"the most dynamic public speaker of our generation"

June 19, 2009 8:27 PM

Metafilter's own John Hodgman ("the most dynamic public speaker of our generation") headlines at the Radio & Television correspondent's dinner (YouTube: part 1 - part 2).
posted by anastasiav to MetaFilter-related at 8:27 PM (51 comments total)

Less than a week before.

This is awesome.
posted by ColdChef at 8:35 PM on June 19

One degree, man, one degree.
posted by anastasiav at 8:36 PM on June 19

I propose a moratorium on Mefi's own unless the person in question has made a comment within the last 100 days.

That said, I like John Hodgman.
posted by hydrophonic at 8:37 PM on June 19 [7 favorites]

At MaxFunCon, I mentioned to John Hodgman that we at MetaFilter refer to him as "MetaFilter's John Hodgman." And his response was, "And well you should." Just so's you know...
posted by ColdChef at 8:40 PM on June 19 [13 favorites]

"The Constitution is perhaps the most geeky document of all time. It is essentially the Frequently Asked Questions list of the United States that was written by moneyed, sickly, bookish, bifocal wearing nerds who believed that God was a distant, uncaring Dungeon Master."

Brilliant!
posted by ColdChef at 8:43 PM on June 19 [4 favorites]

John Hodgman, sir. I salute you, though I'm never sure if I'm a jock or a nerd I am a fan. So maybe just a dork.
posted by nola at 8:49 PM on June 19

This is one of the best speeches I've seen in a long time. Thank God nobody talked any sense into him, because any reasonable handler would have strongly discouraged Hodgman from, well, grilling the POTUS on grounds that nobody present would understand, with the hope of connecting to a netroots base that could easily have found the whole thing distasteful or offkey if delivered poorly. Even if he could pull it off, he'd largely be preaching to the converted, etc. And still, brilliantly done. Kudos.
posted by allen.spaulding at 8:57 PM on June 19

Also, I'm not on Twitter. but is Hodgman doing a shout-out to MeFi in this tweet from the dinner?
posted by anastasiav at 9:00 PM on June 19

If you have to ask if someone famous is sending you secret messages, the answer is probably no.
posted by cardboard at 9:07 PM on June 19 [4 favorites]

I heard that this is where we put our Hodgman photos. He loves Metafilter, especially me and ColdChef.
posted by SassHat at 9:13 PM on June 19

Obama doing the vulcan salute is the hottest thing I've ever seen

IN MY WHOLE LIFE.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:25 PM on June 19 [5 favorites]

Also, I'm pretty sure this means ColdChef and I are the Vice President now.
posted by SassHat at 9:31 PM on June 19

> ColdChef and I are the Vice President

of awesome
posted by mrzarquon at 9:37 PM on June 19 [1 favorite]

1) Shai Hulud 2) thumper 3) Water of Life. I am a little miffed that Obama didn't know these.
posted by Meatbomb at 9:48 PM on June 19

Obama doing the vulcan salute is the hottest thing I've ever seen

IN MY WHOLE LIFE.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:25 PM on June 19

Aw, come on! I'm right here!
posted by contraption at 10:08 PM on June 19 [7 favorites]

Also, I'm not on Twitter. but is Hodgman doing a shout-out to MeFi in this tweet from the dinner?

Yes, yes he was.
posted by tristeza at 10:11 PM on June 19 [1 favorite]

Obama doing the vulcan salute is the hottest thing I've ever seen IN MY WHOLE LIFE.

Wow. I can't believe I've never noticed the parallels before now.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:12 PM on June 19

Loved the speech. "Decriminalize Evolution" is my new slogan-for-all-occasions.
posted by mds35 at 10:22 PM on June 19

"Hello nerds!"
posted by Pronoiac at 10:40 PM on June 19

That was awesome.
posted by ODiV at 11:11 PM on June 19

This is probably more blue than gray, though.
posted by ODiV at 11:27 PM on June 19

Something something civil war.
posted by SassHat at 11:42 PM on June 19

I heard that this is where we put our Hodgman photos.

I heard this is where we put photos of our daughters with Hodgman.

Waitaminute...
posted by The Deej at 11:44 PM on June 19 [1 favorite]

This is one of the best speeches I've seen in a long time.

That was a great speech. Generally, this kind of thing leaves me cold. Some American journalist or TV presenter I've never heard of, making jokes I don't get about subjects I know nothing about.

But that was touching, witty and wonderfully optimistic. And I've never watched Star Trek, collected comics or read fantasy or science fiction.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 3:07 AM on June 20

And I've never watched Star Trek, collected comics or read fantasy or science fiction.

Jock
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:35 AM on June 20 [1 favorite]

Now I'm left wondering just how much Obama actually knew about Dune...




and when did he stop knowing it.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:48 AM on June 20 [1 favorite]

I can't believe I just watched a correspondent's dinner full of Dune references. Ace.
posted by Erberus at 4:23 AM on June 20

Not a full Colbert, but a remarkable Colbert-like moment: You are clearly not exactly the person we hoped you would be. And perhaps it was wrong and impractical and unrealistic of us to lay such hopes upon you.
posted by gerryblog at 6:27 AM on June 20 [1 favorite]

Though I'm still not sure whether the Colbert was pulled on Obama or on his unhappy supporters. I think both.
posted by gerryblog at 6:46 AM on June 20

Jock

I've never played or watched a sport either though.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 7:30 AM on June 20

At what age were you blinded and crippled? PeterMcDermott, are you My Left Foot?
posted by jtron at 7:45 AM on June 20 [1 favorite]

Do you live in like a sensory deprivation tank of some kind with no windows? How did you learn to type?

Also, my two favorite things in the world are Obama and nerds, and so it has pained me these last few weeks to see Metafilter threads where one of my favorite things attacks another. Metafilter's own John Hodgman is right. He may not be all we want him to be, but goddamit he flashed Leonard Nimoy the vulcan hand sign and that has to count for something.
posted by ND¢ at 7:49 AM on June 20

PeterMcDermott is a brain in a vat.
posted by jouke at 8:02 AM on June 20

That picture makes me so sad! Poor brain in a vat. Never ever to know that it is not, truly, walking outside in the sun. But it is in fact, a brain in a vat.
posted by waraw at 8:25 AM on June 20

Take it to the blue.
posted by Balisong at 9:40 AM on June 20

Who?
posted by Zambrano at 9:41 AM on June 20

Family photo of PeterMcDermott and parents.
posted by eye of newt at 9:48 AM on June 20

I had no idea Hodgman was a MeFite, and one with a four-digit user ID to boot.
posted by grouse at 9:49 AM on June 20

Metafilter.
posted by bowline at 10:09 AM on June 20

I really need to know this: Does Obama know how to wear a stillsuit desert style?
posted by Dr. Zira at 10:26 AM on June 20

I've never played or watched a sport either though.

OK, I should have said I've never voluntarily played or watched a sport. They used to try and make me play football at school, but I'd just hang around the goal mouth, trying to engage the goal keeper in conversation. Whenever the ball appeared to be coming my way, I'd head rapidly in the opposite direction.

Even today, I still have nightmares about the painful slap of a heavy leather caseball against bare pre-pubescent thigh on a freezing cold day.

And it's still not completely true. I've voluntarily watched and enjoyed a couple of heavyweight boxing matches. That's my idea of a sport. Exactly the right degree of subtlety and complexity for my non-nerdish mind. Two big brutes, each trying to knock each other out. Keeping score is easy, and as long as it's not me being punched, it's actually quite exciting.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 11:23 AM on June 20

If PeterMcDermott speaks with the voice of Jean Louis Trintignant, I may have to MeFi-marry him.
posted by pxe2000 at 1:21 PM on June 20

I can't wait until this album drops.
posted by ColdChef at 6:55 PM on June 20 [3 favorites]

"I can't wait until this album drops."

It should be known that I had to cajole Mr. Haughey onto his perch.
posted by heather at 8:15 PM on June 20

John Hodgman sings a camp song at MaxFunCon.
posted by ColdChef at 10:37 PM on June 20

It should be known that I had to cajole Mr. Haughey onto his perch.

HAHAAAAAAAAAA.
posted by kate blank at 10:37 AM on June 21

He self-identifies as MetaFilter's own, so it's kosher.
posted by viachicago at 5:51 PM on June 22 [2 favorites]

"Amazed that HIVE MIND has not yet called me out for using the Irulan quote from the @David_lynch movie and not the longer one from the book"

"Thank you again, HIVE MIND, for all the kind words re @RTCAdinner. A brief update, and footnotes to come: http://www.areasofmyexpertise.com/2009/06/i-was-just-on-the-radio/"

Sooo, that clears that right up.

My nerd-fu is weak this night and I fail to linky-link to tweet-specific instances but yeah, from here:

http://twitter.com/hodgman

John, you *could* login and post, you know. In theory, anyway.
posted by mwhybark at 10:37 PM on June 22

Keeping score is easy, and as long as it's not me being punched, it's actually quite exciting.

In fact, it's pretty exciting either way.
posted by ryanrs at 11:59 PM on June 22

I wish I had a hundred thousand stalkers...
posted by Sys Rq at 9:17 AM on June 23

I wish I had a hundred thousand stalkers...

It's not as great as you'd think, as they tend to wreak havoc on the lawn.
I do wish they'd thought of this before they discovered they were stalking the wrong person.
posted by Dr. Zira at 11:48 AM on June 23