4th of July
 

OK... so the screening room won't be done until August, and we pretty much only have folding chairs... but we do have a ton of room, a big TV and a decent view.

Anyone up for a 4th of July get-together starting at, say, 4-ish til whenever?

Not sure what we'll see, fireworks-wise, but we're bound to see something.

...and Heather and I would love to see you all (we'll even buy a barbecue).

Heheh, if we were to watch 1776 again, the line about the New York Legislature would be a laugh riot right now!






For anyone not paying attention, the Repubs and Dems are at all-out war. There was a coup a couple of weeks ago, and neither party is in control, while both assert they are. They did nothing all year, so the Governor has compelled them into special session every day until they complete their legislative agenda ... and yesterday, they had competing sessions at the same time, with two leaders, two gavels, and voting going on on two separate sets of bills at the exact same time, with everyone yelling and screaming over each other, and it was reportedly a scene out of junior high ... but only the inevitable result of 230 years of the New York legislature trajectory!

:(

Raincheck for next year?

Of course, 1776 will be screened.

And Snowflake... assuming we actually see some cool fireworks, it'll be an annual thing.

Cool, if I wasn't working, I'd totally be there :)

Cool! Thanks Mousepod, I'll try to plan for this next year. :cool:

Only working till 7:15 that evening, but family tradition is to be upheld at home with the child. One of these years (when the child no longer wants to be with us) we'll make it up to your place.

I'm never moving again, I miss all the fun. The movers arrive the morning of the 5th so I'm sure I'll still be packing.

We'll be celebrating with family this year. Have fun!

I have an overnight in a loft downtown. Since the Queen Mary will the exploding that night, I don't want to leave the 3 dogs alone (Thurston, Cooper the PBGV and Zoe the Shih Tzu). And, I'm QUITE sure you don't want the hellions (Cooper and Thurston - Zoe is a sweetheart) anywhere near your house.

I haven't got my schedule yet so it is possible. I would love to go and check out the Mousepad pad and hang for the 4th!

Me plus 1 as a possible.

We're in. Still want us to do the sing-along cut of the movie?

I've never seen 1776. We might be up for this. Have to check with the Rat and his opinion on driving/parking on that day at that time.

Traffic should not be an issue. With the possible exception of driving past LAX at peak travel hours, holiday traffic on LA freeways is a breeze, a mere fraction of midday work week traffic.

Then we need to figure out routes that don't involve the 110, because that place is a parking lot every time we head north.

I love LA traffic on holiday weekends. Time machine back to 1983, baby! Everything's 15 minutes from everything else.


If sing-along Seventeen Seventy is on the menu, I'm a likely IN.

Dang it! Last night I made plans to go out of town for the weekend. One day I shall attend a famed movie fun night with the Pods!

Wish I could be in two places at once. Have a great time!

I've never seen 1776. This sounds like FUN!

Ooooh! Slight derail here: Bobbi wants to check out the Queen Mary when we're down there, and I thought it might be near your abode? Maybe a QM Swanking might be able to be arranged? She also needs to meet your kids. Now that she has two kittehs, she'll be going through withdrawals. Maybe I need to start a new thread....

Sorry, MP. Rerail, and I wish I were there on the 4th as well!

Per usual, I'll be playing music that day, like I always am when anything cool is going on.

SOOOOOOOOOOOO wish we could be there. :(

I am SOOO glad not to have to battle this any more.

Derail continues:

Yes! Let's talk.


Rerail:

We will be able to make it after all. I still have an overnight but not much else (and if someone wants to book on a holiday weekend less than a week out they can stay home!)

Sadly, the shirt I ordered for Thurston that says "Lil' Firecracker" won't be here in time. (J/K)

That's funny, I just ordered a t-shirt for myself that says, "Lil' Furcrapper." Guess I won't wear it.

In other news, it looks like I can make it to the fourthstravaganza this year!

