April 11, 2022

😾 All our heroes... 🥪

...HAVE BEEN ANGRY CATS AND (SUBMARINE) SANDWICHES.

Happy National Pet Day! I hope you're able to celebrate in style with your favorite furry, feathery, or scaly friends. I expect my evening will be spent being alternately shrieked and/or purred at by my feline buddy Oliver. He never misses an opportunity to register his disappointment with my performance as a caretaker, and I'm sure he'll be shifting his judgmental tendencies into overdrive today. As the shirt says, bad vibes only, indeed.

Today is also National Submarine Day, which honors the US Navy's April 11th, 1900 purchase of the USS Holland IV, the first "modern" commissioned submarine. I'm really glad that submarines (the submersible vessels) exist...though when push comes to shove I will take the submarine sandwich every time. It's a good thing I'm not involved with our country's national defense strategy.

Ned Flanders sub sandwich GIF

You say that like it's a bad thing, Ned.

Finally, if you're feeling groovy and musically inclined, today is also National Eight Track Tape Day! With vinyl and now even CDs enjoying a resurgence in popularity, it's only a matter of time before some up-and-coming generation of music fans decides to champion the eight track and rescue it from obsolescence.  

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Famous April 11th birthdays? There've been a few:

• Norwegian sculptor Gustave Vigeland, born this day in 1869! Mr. Vigeland not only designed the Nobel Peace Prize Medal, but his installation in Frogner Park in Oslo, Norway is one of my favorite places to spend time looking at angry children and their parents frozen in various states of emotional angst. I know that sounds unpleasant, but trust me — it's hilarious.

• Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster Cerys Matthews, born this day in 1969! Ms Matthews was a founding member and lead singer of the band Catatonia, who were quite popular in the UK in the mid to late 1990s. Their 1998 album International Velvet and its corresponding single 'Mulder and Scully' were both sizable hits, achieving #1 and #3 placements on the charts, respectively.

• It was also on this day in 1881 that Spelman College (then known as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary) was founded. Spelman received its collegiate charter in 1924 and is the oldest private historically black liberal arts college for women in the United States.

• Today also marks the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which, among other things, prohibited discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.

• Finally, today marks the release of the Apple I personal desktop computer in 1976, which retailed for the low, low price of $666.66. (Not really that low; in 2022 dollars it would have retailed for around $3,100.00. Same as it ever was.)

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Alrighty! Scroll on down to learn about fellow Boredwalk fan (and accomplished artist) Lisa Y.! If you'd like to be featured in our Monday Q&A segment, reply to this email and let us know!

We'll be back in your inbox on Wednesday morning with links to fun distractions! If you're in a shopping mood, be sure to use the code YAY10 at checkout to save 10% on orders of $100 or more! Until next time...

Peace, love, and delicious boats,

Matt