tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67294664297437048122024-02-19T09:53:00.657+01:00blog | thehub.hu | guide to budapesthub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-12554239955327165282009-05-03T22:12:00.016+02:002009-05-21T13:02:18.141+02:00Gimme Shelter<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/shelter_001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 222px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/shelter_001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br />The sun is blazing and I'm waiting for a tram. Where do I stand?</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:arial;">a) Out in the open</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">b) Under the shelter</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">c) Across the road in the shade of a tree</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The answer, of course, is either a) or c) but never b). </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Why?</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Because there are no shelters at tram stops in Budapest. </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Well what's that then?<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">That, my poor fool, is not a shelter.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Shelter is one of man's basic necessities, along with food, water and oxygen. If you had to rely on Budapest's "shelters" for shelter, you'd be in worse shape than if you relied on Jean Michel Jarre's "</span><em style="font-family: arial;"></em><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsEGblZk2ZE"><span style="font-family:arial;">Oxygène</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">" for oxygen.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/shelter_002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 326px; height: 244px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/shelter_002.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />I interviewed the Minister of Transport and he explained:</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">"My mate owns a glass and plastics company." *<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">*Clearly, I made this up.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Andy Sz.</span><br /></span></div>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-26635386514424626582009-03-31T15:14:00.012+02:002009-03-31T15:46:37.826+02:00Trolley Buses: Not So Lawless<span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br />In Budapest almost anything goes. Almost.</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://budapest.travel/js/tiny_mce/plugins/ajaxfilemanager/uploaded/Transport/troli.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 229px; height: 163px;" src="http://budapest.travel/js/tiny_mce/plugins/ajaxfilemanager/uploaded/Transport/troli.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >It's a laid back city, with <a href="http://hubcafes.blogspot.com/2007/12/what-makes-place-good-if-its-five-star.html">ruin bars</a>, people drinking beers in the street literally at all hours of the day (I've seen dudes on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">th</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">eir</span> way to work, 6:45, open beer in hand), and enough dog poop and people puke on the sidewalk for people to step en </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">masse</span>. However, there is one place where a plethora of distinct rules presides: THE TROLLEY BUS.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAqoNVZWCnXqWkN9sBKo4GhCWf-2GN59TDrS8omo9gShQxRUqPJySdDyohlNJo4jv1iuWyCH3jgrUVVaH1KVsiwCxP2fvss-r3yJC0f_jG45hyIZAk8wNIOHOtBXasmNGFgmvIWkjxNC8/s1600-h/cig.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAqoNVZWCnXqWkN9sBKo4GhCWf-2GN59TDrS8omo9gShQxRUqPJySdDyohlNJo4jv1iuWyCH3jgrUVVaH1KVsiwCxP2fvss-r3yJC0f_jG45hyIZAk8wNIOHOtBXasmNGFgmvIWkjxNC8/s320/cig.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319342708595162546" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Phantomly</span> smoked cigarettes have been banned from all trolley buses since the '56 revolution.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">_______________________________________________</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKsomj1qIYBgUFysRAQrpZxco2S61dqV2SKgC5DlXNXBl-fHsmF3DUxKRRZ5jHe97uVkac_Kfw-1SWJ82VVj7-T0yXpcZ0cslJrZshu7pxOTd1bPGvKunBPa9vVEPNdcY8_glZbFYEsac/s1600-h/dog.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKsomj1qIYBgUFysRAQrpZxco2S61dqV2SKgC5DlXNXBl-fHsmF3DUxKRRZ5jHe97uVkac_Kfw-1SWJ82VVj7-T0yXpcZ0cslJrZshu7pxOTd1bPGvKunBPa9vVEPNdcY8_glZbFYEsac/s320/dog.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319342974604487954" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Dogs whose noses have just been covered by Spider-Man's web are exempt from all laws and are allowed to board without a ticket.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">_______________________________________________</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjed7joiEoTiBSmVZ0MgqJ-23dq3IpRCy_3xKgBh06SSuB64MGCjOWLqlFX_2iOWGZPqyYWxoqL8qTFcB2km1Nwxs9PTc3bTesAgg535fJEBuvTe_wkDH-e_ROB0QxHL_U9W6rF_2r1cSU/s1600-h/gascan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjed7joiEoTiBSmVZ0MgqJ-23dq3IpRCy_3xKgBh06SSuB64MGCjOWLqlFX_2iOWGZPqyYWxoqL8qTFcB2km1Nwxs9PTc3bTesAgg535fJEBuvTe_wkDH-e_ROB0QxHL_U9W6rF_2r1cSU/s320/gascan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319343307897109090" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">If you're trying to transport that car door and you're caught: 1 million <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">forint</span> fine. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Shit's</span> serious.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">_______________________________________________</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyigREO1afiuNg14Nu1pPc7VYtu0Xvmd1HN-xgznH2OWrAYbASUHoeRkasf9ZKtpe9d2QIMunI8PYY1guZ1hxrmGbjOVPOe1TJNcGDE-YnhkjKYoBvSlT5J5ZNQucu5wei1uk0oZW4nU0/s1600-h/hobo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyigREO1afiuNg14Nu1pPc7VYtu0Xvmd1HN-xgznH2OWrAYbASUHoeRkasf9ZKtpe9d2QIMunI8PYY1guZ1hxrmGbjOVPOe1TJNcGDE-YnhkjKYoBvSlT5J5ZNQucu5wei1uk0oZW4nU0/s320/hobo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319343607674141410" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Farmers are prohibited from drinking from long-neck bottles while the trolley bus is in motion. Cans are okay.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">_______________________________________________</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkAytK-Kmq9HpXFtE6D8Sg1-PwVI5VtDb_x_C_Bb9rv91hOCxPYPcYR2a8qEN3kiFdpyN6Q8NKptGXSplSUlQ0L1_lCc0iYVf-rMPorYCnFO38s03hXKPTkfKqp9-BpGr8nNTjx26kXnw/s1600-h/icecream.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkAytK-Kmq9HpXFtE6D8Sg1-PwVI5VtDb_x_C_Bb9rv91hOCxPYPcYR2a8qEN3kiFdpyN6Q8NKptGXSplSUlQ0L1_lCc0iYVf-rMPorYCnFO38s03hXKPTkfKqp9-BpGr8nNTjx26kXnw/s320/icecream.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319343908231203906" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Single, double, and quadruple ice cream cones are in fact permitted, but three scoops: a definite no-no.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">_______________________________________________</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgmOkgm_n8IQrDpfFPQHG8ff6vcnZzimr_mdztN-__54-yQl0TvN73FQTPfn0Vm_hLx_seH97oEPsN_4HuoNZzS9gRabCmOVv6Ru3gZN_O5_MEZ0GvoGEJtC9dUHSL_F3IoCJ23arazY/s1600-h/pole.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgmOkgm_n8IQrDpfFPQHG8ff6vcnZzimr_mdztN-__54-yQl0TvN73FQTPfn0Vm_hLx_seH97oEPsN_4HuoNZzS9gRabCmOVv6Ru3gZN_O5_MEZ0GvoGEJtC9dUHSL_F3IoCJ23arazY/s320/pole.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319344135841935970" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">If a dispute over a seat occurs, the only legal way to resolve it is to do that old <a href="http://weblogs.cltv.com/entertainment/tv/metromix/the%20sandlot.jpg">baseball bat 'hand over hand' game</a>.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">_______________________________________________</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkv-pw2Tfou2ZZNAKletVIsaCYSTdtyhvqlQHtrR5PRAzbK9-4MJpzm820owOGBrG_XWocHBCD3mq9NVqXr6iVEMWrSXC76IuSg7SudyDCjGQEmZqqgfnuKzL0JPFGzKNwnVcVZ_BkiIg/s1600-h/walkietalkit.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkv-pw2Tfou2ZZNAKletVIsaCYSTdtyhvqlQHtrR5PRAzbK9-4MJpzm820owOGBrG_XWocHBCD3mq9NVqXr6iVEMWrSXC76IuSg7SudyDCjGQEmZqqgfnuKzL0JPFGzKNwnVcVZ_BkiIg/s320/walkietalkit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319344409221805330" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Kids and cops alike: please silence your <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">walkie</span>-talkies, it's distracting to the driver.</span><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">_______________________________________________</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYoKSp8ymKF_YbCyKDhuD5xkzsMt2B9k0DX9-CqodM9PoI_6njixOJHhuFttm803EJws1JTKtehcIx2B4cVjX3k2xBGqxFr3AauSe9mT3mlcsNJOre0ZXJIy3dZPjFPKktkXlrGPvAV3E/s1600-h/tissue.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYoKSp8ymKF_YbCyKDhuD5xkzsMt2B9k0DX9-CqodM9PoI_6njixOJHhuFttm803EJws1JTKtehcIx2B4cVjX3k2xBGqxFr3AauSe9mT3mlcsNJOre0ZXJIy3dZPjFPKktkXlrGPvAV3E/s320/tissue.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319344628218008114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Runny nose? Don't you dare even <span style="font-style: italic;">think</span> about grabbing for that tissue.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">_______________________________________________</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Don't say we never warned you...</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >-Jacob P.</span><br /></div></div></div>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-74667942773033346532009-03-20T17:47:00.009+01:002009-03-20T18:53:09.781+01:00Glory, glory, hallelujah!<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Back in October, we ran a blog called "</span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://hubblogg.blogspot.com/2008/10/get-fuck-out-of-here.html">Get the fuck out of here...</a><span style="font-family:arial;">" directed at Gloria Jean's, the extortionate coffee mongers. And guess what... they got the fuck out of here!<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/gloria_cash_001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 423px; height: 280px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/gloria_cash_001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Some would blame the tough financial climate for their decision but we prefer to believe that our chastisement was just too much for them.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">It turns out that they're not only in the business of trying to rip everyone off (615Ft for a small cappucino) but they're also in the business of trying to fuck everyone up (treating anorexia with exorcism.) More on their links with deranged "Christian" organisations <a href="http://mattcbr.wordpress.com/2008/03/28/mercy-ministries-or-how-not-to-help-people/">here</a>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">In their farewell blurb, they say "Our aim remains to make Gloria Jean’s Coffees, Hungary’s most loved & respected coffee company. We thank you, with all our heart, for your support and hope to be able to welcome you back again soon.<span style="font-family:arial;">"</span><br /><br />We, on the other hand, say "Spare us your sentimental bullshit." ...and once more, with gusto: "<span style="font-weight: bold;">Get the fuck out of here!</span>"</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Andy Sz.</span><br /></div>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-47412206634470808742009-02-16T01:22:00.006+01:002009-02-16T01:38:12.208+01:00An Oik at the Opera<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/opera_001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 200px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/opera_001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Hungarian State Opera</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Andrássy út 22</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-family:arial;" > <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.utcakereso.hu/map3/index.php?city=budapest&action=search&scale=a1.0&country=hu_uk&streetfix=Andr%E1ssy+%FAt&distfix=6&numfix=22&street=andrassy&dist=&num=22&lang=en&size=3x2">[map]</a></span> <a href="http://www.jegymester.hu/eventtime.jsp?place=3&lang=ENG"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >[tickets]</span></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-family:arial;" >Tel. 331 2550</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-family:arial;" >Pest Centre,</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-family:arial;" > Opera (M1), 1 min</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Alright? I went to see an Oprah, wiv singin' n'that at the </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Oprah house. I fought Oprah was well gay an if my mates knew I was goin’ to that kind of thing, they’d say I was losin’ it. But the missus wanted it and so I gave it a go.