Dave Out Loud: Undecided, Undeclared, Unsure Day

Now that the A to Z challenge for 2024 is in it's final hour and my final post dropped early this morning. I think it's apprropiate to go back to 2024 where my theme was holidays especially manufactured ones. On the vowel days I let the vowels pitch me ideas for holidays with their letter in it. This is what U came up with...

We are celbrating the 2nd Undecided Undeclare Unsure Day today. I'll be back soon with a reflection post from the challenge.

Z is for Zoo Afficianado

My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me.  Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.  Today's letter is Z so let's get right to it shall we?

A was for Amateur Parodist

B was for Blogger

C was for Christian

D was for David Davidovich

E was for Evangelical Sans the Trump Kool-Aid

F was for Father of 3 Adult Children

G was for Giraffe Lover

H was  for Husband of One Amazing Wife

I was for Iguchi Appreciator

J was for Jester

K was  for Kindergarten Clear

L was for Library Lover

M is for Muppet Man

N was for Narnian

O was for Optimist

P was for Poet

Q is for Quintessential Worker

R was for R.I.T.A. Republican In Theory Anyway

S was for Stonehill Fan

T was for Teacher

U was for U of I Parent

V was for Voracious Reader?

 

W was for White Sox Fan

X was for Xenophile

Y is for Yankovic Enthusiast

Z is for Zoo Aficionado

 Today is the last day of the challenge and to wrap things up here is Dave Out Loud reporting from the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicag Illinois.  

Here are some zoo pics from the last year or so

R.I.P.O Rhino In Photo Only 

Indianapolis Zoo  September 2025

Indianapolis Zoo September 2025

St. Louis Zoo March 2024

Lincoln Park Zoo Aoril 2025

Lincoln Park Zoo April 2025

 

Amur Leopard March 2024
St. Louis Zoo

Lincoln Park Zoo April 2024

That's it we've got a polar bear catching some Z's at the Zoo.  No better way to leave an A to Z challenge than that. It's been a pleasure and I'll be back soon for a reflection post.

To get to the A to Z Challenge webpage click here.  

To see the A to Z Master List click here. 

 

Y is for Yankovic Enthusiast

 

My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me.  Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.  Today's letter is Y so let's get right to it shall we?

 A was for Amateur Parodist

B was for Blogger

C was for Christian

D was for David Davidovich

E was for Evangelical Sans the Trump Kool-Aid

F was for Father of 3 Adult Children

G was for Giraffe Lover

H was  for Husband of One Amazing Wife

I was for Iguchi Appreciator

J was for Jester

K was  for Kindergarten Clear

L was for Library Lover

M is for Muppet Man

N was for Narnian

O was for Optimist

P was for Poet

Q is for Quintessential Worker

R was for R.I.T.A. Republican In Theory Anyway

S was for Stonehill Fan

T was for Teacher

U was for U of I Parent

V was for Voracious Reader?

 

W was for White Sox Fan

X was for Xenophile

Y is for Yankovic Enthusiast

Way back on April Fool's day when I was posting about my being an amateur parodist I mentioned a little about Weird Al and his influence on me.  Today I will be sharing 10 videos of some of my favorite Yankovic songs.  They range from his national T.V. debut on the Tomorrow show to a video my friend Patrick (a hardcoreYankophile) recorded to  concert footage from Amsterdam.  

Some of these may not be among my top 10 favorite Yankovic songs which is one of the reasons why I am not numbering them or ranking them. 

Word Crimes

Ebay

Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota

Another One Rides The Bus

Ode To A Superhero

Hamilton Polka

Don't Download This Song

It's Still Billy Joel To Me

Yoda

The Saga Begins

That's all I have for my penultimate entry in the ABC's of me.

To get to the A to Z Challenge webpage click here.  

To see the A to Z Master List click here.  

Coming up: Dave's taking us to the zoo tomorrow.

X is for Xenophile

 My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me.  Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.  Today's letter is X so let's get right to it shall we?

 A was for Amateur Parodist

B was for Blogger

C was for Christian

D was for David Davidovich

E was for Evangelical Sans the Trump Kool-Aid

F was for Father of 3 Adult Children

G was for Giraffe Lover

H was  for Husband of One Amazing Wife

I was for Iguchi Appreciator

J was for Jester

K was  for Kindergarten Clear

L was for Library Lover

M is for Muppet Man

N was for Narnian

O was for Optimist

P was for Poet

Q is for Quintessential Worker

R was for R.I.T.A. Republican In Theory Anyway

S was for Stonehill Fan

T was for Teacher

U was for U of I Parent

V was for Voracious Reader?

 

W was for White Sox Fan

X is for Xenophile

Xenophile is the antonym of xenophobe. A xenophile is an individual who is attracted to foreign peoples manners or cultures.  I am a xenophile.  The reason I am a xenophile is pretty straight forward.  God is a xenophile.  As an evangelical Christian I try to emulate God.  Generally this is by imitating Christ, however being a xenophile which is certainly a trait of Jesus is also a trait of God the Father.  

Well you might ask how I know God is a xenophile.  I think there are many ways that I know that but I think John 3:16 provides conclusive evidence of my assertion:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)

 This is the 2nd post I've written this year about John 3:16,  In the first I focused on the love aspect and today's focus is on the world part of the verse.  The Greek word that world is  translated from  is Kosmos.  When it comes to John 3:16 there are many interpretations of what John meant when he used that word.  Two of these interpretations is that world means all of humanity, the other is that world means all of creation. I personally feel that it means the former, however since the latter is all encompassing either definition includes all of humanity.

I have been reading a book about the attributes of God called Knowledge of the Holy. It was written by A.W. Tozer.  Tozer makes it very clear that we are very different than God.  God has always existed. Since God has always existed he was never born and he will never die.   God is all knowing.  Since God is all knowing, he has never learned anything.  There is attribute after attribute of God that shows how different we are from God.  When God says in Isaiah 55:8+9 that my thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not my ways he reiterates that in our fallen state that we are different as different can be from the character of God.  

Yet John 3:16 says that God loves the world.  In fact it says that God loves the world so much that he gave his Son.  That makes God a xenophile as he is attracted to foreign people. their manners and their cultures.  God's love for us transforms us and gives us our identity.  When 1 Peter 2:10 speaks of this transformation  it says once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God.  God being a xenophile is the first step in our sanctification.

Emulating God in the matter of being a xenophile is why I went to Russia for two years in the early 1990's.  It is why I studied to be an English teacher.  It is why I always try to speak to people in their own language even if it's just a greeting.  It is why I'm not very interested in the MAGA movement because Isaiah 40:15  says that to God all nations are a drop in the bucket.  I've spent more than enough letters differentiating myself from my country's current president, so I won't go any further on the last point.

One of the difficulties I have had with my  A to Z posts this year is bringing them to an end.  I classified my theme this year as autobiography and autobiography never ends.  At least it doesn't end while I am alive to chronicle it.  In the same way these alphabetical glimpses of me are just autobiography in progress.  There is certainly more I can say about being am xenophile and there is more I can live that will further define my view. If my view on this or any other subject seem incomplete it is because I am a work in progress.

To get to the A to Z Challenge webpage click here.  

To see the A to Z Master List click here.  

Coming up: Things Get Weird