Wordplay Maps: AMERICAN SCRAMBLE-TOWNS #5-8

 

LINKS: 

Forward to U.S.A. map #7

Back to U.S.A. map #3

Let's skip all this stuff and get on to the Canadian version, eh? (stay tuned!)

LINKS: 

Forward to U.S.A. map #9

Back to U.S.A. map #5

Let's skip all this stuff and get on to the Canadian version, eh? (stay tuned!)

More Buzzwords: INSECTS, part #2

A continuation of the post from August 15, 2020 "Buzzwords: VERSES about INSECTS"

CURRENT CONTENTS:

Insect repellents

Ladybug diner

Mosquitoes

Ricardo the dragonfly

Roaches (etymological approach)

Termites

Toothpick grasshoppers

Woollybear caterpillars

Yellow jackets

Clothes moths (3 verses, a 'brief saga')

Learn more about DEET at Wikipedia.

Authors' Note: Adult dragonflies are carnivores who hunt on the wing, consuming daily up to a fifth of their body-weight in various flying insects, mosquitoes being one of their favorites. 

In the photo by GC, shot in the Muskoka region of Ontario, the insect temporarily has lighted (with wings typically spread) on a tiger lily, presumably to seek as prey the pollen-seeking insects attracted there. 

Authors' Note: 

cucaracha: Spanish for cockroach, presumably giving rise in the early 17th century to the English name for the insect

cockroach: adjectival form for the common insect (of thousands of species, only four are characterized as pests; cockroachlike might also be used in appropriate instances)   In the 1830s, Victorians adopted the shortened form roach to avoid the sexual connotations of the insect's name.

 

Authors' Note: 

bello, bella: Italian (male, female forms) for fine, handsome or beautiful

  The best-known name for this common North American insect derives from the larval form, the banded woolly bear. The caterpillar, with reddish-brown midsection and vertically demarcated black front and rear ends, is often seen in the autumn, appears playful to children, and is non-toxic. There is no easily appreciated visual difference between the genders for either larval or adult stages. Several small locales in the United States celebrate these cute caterpillars with fall 'woollybear' festivals.

Authors' Note: A million Emergency Room (ER) visits per year in the United States are caused by concern over stings from insects of the order Hymenoptera; stings can result in significant local reactions and even anaphylaxis. Many people attribute these incidents, without differentiation, to 'bees'. In fact, the common honeybees and bumblebees are considerably less aggressive than yellow jackets, such as Vespula maculifrons; these pesty wasps make us miserable in the summer and early fall, particularly at fairs and other outdoor events, by their relentless search for sugar-containing foods. Vespine is the adjective relating to wasps.

(Note that the three verses of this "brief saga" can be found in a more readily legible format on the blog "Daily Illustrated Nonsense"; click HERE.) 

Armchair entomologists with a sense of adventure might wish to continue their travels by proceeding to a later blogpost dealing with "A Selection of PARASITES".   

DIRECTION FOR WEB-TRAVELLERS: 

To resume daily titillations on our related 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 2023, there are over 1200 unique entries available on the Daily blog, and most of these are also presented here on 'Edifying Nonsense' in topic-based collections.) The 'Daily' format also has the advantage of including some videos and other material that are not shown here on this topic-based blog.

True-and-Faux photos: PORTRAITS of COUPLES, #2

 Discerning readers will notice that we have recently given an iconic name to our pandemic-inspired business venture,  TRUE-and-FAUX PHOTOS. 

Continuing with our photo-folio from the initial post  ....

prior posts (1st group)

domestic turkeys 

armadillos 

black swans 

black-necked swans 

broad-headed skinks

bros 

Canada geese 

chickens 

CURRENT CONTENTS

dogpark figures

domestic geese 1(Paris) 

domestic geese 2(Toronto) 

emus 

family - Canada geese

feral domestic ducks 

frogs

gemsboks

projected - (3rd group)

g(i)roomed dogs

goats  (in prep)
Harris hawks 
hippos 
horses
house finches

llamas
loons
mallard ducks

We know that you are itching to review more of this photo-portfolio. So, you can do just that by clicking HERE. 

