A to Z 2024: Y is for watching Viral Videos on Youtube

 

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 29th is Viral Video Day

• 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!

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The song of the day is You Make It Easy To Fall In Love by Three Crosses

25 songs are on the Leap of Dave A to Z 2024 playlist.  Just one more letter, one more holiday and one more song!

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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!

The Progressive Poem is Here!

 Okay, before I go one step farther, I need to get two things off my chest...

1) Who ever decided to put National Poetry Month on the same month as the A to Z challenge

should have their poetic license revoked.

2) Who ever decided to put the A to Z challenge the same month as National Poetry Month needs to get more than just their alphabet in order.

I feel a little better.

Speaking of both challenges, yesterday Donna Smith of Mainely Write did a great job of bringing us closer to the end of this excellent epic of emigration. Her theme in the A to Z challenge is good words and I am going to start my intro with a doozy of a good word.

Today is the antepenultimate day of the progressive poem.  I learned antepenultimate 2 Summers ago when I was  reading Benjamin Dreyer's amazing book, Dreyer's English.  Antepenultimate means third from last.

Before I continue I want to advise that I made 2 changes to today's post.  The first is that I started all lines with a Capital letter.  Whoever comes behind me can certainly copy and paste from yesterdays post rather than mine.  The second is that I have changed the links, so now when you click on the previous poets pages you go directly to their original post.  

Cradled in stars, our planet sleeps, 

 Clinging to tender dreams of peace

 Sister moon watches from afar, 

 Singing lunar lullabies of hope. 

 Almost dawn, I walk with others, 

 Keeping close, my little brother. 

 Hand in hand, we carry courage 

 escaping closer to the border 

 My feet are lightning; 

 My heart is thunder. 

 Our pace draws us closer

To a new land of wonder. 

 I bristle against rough brush— 

Poppies ahead brighten the browns. 

Morning light won’t stay away—

Hearts jump at every sound. 

 I hum my own little song 

Like ripples in a stream 

Humming Mami’s lullaby

 Reminds me I have her letter

 My fingers linger on well-worn creases, 

Shielding an address, a name, a promise– 

Sister Moon will find always us 

Surrounding us with beams of kindness

 But last night as we rested in the dusty field, 

Worries crept in about matters back home. 

I huddled close to my brother. Tears revealed 

The no-choice need to escape.  I feel grown. 

 

Leaving all I’ve ever known 

The tender, heavy, harsh of home. 

On to maybes, on to dreams, 

On to whispers we hope could be. 

But I don’t want to whisper! I squeeze Manu’s hand. 

“¡Más cerca ahora!” Our feet pound the sand. 

We race, we pant, we lean on each other 

I open my canteen and drink gratefully 

 Thirst is slaked, but I know we’ll need 

 More than water to achieve our dreams. 

 Nights pass slowly, but days call for speed 

Through the highs and the lows, we live with extremes 

 We enter a village the one from Mami’s letter, 

 We find the steeple; food, kindly people, and shelter. 

 “We made it, Manu! Mami would be so proud!”

 I choke back a sob, then stand tall for the crowd. 

 

A slapping of sandals… I wake to the sound 

 Of ¡GOL! Manu’s playing! The fútbol rebounds. 

 I pinch myself. Can this be true? 

 Are we safe at last? Is our journey through? 

 I savor this safety, we’re enveloped with care, 

 but Tío across the border, still seems far as stars. 

 He could not yet come to this new place 

 But Hermana moon, kiss his tear-stained face

¿Dónde está mi querido Tío? (Where is my Dear Uncle?)

¡Mi corazón está muy frío! (My heart is very cold)

I originally wrote this in Spanish.  I then translated it into English by myself and used an online translator back to Spanish to correct  any grammatical errors I may have made.  I have the translation in parentheses but I did not intend that to be part of the poem.  Perhaps an * can be used if we feel the young readers might not know what was said. 

April 1 Patricia Franz at Reverie 

 April 2 Jone MacCulloch 

April 3 Janice Scully at Salt City Verse 

April 4 Leigh Anne Eck at A Day in the Life 

April 5 Irene at Live Your Poem 

April 6 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche 

April 7 Marcie Atkins 

April 8 Ruth at There is No Such Thing as a God Forsaken Town 

April 9 Karen Eastlund 

April 10 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance 

April 11 Buffy Silverman 

April 12 Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise 

April 13 Denise Krebs at Dare to Care 

April 14 Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link 

April 15 Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities 

April 16 Sarah Grace Tuttle 

April 17 Heidi Mordhorst at my juicy little universe 

April 18 Tabatha at Opposite of Indifference 

April 19 Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core 

April 20 Tricia Stohr-Hunt at The Miss Rumphius Effect 

April 21 Janet, hosted here at Reflections on the Teche 

April 22 Mary Lee Hahn at A(nother) Year of Reading 

April 23 Tanita Davis at (fiction, instead of lies) 

April 24 Molly Hogan at Nix the Comfort Zone 

April 25 Rest 

April 26 Karin Fisher-Golton at Still in Awe

 April 27 Donna Smith at Mainely Write 

April 28 Me at Leap of  ME Dave  

The Penultimate Verse  will be presented tomorrow, 

April 29,  by Robyn Hood Black @ Life on the Deckle Edge 

The big Finale, will be on Tuesday, 

April 30  by Michelle Kogan @ More Art for All

This was a lot of fun.  It's my 2nd time around in the progressive poem and again I am having a blast. Looking forward to seeing how Robyn and Michelle bring the journey to an end 

A to Z 2024: X marks the spot that pampered dogs have in our heart

  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 27th is National Little Pampered Dog Day

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.

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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

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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: 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!

Wordless Wednesday: Father and Daughter Unknowingly Bring Copies of the Same Book to a Campus Visit

 

For more Wordless Wednesday head back to Comedy Plus

A to Z 2024: Tis for Table Tennis

  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 23rd is World Table Tennis Day

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.

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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!

A to Z 2024: S is for start of something Major

 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

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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!

A to Z 2024: R is for R R R Very Funny. if You think I'm going to respect Lima Beans.

 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.

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The song of the day Is Road to Zion by Petra

Here is a snippet of the song performed live ...

 

Here is the entire song ... 

The A to Z mix tape now contains 18 songs.

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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: 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: P is for Piñata 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.

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.

 Football

Piñata Party  in San Salvador, El Salvador

Mexican Traditional Piñata

Piñata in the park

Llama Piñatas

Is it A Plethora or Piñatas? I thinks so.  

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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!

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: N is for National Wear Your Pajamas To Work 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. 

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.  

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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...

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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: M is for Microvolunteering

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 15th is International Micro-volunteering day 

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: Día 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.

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I didn't plan this, of course,  but today's song of the day is a frequently asked question of sorts.  The Song is Man or Muppet from The Muppets (2011)

 

M is the 13th letter of the alphabet so my spotify playlist is now half full

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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!

A tp Z: 2024 L is for Last Weekend of Cherry Blossom Festival

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

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Song of the day: Let's Get Married by The Proclaimers 

2 weeks into the challenge and we are up to 12 songs on 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!