DEC 10 (2023), singable satire (travel to Limbo): Rick Steves sings "POSTCARD TO CHUBBY CHECKER"

PARODY-SONG

ORIGINAL SONG: "Limbo Rock", as recorded 1962 by Chubby Checker.

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, May, 2015.

The name "Limbo" conjures up an intriguing mixture of Caribbean dancing and Dante's Inferno. In another posting here, part of the Inferno sequence, Dante provides us with on-site reporting which seems to eliminate it from serious consideration as a longterm retirement home. Perhaps it is more realistic to consider it an untapped tourist destination.  

PARODY-SONGLINK: To find ukulele and guitar chord-charts to help you accompany "POSTCARD to CHUBBY CHECKER" on your favorite instrument, click HERE.

POSTCARD TO CHUBBY CHECKER

(to the tune of "Limbo Rock")

Want to visit Limbo-land?

Rick Steves help vacation-plan

Limbo-folks are tourist-shy

Complicated reasons why. 

Limbo-visa hard to get - 

Seems that none been printed yet

I.T. system's way behind

Limbo-stuck in Dante's time. 

What to pack for Limbo-trip?

Don't need sunscreen - get a grip!

Limbo-weather always same

Sticky days, we're not to blame.

Limbo-neighbors turn up steam

Get so burned they moan and scream

Don't advise excursion there

If no Hazmat suit to wear. 

Limbo-talk in Limbo-land

Locals hard to understand

Few speak Eng., they all speak It.,

Antique Limbo-dialect.

LIMBO is the outermost complete circle

Limbo-customs might appeal - 

Walk feet flat with weight on heels

Limbo-nights - no moon or stars

Lean back in or under bars.

Got good staff at Limbo-Inns

They commit no Limbo-sins

New construction in bare feet

Projects never get complete.

Might not find a hotel room

Now or when you're in your tomb;

Limbo-book with kids and wife

For the Limbo-afterlife.

Rates discounted now.

Rates discounted now.

How low can they go?

 

DEC 9, toxic vignette: chelation

Authors' Note:

(KEE-layt) / (kee-LAY-shun) Treatment with chelates or chelating agents, has several well-recognized uses in medicine. These include removal of toxic metals from the body, e.g. lead in cases of acute or chronic poisoning, and treatment of iron overload in patients who have received repeated blood transfusions to treat their chronic anemias. The search for drugs of this type which are safer and easier to use is ongoing.
    
Review all our poems of toxicologic interest by clicking HERE. 

 

DEC 8, at heart: Holter monitor

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!

 

DEC 7, unusual sightings: Ontario wildlife

reprise from December 2020

DEC 7, unusual wildlife: Ontario sightings

DEC 6, pinkos (forward thinkers): the gamophobic socialist

Authors' Note:   Gamophobia is an irrational fear of getting married, or of interpersonal commitment. Gamophobic individuals, or gamophobes, whatever their political views, are people who harbour such neurotic anxieties.

The slogan "better red than dead" was mentioned in a book that British philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote in 1961, in the face of a potential East-West nuclear confrontation; it was subsequently adopted by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, an organization that Russell helped found. The slogan has been used in both directions, with hardline rightwingers sometimes proclaiming "Better dead then red".

Also, a related disorder, gynophobia, is discussed in another of our intriguing and informative verses. 

You can review all the poems in our collection "Pinkos: forward thinkers" by clicking HERE.

DEC 5, exemplification: hooligans

 

 To review our whole collection of "exemplary exemplifications", click HERE. 

DEC 4, terminal (poetic) exclamation: DON'T TOUCH!

 You can review our collection of poems on the topic of "Terminal Exclamation (Limerick Variations)" as it evolves on our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense"; click HERE.  

DEC 3, holiday verse: Advent #3

reprise from December, 2020

DEC 3, holiday verse: Advent #3

DEC 2, defining opinion: hole #1

 

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.

DEC 1, sleek Greek prefixes: DYS- (DTcc)

 a) reprise from December 2020 

DEC 1, sleek Greek prefixes: DYS-

Authors' Note: Another example of use of this prefix is the medical term dyspareunia. Click HERE to review a verse on this intriguing topic.

Clicking HERE will introduce you to our entire collection of verses about the Greek prefixes!

b) decorative touches

 fabric art by R.C.H., presented with thanks

NOV 30 (2023), singable satire: Muddy Waters Sings "CRAYFISH ETOUFFEE (Inferno, Canto 6)

 PASTICHE WITH PARODY SONG-LYRICS

ORIGINAL POEM:  Canto#6 of "Inferno" by Dante Alighieri, the first book in the triad, "The Divine Comedy", written in the early 14th century.
ORIGINAL SONG: "Baby, Please Don't Go", Big Joe Williams 1935, popularized by Muddy Waters, used here primarily for music and meter.

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, November 2015.
PARODY-SONGLINK: To find ukulele and guitar chord-charts to help you accompany "Crayfish Étouffée" on your favorite instrument, click HERE.

In the Third Circle, Dante sees the fate of gluttons like his friend from Florence named ‘Ciacco’ (the equivalent of ‘Piggy’). No fire used for torture here; the climate sounds like Toronto in March. The poor souls confined here in the freezing mud are tormented by a demonic three-headed dog, Cerberus. I took some liberties with Ciacco’s tale; in the original, he discusses the complex politics of 14th century Florence. The details I provided re Ciacco's gluttonous exploits are imagined. Eschatology is the part of theology concerned with final judgment and the destiny of the soul.  Étouffée is a delicious Louisiana dish of seafood, usually crayfish, in a Cajun roux sauce.

"Cerberus", W. Blake

New Orleans style crayfish etouffée

DANTE, GO AND SEE 

(to the tune of "Baby Please Don't Go")

Sono al cerchio terzo,

Dov'è'l crudele Cerbero

La pena di golosi; mi veggio intorno

Novi tormentati.

Dante go and see

Dante go and see

Dante go and see what’s in Circle Three - 

They punish gluttony.

Virge led me way down here

Virge brought me way down here

Another Ring of Fear, fiend in charge appear

Be a three-headed dog.

Thermostat set low

Pelting rain, hail, snow

Sinners grovel, sit in freezing mud, like sh*t

Hounded by that cursed dog.

Guy who waves hello -

Dante used to know,

‘Ciacco’, brought so low; he’s a Florentine

He tells his story, so …..

'ALL YOU EAT - ' , sign say - 

'CRAYFISH ÉTOUFFÉE'
Stayed all day and ate food from New Orleans

Now Circle Three’s my fate. ”

Virgil’s prophecy:

Eschatology -

Our friend ‘Piggy’ sit in that freezing sh*t

‘Til final trumpet blow.

So baby, please don’t stray

Don’t pig out that way

Don’t eat étouffée down in New Orleans

Or Circle Three’s your fate.

Dante go and see

Dante go and see

Dante go and see what’s in Circle Three - 

They punish gluttony.

NOV 29: mammalian wildlife: horsing around

 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 !

NOV 28, savoir-faire: franglais (DTbb)

 

a) reprise from November 2020

NOV 28, savoir-faire: franglais

Authors' Note:

en visite (ahn vee-ZEET): ‘while visiting'

les touristes (lay too-REEST):  'the tourists’

non-français (non frahn-SEH): ‘not French (speaking)’

ils causaient (eel koh-ZEH): 'they chatted‘

Québécois (kay-bay-KWAH): ‘resident of Quebec (province)’

franglais (frahn-GLEH): ‘Franglais, a mixed lingo’

 You can review verses on this topic in a wider context on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Check the post 'Vers Francais: Savoir-Faire' by clicking HERE. 

b) Decorative Touches 

 fabric art by R.C.H., presented with thanks

NOV 27, defining opinion: Haversian canals

 

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.

NOV 26, portraits of couples: turkeys

 

reprise from November 2020

NOV 26, portraits of couples: turkeys, domestic and wild

HAPPY AMERICAN THANKSGIVING TO ALL !!!

Enjoy an illustrated poem about domestic turkeys by clicking HERE.

 You can view these samples from our portfolio of 'Couples' portraits in a wider context on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.

NOV 25, pinkos (forward thinkers): the Communist Church

                                                                            

Authors' Note: Liberal thinking seized Europe towards the middle of the nineteenth century. Emboldened by the partial successes of the politically-targeted Chartists, intellectuals were drawn to idealistic social movements such as communitarianism. According to Wikipedia, John Goodwyn Barmby (1820 – 1881), one of its principals, introduced the term 'communist', based on the French le communisme and founded a revue called The Communist Chronicle. Seeking a spiritual path, he later founded the Communist Church, a sect that had congregations numbering in the teens at its peak. When the church folded in 1849, Barmby became active as a Unitarian minister.

You can review all the poems in our collection "Pinkos: forward thinkers" by clicking HERE.

NOV 24, 2023, waterfowl: great egrets

 

 reprise from November 2020

 

NOV 24, waterfowl: great egrets

great egret, stalking slowly

great egret, striking

takeoff  from railing,
Shem Creek Park, Mt Pleasant SC

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'. 

NOV 23, palinku (poetic novelty): global warming

 

 In this post, we continue with our 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). 

   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 ilk have continued to accumulate. You can view them all at one swoop if you  proceed to our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.

NOV 22, birdlore: desnooded

 

reprise from November 2020

NOV 21, birdlore: turkeys, desnooded (pre-holiday fling)

 You can view an encyclopedic collection of illustrated poems on this topic by proceeding to the post 'Poems about BIRDLORE' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE. 

NOV 21, defining opinion: hover

 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.

NOV 20 (2023), singable satire for Thanksgiving: another pair-ody -- "TURKEY LEFTOVERS"

PASTICHE with PARODY LYRICS subbed into TWO WELL-KNOWN SEASONAL SONGS, another pairody.

ORIGINAL SONG#1: "The Christmas Song" (Chestnuts...), written by Wells and Tormé  in 1944, and recorded by the Nat King Cole Trio 1946.

ORIGINAL SONG#2: "Good King Wenceslas", John Mason Neale 1853, but often now mistakenly referred to as 'traditional'. 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"; see the interesting description in the Wikipedia essay on this topic.

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, January, 2015. 

PARODY-SONGLINK: To find ukulele chord-charts to help you accompany "Turkey Leftovers" on your favorite instrument, click HERE. 

TURKEY LEFTOVERS

(to the tune of The Christmas Song - "Chestnuts Roasting")

Essay featured in Economist,
Turkeys' origins disclosed -
Centerpiece of each year's Yuletide feast,
Subspecies bred in Mexico.

Dolts like me believed that gobblers and that Mid-East land -
Names were mere coincidence.
Ottomans, trading ships, caravans -
I understand, it now makes sense.

Each year I prove I'm such a goof,
I try create too late a spiffy Christmas spoof,
But with a month's delay I'll get it right
Helped by this article about "Turkey's Flight".

And so I'm offering this paraphrase
Of what the author claimed was true,
French - d'inde, and the Turks call them "hindi" - what jerks!
While in India, name in Hindi,
And in Portugal's "peru".

To the tune of "Good King Wenceslas")


Montezuma once bred fowl tastier than pheasant; 
Shipped the Spanish queen a thou - funky kind of present.
Isabella loathed the birds, trimmings too displeased her;
No use for leftovers, she didn't have a free-eezer.

'Turkeys', Moors, then Jews were banned from the royal kitchens;
Legend says that's how began Spanish Inquisition - 
Cortes later sacked the lands of the Aztec ruler.
Phil or Izz-and-Ferdinand ? Can't say which was cru-ueller.

Avian émigrés toured through, crowns of Europe hosting,
Though few of their lackeys knew oven-time for roasting.
Hot or cold and steep or flat, exiled birds were living,
Prospered in those countries that didn't have Thanksgi-iving.

Thus this misnamed flock did cope through the 16th century,
'ventually hens copped some hope with the English gentry.
For some time they settled down,  breeding they found boring,
Westward they shipped out again, restlessly explo-oring.

Turkeys in America, native home recovered,
Quirky and hysterical history discovered -
Essay we would clearly rank best of the Econ'mist,
Author we should dearly thank-(s)he remains anon-ymous.

NOV 19, exemplification: house

                                 

 To review our whole collection of "exemplary exemplifications", click HERE.