A thoughtful piece on Salon about . . . . LOLcats.

[Lex]

I can has cheezburger ... and pathos?

The lolcats, the Internet's most famous felines, may be hilarious. But in their yearning, I see nothing less than the tragedy of the human condition.

<snip>

The cheezburger has become the Philosopher's Stone of the lolcats mythos -- the most prized, cherished and elusive object in their universe. It is for this reason that, when a tiny kitten being sniffed by a Great Dane 20 times its size needs a quick escape, it says, "I iz not cheezburger, kthxbai." It is for this reason that when a user finds a photo of a cat sitting by the window with its paws in its lap, the caption reads, "I iz waitin for cheezburger man. Does you have a money?"

The Web is now spawning a wave of next-generation lolcats sites that take the lolcats concept and run with it. There's lolpresident, loldogs, and even lolhan, a site devoted to Lindsay Lohan that includes such classics as "I layded you an egg but I'z hidin it."


This is all funny stuff. But I submit that the true genius of lolcats lies in their tragedy.

In one classic example, one cat is crying, and another is hugging it and saying, "Don't crai. We'll get cheezburger someday." It's sweet and poignant and wistful all at the same time. Life can be hard, it says, and we don't always get what we want, but even as we long for things we may never have, we draw succor from the reassurances of those we love. Sure, it's ridiculous that what the cat is yearning for is a cheeseburger. But the cheeseburger is not really a cheeseburger -- it's a symbol.

Here's another: A brown and black calico looks out the window of his apartment only to notice a beautiful white female on the balcony across the way. His heart quickens, in the scenario I imagine, then he swallows hard and quickly looks away, unable to muster the courage to speak to her. The caption: "Evry dayz, 3 o'clockz ... Mebe one day I sez meow to her." Who among us hasn't felt that longing and regret? Who among us hasn't passed an attractive stranger in the supermarket or on the street, only to kick ourselves afterward for letting the opportunity slip between our fingers?

For more --> http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/11/15/pathos_lolcats/print.html

[XemaSab]

1. The author of this article should NEVER see "Garfield Without Garfield"

:P

[Lex]

2. Oh, you are so right about that!

:rofl:

[Richard Steele]

6. Well, someone certainly should.

Someone who can explain just why I like it so much.
I can't put it into words, personally.
Someone certainly could, though.
I'd like to read that.

[elshiva]

3. That's great. I love LOLcats.

It's true. There's a lot of yearning.

[Tom Kitten]

4. Uh oh

my very online identity here has been exposed as a tragic plea for acceptance!

[Oeditpus Rex]

5. ...

[Eurobabe]

7. I get the daily email from LOLcats. It keeps me sane.

:rofl: