. . . is it that the electoral college did NOT have the balls to stop what clearly, by the standards of anyone with common sense, should be STOPPED??!!!
(from http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Balls)
Balls
1. A man's testicles where sperm is produced.
2. Courage or bravery.
3. Manliness.
4. Something yelled to shock people.
1. He didn't have the balls to jump off a three-story platform into the water.
2. He may look sexy, but Dereck doesn't have balls.
3. The boy said to his grandmother: "Balls!" And she passed out.
I try so hard (at least by my standards) to watch the calendars of the few artists that I would like to see when they're in town and wouldnchaknowit when I fall down on the job one of my most favorite-est people sneaks up and comes to down TOMORROW night when I can't even MAKE it and just when I've reconciled myself to the fact that I will have to see some of these performers in venues where I will have to stand but I know I can do it to see a really good act because I have done it when I saw Fishbone (twice, actually) and would do it again to see Fishbone and of course would happily and most certainly stand through a show by Ani DiFranco anyday that is anyday that i CAN make it which is not tomorrow because i CAN'T!
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 digitally downloaded at:
(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)
". . . If it is in the Bible, it must be true. . ."
(from Howard Bess)
". . . In the past this attitude has led to advocacy of slavery, segregation, subordination of women and corporal punishment for children. It has been only when these Biblical teachings were challenged and set aside that justice has prevailed. The latest challenge to Bible standards is the current debate about Biblical marriage and same-sex marriages. The Bible standard advocates are calling for Biblical standards for marriage.
Many of the relevant passages are found in the book of Leviticus. The place of women is set out as a part of the property codes. Women were property. Men were owners of women. A man could own as many women as he could afford. Polygamy was the standard, not monogamy. Men owned women in three categories. They owned wives; they owned concubines; and they owned slaves. All were available to their owner for his sexual use. Most of the women involved were little more than breeding stock. These standards were prevalent all over the Middle East and reflect Mesopotamian and Babylonian traditions.
Over the centuries, custom changed and, while polygamy was allowed and was common, cultural pressures and standards evolved toward monogamy. One standard did not change. Women in Jesus’ day were still seen as property. Marriages were still arranged. A woman had no voice in the acquiring of a husband. A young woman was provided for marriage for what was deemed the best interests of the father.
During the times of Jesus, the life of many women in a poverty economy was precarious. A man could divorce a woman by declaring his freedom from her. The worst scenario for a woman was to have no owner. The so-called prostitutes that hung around Jesus were not prostitutes in a modern sense. They were vulnerable women who had no owner. Evidently Jesus accepted them and provided them with a level of protection and security. One of the criticisms of Jesus was that he associated with prostitutes.
To his credit, the Apostle Paul declared that in Christ there was no longer slave or free, male or female. In spite of the acceptance by Jesus and the declaration of Paul, the early church embraced and perpetuated patriarchal dominance and female submission. The Leviticus standard of male ownership of wives continued in most of Christianity until the 20th century. It now seems incredible that women in the United States did not have a vote until the 19th Amendment was adopted in 1920.
I scratch my head when I hear someone declare that we need to return to Biblical standards for marriage.
Around the world and within the United States the understandings of marriage and marriage practices are hugely diverse. In that diversity a new question has been inserted in the public discussion. Should two persons of the same sex be allowed to marry? It is a subject that is never addressed in the Bible. It is a modern question that has evolved over the past 50 years. The Bible is a collection of ancient writings. I would not expect any of these writings to address a question that is so recent. Bible quotations seem so very irrelevant. . . "
". . . Is there no standard for marriage that can be embraced in our modern world? I suspect that diversity of understandings will win the day. The need to formalize the attractions that we have for a loving companion will not go away. . ."
[The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer, Alaska. His email address is HYPERLINK "mailto:hdbss@mtaonline.net" hdbss@mtaonline.net]
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Also download
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AMBIENCE & WINE
by Ray
Jozwiak
(from NPR http://www.npr.org/2012/04/27/151456319/is-moderate-growth-good-for-the-economy)
'The U.S. economy hit the recession exit ramp nearly three years ago,
but it's been lost on the back roads somewhere near Recoveryville ever
since. Growth rates have been modest at best
compared with the 4-plus percent growth in the years well before the
U.S. began slouching toward its worst post-World War II recession. On
Friday, the government reported that the economy grew at a 2.2 percent
pace in the first quarter, down from the 3 percent rate at the end of
2011. The Federal Reserve this week said it expects growth to "remain
moderate over coming quarters and then to pick up gradually. "Common
sense says high growth rates are good and slower, more modest ones are
not so good. But is that always the case? After all, the "irrational
exuberance" of the early 2000s helped bring on the recession as people
borrowed and spent their way to prosperity. Economists
say growth will remain low and consumers will be cautious as long as
unemployment stays high. Last month, the jobless rate stood at 8.2
percent. We asked four economists for their
take on the growth rate and whether it has triggered any permanent
change in consumer behavior. They are Chris Christopher, a senior
principal economist at IHS Global Insight; William Dickens, an economist
at the Brookings Institution; Gary Hufbauer, a senior researcher at the
Peterson Institute for International Economics; and Ken Matheny, senior
economist at Macroeconomic Advisers. . ."
It's time we re-examine our expectations and our standards. Let us redefine 'growth' and calibrate our expectations to a more realistic and natural level. Paraphrasing Dylan Ratigan in "Greedy Bastards", short term greed is practiced by greedy bastards; the largest payback as quickly as possible. Long-term greed is what capitalism is all about. Provide a good or service of value and reap a profit over a number of years . . . yes YEARS; a concept quite foreign to U.S. business.
What
do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html
Also download
your
very own copy of
AMBIENCE & WINE
by Ray
Jozwiak
I did become exposed to a gamut of music during my accordion education playing Polish folk music (but of course), American folk and pop music, tin pan alley standards, classical, English drinking songs and even rock and roll- envision that on the accordion. When you began accordion lessons at the Maryland Accordion Institute, you were issued a twelve bass piano accordion. What that is, is a small accordion with a 25-key piano keyboard on the right (from the performer's perspective) and twelve buttons on the left. The piano accordion is designed to be a complete musical ensemble. The right hand plays melody while the left plays bass notes and complete major chords on the first and second row of buttons respectively. Of course the bellows are between the two halves
After completing the basic course, I don't recall if that was measured in weeks or an instruction book, you were encouraged to purchase a full-size accordion which was casually called a "hundred and twenty bass" accordion, appropriately named for the one hundred and twenty buttons on the left side. The buttons are arranged in diagonal rows consisting of, in order from left to right, a 'counter bass' note (the third of the root bass note which is next to the right, major chord, minor chord, seventh chord and last, diminished chord. The keyboard on the right being larger, of course, has 41 keys.
So you see it is a complex instrument, mastery of which equips one very well with a fair amount of music theory knowledge. And you can see how the 120 bass instrument provides the player much more versatility and range in what can be played.
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