January 10, 2024

JAN 10, singable satire, Toronto's mayoral procession: "SUBURBS' GUY"

  a) Reprise of material posted on January 10 in previous years ...


2020: exotic destinations, Chemainus, BC (poem - 'brief saga')
2021: Italian loanwords, Italian treats (poem - 'brief saga') 
2022: pill-poppin' poems, drug development (poem - 'brief saga')
2023: pandemic poetry, squid in the time of COVID  (poem - 'brief saga')

To access the details of any item in slide format, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... Italian treats), into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath the slide(s) for each entertaining delight that you discover, you will find a clickable link that lets you easily explore a more widespread collection of wonderments (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.) on the topic of your choice. 

b) Today's Offering (Jan 10, 2024): 



PARODY-LYRICS 
ORIGINAL SONG: "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" , Hank Williams
PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, October 2013. Click HERE to see a photo of the song being performed at a ukulele jam.


Sunday Radio Show, in progress


SUBURBS' GUY


(to the tune of "Jambalaya")

Yo T.O! radio show! - it’s your Mayor.
I’m on air with Councillor-frère and some taxpayers,
Pitching woo to voters who live near the ‘9-0-’,
Itch to stretch pet subway ditch out to Scarborough.

Fairly large, fun bein’ in charge, no burden heavy;
While I’m munching, number-crunchers hunt out ‘Gravy’;
Cancel fees, tax-rate freeze, void ‘Commie’ ‘s surplus,
Small ‘c’ - conserve, big ‘C’ – condemn essential service.

Drill end-runs, petty funds, coach team-students;
Ref-provincial thinks ethical imprudence.
Parents miffed, poor kids dissed, sidelined Mayor,
Nearly burned – overturned!! (coach on waivers)


Yo T.O ! back on board, Ford Nation's Mayor,
Still on air with Dougie there and fake taxpayers;
Ombudsman’s ‘Nay’ ? – friends’ job-favors my nature,
Threat’n her post, thumb my nose at Legislature.

Comic Walsh caused a splash with TV crew,
Invade 'Burbs, parked by curb, attack-interview;
9-1-1, hoped fuzz come and gonn’ snatch her,
Speech bit slurred, hurled f-word at dispatcher.


Public-stoned, driving-phoned, don’t want chauffeur,
Fracas with a bad-ass streetcar operator.
Retinue, there’s a few drug-scene players,
They’re indebted, ref’rence letters: Office - Mayor’s.

StarPostGlobe spy and probe – Canadian capers,
‘Let them sue me’ – I’m abused by nati’nal Papers;
Just deny damning DUI in Miami -oh
Pressing prob’ - probably some slob shot a video.

But…… Hello Folks, mellow with tokes or martini,
Nay-sayers can’t so easily outsmart me –
Gawker outbid, world got rid of what’s hid -eeoh
Bright son-of-a-gun might’ve connived to buy the video.



Suburbs’ Guy, stuffed with pie, shirt-size jumbo,
Bigger-’n-life, spare no strife, mode crafty-dumb -oh
Sometimes high out o’ camera’s eye, sitting pretty -oh
Might’ve connived and tried t’ hide that crack-pipe video
Someone my size likely devised t’ buy that video.






January 9, 2024

JAN 9, birdfeeder action-photos: tufted titmouse

 a) Reprise of material posted on January 9 in previous years ...


2020: Charleston garden, Loutrel Briggs, designer (illustrated poem)
2021: anagram swarm, ELECTION-FRAUD contest, national winner (wordplay) 
2022: curtained verse, come and go (poem)
2023: mythed opportunities, Cronus (illustrated poem)

To access the details of any item in slide format, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... Cronus), into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath the slides for each entertaining delight that you discover, you will find a clickable link that lets you easily explore a more widespread collection of wonderments (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.) on the topic of your choice. 

b) Today's Offering (Jan 9, 2024):


tufted titmouse

January 8, 2024

JAN 8, OEDILFian limericks: W-I-P

a) Reprise of material posted on January 8 in previous years ...


2020: Carolina lowcountry, winter afternoon walk (photo-collage) 
2021: old world palindromes, #7 (wordplay maps)
2022: doctors and practices, waiting room journal (illustrated poem)
2023: mammalian wildlife, hoary marmots (illustrated poem)

To access the details of any item in slide format, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... hoary marmots), into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath the slides for each entertaining delight that you discover, you will find a clickable link that lets you easily explore a more widespread collection of wonderments (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.) on the topic of your choice. 

b) Today's Offering (Jan 8, 2024): pending


January 7, 2024

JAN 7, palinku (poetic novelty): W-I-P

a) Reprise of material posted on January 7 in previous years ...


2020: new world palindromes, (wordplay maps) 
2021: anagram swarm, iIMPEACHMENT, again (wordplay maps)
2022: numbers and counting, seven (illustrated poem)
2023: objectionable adjectives, floccular vs. flaky (poem)

To access the details of any item in slide format, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... seven), into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath the slides for each entertaining delight that you discover, you will find a clickable link that lets you easily explore a more widespread collection of wonderments (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.) on the topic of your choice. 

b) Today's Offering (Jan 7, 2024): pending



January 6, 2024

JAN 6, birdfeeder action-photos: male housefinch

a) Reprise of material posted on January 6 in previous years ...


