Don't Give Me That Look

Link to Us: http://snipr.com/dontgivemethatlook

We all love cute animals as an Internet Meme. The cuter it is, the more exposure it will get. The word cute is quite over-rating for this Internet Meme that was founded in year 2007. Known as the "Dramatic Look", it features a prairie dog from a Japanese television show named, "Hello! Morning". The prairie dog was carried out to meet the audience and host of the show and it was immediately "awe-ed" by the viewers. As the camera kept rolling and had a close-up shot of the animal, it gave a very serious look to the camera. The TV show was aired on Japan's local channel and that was how the Prairie Dog Dramatic Look came about.


magnum9er, How the Dramatic Prairie Dog was Born, [Online] Retrieved on 17th March 2010.
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sochd9Xqlos

There is nothing too outstanding or great about it. But that "look" from the prairie dog caught the attention of one of the viewers. It started with just a simple editing by cutting out the Japanese girls and host and leaves only the prairie dog so-called dramatic look. That particular part of the prairie dog's look slowly burst into fame as more and more people edited the 5 second clip. Today, the original prairie dog clip has over 19 million views making it one of the most viewed video of all time.

The Criminal Act on Toby

Link to Us: http://snipr.com/savetoby

Can you imagine there are immoral people in the cyber world as in trying to get the public compassion by using an animal to earn money? Maybe not but it happened and the worse thing is that it became an Internet Meme called “Save Toby”. This Internet Meme began five years ago in 2005, when a guy named James Mceahly found an injured rabbit outside of his home. We wonder how did the rabbit got there.

Anyway, James brought the rabbit home and names it Toby. He took care of it and nursed Toby till he is fully recovered. Some of you maybe wondering, how is this called immoral? Well, continue reading before forming any conclusion.


Savetoby.com | Only YOU have the power to Save Toby! [Online] Retrieved on 11th March 2010.
URL: http://www.savetoby.com/#

While the rabbit is getting back to hundred percent in terms of his health, James setup a website and calls it “Save Toby | Only YOU have the power to Save Toby” at savetoby.com. He then tell the readers how he took care of Toby and how much he had spent on the rabbit. So, he wants to claim back the money spent from the readers that visited the website. How? James said that if at the end of the day, he do not receive US$50 000 of donation to the website, he will kill Toby and have him as a meal for himself! At this point, some of you may feel like killing James instead.

Pathetically, that message caught the attention of some readers as well as their sympathy towards Toby. They started to get nervous and ask their acquaintances to donate the money to save Toby. However, the website only received up to US$28 000 of donation at the end of the day but according to James, he is satisfied with the figure and Toby’s life was spared.

Slowly, more and more people started to follow James’s act and ask for donation on their own website such as Save Bernd and Save Fluffy. Having said all of this, Urban legend website snopes.com indicates that the website is a hoax. Some claimed that the amount gained in the website was just an imitation.

Despite people saying it is a hoax, we think that James’s act towards Toby is highly unnecessary and somewhat unforgivable because he is trying to toy with Toby’s life to gain money and can even think of such act. So, do you agree with what we said about James’s act or do you think James has done nothing wrong at all? Share your thoughts with us by commenting on this post.


References:
1. 10 Craziest Internet Meme [Online] Retrieved on 11th March 2010.
URL: http://www.oddee.com/item_63440.aspx

2. snopes.com: Save Toby [Online] Retrieved on 13th March 2010.
URL: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/savetoby.asp

3. Save Toby, Know Your Meme [Online] Retrieved on 13th March 2010.
URL: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/save-toby


Advin

Podcast: Cats' Meow in Malay

Link to Us: http://snipr.com/catsmeowpodcast

Greetings. We will continue from the last post with another podcast in Malay and this time, it is about cats. So, check it out.





Podcast Translation

Lolcats? What on earth is that? Well, some of you may have heard or seen this Internet Meme before while some may not.
(0.01 - 0.06 minute)

This Internet Meme or should we say Internet Phenomenon started with a person taking a picture of a cat and puts a funny caption on it and sends it out to their friends.

(0.07 - 0.17 minute)

Then, more and more people encounter these pictures on the Internet. They begin to find the same pictures or similar pictures from all over the Internet and some even take a picture of a cat on their own and put it on MSN and Facebook.
(0.18 - 0.34 minute)

Even till today, you will still find these Lolcats pictures "roaming" around in websites because people still take pictures of cats. But some with better creativity used these cat pictures to create a story out of it. The story may range from their own creativity to movies that you guys watched in the cinema.
(0.35 - 0.53 minute)

Some of the movie fans might get upset when they see the movies that they like like Twilight are being used to create a story and using cats to replace the characters but there is anything to be upset about because it is purely for entertainment and as a joke only.
(0.54 - 1.11 minute)

Also, this Internet Meme can be a stress reliever because if you are feeling stress about your work, it can make you laugh. This is because of the creative and hysterical side brought from Lolcats.
(1.12 - 1.24 minute)

Lastly, credit goes to the person who created the story using cats as creativity is still needed in arranging the picture sequence, choosing the right cats for the characters and even the editing image skills. And let's hope more of these Lolcats come out in 2010 to make us more happy? Agree?
(1.25 - 1.46 minute)


Glossary

Internet - Interconnected Network
Menyunting - Edit


Jason

Cats' Meow

Link to Us: http://snipr.com/cats-meow


Chadrew, Top 10 Internet Memes [Online], Retrieved on 12th January 2010.

URL: http://www.squidoo.com/top-10-internet-memes

Lolcats? What on earth is that? Well, some of you may have heard or seen this Internet Meme before while some may not. This Internet Meme or should we say Internet Phenomenon started with a person taking a picture of a cat and puts a funny caption on it and sends it out to their friends. However though, note that the English used in the caption are meant to be broken as it adds more humor into it.

Slowly, more and more people encounter these pictures on the Internet in websites such as forums or in a blog or even a social networking site. They then begin to find these pictures from all over the Internet and some even take a picture of a cat on their own and put it on MSN, Facebook or forums.

Even till today, you will still find these Lolcats pictures "roaming" around in websites as people still take pictures of cats. But rather than just plainly taking random cat pictures and putting a caption on it, some used these cat pictures to create a story out of it. The story may range from their own creativity to movies that you guys watched in the cinema.

B., Mircrosuede: Movie Review: The Twilight Saga: New Moon [Online] Retrieved on 15th January 2010.

URL: http://microsuede.blogspot.com/2009/11/movie-review-twilight-saga-new-moon.html

Movies? Yes, movies! Movies like Twilight: New Moon and Sex and The City. Some of the movie fans might get upset when they see the mentioned blockbuster movies like the Twilight fans but truth to be told, there is nothing to get upset about because it is merely for entertainment and as a joke.

Also, this Internet Meme can be a stress reliever. The reason being that is if you are feeling stress about your work, it can make you, most people or even everyone laugh because of the creativity and hysterical side of the lolcats. Just in case, you might want to prepare a glass of water beside you as you might end up with a hiccup after going through the lolcats.

Lastly, credit goes to the person who created the story using cats as creativity is still needed in arranging the picture sequence, choosing the right cats for the characters and even the editing image skills. And let's hope more of these lolcats come out in 2010 to give us more laughter and entertainment. Agree?

Jason

Oolong - The Poor Rabbit

Link to Us: http://snipr.com/oolongrabbit


Chadrew, Top 10 Internet Memes [Online], Retrieved on 14th January 2010.

URL: http://www.squidoo.com/top-10-internet-memes

Some may remember this little cute rabbit who created waves around the internet. Everyone just kept on talking about this rabbit - from saying how cute it was to criticizing the rabbit. Some even put their own caption over it (almost similar to the LOLCats meme) and send it to their friends through e-mail and even at random chat-rooms. Some said it was like a spam where everyone kept posting up the picture of the talented but innocent rabbit. Although this internet meme was quite a long time ago, we still see this rabbit at certain sites. And this made us wonder, who is this rabbit and what made it so famous?

The name of the rabbit is Oolong, which it is a type of a tea. Oolong is owned by a Japanese photographer named Hironori Akutagawa and this rabbit became a "celebrity" because of its unique talent to balance an object on its head in which Akutagawa calls it "Head Performance" while remaining its cuteness as well.

Unfortunately, Oolong passed away seven years ago on 7th January 2003. Akutagawa now owns another rabbit called Yuebing and she is trained by the photographer to perform the same way as Oolong did. Now, assuming that if majority of the rabbits out there have the same ability as Oolong, would you pay more attention to this pet? Despite the rabbit's special talent, we feel that every animal and human being has their own personality and characteristic. We do not need to force ourselves or others to change or learn something different in order to get other's attention.

Furthermore, we feel that Akutagawa is torturing the rabbit because objects like a cup or a can are placed on Oolong and sometimes even food which he cannot even eat it if he is feeling hungry at that time. We feel pity for Oolong and Yuebing. So, do you think that Akutagawa is torturing the rabbits or he is just simply showing their unique talent?

Advin