Team Saturdazzle: The One Where I pull something from my draft status and then go from there

I have been trying to clean out my draft staus which is where posts I start but don't finish end up or where I put you tube videos just in case I may want to put them on the blog someday. So today when my first Idea for Team Saturdazzle seemed a little too cumbersome to finish on time. I decided to look through some of the videos that I had in draft status. When my son was in F.L.L. FIRST Lego League he participted in a scrimmage table where different robotics teams would get together to practice together at the same facility. One of the tenets of FIRST Robotics is gracious professionalism, so even though these teams would soon compete against each other in competition. This was an opportunity for them to practice and learn from each other. I took some footage of the event and put some of it on my vlog probably 10 years ago or more. I don't think this particular video made the cut but I'm glad to show it today.

 

One thing I specifically remember from the event that it was in a building that my Orthodontist had been in years before and that the building had one of those old fashioned elevators complete with an elevator operator. Watching that video reminded me of a movie that is currently playing at the theatre I work at. It is called rule breakers based on a true story of Afghanistan girls competing in a FIRST Robotics competition.  

 I like to consider myself the king of the segue but even I wasn't sure how to go from two segments on robotics to talking about Bob Bennet Weekly Live but I'm going to try:

From FIRST to First Things First

The 5 years anniversary of Co-Vid 19 shutting down life as we knew it at least for a time kind of came and went, in my opinion, without much to do.  5 years ago on  Friday, March 13th was my last day working as a substitute teacher until September of 2022, and Saturday March 14th 2020 was my last day working at the movie theatre until a year later.  Two weeks later I was stocking shelves overnight at a grocery store, which I did for a year.  People in many lines of work had to be flexible at this time.

Bob Bennett, one of my favorite singers began on his 65th birthday March 21st of 2020  a series of weekly on-line interactive concerts called originally enough Bob Bennett Weekly Live.  Tonight he finished his 5th year of such concerts.  He streams these concerts replete with a virtual tip jar each week and on both You-Tube and Facebook.  

My wife and I listened in while we were playing cribbage, and gin rummy and Bob even gave Amy a shout out during the concert.  Tonight's concert featured many songs mostly made by request from Bennett's first album First Things First (1979) I also made a Spotify playlist that features the songs Bennett played tonight including multiple renditions of a few of the songs.  

 Finally tonight I'd like to end with a clip from Saturday Night Live from 1979 with Jimmy Fallon and Jerry Seinfelld both performing as Jerry Seinfeld

 

F O G .... E L Berg

 My Daughter Lucy formerly known on this blog as both Puppy and Wolfina  is now a  19 year old adult in her first year at college at the University of Illinois.  She is a double major in Creative Writing and English.  She continues to sing in a choir and is rehearsing for her 3rd and 4th plays of the school year.  Same old busy dynamo.  Lucy is one of those students who seem to excel in everything she does.  When she was applying at colleges this made it difficult for her to choose a major on her applications.  I think she had a different major chosen for each  school got applied at.   At  heart though she's a theatre/music/writer/artist type of person.  

I'm sorry, this post is not supposed to be about Lucy, but about Dan Fogelberg.  Earlier this week a new  Fogelberg song was released posthumously.  Fogelberg died at the age of 56 in 1997.  The song, I know a Thief, was released on streaming services like Spotify as part of the celebration surrounding the 50th anniversary reissuing of Souvenirs.

   

So, what does that have to do with Lucy you ask, Is she a thief?  Well she did steal my heart, but that's not quite what the connection is.  Fogelberg matriculaed at the University of Illinois and while there studied Theatre and Art as well as writing, performing and beginning to record  his future hits.  

I visited Lucy quite a bit during her first semester at school.  I went so often mainly to watch football games but we hung out as well.  (Mostly kidding I hope.). Speaking of football games, If you didn't understand the title of this  post, (and let's face it who did?),  it is an allusion to the cheer they make at home football games for every first down, touch down , field goal and extra point U of I makes. The announcer says ILL and The crowd responds INI.  Still don't get it? Now you know how my family feels.

On my way around campus especially on game days I've passed by a place called the Red Herring Cafe.  I've always been interested to know a little of it's history.  Well that turns out to be precisely where Dan Fogelberg performed and recorded many of his early works. 

Dan Fogelberg  at The Red Herring 2003
From Dan Fogelberg Facebook page

Red Herring Coffee House Poster 1972

Folk Festival @ Red Herring 1969
Both Posters from Smile Politely Article

My two favorite all time songs frim Fogelberg are Same Auld Lang Syne and Leader of the Band. The latter was also my only attempt at solo karaoke.  I found out today through an article in the Champaign Urbana News Gazette written shortly after Fogelberg's death that both songs have U of I roots, The meeting of the old girlfriend on New Years Eve in Same Old Lang Syne was a Champaign girl friend, the grocery store was on the corner of Green and Neil in Champaign, and at the end of the song when he talks about  feeling like he was back at school he was referring to being on campus.  

Fogelberg did not graduate from the U of I, he ended up dropping out to pursue his music. His Dad reluctantly agreed saying "to take a year of and see how it went".  That is where the line "Thank you for the freedom  when it came my time to go" in Leader of the Band comes from,  which precede the lines I bawled at during my karaoke rendition -

"I thank you for the kindness and the times when you got tough 

And papa, I don't think I said I love you near enough"

That about it does it for my midweek music break talking about Peoria Native Dan Fogelberg, his posthumous release, and his time at the University of Illinois at the Red Herring.

Speaking of red herrings, people stopping by from my link at Weekly Writer's Workshop must feel like I attached the wrong link.  The truth is, I have had such fun researching and writing this post I absolutely wanted to force it into the workshop and so I have. 

 This weeks prompt's were

1. Write a post based on the word positivity. 
2. Write a post in exactly 9 lines (sentences). 
3. Got any big plans for spring (Easter) vacation? Tell us about them! 
4. Tell us about the most disastrous date you’ve ever been on.
5.  List some (1-5) podcasts you listen to.
6.  Daylight Saving Time — love it or hate it?

There are several  I could do and I may come back and do a few more but today, I will focus on #4 as their is a Champaign/Urbana U of I connection.

Tell us about the most disastrous date you've ever been on?

It was November 1st 1985.   I was in a long distance relationship with a girl who lived near Springfield IL.  We at met at a college conference in 1984 when I was in a long term relationship with my high school sweet heart,  The girl from the conference and I maintained a correspondence and talked on the phone occasionally.  After a mutual break up with my high school girlfriend that lasted 2 years after graduation, we went on a few dates together,  This girl was way out of my league but she did not know it.  We bonded over our love for CCM Contemporary Christian Music and humor.  I was working my first full time job and taking some time off college that year, I was still living at home so the full time job gave me funds for travelling back and forth between Chicago and Springfield.  

As I recall, I was kind of playing the field for the first and only time in my life that summer  and had gone out on dates with 2 or three other girls since the spring.  Those dates  were mainly platonic and similar to what we would have done as friends.  Somewhere along the line things were getting more serious with the girl from Springfield, at least for me, and I stopped going on other dates. 

She and I were both huge Amy Grant fans and we decided to go to Champaign and see Amy play at what was then called Alumni Hall on the U of I Campus. The concert was on a Friday and I think I spent Halloween visiting  with friends at Eastern Illinois University. 

 I think we spent most of Friday together and at some point she told me she just wanted to be friends again.  Most of our relationship  before and during our dating period was via correspondence.  She had decided that I was not the guy for her.  I was at the point where I was thinking maybe I was.  She seemed to think that we could just enjoy the concert as friends because of course I had 4-8 hours to process it.  When I was a young man going to a concert with a girlfriend was all about holding hands during the love songs, and Amy Grant  is all about the love songs. 

 The opening act was Bob Bennett who did a great set.  He wasn't then but he now is one of my five favorite musical artists.  His brand of   adult contemporary  kind of Fogelbergesque  CCM does not give you too much to worry about on the love song angle.  Amy Grant was her Unguarded self. She brought the dancing, the cuteness, and the love songs.  We supplied the awkward. What was supposed to be a night to remember was quickly becoming one to forget.  

  

This is a ticket from the concert I went to but not my ticket.

This is what big named Christian Concerts cost back in the 80's.

