Heh, I'm watching the end of this now. Wasn't sure it would survive front-paged so I was going to go mention it as a "happy" in the Joss thread, because voting and election day is one of those things I feel in my gut.
(I love Harrison Ford's. "... Worked for who? It doesn't work for me.")
If this is what I think it is, and it's that PSA where annoying celebrities like Jonah Hill and Sarah Silverman try and get me to vote, I'm not voting out of spite.
Just kidding. I live in NY. My vote doesn't count. Guess what? NY voted for Obama.
I'm voting in California, and while it is true that California is voting for Obama (so maybe my vote there doesn't matter so much) never-the-less my vote IS needed to defeat proposition 8 ✓
These are different celebrities John Darc, it's sort of a switcheroo on the last one.
Nicely done, maybe felt a bit less earnest/patronising than the first one. NPH's was probably the most heartfelt, SBC's bits were the funniest IMO. And thusly it was proven that celebrities with TLAs for names will one day rule the world.
Relatedly, try this video, made by Sandeep Parikh from Felicia Day's web series The Guild, in which a "correspondent" interviews people inside World of Warcraft about the election.
I'm very suggestible, so I'll be deleting this shortly ;). I kid! The first one of these actually survived, so I'll leave this one alone, but let's remember its not Electionesque.com or Voteresque.com (every time I say something like that, b!X or gossi buy a domain name!).
Can Ryan Reynolds even vote? He's a Canuckian, who I don't think has dual citizenship.
Anyway, I do urge everyone to vote, if you can, no matter who you are voting for. Considering the abysmal voting numbers we just had up here in our election a few weeks ago...ugh it makes me sad and angry just thinking about it.
Oh B!x, I loved the World of Warcraft Presidential Poll! Thank you for linking it! Whedonesque may not be Electionesque.com and/or Voteresque.com, but it does have the best links to all the coolest stuff online! And I always love see NPH even if it is only for a short time; did anyone see him get dunked yesterday on 'Ellen'?. So cute!
Today I learnt that I have wrong parts in my thought brain. Or is that brains? I haven't checked recently, it may be dividing. But what's wrong with acronym? I like it, as words go... 'nym' is a cool syllable. And at least I'm not saying 'PIN Number.'
Um, voting, yes. We haven't got one of those things for a while (probably) so I'll just settle for encouraging you lot... oh, except you already seem pretty encouraged. Hmm. Maybe I should soothe you instead so your excitement and fervour don't give you a heart attack before polling day.
Hypothetical: Take a presidential race where, say, 50% of the eligible voters actually voted, and the winner won with just over half the vote.
Now pretend that the other 50% of the eligible voters who chose not to vote instead actually voted, but all simply voted "none of the above" in the write-in spot. The winning candidate would still be the winning candidate, but would have won with, say, 26% or the vote instead of, say, 51% (or whatever it coems out to be) of the vote.
It would never actually transpire this way, but I enjoy the hypothetical as a way to argue against the idea the not voting makes any sense. At the very least, not voting certainly doesn't actually communicate anything, because it's the pundits that get to assign their own reasons for why people don't vote.
My thought process watching this video- "Why, among all these actors is there a random homeless guy the- wait, that's Jason Segal. Oh, Marshall, get a hair cut."
Of course, when I try to go find out where I need to go to vote... "We are unable to provide voting location information for your address at this time. Please check with your state or local election officials to find your voting location." Great.
kishi: "Of course, when I try to go find out where I need to go to vote... 'We are unable to provide voting location information for your address at this time. Please check with your state or local election officials to find your voting location.' Great."
You can try here (I checked mine & it worked) and most states also have individual website(s) where you can locate your polling address. Google'll getcha what you want, if vote411.org doesn't work for you...
Seems OK to me. Have you tried turning your head upright ?
That World of Warcraft video was great, ta theonetruebix. Been listening to the Dr H soundtrack today so maybe i'm just hearing things but did the woman at about 3:25 who was digging an amusing hole about Obama's "stamina" and playing as a being-that-I-would-recognise-if-I-played-WoW sound like Felicia Day to anyone else ?
skittledog: But what's wrong with acronym? I like it, as words go... 'nym' is a cool syllable.
Nothing wrong with acronym per se, it's just that acronyms are words made from initials, or at least should be pronounceable as words (so RAM and ROM both qualify for instance). If you can say 'NPH' as a word then a) I salute you and b) TLA[cronym] is correct ;).
