The Golden Mediocrity

I know I promised I'd write about my new iPod touch, but this can wait. Instead, I have an obligation and a duty to protect you from watching "The Golden Compass"!

TGC is a fantasy story, set in a parallel universe. The whole premise is that science and religion face each other, while the main character, a girl named Lyra is travelling across dimensions. As with every movie based on a book, I recommend reading the book first (and if!). The writer, English teacher Phillip Pullman, tried his best to create something different than "Lord of the Rings" and yet, to be it's equal. For many fans, His Dark Materials trilogy is considered an epic and original story, equal to LOTR and the best fantasy since ages...

RUBBISH! The movie is so horrid, it deserves to focus on several points seperatelly...

The acting: LOTR had amazing performances from almost every actor. Even some Orcs have memorable lines! In TGC, only Daniel Craig is saved, followed by the great sir Ian McKellen, who only performs as a voice over for the armoured bear Jorek and Sam Elliot, who performs decently. Craig is amazing, you wouldn’t believe how much class and energy he resonates, and as Lord Azriel is great cast and underused. He is on screen for 5 minutes total, and he owns them. His mannerisms, small gestures, intonation, you’ll have to rent the DVD and only watch his scenes to understand.

McKellen, on of the links to the LOTR trilogy, is superb. When the main character, Lyra, meets the armoured bear, Jorek, behind a small town store, the bear responds by standing tall, nearly as a human and then the booming voice of the man who was Magneto and Gandalf Is heard: It’s like it’s coming from the depths of the earth, it made the theatre tremble and it was supposed to be like that, right? Along with Ray Winstone’s voice for “Beowulf”, it was the best voice acting this year.

Sam Elliot is greatly stereotypically cast as air cowboy Lee Skorsby. You just know he’s gonna play the part on auto pilot and he’d be believable and acceptable. Nothing more, nothing less.

The rest is crap… Ignoring the fact that actors like Derek Jacobi and Christopher fuckin’ Lee are having 5 dialogue lines spoken (!!!), there is a bunch of unknown actors doing their worst impersonations of actors impersonating other characters. There is even a Gimli wannabe!

The main lead, Dakota Blue Richards, a newcomer and “a revelation”, as some magazines called her, is so inexperienced and seems lost among the green screens and the menir called Nicole Kidman.

Ah, the Academy Award® Winner Nicole Kidman. Her casting as Miss Coulter seemed like one of the all-time best. She is exactly as described in the book, only blonde. Which is, the book said that her hair was black, but I still kept imagining her as Nicole Kidman. But she acts so bored and bland in the movie! She is worse than a wooden mannequin. She speaks with such a pretended surprise and fake elegance, it’s unbearable. Whenever she appeared on screen, I couldn’t decide if I want to close my eyes or shut my ears. She is the exact opposite of Daniel Craig.

Eva Green is rescued by the fact that she is hot and appears on screen no more than 5 minutes. She seems to suffer from Kidmanitis in this film, but I can’t tell for sure. Her most annoying scene can be seen in various trailers, where she has the “I-kill-a-bad-guy-like-he’s-nothing” look when she kills a bad guy.

Let’s just pretend the acting is OK. There is an even bigger problem with the pacing. Forget that the whole story seems like it’s taking place during a weekend. There are scenes that drag along like an Theo Aggelopoulos movie, so boring and empty… People are talking and I was sitting there, waiting for them to stop, to move to the next scene, but no… A guy, sitting next to me, fell asleep, I shit you not! He even snarled! Rarely I felt the urge to stand up and leave the theatre – not because the guy next to me made funny noises, bur because the movie sucked!

What about the script and the story? Well, let me tell you, I’ve read the book. There is this strange thing going on with it: It is a mix of brilliant originality, preposterous thievery (from other fantasy books) and literary mediocrity. But some reason, when you read it for the first time, it feels grand and epic. Looking back, I realise this is not the case. Compare it to LOTR or Stephen King’s Dark Tower and it’s lost. So, it is a great trilogy, as long as it is not compared to other books!

Another strange thing is that, even if I had read the books, a long time ago, I still couldn’t make out what the characters were talking about in the movie!!! They keep talking about Dust and parallel universes and about the “prophesies of the witches”. Aaaargh, enough with the stupid prophesies already! Even after “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace”, adding kids and prophesies in the mix seems like the worse idea ever and people still utilize it! Usually the world is at stake, here we talk about worlds. What makes the whole thing even more cheesy, is the fact that I don’t remember anything about a “prophesy” in the book, which means the script writer put in the idea. Because, what’s more original than a kid fulfilling an ancient prophesy, saving the world and learning an important lesson on the way.

So, what’s good? A few things, unfortunately. Besides the 2,5 actors doing a good job, the production values are top notch. Every setting, building, vehicle and little gimmick in Lyra’s world is interesting, original and well created. The effects are good, but nowadays nothing special – you’ve seen a CGI animal, you’ve seen it all.

My advice? If you are a casual moviegoer, stay away from this movie. If you are a harcore geek with a thing for fantasy, watch it on an illegally downloaded dvd.

Ebenezer Screw

Hello to all. It's been a long time since I wrote my last post and that's due to the fact that I am working 9 hours straight every day now and all my free time goes to rest. Christmas season, you see. Christmas...

I remember a time when this term use to mean something to me. I remember being a 12-year old, returning home after my PC lessons, singing Christmas songs while I was riding my bike. Cold air was entering my lungs, but I didn't care: There was something in the air, you know, just before it begins to snow. And I know that there was this huge Christmas tree waiting in the living room - oh, I could stand there and stare it for hours.

My mom put quite an effort every year to make the best possible Christmas tree and there was candy and presents and all that. Oh, and snow. There was a lot of snow, even for Trikala.

Now, there's misery and global warming. It snows for 2 hours and people call it "dangerous weather". I am not wating Christmas in order to rejoice, but because I will get 2 days of rest. I don't have a Christmas tree in my room. I don't even have those preety, little lights because they cost and eletricity costs as well. Plus, I don't have time to put all those lights into place, even if I had them. My mom is working alongside dad in Germany. My brothers are going there too, while I have to stay here to work.

The juxtaposition of Christmas is a middle-aged man, complaining about the cellphone bill on the cellphone company's hotline, in my shop, while "Last Christmas" is heard from the sound system. People lost the sense of the Holidays, and of course I know that this didn't happen this year or the last one. It's something gradual. The roots of this "issue" lie somewhere between economics, negativity and modernisation. Christmas is (was?) the ultimate kiddie phantasy, a time zone where everything felt like it came out of a story.

Nowadays, one does celebrate the Holidays because it MUST be that way! Not because it feels that way. The message is long forgotten - baby Jesus came to Earth, end of story. Seems the proper way to celebrate is to buy a cellphone for junior, a talking & shitting doll for our baby girl and then dance until morning on some table in bouzoukia or leave a dance club with alcohol pouring down your ears. OK, I am not suggesting that everyone should run to the church either. As with all things, the optimal optimum (optimus?) lies somewhere in the middle.

I think people should first and foremost remember how it felt to be a kid during Christmas. Forget about how expensive oil is, how much this toy or gadget costs, or how loud your boss yelled at you this morning. Focus on your loved ones, your kids, your girlfriend/boyfriend, your family, your friends. Try to combine western holiday feeling - Wham!, Christmas carol, the Tree, etc - with your country's tradition - little boats, traditional candy, tsoureki from Terkenlis (ok, this one is mine!), songs and customs of your country.

With the danger of making this post too cheesy or far too sentimental, I'll stop here. It might be the fact that I am dissapointed by what I see in my job, with all those customers entering the shop only to complain or being dragged by kids who wanna buy the latest cellphone or PS3. Sorry if I took you down today, but I promise, the next post will be different and a more joyful reading: I am buying my self a holiday present - an iPod Touch! Stay tuned for first impressions!

Iraklis - Vazelos 0-0.5

As strange at it may seem, today we didn't journey to another city. We didn't even left the neighborhood. Instead, we spent 3 times as much to go and watch a football game between Iraklis Saloniki VS PAO Athens. "We" meaning Mitsos, my brother Alexis and yours truly.

It is known that I am a supporter of Olympiakos Piräus, objectively speaking the BEST team in Greece and soon in Europe. However, I also support Iraklis. This team usually plays good football and several great players appear to the roster. Occasionaly, when Olympiakos comes here to play against Iraklis, I try to go to the stadium and watch some, ahem, quality football.

However, since Mitsos is a full blue blooded supporter of Iraklis, he convinced me to watch his team against Veroia and now against PAO. Panathinaikos and Olympiakos are arch rivals since the dawn of time, so there was aone more reason why I should root for Iraklis. So, I took my brother along and went to the Kaytatzogleio Stadium.

Lots of people there and it is natural: PAO, for some reason, is considered a great and popular team. We found Mitsos near the ticket booth. We expected the ticket to cost about 20€, since we wanted to sit in near the vip seats, where you can watch the game more pleasantly and have a shelter in case of rain; it was a cold and moisty day. We got even more colder when we've learned that tickets cost 30€ each! With heavy heart we paid and Mitsos lost a great bit of his enthusiasm...

Once inside, the overall atmosfaire was preety good.


Lots of people, families, and many women were there. Players of both teams doing their training... There was nothing to worry about. We were wrong...

As soon as the game started, both teams seemed stuck in the middlefield. It was as there were no strikers on the team formations...BO-RING! People started to get uneasy when they noticed that the assistant refferi was stoping the offensives (?) of Iraklis and the air was reeking of tension. When Panathinaikos scored a lucky goal in the 27th minute, there was no stoping for the fans of Iraklis...

The half time was uninteresting as the rest of the game, but then came a note of joy: A father left his son go in the field and play some passing game with the Panathinaikos substitute players! Although I dislike a father who teaches his son to grow up and become a supporter of Panathinaikos, it was a nice image and even Mitsos had a faint hint of a smirk.

In the second half, Iraklis tried to even the score and it could have been so, if the refferi didn't cancel the goal that was scored in 72'! That was it! The fans went on a rampage and many guys begun speaking French. The announcer, pleading for the fans to support their team and ignore the PAO fans, only made things worse...



Iraklis tried in vain to score another goal, but the players simply couldn't. Panathinaikos won, with a lucky goal and we left the stadium dissapointed, cold and a lot poorer. But what matters is that I watched a game with my brother and my friend and, hey, it's not like we are doing this every day, right?

Kavala They Go To Churh feat. A Dramatic Trip part 2

Yes, you've guessed right: It's another trip to a Greek city for this week! This time it was Kavala. A beautiful city, a miniature version of Thessaloniki, as I had in mind, since I went there 8 years ago. I recall liking it there a lot; I even thought I could study there. Only a few km away from Drama, it seemed like a good destination. Mitsos was once again our capable and willing driver. Nicoleta accompanied us as she did last time, but the other girls didn't follow. :-(


We left at 10 a.m. from Salonica, with excellent weather conditions, we stoped to refuel and hitch Nicole, and then we drove, well, Mitsos did, to Kavala. This time I was prepared for Asprovalta. This place intrigues me inexplicably. It is probably nothing more than a normal town next to the sea, but for some reason I feel like I must visit it. This will probably sound very movie-like to you, but I can't express it with other words. Take a look at this picture and be sure that one day you will read about it here. Except if Asprovalta is Purgatory...

Driving by the sea, we reached Kavala after almost 2 hours. The city looked fabulous from above. You have to understand that the city is built on a cliff, like sliding towards the sea. Mitsos drove to the city port and we went on to take a walk.

The city looked as a mini Thessaloniki, as I told you: Cafeterias, taverns, small or bug shops, banks, all gathered nice and tidy. Too nice might add: It was so quiet, it felt strange. Few people were taking a walk, mostly old folks. Some fishermen (damn me if any of them was Greek!) were selling some fish and generally there were no cars. Oh crap! As soon as I thought of it, 2 Lamborghinis appeared, followed by a Porsche Cayenne! I am a fast revolver with my digital camera, but the Lamborghinis were faster and so I missed the chance to take a shot at them and get cursed by their drivers...

I did get cursed later though: After taking some pictures with Nikoletta, I noticed that there were some little carton-made goblins on the middle of the port. These "goblins/gremlins", part of the Greek tradition, are supposed to come on Earth from the underworld and do any kind of mischief, before the birth of Christ drives them away. Cute story, right? Teaches you not to fear evil shit, as long as you have faith. Now, these "goblins" were supposedly trying to sink the Greek "karavaki", the small ship, another Greek, traditional thingy. Also, they were depicted as stealing rabbits, pigeons and all kinds of stuff, as the folklore tales have told. I repeat: VERY traditional.
My girlfiriend alway makes fun of me, calling me names and stuff, since I tease her all the time, so I thought it would be fun to take a picture next to a "goblin". Then all hell broke loose! I wish I could write to you about how these "goblins" came to life and attacked us, but this would be too good. No, it had to be some kind of I-don't-know-how-to-call-her middle-aged lady, who started complaining because I was "hugging the devil". She closed in, like wanting to observe the hideous act, when I got up and told her that it was ok and I was jsut making fun of it. Shhe kept mumbling about how all "this stuff insults Christmas and how does the major dare to allow these atrocities to be put here, defiling the traditional boat, yadda yadda yadda the devil wears yadda why not little angels bla bla bla" and she won't quit even as I and Nicole were apologising. Our mistake, I know; we should have left as Mitsos did, but I jsut can't turn my back to an elderly person, even if she is a half-crazed one. As I walked away, I felt sorry for the 3-4 girls that were going to take some photos as I tried to do. Because, as I realized later, Nicole didn't shot a photo! The crazy lady won and my soul was saved...

