My new favorite thing is looking for memes online. They are funny and usually are pretty current with things that are trending in our culture. Webster's Dictionary defines meme as:

an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture

Events in the last few weeks have produced good material for memes that comment on how some of us react to things that are happening in our culture. Whitney Houston's untimely death, although tragic, really didn't affect me, yet for whatever reason I felt like commenting about it on Facebook. I was never a fan, although I did like one of her songs which I don't even know the name of. Unsurprisingly, everyone was talking about it on social networking sites. Most recently, on March 5th 2012, a documentary about Joseph Kony by Invisible Children went uber viral. Although it is a legitimate atrocity, I'm a bit skeptical about Invisible Children's motives. These two stories alone have provided lots of good material for memes. We also saw some memes surface from the Occupy Movement making fun of the 'Pepper Spray Cop'. It called attention on the poor training and the use of excessive force by police officers at the UC Davis campus. Memes serve a cultural function in the form that it depicts an idea or trend in such a way that, by simply seeing an image or a few words, the viewer 'gets it'. That's if the viewer is tuned in to the culture around him/her. Most Americans have seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (with Gene Wilder) and because of this the memes created with Willy's image are easily understood by most people. Here are some of my favorites: Whitney Houston

Kony 2012

You made a Willy Wonka Meme???

Kony we goin' find you!

John Pike AKA Pepper Spray Cop