"What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent Chinese meal?" I mark the death of Australian cultural icon Jack Karlson, who passed away today at age 82 from cancer. Karlson was born Cecil George Edwards in 1942. A colourful character, Karlson spent a significant period of his life at Her Majesty's pleasure. Starting in his childhood, he found himself frequently on the wrong side of the law, and it was one of those run-ins with the local constabulary that made him a genuine Australian legend. Footage of Karlson's October 1991 arrest by Queensland police outside the China Sea Restaurant in Fortitude Valley has become, in the words of the BBC, "Australia's most viral meme", and in the words of theNew York Post, "legendary". It has inspired T-shirts, a musical, a million-dollar racehorse and a red wine called "Get Your Hands Off My Pinot". As part of his important legacy, may democracy manifest long in this place. Jack Karlson, ta ta and farewell.