Marihuana stop!

Dream scene from the greek film "Marihuana stop!" (1971), directed by Yannis Dalianidis.
Tolis Voskopoulos is performing the song "Den me noiazei" (I don't care) [music M.Plessas, lyrics L.Papadopoulos]. 

Tai Chi Chuan

Republished from Acropolis Now HERE

(thanks to silezukuk)

Grinderman 2

Grinderman is a rock band formed by Nick Cave with other members including Warren Ellis, Martin P. Casey and Jim Sclavunos.
Their self-titled debut album was released in 2007 and on September 13th 2010 they released their second, titled Grinderman 2.

(If you want to learn more for the band and the albums, click HERE)



Grinderman 2 bears many interesting features relating to Greek antiquity.

The album's cover features a bust of Perikles. Though seen from a distance I think I can safely identify a copy of the well-known Roman bust of Pericles in the British Museum.

More for the British Museum Pericles HERE

If you're interested, you may purchase yourself a copy of this bust HERE

On a column to the left of the cover picture one may see the back of a small of copy youth's statue for which I shall not venture an identification


It is interesting to watch the following two promotional trailers for Grinderman 2, directed by John Hillcoat and then note the band's humorous tour poster

Schnabel in the Louvre

Ernst Schnabel photographed in the Greek Antiquities section of the Louvre
January 1,1958
photographs by Loomis Dean for Time & Life Pictures.

Source of photographs HERE

******
Ernst Schnabel was a writer and pioneer radio producer, widely known for his book on Anne Frank's life, "Anne Frank, A Portrait in Courage"

(More here)

Devouring aesthetics

Somewhere in (21st c.) Athens.

[photograph taken by Elias, reproduced here courtesy of the photographer, VIA]

The Antikythera Lego Mechanism

Lego built a fully functional replica of the Antikythera Mechanism in 30 days, using 1500 Lego technic parts and 110 gears.

Watch it in action with detailed explanation.

I think it makes the prototype look even more impressive.
What do you think?

A Delphic Riddle

An old Greek advertisement for cooking fat named "Delphi".

Can you tell what's wrong with it?

***********************************

UPDATE

The answer to the riddle:

the temple illustrated is not in Delphi but it in Corinth; the Temple of Apollo.

(photo source)

Pirelli 2011

The new 2011 Pirelli calendar was shot by Karl Lagerfeld.
The theme was "Greek and Roman Mythology" and gods were impersonated by numerous famous models and actress Julian Moore on the role of Hera.

From his Paris studio, Lagerfeld created "Mythology", a calendar that reflects
one of his deepest passions, that of Greek and Roman mythology, tales of the
origins of humanity told through the adventures of gods and goddesses, heroes
and heroines. On a voyage back through time transported by the universal
language of photography, "Mythology" takes us to the roots of classical
civilisation and takes the Pirelli Calendar back to the Old World, where nearly
140 years ago a company was born that was to become a multinational organisation
with operations in over 160 nations around the world.

The 36 photos that make up the 2011 Calendar show 24 different subjects, including gods, heroes and myths. With his keen eye, Lagerfeld has 'sculpted' these photos both in terms of their aesthetic rigour and for the recurring references to the art of sculpture and its classical tenets. All of the photos are in black and white, which lends
character to the images, exalts the beauty of the figures represented in sharp
chromatic contrast, and gives them a certain three-dimensionality through the
careful use of light.

"Actresses and models bring these new heroes to life and depict a new concept of the beautiful," said Karl Lagerfeld, who, within the 2011 Pirelli Calendar, has offered up an idyllic, immortal representation of beauty. Beauty, youth, the veneration of form, and desire depict this new concept of beauty and embody the modernity in mythology.

(quote for the press release)


You may learn all about the concept and a very analytical presentation of the gods and semigods portrayed in the project reading the long (but very informative) press release. Visit this page HERE and press "Show Press Release"

You may see more photographs HERE.

Red Figure Converse All Stars

Converse All Star shoes hand-painted with red-figure scenes.

The story

I stumbled upon this magnificent and unique pair of shoes on an eternallycool.net post. This post tells the story of the shoes much better than I could and instead of copying information I refer you directly THERE.

I should stress that the original uploading of the photographs on Flickr was by jere7my whose mother was the creator of this unique pair of "Chucks", who hand-painted them for Jeremy's wife.

More photographs in Jeremy's photostream HERE

Here I only make some brief notes on the iconography of the four sides of the shoes, identifying three of the depicted scenes.

Left shoe -

Out: Odysseus tied on the mast of a ship with his sailors and a Siren plunging from her rock

Source:

Attic red-figure stamnos by the Painter of the Siren (480-470 B.C.)

In: Apollo resting on a rock playing the lyre accompanied by a panther.

(could not identify precise source)

Right shoe -

Out: Hercules attempting to capture Cerberus in Hades with Athena overlooking at the left.

Source:

Attic bilingual amphora by the Andocides painter (520-510 B.C.)

In: Ajax or Achilles playing dice

Source:

Attic biblingual amphora by the Andocides painter (520-510 B.C.)

From Dub to Dubstep

(photo source HERE)

(photo source HERE)

Though by now it is over, these are two posters from a music event that took place in Athens two days ago

Barbie Athena

(close-up photo VIA)

Interested? See here

P.S. Barbie Athena seems to have been the most influential of the "Greek" Barbies.

On Youtube there's a video of a girl in the process of unpacking her (here) and another of a girl immitating her make-up (here)

Barbie Aphrodite

Barbie Aphrodite

in the Exclusive Gold 2009 Series

(more here)

An older version of the goddess was available in 2000 in the Classical Goddess Collection

Note how the Goddess follows contemporary fashion



(information and photograph VIA)

Greek Princess Barbie

Princess of Ancient Greece Barbie

in the collectible series Dolls of the World

Princess of Ancient Greece™ Barbie® Doll wears a rippled, copper-colored dress
called a "chiton" that flares at the bottom. A square sheer wrap decorated with
a golden Grecian pattern is pinned at her right shoulder with one of two golden
pins that are shaped in a lion's head. She wears a golden serpent arm cuff and
completes her outfit with a golden laurel crown atop her curly dark brown hair,
worn up in a classic Grecian chignon.

(interested? see here)

Against disrespectful men

An Aphrodite of Melos statuette used as a weapon against disrespectful men

Greek matchbox

A Greek matchbox reproducing a Wild Goat Style scene (650-550 B.C.)

Aphrodite of Banksy

From the Banksy versus Bristol Museum exhibition



More hotel labels of yore

Athens - Delphi - Olympia - Grande Bretagne (?!)

Delphi Hotel Labels

From Athens to Vulci to Athens

Hotel Xenias Melathron label in Athens

[reproducing a red-figure vase scene in the negative]

Attic Red-figure stamnos showing the departure of a warrior.

Painted by the Kleophon painter, 440-430 B.C.

From Vulci, now in the Staatliche Antikensammlungen, Munich

Mittelmeerreisen 1934