Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Another Quote Not From WOMEN's LIP

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Never admit to cheating
on your husband.
Just say you were out practicing
:::

JOAN RIVERS
 
 
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This Quote Is Not From WOMEN's LIP

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I'm great at remembering names,
I just forget which faces
they belong to
:::

JOAN RIVERS

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Tuesday, May 30, 2023

A Wonderful Quote From WOMEN's LIP

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Too much of a good thing
can be wonderful
:::

 
Edited by Liz Warren
 
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A Fashion Quote From WOMEN's LIP

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If you are all wrapped up in yourself,
you are overdressed
:::

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Saturday, May 27, 2023

A Poem For Mrs. CarPeo

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First and foremost,
she is my guardrail
—without fail—
otherwise
I'm off the cliff
bottoming into
jail
—without fail—
 
I love her
I need her
I admire her
occasionally
I hate her
but not 
often enough
to say the words
most rife:
 
She
might as well
be my wife
❤/❤
 
***
 
© PAUL OLIVERIO ©
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Vigorously Healthy Mushrooms At Waterfront Farmer's Market

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Allegedly, these mushrooms
inspired
a MUPPETS character



Mrs. CarPeo cooked up
two utterly delicious dishes
with the
 
Both nights, I slept deeper
and more satisfyingly
than I am accustomed to
 
Unfortunately,
Mr. MushLove
does not have 
a web site
but he or his 
female partner
are vendors at
the Marine Stadium
Farmer's Market 
every Wednesday 
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Friday, May 26, 2023

The 184th Bullet ... Good News, Bad News

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 The good news is...
IQ test scores
are higher than
they have ever been 
 
The bad news is...
IQ stands for 
Idiot Quotient 
 
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Footnotes
is the copyrighted property
of LCSoL
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Thursday, May 25, 2023

TINA TURNER ... Rest In Peace

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To think of
as 
"The Queen of Rock n' Roll"
is to be 
100% in conjunction
with the truth
 
Regardless of
race, creed, or gender
anyone who shakes their booty
on the dance floor
of their choosing
owes something to
 
There will be a
Do Not Disturb sign
outside my body and soul
while I listen to
this song list
[easily enlarged]
 
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Wednesday, May 24, 2023

NORAL ROY: Featured Band At Waterfront Farmer's Market

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The weekly 
at Marine Stadium
featured the Noral Roy Band
on Wednesday of last week
 
The band consists of four
extremely professional musicians
 
A photograph of the band
is at the bottom
of this page
 
Noral Roy set up shop
under a tent with a tip cup
that almost tipped over
because of the appreciative
audience spread out
in what has to be
one of the most spacious
and photogenic parks
in Long Beach
 
Adjacent to the band's tent,
vendors from everywhere on Earth
sell fresh  and exotic
vegetables/fruit
or the widest variety
of extraordinary edibles
at reasonable prices
 
Some of their customers
had sit-down meals
at tables set-up
in the middle
of all the vendors
but facing the bandstand
 
At this waterfront Farmer's Market
there is something to please
every palate of every age,
color or creed
 
Complete strangers
become your best friends
—for three hours—
simply because you engage them
in arcane conversations
about artichokes, spongecake,
cheese hummus
or whatever
 
My favorite point of interest was 
—and has been for six Wednesday afternoons— 
the LIVE MUSIC
 
The area around the Band Tent
 is soft, dust-free dirt
but in front of
the red line
of the posted photograph
everything is picture-perfect
green lawn with families
of every size, age,
race, creed
and picnic basket
 
What cannot be seen
in the image below
is the numerous dancers
—in pairs, trios, or by themselves—
 
The Noral Roy Band
might as well have been
puppet masters
masterfully filling
the dance floor
 
But X marks the spot
where the only dancer
older than ten
danced
 
That dancer was me
and it was my last day
as a 73-yr-old human 
©©©
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Tuffy McPink Declares War On The Roses

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An Angry Talking Flower Page

I am a Hibiscus
and the flower contest 
is my battlefield

Thirteen is my lucky number
so put me up against 
a dozen roses
and the best they will do
is second place

