Senator Al Franken draws the United States at the MN State Fair.
Freehand.
From memory.
Wow.
It’s an old trick. He did it on SNL once.
It’s a bit stylized (he left out the Chesapeake, for example), but certainly much better than I could do.
The SNL bit is something that I’ll always remember about him. That and Frankenberry using his butt on the box of his cereal,
I guess I have to ask how you define ‘trick’. Clearly he’s memorized the map of the US and can draw it. I suppose he could be working from an off-camera map. Is that what you’re suggesting?
I think of ‘trick’ as some kind sleight of hand, something that it looks like you’re doing one difficult thing but you’re really doing something else because you’ve duped your audience. I wouldn’t call Franken’s thing a trick – maybe a stunt? But even that suggests some kind of falsehood.
I for one was impressed. I couldn’t draw my own state as well as he did.
Oh, and my greatest fear about Al Franken is that we’ve lost a great comedian in exchange for a so-so senator. Better him in office than Norm Coleman, but I think a net loss for America.
I think he called it a trick because the OP called it a Stupid Senator Trick. Like a dog jumping through a hoop is a trick.
A small percentage of Americans could draw a map and get every state. I’m amazed he could do so with such skill.
His Wisconsin, Michigan, and Maine are a little weird / off. Pretty good overall though.
I wouldn’t say so-so yet. I heard him intelligently and politely discussing health care concerns with citizens opposed to the latest reform effort; everyone was calm and composed, and he did a good job of addressing their questions while bringing out his views. Rachael Maddow (MSNBC) was jokingly addressing him with, “No, that’s not how you get on TV! How are you going to get any publicity that way?”
“Stupid Senator Tricks” was an homage to Letterman, not a judgment on the “trick” itself, which I though was amazing. It’s a combination of good hand-eye coordination and excellent visual memory.
Yeah, I have a hard time remembering what some of those squarish ones at the top of the map even are if I can’t use process of elimination.
Is there a version of that with whatever commentary he was giving as he drew, as opposed to the silly musical soundtrack?
Drawing the country freehand is not amazing.
A politician having an intelligent conversation about healthcare reform with random members of the public is amazing.
(And is that what passes for an “angry mob” in Minnesota?)
He got into a “fight” in August with Senator Begich about why he doesn’t draw Alaska and Hawaii. I thought it was hilarious.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/anneschroeder/0809/Begich_to_Franken_How_bout_all_50_states_.html
Ha! “Along with the letter, Begich was nice enough to include a helpful connect-the-dots page — aka “a briefing paper” — on how to draw Alaska properly and concluded with this P.S.: “Don’t forget Little Diomede Island (You can see Russia from there).””