There have been a fair handful of references by Metafilter users over the years to this Orwell quote, from his novel 1984:

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stomping on a human face — forever.”

Some of those references have been direct quotes, with or without irony; others have been less faithful to George. For example: “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a dachsund loading a tennis ball launcher — forever.”

It has been quoted straight by mefites in reference to:

- the US gov’t spidering the web
- torture by US soldiers
- Raytheon’s pain-ray gun
- Iraq vet mistreatment
- The television show Big Brother
- Habeas Corpus
- Facebook.com
- Blackwater

The more creative reinterpretations of the phrase include, aside from the dachsund line above, these:

- imagine a clown kicking you in the nuts — forever.
- imagine a taser being used on anyone who makes a fuss — forever.
- imagine a shoe tapping on a bathroom floor - forever
- imagine a llama spitting on a human face—forever!
- imagine innovative marketing stamping on a human face—forever.
- “imagine a Cole Haan stamping on a human face - forever.” –Young Republican Intern.
- imagine a biodegradable, vegan, pleather stilletto boot stomping on a human face forever

There are also more allusive bits here and there, bringing out one bit or another of the phrase without bothering with the whole quote:

- “There’s that saying about a boot repeatedly stomping on a face, forever”
- “Talk about a boot stomping on a human face, forever.”
- “ Boot stomping on human face forever, etc. etc.”
- “(a boot stomping a face)”
- “a nice picture of a boot stomping a human face?”
- “Metafilter: a boot stomping on a human face — forever.”

And even, like some rug tying this Orwello-canine room together, “Imagine a little dachshund going around in circles in a wading pool forever”.

These are what I could glean from some searching on metafilter alone; I’m sure there’s a lot more that could be culled from some general googling, but this is proof at least of some of the snowclone-ish flexibility of Orwell’s stark caricature.