Art.53 & shoes

Home is where the heart is.

2010-01-16T11:32:00.001-08:00

I spent three weeks home and I did not want to leave. Where is home? For first time after long time I felt like home in Greece where my family is, my parents, my grand mum, my uncles and aunts, my cousins and some closed friends.And of course zouzou, my cat!

I felt warm and safe with so much unconditional love,full of questions like do you want an orange juice, have you eaten pie, are you warm, are you ok?????

nothing bothered me, I enjoyed everything.

I could not hold my tears at the airport when I had to say goodbye to the two people I love mostly, dad and Kiki. It's those few moments before you board when you manage to say everything you want, like I love you guys, take care of yourselves,already miss you cause you are my port, my safety net no matter what!

I returned to my apartment and PJ Harvey's song, One day I know there will be a placed called home, was in my ears.....how many homes can someone have? in how many places your heart can be????? in many I guess

It's a nice day.....if you like the rain!

2009-12-08T12:25:00.000-08:00

I could not stop laughing when the taxi driver told me that with a big smile while picking me up from the station....

words of wisdom, simple words which reflect a half full glass and not a half empty...

The last months I try to be positive but I give up very often ending up more erratic than the Irish weather.I expect too much from those who surround me, get easily disappointed, act spontaneously, regret immediately. Being impatient to achieve peace I forget which are my goals.I try to find distractions from those things who stress me, but on the other hand I do know that only when I face them I ll be again like Greek weather...sunny, smiling, warm,generous with the others, human...until then I have to say that every day is nice cause I do like the rain!!!!

Would you like a turn down????

2009-11-01T13:01:00.000-08:00

I haven't written for more than 2 months, lack of inspiration or better lack of time!

I spent the last 2 weeks in the Hague with a small group of people,

we talked about art.53 among other things, I complained how unfriendly to high heels the Hague is, we laughed a lot and said au revoir for March.

back to the ocean view, with 3 new books, 2 new pairs of shoes while reading newspapers with coffee I cannot stop smiling thinking of the question whether I would like a turn down?????

PS. A six hour movie is waiting for me on the coffee table, a wonderful memory of a rainy day in Leiden with a young boy!

Jasmin roots

2009-08-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

today is my name day

The biggest celebration for all the Greek Orthodox.

I'm sitting in the garden drinking a glass of cold prosecco realizing how deeply rooted I am in this part of the world. The aroma of the jasmin while closing my eyes makes me feel really blessed. Only those who were born in mediterranean can share this feeling..

the number of adios

2009-08-05T12:49:00.001-07:00

only today I realized that the number of phone calls you make to say goodbye to people, the number of coffees you drink with them and the last minute lunches and drinks you try to schedule indicates your connection with the place you live.

I was never connected to cities apart from NY. I was always connected to situations and people.

It provided me with a sense of freedom that I consider necessary.

today though I felt a bit different, cause the number of adios made my return more tolerable.....

Bookstores as beautiful as purple butterflies

2009-08-04T08:36:00.000-07:00

I had to kill 15 minutes to pick up a bouquet so I decided to visit an old bookstore in Galway famous for its second hand department.

I opened the door and my heart smiled.It was full of silent people, focused on book hunting in a sacred manner.

I strolled around and after 5 minutes I ended up with 6 books.

I paid and walked out surrounded by an aura of calmness.

I cannot describe the magic of bookstores, either in Thessaloniki or in NY or in Paris or in Berlin or in Istanbul. Small bookstores full of smells and silence always occupied by interesting figures.

Someone told me that the best way to get to know to a city is visiting its bookstores and more and more I realize how right he was.

Evacuation kit...

2009-08-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

This afternoon my ceiling started leaking.

all my sandals were in dangerous distance to be ruined...panicky I removed them to the other room together with a pile of books I selected to take with me in Greece. While waiting my landlord I started thinking, what my evacuation priorities were.

I made sure that my shoes and books together with my laptop were safe. I didn't care for the clothes and the furniture.

3 years ago in NY I had to evacuate my apartment. That time I took with me my passport, wallet and my USB sticks, no coat no shoes even though it was 2 am and cold.

how indicative of the evolution of our life the evacuation kit is.......

Breaking up with old T-shirts

2009-07-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

The last 3 years I worship anything I bring back from NY:clothes, mugs, posters..even the previous laptop which crashed twice before I replace it and for those who know me I used to be the 5 laptop within 2 months girl!

This afternoon while packing for my vacation I decided to leave back some t-shirts I bought the last day before I move from NYC..I never thought I could have the strength to break up with them, but I felt suddenly that it's time to move on. Stop mystifying my past or my future and focus on my present.

I folded the t-shirts, put them back in the drawer and smiled.

It's a matter of time to move on...like everything else in life!

I'll take the rain.....cause the colors of the rainbow are breathtaking....

2009-07-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

The last week rains all the time...

A friend who knows me very well, sent me this song of REM:

"I'll Take The Rain"

The rain came down
The rain came down
The rain came down on me.

The wind blew strong
The summer song
Fades to memory

I knew you when
I loved you then
The summer's young and helpless.

You laid me bare
You marked me there
The promises we made.

I used to think
As birds take wing
They sing through life so why can't we?
You cling to this
You claim the best
If this is what you're offering
I'll take the rain
I'll take the rain
I'll take the rain.

The nighttime creases
Summer schemes
And stretches out to stay.
The sun shines down
You came around
You love easy days.

But now the sun,
The winter's come.
I wanted just to say
That if I hold
I'd hope you'd fold Open up inside, inside of me.

I used to think
As birds take wing
They sing through life so why can't we?
You cling to this
You claim the best
If this is what you're offering
I'll take the rain
I'll take the rain
I'll take the rain.

This winter song
I'll sing along
I've searched its still refrain
I'll walk alone
I've given this, take wing
Celebrate the rain.

I used to think
As birds take wing
They sing through life so why can't we?
You cling to this
You claim the best
If this is what you're offering
I'll take the rain
I'll take the rain
I'll take the rain.

and I sing I'll take the rain watching the most beautiful rainbow ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!simple...

2009-07-25T02:49:00.000-07:00

Sorrows of the Elderly

The old are kind.

The young are hot.

Love may be blind.

Desire is not.

Leonard Cohen, Book of Longing

Turkish coffee in an NY mug

2009-07-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I made a cup of Turkish coffee after long time.

I felt sodade for the summer afternoon in Greece...I pictured my grandmum boiling her coffee and then sitting in the veranda, complaining about the heat...and I smiled, felt suddenly warm despite the nasty Irish weather.

The sight of a special mag I bought in NY and always carry the last years, brought another flow of memories...

NYC with Fatos and Angela strolling around, being introduced by the two ladies to the tea culture...I felt even warmer...Yesterday I didn't know how to gather the broken pieces...today the aroma of the coffee, the thought of family and friends, made me realize that it's the small things that bring us balance, the secret is to boil the aromatic coffee and use the right mug...

Fragile as a Murano glass

2009-07-21T15:18:00.000-07:00

The last 5 days I was in Venice for work. I always buy a Murano piece when I'm there..this time I bought a pair of earrings to replace the ones I lost in Poland...

beautiful sparkling earrings.

lately I feel as fragile as a Murano glass, supersensitive, incapable of taking any decision, doubtful of my ability to judge people and situations..

I'm staring at the Murano earrings and wonder how I will stop falling into many broken pieces but I have no answer...

weather compromise and not ONLY?????

