Medical Cannabis
Marijuana Medicine has a long history of helping, With the recent death of Michael Jackson due to prescribed medications| more and more patients are examining their pill bottles and cannot help but be curious as to what their future holds. Doctors are so swift to write prescriptions for anti-depressants, painkillers, sleeping pills and tranquilizers. Most medical cannabis patients feel that they cannot function on the medications that they have been prescribed for pain, insomnia, depression, etc. and find that they function very well on medical marijuana.
If we spoke a different language, we would perceive a somewhat different world.
- Ludwig Wittgenstein
Language is as organic as that Venus Fly Trap on your front porch. It also has a voracious appetite…It is as malleable and impressionist as silly putty, the primordial goo that sticks to the roof of our mouth (and yes, to our fingers) like peanut butter. It is an architectural wonder like Balboa Park and the Coronado Bridge, allowing our minds to traverse from one park to another, one body of land to another. It is visual acuity in that it can zoom-in and out like a telephoto lens directed at a sunflower or a point in space. It is power, and can shape and reshape the universe into a multiplicity of dimensions.
It’s also fun—like one of those floor-sized puzzles of the Eiffel Tower.
Some words don’t seem to have their meaning altered much. They exist—and persist—generation after generation. Contrary to the epigram from Wittgenstein, we really do speak a different language, and our worlds are perceived differently as a result. One could have fun arguing that we live in a multidimensional universe as a result of language, and that as a result, we speak, listen, and know our world through a multiplicity of languages (And I’m not only referring to those languages associated with national origin with their respective dialects…).
Think: VENN diagrams! Each rhetorical community to which we belong has its own language and/or lingo. We create our world—our experience—through language; in turn, it facilitates our experience of this world, doesn’t it? Families and other people who cohabitate or spend a considerable amount of time with each other come up with new words (and/or alter the meanings of words) in the same—or similar—ways that industries do when technological advances occur. When an object is created, it needs a name; calling it a “thingamajig”—or other similar labels - will only work for so long…When an experience is had, comparing it to other experiences may work for a time, but what if it doesn’t compare to anything you’ve experienced before? Doesn’t it deserve, doesn’t it call for, a new word to describe it? If we don’t have a new word, and can’t seem to agree upon one, we can point to that thing and/or experience for only so long. What if we can’t duplicate the thing or the process or the experience? We don’t want to forget it, right? We want to share it with others, right? Maybe we even way to patent it or make it or do it or share it.
It needs a name to perpetuate its existence as well as to identify its existence to others…
So, since neologisms, idiomatic language, and slang are thought-provoking categories for exploration (and also make for fun group projects), I asked my two summer school classes to assume they were linguists and contemporary socio-cultural anthropologists gathering and recording data. I asked them to discuss word categories, definitions, and examples.
Here are some highlights from their expedition:
Word: Lackies
Definition: Referring to people who just sit around talking about Magic, The Gathering card game, Star Wars, Pokemon cards, and play gameboy the entire day before and after class.
Example:
‘Hey Chuy! Let’s hang out. Just a minute…I have to ask this guy something.’
‘Fine. So hang out with the lackies, you lackie.’
Word: Simon
Definition: Someone who tells you something about things or people with extreme exaggeration and later finds out it is a lie or is just plain crap.
Example:
‘Dude, you gotta play this video game. It’s freaking awesome. Anyone who’s anyone plays this game.’ Later, after buying the game and finding out I hate it and return it for a refund, my other friend says, ‘Man, he bust a Simon on you.’
(J. P.)
These three slang terms hail from the Caribbean!
Word: Hey Ma
Definition: Hey Girl
Word: Skettel
Definition: Someone who has sex with a lot of people.
Word: Cockle
Definition: Another term for a female sleeping around.
These two hail from Hawaii:
Phrase: da kine
Definition: Used when communicating something implied, but too lazy to finish the sentence.
Example: ‘I’m hungry…let’s go to da kine.’ This means the usual place these two eat together. Most people just think this phrase refers to marijuana.
Word: bannang
Definition: A person who looks Asian on the outside and acts white from inside.
(M. B., D.H., D.R., and D.W.)
Word: tight
Definition: likeable, cool, in fashion.
Example: ‘Those new pair of shoes are tight!’
Word: turn-two
Definition: Get going. Let’s move on.
Example: ‘All right people…let’s turn-two.’ (NOTE: As you say this, make the “two” sign with your two fingers and flip your hand back-and-forth.)
(H.E., M.H., S.M., E.M., and C.F.)
Word: shema
Definition: to evoke empathy.
Word: sicky-gnar
Definition: good; overwhelming.
Word: M.I.L.F.
Definition: An acronym for ‘mother I’d love to fuck’.
Word: gromm
Definition: child surfer
(C.W., A.H., M.M., and R.S.)
Here’s one from Alabama:
Word: buggy
Definition: a shopping cart.
Here’s a few from Minnesota:
Word: uff-da
Definition: Norweigian term used to express disgust or used in place of ‘my goodness’.
Example: “Uff-da—it’s hot outside!”
Word: Bucket
Definition: Another name for a woman’s purse.
Example: ‘Hey—look at my brand new bucket!’
Word: yaontoo (ya-on-too)
Definition: Do you want to or would you like to?
Example: ‘I’m going to the mall. You can come if yaontoo.’
Word: Nambit (name-bit)
Definition: Norwegian term used to express surprise or shock.
Example: If something happens that you can’t believe, you may say, ‘Nambit—honestly.’
I don’t believe these are from Minnesota…
Phrase: off the braken
Definition: cooler than cool
Phrase: That was bomady!
Definition: that blows your head, crying tears funny.
(B.E., A.A., I.A., and F.S.)
Word: shomgo
Definition: klutz; dumbass.
Example: ‘I tripped over the curb and felt like such a shomgo.’
Word: snugs
Definition: cuddly dog
Phrase: Mickey Mouse
Definition: being resourceful.
Example: ‘I couldn’t find the tool so I Mickey-Moused it.’
Word: groovy
Definition: out-dated; out-of-style
Example: ‘Man, look at her outfit—it’s so groovy she should change!”’
(D.P., D.S., F.S., M.K., and J.P.)
Here are a two “lop-offs”, or words that are broken up and stand for an entire word:
Word: inad
Definition: inadmitted
Word: depo
Definition: deported
Word: scooter
Definition: a motorcycle or a little car
Phrase: scooter trash
Definition: Harley Davidson rider
Word: skidlid
Definition: helmet
Word: spider
Definition: pubic hair
(S.M., K.N., C.L., and C.E.)
Word: Falcon
Definition: Calling dibs on hitting on a girl when with a group of guys.
Phrase: Junk in the Trunk
Definition: Voluptuous gluteus maximus
Word: Bangin’
Definition: A party that is the place to be…a tight party.
Phrase: Off-the-hook
Definition: Extremely cool.
(B.L., V.L., J.P., and I.A.)
Word: geterdone (get her done)
Definition: Go for it. Just do it. Motivational.
Example: ‘If you want to become an actor, you can’t lie around all day; just geterdone’ (David Jaimes).
Phrase: butter face
Definition: referring to someone who portrays an ‘ugly’ face.
Example: ‘Man, she has a beautiful body, but that butter face fucks her up’ (David Jaimes).
Phrase: Jimmy Legs
Definition: Sporadic, or sudden outbursts while sleeping in legs (e.g., shaking leg).
Example: ‘I couldn’t sleep last night because she has the Jimmy Legs and she kicked me all night long.’
Word: teabaggin’
Definition: to suck someone’s testicles
Example: ‘She was teabaggin’ me yesterday.’
(O.C., K.T., and D.J.)
Word: 143
Definition: ‘I love you’ (in text messaging)
Word: LOL
Definition: Lots of Laughs [NOTE: This is a separate, but similar, definition to “LOL”, which in computer-speak translates as “laughing out loud”.]
Example: ‘The comedian, Steve Harvey, was funny. He was LOL.’
(I.B., J.F., A.A., and J.B.)
Word: winger
Definition: A long fall before the rope catches you.
Example: ‘Hey Dude! I took a winger and thought that I was going to die.’
Word: P.F.T.
Definition: Physical Fitness Test
Example: We have a P.F.T. today.
Word: crater
Definition: Hit the ground
Example: ‘I fell and almost cratered.’
Word: open-book
Definition: A place in a rock from 0 degrees to 150 degrees.
Example: ‘The open-book had some interesting moves.’
Word: ruster-tail
Definition: The tail of water made when skiing.
Example: I was ripping and made some ruster-tails.
(Y.A., N.A., T.P., A.A., R.S., and B.K.)
Let’s here it for the Summer of 2005 English 101 and 205 students! (sound of applause…)
Stay tuned for Part II in September, where I will be offer some linguistical delights from Science and Speculative Fiction world builders. Just to give you a little taste, here are a few from Boort, one of my multi-faceted fictional projects:
Word: Sozar (So-zharr)
Definitions: 1. an expletive like “awesome”; 2. a swear word (depending upon tone); 3. said as a toast and/or to congratulate someone; and 4. something said in frustration.
Examples:
“Sozar! I can’t seem to find the portal to return home to Boort.”
“The Boortian Ambassador just hired you as her personal assistant? Sozar to you!”
Word: Poochi Bug
Definitions: A type of honey-making “insect” (for want of a better category) that flies but can also maneuver on—and in - the ground. Their tiered hives can range in height from a few feet to over twenty-feet. Circumferences range in size as well. It is believed that certain types of Poochi Bugs burrow deep into the ground as well. They are considered to be poisonous to most humanoid species. The Poochi Bug and its behavior is a rich source of metaphor in the Boortian language group.
Examples:
“I wouldn’t go out tonight if I were you…The Poochi Bugs are too quiet.”
“Please join me for an aperitif—it’s made with the finest Poochi Bug honey.”
“Those Terrans have much to learn about our style of transgalactic trade negotiating. They’re larval at best.” (This is reference to Poochi Bug larvae. Just prior to hatching, they wriggle out of the hive, thus leaving themselves susceptible to other predators such as the Mora Blossom. The Mora Blossom is a plant know for its exquisite fragrance; it exists in a symbiotic relationship with the Mora Spider, another deadly creature. Interesting to note, however, is that the Mora Spider’s venom has psychotropic properties. There is also a belief that individuals with the appropriate genetic codes are capable of transdimensional travel once bitten.)
“You really need a vacation…You look like you’ve been building hives.” (This is a reference to the Poochi Bug Hives which are constructed much like a village. It also references the underground activities of certain clandestine movements engaged in transgalactic political schemes.)
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