1. Drinking. Blowing stuff up. When I was a teenager we used to have bottle rocket wars, but I can’t call that a tradition any more because I haven’t done that in years.
2. Snakes, and as I get older I find that sparklers are pretty pointless too. But they are shiny, so there’s that.
3. It’s a picnic. No need to mess with the classics. I can do without potato salad, though, I’ll swap in a pasta salad or something.
4. Either/or – a nice dry white is good with a picnic but nothing beats a good cold beer.
5. Not sure if this is asking for a list or a yea/nay. Generally don’t seek them out, but don’t hate them.

So, I’ve been out of town, but apparently there’s some douche from Lake City by the name of Benjamin Schroeter who is whining about fireworks at Gasworks Park.

Well, he caught the attention of The Colbert Report.

The points seem possibly valid, but still, goddamn man, come off it.

ABC’s 1971 attempt to link groovy young rebellious youth with the Revolutionary War.

Rick Ely (had to be a Tiger Beat dreamboat) as the fiery American youth, Alex Henteloff as the brainy would-be Ben Franklin type, Hilarie Thompson as the Obligatory Love Interest and (the only reason to watch) Louis Gossett, Jr. as the former slave, now blacksmith.

I think it lasted all of half a season.

I was watching the History Channel the other night and they were talking about all the human bones found underneath his home. Apparently he was doing massive amounts of illegal dissection and other studies on dead bodies that he purchased from grave robbers. He then would hide the remains under his house so he would not get in trouble.

I wonder if this sort of thing is going to start becoming common for non-massive-media-market teams.

The only tradition my family ever had was going to the Lumberjack Breakfast in Albany. But for most of my formative years I was not in town for the 4th, so it’s tough to make a tradition. I would love to have just a laid back BBQ, but I hate jamming up with the masses to watch some things explode in the sky considering it is boring after the first two pretty things.

As for this year, though, I am ready for Seattle International Beer Festival and the celebration of Cascadia. I guess that makes me pro-beer.

And picnic food, new and different? All I say is nay on the flag cake.

we had a block-wide, all-day waterfight. There were a handful of families with kids on my street, and so all the boys and their dads would run around all day. There would be kiddie pools for dunking victims into, buckets full of water balloons, super soakers and PVC pipe guns. At some point, somebody’s mom would make the mistake of leaving the house and they would be dunked into the kiddie pool.

After that, we all got together for a barbecue and lit off all of our pooled fireworks.

Leyritz really wants your vote.

from Drayer: “Another possibility is there could be a trade made between now and then. Jack Z has two members of his brain trust in Tom McNamara and Carmen Fusco on this trip and there have been a lot of meetings, conversations and phone calls. The atmosphere is such that I get the feeling they would like to make a deal sooner rather than later. An interesting road trip could get even more interesting.”

I’m going to a friend’s house in Bremerton. They live above the naval base and you can see the Bremerton, Silverdale, Tacoma, and Port Orchard displays from their deck, plus whatever else is going on in the neighborhood, which, past experience has demonstrated, is a LOT. Lots of food, lots of drink, lots of baseball, and as little else as possible.

I don’t have any traditions for the fourth. I think when I was little my dad may have put hot dogs on the barbecue, but that’s about it. As a grown up I don’t even do that. I’d like to, but I’m lazy.

I’m fireworks ignorant! I like the big ones…. the twinkly big ones in the sky. As far as little ones go, I have absolutely no experience with that.

Pioneer Woman has some good looking picnic food. I practically worship her.

Beer or wine? I don’t know. Beer usually, but I like Lambrusco and Cava a whooollllle lot.

I don’t know nothin bout no flag waving movies!

Celebrities Upside-Down Pictures

Which are the best days to go? I heard Friday is where he plays all his popular music.