Cerebral Palsy Patient Gets

Boost from Hellenic Parish

Imagine the pathos infused into soprano Melissa Perry (not to be confused with MSNBC’s Melissa Harris- Perry) as she and fellow vocalist Sharon Rose Destine ‘cheerfully’ executed   song after song, knowing that it was all for the benefit of her own daughter Sara Ann Kronrot, a severely affected by Cerebral palsy. It all happened the evening of March 7^th at the Greek-owned Water Works Restaurant at One Boathouse Row in Philadelphia, with the Greek Orthodox parish of St. Thomas in Cherry Hill, NJ, led by Hellenic Medical Society president Elias Iliadis of Cooper University Hospital took an interest in the girl’s extraordinary plight.

The 8-year-old have been diagnosed early in her life by pediatric specialists as a very severe case of cerebral palsy, giving her no chances of recovery, yet Sara Ann defied this prognosis by the experts by recovering enough to gain her sight and hearing. She no longer has contractures and is able to read, write and draw remarkably (two samples of which had been mounted on a musical stand in plain view in the room,) but is still unable to sit or stand. However, this exhaustive process of her therapy has taken a toll on her family’s resources, necessitating these fund-raising events.

The event, dubbed Waiting for Love, a Cabaret with the Diva Duo was one of many a fundraiser of this type held by the musical family of the afflicted girl, with her father, Hugh Kronrot, an accomplished artist himself accompanying the divas on the piano. The singing duo used a repertoire of all-time favorites, pop and enduring Broadway tunes, even opera in a sometimes comical sometimes boisterous tone, the two artists engaging in a non-maligned antagonism-of sorts-singing outbursts that brought smiles into the 50-odd person audience that filled the restaurant’s Grande Salon for the early session.

The Water Works open menu and special drinks were available to those in attendance who paid a $20 tax-deductible contribution ($25 at the door) for half price. Contributions for Sara Ann can be mailed to Collingswood Cates/Sara Fund at P. Ο. Βοχ 172 , Collingswood, NJ 08108 or through Pay Pal at www.facebook.com/friendsofsara.

Travelogue……with Bob Nicolaides

Destinations 2012

3/12A    

Bangkok selected ‘The best scenery’ city

Bangkok was cited with the 2011 Asian Townscape Awards, presented by Rumi Ichiba, the Chief of Exchange Promotion Section of the Asian Pacific City Summit Secretariat of the UN-HABITAT in Fukuoka, Japan. The award presentation was held under a concept called “Living Environment and Urban Revival,” rewarding model towns and projects which promote the life quality of its people, along with overall environmental development. Other criteria include the promotion of safety, the importance of art and culture, the harmony between the city’s landscape and way of life, the city’s initiatives and its role as a model for other cities in the years to come..

Bangkok’s candidacy was under the banner of “The Living Bangkok Heritage”, an organization which promotes and works towards the conservation of four areas around the Rattanakosin Island, including Plabpla Maha Jetsadabodin Ground, Santichaiprakarn Park, Nakarapirom Park, and Sanam Luang Ceremonial Grounds. Along with Bangkok, three other cities shared the 2011 Asian Townscape Awards, including Korea’s Jeju and Pohang, and the Japanese city of Kumamoto.

Bangkok: The scenery that wins

Graphic, veddy, veddy BritishTorquay

Is Torquay Better Than Turkey?

The director of Park Holidays UK Tony Clish has lashed out at ABTA after the trade body attacked a new government-funded campaign to promote UK tourism. ABTA described the £4M advertising campaign VisitEngland as "a misguided use of public funds". Clish said the criticism by the association was "a cheap shot from a body which can't understand why people now prefer Torquay to Turkey". He said the comments were hardly surprising, coming from a body whose members' interests were served by encouraging people to holiday abroad.

"We are at the start of a year when the international spotlight will be falling on Britain, and it's perfectly proper for the tourist board to highlight the UK's fantastic tourism product," he said. "Our tourism industry generates over a hundred billion pounds of spending each year, supporting over two-and-a-half million people in tourism-related jobs. "What's wrong in spending a tiny fraction of that income in order to generate even more visitors during a year when we will celebrate both the Olympics and Diamond Jubilee?"

According to Clish, there has been a steady rise in UK tourism in recent years, along with a sharp fall in the number of people taking overseas holidays. This, he said, might be fuelling ABTA's outburst. "Clearly ABTA is feeling the pressure, but people can't be blamed for re-discovering Britain as a wonderful, stress-free holiday destination," he said.

"The government is making a very shrewd move in launching this advertising campaign, for the cost is just a fraction of what is likely to be recouped by keeping the leisure pound in this country. "So let's allow families to make their own decision about where to go - and if they choose Ramsgate over Rhodes, then I'd say they are supporting the right economy!"

Is Alepotrypa Cav, the real site of Mythical Hades Passage

Alepotrypa Cave by Mani Peninsula.

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By no means can you call Hades the happiest spot! For what Hades stood for in Greek mythology was afterlife! There, in the gloomy world of the underworld, renowned heroes long gone from this world such as Achilles or Ajax gathered mostly to grumble about the boredom they existed in, and to wait for the judgment of the panel of judges of the dead

"I would rather be a paid servant in a poor man's house and be above ground than king of kings among the dead," said Achilles was quoted in Odyssey. But for archaeologists, a Greek cave which brought views of comparison to Hades looks more like the Olympian abode. Overlooking a quiet Greek bay, Alepotrypa Cave (meaning literally Foxhole in Greek,) contains the remains of a Stone Age village, burials, a lake and an amphitheater sized final chamber that witnessed blazing rituals more than 5,000 years ago. Until recently however, all of this was hidden from the world and scholars can only take now a peek on what’s in this ‘beyond.’

"What you see there almost cannot be described," says archaeologist Anastasia Papathanasiou of the Greek Ministry of Culture, a director of the Diros Project Team. "There is almost no Neolithic (Stone Age) site like it in Europe, certainly none with so many burials." So far, her team has unearthed at least 160 burial sites inside the cave, from a time 7,000 to 5,200 years ago (5000 to 3200 BC) when farming first spread to Europe. The lives those farmers led inside and outside the cave, across the remote Mani Peninsula of southern Greece, offer fresh insights into humanity at the dawn of civilization in Europe.

"They lived in a large village outside the cave," says Mike Galaty of Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., a co-director of the project's survey efforts with Willam Parkinson of Chicago's Field Museum. "And some were inside too, we think, when the entrance collapsed," Galaty adds. The cave inside is  covered with a layer of greasy ash , left over from ritual fires that may have marked burials there (and reburials, as many of the skeletons are within ossuaries, stone boxes where remains were placed years after their first burial.) "It is quite dark inside, quite black," Papathanasiou says. "But the state of preservation is excellent."

From that preservation, we know the Stone Age farmers at the site ate a diet heavy in barley and wheat with little meat or fish. Although a full reconstruction of the region's prehistoric climate is still to come, we know from plant remains that it was wetter and forests were much thicker. Analysis of the skeletons shows people were not different physically from those inhabiting the Mediterranean today, their height about the same though slightly anemic due to lack of meat in their diet. About 31% of the burial skulls displayed an inherited line where bone plates meet above the forehead, showing they were related, Papathanasiou says. And the noggins show a lot of signs of healed bumps and cuts, since "they fought a lot."

"We don't quite know what was going on with the ritual activities, but it seems they were burning sacrificed animals, smashing pots and other pottery, and building large fires inside the cave," Galaty says. "It could have been really nasty depending on what they were burning."

Fumes coming out of mystic caves figure in big ways in ancient Greek mythology, such as the classical Oracle of Delphi who foretold the fate of kings and emperors. Although that was thousands of years ago, around 1400 B.C., after the closure of Alepotrypa Cave, such a relationship was suggested by the Greek archaeologist George Papathanassopoulos, who led excavations at the site starting in the 1970's. His speculation is that the ancient Greek notion of Hades was a gloomy and misty home for the dead, may have had its origins in the cave's rituals.

The other task that fell upon Papathanassopoulos was to save the cave from the fate of becoming a tourist trap. First re-discovered in 1958 by local folks, Greek tourism officials saw it as a cave attraction, carving out walkways with bulldozers, installing trestles and even putting a pontoon boat in the interior lake to help with a light show. ("They had to saw the boat in half and then put it back together to get it through the chamber entrance," Galaty says. "It's still floating there.")

Not protecting the cave immediately" was a huge lost opportunity, since it had been sealed for thousands of years," Papathanasiou says. However, when archaeologists realized what was at stake there with basket after basket of Stone Age pottery emerging from the cave, they led efforts to keep tourists from trampling the site. "There are still very many places who remained intact where science can benefit from," she adds.

A big step for the Diros project in the coming years will be mapping the extent of the Stone Age community living around the bay on the outside of the cave, Galaty says, Being far from Athens and anything that has to do with archeology, the peninsula boasts an isolated history that saw an arms race of tower building ("They wanted to shoot cannons down on their neighbors in the Middle Ages," Papathanasiou says) and could be that it served as a home for the middle-class citizens of Sparta. In addition, "some archaeologists speculate there may have been a Mycenaean era palace around the time the legendary Achilles, still alive (if he ever had lived,) riding around the besieged walls of Troy just before he descended to Hades. "We are going to need a bigger new museum," Papathanasiou says. "We are just getting started bringing this site to the world."

Atlantis Bahamas Sale: Up to 60% Off plus $600 in Perks

                                The Atlantis on Paradise Island, Nassau, The Bahamas, where prices slipped a steep 60%

In addition, to a 60% overall discount on room rates, Atlantis stays April 15 - June 13 include an Atlantis Experience Pass -- offering as much as $600 in perks such as a dolphin interaction, golf and spa credit. Also, air-and-hotel packages of at least four nights through October get an immediate $250 airfare credit -- $400 with a six-night stay (one per booking).

Nightly room-only rates April 15 - Oct. 31, including weekends -- which usually cost a premium -- are:

·         Beach Tower, $199 (reg. $509): Family friendly and closest to the beach

·         Coral Towers, $249 (reg. $549): Located by Marina Village shops and the casino

·         Royal Towers, $299 (reg. $649): Atlantis' iconic tower, near the water park

·         The Reef Atlantis, $369 (reg. $699): Deluxe waterfront studios and suites with a kitchen

·         The Cove Atlantis, $449 (reg. $849): Luxury oceanfront suites with exclusive adults-only pool

These deals are part of a Paradise Island sale, including Comfort Suites, which offers access to Atlantis' amenities and breakfast for $150 nightly, and the Best Western for $138 nightly. The air credit also applies. All deals include $25 free slot play at Atlantis. To book, click the link above or call 888-440-9497.

To book an Atlantis stay and to see terms, conditions and restrictions, call 888-440-9497.

 

 

New Disney cruise ship, Fantasy, arrives in New York

201                    2David Roark/Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line’s ‘Fantasy’ at NYC Harbor February 28 2012.

Disney Cruise Line's Disney Fantasy arrives in New York on Feb. 28, 2012David Roark/Disney Cruise Line

Disney fans in New York today were treated to an unusual sight as the company's newest cruise ship, the Disney Fantasy, arrived from Germany. The 2,500-passenger vessel, which was christened in the city shortly thereafter, was feted with a fireboat water salute as it sailed past the Statue of Liberty to a dock on the Hudson River side of Manhattan.

Completed earlier this month, the Disney Fantasy has been under construction for more than a year at Germany's Meyer Werft shipyard. It remained in New York only for a few days before heading to Port Canaveral, Fla., where it will be based year-round.

Controversial Slogan bites The Dust

In the mountain biker magnet of Fruita, Colorado, decals for a sports shop read FU ("Fruita, USA") and an annual festival is dedicated to a headless chicken named Mike. But that free-wheeling vibe has its limits: After asking for public feedback on a potential marketing campaign incorporating the double-entendre "WTF" (as in "Welcome to Fruita"), city officials discovered that most citizens weren't LOL.

It all started when a local couple printed 500 "WTF" stickers and distributed them free to downtown businesses. While the slogan generated attaboys from as far away as Australia and proved so catchy the couple made up another 1,500 decals, the western Colorado town of 13,000 won't be giving it an official stamp of approval.

The edgy campaign "is not dead," says city manager Clint Kinney, who predicts the business community will "pick it up and run with it" despite the lack of municipal support

The edgy decal won’t be part of the official campaign any time soon.

Heightened Security in Greek Museums

Culture Minister Pavlos Geroulanos announced that the country’s museums will be guarded by a special security team comprising culture ministry employees and selected Greek Police (EL.AS) officers with special training in Olympic Games’ security.

Briefing the parliamentary standing committee on cultural and educational affairs on the protection of museums and archaeological sites, Geroulanos said the joint security team has already agreed on a package of immediate and medium-term measures.

Referring to the recent robbery in the Archaeological Museum in Olympia, Geroulanos stated that it was a “very serious blow” and expressed certainty that those responsible will suffer the consequences.

Oldest, darkest, deepest, largest and quietest hotel suit

We all dream of 'getting away from it all', but there aren't many hotels which can offer a suite 220 feet below ground level with no natural light. The Grand Canyon Hotel in Arizona boasts the oldest, darkest, deepest, quietest, and largest suite in the world, in a cavern that took 65 million years to form.

To get to the room managers have dubbed the 'love cave' guests must take a lift 22 storeys down. The largest dry cavern in the United States, it is naturally completely dark and completely quiet because it contains no life forms at all. Yes, the only thing moving or breathing in that room will be little old you.

Water is carried down to the room by staff, and an employee is stationed at the top of the lift shaft should guests suddenly decide in the middle of the night that it's...well, a bit too quiet.

The suite, which is 200 feet wide, 400 feet long and with a 70 foot ceiling, can sleep up to six, with two double beds and a sofa bed provided.

The cave is furnished with all the amenities hotel managers believe guests will require 220 feet below the surface: a library of old books and magazines, including a National Geographic collection which dates back to 1917, and a collection of books dating back to the late 1800’s.

In keeping with the olde worlde feel, an ancient piece of equipment called a 'record player' is provided for entertainment.

The furniture may be also a little quaint, but there's a healthy twist to staying in this accommodation.

The hotel manager explains that the air in the cavern is as dry and clean as one can get, coming in via 65 miles of limestone crevices from the Grand Canyon to the caverns, with the limestone removing all moisture and impurities.

Rates are $700 per night for two sharing with additional guests up to a total of six paying $100 each

As the World Churns0312

By Bob Nicolaides

It was a breath of fresh air as former Florida Governor, Cypriot –American Charley Christ was welcomed by MSNBC’s  Rachel Maddow  to offer his opinion about the January 31 Florida Republican Primary. His take on the candidates? The gentle Christ said he won’t endorse anyone as of now, but he’ll play the wait and see game…

There were Prosecco bottles popping, waiters gliding around with platters of hors d'oeuvres and Arianna Huffington, in a sleek black dress, looking the part of a Greek movie star. For all intents and purposes, this was a movie premiere starring, who else, Arianna. But this was inside the Wanamaker Building in Greenwich Village, where AOL announced the summer launch of the Huffington Post Streaming Network, an ambitious online streaming video network to start airing this summer with 12 hours of live-streaming video content a day, five days a week. The plan is to ramp up programming to 16 hours a day next year. AOL is dedicating at least 100 employees exclusively to the new venture, said Roy Sekoff, who will head up the network as its president. Huffington Post's existing reporters and editors will also be expected to carve out time to appear on the network. So, no, it's not the $315 million that AOL paid for what CEO Tim Armstrong referred to as the "the Super Bowl bet we made on Arianna." Nor will it initially match the $150 million that AOL has reportedly dumped into its network of hyper-local news sites, Patch. Instead, investment will likely be more modest, perhaps $10 million or so in the first year. ….His name is Demetrios Psillos and he is an illustrator. What he did most recently was an illustration of a very angry Newt Gingrich for New York Magazine,,, The NJ Hellenic American Federation has a plan that connects students with professionals in their one of a kind "not to miss." As such, it has held its annual career power workshop at the Cretan House in Highland Park, NJ with Maggie Stavrianidis, Human Resources Director at Johnson & Johnson as the special guest speaker. The workshop was held on Saturday February 18

                                                Ms Stavrianidis as guest speaker

Kyle Richards who’s got a new pilot the content of which can be considered as her life story,  which as an actress she can play herself, opts to have someone else do it. In describing ‘someone else’ she says that “I would want it to be somebody that's really funny and could capture the humor of being a mom and all the humor that comes with being on a reality show,” she describes. “So, maybe Jennifer Aniston. I don't know, someone really funny.” While some of the housewives have guest starred in sitcoms -- including Kyle's sworn enemy-friend Camille, who appeared last year on CBS' $#*! My Dad Says -- this would be the first time one of them would have sold one about themselves and could conceivably star in it, too. Would you watch a sitcom based on Kyle’s life? While on Jen, it’s nice to mark her 43^rd birthday on February 11^th….…..If I said that this year’s Oscars aka the Academy Awards is remembering the Golden Anniversary of many of the actors and actresses who received that distinction exactly fifty years ago, a story that made Entertainment Weekly early in February. One who stands out among all of them is George Chakiris! Now if reading this you exclaimed ‘who’s George Chakiris,’ then I’d say that you’re age is under 30. So listen intently and find out about our fellow-Hellene actor of the Fifties and Sixties who copped a supporting actor award for playing Bernardo to Rita Moreno’s Anita, for which she as well got the supporting actress award in West Side Story, the movie. Now 79, Chakiris regrets that in those days, an Oscar nomination did not lead to a PR whirlwind as is known in today’s scene. Hence Chakiris’ career did not rise the way it would’ve in today’s’ world and that’s how young people haven’t heard of him. Maybe they haven’t heard of Rita Moreno, now 80, either…… Greek American Alexander Payne's family drama "The Descendants" have won top screenplay honors from the Writers Guild of America. He spent eight months as a Hawaiian native and he didn’t do it just to soak up the sunshine but to get into the spirit of everything, from traditional Hawaiian music-that’s authenticity alright- to the threads of the Hawaiian shirt for his movie. Settling back in his home state after the Oscar excitement in which he only wone the Best Adapted screenplay, Payne expects to shoot Nebraska, a comedy-drama about a father-son road trip and after that he hopes to do an adaptation of Daniel Clowe’s graphic novel, Wilson…By the way, The Writer’s Guild award for TV, Drama category, George Mastras shared the honors for Breaking Bad with six others…Extra host Maria Menounos was so sure her beloved New England Patriots would win the Super Bowl that she told her colleague A.J. Calloway that if they didn't, she'd host the show in a bikini. "I hate bets. I'm never doing this again." she said, stripping down to a red, white and blue string two-piece on Monday in chilly Times Square. "God is a Giants fan!" noted Calloway. Maria had a fun time in Indy. On Saturday (2/11), at ESPN's Super Bowl party, she was spotted Tebowing with Tim Tebow….

                                 By Neilson Barnard, Getty Images

Menounos, an avid New England Patriots fan makes good on her bet

         

Chakiris now (inset) and bussing Rita the night of the Oscars, circa 1962.  

(Please use this as inset on the lower right corner of photo above.)

Payne’s Hawaiian project, The Descendants.

Aniston: Is she now peddling beer?

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The beautiful woman Alvaro divorced for Athena

This guy, Alvaro Alfonso de Miranda Neto was once married to this pretty woman you can see, her name being Cibele Dorsa.She is a Brazilian swimsuit, Victoria 's Secret, and Playboy model. He divorced her because he fell in love with this other woman, a very plain one at that.  The two are very happily married right now. Some people say that love is blind. This story proves that men are capable of real love and they see personal inner beauty, and not basing their decisions solely on looks.  Oh, and by the way...The new girl is Athena Onassis. She's worth 12 billion dollars…..Yeah… And did you know that consumption of alcoholic beverages has fallen steadily in the last few years in Greece, with the domestic market recording the highest decline rate in 2010, a report by ICAP reveals. Now should we attribute it to the lack of money or maybe reform?....Scratch another ‘Yeah’....

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Alvaro with the woman he ‘fell’ in love with

Her Poker Face was a no show, but that didn't stop the Little Monsters. Devotee fans of  Lady Gaga hoping for a glimpse of the pop superstar flocked to Joanne Trattoria, her dad's new restaurant on West 68th Street and Columbus Avenue, for its official opening night. Gaga visited the restaurant on New Year's Eve to host a celeb-filled party, but an employee at the door said the singer wouldn't be attending opening night because she was in L.A. That didn't stop some Gaga fans, affectionately known as Little Monsters, from dreaming of an encounter with the "Bad Romance" singer. Some were rewarded with a Gaga-related sighting. Singing legend Tony Bennett, who recently recorded a duet of "The Lady is a Tramp" with Gaga and sketched a nude portrait of her, arrived for dinner. While Lady Gaga fans were eager to catch a glimpse of the pop superstar at her dad's new restaurant when it opened, local businesses say they were looking forward to Joanne Trattoria for a more practical reason: foot traffic."It should be good for business," said the owner of another restaurant just down the street from Joanne….,The world-renowned Greek pianist Vassilis Varvaresos will perform a benefit piano recital at Carnegie Hall. On March 19thy, sponsored and organized by the Cyprus Federation of America.. Named Most Promising Young Greek Artist from the Critics’ Association of Greece, Mr. Varvaresos has been hailed by the Washington Post as a “young master on the rise.” The winner of the prestigious Young Concert Artists International Auditions at the age of 14, lists among his many achievements, being the soloist with the Athens State Symphony Orchestra, representing Greece on a two-week tour of China during the 2008 Bejing Olympic Games. Varvaresos will donate the proceeds from this recital to the Cyprus Federation of America’s “Philanthropic Fund,” which provides hospitality services and financial support to children from Cyprus and Greece undergoing comprehensive medical treatment in the United States….  In case that you didn’t attend the Blue Masqued Ball, the first such event for Chicago’s Greek America Foundation, it happened on February 25^th and it was a Venetian-themed masquerade ball, with a Greek twist.  It’s a pioneering effort for a new new tradition, mixing the best of the traditional Apokries (Greek Mardi Gras) celebration with the sophistication of old-world Venice…..