</span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So all the toffs and students were all wearing suits and sparkly dresses an that, an I was wearing a t-shirt but it was ok. But the thing was, I had to leave my coat at the cloakroom, an that cost like 140 florints, which they should of just put on the ticket because you have to leave it. Know what I mean?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We was up near the top because the seats up there was much cheaper than in the main bit but I reckon it was better cuz you could look round the room which was well posh: all gold stuff everywhere, like for the Queen or Puff Daddy. Maybe in one of the boxes, she would of sat in there wiv Prince Phillip on one side and Puff on the other. Ha ha! That would be well weird.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/opera_002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 200px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/opera_002.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">But that would of been loads an I reckon it's not much different an even we paid 3500 florints each for a ticket when we could of paid 400 florints - when you could of sat not anywhere but it would of been the same. But don't buy any drinks because wine was like 1200 florints for a glass an you can't take it in with you. Rip off! You're better off getting a coke, which was 350 florints, an then just getting drinks somewhere else later.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So this one was called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Onegin_%28opera%29">Anyegin</a> or somethink like that an it was in Russian, which I knew because when the scoreboard said "Nem, nem, nem" the men in the Oprah sang "Nyet, nyet, nyet" which was "No, no, no" in Russian. I didn't know they had a scoreboard like that at the Oprah! Shame it was in foreign.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So I didn't know what was happenin' half the time because I don't read these old stories where people fall in love an then they end up killing each other and that kind of thing. Not exactly modern is it? So it would of been a bit better if I'd looked at the internet before we went.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/opera_003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 200px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/opera_003.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">But the good thing was that they put people in different colours. So there were two couples: a red one and a white one, and the girl in the white one was with this guy in the white and he didn't like her as much as she liked him. But the red ones liked each other but they had a party an the white girl got off with the red guy an then they did a big stand-off, like in a Western, and the red one got shot. But in the end, the white one wasn't happy either because the girl that he didn't like at the start didn't like him anymore but he liked her. She wasn't worth it, mate!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Anyway, so it wasn't that real but they had a big square stage that tilted and moved round, and these bits that kept floating over - so it didn't look the same all the way through. And, of course, they were singing all the time - an they were good singers - if you like Pavarotti or whatever! The orchestra was there at the front too. Imagine if they done that for films.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So it was ok in the end. It didn't go as slow as I thought and it was better than the time we went to the ballet. The room is worth it and it was ok if your girlfriend wants to go. You only have to spend 400 florints each and you can still see. Anyway, I can say I've done that now, an everyone at work's gonna say "You went to the Oprah?" And I'm going to say "Well, man of the world, my friends, man of the world."</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:arial;" >Opera</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Oik Sz.</span></div>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-14683277458123212662009-02-01T00:38:00.017+01:002009-02-04T17:58:39.249+01:00The Military Fashion Police<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >You may have noticed that there are some pretty shady characters kicking around in Budapest: the ones who think they're in a Hungarian variant of the SS. The uniform of camouflage trousers and jack boots is completed with a black bomber jacket with a sewn-on badge of "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Hungary_%28political_concept%29">Greater Hungary</a>" - thanks mum! - and a t-shirt that proudly announces:<br /><br />"MAGYAR VAGYOK <span style="font-size:180%;">NEM </span>TURISTA!" (I'm Hungarian, <span style="font-size:180%;">not </span>a tourist.)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">It's not easy to comprehend the thinking of the confused misanthropic nationalist youth at the best of times. Unless there's some genuine resistance to tourism, which isn't beyond possibility, I can only assume that these t-shirts have to be worn beyond Hungary's borders to make any sense.<br /><br />It's impossible to say where teenage angs</span><span style="font-family:arial;">t ends and where fascism in earnest begins but it's disappointing that no one</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> seems too interested in making </span><span style="font-family:arial;">any opposing political fashion statements.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> (Perhaps because that would result in having the shit kicked out of you by the kids in the jack boots.)<br /><br />But maybe it's just that the fashion industry hasn't cornered the market. Here are a few ideas, just in case...<br /></span></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/magyar_tshirts.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 491px; height: 378px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/magyar_tshirts.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Andy Sz.</span>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-21224730192481151122009-01-25T15:51:00.005+01:002009-01-25T22:05:40.204+01:00Don’t judge a book by its cover; but record stores on the other hand…<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFDRWQZAROA9jSWwktSUCSgNfxyXaM_Wuz8ZasALIfGh-fOsEr4u-vvTv9s7ZsrLOHE-cPC9LVsKZbPENOX4FD_As2meCQTeEx5h1SwOO6NdfVG0seLxnER_GDLPZWhRz0OEqpYexB9Is/s1600-h/laci_recordshop1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 301px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFDRWQZAROA9jSWwktSUCSgNfxyXaM_Wuz8ZasALIfGh-fOsEr4u-vvTv9s7ZsrLOHE-cPC9LVsKZbPENOX4FD_As2meCQTeEx5h1SwOO6NdfVG0seLxnER_GDLPZWhRz0OEqpYexB9Is/s320/laci_recordshop1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295251913080064914" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >My experience with record stores in Hungary has been pretty non-existent. Mostly because I’m never compelled to go into places that have <a href="http://static.playdo.com/1019/cutie30817/tabimages/jonas_brothers_300_071.jpg">Jonas Brothers</a> or Guns ‘n Roses posters in the window. I may be judgmental, but you <span style="font-style: italic;">can</span> (and should) judge a record store by its cover, and quite frankly the High School Musical soundtrack isn’t even on my radar. let alone the riffraff that might lie alongside it in a record shop with such terrible taste. For these reasons I’ve just about given up on finding any decent record store in Budapest, but after spotting Laci Bácsi's Record Shop, hope re</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >turned.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuc0CuUhvVcsihub8987Y1n701l5eLPGrq0vuSiaOrYXr5zFU2DuFTJA7zT9Fhzx6kiDKLL6zjCuLDt1n1K6MQs5b3hSfnevFKg9rIeKB09GbyG8IC0NEXIj1HssCY4Q56wsmPoeXLEN8/s1600-h/laci_recordshop2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 158px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuc0CuUhvVcsihub8987Y1n701l5eLPGrq0vuSiaOrYXr5zFU2DuFTJA7zT9Fhzx6kiDKLL6zjCuLDt1n1K6MQs5b3hSfnevFKg9rIeKB09GbyG8IC0NEXIj1HssCY4Q56wsmPoeXLEN8/s320/laci_recordshop2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295252821728252066" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Look at this place. The exterior is perfectly painted, no blemishes or graffi</span><span style="font-family:arial;">ti, the metal gate</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">always hangs over the windows to stave off even the thought of a late night break-in. The outside is about as inviting as a prison and gives you an </span><span style="font-family:arial;">idea about the guy running the place, none other than Laci Bácsi himself.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Record collectors tend to be anal, bordering on obsessive-compulsive and Laci’s no exception. His presence is downright intimidating. Sure he might be a nice guy if you get to know him, but the tension in the air alone had me choking on and fumbling over my words upon his annoyed and disinterested inquiry if I needed any help.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Normally record stores (in the US at least) have mountains of unorganized records scattered about, falling from their sleeves and in all sorts of conditions. Not here. Every LP is perfectly baggied, priced, and in near-mint condition. There’s not a single record haphazardly out of place—an anomaly if I’ve ever seen one.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">His categorization is nearly impeccable, evident in the militant organization of the store as well as in the searchability of the <a href="http://hanglemezek.hu/frames.php?lang=2">online catalogue</a>. He’s got things labeled to a "T" - Czech Beat, Polish Jazz, Eastern European Progressive, the obvious vast Rock section, even a lacking Punk selection that encapsulates the predictable (Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Damned). The world music sections are the standout qualities here. His collection of 1950s French Pop is great and includes plenty Édith Piaf LPs. Leonard Cohen has a strong presence, even if the prices marked seem a bit steep. And there’s plenty of the Smiths and Morrissey for the “in-touch with your feelings” crowd.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">To any foreigner, well at least myself, this place is a gem that you’d have to scour the span of the USA to find. It might be near impossible to pick up old communist-era Hungarian Avant-garde LPs anywhere else, save for maybe eBay. Even if you’re without a turntable, or aren’t even into records, just browsing through all the remarkable album art that you’re not likely to come across anywhere else is worth your time, especially if you’re looking for artistic inspiration of any sort.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Music nowadays is disposable. Downloading is killing what used to be known as record sales, but is too easy to not do it. To me vinyl is the only thing that’s going to save the music industry, so Laci should breathe easy, he’s got a good thing going. It’s just a question of whether Budapestians are catching on.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Laci Bácsi's Record Shop is located at Kertész u. 42, just across from <a href="http://hubeating.blogspot.com/2008/01/hummus-bar_31.html">Hummus Bar</a>. It’s open Monday-Friday from 12:00-19:00. Official site (including map) and more info <a href="http://hanglemezek.hu/frames.php?lang=2">here</a>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Jacob P.</span><br /></div>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-20357739403010807142009-01-15T13:20:00.012+01:002009-01-16T02:08:40.297+01:00It's late, you're drunk: gyros anyone?<span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/gyros_001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 246px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/gyros_001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >What's that?</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Gyros.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Looks like a kebab to me.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Yes, it is, they call </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >them gyros here.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Have you ever wondered what's in it?</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Well, it's meat and salad in a pitta, isn't it?</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Is it?</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Isn't it?</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Gyros takeaways are everywhere in Budapest. They serve at any time. They're cheap. So what's the catch?</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">You're going to die!</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> (No kidding.)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">My name's Andrew and I used to be addicted to gyros. I gave it up about 6 months ago and I've never looked back. <span style="font-style: italic;">[Applause.]</span> I called them gyrosh, for a while, thinking that Hungarians did that. They don't. I never thought they were healthy. It's just, at 4 o'clock in the morning, when the alcohol abuse stops, the stomach remembers its primary purpose, and there aren't that many alternatives.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I gave up gyros because I came to notice that, more often than not, I didn't like it very much. For a while, I thought I was just getting a dud here and there, and it's </span><span style="font-family:arial;">certainly t</span><span style="font-family:arial;">rue that quality varies. But I eventually realised that when I was kind-of sober, and the meat was chicken, it was just too greasy; and if the meat was, well, whatever the brown one is, it was just too... not that much like meat.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/gyros_002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 199px; height: 264px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/gyros_002.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Which raises the question: what is the brown one exactly; the 'meat' gyros? I mean, it goes without saying that anything called 'meat' without specifying which meat, could be anything. But perhaps it's not that they don't want to tell you but rather that they can't!<br /><br />Not surprisingly, I'm not the first to consider this; click here for <a href="http://www.drquincy.com/personal/blog/permalink/thedonerkebabmeatmystery/">more extensive research</a>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The final straw was that Andy T kept going on about <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/may/15/healthandwellbeing.foodanddrink">this article in The Guardian</a>. Just in case you can't be bothered to follow the link, the key phrase for me was:<br /><br />"Eating two a week could cause a heart attack within 10 years."</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Yikes!<br /><br />Now, that's a worst case scenario, clearly, and one relating to someone who eats "pie and chips and fried breakfasts as well." Now I'm not that big on pies but I do occasionally have a fried breakfast. How many years does that give me, I wonder?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Sorry gyros, we can't be friends anymore.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Tessék?</span><br />Igen, I think you heard me right. I said, "Szeretnék egy falafelt!"<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Andy Sz.</span><br /></span></div>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-87785309238445340822008-12-19T17:38:00.007+01:002008-12-30T17:45:48.659+01:00Trapped in Budapest Forever, Well The Holidays At Least<span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">AMENDMENT: The rail strike has since ended and trains are running throughout Hungary.<br /><br /><br /></span><br />Hear that? No? That's because Budapest is missing a distinct sound. The sound of trains.<br /><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMXBfbumhOpYjz6BbwtwwzCnn25qccLFP2TEdOhYcqgajF_TUGVve44AE_4vWd2WvHPkPqlo56b_DH2F0_2EGVSij6d9Y-vKbH4hq2DJO4jwS_GTgK31uplPTBqbtlUyU5GGbRtd_75A/s1600-h/DSC_0787.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 338px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMXBfbumhOpYjz6BbwtwwzCnn25qccLFP2TEdOhYcqgajF_TUGVve44AE_4vWd2WvHPkPqlo56b_DH2F0_2EGVSij6d9Y-vKbH4hq2DJO4jwS_GTgK31uplPTBqbtlUyU5GGbRtd_75A/s320/DSC_0787.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281544375778734434" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">This photo was taken at peak rush hour time at Nyugati station, one of the city's main and usually most bustling domestic train stations. Take note of the arrival and departure board - nearly empty, save for a train headed to th</span><span style="font-family:arial;">e airport. It's not exactly what I'd call <a href="http://www.portfolio.hu/en/cikkek.tdp?cCheck=1&k=2&i=16569">active</a>. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Since last Saturday there has been a strike that started with the railroad's domestic workers, but then spread by week's start to almost all trains in and out of Hungary. <a href="http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/246885,national-rail-strike-continues-after-negotiations-fail-again.html">It's been reported</a> that the cause for the strike is an internal battle between train officials and employees over money employees feel they deserve after the sale of a private sector of MAV.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Walk into any of Budapest's three main train stations, including Keleti, which normally handles most of the international traffic, and you'll be surprised at the deserted nature that haunts the iron and glass lattice-work. Despite Christmas being just days away, the strike shows no signs of stopping, which</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> spells disaster, or at least major headaches, for holiday travelers </span><span style="font-family:arial;">with destinations outside of Hungary. </span><span style="font-family:arial;"> However, it's been said that railroad employees will suspend the strike temporarily on the Christmas holiday. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">For those who want to arrive to family and friends earlier than Christmas Day, good luck.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:arial;">A <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601095&sid=aboFuBcwhqs0">separate strike</a> at Budapest's airport has holiday travelers needing to arrive at the airport three hours before departure to ensure everything goes smoothly. At this point, the bus is your best bet, either that or good old fashioned thumbing it.</span><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Jacob P.</span><br /></span>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-38054215835099685212008-12-11T11:01:00.003+01:002008-12-11T11:16:21.019+01:00Missing Person - Ophélie Bretnacher<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v820/5/33/502036162/n502036162_2217150_6330.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 421px; height: 516px;" src="http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v820/5/33/502036162/n502036162_2217150_6330.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Ophélie Bretnacher has been MISSING since Thursday December 4th, in Budapest. She was last seen at around 3AM between Portside de Cuba and Chain Bridge. Her bag was found with her ID and phone on the Pest side of the bridge, but no sign of Ophélie. If anyone has ANY information, please contact the facebook group <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38179498753">here</a> or call this number:</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">+436646120964</span></span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Please help us look for her by spreading the word to your friends, your help would be greatly appreciated.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Thank you.</span><br /></div>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-62083530867477788112008-12-08T19:12:00.014+01:002008-12-10T05:54:54.842+01:004 minute guide to Budapest - The Movie<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">thehub.hu</span> has gone viral!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">That means we've posted a very silly video on Youtube which may or may not pass as entertainment. You decide!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">If you think anyone might be amused, annoyed or believe that Bob and Skyler might be in earnest, please pass on the link. After all, you are our pathogens!</span><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/s99hh8gOUWQ&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/s99hh8gOUWQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-72984569755027893212008-12-03T13:33:00.016+01:002008-12-06T20:46:46.774+01:00Down and Out in Budapest<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgEvrDp2463ay8uCt4CBy-KkReK_GX0SVqZStRmm7dcM2Ej7gAtKqhDYrkm3AXSgIH5YDQHxMmIOfMOo1dViLfqFNZVz3Yp-tLsK7zC-LEXioXGLdo6wrn334UiBDckNVUdAD5-RkuTk/s640/santa_001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgEvrDp2463ay8uCt4CBy-KkReK_GX0SVqZStRmm7dcM2Ej7gAtKqhDYrkm3AXSgIH5YDQHxMmIOfMOo1dViLfqFNZVz3Yp-tLsK7zC-LEXioXGLdo6wrn334UiBDckNVUdAD5-RkuTk/s640/santa_001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">With every Christmas comes new decorative fads, and Budapest is no exception. Last year seemed to be the year of mini-Santas climbing towards windows like jolly little gremlin-burglars. This year, they've grown and they've taken to hanging around outside shops, doi</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >ng little jigs.</span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Just take a trip down the körűt and you'll see a few. Some just stand there; others shift from one leg to the other, to keep warm; one even has a saxophone, although he didn't bother to show up when I went to see him yesterday. Busking's not for everyone.</span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >The one thing they all share is that they don't exactly exude C</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >hristmas - or Mikolas - cheer. Jingle Bells couldn't have been further from my mind. Several of them look like they've been standing outside for too long; like they have no homes to go to. In fact, I saw a disturbed-looking homeless person outside 'Plus' supermarket the same morning doing much the same thing, instilling a mixture of pity and repulsion in the passers-by.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cVMoomAvY68uJs5_FHqt8wmel6W1HAotEEQHgWA2UOeMB2lf1N9eWkyeournZue4bSm4Vec9gPmoa82rgivjMvShjW7L2DO34Bpkpjb5z4PjEVBQI6tIFcrPkOzQUXlVwq1w9k6lN6Y/s640/santa_002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 366px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cVMoomAvY68uJs5_FHqt8wmel6W1HAotEEQHgWA2UOeMB2lf1N9eWkyeournZue4bSm4Vec9gPmoa82rgivjMvShjW7L2DO34Bpkpjb5z4PjEVBQI6tIFcrPkOzQUXlVwq1w9k6lN6Y/s640/santa_002.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Left out on the street, Santa isn't bearing up so well, and he's not even real. The guy outside "Plus", however, is as real as you or I.</span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span>So for anyone who's interested, there are several charities who are working to improve the lives of the homeless in Budapest. The </span></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span>Hungarian Maltese Charity</span></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span> is one of the most visible and has information in English <a href="http://www.maltai.hu/index.php?node=411">here</a>. Alternatively, you can donate direct to the homeless foundation, <a href="http://fedelnelkuliekert.hu/index.php?id=18,0,0,1,0,0">Fedél Nélküliekért Alapítvány</a>, who are the ones who sell the papers on the streets. </span></span><span style="font-family:arial;">("Számlaszám" is the account number.)</span><strong></strong><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span><br />There, that's as much Christmas spirit as you're likely to get from me.</span></span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Andy Sz.</span></span><br /></div><br /></div>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-28151880342950017992008-11-24T20:30:00.006+01:002008-11-26T17:45:33.228+01:00Giving Thanks<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://x65.xanga.com/6378920b6173318185319/b12328555.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 173px; height: 239px;" src="http://x65.xanga.com/6378920b6173318185319/b12328555.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Americans celebrate Thanksgiving on the 4th Thursday of November. With the holiday just days away, American expatriates here in Budapest may find themselves scrambling for a way to celebrate the earliest American Federal holiday. </span><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:arial;">My suggestion: go to </span><a href="http://hubeating.blogspot.com/2008/11/pozsonyi-kisvendgl.