Authors' Note: Pretentiousness may be at work when the word fulsome is (ab)used by a writer or speaker who feels that 'full' is not sufficiently impressive.
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 poems and wordplay grouped by topic on our parent blog "Edifying Nonsense". The poetry displayed is all original (as are the song-lyrics), although portions evolved through rigorous editing on a collaborative website.
December 23, 2022
DEC 23, objectionable adjectives: fulsome
December 22, 2022
DEC 22, higher connections: great chain of being
December 21, 2022
DEC 21, defining opinion: hollow
Our blogpost "Defining Opinion" on the topic-based blog "Edifying Nonsense" shows a selection of similar verses submitted to OEDILF (the online Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form). You can see all of these on one visit by clicking HERE.
December 20, 2022
DEC 20 (2022), singable satire: Tradition Al sings the carol "KOOKY PRESIDENTIAL"
PARODY COMPOSED: Dr. G.H. and Giorgio Coniglio, February 2019.
ORIGINAL SONG: "Good King Wenceslas", written by English hymnwriter John Mason Neale in 1853, but often now mistakenly referred to as 'traditional'. (The artist mentioned in the byline, "Tradition Al", is apocryphal). Neale's piece (based on accounts of the Bohemian Wenceslas legend and a 13th century 'spring-carol' tune), was highly criticized in the 1920s as "ponderous moral doggerel", but as you all know, has become a seasonal classic.
On You-Tube, you can readily find a spectrum of video recordings of the original lyrics, from the Choir of Westminster Abbey, to Bing Crosby and the Irish Rovers (the last-mentioned is highly recommended for its quirky nature).
SONGLINK: See the version of this post designed for ukulele and guitar players on our lyrics-blog 'SILLY SONGS and SATIRE' HERE.
KOOKY PRESIDENTIAL VIEWS
(to the tune of "Good King Wenceslas")
“Scour the penitentiaries, find Hispanic hitmen,
December 19, 2022
DEC 19, death and the afterlife: where bad Jews go
December 18, 2022
DEC 18, news-post: FIFA (soccer) World Cup 2022
FIFA WORLD CUP 2022:
Final at Qatar venue ends in 3-3- tie.
Thrilling tie-breaker, Argentina, Messi: What more can you say ?
December 17, 2022
DEC 17, waterfowl: flightless seabirds
December 16, 2022
DEC 16, patients and their maladies: Graves' disease
Among several effective treatments, antithyroid drugs, taken over months or years, block production of these hormones, and often result in resumption of the euthyroid (normal) state.
You can view collections of verses on this topic by proceeding to "Nurse-Verse: PATIENTS and their MALADIES" on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!
December 15, 2022
DEC 15, reptiles: herpetophobes
December 14, 2022
DEC 14, classic palindrome: 'go hang a salami ... '
December 13, 2022
DEC 13: (re)duplication: harum-scarum
December 12, 2022
DEC 12, planet-saving verse: drought
You can help save the planet by viewing all our verses in this series at "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!
incidental photo (2023)
December 11, 2022
DEC 11, dental feelings (sentimental verse): gnashing, bruxism
You can review the collection of illustrated verses on this topic by proceeding to the post 'Dental Feelings' on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.
December 10, 2022
DEC 10 (2022), singable cynic's satire: "GLOBAL ROASTING CAN BE SET ASIDE"
PARODY-LYRICS
PARODY-SONGLINK: To access ukulele chord-charts to help you accompany "GLOBAL ROASTING CAN BE SET ASIDE" on your favorite instrument, click HERE.
("Global Roasting Can Be Set Aside")
(to the tune of "The Christmas Song")
Al Gore former U.S. Vice-President |
Planet’s roasting can be set aside.
...Armchair experts doubt, outliers like some melting floes
Help predict our global fate.
Tiny dots graphing century lows-
Warm some years, but it’s not too late.
December 9, 2022
DEC 9, inspired by Ogden Nash: ultimate tribute
December 8, 2022
DEC 8, doctors and their practices: Doctors Without Borders
This verse is dedicated to Dr. M. G., an Irish-Canadian emergency physician, now serving as a hospital administrator in Yemen.
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!
December 7, 2022
DEC 7, urban concerns: break of day
December 6, 2022
DEC 6, Ontario nostalgia: Paris (Ontario)
US college basketball update: Congratulations to Virginia Tech for becoming the the 2022 ACC conference champions, and consolations to Duke fans. We will stay tuned as the national NCAA tournament ('March Madness') gets underway.
Duke's long-reigning 'Coach K' (Mike Krzyzewski) is completing his brilliant career, and basketball fans from all over give him a major tip of the hat!
Other verses about 'Exotic Travel Destinations' can be found on our blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE.
December 5, 2022
DEC 5, insects: entomologists
Authors' Note: Fact-sheets dealing with related key information have been posted here by etymologists. These include short poems pertaining to insects that eat woollens, scavenge for food, destroy wood structures, prey on human blood and torment domestic pets.
December 4, 2022
DEC 4, pluralia tantum: 'moronics' -- unusual fields of study
Grandpa Greg asked us to pass on this message: "You can view the entire collection of verses about 'pluralia tantum' by clicking HERE."
December 3, 2022
DEC 3, binomial phrases: "publish or perish"
Authors' Note: The above treatise was assisted by a grant from the Foundation for Classic Binomial Expressions, under which permission was obtained for the use of song and dance, ants in one's pants, and publish or perish. (Other paired expressions, cheer and cherish, and funding and grants, are under development).
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 binomials, 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 !
December 2, 2022
DEC 2, organic brain poetry: chronic subdural hematoma
Authors' Note: A chronic subdural hematoma is a space-occupying intracranial lesion resulting from the body's failure to resorb blood that collected between the dural membrane and the brain parenchyma, usually caused by . Whereas an initial expanding clot presents as a neurosurgical emergency, smaller clots, with a tendency to absorb fluid and expand gradually, may be later suggested only by chronic neuropsychiatric symptoms. In jargon used in actual medical settings and in televised fictional series, the term for the lesion responsible may be shortened to subdural.
December 1, 2022
DEC 1, American satire (prolongation): archival
November 30, 2022
NOV 30, reprehensible modern history (1800+): Emperor of Elba
November 29, 2022
NOV 29, planet-saving verse: fur-farming
November 28, 2022
NOV 28, savoir-faire: the avant-garde savant
Authors' Note: The present participle (participe présent) is used much less commonly in French than in English; the good news is that this form is regular for all but three verbs (to know, to have, to be). In contrast, infinitives are used more often, so 'knowing and doing' is described by savoir-faire.
November 27, 2022
NOV 27, organic brain poetry: high-dose steroids
Authors' Note: A course of high-dose synthetic corticosteroids, e.g. dexamethasone, may be used to help bring under control a severe exacerbation of a chronic illness, e.g. asthma, inflammatory diseases, or an initial presentation, e.g. anaphylaxis, septic shock or brain swelling. Owing to the common side-effect of drug-induced euphoria/mania and other psychiatric issues, doctors attempt to taper the high doses as soon as possible.
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."
November 26, 2022
NOV 26, poetic non-sequitur: changes in latitude
Authors' Note: The 1977 album Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett contained a song of the same title, as well as his most popular hit "Margaritaville".
November 25, 2022
NOV 25, pluralia tantum: 'high hopes'
November 24, 2022
NOV 24, reptiles: skink-busting
November 23, 2022
NOV 23, doctors and their practices: diabetologist
Glycated hemoglobin (hemoglobin A1C), reflects a chemical influence of ambient glucose levels in blood. This simple but subtle alteration of hemoglobin carried by the blood's red cells was discovered in 1958. As the average lifespan of red cells in the blood is three to four months, the biochemical test of blood levels yields a number that reflects blood sugar control over the previous few months. Generally, as your diabetologist will explain, a value less than 7% has been found to reflect good control.