FEB 28, 2021: W-I-P

FEB 29, (28b), toxic vignette: moonshine whiskey

Authors' Note:  The toxic effects of illicit moonshine whiskey often result from the solder of car radiators, items that are conveniently incorporated into clandestine distilling equipment. Chronic kidney failure may be a delayed effect of repeated exposure to lead, cadmium and other heavy metals which leach into the brew from this source, allowing 'Whiskey Rick' and his ilk to escape responsibility for the most devastating effects of their concoctions. 
    

Review all our poems of toxicologic interest by clicking HERE.  

 

FEB 28, Canadiana: snow-biota

verse in honour of Dr. JJ, whose love of life included comedy and the music of poetry ...

Authors' Note:

coyote: wolf-like wild dog,  with range recently extended into southern parts of Canada, and into Carolina coastal communities; a member of the canid family, as are dogs and wolves

cuanto: Spanish for 'how much?’

Pierre (PEER): town named by French explorers, capital of the U.S. state of  South Dakota, located due west of Toronto (2,100 km or 1,330 miles by highway).

  

  In the United States, nicknames (official or unofficial) for individual states are important for aspects such as vehicle licensing plaques, sports team designation and political bloviation. Geographic features and indigenous plants and animals may be so used, as in South Dakota, 'the coyote state’, and South Carolina, 'the palmetto state’. Such symbols are used to a considerably lesser extent in Canada.

You can review poems, pictures and diverse nonsense related to Canada on the post "Canadiana" on our full-service blog  "Edifying Nonsense".

Incidental Photo:

Algonquin fishing expedition, 1952,
Dr. JJ on reader's right

FEB 27, wordplay: Scramble-towns eastern Canada,4

 

LINKS to other nonsense in this series: 

Forward to the next Canadian map (5), eh?

Back up to the first Canadian map.

Back up to the first American map.

FEB 26, life in Palindrome Valley: 'Nauruan' (second language)

verse in honour of Dr. JJ, whose love of life included comedy and the music of poetry ...

Authors' Note: 

(now-ROO-uhn, nah-ROO-uhn)

   In Palindrome Valley, parents and administrators had to decide what second language would be taught in schools. The underlying rationale is obvious. and here's the clue: of the almost two hundred nations on the globe, only the Pacific island-nation of Nauru has a national language and adjectival form that is a palindrome. The interested reader might note that on Nauru itself, while the Australian brand of English, the basis of televised entertainment, is widely understood, over 90% use their unique Austronesian language.

   The author, with an interest in foreign languages from an early age, fantasizes that had he grown up in Palindrome Valley, he would have maintained his skill in speaking Nauruan.

ADDENDUM: 'Malayalam', one of the many languages of South India, related to Sanskrit and Tamil, is also a palindromic name, but although spoken by almost 3% of current Indians, it never represented a national language. 

You can review other illustrated verses on this topic by proceeding to the collection 'Life in Palindrome Valley' on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.

Incidental Photo:

' JJ' in rare formal attire, 1961

FEB 25, submitted palindromes: RANDOM PILES 2

 

You have reached the "Submitted Palindromes" thread on the blog "Daily Edifying Nonsense", a light literary entity that emanates through the blogosphere daily (almost), i.e. 30 times per month.

  On the 25th of each month you will find a slide-filling group of palindromic phrases submitted to the editors by a panel of 7 palindromists. These folks have all been working on this project since January 2020. The personal profiles for each of these contributors are displayed in panels published here at the start of things, and then, we have asked them to provide (palindromically, of course) their views on one of the iconic items in the classic literature, starting with "A man, a plan, a canal -- Panama".

You can access this delightful entertainment right here by entering submitted palindromes in one of the two search bars at the top of this post and scrolling downwards through the wordplay posts that you will discover, OR, just follow the links indicated above. 

Devotees of palindromic wordplay can further explore limericks and other short verses about the classic palindromes (and quite a few recent concoctions) that are randomly scattered on this blog after September 2000, or collected into grouped postings on our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense" -- start HERE.

FEB 24, defining opinion: academically

 verse in honour of 'Dr. JJ', whose love of life included comedy, satire, and the music of poetry ...

Our blogpost "Defining Opinion" on the topic-based blog "Edifying Nonsense" shows a selection of similar verses submitted to OEDILF (the online Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form). You can see all of these on one visit by clicking HERE.

b) Incidental Photo

 

1948

FEB 23, reprehensible modern history: cantankerous leaders

verse in honour of Dr. JJ, whose love of life encompassed comedy, satire, and the music of poetry ...

 View the entire collection of poetic assertions on this topic (currently small, but growing) at our more encyclopedic blog 'Edifying Nonsense', by clicking HERE.

Incidental Photo:

Dr JJ (left) in family trio, 1947

FEB 22, American satire (prolongation): 'coups in the news' + deserved (schadenfreude)

posting in honour of Dr. JJ, whose love of life included comedy and the music of poetry ...

Authors' Note: 

oy gevalt (oy-guh-VULT): phrase borrowed from Yiddish; an exclamation expressing shock, surprise or disapproval

schadenfreude (SHA-den-froi-duh, or as here, sha-den-FROI-duh): loanword from German; taking delight in others' misfortune

June 28, 2022
Mark Meadows' aide testifies at the Jan 6 committee hearings

We hope that you enjoyed this verse. You can find 40 more on this topic in 6 collections on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE to start! 

Incidental Photo:

JJ, spoofing with youngest bro, 1970

FEB 21, handbook of micro-nutrients: vitamin A deficiency

Another offering from the repertoire devoted to Dr JJ ...

Authors' Note: Deficiency of vitamin A

Avitaminosis, an absence of vitamins, causes specific deficiency diseases, although some of these cause diffuse or multi-system disorders.

Avitaminosis A, the absence of vitamin A, is the most common cause of childhood blindness in parts of Africa and South Asia, resulting in specific eye damage, including corneal ulceration adn retinal damage. Early symptoms include xerophthalmia (severely 'dry eyes') and loss of night vision; however, in appropriately nourished populations (developed countries), these symptoms are most often due to other causes.

You can find our incipient collection of verse related to micro-nutrients, i.e. trace minerals and vitamins on our topic-based blog "Edifying Nonsense" by clicking HERE. 

Incidental Photo:

at Longboat Key, FL, mid-1970s

FEB 20, 2022: W-I-P

FEB 20, 2022; W-I-P

ORIGINAL SONG (music): "Dark Eyes (Ochi Chornye)", poem written in Russian by Ukrainian poet Hrebinka in 1843, set to music in 1884; recorded by Al Jolson, Django Reinhart, Louis Armstrong, Red Army Chorus, Fyodor Chaliapin, Ivan Rebroff etc.

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, January 2018, related to the 2016  winter Olympics . 

PARODY SONG-LINK: See the version designed for ukulele and guitar players on "SILLY SONGS and SATIRE" HERE.

 

DARK SCHEMES (RUSSIAN HACKING)

(to the tune of "Dark Eyes" ("Ochi Chornye")

A huge triumph for our Russian hackers,

With support PUT IN by Kremlin backers.

Secret intrusion -- seek Red collusion,

Get the goods on sad Trump detractors.

Rationale why we try subvert the West?

We need silly poems. You guys got the best.

No laugh Soviets. Putin still says, Nyet!"

So steal comedy, we'll be funniest.

Once was oligarch from Nantucket

Hid all cash in pail. Tax? He'd duck it.

But his daughter Nan found a man with plan -- 

Informed KGB, then stole bucket. 

Lady traveller, named Miss Brightsky,

She exceeded 'c', speed of lightsky.

She set off from Omsk, took train back from Tomsk,

And returned next week, Sunday nightsky.

Trapped in samovar, were a flea and fly

(English word is 'tea'; Russians call it 'chai');

They played sweet guitar, smoked Cuban cigar,

Though when water boiled, they would surely die. 

You should not pay heed, when the joke's on us; 

Shield you from such filth, we should make a fuss.

What could be appeal, what Chris Steele reveal?

Golden shower file we should not discuss.

Though the IOC* dinged us for doping

Russian hacking teams don't sit moping.

Super dupers are scooping covert medals for duping --

It's a banner year, Vladimir's hoping.

*IOC = International Olympic Committee

FEB 19, funny bones: Jones (fifth metatarsal) fracture

verse in honour of Dr. JJ, whose love of life included comedy and the music of poetry ...

Authors' Note:  In fact, Syd has the right idea. Current therapy for the Jones fracture (which occurs due to repeated twisting stress in dancers and tennis or basketball players) includes surgical placement of a screw that binds the two fragments, to eliminate the possibility of bone non-union that complicated earlier forms of treatment. In cases where surgery is not selected, treatment usually consists of an external cast and avoidance of weight-bearing for six weeks. 

 You can view verses on this topic in a wider context by proceeding to the post 'Breaking News: FUNNY BONES' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE! 

Incidental Photo:

Dr JJ, in tub at reader's left, 1947

FEB 18, defining opinion: boring

Our collection of 'Non-Sequiturs' on our parent blog "Edifying Nonsense", contains an admittedly bizarre assortment of nonsensical odds-and-ends, that don't quite fit into other topic-based offerings. But should you want to review the entire collection, click HERE.

Incidental Photo:

summer in Bermuda (medical externship),
Dr.JJ, 1965

FEB 17, palinku (poetic novelty): sports

This blog-post is in honour of 'Dr. JJ', whose love of life included satire, the music of poetry, and of course, both participatory and spectator sports ...

  In this post, we will continue with a novel form of poetic wordplay. Inspired by Japanese haiku poetry, this new form is used for a terse verse with a total of 17 syllables displayed on three lines. Unlike its classic Japanese analogue, this concoction does not mandate the precise distribution of the syllables among the three lines, but does stipulate that each word in the poem be included in a palindromic phrase or sentence in English (i.e. one that can be read either forwards or backwards). 

