Friday, August 5, 2011

How Geeks Keep Calm

I'm sure you've all seen the British war poster Keep Calm and Carry On many times. (Oh so many, many times.) And while I think we can all agree it's been done to death by now, I still get a kick out of a good geek parody. Here are some of my favorites:





found by Clare L., £9.99 at Getting Shirty (ships world-wide)

And two more from the same site:





Moss from The IT Crowd

(If you don't get this one, go watch the IT Crowd on Netflix Streaming, stat.)


$20.40 from Impossible Alice

I'm surprised I couldn't find a better Potter parody. Why isn't there a "Keep Calm and Snitch On" with a flying snitch over the text? (There *is* a "Keep Calm and Catch the Snitch", but that sounds dumb to me.)


I found lots of versions of this one:

$14 from Flippin' Sweet Gear
($24 for women's sizes, though - ouch!)

You can also get it with a game controller instead of a mushroom, and in any color.


Love the electrical tape on the glasses here:

$19.95 from 604Republic (men's sizes only - curses!)



I've posted this one before, but it's still one of my favs:

Only $10 at Busted Tees , although it looks like they only have men's sizes left. (Or maybe that's all they ever had, since it looks like the model's wearing a men's cut. What the heck, geek tee makers?!)


Not a t-shirt, but a great poster:

Starting at $6.88 from artist SevenHundred


Haven't found this one on a shirt yet, either:

Found via this Tumblr blog, no credit given. (Anyone know?)


For my fellow craft geeks:

Found via NotCot, appears to be discontinued (Nooo!)

Check out the crown made of wrenches! I love it.


This is different enough to perhaps not count as a parody, but I like it anyway:

From Teefury, a shirt-a-day site, so it's no longer available. (Curses! Foiled again!)


As a fan of wordplay AND Trek, I especially like this one:

$25.99 from Cool Tees
(where it's also available on everything from magnets to iPod cases)

Heh. Aheh. Heh.

("There's Klingons on the starboard bow! Scrape 'em off, Jim!")


I also couldn't find a great Firefly version; just a "Keep Flying and Stay Shiny." Meh. Not great.


And since I couldn't find the Disney one I'd like to see, I went to the Keep Calm-O-Matic site and made it myself:


My star looks icky and should be smaller, but a graphic designer I am not.


So tell me, geeks, what would *your* parody say?

101 comments:

  1. Here's your better Harry Potter one!

    http://www.redbubble.com/people/keepcalm/t-shirts/7425752-keep-calm-and-marry-ron-shirt

    LOVE the tardis shirt...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ah, but Etsy has more Potter options, including this: http://www.etsy.com/listing/58640244/keep-calm-and-conjure-a-patronus-charm-8

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  3. Oh my goodness, I laughed out loud at the Moss shirt.I need one.I love IT Crowd.
    Love your blog too :)

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  4. This is my favorite Star Wars one
    Although truth be told it's the only Star Wars one I've seen.

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  5. I totally agree with you that the "Keep Calm..." is overplayed and overused. Ready for crafters, slogan makers, etc to move on.

    However....I will be purchasing that Doctor Who one. I'm growing quite the collection of Tardis shirts. :)

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  6. It would be a little long, but how about "Keep Calm and Oh God Oh God We're All Going to Die" for a Firefly version?

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  7. I really like Keep Calm and Call Batman.

    The two Harry Potter ones I love are:

    Keep Calm and Trust Snape
    and
    Keep Calmand Epecto Patronum.

    Oh, and a great Zelda one is about Majora's mask:
    Keep Calm and Play the Song.

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  8. Keep Calm
    and
    Smeg Off

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  9. And I know DH will be getting for his birthday - http://www.gettingshirty.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=303&zenid=vtvpce8b4tio6i7k8rji3hmko6.

    A day doesn't go by that he doesn't quote The IT Crowd

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  10. There's a shirt I have inspired by A Very Potter Musical that looks like the Harry Potter one you posted but it says "Keep Calm It's gonna be totally awesome!"

