We're watching the Atlanta "Salute to America" parade. At the beginning they surprised several families by bringing their spouses home from Iraq. ::sniffle:: The parade is supposedly being broadcast in HD; we don't have an HD receiver yet, so we're not enjoying the effect. Indeed, I think the cameraman doesn't know how to manage—all the long shots are overexposed. After this is over, it will be time for our annual 1776 viewing.

Pidgie is making enough noise today to overwhelm firework noise and buzzing me and landing on the keyboard. So far he has typed an "i" and a "[" twice. (What that means I have no idea.) Mom is downstairs with us and trying to eat some Rice Krispies. James is in the kitchen preparing the boneless ribs for the crock pot.

Later [10:55]: the ribs were great. Mom still didn't eat much. Sigh.

We spent the evening going from concert to concert. Started with A Capitol Fourth; the show isn't bad, but for our nation's capital the fireworks aren't much. It ended just in time for us to see the fireworks from Lenox Square. They went all out with bright lights, mostly orange. I turned to James at one point and said, "It looks like Sherman came back."

Finished the night with what CBS shows of the Boston Pops performance; as always they come in right at the end of "The 1812 Overture." At least we didn't miss the patriotic singalong. Then somebody named Hard and Rich and somebody else named Cowboy something or other sang real loud.

This year's fireworks were quite good: along with the "saturns" (round purple shapes with gold rings) and the usual chrysanthemums, willows, and fountains, they had smiley faces, concentric circles, and shapes that looked like outlined cubes. Also something that looked like a multicolor Christmas wreath. Harry Smith and his co-host shut up during the fireworks. The shots of the crowd were a little less intrusive this year, but they were still there, and the motion of the camera was almost nauseating—and they still don't tell you what the music is that's playing. However, they get major points for showing the fireworks with no commercial breaks. Can we hope for a steadier camera and close-captions for the music next year?

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 5:50:00 PM

Comments:

I wish you strength on this day, Linda. Happy Independence Day from faraway Prague.
Tina

# posted by  Anonymous : 5:20:00 PM

 

Hi, Linda! It's Emma. I'm alive - just with longer hours. :)

I watched School House Rock's "History Rock" today, since "Fireworks" was stuck in my head anyway. ;)

Did you dance with Pidge to 1776? :D

Emma

# posted by  Emma : 6:18:00 PM

 

Just at the end, Emma. He isn't as cooperative as Bandit. :-) I still cry when they do "He Plays the Violin."

# posted by  Linda : 8:34:00 PM

 

I used to watch the Boston Pops 4th of July concert religiously when it was on A&E (and remember I'm a Canadian), and for the first couple of years that it was on CBS. I didn't watch it this year. Simply put the move to CBS took away everything I liked about the Esplanade concert and added nothng good in return.

One thing I can't figure out is why it seems like no one - even PBS - broadcasts 1776 on July 4 in the same way they do The Ten Commandments at Easter or It's A Wonderful Life at Christmas. One of my favourite movies.

# posted by  Brent McKee : 12:59:00 PM

 

I watched A Capitol Fourth since it was in high definition. I thought the camera work was just awful, particularly during the fireworks. When they would actually cut to it, they would be zooming in or zooming out. When I view fireworks in person, I'm not constantly moving my head about (much less "zooming in"). They have fishtank and burning log home videos. I wonder if there isn't one for fireworks where the camera stays on the fireworks so you can enjoy them.
- Rodney

# posted by  Anonymous : 7:28:00 PM

 

Tell me about it, Brent. A&E/WCVB's coverage was pretty much perfect. Even worse, the Pops has restructured its concert to fit the CBS broadcast, so we get stuck listening to these dumb "celebrities" instead of real artists. Last year the entire concert seemed to be an exercise in promoting Leeann Rimes' new album. It's Independence Day; we're celebrating freedom, not Leeann Rimes.

# posted by  Linda : 10:56:00 PM

 

Rodney, if you thought HD coverage was horrible on that, you wouldn't have believed WSB's coverage of the Salute2America parade. All the long shots were overexposed to the point that things looked white with outlines. Not to mention the camera jiggled so much the cameraman must have interned on NYPD Blue.

# posted by  Linda : 10:58:00 PM

 

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