My Top 5 Blasts for the Fourth...
It's hard to believe we're 230 years old - we don't look a day over, oh, 229. Happy Birthday to US. As we celebrate this July 4th here are my top 5 picks for fireworks venues...
5) Philadelphia
The City of Brotherly Love playing such a significant role in the founding of our nation makes this an easy choice. The Philadelphia Pops with Peter Nero conducting will be playing when the fireworks light up the sky near the Museum of Arts Building...
4) Orlando
This city blasts fireworks every night of the year from the giant golf ball known as Epcot (or Eggpot as it was called when it was being constructed) so you know fireworks will be going off everywhere from Disney World on the 4th. They know fireworks at Disney...
3) Washington, D.C.
The nation's capitol always puts on a spectacular show and this year Jason Alexander and Sesame Street's "Elmo" will host (Alexander will be the bald one) with Vanessa Williams, Michael Bolton, Jo Dee Messina and someone named Jo Jo. Stevie Wonder will receive this year's National Artistic Achievement Award which will be presented by Cuba Gooding Jr. who will tell Stevie, "tell them to show you the money". This show is from the west lawn of the White House. There's also a show from historic Ford Theater which stars Kevin Nealon, Lonestar and others with Mr. Mustache, Tom Selleck as the MC...
2) New York City
Macy's always packs proceedings with more fireworks than there are in the country of China and usually very mediocre talent. The simulcast with radio makes no sense - never has - never will. The backdrop of the Statue of Liberty and New York harbor are breathtaking. Entertainment will be provided by Liza Minelli who will, of course, belt out "New York, New York" (played after every Yankee loss at Yankee Stadium. They play Sinatra when they win), also on the bill are "American Idol" runner up from 2005, Bo Bice and headliners Nick Lachey and Lionel Richie with "Today's" Campbell Brown and Lester Holt as hosts...
And my pick for the #1 fireworks venue in these United States (tymp roll and under)...
1) Boston
The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular has been the best July 4th celebration through the years starting with Arthur Fiedler, then John Williams and for the last several years, Keith Lockhart who could wear a red, white and blue tutu and the Charles River throngs would swoon (oh wait, that was last year's outfit), women would throw their underwear, some men too. Keith Lockhart is a superstar. Just hearing the "1812 Overture" is reason enough to watch, not this year's hosts, the good Doctor Phil (McGraw) and Mrs. Phil (if the crowd hearing that drawl mistakes him for former Red Sox manager Grady Little, he is in big trouble). Maybe Steven Tyler and Joe Perry from Aerosmith will blow out his eardrums (they'll be there too). This is one celebration that doesn't need any entertainment and it would still be the best. It's my pick for #1...I'll be taking a little break from the action but fear not. Here is a full week of the blog for your dancing and dining pleasure. Happy 4th !!!
Monday, July 3, 2006...
Ten Timeline Memories...
1775] General George Washington takes command of the Continental Army at Cambridge (MA)...
1863] The Civil War's Battle of Gettysburg (PA) ends after 3 days in a major victory for the North as Confederate troops retreat...
1912] Giant pitcher Rube Marquard ties a major league record with his 19th consecutive win, making him 19-0 for the season...
1924] Clarence Birdseye founds the General Seafood Corp. (next you're gonna tell me there was a Aunt Jemima)...
1950] "Pantomime Quiz" debuts on CBS-TV and runs 13 years. The original host was Mike Stokey and Pat Harrington Jr. replaced him for the final year. Hans Conreid and Vincent Price were the best panelists...
1971] Jim Morrison, 27, of The Doors is found dead in a bathtub in Paris. He died of heart failure, likely caused by a drug overdose...
1978] The Supreme Court rules (5-4) that the FCC has a right to reprimand WBAI New York for broadcasting George Carlin's "Filthy Words" which would become known as "seven dirty words"...
1982] Jackie Robinson becomes the 1st black to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame...
1986] The Statue of Liberty is re-dedicated as President Ronald Reagan lights up the statue before a global TV audience estimated at 1.5 billion...
1989] The movie "Batman" sets a record for the fastest $100 million gross (10 days)...
[To ensure accuracy of the dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
"Happy Birthday, happy birthday"...
Tom Cruise (44), Montel Williams (50), Michael ("The Mod Squad") Cole (61), Fontella Bass (66) and Pete Fountain (76)...
People we lost...
1969] Brian Jones (27) (Rolling Stones) (found at bottom of swimming pool), 1971) Jim Morrison (Doors) (27) (found in bathtub), 1986) 20's/30's crooner Rudy Valee (84) (while watching a TV show at home...
