Anastasia

Euthanasia

As we all know, the heart is the organ which supplies the body's tissues with blood. For a long time, the definition of death as the arrest of heart action and irreversible breakdown of respiration was considered a fact that did not require legal definition. With the advances in medical technology in the 20th century, however, the use of drugs and machines such as respirators enabled doctors to restore vital functions within minutes after they had stopped and, sometimes, to maintain them indefinitely. As a result, many medical authorities came to define death as the cessation of cerebral function (brain waves) as well as of respiratory and circulatory function.

Many hospitals today have adopted a definition of death that equates it with irreversible coma. According to this definition, a physician may assume that a person's brain is dead if it reads a flat electroencepholograph reading. The hospital then would consider that it could withdraw supportive medical measures on the assumption that nothing more could be done for the patient and the extraordinary measures are no longer required for the support of heart function and breathing. Such decisions, however, can raise importants questions of medical ethics.

Legal as well as ethical consideration may also be involved in such matters. By the late 1980s, in the USA most states had legally declared brain death to be an essential part of the definition of death. The need for this move had become evident with the growth of organ transplant operations, because organs must be removed as quickly as possible from a dead person before they begin to deteriorate.. Difficult legal questions were also created by those situations in which modern technology made possible the maintenance of life in otherwise irreversibly comatose or terminally ill patients.

As a result, various groups and individuals have for a number of years been pressing for the "legal right to die", declaring that extraordinary life-sustaining treatments only prolong suffering. They have sought to establish this right, in particular by means of so-called "living wills" that confer authority for withdrawal of such treatments upon family members, friends or legal figures. Many countries have recognised the legality of "living wills", but the question of euthanasia that they involve - that is the induction of gentle death by passive means - continues to be the centre of numerous ethical and legal controversies.

As far as I am concerned, I strongly believe that euthanasia is a crime which equals premeditated murder. Suffering is part of our lives and very often the advances in medicine successfully put an end to it. Hope dies last.  

*** Many thanks to my friend Andreas for providing the medical info on euthanasia. 

Typepad Vs Blogger

Now that I'm off work due to our Easter break, I have some more free time to surf the Net and learn things. To my surprise, I found out about the dispute between Typepad and Blogger. When my friend Constantinos invited me to contribute to his blog on Blogger as a guest author, I had second thoughts as the site was completely unknown to me and , most importantly, I didn't know Constantinos' reading public. Finally, I decided to give it a try and accepted Constantinos' invitation. So, I started exploring Blogger and found it very similar to Typepad. Now don't ask me who copied who, I really do not know. All I know is that you can have a unique blog experience on Typepad for only $4,95 a month. No other blogging site has ever offered so many tools online and such a great service.

WHY BLOGGER

1. It's free!

2. You can still  come across a lot of drama if that interests you!

3. You can follow a blog easily with userpics as well.

4. You can have all the benefits of Google Reader

5. You can have all the benefits of a super Google profile!

WHY TYPEPAD

1. For a very small fee ($4.95 monthly) you can have the blog of your dreams and great tools!

2. You can make money.

3. You can advertise your business...or just blog for pleasure!

4. No need to host your photos on sites such as Picasa, Flickr or Photobucket in order to post them on your blogs. Typepad provides a built-in image uploader so that you can upload photos directly from your computer. Same goes for audio files.

5. No other site has  such a cool comment section like Typepad Connect which is free! I hesitated a lot to join Typepad Connect because it's still beta but so far there has been NO PROBLEM ! I can reply to my friends' comments individually whenever I am online. Threaded comments are great on Typepad.

6. People can subscribe to comments and follow the thread through their mobile phone, I can post through my email  anytime, anywhere- no need to log in. 

So, tell me , what's your most or least favourite blogging site ?

Easter Monday's Greek Recipes

For the Greeks, Easter is regarded as the greatest celebration of the year. The festive pascal menu includes a wide variety of traditional foods such as magiritsa (the midnight soup), ovelias (seasoned lamb or goat on the skew), kokoretsi (seasoned lamb offal wrapped in chopped indestines), tsoureki (a kind of brioche-fluffy easter bread) and flaounes in Cyprus (easter cheese pies) and, of course, the easter eggs. They are mostly painted red on Holy Thursday and symbolise Christ's blood. However, other colours can be used such as green, blue and yellow to symbolise springtime and the fertility of nature. During the Midnight Easter Supper and the Easter Lunch each person chooses an egg and raps it against another's egg. The one whose egg survives and remains uncracked is considered lucky.

A. GREEK EASTER EGGS

You will need
1 package of  easter eggs  dye
1/2 cup white vinegar
12 eggs, at room temperature
olive oil for glazing

Procedure
1.Wash eggs carefully to remove any dirt.

2.Place the eggs in a large stainless steel pot, preferably in a single layer, cover with water, add some white vinegar and  bring to a boil for about 10 minutes. Turn off heat.

3. Dilute the dye powder in a cup of warm water and add it to the eggs stirring lightly.

5.Check for colour after 10-15 minutes, remove eggs that  have reached the desired colour and cool slightly on a rack.

6.Rub each egg with an oiled cloth to glaze the surface and polish with kitchen paper.

7.Keep dyed eggs in the fridge until ready to use.

Tips
1. The eggs must be left at room temperature for about an hour before boiling them.

.2. A natural red dye can be made from yellow onion skins. Just simmer the skins of 15 yellow onions with 2 Tbs white vinegar and 4 ½ cups water for 30 minutes. Strain and let cool until it reaches room temperature. The result will be an orange colored liquid. Simmer eggs, covered, in this liquid, and they will turn a lovely red color.  Turn heat off after 20 minutes and leave to cool with the eggs that have not attained the desired depth of colour yet.

B. MAGIRITSA - Easter Midnight Soup

INGREDIENTS

a lamb's liver

heart lights and intestines

juice of 3 lemons

 salt

6 spring onions, trimmed, rinsed and finely sliced

 25 gr. butter (about 1/2 cup)

2 cos lettuces, trimmed, shredded and rinsed carefully (use only their young leaves and hearts)

 a cup of fresh dill or fennel, rinsed and finely chopped

a cup of finely chopped parsley

1.2 lt hot water

 salt and black pepper

60 gr. rice (about 1 cup)

avgolemono sauce (egg and lemon sauce)

2 eggs

juice of 2 lemons 
 
METHOD
Rinse all the meat. Turn the intestines inside out with the help of a thin stick and rinse them thoroughly. Rub them with salt and lemon juice and rinse them again. Cube them into small portions. In a large saucepan, sautee the onions in the butter, until they start to change colour. Add the chopped intestines, liver, lights and heart, fry together for a few minutes, stirring. Add the shredded lettuces and all the fresh herbs and sautee for a few more minutes. Add the hot water, and seasoning, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Then add the rice and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it stand for 10 minutes, before proceeding with the avgolemono sauce. Add the Avgolemono Sauce* to the soup, stirring. Return to a very gentle heat for 2 minutes, stirring at the same time. It should be by now a relatively thick soup.

*Avgolemono Sauce

Lightly beat 2 eggs. Add the lemon juice and beat again. Add 3-4 spoonfuls from the soup and stir to mix. Then add the avgolemono to the soup stirring well.

C. FLAOUNES - Easter Cheese Pies

Makes about 12.

Ingredients
Yeast dough
1 ½ lbs (750gr) strong plain flour,
1 sachet easy bake yeast,
1 teaspoon salt,
2 teaspoons sugar,
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil, water to mix.

Cheese filling
8oz (250gr) cheddar cheese ot 12oz flaouna cheese if available,
4oz (100gr) halloumi,
1 tablespoon flour,
1 teaspoon baking powder,
1 tablespoon crushed dried Mint,
4 eggs, lightly beaten.

To finish
1 egg, beaten,
sesame seeds.

Method
Sift flour into a large bowl. Stir in the yeast, salt and sugar. Add the oil and enough water to make a firm dough. Knead for at least 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a plastic bag and leave in a warm place for an hour to rise.
For the filling, coarsely grate the cheeses, add the flour and baking powder then gradually stir in the beaten egg and seasonings until you have a stiffish paste ( keep some of the beaten egg back if the mixture becomes too runny).
Divide the dough into egg sized pieces and roll these into 4'' (10cm) discs.
Place a generous tablespoon of filling in the centre of each pastry disc, spreading it slightly. Pull dough up at 3 points to make a triangle, or 4 points to make a square. You should stilll be able to see the filling in the middle.
Press corners together to seal and leave to rise. Just before baking, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle some sesame seeds over the finished flaounes.
Bake in a hot oven gas 8, 450'C, 230'C for 12-15 minutes until cheese filling is puffed and flaounes are golden.
Serve warm or cold.

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ. ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΠΟΛΛΑ.

The Passion : Epitaphios

Holy Friday is a day of mourning, fasting and prayer. Friday morning services retell the story of Christ's passion with the addition of prophecies, psalms and hymns. These services or "Royal Hours" help us keep vigil at the side of the crucified Christ, and relate Jesus' suffering to our redemption. Friday morning service (The Apokathilosis) marks the beginning of Holy Saturday: During this service, the minister takes Christ's body from the Cross, wraps it in a white cloth and places it on the Altar as a sign of His burial by Joseph of Armiathea and Nikodimos. A cloth icon or shroud depicting Christ's sacred body, called the Epitaphios, is carried in procession and placed in a flowered bier that represents Christ's tomb. On Holy Friday evening, the Martins of Holy Saturday are chanted. At this service we chant: The Hymns Of The lamentations "Engomia"We lament Jesus' undeserved death for our salvation. With both sorrow and joy we chant the Lamentations (Praises) to Him who is symbolically buried, yet whom we already know is the risen Lord and Giver of Life. This service, the Epitaphios is taken in a candlelight procession around the church, "In a tomb they lay Thee O Christ the life. By Thy Death Thou has cast down the might of death and become the font of life for all the world"

The Value of Learning a Foreign Language

 

Learning a foreign language takes time and dedication. The reasons below may help to convince you to take the plunge, if such persuasion is needed. Some reasons are practical, some aspirational, some intellectual and others sentimental, but whatever your reasons, having a clear idea of why you're learning a language can help to motivate you in your studies.

Kolik jazyků znáš, tolikrát jsi člověkem.

You live a new life for every new language you speak.

If you know only one language, you live only once.

(Czech proverb)

"I speak English, so I don't have to learn a foreign language...."

Everyone speaks English, right? Well, certainly not everyone speaks English. According to the CIA World Fact Book, only 5.6 % of the world's total population speaks English as a first language. That number doubles when people who speak English as a second or third language are counted. By conservative estimates, that means that well over four-fifths of the world's population does not speak English.

It's true that English has become a global lingua franca over the past several decades; this fact, however, really should have little effect on your decision to learn a foreign language. The attitude that English alone is enough, in fact, creates self-imposed limitations. To remain monolingual is to stunt your educational development, to restrict your communication and thinking abilities, and to deny yourself the ability to fully appreciate and understand the world in which you live. Learning another language opens up new opportunities and gives you perspectives that you might never have encountered otherwise. Personal, professional, social, and economic considerations all point to the advantages of learning foreign languages. Still not convinced? Here are 10 very good reasons why you should be learning a foreign language:

 

1.Emigration

When you move to a different country or region, learning the local language will help you to communicate and integrate with the local community. Even if many of the locals speak your language, for example if your L1 is English and you move to the Netherlands, it's still worth your while learning the local language. Doing so will demonstrate your interest in and commitment to the new country.

2.Family and friends

If your partner, in-laws, relatives or friends speak a different language, learning that language will help you to communicate with them. It will also give you a better understanding of their culture and way of thinking.

3.Work

If your work involves regular contact with speakers of foreign languages, being able to talk to them in their own languages will help you to communicate with them. It may also help you to make sales and to negotiate and secure contracts. Knowledge of foreign languages may also increase your chances of finding a new job, getting a promotion or a transfer overseas, or of going on foreign business trips.

Many English-speaking business people don't bother to learn other languages because they believe that most of the people they do business with in foreign countries can speak English, and if they don't speak English, interpreters can be used. The lack of foreign language knowledge puts the English speakers at a disadvantage. In meetings for example, the people on the other side can discuss things amongst themselves in their own language without the English speakers understanding, and using interpreters slows everything down. In any socialising after the meetings, the locals will probably feel more comfortable using their own language rather than English.

 

4. Study or research

You may find that information about subjects you're interested in is published mainly in a foreign language. Learning that language will give you access to the material and enable you to communicate with fellow students and researchers in the field.

Language is the archives of history.

(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

 

5. Travel

Many English speakers seem to believe that wherever you go on holiday you can get by speaking English, so there's no point in learning any other languages. If people don't understand you all you have to do is speak slowly and turn up the volume. You can more or less get away with this, as long as you stick to popular tourist resorts and hotels where you can usually find someone who speaks English. However, if you want to venture beyond such places, to get to know the locals, to read signs, menus, etc, knowing the local language is necessary.

A basic ability in a foreign language will help you to 'get by', i.e. to order food and drink, find your way around, buy tickets, etc. If you have a more advanced knowledge of the language, you can have real conversations with the people you meet, which can be very interesting and will add a new dimension to your holiday.

Die Grenzen meiner Sprache bedeuten die Grenzen meiner Welt.

The limits of my language are the limits of my universe.

(Ludwig Wittgenstein)

 

6. Studying abroad

If you plan to study at a foreign university, college or school, you'll need a good knowledge of the local language, unless the course you want to study is taught through the medium of your L1. Your institution will probably provide preparatory courses to improve your language skills and continuing support throughout your main course.

