SEP 9, poems about parasites: cat fleas

Authors' Note: (tee-no-seh-FA-li-deez FEE-luhs)

As discussed in our previous verse on fleas, our voracious protagonist, Ctenocephalides felis, is the chief ectoparasite inflicting misery on canines in North America. Unfortunately, its life-cycle — egg, larva, pupa, adult (the hopping wingless blood-sucker), can result in its persistence for up to a year in a warm environment, like the carpet in your rented flat (apartment). In the absence of its usual victims, the flea will consider humans as a predation target of secondary interest. Another piece of bad news is that, through longstanding attempts at control, the species is becoming resistant to insecticides.

You can review Giorgio's other verses about parasites, both external (ecto-) and internal (endo-) on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.

SEP 8, news-post: Elizabeth the Second, OEDILFian tribute

 

SEP 7, patients and their maladies: lichen sclerosus

                                                                   Final approval at OEDILF: #123098, Nov, 2023.

Authors' Note: 

dermatosis: general term for a skin condition

Lichen sclerosus, a chronic skin malady of unknown cause, with lesions affecting primarily the genital areas, is most often a scourge of women, but men sometimes become sufferers. Caring fors ensitive skin areas by avoiding scratching and restrictive clothing is a necessary lifestyle change. Lifelong use of potent steroid creams has been shown to reduce the chances of malignant transformation.

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!

 

SEP 6, goats at play (action photos)

Editor's Note:

 I am amazed that I had the opportunity to shoot this sequence (as always, my trusty pocket-cellphone camera served as instrumentation). It was as if the goats at Riverdale Farm, not far from my home, had rehearsed a little skit for my entertainment. First they did the routine in which the larger goat pretends he is pouncing on the smaller one, but backs off at the last second; and they repeated it at four different angles, without any intervening pause, as if they wanted to be sure I saw it. Then, as if to show it was all in good fun, they did the head-butting number with the smaller goat in command (I think that was 'fixed'). The Farm had very few visitors that day, owing to the pandemic and to the incipient winter weather.

  It might take a lifetime of observing goats to see the likes again! or not! 

SEP 5, reptiles: gila monsters, revelation

Gila monsters are found in southern California, Arizona and northern Mexico. They should enjoy ongoing changes in our climate. 

Berkeley California -- 100F
September5, 2022
screen photo c/o JJH

 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". 

SEP 4, painterly poetry: Manet, and the lunch on the grass

Check out our entire collection of illustrated verses on 'painterly poetry' by clicking HERE. 

SEP 3, American satire (prolongation): special master (Mar-a-lago documents)

Author's Note:  

post-midterm: refers to the time following the US mid-term elections of 2022.

Supporters of the forty-fifth US leader had 'threatened' to defund the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in retaliation for the agency's carrying out a search and seizure operation (under court order) at his Florida residence and golf-club resort. The material seized  included classified documents that had been taken and stored there when he left office in January 2021, contrary to laws relevant to disposal of such secret government information. His detractors had hoped that he might be indicted for obstruction of justice related to these matters prior to the mid-term elections of November 2022.    

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! 

SEP 2, binomial phrases: "high and dry"

Authors' Note: In deciding on their wedding vows, brides and grooms often pick binomial expressions owing to their aura of tradition and their musicality. Such phrases, bordering on clichés, include:

for better or for worse, to have and to hold, richer or poorer, and in sickness and in health. The ultimate cliché in this formulaic construct (that protagonist Cliff felt pressured to recite) is usually "til death do us part" (not a binomial).

Generally,  following recitation of the vows, the co-opted man and wife get photographed, and then the whole wedding-party goes off to celebrate. In the case described above, the mandatory recitation was distorted, and the guests were left high and dry. 

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 word-pairs, 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 !

SEP 1, mythed opportunities: Ovid's "Metamorphoses"

 

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Authors' Note: Sulmona is a town in Italy's Abruzzo region where the renowned Roman poet Ovid (Ovidio in modern italian), contemporary of Horace and Virgil, started writing his works in Latin. His magnum opus "Metamorphoses" is a monumental epic of 15 books, recounting chronologically the creation of the universe to the reign of Julius Caesar. Although many of its tales are recounted with a personal twist, it is the source of much of our knowledge of Greco-Roman myth.

You can take advantage of the whole spectrum of illustrated poems dealing with 'Mythed Opportunities' that we have collected on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE!

AUG 30, singable satire: a reggae ballad: "F.O.P. -SHOP WINE"

PARODY-LYRICS
ORIGINAL SONG : "Red Red Wine",  Neil Diamond 1968, covered by the reggae band UB40, 1983, with addition of a "toasted" rap section.
PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, November 2015.

 In my province of Ontario and a few other Canadian provinces, licences are granted to shops which allow customers to make their own beer or wine "for personal consumption". These stores are generally referred to by the public as "wineries" or "wineshops", but the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario who regulates these outlets, refers to the stores as UVin or UVin/UBrew, and to the process as FOP (ferment on premises). Some customers who have appropriate space and ambient conditions in their basements prefer to buy equipment and kits for FAH (ferment at home). I personally have been an enthusiastic user of FOP for 15 years, (although I must admit that I have seldom referred to it by this term). 

FOP-SHOP WINE

(to the tune of "Red Red Wine" - reggae version by UB40)

FOP-store wine 

wine kits for sale
in an Ontario store

My kind of sh-o-o-op 

They take my credit card, 

Do all the wo-o-ork.

FOP-shop wine 

Add yeast to mu-u-ust 

Then when my batch is done

Remember to sho-o-ow

Must schedule to show.

I’ll get called - 

Bottling time

Box up thirty that you’ve cleaned

Labels choose

Shrink-wrap tops

After using cork-machine.

The FOP process

FOP-shop wine 

Save half the co-o-ost

Take up no basement  space

Yet fill home wine-racks.

Pay no high tax.

(the "toasted" rap section as per UB40 version) 

 FOP-shop wine, you help reduce the cost

Keep me from feeling me money is lost

FOP-shop wine, you make me feel so grand

We host lots of parties 'cause I’ve always wine on hand

FOP-shop wine, when you’re gone you make me think

Empties need washing in the basement laundry sink. 

FOP-shop wine, I can get to where you are

Boxes in a taxi, when I’ve broken-down old car.

FOP-shop stores, Canucks call them UVin

Personal consumption is seen as no sin. 

Some province license UVin and UBrew
(Brew-shops in the USA who'll do your wine are few.)
FOP-shop wine, might be in your neighbourhood

Quality can vary, but most kits are quite good.

 Twenty years - a few bad bottles, five or six

Never short of holiday or birthday gifts.

 F-O-P means "ferment on premises"
Lots of varieties to please your picky missus
FOP-shop kits always come from foreign lands
Must be some reason local growers not at hand 
FOP-shop kits which we'll really like I know
Aussie shiraz, French or Chilean merlot
Need no special gear, technique's not too hard
Fermentation start by stirring with your credit card.

Reprise: final verse

(FOP.......tax)

staff workspace
in a UVin/UBrew shop

Fade

 

AUG 29, exotic destination: Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina

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

shoreline of Charleston Harbor,
cruiseship approaching in shipping lane

approachable 'wild' waterfowl,
an attraction at the Shem Creek boardwalk

AUG 28, planet-saving verse: summer air quality

Authors' Note: Although meat-eating is a practice that we personally have avoided for almost 20 years, we do accept that most people around us continue to indulge in this ancient tradition, appropriate to when the planet and our species were younger. We would not make you happy if we continued on a rant (kvetch = complaint) about this issue; we prefer to remain silent, and live and let live. Inhabiting a downtown neighborhood with very small urban lots has its limitations, and the smells and smoke of dinner being barbecued by our neighbors almost every summer evening is one of them. 

By the way, we and our partner continue to eat seafood and fish on occasion to ensure adequate protein intake, but one person in our immediate family is a true vegetarian (but not vegan). As you know, the terms to describe these eating patterns are complex and even misleading, but all non-meat-eaters would prefer that others keep their steak-smoke to themselves.    

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

AUG 27, organic brain poetry: frontal meningioma

Authors' Note: 

stroma: connective tissue that supports normal body structures and, on occasion, abnormal growths

Meningioma is a not-uncommon slowly growing benign tumor within the cranium. Pressure on adjacent portions of normal brain induce neurological symptoms. When the tumor is located in the frontal cortex, neuropsychiatric manifestations may include bizarre thoughts, frequently paranoid, and unrepressed behavior. Fortunately, the tumors, when suspected, are readily diagnosed on neuro-imaging studies, and surgical therapy is often curative.

Brain tumours account for only a small portion of patients suffering such neuropsychiatric symptoms; however, medical practitioners frequently hope that such a correctable cause may be discovered.

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."

AUG 26, American satire (prolongation): taking the fifth

Recent 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! 

AUG 25, duplication: fuddle-duddle

Authors' Note: (usually, FUD-uhl-dud-uhl, or with a French lilt, as here, fud-uhl-DUD-uhl)

fuddle-duddle: an infrequently used (re)duplication, voiced dismissively in dealing with opinions that the speaker rejects.

In 1971 Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, father of current PM Justin Trudeau, unleashed a minor scandal by using unparliamentary language in the Canadian House of Commons. A portion of the ensuing brouhaha, deftly sidestepped by Trudeau, revolved around whether he had actually spoken or merely mouthed the inappropriate words.

Web discussion:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuddle_duddle

Readers willing to go down an internet rabbit-hole can easily get to a collection of more than a dozen other short verses SHORT VERSES  in which we have dealt with specific reduplications. 

If interested you could also discover three fairly lengthy PATTER-SONGS about this fascinating linguistic phenomenon. These songs form an important part of our cycle of 9 songs about "Word Pairs".

AUG 24, patients and their maladies: intermittent claudication

Authors' Note:

claudicant: limping, lame

 Pain occurring in one or both legs with exercise in patients with blockages in their leg arteries is termed 'intermittent claudication', a condition particularly prevalent in longterm smokers. 

 Discarded cigarette butts, which may release toxins injurious to wildlife, have been identified by environmentalists as an ecological hazard. 

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!

AUG 23, Canadiana: compassionate use

Authors' Note (originally written in 2016):  

   Growing marijuana seems to be a major activity on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, centred in the city of Nanaimo (nuh-NAHY-moh). Exemptions from restrictions on the substance are given for certain medical conditions, termed compassionate use; however, the criteria appear loosely applied, and overlapping recreational and medicinal use of the substance underlies the region's laid-back attitude.

   It is unlikely that Nanaimo will successfully challenge the dominance in limericks currently held by Nantucket. The island of Nantucket has been the setting for a number of limericks; the most famous clean one deals with a crotchety old man whose daughter rips off his poorly hidden cash.

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

AUG 22, funny bones: olecranon (elbow) fracture

Happy Birthday, MMH!!

                                                                verse finally accepted April 2023, #112902

Authors' Note:

funner: a neologism for 'fun-seeker', as used here; also, a disputed equivalent to the comparative expression 'more fun’

  The olecranon is the boney process (extension) of the forearm's ulna that extends into the elbow joint. Fractures of the olecranon are moderately common, due to direct trauma (fall on the elbow), but even more so due to indirect trauma (transmission of intense force with a fall on the outstretched hand). Owing to the proximity of the ulnar nerve, a broken funny bone may be associated with numbness and tingling extending into the fingers.

  Such injuries have bedevilled joggers and elite athletes, but recently have become more common with the popularity of personal electric transport devices. Surgical treatment is generally required for these fractures that often have displaced bone fragments. 

 You can view more than a dozen other 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!

(Or, if you prefer, you can find most of our blatherings on Facebook in Giorgio's photo albums.)

AUG 21, classic palindrome: 'dogma: I am God'

                                                                     

You can review these illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Reversing Verse: Limericks About Classic Palindromes' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.

AUG 20, singable satire: Neil Young sings "COACH the NESTLINGS"

 SONG with UKULELE CHORDS

ORIGINAL SONG: "Teach Your Children" 1970, lyrics by Graham Nash, recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

PARODY COMPOSED: Dr G.H. and Giorgio Coniglio, April 2019. For collections of illustrated verses on planet-saving themes, click HERE. poetic  

PARODY-SONGLINK: To access ukulele chord-charts to help you accompany "Coach the Nestlings" on your favorite instrument, click HERE.

COACH the NESTLINGS

(to the tune of Teach Your Children)

You, who are on the wing,

Must have a thing, that you can sing to;

But Man won't understand

This fragile planet's all we cling to.

Coach your nestlings well,

Their inland habitats may go dry, 

And breeding sites marine

May leave the scene, as oceans rise high.

Greenhouse gases in the sky,

(Equatorial zones may fry)

Moving polarward they'll try,

And trust in Gaia.

Cetaceans on the float

Should take a vote, and send a note to

That shameful human race,

Who will not face, there's no place to boat to.

There's no Noah's Ark to ride,

There's no place we all can hide,

Stable atmosphere provide,

In skies above you.

AUG 19, curtained verse: foul-mouthed Phil

EDITORS' WARNING: You must be at least 12 years of age to read this post.

Author's Note:  The authors have observed exuberant springtime spread of duckweed, an aqueous plant that superficially resembles an algal bloom, but is in fact beneficial in controlling pollutants.

The resultant marked increase in opacity of the pondwater's surface doesn't seem to bother dabbling fowl like ducks, whose omnivorous eating is targeted primarily at vegetable matter. Night herons, on the other hand, eat a diet of various small creatures, aquatic and terrestrial, ambushing them while standing near the edge of the water. I presume that a dense cover of duckweed would complicate attempts by Phil (as well as his colleagues, although he tends to hunt alone)  to grab a meal of small fish (fries or minnows), if he was so motivated.  

 You can review other mildly scurrilous illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Curtained verse: Faintly Obscene (Selected) Limericks' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.

AUG 18, Italian loanwords: cicerone

Authors' Note:    Guides for tourists in Italy are often given the interesting name cicerone (plural -oni). The label is derived from the Italian Cicerone (chee-che-ROH-neh), the surname of the legendary Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero (SIH-suh-roh in Anglo-Latin, 106–48 BCE). The term has been applied to Italian antiquarians, as well as to talkative guides and interpreters.

 

   The Roman family's name was related to the word for chickpeas (ciceri in Latin, ceci in Italian). ‘Baloney’, an anglicism derived from the globally popular Italian sausage mortadella bolognese, has come in American slang to mean exaggerated claims or nonsense.

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