A to Z 2024: D is for Discover National Parks

<

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. 

Today's Holiday is Discover National Parks Fortnight

Today April 4th 2024 is the first day of Discover National Parks Fortnight.  The holiday runs from April 4th to April 17th and celebrates the national park system of the United Kingdom. Don't confuse this holiday with National park week in the U.S.  this year that's April 20th through April 28th which is actually a week and 2 days.  Discover National Parks Fortnight is 14 days which is the correct length for a fortnight.

I have never been to the United Kingdom but I am aware of a few of their National Parks.

The Peak District

A moorland scene Pic taken from the path to Lad's Leap, centre skyline is the Pennine Way to Black Hill with Bareholme Moss to the right.

By John Fielding, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

Alport Dale. Looking southeast down the dale, Alport Castles is on the skyline with the Towers just centre right.By Eirian Evans, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

The Lake District

The A591 road as it passes through the countryside between Ambleside and Grasmere in the Lake District, England.

, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

An image of Blackbeck Tarn, a small tarn (lake) atop Haystacks, a large hill in Lake District National Park, Cumbria, England, United Kingdom. This image was taken in April of 2021

There are many other National Parks in the U.K. that I am  not that familiar with.  

Cairngarms is the largest National Park in the U.K. and is located in Scotland and  apparently, it has moose.

, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

Snowdonia is a National Park in Wales and if the picture below is any indication it is strikingly beautiful.

, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

  To find out more how to celebrate Discover National Park Fortnight click here.

 

Today's song of the day is Dance Stop by Daniel Amos.

 

 This unfortunately is the first of the songs of the day where I could not find concert footage of the song.  The A to Z  playlist is now up to 4 songs.

  

Whew! It feels like it took a fortnight to get this post out.  If you comment let me know if you've ever visited a U.K. National Park and what your experience was therein.  Also, if you could spend 14 days exploring any new place where would it be?  For me it, would be more Greek Islands, if my lovely wife was joining me  for the adventure.  

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: C is for Cinematic Compositions

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. 

Today's Holiday: National Film Score Day

April 3rd is National Film Score Day.  It is held every year on this day to commemorate the release of the Jungle Book in 1942.  According to National Today that day was chosen because Miklos Rosza's score was  so transformative  that they chose the  date  of the "release of 'The Jungle Book' to mark the first time film scores acquired importance.

Here is the trailer for the Jungle Book which features some of the score.

The reasoning for the choice is date is a bit of an exaggeration.  Film scores had already acquired importance by 1942. I know this for a few reasons one is that by the mid 1930's The Academy of Motion Picture Sciences was already giving out Academy Awards for best Score.  In1939, for example Erich Wolfgang Korngold won the Academy Award for the score for The Adventures of Robin Hood.

I don't have a top 10 list of film score composers, but it sounds like a kind of  thing I should have.  That list would almost certainly include the composers of some of my favorite scores of all time like the aforementioned Korngold (Adventures of Robin Hood),  Dimitri Tiomkin (High Noon), Vangelis (Chariots of Fire), and John Williams (Star Wars).  

In addition, The 2006 rom com The Holiday has a great scene in it where Jack Black who is playing a film score composer is in a Blockbuster and is explaining as only Jack Black can  how great film scores can be.  It also features a killer cameo by Dustin Hoffman and I have it all queued up for you, so enjoy.

To see a longer clip of the same scene click here.  (The longer scene includes some plot points and may be confusing to those  who have not  yet seen the film.)

****************************************************************************

Today's song of the day is Coast to Coast by Noel Paul Stookey & Bodyworks.

 

That brings the number of songs in the Leap of Dave 2024 Blogging A to Z Playlist up to 3.

Note: If you look at theses posts any time after the day they drop, which is certainly fine and encouraged, the playlist will go up to the date you are looking at the post.

So that ends the film on the letter C. I think you know the score.  (I made the exact same kind of joke at this point in yesterdays post.  If you don't remember, o don't believe me  you can always click here. Before you go , feel free to leave a comment.  Do you like movie scores?  Do you have a favorite? 

Oh, speaking of comments, here is an unabashed plug.  Feel free to check out some of my other posts from before the challenge began.  I don't get a lot of traffic on the blog outside of the challenge, and while I mostly blog for my own amusement, and enlightenment.  I wouldn't mind amusing and enlightening a bigger audience.  So check out of my previous posts, here is the last one I did before the challenge began. If you do check them out maybe you can leave a comment there as well.  Thank you very much.  This way if you like what I'm cooking, you can continue to join me after the challenge.  

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!