Last night was the first in the 2007 International Paros Art Circle round table discussions on art appreciation--see last year's post for background.

I went intending to take notes so that I could write an intelligent blog. Alas, I got so wrapped up in listening to the speaker I did not take any notes.

Peter Seibt, President of IPAC, is obviously a professional presenter. He had us all hooked with the notice on the door. "Beauty shall save the world" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. After amplifying on the importance of beauty to mankind as a people and as individuals, he compared beauty to kitsch as well as made other fascinating statements that, as I said, I was totally negligent in recording. Something about the biology of the perfect female shape having a waist that is 75% the size of her hips. Also some recent studies showing that the majority of cultures find pleasantly plump women more attractive than thin women--or is that feminist propaganda, I'm not sure.

After Peter's presentation there was a lively discussion of whether beauty needs a definition and how does the artist create it. Everyone skirted around the idea but no one used the most common quote of all: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" which originated in ancient Greece, of course.

Further topics in the series include Vienna porcelain, the Power of Poetry, Art and Medicine and the Perception of Art. If you are on Paros on a Wednesday evening this spring, come join us.

In case you are wondering, the plastic pink flamingo was my contribution to the discussion.

deTraci over at Greece for Visitors has given us an update on easyCruise. It seems they are expanding their season and lowering prices even further. Read More Here
I am looking forward to interviewing some of the passengers this summer.