A Friend Writes a Limerick About Me

I know a tech guy from Silicon Valley

He is quite stylish and likes to wear Bally

He works at a company called NComputing

And toils day in  and day out, executing

But yet still remains upbeat and jolly.

A Diwali Limerick (2012)

A Diwali Limerick!! (Silicon Valley Style)

A wish for startups on the eve of Diwali
Around the world and in Silicon Valley
May you enjoy good health
May Lakshmi shower wealth
With 'big exits' in the new year, by golly.

A Limerick About SoKo

Soko - a french singer/artist. Here is a limerick I wrote about Soko:

"As dust and rain brings the forceful Sirocco
So, dry and cool are the words of Soko
She'll caress in one verse
And then 'kill her', or do worse
Is she an Angel or just Poco Loco?"

Here is her song. Soko - "I'll kill her"

Vuvuzella

What's plastic, a metre long, brightly coloured and sounds like an elephant?

It's the vuvuzela, the noise-making trumpet of South African football fans, and it's come to symbolise the sport in the country.

Here is a limerick to celebrate this instrument and World Cup 2010.

Hey you frantic, fanatic fella
With pursed lips on the vuvuzella
Your song adds to the throng
Grows and reverberates so strong
Like a billion bees buzzing a capella.

Peruvian Dawn

Its been many years since I followed my dream to travel around the world. One of my first destinations was Peru. I had always dreamt of hiking the Machu Pichu trail.

I was recently reminiscing about the trip. And re-captured my memories in this limerick.

Peruvian Dawn

A morning sun warms the new-born dew
Andean peaks infused with a pink-golden hue
Rise the spirits within
the Machu Picchu ruins
Its so magical to be in Peru.


Go see Peru.

There once was a man with no hair

From June 15th, Limerick-Off
1st line provided: "There once was a man with no hair"


There once was a man with no hair
Who grafted sea-otter fur in despair
Now with long flowing tresses
His delight he expresses
Balancing beach balls while standing on a chair!


P.S. When I looked on the internet, I discovered that the sea-otter may be the harriest mammal on earth. With 150,000 strands of hair per sq. centimeter, its fur is the most dense of any animal. Hence the inspiration for above.

Limerick-Off - Week of June 8th

Here are my contributions to a "limerick-off" created by Madeleine Kane

There once was a government clerk
Who was known to brag with a smirk
He'd pompously proclaim
"Sloth isn't my aim,
To shirk work, is simply a quirk."



There once was a woman named June
Went skinny-dipping on a hot afternoon,
Such a feeling sublime!
She lost track of time
When she emerged, she looked like a prune.

The Lament of Ma Cheng

"Any Tom, Dick or Harry" refers to an unspecified person. The equivalent in China is "some Zhang, some Li".

At last count, there are 92 million Wangs, followed by 91 million Li's and 86 million Zhangs in China.

The grandfather of our protagonist, Ma Cheng, found a rare character for her name - so rare that once people see it, they remember her and her name.

However, the Chinese government says "Name not on our list, Change it" ( see New York Times article here)

I was inspired to write an original limerick. Hence,

THE LAMENT OF MA CHENG

In a vast land, where millions are called the same
An original solution, this problem overcame
I stood out as a character special
But it irks the system judicial
To be listed as someone, I need to change my name!

Steel and Ink

Steel and ink
Just feel, don't think
The line will turn
The blood will run
A heart rise, an impression sink.

Ink and steel
Just think, don't feel
The line will turn
The blood will run
A mind open, the skin seal.

For Matt S, of Analog.

The Year of The Ox

Hurry, get the firecrackers out of the box
Get dressed, don't forget the red socks.
With hard work we won't falter,
Let's hope this year to prosper
Come, let's welcome the Year of The Ox.

Happy Chinese New Year.

Oil: Black or Red?

Rising gas pump prices have consumers seeing red.

How about the human cost of oil? It has me seeing red - in a different way.


The petrol I pour in my car looks red
From a war that claims its weekly dead,
Will our appetite for the oil
That springs from blood-soaked soil
Forever curse an innocent mother's head?

Jason Bourne: "Run as job one"

This week I am writing a limerick for an actor in one of my three favorite film trilogies. Matt Damon became the unexpected success in the Bourne franchise and redefined the action genre with his portrayal of Jason Bourne - an intelligent, vulnerable and kinetic action hero on the run. The hunter and the hunted.

If you have not, I fully recommend seeing all 3 movies. Or see them again. The latest one won 2 Oscars in 2008.

Here's one for Matt Damon.

The Bourne trilogy has achieved a feat uncommon
Made a star-celebrity of 'baby-face' Matt Damon,
No longer chained is the action-hero
To cracking skulls at climes sub-zero
Appearing vulnerable is an emotion, he too can summon.

Ben Shalom Bernanke: "He's Nobleman Banker"

(March Madness or Work Insanity. March was a wash due to a heavy workload. Or was it writer's block? Catching up now.)

With the bleak economy on the front page, "Doctor" Bernanke has his work 'cut out for him.'


His brows furrowed, his mind sharp for action
A troubled outlook, he readies for a contraction.
"Should I utter the "R" word,
While falling on my sword?
And move quickly for a chop-chop C-section."

Angst About French Cinema

I watched a French movie called La Moustache recently. The entire movie dwells on a man and his (missing) moustache.

Now mind you, the critics have loved it. Here is the limerick it inspired...


In French movies, the practice is widespread
To examine characters while not much is said,
They angst about the mundane
And dwell over the inane,
The abrupt endings leave me scratching my head.

Sir Edmund Hillary: Mind Hardily Rules

Reaching any mountain's summit is a triumph of mind over body.

Sir Edmund Hillary("Mind Hardily Rules") was the first man, with Tenzing Norgay, to climb Everest on May 29, 1953. He died recently on January 10, 2008.

I had thought of writing a limerick in his honor and finally got around to it.


Raising my head in respect, is something necessary
For a man whose achievement is quite legendary,
It was his purposeful determination
That captured our imagination,
When first on Everest's summit, stood Sir Edmund Hillary.

Laphroaig: Single Malt Gestalt

Sometimes my friend calls me up and says, "let's have some of that smoky stuff...". I know what he has in mind. Here's to the old smoky!


Here's an ode to THE seductive single malt
From a scotch drinker that's worth his salt,
With it's smoky taste from peat
And just a touch of sweet,
Laphroaig is the choice; my default.


Visit the official site here.

Angular Alexander

A limerick in the 'classic' style for this week.


There was a skinny lad called Alexander
Who cheerfully bought a chest expander,
On gaining great results
Enlarged his pectorals to exult,
And knocked down an innocent bystander.

Get one!

Kindle: "Catch Fire" or "A Chic Fret"

Amazon introduced a new electronic book device called Kindle in November 2007.


Just a fuss or an elegant hobby reshaper?
This new world without the crinkle of paper,
Will this novel device called Kindle
Cause my library trips to dwindle?
If it stores enough ebooks to fill a skyscraper?



More information in wikipedia here.

Get Kindle.

Sound for the Inner Ear

Gotye Will Tickle Your Cochlea!

I discovered some very interesting music by an Australian band called Gotye (pronounced "gaw-tee-yeah"). Now imagine the prospect of writing a limerick about them. How do you make something rhyme with Gotye?


Here it is. I got a kick out of it. Hope you do too.


Looking for something to tickle your cochlea?
An aural sensation with edges non-linear?
Then hear the distinctive sound
It's the only way around,
Yield to the vibration of the down-under Gotye.


Gotye on MySpace.

An amazing, amazing video on YouTube here.

Get Like Drawing Blood

One final fascinating fact: Gotye is a one-person band. Wally created all the vocals and sounds on this album.

(She Says:) "Men - Draft Ale, Beer?"

Anagram of "Female Bartender"

Recently, India overturned a law that banned women bartenders. See the New York Times story here



The Indian Courts have cleared the stage
Ruling against a woman's disadvantage
The judges were quite keen
Since it's not 1914,
On making female bartenders the new rage.