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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2014 16:24:11 GMT -5
There. I said it. To be fair, some of you have said it, too, but let's be frank - it means more coming from me.
You see, I have a history with this avatar, not as an avatar, but as a meme. Several years ago, my teenage son first showed it to me (in a larger format than you see here), and it positively slew me. I laughed so hard, it was embarrassing. He showed it to me again some time later - same response. If anything, repeated exposure may have increased the intensity.
Soon my son discovered that he could provoke this response at any moment simply by casually saying, "Hey, Mom," then turning his laptop around to reveal The Staring Llama. My peals of laughter would echo madly off the walls until I either physically looked away or threatened him with bodily injury if he didn't turn the screen around. His compliance was surely more kindness than obedience, as who would take seriously any threat spoken breathlessly between hysterical guffaws?
Fast forward to the day I registered at The Pub and began filling out my user profile, including choosing an avatar. I admit, I felt a little pressure; I'd (quite accidentally) hit a major home run with my avvy at KB. (I seem to get more attention from my winking latte than from anything I say over there.) Naturally, I felt that I had set a bar for myself, as most of the people here would know me from KB. True, I could simply have used the same avatar here, but what would that say about me? That I have no imagination? That I'm a one-trick pony? That I really am a cup of coffee? No, I needed to come up with something good, something memorable, maybe even something disturbing.
That's the line of thought I had when I came across the llama gif as an avatar. My nemesis. My Kryptonite, as my son has declared it. Watching the avatar, barely suppressing the giggle reflex, I wondered... did I have the stuff to face down my biggest automatic crack-up? Did I?
Then I thought that maybe choosing this as my avatar would be the path to a cure. After all, I couldn't possibly see this thing multiple times a day without becoming inured to its power eventually... right? And the funny thing is, it has sort of worked. I no longer automatically keel over laughing every time I see it. It's lost its potency in that regard. But now... I don't know. There's something about the shakiness of the camera taking the video, combined with the movement of the llama's head and its creepily staring eyes...
I could change it, sure. There are thousands of avatars out there I could choose, no problem. But if I did that... the llama would win. And that is a price I'm not willing to pay.
You lookin' at me, llama? Well, I'm lookin' at you. Let's see which one of us looks away first.
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Post by Becca Mills on Apr 19, 2014 16:43:31 GMT -5
The nice thing about a looping gif is that it always looks away!  I agree that it's creepy. There's something very sentient in that gaze. I perceive you, human. The Blair Witch camera doesn't help. ETA: It's still not as creepy as that friggin' coffee. That thing is a hole in the fabric of spacetime. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2014 17:46:34 GMT -5
Love the llama. Love the coffee.
My little dog (that hates everybody but me) looks at people like that if I whisper *anything* to him while looking at a person. It freaks out my friends, family and neighbors. His eyeballs slowky move and look at the person as his head is slowly catching up. They call him "Chuckie." (His name is Ryder).
Everybody's always asking me, "OMG! What did you SAY to him?!"
Usually I'm just whispering sweet nothing's.
Back on topic, maybe I should try a huge hornet/bee as my avatar...I'm terrified of them, and since it warmed up, one usually sends me running into the house about once a day, flapping my arms and screaming bloody murder... I'm surprised I haven't thrown my iPad mini at one yet.
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Post by vrabinec on Apr 19, 2014 18:40:59 GMT -5
It's like Damien's gaze in The Omen when he sees the dog. It's the devil llama, I tell you.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2014 19:09:30 GMT -5
I love the devil llama! ^_^
I think it's a cute avatar but then my perception of 'cute' is a little off by most standards.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2014 19:11:31 GMT -5
Looking at it again (can't... look... away...), I think what is particularly chilling is the way he just stops chewing and then slowly... turns... toward you...
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Post by Rinelle Grey on Apr 20, 2014 2:11:24 GMT -5
Oh my goodness. I hadn't stopped to look at it that closely until this post.
Creepy!
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Post by lindymoone on Apr 20, 2014 2:23:04 GMT -5
Creeps so good!
