Monday, July 2, 2012

Common Misconceptions About Greece: Guest Post from Bex at Leaving Cairo

        Bex blogs at Leaving Cairo, the UK, and Back to Greece.  She is quite the world traveler and she writes about places that many of us will only dream of ever going.  Visit her blog and let her take you away.  Today she takes us to her adopted country of Greece.  This country has been getting some bad press of late and Bex wants to address some of these issues in this guest post.

Common misconceptions about Greece
            As an EFL teacher, I had started my career in Sri Lanka pre-CELTA as a volunteer for 3 months.  I soon realised I loved teaching and after completing the CELTA, decided I wanted to continue my visit to far flung destinations, anything in Europe to my mind was not far enough removed, both geographically and culturally.

         How wrong could I be?  Thinking I would spend just one year in Greece to gain experience and move on, 3 and a half years later I find myself loving this diverse country and choosing to stay.

            Unfortunately there are some common misconceptions about Greece and the Greeks, especially with the International media’s reportage.  I hope to give you a slightly clearer picture here:

1) They throw plates a lot

Zebekiko
            Er, no – it’s not even really traditional.  They actually have a special Greek dance called “Zebekiko” where women sit in a circle (or men) and in the centre, a man dances to the women (or visa versa) whilst the admirers in the circle clap and throw flower petals at him/her.  The dancer is expressing their love for someone in the circle – you have to hear the accompanying music to appreciate how expressive it is, and how FREE people are when they dance to this.  It brings tears to the eyes.


2) Greeks are lazy

Fisherman mending his net.
            OK, this is clearly a racist comment, particularly flouted around in Northern European countries like Germany to discredit the Southern European states. The Office of National Statistics shows us that, ironically, Greeks have a longer working week that Germans (42.2 hours per week compared to 35.6 hours).  Many Greeks, due to recent austerity measures, hold down 2 jobs and I think what people need to concentrate on is the inflated public sector.  But not every Greek is a public sector worker, remember that.  And not every Greek is a tax dodger!!  Look at the people in the upper echelons of every nation – THAT’S where you’ll find the tax dodgers.


3) Greeks are always rioting

The_great_summer_outdoor_experience_-_
Cine_Paris,_Plaka,_Athens
    
        Oh dear – the International Media have a lot to answer for don’t they?!  Bombarding us with pictures of rioting Greeks in Syntagma (Parliament) Square. 

       Greeks have always been a passionate race and due to hard austerity passed down to them, instead of sitting around moaning about it – they take to the streets and demonstrate.  Unfortunately, occasionally these demonstrations can turn nasty – but invariable it’s by a minority of people instigating it.  I’ve been quite happily sitting at home, updating my blog when the phone’s rung and a panicky voice of one of my friends had bleated down the line:

“Oh my God!  I’ve just seen the news – are you OK?!”  for me to reply“What are you talking about?” 

          I’m sure the media use ‘library footage’ a lot.  Remember, the majority of Greeks are NOT violent people.  Which brings me onto: 
Old house in Kypseli,
Athens Greece
  
4) Athens is constantly burning

            Athens is not in the midst of mortar fire constantly.  Interestingly, I have been sitting down having a coffee (a famous Greek pastime) whilst round the corner a demonstration has passed by…with no problems!  Which reminds me…


5) Greeks spend all day in the coffee shops/Kafeneos

Tavli
            Hold on, you don’t hear a Greek saying “Well, the British spend all day in the pubs don’t they?”  And I ask you – what’s a more civilized picture in your mind: a Greek sipping on a frappe with his mates, slapping each other on the backs in a friendly fashion or a British man drinking ridiculous amounts of beer and spoiling for a fight (see what I mean about stereotypes)?


          So I do hope you’ll come and enjoy all this country has to offer.  I, for one, feel like an honorary Greek, which is an honour indeed.  These people have taken me into the bosom of their homes, fed me, looked after me and accepted me.  I love Greece – may she continue to fight against the negative stereotypes bestowed upon her.

Paros

Sunset --Paros Island
Paros Sunset

        Have you ever been to Greece?   Have you been to Cairo?  What is your dream place to visit?   Perhaps Bex has been there and can tell you about it.








Enhanced by Zemanta

Friday, June 29, 2012

Letter Play - How to Make a TV Picture Frame

The following tutorial is brought to you by Nicole from The Madlab Post...

It’s time for Letter Play - Where DIY activities, cinema and life offline collide!

