Tuesday 2-22-22 = Tuesday

Twosday: 2-22-22

Hello A to Z Bloggers.  The A to Z Blog had been maintaining a bit of radio silence since last year's doings, so I asked the team if I could write a guest post.  To my surprise and delight, they said yes. Before I get into full A to Z mode, let me tell you about myself.

My name is Dave I'm a 57 year old Midwesterner, who's been  happily married to my best friend Amy for almost 24 years. a father of 3, an educator, an avid blogger someone who absolutely loves the A to Z Challenge

My first year in the challenge was 10 years ago.  It was the first and only year that I did not have a theme.  On Sunday April 1st I wrote this post about not fooling around.  Si  nce then I have participated in several of my blogs.  At least one year, I did 3 at the same time.  

That's probably a good enough introduction about me for now.  

I love a good palindrome.  A palindrome is anything that is the same backwards as forwards.

I am writing this on January 31st 2022 or 1/31/2022 or 1-31-22.  Tomorrow is 2-1-22 and Wednesday is 2-2-22, a palindrome.  Could you imagine an alarm clock next to a calendar at 2:22 showing 2-22-22? If that's not enough awesomeness for you, it's also groundhog day!

But wait there's more ...

There is another spectacular palindrome filled day coming later in February.   February 22nd 2022 otherwise known as 2-22-22 it's a twosday that falls on a Tuesday.

(If this isn't a place for a mind blown emoji I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS!!!!!!!)

So what does this have to do exactly with the A to Z challenge?  Well, let's put it this way:

If you guys are going to get back into the challenge  you probably need to do some forward thinking at the same time.  What will you write about?  Who will you invite to participate along with you? How will you make this the best A to Z year ever?

I may do more than one theme this year, but one of them is definitely going to be limericks.  8 years ago between my 49th and 50th birthday I wrote and posted a limerick a day on my Facebook page.  For the challenge, I will be recycling about 10 of those limericks, writing about 10 new limericks prior to the challenge, and creating approximately 10 more during the challenge, generally on the day of the entry.

Here is a palindrome based limerick I wrote for this post::

I have a dear friend named Jerome

Who sure loves a good palindrome

on 2-22-22

in a racecar he "flew"

both backwards and forwards towards home.

I am really hyped up about this year's challenge. I hope that many of you are getting ready for it as well.  I'd like to thank the team for letting me do this guest post. 

Shameless Plug:  Please check out my blog Leap of Dave, it was called Home School Dad for many years but since our home schooling days have been over for a few years now, I decided to at long last change the name and consolidate my other blogs into the flagship.  This means that you can see all of my a to z blog entries over the last 11 years in one place.

 

Burpee Miracle

Last 5 Next 10 - 2nd 5 of 2022 Edition

 Here are 5 more books I have finished this year. 

Big Nate Aloha by Lincoln Pierce

Read via Hoopla

2/6/22

Hawkeye: My life as a weapon by Matt Fraction

Read via Hoopla

2/7/22

Fish in a Tree by Linda Mullaly Hunt

read last chapter to class I was subbing for 

borrowed from library read to self

2/12/22

Blue Like Jazz By Donald Miller

Listened to via Hoopla listened to a great deal of it with my wife

2/13/22

The Return Home - Elliott J. Anderson

Received as Christmas Gift 

Read some to myself read some out loud to my wife who is also reading it

2/15/22

As often happens there was a rather long lull between the 5th book I finished on 1/22/22 and the 6th book I completed on 2/6/2.  However, I then completed 4 more books in 9 days. The first 5  were at a rate of 4.4 days a book and the 3nd 5 were just a little slower at a rate of a book every 4.8 days.  Still at my pace over the last 5 books I'll finish an additional 64 books before the end of the year.

Ten books I am currently reading or planning to read soon are .

Fodor's Essential Greek Islands

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

Collected Short Stories of Louis La'mour Vol I\

God's Forgetful Pilgrims - Michael Griffiths

Born Again - Chuck Colson

Big Nate - Vol 1 - Lincoln Pierce

Love, Dance & Egg Rolls - Jason Tanamor

Little House on The Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder

Renegades, Born In The U.S.A.  - Bruce Springsteen & Barack Obama 

Until Tuesday, A Wounded Warrior and The Golden Retriever who saved Him - Luis Carlos Montalvan

 

The Greatest Show on Earth

January 2022 is in the books,  it's come and gone, it's been there and it's done that; and now it's time to move on.   But before we do, let's review a little.  In January I watched the first of  what will hopefully be 12 movies I have not seen before.   Last year, I wrote this post explaining my process for watching and writing about these movies.  In January I watched a movie that will fit into the 1949-1963 category.

The Greatest Show on Earth won the 1953 Academy Award for Best Picture.  I would give it between 2 and 2 and a half stars.  The movie tells the story of a travelling circus through the eyes of it's performers and audience.  It captures the pageantry of the travelling circus portraying the romance, human drama and hidden stories of the "travelling city" that comprises the circus train.  Cecil B De'Mille directs and Charlton Heston stars as the circus boss and Jimmy Stewart plays a clown on the run from the law.  One theme of this movie is "The Show Must go On".  The perseverance of everyone associated with the circus and the joy that it brings the small towns and cities across America is on constant display.  One thing I liked about this movie is that it's an attempt to be a  love letter to the circus.  I loved the circus when I was a kid and I like the sentiment to celebrate what is now  a bygone era in American history,  One thing I did not like about this movie is that it is a poorly constructed ,overlong love letter to the circus.  Many of the circus scenes could have been totally deleted and the rest could have been cut into 1/4th of their screen time. I think the best audience for this movie would be people who like myself who want to see every Best Picture winner or every Jimmy Stewart film and don't mind that it sometimes makes a spectacle of itself.