The times are...a-changing

Sunday (3/29) was the 'time a-change' for us.

We lost an hour of sleep, we 'earned' one hour of daylight and the promise of better, sunny, spring and summer days.

So the 'times are a-changing' and I wish for some extra 'sunlight' on everything bad in this life. I had a discussion today about how things are more 'less' today than they ever were. From 'wireless' phones to 'valueless' education (the incentive was an e-mail sent to me discussing that theme)...

Well I wanna believe that as long as the time will keep changing twice a year, in the literal sense...we must keep trying to change the times, in the metaphorical sense. I dedicate Bob Dylan to you and you and you...



Have a great great week
Peace and love
xoxo

Mineral Springs

This is my mum's birthplace. A village named Loutra (The Springs)

And that's the place where people go to take a bath in...mineral water!

The name (Loutra aka Springs) is relevant to its history and the fact that there are mineral, thermal springs in the area. The mineral 'spa' is located near the ancient ruins of a city which was built by the Romans in 98-117 A.D.

The ancient Greeks used mineral springs and water for their health care. Today doctors claim that there are certain, special qualities in the water. It is said that the minerals contribute to the prevention and therapy of things like kidney stones or arthritis. I don't know about that, but I can tell you this. If you try to drink the water...the taste makes you say "No thanks. I'll just stick to the bathing part"!

Happy Theme Thursday everyone!
Peace and love
xoxo

LOST...IN TRANSLATION

Greece without tourism is coffee without...coffee. Everywhere you go, especially the islands, you're destined to see and read bilingual messages (or tri-lingual and so on...)!

Someone send me an e-mail a few days ago with translations gone bad (in China)...

"Excuse me, where is the Gollum section, please?

"Our corporation knows all about good...behavior"

The truth is that I like noticing translated signs and leaflets. If you look and read closely you may discover some...interesting (and hilarious:-) things. There are numerous translations out there that were and are...too lost in their own meaning!

Now I am proud to present the Greek version...

....AND...FOOD?

It's a butcher's...paradise

Grammar...no! Food...YES lol

I love taking pictures like that. These are from Samos, a beautiful island I've been to last summer. Wonderful people and I tell you the food...yummy!

I remember signs like that, signs I didn't take pictures of and now I regret. However...

I'll tell you the story of a sweet and adorable street vendor (selling goodies like sweets and honey). Has this piece of carton where he writes the name of his products and their prices. It 's all great so far, till you reach the point where you want to know how much money you have to give for a big jar of honey. You search and read, but all you get is a "honig 5 Euros" and you are like "hmm, 'honig'...wonder what that is?!?!"


Take care
Peace and love
xoxo

New York State of Mind

I would love to see...the world!

Traveling is such a great think to do, beneficial in so many many wonderful ways. The mind broadens, images spin around in your head, new faces, languages, words, food, buildings, history, customs...I could go on and on really.

There are so many places I wanna (and plan to) visit (health and money permit)! To name a few: France-Paris, Portugal, Spain-Barcelona, Italy -Tuscany/Venice/Rome, Hong-Kong (my friend Chi-ho!!), Australia-Sydney, San-Francisco, California-LA, Hawaii-Honolulu (aloha :-), and these are JUST a FEW! Which places do you want to visit?

Today however, I am in a New York state of mind!

I wanted to upload a version of "new york state of mind" by Joanna Wang but...I couldn't do it (if someone has any idea of how to 'put' a single song here feel free to help me...please:-).

However, I found something sweet and beautiful made by a musician on YouTube, TheMoss101, from the UK. This is his piano version of Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind"!



Enjoy and have a great week lol
Peace and love
xoxo

Theme Thursday-Vegetables (or Fruit-opia)

Fruitopia is a comic created in 1983 by Eugene Trivizas, a Greek children's books author. It goes like this...

Geography
Fruitopia is a land far far away, which borders with Eggnistan (in the west) and Pepperland (in the East). It is a land inhabited by fruit and vegetables. A land like no other. However this wasn't always the case...

The story behind the story
Back in the day, fruit and vegetables in Frutopia were under the rule and law of the greengrocers. However, it all started to change after the unexplained and sudden disappearance of Manolis, a well known and loved greengrocer.

Afraid that they were about to face the same fate, the rest of the greengrocers abandoned the country. The fruit and vegetables seized the golden opportunity, declared their independence, voted for Emilio the Apple to be their leader, organized an army (with Fonda the Tough Walnut) and swore they'd never let any greengrocer set foot in Frutopia again!

I grew up with this comic. It became a TV series hit when it came out back in the 80s and 90s. We would all sit and laugh with the adventures of the vegetables and fruit and the greengrocer's mysterious disappearance. For the record I think that the greengrocer was fine in the end, alive and well (maybe on vacation :-)

I leave you with the series' opening credits.



Happy Theme Thursday everyone!
Take care
peace and love
xoxo

I Survived Samaria G(e)orge...

It is amazing how an experience, something you have done or someone you've met can make a difference in your life. It is the moment you realise you are strong and that if you can survive this...you can make it anywhere (or something like that :-).

My moment was three years ago, the summer of 2006. I tend to talk about that summer a lot. Apart from the fact that I had the time of my life, on a Greek island, with my uni friends, there is another great reason to remember this particular summer. THE GORGE...

We were staying in Chania (Crete). The locals informed us (but we already knew) that there was a great walkabout, a gorge that every visitor who respects himself and herself should try and cross. It is a 16 km, rocky-kind of ground, with wild animals and 'cliffs'...it wasn't so bad! Just 5-6 hours of walking, getting fresh air, cleaning the lungs and exercising (oh and time for female bonding-I mean a 6 hour-walk with friends, talk about hanging out together :-)

So we started walking...

and walking...

and then we walked some more...

and six hours after our non-stop walk...

Hallelujah!!

Every time I am up against something that stresses me or gives me a hard time, I try to remember the hours I spend in that gorge. I felt tired, hot, exhausted, excited, small and helpless facing nature in all its beauty and power. I also felt like I was part of a team, companion and friendship, like this gorge had power over us, it could give us a tiny part of its 'strength' if we let it.

I think I learned a bit more about myself that day. I reached my limits...only to find out that this wasn't my limit after all. I learned more about the choice I made when it comes to my friends and the people I choose to hold close to me. I liked what I saw, my choices couldn't have been better when it came to friends.

We are still friends with the girls I went walking in that gorge. When you reach the end of the trail you end up in a village that one can approach only by sea or by crossing this gorge. A boat is waiting for you to take you back home, this time you don't have to walk, you just sit on the boat and the engine does the work. All you can do is look back where you came from, look at you and your friends and realise that you entered one 'door' in the morning and exited another one in the afternoon...you are not the same. You are stronger.

My friend Sophia gave me a T-shirt as a memoir...it is one of these things you can get in order to remember where you've been. The T-shirt has a sentence on it..."I Survived Samaria George". We laughed at the spelling mistake...I still have that T-shirt, still laugh, still love that "george"!

Check it out if you like...

take care now
peace and love
xoxo

"The Animal Song"

Thursday again (amazing how time flies by) and I am thinking about animals...






At first I thought I'd post pictures of my cat and dog but I already did in previous posts (I put the links here due to relevance on the subject).

Then I thought of how animals, and the way we treat them, can define who we are, as people and societies. Our character can be 'mapped' by the way we behave towards other living beings on this planet (a thing natural and sad if you consider how the situation is today). Brain or no brain, opposable thumb or not every living creature deserves a chance and if we want to call ourselves human beings we've got to take care of the 'chain' that holds us together!

Then a song came to mind..."do you know you make me cry....do you know you made me die...it's a lovely thing that we have, the animal, the animal instinct" (sing along if you like Cranberries :-).

I was going to post this song here but then it hit me...SAVAGE GARDEN!!

Happy Theme Thursday everyone...

TAG...(6 things you...don't need to know about me :-)

OK I admit it...I LOVE blog games! I have been Tagged by Candie Bracci. Click on the name if you wanna visit her great blog!

Now the rules of this game...

