Yup, i have

What is the last thing you said aloud? "And you're singing the songs thinking this is the life and you wake up in the morning and your head feels twice it's size where are you gonna go where are you gonna go where are you gonna sleep tonight" I had mtv on

What is the best ice cream flavor? Yoghurt and cinnamon

What was the last thing you had to drink? Tea

What are you wearing right now? Shirt, yoga pants

What was the last thing you ate? Breakfast

Have you bought any new clothing items this week? This week? uhm... burberry's rain boots...

When was the last time you ran? I ran up the stairs this morning

What's the last sporting event you watched? Football games, last night... both football and... well... football, cause football is played with your feet, you know! FOOTball, get it??

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? New York, and Dublin, and Los Angeles, and Canada, cause I've never been to Canada

Who is the last person you sent a comment/message on myspace? I don't even remember, for real... My space on myspace is a dead space

Ever go camping? Every year for about 20 years!

Do you have a tan? oh of course i do, it's January, who doesnt!

Have you ever lost anything down a toilet? Yes, I have, a ring, it fell off my finger while I was -DUDE!!- washing my hands, bounced off the counter right into the toilet, and I refused to stick my hand in there and get it back... what???

What is your guilty pleasure? Food, shoes and New Kids On The Block

Do you use smiley faces on the computer alot? Yes... and on sms...

Do you drink your soda from a straw? Uhm... whatever...

What did your last text message say? it was a phone number

Are you someone's best friend? you bet

What are you doing tomorrow? Work, then a game, then maybe I'll go out, but then again I'm going out tonight and then again on Wednesday, so maybe just the game, we'll see

Where is your mom right now? At home

Look to your left, what do you see? Panos, his foot on the couch's back, a plant, doors...

What color is your watch? It's white with black eyes, shaped like a skull... oh wait... That's it on the right

What do you think of when you think of Australia? Kangaroos and sunny Christmases

Ever ridden on a roller coaster? Uhm... no... Ok, once, but it was a thousand years ago and it was the tiniest little thing you've seen so I don't think that counts

What is your birthstone? I forgot to ask. I was too happy to be born

Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive tthru? I don't go to fast food places, period.

Do you have any friends on myspace that you actually hate? Again, MySpace, DeadSpace

Do you have a dog? I have a cat that looks like a dog

Last person you talked to on the phone? Antigone

Any plans today? I'll try to get my stomach to rest and then go out and mess it up all over again

Are you happy? I am healthy, I have a loving family, a good man, a cat that hates me and friends all around me... I'm OK... If I was happy, that would mean I have no goals and my life is complete, and I don't really want to die just yet

Where are you right now? At Panos' place

Biggest annoyance in your life right now? Panos is baking sausages and his house smells

Last song listened to? This is the life

Last movie you saw? Stardust

Are you allergic to anything? Chocolate

Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? My boots.

Are you jealous of anyone? I'm human, aren't I?

Are you married? Nope

Is anyone jealous of you? Why would anyone be jealous of me??

Do any of your friends have children? Actually, no.. Some people I know do, but noone very close to me

Do you eat healthy? Sometimes I do

What do you usually do during the day? I go to work, I come back home, I sometimes go to the gym, I cook, I read, I listen to music, normal things... what, you think us awesome people are not normal, like everyone else? Please...

Do you hate anyone right now? Hate?? gawd, no, why would I give anyone I dont like this much attention??

Do you use the word 'hello' daily? It would be kind of weird, considering I speak greek

How old will you be turning on your next birthday? 34... shit, I'm old

Have you ever been to Six Flags? Six Flags??? eh... no...

How did u get one of your scars? Chicken pox

The 100 best English-language novels of the 20th Century

2009-01-08T21:50:00.000-08:00

This is something Richard posted, but i thought reposting it was good, cause these things need to go around

plus, i need to keep this list, for future reference.

In 2000, a board of authors and literary critics created a list for Random House of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th Century. This is that list. I've bolded the works that I've read.

Note that these are english-language novels, and any additions to that list are more than welcome, english language or not!

1. (1922) Ulysses James Joyce
2. (1925) The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. (1916) A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyce
4. (1955) Lolita Vladimir Nabokov
5. (1932) Brave New World Aldous Huxley
6. (1929) The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner
7. (1961) Catch-22 Joseph Heller
8. (1940) Darkness at Noon Arthur Koestler
9. (1913) Sons and Lovers D. H. Lawrence
10. (1939) The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck
11. (1947) Under the Volcano Malcolm Lowry
12. (1903) The Way of All Flesh Samuel Butler
13. (1949) Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell
14. (1934) I, Claudius Robert Graves
15. (1927) To the Lighthouse Virginia Woolf
16. (1925) An American Tragedy Theodore Dreiser
17. (1940) The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers
18. (1969) Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut
19. (1952) Invisible Man Ralph Ellison
20. (1940) Native Son Richard Wright
21. (1959) Henderson the Rain King Saul Bellow
22. (1934) Appointment in Samarra John O'Hara
23. (1938) U.S.A. (trilogy) John Dos Passos
24. (1919) Winesburg, Ohio Sherwood Anderson
25. (1924) A Passage to India E. M. Forster
26. (1902) The Wings of the Dove Henry James
27. (1903) The Ambassadors Henry James
28. (1934) Tender Is the Night F. Scott Fitzgerald
29. (1935) Studs Lonigan (trilogy) James T. Farrell
30. (1915) The Good Soldier Ford Madox Ford
31. (1945) Animal Farm George Orwell
32. (1904) The Golden Bowl Henry James
33. (1900) Sister Carrie Theodore Dreiser
34. (1934) A Handful of Dust Evelyn Waugh
35. (1930) As I Lay Dying William Faulkner
36. (1946) All the King's Men Robert Penn Warren
37. (1927) The Bridge of San Luis Rey Thornton Wilder
38. (1910) Howards End E. M. Forster
39. (1953) Go Tell It on the Mountain James Baldwin
40. (1948) The Heart of the Matter Graham Greene
41. (1954) Lord of the Flies William Golding
42. (1970) Deliverance James Dickey
43. (1951-1975) A Dance to the Music of Time (series) Anthony Powell
44. (1928) Point Counter Point Aldous Huxley
45. (1926) The Sun Also Rises Ernest Hemingway
46. (1907) The Secret Agent Joseph Conrad
47. (1904) Nostromo Joseph Conrad
48. (1915) The Rainbow D. H. Lawrence
49. (1920) Women in Love D. H. Lawrence
50. (1934) Tropic of Cancer Henry Miller
51. (1948) The Naked and the Dead Norman Mailer
52. (1969) Portnoy's Complaint Philip Roth
53. (1962) Pale Fire Vladimir Nabokov
54. (1932) Light in August William Faulkner
55. (1957) On the Road Jack Kerouac
56. (1930) The Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett
57. (1924-1928) Parade's End Ford Madox Ford
58. (1920) The Age of Innocence Edith Wharton
59. (1911) Zuleika Dobson Max Beerbohm
60. (1961) The Moviegoer Walker Percy
61. (1927) Death Comes for the Archbishop Willa Cather
62. (1951) From Here to Eternity James Jones
63. (1957) The Wapshot Chronicle John Cheever
64. (1951) The Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger
65. (1962) A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess
66. (1915) Of Human Bondage W. Somerset Maugham
67. (1902) Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad
68. (1920) Main Street Sinclair Lewis
69. (1905) The House of Mirth Edith Wharton
70. (1957-1960) The Alexandria Quartet Lawrence Durrell
71. (1929) A High Wind in Jamaica Richard Hughes
72. (1961) A House for Mr Biswas V. S. Naipaul
73. (1939) The Day of the Locust Nathanael West
74. (1929) A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway
75. (1938) Scoop Evelyn Waugh
76. (1962) The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Muriel Spark
77. (1939) Finnegans Wake James Joyce
78. (1901) Kim Rudyard Kipling
79. (1908) A Room with a View E. M. Forster
80. (1945) Brideshead Revisited Evelyn Waugh
81. (1953) The Adventures of Augie March Saul Bellow
82. (1971) Angle of Repose Wallace Stegner
83. (1979) A Bend in the River V. S. Naipaul
84. (1938) The Death of the Heart Elizabeth Bowen
85. (1900) Lord Jim Joseph Conrad
86. (1975) Ragtime E. L. Doctorow
87. (1908) The Old Wives' Tale Arnold Bennett
88. (1903) The Call of the Wild Jack London
89. (1945) Loving Henry Green
90. (1980) Midnight's Children Salman Rushdie
91. (1932) Tobacco Road Erskine Caldwell
92. (1983) Ironweed William Kennedy
93. (1965) The Magus John Fowles
94. (1966) Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys
95. (1954) Under the Net Iris Murdoch
96. (1979) Sophie's Choice William Styron
97. (1949) The Sheltering Sky Paul Bowles
98. (1934) The Postman Always Rings Twice James M. Cain
99. (1955) The Ginger Man J. P. Donleavy
100. (1918) The Magnificent Ambersons Booth Tarkington

All right

2009-01-01T18:13:00.000-08:00

after two days of partying, not sleeping and (I'm sorry Debs, we're Greek, we can't have a celebration without it!!) food, life is slowly getting back on track (and so will I, food-wise, today!). Of course the holidays here are far from over, the celebration ends on Tuesday, but it's much lighter and far less partying...

so... i guess what I'm trying to say, is

happy new year to everybody

I really do hope this year is better for everyone than 2008 was! No one expects it to be challenge free and rosey, but at least i hope it's easy and filled with more laughter and good times!

Anyway... it's back to work for me (no work yesterday, thankfully, because I couldn't even stand on my feet!) but i can't even get myself to get dressed! I should already be there by now, but wth

Hopefully you all had a great time, and 2009 proves to be fun as well as... well... fun! :)

goodmorning everybody

Since I'll be gone tomorrow...

2008-12-24T03:24:00.000-08:00

Merry merry christmas everyone!
I hope every single one of you has a wonderful Christmas... With your families, your boyfriends, your friends, your children, your pets, your neighbours or just yourself, I hope you have everything your heart desires...
I hope the turkey's well-done
the stuffing has 0 calories
the tree is all green
the lights are bright
i hope there's snow
and it's cold
but not very cold
just cold enough
to give you this tingling holiday feeling
you know the one I'm talking about!

and i hope you are all happy
and healthy
and all your loved ones
are healthy and by your side
and they love you as much as you love them

I hope you get wonderful presents
from everybody
and I hope everyone adores the presents you bought them

Just don't forget
don't ever forget
the biggest present you will receive this year
is having your loved ones near (hey that rhymes! i rawk!)
we often take this for granted
when we should not

cherish every moment with them
and i hope
that there's moments like this for many many many
many

many many many

many many
many

many many many many many

years to come

and a dozen more

MERRY CHRISTMAS

i love you all

Newspaper under attack

2008-12-11T03:47:00.000-08:00

So, it's about 10 minutes before 5 and I'm thinking about leaving work, cause my boss has left and, you know, the minute she left everyone left, and I was there, all alone, wondering why I stayed!
So, I'm talking to Pano on MSN about this tshirt place debs showed me, and we've picked out the tshirts we like, and I'm emptying my water bottle and everything and seriously thinking about leaving.
Suddenly, there's loud noises coming from... well, I don't know at the time where they're coming from, and we start to wonder what they are. This guy says "it's probably the neighbors having really loud sex" and we laugh, but it's really not normal for us to hear such loud bangings, cause we have pseudo-ceilings, which means no contact with the upstairs neighbors... Plus we have our own entrance, seperate from the building we are housed in, so we don't have access to the usual noises of a building.
Then someone says: "you guys think there's someone down there breaking our cars?". The very second he finishes his sentence, we hear people shouting slogans from downstairs, and it becomes clear that the noises we hear are of people breaking our ground floor down.
I have never been more thankful for our lame-ass elevator, which makes it almost impossible for people to come upstairs quickly.

About 50 people - I'd say "kids", with the danger of sounding really old, cause they were about 20 years old, give or take a year or two - barged into the newspaper I work at, completely broke down the entrance, upturned all the desks, terrorized the girl working at the entrance, broke all of our windows, then went to the radio that's working at our basement - which is easily accessed from the ground floor, it's just one door - broke everything, all the computers and the studios, then they wrote on the walls, called us names, threw some trashcans on the street and left.
Oh, upon leaving, they threw some kind of gas thing in the elevator, so when it came upstairs and we opened the door, some kind of smoke filled the room, but it was nothing.

some photos:

Update - cause I only say the bad things...

2008-12-10T02:33:00.000-08:00

...today i'll say good things

Not much has happened today... Sure there was a huge general strike, and sure there were demonstrations and riots again... but everything was much more quiet than it has been these past few days...

I read what the foreign press has to say about what's happening here, and i'm afraid it's all a bit exaggerated. That's not to say that things are not out of hand, or that there's no riots, or that things are quiet... But we are not in the brink of a civil war, we are not face to face with desperation, we are not "brave rebels who don't take oppression and rise up to anyone who takes away our freedom" (I read that somewhere, yes i did)

Ok, maybe we are to some extend. And, yes, maybe we do have a smaller tolerance level than others. I do not know, honestly.
And, yes, the people who demonstrated peacefully - and there were such, and their (our) demonstrations were beautiful and creative and hurtfully intense and to the point - were outraged by the unfair killing of a young man. A killing that was the result of many things that go wrong with this country: a justice system that is corrupt and punctured. A special police force that accepts people with "special exams", meaning that anyone who knows someone can enter and carry a gun. Policemen who are given weapons without psychological evaluations and wave them around like kompolois. Policemen who are provenly "Rambos" but still allowed to carry a gun, in the most neuralgic part of a large city. Policemen who act like mafia, selling "protection" to clubs and bars, selling drugs and trafficking women and children. Politicians who live inside their own world, far from the prefectures that vote for them, granting favors to voters a year and a half before the elections, to ensure their favor and their vote. Politicians afraid to lead the people, afraid to take a stance and make unpopular but necessary decisions, for the good of this country and the people. People who believe that everything is owed to them and whatever they don't have, has been stolen from then and should be taken back: by violence or by cheating/ stealing. People who don't respect one's right to be different ("you are aderfi/queer/anarchist/communist) People who believe themselves to be leftists, and anarchists, and strive to enforce their opinions on everyone, by causing trouble, breaking and burning, attacking to kill and disrespecting other people's lives, in the most fascist way.

I can think of only a few things that could be sadder than the murder of a 15-year-old boy, by the very person that was supposed to protect him and for nothing more and nothing less than bullyism. "I'll show you", the policeman said, and took away a life that could have so much to give.
One of the sadder things I can think of is the exploitation of this tragic event by people, in order to push their own, personal, political, ideological agenda forward. Or in order to just "go out there and burn the country down, because I am mad/sad/angry/boohoohoo". Or in order to loot stores, because i need a phone/new sunglasses/a gift for my girlfriend. If you are wondering, yes, this happened.

If Alexis Grigoropoulos is watching, I am sure he will be proud of his schoolmates, his friends, and the vast majority of teenage children, who took to the streets and defended his name in the face of police brutality. He will be proud of the theatrical manifestations of support he got, with children giving roses to the policemen, asking them to let them live and protect them in peace and love, with teenagers laying half-naked on the stairs of police stations, showing the police that their lives and body's are in the hands and protection of the police, but their souls are their own. He will be proud of all the teams, who hung black cloths at the european games to express mourning, and he will be prould of his favorite team, Panathinaikos, that made it to the Top 16 in the Champions League, because, in Greece, we love sports.

But he won't be proud that so many "little" peoples fortunes and businesses were destroyed and burned to the ground, in his name.

And I am not proud that all this happened. I believe it's my fault too, though. When shit hit the fan, I choked. I got afraid and didn't go out. I set one foot at a demonstration, and not both feet. I locked myself up in my house and chose to let these people burn up my city, break and burn the main street, where I would do my christmas shoping (which I will now probably do online). I receded and allowed them to take over the city, when I should be out there, protecting what's mine, demonstrating peacefully and standing by what I believe in.

This too shall pass. I hope those who say that we are ahead of a new junta, or a revolution, are not right. I wouldn't say no to a class revolt, in fact I would probably be one of the first out in the streets. But not the way it is expressed right now. Not by people who do not respect other people's personalities.

Photo blog

2008-12-09T03:36:00.000-08:00

OK, be nice with me, I'm no photographer... plus these photos were taken while I was driving, so i couldn't zoom (can't zoom anyway, iphone won't let me!!) or center it right!

