JUN 27, wordplay: Scramble-towns eastern Canada,8

 

LINKS to other nonsense in this series: 

Forward to the next Canadian map (9), eh?

Back up to the first Canadian map.

Back up to the first American map.

JUN 25, submitted palindromes: RANDOM PILES 6

 

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", continuing with other well-known phrases, such as "Dennis sinned". Otherwise, their contribution will be grouped in monthly random piles (a phrase that you might recognize as an anagram of the word p-a-l-i-n-d-r-o-m-e-s).

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.

JUN 24, numbers: digits (base-10)

You can review our cumulated nonsense about numbers by clicking HERE.

JUN 23, poetic non-sequitur: judge's gavel

San Quentin State Prison, California

 

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.

JUN 22, oncology verse: hybrid PET-CT imaging for cancer detection

Authors' Note:   Absorption of rays by body tissues complicates the interpretation of medical imaging with Positron Emission Tomography (PET). In equipment development since the year 2000, 'hybrid' scanners combine the nuclear camera with a CT x-ray unit that provides maps of attenuation; this technique for correction of attenuation (known to workers in the field as A.C.), makes PET more accurate in the detection of cancer. A potential limitation, the much lower energy of the photons used for x-ray CT, turns out to have little degrading effect in practical usage.

   Moreover, anatomic localization of the lesion can be obtained at the same session, enabling techniques such as superposition of the ‘hot’ focus on a 3D anatomic body-map. This technique has been given  the difficult and somewhat redundant term ‘PET-CT’.

 You can view all such verses in a wider context by proceeding to the collection of "ONCOLOGY VERSES" on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

JUN 21, planet-saving verse: invasive species

 

                                                                                                    

JUN 19, binomial phrases: "flotsam and jetsam"

 

Authors' Note:  'Floaters', in the eye, a common symptom may require expert medical attention when they first appear or become more numerous. Most often, they are insignificant and chronic. Jill might be surprised to learn that they are not caused by accumulation of discrete floating particles, e.g. jetsam, but are rather an effect attributed to fibrous strands traversing the vitreous (posterior) chamber of the eye.

Flotsam and jetsam is an intriguing binomial phrase. The original meaning of its two components is explained in a verse by OEDILFian contributor Kevin Lucas.  

To review our poetic effusion about binomial phrases proceed to our blog 'Edifying Nonsense', click HERE ! 

There is also an entire collection of lyrics to patter songs, somewhat older material, dedicated to various kinds of binomials, that provides more didactic material and an extensive series of examples, and allows you to sing these expressions for your own enjoyment, or for that of others around you. Click HERE !

JUN 18, organic brain poetry: hypothyroid depression

Authors' Note: 

rarefactive: (a non-standard use) — the condition of becoming less frequent; under-functioning

By far the most common cause of thyroid hormone deficiency or hypothyroidism (historically known as myxedema for a type of puffy swelling and rash in the legs) is progressive destruction of normal hormone-producing tissue by the process of colloid degeneration. Owing to the metabolic role of thyroid hormone, most body functions then slow, resulting, for example, in reduced heart rate and weight gain. For the brain, somnolence and depression may be accompanied in extreme cases by disordered mentation known as 'myxedema madness'.

Under normal circumstances, the anterior pituitary gland, stimulated by the brain's hypophysis, plays a key role as the 'master gland' in regulating hormone production. When the thyroid gland is flagging, the master gland increases its production of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), a messenger that is excreted into the bloodstream, targeted to normalize the peripheral gland's production. Fortunately, the robust sensing mechanism in the hypophysis and pituitary, not impaired by the metabolic slowdown elsewhere, produces high levels of blood TSH so reliably that a simple test can be used as the best test for detection of the hypothyroid state.

You can view and review all our verses on the topic of 'Organic Brain Poetry' by following this link to the encyclopedic collection on "Edifying Nonsense."

JUN 17, palinku (poetic novelty): evil +b

 

(Ed. note:) Verses of this type have continued to proliferate, and the total now is approaching 60. You can view them all at one swoop if you proceed to our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE. Or, if you want to stay on this daily blog, you can enter 'Palinku' on the search line in the browser and find individual verses of this type published here over the last year.

