Fireworks Go BOOM!

Ok, the title is a given, but this past long weekend was all about the Chinese invention. With the U.S. celebrating its birthday (happy belated, U.S.A., you look like a monkey) fireworks were being shot off from every corner of the country. On my street alone, there were several houses firing off bottle rockets and other so called "illegal" fireworks. No ambulance or firetrucks, so all went well, though I did see one guy light a fire in his garage my not aiming his firework correctly. He had a fire extinguisher, however, so I guess that works out. His dog, however, may be forever traumatized. I didn't see where the rocket landed, but I heard a lot of yelping.
It wasn't just here in Minnesota, however, that I saw fireworks (though ours started around 10 PM). Yes, both New York and Boston had their celebrations on national television. I didn't really see the Boston celebration, because I was outside watching Minnesota's (as best I could), but New York's celebration (which I saw most of) was unfortunately cheesy and badly produced on television. I've seen a Fourth of July celebration in New York live. My father took me when I was a child. It's an amazing experience to see the fireworks light up the sky. NBC took that away with its quick cuts, cheesy picture in picture looks, and by cutting to the crowd at the most inopportune time. I'll give you a few examples:
1. The Donald. Ok, this, right off the bat, is incredibly cheesy and, for lack of a better term, lame. He starts the countdown late (catching up with the crowd) and then yells, "You're fired," into the camera (no, I won't pay). The funniest part, however, was when the camera cut to Trump sitting with his wife and Al Roker. You could tell, as he watched the sky, that he was thinking, "I am the richest man in New York. Why am I sitting on a folding chair next to the BBQ guy from the Food Network? This is not Uuge (intentionally misspelled to get it the way he says it)."
2. The Cuts. I understand that studies have shown that the modern television audience must have a cut or movement or change every three seconds. Fine. NBC was able to work with that, but some of their cuts drove me insane. Here comes the big finale of "God Bless America" with big red, white, and blue fireworks. As the rockets are about to explode, NBC cuts to the choir singing the song. Now, I don't know about you, but I could care less about the freaking choir (who aren't very attractive as is). No, I want to see the lights, the explosions, etc. Why did you cut away from the pretty stuff NBC? WHY!?!?!?! If you don't believe me about cut times, watch a video on MTV. Unless the camera is moving, no shot will last longer then 2 seconds. That's right: 2 seconds. No wonder we're all becoming ADD.
3. Picture in Picture. If it wasn't the cuts, then it was cutting off the fireworks by putting in a picture of the New York Symphony. Hey, they're great, but the visual we want is the fireworks, not a lead violin. Imagine watching a football game on TV. Your team is at the ten yard line trying to score. You're excited. As the ball is about to be snapped, a big ole box appears over the endzone, and a reporter starts talking to a fan, or the owner, or someone who is not playing. The ball is caught in the endzone, but you don't see it. You have to wait for the replay. Wouldn't that be annoying? Well that's what was happening there.
4. (and most annoying) The Olympic Plug. Look, I've said it before, and I'll say it again: let it go, New York. You do not want the Olympics. It was incredibly lame that you gave flags to the people and played the Olympic theme (a la John Williams, not the real one) and tried to make New York look like one big happy family ready for the Olympics. Let it go! It will not bring in more money. New Yorkers will not be happy. Besides, the 2010 Winter Games are in Vancouver. They try not to give the same continent the games twice in a row. New York and Vancouver are on the same continent. Therefore, anyone....anyone....Yes, Buller? That's right, it's not likely that New York will get the games for that reason.
The fireworks we did see were gorgeous. There's a majesty to the spectacle that turns us all, no matter how old we may be, to kids again. We shout, "oooohhh, ahhh, etc," with gaping mouths. Don't take that away from us to show some ten year old kid watching himself in a monitor that has been setup by the crowd. If he or she were watching the fireworks and being awed, that's one thing, but to see a kid who's just watching himself... well... sucks. Don't do that, it's boring.
I hope you all had a fantastic fourth.
UPDATE:
I forgot to mention that we had a fire alarm today at school, because some genius students decided to light firecrackers in the hallway...under the smoke alarm. My students were all excited, because they thought it meant they wouldn't have to take their test. They were very wrong and are now very mad at the students who did it.