FEB 8, limericks by 'Dr. JJ'

'Dr. JJ', as many readers would have ascertained, did not seem to be a big fan of 'the 45th'.  

Incidental Photo:

FEB 7, pathos and poetry (gun control verse): concealed carry

verse in honour of 'Dr. JJ', who believed, as your editors do, that guns in most settings are an insanity, and whose love of life included comedy and the music of poetry ...

 You can review our entire poetic outpouring on this topic by proceeding to a post on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'; click HERE.

Incidental Photo:

Dr JJ, visiting Charleston SC, late 70s

FEB 6, binomial phrases: "flora and fauna"

verse in honour of Dr. JJ, whose love of life included comedy and the music of poetry ...

Authors' Note:  Although 'flora' (the collection of visible plants) and 'fauna' (the collection of visible animals) may be of equal importance, and are familiar to most readers, they seem to be listed preferentially in English dictionaries and encyclopedia in the order shown above.

The above verse highlights the importance of the microbiota, a group of creatures that have flown generally under the radar, the limits of human perception having previously shaped understanding of the range of life on our planet. This underappreciated group of organisms including bacteria, fungi, viruses and others, that teem in and on our bodies and those of all other creatures, in the soil, and even in apparently difficult or hostile environments.     

To review our poetic effusion about binomial phrases, proceed to our blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE ! 

There is also an entire collection of lyrics to patter songs, somewhat older material, dedicated to various kinds of binomials, that provides more didactic material and an extensive series of examples, and allows you to sing these expressions for your own enjoyment, or for that of others around you. Click HERE !

Incidental Photo:

FEB 5, reptiles: brown (Bahaman) anoles

verse in honour of 'Dr. JJ', whose love of life included comedy, satire, and the music of poetry ...

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

Further reading? See this interesting article: 

Y. Stuart et al., “Rapid evolution of a native species following invasion by a congener,” Science, doi: 10.1126/science.1257008, 2014.

Incidental Photo:

two hippy-haired bros, Dec 1976

FEB 4, pill-poppin' poem: glucocorticosteroids (septic shock)

Authors' Note: 

dex: jargony abbreviation for dexamethasone, a potent glucocorticosteroid medication (med), that is used intravenously in intensive care units (ICUs) and other medical settings

septic shock: a life-threatening complication of deep or widespread infection in which blood pressure drops to a dangerous level

  During the recent pandemic (COVID-19), the use of dexamethasone to specifically counter the complications of advanced COVID-19 infection received a lot of attention in the media. 

You can review these illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Pharmaceutical (pill-poppin') Poems' on the full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.

FEB 3, bi-lyrical limerick: 'disparity' (daughter and son)

Happy Upcoming Birthday to JMH!!!

Be sure to check out the whole collection of 'bi-lyrical limericks' by proceeding to "Edifying Nonsense." CLICK HERE ! (Or, if you prefer, you could look over this stuff on Giorgio's Facebook photo-albums.) 

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.

to continue daily titillations: BE SURE TO BOOKMARK THIS SITE!
 

FEB 2, American satire (prolongation): 'coups' in the news

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

June 28, 2022
Mark Meadows' aide testifies at the Jan 6 committee hearings

FEB 1, variant Nantucket limerick: sugar-daddy from Nanking

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.

JAN 30, singable satire: "STEM CELLS; DON'T LET YOUR DAUGHTER_CELLS ... "

PARODY-LYRICS

ORIGINAL SONG: "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys", 1975,  (covered by) Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, August 2013. 

STEM-CELLS, DON’T LET YOUR DAUGHTER-CELLS GROW UP AS MEATLOAF
(to the tune of "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys") 

 

Intro:
Cowboys have shortened lifespans, and unhealthy lifestyles -

They won’t heed diet or pills, yet give you their smiles.

Smoking in pool-rooms and tinned sloppy-Joes and a breakfast of chicken-fried steak

They won’t understand cloning, why the dogies have gone - 

 Steers and cowboys may both fade away.

Cow-cells in vitro don’t moo, but they ain’t hard to clone.

Myocytes [1] can be lined up, much like neurons or bone.  

Conveyor-belt ‘Dolly’s, on packing-house trolleys might frighten consumers like you.  

PETA surely will grouse if calves have to die young

To make BSE-free [2] beef Ragú.

Stem-cells, don’t let your daughter-cells grow up as meatloaf;

Don’t let ‘em be Big Macs or mulligan stew,

Make them be sirloins or prime ribs ‘au jus’.

Stem-cells, don’t let your bovine genes morph into burgers;

They’d sure land up bunned, and likely be shunned by

Lovers of côtelettes-de-veau.

Foodies like trendy new bistros and fresh local produce

But this Steak Tartare from the lab shouldn’t get 'em uptight.

Abattoir workers feel threatened,

But coliform runoff and tainted meat lessened,

'Gene cuisine' - it’s all protein; for the future a blessing

To feed 8 billion souls every night.

Stem-cells, don’t let your offspring get smothered in goulash;

Don’t let ‘em be Big Macs or mulligan stew,

They’d feel more ‘mignon’ as prime ribs ‘au jus’.

Stem-cells, don’t let your progeny flower into burgers;

They’d sure land up bunned, and likely be shunned by

Lovers of châteaubriand.

[1] myocyte = (isolated) muscle cell

[2] BSE = bovine spongiform encephalopathy, “mad-cow” disease

JAN 29, hellenophilia: Santorini wines

 Other verses discussing our appreciation of Greece and things Greek can be found on our 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 month of interest, and then select (by clicking) the post of your choice.

JAN 28, pathos and poetry (gun control verse): anger and guns

 You can review our entire poetic outpouring on this important topic by proceeding to a post on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'; click HERE.

JAN 27, reprehensible modern history: 'clannishness' negated

 View the entire collection of poetic assertions on this topic (currently small, but growing) at our more encyclopedic blog 'Edifying Nonsense', by clicking HERE.

JAN 26, reptiles: amphisbaenians

Authors' Note: 

clade: taxonomic term, equivalent to ‘suborder’

   The amphisbaenians are a group of reptiles named for the Greek mythological figure Amphisbaena, a two-headed serpent. Superficially resembling earthworms, but with similar markings about their tails and their small heads, they spend most of their time in a subterranean environment. Although they are  widely found in South America, the Caribbean region and Africa, their current distribution in North America and in Europe is more limited, involving only Florida and Iberia respectively.

    

   The motivation for the alleged fevered search by Slovenian crowds to find these creatures is unclear.

   The suffix -paenia, or -penia, (PEE-nyuh), not infrequently used in medical terms, indicates a lack or deficiency.

You can review these illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Verses about Reptiles' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.

JAN 25, funny bones: hook of the hamate

Authors' Note: The hamate bone, one of eight small bones of the human wrist, has a prominent hook, or hamulus, that provides some protection to the ulnar nerve as it proceeds down the arm to supply the fourth and fifth fingers. A 'hairline fracture' of this bony process (outcropping), not an uncommon injury in golfers, baseball players and hockey slap-shooters, may result in continuing pain. Frequently, the injury is not detected on initial x-rays, but may show up on computed tomography (CT), a bone scan, or on follow-up wrist X-rays.

 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!

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.

JAN 24, dental feelings (sentimental verse): implants

Authors' Note:  'Desert' in this sense is the last refuge of an obsolete usage, meaning 'that which is deserved'. Modern writers, unaware of this ancient but persisting idiom, sometimes mistakenly write 'just desserts'. 

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

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. 

JAN 23, wordplay maps: Scramble-towns, 'postal supplements'

Everyone around the planet joins in sending Dr. JJ wishes for a speedy recovery!

You can get into the sequence of earlier wordplay posts on this topic by following these links  .... 

LINKS to other nonsense in this series: 

Back to the previous Canadian map, eh?

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

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  your month of interest, and then select (by clicking) the blogpost of your choice.

JAN 22, neologism (classic): snafus at Fulton's 'Gnu-Bar'

 

If you liked this submission, 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.

