You named Double Rainbow guy Person of the Year. Why? If this was a real thing, who would the runners up be?
Honestly, that was more of a joke about the hubub surrounding Time magazine's Person of the Year because that is hilarious, as if anyone even reads Time magazine anymore (NO OFFENSE, TIME MAGAZINE!). Like, what? Relax, everybody. That is where the thinking on that started and ended. If I spent any more time on it, I might have picked someone other than Double Rainbow Guy. That being said, I think what made Double Rainbow Guy so great, and so much better than other Internet Meme Celebrities, like Antoine Dodson as just a random example, is that he was so happy! Like, yes, it was ridiculous and hilarious listening to him, but there was also just unabashed joy in his voice that you don't hear very often, so you were laughing (and crying) with him almost as much as at him. It was a nice antidote to the Internet's traditional position of deeply self-loathing schadenfreude.
Who was the most despicable meme person (what do you call these people anyway???) of the year?
I really hated Epic Beard Man so so so much. I did not understand why that was popular, or why people were cheering him on. Some old racist white dude punching a black dude in the face on a bus? That's insane! Just straight forwardly: that is assault and assault is a crime and I don't think there is anything "funny" or "cool" or "ironic" about actual violence just because it was captured on an iPhone and someone made a Photoshop of it. And the fact that the dude was violent AND racist just made it so vile. There was just NO appeal in that, and the Internet's celebration of him as some kind of folk hero was sad and gross. Shame on you, Internet.
Has anything on the internet this year given you hope for the future? Made you despair for humanity?
Well, let's not forget that ultimately the Internet is just a method of communication. Sure, it's a new one, but ultimately the things that are hopeful and the things that are despairing on the Internet are just human things that were re-broadcast on-line. That being said, we're just one year away from 2012 and the end of time, so I try not to get too happy or sad either way.
Which celebrity's antics were the most exciting? Was this year an exceptionally great year for batshit celebrities, or is it just me?
This was an exceptional year for Mel Gibson News. He really raised the bar on being awful.
What's up with Juggalos? Did they come into their own as a meme this year? Why do you think they're so widely written about?
Well, they started taking off on-line in 2009. If anything, I think 2010 was just the calcification of the Juggalo meme. It became rote for everyone to post anything Juggalo-related, but the surprise factor was mostly gone. (That being said, the "Miracles" video was still really special.) Growing up in Michigan, I've known about the Insane Clown Posse for more than a decade and used to go to the same Denny's as the Juggalos, so the phenomenon was never new or exciting or surprising to me, but I still understand why it blew up. They're hate-monger rappers in clown makeup singing about giraffes in front of a green screen, what's not to laugh at?
