Limerick Poetry

The trick-or-treaters pack up their candy
Into their bags it is thrown merrily
By good folkes near
So seldom dear
Still they prove to be generous and chummy!

Ghouls and Beastlings gather at night
No one doubts their power or their might
Foolishly there are some
who would say it is dumb
to believe in these creatures, especially tonight!

Il était une fois une dame de Dijon
Qui respectait toutes les religions.
Elle disait, "Quant à moi,
Je sais ce qu'est La Foi
et tout ce que l'on peut obtenir si nous prions."

There once was an athlete in Boston
Who liked to win and be a Champion
He kept requesting a trade
Believing to be self-made
And once his wish was granted he found himself wanton!

There once was a woman from Pawtucket
who really would rather live in Nantucket.
For she had six kids,
and they would skid
so she hoped abroad not to hear again "he took it".


I really ought to do more of these - brand them as "luminous limerick/Pimentel poetry" and issue them all on t-shirts during St-Patrick's Day, March Madness or something like that!
We shall see...

the essay that won me 500$ - Canadian, but still...!

When I write about a given subject and that subject is dear to me, the results are always something else... Here is a striking, beautiful example of this: I hope it inspires anyone and everyone who may read it.

Depuis l'âge de cinq ans, ma respiration est saccadée, plus difficile par moments, beaucoup moins aisée par d'autres... Et j'ai certes appris à vivre avec cela dès lors - bien entouré, bien sûr, par des parents bien informés et une assistance médicale adéquate - mon cheminement et ma progression n'ont jamais été altérés par cette condition. La clé aura toujours été la préparation et l'assidûment -­ la volonté de vivre une vie comme les autres -­ sans presque aucun ralentissement dans mon évolution ni dans mes activités quotidiennes.

J'ai toujours refusé les compromis, et ce que je fais c'est simplement mettre toutes les chances de mon côté pour ne pas voir le pire des scénarios se produire. Je connais mes limites et je sais les respecter. J'espace mes activités, je me ménage et je sais prendre toutes les pauses qui me sont nécessaires. En effet, l'asthme m'a fait prendre plus mon temps dans tout ce que je fais et, par conséquent, cela m'a permis d'apprécier toutes les petites facettes de la vie qui sont, de fait, primordiales. Une maladie chronique -­ mais une bénédiction à cet égard donc -­ qui m'a vraiment aidé à réaliser que la vie doit être savourée avec son temps; chaque instant compte et se précipiter ne risque pas seulement de nous laisser tous à bout de souffle, mais aussi de nous faire manquer bien des choses qui sont fondamentales.

Aujourd'hui, je fais un métier que j'aime -­ l'écriture de même que du design de sites sur le net ­- à mon rythme et à la maison, ce qui me permet d'avoir une vie familiale satisfaisante avec du temps pour toutes les activités qui peuvent me tenter ­- du ski de fond au patin à roulettes! Et je ne laisse pas l'asthme dicter ma vie. Je l'ai dompté et j'en suis fier.

The URL where the text is to be found... for a time...
http://www.pq.poumon.ca/
concours/cinqcent.html#Luciano

more poetry - from and for gloomy days...

LOVE AND DAWN - PAIN AND PAWN
What are we all in this world
if not lovers and drifters, hawkers and grifters
who offer themselves up in exchange for bliss
and, if we dare not, would surely be remiss.
From the very dawn of our earthly lives
until the brisk and great beyond - the afterlife
where unseen activity simmers and boils
and makes our earthly activities and toils
seem as trite and insignificant foils
for our own spiritual progress - ahoy
as we roam the seas of kismet and fate
without a sextant; without even faith
Are we doomed to always be
the mere pawns of destiny?
Condemned to repeat over and over again
the same mistakes to the bitter end?
Acting as pawns to our own desires
at the risk of living a life oh most dire
we risk much pain, much dejection
and not merely coming from rejection.
For even in love and passion
one can feel, somehow, depression

Copyright ©2005 Luciano Pimentel A.R.R.

Love can be redundant as well
and so its ring is that of a familiar bell
the chimes of which enchant us, hypnotize
as mermaid chants many a sailor enticed
We are powerless before this encantation
for, deep down, we all crave passion
How do we fight off our own yearnings?
Verily - to do so would be self-defeating!

