OCT 30, dental feelings: Hallowe'en Verse for a dentist friend (sugary treats)

 

You can review the entire collection of our illustrated verses on this topic by proceeding to the post 'Dental Feelings' on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.

OCT 29, classic palindrome: 'mix a maxim'

Authors' Note: It is unclear why Max finds the maxim more worthy of indulgence than the tenet; the latter, it is noted is a palindrome. And so are Egad! an adage, and Mix a maxim, delightful phrases that may be found in lists of classic palindromes.

You can review a collection of such illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Reversing Verse: Limericks About Classic Palindromes' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. 

OCT 28, Toronto ravines: floating islands at the Brickworks

technical glitch transferring videos remains unresolved.

Sorry.

See other views of Toronto's Brickworks HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

 

OCT 27, objectionable adjectives: 'estival' and 'hibernal'

Authors' Note: In English there are fortunately many nouns that we can use as adjectives when the situation demands. In the opinion of this author, summer (adj.) and winter (adj.) are less cumbersome descriptors than estival and hibernal, despite the opinion of some lexicographers. 

You can review our editorially selected doggerel (eight verses) relating to 'Objectionable Adjectives' by clicking HERE.

OCT 26, limerick variations: O'Malley's concept (C-rhyme extension)

 Author's Note:  Well, yes. This verse does go on at length (including a D-rhyme extension), but in a highly regulated fashion that would have been applauded by the famed lyrical seer and his followers. Support by a cadre of Irish disciples had materialized initially, but to O'Malley's bitter disappointment, was unsustained globally.

 You can review our entire collection of poems on the topic of "Limerick Variations" as compiled on our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense"; click HERE.  

OCT 25, mythed opportunities: Galatea (and Pygmalion)

Authors' Note: The ancient Greek myth about the Cypriot sculptor Pygmalion was recounted by the Roman poet Ovid in his epic work "Metamorphoses" in 8 CE. The name of Pygmalion's self-crafted ivory love-object was not recorded until French romanticists picked up the issue in the 19th century. In 1871, the British comic playwright W.S. Gilbert composed a modernized spoof in blank verse, "Pygmalion and Galatea", that became a successful hit, as did Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw's 1913 theatrical contribution, and its musical and cinematic adaptations (1956 and 1964 respectively) known as My Fair Lady.

The illustration is taken from a drawing by Gerome done in preparation for his iconic painting "Pygmalion and Galatea".

You can take advantage of the whole spectrum of illustrated poems dealing with 'Mythed Opportunities' that we have collected on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE!

OCT 24, patients and their maladies: brain symptoms post-trauma

Authors' Note:  In American football, 'rushing' means running the ball after starting behind the line of scrimmage, not including forward passes. The play continues until the player carrying the ball, usually a backfielder, is tackled.

 

You can view these verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Nurse-Verse: Patients and their Maladies' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

OCT 23, Toronto oases: Rouge national park

OCT 22, planet-saving verse: phosphate detergents

Authors' Note: 

Detergent is a Latin-derived term for a product that 'wipes away' dirt.

You might be interested to review our recent post about the dishwasher as a residential appliance.

You can help save the planet by viewing all our verses in this series at "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

OCT 21, hellenophilia: Cretan gorges

 

 Other verses discussing our appreciation of Greece and things Greek can be found on our blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE.

OCT 20, singable satire: Tennessee Ernie Ford sings "The BALLAD of GIULIANI", part #2

PARODY SONG-LYRICS

ORIGINAL SONG: The Ballad of Davy Crockett , by Bruns and Blackburn, Walt Disney Studios 1954, anthem of the "Crockett craze". Several versions of the song were prominent on the Top Ten in 1955.

Youtube versions of the song by several performers are available via links on the previous post.  

SATIRE COMPOSED: Dr. G.H. and Giorgio Coniglio, June 2018.

 Readers interested in this topic might also enjoy Giorgio's lyrics posted on these earlier blogposts...

Dark Schemes

Rosenstein

Brennan's Tweet
Vlad Putin's Blogger   
The Ballad of Giuliani, part 1 

PARODY-SONGLINK: To access ukulele chord-charts to help you accompany "The Ballad of Giuliani, part #2" on your favorite instrument, click HERE.

BACKGROUND INFO: Max Boot's opinion-editorial appeared in our local newspaper on May 8, 2018, under the heading "The long, disappointing fall of Rudy Giuliani". Here is the link to the particular newspaper column.

