Songwriters Showcase at Brewer's Alley
This Week's Piano Prelude
by Ray Jozwiak- Gonzo Piano
Monday
July 22, 2013
7:30PM
Monday Night Songwriters Showcase at Brewer's Alley Restaurant & Brewery (take the elevator on the right to the 2nd floor) 124 North Market Street Frederick, MD 21701 Telephone: 301-631-0089 Fax: 301-631-1874 http://www.brewers-alley.com/
. . . but it is a glimpse into the mindset of another of our 'diligent' public servants' . . .
(from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/17/representative-virginia-fox-on-student-debt_n_1431050.html)
". . . Representative Virginia Foxx (R - N.C.) expressed either tough love or ambivalence toward students who find themselves deep in debt, depending on who you ask.
Foxx, who is chairwoman of the house Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, said on the Gordon Liddy Radio Show that it took her seven years to finish school. She added that over those seven years, she borrowed nothing.
"I have very little tolerance for people who tell me that they graduate with $200,000 of debt or even $80,000 of debt because there's no reason for that," Foxx continued. "We live in an opportunity society and people are forgetting that. I remind folks all the time that the Declaration of Independence says 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' You don't sit on your butt and have it dumped in your lap."
The Bronx native worked as one of her high school’s janitors before she enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She graduated in 1968, according to her congressional biography.
Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) responded to her comments on Monday afternoon from the house floor.
"Incredibly, the chair of the Subcommittee for Higher Education spoke last week in North Carolina and said, 'I have very little tolerance for people who tell me they graduate with $200,000 in debt or even $80,000 of debt.' Really?
"It is a sad statement when today's Republican party turns its back on a program that helps millions of Americans fulfill their dreams, and that is named after a Republican Senator, Robert Stafford of Vermont," Courtney said.
Foxx’s spokesperson told The Huffington Post via email, “Congresswoman Foxx is concerned about rising college costs and the burdensome effect a large sum of debt can have on a student's future. She believes the focus should be on making college more affordable and providing students and parents with the information necessary to make informed decisions about college and understand the cost and the implications of those personal decisions. . .”
".
. . I would like to send you a copy of my latest release (via whichever
medium YOU prefer) Black & White Then Back in hopes of a review,
interview or other airtime.
Creative Musician Ray
Jozwiak's new, digital-download only, solo, instrumental piano music
release BLACK & WHITE then BACK transports you to aural locales
inhabited by emotions, sentiments, memories, hopes, joys and challenges
we've all encountered. You may even hear a snippet of a song you
remember from childhood, have flashes of your first date, recall aromas
from the kitchen when you visited your grandmother, remember your
favorite summer vacation or when you fell in love.
BLACK & WHITE then BACK is available through digital distribution only (www.cdbaby.com).
"RAY
JOZWIAK is back with his gonzo piano, boldly taking us to places no-one
has gone before, not even him! (Rod Deacey, Board Member of the
Frederick Acoustic Musicians Enterprise (FAME), Musician, Performer,
Writer, Poet, Organizer, Emcee, Bluesman 11/20/11
". . . Anywhere
he dabbles along the piano keys, he produces sonic glitz forming
impressionistic images. . . " (Susan Frances, cdreview.com)
". . .
He’s got some terrific ideas there and an unusual approach to rhythm
and song structure. These are fantastic assets and more than one of his
songs could find tons of fans who appreciate music which isn’t the same
ol’ same ol’ all the time. . . " (Paul Sedkowski, Fairplayformusic.com)
I
would like to send you (either digital music files via 'WeTransfer.com'
or a physical CD-whichever you prefer) of my new release of solo, piano
recordings.
The George Zimmerman trial has consumed the American public the past two weeks and certainly for good reason. I may as well weigh-in on it like everybody else because, hey, I'm not above it. As a matter of fact, no one is.
First, the obscene quote and knock-knock joke by the prosecution and defense respectively were totally out of order - especially the joke. On one hand, seeing photos and film of Zimmerman and hearing comments from his parents, I can't help but think that Zimmerman sorely regrets what he has done. He just appears to be a bit tortured. (It's just a feeling I get.) But that doesn't mean that what he did wasn't wrong and that he should not pay some penalty for taking an innocent, human life. You can't antagonize someone to the point of confrontation then pull out a weapon and kill him in the name of self-defense. That appears to me to be exactly what happened.
It also seems that by strict letter of the law, in a trial for 2nd degree murder (or manslaughter), one and only one thing has to happen. The prosecution must prove that Zimmerman killed for reasons other than self defense. And the prosecution must convince the jury that Zimmerman killed for reasons other than self defense beyond a shadow of a doubt. The defense only needs to place that doubt in the minds of the jurors. And that is exactly what, I believe, happened in that courtroom.
So I do believe that by the time that George Zimmerman pulled that trigger, he did feel that his life was in danger. Trayvon Martin was by that point very angry. Trayvon Martin was provoked. Trayvon Martin felt that his life was in danger. The trial did not broach anything remotely close these questions.
The trial also failed to address the series of events that occurred prior to that pulling of the trigger that led to that awful, crucial moment. The trial failed to address how Trayvon Martin must have felt when he finally, and mistakenly, confronted George Zimmerman. Sure, it would have been better to walk away. But it was not the absolutely-required thing to do.
Finally, if we learn anything at all from the Zimmerman debacle, it is that the contention of the NRA that the more guns we have in society the better off we will be is sheer and utter nonsense. No one should have to fear the prospect of a loaded gun being carried by another human being who is foolishly taking comfort in a
law that is cartoonishly named the "Stand Your Ground" law.
The kid who was incarcerated over an alleged threat on Facebook is now free thanks to an anonymous donor who posted his $500,000 bail. The threat came during an argument about a video game when he claims to have 'sarcastically' said he was going to "shoot up a kindergarten." He was jailed in February.
School violence and free speech came head to head as a result of the incident. In response to reporters, the young man said, "I certainly would have thought a lot more about what I said and how permanent my writing -- and everyone's writing -- is (on the Internet). People should be very, very careful of what they say. It's being recorded all the time, if you say it on any website, anywhere. And you can get in trouble for something that's not something you should get in trouble for. I just want people to be warned."
(from wikipedia.com)
Zeitgeist: The Movie is a 2007 documentary-style film by Peter Joseph. It presents a number of conspiracy theory-based ideas, including a version of the Christ myth theory, alternative explanations for the September 11 attacks in 2001, and the claim that bankers manipulate both the media and the international monetary system.
The film was released online on June 18, 2007, on zeitgeistmovie.com. While the film has been praised by some for the professional-level quality of its pacing and editing, and for its compelling narrative, it has been criticized for factual inaccuracies and the quality of its arguments, with critics describing it as "agitprop" and "propaganda".
Zeitgeist incorporates elements of the LaRouche movement. The film opens with animated abstract visualizations, film and stock footage, a cartoon and audio quotes about spirituality by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, followed by clips of war, explosions, and the September 11 attacks. This is followed by the film's title screen. The film's introduction ends with a portion of the late comedian George Carlin's monologue on religion accompanied by an animated cartoon. The rest of the film, divided into three parts, is narrated by Peter Joseph.
(from The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyon)
". . . Now I saw in my Dream, that just as they had ended this talk, they drew near to a very Miry Slow that was in the midst of the Plain, and they being heedless, did both fall suddenly into the bogg. The name of the Slow was Dispond. Here therefore they wallowed for a time, being grievously bedaubed with the dirt; And Christian, because of the burden that was on his back, began to sink in the Mire.
Pli. Then said Pliable, Ah, Neighbour Christian, where are you now?
Chr. Truly, said Christian, I do not know.
Pli. At that Pliable began to be offended; and angerly, said to his Fellow, Is
this the happiness you have told me all this while of? if we have such
ill speed at our first setting out, What may we expect, 'twixt this and
our Journeys end? May I get out again with my life, you shall possess
the brave Country alone for me. And with that he gave a desperate
struggle or two, and got out of the Mire, on that side of the Slow which
was next to his own House: So away he went, and Christian saw him no more.
Wherefore Christian was left to tumble in the Slough of Despond
alone; but still he endeavored to struggle to that side of the slough
that was farthest from his own house, and next to the wicket-gate; the
which he did, but could not get out because of the burden that was upon
his back: but I beheld in my dream, that a man came to him, whose name
was Help, and asked him what he did there. . . "
Slough of Despond
by John P. Graboski
Performed by Oho June 1, 2013
at at The 2nd Annual 5th Street Music Festival Block Party Thingy
