The Colbert Regret

It looks like Stephen Colbert — whose humor people have likened to mine — has taken a page out of the playbook of his arch rival Rain.

Back in 2005 and then 2006, Rain (whose real name is Bernie Silberman) kept getting voted one of the most influential figures of the global entertainment industry. I joked that this was three or possibly four rabid Netizens in a basement PC-bang, but it turns out I may have been wrong. Hyonjong, Jeehee, Jungmin, and Sanghun may have been helped by a swarm of Sri Lankans, a flock of Filipinos, a gaggle of Guangzhouans, a mob of Malaysians, a pack of Pakistanis, and a collection of Cambodians.

In other words, it was likely about four hundred or so people in independent but centrally organized units, much like terror cells. While a normal person may find this sort of disturbing, I suppose that kind of underground regional organization does qualify as global influence. So I'm good.

Consequently, Rain was rated as more influential than Comedy Central funny guy Stephen Colbert (Colbert speaks Korean in this clip). And that made Colbert furious, so much so that he challenged Rain to a dance-off on his show.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Rain Dance-Off
comedycentral.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

Um... yeah. Anyhoo, fast-forward to 2009 and NASA's online contest to name a new room at the International Space Station. Taking advantage of the fact that write-in votes were allowed, Colbert urged his viewers to write in his name, which 230,539 did*.

"Colbert" beat "Serenity" (a NASA choice probably inspired by a 2005 Josh Whedon movie, but possibly a state of peace and calm, or a porn star) by 40,000 votes.

NASA says they reserve the right to choose an appropriate name, but if they reject "Colbert," be prepared for a boycott of NASA goods and services.

*230,539 votes is the equivalent of thirty-seven VANK volunteers living in their basements.