Curries' perfect counterpoint
India Pail Ale
30.12.15
28.12.15
22.12.15
Prince Harry
Any doubts about
The Tudors' Welsh roots would've made
Henry a false Taff
The Tudors' Welsh roots would've made
Henry a false Taff
Falstaff Rebuked, Smirke (c. 1795)
20.12.15
18.12.15
Totemic Polemic
Americans' Superheroes.
Sorting the World's woes.
Though hogs might fly,
Before they'd cheer for Gun Control Guy.
Or do you like
America's Superheroes.
Sorting the World's woes.
The one Superhero bound to turn necks red?
Background Checking Fed.
"Molon labe" by Fkerasar.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons
16.12.15
Another Reason Polar Bears Don't Like Penguins
Not Fairy Penguins
To our ears that's not P.C.
Be Little Penguins
To our ears that's not P.C.
Be Little Penguins
10.12.15
Another Victim of Bullying?
Grant Shapps
Downed a stiff Schnaps
When told by some Tory Lord
To fall on his sword.
Or do you prefer:
Grant Shapps
Found editing Wikimaps
Open to mishaps.
Poor ol' Michael Green.
Downed a stiff Schnaps
When told by some Tory Lord
To fall on his sword.
Or do you prefer:
Grant Shapps
Found editing Wikimaps
Open to mishaps.
Poor ol' Michael Green.
6.12.15
Greedist Sympathiser
Roger Wilco,
Though trained to obey by Sgt Bilko,
Failed miserably back in Civvy Street;
As a Bank Compliance Officer he got beat.
Though trained to obey by Sgt Bilko,
Failed miserably back in Civvy Street;
As a Bank Compliance Officer he got beat.
© CBS Television
5.12.15
1.12.15
Seeing a Man About With A Dog
Reflected slow pace.
Comfortable companions.
Aged man and dog.
or do you like
Reflective slow pace.
Ruminating past glories?
Aged man; old dog.
Comfortable companions.
Aged man and dog.
or do you like
Reflective slow pace.
Ruminating past glories?
Aged man; old dog.
28.11.15
It's not black nor white
Grey waves, leaden clouds
Wind blown fighting tops twixt swell
Slate battleship hulls
Or do you prefer
Cold green-grey waters
Lowering leaden-grey skies
Steel-grey hulls and men
Wind blown fighting tops twixt swell
Slate battleship hulls
Credit: IWM
Or do you prefer
Cold green-grey waters
Lowering leaden-grey skies
Steel-grey hulls and men
25.11.15
Frozen Waste
Captain Scott
Consigned with regret his ponies to the pot.
Though he drew the line at oats,
Preferring to stare at imagined goats.
or do you prefer
Scott of the Antarctic
Scorned a chap-stick.
Scorned a chap-stick.
British chaps prefer a stiff upper lip
To looking like a weedy drip.
To looking like a weedy drip.
Credit: Antipodean Selfie
20.11.15
Guilty As Charged
Had Marie Skłodowska Curie
Sat on a jury;
On ionizing radiation her verdict
Would have been easy to predict.
Sat on a jury;
On ionizing radiation her verdict
Would have been easy to predict.
"Marie Curie circa 1920" by Unknown - Christie's.
Licensed under Public Domain via Commons
18.11.15
Cloud Base
Orthogonal Tor
Stark lines softened by white light
Slanting through base clouds.
Or do your prefer
Impressionist tooth
Stark through diagonal muslin
Landscape spread below.
Stark lines softened by white light
Slanting through base clouds.
Or do your prefer
Impressionist tooth
Stark through diagonal muslin
Landscape spread below.
14.11.15
Burning Issue
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin,
Told by a man to put her thesis in the bin,
Was proved right;
Hydrogen illuminates our day and our night.
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
First of the pioneering astro-wimmin.
Disliked heavy metal;
Light elements kept her in fine fettle.
Told by a man to put her thesis in the bin,
Was proved right;
Hydrogen illuminates our day and our night.
or do you prefer
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
First of the pioneering astro-wimmin.
Disliked heavy metal;
Light elements kept her in fine fettle.
8.11.15
6.11.15
Infinitely Archaean Hyperborean Hyperbole
Did H. P. Lovecraft,
In his second draft,
Change the molehills of sadness
To mountains of madness?
In his second draft,
Change the molehills of sadness
To mountains of madness?
"H. P. Lovecraft, June 1934" by Lucius B. Truesdell
Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia
31.10.15
29.10.15
On checking the label
Sugar hypercubes
Are more or less fattening
In four dimensions?
Are more or less fattening
In four dimensions?