After walking around for some time, we decided to go and grab a bite. We found some fish taverns and we chose the one called "Beautiful Mitiline", for obvious reasons. I enjoyed the food and the antics of Mitsos, as he was desperately trying to open his ouzo, remind us of good, old times.
The food was very good, and I enjoyed the company of cats, those gentle creatures that my girlfriends seems to be afraid of. Taking a bit of a small shock, after paying the bill, we decided to go walking again, so we can enjoy the view and digest at the same time. What better way to do that by walking up the city's acropole?

I liked the neighborhoods, all stone roads and old houses, but still, it was too damn' quiet! We reached a place where you could see most part of the city...

but we decided to go and check what lies behind the hill. Well, big surprise: More sea and a view of the eastern part of the city. The island of Thasos could be seen in the distance.

Nikoletta found some stairs leading to the beach, so we decided to go and check it out. It was all rocks and stones, but it was relaxing and beautiful.
Goind down was easy, but the hard part of going up lied ahead... Still, we managed to return to our car, safe and sound, but something was calling to us... a need to be fullfilled... a desire of some sorts... yes, Drama and Remvi were calling!

The waiter went to meet his guests. Three they were and clearly not from Drama.
-What is it? What do you want?
-We simply want a small token. A portion of coffee and sugar, in order to make frape.
-Coffee and sugar, eh? You will find plenty of both down there (shows to them a ΚΑΠΗ)
-This is blasphemy! This is madness!
-Madness? This..is.. REMVIIIIII!!!

Yes! The near-legendary bar cafe in Drama was calling to us! We called Natalia to come and join us, and find out what this place of myth was all about. As soon as we arrived in Drama, house music was heard. We assumed that it might came from the winter fair that was on the city park, but, alas, it was music from Remvi. Beat music at 16:30? You bet! Remvi was nearly full of people, with loud music coming from boxes both in- and outside the building. I was worried that we might need a pass that proves that we are from Drama or else we couldn't seat, but fortunately nothing of the sort happened. We were fortunate and blessed to find a four-seat table, outside, so we could taste what was considered the most divine thing after mana fell from the sky: Remvi's drinks!

We ordered frape and a pineapple juice... The service was good and the bar was nicely decorated, with good looking people inside. But what the hell was wrong with the coffee? It tasted like a leaked fluid from some ventilation pipe or something. It was like a thick, gluey fluid, which I can only assume happened because the frape was done with a machine (insolence!) rather by hand. But it tasted horrible! Was it because the waiter realized that we weren't locals? I don't know... I only drunk 2-3 sips, like Mitsos and then we gave up. At this moment, Natalia appeared. She was happy to see us, as were we. Now, don't ask me why I don't have any photos; it was getting dark and I was still in awe of finally sitting in Remvi, the Mecca of Drama, the foundation of Drama's nightlife. :-P Natalia's friends, the two Marias (!) came also by and we talked a bit. Very nice and pleasant girls, they explained to us that there was some kind of afternoon party going on, therefore the loud music. I enjoyed talking to them, but we had to go, because Mitsos needed to return to Kozani. Still, I am wondering how he managed to escape Remvi's calling. Perhaps it was because we refused to drink our frape. Mitsos took us by force, but we promised to return.

Will it be next week? Will it be Drama? Litohoro? Bulgaria maybe? Xanthi? It might not be far away. It might even be a dark room in the Village Center Cosmos. Stay tuned!

Mobile Madness

Many of you may know that since 1,5 months I work on a store specialized in selling mobile phones, as well as other pieces of tech (flash drives, handsfree sets, etc.). It is a small shop, but part of a big company. This is reassuring, but comes with a price: They need results. Results = €uros...

This gives me a lot of stress. A LOT. To bging results, that means I have to sell cellphones, make costumers sign a contract with a cellphone company (understand that I cannot write any brand names, because, ok, it's a blog, but you never know who might read it), sell other stuff, but mostly cellphones. This should be no problem, since mobile phones are more popular and important in Greece than water is on the desert. Should you respect yourself, you'll have more than 2 devices, often for no particular reason, as some customers say to me.

The problem, as I see it, are the customers themselves. I am a customer as well, and I often wished that I would be served and informed better from a salesman. Now that I am one, I honestly try to be honest and help people find the solution that suits them. Why the hell are they giving me such a hard time? It doesn't matter if they are Greeks or immigrants, people nowadays think that the big companies like Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG or Samsung own them big time. If I had to summarize a random customer's wish it would be:

"I want a cool cellphone. 5 Mpixel camera, MP3, Bluetooth, Radio FM, Memory Card included, 3G (because everyone is doing video conferencing with their phones nowadays!) and I want it for free! Oh, I also want to talk for 6 hours per month, also for free"

Dude, this will never happen. Accept it. No, I am not a wizard that will give you all the above. I wish I could tell you "Screw you", but, alas, I can't. Yes, leave without buying anything. Yes, go to the competition, I am sure they will give you anything for free.

You have to realize that all my work happens on a very fast way. People will literally storm into the shop, breathing heavily as if they running the Marathon. They want "a cheap cellphone, if possible free" or "quickly, pay the bills". And I have to explain to them the benefits of having a cellphone on contract, our new offers, the bonus sms, the necessity of internet, the family or bussiness packs... Yeah, right, give me a break.

I also believe that people got more cautious after the recent elections (pwned!) and are more careful with their money. After 2001 it was difficult for everybody, but as the years go by, things get more dangerous for our pockets. Few people, in my opinion, want to have something to do that forces them to pay a monthly fee. Even if it covers a basic, as it seems, need, like communication. They may still buy a cellphone worth 400€ (it's a fashion statement, after all), but they won't pay 24€ per month. They will however pay 50€ per month by using phone cards to recharge their cell... There was a guy yesterday, he bought 40€ in cards for his cellphone. I asked my boss what's his story and he told me that the guy won't do a contract as long as he lives, even if its against his pocket. He just wants to spent 100€, but also KNOW he spent them on his own free will.


The truth is, a contract is worth it. You get free talk time, cheaper sms and value bonus if you decide to buy a new phone. But the only rule is: "All you have to decide what to do with the time that has been given to you". Gandalf's advice is the key. Calculate how much do you talk on the phone, keep it that way and none will cheat you on this. You will pay the same amount of money every month, if you just check your call duration.

A Serraic Trip

With the danger that this blog might turn into some sort of the Greek "The Long Way Round", I am posting this week's impressions from a one-day trip to the city of Serres. Once again, my friend Mitsos brought the idea and the car. This time, we had some beautiful company as well: My girlfriend Nikoletta joined as, as did our long-time friends Evi and Stavroula, which I was happy to see again.

We started at early morning, and Mitsos drove the same road that almost one year ago lead me to the Army. It was just as I remembered it: Hundreds of crows nested left and right of the road, waiting for their prey. Mitsos stepped on the gas and we left as soon as possible. We only stoped to catch our breath in a small church near the road. And Mitsos to scare Nikoletta, as he imitated the hunting cry of a demon. Well, what kind of person thinks that a demon can wait outside a curch, under the sunlight, don't ask me...


Reaching Serres was not difficult. Reaching our friend Irenes's village was. Neos Skopos (which translates as "New Purpose" or "New Watchman") is a big town in fact. Houses here and there, restaurants, cafeterias, schools of all grades, as well as two English teaching centres, one of which I was happy to find out that was Irene's. Congratulations to her, she's done what I can only now think of doing sometime in the future (or maybe I won't). Her teaching school was small but nice, with bright colours and a spacious classroom. There is no need for more.

We left New Purpose for Serres. We made a stop in order to eat and drink, among other bodily needs. Oh, and we took photos. Lots of them. Thankfully, I found an unexpected ally in Stavroula, who was willing to take photos; she even pursuaded Mitsos to stand and pose!

After we dined (not in Helllll!), it was time to visit Serres downtown for the traditional afternoon, digestive frape! Serres reminded me a lot of Larissa, which is good. Looked like living there would be comfortable enough - aha! Another city for me to choose as a future teacher!


First we took a good view of the city from its "Acropole" and took some more photos, then we drove inside the city. With more than just relief, I watched as a small platoon of soldiers got ready to honour the flag. Heh, long time no see.

The cafeteria was cool. Very nice deco, beautiful people, and the city bus passing just a few centimeters away from your table. It's toilett also had an original thing going on: It is the first WC that happens to lead to a spooky dungeon


When the night came and I escaped the dungeon, we left Serres back. I am sure, as Mitsos drove, he was planning the next big road trip... Stay tuned to find out where we are gonna be next week!

Beowulf Review

Some hours ago, I've returned from viewing "Beowulf", which also marked as my initial 3D viewing. It was great! Never before have I witnessed a movie like this. Not witnessed, experienced!

First things first, the movie is a must-see. The story is simple as it is archetypal: Hero slays monster. Hero becomes king. Hero commits hybris. Hero must face consequences. But how can it not be archetypal? The story is so old, it even inspired some guy Tolkien to write a short story called "The Lord of the Rings".

But you don't go to watch "Beowulf" for its story. You go because it is a magnificent technological and cinematic breakthrough: Fully shot in 3D, with 3D animation, projected either normally or in 3D, the movie features near-life digital actors and settings. It has an all star cast, featuring the, relatively unknown and underrated Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovic, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover and, oh, a naked Angelina Jolie. The acting is more than decent, Winstone gives his Beowulf an aura similar to Gerard Butler's Leonidas, dominating with his presence and voice. Crispin Glover as Grendel is amazing and he is the most terrifying monster since a long time. He even speaks Old Anglo-Saxon or something, I am not sure.

Furthermore, if you watch it in 3D, like I did, you are in for a treat! It was amazing: Spears, swords and arrows looked like they came at me, people passed in front of me, flames, snow and rain moved in front of my eyes. And the best part of it is that it is fully coloured, not some green/red combination over a black and white film. This is REAL D, baby! :)

I won't spoil the film for you. It's not my style. I won't even write a summary - the internet has plenty of them. I just urge you to go and watch it, in Real D if possible. The movie shows one of the ways Hollywood will follow in the future.

What I want to comment though is, once more, the sad, bitter situation in Greece: "Beowulf" is rated PG-13 here in Greece. Very hard decision, since it features so many dissmemberments that I lost count. Rivers of blood fill the screen. Grendel is hideous/scary/disgusting. There are words (in the greek translation) like "cock", plenty sexual innuendos, Angelina Jolie, Ray Winstone and even Hopkins have near nude scenes. Now, explain to me: What.The.Fuck were all those 7-year, 8-year and 10-year olds doing in the movie theater?

• Distribution and rating companies rate it as an "animation movie", meaning: "Finding Nemo" was animation, "Beowulf" is animation, thus both movies are suitable for kids. Bollocks I say.
• Ticker counters gave a guy tickets for the 7 kids he was accompanying. The oldest of them could not be older than 12. Ask for some ID. Give them the option to watch "Ratatouille" or something. Even if the movie is OK for 13-year olds, those were NOT 13-year olds.
  
• Well, it is obvious that I am gonna bash the guy with the kids.Stupid guy, do a research about the movie and stop buying tickets for it, "just because the poster looks cool"! I was scared 2-3 times, really scared. Imagine how the kids felt.
• And now my favourite part: The kids. Once more, the lack of proper education and raising has shown its teeth. The audience was perhaps 45% children - in my opinion UNACCEPTABLE! Those kids were restless during the whole movie, expressed their impression about the 3D loudly, they whispered to each other and changed seats. 8-years old they might be, but ALL of them knew Angelina Jolie. (Fortunately, none expressed his impression about her, when she came naked out of the water)
• I could write about the guy who saw fit to crash a plastic bottle of water during the movie or that, when epic music was heard during an intense scene, a cellphone was heard, with "My dream/is to fly/over a rainbow/so high". It took me 30 minutes to get my self back to the movie's feeling. Oh, wait, I actually wrote about them!
  

A Drama-tic Trip

Well, the title is quite wrong, but what can I do? I love word play!

Last week, my friend Mitsos had the wonderful idea to take a trip together in the city of Drama, where our friend Natalie resides. Although I was quite feverish the night before, on this Sunday I was OK and ready to go. Thinking back a bit, this was the first time I did something like this: Drive with a friend or friends to a city of Greece, visiting it for the first time.

Mitsos was waiting for me in his Renault Clio, equipped with all the things a driver and his companion could need for a long distance trip: Chocolate milk, croissants and CDs of Paschalis Terzis.

The first pleasant surprise came after about 1 hour of driving away from Thessaloniki: The sight of Asprovalta, a town near the sea, left me speechless and breathless, but not brainless. The town looked empty, like a town in western movies, but also gave an aura of piece and quiet. I don't know how else to express it. After the first impression, my second thought was that I would be cool if I went there and worked as a school teacher... I am sure that I will visit Asprovalta to draw better conclusions and impressions.


