Sorry . . .

. . . I'm reading about politics, government, representation and LIFE. . .

(from "A Fighting Chance" by Elizabeth Warren)
". . . as the crowd thinned out a bit, a woman in her mid fifties walked over.  Her face was flushed and her hair was a tangle of tight curls.  She looked hot and tired, maybe a little angry.  She stopped a few steps away from me and said, "I walked two miles to get here."

Okay.  She had my attention.

She dropped her voice a notch.  "I walked because I don't have a car that runs.  I don't have a car that runs because I don't have a job."

As we stood facing each other, she laid out her life in just a few sentences.

I have two master's degrees.  I'm smart.  I taught myself computer programming.  I've been out of work for a year and a half.  I've applied, I've volunteered, I've gone everywhere, but nothing.

She paused for a long time, then plunged back in.  She explained that she had held one job or another since she was seventeen.  She had put herself through school.  She had always, always, always worked hard.

Then she stopped, took a step forward, and lowered her voice to a whisper, as if she didn't want to hear what she was about to say.

Now I don't know if I'm ever going to get a real job again.

I held out both hands and she took them.  We stood there, not moving, just holding hands.  I muttered something bland like "I'm so sorry," but she didn't give any sign of hearing me.  She was well past the polite social conventions.  She was hot, and she was exhausted-mind, body, and soul.

She focused again, looked me straight in the eye and said:  I'm here because I'm running out of hope.  I've read about you for a long time, and I'm here to see you in person, to tell you that I need you, and I want you to fight for me.  I don't care how hard it gets, I want to know that you are going to fight.

I looked back at her and said, "Yes, I'll fight."

Hope
[©2012 Raymond M. Jozwiak from Ambience & Wine by Ray Jozwiak]




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) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak

My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, 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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Rant . . .

Bill Maher's recent rant has stirred-up some Facebook reaction. Some good discussion took place in the show. One good line (from Nicholas Kristof) that I think we should take away from this, paraphrased, 'the chasm is not between Islam and the rest of the world, it is between fundamentalists and moderates in each religion.' 

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) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak

My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, 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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Listen . . .

. . . my vision of this tune is expanding now . . . an evolution, if you will . . .
 

What do I know
about happiness
Do I possess
Some kind of key to things that
No one else can see
Just as far back
As my memory goes
Sometimes it seemed
I was alone
Only my point of view
And me

As I reflect
Some disconnect
Could be afflicting me
Am I just one
Under the sun
Or am I quite unique

Others speak out
Very easily
No fear about
Who may get hurt
By words so hastily dispensed
For some reason
I step back away
I hesitate
To be so bold
As to presume some
Insight gained

As I reflect
Some disconnect
Could be afflicting me
Am I just one
Under the sun
Or am I quite unique


Unique
[Basic tracks from 9/24/2014 Bratt Studio Recording (by Gentleman, scholar, musician and recording technician extraordinaire, Bill Pratt) by OHO - Jay Graboski, David Reeve and Ray Jozwiak and guest artist Bruce Kovacs on French Horn- additional sounds by me, for illustrational purposes]
(Listen through your headphones if possible.)

[There's still time to head on over, up or down to Ocean City to catch OHO LIVE!
 at Johnny's Pizza & Pub
5601 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, MD 21842
410-524-7499
Tonight, Saturday, October 11, 2014 about 9PM]


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) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak

My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, 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

Tweet

Literally . . .

 (From 'Born of a Woman' by John Shelby Spong)
". . . A literalized myth is a doomed myth.  Its truth cannot be rescued. Literalism is not even a benign alternative for contemporary Christians.  It is, in the modern world, nothing less than an enemy to faith in Jesus Christ. It is a belief system built on ignorance, which acts as if God, the infinite mystery, can be defined in the words of any human being or in the thought forms of a particular era.  Literalism is a claim that God's eternal truth has been, or can be, captured in the time-limited concepts of human history.  It is to pretend that knowledge is finite and that knowledge does not therefore explode in infinite new directions daily. Biblical fundamentalism reduces the religious options for people to the shallow levels of propositional truth and then fills them with a religious certainty that can be maintained only by a defensive, aggressive hysteria.  When that certainty explodes, fundamentalism leaves the would-be fundamentalist with no alternative save a Godless despair . . . "

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) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak

My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, 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

Tweet

Meaning? . . .

