The Lay . . .

. . . of the land evokes images, in my mind, of old cowboy movies replete with ten-gallon hat, many horses, six-shooters and lots and lots of wide-open spaces; the proverbial 'back forty.' In my current reality, the lay of the land means adjusting in terms of where to find what, and learning exactly how to get there. . .


(http://grammarist.com/idiom/lay-of-the-land-or-lie-of-the-land/)
Lay of the land is a phrase that figuratively or metaphorically means the current state of affairs, how something is organized. Literally, the lay of the land is the arrangement of features upon the land. One usually assesses the lay of the land in preparation for action. The idiom lay of the land is first recorded in 1819. A related idiom is the British phrase how the land lies, a usage that turns up in about 1700. According to Google Ngram Viewer, the use of the term lay of the land peaked in the early 1900s. Lay of the land is a North American phrase. . . Lie of the land is the British phrase that metaphorically means the current state of affairs, how something is organized. Literally, the lie of the land is the arrangement of features upon the land. In fact, lie of the land and lay of the land mean the same thing.

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Image . . .

(from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/saudi-arabian-women-s-rights-activists-arrested-just-weeks-driving-n875771)

". . . Saudi authorities have detained at least six activists, including three of the country's most prominent women's rights campaigners, just weeks before the kingdom is set to lift a ban on women driving, people familiar with the arrests said Friday. . . As activists remain under pressure to keep silent, credit for reforms, such as lifting the ban on women driving, has largely gone to the king's 32-year-old son and heir, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He has relaxed some of the country's ultraconservative rules by allowing women into stadiums to watch sports and bringing back musical concerts and movie theaters. . . Such measures, however, are more about boosting the economy and improving the country's image abroad, and less about promoting personal freedoms. The kingdom remains an absolute monarchy where protests are illegal and where the king and his son oversee all major decision-making. . ."

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Image . . .

(from https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3956.Christopher_Hitchens)
"God did not create man in his own image. Evidently, it was quite the other way about, which is the painless explanation for the profusion of gods and religions, and the fratricide both between and among faiths, that we see all about us and that has so retarded the development of civilization."

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Wild . . .

. . . conjures up images of jungles, exotic animals, dense forests, aarid plains, living off the land hunting, foraging etc. The notion of 'wild' evokes a certain romanticism; a state of inaccessible, remote disconnection from a conventional, acceptable behavior which is somehow closer to our natural state. Wildness is a desirable, admirable condition for which the common man frequently strives yet rarely attains. Paraphrasing a great prophet, many are drawn but few are authentically WILD. . .


Wildness
©2017 Raymond M. Jozwiak

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My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills

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your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)

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Orange Stuff . . .

(from http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/newspaper-mistakenly-runs-picture-alec-baldwin-snl-instead-trump-n719846)

". . . This was no laughing matter for a major newspaper in the Dominican Republic. . . El Nacional issued an apology Saturday after readers quickly pointed out it used a picture of Alec Baldwin playing President Donald Trump on "Saturday Night Live" — instead of the true Trump's image — for a story about U.S.-Israeli relations. . . The paper said on its website that the gaffe went "unnoticed during the reviewing of page 19" because of a "mix-up of photos" sent by The Associated Press. . . "The picture was sent that day by the Associated Press with the name of the actor and the program, but was placed as if it were the one of Trump," the paper said. "El Nacional apologizes to the readers and to all those who felt sincerely affected by the publication. Alec Baldwin imitates Trump on one of the most important shows in the U.S.". . ."

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your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)

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Also, be sure to visit: www.rayjozwiak.com and www.ohomusic.com

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Grow Up . . .

Why don't you grow up
just as fast as you can
All of your innocence
Is a flash in the pan
It's overrated you say
Tryin' to be a nice guy
It's so much easier this way
So why even try
Too many cowboys

Everyone's watching
So you think all the time
Maintain the image
But it's all in your mind
What's so damned special about
Being hard as a nail
Banishing subtlety
Sets yourself up to fail
Too many cowboys

Just too many cowboys
Not quite enough men
Who will listen
Rather learn than
Only just pretend

You wear a big hat
It's a Stetson of course
Chew some tobacco
Take a ride on your horse
You've got some buddies I see
Just a little hard-boiled
They've got some dirt on their hands
They all dabble in oil
Too many cowboys

Can't say you're sorry
Can't say you're wrong
God is on your side
He's been there all along
It doesn't matter to you
If they're hurt or they're dead
You've been above it so long
I'll stick by what I said
too many cowboys

Just too many cowboys
Not quite enough men
Who will listen
Rather learn than
Only just pretend

