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The fireworks are hailin' over Little Eden tonight   Printer-friendly page   Send this story to someone
Wednesday, July 03, 2013 - 08:00 AM
Posted by: Karl

Karl

PATE REUNION:  Jon, Mike & Jon (and we hope Ron) will be retaking a stage somewhere near Iowa State University on July 5th, 2013, just one short decade after their last reunion gig.  Clear your calendar for something transcendent, a train wreck, or both!  If you're on the Facebook, check in with the event page. ALSO: I cannot promise anything, but I'll try to have some live coverage of the reunion festivities available through the PateBlog Twitter account.

THE FOURTH of JULY WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THE BEACH BOYS!  It's Pate Reunion Weekend and time to "Do It Again."  Because folks my age will always remember their mammoth July 4th concerts at the Washington Monument -- as with this 1980 take o­n "Good Vibrations." Given the time of year, I have to include this 1964 clip of "Surfin' U.S.A." which I think is from the same gig that produced these takes on "Little Deuce Coupe," "In My Room," "Shut Down," "Surfer Girl" and "Fun, Fun Fun." Their take on "Dance, Dance, Dance" from Shindig! later that year is like a slice of Christmas in July.  There's also a nifty twofer of "I Get Around" and "'When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)" from their first UK TV appearance o­n Ready Steady Go!  The Andy Williams Show serves up "Help Me, Rhonda," while The Jack Benny Hour produced these quick takes o­n "Barbara Ann" and "California Girls."  There's a primitive video for "Wouldn't It Be Nice" that starts with a cameo from Brian Wilson's dogs (Banana and Louie), who appear at the end of the Pet Sounds LP.  And I'll finish with a live version of "God Only Knows" from the 1967 European tour -- one of the last Brian would do for a decade or so.

RAY CHARLES performs "America The Beautiful" like no one else.

INDEPENDENCE DAY: Bruce Springsteen, circa 1978, before it came out on The River.

DAVE ALVIN: Hey, baby, it's the "4th of July."

JAMES LILEKS: Truth.

THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER: From 2008, Hidden Track serves up 12 video versions. And the only ones not working now are Jimi Hendrix and Whitney Houston.

THE UNITED STATES prepares to celebrate the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain on July 4, 1776. As the Wikipedia notes, this is a little arbitrary: New Englanders had been fighting Britain since April 1775; the first motion in the Continental Congress for independence was made o­n June 8th; and the Congress voted 12-0 for independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain o­n July 2, 1776. Even so, the publication of the Declaration was momentous .  If you're not in DC, the best way to see and learn about the Declaration may be through the Charters of Freedom website. But you can watch Mel Gibson, Michael Douglas, Renee Zelleweger, Kevin Spacey, Wynona Ryder and other Hollywood folk read the Declaration, after a short introduction by Morgan Freeman.

Of course, the holiday more broadly celebrates the American Revolutionary War, and the Founders' unlikely victory. People with the highest standard of living and the lowest taxes in the Western World fought a sometimes unpopular war for our freedom. Early o­n, the Revolutionaries (also known as "Americans" or "Patriots") had the active support of about 40 to 45 percent of the colonial population. By 1779, there were more Americans fighting with the British than with Washington, which is why Washington needed help from the French, the Spanish and freed Blacks. You can separate fact from fiction regarding the sacrifices and fates of the Founders at Snopes. You can hear two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough read from the first chapter of his 1776 via NPR. Or watch a nifty clip on the passage and public reading of the Declaration from the John Adams miniseries.

NOW SHOWING: The holiday weekend's wide releases are: Despicable Me 2, currently scoring 75 percent on the ol' Tomatometer;and The Lone Ranger, scoring 23 percent.  Also making an appropriately tiny debut is Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me, scoring 100 percent on a handful of reviews.

ROBERT PATTINSON: Dating Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough? She co-starred with Pattinson's ex, Kristen Stewart, in The Runaways.

KIM KARDASHIAN & KANYE WEST reportedly turned down 3 million for pics of their baby.

JOHNNY DEPP says his young two children have coped very well with his 2012 split from their mother, his former partner of 14 years, actress and model Vanessa Paradis.

TRACY MORGAN and his fiancée Megan Wollover welcome a daughter.

COLIN HANKS and Samantha Bryant also welcome a daughter.

PARIS JACKSON was rejected by a top out-of-state rehab facility.

MICHAEL JORDAN tried to take Kennedy's virginity, claims the former MTV star.

UNITED STATES Secretary of State Kerry said after discussions with Russia that a proposed peace conference on Syria is not likely to occur before at least September.

CANADA: Authorities disrupted an al Qaeda-inspired terror plot that targeted the British Columbia Legislature in Victoria during Canada Day celebrations.

IRAN is importing a high grade of refined alumina ore from several European countries including Germany and France that Tehran could be using to make armor parts and missile components.

LIBYA: An armed group forced the Interior Ministry to close.

IRAQ: Insurgents killed at least 53 Iraqis in a series of attacks throughout the country.

EGYPT: In a televised speech late Tuesday night, President Morsi defied opposition demands for his resignation but offered a handful of limited concessions - including new government and parliamentary polls within six months.

TWIGGY: Another Fourth of July tradition, the water-skiing squirrel. Great story. Compelling and rich.

THE BIRDS: In Britain, ferocious seagulls have forced Royal Mail chiefs to scrap deliveries on a seaside street after launching frenzied attacks on a postie. And they ran. They ran so far away...

A DOG adopts an abandoned chick...

A PIG WEARING SWEATPANTS and A DOG, trapped in a car filled with poop. Desire smells like that to some people.

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