Reporting from Greece

podcast: come on, pilgrim

2006-06-29T17:28:00.000+03:00

I just got back from Mount Athos, which combines Greek Orthodox monasteries and nature, as this photo demonstratates:

I took a trip to Mt. Athos, a semi-autonomous state inside Greece run by the Greek Orthodox Church. It's fairly restrictive (only men can go, and there are only a few places you can spend the night), but also immensely beautiful. Each night I was there, I took notes on my day, which you can hear, unedited and unabridged.
My hosting service is being all "use a valid file" on me, so I've uploaded the episode onto savefile.com (9:10, 5.23 MB).

Click on the photo for more photos.

podcast: Emily, in her own words

2006-06-22T15:17:00.000+03:00

A massive, massive hunk of this girl's thoughts:I read a report Emily wrote and interview her about work, life and octopus in Greece.
Download or subscribe (10: 05, 6.5MB)
Click on her face (or here) to visit her blog.

Notes:
1. I souped up my podcast logo:

pretty: y/n?

2. AVOID "Malice of Forethought" if you see it in my podcast feed. The "malice" part is right. I've been trying to get rid of it for a while. Still, if you do listen to it, you can see how far I've come.

3. This podcast will be ending soon--I'll soon be out of an apartment and therefore a stable internet connection. (Also, my mp3 player, which I use to record all the audio, is acting up majorly.) Nothing to worry about; just wanted to give you the heads up.

And I'd like to use this space to congratulate Aris for stomping Marousi in the relegation round of the Greek basketball play-offs. They finished third (yes!) which means they get to play in the top Euroleague next year. Woot.

video: Meteora Panorama

2006-06-19T10:57:00.000+03:00

as promised:

The audio is the Thessaloniki church chanting from the last podcast.

podcast: O come, all ye faithful

2006-06-16T07:50:00.000+03:00

To quote Big Boi (the bigger half of OutKast): "Sometimes life can keep you down, with your face all in the dirt/ Now if you feel that left behind, need to get up and go to church."
On Sunday, I went to church at Ayias Sofias, pictured above.

Download or subscribe (4:46, 2.9 MB)

The website of the church that I mention at the end, All Souls Church, Unitarian (Washington, D.C.) has audio archives here.

Also, welcome to everyone coming here from nylon.gr. I had a friend translate a bit of their commentary about my podcast. It's pretty amusing:
"I think that, since I discovered [this young American boy] on iTunes podcasts, then hundreds of thousands (or perhaps millions) of other users from the same service have probably (I'm certain) discovered him. iTunes already has over 20,000,000 customers.

"I have no doubt that the podcast of this young boy can bring many more tourists to Greece than the millions of Euro (60 mil. alone are going towards the advertisments!) which Fany Palli is planning to invest in the framework of our new touristic policy.
. . .
"Anna Vissy is not going to bring us our good customer[s]. The young American boy will bring [them]. Because they know him, they trust him."

I'd like to correct them on two points:
1. At most, 70 people listen to this podcast. I am responsible for four people visting Greece, but they only came because I'm related to them.
2. I'm 3 years older than you say--I'm 23, not 20.

Also, thanks for the link, Εργοτελίνα. I'm a big fan of exclamation points (!). Nice to see them after every link.

podcast: Let's go away, you and I...

2006-06-09T10:57:00.000+03:00

... on a holiday. Far away. Let's go today.In the past 10 days, I've been to Halkidiki, Thassos (pictured) and Meteora.
Direct download or subscribe (5:28, 3.3 MB)
still and moving pictures of Meteora will exist in the near future. so will comments, right?

Also, today marks the beginning of the World Cup. I'm rooting for the U.S. (obvious), but also a bunch of other countries, including one with mildly fascist jerseys.

podcast retrospective

2006-06-02T19:30:00.000+03:00

I've been using this blog as a home for my podcast for about two months. All the new episodes I've done since them have been slapped up here with short summaries. Now, I present even shorter summaries of all the podcasts I made before April, in reverse order. Links in the title point to synopses I posted in my LiveJournal.

21. Who Documents the Documentaries? Answer: me, in this 6-minute review of the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival. I enjoy reviewing movies.

20. School Malaise What it's like to work at a Greek high school. More grumbling about the Greek language, and mention of "the boy who wanted to go to Albania to see Albanians."

19. The Cacaphony of Carnival The sounds of the pre-Lent celebration in a small Greek village. I also posted a video of the Carnival. recommended

18. Eat! A countdown of the best five foods and (mostly alcoholic) drinks you can buy in Thessaloniki. I'll probably revisit the food topic soon. mildly recommended

17. Ascending the White Tower Taking a trip up Thessaloniki's landmark, or as Emily would say, its "Tall Thing." I use a written copy of this report as a writing sample, so I guess I recommend it.

16. A Joke of a Report A completely un-Greek untruthful news story that appeared in my alma mater's fake newspaper. It's funny.

15. Snow Day It snows in Greece. Odysseus never dealt with that guff. My first podcast officially called "Reporting from Greece."

14. A Seductive Cat An interview with Emily about her cat, and how easily it will immigrate to the U.S. My last podcast called "The Sound of My Voice," even though it featured more of Emily's voice. Huh.

13. Pristine in Name, but Brimming with Conflict An analysis of Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, based on a trip I took back in December. I got an "A" on the print version, so my professor would recommend it.

12. The One With Rachel My first interview with the big sis (not big sissy) on life, junk food, and painted animals in Belgrade, Serbia (formerly Serbia and Montenegro, formerly Yugoslavia, formerly Ottoman Empire). The episode title is a sly Friends reference. My sister just made a friend through Friendster.

11. The Tuba A heartfelt essay on the low brass instrument I played, but abandoned in college. recommended

10. Iver's Story The fourth consecutive episode not about Greece! An interview with my mom about how my great great grandfather. It's my family's "coming to America" story, full of romance and mystery. Recommended, because how can you not recommend your mom?

9. Secret Santa The Christmas episode, which I actually produced on Christmas day. My dorm's secret santa program unintentionally unites warring sports fans. One of them is me.

8. To Market, To Market A audio-collage of an open-air market. Hear roasting food, barking vendors, and barking electronic dogs. One cute girl I know totally recommended it.

7. Thessaloniki's Rotunda: History Obscured A travel-magazine article about The Rotunda, an old, mysterious and round building in downtown Thessaloniki. Like the White Tower story, I use this article to show off my writing skills, so I recommend it.

6. I Love the Way They Dribble I attempt to do play-by-play for an Aris basketball game. I purposely used the bad clips. I had a lot of them to choose from.

5. Emily's Side of the Story It's Emily again. I read her report on the first few months in Thessaloniki.

4. Happy Thanksgiving! As the resident American, I had to give a speech on the meaning of Thanksgiving. I say both "Greetings Planet Earth" and diss the Dallas Cowboys. Sorry about all the P-pops.

3. BBC Editorial Guidelines This is a paper I had to write for my journalism class. It really has nothing to do with anything. Should I delete it?

2. Grinnell Corps Report #1 I read my report on the first few months in Thessaloniki. I don't recommend the production values of this one, but the content isn't so bad. I never did do that Comic Strip lectures on Scott McCloud's theories of communications.

...and

1. Malice of Forethought Actually, I just deleted this one. It has absolutely nothing to do with anything else, and is dumb. If anyone judged my podcast ouerve by this episode, they would quickly abandon me.

So, what topics have I missed? What of Greece have I missed? What of my reports have you enjoyed?
I hope the recommendations helped.

And if you run out of things to listen to, check out this story my friend AD helped put on NPR, via StoryCorps. It's about how her parents met. Actually, listen to her parents' story before listening to any of my junk.

podcast: It's all Greek, all the time

2006-06-01T19:16:00.000+03:00

I am a man of letters, and this year, it is Greek letters.
This week, I complain about my own inability to learn Greek. It's a problem.
Download or subscribe (4:11, 2.4MB)

Just like fraternities often abuse women, so too do they abuse the Greek alphabet. No one in Thessaloniki pronounces letters like those silly boys.

Learn more Greek at the Hellenic American Union.

