A dictionary/glossary/lexicon as sort of a cosmic, meeting of the minds, collaboration of the likes of Dan Webster, Sam Johnson, Ambrose Bierce, Hunter S. Thompson, Wm. F. Buckley, Grouch Marx, W. C. Fields and many more... even though its editors are obscure unknowns with dreadfully dangerous senses of humor. WARNING: This website may contain some slightly adult content - get parental viewing approval if you are 18 or under!
The Lionfish Cookbook: No, we're not kidding. Just see the link to the News Daily article below. Seems that the Lionfish invasion of the waters off Florida have become a problem. So much so that they actually wrote a cook book with 45 recipes for these beauties. They claim the delicacy is safe (except for the spines) and delicious. We expect a good export business to Japanese fish markets...
And, yes, you can purchase The Lionfish Cookbook from the Amazon Carousel below... Thank You,
Good Riddance Day: Unfortunately, not a term of our creation plus we are a day behind on this one. December 28 was the officially designated day to rid ourselves of a bad memory, experience and or so on from the year. 2010 was an especially unfortunate year for us as our Senior Editor's father became very sick for the last three months of the year and then passed away on December 19. His brother and his wife lost her mother on Columbus Day due to end-stage cancer. Also, supposed to be named after the Green Day song "Good Riddance" (The Time of Your Life). GOOD RIDDANCE 2010!
Escherite: Predicted/Suggested name for an artificial material reminiscent of some of the recursive surfaces famously and popularly depicted in some of the works of M. C. Escher. Such a material would have no "inside" nor "outside" at the molecular level. The name is the suggested conflation of Escher and the suffix -ite sometimes applied to minerals, chemicals and so on...
The Passage of our Senior Editor's Father: Though not a true dictionary entry, we thought we should make note of the passage of our Senior Editor's father. George James passed away on Sunday December 19, 2010 (though the COD says Monday December 20, 2010) and he was just 76 years young. Though an autopsy would have been requested by our editor, the rest of his family passed on it without asking his opinion (!).
At the time, GJ had been suffering from two pneumonias (Serratia and Pseudomonas) as well as the now dreaded MRSA! Although Dad seemed to have responded successfully to treatments with massive doses of Vancomycin and 5 days treatment with Tobramycin. He was eventually discharged from his 4th hospital stay and housed in a very good medical facility. Unfortunately, the MRSA must have entered his bloodstream on or about the 19th as our editor found GJ foaming badly at the mouth - which appears to have meant that his organs were shutting down.
His father responded positively to a request for an ambulance (which he never does!) and the ambulance came and took him away on a portable ventilator. GJ was placed on a CPAP Ventilator once in the trauma room and remained so in the ICU. No amount of 'pressors' could have preserved him as he appeared to be in complete shutdown - though our editor hoped desperately and tearfully otherwise. He probably had no conscious mind nor spirit during this time and passed on probably that day. Which is why an autopsy may have been helpful (or not). Perhaps it could have positively identified MRSA in the bloodstream at that time - or not...
Looking back over the previous events, two of GJ's doctors at two of his previous hospital stays had predicted his death within a short while - possibly months. Which came true just before this Christmas...
Hospital Nomad / Medical Odyssey: It is hoped that this posting/definition will give you some insight as to where we have been just over the past 2 months. Our Senior Editor's 70+ years young father took very sick in early September and had to be whisked away to an emergency room. He was having severe nausea and chronic vomiting (guess who got to clean the bucket?...) for a period of over 24+ hours. Having suffered this way, he finally asked for medical care - and got it that day.
Our Senior Editor and his father found out that he had a partial bowel obstruction - along with several other chronic medical conditions. A naso-gastric tube was installed & removed about 1500 ml. of dark bile over a period of 30+ hours - thus avoiding surgery. The recovery in the hospital took about 6 days. Plus, we also found that Dad had lost his core/trunk strength (he had displayed some kyphosis earlier in April), leg strength, became dysphagic and was declared NPO. Dad has basically been a bed-bound invalid, unable to swallow, since this time. We will refer to this hospital as HSJ.
A swallow evaluation/study was done on Dad in their fluoroscopy dept. which determined that he aspirated when swallowing. Even worse, he displayed no symptoms (asymptomatic). Thus, he might have been dysphagic for a long time without even knowing it. He has the possibility of contracting aspiration pneumonia if he attempts to swallow anything - which could even be lethal.
