Αν ο Νώε ήταν...Έλληνας!!! One for our Greek Readers...thanks Angeliki C, Athens!

Looking at life with humour... 

because we Greeks love to laugh at ourselves! 

Ο Κύριος φανερώθηκε στον Νώε και του είπε: 

- Σε ένα χρόνο θα ρίξω βροχή και θα σκεπάσω ολόκληρη τη Γη με νερό και θα καταστρέψω τα πάντα. Αλλά θέλω εσύ να σώσεις τους δίκαιους και ευσεβείς ανθρώπους και δύο ζώα από κάθε είδος που υπάρχει στη Γη. Σε προστάζω να χτίσεις μία Κιβωτό. 

Και ο Θεός παραδίδει στον Νώε τα σχέδια για την Κιβωτό.

Με φόβο Κυρίου ο Νώε παίρνει τα σχέδια και συμφωνεί να φτιάξει την Κιβωτό. Θυμήσου, είπε ο Κύριος, Πρέπει να έχεις τελειώσει την Κιβωτό και να έχεις μαζέψει όλα τα ζώα σε ένα χρόνο.

Ένα χρόνο αργότερα, αρχίζει να σχηματίζεται μια καταιγίδα και όλες οι θάλασσες της Γης έχουν φουρτούνα. Ο Θεός κοιτάει τι γίνεται και βλέπει τον Νώε να κάθεται στην αυλή του και να κλαίει.

-Νώε! Ανακράζει, Που είναι η Κιβωτός;

-Συγχώρεσε με Κύριε, παρακαλά ο Νώε, έκανα ό,τι μπορούσα αλλά αντιμετώπισα μεγάλα προβλήματα.

Πρώτα-πρώτα έπρεπε να πάρω άδεια για την κατασκευή και τα σχέδια που μου έδωσες δε συμφωνούσαν με τον ισχύοντα κανονισμό. Χρειάστηκε να προσλάβω ναυπηγό και να ξαναγίνουν τα σχέδια από την αρχή.

Μετά βρέθηκα σε διαμάχη με το Λιμενικό για το αν χρειαζόταν η Κιβωτός σύστημα πυρασφάλειας, βάρκες και σωσίβια.

Μετά μου έκανε καταγγελία ο γείτονας μου, γιατί παραβίαζα λέει τα όρια δόμησης χτίζοντας την Κιβωτό στην αυλή μου, και έτσι χρειάστηκα άδεια και από την Πολεοδομία.

Είχα πρόβλημα και να βρω ξύλα για την Κιβωτό γιατί υπήρχε απαγόρευση υλοτόμησης για την προστασία της Πιτσιλωτής Κουκουβάγιας.

Τελικά κατάφερα να πείσω την Υπηρεσία Προστασίας Δασών πως χρειαζόμουν το ξύλο για να σώσω τις κουκουβάγιες. Αλλά όμως ο Οργανισμός Προστασίας Ζώων δεν με άφηνε να πιάσω κουκουβάγιες. Και έτσι δεν έχουμε κουκουβάγιες.

Μετά οι ξυλουργοί κατέβηκαν σε απεργία, αλλά κατάφερα να έρθω σε συμφωνία με το σύλλογο τους. Τώρα έχω 16 ξυλουργούς να δουλεύουν στην Κιβωτό, αλλά δεν έχω κουκουβάγιες.

Όταν άρχισα να μαζεύω τα υπόλοιπα ζώα, μου έκανε μήνυση μία ομάδα ακτιβιστών, γιατί θα έπαιρνα μόνο δύο από κάθε είδος.

Όταν ξεμπέρδεψα με αυτή τη μήνυση με ενημέρωσαν από το ΥΠΕΧΩΔΕ ότι δεν γινόταν να συνεχιστούν οι εργασίες αν δεν κάνω δήλωση για την επίδραση στο περιβάλλον του σχεδιαζόμενου κατακλυσμού. Δεν τους αρέσει η ιδέα ότι δεν έχουν αρμοδιότητα στις αποφάσεις του Δημιουργού του Σύμπαντος.

Μετά οι τοπογράφοι του Στρατού απαίτησαν χάρτη της προτεινόμενης ροής των υδάτων του κατακλυσμού. Εγώ τους έστειλα μία υδρόγειο.

Αυτές τις μέρες προσπαθώ να λύσω ένα ζήτημα με την Επιτροπή Ισότητας, που λένε ότι κάνω διακρίσεις επειδή δεν θα πάρω ανθρώπους που δεν πιστεύουν σε Εσένα, Κύριε..

Μου έστειλαν και αυτή την ειδοποίηση με δικαστικό επιμελητή ότι οφείλω φόρο και πρόστιμο γιατί δεν δήλωσα την Κιβωτό ως σκάφος αναψυχής.

Τώρα η εφορία έχει παγώσει τις καταθέσεις μου γιατί πιστεύουν ότι φτιάχνω την Κιβωτό για να φύγω από την χώρα για να μην πληρώσω φόρους.

Και ακόμη δεν έχει αποφασίσει το Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας αν ο Κατακλυσμός είναι αντισυνταγματικός, αφού πρόκειται για θρησκευτική πράξη.

Πραγματικά, δεν υπάρχει περίπτωση να τελειώσω για τουλάχιστον 5 - 6 χρόνια.

Και τότε άρχισε να καθαρίζει ο ουρανός, να λάμπει ο ήλιος και να ηρεμούν οι θάλασσες. Το ουράνιο τόξο στόλισε τον ορίζοντα.

Ο Νώε κοίταξε τον Θεό με ελπίδα.
-Κύριε, αυτό σημαίνει ότι δεν θα τα καταστρέψεις όλα;;;

Και απάντησε ο Θεός,
-Μπα... δε βαριέσαι...

Ας το κάνει το ΕΛΛΗΝIKO ΚΡΑΤΟΣ!
  
...and here is the hilarious way our friends at Radio Arvyla told the story  a few years ago, sit back and enjoy!

and of course....

Remembering Martin Luther King: I Have a Dream...

 A powerful image of unity and peace

Selma, Alabama

9 March 1965

Dynamic Global Greek Archbishop Iakovos, a true leader and probably THE most powerful Greek Orthodox prelate of North and South America  - one of the few prominent non-African American clergymen who had the courage to do so -  walks in solidarity with the Reverends Martin Luther King Jnr, Ralph Abernathy and Andrew Young to a memorial service for the Rev James Reeb of Boston who was killed by a white mob 2 days earlier - a similar photo would later be on the cover of LIFE, a historic moment for civil rights in the USA immortalised. 

Five months later, on the 6th of August, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson in the presence of Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders signed the  Voting Rights Act of 1965.  

Recalling ‘‘the outrage of Selma,’’ LBJ  called the right to vote 
‘‘the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men’’

2 years earlier, on 28 August 1963, Martin Luther King had made what was probably his most inspiring speech, a speech that continues to inspire 50 years later, and will continue to inspire and unite so long as inequality and injustice abound in the world...

I Have a Dream

 

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, 
I still have a dream. 

It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. 

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

Photo of the Day: Tas Melas is Proud to be Greek and he Shows it! Bravo!

 Tas Melas, hand over heart as he belts out the Greek National Anthem

It takes a young man with a big heart, a lot of love and pride for his (or most likely his parents' ) motherland and a great deal of courage to belt out the Greek National Anthem during a live NBA TV broadcast, but that is exactly what Tas Melas, one of our Global Greeks from Toronto in Canada did!

Tas breaks into his own very personal, and very public, rendition of the Greek National Anthem as he and his co-presenters of the Starters are watching the NBA Pass League of the Night. A game they have billed as the  Greek Game of the Night, it is between the Grizzlies and the Bucks and three of the players, Kostas Koufos, Nick Calathes and Yiannis Adetokunbo, are from Greece.

Inspired and  inspiring to watch, Tas Melas stands up for Greece and shows us all the way to go. 

Greece's politicians and leaders please take note!

One of the most moving things we've seen, it confirms our belief in our Global Geeks and gives us a lot of hope for the future!  

Just watch the expression on this young man's face as he sings...it says it all!

Bravo, Tas! Polla Bravo!

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

© GlobalGreekWorld 2014 All Rights Reserved

Buy GREEK, Eat GREEK! On January 15th, Wherever we are in the world, we are ALL Invited to the Biggest Greek Dinner Party Ever!

It just takes a word, a tweet, a message and before you can say ‘piperia’ the word has become a concept and the concept a worldwide event! 

In the middle of our Buy GREEK for Christmas (#BuyGREEK4Xmas) campaign, the dynamic Keri Douglas  - writer, photographer, communications expert and philhellene extraordinaire -  the brain behind the Greek Dinner Around the World, posted a message on  our event wall  saying  ‘Here’s what some of us are doing on January 15’  linking us to a special dinner that she envisaged with friends from around the world – a GREEK Dinner with a virtual Acropolis in the background! 


That’s exactly what Global Greek World is all about!

We loved the concept and immediately accepted – possibly the first in Greece to come on board! 

 What's more, it fits our Buy GREEK project, the promotion of Greek Products around the world,  like a glove!

As Keri says in her 9 Muses News Blog

’With a few Tweets, an idea and then a ‘yes’, why not? We don’t need to be in the same city to have a dinner party.

Everyone is invited on January 15th for a Greek dinner with friends, family and even some new friends. Partners to this initiative will host a dinner – one person, two persons or more; use Greek products to create Greek dishes; share a photo or two of their endeavour; share a recipe; Tweet their experience or favourites and then RT (reTweet) others who are sharing their dinner party under the #GreekDinner and #EatGreek hashtags.

The goal is to celebrate Greek cuisine and promote amazing people, authors, chefs, businesses who are connected to Greece.

Why? Well, why not? Who doesn’t love authentic Greek olives, olive oil, real feta, yogurt, honey, oregano and healthy cuisine.’

Well, Greeks love to entertain, four ancestors invented the term filoxenia after all, we all love to promote Greek food and wine and everyone  - Greeks and non-Greeks alike – loves Greek cuisine, it so much an integral part of our Greek identity, so it didn’t take long for people to join in. 

Greek food gurus and bloggers, Greek food addicts, inspired individuals, wine producers and enthusiastic restaurateurs from Australia to South Africa have said that they will be hosting their own particular Greek Dinner in their own particular way. 

It doesn’t matter where we are, whether we are alone or with a million others, at home or in a Greek restaurant in London, a souvlaki shop in New Zealand, a wine bar in South Africa, a Gyro stand in Paris, a Greek Diner in New York or a taverna by the beach in Crete, we can still be part of the biggest GREEK Dinner party in the World!

If you are like us and haven't taken down your Christmas decorations, well it will be like taking part in the Buy GREEK for Christmas Campaign as well! 

 

  Kourabiedes and melomakarona for after Christmas breakfast

 

 Rakomelo (with tsikoudia and honey from Crete) and Mantinades

The tables are set, the wine, the ouzo, the retsina, the tsikoudia, the olives, tzatziki, dolmades, saganaki,, fava, feta,  and other delicious foods such as taramosalata or the moussaka below...

 Moussaka from the hands of our resident chef

Wonderful dishes made with extra-virgin olive oil from trees like ours below , and other top quality products that the Greek countryside is blessed with are waiting for the  big day...

Harvesting our olives in Crete. 

It takes a lot of hard work to get to that precious Greek gold...

The big day is tomorrow!

Will YOU be joining us? 

If you can, tell Keri (@keridouglas on Twitter or at Greek Dinner Around the World on Facebook  you're hosting a Greek Dinner and the world will definitely be a better place!

We’d love to have you there because we know that like us, you love Greece and all things Greek! 

 OPA!

All the photos are ours except for the Cretan dancer who we borrowed from Alex Pattakos and the OPA! Way! ( Thanks Alex) and the Buy GREEK for Christmas Cover which was created for Buy GREEK by Sofia Georgaki of Celeb Photo Copy (Thanks Sofia)!  

PS Check out our Eat GREEK page if you are stuck and looking for a Greek restaurant to go to. 

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

© GlobalGreekWorld 2013 All Rights Reserved

Photo of the Day: GREEK is Chic!

 
10 out of 10 to Aslanis Home for coming up with this!

It totally goes with our motto 

so we put the two together...

Buy GREEK... Greek is Chic!

It's Chic to be Greek! 

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

 © GlobalGreekWorld 2014All Rights Reserved

Photo of the Day: Greece at the Helm of the European Union

 The official logo of Greece's 5th Presidency of the EU 

Today's official commencement ceremony marks the assumption by Greece of  the rotating  presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) on January 1, 2014, for the next six months.

It is the fifth time Greece will preside over the European Union  since joining what was known as the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1991.

Greece's experience in the organisation of major political and sporting events in the past means that Greece is very well-equipped to make a success of this fifth Presidency, despite the many derogatory reports by some of the world's media and especially those of Germany.
 

There is no reason for this presidency to be any less successful than the previous four. 

On the contrary, Greece is in a very good position to make this a great success by virtue of the fact that she is one of those countries suffering from the consequences of harsh austerity measures imposed without the accompanying measures needed to promote economic development. 
 

Yes, Greece CAN!

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

© GlobalGreekWorld 2014 All Rights Reserved