Your 3-day weekend is over. BUT! The explosions. Those live on.

Let's be honest: Your fireworks photos probably suck. You were likely crowded in a swarm of sweaty people that proved difficult to angle your phone to the heavens, so instead you were left with a blurry mess.

Readers, I have a confession. Having grown up in the puritanical state of Massachusetts where even sparklers are illegal, I knew fireworks only as explosions in the far-off sky. I did not know fireworks were things ordinary people could buy, touch, and maim themselves with.

It's the 4th of July this Friday. So grab your cameras and some fireworks. Let's make some sparkly GIFs.

Summer's in full swing. So it's time to make excuses. Excuses to use your camera, to be immature, and to hit somebody consentingly in the face with a water balloon.

Get enough fireworks on the 4th? Neither did we. Here are 75 fantastic photos of fireworks to appease your inner pyromaniac.

This wipe away USA chalkboard map reminds me of those pull-down maps you had in grade school. Except you won't get in trouble for drawing all over this one.

You've already checked marching band music off your list if you went to a local parade this morning. Now that you've got that covered, here's a Fourth of July-themed Spotify playlist so you can rock out, America-style today.

Say what you will about Americans, but we are really, really good at blowing things up. And for this week's Shooting Challenge—and the 4th of July!—we're going to celebrate that in our traditional fashion.

Americans sure do love blowing things up. And here are 111 amazing photos that prove it.

It's July 4, and blowing stuff up is acceptable. Nay, it's encouraged. Just as long as you're not doing what the idiots in the above clip are doing.

In light of the holiday, you might hear a lot of the national anthem this week. Radiohead's version is not one of unwavering patriotism, but it's a bass-heavy, brass-backed banger that they play at nearly every live show.

The Fourth of July is far and away one of my favorite holidays. It's an excuse to be overtly patriotic, blow things up, gorge yourself on barbecue, and drink beer. Lots and lots of beer. Just in time for Independence Day, DQM has come out with this Chinook Cooler Bag.

The Fourth of July is tomorrow. And as usual, we'll celebrate our nation's independence (sorry international readers) by blowing up a small chunk of it. So get out your cameras and document the beautiful idiocy.

It's almost Independence Day, which means lots of big, bright, sulfury booms. Even if you're not planning on checking out a full-fledged fireworks display, you can still make your own little rockets using items you probably have lying around your house.

No offense to Betsy Ross, but this is an American flag made for the 21st Century. It's a digital weave created from the avatars of Twitter users who tweet about Independence Day using a July 4th hashtag.

It's Fourth of July here in the states. While most Americans are celebrating with non-stop food, beer and fireworks, Barry Ritholtz took a break from the festivities to create this ingenious ANSI art. Amazingly, this creation only uses 100 characters so it's Twitter-safe and perfect for some re-Tweet love this holiday…

What sort of July 4th would it be without big bang boom fireworks? But when you take pictures of them, how come it never looks good? The Smithsonian's Bigger Picture has culled some tips on how to properly shoot fireworks.