Friday Free-for-all: Lazy Sunday edition
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Howdy ho, Zoners! Just thought I’d blog a few personal things here and get some chatter going on this last day before a new ‘Colbert Report’. Hope everyone is having a nice, relaxing weekend. I’m enjoying my rest before I go into work on Monday. It’s not a permanent position, but it’s income, which is nice. I’ve also got a lot of contacts that are coming out of the woodwork to help me get my resume around to hiring managers, so we’ll see how that goes.
Just a heads up for those of you wanting ‘Colbert Report’ VIP tickets – there’s quite a few auctions going on right now for them. First, Musicians On Call are auctioning off a pair of VIP tickets plus dinner for two at ICON. Also, the Bob Woodruff foundation is auctioning off a VIP 4-pack plus a Meet And Greet after the show. Finally, there’s an auction for the National Military Family Association for two VIP tickets.
One other thing that you Colbertophiles out there might want to know about is a new contest being hosted by Comedy Central. The Stephen’s Fantasy Namesake Challenge is a Photoshop picture contest, with the winner receiving an Apples In Stereo / Stephen Stephen picture disc record. If you’ve always wanted to name something after Stephen and are good in Photoshop, you definitely want to check this out!
And here’s my question for all of you serious hard-core members of the Colbert Nation:
What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done in the name of your Colbert fandom?
What got me to thinking of this was my recent post about ‘The Love Guru’. I sat through that movie. In the theater. On opening weekend. While I thought that was dedication, that was nothing compared to having to sit through hours and hours of the Lesser Grammy awards waiting for Gore to be announced the winner a couple of weeks ago. And nothing compares to my drive to see Stephen at the Northwestern Parade in 2006.
So what cruelties have you endured for the sake of the Colbert Nation? Flown from India? Stood in snow for hours outside of the ‘Colbert Report’ studio on standby? Gotten a tattoo? Tell your worst in the comments, and let’s commiserate on our Xtreme Fandom tortures.
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18 Comments
February 22nd, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Endless drawing/sketching/painting. it’s a lot of fun, but it takes dedication and time. And I get a lot of flack for it from my friends and family, but I guess they don’t really understand it. And look where it’s gotten me! I guess the hardest thing is trying to explain to the people around me why I’m such a big fan. And since I’m not an adult, its really hard missing out on all the fun events that happen in various places, like you mentioned the Northwestern parade. I don’t have as much freedom to do things like that.
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February 22nd, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Great topic, DB! I was actually thinking about this when I was watching the horrible, horrible pre-televised Grammy show online. I hated the show but I watched for hours until they finally announced the winner of the Best Spoken Word category.
Getting to and from the TCR Philly taping that I attended was a major headache, but it was definitely worth the effort! The day of the taping, the Pope was holding a big Mass in Washington, DC. There was rush hour traffic as well as Mass traffic that morning. DC traffic is always a challenge to navigate through so this was a major bear. By the time we got to Philly, we had to go on over to the theater to get our tickets for the show, check into our hotel. and then hurry back to get in line for the taping. The taping was running extremely late that day and we got lost driving back to our hotel afterwards so we didn’t eat dinner until after 10 pm. We hadn’t eaten all day so we were not feeling 100% by the time we finally got our food. When we drove back home the following morning, there had been a bad accident on the Capital beltway and all lanes were shut down. The trip home took four more hours that it should have. I would definitely do it all over again, though. It is an event I will never forget!
Another thing that comes to mind is the night I stayed up listening to the live audio stream of “Bloomsday on Broadway.” Under normal circumstances, I would have enjoyed it, but I was emotionally and physically exhausted that day. I had only gotten a few hours of sleep the night before and had spent the day at the hospital due to the surgery of a family member. I listened to the entire thing though, because I didn’t want to miss Stephen’s part (which never came).
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February 22nd, 2009 at 1:04 pm
A twelve-hour train ride from Cleveland to NYC. I love taking the train but I get a little motion sickness, and this day I also got a migraine about an hour into the trip. But it was worth it because the next day I was sitting in the front row at The Colbert Report, and I got a high five and a WristStrong bracelet! <3
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February 22nd, 2009 at 1:09 pm
I’m not a very hardcore fan compared to some, so my sacrifices are few. ;) But I’d have second watching The Love Guru, and listening to Bloomsday online and never hearing Stephen.
