Thoughts on memes
According to The Virian Lexicon: MEME: (pron. `meem') A contagious information pattern that replicates by symbiotically infecting human minds and altering their behavior, causing them to propagate the pattern. (Term coined by Dawkins, by analogy with "gene".) Individual slogans, catch-phrases, melodies, icons, inventions, and fashions are typical memes. An idea or information pattern is not a meme until it causes someone to replicate it, to repeat it to someone else. All transmitted knowledge is memetic. (Wheelis, quoted in Hofstadter.)
I ran across a rather disturbing meme today, featured (as always,) on Blogdex. It goes by the name of the The Mystery of Dalar. The thing which makes it disturbing is the fact that it's a commercial dressed up like a documentary. We're all aquainted with infomercials, but this one goes a bit too far... The thing is, the whole shebang seems to be fictious. If something is a commercial, it should clearly be labeled as such. Passing fiction off as fact in order to sell a product may be common practice by some, but Volvo should know better.
PS. Check out the Excorcist Bunnies... Yes, I spread memes, proudly so.
Baby-ETA: Unknown
A quick note on the yet-to-be-born members of our family: It could be any day now. If I suddenly go silent for a month you'll know why...