Journals . . .

I tried keeping a journal.  I was reminded of the practice while reading about Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Thoreau, in particular, was a keen and scientificly-bent observer of nature. He also recorded poems, simple stanzas that became poems, political statements and simple personal events.

I began to keep my own journal and still make an occasional entry. I like the idea.  I don't necessarily want to keep a diary.  My life is relatively mundane (in writing, at least) and structured.  It's not a terribly exciting journal.  I just can't help it.


"Tuesday, May 27, 2014 - Wrote a thoroughly dull blog post about my boring journal. "

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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)

My latest solo release, '2014', can be downloaded digitally at:

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Stand Up . . .

. . . and be counted. . .


The Vermont Legislature recently passed resolutions to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission. . . you know. . . that's the one that gave birth to the Super PAC. Five Vermont Republicans actually voted in favor.  IT says that the government should have the right to regulate corporate spending on elections and that the Supreme Courts ruling was based upon a faulty legal precedent when it equated campaign financing to free speech. The population of the state gathered at 65 town meetings in one day demanding a constitutional amendment. The resolution also states that corporations ARE NOT persons. Similar resolutions have been passed in over 100 cities in the U.S. while 20 more have introduced resolutions.

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)

My latest solo release, '2014', can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

Also, be sure to visit:
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It's Not All About . . .

. . . the Hokey-Pokey . . .

. . . it's about Teamwork!


"In union there is strength."     Aesop

"Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all."     Alexander the Great

"All of us, at certain moments of our lives, need to take advice and to receive help from other people."     Alexis Carrel

"No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you."     Althea Gibson

"Contrary to popular belief, there most certainly is an 'I' in 'team.' It is the same 'I' that appears three times in 'responsibility.'"     Amber Harding

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishment toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results."     Andrew Carnegie

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea."     Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

"We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit."     Aristotle

"A chain is only as strong as its weakest link."     Author Unknown
(from http://www.teampedia.net/wiki/index.php?title=Team_Building_and_Teamwork_Quotes)


Dot On Your Door
by John P. Graboski
(Oho [Jay Graboski, David Reeve, Ray Jozwiak]
recorded at Band Bash 2014 - “You’re With the Band!” -May 24, 2014)





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)

My latest solo release, '2014', can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

Also, be sure to visit:
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The Music . . .

Ah . . .the discovery, the music, the gratitude, the music, the joy, the music, the honor, the music, the privilege, the music, the anticipation, the music, the planning, the music, the preparation, the music, the excitement, the music, the preparation, the music, the logistics, the music, the speculation, the music, the practice, the music, the inadequacy, the music, the regrouping, the music, the persistence, the music, the reconfirmation, the music, the rehearsal, the music, the refinement, the music, the doubt, the music, the renewal, the music, the exercise, the music, the discussion, the music, the day, the music, the wonder, the day, the music, the sunshine, the music, the hesitation, the music, the distraction, the music, the clothes, the music, the car, the music, the ride, the music, the adrenaline, the music, the assembly, the music, the camaraderie, the music, the beer, the music, the sound, the music, the arrival, the music, the socializing, the performance, the music, the execution, the music, the expression, the music, the spirit, the music, the enthusiasm, the music, the dynamics, the music, the humor, the music, the reaction, the music, the appreciation, the music, the encouragement, the music, the nourishment, the music, the praise, the music, the conclusion, the music, the breath, the music, the knock-down, the music, the reviewing, the music, the loading, the music, the afterglow, the music, the music, the music. . .


. . . it's all about THE MUSIC!

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)

My latest solo release, '2014', can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

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

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Little Gnats . . .

About the time of pre-adolescence, Benjamin acquired a habit of visiting his parents' bedroom before he went to sleep, milking the opportunity to put off retiring as long as possible.  It was always a light-hearted endeavor with the child purposely being as outrageous as possible by making frivolous conversation from suggestion of a 'sleepover' in his parents' bed to identifying some imaginary insect in some hidden corner of the room.  The parents, as a result of these nightly encounters, took to good-naturedly calling little Benjamin "the gnat", implying the persistence of the tiny flying annoyance.  "Time for bed, little gnat," they would say.

Years later, Benjamin now a fine, strapping young man, developed a not-unusual love of the game of baseball and enjoyed few things more than watching the games of the local professional franchise on television when unable to enjoy them out with friends or up-clos-and-personal-at-the-ballpark.  His mother, who no one is really certain whether she is a real fan or if she is exacting a form of revenge, has also taken to enjoying baseball games on television, likewise for lack of alternative viewing opportunities.  When the two are strategically positioned beside one another on a couch, Ben's Mom has a greater tendency to express an emotional reaction to a successful, as well as a disastrous one, play during the games.  Benjamin, on the other hand reserves his enthusiasm for only select positive or negative developments, and frequently offers a SHUSHHHHHH or some other reprimand to his mother during or after her not infrequent outbursts.

During a recent plea to his father to otherwise occupy his mother in hopes of securing an opportunity to enjoy his baseball game alone, found himself referring to his Mom as a . . .

GNAT!!

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)

My latest solo release, '2014', can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

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

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If You've Got the Time . . .

My early education in Zappa took a great leap the first time I heard this song (and the LP Just Another Band from LA).  Yes, it resembles in some ways what could be a high schooler's vulgar musical project and as Frank says himself in this version, many of the jokes are strictly from LA local culture of the period.  But now (and maybe for different reasons than in 1972 and those sentimental as well as musical) it still has much musical, lyrical and humorous merit.

Well anyway. . .  if you have 40 minutes to spare, our good friends at YouTube bring you this performance of Billy the Mountain . . .

[And yes, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (aka Flo and Eddie) and aka The Turtles perform the lion's share of this piece.]



What do you think?
Tell me at
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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)

My latest solo release, '2014', can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

Also, be sure to visit:
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Learn . . .

". . . He went on, “Do you and dad ever do it for that reason?”

“Most of the time we’ve done it or do it, it’s for pleasure, honey.” He looked a combination of fascinated and chagrined. “You know you were no accident. Before that, I went off birth control to get pregnant, and we were so happy when you came into our lives.”. . .

. . . He hemmed and hawed next, and I got the sense he wanted to know what I meant when I said it feels good. I asked him if he had that question. He said yes. So I said it was kind of like having someone scratch your back in a place that itched, and having them scratch it just right. I said that, after puberty, he’d know what the special itch felt like. He nodded. . .

. . . Our son asked why they didn’t tell him this stuff at school. The mate explained that adults stupidly think that if you [don't] keep the truth about sex from children, they’ll have sex earlier than they really should. He added that the evidence indicates otherwise. . . "
(excerpts from a blog by Alice Dreger [a breath of fresh air on the topic of sex education] - see http://www.alicedreger.com/home.html)

What do you think?
Tell me at
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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)

My latest solo release, '2014', can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

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

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