December 31, 2022

* DEC 31, HOGMANAY (New Year's Eve): Auld Lang's sine


reprise from December 31, 2020


DEC 31, a brief saga: Hogmanay (New Year's Eve)










 A HAPPY NEW YEARS TO ALL !!!

Incidental photo (start of 2023):

midnight scene from our Toronto aerie
 
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 iLimerick 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. 

 Generally, OEDILF has not been enormously welcoming of multi-verse submissions, but Giorgio Coniglio has persisted, and there are now over 90 of these multi-verse poems feature in his "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.

December 30, 2022

DEC 30, creative anachronism: anachronistically

 



Authors' Note: When writers distort historic timelines intentionally or inadvertently in concocting their plots, they are said to write anachronistically.

Most of the above-mentioned Roman poets have also been discussed individually elsewhere on the OEDILF site. Many of these figures have had their true Latin names altered considerably to fit our Anglo-Latin construct. Apparently, however, none of these authors adopted the limerick format in their poetry.
Along the same lines, readers are invited to review our small but growing collection of "creative anachronisms" on our blog "Edifying Nonsense" by clicking HERE.


December 29, 2022

DEC 29, ecto-parasites: bedbugs



                                     

                                            
             



Authors' Note:  Details of the allegory: The protagonist needed some vacation following a busy time of downsizing and changing residences. A few days prior to taking off on Snowbird flight 203, it became obvious that a domestic infestation of bedbugs, presumably acquired during the household move, had pre-empted his search for a subtropical respite. 
  Watson, the bedbug sniffer-dog (and his contollers) to the rescue!


Watson, the bedbug sniffer-dog

You can review Giorgio's other verses about pesty and occasionally beneficial insects, as  collected in 'Buzzwords: Verses about Insects' on the full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE (and keep following along 'til you get to the section on ecto-parasites).



December 28, 2022

DEC 28, painterly poetry: Alfred Sisley, en plein air





 

Check out our entire collection of illustrated verses on 'painterly poetry' exhibited on "Edifying Nonsense" by clicking HERE

December 27, 2022

DEC 27, non-sequitur: "The Secret Life of Plants" (+ US news)

 



Authors' Note"The Secret Life of Plants", 1973, was a controversial piece of 'non-fiction' that recounted controversial experiments that pointed to plant sentience and emotion. The book became the basis for a documentary film, and even inspired a music album by a well-known popular singer/musician in 1979. Considerable criticism arose from its then-trendy pseudoscientific claims based on non-replicable reports. Subsequently, aspects of how plants, including vegetable species, sense and react to environmental changes, have undergone more intense and sober investigation by academic botanists.

Update from this week's news ... 



Readers may want to review the origin of the charges in this case by reviewing our poem "Classified" posted November 3, 2022. 

December 26, 2022

DEC 26, mammalian wildlife: gerbils





Authors' Note:
Honest Herb(ie), a westponder, concedes that pronouncing the herbal 'H' in Britain and Australia may be the norm there, but he prefers the more common North American way to say it with the 'H' silent, as in 'hour', and 'honest'.  In fact, language detectives may correctly intuit that Herb is a Canadian, as he spells offence with a 'c', rather than the 's' used by Americans.
The Mongolian gerbil, Meriones unguiculatus, a hardy small herbivorous rodent has become a popular pet. Originally a resident of Asia transported for use as a research subject, it was introduced from the US to the UK in 1964; its pronunciation preferences currently remain unrecorded.
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 !

December 25, 2022

DEC 25: holidays and celebrations: poinsettias




Authors' Note:  Poinsettia is now the common name by which this seasonal plant is known around the world.
  Joel Poinsett, South Carolinian physician and amateur botanist, served as the first US ambassador (a position designated as minister) to Mexico. In the 1820s, he sent home to his greenhouses samples of Euphorbia pulcherrima (member of the spurge family), locally known as flor de nochebuena (Christmas Eve), linked to the Hispanic nativity celebration. 
  Distribution of the poinsettia in the US was enhanced by development of cultivars with a more lush profusion of the colored bracts, and recently, by variants in other appealing colors. Today, a single nursery in Texas accounts for 70% of American sales, and half of all global sales of this decorative seasonal specialty.
  Incidentally, although the plant is assumed by many to be toxic, that possibility appears based on an incorrect original report, unsupported by other evidence.









 
rainy-day visit to the
Allan Gardens Conservatory



December 23, 2022

DEC 23, objectionable adjectives: fulsome

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to P.E.H. !!!!!!!



 

Authors' Note: Pretentiousness may be at work when the word fulsome is (ab)used by a writer or speaker who feels that 'full' is not sufficiently impressive.


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

December 22, 2022

DEC 22, higher connections: great chain of being





Authors' Note: Originally conceived by Plato and Aristotle as a construct to explain the universe, the Great Chain of Being, known in Latin as scala naturae, organized all beings and matter in a hierarchy, descending from heavenly powers through humans, animals, plants and minerals. 

   In medieval times, the concept was expanded as a rationale for the Divine Right of Kings, and to deny unapproved social mobility.  
 

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:

the holiday season is upon us ...


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.



December 21, 2022

DEC 21, defining opinion: hollow




 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 iLimerick Form). You can see all of these on one visit by clicking HERE.

December 20, 2022

DEC 20 (2022), singable satire: Tradition Al sings the carol "KOOKY PRESIDENTIAL"

PARODY SONG-LYRICS:

PARODY COMPOSED:  Dr. G.H. and Giorgio Coniglio, February 2019.
ORIGINAL SONG: "Good King Wenceslas", written by English hymnwriter John Mason Neale in 1853, but often now mistakenly referred to as 'traditional'. (The artist mentioned in the byline, "Tradition Al", is apocryphal). Neale's piece (based on accounts of the Bohemian Wenceslas legend and a 13th century 'spring-carol' tune), was highly criticized in the 1920s as "ponderous moral doggerel", but as you all know, has become a seasonal classic.
On You-Tube, you can readily find a spectrum of video recordings of the original lyrics, from the Choir of Westminster Abbey, to Bing Crosby and the Irish Rovers (the last-mentioned is highly recommended for its quirky nature). 
SONGLINK: See the version of this post designed for ukulele and guitar players on our lyrics-blog 'SILLY SONGS and SATIREHERE

KOOKY PRESIDENTIAL VIEWS


(to the tune of "Good King Wenceslas")






Kooky presidential views re the southern border 
(As shown on Fox Cable News)… “Source of all disorder.
Rapists, addicts, dealers (drugs): none are denied entry --
Can’t squelch caravans of thugs with a single se-e-ntry.”

“Hither lackies, stand up tall, we must stop this evil.  
Fund a Gulf-to-Ocean wall, barrier medieval.
Let’s proceed my base to please; they need our assurings --
With an immigration freeze, let in no Hondu-urans.”

“It’s a liberal flashpoint: child, orphaned in detention.  
(When my kids have been reviled, gleans no fake news mention.)
Wetbacks we need in plain sight, murderous and cruel.
Even CNN will write, ‘Trump’s Concern Gains Fue-ell’.”

“Scour the penitentiaries, find Hispanic hitmen,                                    
Who’ll admit they snuck across (for them, that’s easy sh**, men).
Let’s get footage of their crimes and their apprehension.
These rude methods fit the times; hence my condesce-ension.”

“Sire, the week is ending now; jet is prepped for Flor’da.  
Golf at Mar-a-lago, thou fret not ‘bout the border.
Next week we’ll identify ‘Pedro’ and ‘Ra-úl’.
They’ll Fox viewers petrify -- home-invaders cru-uell.” 

 

DEC 20, curtained verse: florid


 EDITORS' WARNING: You must be at least 12 years of age to read this post!


 Authors' Note: 

STD: initialism for 'sexually transmitted disease', a problem for which one might consult an STD-clinic or an STD-doc

Although it's principal meanings revolve around the Latin term for flowery or flourishingflorid has come to imply, in the medical context, "referring to a disease or to a symptom in its fully developed form", or perhaps "fragrantly, flagrantly florid".


 You can review other mildly scurrilous illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Curtained verse: Faintly Obscene (Selected) Limericks' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.

December 19, 2022

DEC 19, death and the afterlife: where bad Jews go

 




 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!

December 18, 2022

DEC 18, news-post: FIFA (soccer) World Cup 2022


 FIFA WORLD CUP 2022:


Final at Qatar venue ends in 3-3- tie. 

Thrilling tie-breaker, Argentina, Messi: What more can you say ?










December 17, 2022

DEC 17, waterfowl: flightless seabirds




 You can review these illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Immersible Verse: Limericks about Waterfowl' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. 



December 16, 2022

DEC 16, patients and their maladies: Graves' disease

 




Authors' Note Graves' disease (often shortened by medical types to the ominous-sounding Graves' ), described by Robert Graves in 1835, is a common auto-immune disease that attacks the internal controls in the thyroid gland, and results in the overproduction of thyroid hormones. Significant symptoms result from hyperthyroidism, the hypermetabolic state that is produced.

Among several effective treatments, antithyroid drugs, taken over months or years, block production of these hormones, and often result in resumption of the euthyroid (normal) state.       

You can view collections of verses on this topic by proceeding to "Nurse-Verse: PATIENTS and their MALADIES" on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

December 15, 2022

DEC 15, reptiles: herpetophobes





Authors' Note: 

ophidiophobia: an extrem or incapacitating fear of snakes

herpetophobia: a similar anxiety disorder extending to all reptiles

The reptilian suborder Serpentes was previously known as Ophidia, a term derived from ophis, Greek for 'snake'. 


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



December 14, 2022

DEC 14, classic palindrome: go hang a salami ...



Authors' Note: Hanging a salami is an easily accomplished, but important step in the process of dry curing this meat product.

'Go hang a salami; I'm a lasagna hog' is a frequently cited palindrome of relatively recent origin. It has been variously attributed to Jon Agee, a cartoonist and children's writer, and Baby Gramps, a musician and wordplay guru. A lesser known variant of this phrase, possibly primally inspirational, is 'Yo, bang a salami. I'm a lasagna boy.'

The second palindrome cited in this verse is of limited longevity and suboptimal quality, as admitted by our protagonist, little Bobby; it is a brief variant of a classic phrase of unknown origin, usually cited as 'God, a red nugget: a fat egg under a dog.'

Web-resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Gramps
https://jonagee.com/ 


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'. 


December 13, 2022

DEC 13: (re)duplication: harum-scarum



Readers willing to go down an internet rabbit-hole HERE can easily get to a collection of more than a dozen other short verses in which we have dealt with specific reduplications, as well as three fairly lengthy patter-songs about this fascinating linguistic phenomenon. 

December 12, 2022

DEC 12, planet-saving verse: drought






Author's Note: Pretty much a true story. 

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


incidental photo (2023)


barrel cactuses








December 11, 2022

DEC 11, dental feelings (sentimental verse): gnashing, bruxism











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

December 10, 2022

DEC 10, palinku (poetic novety): diapers





 

(Ed. note:) Verses of this ilk have continued to proliferate, and there are now more than 50. You can view them all at one swoop if you proceed with a single click to our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.

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


December 8, 2022

DEC 8, doctors and their practices: Doctors Without Borders

This verse is dedicated to Dr. M. G., an Irish-Canadian emergency physician, now serving as a hospital administrator in Yemen.



Authors' Note:    (mayd-SEHN sahn frohn-TYAYR)
 A small group of French doctors and journalists, in the wake of the horrific Biafran famine in 1971, founded Médecins Sans Frontières (occasionally for English speakers translated as Doctors Without Borders). Designed to deal with humanitarian crises in the developing world in regions beseiged by overt war, armed internal conflicts, epidemics and natural disasters, the charity has repeatedly distinguished itself, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. It currently (2022) operates in over seventy countries worldwide.

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!

December 7, 2022

DEC 7, urban concerns: break of day

 






building east of downtown,
sunset briefly captured
(8:30 p.m., May)





Authors' Note: For more peculiar view of the city, check out this later poetic offering.


Our collection of illustrated poems about "Urban Concerns" on our parent blog "Edifying Nonsense", contains a number of intriguing verses that you can access by clicking HERE.

December 6, 2022

DEC 6, bar-fauna: Hamlet at the pub






If you liked this offering, you might want to refer to our entire collection of verses about human and animal denizens of bars, pubs and other watering-holes. Click HERE.


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.


December 5, 2022

DEC 5, insects: entomologists



Authors' Note: Fact-sheets dealing with related key information have been posted here by etymologists. These include short poems pertaining to insects that eat woollens, scavenge for food, destroy wood structures, prey on human blood and torment domestic pets.

Readers are advised to exercise care in distinguishing entomologists from etymologists.

December 4, 2022

DEC 4, pluralia tantum: 'moronics' -- unusual 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."


December 3, 2022

DEC 3, binomial phrases: "publish or perish"





Authors' Note: The above treatise was assisted by a grant from the Foundation for Classic Binomial Expressions, under which permission was obtained for the use of song and danceants in one's pants, and publish or perish. (Other paired expressions, cheer and cherish, and funding and grants, are under development).