Have a fun and safe NYE

The hubby and I are going to set off for our New Year's celebration shortly. I hope everyone has a fun and safe (hmm, is it possible to be safe AND have fun??) evening, and I'll see y'all in 2006 (seriously, we are living in the FUTURE for god's sake, and I lived in a time when the future was 1984, but 2006? that is just CRAZY).

Oh, and everyone enjoy that extra second of 2005. Because it was such a fun year world 'round, we all just have to endure an extra second of it.

Propaganda regression

The biggest news story in Greece this weekend is the escape of two convicts who managed to break free from their transport vehicle yesterday, killing two policemen in the process. The saddest part of the story is the death of the two policemen - one who had two children and the other the father of one child. Christmas and New Year's will never be the same for these three children again thanks to a murderous Russian who felt he shouldn't be held responsible for his crimes. This, my friends, is one of the reasons I am in support of capital punishment (I know, I know, but that is a discussion for another time).

There were three prisoners being transported - two Albanians and the Russian. The Russian confessed to killing and robbing a woman in Corfu in October. The Russian is responsible for killing the policemen, and while one of the Albanians chose to escape, the other one decided he didn't want any part of the whole business. It was probably the smart decision, because at least he has a chance of living life as a free man again, while the other two, if caught, won't stand much of a chance.

Upon hearing the story I realized I regressed to my childhood fear of "the Russians". When I was growing up, the Soviet Union was still America's great enemy. The government, the media, even my teachers pounded into our heads that Russians were bad, were evil. They didn't think like us, they did bad things - and should we ever come across a Russian, the idea was to get the hell away (ok, so that was how I perceived it as a child, but still). Of course, now Russia is our "friend", with its sexy leader (there was a song about him, I don't think he is sexy), and its wonderful pipelines. Still, I can't help but continue to picture the Russia of my youth, the mean looking leaders, the repressive KGB, the bread lines. I have a hard time remembering that Kiev and Minsk are no longer Russian cities. Hell, I still refer to places that no longer exist, like Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. Obviously, my brain is frozen in time in a geography class from 1979.

So here were are, with a delusional, psychopathic Russian on the loose in Greece. Now, I figure if he had any brains at all he would be trying to cross the border and not staying in Greece, but he could still be wandering around here somewhere. If I should come across him, I am likely to start jumping up and down, shrieking "its a communist!! its a communist!" followed by a frothy spitting and shouting "die, commie, die!" Hey, I'm not proud of it, but the hatred of the USSR was so ingrained in my psyche as a child, I can't help it. Show me a smiling, friendly Russian and I'm ok, but face to face with a demonic Russian all that childhood propaganda comes screaming back.

At any rate, I hope they do catch both prisoners, and I hope no other lives are lost in the process. My thoughts go out to the families of the officers who were slain, and I hope they find the strength to live on and find some happiness in their lives in the future.

Is it Spring already?

Or should we be running from global warming? It has been decidedly spring-like here the past few days, with temperatures in the mid 50's. Yet the rest of Europe has been suffering bitter cold temperatures and snow.

While I enjoy the pleasant temperatures (and the money saving that comes from not using heat), it always makes me worry that the worst is yet to come, especially with the rest of Europe so damn cold. Overall it has been quite mild here for December, we haven't even broken out our feather comforter!

Selective hearing

My husband went to a satellite store to get all the cables need for his latest project. I asked him to get a 10 metre antenna cable (or whatever the hell you call it) so we can connect the satellite box to the TV in the bedroom.

He came back from the store and tested the cable.

HUBBY: It isn't long enough.

ME: Is it ten metres?

HUBBY: It is eight, or something.

ME: I told you we needed ten metres.

HUBBY: I don't think ten would be long enough.

ME: Well that is beside the point isn't it, you didn't get ten. But ten would be long enough. Why didn't you have the guy make you a ten metre cable?

HUBBY: Uh, he already had this one cut. It was only a couple of euros, it doesn't matter.