Bolaris: Fox 29 meteorologist on his way out.

The producers of Zach Galifianakis’ hilarious movies have been sued by Gucci, the makers of the exclusive handbag for using a fake product that looked like their handbag instead, and presenting it as the real thing. And did you know that Zach, as odd as  he looks thanks to his beard, he nevertheless has a double? Though you can see his image here, unfortunately I cannot remember his name, because he does, for sure have one.. ……Greek American Director Alexander Payne was one of the Golden Globes nominees for his flicks The Descendants. Unfortunately he remained a nominee, while Martin Scorsese got the pie for Hugo…,,.A day after announcing its movie nominees, the 2012 Directors Guild of America Awards unveiled the TV contenders for its upcoming prize-giving event. The Comedy Series category is dominated by Modern Family and Curb Your Enthusiasm  with two nods each, while German Hellene Tina Fey "30 Rock" scored one nomination. The DGA also honors Demi Moore, Jennifer Aniston, Penelope Spheeris, Alicia Keys and Patty Jenkins with a Movies for Television and Mini-Series nomination for their work behind the lens of Lifetime's "Five". …. The name Fitzpatrick only reminds you of Irishmen and I don’t blame you, but this Fitzpatrick has a Greek mother who raised him as such in Flushing, NY of all places. In fact, this Fitzpatrick whose first name is Greg, went to PS 21 in that area with my daughter number 2, Christie DeGregorio, Esq (now, of course.) But what’s outstanding about this not-so-young man is that he is the ‘double,’ (they call them stuntmen) for Ben Stiller, and he was just that in the latter’s latest hit comedy, Tower Heist.  As for acting, Greg is good for that

Don’t ask me why becoming a celebrity spoils you and you just live with the notion that you’re above the fray, but it’s happened to everyone I know-including Ernie Anastos, but excluding Nick Gregory, both currently working for the Ruppert Murdock empire. It now happened also to the Greek American Philadelphia-based meteorologist John Bolaris Fox 29, who was suspended in December, days after Playboy Mag published an article about his being drugged and scammed by two European beauties in Miami Beach last March, a story printed first by the Daily News. No, it wasn’t because he was drugged or scammed, it was because of his quote in the article that he went along because “I’m a guy, there was the thought that I might get l___,“ and for sharing nude photos with a writer friend. Now Bolaris is joining the unemployment line… 

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What in your opinion is the meaning of the Greek word Paraprodokian? At the closest we cn make out its definition as "figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently used in a humorous situation."
"Where there's a will, I want to be in it," is a type of paraprosdokian. Another good example would be ‘Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.’….It’s all over but the shouting for “Over the River, ” but it looks like the government has cleared the  Art Project by Christo in Colorado. Now if you remember, the same artist some years back had draped part of Central Park with orangey-yellow drapes, so now he’s gotten clearance to do the same over the Arkansas River. The $50 million project by the artist, who hopes to drape nearly six miles of the river here in southern Colorado with suspended bank-to-bank fabric, received approval from federal land managers late last year. But early in January 2012 a new battlefield emerged in law and local politics: in Denver, with opponents filing a federal lawsuit aiming to block construction, which Christo had hoped to begin this summer. The suit argues that land managers violated federal law in approving the plan and gauging its environmental impacts. So it’s back to the drawing board for Christo…

    

       Matthew Staver for The New York Times

The artist Christo has won federal approval

 to drape nearly six miles of the Arkansas River with fabric

Word of the Month: Cosmetics: From the Greek Κόσμημα, which actually means jewel. Strangely, in English the Greek word for cosmetics (Καλλυντικά)was not used but instead the word cosmetics was established.