| greatscot |
Happy 4th of July to All . . .
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| wmquan |
Thank you, and a happy Fourth to you all as well.
The weather today in Seattle is glorious -- 70's but warmer because of the strong sun. This morning we took our 2-year-old son and infant daughter to the Woodland Park Zoo here. We went to the Raptor section, and, sure enough in time for the holiday, was a beautiful bald eagle, almost close enough to touch. The handlers put the eagle and his owl friends on perches in a field and show them to zoo guests.
It's amazing to see how powerful the bald eagle looks, even calmly sitting on its perch. Ben Franklin was a brilliant man, but didn't he want the wild turkey to be America's bird?
Speaking of another Fourth of July tradition:
quote:
For the third straight year, rail-thin Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi out-gorged the competition Friday in the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest, downing 44 1/2 dogs and dominating adversaries three times his size.
Kobayashi, the Michael Jordan of wiener wolfing, twitched and twisted to finish his franks at the rate of one every 16 seconds in a 12-minute display of gastronomic supremacy at the annual Fourth of July extravaganza.
The second place finisher finished fourteen dogs behind! The champ ate his first hot dog in five seconds flat! And 13 in the first two minutes.
He has a 30-inch waist. :D
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...ot_dog_heresy_1 |
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| frostyra |
| Thanks, greatscot -- and a very happy Independence Day to you and your family, and to all of our .org members and their families. The USA may not be perfect (yet), but it's a heck of a nice place to live; I think I'll keep it! :29: :6: |
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| xcel |
Hi All:
___In celebration of the Fourth of July and what most consider our Nations Birthday, I thought some may want to know a little history about our National Anthem.
___The music of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was supposedly composed in 1777 by John Stafford Smith, an Englishman, as a setting for the poem "To Anacreon in Heaven," to be sung by members of a convivial social club in London called the Anacreontic Society. The original song celebrates the joys of music, love, and wine. The melody quickly became known in the United States and was used with alternate words, the earliest-known version being written by Francis Hopkinson in about 1790; by 1820 there were 84 different poems being sung to the Anacreontic melody.
___On Sept. 14, 1814, while aboard an English ship trying to secure the release of a friend, Francis Scott Key witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry. When the bombardment was over, the American flag was still flying. Inspired by the sight of the nightlong bombardment and the “Stars and Stripes” still flying the following morning, he wrote a poem, “The Defense of Fort McHenry”, which was first printed anonymously on a broadside in 1814. On September 20 it was published in The Baltimore Patriot. Key's brother-in-law suggested he set the words to the tune “To Anacreon in Heaven”. When the sheet music was published in 1815, the name was changed to “The Star Spangled Banner”. The song was first adopted by the army and navy as the national anthem. It was officially recognized as the “American National Anthem” in 1931 by an act of Congress.
___And here are the actual words and phrases that make up our “National Anthem” …I hope it reminds you of all the good that each and everyone of us have received from the America that we contribute to today.
Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us as a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
___Good Luck and enjoy the Fourth, America’s birthday, to its fullest …
___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net |
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| ImOnlyTen |
Im not American, but...
Happy Independence Day! Thanks for the info on your ...umm, great... country!
Canada day was on July 1, we got a 4-day weekend. |
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| vicpai |
| .....to all of you and your families!!......and MAY GOD BLESS OUR GREAT COUNTRY, AMERICA!! :29: |
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| Captain MDX |
quote:
Originally posted by ImOnlyTen
Im not American, but...
Happy Independence Day! Thanks for the info on your ...umm, great... country!
Canada day was on July 1, we got a 4-day weekend.
I'm not a American too but happy Independence day too. I forgot to Canada on Canada day! Oh well no fireworks this year. |
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| mdxxxx |
| Happy 4th everyone... |
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| Captain MDX |
quote:
Originally posted by Captain MDX
I forgot to Canada on Canada day!
WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I meant I forgot to go to Canada PLACE on Canada day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What da hell did I just said :1pat: :cursin: :headslap: :twak: :13: |
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| EXCALIBUR |
| A belated Happy Fourth of July...God Bless the USA!!! |
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| mullysalt |
Kewl link
Happy 4th of July. :2party: :2party: :2party: :yesyes: |
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| mdx99 |
| Happy birthday from Disney!:2: |
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