The Difference. . .

. . . between. . .

. . . self-confidence and egotism is very fine.  Self-confidence is, in truth, ego but with some restraint whereas egotism is demonstrated externally.

There is no better illustration of this difference than that of musicians.  And adding insult to injury is the musician who possesses egotism in an amount disproportionate to their actual talent.


My Ego
© 1997 Raymond M. Jozwiak




What do you think?
Tell me at  
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Don't Smoke. . .

. . . in Bed. . .

Peggy Lee was a successful songwriter, with songs from the Disney movie Lady and the Tramp, for which she also supplied the singing and speaking voices of four characters. Her collaborators included Laurindo Almeida, Harold Arlen, Sonny Burke, Cy Coleman, Duke Ellington, Dave Grusin, Quincy Jones, Francis Lai, Jack Marshall, Johnny Mandel, Marian McPartland, Willard Robison, Lalo Schifrin and Victor Young.

She wrote the lyrics for:
    "I Don't Know Enough About You"
    "It's A Good Day", composed by Dave Barbour
    "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'", composed with Duke Ellington
    "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter"
    "Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)"
    "Bless You (For The Good That's In You)", composed with Mel Tormé
    "What More Can a Woman Do?"
    "Don't Be Mean to Baby"
    "New York City Ghost", composed with Victor Young
    "You Was Right, Baby"
    "Just an Old Love of Mine"
    "Everything's Movin' Too Fast"
    "The Shining Sea"
     "He's A Tramp"
    "The Siamese Cat Song"
    "There Will Be Another Spring"
    "Johnny Guitar", composed with Victor Young
    "Sans Souci", composed with Sonny Burke
    "So What's New?"
    "Don't Smoke in Bed"
    "I Love Being Here With You"
    "Happy With the Blues" with Harold Arlen
    "Where Can I Go Without You?", composed with Victor Young
    "Things Are Swingin'"
    "Then Was Then" with Cy Coleman

Her first published song was in 1941, "Little Fool". "What More Can a Woman Do?" was recorded by Sarah Vaughan with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. "Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)" was no.1 for 9 weeks on the Billboard singles chart in 1948, from the week of March 13 to May 8.

Lee was a mainstay of Capitol Records when rock and roll came onto the American music scene. She was among the first of the "old guard" to recognize this new genre, as seen by her recording music from The Beatles, Randy Newman, Carole King, James Taylor and other up-and-coming songwriters. From 1957 until her final disc for the company in 1972, she produced a steady stream of two or three albums per year which usually included standards (often arranged quite different from the original), her own compositions, and material from young artists.

What do you think?
Tell me at  
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Is that all there is?

Should the lyrics to David Byrne's song "Heaven" be anywhere close to being true, I for one do not intend to participate.  Not that I don't have every intention of serving my fellow man during my time on the proverbial mortal coil.  But I refuse to believe, as Mother Theresa expressed, that my 'reward' is in heaven or any other imaginary and ethereal place.  And also while I'm here, I intend to fully enjoy the beauty, satisfaction and pleasure that the multitude of earthly wonders provides.

What do you think?
Tell me at  
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Heaven. . .

(from http://www.lyricsfreak.com/t/talking+heads/heaven_20135027.html)
Songwriters: BYRNE, DAVID/HARRISON, JERRY

Everyone is trying to get to the bar
The name of the bar, the bar is called heaven
The band in heaven, they play my favourite song
Play it one more time, play it all night long
Heaven, heaven is a place, a place where nothing, nothing ever happens
Heaven, heaven is a place, a place where nothing, nothing ever happens
There is a party, everyone is there
Everyone will leave at exactly the same time
When this party's over, it will start again
It will not be any different, it will be exactly the same
Heaven, heaven is a place, a place where nothing, nothing ever happens
When this kiss is over it will start again
It will not be any different, it will be exactly the same
It's hard to imagine that nothing at all could be so exciting, could be this much fun
Heaven, heaven is a place, a place where nothing, nothing ever happens
Heaven, heaven is a place, a place where nothing, nothing ever happens

What do you think?
Tell me at  
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Aha . . .

. . . Oho . . .

. . . again. . .

