Excellent point, dg. I suspect the scenario below is in the process as we speak:
US Official Reaction: We strongly object to this gross violation of human rights.
Private Message from White House: Jes..., I mean, dammit, man, couldn't you have done that without letting people know about it? Just say she violated decency laws or something. I'm in enough hot water here, and this is worse than those pictures of you and me holding hands, for Chri..you know what I mean. Up the price of oil or something, but gimme a break on this. You're really putting me on the spot.
Posts: 16956 | Location: Lincoln Place, Granite City, IL, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
Thank goodness we are more advanced in Britain. Why, the last successful prosecution under the Witchcraft Act 1735 was that of Helen "Hellish Nell" Duncan as long ago as ....1944 (Well, there was a war on ) We did have the death penalty back then but she only got nine months jail, the jury having considered their verdict for all of thirty minutes.
The evidence was that, during a seance, she had said that 861 sailors had died. This frightened the government because it turned out to be true,because a battleship sank.Only a witch would know that (or possibly a non-witch with access to military intelligence would )
Of course we do! I can't tell you how many hours I spent as a youth having firecracker battles with friends.
Can you still buy firecrackers in the States? By that I mean 'jumping jacks' that you throw on the ground and which fire a sequence of small explosive charges to make the device jump about. The other great firework of childhood here was the 'banger', a tube of explosive about 3 inches long by about 3/4 of an inch or so, which suddenly exploded with what the makers quaintly called 'a loud report'. Those were, of course, potentially dangerous, a fact which added to the fun; a friend at school lost part of his leg when some joking friend put one in his pocket and we did get some fatalities and other serious injuries; but in those days kids were cheap and disposable
The spoilsports in charge of 'Elfin Safety' [health and safety law] decided to ban them.What's a kid to do?
[QUOTE]Originally posted by FredPuli: Can you still buy firecrackers in the States? QUOTE]
The laws are different in each state where it comes to fireworks. I can remember a time in my own home state fireworks could not be sold. In more recent years I've noticed the Wal-Mart stores carrying them. So apparantly the laws were changed in the last few years. I think also the potentcy or strength of the fireworks being sold is regulated as well.
Posts: 2277 | Location: Martinsville, IL | Registered: 06-03-02
In the 50s and 60s, almost all the firecrackers available were made in China. They had safety instructions on them: "Light Fuse, Retire Quickly." I always that that was a good plan.
Posts: 16956 | Location: Lincoln Place, Granite City, IL, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
You can buy firecrackers at Indian Reservations and in Wisconsin along with delicious cheese curds. I believe I've heard and seen the firecrackers that Fred is talking about and I don't think we have an exact equivilent because M-60's and M-80's are generally sold in singles rather than bundled charges. The closest thing to it is Black Cats, but the thing I saw in Europe was a larger bundle and WOW was it loud as hell.
I'm not sure, but I think some of my Mexican neighbors in my old neighborhood had something real close... the kind that make you jump out of bed and take cover when they go off... What fun
How is this thread suddenly about firecrackers? I guess I ought to start at the beginning...
Has anyone quoted Monty Python yet?
Posts: 3047 | Location: USA | Registered: 06-04-02
You can buy anything in Pennsylvania, it seems, but all you can get in New York are "snakes." What Fred describes is not an M-80, I don't think. In my experience, an M-80 is one loud concussive blast, not a series of small explosions.
Back to witches: people in this country say they would never vote for someone professing to be a pagan, despite having no understanding of or desire to understand what being a pagan actually means. This is surely not the same thing as executing a woman suspected of being a witch, but intolerance and refusal to open your eyes comes in all forms. We have to be very careful about what we refuse to see, or the firecrackers will start stone ageing us.
Posts: 4467 | Location: Rochester, NY, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
An M-80 is pretty close to a 'banger': the banger gives one big explosive blast. A firecracker is what we sometmes call a 'jumping jack'
Was this thread about witchcraft?
When we had proper witches in England, in the C17,we had the Witchfinder General, a self-appointed individual who got himself a government contract. The more he found, the more he earned. He was eventually exposed as a fraud, but not before he'd caused the death of many women.Just think, nowadays he'd be selling his church, with its miracles, to the faithful in some country where they still believe and there are 'faithful' (or,in Britain,selling double glazing)
