All the best on this Fourth of July

It has become a minor Linneman tradition to spend the morning of July 4 on Liberty Island, taking part in the 5k around the statue.

With all the ways that American iconography has been co-opted to represent division, opposition to "outsiders," and denying others the benefits we enjoy simply for being born in the right place at the right time (and if some folks get their way, to the right people), I love that the Statue of Liberty has been a tough symbol to peel away from its representation of a promise made to anyone who sincerely wants to take part in the American Dream^TM.

On the ferry, with Ellis Island in the background

Laura's mom has a true-to-archetype immigrant story, arriving in the United States by way of New York Harbor, being greeted by Lady Liberty and processed through Ellis Island.  I hope we...and future generations...can maintain sight of this as representative of a foundational American value.  The American Experiment^TM has obviously had some pathways in need of course correction, but I thought this was one most of us could agree on.  Unfortunately, I don't hear many self-proclaimed patriots saying "Give me your tired, your poor..." anymore.

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But I can save some of that fretting for another day.  As it pertains to the usual fare of this blog, I should also celebrate the Statue of Liberty's role in this masterpiece of animation...

And here are Mutt and Junkyard enjoying a photo op on her massive left foot:

(I'll let you in on a secret, though.  That isn't really the foot of the Statue of Liberty.

It's a replica in the museum on the island.  I've had my picture taken with it too...)

I'm sure any scaling issues are...a perspective thing...

Hmm.

Anyway, happy Fourth, everyone!  I think I'll bring more Mutt and Junkyard to the blog this upcoming week.  Enjoy your weekend!

A belated happy Ghostbusters Day (40th anniversary!) to all!!

So I'm late to the punch in delivering this message, but as Ghostbusters Day (the anniversary of the first film's debut) was on Saturday (June 8)...and this year is the 40th anniversary of the classic movie...and Ghostbusters occupies a fair amount of my allocated nerd brainspace these days...I couldn't let things pass much longer without hoping all of you enjoyed it!  Or...if maybe you didn't even know that happened on Saturday...I hope you'll take some time soon enough to enjoy the gift to the world that is the Ghostbusters franchise.

I'm lucky enough to live where it was pretty easy to pop over into the city to take part in the big celebration at the actual firehouse...and I don't know if I can overstate how cool that is to this Gen X nerd.  (Click HERE, btw, for some reflections from fellow doggo fan and established GB aficianado Adam Dickstein of the Barking Alien blog.) 

And...I'm so glad I did!  I've gotta admit...I've gotten a little old and selfish with my time to do nothing lately; I could easily have been convinced to stay home and act like I was going to do things around the house on Saturday.  Luckily, Laura got us tickets to see a 2:15 showing of the original film at a theater in Manhattan, so we made the trip!  (Interestingly, that 2:15 showing was cancelled, which I don't think I've ever had happen before...something strange...)

So, what'd we see?

I think Laura was genuinely surprised at how large the turnout was!

The view down N. Moore St.

There were a ton of people there...and pretty much everyone was smiling!  In NYC!

We actually got there too late to see anything in the way of an official ceremony, but the atmosphere around that firehouse was awesome for hours.  I don't really like posting pics of myself, but here's one of Laura and me so I can show off the shirt I was wearing; it's a custom job that Laura created, featuring the "dumb bell" that stars in a certain Claymation Christmas number.  I had a feeling this might be the crowd for it...and for the first time, someone recognized the character...!  That is nerd paradise.

The awesome custom Claymation bell shirt designed by my awesome wife 

It was pretty amazing to be a part of an event for Ghostbusters that literally drew folks from all around the country and the world!

Here are a few more haphazardly curated views of the celebration...

The cosplay was varied and lots of fun!

Multiple Ecto-1 variants made an appearance...see Adam's post at Barking Alien for a selection of their license plates!

Each vehicle had their own details...

The functioning firehouse's engine was parked outside for the festivities.

(Glad to finally pick one of these up...a patch from the station!)

So fun to get this perspective...

Check out all the patches of Ghostbusters fan groups from around the world!

Two actors from the original film, Joe Cirillo and John Rothman, were on hand for pictures and autographs.  Love it!

It's a weird time to be alive

Mostly because I live in New Jersey now.  Who saw that coming?  It was just a couple of years ago that I moved out of Georgia for the first time, and now I've left the Sun Belt far behind.  Weird, indeed.

I mean, I do like most of what I've experienced in NJ so far (although some of the drivers around here need to chill the eff out).  It's just not a spot I had ever really imagined myself living.  Interestingly, there's been a big split in the reactions of folks who I talked to leading up to the move.  There was a definite "why in the world would you want to go there?" camp, and an equally passionate group that felt the need to immediately defend the state from its stereotypes.

Please be reminded, as I have been, that it is the Garden State for a reason.

While I'm living in the western part of the state, I have come to realize that pretty much all of North Jersey is considered the New York City area.  And though my little borough doesn't feel like NYC at all (I don't think, anyway), the proximity to the big town does have my mind wandering to stuff like...

...and...

...and...

...and...

...and even...

Long drives like the one that took us from North Carolina up here also tend to put me in a post-apocalyptic frame of mind.

I guess I'm just saying I've been in a very comic bookish mood lately.  Hmm.  Maybe it's time to revisit Light City in the near future.

And anyone happening upon this who is familiar with North Jersey -- got any recommendations on good places to go for geeky goodness around here?