Anastasia

Listening to the Radio

Back in the late 1960s, when I was a little girl, the only form of home entertainment was the radio and black & white tv. In those days, there was only one tv channel in Cyprus - CyBC (Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation). The programme, however, started at 7:00 pm and ended at 11:00 pm. Of course I loved tv then! But I was only allowed to watch it for about an hour on school nights and 2 hours at the weekend or on school holidays. I still remember the long arguments with my parents who wouldn't let me watch Alfred Hitchcock Presents! So, in my free time then, I'd listen to the one and only radio station of the 60s - the CyBC - and, if I was lucky, to some English stations of the time. We had an old radio then.

In the early 70s that old radio gave way to transistors. I was so excited when I got a transistor radio for a birthday present in 1970! I couldn't believe I could carry MY radio anywhere. In the meantime, I also enjoyed my first portable vinyl player. But I had to buy records to use it, so the radio still remained my second best form of home entertainment after the telly! 

Despite the advances of technology today, I still listen to the radio online, at home or in the car. I also enjoy listening to my CDs as an alternative. But considering that I never download music for free from the Internet - it's illegal after all - I can listen to the same CDs over and over again. Listening to the radio is certainly the cheapest form of entertainment as CDs or downloading music from the Internet cost quite a lot these days.  I no longer enjoy watching tv despite the wide range of tv channels nowadays.

Guiness World Records - Daredevils

I'm not really a TV fan but ,the other day, the Greek show on Guiness World Records caught my eye. I was shocked at what people can do in order to gain a place in the Guiness World Records! I was so impressed that I surfed the Internet to find out more. Here's what I stumbled upon:

Sir Hugh Beaver - an Englishman - was the creator of the Guiness Book of Records.  In November 1951, Beaver, then the managing director of the Guinness Brewery, went on a shooting party in North Slob, by the River Slaney in County Wexford, Ireland. He became involved in an argument: which was the fastest game bird in Europe, the Golden Plover or the Grouse? That evening at Castlebridge House it was realised that it was not possible to confirm in reference books whether or not the Golden Plover was Europe's fastest game bird.

Beaver thought that there must be numerous other questions debated nightly in the 81,400 pubs in Britain and in Ireland, but there was no book with which to settle arguments about records. He realised then that a book supplying the answers to this sort of question might prove popular. He happened to be correct.

Beaver’s idea became reality when Guinness employee Christopher Chataway recommended University friends Norris and Ross McWhirter, who had been running a fact-finding agency in London. The brothers were commissioned to compile what became The Guinness Book of Records in August 1954. A thousand copies were printed and given away

After founding the Guinness Book of Records at 107 Fleet Street, the first 198 page edition was bound on 27 August 1955 and went to the top of the British best seller lists by Christmas. "It was a marketing give away - it wasn't supposed to be a money maker" said Beaver. The following year it launched in the USA, and sold 70,000 copies. Since then, Guinness World Records has become a household name and the global leader in world records. The book has gone on to become a record breaker in its own right, with sales of more than 100 million copies in 100 different countries and 37 languages, Guinness World Records is the world’s best ever selling copyright book.

 

Having watched the video above I was simply amazed by all these crazy things people are willing to do for just a single moment of fleeting glory: driving a motorcycle through a tunnel of fire was described as "the raw courage of a man".  And here are some other recent records such as most bees on a human being, highest stackline walk (what a daredevil that man was!), world's smallest waist, world's biggest wave surfed. I'm not a daredevil as I don't think taking risks is doing something intelligent or great! But when I was 18, back in 1976 when I first met Alkis, he talked me into posing on the edge of a cliff in Fribourg , Switzerland, just to have our photograph taken!!

Alkis and me posing for a photograph at the edge of a cliff in Fribourg, Switzerland - Aug 1976

But Alkis had broken a kind of record a few days before. He had climbed Fribourg's tallest bare tree!  Such a pity it wasn't the world's tallest biggest bare tree!

Alkis climbing Fribourg's tallest bare tree - August 1976

What's the most dangerous or adventurous thing you have ever done? 

