JUL 7, trees: crepe myrtle xxxxxxxxxxxxLil

Addendum: Fall color, mid-Atlantic seaboard
photo kindly contributed by MMH

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". 

As today is Lil's birthday, we are re-posting some old photos. She would be 106 today!

1976

JUL 6, binomial phrases: "down and out"

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 !

JUL 5, insects: cryoprotection

Authors' Note: The isabella tiger moth, Pyrrharctia isabella enters the cold season in wintry parts of North America in the form of a banded woolly bear caterpillar. Traditionally, her peer-group would attempt to get through the winter by altering their metabolism to manufacture compounds known as cryoprotectives, allowing them to recover from freezing. Our protagonist seems to have discovered another way around this challenge.

 

JUL 4, American anagram swarms: election fraud

reprise from July 4, 2021

JUL 4, anagram swarm: 'ELECTION FRAUD' #4

 Continuing from the posts of January 16, January 18, January 20, January 22, January 24, and January 27. You might note that there are now more than 200 anagrams in this collection. Who would have guessed?

If you have enjoyed this post, you can find a series of other 'American anagram swarms' gathered in two posts on our 'parent' blog "Edifying Nonsense".  To get started, click HERE. 

JUL 3, English literature survey course: "La Belle Dame sans Merci" (Keats' poem)

Authors' Note: 

rêverie (rehv-uh-REE): French for ‘dream, daydream’

grotesque: term adopted from French for an ancient Roman decorative artform rediscovered in Rome in the 15th century. Grotesques depict fantastical scenes and figures; the related adjective highlights the bizarre and even frightening nature of the images

grot: poetic variant of ‘grotto’ 

merci (mehr-SEE): French for mercy, forgiveness

   The usual critical view is that the protagonist of the poem, transfixed by the 'faery's child', has been trapped and victimized. However, Keats' description in his poem written in 1819 (but taking place in a mythical medieval past), leaves little doubt that the 'Belle Dame' is underage. The societal view of what constitutes child molestation / statutory rape seems to have changed over time.

You can review the entire curriculum for our 'English Classics Survey Course' at "Edifying Nonsense" by clicking HERE.

 

JUL 2, American satire (prolongation): 'unhinged'

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! 

JUL 1, Canadiana: Canadian weather

Authors' Note: 

hinterland: a geographic term for 'interior', derived from the German adverb hinder = 'behind'.

The author contends that the summary he received overemphasized the adverse climatic conditions faced by Canadians, the majority of whom live in the more temperate southern portions of the country.

mid-November in Toronto

You can review poems, pictures and diverse nonsense related to Canada on the post "Canadiana" on our full-service blog  "Edifying Nonsense". 

JUN 30, reprehensible modern history (1800+): Emperor of Elba

Further enlightenment on this specific topic can be obtained by viewing a post entitled "Able Ere Elba". Click HERE. 

 View the entire collection of poetic assertions on this topic at our more encyclopedic blog 'Edifying Nonsense', by clicking HERE.
 

JUN 29, defining opinion: crepuscular

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.

JUN 28, domestic hazards: security system

 

JUN 27, pluralia tantum: 'eruptions' -- medical nomenclature

Authors' Note: Eruption is a venerable medical term for a skin rash, in use since an earlier era when practitioners paid careful attention to characteristic skin lesions and various symptoms, but knew little of disease causality such as viral infection and allergy. Traditional names for medical symptoms and diseases in general are often based on lay vernacular terms dating from a much earlier time. Shingles is also known as herpes zoster, the second term referring to the belt-like distribution of lesions.

Grandpa Greg asked us to pass on this message: "You can view the entire collection of verses about 'pluralia tantum' by clicking HERE."

Jun 26, duplication: hanky-panky

 Authors' Note:  Reduplications as they are best known, sometimes also called duplications, are language forms (morphs), usually for nouns, in which an element of the word is repeated with little or no change; they figure prominently among the most musical elements in English and in other languages. To this author, the more commonly used term seems redundant. Many other examples begin with the letter 'h', e.g. harum-scarum, helter-skelter, higgledy-piggledy, hillbilly, and hubba-hubba.

Readers willing to go down an internet rabbit-hole HERE can easily get to a collection of more than a dozen other short verses in which we have dealt with specific reduplications, as well as three fairly lengthy patter-songs about this fascinating linguistic phenomenon. 

JUN 25, patients and their maladies: vitreous detachment

 You can view these verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Nurse-Verse: Patients and their Maladies' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

JUN 24, numbers: digits (base-10)

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

JUN 23, poetic non-sequitur: judge's gavel, plus yesterday's temperature perversion

 

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.

JUN 22, diagnostic imaging: AC (attenuation correction) for PET scanning

Authors' Note:   Absorption of rays by body tissues complicates the interpretation of medical imaging with Positron Emission Tomography (PET). In equipment development since the year 2000, 'hybrid' scanners combine the nuclear camera with a CT x-ray unit that provides maps of attenuation; this technique for correction of attenuation (known to workers in the field as A.C.), makes PET more accurate in the detection of cancer. A potential limitation, the much lower energy of the photons used for x-ray CT, turns out to have little degrading effect in practical usage.

   Moreover, anatomic localization of the lesion can be obtained at the same session, enabling techniques such as superposition of the ‘hot’ focus on a 3D anatomic body-map. This technique has been given  the difficult and somewhat redundant term ‘PET-CT’.

 You can review all our verses on this intriguing topic by proceeding to a post on 'Edifying Nonsense' entitled 'Selected Topics in Diagnostic Imaging'. Click HERE!

