Greek America Foundation's National Innovation Conference 2012

Greek America Foundation's National Innovation Conference 2012 

27-28-29th April 2012 

New York City

The Greek America Foundation's National Innovation Conference got off to a very successful start yesterday in New York City with kick-off events and welcome parties... a great way for people to get to know those they will be mixing with over the next couple of days. 

Greek Food Guru Diane Kochilas, Coaching and Communications Consultant Leda Karabela, Brand Strategist Peter Economides, Coco-Mat Founder Paul Efmorfidis, Media Mogul Arianna Huffington, Greek Filmmaker Stephanos Sitaras,  Innovation Accelerator Founder John Pyrovolakis  and many other successful Global Greek leaders and innovators are taking the time to share their 'ideas worth sharing' at the second National Innovation Conference.

Read more about the speakers and presenters here.

This year, there will be a certain emphasis on how the Greek Diaspora, including Greek Americans, as individuals, and as a community, can address the crisis and support people, institutions and organizations trying to weather the current storm in Greece.

 
As Greg Pappas, dynamic founder of the Greek America Foundation and instigator of NIC2010 and 2012 says,

 We will designate a part of this conference to the discussion of what we can do to get more involved in helping Greece and Greeks through this crisis and how we can strengthen our own institutions, goals and vision as a community in the process.


As a diaspora community that has largely assimilated into the comfort of U.S. and Canadian society, many of us are immune to the images of starving children on the streets of Athens, or homeless people waiting for hand-outs at a soup kitchen in a neighborhood that didn’t have—or even need—a soup kitchen only a year ago. 

I am a firm believer that without Greece, Greek America cannot exist. No matter how far removed we are generationally from Greece, a hyphenated ethnic community such as ours, cannot exist without a strong and stable mother country.

Congratulations to Greg and the Greek America Foundation team on another great initiative for sharing 'ideas worth sharing' that relate to how our Global Greeks can interact and relate, influencing and showcasing matters that are of great concern to all of us in our Global Greek World.

Check out the NIC website and the detailed programme of this weekend's events here.

Follow the conference via Twitter here  


Kali Epityxia! 


Good Luck!

 

Google Honours Global Greek Filmmaker Theodoros Angelopoulos

Google today pays tribute to prophetic filmmaker, Theodoros Angelopoulos,
on what would have been his 77th birthday...

Theodoros Angelopoulos, Greece's internationally recognised, acclaimed and multi-awarded filmmaker, screenwriter and producer died after being hit by a motorcycle on the 24th of January this year, doing what he loved most, filming ...

He was filming the third part of his trilogy on Modern Greece - The Other Sea, a trilogy which started with The Weeping Meadow and The Dust of Time

About Theodoros Angelopoulos 

Born in Athens on 27 April 1935, he studied law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and after his military service went to Paris to attend the Sorbonne.
He soon dropped out to study film at the Institut des hautes etudes cinematographiques (IDHEC) before returning to Greece, where he worked as a journalist and film critic. 

His father was taken hostage and returned when Angelopoulos was 9 years old. This  absence of his father and looking for him among the dead bodies had a great impact on his cinematography, according to the director.

Angelopoulos began making films after the 1967 coup that began the Greek military dictatorship known as the Regime of the Colonels.

He made his first short film in 1968 and in the 1970s he began making a series of political feature films about modern Greece:

Days of '36  (Meres Tou 36) 1972,
The Travelling Players (O Thiassos) 1975 and
The Hunters (I Kynighoi) 1977.

He quickly established a characteristic style, marked by slow, episodic and ambiguous narrative structures as well as long takes eg in The Travelling Players, which consists of only 80 shots in about four hours of film.

These takes often include meticulously choreographed and complicated scenes involving many actors. 

In the words of another great filmmaker, Martin Scorsese

Theo Angelopoulos is a masterful filmmaker. 

He really understands how to control the frame. 

There are sequences in his work—

the wedding scene in The Suspended Step of the Stork; 

the rape scene in Landscape in the Mist; 

or any given scene in The Traveling Players—

where the slightest movement, the slightest change in distance, 

sends reverberations through the film and through the viewer. 

The total effect is hypnotic, sweeping, and profoundly emotional. 

His sense of control is almost otherworldly.

His regular collaborators include cinematographer Giorgos Arvanitis and screenwriter Tonino Guerra while  composer Eleni Karaindrou's haunting melodies are almost a trademark of his films.

He had also worked with many great actors, both Greek and international, including Thanassis Veggos, Manos Katrakis,  Dionyssis Papayiannopoulos, Marcello Mastroyanni, Harvey Keitel to name but a few.

Issues which are as strikingly relevant today as they have ever been, are recurring themes of his work - immigration, the flight from homeland and the return, as well as the history of 20th century Greece.

Awarded honorary doctorates by various European and Greek Universities for his contributions to filmmaking, Angelopoulos' films won many awards over the years, including the prestigious Palme d'Or at the 51st Cannes Film Festival in 1998 for Eternity and a Day (Mia Aioniotita kai Mia Mera), whilst his films have been regular features of almost all Film Festivals around the world.

The Los Angeles Greek Film Festival recently announced that it will be honouring Angelopoulos by hosting a tribute to this great filmmaker at its annual festival to be held between 31 May and June 3 this year.

This two-part tribute will include a presentation by Frederick Linch (ASU film instructor) and a panel discussion with friends and collaborators of Theo Angelopoulos. Film clips will be included in a presentation of the famed filmmaker's unique visual and musical style, his concept of time, and story-telling world. This will be followed by a tribute screening of ULYSSES' GAZE (TO VLEMMA TOU ODYSSEA) (1995, 176 MINUTES). 

The loss of an internationally recognised Global Greek voice is always a blow but it is especially so at this time which is so difficult for Greece.
Theo's death was as sudden as it was untimely, leaving Greece infinitely poorer both culturally and spritually.
Our only consolation is that his films will always be a reminder of his tremendous contribution to culture and filmmaking and we were gratified to hear that the Greek government quickly announced a prize to be set up in his memory... we hope it materialises.

Theodoros Angelopoulos deserves that to say the least! 

Source:Wikipedia/ IMDB
Official Website

Linking Corporations with Those who Help People in Need:Capital Link 2nd Annual CSR in Greece Conference - 26 April 2012

 

"Crisis as an Opportunity for Awakening – CSR Strategy: luxury or necessity"

2nd Annual Capital Link  

Corporate Social Responsibility CSR in Greece Conference 

will take place at the Athens Hilton Hotel

 26 April 2012

The conference will discuss current pressing issues such as environmental protection with emphasis on local communities where companies are active, sustainable architecture, sustainable tourism development, sustainable water management, renewable energy, the quality of the working environment, etc. There will be separate sections where cases for best practices by industry will be presented, the role of social media in communicating CSR strategies as well as valuable tips on reporting practices.

There is no cost to attend Capital Link's 2nd CSR Conference - 
Let's ALL help our communities and our people at these extremely difficult moments that are facing our homeland.

REGISTER Now Online

Η Capital Link λειτουργώντας ως Γέφυρα Επικοινωνίας μεταξύ του Επιχειρηματικού κόσμου και της Κοινωνίας, διοργανώνει για 2η χρονιά το Συνέδριο Εταιρικής Κοινωνικής Ευθύνης “CSR IN GREECE” με στόχο τη δικτύωση και επαφή των στελεχών των εταιριών και των ΜΚΟ που προσφέρουν ουσιαστικό έργο στη Κοινωνία.

Συμμετέχουν 80 ΜΚΟ με τα στελέχη τους και υλικό επικοινωνίας  !

ΔΕΝ ΥΠΑΡΧΕΙ ΚΟΣΤΟΣ ΣΥΜΜΕΤΟΧΗΣ !

Απλά πρέπει ΟΛΟΙ να βοηθήσουμε τη ΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΑ και τους συνανθρώπους μας στις ΙΣΤΟΡΙΚΑ ΠΙΟ ΔΥΣΚΟΛΕΣ ΣΤΙΓΜΕΣ που περνά η χώρα μας.

Σας περιμένουμε!

 

MY NAME IS KATERINA AND I AM HELLENE...

Dedicated to all the Hellenes in the world
Anybody can be a Hellene, 
by his heart, his mind, his spirit...
Socrates

Bravo Katerina! You said it all!

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Brings Spyros Louis' Marathon Cup Back Home to Greece - Let's Bring the World to Greece for the Marathon!

 Breal's Silver Cup presented to the winner of the first  

Marathon race in the 1896 Olympics, 

 Spyros Louis

Photo Source: Christies

'Bréal’s Silver Cup will be shared with the public and serve as a reminder of our history, heritage and resilient spirit. Our hope is that the cup inspires and rekindles Greek pride, just as Louis’ victory did on the last day of what would become the Modern Olympic Games.'

Andreas C. Dracopoulos, co-President and Member of the Board at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, announcing the Foundation's successful bid for the cup presented to the winner of the first  Marathon race in the 1896 Olympics, the legendary Spyros Louis. 

 Spyros Louis

from Marousi's water carrier to Marathon Gold Medallist

Photo Source: Wikipedia

Inspired by the tale of Phidippides' legendary 42 kilometre run from Marathon to Athens to announce the Athenian victory in the epic Battle of Marathon, French philologist Michel Breal suggested the race's inclusion in the first Modern Olympics in 1896 and donated the prize named for him.

The cup was sold at auction, yesterday 18 April 2012, by Christies, as the 100 day countdown began for the London Olympics.

With a value estimated between 120,000 and 160,000 pounds, and in a heated bidding competition which included Spyros Louis' hometown, the City of Marousi, backed by a 300,000 Latsis Foundation pledge, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation secured the cup's return to Greece with a bid of 541,000 pounds, breaking the world record price for an item of Olympic memorabilia.

We were particularly interested in Associate Professor of History at Haverford College and distinguished Olympic historian, Alexander Kitroeff's analysis of the significance and symbolism of the cup, in this statement on the Niarchos Foundation site :

“The significance and value of the silver cup won by the Greek runner Spyros Louis and kept in his family’s possession since then is far greater than almost any other Olympic memorabilia dating from those first modern Olympics held in Athens. 

The cup symbolizes the idea behind running a marathon race and including it in the Olympic program, thus creating a race whose cultural significance grew exponentially throughout the twentieth century. 

The person who came up with this idea was the French linguist, philologist and philhellene Michel Bréal a member of the French Institute, at a sports conference convened in 1894 by the founder of the modern Olympics, the baron Pierre de Coubertin. 

The conference launched the modern Olympics. Bréal proposed the race that was based on the legend of Pheidippides and his famous run from Marathon to Athens in 490BC even though the run was not part of the Ancient Olympic sports. Bréal also offered a silver trophy to whomever would win such a race. Coubertin embraced the idea of the race and the cup – even though it represented an exception because the plan was to award winners only medals and olive branch wreaths. The cup included an inscription in Greek.

The additional significance of the cup is of course that it was won by a Greek, and Coubertin and others are on record stating that Louis’ victory on the final day of the Games unleashed a wave of Greek pride and helped in establishing modern Greece’s embrace of the Olympics.

Finally, the fact that the family managed to preserve the cup through more than a century of tumultuous events including several wars and foreign occupation of Greece symbolizes the importance that Greeks attach to their ancient heritage and the Olympic Games.”


The cup will be shared with the Greek people at a temporary location to be named by the Foundation until its  permanent display at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center upon its completion in 2015.

Our congratulations to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation for taking the initiative to bring this significant part of Greece's Modern History back home - a home it left after Spyros Louis, the winner's grandson, recently took the difficult decision to sell it, to ensure the financial security of his children and only after he tried to get the relevant Greek authorities to purchase it, without luck.

We would like to take the opportunity presented by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation's initiative to reiterate something we said on the occasion of the Classic Marathon which takes place each year in Athens. 

In 2010, Greece celebrated the 2500th anniversary of the original Marathon and there was a tremendous turnout for it.

Here is a golden opportunity for Greece to celebrate and promote its magnificent history by reinstating the Athens Classic Marathon as the one and only Marathon. The Marathon that every marathon runner should aspire to run in.  

Let's all work to spread the word around the world.

Let's get the world to Greece for the Original Marathon each year.

20,000 this year, 30,000 next year!

Spread the word, become a part of history!

 The Athens Classic Marathon is the Marathon of Marathons! 

No matter how many Marathons you've run, you haven't run a real Marathon until you've run the original!

Antonis Samaras, Dora Bakoyannis and the Memoranda: Political Schizophreneia in Greece

 Source: Aganaktismenoi sto Syntagma

Which part of this didn't you understand did you say?

Kalo Taxidi Dimitri Mitropano - One of Greece's Great Singers!

 Popular 'entechno/laiko' singer Dimitris Mitropanos 

who died suddenly today in Greece

 On this day last year, we farewelled another great Greek singer, Nikos Papazoglou.

Although we knew Mitropanos had health problems, the news  we heard on the radio as we were coming back to Athens after our Easter holiday in Sparta was a real shock .... Dimitris Mitropanos had passed away this morning, that magnificent voice was silenced.

Click on play on the embedded playlist below and listen to the unique 'laiko' voice, the 'people's' voice, of a man who learnt to fight for the things he believed in from a very young age, a man who knew how to breathe real life into all his songs, some really wonderful and unforgettable songs that we have all danced to, fallen in love to, laughed and cried to and definitely sung, at some point in our lives, we're sure.  The first Mitropano song I ever heard was dedicated to me by my first love - I may have moved on from that love but how can anyone forget the moment or the song...

This medley of Mitropanos' most popular songs is our tribute to him, starting with our personal favourite  We will never find Kythera...

Τα Κύθηρα πότε δεν θα τα βρούμε      

Κάτσε στην πέτρα του γιαλού

βάλε το χέρι αντήλιο

πάρε μια χούφτα θάλασσα

πάρε μια χούφτα ήλιο

και πλύνε μου το πρόσωπο

και πλύνε μου το πρόσωπο.

Τα Κύθηρα πότε δεν θα τα βρούμε

το χάσαμε το πλοίο της γραμμής

στα κύματα του Αιγαίου θα χαθούμε

δυο κύματα που σβήσανε κι εμείς....

Στίχοι: Ηλίας Λυμπερόπουλος
Μουσική: Γιώργος Κατσαρός
Πρώτη εκτέλεση: Δημήτρης Μητροπάνος

Source: Stixoi

  Kalo Taxidi!

Χριστός Ανέστη-Καλό Πάσχα! Christos Anesti-Happy Easter!

Xronia Polla kai Kala to everyone in our Global Greek World. 

May the Resurrection of our Lord tonight lead the way for the resurrection and the rebirth of our beautiful homeland. 

Greece and our people deserve it... 

Χριστός Ανέστη!

Good Friday: The Beauty and Majesty of The Epitaphio

Yesterday was Good Friday for all the Orthodox world, a solemn, mournful and moving day for us all marking the Death of Christ.

The church services tell us the story of the Crucifixion, the death of Christ, and how Joseph of Arimathea secured the body of Christ from Pontius Pilate, His removal from the cross, and His burial.

During the service, the Body of Christ is removed from the cross, wrapped in a white cloth (shroud)  and brought into the sanctuary. Following the reading, the priest carries the icon of the Epitafio through the church and places it in the Sephulchre (the kouvouklion), which has been decorated with the most beautiful of the spring flowers. 

In the photos below, you can see our photos from some of these majestic and beautifully decorated Epitaphios in churches around Greece. Despite the economic crisis, people donate the money to buy the flowers for the Epitaphio and the ladies and young women take great pride in making their church Epitaphio the most beautiful.

In the video below, the funeral procession, Perifora tou Epitaphiou, takes place.

Followed by members of the congregation holding lit candles, parishioners and in the case of the Cathedral Epitaphio, soldiers, carry the decorated Epitaphio from each church  to the main square of Sparta, where the people congregate and chant Ai Geneai Pasai...
a moving, haunting hymn, a moving and unique experience ...

The Holy Week Rituals and traditions are beautiful and unique - something everyone around the world should experience at least once in their lifetime.

Easter in Greece - a life experience.

CELEBRATING EASTER IN GREECE AND THE GLOBAL GREEK WORLD

Decorating the Epitaphio

Evangelismos Tis Theotokou 

Wellington New Zealand 

Good Friday - 1991

Today is Holy Wednesday (Megali Tetarti) and Greek people all over the world are preparing for the Orthodox Easter and all it entails! (Most of us had a break for the Western Easter holiday and we are now getting ready for our second Easter in a week. This was always, and still is, a bonus for those of us who live(d) outside Greece - it also meant we could buy up Easter goodies - chocolate eggs, rabbits and Hot Cross Buns, at discounted prices). 

Greek Holy Week effectively started last Saturday with the Resurrection of Lazarus, followed by the Palm Sunday services. For a very good description of the Holy Week Services click here

The celebration of Easter in Greece is the most significant and symbolic of all the religious festivals and, because it is springtime in Greece, the whole country is ablaze with the beautiful colours of the season. Easter is traditionally a time when most people go to their villages or islands, to take part in these very traditional celebrations with their extended families and enjoy the peace and serenity of the countryside, dressed for the occasion in its magnificent spring clothes!

For those who remain in Athens or the big cities, the sights and sounds of Holy Week are pretty unique and a must to experience at least once in your lifetime. As you walk down the streets and go past the many churches, you can hear the bells toll mournfully or the melodious chanting of the hauntingly beautiful Holy Week hymns; you can see people going in to light a candle, to pray or just to sit and listen. If you are lucky and happen to be in Syntagma Square on Good Friday, you can watch the Epitaphio procession of all the churches in the near vicinity come together in the Square. A truly unique and magnificent sight!

For those of us who aren't fortunate enough to celebrate Easter in Greece, Easter wherever in the world we are is steeped in ritual and tradition and is very much part of our Greek heritage. Each Community's Church becomes the focal point of the community and the Holy Week services attract even those people who are not regular church-goers. Our homes are spruced up and readied for the family celebrations and the big feast after a period of fasting for Lent.

On Holy Wednesday we would put on our best and go to Church in the afternoon to be anointed with Holy Myrrh or Holy Unction. This was always interesting to us as children since we weren't quite sure what to do with the oil on our hands - we knew we shouldn't just wipe it off!

On Holy Thursday, we used to go for Holy Communion in the morning and in the evening everyone would go back for the Dodeka Evangelia service, waiting for the moment when the lights were dimmed and the Priest would come out bearing the cross of the Crucifixion and chanting the hymn of the Crucifixion  

'Today He is Crucified...Σήμερα κρεμάται επί ξύλου'

Decorating the Epitaphio 

under the watchful eye of Father Elias Economou

Evangelismos Tis Theotokou 

Wellington New Zealand 

Good Friday - 1959

On Good Friday it was time to take flowers to church and help decorate the Epitaphio before going back home to get ready for the Apokathilosi Service, where as children we loved to crawl under the Epitaphio, and then the Egkomia, some of us taking our places next to the Epitaphio as Myroforoi, holding baskets filled with sweet-smelling rose petals which we would later scatter over 'the Body of Christ' lying at rest. 

As we grew older we could join the church choir and take part in the service, singing the beautifully worded verses of the Egkomia or the Lamentations. The young men of the Community were the altar boys and carried the crosses and banners (Ksapteryga) for the procession.

 

Church Choir - Good Friday

Evangelismos Greek Orthodox cathedral 

Wellington, New Zealand

 

Evangelismos Tis Theotokou
Father Elias Economou officiating

Wellington New Zealand 

Good Friday - 1959

Evangelismos Tis Theotokou 

Wellington New Zealand 

Good Friday - 1991

Almost everyone attends the Good Friday (Epitaphio) Service, holding a candle and solemnly following the Epitaphio Procession as it is carried around the Church grounds or around the neighbourhood.

 

 Ο Γλυκύ μου Έαρ
The most beautiful of the Good Friday lamentations

The Midnight Resurrection (Anastasi) Service is also a must and everyone clambers to be the first to light his or her candle from the Fos, or the light from the Holy Sepulchre, at the stroke of Midnight as the Priest chants Defte Lavete Fos, enjoying the fireworks as we gather outside the Church for the Xristos Anesti!

On Easter Sunday (Kyriaki tou Pascha) we roast our lamb either in the oven or on the traditional spit and spend much of the day eating and drinking trying to see who will win in the traditional Tsougrisma of the Eggs! ( we have yet to find a good translation for this one...so we have left it in Grenglish).

Apart from the spiritual fulfillment and sense of renewal, once the services are over it is a wonderful opportunity to catch up with friends and be with family, to exchange kisses (always a good excuse if we rather liked someone but were too shy to tell them straight out) and wish each other 'Xristos Anesti' (Christ is Risen) and 'Alithos Anesti'! (Truly, He is Risen).
 

Listen to celebrated Global Greek Irene Papas sing her own unique version of Xristos Anesti (from the magnificent album 'ODES' in collaboration with Vangelis Papathanasiou )

It is interesting to note that many of our Greek communities around the world make the Anastasi and Easter Day celebrations a Community event so that all members can come, bringing their family and friends, both Greek and non-Greek, to join in the festivities.

