Photo of some real fireworks by Tmccool.

I can't wait to see what CBS has cooked up for the Boston fireworks this July Fourth. How are they going to top last year's augmented reality? Only thing is, they're just going to start in at 10 p.m., so this year people westa Worcester will be deprived of most of the Pops concert, although they will get Jennifer Hudson. Outrage?

The fireworks barge on the Charles caught fire around 5:30 a.m., with 15 live charges on board, sending thick black smoke into the air - and fire departments in both Boston and Cambridge ordering boaters to stay way the hell away, Nichole Davis at New England Roadways reported.

Leslee took in the rehersal performance at the Hatch Shell.

Yoni Appelbaum reports on days of yore when Salem would light massive bonfires to herald July Fourth:

OK, and some tourists and crazed Bostonians slurping down hot chowder in front of City Hall. On a day like this, when even the people in T-shirts were dying, we can only imagine what it was like to march around downtown Boston reclaiming the territory for His Majesty in heavy woolen uniforms.

Derrick Jackson at the Boston Globe notices how the Charles River is so nice and clean, these days:

On the Fourth of July, the Charles River retreats to a backdrop for the majestic music of the Pops and the magic of fireworks. On closer look, we have much more to celebrate, as we have granted these once-horribly polluted waters their own independence ...

Not only the river itself but the pathways along the Charles have become much cleaner, the result of efforts by the state and private organizations to reduce the effects of having a large resident geese population.