Word: memes
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...cultural life is full of things that seem to propagate virus-like from one mind to another: tunes, ideas, catchphrases, fashions, ways of making pots or building arches. In 1976 I coined the word meme (rhymes with cream) for these self-replicating units of culture that have a life of their...
Since then, like any good meme, it has infected the culture. To quantify this "metamemetic" statement, I did a quick search of the World Wide Web. The adjectival form "memetic" clocked up 5,042 mentions. To put this into perspective, I compared a few other recently coined words or fashionable expressions. Spin doctor (or spin-doctor) got 1,412 mentions, dumbing down 3,905, docudrama (or docu-drama) 2,848, sociobiology 6,679, zippergate 1,752, studmuffin 776, post-structural (or poststructural...
...Foucaultian paradigm wherein all actions, even involuntary motions or "fakes" or failures (quarterback sacked), coalesce in meaning, and everything that the game organizes in the way of objects, rites, customs (the superstitious butt slapping, the narcissistically erotic Bob Fosse touchdown dances) constitutes a coherent whole--the game lui-meme. Foucault saw pro football as the quintessential mutation of the Classical quadrilateral of language into the Modern anthropological quadrilateral. Actually, he didn't. But it amuses me to think he might have. Ha ha, Boomer Esiason...
...powerful moments occurred when they deviated from the typhoon of pop hits. With just an acoustic guitar, mournful vocals and a single spotlight, Griffin silenced the crowd with a beautiful, delicate rendition of "Porcelain." Later, Griffin stopped the concert in order to playfully explain the lyrics of "Happy Day, MeMe", which was inspired by the joy he felt waking up to the still-sleeping face of a loved...
Ironically, the Meme and Replicon implants, which are actually no different from ordinary silicone implants except for an added layer of polyurethane foam, were considered by many surgeons to be the best on the market. The older, smooth-shelled variety tended to cause surrounding tissue to tighten into a fibrous mass, sometimes leaving the breast misshapen and hard to the touch. But the polyurethane foam coating of the Surgitek products prevented this from happening by substantially increasing the surface area of the implant. When the neighboring tissue contracts, it does not become too compact. Surgeons who have used the models...