What Would Jimmy Do?

I think I touched on this a long time ago, but at lunch the other day, my friend mentioned how the Internet had changed our lives and had created news words and terms. He said he never heard the term “meme” before the Internet and still wasn’t sure what it meant. 
Well, to set things straight (maybe) memes didn’t start with the Internet. Some linguists argue that humans have used memes to communicate for centuries.

The term meme was coined by British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene. He used it to describe a unit of cultural transmission or imitation, analogous to a gene in biological evolution. Dawkins derived the word from the Greek word mimeme (meaning “that which is imitated”) and shortened it to make it more concise and memorable. Memes, in Dawkins’ sense, refer to ideas, behaviors, or styles that spread within a culture through replication and adaption. 

My friend was right though — the term really came into its own when the Internet and social media came along. 
Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit allow users to share and repost content instantly. That creates an environment where humorous or relatable ideas can spread rapidly, mimicking the viral nature Dawkins originally described. 

Memes often reflect current events, pop culture, and social issues. Their ability to encapsulate complex ideas or emotions in a concise and/or humorous way makes them highly relatable.
Internet users often remix or adapt memes, adding their own spin while keeping the core idea intact. This creative participation encourages widespread engagement.
And social medial algorithms prioritize highly engaging content, which memes often are. A funny or clever meme can go viral, reaching millions in a short time. 

So Dawkins came up with the concept and name, but social media transformed the meme from a broad cultural idea into a fast-moving form of digital communication, tailored for the Internet age.
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I like music — but I’m not a musician. That’s one regret I have — I never learned to play a musical instrument. I was pretty much forced to take piano lessons when I was little, but after a couple of lessons I still couldn’t play “Tiger Rag,” or any song for that matter. I figured I wasn’t cut out for it and quit. Big mistake, but that’s another story. 

I think it’s amazing that the musical notation on a sheet of music looks as confusing as a calculus formula. But if you’re a musician, it’s a clear and concise road map that shows the way — most any competent musician can play a piece he’s never heard before, and it comes out more or less as the composer intended. 
Well, anyhow, that got me to wondering about how this musical “language” came about…..

It appears that a lot of the details of the current musical notation evolved over the centuries, but from what I’ve read, the fundamentals can be traced back to one person — Guido of Arezzo, an Italian monk that lived between 990 and 1050. Here’s a bit of what I found out about Guido…..

There had been some rudimentary forms of musical notation known to the Western world for centuries. In Guido’s time, a system of notation known as “neumes” were used as guides to Gregorian chants. Neumes were squiggly, and kind of vague, little notations that told the singers to “sing high here” or “sing low there.” They worked pretty good for people who already knew the piece of music, but they were pretty useless if the singer or musician didn’t. Musicians really had to learn musical pieces by ear — from other musicians.
Guido’s idea was to refine the stage — the parallel lines that are used to denote a particular pitch. The version that was being used had only two lines for the C and F notes. Guido added two more lines — one below the C and one between the C and F. His new staff clearly showed the relationship that each each musical note had with the others surrounding it. 

As might be expected, Guido’s new-fangled musical ideas weren’t readily accepted — the older generation didn’t think much of it. In fact he was kicked out of two monasteries because the other monks didn’t like his style — I guess the nice way to put it is they had “creative differences.”
But despite all that, Guido was becoming well known. Pope John XIX heard about Guido’s new ideas and invited him to Rome. Guido taught the Pope how t read music. The Pope was so impressed with him that he urged Guido to stay in rome. But the climate in Rome wasn’t good for Guido’s health, so he went back to one of his old monasteries. When he returned, he was welcomed back with open arms — maybe because he Pope had become one of Guido’s biggest fans. 

