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On this day in 1989, actor and director John Cassavetes died

John Cassavetes was a globally recognised Greek-American actor and director, regarded as the pioneer of American independent film.

Born December 9, 1929 in New York City, John Cassavetes was the younger of two sons of Greek immigrants, Nicholas and Katherine Cassavetes. He grew up in New York and attended the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating in 1950. In his graduating year, Cassavetes also met his future wife, Gena Rowlands.

Cassavetes kick started his acting career in the film, Taxi (Gregory Ratoff, 1953), playing a minor part. A year later he began acting in short teleplays, beginning with Paso Double (for the Omnibus series). Cassavetes became typecast as a “troubled youth” in these programs and the motion pictures that were based on these plays. Among these films were Edge of the City (Martin Ritt, 1956) and Crime in the Streets (Don Siegel, 1957).

Appearing on Jean Shepherd’s Night People radio show, Cassavetes spoke about an alternative to Hollywood cinema, looking to launch his first independent film. Shepherd’s audience sent in donations totalling around $20,000, later embarking on creating his first film, Shadows.

The film changed the landscape of American cinema. Actors improvised within loosely defined situations and the story evolved as the shooting progressed. Everything was filmed with a hand-held 16mm camera.

Cassavetes screened Shadows in Europe, unable to find interested distributors in America. It was later released in America in 1961.

After the success of his film, Paramount hired him on to make a series of films, but later fired him after his first film didn’t reach audience standards.

Cassavetes acted in several films – most notably Rosemary’s Baby (Polanski, 1967) and The Dirty Dozen (Aldrich, 1967), for which he was nominated for an Oscar.

A new film, Faces, was later on the horizon, and was shot and edited in 16mm over three years. It premiered in 1968 and was a financial and critical success, being nominated of two Academy Awards and winning five awards at the Venice Film Festival.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Cassavetes worked independently or with modest studio backing when it was offered with complete artistic control. In the latter category are Husbands (Columbia, 1970), Minnie and Moskowitz (Universal, 1971), Gloria (Columbia, 1980), and Love Streams (Cannon, 1984). Of the self-financed are The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976/78), Opening Night (1978), and what many consider Cassavetes’ finest film, A Woman Under the Influence (1974).

After a three-and-a-half year illness, John Cassavetes died February 3, 1989. His spirit continues to inspire countless independent and maverick filmmakers around the world.

Sourced By: Cassavetes’ Biography

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese site in Redfern to undergo historical refurbishments

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia has announced bold plans for a complete redevelopment of the Archdiocesan site at Cleveland Street, Redfern.

The proposal, which was initially announced last year, includes upgrades to the infrastructure of St Andrew’s Theological College, as well as the creation of a Library and Museum, with religious and cultural exhibits that reflect upon Greek Australian heritage and the history of our immigration.

The full proposal consists of five stages and is to be realised over the course of two decades with a total budget of approximately $27 million.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia has announced bold plans for a complete redevelopment of the Archdiocesan site at Cleveland Street, Redfern. Photo supplied.

The first stage envisages the careful restoration and refurbishment of the historic Cathedral of the Annunciation of our Lady, designed by famous Colonial architect, Edmund Blackett, at a cost of around $2 million.

Later stages include the reconstruction of facilities which house St Andrew’s Theological College and the administrative departments of the Archdiocese, with provision for the creation of the Library and Museum.

“The proposal is necessary not only to repair ageing and deteriorating infrastructure of the Archdiocese but will also improve functionality and ensure the Archdiocese’s facilities meet the needs of our community,” Nicholas Pappas, the Honorary Secretary and Trustee of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia Consolidated Trust, said in a statement.

The proposal is designed by award-winning Greek Australian architect, Angelo Candalepas. Photo supplied.

The proposal is designed by award-winning Greek Australian architect, Angelo Candalepas, who says the upgrade will ensure the site and its surrounding areas “will be here for many generations to come.”

Dr Philip Kariatlis, Sub-Dean of St Andrew’s Theological College said the new facilities would also enable the College to expand and enrich its curriculum to include associated disciplines such as counselling and courses in the Greek language.

College students say this expansion will improve their learning experience and ensure they are able to maintain their Greek language, traditions and faith. 

Students at St Andrew’s Theological College, Dimitri Marvromatis, Eleni Mavrolefteros and Timothy Klintsaris, say their studies at the College have inspired them in transformative ways. Photo supplied.

“The expansion of the College will give me and students access to better facilities that will improve our learning experience including more modern classrooms and a library that support the needs of students in the 21st century,” student, Eleni Mavrolefteros, says.

“There are so many people including children and young people who will benefit from Greek language courses. The whole community will be able learn and experience the resources and artefacts of the library and museum.”

Another student, Dimitri Mavrommatis, agrees and says the upgrade will give students and the community “a more robust educational and spiritual experience whilst learning Theology.”

Students Kimon Giannopoulos and John Varipatis who say the masterplan will bring much needed new facilities and opportunities for students St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College in Sydney. Photo supplied.

“With the proximity of the College chapel, daily communal worship of the student cohort along with the faculty, provides time for prayer and reflection but also importantly for fellowship in Christ, as one body supporting each other in the exercise of academia,” Mr Mavrommatis says.

His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia said he hoped the plans would inspire all Greek Australians to develop and maintain a deeper connection to the Church, as well as to our ancestral culture, language and traditions.

The Archdiocese premises would stand amongst Sydney’s most iconic buildings and attract all interested citizens and researchers, irrespective of faith and origin.

Sophie Cotsis: Berejiklian Government ignoring repeated warnings to defend against cyber attacks

Labor is urging the Berejiklian Government to safeguard Government departments and services against cyber attacks ahead of today’s parliamentary Inquiry into Cybersecurity.
 
Recent media reports indicated Cyber Security NSW is investigating another major attack on the Government.
 
The Shadow Minister for Better Public Services Sophie Cotsis said: “The Berejiklian Government has continued to ignore repeated warnings that it needs to take urgent action to protect departments and services against cyber attacks.”
 
“The Government cannot be trusted to defend the personal information of its citizens,” Ms Cotsis said.
 
“It has still done nothing in response to the NSW Auditor General’s warnings last year that the personal details of 4 million Service NSW customers’ remain at risk following a major breach.”
 
The data breach followed the Department of Customer Service disclosure in its Annual Report that the number of cyber security incidents reported to Cyber Security NSW increased 50 per cent on the previous year (page 36).
 
The report also found:
– 30 percent of agencies do not provide training to employees in relation to data protection and breach management
– 30 percent of agencies do not maintain a register of data breach incidents
– Those agencies which do maintain a register of data breach incidents often fail to record important information, with no agencies recording the estimated cost of any data breach which occurred
 
The Auditor General, for the third year in a row, has warned that the Government needed to prioritise improvements to cyber security as a matter of urgency.

Greek restorer tends to Istanbul church artefacts that ‘live through centuries’

Greek restorer Venizelos Gavrilakis uses microscopes, cotton swabs and a delicate touch to bring artefacts back to life in churches in Istanbul, where concerns have grown about the preservation of its Byzantine history.

Since moving from Thessaloniki eight years ago, Gavrilakis, 44, and his colleagues have preserved icons, frescos and paintings in 25 Greek Orthodox churches in the city, he said.

Their latest job restoring artefacts including a 16th century depiction of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ took longer than planned due to coronavirus-related restrictions.

Venizelos Gavrilakis, a senior restorer and conservator from Thessaloniki, Greece, and his assistant Asli Erel work to clean and restore an early 17th century royal door at a Greek Orthodox church where Gavrilakis set up his laboratory in Istanbul, Turkey December 22, 2020. [Murad Sezer/Reuters]

Throughout the city’s Christian Byzantine and then Muslim Ottoman history, before Turkey’s modern republic, many such religious and cultural works were damaged or lost in war or abandonment, or altered by less-skilled painters.

Gavrilakis, who gives a lifetime guarantee for his work, said the restoration is meant to send a message of unity and longevity at a time when the pandemic has temporarily kept many worshippers apart.

“The pandemic will pass, in order to fight it we all should remain spiritually united,” Gavrilakis said. “Our work on these precious and timeless artefacts will always be there for the people to see it and get inspiration and strength from it.”

Venizelos Gavrilakis, a senior restorer and conservator from Thessaloniki, Greece, poses with the 16th century Byzantine Christian icon after completing its restoration at a Greek Orthodox church where he set up his laboratory in Istanbul, Turkey January 26, 2021. [Murad Sezer/Reuters]

Turkey’s decision last year to convert the famed Hagia Sophia as well as the Chora church, another local Byzantine landmark, into mosques sparked criticism from some church leaders and Western countries. Some experts also worried the conversion could harm frescos and other artefacts in the 6th century Hagia Sophia.