[Today is the 184th day of 2006 with 181 days remaining in the year and 1 day until July 4th]
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Tuesday, July 4, 2006...
Ten Timeline Memories...
1776] The Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence...
1802] The U.S. Military Academy opens at West Point (NY)...
1939] 61,800 pack Yankee Stadium to hear Lou Gehrig's touching farewell speech. The most famous line was just part of the speech, "Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth". Of course Gehrig was afflicted with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (which would become "Lou Gehrig's Disease"). No disrespect to Gehrig's memory but 2 things come to mind every time I hear this speech: 1) There was more reverb on his mic than WABC ever ran in their hay day which made it sound like, "Today (today) (today), I consider myself (myself, myself, myself), etc. and 2) Gehrig's strong New York accent can be heard especially when he says "oith")...
1959] Alaska (49) and Hawaii (5-0) become our newest states...
1969] 140,000 attend the Atlanta Pop Festival featuring Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin...
1970] Casey Kasem's "American Top 40" debuts...
1976] America's Bicentennial is celebrated...
1983] Wade Boggs becomes Dave Righetti's final victim as he strikes out and Righetti completes a no-hitter against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium...
1993] Pizza Hut delivers their blimp to a rooftop in Manhattan (the pizza is cold and a refund is given)...
2003] Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant is arrested on suspicion of sexual assault at a hotel near Vail (CO) (the charge is later dropped because, well, because he's Kobe Bryant)...
[In order to ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
"Happy Birthday, happy birthday" to these "Yankee Doodle Dandies"...
Geraldo Rivera (63), Bill Withers (68), George Steinbrenner (76), Neil Simon (79), Eva Marie Saint (82), Mitch Miller (95) and America (230)...
People we lost...
1826] Former Presidents John Adams (90) and Thomas Jefferson (83), 1831] Former President James Monroe (73)...
[Today is the 185th day of 2006 with 180 days remaining in the year. Happy July 4th]
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Wednesday, July 5, 2006...
Ten Timeline Memories...
1841] A cook's tour ? Thomas Cook opens the 1st travel agency in America...
1865] The Secret Service begins operating under the Treasury Department...
1865] William Booth founds the Salvation Army in England...
1946] The bikini makes its debut during an outdoor fashion show at the Molitor Pool in Paris...
1947] Cleveland's Lary Doby strikes out in a pinch-hitting role but becomes the American League's 1st black player...
1954] Elvis Presley records "That's All Right (Mama)" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky" at his 1st recording session in Memphis...
1965] The Four Seasons perform at the White House at the invitation of President Lyndon Johnson...
1968] Bill Graham opens the Fillmore in San Francisco (CA)...
1997] Martina Hingis, 16, becomes the youngest Wimbledon singles champion is 110 years...
2002] After a lengthy illness Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams dies at 83 (the city of Boston and all of New England mourns his death)...
[In order to ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
"Happy Birthday, happy birthday"...
Edie Falco (43), Marc Cohn (47), Huey Lewis (56), Julie Nixon Eisenhower (58), Robbie (The Band) Robertson (63), and Shirley Knight (70)...
[Today is the 186th day of 2006 with 179 days remaining in the year and 62 days until Labor Day]
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Thursday, July 6, 2006...
Ten Timeline Memories...
1854] The 1st official meeting of the Republican Party takes place in Jackson, Michigan...
1933] Baseball's 1st All-Star game goes to the American League 4-2 at Chicago's Comiskey Park...
1957] Paul McCartney meets John Lennon at a Quarrymen concert in a Liverpool church...
1963] The Essex are #1 with "Easier Said Than Done"...
1965] The rock group, the Jefferson Airplane is formed...
1971] Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong dies of a heart attack at his home in Corona, Queens. "Satchmo" was 69...
1975] The great filly Ruffian snaps a right foreleg in a match race with Foolish Pleasure at Belmont Park. Ruffian dies after a 12-hour operation to save her life. Ruffian is buried in the infield of Belmont near the finish line...
1978] Eddie Mahoney legally changes his name to...Eddie Money...
1998] "Happy Trails" to Roy Rogers who dies peacefully in his sleep at his Apple Valley (CA) home at 86...
2001] Former FBI agent, Robert Hansen pleads guilty to spying for the Russians...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
"Happy Birthday, happy birthday"...
Met manager Willie Randolph (52), Sylvester Stallone (60), President George W. Bush (60), Burt ("Robin") Ward (61), Gene ("The Duke of Earl") Chandler (69), Della Reese (75), Merv Griffin (81), "Patty Duke Show" Daddy William Schallert (84) and Nancy Reagan (85)...
[Today is the 187th day of 2006 with 178 days remaining in the year and 61 days until Labor Day]
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Friday, July 7, 2006...
