Roses are red, violets are blue, here is some rhyming from the EU

December 17, 2004 2:46 PM

The year in verse, from The Economist. Via Slate.
posted by grrarrgh00 (9 comments total)

Man, i really love The Economist. I need to get a subscription again.
posted by apathy0o0 at 7:44 PM on December 17, 2004

Even though the concept's neat
(A year in verse is quite a feat)
I couldn't for my life be arsed
To read the thing from first to last--
I starting feeling very worn
And clicked away to look at porn.
posted by ori at 7:52 PM on December 17, 2004

I happen to subscribe to the Economist, and that subscription is quite pricey, but well worth the usually even-handed breakdown of news within it's pages. One of the nice additions to the crack reporting is the signature dry British humor (Lived in the country for three years, so I think I can safely say that) that permeates the pages. This is both an excellent example of that wit, and quite impressive to boot.
posted by Vaska at 8:04 PM on December 17, 2004

The Economist is an example of why all that shit they teach you in journalism school about objectivity is just that: shit. You can let a bit of soul into your prose without it becoming pure propaganda.

Yes, I subscribe. I hardly read my own daily anymore, because of it.
posted by Kleptophoria! at 9:05 PM on December 17, 2004

Anyone interested in the Economist should grab a copy of their Christmas Issue this week. The feature articles are always an entertaining mix of interesting subjects. Definitely a good introduction to the magazine.
posted by filmgoerjuan at 9:20 PM on December 17, 2004

Aimaqs, Uzbeks, crooks and warlords,
All agreed to sheath their broadswords,

That's one of the worst rhymes I've ever seen. On the other hand, "Both Victors thought they'd won" (about the Ukrainian election) is brilliant.

Did anybody read the whole thing? I skipped from March to December.
posted by languagehat at 6:03 AM on December 18, 2004

I still can't believe the whole Ukranian thing is between two people who to the untrained eye Western look like Victor Yusiudhofskae. I mean, sometimes I still mix up the two guys' names. I hate to think what dyslexics have to go through.
posted by Kleptophoria! at 9:38 AM on December 18, 2004

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:37 PM on December 18, 2004

Just finished (yes, the whole thing). Wonderful mix of meter.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:47 PM on December 18, 2004