The Agrinautica

   We all know that livejournal is positively rife with "memes." I'm not sure any of us know how to pronounce that however. Nor do very many people probably know that the term "meme" was coined in 1976 by professor Richard Dawkins. I certainly didn't know that when I met Professor Dawkins last April. If I'd known that he was the inventor of the meme I'd HELLA have had my picture taken with him. But I didn't know so all I have are some pictures I took OF him (and other people who apparently knew he'd invented the meme!).

   Anyway, a meme is apparently "a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation." And so, using the term a little differently than the usual simple quiz/program that periodically sweeps through the blogosphere, I'd like to use this opportunity to go as far back as this blog is competent to go -- the oldest memory which has been passed down through our protagonist's family.
   Like one's own earliest memory likely is, its not the most important thing that ever happened, but more of a random snippet of an all but forgotten time. The first thing I can remember is a random clip of being in the jungles in Brazil, but this takes place about a century before that. Its not the earliest fact that could be found either -- we have pictures of people and records that predate this; on my mother's side of the family we can trace back past intercontinental covered wagon trips to arrival in the United States in 1627.

   Konigsberg was founded by the Teutonic Knights in 1255. Northeast of Poland, Konigsberg would become more or less synonymous with Prussia and be variously independant or part of a German empire, until the Soviet Union absorbed it after WWII, renamed it Kaliningrad, and closed it off from the world.

   But this snippet of memory comes before the Soviets or any of the saucy developments of the 20th Century. It was the late 1800s I'd imagine, and Konigsberg was a crazy place. Not really but they apparently had this thing with their bridges. You'll see a nice map of old Konigsberg on that page, only the bridges appear irradiated or some crap. I looked all over the internet for a version of that map without the bridges all fucked up like that, but I couldn't find it. But then I got home, and the best version of the map was in our living room. It looks even better when the camera flash isn't glaring off it, but it was in an ill lit location.
   So it was the late 1800s, and my great great great grandmother lived in Konigsberg. Her last name was Von Magnitsky and we don't even know the first. But what we do know is that once she was travelling through the countryside in a sleigh being chased by wolves.
   Thats the memory. Seems rather anticlimatic after writing so much to set it up, but hey its been told to me a million times so it must be good. Anyway, both my parents tell me about it as if its their own memory, and I'll probably do the same to my children and my children's children, only by then she'll be being chased by those rolling destroyer droids from Star Wars or something, and will have just invented the meme.

Previously on Emosnail
   Two Years Ago Thursday: Marination - little brother gets taken away by the marines
   Two Years Ago Yesterday: http://emosnail.livejournal.com/2003/06/24/">GODLITE - God speaks to me through scrabble...
   Two Years Ago Today: Violations - I get the first two parking tickets of my life, within 24 hours of eachother (about 22 hours apart). Also, Suburban Legends beach party
   Year Ago Thursday: 13 of 30 - Go D3!! - Forget this Division I crap, we need to move to Division III Athletics!
   Year Ago Yesterday: 14 of 30 - Underblog Adventures With Allie - Yeah I just talk about hanging out with Allie. We need to do that again.
   Year Ago Today: 15 and 16 of 30 -- Time for 15 in 5!!! - In "Crime & Punishment" I talk shit on Officer Chang some more. And then we interview Kris Fricke.