tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65197315504165235992024-03-14T04:14:46.489+02:00Εν Αθηναις βιος[living in Athens and its undesired side-effects]Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger247125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-38543660365595703482011-11-25T18:16:00.001+02:002011-11-25T18:16:10.500+02:0087 Euro for a concert!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--lnKOwIWnLA/Ts--g3StvhI/AAAAAAAAGYU/lx_zCqT8npk/s1600/show_image.php.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="95" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--lnKOwIWnLA/Ts--g3StvhI/AAAAAAAAGYU/lx_zCqT8npk/s320/show_image.php.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
In continuation to the previous post (see below), I am posting the letter I directed to TED KURLAND ASSOCIATES, official representatives of Pat Metheny. Up to now there has been no reply from either them or the Greek organizers. I 'll just wait a bit, but in case I am not given any serious -or at least consequential- reasoning for the ticket prices, I am seriously considering printing the Greek letter and distributing it outside the theater on the day of the concert. <br />
<br />
------------------------<br />
<br />
Dear Sir,<br />
<br />
On December 4th, the company "Elliniki Theamaton" organizes a concert by the famous trio of guitarist Pat Metheny (along with Larry Grenadier and Bill Stewart), for whom I believe you act as representative. The "Concert of the year!" by which the organizers have chosen to refer to the aforementioned gig, is to take place at Pallas Theater, Athens and has already broken a European record. The one concerning the price of the tickets!<br />
Tickets, now on sale, have prices that start from 50 and go all the way to 87 Euro! Let me reassure you that this price list, in a country where the average wage is one of the lowest in the EU, having dropped to a mere 730 Euro over the course of this year, is not to be considered excessive but outrageous!<br />
Even more so when one compares directly with the prices of other concerts Pat Metheny Trio have given or are scheduled to give throughout Europe this fall.<br />
<br />
More specifically:<br />
By visiting the website of the artist (http://www.patmetheny.com/tours.cfm) and by following the links for each show I realize that there have been concerts in:<br />
Bologna (Teatro EuropAuditorium), with ticket prices of 32-50 euros<br />
in Grenoble, France (theater MC2), with ticket prices of 29-42 euros<br />
while there are scheduled gigs for:<br />
Barcelona (in Auditori Concert Hall), with ticket prices of 22-55 euros<br />
and Istanbul (CRR Concert Hall), with ticket prices of 56-89 Turkish Lira (22-35 euros).<br />
<br />
Let me point out once more that ticket prices for the Athens concert are: 50, 67, 77 and 87 Euro!<br />
It makes one wonder over the reasons for which the cheapest ticket for "the concert of the year" corresponds to 20% of the minimum wage in our country.<br />
<br />
I need not go into details about the economic situation in Greece but, nevertheless feel obliged to bring this incredible discrepancy to your attention. What drives Greek organizers to set such high prices, at the moment that their counterparts in other European cities provide audiences with prices that are 50%, 60% or 70% lower? I fail to see how such a pricing is justified in any way.<br />
In the past- organizers have claimed overpriced tickets to be due to excessive demands on behalf of the artists. Their argument has been that many artists demand greater fees for appearing in countries of the Balkans or Eastern Europe on the basis of limited commercial interest of the audiences thereof. I have always been very reluctant to accept this sort of argumentation. This time, I am convinced it is not case. Pat Metheny Trio gave a concert in Belgrade with tickets in the range of 1200-2000 dinars (~ 11 to 19 euros) and similar prices were set for the gigs in Bucarest, Skopje and Sofia. Why should Greek fans be asked to pay at least 5 times as much to see the same the concert?<br />
<br />
Please do not consider this as a letter of complaint. One such - a much bitter one- has already been addressed to the organizers, who have not up to now bothered to provide me with an explanation. My letter to you is only aiming at bringing this matter to your attention, as representative of the group. I understand there is some connection between the artists and their audiences and I simply felt I had to let them now why they should be expecting a less than full house in Athens, next month.<br />
<br />
yours sincerely,<br />
<br />
Christoforos Nikolaou<br />
a fan<br />
----------------------------- </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-85560665458538995392011-11-22T15:50:00.001+02:002011-11-22T15:54:13.104+02:00Μουσικά Χαράτσια<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5wqfD741Xn0/TsuYWmoXPWI/AAAAAAAAGYM/uctsJul4mF8/s1600/show_image.php.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="95" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5wqfD741Xn0/TsuYWmoXPWI/AAAAAAAAGYM/uctsJul4mF8/s320/show_image.php.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Παρακάτω παραθέτω αυτούσιο το γράμμα που έστειλα σήμερα (22/11) στην Ελληνική Θεαμάτων που έχει το θράσος να ζητάει για τη συναυλία του Pat Metheny στο Παλλάς αντίτιμο από 50 έως 87 Ευρώ! Για να μην νομίζουν ότι τρώμε κουτόχορτο. Διαβάστε και διαδώστε:<br />
<br />
<br />
=================== <br />
<br />
Αξιότιμη/ε Κύρια/ε,<br />
<br />
Στις 4 Δεκεμβριου η εταιρεία σας "Ελληνική Θεαμάτων" διοργανώνει στο θέατρο Παλλάς μια συναυλία του τρίο του γνωστού κιθαρίστα Pat Metheny (μαζί με τους Larry Grenadier και Bill Stewart). Η "...συναυλία της χρονιάς!" όπως την χαρακτηρίζετε αποτελεί σταθμό στην Ευρωπαϊκή περιοδεία του εν λόγω τρίο και έχει ήδη σπάσει ενα ρεκόρ. Αυτό της τιμής των εισιτηρίων!!!<br />
Προκαλεί εντύπωση το γεγονός πως η "μεγαλύτερη εταιρία θεατρικών παραγωγών στην Ελλάδα", έχοντας στο δυναμικό της "μερικά από τα ωραιότερα και μεγαλύτερα θέατρα στην Αθήνα" (<i>στοιχεία απο την ιστοσελίδα σας</i>), κατάφερε να "πετύχει" για το ελληνικό κοινό τα ακριβότερα εισιτήρια μιας περιοδείας που συμπεριλαμβάνει συναυλίες στη Ρώμη, το Αμβούργο, την Μπολόνια και τη Βαρκελώνη. Είναι αξιοπρόσεκτο πώς "το έμπειρο διοικητικό και τεχνικό προσωπικό της που καλύπτει όλα τα επίπεδα : Διοίκηση, Οικονομικές Υπηρεσίες, Marketing, Επικοινωνία, Τμήμα Παραγωγής, Τμήμα Περιοδειών και εξειδικευμένη τεχνική υποστήριξη" (<i>στοιχεία απο την ιστοσελίδα σας</i>) κοστολογεί τα εισιτήρια για την "συναυλία της χρονιάς" με 50, 67, 77 και 87 Ευρώ!!! Την ίδια στιγμή οι αντίστοιχοι διοργανωτές σε άλλες ευρωπαϊκές πόλεις και σε πολύ καλύτερα θέατρα εξασφαλίζουν για το εκεί κοινό τιμές που είναι κατά 50%, 60% ή και 70% χαμηλότερες.<br />
<br />
Συγκεκριμένα, κανείς μπορεί με μια απλή επίσκεψη στην ιστοσελίδα των καλλιτεχνών http://www.patmetheny.com/tours.cfm και ακολουθόντας τα links για την κάθε συναυλία να δει πως το ίδιο τρίο στα πλαίσια της ίδιας περιοδείας του έδωσε συναυλίες:<br />
στην Μπολόνια (Teatro EuropAuditorium), με τιμές εισιτηρίων 32-50 Ευρώ<br />
στην Γκρενόμπλ της Γαλλίας (θέατρο MC2), με τιμές εισιτηρίων 29-42 Ευρώ<br />
ενώ πρόκειται να εμφανιστεί:<br />
στην Βαρκελώνη (στο Μέγαρο Μουσικής Auditori), με τιμές εισιτηρίων 22-55 Ευρώ<br />
και στην Κωνσταντινούπολη (CRR Concert Hall), με τιμές εισιτηρίων 56-89 Τουρκικές Λίρες (22-35 Eυρώ).<br />
<br />
Θα δει επίσης πως οι ανωτερες τιμές των εισιτηρίων της Αθηναϊκής συναυλίας είναι συγκρίσιμες μόνο με αυτές της Λουκέρνης της Ελβετίας. Ακόμα και οι Ελβετοί μουσικόφιλοι όμως μπορούν να επιλέξουν από χαμηλότερες τιμές μιας και τα εισιτήρια εκεί ξεκινούν από τα 45 Ελβετικά Φράγκα (~36 Ευρώ).<br />
<br />
Πριν αρχίσει κανείς να απορεί γιατί το φθηνότερο εισιτήριο για "τη συναυλία της χρονιάς" αντιστοιχεί στο 10% του κατώτατου μισθού στη χώρα μας μπορεί να αναλογιστεί τις εξής πιθανότητες:<br />
<br />
1. Το φιλοθεάμον κοινό των πιο πάνω πόλεων να είναι καταφανώς πιο ακαλλιέργητο από αυτό της χώρας μας και να χρειάζονται χαμηλότερες τιμές εισιτηρίων προκειμένου να γεμίσει τα θέατρα.<br />
2. Οι φιλόμουσοι της Βαρκελώνης ή της Μπολόνια να είναι στην πλειοψηφία τους άνεργοι μουσικοί, καθηγητές λυκείου, καλλιτέχνες με περιστασιακή απασχόληση ή φοιτητές με πενιχρές υποτροφίες και συνεπώς να δικαιούνται ενός φθηνότερου εισιτηρίου από τους αντίστοιχους Έλληνες λάτρεις της jazz οι οποίοι κατά κανόνα κατοικούν στα βόρεια προάστεια, θα "κατέβουν" στο Παλλάς με τα SUV τους και θα αγοράσουν ένα CD της συναυλίας για κάθε οικιακή τους βοηθό.<br />
3. Μια προσαύξηση κατά 50% έως 80% στης μέση τιμή των εισιτηρίων της "συναυλίας της χρονιάς" να αποτελεί ένα μυστικό μέτρο που έχει επιβληθεί από την τρόικα στην Ελληνική Θεαμάτων σαν ελάχιστη συνεισφορά στην αποπληρωμή του δημόσιου χρέους.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Αξιότιμη/ε Κυρια/ε,<br />
Καιρός να σοβαρευτούμε!<br />
Σε περίπτωση που δεν το γνωρίζετε, οι πρωτοδιοριζόμενοι καθηγητές στο Λύκειο αμείβονται με 670 Ευρω, οι δε πρωτοδιοριζόμενοι Λέκτορες στο Πανεπιστήμιο με 930 Ευρώ. Το να κοστολογείτε μια συναυλία (όσο υψηλού επιπέδου κι αν είναι) με ποσά που αντιστοιχούν στο 1/10 του μηνιαίου μισθού τους δεν είναι προώθηση της τέχνης. Δεν είναι καν εμπορική εκμετάλλευση της. Είναι μαστροπεία!<br />
<br />
Η διαμόρφωση αυτών των τιμών δεν δικαιολογείται με κανέναν τρόπο, τη στιγμή που οι ίδιοι καλλιτεχνες εμφανίζονται σε μεγάλες ευρωπαϊκές πόλεις και σε καλύτερα θέατρα με σημαντικά φθηνότερο εισιτήριο. Ούτε θα πείσει το επιχείρημα που κατά καιρούς έχει χρησιμοποιηθεί, πως δήθεν οι τιμές διαμορφώνονται ανάλογα με τις απαιτήσεις των καλλιτεχνών. Ο Pat Metheny έπαιξε στο αντι-τουριστικό Βελιγράδι με εισιτήρια 1200-2000 δηναρίων (~11 έως 19 Ευρώ) ενώ αντίστοιχες ήταν οι τιμές στο Βουκουρέστι, στα Σκόπια και τη Σόφια!<br />
<br />
Πώς αλήθεια θα εξηγούσατε στους φιλόμουσους της Αθήνας αυτήν την προκλητική προσπάθεια κερδοσκοπίας;<br />
Αν πραγματικά πιστεύετε πως ανάμεσα στο κοινό της "συναυλίας της χρονιάς" δικαιούνται να βρίσκονται μόνο όσοι μπορούν να διαθέσουν 87 Ευρώ για δύο ώρες μουσικής απόλαυσης με λύπη μου θα σας πληροφορήσω πως μάλλον ανήκετε σε μια συγκεκριμένη ομάδα παραγωγών θεαμάτων, των οποίων τα "θέατρα" στοιχίζονται κατα μήκος της παραλιακής και οι οποίοι τουλάχιστον δεν προσποιούνται στο ελάχιστο τους μαικήνες της τέχνης.<br />
<br />
Σας παρακαλώ πολύ μην πείτε στον κόπο να απαντήσετε σε αυτήν μου την επιστολή. Ενδεχομένως όμως να χρειαστεί να το κάνετε στους ίδιους τους καλλιτέχνες στους οποίους έχω κοινοποιήσει μια αγγλική μετάφραση της.<br />
<br />
Σας ευχαριστώ πολύ για τό χρόνο σας,<br />
<br />
<br />
με μια κάποια εκτίμηση<br />
<br />
Χριστόφορος Νικολάου<br />
================================================</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-91950551292526074952011-11-10T13:12:00.001+02:002011-11-10T13:13:01.499+02:00The "political consensus" as an appeasment<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TEeAqhfItp8/Tp27hqq2NaI/AAAAAAAAEpA/-IoeltKlTgY/s320/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TEeAqhfItp8/Tp27hqq2NaI/AAAAAAAAEpA/-IoeltKlTgY/s320/1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The following post was originally published in Greek, some three weeks ago. It has been -badly- translated and reposted here in English for the sake of some stubborn readers who keep asking for news from Greece. Given that the problematic developed in this note -whether or not a coalition government is beneficial for Greece- was finalized only a few minutes ago, I thought it timely to go on and post it again.</span><br />
<br />
Only yesterday (20/10/2011) , with the events already in place to overtake us, the Prime Minister met with the leader of the opposition and asked him to join him to Brussels for the EU Summit. The call resulted in a fiasco. Shortly afterwards, the known communication jackals rushed to portray it as a failure on behalf Mr. Samaras. Both were expected and do not deserve special mention.<br />
What is a little more important is the whole conversation is about this vaunted "consensus" and especially the commitment to it by both members of the government and a large part of the media. The arguments are pretty much as follows:<br />
1. These are difficult moments and political forces need to show unity. The unity will find its reflection in society, which in great relief will experience the historic reconciliation.<br />
2. Our lenders and the accompanying voracious "markets" will judge this consistency between government and opposition as a sign of political maturity. Their satisfaction will be expressed in addressing our country's lending deals with milder economic conditions.<br />
3. Our democracy will finally pass from the "cavemen stage" of the traditional, monolithic debate of ideologies, to that of modern European parliamentary cooperations.<br />
<br />
The strongest evidence of the importance and urgency of consensus is the urgent desire of our European partners, a desire that ultimately did not even bother to disguise itself as an "appeal", instead it was manifested as a "demand". This "demand" alone would suffice to make the above executives and their supporters to think twice before advocating the consensus and a coalition government. For one simple reason: That it is extremely doubtful how a consensus between government and opposition would serve the interests of the country under negotiations with exactly those who are urgently asking for it! Under continuing cruel and relentless-as we are being told-consultation with our lenders, the "much-desired" consensus would not work beneficially but only appeasingly. With all the negative implications. Therefore it should be clear that the above arguments in favor of a consensus are perforated. For the following reasons:<br />
<br />
1. This so-called "consensus" will not find its reflection in society, for the simple reason that society as a whole is opposed to the imposed policy regardless of wherefrom it originates. Consensus between the two big -at least until recently- parties will simply increase the public feeling that "they're all the same" and will further undermine the faith of the people in the parliamentary system.<br />
2. Our lenders will find an unprecedented opportunity to harden their attitude in terms of their requirements from the current government, which among others will lose yet another bargaining chip. The moment there will be no alternative policy to counter the terms being debated, these should be already considered as accepted. It's surprising how something so obvious has escaped our government officials who to the contrary keep reminding us of the pressure conditions under which the negotiations with our lenders are being conducted.<br />
3. Whether such a development will be for our parliamentary democracy a sign of maturation or regression is evident. Democracy is based on difference of opinion. To openly say that 80% of our MPs being COERCED to agree on a major issue constitutes a progress of democracy is not only amusing. It is dangerous. It suffices to see which political elements within and outside the parliament (far-right, ultra-neoliberals, major mass media groups) are fearlessly backing the latest idea for a national unity government to understand the stakes we are facing.<br />
<br />
To wrap it all up, the "consensus" is neither a solution nor a sign of maturity or a springboard to reconcile the divided nation. Instead it is the tombstone for any confidence in the parliamentary republican system for a large portion of society. It will be a dangerous diversion from our democracy and the easiest way forward for those who negotiate the conditions of lending our heavily indebted country.<br />
<br />
The rush and fervor with which some advertise it makes one wonder. Or maybe not?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TEeAqhfItp8/Tp27hqq2NaI/AAAAAAAAEpA/-IoeltKlTgY/s320/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>Originally published in Greek <a href="http://oykeamekatheydein.blogspot.com/2011/10/blog-post.html">here</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-59951945825502309342011-10-26T13:54:00.000+03:002011-10-26T13:54:49.109+03:00Let's take it outside<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">October 1995<span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}">. </span><br />
<span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}">Robbie Fowler (aka God). Fined 2000 Swiss Francs for wearing a T-shirt that read "<i>Support the Dockers sacked since September 1995</i>"</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/01/21/article-0-00E72A2200000190-970_306x321.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/01/21/article-0-00E72A2200000190-970_306x321.jpg" width="305" /></a></div><br />
<span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}"> </span>January 2009.<span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}"> <a href="http://enathinaisbios.blogspot.com/2009/01/on-freedom-of-speech-and-other-demons.html">Frederic Kanute</a>. Fined 4000 Euro for wearing a T-shirt that read "<i>Palestine</i>" in 4 different languages.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://futbolita.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kanoute_palestine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://futbolita.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kanoute_palestine.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}">October 2011. Fans of Panathinaikos are arrested after lifting up a message reading: "Politicians, crooks, parliament of the nonchalant. You will be drown by the wrath of the uprising"</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sday.gr/getattachment/7c287a6d-8277-46cb-8c90-5cd71d7abfae/913951.aspx" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://www.sday.gr/getattachment/7c287a6d-8277-46cb-8c90-5cd71d7abfae/913951.aspx" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}">Time to take it outside!<br />
</span><br />
<span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}"><br />
</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-33885634626049518002011-06-06T11:37:00.005+03:002011-06-06T12:35:41.857+03:00Middle Ages<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dcUUXdBo4Ck/TeyTHsBGFsI/AAAAAAAAGP8/CNz5RmBSQvw/s1600/fist.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dcUUXdBo4Ck/TeyTHsBGFsI/AAAAAAAAGP8/CNz5RmBSQvw/s400/fist.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615024595708286658" border="0" /></a><br />They say one way to judge a society is by the way its people treat animals. I say this is probably too much to expect from modern, western "civilized" states. It would suffice to take a look at how the establishment dictates the treatment of human beings.<br /><br />Decades of prosperity, "progress" and "development" seem to go down the drain when it comes to question terms like solidarity against the all-consuming human drive for profit. We have formed our societies thinking -or assuming- that it was going to be for the benefit of all. That the unlucky could count on the help of the luckier. That those who are deprived of the most valuable could expect some relief from the ones that have everything. I grew up -or at least I thought I did- in one such society. Contrary to what some people think, I have always been proud to be paying taxes as I considered myself to be contributing to a common fund that would end up giving my parents a hard-earned pension, provide my grandparents with decent health care or come to the aim of a friend who has been seriously injured. <span style="font-weight: bold;">This</span> is our greatest achievement.<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>It <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span> is the greatest sign of "progress" or "development".<br /><br />It was, because it turns out it no longer is.<br />According to our "current needs" and in face of the "fear" of financial failure, the Greek State has decided to cut in half the amount of welfare aid towards handicapped people. Moreover, a "rationalized contribution" strategy demands that they handicapped over the age of 55 pay the full amount for prosthetic limbs. The official excuse is that people were taking advantage of the health care system with excessive demand and overcharged products . At the same time, the same Greek State is trying to appease the "markets" who are demanding a 15% interest rate in order to lend us money (probably not quite as excessive as the demands of the handicapped) and is grateful to the efficient -but not elected- European Union bureaucrats for providing the "know-how" to incompetent -but elected- Greek ministers in order to achieve cuts in expenses.<br /><br />I am falling short of being grateful to these men for pretending to reduce my country's debt by sending its "crippled" to crawl on the streets. I have the right to decide where my taxes go and <span style="font-weight: bold;">I demand</span> my money go to the aid of my fellow citizens before they end up paying the interest of a bank loan. In any other case <span style="font-weight: bold;">I should, I must refuse to pay them</span>.<br />Unlike animals or life-or-death in the middle ages, we have structured our societies on the basis of solidarity, so that we all have a chance to feel useful and complete, so that we are all given the right of creativity and hence we can prosper as a whole. They should not and cannot take this away from us for it will be our greatest defeat.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-62561103885649478662011-05-21T10:09:00.007+03:002011-05-21T16:41:27.092+03:00it's always May<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-spGQLZCCTy4/TddlaV03WjI/AAAAAAAAGPg/9A7usRrCqTs/s1600/quinze_de_maig.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-spGQLZCCTy4/TddlaV03WjI/AAAAAAAAGPg/9A7usRrCqTs/s400/quinze_de_maig.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609063364123122226" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">(Young protesters changing the name of the City Hall Square into 15th May Square in Valencia. Photo by: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jacoboictus/">jacobictus</a>)<br /></span></div><br />It's only been three days since <a href="http://enathinaisbios.blogspot.com/2011/05/crisis-and-why-one-should-care.html">I was contemplating on the need to act</a>, indignant for my passive reaction to what is happening in Greece, discouraged <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13356923">by the way the state has decided to use the police against protesters</a> and disgusted with the way the mainstream media seem to back them up. Thanks to the same media, who have the suspicious tendency to discover a new "terrorist" every time our government is about to announce another set of austerity measures, I -and the majority of Greeks- was still ignorant of the massive protests all over Spain until a few days ago. It looked as if the sensitive journalists of the establishment have failed to realize what was, <a href="http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2011/05/20/actualidad/1305920877_763863.html">what IS happening in Spain</a>, where people, young people still maintain the courage to take to the streets, march, shout, even camp in Puerta del Sol, Plaza Catalunya and elsewhere without having to face tear-gas cannisters and globs.<br /><br />Even more, it looks as if in Spain, the media still see the people -especially the young- for what they really are. Unemployed, in search for a low salary and an even lower rent, disappointed with how their education has turned them into by-products of a system of labour that cares more about interest rates than people and infuriated with their leaders that are too stubborn to realize what is obvious to almost everybody except perhaps to some short-sighted bureaucrats in Brussels. That things, as they are, are simply not working.