As black clouds gathered in the horizon, we met the dread of everyone who drives without a map: We kinda got confused. At least 3 signs pointed to Drama, all of them froom different exits. Mitsos remembered otherwise and so he followed his gut instinct. He was right: We could still make it to Drama, but before that, we needed to cross over Mount Doom:


It was an amazing sight and the picture doesn't do it justice. As this wasn't enough, various signs pointed out that Nigrita was near! For those who don't follow my blog regulary, Nigrita was the place where I was trained as a soldier, almost one year ago. But Mitsos drove forth steadily and without fear and soon, we arrived at Drama.

Natalia welcomed us and, first things first, we went to honour the customs and traditions of Northern Greece, namely we went for a coffee. And what a coffee it was... We went to one of "the coolest places", according to Natalia, "although not as cool as 'Remvi' ". We nodded in approval, even if we didn't had a clue what or who 'Remvi' was. It is probably some kind of biological watch, that makes the residents wake up at 13:00, only to go there again until late night. Still, I can't remember the name of the actual cafe we went on and that's the waitress' fault. The name was probably "19OO" and you probably know where I am heading: Huge. Boundless. Barely hidden. Boobs.

I used to know an Irene from Drama who was anatomically equall as this waitress, but my friends restrained me from asking her is they were related. I also thought to ask Natalia what was Drama's famous export but the sight of the waitress answered all my questions. The day was starting good... Read the comment of a guy who posted it on his blog, concerning the situation in "1900". It can only be written in Greek, there is no other way!

"Tελικά θα μου πείτε και σε μένα τι έχουν τα σκαμπό στο 1900 και τσακώνονται οι κοπελιές να παρκάρουν τα κωλαράκια τους?
Το Σάββατο είχαμε ένα ακόμη κρούσμα καβγά για μια θέση στο bar με θεϊκή ατάκα της βραδιάς "μάζεψε την κωλάρα σου μωρή απο το σκαμπό μου". Αμα βάλει και ρινγκ με λάσπη το μαγαζί θα είμαι κάθε μέρα εκεί να παρακολουθώ"

We then went for the usual sight seeing, although, from my point of view this was completely pointless, after visiting "1900"... After finding a rather strange company...


... we drove up to a mountain, where we could enjoy the view. Mitsos got pissed off with a bus that was in front of us and once he passed it, he transformed into the late Collin McRae. Thankfuly, this didn't last long and we took a good look at Drama.




We went to some sort of central park, which was very peaceful, with trees and ducks and rivers. We also went for dinner and it was a bit too much. Delicious as it may was, the food was more than we needed and soon I found myself drifting away. So, what better way to fight sleepiness, than a cup of coffee...again?

Unfortunately, "Remvi was closed" as Natalia reminded us, so we went for a drink somewhere else. Meeting two friends of Natalia, who were also sorry because "Remvi was closed", we drunk a cup of coffee, when suddenly both me and Mitsos felt our footballsense tingling: The hour (19:00) drew near and Super League, the world's most exciting championship was about to begin. So, we hastily said goodbye and left, promising to return for a cup of coffee in "Remvi" next time.

Evanescence - In The Shadows: A Kind of Review

Those of you who know me personally, you'll know that I am not considered an emo, a term much popular these days. So, what brings a guy like me to nearly worship the latest album of the most emo band ever?

Yes, I am talking about Evanescence. The hard rock/poetic/alternative band, whose lyrics are familiar to every 15-year old. I still remember sitting with my friends Thomas and Babis to a friend's house and listening to a rock radio station, when suddenly our ears were mesmerized (sp?) by the unresistable combination of guitar and piano. Yes, I am talking about "Bring Me To Life". The song was cool, as was the ballad "My Immortal". Musically speaking, I would love to have more rock songs like that, but that's just me. The lyrics don't bother me that much, but if they make sense, they are welcome.

In the beginning, everything was cool: Evanescence were known only to a selected few people. Then, radios started to play their songs more and more and one day I caught my (then) 12-year old sister listening to them. For me, the band went instantly from a insider's tip to mainstream and then catapulted into über-mainstream, meaning even my grandma knew who Evanescence were.

Even worse, they didn't brought out a single or an album that equaled the feeling of what I've heard on the radio for the first time. They made more and more emo songs, Amy Lee "cried" and "whimpered" on her mic, blaming the world for everything. I've lost my interest on the group. If this wasn't enough, with Linkin Park's dissapointing LP "Minutes to Midnight", I've lost faith that this style of music could ever appeal to me again. I mean, if Linkin Freakin' Park make a mediocre CD, then what hope can there be?

I was wrong...

Evanescence's new album, entitled "In The Shadows" is surprisingly good. It's that good, that restored faith to a non-emo, non-metal, non-rocker like me. While the band never denies its emo roots, they've managed to create 11 songs that vary from very good to potential hits! The worst song of the album is an... acoustic version of their old success "My Immortal", and this says a lot.

Their sound is powerful and yet pleasant to the ear. The songs never try to be too rockish or too gothic, but maintain a style that was missing from these kind of albums. There is much more lyrical tone that in their previous albums, something that I like. Fast percussions, good use of samples, great vocals. Amy Lee sings like a woman in love, with energy and vigor and not like some angry, pissed-off bitch (and without a good reason, I might add). Their music is strong, lyrical and, I don't know any better way to express it, "well bound together".


Evanescence didn't try to make an album to prove they are "hardcore" or "alternative". They are now mainstream, but this doesn't mean they can't be so without quality. "In The Shadows" is a great album, with very good songs for everyone. Just the fact alone that I wrote a review for a music cd, speaks volumes of how good this album is. Do yourself and listen to it.

Last Army Days

After the “small ropes” (look previous post), the time came for me to leave Mitilini and go to Kastoria, a city near the Greek borders with Albania. I wasn’t expecting this third transfer, but it was a welcomed one. Anywhere was better than Mitilini. Imagine if I had stayed there, during the summer. Yeah, right, it’s an island and it is beautiful there, but the camp, man, the camp is bringing you to your limits!

Once I arrived with the bus to Kastoria, I was astonished by its natural beauty: Trees, trees everywhere, the great lake in the middle, beautiful buildings and quiet streets. If you haven’t visited the city yet, do it ASAP.

My new unit was not far from down town, only 3 minutes away with a taxi. As is the city, the camp was quiet and the facilities better than Mitilini, although not perfect. But in my eyes, it was like Hilton! To my surprise, I met people and friends from both Serres and Mitilini, who have also been transferred there! That helped my adapt very quickly, well, apart from the fact that someone stole one of my two digital cameras, but after 2 days, I’ve learned that I was to be sent to a guarding post, 15 minutes from the borders, as a second-in-command.

