MAY 24, anagram swarm: A-VERY-STABLE-GENIUS, #7

Bonus wordplay concoction:

You can review an amazing number of anagrams based on this book title on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. There are two posts to view:  ’A Very Stable Genius': Theme and Variations (97 anagrams), and 

'A Very Stable Genius': additional funky anagrams

MAY 23, wordplay maps: new world palindrome (#21,#22)

Keep more to yourself for a while, wash your hands frequently, wear a mask in public, remember to laugh on occasion, and stay well!

TO ENLARGE any slide or stand-alone photo on this blog, just click on it. To reverse the process, and return to this standard view, find the little 'x' in the upper right corner of the black field and click there.

You can view the entire collection of these 50 wordplay maps, by accessing the collection 'Tourists Palindromic Guides: The Americas'. Start by clicking HERE! 

MAY 22, wordplay maps: sister-cities anagrams (16-18)

MAY 21, geysers: geyser guru

Authors' Note:  The geyser (GHIE-zer or GHEE-ser) is an unusual hydrogeologic phenomenon which occurs in volcanic zones where magma (molten lava) is close to the surface, and there is fissuring of rocks due to earthquake faults. Minerals dissolved from adjacent rocks precipitate out, forming a lining for a type of 'plumbing system' in which steam builds up, resulting in regular eruptions of boiling water. Changes in the colour of the swirling hot water in the pool help predict the arrival of the next photogenic discharge. 

 Yellowstone Park, in the American Rockies, is a site of these natural wonders, including the famous geyser ‘Old Faithful’.

 You can review these illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Poetry that Spurts: Verses about Geysers' on the full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense".

MAY 20 (2020), singable satire: show-tune written by George Gershwin, "ICELAND"

 PARODY SONG-LYRICS

ORIGINAL SONG: The melody for the spiritual ballad "Summertime" from the George Gershwin opera "Porgy and Bess".

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio (registered pseudonym) and Dr. GH, August 2018. 

EVOLUTION of the LYRICS: The song-lyrics originated as limerick verses composed by Giorgio Coniglio 2017, and compiled in January 2018. The details of the lyrics were based on GC's family trip to Iceland in June 2015. Most of the verses also appear, mildly modified, in the online limerick dictionary OEDILF.com. They were subsequently adopted as a parody-song collage, and posted on GC's blog, at that time known as "Ukable Parodies". 

SONGLINK:  Our whole series of songs can be found in a friendly format for ukulele (and guitar)-players on our blog  "SILLY SONGS and SATIRE". Click HERE to proceed to this site: it also has a calypso-style song derived from the same visit to Iceland in June 2015 under the title "Nordic Journal: Island in the Sun".                                   

CONTENTS: titles (OEDILF listing)

1. Iceland / Ísland  
2. Geysir: OEDILF 
3. Eyjafjallajökull / E15 
4. Second-Hand Geyser
5. Stopover in Reykjavik 

ICELANDIC SAGA

(to the tune of "Summertime") 

1. In the far North Atlantic there’s dry land:
Friendly Iceland – it’s my kind of island.
You’ll be welcomed in Ísland *; cool and damp but at-peace land; 
Summer-sun-all-day-but-you-won’t-fry land.

2. Tourists learn the Norse thermal god plays here;
The Icelandic locale known as ‘Geysir’.
From hot pools steam erupts - belching after he sups.
Then they head for the sign (that says),“Tour Bus Stays Here.”

3. E15, Iceland stratovolcano,
Spews out fog that can clog up your plane, Oh
If explain it I must - it’s just ashes and dust;  
Can’t they flush it away with some Drano?

4. A cheap gift: though Björn thought he’d surprise her,
Björg rejected his second-hand geyser,                                              
“What I’d prize is a freezer. Your poor wife, why displease her?
It just proves you’re a nasty old miser.”

5. If you’re planning an Iceland stopover:
Avoid months with an 'R', like October;  
And a Reykjavik warning! Bars open til morning  

With patrons not prone to stay sober.

