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There was some kind of rally going on in the
common. Somebody was speaking into a bullhorn to
about three hundred people, who were cheering and
shouting things. I decided to drift over and check
it out. The speaker way saying, "Even my three-year-
old son knows better than to kick a goat." I mingled
with the crowd. A woman yelled, "You got a great big
cherry pie on your head!" And a dozen others said,
"Yes, you do." The man continued, "And then the dog
ate our sofa. Did we kick it? No, we didn't." Someone
shouted, "The saints dropped the ball on that one."
The man said, "I been down there where even the little
birdies fear to roam. I once found an angry viper
in my pocket, but I steered the course. I bonged myself
with a hidden cloud." "And you never lost your way,"
many shrieked. I was working my way toward the front.
The excitement was catching. "If you spit in a burning
skillet, sure, it sizzles, and then it's gone, and what
have you got? You have the memory of the sizzle, but
soon that, too, is gone, and you're poorer than you were
before," he said. "Your duck just sat on a firecracker,"
I cheered. The speaker stopped and tried to locate
the man who had spoken those words. The crowd, too,
was looking around. I acted as though I were looking
also. After a considerable pause, he continued, "Never
before have we witnessed hairy hands with long fingernails
curl around the puffballs of history with such miraculous
dexterity." The people went crazy. They started bumping
one anther's foreheads. I was bumping, and getting
bumped. "It was no accident I swallowed an ant this
morning while preparing my remarks for this rally. I
wanted to swallow that ant," he said. People had stopped
bumping, and now many of them were wiping away tears.
I had to admit, he was a powerful speaker. "And now we
are on the verge of setting sail the little headache and
the big headache, too, and we can see the fireflies, who
had all but forgotten us, beating their wings like idiot
children coming back from a dull day in the park, and
it is beautiful, can't you see just how marvelous it is?"
he said. "We love the idiot children," someone shouted.
"Fireflies can't drive tractors," another yelled. "What
happened to the pig?" I said. The man next to me looked
disgusted. "There is no pig," he said.
"When we put too much on the table at once, the public's eyes glaze over—and
we're never invited back to the talk shows."
Bill Moyers, at the Open Society Institute Forum: How Do Progressives
Connect Ideas to Action?, November 29, 2006
Another panelist stated, and I paraphrase, "Conservatives
get a direct payback on their investments. They get the estate tax rollback, they get corporate taxes lowered."
What will progressives get for their investment?
listen to the thought-provoking Forum here: http://www.soros.org/resources/events/progressives_20061129
Each year, the winners of The Webby Awards -- the leading international award honoring excellence in Web design, creativity, usability and functionality – are limited to an acceptance speech of merely 5 words. Many of the speeches offer terrific examples of concise, pithy – and amusing – marketing statements.
Al Gore got a 2005 Webby for his work inventing the Internet. His speech: "Do not recount this vote."
Gore was introduced by Vinton Cerf, one of the scientists credited with actually having built the architecture behind the Web. He had his own five-word speech: "We all invented the Internet."
Other great Webby acceptance speeches:
"People of the world, unite!"
Meetup
“Find meaning with your mouse.”
Spirituality & Health
“Better world citizens, better world.”
World Citizen's Guide
"Activists do it online."
ActForChange
"Examine your hidden bias!"
tolerance.org
"Planned Parenthood makes safe sexy."
Planned Parenthood Golden Gate
“Support your local public radio station.”
Speaking of Faith
"Don't stop spreading the news"
The Guardian UK
"Love your country. Leave it"
LonelyPlanet
"Live the American dream. Rent"
Apartments.com
"Not bad for Canadians, eh?"
Bell Canada Enterprises
"Sex is complicated. We're easy."
Planned Parenthood's Teenwire
"Money talks. We eavesdrop."
Center for Responsive Politics
“Here's to screwing safely.”
HIV STOPS WITH ME
"Thank you. Now, get outside."
Outside Online
"Desperate. Need money for college"
Tyler Morgan, a 19-year old from Amarillo, Texas, for RTM86.com
"Thanks! Contributions are tax-deductible!"
The California Voter Foundation
“SonicNet, SonicNet, SonicNet, SonicNet good.”
SonicNet
"Do you like my dress?"
Vogue.co.uk
“Meaningful design fosters cultural understanding.”
Lakota Winter Counts: An Online Exhibit
"Through art we see everything."
Guggenheim.org
"To advertise call Phil Meyer."
The Onion
"Hey Mom, I love you."
Craigslist
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