2020: American satire, Vladimir's hope (poem) 
2021: classic palnidrome, UFO tofu. (illustrated poem)
2022: American satire, The Legacy (free verse)
2023: Canadiana, overwintering waterfowl (illustrated poem)

To access the details of any item in slide format, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... UFO tofu.), into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath the slides for each entertaining delight that you discover, you will find a clickable link that lets you easily explore a more widespread collection of wonderments (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.) on the topic of your choice. 

b) Today's Offering (Jan 6, 2024)




house finch (male)


January 5, 2024

JAN 5, Submitted Palindromes: K, targeted at "TIP-TOP POT PIT"

a) Reprise of material posted on January 5 in previous years ...


2020: sister-cities anagrams, 2-3 (wordplay maps) 
2021: amphibians, anurans, frogs vs. toads (illustrated poem)
2022: life in Palindrome Valley, local cuisine (illustrated poem)
2023: ambulatory verse, preamble (poem)

To access the details of any item in slide format, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... preamble), into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath the slides for each entertaining delight that you discover, you will find a clickable link that lets you easily explore a more widespread collection of wonderments (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.) on the topic of your choice. 

b) Today's Offering (Jan 5, 2024)




  On the 25th of each month you will find a slide-filling group of palindromic phrases submitted to the editors by a panel of 7 palindromists. These folks have all been working on this project since January 2020. Their profiles are indicated in panels published here at the start of things, and then, we have asked them to provide (palindromically, of course) their views on one of the iconic items in the classic literature, starting with "A man, a plan, a canal -- Panama", and continuing with other well-known phrases, such as "Dennis sinned". Otherwise, their contribution will be grouped in random piles (a phrase that you might recognize as an anagram of the word p-a-l-i-n-d-r-o-m-e-s). 

You can access all of this delightful entertainment by entering submitted palindromes in one of the two search bars at the top of this post and scrolling downwards through the wordplay posts that you will discover. 


January 4, 2024

JAN 4, birdlore: eastern bluebird window-strikers, crossing the yard

a) Reprise of material posted on January 4 in previous years ...


2020: American satire, make-believe, 2016 (poem) 
2021: old world palindromes, #7 (wordplay maps)
2022: garden intruders, lantana (illustrated poem)
2023: dental feelings, cavities (poem)

To access the details of any item in slide format, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... cavities), into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath the slides for each entertaining delight that you discover, you will find a clickable link that lets you easily explore a more widespread collection of wonderments (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.) on the topic of your choice. 

b) Today's Offering (Jan 4, 2024)



bluebird crossing yard, 1



bluebird crossing yard, 2




January 3, 2024

JAN 3, birdlore: more attempted birdfeeder pics

a) Reprise of material posted on January 3 in previous years ...


2020: Carolina lowcountry, walkability, Mt Pleasant (puzzle-map) 
2021: waterfowl, John Audubon, birder (illustrated poem)
2022: poetry of healthcare, Valgus and Carbuncle (spoof-poem)
2023: neologism, classical, hipsters and hippies (poem)

To access the details of any item in slide format, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... John Audubon), into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath the slides for each entertaining delight that you discover, you will find a clickable link that lets you easily explore a more widespread collection of wonderments (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.) on the topic of your choice. 

b) Today's Offering (Jan 3, 2024)


For comparison, you might like to review our first attempts at photographing the birdfeeding clients, not to mention enjoying a poem to mark the launch of this activity on December 26. Click HERE.

Now, proceed to today's fare!


Eastern bluebirds






House finches




 male (above right), female (below, left)

 



Authors' Note: The house finch is the principal actor in an illustrated verse on "birdlore" published on January 12. Click HERE


Pine warbler

 pine warbler



  




Woodpeckers

downy woodpecker








red-bellied woodpecker




Chickadees     


Titmice     
                                    

(the head crest may be less prominent
 when the bird has recently moulted)




Mockingbirds        



January 2, 2024

JAN 2, postal places, Canada: Grande Prairie, AB

 a) Reprise of material posted on January 2 in previous years ...


2020: sister-cities anagrams, initial depiction (wordplay maps) 
2021: waterfowl, great egrets (photo-collage)
2022: etymology, dollar (illustrated poem)
2023: waterfowl, willets (illustrated poem)

To access the details of any item in slide format, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... dollar), into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath the slides for each entertaining delight that you discover, you will find a clickable link that lets you easily explore a more widespread collection of wonderments (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.) on the topic of your choice. 

b) Today's Offering (Jan 2, 2024)



Authors' Note: The above verse combines three disparate plot-elements: limericks about bar jokes, our verses on North America's postal places, and the approach of Hallowe'en.

If you want to know more about the Canadian province of Alberta, consult our verse on Red Deer, AB, or ask speedysnail, author of the OEDILFian poem Alberta.

