But…where is she?

- Marietta is working and goes home after 8pm.
- Marietta is sleeping early and hasn’t blogged since Tuesday - sorry
- Marietta went to The Vibrants with Mark and Jill (kisses) and loved it! The gig was amazing, the songs truly rocked! More tomorrow.
- Marietta wants to follow The Who and Rachel around the world (oh, yes the recurring “follow The Who and Rachel around the world” dream again…!) Oh, OK maybe I can make it to a couple of countries…
- Marietta is watching religiously The O.C. and wants to go and live there like, totally!
- Marietta is having a very weird week – Sunrise is its soundtrack
- Marietta sends you her love and promises she’ll visit all her blogger friends tomorrow, Sunday.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

For all young lovers!

I spent a few hours preparing this for today. And it's ready just in time for tonight!
This is a mix of three songs by Frank Sinatra. I think no other voice can be more suitable for today.

The songs are
Night and Day by Cole Porter
All The Way by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Hausen
and
It Had To Be You by Gus Kahn and Isham Jones.

So, grab your loved one, click on PLAY and have a
WONDERFUL VALENTINE'S DAY (AND NIGHT)

Tommy, καν γιου χήρ μη?

My sister sent me this email today:

In the recent taping of the Oprah Winfrey show her guest was Tommy Hilfiger.
On the show, she asked him if the statements about race he was accused of saying were true. Statements like: "If I'd known African-Americans, Hispanics, Jewish , Greeks would buy my clothes, I would not have made them so nice. I wish these people would *NOT* buy my clothes, as they are made for upper class white people." His answer to Oprah was a simple "YES". Where after she immediately asked him to leave her show.

My thoughts:
a) I never liked his clothes anyway. He'll never be Ralph Lauren
b) Who is his PR Manager?

Tagging along... 5 things you should know about me

1. I have never met my father. He died when I was three years old, on the day Man landed on the Moon. He was 39 years old.

2. My idol when I was a little girl was Nadia Comaneci, the Romanian Olympics Champion in Gymnastics. At the 1976 Olympics Nadia made history, becoming the first gymnast to ever score a perfect 10. At those games she received 7 perfect 10s, 3 gold medals, one silver and one bronze. Because of her I started gymnastics, but I had to stop because of back problems.

3. My Bachelor was in Journalism and Theatre, in an American College in Athens. My MA in Television, at the University of Leeds.
4. Pet peeves: I am scared of snakes and mice, hate coakroaches and other huge insects. Plain white milk makes me sick, I only add it in coffee or cereal.


5. I signed the contracts and got the keys to my flat on September the 11th, 2001. My friend was waiting in her car and when I went to meet her she told me "I just heard on the news that there was an air crash in New York!" No idea of what really happened until we got home and switched the TV on....!

DEBUG(GER!)

HELP!!!!!

Every two bloody seconds that thing pops up. I tried to ignore it by pressing No and it kept coming back.
I pressed Yes and Microsoft Script Editor started but I had no idea what to do.
So I keep on pressing No and it keeps coming back.
On every page I visit, for the past two days.

Has anyone got any idea how to solve this problem? It has started quite recently, but it used to pop up only on a couple of times, sometimes reading “Syntax Error”. But this today has driven me nuts… It even pops up as I type this... Aaaaaargh!

Can any of you help? I’d really appreciate it!

Thanks :o)

Kitchen photos and Wolfy

I fell asleep on the couch last night, I was so tired. No time to blog, to chat, to do anything, I just collapsed on the couch and sweet Morpheus took me in his arms before I knew it... I promise on Sunday I'll come and say hi to all my blogging friends. Tomorrow is the last day of the Sale, FINALLY! Life will be back to normal!!

So here are a couple of pics of my pride and joy. The colour is silver-grey and most of my cutlery and kitchen accesories have a silver-matt look.
Yes, I'm into silver!

I took this first picture in two parts, top and bottom. Then a fantastic Software program called Panorama Maker stitched the photos together!
I love clever programs like that!


Here is the left side of the kitchen. The leak was underneath the sink & dishwasher. And you can see on my windowseal my UK street signs and a little bit of greek colour too! It's not a big kitchen, but for me it's like a little jewel and I adore cooking in there!

My "hilly floor"...

You can't really see how hilly it is, but you can see the gaps between the pieces, caused by the flood...