CNN Doesn't Know Where Cyprus Is!

Photo Credit

CNN International has been left red faced after reporting on APOEL FC’s Champions League victory with a map of Nicosia in Sicily in the background.

“We are sorry about this error,” a CNN official said in an email to the Cyprus Mail yesterday. “The story ran once and was immediately corrected.”

Nicosia team APOEL made history on Wednesday, when it became the first Cypriot team to make the last eight of any European competition, after beating Olympique Lyon and making it to the Champions League quarter finals.

CNN confused the local capital with the small Sicilian city in the province of Enna, southern Italy, which has a population of under 15,000.

 

Source

TV Commercials

In recent years, the amount of advertising on television seems to have increased dramatically. As a result, many people feel that their enjoyment of the programmes has been spoilt due to the constant interruptions by commercials. They also believe that advertising on TV should be banned or, at least, reduced in quantity.

Although I seldom watch TV mainly due to lack of time, I completely disagree with this suggestion. In the first place, let us not forget that TV channels rely on the income from commercials to pay for the programmes, otherwise they'd go out of business or would have to depend on government subsidies - like our national channel CyBC (Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation) . Almost invariably, this leads to political control over news and current affairs - not to mention the poor quality of most programmes. Secondly, advertisements increase our knowledge of different products and this enables us to make better choices as consumers or even learn about new products. Well, that's how I found out about Vanish .! Finally, tv commercials encourage competition amongst manufacturers who each try to produce the best quality products at the cheapest prices. Consumers would have to pay a great deal more if advertising didn't create mass markets for products.

What's more , some TV commercials can be fun to watch and others can raise awareness on various human issues such as the Coca Cola Commercial 2011.

 

Do you watch TV commercials? Do you think TV channels should cut down on them?

The Island by Victoria Hislop

via www.youtube.com

l  am profoundly touched and grateful to Victoria Hislop who decided to trust the TV series based on her book "The Island" to a Greek TV channel - Mega Channel. I had read the book while on holiday in Kefallonia 2 years ago and was hooked on it. I finished it in two days. As Louise France says in her review in The Observer: "Her message seems as relevant today as it would have been a century ago. Same prejudice, different disease."  The first episode of the TV series on Monday filled me with awe. Excellent casting and amazing photography. More importantly, I felt that the series conveys all those wonderful messages of love, strength and encouragement that Victoria Hislop communicates through her book. "The Island" is not just another beach book. It's a masterpiece!

Photo Credit

TV Ratings were impressive: 45% in Cyprus and about 72% in Greece. No other TV show or series has ever beaten these ratings before in Greece and Cyprus.

Have you read Victoria Hislop's "The Island?"  Your opinion matters.

TV or Not?

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like without the telly? To me it would be a much better place to live in. We'd read more newspapers and learn the real news without all the show and drama TV news seems to promote and, unfortunately,  this seems to attract viewers. We'd entertain friends or play board games more often, we'd go to the theatre or to the cinema more often, we'd attend a sporting event rather than watch it on TV. We'd even read more books or take up a creative hobby or listen to the radio every day! In short, we wouldn't be victims of passive entertainment.

In my childhood and teenage years, there was only one TV channel in Cyprus - the CyBC - Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation. The programme started then at 7:00 pm and ended at 11:00 pm. And yet, there were so many TV series and cartoons worth viewing then.  As a child, I really loved : Casper the Ghost, The Flintstones, Peyton Place (possibly the first soap opera worldwide), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Well, I used to have an argument with my parents who wouldn't let me watch that! ) , The Man from U.N.C.L.E - I was in love with Robert Vaughn and hated David Mc Callum!

Back to the present. There are so many TV channels now most of which broadcast ..trash! I hate all this horde of reality shows such as Big Brother, Survivor and WipeOut   not to mention all these cooking reality shows announced on the greek TV! What I love on our TV is Greys Anatomy  , Vimata Stin Ammo based on a story by Korina Avraamides which I happen to like very much. That's all I watch on TV right now. Get On Stage 2 and Greek Idol