April 10, 2008
Another Snip In The Emasculation Of American Culchah
I heard about this on the drive home last evening:
Laser Show To Replace Fourth Of July Fireworks In Vienna VIENNA, Va. -- A laser light show will replace the traditional Fourth of July fireworks in Vienna this year.The Vienna Town Council voted 5 to 2 Monday to approve a contract with Image Engineering of Baltimore to produce a laser light show.
Town officials said they opted to make the switch after several people were injured by a malfunctioning firework at last year's event.
The laser show will cost more than twice a much as the $10,000 fireworks show.
How lame. How unbelievably lame.
I suppose that the Vienna officials were worried about liability. And given the trigger-happy litigiousness of our society, I suppose one really ought to blame society as a whole instead of these particular people. (I'd have said there's an assumption of risk for anybody attending an event involving explosives, but that's just me, Mr. Vegas.)
But still.....there's something so Fred Rodgers-ish about the concept of a 4th of July laser show that it just makes me cringe.
Not that I've ever been to Vienna for the 4th. When we're at home, we go over to our own community show at the local high school. Whoever has been in charge of it the past couple years is particularly fond of those thunderclap kinds, the ones that concuss right through your eardrums and the soles of your shoes. (We used to call them "Gus-getters" when I was a kid, owing to a dog we had who was quite terrified of fireworks.)
To me, the Fourth is all about hot, humid air shaking with the bang and the flash of the fireworks going off and the smell of gunpowder drifting across the field.
Lasers? Feh.
Posted by Robert at April 10, 2008 09:16 AM | TrackBackThe real question here is, ahem, will they be synchronizing the show to Pink Floyd?
If so, this isn't about rampant litigiousness. It's about geeks trying to take control.
Posted by: Kathy at April 10, 2008 09:45 AMThat's ever so lame and also very sad.
It's not the Fourth if you don't have some risk of mayhem, a couple of window rattlers and the acrid smell fireworks.
I also love the trails of smoke drifting across the sky.
That will be like watching fireworks on TV. Just not the same and not even worth bothering to do.
Posted by: Jordana at April 10, 2008 11:16 AMWe don't even realize how much the lawyers have cost us in terms of culture. Here's a small example: my kids were having wrestling-fights with the neighbor kids. I -want- my kids growing up tough. But I can't afford a lawsuit, and I know parents will sue in a heartbeat. So, no more wrassling. My wife won't even let neighborhood kids swim in our pool because of the liability issues, and I don't blame her. Shakespeare was right -- shoot the lawyers.
Posted by: J. Wesley at April 10, 2008 11:20 AMhear, hear, J. Wesley! And how SAD indeed that true fireworks are to be replaced by a laser light show. *sigh* What is the world a-comin' to ...
Posted by: keysunset at April 10, 2008 01:13 PMIt was a pretty serious accident. Here's WTOP's account from the following day:
Fireworks Company Cooperates With Fairfax Investigators
July 5, 2007 - 5:39pm
fireworks_dc2.jpg
Fireworks lit up the sky over D.C. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
VIENNA, Va. - Authorities now say 11 people were injured when misdirected fireworks exploded into a crowd during a show in Vienna Wednesday night.
Families near Vienna Elementary School were enjoying the fireworks show when something went wrong. At least one of the mortars misfired.
"The one went into the crowd," Fairfax Fire and Rescue spokesman Dan Schmidt tells WTOP. "There may have been another round that kind of went off somewhere else where there wasn't anyone there."
Five children were among the 11 injured. Witnesses say the injured were treated for head and leg traumas. Schmidt says the most seriously injured person was burned. Two people have potentially life-threatening injuries.
"All the fireworks were too low to the ground and they were just going everywhere," says one woman who was watching the fireworks.
The company in charge of the show, Schaefer Pyrotechnics of Pennsylvania, is cooperating with fire investigators.
Schaefer Pyrotechnics had similar malfunctions at four other shows in Fairfax County Wednesday night, officials say. Three years ago in Pennsylvania, the company had a Fourth of July accident that injured several dozen audience members.
Officials say the site in Vienna was inspected twice before the show.
"We know that they've been around here a long time. They've had a pretty good record," Schmidt says about the company.
WTOP has contacted the Schaefer Pyrotechnics, but the company has yet to respond.
Meanwhile at the National Mall, several fireworks production company employees were injured when unused fireworks exploded after the show in an apparent accident.
Three men were injured. One worker is in extremely critical condition, with burns on the right side of his body, D.C. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin says. Another had minor burns. The third man was treated and released on the scene.
Rubin says the site was licensed and permitted and had been inspected several times before the show. The workers were also equipped with fire-resistant gear.
The ATF is heading an investigation, beginning with recovering all of the hardware used by the fireworks display company. OSHA may also be called into the investigation, Rubin says.
"It's under formal, thorough investigation," Rubin says.
In its first-ever task force, federal and city officials confiscated 200 cases illegal fireworks and arrested 14 people this Fourth of July, Rubin says.
The task force included officials from the ATF, D.C. Police, Attorney General's Office and the D.C. Fire Department Investigative Unit.
Among the confiscated fireworks were 40-50 bottle rockets, crates of firecrackers, M-80s and quarter sticks.
Anyone who witnessed the accident on the Mall, is asked to call the U.S. Park Police Tipline at 202-610-8737.
(Copyright 2007 by WTOP and The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
VIENNA, Va. - Authorities now say 11 people were injured when misdirected fireworks exploded into a crowd during a show in Vienna Wednesday night.
Families near Vienna Elementary School were enjoying the fireworks show when something went wrong. At least one of the mortars misfired.
"The one went into the crowd," Fairfax Fire and Rescue spokesman Dan Schmidt tells WTOP. "There may have been another round that kind of went off somewhere else where there wasn't anyone there."
Five children were among the 11 injured. Witnesses say the injured were treated for head and leg traumas. Schmidt says the most seriously injured person was burned. Two people have potentially life-threatening injuries.
"All the fireworks were too low to the ground and they were just going everywhere," says one woman who was watching the fireworks.
The company in charge of the show, Schaefer Pyrotechnics of Pennsylvania, is cooperating with fire investigators.
Schaefer Pyrotechnics had similar malfunctions at four other shows in Fairfax County Wednesday night, officials say. Three years ago in Pennsylvania, the company had a Fourth of July accident that injured several dozen audience members.
Officials say the site in Vienna was inspected twice before the show.
"We know that they've been around here a long time. They've had a pretty good record," Schmidt says about the company.
WTOP has contacted the Schaefer Pyrotechnics, but the company has yet to respond.
Posted by: HB at April 10, 2008 02:55 PMThe laser light show won't survive, because the strobe-like light effects could trigger seizures in epileptics.
After that, they'll try to entertain you with a sort of drive in theater experience, where you watch a movie of fireworks. But that will fail because Fairfax Co. will say it encourages young people to use real fireworks.
A few years after that, "The Fourth Of July" will be replaced by "Summer Fest" featuring non-ideological, non-national celebrations of world harmony and basket weaving demonstrations. It will be sponsored by ANSWER and LGBT of NoVa. Burkhas required for unclean females.
Posted by: Barry at April 15, 2008 05:15 AM
Image courtesy of the lovely and talented 