338 earworms

This was my 6th year noting the songs stuck in my head every morning, and once again, here are the statistics. This is my own internal version of Spotify Wrapped...

2018: I woke up with an earworm 306 mornings, featuring 150 different songs (post here)

2019: 316 mornings, 137 songs (post here)

2020: 346 mornings, 149 songs (post here)

2021: 312 mornings, 124 songs (post here)

2022: 313 mornings, 129 songs (post here)

2023: 290 mornings, 140 songs (post here)

This year turned out to be quite exciting. I woke up with a song stuck in my head on 338 mornings, with a total of 145 different songs represented. But this year, something wholly unprecedented happened: one single soundtrack took over most of the mornings.

I have already mentioned Hazbin Hotel in the previous post. Well, I have to say, it did something with music that I did not expect. I loved the soundtrack and listened to it a lot all year; it seems like being awake and asleep had a correlation this time. The album became significant on this year's earworm list in three ways:

1. This is the first album from which every single song appeared on the list, and all of them more than once.

2. This album alone was responsible for 103 mornings, almost a full third of my year.

3. Every song (but one) ended up in the top 10.

It still holds, however, that there is no correlation between which songs I like the most, and which ones stick the most. (Although from this album, I liked all of them.). In order to not spend this whole post with HH, I am listing them separately. So:

The winner of this year's earworm list was the Finale of Hazbin Hotel, with a total of 14 mornings. (Spoiler alert!)

Followed by You didn't know (13 mornings), Ready for this (10 mornings), Respectless (7), Poison (7), Hell is forever (7), Whatever it takes (6), Loser baby (6), Out for love (5), Happy day in Hell (5), Addicted (5), Welcome to Heaven (4), Stayed gone (4), Hell's greatest dad (4), Sorry (4), More than anything (2). It seems like the songs that stick the most are the ones with the most tempo and melody changes. Personally, by the way, Loser Baby is my top favorite.

Alright, let's see who else managed to claw their way onto the top 10:

Shut up and dance (9 mornings)

We heard a busker play this in Budapest and had such a fun dance party with the kid that we had to listen to it more at home. It stuck, but I don't mind. It's a fun song.

The ballad of the witches' road (7 mornings)

One of my favorites this year. I listened to it a lot, but since I only found it in November, it didn't have a chance to climb higher on the list.

How far I'll go (7 mornings)

Not the original - which I also love - but a fun rock cover.

Bye bye bye (6 mornings)

This one is Deadpool's fault.

Head above water (6 mornings)

A friend shared this, and despite the religious overtones I think it is a pretty good song.

Bitter (6 mornings)

This one is The Rookie's fault. The Rookie is covid's fault.

Aranyapám (6 mornings)

The first Hungarian song that made it to the list, from the radio. There is something in the rhythm and the singers voice that I really like.

Steal my thunder (5 mornings)

This one is from Twisters. Which was a really, really fun movie, with a great soundtrack.

Tele a szívem (5 mornings)

The second Hungarian song. It is pretty cheerful so I like to listen to it in the mornings.

Slay (5 mornings)

Bonnie McKee is awesome; I listened to her songs a lot more than how many stuck. 

This year, predictably, also saw a rise in children's songs, but luckily not by much. I spent 17 mornings with Cocomelon and the like, but I managed to get away with only 2 (!) Baby Sharks. It helps that the kid's two favorite songs are Jolene and Rehab.

And now, the year's one-morning WTF "blast from the past" song:

I wish you all happy listening, and happy earworming for 2025 :)

2024: Award-winning TV shows of the year (according to me)

Continuing my end-of-the-year retrospective with TV series. This year was definitely better than the last in terms of good shows. I watched about the same amount (65, although I didn't finish all of them), but somehow I ran into a lot more well done, likable, and memorable stories.

Let's see the completely subjective list of imaginary awards:

Absolute Favorite of the Year

Agatha All Along

Marvel managed to top WandaVision while creating an excellent, complete standalone show at the same time. The story was well done, the characters were likable, the soundtrack is evergreen, and the whole queer-witchy-found-family vibe was on point. Also, Aubrey Plaza. Episode 7 alone deserves a whole load of awards. I loved it so much that I want it to be a standalone and I want a million sequels at the same time.

Cancellation Travesty of the Year

Brothers Sun

It came in strong at the beginning of the year, and was almost immediately cancelled. Which is a pity, because it had good ratings and viewership, and could have definitely kept going. Michelle Yeoh could read a phone book and I'd still watch, obviously, but here she had go good Mob Mom character to work with, and the two sons were also well written and protrayed. Damn you, Netflix.

Sinful Soundtrack of the Year

Hazbin Hotel

I will circle back to this one in my next post about this year's earworms... But on top of having a killer soundtrack, this show was also awesome in characters, visuals, and story. It was one of those series that friends keep stubbornly recommending every chance they get ("You really need to see it! Have you seen it? You'd love it!"). When I finally got started, I watched it all in one go. And I love it so, so much. It is the kind of found-family-of-misfits story that I am always game for. NOT for children!

Unfairly Criticized Show of the Year

True Detective 4: Night Country

Whatever anyone says, this season was great. I heard a lot of whining either because the leads were women (even though Jodie Foster was a perfect staple burnt out detective), or because people didn't "get" the story and the references. Admittedly, the show was a lot more epic if one was familiar with the myth of Sedna, but even so, it was extremely well done. On par with the first season, with great actors. Quit the whining.

Best Anachronistic Fight Scenes of the Year

Renegade Nell

"Period drama with anachronistic fight choreographies" is my favorite niche genre. I loved The Nevers, and since that one got unduly cancelled, Renegade Nell showed up to fill the void. It has a charismatic and likable hero (portrayed by Derry Girls alum Louisa Harland), magic, a good lineup of supporting actors, and a lot of swashbuckling adventure. I am absolutely 100% here for superpowered hand to hand combat in petticoats and in genderbent army uniforms. Luckily, this one got renewed.

Best Plotline of the Year

Interior Chinatown

I know this one is based on a book, but it was absolutely genius on screen. There were a lot of small details that added to the story visually and in sound. Even though one starts to realize what is going on fairly early on, these details make the show enjoyable all the way through. I laughed out loud at lighting changes and costume choices - but all the while, the show also had a lot to say about identity, racism, cultural appropriation, and a whole deal of other topics. Subtly, and with poignant humor.

Most Unreasonably Likable Show of the Year

Reacher

This show could have just been a straight up action-adventure thing, and nobody would have complained: it has good fight sequences and an all-muscle all-American hero. And yet, it somehow managed to be more. Mostly because they leaned all the way into the ridiculousness of it all. And it somehow works. And makes it likable. Our hero delivers completely bonkers one-liners with a straight face ("What's your favorite flower?" "Snapdragon. Cool name, hard to kill."), and mows down villains like a Marvel superhero. It was a very simple recipe for a very entertaining show.

Best Twist on an Old Cliché

Elsbeth

I already loved the character of Elsbeth Tascioni in The Good Wife and The Good Fight, so I was already excited about her getting a spinoff. And it delivered. I am over all the burnt-out, "rude but secretly good-hearted" police characters on TV - and this is where Elsbeth shines. Because she is unironically, wholeheartedly cute, friendly, and emphatic. She does the whole "oh, one more innocent question" thing like Columbo, in a damn likable way. And that is enough to carry a show.

Best Kathy Bates

Matlock

Kathy Bates is yet another actress who could be doing literally anything on screen and I'd happily watch it. But even so, this show was actually a pleasant surprise. She gets a complex character to play with, some tense courtroom drama, some detective work, and she carries all with great humor and poise. In addition, the show is a good commentary on women's lives in the workplace, and generational differences.

Best returning shows of the year

I am not going to go into detail, but all of these are still happening and they are definitely still worth watching.

For All Mankind - Space Worker's Union of the Year

The Bear - Mother-Daughter Episode of the Year ("Ice Chips" deserves all the awards)

Only Murders in the Building - Teamwork of the Year

Good Omens - Worthy Sequel of the Year

The Boys - "The fans finally realized what this show is about" Moment of the Year

Shame, Shame, Shame

Well, since we are talking about good TV, it is also satisfying to point out some of the shows that did not do very well. In my personal opinion. (*Ducks for cover*)

Buccaneers - When Victoria's Secret directs Bridgerton

Bridgerton 3 - When Abusive Relationships are Romanticized Again

KAOS - When you can only afford 4 gods from the entire Greek pantheon

Pop Star Academy - This one is actually a good docuseries, but the story it told pissed me the hell off

Outer Banks - Most unnecessary character death of the year

Emily in Paris - All the men around Emily are boring and awful. Also, all of Rome wants their money back

Umbrella Academy - Worst series finale of the year, more plot holes than Swiss cheese

Those about to die - I really wanted this to be good but... it definitely wasn't Rome

What were your favorite TV shows this year?

2024: The best books of the year

As usual, I am taking a look back at this year's most memorable reads. 2024 wasn't an easy ride; I lost track of a lot of things and felt permanently exhausted. Still, reading on my lunch break, of before bed, was very good for my mental health. So I kept reading.

Statistics: I finished 94 books this year, with a total of almost 17,000 pages. It is less than last year or the year before, but that it a good sign: I am teaching myself to read in a more leisurely way, without always challenging or pushing myself. And this number still included a whole lot of books worth talking about.

(Side note: this coming year I'll be phasing out my personal Facebook, so if you want to follow me on more active social media, I recommend Mastodon)

Alright, here we go:

Nonfiction

Still my favorite genre, connected to my favorite reading challenge (Polymath Training, over on Hungarian book social media). Here are the highlights, in no particular order:

Becoming Dangerous: Witchy femmes, queer conjurers, and magical rebels (ed. Katie West & Jasmine Elliott)

This book is what the title promised, and so, so much more. It contains short, personal essays on the role of ritual in people's lives - whether that ritual is witchcraft, pagan practice, or completely mundane things like taking selfies, getting your nails done, or going to therapy. Everyone understood the topic a little differently - and the authors came from very diverse backgrounds. Queer and cishet, white, black, indigenous, European, Asian, Jewish, pagan, disabled, atheist, etc. Each essay was unique, and all were deep and honest and immersive. Some even called out the book itself on its concept. It was a marvelous read, presenting many, many voices in a meaningful, colorful way.

Helena Attlee: The land where lemons grow: The story of Italy and its citrus fruit

I did not expect to get this excited about a book on citrus fruit, but here we are. (Thank you, Polymath Training!). The author, who leads garden tours in Italy, spends each chapter exploring a different kind of citrus and a different part of Italian culture and history. From the connections between lemon groves and the Sicilian mob, through the orange-throwing festival of Ivrea and Renaissance citrus collections, all the way to the use of bergamot in perfumes and the quest for the perfect citron in Jewish culture, each chapter is a new, mouth-watering treat. And they even include recipes.

Samantha Weinberg: A fish caught in time: The search for the coelacanth

I had a vague recollection of the coelacanth: a fish that was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered, alive. Reading this book, however, revealed that the story is much more elaborate - and exciting. It starts in the 1930s with an accidentally caught weird fish, a smart museum curator (the fish was eventually named after her), and an obsessive ichtyologist. We get to partake in the decade-long adventure of trying to locate a second specimen and unravel the mystery of this living fossil. We get to meet dashing sea captains, clever scientists, and get to look into the feud between the French and the South Africans over who owns the fish. It was a funny, exciting, surprising read. And I fell in love with coelacanths for good.

Jonathan Cott: The search for Omm Sety: A story of eternal love

A 3 year old British girl fell down the stairs, and was pronounced dead. Soon after she woke up, but something changed in her forever: she remembered another life, another self. As she grew up she became convinced that she remembered her former life in Ancient Egypt as the lover of the pharaoh Seti I. This was so clear to her that she built her entire life around it: she learned to read hieroglyphics, married an Egyptian man, and moved to Egypt where she worked on excavations. Archaeologists first thought she was weird, but they soon discovered she had deep knowledge of all things Egyptian, and she helped with several scientific publications and excavations. In her later years she moved to Abydos, the site of her previous life, and became the official guard and tour guide of Seti I's temple. She lived there till her death. Whether one believes in reincarnation or not, the pages of the book - drawn from diaries and letters and articles and interviews - reveal the picture of a smart, curious, intriguing and funny woman, who spent her entire life immersed in Ancient Egyptian culture.

April White: The divorce colony: How women revolutionalized marriage and found freedom on the American frontier

South Dakota in the late 19th century was famous for one thing above all: easy divorce. After 90 days of residency, anyone could file for one. The city of Sioux Falls became a popular destination, with its largest hotel transforming into a veritable colony for people (mostly women) waiting for a divorce. Each of them had their own story, struggles and hopes (and occasional lovers). Meanwhile, the actual locals were not thrilled by the "moral decay" brought on by divorcés... The author of the book put a lot of research into revealing the individual stories of famous guests at the hotel, as well as tracing the legal and social background of the history of divorce in the USA. It was an entertaining read. This book would make a great foundation for an HBO show.

Lawrence Anthony: Babylon's Ark: The incredible wartime rescue of the Baghdad Zoo

One week after the American troops entered Baghdad in 2003, a South African conservationist showed up on the front lines, asking about the zoo. Everyone thought he was nuts. The zoo was still in an active war zone, with everything movable looted, and most of the animals stolen or eaten. Only a few large predators were left in cages without water, food, or hygiene. Lawrence Anthony and the remaining zoo staff, however, got to work to keep them alive. The book is an enthralling, exciting read of being human in the middle of war. There are fun moments and sad moments, the rescue of Saddam's horses, the rehabilitation of traumatized lions, and ostriches being chased by cars. It is a true story much worth reading as the world is looking at more armed conflicts every day.

Wendy Moore: No man's land: The trailblazing women who ran Britain's most extraordinary military hospital during World War I

And since we are talking about armed conflict: here is a book about women doctors in WWI. Before the war women in Britain were not only still fighting for the vote (both our heroes were militant suffragettes), but women doctors also could not practice in most general hospitals, and were only allowed to treat women and children. In 1914, it all changed. Dr. Flora Murray és Dr. Louisa Garrett Anderson headed to Paris together to set up a military hospital staffed and run by women only. In 1915, they did the same in London. During the war, they treated thousands of men, proving once and for all that women doctors were just as capable as the men. The book tells the individual stories of a lot of the hosptial's staff, the challenges they had to face, and reveals the background of how the devastation of WWI shocked the entire military medical establishment.

Richard Hamblyn: The invention of clouds: How an amateur meteorologist forged the language of the skies

This one was another unexpected find. It is about Luke Howard, a young meteorologist, and how his system of naming cloud types reformed the entire field of science. I also learned a lot about the development of meteorology, the effects weather hand on 18th century history, and the scientific processes of trying to get a new naming system established. I know it sounds tedious but it was a surprisingly entertaining read. 

These Roma are Queer (ed. Nagy M. Boldizsár)

A collection of short stories somewhere on the border of fiction and nonfiction. Either way, a groundbreaking volume. It was created to accompany a pop-up exhibit of queer Roma art, so it is not being sold in bookstores, but I managed to pick up a copy. Some of the stories were written by queer Roma people, while others by authors who worked closely with them. Either way, all the stories are deeply touching, personal, and revealing of an interection of identities that has not been represented in Hungarian literature to date. That in itself would be enough to recommend this volume (to those who read Hungarian, or English publishers who want to pick it up like they have the editor's previous project). But also, all the stories are well written and enjoyable in and of themselves.

Folktales, legends, and myths

Herba Mythica (szerk. Xanthe Gresham-Knight)

One of the most beautiful books I have read this year, both in story and visuals. It is gorgeous to look at, with lovely illustrations. But even more so, it is filled with stunning stories, each provided by a professional storyteller. Each folktale, myth or legend is connected to a specific plant. Next to the stories we get factual information about the plant, notes and sources on symbolism, and even recipes or practices that delve deeper into herbalism. The stories were retold eloquently and beautifully; there were several myths in there that I have known for a long time, but I have never seen them in this new light. Lovely, lovely read. I recommend getting the print edition.

Tom Muir: Scottish Folk Tales of Coast and Sea

The first one of the "coast and sea" series. Tom Muir was the perfect choice to put this collection together: he is a master storyteller, a great researcher, and an entertaining writer. He drew from a lot of sources, and retold each story in a way that made the book a fluent, enjoyable read. There were many tales in there that were new and exciting for me, and also many that put new, unexpected spins on folktale types that are told differently. It reveals the relationships between many parts of Scotland and the sea that surrounds it. Excellent book, and it made me also want to read the rest of the series, put together by other storytellers.

Theresa Fuller: Eating the liver of the Earth: Mousedeer Tales

Who doesn't want an almost 600 page collection of all the Mouse Deer folktales you'll ever need? As a lifelong fan of Sang Kancil, I loved everything about this. Theresa Fuller's previous collections were also a treat, but this one is definitely the most near and dear to my heart. All Kancil, all the time. Fuller does a great job retelling each tale; even the ones I know and tell were new and exciting in her words. She weaves a lot of local flora and fauna into the stories, as well as words and phrases from the original languages, and other cultural tidbits. A must-have for any storyteller, and for fans of Mouse Deer. (Warning: not a kids' book! Give it a read before you share.)

The Complete Norwegian Folktales and Legends of Asbjørnsen & Moe (Annotated edition) (ford. Simon Roy Hughes)

As a storyteller, I was obligated to read this collection. It is a fundamental for anyone dealing with folktales, similarly to the Grimm books. Luckily, Simon Roy Hughes created a brand new, three volume English translation that includes all the original notes - hundreds of additional pages of information and more tale variants! He also paid attention to translate the texts true to the original Norwegian, rather than anglicising them (e.g. he used "king's farm" instead of "palace"). Many of the tales were familiar, but I also found unexpected new favorites. Mandatory reading for storytellers.

Children's books

For the second time this year, I can also make a list of favorite kid books :) Here we go:

Emily Hughes: Wild

A gorgeous, detailed, lavishly illustrated book for untamed and eternally messy-haired small people :)

Kyle & Derek Sullivan: Hush now, Banshee! A not-so-quiet counting book

A little banshee looks for friends and learns to count - she just has to try to control her volume first. It is a very cute book, lots of fun to read together aloud. I also recommend the other volumes in the series (Goodnight, Krampus! and Get Dressed, Sasquatch!)

Ulrich Hub: Meet at the Ark at eight!

Talking about series: Ulrich Hub can do no wrong. This latest book is also for older kids, so I read it for my own pleasure, and it was an adorable, funny, heartwarming read. Three penguins sneak onto Noah's ark instead of two. No one is left behind.

Jonathan Emmett & Vanessa Cabban: Bringing down the moon

I can never resist cute cottagecore illustrations, and this book is downright adorable. The animals are well drawn, and the story is simple yet touching. Fun to read multiple times.

What were your favorite reads this year? :)

Folktales for Election Time

There are always elections happening somewhere, decisions being made in all kinds of manners. But since the US elections is being followed all around the world (and I have family and friends in the US), it seemed appropriate to post this now. I gathered a short list of folktales and legends that might be useful when a storyteller is engaging in conversations of choices, leadership, and democracy.

(Links in the titles, as usual)

The Bird of Truth (Spain)

A good tale for talking about how one proves the truth, and how misinformation works. A prince, cast out with her twin sister as a baby, tries to prove to his royal father that indeed they are his real children. For that, he sets out on a quest to find the Bird of Truth. On the way he encounters many obstacles, and in the end he has to select the bird from among many that all claim to be the Bird of Truth (reminiscent of Indiana Jones' moment with the Holy Grail).

Mahakapi Jataka (India)

A story that talks about what a true leader is like. A monkey king saves his people from danger by using his own body as a bridge, even though it costs him his life. Thus, he teaches a human king a valuable lesson about being a ruler.

The king who trusted his kingdom to his daughters (Jewish)

Another tale about what a real leader should be like. A king gives each of his daughters a precious gem to see what they would do with it. The youngest daughter sells it to help a poor family, and then continues on her own, using her kindness and riches to better the life of her people.

The Deceiver (Somalia)

A dark story about how easily a greedy person can turn everyone on each other. The villain, exiled from his village, incites hatred in the animals against the humans, and with their help raids the village. Once they have the loot, he starts accusing the animals one by one, turning them against each other, until they are all gone and he can keep all the wealth.

The shy quilt bird (Myanmar)

When an evil serpent threatens the animal kingdom, all the animals band together to defeat it. Since the great Galon (Garuda) bird can't come to their aid, they all come up with a plan to pretend to be the bird itself (see also: Bug's Life). The story talks about good and bad leaders, the importance of community, and strength in unity.

The charitable maid-servant (India)

A stingy king shares no food with his people, hoarding everything for himself. He even measures the ingredients for his daily sweets to keep his servants from stealing. Still, a maidservant finds a way to pilfer some food and share it with people. When the kingdom is attacked, these stolen pastries magically defend the people from the enemy, teaching the king a lesson.

Heracles and Athena (Greece)

A lesser known Aesop's fable that I think is very much applicable to Internet arguments. Heracles finds a small apple-like object on the road, and hits it with his club. It swells to twice its size. He keeps hitting it and it keeps growing, until Athena appears, and tells him the object is Strife itself. The more you fight it the larger it gets.

How long the winter lasts (Tehuelche)

The animals gather to discuss how long the winter should be. The rhea insists that it should last as many months as he can count on his feet - twelve months. Other animals argue that it would be too long, but the rhea insists, and manages to gather followers, despite the fact that he has no logical arguments. Eventually the debate proves fruitless - and while the animals fight, the mara sets out to convey a more managable decision to the Creator.

Drop of Honey (Myanmar)

A chain of events prove that if we don't take responsibility for the small things, they can really get out of hand.

If you have any more tales to add, drop them in the comments!

And don't forget to vote, wherever you are.

Girl in the Chair: The Storyteller and the Bateleur, or, why researching animal tales is worth it

As I have mentioned before, I am busy working on my next folktale collection, focusing on animal tales. I have done a whole lot of research in the past year, making a long list of stories - and animal species - I would love to include. Right now, I am translating, retelling, and polishing the tales one by one, in writing and in telling. The latest one provided me with a bit of a research adventure, so I decided to share.

Before we get started:

1. There are a lot of animal tales out there. I could just Google "lion + folktale", find one, copy and paste, move on. Sadly, there are books on the market that do exactly that. But I do believe that the more work I put into a story, the better the book will be. And I also believe that in order to tell a story well (especially from another culture) I have to do my homework, and understand it as much as possible.

2. I set some goals for myself for this project. In order for a story to be included, it has to be enjoyable (exciting, interesting, polished), has to represent the animal in a positive way (not dumb, evil, or cursed), and the flora and fauna of the story has to match the place it comes from. The latter one is the important part for this post.

The case study

The story I am working with is a Mbaka folktale from Angola. I came across it during my Following Folktales Around the World reading challenge, and it stuck with me. It is titled The son of Kimanaueze and the daughter of Sun and Moon. The basic tale is that a great hero's son decides he wants a bride from the sky, but doesn't know how to get his letter of proposal to her. He asks various animals to help take the letter to the heavens.

The (bilingual) text mentions four animals:

Mbambi, translated as Deer,

Soko, translated as Antelope,

Kikuambi, translated as Hawk,

and Holokoko, translated as Vulture.

None of the four help the hero, actually, and they only have one line each in the tale, so I could have settled for these names and moved on. But since this whole book is about animals, I wanted to pay attention to detail, and go beyond stereotypes. 19th century British translators had a habit of labeling any bird a "pidgeon" or "eagle", and every ungulate "deer." So I looked up the book's end notes to see if these animals were really the ones they were translated into.

Obviously not. And here things got interesting.

Mbambi, according to the notes, is Cephalophus burchelii. This name, however, doesn't exist anymore. Taxonomic names can change a whole lot in a century, and it was obvious that Mbambi had swapped Latin names since 1894, but I had no idea to what. I was sure he is not a deer, given that Cephalophus refers to duikers. I also learned that the old name referenced British naturalist William John Burchell, so I started searching for terms like Burchell + antelope, Burchell + bushbuck, Burchell + Cephalophus etc. Nothing really came up, until finally I ran into an article about the catalog of Burchell's mammal collection. And there they noted the new name: Sylvicapra grimmia ssp. burchellii, common duiker. Win.

Soko was a more complicated case, given that the notes gave no Latin name at all. The translator only stated that it is some sort of an antelope, with longer horns. This was not much to go on, so I decided to look up antelop species that live in Anglola. Since Angola's borders have also changed, I looked up the regions where the Mbaka live and tried to cross-reference. Eventually I came across the Springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis), which matched the description, and also the role in the story (see below). I am not sure about this one, but decided to go with it until further notice. (Fun fact: antidorcas means "not a gazelle". Gee thanks.)

Kikuambi had a Latin name: Fiscus capelli. However, this one is also out of date. Luckily, my search came up with a very useful page, which led me to the current name, and another which helped me with names in different languages. This is how I found Lanius humeralis capelli - which is not a hawk at all. It's a small shrike (Northern fiscal). I also had to do some extra work figuring out what to translate it to in Hungarian, since we don't have a common name for it. But at least I had the species.

And then came Holokoko, Helotarsus ecaudatus. This one was pretty straightforward: Google told me that it is an older Latin name for Teratophius ecaudatus, the bateleur. Not a vulture. This bird:

This whole side quest took me about two hours, and resulted in finding out about four fascinating animals. With one line each in the folktale.

First off, I had to make decisions on how to incorporate them into the text. In a folktale, modern names can stick out like a sore thumb ("and then along came the Northern fiscal"). And yet, I like to tell the story with the accurate animals, and name them with their original names. So, I settled on "along came Kikuambi, a small shrike" - and put the rest in the Comments section after the tale. 

Why go to all this trouble?

Because the four lines in the story suddenly made sense in contet, and expanded into a small scene. The hero first tries to send the letter with the small and swift duiker, but Mbambi can't run up to the sky. Then he asks Soko, who can jump (pronk) very high - but not that high. Then he asks a bird who can perch in high places, but he can't help either. Finally he asks the bateleur, who can soar very high - but even he can only get halfway to the sky.

And now it all makes sense.

A lot of this was probably self-explanatory to people when the original text was collected. But if I am telling it to contemporary audiences in Hungary (or Europe), these things need spelling out. And yes, the story would still work if it was four random animals saying no to the hero - but with the specific species, and the background knowledge, the story gains richness, detail, and layered meaning.

And, honestly: I freaking enjoy doing this work. Hello, dopamine. I love the search, the discovery, the puzzle. And I love animals, I always have. So I enjoy finding out about interesting species, and doing them justice when telling people about them.

And now I am moving on to the second paragraph...

(Note: if you are a biologist, birder, anthropologist, or any other professional, and you see a mistake in this post, please educate me :) )

Girl in the chair: Luck, research, and wolves

It has been a while since I last did a Girl in the Chair in-depth research post. Incidentally, that one had also been about wolves. Yesterday I went deep down into a rabbit hole, and this time, luck played an important part in the process. So I decided to write down the play-by-play, to show what an adventure research can be.

It all started with trying to find folktales where the wolf is a positive character. I am working on a folktale collection that features animal tales, and I really wanted to get a good wolf story in there. This topic has come up recently at the FEST conference too, and it is a contentious point in Hungary right now, so I was extra motivated.

I went through a bunch of usual suspects - Prince Ivan and the Grey Wolf (which, I found out, has been translated at one point as The Grey Wolf and the Golden Cassowary), the Wolf Queen, Sirko and the wolf, etc. But so far most stories I have been interested in were about shapeshifter wolves, rather than the actual animal. In addition, stories where the wolf is a positive character have been rare and hard to find. And on top of that, I wanted the story to be interesting and exciting. And to say something about wolves being a useful part of the environment. NO pressure.

Then I vaguely remembered hearing a story about the creation of the first wolf, from a fellow storyteller. I only recalled that it was a Finnish (?) story, and the wolf was made of sticks, designed to be a guardian. I tried to Google Books "creation of wolf", "first wolf", etc., but came up blank. No Kalevala, no Finnish, no mythology. It was beginning to drive me crazy. After a while I decided to attack the problem from a different angle: I tried to remember who told it. Then it dawned on me that it must have been Kevin Strauss, whose awesome workshop about animal tales I have attended in the US. Once I remembered, I realized that Kevin has also published books on animal tales. I don't have his wolf book, or Tales with Tails (it has been on my wish list forever), but I thought maybe he included this story in one of those. So, I did the next best thing: I used Amazon Preview. And found out that "The First Wolf" was indeed included in Tales with Tails! Then I sent up a little prayer that Kevin, being the awesome researcher he is, included sources in the book. (And that they were visible in preview). And he did! (Thanks, Kevin! I'm buying the book). 

Kevin's source list led me to another book, The Enchanted Wood and Other Tales from Finland. And lo and behold, it had the story (this book is on Archive). Sadly, however, it did not note any sources that I could find. I was beginning to wonder if it came from a family tradition of some sort. I tried to do a reverse search, using terms from the text of the tale ("first wolf" "great wizard" "evil spirit" "burning eyes" etc.), but no hits. Then I thought maybe the source is in Finnish, so I used Google Translate to translate the search terms. Still no dice. After poking at it for a good hour, I gave up.

Next came the iffy part: if I can't find a source, but want to use a tale, I need permission. I looked up the publisher, and found out that Libraries Unlimited has recently become an imprint of Bloomsbury. Which means I need Bloomsbury's copyright permission for using the tale. I looked up Bloomsbury's permission policy, downloaded the permission request form, and got ready to work on it. However, at this point my spoons ran out, and I decided to postpone the form-filling for later.

In the meantime, I took another tack at finding other good-wolf stories. My usual go-to is to pull up the Thompson Motif Index, and search for a keyword in it. So I did Ctr+F "wolf", and started poking through the 300+ hits. I eventually came across motif G303.17.3.3: Wolf eats the devil; therefore, devil no longer lives in the world. This one sounded promising, so I pulled up the source referenced: the first volume of Natursagen by Oskar Dähnhardt. Since this was published in 1909, I went back to Archive to pull it up. Praise the gods it was not in Gothic letters, so between my rudimentary German and Google Translate, I managed to read the story on page 153. I realized that it sounded similar to the Finnish story! But not quite the same. Here, the devil created wolves too, but to spite God.

On this page, the author referenced a Ukrainian version by Dragomanov in the journal Mélusine, where other animals are also created from the wolf (bumblebees, flies, etc.). I got curious about this one, so I went on a whole side quest digging up volume IV of Mélusine, and sorting through the versions Dragomanov referenced (some in Russian). They all had the same basic structure as the Finnish story, with the Evil Spirit creating the first wolf, but they were missing a crucial part: the creation of the wolf as a guardian, rather than a monster.

Giving up on Dragomanov and his Slavic sources, I eventually wandered back to Natursagen. I decided it is a useful volume to leaf through, even if not for this particular tale. So I turned the pages back to the beginning of the Wolf chapter, to see what else is there.

And there was the damn Finnish story!

Almost word for word.

Except it's Estonian.

Bless Natursagen, this one had sources too! One was a collection of Estonian folktales from 1888, in German (also available in the public domain, but in Gothic letters. Luckily, they were good enough for the screen reader to be copy-pasted into Google Translate. Sometimes copy-paste turns Gothic into gibberish.) Another one was a collection that had Estonian and Latvian variants, and there was even a Hungarian collection referenced, although the story in this one was only tangentially related.

But! The Estonian book even came with notes that revealed some very intriguing details. For one, it finally named the "creator" as Jumah, the Estonian sky deity. For another, it specified the plant that is used for the tail as Daphne mezereum, which, funny enough, is named after wolves in Hungarian.

So. Yeah. I found the story's source after all!

Here are a few conclusions:

1. While tracing a story back to a public domain source is useful, that is not the primary reason to do it. As demonstrated above, a lot can get scrambled and lost during translation and adaptation (Jumah turns into Great Wizard, or firebirds turn into cassowaries). Also, the closer a source is to the oral tradition, the more intriguing details might be noted, as I found out in the end.

2. Even with the most dedicated research skills, sometimes luck plays a part. Turning to the right page, selecting the right motif out of 300, happening on the right workshop at the right time, or having access to the right page on Amazon Preview. I was wandering around, and lucked into something I almost gave up on.

3. Reading multiple versions of the same tale type is still a very illuminating process. There are similarities and differences, sometimes as subtle as the "evil spirit" noting that wolves are needed to protect the woods. That one line makes one version more fascinating than all the others - and more fitting for a contemporary message.

4. Wolves are awesome and deserve more positive representation!

5. I still very much love this part of my job :)

Important questions, great discussions: FEST 2024, Glasgow

This year's FEST (Federation for European Storytelling) conference took place in Glasgow, organized by representatives from four nations: Scottish, Irish, English, and Welsh. They created a great program in collaboration, running parallel to The Village Storytelling Festival with all its marvelous events.

Fun fact: this was my 10th FEST conference! I attended in 2009 for the first time. Even more fun than that, we had a whole lot of Hungarian attendees this year. I traveled with my long time friend Kata Orosz (who is a volunteer storyteller from Világszép). In addition, Meseszó was represented by Klitsie-Szabad Boglárka, Hungarian Heritage House by Sándor Ildikó, Holnemvolt (Onceuponatime) Festival by Szabó Enikő, and Világszárnya by Hajós Erika, Zámborszky Eszter, and Bedőházi Beáta. Three of us (Bogi, Enikő and I) even presented workshops. Although I didn't get to see the other two, I heard they were really popular.

I arrived in Glasgow Tuesday evening, missing the first evening's welcome events, but welcomed by friendly storytellers in the lobby of the hotel anyway. It always feels like coming home when I arrive to FEST, seeing friends from all over Europe. 

The conference program itself began Wednesday morning, with welcome speeches and keynote presentations. The organizers introduced themselves and welcomed us officially, then handed the stage over to the keynote speakers. Steve Byrne talked about intangible cultural heritage in Scotland, and the work it took to record and register traditions as such (my favorite quote: "Cultural heritage is not just what we used to have."). Dr. Stephe Harrop talked enthusiastically about creating storytelling spaces in Glasgow, and the work of women storytellers in this process. We also received a warm and friendly welcome presentation from Amadu Wurie Khan, who talked about identity as a "new Scot", as well as finding a place among cultural similarities and differences between Scotland and his native Sierra Leone. At this point, the conference program was running a bit late, but no one minded much - we heard a lot of fascinating things in one morning. During the breaks we were treated to coffee, tea, and pastries in the cafeteria; we even received reusable coffee mugs in the spirit of sustainability.

I chose to attend a fascinating presentation after the break. Peter Chand and Aoife O'Connor promised us "a provocation and a discussion", and that was exactly what they delivered. They dropped some hard truths about diversity (or lack thereof) within FEST and the larger storytelling community. The talk revolved around representation of marginalized identities (by race, nationality, gender, sexuality, ability, language, etc.), and the ways FEST and other storytelling events in Europe could be more inclusive in general - especially to young, upcoming tellers. They also touched on the topic of cultural appropriation, and doing justice to stories from other cultures - from learning to pronounce names all the way to dealing with people from colonizing countries telling stories from the groups they had colonized. The presenters didn't only open up a lot of important questions, but they also allowed time for feedback, discussion, and expressing feelings (even uncomfortable ones). The entire presentation was just the start: whoever wanted could sign up to a mailing list to continue the discussion. It was a very important session, much needed for the European storytelling community - and all the while honest, friendly, and open. The presenters held the space well. I am glad I attended.

After the lunch break there was another selection of workshops. In the first half hour I did my presentation on MythOff and bringing mythology and storytelling to new audiences. I got some great questions at the end. After my time was up, I hurried over to Dougie Mackay's workshop on wolves. This is a topic near and dear to my heart, especially because the reintroduction of wolves to Hungary sparked some debates (not to mention the shooting of a Swiss wolf by a Hungarian hunter recently...). And I love stories where wolves are not evil or dumb. Dougie led a great discussion on wolves, their importance to the environment, and the responsibility of storytellers. He also told us about his adventures tracking wolves in the wild.

I doubled down on environmental storytelling in the next session: after a coffee break I attended Cara Silversmith's workshop on environmental literacy and storytelling. Cara is passionate and enthusiastic about nature, and educating people - through stories - about our relationship with it. We got to touch some leaves and try to guess what tree they came from; we talked about different types of knowledge, and the emotions nature can evoke in us. It turned out the leaves were from an elm tree (and I was a little ashamed that I once wrote a whole article on elm trees in mythology, and yet I did not recognize the leaf). It was a lovely workshop, and great discussion.

After having dinner, we returned to the Centre for Contemporary Arts for the evening shows. Kata and I arrived early, so we got to sit and chat with people in the cafeteria - among them Ronni Gurwicz who runs a really fun podcast series, and also published a book alongside Arjen Barel and Stu Packer (yes I bought it). The evening performance I got to attend was Queens of Albion by Stephe Harrop. She masterfully combined personal stories with the foundation legends of Britain and some Greek mythology. She is a sparkling, humorous storyteller who owned the stage with minimal props - a few rocks, and a shiny jacket that transformed into various things in her hands. It was a stunning performance. I was too tired to stay for the late night shows (toddler mom), but I was happy I made it to that one.

The second full day of the conference also had a lot to offer. I chose the workshop titled Finding Your Voice run by Irish storytellers from the Leprechaun Museum. They had done a project on Erasmus+ funding, reworking traditional stories with LGBT+ youth. We got to go through a shorter version of the workshop they designed, and had great fun with it. We discussed what queer stories do exist in tradition, and what storytellers can do to queer other tales - also, what kinds of heroes and plots we would love to see in stories 100 years from now. We had a great group of people at the workshop, and it was lovely to see folklore research combined so well with creativity.

The second half of the day was Open Space - attendees could suggest topics of discussion, and we gathered in small groups all around the Centre. I joined the table where the topic was "how much can we change myths when we tell them?" We sat in the cafeteria, and we were "violently agreeing" with each other. It was great fun. Sadly, the program was running a bit late, and we soon had to return to the main room to share our thoughts.

All that was left now was to close the conference, and pass the torch on to Paola Balbi - next year we will be in Rome!

We ended the conference with singing, laughter, and gifts - but the day was not over yet. In the evening we had a gala dinner at the National Piping Centre (with some great Scottish music). We heard stories between courses, and after dessert a surprise guest appeared: a Mari Lwyd came dancing, and we all sang and cheered. It was a great way to celebrate us being together. The evening was so lovely that in the end I only said a few goodbyes and slipped out to go sleep. 

Kata and I spent the remaining day on the Isle of Arran, walking the beach, enjoying the sunshine, and visiting the Bodick Castle botanical gardens. It was a gorgeous place to visit, with friendly people. On the morning before we returned to Hungary we also got to browse some bookshops around Glasgow, and have lunch with folklorist Maggie Mackay. We made the most of our time to the last minute.

This was my second time in Scotland, and I was once again enchanted by the place, and by the storytelling community. I am sure I will be back. And next year, I'll see you all in Rome!