LOST TOMB OF SULEIMAN THE MAGNIFENT UNEARTHENED IN SOUTHERN HUNGARY?

DISCOVERY NEWS - ARCHEOLOGY - SULEIMAN THE MAGNIFICENT
by Rossella Lorenzi

Moslem Hungary.... Ottoman Empire...the ruler sires 1000 children...or more... (Maybe YOU have some of his DNA?)

Excerpt:

Turbék started out as a shrine over Suleiman’s burial in the 1570s and thrived as a holy town until its destruction by the Habsburg army in the 1680s.

‘For Allah’ Inscription Found on Viking Era Ring
During a dig carried out in October and November, Pap and colleagues unearthed a rectangular building with wide walls built from bricks and stones.

Covered with stone tiles, the building had a large central room, about 26 by 26 feet. A robber pit in the middle of the structure suggests it was plundered in the late 17th century.

Some decorative elements remained intact and match in style the decorations in Suleiman’s mausoleum in Istanbul.

Intact, Packed Etruscan Tomb Found

“Currently everything suggests that this building could have been Suleiman’s tomb,” the researchers wrote.

CHRISTMAS ANGELS BRING THE TREE

We all know that there are ANGELS in MANY RELIGIONS and that this image brings in the PAGAN Christmas Tree....

OH HOLY NIGHT : JOSH GROBAN

SAINT NICK - a ROLE MODEL OF GENEROSITY and EMPATHY and the SOULLESS SAN BERNARDINO TERRORISTS

Old Saint Nick, also known as Saint Nicklaus, and now, in the Western World as Santa Claus, was, like our present Pope Francis, who has given out sleeping bags to the homeless in Rome, Italy, personally, a person of action who role modeled generosity and empathy by bringing gifts to the poor. Some say it started with the secret gift of three gold coins to some poor children.  Today there is so much poverty around the world, it's almost impossible to imagine any immediate answer to the suffering, which includes starvation of children born to die.  I know I have it good here in the United States.

Walking my dog, I often encounter a woman who is sweet and kind and always begging.  To my amazement she walked into a corner store that mostly sells liquor and asked a customer to give her $20 so that she could buy a Christmas tree.  To my amazement this stranger gave her $10 towards her purchase.  I told her where artificial trees were being sold at a good price, but she explained she was trying to raise $40 for a real tree, and then more money for lights and decorations, because she wanted to have a REAL CHRISTMAS.  Well, one can have a REAL CHRISTMAS without a tree and lights and decorations, but I found it interesting what I was witnessing.

I don't want to loose my Christmas spirit of generosity and empathy, but I'm struggling to maintain a  Christmassy attitude because the San Bernardino terrorist attacks seem to be EVEN MORE SENSELESS than the killings in PARIS.  You see, these terrorists, whatever their religion, HAVE NO EMPATHY OR GENEROSITY OF SPIRIT. 

They do not care about ending the lives of the innocent or making children orphans.  They wish to spread fear and hatred, not love, understanding, tolerance, or kindness.  There is no love left inside them, not even (in this case) for their own six month old child.  They have not even thought about the KIND OF WORLD they are trying to create in which that child/children will have to live.  They are establishing a TERRORIST STATE and it is a state in which the violence is so extreme  (killing of babies born disabled - teaching children to chop off heads using dummies)  that I believe it is devoid of ANY SPIRITUALITY whatsoever.

It's as if they had their very souls plucked out by demons.

After listening to radio reportage for hours and reading, again, many articles that report on the terrorists in PARIS, I learned that the man who lead the group had BEEN IN HUNGARY and RECRUITED TERRORIST HELP-MATES THERE, that these men had REFUSED TO REGISTER LAWFULLY WITHIN HUNGRY.

I realized that some of the Paris and the husband-wife couple San Bernardino terrorists seem to fall into the "he/she was such a nice, quiet person," category. 

I looked at the pictures of this EVIL COUPLE that were available.  At once I saw how dead, how zombie-like and hypnotized the eyes of the male shooter were.  The female, not so much.  Today the news is that it was the female who shot first, who was radicalized first, and that various Muslim organizations are distancing themselves from terrorism - or at least these two - both here and in other countries such as Pakistan.  She was so "shy" that many people never saw her face or heard her speak, as she would not speak to men other than her husband but she was deadly.  Is this Muslim or is this mentally ill?

Why are we even still using the term "radicalized" when something more and worse is happening?

Why is there civil war in Syria, why is the whole MIDDLE EAST a HELL ON EARTH?  Why is the CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION the most barbaric part of the world?

So here I am, all ready to go to a Christmas concert at the local community college where a friend of mine is playing the trumpet, wearing a fancy purple evening jacket, and hoping that at least for a while, I can shut the terror out of my mind, reattach to my own spirit of Christmas, and continue to be generous and empathic.


C 2015  All Rights Reserved  Magyar-American BlogSpot.  Including International and Internet Rights

SANTA CLAUS SUGAR PLUMS

Confection label, showing Santa Claus on sleigh with reindeer. engraving, color.

CREATED, PUBLISHED: c1868.

MAY PROSPERITY BE YOURS!

TURKEYS - HUNGARIAN TURKEY RECIPES? STUFF WITH CHESTNUTS

 

About now if you're a Hungarian-American who is going to cook for THANKSGIVING next week, you may be purchasing a turkey and other ingredients to make your fall harvest feast.  Since Turkey - the bird - is native of the America's I don't think of the meat as very interesting to Europeans but these days you just have to be near a market that imports the whole bird.

 

I could give you a link, or many, to recipes for Chestnut Stuffing and "Hungarian Turkey" recipes but I'll let you do that yourself.  There is even a Martha Stewart recipe for free on the net which emphasizes to start with fresh.  Let's just say that combining chestnuts with bread crumbs, bacon, thyme, and parsley and butter is a good start.  Chop Chop Chop!

 

Chestnuts are the seeds of the chestnut tree.  In the fall the covering of the seeds bursts open and reveal the tender nut but they must be used within a week of harvesting them or else can be frozen for up to a month.  Like a garlic bulb or clove, they must be peeled and then cooked to soften them and you do that before you combine them with other ingredients.

 

Growing up we had Turkey one time a year, on Thanksgiving.  I liked the stuffing better than the meat, though I loved the gravy over the stuffing.  Visiting friends, I was able to sample some of the more complicated and imaginative recipes for stuffing, including the wonderful texture and crunch of chestnuts. than my parents made.

 

As I understand it, chestnut trees grow well in Hungary and have been cultivated in the Mediterranean for 3000 years.  They were common in North America and then a blight wiped them out in the early 20th century but efforts are being made to replant them.

CRYING FOR INNOCENT VICTIMS of TERRORISM - EVIL and BRAINWASHING : OPINON by MAGYAR AMERICAN

Friday night, late, a friend of mine called me with a throb in his throat.  "Did you hear about the terrorism in Paris?  I've met some of the musicians that play in that band! " He explained that they are not a heavy metal or death metal band but took the name of their band as a kind of joke.  Whatever, they do play rock and roll, which is offensive to Moslems, and the terrorists targeted people out to have a good time, if not sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

I had not heard about this latest act of terrorism by Moslem EXTREMISTS, as I'd been feeling under the cold, windy, weather and was laying in bed under a crochet blanket with my dog and reading a book, so I told him I would call him back.  Within fifteen minutes, thanks to the internet on my low budget cell phone, I was able to tell him that the band members themselves were OK.  From that point on I read at least a hundred articles from news services all over the world, especially The Daily Mail - UK, but also the New York Times, Washington Post, and many others, searching for the latest tidbit of information that would bring the whole picture into focus.

Sadly, I will tell you what the whole picture is in one word:  EVIL

And that evil is prevailing makes me feel tearful and depressed.  This morning I wanted to stay in bed under the covers and not get on with my day but I snapped out of it while taking a hot shower and then dressing and putting on makeup and perfume and leaving the house.  I put on my best appearance anyway despite feeling so down.  I knew that I could not quit living my life out of fear...

The American Holiday of Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away and is the beginning of our holiday season with Christmas and the New Year coming up fast and this is the time of year when most people make an effort to share, give generously, and be more loving and tolerant, beginning with their own family and then to strangers. 

I've already bought slices of turkey breast, stuffing bread, pineapple, onions and garlic and ginger, an acorn squash, sweet potato, zucchini, and other ingredients to make a small American feast.  But I'm planning on attending a local community celebration that I went to once years ago that happens to be put on by a local Jewish congregation and is open to everyone of any faith.  It is held outdoors rain or shine and wind and cold might keep me away, but I was looking forward to it, and thinking of asking this particular friend along.  I can easily make my personal thanksgiving meal for the following Sunday's meal.

Now that Moslem EXTREMISTS are killing the innocent outside of SYRIA (where even children have been beheaded and women have been killed for refusing to be sex slaves) well, their TERRORISM has worked.  Paris is terrified.  Certainly London is.  But let's not fool ourselves into thinking that terrorism only takes place in big cities.

I'm afraid to go to this community gathering where hundreds of people will be on Thanksgiving, especially because it is being held at a Jewish temple.  I also hesitate to take the subway.  I fear that the subway would be a great target during rush hour.  Yet I know that our HOMELAND SECURITY and other governmental agencies are doing their best to find terrorists and other criminals who mean to hurt or kill others before they can do so.  Still, I think most people I've been talking to feel a bit paranoid.

There is only one way to understand people who blow themselves up, in an effort to kill others.

THEY HAVE BRAIN WASHED and are in a CULT.

So while I cry for the innocent victims, I decided today, knowing that people from all over the world can read this blog, to talk to you about BRAIN WASHING and CULTS.

What is the difference between a  regular religion and a cult?

A cult often expects you to cut yourself off from your family and friends, which is to say, your support group, and gradually you are surrounded only by people who are indoctrinating you. They isolate you as part of their ownership of you. In a cult, your mail may be censored or kept from you.  You may be denied use of communications such as the phone or e-mail.  You may not be allowed to leave the cult, not even to go out to the doctors or shopping, alone or without permission. You may be expected to give them your money, maybe even sell your house and give them all the money from the sell, and move to live with or near others in the cult.  Without the finances to leave them, they now have more control over you.  They will put you to work, often extensive volunteer work, in exchange for bare necessities or access to the leader or permission to marry.

Women are often sexually exploited in a cult.  They have no right to own their own bodies, to decide when or with whom they will have sex with, or are brainwashed to think that having sex with other cult members or the leader doesn't count when it comes to promiscuity.  They may be forced to marry someone not of their own choosing. Their husband may rule their lives like never before, or the couple will be ordered to not have sex or not have children.

What they tell you BEFORE you give up your family, friends, job, possessions, and MOVE to be with them, and the reality may not match.  But you may, having given up so much, and being idealistic, still decide to give it a try, not knowing you can never own your life again.  (I have to wonder if some of the suicide bombers kill themselves because they see it as a way out!)

Some cults use constant teaching called programming to challenge your normal thought processes.  Some use actual hypnosis, sleep deprivation (keeping you working for days on end without proper sleep), nutritional deprivation (keeping you on a starvation diet, or making you work longer and harder for the reward of a full meal), all of these things making you more and more likely to do things their way and to submit and become part of a hierarchy that is dictated. 

When it comes to acts of violence, which you may or may not have been prone to before you joined or were recruited by the cult, your training includes desensitizing you.  (As I understand it the terrorists in Syria even train children to behead beginning with the use of dolls, which of course cannot feel pain or shed blood.)  Because you have learned to think of other people as the Other, not like you, not part of the cult group, even as the enemy, their humanity is in question.  (The Nazi's did this by comparing the Jews to vermin.)

If you try to leave the cult because you realize it is one and that you do not want to be controlled, you may not have any old friends or family left to take you in.  You may be threatened with violence yourself, or be shunned, attacked verbally, or find yourself the target of slander that makes it impossible for you to regain employment.  (This is the testimony of many an ex Scientologist.) Some cult members have found themselves in desperation and decide to make the best of their situation, and years go by before they can leave, often when the leader dies or the group breaks up.

It's best, whenever you encounter a new religion, or version of your religion, in which your personal freedoms and right to determine your own life or fit into a multicultural society, TO NEVER GET INVOLVED IN A CULT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

However, it is a known fact that some people have, though intensive deceptions, including group hypnosis, joined a cult, totally changing over their life, in as little as one long day, or weekend.  Some cults have recruiters looking for their type of person - someone a bit disgruntled with their own life or the state of the world who is idealistic and believes they can make change - but often also someone who is intelligent, educated, or who has special skills and talents - such as an ability with languages, computer programing, or in the case of terrorists, some history of military use of weaponry.

Here is Southern California, there have been and are many cults.  Some of them are storefront preacher-lead cults.  Rarely are they violent.

C 2015 All Rights Reserved  Magyar-American BlogSpot 

MY DOG (JUST KIDDING!)

I went to GOOGLE IMAGES and put in the words "public domain dogs," seeking an image of a maltese-poodle (a relatively rare and recent dog combo) and this came up.  The TAIL looks like my dog's.  As does that ready for anything attitude.  Don't know about the bones that might be human on the ground.  Listed as a WOLF and linked to Napoleon?

THE DANUBE CARRIES THE HISTORY OF EUROPE - JACQUES COUSTEAU ADVENTURE CIRCA 1990-1992

Watching

1) The Curtain Rises - the old abbeys and castles, and new dams and industry, and the timeless ECOSYSTEM of the river THAT CARRIES THE HISTORY OF EUROPE.

2) Charlemagne's Dream to link the Rhine and the Danube by a canal which now exists and creates also a passage from the North to the Black Sea.

3) The Rivers Cries Out...  The royal stag and the Carpathian bear, the Danube and it's tributaries.

4) Rivalries - nuclear and industrial pollution, fished out waters, rusted out vessels and the horrors of war.

I admit to being distracted badly while trying to watch this film, and also having a sense that the information was valuable but needed an update. But what surprised me was that it turned into a travelogue about the land - and the history - and wasn't all about what was under the water. 

As I watched I also wondered about the flooding that has occurred in recent years in Europe.  I thought about fresh water - drinking and farming water - shortages.  Earth changes and drought.

HUNGARIAN FAIRY TALES - THE WITCH ON A BROOMSTICK

STEREOTYPE OF HUNGARIANS : PARTY ANIMALS or DEPRESSED and DRUNK? WHAT ABOUT POETRY?

 

Since I personally have never been anything close to a "party animal" and rarely get drunk, that stereotype sure doesn't fit me.  I've been depressed, though not seriously deep or for too long.  A bad break up or the death of a loved one can do it to me, and everyone is entitled to one bad break up so that one can mature, but it seems to me that my response is usually long walks in nature and morning shakes with lots of vitamins and protein powder.  I also suspect that most depression is actually anger that is unexpressed and unexpressed because it is considered antisocial to do so.  So making lists of things I hate often brings me to humor.

It mostly seems to be a waste of time to me to be depressed but yes, sometimes one must entertain their depression till they figure things out, and while entertaining it, one might wish to have a glass too many of wine.  (Read my past posts on STEREOTYPING Hungarians and Hungarian-Americans including the wine versus beer issue!)

OK, the PARTY ANIMALS are usually drinking beer and they chug it, they like LOUD parties and concerts, they don't want to have conversations, just to yell at each other, and speak in bumper sticker messages.  They call other men who they are not related to "Bro!"  Too much beer (or hard liquor or drugs) allows some of these beasts to actually BOND to each other, and show emotion and support for others, without actually being thought of as homosexual!

OK, the DEPRESSED AND DRUNK, they want to be alone, they may actually be picky about the wine labels - the brands - as they drink themselves into sleep. How deeply depressed can you be when you also actually EAT FOOD and GAIN WEIGHT?  Seriously depressed and you would be unable to entertain food, and just waste away, thinner and thinner, till you were nothing.  Seriously depressed and you cannot answer the question, "What would you order if it was your last meal?"

Then there is the next day when the sun must not come through the window bright and early, but there is always a pillow over the head anyway.

Are you laughing yet?

The fact is that while "party animals" and the depressed and drunk people exist, they do not especially exist in Hungary. And so this is a worthless stereotype.  You can find such people all over the world who use or imbibe substances in order to feel. 

Hungarians also write and read and recite poetry in order to feel and express feelings.  So there!

C 2015 Magyar American BlogSpot

MYSTERY CASTLE

COLUMBUS DAY AFTERTHOUGHTS and THE REFUGEES INCOMING TO HUNGARY and ALL OF EUROPE

Yesterday was a holiday called COLUMBUS Day here in the United States.  It meant that most government offices and schools were closed in honor of the DISCOVERER OF AMERICA.  (I should say THE Americas as he didn't actually land on North America or what would become the United States.)  COLUMBUS DAY IS A TRADITION.

To be honest, a lot of people are just grateful to have a day off, maybe just to go shopping for all the sales that feature early winter clothing.  No one wants that holiday removed from the calendar if it could mean loosing that day off.  (We really do not have much off time here in the States.)  I went out shopping for several hours, something I loath to do, but my neighbor enticed me with a big coupon she had for more savings from the local Macy's.  I barely thought about the discoverer of America or any of the issues now connected to him as I walked the mall and tried on lots of shirts.

As a child the adventures of Columbus, his sailors, and the ships the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, certainly captured our imaginations in school.  How could they have sailed all the way across the ocean in those small rickety ships thinking there were sea monsters at the edge of the world?

I recall that classrooms were decorated on the theme, and that we did art drawings and projects that focused on this adventurer and discoverer.  We tried to imagine what the Native Americans that he and his sailors encounters thought when they saw those ships and saw people who were very light in complexion.  (Our teachers figured we were too young to understand venereal disease.)

These days some of the Native American tribes are particularly upset about the dedication of a day to the man. These days there is speculation that Christopher Columbus was NOT the first European to sail and land on a beach in the New World - America - a CONTINENT  that was either totally unknown or long forgotten.  For a very long time there was no opposition, speculation, or CONSPIRACY THEORIES attached to Columbus and his discovery of America, a voyage that was financed by Queen Isabella of Spain, and about the time that Jews were being converted or expelled from that country.  It was simply a day to be enjoyed.

So maybe it's true that Queen Isabella financed the trip, not for the greed of gold, but actually thought that Columbus could find some place for the Jews to go live?

The expulsion of Jews from various European countries over time is history.  It was thought that all the citizens of a country should be unified in the same religion, the same values and way of life and that it would bring unity.

And I've been reading around Hungary's position as a Christian  (Roman Catholic mostly) country that does not want to take in thousands of fleeing refugees from war torn Syria or anywhere else particularity Moslem.  I was thinking about how countries often have an OFFICIAL RELIGION but here in the United States at the founding of our country it was decided that religious freedom was key.  So recently there have been some statues of Satan popping up in this nation.

Although I understand that people who flee their countries are desperate, leaving everything behind, and risking their lives, and that many of these people end up dead because the boats they paid to get on sink or there is a stampede or illness, I frankly also understand that sometimes a country has to look at it's budget and it's own citizens who are living in poverty, and for Hungary that often means the Rom (gypsies), and admit to itself that it cannot afford to help. 

I'm not picking on Hungary here.  Hungary can fit in our state called "Indiana," but I actually think that until the United States houses all it's own homeless it should stop being parental to the world.

I look at it from a one person standpoint.  I have friends who I like and care about who are in need and maybe I can invite one of them over for dinner once in a while, and I can afford to share food, but I'm not able to pay their rent.

Hungary is also concerned about Moslems because of a history of being occupied by the Moslem Turks for a substantial amount of time, that Christianity and Christian values will be threatened by too many of these refugees.  It may be unpopular to say, but I can understand these fears, especially when it comes to the value, attitudes towards, and treatment of women.

The United States is thought of as a Satan country by Moslem terrorists.  That's why we had 9/11 et el.  A family of Moslems lives down the street peacefully and no one seems to think badly of them just on that basis, but as they are surrounded by people with Western Ways, they must tolerate knowing that their neighbors include people who have sex without being married, women with educations who work at jobs full time and don't have families, and so on.

Germany has taken thousands of refugees willingly.  Germany's economy can afford more.  But as I read around the subject, hours of reading, I found ONE EXCELLENT QUESTION that we should all be asking which is  WHY ARE THE WEALTHY MOSLEM DOMINATED COUNTRIES NOT TAKING THESE REFUGEES? 

Why are they running all the way to Europe?  Is it the reputation of these countries?  Is it that they perceive that the Western World is overall wealthy?  How many of them wish to make major changes in their point of view and lifestyle to fit in, contribute, and cooperate?

Let me make this personal once more.  One of my friends in need has eaten a dozen times at my table this year, and if I could not afford it I wouldn't invite him so no I don't feel used, and on occasion he brings a loaf of bread or a bottle of wine or some other contribution, but has never offered to wash a dish.  Compare him to the friend who is also in need, also eats, sometimes contributes,  but who always offers.

All for Now!


C  2015  Magyar American BlogSpot  All Rights Reserved including Internet and International Rights

AMERICAN MEDICINE - SOCIALISM - BERNIE SANDERS - and THE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER BITE

The election of the next President of the United States is far away but the election process has started as various candidates dare to run, some more famous than others.  I have a friend who wants Bernie Sanders, the openly socialist candidate to win.  In particular he thinks of Obamacare, the slang term for mandatory medical insurance coverage that has begun under the administration of President Barack Obama, as socialist. 

I don't agree.  Social medicine is run by the government.  Here we have to pick a plan and pay for it, though if you are truly poor you might be covered by a plan that uses taxes.

But right now I'm so turned off of politics that I can't imagine voting for anyone who is running!

I did notice some grassroots campaigning for Sanders taking place, and that cheered me.  Some common citizens with hand drawn posters were standing at a busy intersections and waving these posters.  "Honk if you want Bernie!"  I prefer that kind of local activism to all the expensive media campaigning.

Do I really want to live in a Socialist  country?  No.  No more than I would want to live in a Communist Country.  I think my friend doesn't know how much is dictated to you when you are a participant in government health care and other so called social welfare programs.  Yes, we can take care of the poor better than we do, but that is a spiritual choice.

This friend is from Texas where he says there are black widow spider's everywhere.  I found some in my apartment crawling but not their nest.  I managed to kill one crawling on the wall with some ecologically correct insect spray.  I believe they came inside because of the drought. 

Well, my friend managed to never get bit in Texas but about five days ago he got bit here in Southern California by something on his back - in his car!  (I've since learned that mechanics here frequently find Black Widow spiders in vehicles and get bit! ) He can't see it but he can feel the pain and the swelling, which is about five inches in diameter.  And he will not go to a doctor or urgent care.

Why not?

He is covered under Obamacare.

Certainly that is the place to go where the bite can be examined to be sure it is not infected and perhaps besides some pain killers or antibiotics he can get something to reduce the swelling.

This is not the first time this year that he has had a medical issue that might have benefited from seeing a doctor.  He also decided to let his body fight an infection in a tooth, and when I saw him he had lost 10 pounds and looked like the blood had drained from his face.

What is the fear of using his insurance.

One of my friends thinks that he is afraid because he knows that there is actually something else very wrong with his health and that seeing a doctor over something minor might lead to tests that might reveal a more serious diagnosis.

Hmmm

C2015  Magyar American BlogSpot.  All Rights Reserved including Internet and International Rights.

RAVEN

THE HOT DAYS OF ENDLESS SUMMER ARE NOT OVER HERE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

The hot days of endless summer - heat waves - are not over yet here in Southern California.  I'm so done with this weather.  I simply long to wear sweaters, and to really enjoy hot cups of coffee in the morning, and to take walks with my dog in the rain.  (Who cares if she gets a little wet.  I'll shampoo her once we're back in the house.)  Here we rarely need or wear coats.  Maybe to attend Mass of Christmas Eve, maybe if it ever snows again in the high desert where people still own furs, maybe at the beach when the wind is kicking up. 

Yesterday was the Autumn Equinox.  From now on the days will get shorter, the nights longer.  But there are no leaves changing color or falling here.  They are fried, with burn spots, and yellow from water being the answer to heat.  I got a plum tree that is barely holding on.  My sunflowers even suffered.

The worst thing about the heat is that my productivity suffered, as did my concentration and my willingness to be physical just about anywhere besides the pool.

The pools were open at great expense to the tax payers, as hardly anyone uses them.  I went swimming a half dozen times and then, while the heat still seared, they closed.

All summer I tried to shower less, shutting off the water while I soaped and shampooed, and I flushed less too.  Yet in my neighborhood there were a number of people who were still out there, against the latest rules, watering every single day.  Their idea was that they could afford the water.  Their idea wasn't that they need to preserve water for other uses, such as farming and drinking.

While there is always talk about desalinization (removing the salt from ocean water) plants along the California Coast, well, they may as well be talking about more nuclear power plants.  Meanwhile the wind farms along the high way out to Palm Springs seem to function on most days, so there still must be some wind cooling things off.

All this said,  I reserve the right to complain about too much rain and cold later in the year!

SLOW COOKING AMERICAN VERSIONS OF HUNGARIAN INSPIRED FOOD!

SLOW COOKERS, previously known as CROCK POTS, are increasingly popular these days.  It's so easy to throw your ingredients in, set a temperature (high or low) and timer (6-8-10 hours) and go off to work or shopping, come home hours later to a ready meal, with the house smelling of wonderful cooked food. 

Hey, my dog loves it.  On days when I slow cook, upon arriving back home, she doesn't just leap up to say hello to me and wag her tail, she almost attaches herself to my ankle as I go from room to room, making sure that I don't forget about her when it's time to eat.  And I do give her a small portion of the meat or vegetables that were cooked.  It wouldn't be fair to torture her!

Now there are so very many recipes on the Internet and in cookbooks that I'm not going to give recipes here.  I'm just going to tell you about some of my versions of Hungarian food, call it Hungarian-American food, that I've been successful with.  Some of this may make you laugh!

Trader Joe's, a chain store, has a spice called 24 Seasonings Salute, and I swear by it.  It is the only prepared mix of spices I use.  According to their web site, "Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute is a smooth blend of onion, black pepper, celery seed, cayenne pepper, parsley, basil, marjoram, bay leaf, oregano, thyme, savory, rosemary, cumin, mustard, coriander, garlic, carrot, orange peel, tomato, lemon juice and lemon oil. Leave the other spices out and add 21 Seasoning Salute to a vinaigrette, sprinkle some on burgers, steaks, or chicken, before you cook them, or add a dash (or several) to soups, sauces, dips, and even scrambled eggs. Need a quick breakfast idea? Mash a scoop of avocado atop a slice of toast, and sprinkle 21 Seasoning Salute atop the avocado. It's always a good idea to sprinkle the blend into your palm first, and then break up the spices with your fingertips to release their essential oils, delivering the best of all the components. We're selling each 2.2 ounce jar for $1.99, every day."

Remember when you load your crockpot that the heat rises inside of it and so the meat should go ON TOP of all your veggies.  Also, how thick you should cut a carrot or potato, and other veggies, may also be about how long you plan to cook.  So the longer you'll be gone, the thicker the cut.

TRY THESE COMBINATIONS!

Carrots, onions, sour kraut, pork or beef, and (in the last hour of cooking put on top) egg dumplings with caraway or mustard seeds made by mixing flour, sea salt, seeds, and egg.

Kidney beans, Black Beans, and White Beans, green beans, chicken, and tomato.

Mix oatmeal and flour and sugar or brown sugar.  Throw some in the pot.  Add cut apples.  Or Apricots. Or Pears. Throw some more dry mixture on and around the fruits.  Cook on a low setting.  Serve hot over vanilla ice-cream or yogurt.








 

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST WINNERS WHITE FROST ROMANIAN VILLAGER OF PESTERA

Romania, Land of Fairy Tales

Photo and caption by Eduard Gutescu / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
White frost over Pestera village.

LINK HERE http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/photo-contest-2015/  to see all the winners.  They will amaze you!

HUNGARIAN YOUTH LEAVING THE COUNTRY - SHOULD YOU STAY OR LEAVE? SOME ADVICE and THINGS TO CONSIDER before COMING TO THE UNITED STATES!