Credit: "8-cell-orig" by Jason Hise
http://www.jasonhise.com. Licensed under CC0 via Commons
25.10.15
Thousand Metre Stare
That thousand yard stare;
Is war so much more hellish
Now we've gone metric?
Is war so much more hellish
Now we've gone metric?
By Royal Engineers No 1 Printing Company [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
23.10.15
21.10.15
Knock! Knock!
Alexander Graham Bell
On hearing someone at the door "Isabel" yell,
Agreed it's necessary on a bike,
But in a 'phone it's as vital as a mike.
On hearing someone at the door "Isabel" yell,
Agreed it's necessary on a bike,
But in a 'phone it's as vital as a mike.
credit: Wikimedia Commons
19.10.15
13.10.15
Shanghaied in Limehouse
Brilliant Chang
Coke-fueled on poor women sprang.
Limehouse Spider or diamond geezer?
White powdered Svengali or crowd pleaser?
Coke-fueled on poor women sprang.
Limehouse Spider or diamond geezer?
White powdered Svengali or crowd pleaser?
8.10.15
6.10.15
We're Not Out Of The Woods Yet
Breadcrumbs dilemma.
Maze guide or attractor of
The Cookie Monster?
Or do you prefer
Breadcrumbs dilemma.
Maze guide or attractor of
The Baked Good Monster?
or even
Breadcrumbs dilemma.
Maze guide or attractor of
The Crumble Critter?
Maze guide or attractor of
The Cookie Monster?
Or do you prefer
Breadcrumbs dilemma.
Maze guide or attractor of
The Baked Good Monster?
or even
Breadcrumbs dilemma.
Maze guide or attractor of
The Crumble Critter?
2.10.15
29.9.15
1.9.15
29.8.15
You know it's Summer - the Rain is Warmer
Depressingly wet
You're welcome to Dismaland
The Rain Gods get it
You're welcome to Dismaland
The Rain Gods get it
27.8.15
Alice's Fifth Friend
The Cheshire Cat
Thought Dr Seuss a prize prat;
Losing a dear hat on fadin'
Leaves a pretty lopsided grin.
Thought Dr Seuss a prize prat;
Losing a dear hat on fadin'
Leaves a pretty lopsided grin.
credit: John Tenniel
24.8.15
The Fourth of Alice's Friends
The Red Queen
Never allowed her flamingos to preen.
Their beaks were buffed with Polish polish
Scented with essence of Swish fish.
credit: John Tenniel
20.8.15
18.8.15
Second and Third (or vice versa) of Alice's Friends
Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Inseparable, even in poetry
Sans alternating billing, they grow glum
Tweedledee and Tweedledum
Inseparable, even in poetry
Sans alternating billing, they grow glum
Tweedledee and Tweedledum
credit: John Tenniel
16.8.15
Taken from the Deep
Action Stations still
Watches no longer governed
By Mighty 'Ood's bell
or do you prefer
Slumber undisturbed
Fifteen hundred fathoms deep
No more hours' tolling
Watches no longer governed
By Mighty 'Ood's bell
or do you prefer
Slumber undisturbed
Fifteen hundred fathoms deep
No more hours' tolling
Copyright: Paul G Allen.
Bravo Zulu, Mr Allen and team for recovering HMS Hood's bell from the Denmark Strait, at a depth of ~2,800m, and donating it to the Royal Navy's National Museum. It will serve as a memorial to the 1,415 officers and men who died when she sank on 24th May 1941 in action against the KMS Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. Only three men, Briggs, Tindall and Dundas survived her sinking, though they too have now joined their shipmates.
14.8.15
First of Alice's Friends
Humpty Dumpty
Had no need of a dictionary
He was all broken up to find
Ground is also the past tense of grind
Had no need of a dictionary
He was all broken up to find
Ground is also the past tense of grind
credit: John Tenniel
9.8.15
Nagasaki
Eyes seared by the light
Of the second atom bomb
Less fame but still death
Of the second atom bomb
Less fame but still death
"Nagasaki temple destroyed" by Cpl. Lynn P. Walker, Jr. (Marine Corps) -
DOD "War and Conflict" image collection (HD-SN-99-02900).
Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
4.8.15
What's occurring?
Thought Barycentre
Heart of a Welsh coastal town
'Til New Horizons
Heart of a Welsh coastal town
'Til New Horizons
Credit: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
NASA's New Horizons probe brought everyone's attention to the barycentre - the common centre of mass around which two (or more) bodies orbit. Where one body (eg Earth) is much larger than the other (eg, the Moon), the barycentre lies below the surface of the larger body. Where the difference between masses is smaller, or non-existent, such as is the case for Pluto and its largest satellite Charon, the barycentre is clear, as both worlds in such a binary system can be seen to be orbiting around it.
credit: "Pluto-Charon System" by Stephanie Hoover - Own work. Wikipedia
2.8.15
31.7.15
Anti-Social Media? Try the Dark Web
Counting calories;
Counting Friends; even counting syllables;
What's the arsing point.
Counting Friends; even counting syllables;
What's the arsing point.
29.7.15
27.7.15
25.7.15
Severn Brides for Severn Brothers
Driving it alone
When once we drove it a deux
Feelings brake surface
When once we drove it a deux
Feelings brake surface
23.7.15
Fire Tender Is The Night
Arson and Old Lace
Of authors' hot properties
Grate Expectations
Of authors' hot properties
Grate Expectations
Tin Lizzie
21.7.15
Of cattleships and bruisers
The Reverend William Archibald Spooner
Was no mean crooner;
A career ended sooner
by his rep as a keen mooner.
Was no mean crooner;
A career ended sooner
by his rep as a keen mooner.
credit: Vanity Fair, 1898
16.7.15
The Brigantine Mary C.
Sarah Elizabeth Cobb Briggs,
A hen frigate furnishes a woman poor digs.
But it must've been some sex pest,
To cause all to quit Mary Celeste.
Or do you prefer
Mrs Benjamin Spooner Briggs
Tired of sea shanties and nautical jigs.
But why abandon the Mary Celeste
With all the rest?
A hen frigate furnishes a woman poor digs.
But it must've been some sex pest,
To cause all to quit Mary Celeste.
Or do you prefer
Mrs Benjamin Spooner Briggs
Tired of sea shanties and nautical jigs.
But why abandon the Mary Celeste
With all the rest?
Inspired by reading a review of Valerie Martin's The Ghost of the Mary Celeste in the latest BIG ISSUE, and recalling the first time I came across this mystery in the four volume Shipping Wonders of the World, edited by Clarence Winchester in 1936.
11.7.15
Beware Greeks bearing arrows
Before Greek crisis
Thought Oxi was where one stood
To play darts in pub
Thought Oxi was where one stood
To play darts in pub
9.7.15
7.7.15
No Scientific Method In His Madness
When L. Ron Hubbard
Came out of the pulp fiction writer's cupboard,
The religious cult he built
Was based on gilt.
On recently seeing the film documentary GOING CLEAR at the Little Theatre, Bath.
Came out of the pulp fiction writer's cupboard,
The religious cult he built
Was based on gilt.
On recently seeing the film documentary GOING CLEAR at the Little Theatre, Bath.
Credit: http://www.lermanet.com/scientific.htm
2.7.15
In the Summertime - Modern Reprise
Hark, I hear something.
Is it droning or buzzing?
Bumblebee or drone?
Is it droning or buzzing?
Bumblebee or drone?
30.6.15
On the way to the Pub...
Bat in darkening
Vain struggle to view the world
Through its aural eyes
Or
Bat in darkening
Vain struggle to view the world
Through its sightless ears
Which do you prefer?
Vain struggle to view the world
Through its aural eyes
Or
Bat in darkening
Vain struggle to view the world
Through its sightless ears
Which do you prefer?
26.6.15
White Van Boat Man
A. E. Van Vogt
Oft cap'ned a Van Boat.
He cleaned up not as a Smuggler or a Fisher
But with his Weapon Mops of Isher
Oft cap'ned a Van Boat.
He cleaned up not as a Smuggler or a Fisher
But with his Weapon Mops of Isher
24.6.15
21.6.15
No longer following the trawler
Seagulls' plaintiff cries
Accuse Man of swapping fish
For burgers and chips
Or do you prefer
Plaintive cries echo
Aggrieved seagulls yearn for fish
No more found at sea
Do please let me know.
Accuse Man of swapping fish
For burgers and chips
Or do you prefer
Plaintive cries echo
Aggrieved seagulls yearn for fish
No more found at sea
Do please let me know.
19.6.15
Limited Offer
For this week only
Eurostar not Northern Line
Gains you Waterloo
Eurostar not Northern Line
Gains you Waterloo
 |
| By Thomas Kelly editor (private collection) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
14.6.15
Self Landscape
Philip C James,
For Haiku has pretty modest aims.
But he's one bat short of a full belfry,
To attempt the World's First Clerihew Selfie.
For Haiku has pretty modest aims.
But he's one bat short of a full belfry,
To attempt the World's First Clerihew Selfie.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)