Posts Tagged ‘Media Limerick’

Betrayal (Limerick)

Monday, October 9th, 2023

A woman was feeling embattled
And more than a little bit rattled;
After telling “friend” Jake
Something secret, the snake
Quickly texted a journo and tattled.

The Con Man (Limerick)

Wednesday, May 17th, 2023

A con man would speak off the cuff,
Spouting all sorts of nonsense and guff.
Loyal crowds stretched for blocks.
“You should come host for Fox,”
Said a staffer. “You’ve got the right stuff!”

Digital Madness (Limerick)

Monday, February 21st, 2022

Tomorrow’s unique! Here’s a clue:
Zero-Two/ Twenty-Two/ Twenty-Two.
So start spreading the news:
Due to all of its twos,
There’s innumerous “Twosday” ado.

Happy Twosday!

When I Rise, I Don’t Shine (Limerick)

Monday, November 1st, 2021

Ev’ry day when I rise, hubby greets me
With political news, which depletes me.
He’s eager to share it,
But I just can’t bear it,
Cuz pre-caffeine info defeats me.

Married To a Mush-Meister (Limerick)

Monday, December 26th, 2016

Hubby Mark savors films that are sappy,
And what’s crappy to ME makes him happy.
He’ll be glued to the screen
At the mushiest scene,
While I mentally keen, “Make it snappy!”

Limerick Ode For “Hug A Newsperson Day”

Monday, April 4th, 2016

We should all give a virtual hug
To newspersons. Kindly don’t shrug;
Though they sure could do better,
We need them to fetter
Vile pols, oh so thuggish and smug.

Happy Hug A Newsperson Day! (April 4)

Nightmare Limerick

Monday, February 17th, 2014

Nightmare Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

I rarely remember my dreams,
Except those that go off to extremes,
Like last night’s — I was taken:
A hostage, till wakin’.
I should stop watching Homeland, it seems.

Beached Plans (Limerick)

Friday, May 24th, 2013

I sure hope your Memorial Day weekend weather’s better than ours, here in New York.

Beached Plans (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Though Memorial Day is upon us,
Winter clothing continues to don us.
So I plead and beseech:
Kindly stop talking “beach.”
New York media’s trying to con us.

Freelance Mothering

Tuesday, May 7th, 2013

This feels vaguely appropriate for Mother’s Day:

Freelance Mothering (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Be it newspapers, Web, magazines,
Mistakes are in print and on screens:
Though I’ve NO kids to nag,
I once learned in a mag:
I’m the very proud mother of teens.

True story: Many years ago I wrote several freelance humor columns for Family Circle Magazine, one of which was a “humorous contract” between parents and their teen about learning to drive.

I’ll never forget standing on a long line at the supermarket and spotting the issue I was scheduled to appear in, near the cash register. I grabbed the magazine, turned to the back page and excitedly started to read.

Everything look great … until I got to the bio note, which should have read: “Madeleine Begun Kane is a New York-based freelance humor columnist and lawyer.”

Instead, it read, “Madeleine Begun Kane is the mother of teens.”

And no, I do NOT have any children … unless, of course, you count my hubby Mark.

Lewis Black & The News Quiz USA — A Limerick Review

Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

Here’s the limerick review I wrote about the Lewis Black-hosted News Quiz USA. I heard it on WNYC radio in NYC, and it was hilarious, featuring panelists Andy Borowitz, Kathleen Madigan, Todd Barry and Ted Alexandro. You can hear it here.

Right now it’s apparently a one-off, an experimental American version of the UK’s BBC News Quiz. Here’s hoping they’ll decide to turn it into a weekly show.

Lewis Black & The News Quiz USA — A Limerick Review
By Madeleine Begun Kane

The News Quiz with host Lewis Black
Was hilarious. Please bring it back.
We need satire fare
Like this on the air.
For great humor, this team has a knack.

Limerick Ode To The Print Encyclopedia

Wednesday, March 14th, 2012

The Encyclopaedia Britannica is the latest victim of the Digital Age:

Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. announced Tuesday it will stop publishing print editions of its signature product for the first time in its 244-year history. In an acknowledgment of the shifting media landscape and the increasing reliance on digital references, the company said its current encyclopedia – the 32-volume, 129-pound 2010 edition – will be unavailable once the existing stock runs out. (If you’re interested, it’s yours for $1,395 and there are only 4,000 sets left.) The digital version of the encyclopedia, however, will live on.

This news saddened me. And it also reminded me about the obsolete, hand-me-down encyclopedia I grew up with in the Fifties and Sixties:

Limerick Ode To The Encyclopedia
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Britannicas, World Books and more
Were common in households of yore.
But not in my home—
Just a hand-me-down tome
With entries, I swear, like “World War.”

It’s Royally Over!