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Post by lindymoone on Apr 20, 2014 2:34:49 GMT -5
Love the llama. Love the coffee. My little dog (that hates everybody but me) looks at people like that if I whisper *anything* to him while looking at a person. It freaks out my friends, family and neighbors. His eyeballs slowky move and look at the person as his head is slowly catching up. They call him "Chuckie." (His name is Ryder). Everybody's always asking me, "OMG! What did you SAY to him?!" Usually I'm just whispering sweet nothing's. Back on topic, maybe I should try a huge hornet/bee as my avatar...I'm terrified of them, and since it warmed up, one usually sends me running into the house about once a day, flapping my arms and screaming bloody murder... I'm surprised I haven't thrown my iPad mini at one yet. I have to share this story: My husband hails from a city in what was once called The Orient -- as in The Orient Express. In one of the many US states we've lived in together, he had an encounter with wildlife that we won't soon forget. Our house backed onto a forest, but we had a big back yard. One day, he was frollicking out back when I heard him shouting. I dashed out onto the deck, to see him tearing toward me, flailing his arms frantically around his head, yelling like the hounds of hell had taken wing (they do that) and were in hot pursuit. I started laughing, quietly at first. He finally reached me, and yelled out, "Did you see the size of that fucking bee?!!!" Hummingbird. This man has had two encounters with great white sharks, and loved every second of them... but a hummingbird scared the hell out of him. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2014 3:31:20 GMT -5
Just imagine how scared he would be if it knew the words.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2014 12:04:25 GMT -5
Love the llama. Love the coffee. My little dog (that hates everybody but me) looks at people like that if I whisper *anything* to him while looking at a person. It freaks out my friends, family and neighbors. His eyeballs slowky move and look at the person as his head is slowly catching up. They call him "Chuckie." (His name is Ryder). Everybody's always asking me, "OMG! What did you SAY to him?!" Usually I'm just whispering sweet nothing's. Back on topic, maybe I should try a huge hornet/bee as my avatar...I'm terrified of them, and since it warmed up, one usually sends me running into the house about once a day, flapping my arms and screaming bloody murder... I'm surprised I haven't thrown my iPad mini at one yet. I have to share this story: My husband hails from a city in what was once called The Orient -- as in The Orient Express. In one of the many US states we've lived in together, he had an encounter with wildlife that we won't soon forget. Our house backed onto a forest, but we had a big back yard. One day, he was frollicking out back when I heard him shouting. I dashed out onto the deck, to see him tearing toward me, flailing his arms frantically around his head, yelling like the hounds of hell had taken wing (they do that) and were in hot pursuit. I started laughing, quietly at first. He finally reached me, and yelled out, "Did you see the size of that fucking bee?!!!" Hummingbird. This man has had two encounters with great white sharks, and loved every second of them... but a hummingbird scared the hell out of him. OMG! The same thing happened to me as I was meeting my fiancé's family for the first time. He lived across the street from them and we walked over. Something HUGE buzzed by me. I screamed and threw myself onto him, nearly climbing up his body. They all just looked at me strangely, so I said, sorry, I'm afraid of bees. They all laughed, and my fiancé said, "Come on, honey...we're going back home to watch some Discovery Channel." |
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Post by Becca Mills on Apr 20, 2014 12:08:16 GMT -5
Love the llama. Love the coffee. My little dog (that hates everybody but me) looks at people like that if I whisper *anything* to him while looking at a person. It freaks out my friends, family and neighbors. His eyeballs slowky move and look at the person as his head is slowly catching up. They call him "Chuckie." (His name is Ryder). Everybody's always asking me, "OMG! What did you SAY to him?!" Usually I'm just whispering sweet nothing's. Back on topic, maybe I should try a huge hornet/bee as my avatar...I'm terrified of them, and since it warmed up, one usually sends me running into the house about once a day, flapping my arms and screaming bloody murder... I'm surprised I haven't thrown my iPad mini at one yet. I have to share this story: My husband hails from a city in what was once called The Orient -- as in The Orient Express. In one of the many US states we've lived in together, he had an encounter with wildlife that we won't soon forget. Our house backed onto a forest, but we had a big back yard. One day, he was frollicking out back when I heard him shouting. I dashed out onto the deck, to see him tearing toward me, flailing his arms frantically around his head, yelling like the hounds of hell had taken wing (they do that) and were in hot pursuit. I started laughing, quietly at first. He finally reached me, and yelled out, "Did you see the size of that fucking bee?!!!" Hummingbird. This man has had two encounters with great white sharks, and loved every second of them... but a hummingbird scared the hell out of him. OMG ... can't breathe. That's hilarious.  |
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Post by Alan Petersen on Apr 20, 2014 12:37:54 GMT -5
And here I thought it was a creepy goat, not a creepy lama.  |
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Post by Becca Mills on Apr 20, 2014 12:42:47 GMT -5
And here I thought it was a creepy goat, not a creepy lama. It is so going to be after you now, Alan! |
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Post by Rinelle Grey on Apr 21, 2014 5:16:26 GMT -5
I was inspired to come and share this on this thread. Lama eyes are even creepier up close... |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2014 8:59:39 GMT -5
I was inspired to come and share this on this thread. Lama eyes are even creepier up close... OMG SO HORRIFYING!!!!!! |
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Post by vrabinec on Apr 21, 2014 9:08:34 GMT -5
I was inspired to come and share this on this thread. Lama eyes are even creepier up close... That looks like something out of the vajayjay nightmares I got after Grandma wandered out with her robe not-quite-tied. |
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Post by Alan Petersen on Apr 21, 2014 12:25:31 GMT -5
I was inspired to come and share this on this thread. Lama eyes are even creepier up close... That looks like something out of the vajayjay nightmares I got after Grandma wandered out with her robe not-quite-tied.  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2014 12:34:19 GMT -5
EVERYBODY STOP OUT-CREEPING MY CREEPY AVATAR!
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Post by lindymoone on Apr 21, 2014 12:55:02 GMT -5
Nope. Your avatar is still the creepiest, LeeBee.
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