It began as the GODFATHER OF MATH, evolved into the GOODFATHER OF MATH. Now this. Go figure...

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The kind of humor I like is the thing that makes me laugh for five seconds and think for ten minutes = G. CARLIN...Stain glass, engraved glass, frosted glass
–give me plain glass = JOHN FOWLES ... Music is the mathematics of the gods=PYTHAGORAS ... Nothing is more fluid than language = R. L. SWIHART
I cannot live without the oxygen of laughter = DAWN POWELL ... !!! ... But laughter cannot survive without the hydrogen of gravitas = PAUL OLIVERIO
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Dr. Rorschach ... It's The One-Eyed Tree Monster

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

It's about to munch
on a lettuce-free
cloud bed
© Oliverio
 
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The 180th Bullet: The First Thing

________________________________________________________________________________________________


The first thing taught
in medical school
is how to 
speak with authority.
 
Not until the student
speaks with UA
is anything else
learned.
 
UA = Ultimate Authority
 
After 
achieving UM,
the student learns
whatever is necessary 
for his/her
medical speciality.
 
What exactly is said
to potential patients
is determined
by the prevailing
bottom line or
the BP Wheel of Fortune
 
BP = Big Pharma    
 
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Footnote
is the copyrighted property
of LCSoL
________________________________________________________________________________________________

18 Years Of Sharing A Zip Code Wtih HER ROYAL MAGESTY

________________________________________________________________________________________________

I have a  memory list
of being on the Queen Mary
that is approximately 
as long as the ship

All but one of those memories
qualifies for
second most memorable
moment
***
***
Indisputably, my favorite 
Queen Mary moment
is a response
to the performing duet
of CHALMERS/DECO

A woman in a sheer white dress

 that glowed angelically asked...

"Are you the house band on the boat?"

 

Chalmers replied quickly:

"We will be, starting November 28th"

 

There was no truth to that statement

but the amateur dulcimerian

—better known as Paul Oliverio—

concedes that his most regal

Queen moment

involves a flattering question

by an angelic presence

who was never to be

seen again

 

Flattery will get you

everywhere

 

Thus proving

my vanity is so vast

it could form

a mushroom cloud

over the Queen Mary


 PS

you might recognize

the guitarist as

Raymond Peterssen,

to whom 

the GodFather Trilogy

is dedicated

 

***


________________________________________________________________________________________________

Saturday, January 28, 2023

There Is No Black And White In Nature

________________________________________________________________________________________________


© Oliverio

 

 

 There is no

 black and white

 in nature

 but

 thankfully

 that is not true

 for

 photography



 

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Photoverio #768: Pinch Of Sunlight In The Crook Of The Tree

________________________________________________________________________________________________


© Oliverio
________________________________________________________________________________________________

A Thriving Business In 2023 (Comic Relief #4877)

________________________________________________________________________________________________


GARY LARSON
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hooda Helami At The Stream Of Consciousness

________________________________________________________________________________________________

The top is up there
somewhere
but I am not
looking

I am bottom-feeding
after dinner
of this, that,
and the other thing
 
Cherries nowhere
near the middle
but there is
an apple
in my eye
 
Frogs croaking
lemons soaking
the sun 
laughing
with yesterday
 
Today is
within inches
of another
yesterday
 
Some call it midnight
I call it 
Henry
but Oh
there must be a twist
 
Already kissed
on someone else's
mouth
pointing south
 
Toward crime
but that is
the last rhyme
and the biggest
rock
***
 
©  HOODA HELAMI  ©
Alter Ego # 142857
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Friday, January 27, 2023

Photoverio #757: A Pencil Tree And Its Shadow

________________________________________________________________________________________________

© Oliverio
________________________________________________________________________________________________

The History Of The Mystery Of Her Portrait

________________________________________________________________________________________________

???
JOAN DIDION
________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Fallen Leaf Who thought He Was A Comma

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Autumnal Punctuation
Photoverio #756.5
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thursday, January 26, 2023

Photoverio #756: Yawning Rosebud In Flower Bed

________________________________________________________________________________________________


© Oliverio
________________________________________________________________________________________________

ATWOODING ... Her Name Is Worthy Of A Verb Form

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Excerpted from Alias Grace
MARGARET ATWOOD
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Officially Ending That Hiatus

________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is what  Jack McCarthy  looked like in 1971
when he might as well have been singing
1000 bottles of beer on the wall
In only 10 days, I will drink them all
 
But before the end 
of that decade,
he met the woman
he is still married to
and they have been 
clean and sober
ever since
 
The occasion
was a Christmas celebration
for a large Irish family
+ two Italian boys
whose initials
are PO
and PG
 
The latter's
guitar is 
visible
 
It is a 1959 Epiphone
and I am presently
helping him
sell it
 
One of Jack's four sisters
was toying with an umbrella
but wasn't sober enough
to explain why
 
I don't know where
I was seated at the table
but I paid little attention
to the music
because chattering
filmed the room
 
Mostly, the person I spoke with
was a man of the cloth: Brother Edward
who taught math at Manhattan College
 
Mostly we talked about
the beatitudes of Geometry
 
When Jack sent me this picture [last week]
he referred to the professor as "my Uncle Eddie"
 
Excluding Jack's seven-year-old sister,
Brother Edward had consumed the least
amount of alcohol at the party
 
But in 1971,
on Christmas Day,
I was too drunk and stoned
to trust that assessment

A splendid time 
was had by all
***
 
Fast Forward to the present:
 
Within the past four weeks,
I have had at least
ten hours conversation
with McCarthy and PG
 
Their music is better than ever

*** 

Thank you for reading this

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

About That Hiatus ...

________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
***
It will
officially
end at the stroke 
of  midnight
—approximately—
with an image from 
a1971 Xmas party
hosted by
a large Irish Family
with much verbiage
about what/who 
is off-screen,
including this
orphaned adult
***
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Please Don't Hate Us But ...

________________________________________________________________________________________________


WE NEED
A HIATUS

We will return
as soon as
humanly possible
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sunday, January 22, 2023

Doctor Rorschach Says: No, It Is Not

________________________________________________________________________________________________



It is not a crime scene:
it is iodine medication
for someone's
foot injury

The next Rorschach page
is TBD
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Saturday, January 21, 2023

The Fifty-Third Page In This Series ... Who Are You?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

 
We can't go on
meeting like this

© Oliverio

 




***
The next page 
in this series
is  here 


_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Friday, January 20, 2023

48 Years Later, Friday The 13th Becomes A Sic WEEKLING

________________________________________________________________________________________________

February, 1981
featured a 
Friday the 13th
and I caused a car accident
that inspired a pink slip 
from my job with
  Metropolitan Life
on Long Island
 
I had lost a job
but internally
I jumped for joy
and started singing
California, Here I Come
 
Luckily for me,
no one heard me sing
because if they had,
I would have been
a victim of
justifiable homicide
 
I write about this
100 % purely factual event
because last Friday was also
Friday the 13th
and I pulled the proverbial sheets
over my head
 
Thankfully,
it was disaster-free
 ♑
 
However,
a Weekling
is defined as a day
whose impact
is non-existent until
exactly one week later
which would be today
January 20th, 2023
 
The disaster that struck today
makes me wish
I could re-live my life 
as a teacher
and I would preach
the following:
 
TO HELL WITH
READING, WRITING & ARITHMETIC
 
 It is light years more important
for children
to first learn how to
fix a toilet  that refuses
to flush
 
Hopefully,
before the day ends,
the $60 "snake" I just purchased
—exactly what Roto-Rooter uses—
will allow the toilet 
to do the right thing
***
 
© PAUL OLIVERIO ©
  _______________________________________________________________________________________________

Thursday, January 19, 2023

Acknowledging Bill Withers On MLK Thursday

________________________________________________________________________________________________

If ever there was
a funnier acceptance speech
at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,
it has yet to be written
BILL WITHERS
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

This Is NOT A Celebration Pose For A Simple Reason

______________________________________________________________________________________________

is not spreading his arms
—eagle-like—
in celebration of
Rafael Nadal's defeat
in the second-round of

Nadal's loss did not occur
until hours after
this picture was taken

Tennis is said to be
an incomplete sport
when it comes
to photographing
a match 
because there are two players
at opposite ends 
of the court
and it is virtually
impossible
for them both
to be included
in the same photograph

However,
the look
of a single player
before, during, or after
stroking the ball
can be
quite stunning
and this image
is a classic example

quite arguably,
the greatest tennis player
ever to exist on planet Earth

To understand the impact
of his winning twenty-two
tournaments,
just imagine 
an American football team
winning twenty-two
Superbowls
 
If Novak Djokovic
wins the Australian Open,
he will have
three more opportunities
in 2023
to surpass
Rafa's world record of
Major titles
 
And the Serbian "Joker"
despite lacking
the universal love
and admiration
people have for
Rafael Nadal
may legitimately
become
the greatest tennis player
ever to set foot 
on this planet
 
I personally hope
that is what happens
😊😊😊
 
© PAUL OLIVERIO ©
 
______________________________________________________________________________________________

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Dr. Rorschach, I Overheard A Policeman Say ...

________________________________________________________________________________________________

"This is called the Shaft Building."
 
Then his partner asked
"Can you see how it thrusts 
into the soft blank sky?"
 
She directed the question
to me but I was unable
to respond:
I was invited 
to join them
in the smoking section
outside the courthouse
after lighting their
cigarettes
and promising
not to say a word
to either of them
!!!
 
NOW,
what I need to know
—Dr. Rorschach—
© Oliverio
________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 Women + 1 Man + 0 Hyperlinks = My Commentary

________________________________________________________________________________________________

The 3 women are
Flannery O'Conner,
Natalia Ginzburg,
and 
Margaret Atwood.

They are
—indisputably—
three of the greatest writers
to ever put
pen to paper.

The 1 man is 
Louis Armstrong.
 
Any serious discussion
about the history
and beatitudes
of music
must include
the man also known as
"Satchmo."
 
One of his most famous songs
is
—indisputably—
What A Wonderful World
 
I love it as much as
anyone else does
but when I read
the written words of
the three women
named on this page,
I do not want to be
within 
ten miles of
What A Wonderful World
***
©  PAULOLIVERIO  ©
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Monday, January 16, 2023

Snoopy And The Man Who Called Himself An Idiot

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Under Construction
but feel free to research
the address:
730 3rd Street
Long Beach, CA
90802 
________________________________________________________________________________________________

4.5 Members Of The Black Family Of Whitestone

________________________________________________________________________________________________

My family portrait
without hyperlink
 The .5 member
of the Black Family
of Whitestone
is 
yours truly
(and was previously posted)
but the dining image
of Mother + Father
was unknown to me
until last week
________________________________________________________________________________________________

I Pledge AllegianceS To The Flags

________________________________________________________________________________________________


© Photoverio #755.67
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pardon my Slang But Today: Honor The Milkman By Subtraction

_______________________________________________________________________________________________


From the word
"Milkman"
subtract the i
and the man,
Capitalize what remains
and call it a "day"
 
What you get is
MLK Day
as in
honoring a fallen American hero
 
If you do nothing more today,
somehow, someway,
commit
"A Random Act Of Kindness"
while Mr. Oliverio
dedicates all pages
blogged today
to
Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr.
 
With or without hyperlinnks 
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Friday, January 13, 2023

Better There Than Here (Comic Relief #4856)

________________________________________________________________________________________________


GARY LARSON
 _______________________________________________________________________________________________

The Swimmer's Paradise (Comic Relief #4855)

________________________________________________________________________________________________


________________________________________________________________________________________________

The 21st Century Law Firm Of Bellyflop, Tuck + Grip

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bellyflop, Tuck & Grip
would pronounce their clients
"Guilty"
before a jury had a chance
to do otherwise.
 
All of their clients were adults
who naturally 
lost their innocence
in childhood
unless the firm's secretary
—Nancy Cherrypopper—
needed to oblige them.
 
The municipal courts
loved this law firm
because all of its 
felony cases
were in and out
of the dockets
immediately after breakfast,
just before lunch
or an hour before
the evening's rush hour 
commute
to the homestead.
 
According to their accountants
—Googol And Plex—
the law firm made 
so much money
that when the Governor
needed a loan,
he visited the office of
Bellyflop, Tuck + Grip
***
 
© PAUL OLIVERIO © 
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Harpo's Blues

________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

I'd hate to be a grown-up

and have to try

to bear my life in pain

***

😜 PHOEBE SNOW 😜

with

de-

lete-

able

advert

________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

HOODA HELAMI's Rooftop Curiosity

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

I am curious about
The first person
on a rooftop
to shout the words
I LOVE YOU
?
?
?
Was this also 
the first person
to jump 
from that rooftop
?
?
?
© HOODA HELAMI ©
Alter Ego #142857
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Positively 4th Street ... Intersecting Orange

________________________________________________________________________________________________

With  Candy-Colored Sky
© Photoverio #755.33
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Worm's Eye View Of A SOFIA MALDONADO Mural

_________________________________________________________________________________________________


***    © Oliverio   ***
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sunday, January 8, 2023

THE KING Would Have Been A Full Keyboard Today

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Today
—January 8, 2022—
is the 88th birthday
of
!!!

Happy Birthday
to the King
in whatever afterlife
paradise
he is singing
and swinging
________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Flotsam Of HOODA HELAMI

________________________________________________________________________________________________

I had two pounds of flotsam
and a bag of jetsam
after eating  
dim sum
at Choo Choo Charlie's 
Chinese Restaurant

The eatery was housed
in a Pullman Dining Car
on Flatbush Avenue
in  Brooklyn

The flotsam was from Florida
where I had been
with a blink of 
my eyes

The bag of jetsam
also contained
a pickle
 ***
 
© HOODA HELAMI ©
Alter Ego #142857
________________________________________________________________________________________________