'He won snow, eh?'

A snowy Christmas Day, Toronto, 2020

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.

JUN 16, toxic vignette: anthracycline cardiotoxicity (monitoring left ventricular function)

Author's Note:   Anthracycline antibiotics, e.g. doxorubicin (adriamycin) are among the most effective chemotherapy agents; they have been profitably incorporated in multidrug chemotherapy treatment routines for many types of cancer. These advantages are partially offset by a relatively unique adverse effect — the possibility of cardiotoxicity, permanent impairment of the systolic (contracting) function of ventricular heart muscle. 

   Development of this side effect can be minimized by pharmacological manipulations and by monitoring cardiac function periodically during longterm treatment.

   Nuclear medicine techniques have classically been used, but echocardiography may also be of value (see the verse ‘Ejection Fraction’).

    

Review all our poems of toxicologic interest by clicking HERE.  

JUN 15, doctors and their practices: ophthalmologist sibling xxxxxxxxxxxx Dr. JJ

 A nostalgic recollection inspired by a birthday. Dr. JJ would be enjoying his 79th today.

at his younger bro's Bar Mitzvah

 

surprise party (40th anniversary) for his folks

an iconic 50th anniversary celebration

 

  You can view these informative verses in a wider context by proceeding to the collection 'DOCTORS and their PRACTICES' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

JUN 14, mammalian wildlife: Steller sea lions

ADDITIONAL Note:  A falling birth rate  (along with ongoing hunting) has been proposed as a principal factor in the decline in the last century of Pacific Ocean populations of the Steller sea lion, Eumetopias jubatus. Although wanton polygamy has, to be honest, always been an option for females of this species of magnificent marine mammals, the particular efforts of concerned individuals like our heroine Stella may have contributed to a recent recovery.

You can review the whole collection of illustrated verses about mammals (both domestic and exotic) by checking out the more extensive post on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE !

JUN 13, reprehensible modern history: submarine warfare #2

Charleston, South Carolina played a major role in the development of submarine warfare. The Cold War Submarine Memorial is located at Patriot's Point in Mt. Pleasant SC, on the eastern side of Charleston harbor. 

At our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense', you can review our entire collection of panels about the history of submarine warfare, as well as the lyrics to the parody-song "Relic Submarines". Click HERE. 

JUN 12, folio-entry, couples: ring-billed gulls

 

JUN 11, funny bones: Lisfranc fractures

 

Authors' Note: 

crank: an unpleasant person who has difficulty with anger control

ORIF: acronym for surgical intervention for bone fractures — open reduction, internal fixation

plain films: medical jargon for two-dimensional x-ray studies, as opposed to CT, although digital media, not 'film' emulsion, are now generally used to analyze and record the images

With these injuries that involve one or more fractures, metatarsal bones of the lower foot are dissociated from the tarsus, making the mid-foot unstable. They were first observed in cavalry men during the Napoleonic Wars and later described by a French surgeon, Jacques Lisfranc de St-Martin. In English medical jargon they are known as Lisfranc (LIZ-frank or liz-FRANK) fractures. Self-diagnosis of this type of injury by a patient would be an unusual event.

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! 

JUN 10, brief saga (national verse): Canada

Authors' Note:

les États-Unis (lay zay-TAH-zoo-ee, or as here, lay ZAY-tah-zoo-nee ): French for '(the) United States'

Au Canada: (O Ca-na-DUH), a tiny spoof on the title of our national anthem ("O Canada") in both official languages; the heavy emphasis on the final syllable in the English version seems artificial to those of us more accustomed to pronouncing our homeland as CA-nuh-duh.

pays (peh-EE), province (pro-VEHnS), compris (cohn-PREE), Québécois (kay-bay-CWA), chez nous (shay NOO) and au (OH): the French words for 'country', 'province', 'understood/included', 'Quebecker(s)', at home' and 'in/at (the)', respectively

(from) sea to sea: Canada's official motto is the Latin phrase A Mari usque ad Mare

This verse was inspired by speedysnail's "country" verses, including The Gambia. 

