Fred and Ginger

They dance together
Just watch their feet in flight
They're Fred and Ginger
But only when the music's right

The wedding was a big event
The champagne flowed
and so many dollars were spent
The social season now complete
He picked her up and
Swept her right off of her feet
They looked so sweet

Dance just dance the night away
Tomorrow brings a new day
Tomorrow brings a new day
That's their only chance to play
Tomorrow brings a new day
Tomorrow brings a new day

Everything was going right
The truth won't see the daylight
The truth won't see the daylight
Now they can't avoid the fights
The truth won't see the daylight
The truth won't see the daylight

Something's gone awry
They dance together
Never look into each other's eyes
The feeling isn't quite the same
But was it ever
Which of the two is to blame
It's such a shame
Such a shame

They dance together
Just watch their feet in flight
They're Fred and Ginger
But only when the music's right

(from ANOTHER SHOT
Copyright 2010 Raymond M. Jozwiak)

(Hear my music at http://www.rayjozwiak.com)

It's been. . .

. . . a very busy weekend and, uncharacteristically, I'm looking forward to the 'normal' work week. (I think.)

After browsing some news this morning, it now appears that this week may not turn out to be so normal.
some 'developments' I found include:

** Ghadafi supporters are still fighting rebels in Libya
** Phil Collins is retiring
** The president denounced spending cuts
** Gingrich is running for president (uh oh!)
** The weather will be nice

And possibly the biggest development at all that will be closely monitored, I'm certain, by the pop culture media
. . .

** Justin Bieber to grow mustache
(Really. This is a news story on MSNBC.)

Wow! What a week it's gonna be.

(Hear my music at http://www.rayjozwiak.com)

Always You. . .

You've always been ahead of me
One fact that I
In my infinite wisdom
Could not always see
But in the end you always convinced me
Things aren't always
What they appear
The things I've always looked for

Once long ago before we met
I thought I could
Singlehandedly make the
Spinning world go away
Just like some king
from back in those bygone days
But I was wrong
I don't belong
Inside this category

Seemed to be
At the time to me
To my advantage
Missing why
Not knowing
When to try
To start believing
In my
Very own
Self
Determination

Sometimes at night
When I'm alone
The solitude
And the quiet can bring out
All the worst in my head
But now it seems that isn't to big or bad
I've learned a thing

Or maybe two
And just ahead
There's
Always
You


Remember, tonight compositions by Baltimore Composers Forum members Garth Baxter, Rose Bridges, Jin-Hwa Choi, Ian Hockett, Ljiljana Jovanovic, WIlliam Milner, Vivian A. Rudow, Ariyo Shahry (and me-Ray Jozwiak) will be performed by Andrea Ceccomori a with pianist Elitza Harbova this Saturday at An Die Musik.

See the following links if you'd like to hear more about the concert/and a solo performance of the piece.
http://www.baltimorecomposersforum.com/concerts.html
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/#section2A
http://www.ourstage.com/tracks/TMYIXDMKNAGQ-always-you

(Hear my music at http://www.rayjozwiak.com)

Music. . .

There's music in the sighing of a reed;
There's music in the gushing of a rill;
There's music in all things, if men had ears:
Their earth is but an echo of the spheres.
~Lord Byron

Music is the poetry of the air.
~Jean Paul Richter

Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life.
~Ludwig van Beethoven

Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn.
~Charlie Parker

He who hears music, feels his solitude peopled at once.
~Robert Browning

Music, when soft voices die
Vibrates in the memory -
~Percy Bysshe Shelley

Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.
~Confucius

When you hear music, after it's over, it's gone, in the air. You can never capture it again.
~Eric Dolphy

Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty.
Beauty is not love.
Love is not music.
Music is the best...
~Frank Zappa

Speaking of music, some folks in Baltimore will be hearing compositions by Baltimore Composers Forum members Garth Baxter, Rose Bridges, Jin-Hwa Choi, Ian Hockett, Ljiljana Jovanovic, WIlliam Milner, Vivian A. Rudow, Ariyo Shahry (and me-Ray Jozwiak) performed by Andrea Ceccomori a with pianist Elitza Harbova this Saturday at An Die Musik.

See the following links if you'd like to hear more about the concert/and a solo performance of the piece.
http://www.baltimorecomposersforum.com/concerts.html
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/#section2A
http://www.ourstage.com/tracks/TMYIXDMKNAGQ-always-you

(Hear my music at http://www.rayjozwiak.com)

Let's get with it. . .