Cool! We bought a brand new fancy schmancy barbecue over the weekend, and although our "media room" won't be ready till the end of August, the video projector will be here on Wednesday, so we'll be showing movies on the living room wall...

It can't possibly be as good as the one you got for last year.

Well, to be fair, I bought the grill last year because Lisa said she wouldn't come if there wasn't a barbecue...

This year, we did the research, starting with Consumer Reports, and found that the Char-Broil "infrared" Red barbecue was the best rated mid-priced barbecue. Then, after reading some barbecue-centric message boards, the verdict was the last year's model is way better than the newest one.

We headed down to our local Home Depot, but they couldn't find one that wasn't a floor model, but they were able to locate a new one in Burbank. A hour or so later, we were the proud owners of this baby:



It's the 3-burner version... I'll test it out tonight.

Wow.



BBQ envy sets in. Oh, and i haven't even seen the projector yet.


Maybe i'd better stay home with my fragile ego.

Jesus! I'm going to have to think of something REALLY GOOD to threaten you with next year! ;)

Should I bring meats? Cheeses? Sugar-free beverages? An old kazoo and some sparklers?

Everyone is invited to bring stuff that they think others will enjoy. I'll certainly have the basics...

Then I'll leave the kazoo at home.

It's probably for the best.

Yep. Me plus 1 will be able to attend!! Will need direction/ parking info. :) Whooo

Wonderful! We'll do a head count tomorrow (and directions will be PM'd to those that need 'em).

I really want to go, but I think the other half refuses to drive anywhere this weekend.

I can't get you here, but you're welcome to crash in the guest room (as it were) should you find yourself stranded...

Nope i work til 5pm. It's a freaking HOLIDAY and i am not driving anywhere that evening. Roads will be ****ty and i will want to come home and just crash. Plus we have the girls to think about. They do not do well with fireworks. Plus we have an awesome public display outside our window. And the neighbor's throw in their fireworks as well. Staying home is the best thing for the animals and myself. IF it were any other time and i got off work earlier than yes but since it is the 4th we're talking about. Plus crazy drunk asses on the roads that night. I do not want to dwell and do not do well with them on the road having to manuevr my way back and my car is 12 yrs old and needs to be babied. It's in the shop and more money put into it to keep it running.

Aw, bummer. It would have been really very nice to see you two. If you change your mind, you can always subway to our place.

Are there directions somewhere? I'm working on a strawberry pie recipe.


ETA: are there already going to be 5 bazillion types of potato salad?

<< Patiently awaits counting of heads so as to figure out what to make.

Aw damn... I'm not going to get to meet Borneio's plus one? Grumble grumble work grumble....

OK... so here's the list as it stands at the moment:

Not Afraid
€uromeinke
Bornieo +1
LSPoorEeyorick
Tom
Prudence
The Rat
innerSpaceman
Gn2Dlnd

plus me and Heather... and a couple of our neighbors ... and maybe one or two of Heather's workmates.

Anyone else?

(RSVPs aren't necessary, btw, just trying to figure out what we need hamburger/hot dog-wise)

Might do a nectarine cheesecake, if I can find a springform pan. And if the recipe doesn't annoy me. I'm sure there's some reason I've never made it before. Might be that my good pan went missing.

Pardon my language, but... holy crap that sounds good!

I don't know what I'm making yet, but it will involve blueberries in some way. I was considering cheesecake or a tart or perhaps a salad. I need to see how much time I actually have.

I will be making nice.

Sounds good. Make sure to bring enough for everyone. :D

Sorry late to respond- I've been out of town.

Lance and I would like to come!

Mmmm blueberries.

I'm not sure what we're bringing yet... I'll PM you 'Pod re: directions and what you may need assistance with

Cool! Can't wait!

Hey there! I'll be there, with a guest who I'm sure will fit right in with all the cool kids.

We had a lovely time!

Some day I'll stay long enough to see how 1776 ends

That was so much fun.

