Two 10.70 solves

My Son Charlie competed in anoter Rubiks Cube event this weekend. He films all his solves and made this cool video with two solves with nearly identical times from different days of the event.

Team Saturdazzle: The One with Bits and Pieces.

Today's Team Saturdazzle is just a quick compilation of stories, clips and jokes.

Like many days when I was a kid it starts with Sesamee Strret and it ends with a snack,

One of the things I liked about Sesamee Street from an early age was the guest appearances.  One of the ealriest I remember probably since I like puns so much is when the cast of Bonanza came on the show.  They were on a lot of season 2 and did segments where they counted or recited the alphabet or demonstrated math problems like the video below.  

 

In the episode I remember they do a play on the Ernie and Bert banana in my ear sketch (original sketch below) except instead of saying banana in my ear they actually say Bonanza in my ear. Epic!

Sesamee Street has continued with their guest appearances.  I just discovered this gem with Billy Joel and Marlee Matlin (CODA, West Wing, Children of a Lesser God) . I'm a big Billy Joel fan and also love writing new lyrics to old songs and Joel does this by tweaking one of his standards and adapting it to Oscar The Grouch.  

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Yesterday I had one of my days where I was out of the house at 6:30 and not back for good until after midnight. I was home for about 90 minutes in the afternoon.  My wife and daughter were preparing for  an impromptu game night, where they had invited several people a day or less before the party was slated to begin.  A few people did manage to come, but when I was home the only people they had heard from were unable to attend.  This gave me an idea for a wry observation which I shared on my personal FB page:

A lot of times when people can't make it to an event youv'e asked them to attend, they will respond something like that sounds great, but I'm busy that day. Just once can't they say that sounds like an awful time, but I'm not doing anything see ya at 7?

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This morning, Amy and I were judging another speech tournament.  This time it was at held at Lucy's old high school.  When you walk in the hallowed halls of a high school there are pictures of accomplished student athletes and plaques with the names of students who received accolades, awards, accomplishments, and some words that don't start with A like scholarships. None of those halls in any of those schools contain my picture.  I wasn't that kind of athlete, and I was not that kind of student.  However the apple must have fallen far from the tree because my daughter class of 2024 is pictured at least twice and her name is engraved on a plaque as a recipient of a scholarship for mastery in Language Arts.  

Ending the day with a snack

My college friend Angela Rumbold's birthday was earlier this week.  We had many fine times over the years.  When she first moved from Illinois to Georgia, I had occasion to visit her there and she introduced me to boiled peanuts.  It was love at first soggy bite.  years later when I lived in South Carolina for 2 years the boiled peanut became my go to snack as there was a street vendor outside our local Walmart.  I generally did not go more than a fortnight without grabbing me a bag.  

When I ventured back to Illinois in '97 to forsake all others and marry my best friend, I also  ending up forsaking regular visits with my favorite boiled legume.  This +25 year absence of a boiled peanut routine ended about 2 years ago when I discovered inside A BP in Frankfort, Illinois where my sister in law  lives, a boiled peanut station.  So now 4 or 5 times a year on visits to her family I get the fruits of Jimmy Carter's first job (Boiled Peanut deliverer).

Tonight was one of those nights.  My Niece Gracie was in a production of Finding Nemo Jr.  Which is not it turns out a quest to find Nemo's progeny but a children's adaptation of the musical Finding Nemo.  I was glad to attend, but everyone in my family knew there was a boiled peanut quid pro quo in my attendance.  

By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo - https://www.flickr.com/photos/jenniferwoodardmaderazo/3563681031/, CC BY 2.0, Link

Well that's all the Team Saturdazzle I have for you today.  We learned some math, heard some jokes, watched some videos, I shared some stories and  even had a snack.  It's not exactly 3 points and a poem, but it will have to do.  

Muppet Movie Posters, Trailers & Clips. Oh My.

I found these posters for the Muppet Movie (1979) in draft status of my blog.  I probably put  then there in preparation for a post of the 45th anniversary.  Well the 45th anniversary has come and gone, but as it is one of my 3 all time favorite films I don't think it needs a special occasion to be celebrated.  The Muppet Movie is a special occasion.

All Muppet Muppet Movie Poster

Muppet Movie Poster Featuring Celebrity Cameos

 

 I really like the cameos in the Muppet movie.  

 It's interesting the next clip starts with Steve Martin who we saw in the last clip.    

12 New Movies: Silver Streak 1934

The first New (to me) film I watched this year is the 1934 film, Silver Streak.

In each brief review, I will attempt to do the following.

1. I will rate each movie on a 1 (worst movie ever) to 5 (best movie I have seen) scale.
2.  I will provide a 2-3 sentence summary of the movie. 
3. I will share 1 theme from the movie. 
4. I will write one thing I liked about the movie and 1 thing I disliked about the movie. 
5. I will say who I think would make the best audience for this movie.

Silver Streak (1934) Rating 3 stars out of 5

Summary:  A young train designer challenges the train industry by proposing a new streamlined diesel capable of high speed travel. When his girlfriends father, a railroad executive, doesn't approve his designs, he quite his job and convinces another manufacture to produce his train.   The completed train must race against time to deliver medical equipment that can stop a polio outbreak and save the life of his girlfriends brother.  

Theme:  One theme of the movie is the the resistance some have to changing technology.

Likes and dislikes:I watched this film with my wife Amy a few weeks ago and we both really enjoyed it. Here is specifically why.

Me: One thing I liked about the movie is how the train that the Silver Streak is based on The Burlington Zephyr, is the real star of the film and is even given a screen credit. 

Amy: The acting was first rate.  You believed that the actors were the characters they were portraying. 

Dave: One thing I didn't like was that the spy subplot seemed contrived.

Amy: I agree, I know they have to create conflict and tension, but the fight on the train was too much.

A Good Audience for this Film: Adventurers, Train Buffs, and Obscure Train Movie  aficionados.

Sally Blane and WIlliam Farnum

By Burlington Route (railroad) This appears to have been given to those at the fair who toured the train on exhibit. - eBay itemcard frontcard back, Public Domain, Link

Now that this review is over let's look at my progress so far this year.  At this point, I have watched and reviewed 1 film.  

Films released from 2009 to 2024                  Watched 0 Remaining 2

Films released from 1994 to 2008                  Watched 0 Remaining 2

Films released from 1979 to 1993                  Watched 0 Remaining 2

Films released from 1964 to 1978                  Watched 0 Remaining 2

Films released from 1949 to 1963                  Watched 0 Remaining 2

Films released before 1934 and up to 1948   Watched 1 Remaining 1

Amy and I watched this film on You Tube and you can too.  I proudly present Silver Streak ...

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. 

The Newfangled Four - A Spoonful of Sugar (parody) [from Mary Poppins]

I  found this the other day on YouTube while looking up prune videos.  Not sure why it would come up there, but I am glad it did.  

This video resonated in me for multiple reasons: 1. I have had multiple family members over the years who have participated in singing groups.  My first trip on an airplane was because my Mom's Sweet Adeline's group was going to sing in Washington D.C. and families were allowed to come with.  Both my sisters have been in Sweet Adeline's as well. I also have several family members who have been in Barber Shop Quartets.  2) I love parodies, write them myself, and love to see them performed.  3) Since the time my youngest daughter was in 4th grade started performing in speech contests, my wife and I have been volunteer judges in them. This performance is a send-up of judging rubrics, especially for judging barber shop quartets, but I found it matched up to speech judging in a most delightful way.

 

Extra Bonus Video: Judges by The Fabulous Bentley Brothers from Jelly Telly which was Phil Vischer's follow up to Veggie Tales.  And, yes the Bentley Brothers are Rhett & Link.  

Jimmy Carter's eulogy for Gerald Ford

I scheduled thispost to coincide with the beginning of President Carter's National Funeral Service. Jimmy Carter gave a Eulogy at President Ford's Funeral service. It is eloquent, homespun, and humorous. In that it embodied many of the traits of both Presidents.

Team Saturdazzle: The One With a New Title?

Team Saturdazzle 

Welcome to the 1st 2024 Iteration of Team Sturdazzle, a hopefully weekly postpourri of random thoughts and regular segments.  

Occasionally I will try to curate ideas from my FB pages and share some of the comments here. Today was supposed to be one of those occasions.  On Thursday night I posted the following on both my personal FB page and the FB page for my blog:

Am approaching the 16th anniversary of my blog. On Jan 6th 2009 I published the first post there http://dave-homeschooldad.blogspot.com/2009/01/why-we-home-school.html A few years ago I changed the name from Home School Dad to Leap of Dave. I’m considering changing the name once again. Here are some ideas I have for a new name:

1. Sustainable Bedlam

2. Toaster Pastries w/o A Toaster

3. Blogging, People Still Do That?

4. A Hat, A Brooch, A Pterodactyl

Let me know which one you like, or If I should stick with Leap of Dave, or perhaps make a title suggestion of your own. I'll post results and suggestions in my next Team Saturdazzle post.

As of 11:30 Friday night I had no comments on either page.  I did ask 3 members of my family the same question over a rousing game of Catopoly, which I am winning.  The results were mixed: my wife Amy prefers Sustainable Bedlam,  my daughter Emma is a fan of Toaster Pastries w/o a Toaster, my daughter Lucy likes Blogging, people still do that?, and I am fond of A Hat, A Brooch, A Pterodactyl.  Certainly, there is no consensus on the nonsensical.  

I will put this post on both my FB pages again and see if I can get more votes.  If you happen to be reading this, please leave a comment with which one you prefer or a suggestion of your own.  

The Mountain Dew Code Red of Trailers

On January 3rd, 2022, I published a post called The Mountain Dew Code Red of Trailers about a movie trailer for The Unbreakable Boy, which was due in theatres in March 2022. The movie, based on a book based on a true story, starred Chuck actor Zachary Levi as the father of a middle school boy who had brittle bone disease and autism.  

Days before the March 22 release date The Unbreakable Boy was pulled from its release schedule with little to no explanation.  Fast forward to yesterday, January 3, 2025 when I was working at my movie theatre 3 years from the date of my original post.  I was patrolling the theatre and ensuring all the movies started successfully when I saw this new trailer for The Unbreakable Boy:

Apparently, Lionsgate has a February 21st 2025 release date.  I'll believe it when I see it.  

Team Saturdazzle At The Movies

Powered by Box Office Mojo

Top 25 Films 2024

25. The Fall Guy 92.9 M 24. Red One 96.81 M  23. Bob Marley, One Love 96.89 M 

22. Alien Romulus 105.31 M 21. IF 111.15 M  20. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire 113.38 M 

19. Mufasa: The Lion King 128.14 M 18. A Quiet Place: Day One 138.93 M 

17. Venom: The Last Dance 137.73M 16. The Wild Robot 143.19 M 15. It Ends With Us 148.51 M

14. Sonic The Hedgehog 3 151.56M 13. Gladiator II 164.55 M 

12. Kingdom of the Planet pf the Apes 171.13 M 11. Bad Boys: Ride or Die 193.57 M 

10. Kung Fu Panda 4 193.59 M 9. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire 196.35 M 8. Twisters 267.76 M

7. Dune:  Part Two 282.14 M 6. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice  294.1 M 5. Despicable Me 4 361 M 

4. Moana 2 404.02 M 3. Wicked 432.94 M 2. Deadpool & Wolverine 636.75 M 

1. Inside Out 2 652.98 M (Movies I watched are in bold)

10 highest-grossing movies I watched this year by rank on Box Office Mojo

90. Here  70. Cabrini 68. Unsung Hero 53. The Forge 52. Reagan 51. The Boys in the Boat  27. Wonka and the aforementioned The Wild Robot (16), Twisters (8), and Wicked (3). 

Top 10 Films December 2024

10. Interstellar 2024 Re-release 

9. Kraven The Hunter

8. Red One - Down 3 from November

7. A Complete Unknown 

6. Nosefartu

5. Gladiator II - Down 2 from November

4. Mufasa: The Lion King

3. Sonic The Hedgehog 3

2. Wicked  Down 1 from November

1. Moana 2 - Up 1 from November

Top 5 Films for 2025

5. Wicked

4. Nosferatu

3. Moana 2

2. Sonic The Hedgehog 3

1. Mufasa The Lion King

That's all I have today, for your weekly dose of Saturdazzle.  Please comment especially about changing the blog's name or anything else that struck your fancy today.  

First 16 Out

10 years ago or some I curated a list of my 100 favorite films. A few years ago, I began the process of revising the list. Recently, I found a post in draft status which had a list of 16 films that after further consideration would not be making the top 100. I have a history with each of these films, and while they may not be in my top one hundred, I recommend them highly. If you click on the film,s title, you will be able to view a trailer for the film.

