Yau-Man Chan sent me this link. It’s a bit of a surprise; I wasn’t even aware I was running for President! After all, being El Presidente of the JREF is enough to keep me busy…
… but then I realized it must be a joke. They keep saying I’m virtually unknown, when everyone knows I’m an internationally beloved blogger!
If you went to BadAstronomy.com and found yourself here, never fear: the BA Blog has moved to its new home at Discover Blogs. The original BA site (with the Moon Hoax debunking and all that) is still online, too.
Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He has written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic, and fights misuses of science as well as praising the wonder of real science.
Contact me: The Bad Astronomer "at" gmail "dot" com
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"Reading this book is like getting punched in the face by Carl Sagan. Frightening, but oddly exhilarating."
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August 12th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
That’s the most ingenious thing I’ve seen on the net this week! And, other than the Google Maps XKCD, the funniest.
August 12th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
That was quite clever. Too bad they have no way for any of the interviewees to actually say your name.
Oh and of course I’d vote for you, Phil, as I’m liking Obama less and less.
August 12th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Hillarious! Unfortunately, you won’t have my vote. I mean…if you’re President, who’s going to run the JREF and regale us with witty puns in astronomy posts?
August 12th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
President Plait? I’m all for it.
We can go from ‘making the pie higher’ to ‘click the pie to embiggen’.
August 12th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
That is awesome! It actually had me fooled for a second. Well, actually until it said it was a joke! LOL
August 12th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
I’m not buying this — it is clear that this video was an elaborate hoax obviously staged in a secret location in the Nevada desert.
August 12th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
The billboard even rhymes – “Phil Plait Oh-Eight!”
August 12th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Sorry, Phil, but you don’t lie to me near enough to gain my vote.
August 12th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
In case someone didn’t know, the site dynamically puts in your friend’s name into the video.
August 12th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
It took a few seconds to figure out, but is really great!
August 12th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
My wife got hit with this a couple weeks ago – scared the skittles out of her for about 15 minutes.
August 12th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
That was really funny!
But something about the way the text were displayed caused the videos to show tell-tale signs that they were faked. The text seemed to vibrate strangely on the moving bus scene. Sigh. At least it was a good joke.
August 12th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
That’s hilarious!
I’m not American, so I couldn’t vote anyway, but I enjoyed the laugh nonetheless. If you were ever to run in Europe, though, hmm…. I guess you’d have at least one vote at the ready. And I’m glad I saw this with your name and not with PZ for the first time
August 12th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Apart from the candidate being Phil Plait (seriously… who’d vote for THAT guy?
), the only place where it’s pretty obvious that the thing is automatic is in the bus ad. The name does not shift exactly as it should if it was really on the bus.
August 12th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
It was good, but totally unbelievable when they said that you’d have a chance of stealing votes from McBush. XD Very cute, though.
“What started out as an internet prank on Phil ‘the Bad Astronomer’ Plait has turned into a real push to elect him President!”
Awesome.
I was going to say that you aren’t old enough to be PotUS, but… (Dang, you look young for your age. Like Shatner!) ~_^
August 12th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
The logical next step is the bit in Fahrenheit 451 where Guy Montag’s wife is watching a TV show and the TV inserts her name when the host pauses.
August 12th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Wow! That’s real great!
Now I know what to do tomorrow if I’m bored @work
August 12th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Ha! you can’t fool me, the end part was a clever ruse to pretend like it was all a joke when it actually isn’t. I’ll be writing you in on the ballot anyway! Hahaha, Plait & Savage ‘08
August 12th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Ha! I was really puzzled at first, but then I noticed that the name on the bus moved relative to the bus.
August 12th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
There is on reason Phil won’t for president is that Mrs BA would not allow another mover after just moving to Boulder.
August 12th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Just don’t let Mrs. BA find out who your campaign manager is……
August 12th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
And if are eleceted do not tell her you have interns.
August 12th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Picard/Riker ‘08
August 12th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
[...] News Channel 3 Online: Phil Plait for President You are skeptical, right? Right? From BA Blog: The White House is mine! __________________ 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 [...]
August 12th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
the only logical choice is Kirk/Spock ‘08.
August 12th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
When you take over and are recruiting minions, just remember all of us who supported you.
