News

Welcome to our weekly Boredwalk Community series, where we ask Boredwalk fans fun questions! This week we're talking to Dara P. of Oceanside CA, showing off a Someday We'll All Be Dead Shirt.

1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?

My actual day job is being an English professor. My dream day job is to swim with whales in the wild (not animal jail) for money.

2. What keeps you up at night?

Injustice.

3. What's your biggest pet peeve?

People who put their socks and shoes on like this: sock/shoe, sock/shoe. It’s obviously supposed to be sock/sock, shoe/shoe. (Ed. note: You are correct. The sock/shoe people are holding us back as a society. These are probably the same people who replace toilet paper rolls with the roll facing the wrong way IN DIRECT OPPOSITION TO THE ORIGINAL PATENT ILLUSTRATIONS. Philistines!)

4. What's a book you think the Boredwalk community should read?

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. In my opinion, it is the most important dystopic novel ever written. But dang it! Can I have two? Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. (You may.)

5. What's the most useful piece of advice you've ever received?

"Academia is one of the last safe places for people like you."

6. Clear up a misconception (about your job, where you are from, some other topic you know a lot about.)

I’m from New York. Not all parts of New York are cool. The part I’m from is not cool.

7. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?

Walking about Oceanside, CA. Or on Instagram @ProfessorDara

We'll be back next week with another new episode, more new designs, and other fun stuff! Until then...

Peace, love, and tacos,

Matt

p.s. - A hearty congratulations to my hometown Washington Nationals on their World Series victory! DC didn't have a baseball team when I was a kid, so I'm ride-or-die for the Baltimore Orioles, but the District and the fans of its sportsball teams deserves a reprieve from its historically long-suffering status.

Welcome to our weekly Boredwalk Community series, where we ask Boredwalk fans fun questions! This week we're talking to Dan L. of Ramsey NJ, showing off a Someday We'll All Be Dead Shirt.

1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?

I'm the director of sales for Painful Pleasures, a tattoo supply company out of Maryland. I work out of my home in NJ. It has become both my "dream" job and my "real" job. The owners of the company are really nice people. My job rarely feels like work.

2. What's your biggest pet peeve?

I have thousands, but I think when people mispronounce the word "picture" as "pitcher"...if I hear that, I know my blood pressure is on the rise. Oh wait, no — the fact that people still smoke cigarettes. I could have sworn I heard something about them not being healthy. I have too many pet peeves. (You're in excellent company, dude.)

3. What experience do you most want to cross off your bucket list?

Getting my new band Vessel of Light some shows opening for Danzig. (Side bar: Dan is the guitarist for metal band Vessel of Light, and they. are. awesome. Metal-Temple.com just gave their new album Thy Serpent Rise a 10/10 rating, and I whole-heartedly concur. If you dig metal, check Vessel of Light out!)

4. What's a life pro tip the Boredwalk community needs to know?

If you ever feel like you're getting sick, gargle with hydrogen peroxide. Then take cotton swabs and dip them in the peroxide and stick them in your ears and nose. You just killed all the nasty germs in your ears, nose, and throat.

5. What's a surprising fact about you?

I haven't called out sick to work since 1988. (That is some epic work ethic. And/or that hydrogen peroxide tip has worked wonders for you!)

6. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?

On Instagram @danlorenzoCK and the rest of the web at http://www.danlorenzo.net/

And if you haven't done so yet, hurry on over to enter to win the Hocus Pocus Giveaway! Entries close on October 28th, and you don't want to miss out on these delightfully spooky treats — a $500 value!

We'll be back next week with a new Boredwalk Community Q&A, new art, and a new podcast ep, but until then...

Peace, love, and tacos,

Matt

We hope you enjoyed it. We'll be back on Tuesday with details on the aforementioned giveaway, and will (hopefully) have some new designs to share — provided I can bring myself to create new stuff. Again: fingers crossed!

Peace, love, and tacos,

Matt

p.s. - In the event you haven't been by in a while, below is a roundup of some recent designs:

Welcome to our weekly Boredwalk Community series, where we ask Boredwalk fans fun questions! This week we're talking to Rachel B. of Anniston AL, showing off an Oxford Comma Shirt.

1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?

I taught high school English for years, but now I'm actually working my dream job! I'm a high school librarian (or Media Specialist if you want to be fancy) and LOVING every minute of it. Going back to college after a decade of being done with taking tests and doing homework while simultaneously working as a full-time teacher was scary and stressful, but it was worth it for the chance to live my life in my favorite place — the library! Now I get to help students find their favorite new book series and, every once in a while, I get to hear the best words in the world: "I didn't think I liked reading, but this book is great!"

2. What keeps you up at night?

I'm a HUGE Doctor Who nerd. Like, huge. The BBC, in all its wisdom, decided in the early 1970s-ish that they didn't need to keep old episodes of the show, and either wiped them to use the tapes again or just straight up burned them. So now there are huge swaths of the show that are gone forever. There are legendary episodes that I would give my right arm to see and never will. It literally bothers me in the night that I can't watch them. (Ed. note: that is a massive bummer!)

3. If you could have any super power, what would it be?

Oh, time travel for sure. I'm a history buff, and even if I couldn't go back and change things, I would just take some popcorn with me and nerd out watching major historical events unfold. And original-run 1960s Doctor Who episodes, of course.

4. You can curse your nemesis with a minor annoyance for eternity; what do you choose?

I would curse them with the nagging worry that they've forgotten to pay a bill. They don't know what it's for, but they're pretty sure it's important and it's overdue.

5. What's a book you think the Boredwalk community should read?

Oh, goodness. I don't even know where to start on this one. I could make lists in every genre, but since it's fall, I guess I'll go with something spooky. I re-read Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House every year because I love the way it builds an under-stated tension that slowly works up to full horror. I also love that it can be read on several levels — as a straight-up horror story, or as a metaphor for 1950s-style female suppression. Reading it always gets me in the mood for the Halloween season. Plus, the new Netflix adaptation is a textbook example of how to take quality source material and create something new and wonderful that pays homage to the original, but also tells its own unique story.

6. Clear up a misconception (about your job, where you are from, some other topic you know a lot about.)

AFFECT is the ACTION, EFFECT is the RESULT. (It drives me crazy when people get this wrong, too!)

7. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?

On Instagram @dandydalek where I mostly post pictures of my cat, Olive. She's a jerk.

Well, it's October 11th, and here at Boredwalk HQ we're feeling a little frisky. The weather here in LA is (slowly) starting to cool off, but not so cool that we're not shutting things down a little early today to take a company outing for some board games & tasty treats! Don't worry, though; we're still committed to getting your new favorite tees, tanks, hoodies, and bags printed & shipped out as quickly as possible!

If you've been following Boredwalk for a while, you might note that the above "new" Be Yourself design isn't entirely new. This awesome Oscar Wilde quote is one of our favorites, but our original version really didn't do it justice. It was done early on in Boredwalk's history when 1.) we were in a hurry to get our online store up & running and full of designs as quickly as possible, and 2.) I was a much less patient and less polished designer. If you have one of the O.G. shirts and want to upgrade, go for it! If not, take solace in the fact that your current shirt just became much more rare! Hopefully you enjoy this revision as much as I enjoyed working on it. Plus, we picked ink colors with input from Sarah & Charlynn, our production team! With any luck it sells like hotcakes and they get so sick of printing it that they both come to rue the fact that they helped in its creation.

Moving on to other fun stuff, we have a truly awesome podcast episode for your listening pleasure this week! I know I say that every week — and I do mean it sincerely each and every time — but this is one you'll definitely want to listen to! It's a long one, but that's only because our guest was so engaging and insightful and fun to chat with that Meredith and I struggled to stick to our notes. Guess we'll just have to bring him back for a future episode!

This week we were joined by critically-acclaimed author Kealan Patrick Burke. Kealan may be a prolific (and talented) Bram Stoker Award-winning horror author — which is legitimately impressive — but he's also an excellent graphic designer in his own right. He designs his own book covers, and they're awesome! Wanna see?

We chatted with Kealan about his childhood in Ireland, how it informed his love of horror, his development as a writer and all-around creative professional, how he deals with the more annoying aspects of the publishing world, and his method of working through writer's block. We also discuss the books, television shows, and films that inspire him, his recent published works, and the projects he's currently working on. It's such a good episode, I just know you'll love it. Enjoy!

For more information about Kealan and his work, definitely visit his website at KealanPatrickBurke.com. You can (and should) also follow him on Twitter, if only for the cute doggo pix and witty repartee.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend. We'll be back next week with more new designs, a new Boredwalk Community Q&A (of which Kealan is an esteemed alum!), and a new podcast episode. Until then...

Peace, love, and frights,

Matt

Welcome to our weekly Boredwalk Community series, where we ask Boredwalk fans fun questions! This week we're talking to Mike and Tony of Los Angeles CA, showing off a Sundays are for Sundaes t-shirt.

1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?

We both work in consulting, one in finance and the other in engineering. Because we appreciate the fast-paced nature of our careers, suffice to say, we enjoy our chosen paths. Maybe if the stars aligned in the future we could spend more time doing more humanitarian work — helping to make the world a better place for those who may not have the means or voice to do what they dream. Our parents both taught us to give back, and that is something we strive to do, especially as we grow older together. (Ed. note: that is very admirable and something we should all work toward!)

2. If you could have any super power, what would it be?

The power to be invisible...how different the world would be if we could actually experience things when people did not think we were there! Seeing people be their most authentic selves would be very interesting and eye opening for sure! We would hopefully use that power to do more good, but perhaps also have some fun with it along the way.

3. What experience do you most want to cross off your bucket list?

One item we are hoping to cross off our bucket list is to travel to French Polynesia in the South Pacific, either Tahiti or Bora Bora. We work really hard at and travel a ton for our jobs, so we are aiming to take the time off and go together in the next year or so. (We'll keep our fingers crossed that it happens!)

4. What's your biggest pet peeve?

Being in Los Angeles, one of our joint pet peeves is when people drive slower than the pace of traffic in the far-left lane on the freeway. Kindly move over to the right if you want to drive slower and help relieve those bottlenecks.😉 (Amen to that!)

5. What's a life pro tip the rest of the Boredwalk community needs to know?

Take comfort in recognizing that no one is perfect in virtual or actual life, and it's important to remember that we are all carrying something on our shoulders. So be kind, show love, and smile, because that is what matters.

6. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?

On Instagram @mike.and.tony

Welcome to our weekly Boredwalk Community series, where we ask Boredwalk fans fun questions! This week we're talking to Chloe C. of San Francisco CA, who's looking sharp in a Hard Pass t-shirt.

1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?

I work at Microsoft as a Cloud Advocate — I get to teach other developers how to use our tools. My dream day job would be to craft drag costumes for RuPaul full-time! (Ed. note: Ooh, now I want that job, too!)

2. If you could have any super power, what would it be?

The ability to make people stay at least three feet away from me at airports. 🙅🏼‍♀️ (Three? That's it!? You're being very generous with your personal space...)

3. What experience do you most want to cross off your bucket list?

Be on Nickelodeon. (Huh. OK. Just "on Nickelodeon"? Like, as a presenter? Audience member? Are you angling to get slimed on Double Dare? Elaborate, please!)

4. What's your biggest pet peeve?

Humans who don't know how to behave in an airport. (I'm beginning to notice a pattern here...)

5. You can curse your nemesis with a minor annoyance for eternity; what do you choose?

Whenever they gossip about someone, the person in question would appear right behind them and hear it.

6. What's a life pro tip the rest of the Boredwalk community needs to know?

Always keep hand wipes in your carry-on and wipe down the tray & arm rests. (Do you LIVE on an airplane? What is happening here?)

7. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?

On Twitter as @ChloeCondon and Instagram as @gitforked

Welcome to our weekly Boredwalk Community series, where we ask Boredwalk fans fun questions! This week we're talking to Raychelle B. of Austin TX, who's looking sharp in a Feminist is my Second Favorite F-Word t-shirt.

1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?

By day, I am a chemistry professor. By night, I fight crime. Actually, I also fight crime during the day, because I run a forensic chemistry research group. My dream job is NBA or WNBA referee. (Ed. note: now I'm wondering which characters in the MCU and DCU have the highest vertical and best free throw percentage...)

I'd go with Ben Affleck's Batman...

3. What experience do you most want to cross off your bucket list?

Hiking the Speyside Way in Scotland.

4. What's your biggest pet peeve?

White supremacy. But that's not a pet peeve, that is a deep, burning hatred of oppression. Pet peeve...when folks say "we have to talk" and don't say what about, like they're on a soap opera setting up a cliffhanger. Stop that. Tell people exactly what you want to talk about.

5. You can curse your nemesis with a minor annoyance for eternity; what do you choose?

May your package of Skittles or Starbursts never have enough of the flavor you love. (Ed. note: Ouch! Probability is a cruel enough mistress as it is.)

6. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?

Hopefully, in Ballindalloch drinking whisky. Which I'll live-tweet over at @DrRubidium