As the World Churns0113
By Bob Nicolaides
Two of the teachers at Sandy Hook
Elementary are of Hellenic descent and while one’s hours had her going to the
school after the tragedy, the other, Anna Maria Jacobs who hails from the
island of Nissyros was there and as the drama unfolded she was teaching 18
children of various classes in the library. When shots rang out, she hurried to
hide the children in closets and locked the library door, not opening until
police arrived, thereby saving 18 lives....
A small portion of the skeleton of the ancient king Philip II of Macedon,
the father of Alexander the Great, is to be taken for testing to the Demokritos
National Centre for Scientific Research, according to the Thessaloniki's
Archaeological Museum. The ancient
king's remains were found inside a golden larnax, or casket, considered one of
the most valuable objects of the ancient world, found inside the main chamber
of grave II at the Vergina archaeological site in northern Greece. The aim of
the transfer is the microscopic examination, analysis and photography of an
unknown substance covering the bones, which has also been found in other
Macedonian tombs. This is the first time this substance will be analyzed for
its chemical and mineral composition, with the results expected to yield
valuable information on the larnax corrosion processes and the ritual materials
used during that period. The request for the transfer of the shards of bonds
from the head of the Vergina digs has already been approved by the Central
Archaeological Council…..Twenty centuries of history are on display at the exhibition "Words
and Coins: From Ancient Greece to Byzantium" currently running at the Martin Bodmer Foundation in Geneva,
organized jointly with Athens' Benaki Museum. The exhibition is enriched with
material from the Numismatic Collection of the private public benefit
foundation KIKPE (Welfare Foundation for Social and Cultural Affairs) on loan
to the Benaki Museum. The exhibition invites visitors on a journey through
space and time. The display features coins that portray twenty centuries of
history, spanning the 5th century BC to the 15th century AD – from the development
of democracy in Greece, to the glory and decline of Byzantium. The exhibition
will run through March 17, 2013...... A brief but
special ceremony was held at the Museum of Olympic Games History at the ancient
Olympia archaeological site on Sunday (Dec 1) to unveil the artifacts that were
stolen from the same museum last February, generating an international furor
over lax security at the facility. Alternate Culture Minister Costas Tzavaras thanked the law
enforcement authorities who recovered the priceless items. Several suspects, in
Patras and Athens, were arrested and charged with the audacious early morning
robbery at the museum…… Twenty-four high-born females whose lives span 500
years will be featured through their burial findings at a Museum of Cycladic
Art exhibition running to April 10, 2013. Titled "Princesses of the
Mediterranean at the Dawn of History," the show will feature artifacts
such as jewellery, clothes and fragments of furniture from burials of
princesses, aristocrats and priestesses dated to 1000 B.C.-500 B.C. and
discovered in Greece, Cyprus and Italy. Specific burial sites include Athens,
Oinopia (present Aegina), Eleutherna (in northwest Crete), Sindos (near
Thessaloniki) and Tuscany in western Italy.
One of the many recipients of the
Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award presented in person by the Governor
General of Canada, the honorable David
Johnston in Montreal, Quebec on Tuesday, November 27 was Menelaos Pavlides of Montreal and
received the award for his long service in the Scouting movement, notably
within Canada’s Greek Community… Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announced on Twitter that he's switching to the
Democratic Party. The announcement Friday night fanned speculation that Crist
would seek to regain his old job from Republican Gov. Rick Scott in 2014. The tweet included a photo of a smiling Crist
and his wife Carole as he held up a
Florida voter registration application. The Tampa Bay Times reports that Crist
signed the papers changing his affiliation from independent to Democrat at a
Christmas reception at the White House. President Barack Obama greeted the news with a fist bump.
Madame Tussauds has unveiled a new waxwork of Jennifer
Aniston, complete with a replica of her massive eight-carat engagement
ring. Aside from that, Adonis
Tsilimparis is the guy who kissed Aniston
at the age of 12 and said she was even then some kisser!. By the
way, her mom has been in the hospital for over a month, but the former Friends
actress still hasn’t
found time to call or visit and see how she is feeling, according to a new
report in Star magazine. As RadarOnline.com previously
reported,
Nancy Dow was admitted to
Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center on Nov. 6 after breaking her
shoulder in a nasty fall. During surgery, the 76-year-old suffered a stroke, her second in just over a year, and she’s said
to be in a very fragile state. B ut she’s out of the hospital now and I’m sure
Jen has visited her. Also let’s not discount that the same person is one of
several movie & TV stars who have
recorded a special video message demanding a new plan for gun law reform.
