MAY 1, etymology: 'George', 'Giorgio'

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Giorgio Coniglio!

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!

APR 30, poems of Nuclear Medicine: 'SPECTiloquy'

 

APR 29, spineless verse (invertebrates): ghost crabs

READING MORE WIDELY:

You can find all our illustrated verses about various 'INVERTEBRATES' , as compiled on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense" HERE. But, in fact, we had hived off verses about INSECTS, and they are gathered in separate blogposts, that you can get into HERE. So, follow these links, and enjoy.

APR 28, American satire: 'twitter-ban'

A plea dated December 2020:

 

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!  

APR 27, culinary verse: "peel 'em 'n' eat 'em shrimp"

Find the collection of illustrated poems dealing with these issues on the post 'Culinary Verse' on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE!

APR 26, classic palindrome: Panama canal ('a man, a plan, a canal -- Panama')

You can review these illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Reversing Verse: Limericks About Classic Palindromes' on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Or, if you prefer, you can find most of Giorgio's material on Facebook in his photo-albums.

(Ed note:) This particular verse set off a collection entitled 'Panama Palindrome Parodies'. You can enjoy this assemblage of illustrated verses by clicking HERE.)

APR 25, humorists' scurrilous talk: 'the fart'

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

The collection of informative verses dealing with 'HUMORISTS' SCURRILOUS TALK' can be found by proceeding to our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

APR 24, wordplay; American Scramble-towns 15,16

 

LINKS: 

Forward to U.S.A. map #17

Back to U.S.A. map #13

Let's skip all this stuff and get on to the Canadian version, eh? 

APR 23, reptiles: green anoles

 

You can review photos and illustrated herpetologic verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Verses about Reptiles' (don't worry! no snake-photos)' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.

APR 22, palinku (poetic novelty): canals

  In this post, we will introduce a novel form of poetic wordplay. Inspired by Japanese haiku poetry, this new form is used for a terse verse with a total of 17 syllables displayed on three lines. Unlike its classic Japanese analogue, this concoction does not mandate the precise distribution of the syllables among the three lines, but does stipulate that each word in the poem be included in a palindromic phrase or sentence in English (i.e. one that can be read either forwards or backwards). 

  To help the reader discern the origin of the lyrics, each palindrome (generally occupying one of the three lines of the poem) has been color-coded. 

  And, just in case you have forgotten what palindromes are about, your blogsite hosts have arranged a serial set of brief lessons on the topic ('Political Palindromes') which you can review by clicking HERE. 

(Ed. note:) Verses of this type have continued to accumulate, and there are now more than 50 of them. You can easily view them all  if you  proceed  to our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.

(Or, if your prefer, you can view all this material on Facebook  in Giorgio's photo-albums.)

APR 21, pandemic poetry: 'down the street'

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

APR 20 (2021), singable satire: Bob Dylan sings "A FICKLE TWIST of VERSE", part #1

 PARODY-LYRICS, based on traditional poetry (limericks)

ORIGINAL SONG: "Simple Twist of Fate" Bob Dylan 1975; covers by Diana Krall and Sean Costello are recommended.
ORIGINAL POETRY: At Wikipedia (click here), you can find a discussion of limericks dealing with the 'man from Nantucket'.
PARODY COMPOSED: Dr. G.H. and Giorgio Coniglio, June 2016.

PARODY-SONGLINK: To access ukulele chord-charts to help you accompany "A Fickle Twist of Verse" on your favorite instrument, click HERE.

CURRENT CONTENTS: these are limericks chosen from the classic repertoire for interpretation by B.D.
1. "There once was a man from Nantucket" (clean version) - 3 verses, unattributed.
2. "There once was a man from Nantucket" (dirty version) - cleaned up by G.C.
3. "A gross, a dozen, and a score" - Leigh Mercer.

4. "There was an old miser named Clarence" - Ogden Nash.
5. "There was a brave girl of Connecticut" - Ogden Nash. 
6. "There was a young belle of Old Natchez" - Ogden Nash.
Chorus. "People say it makes them sick" - Giorgio Coniglio.

FICKLE TWIST OF VERSE, part #1

(to the tune of "Simple Twist of Fate")

1. There was a family from  Nantucket:   

Pa kept cash hid in a bucket,

'Til one day his daughter took it,

Daughter name of Nan - 

She ran off with a man. 

Pa felt things might get worse, and 

Watched out for a fickle twist of verse. 

Pa followed couple to Pawtucket -  
Little Nan and cash-filled bucket. 

Just before old Pa retook it,

He said to the man, 

"You’re welcome to keep Nan.” 

He uttered a terse curse, and  

Moved off with a fickle twist of verse. 

The couple trailed him to Manhasset 

Pa held cash there as an asset.

Pail in question? Now man has it;

They stole cash and ran - 

Nan with her new man –  

She stuffed it in her purse, and  

Forgot about a fickle twist of verse.

2. They had a neighbor on Nantucket --

On the island he was stuck; 

Bad reputation, couldn’t chuck it, 

Based on body build –  

Girls found him too ‘strong-willed’, 

Which fate could not reverse, 

Brought on by a simple twist of verse. 

3. A gross, a dozen and a score            
Plus three times the square root of  four;

Divide by seven, no whit more, 

And add eleven fives, 

And hope your brain survives; 

That’s nine squared per Leigh Mercer, 

Cited in this twisted limerick verse. 

4. A mean miser, name of Clarence -  

Simonized both of his parents; 

Found initial cost of care  

Immense, but still declared, 

He’d save on wear- and tearance  

Humor which emerges  

Clearly from O. Nash’s limerick verse.

A brave girl of Connecticut                 

Flagged the train with her petticut. 

Some folks deplored her lack of 

Ecticut, some more inclined 

To laud her presence of mind -  

Debate in which immersed 

Her critics in this controversial verse. 

6. A young southern belle of Natchez’   

Garments always were in patches. 

She divulged she itched, but scratches 

If the need arose; 

Played havoc with her clothes,  

Which stitching could reverse,  

Apart from this fickke twist of verse.

                                           

   CHORUS:

    People say it makes them sick

    To hear too many limericks;
    I fear it had become my shtick,
    But now I've lost the knack,
    With no good jokes to crack --
    A tendency perverse;
    Blame it on a fickle twist of verse.

Did you enjoy  Bob singing the classic limericks? Stay tuned for a follow-up post. 

Pending Topics...

7. "A flea and a fly in a flue" - author unknown, often attributed to O.N.

8. "There was a young lady of station" - Lewis Carroll. 
9. "A wonderful bird is the pelican" - Dixon Merritt. 
10. "There was a young lady named Bright" - Reginald Buller.
11. "There was an old man of Peru" - Edward Lear. 
12. "There was a young fellow of Wheeling" - traditional. 
13. "Hickory dickory dock" - traditional.
 Chorus. "People say it makes them sick" - Giorgio Coniglio.

APR 19, etymology : 'dog'

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!

APR 18, to clot, or not: overview

You can view these verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'To Clot, or Not to Clot' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

 

APR 17, diagnostic imaging: image-guided biopsy

Authors' Note: The above verse panders to the jargony use of the medical term biopsy,as a verb. The position mentioned in the verse would apply specifically to fine-needle biopsy of the prostate, a procedure discussed in a verse HERE.      

  You can review all our verses on this intriguing topic by proceeding to a post on 'Edifying Nonsense' entitled 'Selected Topics in Diagnostic Imaging'. Click HERE!

APR 16, portraits of couples: gemboks, highly-giroomed dogs

Photo: 2017, Barry Weinstock. Etosha National Park, Namibia.

NOT A TYPO !

giroomed:  a neologistic portmanteau word meaning 'groomed like a giraffe'

 

You can view this photo from our portfolio of 'Couples' portraits in a wider context on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense" here. 

APR 15, classic palindrome: 'no lemon, no melon'

 

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'.

APR 14, poetic Panama palindrome parody: 'a man, a potato'

You can review the whole collection of our illustrated verses on this topic  by proceeding to 'Reversing Verse: Panama palindrome parodies' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.

And, if you are interested in seeing innumerable examples of spoofy palindrome variants on wordplay maps, you could embark on a journey through a collection of  blogposts entitled 'Tourists' Palindromic Guides: The Americas, #1 -#4'. All that's needed is to click on the link.

APR 13, waterfowl: oystercatchers

oystercatcher at Crab Bank

 running along the Mt. Pleasant shoreline

at a more leisurely pace

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'. 

APR 12, funny bones: distal radial fracture

Authors' Note: Injuries to the metacarpal bones, such as knuckle fractures, are most common in injuries occurring with the closed fist, e.g. a punch thrown in a fistfight. In fact, an isolated fracture of the head of the fifth ('pinky'-side) metacarpal is known as a boxer's fracture. 

  On the other hand, fractures of the wrist (including the distal ends of the radial and ulnar bones of the forearm and eight intrinsic small carpal bones) are most commonly caused by a fall on the outstretched hand. Of all of these, fractures of the distal radius, sustained when attempting to break a fall, are by far the most common.

 

You can view 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!

APR 11, life in Palindrome Valley: 'Liar Trail' (duplicitous signpost)

Authors' Note:  A somewhat archaic meaning of duplicitous is 'twofold', and that is the basis of its more common modern use to imply deception. In the archaic sense, any palindrome is duplicitous, as it can be read in either of two directions. However, a palindromic place-name on a signpost seems like a recipe for getting lost.

There are other popular posted destinations that could confound the unwary visitor to Palindrome Valley. These include: Drama Rd., Evaded Ave., Llama Mall, and Roomy Moor.

You can review other illustrated verses on this topic by proceeding to the collection 'Life in Palindrome Valley' on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.

APR 10, waterfowl: wood ducks

 

male wood duck (below) swimming with male mallard (above) 

male wood duck

 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'.