Only if we knew back then
The things that we know now
You'd have stayed back there
And we'd be better off and how

Get in your big truck
And just drive away
You have no interest
in the things that I say
Nor did you ever
Listen that much at all
You set yourself up
For some big kind of fall
Too many cowboys

And just like a cowboy
Just the kind that you are
Virile and macho
But without a guitar
Into the sunset you rode
And the credits did roll
Not a regret did you feel
But you've taken your toll
Too Many Cowboys

Just too many cowboys
Not quite enough men
Who will listen
Rather learn than
Only just pretend


Too Many Cowboys
from Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak
©2007 & 2014 Raymond M. Jozwiak




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


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)

Also, be sure to visit:
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Art . . .

(from http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-art-of-billie-holidays-life)
" . . . Some biographies of artists take in the whole life—preferably with equal attention to the work, and integrating the two elements to the extent that the work invites it. Others offer a bio-slice or synecdoche, centered on one particular period, relationship, or field of activity to provide an exemplary angle on the life and work. John Szwed’s brief but revelatory new book, “Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth” (Viking), which comes out this week—just under the wire for her centenary (Holiday was born April 7, 1915)—is in another category. It’s a meta-biography, about the creation of Holiday’s public image in media of all sorts: print, television, movies, and, of course, her recordings, but with special attention to the composition of her autobiography, “Lady Sings the Blues,” which was published in 1956. . ."

What do you think?

Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html  or at
http://www.ohomusic.com 


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)

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

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Too Many . . .

. . . Cowboys. . .

Why don't you grow up
just as fast as you can
All of your innocence
Is a flash in the pan
It's overrated you say
Tryin' to be a nice guy
It's so much easier this way
So why even try
Too many cowboys

Everyone's watching
So you think all the time
Maintain the image
But it's all in your mind
What's so damned special about
Being hard as a nail
Banishing subtlety
Sets yourself up to fail
Too many cowboys

Just too many cowboys
Not quite enough men
Who will listen
Rather learn than
Only just pretend

You wear a big hat
It's a Stetson of course
Chew some tobacco
Take a ride on your horse
You've got some buddies I see
Just a little hard-boiled
They've got some dirt on their hands
They all dabble in oil
Too many cowboys

Can't say you're sorry
Can't say you're wrong
God is on your side
He's been there all along
It doesn't matter to you
If they're hurt or they're dead
You've been above it so long
I'll stick by what I said
too many cowboys

Just too many cowboys
Not quite enough men
Who will listen
Rather learn than
Only just pretend

Get in your big truck
And just drive away
You have no interest
in the things that I say
Nor did you ever
Listen that much at all
You set yourself up
For some big kind of fall
Too many cowboys

And just like a cowboy
Just the kind that you are
Virile and macho
But without a guitar
Into the sunset you rode
And the credits did roll
Not a regret did you feel
But you've taken your toll
Too Many Cowboys

Just too many cowboys
Not quite enough men
Who will listen
Rather learn than
Only just pretend



Too Many Cowboys
©2009 Raymond M. Jozwiak





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

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Movies. . .

. . . is magic. . .

(from wikipedia.com)
". . . A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still images on a strip of plastic which, when run through a projector and shown on a screen, creates the illusion of moving images. A film is created by photographing actual scenes with a motion picture camera; by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques; by means of CGI and computer animation; or by a combination of some or all of these techniques and other visual effects. The process of filmmaking is both an art and an industry.

Films usually include an optical soundtrack, which is a graphic recording of the spoken words, music and other sounds that are to accompany the images. It runs along a portion of the film exclusively reserved for it and is not projected.

Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures. They reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment, and a powerful medium for educating—or indoctrinating—citizens. The visual basis of film gives it a universal power of communication. Some films have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles to translate the dialog into the language of the viewer. . ."

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

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Monk. . .

 (from Thelonious Monk:  The Life and Times of an American Original by Robin D.G. Delley)
". . . Monk walked away to another part of the studio where Weller's props lay.  He saw a little red wagon and decided to park there for a moment.  The image was striking.  There was Monk, sporting a clean dark three-button suite, dark tie, crisp white shirt, handkerchief, bamboo-framed sunglasses and plaid driving cap.  Bacon reluctantly asked Monk if it was OK to shoot him sitting in the wagon.  Thelonious agreed.  "I told them I would pose in a wagon, because I have actually composed while sitting in my kid's wagon on the front sidewalk."  To further underscore the point, Thelonious added his own props-his brief case, a sheet of staff paper and a long pencil. . . "

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very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE

Please visit
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