Fun, fun, fun ... tee-hee 1776 SING-ALONG projected on a big wall, exploring the fantastico multi-level house of light and beauty, yummy fixins from the manly grill of domination, good times with friends and meeting folks, and OMG unparalleled view from Silver Lake to the Ocean encompassing a 342-degree panorama of unchecked illegal fireworks displays.


Awesome goodness. :snap:

We defeat the Nazis. Yeah, I know, I was surprised as well.

What a nice 4th of July. J & H have the best Silver Lake balcony for viewing fireworks across the entire Los Angeles basin. Spectacular! J & H are gracious hosts, it was great to see the gang, and great to meet new nice people.

By next year I'll have a much better fireworks mix on the iPod, and we'll have to have exterior speakers. No need to cheat the neighbors out of all the fun!

Thanks J&H for a great time. Fantastic house and view. Thanks everyone for making my "Plus 1" welcomed. :cheers:

It is, indeed, a fabulous house with a fabulous view. I kept mentally plotting out a garden out back. A most enjoyable holiday that defied my pre-event plan to duck out early. Our neighborhood was dead quiet when we got home, so perhaps the felines didn't need soothing after all.

I'm sorry I missed the funtastic time at J & H's.


I do have to say I had a blast blowing stuff up for the first.time.ever!!

My cousin and Uncle blew off 75 Roman Candles at one time. It was awesome.







And yes the town is still intact.

Had a great time with family. Fireworks at Warner Center were rather impressive and the park atmosphere was festive.

But - still jealous of all of you. Next year in Silverlake! Strawberry Chips, tonight...

We left before Strawberry Chips! How could we?

We had such a great time! Thanks to everyone who attended and helped make it a truly wonderful Independence Day celebration.

From the amazing food from the likes of Sohrshah, NA and Pru to the fireworks soundtrack from Gn2dlnd, it was a near-perfect day. The only thing missing was the rest of the LoTers who couldn't make it. There's always next year!

Borneio, thanks for bringing your lovely 'plus one'. It was a pleasure to meet her.

Since the 1776 singalong went so well, the next movie night will take place sometime in August (date TBD), and the feature will be Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!

Considering I spend all of yesterday singing "You're my little choochy-face....." I think that is appropriate.

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't like the candy man. There's something a bit off about him.

If I know the date at least 3 weeks in advance I can request the day off and finally make it to the Pods home for a screening.....LOVE Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!

Oh damn, now I have the song running through my head and it's going to take weeks to get rid of it.

If I suggest The Roses of Success, will that help?

Truly Scrumptious: my favorite Bond girl.

I guess Cubby Broccoli just couldn't help himself.

Fleming just couldn't keep the Bond-isms out of his children's book, could he?

Plus, the Broccoli's casting of Gert "Goldfinger" Fröbe as the Baron really makes it feel like a Disneyfied Bond flick.

Here's something to replace it with: "Toot sweets!"

Right down to the henchman who's scarier than the principal villain.

........the candy you blow on, the whistle you eat.........

Before Hello Dolly was added to Main Street and Blazing Saddles to Frontierland, a glaring oddity was -out in what is now the Esplanade - the only non-Disney tunes played were those from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

But it is the Sherman Brothers.

I always knew that Walt's favorite SB song was "Feed The Birds" - but it was interesting to see that their own favorite is "Hushabye Mountain" from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Hushabye Mountain is one of my favorite songs in the universe.

I want someone to Hushabye lullaby me tonight.

Truly Scrumptious is not in the book, and Fleming didn't write the movie.

So there.

I didn't know that. I guess it was all Roald Dahl and Broccoli. Neat.

An interesting diet for a child.

The book is completely weird and so utterly unlike the movie that "adaptation" doesn't describe the film at all. The kept the title and the flying car. Wisely dumped everything else.

Hmm, I remember liking the book, but that was a looong time ago...

In a galaxy faaaar away?