pianogonzology

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Julius? . . .

. . . Nah . . .

(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_salad)
The salad's creation is generally attributed to restaurateur Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant who operated restaurants in Mexico and the United States. Cardini was living in San Diego but also working in Tijuana where he avoided the restrictions of Prohibition. His daughter Rosa (1928–2003) recounted that her father invented the dish when a Fourth of July 1924 rush depleted the kitchen's supplies. Cardini made do with what he had, adding the dramatic flair of the table-side tossing "by the chef." A number of Cardini's staff have said that they invented the dish. Julia Child said that she had eaten a Caesar salad at Cardini's restaurant when she was a child in the 1920s. The earliest contemporary documentation of Caesar Salad is from a 1946 Lawry's The Prime Rib (Los Angeles, California) restaurant menu, twenty-two years after the 1924 origin attributed to the Cardinis.

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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) 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 is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
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Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Bello Italia . . .

(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy)
". . . Italy, officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and has a largely mediterranean climate; due to its shape, it is often referred to in Italy as lo Stivale (the Boot). With 61 million inhabitants, it is the 4th most populous EU member state. Italy is a very highly developed country and has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and the eighth-largest in the world.

Since ancient times, Sherden, Etruscan, Magna Graecia and other cultures have flourished in the territory of present-day Italy, being eventually absorbed by Rome, that has for centuries remained the leading political and religious centre of Western civilisation, capital of the Roman Empire and Christianity. During the Dark Ages, the Italian Peninsula faced calamitous invasions by barbarian tribes, but beginning around the 11th century, numerous Italian city-states rose to great prosperity through shipping, commerce and banking (indeed, modern capitalism has its roots in Medieval Italy). . ."

Italia
©2015 & 2014 Raymond M. Jozwiak
Available April 7, 2015

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 is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

Monday, May 25, 2015

Pompeii . . .

(from http://decodedpast.com/human-remains-pompeii-body-casts/7532)
". . . The eruption of Vesuvius began at around lunchtime, arguably on the 24th August 79AD. In the early hours of the following morning, the eruption reached its fatal, concluding stages. Three pyroclastic surges- a mix of hot gases and ashes from the collapsing eruption column- traveling at 100kph finally reached Pompeii. The first surge just skimmed the city walls but the final one overwhelmed the whole city, finishing off anyone still alive. But the surges also preserved. For its rain of fine ash fell over Pompeii, covering the city until only the remains of its tallest buildings were visible above the debris. Buried within the ash fall were the inhabitants of the town. A shell of pumice that allowed them to slowly decay in the usual way covered those who perished in the early stages of the eruption. But the bodies of victims of the pyroclastic surges had a different fate. For the fine ash fall encased their bodies, hardening to form a porous shell. As the soft tissues of the bodies decayed, they leached away through this later. But by then, the hardened ash had captured and preserved their final postures at the moment of death. . .

. . . Wax was injected into the void around the victim’s skeleton, left to harden, and then coated in plaster. Once the ‘plaster cast’ had set, the wax was melted out and replaced with liquid epoxy resin- to produce a durable, transparent cast, which allowed the victim’s jewelry and hairpin to be viewed in situ on the body. . ."

Sunday, May 24, 2015

News . . .

. . . outlets. . .

(from 935 Lies; The Future of Truth and the Decline of America's Moral Integrity by Charles Lewis)
". . . But here's what troubles (Jane) Kirtley: "I fear that 'big media' are becoming increasingly irrelevant in this equation. . . You know as well as I do that the big First Amendment cases of the 1960s through '80s were mostly fought and won by the 'legacy press.' I am not at all sure that will continue to be the case. And this is significant because if the legacy media don't do it, I'm not sure who will step in." The reality, she added, is that if today's news media owners "don't see that the First Amendment is the prerequisite to making money, then they won't" take risks, publish, and defend their legal right to do so later in court. "The legions of bloggers are good at making noise, but I'm not sure they'll join forces to litigate-assuming that, as a group, they'd have enough money to do it.". . . "

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Wit . . .

. . . or lack thereof . . .

It's very difficult to be clever, creative or witty on command. The mundane has as way of sapping one of these abilities in addition to sapping the time from a given day. But when consumed by a particularly challenging situation at the office, a leisure day heavily scheduled with necessary (or unnecessary for that matter) errands, it seems very easy to recognize a brilliant observation or a wittily perceptive notion. . . but alas no time or ability to otherwise record it. Oh sure, I could keep a journal. I always vow to make note of such moments in an email or other virtual notebook. But for some damned reason, it rarely happens. So this is today's non-blog bitching about my dearth of ideas and/or my simple lack of creativity.

Friday, May 22, 2015

Work . . .

. . . so hard . . .

Various sizes and colors of luggage are lined up on the walk. One smiling, anticipatory face and two non-committal, yet marginally anxious ones proceeded from the luggage queue to the house. We were working on some final details.

One stranger and the six of us were in the punctual shuttle happily whisked away to our flight to JFK. Polite conversation took place to the muted sound of ‘Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me’ only because one prior passenger was already on board and had it not been for the stranger, the five (plus one) of us can sometimes been anything but polite.

Lunch at BWI, some beers and anxious chatter before meeting our last two travelling partners at the gate. The plane to JFK was tiny and the flight fast. The plane had one row of two seats and one row of single seats.

The five hour layover prompted us to have a nice, celebratory dinner. So where did we choose to eat? Buffalo Wings, of course. Fun place, lots of noise. Tall table for a party of eight. Needless to say we neglected to ask for ‘rail’ liquor in our mixed drinks and ended the evening with an outrageously overpriced bill.

Onward to Italy. . . an eight hour flight. Lots of sore buttocks, fitful sleep, airline food, movies, reading.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Inside . . .

Words are all that I have to express

All the things I would like to be able to tell you but don't quite know how

Couldn't before and still can't do it now

During all of this time that's transpired little's changed

But a lot has occurred in my thoughts and my feelings for you

Countless superior intellects have searched for answers

I never gave it a whole lot of thought

Until I tried to let you know how much I feel inside

Until I tried to let you know how much I feel inside

For you

I have always believed that it's true

Very few things I'll ever encounter will be quite as precious as you

The magic between us so rare and so new

Though I'm not one of those that you find

Who has always the need to express to so many exactly what he has in mind

I find I have this burning that's deep down inside me

For words I never needed before

Until I tried to let you know how much I feel inside

Until I tried to let you know how much I feel inside

for you

I can't imagine ever having my life depend upon eloquence

And maybe it doesn't

But after all this time together it seems long overdue

And in the end it probably doesn't make a difference in how you feel

If I never say it

Now I'm daily rehearsing the way

To articulate every syllable nuance and stress when I say

How much I need to have you here today

And I won't give it up easily

I suspect that it's just as important to you as it is now to me

The words we use themselves have no meaning

So all the more must I make them just right

Now that I try to let you know how much I feel inside

Until I tried to let you know how much I feel inside

for you

Until I Tried
©2007 & 2014 Raymond M. Jozwiak
from Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak
Now available at Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

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 is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak