". . . A real artist is not one who has taken up art as his profession, but a man predestined and foredoomed to it; and such an artist can be picked out from a crowd by anyone with the slightest perspicacity. You can read in his face that he is a man apart, a man who does not belong, who feels that he is recognized and is being watched; there is somehow an air of royalty about him and at the same time an air of embarrassment. A prince walking incognito among the people wears a rather similar expression. But the incognito doesn't work, Lisaveta! Disguise yourself, put on civilian costume, dress up like an attache or a guards lieutenant on leave-you will hardly have raised your eyes and uttered a word before everyone will know that you are not a human being but something strange, something alien, something different . . .
"But what is an artist? I know of no other question to which human complacency and incuriosity has remained so impervious. 'That sort of thing is a gift,' say average decent folk humbly, when a work of art has produced its intended effect upon them, and because in the goodness of their hearts they assume that exhilarating and noble effects must necessarily have exhilarating and noble causes, it never enters their heads that the origins of this so-called 'gift' may well be extremely dubious and extremely disreputable. . . . It's well know that artists are easily offended; and it's also well know that this is not usually the case with people who have a good conscience and solidly grounded self-confidence. . . "
(from Death in Venice by Thomas Mann)
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)
(from http://blog.dictionary.com/wednesday/)
". . . The name Wednesday derives from two mighty but distinct gods. The Old English word for Wednesday indicates that the day was named for the Germanic god Woden. In Romance languages, the name is derived from the Roman god Mercury. (For example, Wednesday is mercredi in French and miercuri in Romanian.) Woden (also known as Odin) and Mercury have been associated since Scandinavian and Roman cultures crossed paths. Under Woden’s supervision, the earth and sky were created from the dead body of a giant named Ymir. Woden also created the first man and woman from an ash tree and an alder. As if fashioning the human race wasn’t enough, Woden also established the laws of the universe. . ."
But musically speaking, for now I'll just call it . . .
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)
After (ABC reporter Jonathan) Karl asked Marco Rubio a pretty straightforward question about climate– "Do you agree with science on this?"
He responded with, ". . . what they have chosen to do is take a handful of decades of research and say that this is now evidence of a longer-term trend that's directly and almost solely attributable to man-made activity. I do not agree with that. . ."
He added that "natural disasters have always existed" and that he doesn't "believe that human activity is causing these dramatic changes to our climate the way these scientists are portraying it." And besides, their solutions will only serve to "destroy our economy."
How would a responsible journalist, committed to objectivity and truth conclude an interview that included such statements? Might he mention that Rubio's take on the issue is dramatically at odds with science?
Hopefully. But Karl decided instead to summarize with- "It's talk like that that Rubio hopes will appeal to the conservatives he would need to win the Republican nomination."
Truth? Objectivity? Not here. . .
(Thanks to Peter Hart at http://www.fair.org/blog/2014/05/12/the-wrong-response-to-rubios-climate-nonsense/)
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)
. . . or, in this case, don't eat the burgers. . .
Can't, in any good conscience, endorse the food they serve at that Scottish restaurant on the the clown commercials. But I can say that the Ronald McDonald House is a breath of fresh air in world where many seem to place continuously decreasing value on the lives of their fellow human beings. I had the opportunity to provide some Gonzo Piano music at mealtime at one such house and found it a wonderful experience.
(from http://www.rmhc.org/ronald-mcdonald-house)
Many families travel far from home and spend several weeks or months to get treatment for their seriously ill or injured children – a long time to be away or to divide a family. And, for children facing a serious medical crisis, nothing seems scarier than not having mom and dad close by for love and support. A Ronald McDonald House is that “home-away-from-home” for families so they can stay close by their hospitalized child at little or no cost.
Our Houses are built on the simple idea that nothing else should matter when a family is focused on the health of their child – not where they can afford to stay, where they will get their next meal or where they will lay their head at night to rest. We believe that when a child is hospitalized the love and support of family is as powerful as the strongest medicine prescribed.
. . .Families are stronger when they are together, which helps in the healing process. By staying at a Ronald McDonald House, parents also can better communicate with their child’s medical team and keep up with complicated treatment plans when needed. They can also focus on the health of their child, rather than grocery shopping, cleaning or cooking meals.
. . . When your child is sick, you want the best care possible – even if it is hundreds or thousands of miles away. The Ronald McDonald House allows families to access specialized medical treatment by providing a place to stay at little or sometimes no cost. . .