1) Put the link of the person who tagged you on your blog
2) Write the rules
3) Mention 6 things or habits of no real importance about you
4) Tag 6 persons adding their links directly
5) Alert the persons that you tagged them

6 Things or habits (of no real importance) about me :-)

1) I love cold and snow and good a cloudy, rainy day. It makes my day and mood (I know what you are thinking--it's supposed to be the other way around--but it's just me:-)

2) I like going to the theatre (A LOT). If a play touches me I can go and re-watch it, no problem. My score is Bernard Slade's "Same Time Next Year" (4 times)...the last couple of times I didn't pay though (I had invitations for two:-).

3) I collect...things. The weirdest thing I have collected so far...bags (from shops I've shopped from or museums I've been to) during my one-year stay in Manchester/England (Don't ask).

4) I haven't watched Greek TV in two years now. One day I just...stopped watching. I prefer watching movies, and US TV series, when they come out on DVD. My favorites are LOST and House M.D.

5) When I was about 6 my father took me to the swimming pool to take swimming lessons. In one of these lessons I nearly drowned. Did that experience make me hate water? No. I continued my swimming lessons (for 9 years) and can't imagine living without the sea!

6) My father and mother share the same name: George and Georgia. My brother and I (almost) share the same birthday: 18th May (me), 21st May (bro)...my mum was born on May 30th!!

That's all folks! Hope you enjoyed it...

Now I will TAG...Megan, Meggie, Coffee Messiah, Raymond De Felitta, Tony, Lisa.

I wish I could tag more but...we have to go by the book :-)

Take care now
peace and love
xoxo

"The Glass Menagerie"

When I saw the theme for today all I could think of is a little glass unicorn, Tennessee Williams and 'Tom Wingfield'. The Glass Menagerie is and always will be one of my favorite theater plays. I believe that its beauty comes from the way T.W portrayed his characters. They are 'made' of glass...

Glass is a controversial material in my opinion. It looks so delicate and easy to break and at the same time it can last (forever would be an overstatement), it has the 'ability' to harm and has got hidden strength. People can be like that, don't you think?

Tom is the character that I could relate to. His eagerness to get away from the small alley in St. Louis. To see the world and escape from, what he feels to be, his prison. Instead of reaching for the stars, he dreams of unknown worlds and 'travels' through the eyes of a camera...through the movies.

"I didn't go to the moon but much further-because time is the longest space dividing two places..." he says "I left Saint Louis..." (from 'The Glass Menagerie' by Tennessee Williams--my translation from the Greek version).

Happy Theme Thursday everyone
Take care
xoxo

"To Weigh and Consider" by Madhouse...

OK so I found this blog game in one of my favorite blogs, who found it in another great blog and so on! You know how it is with blog games. So here it is...my band "Madhouse" and our new album entitled "to weigh and consider"!


Here are the game's 'how to' and rules! Enjoy :-)

1) BAND NAME Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random article” or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random

The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2) ALBUM TITLE Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3

The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3) COVER ART Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days

Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

Take care
peace and love
xoxo

Clean Monday!

Clean Monday is a tradition that goes...way way back in my country. Forty days before Easter there is the Monday that declares the beginning of the fasting period in Greece. The 40 day fast is supposed to "clean" ones body (no eating meat or dairy) and soul. Greek people stop eating meat (and other non-fast food) and when Easter comes they EAT so much meat...till they burst!

The above description has to do with the religious aspect of Clean Monday. The thing is that today we honor the tradition but only a few people do it for religious purposes. Clean Monday is a day off everything (schools, stores, jobs, everything is closed), a day to be with ones family, dance and EAT A LOT. You see it doesn't matter if we can't eat meat. There is plenty of food out there that is good and 'legal' when it comes to fasting. Here is what people do in Greece today (in every village and in the countryside)...

Dancing (Opa!)

Eating and drinking (fish and retsina)

Serving and cooking food in squares and parks

Eating some more (taramas--the pink thing, olives, halvas,pickles and lagana-bread:-)

Dancing again (more opaaa!!)

I leave you with a traditional Greek song, lots of dancing and a wish for a great week!
Opaaaaa!!!