Bob Costas
appeared to bring politics into the NFL broadcast booth on
Sunday night, saying better gun control could have prevented the horrific
murder-suicide committed by Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher. Costas delivered his nationally televised message by
paraphrasing part of a column written by Jason Whitlock
on FoxSports.com. In the column, Whitlock writes: "What I believe is, if
he didn’t possess/own a gun, he and Kasandra
Perkins would both be alive today." The comment however created a
raucous, which prompted Costas to explain that he wasn’t against the second
amendment…
If you were in Athens between November
27 and December 1st, you could’ve relished some exotic delicacies
courtesy of Chef Jean-Charles Métayer
at the Athenaeum’s Premiere Room where a gastronomical feast was held and
viewpoints and views were discussed amid camaraderie. The five epicurean
delights sampled during the tasting session shared the stage with some of the
most eclectic wines from the Antonopoulos
Vines. The five dishes offered were Shrimp Consommé Shiso and Jerusalem
artichokes mousse,(offered with Sauvignon white) Chtenia and mushroom crêpes, Sabayon in fragrant
paprika paired with Rose Adoli Earth, Braised Peskandritsa in chestnuts,
powdered Arabica coffee and legume paired with Anax, a Chardonnay, Lamb shank
confis, Froth of Moussaka and crunchy potatoes paired with Yerondoklima
Rematias, a Merlot, and Chocolate surprise Guanaja mousse and almond ice cream
to go with Mavrodafni Patras. The price of the dinner was only €55 per person…The Quintessentially Lifestyle
of the St George Lycabettus Boutique Hotel in Athens became much more
quintessential with the Grand Opening of on Thursday, November 29th
of its all-day bar-restaurant, La Suite Lounge at its top floor. Overlooking
the Acropolis and a good part of Athens, the event comprised this winter’s
exclusively elegant event which was hosted by Quintessentially Lifestyle and
the St. George Lycabettus Boutique Hotel. The event was a cocktail party during
which vodka 18.95, the only Greek-produced vodka was introduced to guests along
with breathtaking views and many surprises. …My friend and erudite restaurant critic
John Mariani writes in his
newsletter: For a decade now, Diane
Kochilas has been the diva of Greek cooking, straddling both Greece and
NYC, and forever poking her nose into Greek cooks' kitchens and her fingers
into their cooking pots. The result has been 15 book up till now. The
Country Cooking of Greece is her masterpiece, a volume so thorough, so
affectionate, so engaging, that it is unlikely to be surpassed for years or
decades to come. No recipe takes more than half a page or a page, the
ingredients are almost wholly available, and her husband Vassilis Stenos' photographs will cause hunger pangs page after
page. Something so simply as pistachio-crusted feta saganaki, which
takes about five minutes to make, is a wonder of flavor. She prepares moussaka
with sweet potatoes; pasta with yogurt and caramelized onions from Kassos is a
treasure of comfort food, and her seafood recipes can be made by anyone with
the freshest fish. This is my pick for the Best Cookbook of 2012. (Chronicle
Books $50.)… MenuPages, the
most comprehensive mobile and web provider of up-to-date restaurant menu
content, today announced its availability for restaurants in Queens,
the
second-most populous borough in New York City. The expansion to Queens comes by
popular demand: nearly one million New Yorkers already take advantage of
MenuPages' listings for restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn every month, and
fans of the service have requested that the same accurate menu content and user
reviews be available in Queens. Queens' legendary food scene goes far beyond
the borough's storied Greek diners. From M Wells Dinette's creative, audacious
food and the pre-eminent Greek seafood at Taverna Kyclades to delicious Sichuan
at Spicy & Tasty and incredible Thai at Sripraphai, MenuPages users can
find something to suit the most sophisticated palate or adventurous eater. 