My head is upright. It's the letters that are tilting into the wind. Right? Am I really the only one seeing it? (*makes note to have eyes checked. It's been a while.*)
The books usually close 15-30 days ahead, Saje. Depends on the locality.
I mean that the first-time and apathetic voters the PSA targets are the most likely to be un- or improperly registered or lapsed off the books.
Not that they shouldn't still try to vote, of course, but there's a fair chance that they'll stand in line only to find a problem at the polling desk. That's a hard letdown after an excited emotional appeal like this one, which arguably, is why most "remember to vote" PSAs are such quiet, staid little things.
I think I almost like this one better and Neil just rips at my heart strings. I could have done without Borat though, and I liked the Chipmunk more than him. Who could have foretold that?!?
At the very least, not voting certainly doesn't actually communicate anything, because it's the pundits that get to assign their own reasons for why people don't vote.
Aren't there usually other presidential candidates to vote for beyond the 2 major parties? Usually the Green party has Nadar almost across the country, but beyond that it's my understanding (I'm Canadian, so I don't know for sure) that different states also have other alternative candidates. So someone could always vote for one of these other candidates as a protest vote against the two major candidates. It's not exactly "none of the above" vote, but it's as close as anyone can get to that concept.
Nolan:
Can Ryan Reynolds even vote? He's a Canuckian, who I don't think has dual citizenship.
Well, Canada just had a federal election, so depending on when it was filmed, maybe he's secretly talking about the Canadian election while everyone else talks about the US election. :P
Yes, there are almost always third-party candidates. Which is fine if you want to take the chance that such a candidate wins by being a protest vote. Taking the hypothetical again, suppose the 50% of eligible voters who didn't vote all voted, and all voted for Freakish Wingut. The new president would be Freakish Wingnut instead of Mainstream A or Mainstream B. Really, writing in "none of the above" is the only safe way to register a protest vote. ;)
(Disclaimer: I don't actually know if all states have a write-in slot. I always just sort of assumed they'd have to.)
Matt_Fabb, there are a lot of 3rd parties. The most well known are the Green Party with Cynthia McKinney as their Presidential candidate, Ralph Nader is running again but as the an Independent Candidate this time, and Bob Barr has the Libertarian nomination. In addition to them there are at least a half dozen other Presidential candidates who might be on the ballot, depending upon how many signatures they could get (and what the rules were for the individual state). It is very hard for any 3rd party candidate to get onto any state's official ballot because the Republicans and Democrats have written the election laws specifically to exclude them. Personally I would like to see that changed, but I'm not holding my breath.
Man, this slantedness is really dizzying ;). Doesn't seem to be an open italics tag, though because adding a closing one to this post didn't help much, it seems.
Also, yes, American fellow posters: please go out and vote! I know I would, if I lived over there :).
Joss should have written and directed some of these things, because they seem to belie the idea that the entertainment business is liberal, or maybe it's the idea that liberals are smart and artistic, just from their clumsiness. I guess the collections of well-known faces will create a favorable impression but Obama is still his own best show.
Nope, both Eva Longoria Parker and Halle Berry appear in the video (ELP appears for longer in the first one but also, briefly, in the second). It's what you might call an embarrassment of riches ;).
Ah yes, there she is! Stupid work getting in the way of watching videos properly. I stand by my Jason Segel comment though.
If only we could have something as glamorous for our elections but you know, if would be the cast of Hollyoaks and Big Brother "stars". No idea whether these sorts of videos actually encourage people to vote but at least it's doing something.
(they could have actors do it in character though. My picks would be Harry Pearce from 'Spooks' and Andy Dalziel from 'Dalziel and Pascoe' among others. No-one would dare defy them ;)
There is one with the cast from 'The Wire' as well ( not in character though) but if they had Marlo and Chris look you in the eye and suggest that voting is a good idea, I'd agree.
Just a reminder, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum aren't the only candidates running for President. There are viable third parties out there, and I'd like to see at least some Americans realize that.
I was just headed here to post this very thing. Thanks The Hey.
DaisyButtercup | October 29, 19:40 CET
(I love Harrison Ford's. "... Worked for who? It doesn't work for me.")
[ edited by theonetruebix on 2008-10-29 19:49 ]
The One True b!X | October 29, 19:46 CET
Just kidding. I live in NY. My vote doesn't count. Guess what? NY voted for Obama.
John Darc | October 29, 20:21 CET
Spikeslady | October 29, 20:25 CET
Please.
RachVG | October 29, 20:27 CET
embers | October 29, 20:29 CET
Nicely done, maybe felt a bit less earnest/patronising than the first one. NPH's was probably the most heartfelt, SBC's bits were the funniest IMO. And thusly it was proven that celebrities with TLAs for names will one day rule the world.
Saje | October 29, 20:30 CET
NYPinTA | October 29, 20:33 CET
Saje | October 29, 20:34 CET
electricspacegirl | October 29, 20:36 CET
NYPinTA | October 29, 20:39 CET
I was just headed here to post this very thing. Thanks The Hey.
That really should be a t-shirt. I'd wear it.
electricspacegirl | October 29, 20:41 CET
The One True b!X | October 29, 20:44 CET
I'm very suggestible, so I'll be deleting this shortly ;). I kid! The first one of these actually survived, so I'll leave this one alone, but let's remember its not Electionesque.com or Voteresque.com (every time I say something like that, b!X or gossi buy a domain name!).
zeitgeist | October 29, 20:54 CET
The One True b!X | October 29, 20:56 CET
p.p.s. - do we need to have a fundraiser to pay for b!X's domain renewals :)?
zeitgeist | October 29, 20:59 CET
The One True b!X | October 29, 21:02 CET
Anyway, I do urge everyone to vote, if you can, no matter who you are voting for. Considering the abysmal voting numbers we just had up here in our election a few weeks ago...ugh it makes me sad and angry just thinking about it.
Nolan | October 29, 21:02 CET
embers | October 29, 21:05 CET
(Just want to remind folks that a state only "goes" for a candidate if the estimated number of prospective voters, um, actually vote.
Vote for candidates coughObama-Biden, vote for or against propositions *coughin CA-NoOn4&8atleast*.
Vote early
and often.QuoterGal | October 29, 21:08 CET
Um, voting, yes. We haven't got one of those things for a while (probably) so I'll just settle for encouraging you lot... oh, except you already seem pretty encouraged. Hmm. Maybe I should soothe you instead so your excitement and fervour don't give you a heart attack before polling day.
skittledog | October 29, 21:11 CET
Sunfire | October 29, 21:12 CET
Now pretend that the other 50% of the eligible voters who chose not to vote instead actually voted, but all simply voted "none of the above" in the write-in spot. The winning candidate would still be the winning candidate, but would have won with, say, 26% or the vote instead of, say, 51% (or whatever it coems out to be) of the vote.
It would never actually transpire this way, but I enjoy the hypothetical as a way to argue against the idea the not voting makes any sense. At the very least, not voting certainly doesn't actually communicate anything, because it's the pundits that get to assign their own reasons for why people don't vote.
The One True b!X | October 29, 21:16 CET
Of course, when I try to go find out where I need to go to vote... "We are unable to provide voting location information for your address at this time. Please check with your state or local election officials to find your voting location." Great.
kishi | October 29, 21:19 CET
steph424 | October 29, 21:31 CET
You can try here (I checked mine & it worked) and most states also have individual website(s) where you can locate your polling address. Google'll getcha what you want, if vote411.org doesn't work for you...
QuoterGal | October 29, 21:44 CET
NYPinTA | October 29, 21:44 CET
That World of Warcraft video was great, ta theonetruebix. Been listening to the Dr H soundtrack today so maybe i'm just hearing things but did the woman at about 3:25 who was digging an amusing hole about Obama's "stamina" and playing as a being-that-I-would-recognise-if-I-played-WoW sound like Felicia Day to anyone else ?
skittledog: But what's wrong with acronym? I like it, as words go... 'nym' is a cool syllable.
Nothing wrong with acronym per se, it's just that acronyms are words made from initials, or at least should be pronounceable as words (so RAM and ROM both qualify for instance). If you can say 'NPH' as a word then a) I salute you and b) TLA[cronym] is correct ;).
Saje | October 29, 21:46 CET
Sunfire | October 29, 21:50 CET
I am so sorry.
QuoterGal | October 29, 21:51 CET
Not bad italitude. Just lots of it. ;D
NYPinTA | October 29, 22:09 CET
it's just that acronyms are words made from initials, or at least should be pronounceable as words
Like MOO!
hacksaway | October 29, 22:21 CET
And I can say, "nph" just fine. I often say it when I get up from our low, soft sofa.
jcs | October 29, 22:22 CET
The One True b!X | October 29, 22:24 CET
Nevermind.
[ edited by jfhlbuffy on 2008-10-29 22:36 ]
jfhlbuffy | October 29, 22:35 CET
skittledog | October 29, 22:35 CET
ETA: "And I can say, "nph" just fine. I often say it when I get up from our low, soft sofa." Hahahahahahaha.