This is the traffic just out of the center, about 500 meters from the main street (Tsimiski)... It took me about 20 minutes to do that distance

This is a bee that sat on my mirror... Nothing to do with the riots, but I thought it was cute

The rioters took over the offices of the Lawyers' Union... It is common in Thessaloniki, and Athens, to do so...

Entering Tsimiski street, there was no significant damage, and I thought "what the hell were they talking about? Things are OK!"... Then I drove a bit further and I saw it! Most stores were broken or burnt - I'll show you some - and the ones that were not, were closed, on a Tuesday morning, two weeks before X-mas

This is the first Zara store I drove across

This is the second one

Marks & Spencer's didn't bother opening up today

Neither did this Alpha Bank branch

Tous bags... gone... *tears*

I took this photo yesterday, while walking to work... That is a Benetton store with its window broken...

That black hole in the middle there, that is the same Benetton store... sorry, WAS the same Benetton store!

These are a few photos I snapped... Mind you, I didn't walk through Egnatia, where the fightings were held, but Tsimiski, which is a couple of streets to the south... At this moment, more fighting is held at the same places... I hope people start to think really soon... Think people... Think!! what the fuck!!

A survivor

2007-10-22T07:26:00.000-07:00

Photo a poster by Stephen Morris, taken from www.art.com

The minute he buzzed me in I felt a knot in my stomach. I had done this probably a thousand times, but this one was different. This one was important. This one was serious.

I took the elevator and pressed 6. As the cabin was rising, on its way to the 6th floor, the questions were dancing in my head but I couldn’t decide where to begin. How do you raise a subject like this one, without insulting, hurting, bringing back memories beyond painful?

He was waiting for me by the door. An old man of 81, frail as his age would permit, but still standing poised with a dignity I had never spotted in anyone in the past.

He welcomed me in his home and showed me in his living room. His eyes were the deepest gray I had ever seen. As gray as the photos we see of a time as ugly as humanity itself.

I politely refused his offer of coffee or tea (I did not want to tire him, his wife was not home) and looked for a way to start the discussion. “Ask me anything you want. I feel like I can trust you, so ask away”, he said, sensing my hesitation. “I wouldn’t like to be the one bringing ugly thoughts back into your mind”, I said, completely honest about the way I felt. He smiled, and it was the smile of a man who has seen it all. “It is all in the past”, he said to me. “After all these years, I am not afraid to talk about it”. He lifted his sleeve slightly and showed me his arm. “There is a number etched on my skin that makes me think of it every day, no matter how many years have passed”.

He had been number 115.365 for 3 years. He watched helpless as his mother, father and younger brother burnt in the ovens of Auschwitz. He stood speechless as countless friends, loved ones, acquaintances, neighbors faded away from hunger, malnutrition, illness, eventually gassed to death in the gas chambers and finally stacked in mountains of horror in front of their eyes “to show us what our future was”. He learned of medical experiments done to the person he shared a bed with at the camp, he was beaten to exhaustion, to near death. He learned to live with terror and not succumb to it. “We didn’t pay attention to fear. We learned to recognize it and then ignore it. This is human nature. This is the only way to survive”, he said.

When the doors of the camps opened and they were free to go, he was 18. He weighed 27 kilos (59 pounds). A few months later, doctors removed bone from his leg to add it to his back: it had been destroyed from the beatings.

Today there’s a group of people who question whether the Holocaust ever happened. They claim that it was a Jewish conspiracy to gain the worlds compassion. They claim no Jews ever died during World War II. They claim the concentration camps never existed. They claim that the only thing history can accuse Hitler for is that he started a job he never finished. I met a man who can prove the opposite.

remember

2007-11-07T00:14:00.000-08:00

i remember this day four years ago
it was sunny and warm, and we were thinking, it can't be november, the weather is so good!
Ricky called me while i was buying my season tickets. panos was looking for our seats and i was just looking at all the pictures. when i saw my caller id, i thought "yes! ricky and tina are here, we're going out tonight!"
when he told me i lost my balance. i fell wherever i was standing, and thankfully there was a chair there. i couldn't believe it, i had to push my brain till it hurt to get myself to believe it. i cried uncontrollably. i still do to this day.
we travelled all night by train. all i would to was try to get myself to believe it. we met ismini by chance on the train. i remember her face swollen, and tracks of tears still visible. we went to the cafe, and noone was speaking. i couldnt even open my mouth to form a word.
the train was packed with people travelling all night to be in athens in the morning. we got off and went to a coffee shop to get some coffee before it all started. i remember my body numb and i remember i could feel a pain, but can't remember where.
i remember what i was wearing. it was this cop copine shirt you always told me how much you liked and a pair of jeans. i thought it was so ironic that i was seeing you out wearing this shirt.
leaving the cafe, we bought our newspaper, to see if they had thought to write a piece on you. they had. 100 words on a black field. i got so angry i threw the paper away. 100 words? on you? tomorrow i'd return and give them a piece of my mind. let them know that it takes more than 100 words to describe someone like you, and to convey the pain your leaving causes. it takes more than 100 words to honor a person that gave light, kindness and smile to everyone unconditionally. it takes more than 100 words to explore how someone whose whole life had been carved by sickness and unbearable pain managed to never show it, but go down her path patiently, quietly, bravely, like the hero that you were.
it takes more than 100 words to even begin to describe the tragedy of someone leaving at the age of 28, when she could have given so much and been so happy.
i remember reaching the church. suddenly i really didn't want to go in. everyone would go but i really didn't want to set my foot in it. panos asked me, please, he said, we have to. i remember dragging my feet, i felt 3 years old again, i did not want to go. we went inside the courtyard and looked inside the room. there you were, lying in a bed of flowers, your hair out of your face, the way you never wanted it. your face so calm and void of expression the way you never were. your mother staring at you, trying to memorize your every feature. i remember thinking don't, thats not her at all. i cried uncontrolably. i still do to this day.
i didnt want to come inside to kiss you goodbye. im so bad with goodbyes and i knew you'd understand. besides, i remember not being able to move my legs. i sat under a tree and waited. i remember seeing george crying like a baby behind another tree. we lost george for months after this day. even today i don't know where he was and what he did.
i remember them moving you to the church for the ceremony. i dont remember what the priests said. i remember i had left my sunglasses home and the whole world could see my swollen face. i remember them taking you to your final place. i remember the thumping of the ground on you. i can still feel its weight on my chest to this day. i remember how much it hurt your mother. i asked them to wait till i was gone she said. i remember her friends taking her away.
i remember ricky throwing a party for you that night. i remember thinking that this would trully be the way youd want us all to say goodbye to you. i remember walking in your home and almost collapsing. i remember pano holding me very tightly cause he knew i would. i remember hugging ricky and forcing myself not to cry. i remember all the songs and i remember that pain was almost a person that night, coming to everyone and hugging us with all his strength. i remember i couldnt stay. i remember kissing ricky and leaving, and then collapsing once again on the street. i remember being angry at ricky for not telling me you were dying. i remember all those things i wanted to tell you before you left. i remember wanting to tell you that i love you, that you changed my life, that i owe you so much, that i would do anything to keep you alive. i remember the emptiness i felt. and the anger. and the emptiness.
i don't remember much after that.
but i remember you

