So management. . .

. . . says I should keep this blog focused on music and music-related things. . . and since I'M management, I know that they know what they're talking about!

So that's what I'm gonna do. At least I hope I am. (I can't promise that I won't stray occasionally just because. . . JUST BECAUSE.
That's what life's about.)

Springtime can be downright inspirational. Of course it would be much more inspirational if the rain would stop. A little warm spring air might be nice too. Hey, it could be much worse. We've been known to have snow in these parts as late as May, although rarely. So suffice to say that I shall take inspiration from the fact that spring (and subsequently summer) are within view and inevitable. I take my inspiration from wherever I can get it and am in the process of composing new things while editing and reworking some older things. Meantime, I can hear the birds singing outside.

Like Frank Zappa said, "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..."


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ANOTHER SHOT
by Ray Jozwiak

I'm feeling dead. . .

. . . on my feet. I've got that stubble on my chin. Spent half the night on the job. I'm gonna bring that new account in.
There ain't no supper on the table. The lady knows just where I've been. I do the best that I am able with the limited resources I have in matters of the heart. And if it's coming down to minding my own business, it's just the business I've been minding; that I've been minding all the time. You gotta make up your mind. I always wanted to grow up shooting outlaws while riding on the back of a horse. But that just wasn't a part of the plan. My mother told me to always be a good boy. But I'm a company man. I do the best that I can. My wife and children will have to wait in line for my time 'cause I'm a company man.

This lookin' bad isn't good. The only answer is ignore it. A little pain here and there, you get some medicine and cure it. It's not that I can't take the PRESSURE. The pot is boiling all the time. It's only that I'm being measured by the powers in the boardroom above. They're always watching me. And if I miss an opportunity to make another, to make a profit they will find it. And it'll certainly be missed. Another cheek to be kissed. I always wanted to grow up shooting outlaws while riding on the back of a horse. But that just wasn't a part of the plan. My mother told me to always be a good boy. But I'm a company man. I do the best that I can. My wife and children will have to wait in line for my time 'cause I'm a company man.

I was so young and idealistic then. Couldn't see the trees for the forest most of the time until I tasted all the choicest wines. Saving money up for that rainy day. Promising a romantic getaway. Have I made a pact with the devil or is it just fate?

I was a child of the light. I always hoped to do the right things. And though they said I was bright there's still a fire inside me burning for all the riches I am missing; for all the love I never found. I wonder who she might be kissing in the middle of a cold winter night when left alone again. I wonder just what I would do if she would leave me; pack up the kids and run away without a singular goodbye. Why in the world would she try? I always wanted to grow up shooting outlaws while riding on the back of a horse. But that just wasn't a part of the plan. My mother told me to always be a good boy. But I'm a company man. I do the best that I can. My wife and children will have to wait in line for my time 'cause I'm a company man.


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ANOTHER SHOT
by Ray Jozwiak
(that's me!)

Sometimes you feel like a nut. . .

. . . sometimes you don't.

It's difficult to explain, but sometimes I feel like I am about seven years old. Childish? Hopefully infrequently, but more childlike, I think. Childlike in that I am curiously still full of wonder; questioning a plethora of things which so many others take for granted or are simply too busy (and adult?) to think about any longer. Childlike in my optimism (can you believe that?) and the sheer joy and pleasure I derive from the simple, and the BEST, things in life.

Security? Yes. I crave it at about the same rate as any other human being. But I do feel a certain amount of security, but a different, mature, independent security of my own making and not the security felt by a seven year old boy in a happy, for all intent and purpose, home with 'not a care in the world'. But at seven, why in hell should there be a care in the world? At fifty three, I would have to live in a hole to not have a care in the world.

The security I possess no longer comes from reliance upon a mysterious, unseen being or the promise of a nebulous, supernatural, post-death existence. It also most certainly does not originate from my own tiny little glob of gray matter. The king's portion of the security that I experience comes from my very own immediate family; my wife and three sons. And I don't mean that they exhibit a 'Ward Cleaver' authority and confidence to my sniveling, helpless child-man. What they DO each provide is a real, dependable, loving, appreciative, challenging human presence which elevates, fortifies, inspires, puzzles (and sometimes angers) me on a regular basis. This security seems to hit the spot for a mature (and again, I mean physically) adult male in 21st century America. . . me.



ANOTHER SHOT by Ray Jozwiak (that's me!)

Yeah. . .

. . . blathering again. . .

Music, music, music on my mind. Listening to my friend Doug Alan Wilcox as I write. He's working on a new CD. Check him out. Mellow! (The good kind of mellow.)

Good weekend. Weather is improving. Looking for those damned ants again. Not because I'm looking forward to seeing them. Only because they always show up. But I'm ready for them. I've got my Terro and more on order. Yuck!

Worked in the yard, not one of my favorite things, but actually enjoyed the time with my wife. And alas, another bottle tree grows in Towson. Tricky little suckers though. Gotta get the nails in the post at the perfect upward tilting angle, but not drive them in too far. A good wind though, and I fear their will be some bottles on the lawn to rake.

Watched a bit of the 'reelz' network special on JFK, my minimum weekly television requirement. Some good acting. Even DVRed, seems like there's a commercial after every 3 minutes of program. Sure, we zip through them, still annoying though.

Soothed the soul at the keyboard a bit. Mystic I played to a warm, appreciative congregation at CSL Baltimore on Sunday. Great folks. Love Lisa's soulful voice. (And the rest of the band is good too).

Shutdown of the government was avoided shortly before midnight Friday. That's good for a lot of government employees, that's for sure.

Gaddafi is still hanging in there. WTF???

Gotta go to the day job. Bittersweet. (Balance man, balance.)



ANOTHER SHOT by Ray Jozwiak (that's me!)

Stick to your guns. . .

STICK TO YOUR GUNS
STICK TO YOUR GUNS
DON’T LET NOBODY MAKE YOU RUN
JUST STICK TO YOUR GUNS

I’M NOT TALKING ‘BOUT WEAPONS
AUTOMATIC AND SUCH
IF YOU HAVE SOME CONVICTION
PRINCIPLES MEAN SO MUCH
PRINCIPLES MEAN SO MUCH

I JUST WANT TO SING
HEAR THE MANY VIBRATIONS RING
MAYBE MY MUSIC’S NOT YOUR KIND OF THING
I’VE GOT TO GET THE OTHERS LISTENING
I’VE GOT TO GET TH OTHERS LISTENING

IT’S A HUMAN THING
WE’RE EAS’LY LED WHEN THERE ARE TWO OR THREE
YES TWO IS COMPANY AND THREE IS A CROWD
THE GROUP OF VOICES CAN BE VERY LOUD
THE OTHER VOICES CAN BE VERY LOUD





ANOTHER SHOT by Ray Jozwiak (that's me!)

Some strange things. . .

. . . have I experienced this week. . .

The bumper sticker: "I love my Granddogs" (Sorry, this is taking 'doggie-dom' to new heights)

A girl I know always says 'You can do anything if you have your glasses and a bright light on.' (Which is probably true, now that I think about it.)

Trump is thinking about another run for President. (Does ANYONE really have to comment on THAT?!)

"Business is business and business must grow" [. . . Dr. Seuss] (Came to my mind after hearing some bad news about a local office of a very successful business)

And last but not least, the budget battle in DC. . . looked up some facts. . . (Thanks to FactCheck.org)
Obama claimed that by the middle of this decade his budget “will not be adding more to the national debt.” But that’s not true. The debt will continue to grow by more than $600 billion even in 2015, the year with the least red ink projected.
The president also claims that the “discretionary” budget is only 12 percent of the total. It’s actually 36 percent. Obama, like President Bush before him, is referring to “non-security” spending that excludes not only the Pentagon but the Department of Homeland Security and veterans’ benefits.
Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the Budget Committee, repeated a false claim that Obama has increased domestic discretionary spending by 84 percent over the last two years. He hasn’t. That spending went up 27 percent, even counting stimulus spending, according to the official tally from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Ryan’s committee also claims that Obama’s budget contains $1.6 trillion in “new taxes.” Actually, 44 percent of that total is made up of increases scheduled under current law, not proposed in the budget. And one big proposed increase is offset by Obama holding down a scheduled rise in the Alternative Minimum Tax.
Speaker Boehner claimed Obama has added 200,000 federal workers, when official figures put the total at 58,000, and Sarah Palin claimed in a bogus Twitter message that Obama’s cuts are only 0.1 percent of the deficit, when the true figure is 20 times higher.

So. . . THERE!


ANOTHER SHOT by Ray Jozwiak (that's me!)

Talk about your glass HALF FULL. . .

Irrespective of its inherent theistic philosophy, to which I do not personally subscribe, I do think this is a damned happy (and catchy) tune. . . .





Oh yeah, hope you'll check out ANOTHER SHOT by Ray Jozwiak (that's me!)