July 4th. Everyone knows that July 4th is America's birthday. Yankee Doodle Dandy was born on the Fourth of July (sorry about the background music, wasn't me).

Now, American kids are raised knowing the whole Independence Day thing cos it's a big deal there but we folks down in the Southern Ocean know of it in more of an anecdotal sense cos it's always being mentioned in movies and TV programmes and stuff. So, for all those who didn't know the reason behind it, here is a potted overview of July 4th courtesy of sites that are in the know on such things.

Independence Day celebrates the birth of the nation that is America. About.com describes it thus:

"Independence Day is celebrated on July 4 because that is the day when the Continental Congress adopted the final draft of the Declaration of Independence. From July 8, 1776, until the next month, the document was read publicly and people celebrated whenever they heard it. The next year, in Philadelphia, bells rang and ships fired guns, candles and firecrackers were lighted. But the War of Independence dragged on until 1783, and in that year, Independence Day was made an official holiday. 1941 Congress declared 4th of July a federal holiday." more...

Rumela's Web adds:
The task begun on July 4, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was not actually completed until August. Nonetheless, the 4th of July has been accepted as the official anniversary of United States independence from Britain.

July 4, 1777 -- The first Independence Day celebration takes place. It's interesting to speculate what those first 4th festivities were like. By the early 1800s the traditions of parades, picnics, and fireworks were firmly established as part of American Independence Day culture more...

Tonight they played on TV a movie made in 1996 called Independence Day; a movie made in the grand tradition of all stirring and patriotic movies, a story about fighting and dying for your country and being victorious on, well, Independence Day. Good back-slapping stuff and a good wee movie, too (cos it's got some nice bods in there like Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman and the [drool] luscious Will Smith... [/drool]).



Hell, we even own a copy of it :-)

It also has Brent Spiner in it, playing a mad scientist with Billy's hair and Fred Scuttle's trousers (remember Benny Hill?). Certainly a bit different from his role as Commander Data.

So, anyway, today is July 4th and there's bound to be a few big parties happening in the States today and I'd like to wish my Stateside friends (you guys know who you are) a very happy Fourth of July.

For your present this year, I'd really like to give you back all the episodes ever screened here of "Everybody Loves Raymond".

Cos not everybody actually does :-D

So, how did we get from Independence day to Everybody Loves Raymond via Billy Connolly, Benny Hill and Star Trek? The long way, of course.

As usual :-)

"As a man breathes into a saxophone
And through the walls you hear the city groan
Outside it's America
Outside it's America" - U2, Bullet the Blue Sky