As the World Churns

By Bob Nicolaides



Golden Globes: Fey wins one!

There was excessive Greek flavor during the Obama inaugural luncheon what with the aging Archbishop attending, the catering done by a firm co-owned by a Greek and Greek yogurt from Fage (Greek firm) and Chobani (Turk firm) being served and with Lady Gaga entertaining during the Inaugural Ball… …. The Greek car market shrank dramatically in 2012, with car sales falling by 38.5 % (passenger car sales fell 40.3 %) last year, official figures showed on Thursday. A report by the Hellenic Statistical Authority said that new car registrations totaled 77,675 cars (new or used ones) in 2012, down from 126,372 in 2011 and 183,877 in 2010. Car sales dropped 29.6 % in December 2012… Did you know that one in five enterprises in Greece is run by a woman, while 9.0% of the most profitable enterprises also have a woman at the helm, a report by ICAP Group showed.



Politics: Galifianakis & Ferrell

Fey: Cops SAG award

Jennifer Aniston and several other movie stars will pretend Greenwich and Stamford are parts of Detroit when an independent film shoots in the two towns in February. The Greenwich Board of Selectmen approved the closure of Hamilton Avenue at Thursday's meeting for a day of shooting Feb. 11. The Two Door Restaurant will be featured in the scene, set in 1970s Detroit. The actress by the way has reportedly cancelled her plans to marry Justin Theroux in Mexico. The 43-year-old, who announced her engagement to 40-year-old Theroux in August, was planning to tie the knot during their holiday in Mexico. Meanwhile, Jennifer Aniston has apparently been showing "signs" she is preparing for motherhood though she has so far denied the claims, but insiders say the former Friends star began her pregnancy detox a while ago. She’s fuelled the pregnancy rumours by apparently dropping out of two movies she was set to appear in. The People's Choice Awards at the Nokia Theatre in LA by the way, was a star-studded affair with plenty of famous faces in the crowd and hanging out backstage. Jennifer Aniston popped up in a leather number to accept her favorite comedic movie actress award. Moreover, the same actress is taking her love of coffee to new heights after signing on to star in a new British TV ad, in which she plays a caffeinated late-night cafe visitor. In the new Sky Broadband commercial, the former Friends star portrays a woman struggling with a bad internet connection that forces her to work from a nearby coffee shop…. When asked by Entertainment Weekly what feell out of Zach Galifianakis’ prodigious beard when it was shaven for The Campaign, his co-star Will Ferrell answered ‘ironically a couple of coupons for Chick-fil-A and a refrigerator magnet for a place called The Little Shrimp, which is a gay bar”……Comedienne Tina Fey co-hosted the Golden Globe awards in mid-January, with winner movies such as Les Miserable, TV’s Homeland and Adele for the Skyfall song. The ones who stole the show however were none other than the hostess herself, namely Fey and Amy Poehler, her co-host As I understand it, there was talk during the proceedings about all things Greek. Steven Spielberg, Jodie Foster, Mel Gibson, Maria Menounos and Alexandre Desplat talk about their favorite moments in Greece from the red carpet of the 70th Golden Globe Awards…..

Film-maker Gavras on the set

Acclaimed Greek-born filmmaker Costa Gavras was in Athens for the Greek premiere of his new film, the 2012 bank boardroom thriller "Capital", on January 14. A cynical phrase that "we gather money from the poor, which are many, and give them to the rich, which are few", by a Goldman Sacks executive, prompted Gavras to film "Capital", of which he is both director and screenwriter. The plot revolves around the stock market world through the adventures of a 'normal' man who evolves into a ruthless banker, played by Gad Elmaleh. The public defied the freezing cold to turn up for the planned interaction event with the director, to whom they posed questions on the immense problems of our era. Behind the glamor of a banker, his education and cultivation, is hidden a dark side, that of businesses, Gavras said, adding that this is what he tried to find and tell in his new film, and opining that "we are living in a hard-core capitalism, which has turned us back many years, to the 19th century". Gavras said that meanings have changed and that ethics have been pushed aside, noting that in France mass dismissals are being made under the title of "social planning" (plans sociaux), as if they were 'gifts' to people. He admitted that the solution to the immense problems will not be given by a film, which was not the role of the film, or cinema, or the director. "What concerns me is resistance to the catastrophe," he said, adding that the solution will come from the people we vote for: "We must know who we chose and why we choose them. That is the problem and chiefly a Greek problem for many years now."..Good news! George Burlotos’ Greek Spirit TVer which transmits every Sunday (8 to 10 pm) in the Greater Philadelphia area will now be shown weekly in New York as well on channel 66....

Going Gaga over songs

Elena: At Gabbys

Lady Gaga’s has written about 50 songs for ‘possible’ inclusion in her latest album,  Artpop, for which she she says she was inspired by the deacay of the blonde pop icon. She also says that album will be completely an interactive release, full of visual and audion content  …..Elena Paparizou will be at the Gabby Awards in Hollywood, CA where Greek America's "Best and Brightest" stars will be recognized on Memorial Day weekend…..