It was very, very far from the city, but at least it was near a small village. I may not go out to Kastoria, but I get to sleep more and spent my remaining weeks more quietly and without stress… Well, apart from inspections and visits from superiors, but even those don’t happen that often.

It was very quiet and idyllic there. There were 5-6 soldiers with me, all of them nice guys, but still, not all characters fit together. But you try to cope with the situation and be patient.

The “facility”, a former folklore center, is pretty nice equipped, with spacious rooms, a huge “entertainment room” with TV, DVD, an old pc, even an old coin-up arcade! We get to cook on our own, but with materials brought to us from the camp.

During my time there, I had the experience of knowing lots of people, in- and outside the Army, I got to know a battalion of Marines, who came by for training and I witnessed devastating fires, wiping out entire mountains clear from their trees. Horrible, really horrible…

With this and that, I didn’t realize how quickly the time has passed. During my time in Mytilini, time was passing due to the fact that everyday was a training day. In Kastoria, almost every day was about sleeping, relaxing, eating, talking and the hardest part was to choose which DVD we were about to watch.

And then came a glorious day, a bright day, a day of freedom and change. August the 7^th.

When I finally fullfilled my obligations to mother Greece and I returned to my previous life as a citizen. I must admit to have felt a bit sad about leaving the whole siuation behind. As hard as it was, you only keep the good memories in the end, memories that I still look upon and smile.

Small Ropes!

Even before I join the Army, there was a thing that terrified me: There is a long exercise, where the whole military unit takes off to the mountains and makes an encampment there, staying for 5 to 12 days. It is nicknamed “little ropes”, because of some Greek innuendo. The thing that terrified me was the fact that our situation was hard enough when we were in Mitilini, so imagine if you have to live for so long out in the woods.

My primary fear was concerning the weather conditions. Any time from January till March was too cold, especially at nights. Fortunately, we went there in May. Then it were the conditions: The small shelter we were making was almost not enough for two soldiers – I forgot to mention that it were 2 soldiers under one hut, which was in fact not larger than a big bed sheet, on two wooden sticks. And in it, we had to put all our stuff, and keep it clean for inspections. And I got unlucky in my partner: The most annoying guy in my platoon was in fact forced upon me. He is a 1,50m short guy, who complains about everything and thinks he’s somebody. Fortunately, I had to endure him for “only” one week…

When the day came, I still didn’t know if I was to join the others. Something wonderful happened: My third transfer arrived, which was nearly impossible, since I serve 9 months, and only 12 month soldiers have that “privilege”. So, I didn’t know what was happening. You are reading this post, so you know that I went there.

The place where we set up our camp was decent. I picked a spot and started building my “little rope”. In about an hour I was done. The rest of the day was identical to a day in a military compound. I figured out it was not so bad. And I slept well during the night, it was far from cold and I had a sleeping bag.

The days passed and I realized to my surprise, that it was quite enjoyable there. I had my best corporal buddies with me, we did exercises with armored vehicles, we did war scenarios, and I got to shoot with the Browning 50mm machine gun, which was astoundingly cool! I lost count of how many bullets I shot to a small target, which was hurled by a small aircraft. All the by standing officers were surprised with my aiming and resolve…(must…stop…boasting…about…myself…aaaargh!).

What about food? We had a fully equipped kitchen and the meals were served as in the camp. We were eating in small aluminum boxes (“karavanes”) and we had suvlaki and hot dogs. Not bad huh?

There was a hilarious moment, where my Captain ordered us to clean the mountain from its… rocks. “Why?” I dared to ask. “So you don’t trip on them at night” he replied. It did make some sense, but after hours of rock cleaning, I begun doubting the man’s sanity. There was a lot of digging and cleaning as well (you can imagine that there was no WC out there…) but still, I had this feeling of euphoria and the days were passing quickly.

I came closer with EPOP soldiers, you know, professional soldiers and corporals, whom people consider to be dumb and pricks, but when you spend some time with them, you may find out that they are good people, family people. Our superiors were surprisingly relaxed as well. In about 7 days, I realized that I was having the best time since the time I became a corporal!

During the weekend, we were divided in two groups, in order to go back to our unit and take a shower, drink a coffee and buy something if we needed to. The thing is, back there, chaos was ruling: Two second-lieutenants were in charge, the one crazier than the other. One was refusing to hand me the keys to our barracks, the other was yelling us to get in line and that “he was God here”. One guy from Crete commended that “Hitler was better” and chaos erupted… I tell you, I was more tired there than I was back in the mountain.

Overall, “little ropes” was a fantastic experience and I wonder how in the blazes I thought it could be otherwise. Well, unless if it was winter… (shudders) It was the last time my friends and I were there to hang out together and it was great. Achilleas, Nikos, Giannis, Leyteris, Giwrgos, Dionysis, we had a great time together!

LYB Forevah!

There was a Cretan guy I’ve met in Mitilini, a sergeant called Nikos, who was the type of guy who’d you like to have next to you in a battlefield. He seemed to be valiant, courageous and clever. At first, I approached him with all the “yes sir” crap, but he told me “forget it. One day you may become a sergeant too!”. Call again? How was this possible?

I learned later that this was possible due to my studies and age, and that I was selected, together with other 20 men, to go through a second training period, called LYB, standing for Battalion of Trainee Officers. Sounded hard, but Nikos assured me that this was the best month since he joined the Army. For one, you’d be doing no services, no shifts, no handy work. Training and only training. Good facilities, good officers, and all this for a month. Whatever took me away from my present unit was good enough for me…

Sometime in March, they load us in the back of a truck and they sent us to the small village of Polichnito, in the heart of Lesvos. The camp looked decent enough and more important, nobody was yelling at us. We settled in a cozy barrack and they informed us that the training will last 2 weeks only and that there would be no sergeants out of us, due to an order from the Pentagon. Plus, we were there to do some services after all…

The training was a more intense novice training. Confused? We were doing again the same things we did over and over again in the training centre. This time, from the perspective of a commanding officer – this is how we should view ourselves now. Nikos was right: It was the best time of my “military career”. People were treating decently, I hung out with great guys and above all, I’ve met my pal from my Student’s Life, Nikos Gazis, who was there as well as a trainee officer.

There were great moments during the training. We loved to give orders to each other. We were learning by having fun with our great superiors, who were about 25-28 years old. Another buddy of mine, also called Nikos, was doing a lesson to others about cleaning our gun and parts of it. “Because, when you are on the field, wet, hungry, thirsty, without ammunition, without communication, separated from your platoon and with bullets flying next to your head, what makes more sense than cleaning your gun?” LOL!

