A Meme...

Pinterest and other social networking sites have increased the usage and popularity of this word, however it has been around for over forty years.

Have you ever received a forward, or watched a trending video on Youtube?  If so, you have experienced the marvelous and wonderful internet "meme.".

Today the word meme can be used to describe something that is shared by on the internet - - an "internet meme."  A simple search of "meme" on Pinterest will give a bunch of examples.

A meme is defined in the Webster's dictionary as, "an idea, behavior, style or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture."

The Oxford English Dictionary indicates that the word "meme" has its origins in biology as "a cultural element or behavioural trait whose transmission and consequent persistence in a population, although occurring by non-genetic means (esp. imitation), is considered as analogous to the inheritance of a gene."  R. Dawkins, coined the phrase in his book entitled, the "Selfish Gene."

In the Selfish Gene your favorite evolutionary biologist said, "The new soup is the soup of human culture. We need a name for the new replicator, a noun which conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation. ‘Mimeme’ comes from a suitable Greek root, but I want a monosyllable that sounds a bit like ‘gene’. I hope my classicist friends will forgive me if I abbreviate mimeme to meme.‥ It should be pronounced to rhyme with ‘cream’. Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches."

A Mostly True Account of How States Got Their Names - Delaware

Once Upon a Time...

there once was a governor of the English colony at Jamestown. I'm sure it will surprise you that this governor's name was Sir Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr. Do you get it? Try saying it a little faster, "De La Warr" Now slur the sounds together and what word do you get? "Delawarr."

Does anyone hear a similarity to the governor's name and the name of a State? To the refined ear, it seems like there is a similarity. But it may require further examination to determine if there is really

The Story Continues...

as Lord Dela Ware apparently spent a lot of time marketing his name, not only to the settlers, but also to the River, which took his name, and even the local Indian tribe came to be known in some circles as Delaware Indians. I sometimes think that some people believe that although the Indians were around long before Lord Dellla War E, they spent years trying to decide what to call themselves.

"Geez" they said, "if only we had a name, I hope someone comes to give us a name after all these centuries."

Lord De La Wear came, and they said, "Perfect, we shall name ourselves after the person that rallied the invaders who will eventually decimate our lands and our people."

Contrary to this perspective, the Indians in that area did have a name prior to the arrival of the Lord Del La Warr liberation...it was the Lenape Indians.

The Big Picture...

A note on words, words have power, and one of their powers is to attempt to rename a people and essentially erase a heritage that existed for years. When the Japanese invaded Taiwan in the late 19th Century, they forced the Taiwanese to learn Japanese and not their native tongue. Does that sound familiar today?

Candidate Santorum said of Puerto Rico to be a state "English needs to be the principal language... There are other states with more than one language, like Hawaii, but to be a state of the United States, English must be the principal language."

Why would this matter? It is possible that you erase a language and after a generation or two, destroy a heritage and thereby dominate a people? Words are power!

Pinterest for Writers - How to Write

Pinterest, as it says on their website, is a virtual pinboard and I think that it can help a person know how to write.  Or at least improve their writing.  It is a great resource to help writers keep track of research and inspire stories!

There are so many things that I find online that might inspire my writing.  It could be a particular picture or maybe a quote or a possibly a poem.  There are several options available to a writer to keep track of all of these writing seeds. 

One options would be to print everything out and then keep information in different folders (done that), another option would be to post a link of it to my Facebook page (done that), still another option would be to tweet it, to email a link to it, to memorize it, or to use your digital camera and take a picture of it.  Unfortunately, while there are a lot of options, none of these tools are necessarily designed to be convenient for a writer. 

Pinterest looks like a tool that might be especially helpful to writers.  The following link is to a blog post by Tracey Neithercott.  She does a great job summarizing her experiences with Pinterest as a writer. 

http://thewordsonpaper.blogspot.com/2011/08/pinterest-for-writers.html

Vince Flynn Delays Release of Kill Shot

On a trip to Las Vegas Nevada with the family this weekend, I started reading the first Vince Flynn book, Term Limits.  So far I am fifty pages in and the pacing is excellent and I am really enjoying it. 

I'm in the middle of great turmoil in my own work-in-progress as I am trying to figure out what genre to target.  My work in progress has a lot of elements of a spy-technological thriller.  But I realized the other day that I haven't actually read that many "thriller" type novels.  I mean, I read Tom Clancy growing up, but nothing recently.  So, I started "Term Limits."

Here is an update from Mr. Flynn regarding the impending release of his next novel, wishing him the best.

http://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/131406873_Thriller_author__battling_cancer__delays_next_book.html

http://www.vinceflynn.com/Vince_Statement.html

How to Be A Writer - - New York Times Best Seller List

This all important list has been around since 1942 and is published every week. What writer wouldn't want to be included on these lists!! These writers absolutely know how to be a writer.  If I know enough about them, maybe I could find out how to be a writer as well. It might be considered the holy grail of both writing and publishing. The basis for the rankings are actual sales of books - - and it serves as an often reliable source for those interested in finding good reading.

It is, however, also a tool for writers. Doing your homework on the New York Times Best Seller list can give a writer the sense of what the public finds intriguing in any number of genres. This list can also point a writer to other authors who have been successful. These writers often include advice to other authors on their personal blogs.

For writers, an awareness of the New York Times Best Seller List is helpful in understanding the trends and market for their future best seller.

The next NYT Best Seller List comes out August 7

For the Current Best Seller List - - Click Here

Bill Cosby on Fatherhood

As a boy, I listened to Bill Cosby on my grandfather's record player.  My brother and I would memorize the routines and do our best comedy skits on roadtrips.  As a 10 and 8 year old, we both thought we were very funny.  How to be a writer?  Comedic timing, and relevant topics!

Couple Raising "Gender-Free" Child

Interesting analysis and discussion. Dr. Drew seems to have a relatively balanced perspective.  I'm not exactly sure what this has to do with "how to be a writer."  Still, this remains an intersting perspective, right? right.