In "Readheads", Kenjiko uses the phrase "crazy kicky people".
Well, a funny thing happened to me yesterday.
As some of you may know, I'm a computer consultant. I work for
a database company, and most of my work is Making Things Go Faster,
Better. It's a very serious thing, people spend Big Money, and
I have to be very professional.
I had a meeting yesterday afternoon with a client in which we
decided upon... well, never mind. They're doing something major
and I'd been called in to help with the planning. But it so
happened that the same client had urgently called Tech Support.
They'd had a database crash, and the symptoms were strange in
the extreme. Much headscratching ensued within Tech Support,
and then Somebody mentioned that I was due to visit these people
that very afternoon. So I was briefed in on the problem.
So no shit, there I was, and we were waiting to start our meeting.
I was talking with the site's DBA, all dressed up in my best suit,
looking very imposing and professional... and I said, "So, Tim,
I hear you've been having some strange crashy problems this
morning?"
As I watched his eyes widen and some very unusual expressions
flicker across his face - you know, time stretched - I cursed my
loose tongue and reflected briefly on Kenjiko and his writing,
and briefly evaluated "crash recovery" strategies for the
conversation. Then Tim smiled and said, "Yes, we have been
having some strange... crashy problems..." and he filled me in
and we discussed the problem in more detail.
After the fact, I got to thinking about the event, and the FFML,
and eventually decided that Kenjiko isn't a person at all.
(Sorry, Robert.) He's a virus... a memetic virus.
A meme is an idea, a parcel of thought. A memetic virus is an
idea that propogates itself throughout a society.
Which brings us to Kenjiko. I greatly enjoy his writing - and
his stories - but for all that he's only one person.
But his effect has been disproportionate. He has almost single-
handedly managed to inspire the re-introduction of humour as a
major thread in fanfic writing - sometimes through imitation,
sometimes through inspiration; sometimes, I think, simply through
making people laugh.
There are other memetic virii at work in the fanfic community.
These are also known as "fanfic conventions", and mostly seem
to gather around the source stories with the most mindshare
(i.e. Ranma). Akane-as-violent-maniac, Cologne-as-evil-plotter,
Shampoo-as-drug-baroness... these are all memetic virii, and
less beneficial than the Kenjiko virus.
At the cost of a brief moment of awkwardness, I made somebody
smile and incidentally passed on a meme. I wonder how long it
will be before I start hearing about "crashy stuff" from other
people. The construct is appealing and cute, and like the very
best memetic virii, it worms its way into your consciousness
without you noticing until it's too late.
But let me also acknowledge the originator of the virus, Kenjiko
himself. I strongly believe he has been a major positive influence,
and long may he continue.
Thanks for listening,
DJE
--
David Eddy - Senior Consultant, Progress Software Melbourne
dje@progress.com
Screening Coordinator and Subbing Bunny, Melbourne Anime Society
My home page is at http://nabiki.newberry.edu/DEddy