As The World Churns/1112, By Bob Nicolaides

 

 

RNC chairman Reice Priebus was born Reinhold Reince Priebus in Dover, New Jersey, the son of Greek mother, Dimitra Priebus and her German husband whose name does not appear in Wikipedia but instead they list the mother twice, once as Dimitra and then as Roula, which is the one and same person his mother.  His father was a former union electrician who works in real estate. He became politically engaged at age 16, volunteering for several campaigns throughout high school. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he majored in English and political science, and joined the Delta Chi fraternity. He graduated cum laude in 1994, and prior to that had been elected to serve as student body president.^] He was born in New Jersey and lived until age 7 in Netcong.... In an attempt to discredit the massive lawsuit it's facing from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman over Bear Stearns' mortgage-backed securities, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its CEO, Greek American James Dimon, accused him of using "recycled claims" cribbed from another lawsuit. (JPMorgan acquired Bear in 2008.) Because Bear Stearns was such a huge player in the selling and packaging of mortgage-backed securities, there's more than one similar lawsuit. Legal experts say that's no big deal.

 

Thirty-one New Democracy (ND) MPs questioned the minister of tourism in Parliament, asking that a tourism campaign contract signed by Attica Regional Governor Yiannis Sgouros be re-examined.  The ND deputies underlined that the contract signed with the lowest bidder has already caused two resignations in the regional government administration, while they rejected that the contract in question must be immediately implemented in order avoid a loss of  8.5 million euros in National Strategic Reference Framework (ESPA) funds…The port of Volos, in central Greece, welcomed another cruise ship this current season, while other four are expected by Nov. 9. The latest arrival is the cruise ship “Golden Iris”, with 865 tourists on board, the majority of whom were Israelis. ..Papastratos, a Greece-based tobacco industry, on Wednesday announced an investment of 3.0 million euros to install a new production line at its facilities in Aspropyrgos, west of Athens proper, for packaging tobacco into rolled cigarettes… The government organized a road-show October 9-11 in New York City, with the promotion of energy and real estate opportunities for institutional investors in the US topping the agenda…. Hotel room occupancy rates in Greece continued falling in the July-August period in the greater Athens region, official figures showed.

 

There was a shooting September 14 in NYC, shooting of photographs that is, for Entertainment Weekly, and the subject of the shooting was TV’s Tina Fey duplicating…no, not Sara Palin but what Audrey Hepburn looked like in shots from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It must be noted that the ‘do the actress sported was the creation of Samaras. No, not the PM! This was Thanos Samaras of L’Atelier in NYC….If you ask me, I’d rather see Michael Chiklis in comedies because I think he’s  a funny man, but this series is called Vegas and is shown on CBS TV Tuesdays (10-11 pm) Dennis Quaid is his co-star and I’m told that Michael unleashes his Shield charisma as mobster Vincent Savino. I still like him better in comedies….Meanwhile, with the departure of 20^th Century Fox chairman and CEO Tom Rothman, Jim Gianopulos (remember him?) is taking over the number one spot as of next January. About time we’re getting 20^th Century back in Greek hands. It’s been a while since Spyro Skouras was king…..Ali in Wonderland is authored by Ali Wentworth but does anybody know who she is? Sure! She’s the wife of Good Morning America’s George Stephanopoulos and being that both are TV people, she was asked if we’ll ever see them playing themselves on the little screen. Her reaction: “We’ll be divorced…...”…Comic Zach Galifianakis. had a birthday last month. He is 43 as of October 1^st… The Israeli embassy in Greece, in cooperation with the Athens-based Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, is organizing a tribute to Israeli cinema this month, entitled "Seven Stories from Israel -- Israeli Cinema Week. The films will be screened -- with Greek subtitles -- at the Foundation's centre from Thursday, Oct. 18 to Wednesday Oct. 24. The event is under the auspices of the ministry of education, religious affairs and culture…. … Alex Karras, the burly defensive lineman turned actor in the ABC sitcom "Webster," and the flick Blazing Saddles died October 10^th surrounded by his family in their Los Angeles home following a hard-fought battle with kidney disease, heart disease, dementia and stomach cancer, according to a family spokesman. He was 77….

