Where's the cheer
That I should feel
Inside my heart
This time of year,
While all the televisions
Newspapers and billboards count
The shopping days for me?
It appears
To me that I’m
The only one
Who doesn’t see
The fine and natural
Attraction to what seems part race,
Part obstacle course, I believe.
Long ago I
Heard that we
Celebrate this season;
Anniversary of the birth
Of someone named Jesus.
Through the years ,
How my perception
Of it all
Has gone awry,
When so much manufactured
Hype and pressurized requirements
Make it all seem a lie.
How I wish,
Since its the time
Of year that dreams
Can come alive,
That you and I see one November,
When without the retail forecasting,
Some peace on earth,
Goodwill to all arrives.
“In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed. They produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, five hundred years of democracy and peace. And what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.”
- Orson Welles (from The Third Man)
Working at the thing you love
Brings peace and satisfaction
That is difficult to describe
To those who have never experienced it
Working at a thing that provides
Economic security (or pays the bills)
But is not an activity about which
You feel no passion or little affinity
Is another thing altogether
Yet familiar to many to experience it everyday
. . . servants aren't serving the public anymore . . .
. . . there is turmoil and terrorism at home and abroad
. . . education's not available to everyone
. . . guns meant for war are now found on our streets
. . . no one can afford to get sick anymore
. . . people are working hard but can't feed their families
. . . politicians distract us with bigotry disguised as religion
. . . we don't treat each other like we're human anymore
. . . money is more valued than peace and kindness. . .
My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
. . . I'm not sure how the U.S. qualifies to direct the world in this, and many other, matters except for the fact that we have the ability, and if it is up to many current Republicans also the will, to blow just about anybody away that we choose . . .
. . . so what's wrong with an agreement and a little optimism ?. . .
(from http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/iran-nuclear-talks/iran-nuclear-deal-n390461)
". . . The president spoke after Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called the agreement a "historic moment" and a "win-win solution" with the potential to usher in a "new chapter of hope" in relations. . . Both Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry billed the agreement as critical to averting broader conflict, with Kerry telling NBC News that "Israel is safer" as a result — but Israeli officials insisted it would have the opposite effect. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal gave Iran a "sure path to nuclear weapons," while Science Minister Danny Danon called the accord "dangerous for the entire free world." . . . However, the EU's chief negotiator said the terms were "balanced" and respected the interests of "all sides." . . . It involves limiting Iran's nuclear production for 10 years and Tehran's access to nuclear fuel and equipment for 15 years in return for hundreds of millions of dollars in sanctions relief. However, the sanctions would not be lifted until Iran proves to the International Atomic Energy Agency that it has met its obligations under the deal. . . "
OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak. Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com
My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jihadi_John)
". . . [Mohammed]Emwazi was given his pseudonym as John by a group of his hostages. The hostages have said that he was part of a terrorist cell described as "The Beatles", and that he guarded Western hostages while handling communications with their families. The pseudonym makes reference to John Lennon of the Beatles, and other members of the cell are known as "George", "Paul" and "Ringo", in reference to the Beatles' other members. The cell members all had English accents. The pseudonyms "Jihadi John" and "Jailer John" were created by the British press. . ."
(from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2743813/Ringo-Starr-disgusted-ISIS-Brits-nicknamed-The-Beatles-It-s-b-t-They-against-stood-for.html#ixzz3SwYKYyME)
". . . Ringo Starr is disgusted that British jihadis in Syria have been nicknamed 'The Beatles', claiming ISIS is against everything his former band stood for. The nickname was revealed by a former ISIS captive who said the gang of British extremists had been compared to the group from Liverpool because of their accents. The man thought to be responsible for beheading American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff has been dubbed 'Jihadi John', while two other British jihadis are being called Paul and Ringo. . ."
OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak. Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com
My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music will be released April 7, 2014 Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
". . . Even if some French lawmakers are playing to their numerous Muslim voters, the vote to recognize Palestine in Paris — the city where Yasser Arafat died — is of far greater global significance than a vote in Dublin or even Madrid. . ."
So what if French lawmakers are playing to their numerous Muslim voters? U.S. lawmakers play to extremist Zionist voters on a daily basis.
