THEY BOTH LIKE GOING BATTY.

Happy Islamic New Year! Also, happy National Potato Day, World Humanitarian Day, and National Aviation Day!

I don't know how you plan to celebrate all those events, but I definitely plan on drowning myself in a variety of potato dishes later this evening. 

Before we get to the links, though, some birthday wishes are in order!

• First up, feliz cumpleaños to baseball legend Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker, born this day in 1934! Mr. Clemente wasn't nearly as heralded during his playing days as he should have been due to playing in the smaller Pittsburgh market, but his outfield exploits were impressive enough to make him the first Latin American player enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Beyond his on-field abilities, though, he was also heavily involved in charity work during the off-seasons, delivering baseball equipment, supplies, and food to those in need in Latin American and Caribbean countries. He actually died in a plane crash in 1972 at the age of 38 while trying to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. The very next year, Major League Baseball began awarding the Roberto Clemente Award to the player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team."

• Next, happy birthday to actor Patrick Wayne Swayze, born this day in 1952! For a period of time — roughly 1983, when he starred as "Darry" in the film adaptation of S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, through 1991's Point Break (still to this day one of my dad's favorite films, and yes, that dad joke of a subject line was definitely inspired by him) — the world was legitimately "crazy for Swayze." He still had a robust career throughout the 90s and 2000s before his untimely death from cancer at the age of 57. Bigby, our cat, keeps the flame lit, though — his favorite movie of all-time is Road House. 

OK, link time!

1. Aquascaping is the cool hobby I never knew existed that I now desperately want to take up.

The Green Machine isn't the only company that specializes in aquascaping, but wow, do they get bonus points for presentation! H/t to BoredPanda (no affiliation with Boredwalk) and Reddit user /u/isaac_horstmeier for clueing me in!

2. Matty Benedetto makes unnecessary inventions that are somehow very necessary...for making me laugh.

I first became familiar with Matty's absurdist "products" after he started posting them on Reddit a year ago, but even during the pandemic he's been cranking out hilariously useless stuff that's very of-the-moment, including Streaming Roulette Dice™ (for when you can't decide what to watch next), the Drink O'Clock™ (to help you determine when to switch from coffee to alcohol and vice versa), and The Sourdough Satchel™ (for when you want to take your bread baby out for a socially distanced stroll, I guess).

3. Ever felt like Mother Nature just isn't bringing her A-game? Now you can sit in judgment of her work by rating the meadows she produces.

Honestly, I feel like there is beauty everywhere in nature, but some of the photography here could use some work. Judge the humans behind the photos instead!

4. Mimi Choi's Instagram is where makeup and surrealist art go hand in hand!

Salvador Dalí famously stated "I don't do drugs — I am drugs", and based on Mimi's work I feel confident that she is operating on a similar level to ol' Sal.

5. Swedish art collective Anonymouse have made a habit of building miniature houses for mouses* and displaying them all around the streets of Sweden. They're as adorable as you're imagining.

*Yes, I know that mice is the plural form of mouse, but I can't resist an obvious rhyming opportunity when it presents itself like that.

6. BONUS: These goth bats are everything. It's like a cute, furry, leathery update on SNL's old Spockets sketches.

PSA: bats are friends, not food. Eating them is what got us all into this Covid mess in the first place.