   After the concert, we went our separate ways  (although later we did resume our friendship by correspondence).  I drove back to EIU and some of the awkward continued, because one of the girls I had gone on a few dates with earlier that year was the ex-girlfriend of the friend I was staying with. He seemed to think that I did it behind his back, which I don't know which way his back was pointed when we went out, but I never told him about it.  He had found out that summer, and this was the first time we had spent any time together since.  So it was kind of a bad night all around.  

For a short time Champaign and Assembly Hall and even Amy Grant were all reminders of that horrible date.  Long before Lucy got accepted there the place  came to mean much more than failed romance.

I went to two mission conferences  at U of I  in 1987 and 1990.  Both of these conferences were pivotal on the road God was leading me to missions work in my first few years after college.  At the 2nd of those mission conferences I went with a group form my college and in that group was a young woman who was quickly becoming my best friend and rather slowly (7 1/2) years becoming my wife.  Her name is Amy and I try to take her for Granted.  (Sorry had to work it in, I'm contractually obligated to make a certain number of groaner puns). Also at that 2nd conference Amy and I and the other 20,000 delegates were treated to a conference ending year ending concert at Assembly Hall by another one of my top 5 performers of all time Randy Stonehill.  (Yes, it would be a better ending to my post  if it was Dan Fogelberg singing Same  Auld Lang syne at the Assembly hall as he did twice in his career, especially singing it on New Years Eve.) Even the date of the Amy Grant concert, if it ever lived in infamy, has been redeemed as one of our 3 precious children was born on Nov 1st.

Thus ends my story about the influences of Champaign. I'll try to do one more midweek music break before the A to Z challenge begins next month, To at long last get back to The Weekly Writer's Workshop hosted by John Holton at the Sound of One Hand Clapping click here.  

Allen Levi's Eulogy for his nepehew Jonathan Bizilia

Team Saturdazzle: The One Where I Finally Say Something About President Trump

 Wow.  This year is flying by fast.  It's already the last Saturdazzle of the month for the 2nd time this year.  

If you are a regular reader of this blog, or if you are joining in from my Facebook page, you may be confused by the title of this post.  "What?!? Roller talks about Trump all the stinking time.  He even had his Dad teach him how to play bridge so he could say No Trump. more often.", you might be thinking to yourself. (You may even be thinking parenthetically, that you're not sure if thoughts  should be in quotation marks).

The truth is that  in this blog, I have not written a thing about President Trump all year.  That isn't to say I haven't had thoughts,  I've had thoughts! Here's two I'd like to share today:

1. President Trump is My President.

I don't know where it started, or where I first heard it, but it seems very likely regardless  of who  is the  current president, or who's the governor of your state that you may hear or read someone mention, "He's not my president."  or  "She's not my governor".  This bothers me in many ways, but mainly linguistically.  

If I live in Elgin, Illinois,  (#Ido), the mayor of that city is  my mayor.  It doesn't matter, if I don't know his or her name (#IdoIjustlookeditup) or if I voted for him, (#Idid), that's my mayor.

On January 20th 2025 10:00 A.M. central time Joe Biden was my President.  No, I didn't vote for him.  No, I don't agree with him on a number of issues, but I'm a U.S. citizen as he was in the last hour of his presidency  for that hour he was  still my president.  

In the same way by noon central time  Donald Trump had again become my president.  I trust Trump about as far as I can throw Mount Rushmore.  I didn't vote for him in the 2016, 2020, or 2024 primaries or general elections but yet he's my president.

Saying someone is not your president, when they are is not to me an act of defiance, nor a nod of a disapproval.  It's more like saying I'm only part of my country when I agree with their choices.  I understand  the voting process the way  we elect our public officials but then those  elected officials  work for all of us and represent all of us.  This is why they are our elected officials.  While it's an essential part of our democracy to speak up when we disagree with our elected officials, disagreeing with them in no way makes them no longer our leaders.  It's because they are our leaders that we can  ask them to change. I live in the state of Illinois and a Republican presidential candidate has not won the state of Illinois since 1988.  Does that mean that President George W. Bush or President Trump aren't the President in Illinois.  No! Nor does it matter that I haven't voted for a winning presidential candidate in over 2 decades.  The President of the U.S. is my president and this brings me to my second point.

2. President Trump is not my savior, but he's not the devil either.  

As stated before, I have not posted on this blog  about President Trump all year.  This can not be said when it comes to  posting  my Facebook account.  Several times  I have written there about our current president.  A few weeks nto his most recent term, I asked my FB friends to mention one thing Trump had done in those two weeks which they liked and one thing he had done which they didn't like.  

I have 441 FB friends. Two gave me one thing they liked and one thing they didn't like.  My submission made for a total of three.  3 out of 442? Wow!

 I'm not exactly sure why it was this low.  Many people on FB say good things about him and many people say bad things about him.  How come so few can  mention both the good and the bad?  

We are all created in God's image, so we all have good inside of us.  We also are all sinners who have  fallen short of the glory of God so we all have bad coming out of us. Finding both good and bad should not be that hard of an exercise.  And if it is, then since we are called to pray for our elected officials maybe we should spend more time trying to think about good and bad things that they are doing to aid in our prayers.  

One of my FB friends asked why I hadn't done such an exercise when Biden was President.  I had  in fact done a very similar exercise when Biden was president. But I'll go ahead and conclude  this segment by  saying one good and one bad thing about both President Trump and former President Biden.

Donald Trump 

Good:  When he was on  The Apprentice, I liked how in the board room segments he would make  the contestants take responsibility for their actions.  There was one episode where a project manager was talking about how great he ran his team for that week. Trump turned it around on him and asked, Did you win?  Which of course he had not, which is why he was in the board room to begin with.

Bad: As a candidate and as president I have never seen him follow his own advice and admit a mistake.  This is shown most in his inability to concede the 2020 Presidential Election.

Joe Biden

Good:  Biden thought about the good of the country and the good of his party before choosing to drop out of the 2024 election.  

Bad: I didn't mind that he pardoned his son Hunter, I just don't like that he did it after saying that he wasn't going to.

Note: The things I mentioned about Trump are not the same things I mentioned on my Facebook Page.  Here is what I said on Facebook: 

 A good thing I think Trump has done is pardon the 23 people who were being prosecuted under the F.A.C.E act Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances. A bad thing Trump had done is the pardoning or commuting the sentence of all 1500 people convicted of crimes during the events at the Capitol on Jan 6, 2021

Coming Soon: Levi A to Z

Sometimes I like to use Team Saturdazzle as  a place to start the conversation about topics I'm preparing future posts about.  

A to Z challenge Update.  I believe I have a topic for the upcoming challenge.  I am in the process of preparing posts and making a theme reveal post as well.

Speaking of Alpha and Omegas: I have some future posts featuring a pair of  Levi's.  This pair is well worn on the pages of my blog.  The first is Allen Levi, a member of my Big 5 list of favorite musicians.  Actually I have 2 upcoming posts featuring Allen.  The second Levi, is Chuck Bartowski, Flynn Rider, Captain Marvel and Kurt Warner rolled into one, Zachary Levi.  I watched The Unbreakable Boy earlier today and hope to post a short review before the next Saturdazzle.  

 There are 24 hours in a day but  only 24 minutes left of  this particular Saturdazzle.  So on that mathematical non sequitur, I bid you farewell.  

Not Sure How This is A Writer's Workshop But I'm In.

Here are the prompts for this week’s Writer’s Workshop: 

1. Write a post based on the word surprise. 
2. Write a post in exactly 8 sentences. 
3. Tell us about your favorite restaurant when you were a kid. 
4. Share links to 5-10 of your favorite non-political YouTube videos from this past week. 
5. Tell us about a time you had a really elaborate project in elementary school. 
6. Tell us how you named one (or more) of your pets.

I love writing too much, too look for a loophole when it comes to these Workshop prompts.  But if I were, prompt 4  would be right up my alley.  A writing prompt that just has me sharing links?  Bring it on.  

Some of the videos are not from  the past week but were in my you tube feed in the past week.  I had already put a few You Tube links in previous posts which is why I have the minimum amount.  Yet another loophole.  

Bob Bennett Weekly Live 1/12/2025

 

Ving Rhames Give His Golden Globe to Jack Lemon

MLB Remembers Legendary Broadcaster Bob Uecker

1987 Dal@Phi Buddy Ryan Runs Up The Score

The Newsroom: That's How I Got To Memphis

That was almost too easy,  So I decide to do # 6 as well. It's how I renamed a pet.

When I was in highschool my family bought a cat.  They named him Tiger.  I say they because If I had been conulted in the naming process such a predictable name would not have escaped my lips.  One of my best friends already had a cat named tiger, and of course every other striped cat was named tiger.  

Not only did I refuse to call the cat Tiger. I unilaterally decided to change his name.  So in my family of 7 people, 6 people called  our new cat Tiger and I called the cat Larry. I was very aggressive  and vocal with my naming preference. While no one switched over immediately I wore people down. My Dad would  accidentally call  him Larry, sweat under his breath and switch back to Tiger. I was always a pretty obnoxious teenager but this was me ar my most obnoxious.

in the early 80s VCRs were coming on the scene and our family got one before a lot of my other friends had them. So that summer I had a big party and we watched a number of movies. In between and even during movies people hung out I’m different places in the house and on the front porch and people came and went freely.

At some point during the party Larry/Tiger went freely but didnt come back. He probably got tired of  all the name calling. We never did see Larry or Tiger again. 

Michael Card Christmas Concert 2020 | Grace Bible Church

100th Post of the Year

 This is my 100th post of the year.  This marks the 8th year since this blogs inception in 2009, and the 4th consecutive year that I’ve published 100 or more post in a year. 

That is of course, it will be my 100th post of the year if and when I publish it. A few years ago  I wrote a post about having 100 posts in draft status. At the end of the post in the only comment, I had written that I had deleted all but 15 of the posts in draft status and hoped never to accumulate nearly as many post there again. 

Well it turns out that I have been accumulating posts in draft status again. I currently have 77 posts with that distinction. The majority of these are from 2023, but I do have 14 from this year. As part of my 100th post of the year celebration,I will now list each incompleted post of 2024 by title in Chronological order.

Double Library Day

Team Saturdazzle

(Untitled)

Milwaukee Brewers Catcher William Contreras bringing major league streak to begin season

Crystal Lake Library

(Untitled)

(Untitled)

Anniversary vs. Annual

A to Z 2024 Reflections

(Untitled)

What’s most wrong about the 2024 White Sox

The Newfangled Four - A Spoonful of Sugar (Parody)  [From Mary Poppins]

Former Chicago White Sox MVP , The late Dick Allen, elected to the Hall of Fame.

Not everybody needs a college degree (Writers Workshop)

That’s the 14. Some of these may see the light of day and most will be discarded. One of the drafts from last year  is scheduled to post tomorrow for the next edition of Wordless Wednesday. I also hope to share the story behind that picture in a subsequent post. 

Tomorrow’s post won’t be the last post of the year as I have a Michael Card Christmas Concert video scheduled to drop on 12/25. I’ll probably land somewhere between 103 and 107 2024 posts before the New Year and the whole race to 100 begins again.

100 Days of Summer Reading 2024

Summer is right around the corner and it is time for me to endeavor once again to get into one of my favorite past times: Summer Reading.  My Summer reading season generally goes from Memorial Day (tomorrow) to Labor Day (which is September 2nd this year).  By starting today and ending Labor Day, the season is 100 days long.  

I want to read at least 10 books during this period.  That is an absolute minimum goal.  I think I would actually be disappointed if I only read 10 books this Summer.  That is basically only one  book every week and a half.  I really have my eyes set on twenty, Which is 1 book every five days for a fortnight of weeks.  

Now when I say read, I really mean consume.  I may listen to some, and read some on a device, but the majority will be physical books which I will read from the printed page.  There are some books that I am in the middle of reading, if and when I finish them this Summer I will count them.  There are some reading programs that do not allow this,  but mine is not one of them.  To keep myself honest each year, I don't start reading any books the week prior to Memorial Day.  I've been so busy lately, that I don't think I've read any books for the last two weeks,  

My lack of recent reading could become problematic as I am out of habit.  Over the next few days I hope to remedy that by jumping back into the waters of reading.

Here is a list of 10 books that may be some of the first I finish this Summer.

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.

This is probably a good time to stipulate that some of the books I plan  to read this Summer, I actually will be re-reading.  Earlier this month, in my A to Z Reflection, I wrote about my plan of reading all the Narnia books again this year, and then doing the 2025 A to Z challenge on the series.  I wouldn't be at all surprised, If I finished all 7 prior to Labor Day

Walking With Sam by Andrew McCarthy

Many of the books I read during this program are books that I own.  I picked this one up last year at a meet the author event.  My wife has already read this story of McCarthy's walking trip with his son on the Camino de Santiago.  I read some of it last year but will be starting anew as I'm not sure where I left off.

Luke: The Gospel of Amazement - Michael Card

Michael Card is one of my favorite singers, but I also enjoy his writings.  This was going to another one that I started over from the beginning. I just page through it and I remember most of the introductory material from reading it earlier this Spring.  I'm going to start again on page 32 which is a chapter about Luke chapter 1.

Eugene Onegin byAlexander Pushkin

Years ago I lived on Pushkin Street in Khabarovsk, Russia,  This Summer I will again be attempting to read Pushkin's verse novel, Eugene Onegin,  I have been very off again Onegin (pun very much intended) with this one.  For the past few months I have been  consistently practicing Russian for the first time in decades.  If I can wade through the English translation, maybe next year I'll attempt it in Russian.

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien 

At the beginning of this year, I wrote a post about my plan to read FOTR (I have never finished it) by September 2nd, which is the 53rd anniversary of his death.  I am about 1/2 way finished and if I only read 1 book this Summer it needs to be this one.  If I'm not done by 4th of July I will start listening to it as well as reading it.

1984 by George Orwell

Speaking of books that I've  never finished.  2024 should be the year I finally finish 1984.  I've had to return a copy to the library twice this year, but I'll order one today from them and should be finishing it very soon.

Concise Theology by J.I. Packer

The 3rd book so far with initialized authors.  I have read this book multiple times over the years.  This year has been a little different as I've been reading one chapter at a time and highlighting that chapter as I read. There are 94 chapters and I have completed 24.  It is very possible I will not get through all 94 by Labor Day.

The Cooperstown Casebook by Jay Jaffe

  In my sports blog, Crazy Uncle Dave's Sports Blog, (which has now been incorporated into this blog), I write a lot about Baseball's Hall of Fame.  Jaffe writes in this book about who he thinks are Hall of Fame worth candidates.  I am looking forward to finishing it soon.  

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

As of yesterday, all my children are officially finished with their secondary education.  Which of course means they are all finished with their primary or elementary education as well.  I, on the other hand, will probably never be finished with  children's literature.  To that end, I'm dusting off a favorite tome from our home school days and planning to enjoy it anew this Summer.  

 Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

Now that school is over, I am looking forward to re-reading Allen Levi's fiction debut.  I believe I gave my copy away.  So, I may need to wait until I get a summer job and a summer paycheck before I get to this one.  

Don't be  too surprised if I finish other books before or instead of some of these  these 10.   I will try to post a review of each book as I finish them.  I'm not always successful when it comes to that part of the program, but we shall see.  3 short weeks after Labor Day I will turn 60, so this is my last Summer Reading Challenge of my 50's.  I think that will make it that much more enjoyable.  

A to Z 2024:Reflections - The Music

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.

A to Z 2024: W is for Warmly Embrace Austalians

  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.

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Today's Song of the Day is We are Here by Randy Stonehill & Buck Storm

23 songs for the playlist

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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!

A to Z 2024: V is for Various 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.  

3 Adelie PenguinsCC BY-SA 2.0, Link

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

Rogers and Fred Astaire

By RKO Radio Pictures Public Domain, Link

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.

By Unknown author Public Domain, Link

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Song of the Day The View From Here Bob Bennet  

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!  

A to Z 2024: U is for Undecided, Undeclared & Uncertain Day

  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

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Song of the Day: Under The Sun - Michael Card

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!

A to Z 2024: Q is for Quatrains

 

 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 19th is Poetry & The Creative Mind Day

& Today is also Poetry Friday Hosted by Heidi @ My Juicy Little Universe

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

My A to Z Q Post

The A to Z Challenge

Is a big to do

Each year I struggle

As I get to Q

My theme this year

Has been Holidays

I've tried to approach it

In some different ways

Each Day, save Sunday

Calendars I consult

And search for Holidays

That I can exult

When I find the occasion

That I like better

I match the event

With that day's letter

For example April 2nd

Was Children's Book Day

B is for Book

I put on display

On the days of the alphabet

That start with A, E, I, O or U

I created my own holiday

Don't ask Y, but it's true

Today's Holiday

Wasn't hard to find

It was Poetry

And the creative mind

But how would that match 

With the letter Q?