The background music is another sample from the firewalkin' band. I like that music.

podcast: Fire walk with villagers

2006-05-26T11:53:00.000+03:00

On Sunday, I saw some people walk on hot coals. It looked like this:
Download or Subscribe (3:59, 2.4 MB)
Click on the picture or here to see more photos.
Here's a map from Thessaloniki to Langadas, which is ominously covered by a cloud. It didn't put out the fire.

podcast: I'm buss-ing my butt.

2006-05-18T14:07:00.000+03:00

A roundtable with my family about a vehicle relying on round wheels.

Direct download or subscribe (8:41, 5.2 MB)
It's over 8 minutes, but that means over 2 minutes for each member of my family. They're worth it, trust me.

Please, leave feedback. Both here, and iTunes or whatever podcasting service you use. Right now, I have one positive rating on iTunes (it's even from someone I don't recognize). There should be more, including some critical ones.

I just got a phone call from a Greek newspaper that wants to interview me about my podcast. Thanks, Blogger.

podcast: is two enough?

2006-05-13T23:03:00.000+03:00

This week, I dabble in tourism
Download here (right click, save as) or subscribe here (4:21, 2.6MB).
Go here to download a TV commercial for living your myth in Greece

I also dabbled in tardiness. Sorry, it's been a busy week.

podcast: buildings for learning

2006-05-04T17:20:00.000+03:00

I'm back!
This week, I discuss what, for my money, are Thessaloniki's two best museums. This wall hanging comes from one of them Download (right click, save as...) or subscribe. (5:45, 3.5 MB)
Links: Museum 1, Museum 2
Notes: I'm using a new microphone, an ATR 25. Also, I have 40 subscribers that aren't bots or me (only my soul is robotic). That's awesome. Next week I'm even going to meet two of my listeners. They're adults and everything!
I'm going to have some more updates this weekend. Check back.

podcast: Greek coffee

2006-04-27T12:37:00.000+03:00

a podcast loveletter to caffeine, as consumed by Greeks.

ah, coffee. Find out what the Greek varieties are, and how to make them.
download (right click, save as...) or subscribe (4:14, 2.42 MB)

NOTE: the two varieties I talk about take special equipment, so you probably can't make them exactly as I describe here. But, if you really want a frappe maker (left in the picture above) or a briki (right) just let me know. Also, I accidentally got like 300 bendy straws, so I could send you some of them, too.

I mention this in the podcast, but I'll be gone until next month. A couple weeks ago, that probably would've meant something. Still, I'm going to Athens before next week's podcast.

podcast pause

2006-04-15T17:12:00.000+03:00

This week's podcast is in the can, but my host, OurMedia, is being foolish.
Also, I'm going to be out of Greece for the next two weeks, so I can't in good faith do a report from Greece. (Also, no internet access.)
But, if you want to read more about Greece, either go to Emily's blog or This is Not My Country, which is one of the best Greece-in-English blogs around.

podcast: Aris fans

2006-04-07T20:53:00.000+03:00

Hear my take on an Aris basketball game.

Download here, right click, save as. (5:06, 3.1 MB)
Use the link on the left to subscribe.
Links: Aris' official website, their fan website, and photos I've taken at Aris games.
Also, at first I thought that "Aris" meant they were named after Aristotle, but they're actually named after the God of War. Which is probably the best mascot you could ever have.

video: Naoussa Carneval

2006-04-07T20:49:00.000+03:00

This was discussed in a podcast from last month, but here's video of the Carneval parade in Naoussa. Stick around for the end of the video, which features adorable boys.

adorable, no?

video: Aris basketball game

2006-04-02T20:34:00.000+03:00

Here is some video I took at the Aris Thessaloniki/Hemofarm Vrsac basketball game. By winning the game (sorry if I spoiled it) Aris qualified for the championship game of the ULEB tournament, and will play against Dynamo Moscow on April 11.

The fans were just crazy.

podcast: Rachel Returns

2006-04-02T19:04:00.000+03:00

It's the twentieth episode of my podcast, Reporting from Greece, but the first on blogger.
This week, it's my longest title ever: Rachel Returns, and Regales Us with Serbian Stories
My older sister Rachel is living (and blogging) in Serbia, but she visited me last week. During her visit, we sat down and chatted. We also sat on this bench, in the catacombs of Agios Ioannis (the second-best catacombs in Thessaloniki):

More photos from her time are available here.