2009-07-14T02:32:00.001-07:00

This morning the taxi driver asked me; nice morning eh? dry...and I replied yes nice morning...
If I were anywhere else I would say, are you kidding me?this morning is miserable! grey moody...there is no sun....but instead I agreed with him...maybe cause I wanted to be polite or not in the mood for talking before coffee....
after having slightly woken up at the office with the smell of the first coffee, I realized that I have compromised with lower standards of weather's acceptance...but what if it's not the only compromise I have made in my life?
How scary is at the end to compromise especially when your illusions are fragile like mine as someone told me yesterday, scolding me that the fresh ocean air should strengthen them and not dissolve them.....
I think I need a second coffee..

Evening and after many coffees and a glass of Irish whisky, compromises seem to fly away by the ocean wind...like my mind cleared up in a magic way.....

Sunday mornings with coffee, newspapers and music...

2009-07-12T02:35:00.001-07:00

the more I grow up, the more I realize how much I love Sunday mornings...there is a mystification I cannot explain...

as a student I hated Sundays, especially afternoons when I had to study for next morning school...later in the university, in Thessaloniki Sunday morning meant lots of sleep, a Turkish coffee with cigarettes and newspapers in an old cafe in front of the sea while older people played backgammon ....Sunday mornings were also special in New Orleans, listening to jazz in the sunny living room with big open windows of the white colonial house or in New York, getting ready for real brunch and a gallery visit, after the first coffee and the New York Times reading.....Sunday mornings at home where dad makes coffee and brings three/four newspapers and each of us gets isolated in his own world but at the same time connected with each other in a smiling way..or at my place in Ireland, where I make my coffee, read my newspapers, make a second coffee, listen to music and dream a Sunday smile...prolonging for ever this magic....trying to find the way of keeping that feeling alive the rest of the week...

of books and other mysteries...

2009-07-11T04:43:00.000-07:00

Last week I lost a book together with a pair of earings and a caricature.....

the second book I had bought, survived ...this morning drinking my first coffee I opened the second book but I couldn't read even the first page cause I got suddenly so sad....

I realized that it's not the lost book itself I mourned but its link to the place I bought it and the people I bought it with...books have their own stories, it's not only their content, their smell, the pleasure of touching the pages.... the mystery of books is about our stories, our moments in time..... I will always mourn that book.....

Right to disappear

2009-07-10T06:39:00.001-07:00

First time I realized the refreshment of this right when I lived in NYC..... so liberating to stroll around Manhattan and feel that no one knows me...

I thought I exercised the same right the last 10 days...with people I met for first time and shared thoughts and feelings and tears and laughing...

I became 31 only, custo Maria law and other legal rules, little girl, felt the heaven and hell, thought I was alive again....

now back in reality I can see the thin line between this right and the choice of running away....it looks like the last 10 days I run away....

Hello Kitty

2009-05-12T13:52:00.000-07:00

The daughter of my best friend adores anything which has the sign of Hello Kitty....
She is an adorable three year old girl who loves pink dresses and shoes!
This morning I found a Hello Kitty coin bank and took it for her..immediately it made my day despite my cold and my grumpy mood....
Why do we like some people and we don't like others...it's all about chemistry as they say. Same rules apply in a relationship" We simply didn't have chemistry, not your fault".....
But actually how true is that?what causes this click between people, what makes you wanna share everything with someone you barely know and you feel distant with someone you have spent hours and minutes and seconds together?
Is it my love for her mum who I consider the sister I never had, the experiences we shared together 8 years ago or is it chemistry?????
I don't know and I don't care at the end.... cause the idea of her excitement when she takes the gift made my night as well.......

the neighbour....

2009-05-02T13:35:00.000-07:00

The last days I read a lot about Turkey, the neighbour
Apart from the political context that we follow( the Greeks I mean) a series of cultural/every day events take place in the neighbour country...whose name haunted me as a child cause I grew up with the fear of a potential war and the thought of the "bad" Turk.
It's almost 10 years now I meet Turkish people, my best friends are Turkish, I fell in love twice with Turkish men and I know that I have lost piece of my heart in Istanbul.....
There is a movie called, Guz Sancisi, The pain of Autumn and refers to the riots taking place against the non-Muslim minorities of Istanbul in September 1955 via the love story of a Turkish man and a Greek whore.
It's the first time in Turkey they deal with this taboo topic and the reaction has been unpredictable...more and more people attend the movie and leave the theatres silent.......

Yesterday it was May 1.In Istanbul 32 years ago 34 people were killed in Taxim square during the labour march. The killings were never investigated but after that it was prohibited to celebrate May 1...until this year...this year for first time the Government allowed people to march in Taxim.....several trade unions/leftist groups were there and as I read their anthem was the song Antonis of Mikis Theodorakis from his work Mauthausen.......

today I read an article for a restaurant in Istanbul called the garden of Maria..She is a Greek from Poli married to a Turkish man with origins from Crete..she speaks Turkish he speaks Greek with Cretan accent....and the food is a mixture of sea food with aroma of Anatolia...

then why did I grow up with the fear of the bad Turk, when I found love and support from my enemy, who I trust more than many co-patriots...
I smile, listening to Nil Karaibrahimgil, while in my mind are the conversations with all those Turkish friends and our hope for a better future....cause it's a matter of generations damn it....

Selection criteria for seeking directions......

2009-04-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

Lately I'm reading a lot on selection criteria for prosecuting war crimes...today while walking on campus someone asked me for directions.....
I couldn't help him but I started thinking, how do we choose who we ask for directions????
My first thought was people who seem to be nice, open, approachable...same stuff when we look for someone to take a picture of us..in that case he/she must look also reliable, not for taking a good photo, simply not running away with your cam....
Someone though dissolved my illusion, suggesting something less ideal about these criteria..
Going back to the context of war crimes, someone made a reference to the Greek verb "κρίνω", where the word criteria comes from....
no matter what, whether they choose cause you are open or you are cute, at the very end the result is the same.....this κρίση makes you feel much better......

Keep the knowledge inside.......

2009-04-14T10:01:00.000-07:00

8 years ago in NOLA, the night before an exam 3 girls studied wearing huts!
The RA knocked our door, got surprised by our outfit and asked why?
and M. responded:"to keep the knowledge inside........."

3 years ago in NYC, a beloved friend explained why I like working with a candle...the flame keeps you focused and calm...

This afternoon listening to music trying to focus and keep the knowledge inside I lightened some candles and wore a hood......smiling for experiences I only now appreciate...

Hydrate cream

2009-04-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

This morning I went to buy a hydrate cream for my face.
A simple procedure I thought.
The beauty girl though had another opinion. She told me in the most arrogant way that the cream I use is not for my age!!!!!!!!!!!!!as she emphasized it is for women in their 20s!
I smiled, insisted on taking the "young cream" and walked out with the air of a 30 year old woman who feels 20!
It's a damn hydrate cream.....at the end

The C word

2009-04-05T01:52:00.000-07:00

The last 2 days I have interesting conversations with friends on compromise and commitment!How far can or should you compromise in a relationship? where is the point of no return?
If you haven't compromised so far, does that mean that you have never been in love?
and what if you have commitment problems and you simply ignore them? what if you keep falling for emotionally unavailable people? is that a sign?
What if you are someone who gets easily bored, cannot picture himself/herself in the same place, doing the same job for ever?does that mean that you have a commitment problem regarding relationships as well?that you cannot be with the same person for ever?and if yes, when you ask yourself: what are you looking for, what do you want from a partner?If you are 30+1 like me and you cannot answer, should you be panicked?????

difficult times for 30 sth people......

Beirut, Jools Holland, A Sunday Smile

2009-04-03T02:44:00.001-07:00

Simply beautiful

40 days....

2009-03-31T18:00:00.000-07:00

40 days:
in Greece we mourn someone for 40 days, we fast before Christmas and Easter for 40 days, the first 40 days of a baby are the most important ones etc.
Kiki stayed with me for 40 days.
Last night when she left we both didn't believe we survived.
After 40 days we both closed a chapter of our life and celebrated the beginning of a new one, together with the magic number....

Facing your fears

2009-02-21T09:20:00.000-08:00

London, a city I love but recently associated with someone I lost from my life.
I was scared to come and be alone in London so I spent my birthday with friends, participated in a conference and asked Kiki to come earlier and meet me here..she hasn't been here almost 25 years.She hates London cause it's associated with a difficult period in her life.
We decided to face our fears here together, to demystify the city, we did the same thing 3 years ago in NY, same time, she was there for me when Ia sked her.

The view of the sunset is gorgeous while listening to Mazzy Star and fade into you.....

The Frames - Star Star **

2009-02-18T04:55:00.001-08:00

Star star, teach me how to shine shine....
the perfect song while reading the Little Prince, being filmed in the city I adore....

Words full of smells and flavors...

2009-02-13T13:30:00.000-08:00

The last week two very good friends gave me a book and a cd.
The book is The Little Prince.The cd is a collection of traditional songs from Izmir together with a book explaining the history and music of this multicultural city.
I read the little prince when I was a kid and I still have the book at my parent's house.
20 years later I bought it for a little girl I never met, but thought that it's the best book to start reading.
The little prince is next to my bed 3 days now and makes me feel safe cause I wake up and feel like kid again.The music makes me cry cause I feel sodade for an area I deeply love but have left so many years ago....
In both cases the smile comes when I read the notes of my friends.Simple words, words full of love and warmth which bring smells and flavors....and lots of sun....

http://www.muammerketencoglu.com/roportajlar.php?ln=en

Regret....

2009-02-13T12:57:00.000-08:00

Initially I couldn't describe what I felt.So I let it blank, I only posted the title...
So after all those times I said I never regretted for anything in my life, I feel I'm ready to say:
Oh yes lately I regretted a decision I took but have to learn to live with the feeling of regret and move on...and now I'm self cancelled cause I use the two words I denounced recenlty for their arrogance and ignorance as I said....

tindersticks - jism

2009-01-27T15:05:00.001-08:00

tonight listening to Greek Radio, they played this song...brought so many memories....13 years ago, Thessaloniki, my first concert at Mylos, with the person who introduced me to Tindersticks,years of innocence,law school, friends,nights out,like it was yesterday

I'm sorry

2009-01-27T14:55:00.000-08:00

simply I'm sorry.....4 powerful words

move on....

2009-01-24T09:22:00.000-08:00

two words I hate for their arrogance and ignorance...

"Gaza Blues"

2009-01-04T23:35:00.000-08:00

Gaza, beginning of 2009 and the painting of Picasso is more relevant than ever...The following passage is from wikipedia and proves the symbolism of the painting:

'Guernica at the United Nations
A tapestry copy of Picasso's Guernica is displayed on the wall of the United Nations building in New York City, at the entrance to the Security Council room. It was placed there as a reminder of the horrors of war. Commissioned and donated by Nelson Rockefeller, it is not quite as monochromatic as the original, using several shades of brown. On February 5, 2003 a large blue curtain was placed to cover this work, so that it would not be visible in the background when Colin Powell and John Negroponte gave press conferences at the United Nations. On the following day, it was claimed that the curtain was placed there at the request of television news crews, who had complained that the wild lines and screaming figures made for a bad backdrop, and that a horse's hindquarters appeared just above the faces of any speakers. Some diplomats, however, in talks with journalists claimed that the Bush Administration pressured UN officials to cover the tapestry, rather than have it in the background while Powell or other U.S. diplomats argued for war on Iraq.'

I didn't see the painting on the wall outside the Security Council when the various representatives admitted the failure to issue a resolution condemning the violence in Middle East...and all of us know why....

Human Justice in Middle East

2009-01-01T09:30:00.000-08:00

This morning Daniel Barenboim leading the Vienna Philharmonic in its New Year’s Concert 2009, wished peace all over the world and Human Justice in Middle East.....Barenboim is an Israeli and Palestinian citizen, he has co-founded with Edward Said the West Eastern Divan Orchestra and he is the co-author of Parallels and Paradoxes: Explorations in Music and Society, a series of conversations between Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said....He doesn't believe that military force can bring any solution in Middle East...what an irony especially those days that nearly 400 Palestinians lost their lives,among them many many children...
The Israeli foreign minister rejected the EU proposal for truce cause as she claimed there is no humanitarian disaster in Gaza!
Words have lost their meaning, numbers obtain a sneaky significance and 2009 starts with the worst predictions........

http://west-easterndivan.artists.warner.de/

Ζητείται Ελπίς.....

2008-12-22T10:22:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday I started my odyssia to travel from Ireland to Greece...
After 17 hours finally I arrived in Athens at 4.30 am..tired, sick with flu, moody...
First thing Ι faced, the smell of cigarette at the airport, second thing the attitude of the airport officer when I told him I was late for my last flight....his response: Relax,unless they call your name...everything is ok! and a cute joke about my laptop...
I smiled...if the people haven't lost their humor yet, then there is hope, I thought!
Next day I had to drive to Thessaloniki for an appointment..... the main road was blocked by farmers who protested against the policy of the government..I almost missed my appointment but didn't complain....they have their right....
Greece, a country which occupies the frontline of the foreign media for the last 2 weeks.... the country of democracy and civilisation and resistance as some people add... a country I know I will visit only on vacation, where the people I met are disappointed and feel insecure about the future, they constantly discuss the current situation, they exagerrate, become passionate, argue, live!
Greece, where the sun shines even during the winter days and gives you the illusion that things are not that bad...cause everybody has the right to dream.....

Christmas are postponed...at least in Greece

2008-12-17T06:40:00.000-08:00

One picture, a symbolic act of protest,a condemnation by the government, one question:

To what extent can the sanctity of a place be claimed when the country of democracy and civilization is exactly the opposite?

Don't throw more tear gus....we cry by ourselves for our friend......

2008-12-13T01:42:00.000-08:00

In Greek:

"Μη μας ρίχνετε άλλα δακρυγόνα....κλαίμε και από μόνοι μας για τον Αλέξανδρο"
This is how we feel...a combination of anger, desperation and disappointment...and tears, many tears!

The last week I read a series of articles analyzing what happens in Greece....some superficial, some more elaborated...today 6/8 Greek citizens described the situation as a social uprising....and a call from home, made me smile....my dad read a very conservative analysis and furiously asked me! "so the young people don't face any problem in Greece ?and since when being an anarchist is bad per se"?

He made me anxious to go home, enjoy long conversations both at home and with friends while drinking and arguing...

this is what I miss about Greece... the aesthetics of authentic politicization.....maybe there is still hope....

This morning I heard that the Greek police run out of tear gus and asked more to be sent from Israel and Germany.....

Improper Behavior or Αποκλίνουσα Συμπεριφορά!

2008-12-11T03:58:00.000-08:00

That is what the rambo-policeman said in his defence:"Τhe assassinated boy had demonstrated an improper behavior...although coming from a wealthy family he was expelled from his school and used to cause problems.!!!!!!!!! "
σαν να λέμε τα είθελε και τα έπαθε..... and of course he forgot to say I'm sorry!!!!!!!!!!!

Why?

2008-12-09T13:07:00.000-08:00

This is the question I receive from several friends world wide....
why all this episodes and riots in Greece?why all this anger from the young people??

