Meanwhile . . .

. . . the successful poet (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) also worked full time at Harvard University, lectured, and directed the Modern Languages department. The department was meant to consist of four men teaching in their native languages: Spanish, French, Italian, and German. When a position was vacant, Henry had to fill in. Frustrated with his situation, Longfellow wrote to his father in September of 1839, "But my work here grows quite intolerable; and unless they make some change, I will leave them, with or without anything to do. I will not consent to have my life crushed out of me so. I had rather live a while on bread and water." Longfellow managed to tolerate the situation for another 15 years.

By 1854 Longfellow was able to resign his teaching post at Harvard; he had become, at age forty-seven, one of America's first self-sustaining authors. For the next seven years, Henry was able to pour his energies into his writing, unimpeded by teaching duties and supported by the love of his family.



(from The Song of Hiawatha)

By the shore of Gitche Gumee,
By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
At the doorway of his wigwam,
In the pleasant Summer morning,
Hiawatha stood and waited.
All the air was full of freshness,
All the earth was bright and joyous,
And before him, through the sunshine,
Westward toward the neighboring forest
Passed in golden swarms the Ahmo,
Passed the bees, the honey-makers,
Burning, singing in the sunshine.
  Bright above him shone the heavens,
Level spread the lake before him;
From its bosom leaped the sturgeon,
Sparkling, flashing in the sunshine;
On its margin the great forest
Stood reflected in the water,
Every tree-top had its shadow

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)

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

Last year's 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:
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Deception . . .

(Thanks to http://www.hoax-slayer.com/why-hoaxes.html)
Spreading viral hoax emails is essentially cyber graffiti. Is it a cheap thrill or revenge against society in general?

In some cases, a newly created hoax message might spread a lot further than the author originally intended. Some hoaxes start out as just a practical joke aimed squarely at a select group of friends. But the friends send it to their friends and, in short order, the message has irretrievably escaped into the wilds of Cyberspace. Some time back, a widely distributed hoax message about a group of Cambodian midgets fighting a lion started in exactly this way.

Sometimes the author misinterpreted something and genuinely felt compelled to let others know about it. For example, the infamous "Bonsai Kittens" website appears to have prompted one outraged visitor to create and send out an email petition calling for authorities to close down the site. However, the creator of the email petition apparently did not realize that the site was just a joke. In spite of the fact that nobody is really making Bonsai Kittens, this misguided petition continues to circulate and collect email addresses years after it was first launched.

Some say spammers deliberately create hoax emails as a way of subsequently collecting email addresses. Certainly, messages that get forwarded many times can accumulate a great many email addresses and spammers may well harvest these addresses for use on spam lists. For such an exercise to be successful (from the spammer's point of view), he or she would have to set up a mechanism by which the hoax messages were eventually returned after they had accumulated a large number of email addresses. Typically, email hoaxes do not have any such mechanism. If they did, it would perhaps make it possible to identify the original author.

Hoaxbusters.org says there are 5 tell-tale signs that an email is a hoax:
1.  It clearly conveys urgency through capitalization and/or many exclamation points
2.  The importance of the message is stressed telling you to share by sending it to as many others as you possibly can
3.  It states that it is NOT a hoax.  It may even contain a disclaimer such as, 'This came from my neighbor who works for Microsoft so I know it's true'
or even a link to Snopes (which most people will not bother to follow)
4.  "Dire Consequences" will result if you do not act
5.  Many >>>>> marks appear in the left margin indicating many forwardings

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

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)

'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
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

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

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Stupid Liberals!!!. . .

. . . What were THEY thinking? . . .

 

(from http://www.examiner.com/article/liberals-fall-for-fake-story-claiming-sarah-palin-said-flight-370-flew-to-heaven)
The Daily Currant, an online publication that clearly calls itself an "online satirical newspaper," published a fake story that said Sarah Palin claimed Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 "may have vanished because it mistakenly flew too high and ended up in heaven." Predictably, a number of Palin-hating liberals were apparently unable to discern fact from fantasy and attacked the former governor over something that never happened, Twitchy reported Monday.

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)

'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
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
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Aha! . . .

. . . Oho . . . (presently on the Ditty Tour in Ocean City, MD)

oho - Used to express surprise, comprehension, or mock astonishment. oho (əʊˈhəʊ). interj. 1. an exclamation expressing surprise, exultation, or derision.

OHO - a Boston-based web design firm, services include digital strategy, website design, and Drupal web development

oho -   ... old darling — she goes at her tea and cake — Oho! she has not touched them!

Oho - —used to express various emotions (as taunting or amused surprise).

OHO - Old Harbor Outfitters: Innovative Fishing Gear & Fishing Clothes for ...

Oho - used as an exclamation to express surprise, taunting, exultation,

Oho - the verbal equivalent of the "wink" or "nudge". should be said in a flirty tone, with emphasis on the "ho". Boy: It's my birthday. Girl: Oho. Susan: I think I like ...

Oho! - a Finnish entertainment magazine published by Danish Aller.