Since I'm descended from Hungarians who did leave Hungary in the 19th Century, how can I advise anyone to STAY in Hungary when they may rightly perceive that life in another country could be better for them?

I will try.

Just the other day I overheard two young people from Czechoslovakia talking in Czech on a park bench.  A couple months ago I met young people here from the Ukraine.  They all look so healthy and blond, but I dare not ask them HOW THEY CAN AFFORD THE RENT!  It's been a while since I met young recent Hungarian immigrants.   But in each case, I first ask them "Are you here as a tourist or are you here to stay?"  Often they laugh or say they don't know and I suspect they came as tourists and are now trying to figure things out.

THAT IS THE WRONG THING TO DO!  A lot can go wrong, so at least PLAN AHEAD!

The world is an extremely different place than it was prior to the World Wars, and air travel and electronic communications mean that IF YOU LEAVE HUNGARY you may not be cut off from those who remain behind as my ancestors were.  That's a positive.  And it may be that visiting friends and family left behind will be as easy as affording a ticket.

Though many Hungarian men came to the United States as seasonal industrial workers and returned to Hungary to do seasonal agricultural work for the family farms before making a DECISION to become American Citizens over a hundred years ago, the process was blocked for years because of the difficult politics of the World War I era.  Hungarians were one of the ethnic groups who had to wait if their process wasn't complete because they were considered foreigners who might be spies.  Some of them waited into the 1920's.

BEFORE YOU CONSIDER LEAVING HUNGARY do extreme research on the rules for entry of the other country you hope to live in, the rules for staying, and what you may be expected to do once you get there, including how much money you should have with you since you may not legally earn any for some time.  As for the United States, life can be very different depending on the region, state, city, or local that you go to.

Consider that Hungary is providing incentives for youth to stay in the country of their birth.

HERE IS MY ADVICE FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MAY COME TO THE UNITED STATES - MAYBE EVEN MY STATE OF CALIFORNIA!

These days there seems to be far more opportunity to learn the most useful second language in Europe and that is English.  BE SURE TO HAVE EXCELLENT LANGUAGE SKILLS before you leave and once you are in your country and city of choice, take more lessons from a local to have a good accent.  There are very few Hungarian speakers in California.  You may have to head to the local HUNGARIAN-AMERICAN CLUB to find any!

Although accented English can be charming if a person has a large vocabulary, a heavy accent can still be a barrier for employment unless you are very well educated - say in the sciences - or you have a relative that owns a restaurant.

I've met people who did jobs well beneath their education, like working at a car wash, in order to be employed and earning money at something who did progress after they were speaking well.  (Working at the car wash where I live has become the cash job for Mexicans but not so long ago you could find Israelis doing it.  There's no shame in a days work honestly done.)

CASH JOBS?  It happens all the time in the big cities, and though it's not true that no Americans want these jobs, and it is true that there can be an INS raid and you can find yourself in deep trouble, what is true is that Americans hire recent immigrants for cash because THEY WANT TO PAY LESS THAN THEY WOULD PAY AN AMERICAN.  It may be that you'll find work as a live-in nanny or maid or gardener.  More likely they will expect you to commute to their home and live elsewhere, even in with a half dozen other people in small apartments.

CLOTHING: You can wear sports shoes or casual shoes for everywhere but... Though you may find casual clothing OK for the job you get, for interviewing it's still best to dress like you're going to be the next CEO, suit and tie, serious shoes.  Tattoos?  If your body art can be seen you'll probably be thought of as an artist, musician, or part of a subculture.

SOCIAL LIFE?  MARRYING AN AMERICAN?  Read everything you can about cultural differences, especially if you are unmarried and are interested in meeting and maybe marrying someone from your chosen country.  Perhaps more than business, this is the area of social life that is most perplexing.  It is perplexing for those of us who already live here and is still sometimes called "the battle of the sexes." 

What do women want? 
What do men want?

I would think they want someone to be respectful and loving to them.

BIG CITY YOUTH are EXPERIENCED SEXUALLY and may not think of having a fling with a recent immigrant as anything but sex, not love, and not a relationship.  So if you are in the mood for a fling with an American ALWAYS USE CONTRACEPTION and PROTECTION.  There is a herpes epidemic and HIV/AIDS is still a threat.

Women should know that American men will likely think of you (or anyone from a previously Communist country of Europe) to be "exotic" or expect you to be sexier or more feminine (i.e. more willing to do everything his way) than an American born and raised women.  You may not by nature be this way but will have to speak up for yourself to be known.  It's up to you to protect yourself from predatory men.  They are out there and some of them hate innocence.  The best way to do this is to go out on the town to meet people with a like-minded girlfriend and stay sober and alert.

Men... American women are looking for responsible men who they can count on!
 
Try to make friends before you try to have a lover, but whatever you do, error on the conservative side.   Find yourself out on the town with a wild bunch?  Be careful.  You can get into troubles that they can't because you are not yet a citizen. 

SMOKING AND DRINKING?  You may have to change.  No doubt people still smoke and drink for the companies that sell cigarettes and various alcoholic drinks make a fortune.  Still, there is a huge trend towards healthy living that means that many people no longer imbibe, and it isn't even especially religious but more of a holistic and spiritual way of living and seeing life, including the conservation of Mother Earth.  There are SMOKING BANS in many cities.  You may not smoke on the street or in a restaurant when there is a smoking ban and can even get fined.

COST OF LIVING...  HIGH!  (Are you wealthy?)

An average one bedroom rental is over $1000 a month in Los Angeles, and you may have to have excellent credit and references to get it.  Aim for a two bedroom for $1200 to $1400, a compatible room mate, and an income of at least twice that, three times that is better.

Standard grocery stores are bringing in more and more organic but expensive produce and other items for sale that one used to have to go to a specialty "health food" store to buy.  On a budget it may be impossible to eat the highest quality produce.  Millions of Americans can barely afford to eat at all and use a government benefit to buy groceries.  The least expensive produce is often not surplus but ready to expire.

MEAT EATER?  Most people have cut down on how much meat they eat, especially meat like pork and beef, preferring chicken, turkey, and fish.  Partly this is because meat is becoming unaffordable, with prices going higher and higher because of the drought, partly it is the trend towards vegetarianism or Mediterranean diets.  When you see a fat American, that person is usually fat from sweets, breads, beer - carbohydrates - than overeating good foods!  There is a big emphasis on eating enough vegetables and eating twice as much vegetable than the meat on the plate.

Hungarians eating American hot dogs and versions of sausages may be disappointed and consider them bland and over-processed or drowning in condiments.

There are peppers here, the hot ones mostly in Mexican markets, but there is little zeal for cabbage.  People are eating broccoli and cauliflower more than ever.  For groceries consider that the ARMENIAN OWNED stores do import some Hungarian meats and cheeses as well as the biggest cabbages for the stuffing.

PEOPLE CARRY BOTTLED WATER WITH THEM EVERYWHERE. 

COFFEE and COFFEE HOUSES!  They're everywhere, and there are still people talking to each other in them, even though long rows of people are more attached to their lap tops and cell phones.  Search out the local, privately owned coffee houses and smaller chef or family owned restaurants. As for the coffee itself, there are so very many varieties imported that you can have your choice, but expect to pay about $2.00 on the average for coffee in a paper throw away cup, often more, and it will not be especially thick or dark.  Many people avoid any caffeine except for an early morning wake up cup.