7. Secret communication

If you and some of your relatives, friends or colleagues speak a language that few people understand, you can talk freely in public without fear of anyone eavesdropping, and/or you can keep any written material secret. Speakers of such Native American languages as Navajo, Choctaw and Cheyenne

served as radio operators, know as Code Talkers, to keep communications secret during both World Wars. Welsh speakers played a similar role during the Bosnian War.

8. Required course

You may be required to study a particular language at school, college or university.

9. Getting in touch with your roots

If your family spoke a particular language in the past you might want to learn it and possibly teach it to your children. It could also be useful if you  research your family tree and some of the documents you find are written in a language foreign to you.

10. Revitalising or reviving your language

If you speak an endangered language, or your parents or grandparents do/did, learning that language and passing it on to your children could help to revitalise or revive it.

 

Finally, just one question:

 

What languages do you speak?

 

Finally let me ask you a question:

What languages do you speak?

Easter Break

Here I am back after a hectic week which I thought it would never end! I had to finish typing the Second Term Reports, then fill them in and proof read. In addition, I had to finish marking homework so that I could give it back before the Easter break. The good thing is that I never work under stress and, as a result, I managed to finish everything on time.... which means that for the next two weeks I'll enjoy my Easter break without having any marking to do! I don't think I'll have the energy to bake flaounes and tsourekia for Easter, but I promise to give you the recipes. However, I will dye my easter eggs  on Thursday. I will also try to cook Magiritsa - our traditional Easter soup- for the first time! It happens to be Alkis' favourite soup and we eat it just after midnight on Easter Sunday. I know it is Easter Sunday today for many of you. I hope you are enjoying it with you and yours. How did the egg hunt go? Any Easter traditions you would like to share?

Weekend Away

I have the impression that since Christmas, time has just flown by. The second school term has just come to an end and then it's Easter before you know it.  It was a long and difficult term with hardly any breaks requiring long working hours in my effort to improve my students' performance as exams are just around the corner. For Alkis, it was also a very busy time of year at work as he had scheduled various business trips all around Europe apart from running one of the finest hotels on the island. As a result of our busy schedules, we haven't spent much time together since practically New Year's Day! So, it was high time we got away somewhere nice and quiet and romantic. I had been looking forward to this weekend away for weeks. I rescheduled my Saturday classes and took the day off on Saturday .  After a stormy and rainy March, April greeted us with clear blue skies and the temperature rising to 25*C! . The ideal weather for a weekend getaway in spring. Our destination : Latsi fishing port situated at about 3 km from Polis Chrysochous.

 

Polis Chrysochous is a small town at the north-west end of the island of Cyprus, at the centre of Chrysochous Bay, and on the edge of the Akamas peninsula nature reserve. It is a quiet tourist resort, at about 165 km from Larnaca. Apart from tourism, the inhabitants' income is supplemented by agriculture and fishing. Polis is served by the fishing port of Latsi—a pole of attraction all  year round and reputed for its fish taverns, its sea-sport facilities and boat rides up to Akamas- a must for all Polis visitors. I only wish we had the time to go on one of these boat trips. It's years we haven't been on one! Some other time surely.  However, the great advantage of Polis is its close vicinity to beautiful Akamas peninsula, a nature reserve area destined to become a National Park,with its renowned Baths of Aphrodite. Α walk along its nature trails accompanied by the panoramic view of the bay of Polis is a unique experience. Unfortunateley the Baths of Aphrodite were closed this morning when we went to visit! Bad luck!

 

After a short coffee break at Stroubi village we headed northwest to Latsi port where we had lunch at Porto Latsi - red mullet, red snapper and calamari from the fisherman's basket. Then we went to the hotel - Anassa (meaning breath in Greek)  - a breath of fresh air, discrete luxury and tranquility. We took some photos, enjoyed the brethtaking view from the spacious balcony of our room, had a short nap and then had dinner at Helios Restaurant - it was , indeed, an ode to the palate!

After a huge breakfast this morning, we set off to Larnaca. On our way, we stopped at Pahos harbour for double espressos and frappe (iced greek coffee) and then Alkis drove through to Larnaca ...or almost! On the way, he had a bright idea! Have lunch at Ladas Fish Taverna situated between Mazotos and Zygi - just about 20 km from Larnaca! Then we went for a walk on the beach and by 5 pm we were back home.

Workwise, the week ahead is going to be hectic for me. It's the last week of term and time for second term reports. I need to double check, proof read and / or make changes. Then fill them in. This means that from Monday to Friday, I'll be working from 7:30 am to 9:30 pm. As a result, I won't have much time online to reply to comments or visit your blogs. But I promise that I'll make it up for you during my Easter Break starting on Saturday 11.