Friday, November 30, 2007
Demonstration
I'm ashamed of this picture as it was the only one I took during a demonstration outside the central court in Thessaloniki. I was in there filing suit against the riot police who'd beat me in September. Just as I finished with all the bureaucratic stuff I heard the familiar chants of a demonstration.I rushed out to see people protesting , and as usual pulled out my camera and walked into the crowd.
This time it was different. Those there immediately warned me not to take their picture and gave look that would make a corpse freeze. I moved on and then saw that on the other side was the riot police and the local media hiding behind them. I wanted to capture the scene but I couldn't without ensuring the wrath of those on both sides who hate the media.
I failed and I hid.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Suing the police
Today I finally entered that most Kafkaesque of world; the Greek judicial system. I filed a suit against the riot police who attacked me without reason on 8th September this year (see here for more details). The interesting thing about this whole procedure are the details. For example to file suit the court clerk used at least ten stamps and I lost count after the 30th time she used them to stamp the documents I and my lawyer had brought with us.
Another fascinating detail is that in order to sue somebody you need to have a tax number (ΑΦΜ) so making it impossible for large swathes of the population such as immigrants and those working in unregistered jobs to use the system. We wouldn't to lower the tone of the place by letting in riff - raff now, would we?
I know my chances of achieving anything with this action are somewhere between slight and non-existent but I felt I had to make the gesture if only because I'm in the privileged position to do something. That is a luxury many victims of police violence here do not have.
Another fascinating detail is that in order to sue somebody you need to have a tax number (ΑΦΜ) so making it impossible for large swathes of the population such as immigrants and those working in unregistered jobs to use the system. We wouldn't to lower the tone of the place by letting in riff - raff now, would we?
I know my chances of achieving anything with this action are somewhere between slight and non-existent but I felt I had to make the gesture if only because I'm in the privileged position to do something. That is a luxury many victims of police violence here do not have.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
The power of lists
This is something I've been doing recently with my private students as a way of getting them to use their blogs. Basically, I ask them to write a down a list of their favourite cars/songs/film/musicals etc with a picture/video to illustrate them. The idea is that they write a paragraph for each of their choices and add an appropriate link. However, to make things more interesting I then ask them to use this material as the basis of a short video in which they discuss their lists.
With either Windows Movie Maker or Photostory 3 they use photos and/or video to narrate a short clip explaining their choices complete with music and titles.
Sympathy for the Devil
Panagiotis Psomiadis (Παναγιωτης Ψωμιαδης) talking to a journalist at the PAOK/ΠΑΟΚ FC protest rally, just before he got booed off stage.
"Please allow me to introduce myself
Im a man of wealth and taste
Ive been around for a long, long year
Stole many a mans soul and faith
And I was round when jesus christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
I stuck around st. petersburg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain
I rode a tank
Held a generals rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
Ah, whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah
I watched with glee
While your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the gods they made
I shouted out,
Who killed the kennedys?
When after all
It was you and me
Let me please introduce myself
Im a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reached bombay
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah, get down, baby
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But whats confusing you
Is just the nature of my game
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me lucifer
cause Im in need of some restraint
So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or Ill lay your soul to waste, um yeah
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, um yeah
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, um mean it, get down
Woo, who
Oh yeah, get on down
Oh yeah
Oh yeah!
Tell me baby, whats my name
Tell me honey, can ya guess my name
Tell me baby, whats my name
I tell you one time, youre to blame
Ooo, who
Ooo, who
Ooo, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Oh, yeah
Whats me name
Tell me, baby, whats my name
Tell me, sweetie, whats my name
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Oh, yeah"
Lyrics from Lyricsfreak.com
"Please allow me to introduce myself
Im a man of wealth and taste
Ive been around for a long, long year
Stole many a mans soul and faith
And I was round when jesus christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
I stuck around st. petersburg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain
I rode a tank
Held a generals rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
Ah, whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah
I watched with glee
While your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the gods they made
I shouted out,
Who killed the kennedys?
When after all
It was you and me
Let me please introduce myself
Im a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reached bombay
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah, get down, baby
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But whats confusing you
Is just the nature of my game
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me lucifer
cause Im in need of some restraint
So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or Ill lay your soul to waste, um yeah
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, um yeah
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, um mean it, get down
Woo, who
Oh yeah, get on down
Oh yeah
Oh yeah!
Tell me baby, whats my name
Tell me honey, can ya guess my name
Tell me baby, whats my name
I tell you one time, youre to blame
Ooo, who
Ooo, who
Ooo, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Oh, yeah
Whats me name
Tell me, baby, whats my name
Tell me, sweetie, whats my name
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Oh, yeah"
Lyrics from Lyricsfreak.com
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Teachers protesting changes in the state pension scheme
"MPs get a pension in four years. Us? In how many years?"
PAOK protest rally - part two.
Supporters of PAOK football club demonstrating against what they see as unfair treatment of the club by the government concerning its debts.
The kids being handed back to his dad in the crowd had just got to meet one of PAOK's legend, Zagorakis.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Teaching through pop videos
OK. This teaching idea is particularly off the wall but I just think it might work given enough encouragement by the teacher. I've just seen Placebo's video for Running Up that Hill. It consists almost entirely of their fans lip syncing to the song and in a strange way, it is really effective. It got me thinking if maybe we could do something similar on our EFL/ESL classes.
Lesson plan
1 Ask students to write down five English language songs they have listened to recently.
2 Students then work in groups of four and choose three songs they all like.
3 The groups then get together and come up with a song that is acceptable to all the class. A time limit on discussion might help focus minds.
4 For the next lesson print out lyrics for the song and make sure you know where it is on Youtube or Radio Blog so you can post it on the class blog.
4 Hand out the lyrics and deal with any possible vocabulary issues. Ask student what the song might mean or if it has a message of some kind.
5 Show the Placebo video.
6 Ask them what they think of it (lyric can be found here).
7 Now explain to the students that they are going to make their own video using the song they chose. For the sake of practicality it might be best to divide the class into two/three groups and assign each group part of the song.
8 Students can use the use the song off the blog to lip sync to and can record themselves using mobile phones, digital camera, video cameras or web cams. They then give you the raw material and you use it to make a CD which each member of the the class uses to make their own version of the video using Windows Movie maker or imovie.
9 The class then posts their videos on their class blog and the class votes on the top three.
Lesson plan
1 Ask students to write down five English language songs they have listened to recently.
2 Students then work in groups of four and choose three songs they all like.
3 The groups then get together and come up with a song that is acceptable to all the class. A time limit on discussion might help focus minds.
4 For the next lesson print out lyrics for the song and make sure you know where it is on Youtube or Radio Blog so you can post it on the class blog.
4 Hand out the lyrics and deal with any possible vocabulary issues. Ask student what the song might mean or if it has a message of some kind.
5 Show the Placebo video.
6 Ask them what they think of it (lyric can be found here).
7 Now explain to the students that they are going to make their own video using the song they chose. For the sake of practicality it might be best to divide the class into two/three groups and assign each group part of the song.
8 Students can use the use the song off the blog to lip sync to and can record themselves using mobile phones, digital camera, video cameras or web cams. They then give you the raw material and you use it to make a CD which each member of the the class uses to make their own version of the video using Windows Movie maker or imovie.
9 The class then posts their videos on their class blog and the class votes on the top three.
Latest news
It seems the excitement never stops in this place. I just got back from a PAOK protest rally in the centre. I can't think of a better opportunity to some street photography,. It doesn't get more dramatic than this, at least on Sundays. Fans were protesting what they consider unfair treatment by the government over the issue of the club's debts. To see more photos click here.
Busy week
What a week. Over the last seven day I've seen protester storm the port, gatecrashed a press conference and taken pictures of a Hollywood star, spent hours in the emergency room with a serially vomiting daughter and been interviewed by a film crew for a forthcoming TV documentary. Oh, and did my normal work stuff.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Stars falling on Sykies
My daughter grabbed my camera and my tripod and told me she wanted to take some pictures. This is what she produced. I'm in awe.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Museum of photography and cinematography - Thessaloniki
There is a great exhibition by the French photographer, Bernard Plossu at the photography museum here in Thessaloniki.