JAN 21, limerick variations: singable limericks

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                             Thanks to MMH for providing the photo, taken in Honolulu.

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.  

JAN 20, singable satire: The Soggy Bottom Boys sing "JAILHOUSE NOW"

 PARODY COMPOSED: Dr. G.H. and Giorgio Coniglio, March 2019.

ORIGINAL SONG: "In the Jailhouse Now", Jimmie Rodgers, 1928, recorded by many artists, including Webb Pierce, Merle Haggard, Chet Atkins and Leon Russell; a somewhat different version was recorded by Johnny Cash. Most recently the song, as performed by Tim Blake Nelson and The 'Soggy Bottom Boys' appeared in the filmscript and on the soundtrack of the Coen Brother's film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". Check out the YouTube video HERE. 

PARODY-SONGLINK: To find ukulele and guitar chord-charts to help you accompany "Jailhouse Now" on your favorite instrument, click HERE.

JAILHOUSE, NOW

(to the tune of "In the Jailhouse Now")

I had a friend named lobbyin' Paul;

Misdemeanors? really quite small -- 

He helped out Putin's vassal in Ukraine.

Got up the nose of Mueller

His sentence just got fuller;

(He'd worked a while on Trump’s ‘Sixteen campaign).

A witness-tamper tale; they done revoked his bail.

Those judges learned the facts

'Bout mortgage fraud and cheat-on-tax --

He's in the jailhouse now.

Paul warn't no copperator,

As Mueller found out later,

Paul figgered he'd get pardoned by the Chief.

His partner Rick keeps scattin',

There's some that call that rattin',

Rick knew that Paul's the one who'd get relief. 

Gates worked for presidents,

But turned 'state's evidence',

A short time will be spent

For launderin' and embezzlement.

He's in the jailhouse now.

Ah di o-dalee eehee hee

Ah di o-dalee eehee hee

Yode layee-hee

Yode layee-hee

Yode lay-ee.

Before 16's election

Don’s standard for selection

Was helpers that were loyal and quite tough.

They'd had some indiscretions,

But unlike Jeffie Sessions,

They wouldn't chicken out when things got rough.

Good guys like Michael Cohen,

Mike Flynn and Roger Stone,

And here I'm being blunt.

Collusion? No, it's a witch hunt.

Let’s lock up Hillary soon.

Repeat yodelling chorus.

JAN 19, poetic Panama palindrome parody: ' ... Ipanema'

 

Authors' Note: 

pizzazz: an American neologism, first used in the 1930s, for vitality, sparkle or flashiness

Carioca is a long-established nickname for the city and the residents of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ipanema is a section of that city, known for it's bossa nova music, and for its iconic beach.

As explained in the verse, we have the classic palindrome (reminiscent of the Panama concoction):
Amen, a pit — Ipanema, and its many variants.

Newer variants include: Amen, a pizza, jazz — Ipanema, and
Amen, a piece — Ipanema.

You can review the whole collection of our illustrated verses on this topic  by proceeding to 'Reversing Verse: Panama palindrome parodies' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.

And, if you are interested in seeing innumerable examples of spoofy palindrome variants on wordplay maps, you could embark on a journey through a collection of  blogposts entitled 'Tourists' Palindromic Guides: The Americas, #1 -#4'. All that's needed is to click on the link.

JAN 18, mammalian wildlife: kri-kri (Cretan goat)

 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 !

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 month of interest, and then select (by clicking) the post of your choice.

JAN 17, palinku (poetic novelty): puzzling and magic palindromes

   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. The current post should be regarded as experimental; readers are referred to other posts in this collection for a review of the standard format.

   And, just in case you have forgotten what palindromes are about, your blogsite hosts have arranged a serial set of brief lessons on the topic ('Political Palindromes') which you can review by clicking HERE. 

palinku

palinku

The enhanced second slide shows the poetic content in the form of only two palindromic phrases -- these are both 'magical palindromes'; indeed they are lenthy , but they allow the synthesis of ideas that would not otherwise be possible with regular paindromes. You can get up to speed on this intriguing wordplay variation by clicking HERE.   

 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.)

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.