 

An international stellar cast showcases the epic yarn in God Loves Caviar, of a man by the name of Ioannis Varvakis, a pirate in the 18^th century who eventually fiddled his way in to commanding one of the largest mercantile empires of Europe. The film is one of twelve that were shown during the Sixth Annual New York City Greek Film Festival that began October 6^th and ended October 17, with shows at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, the Paris Theater, the NYIT auditorium and the Cinema Village. The Paris Theater performance was a documentary of the Smyrna destruction, directed by Maria Iliou, followed by a Gala reception at Steve Tzolis’ Amali. On October 8^th, there was a special lecture on the films of Theo Angelopoulos at the NY Film Academy and my hope is that you did not miss all of the shows, but have attended a few…..   

Allow me to introduce the mighty, moody Prospera, the stay-at-home sorcerer played by Olympia Dukakis in Shakespeare & Company’s jolly, quirky and unusually cozy production of “The Tempest,” that played last month in Lenox, MA. Ms. Dukakis is not the first woman to take on the role of the exiled Duke of Milan, more commonly an angry old man known as Prospero. But surely no one else has provided the ineffably maternal mixture of fire, ice, earth and just a dash of sea salt with which the 81-year-old Ms. Dukakis endows the part. …Because Hercules survived death after performing his famous “twelve labors”, Eurystheus wants to kill Hercules’ children believing they pose a threat to his throne. They are political refugees in Athens, along with their mother Alcmena and Iolaus, a relative and friend of Hercules. Although he is old, Iolaus insists on going to battle against Eurystheus and succeeds in capturing him. Eurystheus now cannot be put to death as a prisoner, but wants to be remembered as a protector of Athens, emphasizing Athens’ democratic and just treatment of foreign nationals. In its 2,440 year history, this will be the second professional staging of Euripides’ Children of Hercules in America and the first ever to use an ancient setting. Directed and staged by American Thymele Theater Founder Stephen Diacrussi with a cast of 25, , the play was staged at the East River Park Amphitheatre the Naumburg Bandshell and at Theatre 500 in the Times Square Arts Center Bldg through August, with music by Nicholas Sattinger, choreography by David Bushman, costumes designed by Steven Daniel and translation from the original Greek and edited by Ralph Gladstone. Scotti Rhodes was responsible for the publicity and Tina Santorineou is one of ATT’s honorary associates…. 

New York Magazine’s Adam Platt calls Amali, the Steve Tzolis’ transformed Persephone, Modern Greek. He even hands the East 60^th Street establishment two stars which is translated into ‘Very Good.’ Robin Raisfeld is the Food Editor for the Magazine....Goodbye Mezzo Mezzo, hello MP Taverna! Kyriakos Kourakos who owned the former and struggled for a couple of years, he also owned once the Grecian Cave or Spelia depending the language in which you’d want to call it, the singular transplant from Greek Town (8^th Ave, 26^th to 32^nd Streets, Manhattan)  of yesteryear. The MP Taverna is the second such belonging to demigod chef Mike Psilakis, but it looks like it’s going to take a while before it opens up for the fire department came up with some violations on the wood used in the construction, so it looks like a long haul for the co-owner of the former Anthos.  However, I have a word of caution for anyone with designs of opening smack next to Kyklades.....   

In the Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, Queens, a 10-foot-high inflatable Buddha-but not Socrates- sculpture prompts visitors to reflect - and post photos to Twitter……However, if you stroll up (quite a few) blocks from that point, you’ll end up at Athens Square in Astoria, where the Socrates statue will be staring at you squarely in the eye….. . 

Justine Frangoulis-Argyris is touring Greece promoting her new book, Traveling with Paul and Laura……On a different plane, former RI State Senator and also a candidate for the same office Lou Raptakis has won the primary and is headed for the elections with flying colors…. 

Famous Quotes:"The monarchy will continue as long as the people want a monarchy." King Juan Carlos, of Spain, the husband of Queen Sofia, sister of the deposed Greek monarch, King Constantine.  

Word of the Month: Criteria: Gr. Κριτήριον