Az Ausztral-Magyar Birodalom

Hi everyone!

I hope you've enjoyed this latest video. Let's talk about it a bit.

In the video we got to see a cool conversation with internet breakout star, Hide the Pain Harold. Let's face it, he's basically the Chinese zodiac representation for this year. It's a cliched thing to say at this point that 2020 has been rough, but my 2020 became exponentially worse in the last month. The situation is ongoing, it's been rough, I've been through worse, a lot more challenges are to come and I am stirring the energy to take it all on.  

So let's talk about the Ausztral-Magyar biroldalom. I did NOT create this graphic, a follower sent this to me. It's pretty cute. This is indeed the Australian coat of arms on the left, and it also appears on some of our coins. 

I joked that I was quite busy this month, and reflecting on whether I should upload a video now or disappear for 10 years. I didn't really think the latter, but to be perfectly honest the same pieces were coming together that made me disappear for 10 years the last time! By which I mean, I was becoming so busy with work and other stuff that I was skipping out on my hobbies and other stuff. So I am SO pleased with myself that I didn't let that carry on, and instead got this video together. Woohoo and I'm so invigorated to make the next one too.

Anyway, we did a fast cut to some fake credits. Hope you liked them.

And then we launched into a story about how I went on a relay race from tovirol-hegyire to szorostul-borostul to csurran-cseppen and habos-babos. Ummm the saddest part of this is that the story was only about 5% exaggerated. No I didn't hang up on my colleagues during a Zoom call, but almost everything else truly happened that way.

Then we dive into a few clips. All the links are in the description of the video by the way. I'll skip to the junior Masterchef contestant Tiffany who made a Hungarian feast. I feel like I like this video more than a lot of Hungarians. It's just not as common as it should be that a teenage Australian with connections to  another country proudly makes their national dishes on a reality show. Many Australians with mixed backgrounds can have very conflicting feelings about their family origins, often stemming from family pressure for not speaking the other language perfectly or the clash between local values and family values. So to hear Tiffany say unabashedly that she loves Hungary, wants to share the culture and that she makes chicken gizzard stew...  is really nice to see. 

It was the basis for our Australian nyelvlecke. Honestly, whenever I don't put it a nyelvlecke component I get comments saying they missed it! I'm shocked, since there's literally an overload of 'Australian language' content on the internet these days, and I only want to talk about the real stuff (because some of it is really cringe and typecasting!!)

For each other examples I googled them to make sure I wasn't just imagining stuff. A lot of people write about 'good looking schnitzels' and 'good-looking steaks'. So I was relieved, with lingering confusion. 

Of course we have our dumb joke of 'atyaeg micsoda bombano az a lecso'! Which no one would ever say!

I really wanted to shout out some cool Hungarian creators and initiatives in this video. I don't think my meagre shout out will do much for them, but I just hope they find it a bit fun to see their idea get some kind of video treatment. We started with Micsodasag's image of this viral video.

It's a really special initiative the Twitter segito lista. What I love about it is that it's a right-sized initiative that can make a difference. I hope it's effective. Aniko, one of the coordinators behind the list, was very helpful in making sure I position it correctly.

Later on we talked about the very special lyrebird. Honestly it's just amazing. When I was editing this footage I had to watch that part like 20 times and it never stopped being amazing. I didn't even interject any dumb comments or cutaways (until the end lol)

And the very end we talk about the footage from the baby wombat that was born in Budapest zoo. Just so cute......... the most ausztral magyar I've ever seen. 

That's all for now. By the way, if you read this blog shoot me an email ausztraltom@gmail.com I want to ask you something. 

Breaking into Hungary video commentary

Sziasztook! 

I haven't done a proper blog about a video for a while, but felt inclined to for the latest one in case anyone gives two hoots. This blog will be a bit long and it's not everyone's jam. It contains context around references and certain scenes from the video if that's your thing.

Why was this the topic for this video? Well, so many people's lives are disrupted by travel restrictions which in our contexts means Hungary's border closure and severe limitations on going in or out of Australia. So why not poke fun at how the tyranny of distance has become even more tyrannical.

The core of the video commences by hatching a hokey plan to 'infiltrate' Hungary. At the same time I wanted to reference a lot of towns and places that people have mentioned to me over the past few weeks. I think it's a lot more fun to put all these inputs into some kind of convoluted story, and this case I presented it in split screen format a la a lot of different spy movies.

You haven't lives until you've travelled under cover of a szunyogirtas! Now for a fictitious plan, you might be surprised how researched it is haha. I've never been to the Zsuzsi Fagyizo in Hodmezovasarhely, but it had a lot of high reviews on Google and looked like the place to be. I can only imagine how shook I'd be if a foreigner YouTuber mentioned a local haunt from my neck of the woods, so I hope at least one person got weirded out <3

When someone told me about the kocsonya fesztival in Miskolc, I thought it sounded amazing. Looking into it, it's a pretty big deal and it seems the kocsonya is a tiny part of it. In the video we talk about entering a Vegemite kocsonyam into the izverseny. I'm curious if anyone caught the follow up reference to Requiem For a Dream (which is a movie about drug addiction)? Because Vegemite kocsonya is just that delish.

For a split second in the sneaky plan montage, I included an image of Sadako calling in via Zoom. Who got this? Sadako is the name of the little girl from the original Japanese version of The Ring (the movie where you get a spooky call from a a dead girl and you die in 7 days). I was just thinking... how the Hell is Sadako going to get with modern technology. Not just for calling but...

..for when she makes her move (especially if you're using Zoom on mobile). Oh well. Good luck, Szadika.

Unfortunately my elaborate plan of attack went awry when it turns out I was just drawing a picture of a wombat upside down and didn't realise it. The worst!

So, disillusioned with my ability to infiltrate Hungary physically due to accidental wombats, we resolve to 'invade' via proxy instead, by sending something. 

I mention in the video that when I sent a postcard to a friend earlier in the year it took 3 months to arrive! This is true, and weirder still, another postcard I sent around the same time took 2-3 weeks. So it was very inconsistent. I don't think it's that bad now since that was at the peak of initial corona confusion, but regardless, sending Christmas postcards in October isn't even a nuts idea.

What follows in the vid is a montage of beachy images with Silent Night playing over the top. One of my top three hobbies is trolling Europeans around the idea of a hot Christmas. It just blows their minds! I'm well aware the 'norm' is cold Christmas so their astonishment doesn't bother me... but please don't be rude about it ;) How many times has a European (more French people tbh) unabashedly said to me "THAT'S NOT CHRISTMAS". 

When I went to the news agency to buy Christmas cards, I had to ask where they were. The lady said 'we've only going INTERNATIONAL ones', referring to the goofy cards with Santa in shorts + kangaroos with presents in their pouches. No one uses those locally in fact they're a bit cringe!!! But of course that had to take centre stage in the video!

Does anyone else feel the pressure to be perfect when it comes to writing a card? With no edit gomb, and not second chances, it's such a performance, and then when it comes to a foreign language you want to make sure it gets the right sentiment across. So I do use Google a lot to check stuff. I hope no one caught a glimpse of my search history.

There were three other references here. One is an academic paper that lists Regina Gonda as a co-author. I only know Regina from Twitter, but publishing an academic paper is NO SMALL FEAT! So I wanted to give her a shout out. And the second person I mentioned was Szabo Luca, who is a YouTuber/Influencer and also the voice of Hermione (among many others). She has been very publicly supportive of me since I became active again, which you don't always experience in the media world :D Plus, she's just seems extremely with-it, grounded, hardworking, bonafide hustler.

In the vid, we see time passes over many days (no really, I am SO slow to write in Hungarian, let alone a letter), before I feel urged to end the letter with 'Don't forget to have fun!'). The truth behind this is I often feel like some English ways of talking feel like too much, and it's necessary to dull it down a bit or it comes across as insincere.

Google Translate generously informs me of the Hungarian version.

Alas, feeling disenchanted that it took me several days to write one single card, I have no choice but to pivot to another plan to infiltrate Hungary. That's why the solution has to be something digital and something that's not one-to-one like a letter. So we need a platform/an experience.. a simulation!

This one was so much fun to conceive. I wanted this to be a cross between Hitman meets Doki Doki Literature Club meets Resident Evil meets Animal Crossing meets Duo Lingo.

When filming outside, there's nothing worse than wind. Fortunately on the day I filmed this is was one of the windiest days of the year. Literally had to wait for huge gusts of wind, sand and branches to go past before quicky filming.

Of course we reached the part of the game where I say something un-understandable. If you wanted to know what I said it was: "D'ya get your gear on a Target run? They've got eskies on tap"

D'ya = Did you

Gear = Equipment

Target run = First of all, Target was pronounced like it was a French word (like 'tarzse'). It's a silly thing people say to pretend like Target (the chain) is fancy. Second a 'run' is just a visit. Like McDonalds run, Aldi run etc etc.

Esky = is a cooler/ a place where you store beers.

On tap = lots of. Like when a beer is on tap. 

I wanted to come up with something that someone could potentially say (as opposed to filling it with completely outdated and outlandish slang)

Would you play this game haha???? Of course you would! And as we realise in the video, everyone would - it would be too popular, and I can no longer secretively sneak into Hungary. Aw man.

But then we have out come to Jesus moment, realising that the real connectivity happens in the heart. But the D+M (deep and meaningful) is interrupted by an important text message. So had to go. 

And we mail the letter at the same time.

So there you have it! Hope you had fun with this video. Let me know your thoughts on any social media platform. Always love to hear from ya!

Ausztrál Tom 14. rész - Gusztáv Bulizik es BUEK!

Valami LATVANYOS es SZINES az uj evre! Petofi... Keats... Bartok es Ausztral Tom!
Sydneyben az egesz varos atvaltozik egy oriasi buliva, meleg az ido ezert mindenki kint van (kabat nelkul). Ez fantasztikus es alig varom!

Azt kell mondonom, hogy a video helyszin nincs videken, tenlyeg 15 percre van a Sydney belvarostol. Ez a video nem egy igazi nyelvlecke, ez biztos, de akartam csinalni valamit az unnepekre. De tok nehez irni rimeket egy idegen nyelven hahaha. A szovegem itt van alul, de csak olvasd a video utan, mert remelem hogy ertheto voltam. :D

Nezzetek meg a hazi bulijaitokban ejfel elott. Hahaha! En alig varom a kovetkezo evet, mindig frissen erzem magam januarban. Remelem, hogy nektek jo karacsonyotok volt, sok kajaval es sok rokonnal. Ha meg nem hallotad a karacsonyi uzenetem, ami volt a radioban, itt a link a tobbi riporter uzeneteivel is. Ausztrál Tom

Kerlek kommentelj es ertekeld a videom! Imadom a kommentjeidet. Mond el mik a terveid az uj evre (az estere vagy a 2010re), tenyleg kivancsi vagyok tudni! A kovetkezo video lesz 2010-ben. Azert talan egy nap mulva.. talan egy ev mulva.. hahaha. Csak viccelek
.
De a legfontosabb... BOLDOG UJ EVET KIVANOK!

Tom



Buli, pezsgő, tűzijátekok
Boldog új évet kivánok.
Most ezt mondom Sydney-ben
Ahol ünnepeljük a two thousand ten -t

Ez az év volt, na, csak király
És Dzsesszika és Dzsennifer két sirály
Sokat tanultunk kétezerkilencben
De, hogy magyarázzam el a magyar nyelven?

Kafa, laza, jó és varázs
De most, aludj el kis Balázs
Mert éjfél után ébren maradunk
És a jövőbe gyorsan iparkodunk.

Gyertek! Várom. Benne vagytok?
Itt már nyár van, ne fázzatok,
Mindenhol kint lesznek a bulik
És a legjobb magyar kutyák? A Pulik.

Mi azt mondjunk, hogy happy new year!
És biztos lesz valami nagyon zsir
De jöjjön vissza, még szórakozunk
Mert birjuk egymást. És, jót bulizunk!

Ausztrál Tom 12. rész - Zsiga és Hercegnő

Kepzeld! 40 fok volt Sydneyben ma.... es csak Decemberben jon majd az igazi nyar. Hogyha tetszenek a kis koalak ebban a videoban, irj valamit! Szerenceres voltam, hogy le tudtam ooket filmezni amikor aktivak voltak, mert nagyon almosak altalaban. Amugy, nagyon szeretnek Hodmezovasarhelyre utazni... milyen csodas nev. :D :D :D

Ne felejts el subscribe-ozni vagy facebook-ozni vagy twitterezni. Es ezen a heten kaptam egy iwiw meghivot... ami a Facebook elott letezett, nem (az iwiw)? Na tok ugyesek vagytok MO-on :) Megtalalsz engem Ausztral Tom nev alatt. Es kommenjetek itt! C'moonnnnnn :p

Ausztrál Tom - A TV riport után... köszi mindenkinek!

Koszonom mindenkinek, aki az RTL Klub Fokusz riport utan irt nekem kommentet vagy levelet. Nagyon kedvesek vagytok...tenyleg! Es orulok, hogy ennyi embernek tetszenek a videoim. Nezzetek tovabbra is sokan! Hamarosan lesz uj nyelvleckem is :)