(from Wolfgang Mieder)
". . . This proverb certainly belongs to one of the most commonly used proverbs
in the English language. This should not be surprising since it
expresses the only too human idea of discontent, envy, and jealousy in a
metaphor which is easily understood. Interestingly enough, the proverb
is also literally true as has been demonstrated by James Pomerantz in a
scientific article on "'The Grass is always Greener': An Ecological
Analysis of an Old Aphorism" (1983).3 This scholar proves that optical
and perceptual laws alone will make the grass at a distance look greener
to the human eye than the blades of grass perpendicular to the ground.
The "truth" of this metaphorical proverb can, of course, also be
observed often enough in the countryside when a cow or a horse is trying
to get at that juicy green grass just on the other side of the fence.
And since people are equally dissatisfied with their lot in life, it
should not surprise anyone that a modern psychologist has spoken of "the
'greener grass' phenomenon"4 by which modern individuals continually
evaluate supposedly better alternatives for themselves.
The proverb thus expresses a basic behavioral truth in a rather
universal metaphor - after all, grass and fences aren't exactly anything
new. This should imply that the proverb belongs to those ancient bits
of wisdom that everybody knows, but when one consults the standard
paremiographical works, it comes as quite a surprise to see that the
earliest recorded reference stems from 1957! This appears absurd, and
there are bound to be native American speakers who will instantly claim
that they have heard or even used this proverb long before the 1950's.
But that claim needs to be proven in light of what Archer Taylor has
called the apparent "incompleteness of collections of proverbs". The
following remarks will present a few precursors to this proverb as well
as some synchronic variants, and it will be established that the "grass
is always greener" proverb is at least a bit older than proverb
collections would have us believe. In addition to tracing the
lexicographical history of the proverb it will also be studied in its
traditional and innovative use as the title of novels, plays, and
magazine or newspaper articles. Its iconographic depiction in cartoons,
caricatures, comic strips, postcards, and photographs will also be
analyzed with a special emphasis on modern parodies. . ."
(from Howard Bess)
"Vic Kohring lives in Wasilla, Alaska, the city made famous by Sarah Palin. He served seven terms in the Alaska State House of Representatives. He was convicted of accepting illegal gifts. He served his sentence in prison and has completed his parole/probation without violations of any kind. All his rights as a citizen have been restored. He now wants to run for a seat on the Wasilla City Council.
Bob Filner is the mayor of San Diego, California. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served with distinction, but chose to leave Congress to run for the office of Mayor of San Diego. It has come to light that he has been a habitual sexual harasser of women with whom he worked. The charges are credible and there has been a loud cry for him to resign from his office of mayor. He has apologized for his behavior and has no intention to resign. He wants to be mayor of San Diego.
Anthony Weiner was elected to the U.S. House of Representative seven times. When he was charged with inappropriate sexting on the internet, he resigned from Congress and returned to New York City. When Weiner returned to New York City he continued his sexting activities under a different name. He has decided that he wants to be mayor of New York City.
He has apologized for his sexting activities and promises never to do such things gain. People are calling for his dropping out of the mayoral race. To date Weiner refuses to be a drop out.
I do not approve of Vic Kohring accepting illegal gifts. I do not approve of Bob Filner’s sexual behavior. I do not approve of Anthony Weiner’s sexting. However, if I dwell on the things that upset me, I will be a miserable human being. The Israelite/Christian tradition makes it abundantly clear that all human being are flawed and fall short of the potential of their lives.
Some well-intentioned human beings are hung up on cleaning up everyone’s flaws except his/her own. I am very skeptical about “clean up the mess” politicians and am even more concerned about “clean up the mess” religious leaders. I love the list of the fruits of the Spirit that Paul enumerates in his Galatians letter. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. I find no reference to judging and whistleblowing. Judging and whistleblowing do have a spirit behind them, but it is clearly not the one that Paul calls the “Holy Spirit.”
What to do about what is wrong in the world is a major topic in the Bible literature. There is disagreement about what should be done. There were devout people who thought their God advocated killing or seriously penalizing the wrong doer. Several of the Old Testament prophets disagreed, and for Jesus, the rabbi from Nazareth, punishment was counterproductive. He was much more interested in restoring, reclaiming, and making the flawed persons whole.
Of all the stories that Jesus told, the one of first importance is the parable of the Good Samaritan. I would place the parable of the wayward son in the second spot. The son blew family money on riotous living and made a fool of himself with women. When he came to his senses, he went home where his father welcomed him and restored him to the family. To accomplish this, the father had to extend an abundance of grace. The extension of grace to the unworthy is an essential part of the Christian tradition.
