The government loves you....

...and it's all for your best. Just accept it

that's an order

A new vlog: getting worse

Stunning camera work, as you would expect, and a scintillating soundtrack are the hallmarks of this installment.

I like the cut of his jib

Now here is an awesome letter of resignation.

Traubi Szoda- ode to a miserably wonderful time

Back in the 80s the meaning of life and all that was good and decent in my world could be summed up in two little words: Traubi Szoda. It was this white grape/seltzer water mixture- basically a poor mans socialist Ginger Ale- that captured my heart. I drank it everywhere and took every excuse to do so with an obsession worthy of an obsessive like myself.

Then we packed up for the States, the Berlin Wall fell, Coca Cola appeared and Traubi was no more. I buried the memory like I did most else in my past, consigning it to the dustbin of history. Until tonight that is....

....having returned to Budapest for the weekend to bask in the company of people I can actually speak to in an actual city, I wondered about the Pest side of town, stopping by a grocer whose fridge carried....yes, the esteemed Traubi. It was not quite as I remembered- the bottle is smaller and the logo is jazzed up- but it was the same "bubbly refreshing grape drink" according to the manufacturer, its formula resurrected without changes. As is my habit, I turned the bottle around to look at the ingredients but stopped almost instantly, not wanting to spoil the reunion. Instead, I twisted off the pink cap, took a snootful of the grapey scent and poured the amber liquid down my throat.

......It was dreadful. A bitter, gummy, bubbly (truth in advertising) substance. I can still feel the acidic aftertaste. Damn it to hell. I want another one.

Make-benefit to the glorious blog of Vicetopia

ISP Kazakhtelecom Data Network Administration
Location Continent : Asia
Country : Kazakhstan (Facts)
State/Region : West Kazakhstan
City : Karaganda
Lat/Long : 50.7167, 53.1167 (Map)

Time of Visit Jan 11 2007 9:36:59 am
Last Page View Jan 11 2007 9:37:53 am
Visit Length 54 seconds

Now Vlogging

here ya go

The greatest lyrics ever heard

"Ha szomoru az ember szive
jol esik egy vidam dal
Akar milyen hazug, ostoba nota
Megteszi ha vigasztal.

Ha beborul az eg folottunk
Es a barometer esore al
Jol esik azt hinni
Hogy van olyan primas aki csak nekunk muzikal.

En mondom, hulye a vilag es hulyek vagyunk mi
Higy becsapni mindig haggyuk magunkat
Mert olyan jo ha valaki hizeleg

En mondom, rovid az elet, hosszu a sir
Mindenki basszon amenyit bir, csak meg ne artson a tul sok elvezet

Ha szomoru az ember szive
jol esik egy vidam dal
Akar milyen hazug, ostoba nota
Megteszi ha vigasztal.

En mondom, hulye a vilag es hulyek vagyunk mi
Higy becsapni mindig haggyuk magunkat
Mert olyan jo ha valaki hizeleg

En mondom, legyen ez a dal a kozos dalunk,
Hogy esszunkbe vesse milyenek vagyunk
Es ne mondjuk azt hogy minden csak hegyre megy

Ha szomoru az ember szive
jol esik egy vidam dal
Akar milyen hazug, ostoba nota
Megteszi ha vigasztal.

Ha beborul az eg folottunk
Es a barometer esore al
Jol esik azt hinni
Hogy van olyan primas aki csak nekunk muzikal.

No, I'm not translating it. That's Noorster's gig.

A quick comparison

I just got back from the Budapest-New York circuit and the best comparison between America and Europe are two conversations.


I. Overheard on a Budapest tram:
"Who is he?"
"Some fucking Jew."


II. Supermarket conversation in upstate New York:
Bagging person: "Awww are these presents?"
Me: "Yes."
Bp: "How nice. Are they Christmas or Hannukah presents?"
Me: "Oh you know, a little of both."
Bp: (noticeably dejected.) "Oh.....how nice. So, where are you from?"
Me: "Hungary but I've been here for eighteen years." (Sporadically.)
Bp: "Really? That's a long time."