Aye, the torment a lover feels is unrivalled
As surely as the overwhelming passion itself is
The mere thought of losing the one we love
can only be likened to the abyss
Concatenated are all our desires
Blending in longing, loving, lusting
and when the hope in a void becomes mired
it is then that we begin slowly dying

First time a poem of mine has a sequel... then another... and I feel more coming...

Sorry but, this time, the trademark fluorescent smile present in every other post here will not make an appearance. Not in the mood, see...? There are always exceptions to every rule...

Luminous little article written for another contest - unabridged version here!

Here is an online article ready-made for consumption - the way we all like them to be, evidently! It was penned for a definite market and with a definite readership in mind - you will quickly understand that upon discovering what the subject is.



Cyber socializing: even better than the real thing
by Luciano A. Pimentel

In this day and age, one does not have to put up with the routines and hassles of going out, dressing up or even putting a brave face on anymore. One can stay in and, from the coziness of one's own home, one can mingle with one and all! Chat rooms, instant messaging, webcams, message boards... Even the old stand-by, the e-mail (with sufficient attachments, surely - whether it is doctored imagery or not is entirely up to you!) - all of these means are safer and may be even far more pleasant ways to socialize! Safer too, for few hassles are involved - although it is debatable if indeed such dalliances are truly more casual than the old-fashioned ones... It all depends on the individual really...!

Fact is, interaction on the web can be taken as seriously as live and in the flesh interaction. And this can be seen all across the palette of cyber-offerings... as that of human emotions too! Message boards routinely see veritable hatred develop and rise sharply between opposing posters championing diametrically conflicted viewpoints on any given topic... Likewise, chat rooms are often the unceremonious virtual grounds of those first few sparks between posters who recognize in each other a kindred spirit. But it does not make the emotions involved any less real necessarily speaking... Nor does it make any sudden break-up any more "casual" per say either! Disappointment is disappointment! It all boils down to the degree to which the participants have immersed themselves into these "unusual" proceedings... These are less and less "unusual" though, for the bar scene is now splitting -pretty evenly it would appear too- the dating scene with cyber-encounters. One leads to the other really… A fine collaboration of sorts...!

On the other hand, for the true conversationalist, these proceedings can be even better to dig out the truth faster... Think about it - in an instant messaging situation, even with a webcam on, the fluff factor is minimalized - in favor of substance. One is forced to actually listen (or read) if the person has anything worthwhile to say. Once that is confirmed -for it isn't always- the expert conversationalist can take control of the chat situation and, by asking the right questions at the right time, get to know the other person better in fifteen minutes than he would have in several dates maybe! One cannot peer into another's soul when preoccupied with the all-important (not) task of winning a lengthy tongue duel... Not much is learned then, aside from the value of the kisser maybe...! Conversation is the key in the courtship stage – and it is no coincidence that I.M. providers call these things “conversations” and nothing less!

Safety is paramount in this day and age. And nowhere else will you find such a combination of utmost intimacy with complete safety - from everything! There are many possible scenarios of "things that could go wrong" during dates... Conversing online, even with perfect strangers -and the old adage is true; we're all strangers, until we say "hello" and get to know each other- lowers the risks practically to nil. Just run a virus and spyware check on your computer afterwards - just in case!

The important thing is to get to know who you are dealing with, before ever agreeing to meet with that person. And, once you do, let it be in a group setting or in a public space, of course. This will be so much better than a mere blind date, simply because of the prior contact. If more than one "chat" was part of the preparatory groundwork, it will feel akin to getting together with an old accomplice already. And if nothing comes from it, you have made a friend, an acquaintance, a possible networking contact as well. Nothing is lost, as long as we have two persons on the same wavelength, open and trustworthy. If both reached out across these wires known as the internet for a bit of human contact, surely they were honest and well-intentioned in their endeavor. One can tell, in the course of several chats, if they are not - that is proven.

Happy chatting, all!

some sports commentary now...

The sports fanatic is me is another alter ego that thrives and animates itself, once in a while... So many injustices occur in the wild world of sports, for the entire world to see, that one cannot resist the temptation to comment on it and make sure the allegorical sense is driven across to all.



On sports broadcaster Chris Berman during the Red Sox/White Sox games on ESPN...
I like Berman.
All I've heard so far is just him seeing things as they really are: the two teams matched up equally... Don't tell me El Duque is not as over-the-hill as Wells is... And the Red Sox hitting is SUPERIOR INDEED... It only began to be its true self in game 3 (of the first round post-season series)...

Ultimately though, Berman knows that the Red Sox used to be the Pilgrims (not to mention the victims of a curse, of course) and the White Sox have the mark of the Black Sox still all over them!
Evil-looking Ozzie G does not help their image! Terry Francona looked like Francis of Assisi in comparison...

Suddenly I see another evil empire standing, this time in the Windy City...
Sunday, October 09, 2005


On the sad state of the NHL...
Penguins and Canadiens fans especially but likely everyone else in the @#%$ league sighed a collective sigh of relief when CAM "THE MAN" NEELY WAS FORCED TO RETIRE in 1995...

And why did he retire?
Because a haggard tired old coach - Badger Bob, they called him- who had never won anything wanted desperately to win something before he was permanently out of the game (and, incidentally, he didn't know it at the time but he had cancer - and his days were counted already, too)  And so he sent out Ulf "the chump" Samuelsson to purposefully injure Neely FROM BEHIND in the 1991 playoffs... Otherwise, Neely would have eliminated the Penguins all by himself!

NO ONE CARES FOR NEELY EXCEPT THE FANS WHO WANTED HIM TO SCORE FOR THEM - NO ONE GIVES A DAMN A CAREER HAS BEEN SHORTENED FOR THE WRONGEST OF REASONS THERE COULD BE; AND THAT SUCKS - BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENED SHOULD HAVE NEVER OCCURRED.  AND IF YOU ARE TRULY GREAT SPORTSMEN AND INTO FAIR PLAY, FOLKS, YOU WOULD WANT TO SEE CAM NEELY GO ON BREAKAWAY AFTER BREAKAWAY ON ROY (OR... HAHAHA... THEO! THEO WOULDN'T STAND A CHANCE!) AND SCORE EVERY SINGLE TIME... BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT MAKES THE DAMN SPORT ANYTHING REMOTELY CLOSE TO BEAUTIFUL!

IN RE: 1993 - LET NOT VICTORIES STOLEN IN SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME FOOL YOU IN THE LEAST - THE BRUINS HAD NO PROBLEMS THAT YEAR; THEY WERE A TEAM OF DESTINY, A DESTINY THAT WENT UNFULFILLED BECAUSE THEY HAD ONLY ONE YEAR TO FULFILL IT AND THEY SINNED WITH AN EXCESS OF CONFIDENCE WHEN FACING AN UNIMPRESSIVE BUFFALO TEAM THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER ACHIEVED MUCH AT ALL INDEED...  THEY SINNED, THEREFORE, ALMOST EXACTLY LIKE THE HABS DID IN 1988 AGAINST... BOSTON!

I AM MORE INCLINED TO BELIEVE A VETERAN PLAYER LIKE DAVE POULIN OVER ANYONE ELSE - AND I CAN STILL REMEMBER POULIN SAYING THAT, AFTER GAME FOUR - "WE HAD THE TEAM HERE..."  AND INDEED THEY HAD IT: MOOG WAS STILL HIS OLD SELF, NOT THE SAP THAT ENDED HIS CAREER IN MONTREAL... WESLEY, BOURQUE, POULIN, OATES, NEELY, JUNEAU (WHO WAS STILL SCORING - UNLIKE THE POOR SAP HE BECAME AS HE ENDED HIS CAREER IN MONTREAL - WOW, A PATTERN DEVELOPING HERE!), KVARTALINOV, RUZICKA, heck even DOURIS and SMOLINSKI --- THIS WAS NOT A BETTER CLUB -- A TRUE CONTENDER, AS OPPOSED TO THE BACKDOOR CUP CHUMPS THAT STOLE IT THAT YEAR?!?  YES - IT WAS!

And today - with the parity in the league and the talent being spread so thin... Why did they have to end that lock-out again? There was no worthy champion awaiting to be crowned that year: we could have done without one entirely! Especially when the true champions go uncrowned routinely due to unfair play orchetrated by coaches such as ''Badger Bob'' back there... DON'T REST IN PEACE, BOB.
May 5th, 2004/ addendum on October 9th, 2005