Category Archives: culture

Njaanuary, aka Jan-worry, the loooongest month of the year

Posted on January 28, 2013 by AXM

What’s this squirrel complaining about? Doesn’t it know there’s no month at all with 65 days? Well, it feels like January has dragged on forever. Maybe you spent too much over the holidays, and you’re waiting for checks to clear this month. Maybe the reality of 2013 is finally hitting. But in a month of [...]

Asia, Africa, America

Posted on October 6, 2012 by AXM

We’re walking past Makerere University, along a busy but (as far as I can tell) unnamed road. Two Chinese men in a truck are looking our way. I am with a group of white Americans and one Ugandan, but they stare directly at me. This is the not the first time. It’s also a common [...]

The Cultural and Social Value of Memes

Posted on September 5, 2012 by AXM

There’s a new article in The Atlantic looking at China’s political and social memes, and I’m quoted alongside fellow internet culture researchers Cole Stryker and Kate Miltner: “Because of the strictures on speech in China, memes tend to be a really effective way to spread a political message,” An Xiao Mina, artist, meme expert and [...]

On Hoodies and Sunglasses: Memes Engage in Social and Political Issues

Posted on July 14, 2012 by AXM

I have a new essay out in The Atlantic looking at the remarkable parallels between the Trayvon Martin hoodie meme and the Chen Guangcheng sunglasses meme, which arose independently in their respective internets: From the outset, the stories of Trayvon Martin and Chen Guangcheng couldn’t have seemed more different. One, a young black man shot [...]

More on China’s Internet: In Defense of Memes Defending Themselves

Posted on June 13, 2012 by AXM

Political memes have been on my mind as of late. It started with ROFLCon at MIT and moved on to more discussions, Skype chats and journal entries. And I’ve just returned from the Personal Democracy Forum at NYU. Been a bit of a whirlwind as I travel around the country but seeing as I’ve lived [...]

Not Two: Stillness and Digital Life at a Korean Monastery

Posted on January 11, 2012 by AXM

Pico Iyer has a lovely article out in the latest New York Times focusing on "The Joy of Quiet". It’s a great read and has a few lovely gems: In barely one generation we’ve moved from exulting in the time-saving devices that have so expanded our lives to trying to get away from them — [...]

Expanding the Definition of Avatar: Artists, Avatars and Self-Portraiture

Posted on October 29, 2011 by AXM

Artists and avatars. I’m always very conscious about the way I use my avatar, the message it sends to the world. Some call it branding, some call it self-expression, some call it communication. But my avatar represents me in some fashion. Kyle Chayka in LA Weekly wrote a thought-provoking essay about artists and their online [...]