You can review our collection of verses about various individual nations, and about the groupings to which they belong, on our topic-based blog "Edifying Nonsense". 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 are involved in a collaborative editing process that may take several weeks to over a year. 

 There are now over 40 of these lengthier bits of doggerel featured at OEDILF in Giorgio's "Author's Showcase". The OEDILF number for each accepted multiverse poem is shown here on the slide with its first verse. We have been blog-publishing these poetic adventures here monthly since January 2020.

To access the next 'brief saga' on this blog (February 2022), proceed to 'Careers'. 

To access the most recent previous 'brief saga' (December 2021), back up to 'Echoic Binomials'.

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

2020
2021
2022
2023.

JUN 9, reptiles: eviction notice

 

 You can review photos and illustrated herpetologic verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Verses about Reptiles' (don't worry! no snakes)' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.

view of wildlife at Caw Caw Interpretive Center,
Charleston County Parks,
April 30, 2022.

WATCH OUT!

 You can review photos and illustrated herpetologic verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Verses about Reptiles (don't worry! no snakes)' on the full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense".

JUN 8, exotic destination: discount air to Australia

 Other verses about 'Exotic Travel Destinations' can be found on our blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE.

JUN 7, death and the afterlife: end-of-life care

Authors' Note: In some jurisdictions, all deaths in a long-term nursing facility must be reported to the office of the coroner.

 You can review more poems about 'Death and the Afterlife' in context ('death and the afterlife') on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE!

JUN 6, pluralia tantum: the backwoods ('rural plurals')

 

Authors' Note: 

Urals: The Ural Mountains, a discrete range running north and south, separates old Russian from more sparsely populated Siberia, and is considered as the boundary between the continents of Europe and Asia.

 The above verses provide further examples of the grammatical phenomenon pluralia tantum. We have discussed in other verses here the relationship of pluralia tantum to medical nomenclature, to life-cycle celebrations, to cooking ingredients, and to fields of study.

Grandpa Greg asked us to pass on this message: "You can view the entire collection of verses about 'Pluralia Tantum' by clicking HERE."

JUN 5, birdlore: red-tailed hawk

Authors' Note: Regal in appearance, the red-tailed hawk, the most common North American member of the raptor genus Buteo, is a year-round denizen of southern Ontario, and is frequently seen in urban residential areas. 

 

You can view an encyclopedic collection of illustrated poems on this topic by proceeding to the post 'Poems about BIRDLIFE' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE. 

JUN 4, poets' corner: bold-faced nonsense

Authors' Note:    Our blog, 'Edifying Nonsense', promotes several forms of creative nonsense, including collections of humorous and definitional poems overlapping with those submitted to OEDILF, an online collaborative writing-site. (parenthetically, accepted OEDILFian verses boldface the attributed key word that is ‘defined’ in the poem. On occasion, the partly completed collections are offered to OEDILFian editor-colleagues as a 'temporary Author's Note', to provide context for the cooperative editing task of rehashing a verse that is still in tentative status.

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

 

JUN 3, wordplay map: sister-cities anagrams: (36) CasMort/Burialpen

 You can review our entire poetic outpouring on this important topic by proceeding to a post on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'; click HERE.

JUN 2, Italian loanwords: oratorio / opera

Today is Festa de la Repubblica, Italy's National Holiday, and we will be initiating a new series of verses ...

Authors' Note: Demand for gaudy Italian opera faded temporarily in the mid-18th century in his adopted English homeland, so George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) composed a series of non-costumed oratorios for combined choir and orchestra. The sixth in the series was initially produced in Dublin, as poor reception in London was anticipated; this was, in fact, the case, but after a number of yearly springtime performances at Covent Garden Theatre, the New Sacred Oratorio gained critical and audience approval, and acquired a bold new name and unassailable status. The tradition that audiences stand for the Hallelujah Chorus is based on the unfounded myth that King George II attended an early show and was moved to stand during that point in the performance.

  The title for the iconic chorus seems to have been set in the Handelian context as Hallelujah, but dictionaries list variants of the Hebrew-derived exclamation ("praise the Lord!"), including Allelujah and Alleluia.

 You can review our entire poetic outpouring about Italian loanwords by proceeding to a post on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'; click HERE.