...INTO THE ABYSS
If it's been a minute since you heard from us here at Boredwalk, that means one of two things:
• You've purposely limited the frequency with which you receive our emails, or
• You've been a busy bee and haven't opened one in a while
I get it! There are a lot of people, places, things, and other noun-adjacent entities vying for your attention ALL THE TIME, and it's important to set boundaries.
However, sometimes an event so momentous comes along that we feel compelled to shout it from the rooftops, and today is a prime example.
As you can see up top, we have a new book! Adventures in the Abyss is our loving homage to the activity books of our youth, but with a decidedly Boredwalk sensibility. Inside its covers are almost 100 pages of:
• Mazes
• Creative writing prompts
• Word searches
• Rebus puzzles
• Coloring pages
• Logic puzzles
• Cryptograms
• Word jumbles
• Crossword puzzles
• Trivia
And lots more! This book is softcover, measures 8x10, is printed on high-quality 80 lb. uncoated paper that will stand up to ballpoint pens, pencils, markers, and even fancy gel & fountain pens, and was printed right here in North America!
Boredwalk co-founder Meredith and I spent months working on this, and we think it's really special and has been well worth the wait; every person who has seen and touched our sample copies over the last few weeks has been very impressed with it.
We hope you're intrigued enough to purchase a copy (or ten), and that you're as pleased with the finished product as we are. If you enjoyed our Grievance Journal, you'll be blown away by Adventures in the Abyss!
If you're on the fence and don't care about being the first person on your block to have a copy, you should join us next week for our live release party where we'll share some peeks at the pages inside, and our creator team will even do some of the activities while you watch!
Heck, I may even make an appearance, and I hate other humans looking in my general direction, so you know this is a big deal!
Date: Tuesday August 16th
Time: 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT
I'm more excited than Jessie Spano on a Vivarin bender!
OK, that concludes our breathless new product PSA! If you're just here for the random holidays, you're in luck — today happens to be both National Vinyl Record Day AND National Julienne Fries Day AND National Middle Child Day. Treat the middle children in your life to some hot, salty fries and a trip to the record store!
Today is also National (checks notes) Gooey Butter Cake Day, which is apparently a thing? Based on my research, this is mostly of interest to folks in the St. Louis area. I did enjoy this little morsel of trivia:
"According to legend, the treat was invented in the 1930s when a baker from St. Louis used far too much butter in his coffee cake batter. After baking, he then sold the gooey cake and received positive feedback."
First of all, unless we are veering into Paula Deen* territory as far as butter usage, I find it hard to imagine anyone delivering negative feedback regarding extra butter.
*LOL, remember her? Like a racist Icarus, she soared too close to the Sun on wings made of butter, and then that butter did what butter does when it gets even slightly warm...
Second of all, "far too much butter" should definitely replace "in God we trust" on all US currency. It's much more relevant to the US as it currently exists. Who's with me?!
*****
Moving on to notable August 12th birthdays, there are quite a few! If today happens to be YOUR birthday, dear reader, happy birthday to you! Also sharing in the festivities are:
• Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton found to date was discovered by Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota this day in 1990
• Singer-songwriter & guitarist Porter Wagoner was born this day in 1927
• Singer-songwriter & guitarist Buck Owens was born this day in 1929
• Novelist, playwright, and screenwriter William Goldman was born this day in 1931. Notable works of Mr. Goldman include Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Princess Bride
• Actor, director, and screenwriter Jim Beaver was born this day in 1950, his most notable role being that of demon hunter Bobby Singer on the television series Supernatural
• Rapper, producer, actor, and buttocks aficionado Sir Mix-a-Lot first graced existence with his presence on this day in 1963
• Finally, former world tennis champ Pete Sampras was born this day in 1971
Before I wrap this up, shout out to astute readers who correctly informed me that Wikipedia led me astray earlier this week when it said that Wednesday was the birthday of Charles Darrow, who it credited with the invention of the board game Monopoly. Turns out Darrow was a thief who stole the design from Lizzie Magie's The Landlord's Game, which she patented in 1904. Guess the US's intellectual property laws were just as much of a sham then as they are now! Thanks for speaking truth to misinformation, kind readers!
*****
OK, that's it — you made it to the end of this email! Huzzah! I hope that it has been worth the effort to read. If it hasn't, let me know why you didn't like it, and I will endeavor to improve next week!
We'll be back here in your inbox on Monday with a fresh email, including a brand new customer Q&A, so don't miss it! Until next time...
Peace, love, and adventuring in the abyss,
Matt
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