Apparently, the artist Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) was embarrassed by the size of his laryngeal prominence. Mr. Rockwell felt, it’s said, that his Adam’s apple protruded unduly, and had been known to take steps to cover it up in public. [pictured right] But possible academic implications of this have remained largely unstudied in scholarly circles – […]
Tag: Poetry
Relative Value of Nature and Poetry (in Science)
Walter Westman wonders about worth: “How Much Are Nature’s Services Worth?” Walter E. Westman, Science, vol. 197, no. 4307 (Sep. 2, 1977), pp. 960-964. The author, at UCLA, begins with a snippet of poetry from Wordsworth, then gets on with it: ‘To me the meanest flower that blows can give Thoughts that do often lie […]
Shuttlecock aerodynamics: part 3
“The shuttlecock soars upward In a parabola of whiteness, Turns, And sinks to a perfect arc.” This extract, from one of the few eminent poems to prominently feature shuttlecocks, is by Amy Lawrence Lowell, (Men, Women and Ghosts, A Roxbury Garden,1916) and is quoted in the latest research regarding the aerodynamics of shuttlecocks. A study by […]
Horrors: ‘Art’ in Artificial (Intelligence) Poetry
William Topaz McGonagall who died in 1902, is widely regarded as the writer of the worst poetry in the English language. As an example, see this video featuring Terry Jones (of Monty Python fame) interpreting the poem ‘Stirling Castle’. McGonagall has now become one of the very few famous poets to have a computer programme […]
Improbable TV: “The Tay Bridge Disaster” in Ukrainian
Here’s a new episode — #McG-002, “”The Tay Bridge Disaster” with Dr. Elena Bodnar — of the Improbable Research TV series. It’s the 2nd of many episodes featuring the bad poetry of William Topaz McGonagall. William Topaz McGonagall, who died in 1902, is widely regarded as the worst poet ever to write in the English language. The […]
Bad Poems Today in Edinburgh, at 2 pm
Join us today for a historic revelation. at the Edinburgh Science Festival. Our three-part event begins at 2:00 pm. Newly Discovered Poems by William Topaz McGonagall. This special event begins with a revelation of utterly no importance, but great historical interest: the first modern recital of two more nearly-lost poems by the bad poet William […]
Overlooked McGonagall poems found!
There’s news about the bad poet William Topaz McGonagall. It’s of absolutely no importance, but of great and goofy enjoyment to many in the English-speaking world. Several poems that have never been published in any book will soon be recited in public [on March 19, at our show at the University of Dundee] for the […]
Cryptic scientifical free verse: Chip Groat
This week’s cryptic scientifical free verse: Chip Groat gave a keynote at the J.J. Pickle
Groucho Marx, Vincent Price, poetry and atomic energy
Groucho Marx, Vincent Price, poetry and atomic energy all came together for a radio broadcast in 1945 — a performance of Norman Corwin’s “The Undecided Molecule” Corwin called it a “rhymed fantasy concerning dangerous developments among the elements.” Click here to listen to a snippet. Oh, dear! Oh, dear! The cosmic alarm! Which means, I […]
37 Therapists
by Jeremy Gorman Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada One day when I was wondering just what was wrong with me, I thought to ask some experts in what’s called psychology. Beginning with the founders of the psychologic arts, I went to Wundt and Titchener, who broke me into parts. John Dewey proved more functional, and Peirce […]