pianogonzology

Friday, November 24, 2017

Miserable . . .

(https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/texas-church-shooting/fact-check-no-more-guns-won-t-prevent-mass-shootings-n818126)
". . . In the mid 1990s, the gun lobby accused the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of being anti-gun after a 1993 study found that keeping firearms in the home increased the risk of homicide by a family member or intimate acquaintance — and the National Rifle Association encouraged its congressional allies to target CDC funding. Congress passed a 1996 spending bill with the Dickey Amendment, a rider that barred government funds going to the CDC from being used to “advocate or promote gun control.” Congress stripped the CDC of the $2.6 million spent annually on gun violence research. . .“We hadn’t been advocating gun control,” Mark Rosenberg, who oversaw the CDC's gun violence research efforts at the time, told NBC News. “It was kinda a shot across the bow. It said, 'Look, if you keep doing this, we can make your life miserable.'”. . ."

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

Other Ray Jozwiak Offerings

(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!
Watch The Ocean City Ditty Video on YouTube
Also, be sure to visit: www.rayjozwiak.com and www.ohomusic.com

Follow me on Blogarama

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Evidence . . .

(https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/texas-church-shooting/fact-check-no-more-guns-won-t-prevent-mass-shootings-n818126)
". . . But there’s no evidence that more guns can reduce gun violence broadly, said Daniel Webster, Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. . . “As a researcher, that drives me nuts,” he said, explaining that guns increase the number of everyday moments or interactions — like bar fights, road rage, suicidal thoughts — that turn lethal. “The more guns are readily available, the more shootings occur. That’s what the latest research shows. When states make it more easy for people to carry guns, the number of incidents of aggravated assault grows.”. . . According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, 93 people die a day from gun violence, including 32 murders and 58 suicides. A study out of Stanford Law School analyzed crime data from 1977 to 2014 and found that areas with more relaxed “right-to-carry” gun laws saw higher rates of violent crime. . . “If more guns made America safer, we’d be an awfully safe place,” said University of California Los Angeles law professor Adam Winkler, author of "Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America.". . ."

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

Other Ray Jozwiak Offerings

Follow me on Blogarama

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Mercy . . .

. . . or possibly none . . .

(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mercy)
Definition of mercy
plural mercies
1 a :compassion or forbearance (see forbearance 1) shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power; also :lenient or compassionate treatment begged for mercy
b :imprisonment rather than death imposed as penalty for first-degree murder
2 a :a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion May God have mercy on us.
b :a fortunate circumstance it was a mercy they found her before she froze
3 :compassionate treatment of those in distress works of mercy among the poor
— mercy adjective
— at the mercy of
:wholly in the power of :with no way to protect oneself against

A new tune (in progress) inspired by many old tunes . . .

Merciless
©2017 Raymond M. Jozwiak

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

Other Ray Jozwiak Offerings

Follow me on Blogarama

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

More Work . . .

. . . on Working . . .

Some things never end. One of those things is the ongoing desire to refine one's own creations. Working was written almost twenty years ago, with lyrics. But the solo piano performance has never been recorded for public release. Since its resurrection about one year ago, I find many sections of it benefit tremendously from subtle dynamic enhancements. Another benefit of all this 're-working' is the intimacy with the unusual chord changes over which the improvisation is undertaken. Only time will tell how, or even if, the song finally appears on a recorded collection in the future.

Working
©1998 Raymond M. Jozwiak

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

Other Ray Jozwiak Offerings

Follow me on Blogarama

Monday, November 20, 2017

Despond . . .

(from http://www.covenantofgrace.com/pilgrims_progress_slough_of_despond.htm)
". . . Now I saw in my dream that, just as they had ended this talk, they drew near to a very miry slough that was in the midst of the plain; and they being heedless, did both fall suddenly into the bog. The name of the slough was "Despond." 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 angrily said to his fellow, "Is this the happiness you have told me of all this while? If we have such ill speed at our first setting out, what may we expect 'twixt this and our journey's end? If I get out again with my life, you shall possess the brave country alone." And with that he gave a desperate struggle or two, and got out of the mire on that side of the slough 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 endeavoured to struggle to that side of the slough that was farthest from his own house, and next to the wicket gate: 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?

Chr. "Sir," said CHRISTIAN, "I was bidden to go this way by a man called EVANGELIST, who directed me also to yonder gate, that I might escape the wrath to come; and as I was going thither, I fell in here.". . ."

Gonzo practicing
Slough of Despond
by Jay Graboski

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

Other Ray Jozwiak Offerings

Follow me on Blogarama

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Chop . . .

(from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/bad-night-trump-sets-stage-more-gop-infighting-n818906)

". . . On the other side of the GOP divide, John Weaver, a longtime aide to Ohio Gov. John Kasich, wrote on Twitter that the party should treat the president like dead tissue. . . "I'm not gleeful about GOP losing elections. But if you have gangrene in your leg (Trump), chop the sucker off. But 2018 is looming & that is a big chop. #WakeUpGOP," Weaver said. . ."

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

Other Ray Jozwiak Offerings

Follow me on Blogarama

Saturday, November 18, 2017

Prayers? . . .

(https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/why-i-boycotted-congress-moment-silence-after-texas-shooting-ncna819161)
". . . I did pray for the victims and their families that day. But as a federal legislator, I know our thoughts and prayers are simply not enough. . . When tragedy strikes, feeling helpless is understandable. There is little you can do to stop a tornado, a hurricane, or a cancer diagnosis from changing your life in an instant. But gun violence is not an unavoidable fact of life. . . We cannot treat Sunday’s events as a natural disaster — this tragedy is man-made. . . Offering thoughts and prayers are a valuable way to let loved ones know you care, but no one should offer them at the expense of action. . . That’s why when Speaker Paul Ryan asked for yet another moment of silence in the U.S. Capitol on Monday, I chose to leave. . . I respect my colleagues who participate in moments of silence. I have participated in all of them until now. But based on the increasing number of mass shootings and the inaction of Congress, I have concluded that the best way to honor victims of mass shootings is to try to prevent future mass shootings, not stand and be silent for 60 seconds. . . Since I became a member of Congress in 2015, there have been over 1,000 mass shootings in the United States according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, including three of the most deadly in U.S. history. . . Since I became a member of Congress in 2015, more than 60,000 people have died from firearms-related deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. . . Since I became a member of Congress in 2015, Congress has not taken a single vote on gun safety legislation. . . But since 2015 we did hold a number of 60-second moments of silence — more than 20, actually. And what have those 60 second acts resulted in? Nothing. . . "

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

Other Ray Jozwiak Offerings

Follow me on Blogarama