* pronounced as EES-lahndt.

MAY 19, wordplay maps: new world palindromes (#19,#20)

Keep more to yourself for a while, wash your hands frequently, remember to laugh on occasion, and stay well!

You can view the entire collection of these 50 wordplay maps, by accessing the collection 'Tourists Palindromic Guides: The Americas'. Start by clicking HERE! 

MAY 18, mammalian wildlife: raccoons in the swamp

Authors' Note: We are indebted to Bill Wingfield for contributing the idea for the previous poem. 

 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 !

MAY 17, political palindromes, A

 

 These palindromes were selected to display the simplest type of palindrome construction. A word such as 'debut', that creates an alternate English word when the letters are read in reverse order, is sometimes waggishly referred to as a 'SEMORDNILAP'. In any case, full speed ahead (ignore the punctuation)!

  For more complex types of palindromes, further head-scratching may be needed to understand the basis of construction. Please see the selected examples that will be displayed on the post of June 14; click HERE.

MAY 16, trees: silver maples

Keep more to yourself for a while, wash your hands frequently, remember to laugh on occasion, and stay well!

silver maple in Toronto park;
large broken-off limb

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". 

MAY 15, Carolina lowcountry: a quiet day's photocollage.

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MAY 14, portraits of couples: Introduction (domestic turkeys)

Giorgio and I have decided, despite the limitations of the new COVID-19 lockdown regulations, to undertake a novel business venture -- family photographic portraiture.

Please call or email to make an appointment with our staff for a photo-shoot, which can be conducted in your front yard, sidewalk or parking area. Owing to the inclement weather, clothing (other than pyjamas or gym-shorts) is recommended.

With the approval of our earliest clients, I will post some samples here over the next few days for your perusal.

Best wishes,

Giorgio / Dr.G.H.

Enjoy an illustrated poem about domestic turkeys by clicking HERE.

You can view this photo from our portfolio of 'Couples' portraits in a

wider context on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense" HERE. 

MAY 13, waterfowl: mute swans

Authors' Note: lim: abbreviation for 'limerick', used by poetry-nerds.

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

MAY 12, patients and maladies: flu-like illness

 Be sure to check out the whole collection of verses on 'Patients and their Maladies" by proceeding to our full-service blog ,"Edifying Nonsense." CLICK HERE !

MAY 11, poetic non-sequitur: gifted children

Authors' Note: For educators, giftedness, e.g. in intellectual abilities, implies an ability significantly above average that motivates differences in school programming. For gifted children, social isolation from the majority of their age-peers is a major problem in their development and maturation. Various educational theories and practices abound in attempting to deal with this problem.   

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.

 

MAY 10, Toronto oases: Toronto Islands (photocollage#1)

 More view of summer outings to "the Island" can be found HERE. 

MAY 9, wordplay maps: American Scramble-towns 5,6

Same old message ...

Who would ever have guessed? It turns out that an unparalleled word in generating anagrams (letter scrambles) is P-A-L-I-N-D-R-O-M-E-S. We have taken advantage of that property to create this unique series of wordplay maps of imaginary American (and Canadian) locales, each one completed by its official two-letter state (or provincial) abbreviation. 

LINKS: 

Forward to U.S.A. map #7

Back to U.S.A. map #3

Let's skip all this stuff and get on to the Canadian version, eh? (stay tuned!)

MAY 8, classic palindrome: 'Emil's lime'

Keep more to yourself for a while, wash your hands frequently, wear a mask in public, remember to laugh on occasion, and stay well!

Authors' Note: 

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'. 

MAY 7, wordplay maps: sister-cities anagrams (13-15)

Keep more to yourself for a while, wash your hands frequently, remember to laugh on occasion, and stay well!

MAY 6, magical canal palindromes: 'A man, a plan, ... Suez'

You can become an expert fan of our wordplay concoction 'magical palindromes' by reviewing the explanatory material found in ancient days on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense" HERE; then, you could check how we applied this technique to 'canal palindromes' by viewing this more recent post.

MAY 5, American satire: pardoning 'Sheriff Joe'

Authors' Note:   “Sheriff Joe" Arpaio, a former official of Maricopa County, Arizona, had a long flamboyant career characterized by legal actions against colleagues, heavy-handed treatment of suspects and prisoners, and allegations of massive misuse of funds. The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) eventually brought suit against him for civil rights violations, and after refusing to comply, he was finally convicted of contempt of court.

 

   As an octogenarian, Arpaio had become a political friend and outspoken advocate of Donald Trump, who pardoned his criminal offence in August 2017, prior to the imposition of a sentence.

We hope that you enjoyed this verse. You can find 30 more on this topic in 5 collections on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE to start! 

MAY 4, limerick variations: the multi-verse universe

Authors' Note:   The authors can box themselves into writing single defining limericks in the standard format used at OEDILF, the online humor dictionary, and have done so several hundred times. However, they delight in multi-verse limericks which provide a richer space for development of plot lines, contrasts and examples. Currently (April 2023), Giorgio’s ‘Author's Showcase' at the OEDILF website displays 80+ multi-verse entries.  

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.         

   

MAY 3, wordplay maps: new world palindromes (#17,#18)

You can view the entire collection of these 50 wordplay maps, by accessing the collection 'Tourists Palindromic Guides: The Americas'. Start by clicking HERE! 

MAY 2, savoir-faire: French loanwords

Authors' Note:

 à propos: in regard

outré: inappropriately eccentric in behaviour or appearance, or exceeding the limits of propriety

sans doute (sahn DOOT): certainly, without doubt

paraph (PA-ruhf): confirmatory mark after a signature, derived more remotely from the French term paraphe

nonpareil: a paragon, one who has no equal

Although the word nonpareil has been used in English, often pronounced as non-pah-REHL, since the 16th century, one must adopt the snobbier French pronunciation (non-pah-RAY) for the verse to rhyme.

Despite its status as a longstanding valuable English descriptor, unique retains a Gallic sound, which is frankly ... unique. 

 You can review verses on this topic in a wider context on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Check the post 'Vers Francais: Savoir-Faire' by clicking HERE. 

MAY 1, pandemic poetry: HB to me (birthday confinement)

TO ENLARGE any slide or stand-alone photo on this blog, just click on it. To reverse the process, and return to this standard view, find the little 'x' in the upper right corner of the black field and click there.

Keep more to yourself for a while, wash your hands frequently, remember to laugh on occasion, and stay well!

The verse above sounds pretty depressive, but hold on!

Here is some uplifting inspirational birthday-poetry kindly contributed by the Royal Oak Trio ! 

 You can review these illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Pandemic Poetry' on the full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense".

APR 30, exotic destination: Nome, Alaska

 

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

APR 29, a brief saga: Claire's celerity

 

Authors' Note: As there is no etymological commonality, wordpairs of similar appearance, but unrelated origins, may have disparate meanings and usages; this is certainly the case for: 

celerity / celery,

gravity / gravy.  

cavity / cavy,

and levity / levy, examples discussed in he above verse.

For the purpose of this blog, a 'brief saga' is defined as a poem, usually narrative, but occasionally expository, that tell its story in at least 15 lines. Most commonly, the format involves three stanzas in limerick form. Your blogging team has been presenting these concoctions at the rate of one per month, mixed in with  shorter poems, wordplay and other  and other general offerings.    

To access the next 'brief saga' on this blog (May 2020), proceed to 'fluoridation'.

To access the most recent previous 'brief saga' (March 2020), back up to 'Walrus and Carpenter (Carolina lowcountry version)'.  

 

APR 28, insects: mosquitoes

You can review Giorgio's other verses about pesty and occasionally beneficial insects, as  collected in 'Buzzwords: Verses about Insects' on the full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.