<br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13481592"><br /></a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOmh3jcV28g">The movement of May 15th</a>, is a movement of the young, which sparked of in May, in a European capital. The similarities to that other May, the Parisian one of 1968 end here. The French of the 60s were suffocating in a world of post-war prosperity. They were asking for "imagination to assume power", they were clashing against the police and went back to school once their revolution was smashed. The Spaniards (and the Greeks, the Irish, the Portuguese, tomorrow even the French and Italians) of the 2010s are the casualties of economic warfare. They demand a decent job with a decent pay, a decent place to live. They are pacific and non-violent (for now) but once, when, if their revolution is crashed they will have no other place to go than the exact same streets they now occupy.<br /><br />Just think about that.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-38900899208753538342011-05-18T11:54:00.005+03:002011-05-19T11:13:47.132+03:00the crisis and why one should care<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jCtnUthysos/TdOJ_yG09xI/AAAAAAAAGPY/QCUygwYNux8/s1600/democracy_will_come_to_you.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 334px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jCtnUthysos/TdOJ_yG09xI/AAAAAAAAGPY/QCUygwYNux8/s400/democracy_will_come_to_you.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607977689881573138" border="0" /></a><br />It's as simple as that. The more you care about the current economical crisis, the more you get entangled in something that is beyond the grasp of the great majority of the people, even well educated ones. Over the last year, I have been trying to understand the basics of the global financial system through reading of newspapers, analyses, economists' blogs, by watching (good and bad) documentaries and talks on TV. But there was just too many SWAPs, too many derivatives and too many interests (literally speaking) for a poor bioinformatician to handle. I ended up wasting a great amount of my time without really getting a more elaborate idea than the one I had in the beginning: "There is something systematically wrong in this system".<br /><br />I soon reached the conclusion that one should not really care about it. Let's face it. Life is short and one cannot expect but to pursue only a small part of his dreams over its course, the amount of which will be greatly reduced if he were to spend his time trying to understand how others pursue their own. My dreams have to do with understanding the way nature works, the particularities of the human soul expressed through literature and music, the extent of human ingenuity through football tactics. Other people's dreams have to do with how to become rich at the expense of others. It is a minor dream chosen by petty people. I said, let them have it their way.<br /><br />The problem is that THEY are not letting me have it MY way.<br />Over the last week, these petty people, the little men (and women) in Brussels, Strasbourg and whichever place it is that their insignificances choose to hold their meetings, have been trying to "convince" the greek political parties (and hence the Greek citizens) to reach a consensus otherwise they will not carry on with the financial "aid" towards our country. The consensus here being simply the opinion the two greatest parties have on the memorandum that the greek government has signed with the IMF/EU/ECB "troika". It is, in fact, a common extortion of the worst kind. They are not urging the political forces of the country to reach an agreement. They simply demand that they all accept the -already signed- terms of the treaty as being the only way to go. Yes, we are back at the times of "total solutions". "Arbeit machts frei" is soon to follow.<br /><br />Under these circumstances, carrying on with one's own business simply is not an option anymore. Even if for the majority this looks like no great a change, we are facing a challenge on which we cannot turn our backs. Democracy is at stake, the whole tradition of the Enlightenment, on which our culture has based its foundations is in danger. Lending money in a way that would have made Shylock blush is one thing. Making sure that a pay back will be done in a way that would ask for ever greater loans, thus holding a whole generation as financial hostages is another thing. But to demand that everybody says "Yes, we love the way you are screwing us up" is a whole different one.<br /><br />Going beyond just the end of democracy, it is the end of reason.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-75169655541410751552011-05-06T15:07:00.003+03:002011-05-06T17:13:23.489+03:00the man who ran a lot<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xMiD3g9vWRc/TcPlcRosrvI/AAAAAAAAGO8/K5PeyWK9MZA/s1600/blog_veggos.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 338px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xMiD3g9vWRc/TcPlcRosrvI/AAAAAAAAGO8/K5PeyWK9MZA/s400/blog_veggos.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603574635312230130" border="0" /></a>When I was a little boy, two things were very common on Saturday nights. One, my parents, still quite young and too tired of staying in the whole week, wanted to go out. Two, the Greek TV, still in its innocent youth was overwhelmed with old Greek comedy films, most of them shot during the 50s and 60s. The two combined meant that I had to spent a great number of my childhood's Saturday evenings watching Greek comedies at my grandparents place in the -then- quiet and picturesque neighborhood of Gazi.<br /><br />There was one more thing. Back then, I could not stand Greek films. Oddly enough for a child at my age (these evenings were more frequent at the age of 5 to 10), I had the greatest distaste for these naive -I then thought- productions that could simply not compare to the historical Hollywood feature films like "Spartacus" or "Lawrence of Arabia" that were my father's favourites. Even more strangely, I could not stand colour. I vividly remember having a strong preference for black and white films, which to my eyes appeared more original, as I found it hard to accept that technicolored, cinecitta-like, musical extravaganzas had anything to do with Greece in the 60s. To my childish eyes -and as it now seems to the eyes of most people-, Greece in the 50s and the 60s was a black and white place, poor but romantic, grey and nostalgic.<br /><br />Among those black and white films, there was only one kind I really LIKED to watch (to the relief of my grandparents). Those starring Thanassis Veggos. Aka our "good man". Aka "the man who used to run a lot". Truly the most talented Greek comedian of all time, undoubtedly the most innovative, simply the most beloved actor in the (short and moderate) history of Greek cinema. There was that time, I still remember, when Veggos was on, that everything stopped. At the age of 7, I could not get all his lines and I was puzzled by some of his references to anti-military themes, but there was something in this man's voice, his constant running up and down, his overall struggling that to me was -subconsciously- identified with the Greek soul.<br /><br />To my childish eyes, THAT was Greece in the 60s. A guy in black and white, always in a working-class neighborhood, obviously uneducated but curiously wise, working three or four jobs to get by. A guy who never gets rich, never gets the pretty girl, never gets to be famous. Yet a guy with a smile that cannot be beaten, a laugh that cannot be silenced, a face impossible to be forgotten.<br /><br />The "man who ran a lot" reached the finish line last Tuesday. Given that our Greece today is starting to resemble that black and white country his films took place in, there is a growing demand that we live up to his effort.<br />After all, life is a relay race.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-54363857911556493642011-05-03T07:55:00.006+03:002011-05-05T11:17:54.883+03:00becoming Bin Ladin<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FcCVZfRySfE/TcJdJmRYdgI/AAAAAAAAGO0/oMSnaaTsQyI/s1600/time_bin_ladin.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FcCVZfRySfE/TcJdJmRYdgI/AAAAAAAAGO0/oMSnaaTsQyI/s400/time_bin_ladin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603143305875977730" border="0" /></a><br />Bin Ladin's henchmen and followers have repeatedly kidnapped, killed, decapitated westerners, often innocent reporters, whose bodies were never recovered. Through the eyes of fellow westerners, those have been considered, barbaric, intolerable acts of cruelty not abiding by the moral standards of our advanced societies.<p> After the killing of Usāmah bin Lādin, alongside three other men and a woman, the same westerners were pleased to announce that justice has been done. Unfortunately, this was justice the Bin Ladin-way. Breaking and entering, shooting indiscriminately -as none of the 25 extremely capable U.S. Navy Seals were harmed during the shooting-, kidnapping the body and bearing it in the sea as "finding a country willing to accept the remains of the world's most wanted terrorist would have been difficult."</p><p>Now that ʾUsāmah bin Lādin "sleeps with the fishes", there is perhaps a timely question to answer. Is this the kind of example we "westerners" will pass on to "those rogue, backward muslims"? What has become of the western democracies in times when even a not-so-common terrorist suffers the exact same end would advocate for his victims? President Obama who thought that "yes we could", Frau Merkel who found Ladin being dead (correction: killed) to be good news and President Sarkozy who greated a preposterous act of violence as "a major event in the fight against terrorism", should think again.</p><p>Perhaps, they are becoming just like Bin Ladin<br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-4372478176354221812011-04-27T10:04:00.008+03:002011-04-27T21:02:09.305+03:00please do not like this post<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D9geshTGn0I/TbhVEheCd3I/AAAAAAAAGOc/puq0hF9VJ_g/s1600/social-media-share-buttons.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D9geshTGn0I/TbhVEheCd3I/AAAAAAAAGOc/puq0hF9VJ_g/s400/social-media-share-buttons.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600319672827410290" border="0" /></a><br />When I started this blog I (must have) had a number of reasons. Nowadays, I can't quite recall any of them. Surely, if I try hard I may come up with a couple of new ones but something tells me it would be quite pointless. Over these last five years, there has been so much blogging, tweeting and status updating, that it would be hard for anyone not only to keep blogging but even to find valid reasons for doing so.<br /><br />It has therefore become striking to realize that there are perhaps more bloggers and tweeterers out there than those who actually find the time -or simply bother- to read all the blog posts, interesting articles and "memes" circulating the "blogosphere". At least, I find it extremely difficult and have thus gradually shifted from being a blogger to panting out of breath to catch up with the bulk of interesting stuff piling up in my Google-Reader page. Not that I manage. Most of the times, I find myself utterly distracted, slightly dazed and disorientated in front of a dozen of open tabs, each pointing to a great album review, a nice piece published on TLS, an interesting scientific paper and a couple of reporting stories, all these in various languages (my moderate ability to read in 4 languages only worsens my distraction), none of which I manage to read in its entirety. What do I do then? I simply click on the "share" button of my browser and there it is. My somewhat interesting discovery is posted as a facebook update or a tweet, for other people to finish up what I couldn't. Read the damn thing!