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  11. I knit and crochet, and I've seen one at ravelry.com that says "Keep Calm and Carry Yarn" :-)

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  12. I wrote the makers of "be Happy and Make things" requesting that they bring it back, it's the first one I've seen that was exactly how *I* feel, thanks for the link!

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  13. I love the Star Trek one! It is perfect!

    I couldn't tell if the price you gave was for the women''s cut or the men's cut. I prefer men's cut tees just because I'm more comfortable in them. Was it available in men's cut?

    This was an awesome post!

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  14. If someone made one with a picture of a little blond Muppet that said "Keep Calm and Prairie Dawn" I would totally buy it for my daughter. Make it happen, she's a size 3T!

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  15. I Love Keep Calm and Carry On shirts!!
    I have one of the originals which i wear to exams, cause my other half wanted to remind me to not panic.
    He also has the Get Excited and Make Things shirt, well. He is an engineer after all :)

    Sam

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  16. @ Kristin E. - yes, the Klingon one is available in just about every style, from what I remember. I posted the women's cut and price, but hit the link and you'll find the men's, too.

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  17. Props @Mollie. You beat me to it! It's available via starkid.com at the Ann Arbour T-shirt Company for those interested.
    Mollie, meet me at Pigfarts.

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  18. Helen the Snowy OwlAugust 5, 2011 at 3:33 PM

    "Get excited and make things" may no longer exist as a teeshirt but is still available as a wallpaper

    Somewhere, one of my friends found me a badge just like this one http://ww2poster.co.uk/2010/04/keep-calm-im-a-girl-guide/keep-calm-im-a-girl-guide which I think is amazing!

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  19. One of my FAVORITES was the parody for the Professor Layton games. :D

    Keep Solving and Carry On

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  20. Oooh, I'll keep calm and trust Snape. :) There were a couple of girls at the opening night of DH2 with the wand and snitch shirts - the wand one is ok, but the snitch is a bit weak. And the Ron one is super fun.

    Too bad 'Neville' doesn't even remotly rhyme with 'calm' - he definitely deserves a tribute shirt!

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  21. This was my brother's personal motto when he was diagnosed with cancer two years ago at the age of twenty. We live in Salt lake, and whenever he was feeling bad he would go for a short hike and just look around at the scenery. Luckily he is now cancer free (a year exactly from tomorrow), but he still have two variations of it he used last year:
    1. Keep calm and hike on
    2. Keep calm and love on

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  22. We are BIG Phineas and Ferb fans in this house (me, the hubs AND the three-year-old daughter). I just saw one of these floating around on Tumblr that says "Keep Calm and Where's Perry?" I would so buy that if it were a real thing.

    Also, I was very into The State in high school So mine would probably say "Keep Calm and Dip Your Balls in It" or something.

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  23. Keep Calm and Add More Butter. (I'm a baker, can you tell?)

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  24. I found this poster on Etsy for Dr. Horrible and kept is as my background at work. The "Keep Calm and..." might be overdone, but I love to see what people come up with for their favourite things!

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  25. I would totally buy Anonymous' Firefly one! Somebody needs to make it happen!!

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  26. What about
    Keep Calm
    and
    Do not
    Bounce

    For Dr. Horrible?

    Or

    Keep Calm,
    Wonderflonium
    On board

    (:

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  27. I am always the last to realize trends--please don't tell me the "Keep Calm and Carry On" is overdone, I just dicovered it!

    And it is TIMELESS.

    (so says a mom with four young children--I think moms are the target demographic for that particular graphic trend)

    My personal T would probably say:

    Keep Calm and Carry Chocolate

    (dark, that is--but not as catchy on a tee)

    as I once explained to a girlfriend, "Sometimes just knowing the chocolate is there makes all the difference."

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  28. I like the "Now Panic and Freak Out" ones, just cause we need to have a parody of a parody.

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  29. I'm going to be giggling at that song for the rest of the day.

    "Boldly going forward cus we can't find Reverse!"

    Totally over the Keep Calm trend. Have been for awhile I can appreciate that people are coming up with more and more stuff, and I appreciate their creativity with it, but there comes a point.

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  30. I just wanted to add, for anyone needing it, in response to the first shirt: 07700900461

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  31. My friend has created a t-shirt for just about every Harry Potter book or movie release. For the last movie, our shirts read "Keep Calm and Destroy Voldemort"

    I'll see if I can find a picture later.

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  32. Keep Calm
    and
    Read On


    Merry from Annie's Book Stop/Sharon, MA

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  33. Moss, Hitchhiker's, Dr. Horrible...too. many. choices. good stuff :)

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  34. For Supernatural fans, I've seen "Keep Calm and Carry On My Wayward Son" with the Impala as the image at the top. Works if you're just a Kansas fan, too.

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  35. KEEP
    CALM
    and
    SNAP
    ON

    I'm such a photography geek :)

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  36. There's a Snape one with a little deer icon that says Keep Calm and Trust Snape :)

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  37. OMG I LOVE THE DR HORRIBLE ONE! My boyfriend, his roommate, and I are dressing up a la Dr Horrible (and crew) for halloween! We've already got the costumes planned out!

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  38. Always look forward to reading your blog each day! How about a shirt with a small suitcase or backpack (or computer case!) that says
    "Keep.com and carry-on"? Well, that's not a real website (yet, anyway)...

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  39. But... Roy's the one who says turn it off and on again, not Moss.

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  40. I am so excited! We must be on the same wave length. I got out all my stuff to make some t-shirts and could not settle on an idea. Now I am inspired!

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  41. keep calm and stop damaging mine

    :D

    bwahahahahahahaha I crack myself up!!

    -Barbara Anne

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  42. Apparently I'm behind on the trend, because I only noticed this catch phrase in the last few months. I just googled a few that are so fun...I'm addicted...I can't stop...looking...

    Keep calm and eat cupcakes (Janet Evanovich fans anywhere?)

    Keep calm and carry rum (Aye, Capt Sparrow!)

    Keep calm and use your powers of deuction (Robert Downy Jr. is MY Sherlock Holmes :)

    Keep calm and make it so

    Keep calm and stay on target (Stay on target, stay on target...crash!)

    Keep calm and put a stopper in death (and listen to Alan Rickman read the phonebook...swoon...)

    Keep calm and bazinga

    Keep calm and dial the gate (I miss that show!)

    Keep calm and Cary Elwes

    Original:
    Keep calm and beam me up
    Keep calm and make Earl Grey, hot
    Keep calm and kiss a wookie
    Keep calm and sing soft kitty
    Keep calm and storm the castle
    Keep calm and say NI
    Keep calm and cake wreck on

    Ok, now that I've wasted like, an hour of my life...although a very entertaining hour to be sure...must stop...ahhh!

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  43. There most definitely IS a 'Don't Panic and Carry a Towel' shirt; my brother has it!

    It's at ThinkGeek :D http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/unisex/popculture/dd38/

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  44. My favorite "Keep Calm" spoof:

    http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.124827578.jpg

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  45. REMAIN CALM and have a cupcake.

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  46. I big puffy heart the IT Crowd :)

    I need a NASA one... Keep Calm and Lift Off?

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  47. I LOVE this one http://www.zazzle.ca/keep_calm_tshirt-235740706224625720 for all my fellow LARP geek friends.

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  48. My sister wants the Doctor shirt; I want the Dalek one. Then, we'll wear them at the same time while I run around with a plunger yelling "Exterminate!" and she'll get my sonic screwdriver and be looking for someone named Alonzo to yell "Allons-y!" at. :D

    ~Elizabeth Glover

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  49. My favorite was KEEP CALM AND DON'T BLINK.
    http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l8bjb7rv8U1qzhf66o1_500.jpg

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  50. What, no Star Trekkin' comments?

    Thank I shall fix that!

    IT IS STUCK IN MY HEAD NOW THANK YOU.

    (there are many worse songs though, so I can't complain -too- much)

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  51. I'd stick with keep calm and carry on, but I'd have a tiny piece of luggage underneath (because it is much easier to keep calm if I don't have to check my bags).
    Not so geeky, but that's all I got.

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  52. I've seen this one as a t-shirt a few times now, I have no idea where to find one though.

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  53. the only problem with wearing shirts with cute sayings is that people want to talk to you when you wear them....mine would say "keep calm and shut up already"

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  54. I would like "Keep Calm and Suture On."

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  55. I can't believe no one has suggested Keep Calm and Carry Duct Tape yet.

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  56. My all-time-favourite version http://paulkidby.com/tshirts/panic-1.html

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  57. As for the Busted tee coming only in Men's sizes...SOME girls can't wear girly-cut tees due to overactive sweat glands and the ensuing pit stains. Just sayin'.

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  58. BEST Harry Potter "Keep Calm" ever?

    http://ibuiltitforscience.tumblr.com/post/7594036217/want

    Yes. Yes it is.

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  59. This one amuses me greatly.

    I also love 'Get Excited and Make Things'. Also this, this, this and this.

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  60. How about the Cakewrecks version? I was imagining the iconic baby carrot jockey with the slogan "Keep Calm and Carrot On" but I'm sure others could do better.

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  61. From someone on a Supernatural board:
    Keep Calm and Carry On Wayward Son.

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  62. My sister is a printmaker/artist and she made up a fab version: Panic and Wreak Havoc. You can see it here: http://kidsbyhand.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/remember-that-poster/

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  63. I now wish I had one with a picture of Tim Gunn that says "Trust Tim and Carry On"

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  64. Keep Calm and Carry a Towel is SUPPOSED to be Don't Panic (and carry a towel. After all those are the words written on the cover of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

    So long and thanks for all the fish.:)

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  65. As a table top gamer, I would like, "Keep Calm and Roll On" with a set of twenty sided dice. :)

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  66. I had a very rough first half of the year, so a couple months ago my husband bought me a pink bookmark with the "Keep Calm and Eat a Cupcake" logo on it. Sweet! I love it.

    Our family, too, are Phineas and Ferb fans. So yeah, I'd go for a "Perry On" shirt, a Candace "Bust On" shirt, or even a Doofenschmirtz "Inator On". That would be awesome!

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  67. Harry Potter Keep Calm

    My personal favorite is "Keep calm and when in doubt go to the library."

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  68. I love the Don't Panic graphic! Might have to print an iron-on and make myself a shirt (and hubby) a shirt.

    And now back to procrastinating...because who needs clean clothes anyway?

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  69. Hmmmm... I think mine would have a picture Captain Jack Harkness and say "Keep Calm and Flirt On."

    I need one of those DW shirts!

    Or for any fellow agility enthusiasts, "Keep Calm and Go Tunnel" or, "Keep Clam and Clean Run."

    Ah! Now I can't stop making them! This might end in a trip to Michael's for iron-on letters!

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  70. i like this one http://www.zazzle.com/keep_calm_and_party_on_tshirt-235554655626167311

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  71. We had 'Keep Calm and Carry Wands' on posters at the Harry Potter Con I ran a couple of weeks ago, and we found out a con next year have stuff with that, too :p We also had 'Careless Spells Cost Lives' and some others.

    More awesomely, we got a friend to draw a 'Keep Calm and Carry Ron' and you can see the picture of the picture, briefly in this epic (and brief) video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gWA9UEkAL0

    I'm sure I saw t shirts with at least 3 other slogans not mentioned here but I don't remember them :p

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  72. Blessed, you're not the last--I hadn't heard of it until reading this post. Does that make me a bad geek? :-)

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  73. Keep Calm
    and
    Don't Cross the Streams

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  74. While brushing my teeth I thought of:
    Keep Calm and it's bigger on the inside.

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  75. Okay, that was just fun. I call it, "Wait, there's NO Star Wars 7?" in honor of my nephew.

    Here you go.

    ReplyDelete
  76. www.flyredbutterfly.blogspot.comAugust 7, 2011 at 5:49 AM

    Have just ordered the Tardis shirt-Loved it so much! Thanks for the link Go geeky girls who love Sci-Fi!

    :) Claire

    ReplyDelete
  77. Love the Doctor Who ones! Especially the Dalek tee. I have too many Doctor Who tees already, though...I have to balance out my geekiness a bit.

    Not a "keep calm and carry on" parody, but today's shirt on Woot! is an adorable Dr. Horrible design.

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  78. For all the times I've watched the Mummy Movies.
    Keep Calm
    and
    Pedal Faster Winston !!

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  79. Jen, The crafting shirt made me think of this http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/process/mace.html

    I don't know why we need a mace, other than that we think we are british or something, but I think it's hilarios that the one we used for fifty years was made out of scrap material. I wish there was a better picture. I actually think it's way cooler than the one we use now.

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  80. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  81. so happy I have a Yudu screen printer - I am totally going to make my own "get excited and make things" shirt!

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  82. I saw posters at a knitting show with
    KEEP CALM
    and
    CAST ON

    but my all time favourite I saw on someone's blog is:

    SHUT UP
    and
    GO
    AWAY

    ...which if it was a t-shirt,I would wear every day..

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  83. Thank you for the brilliant link! I can not wait to make one and love the one you came up with.

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  84. How about...Keep calm and Oh, What the hell?

    sorry my sarcastic roots couldn't stop me from that one. :)

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  85. I'm going thru a horriffic divorce, and on really bad days can spend a couple hours in a zen trance rearranging the trees on my Farmville Farm. So my Tee would say, "Keep Calm and Farm On"
    ~deb

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  86. How 'bout: Keep calm and boot'em in a warp drive.
    or
    Keep calm and reverse the polarity of the neutron flow!
    or
    Keep calm and carry a sonic screwdriver.

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  87. Have you seen this? It's fun, but addictive. I came up with this (my name isn't Sam btw...).

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  88. There's a Rincewind "Panic and Freak Out" one here but it's not very obvious it's meant to be him, sadly.

    I saw one somewhere with a picture of a cannabis leaf and the slogan "Skin Up and Chill Out" which despite not being a toker myself, I quite enjoyed for the sheer lack of effort that had gone into making it sound remotely like the original. Probably very appropriate.

    I am sick of this particular trend tbh, but the ones in the OP (and comments) really made me laugh, so they must be pretty damn good!

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  89. http://www.zazzle.com/keep_calm_tshirt-235740706224625720

    Here's my larper version of it. "Lay on" is the typical cry for game on.

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  90. Couldn't find it digitally and its not quite a geek version, but I bought a card recently with "Get Mad and Throw Stuff" on it. I feel it goes hand in had with the "Get Excited and Make Things" shirt for those time when its just not quiiiite working out.

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  91. I linked something I alreasy read you knowing about. Blame it on the summer holiday.....

    So sorry.

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  92. Mine would have to say


    KEEP
    CALM.

    PANICKING
    IS MY JOB


    =)

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  93. Firefly:
    Keep calm and carry Vera
    http://bit.ly/qgR9LJ

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  94. Keep Calm And Read The Instructions.

    Or

    Keep Calm And Carry A Knife

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  95. I can't resist adding a few more

    "Forget Calm - Carry On" I'm sure most the mothers out there will agree that their kids follow this one!

    Also "Keep Calm I Have Sugar" Which pushes it.

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  96. Mine says "Keep Calm and Boldly Go".

    http://www.zazzle.com/ncc170what/gifts?cg=196639203533145729

    Since my last name is pronounced exactly the same way as a certain swashbuckling navigator on TOS (only with a silent H), it makes perfect sense.

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  97. I like Keep calm and call mom. http://www.cafepress.com/cafepretzel/7170209

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  98. found a girls version of the geek one, and you make me want to add so many of these to my closet

    http://www.etsy.com/listing/101965057/womens-shirt-keep-calm-and-geek-on-shirt

    ReplyDelete
  99. the unknown one is from the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.

    ReplyDelete

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