A cross-section of the very first bejgli I ever baked myself. Made from my great-grandmother's recipe. 😋🎄

Dragon Quest • A Japanese game from 1986 with roughly a one-sentence story and. The princess to rescue is only a side-quest.

But Dragon Quest V, released in 1992, stands far above it for more than just its multi-generational narrative. One of its female leads openly objects to being married off as a reward. Another is already as independent and resourceful as the male protagonist. The male characters, meanwhile, are no longer judged solely by how strong they are.

It's fascinating to revisit the older games, and refreshing to see that it wasn't only the graphics that evolved over the years.

ℹ️ Notes (added 2026-06-09):

That said, as with other game series such as Final Fantasy, the move to 3D graphics also brought with it a noticeable increase in sexist fan service.

I find it disappointing that top-tier franchises still so often resort to the objectification of women as a marketing tool. I don't think they need it, and I suspect those elements will age far worse than the games' storytelling, character development, or artistic achievements.

"Hooman, if I sit at the table too, do I get my own plate?" Apparently not. I voiced my concerns, then turned my back and curled up in silent protest. 🐩 🍽️

Santa was here.

I finally caught him mid-yoga. 🐩

Something's in the making... 🎃 😋 🍁

First cooking in the new apartment. What surprised me the most is how silent the cooktop is. I never realized before how much I relied on the sound of the gas flow when adjusting the flame.

Mad Scientist box • Now filled with actual science instead of beer!

Hummingbird! • On a street in Budapest! I could hardly believe my eyes! 🌸 At first, I thought it was a large butterfly, the way it fluttered from flower to flower, it looked like a bird. My commenters helped me crack the case, that it was not a bird after all, but a hummingbird hawk-moth. 🦋

The new meat-free balls at IKEA are delicious. I absolutely love them! And apparently their environmental impact is only 4% of that of the traditional meatballs. #plantballs

Now that my son has started getting into LEGO, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many female characters there are compared to when I was a child. Women are represented practically everywhere: pirates, knights, police officers, firefighters, engineers, mechanics, astronauts, athletes, musicians, and more. Half of the collectible minifigures are female too (ten years ago the ratio was 1 out of 16).

Pictured here is Doctor Kelvin. Back in 1993, she was the very first female LEGO astronaut in the Ice Planet theme. I really like her name. It refers both to extreme temperatures and to Dr. Susan Calvin, the brilliant robopsychologist from Isaac Asimov’s sci-fi stories.

In recent weeks I’ve been reading ebooks (The Count of Monte Cristo and the first three Scarlet Pimpernel novels), so there hasn’t really been anything to photograph. But now there is, at least before I travel home and continue El Dorado from the Project Gutenberg website.

I couldn’t put down The Pink Dress; I’ve even given it as a gift before. And I can only say good things about The Scarlet Pimpernel as well. It is undeniably the ancestor of every philanthropist with a ridiculous public persona and a secret double life, from Zorro to Superman, but it is much more than that. The female narrator-protagonist of the first novel is every bit the equal of the title character in ingenuity and courage. That makes the story far more interesting than a simple adventure built on a hidden identity.

Poppy seed and sour cherry cake 😋 It came together so quickly that by the time my lunch was ready, this was too. 🍒

Before a date • The first coffee out after four months. I probably still wouldn’t have gone out and sat somewhere just for myself, but I have some waiting to do, so until then I’m continuing Monte Cristo with this by my side.

A fresh bundle of books 📚 Looks like I’ll have plenty to read for a while. 🙂

I’m rooting for the astronauts until docking is complete! 👨‍🚀👨‍🚀🌌 What’s happening right now could give space exploration a whole new momentum. It may even shape the future of humanity itself.

While they were approaching the ISS, I played astronaut for a bit myself to complete the mood. 😉

I’m competing for the title of weirdest mayday celebration! 😁 The IKEA gingerbread house and the edible glue were both dangerously close to their best before date. I still wanted the little house to fulfill its purpose in life before I ate it. 🌲 That cheeky chimney had to be stuffed with jelly to keep the whole thing standing. 🤣

What We Brought from Home: Family Patterns and Relationships • I especially liked the piece by Noémi Orvos-Tóth and Dániel Kozma-Vízkeleti. 👍

Happy Easter! 🐰🥚

(Smoked and boiled Easter ham with Mother Varjú’s sweet curd cheese, decorated eggs, homemade horseradish in vinegar, roast leg of lamb with a honey-mustard crust, rolled pork knuckle with wild garlic, marinated radish salad, egg pâté with goose liver and chives, fresh sweetbread, and garden vegetables.)

A Normal Lost Phone • It was compelling how the story unfolded through the contents of the apps on the phone. There was plenty of puzzle-solving, and it was genuinely easy to empathize with the protagonist.

"Day passes, evening passes too, but the night! That never ends, not ever. The noises. A tram in the distance, the neighbor’s dog, the rustle of the blanket. The smells, your scent on the pillow, I changed them, I sleep on yours now, though of course the Eszter-smell is fading from it too, and there’s no replenishing it, it’s fading from everywhere. I wake, stretch out my hand to where the blanket used to crease long ago, but now it doesn’t crease there, and panic seizes me; I grope for your arm, my mind clears, I call your name, and I fall."

It looks like this will be my office for a while. Sometimes I even become the chair myself. It’s amazing how far technology has come that I can do this.

A home office is a dog-friendly workplace.

