Celebrity Knowledge

Sure, it matters what you know about politics and public affairs, at least if you want to participate in a democracy and, oh, maybe vote.  But what really matters is your knowledge about celebrities.  This link will take you to a deeply profound test of your abilities to recognize actors, actresses, singers, and other people who qualify as, um, celebrated.

I sucked.  Didn't realize the mouth belonged to Will Smith, or an eye belonged to Zooey Deschanel.  But I nailed Halle Berry's smile and Claire Danes' eyes. 

And if I type in a whole lot of other celebrity names, search engine optimization being what it is, I can no doubt create a whole lot more traffic to my site.  Let's see, there are questions about Julianne Moore, Tom Cruise, Kate Bosworth, Kate Hudson, and I'm sure lots of other Kates.

Celebrities and the Election

An interesting story about celebrities and the U.S. election, especially the ones criticizing Sarah Palin's political experience and knowledge.

Do celebrity endorsements, or non-endorsements, really matter? There's not a lot of research on that specific question, but persuasion research suggests these kind of comments affect only those with little interest in the topic. And let's face it, people who don't care, they're not likely to vote anyway.

Plus, does anyone really care what Barbara Streisand thinks? Or Britney Spears?

Matt Damon's youtube bit on Sarah Palin, presented below as an example.