Edward Oz
Writes everyday because
English never fails to amaze
Just read today's post on Word Daze

Today is the birthday of Edmund Clerihew Bentley whose middle name became a form of light verse.

Bentley made a name for himself with a classic work of detective fiction called Trent's Last Case, but he is best known for the four-line verse form that bears his middle name: the clerihew.

The clerihew is a biographical form that begins with the subject's name (or at least contains the name in the first line). It is made up of two rhyming couplets (thus the rhyme scheme is AABB). The only other requirement of the form is that it should be light hearted or humorous.

Bentley's Biography for Beginners, published in 1905, was his first collection of verse. He followed this up with additional volumes of verse in 1929 and 1939.

Here are a couple of examples of Bentley's clerihews:

Edward the Confessor
Slept under the dresser.
When that began to pall,
He slept in the hall.

The art of Biography
Is different from Geography.
Geography is about maps,
But Biography is about chaps.

Examples written by Edward Oz:

Samuel Backman
Took on Superman.
It was a long night.
He forgot his Kryptonite.

Prince Hamlet was sad
because his uncle killed his dad.
He talked to his father's ghost after dark.
Something's rotten in the state of Denmark.

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Safety Boot Camp
July 10, 2009
Bloomington, Minnesota

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Mount Rushmore's Starry Night  
Credit & Copyright: Wally Pacholka (TWAN)  
click above image for a higher-resolution graphic

This starry night sky sparkles above the Black Hills of South Dakota and the United States' Mount Rushmore National Park. The historic site features enormous sculptures of four US presidents; George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, carved into the southeast face of granite cliffs. Above the monumental symbols of the country's independence and early history, the night features stars and constellations familiar to northern skygazers around the world. Most noticeable are the stars of Ursa Major and the asterism known as the Big Dipper, almost resting upright along the cliff edge near picture center. Follow the arc of the Big Dipper's handle to get to Arcturus, the bright yellowish star in the lower left corner. Of course, a line extending through the dipper's two right most stars points to the upper right toward Polaris, planet Earth's North Star.

Photo Of The Day

Aaron Tolias 

The Front Page

Greeley Tribune - July 10, 2009

Daily Inspirations

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The Love Ball, New York City

Fin

Today's Mostly Useless Fact
In the marriage ceremony of the ancient Inca Indians of Peru,
the couple was considered officially wed when they took off their sandals and handed them to each other

Tomorrow: UN World Population Day