Thirteen is my lucky number
because that is how many tricks
I can do with my tongue
my stamen
© Oliverio ©
 
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Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Sic: An ATWOODian Statement Written By Paul Oliverio

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The title refers to
about whom the Oliverio statement
"Ms. Atwood is my favorite living author"
borders on 100% accuracy

But the Oliverio statement
referred to in the title is this:
 
There are no coincidences,
there are only divine parallels
 
 This statement
—along with 100 Oliverio-isms—
was copyrighted in 1981
before this New Yorker moved
to California

AND
it had an utterly frightening 
re-birth
while reading Margaret's novel
this month
 !!!
 
As a confirmed book-a-holic,
I typically read a book
cover-to-cover
and within twenty-four hours
of completion,
I am unto the next book
 
The preceding paragraph is
pretty damn close to
ninety-nine percent
accurate

Had I known that
The Blind Assassin
was longer than
five hundred pages,
I never would have purchased
the novel that won 

However, 
if I am to read 
one long novel
in the unforeseeable last year 
of my life
I truly believe
that book will be
The Blind Assassin

Without further jabberwocky
from this blogger,
I will list a pair of
Divine Parallels 
between
Ms. Atwood's novel 
and my personal life
 
1.
Ten days ago,
I posted one and only one page
on Mother's Day
 
It featured
 a treasured photograph
of my own mother
 
On that day,
I read the chapters
 of The Blind Assassin
focused on the death
of the narrator's mother
 
Despite having ample reading time
available on that day
I had to put the book aside
because reading about
a fictional maternal  death
on Mother's Day,
reduced my
heart and soul
and my alleged mind
to jelly
 
 
2.
The most important date
mentioned in the novel
is the Eighteenth of May
in the year 1945
when the narrator's sister
mysteriously dies
 
An event described 
in the first sentence
on the first page 
 The Blind Assassin  
   
On May 18, 1945,
I was exactly
negative four years old
 
Too many 
preceding blog pages
were devoted to
May 18, 2023
otherwise known as 
my 74th birthday
 ©©©
 

 
TO BE CONTINUED
[w/divine parallel  
or Jim Brown,
et al]

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Sunday, May 21, 2023

Jim Brown ... 1936-2023 ... Rest In Peace

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Obituaries and tributes
of famous people
—more often than not—
contain a photograph
of the deceased person,
especially when
that person is very photogenic
 

But rather than a photo
of Mr. Brown,
this tribute is posting 
a grid of numbers
 
The Godfather of Math
is doing that because
I was physically present
three times 
when Jim Brown played football
at the most famous stadium 
in America
i.e. 
 
My father knew the owner
of the Cleveland Browns
who was a patron of 
The English Grill
at Rockefeller Center

Mr. Modell graciously gave
the "master mixologist"  
two tickets
not too far above
the 50-yard line
of that treasured football field
 
Easily enlarged
I am posting
which any fan 
of American football
cannot read without being
awestruck beyond measure
 
Non-football fans
will have an easier time
visualizing Jim Brown
"resting in peace"
because JB wreaked havoc
on every football field
he ever set foot on
 
And all the Gods
in the afterlife
will probably pester
Jim Brown into reliable
substitute service
for their almighty powers  
 

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Atwood +The Perpetual Proustian Bookmark

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The curvaceous Atwood paragraph
is from p.241
of the Doubleday hardcover
(Nan Telese Edition)

The bookmark 
is an 8 1/2 x 11 page
of quotes from Swann's Way
in miniature pica
 
This is the sixth book
for which Proust
has provided the bookmark
 
 
******************************************
 The real voyage of discovery
consists not 
in seeking new landscapes
but in having
new eyes.
 
