pianogonzology

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

All . . .

. . . of us. . .

. . . to our own degree . . .

". . . You cannot live in the world unless you can tolerate misfortune, and misfortune comes to us all; but misfortune easily runs out of control. While a simple cough is tolerable, "continual and inveterate causeth a consumption of the lungs; so doe these our Melancholy provocations." And (Robert) Burton identifies the very modern principle that everyone has a different level of tolerance for trauma, and that it is the interaction of the quantity of trauma and the level of tolerance that determines illness. "For that which is but a flea-biting to one, causeth insufferable torment to another, & which one by his singular moderation, & well composed carriage can happily overcome, a second is no whit able to sustaine, but upon every small occasion of misconceived abuse, injurie, griefe, disgrace, losse, crosse, rumore &c yeelds so farre to passion, that his complexion is altered, his digestion hindered, his sleepe gone, his spirits obscured and his heart heavy . . . and he himselfe overcome with Melancholy . . . ". . . "
(from The Noonday Demon; An Atlas if Depression by Andrew Solomon)

What do you think?

Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html or at
http://www.ohomusic.com

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. Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com

My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music will be released April 7, 2014 Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)

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

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Writing . . .

. . . to you . . .

I am writing to introduce (if you are not familiar with us) OHO, a band that has been rocking the mid-Atlantic region (and some scattered parts of the world) for a long, long time. Also want to inform you that we have dates available for booking and would very much like to perform for your good clientele at your outdoor events in 2015 or even indoor events this winter at _______.

Baltimore's own OHO began in the early 70s and has evolved through a number of incarnations from performance prog rock innovators to folk-rock, female vocalist-fronted, Fairport Convention-ish ensemble to power-due. OHO currently performs as a trio playing new and classic OHO originals and a variety of sophisticated covers. We are making testosterone-propelled music these days, but in the spirit of Odyssesus strapped to the mast, we have heard the sirens seductively singing our songs and in successfully skirting their perils have survived. Still electrically creative and emotionally charged, OHO forges onward.

Below are hyperlinks to enable you to hear OHO, the first to a YouTube performance in Baltimore earlier this year and the second to SoundCloud for an audio sampling of songs:

www.ohomusic.com

https://youtu.be/PaVBAC1J3Ls

https://soundcloud.com/ohomusic/sets/ohomusic

Hope to hear from you.

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

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. Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com

My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music will be released April 7, 2015 Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

Monday, March 23, 2015

The Vessel . . .

. . . has gone down matey . . .

(from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2641573/The-curse-Black-Pearl-Pirates-Caribbean-pirate-ship-The-Brig-Unicorn-sinks-freak-accident.html)
". . . The Brig Unicorn, who sunk in a freak accident off the coast of St Vincent and the Grenadines . . . (in May of 2014) . . . The magical ship was sailing on her way to be repaired from St Lucia when she encountered difficulties and sank, no one was hurt. On board at the time there was nine crew members and one captain, who were believed to have been rescued by the St Vincent Coast Guard shortly after the incident. The Brig Unicorn played The Henrietta in The Curse Of The Black Pearl, and The Terrasaw in Dead Man's Chest and At World's End. The mighty ship was also used as a slave ship in in the 1977 Golden Globe winning American TV series Roots, but was most recently been used as a bar and restaurant in the Rodney Bay Marina in St Lucia. The impressive 148ft ship was built in Finland in 1948 to carry cargo in the 1970's and mainly sailed around the Caribbean, and was often used as a tourist attraction for visits and cruises. The fifth installment of the film series, Dead Men Tell No Tales, is set for release in 2016, with Johnny Depp being confirmed to remain as Captain Jack Sparrow. Dead Men Tell No Tales will be filmed in both Puerto Rico and New Orleans 'at the end of the year.' . . ."

What do you think?

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Sushi . . .

. . . for the soul . . .

su·shi
ˈso͞oSHē/Submit
noun
a Japanese dish consisting of small balls or rolls of vinegar-flavored cold cooked rice served with a garnish of raw fish, vegetables, or egg.

(from http://www.besthealthmag.ca/best-eats/healthy-eating/the-health-benefits-of-sushi#HQEZaC4ujsWqx86p.99)". . . Sushi is not only delicious, but it’s also very good for you. It is a wonderful bonus to be able to eat the food you love without paying the price for your indulgence. Great claims have been made for the health benefits of the typical Japanese diet of fish and rice. For example, average life expectancy for both women and men in Japan is one of the highest in the world. . . "

Particularly if you can eat it with ones you love, enjoy, respect and can mightily entertain as you indulge . . .

What do you think?

Saturday, March 21, 2015

In Ocean City . . .

On your mark get set
Disconnect that internet
Every girl and boy
Breathing in the joy
Not a care at last
Sit outside and bask
In rays of summer's bliss

Crabs and fish and shells
Feel your tensions melt
Fries and pizza pie
Smiles won't be denied
Everything is cool
in 2 1 8 4 2
Feel the sparkle in your eyes

Catch a wave and ride
Cars and motorbikes
Bikini babes in the sand
Vibin' to rockin' bands
Ocean City

From Memorial to Labor Day
We beckon you to play
To a boardwalk beat
Miles and miles of beach
Your memories to take
Currents dance and sway
leave your footprints in the sand

Fireworks at night
Give your love a kiss
Sail and fish the sea
Here life is a beach
in Ocean City

Now is the time that's right
For you only live once
Time does drag when it's all work and no fun
The ocean gateway calls you
Sport your shorts and shades
It's so divine to dine at life's buffet
It's almost heaven and
There's so much more we can say

Catch a wave and ride
Cool cars and motorbikes
Bikinis on the sand
Dance to rockin' bands
Ocean City

----------------------------------
OHO Live
Saturday, March 21st, 2015
Johnny's Pizza and Pub
9:00PM
5601 Coastal Hwy Bayside
Ocean City, MD 21842
USA
410-524-7499

What do you think?

Friday, March 20, 2015

Graduated . . .

So it was brought to my attention that I actually graduated from high school forty years ago! Well, I actually left 39 years ago, waiving my 12th year to start college early. My, time does fly when you're having fun.

What ELSE was going on at the time . . . hmmm . . .

**John N. Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman were found guilty in the Watergate cover-up

**Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia

**President Ford escaped a second assassination attempt in 17 days

**The Median Household Income in the U.S. was the equivalent of $11,800 in current dollars

**Saturday Night Live premiered on NBC. George Carlin hosted the first show

**One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest swept the top Oscars, winning Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Actress

**"Vitamin OHO" and "Dream of the Ridiculous Band" revealed OHO as a highly competent progressive band with hints of Crimson, Genesis and Grobschnitt: a very un-American sound. Like contemporaries Happy The Man, they were inventive, with accents on complex structures, unusual time signatures, dynamics and the exceptional interplay among the two guitarists Joe O'Sullivan & J.P. Graboski

What do you think?

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Futility . . .

(from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/09/health/09essa.html?_r=0)
". . . I saw a television advertisement recently for a new product called an air sanitizer. A woman stood in her kitchen, spraying the empty space in front of her as though using Mace against an imaginary assailant. She appeared very determined. Where others are satisfied with antibacterial-laced sponges, dish soaps, hand sanitizers and telephone wipes, here was a woman who sought to sterilize the air itself. As a casual student of microbiology, I find it hard to escape the absurdity here. This woman is, like any human being, home to hundreds of trillions of bacteria. Bacteria make up a solid third, by weight, of the contents of her intestines. If you were to sneak into her bathroom while she was showering - and based on my general impression of this woman from the advertisement, I don't recommend this - and secret away a teaspoon of the water at her feet, you would find some 820 billion bacteria. Bacteria are unavoidably, inevitably - and, usually, utterly benignly - a part of our world. . .The fantasy of a germ-free home is not only absurd, but it is also largely pointless. . .

Viruses are slightly different. You need only pick up a few virus particles to infect yourself with a cold or flu, and virus particles can survive on surfaces for days. So disinfecting the surfaces in the home should, in theory, reduce the chances of picking up a bug. (Some antibacterial products also kill viruses.). . .A study by Dr. Elaine Larson at the Columbia School of Nursing called into question the usefulness of antibacterial products for the home. In New York, 224 households, each with at least one preschooler, were randomly assigned to two groups. One group used antibacterial cleaning, laundry and hand-washing products. The other used ordinary products. For 48 weeks, the groups were monitored for seven symptoms of colds, flu and food poisoning - and found to be essentially the same. According to Dr. Gerba's research, an active adult touches an average of 300 surfaces every 30 minutes. You cannot win at this. You will become obsessive-compulsive. Just wash your hands with soap and water a few times a day, and leave it at that. . . "
By MARY ROACH

What do you think?