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Our trip to ROFLCon fast approaches, so in the spirit of Underwire's excellent 'Behind the Meme' primers (and encouraged by rumblings on the ROFLCon blog of owl/fox aggression), we thought we'd indulge in a little nostalgia for ''O RLY?'' owls, an all-around Urlesque favorite and a dynamic proto-meme.

We'll be hoping for a little ''O RLY?'' love during Jason Scott's BEFORE THE LOL panel at the conference, as the big stars of the LOLCATS: I CAN HAZ CASE STUDY? panel (the ICHC crew, LOLCat Bible, etc) owe a debt to this pioneer of odd image macros. If you're feeling lost, the Wikipedia page for ''O RLY?'' is a great place to begin prepping, as is this post. However, Internet News wins big points for their article containing everything from the investigation of the original ''O RLY?'' owl image (top left), to name-checking NYC graffiti artists, to offering actual wildlife research. And it's always worth paying a visit to the nicely preserved home of the ''O RLY?'' owl that includes one of the first archives of image macro and mashup uploads.

But mostly we just wanted to show you this:


If that doesn't get you amped for ROFLCon and the shockwaves it's sure to send around the web, nothing will. Take cover now. Everyone else, check back for our updates from Boston!