Our sister site has discovered that there are professional topless shots of currently reigning Miss Hungary Anett Maximovits (NSFW) available on the internet, or that if it's not actually her, it's her evil and obviously awesome twin.

It looks like our decision to have a bit of an August slowdown was smart not only because we got to goof off - it also helped us avoid getting snookered by what surely must be the biggest dumbass non-story international story about Hungary of the summer, namely the saga of an 18-year-old young lady known only as "Miss Spring."

As you may have heard, Hungary filled the "oddly enough" quota of numerous international media outlets early last month with reports that the aforementioned young woman was auctioning off her virginity on Ebay. It's not exactly clear where the story got its start - it looks like local tabloid Bors was on the case early - but within a few days top UK tab the Sun was titillating its readers with a version of the tale that had the action being won by an unnamed Brit with a bit of £200,000, which is roughly Ft 70 million, or approximately 15,000 excellent lays in your average Budapest whorehouse, give or take a few hundred vigorous baby-oil handjobs in the bathroom of the Nyugati tér metro underpass.

Over on Caboodle.hu we see that the US Embassy in Budapest - as well as several other buildings adjacent to it on District V's Szabadság tér - was evacuated yesterday due to the unearthing of a World War II-era bomb during some construction work. While we can't say for sure, the construction work that led to the explosive discovery seems to have involved putting in some spectacularly ugly anti-bomb pylons around the bunker-like embassy "compound." Also, what are the odds that the bomb itself had been dropped by an US plane, or at least one belonging to the Brits or another "allied" power? Either way, hahahahahahaha dumbass Americans!

UPDATE: As pointed out in the comments below, a) the bomb was Soviet, and b) the work was being done on "gas pipes." As for a), recall that the Soviets were and "allied" power of the US, and b) the work on the gas pipes may still have something to do with the giant gas pipe/bomb-like poles Joe American is surrounding his bunker with.

UPDATE (II): This just landed in our mailbag: "Who ever called Americans dumbass would give his right arm to live in a free country. Anvie is oozing from the negative reteric. And yes Brits are allied with USA without the young man and woman arriving 65 years ago you would be kissing naci assas." No comment!

[Editor's Note: Regular readers will remember this wonderful tribute to the Hungarian-American film impresario Adolph Zukor we published back in January, courtesy of another regular reader, who goes by the name Farkas László. Well, László has done it again, this time with a video-annotated profile of Alexander Korda, the Hungarian-born director who, like Zukor, is considered one of the cinematic legends of the 20th century. Read, watch and marvel, and thanks as always for the memories, László.]

It is an extraordinary, almost probability defying coincidence that in the small nation of Hungary, within a few kilometers of each other, were born three men who would go on to world fame as founders of international film studios and as celebrity film moguls. Adolph Zukor of Paramount, Vilmos Fried (later William Fox) of 20th Century Fox and Alexander Korda of London Film Studios. This is a legacy that I will never tire of reminding my fellow Hungarians of, as I feel our film pioneers were positive examples to us of initiative and creativity. I am very proud of the long list of achievements that Hungarian born people have contributed to world cinema. In order to celebrate that heritage, it gives me great pleasure to present to you the life and work of Alexander Korda and his two younger brother associates, Vincent and Zoltán.

On September 16, 1893, Alexander Korda was born Sándor László Kellner in Túrkeve in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, east of Budapest on the great Hungarian plain. Located on the super flat puszta, Sándor was affected from childhood by the monotony of a very small town, seemingly located in the middle of nowhere on a landscape that offered no relief or contrast. Looking in all directions and seeing nothing but the plain, aroused in him a burning fascination from childhood on to know and experience more about the world beyond his horizon. From the earliest age, he craved more intellectual and cultural stimulation than the rural environment he was born into could provide.

Sándor's father was a sergeant in the hussars who turned estate manager for the Salgó family. The father died when Sándor was 13, leaving the family penniless. In 1908 he moved to Budapest with his mother and two younger brothers, Vincent and Zoltán. At that young age, he feels the responsibility of being the paterfamilias, especially towards his younger brothers. Thus started a relationship that lasted all their lives, where they worked together, stayed together and accepted the older brother as a leader and family head. It was to be a fruitful collaboration, as each brother had strong talents.

Movies were a very big hit with Hungarians from the get-go. Perhaps there is something in the national temperament that accounts for this. Film takes a drama, gives it immediacy and blows it up to larger than real life size, something that matches well with the emotional makeup of many Hungarians! Just five years after Edison invents his film projector apparatus in 1891, the first films were shown in Budapest in 1896. Sándor saw his first film at the Café Velence, as coffee shops were a common venue for showing films then. He attended gymnasium (high school) and made extra money for the family by writing articles and reviews for a liberal daily newspaper called Független Magyarország ("Independent Hungary"). Students were not supposed to be employed, and so Sándor looked about for a pseudonym to write under. In a Budapest theater he saw written on the wall the Latin phrase Sursum Corda ("Lift up your hearts"). This appealed to him, partly because he had by then become fascinated with the Catholic mass, where this term was also used. He decided to call himself "Korda," changing the "c" to a "k" thinking that would make it look more Hungarian. That his two other brothers went along with this later on tells something of the influence the older sibling had.

It looks like we picked the wrong week to go on semi-hiatus, because - are you ready - BRANGELINA WERE IN BUDAPEST THIS PAST WEEKEND LOOKING AT FLATS!!! And yes, by "Brangelina" we mean Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie - as well as a bunch of their kids - and by "Budapest" we mean Budapest! According to various reports, the two were in town looking for a place to stay while Jolie is directing a film set in Bosnia during the Balkan warns, meaning that BRAD AND ANGELINA COULD BE STAYING IN BUDAPEST FOR MONTHS!!!. No idea if they found a suitable place, but whatever they do settle on will doubtless be swankier than where Brad stayed on his first trip to Budapest. So again to recap today's report, BRANGELINA WERE IN BUDAPEST THIS PAST WEEKEND LOOKING AT FLATS!!! and quite possibly BRAD AND ANGELINA COULD BE STAYING IN BUDAPEST FOR MONTHS!!! Stay tuned for more details. [deluxe.hu/blikk.hu]

UPDATE: Seems they are considering a 700-sqm castle in Buda built in Classicism style which costs Ft 6 million (€21,000) per month. [borsonline.hu]

Proving yet again that Hungarians can be successful once they leave our little country, 41-year old Erzsébet Gergely won the Miss Plastic Italy contest over the weekend, meaning that as far as we know, both Miss Plastics are of Hungarian origin. And who says Hungarians aren't the best at anything these days? Go here to see more pix. [velvet.hu]

The Hungarian media had a field day with Miss Universe Hungary Timea Babinyecz's Q&A session. While it's clear that Timea has never missed a session at the gym, we can't say the same about her English classes. [velvet.hu]

No doubt feeling that this year's August 20th fireworks display was a bit underwhelming, the Újpest August 21st fireworks display sought to be far more interactive, resulting in seven minor injuries. Skip to 1:37 to see just how close these fireworks were to the audience. [index.hu]

Repairs to fix the gaping hole in the M1 motorway which resulted from water damage are expected to total Ft 120 million (€427,000), once again highlighting that we should be working for a company with access to public funds. [index.hu]

While in America marriage-related protests involve gay rights, in Hungary, it's the much more mundane right to marry in a public park, urbanista.blog.hu reports. In order to wedding-skirt the law which forbids the practice, the couple announced their wedding as a protest to the police, and were thus able to hold their nuptials in nature, throwing in a demonstration at the end in favor of public park marriage rights. If you can't beat 'em, go around them instead.

While we broke the good news of the upcoming beer festival this September over at chew.hu, an article at origo.hu had one of the more depressing job profiles we read about a beer taster who works at the Dreher brewery. Far from it being the dream job most beer-lovers would assume it to be, it requires lots of actual work, and only involves 1-3 tastings per week, of 0.5 deciliters total per tasting, or not enough to even show up in your bloodstream. Thanks, but we'll stick to recreational self-paid beer tasting instead.

Ha, just kidding - sort of! According to a recent warning on szabadfold.hu, "a killer moth is spreading in Hungary!" The insect in question is the species called Tuta absoluta, which seems to be more of a threat to tomato plants than skyscrapers or people who, like us, are driven mad by having to throw out containers of Corn Flakes and expensive imported pecans and such because they are filled with icky little bits of moth poo.