  To help the reader discern the origin of the lyrics, each palindrome (generally occupying one of the three lines of the poem) has been color-coded.

 You can view all our "palinku" verses of this type if you proceed with a single click to our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE. (Or if you prefer, you can stay on this particular blogsite and look for the offerings for the 17th day of each month -- there are now more than 60 of these.)

 

Incidental Photo:

on Florida beach, undated

FEB 16, verses inspired by 'Dr. JJ'

 

 links for any date: scroll over to the calendar-based listings of 'Past Posts' in the righthand column on this page, choose your month of interest, and then select (by clicking) the post of your choice.

Incidental Photo:

JJ with family,2020,
 at his summer cottage
(photo courtesy BF)

FEB 15, poets' corner: the poet's family

verse in honour of Dr. JJ, whose love of life included comedy and the music of poetry ...

You can find lots of other verses on this blog under the rubric "Poets' Corner".  Most of them are in limerick format, and have been subjected to the editing process at OEDILF, the Online English Dictionary in Limerick Form. To access the others, type the phrase Poets Corner into the searchline on this blogpost (at the top of the righthand navigation column).

 

Incidental Photo:

JJ, with his two younger brothers and Mom

You can find lots of other verses on this blog under the listing "Poets' Corner".  Click HERE.

FEB 14, photo-collage, Carolina lowcountry; consolation provided by Nature

photo-collage in honour of Dr. JJ, whose loves included the outdoor life ...

brown pelican closeup

egret and shadow

great egret launching

two buddies

waterfowl trio
(great egret stalking slowly,
snowy egret walking,
tricolored (Louisiana) heron fishing)

hooded mergansers:
very cute, but quite skittish little ducks

great blue heron

aerial coyote, on guard at a seafood vendor

green anole, displaying its orangy-pink dewlap

snowy egret, at spillway

pizza delivery boxes in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina,

touting service to 'the Lowcountry'

This collection of photograhic views continues HERE.

FEB 13, commercial product: Smart Garden Gnome

verse in honour of Dr. JJ, whose love of life included comedy and the music of poetry ...

Authors' Note:  A garden gnome is an ersatz creature, often assumed to be of below average intelligence and technical sophistication. Here the author reimagines the garden gnome as a technically adept home protection device, suited to the western American setting.

 Our range of domestic and commercial products is somewhat limited, but you might want to review our unusual prospective gifts on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.

Incidental Photo:

JJ, undated childhood photo

FEB 12, folio-entry, couples: frogs

 You can view all of our folio-photos from the collection of 'Couples' portraits in a wider context on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.

FEB 11, at heart: Jack Sprat and his bypass grafts

verse in honour of 'Dr. JJ', whose love of life included comedy, satire, and the music of poetry ...

Authors' Note: Statins are drugs in frequent use for patients with arterial disease that reduce the body's manufacture of cholesterol. A small proportion of patients are intolerant of this class of oral medication, most commonly due to muscle cramps.

The most common site of symptomatic arterial blockage is the coronary arteries, which provide nutrient blood flow to the heart muscle. Surgical bypass grafting of multiple sites of obstruction is a common treatment for this disease. Following such surgery, patients such as Jack need to remain attentive to risk factors including dietary fats.

You can view more poems on this topic by proceeding to "Cardiologic Tracings: AT HEART" (parts #1 and #2) on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

Incidental Photo:

JJ. at his younger bro's bar mitzvah celebration

FEB 10, a brief saga (inspired by Ogden Nash): 'the gnat and the nit'

verse in honour of 'Dr. JJ', whose love of life included comedy, satire and the music of poetry ...

The gnu photo illustrating this verse was kindly provided to the editors by Barry Weinstock. But you already knew that, if you had read the prior blogpost about 'gnu dung'. 

  

Readers might want to proceed to our post on "Edifying Nonsense", where we display a few of Nash's (verified) limericks. Click HERE.

 For the purpose of this blog, a 'brief saga' is defined as a poem, usually narrative, but occasionally expository, that tell its story in at least 15 lines. Most commonly, the format involves three stanzas in limerick form, constituting a single submission to the online humor site 'Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form'. On the OEDILF site, rigorous standards for content and format proceed in a collaborative editing process that may take several weeks to over a year. 

  Generally, OEDILF has not been enormously welcoming of multi-verse submissions, but Giorgio Coniglio has persisted, and the OEDILF number for each accepted multiverse poem is shown here on the slide with its first verse. In this particular case, the two final stanzas of the poem were added later as a blog-specific addendum to the verses A to C. And the good news is that almost all limerick-derived verses can be set to music!

To access the next 'brief saga' in this series (March 2022), proceed to 'Bequest'.

To access the most recent previous 'brief saga' (January 2022), back up to 'Drug Development'.

 To access all of our 'brief sagas' by the year of their creation, click on your selection below.

2020
2021
2022
2023.

Incidental Photo: