Simply, for lack of a better word, classic.

My best friend Rupert Scammell, while browsing through some old pictures in an antique bookstore in San Francisco, came across this image, which though likely not the source of the original meme, is strikingly similar (and arguably even better– just look at that pose!)

As one of the creators of Schrodinger’s LOLcat, and a good netizen, I feel it my duty to try and bring some meme magic to this aging sepia-tone print.

In reference to another classic.

And finally…

Okay, so none of them are stellar, but inspiration is a fickle mistress. I’d love to see what others come up with.

Though I never really bought into the whole religion thing, I couldn’t help but remember Dayenu as I walked out of Neill Blomkamp’s much anticipated District 9.

If it had just introduced some novel ideas into the already colossal “alien v.s human” sci-fi canon, it would have still been well worth the price of admission.

Had it not addressed important political issues at the forefront of our social consciousness– race relations, war profiteering, torture– it would have nonetheless been very good.

Even lacking Blomkamp’s incredible talent for incorporating CG footage and special effects with live action, District 9 would still be the best mainstream film released this summer.

If absent a touching and thought provoking story, and or a truly human tragic hero, the film would have easily become one of my favorites in any genre.

As with so many things, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and the parts of District 9 add up to a simply phenomenal movie. Shortcomings in the storytelling are easily forgiven by the original and well thought-out plot, as rich in emotion and irony as any Greek epic (which, in a sense, the story is modeled after). The action and battle scenes rank right up there with those found in Black Hawk Down in terms of intensity, while still keeping enough detachment and fictiveness to allow for some truly awesome alien technology. So well done were the SFX that one quickly forgets the footage they are watching has been altered at all. Above all else, this is a smart film. So rarely these days are audiences allowed to think for themselves– to decide on their own who is right and who is wrong– without being beaten over the head with crudely constructed morality.

As icing on an already delicious cake, Blomkamp’s treatment of the South African setting is incredibly well done, and captures a great deal of nuanced behavior (especially in the flawlessly acted character of Wikus) that could so easily have been left out (but which leaves wistful ex-pats like myself cheering).

When I first saw Alive in Joburg, the digital short on which District 9 is based, I knew that whoever made it would go on to make some very special things, and Blomkamp does not disappoint. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next (HALO anyone?).

More importantly however, I’ll be making a slight detour to Cambridge for ROFLcon before heading back to NYC. ROFLcon, if you haven’t heard, is a gathering of everything awesome and fantastic about the internets. Tron guy, Group X, and Leeroy Jenkins are just a few of the internet celebrities attending, and panels will include “Pwning for the Good of Mankind” and “Incubating the Mind Virus.”

Silliness aside, this looks like its going to be an amazing gathering of minds to discuss just what makes the internet such a special place.

Finally, Gotham Books has contacted Kevin and I about having Shcrodinger’s LOLcat included in the upcoming I Can Haz Cheezburger book. More details as soon as we get them.

It’s not often that design gets the level of press coverage that it truly deserves, and when it does, it’s usually negative– as is the case with the hub-bub surrounding the recently announced identity for the 2012 London Olympics. Almost 50,000 people have signed an online petition to have the logo– designed by Wolf Ollins at a cost of $800,000– changed, and there have been reports of animated versions of it causing epileptic seizures.

Personally, I think the brand is atrocious. Not only does it not evoke ‘London,’ but it also fails to convey anything but clashing colors and meaningless abstraction. But I’m just a lowly design student, so let’s see what other people are saying.

Love it:
Coudal Partners – Just like you, our first reaction was shock. But we talked about it all morning. By 3pm, we decided we love it. And here are ten reasons why you should, too:

The Serif – It’s got that Marmite factor. But we find that even with things that people start off disliking, they get used to them. & …it’s incredibly noticable, brave and confrontational.

Hate it:
Seth Godin – A great logo doesn’t mean anything until the brand makes it worth something.

Design Observer – The London 2012 logo is a solid gold stinker.

Ambivalent:
Speak Up – I believe, despite any ensuing boo’s, that this is some of the most innovative and daring identity work we have seen in this new millennium, and the lack of cheesy and imagination-impairing gradients gives me hope that identity work can still be resurrected on a larger scale.

It was only when discussing the image with my mother was I able to glean some meaning from the spilled tangrams.

At least this shows that there was some reasoning behind the brand other than abstract PR nonsense.

A few days ago, I was listening to a podcast lecture on the basics of quantum cryptography when I got into a discussion about the nitty-gritty of the subject with my friend Justin.

…
dantekgeek: exponential on a regular computer, but reasonable time on a quantum computer, right?
justinwick: Right right
justinwick: assuming ur in ur quantum computerz, giving them enuff qbitz
dantekgeek: hahahaha
justinwick:
justinwick: schrodinger’s lolcat
…

I quickly searched flickr for a suitable image, and came across Kevin Steele’s fantastic “a box for every cat.” Some quick work in Skitch, and Schrodinger’s lolcat was born.

I figured my circle of friends would get a kick out of it, and that maybe it would be picked up by BoingBoing, but could never have predicted the amount of exposure my little creation has received.

Others had the idea long before I came across it, but for whatever reason, it was my LOLcat which gets all the glory. This puts me in kind of a weird position; On one hand, I don’t want to be seen as taking credit for an idea that was already floating in the ether, but the fact remains that we did create this thing without knowledge of prior-art, and I think that should count for something.

I want to make clear that I couldn’t have made this thing on my own, and it was only through the spirit of the meme, my conversation with Justin, and Kevin’s photo that this thing came to fruition. I am but one small robot on the LOLcat assembly line.

I’m in talks with Justin and Kevin about possibly printing up some t-shirts, but nothing is guaranteed– we might choose to just let this thing stay online, where it was born, and where it belongs.

I listen to a lot of great music, and I’m sure you readers do as well– so what makes this Basshunter fellow post-worthy?

Geek cred.

Not only is his music some excellent upbeat eurodance, but the themes are about as nerdy as you can get. His first international hit, Boten Anna, tells a tale of mistaken identity involving an IRC bot, and his second single is a sort of techno tribute to Warcraft 3 mod “Defense of the Ancients” and voice-conferencing application Ventrillo– complete with sound samples from the game mixed in.

For fans of dance and geeks alike, Basshunter is definitely worth checking out. Below is the video for Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA

Slashdot, as always, has a fantastic analysis of this story in the comments.

AACS, come and get me.

This is the current encryption key for HD-DVD.

Do with it what you will.

Long live free speech.

Background info.

In celebration of International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day, I have decided to make public the work of which I am most proud, a 2007 calendar featuring the skylines of 6 beautiful international cities.

About IPSTD:

On this day, everyone who wants to should give away professional quality work online. It doesn’t matter if it’s a novel, a story or a poem, it doesn’t matter if it’s already been published or if it hasn’t, the point is it should be disseminated online to celebrate our technopeasanthood.

The calendar is a 9″x15″ PDF, but it should scale pretty well to 11″x17″, and really should be printed in full color on good paper to get the most out of the work.

Download it here. (Now a ZIP archive of JPG images.)