Topic: ♥ Fireworks ♥

[Mop it up]

It’s that time of year again! Less than a week away from the US holiday of Independence Day!

This is probably my favourite holiday behind Christmas, because I love fireworks. I just bought mine the other day, though they are illegal in my state so I have to make the trek to a neighboring state in order to buy them.

I never get the expensive items like the mortars or tubes or repeaters or any of that, I just buy the smaller stuff. I like to get the spinners which make the flower patterns, they are very pretty. The flying items which spin into the air are beautiful as well. My favourite item would probably be roman candles. There is a pretty wide variety of them with different effects and colours, though I go with the more simple ones. Despite the warning label I always hold it in my hand and perform a little dance with it as it shoots.

I can’t stand firecrackers, all they do is make a bunch of noise. Anything which whistles is really annoying as well. Everything which just makes noise and is devoid of colour is dull and boring.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

I'm going camping.  Maybe catch some fish.

[EasyCure]

I found out last week that the city I live in will not be holding its annual fireworks display down by the Hudson River due to it not having the budget to pay police the OT needed for the day. Oh well, there's plenty of fireworks that go off in the streets (no matter how illegal they are in NYS).

I don't know if i'll partake in any of the frestivities though.. things tend to get too loud and sometimes even dangerour around my neighborhood. I can always watch from my window as rockets shoot up and burst in the night sky, or even sneak up to my buildings rooftop if i were feeling bold enough.

Speaking of dangerous, my own mother almost burned my face off with a roman candle's fireball. I was about 8 or so at the time, and it was the first time she'd ever used one. She lights one end and starts waving it around, pointing at the sky over an empty school yard adjacent to hour building, and nothing happened. After a giving it a few shakes to russle the colored fireball outta there, she gets frustrated and points it right at me and says "its not working!"

Next thing i know i see this green flash flying towards me and i dodge to my left just in time. Part of the flare, or maybe just an ember from it, did burn a small hole in the right collar of my shirt, though there was no damage to my skin. 

[Ian Sane]

Being Canadian July 4 is one of those holidays that I always forget about.  So I'll go to my favourite sites and wonder why they didn't update that day.

Twice I accidentally timed vacations to the United States where I would be there for July 4th.  Both times bit me in the ass.  First time I got stuck in a big crowd at Disneyland where literaly we couldn't move.  My brother developed a fear of crowds after that.  He was a kid at the time and couldn't see anything being completely surrounded by taller adults.

Second time was last year as my friends and I did a road trip with zero preparation (it's more fun that way) and then found that virtually all the lodging in the area we were at was taken on what seemed to us to be a routine weekend.  D'oh!  There were like three rooms left in the whole town and they were like the fancy suites.  So we had to pay out of our ass for what was the CHEAPEST of the remaining rooms.  Cost us twice as much as the second most expensive accomodations of our whole trip.

I'm going to Lake Tahoe this July but this time my friend and I made absolutely certain to not be in the States for July 4th.

[Stratos]

I'll probably be working since I'm the lowest rung at work and don't get it off. If perchance I'm not scheduled I'll look to my other job for hours. If that also fails, I'l probably play some games. Maybe some Animal Crossing since if I recall something happens on the 4th of July. Anyone interested in having an AC party that day if I don't work?

[BeautifulShy]

Sure I'll play Stratos. I don't know what I have planned for the 4th of July but I will let you guys know.

[UncleBob]

I hate firework shows paid for by taxpayer dollars... but that's all I'll say there...

[Stratos]

I hate firework shows paid for by taxpayer dollars... but that's all I'll say there...

Hey, I never thought of that. Understandable some towns are cutting their shows since there are so many budget crunches.

[Mop it up]

Speaking of dangerous, my own mother almost burned my face off with a roman candle's fireball.

Fireworks can be dangerous, if you don't know what something does then you should either ask somebody who does or light the thing and run far away. Roman candles have fairly long fuses and can take some time to ignite. I hope the experience didn't scar you for life because roman candles are one of the most beautiful firework items.

Being Canadian July 4 is one of those holidays that I always forget about.

That would be a terrible surprise, the roads are always packed with all the traveling people do. But this is why I made this topic about fireworks and not the 4th of July. The Canadian equivalent is Canada Day, isn't it? Is that or any other holiday celebrated with fireworks? Are they even legal there?

Maybe some Animal Crossing since if I recall something happens on the 4th of July. Anyone interested in having an AC party that day if I don't work?

If it's during the day then maybe. I might end up time traveling to play on that day.

I hate firework shows paid for by taxpayer dollars... but that's all I'll say there...

Hey, I never thought of that. Understandable some towns are cutting their shows since there are so many budget crunches.

No negativity in my thread! Also be careful with this line of thought because I could see it turning into a political discussion...

[EasyCure]

Speaking of dangerous, my own mother almost burned my face off with a roman candle's fireball.

Fireworks can be dangerous, if you don't know what something does then you should either ask somebody who does or light the thing and run far away. Roman candles have fairly long fuses and can take some time to ignite. I hope the experience didn't scar you for life because roman candles are one of the most beautiful firework items.

No it hasn't scared me away from using fireworks, and i still enjoy a nice display in the air. I'm just not that into lighting them up myself anymore, i'd rather relax and watch the sky get lit up by someone else.

[Ian Sane]

The Canadian equivalent is Canada Day, isn't it? Is that or any other holiday celebrated with fireworks? Are they even legal there?

Yeah there are always fireworks on Canada Day.  But they're all like "official" fireworks shows by municipalities.  The only time of year that citizens can buy fireworks is Halloween.  Fire crackers are illegal but fireworks are not.

This may be a Province thing though.  This is how it works in British Columbia but I can't confirm if it's nationwide.

[Stratos]

Why Holloween? Is there a reason for that being a firework day in Canada?

[Stogi]

Can't decide whether to hit up Nashville or St. Joe beach. Either way it should be a good time.

As for Roman Candles, do you know how to shoot them extra far?

It's a little tricky, but all it takes is timing. Each ball is shot out in intervals, the faster you learn how soon they shoot out, the father you can throw them. Just make a chucking motion as the ball is flying out and it'll go at least 3x as far.

Speaking of which, last year, my buddy and I had a RC dual. It was pretty hilarious. Both of us were taking shelter, till I got the balls to run out after him. He saw me coming and started to jump off this 6 ft ledge behind him. But as he was jumping, I chucked a shot at him and I burned a hole right on his ass!

Good times.

Oh and have you ever dissembled fireworks? Do yourself a favor and grab a mortar kit and empty all the mortar powder into the tube as well as any other firework powder you got (those fountains work great). Now grab one of the wicks and attach it to the top and duct tape that **** closed. Then go out to a golf course, drop it in the hole, light it and run away! What happens next is fucking great.

[Ian Sane]

Why Holloween? Is there a reason for that being a firework day in Canada?

Well it's not like you go to county fair and watch the fireworks Halloween night.  It's just individuals buying their own and setting them off.  Why?  I don't know.  Halloween in general seems like a night for mischief so little explosives just seem to fit, so it all seemed completely natural when I was a kid.  Dress up like a ghoul, collect candy, play with fire. It's Halloween, it's fun, right?  As an adult it seems like the sort of behaviour that the government would want to discourage but every year the week of Halloween you see those little makeshift fireworks stands everywhere and you never see them any other time.

My favourite was always this one that was a cardboard house attached to a firework chimney.  The chimney would shoot all this crap in the air like a volcano for about a minute and then *BOOM* the whole fucking house would just explode in flame from the inside.  Coolest **** in the world when you're 12.  Later models seem to just have the chimney part suggesting to me that an exploding house was considered too dangerous (ie: too awesome) and they toned it down.

[Stogi]

I've never seen that before! I'm going to have to make it.


P.S. Halloween is awesome.

[Stratos]

That makes sense, Ian. Explosives and mischief making do go hand in hand. Stogi proved that just a few posts ago with the golf course rocket trick

Yeah, the stands all pop up here only around the 4th. Though some of the Indian Reservation shops do open up for New Years as well.

Do you have any fireworks then as well?

[Stogi]

It's too cold to light fireworks on New Years...

...unless I was in a hot tub!

[NWR_insanolord]

There's a fireworks store locally but most of the stuff is illegal in this state so you need an out-of-state driver's license to buy them. I don't get how they stay in business.

[Stratos]

At the indian reservation near me, the highways are jam-packed for miles due to all of the traffic coming to get fireworks. People will come from far and wide for them apparently.

I laugh because a group of cops tend to sit there and pull people over as they enter the city about getting them. Pretty funny. I don't know if they are issuing friends warnings about them being illegal in that city ('If it goes up or blows up it's illegal in Auburn' they say) or if they are actually fining or cinfiscating them. I doubt it is the latter but who knows.

[EasyCure]

All this firework talk is making me miss being a kid. (American) Independence day is one of those holidays i always seem to forget about till its too late (probalby because my birthday is just before it), and this year is no different. Its way too late to look for an illegal vendor in NYC and driving out to PA is outta the question.

Oh well.

[Stratos]

I agree about it being funner as a kid. I just am not all that into the festivities as I used to be. I don't buy fireworks and don't usually go watch them. Might change if I ever got a girlfriend who did like them. But until then nothing. Part of it may be that most of my jobs tend to have mo working on that day since either everyone else wants it off or it is a very busy business day depending on what job it is.

[Mop it up]

Why Halloween? Is there a reason for that being a firework day in Canada?

Why is Easter celebrated with a bunny who hides eggs?
Nobody questions this stuff, we're just supposed to accept it as it is.

It's a little tricky, but all it takes is timing. Each ball is shot out in intervals, the faster you learn how soon they shoot out, the father you can throw them. Just make a chucking motion as the ball is flying out and it'll go at least 3x as far.

I might try doing that, I have a lot of them so I can experiment. I might even be able to incorporate that into one of my dances.

Oh and have you ever dissembled fireworks?

No. I already like what they do and pouring them all into one big mass seems like a waste. Not to mention extremely dangerous.

My favourite was always this one that was a cardboard house attached to a firework chimney.  The chimney would shoot all this crap in the air like a volcano for about a minute and then *BOOM* the whole fucking house would just explode in flame from the inside.  Coolest **** in the world when you're 12.  Later models seem to just have the chimney part suggesting to me that an exploding house was considered too dangerous (ie: too awesome) and they toned it down.

I wonder if it were actually just defective and it wasn't meant to explode. Sometimes fireworks will just explode if they weren't packed right. Especially the cheap ones. Phantom is the best brand in my experience, their stuff very rarely goes awry.

[Stratos]

Why Halloween? Is there a reason for that being a firework day in Canada?

Why is Easter celebrated with a bunny who hides eggs?
Nobody questions this stuff, we're just supposed to accept it as it is.

Oh, a lot of people do. And everything has an origin and a reason. I've done some reading and research on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Halloween and Valentines Day.

Like the origin of Santa Claus and his name.

Many know it was originally St. Nicholas. One of the stories go that he delivered money on some poor girls door step to help them one night because they were so poor they were about to be forced into prostitution.

One of his names, Chirs Kringle, was actually an alteration of 'Christ kind' meaning like Christ.

Rabbits and eggs are signs of fertility from some old pagan feastivals.

The pilgrims did not actually have the first America Thanksgiving. There are several more likeley candidates. One is when it was declared a national holiday by Abraham Lincolin. Also the Jamestown colonists had a thanksgiving day before the pilgrims by several years. The first was in 1565 in Florida by Pedro Menendez de Aviles and some natives.

Also, there are two origin stories for Valentines Day. One has the Christian Saint Valentine who was beheaded, and the other was a Roman holiday where all the single men exchanged live-in prostitutes for the year.

There are all sorts of fun facts about where our current holidays came from.

ADDED

Also, I believe in Germany -though I could be remembering wrong- Santa was referred to as Sinter Klas where the name Santa Claus came from.
And I believe in Norway he was connected to the god Odin and some of their stories got warpped together.

[Mop it up]

*yawn*

I almost fell asleep reading that.
I like Jim Gaffigan's explanations better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJAxRVeKnTE

[Stogi]

I actually found it pretty interesting.