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Stephen Colbert vs The Hungarian Government

Posted by CmdrTaco on Thu Aug 10, 2006 12:04 PM
from the under-our-skin-we're-all-colberican dept.
Media Television It's funny. Laugh.
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!
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  • Why stop at a bridge? (Score:5, Funny)

    by krell (896769) on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:06PM (#15882256) Journal
    The very name of the country gives me an urge to go to Burger King. Why not take a vote on renaming Hungary itself?
    • 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.

    • Re:Why stop at a bridge? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2006, @01:22PM (#15883089)
      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.

      I say this as a Hungarian (magyar) who was born and lived in United States, but moved to Hungary for good.
      Yes... I live a few kilometers from the said bridge.

      But if the slashdoters wish to vote for a worthy name for the said bridge why not try this:

      http://www.m0hid.gov.hu/ [m0hid.gov.hu]

      The second or third menu on the left will give you a long list of radio buttons.
      (try them all, until you see the long list)

      Forget Chuck Norris. Why not vote for something from our history:

      Vajk-Istvan Hid (my recomendation)

      Vajk/Istvan was our first catholic king of Magyarorszag - 1006 years ago.
      Vajk was his pagen name, Istvan his christian name,
      he gave up the first and assumed the second.
      The bridge is realy two bridges because it is so long.. so the name is fitting.

      If the slashdotters feel up to it, lets push this bridge name up the list.
      Give it a try (when the server is responding again - 1-3 days)

      Ja..and did you know that Hungary is a nation wealthy in foodstuff.
      Throughout history there has never been an extended period of hunger.
      There was always plenty of food, and the weather was kind too.
      Plus it was THE wealthiest nation in Europe several times in history.

      • Re:Why stop at a bridge? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by thePowerOfGrayskull (905905) on Thursday August 10 2006, @02:27PM (#15883759) Homepage Journal

        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.

      • The Hungarian Food Supply (Score:5, Interesting)

        by MonkeyCookie (657433) on Thursday August 10 2006, @04:07PM (#15884562)

        Ja..and did you know that Hungary is a nation wealthy in foodstuff. Throughout history there has never been an extended period of hunger. There was always plenty of food, and the weather was kind too.

        Well, there was that period in the 1200s after the Mongols tore through Hungary and killed off something like a third of the population. Starvation was pretty common because the peasants were either dead or hiding in the woods, so no food was being produced. That, however, is pretty much ancient history.

        That said, Hungary is quite a productive agricultural country. I spent six weeks there one summer traveling around, seeing the sights (and practicing my rudimentary Hungarian), and I fondly remember the good food. The juicy, sweet peaches left a lasting impression on me, and I sure would like to go back to Eger for the great wine. Once on a train, a few elderly women shared their pogacsa (little bread roll type thingies) with me, and I absolutely loved them.

        In my opinion, Hungarian wine is quite underrated.

    • Re:Why stop at a bridge? (Score:4, Funny)

      by bitt3n (941736) on Thursday August 10 2006, @01:34PM (#15883221)
      I've always thought Hungary was in dangerous proximity to Turkey.

      • Re:Why stop at a bridge? (Score:5, Informative)

        by kiscica (89316) on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:29PM (#15882501) Homepage
        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

  • Acter? (Score:4, Funny)

    by thrillbert (146343) * on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:07PM (#15882268) Homepage
    <sarcasm>What a moren, doesn't even know how to spell ACTOR.</sarcasm>

    ---
    Q: Why do mountain climbers rope themselves together?
    A: To prevent the sensible ones from going home.

      • Re:moren? (Score:5, Funny)

        by Evanisincontrol (830057) on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:18PM (#15882397)
        whoosh [reference.com]
        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

  • Name places after talk show hosts? Why not! (Score:5, Funny)

    by krell (896769) on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:08PM (#15882275) Journal
    I already named my falafel after Bill O'Reilly.

  • Hungaria? (Score:4, Funny)

    by needacoolnickname (716083) on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:09PM (#15882291)
    Ah, how I miss my public school education.

  • Check your facts! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Stranger4U (153613) on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:09PM (#15882292)
    The country's name is not "Hungaria" it is "Hungary."
    And the country is in Eastern Europe.
    Though, given the average American these days, we should feel luck he didn't think it was in the US.

    Besides, Chuck Norris doesn't need a bridge. Chuck Norris walks to the river and the water gets out of his way. Sorry.

  • Slashdot effect? (Score:5, Funny)

    by lionheart1327 (841404) on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:10PM (#15882299)
    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.

  • Yeah but I heard (Score:5, Funny)

    by snowwrestler (896305) on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:11PM (#15882312)
    that the population of Hungarian bridges has tripled in the last 6 months.

  • New slashdot slogan (Score:4, Funny)

    by bano (410) on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:13PM (#15882345) Homepage Journal
    News for Nerds, Stuff that matters, and Steven Colbert news.

      • Re:New slashdot slogan (Score:5, Insightful)

        by monoqlith (610041) on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:46PM (#15882677)
        Overdone? Not that this isn't a matter of opinion, but have you seen *actual* news lately? CNN has themed special effects graphics for tragedies within 2 hours of their occurence. Even local news filters everything through a overly-dramatic lens - it really shows when there is a slow news day, and they have to do an on-location shoot over some meaningless "public-awareness" story like highway sludge or how easy it is to steal a bike. [youtube.com] The result is fear-mongering and alarmism being brought to bear on ultimately irrelevant issues.

        Also, Stewart seems to be less prepared and more improvisionational on his show. Overdone is not the word I would use to describe it. I find him and Colbert entertaining - even so the words "politically slanted," and "obnoxiously sarcastic" may be a more apt way to negatively characterize the show. Stewart is under no illusion that his show actually counts as news, anyhow, so he has no real obligation to be either polite or objective.

        Letterman and Leno give you the blunted, sanitized, and politically neutral jokes that Stewart tosses into the trash, and their sole purpose is to comfort you with harmless banter after the slew of bad news you just received at 11 o'clock and a hard day at work.

  • South DaColberta (Score:5, Funny)

    by MECC (8478) * on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:14PM (#15882355)
    Then he could be the first state to outlaw abortion, have the fewest laws of any state, host a biker rally, and have drive through liquor and ammo stores everywhere.

    Cobert to drivethrough speakerphone: Hi, I'd like a fifth of Tequilla and a box of .357 hollowpoints. My Ex is in town, and I wanted to get her ... er ... I mean get her something special...

  • This could be the next /. poll! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by paladinwannabe2 (889776) on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:17PM (#15882391)
    The bridge in Hungaria should be named:
    -The Chuck Norris Bridge
    -The Steven Colbert Bridge
    -Geza Hofi's Bridge (an actual Hungarian)
    -King Steve's Kickass Bridge
    -The Bridge of Death [wikipedia.org]
    -CmdrTaco's Bridge

  • Waste of a Bridge (Score:5, Funny)

    by nonsequitor (893813) on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:20PM (#15882411)
    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.

  • Good old straight-talking Colbert! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Karma Farmer (595141) on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:25PM (#15882454)
    I believe Colbert's straight-talking sensibilities have earned him far more than just a bridge in whatever continent Hungaria is in.
    Slashdot -- because on the internet, no-one can tell if you're a moron or just a troll.

  • Instructions on how to vote for Stephen (Score:5, Informative)

    by nofactzone (994493) on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:58PM (#15882797) Journal
    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 [m0hid.gov.hu]

    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 [m0hid.gov.hu]

    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

  • Renaming a State for Colbert (Score:5, Funny)

    by airship (242862) on Thursday August 10 2006, @02:04PM (#15883546) Homepage
    I don't think we should rename Colorado. After all, we DO use it for something - it's lumpy and cold, so at least you can ski there.

    I suggest renaming one of the flat middle states that no one ever goes to.

    Iowa (where I live) is out, because at least we grow corn and cows here, so it's good for something.

    I would recommend Kansas, but at least they grow wheat, and we all like bread, right?

    North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska are all good candidates. In fact, why not just lump them all together into one big, flat, useless state and rename it 'Colbert'? I'll bet we could get elementary schoolkids to promote this idea because, hey, two less state capitols to learn, right? We could name the new capitol 'Steve' so it would be easy to remember.

    And we could go back to that keen 48-star flag we used to have, too.
    • As far as I can tell (my Hungarian is not that great, I'm a native English speaker) this is what we've got:

      Zenebutik-Zenehid -> Music boutique - Music bridge (I've never heard zenebutik stuck together like that, so it may mean something other than the literal translation)

      Chuck Norris Hid -> Chuck Norris Bridge. Hid means bridge, I'm not going to keep translating that word.