Also, I started watching in June 07. Before I discovered Colbert U. and before the new Comedy Central website, I had a bear of time trying to catch up with the first year of the Show – endlessly clicking, back clicking, reclicking, watching commercials every 1:15, etc. All a “labor” of love though! ;)
Also, I have a free-for-all off topic repost. I mentioned this on the episode thread when Stephen’s brother Ed was on, but I think everyone had moved on by then since it was a day or two after the ep.:
I was watching an old episode, and in a clip from 2/22/06, Stephen mentions his brother Ed and puts him on notice! (though without adding him to the board)
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/59473/february-22-2006/speed-skating-debacle
He was mad at Ed for not getting him the rights to a video clip of an Olympic event, even though he represents the IOC. Loved the casual mention, and off-handed on-notice alert! :) Especially now that we know a little more about Ed, and that he actually probably *could* get Stephen the rights to an Olympic vid clip.
reCaptcha: nation’s absent No, we’re right here! Waiting for Stephen’s return!
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February 22nd, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Easily the hardest thing I’ve ever done in the name of love for TCR was make the cross-stitch picture that I sent to the show, but it also provided me the greatest satisfaction that I’ve experienced seeing it on the set. I don’t know exactly how much time I put into that thing in terms of hours (nor do I care to know), but I have no doubts that it was completely worth my effort.
I think that the reason that we do the things we do in our fandom is because Stephen and the crew more than pay us back every night with even more effort than we could ever try to have. Not every fanhood could say the same about the person they admire.
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February 22nd, 2009 at 2:50 pm
I planned a 4-day trip to NYC for the middle of January and recruited 3 girlfriends to go along with me under the pretense of it being for my birthday but it was really all about seeing both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. So, on January 15 I stood outside in 20 degree weather with one of those friends, the other two did something else because they didn’t want to wait outside in the cold, for about 3 1/2 hours so I could get in the front row. I just cringed writing that out. But you know what? I’d totally do it again!
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February 22nd, 2009 at 3:26 pm
I guess the worst was attending the Bloomsday on Broadway at Symphony Space and losing 8 hours of pay because of it (I get paid hourly and work evenings) and then having Stephen not arrive. Thankfully the short story reading of “The Lie” I attended afterwards made up for it.
I’ve spent much time waiting on line at the TCR Studio and several other NY appearances to see him live but that’s a blast.
There is also the hours I’ve spent making Colbert themed youtube videos (I have many under the vigwig channel) and the classical piece I composed on Finale based on a theme from Apples in Stereo, “Stephen Stephen” which is on one of them but that’s creative fun, not a hardship at all.
Another labor of love is my writing of Colbert themed parody songs and poems and creating the CU quizzes and contributing to Colbert U in general. He’s quite inspiring!
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February 22nd, 2009 at 3:45 pm
haha, fortunately I’m too lazy to do anything THAT challenging! if I wasn’t then I would probably have art all over the place.
here is a really odd one:
I wanted to get one of those Colbert Christmas sundae things from Ben and Jerrys. google was inconclusive about whether there really was one nearby, but I was SURE I had seen it from a bus window. anyway, one cold and blustery afternoon I took the bus into town, walked all around, and concluded that in fact this Ben and Jerry’s was no where to be found, then I took the bus back home. I didn’t even DO that much but it took like a hour and I didn’t get any ice cream.
more routinely, watching the show is always an adventure! I don’t have a television, so I’m running around my rather large dorm looking in all the TV rooms and trying to find a place to watch. it’s like a little game every night, and sometimes I lose!
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February 22nd, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Hey, hon, great to hear about the potential employment prospects! You deserve a really great job, and here’s to whatever employer wakes up to that the soonest.
As to your topic, well, I suppose you could count the travel and/or dollars to see Stephen & Co. in NYC, but I really don’t consider those much of a “hardship” — how could I, when I’ve had such fun and such great luck when I go to those shows?
My main “investment” in this fandom is probably best measured in loss of sleep. That’s sleep lost in watching the shows, traveling to/from NY on buses or trains in the middle of the night, blogging (especially when I was on a regular episode guide rotation — and sorry about my lack of availability for that lately), and/or reading books I heard about on TDS/TCR into the wee hours of the morning. All things considered, I’d have to say that the payoff has been well worth it. It’s almost hard to believe that something that brings me so much enjoyment hasn’t demanded much of anything from me in return.
All part and parcel of the joys of The Colbert Report, I guess. What a fun ride it’s been so far!
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February 22nd, 2009 at 5:39 pm
I’d say the hardest thing I’ve done for Stephen or the Nation is making sacrifices so I’m able to watch the show. I don’t have cable, tragically. So I’ve wasted gas for countless weekends since last July driving to the local library and pushing people off computers so that I can catch up on the week’s shows. Now, finally, we have invested in Comcast so I don’t have to leave the house to watch it. But even now – we’re spending money on Comcast and the sole reason I pushed to get it installed here was so I could watch the shows.
