Knot . . .

. . . a day goes by . . .


. . . Not a day of my life goes by without music.  Music, an integral part of my world, is  (paraphrasing Zappa) food.

My piano must be played daily, though there are unfortunately some exceptions, for my digital therapy as well as to keep my musical imagination healthy. Music is always audible during the evening meal at our house, exceptions to this being even MORE rare than above, be it jazz, classical, modern rock, (sorry, the available wealth of genre names are beyond me) country, R&B/soul, vocal, instrumental, experimental and traditional.  Some personal musical assignment, be it practicing my part in a song for Oho, revisiting an old composition of my own or working on a new idea, is always high on my agenda.  And I am always, after many years of conditioning, aware of music around me whether it be a song someone was humming in the office, a new song on the radio, incidental music between news stories on NPR or reference to a song during a conversation- it's there.

It is ever-present and just as much a part of me as. . . my right hand.

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest 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)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Alternative . . .

. . . Thanksgiving "Prayers". . .



Dear Global Economy, we thank thee for thy economies of scale, thy professional specialization, and thy international networks of trade under Ricardo's Law of Comparative Advantage, without which we would all starve to death while trying to assemble the ingredients for such a dinner as this.  Amen.  - Eliezer Yudkowsky

Let us take a moment to think about where the food we are about to enjoy has come from and to acknowledge those who worked to bring us this food. Let us appreciate the earth, the sun, the air, and the water needed to nourish the plants and animals. Let us thank the farmer who cared for the plants and animals and the migrant worker who toiled to harvest the crops. Let us thank the laborer who processed the food, the truck driver who brought the food, and the grocery store workers who displayed it. Finally, let us thank our friends who prepared this meal and have provided us with the opportunity to be together and share each other’s company. - Herb Silverman

We return thanks to our mother, the earth which sustains us.  We return thanks to the rivers and streams, which supply us with water.  We return thanks to all herbs which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases.  We return thanks to the moon and stars, which have given to us their light when the sun was gone.  We return thanks to the sun, that has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.  Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in Whom is embodied all goodness, and Who directs all things for the good of Her children.  - Iroquois Prayer

This food is the gift of the whole universe - the sky, and much hard work.  May we eat it in mindfulness, so as to be worthy to receive it.  We accept this food so that we may practice the path of understanding and love. 
-Thich Nhat Hanh

In the spirit of humility we give thanks for all that is.  We thank the great spiritual beings who have shared their wisdom.  We thank our ancestors who brought us to where we are now.  We are grateful for the opportunity to walk this planet, to breathe the air, to taste the food, to experience sensations of a human body/mind, to share in this wonder that is life.  We are grateful for the natural world that supports us, for the community of humankind that enables us to do many wondrous things.  We are grateful that we are conscious, that as intelligent beings we can reflect upon the many gifts we have been given.  - Unknown

Got no checkbooks, got no banks.  Still I'd like to express my thanks - I got the sun in the morning and the moon and night.  _ Irving Berlin

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest 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)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Pair. . .

. . . ing


(from http://www.wikihow.com/Pair-Food-and-Wine)
Build on the basic understanding of what might match. It's easy enough to say that chicken goes with white wine, or beef goes with red wine but which wine exactly? And is this choice clear cut? The wine that goes with the food will depend heavily on the manner in which the food has been prepared. For example, it isn't as simple as saying that chicken goes with white wine. If, for example, the chicken has been poached, making it simple and delicate, a simple wine such as a young Semillon will be good. When roasted, the fat makes the chicken richer, thus requiring a heavier textured wine such as an aged Semillon. If barbecued, the chicken becomes smoky, and goes well with a wine aged in wood, such as a light Chardonnay. When chicken has been cooked in cream, it becomes really rich, a heavier Chardonnay will pair well. When it's made into a darker dish, such as by adding soy sauce, it can take a light red such as a Pinot Noir. Place chicken into a red wine marinade, and it makes sense to pair it with red wine.

