Fireworks!

One of the great things about living in the South is being able to legally buy and use fireworks! Last year was the first time I bought anything more than sparklers for my own use. However, after watching some spectacular shows from around the neighborhood from last Independence Day, I resolved to educate myself more about this fun activity for next year.

Well, we are less than two weeks away from the Fourth of July and I am pretty well stocked! I hit a couple of discount firework stores and a bunch of seasonal roadside shops for some great buys. Read on to see some of the big items I will be trying this year!

The one I am most excited about is the Star Spangled Cannon by Black Cat. It is my first reloadable shell firework. This means that instead of having the firework, housing, and fuse all bundled into one package, you have a single mortar and a bunch of individual firework shells. You put one shell into the mortar, light the fuse, and then stand back! After the explosion, you load the next shell and repeat. The shells are 4mm in diameter, which should produce a 55 foot diameter burst at a height of around 125 feet. Not bad for consumer-sized fireworks!

The second biggie that I have is simply called Attack by Brothers Pyrotechnics. You have to love the cheesy pictures on some of these fireworks! It produces crackling flowers after the initial burst which I looks really great. The store I bought this from had a DVD with tracks for each of the fireworks, which definitely helped to pick the one I really wanted!

On a somewhat smaller scale, I have a bunch of multi-shot aerials (their bigger brothers are called cakes since they look like a box a cake would come in). Black Cat's Willows should hopefully be a good one. Like the name says, it rains down sparks like a willow tree. Another Black Cat I have is Blue Star. There are other ones that don't have a brand name, like Magic Crackles and Wild N' Crazy. We'll have to see which ones are the best.

Aside from the artillery shells and multi-shot aerials, I also bought some fountains. These are fireworks that don't launch into the air but just spit out pyrotechnics from the top of its container (like a sparkler on steroids). I had a bunch of small fountains last year, which were okay but nothing too spectacular. This year I bought some good sized 9" ones - a four pack by Black Cat called the Great Barrier Reef (a little Australian flavor for the Fourth). Each fountain lasts 90 seconds, which seems pretty good to me!

Some of the more bizarre fireworks I picked up include a spinner called Moonshine (great for a Southern theme!). Another is the Brothers Magic Crystal. I was told by a store employee that these little guys are very popular. They spin on the ground and then shoot up with a whistle. Some other no-name brand fireworks under my "bizarre" category are Star Ball Contribution and Cute Little Ship. They were only a couple of bucks each so I figured what the heck.

Rounding out the arsenal for the holiday are your typical firecrackers (which I got for free, I wouldn't pay for the noisy things), glow sticks, and sparklers.

If you are going to do some fireworks yourself, enjoy but be safe! Remember to never use or even attempt homemade fireworks. Keep water or a fire extinguisher nearby. Make sure everyone stays a safe distance from the firework and don't ever hold a lit one in your hand or throw it. Let's all be responsible so that fireworks aren't banned from more states!!!

I'll report back after the Fourth and let you know how the fireworks turned out.

PoTC: At World's End Review

I just got back from seeing the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy and have to say that I really liked it. In a nutshell, it was better than Dead Man's Chest, but can't hold a candle to the original Curse of the Black Pearl.

I'll try to be spoiler-free in my comments here. Of course we know that Barbossa is back in this movie. I think his absence in the second movie was a big problem with that movie. Geoffrey Rush's portrayal is quintessentially piratical. Johnny Depp is superb, as always. Orlando Bloom is less obnoxious than usual. Keira Knightley is passable.

Some reviews complained that the story was too complicated. I don't think so at all. The movie takes it time as it moves the plot forward. Sometimes a little too slowly, which is another complaint some people have. The flip-flop of allegiances, now a standard plot device in these pirate films, were more methodical and gave the viewer time to think out the implications of the latest bargain.

My favorite scene was also the most surprising to me. Our heroes encounter the body of an enemy and, while some rejoice, Sparrow looks saddened. Barbossa says the world is getting smaller. Sparrow replies that no the world is the same size, there is just less in it. That has really stuck with me. These pirate movies offer adventure of almost mythic proportions. Following the tales of Sparrow and his compatriots is like watching the fantastic intermingled with the mundane. The death of an enemy removes some of the fantasy (read imagination) from our lives. The world is indeed the same size, but it is a little dimmer.

Anyway, it is hard to say much more without giving away the movie. There are some pretty gruesome and macabre scenes, so this is one movie definitely not for children. I especially disliked the opening scene. There are ways to make the same point without having to be as graphic as that. (As an aside, Lord Beckett says "finally" after one of his lackeys makes a report. The movie never explains why he was waiting for that sign...)

Still, all in all, it is a very good movie and worth shelling out the money to see it on the big screen. Oh, and stay past the closing credits - there is a little surprise that I unfortunately missed...