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Velas Tours
an incoming tour operator based in Greece with 34 years experience in both, tours and holidays
velastours.com
an incoming tour operator based in Greece with 34 years experience in both, tours and holidays
velastours.com
Column-Up PeriscopeColumn-Up Periscope By Bob Nicolaides Spartathlon is as important to Hellenes as is the Marathon run, with the only difference that while the latter happens nowadays all over the world, the former happens exclusive in Greece and takes place annually September 25 and 26. The foot race retraces the route that the man who was dispatched from Athens to warn Spartans that fresh troops were needed to push back the campaign waged by the colossal Persian Empire bent on conquering Hellas took, as identified in 1982 by John Foden and his team, the man being none other than Pheidippides. The race's route is based on Herodotus' description of the Athenian 'Imerodromou', or messenger, who arrived in Sparta the day after he departed from Athens. The battle of Marathon in 490 BC, cemented the eventual defeat of the Persian army in the hands of Alexander the Great, but for the moment, it was general, Miltiades and his soldiers who defeated the enemy and preserved Athens and Hellenism. In its aftermath, Athens became the pre-eminent Greek city-state eventually resulting in the Classical Age. Pheidippides left Athens heading west on the Iera Odos, or "sacred road," heading for the town of Elefsis. From there, he followed the Skyronia Odos, a military trail on the slopes of the Gerania mountain range, travelling south through Isthmia, Examilia and ancient Corinth. He reached ancient Nemea avoiding Epicratea of Argos, a rival of Athens, and he continued along the mountains between Argolida and Arcadia. He climbed Mt. Parthenio (1,200 meters), continuing in the direction of Tegea, one of the locations mentioned by Herodotus in his account on Pheidippides, proceeding Sparta. He had completed 1,140 "stadia" (a 'stadio' equaling the length of one stadium or 246 kilometers.) The 246-kilometer Spartathlon (www.spartathlon.gr). The first athlete to cross the finish line on this, the 27th year of the run on September 26, in front of a statue of King Leonidas, was Japan's Sekya Ryochi, who completed the race after 23 hours, 48 minutes and 24 seconds, followed by Lars Christoffers of Denmark and Jon Berge of Norway in third place. The humble reward for the athletes' super-human effort was a "cotinos", a wreath made of wild olive tree branches and water from the Evrotas River delivered by a young woman from Sparta. None of the winners however have achieved the record of Yiannis Kouros, who won the first Spartathlon and who still holds the record time at 20:25:00. Did you say Yiannis Kouros? Not the New York restaurateur of yesteryear, not on your life….. And staying with the ancient Greeks, you may want to believe they have had considerable knowledge on how to care for premature babies, according to an analysis presented on Sunday Sept. 20th, during the 15th Hellenic Conference on Perinatal Medicine that took place in Thessaloniki. This was posted by doctors from Agios Savvas oncological hospital in Athens, working in collaboration with private colleagues in Hania in Crete. In an essay entitled "Mythological description of an incubator," the doctors say that the description given in ancient myths of the birth of the god Dionysus and how he was cared for, very closely approximates the requirements for an incubator used in modern hospitals. According to the myth, Dionysus was born prematurely in the eighth month of pregnancy and had a low birth weight. He was carried by the god Hermes to Mount Nysa and cared by the Hyades, the nymphs of warm rain, who placed him in a cave simulating the requirements of an incubator - an air filter, double lining and protection from drafts. The 'air filter' is a stand of pines planted by the Hyades by the entrance of the cave, the 'double lining' is formed by the branches of a virgin vine and the young god was protected from drafts by a cover of thick-leaved ivy. The conditions maintained a warm and slightly moist - in other words thermologically neutral - environment for the newborn. What¢s your opinion? Do you consider it the figment of a wild ancient imagination? According to the doctors, it would be a very strange coincidence if the myth had no logical and actual basis, and it would surprise me if our forefathers did not have the answers to many of today¢s inventions…. The Greek Film Archive (Tainiothiki ) is moving into a new building, on the premises of the old cinema Lais, in the Gazi district, downtown Athens. The official opening of the new headquarters of the Greek Film Archive is scheduled for October 1st, and will extend over four days with various events and an Avant-Garde Film Festival from October 5-14. The new building is equipped with two screening theatres (a 200-seat and a 60-seat one) as well as a library and a museum dedicated to cinema in Greece and the history of the Greek Film Archive. The Film Archive sprang from the activity of the Athens Cinematography Association, which was established in 1950 by the Athens Association of Film Critics. Nowadays it boasts over 10,000 titles by Greek and foreign directors and over 1 million meters of film, containing rare footage from newsreels to professional and home movies. Two Greek films - Strella (photo) by Panos Koutras and Dogtooth by Yorgos Lanthimos - have been nominated for this year¢s European Film Academy Awards. Every year the Awards honor achievements in the categories of European Film, European Director, European Actress and Actor. This year¢s awards ceremony will take place on December 12 in the German city of Bochum. Dogtooth won the UN Certain Regard award at the Cannes Film Festival last May while Strella competed last winter at the Berlinale…..Greek-Australian actors Nick Giannopoulos and Vince Colosimo are currently shooting on Myconos island Wog Boy 2: Kings of Mykonos, a sequel of "Wog Boy," which grossed 13.4 million Australian dollars….. The events celebrating Thermopylea 2009 near the ancient namesake battleground went off as expected in front of a monument commemorating Leonidas of Sparta, his famed 300 Spartans and their Thespian allies. Apart from the re-enactment of ancient-style military formations, various screenings took place and came to a close with a concert, with more than 2,000 people attending…. Actor George Chakiris is 77 on Sept. 16, actor Michael Chiklis was 46 on August 30th, singer-actor Constantine Maroulis is 34 on 9/17 and actress Bridgette Wilson-Sampras was 36 on September 25…. Acclaimed composer and pianist Mimis Plessas returned to New York after nearly a quarter century for three special performances, two at the Queens Theatre in the Park (9/ 26-27) and Dizzy¢s Jazz Club (9/28). Together with vocalist Evi Siamanda and New York-based vibraphonist Christos Rafalides presented their work and their recent CD recording “echo: the music of Mimis Plessas” (Emarel Music), a mosaic of global rhythms with Plessas on piano, arranged and produced by Rafalides. ……George Fteris' Horiata, composed specifically for "Singer of Victory" Sofia Vembo to perform during wartime, is one of more than a dozen songs composed and performed around the world in the midst of the destruction of World War II that was presented in Nostalgia: The World's Music, 1939-1945 at "Experience Long Island-2009" on September 26 and September 27, 2009. It was sung by Sophia Niarchos, a freelance journalist and the coordinator of the multilingual program held at 1 p.m. at the Cinema Room, Hillwood Recital Hall, C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. Vembo is the legendary wartime singer who escaped from German-occupied Greece via Turkey, and while there were rumors that she had been killed, she turned up in Egypt, where she continued her interrupted her career, until the liberation of her country….The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater with a new repertoire mixing classics, contemporary favorites and innovative new works such as Festa Barocca, Suite Otis, Night Creature, Hymn, and, Ailey¢s masterpiece, Revelations, visited Athens as part of its International Tour, September 24 to 27 at the Athens Concert Hall , otherwise known as the Megaro…..And Vanessa Mae (do you like that name?) who hasn¢t shown herself there for five years, appeared at the Herod Atticus Odeon - Herodion on 24 September, accompanied by a six-piece band, an orchestra and a huge team of technicians to present a unique show, never before seen in Athens…. The bomb that is Love Happens reminds us that Jennifer Aniston has actually become a real movie star. This is her worst wide release opener since Rumor Has It, and breaks a streak of three straight first place launches. Who says you can¢t make the jump from television to movies? And that, despite what Italian magazine Grazia writes, which is that Jen Aniston has had Macrolane injections and boosted her bra measurements by a whole cup size. Now come October 2009, Joe Francis will be the defendant in a tax evasion trial, and the “Girls Gone Wild” creator could receive up to 10 years in prison if convicted. The Smoking Gun has obtained a series of slides that Francis¢ defense team reportedly plans to use during opening arguments. Interestingly, Jennifer Aniston is slated to be part of Francis¢ defense. A portion of the prosecution's case will involve the presentation of evidence that Francis deducted millions of dollars of fraudulent business expenses and also sought to hide income using offshore firms. On the other side of the case, as indicated by The Smoking Gun slides, the producer¢s defense team plans to present evidence of “celebrity guests” who stayed at Francis¢ Mexican estate. Hollywood houseguests include Aniston, Vince Vaughn, Orlando Bloom, and Jack Nicholson. The defense will apparently argue that the Francis mansion is entitled to be an investment property that was rented to well-heeled tenants, and therefore tax deductions are legitimate. Meanwhile Francis has been accused of committing assault and battery on Playboy 2008 Playmate of the Year Jayde Nicole, allegedly while at a Hollywood club. He flat-out denies it. Nicole was dating “Bromance” actor Brody Jenner at the time of the alleged incident. The way in which the accusation was made public was through the social media phenom, Twitter. The following was posted by Jenner on his Twitter account: “Joe Francis beat up my lady this morning for no reason! Pulled her to the ground, punched & kicked her? What does that say about him?" “How can you call yourself a man when you beat up a girl?? Joe Francis is a piece of s***. Joe Francis needs to be in jail!!!," the tweet continued. Although no arrests have been made, Nicole had a bruised cheek, swollen face, bruised left rib, sore lower abdomen and some of her hair yanked out, according to TMZ. She intends to press charges against the soft porn purveyor for criminal assault and battery. Jennifer Aniston and her hunky costar Aaron Eckhart add a whole lotta pretty to "Love Happens" premiere. Matt Damon is back to his slim self at "The Informant!" premiere and Roseanne Barr (where's she been?) attends "Capitalism: A Love Story" premiere. - 'Love Happens" is a rather unfortunate title for a new romance starring Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston. The reason? It is the kind of movie in which it feels like virtually nothing happens, much less love. …..Are Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer about to reunite for a Friends movie? Yes, they are — according to new reports! Britain¢s News of The World newspaper — citing James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther — claims the five-some have all signed up to reprise their characters on the big screen. “Friends: The Movie is definitely on,” said Tyler. “I still keep in touch with a lot of the cast and they say that they are really keen. “The one thing I can tell you is that I am definitely on board to do the film. She¢d get there before everyone else and zip around that huge track like a winner!” Aniston, 40, recently insisted she never set out to become a celebrity. The class of 1987 at LaGuardia Arts school just wanted to do “good” work. “I¢ve never sat and plotted out how I was going to become successful or famous,” the former Friends star told Harper¢s Bazaar Australia. “I just really wanted to work — to do good work — ever since I was at the High School of Performing Arts [in New York]. “My Russian acting coach told me I was a disgrace to the Moscow Theatre. So I was determined to prove him wrong and do good work. I¢ve never had my eye on a prize. I really wanted to enjoy the passage of time. Before Friends and the success of that I have a graveyard of sitcoms that, thank god, you don¢t know about. I was happy to get a job every year, whether it went on or not.” Well, is it time for the film that will perpetuate the Friends series to start rolling or not yet? ….The attack on Sarah Palin during the last presidential campaign was like a media tag team match. The mainstream media would unleash a barrage of hit pieces on the GOP vice presidential candidate, and the entertainment media would launch a bunch of snarky Left Coast missiles. But nothing was more undermining of Palin's standing as a serious candidate than Tina Fey¢s “Saturday Night Live” impersonations. Hollywood showed Fey its gratitude at the Creative Arts Primetime Emmys and gave an award to the actress-comedienne for best guest spot in a comedy. As a television academy member, my suggestion was that the guest comedy Emmy go to Joe Biden. That didn¢t go over too well. Incidentally, in accepting the award Fey thanked "SNL" producer Lorne Michaels. She also gave a shout-out to her parents "who are lifelong Republicans” and thanked them “for their patience."…… Hangover star Zach Galifianakis co-stars with Jason Schwartzman (Funny People) and Ted Danson in the weirdly funny comedy series on HBO (Sun.9:30 pm) called Bored to Death. If you watch it, I promise you, you won¢t have the time to get bored-for laughing out loud. He plays Jonathan¢s (Schwartzman) friend Ray a henpecked comic-book artist…… Too bad a Turk was picked in London as the tallest man in the world, towering at 8¢1”, making the Guiness Book of Records as the 2010 winner on September 16. I had envisioned these God-dam Greek Gods as the winners, but no, it had to be a Turk. He was officially crowned the world's tallest man after his Ukrainian rival dropped out of the running by refusing to be measured, which of course sounds stupid, unless he knew he would Guinness World Records said that 8-foot 1-inch Sultan Kosen, from the town of Mardin in eastern Turkey, is now officially the tallest man walking the planet, although the previous record holder, Ukrainian Leonid Stadnyk, reportedly measuring 8 feet 5.5 inches. He was stripped of his title when he declined to let anyone confirm his height. The newly-crowned tallest man in the world took a short stroll through the Big Apple on Sunday, making even jaded New Yorkers stop in their tracks……Christie DeGregorio, Esquire, Philadelphia PJA School¢s Academic Dean had some extra words of encouragement for graduating student Janet Beli of Drexel Hill, since both share the same heritage-Greek parents. Janet¢s parents are the owners of Dora¢s Bakery in Drexel Hill….
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