(. . . to an internet NEAR YOU! - The new solo release of solo, acoustic, original creative piano music from Oho's keyboard man Ray Jozwiak . . . )
1957 Raymond Michael Jozwiak is born at Church Home & Hospital, Baltimore, MD
1962 Raymond Michael Jozwiak enters the 1st grade at Our Lady of Fatima School, Baltimore, MD
1963 Raymond Michael Jozwiak begins accordion lessons at the Accordion Institute of Maryland
1972 Raymond Michael Jozwiak joins the band Reflection to play part-time at private functions
1978 Raymond Michael Jozwiak earns his Bachelor of Science degree from Towson State University
1979 Raymond Michael Jozwiak and Pamela Ann Statter marry
1983 Raymond and Pamela buy their first house (in Towson)
1984 - 1990 Raymond and Pamela bring three, extraordinary young men into the world
1985
Raymond Michael Jozwiak trades in his Farfisa Fast 4 and Leslie 145
tone cabinet for his first, (a Wurlitzer, studio upright) piano
1998 Raymond Michael Jozwiak trades in his Wurlitzer, studio upright piano for a Kawai baby grand
2014
Raymond Michael Jozwiak releases 2014, a cumulative, musical
distillation of elements from every human, intellectual, emotional and
musical experience of his life to date, performed on acoustic, grand
pianoforte
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)
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.
. . . but it is a glimpse into the mindset of another of our 'diligent' public servants' . . .
(from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/17/representative-virginia-fox-on-student-debt_n_1431050.html)
". . . Representative Virginia Foxx (R - N.C.) expressed either tough love or ambivalence toward students who find themselves deep in debt, depending on who you ask.
Foxx, who is chairwoman of the house Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, said on the Gordon Liddy Radio Show that it took her seven years to finish school. She added that over those seven years, she borrowed nothing.
"I have very little tolerance for people who tell me that they graduate with $200,000 of debt or even $80,000 of debt because there's no reason for that," Foxx continued. "We live in an opportunity society and people are forgetting that. I remind folks all the time that the Declaration of Independence says 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' You don't sit on your butt and have it dumped in your lap."
The Bronx native worked as one of her high school’s janitors before she enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She graduated in 1968, according to her congressional biography.
Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) responded to her comments on Monday afternoon from the house floor.
"Incredibly, the chair of the Subcommittee for Higher Education spoke last week in North Carolina and said, 'I have very little tolerance for people who tell me they graduate with $200,000 in debt or even $80,000 of debt.' Really?
"It is a sad statement when today's Republican party turns its back on a program that helps millions of Americans fulfill their dreams, and that is named after a Republican Senator, Robert Stafford of Vermont," Courtney said.
Foxx’s spokesperson told The Huffington Post via email, “Congresswoman Foxx is concerned about rising college costs and the burdensome effect a large sum of debt can have on a student's future. She believes the focus should be on making college more affordable and providing students and parents with the information necessary to make informed decisions about college and understand the cost and the implications of those personal decisions. . .”
After so much talk about guns, school shootings, deaths, children, the constitution, 2nd amendment, rights, militia, concealed carry, assault guns, automatic and semi-automatic, I've come to a conclusion.
Anyone who takes either side of the debate, but refuses to engage in meaningful discussion about, is clearly part of the problem. They are part of the problem because they do not even want to begin to think about a solution. (And if they do not think a problem exists. . . well, that's an entirely different story.)
This rant is honestly inspired by the existence of too many cutesy, Fox-news-y, tough-guy, on-line posts on social media regarding the issue.
Personally, I find gratification in facts. Granted, one must always bear in mind the accuracy of the 'facts' they have received (in this on-line age this is all-too-easy) and verify same before actually BELIEVING them, let alone try to force them on all their social-networks 'friends.'
Fifteen minutes of glory
Maybe less
What I wouldn't give for the
chance
To confess
All my intimate secrets
All my hopes and my desires
I don't care just how valid
You think that they are
They've been mine for a long long time
And I'm not ashamed of them
Shut up Joe
How
do you really know
What's going down
How can you tell if there's a
problem somewhere
To be found
We all need to gather round
To help
everybody else to see
That running your mouth aloud
Makes it that much
more difficult
For you and me
And our integrity
Went
to work at the factory
At fourteen
Thought I'd finish my schooling
Sometime in between
Drunken weekends and futile street fights
And the
visits to my best girl
But the time slipped away
I've got bills here
to pay
I've got small ones depending on me
My vision is limited
Shut up Joe
How
do you really know
What's going down
How can you tell if there's a
problem somewhere
To be found
We all need to gather round
To help
everybody else to see
That running your mouth aloud
Makes it that much
more difficult
For you and me
And our integrity
All my life I've known
I'd want to say
Something to my
Fellow man today
Couldn't let the facts
Get in the way.
We
weren't that well acquainted
Never were
An occasional run-in
We
preferred
There's one thing that we both believe in
Heard it over
and over again
It was something about
All the fondness we felt
How
the heart can't miss what's not around
If the mind doesn't value it
Shut up Joe
How
do you really know
What's going down
How can you tell if there's a
problem somewhere
To be found
We all need to gather round
To help
everybody else to see
That running your mouth aloud
Makes it that much
more difficult
For you and me
And our integrity
I only knew that DOA was a 'shake-me-up' kinda single that I heard when I was in junior high school (yeah, before they called it "Middle School") and thought it was just great because it was 'heavy' musically and imaginative in the perspective from which it was speaking. But maybe a little too dark and possibly gross for some. . .
(from wikipedia.com)
". . . Bloodrock initially formed in Fort Worth in 1963, under the name The Naturals. This first lineup featured Jim Rutledge (b. January 24, 1947) – drums/vocals, Nick Taylor (b. October 29, 1946 - d. March 10, 2010) – guitar/vocals, Ed Grundy (b. March 10, 1948) – bass/vocals, and Dean Parks – guitar. They released their first single in 1965 “Hey Girl” b/w “I Want You”(Rebel MME 1003). Shortly thereafter they changed their name to Crowd + 1 and released three more singles: “Mary Ann Regrets” b/w "Whatcha Tryin’ to Do to Me"(BOX 6604), "Don’t Hold Back" b/w "Try," and "Circles" b/w “Most Peculiar Things.”
In 1967 Parks left Crowd +1 to become the musical director for the Sonny & Cher Show (the beginning of a long career as a session musician). He was replaced by Lee Pickens (b. December 8, 194?) – guitar. It was also at this time that Stevie Hill (b. Tulsa, OK) – keyboards/vocals joined the group. They continued as Crowd + 1 until 1969 when they changed their name to Bloodrock. They also recorded their first album, the Terry Knight produced, Bloodrock (ST-435). The album, released in March 1970, peaked at 160 on the Billboard 200 chart .
In 1970 Rutledge moved from behind the drum set to take on lead vocal duties exclusively. Rick Cobb (b. James Richard Cobb III) took over the percussive duties and added his voice to the group as well. This lineup recorded their next four albums: Bloodrock 2 (ST-491), Bloodrock 3 (ST-765), Bloodrock USA (SMAS 645), and Bloodrock Live (SVBB-11038).
Bloodrock 2 and D.O.A.
Bloodrock 2 was their most successful album peaking at #21 on the Billboard Pop Album Chart in 1971 mostly on the strength of their single "DOA" which reached #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on March 6, 1971. "DOA" also gave the band considerable regional exposure throughout the Southwest and West, particularly in Texas and Southern California. "DOA" was probably the band's most well known and well remembered single. The motivation for writing this song was explained in 2005 by guitarist Lee Pickens. “When I was 17, I wanted to be an airline pilot,” Pickens said. “I had just gotten out of this airplane with a friend of mine, at this little airport, and I watched him take off. He went about 200 feet in the air, rolled and crashed.” The band decided to write a song around the incident and include it on their second album.
In 1972 Lee Pickens left to form The Lee Pickens Group and released the album 'LPG" in 1973 on Capitol Records. Jim Rutlege retired from active music altogether, however in 1976 he also released a solo album on Capitol Records entitled: "Hooray for Good Times". Rutlege was replaced by Warren Ham in early 1972. The subsequent album, Passages was the last time Bloodrock visited the charts. It peaked at #104 on the Billboard 200 in 1972.
1973 brought another personnel change: Rick Cobb vacated the drums to be replaced by Randy Reader. This line up recorded one album: Whirlwind Tongues (1974).
The end of the road for Bloodrock came in 1975. Randy Reader left the group and an album, Unspoken Words, remained unreleased until 2000, where it was included as part of the CD release Triptych (along with Passage and Whirlwind Tongues). Unspoken Words featured Bill Ham and Matt Betton
A reunion concert featuring five of the six original numbers (Jim Rutledge, Lee Pickens, Ed Grundy, Nick Taylor, Stevie Hill, and Chris Taylor in place of original drummer Rick Cobb III) was held on March 12, 2005 in Fort Worth, for the benefit of their keyboardist Stevie Hill.
What
do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html
You can NOW download
your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE
We will reap just what we sow. Unless we see drastic change in the NRA and improve our good judgement, we will reap more and more of this. . .
An 11-year-old sixth-grade student in Utah is in police custody after he was accused of bringing a gun to school because he wanted to protect himself in the event of a school shooting. He wanted to defend himself if there was an incident similar to what happened in Newtown, CT.
Some witnesses claim the boy brandished the gun on the playground and pointed it at another child's head and others said the boy verbally threatened another student with the gun. Police have not yet been able to confirm these accounts.
The boy also had ammunition, although the gun was not loaded and it was not immediately clear whether the bullets were the appropriate ammunition for the gun which he obtained from an extended family member who moved out of the family’s house last week. He was suspended from the school, will probably face severe criminal penalties and will never be allowed back into the traditional school setting.
What
do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html
You can NOW download
your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE
(based upon http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/18/15996725-fierce-debate-after-newtown-school-shootings-where-was-god?lite)
Have you heard what former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is ordained as a minister in the Southern Baptist Church (and a possible presidential candidate in 2016), said about the horrible elementary school shootings in Connecticut? He said that "we've systematically removed God from our schools." And, "Should we be so surprised that schools would become a place of carnage?" he asked.
Religious scholar Martin E. Marty of Chicago said, in reaction, that Huckabee "wins, hands down, the prize for his absurdist judgment that 'Newtown' should have been no surprise." Steve McSwain, a former Baptist minister and interfaith activist, said, "With such remarks, you (Huckabee) not only show little regard for those broken by this tragedy, but you make God into some kind a cosmic psychopath — vengeful, sickeningly repulsive, one who takes out his madness on innocent little children. . .Your reasoning is repulsive: Because we have removed your god from our schools, this is how your god gets even?"
He reportedly said also, "God wasn't armed. He didn't go to the school," Huckabee continued. "But God will be there in the form of a lot of people with hugs and therapy and a whole lot of ways in which he will be involved in the aftermath." Sounds like backpedaling to me.
James Dobson, the another evangelical loose cannon, said on his radio show, "Family Talk," that because "we have turned our back on the Scripture and on God Almighty, I think he has allowed judgment to fall upon us. I think that's what's going on." He then, not surprisingly, (listen-up Santorum) blamed two issues in particular: abortion and gay marriage.
Possibly the prize-winner in the group, Joseph Farah, editor of the conservative news site WND says the U.S. should expect "more Sandy Hooks, not fewer," because of America's "secularism" and restrictions on guns. . . It's not that there are too many guns in our hands. It's that there is not enough repentance in our hearts."
What
do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html
You can NOW download
your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE
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