[ edited by NYPinTA on 2008-10-29 22:38 ]
NYPinTA | October 29, 22:37 CET
Are thses signs of a really lame Apocalypse
Well, given the choice I think i'd rather experience a really lame apocalypse than one that adequately fulfilled all its apocalyptic obligations.
It's all slanty to me too, NYPinTA. You're not crazy. Or at least you're not the only one who's crazy.
Hmm, let's not jump straight to 'crazy', there are plenty of perfectly rational explanations. Like ... have you checked if your monitors are tilted ?
Saje | October 29, 23:10 CET
Aurec | October 29, 23:15 CET
It's not like unregistered people are going to be able to vote if they try.
The One True b!X | October 29, 23:18 CET
Also, the first video was pretty emphatic about registering (back, presumably, when it was still possible - must be too late by now surely ?).
Saje | October 29, 23:25 CET
Pointy | October 29, 23:28 CET
Saje | October 29, 23:36 CET
Well it's too late to register I'd say most places (all places?) now.
You know if we keep up this NPH-ing I'm gonna forget what Ned's name actually is!
Likewithpie | October 30, 00:17 CET
drvmyslfcrzy | October 30, 00:21 CET
Meltha | October 30, 00:27 CET
[ edited by theonetruebix on 2008-10-30 00:34 ]
The One True b!X | October 30, 00:33 CET
Septimus | October 30, 00:41 CET
I mean that the first-time and apathetic voters the PSA targets are the most likely to be un- or improperly registered or lapsed off the books.
Not that they shouldn't still try to vote, of course, but there's a fair chance that they'll stand in line only to find a problem at the polling desk. That's a hard letdown after an excited emotional appeal like this one, which arguably, is why most "remember to vote" PSAs are such quiet, staid little things.
Aurec | October 30, 01:28 CET
otacon129 | October 30, 04:59 CET
Tonya J | October 30, 05:22 CET
Aren't there usually other presidential candidates to vote for beyond the 2 major parties? Usually the Green party has Nadar almost across the country, but beyond that it's my understanding (I'm Canadian, so I don't know for sure) that different states also have other alternative candidates. So someone could always vote for one of these other candidates as a protest vote against the two major candidates. It's not exactly "none of the above" vote, but it's as close as anyone can get to that concept.
Nolan:
Well, Canada just had a federal election, so depending on when it was filmed, maybe he's secretly talking about the Canadian election while everyone else talks about the US election. :P
Matt_Fabb | October 30, 05:28 CET
(Disclaimer: I don't actually know if all states have a write-in slot. I always just sort of assumed they'd have to.)
The One True b!X | October 30, 05:36 CET
thean Independent Candidate this time, and Bob Barr has the Libertarian nomination. In addition to them there are at least a half dozen other Presidential candidates who might be on the ballot, depending upon how many signatures they could get (and what the rules were for the individual state). It is very hard for any 3rd party candidate to get onto any state's official ballot because the Republicans and Democrats have written the election laws specifically to exclude them. Personally I would like to see that changed, but I'm not holding my breath.[ edited by embers on 2008-10-30 06:20 ]
embers | October 30, 06:08 CET
Also, yes, American fellow posters: please go out and vote! I know I would, if I lived over there :).
GVH | October 30, 08:27 CET
dreamlogic | October 30, 08:39 CET
Succatash | October 30, 15:19 CET
And as I can't vote, being English and all, that's all I have to add right now.
(OK, it's not - Jason, sort it out).
Hilary | October 30, 16:45 CET
Saje | October 30, 16:52 CET
If only we could have something as glamorous for our elections but you know, if would be the cast of Hollyoaks and Big Brother "stars". No idea whether these sorts of videos actually encourage people to vote but at least it's doing something.
[ edited by Hilary on 2008-10-30 17:56 ]
Hilary | October 30, 17:33 CET
(they could have actors do it in character though. My picks would be Harry Pearce from 'Spooks' and Andy Dalziel from 'Dalziel and Pascoe' among others. No-one would dare defy them ;)
Saje | October 30, 17:39 CET
jpr | October 30, 18:44 CET
skittledog | October 30, 19:03 CET
quantumac | October 30, 20:36 CET
(Gene Hunt would be great, Basil Fawlty could also hector with the best of 'em)
Saje | October 30, 20:40 CET
The One True b!X | October 30, 20:49 CET