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Guilt is an imperfect form
of knowledge
J.D. SALINGER
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Saturday, August 31, 2024
Friday, August 30, 2024
My Impersonation Of A Poem By John Updike
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My son's bicycle is
in the driveway
with a flat tire
but the air pump
is in the trunk
of his mother's car
The 1968 Red Corvette
was part
of the divorce settlement
***
© PAUL OLIVERIO
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Thursday, August 29, 2024
Also Known As *** The Last Song Of The Century ***
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New Yorker Magazine Dated ... OCTOBER 11, 2021 ...
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I have seen 101
New Yorker Magazine covers
suitable for
museum display
but for 101
GodFather ofMath
reasons,
the cover pictured below
is my
All-Time Favorite:
I might have featured
this cover before
but if so,
I wasn't cognizant of
the date of issue
which brings to mind
the following copyrighted quote:
THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES
THERE ARE ONLY DIVINE PARALLELS
October 11, 2021
was my sister Linda's
seventy-fifth birthday
Her 1975 death certificate
notwithstanding,
I see/hear/feel
my older sister's touch
as many as seventy-five times
on any given day
Like our parents
who graduated this earth
four years before she did,
it is impossible for me to miss them
because no trio of people
is more omnipresent to me
than them
The divine parallel
of Lynda's 75th birthday
and a magazine cover
helped to make
my 75th birthday
[May 18,2024]
the happiest day
of my Long Beach life
thanks to
five hours of
phone/text/email
conversation
with friends and family
+
the glorious generosity
and warmth
of Mrs. CarPeo
One of those conversations
was with my living sister
about whom
I will say
nothing more than
she is sixty-eight
going on thirty-seven
even when she is in the presence
of her six grandchildren
Wherever she goes,
chiropractors work overtime
because countless men
are turning their heads
much too quickly
just to get
one look at my
"little sister"
***
© PAUL OLIVERIO ©
Cover Artist = Luci Gutierrez
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A List Without Liszt For Obvious Reasons
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Franz Lizst is not included
on this hazy list
 |
Mathematicians not Musicians
The image of Charles Lewis Dodgson
appears but his name is unlisted
In the history of Numbers...
No other Mathematician
influenced me as much as
Professor Dodgson
but not because
of what he did with chalk
on a blackboard
His boss at Oxford University
requested Dodgson spend a lazy afternoon
on a canoe with (amongst others)
the Dean's daughter—Alice—
and out of thin air
Professor Dodgson
created the story of
But more than one canoe ride
was necessary to meet the satisfaction
of the very curious child
who was capable of getting
"curiouser and curiouser"
However, Dodgson did not want
the world to know an Oxford "Don"
(on a canoe with the daughter of his boss)
was the story teller so Dodgson
created the name Lewis Carroll
***
© PAUL OLIVERIO
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Wednesday, August 28, 2024
100% Italian-American Chameleon
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Italian-American
and mighty gosh-darn
proud to be so
HOWEVER,
the best part
of my professional career
as a math teacher
occurred in
South-Central Los Angeles
when I morphed into
a half-Black
half-Latino
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Monday, August 26, 2024
St. Thomas Quaid
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He looks down upon
the sky and the sea,
 |
| © Oliverio |
the birds and the three
men walking on the beach
He makes the clouds dance
the wall bleeds cement
and he knows
when you are surfing
The verse above
is merely poetic praise
for a person whose generosity
and kindness defied
human capacity
In seventy five years,
I have encountered countless
people who believed strongly
and sincerely in generosity
unless it was a bad day
when they are more likely
to bite people
than to help them
But Tom Quaid never had such days
To qualify someone for Sainthood,
there must be evidence of a miracle
Seven days a week,
he went to church
Six days a week, Tom Quaid
carried a big fat wad of bills
in his pocket
But not on Sunday
because that is when countless Catholics
would have sucked dim dry
Tom Quaid was better known
and better loved than all the Priests
at St. Anthony RC Church in Long Beach
On Sundays, Tom was a Eucharistic Minister
meaning he administered the holy wafers
that are a symbol of the Lord's suffering
Here is the miracle:
A man known to have as much as $700 cash
in his pocket was never mugged, molested,
or stripped of his cash in a crime-ridden neighborhood
such as Downtown Long Beach
Gangsters of every race, color, and creed
ALL protected Tom Quaid from harm
in the fifteen years that I knew him
as a fellow volunteer in the Senior Center Library
Sounds like a miracle to me
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Why There Is So Much Paranoia About ... Artificial Intelligence
________________________________________________________________________________________________
The reason there is
so much
fear and paranoia
about Artificial Intelligence
is due to the fact
that we suffer from
a significant lack of
Genuine Intelligence
***
© OLIVERIO ©
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Saturday, August 24, 2024
Now That Their 2024 Presidential Convention Has Ended ...
