DEC 25, personal and family history: a brief personal bio xxxxxxxxxxxxx Nate

That's my older brother in 1945 holding Dad's photo;
  (lower left). I wasn't quite on the scene, yet!

Mom and Dad with their offspring,
50th anniversary celebration

Update:

seasonal gourmet feast, 2021:
 (a dual-mode family celebration)
Xmas lunch in the Carolina lowcountry

DEC 24, classic palindrome: 'a Santa at NASA'

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TROOPER, WHEREVER YOU ARE!

AND

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL

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'. 

seasonal scene pre -Xmas:
office lobby in Toronto 

DEC 23, variant Nantucket limerick: zoophile from Nanoose

 Such adventures show etiquette loose.

Authors' Note: You can find another daily offering on this blog dealing with zoophilia by clicking HERE.

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

DEC 22, planet-saving verse: shorebird council's demand

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'. 

ruddy turnstone at a narrow Carolina beach-strip
 littered with oyster-shells. This bird is a long distance migrator, roosting in the high Arctic.

shorebird, seen near Toronto lakeshore: killdeer?

turnstones (running), and oystercatcher

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

DEC 21, Carolina lowcountry: delicious December days

 Editor's Note: As old age and aversion to cold weather have descended, we spend time whenever we can in the Carolina low-country. It is a cliché to say that winter is shorter in more southerly places, but that sometimes means that there are days when winter rages back in central Canada, but is not in evidence down here in lotus-land. On this particular day we learned from our weather-app that it would be snowy back home in Toronto, but would be a short-sleeve day in coastal Carolina.

Note the mid-day temperatures in Toronto and Charleston, South Carolina

The boardwalk takes you past the trawlers at Shem Creek, Mt. Pleasant, SC

Pelicans perched at creekside awaiting the returning fishers

Tranquility near the center of suburban action

Setting up for a community-center wedding with a harbor view

\

Grillwork fence with wisteria seedpods and a view of a 'sea' of jonquils 

Geometric restored oyster-bed at the Pitt St. Bridge park,
Arthur Ravenel Bridge in background 

American white ibises in the marsh

white ibis in flight

cormorants on dock

seasonal decor at the beach

toothpick grasshopper on papyrus leaf

pizza delivery boxes in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina,

touting service to 'the Lowcountry'

DEC 20, singable satire: Alan Sherman sings "The CLOTHING-MOTH HAT-DANCE"

 Singable Satire

ORIGINAL SONG: "Mexican Hat Dance" (spoof) Allan Sherman, 1963. The original music, based on traditional Mexican dance-forms from the central and southern part of the country, is also known as "Jarabe Tapatío"; the music, unaccompanied by lyrics, is a typical repertoire item for mariachi.  

LIMERICK VERSE:  Two original poems composed by Giorgio Coniglio, 2017-2018, provided the fodder for these song lyrics. The verses have now been finalized and published at the OEDILF website (the Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form). They can be found more readily on the post "Limericks about Clothing Moths" on our sister blog "Edifying Nonsense".

A mariachi band
Kensington Market, Toronto
August 2018.

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, August 2018. 

PARODY SONGLINK: Note that the melody and lyrical adaptation for Mexican Hat Dance were used previously by G.C. as the base song for "Dante's 'Inferno' Canto#5a: Minos's Tail Twist".

To find ukulele and guitar chord-charts to help you accompany "The Clothing-Moth Hat-Dance" on your favorite instrument, click HERE.

CLOTHING MOTH HAT-DANCE 

(to the tune of "Mexican Hat Dance" with adaptation and 'original' lyrics by Alan Sherman)

Clothing moths, we are not like the fruit fly
(We admit with orange eyes they're a cute fly)
We shun froth, just ask any astute fly,
We eat sweaters and shirts, even hats.

Can't stand fruit, we eat dry, suits us better,
Like your suits; we don't fancy things wetter.
And we love old skin flakes from a shedder,
Like that guy who wears Mexican hats. Olé! 

We can't stand foam or froth.
Our favorite food's 'whole cloth'.
The hats and suits you doff
Are a family meal for the moth.

As adults we don't need feed our offspring. 
We just mate, and do things of that ilk.
Don't fly much, legs we lay,
Larvae hatch, and then they
Ravage cotton and woollens and silk.

Clothing moths! Live like toffs.
We're just snobs - Tineolas,
We play our violas,
While your old sombreros we doff.