    Learn the different flavors within each wine style and seek to match these to the food ingredients. For example, fruity elements and wood overtones impact the wine flavor and are important considerations when partnering the wine with food. If you can taste peaches, coconut, tropical flavors, smokiness, herbs, etc., then take those flavors and find their food equivalents.

    Weight of the wine has an impact on pairing with food. Wines are light, medium or full-bodied, referring to the depth of flavor on the mid-palate. When trying to discern the weight of the wine, either ask the retailer, or check the depth of color. Apart from Pinot Noir, the darker the color, the heavier the weight.

    Use your sense of smell to help you pair food and wine. The two senses are one, and you can trust your nose unless it's blocked. Wine smells can be floral, perfumed, mineral, fruity (common fruit smells are peach, melon, and fig), butter, nuts, earthy, truffle or mushroom, meaty, or even like the barnyard. If the smell is unpleasant, avoid it. An aging wine can have overtones of toast or engine fuel.

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest 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)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Find . . .

. . . the most important instruction on the list. . .

1.  Clean up after yourself instead of leaving it

2.  Wipe all kitchen surfaces after you prepare and eat food - rinse all crustiness out of the sink.  (Dried food is difficult to clean later)

3.  Put dirty dishes in the washer or wash them

4.  Take trash out when bag is full

5.  Take recycleables out frequently (the bag gets hard to get out if its too    
full)

6.  Please make sure doors are closed and locked when you leave

7.  Please make sure doors are closed and locked when you come in

8.  Put lid on trash can (recycle) and bring back in yard Monday

9.  Put blue trash can(s) in alley Wednesday night

10. Put lid on (blue) trash can(s) and bring in yard Thursday

11. Please squeegee the walls and use the handiwipe to mop up water from where the walls meet the tub AFTER YOU SHOWER.  (Please!)

12. Please wipe up splashes from the bathroom sink and shelf with the handiwipe.  Please leave no puddles.

13.  Slow down, be careful

14.  Don't exert your back

15. Be careful

16. MOST IMPORTANT -

    H A V E   F U N  !  !  ! 


(If you guessed #16. . .
YOU WERE CORRECT!!)

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest 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)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Weird. . .

As if the real news isn't weird (and depressing) enough, the satire is even goofier.  And adding insult to injury, many people think it's real upon first glance.  Things like:

-Santorum's divorce
-Teen who only texts and rolls eyes to be euthanized
-School of arts seeks to transform boys and girls into insufferable young men and women
-ORCA Act ensures all food and medicine to be 100% GMO within four years

The internet is a wonderful thing.  It makes research and entertainment easy and convenient.
Just be careful not to confuse the entertainment with the research.

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest 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)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Ah, wine. . .

and. . .RAY JOZWIAK (Gonzo Piano)
at Elk Run Vinyards this Friday
                                                                                                                             

"Give me books, French wine, fruit, fine weather and a little music played out of doors by somebody I do not know."
-John Keats

"Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance."
-Benjamin Franklin

"The wine-cup is the little silver well, Where truth, if truth there be, doth dwell."
-William Shakespeare

"I cook with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food."
-W. C. Fields


Friday, May 3, 2013 @ 6:00PM
Elk Run Vinyards
15113 Liberty Road  Mt. Airy, MD 21771 
Phone: 410-775-2513 • Fax: 410-875-2009 •
TOLL FREE: 800-414-2513
elk_run@msn.com

What do you think?
Tell me at  
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest 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)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Clown. . .

Are YOU lovin' it???

McDonald's was fined by a consumer protection agency in Brazil for targeting children in advertisements for  Happy Meals in the amount of 3.2 million reais (US $1.6 million). And though the amount may not make much of a dent in the fast food giant's pocketbook, the agency leveling the fine could issue additional citations should the firm persist in the offensive practices.