  “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”
― Albert Camus


“Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.”
― Joseph Campbell


“I go to seek a Great Perhaps.”
― François Rabelais


“The best things in life make you sweaty.”
― Edgar Allan Poe


“Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.”
― Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time


“I have learned that you can go anywhere you want to go and do anything you want to do and buy all the things that you want to buy and meet all the people that you want to meet and learn all the things that you desire to learn and if you do all these things but are not madly in love: you have still not begun to live.”
― C. JoyBell C.

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) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak

My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, 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

Tweet

Either . . .

. . . David is guiding the lunar crawler or doing a sound check as a fan ponders David's high-tech drum kit . . .

OHO is ". . . in Ocean City!!!"
This Saturday, October 11, 2014 @ 9:00PM
At Johnny's Pizza & Pub in Ocean City, MD @ Johnny's Pizza & Pub
5601 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, MD 21842
410-524-7499
Please visit http://www.ohomusic.com for all things OHO

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) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak

My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, 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

Tweet

I Got Mail . . .

That said . . . "Dan here, we have shows in Baltimore again and wanted to see if you are up for some shows? Will one of these work?

|| SHOW DETAILS ||

11/8 or 11/22 at Brass Monkey
18+ ONLY
Show Start Time: 10:00 PM -- Artist Check-in: 8:30 PM
+ IF you need to go onstage early or later in the night, just let me know.

CLUB ADDRESS:
1601 Eastern Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21231

*If this venue location is too far for you to draw your fans out to, or if you never want to play at this venue - please tell me asap. Then I can note that and stop offering you shows at this club.

THIS IS A CO-PROMOTION EFFORT
For info on how our show listings are promoted: http://www.myafton.com/promo

DO YOU HAVE MERCH TO SELL AT THIS SHOW?
You keep 100% of any merch you sell. If you don't have any merch to sell - we now manufacture custom merch if you're looking to get any T-Shirts, vinyl stage Banners, posters, stickers, fliers, lighters, beer coozie s, or any other types of merch with your act name on it.
*See all available products and pricing at: www.AftonPrinting.com

ADVANCE TICKET PRICES
You have both Online Ticketing & Physical Pre-sale Tickets to use for this show. Once you Confirm, we will provide you with early purchase Promo Code discounts to save Fans money.

PHYSICAL PRE-SALE TICKETS ARE: $10.00
*WITH* the Early Purchase Promo Code

Fans save 30% to 40% Off Door Price with early purchase Promo Code"


(from http://www.wicasta.com/blogs/is-afton-live-a-scam-any-worse-than-venues/)". . . Every band who has a web site, MySpace or ReverbNation page has likely heard from Afton Live. From what I can gather, the company mass e-mails bands, preying upon the younger musicians who are excited about playing anywhere at any time. If you decide to do a show, you quickly realize that you’re expected to sell tickets to the event. The more tickets you sell, the more money you make (though far less than Afton keeps, and far less than you’d make at a regular gig). The order that the bands take the stage is determined by who sells the most tickets. In short, what Afton Live does is book venues and then find bands to play on the bill; bands who are willing to sell tickets mostly to their friends and relatives, and then perform for next to nothing. Apparently there are plenty of bands out there who are willing to do just that. . .

In the final analysis, I believe that Afton Live is a scam. Not because people are being cheated, but because Afton Live preys upon the needs of up and coming musicians. Inexperienced musicians believe that all they have to do is keep playing, even if they have to do it for free, and they will eventually reach the big time. Sooner or later some producer will discover them and they’ll be on their way. So while what Afton Live does is not illegal in any way, it’s certainly immoral in my book. . ."

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) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak

My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, 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

Tweet