MAY 19, wordplay maps: new world palindromes (#19,#20)

Keep more to yourself for a while, wash your hands frequently, remember to laugh on occasion, and stay well!

You can view the entire collection of these 50 wordplay maps, by accessing the collection 'Tourists Palindromic Guides: The Americas'. Start by clicking HERE! 

MAY 18, mammalian wildlife: raccoons in the swamp

Authors' Note: We are indebted to Bill Wingfield for contributing the idea for the previous poem. 

 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 !

MAY 17, nuclear cardiology haiku, final

 

MAY 16, trees: silver maples

Keep more to yourself for a while, wash your hands frequently, remember to laugh on occasion, and stay well!

silver maple in Toronto park;
large broken-off limb

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". 

MAY 15, photo-collage: a quiet day in the Carolina lowcountry

NOTE TO VIEWERS:
  If you really enjoy these daily posts, consider subscribing using the gadget located in the upper right margin of each post.  
  If you know of others who might enjoy these posts, please feel free to share them, and pass them on, using the buttons located at the bottom of each post. For example, if you click on the M symbol below, you can email the post to a friend.

MAY 14, American satire: "It Is what it is"

Authors' Note:  In August, 2020, “It is what it is” became a key U.S. presidential comment on deaths due to the coronavirus that were downplayed in the rush to 'reopen' the country. Subsequently, various explanations for the excess were squirmingly offered by the Executive branch of the U.S. government. It was purported, for example, that some doctors were rewarded by their hospitals for inflating the number of death certificates indicating COVID-19 as the apparent cause of death.

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

MAY 13, waterfowl: mute swans

Authors' Note: lim: abbreviation for 'limerick', used by poetry-nerds.

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'.

MAY 12, patients and maladies: flu-like illness

 Be sure to check out the whole collection of verses on 'Patients and their Maladies" by proceeding to our full-service blog ,"Edifying Nonsense." CLICK HERE !

MAY 11, poetic non-sequitur: gifted children

Authors' Note: For educators, giftedness, e.g. in intellectual abilities, implies an ability significantly above average that motivates differences in school programming. For gifted children, social isolation from the majority of their age-peers is a major problem in their development and maturation. Various educational theories and practices abound in attempting to deal with this problem.   

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.

 

MAY 10, a brief saga (dental feelings): fluoridation

Authors' Note:    A controversy over fluoridation of public water systems peaked in the 1940s through 1960s in North America. Municipal water-suppliers with low ambient levels of the natural mineral were motivated to adjust that in order to reduce childhood tooth decay. Despite initial vocal opposition, fluoridation was adopted by many municipalities in North American and elsewhere. In Europe, in contrast, fluoridation of municipal water-systems has never achieved wide support as a public health measure.

 “Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous Communist plot we have ever had to face?” Brig. Gen. Jack Ripper, a character in the 1964 film classic Dr. Strangelove”.

 You can review the collection of illustrated verses on other dental topics by proceeding to the post 'Dental Feelings' on our full-service blog '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. Your blogging team has been presenting these concoctions at the rate of one per month, mixed in with the usual shorter poems, wordplay and  other general offerings. 

   

To access the next 'brief saga' on this blog (June 2020), proceed to 'Life as a Loon'.

To access the most recent previous 'brief saga' (April 2020), back up to 'Claire's celerity'.  

 

Re Medical-Related Verse: Altogether, a hundred or so intriguing verses on medical/dental topics can now be found on various posts in collections, including:

Patients and their Maladies (parts #1, #2 and #3)

The Bottom Line of Medical Humour

Funny Bones (parts #1 and #2)
Doctors and their Practices (parts #1 and #2)

To Clot or Not to Clot

The Scopes of Modern Medicine

Handbook of Medical Testing Statistics

Pandemic Verses

Poetry of Healthcare

STD Poetry

Diagnostic Imaging (selected topics)

Toxic Vignettes

Sleek Greek Prefixes

Dental Feelings

and in 'brief sagas' including:

Drug Development

Radiation Exposure

Methylated Spirits

The Gastro-Esophageal Junction

Workplace Pollution

Food Intolerance

MAY 9, wordplay maps: American Scramble-towns 5,6

Same old message ...

Who would ever have guessed? It turns out that an unparalleled word in generating anagrams (letter scrambles) is P-A-L-I-N-D-R-O-M-E-S. We have taken advantage of that property to create this unique series of wordplay maps of imaginary American (and Canadian) locales, each one completed by its official two-letter state (or provincial) abbreviation. 

LINKS: 

Forward to U.S.A. map #7

Back to U.S.A. map #3

Let's skip all this stuff and get on to the Canadian version, eh? (stay tuned!)

MAY 8, classic palindrome: 'Emil's lime'

Keep more to yourself for a while, wash your hands frequently, wear a mask in public, remember to laugh on occasion, and stay well!

Authors' Note: 

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'. 

MAY 7, wordplay maps: sister-cities anagrams (13-15)

Keep more to yourself for a while, wash your hands frequently, remember to laugh on occasion, and stay well!

MAY 6, magical canal palindromes: 'A man, a plan, ... Suez'

You can become an expert fan of our wordplay concoction 'magical palindromes' by reviewing the explanatory material found in ancient days on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense" HERE; then, you could check how we applied this technique to 'canal palindromes' by viewing this more recent post.

MAY 5, American satire: pardoning 'Sheriff Joe'

a) reprise

Authors' Note:   “Sheriff Joe" Arpaio, a former official of Maricopa County, Arizona, had a long flamboyant career characterized by legal actions against colleagues, heavy-handed treatment of suspects and prisoners, and allegations of massive misuse of funds. The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) eventually brought suit against him for civil rights violations, and after refusing to comply, he was finally convicted of contempt of court.

 

   As an octogenarian, Arpaio had become a political friend and outspoken advocate of Donald Trump, who pardoned his criminal offence in August 2017, prior to the imposition of a sentence.

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

MAY 4, limerick variations: the multi-verse universe

Authors' Note:   The authors can box themselves into writing single defining limericks in the standard format used at OEDILF, the online humor dictionary, and have done so several hundred times. However, they delight in multi-verse limericks which provide a richer space for development of plot lines, contrasts and examples. Currently (April 2023), Giorgio’s ‘Author's Showcase' at the OEDILF website displays 80+ multi-verse entries.  

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.         

   

MAY 3, wordplay maps: new world palindromes (#17,#18)

You can view the entire collection of these 50 wordplay maps, by accessing the collection 'Tourists Palindromic Guides: The Americas'. Start by clicking HERE! 

MAY 2, savoir-faire: French loanwords

Authors' Note:

 à propos: in regard

outré: inappropriately eccentric in behaviour or appearance, or exceeding the limits of propriety

sans doute (sahn DOOT): certainly, without doubt

paraph (PA-ruhf): confirmatory mark after a signature, derived more remotely from the French term paraphe

nonpareil: a paragon, one who has no equal

Although the word nonpareil has been used in English, often pronounced as non-pah-REHL, since the 16th century, one must adopt the snobbier French pronunciation (non-pah-RAY) for the verse to rhyme.

Despite its status as a longstanding valuable English descriptor, unique retains a Gallic sound, which is frankly ... unique. 

 You can review verses on this topic in a wider context on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Check the post 'Vers Francais: Savoir-Faire' by clicking HERE. 

MAY 1, pandemic poetry: HB to me (birthday confinement)

TO ENLARGE any slide or stand-alone photo on this blog, just click on it. To reverse the process, and return to this standard view, find the little 'x' in the upper right corner of the black field and click there.

Keep more to yourself for a while, wash your hands frequently, remember to laugh on occasion, and stay well!

The verse above sounds pretty depressive, but hold on!

Here is some uplifting inspirational birthday-poetry kindly contributed by the Royal Oak Trio ! 

 You can review these illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Pandemic Poetry' on the full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense".

APR 30, exotic destination: Nome, Alaska

 

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

APR 29, American satire: results of DT's first impeachment trial (birds'-eye view)

 Reprise, originally posted February 9 and 10, 2020.

Authors' Note: Readers might want to check out prior posts, including that of Feb 9, entitled "Anagrammatic tribute to a Senator", and those of January 1, 9, 10 and 11, dealing with great egrets. The photos of birds were obtained from Giorgio Coniglio's personal collection, whereas those of political leaders were obtained from readily available online sources.

We hope that you enjoyed this playful photo-art. You can find 30 more submissions, mostly poetic on this topic in 5 collections on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE to start! 

APR 28, insects: mosquitoes

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.

APR 27, photo-collage: chainsaw sculpture

Recently sighted in our immediate neighborhood ...

APR 26, trees: gnarling

TO ENLARGE any slide or stand-alone photo on this blog, just click on it. To reverse the process, and return to this standard view, find the little 'x' in the upper right corner of the black field and click there.

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". 

APR 25, Carolina lowcountry: further spring excursions

Keep more to yourself for a while, wash your hands frequently, remember to laugh on occasion, and stay well!

mallard drake

mute swan, Middleton Place

a green anole;
one of E.T.'s relations?

cycling under Spanish moss

woodstork near TV2 pond