The old and the musty
The bitter and tired
Useless toxic clingings
Of a bygone day
Serve no lover of life
No matter the amount
Of rationalization . . .
(from https://www.npr.org/2017/12/14/570190218/new-year-to-bring-new-test-for-trump-administration-on-key-russia-sanctions)
". . . The New Year will bring a new test for President Trump and the United States' relationship with Russia. . . Five years ago, President Obama signed a bill imposing sanctions on a group of powerful people there charged with involvement in the death of a Russian lawyer who uncovered a $230 million tax fraud scheme — and then died in government custody. The sanctions infuriated Russian President Vladimir Putin. . . Since then, the State Department has put more people on its sanctions list, usually at the beginning of each year, and the choice it makes next month about who or how many people it adds could be consequential. . . "This is the big test for Donald Trump about whether he is really a friend of Putin's or whether he's a tough guy as to whether he actually adds names," said Bill Browder, a financier-turned-advocate who pushed for the sanctions. . . "This is highly significant and highly pregnant with meaning whatever he does or doesn't do, if he really wants to take the wind out of the sails of this collusion narrative" . . ."
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mercy)
Definition of mercy
plural mercies
1 a :compassion or forbearance (see forbearance 1) shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power; also :lenient or compassionate treatment begged for mercy
b :imprisonment rather than death imposed as penalty for first-degree murder
2 a :a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion May God have mercy on us.
b :a fortunate circumstance it was a mercy they found her before she froze
3 :compassionate treatment of those in distress works of mercy among the poor
— mercy adjective
— at the mercy of
:wholly in the power of :with no way to protect oneself against
A new tune (in progress) inspired by many old tunes . . .
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)
The tenth solo offering from Ray Jozwiak of piano soundscapes based upon and inspired by his own unique and original world populated by some very influential influencers including: Mike & Lilly, John, Paul, George, Ringo, Myron Floren, Eddie Arnold, Peter, Paul & Mary, Burl Ives, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Chet Atkins, Janis Ian, Mr. Schwartz, Dimitrious Apostolu, Eddie (Taylor) Krawcyk, Stephen Krawcyk, Albert Krall, Buck Owens, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Gentle Giant, The Electric Light Orchestra, Yes, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Ian Anderson, Peter Gabriel, Keith Morgan, Bruce Kafer, Greg Marsh, Ray Kitz, Eddie Singer, Rick Hannah, the other Rick (trumpet player), Ted Brittingham, Randy Filmore, John Hammond, Joseph Arthur, Ani DiFranco, Bob Zacharko, Frank Zappa, Cannonball Adderley, George Duke, Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Vince Guraldi, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Kris Kristofferson, Lafayette Gilchrist, Tom Bresh, Bruce Kovacs, Jay Graboski, David Reeve, Jeff Graboski, Bill Pratt, Dom Minasi, Ken Gutberlet, Doug Alan Wilcox, Rod Deacey, Ron Goad, Todd Walker, Tomy Wright, Chris Anderson, Mary Battiata, Lara Herscovitch, Spook Handy, Dean Zhlomski, Barry Reichart, Johnny Hofman, David Murray, N'Dinga Gaba, Ornette Coleman, Ray Anderson, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Sun Ra, John Gilmore, Marshall Allen, Elvis Costello, Ian Hunter, Ira Sullivan, Abdoulaye Ndiaye . . . (and many more)
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)
It can also be fun, exciting, demanding, thought-provoking, doubtful, congratulatory, tedious, labor-intensive, fearful, anxiety-producing, rewarding, reflective, disparaging, encouraging . . . and more . . .
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)
. . . Scapegoating - to play off one group against another . . .
. . . be WARY!
(from Outsider in the White House by Bernie Sanders with Huck Gutman)
". . . For a hundred years, the white workers of the South were the most exploited white workers in America. They were paid the lowest wages, they endured the worst working conditions, their housing was abysmal, their kids went to the most backward schools, and very few could send their children to college. But what did they have? They were given "niggers" to hate and look down on, "niggers" who couldn't vote, drink at their water fountains, use the same bathrooms, or sit up front in the buses or movie theaters.
The political, economic, social, and educational systems of the South enforced those divisions and continually fed the antagonisms. Above all things, white workers were encouraged to despise, and protect themselves from their black neighbors, or face losing what little they had. The rich folks in the the South - the bankers the manufacturers, the cottonfield owners - laughed all the way to the bank. . .political activists. . . brought black and white workers together to fight for justice. They did this not only because they believed in civil rights and equal opportunity but also because they undersood that real economic and political transformation would never be achieved as long as whites and blacks were busy fighting each other - rather than their common oppressors. . . "
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 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne-
poem by Robert Burns)
Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,
and never thought upon;
The flames of Love extinguished,
and fully past and gone:
Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,
that loving Breast of thine;
That thou canst never once reflect
On old long syne.
CHORUS:
On old long syne my Jo,
On old long syne,
That thou canst never once reflect,
On old long syne.
(from the New Year's Pre-Party at Bourbon Street on the Beach, December 31, 2015)
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://www.sunraarkestra.com/1-main.html)
". . . In the half-between world,
Dwell they: The Tone Scientists
In notes and tone
They speak of many things...
The tone scientists:
Architects of planes of discipline
Mathematically precise are they:
The tone-scientists
(Sun Ra) . . .
Perhaps most significantly, Marshall Allen [Marshall Allen- the tone scientist, and leader of the Sun Ra Arkestra] assumed the helm of the Sun Ra Arkestra in 1995 after the ascension of Sun Ra in 1993 and John Gilmore in 1995. Mr. Allen continues to reside at the Sun Ra Residence in Philadelphia, composing, writing and arranging for the Arkestra much like his mentor, totally committed to a life of discipline centered totally on the study, research, and further development of Sun Ra's musical precepts. . .Marshall maintains the Sun Ra residence as a living museum dedicated to the compilation, restoration and preservation of Sun Ra's music, memorabilia, and artifacts. Marshall has launched the Sun Ra Arkestra into a dimension beyond that of mere "ghost" band by writing fresh arrangements of Sun Ra's music, as well as composing new music for the Arkestra. He works unceasingly to keep the big-band tradition alive, reworking arrangements of the music of Fletcher Henderson and Jimmie Lunceford for the Arkestra to play, along with many other American standards. . . "
Tone scientist, Bowling Green or Saturn. . . WHO CARES???!!! Listen. . . listen . . . listen. . .
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)
All of us are born into a "tribal mentality" of various forms. These include our family unit, religious background, country of origin, ethnicity, etc. The tribal mentality effectively indoctrinates an individual into the tribe's beliefs, ensuring that all believe the same. The structure of reality – what is and is not possible for the members of the group – is thus agreed upon and maintained by the tribe.
While the tribal mentality has definite benefits in terms of establishing common ground and ensuring group survival, it is not a conscious agreement. We are born into it. Yet at a certain stage, both personally and collectively, the tribal mentality must be challenged. People can then begin to recognize the need for a personal honor code independent of the tribe. If humanity is to progress, we need to learn how to treat everyone – regardless of tribal affiliation – with honor and respect.
Every one of us is plugged into the tribal mind. We support tribal belief patterns by directing a percentage of our life force into maintaining our affiliation with the tribe. This involves an implicit agreement to think like the tribe thinks, to evaluate situations and people the way the tribe does, and to believe in right and wrong according to tribal values and ambitions. As long as the tribal mentality within us remains unexamined, we unwittingly subject others to our tribal laws.
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)
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