Sometime in the last two weeks or so, I came across an adorable handmade birthday card that was inspired by Twitter. The popular social networking website was to become the topic of today’s post but my Twitter craft ideas were too complex to finish in a short amount of time as my schedule and goals continue to get the best of me. Since, my friend David gave me some photos to use in a YouTube/Television series that I’m currently working on, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and construct a DIY picture frame - a handmade item that could be done quickly with just a few household arts and crafts items.

Here are instructions on how to make a TV picture frame for your home, office cubicle, school locker, car dashboard, bookshelf or any other place where you want to display new photos.

Materials used for this TV picture frame:
  • Two Black 3x3 inch cardstock squares - One solid and one open square, cut into a sizeable border.
  • One 3x3 inch photo
  • Two thin strips of black cardstock (to be used as antennas)
  • One small strip of yellow cardstock (to be used as a VCR/DVD player)
  • Glue
  • One pen
  • Scissors
  • Two brads
  • One sponge or paint brush
  • One small piece of cardboard from the top of an aluminum foil box* or similar item. (*Optional)
Instructions to make this handmade TV picture frame:
Step 1. Glue the black “antenna” strips in the middle of your solid black square.

Step 2. Attach the photo to the solid square, on top of the antenna strips, using glue. Set aside to dry.

Step 3. Glue the yellow “DVD player” strip onto the bottom center of your open square.

Step 4. Poke holes into the upper right side of your open square, using a pen.


Step 5. Put one brad through each hole on the open square and then fasten them on the opposite side.


Step 6. Glue the open square on top of the solid photo base, press down and allow to dry.

Step 7. Fold a small piece of cardboard and then attach half of it to the back of your finished TV photo frame, using double-sided tape. As an alternative, you can also use magnetic squares or strips if you want to display the photo on a refrigerator or other magnetic surface. 


Additional options for using this DIY handmade photo frame as a stand-alone item include placing it on top of your dresser, window base, mantel or coffee table. Enjoy!


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you like group blogging activities? Sign up for the Monday Movie Meme, a weekly blog series that inspires discussion about entertainment, in a whole new light and provides recommendations for your DVD, on-demand or theater fix. New topics are posted every Monday!


NICOLE
Blog: The Madlab Post
Also @MadlabPost on Twitter


Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Special Challenge Participant Feature – Jamie at Mithril Wisdom!

One of the highlights of the A to Z Challenge included visiting Jamie Gibbs at Mithril Wisdom every day. A fantasy and metal dude, Jamie’s theme just rocked! So I asked him to join us today and give us a little insight…

Your Challenge theme involved fantasy and metal music. (Which I thought was wicked cool.) What made you merge the two together?

I've been listening to power and folk metal since I was 17, and it's given me a lost of inspiration in my writing. There's a whole lot of imagery in the music of that genre that other musical styles can't reach, but it's pretty niche and doesn't get a whole lot of recognition. It's very similar to fantasy as a literary genre - it tends to get sneered at by 'more established' genres but it's got such huge potential in terms of imagery and imagination.

Which song and band comprised your favorite post?

Ooo, don't make me choose! *quickly rilfes through A-Z posts*. That's a really hard one to nail down. I'm going to go for my M is for Mithril post (before anyone says anything, my blog's name did not influence the decision at all). The song is Durnir's Forge by Dragonland. The song itself is pretty badass (a hero venturing into the bowels of a dwarf fortress to gain the help of the dwarf king in order to overthrow an evil tyrant? What's not to love) but the entire album is amazing.

What usually grips me most of all about these kinds of albums is that I can perfectly imagine them being performed on the stage, like a rock opera/heavy metal musical. That's when you know you've struck gold, and this album Under the Grey Banner has all those qualities.

You mentioned science fiction once or twice – think you might want to tackle science fiction and metal music next year?

Sci-fi would be pretty sweet; there's definitely a good number of sci-fi inspired power metal songs out there (like one called Ironhead about an alien cowboy robot. It can get pretty crazy). The genre can go to some pretty dark places though, so maybe a sci-fi/horror theme is on the cards. People seemed to get a kick out of the fantasy songs, so it's possible!

You’re a D&D geek, aren’t you? Favorite type of character to play?

Oh boy, I suppose this is confession time. I've never actually played D&D. I played the kids version years ago, but real D&D I've never touched. I've always wanted to try it out, and I'm a big Warhammer geek as a way of compensating. Right now, though, Skyrim is taking up most of my life. I tend to opt for assassins when I play video games and mages in any other kind of RPG. Hurling fireballs at unsuspecting folk is definitely the way to go.

What do you blog about the other eleven months of the year?

I do my best to whittle down the massive pile of books on my to be read shelf, and I like to share the things I find online that tickle my geek bones. I've recently started writing fiction again, so expect to see more of that and some writing tips and tricks I find along the way.

You studied Egyptology in college. Any interesting stories? Find any mummies?

There's a long story involving beer, a jacuzzi, grenades, a 7 day ban from Egypt and a schizophrenic geologist, but I don't want to bore the readers with that. I didn't find any mummies, sadly, but I did help uncover a burial chamber in Luxor. I was lucky enough to be part of the team that helped excavate the tomb at the time (and my camera was the only one to hand when they broke in, so I got all the photos!) Getting into the burial chamber did involve belly crawling through a narrow gap filled with limestone chips and a 40 foot drop on the ricketiest ladder known to humankind. It was totally worth it, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

You’re engaged – does the future Mrs. Jamie Gibbs like fantasy and metal music?

Not as much as I'd like :) She's much more eclectic than me when it comes to music so she's more tolerant of my musical tastes than I am of hers. She's just as big a geek as I am, though, and almost as big a fantasy fan too (I'm hoping she's not reading this!). She takes more from the music side of things than the imagery, so I need to wear her down a little more before she likes some of the weird bands I show her.

Jamie, you rock!

Co-host Ninja Captain Alex is the author of CassaStar and CassaFire and his blog can be found HERE

Monday, June 25, 2012

Call Attention to Your Blog or Get the Promotion You Need

Be My Guest   

        You may have often heard that guest posting is a great way to bring more readers to your blog.  It's a tactic that can work well.   As a guest blogger you can reach readers who might not have heard of your blog before.  You can even venture off into topics that you might not normally cover on your own blog.  Guest blogging is an effective way to hone your writing chops and to step out beyond your own blogging community to tap into a larger one.

           Blog tours and guest promotional posts are standard procedure for many bloggers who have something they want to spread the word about.   Many authors take advantage of guest blogging to pitch new book releases.  You have probably even seen guest bloggers trying to draw attention to favorite charities and causes.  When you've got something that you want to tell others about, you should take advantage of every outlet that is available to you.

            Some of you may be too shy or uncertain of yourself to ask other bloggers if you can be a guest on their blogs.   If what you've got to say is important enough to you then maybe it's time to step out of that comfort zone of your own blog and speak out on some other blogs.   Now's your opportunity.   There are blogs looking for your guest posts.

Guest posting opportunities await!

           Tossing It Out  -- This summer and into September I will be hosting guest bloggers during my Hijack This Blog! campaign.  Click here for details.   Click here for schedule and application.

            Wrote By Rote  -- I look for guest bloggers year round on my memoir blog that publishes every Saturday.  Posts remain at the top of the page for an entire week to give your guest post maximum exposure. I'm interested in memoir writing or helpful articles about writing memoirs.

            A Faraway View -- One of the most unique writing opportunities comes on my dream blog A Faraway View.  This blog also publishes only once a week so posts stay current for the entire week following posting.  Anything about dreams is welcomed.   Topics that have yet to be covered are non-psychological dream interpretation, dreams as prophecy, and dreams as related to literature.  Any other topics are certainly welcomed.  Dream study is a fascinating field and it's fun to write about.   Tell us about your dreams or dream experiences.

           Blogging from A to Z Blog --  We are always receptive to guest posts on this blog you are visiting now.   We are interested in all topics here.  Priority is given to those who have been past A to Z participants, but anyone is welcomed as well.   Posts can be about the A to Z Challenge, blogging, writing, or just about anything else you want to write about.  Go to the "Contact Us" page by clicking the tab at the top of the page and send us an email or leave a comment on this post and we'll set you up.

             Kid Lit Reviews -- Sue is having to take a blogging break due to health problems and she's looking for guest bloggers for a while.  She could use some help or at least a word of encouragement.  Go to her site for complete information.

        So there you have it.  Some great blogging opportunities are right there for you to step up and claim as your own.  My Hijack This Blog! campaign has been a tremendous success so far with several bloggers trying guest posting for the first time.  Try it--you'll have a good time and should make a few new blogging friends.






Enhanced by Zemanta