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BS: Fireworks! Hate them!
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Little Hawk Date: 11 Nov 07 - 02:58 PM Yes, business is good over there... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: ard mhacha Date: 11 Nov 07 - 02:20 PM You are lucky in the US all of your vandals are in Iraq. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Little Hawk Date: 11 Nov 07 - 11:30 AM Great story, Bobert. Another classic piece of smalltown Americana. It's plain that a lot of the people who don't like "fireworks" are primarily upset about the ones that go "BANG!" and "BOOM!" But when I think of "fireworks", what comes to my mind is the beautiful visual displays of bright colours in the night sky. The banging and booming is strictly secondary. It all depends what one is inclined to focus on, you see. Now if you're inside your apartment watching television behind closed doors and the locals are annoying you by setting off loud explosions out in the street, well, I can understand why it annoys you. But if you have deliberately gone down to the lakeside to watch a beautiful civic display of fireworks paint the night sky in brilliant colours, then you are going to LIKE what you are seeing, correct? And that explains the difference in viewpoints here about as well as needs be done, I think. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Bobert Date: 11 Nov 07 - 11:21 AM Well, gol danged, woodsy, at least I got one firin'... LOL... But Norweigan reminds me of yet another "Bobert Story": "Yet Another Bobert Story" Back when I lived in Wes Ginny in a mountain community there was a big lake and a nice club house and every 4th of July the local fire fepartment would set off some real nice fireworks... Like Liz was describing, they would be set off after an afternoon and evening of picnicing and music and kids of all ages splashing in the club pool... As per any event in a Wes Ginny mountain community that involves partying there were a number of folks who wouldn't make the designated driver's list, if you know what I mean, and on this given 4th of July we just happened to have such a feller about 20 feet from us... But nevermind him, for now... So 'bout 9:00 came and it was getting toward dark and time for the big event... Now usually, like the display that Ebbie was talkin' about in Alaskaburg the display usually lasted about a half and hour or so... Well, the fire dapartment had set up all their stuff over on a point on the deep side of the lake and had the van filled with the firworks to be loaded into tubes and lit and a few fire trucks scattered around the point, as well... "bout 5 minutes into the display one of the mortors misfired and went right into the back of the van filled with fireworks waitin' their turn... Now, folks, this ain't a good thing to happen... It's kinda like my last firework story 'cept alot worser... Within' a few swconds the point became a war zone... It was so lit up you could see folks running and diving into the lake... It took about 30 seconds for everything to blow the heck up and then this eerie silence... The only thing left that could be seen was the burning van sittin' in the middle of the point... Everyone was horrified and silent 'cept... ...you guessed it... Mr. Drunk who was still sitting their on his blanket who swt down his Budwieser, becane to clap and yelled accross the late "Far, fu*kin' out, man, far fu*kin' out..." Well, luckily there were just a few burn and bruises to the folks from the fire department... One of my neigbors who was the fire marshall got hit in the side of the face by a firework but he healed up okay... Is there a mopral to this story??? Well, not really... Stuff does happen and thankfully no one was seriously injured, however, as per usual the incident proved yet again that Budweiser never made... ...Bud wiser... The End, Part 2 B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Backwoodsman Date: 11 Nov 07 - 10:20 AM Yep Bobert, emphasis on the SINGLE functioning brain cell. Thanks for proving my point fella! :-) Ebbie, your display sounds great, I'd love to see it. BUT - when you've had dickheads roaming the streets of your town every night for the past three weeks, setting off huge fireworks from roughly 4.30 pm until 1 am, you get a bit pissed off, I can assure you. I reckon even ole Bobert would tire of it a little! :-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Liz the Squeak Date: 11 Nov 07 - 03:26 AM I have to admit, the firework display at Legland Windsor this year was something special. It was a still, reasonably warm night for November, after a spanky sunny autumn day, and the conditions were perfect. All the lights in the park were switched off so the only glow in the sky came from Heathrow Airport some miles away across the valley. It was one of those evenings where the music