<br /><br />It's not just me I assume. More and more we are turning into a universe of "sharers" of things that very rarely live up to their real meaning. There is simply so much of information out there that it is impossible for one to parse even the slightest portion of it. We end up reading abstracts in an abstract way, browsing through titles infested with "buzz-words", we share, we post, we forward, we like but very rarely read. Instead we create a universe of links, a web upon the web, where texts and hypertexts are connected like mass-less, volume-less dots without content.<br /><br />And yes, all and all it's just another dot on the web. So please do not "like" this post!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-26665604922806995742011-03-12T12:13:00.007+02:002011-03-12T13:39:16.098+02:00demotivation<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yjCsd3_wos4/TXtbXLIn15I/AAAAAAAAGOM/wothuk6hMYQ/s1600/unemployment_Demotivational_Posters_2010-s500x400-37301-580.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yjCsd3_wos4/TXtbXLIn15I/AAAAAAAAGOM/wothuk6hMYQ/s400/unemployment_Demotivational_Posters_2010-s500x400-37301-580.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583156616739936146" border="0" /></a><br />One can think of a number of reasons for not blogging for the last 2 or more months (is it that much already). Being busy is one, although in my case this is not it, despite the fact that over the last two months, I underwent marriage, mild surgery and yet another employment crisis.<br /><br />Depression, boredom and a general feeling of "n' importe quoi" are probably more valid. In all, there is a significant lack of motivation in talking about something in here, when there is a lot to be done out there. There are issues at stake that demand something more than blogging, but as it turns out in these times of shock and awe one ends up in doing nothing, not even blogging.<br /><br />I have no idea of what will happen in the next few weeks. In times when a dictator's downfall brings about an increase in oil prices instead of freedom and massive earthquakes fuel more discussions on the economy rather than on the victims, one has to admit that there is little margin for fight against the tsunami of stupidity that is threatening to drown us all.<br /><br />Still, one has to find the motivation to do something about it. Until then he can at least blog about it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-69270074388730582562010-12-14T10:31:00.004+02:002010-12-23T14:24:51.184+02:00Strike Three - (you 're out...)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TQcrt8Z-GoI/AAAAAAAAGLg/EkjaRVkBEDc/s1600/still-from-episode-3_01.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TQcrt8Z-GoI/AAAAAAAAGLg/EkjaRVkBEDc/s400/still-from-episode-3_01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550453134066588290" border="0" /></a><br />This has been the third great general strike since last May. <a href="http://enathinaisbios.blogspot.com/2010/05/when-pigs-broke-free.html">Back then</a>, it all seemed dismal already. Today, a mere 7 months and two more strikes later it looks as if there is no going back.<br /><br />The most recent (but not the last) of a series of austerity bills hit the ministry desks last night with one more deputy of the ruling "socialists" exlcuding himself from the vote. It was the least he could do not to go down in history as one of those who once gave in to the demands of a foreign, not elected authority that asks for the lowest average income in the EU to be cut down by 10% to 40% and in some cases 60%. Which roughly translates to 10%-40% less spending, 10%-40% less holiday, 10%-40% less education, 10%-40% less health. And 10%-40% more profit for those who used to pay those "surpluss" wages of 700 Euros, the bankers, the CEOs and the company owners who will pay ~15% less taxes this year as a reward for having put up with such overwhelming earnings on behalf of the "lazy" workers of this country.<br /><br />These workers, will now have to pay the price for having lived on the benefit of "development" for so long. Only this "development" meant a shift of the balance to the bottom. After all this "development" and "expansion" one out of five Greeks lives at the edge of poverty. After all this "growth" you have half a million Greeks unable to visit a doctor. And you see people fighting on the streets for who gets to be the first to look for food in the trash can.<br /><br />But it was growth for some all right. It was growth for the shareholders who saw their taxes being cut down from 40% to 22% on average over the course of the last 20 years. It was development for the banks who could privatize profits and nationalize debts. It was expansion for those who will now buy this country's forests, coal mines, buses and trains for scrap.<br />In Europe like in the US the model prevails over the facts. As long as there is "growth" and "development" it's business as usual for those who have their appointed prime ministers cutting the deals. The rest can enjoy poverty.<br /><br /><hr><br />Update: All of the above, better said -in Greek- <a href="http://vlemma.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/no-recall-apergia-15-dicembre/">here</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-25822330309724591922010-12-08T15:14:00.005+02:002010-12-08T19:37:21.262+02:00the last stand<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TP-E3IXRf2I/AAAAAAAAGLY/k6DMi5gGmn8/s1600/biography_gadaras.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 388px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TP-E3IXRf2I/AAAAAAAAGLY/k6DMi5gGmn8/s400/biography_gadaras.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548299348616511330" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br /></div>Of late I have re-newed my devotion to <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Thanasis%2520Papakonstantinou?ac=Thanas">Thanassis Papakonstantinoy</a> mostly due to the interest epxressed by my good friend J. upon listening to a track of Thanassis, which I had casually posted on my facebook page. After giving J. a brief introduction and urging him to listen to <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Thanasis+Papakonstantinou/Vrachnos+Profitis">"Vrahnos Profitis"</a> (one of my most favourite Greek albums ever) I also found myself unconsciously pressing "repeat" over some of the tracks of the album.<br /><br />This is how I got to remember "A. Manthos" (the album's fourth track and one with very particular lyrics) and how I came up with the story behind it. The song's lyrics have been adopted from a poem by Christos Bravos, referring to a real incident between Athanasios Manthos, a photographer of the town of Trikala and <a href="http://konstantinosdavanelos.blogspot.com/2009/06/blog-post_6681.html">Thomas Gandaras</a>, an infamous bandit of the region of Thessaly which took place in the 1920s. Gandaras had an extremely bad reputation among the great land-owners of the region for having an extensive record of kidnappings and killings, but as these were limited against the rich and the powerfull, the poor people were largely sympathizing with him. The legend had it that Gandaras became an outlaw in order to avenge the rape of his wife by a squire, thus he and his gang were more often thought of as "Robin-Hood"-like bandits instead of as fierce killers.<br /><br />But authorities thought (as usually) otherwise and soon the head of Gandaras was put a price on. As the manhunt was closing down on him and his men, he realized that it was not meant for him to last long. Before his last stand, he wanted to strike a last pose. He decided to have his photo taken. One night, he<br />forgot all precautions and sneaked into the house of Manthos, by then a well-known photographer in the town of Trikala and the nearby villages. Manthos woke up in awe as the ruthless bandit stood before him but was relieved to find out that all the the outlaw wanted was his portraid done. Thus in the middle of the night, Manthos, who was used to photograph weddings and funerals, took a photo of the famous Thomas Gandaras in the living room of his house and in outmost secrecy. The story of this secret meeting is told in the aforementioned poem "<a href="http://portal.activeradio.gr/forum/index.php?topic=599.0">A. Manthos</a>" by Christos Bravos, has been made <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4GZfF88tS4">a song</a> by Thanassis Papakonstantinoy and was recently the subject of a beautiful short film by Vassilis Kosmopoulos entitled <a href="http://tvxs.gr/webtv/%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%B9%CE%BD%CE%AF%CE%B5%CF%82/%CE%BF-%CF%86%CF%89%CF%84%CE%BF%CE%B3%CF%81%CE%AC%CF%86%CE%BF%CF%82-%CF%84%CF%89%CE%BD-%CF%84%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AC%CE%BB%CF%89%CE%BD">"The Trikala </a><a href="http://tvxs.gr/webtv/%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%B9%CE%BD%CE%AF%CE%B5%CF%82/%CE%BF-%CF%86%CF%89%CF%84%CE%BF%CE%B3%CF%81%CE%AC%CF%86%CE%BF%CF%82-%CF%84%CF%89%CE%BD-%CF%84%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AC%CE%BB%CF%89%CE%BD">photographer</a><a href="http://tvxs.gr/webtv/%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%B9%CE%BD%CE%AF%CE%B5%CF%82/%CE%BF-%CF%86%CF%89%CF%84%CE%BF%CE%B3%CF%81%CE%AC%CF%86%CE%BF%CF%82-%CF%84%CF%89%CE%BD-%CF%84%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AC%CE%BB%CF%89%CE%BD">"</a>.<br /><br />In the days that followed, Manthos met Gandaras in his secret hide-out where he took one more portrait of his (the one you may see here, taken from the blog of <a href="http://konstantinosdavanelos.blogspot.com/2009/06/blog-post_6681.html">Konstantinos Davanelos</a>) as well as a photo of the entire gang. Gandaras finally met his destiny as he was hunted down and killed by militia-men close to Deskati, Grevena on August 5th, 1923. He was decapitated and his head was exposed in the main square of Kalambaka the following day.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-18344604762787620762010-12-03T13:35:00.005+02:002010-12-03T17:42:04.839+02:00Wish you were here (E.T.)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TPjXYlXmUhI/AAAAAAAAGLQ/y_YFsQ5-Cqg/s1600/55127868_604684ecf3_o.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TPjXYlXmUhI/AAAAAAAAGLQ/y_YFsQ5-Cqg/s400/55127868_604684ecf3_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546419758454690322" border="0" /></a>That I am a devoted fan of Pink Floyd is no mystery to the readership of this blog (all three of you). I have repeatedly mentioned names and places related to the greatest band of them all in various past posts, <a href="http://enathinaisbios.blogspot.com/2008/09/and-then-there-were-three.html">including a (personal) obituary for the late Rick Wright</a>. Having a particular strange tendency for both visual and audial connections it was then very easy for me to spot the missing link behind NASA's Astrobiology lab latest discovery.<br /><br />According to this, <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2010/12/01/science.1197258">the first living organism to be able to incorporate arsenic</a> instead of phosphorus in its genetic material, was recently isolated in lake Mono in Southern California. The bacterion, whose name (GFAJ-1) comes as yet another proof that people in NASA may provide a whole new level to the definition of dullness, was the object of a greatly anticipated press conference which circulated media feeds and e-mail boxes all over the globe yesterday. People who were let down by the fact that the press release (initially making explicite mention to "the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life") turned out to be about an insignificant bug with an utterly boring name should think twice.<br /><br />A long time before NASA turned to Lake Mono in desperate search for extra-terrestrial life, Pink Floyd had used its surroundings in a famous photo by Storm Thorgerson which appeared at the back cover of their "Wish you were here" album. This is the snapshot of a diver immersing in the alkaline, toxic but calm and ripless waters of Lake Mono. (And judging from the concentration of arsenic in these waters, I can only hope that the photo is the outcome of some artistic superposition of images.)<br /><br />Whether the existence of extra terrestrial life was something that concerned Pink Floyd at the time, or whether it was the unwordly atmosphere of the environment that matched their nostalgic title of the album, I dare not speculate. However, the inconcistency with which the scientists announce a talk about alien life only to provide us with an example of what can only be terrestrial (even though underwater) can only make me think that in their quest for E.T, the guys in NASA maybe constantly thinking how they "wish he was here".Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-32545544397528080092010-11-30T12:15:00.005+02:002010-12-03T11:39:54.463+02:00getting there (or quite)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TPTQo-1PHyI/AAAAAAAAGLI/zyUNb-Ftl_M/s1600/winding_road_400.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 309px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TPTQo-1PHyI/AAAAAAAAGLI/zyUNb-Ftl_M/s400/winding_road_400.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545286443679555362" border="0" /></a><br />Hard as I try to downgrade it trough scorn and ridicule, the truth is this: I like my job. For the simple reason that I am too lazy to be doing anything I would not really like. When I think about it, there are more than one reasons for liking what I do the most important of which being that it is the closest it gets to providing me with a sense of being inspired and productive.<br />Research is a sort of an art for the untalented. You are not really good in something, other than solving problems, yet you experience a certain feeling of fulfillment once you do solve them, no matter how trivial.<br /><br />Fellow researchers (or for that matter, "researchers" like myself) may assure you that such a feeling arises far too seldom. Still the reward lies exactly on this rarity. In this way it better resembles an "epiphany" that makes it look like a true inspiration. The best part though is that it gives one the impression of having solved a difficult problem in the twinkling of an eye. Because apart from all sorts of metaphysical satisfaction, it provides you with the obvious advantage of having very little to do. Once you 've single-handedly solved the problem over lunchbreak, your work is done. You can spend the rest of your post-doc term in happy hours, holiday and general slacking-off, simply by attending the occasional conference.<br /><br />But is it really like this? Until recently I thought (hoped?) it was. I still remember an early Saturday afternoon back in my old flat in Barcelona, sometime in April 2006. It now feels like a long time ago and it probably is. I haven't talked to my -at the time- flatmate Maria for over four months and that old flat is now being rented to tourists on a weekly basis. But it was on that distant afternoon, while Maria was testing her patience waiting for me to accompany her to the supermarket, that I had that idea, that brief glimpse through the peephole of truth (or at least something that seemed like it back then). It was that moment when, between getting my coat and checking my e-mails that I got a crystal-clear idea of how to solve the main problem of my qualified as "impossible" post-doc project. As I triumphantly switched off my laptop, I turned and gave Maria my "I 've done it again" smile. I walked out the door, certain that my job was almost done.<br /><br />Well, it's been four and a half years since then and it looks like the job is still almost done. My initial brilliant idea had since developed into a computer program, whose performance had to be bench marked, compared with similar programs based on similarly brilliant ideas, its results had to undergo thorough experimental verification, the whole thing was put to paper sometime in the summer of 2007, reached the desk of my supervisor the next fall, had to wait there until spring 2008, undergo an unfathomable number of revisions, suffer the usual cycle of submission-revision-rejection-resubmission only to be <a href="http://www.epigeneticsandchromatin.com/content/3/1/20">published in its final form</a> last Tuesday. In all, it looks like it took a bit more than the twinkling of an eye.<br /><br />In the meantime, I have come, seen, not conquered and left Barcelona, having realized that it takes much, much more than a brilliant idea (let alone one that proves to be not so brilliant after all) to get the job done. In this sense research, profession-wise, becomes much more like any other job. Tedious, time-consuming, a stressful endeavour during which the truly inspiring, productive part is consumed within a moment only to leave the rest of the time to be filled by the boring, the tiring and the "what-the-hell"s. "Getting there" is not as easy as just having a great idea. The road is long and winding just like in any other thing that is worth trying.<br /><br />In the end, no, I am not going to say that "it's the journey that matters" but I have to admit that one can get wiser on the way. Even if it's just by realizing the value of <a href="http://enathinaisbios.blogspot.com/2008/02/slowness.html">slowing down</a>, catching a breath and realizing that what we do is not important but that it is important that we do it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-20621398416653359812010-11-14T12:10:00.004+02:002010-11-15T18:20:29.733+02:00would you trust your vote with this woman?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TN-11ZQMLuI/AAAAAAAAGK0/CrymoZARizc/s1600/merkel.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 277px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TN-11ZQMLuI/AAAAAAAAGK0/CrymoZARizc/s400/merkel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539345995605487330" border="0" /></a>Seriously, would you?<br /><br />In times when explosives are posted via Fedex to elected government officials, in times when students break into the headquarters of the ruling parties, in times when massive strikes are becoming everyday life, when every single bill is met with the fiercest opposition and outrage...<br /><br />Well, in times like this, one would say democracy is simply not working. Democracy as it is being practiced at least. Democracy as the system where less than half of the people are convinced to choose among a handful of leaders whose ideas and visions are proven to be remarkably identical. Leaders only by name who are obsessive with power, backward in almost every single aspect of thinking, leaders who look frighteningly, dangerously, suspiciously as if they were "being led" instead of "leading". Leaders, governments, officials, think-tanks that appear "know better" and hence with increasing frequency take decisions that are radically different from what they have set out to, upon being elected.<br /><br />In times like this, we are asked to cast our votes knowing that this is the closest ever we will get to making a difference. Only the difference is never taking place as new faces take the place of old ones only to iterate the old rhetorics and the so-called democratic governing of the talking heads consists of passing one offensive bill after the other without the slightest support of the electoral body, which has to wait stoically until the next election to "send a message".<br /><br />But all this is about to change, as enlightened leaders are finally reaching to the root of the problem. Angela Merkel knows better.<br />At the head of a cast of visionary politicians of the 21st century she has proposed that we do away with voting altogether. "That's it!", she thought, "lets get rid of the votes of the poor European states for starters!"<br />Why should we have them voting if they cannot even buy our exports anymore? Then we can do away with the votes of all states and be left with the real intelligentsia, all these officials of the European Bank, the directorates of the central European committees that are not elected. I mean, just see how efficient THEY are!<br />Next comes the big step. Why not banish the whole election process? Seriously, does it make any difference? Why bother with such an irrational expense when we all know that what they are voting for is nowhere close to what they are getting? Do we really need to go through all this fuss?<br /><br />Well, I couldn't agree more!<br />Upon facing respectable Angela (or Sharkozy, or Cameron) wouldn't you think twice before trusting them with your vote?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-8973500195098564362010-10-08T14:25:00.006+03:002010-10-08T18:20:58.674+03:00cherchez la femme<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TK7_2A3lyGI/AAAAAAAAGJI/4eG_K4OA11o/s1600/llosa_marquez_shiner.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 463px; height: 228px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TK7_2A3lyGI/AAAAAAAAGJI/4eG_K4OA11o/s400/llosa_marquez_shiner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525635096241358946" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Mario Vargas Llosa (left) and Gabriel Garcia Marquez (right).<br />Gabo's bruised left eye courtesy of the 2010 Literature Nobel Laureate</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><br /></div><br />The 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded yesterday to Mario Vargas Llosa, a decision that besides being fair (although according to <a href="http://blogs.elpais.com/papeles-perdidos/2010/10/fiesta-por-vargas-llosa.html">some</a> a very late one) finally brings Llosa on-a-par with his fellow writer, old friend and great rival for the prestigious title of the greatest living Hispanic American writer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Readers around the world are now welcome to reconcile the two literary men as equally great in both public acceptance and critical acclaim.<br /><br />What remains to be seen is whether this prize will settle a long-lasting feud between them and if Gabo and Mario, once inseparable, will finally talk to each other after refusing to do so for more than 34 years. Over the decades people have attributed this contend between the two once best friends (Marquez being the Godfather of Llosa's son Gabriel) to either professional jealousy or opposing political views. Llosa has been a fierce neoliberal since the early 90s when he even ran for the presidency in Peru, while Marquez has always openly exhibited his left-wing ideas and has been a close friend of Fidel Castro, for which Llosa often refers to him as "el cortesano" (the courtier). Nevertheless the roots of this rivalry are neither political nor authorial. They can be traced back to a winter evening of 1976 in Mexico City, date and place where <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/best-of-enemies-the-truth-behind-a-30year-literary-feud-440035.html">the incident of the black eye</a> occurred. The story involves two Nobel Prize winners, a right-hooked punch and at least one woman.<br /><br />The legend has it that on the evening of the 13th of February 1976, while in a movie theater in Mexico City, Marquez spotted Vargas Llosa sitting a few rows behind him. Upon making a move to embrace his good -he thought- friend, he found himself lying on the carpet with a bleeding nose and a sore left eye. (Legend also has that his shiner received immediate treatment by Helena Poniatowska placing a steak on it). In the meanwhile, Vargas Llosa, author -among other works- of the most famous punch in the history of literature, was led outside the theater shouting in rage: "How dare you try to embrace me after what you did to Patricia in Barcelona!"<br /><br />The background to this incident lies at the verge of being qualified as TV gossip material but <a href="http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/03/06/index.php?section=cultura&article=a05n1cul">since photographer Rodrigo Moya has made it public</a> it has assumed some far-reaching consequences, among which the reluctance of Marquez to complete the second volume of his autobiography or Llosa's refusal to republish his doctorate thesis on Marquez's legendary "One hundred years of solitude". The story goes that while both men where living in Barcelona with their families, Vargas Llosa fell passionately in love with a Swedish air-hostess, for whom he left his wife Patricia and moved to Stockholm. Patricia sought advice in Marquez and his wife Mercedes, the two having always been very close friends of the couple. It was later said that they strongly advised her to ask for a divorce. Even later, it was insinuated that Gabo's consolation to Patricia may have been a bit overly friendly. Vargas Llosa was informed (or misinformed) of the facts (or not) of the matter when he later returned to his wife (they always do) as she was probably too reluctant to contain herself (or too willing to exaggerate).<br /><br />The rest is history (or not yet). As the two masters casually met in Mexico the following year, Vargas Llosa felt obliged to demonstrate to "the courtier" how the right (hand) can deliver a decisive blow on the left (eye).<br /><br />How a duel of this kind and proportions can be resolved, even among two of the world's most prominent Nobel laureates, remains unclear.<br /><br />...................<br /><br />PS. A couple of hours after this post I read Marquez's latest tweet, posted on the day of the Prize announcement. It simply read "<span style="font-style: italic;">cuentas iguales</span>", roughly meaning "<span style="font-style: italic;">even</span>". Purposefully ambiguous, as all aphorisms, it can be interpreted in many ways. You choose the one you like the most.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-54428749571898672022010-08-01T03:46:00.003+03:002010-08-01T03:46:00.937+03:00going the wrong way<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TFQbI9ymFHI/AAAAAAAAGIM/Aml_impUkuc/s1600/trucks.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 362px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TFQbI9ymFHI/AAAAAAAAGIM/Aml_impUkuc/s400/trucks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500050885765895282" border="0" /></a><br />With lorry drivers all over Greece on strike for a mere three days, the minister of transports ordered them to break their strike, threatening to recall their permits if they did otherwise. Two days after that, and with truck drivers keeping their ground, the Greek government has employed the country's military forces to take their place and thus resume the distribution of goods and fuel throughout the country. As of yesterday army trucks are delivering fuel to airports and gas stations and somehow this is supposed to be restoring "stability" in markets and transportations.<br /><br />My fellow citizens who are relieved to be filling up their tanks and finding fresh apricots on the shelves of their supermarket, should think twice. They may be heading to the nearest beach on their cars and motorbikes but they are probably missing the fact that this is being done at the cost of workers' rights being stepped on in the most audacious of ways.<br /><br />This is a government, socialist only by name (like so many, nowadays), that first cuts down salaries and pensions to almost half of the population, then sits and stares at prices going up at record stagflation rates and decides to take action only when it is about further attacking worker's rights according to the dictates of the IMF. The new law -the reason for the lorry drivers being on strike- asks for a change in the status of a so-called "restricted access profession". For more than 35 years, in order to become a lorry driver someone had to pay a lot of money to get a permit that he could later transfer at will and at a price he decided. The government -aka its IMF "dictators"- have now called against this "unjust" system and are attempting a "reformation" (and you have to excuse words within double quotes but they are necessary). The new system will thus "open" the profession by rendering the permits so cheap that they become obsolete. Justice? Well, not quite. What the new law says is that the permit will be almost free to give away as long as someone has set up a "transport company" under which designated drivers will be working on a contract. What the law actually aims at, is opening the way for big food and fuel companies into a new market, safeguarded until yesterday by the lorry driver unions. Because that is exactly what is going to happen. In the past, individuals may have struggled for a permit that, given the organization of the union, guaranteed them a living but there is no chance for a middle or lower-class (if those still exist) guy to be able to start up a company. On the other hand, big companies have their way paved for them by the state. They won't even have to pay for the permits before setting up their own transport branches that will hire the ex drivers who will be unable to work without a contract.<br />Now does this sound like a "justified" "opening" of the profession to you?<br />What it really is, is a ruthless attempt to restructure the transportations sector from being limited-profit free-entrepreneurial into an oligopolistic trust with great profit margins for big companies, with the subsequent abasement of the workers.<br /><br />What is even more striking is the credulity and submission with which the media have supported the government's decisions, first to force the lorry drivers to end their strike and then to bring the soldiers on the streets delivering gasoline as if Greece has suddenly become North Korea. No talk about workers' rights abuse, no talk about dangerous connotations whatsoever.<br />But the worst part comes when one sees the public opinion dozing off in this media-administered apathy. As the country is experiencing cataclysmic changes in every possible aspect of everyday life, people are actually backing up the government by demanding this strike be over. That is, they are granting officials the right to undermine the future of thirty thousand people, being too short-sighted to see that what happens to the lorry drivers today, will be happening to them tomorrow.<br /><br />One fifth of the Greek population is living on the verge of poverty. 18% of Greeks will not visit a doctor for not being able to afford it, some 20% have reduced their spending on everyday goods like bread and milk, but in the end what really matters is that the "poor Greeks" get to have a five-day, well-deserved, overpriced summer vacation which is being ruined by them bloody truck drivers. So "bring on the troops", "stop the strike", "put them behind bars" for wanting to maintain their working status. Everything is acceptable as long as people can ride their cars off to a nearby beach.<br /><br />Well, it's not!<br /><br />I hope -for the sake of us all- that people start thinking with a clearer mind once the summer is over and sunbathing will no longer be their first and only priority.<br />Until then and with the lorry drivers holding firm at a brave standstill, it looks like everyone else is going the wrong way.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-43477691674607539292010-07-31T10:01:00.001+03:002010-07-31T10:16:28.211+03:00life in the afternoon<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TENPqCe1j5I/AAAAAAAAGHw/uM9jV1J9V6A/s1600/sanfermin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TENPqCe1j5I/AAAAAAAAGHw/uM9jV1J9V6A/s400/sanfermin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495323553961447314" border="0" /></a><br />With summer holiday just about to begin, I now know which book to take with me to the beach. This year, it's going to be "Death in the afternoon" by Ernest Hemingway. Not so much for the fun of it, or for an obvious debt in reading it (probably being Hemingway's most "Spanish" of books) but mostly because this book seems like the ideal way to lightly ponder about a long-lasting debate on the future of Spain's bullfighting tradition.<br /><br />Were he alive today, Hemingway, a passionate bullfighting "aficionado" ever since -the legend says- witnessing the Fiestas de Pamplona back in 1920, would have suffered a blow facing last Tuesday's <a href="http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/Cataluna/prohibe/toros/elpepuesp/20100728elpepunac_1/Tes">Catalan Autonomous Parliament's decision</a> to abolish bullfighting in Catalunya. Given the region's historical background and its constant drive for breaking its bonds with anything that is Spanish, it is hard to see perceive this decision completely decoupled from politics. In fact, it would suffice to look at the distribution of votes on the matter to realize a -not so strange- correlation between an assumed sensitivity for animal rights and political views. In all, it was a heavily divided vote, with representatives of the local nationalist parties being strongly in favour of the abolition act, in contrast to those of the moderate ones who maintain stronger links with the Central Government.<br /><br />In what concerns animal rights I am not sure how big this step is. In total, the bulls killed in arenas worldwide should not be more than a hundred every year, a number that is far inferior to the pigs slaughtered in the same period in the Catalan province alone to supply its sensitive citizens with a great variety of sausages. The obvious argument that bulls suffer an agonizing death in the bullring, whereas animals slaughtered for their flesh are killed "scientifically" does not make me feel a lot better. A great number of animals are still being horrendously tortured during drug and chemical testing and death is probably agonizing no matter the procedure of extermination being followed. I can understand the shock of a sensitive citizen at the sight of a blood-squirting, animal dying in its prime but one has to agree that there is a clear difference between slicing the throat of a baby lamp before putting it on a spit and leading a raging bull in the arena against a group of men, who have been trained throughout their lives into treating the animal with utter respect.<br /><br />No matter one's opinion on bullfighting, he has to admit that the whole point of it goes far beyond simply killing the bull. As a long-standing tradition, it goes a long way back to ancient ceremonies with a great deal of symbolism embedded so deeply that has become invisible today to short-sighted modernists who choose to see bullfighting as a display of barbarism but find the running-over of animals on the highways an inescapable side-effect of progress. Yes, bullfighting is a remnant of old times, and yes a "corrida" is a hard sight to which I would think twice before submitting my children, but then again, are all things of old destined to be abolished? and to what extent is a dying bull more offensive as a sight than what one can see on TV?<br /><br />I cannot say I am 100% pro-bullfighting, although I have enjoyed a couple of "corridas", and I am not the passionate fan Hemingway was, even if I appreciate a well-performed "Veronica" and can distinguish a "pase de pecho" from a "pase de desprecio". In all, I see a great deal of hypocrisy in trying to ban an activity that is has its roots in the veneration of an animal and during which animals are treated with extreme respect if not still considered sacred. Those who have never been in a bullfight, or have never read about them (by "Papa" Hemingway or anyone else) may not be aware of the fact that the bull is treated by the crowd with the same respect and admiration as the "torero", that the bullfighter is to be booed and ashamed if the animal is not killed properly (in a way that it suffers less, that is) and that in some -extreme- cases the bull can be "pardoned" by the fighter if the crowd demands it as a reward for its bravery (see for instance the great Jose Tomas pardoning a bull in Barcelona <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQkfgHsyDOo&feature=related">here</a>).<br /><br />But in the end, we live in a democracy and the decision of a Parliament is to be respected so there is to be no bullfighting in Catalunya as from January 1st 2012. And so the representatives of the people have decided that upon facing a bull instead of grabbing it by the horns, they might as well jump over it. Or even worse, pretend the bull is simply not there...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-56333343732380323452010-07-28T00:00:00.000+03:002010-07-28T10:14:31.728+03:00Cortescher<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TEAIf_k1M2I/AAAAAAAAGHc/0-4_qYic-c4/s1600/metamorphose.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 274px; height: 274px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TEAIf_k1M2I/AAAAAAAAGHc/0-4_qYic-c4/s400/metamorphose.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494400891126887266" border="0" /></a><br />With the World Cup over, an -expected- July heat wave bringing the city to a standstill and with teaching obligations not to be resumed before early September, I am taking advantage of a loosened working schedule to catch up with some long-due reading. Over the last weeks I have decided to take up the task of reading Douglas Hofstadter's legendary "Godel, Escher, Bach: An eternal golden braid" (also referred to as GEB-EGB by "connaiseurs").<br /><br />Being a book I 've always meant to read but at the same time more of a project than actual reading entertainment, GEB is to be given time and space to breath between reading chapters discussing a wide range of subjects from -the obvious but rather misguiding Music and Art- to -the more proper- computing, cognition and artificial intelligence. I therefore relax my GEB-endeavour with interludes of short stories by some of the South American masters, (Cortazar and Marquez mostly), whom I have somehow always connected with the summer.<br />It was this way that I came to make a strange connection between, GEB (and the middle "E" in particular, that is "Escher") with a short story from Julio Cortazar's "Final del juego" that I read only recently.<br /><br />The story is called "<a href="http://www.ciudadseva.com/textos/cuentos/esp/cortazar/nocheboc.htm">La noche boca arriba</a>", which would be translated in English as "The night face up" (non-spanish readers can opt for this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX_auFxEskM&feature=related">interesting comic-strip version</a>). It starts with an ordinary motorcycle accident, with the rider -our hero- being taken to hospital to receive first aid treatment. There he drifts into a strange limbo having and a very vivid dream in which he is transformed into a central American warrior-prince being chased by the blood-thirsty soldiers of the enemy in a dense, tenebrous jungle. As our hero resonates in and out of his drug-induced lethargy the realistic description of the surgery room is more and more blending with the visions of his middle-aged American dreamscape. The warrior has now been captured and is being kept captive in a dim, moist cave. As surgery goes on, the wounded rider dozes off deeper and deeper into this horrible nightmare. His captives are now tying him up on a wooden stretcher as the preparations for his sacrifice -for he is going to be sacrificed- are under way. As the story is slowly drawing to a climax, the part of the warrior is gradually occupying the greatest part of the story, the agony of the imminent sacrifice has become the main theme with the ongoing surgery in a distant time and space shifting to a secondary allegory. The upsetting "finale" resolves in a complete reversal of the story, as we realize that the surgery room, the accident, the speedy motorcycle ride have all been parts of a futuristic vision of the moribund warrior instead of the actual facts.<br /><br />These reversals are rather a commonplace in Cortazar and the rest of his kind (Borges being the most prominent). But having had recently gone through the wonderous worlds of M.C. Escher, I could not but think of his "Metamorphosen", where a main theme being gradually mixed with a secondary until completely transformed into it, and how Douglas Hofstadter might have been delighted in citing this wonderful literary analog to complementary transformations (instead of filling the gaps of his chapters with his somehow dully pedagogical dialogs).<br /><br />As it was getting very late -but not much cooler- I switched off the light and tried to get some sleep myself, only to realize that I was too upset by Cortazar's complementary nightmares and that instead of taking a "break" I should have moved directly to Hofstadter's next chapter on recursion.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-7873708083989787092010-07-26T01:00:00.004+03:002010-07-26T23:19:03.573+03:00It's always the 26th<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TEAH8koLCNI/AAAAAAAAGHU/QbA7skO9SQw/s1600/26-7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TEAH8koLCNI/AAAAAAAAGHU/QbA7skO9SQw/s400/26-7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494400282597722322" border="0" /></a><br />On July 26th 1953, some 130 men badly trained, poorly armed, wearing second-hand military uniforms, stormed the barracks of La Moncada in Santiago de Cuba at daybreak. As the attack was pushed back by the soldiers of Fulgencio Batista's military regime, a great part of the insurgents died on the spot. Others were executed the morning after and the rest of them were captured in the following days, tortured, trialed for treason and imprisoned for life.<br />They did not, however, serve for life. For it only took five years and 158 days for the man who had led them against La Moncada to finally triumph in kicking Batista and Co. out of Cuba. Fidel Castro's first official decree ordered their liberation and the declaration of July 26th as a national holiday.<br /><br />Last week, that same man, Fidel Castro, having outlived nine U.S. presidents, several CIA-orchestrated attacks against the state of Cuba and himself, made an official appearance after being considered seriously ill (at some times even at the verge of death) for more than a year. He looked feeble but in good humour and even had time to talk to the people for a couple of hours, for remaining silent has never been his thing ever since <a href="http://www.marxists.org/history/cuba/archive/castro/1953/10/16.htm">he defended his own self</a> in the trials of La Moncada movement.<br /><br />Castro will turn 84 next month but will still be at the center of attention of the whole country for today's celebrations of the National Holiday commemorating the attack on La Moncada. Fifty seven years after that first attempt to change the lives of the Cuban People, he is something more than a talisman of the state he rescued from the gangsters and the pimps. He is still active, taking decisions, forming policies and even committing errors, something Bill Clinton (to name only one) can only match with explaining the way he led the World Economy to ruins to University students all over the planet. (His fee for such "inspired" talks amounts in the thousands, they say, but maybe he plays the sax for free on intermission).<br /><br />In the meantime, Castro, once the pole of an "axis of evil", demonized for trying to impose a "failed economical system" on the poor Cubans, is seeing how his country sails through the latest international economic crisis, the third one since he took over. I guess he must be entertained with the way his fellows in the US and Europe are cutting down salaries and pensions, watching unemployment rise and public spending decrease. I also guess that by now, having been harshly criticized for nationalizing banks and companies, he must be entertained with how European Governments are using taxpayers money to rescue private banks.<br />I 'm also guessing Castro, having been repeatedly accused for his insistence on not liberating political prisoners, will be laughing at the new laws in Europe and elsewhere forcing women not to wear burkha, forcing everybody to carry new, biometric passports, registering mobile phones, allowing landlines to be tapped "under special circumstances" e.t.c.<br /><br />And I 'm guessing Castro will be having the time of his life today. Seeing Cuba maintaining its dignity in times that even sovereign states are being bullied by the IMF and some arbitrary world-dictators named G20. Seeing that Cuba -in the way he has defended it against the wishes of "liberals" worldwide- has not had the luck of Haiti or Bolivia, thus it cannot be devastated by natural catastrophes like earthquakes or un-natural ones like Lehman Brothers.<br /><br />For Castro, it may not "always be the 26th" (as Omara Portuondo sings in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilGg-KNgg8U">this beautiful anthem</a>) but in the end it looks like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_Will_Absolve_Me">history may absolve him</a> after all.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-70176525552688627382010-07-20T11:40:00.005+03:002010-07-26T14:31:40.805+03:00PMD (Post-Mundial-Depression)<div style="text-align: right;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TEViXFs2MOI/AAAAAAAAGIE/FDDFNanBv8w/s1600/eduardo.galeano.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 195px; height: 195px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TEViXFs2MOI/AAAAAAAAGIE/FDDFNanBv8w/s400/eduardo.galeano.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495907069082349794" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Cuando el Mundial comenzó, en la puerta de mi casa colgué un cartel que decía Cerrado por fútbol. Cuando lo descolgué, un mes después, yo ya había jugado sesenta y cuatro partidos, cerveza en mano, sin moverme de mi sillón preferido. Esa proeza me dejó frito, los músculos dolidos, la garganta rota; pero ya estoy sintiendo nostalgia. Ya empiezo a extrañar la insoportable letanía de las vuvuzelas, la emoción de los goles no aptos para cardíacos, la belleza de las mejores jugadas repetidas en cámara lenta. Y también la fiesta y el luto, porque a veces el fútbol es una alegría que duele, y la música que celebra alguna victoria de ésas que hacen bailar a los muertos, suena muy cerca del clamoroso silencio del estadio vacío, donde ha caído la noche y algún vencido sigue sentado, solo, incapaz de moverse, en medio de las inmensas gradas sin nadie.