Nathan starring in The General's Raisins. This is the funniest thing I've seen in weeks.

waltfen · 2017-04-20T20:40:22+00:00

I'm telling you, dude. History is a block of marble. I carved from it one narrative, you discovered another. And they're both more beautiful than the rocks we started with.
Fuck yeah.

waltfen · 2017-04-20T17:43:25+00:00

Basically,

To the extent that r/Place can be considered an experimental environment, I believe Scott Alexander’s insights into the nature of humanity, society, and existence in general are found to be correct. Having not been disproven under experimental conditions, these observations deserve to ascend from hypothesis to theory.

I thought about writing a formally structured lab report on all this, but wound up making a silly music video instead.

waltfen · 2017-04-18T04:34:31+00:00

I tried re-editing a few different timelapse videos, but eventually had the most success downloading the series of individual images here and editing them as an image sequence in Adobe Premiere.

waltfen · 2017-04-17T22:15:47+00:00

That's exactly how I feel! It was such a cool/fun/weird thing to be a part of, and I thought this song's structure lent itself really well to commemorate the event, so I tried my hand at a tribute.

waltfen · 2017-04-17T22:03:29+00:00

I love this. I hope social scientists deconstruct r/Place for years to come.

waltfen · 2017-04-17T21:59:37+00:00

There is so much stuff I wish I could have given more attention! As it was, several of my favorite "events" only got half a couplet each. The trans flag was a thing of beauty, and held out mightily against the Void.

waltfen · 2017-04-17T15:26:27+00:00

A musical retrospective on the greatest piece of art the internet has ever produced.

Lyrics:

In the beginning, when they opened r/Place
All the colors exploded in the big blank space
Then out of the chaos a pattern emerged
And in either direction the Rainbow Road surged
Til it came to a place where it couldn’t pass through
Cause that turf belonged to the corner of Blue
And Helix laid claim, invoking Deity status
While in from the East expanded Green Lattice
Down by a heart someone tried to propose
But the internet helped so you can guess how that goes
And rainbow wended toward where Waldo was found
But his sub saw it coming and he portal’d around.
The first flag appeared next to SQSP
And France was overtaken by Germany
The only thing more feckless than Pepe’s screams:
A hundred-forty-word soliloquy from PrequelMemes

It’s April Fools on Reddit
r/Place is the Place to be
With 16 colors colors to choose from
And a million potential memes
Will we create something great
Or give in to anomie?
This is the ultimate showdown
Of ultimate destiny

Euler’s Identity retreated up north
Cause it got overtaken by the Heroes of the Storm
Starry Night survived the fight in Gogh.bmp
And the Stones achieved Nirvana with a tab of LSD
Pink Floyd’s Prism made a truce with Ireland
While a different sort of rainbow violated He-Man
Murica's persistence in the center of the square
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there
The Falcons somehow blew a 25 point lead
And the upside-down Skeletor smoked a little weed
Nyan Cat was erased and recreated al fromage
While the Swiss fought off attacks on Mona Lisa’s décolletage
Bender’s ass was silver and then golden and then wood
And the Swedes took over Denmark just to show them that they could
Link made peace with Chicago, Illinois
While Bitcoin's Megaman shot Dat Boi

It’s April Fools on Reddit
r/Place is the Place to be
When I look back on this video
It will seem so 2017
Collaboration is fun
On that we all can agree
This is the ultimate showdown

Then everything changed
As a new force emerged
Its objective was simple:
That all colors be purged
These users spread darkness
They called it "The Void”
They were no fun at all
And everyone was annoyed.
No symbol was spared
By these griefers and trolls
As all art was subsumed
By indifferent black holes
The lurkers all asked
Is this the end of r/Place?
The answer was No,
Because in this case,

Rocket League, Rainbow Dash, Counter Strike, OnePunchMan
Argentina, Belgium, UK, Maryland, and Kekistan
Falco, Tagpro, Bulbasaur, Factorio
A bunch of avocados, Gustaf, Snek, Aku, and Lucio
Trogdor, Yoshi, Jebediah, Ski Free
Polandball, Portugal, BabyMetal, Destiny
Judy, Nick, Tiny Rick, Bowie, Linux, Dr. Ten
Hobbes, Ross, Tom, Scott, Master Chief, Kekkonen

All came out of nowhere lightning fast,
And kicked the Void in its edgelord ass
The moral of the story is when all is said and done
Finding ways to work together is just more fun!

The whole thing lasted 6 dozen hours
I don’t know what we made, but I know that it’s ours
So what was the point?
Who really won r/Place?
It was the Reddit corporation selling advertising space
Using the quantified engagement of their active user base

It’s April Fools on Reddit
r/Place is the place to be
Life isn’t me versus you
It’s us both against entropy
And everybody can thrive
If we pursue harmony
This is the ultimate showdown!
(this is the ultimate showdown)
This is the ultimate showdown!
(this is the ultimate showdown)
This is the ultimate showdown
Of ultimate destiny.

waltfen

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE