How do you pronounce meme? A discussion about Rick Astley

So RE: Ooops! New York Times pranked by EWU student , here’s a snippet from the original New York Times story that uses the new buzzword ‘meme’:

For rick-rolling, the duck was replaced with the 20-year-old Astley video , and in the last year it has become a hugely successful “meme,”the Internet’s word for an idea repeated across the Web.

Editors asked each other this morning about the pronunciation. We think it’s “MEEM”. The term ‘meme,’ as it turns out is not limited to the internet: Here’s a definition from Wiktionary , or one from urbandictionary - It’s credited to living antireligionist evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins who uses it to describe cultural information units passed around from person to person ( like catch-phrases, factoids, jokes, fashions, chain letters , and the marketing strategy for the film ” Snakes On A Plane “…)

There was the other question of why the song by “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley has anything to do with Scientology, because people sing it at demonstrations against the Church of Scientology. It seemed so arbitrary. “They could be singing other obnoxious songs,” said reporter Kevin Graman. Here’s what the guardian.co.uk music writer had to say:

Of late, however, rick-rolling has begun to permeate the mainstream. It comes mostly courtesy of Anonymous, a diffuse group of hackers and activists who have declared war on the Church of Scientology in an initiative called Project Chanology. Organised without official leaders or hierarchy, Project Chanology manifests itself in Denial Of Service attacks against Scientologist websites, stupid YouTube videos, and in-person protests at Scientologist centres worldwide.

Or maybe for the absurdity? “I think that’s exactly why it works,” said features editor Ken Paulman.