Gavrilakis trained in Italy and Greece, where he had worked on more than 40 churches in the north. In Istanbul the oldest icon he and his team, called Ieri Parakatathiki Labs, have restored is a Fayum portrait from the 2nd or 3rd century B.C.

The artefacts, he said in an interview, “remind people of the unlimited possibilities of the human mind that can create such wonderful things that live though the centuries.”

Sourced By: Reuters

Coronavirus cases in Greece hit quadruple digits as third wave fears grow

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Greece on Tuesday recorded 1,261 new cases of coronavirus and 22 fatalities, hitting quadruple digits for the first time since December.

Eighteen of the 1,261 cases involved international visitors tested upon arrival, with authorities conducting a total of 37,591 tests over the past 24 hours.

A total of 244 patients remain intubated in intensive care units while 1,131 have left ICU.

Fears of a third wave have grown as the country observes more cases of the UK and South African mutation of the virus, which was identified in Thessaloniki. Infectious Diseases professor Nikos Sypsas said the vaccine is less effective on the South African mutation.

“There are 3 mutations at the moment which infect more. It’s the British, the South African, and the Brazilian mutations,” he said.

Photo: Reuters

“There are very strong indications that the vaccines are less effective for the South African mutation.

“There is a possibility that the virus overcomes immunity and this will mean that we have to back to square one, back in the era of Wuhan,” Sypsas said.

“If the South African strain prevails in Greece, then it’s like having a new virus that the vaccines do not cover.”

The possibility of a third wave and how ESY is to deal with it were discussed on Monday in a teleconference convened by Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias, his deputy Vassilis Kontozamanis, Health Ministry Secretary-General for Primary Healthcare Marios Themistokleous, General Secretary of Health Services Ioannis Kotsiopoulos and the president of Greece’s ambulance service (EKAV), Nikos Papaefstathiou.

The ministry’s new operational plan, which was presented at the meeting, outlined the necessary interventions to increase the capacity of hospitals for the treatment of Covid cases in case this is necessitated by the pandemic’s course.

The plan is modeled on the one followed in Thessaloniki, where during the second wave, intensive care beds in ESY hospitals quadrupled, while reserves from the private sector were also utilized. ​​​​​

Nick Kyrgios recovers to defeat Alexandre Muller at Murray River Open

Nick Kyrgios has made a winning return to the court for the first time in 12 months, claiming a thrilling three-set win over Alexandre Muller at the Murray River Open.

Kyrgios was stunned early by the world no. 209, who took the opening set 6-3, before steadying to claim the final two sets to run out a 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win.

The 25-year-old’s match was not without drama, fighting through an injury scare in the second set before he was involved in a back-and-forth with chair umpire Adel Nour in the third-set tiebreaker.

Kyrgios took charge of the tiebreaker when he stormed out to a 4-1 lead, but was left frustrated when Muller won three consecutive points to tie it up 4-4.

Kyrgios had his left knee worked on by the physio in between the second and third set. Photo: AP.

The Australian stormed through his service games for the majority of the contest, and was left annoyed when a ball boy did not have the ball ready for him on time prior to a point which he eventually lost.

But the drama with the ball kids was not the only talking point from the contest, with Kyrgios seemingly struggling with an apparent knee injury in the second set.

He came into the match with his left leg bandaged and appeared to grimace after a number of points during the second set.

Kyrgios requested, and was granted, a medical timeout at the end of the second set and had his left knee area worked on by the physio, but appeared to run out the remainder of the match uninhibited.

“Any opponent for me was going to be tricky,” Kyrgios said after the match.

“I just wanted to find my feet, see how I felt out here and, again, I somehow pulled it out of the hat. It seems to be the story of my career, so I’m just happy to get through.”

The win means Kyrgios moves onto the second round, where he will face fellow Australian Harry Bourchier, who defeated countryman Marc Polmans in the first round.

Source: Nine Wide World of Sports.

Michalis Pervolarakis: Melbourne is our home

By Bill Roumeliotis.

Twenty-four hours before the first game of the Greek tennis team against Australia, our Melbourne correspondent, Bill Roumeliotis, spoke with Michalis Pervolarakis, who said he is looking forward to playing against John Millman.

Our conversation started with the question of how he feels after the end of the 14-day quarantine period and how ready the Greek team is for the ATP Cup.

“In terms of readiness and training, I do not think we have a problem as we trained normally five hours a day. So our preparation went very well and we are all in good physical condition,” Pervolarakis told The Greek Herald.

“As for the personal part, I missed walking, I wanted to see the people. And indeed, on Friday afternoon, as soon as the quarantine ended and despite the rain, I took the umbrella and walked. I am very happy that I returned to normalcy in a city where there is currently no cases of coronavirus.”

Michalis Pervolarakis spoke to The Greek Herald.

Then we asked Pervolarakis if Australia is in a better position because its players were not locked in a quarantine hotel.

READ MORE: “We are here to achieve victory,” says Greek tennis player Michalis Pervolarakis.

“I do not think so… The World No. 1 of Australia, Alex De Minaur, was also in quarantine because he had traveled from abroad. So most tennis players had the same treatment,” Pervolarakis said, before telling The Greek Herald that the Greek team has the advantage of home.

“The positive thing for our team is that we will play at home… Melbourne is our home, because we always have hundreds of expatriates by our side who stimulate us with their voices, their worship and the support we have during the games gives us strength… On Wednesday, we will feel at home and not the Australians,” he says.

In the end we asked Pervolarakis about his personal goals for 2021.

“2020 was a difficult year, not only because of coronavirus, but also because of injuries. Last year, at around this time, I left Australia injured and had an injury for about four months,” Pervolarakis explained.

“Then because many tournaments were canceled, it was very difficult to recover… But now I am well, I moved from America to Cyprus and we are training with Marcos Baghdatis and I believe that the results will be seen very soon.

“As for my goals with Baghdatis, we have set a goal in the American Open tournament to be around No. 230 in the world, and to participate in the qualifying phase of the American Open. But this will depend on the events that will take place, because due to the coronavirus pandemic several events have been canceled… Although I am at 462 in the world rankings, I believe that I will succeed.”

This was our conversation with the always willing Michalis Pervolarakis.

READ MORE: Australian Open Greek players are dancing their way through quarantine.

Greek and Cypriot community leaders join politicians to mark start of Parliament

The start of the Parliamentary year was marked today with a traditional ‘ecumenical service’ at St Christopher’s Cathedral in Canberra at 7.30am.

In attendance was Archepiscopal Vicar of Canberra and Tasmania, Very Rev Archimandrite Prochoros Anastasiadis, High Commissioner of Cyprus, Her Excellency Mrs Martha Mavrommati, and the Very Reverend Protopresbyter Petros Kypouros, Parish Priest of the Church of St Nicholas in Canberra.

During the church service, Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, read an excerpt from the book of Jeremiah, while Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese also read a passage from the book of Romans.

A small sermon was also delivered by Pastor Gabor Szabo from the Canberra-Queanbeyan Lutheran Parish.

Father Prochoros had the opportunity to speak briefly with the Leader of the Opposition the Hon Anthony Albanese. Photo: Facebook.

At the conclusion of the service, Father Prochoros had the opportunity to speak briefly with the Roman Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn, His Grace Christopher Prowse, as well as the Leader of the Opposition the Hon Anthony Albanese, whom both welcomed Father to the Nation’s Capital.

“At the end of the service Father convened the love and paternal Blessings of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios and wished Mr Albanese a fruitful year ahead,” the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia – Archdiocesan District of Canberra wrote on Facebook.

WA bushfire emergency: 80 per cent of properties lost east of Perth

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Authorities say 56 homes have been lost to a massive bushfire that continues to burn out of control east of Perth.

DFES Commissioner Darren Klemm said that figure was likely to grow as teams completed their damage assessments.

The blaze has so far burnt through 7,300 hectares inside an 80-kilometre perimeter.

“DFES will be conducting enquiries in an attempt to establish whether there has been any loss of life,” Western Australia’s Premier, Mark McGowan, said during a press conference today.

An emergency warning is in place for parts of the shires of Mundaring, Chittering and Northam, and the City of Swan, forcing dozens of residents to flee amid confusion over the COVID lockdown.

The City of Swan mayor fears between 20 to 30 homes have been lost. CREDIT: DFES.

Mr McGowan said he had briefed the Prime Minister on the fire, as well as the COVID situation, earlier this morning.

“Right now WA is battling two different kinds of emergencies,” he said.

Two firefighters were also injured battling the blaze, but are recovering well. One was treated in hospital for smoke inhalation and the other working through the night after suffering minor burns to his ear.

Residents flee to evacuation centre and family’s homes:

The emergency fire alert applies to parts of The Vines, Bailup, Ellenbrook, Gidgegannup, Millendon, Walyunga National Park, Upper Swan, Aveley, the Avon Valley national park, Wundowie, Red Hill, Belhus, Baskerville, Herne Hill, Bullsbrook, Wooroloo and Brigadoon.

Dozens of families fled to the evacuation centre at the Brown Park Complex in Swan View while a second centre has been set up at Swan Active in Midland.

Some sections of Perth affected by the blaze are also in the COVID lockdown zone, leading to confusion over where people should evacuate to.

Western Australian Police Commissioner, Chris Dawson, confirmed this morning however, that while Perth was in lockdown, anyone who needs to leave their home to escape the fire should not hesitate to do so.

“The fire is still uncontrolled, if you are in lockdown, or in any form of isolation or quarantine for COVID-19, you must do whatever you need to do… to protect your life and those of your immediately family of course,” Mr Dawson said.

“Don’t stay in that property if you think you have to obey the COVID rules.”

This is a developing story. Please come back for updates.

Constantin Caratheodory: The greatest Greek mathematician

Constantin Caratheodory was the greatest Greek mathematician since antiquity and one of the most influential mathematicians of the 20th century. He made important contributions to the theory of real functions, to the calculus of variations and to the theory of point-set measure.

Early Life and Academic Success:

Constantin was born in Berlin in 1873 to a Greek noble family and studied engineering in Belgium.

After two years as an assistant engineer on the Aswan dam project in Egypt, Constantin decided to return to Berlin and study mathematics at the University of Berlin.

In 1905, he became an Associate Professor at the University of Gottingen in Germany, while in 1909 he became Professor at the University of Hanover. Finally in 1918, he became Chairman of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Berlin.

Caratheodory (left) pictured sitting with his father, brother in law and sister in Carlsbad, 1898.

Later, Constantin accepted a post at the University of Smyrna, which the Greeks were setting up in Anatolia. When the Turks razed Smyrna in 1922, Constantin managed to save the university library, which he moved to the University of Athens, where he taught until 1924.

In 1924, Constantin was appointed Professor of Mathematics in the University of Munich.

In 1930, Constantin was reinvited by then-Greek Prime Minister, Eleutherios Venizelos, to reorganise the administration of the University of Athens and the University of Thessaloniki. For 50 years, the two universities functioned successfully thanks to Constantin’s administrative system.

Two years later, he resigned from his position in the Greek universities and moved back to the University of Munich. He would remain in Munich for the rest of his life, where he made some of the most groundbreaking mathematical discoveries in the history of mankind.

Mathematical Discoveries and Einstein:

Constantin had over 60 scientific publications in his academic career.

Constantin had over 60 scientific publications in his academic career. His most significant contributions to mathematics were in the calculus of variations, in the theory of real functions, set theory, geometry, calculus, complex numbers and mathematical analysis.

He also created new theorems, most of which today bear his name and solved mathematical problems that troubled mathematicians such as Gauss and Euler for hundreds of years.

He also contributed to thermodynamics.

Constantin is known to have been the mentor and teacher of Nobel-prize winning physicist Albert Einstein, according to Einstein’s own statements.

Einstein first contacted Constantin in 1916, seeking his help to solve mathematical problems that for Constantin were “classical.” The latter answered in 10 days.

It was Constantin who also helped Einstein complete the theory of relativity, since Constantin had also been heavily involved with it himself.

In his final interview, Albert Einstein confessed: “You ask me to answer to all sorts of questions, but no one has ever wanted to know who was my teacher, who showed me the way to the higher mathematical science, thought and research. I simply say that my teacher was the unrivalled Greek Konstantinos Karatheodoris, to who we owe everything…”

Death and Legacy:

Constantin died at the age of 76 on February 2, 1950.

In 2002, in recognition of his achievements, the University of Munich named one of the largest lecture rooms in the mathematical institute the Constantin-Carathéodory Lecture Hall.

In the town of Nea Vyssa, where Constantin’s family came from, there is also a unique Constantin family museum. The museum is located in the central square of the town and there are many personal items of Constantin as well as letters that he had exchanged with Einstein.

Source: Greatest Greeks.