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR WEB-EXPLORERS: 

To resume daily titillations on our related 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 June 2024, there are about 1500 unique entries available on the Daily blog, and most of these are also presented here on "Edifying Nonsense" in topic-based collections, such as this one.) The 'Daily' format also has the advantage of including some song-lyrics, videos and other material that are not shown here on this topic-based blog.

PATIENTS and THEIR MALADIES, part #2

This post is a continuation of "PATIENTS and their MALADIES, part #1", as posted on this blog in March 2021.

previous poetic posts (part #1)

amblyopia
anosmia
bph (benign prostatic hypertrophy)
brain symptoms (post-concussion)
common cold
Conn's syndrome (aldosterone excess)
claudication
diabetes insipidus

CURRENT CONTENTS:
Dyspareunia
Eye discharge
Flu-like symptoms

Ganglion cyst

Gluten sensitivity
Graves disease
Gynophobia
Hemorrhoids

(for continuation, see the link below)

Authors' Note: Dyspareunia is the adjective that describes suffering from dyspareunia. That disorder, that may be either transitory or recurrent, is explained elsewhere; please consult as dictionary.

Authors' Note:

dacryocystorhinostomy: a surgical procedure used to relieve lacrimal obstruction (blocked tear drainage)

 DCR: abbreviation for above, used by surgical ophthalmologists, who usually perform the procedure

Authors' Note: These common small limb lesions that may fluctuate spontaneously are most often found at the wrist. The name ganglion, Greek for "knot", is a misnomer, as examination by ultrasound or aspiration shows that they are thin-walled cysts filled with synovial (i.e. joint) fluid — such testing is not needed in most cases. Incidentally, the term tumour is a synonym for "growth" or "lump"; health professionals avoid using the term in dealing with lesions that have no oncologic significance in order to allay unnecessary patient anxiety. 

Authors' Note: Celiac disease (also spelled coeliac), is a classic gastrointestinal disease characterized by poor absorption of nutrients and wasting, that is caused by sensitivity to gluten, a composite of two storage proteins that are found extensively in certain cereal grains. Diseases involving other body systems have also been described even in the absence of the classic GI symptoms. For uncertain reasons, there has been a recent dramatic increase in a less severe but contentious problem referred to as non-celiac gluten sensitivity, whose treatment is the same as for the classic disease, i.e. elimination of sources of gluten from the diet. 

We have discussed this type of food intolerance, among others in a longer poem that you can review HERE.

Authors' Note:  Graves' disease (often shortened by medical types to the ominous-sounding Graves' ), described by Robert Graves in 1835, is a common auto-immune disease that attacks the internal controls in the thyroid gland, and results in the overproduction of thyroid hormones. Significant symptoms result from hyperthyroidism, the hypermetabolic state that is produced.

Among several effective treatments, antithyroid drugs, taken over months or years, block production of these hormones, and often result in resumption of the euthyroid (normal) state.    

Authors' Note: 

pro tem: frequently used short form for the Latin 'pro tempore' -- for the time being, in the short term.

Readers might also enjoy a verse on the same part of the anatomy presented in September 2021 in the collection "The Bottom Line of Medical Humor". Click HERE.

Requests from many health professionals, and layfolks as well, have come to fruition; there is now another followup post continuing this theme that you can easily access.  Click HERE for part #3 of 'Patients and their Maladies'

Here's a LIST OF LINKS to collections of intriguing poems (over 160 of these!) on medical/dental topics that can now be found on various posts. 

DIRECTION FOR WEB-TRAVELLERS: 

To resume daily titillations on our related 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 2023, there are over 1200 unique entries available on the Daily blog, and most of these are also presented here on 'Edifying Nonsense' in topic-based collections.) The 'Daily' format also has the advantage of including some videos and other material that are not shown here on this topic-based blog.