CELL PHONES?  Opt for a PREPAID phone from Metro-PCS.  There are many small companies.  This one has unlimited everything for $40 a month and some fairly inexpensive phones.

CHURCH?  Fewer young Americans are declaring themselves to be affiliated with a church or religious.  Still church can be a good place to start socially so you may want to visit various congregations and see what you think.  Be aware that there are still cults thriving in the United States, that they didn't all end with the 1960's, and some of them are "Christian,"  so if you want to worship rather than become entrapped, stick with the big well known denominations and avoid store fronts, street preachers, and cute girls with flyers inviting you places when you land at the airport.


C 2015  Magyar American BlogSpot.  All Rights Reserved.

USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN HUNGARIAN!

SNAPDRAGONS GREW AT MY BEST LITTLE GIRLFRIENDS HOUSE

As a child, my best little girlfriend

had a garden that featured bright red snapdragon flowers. When I think

back to being a child in the summers, I think of how aware we were of

all the plants and trees and even the weeds!  Maybe because we were short enough and low enough to the ground to notice them!

 

I was lucky to have a rural existence as a child.

 

My girlfriend's father was German and her mother was Croation.  He taught her which plants were edible, which were poison, and which were just for picking. 

 

AMERICANA POSTCARD

DROUGHT and the TOO HOT SUMMER - THE INSECTS ARE COMING INDOORS

Insects of all types are coming into homes, and in some cases rats and snakes are following. 

You've probably heard that we are in a drought. 

You're probably in a drought too.

I love to cook but dishes - not so much.  I usually let them soak overnight and do them in the morning.  Ah well,  one day I noticed a roach.  Where there is one there are - many.  So I started washing and drying my dishes after years of letting them air dry.  One day I dropped some water on the floor, there was a coin sized drop, and I saw three bugs run out from under the stove in daylight to drink from its edges as if it were a pond.

As a friend said, "To them it was."

So I went out and bought those boxes with the glue inside that trap interested bugs; a hideous death.  That only proved to me that the roaches were invading. 

So a person who manages an apartment building told me to get powered sugar and boric acid powder, mix it up, and put it in little containers here, there, and everywhere.  My place is damp and soon enough this mixture was no longer powder.  So I bought an ORGANIC, SAFE TO HUMANS AND DOGS, spray, that has an intense clove smell to it.

Let's just say that I am just now winning the battle, and it took having to be willing to spray the bugs dead and watch them die. 

But it's not just typical roaches coming in for they have only lead the way being the most survivalist, it is also spiders (big and thin and small and fat), mosquito hawks (waiting for mosquitos to land in my laundry presoak), as well as centipedes, ants, flies, fruit flies, and well, some I can't identify.

Someone told me they all hate the smell of pine sol and also lavender.  Though I was washing down the inside of the refrigerator with bleach and  the bathroom with ammonia, I got the lavender.

Under my steps, a mostly shaded area, where there are pots that include a huge rubber plant and a plum tree, I water.  There I found a Red Salamander clinging to the underside of a basket!  A grasshopper has been eating my geraniums and was on my sunflowers yesterday morning.  I moved him using a piece of cardboard. I could imagine him making a claim to the territory under my steps.

All sentient beings want to live.  And they all need water.

We are to save fresh water and reuse the not so fresh.  I'm taking fewer showers and shorter showers.  I'm going swimming one day a week for about an hour which isn't substituting as a bath but which makes me feel fresh.  When I rinse out a tea pot or a coffee pot, I used the rise for plants.  When I rinse dishes I try to pour the rinse water into standing pots that will need some soaking. And so on.

We have all been asked to let our lawns die and to voluntarily cut back our use of water.

And now we fear fires.

Is there global warming?  I think so.

Is the drought really a "Conspiracy" of big corporate entities that actually own plenty of water and are going to create a fake drought so they can kill off people in this world?

I don't think so.
But people are dying of heat and dying of dehydration already, mostly in countries where the poor are already living close to the earth.

One of the interesting things about drought is that it makes people stock up on bottled water from other places, and some people day from the less expensive tap water, and all in plastic.  If these plastic containers get hot in the sun the plastic leaks into the water, we drink it, and that plastic remains in our bodies. 

I wonder to myself if this water, product of Iceland or Mexico or Russia, is depriving people who actually live there of water. 

I hope not.

C 2015 Magyar American BlogSpot All Rights Reserved

MORNING GLORIES - MY FAVORITE FLOWER WHEN A CHILD

As a child I loved the Morning Glories.
I watched them, open and close, sprout up and die back.
My neighbor has a whole fence of them and says they grow like weeds.
But an entire seed pack of them failed to thrive in my garden.

HUNGARIAN / HUNGARIAN-AMERICAN STEREOTYPE : ONLY BOYS COUNT? ARE HUNGARIANS SEXIST?

 

A Russian woman told me that Hungarians only count boys, so if you ask a Hungarian mother how many children she has, and she has five children, but three are boys, she will say 3.

In 2015?

I personally cannot believe that it's this bad, that Hungarian's do not value females as much as males, but since MAGYAR-AMERICAN is now available in Hungary on a Hungarian server, I would love for some of you who are presently living in Hungary to make some comment!

I have heard and overheard women in my own family, of the previous generation to mine, say things like "now our name is carried forth,"  when a son's wife gives birth to a son, showing some concern that the surname continue on to the next generation, which it might not be if their son's only have daughters. 

But to not value their daughters?  To not speak of them, to have no pride in them, to act as if they had never been born?

No way!

While the women of my family in the previous generations were raised to be wives and mothers, and thought that this was the most important thing they could do with their lives, they were also not educated to have meaningful work or careers, and then if they went to work for pay, it was after the children were launched into adulthood.   Still, their work was valuable to the family. In their households, boys and girls performed tasks that were assigned by gender.  This, however, doesn't seem to be exclusively Hungarian. 

It also seemed to be about living in the city, rather than the country.  Country living, agricultural living, is hard work for both sexes. Many tasks that were "Women's Work"  in the Old Country or In the Country, would be considered by some to be not especially feminine.

For instance, breaking the neck of a chicken (killing it), plucking the feathers, butchering it, and turning it into food, isn't work that most people do now.  The last person I ever met who did it was an immigrant born in the 19th century.

It might be that the husband and boys were supposed to do the yard work and the wife and girls do the housework and cooking, but what I witnessed was that husbands were also stuffing home-made sausages, "manning" the outdoor grill, and wives were heading out , driving cars, to buy groceries. 

C 2015 Magyar-American BlogSpot

THE BEES

 

WE NEVER EVER GIVE UP! HUNGARIAN HUNGARIAN- AMERICAN STEREOTYPE

 

My own aunt once said to me, "Never Give Up!  We Hungarians NEVER GIVE UP!"

She was proud that of all the countries the Communists invaded and took over it was the Hungarians who had resisted really becoming Communist the best.  She said it was because they had resisted more than anyone and that the resistance was still going on.  She felt that the Communists would be out of Hungary first of all the countries they had taken over...