Enough with the flood! I'm ecstatic as I'm watching Mozart 250 on BBC 4 as I write this. This year is the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth and there are huge events around the world, but the epicentre of all is Austria and esp. Salzburg.
'24 hours Mozart' is a satellite link up of live broadcasts from Europe, Japan and China, concert recordings, documentaries, music features, short programmes, clips and more from Vienna. It's 24 hours of Mozart's music in celebration of the 250th anniversay of Mozart's birth.
BBC FOUR will be broadcasting highlights from the 24 hours
Tonight I am recording a live six hour program full of concerts and celebrations for Mozart! I'll watch it on Sunday non-stop and couldn't be more happy. Mozart is my favourite classic composer and my favourite movie of all time is Amadeus
so I'm thrilled. My sister and I are planning something for August, maybe go to Musical Salzburg, that would be awesome.
Today (27th) is Wolfy's actual birthday!

Thank God!

Well, the plumber did an excellent job!
The problem came from the dishwasher's pipes and he fixed everything. Hopefully the problem is solved!!!
My kitchen was like a construction site after he left and I spent all afternoon cleaning and putting the place back into order. And of course, put the dishwasher on! What a relief...
Now, all I have to do is fix my...hilly floor, but I'll do that in a months time, during my holiday.

You solve one problem and another one is created. Ugh!
My connection was screwed up again... But this time I called AOL nearly shouting at them, but thankfully a very helpful man managed to reconnect me.

Is there anything else going to happen? LOL!

I am tired but happy :o) I'll post pictures of my kitchen and visit your blogs tomorrow...
Good night.

Before the plumber comes, let's listen to some music

The Best Sixties Summer...Ever!

Well, what's the use of crying over spilt...water? Let's have some fun, some nostalgia with the next album: A sixties compilation!

I love the sixties! The music was so original, innovative, cheerful, naive... This compilation has a little bit of everything - the innovation and harmonies of the Beach Boys, the cheekiness of The Monkees, mod sounds by The Small Faces, psychedelic sounds by Jethro Tull and the magical Something In The Air, which Pete has produced. 53 eternal songs. I call it HAPPY MUSIC

From this compilation I've transferred the following songs:

Pretty Flamingo - Manfred Mann
Hi Ho Silver Lining - Jeff Beck
Doo Wah Diddy Diddy - Manfred Mann
Bus Stop - Hollies
San Francisco - Scott McKenzie
I Got You Babe - Sonny & Cher
Summer In The City - Lovin' Spoonful
Itchycoo Park - Small Faces
Waterloo Sunset - Kinks
I Get The Sweetest Feeling - Jackie Wilson
Something In The Air - Thunderclap Newman
I'm Into Something Good - Herman's Hermits
Sweets For My Sweet - Drifters
Hello Mary Lou - Ricky Nelson
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do - Neil Sedaka
I'm Alive - Hollies
Daydream Believer - Monkees
Summertime Blues - Eddie Cochran
Sunny Afternoon - Kinks
Love Is All Around - Troggs
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place - Animals
Whiter Shade Of Pale - Procol Harum
For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield
Lazy Sunday - Small Faces
Do You Want To Know A Secret -Billy J.Kramer & The Dakotas
Wipeout - Surfaris
Under The Boardwalk - Drifters
Up Up And Away - Johnny Mann Singers
Living In The Past - Jethro Tull

LISTEN TO IT: I can listen to 60s music any time of the day. I work better when I listen to these songs. They make me happy so I would recommend you to listen to it whenever you feel like it. If you feel sad it will make you feel much better, if you feel happy, it will make you feel like a little kid. Singalong is mandatory!

Bloody floody

So on Thursday, after I finish work I receive a text message by my flatmate: "Call me ASAP!"
I immediately knew there was something wrong.
I call her and she tells me the following: my downstairs neighbour has come to see me because his ceiling is all dump and this morning it was dripping. Apparently my dishwasher is leaking and has flooded my floor and his ceiling.

When I got home I saw that my wooden floor in the kitchen has a bump in the middle, which means that I have to go uphill while I walk in there. And it also makes a squelchy noise when you step on it, which means there is water underneath it. Marvellous!

I took a couple of plinths out and saw the mess you see above.
But the mess is not coming from the dishwasher. It comes from the right, where all the pipes are. That means two things: either a) my washing machine is leaking which is OK, or b) some pipe underneath the floor has burst.
There goes my kitchen.

I have to explain that my kitchen is the pride and joy of my flat. I designed it myself and it took me quite a lot of research to find the exact units and appliances. I love my kitchen very much and this situation now just pisses me off!!!
The plumber has been called and he's coming on Wednesday. I hope we can repair the leak with the minimum damage.

I decided that if the kitchen has to be ripped, I will take pictures and maybe shoot a home video to make it like a continuing story. I'll call it "The Flood Saga"...

Quelle catastrophe!

Memoirs of A Desperate Non-Smoker

What a beautiful movie. I went to see it on Sunday after work and it was the best thing.
Some of you might know my love for Japan and the geishas. For that reason I have read a few books about them and Memoirs of A Geisha had taken my breath away... The descriptions are very vivid and the story is just a pure page-turner.