      Zrinyi Hid -> Zrinyi is a famous historical Hungarian family (http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/Z/Zrinyi.asp)

      Vásárhelyi Boldizsár -> Not sure on this one. Vásárhelyi is an adjective that means "shopping place", so that's weird, and I don't know what Boldizsár means.

      Bethlen Gábor -> Another hero of another failed rebellion. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Bethlen) Hungarian history is very sad for the last couple of hundred years, if you haven't gathered that.

      Batthyány Lajos -> Hero of the failed uprising of the Hungarians against the Austro-Hungarian empire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lajos_Batthy%C3%A1ny for more in English)

      Szent Korona -> Holy Crown

      Bocskai István -> Transylvanian Prince (that was part of Hungary) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Bocskay [wikipedia.org]

      Hunyadi Mátyás -> Popular Hungarian king (http://www.iearn.hu/balkans/bpeople/matyas.htm)

      Szent István -> Saint Steven (don't ask me how Istvan translates into Steven, let alone how the nickname for Istvan is Pisti, kind of richard and dick, but even more off). He was the first Christian king of Hungary, also known as "Istvan a Kiraly" (Stephen the King)

    • Re:changes on top list (Score:5, Informative)

      by A beautiful mind (821714) on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:38PM (#15882586)
      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...

    • Righteous Indignation! (Score:5, Funny)

      by ScentCone (795499) on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:56PM (#15882783)
      Listen, I knew Bocskai István, and you, Mr. Colbert, are no Bocskai István.

      Tip of the hat to Lloyd Bentson for his single meaningful - and truly eternal - contribution to political discourse.

          • Re:changes on top list (Score:5, Insightful)

            by Monkeyboy4 (789832) on Thursday August 10 2006, @01:14PM (#15883011)
            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.

        • Re:changes on top list (Score:5, Interesting)

          by Mister Whirly (964219) on Thursday August 10 2006, @02:44PM (#15883892) Homepage
          I try to explain this fact to people all the time that don't get the joke. Some folks are apparently unaware that Steven Colbert is a playing a character - which just says leaps and bounds about Colbert's ability to never break character. Most brilliant satire ever on mainstream cable.... The best way to make an ass out of someone who is already an ass is simply to act just like them...

    • Re:Where's Magyarország? (Score:5, Informative)

      by vertinox (846076) on Thursday August 10 2006, @12:33PM (#15882544)
      To be fair, I can't find Deustchland on the map either nor Myanmar... But in reality the Hungarians don't refer to their nation as Hungary, but rather Magyarország [wikipedia.org].

      So heck... We can keep calling Hungary or Germany or Burma anything we want because they call themselves something else.

    • Re:Damn Yankee (Score:5, Interesting)

      by gurps_npc (621217) on Thursday August 10 2006, @01:52PM (#15883430)
      Let me get this straight.

      1) You mistake a joke for a real opinion.

      2)You make a VERY prejudiced remark about ALL american citizens

      3) You make an off-topic general insult about our TV (and I feel really sorry for you if you think that TV in anyway that matters?????)

      4) You think that thoughtless attitude is a reason why people want to bomb us.

      5) You think that americans actualy wonder why people want to bomb us.

      Here, let me remove your head from that giant hole in your body:

      1. Colbert is a sarcastic show, and the comments about him being straight-talking are supposed to be a joke.,

      2. Americans are a varied lot, and any comment that starts off with "Americans think.." is almost certainly indicative of a foolish speaker, not americans.

      3. Television, like most art forms, varies by culture, and by defition, deciding which is 'better' is pretty much impossible. At the very least one would need a nuetral third party to judge which is better (if you were moronic enough to care about such a thing), you CERTAINLY can not expect culture A to reasonably judge their own TV better than culture B in a fair manner

      4. I am SURE that whatever reason people want to bomb the US, it is for far better reasons than the simple ones you put forth.

      5. As an American, I can safely say that I have never wondered why people want to bomb us, I know people are varied and have different reasons, but frankly, I usually have better things to do than wonder about such foolish things. Many of them want revenge because an american soldier killed one of their friends/relatives (usually, but not all the time, in attempt to get them to stop killing innocent 3rd parties). Others are simply frustrated and angry that we don't do what they want us to do and are generally succesfull at what we do do. Finally, others are simply responding to religious and political leaders that need an enemey around which they can rally people to their cause.

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