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Pozsonyi Kisvendéglő</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> and have the duck, it's pretty close to a traditional Thanksgiving meal and you'll be just as stuffed. However, if you'd rather not spend the holiday sullenly stuffing face alone, and actually enjoy sappily celebrating being overly thankful with friends and family, be my guest. Sure, we all may see Thanksgiving as a grandiose excuse to make a massive meal, shovel it in, then stumble to the sofa to watch American football the rest of the day while in a tryptophan-induced near-coma. To that I say, do some research about <span style="font-style: italic;">actual</span> Thanksgiving. Native Americans were slaughtered. </span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">A 1895 <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C07E0DE1E3DE433A25754C2A9679D94649ED7CF">New York Times article</a> stated, <span style="font-style: italic;">"New York celebrated her first Thanksgiving Day [...] in 1644, [...] the Dutch citizens of New York killed nearly 600 Indians and then marched home and 'cheerfully' ate their Thanksgiving Day dinners."</span> The first Thanksgiving, which took place almost a quarter decade before this incident, supposedly celebrated a successful harvest season and the Pilgrims and Native Americans harmonious friendship. So if the hatred was still there 23 years later, one could bet that few puritanical pilgrims were sitting down with "them Injins" to gnaw on some turkeys.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://a.abcnews.com/images/Business/ap_shopping2_071123_ssh.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 208px; height: 161px;" src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/Business/ap_shopping2_071123_ssh.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">One thing I'm reveling </span><span style="font-family:arial;">in while safe and so</span><span style="font-family:arial;">und here i</span><span style="font-family:arial;">n Budapest: </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">NO BL</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ACK FRIDAY</span>. For those of you unfamiliar; no this </span><span style="font-family:arial;">is not a </span><span style="font-family:arial;">racially slanderous day. It's the day after Thanksgiving where in America people start their official Christmas shopping and are insane about it. Just about every retailer in the U S of A has a ludicrous deal running, which they wildly advertise. In turn that forces people to camp outside of stores, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZJVZ2p223o">waiting</a> for the doors to open at some ungodly hour of the morning. All this just to end up getting scratched, kicked, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeSgBL7gpAk&feature=related">stampeded</a>, scraped, burned, stabbed, shot, et cetera by other rabid deal-seekers.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So be thankful this Thanksgiving you don't have to deal with inane questions from your folks, nagging in-laws, an annoying kid sister, or fighting for the last <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4x-VW_rCSE">Tickle Me Elmo</a> or that plasma flat screen you want to snag for your fiancé for x-mas.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Jacob P.</span><br /></span>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-47619292620006523802008-11-09T14:39:00.014+01:002008-11-09T17:14:34.791+01:00Budapest Graffiti: in photos<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >graffiti |grəˈfētē|</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" > plural noun ( sing. -to |-tō|) [treated as si</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >ng. or pl. ]</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" > writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place : the walls were covered with graffiti | [as adj. ] a graffiti artist.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Just like any other major metropolitan city, Budapest has its fair share of graffiti. Whether you think it's an eyesore or view it as street art, it's not going anyw</span><span style="font-family:arial;">here, so you might as well embrace it. From the ironic to the blasé, from the political to the cla</span><span style="font-family:arial;">ssic 'fuck' scrawled on a wall, it pops up in new places daily, which might just make your routine, same old-same old, walking routes a bit more interesting. Here's a small taste of what Budapest </span><span style="font-family:arial;">has to offer:</span><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA558oW7Wfwhj-u04m010HvqOznK_B11-1Xe0APGpEPbJD4taT8Eri4NRheTn2e0wm5nBrW3A0e4YA0OeMgxk9ICf-QHG0vBSeKSwIhBLNChY0foQlWHbX8hDoLQKzOnCsaiKHmb7Vhiw/s1600-h/DSC_0032.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA558oW7Wfwhj-u04m010HvqOznK_B11-1Xe0APGpEPbJD4taT8Eri4NRheTn2e0wm5nBrW3A0e4YA0OeMgxk9ICf-QHG0vBSeKSwIhBLNChY0foQlWHbX8hDoLQKzOnCsaiKHmb7Vhiw/s320/DSC_0032.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266654186435614066" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFag_1OjoX9ZKKJR7H_MJ0U76pN2hRTC9VmYOPFD3z56bvmOrlhdy3mC7TNnAeWFfJJguS35qssS897uHLpbLGVguvGnmQzRsxML7Sjj4osKhKMR6c9PN4NslHtNeDOFCpdM6TEK-s-A/s1600-h/DSC_0058.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFag_1OjoX9ZKKJR7H_MJ0U76pN2hRTC9VmYOPFD3z56bvmOrlhdy3mC7TNnAeWFfJJguS35qssS897uHLpbLGVguvGnmQzRsxML7Sjj4osKhKMR6c9PN4NslHtNeDOFCpdM6TEK-s-A/s320/DSC_0058.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266654577689740386" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXmxiMZcZbRIwBtvn5B4Nn1VqJKfK3B422Pmd50pToAD_ef5BJm6peIMS7KW8amih-MmdvPnTGKvfP6qHg2wHq4U6a33YLJFgCvcJeVPJXhi4z1Y1KIgpcBZAMYnIFZUKJG-dalwzW7CE/s1600-h/DSC_0108.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXmxiMZcZbRIwBtvn5B4Nn1VqJKfK3B422Pmd50pToAD_ef5BJm6peIMS7KW8amih-MmdvPnTGKvfP6qHg2wHq4U6a33YLJFgCvcJeVPJXhi4z1Y1KIgpcBZAMYnIFZUKJG-dalwzW7CE/s320/DSC_0108.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266655226067537010" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4opASUsMR9c3mOyM3SMfgOjllig3uTffvDbvVKRR2_x_4oipJFaqHf9mffSI4Uier2OroUfoSenkZRE2tw6xbgoDSfmTNer1UCEbQFzPifMl28loLkwF_cl9UKsYxeaiCFbUm4zVLdQ/s1600-h/DSC_0068.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4opASUsMR9c3mOyM3SMfgOjllig3uTffvDbvVKRR2_x_4oipJFaqHf9mffSI4Uier2OroUfoSenkZRE2tw6xbgoDSfmTNer1UCEbQFzPifMl28loLkwF_cl9UKsYxeaiCFbUm4zVLdQ/s320/DSC_0068.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266655668789405698" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi61QkGnNFSgLboHvlcBSCsbH8DKbhNcYo-8NV7Riw06HfyLk8_r4i1tLGHBIGXF2oLkppoG4FA0q-wok01gOvLTz7U2HXaY8ysNDb-aIh56qgnBcwBxxOk-cUWON-WIomHcxtB1JlI5F4/s1600-h/DSC_0069.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi61QkGnNFSgLboHvlcBSCsbH8DKbhNcYo-8NV7Riw06HfyLk8_r4i1tLGHBIGXF2oLkppoG4FA0q-wok01gOvLTz7U2HXaY8ysNDb-aIh56qgnBcwBxxOk-cUWON-WIomHcxtB1JlI5F4/s320/DSC_0069.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266655433471730962" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60glxAcjAjKcf0OjIWpeqRpPX1AdkZ_eL5emkCTVW_rXJ-1LMWsPyTtwg0RTtDEzs4E1_a7NeMfSw1ZdgzX52Go4xIumLGHrQ-CpUAlcvUNajc-TE_fo5KHTPQ-NkB99Sr8UErKazUNg/s1600-h/DSC_0101.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60glxAcjAjKcf0OjIWpeqRpPX1AdkZ_eL5emkCTVW_rXJ-1LMWsPyTtwg0RTtDEzs4E1_a7NeMfSw1ZdgzX52Go4xIumLGHrQ-CpUAlcvUNajc-TE_fo5KHTPQ-NkB99Sr8UErKazUNg/s320/DSC_0101.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266656265672654114" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6bu_c2NOyqfXBI_1ihojRz0FtvR-8x3nt1ZCYd9mnqlNyVjr4lSoJzgZImll5z3Z5cwd_H1R3TjOYeC1_qNX_SZLSNN5qSpxnhN_oZdtXS8RlvTVuCrX5MgDF2HjSJD82XtHxBANeG38/s1600-h/DSC_0701.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6bu_c2NOyqfXBI_1ihojRz0FtvR-8x3nt1ZCYd9mnqlNyVjr4lSoJzgZImll5z3Z5cwd_H1R3TjOYeC1_qNX_SZLSNN5qSpxnhN_oZdtXS8RlvTVuCrX5MgDF2HjSJD82XtHxBANeG38/s320/DSC_0701.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266656918575455218" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7nq9cU83NAc6LKPseDSkrl58bzSHFwinehp0gYEyKnOZdzqgGEsdfy5wg3OCLUdPuklQ4oGDN4meAAUaB3SQxQ2VMZzmWt0QGw-Ww2q0gquGanKAC7MsW8MXXJW21-Hivwlt8Gbxvx_U/s1600-h/DSC_0092.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7nq9cU83NAc6LKPseDSkrl58bzSHFwinehp0gYEyKnOZdzqgGEsdfy5wg3OCLUdPuklQ4oGDN4meAAUaB3SQxQ2VMZzmWt0QGw-Ww2q0gquGanKAC7MsW8MXXJW21-Hivwlt8Gbxvx_U/s320/DSC_0092.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266656091401744962" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6j4aZ4RzZ7bW_7mwJWwlO_-WfimtFj1ewz_veIcHO8MHdmIyzTUT2ZoH5johwPKgL21ryuGS5Aa1BvrBWKJQI9T47VBS1ydBrKxhiwcBp0yIFwAWY71z3fcHObPSEpQ64tEAcV_cVnno/s1600-h/DSC_0642.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6j4aZ4RzZ7bW_7mwJWwlO_-WfimtFj1ewz_veIcHO8MHdmIyzTUT2ZoH5johwPKgL21ryuGS5Aa1BvrBWKJQI9T47VBS1ydBrKxhiwcBp0yIFwAWY71z3fcHObPSEpQ64tEAcV_cVnno/s320/DSC_0642.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266656636509985170" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Now, if you're sitting there thinking: "Is that all Budapest can come up with?", you've missed our point somewhat. But to satisfy the appetites of any graffiti art lovers out there, check out SF's blog <a href="http://www.sfinbudapest.com/?/archives/45-Graffiti-on-Szentendre-HV-Line.html">here</a> or <a href="http://www.sfinbudapest.com/?/archives/39-M4-Metro-Line-Graffiti.html">here</a>.</span><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Jacob P.</span><br /></span></div></div>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-74700202289568559332008-10-30T14:26:00.000+01:002008-10-30T14:27:06.003+01:00You've got to be kidding me...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwT1gSe5kl-a_4g93XvUpL6-4lRVuy1MzN8HBBgr3AJZmujj3NjzDUKD0hLigT_CrIEMc4SwHosnO7B4mlVwkCMnaYTbeO-oGQorvrH7lvIJj2NyKJL5tCzYOKbyBvww9NgCvs8nHC6v8/s1600-h/ho+show.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwT1gSe5kl-a_4g93XvUpL6-4lRVuy1MzN8HBBgr3AJZmujj3NjzDUKD0hLigT_CrIEMc4SwHosnO7B4mlVwkCMnaYTbeO-oGQorvrH7lvIJj2NyKJL5tCzYOKbyBvww9NgCvs8nHC6v8/s400/ho+show.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262937858935300754" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Andy T. </span>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-15701118234307871292008-10-26T23:22:00.011+01:002008-10-27T00:55:12.404+01:00More Miserable People in Shops<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQDLKqXpClGCITu_Bjxl6l_vcg79miU_6aQT1HyTsINcATCAtajIFZ_GNr8gRYx2nfDutO3tSERsqXPXebNKKg5ENDvDsdAJyIiGvJU38KzdIJr-4DeBAhFQChw-LJCE_UWc-5HM4qJ4/s1600-h/manna.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQDLKqXpClGCITu_Bjxl6l_vcg79miU_6aQT1HyTsINcATCAtajIFZ_GNr8gRYx2nfDutO3tSERsqXPXebNKKg5ENDvDsdAJyIiGvJU38KzdIJr-4DeBAhFQChw-LJCE_UWc-5HM4qJ4/s320/manna.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261608970722515762" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >If</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" > our <a href="http://hubblogg.blogspot.com/2008/02/miserable-people-in-shops-bars-etc-1.html">shocking expose of bad Budapest customer service</a> (</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Miserable People in Shops) were a television series, it would be a very unsatisfying one. Episodes rock up only when we remember to make them. And they're never that interesting - in fact, by now we'd have been well and truly cancelled. </span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">But we'll soldier on with this rubbish until we decide to pull the plug. My latest encounter with a Miserable Person happened in the Manna ABC on Friday night. It's on the corner of Bajcsy Zsilinsky utca. Of all Les Miserables, this woman takes the cake. And keeps it. All for herself. Which is exactly what she tried to do with my change. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">What makes this particular incident doubly sad is that a very nice Real used to occupy the building next door but has recently closed down, presumably because it couldn't compete with the shiny Manna ABC 0-24 that barged its way into the neighbourhood. The man who ran Real was a creepily pleasant chap who spoke English very well. One night, he gave me a ham and cheese croissant free of charge. 'We're closing' he said, 'and I'll just throw it out. Take it. Have it for breakfast.' I couldn't imagine Manna ABC giving me a free croissant. If they did, they'd probably throw it at my head. </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >_________________________________________________________</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">What happened exactly?</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">It was about one in the morning and I fancied taking a stroll around Parliament. I'm leaving Budapest in a week and was feeling nostalgic enough to get out of my bedroom for a walk on some deserted streets. To help me, I needed a) a bag of peanuts, b) a can of beer and c) some milk for the morning. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >This is shaping up to be as interesting as the last <a href="http://hubblogg.blogspot.com/2008/08/miserable-people-in-hallways_30.html">Miserable People in etc</a>. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Thanks. Anyway, I got to the counter and laid my three items out. 585 ft. Disaster! Digging into my pockets I realised I only had 400 ft. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Go on. Please. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I will. It was time for an executive decision, so I left the counter and stood by the fruit and veg for a bit in order to concentrate. Peanuts were essential, as was beer. Milk? I could get up in the morning and get some, or just skip breakfast. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >What happened next? </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Well, me changing my mind was a disaster of epic proportions. The financial crisis? Dwarfed. Global warming? Dwarfed. She'd already scanned the items! </span><span style="font-family:arial;">And once the items have been scanned, there's no going back. Never. Ever. The member of staff, a sour looking oldish woman who looked like she'd put her make up on in the dark, stood staring at me. Chewing. Like a cow.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">It's a disaster once the items have been scanned. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to un-scan items? Do you? No, you don't. Why didn't you get on your knees and beg a thousand pardons? </span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I should have, I know. Instead I paid for my items and waited for the change (30 forint).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >And...?</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">It didn't arrive. So I looked at her, pointed at the till, and mouthed ineptly in Hungarian that I should have some change. At which point she picked up the beer, slammed it down on the desk then picked up the peanuts and slammed them down on the beer! Slam! Slam! Slam!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Scary!</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">It was. But knowing I was right, I started to flap my arms about a bit. I pointed at the price tags, and stood there till she gave me my money.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">How did it end?</span><br />She realised her mistake and slammed the money on the counter. I slammed my beer into a pocket. She slammed a basket onto the floor. I slammed the door. Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >You won't be going back there then.<br /></span> <span style="font-family:arial;">No. And neither should you. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Andy T. </span></div>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-26822246845500762902008-10-12T11:46:00.025+02:002008-10-12T13:07:47.620+02:00All Things Bright and Beautiful<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family:arial;">Here are some pictures of Sunday mornings in my area. Always a horrible minefield of broken glass, sick, wee wee and litter. This is an interactive post - I've included some hymn lyrics, to make up for the fact that most people out boozing/weeing/vomiting near my house last night won't have managed to get up in time for church. All together now. </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">_______________________________________</span><br /></div></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvv37gFV6vq4tTY5nX8Y3CqthdUI98GMISzFPD7AliUFwPGyUL5V7MAYvxDbf6kH87zdenZCR0CbgeaqJsphKcMaJcITE-TIHTHdgkislEkudU_MU-ULoiRnd5eGxPgQphC2M7wj8i-Wk/s1600-h/gods+day+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 292px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvv37gFV6vq4tTY5nX8Y3CqthdUI98GMISzFPD7AliUFwPGyUL5V7MAYvxDbf6kH87zdenZCR0CbgeaqJsphKcMaJcITE-TIHTHdgkislEkudU_MU-ULoiRnd5eGxPgQphC2M7wj8i-Wk/s320/gods+day+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256205292014849538" border="0" /></a></div><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The purple headed mountains,</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUcO7T4r2xqsEC1erc-9hdRqVZmqOll0AN9fxHzmUaK6Fk98tvD2JmPc8noqRRuU00IlmmqJbHfAzvP89-trA6wsia0Vh0r8L8sdwInxbsG54tnB74taKVqygrisLl-l_t71wX9B7XUC8/s1600-h/nagymezo+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 292px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUcO7T4r2xqsEC1erc-9hdRqVZmqOll0AN9fxHzmUaK6Fk98tvD2JmPc8noqRRuU00IlmmqJbHfAzvP89-trA6wsia0Vh0r8L8sdwInxbsG54tnB74taKVqygrisLl-l_t71wX9B7XUC8/s320/nagymezo+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256205183007898450" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The river running by,</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43uN6PxDDqERT5LMGSB6p2IubRVhhvNkOO0A_qyiIXzKJmbIZcYXZLBjeaomnWR6syLdQTGXAq2CzL-92yzScou5cm8t-KKKhpxQ1Fqj0DGvW2_0sUqfHvtx4q79MFFq1OpqVRox1coo/s1600-h/gods+day+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 219px; height: 291px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43uN6PxDDqERT5LMGSB6p2IubRVhhvNkOO0A_qyiIXzKJmbIZcYXZLBjeaomnWR6syLdQTGXAq2CzL-92yzScou5cm8t-KKKhpxQ1Fqj0DGvW2_0sUqfHvtx4q79MFFq1OpqVRox1coo/s320/gods+day+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256204892590020610" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The sunset and the morning, that brightens up the sky.</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQK1k_K-epxK5pYSJh9sYFksmDCdOHjx9ygEIHLdPf9PgL8yZ8wvI6E1s6KYfM4gWzxOZBDTnrUXi1QBznlsAavU6no9lp4aIS53cZOq2F0P5eDlxsaY_EJmpl5lvE_SWvowxM-JLT9sU/s1600-h/gods+day+8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 292px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQK1k_K-epxK5pYSJh9sYFksmDCdOHjx9ygEIHLdPf9PgL8yZ8wvI6E1s6KYfM4gWzxOZBDTnrUXi1QBznlsAavU6no9lp4aIS53cZOq2F0P5eDlxsaY_EJmpl5lvE_SWvowxM-JLT9sU/s320/gods+day+8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256203679913885378" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The cold wind in the winter,</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKiYoGjpm4JT5XN7iFlO6doN3i8xfAAfRYk6afI6FmwB0hBFD6TuQ8CCt-T2nNtO2H2bxAH0sbH1IaE34uI72wqpqgl2oHXZ4rbJsLZy8GgM6xEQPilYbQarCF6gg7Z6WdiSj6Q0GatEk/s1600-h/gods+day+5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 219px; height: 292px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKiYoGjpm4JT5XN7iFlO6doN3i8xfAAfRYk6afI6FmwB0hBFD6TuQ8CCt-T2nNtO2H2bxAH0sbH1IaE34uI72wqpqgl2oHXZ4rbJsLZy8GgM6xEQPilYbQarCF6gg7Z6WdiSj6Q0GatEk/s320/gods+day+5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256207558981535314" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><br />The pleasant summer sun,</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6LeRIJIbuV-1xmc9Pa4uabGmqD6eF5Bz1U98WWwlswjw15PzQqz9UEPK3-NcFVQ40wwEzmfPIa3E02ACZE4xarw-eozVBgbFsVjlcHqvTf39P4d62znbb-OtNiOE0TdjJfWi8GOqblZE/s1600-h/gods+day+4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 292px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6LeRIJIbuV-1xmc9Pa4uabGmqD6eF5Bz1U98WWwlswjw15PzQqz9UEPK3-NcFVQ40wwEzmfPIa3E02ACZE4xarw-eozVBgbFsVjlcHqvTf39P4d62znbb-OtNiOE0TdjJfWi8GOqblZE/s320/gods+day+4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256208055418042146" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><br />The ripe fruits in the garden, He made them every one.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Andy T.</span><br /></div></div>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-23489434724479817542008-10-03T19:52:00.023+02:002008-10-04T12:39:01.516+02:00Get the fuck out of here...<div style="text-align: justify;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfwlm_NCsmEWP7cFdAg9VtqmGsaLoenafE6OVmN0ExDNs5Gl6B0nXbesHcnQtIZqMFJbxSNWZw3xg0v2wPx05pqLQuvV2djUCwQgG7Ld6P_c43iNaLEGUEPixNh2dKk6mczXgwViGosI/s1600-h/gloria+in+excelsis.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfwlm_NCsmEWP7cFdAg9VtqmGsaLoenafE6OVmN0ExDNs5Gl6B0nXbesHcnQtIZqMFJbxSNWZw3xg0v2wPx05pqLQuvV2djUCwQgG7Ld6P_c43iNaLEGUEPixNh2dKk6mczXgwViGosI/s320/gloria+in+excelsis.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252987769965597042" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Who is Gloria Jean, exactly? I picture her as a huge, hugely successful woman, the ageing head of a global coffee empire who sits around in her Beverly Hills mansion, eating crackers, while ogling <a href="http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/8343/cc080820070012ak0.jpg">the pool guy</a>. Her coffee shop is a recent addition to the city - there are branches in Hősök tere, Mammut and on the körút, near Nyugati. </span> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Forget my first question. A more pertinent one would be, who exactly does Gloria Jean think she is? I was walking past the Hősök tere branch the other day when I was forced to do a double take. </span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Guess how much a <span style="font-style: italic;">kicsi</span> cappuccino costs. Go on, guess. Wrong. Try again. No, still wrong. One more chance. Okay, you’re rubbish at this, I'll tell you. A small cappuccino at Gloria Jean’s would set you back 615 ft. <span style="font-style: italic;">Six hundred and fifteen ft</span>. What is this - Dubai<span style="font-style: italic;">?</span> Why, for that much, I could buy <a href="http://www.tapirback.com/tapirgal/gifts/friends/dinosaurs/dinosaur-plastic-velociraptor-f668.jpg">a, a, a… dinosaur!</a> Even the California Coffee Company opts for a less ballsy 490 ft. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />615 ft is a ridiculous price, made even more ridiculous by the fact that the minimum wage here is <a href="http://www.budapestsun.com/cikk.php?id=28745">69,000 ft per month</a>. If that’s net, which it isn’t, the average minimum wage employee working 22 days a month would earn 3136 ft per day. Now then, let’s say that on their way to their job, said worker stops in for a morning coffee every day at Gloria Jean’s. In a single month they’d spend 13,530 ft on coffee. Which leaves them just 55,470 ft to pay for such luxuries as food, a travel pass and rent.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">But of course, it isn’t aimed at the average Hungarian, it’s aimed at the decidedly average tourist. As a Hungarian friend of mine pointed out (after having been duped into paying an arm and a leg for a coffee and a sandwich in Gloria's), at the very least it solves the problem of tourists not being able to get a hot drink in Hősök tere. No, it’s much better now - they can visit one of Hungary’s most striking monuments and wonder at the fact that a cappuccino costs more than double <a href="http://www.247wallst.com/2008/07/stocks-that-cos.html">what you would pay in a New York Starbucks</a>. Truly amazing. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Glory be! </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Andy T.</span></span></span></div>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-4538093553144162982008-09-25T00:34:00.015+02:002008-09-25T01:57:57.224+02:00If you've got 5 seconds to spare...<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://vergokan.net/web/layout/images/references/hungary_metro_budapest.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 287px; height: 190px;" src="http://vergokan.net/web/layout/images/references/hungary_metro_budapest.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >My metro arrived at </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Deák ter. I got off and walk</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >ed i</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >nto the concourse beyond the platform, along with the majority of the morning commuters. Obviously, I was in a rush, as I tend to be in the mornings, and strode briskly towards the escalators that lead to Metro 3.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Now, it seems to me that ticket inspectors aren't employed for their tactical nouse. There were about eight of them, arranged in such a way that they co</span><span style="font-family:arial;">uld chat to each other at the base of the right-hand escalator, casually menacing passers-by. In principle, I agree with </span><span style="font-family:arial;">the idea of ticket inspectors but why are they so bloody ineffectual? If they're intending to stop people without tickets, they're standing in the wrong place! With two up escalators, one right, one left, what kind of fare-dodger would choose the one with the flock of inspectors?</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Well, perhaps a gutsy, wily one! Possessing a ticket, as I did, I </span><span style="font-family:arial;">headed for the emptier escalator on the right, and a stray inspector drifted towards me. I ignored her, but three metres from safety, she a</span><span style="font-family:arial;">sked for my ticket. Irritated, I found that the best way to convey "Look, I obviously have a ticket because I've chosen this escalator!", was to ignore her again. This proved rather effective, as the inspector waited until I was halfway up the ecalator before she employed her next tactic: "Uram!" ("Sir!"), she cried out.