2400-year old golden mask in the tomb of an ancient Thracian king

A team of Bulgarian archaeologists, led by Professor Georgi Kitov, discovered a 2400-year old golden mask in the tomb of an ancient Thracian king on August 19.
The mask bears the image of a human face and is made of 500 grams of solid gold, Kitov said. The discovery was made near the town of Shipka, in the heart of the Stara Planina Mountain.
Dozens of Thracian mounds are spread throughout this region, which archeologists have called "the Bulgarian valley of the kings", a reference to the Valley of the Kings near Luxor, which is home to the tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs.


"The unique mask looks even better than the famous image of King Agamemnon, the Greek anti-hero described by Homer in the Iliad," Kitov was quoted as saying by Bulgarian-language media. "This is the first Thracian mask of solid gold ever found,"he said. Previously, archeologists had only found masks covered with golden foil.


Initially, Kitov suggested that the mask could belong to King Seuthes III, the Thracian king who in the fifth century BCE ruled the territory that now is in today's Bulgaria. Later however, he and his team changed their view, and said the mask is most probably of King Teres I, father of the famous Thracian ruler Sitalkes, who expanded the Thracian kingdom into a huge empire, uniting for the first time all Thrace south of the river Danube. The tomb was covered with six stone slabs, each weighing at least two tons. The king's remains have not yet been found, but excavations at the tomb will continue. In addition to the golden mask, archeologists discovered a golden ring with the image of a rower, as well as many bronze and silver vessels. The current find is in the area of the so-called Helvetia Tomb, discovered in 1996, which also dates back to the 4th century BCE. It is also near the town of Shipka. The Shipka Tombs are seven in total, all in the Valley of the Thracian Kings.
Also close is the Kazanluk Tomb, which is famous for its beautiful wall paintings of the early third century BCE, one of the most unique masterpieces of the Early Hellenistic pictorial art. This tomb was built during the reign of king Seuthes III, either for him personally or for close relatives among the nobility.
Thirty-five Thracian tombs have so far been discovered in Bulgaria and all of them have pre-classical vaults (false vaults) made during the period fifth to the third centuries BCE.
The plans of this type of tomb were varied. Some of them, apart from the burial chamber, contain a corridor and other rooms. Fifteen of the tombs found in Bulgaria have round burial chambers. The rest have square burial chambers. The round chambers were roofed with a false beehive dome, while the square ones had a flat roof or a false vault. The tombs were made of ashlars with dry joints, or of bricks and mortar.

The Thracians lived in what is now Bulgaria and parts of modern Greece, Romania, Macedonia, and Turkey between 4,000 B.C. and the 8th century A.D., when they were assimilated by the invading Slavs.

In 2004, another 2,400-year-old golden mask was unearthed from a Thracian tomb in the same area.

Dozens of Thracian mounds are spread throughout central Bulgaria, which archaeologists have dubbed "the Bulgarian valley of kings" in reference to the Valley of the Kings near Luxor, Egypt, home to the tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2007-07-16-thracian-mask_N.htm 

ti ithela kai sagapousa - aidonis

George Clooney gets arrested for Sudan

WASHINGTON — George Clooney has been arrested at Sudan’s embassy in Washington during a protest against the country’s blockade of humanitarian aid.

Clooney, his father Nick and other anti-Sudan activists including several members of the U.S. Congress ignored three police warnings to leave the grounds of the mission in Washington’s Embassy Row, leading officers to escort them in plastic handcuffs to a waiting police van.

The “Descendants” star, a longtime activist for human rights in Sudan, met Thursday with US President Barack Obama after paying a clandestine visit to South Kordofan, where aid groups say 250,000 people are at risk of imminent food shortages.

Clooney was protesting Sudan’s efforts to block humanitarian aid from reaching a volatile border region where its army is fighting rebels aligned with South Sudan. He had been widely expected to provoke police into arresting him.

“We need humanitarian aid to be allowed into the Sudan before it becomes the worst humanitarian crisis in the world — immediately,” Clooney said to cheering supporters shortly before his arrest.

“The second thing we are here to ask is a very simple thing — it’s for the government in Khartoum to stop randomly killing its own innocent men, women and children,” Clooney said.

“Stop raping them, and stop starving them. That’s all we ask,” he said.

Four members of the House of Representatives — Al Green, Jim McGovern, Jim Moran and John Olver — were also arrested at the protest, along with human rights activists and religious leaders. 


National Post
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/16/george-clooney-arrested-at-sudanese-embassy-protest-in-washington
/

Afieromeno

Limbaugh called her a slut and a Feminazi on his radio show

http://willowsweb.blogspot.com/ 

With the current Mercury-Uranus conjunction in Aries square Pluto infusing the atmosphere, the Ceres in Aries themes are quite apparent within media (Mercury) channels. Case in point: the verbal attack (Mercury in Aries) from Rush Limbaugh of law student Sandra Fluke. 

As many are probably aware by now, Fluke spoke at a congressional hearing in favour of the Obama health plan covering the cost of contraceptives. Her support for this was based primarily on health reasons – a friend of hers lost one of her ovaries due to a condition that could have been controlled had she been able to afford birth control pills. Limbaugh, one of those right-wing, privileged, white males who seem to be so oppressed by women having control of anything these days, called her a slut and a Feminazi on his radio show, prompting a storm of controversy and the pulling of multiple advertisers from his show.

“So Miss Fluke, and the rest of you Feminazis, here’s the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something for it. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch.”
Limbaugh's language has an undertone of sexual violence and is a broadcasted voicing of the hatred, rage, and fear within the societies at large related to women's control of their own sexuality and reproduction. 

The thread of hatred toward women, particularly strong women and particularly feminists, is out with teeth bared these days, not least of which in the race to become the next leader of the United States Republican party. 

“The radical feminists succeeded in undermining the traditional family and convincing women that professional accomplishments are the key to happiness.”



Advertisers continue to pull away from The Rush Limbaugh Show, over a week since he first began his verbal assault on Georgetown student and birth control advocate Sandra Fluke. 
Last Wednesday, Limbaugh called Fluke a "slut" and a "prostitute" for wanting to testify in Congress in favor of insurance coverage of contraception, then spent the next two days demanding she post online videos of herself having sex. By Friday,Sleep Number, The Sleep Train, Quicken Loans and Legal Zoom had pulled their ads from his broadcast, signaling a mass exodus that has thus far seen 49 sponsors request their spots to be removed from airing during the show.

Limbaugh has played down the losses, saying he has some 18,000 local and national advertisers and calling the exits "losing a couple of french fries in the container when it's delivered to you at the drive thru." It was a defiant tone from a man who had apologized on Saturday, though many found his mea culpa to Fluke to be insincere in the first place.

He has also seen two stations, in Pittsfield, Mass. and Hilo, Hawaii, removed him from their schedules.

Not that he would expect his support, but President Obama has also called out Limbaugh.

"All good folks can agree that the remarks that were made don’t have any place in the public discourse," he said in a news conference on Tuesday. "And you know, the reason I called Ms. Fluke is because I thought about my daughters, and one of the things I want them to do as they get older is to engage in issues they care about, even ones I may not agree with them on. I want them to be able to speak their mind in a civil and thoughtful way.”    


BRAVO OBAMA!!! Every woman could only hope to have a man like you by her side, you are rare indeed!!!! GreekSpirit
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rush-limbaugh-sponsor-loss-increases-sandra-fluke-297698

Zorba, a fun-loving but wise philosopher of life, who everybody loved and admired.

On Sunday evening, on one of MEGA TV's most popular programmes, Protagonistes, some of Greece's best and brightest Global Greeks discussed Greece's image with journalist/host Stavros Theodorakis and how it needs to be changed to combat the recently acquired negative stereotype of the lazy and corrupt, non-tax paying Greek who lies on the beach all day drinking coffees....

Brand Strategist extraordinaire, and Global Greek of the Year runner up, Peter Economides (Greece), Athens 2004 Opening and Closing Ceremonies' Mastermind Dimitri Papaioannou (Greece), journalist/showman Nikos Aliagas (France), MP Jorgos Chatzimarkakis (Germany) , CEO of V+O Communication creators of the Give Greece a Chance Campaign,John Olympios, along with journalist Rika Vagiani (Australia) and writer/journalist Soti Triantafyllou (USA)  discussed ways of how Greece can reverse the negative stereotype which has prevailed recently because of the economic crisis and has led to almost racist jokes, snide remarks, sneers  and odd behaviour not just from other people but from some otherwise seemingly respectable institutions such as airlines and pilots ..

.

Read more: http://globalgreekworld.blogspot.com/#ixzz1p6gfM391

A few weeks back we were appalled to read on our Twitter Feed about a so-called joke made by a pilot to the effect that ' now that we have established that our Greek passengers have paid their tickets we can take-off', or the more recent language tests forced on a Greek passport-holding passenger by an Aer Lingus agent in Spain before she and her family were allowed to board , an incident for which the airline apologised but the harm was done...

Thanks to the economic crisis in Greece and the negative and distorted image which has fed through to the international media, it means that the average Greek anywhere in the world has to fight to prove that he is not corrupt and lazy, pays his taxes and dues on time,  and lives up to his responsibilities while he enjoys his life; to fight the negative stereotype that has taken over from that same guy who was lying on the beach and was known as Zorba, a fun-loving but wise philosopher of life, who everybody loved and admired.

 http://j3rn3jphoto.blogspot.com/2008/06/grk-zorba-maribor-ljudski-vrt-2162008.html

Papademos -" We Greeks can see the future with greater confidence.”

PAPADEMOS
http://www.greeknewsonline.com/?p=19810
Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, in a televised statement on Friday following a PSI (bonds swap) successful completion hours earlier, said the present day “is not only a day of satisfaction for all that has been achieved. It is also an opportunity for circumspection. Because we are aware that investors and depositors, including thousands of ordinary citizens of this country, suffered considerable losses (property losses). And this obliges us to think of our mistakes, that obliged us to be led to the restructuring of the debt. This in parallel, strengthens our will and determination to change Greece.”
“With the completion of the biggest debt restructuring that has ever taken place, a window of opportunities and hope opens for Greece. It is a considerable – I would say historic – success, that became possible with the systematic, coordinated and tough efforts of many. With the help of our partners, with the sacrifices of the Greek people and the cooperation of the political forces that support the government, we achieved a very difficult task,” Papademos said.
The prime minister further said that “with the completion of the steps that remain, with the final ratification and signing of the loan agreement in the next two weeks, we are escaping from the quicksand of the past months. We are now treading on solid ground. For the first time Greece is not adding, but removing public debt from the backs of its citizens and of the next generations. With the decrease of the debt by about 105 billion euros, we Greeks can see the future with greater confidence.”
Papademos pointed out that “the restructuring of the debt is a tangible recognition of Greece’s efforts. It is an expression of confidence for the country’s prospects and our future in the Eurozone. It creates preconditions for the deposits to return, for investments to be made, for the economy to forge ahead again, jobs to be created for the young people.”
He went on to say that “we are continuing to have a great uphill path before us. We do not have the right to waste the money that we shall save from the interest and the instalments. We must utilise them for us to modernise the structures of the country, to make our economy competitive, to tidy up the state.”
Lastly, Papademos stressed that “through the deep recession and the ordeals of the Greek people a hopeful prospect of exiting from the worst crisis of the postwar period is emerging. Confidence is being restored. The support of our partners is being confirmed. But the decisive responsibility for us to shape the country’s course belongs to us. To change our economy, to keep our society upright, to defend our position in the euro, to gain the future. We have a new big opportunity. Let us not lose it.”
http://www.greeknewsonline.com/?p=19810

http://globalgreekworld.blogspot.com/2012/02/today-we-are-all-greek-nous-sommes-tous.html

Homeless in Greece

As Greece enters its fifth straight year of recession, the cuts deepen and the dole queues lengthen, some people are beginning to fight back.
On Monday, in Plaka, Athens' old town, I met Katerina Kanelidou, 42, a leadership coach who decided she had to do something one night a couple of weeks ago when she saw a homeless man outside the station during one of the coldest Athens winters in memory.
"Then on YouTube, I saw someone had posted a video of a pregnant woman being ejected from a homeless shelter," she said. "I was just so shocked. I was thinking, how many unemployed people are going to become homeless? And what kind of society have we become, that we are kicking homeless pregnant women on to the streets?"
Realising she had neither "the power to influence the politicians, or the money to pay for more shelters", Kanelidou decided what she could do was offer her professional experience, providing specially devised, free coaching programmes for the city's unemployed aimed at boosting their self-confidence and skills.
"I just thought: I have to do something," she said. "Yes, there is real depression; huge numbers of people are taking anti-depressants. And a lot of anger at what's happened. But the time for excuses is over now. I am so fed up with the excuses: we can't do anything, we don't have the money, the time, the right paperwork. I have all I need to do something."
So Kanelidou posted on her Facebook page and emailed her contacts, offering coaching sessions to unemployed people on little or no income. She wasn't sure what the take-up would be. "People call us lazy, but we have always worked hard," she said. "There's a huge stigma to being unemployed in Greece. Plus volunteering isn't really a big part of our make-up. There's a mentality that says, if it's free it means either it's no good, or there's a catch somewhere."
But in the space of a few days she attracted 15 participants; more are joining daily. They come from diverse backgrounds: two from a family firm that went bankrupt, a couple of HR professionals, a mid-level company manager, an architect. She has taken on a volunteer assistant.
When the town hall refused to lend her a seminar room on the grounds that she did not represent any professional or corporate body, she persuaded OTE, the Greek state-owned telecoms operator, to give her space in its training centre. "They bypassed their whole bureaucratic procedure to give me the space," she said. "They saw they could do something, too."
The first sessions take place this week. In exchange for the confidence and skills she hopes to impart ("People have the experience and talent, but many need new tools for a new technological environment") she is asking her course members to devise concrete ways in which they, in turn, can do something in their community: "That way, if I am just one person helping one group, each of them will do something for another group."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2012/mar/13/greece-breadline-volunteers-moved-homeless-plight

 

"If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

The movie starts with a french iranian journalist travelling through iran and getting news about the execution of a lady the previous day for alleged adultery . Her aunt who is grieving her nieces death  told the whole story to him to tell the outside world . Apparently the lady who was killed by stoning was falsely accused by her husband to get rid of her so that he could carry on his immoral activities . The story brings to light the way religion can be used against innocent people in an authoritarian environment . The movie especially the stoning part is graphic , more graphic than any movie i have seen . And the most tragic part was this movie was allegedly based on a real event .(google it for details ) .

If you like serious cinema and dont get shocked by graphic parts this movie is excellent in its portrayal of the highly relevant theme in countries were people are oppressed especially women .

Now a little thought on adultery .  Thinking logically adultery or extramarital relationship is a breach of the marriage contract . Whatever your religious views adultery cannot be viewed in the same light like murder . And of course the punishments cannot be similar even if you favour capital punishment for murder . And in this 20 th century barbaric punishments like stoning are better reserved for people who kill innocents . And in this i am surprised at the kindness of my country which is still preserving people like Ajmal Kasab while many "virtuous"  countries have punishments of stoning for "extreme crimes " like adultery .  http://drharoonhmarikar.blogspot.com/2012/02/stoning-of-soraya-m-movie-review.html

Jesus said "If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

There are, of course, numerous occasions recorded in the Gospels where women are treated by various men as second-class citizens.  There are also situations where women were treated by others, not at all as persons but as sex objects, and it was expected that Jesus would do the same.  The expectations were disappointed.  One such occasion occurred when Jesus was invited to dinner at the house of a skeptical Pharisee (Lk. 7:36ff.) and a woman of ill repute entered and washed Jesus' feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair and anointed them.  The Pharisee saw her solely as an evil sexual creature: "The Pharisee . . . said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet, he would know who this woman is who is touching him and what a bad name she has.’" But Jesus deliberately rejected this approach to the woman as a sex object.  He rebuked the Pharisee and spoke solely of the woman's human, spiritual actions; he spoke of her love, her non-love, that is, her sins, of her being forgiven, and her faith.  Jesus then addressed her (It was not "proper" to speak to women in public, especially "improper" women) as a human person: "Your sins are forgiven . . .Your faith has saved you; go in peace." 

A similar situation occurred when the scribes and Pharisees used a woman reduced entirely to a sex object to set a legal trap for Jesus.  It is difficult to imagine a more callous use of a human person than the "adulterous" woman was put to by the enemies of Jesus.  First, she was surprised in the intimate act of sexual intercourse (quote possibly a trap was set up ahead of time by the suspicious husband), and then dragged before the scribes and Pharisees, and then by them before an even larger crowd that Jesus was instructing: "making her stand in full view of everybody."  They told Jesus that she had been caught in the very act of committing adultery and that Moses had commanded that such women be stoned to death.  (Deut. 22:22ff.) "What have you to say?" The trap was partly that if Jesus said "Yes" to stoning, He would be violating the Roman law, which restricted capital punishment; and if He said "No," He would appear to contravene Mosaic law.  It could also partly have been to place Jesus' reputation for kindness toward, and championing the cause of, women in opposition to the law and the condemnation of sin.  Jesus, of course, eluded their snares by refusing to become entangled in legalisms and abstractions.  Rather, he dealt with both the accusers and the accused directly as spiritual, ethical, human persons.  He spoke directly to the accusers in the context of their own persona1 ethical conduct: "If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."   To the accused woman he likewise spoke directly with compassion, but without approving her conduct: "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord."   And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again." 

(One detail of this encounter provides the basis for a short excursus related to the status of women.  The Pharisees stated that the woman had been caught in the act of adultery and, according to the law of Moses, was, therefore, to be stoned to death.  Since the type of execution mentioned was stoning, the woman must have been a "virgin betrothed," as referred to in Deut. 22:23f.  There provision is made for the stoning of both the man and the woman although in the Gospel story only the woman is brought forward.  However, the reason given for why the man ought to be stoned was not because he had violated the woman, or God's law, but "because he had violated the wife of his neighbor.” It was the injury of the man by misusing his property--his wife--that was the great evil. )

Grand Trine beginning march 11

Powerful Grand Trine Beginning March 11

As you know March 2012 is an amazingly empowering month. The numbers 8 and 5 are activated at once right now.

2012 is a 5 Universal Year. And March is an 8 Universal Month.

But there’s something else going on this month that is incredibly exciting! Mark your calendars from March 11 through March 15 and again on March 22. This will be a very special time for you to focus your energies and take even greater advantage of an amazing celestial event.

Unconditional Love

Unconditional love separates the individual from her or his behaviors. The individual is loved unconditionally as a "perfect" child of the Higher Power. However, the individual may exhibit behaviors that are unacceptable in a particular situation. To begin with a simple example: one acquires a puppy. The puppy is cute, playful, and the owner's heart swells with love for this new family member. Then the puppy urinates on the floor. The owner does not stop loving the puppy, but needs to modify the behavior through training and education.
Critical views
Some secular authors make a distinction between unconditional love and conditional love. In conditional love: love is 'earned' on the basis of conscious or unconscious conditions being met by the lover, whereas in unconditional love, love is 'given freely' to the loved one 'no matter what'. Loving first. Conditional love requires some kind of finite exchange, whereas unconditional love is seen as infinite and measureless. Unconditional love should not be mistaken with unconditional dedication: unconditional dedication refers to an act of the will irrespective of feelings (e.g. a person may consider they have a duty to stay with a person); unconditional love is an act of the feelings irrespective of will.


As a level of consciousness
Mario Beauregard of Montreal University used Magnetic Resonance Imaging to study active areas of the brain in people who were most likely to experience unconditional love. Seven areas of the brain became active when these subjects called to mind feelings of unconditional love. Three of these were similar to areas that became active when it came to romantic love. The other four were different, which means that the feeling of love for someone without the need of being rewarded is different from the feeling of romantic love.
Beauregard's study found that some brain areas that turned on when a person felt unconditional love also engaged in discharging dopamine, chemical that plays a role in sensing pleasure.

Christianity 
In Christianity, the term "unconditional love" would be more accurately expressed as Christ's forgiveness. It may also be used to indicate God's love for a person irrespective of that person's love for God. The term is not explicitly used in the Bible and advocates for God's conditional or unconditional love, using different passages or interpretations to support their point of view, are both encountered. It may be considered to be closely associated with another non-explicitly biblical, but commonly encountered saying: "God loves the sinner, but hates the sin".
While the phrase has never been used in its official teachings documents the then head of the Roman Catholic Church,Pope John Paul II was recorded as saying during a homily in San Francisco, in September 1987, that God "loves us all with an unconditional, everlasting love". He explored issues touching upon this theme in his work Dives in Misericordia (1980) in which the parable of the Prodigal Son becomes a framework for exploring the issue of God's mercy. The civil rights leaderMartin Luther King Jr. was quoted as saying “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality”. * Wikipedia *

Einai megalos o Kaimos - Kotsiras

Είναι μεγάλος ο γιαλός
είναι μακρύ το κύμα
είναι μεγάλος ο καημός
κι είναι πικρό το κρίμα

Ποτάμι μέσα μου πικρό
το αίμα της πληγής σου
κι από το αίμα πιο πικρό
στο στόμα το φιλί σου