Thus was the beginning of Dad's medical odyssey. Our Senior Editor and his brother being so concerned (this is their last living parent) that our Editor slept over many, many nights in more than one hospital with his father. Thus giving rise to the term Hospital Nomad. In the periods between hospitalization, Dad has spent three separate occasions in Medical Skilled Care Rehabilitation Centers as required by Medicare. The long and short of it is that our Senior Editor has spent 63 of the last 65 days or so in the hospitals and Rehab Centers with his sick, invalid father during this medical odyssey. His father is currently staying at his fourth hospital in this time.
A special warning to all who may have a similar situation existing or arising with a loved one. If you see your elders in decline you may wish to visit their primary care physician with them and discuss the option of in-home rehabilitation before you reach this state of affairs. One of the undiscussed (?) issues with Rehabilitation Centers and similar communities is the potential for infection by communicable organisms/pathogens/microbes shared by that community. Each time Dad was sent to one of these centers he developed pneumonia or MRSA.
Early in November/late October, he developed pneumonia due to a species of Serratia. Fortunately our senior editor was present when he began to sink and kept requesting an ambulance. When Dad stopped talking, they finally called for Rapid Response. When in hospital, you can usually request Rapid Response by dialling 141. See your hospital staff for instructions before you panic and need this service - it can be a life saver.
As it turned out, Dad 'coded' in the emergency room at a different, nearby hospital ('HSM'). There appeared to be only respiratory arrest - no cardiac arrest - but stopped breathing all the same. Dad was then intubated, heavily sedated and put on a ventilator. The ER team at HSM basically saved his life - for which our Editor nominated them for a recognition award. The Rapid Response team remained in the ER room during the entire revival. It was quite a moving experience. But, our Senior Editor's father looked like one of those horrible rubber dummies in a horror movie and our Editor was about to freak out.
He was eventually transferred to Intensive Care where he remained on the ventilator for about a day. He coded again the next day and had to be placed on a ventilator again. The IC team was excellent and they were also nominated for a recognition award. Dad was eventually transferred to the hospital - for 13 days.
He qualified for a specialty rehabilitation hospital where he may receive constant hospital care along with therapy for as long as they feel fit. He is visited almost daily by the doctor, an RN and other professional staff. Unfortunately, he acquired MRSA in his sputum and lungs at the start of this go-round. Which is quite fearsome, as MRSA can then enter the bloodstream in this fashion. But the antibiotics appear to have it under control. Hopefully, Dad is coming to the end of his medical odyssey in a positive way and may be released to sub-acute care. And our Senior Editor is hoping that he does not have to be a Hospital Nomad much longer - again in a positive way.
Huggle: The VERY unfortunate conflation of honey and smuggle. Some executives have actually been charged with the allegations of honey smuggling and tainting it with antibiotics*. One might be tempted to conclude that now the honey supply cannot be trusted much like the egg and dairy supply...
Can you imagine what the agency phone call was like? Riinnnggg: Hello, Special Crimes Unit, Bee and Honey Division. Actually, when that phone rings it sounds like a buzzing bee...
Spontaneous Creation or The Big Splat: According to the great Dr. Stephen Hawking, the creation of the universe occurred absent the presence of a god or goddess*. Therefore, (not sure if we are quoting him or the BBC News) the creation of the universe was spontaneous. We also (here at the AZD) now refer to it as "The Big Splat" (relative to the Big Bang) - kind of like a paintball or an egg being splattered against the fabric of space time. And, there you have it! But the godless creation of the universe seems somehow meaningless and purposeless. One can only imagine a cartoonish god (like the Seth McFarlane god of 'Family Guy' or the Terry Gilliam god of 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail') splattering a great egg against the wall. And where did the wall come from?
However, the argument could be made that absence of a Creator at the beginning does not rule out the existence of the same...
Incidentally, we can't wait for the great Stephen Colbert's take on this in his hilarious "Stephen Hawking is Such an *ssh#l@" segment.
WikiRapes: The VERY unfortunate and rather cynical conflation of WikiLeaks and rape/s or the (repeated) charges of rape/s.... Seems like Sweden (or Julian, ooohhhh...sorry about that!) just can't get enough of serious sex offenses and their related charges of same...
Hugo: Oh, dear God help us, we are going to hell... AZD: No we're not! Doesn't it seem like every time he (Julian) charges the USA with some nefarious activity that Sweden charges him with rape? Hugo: Hmmm...could be a connection there...
Updated: Thursday, September 2, 2010* (See Below) Anti-Time: Is the unfortunate proposal that time will eventually come to a stop - and could even be due to consequences from human activity, engineering and science. We got this idea from at least two sources: Ray Kurzweil and Star Trek: TNG Last Episodes(!). (Yes, yes we were big fans of the TV series and occasionally view a repeat every now and then.)
Our main reference is to the book by Ray Kurzweil - The Singularity is Near. One of the propositions seems to be that computer speeds will continue to increase at an accelerated pace.
One wonders if the pace will continue to the point where computations will literally exceed "light speed". What if they continue to accelerate to the point where computations will become instantaneous? At which point, time will become unnecessary (who ever thought that time was necessary?). At which point, time's reality becomes obvious and even stops. This might be the true singularity.
At which, point time itself could implode upon itself and reverse. Thus creating the phenomenon of "anti-time"? Everything affected by time (the universe) would then reverse in time. Except, of course, for certain sub-atomic particles! The universe would literally implode upon itself in this gigantic reversal. A sort of a "Reverse Big Bang" would then be created. Could the universe start all over again?
Lunar Reduction or Lunduction: Is the unfortunate conflation of lunar and reduction. That's it, the Moon seems to be shrinking in size. ABC News reported that it appears to have shrunk by the length of 2 football fields (American). That's right - the moon appears to be shrinking.
In case you missed it, one of our tweets was mentioned on The Twitter Report on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann. We were thrilled that they chose it. Please see the video embed below.
Again, Fair Use of the video embed is claimed for humorous self-reference. We thought Keith did a very humorous on-air performance after the tweet (acting as though our avatar is President James Garfield).
Fair Use of Video Claimed for Humorous Self Reference
Hello, if you keep up with The Anti-Zen Dictionary, you probably noticed a strange new twist to it. That is because we have experienced a sudden burst of creativity and we are writing a novel set in the year 3084 called The China Party. Unsure of where to put some of the new definitions being used in the novel we decided to put them in our Dictionary. We apologize for any inconvenience. Hope you find it interesting.
Lives of the Lexicographers
Samuel Johnson: (Updated: Monday, May 18, 2009). Recently checked out of our local library: Samuel Johnson - The Struggle by Jeffrey Meyers. The prolific Mr. Meyers outdoes himself right in the introduction and zaps us with a very intimate glimpse into the sex life of the great Samuel Johnson. Some very florid comments and great pathos by Samuel Johnson are reported almost right at the start. Well, he's still our hero. We're still wading through this 500+ page tome - but it is keeping our interest. Not for the 18 and under crowd - the language is a little too graphic and a little too suggestive, at times.But, we think it is worth the cover price ($ 35.00) of purchase if you are into Johnson or great biographies. However, we do suggest checking it out at your library or purchasing a second-hand copy. Caveat emptor - we offer no guarantees - it may not be worth your purposes! Of course, if you're into Johnson, biographies, literature, intellectualism or even pseudo-intellectualism (like us! - actually our senior editor has an IQ of 131, but we digress...) you don't need the hyperlinks. Our apologies. Also, we have not read Boswell'sLife of Johnson! If you care to donate us a copy, please do and we'll review it here and credit your donation if you wish.
More: Sam began his academic career at Oxford. Unfortunately - in that time period - Oxford had an abysmal reputation for teaching. Even the great Edward Gibbon (possibly the greatest author of his day) left this institution after one year. Most students used tutors, but even these were inadequate at times.
Physical/Medical Indications: Due to his wild gesticulations and mannerisms, Sam may have suffered from Tourette Syndrome. Even so, though this repulsed most other folk, it seemed to make the author/playwright Frances Burney adore him all the more. For an image of a bust of Sam Johnson, link here. For image of a statue of Sam, link here. Johnson was well known for his physical prowess (for example, his horsemanship) and his physical power. Not one to take insults or sarcasms lightly, Johnson was reputed to have knocked over his adversaries or even to have delivered severe beatings upon them (if he felt they were deserving of it...)
Other women: Hester Thrale. He did have an extraordinary 18 year relationship with a married woman.
Rating of this biography: Excellent. We believe the book deserves this rating (or any biography that causes this sensation) because we felt as though we had lived with the man himself.
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