As The World Churns

 

By Bob Nicolaides-bobn2919@gmail.com

 

A rare wooden coffin dating to the Archaic period (610-490/480 BC) was found during excavations to build the new Stavros Niarchos Cultural Centre in the Delta Falirou area south of Athens, the Central Archaeological Council said . The coffin was found during works in September 2013 and measures 1.61 metres in length by 0.77 m in width, with sides between 3 and 9 cm thick. Archaeologists said the wood was preserved because of the humidity and the lack of oxygen where it was found, including the presence of clay around it. The find belongs in an area where an Archaic-era cemetery has been found, and is currently in conservation to remove the earth around it. Besides its state of preservation, what they said was unusual was the fact it was carved out of a single piece of wood instead of the usual combination of pieces of wood. According to preliminary assessments, it is possible the coffin was reused, being carved first as a boat, for example.



Did you hear? Former NYC mayor and presidential aspirant Rudy Giuliani endorsed George Demos for Congress….There’s a new Consul General of Cyprus in New York replacing the ever so popular Koula Sophianou. His name is Vasilis Philippou. Wasn’t there a predecessor by the name of Philip Philippou once?



Stamos: Conhead?



Melina with Dassin

Milioti: Dying as 'Mother?'

The Greek Film Archive (Tainiothiki tis Ellados) paid tribute to Melina Mercouri twenty years after her death with ten movies by the late actress and two-time minister of culture. The tribute began on Thursday, March 6 with the film "Los pianos Mecanicos" (1965) by Juan Antonio Bardem and until March 12 the audience will be able to watch the film "He Who Must Die" (1957) by Jules Dassin and landmark films from the filmography of Melina during the 60s: "Never on Sunday",  "Phaedra", "The Victors", "10:30 p.m. summer" and the lesser-known "Gaily Gaily". The film shows will conclude with a screening of "Lilly's Story" (2002) by Roviros Manthoulis with tragic Melina & Dassin70s. The Archive  also held round-table discussions about Mercouri on March 6 and 8…What was that? Necessary Roughness actor John Stamos minus his hair? Yes, the artist appeared recently in an instagram picture in a red robe, gold chain and minus his lush locks-in other words, completely bold. Relax! Though John, 50, never explained what the mug was for, he nevertheless sent out a picture later with his full head of hair…The March 3 episode of How I met Your Mother starring Cristin Milioti in the role of the mother, one of the more seemingly outlandish theories may have been confirmed: The show’s titular mother is dying or perhaps has already died by the time Ted Mosby (playing Josh Radnor) starts telling this story to his kids….  Award-winning director Maria Iliou (Smyrna: The Destruction of a Cosmopolitan City; Alexandria) returns to New York City’s Quad Cinema with her new documentary film,  From Both Sides Of The Aegean, for a two-week run. Inspired by the belief that the moment has arrived, in Iliou’s words, “for us to recognize that the children and grandchildren of the Greek Orthodox and Muslim refugees can now tell their stories in common, that the moment has arrived to tell the whole story from both sides of the Aegean,” Iliou and Kitroeff focus on the descendants of the displaced populations and their cultures that were forcibly uprooted.  Kalliopi Georgiadou the daughter of Greek-Orthodox refugees originally from Cappadocia, and Husnu Karaman, the son of Muslims from Crete tell the stories of their families that were settled in Greece and Turkey respectively. Kalliopi and Husnu recount how their families retained the memory of their native lands in defiance of the nationalist logic of ethnic cleansing and displacement.

“Always On, Always Connected” was the moniker for SMW2014, which kicked off the last week in February in New York City. 600+ social networkers came together for the opening ceremony party at Highline Stages in the Meatpacking District with a Greek wine in one hand and a smart phone in the other, tweeting away. Social Media Week is a world-wide event that takes place in roughly 26 major cities every year with New York as the flagship and New Wines of Greece providing the social lubricant for this outgoing group of social media hounds. According to founder, Toby Daniels, SMW  is all about bringing people together from all industries to explore how social media and technology are impacting society, business and culture. …

Comedian Markos Seferlis kicks off his North American tour with lots of laughs through Laughter..Greek Style in April with appearances in  Chicago, IL at the Pickwick Theater  on 4/25,  New York on 4/26, Union City, NJ 4/27, and Philadelphian on 5/4…The special event in our town was the Greek Media Club’s co-hosting "1821," a celebration of Greek Independence Day Saturday March 22 at the National Hellenic Museum, 333 S. Halsted St. Appetizers were served and the Music treats came by way of the Global Sounds Entertainment. All proceeds will benefit the 501c3 Museum. As many as 200 engraved marble paperweights were given away at the door on a first-come basis. These unique gifts commemorate 1821, the year Greece gained her independence from the Ottoman Empire. Also, most people got to snap their shot with Strength N' Honor, Michael and Karen Cowleck, who were there with a third Spartan warrior dressed in authentic battle attire and with armor. The event co-hosts were the Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois, the National Hellenic Society, the Hellenic American Dental Society, the Hellenic Professional Society of Illinois, the 2014 Greek Parade committee-Enosis, the Pan-Arcadian Federation of America, the Museum and the GMC…..  Greek Music Journey 2014 is a tribute to the Nisiotika (folk songs of the Greek islands) and Rembetika (Greek blues) executed by the renowned artists Nasia Konitopoulou (Nisiotika) and Dimitris Kontogiannis  (Rebetika.) they will be accompanied by their musicians, including Michalis Gampierakis, violin, vocals and Nicolas Sarantis, bouzouki. The event takes place June 6, 2014 at 8:30pm, at The Kay Playhouse at Hunter College, (E. 68^th St. Bet. Park & Lexington Aves, NYC.) Aktina is the producer of this event…

Word of the month: Emphasis-Εμφασις

Travelogue… with Bob Nicolaides

Floating hotel designed for World Cup 2022 in Qatar   Adding luxury to comfort, a floating hotel designed by Finland-based Sigge Architects is the latest avant-garde construction plan for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™. Ideal to accommodate football fans from all over the world, the exclusive five-star facility is expected to include top-notch restaurants, a lavish spa, a nightclub and a rooftop pool. Besides, the hotel can be moved to another coastal location after the World Cup 2022 to cater to the requirements of other events. The ultra-modern facility will not depend on location infrastructure, as it will have independent sewage treatment, power generation and recycling capabilities, making it a true architectural achievement. Admares Floating Real Estate, a partner in the project, reveals: “The floating hotel provides all of the same services and amenities that are available in hotels constructed on land, while simultaneously offering the additional experience of floating on water and all-around access to exceptional views. A floating hotel is a viable option for areas where land is scarce, fully developed or challenging to develop.” It also adds: “The exterior architecture is fully customizable to suit the location’s surroundings. In addition, a parking garage can also be built into the hotel complex, which guarantees parking spots to guests even in fully developed city areas.” Moreover, the floating hotel will be tailored to meet the exact needs of an operator, in terms of the number of rooms, types of restaurants, number and location of pools, placement of balconies and terraces, which can all be altered to suit the purpose. The construction timeline of the project has not been revealed yet, but the floating hotel promises to be a main attraction for VIPs and jet-setters. Events in Ukraine rings SOS alarms for European tourism   Growth of tourism within Europe is expected to slow this year due to recent political upheaval in Ukraine and Crimea. rism within Europe grew faster than the world average in 2013, but that rate of growth is not expected to continue in 2014. "For 2014 we expect the region to consolidate growth," said John Kester, acting director of the United Nations World Tourism Organization Tourism Market Trends Program. "Most source markets show good prospects, but due to the recent events growth might soften from the Russian Federation, one of the fastest growing markets for many ETC member destinations recently". He was speaking at the recent annual meeting of the Marketing Intelligence Group (MIG), which is part of the European Travel Commission. During the meeting, Visit Flanders research manager Vincent Nijs was elected as the new chairman of MIG. Emöke Halassy and Tünde Mester from Hungarian Tourism and Peter Nash from Tourism Ireland were elected as vice-chairpersons. "Improving knowledge transfer, by which I mean the process that goes from eliciting information needs into research projects and actionable findings, is the key objective of my term," said Nijs.

Rising seas could drown Italy's prized heritage   Several major Unesco World Heritage-listed sites in Italy including the ancient ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum could eventually be swallowed up by rising sea levels, a new study claims. Global warming could also deprive Italy of 10 other cultural treasures including Venice and its lagoon, the towns clinging to cliffs that make up the Cinque Terre and the Amalfi coast. Also at risk are Pisa’s Piazza del Duomo and the historic centre of Naples That's the conclusion of a new study looking at the potential loss of world heritage worldwide through global warming. Using sea level rise estimates and topographic data, the researchers looked at the impact of rising sea levels in different countries over the next 2,000 years. "In this time scale, ocean heat content and glacier ice mass can be considered to be in equilibrium with global temperatures, and relatively independent of the warming path of the initial 100 years," the Germany and Austria-based study authors said. They found 40 Unesco sites worldwide would be affected by rising oceans over the next 2,000 years if global warming continued at the same rate. These included a slew of sites in Spain including Seville's Alcazar palace, several in France and Germany and two in Sweden. But they found that a "not improbable" three-degree Celsius rise in temperature over the same period would have an even more serious impact, affecting 136 Unesco sites worldwide. The researchers in the study published in the journal IOP science recognized the difficulty of making models of climate change, and also admitted they hadn't taken into account local conditions like flooding. But they said the consequences of inaction could be disastrous. "Our analysis illustrates that the spatial distribution of the existing and potential future cultural world heritage makes it vulnerable to sea-level rise," the study authors wrote. "Future generations will face either loss of these sites, or considerable efforts to protect them," they warned.     Machu Picchu tourists warned over nude pictures   PERU has increased surveillance at popular archaeological sites to counter a new trend of tourists taking nude photos at Machu Picchu. Tourists have been posting the naked pics on blogs, prompting a statement from the cultural ministry rejecting “any disrespectful act committed by visitors” to the historical sites. “We have redoubled efforts for continuous surveillance and monitoring of the site,” so security personnel can intervene to stop the exhibitionist photography, it said. The ministry called on visitors to help protect the historical sites and to “be alert to this kind of attitude that's solely aimed at getting attention.” Authorities are also worried over a recent spate of graffiti attacks. Last week, the famous 12-Angle Stone — an example of intricate Incan masonry and design — was hit with spray paint, police said. The suspect has been fingered in several other attacks on archaeological sites, they added. “Although there are new techniques for erasing, the paint used could leave irreversible consequences for the most important stone in the Inca Roca palace,” a spokesman from the cultural ministry in Cusco said Ricardo Ruiz Caro, head of the ministry, told reporters that in the first three months of 2014, “four similar spray-paint incidents have been recorded, adding to 33 remembered in 2013,” including one at the key tourist site at the Incan Imperial City. The official announced the relaunch of the Heritage Watchers program, with the support of universities, schools and neighboring communities, in a crusade to defend the country's heritage. Under Peruvian law, unauthorized destruction, alteration, sale or removal of any of the country's archaeological treasures is punishable by three to eight years in jail and a fine.

Restaurant Veteran Readies new Seafood Haven in Englewood, NJ

It was the middle Nineties when entrepreneur George Mandilaras decided to open his restaurant on Ditmars Boulevard. He intended it to be a seafood haven where you could have a great variety of excellently prepared fish and crustaceans at humble prices. He named his restaurant Kyclades Taverna and soon his establishment had an unbelievable impact in the neighborhood. Guests poured in not only from the immediate area in this part of northwestern Queens, but from the rest of the boroughs in New York City, from Long Island, and New Jersey as well.

One of the first to discover this rising star of gastronomic pleasures was Tim Zagat, then the owner of Zagat Survey. He walked in out of the blue one evening, checked out its wares and prices and wrote a wonderful review in that year’s Guide. Many critics followed in his footsteps, each giving due credit to the fledgling eatery making it one of the most successful in its era. The restaurant became synonymous to seafood and low prices.

Eight years or so later, Mandilaras, whose children were still of school age, overwhelmed by the pressures of the restaurant business decided to turn the responsibilities over to his chef Adrian Skenderi and in doing so he kept the exclusivity of the trademark so he can use it in the future when his sons were old enough and trained in the food industry, which is the present.

Equipped with the know-how and past successes, Mandilaras is now ready for a comeback with the new Kyclades Taverna, this time in Englewood, NJ at 51 East Palisades Avenue. Just like the original Kyclades Taverna, this new establishment across the Hudson River from New York City, will be a seafood sanctuary with Greek/Mediterranean influences. It will seat about 80 guests and will feature a bar that will introduce a great variety of Greek wines among its gallery of international spirits. Target date for the new restaurant’s opening is March 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

Relish Valentine’s Day at the  Athenaeum Intercontinental, Athens

Athenaeum Intercontinental in Athens, invites you to spend Valentine’s Day at their hotel in a Feast for

all the senses.

Premiere with view

Enjoy a night in one of their Deluxe or Club rooms with in-room breakfast as well as dinner at the Premiére with a full view of the Acropolis, a festive meal of 5 courses, two glasses of champagne and live music (Dinner at the Premiére and Deluxe room €185.- with Club room €220.)

Or choose the Deluxe or Club room with dinner at the Bistro Vienna (or room service) with a 5-course dinner, (€155 for Deluxe, €190 for Club room.)  You may choose dinner only at the Premiére (€75. per person,) 5-course dinner, glass of champagne and live music.

Tobar

Club Room

You may also pick the choice of having the 5-course dinner at the lobby’s Bistro Vienna and unusual Valentine’s Day cocktails at Tobar.€50.

Perhaps you want to keep it simple with two cocktails at Tobar and a room for the night with in-room breakfast (Deluxe room €105, Club room €140. With a 20% discount at the Premiére

or the Bistro Vienna.)

If you are short of time, you may still choose to enjoy the piano melodies at the Café Vienna, accompanied by some delectable sweets and your favorite beverage to celebrate Valentine’s Day €15.

Prices for all plans are in effect only for February 14^th, except the plan for room and cocktails at Tobar which are good for February 14 and 15. The plan for Café Vienna is good from February 14 through February 17.

 

Enjoy a Makaronada with Lobster at Brooklyn’s Oceanos

Okeanos at 314 7th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY   ( 347-725-4162) invites you to a four-course festive dinner on  Valentine’s Day, offering  shrimp cocktail and chilled oysters for appetizer, Tomato & Eggplant Tower for second course, a choice of Eros Makaronada, Short Rib or Kotopoulo for third course and with a special Valentine’s Day dessert and a glass of champagne, all for $55. per person.

 

As the World Churns

By Bob Nicolaides

Media power players such as Huffington Post Media Group’s  Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington vowed late last year not to go overboard in one area of their lives: technology! Besides the president and editor-in-chief of Huffington Post Media Group, Cindi Leive, editor-in-chief of Glamour and Mika Brzezinski, co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” teamed up to unplug from their prized phones and slick laptops from Dec. 23 through Dec. 29 (a whole week!)….

The Princess with hubby: Does she know-and what?

Did you hear, Princess Cristina of Spain, Queen Sofia’s daughter may know something about her husband’s dealings for which he has been charged, and a panel of four judges will be deciding whether to uphold those preliminary charges. The panel will make a decision ahead of the March 8 court date. The princess's husband, Inaki Urdangarin, is accused of diverting, for private use, public funds earmarked for his nonprofit foundation. Urdangarin, an Olympic medalist in handball, led a private foundation that secured contracts from regional governments to promote sports and tourism. He has faced preliminary charges for more than a year. The preliminary charges could eventually be dropped, but a filing of indictments would set a trial in motion. Queen Sofia is one of the two sisters of deposed Greek King Constantine…



Soyioul's Nostalgia

Betty Harlafti interpreting nortalgia

I learned of it too late, but the Greek nightingale Nana Mouskouri is holding currently a Happy Birthday tour, so one of her concerts was given in Philadelphia at the Keswick Theater on January 20^th. How would’ve I wanted to be there…… The Center for Contemporary Opera presented the fully staged version of Hans Werner Henze’s  El Cimarrón directed by Greek director Eugenia Arsenis on January 16 and 17, at 7:30pm at Symphony Space's Thalia Theater, 2537 Broadway, New York. Hans Werner Henze is considered by many to be Germany's leading contemporary composer and as far as known, El Cimarrón has not been done in New York City since 1986… There is no electrical charge quite like the one produced by the meeting of prima donnas on live TV. It didn't hurt that Lady Gaga and Christina Aguilera sported coordinating wigs and champagne flutes as they held hands and belted "Do What You Want" on tonight's season five finale of The Voice. Do you think they met at their wig wrangler's house prior to tonight's episode? Or did they first become acquainted in the primordial diva stew from which they both emerged, fully formed and draped in skin-tight gold lamé, to declare their greatness once again?... Organized by Orpheus Foundation for Greek Music and the Arts, this seminal event will be a concert that focuses on the music of Michalis Souyioul. As you may know, this noted composer and lyricist created songs that marked the pre and post – World War II era in Greece. Souyioul’s memorable music and songs had a Pan-Hellenic appeal as evidenced by the fact that they were among the most popular songs at that time throughout the country. Many of them remain popular to this day. For sure, you yourself will remember, and perhaps have sung Souyoul’s timeless songs, including, Asta ta Mallakia sou, Gia mas Kelaidoun ta Poulia, Mia Zoi tin Echoume and others. The concert will take place on February 9, 2014 at the Chian Cultural Center (4401 Broadway, Astoria, N.Y.), and will feature the talented Athenian mezzo-soprano Betty Harlafti, who will be accompanied by an equally talented group of musicians. Betty is perhaps Greece’s most recognized young interpreter of Souyoul’s songs. Special Guest will be Tasos Papaioannou. For information please call: 917.485.8683 info@orpheususa.org

As expected, Greek American Alexander Payne raked in five nominations in the Oscars, including Best Director , his black & white flick Nebraska for Best Picture, Best Supporting actress, Best original Screenplay and Best Cinematography,   (Phedon Papamichael.) Here’s  Bruce Dern explaining how he got  the part he’s waited 77 years for in Nebraska. "First day of work, he came to me, put his arm on my elbow, and he said, ‘Bruce, this is Mr. Papamichael. He’s your cinematographer. My name is Alexander Payne, and I am your director. I want you to do something that you’ve probably never before done in your career: I want you to let us do our jobs. I want you not to show us one thing for eight weeks; we’ll find it. We’ll find you, because you’re Woody, and that’s the story we want to tell. Without dialogue.’ I hugged him." … The Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria presented the United States premiere of a new Greek film, To The Wolf (Sto Lyko), as part of the museum’s First Look series on Sunday, January 19. The film premiered at Berlinale in 2013. Directed by Aran Hughes and Christina Koutsospyrou, To The Wolf takes place over four days of unrelenting wind and rain in a remote God-forsaken village high up in the Nafpaktia mountains in western Greece where two goat herding families struggle to survive during a period of national crisis. ….

A pilot for Zach

Actor Steve Coundouriotis was in the cast of Operation Dumbo Drop and Alexandra Balahoutis played in ConAir…On the other hand, Yorgo Constantin plays in the Phone Booth...Prepare to welcome Jennifer Aniston to New York one more time. The actress and her beau Justin Theroux are moving back because of the actors commitments there. Fiancée Jen agreed to follow him-and relocate- so they can spend more time together….Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis was one of the nominees for the Peoples Awards in the category of Best Streaming series. We also learn that FX has ordered a comedy pilot from Zach, the network announced. Galifianakis created and will star in the show, which will be co-written with Louis C.K., who will also serve as one of the show's executive producers………Renny Harlin’s new film, The Legend of Hercules, has lots of romance. Starring second-string Twilight hunk Kellan Lutz as the legendary Greek demigod/hero, Hercules refashions the myth into a tale of love thwarted. Changing the Hercules story is nothing new, since the classic version of the tale is a downer, involving him killing his own children. This time around, Hercules, the illegitimate child of queen Alcmene of Tiryns (Roxanne McKee) and Zeus (Factory VFX), is set up and sent off on a purposely ill-fated mission by his foster father, King Amphitryon (the never-not-intense Scott Adkins). Hercules dreams of getting back home, not to rule or take revenge, but to claim the hand of his lover, Princess Hebe (Gaia Weiss). She in turn is also coveted by his dastardly, neurotic older brother Iphicles (Liam Garrigan), the legitimate child of the brutal Amphitryon and the long-suffering Alcmene.



Famous jeweler dead at 93

Ilias Lalaounis, 93, who died recently, was a man who honored the ancient Greek and Byzantine cultures and promoted them through his creations, Culture Minister Panos Panagiotopoulos said on Tuesday in a message of condolences on the death of the internationally-known jeweler. Lalaounis who was buried privately a few days ago following family wishes  was based in Athens and had founded a museum in 1993 devoted to his creations, including over 4,000 pieces from over 50 collections, designed by him between 1940 and 2000. He was especially known for being the first major jeweler in Greece to give prominence in his designs to themes and shapes of objects found in ancient Greek and Byzantine cultures...Gus Ouranitsas of NYC has donated time to what is called Time Banking, an offshoot of the Visiting Nurse Service of NY, which allows anyone to volunteer his time to patients and their families. As such, Gus, 57, so far has given a food tour of Astoria to several of these patients... The due date for the Panpaphian Scholarship has been extended toFebruary 15, 2014. Qualified applicants may receive up to $5,000 in grants. In order to qualify however, an applicant must be of Cypriot descent, attending a US accredited college/university. For additional info please call or email George Sophocleous, President (917) 509-0861. gsophocleous@elyons.com

Psilakis the teacher





Master chef Michael Psilakis who owns three MP Tavernas on LI and Astoria, plus Kefi and Gus & Gabriel in Manhattan is now in the cameo of the top chefs of the country, and as such, he will be instructing a class when the International Culinary Center, with the help of New York Magazine celebrates a weekend of master classes, cooking and conversation, Saturday and Sunday April 5 & 6 of 2014.....

Word of the Month : Drastic from Gr. Δραστικος- Radical