Yesterday I had a very nice comment from Ilias who wanted to know where I took the pictures of abandoned trains. I thought I'd use Google Earth to give a better idea of where they are in Thessaloniki.
If ever you want to film a low -budget horror/sci-fi classic then I'm your location scout.
Click on the image to enlarge it.
I went to another exhibition today. This time I came across a wonderful gallery built, literally, on top of an indoor market in the centre of Thessaloniki. Both the space and the photographs were excellent so if you are in the city over the next month or so check out Alexey Titarenko's retrospective, Unfulfilled Time (Ανεκπληρωτος Χρονος) at the Bezasteni market place (Στοα Μπεζεστενι).
To see his work at Lens Culture click here. To hear an interview with him click here.I'd forgotten all about this picture. I took it about a week ago and the it slipped my mind. I'm very proud of my daughter and all that she has achieved. I make sure she knows that as well at every opportunity.
Over one hundred prisoners have died in suspicious circumstances in U.S. custody during the "war on terror". Taxi to the Dark Side takes an in-depth look at one case: an Afghan taxi driver called Dilawar who was considered an honest and kind man by the people of his rustic village. So when he was detained by the U.S military one afternoon, after picking up three passengers, denizens wondered why this man was randomly chosen to be held in prison, and, especially, without trial? Five days after his arrest Dilawar died in his Bagram prison cell. His death came within a week of another death of a detainee at Bagram. The conclusion, with autopsy evidence, was that the former taxi driver and the detainee who passed away before him, had died due to sustained injuries inflicted at the prison by U.S. soldiers. The documentary, by award-winning producer Alex Gibney, carefully develops the last weeks of Dilawar ’s life and shows how decisions taken at the pinnacle of power in the Bush Administration led directly to Dilawar’s brutal death. The film documents how Rumsfeld, together with the White House legal team, were able to convince Congress to approve the use of torture against prisoners of war. Taxi to the Dark Side is the definitive exploration of the introduction of torture as an interrogation technique in U.S. facilities, and the role played by key figures of the Bush Administration in the process.
Amidst worries that the Greek economy is entering a period of recession and spiralling prices of basic goods, many Greeks took to the streets to mark Mayday. According to the government figures the official inflation rate has reached 4.4%, way above the EU average. However, the Kathimerini newspaper reported that average household costs rose by 10% making life even more difficult for the 13% of Greek households living below the poverty line.
In Athens and other Greek cities the trade union congress, GSEE, along with other opposition parties and political groups organised rallies attended by tens of thousands. Many representatives attacked the government's inability to curtail prices which are widely believed to be the result of monopolistic practices in many areas of the economy. In addition recent pension reforms drew the ire of many speakers.
In “The Greek Schools of Istanbul,” published by Agra, Thessaloniki-born photographer Paris Petridis has captured those old schools. The Zappeion, Zografeio and Megali tou Genous schools, and the lesser-known Astiki Vlangas, Galata Primary and Koinotiki Astiki of Halkidona, once part of a thriving Greek world, are now in a state of dignified decline.
They give rise to nostalgic associations of ideas that fan out like an accordion: school photographs, Kemal and Jesus, the crescent and the cross, Greek “Victorian” style, imposing buildings and crisp classicism in the urban fabric of Istanbul. Remnants of a bygone era, the Greek schools remind us how much has changed in the past century."
The exhibition by Marios Eleftheriadis is on at the Loutra Paradeisios on Egnatia at the top of Aristotelous Square until 30/5.
Εγκαινιάζονται στις 19/4 η έκθεση «Tempora Purgatoria» του Μάριου Ελευθεριάδη.
www.mariosnet.gr/
