AUG 1, English classics survey course: Paradise Lost (Milton's epic poem)

Authors' Note: The noun-form of the adjective essential, used almost exclusively in the plural, exempifies pluralia tantum, and indicates what is truly needed (Credentials, similarly, is an example of that grammatical curiosity).

Paradise Lost, the epic poem about the Fall of Man and the Garden of Eden, by 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). is contained in twelve books. Its review by young literature students is aided by student guides such as Cliff's Notes. 

You can review the entire curriculum for our 'English Classics Survey Course' at "Edifying Nonsense" by clicking HERE.

JUL 31, classic palindrome: racecar

Authors' Note: Embedded within the verse are eight palindromic phrases, each in italics and green font, separated from each other by semicolons.
   This perseverating nonsense may be partly explained by the author having driven a 2002 Toyota Camry as his only automobile since 2009. That no car can compete for efficiency, value and longevity is embodied in the classic palindromic phrase A Toyota's a Toyota (see the linked previous post for further discussion.)  

JUL 30, reprehensible modern history: Confederate statues

Authors' Note: More than 150 years after the conclusion of the American Civil War, the role of the Confederacy continues to generate high emotions.

 View the entire collection of poetic assertions on this topic (currently small, but growing) at our more encyclopedic blog 'Edifying Nonsense', by clicking HERE.

JUL 29, reptiles: broad-headed skinks, photo-collages

 

(Editor's Note: The photo-shoot took place on May 26, 2020.)

 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'. (Or, if you prefer, you can view them on Facebook in Giorgio's photo-albums).

JUL 28, waterfowl: snow geese

 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'. (Or, if you prefer, you can view them on Facebook in Giorgio's photo-albums).

JUL 27, birdlore: California scrub-jays

 

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. 

JUL 26, planet-saving verse: compostables (green bins)

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

JuL 25, mythed opportunities: Aurora and Tithonus (eternally)

 Authors' Note:   Well, this is about as close as you can get to the bona fide Greek myth. In actuality, Eos became enamored of a series of mortal lovers, but wanted to get on with things, and eventually turned the formerly handsome Prince Tithon/Tithonus into a cicada (which does not match the rhyming scheme). Be careful what you wish for!

   The legend continued into Roman times, during which Aurora personified the role of Eos (Dawn), and Jove or Jupiter the role of Zeus. Much later, the dilemma of the once-mortal hero was fantasized in the poem "Tithonus" by Alfred Tennyson. Also, the involved deities have been immortalized in human names for astrophysical phenomena.

  In any case, this story fits an immutable pattern in which we mortals get clobbered in interactions with Greco-Roman deities.

"Dawn", bronze sculpture, Tuck Langland,
Brookgreen Gardens, SC

 Click HERE for another verse about Eos's astronomical protégé.

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!

JUL 24, Italian loanwords: fiasco

Authors' Note:  Fiasco is derived from a mid 19th-century slang expression used in Italian theatre, far fiasco, literally to do the flask, presumably relating to a drinking-game in which the player had to buy the next bottle (fiasco) if he failed.

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

JUL 23, toxic vignette: gadolinium contrast agents for MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

Authors' Note:   Although the element gadolinium (Gd) is itself toxic, its highly bound chelates make excellent adjunctive agents for diagnostic imaging procedures using magnetic resonance (MR), as they change the magnetic properties of structures with high rates of blood flow, yet allow 'negligible' release of the metal into tissue during the interval following a single intravenous injection. Non-toxic chelates of metallic elements are normally rapidly cleared from the body by urinary excretion. 

    In the late 1990s, a  ‘new’ disease,  nephrogenic systemic fibrosis was found in a small minority of patients, mostly with severe kidney disease, who had received these contrast agents. The problem can be avoided by a simple screening of relevant patients for a history of kidney disease or renal impairment. 

     

Review all our poems of toxicologic interest by clicking HERE.  

JUL 22, at heart: the arteriopath

Authors' Note: Arteriopath is common medical jargon for a patient with severe obstructions in the peripheral arteries. The cause of this condition is generally atherosclerosis, and the leading risk factor for its development is smoking.

 

You can view more poems on this topic by proceeding to "Cardiologic Tracings: AT HEART" (parts #1 and #2) on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

JUL 21, anagram swarms: bilateral North American scheme (Canada's turn)

Stay tuned, and there will be more 'fun-with-anagram' wordplay-maps  showing further variants on this theme! 

OR, if you really want to get into this form of wordplay, you could delve into a series of posts on "Edifying Nonsense", starting HERE. 

JUL 20 (2022), singable satire: James Taylor sings "NESSUN DORMA"

PARODY SONG-LYRICS,
inspired by the author attending a James Taylor concert at the North Charleston Coliseum, May 15, 2018.

ORIGINAL SONG#1(music): "Mexico", James Taylor 1975.
ORIGINAL SONG#2(lyrics): "Nessun Dorma", aria from the 3rd act of "Turandot" composed by Giacomo Puccini, first performed after his death in 1926. Translation of the libretto can be found on the Wikipedia link.

PARODY COMPOSED: Dr. G.H. and Giorgio Coniglio, 2015, updated 2018.

Singing along with the famous arias brings the crowd out to the opera. You don’t have to know much Italian to understand the libretto here however; ‘ciao’, pronounced like ‘chow’, means ‘so long’. As the mythical princess-character was reinvented by a French author, her name is usually pronounced French-style with the final ‘t’ silent.   

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

JAMES TAYLOR SINGS ‘NESSUN DORMA'

(to the tune of "Mexico")

Way up here, opera season’s in gear

Tickets craved for ‘Nessun Dorma’ this year

To download – credit-card and name – Baby James.

Wow, “Turandot”!

Sounds so moving, I must see that show,

Or “TuranDOTT” – some folks thought Giacomo*

Said that before he said ‘ciao’.

French and German version of a Persian tale

‘Bout a Princess of China who detested all males.

Empathize with hero who’s beheaded if fails.

Wow, TuranDOTT!

Rang the gong, and her three riddles I got.

Kept my head but the next risk is the same,

I’ll die if she finds out my name.

'Nessun dorma' means that no one should sleep,

Not even the Princess who’s a sadistic creep.

Secret hid within me; if divulged, price is steep.

Wow! Turandot!

Might lose my life when the glaring sun shows

Or get a wife; I could still win this game,

If nobody finds out my name.

Vanish, o night! set stars, give me hope.

The folks back home must think I’m smoking some dope.

She’ll get a long kiss, end the silence, name on her lips.

Wow! The princess Turandot - 

Must be quite a beauty, but I don’t really know.

And oh-oh-oh-oh! Turandot

To close I’ll sing, ‘Vincerò’.  ** (riff on last line of aria)

Wow! “Turandot”!

A Puccini opera that I don’t really know

Oh, “Turandot”

I guess I’ll have to go now.

Talking ‘bout “Turandot”    

Big ol’ op’ra-house playin’ “Turandot”...  fade

* Giacomo Puccini, composer, died in 1924 before he had quite completed the opera “Turandot”. The aria “Nessun Dorma” in the third act is the best-known piece of music in this work.

** Vincerò (Italian) I will win; repeated x 3 as last words of the famous aria.

 

JUL 19, organic brain poetry: early-onset Alzheimer's

Authors' Note:  Recent reports point out the devastating effects of an early onset of Alzheimer's dementia. Fortunately, this variant, manifesting at an earlier than usual age, is relatively uncommon, but isn't it time that we discovered the cause and treatment for this tragic disorder?

And, HERE are some old parody-song lyrics we composed in 2014, lamenting the lack of successful research in this area.

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."

JUL 18, funny bones: heterotopic ossification (HO)

 

Authors' Note: 

 (HET-uhr-oh-top-ic, as here, or het-uhr-oh-TOP-ic)

      Usually asymptomatic, new bone formation in extra-skeletal sites seems to occur after physical or surgical trauma, particularly in the lower limbs following joint replacement. Occasionally, within several weeks after the inciting episode, tenderness and swelling near major joints may occur, needing to be differentiated from venous blockage, and requiring bone scanning for detection, as initial radiographs may be negative; this variant syndrome is known as myositis ossificans. Rarely, in progressive cases, surgery is eventually required to allow mobility at affected joints.

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! 

JUL 17, braincheck: visual cortex

Authors' Note: 

   Korbinian Brodmann (1868–1918) was a German neurologist famous for his definition of 52 cerebral cortical areas based on their histological (tissue-architecture) characteristics. Functional correlates were defined for many of these areas, and the primary and subsidiary areas of visual interpretation are often described by their Brodmann numbers. 

   The primary visual cortex, straddling the calcarine (Latin: spur) sulcus (fissure or slit), is located on the inner surface of each cerebral hemisphere's occipital lobe, well protected from injury.

You can check your knowledge of brain structure and function in health and disease by reviewing our entire collection of illustrated verses on this topic. To review 'BRAINCHECK' on topic-oriented  blog "Edifying Nonsense", click HERE.

JUL 16, palinku (poetic novety): invective

 

 

(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.)

JUL 15, American satire (prolongation): 'unhinged'

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! 

JUL 14, national and multinational verse: la Francophonie

 

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. 

JUL 13, diagnostic imaging: DOGgraphy

Authors' Note:   The confusing terminology for advanced, i.e. 3D medical imaging, uses acronyms that may be historically based or poorly explained. The development of a method of imaging known as ‘DOGgraphy’ is apocryphal. 

CAT: computerized axial tomography, X-ray imaging of a body section; better described in modern terms as ‘x-ray CT’

PET: positron (dual-photon) emission tomography; a Nuclear Medicine technique involving prior injection of a positron-emitting radionuclide ('isotope'); becoming an important modality in cancer assessment

Holography: processing of fields of light or other radiation scattered from objects; well developed with lasers, but with limited current application in medical imaging.

 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!

JUL 12, a brief saga (pluralia tantum) 'careers'

 

Authors' Note:  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, constituting a single submission to the online humor site 'Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form'. On the OEDILF site, rigorous standards for content and format are involved in a collaborative editing process that may take several weeks to over a year. 

 Generally, OEDILF has not been enormously welcoming of multi-verse submissions, but Giorgio Coniglio has persisted, and there are now over 70 of these multi-verse poems feature in his 'Author's Showcase'. The  OEDILF number for each accepted multiverse poem is shown here on the slide with its first verse. We have been blog-publishing these poetic adventures here monthly.

 

To access the most recent previous 'brief saga', back up to 'Anagram Swarms'

Grandpa Greg asked us to pass on this message: "You can view the entire collection of verses about 'pluralia tantum' by clicking HERE."

JULY 11, numbers: eleven/elf (11)

 You can review our cumulated nonsense about numbers by clicking HERE.

JUL 10, (re)duplication: hobos

Readers willing to go down an internet rabbit-hole HERE can easily get to a collection of more than a dozen other short verses in which we have dealt with specific reduplications, as well as three fairly lengthy patter-songs about this fascinating linguistic phenomenon. 

                                                                                           

JUL 9, doctors and their practices: lithotripsy specialist

Authors' Note: 'dais' may apparently be pronounced DYE-uhs or DAY-uhs, although the authors had been familiar with only the former pronunciation.

You can view these informative verses in a wider context by proceeding to the collection 'DOCTORS and their PRACTICES' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

JUL 8, poets' corner: 'Held'

Authors' Note:

 Held: a state of workshopping selected by an OEDILF author to shield their submission from discussion until further self-editing makes it suitable to return to the Tentative state for open collegial comment

A reminder: the Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form is an online humor dictionary that has been making its way for 17 years through the alphabet to define the meaning(s) of each word in the English language. Its highly polished verses are accumulated by a collaborative editing process. In its 19 years of existence, it has progressed from A- to Ho-.  

You can find lots of other verses on this blog under the listing "Poets' Corner".  Click HERE.

  

JUL 7, trees: crepe myrtle xxxxxxxxxxxxLil

Addendum: Fall color, mid-Atlantic seaboard
photo kindly contributed by MMH

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". 

As today is Lil's birthday, we are re-posting some old photos. She would be 106 today!

1976