August 12th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Randy/Phil 08!!
Time to make some bumper stickers.
August 12th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Well, I had a more severe reaction to your name on the bus than Freiddie. In the future, you may want to stick to ads that don’t subliminally induce vomiting and make heads explode. An exploded head can sometimes be fatal, and that’s one less vote.
August 12th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
hahah – excellent! What are your colours?
August 12th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
i dont know who this phil plait is but hes got my vote
August 12th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
LOL, I wonder if you won, finally a scientific president that bases things on science and not religion!
August 12th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Phil the decider, has a nice ring.
August 12th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Our country is not ready for a skeptic President…GOP
Skeptics have rights, we’ll fight for skeptic rights…Democratic party
I’ll have to Goolgle his voting history…Independent voter
Can a guy be president of two different things at the same time?…me
August 12th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
I’ve always said we need more third party candidates. I personally think Phil has it sewn up.
August 12th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
The cryptozoologist types are promising that they’ve really found bigfoot this time:
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=8959
August 13th, 2008 at 12:09 am
BAAAHAHAHAHAH COMING UP FROM BEHIND!
Additionally…Phil…if this isn’t a rediculous hoax…Go for it mate. You could make a better President than has been seen for many a year.
And it’s not like it would be difficult. For every problem, hire an aid
August 13th, 2008 at 12:12 am
LOL! If I had a vote in the American elections it would be yours
August 13th, 2008 at 12:27 am
Completely OT but have any of you seen the i-madge-s Cassini has sent back from the Enceladus flyby? Look no further.
http://ciclops.org/view_event/88/Skeet_Shooting_Enceladus
Awesome!
August 13th, 2008 at 12:38 am
I am impressed, you even have old ladies getting inked for your.
I will have to send this to some of my friends over the next few days, get their reaction.
August 13th, 2008 at 12:46 am
Also OT and also awesome is the first test of a beam at LHC
http://lhc-first-beam.web.cern.ch/lhc-first-beam/News/LHCsyncTest.html
August 13th, 2008 at 5:56 am
Wow – most of you BAbloggers,including Phil, don’t get much “stupid email” that gets read! I got that spoof 2 months ago – it was cute then, and it’s cute now.
Notice how the “reporter” NEVER mentions specifics? The text is simply generic. I wondered, for a moment, how it was done when I first saw it myself.
Ain’t technology grand!
August 13th, 2008 at 7:01 am
YEAH!!!! Plait for president!!!! You have my vote…if I still lived in Chicago, You’d have all twenty of my votes.
August 13th, 2008 at 7:28 am
Looks ’shopped to me.. Teh caek is a lie!!
August 13th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Ohhh…. what you all don’t know is that all of this is a conspiracy…. Phil wants first the presidency of JREF, then the presidency of the US, then the emperorship of the planet and then he will become ruler of the whole galaxy! That was his plan from the beggining! All hail galaxy ruler Phil Plait!
August 13th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Impeach!!!!
August 13th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Too bad it ain’t real. You’d have my vote.
August 13th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
A lot of people recognized it as a joke when they saw the text not looking right on the bus. I knew it was a joke when I heard something about a maxim model. Although, I agree with DrNecropolis and would vote for the Plait & Savage ‘08 ticket.
August 13th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
come on Adam, I know you read this. Lets see the Plait & Savage ‘08 — or– Savage & Plait ‘08 sticker on the show.
August 13th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
…I’m an internationally beloved blogger.
You go PZ! Uhm….oh, some other guy. Never mind.
August 13th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
[...] to attach this mysterious “Phil Plait” to JREF’s own newly appointed president Phil Plait given his wide internet following. And since they know who started the campaign, couldn’t [...]
August 14th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Hah,Hah! A skeptic for president. We’ll get THAT right after the Rapture,,,
Hey, maybe God is a skeptic??? I mean, for Him, there’s no faith required, because He has been around long enough to KNOW IT ALL.
Dad gum Elitist!!!
GAry 7
August 14th, 2008 at 8:22 am
How about Fraiser Cain as the VP?
We ought to do one with Paris Hilton, although I understand she has made her own campaign video.
But then, Paris Hilton described as unknown, what a cute fantasy, that nobody had ever heard of her that is
Oh how cruel