 At one swell foop, you can review all our postal poems about intriguing places in the USA and Canada, by proceeding to the encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE !

January 1, 2024

JAN 1, special events: New Years' Day concert, Vienna

 a) Reprise of material posted on January 1 in previous years ...


2020: territory demarcation, the start of a new blog (explanation) 
2021: new world palindromes, #43 (wordplay maps)
2022: insects, toothpick grasshoppers (illustrated poem)
2023: urban concerns, botanical conservatory (illustrated poem)

To access the details of any item in slide format, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... conseervatory) into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath the slides for each entertaining delight that you discover, you will find a clickable link that lets you easily explore a more widespread collection of wonderments (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.) on the topic of your choice. 
bird-of-paradise plant,
Conservatory, TOronto

b) Today's Offering (Jan 1, 2024)



If today is January 1, we must be in Austria!

(PBS viewer's world-view)


Christian Thielemann, conducting the Vienna Philharmonic




    interior of the Musikverein, Viennese concert hall
              
dancers from the Vienna State Ballet,
 a fixture of the second part of the television programme



December 30, 2023

DEC 30, singable satire: New Years' song, updated by R. Burns, "AULD LANG's SINE"

 PARODY-LYRICS    

Robert Burns 
Repercussions of what we sang on New Years Eve (Hogmanay to the Scots)
ORIGINAL SONG: "Auld Lang Syne", by Robert Burns, 1788.
PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, January, 2015.

EXPLANATORY NOTESRobert Burns, born 1759, became Scotland’s ‘national poet’, and a cultural icon at home and among Scottish diaspora around the world. In his short life - he died at age 37 -  he wrote hundreds of well-loved poems and songs; the most famous is Auld Lang Syne, traditionally sung on Hogmanay (New Year's Eve). Robbie Burns Day is celebrated on his birthday, January 25, often with a Burns Night supper
Burns' best-loved poems include "To a Mouse", "To a Louse", "Tam o' Shanter", "Parcel o' Rogues", and "Address to a Haggis".

WORDPLAY LINK: A somewhat different version on the Simon Lang story, with a more modern take, has been twisted into limerick verse, and can be seen HERE.
PARODY-SONGLINK: To find ukulele and guitar chord-charts to help you accompany "Auld Lang's Sine", a song about the origins of trigonometry, on your favorite instrument, click HERE.


AULD LANG’S SINE

(to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne")


A clever Scot, Auld Simon Lang
Rests in a box o’ pine;
His contributions near-forgot -
‘E invented Auld Lang’s Sine.

Dreamed up the trig’s sine function, 
And its coz’n bright an’ fine;
[One minus (Lang’s-Sine)squared], my dear,
Its square-root – Auld Lang’s Cosine.

And though his mind did grow less clear,   
His concept’s been refined –
One o’er t’other – Tangent, dear
All derived frae Auld Lang’s Sine.

And at the end, his sight grown dim
Ideas still implant –
Turned on its head, Auld Lang’s Cosine,
We know as Auld Lang’s Secant.

His final word, “Cotangent”,
Then his soul was carried up;
So kindly pass the pi', my dear,
And to Lang we’ll drink a cup.

For Simon's radiant angles,
Bright his ratios still shine!
O' Trig we'd all be mindless were
It nae for Auld Lang's Sine. 



Related Palindromes

T. set stats test.


Crazy Z-arc.

I-pen is rotator: sine pi.




December 29, 2023

DEC 29, birdlore: new birdfeeder!

New birdfeeder!!!






Initial photo-experience on a rainy day using a cell-phone camera. Stay tuned as the technique develops! 


tufted titmouse
i-phone photo with automated "removal of background"; this software works relatively well with persons, but for birds, the tails and legs get detached relatively often
 





house finch (male)






















Eastern bluebird


COMPARISON EXPERIENCE: 
tree-squirrel inspecting a conventional birdfeeder


Readers interested in a truly funky experience are invited to review our bizarre verse about "seabird-feeders" by clicking HERE. And you are also invited to check out our subsequent moderate success in photographing our avian dining guests HERE


You can also view an encyclopedic collection of illustrated poems on this topic (land-birds) by proceeding to the posts "Poems about BIRDLORE" on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.
Corresponding, there is a slew of illustrated poems in five linked posts dealing with WATERFOWL that you can access by clicking HERE.


December 28, 2023

DEC 28, Canadiana: Haida Gwaii



web-photo



Authors' Note:

snowbird: a Canadian retiree seeking a warmer venue to spend the wintry months

  The Queen Charlotte Islands are a Canadian archipelago situated between the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island and the Alaska Panhandle, with landmass one-third that of the Hawaiian Islands (the latter located considerably further south). They had been the heartland of the aboriginal Haida people, who numbered thirty thousand at the time of first contact with European explorers in the eighteenth century. Their territory has a unique environment based on moderate temperatures and heavy rainfall. The province of British Columbia renamed the islands Haida Gwaii (HIE-duh GWIE[-ee], "islands of the people") in 2010.

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