Friday 25 September 2020

Submitted palindromes: RANDOM PILES 1




Editors' Note: 
We have discouraged our submitters in general from presenting palindromic phrases in these collections based primarily on geographic place-names. But, we recognize that many wordplay enthusiasts are keen to review geo-palindromes specifically (such as those about various canals). To view our large collection of such intriguing wordplay  displayed on maps of the Americas, or the Old World", click HERE to get started, and just follow the links at the bottom of each post.  
 

Sunday 20 September 2020

SEP 20 (2020), TOURISTS' PALINDROMIC GUIDE: The Americas #2


This post is a continuation of #179, Tourists' Palindromic Guide: The Americas #1.
SATIRE COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio (registered pseudonym) and Dr.G.H., 2018. 
WORDPLAY LINK: The panels showing palindromic phrases derived from geography of the Americas were originally displayed on Wordplay posts on this blog during the interval from May through September 2018. Geographically focused concoctions are among the many palindromic treasures honored and displayed on this site. 

SONGLINK: In addition, some readers will be delighted (others will continue to groan) at our collection of songs based on palindromic phrases.










Want more palindromic fun? Click HERE to proceed to collages 25 through 36 . 





DIRECTION FOR WEB-TRAVELLERS: 

To resume daily titillations on our blog 'Daily Illustrated Nonsense', click HERE. Once you arrive, you can select your time frame of interest from the calendar-based listings in the righthand margin, and check the daily offerings for any month in the years 2020 to the present. (As of September 2022, there are 1000 entries available on the Daily blog, and most of these are also presented here on 'Edifying Nonsense' in topic-based collections.)






Tuesday 15 September 2020

Hikes, Bikes and Likes: TORONTO RAVINES #2

 This post is the second in a series on Toronto's system of ravines, a relatively undiscovered treasure which encompasses many of the most interesting parks characteristic of our city. You may want to check out the other collections of photos in this series "Hikes, Bikes and Likes: TORONTO RAVINES" #1 (September 15), #3 (October 5), and #4 (November 10).


At the lower left you can see part of the outdoor rink where some of us old-timers played rather scruffy hockey 60 years ago!
















































The rail bridge in action!
The Canadian Pacific rail bridge across the West Don valley
 south of Eglinton Avenue
.
















CONTINUING ON: We know that you are itching to review more of this photo-portfolio. So, you can do just that by clicking here for Toronto ravines #3 .

Giorgio Coniglio can also be found on Facebook, should you care to look.






Thursday 10 September 2020

Hikes, Bikes and Likes: TORONTO RAVINES #1



This post is the first of a series dealing with Toronto ravines, a somewhat underappreciated network of unique parks and wilderness spaces. The later posts on this topic can be found by following links to  "Hikes, Bikes and Likes: TORONTO RAVINES" #2,  #3, and #4.

























































We know that you are itching to review more of this photo-portfolio. So, you can do just that by clicking here for Toronto ravines #2 


Also, Giorgio Coniglio can now be found on Facebook, should you care to look.





Saturday 5 September 2020

ONTARIO NOSTALGIA


CURRENT CONTENTS
Great Lakes 
Trent-Severn waterway
Yonge Street
Algonquin Provincial Park
Paris (Ontario)
Ontario cactus
Bunkies
Toronto ravines
Fall colour-tour





Authors' Note: The southern flank of the Canadian province of Ontario, abutting the border with the United States is a watery region comprised primarily of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. The names of these lakes, and their order of progression to the Atlantic Ocean, are frequently covered in school curricula.

   Apart from flying, coming by ferry is the mode of access to the island province of Newfoundland for citizens of either Canada or the United States. The Confederation Bridge, 13 km in length, linking New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, has replaced ferry traffic to our smallest province since 1996.

   Tourism in most parts of Canada is highly dependent on Americans driving across the border. The industry has suffered a major depression in 2020 owing to restrictions related to the pandemic





Authors' Note:       


docktailsslang 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.






Authors' Note:  The first Lieutenant-Governor of the province Of Upper Canada (Ontario), Sir John Simcoe, sought routes leading northward from his new 
provincial capital at Toronto, away from the U.S. border.

  In 1793, he designed a road, naming it for the British Minister of War, Sir George Yonge, who was also an expert on Roman roads. Yonge Street passes from Lake Ontario north to Lake Simcoe, where it merges into Highway 11, a rural road that extends 1900 km (1200 mi) northwest to the border with the American state of Minnesota.
  Sir George, fifth Baronet of Escot, had served as Lord of the Admiralty and master of the mint, and governor of the Cape Colony, but died penniless and heirless, Yonge Street being his only legacy.
 
  Prior to 1999, the Guinness Book of Records mistakenly conflated Yonge Street with Highway 11, and described it as 'the world's longest street’.  





















Authors' Note: Although specific municipalities often have additional stringent regulations, the building code for the Canadian province of Ontario specifies that any property can have a detached structure measuring up to 10 square meters (108 square feet); plumbing and heating are not allowed in such structures. They may accommodate seasonal use for guests, although off-season or year-round storage of equipment is also a major use. Cottage owners and their guests have come to refer to these detached small buildings, often outfitted with bunk beds, as bunkies.





 hidden cactus corner:
Allan Gardens Conservatory, Toronto

Authors' Note: Species of plants belonging to the cactus family are native only to America. Although they are generally heat-loving, a few species of the genus Opuntia are sufficiently cold-tolerant to live in parts of Canada. One of these, the eastern prickly pear, Opuntia humifusa, thrives in the US in dry areas such as along beaches on the Atlantic coastline, and some inland areas. At the northern limit of its range, in areas along the Great Lakes in Ontario (located centrally in Canada), this species has been susceptible to territory loss by severe winter storms and is now considered locally endangered. Three other species of low-growing cacti are still flourishing in the prairie provinces of western Canada.


There's a different story in other parts of the globe, where these and related species were relocated by human activities in the sixteenth century. Owing to their edible summer fruit, prickly pears are tolerated as invasives in parts of South Africa, southern Europe, Polynesia, South America, etc. In Australia, however, they spread quickly and vigorously,  taking over a huge chunk of grazing and horticultural terrain in Queensland, and are now prohibited.






Authors' Note:  Glacial can be pronounced with either 2 or 3 syllables. Here, the word has the meaning of 'produced by, or related to a glacier’. 

  Geologists tell us that during the Wisconsin glaciation, the ice-sheet scooped out soft rock and pushed the piled-up debris, sand and gravel, southward towards Lake Iroquois, the precursor of Lake Ontario. Twelve thousand years ago, with the ending of the ice-age, meltwater from the Laurentide Glacier eroded the channels that became the basis of Toronto's system of ravines.














Giorgio Coniglio's poetic efforts, photos and other amusing musings can now be found on Facebook, in his photo-albums, should you care to look.






DIRECTION FOR WEB-TRAVELLERS:
If you want to resume daily titillations on our blog 'Daily Illustrated Nonsense', click HERE. Once you arrive, you can select your time frame of interest from the calendar-based listings in the righthand margin, and check the daily offerings for any month in the years 2020 through 2022. (As of September 2022, there are over 1000 daily entries on the Daily blog, and most of these are also presented here on 'Edifying Nonsense' in topic-based collections.)