No carpool came through, but who could say no to a private train? 🙂 This is how this train looks like when you’re on your own. Imagine, the ticket inspector even called ahead for me, so the connection would wait me in Székesfehérvár.

Last travel before the lockdown • Epic clouds gather as I wait for the train.🚆☁️

"You see, Mrs. Higgins, apart from the things one can pick up, the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated. I shall always be a common flower girl to Professor Higgins, because he always treats me like a common flower girl, and always will. But I know that I shall always be a lady to Colonel Pickering, because he always treats me like a lady, and always will."

Let it be Women's Day! • I only caught the end, but it was great to hear the talks by Marcell Likó (Vad Fruttik), Szeder, Ibolya Oláh, and Timi Arany.

"So cute!" a little girl tells her dad on the street. "It's like a Túró Rudi!"

I love walking with Saladin. It’s a great feeling to see him bring a smile to everyone’s face wherever we go.

The biggest snowdrops I've ever saw.

After my keyboard didn’t survive Sunday tea, I went looking for a new work tool. After eight years, I finally have a keyboard without cramped keys! It’s mechanical, easy to clean, and even clicks a bit, just like a typewriter.

if I stopped
to rest
punishments came

I just discovered something new on this page.

"If one wishes to engage with the question of order and disorder, and to make observations, it seems right to first clarify one’s own relationship with order. Otherwise, attempts at interpretation can be surprisingly subjective and misleading, and even the observations themselves may not always remain objective." - Alaine Polcz

🎶 This was a triumph / I'm making a note here: "Huge success" 🎶

I was in Szeged on Wednesday. Near the Tisza riverbank, I found this concrete barrier painted to look like a companion cube from Portal. It reminded me how typical it is in the story that GLADOS always demands "just a little more" effort from the protagonist to grant her the cake symbolizing freedom. Which, of course, was never meant to be granted. Like an abusive relationship: the promise of "enough" never really existed.

Dog walk at dusk.

Such is coincidence • Yesterday, I happened to sit next to the English translation of The Pendragon Legend at a book launch. "In Luther’s time, for example, the notion of Chance consisted of no more than a bolt of lightning striking the ground before him. It didn’t even have to hit him. And the result was the Reformation. Nowadays it means nothing more than two chaps going off together on the same holiday."

The bulb burned out in our childhood East German slide projector between Snow White and Mazsola Takes a Bath. The repair itself was an experience. I’m happy to see that 100-watt 9202D bulbs for it are still available to order from Poland.

Pszichoforyou's event is held in a beautiful place. 🙂

OCTAVIUS. I too shall grow old, Ann. And when I am eighty, one white hair of the woman I love will make me tremble more than the thickest gold tress from the most beautiful young head.

ANN. [quite touched] Oh, that's poetry, Tavy, real poetry. [...] if it is to become true you must lose me as well as love me.

OCTAVIUS. Oh! [he hastily sits down at the little table and covers his face with his hands].

ANN. [with conviction] Tavy: I wouldn't for worlds destroy your illusions. I can neither take you nor let you go. I can see exactly what will suit you. You must be a sentimental old bachelor for my sake.

OCTAVIUS. [desperately] Ann: I'll kill myself.

ANN. Oh no you won't: that wouldn't be kind. You won't have a bad time. You will be very nice to women; and you will go a good deal to the opera. A broken heart is a very pleasant complaint for a man in London if he has a comfortable income.

(On the image Éva Vass and Ferenc B. Deák playing this scene from Man and Superman by G. B. Shaw)

Quote from the book on the image: "It seems that in this country, if someone gets a slap, it’s normal. If someone gets a hug, it’s a scandal."

12 Rules for Life • I rarely leave a book unfinished, but this one turned my stomach. Reading from a psychologist’s pen that it’s okay to hit children, that women are inherently chaotic, or that a single-parent family is worthless...

I cannot fathom how a popular expert could propagate such ideas in the 21st century. Yes, there are brilliant insights, but these small horrors hidden between the lines become even more dangerous amid the compelling, credible facts.

A huge disappointment. I thought this would become a new favorite... 😢 And then...

...and then my metrical verse analyzer called out the last line of Huszt, saying it wasn’t pentameter. True enough, the archaic use of the definite article in the line "a haza fényre derűl" is not clear to today’s readers either. Pronounced with a long syllable there, adding a tiny pause, or overemphasizing the 'h' sound could fix it.

Typing it with a long 'h' helped the Python script spat out that it is pentameter.

ℹ️ It is important to know that metrical verse only works in languages where the length of different phonemes plays a meaning-distinguishing role. This was true for ancient Greek, and among modern languages, it applies to Finnish or Hungarian. In English, this does not work, so the Mora finder is not very useful for analyzing English verse lines.

The captions say: "Why not?", "Because I can count on you", "Because it's funny to spend the day with you", "Because you took out the trash"

Let TúróRudi (and love) be unconditional! It shouldn’t be something you earn for taking out the trash or being cheerful nonstop! What happens if I break my leg or become sad? The Blind Komondor reminds his partner this way on ValentinesDay to let her know what he expects.

2019 in books • It feels wonderful that I picked up most of this year’s reads because of inspiring conversations with friends and dear acquaintances, so beyond the joy of reading, I could also experience a sense of connection while turning the pages.

Crisp grass, frostberries on the trees, a dome of clouds. Walk in the enchanted forest. The true winter mood! ❄️😊