Image Credit: Photo Denbow (via Flickr)

My blog has now moved from deems.wordpress.com to deems.co.za

I am now hosting my own blog, but I’ll be keeping all the content on this blog since most of it is already indexed and some people might have bookmarked posts (and others added links to posts in forums).

If you were subscribed to my blog through this FeedBurner address you don’t need to do anything:

feeds.feedburner.com/Deems

If, however, you have subscribed to my blog through the following address you’ll need to update your feed reader with the address above:

deems.wordpress.com/feed/

After this post, there will be no more new posts on deems.wordpress.com but only on my new blog deems.co.za

Thanks!

Deems

For more fireworks displays from around the world, check here for more.

People all around the world gathered in groups large and small last night to usher out the previous year, and welcome the arrival of 2010. Under a rare New Year’s Eve Blue Moon, crowds watched fireworks, cheered, made resolutions, and counted down to midnight. 2010 is the year of the Tiger in the Chinese zodiac, signifying a year of bravery and courage. Collected here are some photographs of people across the earth as they welcomed the new year in many different ways. (38 photos total) – source Boston.com

Fireworks from the Space Needle light up downtown Seattle, Washington to bring in the new year, as seen from Kerry Park, Friday, Jan. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Cliff DesPeaux)

Posted in Family, General, Photography Tagged: 2010, around the world, big picture, boston.com, celebrations, new year, Photography ]]> http://deems.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/entering-2010-with-a-bang/feed/ 3 Deems seattle-space-needle-new-years-2010 http://deems.wordpress.com/2009/12/31/happy-new-year/ http://deems.wordpress.com/2009/12/31/happy-new-year/#comments Thu, 31 Dec 2009 21:55:55 +0000 Deems http://deems.wordpress.com/?p=2206 ]]> I know I won’t get a chance to do this later – so I’m preparing this post a few hours earlier.

Thanks to all my loyal readers, you know who you are, and also to the many people that visit my blog from far and wide. It’s been a good year, with many events (good and bad), let’s hope 2010 is even better, for everyone!

Have a blast and be safe!

H A P P Y   N E W    Y E A R ! ! !

Here’s just a quick message to all of you hoping you and yours have a wonderful Christmas! Be safe!

Well, t’is the season, and he’s produced another video with a holiday message for everyone. [via BoingBoing]

If you know the original source of this let me know and I’ll give credit.

T’was the night before Hristouyenna and all through the spiti
I could smell fasolatha & pasticho through my miti.
Pandofles were hung on the fireplace quite low,
Hoping Ayios Vasilis would bring some poto.
Patera in his krevati was snoring pretty hard,
Tired from stealing the tree from
our malaka neighbours’ yard.

Mama was in the basement cooking like a nikokira,
adding just enough lemon to her fresh made horta.
When the thorivo came from outside the porta,
Baba yelled from his room “ela mesa re malaka”.
The knocking on the door, such a rude, loud barage ,
I yelled through the window
“It’s a Greek house re malaka, come in through the garage!”

Then, standing in the garage right next to my car,
was my drunk thio Mitso coming home from the bar.
“Ainde kimisou methismene” I told him with might,
“you’ll ruin my chances of seeing Ayio Vasilis tonight”.

About two hours later I heard a noise down the stair,
I jumped from my krevati to see who was there.
Standing by the tree eating leftover fakkes,
Was Ayios Vasilis reeking of tsiporo no less.

He was all dressed in red and as big as an ox,
Wearing brown “pandofles” along with black socks.
Smelling like a katsiki with a touch of “Old Spice”,

He’d been drinking for days and smelled not very nice.
He was putting the presents out under the tree,
They were wrapped like skata, it was quite plain to see.
Vrakyia & 6 kaltses from Myer for me,
and 12 for my brother cuz he’s only 3.

This Santa was paraxenos, nothing like the fable,
Before leaving he stole my tsigara from the table.
I yelled “Eh, Ay’ Vasili, ti kaneis ekie?”
and he turned and he threw his “pandofla” at me.

The look in his eyes was nothing but fright,
He said “fiye apo tho, re malaka” and dashed out of sight.
And he called to his reindeer, and called them by name
I knew they were not the same animals from “Jingle Bell” fame..

“Ela Mitso, Sotiri, ke Nektario,
Yianni kai Taki, Thanasi kai Yiorgo…”
“Ainde grigora na pao ya katourima”,
and he yelled as he went “KALA XRISTOUYENNA“.

It’s a concept by Othmar Muehlebach, and it won second place at a design contest in Switzerland last month. [via Crave]

It’s about a short skit called Prisencolinensinainciusol from Adriano Celentano‘s, an Italian actor, show. His idea behind the skit was to create a song with American English sounding lyrics to put across what American English songs sound like to non-English speaking people.

I listened to the song’s lyrics while doing something else and couldn’t quite remember what the words were, but I could have sworn they were in English. When I played the song again and listened more carefully as they lyrics were sung you could make out that some words sounded like English words, but were clearly not.

In 1970, an Italian man recorded a song long before disco and rap that is very close to both, and then an unnamed person choreographed it for a battalion of dancers in a hall of mirrors. If the results are really as miraculous as they seem right now, and I am not just talking myself into something, it is precisely because “Prisencolinensinainciusol” is such a loving presentation of silliness. Would any grown performer allow themselves this level of playfulness now? Wouldn’t a contemporary artist feel obliged add a tinge of irony or innuendo to make it clear that they were “knowing” and “sophisticated”? It’s not clear what would be gained by darkening this piece of cotton candy, or what more you could know about it: it is perfect as is. – source The New Yorker

If that’s not cool enough, think about this – this video clip is from his show from 1972 – that’s 37 years ago. Now take into account the disco/rap style of the music – quite the pioneer, don’t you think?