A blogsite offering entertaining daily oddities since January 2020. There are now over fifteen hundred posts in these four years. Images, photographic, computer-simulated and poetic, are drawn from daily life, as well as from material grouped by topic on our parent blog "Edifying Nonsense". The poetry displayed is all original, although portions of it evolved through rigorous editing on a collaborative website.
June 5, 2020
JUN 5, wordplay maps: sister-cities anagrams (19-21)
June 4, 2020
JUN 4, national and multinational verse: Armenia
Authors' Note:
neurasthenia: obsolete term from psychiatry, implying general debility attributed to exhaustion of the nervous system, as discussed here
Armenia, the first country in the world to adopt Christianity, has had disputes with its neighbors for most of its existence. The revered Mt. Ararat is now located geopolitically in Turkey, but is still considered a national symbol of Armenia, and dominates the view from the Armenian capital of Yerevan. Armenia's borders to the east and west currently remain closed owing to hostile relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey.
Armenia, the first country in the world to adopt Christianity, has had disputes with its neighbors for most of its existence. The revered Mt. Ararat is now located geopolitically in Turkey, but is still considered a national symbol of Armenia, and dominates the view from the Armenian capital of Yerevan. Armenia's borders to the east and west currently remain closed owing to hostile relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey.
You can review our collection of verses about various individual nations, and about the groupings to which they belong, on our topic-based blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.
June 3, 2020
JUN 3, poets' corner: the problem of scansion
June 2, 2020
JUN 2, insects: beer bugs
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.
June 1, 2020
JUN 1, American satire: Sharpie-gate (hurricane season reminiscence)
Keep more to yourself for a while, wash your hands frequently, wear a mask in public, remember to laugh on occasion, and stay well!
Here's a relevant recollection, given that June 1 is the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season.
Here's a relevant recollection, given that June 1 is the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season.
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 31, 2020
MAY 31, curtained verse: gull and buoy
EDITORS' WARNING: You must be at least 12 years of age to read this post!
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'.
May 30, 2020
MAY 30, 2020: exotic destination: Cappadocia (troglodytes)
Other verses about 'Exotic Travel Destinations' can be found on our blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE.
May 29, 2020
MAY 29, etymology: 'havoc'/'haven'
For fans of etymology, we have three blogposts with collections of verses about word-origins such as the one above on our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense". You can start to review some of this intriguing material by clicking HERE, and then following the links!
May 28, 2020
MAY 28, a brief saga: fluoridation
Authors' Note: A controversy over fluoridation of public water systems peaked in the 1940s through 1960s in North America. Municipal water-suppliers with low ambient levels of the natural mineral were motivated to adjust that in order to reduce childhood tooth decay. Despite initial vocal opposition, fluoridation was adopted by many municipalities in North American and elsewhere. In Europe, in contrast, fluoridation of municipal water-systems has never achieved wide support as a public health measure.
“Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous Communist plot we have ever had to face?” Brig. Gen. Jack Ripper, a character in the 1964 film classic Dr. Strangelove”.
You can review the collection of illustrated verses on other dental topics by proceeding to the post 'Dental Feelings' on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.
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 the usual shorter poems, wordplay and other general offerings.
To access the next 'brief saga' on this blog, proceed to 'Life as a Loon'.
To access the most recent previous 'brief saga', back up to 'Claire's celerity'.
Re Medical-Related Verse: Altogether, a hundred or so intriguing verses on medical/dental topics can now be found on various posts in collections, including:
Patients and their Maladies (parts #1, #2 and #3)
Funny Bones (parts #1 and #2)
Doctors and their Practices (parts #1 and #2)
Doctors and their Practices (parts #1 and #2)
and in 'brief sagas' including:
May 27, 2020
MAY 27, classic palindrome: Mr. Owl
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: The original classic palindrome stated,
"Mr. Owl ate MY metal worm."
Ms. Nan is an eight-year-old proto-recycler. Readers are asked to sign her 'Recyclers' Pledge', and thereby help protect creatures in our common environment.
May 26, 2020
MAY 26, Ontario nostalgia: Trent-Severn canal
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:
docktails: slang for drinks, and/or a cocktail- snack social hour at dockside, as used by North American motorboating cliques
mocktails: abbreviation for mock (non-alcoholic) cocktails
The Trent-Severn Waterway is a system operated by Parks Canada and enjoyed by recreational motorboaters. It meanders for 400 km (250 miles) across southern Ontario, joining L. Ontario's Bay of Quinte and L. Huron's Georgian Bay via intervening smaller lakes, rivers and manmade canals. With over 40 locks en route, the altitude near the system's midpoint reaches a level of 180 m (590 feet) above the starting point. The world's highest lift-lock, located at Peterborough, is an impressive piece of engineering and a tourist attraction.
The Trent-Severn Waterway is a system operated by Parks Canada and enjoyed by recreational motorboaters. It meanders for 400 km (250 miles) across southern Ontario, joining L. Ontario's Bay of Quinte and L. Huron's Georgian Bay via intervening smaller lakes, rivers and manmade canals. With over 40 locks en route, the altitude near the system's midpoint reaches a level of 180 m (590 feet) above the starting point. The world's highest liftlock, located at Peterborough, is an impressive piece of engineering and a tourist attraction.
You can review the entire series of illustrated poems about the good old days in Ontario by checking the post 'Ontario Nostalgia' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.
May 25, 2020
MAY 25, birdlore: cedar waxwings
You can view an encyclopedic collection of illustrated poems on this topic by proceeding to the post 'Poems about BIRDLIFE' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.
May 24, 2020
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, 2020
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.
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, 2020
MAY 22, wordplay maps: sister-cities anagrams (16-18)
May 21, 2020
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’.
May 20, 2020
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
1. Iceland / Ísland
2. Geysir: OEDILF
3. Eyjafjallajökull / E15
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.”
Avoid months with an 'R', like October;
And a Reykjavik warning! Bars open til morning
May 19, 2020
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, 2020
MAY 18, mammalian wildlife: raccoons in the swamp
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, 2020
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.
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, 2020
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, 2020
MAY 15, Carolina lowcountry: a quiet day's photocollage.
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May 14, 2020
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, 2020
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, 2020
MAY 12, patients and maladies: flu-like illness
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