Without necessarily claiming to be one I do think that opinions are here to stay and expressing mine is what this site is all about. Every care is taken not to offend anyone directly, although feeling offended always depends on the offended, not the offender.
On occasion, certain issues might be addressed that are sensitive enough to evoke anxiety in those concerned. I do not apologise. This is life. On one side of the planet people measure life by the speed of their computer’s CPU, and somewhere else kids are having their eyes poked out by vultures while their mothers are lying dead a few yards away. At the same time do-gooders give lectures on ‘issues’. If one can live with that and sleep an easy night’s sleep, then I suppose this site should present no problem.
Whenever pertinent, a link will point at a photo to illustrate a point such as the one above. I accept no responsibility for the distress the photos might cause. Actually it is rather hypocritical to say that one is distressed by looking at a photograph whereas it is OK if the photograph is simply not shown. The photographer who took this one committed suicide. I would have expected the same kind of sensitivity, but not necessarily this reaction from all those who are ‘distressed’.
Furthermore, this site is bilingual in the sense that both English and Greek pages exist together but are never presented in both languages. The reason is that I can express some things better in English and some others better in Greek. So you read what you can if you feel like it. It is true, anyway, that English texts are of ‘general’ interest and Greek texts are for Greek nationals only in the sense that they pertain to local matters.
The structure of the site is always the same and will remain the same for quite some time. The buttons will always have the same names on them but the actual contents will change according to my moods and what haunts me at the time. This, of course, provided that I do have time to write it all up and post it.
Some last details.
The image on the opening page, just after the smoking skull – this is NOT an antismoking site, by the way – is from Demian by Hermann Hesse, Granada 1981. I loved the book and I adore the picture. I did try to trace its creator but I found no mention of who it is in the book credits. However, I would like to know. If anyone of you does please send an e-mail to mail@phaedrus.gr and let me know. I will greatly appreciate it.
Phaedrus is a name I should have heard about at school but never did simply because it was never mentioned. I did learn it, though, in the pages of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig, Gorgi, 1984. I thank you for that and the book itself, Mr. Pirsig. I do thank you for Lila as well. Actually Zen would be simply incomplete without Lila.
For madmen only … is from Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse, Bantam, 1981. Phrases like this and others do stay in my mind when I read books, or watch films or listen to some song’s lyrics. Actually you might care to listen to this one: Broken Hearts are for Assholes – Frank Zappa.
Thank you for stopping by …