The movie justifies the book in a beautiful way. It focuses mainly on the drama and less at the rituals and traditions. After reading the book eight years ago, I couldn't wait for the movie.
I was waiting to see the beautifully described ceremonies, rituals and the lavish kimono fittings.
The preparation of Chio to become the Geisha Sayuri is pictured in a quick and powerful juxtaposition, with dynamic music and strong colours, but for me it was too quick. Because it takes a large part of the book I was expecting more. More ceremonies, more wigs, more kimonos, more tea rituals.

That doesn't mean that the movie is poor of lovely pictures. As you can see from the photos I selected, the photography is just magical. Like out of a Japanese painting. On the left is a photo from Sayuri's inaugural performance. The actual scene in the movie is very powerful and Ziyi Zhang is gorgeous and moves like she is made out of elastic.
The scene with Sayuri and the Chairman above was the most romantic of the movie.
But the most important thing of the movie is the casting. Ziyi Zhang is Sayuri-full stop. "Baddie" Geisha Hatsumomo is played by the incredible Gong Li. Mameha is gloriously portrayed by the ex-Bond girl Michelle Yeoh. The Chairman is played by a handsome and very attractive Ken Watanabe. But most of all the performances, the one that takes your breath away is the one by the 12 year old Suzuka Ohdo. She makes a difficult and dark half of the film to flow quickly and easily.

All in all a beautiful film, but not as good as the book. I would suggest you go watch it though, for the reasons I mentioned above. If you haven't read the book, you'll love it. I would definitely recommend the book.
I am going to read it again and wait for the DVD with hopefully lots of extra features!!!

As I'm writing this I'm also watching the first episode of Desperate Housewives-Series 2. I am so happy it started again.

I love the fact it combines mystery, comedy and hunks!

Yes, I know we're quite behind here in the UK, but think of it: in Greece they don't even know about it!
The new episode is already awesome, so many things happening... W-O-W!

Also, I have finally updated the Quiiiiit blog. Every time I do, I will have the following icon pasted on this blog, so you'll know when to visit. So, come on, what are you waiting for? Hit it!

Better mood and...Links!

Thank you for your comments on my "Save The Animals" manifesto.
Let us bloggers change the world...!

I am in a better mood and as you can see if you scroll down on the right sidebar I put icons on my links for the websites. It took me three days, but it was fun doing it and thanks to Copy, Paste and a bit of Paint, voilá! Now you can see what you click on!
Tell me if you like it or if you think it's a bit cramped.
All images were uploaded with the help of ImageShack. It's a fantastic and very easy to use service. Take full advantage!

Working almost 12 hours a day, I see little stars as I type this. From next week it will be much better, plus they owe me five days of holidays!

Lots of smiles!!!!

How can we be so cruel?

I can't stop crying since last night. I was having my casual evening, blogging, chatting, watching TV, when I bumped into Channel 4's documentary Animals. I just saw one scene, ONE SCENE and since last night I'm crying like a baby. I can't stop!

They were showing a hidden camera report: in a lab a man and a woman were torturing a little monkey. They were pulling its tail, grabbing its head and shouting at it. The woman was holding a needle and was shouting at the little defenseless monkey "You tried to fucking bite me! I will remember that!" Finally they immobilized the poor creature and injected the fucking whatever into it. Sorry, I don't usually swear, but this made me absolutely hysterical with fury.
I wanted to be magically transported over there and blow up this company into dust, after I had freed the animals of course. If your heart can take it you can watch similar reports on PETA TV.

It's nice to have a quiet life, go to work, have a home, blog about The Who, go to my Rachel concerts, be happy and oblivient. Hell, it's the best thing in the world!
But after watching this I want to get more conscious and active, stop buying products that come from companies which test on animals and donate as much as I can afford to organisations like PETA and Greenpeace. Please, if you feel like I do let's all support these organisations and their cause. Click on the links and LET'S SEE ACTION!

I have listened to different arguments here and there:

• "Animal testing helps medicine to save human lives" - My answer: These pharmaceutical conglomerates can spend some money to find other ways to test their products.
• "People are dying around the world and you care about animals?" (said the fat lady in the fur coat) - My answer: I'm sorry to say that, it may sound horrible, but I think sometimes I care more for the animals than for humans. Animals are defenseless and not as intelligent as humans (although I may start doubting that). Since we humans destroy their natural environments they are OUR responsibility to treat them with respect.

The whales are nearly extinct, they hunt them for leather. People in China eat dogs. Cosmetic companies drop mascara into little rabbits' eyes. Hunters kill beautiful birds to get a kick out of it. Dogfood companies test their foods into dogs who get ill and die. Chicken and turkeys are cramped in confined spaces and massively slaughtered for consuming.

I eat meat.

HOW CAN WE BE SO CRUEL?