Hello, my beloved dekeOlutionaries. Here in our beleaguered but beloved country it’s the Fourth of July. And while it may be currently the fourth of July in many places, for us it’s a celebration of our humble beginnings. And our ability to pretend like blueberries are actually blue when you use them in the service of trying to make a patriotic dessert for your holiday cookout.

Anyway, Linda/LinkedIn is taking the day (actually, the week) off, so there’s no Deke’s Techniques episode today. But I have a few ideas from July 4th’s past to keep you entertained, should the fireworks not be enough.
 

Deke’s Techniques Episode 562: Creating an American Flag in Photoshop

She’s on glass, but she’s impeccably made and exquisitely rendered.

Creating Faux Fireworks against a Synthetic Sky in Photoshop

This is a technique I borrowed from Howard Pinsky and adapted for our July 4, 2013 blog post.

There’s Gonna Be Fireworks

In the early days of dekeWorld, I shared this childhood gem, the "Fireworks" episode of Schoolhouse Rock. 

1776
And here’s how I’m spending my day. Love the Salon headline: Fourth of July viewing: Before there was “Hamilton,” there was “1776.” A poetically (and sometimes hilariously clever) crafted script. And songs that will blast out any idiotic, jingoistic tune you might horrifically encounter today.

 Peace and Freedom my brothers and sisters of dekeLand.