MAY 31, "pictures at a renovation"

 

LR (still no flooring)

inside the office

later in the day, hardwood flooring started 

MAY 30, exotic destination: Haifa, Israel (Holyland)

 

Authors' Note: Baha'i, sometimes known as "the youngest of the world's main religions", promotes universal brotherhood and spiritual unity. Members of the faith, like my dental hygienist, make pilgrimages to northern Israel, where there is a complex of sites including the Baha'i Gardens in Haifa, and temples in which the sect's Prophet-Herald, the Bab, and its Prophet-Founder, Baha'i-u'llah, are interred.

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

MAY 29, polka dots

 

MAY 28, creative anachronism: heavenly host

 

Authors' Note: A number of religions tell of an epic battle staged in Heaven involving an army of angels that resulted in the casting out of Satan (or equivalent) and his followers. The governance, duties, activities and whereabouts of the Heavenly Host in the ensuing epoch is seldom mentioned.

The author apologizes for any apparent error in his account, but points out that he is a true disbeliever.

Along the same lines, readers are invited to review our small but growing collection of "creative anachronisms" on our blog "Edifying Nonsense" by clicking HERE.

MAY 27, excursions: around Washington, DC

    

the flamingo house

Union Market

'Friendship Archway',
Chinatown gate, world's largest paifang

Union Station

Columbus Circle

typical DC row houses

statue of Nathanael Greene, 
Revolutionary War general.
Stanton Park, Washington NE.

  

"Knife Edge Mirror Two Piece"
Henry Moore,
National Gallery of Art 

on the steps of SCOTUS

congressional selfie

at the United States Botanic Garden
(what a conservatory!)

spokesperson for the Capitol Hill Squirrel Lobby

MAY 26, Ontario nostalgia: Trent-Severn canal

 a) reprise from 2020 

MAY 26, Ontario nostalgia: Canada's Trent-Severn canal

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.

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. 

b) Giorgio's Lexicon of Binomials

MAY 25, "pictures at a renovation":sixth week

 The renewed kitchen is finally being installed ...

MAY 24, urban concerns: pre-stressed concrete

 

Our collection of illustrated poems about "Urban Concerns" on our parent blog "Edifying Nonsense", contains a number of intriguing verses that you can access by clicking HERE.

MAY 23, palinku (poetic novelty): three verses about 'denial'

(Ed. note:) Verses of this type have continued to proliferate. You can view them all at one swoop if you proceed with a single click to our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.

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

 

a) reprise from 2020 

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

b) Giorgio's Lexicon of Binomials

MAY 21, excursions: views around Toronto, Victoria Day

 

takeoff from Billy Bishop Airport

Lishman's sculptures at sunset
(see also the post of March 21)

TO SEE MORE STUFF: To see older or newer material  (posted daily, or at least on most 'good' days), CLICK below the Comments Section, on 'Older Post' or 'Newer Post'.

MAY 20 (2023), singable satire: Steve Goodman sings "The Tourguide Known as VIRGIL" (Inferno, Canto 1b)

PARODY-LYRICS

ORIGINAL SONG: "The City of New Orleans" Steve Goodman, 1970, as performed by Arlo Guthrie (also covered by Woody Nelson, many others)
ORIGINAL POEM: "Inferno" by Dante Alighieri

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, April 2015.

PARODY-SONGLINK: To find ukulele and guitar chord-charts to help you accompany "The Tour-guide Known As Virgil" on your favorite instrument, click HERE.

Virgil and Dante
"The Onlookers"
A-W Bouguereau

"The Thinker" from "The Gates of Hell"
 by Rodin may represent Dante 

THE TOUR GUIDE KNOWN AS 'VIRGIL'

(to the tune of "City of New Orleans", Guthrie version)

Intro:
Morning meet-up, tour to Paradiso
Guide is that poet, Limbo-dwelling Virge 
Credit-card prepaid by Beatrice-oh! 
Helluva trip from everything I’d heard.

Dante:
Poi che ho posato il corpo lasso 
Ripresi via per la piaggia diserta,
 Il piè fermo sempre era’l più basso
Ed ecco quasi al cominciar de l’erta.

Resting til my body was less weary
Started to climb, with Monday-morning blahs.
Suddenly where the path grew steep and dreary -
Three apparitions that could really make you pause. 

Mi porse tanto di gravezza, perdei speranza de l’altezza 
Mi ripignei dove’l sol tace – la cagione? 
Dinanzi al volto, impedivan mi’ cammino
Una lonza, una lupa, e un leone.

Lost hope of gaining the crest, each effort hiked my level of stress,
So I rolled back into the shadows, gave up tryin’
Cause right before my face, with no chance to leave that place,
Stood a leopard, a she-wolf and a hungry lion. 

Temp’era dal principio del mattino
E’l sol montava ‘n su con queste stelle
Ch’eran con lui quando l’amor divino
Mosse di prima queste cose belle.

Good morning fiendish guard-dogs! How are you? 

The sun is rising on this naïve son, 

Divine love may have set all this in motion

But I’d drive five hundred miles for a trusty gun.

Quando vidi uno in silenzio nel diserto

“Miserere di me” gridai a lui

“Qual che tu sii, ad ombra od omo certo!”

Rispuosemi “Poeta, poeta già fui”

A form appeared, from silence nearly faded 

I cried to him, “Have pity on poor old me,

Whether you’re a real guy or one shaded.” 

He said, “Way back when, I used to write poetry.”

Or sei tu quel Virgilio, nato a Roma sub Iulio,

Quella fonte che parla si largo fiume?

Tu se’l mio autore, vagliami’l grande amore;

De li altri poeti onore e lume.

I asked - Hey, you Roman geezer from the time of Julie Caesar,

Are you the font whose speech creates a river?

We think your rhythm’s really neat, we’re rockin’ to your gentle beat

Your Virgil-rap sets poets’ hearts a-quiver. 

Voglio campar d’esto loco selvaggio

Vedi la bestia per cu’io mi volsi

Aiutami da lei, famoso saggio,

Ch’ella me fa tremar le vene e i polsi.

Can’t wait to wave this crazy wood ‘Good riddance’.

You saw that beast who made me turn and veer,

Please help me famous wise-man with your kindness,

Don’t believe my T-shirt ‘tho it boasts ‘No Fear’

Virgil:

Quest’invidiosa bestia dell’inferno

Non lascia passar per la sua via

Per lo tuo me’ penso e discerno

Che tu mi segui e io saro tua guida.

This hellish beast, you see is quite tenacious

Won’t let anyone get more than halfway home

If you hope to get to Memphis or to Heaven

I’ll guide you there, no charges while you roam. 

Udrai spiriti dolenti e color che son contenti

Perche speran a le beati genti venire.

Se vorrai salire in questa regna, un’anima piu di me degna 

Con lei ti lascerò nel mio partire.

You’ll hear Inferno’s spirits vent, and later those who seem content

While waiting out their stints in Purgatory,

When the Big Guy’s Realm is nearing, this tour-guide is disappearing,

For me no sweet refrain – that’s another story. 

Dante: 

Che tu mi meni là dov’or dicesti

Si ch’io veggia la porta di san Pietro

E color cui tu fai cotanto mesti.

Allor si mosse, e io li tenni dietro.

Hey poet, I will follow where you lead me; 

It’s a good five hundred clicks to Peter’s gate;

To see my Bea, I’ll follow in behind thee.

It’s a heck of a trek, but it should be a heavenly date.