Archive for the ‘Leisure Time Humor’ Category
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009
A period play about vibrators? It sounds like an unlikely theme for a Broadway play, but playwright Sarah Ruhl pulls it off in her In the Next Room or the vibrator play.
I highly recommend this funny and insightful comedy about hysteria, a “disease of the womb.” And so does New York Times theater critic Charles Isherwood. But Isherwood’s review is missing a limerick:
Vibrant Vibrator Play (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A “Vibrator Play” on Broadway?
Yes, it sounds just a little risqué.
But it’s witty — not crude.
(Though it ain’t for a prude.)
I just loved it, so book it today.
(The details: In the Next Room or the vibrator play is a Lincoln Center Theater production, directed by Les Waters and playing at the Lyceum Theater. It stars Laura Benanti, Michael Cerveris, Maria Dizzia, Thomas Jay Ryan, Chandler Williams, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, and Wendy Rich Stetson.)
Tags: Broadway Comedy, Charles Isherwood, Feminist Humor, Hysteria Disease, Les Waters, Lincoln Center Theater, Sarah Ruhl, Theater Review, Vibrator Play, Vibrators
Posted in Authors & Playwrights, Entertaining New Yorkers, Feminist Satire, Health & Medical Humor, History Humor, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, Movie & Play Humor, New York Limericks & Haiku, Night On The Town, Social Satire | 1 Comment »
Sunday, September 13th, 2009
Friday, September 11th was my birthday — one of those traumatizing, ends-with-zero birthdays. So I told my husband Mark that, unless he wanted me to be a basket case on nine-eleven, he’d better plan something good.
So, did Mark rise to the occasion? He sure did, as I describe in this three-verse limerick:
Happy Birthday To Me
By Madeleine Begun Kane
My nine-one-one birthday was great!
Hubby Mark planned a fabulous date:
God of Carnage — fine play —
Four fab stars on Broadway.
Yes, I married a wonderful mate.
The play featured James Gandolfini,
Who did not play a mafia meanie.
Hope Davis starred too
And Jeff Daniels. Woo Hoo!
Marcia Harden’s the fourth. Creds ain’t teeny.
We dined on gourmet Mex cuisine:
Toloache’s the best I have seen.
And we drank and we danced
At two bars. Age advanced?
Well, perhaps … but I felt sweet sixteen.
(Cross-posted on my political humor blog.)
Tags: Aging, Birthday Celebrations, Birthday Limerick, Broadway Verse, Celebrations Poetry, Dancing, God of Carnage, Hope Davis, Husband Wife Limerick, James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels, Marcia Gay Harden, Mexican Food, New York City Dining, September Holidays, Theater Poem, Toloache, Yasmina Reza
Posted in Aging Humor & Verse, Holiday Humor, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, Marriage Humor, Movie & Play Humor, New York Limericks & Haiku, Night On The Town, Personal, Recreation & Fun Humor, Relationship Humor, Restaurant Reviews & Humor, Theater Reviews | 5 Comments »
Friday, April 10th, 2009
We’re back from a wonderful vacation in Las Vegas. So I thought I’d celebrate our thirteen hour return-flight delay with a limerick:
Ode To JetBlue
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Dear JetBlue, you’re just great when you fly.
But your canceling rate — my oh my!
Fully half of my flights
Never tried to reach heights.
A mere drizzle? Your schedule’s awry.
Tags: Airlines, JetBlue, Las Vegas, Travel, Vacation, Weather
Posted in Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, Travel Humor, Vacation Humor, Weather Humor | 5 Comments »
Monday, July 21st, 2008
Sorry for the delay, but though my cast is finally off, I’m still having wrist problems.
Today’s limerick, haiku, and senryu theme is vacations. First, my limerick, which was inspired by my husband Mark:
Vacation Verse
By Madeleine Begun Kane
My husband is swimming outdoors.
I expect he’ll be back when it pours,
Which it threatens to do
Ev’ry day, so he’s blue.
Yes, vacations are rain guarantors.
And now my haiku (senryu):
I’m on vacation,
Yet here I am writing verse.
Give it a rest, brain.
Now, of course, it’s your turn. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to write some verse about vacations. When you’ve posted your poem(s), please return here and add a direct link to your themed poetry, using Mr. Linky. There’s no rush, by the way, because you have until August 1st to post it.
Limerick and Haiku Prompts Participants
UPDATE: Mr. Linky is now closed, but you can still add links to your vacation-related verse in the Comments. And if you’d like to participate in a new poetry prompt, you can always find my latest one here.
Tags: Rain Limerick, Swimming Humor, Vacation Verse, Weather Poem, Writing Haiku, Writing Prompts
Posted in Family Verse, Haiku & Senryu, Holiday Humor, Leisure Time Humor, Limerick & Haiku Prompts, Limericks, Marriage Humor, Outdoors Humor, Poetry & Prompts, Sports Humor, Vacation Humor, Writing & Publishing Humor | 11 Comments »
Monday, October 29th, 2007
Something tells me that writing this post amounts to begging for more spam. If so, I’ll just have to post some extra spam haiku.
But getting back to today’s joker of a topic, last year, when my husband Mark and I vacationed in Las Vegas, Mark gambled away twenty bucks — tops, and I didn’t gamble at all. Okay, I did get on a plane, but other than that…
And that brings me to today’s limerick:
Me Gamble? No Dice!
By Madeleine Begun Kane
You should never play cards on a lark
With a Vegas-style card-wielding shark.
Whether blackjack or poker,
Don’t deal with a joker
And gamble at being a mark.
UPDATE: Happy National Dice Day, December 4th!
Tags: Blackjack, Card Humor, Card Sharks, December Holidays, Gambling Verse, Gaming Poem, Last Vegas, National Dice Day, Poker, Weekend Wordsmith
Posted in Gambling & Gaming Humor, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, Money & Finance Humor, Odd Holidays, Recreation & Fun Humor, Spam Humor | 3 Comments »
Friday, October 26th, 2007
This week’s 3 Word Wednesday words are Care, Unexpected, and Weekend. Somehow they eventually managed to fit inside a limerick:
Possibly Good, Albeit Annoying Advice (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Ev’ry weekend take time to forget
All your worries and cares and your debt.
Please don’t aim for perfected.
Embrace unexpected.
Try yoga. Play Set. Buy a pet.
Tags: Advice, Anxiety, Minimalism, Yoga
Posted in Advice Humor & Poems, Anxiety & Stress, Behavior & Personality, Health & Medical Humor, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, Mental Health Humor, Minimalist Humor | 6 Comments »
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007
Toying With Kites (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
The sight of a kite in the sky
Is delightful and lovely, so why
Is it quite impolite
To say, “Go fly a kite!”
This idiom just doesn’t fly.
Don’t forget to celebrate Go Fly A Kite Day every June 15th. (It’s believed to be the anniversary of Ben Franklin’s 1752 kite experiment.)
(You can find more of my outdoor sports humor here.)
Tags: Ben Franklin, Idiom Humor, June Holidays, Kite Experiment, Kite Flying, Language Satire, Outdoors Verse, Science, Sports Limerick
Posted in Hobbies Humor, Language Humor, Leisure Time Humor, Outdoors Humor, Recreation & Fun Humor, Science Humor, Sports Humor, Wordplay | 6 Comments »
Sunday, October 21st, 2007
These two horse-related poems were loosely inspired by this week’s Totally Optional Prompt:
First, a limerick:
A Horse of A Different Color
By Madeleine Begun Kane
There are folks who succumb to a weakness
For races like Belmont and Preakness.
But there’s only one horse
Race I’ll bet on—the course
To the White House—a sign of my geekness?
And now, a haiku about New York City:
Trumpeting cars horns.
Clip-clopping carriage horses.
Central Park Sunday.
(You can find more of my horse humor here.)
Tags: Belmont Stakes, Central Park, Horse Humor, Horse Racing, New York, Political Horse Race, Preakness Stakes, Triple Crown
Posted in Animal & Pet Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, New York Limericks & Haiku, Outdoors Humor, Queens Verse & Humor, Recreation & Fun Humor, Sports Humor | 17 Comments »
Monday, October 8th, 2007
Here’s an oddball byproduct of global warming: New York State Park officials reopened Long Island beaches for swimming this Columbus Day weekend because of unseasonably warm temperatures.
For the first time in more than three decades, beaches on Long Island will be open for swimming in October.
It’s because of this unseasonably warm weather. The average high in October is 64 degrees. Friday’s high was 86!
So you could swim as if it were July, celebrate Columbus Day, and shop for Halloween decorations all on the same afternoon.
And speaking of Halloween, it seems that adults have stolen it from their kids.
One sign of just how much Halloween has changed and can change is the relatively rapid development of it from a children’s holiday into a largely adult holiday. Adults are spending more and more on Halloween costumes, favors, and parties. Children’s celebrations have been curtailed and eclipsed. …
And that cries out for a limerick:
Hijacking Halloween
By Madeleine Begun Kane
The holiday called Halloween
Has been hijacked by grownups. How mean!
In their masks, adults stroll,
Looking scary or droll—
Some in garb that would best suit a teen.
(You can find more of my holiday humor here.)
Tags: Columbus Day, Halloween Humor, Holiday Weekend, Long Island, New York Beaches, October Holidays, Swimming
Posted in Celebrations Poetry, Holiday Humor, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks | 2 Comments »
Sunday, October 7th, 2007
Chick Flick Flack
By Madeleine Begun Kane
When a film’s called a chick flick, it’s meant
To appeal to most women. How bent!
I’m a gal through and through,
But those flicks make me boo,
While my husband applauds. What a gent!
(You can find more of my marriage humor here and my feminist humor here.)
Tags: Chick Flicks, Feminism Humor, Films, Husband Wife Humor, Movies
Posted in Battle of the Sexes, Entertainment Humor, Family & Relatives Humor, Feminist Satire, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, Marriage Humor, Movie & Play Humor, Recreation & Fun Humor | 4 Comments »
Monday, July 30th, 2007
Reviewing The Reviewers
By Madeleine Begun Kane
I just saw a play I abhorred
That reviewers quite simply adored.
‘Twas pretentious, third-rate,
But the dailies raved, “Great!”
Could it be that they like being bored?
Tags: Bad Productions, Newspaper Reviewers, Play Humor, Plays, Reviews, Theater Humor
Posted in Entertainment Humor, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, Media Humor, Movie & Play Humor, Polls | Comments Off on Reviewing The Reviewers (Limerick)
Sunday, June 10th, 2007
I love animals, so I can understand why pet owners sometimes get a bit carried away. But this takes the kibble:
Yoga for What???
By Madeleine Begun Kane
There is yoga for doggies, I swear—
Caught a canine-filled class on the air;
Watched the owners and pets
Stretch and pose in their sweats—
Cosmic moolah they must have to spare.
UPDATE: Happy “International Yoga Day!” (June 21)
UPDATE 2: I finally have proof that I didn’t make dog yoga (doga) up.
Tags: Canine Humor, Canine Yoga, Dog Humor, Dog Owners, Dog Yoga, Doga, International Day of Yoga, International Yoga Day, June Holidays, Pet Owners, World Yoga Day
Posted in Animal & Pet Humor, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, New Age Humor, Recreation & Fun Humor, Social Satire | 6 Comments »
Tuesday, June 5th, 2007
My husband Mark and I were never meant to own a motor boat. Why not? Any couple who can’t figure out how to open their car hood, should probably stick to something propelled by oars. And we surely would have done just that, had the prior owner of our weekend home not made it a package deal. If we wanted his irresistible house, we’d have to spring for his 120 horse power boat — perfect for anyone whose idea of relaxation is charging across a rocky three mile lake at the speed of screams.
OUR FIRST TIME OUT: My husband — a man who can build a wood stove fire in a flash, who whips up gourmet feasts in fifteen languages — couldn’t figure out how to unhook the boat’s cover. Refusing my help, he struggled for an hour. Victorious at last he hurled the cover off, in the process spilling gallons of water all over the boat.
By then I was ready to bail out. But Mark handed me a pail, and we spent the next 45 minutes heaving water overboard. Once all the water was safely under the boat, it was time to begin boating. I optimistically climbed onto our 16 footer, while my husband worked the knots from ashore. A former boy scout, he did this rather well. So well, that the boat (free at last) started to drift without him. …. (Motor Boating Just Isn’t Our Speed continues here.)
Tags: Boating Humor, Husband Wife Humor, Motor Boating, Outdoor Activity Humor, Outdoor Fun, Outdoor Sports, Water Activities
Posted in Battle of the Sexes, Family & Relatives Humor, Hobbies Humor, Humor Columns & Humorous Essays, Leisure Time Humor, Marriage Humor, Outdoors Humor, Recreation & Fun Humor, Sports Humor | 5 Comments »
Monday, May 21st, 2007
As regular readers know, watching American Idol is one of my guilty pleasures. But it sure wasn’t much of a pleasure last week, when mellifluous Melinda was sent packing and Blake wasn’t:
Yet Another American Idol Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Melinda was beat out by Blake?
Now that’s what I call a mistake!
He’s all shtick and no voice.
What a terrible choice!
I suspect that his fans ain’t awake.
Tags: American Idol, Blake and Melinda, Fox TV Humor, Music Satire, Singers, Singing Humor, Television Humor, TV Humor, Vocalists, Vocals
Posted in Entertainment Humor, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, Music Humor & Verse, Television (TV) Humor | 2 Comments »
Monday, May 7th, 2007
As just about everyone knows, 24 is a popular, award-winning Fox television series about a federal counter-terrorism unit (CTU) in Los Angeles. It stars Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, on whom everyone perpetually counts.
I was surprised to read that the “devotees of 24 [are] struggling to keep the faith” because hubby Mark and I are big fans:
More 24, Please (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
I’m hooked on the show 24.
Those CTU plots I adore.
And I’m counting on Jack
To defuse each attack
And survive at least one season more.
Tags: 24 Humor, Counter-Terrorism TV Show, CTU, Fox Television Humor, Jack Bauer, Kiefer Sutherland, Television Limerick, TV Humor
Posted in Entertainment Humor, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, Media Humor, Television (TV) Humor | 4 Comments »
Sunday, May 6th, 2007
I live in New York City, so my husband Mark and I often catch great musical acts, plays, art shows, and other entertainment and cultural diversions in the Big Apple.
Why don’t I write about our New York fun? I keep meaning to, but quickly forget to. Blame ADD, a bad memory, or just being a wee bit disorganized.
Anyway, I’ve decided to launch a new posting category — Night On The Town — in which I’ll write more regularly about our Manhattan adventures … in theory, anyway.
And what better way to start, than with the wonderful Judy Carmichael! We caught her stride piano act Friday night at the Knickerbocker Bar and Grill, and she was excellent, as always. Mark and I own every one of her recordings!
For those who don’t know what stride piano is, it’s a musical style that originated in Harlem early in the 20th century. And nobody does it better than Judy Carmichael. In fact I love her playing so much, I’ve written her a limerick:
Ode To Judy Carmichael (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Judy Carmichael’s known for her stride.
She’s a pianist of note far and wide—
A female Fats Waller.
You’ll whoop and you’ll holler
With joy at her musical ride.
Tags: Art Shows, Big Apple, Entertainment, Fats Waller, Jazz Pianist, Judy Carmichael, Knickerbockers Bar and Grill, Musical Acts, New York City, Plays, Stride Piano
Posted in Celebrity Humor, Entertaining New Yorkers, Entertainment Humor, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, Music Humor & Verse, New York Limericks & Haiku, Night On The Town, Recreation & Fun Humor | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, April 25th, 2007
American Idol — My Guilty Pleasure
By Madeleine Begun Kane
American Idol’s a show
I enjoy. Why? I really don’t know:
Awful singing, odd judging,
And, maybe, vote fudging.
I’m missing it now. Gotta go!
Tags: American Idol, Fox TV Humor, Judging Humor, Music Satire, Singers, Singing Humor, Television Humor, TV Humor, Vocalists, Vocals Humor, Vote Fudging
Posted in Entertainment Humor, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, Music Humor & Verse, Television (TV) Humor | 5 Comments »
Monday, April 9th, 2007
Give Me A Break!
By Madeleine Begun Kane
The play was quite talky and lacked
Something crucial. It had but one act.
What was missing, you say?
Not one break in that play!
While they blathered, my bladder was racked.
Tags: Bathroom Breaks, Bladder, Entertainment Satire, Health Satire, Intermission, Ladies Room, Play Reviews, Theater Humor, Theatre Humor, Women's Room
Posted in Entertainment Humor, Health & Medical Humor, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, Movie & Play Humor | 2 Comments »
Saturday, March 24th, 2007
It’s Not That I Don’t Like Movies, But…
By Madeleine Begun Kane
I prefer to catch movies at home,
Not in theaters where tall fellows roam.
There they prowl, on the hunt
For the seat right in front,
To bestow a great view of their dome.
Update: April 23 is National Movie Theater Day.
Tags: Appearance Humor, April Holidays, Films, Height Challenged, Height Humor, Movie & Play Humor, Movie Theater Day, Movies, National Movie Theater Day, Odd Holidays, Petite, Theater Humor, Theatres
Posted in Entertainment Humor, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, Movie & Play Humor, Odd Holidays, Physical Appearance, Recreation & Fun Humor | 4 Comments »
Monday, March 5th, 2007
Sibling Trickster
By Madeleine Begun Kane
“Pick a card,” was a phrase I would hear
As a child, from my brother, all year.
He did card tricks—his hobby.
I’d answer, quite snobby:
“Magician, please go. Disappear!”
Tags: Brother Humor, Card Tricks, Entertainment Limerick, Family Satire, Hobbies, Hobby Humor, Magic, Magician, Relatives Limerick, Sibling Humor, Sibling Rivalry
Posted in Children Humor, Entertainment Humor, Family & Relatives Humor, Hobbies Humor, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, Recreation & Fun Humor, Relationship Humor | Comments Off on Sibling Trickster