After Guido had basically defined the basics of musical notation, other innovations followed. The five line staff became standard in the 16th century, the current shape of musical notes were standardized in the 17th, and many of the words and signs that describe tempo and dynamics were standard by the 18th century.
So — today, when you see a song book or listen to music — think about that Italian monk of a thousand years ago.
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I mentioned legends a few days ago and I’ve always liked legends and folklore — most all of them are interesting and many are educational and contain good advice. Anyhow, I got to thinking…. from the beginning of human history there has been some form of oral communication. Tales have been passed down through many generations. These “tales” usually fall into the category of myths, legends or folktales — and they’re important. They tell us where we have come from. 
But what’s the difference in a myth, legend, or folktale? Well, you might have guessed — time for some extensive research on my part.

Myths are stories intimately bound up with the traditions of a people. They deal with gods, heroes, religious beliefs, and cultural traits.They talk about how the world was created, how people and animals came into existence and how important customs were established and preserved. They also explain all sorts of natural phenomena, like rainbows and sunrises.
Myths usually attempt to explain — to show why things are as they are. They often use mythological characters as symbols, like Apollo represents the sun, or Diana represents the moon or Thor represents thunder.

A legend, on the other hand, usually entertains with a narrative supposedly based on fact. Legendary characters usually represent themselves as they perform great feats. Legends have a strong basis in fact and are told as being true. The myth is told as a story that requires its listeners to believe in the gods who are its characters. 

So what about folktales? Folktale is a very broad term that includes all kinds of traditional narratives. A major characteristic of the folktale is its long and continuing life — it’s traditional and handed down from one generation to another. The story is almost always preserved intact, most often in oral form. 

Everyone likes a good story. Detective books are popular because they tell good stories. Television programs with good story lines have a lot of viewers. Good story tellers are popular at get-togethers. So it really doesn’t matter what you label them — myth, legend or folktale — they’re all good stories. 
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We were talking the other day and and someone referred to an old football player as a “true legend.” I said, as usual, without thinking, that a person couldn’t be a legend — they could be famous or well, known but not a legend. Legends are stories, not people. 

Well, as has been the case, especially lately, I was a little bit right, but mostly wrong….
I looked up legend in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and here’s what I found:
1a: a story coming down from the past (usually regarded as historical but not verifiable)
b: a body of such stories
c: a popular myth of recent origin
d: a person or thing that inspires legends
e: the subject of a legend
2a: an inscription or title on an object (such as a coin)
b: an explanatory list of the symbols on a map or chart

So….I guess a person can be a legend. But what or when does someone become a legend and not just famous? It seems like the difference between just becoming famous and becoming a legend is the depth and scope, and maybe the longevity of a person’s impact.

Fame is recognition during a person’s lifetime or some specific period of time. A legend is someone whose influence or story transcends time and becomes some kind of cultural, historical or symbolic significance. It could be the real difference is that fame is about being well known for something, and a legend is about being remembered — maybe for how you changed the world or influenced others.

But in my defense, I still think legends usually refer to stories passed down through generations. When a person is called a “legend,” we’re using the term metaphorically.
But no matter — most of us would be happy to be famous or a legend.
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Recently I’ve been reading a fair amount about the Nazis takeover of Germany. A few days ago I read an article talking about when Norway fell to the Nazis — newspapers all over the world pointed out that the fall had been brought about by a Trojan Horse technique. German soldiers had come to Norway as tourists. When the invasion started, these “innocent tourists” became fighters who undermined the resistance of the loyal Norwegian army. 

That got me to thinking about the term “Trojan Horse.” Trojan Horse is the name for a method of trickery that goes back many centuries. It’s one of the legends of the Trojan war.

The Trojan Horse played a crucial role in the fall of Troy, as described in Greek mythology. The siege of Troy lasted ten years, and finally the Greeks devised a cunning plan to gain entry into the city. They built a large wooden horse, hollowed out to hold a small group of Greek soldiers, and left it as an offering to the Trojans, pretending it was a gift to the gods to ensure their safe journey home. 
The Trojans believed the Greeks had finally given up and brought the horse into the city as a symbol of victory. That night, while the Trojans celebrated, the Greek soldiers hidden inside the horse emerged and opened the gates of Troy to the Greek army that had secretly sailed back under the cover of night. The Greeks then attacked the unsuspecting Trojans, leading to the destruction of Troy.

