Monthly Review: March 2011

Monthly Review: March 2011

This month's highlights: Animated TV series My Little Pony continues its magical streak on 4chan; troubled Hollywood actor Charlie Sheen flips the script, compares himself to an F-18 jet and sets a new world record for one million Twitter followers in 24 hours; UCLA student Alexandra Wallace talks trash on Asians in school and realizes she's at the epicenter of Asian Americana; Orange County tween Rebecca Black shocks the nation with her auto-tune pop single "Friday"; Australian bullybait Casey Heynes finally snaps, unleashes a motherload of fury in the schoolyard and earns the nickname "Zangief Kid." In comparing search interest, Charlie Sheen and Rebecca Black came on top, much thanks to the news media coverage:

My Little Pony

My Little Pony is a Canadian/American cartoon series developed for television by Lauren Faust, who also worked on The Powerpuff Girls and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. Since its on-air debut in October 2010, the series became a popular source material for threadjacking, reaction images, and macro images on 4chan, YouTube and elsewhere online. Particularly on 4chan's /b/, those who are avid fans of the ponies have come to be known as “Bronies,” while the Bronies who post ponies mainly on /co/ have come to be known as "Colts." By the way, PONY TATTOOS? Omg, they're everywhere. Must See: Minecraft Pony / Ponies' Last Supper / Pony Cosplay.

Charlie Sheen's Rant

Charlie Sheen's Rant refers to the recent waves of controversial remarks made by the Hollywood actor on several radio and TV interviews in late February 2011. The 45 year old veteran actor, who's been struggling with substance addiction, launched the media blitz in waging his war against the producer of popular CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men." As a result of Sheen’s decisive interview sprees across the networks, the actor was eventually fired from the show, but his memorable quotes have inspired a wide variety of parodies and tributes online. Must See: Apollo Run's musical tribute / Gregory Brothers autotune / Sheen / Yorke Mashup / Sheen / Cocaine Bear Mashup.

Asians in the Library

Asians in the Library is a webcam style YouTube video posted by UCLA student Alexandra Wallace who was apparently irritated about Asian students using cell phones in the campus library. Perhaps because of her mockery of Asian speech like "Ching Chong Ting Tong," it quickly gained attention from the Asian YouTube community and inspired dozens of response videos portraying her as a high-pitched, ditzy "blonde girl." Must See: Jimmy Wong's Response Song.

Rebecca Black's "Friday"

Rebecca Black is a 13 year old Californian girl who rose to national fame with her less-than-impressive pop single "Friday" in the second week of March. Originally uploaded in early February, the video began receiving massive exposure on hubsites like YouTube, Twitter and Tumblr after coverage by the popular blog The Daily What on March 11th, 2011. Within a week, the video gained over 10 million views and the digital single entered the top 100 on iTunes. Following a round of Black's news media appearances, "Friday" has been endorsed by several celebrities, including Nick Jonas, Justin Bieber, Stephen Colbert and Snoop Dogg. Must See: Bob Dylan-esque cover / Bad Lip Reading – Gang Fight / 50 cent vs. CJ / Rebecca's Friend Plays Accordion.

Zangief Kid

Zangief Kid is the nickname given to Casey Heynes, an Australian teenager who couldn't take his classmate's bullying anymore and unleashed his fury in the schoolyard. The footage of schoolyard fight was posted via YouTube on March 14th, but it was almost instantly taken down for violating the site's terms of service. Duplicates and remixes were uploaded elsewhere online, earning him the nickname of Zangief the Russian pro-wrestler from the popular video game series Street Fighter. Must See: NMA TV Report / Street Fighter II Edition / Zangief Kid the Game.

Back on the Map

• Gene Leonhardt, the father of Jessie Slaughter who threatened to call the "Cyberpolice" and "backtrace" everyone for harassing his daughter, was arrested on charges of child abuse after getting into an argument with Jessi. He pleaded not guilty and has been released on a $5000 bond. Who dun goof'd now?

• Boom Goes the Dynamite celebrated its sixth anniversary this month.

• The infamous anti-child porn mascot Pedobear was spotted in a coupon advertisement for a CP distribution, as in "computer parts," business in Florida.

• Deal With It reached Twitter's trending topics this month, when Ohio State University students celebrated their rival victory over Wisconsin University in college basketball with thousands of “Deal With It” embroidered towels.

• Blake Boston, the face behind Scumbag Steve, finally revealed himself in a video interview with RoughDraft.TV.

Past Issues

• KYM Monthly Review – Complete Listing of Past Issues