JUN 21, planet-saving verse: invasive species

 

                                                                                                    

JUN 20, singable satire: Neil Young sings "GET ME ROGER STONE"

SATIRE COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, February 2019 (the brief sequel was added 2 month later). Readers interested in this topic might also enjoy Giorgio's lyrics posted on these earlier blogposts...
Dark Schemes
Rosenstein
Brennan's Tweet

ORIGINAL SONG: "Heart of Gold" 1971, written and recorded by legendary Canadian songwriter-performer Neil Young.

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

GET ME ROGER STONE - the song

(to the tune of "Heart of Gold"  by Neil Young) 


A foppish slickster,  a dirty trickster,

He’s worked with Manafort and ‘Tricky Dick’,

Deceptive tactics he knows to pick, sir

That keeps me seekin’ help from Roger Stone --

Get him on the phone.

That keeps me seekin’ help from Roger Stone,

Get him on the phone!

He is a slick son-xxx, let’s get him quick son,

He’s out-maneuvered jerks at Wiki Leaks.      

A touch of Lucifer, he speaks with Guccifer*.

We’ll trash the Clintons using Roger Stone --

Get him on the phone.

I like to seek advice from Roger Stone,

Get him on the phone!

I need to seek advice from Roger Stone.

A dirty trickster with a heart of stone.

Keep Special Counsel far from Roger Stone.

I’m in deep doodoo, get me Roger Stone.

*  Guccifer 2.0 is an online persona, that, according to U.S. documents of indictment, is operated by Russian millitary intelligence. In July 2016, 'Guccifer' claimed responsibility for hacking into emails of the U.S. Democratic National Committee, and releasing them to the media and to the website 'WikiLeaks'. 

Lucifer, Latin name for the morning star Venus, is treated in early Christian terminology as a synonym for Satan.  

SEQUEL:

His prospects sagged, judge has him gagged,

That gassy windbag, now he's on his own.

I barely knew him, best to eschew him.

Perhaps I'll later pardon Roger Stone--

Now, he's on his own.

|The Mueller Probe indicted Roger Stone.

I'll pardon later, but for now, disown.|   repeat and fade.

JUN 19, binomial phrases: "flotsam and jetsam"

 

Authors' Note:  'Floaters', in the eye, a common symptom may require expert medical attention when they first appear or become more numerous. Most often, they are insignificant and chronic. Jill might be surprised to learn that they are not caused by accumulation of discrete floating particles, e.g. jetsam, but are rather an effect attributed to fibrous strands traversing the vitreous (posterior) chamber of the eye.

Flotsam and jetsam is an intriguing binomial phrase. The original meaning of its two components is explained in a verse by OEDILFian contributor Kevin Lucas.  

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 !

JUN 18, organic brain poetry: hypothyroid depression

Authors' Note: 

rarefactive: (a non-standard use) — the condition of becoming less frequent; under-functioning

By far the most common cause of thyroid hormone deficiency or hypothyroidism (historically known as myxedema for a type of puffy swelling and rash in the legs) is progressive destruction of normal hormone-producing tissue by the process of colloid degeneration. Owing to the metabolic role of thyroid hormone, most body functions then slow, resulting, for example, in reduced heart rate and weight gain. For the brain, somnolence and depression may be accompanied in extreme cases by disordered mentation known as 'myxedema madness'.

Under normal circumstances, the anterior pituitary gland, stimulated by the brain's hypophysis, plays a key role as the 'master gland' in regulating hormone production. When the thyroid gland is flagging, the master gland increases its production of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), a messenger that is excreted into the bloodstream, targeted to normalize the peripheral gland's production. Fortunately, the robust sensing mechanism in the hypophysis and pituitary, not impaired by the metabolic slowdown elsewhere, produces high levels of blood TSH so reliably that a simple test can be used as the best test for detection of the hypothyroid state.

You can view and review all our verses on the topic of 'Organic Brain Poetry' by following this link to the encyclopedic collection on "Edifying Nonsense."

JUN 17, palinku (poetic novelty): evil +b

 

(Ed. note:) Verses of this type have continued to proliferate, and the total now is approaching 60. You can view them all at one swoop if you proceed to our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE. Or, if you want to stay on this daily blog, you can enter 'Palinku' on the search line in the browser and find individual verses of this type published here over the last year.

'He won snow, eh?'

A snowy Christmas Day, Toronto, 2020

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.

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JUN 16, toxic vignette: anthracycline cardiotoxicity (monitoring left ventricular function)

Author's Note:   Anthracycline antibiotics, e.g. doxorubicin (adriamycin) are among the most effective chemotherapy agents; they have been profitably incorporated in multidrug chemotherapy treatment routines for many types of cancer. These advantages are partially offset by a relatively unique adverse effect — the possibility of cardiotoxicity, permanent impairment of the systolic (contracting) function of ventricular heart muscle. 

   Development of this side effect can be minimized by pharmacological manipulations and by monitoring cardiac function periodically during longterm treatment.

   Nuclear medicine techniques have classically been used, but echocardiography may also be of value (see the verse ‘Ejection Fraction’).

    

Review all our poems of toxicologic interest by clicking HERE.  

JUN 15, doctors and their practices: ophthalmologist sibling xxxxxxxxxxxx Dr. JJ

 A nostalgic recollection inspired by a birthday. Dr. JJ would be enjoying his 79th today.

at his younger bro's Bar Mitzvah

 

surprise party (40th anniversary) for his folks

an iconic 50th anniversary celebration