Δεν ξέρεις τι ναι παγωνιά
βραδιά χωρίς φεγγάρι
να μη γνωρίζεις ποια στιγμή
ο πόνος θα σε πάρει

Ποτάμι μέσα μου πικρό
το αίμα της πληγής σου
κι από το αίμα πιο πικρό
στο στόμα το φιλί σ

Tria levendopaida - Boskopoulos

Petao Petres - Malamas

Στίχοι: Σωκράτης Μάλαμας
Μουσική: Σωκράτης Μάλαμας
Πρώτη εκτέλεση: Σωκράτης Μάλαμας

Πετάω πέτρες στο γυαλό κι αυτές γυρίζουν πίσω
όλα τα λόγια που 'χω πεί πρέπει να τ' αγαπήσω
κι ας ήταν όλα ψέματα κι ανόητα μπερδέματα
ποιός θα το βρεί να μου το πεί;

Περνάνε σκέψεις στο μυαλό σ' ένα δωμάτιο κλειστό
μιά στη λαχτάρα που αγαπώ στην ταραχή που βλαστημώ
και τον χαμένο μου καιρό να ξεγελάσω δεν μπορώ

Πετάω πέτρες στο γυαλό κι αυτές γυρίζουν πίσω
όλα τα λάθη που έκανα πρέπει να τα μετρήσω
κι αν ήταν όλα σφάλματα, σάλτα, ανώφελα άλματα
ποιός θα το βρεί να μου το πει

How to make Greek Coffee

Greek coffee is a strong brew, served with foam on top and the grounds in the bottom of the cup. Although it can be made in a different pot, the traditional small pot (shown in photo) is best because it allows the proper amount of foam, which adds to the unique taste. (Text-only instructions.)

What You Need to Make Greek Coffee:

Greek coffee
Sugar (if used)
A briki (μπρίκι, pronounced BREE-kee)
Demitasse cups
Cold water
Water glasses
The pot used for making Greek coffee is called a briki. It comes in 2, 4, and 6 demitasse cup sizes that help create the right amount of foam ... a very important part of the process. If you plan to make coffee for more than 6 people, I suggest you do it in stages, making more than one pot.

Start with very cold water. Use the demitasse cup to measure the water needed for each cup of coffee (one demitasse cup of water is about 1/4 cup), and pour the water into the briki.
Greek coffee is brewed to taste, and there are four standard types, varying by sweetness and amount of coffee. Experimenting will help you find the exact brew for you.

For unsweetened coffee: Add one heaping teaspoon of coffee to the briki. In Greek, this is called sketos (σκέτος, pronounced SKEH-tohss).

For medium-sweet coffee: Add 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 heaping teaspoon of coffee to the briki and stir. In Greek, this is called metrios (μέτριος, pronounced MEHT-ree-ohss).

For sweet coffee: Add 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 heaping teaspoon of coffee to the briki and stir. In Greek, this is called glykos (γλυκός, pronounced ghlee-KOHSS).

For extra-strong sweet coffee: Add 3 teaspoons of sugar and 2 heaping teaspoons of coffee to the briki and stir. In Greek, this is called vary glykos (βαρύ γλυκός, pronounced vah-REE ghlee-KOHSS).
Turn on the heat (medium low), stir the coffee until it dissolves, and don't stir again. Heat slowly. Foam will start to rise in the briki before it boils.

Note: This foam is called kaïmaki (καϊμάκι, pronounced kaee-MAH-kee) and the richer the foam, the better Greeks like it.

When the foam rises to the top of the briki (it can move very quickly once it starts), remove from heat and serve. Evenly divide the foam among all cups, then fill cups with the remainder of the coffee, taking care not to disturb the foam.

Serve piping hot with a glass of cold water for each person and, if desired, homemade cookies or sweet biscuits.