 Silver Streak (1976)

Airplane (1980)

Knute Rockne All American (1940)

Free Guy (2021)

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (1969)

Gentleman's Agreement (1947)

Redtails (2012)

Sabrina (1995)

Sabrina (1954)

Amistad (1997)

The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)

Stripes (1981)

Jerry Maguire (1996)

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Dolphin Tale (2011)

Illinois coach Bret Bielema taunts Shane Beamer and he loses his mind

Footage from Tuesdays Citrus Bowl which Illinois beat South Carolina

Jimmy Carter on What's My Line

Jimmy Carter passed away on Sunday. Here is a video of him a few years before he became President.

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.

You Can't Take It With You - Saturdazzle Adjacent Post

The past coupla Saturdays I've tried and failed to put out a Team Saturdazzle post. The truth is my Fridays have been frenzied lately and my Saturdays have been swamped. The phrase 20 pounds in a 5-pound bag aptly describes them. My best friend noticed yesterday that yesterday at least until mid to late afternoon was anything but dazzling and told me to stop what I was doing, go home, and spend a quiet evening with my wife. This worked out well for my best friend and my wife as they are the same person.  

So I went home, and we watched a movie together.  The Movie was the 1938 Film: You Can't Take It With You.  I have blogged about it before here,  as the Y entry in "A Month at the Movies" from the  2023 A to Z challenge.  

It did Saturdazzle my weekend right up.  So much so, that I am taking some time on a Sunday to breathe a little and blog a little.  In the A to Z post, I shared the below YouTube video which is a good synopsis and review of the movie.  

 

T.V. in the Background: A Very Brady Christmas 

Dick Allen Finally voted into HOF OPV

I have been campaigning sometime now for my first White Sox hero, Dick Allen to get into the the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown. Last night he finallt got voted in. I'm sure I'll have some more posts to add in the coming days but for now here are three videos I've pulled off of You Tube to commemorate his big moment.

First up a career retrospective from MLB

 

Next: Local Chicago Newscast reporting Allen's induction

 

 Finally: Philadelphia news story yesterday.

8 Score and 1 Year ago ...

Today is the 161'st anniversary of the Gettysburg address,  If I had a bucket list, visiting Gettysburg would definitely be on it.  

Last year, during the A to Z challenge, I published this post, which includes a video of the address plus an 8-minute film telling the story behind the movie The Last Full Measure. I included it because The Last Full Measure is a line from the address.  

I just knew that if I Googled the Gettysburg Address Rap, I would find something. I was not disappointed. I have included it here as well to help commemorate the day.

   

Cole Kmet has a big Day for the Bears in London

Sunday was not just another home game for the Chicago Bears. First of all the game started at 8:30 A.M. Central Time which is very early for a Sunday match up. It started this early because the "home" game was played in London, England. The Bears defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 35-16 on Sunday. It was also an unusual game for Bears TE Cole Kmet. Kmet whose Dad played for the Bears among other teams but never played in an actual game grew up in the NW suburbs of Chicago and played football and baseball for St. Viator before going to Notre Dame for college. Cole Kmet hits HR for St. Viator in 2016 Sectional game

Here is Kmet in an interview in his time with ND. Here is footage of Kmet while playing with the Irish.  

 Kmet was drafted by the Bears in the 2nd round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

   

C.K. is kind of a Superman for the Bears.  In addition to playing starting Tight End, He is also the emergency long snapper.  A long snapper is a specialized center who snaps the ball on punts, field goals, and extra points.  The Bears usual long snapper suffered a knee injury in the first half of Sundays game.  That meant that when Kmet scored 2 touchdowns in the 2nd quarter he had to snap the ball on the subsequent plays for the Bears extra points.  

Click here to see Kmet's first touchdown on You Tube.

Donald Trump and Megan Mullally singing the "Green Acres" theme song at ...

EVANGELICALS FOR HARRIS Ad ("Keep Clear") #evangelicals #election2024

Prune Commercials from 1967 & !985

My wife bought prunes this weekend and I was reminded of this commercial that came out a few years after I was in high school about prunes. It was like the funniest commercial I had ever seen. The problem was when I described it to people even back then, they had never heard of it let alone seen it and thought it was more like a fake commercial from Saturday Night Live. I'll admit it's very much like the change bank. After Amy brought home the prunes I started looking for the commercial on You Tube Again. I have looked before and never able to find it. I had found this commercial before that Stan Freeberg (Dragonnet) had produced in the 60's (He's also the off screen interviewer)  

 This is a very funny commercial but still not as funny as the one from the 80's at least in my memory. 

 I finally found a clip of it. While The YouTube video below Could be of better quality, here is a link to a Facebook page that has a better copy of the commercial