Oho - iconic, Baltimore-based band begun around 1973 which evolved from psychedelic, progressive, acid-folk, female vocal-centered, (to name a few) to what is now a trio consisting of keyboardist/vocalist, Ray Jozwiak, drummer/percussionist/vocalist, David Reeve, and guitarist/vocalist, Jay Graboski. In 2009 the band began work recording their proposed 50+ minute suite of new material, "AHORA!" And as "imagination stretches to match the long reach of time," look for it in the near future.


Blood Brother
performed by OHO- Jay Graboski, David Reeve and Ray Jozwiak
(rehearsal recording) 
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)




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

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)

Coming April 8, 2014  - '2014' by Ray Jozwiak
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
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

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

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Excuse Me . . .

(from http://www.cnet.com/news/survey-finds-many-use-facebook-during-sex/)
A full 5 percent of folks have checked Facebook during lovemaking, a new survey finds.

I'm not sure if I should be disturbed or impressed by such an apparent mastery of multitasking. If this is what Mark Zuckerberg had in mind when constructing Facebook and his vision of a world where everything is shared, I definitely would never have accepted all those friend requests from family members.

Of course, checking status updates and tapping on chatheads is the least of today's mid-coital distractions, according to the survey conducted in the UK for condom maker Durex by OnePoll, which did not share its methodology or the sample size used. It also found that 12 percent had answered a phone call during sex and 10 percent had read a text in the midst of the act.

I don't consider myself a guru in the fields of either sex or social media, but I am confident enough to say that combining the two probably means you're doing one of them wrong.

While the Durex study seems to be far from scientific, it does reflect a trend. A more formal national study found young Britons having less sex today than in the past, with social media perhaps partly to blame.

For its part, Durex is going all John and Yoko-style on the problem by encouraging everyone to spend the hour between 8:30 and 9:30 in bed on March 29 without any lights on, including those that emanate from the screens of our favorite devices.

It's a romantic notion and an interesting way to sell more condoms, but more importantly, it's a way to at least temporarily reduce the volume of selfies that no one else should ever have to look at.

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

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)

'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
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

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

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Pizza Pizza . . .

I worked in an office for a freight forwarder for thirteen years.  It was my first real, full-time job after graduation from college.  I didn't always like everything about that job.  I made many attempts to leave this job for a better one.  Success on that front was elusive for thirteen years though, but was finally achieved. When I finally left, management expressed their disappointment, offered their 'desire' to keep me in their employ and in the end, wished me the best as we parted on good terms.  And as a last and magnanimous gesture and a fond farewell, they expressed their appreciation of my years of service in celebration with a 'pizza lunch.'  Yes, a 'pizza lunch'.

Well, it certainly could have been worse.  Then for that matter, it could have been better too.  It was in accordance with their general approach to good employees;  in short, it wasn't much.

But, in my situation with this firm, no one lost a life and no one's health was in jeopardy. . . unlike
CHEVRON. . .

(from http://www.npr.org/2014/03/25/293875192/chevron-pizza-scandal-leaves-small-town-divided and http://www.cbsnews.com/news/chevrons-pizza-coupons-no-scandal-bobtown-pennsylvania-locals-say/)
 . . . Chevron responded to an explosion of one of its natural gas wells by giving nearby residents coupons for free pizza. The explosion killed a young worker. None of the patrons has voiced outrage, he said, and residents laughed about how people who have never set foot in Bobtown claim to speak for its citizens.

Many critics of fracking seek stricter regulations or bans to protect air and water from pollution, while supporters speak of the economic benefits for an energy-hungry nation. Each side claims the high moral ground.

About 12,000 people have signed an online petition demanding Chevron apologize, according to petition organizer Karen Feridun.  Chevron says they work to be a good partner in communities, that it has been "overwhelmed by the support" from residents and that it appreciates their understanding. . .

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

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)

'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
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

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

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Unbe-f*&#ing-lievable . . .

 

 I'm not one of those folks who lives in or harbors a burning desire to return to the past. As a matter of fact, my high school years (with several exceptions- having an awesome 10th grade biology teacher, my best friend Joe, a Public Speaking teacher that I think truly 'understood' me, a journalism teacher who appreciated my rebellious nature, and being 'assigned' to sit between two of the school's most popular girls in English class by Miss Simon [they were actually very nice, funny and genuine] my high school years were pretty much typical.  And they were also abbreviated as I waived my senior year and entered college one year early (earning my HS Diploma after passing college-level English) leaving me with only two actual high-school years attended.  In those days, 'junior' high encompassed grades 7, 8 and 9 while high school consisted of grades 10, 11 and 12.  Very different now.

But my most memorable years were those immediately after high school, for it was at that time that I saw the 'real' world, actually pursued a future course of my choosing and met some of the greatest and most memorable personalities, several with whom I have recently been able to reunite. In fact, we have been meeting on a regular basis, much to my pleasure and (I hope) to theirs as well.

Who'd a thought it???   Forty years since I first met them and when we get together, it's like I haven't seen them since last week.  It's magical and I am most fortunate not only to have had them as friends initially, but to have been able to rekindle that friendship at this older and wiser stage in our my life.

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

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)

'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
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

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

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