ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US

I like inside jokes.  I've always liked inside jokes.  I especially like huge big inside jokes that hundreds - or perhaps thousands of people are "in" on.  We all gain some special feeling by being in on the joke.  The name FROGSTAR is based on such an inside joke.  Some understand it, some do not.

ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US is such a joke.  A cool, hip Internet generation inside joke.

[Disclaimer:  I know this isn't very current, but ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US has been around a long time, and I still catch it popping up now and then.  It was one of the first underground inside jokes to sweep the Internet and Pop culture.  Since then, there have been hundreds.  However, in keeping with my philosophy of "Things that go without saying should be said more often", I present this informational fan page for AYBABTU.]

Back in 1989, when video games were still very crude, an early game known as ZERO WING was released with several bits of digitized voice..  The problem was, it contained really awful English, translated from Japanese.  So bad, it was funny.  So funny, several lines caught on as catch phrases. The dialogue of Zero Wing contains such gems as "Somebody set up us the bomb," "Take off every Zig for great justice" and a chilling warning from a villain known only as Cats; "All your base are belong to us".

Then some creative people, we're not sure who was first - started the trend of doctoring regular Internet culture images with the phrase, and trading them among friends.  Quickly, people joined suit, and a whole culture of image manipulators began designing their own versions. Some good, some great, some lame... but almost all, very creative image manipulation.

At some point, Kansas City computer programmer and part-time deejay Jeffrey Ray Roberts sampled the quote and added an annoyingly catchy dance track. "I did it for the sheer inside-joke value," he says. "Everyone was trying to one-up each other." Next came a two-minute music video, and soon "All your base!" was being yelled out of dorm windows on campuses around the country.   The MP3 and video were the turning point that brought the joke from obscurity to mainstream pop culture.

All Your Base spread from office to office via e-mail like a benign virus. The video was creative, funny, and catchy.  Eventually, media started writing about the phenomenon.  This was bigger than the DANCING BABY, which was the last big Internet culture joke.  Even today, although the boom of excitement may have passed, new people find out about it every day.  You can still see references and ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US displays appearing in odd places, both on and offline. 

AYBABTU is a great example of creative fun, for the sake of fun.  It serves no purpose, other than sharing, creative art, and fun.  This site is a tribute.  A large collection of creative work; some good, some great, and some lame.  Enjoy.


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