NOV 13, wordplay maps: Scramble-towns of eastern Canada, #13 and #14

Who would ever have guessed? It turns out that an unparalleled word in generating anagrams, i.e. 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 to other nonsense in this series: 

Forward to the next Canadian map, eh?

Back to the previous Canadian map, eh?

Default to U.S.A. map #21 (final American version)

NOV 12, etymology: 'mystery'

For fans of etymology, we have three blogposts with collections of verses about word-origins such as the one above on our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense". You can start to review some of this intriguing material by clicking HERE, and then following the links!

NOV 11, insects: woolly bear caterpillars

Authors' Note: 

bello, bella: Italian (male, female forms) for fine, handsome or beautiful

  The best-known name for this common North American insect derives from the larval form, the banded woolly bear. The caterpillar, with reddish-brown midsection and vertically demarcated black front and rear ends, is often seen in the autumn, appears playful to children, and is non-toxic. There is no easily appreciated visual difference between the genders for either larval or adult stages. Several small locales in the United States celebrate these cute caterpillars with fall 'woollybear' festivals.

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.

NOV 10, a brief saga (birdlore): the domestic turkey

HAPPY UPCOMING AMERICAN THANKSGIVING!

  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 approved multiverse poem (among the total of almost 100) is shown here on the slide with its first verse. 

To access the next 'brief saga' on this blog, proceed to 'Avian Digestion'. 

To access the most recent previous 'brief saga', back up to 'Ablauts'.

To access all of our 'brief sagas' by the year of their creation, click on your selection below.

2020
2021
2022
2023.

If you were intrigued by the dual rhyming scheme exhibited in the first stanza of the above poem, you might want to look at our entire collection (a dozen or so other verses) of such 'bi-lyrical verse' by clicking HERE. 

NOV 9, magical palindromes: 'Pa's as selfless as I am'

 

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.

NOV 8, domestic hazards: ionization-based smoke detectors

 

 You can view an extensive collection of illustrated poems on this topic by proceeding to the post 'DOMESTIC HAZARDS' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.

NOV 7, reptiles: autotomy

 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".

NOV 6, exotic destination: Congolese hippodromes

 

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

NOV 5, numbers: pentagons, etc. (5)

 

You can review our cumulated nonsense about numbers by clicking HERE.

NOV 4, excursions: portraits at Riverdale Farm

 You might also like to check a couple of other posts that portray the inhabitants of this Toronto attraction.

Click HERE for 'GOATS AT PLAY (videos)',  HERE for 'Toronto Ravines -- Riverdale Farm' (poem)', and HERE for 'Riverdale Farm -- photocollages'.

NOV 3, variant Nantucket limerick: old Flynn, from Martha's Vineyard

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.

NOV 2, STD-poetry: GPI -- general paresis of the insane

Authors' Note:  General paresis of the insane, known by the initialism GPI, was recognized as a distinct disease in 1822, and considered by the Victorians to be a form of madness in persons, primarily men, of dissolute character. It took another century until it was confirmed that it was caused by spirochetes, causative organism for syphilis, damaging the brain in the late (tertiary) stage, and that its progression could be halted by antibiotics such as anti-malarial arsenicals and, after 1940, penicillin. Once a relatively common problem on a global scale, GPI now seems to be confined to developing countries.

   This verse also relates to a series on organic causes of neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as hypothyroid depression, and frontal meningioma.

 

 You can review verses on this topic in a wider context in a post on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense" by proceeding to 'Ruination, Rumination and Reminiscence: STD-Poetry'. Click HERE.  

NOV 1, planet-saving verse: 'too hot to hoot' - palindrome

Authors' Note:

Sir; a plan, if final — Paris.

  In December 2015, the United States, under President Barack Obama, became a part of the Paris Accord, an international convention to mitigate the effects of climate change by curtailing production of greenhouse gases.

  In June 2017, President Donald Trump, whose personal business depended in large part on the construction and operation of golf-resorts, proceeded to withdraw from the treaty.

  Immediately after his inauguration in January 2021, President Joe Biden took measures to rejoin the accord.

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

OCT 30, singable satire: "ZOMBIE COCKROACH"

PARODY-LYRICS

ORIGINAL SONG : "Boney Fingers" 1974, Hoyt Axton. 
PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, October, 2015.

BIOLOGICAL BACKGROUND: The emerald cockroach wasp, or jewel wasp, Ampulex compressa is a fascinating creature, recently investigated with respect to its unusual reproductive behavior. Incredible details of the strange, even nightmarish habits of this predatory insect are shown by this video.   

Emerald Cockroach Wasp

ZOMBIE COCKROACH 

(to the tune of "Boney Fingers")

I’m an emerald-wasp Mom, and I’m doin’ my duty

Looking for daycare, and I’ve found me a doozy

Larvae can snarf, then get their beauty-sleep as pupae

They need a peaceful place where they’ll get protein while they’re growing,

Need a quiet place where they’ll get protein. 

Know where to hunt to find “la cucaracha”
Filled my stinger with a toxin called GABA *
Direct first sting to prothoracic ganglia

Likely that his limbs are weakened for two minutes.
Likely that ‘ll make his big arms weaker.

Inject toxins in his chest - whadda ya get?
(Weak limbs!) Woossie cockroach – woossie cockroach.

Oh! the second sting goes to the base of his brain:
Hit the right target and he's feeling no pain;

Lead him like a leash-dog, then one egg I’ll be layin’
Stuff them in a tunnel, the egg hatches in the mornin'
That is when my larva starts to eat him.

Hungry larva needs to grow - what does it eat?
(Whoo whoo!) Cockroach protein – cockroach protein.

For baby wasps, it’s a huge refrigerator
Inside and out, treats that Mother Nature catered
Five days of eating, then protected place for sleeping

In two weeks adult emerges ripe for breeding
Dressed to kill and carry on life-cycle.

Pretty pupa needs to sleep - where does it rest?
(Whoo whoo!) Zombie cockroach – zombie cockroach.

Wasps' lives are scripted, and they don’t need coaches.

Each gal makes toast of several dozen roaches

Mating takes a minute, they won’t need no urgin’

Every mom will be a horror-movie neurosurgeon

Every gal will be a neurosurgeon.

Inject toxins in his brain - whadda ya get?
(Whoo whoo!) Zombie cockroach – zombie cockroach.

Now, there's.......
Other bio-systems with bizarre behavior
Parasite controls and make the host enslav-ier
There are crazy notions, and this one's no crazier  -   
Maybe further research will have human implications
Maybe we'll make mental illness better.

Best test-model that we've got? What would ya guess?
(Whoo whoo!) Zombie cockroach! Zombie cockroach!

* GABA (pronounced by biologists as " gabba' ") = gamma-aminobutyric acid, a neuro-transmitter substance.

OCT 29, three gruesome verses for Halloween

Authors' Note: Each year at Hallowe'en, all (living) persons, in addition to honoring tradition, must decide if they are ready to combat the zombie revolution.

 

Check out the whole collection in a post called "Gruesome Verse" on our blog "Edifying Nonsense" HERE.

OCT 28, Carolina lowcountry: wildlife revisited #2

  

little blue heron

Atlantic ghost crab

brown pelican, artistic rendering

cormorants and dolphin

roseate spoonbills, Deweese Island

sanderling

willet

yellow-crowned night heron

 

busy sanderlings, 
Sullivan's Island beach