chasing cars

the drama continues

"Greek emergency workers continue to find the charred bodies of people burned to death by forest fires that are raging in the south of the country." read the rest of the story here.

basically this is all about the fires back in my home country. and it's both to express my anger, and to explain the situation to someone who wouldn't have experience from the greek reality. 62 people reported dead since friday, and 89 new fires on from the middle of the night (4am) on sunday till monday morning. the entire country is currently in a state of emergency as there isn't enough capacity to set the fires under control.

the fires come about every summer, in different places around the country. some people blame it on the hot weather, or on other environmental phenomena or accidents but everyone (and i mean it) knows that the fires are all due to arson. why? the reason is simple: people want to burn down forest areas, and one way or another make their way illegally to building there (since they wouldn't be forest areas anymore) or getting a permit (by bribing or any other means) to build there legally (which wouldn't happen under normal circumstances since even a burned forest area is supposed to be protected). but most of the time, as one wouldn't want their fire to be easily set under control, they would start it when there are strong winds, which is usually the reason why it gets completely out of control and we have this environmental drama every summer.

but this has been the worst summer of all i remember in the past 20 years. multiple forests have been burned down to ashes, and we now have even human casualties. words are not enough to express my grief and anger for the people who are lost, for people whose lives have been destroyed and for the damage that human greed and governmental inability to plan and react can cause. WE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS EVERY SUMMER. No government I remember in the past 20 years has ever done anything serious about it. No significant additional capacity and incentives/training for the fire brigade, no arson plotters EVER found or arrested, no serious consequences for anyone involved in all of this tragedy. it's a shame, as in these cases, tragedy could have been pretty limited, if not prevented, but noone up there realises what their role is in prtecting the citizens and nature of this country.

in 3 weeks we are electing a new government in greece. whether it's one or the other of the two parties in charge of the country for the past two decades that wins, i am convinced that people will still vote for one of them, despite the fact that the country is in a state of wreck at the moment and they haven't done anything to stop this in the long run.
i don't really know what it will take to get someone with a real plan to govern the country.

finally - and good timing with the bank holiday weekend

finally, after a couple of weeks of winter weather (by Greek standards) - we can see the sun again! woohoo!

ντροπή

οι πιο ανούσιες εκλογές των τελευταίων ετών. των τελευταίων 20 ετών, if you please. ας μου πει κάποιος ποιο είναι το σοβαρό εθνικό θέμα για το οποίο έχουμε εκλογές πρόωρα. ας μου πει κάποιος ποιο κόμμα έχει σοβαρή πρόταση για το πού πρέπει να είναι αυτή η χώρα σε 10 χρόνια και πώς θα φτάσουμε εκεί. πού διαφωνεί η κυβέρνηση με την αντιπολίτευση. πότε θα πάψουν τα μικρότερα κόμματα να είναι μίζερα και θα σκεφτούν σοβαρά ότι αποτελούν την εναλλακτική πρόταση. πότε θα αποτινάξουμε τη δημοκρατική δικτατορία (για 4 χρόνια το πρώτο κόμμα κάνει ό,τι γουστάρει!). πότε θα μας πάρουμε στα σοβαρά, για να μας πάρουν στα σοβαρά κι εκείνοι.

σαν συνεννοημένο το shuffle έπεσε στο "καλημέρα ελλάδα" των goin' through. γάμησέ τα. και τυχαία έπεσα κι εγώ στο παρακάτω άρθρο και ανατρίχιασα για πολλοστή φορά. κλαυσίγελος. ευτυχώς που είμαι κάτοικος εξωτερικού και δε χρειάζεται να μπω στο παραβάν. γιατί είναι δύκολη απόφαση να βρεις έστω και έναν που αξίζει να τον ψηφίσεις.

the tune on my mind

for the day...

Keane - Somewhere Only We Know

I walked across an empty land,
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand.
I felt the earth beneath my feet,
Sat by the river and it made me complete.
Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on.
So tell me when you're gonna let me in,
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin.

I came across a fallen tree,
I felt the branches; are they looking at me?
Is this the place we used to love?
Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?

Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on.
So tell me when you're gonna let me in,
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin.
AND if you have a minute why don't we go,
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything.
So why don't we go, somewhere only we know,
Somewhere only we know.

Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on.
So, tell me when you gonna let me in,
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin.
SO if you have a minute why don't we go,
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything.
So why don't we go, so why don't we go,

Hmmm yeahh,

This could be the end of everything.
So why don't we go, somewhere only we know,
Somewhere only we know
Somewhere only we know.

sunday secrets is different this week

postsecret.blogspot.com

random quote of the day

"freedom is anathema to dreams nurtured in captivity"

is it?

αν όλη η ζωή ήταν σαν αυτό το σαββατοκύριακο...

...θα ήμουν οριακά από χρήματα - σε σχέση με το τι έχω και το τι θέλω να κάνω (ποιος δεν είναι?)
...θα περνούσα τις μέρες μου ήσυχα σ'ενα πάρκο, με πολύ ωραίο καιρό και καλή παρέα...
...και τις νύχτες μου σε πάρτυ με ακόμη πιο καλή παρέα!
...δε θα σταματούσα στιγμή να κάνω σχέδια που για τους γύρω μου μοιάζουν παλαβά. εμένα γιατί μου φαίνονται νορμάλ?
...θα έκανα διαρκώς ενδιαφέρουσες γνωριμίες
...δε θα ανησυχούσα που είναι δευτέρα άυριο

η ζωή είναι μοναδική περιπέτεια. κι έτσι θέλω να τη βλέπω. και ως μοναδική (the time is now που λένε και στο χωριό μου, δεν ξαναγυρίζει η στιγμή) και ως περιπέτεια.

a little bit of optimism please

though usually you only find depressing secrets on postsecret, finally today i saw a couple of positive ones and a couple of optimistic ones. here's one: