Alexis Georgoulis Trades Sexy for Mystical in New Film “Of Light And Darkness”

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You’ve seen him play a sexy, sultry love interest many a time, but for the upcoming fantasy adventure film, “Of Light And Darkness”, Alexis Georgoulis prepares himself for a new type of role. This time around Georgoulis  trades in his washboard abs for a long beard and cloak, as wise wizard Danek who aims to guide his son(played by the Twilight Saga’s Michel Welch) through his struggle between the decision to remain human or utilize his strong powers to help defeat an army of evil vampires.

His reason for questioning to gain such power? His love for a mortal girl, Charlotte, who is bound between the lines of light and darkness and must fight for life and love in a mystical realm of vampires, elves, and creatures of myth and fantasy, in a town just beyond the boundaries of the modern world, Prague.

“I think my role is a very interesting from the actors perspective because the wizard is a powerful man who starts his story with no family,” said Georgoulis. “Because, although wizards are humans, they don’t have that human vulnerability, so once you see that they can be vulnerable and that they  have feelings they fit the human mortal profile,  it’s interesting.”

In the film, due to his character’s lineage, Georgoulis is challenged  to trade in his naturally Greek accent for an Irish one. The film is expected to release in 2013 as it is still in pre-production., until then we can only anticipate for the release of this genocide between wizards and vampires as well as a struggle for love.

 

Tenor Mario Frangoulis Talks About His New Album and International Career

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Internationally acclaimed Sony Classical recording artist and Greek tenor Mario Frangoulis, who recently performed at the Leadership 100 21st Annual Conference, spoke to Greek Reporter about his international career, his new album and how an artist can stick to classical music in the pop era. Watch the interview below:

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Frangoulis, often referred to as one of Greece’s “national treasures”, is a dedicated Hellene who thinks of himself as an ambassador for Greece all over the world. He sings in Italian, Spanish, English, French and Greek, enabling him to truly connect with global audiences. He has had the honor of performing with some of the world’s greatest artists, including Placido Domingo, Lara Fabian, Sarah Brightman, Justin Hayward, and Natalie Merchant, in addition to collaborating with Greece’s most famous composers, Mikis Theodorakis and Yannis Markopoulos, and world-acclaimed singers George Dalaras, Alkistis Protopsalti, and Glykeria, to name a few.

Fragoulis was Born in what is now the Republic of Zimbabwe to Greek parents. He was raised in Athens, Greece. At the age of 17, he attended London’s prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama to study acting and singing. While at Guildhall he was discovered by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, who is referred to by The New York Times as “the most successful, influential and powerful producer of our time.” Upon his graduation, he was hired to play the character Marius in Les Miserables in London’s West End. Soon thereafter, he was invited by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber to play the role of Raoul in Phantom of the Opera to great critical acclaim.

During this time, Frangoulis discovered the operatic side of his voice. He won the Maria Callas Prize and, juggling this new-found opportunity in opera with an emerging stage career, he studied in Italy with the world-famous tenor Carlo Bergonzi, and, upon the recommendation of one of his mentors, the legendary mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, with the acclaimed Spanish tenor Alfredo Kraus, becoming the only private student the late Kraus ever accepted. He continued his studies at the Julliard School of Music in New York under the guidance of Dodi Protero, solidifying his skill as a vocalist and musician.

Anything but a conventional opera singer, he won the role of Tony in West Side Story at Milan’s La Scala for the New Millennium and appeared in films such as De Lovely with Kevin Kline, on television, and even in epic presentations of ancient Greek plays such as The Birds, Prometheus, and The Bacchae.

A true humanitarian, Frangoulis is recognized all over the world for his charity work, supporting events and organizations such as: Voices for Darfur, José Carreras’ Leukemia Foundation, and organizations addressing AIDS issues, and homelessness prevention and intervention. He is most passionate, however, about any cause pertaining to the protection of “at risk” children. In 2008, he was invited by Nobel Peace Laureate Betty Williams to be a Global Ambassador for Peace for her organization, The World Centers of Compassion for Children International, and as a result, was invited by the Dalai Lama to sing at his 2009 Peace Summit in Vancouver, Canada. Simultaneously, he became an Ambassador for the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans in support of their goal to provide college scholarships for high-risk, high-potential youth throughout the United States.

Greek Production "Keep Walking Greece" Provides Support to Greeks

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(Original Story in Greek By Ingka Athanasiadou)
Greece and the Greek population are under a massive debt burden, facing difficult financial times. Everyone needs more hope in their lives.
The Greek team of Johnnie Walker prepared a Greek production named “Keep Walking Greece”, in order to comfort Greeks and provide hope for the future.
The Greek production based on the famous song “You’ll never walk alone”, that motivates people to keep walking in difficult times, is centered on Greeks and contemporary Greek life.
The production is about the Greek society that has recently started to believe that Greeks altogether can succeed through close cooperation in order for our world to become better.

‘UP Greek Tourism’ Campaign for Promotion of Greek Tourism

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The ‘UP Greek Tourism’ campaign aims to promote Greek tourism abroad in two ways: directly, through the outdoor advertising campaign, and indirectly, through the word of mouth created through traditional and social media who will re-produce the campaign.
Additionally it hopes to inspire Greeks to think of innovative personal initiatives to help the Greek economy, and also wants to demonstrate to the world that Greek people remain an innovative, resilient and hospitable nation.
The initiators of the campaign are planning to raise a minimum of US $15,000 and a maximum of $40,000. The first amount will be enough to fund a small billboard in New York City.
There are two ways to make the payment:
By credit card and through a platform specialized for donations called WePay.com
By an existing PayPal account or creating a new PayPal account
Money will never reach the project organizers themselves. All funds will be collected via Loudsauce.com and then directly used to pay the media. All contributions remain a mere pledge until the campaign becomes fully funded.

Fat Thursday at the Acropolis Museum

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(Original Story in Greek By Ingka Athanasiadou)
A tour of the Acropolis is the perfect experience, with which someone can simultaneously experience the sightseeing and the musical meetings offered these days at the Acropolis Museum.
The Acropolis Museum, within the framework of its’ ongoing program “One day at the Acropolis Museum” continues its’ musical afternoons in cooperation with the Technopolis of the Athens Municipality, and presents a series of “Musical Meetings with Manos Hadzidakis” which take place on February 2, 9, 16 and 23, 2012 at 5p.m. on the second floor balcony which has a view to the Room of Archaic Statues.
On the Thursday, February 16, the Acropolis Museum presented “Manos Hadzidakis meets Astor Piazzolla”. It is about a concert performed by the Trio Tangarto.
On Thursday February 23, the concert “Manos Hadzidakis meets the sounds of Smyrna” will be held, performed by Christos Tsiamoulis (vocals, and lute) and Socrates Sinopoulos (Byzantine Lyre).

Free Meat at Varvakios Agora in Athens During Fat Thursday

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Even if rain falls and the chilly weather makes you shiver, the smell of grilled meat can lure you to an open market. This holds even more true when the meat is offered free of charge.
Hundreds of Athenians queued up from early in the morning at the meat market, Varvakios Agora, to taste delicious bits of spicy sausage, lamb chops and chicken. A glass of wine would add to the festive mood of the day.
The meat sellers of Varvakios offered 1,000 kilos of meat and 200 liters of wine.
It is a Fat Thursday custom that meat sellers offer free BBQ at the Varvakios market in downtown Athens. Many people go there to enjoy BBQ grilled by meat masters.
But this year, the dramatic economic crisis has forced many residents of Athens to exclude meat and poultry from the weekly menu.
In the meat market of Piraeus, vendors will offer 750 servings of meat with rice.
(Source:http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com)

Poll Shows Greece's Two-Party System Is Over

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The two-party system in Greece is over. The latest opinion poll carried out by Vprc on behalf of the weekly magazine “Epikaira” issued today, confirms the already adamant decline of the two-party system in Greece.
According to the outcomes of this research, the two main parties, Pasok (Socialist Party) and Nea Dimokratia (centre-right), having ruled the country for 35 years, collectively account for a scarce 38% of the electors’ preferences. This data confirms the radical changes occurring in Greek society due to the financial crisis, which was mainly triggered by policies implemented by these two parties in the past years. According to the opinion poll, Nea Dimokratia still ranks first, accounting for 27.5% of preferences.
The Democratic Left ranks second (16%), the Communist Party third (14%) and the other left-wing party, Syriza, ranks fourth with 13.5% of preferences.
Pasok ranks only fifth, with 11% of preferences, while Laos, the extreme-right party, drops to 4.5%. Floating potential electors total 31.8%.
This data (like other data from opinion polls carried out in Greece lately) prove not only that changes are occurring in Greek society, but also that the country’s political instability is steadily and progressively increasing.
Such instability causes international creditors not to really trust Greece and makes the agreement for the second bail-out plan for Greece decided on October 26th, 2011, more difficult to reach.
In other words, Greece’s creditors are concerned that, according to these last months’ polls, after elections in April the country might prove impossible to rule, because the two main parties, Pasok and Nea Dimokratia, do not collectively reach 40% of preferences.
(source: ANSA)

Luxembourg: "Greece Must Choose Reforms Or Euro Exit"

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Greece must choose between reforming its economy or leaving the euro, Luxembourg’s finance minister said Thursday, stressing that Athens faces tighter surveillance from the European Union.
Frieden warned that while the eurozone cannot kick a member out, Greece must reform in order to fulfill conditions to stay in the 17-nation eurozone.
“We all have an interest in keeping the eurozone intact, but we are not in a dictatorial monetary union.”
“A state is free to choose to leave,” he said.
“If a member state says, ‘we prefer not to take money from other states and return to a national currency without making structural reforms,’ then that state has chosen to exclude itself,” Frieden said.
“It is therefore the responsibility of the Greek people to choose whether they want to stay in the eurozone.”
(Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com)

Former German EU Commissioner Says "Greece Should Not Be Treated As If It Consists of Criminals"

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The former European Commissioner, Guenter Verheugen, stated that the Greek nation should not be treated ‘as if it consists of criminals.’
Speaking to SWR public radio in the German city of Baden-Baden, Guenter Verheugen, who served as a European Commissioner from 1999 to 2010, urged his fellow Germans to tone down their criticism of Greece for failing to meet demands set by eurozone finance ministers.
“My instinct tells me you cannot treat a nation as if it consists of criminals, and that this is not about punishing Greece,” he said.
“I am appalled at the tone with which Greece and the Greek package is being discussed at the moment. I have the feeling the fire brigade is slipping into the role of fire encourager.”
‘We have to alter something in our minds, that we imagine we can head off on a punitive expedition,” against the Greeks, he said in reference to rising German, Dutch and Finnish impatience with Athens’ slow pace of reforms.
(Source:http://news.monstersandcritics.com)

CBCNews Reports: “Cuts Hurt Montreal’s Greek Consulate”

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Montreal’s Greek consulate has already felt the impact of the Greek government’s austerity measures, but many in the city’s 80 thousand-strong Greek community are more angry at the rioters in their homeland than they are about the cuts, CBCNews reports.

“We have had cuts, yes,” confirmed the Greek consul-general for Montreal, Thanos Kafopoulos. “But we still try to maintain service, and we are also trying to increase revenues”, CBCNews writes.

Kafopoulos said many Greek expatriates living in Montreal own property and have investments in their native country – and they are divided over the solution.

“There is concern. There is sadness, and there is worry about the process that Greece is going through,” he concluded.