Also, I drove to five different stores trying to find the Stephen issue of “Esquire” only to find that the issue was already out of print, I was a month late. I did find Jon and Stephen on the cover of EW after more wasted gas – lolz.
And, of course, all the money and time spent on finding/buying Americone Dream.
Ah, the things we do for Stephen. Great topic for a lazy Sunday! =D
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February 22nd, 2009 at 6:21 pm
I waited in line on standby for the episode of the Colbert Report with Ron Paul as the guest. I was the only person there who was not there for Ron Paul (I had never heard of him, and honestly did not care). I did not get into Colbert, much to my disappointment. I left before the people started rallying and stuff, so I did not get to be on the show (sob).
It’s not so much hardcore, but I think it’s unfortunate. Especially considering I still haven’t been to a taping of the show.
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February 23rd, 2009 at 9:37 pm
aw! i was at that taping and i assure you, was not there for ron paul. i dont think most people were.
i ended up with an extra ticket and gave it to a woman who actually was there for ron paul. i considered it a happy accident…
its the only taping i have made it to thus far – quite sadly. i had planned to go again but alas, life got in the way…
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February 22nd, 2009 at 8:56 pm
This is a fun topic! I live in CA, but fortunately was able to combine a work thing that involved me going to DC with a side trip to see Stephen. I was unable to get tickets, but got great advice from Tiger about showing up early for stand-by. We arrived at 1:50 to claim the first places in line. Lucky thing, too, or we wouldn’t have gotten in at all. There were absolutely no seats left. We watched the show standing between the two banks of seats. Extra bonus – we were standing right next to Fareed Zakaria for a while. Of course, I didn’t notice, because I was focused on Stephen, and getting to ask a question. I would stand up all day for him.
I also had a mad hunt for two magazine covers, so I could frame them for my home “office”. A number of eBay bids, Google hunts, and phone calls later, I got Spiderman – Colbert variant and Entertainment Weekly. (Already had Esquire).
This obsession has brought me so much fun, laughter, and great online friends.
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February 23rd, 2009 at 12:00 am
Stood in the freezing late January cold for four hours to get front row seats to a taping. I wound up getting sick the next day.
I, uh, probably wouldn’t do that again.
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February 23rd, 2009 at 12:21 am
I haven’t done much more than waiting in line, only to be turned away, in Philly. My baby bro and I were there for a couple hours, but it was mid-April so it wasn’t really that cold until the sun started to set. And we were offered VIP tickets for NYC to make up for not getting in, which was really awesome.
I did see the Love Guru, which definitely counts as painful (I considered a South Park-esque quest to get my money back), and have used plenty of gas driving around looking for magazines and such.
I’ve been toying with the idea of getting the spider named after Stephen tattooed on me. There’s a long, rambling, nerdly (read: Tolkien Geek) rationalization I came up with, but who knows if it will happen. NFZ will get the exclusive if I do though ;)
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February 23rd, 2009 at 1:23 am
i’ve enjoyed reading your stories and knowing i am not alone! i only wish i lived on the opposite coast to understand the dedication it takes to make it to a show! though i’ve done crazy things with my colbert love, i’d have to say the most trying task was helping doritos get their peabody recognition. no one carried the size labels required, and my computer and i share a mutual hatred for one another so getting them all printed was another thing. in the end plastering the stickers over hundreds of bags and getting chased out of at least 4 different stores was worth it. i knew i had done my duty. :)
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February 23rd, 2009 at 12:41 pm
I’m a tad late in responding, but I would say loss of sleep has been one of my greatest sacrifices. I watch the show every night at 11:30 and then frequently hop onto NFZ before turning in for bed at 12:30. I’ve also diligently recorded almost every episode on my good old VHS player during this past year, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to cease recording every episode and start watching on Hulu for the sake of my health (both physical and mental!). Nevertheless, I still love Stephen!
I’m currently working on my first fanvid using Windows Movie Maker. I’m completely new to this program and sometimes find it incredibly frustrating, but I believe it’s worth the pain:) Actually, my love for Stephen has forced me to overcome many techological hurdles!
Also, my flight from LA to NYC to attend a live taping cost an arm and a leg, but it was worth it!
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February 24th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
By the way, fans and friends, I may have 2 extra tickets for TCR March 10, so if you are going to be there let me know. (Lee at leequick.com)
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