Half-life in miniature painting

This is a topic that got my attention during the last couple of years and seems increasingly important to me.

Half-life is the period of time it takes for a substance undergoing decay to decrease by half. The name was originally used to describe a characteristic of unstable atoms but may apply to any quantity which follows a set-rate decay.

This wiki-quote says it pretty much. Transfered to the world of miniature painting, what does this mean? From the very beginning of my hobby, I have always been active on the internet. Sharing ideas, communicating with other painters and presenting latest projects made me a way better painter than I could have become without this endless source of visualized information. At that time, certain miniatures accompanied me on a stony ground for many years, serving as inspiring models.

Nowadays, much of the before said seems to change dramatically. While the exchange based on partnership on the internet still works very well (maybe even better than ten years ago), I sense a quickened "consumption" of painted miniatures. Sites like cmon and dozens of forums across the globe boost this trend without being aware of it. I can see (and rate) hundreds of minis every day, making the hobby a dull routine rather than a precious moment. Personally, I think this development harms the value of a miniature in many people's minds (again, without even being aware of it).

What was the latest miniature that made you pause and stayed in your mind for more than a week (-two weeks? - a month?) ?

I will never forget Goatman's bretonnian lady....

Chris