Okay, they're not the traditional cheesy St. Patrick's Day stickers with leprechauns and shamrocks. But the Brobdingnagian Bards do offer free stickers for the Scotch-Irish.

The sticker reads "Real Men Wear Kilts".

The stickers are totally free. Just send in a SASE in you can have a freebie sticker. Then show off your kilt on St. Patrick's Day!

I just got done talking with a lass who makes LOTR headdresses for weddings. She's done some amazing pieces imitating headdresses worn in the Lord of the Rings.

Check out her webpage. You'll see the following styles: Elven Princess, Childlike Arwen, Elven Queen, Star Queen, Medieval Maiden, Medieval Princess, Medieval Queen, Horned Goddess, Golden Queen, Goddess Of Spring, and the Noble's Circlet. Fantastic work.

She calls here store Merlin's Oddities & Morgana's Mysteries, but there's no mystery about how great her work is!

I got in pretty late last night from visiting a friend from out of town. My little angels were waiting for me.

Tiziano was sitting in my lazy boy. Can you imagine? He was too lazy to get up. Just laid there waiting for my hello pettings.

Then I went over to the computer. I could tell Tiziano was wanting some attention. He jumped up on my computer desk and walked back and forth in front my view rubbing his chin on my mine. I learned something adorably (okay, sickeningly) new.

The stubble on the side of my face is great for grooming cats!

LOL. Yeah, he rubbed against my chin, then the next time around. I turned my face to the side and the stubble combed his furr. Well, sorta...

It's so dang sweet!

Seriously, what do you expect from Tiziano. I mean look at those gorgeous eyes that Gabriela drew of Tiziano, my tabby cat. They're beautiful.

I can't believe what a great resemblence she reallly got of him. She an incredibly talented artist, that's for sure.

Whoever wins the auction for the picture she drew of Tiziano will be a lucky person indeed. There are just over four more hours to go before the auction ends.

If you love cats, you're bound to LOVE this picture and to help support a great cause, the creation of my cat CD, Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers. Fifty percent of the sales go towards the production of this CD.

It's a double whammy WIN-WIN. Check it out before it's too late!

I know, I know. There's still over a month before St. Patrick's Day arrives, but now's the time to start thinking about it. Here are a few great St. Patrick's Day resources.

St Patrick's Day Poetry:
A St Patrick's Day Poem
Thoughts and inspiration that comes from St. Paddy's Day.

The Leprechaun, a St Patrick's Day Song
This is a fun little song I wrote for St. Patrick's Day about those fantastical creatures of Ireland, the leprechauns.

Happy Birthday from Ireland
St. Patrick's Day is also my birthday. I wrote this poem as a happy birthday song for me St Patrick's Day children all around the world.


St Patrick's Day Music:
Songs of Ireland for St Patrick's Day
The ultimate collection of Irish drinking songs that are perfect for St. Patrick's Day.

St Patrick's Day Music 2004
17 Celtic music downloads for St Patrick's Day 2004.

St Patrick's Day Music 2003
17 Celtic music downloads for St Patrick's Day 2003. I don't think all of these sites still offer free St. Patrick's Day music downloads, but many of them do.

Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers
This is an upcoming CD of Irish drinking songs rewritten with lyrics about cats. As of Feb 2005, this CD is not done yet. But there is a free music download of "Furagone's Wake" (parody of "Finnegan's Wake"). Check it out!

Those are all my favorite resources for now, but subscribe to the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine to find out what are the picks St. Patrick's Day 2004 free music downloads.

Gabriela Avila finished a new tabby cat portrait of Tiziano. It's amazing. Brilliant colors and perfect resemblance of my kitty.

Best of all, she's Auctioning My Cat on eBay to Raise $$ for my new CD. (Well that's the cat picture at least)

I saw she now has a website. I was kinda blown away at the prices of other cat portraits. Every site I've seen is more expensive and doesn't look half as good!

Any case if you want a cat portrait done of your feline friends, talk to Gabriela!

"Imagine getting closer to your Celtic heritage with MUSIC when you listen to a CD of beautiful, inspiring, and fun Celtic folk songs that celebrate Your Scottish & Irish heritage."

Let's face it, you can't escape your Celtic heritage. Everyone of Celtic blood will one day rediscover the power of their heritage. The real question is "when?" Every Celt knows that music is an essential part of the Celtic experience. The beautiful harp sounds of Turlough O'Carolan and the rousing Irish drinking songs get your blood pumping.

Think about the relaxing music of Enya or the sing-a-longs of The Dubliners and The Clancy Brothers, or the beautiful romantic ballads of Christy Moore and the Scottish National Poet, Robert Burns. They convey the mystery, the joy, and the most utterly thoughtful.

Celtic music is largely a lost and forgotten art. Not long ago the music swept the the world and used the songs to work magic. People were swept off their feet by a sweet, sincere ballad.

Today, there are musicians still playing Celtic music hidden away in pubs, but rare is it that you will hear one of these magical songs on the radio. It's about as rare as finding a leprechauns pot of gold.

Listen to Celtic music and you might find your own pot o'gold at the end of the rainbow, but there's one wee problem... finding great music!

You can try to hunt down some decent internet radio stations playing Celtic music, or worse, wait around until you hear something on public radio.
But instead of knocking yourself out trying to something you "might" like, listen to something that's been tested and received hordes of praise.

Re-Discover Your Irish/Celtic Heritage now!

Sad Reminder of Ireland
*sigh* I just got reminded that yesterday was the day I had planned to fly off to Ireland. Right now, I should've land and be basking in the cold Irish rain. :(

Cat Sponsor Start Purring In
I've gotten a few comments recently from people interested in my Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers CD. One lady got me thinking about sponsorship for the CD. The idea comes and goes as I think about it. I could probably get a cat company to sponsor the CD with a wee bit o'work. Not sure if I'll have the time before I finally release it, but it's definitely something I'll look into.

Auctioning My Tabby Cat on eBay to Raise $$ for New CD
A friend from LiveJournal, Gabriela Avila, saw my kitty and decided to paint a tabby cat portrait of Tiziano with pastels. She made a startlilng resemblence of him. You can now buy bid on Tiziano, Tabby Cat painting on ebay.

Celtic Rock Secrets Revealed
Well, after a year of gathering music and finally listening to it to find out what I want to add, I'm almost done with The Secret World of Celtic Rock, a compilation celtic music CD benefitting The Celtic Cultural Center of Texas.

Not Enough Renaissance Festival Music?
Who says there's not enough Renaissance Festival music out there?

Gmini 400 and Canon Powershot Combo
Man! I just back from traveling through Europe and realized one of the most brilliant digital photography combos ever.

Archos Gmini 400 Review
Tehe *beaming* I'm pretty happy. Since I'm leaving early for Christmas, I got my presents from my half of my folks (the other half being in Italy). So I got two KILLER presents, a beautiful, warm coat for my the cold weather of Europe (looks like the highs in The Netherlands and Switzerland are in the 40s), AND I got an Archos Gmini!

The Legacy of Britney Spears - Butt Cracks
I used to think that butt cracks were limited to fat, white trash plumbers or ex-high school football players who are no obese mechanics. Seeing them bent under the hood of car or kneeling under the sink, their pants hanging lot and that nasty butt crack smiling at ye. Sadly, that is no longer the case thanks to Britney Spears.

Ren Faire Story about Dragons and Virgins
We get ALL kinds of funny stories that revolve around one of our most popular songs, "Do Virgins Taste Better Medley." Recently, I heard this one from Magdalene

Announcing Cats with Opposable Thumbs!
I picked up the scooper and emptied the litterbox into the trash can. It was now clean for use. I then placed the trash can back under the sink, making sure the baby locks would keep out my little tykes. All was good.

The Coolest Cat CDs
Yes, I know I'm a bit of a psycho cat fanatic. So putting together a group of Cat CDs makes perfect sense.

Happy Groundhog Day! & Celtic Rock Update
The Secret World of Celtic Rock CD is pretty much done!

Excalibur Fantasy Faire Approacheth
It's funny. I consider Excalibur to be a staple of our annual venues. But it occurred to me when we were at the Irish Dragoon a few weeks back that some people don't know a thing about our home faire.

Which Side of the Fence Are You On?
It's amusing and I've never gotten so much free publicity. Yes, I'm talking about my Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers CD. Since I started the new website, I've been getting a lot of publicity for the CD. It's definitely an idea that people love... or hate. What's really cool is that I'm getting used to that.

King Arthur Returns to Excalibur Fantasy Faire
Excalibur Fantasy Faire is a tiny little faire just East of Austin, past Bastrop in Smithville, Texas. The faire began in 1999. This was the faire that invited me out to an audition where I grabbed Andrew, and we formed the Brobdingnagian Bards.

Well, at least a picture of him is. ;)

A friend from LiveJournal, Gabriela Avila, saw my kitty and decided to paint a tabby cat portrait of Tiziano with pastels. She made a startlilng resemblence of him. You can now buy bid on Tiziano, Tabby Cat painting on ebay.


Tiziano The Tabby Cat Portrait

I got Tiziano and Torre, my two tabby cats from a friend. I remember Tiziano had a hemp collar made by one of the gals I got the kitties from.

Tiziano was the quiet one. And it's always the quiet ones you have to watch for. That was the case with Tiziano. From the beginning, he was a bit of an explorer... meaning he got into everything.

The Great Tabby Cat Explorer Finds Riches in the Most Unlikely of Places

It started when I first left them in the bathroom. He quickly learned how to open the cabinets and drawers to hide. Once they had free roam of the house, then he started getting into my dresser drawers. I wouldn't mind so much if he'd stop wearing my underwear on his head.

What can I say, he's an explorer, always looking for the smallest darkest corner to cozy up into. Course, this also means, he's the one gets trapped in places he shouldn't, like the time I came home and found all my dresser drawers open. I sighed, mumbled under my breath, and closed them.

A few hours later, I noticed Torre hanging out in the bedroom, but no Tiziano. I started searching the house, thinking he found a nice little spot. Oh, he did! He was tightly packed in my sock drawer!!

Tiziano, a Lady's Cat

Yeah, he's a bit o'a ladies man, err, cat. He has a way of rubbing up to women when they come to visit. Smiling that cute little kitty smile as if to say, "Hey baby, wanna watch me wave my tail around. Aw yeah!"

My friend Stacy calls Tiziano her kitty. Every time she comes over, she pulls out the "Happy Quilt" lies down in my long couch, and Tiziano comes a-running.

The Tabby Cat's Meow

Oh, and then there's that meow! Sheesh. That's liable to sweep any lass off her feet. And it's not so much a "meow" as "mew, mew, mew."

He loves to go into the bathroom in singing, "Mew-mories, all in alone in the bathroom light..." Yeah, he fancies himself quite a singer. I couldn't help, but to record him for my upcoming CD, Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers. Course, now he thinks he's Tiziano Pavorgatti.

Ah well, I'm really grateful to Gabriela. She's really made an incredible likeness of Tiziano and was kindness enough to a 50% donation of the money from this painting to go towards the release of my Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers (imagine celtic music combined with cats) CD.

I hope someone out there finds as much joy in the painting as I have in little Tiziano. What's that? You wanna play fetch now? Tiziano! You're not a dog, ye know... Oh, alright, go get it! To me, bring it back to me!

I'm so whipped!