In case you were wondering

In case you were wondering:
There is a link from my website to this blog now. My portfolio website is at www.mattikai.com .
Also, I am looking for an illustrator position in the DC metro area. So, if you hear anything, let me know.
Enough self promotion.
What do I want to say this time around?
Here goes another summer. It is almost July 4th and I will not be taking enough vacation like always. I will not be spending enough time at the beach. A couple of 3-4 day weekends will be all I can afford. How is that fair?
Independence Day has really lost its allure for me recently. About three or four years ago we would watch the DC fireworks test at Harpers Ferry on the Saturday before the 4th; only the most tolerable crowds and so much fun. The recent administration put and end to that. Republican administrations sure do have a way of screwing up public entertainment. Remember when Reagan's admin couldn't tolerate the Beach Boys playing on the Mall in DC during the 4th? I guess republicans don't want us spreading "good vibrations."
I know it seems to be fading but I can't wait to hear all the national security warnings this weekend. It would be funny to see the Washington Monument launch like a rocket into space during the grand finale. That's the problem with terrorism. No concern for aesthetics.
I think I will celebrate this weekend with a satirically nationalistic attitude. My distaste for ineffectual holidays continues. I start out by seeing comedian Patton Oswalt at the State Theater in Falls Church Friday night. Patton likens the country to a retarded trust fund child on his critically acclaimed CD... classic! I look forward to some more America vs. retard analogies. Saturday we plan to attend a barbeque with some family and friends. I want to bring a small flag and wave it a lot but then "accidentally" drop it into the barbeque, singeing it a little. "Oops, it was an accident I swear. I was trying to spear a hotdog with it. I'm really hungry." Then just have it sticking out of my can of Coors light the rest of the day while I mumble quasi-patriotic axioms drunkenly from the security of a plastic lawn chair.
The rest of the weekend is a wash and the 4th is a Monday so except for getting the day off work I couldn't be less excited about another played out holiday. Oh, I also wouldn't mind seeing someone blow their fingers off with an M80 or something. I've never seen anything like that. That would be exciting.
Happy Birthday (or whatever) America!!
Your independence was not begotten in vain.
The British turned out to be a bunch of pansies, Innit? (that's English for "Isn't it?" in case you were wondering.)