Monday, October 28, 2013

THE CORVIN OR HUNYAD CASTLE IN ROMANIA IS THE HOME OF VLAD THE IMPALER



The YouTube video presenter wrote quite a bit about his video and this Historical Castle.  He disabled his comments or I would have liked to congratulate him and tell him I was running his video on MAGYAR AMERICAN blog.  I hope he won't mind that I'm excerpting some of his writing here!

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The Hunyad Castle (Romanian: Castelul Huniazilor or Castelul Corvineştilor, Hungarian: Vajdahunyad vára) is a castle in Transylvanian Hunedoara, present-day Romania. Until 1541 it was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, and after the Principality of Transylvania.

It is believed to be the place where Vlad III of Wallachia (commonly known as Dracula) was held prisoner for 7 years after he was deposed in 1462.

The castle is a relic of the Hunyadi dynasty. In the 14th century, the castle was given to John Hunyadi Serb, or Sorb by Sigismund king of Hungary as severance. The castle was restored between 1446 and 1453 by his grandson John Hunyadi. It was built mainly in Gothic style, but has Renaissance and Baroque architectural elements. It features tall and strong defense towers, an interior yard and a drawbridge. ...  In the wing of the castle called the Mantle, a painting can be seen which portrays the legend of the raven from which the name of the descendants of John Hunyadi. ...

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ARE THERE GHOSTS?  THE PLACE IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE SIGHT OF A LOT OF PARANORMAL ACTIVITY.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

HUNGARIAN SUICIDE SONG



The URBAN MYTH is that thousands have commit suicide after hearing this song.  Now I don't think this song drove anyone to it, but if you want to be DRAMATIC about committing suicide, you might make this your last song!  Really, it is most courageous to keep on living, but I don't put anyone down who is in terrible pain.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

ARPADHON HUNGARIAN SETTLEMENT - A BOOK BY ROYANNE KROPEG

ALBANY LOUISIANA - LINK TO NEW MUSEUM BEING FOUNDED

Arpádhon - Hungarian Settlement, Louisiana claims to be the largest rural Hungarian Settlement in the United States today. This is the site for information about the new Hungarian Museum planned for Albany, Louisiana. Presently our plans include restoration of the old Hungarian school in "Hungarian Settlement" Louisiana. Our goals are to raise funds and membership to aid in the project. Tax deductible donations can be made to Hungarian Settlement Historical Society (or HSHS) and mailed to P.O. Box 1909 Albany, La. 70711. All donations will be used for the restoration project. Donations to our museum restoration fund are tax exempt. Contact us for more information.

The Story of Arpadhon, Hungarian Settlement, Louisiana - 1896 - 2006

 

by Royanne Kropog
 

Through adversity and hardship, and a cash crop of strawberries, they carved out an existence and thrived.  The result is Hungarian Settlement -- the largest rural Hungarian Settlement in the United States today.

STEREOTYPE OF HUNGARIANS - THEY'RE SPOOKY! (ALL THOSE HAUNTED CASTLES?)


 

This morning, laying in bed, I was thinking about the upcoming Halloween Holiday, which came out of a spiritual, religious celebration affiliated with ALL SOULS DAY in the Catholic religion, and has now become a HORROR FEST. 

I can do without the horror.  Horror films may just be my least favorite genre, though in real life I'm very interested in SPOOKS - ghosts, apparitions, poltergeists. 

(Yes, I have seen a  full color ghost, many years ago!) 

A few years ago I decided to light candles for some people who I learned had passed into the next life (Yes, I think there is one!) and some of those candles flickered, while others did not, leading me to believe that something or someone was effecting them besides the non-existent draft in the room!

When I say that a STEREOTYPE of Hungarians is that they're SPOOKY, I mean that these people are associated with fiction characters such as Dracula (technically a Romanian!) based on the real character VLAD THE IMPALER who cut off heads and lined the roads with the heads on sticks to scare the living hell out of everyone.

One time I told someone who knew I was into genealogy that I was related to both VLAD THE IMPALER and KATO KAILIN (of Simpson Murder Case Fame) and they believed me!

Along with the idea that we all have some genetic link to barbarians and invaders of one type or another, which means a genetic propensity to bloody violence, there is the idea that we are depressed, that we sulk and are moody, that we're all ready to commit suicide (if we don't drink ourselves to death with WINE), maybe throw ourselves off a bridge or a turret, which is another way of being SPOOKY.

Here's a classic song, by the Zombies (I think they were British), that has another definition of SPOOKY!


Sunday, October 13, 2013

HUNGARIAN SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS


BOSTON HUNGARIAN CLUB

The Hungarian Society of Massachusetts, Inc., is a community of individuals of Hungarian descent, and those with an interest in Hungarian culture who, without regard to political or religious affiliation, and in accordance with their talents, opportunities and interests, support the Society and take part in its activities.

Our Mission and Goals

    Foster and impart our Hungarian language, culture, identity and traditions to our descendants and to interested individuals through programs, meetings and gatherings;
    Propagate Hungarian culture in as many American circles as possible, thereby developing and maintaining strong ties between Americans and Hungarians
    Support one another as we build and sustain our lives in America
    Cultivate and nurture ties with Hungary and Hungarian émigrés around the world
    Provide moral, spiritual and occasional financial support for Hungarian causes.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

NOELL S. OSZVALD - HAUNTING SELF PHOTOGRAPH PORTRAITS

IMAGING RESOURCING : NOELL S OSZVALD HAUNTING SELF PORTRAITS by DAN HAULIK

If you haven't seen these on Flickr, you absolutely must click on the link! 

EXCERPT "Noell S. Oszvald does not want to be called a photographer, claiming she's "not yet one" in a message to Imaging Resource when we contacted her about her work. While the 22-year-old, Hungarian artist is, perhaps, being modest, the reaction to her surreal, black-and-white self-portrait photos has not been.

After Oszvald's Flickr page attracted thousands of fans, her haunting images, which recall a Bergman film mixed with a Salvador Dali painting, have been featured on photo blogs and art sites around the world. That's pretty amazing for an artist who only started taking photos and creating image manipulations a little over a year ago.

While we weren't able to get Oszvald to explain her process for creating her striking work -- a message to her via her Flickr page about what camera and technique she uses went unanswered -- that could be in keeping with her philosophy about her photos.

"I don't want to tell people what to see in my images," Oszvald told
My Modern Metropolis. "This is the reason why I never really write any descriptions other than titles. It shows what I wish to express but everyone is free to figure out what the picture says to them. It's very interesting to read so many different thoughts about the same piece of work."