These are special memories to hold on to and cherish - the traditional bonds of Church and Family which are timeless and hold strong in the Greek Orthodox Church and especially at these times of economic strife.

The ongoing economic crisis in Greece means that most people have cut down on their excessive spending of the past to the essentials so that our traditions are not lost. Those who can have donated goods and time to wonderful individual voluntary initiatives such as Boroume, Oloi Mazi Boroume whilst the Church of Greece and other organisations have stepped in to help the needy, the unemployed and the homeless so that their families don't go without, especially at Easter.

Many Greek Organisations of the Diaspora such as AHEPA, have also raised funds for Greece's less able, and just yesterday, Archbishop Dimitrios of the United States presented financial aid of $500,000 to Archbishop Ieronymos to assist the Church of Greece in their mission.

To all our Global Greek friends around the world who are in the process of dyeing Eggs, baking Koulourakia and Tsourekia, planning for the Mageiritsa and generally making preparations for this year's Holy Week/Megali Evdomada, we would like to congratulate you for keeping our wonderful traditions going and ensuring that the spiritual meaning and message of the Resurrection and Easter is handed down from generation to generation... 

To each and everyone of you wherever you may be we wish you and your families 

Kali Anastasi & Kalo Pascha !! 
Καλή Ανάσταση & Καλό Πάσχα! 

Have a Truly Blessed Easter!

Photo Credits: Sophia Economou - Economou Family Archives

At Global Greek World, We ♥ Greece...and it shows!

© GlobalGreekWorld 2009-2019
All Rights Reserved

Suicide in Syntagma Square: A Message to all of Greece's Politicians

 Syntagma Square, Athens, Greece

In the photo, people leave flowers and messages at the tree in Syntagma Square the site where last week, sadly, a 77 year old pensioner committed suicide under this tree facing the Greek Parliament.

This act, by virtue of Dimitri Chrystoula's suicide note, was not just a desperate act by a person who reached the end of his tether, it was mainly a political statement in protest at the unfair austerity measures being imposed on the Greek people, especially on the lower income earners and those less able to fend for themselves... austerity measures imposed because the powers that be cannot, or will not, impose measures to stamp out the endemic public sector corruption which has bled the Greek economy dry.

Whatever our reaction and whatever we may think of this, it is tragic that anyone, let alone a 77 year old person who has been active and strong all his life, should decide to end it like this.

All Greece's politicians, actual and wannabes would do well to pay heed to the messages society is giving them, via yoghurts, heckling, flouring and tragically, the increasing rates of suicide, and clean up their act, showing true solidarity with their people, people who are being called upon to pay for years of corruption and abuse, public expenditure excesses and blindingly obvious social injustice. 

The people of Greece have mostly shown that they are ready to make changes, why aren't the politicians making them?

Why aren't they leading by example?

I'm a Greek: A Special Race Who Really Were Unique

 Archimedes and Aristotle tell us what being Greek is all about!

 (Thanks to Vicky D, Sydney, for telling us about it and to Horrible Histories for making our day!) 

So you thought the expression The Greeks Invented Everything was a joke? 

Well just listen carefully to this song from Horrible Histories and you will see it wasn't! 

If you want to know the answer, ask a Greek!

I'm a Greek

You know the caveman gave us woad

Roman soldiers built the road

Egypt's pyramids were buildings at their peak

But when we talk of great invention

It's important that we mention

A special race who really were unique

Plato and Pythagoras

Both of them did stagger us

Socrates, he showed such great technique

Was there ever, ever, ever

Such a bunch of chaps so clever?

If you want to know the answer, ask a Greek!

I'm a Greek, I'm a Greek

We are all so magnifique

We invented sundials, catapaults and bricks

Chic and sleek, so to speak

Our success was not a freak

But working hard was how we got our kicks

We created the first siren

And the first soldering iron

The Olympics, well... that was quite a busy week

So the next time that you go-go

To the toyshop for a yo-yo

Let them know-know it was thought of by a Greek!

We are Greek, we are Greek

Nowadays you'd call us geek

But in ancient times, people thought of us as tough

Our physique was not weak

'Cause when people gave us cheek

We invented boxing, and other violent stuff!

Fiery flamethrowers for battles

Pinhole cameras, baby rattles

'Is there nothing they can't do?' I hear you shriek

So next time you take a shower

Or you see a lighthouse tower

Just remember they were thought of by a Greek!

Stage acoustics, ancient harps

Music sounds of flats and sharps

Central heating at your doorsteps

Splints, syringes, lamps and forceps

Fire extinguishers, thermometers

Coin dispensers and odometers

Pontoon bridges, pistons, pulleys

Parchment, prisms, puppets, dollies

Shock absorbers, draughts and maps

We were oh, such brainy chaps!

Anchors, chewing gum, the list does never cease

Spinning tops, the dice, the crane

Do we have to ask again?

Did they come from Spain?

No, they came from Greece!

Source: LyricsMode

Photo of the Day:Maria Menounos - Proud to be Greek and it Shows!

Maria Menounos' Twitter Avatar today...

Proud to be Greek and it shows!

A big bravo to Maria and all of our Global Greeks who carry the flag proudly and who, despite the negative image of their homeland that abounds in the international press, go against the tide and wear Greece's colours with pride! 

Maria has shown us many times how much she loves Greece!

Last night she wore a top emblazoned with the Greek flag on Wrestlemania and wowed them all just as she did on Dancing With the Stars...

Here's what she said on Twitter on 20 March right after that appearance;

 I wore the greek colors! Danced to a greek girls song (kelly clarkson) 

and a greek designed my costume! Opa!

That's what we call Greek Power...

Proud to be Greek and it shows! 

PS Maria, Chloe Koromila of Greek company Femme Fatale would love to send you a pair of her very own designed dancing shoes, handmade in Greece, to go with that Greek outfit and especially that beautiful Greek heart of yours! 

Just give us the word and they'll soon be on their way to the USA...

Just the thing for DWTS. Thanks  Mary Papoulias Platis, California Greek Girl, one of our friends on our Buy GREEK page, for the suggestion!

Femme Fatale Dancing shoes by Chloe Koromila... 

designed and handmade in Greece!

WE DID IT! They're Coming Home At Last!!!

Well, we didn't realise that our Global Greek World blog is so widely read!

Minutes after publication of the Open Letter he received which we published just yesterday, Number 10 Downing Street made a surprise and unexpected announcement early this morning.

In an exclusive letter addressed to us at Global Greek World, which he has asked us not to release first, British Prime Minister David Cameron gave the thumbs up to the return of the Parthenon Sculptures as a special sign of solidarity and support for the suffering people of Greece, and in deference to those of us who have worked so hard for this noble cause.

In his letter, dated April 1, 2012, PM Cameron apologises for his country's exceedingly selfish and egotistical behaviour and advises that he has given instructions to the British Museum to start the lengthy process of preparation for Repatriation of the Marbles so that they can be in Greece in time for the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. Mr Cameron also announced that the first sculpture which will be coming home to Greece is the Caryatid, who will be set free to join her sisters at the New Acropolis Museum in time for the 3rd birthday celebrations. 

In his letter Mr Cameron said he agrees with Stephen Fry and he looks forward to coming to Greece after the Olympics so that he can see the Parthenon Sculptures in their home. He  is also looking forward to meeting up with his idol, former Greek Minister of Culture Melina Mercouri who had said that she will be reborn when the Marbles come home...

As a bonus to the Greek people, the British Prime Minister announced that Britain will soon be taking in 500,000 of Greece's illegal immigrants from former colonies, Ghana, Nigeria, India and Pakistan and that he will shortly be releasing details of a plan for British troops to leave another former British Colony, Cyprus, adding that he will personally be visiting Turkey to convince Turkish prime Minister Erdogan that it is time for the occupying Turkish troops to leave too.

Details of the Prime Minister's decision will shortly be available on the Number 10 official website

.
.
.


And then we woke up from our wonderful dream...How we wish this was true!

As it is now after midday in most parts of the world we can reveal that this was our April Fool's joke - no doubt you realised it quite early on, it was just TOO good to be true, unfortunately!


Our cause, the Repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles is very noble indeed and we tried in our own humble way to use the tool of satire which our ancestors had mastered to perfection using the freedom afforded them by that satire. to draw attention to major issues such as this... there was no intention to offend anyone's sensitivities.

The dig is quite obviously aimed at those who are keeping the Parthenon Marbles imprisoned and away from the land of their birth.

We remain hopeful that that will soon change and that all our efforts combined as well as the Open Letter to David Cameron published yesterday will have the desired result.