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Stephen Colbert vs The Hungarian Government 554

Posted by CmdrTaco 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!
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Stephen Colbert vs The Hungarian Government More

Stephen Colbert vs The Hungarian Government

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

    by krell ( 896769 ) on Thursday August 10, 2006 @01:06PM (#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?

  • Acter? (Score:4, Funny)

    by thrillbert ( 146343 ) * on Thursday August 10, 2006 @01:07PM (#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.

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

    by krell ( 896769 ) on Thursday August 10, 2006 @01:08PM (#15882275) Journal
    I already named my falafel after Bill O'Reilly.

  • changes on top list (Score:3, Informative)

    by jsuarezcasana ( 898941 ) <<moc.oohay> <ta> <anasaczerausj>> on Thursday August 10, 2006 @01:08PM (#15882287)
    it seems that chuck norris is not longer the top choice: Az indoklás megtekintéséhez kattintson a névre! Zenebutik-Zenehíd 260730 [13%] Chuck Norris - híd 158656 [8%] Zrínyi híd 156978 [8%] Vásárhelyi Boldizsár - híd 155314 [8%] Bethlen Gábor - híd 152720 [8%] Batthyány Lajos híd 122877 [6%] Szent Korona - híd 122325 [6%] Bocskai István - híd 121137 [6%] Hunyadi Mátyás - híd 120784 [6%] Szent István - híd 119985 [6%] found on http://www.m0hid.gov.hu/toplista [m0hid.gov.hu] anyone care for a transaltion of all the other names?
    • May I nominate CmdrTaco? Or is Hungary offended by his geography skills?

      May I also submit Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern-schplenden-schlitter-crasscrenbon-fried-d i gger-dingle-dangle- dongle-dungle-burstein-von-knacker-thrasher-apple- banger-horowitz- ticolensic-grander-knotty-spelltinkle-grandlich-gr umblemeyer- spelterwasser-kurstlich-himbleeisen-bahnwagen-gute nabend-bitte-ein- nurnburger-bratwustle-gernspurten-mitz-weimache-lu ber-hundsfut- gumberaber-shonedanker-kalbsfleisch-mittler-aucher von

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

      by theStorminMormon ( 883615 ) <theStorminMormon.gmail@com> on Thursday August 10, 2006 @01:32PM (#15882536) Homepage Journal
      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 @01:38PM (#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 @01:56PM (#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.
  • mine must be defective, I'm not finding "acter"

  • Hungaria? (Score:4, Funny)

    by needacoolnickname ( 716083 ) on Thursday August 10, 2006 @01:09PM (#15882291)
    Ah, how I miss my public school education.

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

    by Stranger4U ( 153613 ) on Thursday August 10, 2006 @01:09PM (#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 @01:10PM (#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 @01:11PM (#15882312)
    that the population of Hungarian bridges has tripled in the last 6 months.
  • First the TV crowd slams their site and now they get slashdotted. Their poor server's CPU must have melted by now.

  • Colorado? (Score:2, Informative)

    by markwalling ( 863035 )
    why colorado? there is good skiing there. why not something like south dakota? what the hell is in south dakota anyways.

    (here goes my karma down the tube)

  • New slashdot slogan (Score:4, Funny)

    by bano ( 410 ) on Thursday August 10, 2006 @01:13PM (#15882345) Homepage Journal
    News for Nerds, Stuff that matters, and Steven Colbert news.

  • South DaColberta (Score:5, Funny)

    by MECC ( 8478 ) * on Thursday August 10, 2006 @01:14PM (#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...

  • 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.

    It would be much more appropriate to rename Idaho's Portugal, a.k.a. California's Canada, a.k.a. Washington's Mexico, a.k.a. Oregon.

    Stevegon? Orebert? Stevegonebert?
  • I vote for "CmdrTaco Bridge".
  • Colorado is fine, but how about Nevada? Don't you think we could call it Smith&Wesson? Or why not rename California to In&Out?

    And I'm still looking for a cool named all-you-can-eat chain to rename D.C.

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

    by paladinwannabe2 ( 889776 ) on Thursday August 10, 2006 @01:17PM (#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

  • It's Oregon that needs the help. As it is now, we can't decide if it's California's Canada, Washington's Mexico, or Idaho's Portugal. (I always thought it was the North Pacific's Ecuador, but I'm a liberal. What do I know?)

    Change it to Colbertegon, and you've got a destination! It's not anybody's anything! Of course, we'd have to move the capital to Colbervallis...

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

    by nonsequitor ( 893813 ) on Thursday August 10, 2006 @01:20PM (#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.
  • You know, even if the voting web site was up when this was posted, it will now be down from all the extra traffic Slashdot will send to them.


    We are sort of taking the Colbert Report and one-upping them.

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

    by Karma Farmer ( 595141 ) on Thursday August 10, 2006 @01:25PM (#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.
  • I suggest a new term for the internet world-- Colberted.

    "Yes, one day my public site was discussing Hungarian Bridges, but then these monkeys flew out of the sky and started posting. Now we're discussing Icelandic ducks and Chinese lay-midwifery. Ouch! I think I just got Colberted".

    Not to be confused with "Colbertism [wikipedia.org], a 16th Century French practice of mercantilist protectionism.

  • Spontaneous joke (Score:3, Informative)

    by bocsika ( 929320 ) on Thursday August 10, 2006 @01:30PM (#15882518)
    You should know that this is a spontaneous joke of Hungarian people, nothing serious. At last! Despite centuries when you had to shut up, and the eastern hordes ruining down the country several times, people there did not loose their sense of humor. This is the real knews. /yes, IAAH - I am a native Hungarian/
  • after dead people? I really don't like the trend to name buildings and infrastructure after living persons. I really didn't like it when a building in my town was named the "[town's mayor] art center" (where [town's mayor] was the current actual mayor). Does this sound tacky to you? I thought that one named buildings and such after dead people as a tribute. Now it just seems to be a trendy thing to do. And the nice thing about naming stuff after dead folks is that they can never do something embarassi

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

    by nofactzone ( 994493 ) on Thursday August 10, 2006 @01:58PM (#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

  • CmdrTaco needs to follow suit! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Rob T Firefly ( 844560 ) on Thursday August 10, 2006 @02:05PM (#15882889) Homepage Journal
    New Slashdot overlord: ColbertTaco.

  • Rename the Earth! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Medievalist ( 16032 ) on Thursday August 10, 2006 @02:23PM (#15883101)
    Cmdr Taco, allow me to congratulate you on your true red-blooded americanness, unless of course you are one of the many persons on our Internets who is actually a socialist-cozening Canadian.

    While your proposal to upgrade the name of one the lesser American states, which is to say one of the states which does not produce oil, is certainly sound, in fact our entire American solar system could use an image upgrade [traipse.com].

    I know I am not alone in my preference for a more masculine and aggressive stance regarding naming conventions, and I call on every American to support this fine idea.

  • Stephen being of French origins ... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Stavr0 ( 35032 ) on Thursday August 10, 2006 @02:29PM (#15883170) Homepage Journal
    let's rename La Belle Province to Quolbec

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

    by airship ( 242862 ) on Thursday August 10, 2006 @03:04PM (#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.

  • Its a Virus! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Heembo ( 916647 ) on Thursday August 10, 2006 @03:26PM (#15883753) Journal
    I love Colbert, and I sadly pay apple for the privledge of legally downloading his show per a subscription basis. He Is The Master Of Viral Marketing. His show is skyrocketing in popularity. When is he going to take over John Stewart's slot? :)

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