I always thought this was a great story and have always wondered why the Trojans would fall for such a scheme — how could anyone be so gullible? But unfortunately, if a big wooden horse shows up on the White House lawn one of these days….. you might want to think about learning a foreign language.
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Some time back one of the nieces or nephews had asked about Pandora’s Box and a few weeks ago, I had written about “hope.” I thought now might be a good time to talk about Pandora’s Box and hope. There is a connection, and I thought about it the other night when I was attempting to fall asleep….

First a bit of background — you probably know that I’m kind of a fan of mythology and their various “gods.” In particular, I like the Greek “gods.” You may remember from your school days the Titans — the brothers, Prometheus and Epimetheus, were Titans. I always liked Epimetheus because he was the Titan god of afterthought and excuses. But that’s another story…..

According to Greek mythology, Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus were assigned the task of creating man — and — they were also to provide for man, and all animals, the skills and abilities needed for their survival. So Epimetheus gave the various animals courage, strength, speed, wisdom, and armor. But Prometheus created a higher being in godlike form. He took some clay and water and formed it into the image of a god. He gave the new creature, man, an upright stature, so that he could keep his eyes focused on the stars. He looked for gifts to bestow on his new creation, but his brother had already given everything away to the animals. Since he had no gift, he decided to steal some fire from heaven. If he gave his man fire, he might almost be a god. 

When Prometheus stole the fire, Jupiter (ruler of all gods and men) as you might imagine, was more than a little ticked off. However, once man had fire, Jupiter couldn’t take it back. But — he could punish Prometheus. He ordered his son Vulcan, the god of the forge, to chain Prometheus to Mount Caucasus. Then he decreed that every day a vulture should devour Prometheus’s liver, but that night the liver should grow again — to be devoured once more the following day. 

But that’s not all — Jupiter also resolved to bring misery upon mankind, something that Prometheus had feared would happen. In fact, he had warned his brother, Epimetheus, not to accept any presents from the chief deity, because Jupiter might be planning some indirect, clever form of retaliation. 

His fear was well-founded but Epimetheus didn’t pay much attention and he wasn’t able to refuse a gift that Jupiter offered him. The gift was a bride, a mortal woman named Pandora. “Pandora” means “all-gifted” — because the gods, commissioned by Jupiter, had bestowed their choicest treasures upon her. She was the sum of all the virtues — charming, accomplished, and beautiful. But — she also had curiosity.

As part of Jupiter’s plan, the gods gave Pandora a box, which, they warned her, she was not to open. Even though she was happy as the wife of Epimetheus, Pandora occasionally allowed her glance to wander to the mysterious closed box. She had been forbidden to open the box, but she had an irresistible — and human — urge to open it. One day her curiosity got the best of her, and she walked over to the box, opened the lid and looked in. What flew out of the box was all kinds of misery to afflict mankind. Envy, discontent, pain, anger, hunger, plague, crime, desolation — all these and many other ills flew out over the earth before Pandora could slam down the lid. She was horrified at the evils she had let loose, and cried for the harm she had done to man, but she couldn’t call back the ills.
She did, however, shut the lid down just in time to prevent the escape of one thing — hope.
So despite all the ills, troubles and problems of mankind, there is always hope.
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I think I mentioned a few days ago that I was invited to brunch at some friends house recently. There was a lot of talk about food and it got around to the topic of what’s the strangest food you’ve ever eaten. I had been more places than most of the people there, so I’d probably experienced some of the stranger dishes during the conversation. 

But after I got home I remembered a dish that I should have mentioned — something that my grandad talked about often and my grandmother actually prepared a few times. My grandad always wanted to serve “Possum and Sweet Taters” (I don’t think I ever heard my granddad say the word potato — it was always tater) when people came to their house. To the best of my knowledge, my grandmother always refused to make the dish for “company.”

My grandmother actually had a recipe that she used — and of course Claire had to have the recipe, even though she never used it. I encouraged her to put it in the St. Agnes cookbook she put together a number of years ago, but she didn’t think that was such a great idea.

Anyhow, after a bit of searching, I found the recipe she had gotten not long after we were married. In case some of you would like to try it, here it is…. this is not a joke, it’s the actual recipe, just as it was written by by grandmother — my granddad thought it was delicious.

Ingredients:
1 possum, cut up
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
5 or 6 sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut up in chunks
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup oleo
1 gallon water as needed

Directions:
Heat oven to 375
Skin and shuck all innards and wash possum
Put possum in a big sauce pot and cover with water
Add salt and pepper
Cover pot and cook until possum is tender
Put possum in center of big baking pan and put sweet taters around it
Sprinkle white and brown sugar and oleo over taters
Pour 2 cups juice from cooked possum over everything
Put in a hot oven and bake until taters are fork tender and light brown and juices from possum has cooked away.

(I always thought the correct spelling was opossum, not possum, but I looked it up and possum is the usual term used — opossum is preferred in technical or scientific writings. Opossum can be pronounced with its first syllable either voiced or silent.)
So there you have it — if you decide to make possum and sweet taters, invite me over.
— 30 —

I know this may be getting old, but I’ve been doing a lot of reading about happiness lately and the Dalai Lama boils it down pretty simply…
• The purpose of life is happiness
• Happiness is determined more by the state of one’s mind than by one’s external conditions, circumstances or events — at least once one’s basic survival needs are met.
• Happiness can be achieved through the systematic training of our hearts and minds, through reshaping our attitudes and outlook
• The key to happiness is in our own hands

That all sounds good, but today I thought we might talk about the guy that came up with all that good advice — the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and the former political leader of Tibet. The title “Dalai Lama” means “Ocean of Wisdom” in Mongolian and is given to the highest-ranking lama in Tibetan Buddhism. 

The current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was born in Tibet and is the 14th person to hold the title. He was recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama at the age of two, after the previous Dalai Lama passed away. He was formerly enthroned in 1950, at a time when Tibet was being increasingly pressured by the Chinese government. After the Chinese invaded Tibet in 1959, he fled to India, where he established the Tibetan Government-in-Exile in Dharamsala. 

His teachings on compassion, inter religious dialogue, and nonviolence have had a profound influence not only on Buddhists but on people of various faiths and backgrounds. He’s spoken with world leaders, scholars, and public figures about the importance of cultivating inner peace and fostering social harmony.

The Dalai Lama is a symbol of peace, compassion, and resilience, as well as an important figure in the global dialogue on human rights, spirituality, and the preservation of Tibetan culture. His efforts to promote a compassionate, ethical approach to modern challenges continue to have a wide-reaching impact. 
Sounds like the kind of guy that I might take advice from…..
—30 —

We lived in the Far East for a number of years and, as I’ve mentioned a number of times, Hong Kong is just about my favorite city. No matter where we were living, my job job always required quite of bit of travel. When we were in that part of the world, if it was possible I always scheduled the trip through Hong Kong and if time permitted, stayed a few days. 

One of many things that was interesting about Hong Kong is that, a lot like Washington, they got a lot of “executive showers.” Many afternoons, they’d get a rain shower — and just like magic these little stands would pop, on almost every street corner, selling umbrellas. They were decent umbrellas and super cheap. I think they cost about a dollar or something like that. Anyhow, over the years I accumulated what seemed like hundreds of umbrellas. Every time I’d bring another one (or more) home, Claire would joke that when we retired we could open an umbrella store. This big box of umbrellas got shipped all around the world with us for years.

But on our last move from overseas — back to the U.S., when our household belongings were delivered to the house we’d just purchased…. only one thing was missing. That huge box of umbrellas. I often wonder if that was intentional or simply an honest mistake. I somehow can’t stop believing that somewhere in this world we set someone up in the umbrella business….
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The chapel where Joan of Arc worshiped was the Chapelle de St. Martin de Sayssuel in Chasse, France. The chapel was moved, in 1964, to Marquette University — a Catholic, Jesuit institution in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 
Within the chapel is the Joan of Arc stone, on which Joan is said to have prayed, kissing the stone when she was finished. To this day, that stone feels colder to the touch than the surrounding stones.
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