A Tale of One Country

2008-01-15T05:43:00.000-08:00

I suggest you keep notes, cause this is going to take a while.

It is the middle of December, and one man is not really enjoying the Christmas spirit that’s taken over the city. He has his own troubles to worry about. Apparently, this man, we’ll call him Christos (no connection to Jesus Christ, with the exception of the name resemblance), in his late 60s –early 70s or so, was in an extra- marital relationship with a woman, much younger than he was. But apart from the age thing (which, imho, is no biggy), there was good reason he was jumpy about his relationship. Apparently, he was that woman’s (we’ll call her “the 34 year-old”) superior at the greek Ministry of Culture, and now she was blackmailing him with a DVD, threatening to put it on every video store in the country.
Christos jumped out the 4th floor window, at his house in Kolonaki, Athens. Those who knew him, before he became “Christos the jumper” or “Christos of the Ministry” talk about a decent man, an artist, a rocker, a reader. It’s shocking how politics, sex, power, some times individually, some times combined, can cloud your mind and change your psyche.
Ok, so this happened. FYI, Christos did not die. He is in the intensive care unit, badly hurt, but he will live. How can this happen, you may wonder? Some times, it seems that the Gods won’t let you die, until you’ve come face to face with the repercussions of your actions. Some times, you are just unlucky.

Well, his dive from the 4th floor stirred a series of events that have shaken the greek political and journalistic world. Pens ready? Here we go:
The 34 year-old had this DVD of the two of them… well… fucking. She took it to a couple of reporters and it finally found its way to the government’s hands. (Mind you, I’m giving you the quick version of the facts!). Four days after it was handed over to government officials by an unknown journalist (did you write that down? There will be more talking about this person later), the DVD was handed over to the judicial authorities. That, naturally, caused a series of questions:
- what took the government four days to watch and understand?
- the DVD was apparently edited. Who edited it? Why did they edit it? What was missing? Was it edited when the government got it, or did the government edit it?
- who was the journalist that handed the DVD over? Why did s/he give it to the government and not the proper authorities? What did he take in return?
- was there more in the DVD, apart from the… well… obvious?

There has been almost a month of speculation. The government official refused to give the name of the journalist, since the official was himself a journalist, and claimed he was bound to not reveal his sources. That argument collapsed yesterday, and he visited the investigator’s office, where he revealed the name.

Now… The Name:
One of the biggest newspapers in Greece is To Proto Thema. Two journalist own it, Makis and Themos, who each own 40%, and one third guy owns 20% (we’ll call him Mr 20%). There’s much speculation that the DVD- journalist is actually Themos, but he vehemently denies it, threatening to sue anyone who hints that. This Sunday, To Proto Thema published photographs right out of the police investigation, that pictured Christos and the 34 year-old having sex. The photos were, to be honest, emetic, I have sex on my own, thank you very much, I don’t need to see a 250 pound old man at it with a woman half his age.
Makis was outraged. He claimed he was out of Athens, on business, when they called him from the newspaper and told him they had a couple of photos, and never explained to him exactly what they were. He called on Mr 20% to back him up and have Themos thrown out of the newspaper, cause he is “not at all sure that he is not the DVD-guy” and claimed to be disgusted with the whole situation. Themos maintains that he is not the one.
Meanwhile, the journalists working at To Proto Thema issued a statement, completely backing Themos. Later, Makis continued his attack on Themos, from his TV show, late at night. He claimed that Themos has from 5 to 14 million euros in his bank account that came from, who knows where, hinting that he was paid from the government, or that he was paid from someone else and simply tried to keep the government off his back when it came to that amount. That same night, the journalists issued another statement, saying that Makis actually put himself off the paper, both ethically and journalistically.

And here we are, the simple people of Greece, and the simple journalists working on the payroll, watching our country’s simple morals fall down the toilet and our, not so reputable anyway, profession’s name bathed in mud and horse-poo.

So, how’s 2008 treating you all?

At The Drive-in - Relationship of Command

2008-01-27T02:46:00.000-08:00

Όπως δημοσιεύτηκε στις "Επιλογές" της Κυριακάτικης Μακεδονίας, στις 27 Ιανουαρίου

Θυμάμαι σαν σήμερα τη μέρα που η ουράνια Τίνα Χρόνη ήρθε στο γραφείο μου και μου άφησε ένα χαρτάκι. Πάνω έγραφε: "At the drive -in, ψάξ'τους". Δεν πρόλαβα, όμως, γιατί η Τίνα τα έκανε όλα γρήγορα. Αμέσως μου έφερε τον αγαπημένο της δίσκο, για να τον ακούσω.
Δεν ήταν ο πρώτος τους, ήταν όμως ο πρώτος που είχε ακούσει εκείνη, κι έφτανε για να προκαλέσει έναν "έρωτα" που διήρκεσε μέχρι το τέλος της σύντομης ζωής της. Το "Relationship of Command" έμελλε να μείνει χαραγμένο στις ψυχές μας ως ένα από τα πιο αγαπημένα ακούσματα μιας λατρεμένης φίλης και να αποτελέσει, τελικά, το soundtrack μιας μεγάλης απώλειας.
Το στιλ του συγκροτήματος καθρεφτίζεται τέλεια σε αυτό το τελευταίο και πιο δημοφιλές άλμπουμ τους. Ανένταχτο, μοναδικό, για πολλούς πρώιμα emo, post hardcore, σκοτεινό, μελαγχολικό, δυνατό, ειλικρινές, ξεκάθαρο, το "Relationship of Command" δεν είναι καθόλου δύσκολο να σε κερδίσει. Με μία από τις μεγαλύτερες επιτυχίες του συγκροτήματος, το "One Armed Scissor" στο tracklist του, αποτελεί σίγουρα το κύκνειο άσμα του συγκροτήματος.
Λίγο αργότερα οι At The Drive- in διαλύθηκαν. Ήταν Φεβρουάριος του 2001, και η Τίνα είχε ταξιδέψει στο Άμστερνταμ για να τους δει ζωντανά. Η χαρά της ήταν απερίγραπτη, και για εβδομάδες συζητούσε μόνο αυτό. Δύο ημέρες πριν από τη συναυλία, και όσο η Τίνα και ο Ρύκιος βρίσκονταν ήδη εκεί, οι At The Drive- in ανακοίνωσαν ότι διαλύονται. Τη θυμάμαι να λεει: "Περάσαμε υπέροχα, δεν μπορείς να κάνεις κι αλλιώς στο Άμστερνταμ. Δεν μπορώ να ξεπεράσω, όμως, το ότι έφτασα τόσο κοντά στο να τους δω, και τώρα αυτό δεν θα γίνει ποτέ!".
Δύο χρόνια και εννιά μήνες αργότερα η Τίνα "έφυγε" για πάντα. Σαν σήμερα είχε τα γενέθλιά της. Κι εμείς τη θυμόμαστε και την αγαπάμε, πάντα με το αγαπημένο της soundtrack.

Dissect a trillion sighs away, will you get this letter?
Jagged pulp sliced in my veins, I write to remember
'Cause I'm a milliion miles away, will you get this letter?
Jagged pulp sliced in my veins, I write to remember

Urgent Campaign Thing

2008-03-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

photo taken from http://www.savetibet.org/

This whole weekend my own affairs kept me away from reading about what was going on in the world. This resulted in my not hearing until only this morning about what happened in one of the places that interests me in this world: Tibet.

So, only this morning did I find out about the riots and the killings and the arrests and the blood once again shed in the streets of this sorely tried territory. As it turns out, on Friday violent riots erupted in the streets of Lhasa, Tibet, from Tibetans who oppose the chinese rule of their ancestral grounds, and, of course, of the hosting of the Olympic Games before all oppression has ended. According to the Tibetan government-in-exile*, at least 80 people have been killed during the clashes between the chinese authorities and the Tibetan protesters in Lhasa, on Friday. On its part, China has announced that the death toll reached “13 innocent civilians”.

Reading about it from Reuters, I read that Qiangba Puncog, government
chief in Tibet, claimed that “I can say with all responsibility we did not use lethal
weapons, including opening fire”, in their effort to stop the riots. I’m wondering how those people died.

The protests sprawled like a wave through towns and monasteries on the east part of the TAR (Tibetan Autonomous Region as it has been officially called since the mid ‘60s) as violence continued in the capital.

According to the International Campaign for Tibet, more than a thousand monks (get that? Monks have reached that point where they demonstrate in the streets! Buddhist monks are the most peaceful beings on the planet, maybe next only to butterflies, or trees!) “were joined by laypeople in a major protest at Kirti monastery and town in Ngaba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, which led to at least eight, possibly many more, people being killed, according to several sources”. Among these people there was a 15 year-old high school student. Eight bodies, according to eye witnesses, were on display outside the police station in Ngaba, in order to deter the population from further acts of protest. Reading at the ICT I learn that, “according to one eyewitness report, the paramilitary armed police had been carrying out drills in the town in a display of force which appears to have angered Tibetans. After a morning prayer ceremony, monks reportedly joined laypeople in a spontaneous protest, shouting slogans of Tibetan freedom and in support of the Dalai Lama before armed police fired into the crowd. An eyewitness report from the area said that the local government run hospital was refusing to treat the wounded.

A crackdown may now be beginning in the county town of Machu (Chinese: Maqu), Gansu province, after an estimated 1500 Tibetans gathered this morning, calling for the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet and shouting pro-independence slogans. Some were carrying Tibetan flags and images of the Dalai Lama. Around 11 truckloads of armed police were seen approaching the protestors by one eyewitness, according to a new report received by ICT”.
Mind you, this is mid March, 2008. For those of you caught in this unprecedented time capsule.
“For those people who are still active or have committed serious crimes, we will deal with them harshly. If these people can provide further information about those involved, then they could be treated more leniently”, said Qiangba Puncog, according to Reuters. Become ruffiani (informers, I don’t know any word that would characterise these people, only the italian one) and we’ll spare your lives.