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a sense of pride
in being an American citizen
that—within memory—
I never felt so strongly
However,
memory is not
the most trustworthy instrument
but what follows is fact:
It was flattering to receive texts
from both the President
and the Vice President
of the United States
but each one
(along with uncountably many others)
were treated equally:
they were automatically deleted
without opening _______________________________________________________________________________________________
Friday, August 23, 2024
PhotoVerio #764: Let There Be Lights Rotated
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 |
| © Oliverio |
Thursday, August 22, 2024
World Series Prediction With Few Hyperlinks + Much Slanguage
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Though it is impossible
to measure how much
"negative energy"
I have consumed
in rooting against
the baseball team
whose formative years
were spent in Brooklyn,
I predict
the 2024 World Series
will feature
the Mooky-fied Dodgers
+
his cast of billionaires
against
the Hank Aaron-named Judge
+
his modern Bronx Bombers
The 6th game
of the series
will result in enough tears
being shed on Jerome Avenue
to drown all the fishmongers there
but will result in
the future President Harris
naming Shohei Otani
Baseball Ambassador of America
With the possible exception of
the Lakers-Celtics rivalry,
no other rivalry in
American team sports
has given the World
as much excitement,
blood, sweat, and tears
as
the NEW YORK YANKEES
the LOS ANGELES DODGERS
!!!
© Oliverio ©
You may disagree with
this prediction
but please accept
my advice and
do not waste a penny
betting AGAINST
the Dodgers
until next season
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Wednesday, August 21, 2024
Dedicated To Larry + Eleanor CarPeo ... (Comic Relief #5892)
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 |
| ED HIMMELBLAU |
RICHARD PRYOR Profundity ... Number 37
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Two things
people throughout history
have had in common
are hatred and humor
***
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Tuesday, August 20, 2024
Eight Thousand GodFather Of Mathing Pages ... Fully Agree
________________________________________________________________________________________________
I regard autobiographies
as a pernicious form
of fiction
***
 |
| !!! |
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Salty Gigante + His Slugfest (Comic Relief #5889)
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 |
| GARY LARSON |
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For Those Who Remember Macauley Culkin In HOME ALONE
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 |
| MAD MAGAZINE |
"Vacation" Ends With Discovery Of Lost Art ... Page 2
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Portrait of Oriolo Oxcart
 |
| CHARRY SCURO |
"Vacation" Ends With Discovery Of Lost Art ... Page 1
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Charcoal Octet
 |
| CHARRY SCURO |
Monday, August 19, 2024
Acrostic Neccessity
________________________________________________________________________________________________
I
Now proclaim for your
Edification and my
Eternal happiness on this
Day:
A
Valuable departure
And most
Clinical
And
Timely
Interruption from
Oliverio blogitude
NOW ...
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Is There Any Religion For Which This Statement Is Not True?
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Never in its whole history
has the Catholic Church
believed that poor people
should do anything
but go to church,
put money in the collection,
and do as they are told.
≈ ≈ ≈
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Sunday, August 18, 2024
A Pair Of HOOSiers ... A/k/a ... 2 Photos From Neil Hoos
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 |
| NEIL HOOS |
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Saturday, August 17, 2024
Is He A Mentor Of HOODA HELAMI?
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Under the streetlight
me moans and he rants:
There is no Paradise
There's only Hell in hot pants
***
© HOODA HELAMI ©
Alter Ego #142857
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Bay Window Bandbox
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 |
| © PhotoVerio #763.5 |
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PhotoVerio #763: Midnight Foliage
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 |
| © Oliverio |
Your Programming Will Resume After These ... Messages
________________________________________________________________________________________________
There is no more
television advertising
But
we have Messages
about products
and services
guaranteed
to improve your life
and your lifestyle
How many messages
will be delivered
before returning
to your program
is determined
by how quickly
you reach for
your credit card
to improve your life
and your lifestyle
***
© PAUL OLIVERIO ©
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Friday, August 16, 2024
JOHN UPDIKE Poem ... Tilted, Transparent And Revelatory
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 |
| JOHN UPDIKE |
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Thursday, August 15, 2024
PhotoVerio #762: Spaghetti Tree
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 |
| © Oliverio |
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Palmistry ... Palm Is Tree
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| ©PhotoVerio #761.5 |
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
PhotoVerio #761: Midnight At Sea Level
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| © Oliverio |
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PhotoVerio #760: The Lady In Blue ... In Waiting
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| © Oliverio 2017 |
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The Glorious Moment Of ... Sonny Boy White
________________________________________________________________________________________________
I gave a concert
by the sea
for the birds
and bees
and fronds
of palm trees
I blew hot
I blew cold
the harmonica was hummin'
no one in the audience
was human
But I could hear
fronds dancin'
birds romancin'
And what do you know
Everyone loved the show
***
© PAUL OLIVERIO ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Words Of Wisdom From ... THE BEACH
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The pen is mightier than the sword
but no match for a gun
***
Student Demonstration Time
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Monday, August 12, 2024
The Pomposity Of This Phrase ... According To Hooda Helami
________________________________________________________________________________________________
"As God is my witness"
is an obscenely pompous phrase:
—With all the insanity
this world has to offer—
it assumes "God"
is not busy enough
that he/she
is always paying attention
to YOU
and is always ready
to testify
on your behalf
***
© Hooda Helami ©
Alter Ego #142857
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Sunday, August 11, 2024
Quoting The Godfather Of The Godfather
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Never expect gratitude
from a donkey
or a peasant
MARIO PUZO
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Double Tragedy
________________________________________________________________________________________________
A canoe capsizes and a drowning man
sends out distress signals.
In a nearby canoe,
the man in control
covers the ears
of his four-year-old son
because the distress signals
contain four-letter-words.
The capsized man dies
and twelve years later,
the former four-year-old
commits fratricide.
© OLIVERIO ©
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