10 Clerihews

Colonel Gaddafi
Isn’t happy,
He sent all his people a text
Asking ‘y r u vxd’.

Sir Isaac Newton,
A falling apple thought on,
“Is there a force that made it fall,
That applies to us all”?

Jacob Zuma
Quashed every rumour
And in court was quite recalcitrant,
So they made him President.

Ayn Rand
Is in that band
Of writers for one book well-known
‘Atlas Shrugged’ is that tome.

Of Voltaire
We are well aware,
For many works he is noted
And often misquoted.

David Icke
Some think is a tyke,
But some think his books are really wizard
And that Ted Heath was a lizard.

Christopher Hitchins
Is known for his bitchin’s,
But if you meet him he’s extremely nice
Unless you’re seeking paradise.

Richard Dawkins
While out cliff-walking
Slipped and plunged to his death,
But on the way down saved his breath.

Germaine Greer
Made women freer,
She told them their bras’ were enslaving,
Now they go topless bathing.

Mervyn King
Did a Keynesian thing
Using quantitative easing for stimulation,
What some call fiscal mastupration.

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Author: Peter

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16 thoughts on “10 Clerihews”

  2. Peter, I am afraid you will need to build “The Fountainhead” into the Ayn Rand ditty to earn full marks from this Examiner – whilst Atlas Shrugged is certainly seminal to the development of her version of Capitalism, The Fountainhead is no less important. Discuss!
    Nice bit of work overall 🙂

  5. Thanks CWJ – haven’t read Ayn Rand, in fact hadn’t heard of her until some libertarian started posting on the ‘other side’. Nor had, I suspect, most of the ‘tea party acolytes’ who even now, like me, are unlikely to read her but will get hyper over the film. The reason I wouldn’t read her is simply because of her position on my list of books to read, and given my age I’m not likely to get around to it.

    The rich had a hard time in 2009, but things improved for them in 2010, which i have yet to update: –
    http://cybercynic.wordpress.com/2009/06/27/the-rich-will-always-be-with-us/

  7. Excellent stuff, Peter. I particularly like the Dawkins one. However, I have to agree with JWC with regards to Ayn Rand. Read The Fountainhead first then Atlas Shrugged, is my advice. Her philosophy is ‘Egoism’ and the question is, “Who is John Galt?”. As the world appeared to be collapsing, financially speaking anyway, in 2007-8, she was quoted a great deal.

  9. Peter, you have to read Ayn Rand before you die. When I take over the world, I would make her required reading at schools…one or other of the two most famous ones was turned into a film years and years ago – in Black and White from memory, but still enormously powerful in its message.

  11. OK CJW, you and Sipu sent me off on a web search. I’m surprised that I missed the film of Fountainhead with Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal (two of my favourite stars). But being released in 1949 it was at a time when my cinema going declined and I was at an age when it would have been too deep.I’ll look for the DVD.

    As for reading the books – I’m now inclined to look back (a long way)rather than forward. We could probably debate that,like me, a lot of people wouldn’t have heard of Ayn Rand had the financial crisis not occurred and a solution been sought in Keynesian economics.
    [Just downloaded Fountainhead & Atlas Shrugged – give me time (months) – I don’t intend dying just yet]

  12. I read them in my early twenties, and couldn’t put them down. They proved beyond any shadow of doubt that Mrs Thatcher was certainly not the first to realize that the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money!

  13. Boadicea :

    Hi Sipu – are you going to be around tomorrow to judge this?

    Hi Boadicea. No, sorry I wont be able to. I leave tomorrow at sparrow. 800 km to Van der Kloof Resort on the Orange River. Then on through Kimberly to Joburg. Only get to Harare on Friday afternoon. Total distance about 2,350km..

    Thanks for doing the judging for me.

    Have fun.

  15. OK Sipu!

    I’ll put up a poll at the ‘end of business’, and then make the final decision myself… my idea of democracy! 🙂

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