China has been long accused of violating human rights in Tibet (and not only in Tibet), with organisations all over the world pointing out cases of illegal imprisonments, torture, denying of basic human rights, like singing traditional songs, the disappearance of Tibet’s Panchen Lama and his replacement with a Chinese chosen one, beatings, destruction of properties and the list goes on forever.

New protests are erupting in the region as we speak, and this does not appear to lead to a peaceful ending. The Dalai Lama has said he fears about the reprisals that will follow the ultimatum issued by the chinese government to the Tibetans demonstrating all over Tibet, to surrender by midnight tonight. “These ultimatums are not the way to win the heart and minds of the Tibetan people”, said Mr. Chhime Chhoekyapa of the Office of H.H. the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama told the media that he had appealed to international leaders, including Chinese leaders, as well as his friends, to intervene so that the situation does not deteriorate.

The ultimatum asks for the Tibetan demonstrators to hand themselves in by midnight tonight. That has caused fear of a military sweep amongst Tibetans, and, particularly, amongst former political prisoners (the Chinese have seen to it that there’s a good number of those in the region) who are monitored regularly and viewed with suspicion by the chinese authorities.
China said that they have shown “great restraint” in the face of the protests, and have not used any weapons. I wonder what would happen if they hadn’t. Tienanmen square all over again? Oh, but wait, this is still in progress, right? And at midnight, I guess we’ll see what “tougher punishment” stands for in 2008.

Keep in mind that Beijing will host the 2008 Olympic Games. The Olympic Games stand for peace and unity amongst people, wars were paused and hatred forgotten during the ancient times while the Games were being held. More than 2,000 years later, China is controlling at least 4 regions that want to be freed, is violating basic human rights, has more executions than the rest of the world combined (yes, including Texas) and even more than that in secret, completely disregards the need for free information (reporters were “kindly” asked to leave Tibet when the riots began, and some of them were persecuted for false information. Plus there’s the whole Google/China/Tibet/human rights issue to consider), hiding of children (yes, I am talking about the Pancen Lama who was taken by the chinese authorities when he was only 6 years old and was never to be seen or heard of again) et al.

I’ll be following this closely and keeping everyone informed. Like it or not! :o)
*The Dalai Lama has fled Tibet and has formed the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. Read the wiki for more info.

I'm probably getting tiring and boring....

2008-12-08T05:18:00.000-08:00

...and I'm sorry...
but right now, Athens is burning up

They have set the christmas tree on fire, the whole center of the city is on fire, banks and stores are on fire, whole buildings are on fire, and just when we thought things can't get any worse, they set the ministry of internal affairs on fire
There were no police or fire department vehicles on the spot

If the government can't protect their buildings, how will they protect the citizens??

We've lost control again

EDIT: There's people trapped in the Greek Telephone Company building, where there's looting and destroying. The people fear for their lives, they called the police and the TV channels, they're begging for help. Meanwhile, fire and violence has erupted in Kolonaki too, that's right in the center of the city, the most posh part of central Athens. The Polytechnic school in Athens is under siege.In Thessaloniki the center is burning up (and drowning, cause the fire dept. has filled the streets with water, trying to stop the fires), and we just watched a store being looted live on TV. Street fights, street fires, people running and screaming... at least I found Antigone, she was not out on the streets, thank god...

EDIT2: The people from the Telecom Company are now free, the police got in and got them out

EDIT3: Aristotelous Square in Thessaloniki, the absolute center of Thessaloniki, is on fire...

41 shots

2008-12-08T04:51:00.000-08:00

A fellow journalist, Nikos Papadogiannis, a big fan of Bruce Springsteen, brought this to my attention through his blog. Bruce Springsteen wrote this song about the killing of Amadou Diallo in New York by the police in 1999. Amadou Diallo was 23 years old, an immigrant in New York, looking for a better life. One night he came across four policemen in plain clothes. One thing led to another and he put his hand in his pocket. The four men fired at him, a total of 41 shots, killing him on the spot. As it turns out, Amadou was reaching for his wallet, since he had no weapon.
Bruce Springsteen wrote this song and performed it live in 2000. The NYPD didn't take it lightly, they boycotted The Boss's concerts and albums, and so did many of his fans, who believed him to be anti-American, even a member of Al Qaeda...
Amadou Diallo's only crime was being a citizen

Here are the lyrics

(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
41 shots, and we'll take that ride
'Cross this bloody river to the other side
41 shots, cut through the night
You're kneeling over his body in the vestibule
Praying for his life

Well, is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it a wallet, this is your life
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in your American skin

(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)

41 shots, Lena gets her son ready for school
She says "On these streets, Charles
You've got to understand the rules
If an officer stops you, promise me you'll always be polite
And that you'll never ever run away
Promise Mama you'll keep your hands in sight"

Well, is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it a wallet, this is your life
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in your American skin

(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)

(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)

Is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it in your heart, is it in your eyes
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)

41 shots, and we'll take that ride
'Cross this bloody river to the other side
41 shots, got my boots caked in this mud
We're baptized in these waters (baptized in these waters)
And in each other's blood (and in each other's blood)

Is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it a wallet, this is your life
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in
You can get killed just for living in
You can get killed just for living in
You can get killed just for living in
You can get killed just for living in your American skin

(41 shots)
You can get killed just for living in
(41 shots)
You can get killed just for living in
(41 shots)
You can get killed just for living in
(41 shots)
You can get killed just for living in
(41 shots)
You can get killed just for living in
(41 shots)
You can get killed just for living in
(41 shots)
You can get killed just for living in

How difficult is it to understand that by criticising what's wrong and hailing what's good is the only way to make a country, a society, better?

The video

2008-12-08T01:18:00.000-08:00

Jesus Christ... this is making me sicker and sicker

Some kids shot a video of the murder of the 15year-old kid -who had a name, by the way, his name was Alexis Grigoropoulos. The video is shot from a roof, you don't immediately get what's happening, but the two guys seen walking are the policemen. Keep in mind that they parked their police car away and returned to find the kid and "show him"

"I'll show you" the police"man" said and shot at him, twice. You can see how calm they both are after the killing

It is shocking...

"War" Update

2008-12-07T18:21:00.000-08:00

All day yesterday the country was on fire
There were demonstrations all over the country that broke out in violence, cars and stores were burnt, people were injured and arrested...
The Universities are closed today, in an effort to calm things down

About a thousand people went to the demonstration in Thessaloniki, which doesn't sound like much, but it is... Mainly because it's a volcano out there, waiting to erupt, and I know a lot more people wanted to join, but were afraid of the violence... We've seen violence break out during demonstrations in Greece, it happens every time and it targets everyone, people in the demonstration or out of it

There are fundamental problems in the greek society. There is an underlying rage that seems to want to break free every chance it gets. Cops shooting at kids, kids throwing stones at cops, that's normal. But kids stabbing other kids because of football or polo, grown men kicking women in the stomach because they hate Americans, what is happening today is not a first... It is boiling blood in a cauldron and it explodes regularly.
I fear what is to come, but if what's coming means a change, then I'm curious to see what it will be

Saturday Night, I feel the air is getting hot

2008-12-07T01:16:00.000-08:00

Last night - or rather, early this morning - I went to bed in a different world than I had woken up. Not much different, but still more than my conscience would allow me to let go without ever commenting about it on my blog.

Fifteen years ago a boy came into this world, much like any other person does. He was raised not to believe everything he is fed from the media, he was raised to raise his voice and speak out his opinion, he was raised to be different and not one of the mass. I didn't know this boy, much like most of Greece, until last night, when a policeman saw fit to shoot him down like I would never allow a human being to shoot down a dog, and killed him for reasons that are left to be cleared out.

The two policemen - notice, I'm not saying "the police", since the Athens police chose to distance themselves from these two "men" who acted out the way they did - claim that they had no choice. The two policemen said they were driving down Harilaou Trikoupi (a street in Athens) answering a call, when about 30 masked men attacked their police car throwing sticks and stones at them. They left their vehicle, and one threw a noise-bomb at them. The other shot twice in the air and once in the ground. Somehow, one of these bullets found its way to the boy's chest. He was killed on the spot.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but your bullets will surely kill me.

I have a couple of problems with this theory, and I will write them here.
a) I find it hard to believe that 30 15 to 20 year-old kids had nothing better to do on a saturday night that put their masks on. get their sticks and stones ready, meet up on Harilaou Trikoupi and wait there, in case a police car happens to pass, to attack it.
b) I find it hard to believe that the boy either lay on the ground underneath the policeman's gun, or flew up in the air, so that the bullet would hit him straight in the chest.
c) According to eye witnesses, the policemen drove by a dozen kids hanging out, drinking beers on the street. The kids yelled something at them, the policemen answered back, there was an exchanging of words, the kids threw their beer bottles at them, and one of the policemen fired right at them.
Bullets for beer bottles. Policemen with shit in their heads.

Since last night there have been riots all over the country. Leftists, anarchists and troublemakers are now out of control, burning Athens down, destroying stores, banks, cars, everything they come across. And this time, who can blame them?

I don't understand how some people think. I don't understand where they come off thinking they are God's greatest gift to this world after babies and sliced bread. I don't understand how they believe they have the right to raise a weapon and shoot a bullet against a boy, a man, a girl, a woman, an old man, a dog, a cat, a butterfly. I don't understand how they think that other people have no right to an opinion, to a different way of expression, to a different lifestyle than their own.
I don't understand how they can carry a weapon and not realize that they are supposed to use it to PROTECT that 15 year-old boy, not kill him. How they can clean that weapon in the morning and beg it NOT to shoot today. Beg it NEVER to be used. And not wake up and pray to God they have a chance to prove what "men" they are, by shoving bullets in a boy's heart.
I don't understand how these people decide to become judge and jury of a whole generation and seize an opportunity to start a crackdown on a Saturday night and with no provocation. I don't understand how they believe that to take a life is the right response to any "crime" they believe was committed.
Newsflash, "Mr. Judge": The death penalty has been abolished in Greece, but I guess you didn't take that class in Self Righteousness College, right?

In the "country that introduced democracy to the world" individuality should be hailed, not punished. In the "country that introduced democracy to the world" a 15 year-old kid should be allowed to be stupid, and make stupid mistakes, and pay for them the way he should pay for them, and not punished by death. In the "country that introduced democracy to the world" the people enforcing the law should be responsible and patient, not bullies and trigger-happy. In a country where not so long ago people gave away their lives to have this, so celebrated and sung for, Democracy restored, it is a downright disgrace that, this morning, I am watching people burn down stores and cars and all I can think of is "they are outraged, and today they have every right to be".

I am proud of our forefathers, for all they have accomplished and all they have done. But, the way things are going, I am afraid that my children and their children will not be able to say the same thing about us.
In the "country that introduced democracy to the world" today I am ashamed