Feather Forecast

I'm lucky enough to be able to say that I've lived in quite a few cities in my life. All these cities are completely different from one another, hell, even I changed depending where I was in a given time! I always wondered, what makes a city the way it is?

Sure enough, its culture and geography does play a major role, but there's also an elusive element to it. Somehow the different ways its inhibitants interact with each other and the city - their synergy, if you will - is what really gives a city its unique flavour. What would happen for instance, if we could magically swap the whole population of say Paris and Tokyo? Would Paris feel like Tokyo from that point on? Would it stay like Paris? Or maybe something completely new might emerge? Deep, man...

Sadly, I haven't got the faintest idea. However I'm sure that in order for a city to be intersesting, characteristic and generally a cool place to live in, its locals have to go out of their way to make things happen, to fight the mundane, to 'do shit'! A buzzing city has to have a blooming art scene, a cacophony of subcultures (even if most of them are beyond annoying), a variety of different districts, events, galleries, theatres, festivals... and lately flash mobs!

That's right y'all, flash mobs! Flash mobs are the latest trend in celebrating the urban lifestyle and breaking the everyday routine. These spontaneous gatherings of total strangers - joined by the common goal of having a good time and to do something out of the ordinary - are the perfect reminders that we do, in fact, live together, share our immediate environment, interact with eachother (and we have done so for a long time), even though we had no idea that the other even existed!    

Budapest is not as big on extraordinary events yet as London for example, but it does have a couple of gems that puts her in the big league. And luckily a growing number of minor ones, such as the pillow fight that took place right next to my university the other day (no connection whatsoever). In its brilliant simplicity, it was the perfect example of why we need events like this in our towns - complete strangers of all ages and creeds having a blast together! Because most people are eager to go out and do something crazy (yet socialy acceptable), while having an ultimate bonding experience with their cities and fellow citizens! They feel that the empty shell of the city that consists of the sum of its buidings has to be filled with life, with taste, with things that happen! The city is us! Paris is not the Eiffel Tower, its the Parisians and what they make it to be. We are the ones who are forming our surroundings, there is no elusive 'They' - it's You and Me!

So I call everyone to shake things up! Every time you stay at home watching telly, shooting time in the forehead - your city sheds a tear...

System Error

First of all I feel I need to stress that this blog does not intend to get into politics per se, nor will it - hopefully - ever do. It does, however, very much intend to present and reflect upon the places and times that immediately surround and effect us - our lives, if you will. And if it comes to it: to make a stand.

And it did come to it.

The place is Hungary. The time is today. It is hard to believe the latter though, as it resembles some infamous years of the past century a little bit too much. 24 years ago the Soviet Union has disbanded, and with that, the liberating breath of democracy came into the rest of Europe, including Hungary. That was the year when I was born - that makes me the same age as Hungarian democracy, you could say. We grew up together. The first few years exploring, getting to know ourselves, our limbs, our limits. We brought joy, for those who waited for us for so long with great hope. Man, what a bright future we had in front of us, so many possibilites! Of course our teenage years were awkward in so many ways - little errors and mistakes - but hey, thats how we learn, ain't that right? But now, as young adults, we start to grow confident in ourselves, our values and responsibilities are getting pretty firm, and most of all we live up to the hopes of those who brought us into this world! Or at least one of us does...

24 years ago it was the same band of passoinate young visionaries - whom with their courage and persistency fought and won the political battle for democratic values over fear and opression - who are now spreading fear and opressing exactly by the power that's invested in them by democracy. Oh, the irony... Anyone who's not their puppet is instantly removed from any position that matters even a little bit, replaced by someone who, in almost every case, is extremely incompetent, their only 'quality' being their blind loyality to the Party; journalist who dare to go against them, are threatend that their and their family's lives will be made impossible, should they not stand down; channels of all kinds of opposing media getting banned from bandwidth, their promoters scared away; people with openly racist views getting promoted and awarded; the very Constitution getting bended to the Party's will on a daily basis etc... the list is endless. In fact, the last two years not a single day has passed without something outrageous to happen. Literally, not one! And the worst part is that not once have any of their actions been even remotely aimed at the interest of the country. Frankly, they couldn't give a damn. The only purpose of whatever they do, is to fortify and entrench their power and to cut down all opposition!

That's not about politics any more. It doesn't matter whether you're left or right, liberal or conservative, working class or upper crust - this is purely wrong! Wrong because it's bad for the country and for everyone in it - except of course, the Party, and their immediate mateys! It's wrong because it brings fear and hatred for a nation who had more than its fare share of fear and hatred! It's wrong because it stands against everything that they have been voted for, or what - indeed - makes us Europeans!

Last Saturday was the 25th birthday of the ruling Party, Fidesz. The joyful date evoked a peaceful demonstration in front of their headquarters, consisting of virtually every segment of the society. The crowd was numerous, despite the fact, that not too many people dare to show their names and faces in relation to their views these days. Everyone who showed up was brave enough to make a stand! And even these brave men and women had fear and suspicion in their eyes when I took a picture of them - they thought I was police, making a list of them. Some of them even inquired to whom was I working for, or asked me to delete the pictures I've taken of them. Does that say democracy? That people have reason to be afraid to speak their mind? That people won't dare to stand next to a cause they believe in? That even I was thinking for a very long time whether or not to make this post at all? And do you know why? Why you have to make yourself heard? Why you can't just shut up? Do you know what democracy's biggest enemy is?

It's silence.