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/bkv_001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 266px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/bkv_001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">I'm sure there are some people who would find this call impossible to disregard. No doubt there are some who would turn around at the top of the escalator, take the first escalator back down, interrupt the inspector's subsequent conversation about why they never catch anyone without a ticket, and say:<br /><br />"I'm terribly sorry, madam, did you want to see my ticket? Here it is. And, if I may, might I add: you haven't caught anyone because <span style="font-size:85%;">you're</span> not <span style="font-size:130%;">even</span> <span style="font-size:180%;">trying!"</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">And... while I'm on the subject: why are there never any inspectors at Kossuth tér</span><span style="font-family:arial;">? Do MPs and bank staff travel free?<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Andy Sz.</span><br /></span></div>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-20520052738154531702008-09-24T13:41:00.023+02:002008-09-24T16:34:21.314+02:00Drumless Jazz in the Rain<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The unseasonably cold wea</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ther, coupled with</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> piss</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ing rain doesn’t make for the most ideal of c</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">onditions to hold a jazz festival, let alone an event</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> that’s outdoors.</span></span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/hubevents/SNZTGaoextI/AAAAAAAABlY/XjbqGtPmzeY/s640/DSC_0431.JPG"></a><div style="text-align: justify; font-weight: bold;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/hubevents/SNZTGaoextI/AAAAAAAABlY/XjbqGtPmzeY/s640/DSC_0431.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/hubevents/SNZTGaoextI/AAAAAAAABlY/XjbqGtPmzeY/s640/DSC_0431.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Luckily thou</span><span style="font-family:arial;">gh, this only put a slight dampener on </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Friday nigh</span><span style="font-family:arial;">t’s main event for the MOL Jazz Festival at </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Közraktár</span><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Held in a long white </span><span style="font-family:arial;">tent, it was a bit like being in th</span><span style="font-family:arial;">e jazz tent of a lar</span><span style="font-family:arial;">ger music festival, except there weren't any other stages; this was it.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:arial;">The bands kic</span><span style="font-family:arial;">ked off with Zoltán Lantos, a man clearly indebted to the work of McLaughlin, and his Mirrorworld quartet. Think Mahavishnu, or Shakti (but a bit </span><span style="font-family:arial;">less Indian). There were Hungarian folk melodies in there too, as well as som</span><span style="font-family:arial;">e pretty straight funky jazz fusion. Nothing mind-blowing, but absolutely fine. Their set finished with a long, reasonably smug</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> drum solo, which in fact, was the last ti</span><span style="font-family:arial;">me we came across any drums that evening.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">N</span><span style="font-family:arial;">ext up was the duo of Heinz Sauer on saxophone and pianist Michael Wollner. This was easily the highlight of the evening - a genteel performance; these guys filled an otherwise chilly tent with their warm on-stage connection.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The Argentinean "Horacio Fumero Trio" followed: different from the last group, but not that different. Fumero probably kept a few more people in the tent with</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> some endearing chat. If you could ignore the cold, trumpeter Raynald Colom’s solos were a bit of an ear-opener. We couldn't, so halfway through we drifted home.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">________________________________________</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/hubevents/SNZUe1Y4j_I/AAAAAAAABlw/6PDY48USu48/s512/DSC_0402_r1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/hubevents/SNZUe1Y4j_I/AAAAAAAABlw/6PDY48USu48/s512/DSC_0402_r1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/hubevents/SNZVBkPb9rI/AAAAAAAABl4/0zafklCR2OI/s512/DSC_0443_r1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/hubevents/SNZVBkPb9rI/AAAAAAAABl4/0zafklCR2OI/s512/DSC_0443_r1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0ohtIYrINBIvNw6hXkAFl8sFeU4p21jnpZgUZTdNKotE8D3vNbzCwG0VuXL584pIA7idcXM72O48Wt1jxe86zJoLYi7B3mPmLGHvkWTG83v1X-u3ys3EAmt9Y1EKzuFsjTBtvU0ult0/s1600-h/DSC_0338_r1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0ohtIYrINBIvNw6hXkAFl8sFeU4p21jnpZgUZTdNKotE8D3vNbzCwG0VuXL584pIA7idcXM72O48Wt1jxe86zJoLYi7B3mPmLGHvkWTG83v1X-u3ys3EAmt9Y1EKzuFsjTBtvU0ult0/s320/DSC_0338_r1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249591654114001938" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Jacob P.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >______________________________________</span><br /></div>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-6064279426420038382008-09-13T22:38:00.016+02:002008-09-24T02:06:14.569+02:00Drink yourself blind - the beer trials<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/beer_001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 292px; height: 220px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/beer_001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >So how exactly do you do a blind beer taste test? Well, I'm told there are three ways. The first is the most common: get someone not taking part to serve the beer. Second, rarer: turn all the lights out. Third: if everyone there wants to take part but no one trusts each other enough to turn the lights out, use socks. Come again?</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Yes, socks, it's obvious. Select the beers you wish to test, in our case, Dreher, Bor</span><span style="font-family:arial;">sodi, Soproni, Arany Ászok and </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Kőbányai</span><span style="font-family:arial;">. Sit in a circle and distribut</span><span style="font-family:arial;">e the can</span><span style="font-family:arial;">s/bottles evenly. Find 5 different pairs of socks, ideally the ones with days of the week on them, and put them within easy reach. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Then all close your eyes and slide the beers around the circle until none of you know which is which anymore. With your eyes still closed, put the beers in the socks. Now you can safely open your eyes and </span><span style="font-family:arial;">test the beers. Simple.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We embarked upon our scientific study. Beers are listed according to the socks they were in. The voting system: </span><span style="font-family:arial;">3 judges, each awarding 15 points. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">5 points for the best, 1 for the worst.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/beer_002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 270px; height: 200px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/beer_002.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Friday</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" > socks (orange)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">It's lively... bubbly... a sharp acidity. (If we thought we were lacking the rudimentary descriptive language, we weren't going to show it.) Jacob looks like he's taking it very seriously. 'It's like having sex with a woman you met on the street, on the street.' He's referring to the cheap beer combined with a panoramic view of </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Budapest, for such occasions require a fitting stage.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Points: 1 + 2.5 + 2 =</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" > 5.5</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Saturday</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" > socks (blue)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Alert: Andy's seen the can. Operation "Rescue Beer Test Integrity" comm</span><span style="font-family:arial;">ences, as Jacob is elected to close his ey</span><span style="font-family:arial;">es and swap some socks over. Disaster averted.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Cheaper than the last one, said one. More flavour on the first sip, said another. Sweeter, made with river water. Almondy. Yes, I'm getting almonds. I </span><span style="font-family:arial;">think I've come across this on the tram, early in the morning. What does hoppy mean? This one's not hoppy.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Points: 2 + 2.5 + 1 =<span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> 5.5</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Sunday</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" > socks (khaki)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/beer_004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 185px; height: 244px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/beer_004.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">They all taste a bit the same. The word hoppy is gaining ground now but what exactly does it mean? We like saying it and this is therefore the hoppiest yet. Jacob bangs on about IPA, a little motif for him for the evening. Comparisons are being made. It's inferior to the last one. No, this is my favourite - the closest to IPA. It's lager, it's nothing like IPA. Yes, but it's hoppy and IPA's hoppy.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Points: 5 + 1 + 4.5 = <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">10.5</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Tuesday</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" > socks (one red, one pink)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This is the beer you drink when you're sick. Orsi says it smells funny. I don't think it smells funny. I think it's alright. It tastes like crackers. Yes, it does. It does taste like crackers. Jacob's spot on. Jacob's cream crackers.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Points: 3 + 4 + 4.5 = <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">11.5</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Wednesday</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" > socks (grey)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">There's a full moon tonight. 'That's not a full moon, that's gibbous.' This beer is the best, although I've written that on three separate occasions. Maybe it's the beer talking. Give me some more. It's got a floral nose; it tastes like dandelions. Eve</span><span style="font-family:arial;">ryone agrees. "A true drinking beer", whatever that means.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Points: 4 + 5 + 3 = <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">12</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/beer_003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 294px; height: 220px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/beer_003.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Are we going to unveil them? Yes, let's unveil </span><span style="font-family:arial;">them</span><span style="font-family:arial;">. I can hardly contain my excitement (no irony intended).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Friday, in joint 4th is... <span style="font-weight: bold;">Borsodi</span>. Saturday, also joint 4th is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Arany Ászok</span>.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">In 3rd place, in the Sunday socks is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dreher</span>. And in 2nd, masquerading as Tuesday is </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Kőbányai</span><span style="font-family:arial;">. Finally, </span><span style="font-family:arial;">in 1st place, Hungary's finest everyday beer is... <span style="font-weight: bold;">Soproni</span>! Cue 'Formula 1'-style celebration... but with beer.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Our results, certified by the Cambridge examining board - bore a few surprises. Borsodi, one of my staple choices out on the town, fared rather poorly. Meanwhile, </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Kőbányai, the cheapest of the bunch, was pretty well-received. Perhaps most significantly, the results show a certain trend: the more you drink, the better beer tastes. You probably didn't need us to tell you that, which I think, adds a certain legitimacy to our experiment.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Andy Sz.</span><br /><br /></div>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-59915635320550899102008-09-09T09:54:00.043+02:002008-09-10T01:04:03.839+02:002ManyBloggas 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzYbGdX3CutdwpN2SpqltF9ws43S-eQjdPgT9X4aq22YUFLwjKHPLSzAIMZnckNgph1TT2A2QZ9HcK4Gb838fhuMfHdPzkkDc0lH1euW0WKJZjfYmzOTic6zHLl3kUFlnMdTwchhC52rQ/s1600-h/kunk.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzYbGdX3CutdwpN2SpqltF9ws43S-eQjdPgT9X4aq22YUFLwjKHPLSzAIMZnckNgph1TT2A2QZ9HcK4Gb838fhuMfHdPzkkDc0lH1euW0WKJZjfYmzOTic6zHLl3kUFlnMdTwchhC52rQ/s320/kunk.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243983958302398658" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Thehub doesn't usually get invited to parties. The last time we did, we were told in no uncertain terms that this one would be our very last and we were 'an absolute disgrace' - words that were shouted loudly by a scary man who kept clipping us around the ears.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />All that hurt a lot but it didn't stop us from nicking a load of random objects on the way out - including <a href="http://imagebank.ipcmedia.com/imageBank/w/womans_own_17th_Oct_05.jpg">a copy of </a></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><a href="http://imagebank.ipcmedia.com/imageBank/w/womans_own_17th_Oct_05.jpg">Woman's Own</a>, </span><span style="font-family:arial;">a set of candlesticks, </span><span style="font-family:arial;">a miserable-looking cat who howled so much we had to leave it in the street somewhere, and a high-heeled shoe. It still gets worn from time to time, that.</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So, given our track record, imagine our surprise when yesterday we were told we're going to be part of the very exciting <span style="font-weight: bold;">2ManyBloggas 2 party</span> at Trafo in a week and a half, organised by Kunk, the best two djs of electro/indie/etc. in Budapest. Check them out <a href="http://www.myspace.com/kunkbudapest">here</a>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Here's what Kunk's Brandon has to say about the event...</span> <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><br />__________________________________________<br /><br />'Part schmooze-fest, part fashion show, part tech convention, and all awesome, Kunk’s 2ManyBloggas2 will see the collision of art, music, culture and fashion blogs wrapped into one tasty indie/electro party package on September 20 in Trafo. The event, building upon the success of its first version last winter, will be live-blogged at </span><a style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;" href="http://www.2manybloggas.com/" target="_blank">www.2manybloggas.com</a><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >, with posts being submitted by party-goers and projected on screen. </span></div><p face="arial" style="text-align: justify; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Attendees will be handed name tags upon entrance with empty fields to write their name, as well as they blog they most identify with. During the evening, giveaways will be awarded to both a random raffle pick from all attendees, as well as to the blog garnering the most worn name tags. Each blog will also have their own space for placement of promo material'.</p><p face="arial" style="text-align: justify; font-style: italic;"><br /></p> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmcfcgt2bO_h1Vb9PTedVH4Hl5wBcq9yCySCQmnLEu9Z6q9DgOhXM4oprwgn5c-Oh_kGCRiYAuDz8LTDLE71ztByUu2fKUBWUYxaxAY8OJliY8oZzdAAw12S7OhCkbM1MjIcPiaZhMgo/s1600-h/kunk2manybloggas2-side2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmcfcgt2bO_h1Vb9PTedVH4Hl5wBcq9yCySCQmnLEu9Z6q9DgOhXM4oprwgn5c-Oh_kGCRiYAuDz8LTDLE71ztByUu2fKUBWUYxaxAY8OJliY8oZzdAAw12S7OhCkbM1MjIcPiaZhMgo/s400/kunk2manybloggas2-side2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243984241777750994" border="0" /></a></p><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >__________________________________________<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Great. Sounds like they're even trusting us enough to give us our own table! Bet we can think of some funny things to do with that. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Anyway, next Saturday (20th), stick it in your diary, and we don't care if you live abroad - Andy and I will be extremely disappointed if you aren't there. With <span style="font-style: italic;">our</span> name on <span style="font-style: italic;">your</span> name tag. Oh, here's some details and a list of the blogs involved.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >__________________________________________<br /></span><p style="font-family: arial;"><strong>Kunk presents: 2ManyBloggas2</strong><br />Saturday, September 20, 2008<br />Trafo Bar Tango<br />Address: IX. Lilliom u. 41<br />Entrance: 800 HUF<br />DJs: Kunk, Kollektiva, WPAHP, Gumipop, Tonyo vs. Adi (The Moog)</p> <p style="font-family: arial;">PARTICIPATING LINKS: <a href="http://www.bpfashion.hu/" target="_blank">http://www.bpfashion.hu</a>, <a href="http://bpstyle.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://bpstyle.blogspot.com</a>, <a href="http://www.ektiv.hu/" target="_blank">http://www.ektiv.hu</a>, <a href="http://www.gumipop.hu/" target="_blank">http://www.gumipop.hu</a>, <a href="http://www.hellorepublic.com/" target="_blank">http://www.hellorepublic.com</a>, <a href="http://www.thehub.hu/" target="_blank">http://www.thehub.hu</a>, <a href="http://magyar.mashkulture.net/" target="_blank">http://juicy.mashkulture.net</a>, <a href="http://kultplay.hu/" target="_blank">http://kultplay.hu</a>, <a href="http://www.mykunk.com//" target="_blank">http://www.mykunk.com</a>, <a href="http://mindennapibetevo.freeblog.hu/" target="_blank">http://mindennapibetevo.<wbr>freeblog.hu</a>, <a href="http://ourstyle.freeblog.hu/" target="_blank">http://ourstyle.freeblog.hu</a>, <a href="http://www.pepmagazin.hu/" target="_blank">http://www.pepmagazin.hu</a></p><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >__________________________________________<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">See you at Trafo then. We'll be the ones getting clipped round the ears. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Andy T.</span>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-58213897906625305062008-09-04T14:22:00.106+02:002008-09-05T09:07:41.113+02:00Bodies - The Exhibition<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1AoI5hLeBBtCXhrWO53dVyB1BGFnKzjwBLEBgV3em-LhmyMsWjTht40IBOWwVWIsw7gsd-Jw5bTGSH9fZAaOydAn4GU8i0aZ7IYvnPDdxR6M5a8xUoLoHXNh-ZWKsQYijU5RRE59a93k/s1600-h/chinese+prisoners.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 309px; height: 201px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1AoI5hLeBBtCXhrWO53dVyB1BGFnKzjwBLEBgV3em-LhmyMsWjTht40IBOWwVWIsw7gsd-Jw5bTGSH9fZAaOydAn4GU8i0aZ7IYvnPDdxR6M5a8xUoLoHXNh-ZWKsQYijU5RRE59a93k/s320/chinese+prisoners.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242140699941208306" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />VAM Design Center</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">,</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> 33</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">00ft - 3900 ft, until 31st December</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-family:arial;" id="red-logo" >Király u. 26 </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://utcakereso.hu/map3/index.php?action=search&cityold=budapest&size=3x2&scale=a1.0&streetold=vaci&streetfixold=V%E1ci+%FAt&distfixold=13&country=hu_uk&city=Budapest&street=vaci&num=1&dist="><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-family:arial;" ><span>[map]</span></span></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Pest Centre, VI,</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" > Deak F. ter<br />(M 1,2,3) 4 min</span><br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br />So, it looks like Budapest may have one of the ‘bad’ bodies exhibitions. Not that the exhibition is bad - I haven’t been - but the bodies themselves could be bad. Or not. I don’t know. Are they? Maybe. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Back home in Manchester over the summer, I saw a huge amount of advertising for another display of cadavers - <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.bodyworlds.com/en.html">Dr von Hagen‘s Bodyworlds 4</a>. Same, but different. My curiosity was tickled and I decided to head over to Wikipedia the other day <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BODIES..._The_Exhibition#cite_note-10">for a bit of grave digging</a>.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">It turned out that Premier Exhibition's <a href="http://www.bodiesbudapest.hu/en/">Bodies</a>, currently showing at VAM design on Kiraly (one of 10 venues globally), is not the original. It debuted in 2005, ten years after von Hagen's Bodyworlds first opened, and the good doctor has sued Premier in the past. Apparently, people get confused as to which exhibition is which. Fancy that! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Unsurprisingly, both shows have generated their fair share of controversy. Germaine Greer claimed she would no more go to an exhibition of dead bodies than she would eat a live one, </span><span style="font-family:arial;">while the Catholic Church feel these displays are inconsistent with the idea of reverence towards the human body. People have taken issue with gender stereotyping within the exhibits, and there’s even <a href="http://mysite.verizon.net/vzexqyla/anti-bodies-virtual-picket-line/id19.html">a virtual picket line/protest</a> which currently has 277 people (not) standing in it.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Comments there make for interesting reading - <span style="font-style: italic;">‘I was very glad to find a way to protest this neo-Nazi exhibit’</span> writes Jean D’Ascenzo of New Jersey. Palo Paley looks like she was so furious she decided to <span style="font-style: italic;">text</span> in her cryptic contribution - <span style="font-style: italic;">‘will u make this exhibition with the flesh of ur child??,‘</span> while Timothy Ingram opts for a rather more succinct <span style="font-style: italic;">’Evil.’ </span> </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Setting religious objections or comparisons to a travelling freakshow aside, there is a more legitimitate concern relating to the Budapest exhibition - and that is where exactly Premier's cadavers come from. Von Hagen’s bodies are obtained via a <a href="http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/body_donation.html">donation program</a>, but Premier are not quite as transparent. They say corpses are received from the Chinese government. However, any moral concerns about that are not helped by the ghoulish disclaimer on <a href="http://www.bodiestheexhibition.com/">one of Premier's official sites...</a></span><br /><br />___________________________________<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >‘This exhibit displays human remains of Chinese citizens or residents which were originally received by the Chinese Bureau of Police. The Chinese Bureau of Police may receive bodies from Chinese prisons. Premier cannot independently verify that the human remains you are viewing are not those of persons who were incarcerated in Chinese prisons.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >This exhibit displays full body cadavers as well as human body parts, organs, fetuses and embryos that come from cadavers of Chinese citizens or residents. With respect to the human parts, organs, fetuses and embryos you are viewing, Premier relies solely on the representations of its Chinese partners and cannot independently verify that they do not belong to persons executed while incarcerated in Chinese prisons‘.</span><br /><br />___________________________________<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">That appeared in May, after an investigation into all this led by the New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who went <a href="http://www.oag.state.ny.us/media_center/2008/may/may29a_08.html">on in a concluding statement to say...