How Meta is LOL Tapirs?

February 15th, 2008

How Meta is LOL Tapirs?

If you’ve been alive and on the web over the last year, you’ve probably discovered the joy and weirdness of LOL Cats (Anil had a good explanatory roundup a while back).

I was over on Shipment of Fail (a newer, less nuanced meme), viewing the latest installments, and found this entry featuring coitus interruptus (rated R for animal phallus) between two tapirs. That pointed to, you guessed it, LOL Tapirs. Here’s a sample:

That, of course, is a reference to a cousin of LOL Cats–the bucket-obsessed walrus. This is all profoundly weird.

Speaking of new blog discoveries, I found an awesome new one courtesy of Metafilter. It’s entitled Stuff White People Like, and features short, anthropological studies of, well, things that Caucasians dig. You know, like bicycles, recycling and co-ed sports.

Tags: cheezburger, internet-memes, lolcats, metafilter, tapir, walrus, white-people

Comments: 5 Responses so far

Gregg
February 15th, 2008
9:58 am

I love your work Darren and I ususally am down with what you write about.

This post however is full of so much ‘blogspeak’ and ‘webenclature’ that I feel completely out of the loop.

I thought I was pretty hip to the ‘net but I guess I haven’t been keeping up on everything I should.

Even the post title itself has me baffled.

It’s not you, it’s me.

[Reply]

darren
February 15th, 2008
10:33 am

Yeah, sorry about that. If you read the Wikipedia entry on LOL Cats (linked above), that should start you off on the right foot.

Though, frankly, it’s truly bizarre.

[Reply]

gillian
February 15th, 2008
10:51 am

Thanks, these links are passing through the office. God forbid we do any work on a Friday.

[Reply]

Derek K. Miller
February 15th, 2008
3:54 pm

This whole LOL[whatever] thing is like so many other Internet phenomena, from Strong Bad to Mahir to All Your Base — you kind of have to let the spirit of the trend seep into your subconscious before it becomes genuinely funny, especially when things get more and more meta.

[Reply]