Saturday, November 21, 2009

Czinege Lajos elvtárs gondolatai


http://kozpontibizottsag.blog.hu/2009/03/13/czinege_lajos_elvtars_gondolatai






November 17

Czinege Lajos





A hadseregtábornokAz alábbi interjú Czinege Lajos hadseregtábornokkal – Kádár János honvédelmi miniszterével, a nyugállományú miniszterelnök-helyettessel –, 1993 õszén készült. A kommunista önkényuralom fõtisztje 1998-ig vette át a Leányfaluban volt kétszintes villájában a részére biztosított nyugdíjat. Fia: Czinege József magánvállalkozó, a demokrácia elsõ titkosszolgálati minisztere, az Antall-kormány belügyminisztere, majd a Magyar Köztársaság miniszterelnöke, Boross Péter Gábor nevû fiával alapította meg a Bross Holding Részvénytársaságot – amely napjainkban is mûködik (valamivel talán még dinamikusabban is, mint a demokratikus ország gazdasága.)
A budai Farkasréti temetõben Rákosi Mátyás és Gerõ Ernõ földi maradványai közelében temették el 1998-ban Czinege Lajoshadseregtábornokot – a kommunista önkényuralom egyik legismertebb alakját, aki hosszú idõn keresztül, 1960-tól 1984. december 6-ig honvédelmi miniszterként, majd 1987-ig miniszterelnök-helyettesként írta be nevét történelmünk fekete oldalaira. A hadseregtábornok Karcagon született 1924-ben. Kisgyermekkorától mezõgazdasági segédmunkásként dolgozott, az elemi iskola elvégzése után kitanulta a kovácsmesterséget. A front átvonulását egy tanyán bujkálva élte meg, majd a harcok befejezõdésével visszatért Karcagra. 1944 õszén belépett a Vasas Szakszervezetbe és az MKP-ba is. Ismert sportoló lévén aMADISZ titkárává választották, 1946-ban önkéntesként teljesített katonai szolgálatot egy mûszaki zászlóaljban. 1947-ben az MKP karcagi titkárának nevezeték ki és a két hónapos pártiskola elvégzését követõen 1948-tól az MDP Szolnok Megyei Végrehajtó Bizottságának osztályvezetõje lett. Budapestre, a Honvédelmi Minisztériumba, 1952-ben rendelte a Párt… 1956. október 24-én, az esti-éjszakai órákban az, MDP Központi Vezetõsége rendkívüli ülést tartott, amely vita másnap (25-én, a Parlamentelõtti sortûz napján) hajnalig folyt. Apró Antal elnökletével létrehozták az MDP KV Katonai Bizottságát a fegyveres felkelés leverésére irányuló próbálkozások koordinálására – a Katonai Bizottság tagjai: Czinege Lajos, Fehér Lajos, Földes László, Kovács István, Mezõ Imre, Piros László és Bata István– Az egykori kommunista tábornok, a jelenlegi demokráciánk nyugdíjasa hogyan tudott átállni? Természetesen a lelkiállapotára gondolok… lettek.- Én már 1984-ben el akartam menni nyugdíjba, mert 83-ban egy igen súlyos mûtétsorozaton estem át. Szerencsém volt, megmaradtam. Fizikai állapotom azonban igen sokat romlott. Fáradt voltam, nagyon fáradt. Bokor Imre ezredes „Kiskirályok mundérban” címû könyvét rezignáltan vettem tudomásul. Nem ez a szerencsétlen Bokor találta ki, hogy írjon, valószínûleg felbiztatták. Én ennek a százszorosát tudnám megírni, nekem ezt elhiheti.– Mi bántotta a leginkább a rendszerváltozás idején?- Megmondom: az, hogy én lettem a bûnbak. Dühös volt a társadalom, látták, hogy a dolgok elcseszõdtek, tehát kellett valaki. Nehogy azt higgye, hogy az újságírók találtáták ki azt, hogy Czinege legyen a célpont… Tudja, mi rázott meg engem a legjobban? Hogy azok az emberek árultak el, akikkel együtt dolgoztam. Az én felelõsséghányadomat egy pillanatig sem tagadtam. De Fock Jenõtõl kezdve Lázárig tagadták a felelõsségüket. A parlamenti meghallgatáson rá jellemzõ módon hõbörgött Fock Jenõ, hogy õ nem felel semmiért. Lázár önmagát adta. Ez egy puhány ember volt, akibõl az igent vagy a nemet kipréselni nehezebb volt, mint a hármasikreket a birkából… No és Marosán György! – Õ árult el a legjobban. Õ akarta, hogy hadügyminiszter legyek, és most, 1990 után letagadta. Akart a rosseb hadügyminiszter lenni! Olyan marha jól éreztem magamat Szolnok megyében, hogy az már nem is igaz. Amikor elmondta annak idején, hogy mit akar, gondoltam, elszaladok, eltûnök a semmibe, én nem akartam miniszter lenni.– Ez fájt Önnek a rendszerváltozásban?- Kegyetlenül. Mindennél jobban fájt, mert nemcsak a Marosán viselkedett így, hanem a Fock Jenõ is, aki olyan ember volt, hogy vasvillával vették el a születésekor az anyja alól. 1990-ben bosszút állt, mert régebben a képébe vágtam, hogy teleszarták az egész Budát lapos-tetejû házakkal… Ez az ember mondta: büszke arra, hogy miniszterelnöksége idején egyszer sem jött el a Honvédelmi Minisztériumba. Hát nem süllyed el szégyenében?… Tizenkét évig nem érdekelte, hogy mire költjük azt a rengeteg pénzt?– Milyennek látja az 1990 utáni rendszert?- Nagy öröm volna arról beszélni, hogy Antallék tanultak az általunk elkövetett hibákból – de tapasztalom, nagyon keveset tanultak…– Mi a véleménye a tervezett, de mindeddig végre nem hajtott történelmi igazságtételrõl?Ez egy õsi trükk. Amikor nem tud egy hatalom választ adni az igazi kérdésekre, akkor fenyegetõdzik. Kónya nincs egyedül. Csurka éjjel-nappal kommunistázik, Torgyán ebbõl él. Most ez a legolcsóbb…– Mikor vette észre, hogy a kommunista rendszer a végét járja?- Hát!… A mi rendszerünk az elég régóta vegetált. Keresgéltük az okát, és ha körbenéztünk a világban láttuk – csak a vak nem látta – hogy itt valami baj van. Ordító volt a különbség a keleti és a nyugati országok között. Nem kellett ahhoz politikai zsenialitás, hogy ezt lássuk. Nekem különösen fájdalmas volt a vietnami háború utáni tapasztalat, mert azt hittem, hogy az a hõsies nép végre boldogul. És mi történt?… Nem az Északot sikerült felzárkóztatni a fejlett, kapitalista Délhez, hanem az egyesítés után tönkrement az is.– Milyennek látta a nyolcvanas évek Magyarországát? Sejtette-e, hogy olyan gyorsan széthullik a szocialista rendszer?- A fenét! Aki azt mondta, hogy ezt elõre látta, az nagyképû és nem mond igazat. Mi csak azt láttuk: az élet által felvetett kérdésekre nem tudunk igazi választ adni. Minden évben végigszenvedtük az idegölõ, emberpusztító költségvetési huzavonát és elosztottuk azt, amit még nem is termeltünk meg. Valójában a Nyugat finanszírozta ezt a csõdtömeget. Nagyokos közgazdászaink – akik jelenleg, napjainkban is tevékenykednek! – a KB-üléseken nagypofával bizonygatták, hogy most érdemes felvenni a kölcsönt, mert az elkövetkezõ egy-két évben javunkra változik a piaci helyzet. Ezek a nagypofájú jóslatok soha nem jöttek be.– Miként hatott ez a pazarló gazdálkodás a hadügyre?Többirányú csatát kellett vívnom. Egyszer a Varsó Szerzõdés fõparancsnokságán belül, máskor pedig a kormányon belül. Jöttek a szovjetek és megmondták, hogy a magyar védelemre mennyit kell költeni…– Ezt nem a parlament határozta meg?- Ugyan már, az újságírók szeretnek mindig szélsõségesen kérdezni! Igen, lehetett alkudni… Hát, hogy az Istenbe ne! A szovjetek a háromszorosát-négyszeresét kívánták annak, amit elbírt volna az ország. Egy õrmester is tudhatta: ebbe belerokkanthatunk. Én nemegyszer megmondtam, hogy ne birodalmi ésszel gondolkozzunk. Sokszor, sokszor nagyon durva vita támadt az ilyen tanácsaimból. Azután persze az Országos Tervhivatal is jött az ellenjavaslattal és mi a kettõ között pörögtünk. Pazarló dolgokba kellett belemennünk, és ugyanakkor a legésszerûtlenebbekbe. Gondolja csak végig: az akkori értékek mellett 60 milliárd forintot fordítottunk egy-egy évben a fejlesztésekre. Megterveztük, elindítottuk a folyamatot, és akkor 2-3 év múlva azt mondták, hogy adja vissza a honvédelmi tárca a pénzt vagy annak egy részét… Sokszor ott álltunk, megfürödve… Hát van ennél nagyobb pazarlás a világon?– Magyarországnak volt a leggyengébb hadereje a térségben?- Ne vicceljen már! Dehogy! Nekünk volt egy filozófiánk: nem akartunk senkivel sem versenyezni a Kárpát-medencében. Mi szelektíven fejlesztettünk – ebben nekem Kádár János nagyon erõs bázisom volt. Mikor végleg összevesztem a Varsói Szerzõdés fõparancsnokságával azt mondtam nekik, hogy elég, a továbbiakat a fõnökömmel beszéljétek meg. Kádár hallgatott rám. – Mikor leléptem, akkor egy viszonylag fejlett, korszerû hadsereget adtam át az utódomnak 1987-ben.– Mennyi az Ön felelõssége abban, hogy ma itt tart az ország? Hogyan tud ezzel önmagának elszámolni?- Mit válaszoljak erre? Percentben mutassam ki? Én a Központi Bizottság tagja voltam hosszú idõn keresztül, amely állítólag száztagú volt. Akkor most osszuk el százfelé a felelõsséget vagy csapjuk hozzá a mindenkori Országgyûlést? – Egy százalék a felelõsségem vagy az egész háromszázhatvanad része? Ha a párttagság létszámát vesszük, akkor 800.000 ember között szükséges elosztani a felelõsséget?… Én a magam részét vállalom. A legnagyobb hibánknak azt tartom, hogy amikor már láttuk, hogy milyen nagy bajok vannak, akkor hallgattunk, nem nyitottuk ki a pofánkat. Pedig úgy egyébként igen nagy pofánk volt…– Reménykedik abban, hogy Magyarország végre egyenesbe jut? Nem fél attól, hogy az ellenségei bosszút állnak?- Szeretnék hinni abban, hogy Magyarországnak lesz jövõje. Ez a nép életerõs, fenn tudott maradni minden korban a népek országútján. Optimista vagyok. Félelem a jelenkori demokráciában?… Biztosan nem szerencsés a természetem, de azt a fogalmat, hogy félelem, azt nem ismerem. UTÓIRATAz egykori hadseregtábornokkal, a Magyar Népköztársaság miniszterelnök-helyettesével 1993-ban, a rendszerváltás harmadik évében folytatott beszélgetésünkrõl készített jegyzeteket ismertetem az olvasókkal. Az interjúban - szándékom szerint -, kérdéseket akartam feltenni vendéglátómnak Czinege József („Dodi”) nevû fia és Boross Péter akkori belügyminiszter József nevû fia közös cégérõl, a Bross Holding Gazdasági Tanácsadó és Vagyonkezelõ Zrt.-rõl (amely közös vállalkozás bonyolította le a „Kalesnyikov-botrányként” elhíresült fegyverszállításokat Horvátországba Jeszenszky Géza és az akkor már nagybeteg Antall József tudtával) – de nyugállományú miniszterelnök-helyettes ezekre a kérdésekre nem válaszolt.2008.11.14.
Szemenyei-Kiss Tamás (1945)
Forrás: PR Herald (OSZK Fond 567 jelzetû gyûjteménye)


9:06 AM | Blog it | Visszaemlékezés
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No namewrote:
Magam is tapasztaltam a Magyar Néphadsereg alakulatainál (és néhány esetben a Honvéd Vezérkarnál is), hogy a magas beosztású főtisztek feleségei a rózsaszínű fürdőkádból telefonon keresztük akarták az ezredet írányítani. Ugyanis a fiatal tisztek az 1950-es években szakmunkás lányokat vettek feleségül. Időközben a férj akadémiát, egyetemet végzett, a feleségek zömében megmaradtak "primitívecskének", és nem tudtak viselkedni, nem érték fel műveltséggel a társadalmi helyüket és szerepüket. Sok tragédiának lett ez az oka. Egy idő mulva a tisztek tömegesen cserélték le a butácska felelségeiket. Ezt sokan nem merték megtenni, mert az a kariejükbe került volna. Azonban 1970 után már sokat javult a helyzet, mert a katonai főískoláról kikerült tisztek zöme már értelmiségi lányokat vettek feleségül. Ezek távoltartották magukat a katonai élettől. Tőllem is sokszor kérdezték a feleségem pedagógus kollégái, hogy mit keresek én abban a durva világban, ahol olyan műveletlenek vezetők. Sokat kellett magyaráznom, hogy 1970 után már a hadsereg tisztikara nem a régi primitív társaság volt, sőt 1990-ben már a társadalmunk legerősebben szervezett értelmiségi ereje volt. Az új hatalom ezt nagyon jól tudta, ezért igyekezett szisztematikusan szétverni és utcára tenni a sokezer többdiplomás tisztet.
Oct. 17
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Picture of Attila Tar
Attila Tarwrote:
A felesége aktívan belepofázott mindenbe, ami nem is tartozott rá. A férje hatalmának tudatában vonta felelősségre egy kollégámat, amiért az szerinte nem volt frissen borotvált. Ellenkezni vele természetesen nem lehetett.
Aug. 3
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Picture of igazmondo lovo52
Cinege Lajos, az aszodi laktanya látogatásakor/1974/ kiesett a helikopterből, mert olyan részeg volt! Bank László, ezredparancsnok, egy határozott: EZRED HÁTRA ARC: vezényszóval, lezárta a történteket!
Mar. 20
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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The ant and the grasshopper

OLD VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be Responsible for yourself


MODERN VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN,and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. Americas stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.' Acorn stages a demonstration in front of the ant’s house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.'
Rev.. Jeremiah Wright then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake. Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reidex claim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share. Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar. The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ants food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.
MORAL OF THE STORY: None

Thursday, August 6, 2009

The Shape Of Things To Come

(turn on speakers)
http://www.aclu.org/pizza/images/screen.swf
Don't miss those tofu stix. Is privacy a thing of the past? Will it be?

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Monday, June 29, 2009

Stakka Bo? Here we go again? 1993? Well, yeah.


I remember hearing this song ages ago - lately I downloaded it again, just for kicks - I'd missed the chorus. This time, I actually paid attention to the rest of the lyrics...well worth quoting in full:
Here we go again
Here we go go go
To the temple of consumption
Get your gear and start to spend
Here we go go go with total dedication

Here we go again
Here we go go go
To the temple of consumption
Get your gear and start to spend
Here we go
Here we go
Here we go

As some sort of prototype I serve to be - you see tomorrow's dream has never been part of me - consume today and leave the rest behind you - tomorrow's a surprise party buy a ticket too

faster livin' faster live as fast as you're able - eat the food while it's still hot on the table - spend if you can the greens are burning in your pocket - if you spend it right now you'll get as high as a rocket

Everything you don't use will loose it's value tomorrow - consume too much today and you can always borrow - this paradigm's the best one since the day of creation - get your gear and shape up this is the revelation - shop till you drop has built this civilization - don't believe what you hear 'bout the next generation - if you go wtih a lot of toys you'll slip away a happy man - the greens are burning in you pockets just spend it while you can

Here we go again
here we go go go
to the temple of consumption
get your gear and start to spend
here we go
here we go
here we go

The moon and the stars they all look down on me and say - there's a correlation between tomorrow and today - I say you won't gain a thing on that sick repudiation - we're right here right now that's the only situation - you can't fool me we live on borrowed time - so I spend the funds I have to the nickel and dime - check it in check it out it's not a matter of contention - get your gear and shape up and join the church of consumption

Use it in wear it out than throw it all away - go get yourself a new one all you gotta do is pay - because the more I will get the more I will own - with a lot of things around me I won't never fell alone - I work around the clock just to earn my livin' - and I wanna get I won't spend my funds on givin' - now I'm acting irresponsible is that what you say - hey somalia got my toaster just the other day
Not so bad, eh? It's weird, cause the track is totally dancy, fairly bouncy, and unless you're paying attention to the lyrics, just way upbeat.

Reminds me of the bit in Surplus - where you see a single billboard in the street in Cuba with two words on it; Consume Less.

Well, like they say...

Here We Go Again...PS...RIP Alma

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Futureman

(Click on image to make larger)

Vintage Dude A: “So you’re saying people will “tweet” what they’re eating for breakfast?”

Vintage Dude B: “And upload pictures of their breakfasts to a ‘Facebook’?”

Vintage Dude C: “And other people will look at the breakfasts and make comments?”

Future Man: “Sorry to burst your bubble, dudes, but you asked. Yes, that’s the future.”

Vintage Dude D: “No offense Future Man, but is everyone in your time retarded?”

Hahahahaha.That’s the funniest thing I’ve seen in a while!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Muppets

Like a lot of people, I grew up on Sesame Street and the Muppets. But did you ever stop to wonder where they came from?

Many Muppets came from humble origins; Kermit once was made of a coat and ping-pong balls.

Many Muppets came from humble origins; Kermit once was made of a coat and ping-pong balls.

Some of the characters we know and love were recycled from other TV shows and commercials Jim Henson worked on, while others were invented by using whatever materials were around.

Be prepared for a little nostalgia, and I hope I didn't leave out your favorite -- not all of the characters have interesting background stories (sorry, Big Bird).

1. Cookie Monster: Jim Henson drew some monsters eating various snacks for a General Foods commercial in 1966. The commercial was never used, but Henson recycled one of the monsters (the "Wheel-Stealer") for an IBM training video in 1967 and again for a Fritos commercial in 1969. By that time, he had started working on Sesame Street and decided this monster would have a home there.

2. Elmo: The way it's described by a Sesame Street writer, apparently this extra red puppet was just lying around. People would try to do something with him, but nothing really panned out. In 1984, puppeteer Kevin Clash picked up the red puppet and started doing the voice and the personality and it clicked -- thus, Elmo was born.

3. Telly Monster was originally the Television Monster when he debuted in 1979. He was obsessed with TV and his eves would whirl around as if hypnotized whenever he was in front of a set. After a while, producers started worrying about his influence on youngsters, so they changed him to make him the chronic worrier he is now.

4. Count von Count made his first appearance in 1972 and was made out of an Anything Muppet pattern -- a blank Muppet head that could have features added to it to make various characters. He used to be more sinister -- he was able to hypnotize and stun people and he laughed in typical scary-villain-type fashion after completing a count of something and thunder and lightning would occur.

He was quickly made more appealing to little kids, though. He is apparently quite the ladies' man -- he has been linked to Countess von Backward, who loves to count backward; Countess Dahling von Dahling and Lady Two.

5. Kermit was "born" in 1955 and first showed up on "Sam and Friends," a five-minute puppet show by Jim Henson. The first Kermit was made out of Henson's mom's coat and some ping pong balls. At the time, he was more lizard-like than frog-like. By the time he showed up on Sesame Street in 1969, though, he had made the transition to frog. There are rumors that he got the name Kermit from a childhood friend of Henson's or a puppeteer from the early days of the Muppets, but Henson always refuted both of those rumors. Mental Floss: 15 reasons Mr. Rogers was the best neighbor ever

6. Real Swedish Chef Lars "Kuprik" Bäckman claims he was the inspiration for the Swedish Chef. He was on "Good Morning America," he says, and caught Jim Henson's eye. Henson supposedly bought the rights to the show's recording and created the Swedish Chef (who DOES have a real name, but it's not understandable). One of the Muppet writers, Jerry Juhl, says that in all of the years of working with Jim Henson on the Swedish Chef, he never heard that the character was based on a real person.

7. Animal: The Who's Keith Moon may have inspired everyone's favorite member of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. This is speculation, but people who support the theory will point out that Jim Henson named one of the Fraggle Rock characters "Wembley," which is the town where Moon was born.

8. Miss Piggy is apparently from Iowa. She started as a minor character on "The Muppet Show," but anyone who knows Miss Piggy can see that she wouldn't settle for anything "minor." Her first TV appearance was actually on an Herb Alpert special. It wasn't until 1976, when "The Muppet Show" premiered, that she became the glamorous blonde with a penchant for frog that we know and love today. Frank Oz once said that Miss Piggy grew up in Iowa; her dad died when she was young and her mother was mean. She had to enter beauty contests to make money.

9. Rowlf the Dog, surprise, surprise, was first made in 1962 for a series of Purina Dog Chow commercials. He went on to claim fame as Jimmy Dean's sidekick on The Jimmy Dean Show and was on every single episode from 1963 to 1966. Jimmy Dean said Rowlf got about 2,000 letters from fans every week. He was considered for Sesame Street but ended up becoming a regular on "The Muppet Show" in 1976. Mental Floss: Commercials from a late-80s airing of 'A Muppet Family Christmas'

10. Oscar the Grouch is performed by the same guy who does Big Bird, Carroll Spinney. Spinney said he based Oscar's cranky voice on a particular New York cab driver he once had the pleasure of riding with. He was originally an alarming shade of orange. In Pakistan, his name is Akhtar and he lives in an oil barrel. In Turkey, he is Kirpik and lives in a basket. And in Israel, it's not Oscar at all -- it's his cousin, Moishe Oofnik, who lives in an old car.

11. Gonzo: What exactly is Gonzo? Nobody knows. Even Jim Henson had no particular species in mind. Over the course of "The Muppet Show," "Muppet Babies" and various Muppet movies, Gonzo has been referred to as a "Whatever", a "Weirdo" and an alien. Whatever he is, he first appeared on the scene in 1970's The Great Santa Claus Switch. His name was Snarl the Cigar Box Frackle. In 1974, he showed up on a TV special for Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. He became Gonzo the Great by the first season of The Muppet Show and developed his thing for Camilla the Chicken almost accidentally: During one episode where chickens were auditioning for the show, puppeteer Dave Goelz ad-libbed, "Don't call us, we'll call you... nice legs, though!" It was decided then and there that Gonzo would have a bizarre romantic interest in chickens.

12. You have to love Statler and Waldorf. I couldn't find much on their particular inspiration, but I can tell you that they've been around since the 1975 "Muppet Show" pilot. They are named after popular New York City hotels (the Statler Hotel was renamed the Hotel Pennsylvania in 1992.) Guess what Waldorf's wife name is? Yep... Astoria (she looks startlingly like Statler.) FYI, Waldorf is the one with the mustache and white hair. Statler has the grey hair. Apparently Waldorf has had a pacemaker for more than 30 years.

13. Beaker: I always thought of Beaker and his buddy Bunsen Honeydew as characters that came along later in the Muppet timeline, but they have been around since the "The Muppet Show." Although Beaker usually says things along the lines of, "Mee-mee-mee-mee!", he has had a few actual lines: "Sadly temporary," "Bye-Bye" and "Make-up ready!" Despite being word-challenged, he manages to do a pretty convincing Little Richard impression and, surprisingly, had mad beatbox skills. Beaker is one of the only Muppets that was never recycled from some other purpose -- he was created solely for "The Muppet Show."

14. Fozzie Bear. Poor Fozzie. He's the perpetual target of Statler and Waldorf because of his horrible jokes and puns. It actually created a bit of a problem during the first season of The Muppet Show, because when Fozzie got heckled, he got very upset and sometimes cried. Viewers didn't feel sympathy; they felt embarrassed. The problem was solved by making Fozzie an optimist so that even when he got heckled he was good-natured about it. It's often thought that he was named after Frank Oz, who was his puppeteer, but Frank said it's just a variant of "fuzzy bear." Yet another story says he was named for his builder, Faz Fazakas. Wocka wocka!!

15. Bert and Ernie are the Muppet version of Felix and Oscar ("The Odd Couple," for you young'uns). Lots of people think Bert and Ernie were named for some minor characters in It's A Wonderful Life, but according to the Henson company, that's just a rumor. Jim Henson always maintained that it was just a coincidence -- the names just went well together and seemed to fit the characters. Jerry Juhl, one of the head writers, corroborated this and said that Jim Henson had no memory for details like that and would have never remembered the name of the cop and the taxi cab driver in the old Jimmy Stewart movie.

Other rumors to clear up: Bert and Ernie aren't gay and neither one of them are dead. Now that we've got that straightened out, here are a few more tidbits: the original Ernie used to have a gravelly voice similar to Rowlf the Dog's. Frank Oz was Bert's puppeteer and hated him at the beginning. He thought Bert was ridiculously boring, but then realized that he could have a lot of fun with being boring. Jim Henson once said, "I remember trying Bert and Frank tried Ernie for a while. I can't imagine doing Bert now, because Bert has become so much of a part of Frank."

16. Grover: Everyone's favorite "cute, furry little monster" made his TV debut on the "Ed Sullivan Show" in 1967. At the time, he was known as "Gleep" and was a monster in Santa's Workshop. He then appeared on the first season of Sesame Street, but sported green fur and a reddish-orange nose. He didn't have a name then, but by the second season he transformed into the Grover we know today, more or less -- electric blue fur and a pink nose. The original green Grover was reincarnated as Grover's Mommy for a few episodes. In Latin America and Puerto Rico Grover is known as Archibaldo, in Spain he is Coco, in Portugal he is Gualter and in Norway he is Gunnar.

17. Sweetums is one of a handful of full-body Muppets. He showed up in 1971 on the TV special "The Frog Prince." This is where he got his name -- when Sir Robin the Brave is about to defeat the ogre, a witch shows up and changes him into a frog (who later becomes Robin, Kermit's nephew). Apparently smitten with the ogre, the witch tells her darling "Sweetums" that he can have the frog for breakfast.

Bigger fame awaited Sweetums, though -- in 1975, he appeared on Cher's variety show to do a duet with her to "That Old Black Magic". He officially joined "The Muppet Show" cast in 1976.

18. Rizzo the Rat might sound familiar to you, especially if you've seen "Midnight Cowboy" -- he is named for Dustin Hoffman's character, Ratso Rizzo. He was created after puppeteer Steve Whitmire was inspired by rat puppets made from bottles. He first showed up on "The Muppet Show" as one of a group of rats following Christopher Reeve around -- he's easy to spot because he hams it up more than any of the other rats. He occasionally performs with Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.

19. Pepe the King Prawn's full name is Pepino Rodrigo Serrano Gonzales. I heart Pepe. He was a chef in Madrid before going Hollywood on "Muppets Tonight" in 1996. He was paired with Seymour the Elephant (Pepe was originally going to be a mouse) on the show, but Seymour never developed quite the same following and was only in two episodes. He rarely gets names right -- some of his mispronunciations include "muffins" instead of Muppets, "Kermin" instead of Kermit and "Scooper" instead of Scooter. He's quite full of himself -- in addition to thinking that he's quite the ladies' man, he also fully expects to win several Oscars.

20. Herry Monster from Sesame Street was the Big Bad Wolf in his original incarnation, which you can kind of tell by looking at his fur. It's pretty wolf-like (if wolves were blue, I mean). He became a Sesame monster in 1970 to replace the Beautiful Day Monster, who looked kind of like Sam the Eagle and existed to cause destruction wherever he went, thus ruining the beautiful day people had been having before he showed up. Herry used to have a furry nose but got upgraded to his non-furry, purple nose in 1971. 

For more mental_floss articles, visit MENTALFLOSS.COM

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

N Á H U A T L

A Brief History of the Nahua People.

The Nahua people held "the flower and song", or art, in great esteem. They considered it the only road to a more authentic form of knowledge, closer to reality, less subject to the relative, illusory nature of the earthly world. This is clear in their extensive legacy to universal art, poetry, architecture, murals, sculpture and textiles were some of the many disciplines which the Nahuas developed.

In Náhuatl culture, being an artist was reserved for only a few particularly gifted individuals and was directly linked with the realm of ritual and divinity, central to Aztec society. For someone to become an artist, different considerations were taken into account: first and foremost, he had to be destined to it, and that was determined by the position of the stars at his birth; secondly, he had to have "countenance and heart", which in the metaphoric Nahuatl language means "having a strong personality, a meticulously forged spirit".

In the Náhuatl cosmology, snakes were associated with earthly matters, the night, all things femenine, pleasurable and sensual. The serpent was one of the most important sacred symbols, associated not only with darkness, but also with precious things, such as in the case of Xiuhcóatl, or the turquoise serpent used as a weapon by Huitzilopochtli (a link between the blue of the heavens and the green of the earth), or the plumed serpent, Quetzalcóatl, the sacred serpent which could fly, covered with the plumes of the sacred bird, the quetzal.

Náhuatl tradition says that the world as we know it was created during the nocturnal transfiguration of Ometéotl, "the Absolute". This transfiguration is known as Tezcatlipoca, or "the smoky mirror", from which the four directions of the universe emerged:
     black, the North
     white, the West
     blue, the South
     red, the East


Náhuatl - The Mexican language, 
from the root 'Nahua' meaning 
"a dance done with the hands 
entwined, a concordance, to 
move in cadence". Also known 
as the turquoise smoke... 
harmonious speech, that which is pleasing to the ear.

Pronunciation - Vowels
  a - ah, e - eh, i - ee, o - oh, u - oo.

Pronunciation - Consonants
  ch as in chain
  j like the h in hard
  x like the sh in she
  z like s
  qu before e or i sounds like k
  c sounds like s before e or i, like k everywhere else.
  h sounds like a soft h, more a pause than a sound. 

      * duplicated consonants are pronounced twice. All words 
         have emphasis in the previous-to-last syllable.

Nouns
In general, nouns are identified by the suffixes t, tli, li, in ...after the "root word".

A   B r i e f   D i c t i o n a r y   o f   C o m m o n   T e r m s
Nahuatl language varies according to the state where you are, some words are spelled starting with a "K" while another with a "C" for the same word, even the last letters maybe altered depending on your location in Mexico. We try to use the most common terms below.

Kalli - house, casa
Tlazocamatli - thank you, gracias 
Tonatiuh - sun, sol
Meztli - moon, luna
Azteka - from Aztekatl (meaning from Aztlan), de Aztekatl (significa de Aztlan)
Tlatoa - speak, hablar
Ikniuhtli - friend, amigo
Nehuatl - I, yo
Tehuatl - you, tu
Niltze - hi, hola
Amo - no
Kema - yes, si

Titlatoa Nahuatl? - do you speak Nahuatl? Tu hablas Nahuatl?
Kema, Nitlatoa Nahuatl - yes, I speak Nahuatl, Si, Yo hablo Nahuatl
Amo, Nitlato Nahuatl - no, I do not speak Nahuatl. No hablo Nahuatl
Ken Motoka? - what is your name?, Cual es tu numbre?
Nehuatl Notoka... - my name is..., mi nombre es ...
Kanin Tichanti? - where do you live?, donde es tu vives?
Nehuatl Nichanti... - I Live..., yo vivo...
Kenin Otimo Uika - how are you doing?, como as estado?
Hue Kaulli - very good, muy bien
Kualli - good, bueno 

Cihuatl - woman, mujer
Tlacatl - man, hombre 
Nantlil - mother, madre
Tahtll - father, padre
Ikniuh - brother, hermano
Hueltiuh - sister, hermana
Cuacualti - beautiful, bonita
Papakiliztli - happy, feliz
Yoliliztli - life, vida
Yollotl - heart, corazon 
Itacatl - food, comida
Cintlaolli - corn, maize 
Atl - water, agua
Atoyaatl - river, rio
Mixtli - cloud, nube
Ehekatl - wind, viento
Kiauitl - rain, lluvia
Tletl - fire, fuego
Ayauhcozamalotl - rainbow, arco iris
Cicitlaltin - stars, estrellas
Ilhuitl - day, dia
Yoal - night, la noche
Axan - today, hoy
Cualcan - tomorrrow morning, manana
Nian - here, aqui


G e m s   &   M i n e r a l s
  Chalchiuitl - jade
  Itztli - obsidian, obsidiana
  Tecalli - onix
  Iztactehulotl - rock quartz or crystal, cristal de roca
  Huitzitzilteepatl - opal , opalo
  Teoxihuitl - turquoise, turquesa
  Apozonalli - amber, ambar
  Tlaquauacteepatl - diamond, diamante
  Tlapaltehuilotl - amathist, amatista
  Quetzalxoquiyae - emerald, esmeralda
  Cuacocoztic - ruby, rubí
  Epyollotli - pearl, perla
  Matlalxihuitl - saffire, zafiro


N u m b e r s
  Ce - one, uno
  Ome - two, dos
  Yeyi - three, tres
  Nahui - four, cuatro
  Macuil - five, cinco
  Chicuacen - six, seis
  Chicome - seven, siete
  Chicuei - eight, ocho
  Chihnahui - nine, nueve
  Matlactli - ten, diez
  
                         xoqui  (concha)
C o l o r s
  Pisti - black, negro
  Ichcati - white, blanco
  Xoxocti - green, verde
  Asolti - blue, azul
  Chilti - red, rojo
  Costi - yellow, amarillo
  Axocoti - purple, morado


A n i m a l s
  Coyotl - coyote
  Tochtli - rabbit, conejo
  Coatl - snake, serpiente
  Cuetzpali - lizard, lagarto
  Totol - bird, pajaro
  Cahuayoh - horse, caballo
  Mazatl - deer, venado
  Ozelotl - jaguar
  Miztli - lion, leon
  Zorrah - fox, zorro
  Cuetlachtli - wolf, lobo
  Aitzcuauhtli - osprey, aguila pescadora
  Cuauhtli - eagle, aguila
  Moxi - vulture, zopilote
  Cuauhtlotli - marsh hawk, halcon
  Aztatl - heron / snowy egret, garza / airón
  Atotoli - pelican, pelicano
  Canauhtli - duck, pato
  Huilotl - dove, paloma
  Huitzitziltzin - hummingbird, colibri
  Aitzcuintli - otter, nutria
  Ayomichi - turtle, tortuga
  Ayotochi - armadillo
  Ytzcuintli - dog, perro
  Miztli - cat, gato 
  Papalotl - butterfly, mariposa
  Cipactli - crocodile, cocodrilo
  Colotl - scorpion, escorpión
  Cuiatl - frog, rana

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Sunday, January 4, 2009