Monkey's Dad's definitions

Keep Portland Weird

The long-standing slogan of Portland, Oregon, at present ground zero in the new world of American Fascism.

"Be careful what you wish for", he thought, passing the downtown mural that said 'Keep Portland Weird'. Hours earlier, he had been grabbed by heavily-armed, camo-clad paramilitary, thrown into an unmarked van, blindfolded, sped away, dragged into a building, interrogated, and much later dumped back on the street. Portland was getting weird in ways that no one could have imagined.

by Monkey's Dad July 25, 2020

soli'tude

Attitude formed in response to isolation.

The first few months of being alone had been hard, but gradually she's developed her own soli'tude. She could get along just fine with no one... thank you.

by Monkey's Dad May 25, 2020

crawl-in clinic

With hospitals, emergency rooms and ambulances over-taxed with COVID-19 patients, the strip-mall medical facility where you seek care for almost anything.

Having every symptom of massive heart failure, he managed to drive to the crawl-in clinic, a place he'd normally go for a cut finger. In the pandemic, it was his only option.

by Monkey's Dad April 26, 2020

writer's dilemma

The challenge, going forward, of creating drama in a world stripped of actual human interaction.

He'd need to set his story in the past. Or in the distant future. How could he tell a 2020 love story of a couple wearing masks? Home alone, staring at screens? Storytelling required contact. For the next while, this would be the writer's dilemma.

by Monkey's Dad April 21, 2020

psychosocialsomatic

Symptoms developed by an entire culture through the power of suggestion.

The news was pervasive, relentless and terrifying. The virus could be lurking anywhere, coming from anyone, the very act of breathing or touching so fraught with danger that everyone had come down with psychosocialsomatic symptoms.

by Monkey's Dad March 14, 2020

Spatify

To escalate a 'spat' into a full-on culture battle, as the conflict between Neil Young, Joe Rogan and Spotify spilled across its original borders.

By laying down an ultimatum to Spotify - "Rogan goes or I go" - Neil Young would spatify the dispute, turning it into a broad and ongoing national outrage.

by Monkey's Dad February 9, 2022

Sinovidphobia

Irrational fear that the Chinese deliberately sent Covid virus to America and other countries.

Calling Covid-19 "The Chinese Virus", Fox News sparked Sinovidphobia, resulting in a spate of random hate crimes against Chinese-Americans.

by Monkey's Dad March 27, 2020