pianogonzology

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Bucket . . .

. . . list . . .

. . . I have many times felt an aversion to certain popular buzzwords, jargon, lingo. . . whatever you want to call it. As an adolescent I always thought the words 'girlfriend' and 'boyfriend' carried a demeaning or minimalizing connotation; as in "you and your little girlfriend." One of my latest semantic pet peeves is the term 'bucket list.' I understand its meaning. I appreciate the humor in it. I just don't really like. And I do not have one. Other words suffice very well, thank you. . . words like 'goal', 'objective', 'desire', 'need' or 'WANT' . . .

. . . and right now I really, really WANT. . .

. . . the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

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

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Fantasy . . .

. . . or dishonesty?. . .

Dear Wayne,
Just writing to say hello and to impart a smidgen of counsel, for what it's worth. Granted, your style of music and entertainment have never quite been my proverbial 'cup of tea' and I also allow that in terms of success, which in this context I will define narrowly as 'amount of money earned from practicing music as a livelihood' (and ONLY that), you have head and shoulders over most of us, accomplished a not insubstantial amount. But just between us I must say that I, for one, perceive a note of dishonesty in the promotional material for your recent show in Baltimore, MD. I well understand the concepts of image, youth, vitality, machismo. It does appear, however, that you fail to grasp the subtlety of the concept of honesty. When WAS this photo taken - 30 maybe 35 years ago? Wayne! . . . Baby! . . . What were you thinkin'?

May I suggest that since fantasy appears to be the underlying theme in your promotional efforts these days, why don't you simply use the suggested image I have posted here in your advertising from now on?

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Sincerity . . .

Saw a lot of social media talk the other day about 'all lives matter', white racism, etc. etc. and rightly so. This is a good thing. As long as we talk. As long as we are sincere. And as long as we LISTEN. We must listen to each other. Let us all enter the discussion with open minds and hearts. Preconceived notions and know-it-alls are NOT welcome here. I grew up with racism. While not defending it, I can recognize the source of it. . . and as they say, acknowledging the problem is the first step in resolving it. It's not easy and it's not simple. Still, I believe it is noble and worth working toward. Like campaign reform and redistribution of wealth, it probably won't be accomplished in my lifetime. But it will be accomplished.

So let's be careful to avoid generalizations. People are people, and much like music, there are only two kinds. . . good and bad. Be sincere.

Monday, June 29, 2015

Family . . .

. . . values??

(Bernie Sanders on Republican family values)
". . . When a mother has a baby and is unable to spend time with that child during the first weeks and months of his or her life, that is not a family value.

When a wife is diagnosed with cancer and a husband cannot get time off of work to take care of her, that is not a family value.

When a mother is forced to send her sick child to school because she cannot afford to stay home with her, that is not a family value.

When a husband, wife, and kids, during the course of an entire year, are unable to spend any time together on vacation, that is not a family value.

The Republican agenda for families is really an attack on everything that a family is supposed to stand for.

When it comes to basic workplace protections and family benefits, workers in every other major industrialized country in the world get a better deal than workers in the United States. That should be an embarrassment to anyone who wants to talk seriously about family values in this country. . ."

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Ah . . .

. . . life

. . . goes on . . .

Tsarnaev sentenced. . . the Pope says you're not a Christian if you have a gun. . . white supremacist kills nine innocent people in a church. . . serious consideration is given to removing confederate flags from government facilities. . . heavy summer thunderstorms. . . prison seamstress smuggled saws to prisoners inside raw meat. . . Putin marches on. . . Kurdish forces say they seized a military base from ISIS fighters just 30 miles from the self-declared caliphate's capital city in Syria. . . both sides of the political spectrum accuse each other of using the South Carolina Church shooting for political motives . . .

. . . the music goes round and round . . .

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Go Get 'Em . . .

. . . Bernie . . .

"More than 90,000 people have signed our petition asking the Democratic Party to host more presidential debates starting this summer. Voters shouldn't wait to hear candidates debate the very serious issues facing our country.

Can you help us get to 100,000 signatures?

Click here to sign the petition to start the presidential debates."

What can it HURT???

Friday, June 26, 2015

Supreme . . .

(from http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/supreme-court-just-handed-victory-obama-republicans-too-n381851 by Mark Murray)
". . . Had the Supreme Court invalidated the subsidies in some 30 states operating on the federal insurance marketplace, that would have affected nearly 6.4 million Americans, who would have seen their health costs skyrocket by about 300 percent. Republicans were ready to blame Obama for the potential chaos. But some of them acknowledged the GOP would get the brunt of the blame, especially since they backed the lawsuit challenging the subsidies. "[Obama will] have the ads all racked up with the individuals that have benefited from Obamacare on the backs of the American taxpayer," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., admitted in an April interview. Republicans also had been divided on how to respond. Some like Johnson wanted to extend the subsidies for Americans - in exchange for repealing the law's individual mandate. But others were in favor of letting the subsidies die, full stop. . ."