Chase's Dimon: Salary demoted

Two of our compatriots are involved in the development of the Mars Curiosity probe, Stamatis Krimizis chief emeritus of the space program at Johns Hopkins. Known as the cartographer of space the Hellene scientist had been a member of the original NASA committees which launched in 2006 plans for the materialization of Curiosity. The second of the two forerunners of the project is Pericles Papadopoulos who helped with the landing of the craft. He came to the States in 1982 with dreams of specializing in planetary exploration and hypersonics…JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon was supposed to have a great week this week: He's expected to announce on Wednesday 1/9, that the bank raked in record profits last year. But the company's board may also release a 50-page-plus report holding him and his two deputies largely responsible for the $6.2 billion trading blunder caused by the "London Whale." But there was more! Shortly after the markets closed on Tuesday afternoon 1/15, an emissary from JPMorgan Chase’s board of directors walked two flights down to the 48th-floor corner office of the bank’s chief executive, Jamie Dimon, to deliver a stark message. The board had voted to slash  Dimon’s annual compensation for 2012 by half. At first blush, the move appeared to be a stinging rebuke of Mr. Dimon for his failures of leadership that contributed to the bank’s multibillion-dollar trading loss last year. But the pay cut was actually a message from the board to regulators and worried investors that it was a strong watchdog over the nation’s largest bank, according to several people with knowledge of the matter…….Detroit businessman Ted Gatzaros, one of the founders of Detroit’s Greektown Casino-Hotel, has died on Monday, 1/14. He was 68……

The Russian creator of NeoPopRealism, a form of fancy painting had for a while a book in Google and since she has painted a lot of scenes in the island republic, I thought we can use a quote from that book called Deca-Dance. She talks about her lover while living in the Bahamas, and while she gives no last name, the name Steve reveals-maybe- that we’re talking about a Greek national who had conquered Nadia Russ’ heart: “Steve told me many times-she goes on-I am a lawyer, I am a lawyer. I could not understand why he tells me this. His profession was not important to me. Then, I did not know yet that in the Bahamas, the U.S., and Western Europe, among regular people, it is very prestigious to be a lawyer or a doctor. To me, it was just another profession, like many other, which have aim to serve the regular people’s needs. Boring thing! To be a lawyer does not promise a lot of fun. He did not impress me much. If he would tell me that he is a movie producer, then I would say BWOW!E! One day, Steve told me that he sees ‘love as a business.’ I did not understand what he meant. All about him was strange and thought-provoking. However, who wants to think when intoxication is in the air and in your blood and you love this condition. One thing I was sharp about - my money-that I had in the Bank of Cyprus. Without money, I would be too vulnerable”…..

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The Bar at Thalassa

The restaurant in Norwalk, Ct is called Pontos and naturally it serves dishes of the Greek Cuisine with its name deriving from the region south of the Black Sea, once a bastion of Hellenism. Naturally we call the area Pontos, short for Efxinos Pontos, the name that our ancestors called what is now known as the Black Sea, with Efxinos meaning ‘hospitable’ as a euphemistic tribute to the very inhospitable body of water.  Nicholas Kiriakidis is the owner with his father Ted as the chef and mother Anna as the hostess. According to the critics, it is worth a visit with its moderate prices both in food and wine………When Vangelis Xydas left his work at the hotel several years ago to open up a small food specialty company he knew the chance he was taking, given the situation that was just taking hold in Greece. His company called Citrus is situated ona small village called Kambos in Chios, and the paradox is that today, this company he started produces 120 different products including loukoumia, but the most important thing he exports-and Greeks believe more entrepreneurs like him are needed to save the country-is the Aegean diet with its beneficial results on the human body…..Amali is the latest Steve Tzolis venture on the site of his former Persephone, which recently underwent a drastic change…. If you're rounding up a group for happy hour downtown, Thalassa is a new option. The TriBeCa restaurant has three different rooms, including two private rooms, and can seat about 250 or fit more than 300 standing. The Greek eatery celebrated its 10th anniversary in November, but just started serving happy hour recently, said Tasso Zapanti, director of operations. The restaurant has a nautical theme, with overhead sails running by the bar. "The restaurant feels like you are on a yacht sailing the Aegean  Zapanti said…The best Greek dishes you want to taste in south Jersey are found at Sofia’s Kouzin,on Rt 70 in Cherry Hill and owned by the Assad (Taki) Khouri couple. Sofia, Taki’s wife is the creator of these dishes…Where Taverna Vraka used to be, another restaurant has risen these days by the name of Kopiaste (Welcome) , so announces Philip Christopher. The new restaurant will be managed by George Georgiou (I suspect he is the same person who originally managed Taverna Vraka) and Skevi assumes the duties of the chef…Gallagher’s Steakhouse the theater district mainstay, which opened in 1927, will not go the way of so many other establishments that bit the dust. The closing was announced in October, but the restaurant has been rescued by Dean Poll, who runs the Boathouse Cafe in Central Park. He bought the lease from its current owner…Cat has translated her exceptional culinary skills into several high profile restaurants including Kouzzina at Disneyworld, CCQ in Costa Mesa, California, and Cat Cora's Kitchen at Houston, Salt Lake City and San Francisco Airports. “In Greece, Kouzzina is the Kitchen” Cat says - and now you can savor her  time-honored Mediterranean family recipes and personal favorites as her casual family restaurant on Disney's Boardwalk comes alive through the sights, sounds, and aromas of its fabulous open kitchen. Discover these creative and flavorful dishes, cooked to order in the Kouzzina's wood-burning grill and oak-fired ovens...Design Cuisine, a full-service catering company providing fine dining for political, corporate, and social events throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area co-owned by American Hellenic Institute (AHI) Member Steve Veletsis, was the catering company picked for the prestigious 2013 Presidential Inaugural Luncheon held at the U.S. Capitol on January 21, 2013….. .

And let’s close with a quote from our noble ancestor, Aristotle who said that “At his best, man is the noblest of animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.” 

Word of the month: Micropolitan: .New word  denoting small but regionally important population center of 10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants, which the US census disovered that 1 in 10 people lives in one of the country’s 576 such areas, namely Hilton Head, SC and Wooster, OH. Made up of two Greek words, micro (small) and politia, polis (city.)