Money. . .

The radio is rambling on about Syria with mention of car bombs, Assad, opposition, terrorists, negotiators etc., very sad indeed.  The umpteenth snowstorm is coating the complete pre-spring landscape and once again, complicating a morning commute.  The president has spoken with high schoolers about going to college and how they're going to pay for it. Mere distractions to be sure.

But once again, prompted by the dinner conversation last night, distribution of wealth sneaked into the mix.  The angle this time was not the greed of Wall Street or big business.  This time we zeroed in on the entertainment industry.  Not only the vast amounts of money required to make a major-release motion picture, but also the salaries commanded by professional sports players.  See . . .

". . . For the first time since SI.com began publishing the Fortunate 50 in 2004, Tiger Woods is not No. 1. He's not even No. 2. That honor goes once again to Phil Mickelson. The new No. 1 (for now) is Floyd Mayweather, who was unranked a year ago but scored two huge pay-per-view paydays to earn $85 million without a single endorsement.

This year's list is unique for a couple more reasons. NBA players, who have historically claimed more spots in the Fortunate 50 than any other group, had their salaries slashed by nearly 20 percent this season because of the 66-game schedule brought on by the lockout of 2011.
Our findings consisted solely of salary, winnings, bonuses, endorsements and appearance fees. We consulted players' associations, tour records, agents and news reports. Our endorsement estimates for 2012 came from Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing, other sports-marketing executives and analysts, and agents. Salary figures were based on current or most recently completed seasons (July 1 for the NFL, which is why Drew Brees, who just signed a $100 million deal last Friday, isn't on the list). For winnings-based sports (auto racing, golf, tennis), we used the 2011 calendar year. Boxing purses are from June 2011 through May 2012. Candidates for the U.S. 50 had to be American citizens and currently active in their sports.
For the 20 highest earning international athletes, go here
. . ."(Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/specials/fortunate50-2012/#ixzz2wDNJ0k1u)

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'2014' available April 8, 2014 at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak
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Let's Dance . . .

(from wikipedia.com)
The tango (from Latin tango, meaning "touch") is a partner dance that originated in the 1890s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay, and soon spread to the rest of the world.

Early tango was known as tango criollo (Creole tango). Today, there are many forms of tango extant. Popularly and among tango dancing circles, the authentic tango is considered to be the one closest to the form originally danced in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay.

Tango is a dance that has influences from European and African culture. Dances from the candombe ceremonies of former slave peoples helped shape the modern day Tango. The dance originated in lower-class districts of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The music derived from the fusion of various forms of music from Europe. The word "tango" seems to have first been used in connection with the dance in the 1890s. Initially it was just one of the many dances, but it soon became popular throughout society, as theatres and street barrel organs spread it from the suburbs to the working-class slums, which were packed with hundreds of thousands of European immigrants, primarily Italians.

In the early years of the 20th century, dancers and orchestras from Buenos Aires travelled to Europe, and the first European tango craze took place in Paris, soon followed by London, Berlin, and other capitals. Towards the end of 1913 it hit New York in the USA, and Finland. In the USA around 1911 the word "tango" was often applied to dances in a 2/4 or 4/4 rhythm such as the one-step. The term was fashionable and did not indicate that tango steps would be used in the dance, although they might be. Tango music was sometimes played, but at a rather fast tempo. Instructors of the period would sometimes refer to this as a "North American tango", versus the so-called "Argentine Tango". By 1914 more authentic tango stylings were soon developed,[which?] along with some variations like Albert Newman's "Minuet" tango.

In Argentina, the onset in 1929 of the Great Depression, and restrictions introduced after the overthrow of the Hipólito Yrigoyen government in 1930 caused tango to decline. Its fortunes were reversed as tango became widely fashionable and a matter of national pride under the government of Juan Perón. Tango declined again in the 1950s as a result of economic depression and the banning of public gatherings by the military dictatorships; male-only Tango practice—the custom at the time—was considered "public gathering". That, indirectly, boosted the popularity of rock and roll because, unlike Tango, it did not require such gatherings.


Ognat
(instrumental) ©2013 Raymond M. Jozwiak
from '2014'
available April 8, 2014 at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak






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'2014' available April 8, 2014 at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak
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My latest solo release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

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Trickle. . .

 . . . down

Why is it when I hear the words “trickle down” I only think of PISS?


(from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-the-us-economy-really-needs-to-recover/)
"A recent uptick in employee earnings has some experts saying the economic recovery, during which income gains have gone almost entirely to affluent Americans, is beginning to trickle down. Such a rise is critical not only to lifting economic growth in the short term, but sustaining the robust consumer spending that the U.S. economy needs to thrive.

