I am doing my A to Z Reflections in 2 parts this year. The traditional reflection with the index and the pontification will follow. This year I paid homage to John "1 Hand Typing" Holton by having a "song of the day" for each letter of the alphabet at the end of my post. I would post a You Tube video of the song in question and then daily add that song to my Spotify A to Z playlist.
I am adding a bonus song of the day for the reflection called appropriately enough, Reflecting on My Reflection by Allen Levi.
The Leap of Dave A to Z Playlist ia now ready with all 26 songs from the challenge.
I will be back later this week with my traditional reflection. Foe more reflections click here.
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in an A to Z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
April 30th 2024 is the 235th anniversary of George Washington being inaugurated the first President of the United States.
On April 30th 1789 George Washington was innaugurated the first President of the United States of America in Federal Hall in New York City. Here is the transcript of his address ...
Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:
Among the vicissitudes incident to life no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the 14th day of the present month. On the one hand, I was summoned by my Country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love, from a retreat which I had chosen with the fondest predilection, and, in my flattering hopes, with an immutable decision, as the asylum of my declining years--a retreat which was rendered every day more necessary as well as more dear to me by the addition of habit to inclination, and of frequent interruptions in my health to the gradual waste committed on it by time. On the other hand, the magnitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of my country called me, being sufficient to awaken in the wisest and most experienced of her citizens a distrust-ful scrutiny into his qualifications, could not but overwhelm with despondence one who (inheriting inferior endowments from nature and unpracticed in the duties of civil administration) ought to be peculiarly conscious of his own deficiencies. In this conflict of emotions all I dare aver is that it has been my faithful study to collect my duty from a just appreciation of every circumstance by which it might be affected. All I dare hope is that if, in executing this task, I have been too much swayed by a grateful remembrance of former instances, or by an affectionate sensibility to this transcendent proof of the confidence of my fellow-citizens, and have thence too little consulted my incapacity as well as disinclination for the weighty and untried cares before me, my error will be palliated by the motives which mislead me, and its consequences be judged by my country with some share of the partiality in which they originated.
Such being the impressions under which I have, in obedience to the public summons, repaired to the present station, it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first
official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow- citizens at large less than either. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency; and in the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their united government the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities from which the event has resulted can not be compared with the means by which most governments have been established without some return of pious gratitude, along with an humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem to presage. These reflections, arising out of the present crisis, have forced themselves too strongly on my mind to be suppressed. You will join with me, I trust, in thinking that there are none under the influence of which the proceedings of a new and free government can more auspiciously commence.
By the article establishing the executive department it is made the duty of the President "to recommend to your consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." The circumstances under which I now meet you will acquit me from entering into that subject further than to refer to the great constitutional charter under which you are assembled, and which, in defining your powers, designates the objects to which your attention is to be given. It
will be more consistent with those circumstances, and far more congenial with the feelings which actuate me, to substitute, in place of a recommendation of particular measures, the tribute that is due to the talents, the rectitude, and the patriotism which adorn the characters selected to devise and adopt them. In these honorable qualifications I behold the surest pledges that as on one side no local prejudices or attachments, no separate views nor party animosities, will misdirect the comprehensive and equal eye which ought to watch over this great assemblage of communities and interests, so, on another, that the foundation of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality, and the preeminence of free government be exemplified by all the attributes which can win the affections of its citizens and command the respect of the world. I dwell on this prospect with every satisfaction which an ardent love for my country can inspire, since there is no truth more thoroughly established than that there exists in the economy and course of nature an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness; between duty and advantage; between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous
policy and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity; since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained; and since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered, perhaps, as deeply, as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.
Besides the ordinary objects submitted to your care, it will remain with your judgment to decide how far an exercise of the occasional power delegated by the fifth article of the Constitution is rendered expedient at the present juncture by the nature of objections which have been urged against the system, or by the degree of inquietude which has given birth to them. Instead of undertaking particular recommendations on this subject, in which I could be guided by no lights derived from official opportunities, I shall again give way to my entire confidence in your discernment and pursuit of the public good;
for I assure myself that whilst you carefully avoid every alteration which might endanger the benefits of an united and effective government, or which ought to await the future lessons of experience, a reverence for the characteristic rights of freemen and a regard for the public harmony will sufficiently influence your deliberations on the question how far the former can be impregnably fortified or the latter be safely and advantageously promoted.
To the preceding observations I have one to add, which will be most properly addressed to the House of Representatives. It concerns myself, and will therefore be as brief as possible. When I was first honored with a call into the service of my country, then on the eve of an arduous struggle for its liberties, the light in which I contemplated my duty required that I should renounce every pecuniary compensation. From this resolution I have in no instance departed; and being still under the impressions which produced it, I must decline as inapplicable to myself any share in the personal emoluments which may be indispensably included in a
permanent provision for the executive department, and must accordingly pray that the pecuniary estimates for the station in which I am placed may during my continuance in it be limited to such actual expenditures as the public good may be thought to require.
Having thus imparted to you my sentiments as they have been awakened by the occasion which brings us together, I shall take my present leave; but not without resorting once more to the benign Parent of the Human Race in humble supplication that, since He has been pleased to favor the American people with opportunities for deliberating in perfect tranquillity, and dispositions for deciding with unparalleled unanimity on a form of government for the security of their union and the advancement of their happiness, so His divine blessing may be equally conspicuous in the enlarged views, the temperate consultations, and the wise measures on which the success of this Government must depend.
The A to Z Challenge is complete! The Spotify Leap of Dave A to Z playlist is complete. They both have been a lot of fun. I will be back soon with my A to Z reflections.
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To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in an A to Z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
The first viral video on You Tube was an unauthorized bootleg of the SNL digital short Lazy Sunday. It had over 5,000,000 views between December 2005 and February of 2006 when You Tube took it down. SNL has since put the video up on it's own You Tube Channel.
Like many subsequent viral videos Lazy Sunday spawned some response videos. This one being a shot by shot remake
In 2008 the viral video Charlie bit my finger - Again blew up on You Tube. To date it has 886,000,000 views. My son was 7 when this came out and I must say he was very good at shutting people down before they ever got to teasing him about that.
By 2013 most everyone knew what a viral video was. April 29th 2013 was the first known occurrence of Viral Video Day.
Since then, viral videos have not gone away. Video's like this one my daughter calls Chewbacca Mom. It had 13,00,000 views in the past 7 years.
I know there are just two days left in the A to Z challenge. I say take a moment and watch some You Tube videos. You may just help one go viral!
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in an A to Z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
That's it. That's all I've got it's 11:54 on April 27th and I've gotten all my posts this month in on time. What I lack in content, I make up for in punctuality.
The song of the day is Xandadu by Olivia Newton John & ELO from the 1980 film, Xanadu. I saw it when it came out. I didn't like it then, it was more of a xanadon't. But this clip makes me consider giving it a second viewing.
X is 10 in Roman Numerals but today X makes 24 songs on the Spotify Playlist
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in an A to Z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
April 26th is Hug an Australian Day.
Australia is the lone continent that is also one entire country. Australia Day is celebrated each year on January 26th marking the 1788 landing of the first fleet into Sydney Harbor and the subsequent raising of the Union Flag of Great Britain. 3 months to the day later you can celebrate Australians all over again by hugging them.
Originated in 1996 in Melbourne, Hug an Australian day promotes warmth and wellness.
Wallaby,Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage, Buddhist Monastery, Brisbane, Australia www.dhammagiri.org.au
Not everyone can visit Australia. However everyone can promote good will to Australians everywhere by wishing all Auissies you meet well wishes and perhaps even a warm embrace. Here's a cute video of someone hugging a koala bear.
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in an A to Z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
April 25th: Multiple Holidays Abound
Everyday of the year there are a plethora of holidays, My job for the challenge was to scour through those holidays and find one that somehow relates to the letter of the day. Since todays letter is V, I thought I might give you a variety pack of holidays, events, and occurrences to celebrate today.
Holidays
National Hairstylist Appreciation Day Held on the 25th April since 2012. Prior to that it was celebrated on April 30th, but alas, that wasn't it's "permanent" day.
International Delegates Day - United Nations The current U.S. Ambassador for the U.N. is Linda Thomas Greenfield. The last former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. that I voted for for President of the U.S. was Nikki Haley.
World Penguin Day Statred in 1972, April 25th coincides with he day that Adelie penguins begin their northern migration. It is a little confusing because I thought it was March of the Penguins, not April.
License Plate Day On April 25th 1901 the state of New York made the first law requiring automobiles to have license plates. Speaking of license plates click here to see the I holiday Indicted Illinois Governors Day.