The village was nice. It had two cafes, a bar, a press shop, and many places to eat. The best was the hot springs right next to the camp, where we could rest our battered bodies :-P Plus the fact that we could sleep for hours, without disturbance. This place was great and most of my friends agreed on that. We didn’t want to leave.

And we didn’t. At least not immediately. Time passed quickly and we were sworn as corporals. I came 13^th from 130-140 people, not bad. The important thing was, this camp had warehouses full of mines, whom needed to be carried by someone and put someplace by someone as well. And, what a surprise, my unit was selected for this superhuman task. Mind you, we’re talking about 35.000 mines here! But that didn’t bother us. What mattered was that we were away from our actual unit. We carried mines all morning, then came back, unload them from trucks, then eat and then go to our services. But we were happy.

We did stay one more week there and then came the time to go back. It was harder than I thought, to get used to the running and yelling, but we didn’t have any choice. But I was grateful to have experienced these 3 weeks there and meet all these wonderful people and a blog can’t be enough to tell you all my experiences or even more describe my feelings about the time I’ve spend there. It was by far the best time of my life during the Army…

Coming up next: My second-best time of my life during the Army! Small Ropes!

Beautiful Women

Recently, I had a revelation. A late one as it proves to be. Greece is overrun by stunningly beautiful women! OK, not “overrun”, but I must say, the percentage is very very good. So, where’s the big deal, you might say. Greek women were, as far as I know, always beautiful and very much in the last decade. But what about men?

The revelation/observation/conclusion came to me as I watched an advertisement about loans, a very popular hobby in Greece. There is this average looking guy, laying on the beach. Around 35, little hair on his head, his body looking like it would need some training (no six-packs or what so ever). He listens to the radio about loans becoming more and more expensive. Then, a gorgeous chick comes out of the water and sits next to him, changes the radio station and we hear about the “cheaper loan on the market”. This puts a smile on the guy’s face and he tells the chick how happy he feels about it. Several other babes turn their heads and look at his direction. The end.

So what? Ads are playing with our fantasies and wishful thinking. Who doesn’t want to be successful and popular to women? And of course they’ll put an average looking guy, because the ad targets on average people, who, statistically may look average as well. A beautiful woman is often related to success. Plus, the beach and the sea are related to vacation and relaxation. And you can have all these with the “cheaper loan on the market”… There, I made a semiological analysis as well :-P

The thing that put me in thought was the two main persons in the ad. How come women look more and more beautiful, while men remain average-looking? Then I did some zapping and I noticed that this was the case. Almost every woman looked great. OK, I know it’s the TV, so they’ve got to put good-looking women there. But then you look outside the box, you look around you when you’re outside, having fun. People, we have become a nation of beautiful women, very much like Italy some years ago.

There is the Mediterranean look, naturally. But now there are girls that look like being from Northern Europe, blonde, with blue eyes, yet 100% Greek. Most of them take good care of their body, and even the chubby ones know now how to dress and hide their negative aspects. Guys remain on a standard level, with very few exceptions. Well, not all of us can look like models, right?

Women complain about the lack of “real men”. I’ve grew tired on listening to the same bull for the last 2-3 years, and to tell the truth, who can blame them? Many men lost their courage and will to flirt. Afraid of rejection from a beautiful woman, they don’t dare as they used to, that’s what the cliché is. Women look stunning nowadays, while you are, well, just a guy. But through this ad, I came to the delayed conclusion that that’s the status quo of looks in Greece. Women don’t expect from men to look beautiful as they do, they’ll always want to look better than anyone, that’s natural. And to them, I believe, we look as we always did. They see that men are looking average, being normal guys. They don’t want a guy who is equally good-looking as they are; they just want a nice guy. That’s why they make themselves pretty.

There is no need to seek courage from complicated discussions about the two genders. Personally, I have accepted the fact that that’s the way it is. I have a girlfriend, but those of you who don’t, don’t think about it. We should feel lucky that Greece if filled with babes, not being afraid of them. They can’t help themselves if they are born with beauty genes, right?

WLAN on the Beach?

During my last day(s) off from the Army, I went with my girlfriend to Chalkidiki, and more specifically to a small town called Chanioti. An ideal place for young people, since it offers a variety of bars and clubs. Needless to write about the girls that were there: The whole Eastern Block was there, in bath suits. And what am I supposed to write you about? How gorgeous they looked?

I’d rather write about a positive aspect of the whole “beach” thing. This was my first time I went to a beach after 2 years. I don’t know what happened during those 2 years, but I observed a number of things.

First: Minimal to no garbage at all. The sand was garbage free, not only in Chanioti, but in another place, called Potidea, I don’t recall seeing a plastic bag, an ice cream package, or a finished cigarette.

Which bring us to my second observation: In a beach full of people of all ages, I noticed only one smoking. And she was a young woman, unfortunately. Very good looking, she threw that beauty of hers away, once she lit up a cigarette. Other than that, the beach was smoke free as well, which made me happy and optimistic.

The third observation had to do with cell phones. Yes, they were absent as well. I was one of those people who took their cell phone with them to the beach, but this year, I decided to leave it back to our room and just go for a swim and sun tan. I noticed that most, if not all people had the same idea, so to speak. Even if they had them in their bags, not even once in four days did I notice someone talking with his/her cell phone. Great improvement here.

Which reminds me: There was a hilarious ad, airing some time ago, where an office guy is packing his things, his colleagues viewing him with sympathy. “Where will you go?” asks the one. “I don’t know”, he replies, “somewhere outside Athens. Maybe… Mykonos!” and then we get a glimpse of him, sitting under an umbrella, with his notebook, taking advantage of a mobile company’s internet connection. Hmm, so far so good. The advertisement is clever, humorous and somewhat original. But then, there was another ad, from another company.

They advertise on how their cell phone signal is now powerful enough to reach even the more distant regions of this country. So, they show a farmer at his work, talking to his cell phone. Logical: He may be on a village. They show a fisherman, on his boat, talking to his cell phone. Logical: He may be on a distant lake on the mountains. They show a hiker, on a cliff side, reaching for his cell phone. Logical: He is on the mountain, he may need help. They even show a man talking to his wife and children via video conferencing. Too good to be true, but logical. Then they show a gorgeous babe, in a small blue “makes-you-drool-all-over-the-place” bikini, sitting next to the sea, SURFING THE INTERNET WITH HER NOTEBOOK, USING A WIRELESS CONNECTION! LOGICAL: WTF? I say again: W T F?!?!