No need to rush out and buy an umbrella just yet. The Commerce Department reported that average income rose 0.3 percent in January after being flat the prior month. Government economists also said that if it hadn't been for the expiration of jobless benefits for more than 1 million unemployed people at the end of December, the jump would have been even greater.  .  ."

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'2014' available April 8, 2014 at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak
Pre-order your copy of "2014" at the iTunes Store NOW

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

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Two . . .

. . . faced. . . 


Our very own government has mastered the art of hypocrisy with the recent outrage they've expressed over the situation in the Ukraine.  But while its own citizens are not all fully cognizant of this fact, they are not fooling many Russians. John Kerry said that it is unacceptable to invade another country on a 'completely trumped-up pretext' or simply because you do not like its current leadership.

Meantime, Iraq notwithstanding, the U.S. initiated or participated in armed attacks in Libya, Somalia, Pakistan and Yemen and still refuses to join or recognize the International Criminal Court.

And while Putin's actions have been irresponsible and dangerous and could still backfire, it was not unprovoked.
(source:  http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/07/opinion/putin-western-hypocrosy/index.html?iid=article_sidebar)

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OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
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'2014' available April 8, 2014 at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak
Pre-order your copy of "2014" at the iTunes Store NOW

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

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
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Twenty-five. . .

 . . . days

. . . til the release of '2014' .  .  . (pre-order at your iTunes store NOW)



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

Stick to your guns
Stick to your guns
Don't let nobody make you run
Just stick to your guns
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 the others listening

Stick to your guns
Stick to your guns
Don't let nobody make you run
Just stick to your guns

It's a human thing
We're easily led when there are two or three
Two is company and three is a crowd
A group of voices can be very loud
The other voices can be very loud

Stick to your guns
Stick to your guns
Don't let nobody make you run
Just stick to your guns


Stick To Your Guns
(instrumental) ©2013 Raymond M. Jozwiak
from '2014'
available April 8, 2014 at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak




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My latest solo release, Black & White Then Back,
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Trouble . . .

. . . coming

Saudi Arabia sentenced a man to ten years in prison for using Twitter to "encourage protests" against the rulers and another to eight years for "insulting" the King and "inciting protests" on Twitter and other social media. The Saudi Justice Ministry spokesman said the men's actions undermine the country's leadership, are hostile to the government and promote deviant ideologies. Both sentences were pronounced days after the country officially declared the Muslim Brotherhood to be a terrorist organization. Saudi Arabia further warned that any Saudi or foreigner residing there could be sentenced to heavy jail terms for joining extremist groups or participating in such groups' activities. The Interior Ministry statement also criminalized atheism on the part of Saudis or residents. The nation's ongoing intent is to severely limit freedoms of expression and religion while countering extremism and terrorism and frequently violate internationally-recognized human rights.
(thanks to http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/11/world/meast/saudi-arabia-twitter-jail/index.html?hpt=hp_t2)

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OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
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My latest solo release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

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 The idea of keeping a journal appeals greatly to me, but I feel like 99% of what I enter is mundane, boring, trite and petty.  No Emerson or Thoreau am I.



(from wikipedia.com)
In appearance he was homely, with a nose that he called "my most prominent feature." Of his face, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote: "[Thoreau] is as ugly as sin, long-nosed, queer-mouthed, and with uncouth and rustic, though courteous manners, corresponding very well with such an exterior. But his ugliness is of an honest and agreeable fashion, and becomes him much better than beauty." Thoreau also wore a neckbeard for many years, which he insisted many women found attractive. However, Louisa May Alcott mentioned to Ralph Waldo Emerson that Thoreau's facial hair "will most assuredly deflect amorous advances and preserve the man's virtue in perpetuity."

Thoreau contracted tuberculosis in 1835 and suffered from it sporadically afterwards. In 1859, following a late night excursion to count the rings of tree stumps during a rain storm, he became ill with bronchitis. His health declined over three years with brief periods of remission, until he eventually became bedridden. Recognizing the terminal nature of his disease, Thoreau spent his last years revising and editing his unpublished works, particularly The Maine Woods and Excursions, and petitioning publishers to print revised editions of A Week and Walden. He also wrote letters and journal entries until he became too weak to continue. His friends were alarmed at his diminished appearance and were fascinated by his tranquil acceptance of death. When his aunt Louisa asked him in his last weeks if he had made his peace with God, Thoreau responded: "I did not know we had ever quarreled.

What do you think?
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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). 


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, 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

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