Searching for Utopia

What did you get on your wedding anniversary? Me, nothing that I couldn’t get on any other days.

In the first few years, Zsolt had always been diligent in buying me a bouquet of flowers as anniversary gift. After a while, he gave up — the poor chap.

And who could blame him,after all it’s a common knowledge that most women are flower sniffers. Isn’t it why they have that saying “say it with flowers”?

For me, though, it’s not necessary to celebrate wedding anniversary. Come on now, aren’t we supposed to celebrate our marriage everyday?

Of course I love getting gifts, but not flowers please. Methinks flowers are the easiest, most useless and predictable gifts.

Choosing a gift for somebody takes time. Many men don’t have the time — nor patience — to do it, so usually they’d just grab some red roses. It works most of the time!

But really, what can you do with flowers besides showing them off to relatives and friends? They’ll wither and die after a few days, and there goes the hubby’s hard-earned cash.

Seriously ladies, do you prefer flowers to — say, D & D books? I’d choose the books anytime!

But that’s just me. The truth is that men keep buying flowers, and women continue sniffing them like there’s no tomorrow.

Anyways, happy sixth anniversary to my husband Zsolt. Thank you for not getting me flowers.

I was surprised to see this picture of rendorseg car on STOMP. For you who haven’t known, rendorseg means police in Hungarian. Anyone has seen this car for real?

If you can’t read it, pull your eyes like the Chinese.

“Residents in the Hungarian capital Budapest are fed up with the thousands of pigeons who’ve taken up residence in their apartment blocks. But what to do to curb their numbers? The city council is on the case but there’s every sign action against the birds will be a long time coming.”

Watch the video here.

I have an idea though. How about using their poo for facial?

Related Posts:
Combating Bird Droppings

I’m Indonesian, and so far haven’t thought of changing my citizenship. Zsolt is Hungarian, and it’s the same for him — it has never crossed his mind to change it.

Citizenship is a sensitive subject. Most people will likely to associate your nationalism with it. Say, if you lose it, that means you no longer have love for your country.

Of course, in reality it’s not that simple. Remember the 1965 coup in Indonesia? Well, it happened long before I was born, but it’s no secret that many of our scholars who were studying abroad couldn’t return home due to some (many?) political reasons. In fact, most likely they’d have to risk their lives if they insisted on going back.

When it comes to a matter of life and death, it’s understandable that they chose to remain abroad — and adopted new citizenships. I know some of those people still live in Hungary nowadays, and a number of them even managed to be succesful scientists. Our loss!

However, that’s just a very extreme example why some people need new citizenships.

There are other reasons though. Indonesia’s (France’s?) most famous singer, Anggun said on an interview with Playboy Indonesia in 2006:

“I dislike such questions [about citizenship], it’s like many people still don’t get it. I have tried to explain many times why I changed citizenship. It’s because Indonesian government never assisted me. Indonesia never helps me to achieve success. In fact, people always criticize me—”

I know, it’s old news. But my point is that, dissatisfaction can lead someone to do as Anggun did. Was she wrong? Was she right? I don’t know, it depends on your point of view — as always.

In her case I think she was actually misinformed. On the help she claimed she never received from the government, she said further:

“I’d have liked them to help me to apply visa. Once I visited the Indonesian Embassy, because I thought they’d have lots of facilities. I asked the ambassador to provide certain facilities for me, so I could promote our culture more easily to other countries.
“He said, ‘I can’t, even my own children can’t get such facilities.’
“Why would the ambassador’s children need such facilities anyway? I guess they just need to study abroad.”

I wish she had more time to google some info for herself. I don’t mean to take side with the ambassador, but he’s kinda right. It didn’t depend on him whether an Indonesian should get a visa to enter a foreign country or not,— and it never will. It all depends on the destination country.

Why? Well, we can never be sure, since none of them tell us why. Maybe it’s just our (bad?) luck, maybe it’s due to our bad reputation with terrorism, maybe they fear illegal workers, maybe they think we’re just (sadly) developing country — there can be many things.

I’m sure French people get easier access in travelling, but let’s say, now whenever Anggun wants to promote her album in Indonesia, she too would need to get the right kind of visa first. She can’t just ask the French ambassador to give her the facility to enter Indonesia, because he has no right to do so.

I did hear other cases when people decided to change citizenships to upgrade their social status. Now this sounds a bit ridiculous, I must say. But anyway, everyone have their own priorities. One thing for sure, nowadays we’re all citizens of the world. Being an Indonesian doesn’t make me like Singapore less. Having a different citizenship than my husband doesn’t make me love him less.

In Indonesian, Hungary is translated into Hongaria, while Romania becomes Rumania:

Hungary —–> Hongaria
Romania —–> Rumania

(Note how the o substitutes the u in Hongaria, and the opposite in Rumania)

Any idea why? Why not Hungaria and Romania? I know some people use these too, but apparently they’re incorrect. Does it have anything to do with the fact that the two countries are next to each other, and their capital cities have similar names?

