Happy Fourth, America!

I'm such a sentimental sap. I'm sitting here on a national holiday, working on a database deployment while watching Keith Lockhart conduct the Boston Symphony Orchestra from the Esplinade. Curiously, hosted by Craig (the Scot) Ferguson. Balanced out by John Mellencamp. Oh, look, drunk college girls gone wild. (sigh)

There also are lots of military personnel there, especially Navy boys and girls.

Back to the sentimental sap train of thought. I'm typing this through tears. Yep. All those years sweating almost to death, playing outdoor concerts for the St. Louis Philharmonic and the Compton Heights Concert Band. Sometimes at the height of heights, sometimes just looking for the paycheck -- pause for comment, the BSO clarinets are, from Principal to third, colored red, white and blue. Hokey, but I love it. And Lockhart, for some unexplained reason, is using three batons to conduct. OK, I'm back. Sometimes it was awful, sometimes great, but I always came away knowing that I'd made some people happy.

So thank you, BSO, for entertaining me tonight. And Maestro Lockhart, you're still very easy on the eyes!

Jericho, on CBS

Thanks to tons of nuts, and the fans that sent them, Jericho will be back for a second season. I like the show; it has heart.

To build the fan base over the summer CBS has started Jericho Rising on the CBS Web site. If you haven't watched the show, this is a great place to start catching up. CBS plans to air the first season's midseason recap later this summer, then the second half of the season before September.

Even if we only get the promised eight episodes, at least there will be a resolution to the story.