</a> </span><br /><br />___________________________________<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >'The grim reality is that Premier Exhibitions has profited from displaying the remains of individuals who may have been tortured and executed in China. Despite repeated denials, we now know that Premier itself cannot demonstrate the circumstances that led to the death of the individuals. Nor is Premier able to establish that these people consented to their remains being used in this manner. </span><br />___________________________________<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This settlement in New York resulted in Premier, from May 2008 on, being required to provide written documentation of who the subjects are, as well as proof that they consented to be part of this exhibition. But as far as I can tell... that's only in New York!<br /><br />So there you have it. A couple of major, quite similar corpse exhibitions touring the planet - one of them is fine, if you like that sort of thing, and the other seems a good deal shadier, with a remarkably cavalier attitude towards human rights...<br /><br />...and <span style="font-style: italic;">we</span> get that one. Interesting times we're living in though.<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><br />Andy T.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-62769750238172715782008-08-30T16:25:00.012+02:002008-08-30T16:55:46.721+02:00Miserable People in Hallways<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cwjsuCGYSQSxpmYUhs4EJYbDleMi57feRdS68jel80URlPa4LDxISAVOtov283-5RBfrluUeS2pHlT7_RMJHispZXDUh71V-WC8v3hcGl-IBWHRTU4DmBIaODV0qUfy91tWIukq7Gbs/s1600-h/kurt.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cwjsuCGYSQSxpmYUhs4EJYbDleMi57feRdS68jel80URlPa4LDxISAVOtov283-5RBfrluUeS2pHlT7_RMJHispZXDUh71V-WC8v3hcGl-IBWHRTU4DmBIaODV0qUfy91tWIukq7Gbs/s320/kurt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240318066796910834" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Dogs, the homeless and miserable folk - whenever people come to visit me in Budapest, they always seem to notice those three things.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">A while ago, I was talking to a friend of mine about sad Hungarians, and she suggested that the main reason people have the hump here is because they simply don’t have enough money. That scrimping and saving just to make ends meet is enough to bring anyone down. There’s probably a good deal of truth in that. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Back in February, we published <a href="http://hubblogg.blogspot.com/2008/02/miserable-people-in-shops-bars-etc-1.html">a blog entry about a miserable woman in Match</a>, who got annoyed with me for standing in the wrong place. Intended to be part of a series, it never really got off the ground for two reasons - firstly, because in all honesty, we forgot, and perhaps more significantly, I really haven’t had too many sour encounters over the last six months. That is, until I moved house last week and bumped into a new neighbour… </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >_________________________________________________________</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">What happened this time? </span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">I was clattering out of my house, late for an appointment, feeling a little groggy, when I ran into a man 'pon the stair. Smoking a cigarette, he looked like Kurt Russell, if Kurt Russell had really let himself go. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >So…? </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">He mooed ‘hello’ to me, and I murmured back politely, but not overly so, ‘Jó napot kívánok'</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br />What an interesting story! </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Thanks, I’m not finished. He obviously hadn’t heard my greeting. As I pulled open the front door, the man mooed again, much louder and more sarcastically. ’HEEEEEELLLLOO.’ Then he made a ‘pffffff’ noise, like a deflating beach ball. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >How did you react? </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Less polite this time, I turned around and asked him what ‘his problem was,’ and let him know that I’d just said ‘fucking jó napot kívánok.’ </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What did he do? </span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">He mooed, and took another drag from his cigarette. Then I closed the door, and he stood there alone, mooing to himself in the hallway. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How did you feel?</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Sad, hurt, annoyed and miserable. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br />Why didn’t you go and moo ’heeelllo’ at someone else, to make yourself feel better? </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Because I’m not a baby. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Andy T. </span><br /></div>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-18309231750983881772008-08-20T13:37:00.041+02:002008-08-21T12:56:27.298+02:00Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHqu8mq0TGKu0t1x14gaBFNjQvoD9PP8AVgHE_jVhqHpapE0NFZrfUbrByb5HIy0PewzAbfKc6Q1tvQb9co8kHpHPGxMdpyzyQG95xWT2gLNStDzD3xZH8994HNnu6E22Dhs55kouKev4/s1600-h/peter+bes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 310px; height: 207px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHqu8mq0TGKu0t1x14gaBFNjQvoD9PP8AVgHE_jVhqHpapE0NFZrfUbrByb5HIy0PewzAbfKc6Q1tvQb9co8kHpHPGxMdpyzyQG95xWT2gLNStDzD3xZH8994HNnu6E22Dhs55kouKev4/s320/peter+bes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236563244372541698" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >ZOOOOOOOOM! ZOOOOOOOOOOOM! </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >ZOOOM! ZOOOOOM!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Our first words in 83 days, and I thought nothing would be more appropriate, because we’re just about to zoooom back onto the radar. (We’ve been in England by the way, in Lon</span><span style="font-family:arial;">don for a few months). However, that’s not the only reason I wrote</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >'ZOOOOOOOOM! ZOOOOOOOOOOOM! ZOOOM! ZOOOOOM!</span>'<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"> Ever since I got back, I’ve woken up each morning to the sounds of aeroplanes zooooming over the house. What on earth is going on? Are we at war? Di</span><span style="font-family:arial;">d Slovakia invade?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Well... not quite. It’s the Red Bull Air Race, which involves several days of practice, practice, practice, qualifying, race. From the pictures on the Red Bull website, of upside-down, twirling planes in front of the Parliament building, you’d think this is going to be quite a spectacle. That, coupled with the involvement of Péter Besenyei, on</span><span style="font-family:arial;">e of Hungary’s best, and best-known sportsmen was certainly enough to pique my interest.<br /><br />He seems like quite a character, this Besenyei. I came across <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/may/06/motorsports.redbullairrace">a Guardian interview with him</a> the other day, in which he made the quite magnificent claim that n</span><span style="font-family:arial;">o-one has ever thrown up in one of his flying machines. (Erm... have me on board, </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Péter</span><span style="font-family:arial;">, and I’ll be sick all over you).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Here are the rules for the Red Bull Air Race, in case you were wondering what it’s all about.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >"During the first day, pilots run two training rounds then t</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >wo qualification rounds. The times of the last training session determine flight order for both qualifying rounds, slowest racing first. The best time from either qualifying run counts. Twelve pilo</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >ts with the fastest times continue on to race the second day. The lowest four who made it through qualifying race for ninth place and one World Series point in the aptly named "Point One" round. The top eight, or "Super Eights" are seeded based on qualification times then race head-to-head. Winners from the Super Eight round race again in the semifinals while losers are ranked 5th through 8th based on their time. From the se</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >mifinals, the pilots either head to the final to determine the winner and runner-up, or to the consolation final to settle third and fourth places".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">No, I didn't read them either. Anyway, the idea of an air race still got me all hot and excited, so I headed down there yesterday afternoon, images of spiralling,</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> nose-diving aircraft filling my head. The first thing I saw was a helicopter turning upside down, righting itself, turning upside down, righting itself, turning upside down, righting itself, turning upside down, righting itself. Very far away - part of the air show. As I wasn't actually in a helicopter of my own and hadn't had a drop of red bull, the whole experience left me feeling slightly restive. I blinked up into the sky and waited for it to stop. It did, and qualifying started. This involved some brightly coloured aeropl</span><span style="font-family:arial;">anes zooming down towards the Danube, traversing a few pylons, then flying away, all to the strains of Prodigy's Firestarter. And... that's it! Again and again. Later, I wandered down the bank of the river and found a few stages pumping out bad 50's rock </span><span style="font-family:arial;">to a handful of onlookers, and a bunch of stalls selling food that nobody was eating because the weather was too hot.<br /><br />Now, I don't mind races, and red bull serves a purpose, but part of me wonders if it's so necessary for this event to bring the noise in such a spectacular fashion, for such a sustained length of time. Even on Monday, when I went to the river to watch the sun sink behind the hills, I was confronted with some kind of metal fence, beyond which stood a pair of speakers pumping out mundane pop. Aren't people living/working nearby?</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />As I write this, it's three o'clock on St. Stephen's Day and I'm in</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Gozsdu courtyard - all I can hear is the sound of aircraft zooooming overhead. To hell with it. Maybe I'll go down to the river and give </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Péter</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> some love. It's not like I can take a siesta.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggtR-G5KMv98FubczC9E79JRT3KaOifKZ94vyyK4Snj-U617Uo44kdOyfEQK4ieFansGrfPx0p7k7OZUIqKUvayBf9Gw225opFFYUhQHyG4O283FqrJgnQlwvyXiZ8PShjsX5Afb2Y5E8/s1600-h/IMG_2882.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 209px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggtR-G5KMv98FubczC9E79JRT3KaOifKZ94vyyK4Snj-U617Uo44kdOyfEQK4ieFansGrfPx0p7k7OZUIqKUvayBf9Gw225opFFYUhQHyG4O283FqrJgnQlwvyXiZ8PShjsX5Afb2Y5E8/s320/IMG_2882.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236592200484199442" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Andy T.</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729466429743704812.post-49437797371601266542008-05-29T20:11:00.011+02:002008-05-29T23:39:09.328+02:00Thehub - A Rubbish Guide to Budapest<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/generlarubbish.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/generlarubbish.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Put your general rubbish in there,</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/cans.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/cans.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;">your cans in there,</span><br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/cigis2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/cigis2.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial;">your cigis in there,<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/paper.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/paper.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;">your paper in there,</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/dogs.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/dogs.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">and your dogs in there.</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hubevents.googlepages.com/dogs.JPG"><br /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Andy T</span>hub eventshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08910600239108707619noreply@blogger.com0