Family Ties

I read Family Ties because I found myself in an airport without a book to take onto the plane.  Having never read anything by Danielle Steel, I hoped this book would be an absorbing page-turner that would make the flight pass quickly.  WRONG!  Family Ties was predictable and repetitive and contained no pithy truths about family relationships. 

A Case of Need

A Case of Need is a novel based on the facts and politics of abortion before Roe vs. Wade.  The book was published in 1968 under the pseudonym of Jeffery Hudson and won an Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1969.  In 1993 A Case of Need was re-released under the author's real name, Michael Crichton.

An Irish Christmas, A Musical Solstice Celebration

They say good things come in threes...  and here is the third CD this year on which the Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra appears.  Amazing!

An Irish Christmas, A Musical Solstice Celebration was recorded last year during the Irish Christmas shows at the Irish Arts Center.  The Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra has been part of these shows since their inception four years ago, so it was only natural that we should appear on the CD.  Our track is a song called The Rebel Jesus written by Jackson Browne.  Louise Sullivan is the lead vocalist.

In Partnership with the Poor

Artwork by the children of the Mercy Centre

NEWS FLASH!!!

"Waltz Me Around Again, Willie" -- my song with the Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra -- has been released on the CD entitled In Partnership with the Poor:  Irish musicians for the Mercy Centre, pictured above.

To order, click HERE.

Your purchase will help fund a music program for the children of the Mercy Centre, a highly successful charitable organization in Bangkok, Thailand.

Tributes to Mike Rafferty

Mike Rafferty died on September 13, 2011. If you're a regular or even an occasional reader of this blog, you know that Mike was very important to me.  To officially mark his passing, I have noted below the many remembrances he received.  I have compiled this list mainly for myself, but others may find such a reference meaningful or useful.

TRIBUTE FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Fatherly Connections

Ralph Mason (left) and Mike Rafferty (right)

Ralph Mason and Mike Rafferty were two very different men.  Ralph was my father, Mike was my flute teacher.  I began lessons with Mike in 2004, six years after my father died.  Over time, I found myself making comparisons between them.  A few similarities existed despite the fact that other things about them seemed to be reversed, just like their initials.

Rafferty

Updated July 4, 2012 

This post honors my Irish flute teacher and mentor, Mike Rafferty, who died on September 13, 2011.  At the time of his passing, so many people posted touching tributes on Mike's Facebook page (which was and still is maintained by his family).  The most moving of those remembrances, for me anyway, was the piece written by another one of his students, Brian Holleran. Although my association with Mike was not as long or as intimate as Brian's, the essence of my relationship with Mike --- indeed, of Mike's relationship to all his students -- has much in common with what Brian describes below.  Thanks, Brian, for giving words to what many have experienced and for allowing me to share it on my blog. 
  

Rafferty
by Brian Holleran

Photo by Tom Madden, used with permission.

Hawksbill Turtles Adapt

Turtle Tidbit #6 reports the amazing discovery that the critically endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle, thought to be nearly extinct in the eastern tropical Pacific, may not be in fact not so close to extinction after all.  Now that fact alone is newsworthy, but the reason behind that statement is what really excited me. Get this: Hawksbill Turtles moved to a new habitat!  Researcher Alexander R. Gaos says, "This is a unique behavior that represents a new life history paradigm for this species..."   And we are talking about a species that's been around for millions of years.  Imagine that!!