Born On April 25th
Al Pacino - American Actor 1940- present
Edward R Murrow - Radio and Television Journalist - 1908-1965
Edward R Murrow Public Domain,
David Strathairn As Murrow in Good Night and Good Luck
Guglielmo Marconi - Inventor and Physicist 1874-1937
Died on April 25th
Ginger Rogers - American Actress and Dancer. Died in 1995 at the age of 83
John Havlicek - Boston Celtics Basketball Star died at the age of 79 in 2014
Bea Arthur- Actress best know for her roles on t.v. shows Maude, and Golden Girls- died at the age of 86 in 2009
Happened on April 25th ...
2021 - Chloe Zhao win's Best Director Oscar for the film Nomadland. Frances McDormand won the Academy award for Actress in a Leading Role for Nomadland, which also won the Oscar for Best Picture.
1990- Hubble Space Telescope Sent Into Orbit.This hour video show the Space Shuttle bringing the telecope into space and then releasing it into orbit.
This poster shows many of the great pictures taken with the telescope.
There is an entire house concert from 2019 on this video, if I have set this up correctly, the intro to the song should start as you open the video. There are 22 songs on the A to Z Spotify playlist now. Just like today it houses a lot of variety.
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in an A to Z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
A Very Special Installment Today
Dave Out Loud Presents Undecided, Undeclared & Uncertain Day
21 letters 21 songs assembled in a playlist. 5 more remain. Here is what we have so far.
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in an A to Z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
I'm gonna be honest. Most of these holidays I am highlighting for the challenge. I am going to forget about for next year. Some I've probably already forgotten. World Table Tennis Day is one holiday I don't want to forget. In fact, I am kind of bummed that I probably won't ping some pong today. Ping some pong is what I call playing ping pong or table tennis.
When I think of table tennis the first thing that pops into my head is this commercial from when I was a kid.
Gnip Gnop not only sparked a passion for ping pong but also a passion for gnikaeaps sdrawkcab (speaking backwards) which turned into my love for all things palindromic.
When other people think of ping pong this scene from Forrest Gump may pop in their head ...
I love playing table tennis. I may lack the Gumpian endurance or skill but what I lack in endurance and talent I make up in zeal. In college I played a lot of table tennis, it is a great way to spend time between classes or as a study break. It is both social and athletic. I even had an album that I thought was the best accompaniment for playing ping pong. It was Jacob's Trouble's debut album, Door Into Summer. When I hear other people incorrectly say that this group has better albums, my initial thought is not to play ping pong with. You listen and you tell me if the beat doesn't want to make you ping some pong.
One fun thing to on World Table Tennis Day would be to play a variation called round robin. It is basically a cross between table tennis and musical chairs. You play with 2 paddles and as many people as can fit around a ping pong table. Instead of describing it, here is play in action ...
To get a full ping pong experience play the round robin clip without volume while listening to the Jacob's Trouble and you'll see what I'm talking about. So, ping some pong today if you get a chance and if you can't that's just how the ball bounces.
The song of the day today is Tell It Again by J.J. Heller
20 songs now comprise the A to Z playlist.
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in a to z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
April 22nd 2024 is the 148th anniversary of the first National League baseball game
April 22nd 1876 is a significant date in the history of American sports. The first game in the newly formed National League took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event took place 2 1/2 months before the 100th anniversary of another significant American beginning that also took place in Philadelphia.
The inaugural game took place between the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Stockings. With Boston winning 6-5 in a game that took 2 hours to play.
The National League started with 8 teams: Boston Braves(1876-Present) , Philadelphia Athletics (1876-1876), Hartford Blues (1876-1877), St. Louis Brown Stockings (1876-1877) Chicago Cubs (1876- Present) New York Mutuals (1876-1876) Louisville Grays (1876-1877), and Cincinnati Reds (1876-1879). Only the Cubs who were known in their first 25 years in the league as the Chicago White Stockings, Chicago Colts and Chicago Orphans and the Braves who were first known in Boston as the Red Stockings, the Red Caps, Beaneaters, the Nationals, The Bees and The Doves before settling on the Braves and then moving to Milwaukee and then Atlanta have survived to the present. The other 6 teams didn't even make it to the 1880s. The American Leauge began in 1901 and the AL and the NL started facing each other in the World Series in 1902. But April 22nd 1876 is when Major League baseball games started being played, something worth being clelebrated.
Photo caption: Delegates to the Schedule Meeting of the National League and American Association of Base Ball Clubs, Held At The Hotel Rennert, Baltimore, February 25th - 27th, 1897
Today's Song of the Day is Say Goodbye to Little Jo by Steve Forbert
I usually don't spend any time introducing the artists of the song of the day. Many of them are lesser know than Steve Forbert, but I'm going to make an exception with him in anyway. My Freshman year in high school (1979-1980) was in the height of my Pop music mastery. I read Billboard magazine every week, focusing on the Hot 100 singles which Casey Kasem culled his American Top 40 radio show from. I would generally listed to AT 40 every week and would listen to WLS AM in Chicago which was at the time a top 40 radio station. As a result to this day I can generally tell you the name of the album that a song from the late mid 70's to the early mid 80's came from. Steve Forbert's only top 40 hit Romeo's Tune for ,example, came from the album Jackrabbit Slim. It barely missed the top 10 reaching 11 in 3/1/1980. Say Goodbye to Little Joe , the 2nd single from Jackrabbit Slim. spent 3 weeks in the top 100 climbing as high as 85 on April 19,1990.
Steve Forbert and Dan Fogelberg were contemporaries and they both scored their most popular hit in March of 80 (Romeo's Tune, and Longer respectively). Fogelberg had the much bigger career until his death in 2007. Forbert still tours and I came this close to seeing him over Spring Break when he was in Madison, Wisconsin.
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in a to z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
April 20th is National Lima Bean Respect Day.
Lima beans the well deserved Rodney Dangerfield of vegetables
I do not need an entire day to respect lima beans. For me a minute would be too much time. To misquote Snoopy in Your A Good man Charlie Brown: I am a Lima Bean hater, a Lima Bean despiser and a Lima Bean loather. Or to misquote Greg Brady in the Brady Bunch episode," My sister Benedict Arnold": Lima beans are on the top of my bad vegetable list, the bottom of my bad vegetable list and every bad vegetable in-between.
I grew up in the 70's and we were all members of the clear your plate club. If my parents served it we ate it, or we hid it, or we fed it to the dog. I've always been a big fan of food, and there's hardly a food I don't enjoy. Growing up, I was not really big on most vegetables, I could eat corn or carrots but anything else was a stretch for me. But the worse of the worst was the lima bean.
I absolutely hate lima beans. I would not eat it on a bet. As I've got older I've learned to enjoy most vegetables and tolerate the ones I don't enjoy. I am actually a big fan of most beans black, pinto, kidney, garbanzo. Generally I lead the league in legumes. But I can not bring myself to eat a single lima bean. It is probably the only food I won't eat. I have strong preferences against some food like olives, but in a pinch I can eat one. Luckily my wife loves olives, so it never comes to that.
My hate for lima beans is legendary in my family. Just like my kids grew up knowing that I love The White Sox, Randy Stonehill, Libraries, and diving off the high dive, they also discovered I hate lima beans. So each Christmas for several years I could always count on that they would wrap up a can of lima beans for me.
I'm not sure why April 20th is National Lima Bean Respect Day. If it were up to me I'd ban the Holiday all together. If I can't do that I would just make it 19 day earlier. Because a day honoring lima beans has to be some sort of April Fools Joke.
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in a to z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
The last time I posted at Poetry Friday I did an introduction to the A to Z challenge and an invitation to participate there-in. Today, I will give those visiting from the round-up a glimpse of what a regular a to z post looks like and at the same time show the A to Z folks what A Poetry Friday submission is all about.
Today Q is for Quatrains and other poetry related stuff as the holiday du jour is Poetry & The Creative Mind day. I'm not sure why it's on the 19th or how it originated, But right near the middle of poetry month here is a nifty little holiday to celebrate poetry. So let's celebrate it, but first a dumb joke:
Q: What's a quatrain?
A: Not much. what's a quatrain with you?
According to Merriam Webster, A quatrain is a unit or group of four lines of verse. I have decided to write the heart of my A to Z post in quatrains today. I am following an ABCB rhyme scheme
If you are joining from Poetry Friday, I want to mention two blogs participating in the A to Z challenge that are including poetry in all their posts. The first is Sue's Trifles where her most recent post was a poem using pararhymes. The other blog is the Versesmith, where the most recent post was about prompts and preludes.
If you are joining from A to Z blogging, I want to tell you about another April challenge and that is the 2024 Kiddy Lit Progressive Poem. On April 1st one poet started it off with a couplet and each subsequent poet has posted the earlier couplets and then added their own, For April 19th it is Reading to the Core's turn. Her submission is right here. I will be adding a couplet on the 28th of April.
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. To enjoy more of Poetry Friday click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Poetry Friday. Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in a to z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
April 18th is National Pinata Day in Mexico
P is for Piñata. It is also for Picture. Here are a number of pictures of piñatas from Wikimedia Commons.
Today's Song of the day is Play Game from Tik Tik Boom
16 songs and what do you get?
An incomplete playlist that's not over yet
I still have to finish from Q to Z
I owe 10 songs for this menagerie.
I just published letter O about 15 hours later than I usually do. To make up for it I am publishing this now rather than wait until tomorrow.
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in a to z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
The third Wednesday of April is One More Time and you Get a Parade Day.
As today's letter is a vowel, it is another opportunity for me to make up a new holiday. Many holidays come with traditions, games, or events that go along with them. Easter egg hunts, for example are believed to have originated in Germany in the 16th century. The first Turkey Trot (a race taking place the morning of Thanksgiving) took place in Buffalo New York in the late 19th century. One More Time and you Get a Parade Day may be the first holiday that was started to celebrate a tradition rather than the other way around .
Some of the original "what a things to say" besides the almighty dollar were, The Stevenson Expressway (A Chicago road), People don't floss like they used, to, and one of my favorites, I don't like blank (whatever person , place or thing just mentioned) they supported the war movement.
It's a totally random game that when played well is oblivious to all but the player, and when played poorly is a staple of group conversation for a very long time.
"What does this have to do with parades?" you might ask. A few weeks ago I was subbing in one of my favorite classes. It was the class in fact, that I had been a long term sub in for the 1st semester of the 2022/2023 school year. I have a great deal of familiarity with these students and they have a great deal of familiarity with me. The class is comprised of 6th graders and 7th graders and one of the 6th graders tends to sneeze 5 or 6 times in a row on a frequent basis. On this particular day, after the 3rd or 4th sneeze I responded with the quip, one more time and you get a parade.
I'm not sure how that phrase came to me. True, I just made it up, but, I was definitely thinking something along the line of when you do something multiple times you get a prize. I don't think I was remembering the below scene from A Few Good men, it is in my collective unconscious .
One way to celebrate One More Time and You get a parade day is by playing a version of What a Thing to say with your friends, family, classmates or co-workers. This could be done virtually or in person. Each person writes one phrase down and then they are distributed. Then each person has to use that phrase in a conversatToday'ion throughout the day. Another way is to try to make up your own expression and use it in the course of the day.
April is a month that starts with foolishness, but One More Time and You get a Parade say insures that foolishness doesn't end on the first.
Today's Song is Off Again On Again Love By Allen Levi
I generally put a video on of the song, but as far as I know there are no videos of this song, so here is a link to it on Spotify.
With this song, my playlist is now up to 15 songs.
It is already 9:15 P.M. in Chicago and this is the latest that I've posted in the challenge so far this year. I now must go, and work on tomorrow's. When I finish this one, I might not get a parade, but I will be caught up. That is certainly something to turn a phrase about.
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in a to z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
April 16th is National Wear Your Pajamas To Work
National Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day was started 10 years ago by PajamaGram. It is held on April 16th each year to coincide with Tax Day being April 15th. The idea was to make April 16th a more casual relaxing day for those who may have been up late the night before finishing their taxes.
Pajama days are very popular at schools. When there is a spirit week at one of our schools or the alphabet countdown that happens at the end of the year. There is usually a pajama day. Before I was a building sub and would go to different schools each day, I would often sub when there was a pajama day, but I wouldn't usually be aware of it until I got to school day. When I started doing long term subbing, I would get a little more heads up about the coming events. Maybe for Christmas this year I will ask for Captain America pajamas and then the next pajama day I can bring my Captain America Build-A-Bear AKA Captain Abearica AKA Steve Pawgers to school as well.
Song of the Day is Nothing But The Wind by Pierce Pettis
I would like to clarify that when I say that the song is by a certain artist, all I mean is that that artist performs that song on the Spotify playlist. In the above video, Pettis correctly attrributes the song to the late great Mark Heard. Speaking of the Spotify mix tape, here it is so far...
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in a to z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
I think the best way to talk about this day is to use FAQ format. I used to do this quite a bit in the early days of my blog. The last time I did so was here back in 2012 when I was blogging about the A t0 Z challenge. .
The FAQS of Life: Micro-volunteering in Frequently Asked Question Format
Q: Do you know what today is?
A: Yes.
Q: Are you going to tell me?
A. Perhaps if you asked me, rather than asked me if I knew.
Q: What is today?
A: It's International Micro-volunteering Day.
Q: Is Micro-volunteering a thing?
A:It must be, if it wasn't, it wouldn't have a holiday.
Q: When did it become a thing?
A: it's been a thing for almost 20 years. The term was first used in the U.K. In 2006 and had migrated to Spain by 2008.
Q: What is Micro-volunteering?
A:This answer is from ot's Days of The Year Page, The idea of micro-volunteering is simple: individuals take convenient, bite-sized actions in support of a good cause and often perform their activities or service from home.
Q: How did the day start?
A: Well the day started a minute after 11:59 p.m. Some people were fast asleep, some were well on their way, others were working 3rd shift jobs, still others, ...
Q: When did International Micro-volunteering Day start.
A: 10 years ago it began when the day was created and promoted by the Help from Home Foundation.
Q: Como se dice International Micro Volunteering Day en Espanol?
A: DÃa Internacional del Microvoluntariado.
Q: Do you have any suggestions for micro-volunteering?
A: Yes
Q: Are we back to that joke again?
A: Yes
Q: What suggestions do you have for micro-volunteering?
A: I thought you'd never ask. One suggestion is to volunteer doing task that you already know how to do, so there is little to no training involved. Another is to keep your activities to things that can be done in thirty minute to 2 hour chunks. One examples are to volunteer to read at a school, or day care center, or nursing home. When my daughter was homeschooled, she would volunteer on a weekly basis for about an hour and a half a week, working at the P.B.I.S (Personal Behavior Incentive System) store at my wife's school. Children would earn a kind of currency for following the code of the school and then would be able to trade that currency in for prizes. As a full time substitute teacher, I would imagine there are boundless opportunities for micro-volunteering?
Q: What are some suggestions that could be done from home?
A: My daughters both crochet. One is in a crochet club. Some members of her club crochet hats at home for premature babies or people having chemo. People can have baking parties on the holidays and find organizations to donate their creations to.
Q: Do you know why IMVD (International Micro-Volunteering Day) is on April 15th.
A: No, but it is the same day as Tax day here in the U.S. and if I were choosing the day, I would choose April 15th because micro-volunteering is not meant to be taxing.
Q: Did you think of that yourself?
A: Yes, Yes I did. And before you ask yes, that is a Phineas and Ferb referemce.
Today was a lot of fun, no question about it. Micro-volunteering can be fun as well. In the comments tell me some things that you already know how to do, that might be great as a micro-volunteering opportunity.
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in a to z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
Lucy, Amy & Kermit Smithsonian Museum 2010
April 13th 2024 is the last Saturday of the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C.
The past few days at school there has been growing excitement for the 8th grade field trip to Washington D.C. which is coming up soon. My Nephew was over yesterday and he is also is super excited about his 8th grade field trip to Washington D.C. So, when trying to decide between all the April 13th holidays and events I chose an event and a birthday related to D.C.
The Nationals Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates the gift of Japanese Cherry Trees in 1912 from the Mayor of Tokyo City to the city of Washington D.C.
Washington Monument with Cherry blossoms in the foreground.
Thomas Jefferson was born April 13,1743
The Jefferson Memorial 2010
Charlie and C3P0 at the Smithsonian
L is also for Lincoln
These pictures were take on our family trip to Washington D.C. 2010
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
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![National Hairstylist Appreciation Day](<p><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Top-Hat-Rogers-Astaire.jpg#/media/File:Top-Hat-Rogers-Astaire.jpg"><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Top-Hat-Rogers-Astaire.jpg" alt="Top-Hat-Rogers-Astaire.jpg" height="2960" width="2350"></a><br>By RKO Radio Pictures - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/stream/moviescomefrom00seld#page/n193/mode/1up">The Movies Come from America</a>, photo preceding page 101, Public Domain, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65503629">Link</a></p>){kind=link}