Feel voracious? Please look you old meany
We're your dinner guests though we're quite teeny,
We'll infest your old box of 'linguini'.
But don't like your rendition of 'sauce'.  

REPRISE:
We can't stand foam or froth.
Our favorite food's 'whole cloth'.
The hats and suits you doff
Are a family meal for the moth.

Now in closing...  your sweaters are tatters,
The scraps literally filled up our platters.
We're engorged on keratinous matter.
Like your silk and wool suits
(We've ignored leather boots),
Left large holes in chapeaux made of cloth.
That's the work of the quirky clothes moth. Olé! 

DEC 19, poetic non-sequitur: the charity auction

                                                                        

 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.

DEC 18, limerick for language-lovers: Hebrew alphabet

Authors' Note: In its earlier versions, the Hebrew alphabet was a pure abjad, or consonantary, with over twenty consonants, but no vowel sounds. The modern script used today has five symbols which may assist in the vocalization of vowels. In certain specific usages (poetry, teaching children, studying ancient texts, books of prayer used in the diaspora), a system of diacritic marks under the letters indicates the standardized vowel sounds. Without them, as in the majority of informal printed texts and in handwriting, you have to know some grammar, and have a moderate vocabulary of root words (often consisting of three consonants) to solve the meaning.   

 

web-illustration

To review all of our output on the topic of classic languages, go to our encyclopedic compendium, "Edifying Nonsense"; click HERE !

DEC 17, palinku (poetic novelty): X-mas scandal

 

   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 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. 

(Editors' Note): Concepts in this poem were also expressed in limerick format in the post of December 24.

 You can 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.)

DEC 16, humorists' scurrilous talk: 'shitty'

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

The collection of informative verses dealing with 'HUMORISTS' SCURRILOUS TALK' can be found by proceeding to our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

DEC 15, Ontario nostalgia: Toronto's Distillery District

 

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. 

DEC 14, funny bones: alignment

Authors' Note: Modern orthopedic treatment of displaced limb fractures often attains the aims of stability and appropriate alignment through the surgical technique of internal fixation. Injured limbs have then undergone the dual trauma of both the original injury and the surgical correction. But, with all the parts back in place and correctly aligned, the patient can work with a physiotherapist to regain range-of-motion, muscle agility and strength. 

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! 

DEC 13, poetry of healthcare: Canadian healthcare

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

DEC 12, American satire: anniversary reminiscence

 

 Authors' Note:  If you were going to sing a limerick, this modified 6-line verse (a 'limerrhoid'?) would be a particularly good one to sing to the tune of Gershwin's 'Anniversary Song'. Readers are invited to check out the possibilities for singing limerick verses with a variety of tunes on a blogpost on "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE. 

  Otherwise, in verse form, we hope that you enjoyed this submission. You can find 30 more on this topic in 5 collections on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE to start! 

DEC 11, neologism (personal): dyscoprotaxis (my favorite one)

Authors' Note:  Dyscoprotaxis is a neologism, indicating the failure to get the stuff of one's life in order, composed of the familiar Greek roots dys- (bad, impaired, failed), copro- (excrement), and -taxis (movement). The word is opposite in meaning to getting it together.

A few personal neologisms share the distinction of being targeted as the subject of verses on this blog. These include POTUSA, electile dysfunction, awarassment, DOGgraphy (diagnostic imaging), and pelicatessen (waterfowl).

Other personal neologisms have played a supportive role including critiquery, high-nasty, and pelfless. 

(Ed. Note:) To make this effort easier, we have now collected these neologistic verses in a collection on our parent blog "Edifying Nonsense";  click HERE.
 

DEC 10, a brief saga (birdlore): avian digestion

The author's poem "Gizzard" explains the origin of the peculiar name for that organ. Author psheil discusses the role of the proventriculus in relation to the gizzard HERE.

We still have a long way to go on this educational journey before reaching SheilaB's poem 'Cloaca'. Stay tuned!

  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. 

  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. 

To access the next 'brief saga' on this blog (January 2022), proceed to 'Drug Development' 

To access the most recent previous 'brief saga' (November 2021), back up to 'Domestic Turkey'.

DEC 9, spineless verse (invertebrates): California mussels

 

READING MORE WIDELY:

You can find all our illustrated verses about various 'INVERTEBRATES' , as compiled on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense" HERE. But, in fact, we had hived off verses about INSECTS, and they are gathered in separate blogposts, that you can get into HERE. So, follow these links, and enjoy.