tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.comments2023-04-14T15:49:59.069+03:00Torn HalvesTorn Halveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484735405128600839noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-11563229792955069732013-09-26T07:12:13.347+03:002013-09-26T07:12:13.347+03:00Cool!Cool!Inahttp://bestratedcoffeemaker.usnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-75483308454019289292012-09-04T12:56:02.661+03:002012-09-04T12:56:02.661+03:00"Of course the idea of the student as potato ..."Of course the idea of the student as potato is not especially inspiring" Fantastic! Couldn't agree more with your post - a lot of hot air. How about using non-linear materials if they're really serious about breaking the linear mould?David Warrhttp://www.languagegarden.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-75891369082127064052012-07-18T13:12:26.656+03:002012-07-18T13:12:26.656+03:00Perhaps there isn't at the moment - at least n...Perhaps there isn't at the moment - at least not for those of us who are sitting alone on our balconies looking down at the people going to and fro in the street below, and wondering what the fuck is going on. But perhaps there could be a meaning, but only if we affirm it together - only if we leave our balconies (both real and virtual) and come together and meet in some new stoa of hopefulness.Torn Halveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05484735405128600839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-13763346566438783622012-07-18T12:37:42.142+03:002012-07-18T12:37:42.142+03:00The meaning of life..hmm..there is such a thing? :...The meaning of life..hmm..there is such a thing? :)Rienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08683796700083543751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-8443536614938644672012-07-18T12:36:22.224+03:002012-07-18T12:36:22.224+03:00The meaning of life..hmm..there is such a thing? :...The meaning of life..hmm..there is such a thing? :)Rienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08683796700083543751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-82841766563868364692012-05-21T18:57:12.502+03:002012-05-21T18:57:12.502+03:00Read this to 93 yr old mom we agree nothing chang...Read this to 93 yr old mom we agree nothing changes in the rural villages my name is Martha kerasiotis having lived in that area f almost a yr in the 70s all I was considered was a whore. I ran f my life he should havemarthaannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15120805946748368090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-79293739803419844242012-05-21T18:47:01.572+03:002012-05-21T18:47:01.572+03:00I am Martha Ann kerasiotis. And was curiously look...I am Martha Ann kerasiotis. And was curiously looking up the kerasiotis river and instead found this story. I lived in that area for one year both my grandfather and his vicious daughter became deathly sick. I did all the work you can imagine but I was still considered a whore because it was raging jealously and backstabbing. I was so moved by this story I read it to my 93 year Los mom and we both agreed they are still the same in Greece in the villages. I never went back to visit Greece. I earned to run a farm but I ran for. The social morales of those idiot villagers and never got over it. This pure man was a victim of his birth and lack of communication.marthaannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15120805946748368090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-27058178930628043872012-03-23T15:32:20.606+02:002012-03-23T15:32:20.606+02:00@cthuntley Slavoj Zizek gave a talk not too long a...@cthuntley Slavoj Zizek gave a talk not too long ago in which he argued that we should be demanding the impossible. If that is idealism, then I am a passionate idealist. <br /><br />If, as educators, we are bringing up people to be interested in just two things: business and pleasure (or work and play), then we have failed.Torn Halveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05484735405128600839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-84519513177804786302012-03-23T07:51:21.904+02:002012-03-23T07:51:21.904+02:00This post is very well written and I agree that mo...This post is very well written and I agree that most teachers, and language schools in general, need to take a more philosophical and holistic approach to teaching. HOWEVER, I believe it is very idealist and not very realistic to eliminate commercial products and pop personalities from the classroom. English schools work because they are businesses above all else.cthuntleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15104216103470120610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-82182770948566921062012-02-19T09:42:47.349+02:002012-02-19T09:42:47.349+02:00Dear Tom Halves, I do agree with you that we need ...Dear Tom Halves, I do agree with you that we need one million Marinas. At present you may say they are incubating. Unfortunately it takes a very long time for Hellenic people to realise that every body must think first of his/her country, and then himself. It took four hundred years to rebel against the Turkish occupation of Hellas, because there were no leaders, and many Hellenes found a way to profit. I am hoping that it will not take so long for the people to realise that this corrupt political system must end for the benefit of present and future generations. I do agree with all your points, and Marina is also thinking along the same lines. The problem is that the harsh austerity measures that are affecting the majority of the Hellenes, makes it difficult for them to think ahead. The majority is still thinking only of the next day, the daily bread, which is completely the wrong attitude. Democracy, yes indeed, it is unbelievable, but we in Hellas must fight to bring back democracy, because the system we have now is not at all democratic. I would say it is an oligarchy, and the present government, not elected by the people, is a form of dictatorship. We say that the 300 Spartans sacrificed themselves to save Hellas and the Hellenic people. At present Hellas and the Hellenic people are being sacrificed to save the 300+1 members of Parliament. Let us hope that this difficult time, will make the Hellenic people think of the future, and an honest group of people take the initiative to form a new political party, and wins the next elections. We definitely need honest persons like Monti in Italy, and many Marinas to make these changes and transform Hellas into a true Democracy. A. DemetriadesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-48511322420422617942012-01-17T09:44:43.259+02:002012-01-17T09:44:43.259+02:00Mr Demetriades, Thank you very much for droppping ...Mr Demetriades, Thank you very much for droppping by and sharing your thoughts (and helping us correct our spelling). Ι share your outrage about the way Greek politicians are being allowed to get away with a crime tantamount to the sodomising of an entire economy. However, as I said earlier it is important not to get too fixated with personalities. It is not enough to change the faces of the stooges who get to ride around in the parliamentary limousines. We need to get rid of the limousines and the whole nepotistic and clientalistic politico-economic framework that makes a mockery of democracy. If Greeks think that democracy means more than "choose your dictator", they should start demanding it with a voice that cannot be ignored. We need a million Marinas. Where are they?Torn Halveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05484735405128600839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-87340211447342474492012-01-17T01:39:43.479+02:002012-01-17T01:39:43.479+02:00Marina had the courage to break an egg on the head...Marina had the courage to break an egg on the head of the Deputy Minister Othonas, who betrayed his voters. As her father, I do not approve her act, and do not recommend it as an action against politicians. Nevertheless, it was her way of bringing the problems that are affecting all the Hellenic people to the surface, and also had the courage to face the consequences. Othonas, and the PASOK government have been voted by the people for a completely different programme. Instead, they are ruining the economy of the country, and destroying the dreams of the present and future generations. This is the main reason of Marina's protest. Apart from the economy, they are destroying University education, but also primary and secondary education. Hence, the solution is to exostracise them and to confiscate their property, as the Ancient Greeks used to do to traitors. I do agree with a previous commentor that we cannot blame all 300 members of Parliament, but we can certainly blame the two parties that have governed Hellas since 1974. We can certainly blame also the existing President, who was part of the political system, and as I undestand, in this difficult time, he is paid 1000 Euro per day, and with some extras, his annual salary is somewhere in the region of 380,000 Euro. I could not believe it! In addition, the present coalition Government has increased the subsidy to the political parties, again another unforgivable act. So, we should protest in a more effective way, and if necessary break on the 'hard' heads of the politicians not a chicken egg, but an ostrich egg in order to pound some sense into their 'empty hard' heads. Marina's father. Do please correct Marina's surname; it is 'Demetriades'.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-29944369372461603412011-12-22T23:26:01.595+02:002011-12-22T23:26:01.595+02:00Thanks, Anonymous. I agree that the politicians ne...Thanks, Anonymous. I agree that the politicians need to be held to account, and if they aren't being held to account, valiant people need (at the very least) to break a few eggs over their heads. However, it is a mistake to put all the blame on 300 corrupt individuals. Let's not lose sight of the entire economic system that is built on debt, dispossession, exploitation and protecting the largest power brokers from those who might want to call them to account. The system doesn't have a head against which eggs could be broken. Other tactics are called for.Torn Halveshttp://tornhalves.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-77345505328780804952011-12-22T19:30:24.114+02:002011-12-22T19:30:24.114+02:00I would like to congratulate you on the developmen...I would like to congratulate you on the development of an English blog for Marina's 'egg braking' on the head of a deputy Minister. Othonas, the Minister, who does not deserve to be called a mister, is a 'traitor' because he betrayed the future of all the young people like Marina. He together with his colleagues of the so called 'socialists' (PASOK)are destroying each single day the economy of Greece, and should be tried for treason against the people of Greece. Their sentence can be none other exile and the confiscation of all their belongings. Bravo Marina, you have started a movement, let us hope we have the courage to continue it by getting rid of all the politicians that brought Greece to this terrible situation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-70691947565214738802011-11-30T10:35:16.828+02:002011-11-30T10:35:16.828+02:00To reply:
1. No irony here.
2. That cockerel is ...To reply: <br />1. No irony here. <br />2. That cockerel is a nice guy - so far he has not behaved like a vicious little bugger. <br />3. I said "social Darwinism" simply because at the time, in my mind, the cockerels with their necks on the block were placeholders for the bastards of history (and we just saw a re-run last night of that great documentary about the assassination of Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973). <br />4. Playing God? You touch (I guess) on the problem for all revolutionaries, i.e. that the merciless force of the bastards of history can only be overcome by an equally appalling force (given that dialogue with the likes of Buffet and Friedman is impossible). Or perhaps you mean something else - there are things (God's things) that we shouldn't intervene in. Let me suggest that to all intents and purposes God is absent, and in his absence the difficult decisions are left up to us. Who is to have the upper hand: the good guys like Allende or the bastards of history like Pinochet?Torn Halveshttp://tornhalves.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-49327220888232951592011-11-30T01:23:10.547+02:002011-11-30T01:23:10.547+02:00I assume this post is meant ironically. Can you ap...I assume this post is meant ironically. Can you apply the idea of "nice" to cockerels? And isn't it plain old Darwinian 'survival of the fittest' at work with these birds? Not 'social Darwinism', surely? Weren't you playing God. <br />Incidentally, my girlfriend is afraid of cockerels. They can be vicious little buggers.James Hadleyhttp://www.quintessence-of-dust.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-36106424453142696342011-11-24T12:37:46.387+02:002011-11-24T12:37:46.387+02:00Not sure what you are getting at there. By zero to...Not sure what you are getting at there. By zero tolerance I assume you mean banning stuff. I haven't looked closely enough into the pepper spray to have an opinion about whether or not it should be banned. My point is about accountability. Institutions in which people do nasty things need to be restructured so that those doing the dirty work can be held accountable and feel that they share in the responsibility for what is being done. Of course it is a mistake to take a swipe at the policeman with the spray can in his hand and ignore the others higher up the hierarchy who are responsible not just for particular acts but also for entire policies, but if the people at the bottom are not also held to account then there is no incentive for them to stop and raise the question: "Hey, is this right?"Torn Halveshttp://tornhalves.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-78041626370977557162011-11-24T12:04:45.469+02:002011-11-24T12:04:45.469+02:00The idea of zero tolerance is sometimes seen as fa...The idea of zero tolerance is sometimes seen as far right, but in The Tipping Point, Gladwell suggests that it is a liberal view, because we are so easily affected by our environment. We're all more likely to drop litter if everyone else is doing it.David Warrhttp://languagegarden.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-27078094957460231122011-10-23T13:25:42.785+03:002011-10-23T13:25:42.785+03:00Einstein thought that a shade of red would be pref...Einstein thought that a shade of red would be preferable to black. See his article in the <a href="http://monthlyreview.org/2009/05/01/why-socialism" rel="nofollow">Monthly Review</a>. I am sure he would have found the whole Fuck Yeah Marxism-Leninism discourse utterly offensive, but he would have continued to insist that we must find a way to find a way to go beyond contemporary egoism and a one-sided insistence upon the rights of the individual.Torn Halveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05484735405128600839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-58927366331344111912011-10-23T13:12:42.177+03:002011-10-23T13:12:42.177+03:00Thanks, David, for dropping by and taking the trou...Thanks, David, for dropping by and taking the trouble to leave a comment.Torn Halveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05484735405128600839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-33754069273005914942011-10-22T22:19:36.966+03:002011-10-22T22:19:36.966+03:00Black and green is better.Black and green is better.David Warrhttp://languagegarden.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-29056244864608113072011-10-22T22:12:30.311+03:002011-10-22T22:12:30.311+03:00I've found you blog from your comments at Burc...I've found you blog from your comments at Burcu's. Am very glad I did so. It's intriguing.David Warrhttp://languagegarden.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-52572852728087513072011-09-16T13:56:03.496+03:002011-09-16T13:56:03.496+03:00Just want to add, I agree with wholeheartedly with...Just want to add, I agree with wholeheartedly with Christina Markoulaki. You have used the power of words in the best possible way.Jamesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-50340814088754778002011-09-16T10:41:50.335+03:002011-09-16T10:41:50.335+03:00You are shocked and that is understandable and mor...You are shocked and that is understandable and more human than a lot of things we have seen lately. Through you, your readers and I have had the opportunity to experience some of the devastation caring people like you feel. You have also managed to provide us with a lot of food for thought about societal attitudes and prejudice. Simply because of this, I think that you have offered something valuable to the blogging community and to Nikos, especially. All of us think about him today because of your initiative to put your thoughts in writing. <br /><br />And that has made a world of difference....Christina Markoulakihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06460428861771429571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5314448479497631270.post-30434295965611321422011-09-15T22:37:12.753+03:002011-09-15T22:37:12.753+03:00Thank you, Christina. I am not sure about the idea...Thank you, Christina. I am not sure about the idea of honour. Partly for me I felt a pressing need to create something to focus on that was not horrifying, because although I was not the one who found Nikos, I heard the graphic description of the scene, and the appalling violence of it is utterly, utterly shocking. How a man who - as far as I know - never hurt anyone, and who couldn't even bear to let his tomato plants wither and die when he had to go and work on the other side of the mountain, could suddenly ...<br />There is something here palpably beyond words - something that makes all the words suddenly seem futile. It is horrifying (and that word itself suddenly seems lame). And yet it is only with words that I feel I can stop the horror from blotting everything out. Everything.Torn Halveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05484735405128600839noreply@blogger.com