ME: Yea, but now we still don't have a long enough cable.

The dog whisperers

Apparently, the old stereotype of the dog attacking the mailman is quite common in Germany. It seems that postal workerss there have been getting trained on dog psychology and how to handle dogs.

Among other things, the seminars include theoretical and practical advice on how to psychoanalyse the four-legged creatures, as well as ways to collaborate with and handle dogs. At the same time, they explain why it is not possible to cycle faster than a dog and they also demonstrate how to hand the mail to a person who is walking their dog without being bitten.

I wonder how many postmen try to cycle away from angry dogs? Do people really have to learn you can't do that? At any rate, I suppose my question is, why can't people learn how to control their own damn dogs? Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, but vicious behavior against the postman or any other person walking down the street is really not acceptable. It seems the Germans should make laws about controlling their dogs, instead of forcing their postmen to learn how to understand dogs better.

2005: the year in music

Well, there were a lot of good releases in 2005. I won't spend a lot of time going over them, as there are probably a lot of good albums I was not aware of, so no doubt I have missed some that might have been of great interest to me.

Chances are, if we were listening to music this year, it was one of the following:

Coldplay - X&Y
They keep knockin' 'em outta the ballpark. Another great album, beautiful melodies, sonorous harmonies. I don't like their egos, but I sure dig the music.

Tracy Chapman - Where You Live
This one was highly anticipated. Honestly, on the first listen we didn't take much of a shine to it. But it sure did grow on us. She continues to be a wonderful lyricist.

Chemical Brothers - Push the Button
Well, I've never been what you might call a Chemical Brothers fan, although it seems I've always taken a shine to a song or two. This album, though, is a real keeper. From the Middle Eastern twang of Galvanize to the techno Believe, this album emits a variety of sounds and feelings.

Kate Bush - Aerial
What a surprise! I had no idea she had a new album coming out, until it was out. And what classic Kate it is. She is channelling spirits from the Hounds of Love days.

Moby - Hotel
I'm not proud of my enjoyment of Moby's music, but I can't help it. Although with this album, it is the first CD that is the good one, the second CD I can live without. It has the right amount of pep to make it good driving music, and the right amount of soothing rhythms to keep you calm while driving. You can't beat that.

Jamiroquoi - Dynamite
Well, I used to hate (and regularly make fun of my husband for liking it) Jamiroquoi, but this album got to me. It keeps ya movin'.

The Prodigy - Their Law: Singles 1990 - 2005
All I can say is it was about damn time.

Enya - Amarantine
Another surprise release. While the album is pretty much the same old Enya, it is still beautiful. And the new language she invented with her lyricist is pretty cool, if a bit geeky.

Sigur Ros - Takk
This one almost came in outside of my radar. I've enjoyed their music, but never thought about getting an album before. I caught the first single off this album and had to have it. It is a really wonderful album, very ambient, a little sad, but not overly melancholy. AND they are going to be playing at the Ryman in Nashville on February 14th. Now how come bands like this didn't come to Nashvegas when I was living there?!?

Heaven help me

My husband has decided to start the whole hooking up the surround sound system project. I predict that we won't have video or audio working on any of our devices by the time he is finished.

Christmas holidays in Greece (to be repeated every year)

Christmas Eve party at Aunt Tassoula's. Drink the weird blue alcoholic beverage that magically turns your poop green. Pretend to ignore the sauna that is a well heated apartment filled to the gills with twenty bodies. (ah, but hubby and I were sick this year, couldn't make it)

Christmas Day dinner at the in-laws. Try to be sure to not eat some weird, unknown meat type (goat, rooster) that parades in the form of a well known meat form (chicken, pork). Enjoy my MIL's cooking, but miss my mother's succulent ham and homemade rolls. Listen to my father-in-law tell all manner of jokes (in Greek) to exploding laughter. Listen to my husband translate the jokes, which turn out to be not that funny.

Boxing Day dinner at the in-laws, with a different set of family. Repeat of the day before. Sit around with the "children" of the family (now almost all adults) and try to blow out a candle from a great distance. "Ooh" and "aah" when someone succeeds. Rent a movie so everyone can fall asleep watching it.

Talk to my parents who are enjoying Christmas with both of my brothers, their wives, and my niece. Listen while they all try to talk at once on the speakerphone. Feel a bit sad that after all of these years, with all of us being apart, they are finally at a point where they can all be together for the holidays and I am thousands of miles away.

Be thankful that my new family is as wonderful as my real family, and enjoy the holidays anyway.

Kyoto no go?

We all know that the U.S. did not elect to sign the Kyoto Protocol, a UN agreement to decrease the emissions of six greenhouse gases. Unfortunately, though, of the EU countries that are participating in the protocol, only the UK and Sweden are on target to meet the required decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. Out of 15 European countries that signed the protocol, 10 will fall short of their agreement unless they take immediate action. France, Germany and Greece (but of course) are among the countries in the latter category.

Which brings me to the question: why sign the protocol if you don't take the appropriate measures to follow through? The world has berated the U.S. for not participating (and rightly so), but what good does signing do if you fail to meet the requirements in the end?

Christmas porn?

My husband and I are not opposed to porn, but when it comes to a movie entitled Santa's Sluts and features girls going down on Santa Claus, we have to draw the line.

Holy sacrilege Batman!

I am not a religious person, but the theft of the Nun Bun from my old Nashville haunt Bongo Java is beyond blasphemous.

Metro’s police report on the theft estimated the bun’s value at $25. It said the “Mother Theresa Cinnamon Bun” was the only item taken. As stolen goods, the bun was classified in property category No. 77, for “other.”

Sure, the tangible value might be only $25 (really? that much?) but its spiritual value is off the charts.

Not to mention the fact that it made the front page of The Tennessean. I suppose that is a good thing, though. At least no one was maimed or otherwise injured, no tsunami stories, no war stories, nothing that involves people. But the Nun Bun, stolen!

What is the world coming to, people?!?

EDIT: And it is slowly making international headlines.

Καλά Χριστούγεννα!

Χρόνια Πολλά!

We had a beautiful Christmas with my husband's family, as usual my mother-in-law fixed a fantastic meal. Not having turkey and stuffing or ham for Christmas dinner still takes some getting used to, but I'm getting there.

Round two tomorrow, with more family and more of my MIL's terrific cooking.

Reason #2,567 why my husband and I shouldn't have kids (or be around any for long periods of time)

ME: Honey, looks like they got some great shots of the rings around Uranus. *snicker*

HUBBY: Hmmm. Mmmm? (still absorbed in his own web surfing)

ME: See, look. And it seems they found two new moons, bringing the total number of satellites in orbit around Uranus to 27. *snort* *giggle*

HUBBY: Oh, uh-huh. (still somewhat absorbed)

ME: Did you know that many moons of Uranus are named after Shakespearean characters. *laugh* *laugh*

HUBBY: *chuckle* *laugh* Really? You know you are being really mature.

ME: *giggle* Shut up. *laugh* Oh, oh, wait til *laugh* you *laugh* hear this one! *laughing.so.hard.can't.talk* No one thought this region of Uranus was very interesting. *uncontrollable laughter* *cough* *choke* *laugh*

HUBBY: *uncontrollable laughter* Are you ok?


Ok, for those of you who have a maturity level above the age of 5, or aren't familiar with the English spelling/sometimes pronunciation of the planet: growing up, I always heard the planet pronounced something that sounds like "your anus". This was a source of great enjoyment to kids and some adults. In the last several years, however, I have heard it pronounced more like "your an us". I am sure there are other prononciations out there.

As an additional proof of my total insipidness, I keep a straight face when someone talks about "duty" or "duties", yet I can remain perfectly calm if someone is talking about actual doody. Oh, who am I kidding. It's all a hoot.


DISCLAIMER: This is in no way insinuating that I am not a major proponent of astronomy, or that I find that particular field of science amusing. I am actually quite fond of it, after all, I used to want to be Carl Sagan.

Dense

I just spent the last five minutes trying to put the water bottle cap on the juice bottle, thinking to myself the whole time "now why won't this damn thing go on???"

I'm starting to understand why my husband calls me a scatterbrain.

Ah, Christmas

One of the best things about Christmas in the city is I can put laundry on the line at night and gaze happily at all the balconies decked with lights and decorations. I still wonder, though, how they plug stuff in outside. I have never seen an outside outlet here (I hardly see inside outlets, for that matter). Do they run a hole in the wall to the inside or something? Under the door? Crazy, but I'm jealous.

One of the worst things about Christmas is when all the decorations go away.

Ode to a Grecian Doc

For the last week and a half I have been suffering from some sort of illness. It is a physical ailment (not mental, although I suppose that is questionable) that consists solely of an obscenely violent cough. No runny nose, no fever, no aches and pains (well, aside from the ones that have occurred from coughing non stop for a week and a half) - nothing that would signal a cold or some other type of sickness. I have been known to have an asthmatic cough now and then, but this seemed to be more than that, especially considering I'm using inhalers. I have deemed the illness the cough from hell, and while I can enjoy some sort of relief during the day, medical reality has proven that sleeping with the cough from is damn near impossible (something about lying down, or something). So every night for the past week and a half I have spent six or seven hours coughing for ten minutes straight every few minutes, only to finally fall asleep from sheer exhaustion at 6am.

Remarkably, this constant cough has only had the power to wake my husband twice. No, my husband can sleep soundly next to me while I cough violently practically in his ear, all the while flailing about like a shark attack victim. His only response is usually to snore louder, and how he can manage a snore to override my high decibel cough is beyond me. I suppose my constant suffering bores him, or he just doesn't appreciate not being the loudest person in the apartment.
It is comforting to know that I could be thrashing about, only to fall dead, and have him realize it by finding my already decaying corpse when he wakes up. Still, for all the lack of control I've had over the cough, I am quite glad it hasn't disturbed him, since he like, works for a living and all.

But last night was the worst. My husband decided to prescribe an antibiotic for me since the cough wasn't really improving and it seemed it might be an infection. Now, I have been known to be allergic to every antibiotic given to man. In my childhood, my doctors would just keep giving me antibiotics and I would just end up deathly allergic to every single one (thanks to those that lengthened an already too long hospital stay). We had finally discovered one that I seemed to tolerate, and that is the one my husband gave me. I did not have a lot of coughing overnight, but around 4am I noticed that I was having some difficulty breathing. Everytime I fell asleep, I would awaken abruptly after a few minutes in some sort of weird respiratory distress. I had experienced similar things due to the asthma, so I figured that was it. When my husband woke up he checked me for other signs of an allergy and found none, so I took my 7am antibiotic and tried to go back to sleep.

No deal, in fact, the breathing difficulties got much worse around 9am, I fell asleep and awoke abruptly, coughing and choking and really hoping this was not the way I was going to die. I called my husband a bit panicked, and since he couldn't get away from the hospital, he sent his mom over to me. She gave me a shot of cortisone, represcribed ALL my medications (after a bit of an argument with my husband over his choices), sat with me for a bit to make sure I was ok, instructed me to sit up for a bit while my breathing was still in distress and said she'd call to check up on me in an hour. Luckily, my husband was able to come home by then, so she didn't have to feel burdened to come back over (although I know she wouldn't consider it a burden).

I'm still a little shaky over the whole incident, but this afternoon I had a couple of hours of breathe-free, cough-free sleep (well, breathe problem free, that is, I did not suddenly become a zombie). But sometimes I am so grateful to have doctors in the family. Although, come to think of it, if my husband, the doctor, hadn't given me the antibiotic in the first place maybe this wouldn't have happened. Hmm, maybe there is some sort of global doctor conspiracy at play here...

Happy Winter Solstice

Today marks the longest night of the year. Enjoy the extra darkness, cuddle with a loved one, and get ready for winter.

How about irony?

The Merriam-Webster #1 word of 2005:

integrity

About the only place you'll find that word in the annals of 2005 is in the dictionary.

For the rest of the top 10, click here.

Meme about me, from hobbes

It's an about me meme, which I don't normally do, because I feel like if you read my blog on a regular basis, you kinda have an idea about me already. If you want to do it yourself, do it, I've noticed a few people have done it already, anyway.

What time did you get up this morning?
Morning? Are you kidding me?

Diamonds or pearls?
Neither. Ok if I had to choose, diamonds I guess, as long as they were understated.

What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

What is your favourite TV show?
Current shows would be House and My Name is Earl. Favorite shows of all time? Hmm. It is so hard to pick. From the first season of Twin Peaks to X-Files to Friends to Seinfeld. Impossible to choose.

What do you usually have for breakfast?
Coffee or nothing.

Favourite cuisine?
Italian

What food do you dislike?
Brussel sprouts and liver. Also anything with cooked carrots in it.

What is your favourite CD at the moment?
Hmm, either Kate Bush’s Aerial or Coldplay’s X&Y

Morning or night person?
Night, all the way.

Favourite sandwich?
Cheese and tomato with mustard and mayo, toasted.

What characteristic do you despise?
Stupidity.

Favourite item of clothing?
Meh, not real big on clothes. I guess my big black sweater.

If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would it be?
Back to Italy I think, or maybe Germany. Or Cornwall.

What colour is your bathroom?
Uh, hmm, some kind of light tan tile, or something like that.

Favourite brand of clothing?
Moschino

Where would you retire to?
Litochoro

What was your most memorable birthday?
When I was three, I was all dressed up and sitting at the table, ready for my party. My dad was repairing something on the roof, or something, and fell off. I wouldn’t have my party until my dad was with me.

Favourite sport to watch?
Baseball, although I’m starting to like soccer.

What is your shoe size?
8, I have HUGE feet

Pets?
3 cats, Princeton, Phoebe, and Nala

Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us?
Not really…

What did you want to be when you were little?
I wanted Carl Sagan’s job

What is your favorite flower?
Cannabis sativa. No, seriously, I don't know flower names. I love them all, except for yellow ones.

What date on the calendar are you looking forward to?
December 24^th, because my husband will be off for a week.

One word to describe the person who you snaffled this from?
Funny

Bye bye Barbie

It seems the world has an increasing number of torture proponents these days, as a British study has discovered that most 7-11 year olds prefer to maim, decapitate, and destroy their Barbie dolls rather than play with them.

“When we asked the groups of junior school children about Barbie, the doll provoked rejection, hatred and violence,” said Dr Agnes Nairn from the University of Bath’s School of Management.

You know, this attitude seems a little extreme, doesn't it? I mean it is just a toy. Sure, it is a toy that has totally corrupted generations of little girls into skewed perceptions of physical perfection, but so what? I admit to doing strange things with my Barbie, Skipper, and Ken dolls, but never out of hatred, only out of fun and curiosity. I freqently let them fall down the elevator shaft of their Barbie townhouse and pretended a time or two that one of them got stuck in the escalator of the fashion plaza, but I also let them have orgies and put them in very strange sexual positions that would be deemed impossible by any human save for a contortionist.

“Of all of the products we asked the children to describe as ‘cool’ or ‘not cool’, Barbie aroused the most complex and violent emotions,” said Dr Nairn.

“The girls we spoke to see Barbie torture as a legitimate play activity, and see the torture as a ‘cool’ activity in contrast to other forms of play with the doll.

“The types of mutilation are varied and creative, and range from removing the hair to decapitation, burning, breaking and even microwaving.”

Of course, I can't say whether or not I would have tried the microwave thing, because such contraptions did not exist when I was a child. But I pretty much steered clear of any activity that would have destroyed the dolls, because, well, I'm not stupid.

Exploring the reasons behind the hatred and violence, the researchers teased out a variety of explanations rooted in the rich symbolism of Barbie. Analysis of the children’s comments indicate that Barbie is hated because she is ‘babyish’, ‘unfashionable’, ‘plastic’, has multiple selves and because she is a feminine icon.

“The most readily expressed reason for rejecting Barbie was that she was babyish, and girls saw her as representing their younger childhood out of which they felt they had now grown,” said Dr Nairn.

“It’s as though disavowing Barbie is a rite of passage and a rejection of their past.”

Similar attitudes were expressed to Action Man, but at the same time boys expressed feelings of affection and nostalgia to the toy which were totally absent from discussions of Barbie.

Seriously, isn't this a little much? Since when do 7-11 year olds psychoanalyze their attachment to a toy and what it means? If I was tired of a toy, or grew out of it, it simply went into a box in the attic or in the trash. I never found a need to actually belittle the toy, for god's sake. Even the boys in this scenario are less scary, which leads me to wonder, what happened to the sugar and spice and everything nice that made up the composition of little girls?

One interpretation of this finding may be that whilst Barbie masquerades as a person – she actually exists in multiple ‘selves’ with different dolls and guises.

“The children never talked of one single, special Barbie. She was always referred to in the plural,” said Dr Nairn.

“The girls almost always talked about having a box full of Barbies. So, to them, Barbie has come to symbolise excess. Barbies are not special, they are disposable, and are thrown away and rejected.

“On a deeper level, Barbie has become inanimate. She has lost any individual warmth that she might have possessed if she were perceived as a singular person, becoming an ‘it’ rather than a ‘she’.

“This may go someway towards explaining the violence and torture.

“Whilst for an adult the delight the child felt in breaking, mutilating and torturing their dolls is deeply disturbing, from the child’s point of view they were simply being imaginative in disposing of an excessive commodity in the same way as one might crush cans for recycling.”

Whoa there, doggy. Now I really think they are giving these kids too much credit. However, it might be more difficult for me to judge this particular phenomenon, because in my time we had one Barbie, one Ken, one Skipper. You could turn Barbie into different things with clothing, but you didn't have multiple Barbies.

“The children were quite happy to admit that they routinely bought products simply because they were advertised on TV or marketed through their own TV show, but they also had a negative reaction to advertising and marketing targeted directly at them,” said Dr Nairn.

Disillusionment with the product quality was often expressed in terms of value for money - children were angry about being ripped off.

“They understand that children’s products go in and out of fashion quickly and they think marketers exploit this by not only over-marketing but also by over-charging,” said Dr Nairn.

“Children reacted very negatively to companies which they felt ‘tried too hard’; to market a product to them. They felt marketing was a cover-up for a poor product.”

Geez. You know, I never gave that much thought to commercials, so maybe I was an idiot child. If the product looked cool or interesting, I wanted it. If it didn't, I didn't try to analyze the intent of the marketing.

Which leads me to something I've constantly wondered over the past few years - are kids growing up too fast, learning too much about the ins and outs of life at too young an age? Are kids going to grow up to be more cynical and distant because of these things? Yea, ok, I was a "normal" kid who was allowed to be a kid and I grew up cynical and distant, but that is different. But really, why do kids need to think about advertising? What has changed in the last 30 years, going from kids who make their dolls have orgies to kids who mutilate their dolls? Are kids perhaps paying too much attention to societal concerns?

All I know is good, harmless fun meant you had dolls to play with another day. But I guess if you have 12 different Barbies, that doesn't matter. Perhaps the parents should be limiting their kids to just one, and then let's see how the kids react in a similar study. In the end I guess they are right, in a way. If you have too much, what you have doesn't mean anything.