It's funny what happens when I get sick. It sucks, but at the same time, I get so bloody productive. I first noticed it when I worked at the University of Texas at Austin. I was getting sick a lot and taking a lot meds. I was a bit spaced out. Yet, I found I couldn't sleep and so I worked until the wee hours of the morning (which didn't help me to heal).

This past week was not too far removed. I was taking too many meds (though mostly homeopathic now), and I slept a little more. But I also accomplished a lot. I finished recording and mixing my new autoharp instrumental CD, “Heart's Ease”. I mostly filled up my spring schedule. And today, I feel healthy again with a bright optimism for the year.

This Week:

— Quote of the Week: “Beware of people who dislike cats.” ~Old Irish proverb

— Cool feature on Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers. I don't know who created this Squidoo page for my first Cat CD, but I love it when people go out of their way to share my music with others. Now it just needs comments from you. I see there's another one for the Brobdingnagian Bards too. Coolness!

— Special Features: The Babylon Podcast played a promo for my Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. Knitters with Critters played my cat version of “Danny Boy” in their latest podcast. Games Radar featured a photo of me in their article “The Etiquette of Gaming Like a Man”. But coolest of all…

I had a request from a women's choir to perform “Lord of the Pounce” and “When Kitty Eyes Are Smiling” for a fundraiser for TREATS, INC. in Tallahassee, FL on Feb. 7th. Who would turn that down. Just wish I could attend.

— Video of the Week: Lord of the Pounce. I don't have too many YouTube videos using my music. So it made me happy to see a new one posted a couple weeks ago.

— Cool Gift for Youself: Chic Rustic Two Pocket Plarn Purse. Check out this cool eco-friendly purse made from recycled material.

— The Reel Book is an Irish music collection. There are 973 pages of hand written music which come from the recorded performances of 190 Irish musicians from 117 albums along with several field recordings. The albums release dates range from the 1920's up to 1992.

— CD of the Week: “Symphony from the Ghost Ship” by Angus Mohr. Blazing bagpipes in Highland Rock'n'Roll. The band has grown really popular on the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. I expect big things from them.

— Renaissance Festival Podcast Playlists. Stephen is a librarian and loves making lists. That's good because I tried doing it a LONG time ago. Just wasn't for me. It's cool though because everything is sorted to make it easy to find what you want.

— Celtic Invasion of Italy Group. The first Celtic Invasion Vacation is underway. Yes, there are still spots available, but that may close off very soon. Meantime, I started a new group on the Sunset Connoisseurs Society website where you can come on by and talk about the trip, travel arrangements, etc. Course, don't forget to join the Celtic Invasion of Italy first.

— What Color Is YOUR Podcast?. It's a great question. And the way to get that question answered is to order your own podcast. Just $85 and you will get your very own podcast of me performing your favorite 10 songs. I will send you a link to download the show and start enjoying your very own podcast.

— CD Reviews: “Trip” by Bad Haggis, “A Thousand Curses Upon Love” by Jennifer Shelton, “Whispers Of Love” by Fionnuala Gill, “In Love + Light” by Heidi Talbot

— UPCOMING GIGS. I said gigs were coming soon, but I didn't realize how true that was. My spring is just about filled up except for my birthday week, St. Patrick's Day.

2.05 (DALLAS, TX) Tipperary Inn
2.07 (WATAUGA, TX) House Concert
2.15 (NEW ORLEANS, LA) The Kerry Irish Pub
2.27 (NEW ORLEANS, LA) The Kerry Irish Pub
3.6-8 (BLOOMINGTON, MN) MarsCon 2009
3.26-29 (COLLEGE STATION, TX) AggieCon 40
4.3-5 (BRENTWOOD, NY) I-Con
4.17-19 (DENVER, CO) StarFest
5.13-22 (TUSCANY, ITALY) Celtic Invasion of Italy

Don't forget to make a demand to see me perform. I have a growing number of demands in Chicago and the Pacific Northwest. If I can pull in a good 20-30 people signed up there, or anywhere, I will be forced to come see you. Twist my arm. Ouch! Okay. I'll be there.

— Check me out on Sunset Connoisseurs Society, Myspace, SoundClick, Demand a Show on Eventful, Wikipedia, Twitter, Facebook, Livejournal, Sonicbids, and DeviantArt. And if you'd like a CD…

— Do you have a quote, movie, album, tip or suggestion that you'd like to share in my Weeklies? If so, post a comment with your suggestion here.