"The Thessaloniki Museum of Photography and the 48th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, with the support of the French Institute of Thessaloniki, present the first retrospective exhibition of the french master of photography Bernard Plossu from November the 13th until January the 4th 2008 at the T.M.P. - The opening of the exhibition will be on Sunday, November 18th-.Τhe works of this exhibition, the first retrospective ever to be held in Greece, invite us to become fellow travelers on his journeys to Europe, Mexico, Africa, India, California, New Mexico, and Latin America (1963 – 2006). Yet all these travels seem to be a scenery-in-motion for the artist who manages to depict in his works fleeing images and emotions, such as absence. In this manner Βernard Plossu succeeds in creating his own lyrical “immaterial writing”.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Wiiliam Klein retrospective
Thanks to Minas I was able to catch William Klein giving a guided tour of his work.
"Klein, who has not had any formal photographic training, uses his camera to record action and to capture fleeting life. His exhibition in the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art will consist of stills from New York (1954-55), Tokyo (1961), Moscow (1959-60) and Paris (1957-today), fashion editorials and behind-the-scenes from Vogue, excerpts from the films Broadway by Light, Ralentis, and Contacts, paintings, film posters and his famous painted contact sheets. For the first time, Klein will present a series of previously unpublished photographs from Greece (1957 and 1963), having captured Melina Merkouri in the arms of Sir Peter Ustinov, ancient statues that seem to spring to life and everyday faces of the 50s and the 60s."
Monday, November 19, 2007
John Malkovich at the Thessaloniki film festival.
I had a couple of hours in between lessons and you'll never believe who I bumped into when I decided to take a few photos at the Thessaloniki Film festival John sends his regards, by the way.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Headless angel
You are my angel
Come from way above
To bring me love
Her eyes
She's on the dark side
Neutralize
Every man in sight
To love you, love you, love you ...
You are my angel
Come from way above
To love you, love you, love you ...
A picture I didn't take
A child sick, eyes closed and voice lowered in the outpatients clinic in the central hospital. Around me voice from all over the far near east chat away in tongues and dialects I do not understand,. Mothers and fathers fret, and worry over their kids. An outpouring of love and affection that touches me to the core. In a room with a door that never closes another mother sits and watches her child sleeping. She doesn't move or complain just listlessly turns over from time to time.
17th November 2007 demonstration
Every year people in Greece remember the 1973 student demonstrations in Athens Polytechnic, which lead to the downfall of the junta which had ruled the country since 1967. For more details click here.
Protesters get ready to storm the port in Thessaloniki
Every year people in Greece remember the 1973 student demonstrations in Athens Polytechnic, which lead to the downfall of the junta which had ruled the country since 1967. (for more details click here for more historical background).
This year the demonstration was different in that instead of ending at the American consulate on Tsimiski, the protesters continued until the port where they broke down the entrance gates and bypassed the waiting riot police, luckily without violence. Later members of KKE (Kommounistiko Komma Ellados/Communist party of Greece) wrote anti - NATO slogans on Spanish warships in the harbour.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Friday, November 16, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Blogs as course book supplements
This year I've decided to try something new with the class blogs. I thought that it could be used as a kind of wiki page in order to compliment the course books we're using for the Proficiency course. The basic idea is that either I, or preferably the students, post links to anything we see on the internet that is connected with the subject matter in the unit we're doing.
For example, we happen to be on unit two of the Masterclass Proficiency book (as dull as ditch water, to tell you the truth) and we've covered topics such as Stephen Hawkings, Frankenstein and women in science. In each case we found some links that help students do some extra practice at home, if they wish. So, they are links to a free audio book version of Frankenstein, videos of women scientists presenting their work at TED and the like. The emphasis is on enriching audio/video content of the course as listening skills are woefully neglected in most course books at this level.
In addition I want to include more videos from YouTube and Google Video in the future.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Lydia at the front
We had a great time in the centre meeting friends and eating out, She didn't mind that I dragged her down to the seafront to take a few pictures.Well, kind of.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
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