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!
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.
Yesterday, I created a new made up holiday by making one up. Today I will regale you with info regarding a Holiday that someone else made up. Today is Children's Picture book day!
Here is an informative video from the Champaign Library.
Like many of these made up Holidays the day we celebrate it is based on a relevant birthday. The birthday in this instance is Hans Christian Anderson who was born on this day in 1805.
In preparation for this post I watched the Danny Kaye Film Hans Christian Anderson. I will review the film sometime shortly after the challenge is complete. Here is the trailer.
Exactly 98 years and 11 months after Han's Christian Anderson's birthday Theodor Geisel much better known as Dr. Seuss was born on March 2nd 1904. Geisel became a pioneer in children's picture books.
The book, “The Cat in The Hat,” by Dr. Seuss, sits on a book shelf at West Elementary School during a National Read Across America Day event Mar. 2, 2017 at Yokota Air Base, Japan. National Read Across America Day is a holiday to share the fun of reading with children of all ages, and is celebrated on Dr. Seuss’ birthday. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Donald Hudson) Unit: 374th Airlift Wing DVIDS Tags: Japan; Yokota Air Base; 374th Airlift Wing; Dr. Seuss; National Read Across America Day
One of my favorite kinds of picture books is what I call Alphabet books. These books much like the A to Z challenge take a subject and then devote 1 page and 1 picture per letter of the alphabet. On a recent trip to the Beloit Public Library (which I will also be reviewing after the challenge) I was reminded of my love for Alphabets and took pictures of several of them
Not sure why that pen is in all the pictures, it's nothing to write home about.
Among other holidays occurring today is Autism Awareness Day.
Today's song of the day is Broken Things by Julie Miller
The Leap of Dave A to Z Spotify Playlist is now up to 2 songs.
Time to close the book on the letter B. I think you get the picture. As you head back to more of the challenge or just your regularly scheduled life feel free to leave a comment. Maybe you can let me know what your favorite picture book is/was and why.
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!
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.
When I first started this blog in 2009 (click here for the inaugural post), I had 3 children between the ages of 3 and 9)
Back then they looked like this ...
Since then ,life happened at a brisk pace and my wife and I soon had 1, then 2, and then (for 9 glorious months in 2018-19) 3 teenagers. Now we are down to one teenager and we find ourselves the proud parent of 3 adults. Babies having babies is one thing, but adults raising adults is quite another.
Today is the first of 5 days that I will make up a new holiday. It is going to be called Adult Children Appreciation day. Here are some facts about the Holiday that I am making up right now.
Adult Children Appreciation Day was created by David Roller in 2024 to commemorate that all his children were now adults as the youngest had turned 18 that winter. Adult Children Appreciation Day was first celebrated on April 1st, 2024. Adult Children Appreciation Day is held the Monday after Easter. Mr. Roller (That's Me.) says he chose that day because it had been a family tradition for him to go to Walgreens the day after Easter and buy Easter products for 1/2 price or less. Dave's oldest daughter loved Bunnies and this was the most cost effective time to buy bunny themed gifts,
Even though the first Adult Children Appreciation Day was on April 1st, it is not associated with April Fools Day at all. Mr. Roller chose Springtime to celebrate this holiday as spring is associated with growth and all growing things mature to some sort of adulthood.
Since The original ACDA was on April 1st and April 1st is also National Greeting Card Day, the creator of Adult Children Appreciation Day gave greeting cards to each of his adult children telling them about qualities they are developing that He appreciates.
If you and your adult children are together on Easter Sunday that is a good time to give them a note or a card showing how much you appreciate them. The Next 3 ACDAs will fall on April 21, 2025, April 6, 2026, and March 28, 2027
I happen to be typing this post at a local library a few days in advance of the challenge. In the past 2 months I have visited 14 local libraries as part of the Library Lover's Expedition. I mention this because April 1st is also Library Snapshot Day an annual day that celebrates the importance of libraries. I am planning on writing apost for each of the 14 libraries I visited for the challenge later this year. For today I will just post a few of the snapshots I took at some of the libraries.
Today's Song of the Day is Any Other Way by Andy Gullahorn
Andy Gullahorn and Jill Phillips
I am a big Spotify guy and have soooo many playlists that I have created. I have made a special play list for the A to Z challenge. By the end of the month it will contain all 26 songs featured here. For now it just contains the A song.
Every good beginning must come to an end. Hopefully you have appreciated Adult Child Appreciation Day. There are still (at least) 25 more holidays to enjoy and a few more for me to make up. In your comments if you have adult children let me know what you most appreciate about them. I will try to make some guide comment solicitations for each day, but feel free to comment anyway you want.
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 White Sox open at the stadium FKA Comiskey Park this afternoon at 3:10 p.m. The Sox open against Al Central rival Detroit. After losing over 100 games last year and a bit of house cleaning near the end of the season that continued over the winter not very much is expected in GM Chris Getz's first full season in his new position. Pedro Grifol is in his second season as manager for the southsiders and I believe he will be given a long leash this season to get the team back on the winning track.
Opening Day starting line up for the Sox. (Players in Bold are making White Sox Debut)
1 Andrew Bentendi LF
2 Yoan Moncada 3 B
3 Luis Robert Jr CF
4,Eloy Jimenez DH
5. Andrew Vaughn 1B
6. Paul Dejong SS
7. Kevin Pillar RF
8. Martin Maldonado C
9. Nicky Lopez 2B
This is obviously the first starting line-up for the White Sox this year.
The starting pitcher for the White Sox is Garret Crochet. This is Crochet's first major league start. He is only the 2nd White Sox player to ever have their first major league start on Opening Day. The first happened some 123 years ago when Roy Patterson pitched for the Chi Sox in the first ever American League opener. Crochet has been converted into a starter and was named the opening day starter after Dylan Cease, who had already been assigned to start Opening Day was traded to the Padres earlier this month.