Last year I started a new Independence Day tradition. Each year, I will visit the home of a Declaration of Independence signer, trying not to repeat visits until I’ve been to all that still stand. (Evelyn says this would make a great historical travel guide. Anyone interested?) Last year we visited Tom’s house, and this year we visited Tom’s house. The latter is the subject of this article’s top photo. Fireworks this year were courtesy of the City of Falls Church.
On the House Front, my home now has its first mezuzah, the first one being a family heirloom piece nailed to the main doorpost. We have new lamps for the living room, and I repaired an older one. I’ve put up wooden towel bars in the master bath, and begun work on the backyard patio. The sand between the old bricks has long since washed away, leaving behind mud-filled crevasses choked with weeds. The patio has thrice been attacked with a power washer, which has blasted out much of the dirt and moss. I then applied three coats of herbicide/preventer. The last step is to sweep just-add-water cement mortar into the cracks and wait for rain, which shouldn’t take long this time of year.
Have you read my review of the new board game, Martians!!!?
For no particular reason, I’ve always wanted to light an entire box of matches on fire.
Nifty Wikipedia Thing: J002E3
Movies I’ve Seen:
It Happened Tomorrow (1944) – Tomorrow’s newspaper today! Reporter vexed!
The Ipcress File (1965) – 007 never dealt with bureaucracy
The Wild Bunch (1969) – Peckinpah invented rapid interspliced action
The Apple (1980) – disco envisions hedonistic, triangular 1994
To Be or Not To Be (1983) – see different side of Mel Brooks
Best In Show (2000) – "Zelig" remains my preferred mockumentary
Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God (2005) – serious sequel to flippant original
The World’s Fastest Indian (2005) – Humble Kiwi undergoes American odyssey
What I’m Reading:
"The Radioactive Boy Scout" by Ken Silverstein
"The Time Traveler’s Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger
"The Federalist Papers" by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay (#35)
The Ryanarium 