Once a wolf always a wolf

Microsoft is again the buzzword of european anti-trust courts. They are now including internet explorer as a bundle for their windows software.
This is how they became so big. I understand anti-trust laws etc etc
So what? They will pay the fine. And will continue business as usual. After all, it is the law of the sea: big fish eats small fish.
BTW, I use mozilla, even though my laptop is operating in a microsoft windows environment and internet explorer was offered there. So what? I downloaded mozilla and off I go. So, the truth actually is that Microsoft did not deprive me - the consumer - the choice. Even though I am not a big fan of the software house, I find all these law suits a bit useless and pointless.
I would be more interested to have someone come up with a more reliable operating system than windows (well linux is) that is equally user friendly (well linux isn't) and they could bundle armagedon if they liked..

Heineken's version of Sex and the City

my 2008 top ten worst experiences

1. Amy's death
2. Dad's heart problems & hospitalization
3. my family's economic problems
4. Aunt Mary's hospital flirt
5. Fires in Athens
6. Dimitri's car crash
7. Animal abuse
8. Greek government performance
9. Chinese occupation in Thibet not abolished
10. Zimbambwe's continuous amputation

my 2008 top ten best experiences

1. Zizou & Klelia's negative Kalaa-zar test, Oct



2. AEK - OLYMPIAKOS 4-0

3. Athens 10k parallel race to the Athens Classic Marathon, Nov 9


4. Obama acceptance speech, Denver Nov 4

5. Madonna Sticky and Sweet concert, Athens OAKA stadium Sep 27


6. Photographic tours of Paris & San Francisco, 2nd & 4th weeks of Aug

7. John Digweed performance, Cavo Paradiso, Myconos Jul 30

8. Heath Ledger's Joker performance in Batman, the Dark Knight


9. Obama's president elect speech, Chicago, Nov 11

10. Myconos holidays Jul30 - Aug 4

Greeks' comfort zone

The Greek flag is white and blue to represent the sea waves and the foam. The five horizontal blue stripes represent the five seas. The cross is the reference to the orthodox religion that Greeks are baptized into since early age*
This trivia piece of information only to elaborate the point that Greece is a naval country and its people have close connections to the sea.

Now take a mental tour away from Athens, fly over the Balkans or Northern Italy and reach Switzerland. The heart of Europe, a beautiful, rich, mainly mountainous country. Dominated by the Swiss alps. None other alpine village - or small town - is as famous as Gstaad. Probably not famous as a ski resort - French, Italian, Austrian or other swiss towns are more famous about their pists. Gstaad is famous about the rich and famous, its cosmopolitan atmosphere and the luxurious chalets. People do ski there and I would expect to have the highest concentration in the world of chanel ski sets (yes, the fashion house does design skis and ski uniforms) but skiing seems not to be the favorite passtime

I would also expect that Greeks would make up of a high proportion of the population of Gstaad. I would also expect to hang out with each other. What I would not expect is that the 'greek hanging out place' in Gstaad would be called 'The Gstaad Yaught Club'**. Talk about comfort zone.....Unlike most other yaught clubs that exist in the world though, no sailing boats are to be seen anywhere near it..You can check it out here: http://www.gstaadyachtclub.com/






NB: *(about the non-separation of state and church I will revert to a different posting - too big of a topic to discuss here)
**I swear of not making it up. I have been informed by a Gstaad permanent resident (half greek).

My first vinyl album

I think I was about eleven or twelve when I bought myself, with my own pocket money, my first vinyl album. Yes, back then the delivery mechanism for music was the LP - or the single - in black round vinyl disks.
I actually went with my brother - the two of us - to shop. Alone. For the first time in our lives. I had no idea back then that the title song of the album that I had bought would be one of the most classic of all the one time classic songs. Unfortunately so.
The year was somewhere in the early eighties. The group was Human League. The song was Lebanon (Top3 in UK charts the first week of release despite boycotting from UK radio at the time and with no MTV to broadcast; this tells you something about the song)

Great song, gloomy topic, still relevant, geography slightly different. All great art is always relevant. Unfortunately in this case, this is a great work of art that I would have loved to put in some old drawer and never listen to again. I have bought many LPs, and CDs later on. I think the lyrics of this songs are the ones that I will never forget. Unfortunately!

Does Christianity live in a shopping mall?

Christmas is in our religion (by 'our' I mean all the different flavors of Christianity) the day that Jesus was born in a very humble shack, in a stable actually, warmed by the breath of the animals, lighted by the star, and showered by the magicians presents. All in modesty, humbleness, religious ecstasy, family love, quietness, with the bright light of a solitary star intruding the darkness of the night.
Now tell me, where do all these Christmasy symbols find their place in 'our' Christmas? I would think that the Japanese celebrating their fashion-victimness with yet another shopping spree, labeling it 'Christmas shopping' is alright. After all, they are not Christian.
Yet for us, Christians, the period around Christmas holidays, is usually the period where most depression attacks are registered and would not be surprised if it was the time where most suicides are recorded in Norway.
The spirit of Christmas commands from us all to be jolly, happy, surrounded by at least three kids that will open their presents on christmas day, an extended family where there are at least 4-5 couples with 4-5 offsprings each, mothers-in-law are not ball breakers, a chalet up on the mountain with a huge fireplace, a golden retriever that will sit quietly by the fireplace the entire evening (next to it without suffocating) and its sole movement will be to occasionally lick someone or wave the tail (the rest of the time it does not move, does not dirt, does not shed). In addition, there is a huge 4x4 SUV in the chalet garage, everybody is a wonderful skier and nobody gets chopped lips and face from the freaking cold.

I think this type of Christmas exists only in commercials. The depressions hit because we mistake the 'commercial type-Christmas' with 'commercial Christmas'. Unfortunately, most recently we can not have the money to buy the presents. And lately the kids are asking play station III or super nintendos - not just a fire brigade or a doll from Santa.

The problem is that at times like this, where Santa has run out of money, it is depressing to make a kid sad. A present needs to be bought. At all costs. Or the parents need to spill the beans: Santa is not real!!! (I think that revelation alone explains the anger of 15-year old Athenians...)

The conclusion is that on a period of financial crisis, Christmas period is harsh on most people. Harsh because most of us will fail to deliver as our role promises. Or at least the delivery will not be as great as it was previous years. Because there is so deeply routed in our westernized soul that we can get by our wrongdoings all year long as long as we deliver our Santa promise. Hence the real legacy of Christmas is lost and misunderstood.

In order for one to be happy, one must have a 4-member family, a mountain house, an SUV, a six digit bank account, patience in light installation and holiday decoration, shouting wealth, exhibition, festive spirit, hedonism etc. None of these qualities have anything to do with Christmas. On the contrary, Christmas, the birth of Christ, was the promise of a hope that God would liberate humans from all these musts and should dos, all these societal directives that all they serve for is to discriminate against the poor, the single and the different. Jesus was born for all, quietly, in his small shack, warmed by the breath of moving animals and showered by the symbolic gifts of the three magicians that came to pay their respects.

No SUVs, no trees, no golden lights, no santas, no fireplace, no fiestas.

My question now is: Why on earth do all these new shopping malls mushroom up in the period that most people get depressed when passing in front of a shop? Christmas is deprived of the true miracle of Genesis and the hope that His birth represented. The devil is taking over. Unlike what most people think, modern devil is disguised in small square plastic cards, especially active in large, bright, luxurious, plentiful, colorful, christmas decorated, over-advertised, window-lacking shopping malls.


PS: Frankly, thinking about it, X-mas is more a single than a family holiday (single folks flats do not have the sparkle, ribbons, trees, lights, etc of family homes during xmas)

Die Welle

Absolutely worth seeing especially if you want to understand how strong is the psychology of the masses and how easy some uncomprehensible social phenomena can be explained. Out of nothing a human wave can drown us all, especially those who started it.
The references to Nazi Germany is of course unavoided and necessary to show the heavy historical burden on the otherwise revolutionary, modern, artistic and visionary German youth.
Unlike the French 'Entre les Murs' (see previous posting), Die Welle is telling a story, it is not a dramatized documentary, it is fiction that dramatizes a national nightmare in a classroom. The operative question being: Can we have fascism again?
Brilliant movie, the best I have seen this season so far, a MUST SEE.
Excellent direction and a very promising young cast. The professor is wonderful
Without any hesitation, 5 out of 5

NB: The movie is inspired by a real school experiement in California in 67 and based on a novel by Tod Strasser

Body of lies

A Ridley Scott movie is always an interesting film to watch. Middle eastern troubles, the remote big brother watching the moves of field agents, people getting killed, the good arabs, the bad arabs and the good americans with their nasty habbits.

Overall a good action movie, deals with the ugliness of the war on terror, how the americans, how the arabs that fight and how the arabs that just happened to be born there see it and try to survive
I really enjoyed the movie. Great casting, great directing, great story. Absolutely worth watching in a theater
What is interesting though is that in all hollywood-produced spy movies, the good arab always looks more european. Funny, ain't it?

Felicitations Martine

On Friday, November 21st, the French socialist party voted for their new first secretary. Martin Aubrey led Segolene Royale by 42 votes. Sego contested the results and there was a second round of votes. Aubrey won. For a second time on Nov 25th, the party's vote to become its leader. Martine Aubrey elue la Premiere Secretaire du Partie Socialiste.
The two women do not get along, not on a personal nor an ideological level, and there have been worries in French left for a party split. (Does that ring a bell???) Segolene appeared on a video to tell her voters that she will come back stronger at the next elections and that she does not plan to quit the left.
Segolene with her ex-partner where the royal couple, the Douglases, of the French left. Things have not turned particularly swell for them since the announcement of their split and the rise of Nicolas.

French socialist voters are split, like their party. Some adore Segolene, some don't even want to see her face on a picture. The truth is that Segolene has a very strong personality - love and hate are the two sides of the same coin. Martine, on the other hand, has an extremely impressive resume, as she is the architect of France's revolutionary 35-hour week, a true solialist. She is also sort of socialist royalty, as she comes from a political family: her father is the architect of Europe 92, Jacques Delors. She is currently the mayor of Lille France's ugliest city, and she is apparently doing a very good job.

Congrats Martine, beating such a worthy opponent makes the win even higher.

France needs to become more competitive without losing its socialist character - mind you France's right is probably far more left than the Democrats. (How right is the Left and how left is the Right, is a different topic alltogether).

The fact that there are for the first time two women candidates to lead France's socialists is also another remarkable progress of our times.