We Interrupt This Blog For a Special Bulletin: Somebody GOT IT!

This is just a short post (yeah, as if) to acknowledge Patrick for being the first visitor to this blog to have a clue as to what “All Your Blogs Are Belong to Us” actually means!

What a relief!

If you’ve read my blog from the beginning you know that I chose the name based on a running inside joke with some Blogger.com buddies of mine (and that group will be the subject of another story sometime soon). I said that I thought it would probably make no sense to just about anyone else (and until yesterday I’d been right!); yet I was hopeful that eventually someone would figure it out so as not to make too many people think, “Geeze, where did this guy learn to speak English?

And THAT’S THE JOKE!

The name is derived from an Internet phenomenon that has actually been around for several years. It involves the intro portion of a Sega Console game that came out in 1989 called, "Zero Wing," by the Japanese game company, Toaplan. It became more popular for the way in which it butchered the English translation of the character's dialogue than for the game itself.

In 2000, a parody video, featuring samples of the game intro was created. The phrase “All your base are belong to us” had become the parody catch phrase from that butchered video dialogue and the phenomenon spread among gamer message boards, becoming quite the inside joke. It even got some national attention, spawning coverage in Time Magazine, USA Today, Wired, Tech TV and more. This lead to even more spin-offs, references and silliness.

If you want more info, there’s actually an AYB web site with history of the phenomenon and a steaming version of the original video. It’s goofy, but highly entertaining. Another web site actually describes the AYB phenomenon in a bit more concise detail and features some pretty funny spin-off clips that have to be seen to be appreciated. A WORD OF WARNING though, this site is rife with pop-up ads so be prepared for ‘em. If you just want to download the original video here* (Macromedia Flash file – 1.64 MB), or an alternate version with a cool trance-style soundtrack (RealMedia file - 4.05 MG), courtesy of Diffusion vs Mr Dog, or just the MP3 of the soundtrack* (3.11 MG and better quality than the video file), just click on the links. Thre’s also an amusing audio clip (Windows Media ASF file - 254 KB) from the now-deceased MTV call-in talkshow “Loveline” with Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew Pinski in which a female caller is confused about her lover’s strange requests.

*Note: right-click and choose "Save Target As..." to download to your hard drive or just left-click to stream.

Now I have to tell you, I was a latecomer to this phenomenon, having only become aware of it in the last year or so. I’ve never been a gamer, but a number of those Blog buddies I mentioned are. The actual genesis of our references to the phrase involves a longer explanation than I care to get into at this point. Suffice it to say, the whole thing cracked me up so much I just had to apply it to my blog’s name.

I’m just glad SOMEBODY GOT IT!

Thank you Patrick!

Now the obvious question presents itself: Now that the inside joke is “out,” do I keep the name or change it. I’m seeking input here. I can go either way.

We now return you to the previously scheduled tale of youthful angst and unrequited love…