"There's no need to appeal as they do to children without the maturity or the rationality to enter the market as consumers," said an agency representative. The penalty is the latest in a series of increasingly aggressive tactics by Brazilian regulators, who recently have cracked down on large firms for perceived consumer abuses. In recent months, phone companies and private health plans have all been penalized for violation of consumers.

Here at home, a judge threw out a lawsuit against Happy Meal marketing. U.S. regulators have urged companies to voluntarily end food advertising to children unless they are promoting healthy fare, but typically, industry groups are putting up a fierce fight - Surprise! In calculated cooperation, McDonald's has added apples and reduced the amount of french fries in its children's Happy Meals, but insist on keeping the free toy. They also began listing calorie information on menus throughout the United States before the national rule requiring same.

(thanks to The American Journal of Transportation)

What do you think?
Tell me at  
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest 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)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

WHAT am I gonna do? . . .

. . . ? ? ? 

 The Food Pairing Craze: Down The Same Wrong Road As Wine Scores

July 30, 2011 | Filed under Worth A Look | Posted by Lewis Perdue

The current infatuation with wine and food pairings is headed down the same wrong road as wine scores. Why? Because people are genetically unique and so are their taste buds. No two people experience the same smell, the same taste — or the same wine/food pairing exactly the same way.
Because of that, it’s unreasonable to expect an individual wine-tasting/food-pairing experience to coincide with those of a set of expert high priests/priestesses who pronounce what is “good” and what is not.

Struggling to find the “right” food/wine combo adds a whole ‘nother' level of insecurity to the wine experience. And that first level of insecurity remains as the primary obstacle to broader consumer acceptance of wine. We’ve seen that wine has recently reached parity with beer as a preferred alcoholic beverage. There are a lot of factors associated with that as are well-studied by the Wine Market Council. A lot has to do with rising income among America’s growing Latino population. That follows the trend that wine consumption increases with income and socioeconomic status.
Some of that growth also comes from Millennials who scorn experts, tasting notes and snobbism. And more support comes from rising set of voices such as Tim Hanni, Gary Vaynerchuk and others who have emphasized and recognized the importance of individual palate variations and spoken out against the elitism that still endures as wine’s most prominent paradigm.

This elitism, this dogmatic insistence on perfect pairing has dominated articles and posts that emphasize education, learn, education, learn … and thus carry the unspoken message that the average wine drinker must study, study, study. Hell, if I faced that level of strenuous effort at the market, I’d go for a Jagged Edge IPA or a Racer 5 any day rather than turn my imbibing experience into sweaty- palm quantum chromodynamics final exam that I arrived for stark naked. In fact, we frequently go for a brew at our meals — especially when we’ve gone through several days in a row when we’ve opened a highly rated bottle of wine and found it unworthy of either the calories or alcohol intake. Some nights we open two or three of these before heading for beer or a reliable wine in the cellar. The average wine consumer does not have a cellar, nor are they likely to persist in one bottle of wine after another.

This whole emphasis on correct coupling discourages individual experimentation and raises the perceived risk quotient … and decreases overall enjoyment of the wine and the food.
And least we forget: constrains wine sales.

Just remember: people do not flock to musicians with perfect pitch. If that were the case, The Fray, Green Day, Gaslight Anthem and Matchbox 20 would be non-starters. On the other hand, they WERE non-starters to the elite music critics. But experimenting with what band you listen to lacks the financial penalty inherent in wine. Attacks on scores and perfect pairings are heresy. They also endanger the raison d’être of experts. For, if scores and perfect pairings are not relevant to average consumers, then what value do vino-gurus bring to the table? Make no mistake, there is a powerful and long-established set of vested interests who will defend the status quo as brutally as wholesalers attack the direct shipment of wine. But in the end, we must honor pleasure. Remember enjoyment? That’s what food and wine are about. Just drink it. Just eat it. Just enjoy it.

What do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

 
Also download your
very own copy of
AMBIENCE & WINE
by Ray Jozwiak

Please visit
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet