In the paper:

A coaches [sic] rebellion is brewing against the rule that forces them to vote for the winner of the Sugar Bowl as the national champion ... An automatic vote (now there's an oxymoron -- right up there with military intelligence and Christian artillery) "understandably prompts questions about the validity of the final poll."

Weyull, Shufitz, IMHO the term, "professional sports" is oxymoronic. It ain't no sport if ya git paid fer it!

legal ethics
reality TV

PS: Richard, I don't know if that's on the on-line list, because I haven't looked at it. I agree with you: this thread is much more fun if you don't look-and-take.

I swear, last night I thought I deleted this entire thread. Really, wordcrafters, I deleted a stupid reply I had made to Asa, and the entire thread was gone. HONEST! When I went to complain to Shufitz, he then had the thread on his screen. Go figure!

Anyway, here is what I had planned to say:

quote:

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"professional sports" is oxymoronic. It ain't no sport if ya git paid fer it!

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Not exactly, Asa. The first definition of "sport" in dictionary.com is: "Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively." This definition, with the addition of "professional" makes it clear, I think, that sports can be a business. Now, another definition is: "An active pastime; recreation." If that were the only definition of "sport", then I would agree with you.

I know; you weren't being serious. Yet, I found it an interesting point and wanted to pursue it.

schadenfreude

[Translated, the two parts mean "harm-joy".]

Recent reports state that antidepressants cause teenagers to kill themselves. While there's no stand-alone oxymoron there, the idea is oxymoronic - and just plain moronic if the drugs do the opposite of what they're advertised as doing.

quote:

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Originally posted by Asa Lovejoy:
Recent reports state that antidepressants cause teenagers to kill themselves.

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Presumably they're happy as they do it.

Seriously though this has been known about for ages. I first saw a TV program about the side effects of anti-depressants at least ten years ago and it horrified me. In what way is making someone suicidal a cure for depression ?

I've had a couple of friends who have recently sufered fron depression (one has had about six months off work which hasn't helped him at all and the other was admitted to hospital a couple of weeks ago).
Both were prescribed anti-depressants and both seened markedly worse while they were taking them.
What exactly is the clinical benefit of the drugs supposed to be ?
Maybe someone more clued up on medical matters can enlighten me.

I don't think I can tell you the mechanism of the antidepressant action [there are several], but it's well recognized that people can be so terribly down that they can't do anything, not even drag themselves out of bed in the morning. Give them an effective antidepressant and, early on, they may recover not sufficiently to lift their despair entirely, but they regain just enough energy to enable them to harm themselves...it's a real problem faced by mental health professionals.

'Tain't invariably the case that half a loaf is better than no bread at all.

quote:

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Originally posted by haberdasher:
I don't think I can tell you the mechanism of the antidepressant action [there are several], but it's well recognized that people can be so terribly down that they can't do anything, not even drag themselves out of bed in the morning. Give them an effective antidepressant and, early on, they may recover not sufficiently to lift their despair entirely, but they regain just enough energy to enable them to harm themselves...it's a real problem faced by mental health professionals.

'Tain't invariably the case that half a loaf is better than no bread at all.

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Interesting, and I don't really know enough about my second friend's situation to comment. However the first one was by no means in that situation. He was functioning and the medication did make him worse.
Also, from the things I've read and seen it isn't simply a case that the anti depressants enable the patients to function to a level where they are capable of self harm but an actual know and measurable side effect of some types of anti depressant that a previously depressed but not suicidal patient will become suicidal.
Certainly this has been the thrust of a number of articles and TV programs on the subject - some of them from the reputable end of the media.

"...the reputable end of the media."

What, there is STILL a reputable end? Is there an oxymoron contained herein?

Having taken antidepressants at one time, I found that the older drugs were effective, but the new, much more expensive ones weren't. Perhaps the new drugs operate on a reverse-psychology principle. "Things could be worse - here take these, and things WILL get worse!"

Both were prescribed anti-depressants and both seened markedly worse while they were taking them.

The newer anti-depressants are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; that is, they increase the amount of serotonin (a chemical involved in communication between nerve cells) available to the brain, so that it comes back to a normal level. A decrease of serotonin in the brain has been associated with depression.

Now, I have seen patients do marvelously on SSRIs. For some patients they have been miracle drugs, much more effective than the older ones. However, it depends on the patient, and it is a MUST that patients on any anti-depressants have concomitant psychiatric care. What often happens is that patients go to their GPs or internists and ask to be put on an SSRI (i.e. Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac and Luvox), and they don't get the proper follow-up or monitoring for side effects.

Also, while surely we should be very careful to observe all adults on SSRIs, suicide related to SSRIs is rare. Now, remember, these patients are all clinically depressed in the first place.

However, one really has to be careful giving SSRIs to depressed kids. Yet, again, with careful psychiatric monitoring, they can be safe.

The key is to have an excellent psychiatrist monitoring the patient.

Also, remember that psychiatry, and medicine in general really, is not a precise science. Often patients react differently than you would expect to any medication. However, in psychiatry it is hard to even measure response.

The other part is to be sure that the patient was actually taking the medication. There is often a severe depressive reaction when patients stop taking their medications suddenly.

Having said that, I am so sorry, Bob, about your 2 friends. Depression is a very frustrating condition not only for the patient, but for family and friends as well.

quote:

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Originally posted by Kalleh:


The newer anti-depressants are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors;

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Yoy mean Zippy got it wrong?

Tinman

Another oymoron: American beer.

(Surely that swill cannot merit the blessed name of 'beer.')

Book title seen today: Criminal Justice

the fair sex. Often very unfair.

I'm not sure compassionate conservative is an oxymoron... I know many conservatives with compassion in their heart..

Well, KHC, the way we use political terms these days, things do get muddled! For instance, LIBERAL, according to my dictionary, means "free," but many are as hidebound as extreme "conservatives," just at the opposite extreme. So I'm left thinking that the saying, "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help" is oxymoronic.

Amen, Asa, amen!

Government programs, requiring more and more of taxpayers' money, seldom accomplish anything. I always vote for less government intrusion on private lives.

quote:

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Originally posted by KHC:
I'm not sure _compassionate conservative_ is an oxymoron... I know many conservatives with compassion in their heart..

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The problem is, that's just where too many of them keep it. Compassion without action (which, yes, can require a certain amount of tax dollars) is meaningless at worst or oxymoronic at best.

Along similar lines, ever notice that "Michael Moore" is an anagram of "a homeric mole," something that, like "compassionate conservative," can be taken more ways than one.

Here's a current example

From a news broadcast this morning, referring to the current Democratic National Convention:

"The Secret Service is keeping a high profile at the Fleet Center this week..."

Is mankind oxymoronic?

There are the obvious ones . . . Government Intelligence, Military Intelligence . . .

Rock music ?

quote:

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Originally posted by haberdasher:
Rock music ?

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Hab, go watch the movie, "What's Up, Doc?" It gives a very different meaning to the term!

honesty in advertising

or, more timely, political honesty

I just helped a customer find some books on

legal ethics.