tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post1040880844650267571..comments2024-03-28T15:01:21.285-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: Candy Is DandyLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-85357982380337011232013-06-23T14:10:08.230-04:002013-06-23T14:10:08.230-04:00Leigh, I never knew that, about the Nash verse bei...Leigh, I never knew that, about the Nash verse being in the CMS guide.<br /><br />Every time I think of "funny" things at IBM, I think of Bob Newhart's skit about Herman Hollerith, the inventor of the punched card. (Look it up on YouTube.) For years and years Newhart performed live at our annual achievement conferences, and he was always hilarious.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-68232493168731763192013-06-23T13:47:04.378-04:002013-06-23T13:47:04.378-04:00Those are fun, John. If you hadn’t told me Nash pe...Those are fun, John. If you hadn’t told me Nash penned “candy is dandy but liquor is quicker,” I’d have guessed another favorite, Dorothy Parker.<br /><br />When I first began teaching myself CMS, I found a small book IBM published unlike anything else they put out. It was a guide to CMS and carried a number of Nash’s animal poems. I hung onto that little book for years to show outsiders the Blue Giant did have a sense of humor.<br /><br />I’m glad Toe and others posted their favorites.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-13203309216246109972013-06-23T08:38:41.404-04:002013-06-23T08:38:41.404-04:00Careful, Dale--you'll soon be coming up with t...Careful, Dale--you'll soon be coming up with these little ditties when you should be writing fiction instead. But it sure is fun . . .John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-25038828368092289002013-06-23T07:42:07.387-04:002013-06-23T07:42:07.387-04:00My brother and his wife have been encouraging a co...My brother and his wife have been encouraging a couple rabbits to live in their back yard in downtown St. Louis. Last week they sent me pictures of 7 cute little bunnies cavorting in their back yard. I replied to them with the following, with obvious apologies to Mr. Nash:<br /><br />The trouble with your bunny habits<br />Is that invariably they turn into rabbits.Dale Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10553503281187956955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-25546142149533184512013-06-23T00:38:48.065-04:002013-06-23T00:38:48.065-04:00That DOES grab me, Toe. Nature's sideshow, in...That DOES grab me, Toe. Nature's sideshow, indeed. Many thanks!<br /><br />Good advice, Jeff! (That's exactly the kind of non-word that works well.)John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-82673524329731331262013-06-23T00:33:36.371-04:002013-06-23T00:33:36.371-04:00My attempts at Nashian wordplay included the follo...My attempts at Nashian wordplay included the following:<br /><br />Never try to cross a bull's pasture<br /><br />No matter how fasture...<br /><br /><br />(For mystery lovers, Nash is credited with the phrase "Had I but known..." to describe certain fictional heroines.)Jeff Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00316081079528920123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-71963003894021878292013-06-23T00:18:40.237-04:002013-06-23T00:18:40.237-04:00Mr. Floyd: How does this one grab you: From "...Mr. Floyd: How does this one grab you: From "Means, Extremes and Monotremes."<br /><br />What say, duckbill platypus?<br />Part bird, part mammal, part reptile.<br />Nature's sideshow.<br />Would that Darwin could <br />explain what<br />God intended when<br />He placed you on this<br />Man's earth.<br />Love your stuff. Yours truly, Toe.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17407149021673167001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-6571988089668037112013-06-22T19:56:48.273-04:002013-06-22T19:56:48.273-04:00Thanks to all for your kind comments. I think the...Thanks to all for your kind comments. I think there's just something about light verse, and especially limericks (clean AND naughty), that appeals to a great many folks.<br /><br />Aside from verse, there are some authors (Steve Martin, Kinky Friedman, Carl Hiaasen, Woody Allen, Janet Evanovich, and others) who write wonderfully funny stories. As mentioned earlier, that kind of thing just brightens my day.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-63064365010964402712013-06-22T17:37:56.721-04:002013-06-22T17:37:56.721-04:00Love it!Love it!Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-12228951832319980932013-06-22T17:04:23.527-04:002013-06-22T17:04:23.527-04:00Thanks for sharing, John. I really chuckled at &q...Thanks for sharing, John. I really chuckled at "South of Saudi."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18211113589300842194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-48208745342341900232013-06-22T16:58:12.308-04:002013-06-22T16:58:12.308-04:00Okay, Liz, I have one that has two versions.
Ther...Okay, Liz, I have one that has two versions.<br /><br />There once was a lady named Fran<br />Who fell madly in love with a man<br />She found out he lied<br />Her love quickly died<br /><br />Clean last line: She grabbed up her heart and she ran<br /><br />Risque last line: She grabbed up her panties and ran <br /><br />Now I have to see if this is going to let me post.Fran Rizerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08655783035179620991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-46235066933822481852013-06-22T14:31:28.796-04:002013-06-22T14:31:28.796-04:00After Fran's comment, I've gotta share my ...After Fran's comment, I've gotta share my favorite clean limerick. I don't know its origin.<br /><br />A gentleman dining in Kew<br />Found quite a large mouse in his stew.<br />Said the waiter, "Don't shout<br />And wave it about<br />Or the rest will be wanting one too."<br /><br />I've found it a propos to quote in all sorts of situations. ;)Elizabeth Zelvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13944424094949207841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-72478716122018760682013-06-22T14:17:20.036-04:002013-06-22T14:17:20.036-04:00John, I got a good laugh out of "South of Sau...John, I got a good laugh out of "South of Saudi."R.T. Lawtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15523486296396710227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-38093627363762045882013-06-22T13:28:02.819-04:002013-06-22T13:28:02.819-04:00Nice article, John!
Back in the early 1970s Ogden...Nice article, John!<br /><br />Back in the early 1970s Ogden Nash's brother (can't remember his name) lived in an apartment building in Pasadena owned by my first wife's parents. Apparently he was sort of a broken man. He kept trying to write poetry like his brother, and couldn't pull it off. Every few weeks he would wander down to my then-father-in-law's apartment to share the poems, which were uniformly straining for something he just couldn't quite pull off.Dale Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10553503281187956955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-85528949881103054972013-06-22T12:21:38.327-04:002013-06-22T12:21:38.327-04:00John, Ogden Nash is one of my favorite rhymers and...John, Ogden Nash is one of my favorite rhymers and I delight in reading his very clever verse. Your pieces would rank up there with them, and I am sure he would say the same.<br /><br />Some time ago I met and had dinner with Richard Armour, a Nash contemporary. He was a little jealous of Nash, I believe, and was somewhat miffed that one of his rhymes was always attributed to Nash. --A funny thing the ketchup bottle, first none will come and then a lot'll.<br /><br />Good column. I'd like to see more of your efforts.Herschel Cozinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06097703750150309319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-16340830966517450792013-06-22T12:01:50.899-04:002013-06-22T12:01:50.899-04:00But liquor is quicker.But liquor is quicker.Terrie Farley Moranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04980849018232866773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-9159863096984906912013-06-22T09:49:14.574-04:002013-06-22T09:49:14.574-04:00Great stuff, John, and very funny. I think you...Great stuff, John, and very funny. I think you're giving Ogden a run for his money!<br /><br />A lot of times when I'm writing I'll stop at a word I just put down (a really good one, too) and ask myself, "Is that a real word, or did I just make that up?" I'm always relieved when I determine that it is real, but very often disappointed when it isn't and it sounded so right.David Deanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13005457506363262838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-86881351371541591722013-06-22T07:39:24.657-04:002013-06-22T07:39:24.657-04:00Liz, "The Termite" is one of those in my...Liz, "The Termite" is one of those in my collection of Nash poems. I love it.<br /><br />By the way, Fran Rizer, whose comments have not been posting yesterday and today, sent me the following via an email:<br /><br />"I used to write limericks constantly, including 'Unchained Limerick,' which went on forever, one after the other, and told a story. No, they weren't all risque."<br /><br />John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-49364376378962169152013-06-22T06:49:11.813-04:002013-06-22T06:49:11.813-04:00LOL, John. I particularly like your Distribution o...LOL, John. I particularly like your Distribution of Wealth. My favorite Nash poem doesn't have any made up words in it, and I THINK I know it not from a Nash collection but from its inclusion in a paperback anthology of humor edited by Bennett Cerf that found its way onto my parents' bookshelves in the Fifties.<br /><br />Some primal termite knocked on wood<br />And tasted it and found it good<br />And that is why your Cousin May<br />Fell through the parlor floor today.Elizabeth Zelvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13944424094949207841noreply@blogger.com