Sha Na Nansense

Tolstoy’s AnNa-Na KareniNa-Na
Chicquita BaNaNa-Na
Tex Avery’s “Uncle Tom’s CabaÑa-Ña”
Princess DiaNa-Na
Chesapeake Bay EpifauNa-Na
Ireland’s County FermaNagh-Nagh
Motorsport’s GymkhaNha-Nha
Angel Gabriel’s HosanNa-Na!
Tennessee Williams’s The Night of the IguaNa-Na!
JoNah-Nah and the Whale
Hurricane KatriNa-Na
Slovenia’s LjubljaNa-Na!
Peggy Lee’s MañaNa-Na!
Buddha’s NirvaNa-Na
Richie Valens’s "O, DonNa-Na!" 
Amazon PiraNha-Nha!
Manuel Jose QuintaNa-Na!
Russia’s RoxaNNa-NNa-NNa!
The Riverboat SultaNa-Na!
Mexico’s TijuaNa-Na!
U of I's Champagne/UrbaNa-Na!
Peruvian VicuÑa-Ña!
Judd Sister WynonNa-nNa
XeNa-Na, Warrior Princess
Yerba BueNa-Na
New York Hamlet ZeNa-Na-Na!

The Death of Richard Shawn

‘Twas the twentieth century, decade the eighth,
when occurr’d scenes absurd, as arose Richard’s wraith.
‘Twas a fortnight plus two after April the first (!),
this bizarre au revoir Richard hadn’t rehears’d.

In performance at U of C’s Mandeville Hall,

Richard utter’d these words while portraying a pol:
“If elected, I’ll never lay down on the job,”
whereon Richard Shawn started to stagger and bob.

In a twinkling he’d toppled face-down on the stage.

Was it part of Dick’s act…? This the crowd couldn’t gauge.
He lay motionless; more than two minutes pass’d by.
Then a stagehand, examining him, cried, “Oh, my!

“Can it be there’s a medical man in the house…?

Our poor Dick may be sick; we all know he’s no souse.
Please initiate CPR, somebody, quick.”
But his audience sat, saying, “We love Dick’s schtick.”

When they finally leave, still unsure what they’ve seen,

each inquires. “Was it real or just comic routine…?”
All the newspapers noted the following day:
“Richard Schulefand aka Shawn’s pass’d away.”

Richard died of a heart attack. Ironic, that,
as he’d guest hosted Carson, providing the chat
the night TV its last cigarette advert air’d.
‘Tis a mad, mad, mad, world…nor is anyone spared.

Thises 'n' Thats

Oliver and Oliver: a Hardy and a dragon.
A Remus and a Remus: one’s an uncle; one found Rome.
An A(a)ron and an Aaron: one’s OT and one’s a Trask.
Bert and Bert: a Muppet…and a Bobbsey, when he's home.

Castor and/or Castor: one’s medic’nal; one’s a brother.
Dum and Dumb: a Tweedle and a cinematic fuck.
George and George: the one’s a Founding Father; one’s a Weasley.
A Huey and a Huey: one’s a rock star; one’s a duck.

(More to come: a work in progress)