You’re living your ninth life time is running out
The blood of the lamb has dried and lost its clout
If you show no mercy, no mercy will be your
You’re dated and done for the dot’s on your door

On day one they marked you, put you on the list
Embroidered a burning red letter on your bib
You move with caution, the trap’s laced with lure
You’re dated and done, there’s a dot on your door

Cowards die a thousand times, the brave die only once
If ignorance is bliss, may your joy be out to lunch
If you were meant to hang in life then you will never drown
Dodging the left, the right one brings you to the ground

You’re using the right words, getting the response
Newton was right, you’re life’s a renaissance
Your impedimenta pile up on the floor
You’re locked in this room, There’s a dot on your door

Cowards die a thousand times, the brave die only once
If ignorance is bliss, may your joy be out to lunch
If you were meant to hang in life then you will never drown
Dodging the left, the right one brings you to the ground

Kissing your mother, digging in the dirt
Hoping something of your life will take root and give birth
The vine seeks the light, branches reaching through the clouds
Where love will prune and crown you, relieve you of your shroud

You’re living your ninth life time is running out
The blood of the lamb has dried and lost its clout
If you show no mercy, no mercy will be your
You’re dated and done for the dot’s on your door

Cowards die a thousand times, the brave die only once
If ignorance is bliss, may your joy be out to lunch
If you were meant to hang in life then you will never drown
Dodging the left, the right one brings you to the ground


Dot On Your Door
by John P. Graboski (Oho rehearsal recording)




What do you think?
Tell me at  
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Bitter. . .

 . . . End

(revisited)

You say you never want to hear a word
From me again
Never want to have to see my face
At your door
If there's so much as the mention of
My name
You can feel an uncontrollable
Fit of pain

I'm the one
That you said
You would love
Til the bitter end

This must really be
This must really be the end
Nothing could be fitter
This must really be
This must really be the end
Make no mistake it's bitter

You never want us to be seen again
In public places
Can't explain it to another friend
How it goes
You say there's torment that you feel inside
From many things
I can tell you that I still don't know
What that means

Long ago
We were friends
Far removed
From this bitter end

This must really be
This must really be the end
Nothing could be fitter
This must really be
This must really be the end
Make no mistake it's bitter

There's no candy coating
To make it go down easier
Not so simple to digest
No bright colors and no
Exotic flavors sweetening
What you see is what you get

You never want to have to hear a word
From me again
Never want to have to see my face
At your door
If there's so much as the mention of
My name
You can feel an uncontrollable
Fit of pain

With one fell
Swoop you sent
Me direct to the bitter end

This must really be
This must really be the end
Nothing could be fitter
This must really be
This must really be the end
Make no mistake it's bitter


The Bitter End
©2003 Raymond M. Jozwiak





What do you think?
Tell me at  
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Enough. . .

. . . baloney. . .

(from http://www.factcheck.org/2013/03/gop-budget-revives-obamacare-claims/ 

Posted on March 12, 2013)

The release of the House GOP budget by Rep. Paul Ryan has sparked a resurgence of false and misleading claims about the Affordable Care Act, which the budget seeks to largely repeal. On the Sunday talk shows, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the head of the Democratic National Committee, and Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, each distorted the facts regarding revenues raised in the health care law. And Ryan wrongly said the law would take money away from Medicare and ration benefits for seniors.

• Johnson said there’s “$1 trillion in middle-income tax increases … in Obamacare.” But the new revenue generated by the Affordable Care Act falls mostly on high-income taxpayers, employers who fail to provide health care to their employees, and health care companies, such as drug manufacturers, medical device manufacturers and insurance providers.
• Wasserman Schultz said “there are not $1 trillion in taxes in Obamacare,” calling Johnson’s claim “completely untrue.” That’s wrong. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says repealing the law will “reduce revenues by $1 trillion between 2013 and 2022,” meaning it will cost taxpayers that much if the law remains on the books.
• Ryan said the law’s reductions in the growth of Medicare spending amounted to “money that was taken from Medicare.” But the Treasury has to give Medicare the money credited to its trust fund — the money can’t be taken away.
• Ryan also repeated a popular talking point when he said that a 15-member “rationing” board would “determine what kind of benefits people get.” But the board, tasked with recommending ways to slow the growth of Medicare spending, can’t restrict benefits, according to the Affordable Care Act.

What do you think?
Tell me at  
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet