Things are pretty crazy in Philly with the Live 8 concert going on. What’s everyone cooking up for the Holiday?
About The Author

BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
How’s your wife feeling? Cold getting better?
We are just having a good ole American cookout on the 4th… hamburgers/hot dogs, potato/macaroni salads, beer. The usual stuff. Why break with tradition?
says she is feeling better. Well enough to have a glass of wine, anyway.
….hmmm. We don’t have any, nor are we likely to make any! 😉
ATM, my husband is driving the little guy (23 months) around in the car to get him to go to sleep — he’s been needing a nap for two hours or so and fighting like crazy against it, but he asked to “zoom, gho, car”, so hopefully, he comes back dreaming!
Larger one (6 year old) is playing Sonic the Hedgehog and will be zipping of to a good friend of his’ house for a birthday party in about 15 minutes.
Spouse and I got to hang out with friends of ours who are having a baby (in Feb.) and are newly married..so that was all good yesterday….
We’re just hanging out, the kiddie pool is all filled up with water and maybe once one kiddo is alseep and the other off socilaizing, I’ll hop in there for a while….103, heat index about 111 (for the second day in a row….)
Still haven’t decided about Monday — the kids (and I) love fireworks, but it is probably best that I don’t go anywhere where I’m going to be around a lot of RAH-RAH “patriots” just now (especially not in front of the kids! lol!)
I hope that whatever you all are up to, it’s good for you! Enjoy! Enjoy!
from when I was younger. Sounds like a good one.
Brinnaine, have you seen Frank Rich in today’s NYT? He’s talking about the movie, “War of the Worlds,” and comparing it to bushco like you did earlier this week!
Think he reads this blog ;)?
I want to read it but don’t have a ‘scrip — anyone have a login and PW I can borrow?
Was Rich talking about the anger part?
vxg3313
sairam786
and here’s a snip:
“War of the Worlds” makes as many references to 9/11 as Mr. Bush did. The alien attack on America is the work of sleeper cells; the garments of the dead rain down on those fleeing urban apocalypse; poignant fliers are posted for The Missing. There is also a sterling American military that rides to the rescue. Deep in the credits for “War of the Worlds” is a thank-you to the Department of Defense and some half-dozen actual units that participated in the movie, from the Virginia Army National Guard to a Marine battalion from Camp Pendleton, Calif. Indeed, Mr. Spielberg seems to have had markedly more success in recruiting extras for his film than the Pentagon has had of late in drumming up troops for Iraq.
That’s not the only way that “War of the Worlds” shows up Mr. Bush. In not terribly coded dialogue, the film makes clear that its Americans know very well how to distinguish a war of choice like that in Iraq from a war of necessity, like that prompted by Al Qaeda’s attack on America. Tim Robbins – who else? – pops up to declare that when aliens occupy a country, the “occupations always fail.” Even Tom Cruise’s doltish teenage screen son is writing a school report on “the French occupation of Algeria.”
Mr. Spielberg’s movie illuminates, too, how Mr. Bush has flubbed the basic storytelling essential to sustain public support for his Iraq adventure. The president has made a tic of hammering in melodramatic movie tropes: good vs. evil, you’re with us or you’re with the terrorists, “wanted dead or alive,” “bring ’em on,” “mission accomplished.” When you relay a narrative in that style, the audience expects you to stick to the conventions of the genre; the story can end only with the cavalry charging in to win the big final battle. That’s how Mr. Spielberg deploys his platoons, “Saving Private Ryan”-style, in “War of the Worlds.” By contrast, Mr. Bush never marshaled the number of troops needed to guarantee Iraq’s security and protect its borders; he has now defined “mission accomplished” down from concrete victory to the inchoate spreading of democracy. To start off sounding like Patton and end up parroting Woodrow Wilson is tantamount to ambushing an audience at a John Wayne movie with a final reel by Frank Capra.
(That’s most of the part about “War of the Worlds.”
I’m IN Philly….WORKING! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
I wish I was in London though where I’d be able to see the one concert I’d ever want to see in my lifetime – Pink Floyd w/ Roger Waters!
I saw PF three times, 2x in Philly and 1x in North Jersey – both sans Waters.
Otherwise, I’m watching the concert(s) from work. Really wish I had requested off to go. We’re pushing 600,000 to 1 million people at last estimates. Lot of people in Philly today.
I think perhaps today we’re more solidly the 5th largest city than we’ve been in a while. Lol.
BTW, got a collection of Rove/Plame links (prolly a lot of redundancy) on my blog, Phillybits. If you have any that I don’t, please let me know. I’d like to add them. Thanks!
I just read at Phillyfuture that there may be a few surprised guests at Philly.
Interesting to see.
a few surprise guests – i.e., additional performers.
Could one of them be …. Michael Jackson? I heard a rumor that he’s been asked to perform but no one had confirmation.
If he shows up, then this performance would completely jumo the shark.
Fallujah
Imagine people from another country across the ocean coming and doing this to one of your cities.
http://www.empirenotes.org/fallujah.html
Dear god. Look at what those bombs do.
And now they want nuclear bunker busters. (The Senate authorized the research for it.)
where Mr Bwren and I will spend the 4th of July week, as we do every year. No phone. No computer. No locked doors. No driving. Just a week playing music until I have blisters under my existing callouses, and then playing some more. There will morning walks on the beach, evening walks in the woods, catching up with out-of-town friends, eating, drinking and dancing – and playing music. The best part? No politics. When I return I’ll be rested and energized and ready to rejoin the scrum. Happy Independence Day all!
One song, then some bimbo talking head, then 10 minutes of commercials. They cut off THE WHO for cripes sake!!!
I remember watching Live Aid 20 years ago and the coverage was so much better back then. We actually got to see people perform.
Try AOL online.
The instrumental break in “Don’t Get Fooled Again” that is followed by Daltry’s primal yell is truly one of the greatest things to watch and listen to in rock. That they picked that as a moment to cut away to the hosts was nuts. I turned it off at that point.
over for a barbecue, but I’m feeling anti-social enough that I want a quiet weekend with the spouse.
We may go out to dinner tomorrow evening, then watch fireworks; Great America is doing their big show tonight and tomorrow, so they don’t compete with San Jose’s big show Monday.
Other than that, it’s cleaning (if I can ever get the spouse’s and my rears in gear), grocery shopping, a bit of reading, and catching up on our Al Franken backlog from the Sundance Channel (celebrating freedom of speech while we’ve still got it…).
after all these years and diffences between them they can move me to tears. It would have been nice to have a commercial free day but I am still enjoying it.
it was emotional to see them together again. And they can still play.
I just can’t believe VH1/MTV cut off Comfortably Numb in the middle. They couldn’t wait a few minutes for the song to end??
I know, the coverage was real sucky but to see U2, Paul McCartney, The Who, Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder, Cold Play, Green Day, Sting, Madonna and on and on in one day live was incredible.
Question? why is Dkos not on the CCR blogroll? Did Markos decline to participate?
fresh wild Copper River salmon, I always say, make fresh-wild-Copper-River-salmon-ade.
It’s only 4:20 out on the Port Coast so we’re just getting started on dinner prep. I was out sailing my dinghy watching the annual crab slaughter. All the absentee owners descend on this neighborhood, which is 2/3 empty almost all year, and with all their friends they grab anything that will float & go set Dungeness crab traps offshore in the Sound for weekend eating.
In the fridge for dinners yet to come we’ve got leftover curry salmon-and-chicken, scratch-built spaghetti sauce with ground turkey sausage, and for tomorrow, lots of chicken parts.
For lunch munchies we’ve got turkey sausage, turkey kielbasa and turkey cotto salami.
The Dan Quayle potatoe salad is under construction as I typ.
Don’t tell me that I’m the only one! I asked in another
thread yesterday – no replies.
Any other Tribbers going to this event on the 4th?
curly and I will be there – anyone we should look for?
If I lived in NYC I would be. I will be there in spirit.
Has anyone noticed the increased press coverage (or increased military activity) in Aghanistan?
It could mean that:
a) there is some intelligence on an actual number 3 Al Qaida member, or
b) We actually do know where Bin Laden is and we are finally going after him, or
c) The administration is trying to divert the attention on Plame, Duke-Stir, Casinos by focusing on Afghanistan military ops, or
d) all of the above.
Of course, the press just might be increasing their coverage because of the crashed/attacked helicopter.
Anyway, just thought I would note it.