". . . The dark spume on this European wave is the twin growth of anti-Semitism and militant Islam in Europe. There are worries that Jihadis returning from Syria and Iraq may attack Europe's Jewish population, as a French ISIS fighter did in May this year when he killed four people at Belgium's main Jewish museum. . ."
Israelis are deluding themselves if they think ANY agreement, vote or peace accord will stop any ISIS, Al Qaeda or any extremist minority from doing stupid things to innocent people
OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak
My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, can be downloaded digitally at:
(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)
I have arrived at an eerie-yet-comfortable peace with myself and the world. Some people can see this just by looking at my face. I have no axe to grind with my fellow man, I am content with my life, I love (and like) my wife and children, I can tolerate my job (and even enjoy it frequently) as a means to allowing me to partake of the 'rest' of life. I don't covet (there's that religious background again) physical things, whether or not they belong to other people or to the retailer. I find joy in the richness of humanity and feel no need to impose any of my beliefs or perspectives on anyone else. I experience an unexplainable spiritualism in music that only gives more the longer I participate in it.
That's not to say I don't have my own problems and it's not to say that all is right with the world all of the time. I don't wear blinders and I'm no Pollyanna. There are many things that aggravate me and that I would, will and still constantly try to change for the better. But I don't obsess over them.
All in it's own time. My days here are much too few to make myself sick over these things.
So as I sit in this mall and enjoy my coffee amidst retail space renovation, vacationing middle-schoolers, folks of various and sundry national and cultural backgrounds, mid-summer clouds gathering outside and anticipating a quiet evening, wonderful meal, stimulating conversation and a good night's sleep later on, I also look forward to the prospect of more . . . music.
OHO's
"Ocean City Ditty," the
CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if
you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)
My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, can be downloaded digitally at:
(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)
“Force is all conquering, but it's victories are short lived.”
― Abraham Lincoln
“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”
― Albert Einstein
"Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man."
Mahatma Gandhi
“I was not designed to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest.”
― Henry David Thoreau
“In the present case it is a little inaccurate to say I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible to any public office of trust or profit in the Republic. But I do not repine, for I am a subject of it only by force of arms.”
― H.L. Mencken
“. . . the paradox of tolerance: Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them.
― Karl Popper
“I find I am much prouder of the victory I obtain over myself, when, in the very ardor of dispute, I make myself submit to my adversary’s force of reason, than I am pleased with the victory I obtain over him through his weakness.”
― Michel de Montaigne
“Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know more.”
― Confucius
OHO's
"Ocean City Ditty," the
CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if
you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)
My latest solo release, '2014', can be downloaded digitally at:
(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)
The idea of keeping a journal appeals greatly to me, but I feel like 99% of what I enter is mundane, boring, trite and petty. No Emerson or Thoreau am I.
(from wikipedia.com)
In appearance he was homely, with a nose that he called "my most prominent feature." Of his face, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote: "[Thoreau] is as ugly as sin, long-nosed, queer-mouthed, and with uncouth and rustic, though courteous manners, corresponding very well with such an exterior. But his ugliness is of an honest and agreeable fashion, and becomes him much better than beauty." Thoreau also wore a neckbeard for many years, which he insisted many women found attractive. However, Louisa May Alcott mentioned to Ralph Waldo Emerson that Thoreau's facial hair "will most assuredly deflect amorous advances and preserve the man's virtue in perpetuity."
Thoreau contracted tuberculosis in 1835 and suffered from it sporadically afterwards. In 1859, following a late night excursion to count the rings of tree stumps during a rain storm, he became ill with bronchitis. His health declined over three years with brief periods of remission, until he eventually became bedridden. Recognizing the terminal nature of his disease, Thoreau spent his last years revising and editing his unpublished works, particularly The Maine Woods and Excursions, and petitioning publishers to print revised editions of A Week and Walden. He also wrote letters and journal entries until he became too weak to continue. His friends were alarmed at his diminished appearance and were fascinated by his tranquil acceptance of death. When his aunt Louisa asked him in his last weeks if he had made his peace with God, Thoreau responded: "I did not know we had ever quarreled.
OHO's
"Ocean City Ditty," the
CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if
you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD).
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if
you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD).
My latest solo release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:
(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)
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