This is the response I provide from a BBC web site's analysis:
"Rebellion is deeply embedded in the Greek psyche. The students and school children who are now laying siege to police stations and trying to bring down the government are undergoing a rite of passage.......The centre for this December rebellion is the Athens Polytechnic, where students have been out on the streets with wheelbarrows and shopping trolleys to collect and recycle rocks and pieces of marble used in the previous night's assaults.......The polytechnic is the symbol of modern rebellion.
On 17 November 1973, tanks of the then six-year-old military dictatorship burst through the iron railings to suppress a student uprising against the colonels.
The exact casualty figure is still unknown to this day but it is believed that around 40 people were killed.
The sacrifice of the polytechnic was so significant that the post-junta architects of Greece's new constitution drafted the right of asylum, which bans the authorities from entering the grounds of schools and universities.
That is why places of learning are the springboards for the current wave of violence and it also explains why many of the riots are in university towns.
Students and pupils have effectively been given carte blanche to carry on protesting, because their professors have declared a three-day strike. ..
Although many of today's protestors were not born when thepolytechnic gates were crushed by the tanks, the lesson of the students' martyrdom is a key component of every Greek child's school democracy curriculum.
The latent Greek contempt for the police, which has now erupted so volcanically, has its roots in the dictatorship, when the police were regarded as the colonels' enforcers and traitors to the people.
The death of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos at the hands of an experienced 37-year-old policeman has precipitated a wave of nationwide violence unseen since the dictatorship"""""""""

Of Turkish coffee and other names....

2008-12-03T02:12:00.000-08:00

This morning I run out of my usual coffee,so I decided to boil a cup of Turkish coffee..while I was stirring the coffee I smiled thinking oh my God, imagine asking for Turkish coffee in Greece!

it simply doesn't exist!it's Greek coffee of course! In Cyprus it's called Cypriot Coffee....

coming from Northern Greece I feel culturally deprived of the history of the place I was born and the place I spent a significant part of my life...like someone stole arbitrarily the history of both places...Kavala and Thessaloniki...Mehmet Ali, the progressive Albanian pasha of Egypt was born in Kavala.Used to play in the beautiful old Turkish neighborhood, the one we call Panagia now.

His Imaret became one of the fanciest hotels in Europe and his house, a luxurious restaurant....the grave of his mother in the middle of the central square of Kavala was demolished during the Junta...the "patriots" wanted a pure ethnic city., nothing to remind the past...still though even nowadays people use Turkish names for some parts of the city.....a city full of refugees from Turkey like my grand grandparents..where still two neighborhoods are called 500 and 1.000...from the 500 and 1.000 houses built for the Greek refugees....

Thessaloniki, my other love....a City of Ghosts as Mazower says in his book....Jewish, Muslims, Christians....all together...in this crossroad of civilisations, between West and East, the bottom of Balkans, a cosmopolitan city full of Anatolian aroma....

where the food and the drink is so important that you spend hours around a table with friends, losing the sense of time....

You think you are over with some places, I always connect situations and people with places...these two cities though are self contained...you go back not because of the situations or the people....you go back for the city itself...........

http://www.imaret.gr/

http://www.cityofkavala.gr/pub/en/

Open horizons...

2008-11-30T07:54:00.000-08:00

Kavala-Thessaloniki-New Orleans-Geneva-New York-Galway=water!
more and more I realize I cannot live away from water...

Κωνσταντινούπολη-Πόλη των πόθων

2008-11-30T05:29:00.000-08:00

For those who do not speak Greek, the title of the post means Istanbul-City of Lusts!

this is the title of the new book of Giannis Xanthoulis, a Greek writer with origins from Istanbul, decorated with pictures of Ara Guler, a well known Turkish photographer...

For the worshippers of this City, a tea at his Cafe in Peran, opposite to Galatasaray Lycee is a must!

I always wanted to live in that City for some time, to stroll around, enjoy the smell of bahars, rediscover who I am...European, Anatolian, Greek, Balkan....

ένα χαρμάνι as my great-grandmam would say...

today my heart and mind is there...wondering whether I threw away the chance to enter the Gates of Istanbul as Loreena McKennitt sings...

Everybody hurts....

2008-11-28T13:59:00.000-08:00

how can someone describe the feeling of loss?
it's like an open wound....and open wounds are the worst, as I heard somewhere..
you think you are cured and then suddenly you realize that you need more time...the feeling of loss is back....

Not everybody is used to these frequencies...

2008-11-22T03:27:00.000-08:00

Last night I had one of the most interesting music experiences!
I went to an experimental Scandinavian-Japanese jazz concert!When we entered the place we were given a pair of earplugs cause as the sign said..not everybody is used to those frequencies!
Between lots of laughing since one friend was a jazz virgin and we thought that after that she would never go to a jazz concert again, the night was simply the definition of globalisation:
a Canadian, an Irish and a Greek having dinner in a Spanish restaurant, going to a unique concert in Ireland!!!!!!!!!!
This morning my dad called me to listen to a Greek radio show...it was an interesting conversation among 3 Greek intellectuals on globalisation, economic crisis,environmental degradation, social justice!
then I read an article on the new movie of Theo Angelopoulos, the Dust of Time, the second movie of a trilogy covering the last 50 years of Greek history via the life of one woman Eleni, who is looking for the absolute love...
Lately I'm very pessimist about my country, I feel I don't belong there...nothing seems to work..
but this morning I felt that things happen...simply not everyone is used to these frequencies...

http://www.mimisandroulakis.gr/
http://www.theoangelopoulos.com/
http://www.agp.gr
http://www,galwayjazzfestival.com

Leonard Cohen-Suzanne

2008-11-19T23:54:00.000-08:00

This morning I came across the last book with poetry of Leonard Cohen, the Book of longing.
my mind went back to early 80's when in our house there was always music of Theodorakis, Cohen,Xilouris, books of Nazim Hikmet,Papandreou while during elections my parents and their friends spent nights drinking, smoking and dreaming of a just society..
there is a nostalgia for this period which was a period of hope and anxiety..still have memories with my mam in Athens, in a tram when she made a joke about a right wing politician and I told her...shhhhhhhh mam they will listen to us!!!!!!!!!! and when the first socialist government was elected I remember her jumping in her jeans and t-shirt with a cigarette, kissing me...
of course they were very soon disappointed as every idealist..but they never changed..they still believe in social justice, I still find nice music when I go back home and discover magic books, enjoy conversations on participatory democracy and combat of poverty...

wrote this post while listening to Suzanne of Leonard Cohen..one of the first songs I ever heard as a child...

In a manner of speaking

2008-11-19T04:38:00.000-08:00

Hadn't paid attention to the lyrics of this song until this morning..

"In a Manner of speaking, I just want to say,That I could never forget the way You told me everythingBy saying nothingIn a manner of speakingI don't understand How love in silence becomes reprimand But the way that i feel about you Is beyond words

Oh give me the words, Give me the words, That tell me nothing
Ohohohoh give me the words,Give me the words, That tell me everything

In a manner of speaking Semantics won't do, In this life that we live we only make do,And the way that we feel, Might have to be sacrified, So in a manner of speaking I just want to say, That just like you I should find a wayTo tell you everything By saying nothing.

Oh give me the words, Give me the words,That tell me nothing
Ohohohoh give me the words, Give me the words,That tell me everything

Oh give me the words, Give me the words, That tell me nothing
Ohohohoh give me the wordsGive me the wordsThat tell me everything"

We are human beings as well...apart from prisoners

2008-11-19T01:01:00.001-08:00

5.ooo detainees in Greek prisons on hunger strike...and the society sleeps....

Polytexneio 1973 AFIERWMA

2008-11-17T00:58:00.001-08:00

Tα όνειρα των εραστών δε σβήνουν......

