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Stephen Colbert vs The Hungarian Government

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the under-our-skin-we're-all-colberican dept.

jefu writes "The Hungarian government is sponsoring an internet vote to name a new bridge. So far naming the bridge after acter Chuck Norris has been the most popular. However, last night Stephen Colbert (of Comedy Central's "Colbert Report") suggested that viewers vote to name the bridge after him. Remembering the effect that a Colbert segment had had on Wikipedia, I visited the voting page (in Hungarian when it works) soon after that and it was completely non-responsive. This morning (8:00 Thursday Pacific time) it is showing a "Horrible exception" and a Jetspeed/tomcat stack trace. " I believe Colbert's straight-talking sensibilities have earned him far more than just a bridge in whatever continent Hungaria is in. Instead I think we should consider renaming one of our lesser used states as an honor more appropriate to his grippy contributions to America. We're not doing anything with Colorado these days anyway, but imagine the appeal of a new and improved state with a virile name like Colberado. Book your tickets today!

19 of 554 comments (clear)

  1. Why stop at a bridge? by krell · · Score: 5, Funny

    The very name of the country gives me an urge to go to Burger King. Why not take a vote on renaming Hungary itself?

    --
    Where were you when the voynix came?
    1. Re:Why stop at a bridge? by Scoria · · Score: 5, Funny

      And, after you visit Hungary to eat at Burger King, you can catch an interstellar flight to the distant space colony of Vomitus, bastard cousin of Romulus.

      --
      Do you like German cars?
    2. Re:Why stop at a bridge? by kiscica · · Score: 5, Informative
      Well they are a country that is civilized enough to include the name of the national wine (Tokaji Aszu) in thier national anthem.


      Well, not exactly. The lines [note: ö will stand in here for a long ö, which doesn't seem to be showing up in preview] Tokaj szölövesszein / Nektárt csepegtettél ("you dripped nectar on the grapevines of Tokaj") do appear in the third stanza of the full Himnusz (not that anyone, ever, sings the whole thing). Tokaj is a wine-growing region, justly famous for the wines that are internationally known under the Tokay name (including the sweet dessert wine type called aszú, made with a proportion of moldy grapes :-)

      Kiscica
    3. Re:Why stop at a bridge? by slofstra · · Score: 5, Funny

      I was Hungary so I went to Burgerlaria to eat a Turkey but it had way too much Greece.

    4. Re:Why stop at a bridge? by thePowerOfGrayskull · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It is a sad state of affairs when the technical people of the most powerful and mega-nuclear-trigger happy country on Earth cannot tell the difference between "Hungry" and "Hungary" and haven't a clue to where it is.

      It is a sad state of affairs when the expatriate Americans living in the the world's most underfed nation can't tell the difference between a joke and reality.
    5. Re:Why stop at a bridge? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Now you're just being Sicily.

    6. Re:Why stop at a bridge? by Wah · · Score: 5, Funny

      why not, there's like a Brazilian you can come up with on a moment's notice .

      --
      +&x
    7. Re:Why stop at a bridge? by nogginthenog · · Score: 5, Funny

      Reminds me of a joke:

      Donald Rumsfeld briefed the President this morning. He told Bush that 3
      Brazilian soldiers were killed in Iraq.

      To everyone's amazement, all the color drained from Bush's face then he
      collapsed onto his desk, head in hands, visibly shaken, almost in tears.

      Finally, he composed himself and asked Rumsfeld, "Just exactly how many
      is a brazilian?"

  2. Name places after talk show hosts? Why not! by krell · · Score: 5, Funny

    I already named my falafel after Bill O'Reilly.

    --
    Where were you when the voynix came?
    1. Re:Name places after talk show hosts? Why not! by macdaddy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Oh really? Well, I take a Bill O'Reilly every morning.

  3. Slashdot effect? by lionheart1327 · · Score: 5, Funny

    So the site is already fried because of Colbert, and your brilliant idea is to put it on the front page of Slashdot?

    There goes the Hungarian electric grid.

  4. Re:moren? by Evanisincontrol · · Score: 5, Funny

    whoosh
    Audio pronunciation of "whoosh" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (hwsh, wsh, hwsh, wsh) also woosh (wsh, wsh)
    n.

    1. A sibilant sound: the whoosh of the high-speed elevator.
    2. A swift movement or flow; a rush or spurt.
    3. The sound of a joke going right over your head

  5. Waste of a Bridge by nonsequitor · · Score: 5, Funny

    It would be pointless to name a bridge after Chuck Norris. If they did no one would dare use it, because everyone knows that no one crosses Chuck Norris and lives.

  6. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  7. Re:changes on top list by A+beautiful+mind · · Score: 5, Informative

    As someone authentic (I live less than one km/mile away from the now-under-construction bridge) I attempted an explanation:

    Zenebutik-Zenehíd 260730 [13%] - Music shop - Music bridge (from some hungarian 20y old music programme)
    Chuck Norris - híd 158656 [8%]
    Zrínyi híd 156978 [8%] - named after Zrínyi, historical figure
    Vásárhelyi Boldizsár - híd 155314 [8%] - historical figure
    Bethlen Gábor - híd 152720 [8%] - historical figure
    Batthyány Lajos híd 122877 [6%] - historical figure
    Szent Korona - híd 122325 [6%] - Saint Crown bridge
    Bocskai István - híd 121137 [6%] - historical figure
    Hunyadi Mátyás - híd 120784 [6%] - historical figure
    Szent István - híd 119985 [6%]- Saint Stephen, 1st king of Hungary

    Híd = bridge
    Btw, the bridge is part of the M0 beltway that goes 'round Budapest. It is supposed to be built "any year now" for the last twenty...

    --
    It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
    Be yourself no matter what they say
  8. Instructions on how to vote for Stephen by nofactzone · · Score: 5, Informative
    The mission, should you choose to accept it: Get Stephen Colbert's name voted in as the bridge name for this new bridge in Hungary spanning the Danube River.

    To accomplish your task:

    To vote, go here- http://www.m0hid.gov.hu/szavaz

    UPDATE!!! Walk-through of the voting process:
    • If you can actually get through to this page, do an "Edit - Find (on this page)" for "Colbert" and it should take you straight to his nomination.
    • Make sure you have found Stephen Colbert and not Steven Colbert (don't split the vote kids!). Click on the button by his name to vote for him.
    • Then go to the bottom of the web page and click the "Elküld" button (the square one at the bottom of the page), and your vote should be submitted.
    • DO NOT try to sort the nominees by ABC, because as heavily trafficked as this site is right now, you're lucky to connect to the site once.
    • If you can click the round button by his name, and click on the "Elküld" button at the bottom of the page, your vote should count.

    The site is still only partially accessible due to the overload in traffic I imagine (lots of "Cannot Find Server" errors). But I did submit the nomination and at least one of the members of the Colbert Nation got through enough to get him on the ballot. On the form for justification for the nomination, I submitted "Lép Colbert van a áthidal között Magyarország és Amerika" Which means (according to Translation-guide.com): "Stephen Colbert is the bridge between Hungary and America". (Actually, what I'm pretty sure has happened is that the internet translation tool has mangled the translation and it says something like "Stephen Colbert has complete apple frog feet for the Mopping of Americans" or something.)

    So vote early, and vote often.

    The Top Nominees: (as of 8/10/2006 11:15 AM CST) http://www.m0hid.gov.hu/toplista

    Toplista
    Az indoklás megtekintéséhez kattintson a névre!
    Zenebutik-Zenehíd 260730 [13%]
    Chuck Norris - híd 156741 [8%]
    Zrínyi híd 156415 [8%]
    Vásárhelyi Boldizsár - híd 155314 [8%]
    Bethlen Gábor - híd 152669 [8%]
    Batthyány Lajos híd 122824 [6%]
    Szent Korona - híd 122266 [6%]
    Bocskai István - híd 121083 [6%]
    Hunyadi Mátyás - híd 120734 [6%]
    Szent István - híd 119933 [6%]

    Some Other Nominees: (as of 8/10/2006 12:15 PM CST)

    Stephen Colbert - 168
    Jack Sparrow - 37
    Monty Python - 25
    Bruce Lee - 29
    Skywalker - 21
    Jackie Chan - 20
    Steven Colbert - 12
    Abe Vigoda - 3
    Gene Simmons - 3
    Sponge Bob- 1
  9. Re:Check your facts! by saxoholic · · Score: 5, Funny

    Any good citizen of the Colbertnation should know that it doesn't matter what the facts are. If the poster's gut tells him that the name of the country is "Hungaria" then that's good enough for me. He feels the truth, he doesn't need the facts.

  10. Re:changes on top list by Monkeyboy4 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    JOn Stewart is, IMO, an excelletn interviewer. He does a great job with people he agrees with and people he doesn't. He asks for people to help him understand and in many cases his interviews with those who are politically conservative are more poignant than funny. He is not afraid to challenge them, but he does not attack.

    Of course, the segment pieces are designed to take people's words out of context and make them look stupid - I am prety sure that Stewart himself has said he can't believe people still take interviews with them.

    Colbert's most amazing piece of work is that he got Congressmen and women to do interviews and those are sometimes very ridiculous. I can't imagine he will get to finish his 'better know a distric' segment.

  11. Re:Check your facts! by brjndr · · Score: 5, Funny

    You couldn't even use a bridge named after Chuck Norris. Everyone knows no one crosses Chuck Norris and lives!!