JUL 18, special event: dismantling of a nearby rooftop crane (ringside seats!)

a) Reprise of material posted on July 18 in previous years ...

2020: waterfowl, pelicatessen (illustrated poem)
2021: amphibians, bufotoxin (illustrated poem) 
2022: funny bones, heterotopic ossification (illustrated poem)
2023: Canadiana, Eastern funky towns (wordplay maps)

To access any item, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... bufotoxin), into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath each item you will find a further link to explore a collection of items (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.)  on the relevant topic.

b) Today's offering (Jul 18, 2024): 

almost unnoticed, the retrieval crane
appears just before midnight
(diagonal structure in foreground)

retrieval crane, fully assembled
on Jarvis St. next day at 6 a.m. 

retrieval crane, control pod at street level

 retrieval crane, its working midsection
 at 15-20 stories above the street

grabbing the untethered unit
 of the rooftop crane

carefully lowering the rooftop crane's
ladder-like structure
(Toronto's busy Jarvis Street
blocked off on this Sunday morning) 

lowering proceeds calmly
on this windless day

approaching the level of the helper crane
(lower left), about 15 stories above the street

 

ladder-like unit from the rooftop crane

soon gets set down on Jarvis street

There are more striking photos of the process of dismantlement of all the cranes, and their subsequent transport off-site. Stay tuned as these will be displayed, and the street  reopened tomorrow. 

Other issues of interest to readers who live in deep downtown locations can be found in illustrated poems on our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE for the collection entitled "Urban Concerns". 

JUL 17, palinku: veggies #2

a) Review of material posted on July 17 in previous years ...

2020: poets' corner, inventiveness (poetic innovation)
2021: palinku, fruits, 2 (poetic novelty) 
2022: palinku, invective (poetic novelty)
2023: palinku, schoolboy humor 2 (poetic novelty)

To access any item, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... bufotoxin), into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath each item you will find a further link to explore a collection of items (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.)  on the relevant topic.

b) Today's offering (Jul 17, 2024): 

JUL 16, photo-collage: deluge (celestial intervention cited in Toronto and Milwaukee)

 a) Reprise of material posted on July 16 in previous years ...

2020: bottom-line humor, anal fissure (poem)

2021: reptiles, Eastern glass lizards (illustrated poem) 
2022: braincheck, visual cortex (illustrated poem)
2023: reptiles, red-eared sliders (illustrated poem)

To access any item, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... visual cortex), into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath each item you will find a further link to explore a collection of items (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.)  on the relevant topic.

b) Today's offering (Jul 16, 2024): 

\

Union Station entrance stairway

A 90+ minute deluge in Milwaukee

JUL 15, Submitted Palindromes: RANDOM PILE #19

  a) Reprise of material posted on July 15 in previous years ...

2020: sister-city anagrams, 28-30 (wordplay maps)
2021: variant Nantucket limerick, Cape Cod codger (illustrated poem) 
2022: death and afterlife, homes in Heaven (illustrated poem)
2023: painterly poetry, Mary Cassatt (illustrated poem)

To access any item, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... Mary Cassatt), into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath each item you will find a further link to explore a collection of items (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.)  on the relevant topic.

b) Today's offering (Jul 15, 2024): 

   On the 25th of each month (recently buoyed up by additional postings on the 5th and 15th) 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. 

JUL 14, special event: Cirque du Soleil's "Echo", aerialists #1

   a) Reprise of material posted on July 14 in previous years ...

2020: savoir-faire, pied-à-terre (poem)
2021: old world palindromes, French palindromes (wordplay maps) 
2022: multi-national verse, la Francophonie (poem)
2023: American satire, Latin States #3 (wordplay maps)

To access any item, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... la Francophonie), into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath each item you will find a further link to explore a collection of items (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.)  on the relevant topic.

b) Today's offering (Jul 14, 2024): 

Tune in for more, tomorrow!

JUL 13, special event: Cirque du Soleil's "Echo", jugglers

a) Reprise from July 13 in previous years

2020: political palindromes, KKK (wordplay)
2021: bi-lyrical limerick, goof (poem) 
2022: defining opinion, hooey (poem)
2023: American satire, felony (poem)

To access any item, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... felony), into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath each item you will find a further link to explore a collection of items (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.)  on the relevant topic. 

b) Today's Offering (Jul 13, 2024)

Photography was permitted at these shows, so it's a great place to try out some new features on your cellphone's camera! Undoubtedly, the show is well worth the price of admission!

 

Stay tuned for more views of this activity later this week!

JUL 12, portraits of couples: toucans

a) Reprise from material posted on July 12 in previous years ...

2020: political palindromes, JJJ (wordplay)
2021: insects, deer- and horse- flies (illustrated poem) 
2022: portraits of couples, feral ducks (illustrated poem)
2023: portraits of couples, brown pelicans (photo folio)

To access any item, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... hobos), into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath each item you will find a further link to explore a collection of items (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.)  on the relevant topic. 

b) Today's Offering (Jul 12, 2024) : 

To enjoy an illustrated poem about the yellow-throated toucan, Ramphastos ambiguus, a large toucan found in Central America and northwestern South America; click HERE.

You can view all of our folio-photos from the collection of 'Couples' portraits in a wider context on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE. 

JUL 11, Olympic sport: swim racing

a) Reprise from post of July 11, in previous years ...

2020: dental feelings, flossing (illustrated poem)
2021: STD poetry, STDs (poem) 
2022: numbers, eleven (poem)
2023: defining opinion, hoe (illustrated poem)

To access any item, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... flossing), into one of the two search bars at the the top of your blog-page. Underneath each item you will find a further link to explore a collection of items (verse, photos, wordplay, song-lyrics etc.)  on the relevant topic. 

b) Today's Offering (Jul 11, 2024):

 Olympic sport, 2024

 200 m butterfly
(Canada's Summer McIntosh wins gold medal #2/3)

JUL 10, singable satire: "OFF-PATENT DRUG NINETEEN"

a) Reprise from material posted on July 10 in previous years ...

2020: reprehensible modern history, broken arrow (poem - 'brief saga')
2021: basic medical science, radiation exposure (poem - 'brief saga') 
2022: singular plurals, careers (poem - 'brief saga')
2023: national verse, France (poem - 'brief saga')

To access the details of any item in slide format, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... broken arrow), into one of the two searchbars 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 (Jul 10, 2024):

PARODY-LYRICS
ORIGINAL SONG: "Love Potion Number Nine" , The Clovers  
PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, December 2012.

From Wikipedia...... In November 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the patent on Viagra was invalid from the beginning as the company had not provided full disclosure.
This song imagines that Madame Ruth had relocated to Toronto towards the end of her career, pursuing her profession in the section known as Corktown - also known for massive ukulele-jam meetings at a local pub.


OFF-PATENT DRUG #NINETEEN
or Madame Ruth's Lament

(to the tune of "Love Potion Number Nine")

I had some troubles making magic pills,

You’ll know the new ones, like sildenafil;

In ‘62 I palmed some off and then I did some time:

Cop-assault seemed part of ... Love Potion Number Nine.

My new blue Love-Drug could be guys’ delight,
They'd stand to attention for part of the night.

How hard could it be to direct their urge at chicks?

The patent gave the details since ...  Nineteen Ninety-Six.

If they’d buy my knock-offs they would never flop,

I could scope out more ingredients and set up shop.

A good place to test it might be “where King meets Queen” -

I needed a success with ... Generic Drug Nineteen.

Got turned around and flustered when I checked out the lists;

The patent called for extracts in a strange solvent mix.

I swirled it in the bathtub with some weird catalysts;  

It stank like Potion Nine but I breathed in a few whiffs.

I packed it up though it was smoking green,

And grabbed and cabbed it to the Corktown scene,

But when I kissed the cop down at River Street and Queen,

She broke my 30 vials of  ...   Off-Patent Drug Nineteen.

Those vials were smoking  green,

That lady cop was mean,
Off-Patent Drug Nine-teen !

Psst!  Psst!

If you have troubles when you’re in a hug,

There’s knock-off drug enough to fill a jug;

But please ignore the fact that the pills are shocking green,

And please avoid the corner of  ...   River St and Queen.

Off-Patent Drug Nineteen x2

Off-Patent Drug Nineteen!

JUL 9, floral delights: orchids

a) Reprise from material posted on July 9 in previous years ...

