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Peter Kobs's definitions

Football Withdrawal Syndrome

1. The agonizing mental process of accepting that football season is finally over.

This serious mental disorder afflicts millions of Americans every year, usually in the second week of February. Effective therapy is not available until the following August, at the earliest.

2. A crisis in the national spirit that is mitigated (only slightly) by the arrival of March Madness -- the NCAA basketball tournament.

3. The realization that life as we know it has ended, at least for six torturously long months.

4. Proof that Arena Football will never take the place of the real thing.
Hank was hospitalized on February 12 with severe anxiety and chest pain. Following a series of CAT scans at the Mayo Clinic, he was diagnozed with Football Withdrawal Syndrome (FWS). May God have mercy on his soul.
by Peter Kobs January 1, 2010
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Turnaround Tipster

1. An economist or investor who claims to know when the stock market has "bottomed out" based on inside information or a unique set of obscure metrics. 2. Someone who tells you to "get back in the market" because the turnaround has begun. 3. A charlatan.
Ted says we should start buying stock again because the semi-conductor market is firming up in Taiwan. He's one of those Turnaround Tipsters on CNBC.
by Peter Kobs March 10, 2009
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Webism

1. A new word that codifies an important feature, concept or practice in the online world.
2. The Web equivalent of a "neologism," a newly coined word that may be in the process of entering common use.
3. A slang term that was invented by -- and for -- Web users without approval from any outside authority.
"Phishing" and "viral marketing" are a great examples of Webisms that eventually entered worldwide parlance.
by Peter Kobs May 17, 2009
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Propaganda Village

1. An idealized town, hamlet or village built solely for propaganda purposes -- usually by a totalitarian or autocratic government.

The most famous example is Kijŏng-dong ("Peace Village"), a mostly uninhabited village located in North Korea just beyond the demilitarized zone. It was built in the 1950s to encourage South Koreans to defect to North Korea. (Fat chance.) Officially, Kijŏng-dong is a 200-family collective farming town with all the amenities. In reality, it is used to house DPRK soldiers who patrol the DMZ. The world's tallest flagpole stands nearby.

2. A Propaganda Village is a real-life version of a "Potemkin Village." According to myth, Russian ministry Grigory Potyomkin tried to impress Empress Catherine II in 1787 during her visit to Crimea by building fake peasant buildings (facades only) along her travel route. Historians now believe this was a rumor drummed up by Potyomkin's enemies. What he really did was get local peasants to spruce up their homes in advance of the monarch's visit.
Let's go up to the DMZ to see that Propaganda Village -- my cousin in Chicago wants some photos!
by Peter Kobs June 10, 2010
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New Economy

1. An imaginary economic system that will magically replace millions of jobs lost to outsourcing, downsizing and low-wage overseas competition.

2. A feel-good term used by politicians to distract attention from their own immense policy failures.

3. Something that's always "just around the corner" if we only "do the right things."
Michigan's governor said we must prepare for the New Economy by turning 400,000 unemployed auto workers into video game programmers and pastry chefs. That's the ticket!
by Peter Kobs May 3, 2010
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Take back our country

1. A rallying cry for people who think the United States has been "taken over" by anti-American socialists, foreigners, liberals, Marxists, minorities, etc.

The phrase is typically used by white male conservatives who oppose any type of change they perceive as a "threat" to their "way of life." Instead of providing a specific plan for improving the country or the government, they imply that the nation has been "kidnapped" by evil people who hate America and want to destroy freedom.

Unanswered questions: A) Who is "we"? B) Where do "we" want to take the country back to?

2. A phrase that implies our current government is somehow "illegitimate" despite the election of November 2008 when a majority of Americans voted for Obama and the current Congress.
ED: "We've got to take back our country. Otherwise those people in Washington will force our children to become Communist Muslim freedom-hating slaves of Obama. The rest of us will be forced to live in secret FEMA concentration camps. Just you wait and see!"

CINDY: "You've been watching Fox News again, haven't you?"
by Peter Kobs July 6, 2010
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Vid Kid

A child raised on television and video games with little or no parental supervision. Vid kids often have poor social skills, very limited attention spans and less maturity than their peers. Vid kids suffer from a mild form of child abuse rooted in parental neglect.
Jason's a typical vid kid -- he never pays attention in class.
by Peter Kobs January 5, 2009
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