Did you know? November 28, 2006
Posted by grhomeboy in Culture History Mythology.comments closed
What role did Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love, play in classical Greece that is not played today?
The classical mythology served the people well at the time. We don’t have the symbols, but there’s a raising of love consciousness, a raising of our thinking, our awareness that love exists everywhere, that love is good in all it’s forms when it’s expressed.
Holiday Cheers and Winter Beers November 28, 2006
Posted by grhomeboy in Wine And Spirits.comments closed
The roots of brewing special winter and holiday beers trace back to the mythologies of Greece and Rome.
The pagan celebrations of the winter solstice marked the return of light to the world, and triumphant ale was brewed to mark the occasion. In the Middle Ages, monasteries encouraged the brewing of special beers for special occasions, particularly Christmas.
Today, these “winter warmers” ward off the chill of winter and warm both the palate and soul. Complex in aroma and flavor, these heavier beers are big in body and high in alcohol.
Thanks to an extra dose of malt, most of these beers are rich and bold, with chocolate, caramel or coffee flavors; others benefit from the addition of herbs, spices, and fruit.
There are literally hundreds of holiday beers available on the market.
Tis the season for the Holiday Ale Festival, a joyous winter tradition at which to celebrate the most wonderful time, and beer, of the year. The 11th annual event will take place November 30 through December 3 at Pioneer Courthouse Square.
Related Links > http://www.holidayale.com
Music > Sakis Rouvas November 28, 2006
Posted by grhomeboy in Gay Life, Music Life Greek.comments closed
Ah, darlings! It’s been too long!
To make up for our time away, here are some pictures of Greek Singer Sakis Rouvas. We’ve never heard any of his music, but apparently he’s the bee’s knees. Teenage girls certainly love him, and we’re sort of like teenage girls.
People thought he was gay for years, until Rouvas finally broke the silence after an interviewer assumed he was of the homo-variety. Rouvas peevishly insisted he likes the ladies and within a few months started appearing with more girlfriends. Interesting, no?
Like so many other pop stars, Rouvas hopes to break into acting. While he has yet to land the starring role, he has dubbed English cartoons into Greek. Hey, it’s a start…
Keep shooting for the stars, Sakis! And we’ll keep shooting for you.
Well, follow this link to get to Sakis’ pictures!
Greek Pop-Star Makes Us Pop As Far As The Stars
Athens backs Nicosia after EU deadlock November 28, 2006
Posted by grhomeboy in Cyprus Occupied.comments closed
Cyprus says Turkey to blame
Athens yesterday expressed its support for Nicosia following the failure of a proposal by European Union president Finland aimed at averting a crisis with candidate state Turkey over a dispute with Cyprus.
«The reaction by the Cypriot government to the EU presidency’s initiative was positive and extremely constructive as regards an issue which is a clear obligation of Turkey’s» Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannis Valinakis said on the sidelines of a meeting of EU-Mediterranean foreign ministers in the Finnish town of Tampere. Valinakis was referring to Turkey’s obligation, as an EU candidate state, to open its air and sea ports to Cyprus.
As for Athens’s stance on the breakdown of the EU initiative, Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said this was being formulated. «We are giving serious consideration to the nature of our response» Bakoyannis said following a session of the national foreign policy council in Athens.
Meanwhile government sources said it was very unlikely that Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan would meet on the sidelines of a NATO summit beginning in the Latvian capital of Riga today. «Following the resounding failure of the meeting between the Cypriot and Turkish foreign ministers there is no interest, on Greece’s side, for a meeting on the prime-ministerial level» sources said.
Nicosia yesterday said Ankara’s «negative stance» was to blame for the failure of Finnish efforts to resolve a stalemate between EU candidate state Turkey and existing member state Cyprus.
«Unfortunately, despite our good will and well-intentioned efforts the Finnish presidency was unable to reach an agreement because, as with every agreement, it requires good will from all parties involved» Cypriot Foreign Minister Giorgos Lillikas said in a written statement.
Turkey refuses to open its ports to Cyprus until the EU eases the economic isolation of the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus.
Finland’s proposal foresees Turkey partially opening its ports in exchange for direct trade between the EU and the north of Cyprus.
Top indie scene acts play Athens shows this week November 28, 2006
Posted by grhomeboy in Music Life Live Gigs.comments closed
Kaiser Chiefs, Archive set for gigs
Archive perform a free show in Athens this Thursday at the Fnac entertainment outlet’s in-house venue, the Forum, to celebrate the French chain’s first year of operations in Greece. The show, unplugged, starts at 7 p.m.
Archive and the Kaiser Chiefs, two indie-scene acts that have amassed a considerable following over recent years, will be performing shows in Athens over the next few days. Archive, currently nearing the end of an extensive European tour, will perform an unplugged free show this Thursday at 7 p.m. celebrating French retail outlet Fnac’s first year of operations in Greece, at its in-house venue, the Forum.
Kaiser Chiefs, a more recent act that exploded onto the scene with its pogo-inducing sound and rhythms, have been booked for three shows in Greece, the first in Thessaloniki this Thursday at the Principal Club Theater, followed by two nights at the Gagarin club in Athens on Friday and Saturday. The shows will close the band’s current tour.
The style of Archive’s work has varied considerably from album to album since the band’s arrival in the late 1990s, with various collaborators joining the act’s founders and core duo, Darius Keeler and Danny Griffiths, for the needs of each project. Archive’s albums to date have stretched from more modern-sounding trip-hop material to old-school progressive rock.
After releasing several singles on their own label since meeting in 1990, Keeler and Griffiths signed with the Island label in 1994 before releasing their debut album “Londinium” three years later. The pair then briefly split and reformed for a second album in 1999 titled “Take My Head”. Archive released their latest album last month, “Lights” a subtle mix of hypnotic, intense and sensual work that follows the album “Noise” released two years ago.
The far more recent Kaiser Chiefs have made a quick and enormous impact since surfacing in 2004 with the single “I Predict a Riot”, a track that resurrected the mod spirit of the Jam. That exhilarating song and the band’s frantic shows quickly gave the Kaiser Chiefs a place among the UK’s most promising newer arrivals.
The Kaiser Chiefs, a quintet comprising singer Ricky Wilson, guitarist Andrew White, bassist Simon Rix, keyboardist Nick Baines, and drummer Nick Hodgson, have since enjoyed runaway commercial success with their debut album “Employment” now touted as having sold some 5 million copies worldwide.
Their debut album, which includes a string of hits, among them “I Predict a Riot”, “Every Day I Love You Less and Less”, “Oh My God” and “Saturday Night”. These songs have been featured on radio and club playlists for well over a year now and the album remains one of the UK’s best-selling records two years after its release.
Based in Leeds, the band took its name from former Leeds United soccer star and captain Lucas Radebe’s previous club in South Africa. The upcoming visit is the band’s first to Greece. The quintet is considered one of the contemporary scene’s fieriest performers on stage.
The Kaiser Chiefs’ three Greek dates, their last of the current tour, come not long before the act’s forthcoming follow-up album, slated for a release early next year, perhaps in February. Besides presenting material off their big-selling debut album, the Kaiser Chiefs are also expected to play new songs from their imminent new album.
Greek Judo star and 2004 Olympic champ strikes gold again November 28, 2006
Posted by grhomeboy in Martial Arts.comments closed
Ilias Iliadis wins top medal in Moscow to herald promise ahead of Beijing in 2008
Ilias Iliadis defeated Lithuanian Egidijus Zilinskas in the final at the European Championships in Moscow to win the gold medal in the 100-kilogram category at Under-23 level. The European judo competition was the athlete’s first appearance in this weight-related division.
Athens Olympics gold medalist Ilias Iliadis has made an impact again, this time at the European Judo Championships in Moscow, where the athlete won gold in the 100-kilogram category at Under-23 level last weekend.
The Greek athlete defeated Lithuanian Egidijus Zilinskas in the final for his gold medal.
“Ilias Iliadis was amazing throughout the competition. He’s gradually finding his rhythm ahead of the 2008 Olympics, and, overall, has enjoyed a good post, Athens Olympics period with a considerable number of noteworthy distinctions,” said Vangelis Soufleris, the Greek Judo Federation’s chief, who awarded Iliadis his gold medal at the Moscow event. “Generally speaking, I’m satisfied by the young athletes and team’s performance in general. Once again, Greek judo has confirmed both its arrival and a strong future,” Soufleris added.
Iliadis had first emerged in the under-17 level with his career’s first gold medal in major international competition and has since remained a leading performer despite his gradual rise in the sport’s weight-related divisions.
The athlete, a nationalized Greek hailing from the former Soviet Union, has since accumulated eight medals, six gold, one silver, one bronze, at various major events with the gold medal at the Athens Olympics ranking as Iliadis’s career highlight to date.
For his latest gold medal, Iliadis won three bouts in preliminary competition against Andrew Burns of the United Kingdom, German Benjamin Behrla, and Russian Askhab Kostoev before overcoming his Lithuanian opponent Zilinskas in the final.
Competing in the 90-kilogram category, Leonidas Iliadis ended ninth following two defeats. In women’s competition, Anastassia Drossopoulou, who competed in the 70-kilogram category, was eliminated in the second round of competition by Belgian opponent Jennifer Arq. Elpida Aslanidou, who fought in the 78-kilogram category, was ousted from the competition in the preliminary rounds by British athlete Gemma Gibbons.
Greek company invests in solar power project November 28, 2006
Posted by grhomeboy in Business & Economy, Energy.comments closed
Two companies formed a joint venture to manufacture and distribute Pyron Solar systems in Greece and the Middle East. The agreement includes the initial sale of nearly 1 megawatt (MW) of systems from Pyron Solar to Lion Energy for delivery in 2007.
As the new systems are brought online in 2007, the joint venture intends to establish manufacturing capabilities for elements of Pyron Solar systems in Greece.
Lion Energy will purchase entire systems from Pyron Solar to develop utility scale solar farms. The integration of the Boeing-Spectrolab multifunction solar cell will continue to occur at the Pyron facilities in San Diego, California.
The Greek energy market is supported by a new renewable energy law that provides a feed-in tariff guaranteed to increase in line with electricity prices over 20 years, and grants for up to 45% of system costs.
Related Links > http://www.lionhellas.com and http://www.pyronsolar.com
HomeboyMediaNews 