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eduardo Galeano<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><a href="http://pcumadrid.blogspot.com/2010/07/eduardo-galeano-mundial-de-sudafrica.html">El reino magico</a><br /><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >*(Find an English translation <a href="http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/galeano150710.html">here</a>)<br /></span><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-85687904759987823592010-07-15T20:51:00.006+03:002010-07-16T11:16:26.808+03:00in the end it's all about football<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TD9LZwMo-jI/AAAAAAAAGHM/z7Gy2g_vQwY/s1600/forlan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 247px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TD9LZwMo-jI/AAAAAAAAGHM/z7Gy2g_vQwY/s400/forlan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494192976222026290" border="0" /></a><br />Last month was a month of traveling, work, reading and partying but first and foremost it was a month of football. Hard as I tried to explain to my girlfriend that the World Cup -apart from being the WORLD CUP- belongs to that special category of rare events -once every four years- that further adds to their immense importance, she still found my enthusiasm (which of course she could only qualify as obsession) increasingly irritating. Having been in a rather good mood (as it always happens while the World Cup approaches the last-16) the time seemed right for me to confront Demetra with the standard, traditional argumentation for the love of the game and the impact of the World Cup<br /><br />I therefore tried to slowly introduce her to the history of the teams, the differences in the style of play that for so long -not so much anymore, but still- have been connected to the temperament of the people, the Brazilian "jogo bonito" against the Bristish "kick and rush" etc. But having had recently read <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/jonathanwilson">Jonathan Wilson</a>'s -outstanding- "<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1409102041?ie=UTF8&tag=dadsjuk-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1409102041">Inverting the Pyramid</a>" I soon found myself over-excited, talking about formations and tactics, arguing for the rise of the modern 4-2-3-1 and the -apparent- decline of 4-4-2 and preaching about posession football being a pro-active strategy. As I realized the expressions on Demetra's face were rapidly shifting from slightly indifferent to utterly bored, I decided I had gone too far and I let it go. By that time the play-offs had already started and I decidedly announced I was to watch all games left till the end. I stayed in to watch USA play Ghana. She stayed in with me, partly out of support and partly -I assume- for educational reasons. Perhaps she could understand what it is that makes football so important.<br /><br />As it usually happens, by the time you reach the semifinals, even women get to be -a little- interested in the action. With Uruguay about to face the Netherlands in the first semifinal we decided to watch the game in the company of friends (girlfriends included). Before kick off, having been repeatedly asked on which side I was on, I resolved -time and again- to foolish comments of the type "I don't mind", "I like them both" etc. But as the game went under way I gradually shifted from a mild sympathizer of the Uruguayans to the most loyal of their fans . So, I cheered with joy when Diego Forlan scored the superb goal depicted in this post's photo and I stood up from my chair to watch the last minutes as Uruguay struggled for an equalizer.<br />A few days later, Demetra decided it was high time she went out a bit. As she was having drinks downtown, I was at home biting my fingernails watching Uruguay's agonizing efforts for a late equalizer once more, this time against Germany in the 3rd place final. When Forlan (again) hit the crossbar from a free-kick on the last minute I exploded in a outcry of curses about the world being unjust, the order of the universe and the such!<br /><br />It is in moments like these, that one realizes the power of football.<br /><br />When simply by watching a game you start to get involved even when at the beginning you appear indifferent. It is as if you have been set up by a friend on a blind date only to find yourself strangely attracted to the other person and un-strangely in love before you even realize it. In the same way you find yourself cheering for the goals of a far-away country or feeling compassion for a guy being sent off even if you've only seen his face for the first time one hour ago. No matter what the tactics are, wether 4-4-2 is to be abandoned or if Spain's tiki-taka is a defensive or an attacking strategy, in the end it's all about football.<br /><br />And one day, perhaps, women may feel it too.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-71356132731294352452010-06-27T18:44:00.004+03:002010-06-29T18:03:52.098+03:00Against the anonymous fan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TCdx8loqsGI/AAAAAAAAGFw/Q_lzgwP6BGg/s1600/stupidfan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TCdx8loqsGI/AAAAAAAAGFw/Q_lzgwP6BGg/s400/stupidfan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487479956683010146" border="0" /></a><br />Imagine something you love and at the same time respect too much to see it ridiculed. Now imagine someone who is pretending to love that same thing but obviously understands nothing of its grace. One that instead of appreciating it, is using it as an opportunity to show off. Someone who, in summary, is nowhere near your perception of what is considered to be your "common" passion. He is only there to make a mock out of it and outrage you with his stupidity!<br />Now put this guy in the position of the anonymous clown of the photo and there you have my feelings about football on one hand and the random football fan on the other.<br /><br />I 've been watching the games of the World Cup just like any other civilized person who appreciates football and I cannot but be disturbed with the frequency with which the cameras turn to the crowd in search of pathetic exhibitionists like the one in the photo. I cannot be precise about the origins of this sick habit of television broadcast but I am guessing it must have started at the same time football was for the first time treated as a massive commercial product. That would be sometime between the World Cups of USA and Korea-Japan. It was around then, that broadcasting a football game started to involve close-ups of Victoria Beckham (back then Mel-C or B, I can't quite remember). And it was around that time that the anonymous idiot, realized he could have his 5 seconds of fame simply by putting on the most ridiculous kind of garment, (or in the case of women, remove every trace of it) and getting admitted into a football stadium (if only someone would stop him...).<br /><br />Be it wherever and whenever, I am not here to argue on the power of the medium (that is TV in HD or any other quality). The point I am trying to make is as simple as this:<br />Since when have we fans become a part of the spectacle so that we deserve to be ostentatiously treated side by side with the actual protagonists, the football players and their coaches?<br />Since when do people feel that going to a football stadium is more about showing off their worst taste in costumes than watching the actual game?<br />Since when have people become so self-centered that instead of watching the game they sit patiently staring at the big screen (nowadays all big stadia have at least one) waiting for their little, insignificant existences to appear so that they can wave mommy or daddy hello?<br />And since when has the feeling "I saw it. I was there!" been substituted by "You saw me. I was there!" ?<br /><br />It may be a sign of the times, a simple manifestation of how, in a powerful media-driven society, the passive spectator becomes the spectacle or -for that matter- how easily he can be tricked into believing he is something more than just that. A passive spectator. In a society where our ability to have a real say about things that matter has been substituted by the illusion of deciding on the next "pop idol" it is becoming increasingly important to realize what order of things we HAVE to be involved in and what not. Football -other than a great game for those of us lucky to still practice it- is a spectacle and should remain one. The moment the fans get to have their own "Fan of the match" webpage, (check it out, it exists) something is definitely going wrong.<br /><br />To all those that will arguably point out that football without TV would be something very different than what it really is, I can simply offer to lend them a couple of my DVDs of old World Cups where the TV was present only without the occasional morons staring at the camera, making the V-sign instead of watching the game they had paid for.<br /><br />Please, keep this in mind, for the next time you see a clown like this popping up on your TV screen in the middle of the semis.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6519731550416523599.post-135072117286040812010-06-26T19:44:00.003+03:002010-06-27T13:52:34.655+03:00So long and thanks for the fish...<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TCYvskvMbFI/AAAAAAAAGFo/4EekJJRfDMU/s1600/thanxforthefish.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 341px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7qc0yUeQGw8/TCYvskvMbFI/AAAAAAAAGFo/4EekJJRfDMU/s400/thanxforthefish.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487125638819900498" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(A guy walking down Carrer dels Flassanders in el Born, Barcelona. Photo by Julien Lagarde)</span><br /></span></div><br />Some ten days ago, in a bar close to my old working place in the Barceloneta, I indulged into some serious dancing and partying for three main reasons. One, Greece had only won their first ever game in a World Cup on that same afternoon, two after having watched France losing to Mexico in the company of a predominantly French audience I felt we needed to be cheered up and three I was back in the company of good friends I haven't seen for quite a long time. Moreover, we found ourselves in our "natural" environment, the place where we all met, worked and have shared similar moments (that is both vivid disappointments and sudden impulses of joy) over the last years.<br /><br />It was during that dancing that one of us (I was told later, it was Micha) told someone else (who was Julien): "We were a good group once"<br /><br />Be it nostalgia, grief or simply "girly-talk" as my own girl put it, there is substantial truth in that. We "were" a group once, we are now individuals that used to be part of the same team, still very good friends, still in the position of meeting every now and then and have fun like we used to. As time goes by and we grow old, some things will necessarily change. And instead of thinking back in sorrow, I prefer to glance forward in joy. I am happy to realize that even though life has moved on, I can still meet my friends and have a great time with them, be it for ten days every few months. A lot of things change in between, but it is as natural, as well as desired.<br /><br />As time goes by and the perception of time itself is adjusting to a more fragmentary way of "grown-up" life, I choose the most optimistic way of looking at things. Yes, we "were a group" once, but yes we also "are" still a group in a certain sort of way. And no we won't be able to celebrate all of the French defeats, (or any other kind of "defeat" for that manner) but it is quite astonishing that we manage to keep this rate of constancy of celebrating once every few months considering the distances we are all transversing in both space and time.<br /><br />A few days later during a wonderful ceviche dinner at the place of a couple of friends we remembered the last time I was there. It was almost a year and a half ago, the dinner was lunch then, (but it was again fish), and my friends' precious daughter was sitting at the table with us. Seventeen months later, the precious daughter was sleeping in the room next door, with her -also precious- baby brother who was born on the same night of my last visit. As we wondered what the changes will be the next time we have dinner or lunch together, I thought that witnessing change may be as important as meeting again to share it. <br /><br />As I once again rode the bus to the airport, on my way home, I promised myself I will be back soon. Not as soon though as not for some change to have taken place. It looks as if I have irreversibly connected Barcelona with the point of reference for my personal development plan ;)<br /><br />So long, then, and thanks for all the fish...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0