i think my problem has something to do with order of operations. my_mc and preload only get created once and i think each successive image load is replacing them
var images = new Array("one", "two", "three", "four", "five");
var curLoad:Number = 0;
function loadIt(){
	my_mc = new MovieClipLoader();
	preload = new Object();
	this.createEmptyMovieClip("container", this.getNextHighestDepth());	
	my_mc.addListener(preload);
	my_mc.loadClip(images[curLoad]+".jpg", "container");
	trace(curLoad);
}
preload.onLoadStart = function(targetMC) {
	// container._visible = true;
};
preload.onLoadProgress = function(targetMC, lBytes, tBytes) {
	circle._rotation += 20;
};
preload.onLoadComplete = function(targetMC) {
	curLoad ++;
	if (curLoad < images.length){
		loadIt();
	}
};
loadIt();