pianogonzology

Monday, July 6, 2015

Superstition . . .

(from http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/mencken.htm— H L Mencken, “Aftermath” [coverage of the Scopes Trial] The Baltimore Evening Sun, September 14, 1925)
". . . The way to deal with superstition is not to be polite to it, but to tackle it with all arms, and so rout it, cripple it, and make it forever infamous and ridiculous. Is it, perchance, cherished by persons who should know better? Then their folly should be brought out into the light of day, and exhibited there in all its hideousness until they flee from it, hiding their heads in shame. . .True enough, even a superstitious man has certain inalienable rights. He has a right to harbor and indulge his imbecilities as long as he pleases, provided only he does not try to inflict them upon other men by force. He has a right to argue for them as eloquently as he can, in season and out of season. He has a right to teach them to his children. But certainly he has no right to be protected against the free criticism of those who do not hold them. He has no right to demand that they be treated as sacred. He has no right to preach them without challenge. Did Darrow, in the course of his dreadful bombardment of Bryan, drop a few shells, incidentally, into measurably cleaner camps? Then let the garrisons of those camps look to their defenses. They are free to shoot back. But they can’t disarm their enemy. . ."

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

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Higher . . .

Just look at the morning paper
And tell me what you see
Is something very wrong
Or maybe my eyes deceive me
Somewhere in the local section
A buried paragraph
Someone who had the time to care
And the character to act

The higher the highs
The lower the lows
The older I get
That's the way that it goes
The more that I think that I want
The less that I need
Because I realize how precious
And how short
This time with you may be

When you're young and your biggest worry's
What game you want to play
Such innocence is just surpassed
By the naivete
Take good with the worst
And better
You know they're not the same
Youth somehow brings them all together
Different they are
But subtle the shades

The higher the highs
The lower the lows
The older I get
That's the way that it goes
The more that I think that I want
The less that I need
Because I realize how precious
And how short
This time with you may be

Youth really
Is only wasted
If never
You've tasted
All the bitter
As well as sweet

I hope you don't misunderstand me
Or what I want to say
It's nothing revolutionary
Ignorance won't make this go away
Nobody likes a busybody
Nobody knows it all
There's one thing I can tell you certain
Take none for granted
Short or the tall

The higher the highs
The lower the lows
The older I get
That's the way that it goes
The more that I think that I want
The less that I need
Because I realize how precious
And how short
This time with you may be

Highs & Lows
©2000 Raymond M. 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

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Texting . . .

Him: There

Her: Now what’ll we do?

Him: Let’s dahnce!

Her: Oh, letsL!l

Him: Shall I lead?

Her: Why not?!

Him: A one and a two . . .

Her: Now you sound like Lawrence Welk! Haha

Him: It’s the accordion player in me.

Her: Must be. SO let’s sit this one out. We can dahnce again later.

Him: Oh alright . . .

Friday, July 3, 2015

Celebration . . .

(from Joseph and His Brothers by Thomas Mann, translation by John E. Woods)
". . . the official swelling of the Nile was celebrated in all the land of Egypt, and most especially in Nowet-Amun, Wase of the Hundred Gates, with a gala solemnity that one can imagine only if one keeps in mind our own greatest and most tumultuous national, popular, and patriotic holidays. The entire city was out and about from earliest morning on, and the huge population - far exceeding a hundred thousand, as we know - was vastly increased by swarms of country folk from both upriver and down, who streamed in through the gates to join in the celebration of Amun's great day in the city where the imperial god resided, and who now mixed with the city people to hop on one leg and gaze with mouths agape at glorious and majestic spectacles presented by the state to an overtaxed and overworked peasantry in compensation for a whole year's gray penury and as a means of strengthening them in their patriotism for the drudgery of the year now dawning. As part of a great sweating crowd, their noses filled with the aroma of burning fat and mountains of flowers, they thronged temples provisioned for the holiday with immense quantities of food and drink and filled those radiantly colorful forecourts plastered with alabaster, covered by awnings and tents, an echoing with pious hymns, where they could stuff their bellies for once at the expense of the god - or actually, of those higher powers who oppressed and swindled them all the rest of the year, but today smiled upon with prodigal beneficence - and thus, against their better judgment, be lulled in the belief that it would always be so, that with this turning point of celebration and delight, the golden age of free beer and roasted goose had dawned the they would never again be visited by scribes demanding payment and accompanied by Nubians armed with bundled rods of palm . . . "

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.

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.