Over the last several days I've had tremendous problems with being run around, disrespected and picked upon, by strangers.  I've been feeling like I have a "Beat Me!" sign over my head.  I hate that feeling!

To give you some idea...

I was shopping for new summer tops, shoes, and a new slow cooker with a timer.  (You just know I plan to make stuffed cabbage!)  After I'd exhausted the possibilities closer to home, I set out to a certain department type store that will remain unnamed where they were having a sale.  It takes me over an hour to get there and half the way there I realized I had forgotten my wallet.  I decided to continue on and shop anyway, after all, I might not find anything to buy and not having a wallet would then not be an issue.  I shopped for over five hours,  trying on dozens of tops for fit and color, found the perfect slow cooker with a timer, and a pair of sandals I really liked.  So I went to the cash register and asked "How long can you hold things for me?" 

She said 24 hours.  It was 3 PM.  They pulled out a plastic bag, I neatly printed my whole name, the name was taped to the bag, and it was handed over to a security guard to take to the back room.  By the time I got home it was near 5 PM, and I was tired so I decided to go back the next morning to arrive when they opened.

I arrived and asked for my bag.  A cashier went back to find it.  She came back and told me there was no bag with my name on it.  So I asked for a manager.  Before a manager could show up another employee went to look for the bag and came back to say there was no bag.  Finally I told the manager that I had spent five hours in the store the day before, plus a few hours commute, and I couldn't believe that they had lost my bag.  The security guard had taken it back there.  She went to the back, FOUND my bag, and returned to hand it to me.

I continued to shop, because this time I brought along a couple outfits that I wanted to match.  The store had special deal.  For every 50 dollars you spent, they would give you $10 to spend there the following weekend.  I determined that I would go up over $100 to get $20 and use that to buy new towels.  So I got in line and told the cashier that was my intention.  I told her I would put things down on the counter in the order of their importance to me, starting with the slow cooker, then some tops, and she should subtotal.  She told me I had gone up to $103, so I decided not to take 3 of the shirts.  She gave me a receipt and I hauled out a big bag.

But it was hot and I felt like I needed a treat.  I decided to go get some coconut water and some nuts to snack on before I went home. 

After I finished my treat, I was looking in my wallet, looked at the receipt and realized that the cashier had NOT heard me.  I had earned only $10 rather than $20 because I had not gone up to $103 before tax.  So I went back in, called for another manager, and we fixed the issue.

I got home.  I got up early to walk my dog.  That was when I noticed that there was a car parked in my space - again.  The very same neighbor whom I have talked to nicely about this three times in the last year.  He's a college student.  He's a Christian.  What doesn't he get?  When I track him down to talk to him he does this cute little boy, awe shucks routine.  I could tell his mom on him but I've heard her use every curse word in the book.

Worse, when I went to throw out my garbage, I noticed this neighbor had filled my can with his refuse, which puts me to work, because I'm the one that has to haul it out to the street.  Suddenly I felt infuriated.  I slammed some doors, I put notices on his car and his door to remove his vehicle, and then, shame on me I guess, but I dumped his garbage that was in my can on his porch.

I FELT "TALKING ISN'T COMMUNICATION IN THIS CASE!"  Maybe behaving like an idiot will do it! 

The next weekend I returned to the department store with my $20 coupon and a 20% discount and got my towels with an additional $1. off for being a "early bird."  I took the bus there that stops near a wonderful international produce company.  I went in and bought a huge heavy cabbage, as well as Cibola onions, carrots, and other items to make my stuffed cabbage in my slow cooker.  On the way in a security guard questioned by big bag of towels, which I refused to leave in an open, unguarded nook, telling him it was fine with me if he wanted to follow me around the store since I don't steal.  On my way to select a check out I noticed the same security guard as well as a cart not quite in line but abandoned with a few items in it.  So I said to him, "Is that person coming back because I'd like to check out but I don't want anyone to get mad at me."  The guard said to go ahead into the line.

A moment later a woman pulled up, saw me, and got mad.  "I'm sorry," I said.  I don't know you.  I didn't know that was your cart.  And I asked the security guard and he told me to get in line."

"Oh All Right," she said.  But she didn't mean it.  She basically took a tantrum throwing her items down on the table behind me.

As I headed out the door with two small grocery bags and my big bag of towels, I thought to myself "I'm not ready to die.  But I hate this world.  I can't wait to get to heaven!"

Surprisingly, as I got to the bus stop across the way and sat down, a car pulled up.  It was someone I haven't seen in three years, someone who is a Christian by Conversion, and he was offering me a ride.  "I don't think so, not today, I said." I didn't want to take a ride from someone and then not have them in for a visit.  My place is absolutely not in order - all that time away from housework shopping!

So he went around the corner and parked, and came back to talk to me - about Jesus.

The bus arrived, I got on, and now my packages felt heavy.  A nice woman got up so I could sit down.  She got off.  Then another woman got off from the front seat that was nearest to the driver, a seat where I could watch for my stop from.  I decided to move there, holding the big bag on my lap, and the two small to my side.

Suddenly I heard a voice behind me, a woman.  "You should have stayed in the seat where you were.  Then I felt a vicious shove to my back!  So there I was being assaulted by a stranger, probably a person not well mentally.  The shove was hard enough to crack my back, like a chiropractor.

"Stop the bus and call the police!"  I called out.

The driver did not.

When I got home I called the police. They said to call the bus company.  The bus company said to call Monday.  On Monday I called. I got the run around from "Customer Relations" when the woman who anwered shifted me to one of those voice mails that is never answered.  I told her I wanted a response in writing and would give her my address. The voice mail was too short for much of a message.  So I called the police again and they said to call the sheriff whose territory the bus was running through and who takes care of crime on public transportation.  I called the sheriff and learned that one of them would have to travel pretty far to come out to "talk" to me.  I wanted to know if there was a camera on the bus that might have recorded the woman's speech and violence towards me.  Is she perhaps on parole or probation?  What if I encounter her again?  As you can guess this went nowhere, because she was a stranger to me.  But I think it shows that I was determined to stand up for myself.

A few days later I went out the door to my City Councilman's office with a long letter about issues in my neighborhood from increases in crime, graffiti, fire-hazard empty lots with tall dry weeds, out of wack traffic signals and auto accidents, furniture out on the parkway that no one calls for pick up on but me, and people burying their dead dogs beneath trees in the park. 

When I got there, to my surprise, his assistant assigned to my area was there in person.  I realized that I'm a bit of a CITIZEN ACTIVIST, that I do care about my community, and that maybe some of my efforts will change things for the better, if just a bit.

So if you ask me if this HUNGARIAN -AMERICAN NEVER GIVES UP, well I'd say yes. 

Now,  finally, about those stuffed cabbages...

C 2015 Magyar-American BlogSpot

MEMORIAL DAY - UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DO YOU HAVE ONE VIOLIN BOW OF ROMANI (GYPSY) BLOOD?

How Romani are you?

I've met more than one Hungarian who claimed to be part Romani, but in talking to Romani while doing some Canadian Hungarian research, I was told that the two never mixed.  

As is the case now, DNA can tell the truth.

I wonder how many people have tried to explain their yellowish or dark without a tan skin, or even skin that tans easily, as mine does, as being part Romani?  (The Romani have been determined by DNA research to have been from India originally.)

There are other explanations, of course, such as Jewish, Tartar, Mongolian, Italian, etc., and frankly, while there has been intermarriage,  like official marriage, in churches, temples, mosques, and civil, there has also been rape.

HAPLOGROUPS - DO YOU AND PRINCE WILLIAM SHARE THE SAME R30B MT DNA or R1B Y?

EUPEDIA.COM HAPLOGROUPS OF EUROPEAN KINGS AND QUEENS  check this out!

Tripped across this site which has an impressive list... and I'm thinking HOW DO THEY KNOW?  The answer is that direct descendants have been tested when possible. Well, I haven't joined the group, but I thought you might find this interesting. There are no HUNGARIANS on this list and the POLISH Kings and Queens remain a mystery, but there are a lot of Germans, Austrians, and some Romanians.

EXCERPT:  Kings of Romania
Ferdinand I (1865-1927) => H (mtDNA)
Michael (1921-) => H (mtDNA)

DO HUNGARIANS IN HUNGARY TREAT TOURISTS WELL? WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE?

Reading around the subject one middle of the night bought of insomnia, I found that on the Internet there is some dialogue about this subject.

There were those who said that wherever they went the Hungarian people (people in Hungary) that they had contact with were terrifically warm, friendly, helpful, and honest, and those who reported the following bad experiences:

People who expected tourists to speak Hungarian like the Natives and further openly dismissed them, put them down, or got angry with them for a bad try.  As this has often been an American accusation of the French, who are also language proud, but with Hungarian being notoriously more unique and difficult than any of the "romance languages," I have to say that I would be upset if I had this experience as a traveler, particularly an ethnic-heritage traveler.

Shop Keepers and others who charge money knowingly accepting too much (more than the posted or agreed to price) and taking advantage of the tourists newness to the currency and inability to figure change, and not giving back proper change.  The tourist realizes he's been taken advantage of or ripped off later and hates Hungary for it.  This is said to be a left over from a sort of Cold War/Communist Era attitude that all Americans or all Tourists must be rich (and not mind?) because how poor can they be if they can have vacations and travel.

As someone who watches her budget this would upset me if it happened to me.  That said, it happened to me in New York City, simply because I didn't know where a cab driver was taking me.

ARISTOCRACTIC ASSOCIATION OF SLOVAKIA

ARISTOCRATIC ASSOCIATION OF SLOVAKIA (in English)  ARE YOU INTERESTED IN REGISTERING YOUR NOBILITY WITH THIS ANTI-COMMUNIST GROUP?   You don't have to be Slovak.  Just remember that American Citizens do not have titles, give up the right to titles upon citizenship, but you might ask if you can use them when traveling in Europe!

EXCERPTS

The registration in the Noble Register of the Aristocratic Association of Slovakia accepts the strict rules of noble traditions. It is possible to make registration only after presentation of complete prescribed documents (genealogical and historical), which confirm the appurtenance to the noble status. On the other hand, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic officially approved the Statute of the Aristocratic Association of Slovakia, with the right to certify and confirm the justness of using the noble titles. The Certificate about the noble origin, issued by our Association, is accepted by democratic administrative system and its authorities.

Today we are the only noble organization in the east European countries, which has established and carries the Noble Register. This has brought us the attention of many aristocrats from different European countries, especially form the post-communistic countries. They ask for the confirmation of their nobility through the registration in our Noble register, or they ask for help or advice. So it is happened, that our Association incidentally has got into the function as a central co-ordination workplace for the question of renew of the noble status.

A last point we would like to mention is that the Aristocratic Association of Slovakia is relatively small organization. Today we have about 40 members, 17 of them are registered in our Noble register. The others provide the necessary genealogical documents step by step, and they are in the waiting period. The candidate cannot use his noble title before the registration in Noble register.

QUAINT FLORAL BASKET

The roses have started to bloom!

A WASPY NEW FRIEND WRANGLES WITH MY HUNGARIAN ETHNIC HERITAGE

My new friend, from what he would call an "all American" background recently revealed to me that he is wrangling with my Hungarian ethnic heritage, make that OTHERNESS, now that he's determined that I'm not as American as he!

I learned that he was doing a little internet research on the Hungarians in an effort to better understand me and have something to talk to me about, which is a good thing.  Except that now that he has found out I'm from a Hungarian ethnic heritage he does think of me as "different."

I may or may not be "different" for other reasons, but I wonder, will it be that I'm "different" or that he thinks of me "differently?"

RESEARCHING GERMANS IN HUNGARY - YUGOSLAVIA - ROMANIA - WHO IMMIGRATED TO THE UNITED STATES

I've been reading around the subject of German immigration into the parts of Europe that were once Hungary, including areas that became Romania and Yugoslavia, and then to the Unites States.  The waves of immigration into Hungary may have been documented as early as the 1400's in some places, 1600's in others.  These people are called HUNGARIAN GERMANS.

Germany let people go to other countries with the idea that they would always be Germans and could always come back.  Often for generations these Germans in  their colonies and towns and villages they established, remained German ethnically.  They continued to have a German lifestyle in the way they lived, spoke, cooked, dressed, practiced religion, worked, and in the way they saw family life, inheritance, and the roles of women.  Of course, after a few generations the Hungarian lifestyle had its influence.

They may have all come from a particular part of Germany - particularly Catholic regions - where they were intermarried with locals - and continued to intermarry in Hungary.  Many of them learned the Hungarian language, came to consider themselves Hungarian, intermarried with Hungarians of the same religion.  When they came to the United States they lived close with other Hungarian immigrants, spoke German and Hungarian and learned English.

But it's not true that the Hungarians are "all Germans" as I've often been told.

Doing a little research on this subject, I found that there are a number of names for these HUNGARIAN GERMANS.  For instance they are sometimes identified by the area or even the town they came from, such as the Palankaer Germans who came from Palanka.   They may be called Dabube Swabians or Transylvania Saxons.

Or they are called "expelled Germans."  This site is very interesting: EXPELLED GERMANS ORG . A long list of places that Germans have been expelled from through (especially recent) history.

Another interesting site is this one : BLACK SEA GERMANS  which begins, "
Approximately 800 villages were founded in Hungary by German settlers from 1711 to 1750. These German settlers came from the regions known as Baden, Württemberg, Alsace, Lorraine, the Rhineland, Westphalia, Bavaria, and Swabia, as well as from other areas. Even though they came from various regions and spoke various dialects, the Hungarians called them Swabians, and the name came to be used in reference to all Germans who settled in the Danube valley.

Although there had been German immigration to Hungary prior to 1711, the expulsion of the Turks resulted in an organized settlement program sponsored by the Habsburgs. The Habsburgs had three aims: 1) fortify the land against invasion, 2) develop farm land, and 3) further the Roman Catholic religion in Eastern Europe. They offered Catholics of the southwest German states inducements such as free agricultural land, home sites, construction materials, livestock, and exemption from taxes for several years...."*****

I continue to also read around the subject of DNA and am fascinated with what we are learning through this science about how human beings moved through the generations around the world.