I’ve always been a huge fan of Asimov even before I learned he was a proficient writer of limericks. I’ve been reading his novels for many years and have always considered him to be fellow lover of science fiction. After reading some of his limericks I discovered his relationship with John Ciardi and their famous limerick wars. For those of you not familiar with Azimov and his works I’d recommend you read his greatest work, The Foundation Series. I love reading long and involved stories and I’d put Asimov right up there with J.R.R Tolkien and J. K Rowling. Here’s a few samples of his well constructed limericks.
While primarily known as a poet and translator of Dante’s Divine Comedy, he also wrote several volumes of children’s poetry and contributed to the Saturday Review as a columnist and long-time poetry editor. I could continue with all of his accomplishments but they are endless. In 1981 he co-authored a book, LIMERICKS, with his friend Isaac Asimov. It was called a “War of Words (limericks)” and makes for a great read. Two utterly famous men who absolutely loved writing limericks just for fun.
David McCord was a notable American author, best known for his contributions to children’s poetry and also serving as the executive director of the Harvard Fund Council for several decades. His limerick are still somewhat mild as seen in Mr. Lear’s contribution.
I’d like to introduce to you Mr. Edward Lear. He was a prolific writer of hundreds of limericks in the early days. They are much milder in content than what we are currently seeing. Enjoy!
I pride myself on having a huge and varied collection of limericks as you well know. Most of them are very old with the identity of the writers long forgotten. For the next two weeks I’ll be highlighting some of the more famous limerick writers with samples of their work. Most were well known poets, writers, and authors. Some of their limericks will be off-color and a bit sexual so I recommend that younger children be monitored. Over the next two weeks you’ll be introduced to some of histories best limerick authors. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.
The first thing I’d like to do is give you a short history lesson on limericks because they’ve been around a lot longer than you might think. The first known limericks appeared in the early 18th century and they just happened to be written in French (and they weren’t called limericks then). Around that same time the Irish Brigade was serving in France (1691 to 1780). The short poems were eventually imported to Limerick, Ireland where their current name originated. Edward Lear 1812-1888, initially wrote many rather mild limericks. It wasn’t until the Victorian Era that the citizenry seized upon the limerick as a way to vent as many four-letter words as possible, much to the delight of young schoolboys. It seems that the bawdiest limericks of that time tended to be written by the British. A few samples of Lear’s tamer limericks will be featured in my next post in two days.
Here is a sample a moderately bawdy limerick of the era:
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Said a widow whose singular vice
Was to keep her dead husband on ice,
“It’s been hard since I lost him.
I’ll never defrost him,
Cold comfort, but cheap at the price.”
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My next post will be an introduction to Edward Lear who authored many limericks over many years.
Are you loving this GD cold weather and snow as much as I am. Trapped in my house patiently waiting for the oil delivery to arrive so I can shell out 400 more dollars to keep my water lines from freezing. Even my man-cave is suffering. No matter what I do it remains quite chilly and making typing this post a real chore. Here is a little sample of obscure Art related mish/mosh and now I can return upstairs to the warm rooms. Enjoy . . . .
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Before he became an artist Vincent van Gogh worked as an evangelist in Belgium.
American Gothic, the famous painting of a couple with a pitchfork, was done by Grant Wood in 1930. The couple that posed for the painting were his dentist and his sister.
The actual name of the famous painter El Greco was Domenikos Theotokopoulos.
Painter Paul Gauguin was once a stockbroker.
American painter Norman Rockwell became the art director of Boy’s Life magazine while he was still a teenager.
The National Gallery of Art opened in Washington DC on March 17, 1941.
Charles M. Shultz’s comic strip Peanuts debuted in October, 1950.
The deep red sunset seen in Norwegian Edward Munch’s The Scream is believed to reflect the intense sunsets seen throughout the world following the eruption of the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa.
Leonardo Da Vinci’s fresco, The Last Supper, is located in the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy.
I thought today I would post a few sports related limericks. I need to cheer up a little after finding out the NFL morons put the screws to Coach Belichick. They couldn’t find a way to beat him on the field so they they took their cheap shot by denying him a first ballot entry into the Hall of Fame. If they had any balls at all they’d step forward and explain their reasoning. We need to know just who these stupid vindictive bastards are.
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I was told by a football-mad chum
He’d been badly mauled in a scrum.
One poor ear, I hear,
Ended up in the beer,
And his teeth in a quarterback’s bum!
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A golfer, employing a wedge,
Chipped his chip-shot behind a thick hedge.
But he hadn’t been seen,
So he strolled to the green
And dropped a new ball on the edge.
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A basketball player named Small,
Who was actually fourteen foot tall,
Could score just by standing
And putting his hand in
The basket and simply dropping the ball.
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There’s no-one so dreadful as Bender,
For batters whose bodies are tender.
He gets on their nerves
With his murderous curves
That demand either death or surrender.
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I trashed the NFL because of their mistreatment of Belichick. That was coming from a life-long Steeler fan whose teams regularly had their asses kicked by Belichick. Good is just good and admiration lasts forever.
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GO STEELERS & PATS AS LONG AS THEY AREN’T PLAYING EACH OTHER
Am I a Steeler fan – Hell YES! Am I a fan of the NFL in general – HELL NO! Like any other large and money drunk organization it has slowly become corrupt to the point of ridiculousness. It’s not the players but the legions of hanger-on’s making millions of dollars for themselves and effecting the game in more way’s than I even realize. I keep hearing about how unfair some of the officiating has become and the powers-that-be are investigating. How about a little transparency for all of us dumb-ass fans. I want to know the results of the investigations and what corrective measures that were taken. For sure I’m not “holding my breath” on that happening.
Now that my rant has been completed I’ll be posting information that might interest the true Steeler fans out there. I’ve obtained a book recently with trivia facts about the team I’ve never heard before. I find it interesting that this book was published by a true British Steeler fan – Chris Bradshaw and I’m reasonably sure he’s no relation to Terry. This first quiz concerns only questions concerning Big Ben. Answers will be listed below. Let’s get to it . . .
In what year did Roethlisberger make his debut withe the Steelers?
How old was Ben when he won his first Superbowl?
Roethlisberger was the fourth quarterback to win 100 of his first 150 NFL starts. Who were the other three?
Roethlisberger made a cameo appearance in which 2012 superhero movie?
Ben was one of four quarterbacks taken in the first round of his NFL Draft class. Name the other three.
What is Ben’s middle name?
Roethlisberger threw for a franchise-record 522 yards during a 2014 win over which AFC rival?
With which pick of the NFL draft did the Steelers select Big Ben?
What is the most touchdown passes that Ben has thrown in a single regular season?
Ben started his rookie season as the third-string quarterback behind which two veterans? Who are they?
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Answers
2004, 23, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, and Charlie Batch, The Dark Knight Rises, Tom Brady, Eli Manning, and Philip Rivers, Todd, Indianapolis, 11th – Pick 19, 34, Tommy Maddox & Charlie Batch.
Todays post is just a small part of the never-ending list of interesting and at times obscure facts that continue to make their way to my archives. As always the answers will be listed below. See how you do this week . . .
What famous American poet was a West Point cadet? Who was he and how did he fare?
Ernest Hemingway believed all American literature comes from one novel, Name It!
Which of the 13 original states was the last to ratify the Constitution?
Which of the Great Lakes does not border on Canada?
Which nation was the first to give women the right to vote?
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When was the modern day brassiere invented?
The Galapagos Islands belong to what country?
Where did the Doobie Brothers get their name?
Name the epic classic movie that won the Academy Award without having any female speaking roles?
From the I Love Lucy program . . . what was Lucy’s maiden name?
An Extra FAV that always makes me smile . . .
What White House fixture had to be replaced due to President William Howard Taft? A new and larger bathtub was installed after the President became stuck in the old one due to his size (big butt). It took six men to extricate him.
Answers
Edgar Allen Poe lasted 8 months before being court-martialed and dismissed in 1831, Mark Twain’s – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Rhode Island, Lake Michigan, New Zealand in 1893, In 1914 by Mary Phelps Jacob a New York Socialite, They are a province of Ecuador, “Doobie” slang for a marijuana cigarette, Lawrence of Arabia, MacGillicuddy.
As some of you will remember, I search constantly to find and purchase old books. I recently received one of the strangest books I’ve ever seen. The book is titled BIZARRE BOOKS – A COMPENDIUM OF CLASSIC ODDITIES. As we all know almost anyone can write a book. Some become famous and sell millions of copies but then there are these others. This book is a collection of nothing but book titles going back hundreds of years and to say some are strange is an understatement as you will see. I’ll be posting on more of these titles in the future after I finish reading the book. Todays topic concerns 15 book titles containing blatant Double Entendre. Here goes northing . . .
everyuselessthing.com 