 
******************************************
 
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FINGERS Is One Of The Greatest "Cult Movies" Of All Time

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Everyone who knows the movie 
would naturally agree with me
 
It is the story of a classical pianist
who is also a bag man 
for the Mafia
 
Of course,
He loves Mozart
but he also loves Motown
 
It stars someone who is
maybe the greatest actor
to never get top billing:
 
It co-stars someone who
—beyond debate—
is the greatest running back
in the history of American football:
 
The latter 
may be
one of the greatest talents
to ever breathe
on planet earth
 
May he rest in peace
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Saturday, May 20, 2023

Three Photographs for HER

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The last word on my birthday:
the person most responsible
for making #74
the most satisfying
birthday EVER
is Mrs. CarPeo

She requested I shoot
the three photographs below

I may re-post them myself
but under no time constraint



Two of them 
have obvious attraction
but the third one
is where she will work 
her magic
in the Yelpisphere
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Don't Ask HOODA HELAMI About This Sonnet

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Wear a mask
pocket a flask
just don't ask
us why
 
Have a hunch
eat a lunch
just don't crunch
or cry
 
Take a break
go on the make
just don't fake
or fry
 
My
oh my
***
 
© HOODA HELAMI ©
Alter Ego #142857 
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PLEASE IGNORE THIS PAGE And Accept My Apology

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I have nothing more to say
beyond the statement
that this page 
has been reduced
to something called 
a placeholder
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Friday, May 19, 2023

The Birthday Boy's Belated Birthday Gift

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Because of a next-door neighbor's guidance,
last week, Mr +Mrs CarPeo
were given $100 worth of free food
from Von's
 
My way of saying 
Thank you, Alice
was purchasing an Oldies CD
from Bagatelle Records
and giving it to her
 
When I told
that yesterday was my birthday,
he pierced his eyes on me
and said
"Yesterday was my wife's birthday
and this Oldies CD
is our birthday gift
to you"
 

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The Birthday Boy Should Have Posted This Yesterday

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!!!

But it's a prelude
to a birthday gift
he received 
TODAY 
from
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Thursday, May 18, 2023

The Birthday Boy and A Movie Entitled CHEVALIER

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My most generous host
—Mrs. CarPeo—
said it best
and 
two groups of matinee viewers
—during lengthy post-film discussions—
were in full agreement:

is a five-star film 
in the tradition
of old Hollywood
 
 
To be continued
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The Birthday Boy ... And His Starbucks Barista

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Birthday Boy: Happy Birthday to me
                       Happy birthday to me
                   I'm no no longer 73 
His Barista:  You're 37                      
                
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Wednesday, May 17, 2023

A Visual Equivalent Of The Previous Page

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a commentista remarked
≈Nothing like a classic quote with a gut punch≈

The image above
takes a classic pose
—mother comforting children—
and warps it
into a different context
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Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Quoting A Bert Reynolds Film Named For A Frisky Beverage

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Honesty is the best policy
until money burns a hole
in your pocket
***

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Where Are They Now? [Photographer = Mariusz Janiszewski]

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The Boy's Room
in Manila
National Geographic    October 2017
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Halfway Between HER Day + Her Son's Day

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Two days ago
—being May 14—
was Mother's Day
and I naturally featured
on this blog
 
Two days from today
—being May 18—
is my birthday
 
Today
my dearly beloved friends
at Starbucks
sent me
an upcoming birthday gift
with a semi-promise
that they will start rehearsing
the birthday song
to honor me
 
But I will deem that honor
a ludicrous and dangerous
invitation to chaos
 
HOWEVER
—in a La Jolla Starbucks—
circa 2010
a large staff of baristas
+ numerous customers
sang the birthday song
the exact moment
walked through the door
and gave him a "free" latte
 
(I had pre-paid for the drink) 
 
Ray is one of only 2.5
bi-coastal + lifelong friends
 
He is also the person to whom
the GodFather of Math Trilogy
is dedicated
 
My psychoanalyst [Dr. Raft]
is the second
 of my bi-coastal buddies
 
I have known both
Peterssen and Raft
since I was a teenager
on Long Island
 
The third
—and most important—
bi-coastal buddy
 is Mrs. CarPeo
 
She is represented 
by a decimal because
my life began anew
when I first visited her
in 2012
and she has been
a California resident
since 2016
 
I have promised Mrs. CarPeo
that I will do my damnedest
to stay within hollering distance
of Sanity 
today and tomorrow
 
But how I behave
on Thursday
is anybody's guess
 ***
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