BALLAD of GIULIANI, part#2

(to the tune of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett")

Rudy Giuliani!
Voice of those wild Trump Years! 

Update provided by scribe Max Boot,
Who, May '18, wrote a blurb astute.
New York's refurbished image, he does impute
To Rudy's governance, which few dispute.
Rudy - "America's Mayor",
Praised by media seers. 

Max says despite our guy's 'intemp'rate' style,
He granted folks' diversity a high profile.
Supported gays and newbies, and warn't hostile
To programs hailed by both sides o' the aisle.
Rudy Giuliani,
'Moderate' musketeer.

Our Rudy had his 'character flaws',
(Though he knew 'bout state and fed'ral laws)
His pride and vanity could give you pause;
His judgment could have a subordinate clause.
Rudy Giuliani,
Makin' some folks steer clear.

As Max recounted in terms quite blunt,
GOP stars*, the 'Trump test' confront.
They've 'sacrificed their principles', all have flunked -  
The party's evolving to the 'National Front'. 
Rudy, leading others,
Takin' a downward veer.
Rudy (here, Max is tearful)
His 'fall' is the most severe.
   
Max's take is that the Chief's defects,
Infect those who bow and genuflect.
Rudy, like the others, has 'failed the test':
He's the voice of an epoch we've learned to detest.

Rudy Giuliani! Voice of the insincere. x2.

* Boot's article mentions other conservative leaders whom he admired and respected previously, including Paul Ryan, Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Chris Christie, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Sen. Scott Walker. 

OCT 19, Canadiana: seniors' hockey

 Authors' Note: In ice hockey, a hat trick, denotes the scoring of three goals in one game by a single player. 

  The second verse is a spoof on the iconic Nanaimo limerick (the whole collection of these intriguing parodies can be found HERE).

  Hockey has a unique role, said to function as a foundation of national identity, as well as Canada's national sport. Beyond cheering the professional league players and national teams, there has been major growth in recreational hockey, both amateur leagues and informal games. The wide demographic now includes seniors and women. Reserved time at local ice-rinks, even in the wee hours, is a highly cherished commodity.

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

OCT 18, reprehensible modern history: submarine warfare #3

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. 

View the entire collection of poetic assertions on this topic  at our more encyclopedic blog 'Edifying Nonsense', by clicking HERE.

OCT 17, palinku (poetic novelty): restaurants, 3-verse medley

   In this post, we 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 earlier analogues, 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. 

\

The interplay between dining and sinning is also the topic of this recently discovered palindrome ...

"Dennis and Edna dined," said I, as Enid and Edna sinned. 

 You can view all our 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.)

OCT 16, Ontario nostalgia: bunkie

Authors' Note: Although specific municipalities often have additional stringent regulations, the building code for the Canadian province of Ontario specifies that any property can have a detached structure measuring up to 10 square meters (108 square feet); plumbing and heating are not allowed in such structures. They may accommodate seasonal use for guests, although off-season or year-round storage of equipment is also a major use. Cottage owners and their guests have come to refer to these detached small buildings, often outfitted with bunk beds, as bunkies.

You can review the entire series of illustrated poems about  the good old days in Ontario by checking the post "Ontario Nostalgia" on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE. 

OCT 15, Toronto ravines: mysterious lower East Don

'mysterious', or at least, not easily accessible

 If you are interested in wending your way through an encyclopedic collection of four blogposts stuffed with photo-collages on Toronto ravines, click HERE.

OCT 14, doctors and their practices: the dermatologist

Authors' Note: Dermatology is reputed to be a rather routine and phlegmatic area of medical practice. That view may not be entirely irrational; however, you may be glad that you and your family doctor can consult with these specialists should you be faced with a life- or lifestyle-threatening disorder such as pemphigus, mycosis fungoides, psoriatic arthropathy or melanoma.

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!

OCT 13, numbers: baker's dozen, bark mitzvah (13)

 You can review our cumulated nonsense about 'Numbers and Counting' by clicking HERE.

OCT 12, 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."

OCT 11, patients and their maladies: the hoarder

Authors' Note: Although folks with this engrained problem may be categorized as having depression, schizophrenia or obsessive-compulsive disorder, hoarding disorder may be a psychiatric malady in its own right. The disorder creates difficult family situations on either side of the Canada-US border, as in this mostly true story about a well-meaning friend of the authors'.

Astute readers may note that this verse, longer than most limericks, bears a certain similarity to the limerick format. You can learn more about this insider issue by proceeding to the collection Progress in Poetry: "Limerrhoids" 

You can view verses about medical problems in a wider context by proceeding to "Nurse-Verse: Patients and their Maladies" on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

OCT 10, a brief saga (organic brain poetry): metabolic delirium

Authors' Note: The authors were surprised, on researching this point, to learn that urgent hospital admissions in patients with unsuspected cancer in the late metastatic phase are commonly triggered by symptoms of delirium. Among metabolic determinants, sometimes hypercalcemia (elevated blood calcium level) is found, but the cause of delirium may remain undiscovered. Hyponatremia (a low serum sodium level ) characterizes a relatively frequent metabolic derangement, not specifically linked to cancer, that may cause confusion, and even delirium or seizures, in elderly patients eating diets low in protein and salt.

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."

 

 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 (November 2022), proceed to 'Palindrome Workshop'. 

To access the most recent previous 'brief saga' (September 2022), back up to  Beri-beri (vitamin B1 deficiency).

OCT 9, waterfowl: black skimmers

You can review our entire collection of illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Immersible Verse: Limericks about Waterfowl' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. (Or, if you prefer, you can view them on Facebook in Giorgio's photo-albums).

OCT 8, poets' corner: editorial balking

 

Authors' Note: This verse bypasses the requirement at OEDILF for 'definition', in favor of the more reasonable targets of 'exemplification' and 'entertainment'. The author points out hesitatingly that 17 prior 'balk-verses' in OEDILF's data-base (as of 2022) altogether provide minimal definition of the many meanings of this puzzling word.

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

OCT 7, American satire (prolongation): 'a meticulous archivist'

Author's Note: Some readers may wish that the fifth line's 'BLOCKhead' could be replaced by another  assonance-laden word, targeted at the second line's melodic term 'riDICulous'.  

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! 

 

OCT 6, duplication: helter-skelter

Authors' Note: This (re)duplication has elements of impulsiveness, thoughtlessness and randomness in common with harum-scarum, pell-mell and hodge-podge.

Readers willing to go down an internet rabbit-hole can easily get to a collection of more than a dozen other short verses SHORT VERSES  in which we have dealt with specific reduplications. 

If interested you could also discover three fairly lengthy PATTER-SONGS about this fascinating linguistic phenomenon. These songs form an important part of our cycle of 9 songs about "Word Pairs".

OCT 5, inspired by Ogden Nash: 'a sloth in a slough'

Ed note: Here's a morbid version of the iconic verse, "The Flea and the Fly" ...

Authors' Note: We love Ogden Nash poems, and we know that many readers do as well! So, you might enjoy our previous poetic perambulation around the topic 'Attribution to Ogden Nash'. Click HERE! 

 

Incidental Photo:

shrimpboats at sunset, Carolina lowcountry

OCT 4, variant Nantucket limerick: the lad from Salinas

Happy Thanksgiving to all our Canadian friends. See tomorrow's post for an illustrated verse about that great fall holiday!

Editor's Note: In order to read today's verse, you must provide proof that you are over the age of 12. 

Authors' Note: The Sankaty Head Light is a famous lighthouse on the US island of Nantucket. It also serves as the pictorial symbol for OEDILF, the Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form. 

You can review our entire collection of spoof verses based on the iconic Nantucket limericks on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense' by clicking HERE.

OCT 3, bar-fauna: Gary the gator

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'.

Or, if you particularly liked this submission, you might want to refer to our entire collection of verses about bar-fauna: human and animal denizens of bars, pubs and other watering-holes. Click HERE.

Gary, as seen here is an excellent swimmer.

OCT 2, Italian loanwords: ciao

 

Authors' Note: You can probably figure out how to pronounce the word 'ciao' if you  already know how to say ...

cello: the musical instrument, and 

Fauci: the well-known director of the American CDC (Centers for Disease Control), and pandemic maven.

Note, however, that in expressions like che schifo, the Italian letter 'H' blocks the vowel ('E' or 'I')  from softening the sound of the Italian 'C' into the ch'(church) sound of English, so that it retains its 'k' value. 

BTW, che schifo! means 'How disgusting! or How repulsive!, or Yuk!

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