Memorial Day Weekend

This year for Memorial Day my sister Laura Flippin hosted a BBQ for friends and family. I felt like she nailed providing every authentic Americana BBQ dish. Laura’s BBQ made me think about what are the top “must haves” at an authentic Memorial Day BBQ or if a foreigner was trying to replicate an authentic Memorial Day BBQ, what would they need as a road map?

Here’s my list below, inspired by my sister Laura Flippin’s Memorial Day BBQ extravaganza.

1)   Red, White & Blue decorations

2)   Hot dogs and hamburgers with fixings

3)   Deviled eggs (homemade)

4)   Potato salad (homemade)

5)   UTZ potato chips and dip

6)   A grill (the hotdogs and hamburgers don’t count as authentic unless grilled)

7)   A good selection of beer and at least one summer ale.

8)   An American dessert (Laura had brownies and watermelon - simple, yet perfect)

9)   A cheers to our service members (it can be personalized if there is a friend or family member in service present)

10)  Ketchup (No BBQ would be complete without it)

Artists Anywhere and Everywhere

Tablets and Apps are creating more and more design programs where you can free-style, and experiment on your own, with no teacher or leader.  A sketching and painting software called Sketchbook has over 25 million users and over 12,000 downloads across all different platforms. Everyday people who would never describe themselves as artists all the way to professionals have access to these types of programs.  That is a beautiful thing!

Musicians are using apps to create sounds that have never been heard before.

Actors are using apps to audition for plays and movies. Steve Coulter, a professional actor who played in the Hunger Games uses his tablet to audition for films and TV shows. His audition for Taken 3, taken on his Tablet has been successful and the movie will be released next year!

There are numerous photo apps that allow you to edit the quality of your photos. Instagram, Procreate, Image Blender, and Photosynth are among the few that can drastically change the quality and creativity of your photo.

This is seen as a turning point in time.  People who may not normally take the time out of their day to create a photo collage or buy some canvas' and paints can express their creativity very easily through use of these apps.  This use of technology is seen as extremely rewarding.

Read more here.