I just scribbled out some

Quatrains for you

This has been Poetry Friday

And Also A to Z

Thanks ever so much

for joining me.  

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Today's song of the day comes from the late Rich Mullins.  It is Quoting Deuteronomy to the Devil

The Spotify A to Z playlist is now through Q

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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!

A to Z 2024: One More Time and You Get a Parade Day

 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 .

My wife and I have been playing a game I invented around the time we got engaged called "What A Thing to Say". It started as a game to play when we were in a social setting that required a lot of mingling.  I believe the original occurrence was at my Grandfather's wake.  I gave my fiancé  a thing to say, I believe it may have been The Almighty Dollar.  Over the course of the event she had to work in the phrase into ordinary conversation 3 different times with 3 different groups of people.  

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.

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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!

A to Z: 2024 K is for космонавт (cosmonaut)

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 12th Yuri Gagarian is the first man in space

63 years ago today the Russians beat the U.S into space again.  This time, Yuri Gagarian became the first person in space.  This You Tube video shows some footage from the event.  

 

Just in case you don't read Russian, the text  below the video translates into English as:

 On April 12, 1961, the Vostok spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for the first time in the world, with pilot-cosmonaut Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin on board. For this feat, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and starting from April 12, 1962, the day of Gagarin's flight into space was declared a holiday - Cosmonautics Day. On September 27, 2010, by decision of the 65th session of the UN General Assembly, April 12 was proclaimed the International Day of Human Space Flight, which will be celebrated annually at the international level.

I decided to copy a couple of the you-tube comments and show them in Russian , and then in Russian printed phonetically in English and  then finally translated by google translate into English.  

The first comment is from @elenadushyna8975 from 1 year ago

Все молодцы!! И Королев! И Гагарин! И все остальные неизвестные, кто причастны к этому великому событию!!! 

 Vse molodtsy!! I Korolev! I Gagarin! I vse ostal'nyye neizvestnyye, kto prichastny k etomu velikomu sobytiyu!!! 

 Well done everyone!! And Korolev! And Gagarin! And all the other unknowns who are involved in this great event!!! 

The second comment is from LarussaShudrova from 8 years ago

 Спасибо за воспоминания! Спасибо! Помню, какую испытала гордость за страну, когда передавали по радио сообщение о полёте человека в космос. В душе всё пело.

 Spasibo za vospominaniya! Spasibo! Pomnyu, kakuyu ispytala gordost' za stranu, kogda peredavali po radio soobshcheniye o polote cheloveka v kosmos. V dushe vso pelo. 

 Thank you for the memories! Thank you! I remember how proud I felt for the country when they broadcast a message on the radio about man’s flight into space. Everything was singing in my soul.

What strikes me about the coverage and the comments is the great sense of accomplishment.  I lived in Russia for 2 years from 1992 to 1994 right after the Soviet Union was dissolved.  It became clear to me fairly quickly is that people are very similar regardless of what country they are from and being proud of your country is certainly not something the U.S. has a monopoly on.

By Mil.ru, CC BY 4.0, Link

April 12th Yuri Gagarian is the first man in space.  

Gagarian died almost 7 years later in a routine training flight.

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The song of the day is Keep Me Running performed by Ashley Cleveland

Randy Stonehill wrote and performed the song on his 1976 album Welcome to Paradise.  The below video features a young Stonehill performing the song.

 

 Stonehill turned 72 earlier this year and I made this post to celebrate.

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!

72 Reasons to celebrate Randy Stonehill's 72nd birthday.

Last year at this time I commemorated Sir Randy Stonehill's 71st birthday by sharing 71 of my favorite songs of his on this blog. As he is adding a candle on his birthday cake this year, I am upping my 71 song salute to a half gross.  I was able to see Randy at 2 concerts since he turned 71.  One with Phil Keaggy last Fall, and a few weeks ago I crossed the border into Missouri to catch an epic solo concert.

In tribute to that performance I am including every song I can find on the internet that he performed at that concert. All of the songs he perfformed on March 2nd in St. Louis are listed in Bold Letters (Just in case you don't know what Bold Letters look like, they look like this.)Many of his songs can be found on Spotify.  Songs I could not find on Spotify, I found on BandCamp.  Songs I could not find in either place I pulled from you-tube or Patreon.

1. Irresistable Future - Mystery Highway

 2. Faithful - Until We Have Wings 

   

 3. Get Me Out of Hollywood- Get me Out of Hollywood 

4. The Last Day - Not on Album Yet.  Video from Randy's Patreon Page 

 5. Christmas Song For All Year 'Round - Welcome To Paradise  

 6. I Love You - Born Twice  

 7. Norman's Kitchen - Born Twice 

8. Bad Fruit -The Sky Is Falling

   

 9. Still Small Voice - Celebrate This Heartbeat  

 10. Christine - Between The Glory And The Flame

 

 11. Can Hell Burn Hot Enough - Until We Have Wings

   

 12. Light Of The World - Equator

   

13. First Prayer - Welcome To Paradise

14. Keep Me Runnin' - Welcome To Paradise

  

15. Stop The World - Celebrate This Heartbeat  

  16. Sunday's Child - Mystery Highway

 17. Love Beyond Reason - Love Beyond Reason  18. Ramada Inn (Live) - Until We Have Wings  19. Everything But Love - Stonehill  20. Didn't It Rain - Until We Have Wings  21. One True Love - The Sky Is Falling  22. Until Your Love Broke Through- Love Beyond Reason  23. Celebrate This Heartbeat - Celebrate This Heartbeat  24. The Hope of Glory - The Wild Frontier  25. Modern Myth - Celebrate This Heartbeat  26. Can't Buy A Miracle - Can't Buy A Miracle  27. Leonard Has A Toaster - Lost Art Of Listening  28. Glory And The Flame - Between The Glory And The Flame  

 29. Stand Like Steel - Return To Paradise  30. Hand of God - Thirst

   

 31. Barbie Nation - Wonderama

 32. Old Clothes - Until We Have Wings

 33. Charlie The Weatherman - Stories 

 34. Try Havin' Some Faith - Spirit Walk

 35. Turning Thirty - Equator

36. Lazarus Heart - Lazarus Heart 

37. This Old Face - Lost Art Of Listening 

38. Baby Hates Clowns - Thirst 

39. Strong Hand Of Love - Welcome To Paradise 

40. Stormy Winds- Uncle Stonehill's Hat  

41. Die Young - Between The Glory And The Flame 

42. Who Will Save The Children - Celebrate This Heartbeat  

43. Arriving to Depart: Not yet on album 

(Pulled from You Tube video from Jan 24 concert, song begins at approximately 19:00)  

44. King Of Hearts: Welcome To Paradise 

45. That's The Way It Goes (Live) - Edge Of The World 

46. Shut De Do (Live) - Equator

  

47. Jesus - Breath Of God   

48. Big Ideas (In The Shrinking World) 49. Beginning Of The Living End - Lost Art of Listening

50. Broken Places - Spirit Walk  51. Hymn - Love Beyond Reason 

52. Billy Frank - The Lost Art Of Listening

 

53. Venezuela - The Sky Is Falling 

54. What Do You Want From Life? - The Wild Frontier 

55.Brighter Day - Can't Buy A Miracle  56. Get Together - The Wild Frontier 

57. Ready To Go - Welcome To Paradise 

58.Rachel Delevoryas - Wonderama  

59.In Jesus Name - Lazarus Heart  60.Last Time I Saw Eden - Spirit Walk  61. Everything You Know (Is Incorrect) - Thirst 

62.I've Got News For You (Paradise Sky Version) Welcome To Paradise - 

63. When I'm Afraid Lazarus Heart  

64.When I Look To The Mountains - Celebrate This Heartbeat 

65.Mercy In The Shadow Land - Lost Art Of Listening 

66. Backwards On Her Bike - Mystery Highway  67.Cosmetic Fixation - Equator 

68.A Promise Made Is A Promise Kept - Lazarus Heart 

69. The Keeper Of The Bear - Thirst

  

70. I Don't Ever Want To Live Without You - Return To Paradise 

71. One Last Song Before I Say Goodbye - Not yet recorded on an album

72. Life is Tough, God Is Good - Spirit Walk

 Happy Birthday Randy! I encourage anyone who spends time listening to these songs to buy some or all of them on Band  Camp.  Also you can sponsor Rand's ministry on his Patreon page.