Calling a lolcow strange is like calling Tostitos delicious, or soap sudsy, or kittens cute.
It’s like saying “wow, such wet rain today” or “how sky-like, this sky!”
It’s so pitifully inadequate to describe far-out sexual fetishism, or inconceivable ego, or a horribly inaccurate self-image.
Sometimes, however, it does suffice.
The subject of today’s
Short Circuits is not particularly offensive, gross, anger-inducing, or sick. He most resembles humble North Dakotan
Ulillillia, but without Uli’s wit and many of his endearing qualities. Still, his unique worldview and unquestionably odd content make him a pleasant little detour on your voyage through the internet.
Meet Timbox.
The Lowdown
Timothy “Timbox” McKenzie is a young autistic man who lives in Maryland.
He is an aspiring writer, director, animator, and all-around creative genius.
Like many autistic people, his interests are extremely narrow and specific, centered around several primary subjects.
His most pertinent interest is in
Dexter’s Laboratory, a cartoon from the 90s that played an essential role in the collective childhood of my generation. More than any other aspect of the show, his passions extend to Lee Lee and Mee Mee, friends of Dexter’s sister Dee Dee.
He has an extreme reverence for its creator Genndy Tartakovsky, whose other creations include
Samurai Jack and
The Powerpuff Girls.
Timbox also has a love of dinosaurs and James Cameron’s
Avatar.
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| Dee Dee, Lee Lee, and Mee Mee. |
As with many internet citizens, Timbox loves seeing his interests intersect.
The greatest product of this is his dream project,
Dexter’s Odyssey, a
12 freakin’-part film epic.
Essentially, it’s about Dexter and friends in an alternate universe called Timboxia on a quest to destroy Mandark. In the show, Mandark is Dexter’s rival neighbor. In the film, he’s basically Sauron, complete with a volcanic lair. The irony is that due to the fantastical nature of
Dexter’s Lab, this is sort of possible in canon. There’s also
The Princess of Shangara, another Dexter film specifically starring Lee Lee.
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| This is probably inspired by the poster for Kill Bill: Vol. 1. |
His release plans for this include a 72-disc box set, or as he states “adding discs until the Caravan of Timboxia comes home.” I dunno what that means, but it sounds like a lot.
As may be expected of his autism, Timbox often communicates in very strange ways. His description of
Dexter’s Odyssey reads like what a DVD case would vomit, full of technical film terms like “aspect ratio,” “matte paintings,” and “hand composited.” Like the plot for
Dexter’s Odyssey, these seem to be born out of his dreams rather than anything he’s actually working on.
A description of Dexter’s Odyssey or so. Or so, or so. OR SO. OR SO.
The Milk
Most of Tim’s content comes from his two YouTube channels. His
first is over four years old and contains the most videos, and his
newer one mainly consists of a
DL quiz series. The videos give a unique insight into his world and perspective on life, documenting his various projects, aspirations, and the minutiae of his existence. He has also attempted filmmaking several times.
This reminds me of the other night at the bar…
Timbox also maintains a
tumblr where he mostly just reblogs the
Dexter’s Lab tag. Here he also posts “updates” for his dream projects, including his poorly Photoshopped artwork. His
Facebook is mostly the same stuff.
No organized trolling efforts have been made against Timbox, though he does deal with his share of hateful YouTube comments. Like Ulillillia, he typically brushes these off and continues talking about
Dexter’s Lab. He is so into his world and his interests that they may, in fact, be the only things capable of phasing him emotionally. Occasionally he’ll respond to inquiries, but mostly to clarify or talk more about
DL.
Something interesting to consider is Timbox’s sexuality. See this video:
This is sorta what I sound like when I get a new bag of Tostitos.
In the description, Timbox apologizes for masturbating. It is unclear whether or not he’s doing this while filming, and in a
similar video he explains his cooing sounds may just be “love calls.” He may simply not understand what masturbation is, or may be expressing his love for
DL by imitating what he sees others do for, say, a pet. Of course, he could simply be beating off to
Dexter’s Lab, which is creepy and hilarious. But honestly, he is probably asexual. His life literally is his interests.
If he is sexual, he’s definitely got an Asian fetish.
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| Asian girls everywhere, or so. |
The Big Picture
Lolcows are often criticized by trolls for contributing nothing to society. Oftentimes, it’s used as justification to mock or troll them. Lolcow poster child Chris-chan, for instance, is often chided for being on welfare even though he could probably work. Though Timbox is obviously lower-functioning and probably receives support from his parents, the criticism could still be used against him.
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| Timbox with his mother |
Timbox
is funny, and people have the right to laugh at him. His artwork is bad, his ideas for films are ridiculous, and the way he expresses himself is confusing and hilarious. If people can laugh at my voice, or make fun of George W. Bush for using words like “strategery,” then people can also laugh at Timbox.
But criticism? That’s a different thing.
There is a line between mockery and hatred that the internet, in all its enabling power, typically encourages people to cross. It’s crossed by saying autistics are “worthless retards,” or by telling Justin Bieber to kill himself rather than simply saying his music sucks, or
sending a little girl death threats because she’s attention-seeking.
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| Justin Bieber, responding to his detractors. |
So is it okay to laugh at disabled people?
It depends on what you’re laughing at: the person, or what the person does, just as with any other inalienable human characteristic. No one, absolutely no one, can control who they are. No one is funny just for being autistic, or being black, or being trans, or anything else.
But anyone can act silly, and people do stupid shit all the time.
We can find humor in all subjects and all people, but taste is important, as well as perspective, because we’re all limited by our own.
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