My uncle in Indonesia passed away from a heart failure last month. He was 59. The news came unexpected for our family. Although he had been diagnosed with high blood pressure, it never affected him as much.

But then again, what do I know about heart failure?

Most people would think that coronary artery disease, hypertension, and cardiomyopathy can lead to it. But frequently the causes are unknown. Such was the case with Hungarian Olympic champion canoeist György Kolonics who died last week. Without doubt, a canoe world champion would have been in healthier condition than myself.

Therefore, a bit more information on this subject wouldn’t hurt. Watch this heart failure video to learn more, and forward heartlibrary.com to everyone that might benefit from the info.

Hungary’s canoeing legend, Gyorgy Kolonics died yesterday in Budapest due to what seemed to be heart failure.

He was two-times Olympic gold medalist and fifteen times world champion.

He became ill during training in Danube for his fifth Summer Olympics in Beijing, and lost consciousness soon after. The attending paramedics could not help him.

Yesterday Zsolt showed me this piece of good news from Hungary:

Meet Solo, the first Hungarian hybrid car. It can use electric engines, solar energy and is equipped with pedals. The Flintstones, anyone?

Anyways, this car sounds better than Fred’s. Its top speed is said to be 140km/h with a fuel consumption of between 1.5 and two liters of ethanol per 100 km.

It’s expected to go on sale in 2012 in Hungary for Ft 3 million (US$18,900). What about here? Dream on! Even if it ever reached Singapore, I bet we’d have to pay at least three times more expensive.

Oh, and if you have two Solos, you can transform them into one Duo within minutes. Now it sounds more like in the Jetsons’ era. But hey, if it really works as they said, why not?

Hungarian soccer legend Ferenc Puskas died today in Budapest’s Kutvolgyi Hospital following six year suffering from Alzheimer. He was 79.

Born in April 1927, he was the brain of the “Magical Magyars”, Hungary’s wonder team which beat England by 6:3 to be the first ever foreign side to win at Wembley. In six years during the 1950s, the team only suffered one loss—that is at the 1954 World Cup final against Germany.

Ferenc Puskas in action

In 1958, he joined Real Madrid, won six domestic titles and conquering Europe afterwards. In 1960, Real won the European Cup for 7-3 over Eintracht Frankfurt. He scored four goals in the particular match. He retired in 1967, went on to coach clubs in several countries. He led Panathanaikos to the European Cup final in 1971.

In 2000, he was admitted to hospital with arteriosclerosis and was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, which left him struggling with financial problems since then. On August 14, 2005, Real Madrid travelled to Budapest to play a testimonial in his honor. The game had supposedly been conceived as a means of helping to pay for his treatment. However, Real Madrid reportedly commanded expenses of £892,000 to play the game And when the sums were done, the Puskas family received just £7,000.

Ferenc Puskas Stadion

The International Federation for Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) classed Puskas as the most successful first-division player of all time, having scored 511 goals in 533 first-division matches. We mourn his death and express our condolences to his loved ones.

“Don’t blame George W. Bush: Chaos in U.S. foreign policy is nothing new. But pity those, whether the Hungarians in 1956, or the Shiites in 1991, who take our democracy rhetoric too literally: Sometimes we really mean it — and sometimes we don’t.”

–The Washington Post’s Anne Applebaum

As the days count down to October 23, Budapest is preparing for the highly-anticipated 50th anniversary of its 1956 revolution. Just in case you were under a rock—as I was, on October 23, 1956, university students all over Hungary started peaceful demonstration against the Soviet Union’s occupation. They chanted the censored “National Song” (Nemzeti dal), the refrain of which states: “We vow, we vow, we will no longer remain slaves.” Hundreds of thousands of people then joined them for the cause.

The rally then turned to violence when the State Protection Authority (ÁVH)—an external appendage of the Soviet Union’s secret police forces, stopped them; by force that is. People still believed that help could come from the United States as American-run Radio Free Europe in Germany encouraged them to go all the way against the Kremlin and even broadcast lessons on how to make Molotov cocktails. But their hope failed them as Russian tanks returned to Budapest on November 4. Six thousand guns were said to open fire on the city, raining phosphorous shells. More than 2,500 Hungarians were said to be killed, some 20,000 wounded, and another 200,000 fled, first to Austria then on to America, Canada, and Australia, in Europe’s first big refugee crisis since the second world war.

“Reform Communist” Prime Minister Imre Nagy pleaded for help on the radio: “This is Prime Minister Imre Nagy speaking. At dawn, Soviet troops attacked our country in order to overthrow the legitimate Hungarian democratic government.” Only Red Cross answered the call. American-Hungarian historian Charles Gati wrote earlier this year that the United States was unprepared to help them and that a few high officials even expected some political and foreign policy benefits from a Soviet invasion. Vice President Richard Nixon explained to his colleagues at a top-secret National Security Council meeting in July 1956 that “it wouldn’t be an unmixed evil, from the point of view of U.S. interest, if the Soviet iron fist were to come down again on the Soviet bloc.”

