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Tartan Week!

April 6 is National Tartan Day. This is an official national holiday which kicks off Tartan Week. National Tartan Day honors all the Scottish heritage that flows through this nation. From its earliest beginnings, Americans with Scottish ancestry endeavored for that freedom as much as any American.  It was in their blood. It was 400 …

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April 6: National Tartan Day

NATIONAL TARTAN DAY April 6 is National Tartan Day. This is an official national holiday. April 6th has been designated as National Tartan Day, a day for celebrating Scottish heritage and pride. The New York Tartan Day Parade is usually held the Saturday nearest Tartan Day. The 2017 18th Annual New York Tartan Day Parade …

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Happy Easter!

    Easter symbolizes the renewal of life. I wish you and your family the renewal of life, love, and happiness.  

The Music Man

    A few years ago TCM was doing 31 Days of Oscars.  I first sort of noticed this when I looked ahead in the scheduling and noticed that all TCM shows were alphabetized.  At first, I thought maybe that this scheme was some sort of placeholder before I realized what they were doing. Personally, I …

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My Ringtone: Scotland the Brave

“Scotland the Brave” (Scottish Gaelic: Alba an Àigh) is a Scottish patriotic song. It was one of several songs considered an unofficial national anthem of Scotland. My cellphone ringtone is Scotland the Brave. At any event or rehearsal, everyone knows it’s my phone, if one is ringing 🙂  I posted a bit about that here: …

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Happy Presidents’ Day!

Today is President’s Day, a combo of holidays for George Washington’s and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays, making a new Monday holiday. These days people don’t seem to celebrate much except for having car and furniture sales. When I was a kid, we lived in a small town (Pawcatuck, CT and Westerly, RI are sister towns, virtually …

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International Book Giving Day

  Some of you may know that I’m involved in Little Free Library (LFL) and is a library on my street under the auspices of the O’Connor Music Studio. When our son is home for a visit, we always go out on a hiking trail with the dog, Mimi, and sometimes my mom.  On one …

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Happy Valentine’s Day

  Have a special day today!        

Happy Chinese New Year!

  Our wonderful daughter-in-law is Chinese, so we are celebrating, too. This is the Year of the Ox.  The Ox (牛) is the second of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar, and also appears in related calendar systems.  Countries that observe Lunar New Year often offer three to seven days of …

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Washington Pipe Band Plays For Sean Connery

Washington Pipe Band Plays For Sean Connery from Toby Dodd on Vimeo.   This video just came up on my Facebook feed this morning but I hadn’t seen it before.  Even though Washington is misspelled, this is still a fantastic performance for Sean Connery in 1999.     Sean Connery was honored at the Kennedy …

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