Kohring, Weiner and Filner made fools of themselves, but that does not mean that their value as human beings has been discarded. It may be that Vic Kohring will be a good city council member. Weiner may make an excellent mayor of New York City and Filner may do a good job as the head of the government in San Diego. Is there a place for grace in American public life?
The United States is a nation of law. However, it does not mean that we cannot be gracious within the framework of law. Right now the mood of America is not to extend grace to anyone. We have taken discretion from our judges and substituted mandatory sentences and absurd laws such as “three strikes and you’re out.”
One of the great hypocrisies of Christians and their churches is their finger pointing and judging. The foundation of the Christian Faith is not being right and pure but being gracious. Our Faith calls us to be witnesses about a different way to live. That way of life is gracious and restores the fallen.
If grace is good for any of us, it has to be good for all of us. All of us must include Kohring, Weiner and Filner."
(The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives In Palmer, Alaska. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net)
(from The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic by John Shelby Spong)
". . . How difficult it is for religious people to embrace an unbounded God. We have through our history sought to define God as a particular being, albeit one possessing supernatural power. With God defined as a being, we then had to locate God in a place. Ultimately that place was thought to be somewhere above the sky in a three-tiered universe. Then we had to build for this God earthly dwelling places that we called "houses of worship."
Next, we began to assert that God's very words were captured in the words of our sacred scriptures. Then we convinced ourselves that God's very nature could be defined in our creeds, doctrines and dogmas. We then built mythologies around each of these human creations, assuring ourselves that God was content to live within our developed theological and liturgical limits.
When these "sacred idols" began to be destroyed by the expansion of human knowledge, we acted as if God had died. The God who lived above the sky was rendered homeless when we began to embrace the infinity of space; yet we continued to address God as "our Father who art in heaven." Next, the scriptures, which we once thought of as God's literal words, began to be understood as tribal tales and as human interpretations; but when we read then in public worship, we still asserted that "this is the word of the Lord." Then the creeds, the doctrines and the dogmas-which, we asserted, had captured God's revelation-began to be understood as political and cultural compromises; but we, in our fear, had in the past invested these human forms with such authority that those who questioned them were burned at the stake as heretics, and we claimed the word "orthodox" for our own human formulations. . ."
(from http://myfox8.com/2013/05/25/heaven-for-atheists-pope-sparks-debate/)
". . . Atheist leaders welcomed Pope Francis’ comments that God has redeemed atheists, saying that the new pontiff’s historic outreach is helping to topple longstanding barriers. “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone,” the pope told worshipers at morning Mass on Wednesday. “‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone!” Francis continued: “We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.” Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association, said that although he has been skeptical of Francis’ outreach to the nonreligious, he welcomed Wednesday’s comments. . ."
(from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/511016-i-find-something-repulsive-about-the-idea-of-vicarious-redemption) [Christopher Hitchens, world-reknown atheist who preferred to NOT be called an atheist]
“I find something repulsive about the idea of vicarious redemption. I would not throw my numberless sins onto a scapegoat and expect them to pass from me; we rightly sneer at the barbaric societies that practice this unpleasantness in its literal form. There's no moral value in the vicarious gesture anyway. As Thomas Paine pointed out, you may if you wish take on a another man's debt, or even to take his place in prison. That would be self-sacrificing. But you may not assume his actual crimes as if they were your own; for one thing you did not commit them and might have died rather than do so; for another this impossible action would rob him of individual responsibility. So the whole apparatus of absolution and forgiveness strikes me as positively immoral, while the concept of revealed truth degrades the concept of free intelligence by purportedly relieving us of the hard task of working out the ethical principles for ourselves.”
(from http://content.unity.org/homepageArchive/features/ponderFuture.html on John Shelby Spong's writing)
". . .The trouble with traditional Christianity, he said, is that it is built on two assumptions that are inadequate and dying. First, salvation must come from a God outside us—a theistic God, in Spong's term. Second, human beings are fallen, broken, sinful and in need of redemption. In other words, Christianity is based on a God with the power to save and humans who need to be saved. People are cast as “quivering children before a punishing, divine parent figure.” Human depravity is necessary before we can see the grace of God, who “saved a wretch like me,” Spong said, quoting the old hymn. No one has been helped by being told how wretched they are. . . “”
