AUG 30, singable satire: W-I-P

AUG 29, defining opinion: envision

 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.

AUG 28, commercial products: cellphones for lizards

a) reprise from 2020

AUG 15, commercial product: cellphones for lizards

 

Authors' Note:  The gecko, a non-threatening species of lizard imported accidentally into the United States (with range expanding in the last few decades), has entered the popular consciousness due to advertisements by GEICO (acronym for the Government Employees Insurance Co.) which feature a British-accented lizard, who gives advice on purchasing auto and other insurance.

   Voice-activated assistance (for humans) on Apple cellphones is provided by a persona known as ‘Siri’. As saurian is a synonym for reptilian, (and the suffix ‘-saur’ is well-known in regard to current and ancient lizard species), you won’t be surprised that we have developed an assistant named ‘Sauri’ for the high-tech gecko community. 

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.

b) beach expedition at Sullivan's Island, SC

AUG 27, classic palindrome: Zeus sees Suez (canal-pals)

 

reprise from 2020

AUG 27, classic palindromes: Zeus sees Suez

 

Authors' Note:   One of the best known palindromic phrases in English, "A man, a plan, a canal — Panama" is attributed to British word-nerd Leigh Mercer. Scores of take-offs and the 'original' are built around the central symmetric nidus of letters ... lan a canal.  A boatload of illustrated geographically-based palindromes can be accessed via previous posts on this blog.

  The current verse proposes a few phrases that challenge, albeit rather weakly, the locked-in domination of Panama in the field of palindromes.

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

Related photo (2022): 

an intrepid adventurer prepares his bicycle-packs for an arduous journey along the Erie Canal.

AUG 26, painterly poetry: Auvers-sur-Oise (van Gogh)

Check out our entire collection of illustrated verse on 'painterly poetry' by clicking HERE. 

AUG 25, birdlore: tufted tit(mouse)

Authors' Note: The tufted titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor, a small cute bird that inhabits the eastern part of North America is named for the crest of feathers on his head, and for old English words for "little bird". Other species of Baeopholus are found in North America, and there are related genera of songbirds known as "titmice" in Europe. The archaic suffix "-mouse" currently adds little to the description of this perky visitor, so he is often known simply as a "tufted tit".

Check out a brief video (live photo) of the tufted titmouse HERE.  

 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. 

AUG 24, American satire (prolongation): grift

 

"Pardon me. When is the next available tee-off time? And by the way, would you like to purchase online a mugshot enhanced souvenir?"  

Astute readers will have noticed that this extended verse, with seven lines, fulfils the criteria for being an "external limerrhoid". Click HERE to enjoy a post that explains and exemplifies this intriguing poetic variant. 

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

AUG 23, scopes of medicine: endoscopic collage (various authors)

Authors' note:  A cystoscope is a type of endoscope that is inserted into the urethra for the purpose of examining it and the bladder. it is also used for obtaining tissue samples for biopsies; in some highly specialized circumstances, it is also used for treatment.

You can view a collection of verses on this topic  by proceeding to 'Inner Enlightenment: The Scopes of Modern Medicine' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE !

AUG 22, patients and their maladies: ganglion cyst

Authors' Note: These common small limb lesions that may fluctuate spontaneously are most often found at the wrist. The name ganglion, Greek for "knot", is a misnomer, as examination by ultrasound or aspiration shows that they are thin-walled cysts filled with synovial (i.e. joint) fluid — such testing is not needed in most cases. Incidentally, the term tumour is a synonym for "growth" or "lump"; health professionals avoid using the term in dealing with lesions that have no oncologic significance in order to allay unnecessary patient anxiety. 

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!

AUG 21, terminal (poetic) exclamation: YIPPEE!

 

Authors' Note:  As shown by verses collected at OEDILF, the slang term chippy has a spectrum of slang meanings including 'prostitute/loose woman', 'argumentative' and 'fish-and-chips eatery'. Where I live, the first two uses are in effect. In the US, postal zip-codes roughly identify the location of one's residence.

You can review our collection of poems on the topic of "Terminal Exclamation (Limerick Variations)" as it evolves on our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense"; click HERE.  

AUG 20, singable satire: Chubby Checker sings "LIMBO ROCKS, OR NOT"

PASTICHE with PARODY SONG-LYRICS

ORIGINAL POEM:  "Inferno" by Dante Alighieri, the first book in the triad "The Divine Comedy", written in the early 14th century.
ORIGINAL SONG: "Limbo Rock", as recorded 1962 by Chubby Checker, used here primarily for music and meter.

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, June, 2015.

PARODY-SONGLINK: To find ukulele and guitar chord-charts to help you accompany "Limbo Rocks, Or Not" on your favorite instrument, click HERE.

The lyrics for this Canto are condensed and re-arranged considerably, but the words are primarily Dante’s, preserving to the extent possible the original 14th century Tuscan language. My English translation follows the Italian, with liberal adaptations for modern readers.

Inferno Canto#4: 
LIMBO ROCKS, OR NOT

(to the tune of "Limbo Rock")


Intro:
So our boys are on the road
In this all-new episode.
Valley dolorous, no bliss
Lurks inside that dark abyss.
Dante peer down from his ledge
(Limbo’s It. for ‘hem' or ‘edge’)
Now he'll start to learn who dwell
In those horrid rings of Hell. 

Dante:
“Discendiam nel cieco mondo
Io primo, tu secondo”
Quindi mio guida disse,
L’angoscia l’impallidisce
Primo cerchio mi fé intrar
I sospiri a ascoltar - 
Una gente disdegnata
Perché non è battezzata 

Every Hell-bound guy and guide
Brush their Limbo-fear aside

Planned to stop at Level #1,
Dance and have a little fun.
But first circle that we found
Rang with sorrow – Limbo’s sound 
Limbo’s sin-free folks - despised,
As they’d not been Lim-baptized.

