pianogonzology

Friday, May 29, 2015

Faulty. . .

. . . perception

(from http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/most-millionaires-think-they-are-middle-class-cnbc-poll-shows-n354766)
". . . A majority of millionaires polled describe themselves as middle class or upper middle class despite being among the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans, according to the results of the third CNBC Millionaire Survey. Fully 44 percent described themselves as middle class, and 40 percent said they were upper middle class. Only 4 percent described themselves as wealthy or rich, and 5 percent described themselves as upper class. Even those Americans worth $5 million or more—among the wealthiest 5 percent—still think of themselves as more middle class than wealthy. According to the survey, 49 percent of those worth $5 million or more define themselves as upper middle class, while 23 percent define themselves as middle class. Only 11 percent of the $5-million-plus millionaires define themselves as rich or wealthy. Wealth experts say the findings stem partly from the psychology of today's wealthy and partly from the growing economic divide between the super rich and the merely wealthy. . ."

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

(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

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Goddesses. . .

. . . and such

Round every corner and fade into blue
The Angelus rings, she comes into view
Nine is her number
In nine she is due
She will never fail you

Singing creation, look into her eyes
Out of her mouth she is speaking the sky
Circling heaven, higher than high
She in time is movement

Why should I move from her world vibration?
Molding this clay into
Paleolithic Goddess Figurines

Streaming to rivers, she floats on the sea
Gathers her children who sit on her knee
Showing and telling them where they are free
She is softly speaking

Holding the line when she seems unpleasant
Molding this clay into
Paleolithic Goddess Figurines

There is no real dilemma
She has her own agenda
Though there's a vulture hovering above our heads
Go on and trust the pattern
Her sun and moon are lanterns
Painting the firmament with stars

She is the vision of attention engaged
Breaking the spell of automaton rage
A circuit of heaven, a luminous wave
All is seen before her

Why should I move from her world vibration?
Molding this clay into
Paleolithic Goddess Figurines

Round every corner and fade into blue
The Angelus rings, she comes into view
Nine is her number
In nine she is due
She will never fail you

Paleolithic Goddess Figurine
new mix by Bill Pratt, Bratt Studios, performed by OHO (Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray 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

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.

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.