iPod? . . .

. . . as a solo instrument. . .

(from Wikipedia.com)
Don ". . . Preston was born into a family of musicians in Detroit and began studying music at an early age. His father was the composer-in-residence for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Preston later did a stint in the army, serving in Trieste, Italy. Upon his return to Detroit during the early '50s, Preston associated with pianist Tommy Flanagan. He also sat in with Elvin Jones and others at the city's West End Cafe where Yusef Lateef conducted twice-a-week jam sessions with Milt Jackson's brother, bassist Alvin Jackson.

Preston moved to Los Angeles in 1957 where he hooked up with pianist Paul Bley, bassist Charlie Haden, and others who were hearing jazz in new ways.

Many will recognize Preston from his long collaboration with Frank Zappa as the keyboardist and one of the members of the original Mothers of Invention. Preston performed and recorded with Zappa until 1974. During that time he was music director for Meredith Monk(with whom he had previously shared a house) and started recording and performing electronic music.

He is a co-founder of the Grandmothers and still active with the band, completing an extensive tour in Summer-Fall 2000 and later tours through 2011.

Preston also appeared on-stage as a guest keyboardist with the Zappa tribute band Project/Object (featuring Zappa Band alumni Ike Willis and Napoleon Murphy Brock) for several shows in 2001 and 2002.

From his Cryptogramophone Records biography: "Often compared to Cecil Taylor for his style of attacking the keys with intense passion, Preston’s solos also reflect intellect, technical skills and a storyteller's way with a line. His playing, like his compositions, ranges across panoramas of mood and emotion, all colored with the freedom that comes from possessing remarkable facility.

Preston has played and recorded with the likes of John Lennon, Peter Erskine and John Carter. He also has scored more than 20 feature film scores and 14 plays. He's the winner of numerous awards, and has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and London Philharmonic. Known to jazz and keyboard aficionados for his pioneering contributions in the use of synthesizers and piano, legendary clarinetist and composer John Carter dubbed Don Preston the "father of modern synthesis.". . . "

And yes indeed, he DOES play the iPod. . .

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Thought. . .

 . . . so?   Or not? . . .

(from "Thomas Jefferson;  Author of America" by Christopher Hitchens)
". . . As his days began to wane, Jefferson more than once wrote to friends that he faced the approaching end without either hope or fear.  This was as much as to say, in the most unmistakable terms, that he was not a Christian.  As to whether he was an atheist, we must reserve judgment if only because of the prudence he was compelled to observe during his political life.  But as he had written to his nephew Peter Carr as early as 1787, one must not "be frightened from this inquiry by any fear of its consequences.  If it ends in a belief that there is no God, you will find incitements to virtue in the comfort and pleasantness you fell in its exercise, and the love of others which it will procure you.". . . "

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Raccoon. . .

 

(from "Life Among the Lutherans" by Garrison Keillor)

". . . In Lake Wobegon, you learned about being All Right.  Life is complicated, so think small.  You can't live life in raging torrents, you have to take it one day at a time.  And if you need drama, read Dickens.  My dad said, "You can't plant corn and date women at the same time.  It doesn't work."  One thing at a time.  The lust for world domination does not make for the good life.  It's the life of the raccoon, a swashbuckling animal who goes screaming into battle one spring night, races around, wins a mate, carries on a heroic raccoon career, only to be driven from the creek bed the next spring by a young stud who leaves teeth marks in you butt and takes away your girlfriend, and you lie wounded and weeping in the ditch.  Later that night, you crawl out of the sumac and hurl yourself into the path of oncoming headlights.  Your gruesome carcass lies on the hot asphalt to be picked at by crows.  Nobody misses you much.  Your babies grow up and do the same thing.  Nothing is learned.  This is a life for bank robbers.  It is not a life for sensible people. . . "

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Available. . .

Everything really is negotiable
Though your initial look may betray
So big and frightening they may appear
Your dedication and intellect make the deal

There's one thing you have to remember
You mean so much to me
That's one certainty
When concerns become burdens
Please know I'm the one you need to see
I will always be
Available
No matter how far life removes you from me

There's no necessity for extreme bravery
All your good qualities I admire
There's no embarrassment and there's no shame
If you accept someone's helping hand every now and then

There's one thing you have to remember
You mean so much to me
That's one certainty
When concerns become burdens
Please know I'm the one you need to see
I will always be
Available
No matter how far life removes you from me

Any other time
Any other place
Nothing between us
Will be any different
You don't need to hide
Feelings deep inside
I'm here to help you
So please let me try

You may not understand you may not care
I know you realize what's to bear
I always felt that my responsibility
Is to make sure you find happiness and we grow

There's one thing you have to remember
You mean so much to me
That's one certainty
When concerns become burdens
Please know I'm the one you need to see
I will always be
Available
No matter how far life removes you from me

Available
©2009 Raymond M. Jozwiak



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Winter. . .

. . . over yet? . . .

On your mark get set
Disconnect that Internet
Every girl and boy
Breathing in the joy
Not a care at last
Sit outside and bask
In rays of summer's bliss

Crabs and fish in shells
Feel your tensions melt
Fries and pizza pie
Smiles won't be denied
Everything is cool
in 21842
See the sparkle in your eyes

Catch a wave and ride
In Ocean City
Cars and motor bikes
In Ocean City
Bikinied babes on the sane
In Ocean City
Vibin' to rockin' bands

From Memorial to Labor Day
We beckon you to play
To a boardwalk beat
Miles and miles of beach
Your memories to take
Kites dance in sway
Leave your footprints in the sand

Fireworks and night
In Ocean City
Give your love a kiss
In Ocean City
Sail and fish the sea
In Ocean City
Here life is a beach
In Ocean City

Now is the time that's right
For you only live once
Time does drag
When it's all work and no fun
The Ocean Gateway calls you
Sport your shorts and shades
It's so divine to dine at life's buffet
It's almost heaven and there's
So much more we could say

Catch a wave and ride
In Ocean City
Cool cars and motor bikes
In Ocean City
Bikinis on the sane
In Ocean City
Dance to rockin' bands


Ocean City Ditty by John P. Graboski
Performed by Oho (rehearsal recording)





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Rituals. . .

(from NBC News)
". . . On Thursday, 49ers fan Steve Bowen (named for Niners legend Steve Young) began the four-day ritual he follows leading up to every Niners game by wearing his favorite team hat all day. On Friday he'll wear the 49ers hat with a red shirt he's owned for years. "The day after that, same hat, different Niners shirt. Day of the game, the hat and the same red shirt underneath [my jersey],” Bowen says.

The rules, as any good superstitious sports fan knows, are these: “You have to start at the beginning of the season and you can’t change it up over the season,” explains Bowen, a 24-year-old University of Utah student. “If you change ‘em up over the season, your team will lose.” As the Bud Light ad says, "It's only weird if it doesn't work."

OCD, of course, can be a serious, potentially debilitating anxiety disorder, and we don’t mean to take it lightly. But specifically, there are some parallels between sports superstitions and an aspect of OCD psychologists call "hyper-responsibility obsessions."

Jeff Szymanski, a clinical psychologist in Boston and the executive director of the International OCD Foundation, gives the example that a person with OCD may walk down the street and see a piece of broken glass. “And it occurs to me, ‘Oh, someone might get injured. Then it occurs to me, because I have OCD, ‘If I don’t pick it up, then I might have caused that injury.’". . . "

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BIG. . .

. . . news!!!!

 Have I a cold heart, or is this a non-story?

(from NBCNews.com)
". . . While the celebrated career of star linebacker Ray Lewis is coming to an end with plenty of fanfare, there is one retiring veteran of the Baltimore Ravens organization who will not be on the sideline for Sunday’s Super Bowl. Courtney Lenz, 23, a five-year member of the Ravens’ cheerleading squad, has not been invited to New Orleans to participate in the Super Bowl for what she believes is retaliation for a minor weight gain during the season. By NFL rule, the Ravens had to choose 32 members of their 60-member cheerleading team to cheer at the Super Bowl, and Lenz was the only veteran of three or more years who did not make the cut. Her supporters have created a Facebook page and an online petition requesting that she be reinstated, the latter of which had received more than 18,000 signatures by Thursday morning. . . "

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