News
1.21 SNAKE-A-WATTS!
Happy National: Back to the Future, Reptile Awareness, Reptile, and Apple Day! And also National Day of the Nacho (I wanted to be faithful to the correct syntax with that one). I don't know how you specifically plan to celebrate all of these wondrous holidays simultaneously, but if it involves a full back-to-back-to-Back to the Future trilogy screening while eating nachos garnished with apple salsa in the company of your favorite reptilian friend...PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!
Alright, cake time!
• First up, happy birthday to acclaimed English poet, literary critic, and philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge, born this day in 1772! Mr. Coleridge, along with his buddy William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement that was popular in the first half of the 19th century. He was a major influence on Ralph Waldo Emerson and American transcendentalism, but is perhaps best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner — which inspired the amazing Iron Maiden song of same name — and Kubla Khan. He also suffered mightily from anxiety and depression, and a life-long opium addiction.
• Next, grattis på födelsedagen to Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, and philanthropist Alfred Bernhard Nobel, born this day in 1833! A controversial figure during his lifetime, Mr. Nobel held over 355 patents, the most famous of which was dynamite. It was a premature French obituary accusing him of profiting from arms sales ("the merchant of death is dead") that prompted Nobel to donate his fortune by creating the Nobel Prize in an effort to rehabilitate his legacy ahead of his demise. When you're that wealthy, you can control the story, I guess...
• Sling a jazzy slice across the table to famed trumpeter John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie, born this day in 1917! Mr. Gillespie first came up as a luminary of the Swing movement before striking off with his contemporary Charlie Parker and becoming leading figures in the development of bebop and other modern jazz idioms. Key tracks: 'Manteca', 'A Night In Tunisia', 'Groovin' High', and 'Con Alma'.
• Cut a piece for sci fi & fantasy legend Ursula Kroeber Le Guin, born this day in 1929! Ms. Le Guin's most known works are probably found in her Earthsea series, as well as those set in her science fiction Hainish Cycle, and frequently featured elements of cultural anthropology, Taoism, and feminism.
• Finally, a very happy birthday to Princess Leia herself, Carrie Frances Fisher, born this day in 1956! When we think of living a public life, they don't get much more public than the child star daughter of a famous actor and singer who became an iconic star at the age of 21 with the release of the first Star Wars film. Don't sleep on her roles in When Harry Met Sally..., The 'Burbs, and The Man With One Red Shoe, though!
OK, link time!
1. Still not sure if you should wear a mask? Maybe Lumiere and Mrs. Potts can convince you.
As Disney parodies go, this one is pretty great.
2. Still not sure if you should bother voting? Maybe this amazing woman can convince you.
Bring your chair, bring your snacks, and get your jush on!
3. Twitter user Decadent_Dayne like to narrate cooking videos on Tik Tok, and they are amazing!
Broccolini never looked so sexy.
4. Miss Mexico contestants are competing in traditional costumes, and they are stunning!
Cool thing about this listicle: it also acts as a travelogue of Mexican states, their geography, and their cultural history!
Seriously — some of these poignant exchanges could be ripped right out of conversations Meredith and I have with each other.
I'm partial to big (and small) cats, but ALL of these are very deserving winners. A feast for the eyes! Just don't lose sight of your nachos...
BURSTING AT THE SEAMS WITH CAKE!
Happy National Dessert Day! Fittingly, we will be feasting on a LOT of cyber-cake today. However, today is also National Fossil Day, so don't forget to give a socially-distanced air-hug to your friendly neighborhood paleontologist for bringing us cool stuff like dinosaur skeletons and a keener understanding of our own place in Earth's history.
Alright, cake time!
• First up, alles gute zum geburtstag to political philosopher Johanna "Hannah" Arendt, born this day in 1906! Ms. Arendt's writings delved into a broad range of topics, but her most notable works dealt with the nature of power & evil, politics, direct democracy, authority, and totalitarianism.
• Next, happy birthday to 34th President of the United States Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower, born this day in 1890! While his post-WWII foreign policy outside of the creation of NATO was at times "problematic" (Korean War, Bay of Pigs, various other proxy entanglements, etc.), domestically he was a more moderate conservative, continuing and expanding upon New Deal agencies, expanding Social Security, and covertly opposing McCarthyism during the "Red Scare" via use of executive privilege. He signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and authorized the use of federal troops to enforce the integration of public schools in Little Rock, Arkansas. He also promoted strong science education via the National Defense Education Act, authorized the creation of NASA following the USSR's successful launching of the Sputnik satellite, and created the Interstate Highway System. Despite his rep as a former general and commander of Allied forces, one of his parting addresses to the country before he left office was to warn against the proliferation of excessive military spending and the nascent "military-industrial complex", a term he coined.
• Finally, happy birthday to eternally baby-faced R&B icon Usher Raymond, born this day in 1978! Besides selling over 80 million copies of his albums worldwide, he's also very active with humanitarian causes and started his own nonprofit foundation, Usher's New Look, which works to improve the lives of disadvantaged kids & adolescents.
OK, link time!
They're pun-tastic!
I will never look at Candyland the same way again.
The most wholesome of which is probably the one regarding some 'athletic sandals': "John, 58. Likes fishing and treasures his wife. Tells "pull my finger" jokes and lets the grandkids have ice cream when grandma goes to bed."
Between Vanessa and the people acting as her "canvas", there is a LOT of patience on display in this feed.
Mmm...beefcake...
Boredwalk Community: Some Of Us Have Places To Be
Welcome to our weekly Boredwalk Community series, where we ask Boredwalk fans fun questions! This week we're talking to Jennie Z., showing off a What a Time to be Alive and Anxious shirt.
1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?
Graphic designer (t-shirts are my specialty!), but I still want to be a music video director when I grow up. I'm over 40. I should probably get my life together.
2. What's your biggest pet peeve?
People who drive the speed limit in the passing lane. Some of us have places to be, Sharon.
3. If you could have any super power what would it be and why?
I wish I could say flying, but I'm scared of heights and I don't think the fact that I can't fall would fix that.
4. You can curse your nemesis with a minor annoyance for eternity; what do you choose?
Popcorn stuck in the back teeth.
5. What experience do you most want to cross off your bucket list?
Torn between volcanoes erupting and glaciers so I guess I'm going to Iceland.
6. If you drink: what's your go-to drink? If you don't drink: what's your go-to dessert or snack?
Gin & Tonic 4 lyf.
7. What's a book you think the Boredwalk community should read?
Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, if you've somehow missed it.
8. What is a surprising fact about you?
I'm not actually a hobbit. (Ed. note: Is this a frequent misconception people have about you?!)
9. Clear up a misconception (about your job, where you are from, some other topic you know a lot about).
People don't think podcasting be like it is, but it do. (So you're a graphic designer with a concentration in t-shirts who JUST HAPPENS to also have a podcast. Hmmm...)
10. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?
@jennie_z on Twitter should get you wherever you wanna go. Also zellsbells.com and BelleAndDubs.com