2008-11-17T00:43:00.000-08:00

35 years today after the Polytechnic uprising in Athens...and 7.000 policemen are going to guard the march which will end up like every year in front of the American embassy, protesting about their role in our junta....
I'm in the Hague together with a Mexican friend, who used to wear a t-shirt depicted the tank which entered the university in Mexico city in 1968...
Last week the prosecution of the polytechnic massacre by the junta was mentioned as the most successful example of transitional justice...
35 years later we don't know how many people were killed that night...
their demands though for bread, education and freedom are more relevant than ever....cause as the Greek song says the dreams of lovers do not die....

what if the rice and the liquid is not balanced?

2008-11-15T10:11:00.000-08:00

The last 4 days I was in Leuven participating in a course on Transitional Justice in Europe.
Apart from the interesting content of the course, I met old friends and obtained new ones from the corner of the world I come from....southeast Europe...a unique region...
when we discussed Cyprus I was surprised to read that the Annan plan aimed to promote a dispassionate dialogue between greek and turkish cypriots... contrary to that our contribution in the course was nothing but passionate, full of life, worries and hope...
the previous night we went for dinner to a restaurant where the chef invited all of us in the kitchen to see how the Valencian paella was created...and among other things he said:"the rice and the liquid have to be balanced in order to achieve a good taste"!
Like every relationship I thought and maybe shouted...but what if the rice and the liquid cannot be balanced no matter how hard you try? how do you deal with the feeling of bitterness?
I don't know....I gave a warm hug to all of them and when I said we'll meet soon...I meant it!

To Olga, Ayla, Rana, Michalis, Ugur, Sandra, Eldar......

X Generation and romantic cynicism

2008-11-10T10:01:00.000-08:00

Due to Obama-mania I read about the baby-boomers and the X generation.
I realized that I belong in this generation..people born between 1961-1981...
somehow I always felt that my generation was the one missing big things and felt jealous of the baby boomers or the Y generation( 1981-2001) or the Z generation( 2001-....)
We missed the 60s and 70s and we grew up in the boring 80s whereas we had to try hard to get adjusted to the technological orgasm of 90s...
Contrary to all that, in the era we live the X generation can bring changes as Obama promised..we have a balanced sense of ideology and practice.We believe in dreams but we know the limits of reality..we are cynical in a romantic way....

zouzou

2008-11-09T10:26:00.000-08:00

my cat's name is zouzou.they say that animals take the personality of their owners..I don't know about that....but Kiki calls me wild cat!

Zouzou is very independent,stubborn and lovable to the extent she wanna be...today she achieved sth with all her persistence and she gave me a valuable lesson...she reminded me that no matter what I'm a wild cat...mostly independent, ready to take risks...stronger than I think....

Great expectations

2008-11-09T04:56:00.000-08:00

Everybody wrote about Obama's victory and I'm not an exception.
This morning reading newspaper drinking coffee, I came across some really inspiring articles about the whole world's expectations on the new American president.
we do have high expectations that the Change he prom iced will take place very fast and influence our lives...we need a change either big or small.
But what if these expectations are not fulfilled?it's like all the other expectations we have in life and we get disappointed when our dreams not come true about a friendship, a love, a job...
lately I think a lot about how to strengthen myself against unfulfilled expectations...my conclusion is that you simply accept the fact you are human and human beings are not perfect...you live your passions, feel sad, happy, disappointed but mostly alive!!!!!!!!!and then somehow you move on...cause c'est la vie....

"You are an Almodovar movie ........I can watch you indefinitely"!

2008-11-02T12:45:00.000-08:00

A couple of hours ago I wrote that my favorite color is grey and wondered whether it was an act of compromise or maturity.

When it comes to love cannot be grey...has to be either white or black...

A coconut and an avocado decided not to be grey anymore in a moment of maturity..but they will remain purple, my other favorite color....for ever!

the end of an era...the beginning of thirties while the radiohead sing I don't wanna be your friend, I just wanna be your lover..no matter how it ends..no matter how it starts!

being a socialist

2008-11-02T04:04:00.000-08:00

my dad called me this morning to ask since when being a socialist is an offence?
couldn't stop smiling....for the person who used to say democracy starts from your house Maria....

http://www.socialistinternational.org/

Grey Color

2008-11-02T00:21:00.001-07:00

7 am on Sunday morning, working listening to radio...
work beyond any imagination...color of the sea:soft grey the color I adore together with purple....
I was always black or white in my life...lately I'm grey,act of compromise or simply maturity?

Τacones Lejanos

2008-11-01T01:46:00.000-07:00

This morning I read an interesting article about the high heels and its symbolism..my first Almodovar movie was the High Heels, it was the same period I reacted to everything Kiki proposed...like honey stop wearing flat shoes!Be a woman! Years later she asks me,honey how can you walk every day with high heels????????

Christian Louboutin announced that his new shoe will be 20 cm high!

The doctors react but women do everything in order to feel sexier and more powerful!Interesting times for post modern feminists!!!!!!!!

Froyd said that the shoe symbolized the vagina and the high heel shoe is a vagina with a penis together....

I don't know about that, I definitely feel though the mystification that a nice pair of high heels carries...

Devoted to Kiki-mum who felt hopeless with me in my early twenties....

Two faces...

2008-10-31T12:30:00.000-07:00

I had such a crappy day...my laptop is sill not fixed, I shouted to three different people,I had some bad news for a conference I coordinate and generally I was about to explode...
then I entered a taxi and the music in the radio was Greek the Zorba by Mikis Theodorakis, I told the taxi driver I'm Greek, he smiled and told me I thought so.....The colors of the sky were simply amazing, a mixture of purple and orange...
we didn't say anything else....until I met a friend for a hot whisky, I kept smiling....
this country is sth else!makes me furious but calms me down..has two faces,I adore the relaxed one, hate the passive one....
the taxi driver was right...I'm Greek in the tamperamento, most of the times bad some other times simply charming...the smile returned...

Salvador...

2008-10-28T07:33:00.001-07:00

Last night I watched a movie about the last execution in Spain.
Salvador Puig Antich was a Catalan anarchist executed by the Francoist regime for the death of a policeman in 1974.Franco died in 1975 and the transition started in Spain....
the last weeks Judge Garzon, applying the new law of historic memory, described the Franco regime as a crime against humanity.
I always had my doubts about the wisdom and purpose of judicial activism in the form of transitional justice...the movie last night somehow changed my mind...
in the interests of justice some crimes cannot go unpunished........

Sodade...

2008-10-23T02:17:00.000-07:00

A strange combination of names brought nostalgic memories...
a cambodian pop group,Dengue Fever, the Soundtrack of Broken Flowers, a movie of Jim Jarmusch I watched at Angelica Film Center, in NY, Houston and Mercer corner a warm night of August....
and the feeling of sodade for that precious period

http://angelikafilmcenter.com/angelika_index.asp?hID=1

2028.....

2008-10-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

Recently I read an article on history and generations.
It suggested that after world war II, important events happen every 20 years.
1948:UDHR
1968:Vietnam War-May of 1968-civil rights movement
1988: A year before the collapse of Soviet Union, beginning of the end..
2008: The end of capitalism?

What about 1958?
1978- my birthday(too arrogant I know)
1998( maybethe anxiety of the forthcoming millennium)

If history is written every 20 years,I try to think about 2028, what could happen or what would we like to happen?how could we leave our sign in history??????????

Smurfs....cause it feels good to be kid again....

2008-10-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

The Smurfs celebrate their 50 Birthday and for all of us around 30 they represent our childhood!

I still remember my smurf mania with books, discs, even my first painting was a smurfs house which we framed above my bed and was suspiciously disappeared after I moved from my parent's house!!!!!!!!!

I still watch Smurfs when I'm back home usually Saturday mornings with coffee, pyjamas and a feeling of warmth and freedom as If I was 5 again....