This coffee is sipped, often loudly, quite slowly. One cup of coffee often lasts a few hours, however recently, Greek coffee has become popular with the younger set who order "doubles" and often add milk.
http://greekfood.about.com/od/mezethesdrinks/ss/htgreekcoffee.htm

Auto pou leei h kardiamou - Theodoridou 2012

Alexander the Great Exhibition exclusive to Sydney

ALEXANDER THE GREAT EXHIBITION EXCLUSIVE TO SYDNEY
Sydney secures blockbuster exhibition ‘
Alexander the Great: 2000 Years of Treasures’Blockbuster exhibitionAlexander the Great: 2000 Years of Treasures, has been secured exclusively for Sydney at the Australian Museum from November 2012 with the support of NSW Government through Destination NSW.Alexander the Great: 2000 Years of Treasures
Destination NSW CEO, Sandra Chiphase said you don’t need to travel to Italy, Egypt or Greece for the world’s best historical exhibits – you can experience them right here in Australia's only global city – Sydney.
"Alexander the Great created one of the largest empires of the ancient world by the time he was 30 years old, and remains one of history's most important figures.
"His accomplishments and influence on culture, religion and military strategy changed the world, and the exhibition will offer a unique and fascinating insight into those achievements.
"The exhibition will feature over 400 priceless objects, spanning more than 2000 years – many seen in Australia for the first time, and all exclusive to Sydney," she said.is the largest collection from the acclaimed State Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg ever to tour Australia.Alexander the Great: 2000 Years of Treasures

www.greekcity.com.au
http://www.hackneys.com/alex_web/alexfram.htm 
http://www.epilogue.net/cgi/database/art/view.pl?id=82346

Kamaki with a purpose lol

Greek Tragedy becomes a Greek Comedy waiting to happen

On watchfulness and Holiness

On Watchfulness and Holiness 

Written for Theodolous

Watchfulness is a spiritual method which, if sedulously practised over a long period, completely frees us with God's help from impassioned thoughts, impassioned words and evil actions.  It leads, in so far as this is possible, to a sure knowledge of the inapprehensible God, and helps us to penetrate the divine and hidden mysteries.  It enables us to fulfil every divine commandment in the Old and New Testaments and bestows upon us every blessing of the age to come.  It is in the true sense, purity of heart, a state blessed by Christ when he says: 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God' (Matt 5:8); and one which because of it's spiritual nobility and beauty-- or rather because of our negligence-- is now extremely rare among monks. Because this is its nature, watchfulness is to be brought only at a great price.  But once established in us, it guides us to a true and holy way of life.  It teaches us how to activate the three aspects of our soul correctly, and how to keep a firm guard over the senses.  It promotes the daily growth of the four principal virtues, and is the basis of our contemplation. 

From the Philokalia: 

The Philokalia is a collection of texts written between the fourth and the fifteenth centuries by spiritual masters of the Orthodox Christian tradition.  It was compiled in the eighteenth century by two Greek monks, St Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain of Athos (1749-1809) and St Makarios of Corinth (1731-1805) . . . .(Introduction)

The primary value of these texts is that many of them provide personal accounts from monks who lived as ascetics in seclusion in the desert and got to know themselves very well.  Many of the texts give very practical instruction as to what one can expect to come up against after long and sedulously practised 'self observation' -- watchfulness.

The Philokalia helped give Gurdjieff valuable ideas about how to order one's inner life in order to observe it, and that by observing one's inner life (in an orderly way), it becomes more ordered.

As my teacher so beautifully said, turning on a light (the light of consciousness) to illuminate a messy room, (your psyche) does not in and of itself clean up the mess.  But that now you can see the mess.  

Much of the Philokalia must be read in as much cultural context as you can possibly imagine for the times.  The body is seen as being something of an enemy to the soul, when we now understand that the body and soul are intimately interwoven throughout our life on earth.  I haven't come across any women I can recollect in the Philokalia, they seem nonexistent and I wouldn't be surprised if they do surface (there are five volumes and I haven't read them all) I'd imagine it's in the form of some sort of  temptress.  Grain of salt time, but there are gems.  

As with everything my advice is to trust what resonates.  The above passage resonates for me.  I've emboldened the bits I have found to be true, if not as a crystallised state within me then certainly as a temporal experiential one.

There is no end point with self-observation.  You never 'succeed' at it.  You never finish. 

There are very, very, few texts in the world that describe self-observation and accurately describe what arises from it and how to deal with what comes up.  Parts of the Philokalia do.  

When it comes to Christianity I ascribe to the Gurdjieffan view/truth, that we can only strive to become Christians.  There is a major difference between Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Western Christianity in their major themes.  The Western Christian theme is one of salvation.  That we will be 'saved' by accepting Christ, whereas the Eastern Orthodox platform is one of deification. That we should strive to become more like the Divine.  Two quite different approaches. http://linkusblesstheweather.blogspot.com/