Hungarians Invade the White House

My great aunt, Eva Szorenyi, and her son, Istvan, came to stay with us this weekend from Los Angeles. At this very moment, she is presenting a certificate and medal to George W. Bush at the White House in honor of the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

Eva was a famous actress in Hungary for decades before she, her family, and my mother and her family, had to flee across the Austro/Hungarian border in 1956 from the Russians. Eva came to this country and, along with my grandparents and other refugees, founded the Hungarian Freedom Fighters Federation. Since '56, Eva and fellow Hungarian Americans have been keeping the Magyar spirit alive, as well as the message of freedom-- a freedom that can only be provided by democratic society.

While she and we are not supporters of the Bush Administration, Eva's invitation to the White House by the President has been an immense honor and a great acknowledgment of all that Hungarian Americans have contributed to society. She is presenting this certificate and medal to America for its support.

It'll be exciting to find out how the evening went once she and Istvan return tonight. It has been a great weekend hanging out with Eva and Istvan. We have a special connection because I lived in L.A. for a year (to test the Hollywood waters). The Szorenyi/Ormenyis were and are very supportive of me. I'm happy that we were able to support them while they've been here.

Congratulations to my Eva Neni!

My Very Own Denny DuQuette

If any of you watch "Grey's Anatomy," you remember the love of Izzie's life, Denny DuQuette. She only knew him for short time but Izzie fell in love with Denny because he was the real deal.

If anyone ever asks me, "If you could envision the man of your dreams, what would he be like?" I'd answer, "Denny DuQuette." What's so sad is that he's just a fictitious character, dreamed up in some female-writer's mind. A real-life Denny probably doesn't exist. But, if I could find someone who was as close to the fictitious Denny as possible, that would be heaven.

A Surprise on "Grey's Anatomy"

My Dad and I were shocked the other day while watching "Grey's Anatomy." My Mom's cousin, Tom, who's a Hollywood actor, showed up on the most recent episode as a doctor! It was funny because I had completely lost myself in the show's reality to the point where I accepted the characters and their situations as fact (under the umbrella of T.V. artifice), which means that "Grey's" is a pretty good show. Then Tom shows up and I'm like, "Damn it! It's friggin’ Hollywood!"

I hate to be reminded of the man behind the curtain!

The Flying Stingray

An army of stingrays is amassing at the bottom of the ocean-- developing genetically mutated legs and the ability to breathe oxygen in order to invade land, murder us all, and take over as the planet's dominant species.

How is it that a stingray jumps on to a boat off the coast of Florida and stabs a man in the heart, reminiscent of the recent incident that killed Steve Irwin (except that Steve was, actually, in the water when it happened)??? What the heck is going on? I thought that stingrays were supposed to be the pussycats of the ocean! Now they're jumping on to boats and attacking human beings? It's Armageddon!

Columbus Day Parade, New York City

Dad and I marched in the Columbus Day Parade in New York City on Monday as part of the World Padulesi Association-- descendents of the town of Paduli in the province of Benevento, Italy. In fact, my father organized the entire affair for the WPA and we got to march up 5th Avenue from 44th Street to 80th Street with the president of the province. For those of you who didn't know (but can guess), the Columbus Day Parade is a big to-do for Italian Americans. He might have been financed by the Spaniards, but Columbus was Italian. You may thank him for what led to the genocide of our Native American population. But, ignore that statement-- I don't want to ruin the mood!

The World Padulesi Association is big in Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY (where many Padulesi immigrants settled) and, get this, in Adelaide, Australia, where other Padulesi ventured. I promised Dad I'd take him to Adelaide one day to meet descendents and do genealogical research. Who knows, I may even have some Australian relatives I never knew about. Can anyone help me get my AU permanent residency visa???

Waikiki Freaky

My Master's Thesis, entitled, "A Cinematic Society: The 'Glitter' Pictures and Early 1990s Australia," has been selected for presentation at the Hawai'i International Conference on Arts and Humanities in January 2007. I was very excited when I found out because it meant that I had something to say about Australian cinema that scholars actually wanted to hear. But, I was mostly thrilled because it meant a chance to go to Hawai'i under the guise of an academic pursuit! The catch is that it would cost me roughly $2,500 for the entire trip-- hotel, air, food, etc. Thus, I've decided not to participate. The registration fee alone is $390. It's just too expensive and I'm not a huge fan of talking in front of hundreds of people. I'd need some serious beta blockers and a horse tranquilizer to get me through it. Plus, I've been lucky enough to see Hawai'i several times in my life so it's not as if I'd be giving up a new adventure. It's a little sad but, I'm ok with it.