Virgil:
Porta de la fede credi
Non basta loro mercedi,
Dinanzi al cristianesmo
E cotai son io medesmo.
Adorammo mal a Dio
Tai difetti, non altro rio
Sanza spema semo perduti
In disio vivemo tutti.

Portal of the faith you hold
If I may be Limbo-bold
Was no Christ back in B.C.
Couldn’t pray right, damned are we.
Without hope in Limbo-mire
Worthy types locked in desire.
Hey, eternity’s not quick
Hung up in this Limbo-shtick.

Ero nuov’in questo stato
Vidi venir un Beato
Trasseci ombre dei Parenti
E di Moisè l’ubidente
Uscicci mai per merto
Né per su’ parlar coverto 
Altri spiriti salvati - 
Tutti uomini dannati.

Newbie me in Limbo-town
When a Nimble Guy came down
Played St Nick and filled his sleigh
Drove the Forefathers away,
Caused those left to Limbo-wince
Nothing like it ‘fore or since.
Recent dogma you’ll know well – 
Called the ‘Harrowing of Hell’.*

Dante:
Al pié d’un gran castello -
Intorno un fiumicello
Per sette porte con i savi
Genti v’eran con occhi gravi.
La compagnia si scema
Dell’aura queta a che trema
Mi mena il savio duca
Vegn’ove non è che luca.

We passed through a Limbo-glade
Lamp-lit, Limbo-poles with shades
Reached the Limbo-central square
Virgil’s buds were gathered there.
Quite a Greco-Roman crew
Leaders, sages, poets too.
Had to split, say Limbo-Bye - 
Other fish to Limbo-fry.

Virgil (spoken):
Leaving Town limits
Lower Circle next
How low can we go?

Outro:
Limbo gets misunderstood - 
It’s Hell’s premier neighborhood.
They house heathens, babes and Jews,
None who’ve pledged and then refused.
Your case takes a diff’rent Twist
Once you’ve danced with John Baptist.
Sinning-Lyte - if that’s your story - 
Best apply to Purgatory. 

Dante (spoken nervously):

"Il Limbo"
G.Stradano, 1587

A drink at LimboBar
Before we get too far?
How low can we go?
* Tradition had held that before the Resurrection, Christ went to Hell to claim the souls of the Old Testament heroes and transport them to Heaven. This ‘Harrowing of Hell’ became official church dogma only in 1215. The event had presumably occurred in A.D.34, when Virgil (who died in A.D.19) was still a relative newcomer to Limbo. 

 

AUG 19r, bottom line of medical humour: Beano

a)reprise from 2020

AUG 19, bottom line of medical humor: Beano

Authors' Note:

cruciferae: vegetables in the cabbage family Aspergillus: more fully, Aspergillus niger, the species of fungus from which chemists derive alpha-galactosidase, the principal active enzyme ingredient of flatulence-suppressants.  The concept of a supplement to suppress the discomfort and gas associated with eating vegetables such as beans and cabbage was presumably proposed by Benjamin Franklin in the 1780s. In 1981, Alan Kligerman initiated research that resulted in the development of the commercial enzymatic supplement Beano® , and a Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1991.

  

You can view these informative verses in a wider context by proceeding to the collection 'The BOTTOM LINE of MEDICAL HUMOR' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

b) beach excursion to Sullivan's Island

AUG 18, ballet at Toronto's Harbourfront: action clips

For a more sedate view, see the still photos from the same performances HERE.

TO SEE MORE STUFF: To see older or newer material  (posted daily, or at least on most 'good' days), CLICK below the Comments Section, on 'Older Post' or 'Newer Post'.

AUG 17, palinku (poetic novelty): European capitals

  In this post, we continue with our novel form of poetic wordplay. Inspired by Japanese haiku poetry, the "palinku" is a terse verse with a total of 17 syllables displayed on three lines. Unlike its earlier English-language forerunners, 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  (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. Readers will note that we have been publishing verses of this type on the 17th of each month.

 You can readily view all our "palinku" verses 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.)

AUG 16, trees -- appletree (fabric art)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to R.C.H.!

reprise from 2020

AUG 17, trees: appletree (fabric art)

"Apple tree" (fabric art contributed by RCH)

You can find other examples of awesome illustrative fabric art on this blog in posts for the dates January 25, January 27, and March 19, 2020, and January 2, 2021.

  

You can review these illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Uprooted Verse: 'Poems about Trees' on the full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". 

 

AUG 15, Carolina lowcountry, leaving with regrets

TO SEE MORE STUFF: To see older or newer material  (posted daily, or at least on most 'good' days), CLICK below the Comments Section, on 'Older Post' or 'Newer Post'.

AUG 14, urban concerns: dog park

Authors' Note: The dog park has also been eulogized by OEDILF chief editor Chris J. Strolin.

 

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.

AUG 13, medical testing: screening for disease

You can review a collection of related poems about clinical trials and clinical statistics by advancing to the blog "Edifying Nonsense" where you can find "A Limerick-Based Handbook on Medical Testing". Click HERE.  

AUG 12, at heart: hyperlipidemia

Authors' Note: Jealousy at the flight of birds has apparently resulted in expressions suggesting that human social responsibility is analogous to having one's wings clipped, or flying straight, as here.

Hyperlipemia (also known in America as hyperlipidemia), is a medical condition in which high blood levels of fats (lipids), particularly cholesterol, portend cardiac disease, including deadly heart attacks. Hyperlipemia is one of a number of such asymptomatic risk factors including hypertension and diabetes. Fortunately, change in lifestyle including diet and exercise, and judicious prescription of pharmaceutical drugs, such as statins, can reduce risk.

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!