April 20, 2022

What could April 20th *possibly* have in store? 🤔

C'MON — YOU KNOW WHAT TODAY IS 🥴

It's National Cheddar Fries Day! And National Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day! And National Banana Day! It's almost as if all these delicious munchies are being celebrated today of all days for a particular reason...

Little kid thinks he's so smart about 420 GIF

Shut up, narc! Today is also Lima Bean Respect Day;
go hang out with them, Captain Buzzkill.

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We have a few April 20th birthday mentions before we get to this week's round up of amusing links:

Bandleader, musician, and songwriter Tito Puente, born this day in 1923! Mr. Puente was known for his danceable mambo and Latin jazz compositions, with his most famous song being the iconic 'Oye Como Va.'

• Actor and activist George Takei, born this day in 1937! Mr. Takei is best-known for his role as 3rd Officer/Helmsman/Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu of the USS Enterprise in the original Star Trek television series and film franchise. Now he's mostly famous for being awesome and a champion of LGBTQ and immigrant rights.

• Actress Jessica Lange, born this day in 1949! Ms Lange has won a lot of awards for her work, including two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and five Golden Globes. That's a lot of hardware!

• Singer, songwriter, and record producer Luther Vandross, born this day in 1951! Mr. Vandross was massively popular in the 1980s as a solo artist after getting his start in the music biz as a back-up singer for artists like Chaka Khan, David Bowie, Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Sister Sledge, Cat Stevens, Carly Simon, Barbara Streisand, and others, as well as a successful writer of commercial jingles for brands like Kentucky Fried Chicken, Mountain Dew, NBC, Juicy Fruit, and Burger King. Prolific and versatile!

• Major League Baseball icon Don "Donnie Baseball" Mattingly, born this day in 1961! Though not in the Hall of Fame (yet), Mr. Mattingly acquired a ton of awards during his playing career, the most notable of which was "Being the One New York Yankee Little Matt Didn't Utterly Despise."

• Actor and professional creep Crispin Glover, born this day in 1964! Sure, he may have played Marty McFly's confidence-deficient dad in Back to the Future, but if your middle name is Hellion and you're weird and reclusive enough to be "rumored" to collect antique medical examination tables, you're probably a bit of a creep. I don't make the rules!

• Actor and emaciated materialistic hobbit Andy Serkis, born this day in 1964! Mr. Serkis has played a lot of very different roles over the course of his career, the most famous of which is undoubtedly Gollum in the Lord of the Rings film franchise, but my favorites are his voice acting work as Captain Haddock in the animated The Adventures of Tintin and legendary eccentric post-punk record producer Martin Hannett in 24 Hour Party People, which for some inexplicable reason is not listed on his Wikipedia page. Come on, Wikipedia! Get your sh!t together!

• Finally, happy death day to Irish author Bram Stoker, who shuffled off this mortal coil on this day in 1912 following a series of strokes attributed to syphilis. You know who doesn't need to worry about STIs? Vampires. Just sayin'.

Now on to some amusing links!

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1. Ugh, this four-top is the WORST

Filmmaker Dayle McLeod really nails the vibe of this archetypal dining party. Keep your sage and tales of your juice cleanse at home!

2. Life in your thirties

I dunno — I was still relatively spry and down for late-night raging in my thirties. Forties, though? Accurate.

3. Kiddos being weirdos

This Twitter account is full of pix and memes about kids being weird, but isn't that really just kids being kids? I think so.

4. Meditation fails

TikTok-er (or, since it's 4/20, TikTOKER) Amber Ulrey provides a fairly accurate portrayal of what Boredwalk co-founder Meredith experiences every time she tries to meditate.

5. A rabbit hole within a rabbit hole? How meta!

No, not that Meta — the meta-meta. The one we don't all love to hate. This Wikipedia page is a list of common misconceptions. If you happen to be, uh, "celebrating" in the customary style today, enjoy having your mind blown and/or your biases reinforced!

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OK! Hopefully these little diversions helped to brighten your day! We'll be back here in your inbox on Friday with more entertainment and Boredwalk news and a secret limited edition weekend drop you will NOT want to miss! Until then...

Peace, love, and responsible munching,

Matt