Greetings, Programs!

Two Hundred Forty years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation.  Three days ago, Canadian 'Dads overran our feed with a Canada Day special.  Today, we invite you to round out the National Day celebrations with 76 minutes (Get it? 1776 instead of 1977?  I knew you would.) of Independence Day, Fireworks, and the Fourth of July.

In the NEWS:

Hannah John-Kamen is cast in Ready Player One as an unknown character, listed on IMDB as F'nale Zandor.  JediShua and shazbazzar consider the possible implications of a name like "finale's ender" on the identity of the character this young actress will portray.  Archaia is set to publish a new Labyrinth book this September, focusing on some of the characters from the thirty year-old Jim Henson feature.  Rogue One brings The Clone Wars back in focus with Saw Gerrara, a revolutionary leader from Onderon from season five.  Maybe Hondo Ohnaka can supply him with weapons once again...

FAMILY CIRCLE

Twenty years ago, aliens invaded our planet, devastating population centers in hopes of eradicating us from existence.  With the help of Bill Pullman, Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, and Cousin Eddie, we were able to fight back and defeat the city-destroyers with a well-placed virus in their mother ship.  This week, shazbazzar and JediShua share Independence Day with their kids in celebration of The War of 1996 and in anticipation of watching Independence Day Resurgence later in the day.  The story, effects, and characters are not diminished by the years that have transpired -- the next generation is as impressed with the movie as we were twenty years ago.

TOYS IN THE ATTIC

Sparkling, spinning, and explosive fun is always a part of July 4th, and shazbazzar and JediShua reminisce about fireworks shows they watched when they were young as well as revisit the various kinds of burning, smoking, and flaring fireworks they would set off on their own.  

Finishing off this patriotic episode with JOKES, a HISTORY LESSON, and some School House Rock tunes, TechnoRetro Dads hope you will have a fun, fulfilling time with family and friends on this Fourth of July.