Independence Day

[XERO]

Just want to wish everybody a Happy 4th of July, and be safe. :D

I'm celebrating at my aunt's house. What are your plans?

[Ryona]

I'm sitting here running amuck in Cyber space just like any other day. :P



EDIT: Whoa... That was like, an oxymoron I just said. w00t! :P

[Kali]

I'll be spending most of my day doing what I usually do. Surfing the web and drawing. Mostly drawing.

Then I may sit out front and watch the fireworks my neighbors somehow got past the ban...

[XERO]

Well, Kali, I hope you draw a picture of me. :P

And Ryo, you wierd little man, I'll check up on ya on my aunt's computer. :D

[The Stryker]

Im gonna stare at all the weird people outside with lives and then im gonna play RE4 and Watch Raw at 9pm



My Life is sad

[Anarky]

4th of July? Nothing big around here, our big festival is at August 1st.

So what am I doing today? I'll try to get a job. ANd I think thtat'd be all.

[Jester]

Work...enouff said....:(

[That Matt Guy]

Also working. I don't think I've ever had the 4th off, except last year when I was between jobs.

[Wingnut]

Im probably gonna stick around my place with my buddies and enjoy my day off by throwing firecrackers off our apartment building onto skateboarders and gothic kids.

And im gonna play some Metal Slug cause....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v72/CircleofPaper/handseals.gif

[ThirdMarioBro]

Well, I'm not like the most patriotic person ever, but I'll go to the fireworks show by the river with my family. Probobly come home after, sit on my ass and resolder some old cartridges I need to mod.

[KROW]

So far, the only thing I have planned is going out to see some fireworks.

I hope there's some booze involved here.

[Ryona]

Still going about my day like any other day.

:D

[愛]

I'm watching the Twilight Zone marathon on the Sci-Fi channel.

[Jester]

Still going about my day like any other day.

:D
Silly Canadians...:P

[Ryona]

Hey, I don't celebrate any holidays exept New Year's and Halloween.
I see holidays such as Canada day and Independence day as rather pointless as holidays.
Same goes for Mother's day, Father's day, and Valentines day. Such holidays are ridiculous and created by big consumer corporations to make a killing in sales of gifts and such.

[Jester]

I can understand New Years, but Halloween..it isn't a purely commertial holiday??

[ThirdMarioBro]

No, Halloween has more of a history behind it which I'm too lazy to type

.....and it's just fun :D :P

[Jester]

I'll agree...:P But much like Christmas, and to a lesser extent easter, Halloween's initial meaning is lost for the sake of the commertial....

[FireFly]

i will celebrate the birth of my nation by blowing a little piece of it up :evilgrin:

I love this holiday

[Ryona]

I love this holiday

Why?

What is so grand about it? The fact that you get to play with fireworks??

[That Matt Guy]

I love it too. I get paid extra to work on this day.

[Anarky]

Why?

What is so grand about it? The fact that you get to play with fireworks??

And scaring every halfway sentinent animal in a 4 mile radius, and polluting the atmosphere and potentially setting houses on fire and killing insects or even birds, not to mention all the sweatsops you invested in buying all those fireworks.

I never fired a single piece of firework after I learned that my dog (he's mine, all mine, don't listen to what the rest of my family says.. MINE!) was scared of fireworks. Well, Jamie was afraid of fireworks, Kim and Terry didn't care and Jay is getting even more hyperactive than he already is. So, the least we need is someone playing with fireworks.

I love it too. I get paid extra to work on this day.
More reason to stay away from fireworks. :D

[That Matt Guy]

Jesus guys, lighten the f*** up.

[Anarky]

Jesus guys, lighten the f*** up.

Not yet, I'd have to have booze for that. :D Anyways, I think too few people realise what they're actually doing by firing of those blasted things. I mean, how many decent animals dieevery year because of that stuff? It's sad. Everybody could just have a great party with big fires (like we do, we just set fire to a freaking big pile of wood) and then you also have the bonus of being able to barbecue on it. Yumyum, that's fun for everyone. Dog gets food, we get food, we have nice warm fire, dog happy, we happy...

... more food, booze, dog drives us home since he's the only one sober. :D

National holidays are a great oportunity to just have a nice party. Last year we were about 150 people who felt that they were overdoing august 1st (our "Independence day"). It was great fun, we even had a generator, so we had music. I tell you, that was a great party. And it was just by the lake where we could go and swim after the barbecuing and all other stuff was done.

[Leonardo_]

Particularly in hands of indecent teens it could be dangerous.

I know years ago some of them used a signal gun and shot over a bridge. The fireball met a foot passenger in the stomage and teared a hole into it.
Hell... I don't know if he survived it. :ohwell:

[Ryona]

Jesus guys, lighten the f*** up.

Sorry... didn't mean to rain on anyone's parade... :tanime:


I think too few people realise what they're actually doing by firing of those blasted things. I mean, how many decent animals dieevery year because of that stuff? It's sad. Everybody could just have a great party with big fires (like we do, we just set fire to a freaking big pile of wood) and then you also have the bonus of being able to barbecue on it. Yumyum, that's fun for everyone. Dog gets food, we get food, we have nice warm fire, dog happy, we happy...

Yes, that's right. I totally agree. *nods*


Not yet, I'd have to have booze for that. :D

... more food, booze, dog drives us home since he's the only one sober. :D

*giggles* Oh, boy... :lol:

I'm all of a sudden in a great mood! *Sings and twirls around* :D *grabs onto the wall to keep from falling*...I think I'll lie down now. :embarass:

[XERO]

That darn booze... :roll:

July 4th sucked for me this year. :x

After visiting my aunt, I decided to go to my friend's house and rock out the fireworks. But that plan was halted by a drunk next-door neighbor who just had to bitch about a parked car in front of his yard that belonged to my friend's cousin. My friend tried to handle the situation in a professional manner, and all seemed well...until the bastard decided to snap and pull out a knife and threaten us to move the car. :roll:

Kiss 'professional' GOODBYE!! :evil:

All hell broke loose. Luckily, the cops came, and nobody was hurt.

Hmph! 'Indenpendence Day' my ass!

What pisses me off the most is that we had kids with us, and if that guy did something to them... :(

I hope you guys had a better day than I did. Really. Because the 4th of July is no longer a day I look forward to.

[Storm Wolf]

So far, the only thing I have planned is going out to see some fireworks.


Don't sound so enthused.... :P



The fireworks were wonderful...and the weather wasn't too bad either. This was a nice 4th of July for me. Very relaxing. :)

[The Stryker]

Eating Grilled Meat and Blowing things Up! A truly Patriotic Holiday.


I had fun :D

[KROW]

You know, some people celebrate Independence Day by sitting in their homes, watching parades, getting together with family (some of whom have fought for this country), and seeing it as the day America broke free of British rule and created a government for the people, by the people, and of the people.

As Matt said, lighten up. It's not just fireworks, just like Christmas isn't just presents.
Don't sound so enthused.... :P



The fireworks were wonderful...and the weather wasn't too bad either. This was a nice 4th of July for me. Very relaxing. :)
Ohhh, I had a nice time, too. Sheesh. :P

[Anarky]

You know, some people celebrate Independence Day by sitting in their homes, watching parades, getting together with family (some of whom have fought for this country), and seeing it as the day America broke free of British rule and created a government for the people, by the people, and of the people.

As Matt said, lighten up. It's not just fireworks, just like Christmas isn't just presents.

Ohhh, I had a nice time, too. Sheesh. :P

I don't get that "some of them have fought for this country, they're the better people"-talk you americans always do. What is that all about? On one side you say, everybody is equal, nobody is better, but then you go all "our veterans are better". That's sort of schizo, isn't it? Why are soldiers, who killed for a nation that actually doesn't have an enemy on this planet, the better people? I mean, face it, there is no nation on earth that could conquer the US.

Oh, army, another question, since when are american women allowed to join?

[Ryona]

I don't get that "some of them have fought for this country, they're the better people"-talk you americans always do. What is that all about? On one side you say, everybody is equal, nobody is better, but then you go all "our veterans are better". That's sort of schizo, isn't it? Why are soldiers, who killed for a nation that actually doesn't have an enemy on this planet, the better people? I mean, face it, there is no nation on earth that could conquer the US.

Oh, army, another question, since when are american women allowed to join?


*nods* All good points.


Yeah, the truth is there still isn't much equality in America. People are still set in their old ways, and the country is very "whitebread".

[Jester]

Ok, we should probably just stop it right here before this whole thread reverts to good ole' fashioned Ameri-bashing....:P

[damnhooligan]

The long and short of my fourth was: got drunk, watched the lamest fireworks display I've ever seen in my life, had a crepe at the local fest, escorted some drunks home and they spilled beer in my car.

One of the better 4ths I've had.

[Anarky]

I'm not bashing anybody, I'm just asking. I'm sure that there's a long tradition of War-worshipping and veteran-admirig. I'm just wondering where it comes from. This is mostly based on my interest in other cultures. You should hear me in real life. :D

[Jester]

We put them on a pedistal because the were willing to sacrifice their lives fighting for this country....something not all of us would sign up to do. And yes we allow women in the service, usally in none combat related....

[damnhooligan]

Oh, army, another question, since when are american women allowed to join?
Mostly women have been in the US Armed Forces since the early 1940s, as medics, mechanics, scientists, et cetera. There were a few who enlisted before, in the 1910s but that really was just a sprinkling. Pretty much as of the 1970s, women have been doing the same jobs men have in the US Armed Forces, save for the combat bang-bang-shoot-em-up stuff.

We've even got ourselves a good lot of women Generals and Colonels.

EDIT: I know why I admire the military, but that's because they're my people. Grew up in and around them. Born to one, married to one, etc. I'd say most Americans have a relative who either served or is serving in the forces. Its just a huge part of our culture, ever since WWII when everybody and their brother was serving.

[Ryona]

The long and short of my fourth was: got drunk, watched the lamest fireworks display I've ever seen in my life, had a crepe at the local fest, escorted some drunks home and they spilled beer in my car.

One of the better 4ths I've had.


:teek:

Makes me wonder what one of the crappier 4ths were like... :tanime:

[Jester]

:teek:

Makes me wonder what one of the crappier 4ths were like... :tanime:
Choking on a pretzal and dieing and then having noone come to the funeral??

[Anarky]

We put them on a pedistal because the were willing to sacrifice their lives fighting for this country....something not all of us would sign up to do.

And why exactly does that make them better than the average Joe?

I know why I admire the military, but that's because they're my people. Grew up in and around them. Born to one, married to one, etc. I'd say most Americans have a relative who either served or is serving in the forces. Its just a huge part of our culture, ever since WWII when everybody and their brother was serving.

So, it's basically honoring history? So you don't go "Hooray for the soldiers/killers" but "Hooray for the won battle of [Insert place name]"?

Interesting. Very interesting. You see, that honoring the past is not something ther German-speaking world can do without being politically incorrect. At least, we can't honor recent history. Most of it is Nazi-related. I'll go into detail, if you want me to.

[Jester]

We honor the the heroism of being willing to put your lif eon the line for the rest of america. It's the character of the warrior, not the battles we honor.

[Anarky]

We honor the the heroism of being willing to put your lif eon the line for the rest of america. It's the character of the warrior, not the battles we honor.

One could ask how honorable it is to chuck bombs on living beings... but I'll leave that out.

That's something else we don't have. The last person you could call a warrior was Willhelm Tell and he didn't even live but if he lived he'd been there around 1291 ad. So, do you have heroes for these days or just anyone who's better than average Joe? Do you go like "Independence Day is [Insert name]'s day" or something?

[damnhooligan]

So, it's basically honoring history? So you don't go "Hooray for the soldiers/killers" but "Hooray for the won battle of [Insert place name]"?

Interesting. Very interesting. You see, that honoring the past is not something ther German-speaking world can do without being politically incorrect. At least, we can't honor recent history. Most of it is Nazi-related. I'll go into detail, if you want me to.
For me, its definitely about honoring our past and our origins than "WE KICKED SOME LIMEY ASS!! YEEEEEEHAW!" We don't have the thousands of years of history that Europe does, so we really do cling to what we have accomplished. In the scope of humanity, its unimpressive but its what we have and we're a pretty proud people.

And as far as Americans being a war-worshipping country, yeah maybe. But I think every country's gone through a few centuries of war-mongering and picking fights. Its a phase everyone goes through and we're a young nation. We're a nation founded by a war and I figure we've got a couple decades of global ass-kickin' left in our system.

I don't think we really have any heroes on Independence Day, save for "Our Founding Fathers" which is always some mixed-and-matched amalgamation of politicians and military men, spearheaded by the granddaddy of em all (and oddly enough, my great, great, great, great, great....step-granddaddy) George Washington. He's our King Arthur, our Charlemagne. He's almost held to a mythical sort of status these days.

[Voltron]

True story:

So anyway, my family and I go to see the fireworks by the ocean. Before they went off, however, I told the pyrotechnicians that people in Canada and Switzerland don't like us shooting off fire crackers.

The scowl that came over their faces was legendary.

And so, after coming to terms with our own lust for explosive entertainment, we decided to put the animals first, so they wouldn't get harmed by the falling cinders.

It was a heartwarming display of brotherhood as we handed high powered rifles to the men and women, and gave glocks to all the children and set about hunting down every animal within a four mile radius to make sure no one would get their feelings hurt. It was tough, I'll admit, because we ran out of bullets about an hour into the campaign (damn racoons, shoot one 2 pop up in it's place.) So we clubbed the rest. Some got away but we figured 2 outta 3 ain't bad.

Then we all sang the "God Bless America" as we shot the now animal friendly fire crackers off inside the Swiss and Canadian Embassies.

[愛]

That story brought a tear to my eye. God Bless America. :cry:

[Ryona]

For me, its definitely about honoring our past and our origins than "WE KICKED SOME LIMEY ASS!! YEEEEEEHAW!" We don't have the thousands of years of history that Europe does, so we really do cling to what we have accomplished. In the scope of humanity, its unimpressive but its what we have and we're a pretty proud people.

And as far as Americans being a war-worshipping country, yeah maybe. But I think every country's gone through a few centuries of war-mongering and picking fights. Its a phase everyone goes through and we're a young nation. We're a nation founded by a war and I figure we've got a couple decades of global ass-kickin' left in our system.

I don't think we really have any heroes on Independence Day, save for "Our Founding Fathers" which is always some mixed-and-matched amalgamation of politicians and military men, spearheaded by the granddaddy of em all (and oddly enough, my great, great, great, great, great....step-granddaddy) George Washington. He's our King Arthur, our Charlemagne. He's almost held to a mythical sort of status these days.


Very, very well said, Damnhooligan. :)






True story:

So anyway, my family and I go to see the fireworks by the ocean. Before they went off, however, I told the pyrotechnicians that people in Canada and Switzerland don't like us shooting off fire crackers.

The scowl that came over their faces was legendary.

And so, after coming to terms with our own lust for explosive entertainment, we decided to put the animals first, so they wouldn't get harmed by the falling cinders.

It was a heartwarming display of brotherhood as we handed high powered rifles to the men and women, and gave glocks to all the children and set about hunting down every animal within a four mile radius to make sure no one would get their feelings hurt. It was tough, I'll admit, because we ran out of bullets about an hour into the campaign (damn racoons, shoot one 2 pop up in it's place.) So we clubbed the rest. Some got away but we figured 2 outta 3 ain't bad.

Then we all sang the "God Bless America" as we shot the now animal friendly fire crackers off inside the Swiss and Canadian Embassies.


:teek:

*creeps away slowly and quietly*

[JameO]

See, thats where I see it differently. Sure I would respect the army for being patriotic and fighting for your country. But there shouldn't be this war. They are fighting for power. Thats what I hate, Bush is the biggest joke ever.

[Voltron]

Ugh. If this political thing goes any further I'm closing the thread.

[KROW]

I don't get that "some of them have fought for this country, they're the better people"-talk you americans always do. What is that all about? On one side you say, everybody is equal, nobody is better, but then you go all "our veterans are better". That's sort of schizo, isn't it? Why are soldiers, who killed for a nation that actually doesn't have an enemy on this planet, the better people? I mean, face it, there is no nation on earth that could conquer the US.

Oh, army, another question, since when are american women allowed to join?
Not once did I say that American war veterans were better. The intenet in my post was that some people celebrate Independence Day just with the fact that there were people who died for something they believed in, and continue to do so for love of the land in which they live, rather than fireworks.

I am quite offended by this. Not only was I misquoted, but misinterpreted.

[Voltron]

That's all folks.

[XERO]

And all I asked was 'what were you doing on Independence Day...?' :roll:

[愛]

Way to ruin a thread, guys. :(