Fifty years later, people are still embittered about what happened; and who could blame them? Historian Pal Germuska said, “This anniversary should be a chance to make a fresh start at a moment where everyone can agree. Unfortunately no one believes this can happen. The freedom fighters and the killers are still living in this society. Fifty years is not enough to sort out all these problems.”

President George W. Bush might want to redeem the past. In a recent White House proclamation issued to mark the anniversary, he said, “The story of Hungarian democracy represents the triumph of liberty over tyranny. In the fall of 1956, the Hungarian people demanded change, and tens of thousands of students, workers, and other citizens bravely marched through the streets to call for freedom. Though Soviet tanks brutally crushed the Hungarian uprising, the thirst for freedom lived on, and in 1989 Hungary became the first communist nation in Europe to make the transition to democracy.”

That was awfully nice of him; while during his stay in Budapest he stated that he saw parallels between Hungary in 1956 and Iraq in 2006. I can tell you that most people here disagree with him. On second thought, maybe he did have a point. Hungary in 1956 was occupied by Soviet Union, while Iraq in 2006 is occupied by you know who. Hm, interesting!

Index.hu reported that Paypal is now available in Hungary. I honestly have been waiting for this good news for so long. I was a bit skeptical at first, but it turns out to be true. Paypal’s official website says:

Well then I guess from now on we can also sell Britney Spears’ half eaten sandwich on eBay. Yay!

• Ferenc Gyurcsány’s famous words: “We lied morning, noon and night” has succefully taken him to lead the poll for this month’s Bad Democracy Award. To bag the award, he has to compete with the likes of Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin of Thailand, and Japan’s new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. [Open Democracy]

• Index.hu has the list of upcoming demonstrations in Hungary.
1. Kossuth Square, continuously by the Hungarian National Committee. Purpose: forcing the government to resign.
2. Vorosmarty Square, October 4, 2006 by the left wing supporters. Purpose: to express their solidarity to the government (the PM’s party, we could say).
3. Kossuth Square, 4 PM, October 6, 2006 by Fidesz. Purpose: to get Prime Minister Gyurcsány resigned.
4. On the side of the Gerbeaud-house, in the Harmincad Street, 5 PM on October 5, 2006. Purpose: to save the Gerbeaud cukrászda (wtf??)
5. In several places of Hungary, October 6, 2006 by the National Association of Hungarian Farmers Societies and Co-operatives. Purpose: to get attention due to the “impossible” situation of farmers.
6. Budapest (place is not known yet), October 19, 2006 by National Union of Students. Purpose: to demand the government to erase the tuition fee. [Index.hu]

• US President George W. Bush may visit Indonesia next month to meet the leader of the world’s most populous Muslim nation, seen as a close ally in Washington’s global fight against terrorism, officials said Tuesday. Ah, so we are no longer haven for terrorists? [International Herald Tribune]

• Indonesia owes Malaysia an apology for creating the worst environmental crisis in the neighboring country since 1997 with the hazardous haze from the firest in the forests in Indonesia. [MSNBC]

The Prime Minister’s office is covered by the haze

• A healthy chicken could be a carrier of the bird flu virus although it shows no symptoms of the illness, a health official warned Wednesday. Meanwhile, serology tests on 11 dogs kept by the family of the bird flu cluster in Indonesia have shown that dogs could not spread the virus. [Jakarta Post]

• Good news for the guys, Paris Hilton said she’s single again. Oops, wrong blog!

• Since I’m a computer illiterate, you would have to read the piece yourself. But anyways, it has something to do with the next update to AMD’s Opteron Rev H “Barcelona” processors, which is called as “Budapest”.

• Despite the city’s potholes on the road, the state of public transport and lack of cleanliness, Budapest has voted for its same old brand new Mayor, Gábor Demszky—for his fifth term! I thought you guys have had enough of him?

• Inspired by his coalition’s victory in Budapest, Mr. Gyurcsány has vowed to stay in office. Well, let’s admit it—who wouldn’t? Meanwhile, President László Sólyom took the unusual step to condemn the prime ministers’ behavior in a speech on national television.

• I don’t know if it still has anything to do with Mayor Demszky, but Bali is also ranked no.1 for the fifth time as the world’s best island by Travel & Leisure magazine.

• A new poll says most Australians view Indonesia as a threat but only about a third know it is not ruled by the military and fewer still can name its president, and vice versa (yawn).

• Indonesia has again tainted the air of the dream land that is Singapore.

• The mudslide we encountered during our visit to East Java is still going on and on and on. Scientist say that it could last for 100 years.