We ‘re on fire

All begun when a policeman shot a 16 years old in order to kill him. Unfortunately he made it.

This was the spark which helped start a huge explosion. An explosion which is burning and hurting us for 4 days now and it is not going to stop soon. People left their home and got out on the streets in order to mourn for the loss of the boy and to protest for their own lives. It is the first time I see so much anger and so much desperation in the eyes of people like you and me.

We all feel that the Greek government doesn’t care about its country and its people. The recent crisis in economy worldwide made things worse. We all see our lives becoming inferior and less important for the people who decide for us.

Now all the major cities of Greece are on fire. We see stores, public property and most of all libraries and books turning into dust. Among the crowds there are certain groups of people who certainly don’t care about anything. They call them anarchists or anti-authoritarians or plainly idiots. They just want to be heard and burn without respecting even human lives. We ‘ll live with that the way we used to do so for so many years now.

I feel very sorry and equally angry for what is happening. Our worthless government can’t be trust at all. The same goes for almost the political partys in Greece. I personally can’t trust anyone but a few cold blooded authors and professors, such as Nikos Dimou.

It is difficult to hope for anything these days. But we must stand on our feet, keep our voice loud and respect our dignity or what’s left of it.

PS. If you want to know more about what’s happening here in Greece use the term “griots” while searching via the Twitter search service.

Personal

Let’s smash those limits and return to the children. And then maybe go even further.

PS. Happy birthday (to me)

Prague

Painted in red in the past (due to the communist authorities), a multicolored city now, Prague is still a marvelous place to visit. I ‘ve been there for almost a week and I wish I could stay more.

Prague could be shortly described as a huge museum. Every single building of the center of the city carries some history. If someone could take a long journey through Middle ages, Renaissance, the 20th century and of course the present times he wouldn’t leave Prague out of his itinerary.

Huge castles, complicated coats of arms, churches and a river, Vltava, which scissors the city compose the view. Prague is a place where art lives and it fascinates everyone, even people who don’t care about music, architecture, sculpture or painting.

A city to live

I am really impressed by the public transport system of Prague. Countless trams can take you practically everywhere in minutes, there is an effective, though relatively old, metro, and a lot of buses which move silently through the city.

There are also huge pavements so people can walk and enjoy the sightseeing. Drivers respect walkers and tourists are treated even better. Czech people are polite and friendly. The love to help you and most of them can speak English.

Of course Czech people know the historical importance of their city. And they exploit it. It was great to see that they preserve their culture but it was not so good to feel you have to pay all the time in order to visit even the less important museum.

What I won’t forget

Actually, it is not easy to forget anything in this city. But if I had to keep 3-4 things forever in my mind that would be:

• The great Charles’ Bridge which leads to the amazing Astronomical Clock of the Old City.
• The national gallery of Prague which includes paintings of Picasso, Van Gogh, Delacroix among others.
• The design of certain buildings and the great typography found pretty everywhere.
• The Museum of Communism which depicts the history of the city during the last century.

Take a better look at Prague through my photos in Flickr.

Glasses

I changed my glasses after a long period. In fact I used to wear the same pair for 14 years. It seems I am a bad customer when it comes to glasses.

I go back when I realized I had to wear glasses for the rest of my life because of my myopia. I didn’t really cared much, the only thing I wanted was to see the world clean again. When I put on my first pair of glasses I was relieved. The world was clean at last.

I must have lost or destroyed at least 5 pairs before I buy the one which stood there, on my nose, for 14 years. I adored these glasses, I found them elegant and robust. One day I got bored of them so I started searching for new glasses.

It took me months, a lots of visits to optical stores and an almost nervous breakdown before I buy this pair. I ‘m very happy, I find it even more slick. Now, to come back to the early days, I only need to forget my glasses somewhere or sit on them and start looking from the very beginning.

How do I look like?

They say that when you live with a dog after a while your dog turns to look and behave like you. Are you nice and tidy? Your dog will be calm and obedient. Are you aggressive? Your dog will be a danger for the visitors.

I don’t know what they say about cats. A very dear person told me my cat looks tough and wild. I wonder if she started being like me or if I am the one who adopted her behavior. On the other hand I think I have a very beautiful cat while I know I am not that good-looking. However I know that I am not that unbiased.

I also know that my cat is restless. She likes running up and down the apartment. But when I come to her she calms down and she is very sweet. I hold her and I can listen to how she purrs. She is very happy at those moments. She likes talking to me all the time. She does what she wants to but she listens to me like an old dog. She stares to me and she approves or casts reflections on me, depending my actions.

I can’t decide how do I look like. But this cat is an unspoilt and frank part of my life. I wish I had more such parts.