Ten Timeline Memories...
1754] Kings College opens in Manhattan (it's name will be changed 30 years later to "Columbia")...
1954] WHBQ Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips plays Elvis Presley's "That's All Right (Mama)" on his show. It's the 1st time an Elvis Presley record is played on the air, anywhere...
1964] Shea Stadium hosts the 35th All-Star game, a 7-4 win for the National League (it seems like the last time the National League won)...
1965] Otis Redding records the original version of "Respect"...
1967] Jim Morrison and The Doors are #1 with "Light My Fire"...
1983] 11-year old Samantha Smith of Manchester (ME) leaves for a visit to the Soviet Union at the invitation of Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov who had met the 11-year old on a visit to the U.S...
1987] Lt. Col. Oliver North begins his public testimony at the Iran-Contra hearing. North tells Congress that he "never carried out a single act, not one" without authorization...
1990] Martina Navratilova wins a record 9th women's single's title at Wimbledon...
2003] A federal judge approves a settlement fining WorldCom $750 million for its $11 billion accounting scandal...
2004] Former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay is indicted on criminal charges related to the energy company's collapse...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple references are used in the timeline]...
"Happy Birthday, happy birthday"...
Michelle Kwan (26), CSI's Jorga Fox (38), Village People construction guy David Hondo (56), Shelley Duvall (57), Ringo Starr (66), Doc Severinsen (79) and Pierre Cardin (84)...
[Today is the 188th day of 2006 with 177 days remaining in the year and 60 days until Labor Day]
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Saturday, July 8, 2006...
Ten Timeline Memories...
1630] The Massachusetts Bay Colony celebrates what's recognized as the 1st Thanksgiving (Huh ? Did they think it was November ?)...
1693] Uniforms for the New York City police are authorized (now they don't have to worry about having clean underwear)...
1776] Col. John Nixon gives the 1st public reading of the Declaration of Independence to a crowd gathered at Independence Square in Philadelphia...
1889] The Wall Street Journal is published for the 1st time...
1947] Ground is broken in Manhattan for the building of the UN...
1981] The Senate confirms Sandra Day O'Conner as Supreme Court Justice...
1985] Madonna poses nude in "Playboy" and "Penthouse"...
1997] The Mayo Clinic and the government warn the diet-drug combination known as "fen-phen" could cause serious heart and lung damage (but you will lose weight)...
2000] Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens beans Mike Piazza (and then, of course, he'll throw a bat chard in the direction of the Met catcher in the 2000 world series)...
2004] Adelphia Communications Corp. founder John Rigas and son Timothy are convicted in New York of looting the cable company and deceiving investors...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
"Happy Birthday, happy birthday"...
Toby Keith (45), Kevin Bacon (it turns out there are 185 billion degrees of separation with anyone else born on the same day as Kevin) (48), Anjelica Huston (55), Wolfgang Puck (57), Jeffrey Tambor (62), Steve Lawrence (71), Jerry Vale (74)...
[Today is the 189th day of 2006 with 176 days remaining in the year and 59 days until Labor Day]
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Sunday, July 9, 2006...
Ten Timeline Memories...
1847] A 10-hour day is established for workers in the state of New Hampshire (it's up to 12-hours now)...
1872] The doughnut cutter is patented by John F. Blondel (and not a moment too soon)...
1953] New York Airways begins the 1st commuter passenger service by helicopter...
1956] Dick Clark makes his 1st appearance as he debuts as host of "Bandstand" in Philadelphia (one year later this show goes on the ABC-TV network)...
1972] Paul McCartney begins his 1st tour since the Beatle breakup, with his new group Wings...
1976] Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey dies at 73, leaving the team to his widow Jean...
1995] The Grateful Dead play their last concert with Jerry Garcia at Soldier Field in Chicago (Garcia will die the following month)...
1997] Mike Tyson is banned from the ring and fined $3 million for biting opponent Evander Holyfield's ear...
2000] Pete Sampras wins his 7th Wimbledon singles title, tying the record for men...
2002] Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig stops play during a rain delay at the All-Star game in Milwaukee, ending the 11-inning game in a 2-2 tie, a 1st in All-Star game history. Selig gets booed more than A-Rod at Yankee Stadium...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
"Happy Birthday, happy birthday"...
Fred Savage (30), Courtney Love (42), Kelly McGillis (49), Tom Hanks (50), Jimmy Smits (51), John Tesh (54), O.J. Simpson (59), Brian Dennehy (68), Lee Hazlewood (77), Ed Ames (79) and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (74)...
[Today is the 190th day of 2006 with 175 days remaining in the year and 58 days until Labor Day]
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