Hello, patriots and compatriots, and welcome to this week’s Friday Open Thread! We have one of these every Friday because we long for connection, but today our special Internet-wide celebration of ourselves is even more chock-full of fireworks and picnic baskets because IT’S THE FOURTH OF JULY. For a grrl like me who hunts down American flag print anything and listens to a lot of Bruce Springsteen, this is the most wonderful time of the year. So let’s party!
I’m celebrating Independence Day from Seattle this year, where I’m arriving via Vancouver because I’m on a trip to see my boo. In other words, I feel really good about myself and the amount of red, white, and blue liquor I’m about to consume because this year, I celebrated Canada Day, too. I’m a fine-tuned nationalism machine, and I’m here to listen to your star-spangled dreams.
Today is a day for fireworks, barbecue sauce, probably a lot of drunken squalor, and a ton of misdirected conversations about politics, none of which would be as fun without you. Which brings me here! I’d like to chat with you about pretty much anything that’s on your mind, especially if it includes your favorite song about the US of A or the memories you have of riding the tilt-a-whirl with your middle school crush at your small town’s Fourth of July carnival. But also, we can talk about anything. Like, seriously anything. Hold nothing back. I’d also love to see pictures, and will reward all of you who pass through here and leave behind memories of a lovely pet creature thing in your life with a photo of my dog, Eli. (He loves America just as ironically as I do, JSYK.)
SO! How are you celebrating this fine day in American history? Or, rather, if you’re the rest of the world, how’s your Friday going? Maybe you’re reading an awesome book or wearing a new crop top — what’s that all about? If you’re out grillin’, what’s your recipe? Also, does anyone else here want to talk about vegetarian sloppy joe because I want to talk about fucking vegetarian sloppy joe, even if I do insist on calling them “Fancy Janes” because of this one time Stef did.
Okay, footloose and fancy free loose cannons! Time to let ‘er rip. Tell me your life – and maybe engage and interact with someone else in the thread today, too. After all, what would Ben Franklin do? Besides drink, that is.
How To Post a Photo In The Comments:
1. Find a photo! This is the easy part. Find a photo on the web, right click (on a Mac, control+click), hit “Copy Image URL,” and then…
2. Code it in to your comment! Use the following code, and use a DIRECT LINK to the image. Your image link should end in .JPG or .GIF or .PNG or .CallMeWhateverYouWant even. I don’t care, but it should be an image suffix!
<img src=”http://imageurlgoeshere.jpg”>
If you need to upload the photo you love from your computer, try using imgur. To learn more, check out Ali’s step-by-step guide.
How To Post a Video In The Comments, Too:
1. Find a video on YouTube or Vimeo or WHATEVER and click “embed.” Copy that code, but first make sure it’s for 640px wide or less. If your player is too large, it will not display properly.
2. Copy the code and paste it directly into your comment.
3. Go forth and jam.