and the fireworks fitted perfectly. We could have been watching one of those weird sound graphs that Disney used in the original 'Fantasia' or from Windows Media visualisations. OK, so the story was lame (Witches ball, bad witch wants to win and bewitches the orchestra, good witch knocks 'em dead with talent) but the timing of the music and the fireworks was perfect. Usually, there's a split second delay, but that evening conditions were perfect and they were spot on. And do you know... out of a crowd of several thousands - there was not a single 'oooh' or 'aaah' until the end. OK, there were a few 'wow's but it was that kind of display! LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Ebbie Date: 10 Nov 07 - 11:27 PM He just might have been tweaking my leg, Little Hawk. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Little Hawk Date: 10 Nov 07 - 05:54 PM He might just as well ask why people don't get sex over in about 3 quick strokes (like Spaw usually does...) or why they don't eat a delicious meal in ONE GIANT GULP and SWALLOW! Think of all the valuable TIME they could save! Just think! Geez... Even Shane is smart enough to figure out stuff like this, so what the heck is wrong with your Norwegian friend? ;-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Ebbie Date: 10 Nov 07 - 05:36 PM A Norwegian friend of mine said that he doesn't understand Americans. In Juneau, on the 4th of July, a city barge travels out into the center of the channel between the mainland and Douglas Island and one by one the firemen set off about a half hour of fireworks, lighting up the night sky and the ocean alike. My friend says, Townspeople see a rocket go up, say Ah!, watch the next one go up and again say Ah! and repeat until the fireworks are gone and the barge is empty. Why don't they, he asks, set everything up to all blow at once? All the people would go AH!!!!!!!! and then everyone could go home. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Bobert Date: 10 Nov 07 - 05:10 PM Two, my hillbilly butt... Takes 'bout a couple three dozen jus' to get in the mood for the good stuff... Hey, maybe you think we're talkin' 'bout lightin' one cherry bomb after another after another... That's okay fun but whn we're talkuin' about the good stuff it's the kinda stuff that folks drive couple hours in traffic and wait for hours to see... And hear... The good stuff does a lot more than go "boom" and goes "boom" and then lights up the sky... What's wrong with that, woodsman??? Well, don't hurt yer head on this question 'casue I'm gonna tell you what's wrong with that... ...Absolutley nothin, that's what's wrong with it... Hey, there's a time fir bein' back in the woods and a time for firworks... I enjoy both o' um tho all I gotta do is walk 'bout 400 feet from here and I'm in the Shenandoah National Park which is behind my farm... Yeah, that's okay, too when ya need to be in the woods but this thread ain't 'bout quiet walks in the woods... It's about fireworks so... ...KABOOM!!! B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Backwoodsman Date: 10 Nov 07 - 03:09 PM Why don't those brain-dead morons get bored? How many f***ing bangs can one person listen to before they're bored shitless? No more than two, for anyone with more than one functioning brain-cell, surely! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: catspaw49 Date: 10 Nov 07 - 06:20 AM ..............flick*****flick.....................pssssssssssssssssssssss.. KA-BOOM!!!!.................heheheheheheheheehhe............Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Stu Date: 10 Nov 07 - 05:54 AM I'm going for a lie down in a cool dark room. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Little Hawk Date: 09 Nov 07 - 08:24 PM Sounds like Hillbilly Heaven, Bobert! Ah kin hardly wait! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Bobert Date: 09 Nov 07 - 08:05 PM Well, gol danged right, Hawkster... And right after we blow the Grand ol' Opree up let's take what we left over to stigs-wierd's niehborhood an' show his neighbors how its really done... Okay, maybe July 4th wouldn't go over too good over there but what the heck... If they can't take a joke??? BTW, why the Grand ol' Opree??? Why not a certain ranch house in Crawford, Texas... Man, wouldn't that be fun??? Then one certain individual, upon retiring, might have to live in an ol' Airsteam.... No, better yet... Nevermind... The Grand ol' Opree works fir me... Plus, I know of a real quiet spot about 40 miles west of Nashville in Buck Snort where ya' can rent a motel room fir less than 20 bucks right next to the 24/7 Quick Stop that has the coldest beer in the state of Tennessee... If it gets better than that then I'd like for someone to explain how... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Little Hawk Date: 09 Nov 07 - 01:09 PM that was supposed to read: "real good" Blow things up REAL good! That is the American Way, and it has been ever since 1775. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Little Hawk Date: 09 Nov 07 - 12:47 PM Heh! Snort! Chuckle! Yep, it's quite somethin' living right next door to a society whose basic natural instinct is to blow things up "read good". Always some excitement lurking just around the corner... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Stu Date: 09 Nov 07 - 12:42 PM "Blow them other suckers right off the street with yer own fireworks show. That is the best way to fight back, and it's fun!" Jaysus - these people have their finger on the button too . . . This is why you've got to have a sneaking admiration for Americans - it takes determination and grit to be so consistently dedicated to explosions, fire and destruction to the point it becomes their stock answer to everything. I hear you mad bastards are getting some new nukes? Pass the tin hat . . . |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Little Hawk Date: 09 Nov 07 - 11:16 AM Humph! You sound like one of them prissy city slickers to me, Stigweard. Us country folks hereabouts don't worry our haids about stuff like that because we have a lot of empty space around us, so if'n some consarned yahoo starts makin' a big racket we jest hike over the hill and find a quiet spot of our own in the shade of the juniper trees, suck back on a jug of moonshine and contemplate the beauty of nature fer a bit. And here's the thing I've always noticed. The one MAKIN' the racket enjoys it! The one not makin' the racket doesn't, unlest he is a good friend of the one makin' the racket. We-all LOVE to blow things up and make one hell of a racket as long as it is OUR idea...you git what I'm sayin'? If'n it is the other feller's idea...well...it depends on how much we like the other feller and whether or not we is tryin' to git some shut-eye or not. What you need to do is MAKE some noise of yer own, Stigweard. Let it be YOUR idea to make a hell of a lot of noise, and you will find out jest how much fun it is to let off a rip-roarin' bunch of fireworks. Blow them other suckers right off the street with yer own fireworks show. That is the best way to fight back, and it's fun! Bobert, Spaw, I'm with ya, boys! Let's get together next July 4rth, go down to Nashville, buy a shitload of the best fireworks money can buy, and blow the whole danged Grand Old Opry right off its foundations. Yessiree. Great fun. ;-D |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Stu Date: 09 Nov 07 - 09:35 AM "and on behalf of all you people who get upset about this that and the other fecking thing because a few immature people misuse it" Spoken like someone who has never had to suffer the curse of anti-social behaviour for years on end, right outside your own front door - it ended up making me ill. You've no idea how these bastards grind you down eventually - as they grow they're replaced by the more sportswear-clad clones with the same dismal IQ and degenerate parents. Alcohol, fireworks and fuck knows what else should be far more tightly controlled until people can bring up there kids with a sense of responsibility. Bollocks to your fireworks - ban them for general sale now and let those that suffer at the hands of this plague have some relief. Otherwise you go and put yourself in the frontline and see how much fun it is living with this nightmare nigh after night after night (one more thing - the police don't give damn about the suffering of ordinary people from anti-social behaviour). |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Old Nick Date: 09 Nov 07 - 08:57 AM Well there you have it - Bobert's shown me the way forward. We need a new law that simply says "don't sell fireworks to hillbillies and the world will be a safer place". And what does "Even the Reg Boyz an' by6 couzin Rufus" mean anyway? Good night John-Boy, good night Jim-Bob, good night Mary-Ellen....................... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: ard mhacha Date: 09 Nov 07 - 04:08 AM Nickhere don`t underestimate the Loyalist intelligence, they likely believed he was doing a good job. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Bobert Date: 08 Nov 07 - 08:07 PM Well, gol danged, Spawzer.... Even the Reg Boyz an' by6 couzin Rufus know not to stick nuthin' up their butts and then light 'um... Might of fact, I belive that question has been added to the Wes Ginny I.Q. test... But yeah, lets get together and blow some sh*t the heck up... And, hey, we're beyond plastic toy soldiers... I was kinda thinkin' like my Couzin Rufus's '78 Chevette then got to thinkin' seriously what we could blow up with $1500 of the good stuff from Phantom and accordin' to the Wes Ginny Slide Rule we could prolbably blow the crap outta Rhode Island... Whaddayathink??? LH??? You in??? Sell a few more steering wheels 'er whatever it is that you sell... Heck, I'd pawn my Martin to blow up Rhode Island... Man, they'd be talklin' 'bout us fir years... Hey, maybe I can get my son, Will-to-me-Ben-to-you (don't ask) to chip in a few bucks... He's a good fuse-man... It's all about being able to bend over and get back up quickly without passin' out... Very important in fuse-man-land... I don't see any of us still possessing them skills... Okay, you two might go a few rounds but this ol' hillbilly be passed out and not good fir fir nuthin' afetr lightin' 'bout two 'er three... $1500, Spawzer??? That's a lot of the good stuff, man... A lot... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: catspaw49 Date: 08 Nov 07 - 07:22 PM Ya' know Bobertz, me, you, and Hawk, need to get together and blow some stuff up. I have a hundred tales I won't tell here but the three of us are definitely brothers. Back about '83 or '84 I was living in Tennessee where they are legal and my friend Alan and I were both making more money than either of us had ever made so we pissed away almost $1500. for the 4th of July. We spent half the day organizing what to shoot and when and it took almost 2 hours to go through it all.......***sigh***.....Geeziz it was GLORIOUS!!! We had 18 tubes in the ground for bottle rockets of any size and for a finale, we lit a row of 7 gigantic Dago bombs and sent up 36 large bottle rockets@2/tube. We were so busy lighting the stuff we didn't get to see as much as we liked but our friends and neighbors hanging around said it was terrific! Of course some folks should never play with fireworks. There are about a zillion videos on YouTube with assorted idiots of both sexes launching bottle rockets out of the butts. I ain't gonna' link one. If you want to watch they're easy to find!...........LOL Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Little Hawk Date: 08 Nov 07 - 06:42 PM Well, I remember blowing up a lot of toy soldiers outdoors and blowing up dirt bunkers that I built to put them in...that sort of thing. That's fairly much it, except the time my friend and I blew up the wasp's nest inside the groundhog hole on the steep bankside of the little creek that ran through the forest nearby. One of the damn things had come out and stung me when we were playing in the creek bed, so we came back after dark with cherry bombs and blew the little monsters to hell. It worked great too...killed every last one of them. I checked the next day, and they were kaput. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Bobert Date: 08 Nov 07 - 06:35 PM Of all people, I knew you would like it, LH... I believe there might be a "Little Hawk's Fireworks Story" in ya, as well.... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Little Hawk Date: 08 Nov 07 - 06:30 PM Har! Har! Great story, Bobert. That is the wacky side of life that I love, and there would, in fact, BE almost no good stories to tell without it. No Mark Twain books. No jokes. No suspense. No nothin'. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Nickhere Date: 08 Nov 07 - 06:28 PM "There's no sense outlawing everything that certain people misuse...you'd end up having to outlaw everything!!! I'm seious. Every fecking thing imaginable would have to be outlawed." Exactly! And then you have a situation where a few irresponsible people wield inordinate power in society, because, thanks to the misbehaviour of a few, things are banned for everyone in acts of what are basically, collective punishment. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Bill D Date: 08 Nov 07 - 06:21 PM Yep..."it's cool" if no damage is done. But it sure don't make much of a story if the house is set on fire, or someone gets a wild bottle rocket in the eye. I have shot off a few in my time.....we used to get some brought from Oklahoma where they were legal to Kansas, where they weren't. Blew cans sky-high...etc. I was very careful and never came close to getting hurt...but stories in the local paper every year about the idiots who have NO sense have convinced me never to try again, and to hope that 'professional' displays are all that I am ever near. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Bobert Date: 08 Nov 07 - 05:40 PM Caution: True Bobert story to follow... Bobert's Fireworks Story Well, where I buy the "good stuff" at Phanton Fireworks in Pennsylvania they give me a big ol' assortment that usually has about a dozen or so 19 shoters but the box also has lots of lady-fingers and bottle rockets which ain't as sexy so they just get thrown into "The Box"... "The Box" wasn't 'sposed to be a firework box at all... It was a Castrol oil box which is purdy sturdy and about 20X14X12 inches in demensions... So it was like about 10 years ago and it was New Year's Eve... My son Will-to-me-Ben-to-you (don't ask) and I had allready shot up all the good stuff and all that was left was "The Box" filled almost to tyhe top with thousands of ladyfingers and hundreds of bottle rockets and we were still in mood for a little more noise so we were firing bottle rockets from our hands at various targets in back yard that we could make out it the dark... The two of us were standing on the deck behind the house and "The Box" was on on a metal porch chair so we didn't have to bend down to grab yet another bundle of bottle rockets... Yeah, lookin' back I will be the first to admit that this did not fall in the "Safe Use" category but, what the heck... NO guts, no glory... So here we were just havin' a good ol' New Year's when a sprk from one of the bottle rockets found "The Box" and we're both lookin' down at what is surely about to happen and the same thought came to each of us about the same split second and that was getting the heck thru the slidin' as fast as possible, get the sumabich closed and be prepared to do battle with any fires after the smoke cleared... Problem is that we didn't have time to figure who would go thru the door first... Now a good dad would certainly see to it that the son would go first but I never made any claims to be a good dad... GHeck, that thought never made it into my thinkin'... So here we both hit the slider at the very same time... I reckon we were lucky to not break the sumabich down in our fight to get thru it... Meanwhile, "The Box" was blowin' the heck up and bottle rockets were going every which way and thousands of lady fingers were poppin' all over thew deck while we fought our way (and each other) thru the sliding door and safely got it shut... Well, "The Box" musta partied fir a good 3 or 4 minutes and it seems that the entire deck was inflamed with bricks of firecrakers... When the smoke cleared we could see that we hadn't caught the woods or the house on fire but had made one heck of a mess on the deck but that was about it... So I looked at Will-to-me-Ben-to-you (don't ask) and he looked back at me and for the second time in 5 minutes the exact same thoughts crossed both our feeble minds as we let out a similtanious... ... "That was cool".... Yeah, I know that most dads think back on stuff like good report cars or the touchdown the kid scored to win the championship game but I reckon I ain't in the most dad's column as this is one of my finest memories of being with my son... Sniff... Think I'll go out and shoot off some fireworks... Bobert |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Little Hawk Date: 08 Nov 07 - 05:09 PM We don't need a law against fireworks, because that simply ruins the situation for all the people who wish to use fireworks in a safe, responsible manner. There's no sense outlawing everything that certain people misuse...you'd end up having to outlaw everything!!! I'm seious. Every fecking thing imaginable would have to be outlawed. No, what we need is roving groups of well-armed individuals..."the Watch"...equipped with great big bloody swords and crossbows...and on behalf of all you people who get upset about this that and the other fecking thing because a few immature people misuse it, the Watch could behead those aforesaid immature people who are caught misusing it. Soon those few troublesome people would either be gone or they would have been intimidated into good behaviour by witnessing the sudden end of some of their mates. Then the Watch could further improve society by beheading those crabby old people who still found a lot of stuff to bitch and complain about anyway. ;-) Thus we would have fewer laws...fewer troublemakers...and fewer complainers. It would make for a much nicer society, and one where one could still enjoy fireworks on holidays, but in a safe fashion. I'm for it. ;-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Nickhere Date: 08 Nov 07 - 04:42 PM Maybe we should just shoot anyone who breaks any law. No exceptions! Ardmhacha - i'm surprised, I'd have thought loyalists would have made a big fuss over guy fawkes? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: GUEST,Vega Date: 07 Nov 07 - 02:36 PM My dog and cat have requested that a new law should be implemented, in which fireworks are only allowed to be let off on November the 32nd, from the hours of 04:30 until 04:31. And, any infringement of the said law would result in the perpetrators having to be shot - slowly. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: goatfell Date: 07 Nov 07 - 05:10 AM I hate Fireworks ever since I was a wee boy that same goes for Christams as well, I mean eating dinners that you don't like and meeting people that you don't like and then getting presents that you hate, but then you have be hyopicrictal about all and lie through you teeth, oh that's nice. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: goatfell Date: 07 Nov 07 - 04:30 AM In Australia they have banned Fireworks because of stupid people that got injured or set fire to things so they banned them it is now illeagl to own them mind you some Australians still have fireworks. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: ard mhacha Date: 07 Nov 07 - 04:12 AM In answer to Nickhere, to my knowledge Guy Fawkes Day has never been celebrated in any part of the north of Ireland, it was always Halloweve, Tunesmith I forgot to include elderly people also in terror from the vandals with fireworks. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Liz the Squeak Date: 06 Nov 07 - 05:49 PM Had to call the cops out this evening for a gang of kids who were in a nearby street, throwing lit fireworks at passing cars. I got one under the rear wheels as I turned the corner and, realising I'd left something behind, circled the block to go pick it up. As I was going around the same corner the second time, they were hurling a lit firework into the path of a cyclist. Then they decided it would be a wheeze to pile up the fallen leaves and set a lit firework in the pile to smoulder and then explode. It's people like that that make me think a law against selling fireworks might be a good thing. LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Rapparee Date: 06 Nov 07 - 01:27 PM Fireworks, especially the larger firecrackers and "bombs", can easily be converted into fragmentation weapons. I know, and the results can be pretty damned awful -- including death. No, I'm not going to tell you how to do this, for those who would know already know how. Fun? Yes, and a professional fireworks display is beautiful. Even the smaller fountains and things can and often are lovely. I enjoy them. But I don't enjoy the sh*t-for-brains who...well, you know. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: PoppaGator Date: 06 Nov 07 - 01:26 PM I enjoy the public displays that I call fireworks, but really despise firecrackers set off by private indiviudals, generating much more sound (noise) than visual effect and presenting very real dangers of personal injury and loss of property to fire. Sorry if I come off as a spoilsport, but this activity is simply something that I have never enjoyed ~ and as I get older, I just get more strongly opposed. Here in New Orleans, we don't do Guy Fawkes (obviously enough, and fortunately), but some folks revel in every opportunity they can find to set off firecrackers. (Please don't tell them about the Gunpowder Plot!) Independence Day (July 4) and New Years are the main events for our local explosives enthusiasts, and there's no curfew that anyone observes. Midnight, logically enough, is the high point of the New Year's noisemaking, and that custom has sort of leaked over into the July 4th activities; midnight of the 3rd, signalling the arrival of the 4th, is one excuse for igniting gunpoweder, and the blasting continues through 24 hours until it's time to signal the end of the festivities with another climactic volley when the 4th finally gives way to the 5th at midnight. One extremely unfortunate custom connected to New Years that has thankfully not caught on for the midsummer firecracker fest is the discharge of firearms into the open sky at midnight of Dec 31. A young woman tourist was killed here several years ago by a falling bullet, and since then a determined reform effort ("The New Years Eve Coalition," if I'm not mistaken) has had fairly good success in putting an end to this very dangerous practice. It's very difficult, however, to stamp out the practice completely; shooting live ammo into the night sky is a long established holiday tradition in these parts. If the perpetrator is not caught in the act of firing, there is little chance of catching him/her later ~ bullets may come back down to earth miles away from where they had been fired from. Several roofers have told me that falling bullets are a leading cause of leaking roofs all over the city, and that they rarely go up onto a roof for any kind of repair work without finding at least one or two lead slugs embedded in one layer or another of the roofing material. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Nickhere Date: 06 Nov 07 - 01:21 PM Fair point Rapaire. a realtive of mine even had trouble with slammed doors. Still, as you said, the key is preparation, not to surprise them. Tunesmith - obviously some sort of compromise is needed. A period when the public is allowed to set off fireworks freely around certain festivities; then the rest of the year when exceptions could be made for weddings, parties on permit from the police (who would have to take into account the number of requests, the location etc.) Ard mhacha - I have a cat and she doesn't seem to be troubled by them. But that's just her, I guess. I thought Guy Fawkes was the big thing up north (in certain areas anyway)? Maybe they've nothing left after the July 12th.... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: alanabit Date: 06 Nov 07 - 01:11 PM I like fireworks and find them entertaining. However, I don't see any excuse for allowing them to fall into the hands of children - or indeed anyone, who is not under considerable restraint and with a very good reason to use them responsibly. Whatever way you look at it, by definition fireworks are explosives - and I can see no excuse at all for allowing them to be passed around openly. A child, who throws a firework into a bus, for instance, can cause absolute carnage. (I have seen it happen). You can't expect kids out in groups to behave any better, but you can expect adults to prevent them from obtaining fireworks in the first place. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: GUEST,Tunesmith Date: 06 Nov 07 - 12:56 PM In my home town there is an annual 3 day firework competition. I reckon the noise from it can be heard over an area of 30 square miles! Wonderful. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Liz the Squeak Date: 06 Nov 07 - 06:30 AM There are laws pertaining to the use and carriage of fireworks in the UK. You'll find them roughly outlined here. Local councils may have additional restrictions and there has been pressure to restrict nationally to licensed displays and religious or traditional celebrations only. Walrus: fireworks now spread over October and November because there are a couple of religious festivals that fall often around this time. In the middle of October we had Eid - roughly described as the Muslim Easter, and this Friday we have Diwali - the Hindi festival of Light. Both are celebrated in many areas with lights, bright colours and fireworks. LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: redsnapper Date: 06 Nov 07 - 06:05 AM I do not personally care for them. Dangerous things unless professionally operated. RS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: ard mhacha Date: 06 Nov 07 - 05:59 AM It is Hallow`een which is celebrated here in the north of Ireland, Guy Fawkes day was unheard of, regarding fireworks anyone who keeps animals would like to see them banned forever. The sight of a terrified dog, cat, or fowl cowering and whimpering in fear should dispel all of that rubbish about entertaining the kids, during the past `troubles` fireworks were banned here, so we had peaceful nights, with none of the local vandals letting of their fireworks from early September through to November, and this throughout the wee small hours. For the sake of the animals and our overworked firemen ban them. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Bainbo Date: 06 Nov 07 - 05:24 AM Dave - I don't like to make generalisations about an entire nation. But here goes ... The Spanish aren't really known for their attention to health and safety, especially where fireworks are concerned. I've heard of firework factories blowing up. I've seen something like that Manresa clip, in Valencia, where a net was spread out above an entire plaza, with fireworks tied in it like an explosive canopy. The one that really gave me the shivers, though, was at a fiesta in the Basque country, where they did a sort of "junior bull-running" The "bull" was a handcart with a tin head and horns on the front, and lit fireworks all over it. This was pushed at speed through the streets, dodging left and right, as giggling children scattered, or ran up try to touch and run away. Everybody seemed to enjoy it. Maybe I should learn to relax a bit more. It's all part of the Iberian attitude to life and death, I suppose. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: skipy Date: 06 Nov 07 - 05:11 AM http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2004/20041836.htm Skipy |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: The PA Date: 06 Nov 07 - 05:09 AM I dont mind fireworks. But, Our dog is absolutely terrified of them. Even if we have the radio on quite loud and she cannot hear or see them, she can sense them and curls up shaking and panting for hours. Its quite sad to see. Our horses are quite spooked by the loud bangs, and we have to make regular trips to the stables to check that they are OK. We worry to death about the stables, hay barn, and hen houses in case a stray rocket should land and cause a fire. And finally, husband suffers from hearing problems including a type of tinitus and the bangs and vibrations from some of the larger fireworks make him quite ill. So I suppose they dont really have a lot of support from our household. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Folkiedave Date: 06 Nov 07 - 04:42 AM November 5th England? Tame. These are fireworks. Manresa Spain Festa Major. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Fireworks! Hate them! From: Jack Blandiver Date: 06 Nov 07 - 04:19 AM It was lovely last night watching the fireworks blooming over Southport (some seven miles across the Ribble estuary) without being able to actually hear them. |
