pianogonzology

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Entertainer . . .

"You certainly can't make a living at THAT?!" . . . or words to that effect were spoken, not unkindly-just instructively, by my Mother sometime during my mid-teens when the possibility of my undertaking musical performance as a full-time career was being considered. . . And I knew (thought?) she was correct. Hindsight being twenty-twenty, maybe that's what I should have done. Hard work, no doubt. Lucrative, NO! Fulfilling, well. . . what do you think? Believe me, I have absolutely no regrets. It's just a day-dreamy premise that crosses my mind occasionally when I think too much. I must say in hindsight, that at the time, I had nowhere near the confidence required to undertake such an endeavor.

The Entertainer
©2017 Raymond M. Jozwiak

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

My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills

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

Get your copy of OHO's Where Words Do Not Reach now!
The Ocean City Ditty Video is now on YouTube
Also, be sure to visit: www.rayjozwiak.com and www.ohomusic.com

Follow me on Blogarama

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Freedom . . .

(from John Adams by David McCullough. . . on Thomas Jefferson's writing of 'the declaration' in 1776)

". . . He borrowed readily from his own previous writing, particularly from a recent draft for a new Virginia constitution, but also from a declaration of rights for Virginia, which appeared in the Pennsylvania Evening Post on June 12. It had been drawn up by George Mason, who wrote that "all men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent natural rights. . . among which are the enjoyment of life and liberty." And there was a pamphlet written by the Pennsylvania delegate James Wilson, published in Philadelphia in 1774, that declared, "All men are, by nature equal and free: no one has a right to any authority over another without his consent: all lawful government if founded on the consent of those who are subject to It.". . . (John Adams commenting)I was delighted with its high tone and flights of oratory with which it abounded, especially that concerning Negro slavery, which, though I knew his southern brethren would never suffer to pass in Congress, I certainly would never oppose. . ."

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

My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills

Follow me on Blogarama

Monday, August 7, 2017

Liberty . . .

(from John Adams by David McCullough - from Abigail Adams' correspondence with her husband)
". . . The have sometimes been ready to think that the passion for liberty cannot be equally strong in the breasts of those who have been accustomed to deprive their fellow creatures of theirs. . . I wish most sincerely there was not a slave in the province. It always seemed a most iniquitous scheme to me - [to] fight ourselves for what we are daily robbing and plundering from those who have as good a right to freedom as we have. . . "

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

My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills

Follow me on Blogarama

Sunday, August 6, 2017

Power . . .

(from John Adams, by David McCullough, from Abigail Adams' correspondence with her husband)
". . . I am more and more convinced that man is a dangerous creature, and that power whether vested in many or few is ever grasping . . . The great fish swallow up the small and he who is most strenuous for the rights of the people, when vested with power, is as eager after the prerogatives of government. You tell me of degrees of perfection to which human nature is capable of arriving, and I believe it, but at the same time lament that our admiration should arise from the scarcity of the instances. . ."

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

My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills

Follow me on Blogarama

Saturday, August 5, 2017

Cut . . .

. . . the rug. . .

. . . and then, I learned to dance. Not literally. Well, yes literally. Not that I am a good dancer or that I dance frequently. But the figurative dancing came eventually. Throughout my middle and high school years, I remained the awkward, chubby and uncomfortable person that I was in elementary school with only slightly improved self-esteem and confidence. Some social skills, if you will, were developed. I essentially chose my 'crowd', said very little, agreed with (and to) quite a lot, and in essence, slowly learned to 'dance'. . .

Cut The Rug
©2017 Raymond M. Jozwiak

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

My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills

Follow me on Blogarama

Friday, August 4, 2017

One Way? . . .

(from 1,000 Lashes; Because I Say What I Think by Raif Badawi [Edited by Constantin Schreiber and Translated by Ahmed Danny Ramadan)
". . . Many of those who judge liberalism are ignorant about what it really means. They try to advertise liberalism as a line of thinking that rejects religion, somehow suggesting liberalism is a religion of its own. This cannot be further from the truth. . . Many of these people are reluctant to accept anything modern. They loather anything that gives humans their right to freedom. They fear this will pull the carpet from underneath the clerics, whose sole trade is in buying people's minds. They continue to promote liberalism as moral decay and degeneration. . . "

. . . Not unlike our Hannities, Coultors and Limbaughs. . .

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

My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills

Follow me on Blogarama

Thursday, August 3, 2017

True. . .

. . . colors . . .

. . . when I finally escaped what I perceived to be the 'land of make-believe' and graduated from college, I told practically everyone I knew that I would never go back to school, ever. About five years later, I went back to school. Call it maturity. Call it wisdom. Call it pragmatism, but I re-entered the world of academia in pursuit of a Masters Degree (in business administration, in fact) about five years later. Never regretted it. I began to see the beauty in higher education. I also realized that I actually have a desire to learn, something I still possess. But being involved in business, since the 'music' business is so frequently insufficient to provide adequately for a family, my higher education was quite useful. But academically speaking, an irony that became evident during this period is that no matter how much someone (someone being a 'worker' within an organization) complains about the antics of a superior (within their own workplace), when (and IF) they attain a position of supervision or management, they actually engage in conduct far more extreme than those of which they originally complained. In other words, they show their true colors . . .

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

My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills

Follow me on Blogarama