I don't normally do such things, but I've been enjoying getting back up to just-about-weekly posting—makes me feel slightly productive in a non-work way—so I'm going to post one of those personality test things that I'm so fond of bashing.

This one is a political test, and it should surprise few that I fit the definition of "strong Democrat." (The blogger who linked to it was classified as an anarchist, which is how he self-identifies, so the test appeared to work.)

Anyway, the reason I choose to share this information with the world at large is that I have long suspected that many people identify themselves with a political party that has little to do with their actual worldview, out of some kind of loyalty or misunderstanding or, critically, having been persuaded by that party that it stands for things it does not, and that its rivals stand for things that they do not.

And I should probably add that the reason I suspect this of others is that it was once true of me. As a high school senior and college freshman, I really thought I was a conservative. I bought into the line (particularly from satirist P. J. O'Rourke) that Republicans were all about keeping the government's nose out of people's affairs and letting them live free of bureaucracy. (Insert ironic laugh here.) It was actually a similar quiz, given by a college economics professor, that informed me of my true colors, and they were blue. And this was even before I had realized I didn't have any reason to think there was a god, a position that pretty much closes the door on the GOP (a few anomalies notwithstanding).

So I would recommend, especially for those who don't feel passionate about their politics, answering the questions of this quiz. They might provide some insight.

Oh, one more thing before you gaze upon the test results: New video of Thomas here.

You are a Social Liberal (75% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (23% permissive) You are best described as a: Strong Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Thomas has made Wikipedia. It's a brief mention, and he's not named, but in the description of episode 132 of The Colbert Report, a parenthetical phrase states, "a child then says from his high chair, 'This is The Colbert Report!'"

What greater honor can there be to appear in the definitive repository of all knowledge and wisdom? (And I don't mean The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.)

In other news, we're sending the friendly folks at TCR a new Thomas video. This one features Thomas imitating Stephen Colbert playing with a toy lightsaber. (We just happened to have one in the house.) You can see a short version of the video at YouTube or by clicking on the Video link at left. (In the longer version we're sending them, Thomas tells them "Bye." You're not missing much.)

By the way, his original YouTube clip is up to 29,081 views, has been rated 258 times (4 out of 5 stars), has been favorited 242 times, and has received 64 comments. The newest clip has been up less than 24 hours and has been viewed 111 times.

We never intended to turn our boy into an Internet star, you know. We just point the video camera when he starts doing his thing. But there's something satisfying about the praise of strangers that really encourages us to keep posting clips. I'm not sure how to feel about that, but I suspect we ought to quit while we're ahead.

Not much to add on this front, other than to post the scan of Stephen Colbert's autographed photo and video of Thomas watching himself on The Report. The original clip on YouTube is currently at 25,128 views and 60 comments, and it has been "favorited" (YouTube gets to make up verbs, apparently) 211 times. I would think by now this clip might have run out of steam, but people are continuing to discover it.

More blogs have picked it up, including Matt's Blog (no doubt the only one to be named such); The Macman Chronicles (possibly a masked Apple enthusiast?); Drawde.net (home of drawde, naturally); Written Photo (who compares Thomas to the other "most amazing thing I have seen on the internet"); Cracked.com (website of a magazine I used to read as a kid); a discussion on Digg.com (where we are taken to task for not reading him a book, which is quite hilariously misinformed); and notably Lone Concertina, where someone named Stefanie posted that "some of my friends came over last night and we all got drunk and watched that colbert kid video like 10 times in a row. hahaha! they LOVED it." Hard to top that.

So the clip aired as expected, Tuesday, August 8. There was a certain nervous anticipation around our house in the hours leading up to it. For days afterward, we felt like we had just gotten off a roller coaster. Juiced, exhausted, happy, and ready for another ride.

The next day at lunchtime, we videotaped Thomas seeing himself on the show. He got a very curious expression on his face, part smile and part puzzlement. We showed it to him again and asked him who was just on The Colbert Report, and he gleefully shouted, "Thomas!" With repeated viewings, he got progressively giddier, then started shouting his line along with himself. Pretty funny. I'll try to get that video posted sometime this weekend.

As promised, the producers of TCR sent us a DVD and a signed photo of Stephen Colbert. They were very prompt about it; I think it arrived last Thursday, just two days after the episode aired. I'll try to post a scan of that photo, too.

For now, though, I wanted to let anyone who missed the show know they can now see the introduction with Thomas on YouTube. As I predicted, YouTube eats itself: Thomas appears on YouTube, The Colbert Report airs the clip on TV, and someone posts the clip of the clip on YouTube. You can also view the clip without leaving Jaunty Thoughts by clicking on the Video link at left.

Meanwhile, Thomas's fanbase continues to grow. Erin from New Jersey has met Stephen Colbert and Amy Sedaris and says the only person she still wants to meet is "the baby."

Someone called Nivi has posted about the clip on her blog.

And someone going by the hard-to-pronounce handle "krilymcc" has posted it to his blog as well.

A message board for nursing moms has a conversation thread about it.

Other TCR discussion groups on Television Without Pity and Gorillamask Forums celebrate Thomas's appearance.

There's a thread on INTP Central, too, which is apparently a hub for people who need personality tests to tell them they're unique. (I kid, Ivy, I kid.)

And he's up to 13,566 views on YouTube, with 50 comments and 145 favorites. (Those figures are for the original clip; the clip of the clip is at 271 views, two comments, and three favorites.)

I suppose it's only a matter of time before people trace it back here and discover the joy of amphigory. Well . . . as Judy Tenuta says, "It could happen."

A casual Google search for "Colbert Kid" produces some interesting results. First up is the discussion on the Colbert Nation message board, following Jill's post of a link to the clip. (One wonders if this thread will see a surge in posts after the broadcast.)

Next is a Colbert Kid page on the YTMND ("You're The Man Now, Dog") site. There's a recent article in The Washington Post about YTMND.com, which may or may not enlighten the curious. I think the Colbert Kid page is a tribute, but it might be tongue-in-cheek. The page's author, "guywiththecoat," has apparently never been motivated to create a tribute like this ever before. Anyway, that page has received 105 viewings.

A bit further down the list we find the original YouTube posting and then this very page you're reading. A site called Technorati seems to collect and list blog postings from a vast number of sites, and it shows four different blogs talking about "The Colbert Kid." The first is The Circus, which lists "The Colbert Kid" as one of the three best things on the Web, with a link to the YouTube video.

Second is a post from Life is just so daily calling the video "Funniest thing I've seen in awhile" (also linking to YouTube), although that blog has apparently gone defunct.

Third is Heron on Fire, who commands, "Oh my god. You must watch this. You just must." The video is embedded.

Finally, we have Sir Ian Cognito, whose blog has also been retired. (I'm starting to get suspicious.) But Google's cache of his site shows that Sir Ian embedded the video without comment, so we're not missing anything. (Two readers left comments, though, but it appears they have been lost.)

Google lists an AOL message board in which the subject quickly changes to The Office. And here's a Livejournal Colbert fan message board discussing the clip.

Ah, the wonders of the Web.