This ad means to tell me, that a hot looking girl, in her twenties, has nothing better to do, on a beach, than surf the internet with her laptop? Not even I do that! Even If she was not on a beach, how many 20-year olds that look like models do you know, that surf the web, with a freaking wireless card that connects via 3G – I mean, she did a research over that thing, right? She walked into a telecommunications store and asked some poor guy about “the fastest 3G connection in order to use my laptop on the beach”? Suuure!

I am confident she’ll hook up with the guy from the previous advertisement…

Abandon hope all ye enter here!

There was fire and lightning and a booming voice echoed through the halls of my training camp: “You are being transferred to Mitilini, as a machine gunner!”. Say again?

I was hearing this from my Captain and I couldn’t believe my ears: Mitilini was a place I never thought of going as a soldier? A mean, an island opposite Turkey, very far from Trikala or Thessaloniki where I live, very difficult to leave and go (I thought back then) and as a machine gunner as well? What did I ever have to do with machine guns; I didn’t even seem like being able to carry one!

I traveled there via ship, through Athens, where I met my friend Achilleas, who was joining the same military unit. He was in Mitilini as a student and he kept telling me that the unit was close to the city, that it was great to be there and etc. Plus, a friend of mine, Synthia, studied there. The prospects seemed ideal. How wrong were we…

Once there, I had a lukewarm feeling: The command center looked a bit old, the whole camp was build upon a hill and there was a lot of shouting and cursing. When they took us to our barracks, things got worse: It was a VERY old building and the soldiers inside looked as if they escaped from Prison Break. Kretans were talking with so heavy accent, I needed subtitles to understand them. Cursing and yelling again. Suspicious looks.

I had to take a leak, so I found my way to the toilets. Joseph Conrad would be proud, because this was indeed the “Heart of Darkness”: The horror, the horror! There was no pavement, only mud and dirt around it. The smell was reaching from a far distance. The inside was not better: Water leaking from somewhere, there was no hot water and the toilets were nothing more than holes in the ground. I tell you now: Very. Normal. Stuff. But back then, I was disappointed, to put it mildly.

And not about the hygiene thing. Every commanding officer seemed to be angry, stressed and mad at you, for no reason. The other guys who were already there looked weary, tired and wasted. Fortunately, I was going out for a week, in order to get used to the new unit. I confess now, I was returning each night crying and not believing my bad luck.

This very camp is considered to be one of the hardest in Greece, I shit you not. The Commander was formerly training reserve officers and he was tough as a rock. A man fulfilling every military cliché, barking orders and punishing every little misdeed. The commanding officers tried to keep up with him and keep him pleased, so they did the same. It was a big chaos.

With time, I got used to it. I met wonderful people there, good friends. I got tougher, at least what the Army concerns. I got used to the countless training sessions, the exercises, the war scenarios, the constant running under someone’s orders. The night shift under -5 degrees, 3-6 AM. And, yes, I had no problem with the machine guns.

In fact, I grew to like them. My trainer, Mr. Makris, was a great officer and even better guy. An old war hound, a guy who loved the art of war, but not military horny. He tried to make you appreciate the army but not force his opinion on you. We found an understanding during my time there, which needed time, but close to the end it was great. I was trained to use the MG3 and the Browning 50mm, both great weapons. I got the chance to step into a VBL reckon vehicle and be part of the scout platoon, with the mission to do reckon and offer anti-aircraft protection. I got to shout targets 1500m far, cutting stones from a mountain with my bullets. I shot an air target, with over 200 bullets. Let me tell you, I realized why people who own weapons, feel so powerful.

This was my second transfer, the first considered to be the training centre. 90%, all the second transfers are like this: Very tough officers, average to bad facilities, hard training and all these in order to expand your limits and be ready for war situations. You didn’t expect that people will talk nice to you, while bullets fly next to your head? But all the difficult stuff will bond you with your fellow soldiers; besides you are in the same situation, aren’t you? There is the positive aspect of such units having near 100% operational readiness, which means you get to do your shift for one day and the next one you have a day-off.

It was tough, especially at the beginning. I didn’t thought I could last there, but I did and this made me proud of myself. I even felt sad when the time came for me to leave for my third transfer. But this is a story for another time… What will follow is the story of how I got to be a corporal, so stay tuned!

P.S. : It wasn't all torture and misshaps. There were great moments, especially after a couple of months. What we really like with the guys was spoofing the whole Army thing, shooting videos and immitating our commander. Watch the following video, courtesy of my friend Artemis Damigos (he's the guy polishing my boots!)

Enviroment

The summer of 2007 was disastrous for Greece and more specifically, for its ecosystem. Anyone who watched the news during the summer will grow tired reading about the countless fires that ravaged the forests and burned houses and, sadly, people. I was witness of such a fire, during my time in Kastoria as a soldier, where the fire came closer to our facility, than it was comfortable. What I want to point out here is not the who, what and why, surrounding the fires but the mentality of the average Greek guy towards the environment and the meaning of ecology, as I perceive it.

2007 may be the year to mark a turn to ecology. Even more and more advertisements concerning the environment appear on the TV, which makes me believe that being “green” will be the business of the years to come. Major companies will use the concept of ecological / environment friendly products to sell. What concerns me is how the average Greek Joe (or Giorgos, if you prefer) is viewing this whole mess.

I believe that most think of it indifferent. Well, the polar ice is melting, so what? The poles are very far from Greece, right? Duh! The forests are burning, so what? I live in the city. Duh! The temperature is rising? So what? My new, super-duper, fucking awesome air conditioner will keep me cool. And if it isn’t, I am gonna buy a second one, a more powerful one! DUH!

Greece, being a beautiful country from nature, never seemed to need taking care of. OK, we had garbage, but that’s it. Recycling still is “something for the geeky, northern European folk”, alternative energy sources are still “experimental, unavailable and extremely expensive” and hybrid cars are “too slow, too unpredictable and there are no alternative fuel here, right?”. All this baloney makes me go crazy! The apathy. The indifference. The boredom. The lack of information. The lack of will to be informed.

Why does it have to be like that? Is it really THAT difficult to care about the environment, not in a WWF/Greenpeace way, but in an every day way? It is comforting and strange at the same time, that, whenever I visit certain places, like electronics stores, cinemas, press stands, etc., there are certain depots for battery disposal, under the AFIS (ΑΦΗΣ) initiative. And they are almost always full. That means that there are people, hear – hear, that care about disposing their used batteries! This gives me hope that there will be people, mostly the new generation, that will do what’s good for the environment, without feeling like they are forced to.

It all begins with education: Make people from little age, learn how to recycle, how to take care of trees, make them learn how to be patient and not use air-conditioners. Not taking the car for small distances in the city. Not to litter. All these stuff that make a Greek roll his eyes and feel oppressed. It won’t feel like that, when someone has learned to take these things for granted.