Life in Greek

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permalink interesting lines, light, and shadows (& mom) in the jet blue terminal photo by dk/jfk airport, ny/11-09

interesting lines, light, and shadows (& mom) in the jet blue terminal

photo by dk/jfk airport, ny/11-09

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permalink i thank     you god     for most this amazing day:for    the leaping     greenly     spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything    which is natural    which is infinite     which is yes   e.e.cummings photo by dk / bear mountain, ny / 10-2004

i thank     you god     for most this amazing

day:for    the leaping     greenly     spirits of trees

and a blue true dream of sky;

and for everything    which is natural    which is infinite     which is yes   e.e.cummings

photo by dk / bear mountain, ny / 10-2004

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permalink rear windows photo by dk/NYC/11-09

rear windows

photo by dk/NYC/11-09

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permalink vegetarian weekend … just kind of happened yesterday’s main meal was a ratatouille with white eggplants as the base ingredient. today it was this traditional Greek soup, fasolada - bean soup (fasolia=beans; -ada is the common suffix for juices, drinks, liquids). the recipe in our family has changed little over a few generations except for less salt and oil in the U.S. version. very basic, peasant food really, but so good for us and tasty. white beans, celery, plenty of carrots, bit of onion, olive oil, little or no salt, some pepper to taste. the kalamata olives - aren’t they beauties - are the perfect accompaniment. photo by dk / NYC / 11-09

vegetarian weekend … just kind of happened

yesterday’s main meal was a ratatouille with white eggplants as the base ingredient.

today it was this traditional Greek soup, fasolada - bean soup (fasolia=beans; -ada is the common suffix for juices, drinks, liquids).

the recipe in our family has changed little over a few generations except for less salt and oil in the U.S. version. very basic, peasant food really, but so good for us and tasty. white beans, celery, plenty of carrots, bit of onion, olive oil, little or no salt, some pepper to taste.

the kalamata olives - aren’t they beauties - are the perfect accompaniment.

photo by dk / NYC / 11-09

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permalink In Thessaloniki…. Late nights - post-screenings - sitting at Cafe Balkan, drinking hot chocolate, tea, Grand Marnier, talking, thinking back on the day’s films… more memories. photo by dk / Thessaloniki, Greece / November 2004 (or 2005)

In Thessaloniki….

Late nights - post-screenings - sitting at Cafe Balkan, drinking hot chocolate, tea, Grand Marnier, talking, thinking back on the day’s films… more memories.

photo by dk / Thessaloniki, Greece / November 2004 (or 2005)

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permalink In Thessaloniki… Right about now, at roughly 8:30 pm local time in Greece’s second largest city, no doubt all the screening venues for this year’s International Thessaloniki Film Festival are filled and overflowing as something magical or wondrous or heartbreaking or painful or just downright awful fills a silver screen. In between the seemingly endless stream of films, the choices for those in that place are many - a coffee at Cafe Balkan or at Room With a View in the main festival venue overlooking the harbor; a meal at any of the ouzeris in the old market or at the taverna in the stoa; a stroll along Mitropoleos, window shopping; a quick nap back at the City Hotel because you’ve been going since 8 am and you’ll need a boost to make it through that midnight screening. My memories of the many times I was part of that festival were front and center this past week, again, thanks to festival friends visiting New York. A few of us—Dan Georgakas, Barbara Saltz, and I—sat and ate a meal together after a screening at a local NYC Greek film festival, as we often did in Thessaloniki. The remains of one such meal is pictured here. (You can click right on the image for a larger view.) Maybe it’s just a tabletop to some; to those of us who were at that table, it’s much more. It became a bit of an obsession of mine to consider, and then to capture, what was left on a table as the meal, the discussion, the gathering wound down. In the end, the remains of meaningful moments. So this-and other images to follow shortly-is for the many people who shared in those moments with me. photo by dk / Thessaloniki, Greece / November 2004 (maybe 2005)

In Thessaloniki…

Right about now, at roughly 8:30 pm local time in Greece’s second largest city, no doubt all the screening venues for this year’s International Thessaloniki Film Festival are filled and overflowing as something magical or wondrous or heartbreaking or painful or just downright awful fills a silver screen. In between the seemingly endless stream of films, the choices for those in that place are many - a coffee at Cafe Balkan or at Room With a View in the main festival venue overlooking the harbor; a meal at any of the ouzeris in the old market or at the taverna in the stoa; a stroll along Mitropoleos, window shopping; a quick nap back at the City Hotel because you’ve been going since 8 am and you’ll need a boost to make it through that midnight screening.

My memories of the many times I was part of that festival were front and center this past week, again, thanks to festival friends visiting New York. A few of us—Dan Georgakas, Barbara Saltz, and I—sat and ate a meal together after a screening at a local NYC Greek film festival, as we often did in Thessaloniki.

The remains of one such meal is pictured here. (You can click right on the image for a larger view.) Maybe it’s just a tabletop to some; to those of us who were at that table, it’s much more. It became a bit of an obsession of mine to consider, and then to capture, what was left on a table as the meal, the discussion, the gathering wound down. In the end, the remains of meaningful moments.

So this-and other images to follow shortly-is for the many people who shared in those moments with me.

photo by dk / Thessaloniki, Greece / November 2004 (maybe 2005)

Posted
permalink saturday lunch with the folks in NJ - wild Canadian salmon baked with leeks, olive oil, hefty dash of pepper, and splash of white wine photo by dk/ NJ / 11-09

saturday lunch with the folks in NJ - wild Canadian salmon baked with leeks, olive oil, hefty dash of pepper, and splash of white wine

photo by dk/ NJ / 11-09

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permalink the remains of … the ticker tape parade for World Series champs, the NY Yankees photo by dk / pine st. NYC / 11-09

the remains of … the ticker tape parade for World Series champs, the NY Yankees

photo by dk / pine st. NYC / 11-09

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permalink leave the cannoli, take the biscotti a few treats from Veniero’s for dad for his birthday photo by dk/NYC/10-09

leave the cannoli, take the biscotti

a few treats from Veniero’s for dad for his birthday

photo by dk/NYC/10-09

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permalink In Thessaloniki… It’s hard not to think about the place come every November. I spent several fall seasons there, working as part of the staff of the city’s international film festival. And the family has strong roots there, still. This week, it was on the mind, starting Monday with the feast day of St. Dimitrios—a Christian martyr from Thessaloniki and the saint my brother and I both are named after (our paternal grandfather was Dimitrios). Old friends from the festival were in NYC this week, too. Breaking bread with them brought back memories, so I went digging for the photos. They’ll stream out here in the coming weeks. Here, a mid-morning cappuccino with my cousin at cafe Nikis 35, gazing into the fog-covered Thermaikos gulf, looking for any trace of Mt. Olympus in the distance. photo by dk/Thessaloniki/11-2003

In Thessaloniki…

It’s hard not to think about the place come every November. I spent several fall seasons there, working as part of the staff of the city’s international film festival. And the family has strong roots there, still. This week, it was on the mind, starting Monday with the feast day of St. Dimitrios—a Christian martyr from Thessaloniki and the saint my brother and I both are named after (our paternal grandfather was Dimitrios). Old friends from the festival were in NYC this week, too. Breaking bread with them brought back memories, so I went digging for the photos. They’ll stream out here in the coming weeks.

Here, a mid-morning cappuccino with my cousin at cafe Nikis 35, gazing into the fog-covered Thermaikos gulf, looking for any trace of Mt. Olympus in the distance.

photo by dk/Thessaloniki/11-2003

Posted