I finally had to look this phrase up, after hearing it for the umpteenth time (today, on a mailing list, in re: the new Intel enabled MacBook's, as pictured here)
Overlord meme - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Overlord meme The Overlord meme is a snowclone using the following template: I, for one, welcome our new X overlords.It is used to express mock submission, usually for the purpose of humor, and became popular in the early 21st century, on internet forums such as Slashdot. Here X describes (often in a humorous or overgeneralized fashion) some (often corporate or government) entity that is making a power grab.
The original quote is from the 1994 episode of The Simpsons, “Deep Space Homer”, when news announcer Kent Brockman believes the Earth to be under invasion by giant space ants. Fearing for his life he announces his willingness to collaborate with the invaders:
Ladies and gentlemen, uh, we've just lost the picture, but what we've seen speaks for itself. The Corvair spacecraft has apparently been taken over- 'conquered' if you will- by a master race of giant space ants. It's difficult to tell from this vantage point whether they will consume the captive Earthmen or merely enslave them. One thing is for certain: there is no stopping them; the ants will soon be here. And I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords. I'd like to remind them as a trusted TV personality, I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar caves.
A related template, also popular, is
I, for one, welcome our new X masters.