Friday, April 29th, 2011

I’ve gotten several emails and Facebook messages asking me why I haven’t written a limerick or haiku about the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Here’s your answer:

It’s Royally Over!
By Madeleine Begun Kane

I’ve no int’rest in all the ado
Over wedding fetes royal. So sue!
I don’t care if some Brit
Who’s a prince will commit
To a commoner. Boring! So shoo!

Newsy Limerick 2

Monday, March 28th, 2011

Newsy Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Restricting your diet of news
To outlets endorsing your views
Reinforces beliefs
And bias and beefs.
Why bother? You might as well snooze.

(Prompted by this circular poetry writing prompt.)

Author’s Note: I just realized that this limerick could just as easily fit in my other blog where I post political humor and satire.

Limerick Ode To Print Newspapers

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

Limerick Ode To Print Newspapers
By Madeleine Begun Kane

It appears that print papers are dying,
Cuz few are subscribing or buying.
Print magazines too
Keep saying adieu.
Who’s happy? The trees — they’re highflying.

(Written for Theme Thursday’s paper prompt and Miss Rumphius Effect’s tree prompt.)

UPDATE: May 16th is “Love A Tree Day.”

Limerick Odes To Charlie Sheen

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

After flunking (badly) The Guardian’s Who Said This — Gaddafi or Charlie Sheen quiz, I forced myself to watch ABC’s entire 20/20 Charlie Sheen interview conducted (I’m not sure how) by Andrea Canning. Yikes!

I’m no shrink, but if Sheen isn’t certifiable, I can’t imagine who is. Yet Sheen’s suing CBS and Warner Bros. for canceling Two and a Half Men. CBS and Warner Bros. should keep a copy on hand of ABC’s interview. Because that show gives CBS all the ammunition it needs to defeat Sheen’s case. We’re talking loony-tunes-uninsurable!

And so, Charlie Sheen has earned himself two “Dear Charlie” letter limericks. Here’s the first:

Dear Charlie, you’re acting bizarre.
We don’t need yet another sick star.
You appear on the brink
Of a breakdown, yet think
You’re not crazy, which proves that you are.

And here’s my second limerick:

Dear Charlie, you’re losing your sheen.
Once funny, you’re now turning mean.
It’s clear that you’re sick.
Get some help. Do it quick!
And stop wasting your comedy gene.

(You can find more letters at Write A Letter.)

The Problem With The Media Explained

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

The Problem With The Media Explained
By Madeleine Begun Kane

The journos compete in a race
To file columns and fill blogging space.
So nonsense abounds
In ill-informed mounds
Of opinions and factoids off base.

Limerick Ode To AOL’s Huffington Post Acquisition

Monday, February 7th, 2011

Ode To AOL’s Huffington Post Acquisition
By Madeleine Begun Kane

The Huffington Post has been bought.
In AOL’s lair it’s been caught.
Will its death there be quick,
Or will some readers stick?
And will payment for scribes remain naught?

Here’s the New York Times on the acquisition and Huffington’s announcement.

Newsy Limerick

Sunday, February 6th, 2011

Once again, it’s Limerick-Off time. And that means I write a limerick, and you write your own, using the same first line. Then you post your limerick here and, if you’re a Facebook user, on Facebook too.

So I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick with this first line:

A man who reported the news…

Here’s mine:

Newsy Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

A man who reported the news
Had some very odd habits and views.
He’d rant and he’d rave
And refuse to behave.
And when caught in a lie, he blamed booze.

Please feel free to write your own limerick using the same first line and post it in my comments. And if you’re on Facebook, I hope you’ll join my friends in that same activity in my Facebook Limerick-Off post.

To receive an email alert whenever I post a new Limerick-Off, please send me an email requesting the alerts. You’ll find my email address on the upper right sidebar, in the “Author” section just below my Limerick-Offs button. Thanks!

Tasty Books

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

Tasty Books (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Please don’t tell me you’re “moved” by a book,
Cuz I surely won’t give it a look.
I love thrillers and wit,
But abstain from chick lit
And spurn texts that explain how to cook.

****

September 6 is “National Read A Book Day.”

Infamous Limerick

Monday, September 27th, 2010

Once again, it’s Limerick-Off time. I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick with this first line:

A woman who yearned for great fame…

Here’s mine. (It’s a two-verse limerick, but a standard one-verse limerick is fine, of course.)

Infamous Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

A woman who yearned for great fame
Had no talent that people could name.
But reality’s odd:
Her voluptuous bod
Led to stints on American Dame.

The series showed gals well endowed,
As scantily clad as allowed.
Then losers were kicked,
As front-runners were picked.
You don’t like that idea? Join the crowd.

Please feel free to write your own limerick using the same first line and post it in my comments. And if you’re on Facebook, I hope you’ll join my friends in that same activity in my Facebook Limerick-Off post.

To receive an email alert whenever I post a new Limerick-Off, please send me an email requesting the alerts. You’ll find my email address on the upper right sidebar, right above my photo. Thanks!