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI has made a sweeping exoneration of the Jewish people for the death of Jesus Christ in a new book, tackling one of the most controversial issues in Christianity. In "Jesus of Nazareth" excerpts released Wednesday, Benedict uses a biblical and theological analysis to explain why it is not true that the Jewish people as a whole were responsible for Jesus' death. Interpretations to the contrary have been used for centuries to justify the persecution of Jews. While the Vatican has for five decades taught that Jews weren't collectively responsible, Jewish scholars said Wednesday the argument laid out by the German-born pontiff, who has had his share of mishaps with Jews, was significant and would help fight anti-Semitism today."There's a natural human tendency to take things for granted, and very often this tends to lead to a lapse in awareness and consciousness" about the risk of anti-Semitism, said Rabbi David Rosen, head of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee and a longtime leader in Vatican-Jewish dialogue. He noted that the Vatican issued its most authoritative document on the issue in 1965, "Nostra Aetate," which revolutionized the Catholic Church's relations with Jews by saying Christ's death could not be attributed to Jews as a whole at the time or today. Rosen said the pope's words might make a bigger, more lasting mark because the faithful tend to read Scripture and commentary more so than church documents, particularly old church documents. "It may be an obvious thing for Jews to present texts with commentaries, but normally with church magisterium, they present a document," he said. "This is a pedagogical tool that he's providing, so people will be able to interpret the text in keeping with orthodox Vatican teaching." The book is the second installment to Benedict's 2007 "Jesus of Nazareth," his first book as pope, which offered a very personal meditation on the early years of Christ's life and teachings. This second installment, set to be released March 10, concerns the second half of Christ's life, his death and resurrection.

. . . remember in 1992, three years after Galileo Galilei's namesake spacecraft had been launched on its way to Jupiter, the Vatican formally and publicly cleared Galileo of any wrongdoing?

To quote an old song, ". . . too much too little too late. . . "

(Hear my music at http://www.rayjozwiak.com)

Un- be - f&%k - ing - lievable. . .

'Fred Phelps (I hesitate to call him 'reverend' as I don't know what kind of church he would be 'reverend" to") and other family members who make up most of the Westboro Baptist Church (oh, THAT one!) have picketed many military funerals in their quest to draw attention to their view that U.S. deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.'

Now let's slow down this tape and ask about "GOD?" WHAT is THAT! 'GOD's punishment for the nation's tolerance of other human beings who are not like FRED and his GROUP!!!!' Am I following this or not???

They showed up with their usual signs, including "Thank God for dead soldiers," "You're Going to Hell," "God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11," Let me just insert here, Fred, if that is your GOD, please keep him on YOUR SIDE of the fence, in YOUR YARD. I don't even want your GOD near the dog!!!

Phelps told msnbc.com in an interview in 2006 . “That’s what we’re preaching and the forum of choice to deliver such a message, obviously, is the funeral of the kid that’s been blown to smithereens." (Sorry Fred, logic appears to be ABSENT!!)

"Albert Snyder was surfing the Internet for tributes to his son from other soldiers and strangers when he came upon a poem on the church's website that attacked Matthew's parents for the way they brought up their son. Soon after, Snyder filed a lawsuit accusing the Phelpses of intentionally inflicting emotional distress. He won $11 million at trial, later reduced by a judge to $5 million. The federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., threw out the verdict and said the Constitution shielded the church members from liability."

The label "psychological terrorism" has been applied to Pheps' actions. I agree. While distancing themselves from the church's message, media organizations, including The Associated Press, urged the court to side with the Phelps family because of concerns that a victory for Snyder could erode speech rights.

In spite of my belief in justice and values, I do agree that free speech must be preserved. The circumstances of this situation are unfortunate, to say the least.

In my view, this GOD of Phelps' must be dead though. Because if his GOD is all good, all wise, and all-knowing, he would have knocked the breath out of Phelps and his crew A LONG, LONG TIME AGO.

(The 'news' portions of this are courtesy of MSNBC)

(Hear my music at http://www.rayjozwiak.com)

Yesterday. . .

. . . my fingers were faster than the eye
never left my hands

but, nevertheless, pushed 'go' a little before I actually intended.

Great video though. Funny how many comments posted against this video on YouTube were by folks who had no idea that the clip came from a talk show parody called FERNDALE TONIGHT and the co-hosts (Mull & Willard) were INTENTIONALLY acting like idiots. Furthermore, the laughs were more a result of Martin Mull's facial expressions in reaction to the lyrics. And I'll go a step further, although Waits lived the life to write the songs, the act was still THE ACT, and he well knew why they were laughing and he played his part briliantly. (Of course he is an actor as well.)

Do you suppose the reactions posted on YouTube are, as an indication of the sophistication level of the general public, a direct correlation to the quality of popular entertainment today?

(Hear my music at http://www.rayjozwiak.com)