Kontroll, re-viewing

Van jegyed?

Yes, I've watched this movie like 16 times now (hush up, Csilla, you were there too). No, it's not just because Csányi Sándor is in it. Yes, the guy is hot, but the movie's very good. Not to mention there's the added bonus that my dad gets all happy because I'm watching movies from/about the old country.

The movie's filmed entirely in the Budapest underground and it deals with those loveable, cuddly characters, the ticket inspectors. Anyone who's been nabbed by one of these folks knows what I'm talking about. Talk about people who take their job to heart. Anyway, this is an artistic film that actually succeeds, unlike I Love Budapest. It's really amazingly lighted and directed, and it has a kickass soundtrack to boot. Plus a lot of hilarious scenes revolving around these guys trying to get the system freeloaders to buy tickets/pay the fines. There are a lot of mystical overtones, and a thriller subplot (I don't think it qualifies as a plot, really, since we never know what the deal is with the serial killer) that in a way reminded me of Fight Club.

The main characters are all sympathetic, though I personally wouldn't want to run into most of them, and some of them are downright loveable, like Béla or Zsofi. The ending involves no flying cars at all, for which I'm quite grateful. Actually, the ending was really nice.

This being a European movie, the whole thing is completely left to the viewer to digest. There are no explanations of what happened, why it happened, why Bulcsú can't leave the underground, what he did before getting this crappy job, why Zsofi wears a bear suit, why no one asks Bulcsú why he's always bleeding, or even something that really bugged me: where does Bulcsú keep his salary?

The subtitles here are way better than in I Love Budapest. They made sense and didn't seem stilted or silly. And the intro with the undeground guy is too funny. And did I mention Csányi Sándor's in it?

I Love Budapest, reviewing

Csilla and I watched I Love Budapest a couple of days ago. We were a little disappointed. I think the film tried to be artistic but it didn't really quite make it. The beginning and the end scenes were also a little out there, at least in my opinion. I'm not an expert by any means. I had some problems with the movie, for example:

1. I thought the protagonist, a country girl, was a little too naive to be credible.

2. The subtitles were terrible. They really did damage to the movie, making the dialog seem silly and stilted.

3. The flying car. Enough said.

Some things were good, like the dialogs in the factory. I did find those very interesting and I wish the movie had been more about the factory (yes, that'd necessitate a title change), than about the sordid side of city life. I also liked three of the main characters, Aniko (the naive girl), her friend, and Miki the somewhat credulous factory security guard.

Pony, one trick

My one and only culinary achievement is chicken paprikash. Well, ok, I can make Cafe Borgia now, but come on, a monkey can make that, and I'm no monkey. I'm not all that interested in cooking (a portion of the audience gasps. You know who you are); I'm more your take-out kind of person. But chicken paprikash is something that for whatever reason I can actually make, and it comes out ok. I'm not going to win any ribbons or anything, but people don't get sick after eating it, and actually some people have said it's pretty good, and without me having to pay them a bribe. So I'm making the stuff for tonight's dinner. My brothers and their wives and their kids are here, and then there's El Geeko and me, and my parents, and El Geeko's parents. So I'm making enough to feed an army. The part I hate the most is the onions. Chopping those things is really nasty. The part I like the most is the sour cream, which I kinda like eating right out of the container, with a spoon. Whoever invented/discovered/developed sour cream, thank you!

I don't make noodles though. My mother, otoh, does. She actually makes them from scratch, as do my grandmothers. I think that's just way too much work, so personally I'd use egg noodles from the store, but apparently that's some kind of misdemeanor in my family. So my mother is making noodles now. She also likes to make dumplings, another thing I can't make, and refuse to.

My mom actually made all kinds of goodies today, so people will have something to nibble on before dinner, because heaven forbid they should experience even mild hunger. One of the things I'm addicted to that she makes is lángos. She's making some now, and she knows the first batch is already pretty much gone. Well, I do need my strength to surf the Net after all.

Coffee, addicted to

You know you're addicted to coffee when you're way past merely percolating and are looking online for coffee recipes. So earlier today El Geeko and I were lovingly gazing, not into each other's eyes, but at my parents' new espresso machine, and we decided to try a new coffee recipe, called Cafe Borgia: you need two cups of espresso, 2 cups of hot chocolate, whipped cream, and grated orange peel (for garnish). Mix the espresso with the hot chocolate, pour into mugs, add whipped cream on top and decorate with orange peel. Et voila! This is actually very good stuff so it goes into the recipe file. I guess it would serve four people, but we just gulped it down ourselves. So now we can outrun a Ferrari, and even jumpstart it without cables. We may be awake for the rest of this week, but it was well worth it. Besides, someone had to test drive that new machine, and it might as well be us.

Z, explaining the meaning of the

No, it doesn't stand for Zorro. Hmmmm. Emma Zorro Almásy.. now there'd be a name to remember, no? But alas, it actually stands for Zsófia (which I think is a really nice name, if I say so myself), and it's not a Z, but a Zs, which is one letter. No, really. It's one letter, like cs, or ly.

My parents thought they'd be very clever and give their kids English first names and Hungo middle names. That way, everyone's happy. I don't complain...could've been worse, could've been Zsuzsanna, which is a beautiful name and one of my favorites, but spelling it over the phone to customer service reps who invariably hail from India ("My name is Aniruddha, but call me Bob") might be very, but very painful. "Emma," OTOH, is very easy to spell. It's a nice 4-letter name (though when I'm in trouble with my parents, it turns into a 4-letter expletive), the kind you'd give to a dog, for instance, since it's so easy to remember. :)

Magyarul, csak egy kicsit beszélek

Hungarian is a beautiful language, and one that for all intents and purposes, I am not fluent in. I mean, I do know some words, phrases, expressions and whatnot, but I have no substantive knowledge of the language, for many many reasons I won't go into. My parents speak it to each other sometimes (and very fast too when they don't want me or my brothers to understand a single word!), and my dad uses it with his parents and friends, but I never really made an effort to acquire it. Shameful, yes, I know. I have it pencilled in for some time in the future. Promise. In the meantime, my brothers, cousins, friends and I communicate in our version of Hunglish, which consists of inserting magyar words and expressions into English sentences. Bonus points are added for mixing up the two grammars. This works for us and has the unintended (or so we claim) effect of completely driving our elders crazy.

Hungary, where is

Hungary is a really lovely country with a long and fascinating history. Sadly, some people have no idea where it is. So here are directions: Go to Italy, head north until you hit the middle of Austria, then take a sharp right, and voila/tessék, you're there. Make sure you're very, very hungry & thirsty when you get there, and sample the great food/drink. Have seconds. What the heck, throw all caution to the winds and have thirds.

Seriously, go visit! It's really a nice place, with a lot of stuff to see, awesome food, and people who can be quite charming.

Penpals, what's the deal with

So I like penpalling. Yes, I guess I must be weird, judging by the way people look at me when I say I like to have pen pals (or actually, to be precise, e-pals, as in, you know, exchanging emails). I think I get the same look geeks get when they say they're into Star Trek, or collecting stamps. I think, hey, I'm not harming anyone, I'm not out getting drunk or jaywalking or drag racing, so mind your own business. :)

Anyway, the thing is, why is it that pen pals write a few letters/emails and then disappear? And before you say it's because I must be the most boring correspondent to ever have existed, this is not an issue that affects me only. Other people who are into penpalling (yes, there are others) experience the same thing.

And then there's the people who post to pen pal sites, begging for pen pals. They sound very cool, so I write to them, and they never even write back! What's that about? I think in some cases it's because the person wants someone specific, like a man, or a woman to write, but then they ought to specify that in their profiles.

This is in no way meant to slag my good penpals, who are very nice people. :)

Patience, have some

This is Pálinka, my South Park character.

I'm working on this blog, so chances are I will not be adding all that much to it today.