2020: political palindromes, III (wordplay)
2021: new world palindromes, #49 (wordplay maps) 
2022: doctors and practices, lithotripsist (poem)
2023: saving the planet, coy koi (illustrated poem)

To access the details of any item in slide format, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... III), 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 (Jul 9, 2024):

JUL 8, OEDILFian limericks: W-I-P

a) Reprise from material posted on July 8 in previous years ...

2020: bi-lyrical limerick, dual-rhyme schemes (poem)
2021: clot or not, pulmonary embolism (poem) 
2022: poets' corner, HELD (poem)
2023: waterfowl, roseate spoonbills (illustrated poem)

To access the details of any item in slide format, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... roseate spoonbills), 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 (Jul 8, 2024): pending

  

JUL 7, palinku (poetic novelty): restaurants #2

 a) Reprise from material posted on July 7 in previous years ...

2020: political palindromes, HHH (wordplay)
2021: invertebrates, gastropods (illustrated poem) 
2022: trees, crepe myrtle (illustrated poem)
2023: waterfowl, mute swans pose (photo-op)

To access the details of any item in slide format, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... roseate spoonbills), 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 (Jul 7, 2024): 

 You can view all our verses of this type if you  proceed with a single click to our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE. 

JUL 6, postal places, USA: Champaign, IL

a) Reprise from material posted on July 6 in previous years ...

2020: new world palindromes, #27,28 (wordplay)
2021: domestic hazards, dangerous utensils (poem) 
2022: binomial phrases, down and out (poem)
2023: ambulatory verse, climb (poem)

To access the details of any item in slide format, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... climb), 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 (Jul 6, 2024):

Authors' Note: 

Chicagoan: resident of Chicago, IL

urbane: sophisticated, elegant, worldly

No banana!: slang for 'not prize-winning'

No pain, no gain: slang phrase indicating hard work as a requirement for advancement.

IL is the official abbreviation for the American state of Illinois, in which two neighboring towns, Champaign, population 88,000 and Urbana, population 38,000, make up the metropolitan area of Champaign-Urbana, located 135 miles (215 km) south of the megalopolis of Chicago. The names of both towns, dating from the nineteenth century, relate to earlier settlements in the nearby state of Ohio. Ultimately, the name, derived from archaic French, relates to a place 'in the countryside'.

Champaign-Urbana, IL is home to the flagship campus of the University of Illinois, and offers an appropriate spectrum of cultural opportunities. Surrounded by an extensive, flat, mid-west farming district, it is on occasion, as here, disparaged by residents of Chicago for its lack of "urbanity".

 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 !

JUL 5, Submitted Palindromes: RANDOM PILE #18

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

2020: sister-city anagrams 25-27 (wordplay)
2021: garden intruders, squirrels (illustrated poem) 
2022: insects, cryoprotection (poem)
2023: medical testing, false-positives (poem)

To access the details of any item in slide format, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... squirrels),  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. 

) Today's Offering (Jul 5, 2024):

  On the 25th of each month (recently buoyed up by additional postings on the 5th and 15th) 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. 

JUL 4, postal places, USA: Baton Rouge, LA

a) Reprise from material posted on July 4 in previous years ...

2020: political palindromes, GGG (wordplay)
2021: anagram swarm, election fraud (wordplay maps) 
2022: anagram swarm, election fraud (wordplay contest)
2023: national verse, America (poem - 'brief saga')

To access the details of any item in slide format, type its title, as displayed above in red font (e.g. ... GGG), 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 (Jul 4, 2024):

Authors' Note: 

LA is the official abbreviation for the American state of Louisiana, whose capital, Baton Rouge, with population 230,000, is situated 100 miles (160km) upriver from New Orleans.

   The original site, protected from flooding by its situation on bluffs along the east side of the Mississippi, had originally noted by exploring Europeans for a pole marking the dividing-line between two aboriginal territories. It was designated as the state capital in 1846, replacing New Orleans in that role, and with extension, its port became the tenth busiest in the US. The city hosts the flagship campuses of Louisiana State University and Southern University.

In recent decades, the Republican party acquired a strangle-hold on almost all local, state, and federal officials elected in Louisiana. Although Louisiana is otherwise agreed as being one of the locales on the planet most affected by climate change, coastal erosion and other negative results of human activity, resistance to that realization seems strongly entrenched locally.

At one fell swoop, 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 !