For the 50 year anniversary the little Smurfs became a partner with UNICEF.

The profits from the celebrity smurfs auction and from the sales of the smurfs statues will be offered to the UN agency.

Have a look.....

http://happysmurfday.com/en/en/charity

In the name of Human Dignity....

2008-10-20T04:15:00.000-07:00

A greek newspaper and then BBC posted photos of an immigrant being striped by police officers in the middle of Athens for no reason besically!
We learnt that the victim was a drug user apart from immigrant.
That made him immediately a goal of humiliation of young police officers who ashame the so called country of civilization and democracy...what an irony!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7679100.stm

The Truths of Others.....

2008-10-19T02:24:00.000-07:00

Rainy morning, my mind to Kiki...
Made a list of books she might enjoy reading, during the 2 months she has to stay inside.
One of them is called the Truths of Others, by a Greek author/academic/politician, Nikos Themelis...it touches upon the issue of how we deal with the truths of others via our perception of identity....

Milan Kountera: a couple of days ago a Czech magazine published that in 1950 he gave the name of a dissident to the secret services..Kundera denied any involvement..
What's the truth and actually what's the point?How do we deal with the truths of others without being engaged in a witch hunting?
Who has the absolute truth, who is pure and finally who can be judgemental of the passions of the soul?

I added to the list of books for Kiki all his fictions like:
The Joke Laughable Loves
The Farewell Waltz
Life Is Elsewhere
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Immortality
Slowness
Identity
Ignorance

http://www.ustrcr.cz/en

Kiki.....

2008-10-18T01:50:00.001-07:00

My mam's name is Kiki.That was the first word I said as a baby, easier than mam I guess...
When I was born she was 24, in my age she had a 6 year old child.She was never a usual mam, somehow she has a way to surprise me.
We argue a lot of course, people say we are identical but in 5 minutes we laugh and make fun of each others. To the extent that my dad, the saint, doesn't intervene anymore, cause no matter what he knows things will work out by themselves( similar to the main idea of capitalism, however proved wrong)....
Yesterday dad called. He made a joke to announce me that Kiki was in the hospital, once more.
She fell in our garden, trying to cut a peper to make salad, she basically broke seriously her left leg and she was operated for some hours.
I called her, she apologized for not being able to come to Ireland( was planned) and she told me Maria if my left leg is not properly fixed I ll buy an automatic car!
I laughed, cause I know how much she loves driving and how much she hates automatic cars...

She ll be ok we hope in 2 months,she ll start doing again pilates,be outrageous, freak me out,make me laugh, call me 5 times per day,get stressed with trivial things but be strong with serious ones....

Nobel Prize in Simplicity...

2008-10-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

Something funny happened this morning......I went to buy some fruits and the cashier asked me where I'm from.I said Greece, he said ah....are you muslim? I said no...he replied oh yes I confused Greece with Turkey!
He made me smile, thinking that this is the simplest comment and at the same time the most outrageous for nationalists of both sides...

Paul Krugman on Monday October 13,posted a note on his blog with the title "A funny thing happened to me this morning...."
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Science.

In an era where everything seems to be complicating, confusing or oversimplistic we do need a nobel prize in simplicity...the same way the word nationalization has been recently dedemonized....

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/

Sunday mornings...as magic as shoes and books...

2008-10-05T04:43:00.000-07:00

I hadn't realized how much I love Sunday mornings...read my newspapers, drink coffee, listen to music, write my blog and at some point do some work!
Today I rediscovered a great ethnic-Greek radio, Kosmos, with inspiring music from all over the world, I got updated on recent Turkish literature since Turkey is the country of honor in this year Frankfurt book-fair, read a very interesting article on FARC and modern piracy in Somalia, made a second cup of coffee, avoided annoying emails and decided to devote every Sunday morning from now on to myself...cause I feel so much better after 3 hours of self indulgence.

http://www.kosmos936.gr/

http://http://www.buchmesse.de/en/

simple v.complicating or simply complexed?

2008-10-03T03:52:00.000-07:00

The other night I had a very interesting conversation with a friend about simple and complicating women.
I asked him what I was and he said..you are complexed butterfly..neither simple nor complicating.. he made me feel good, cause complexed situations are the most interesting and definitely I wanna be one of those...

inic eosnf

Museum of Resistance-Oslo

2008-09-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

The last 4 days I was in Oslo.
The Norwegians are very proud of their recent history.Surprisingly I found out that they do have a museum of resistance commemorating the resistance against the Nazi occupation of Norway.Unfortunately didn't have time to visit the museum but checked its website...The introductory description refers to the patriots who fought against the Nazi....
Couldn't help it not to compare with Greece.
We did have resistance during the Nazi occupation but we had also a civil war afterwards and an extremely conservative political occupation which ended up with the junta of 1967.
During so called metapoliteysi we did talk about the dictatorship but we never really touched the issue of civil war.Even nowadays there are right wing members of the parliament who seek the termination of so called national resistance pensions...they are the same people who consider the prospect of a central left coalition governing Greece detrimental to the national security of the country!
who was more patriotic in Greece at that time? at the very end who is a patriotic, national hero or ever worse a savor?

some thoughts after an inspiring event in Oslo...
http://www.mil.no/felles/nhm/start/eng/

Throwing a hairdryer...throw your past?

2008-09-19T06:13:00.000-07:00

I had to throw my old hairdryer..I was almost burnt so felt really happy when I got rid of the blue hair dryer I had bought 4 years ago....but it was not that simple...I also felt free..like I got rid of my past linked to sad memories..
Next morning I bought a new hairdryer, a purple one..was excited to plug it and use it for first time...once more I felt refreshed!like a new chapter, a new beginning....
maybe it's an illusion, maybe I'm naive or extremely desperate or this is my self defence!
No matter what I felt the purple hairdryer as the key to a new era....

Right to disappear

2008-08-31T04:44:00.000-07:00

A beloved friends visits NY after 2 years we used to live there...she quoted sth very beautiful about NY...it's the city that offers the right to disappear...
so true so real so necessary....
Thank you F.
Enjoy Big Apple the way only you know....

Never say never....

2008-08-31T02:36:00.000-07:00

8 years ago I moved to New Orleans, the Big Ease to study...
I was a 22 year old girl in a unique city.
I have to say I was not the biggest fan of NOLA...I left the city and said that's it....I'll never go back there...
5 years later, end of August, Katrina hit New Orleans...I was in New York and for first time I felt like going back, walk around uptown, take the street car, go to Preservation Hall, have a coffee at Cafe du Monde...
Today, the Big Ease has to be evacuated once more and my mind is there, in the deep south of USA, I promiced to myself I'll never visist again...
My thoughts are with friends, a newly born baby and the ghosts of a city I wanna visit again.....

http://www.cafedumonde.com/

One laptop per child

2008-08-30T04:29:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about this project?
the XO laptop which costs only 100 dollars?
If not.. visit this website: http://laptop.org/
when idealism is more than a dream....

Beginning of Thirties....

2008-08-24T04:56:00.000-07:00

After more than 4 months I'm back.
Within those months, I faced a health problem, I realized that I' m damn lucky cause I have a wonderful partner and a crazy family, I cried a lot, I smiled more, travelled a lot, met new people, rediscovered friends and decided to face my fears....

Happiness-Sadness

2008-03-09T04:58:00.000-07:00

Last night life showed me once more its wierd face...
two women, same name...same symptoms.
The announcement of the same result created so different feelings.
to me happiness....to her sadness...
how strange life can be....

www.one-month.org

2008-03-02T15:37:00.000-08:00

There is this joint blog by an israeli and a palestinian living next to each other but so far away at the same time..
One of them is the peace man, the other is the hope man..
more and more I wonder whether there is actually hope for peace?????

Visit the blog and check their call for action!

http://www.gaza-sderot.blogspot.com/

Being 30

2008-02-19T01:17:00.000-08:00

Today I became officially 30..
It's a wierd feeling which makes me smile...couldn't define it, until a friend who stood by me in difficult times sent me this:

“Being thirty is good.

Because twenties are finished. The ages of not knowing what to do, finding yourself drifted to strange shores and then trying to return to yourself from those shores are over. Didn’t you go far away from yourself following several men and women, and then try hard to become yourself again?

...

Now you stand on the hill between the sweetness of youth and wisdom of aging. Now you can take the roads without fear.You are now you.

What others think of you do not matter any more. You are now a rock, life hits your outskirts like ocean waves. The words, the malices fade like water bubbles. You stand still where you are. The wind sings over you, you smile.

...

But, you also know how to like yourself without exaggerating. You are wise, and nice. Although you feel deeply annoyed from time to time, you know how to heal yourself.

Being thirty is good. Because you are thirty!”

Ece Temelkuran, quoted and translated by a purple heart only for Kelebek.

It's true...this is how I feel....

Same Day: Fidel Castro stepped down after 60 years in power
In Juba-Sourthern Sudan, the LRA and the Ugandan Government signed an accord on the mechanisms implementing Agenda item 3 on Accountability and Reconciliation Agreement

Always wanted to go to Cuba before Castro's withdrawal and the events in Uganda are linked to article 53

Kosovo,Independence under international supervision or sui generis independence

2008-02-18T02:08:00.000-08:00

And now what?

Same day Cyprus gave its own message.

Incumbent President Papadopoulos was defeated on the polls, by two less hard line politicians regarding the solution of the problem, based on the UN proposed plan....

Is reunification possible? maybe...Greek-cypriots seem to turn their back on partition..

as a greek coumnist wrote: Greek Cypriots said "no but" didn't say "no no" at 2004 referendum

interesting times for multiethnic entities.....

China, Olympics and Human Rights legitimacy

2008-02-15T04:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Steven Spielberg resigned as artistic director of the Beijing Olympics, complaining about China's policy on Darfur.
The same day the Independent published a letter writen by a coalition of Nobel laureates, athletes, celebrities and politicians, urging China to use its economic influence on Sudan, to halt its genocidal policy on Darfur.
In New York the so called Olympic Dream for Darfur campaign, advocates against the so called "genocide olympics".

3 days ago I participated in a debate on universalism v. cultural relativism.
A participant from Africa told us, that Europeans have no right to condemn China about its Human Rights record cause they colonised, they massacred people and they systematically violated Human Rights in their recent past.

I'm puzzled..who can actually talk about Human Rights?How dangerous is the demand for purity?
What would the Ancient Greeks think about the use of Olympics in a campaign against China?
During the Olympic games in ancient times, wars stopped.
For me this is message that should be promoted...that's why I beleive in the idea of the Olympic Truce..
The rest seems so hypocritical to me and I cannot be part of ....

http://www.olympictruce.org/v2/index.html

Certification of being left....

2008-02-12T00:46:00.000-08:00

Who is left?
Who has the right to call himself left?
Who can prohibit other people from considering themselves left?

The last days in Greece, the so called Αριστερά applies the most anachronistic policy of certification...
According to their standards I could never be considered left...cause I'm central left and this is not enough...
ironically enough, me the socialist caviar, consider myself more left than the new leader of the Left party who in a fascist and arrogant way decided to distribute certifications of ideological purity...
and he is only 33 years old...is there actually room for hope?

Relevant enough: Why do HR's people share a wooden language?
It's so depressing to hear the same manifesto over and over...

one photo, thousand words....Παρακράτος

2008-02-04T00:42:00.000-08:00

Hand by Hand police officers and members of a racist/fasist group, attack leftist-antirasist-anarchist groups...

are we really surprised?

In the transitional period after 1974( fall of junta regime) there was no lustration procedure within the police forces..

as we say in Greek, there was no αποχουντοποίηση....

we can see the results in 2008...

an indicative case of non-existing transitional justice...

Who Am I?

2008-02-03T08:04:00.000-08:00

I wanted long time now to write about the lost children of the Argentine Dirty War.

Between 1976-1983, 500 infants were stolen by their imprisoned mothers and given to military families.The mothers were assassinated after the birth.30.000 people are desaparecidos in Argentina...

Some days ago, I read about a documentary of an american-cuban director, titled " Who am I", describing the story of those stolen children, most of them in my age...30 years now carry a fake identity, having no idea about their real parents.

The heavy task of identifying all those kids has been undertaken by the so called Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo.They are the same women who used to protest every Thursday afternoon, demanding the truth about their missing children...

I cannot continue writing...inhumanity is overwhelming and I feel tiny...

http://www.abuelas.org.ar/english/history.htm

McCain laughs, Sings Bomb Iran

2008-02-01T01:08:00.001-08:00

scary...especially from someone who was imprisoned and tortured for 5 years in Vietnam...

Worry Dolls

2008-01-30T12:47:00.000-08:00

Saturday night, a sweet friend gave me a Guatemalan worry doll..

Didn't know the existence of those dolls..but apparently a legend says that when you have a problem, before you go to sleep you share it with a worry doll. You place the doll underneath your pillow and while you are asleep, the doll will take all your worries away..

Thank you so much O.

The Greek Birdcage

2008-01-21T00:11:00.000-08:00

the last month Greece experiences a parody!

The country which was always liberal to the private life of its politicians, recently appears troubled with a scandal full of sex, DVDs and suicide attempts.

It seems to be a political scandal and not a pink one...who actually cares for a pink one?

we are not an Agglosaxon country, we resemble to France.It's another issue that the current french President exposed his life to the media..

The thing that really surprises me though is the wooden language of our right wing government speaking of Τάξη και Ηθική!That means Order and Morality...

I refer you to the movie La Cage aux Folles or the English version, The Birdcage...

The Man with the Carnation

2008-01-19T02:14:00.000-08:00

One year since the assassination of Hrant Dink, the ethic Armenian Turk journalist and editor of the newspaper Agos.

A year after 19 Turkish celebrities made a tape collection of his articles.This tape together with photos, are part of an audio exhibition in Istanbul to remind people of his ideas and dreams.

Hrant Dink was accused based on art.301 of the penal code on insulting turkishness, like Orhan Pamouk and other prominent intellectuals of Turkey.

The photo with the red carnation reminded me of Nikos Belogiannis, a Greek communist,leader of the anti Nazi resistance who was sentenced to death in 1951 by a court martial as a traiter!

Ironic enough,one of "ultra patriotic" members of the court was George Papadopoulos, the future dictator( 1967-1974). Beloyannis was executed in 1952

Belogiannis is known as the Man with the Carnation, by a poem of Nazim Hikmet and a sketch by Pablo Picasso.

It was the last execution due to political reasons in Greece...

Differentiation v. oμογενοποίηση

2008-01-18T03:42:00.000-08:00

The last days I'm surprised negatively by lack of tolerance of anything different.
Event among groups who claim to be open minded.
In Greek we have a word "ομογενοποίηση"which all English speakers understand.

You have to become homogeneous in order to be accepted and liked by others!
To adopt the same dress code, same ideas and life style
and i wonder where are the limits between individuality and collectivity...

some thoughts from a persistent objector to anything simple, easy, mass..
better alone and self-contained than part of a low quality....

manu chao la colifata 2007

2008-01-18T01:24:00.001-08:00

Last December Manu Chao pasticipated in a live radio broadcast with patients from the Borda Hospital, in Buenos Aires.
The station's name is La Colifata and it's the first station in the world, running by patients of a phychiatric hospital.
Colifata means Crazy in a local idiom and according to the director of the program is a creative way for the patients to reconstruct their language

craziness?oh no definitely no!

Homeless,Identity and social justice

2008-01-10T13:25:00.000-08:00

News:
Two homeless men in Athens, beat to death another homeless man.
Reason?they wanted his shelter
What was the shelter?the yard of a closed cafeteria exposed to air, rain, cold.
Headlines:Immigrants kill a greek man.....

2 years ago in New York I had the chance to attend a lecture of Amartya Sen on his book, Identity and Violence.He claims that if the multifaceted identity of each person prevails, then there will be less violence.

The way the assassination was presented, made me think of the book.

These men were all homeless,regardless of nationality.
But what if there was social justice?Maybe there would be less violence...

To my dad who first told me about social justice..a real socialist man !

Numbers: 12.000 homeless in Athens
Available shelters: 500
Average age: younger than 50 years old
Main Reason: Unemployment

Source:http://www.klimaka.org.gr/newsite/index.htm
http://www.klimaka-cosmos.net/

1 Million Signatures Campaign

2008-01-08T03:10:00.000-08:00

In Iran a group of women activists launched the so called 1 Million Signatures Campaign.

They demand the change/end of all the discriminatory laws againt women via the collection of 1 million signatures.

This is the website, where you can find the relevant petition

http://www.we-change.org/english/

the logo of the campaign says the rest!

Thank you R. once more for updating me on this crucial human rights issue..

Derin ve Serin

2008-01-06T09:53:00.000-08:00

This is the facebook link of the band of a friend from Turkey,
means "deep and cool"
http://nyu.facebook.com/profile.php?id=6267944333&ref=share

Have a look and listen to the songs!
tesekur Levent

Zaha Hadid, an iraqi free mind

2008-01-04T15:36:00.000-08:00

If I started studying now, that would be architecture and preferably in Firenze, the city I need no special reason to visit!
I was always faschinated by the perspective of creativity..
Zaha Hadid, an iraqi architect very controversial as every genious mind..
I visited an exhibition on her work with 2 loved friends, at Guggenheim Museum in NY and I felt jealous I'm not an architect myself.

even her website is worth visiting..
http://www.zaha-hadid.com/

How many times have I said:I wish I was something else than a lawyer????????

Make It Right!

2008-01-04T04:33:00.000-08:00

As a former resident of New Orleans( NOLA) I cannot describe my feelings when I saw the destruction after Katrina..
Most of my friends have left the Big Ease whereas parts of the city are totally abandoned.
Brad Pitt initiated a project to build houses for displaced residents determined to return..
This time it should be made right!

Watch the documentary of Spike Lee, When the Levees Broke and you will understand what I mean

http://www.makeitrightnola.org/

Made in Tehran

2008-01-03T15:40:00.001-08:00

Iran: 70% of the population under 30 years old
Up to 1.000.000 blogs!
Iranian women: simply gorgeous!
Tehran: the nose job capital of the world...
Berlin-Cicero Gallery: Photo Exhibititon by 6 Iranian female photographers on modern iranian woman...
http://http//universes-in-universe.org/eng/islamic_world/articles/2007/news_tips/made_in_tehran

A faschinating country with amazing history full of poetry,literature, science..
To my beautiful friend R. who always wonders about my knowledge on Iran!

21 grams

2008-01-03T13:14:00.000-08:00

According to the Iraq Body Count the death toll of iraqi civilians since 2003 is approximately 87.000.
The project itself is very controversial and the numbers are debatable.
Sounds wierd but my first thought was the movie 21 grams..the weight of soul after death.
tried to multiply with 87.000 and got scared....

http://www.iraqbodycount.org/

2008-01-02T17:26:00.000-08:00

Kenya...see Rwanda
Numbers: 250.000 displaced
350 casualties

Clowns without borders

2008-01-02T12:49:00.000-08:00

So far I knew doctors without borders, lawyers without borders, journalists without borders...never heard of clowns without borders!

Then I came across a UNHCR newsletter about the positive impact of clowns performances on iraqi refugee children in Syria...and I found out that there is an international organisation, working in several parts of the world, bringing the smile back to clowdy little faces and souls who have experienced pain, terror, abuse...

and for first time I wished I was a clown and not a lawyer...

http://www.clownswithoutborders.org/

Ξένοι and cats

2007-12-24T12:18:00.001-08:00

For those who haven't read Luis Sepulveda, I have a proposal.
Find the book, Story Of A Seagull And The Cat Who Taught Her To Fly, and please read it!
It's exactly what the title describes..
Being back home for Christmas I was surprised to find 4 new cats at my parents garden.
As they told me the first two were raised by a male cat( the panda) and subsequently these two cats "adopted" two grey kitties..
As a human being I feel ashamed by the lesson these cats gave me..
It reminded me once more how wild our human world is, especially towards those we call in greek Ξένος....

Today, December 30 I woke up with bad news...one of the cats was killed by a car..the rest mourn...they lost their father,their brother, the one who protected them...
Adio File...

Human Rights Day....see December 10

2007-12-14T01:06:00.000-08:00

On December 10, the international community celebrated the so called Human Rights Day..
The weekend before I was in Paris attending a conference on Diplomacy of Human Rights.
The same day, ironically enough general Gaddafi visited Paris and signed several trade contracts with President Sarkozy, including a massive arms deal!
There is a lawsuit against Gaddafi brought by the NGO Avocats Sans Frontières, on behalf of a Palestinian doctor who was tortured repeatedly while imprisoned in Libya for the HIV case..
Gaddafi has immunity as a Head of State...

La Diplomatie Des Droits De L'Homme as the french would say..

Tejas Verdes...the Triumph of Inhumanity

2007-12-13T03:53:00.000-08:00

A former Greek-American CIA agent admitted in an interview at ABC news, that they used waterboarding as a form of interrogation technique against an Al-Qaeda suspect. He "broke" in less than 35 seconds. Mr. Kiriakou admitted that waterboarding was torture but nevertheless necessary!

What is wateboarding?
"Waterboarding is a torture technique that simulates drawing in a controlled environment. It consists of immobilizing an individual on his or her back, with the head inclined downward, and pouring water over the face to force the inhalation of water into the lungs. Waterboarding has been used to obtain information, coerce confessions, punish, and intimidate. In contrast to merely submerging the head, waterboarding elicits the gag reflex, and can make the subject believe death is imminent. Waterboarding's use as a method of torture or means to support interrogation is based on its ability to cause extreme mental distress while possibly creating no lasting physical damage to the subject. The psychological effects on victims of waterboarding can last long after the procedure. Although waterboarding in cases can leave no lasting physical damage, it carries the real risks of extreme pain, damage to the lungs, brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation, injuries as a result of struggling against restraints (including broken bones), and even death."

Please check the website of the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture and why not make a contribution..it will be significant no matter what!http://http//www2.ohchr.org/english/about/funds/torture/

For those also who have the chance, go and see the play Tejas Verdes about the Pinochet Junta in Chile.It was officially called Prison Camp No. 2 of the Military Engineers' School, was one of the first concentration camps created by the military regime and was known primarily as a torture camp.

I saw the play first time in Ireland and I left the theatre speechless..when someone asked me why not torture I said two words: human dignity and when he insisted what I meant..I proposed him to see the play

Gioconda's smile

2007-12-12T14:07:00.000-08:00

My recent visit in Louvre, made me look for a classic album written by Manos Hadjidakis, Gioconda's smile
Somehow I had the music in my ears walking around, with an enigmatic smile!

http://www.hadjidakis.gr/

http://www.louvre.fr