YOU'RE NOT ALONE

Happy Friday the 13th! I hope you have something extra-spooky planned today to celebrate. Maybe you'd like to slash 13% off some new Boredwalk merch this weekend only? THAT certainly seems celebratory! Just use the code FRIDAY13 at checkout between now and midnight Monday morning! Shout out and thanks to Chris M. for this idea!

Today also happens to be National Blame Someone Else Day. Personally I'm a big fan of personal agency and accountability, but if the shoe fits, the finger points, y'know?

Still need something to get the celebratory juices flowing? How about National Prosecco Day? Bubbles make everything more fun!

Finally, shout out to my lefty brethren and sistren who suffer along with me in a world built for righties. Today is International Lefthanders Day! Wear your ink- and graphite-smudged palms and your poorly-cut sheets of paper like a badge of honor today — I know I will!

Lefties never say die!

As you may have noticed up top, we have a fresh remix of an older design concept to share this week!

We've always appreciated the sentiment behind this C.S. Lewis-inspired quote and thought it deserved a more dynamic presentation than what I originally was able to achieve with my first crack at it a few years ago. Hopefully you like how this updated Bauhaus-inspired version turned out as much as Boredwalk co-founder Meredith and I do!

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No new podcast this week, as Meredith and I are currently out in the Mojave Desert and away from our recording equipment. (I'm sure you're very broken up by this news.) Don't worry, we'll get back in the saddle next week. Maybe the time away will make your ears grow fonder? One can hope!

In the interim, crack some prosecco and cut some cake for these fine birthday persons! 

Alles gute zum geburtstag to Johann Christoph Denner, born this day in 1655! Mr. Denner was a German woodwind instrument maker of the Baroque era and is credited with the invention of the clarinet. 

Happy birthday to orator, abolitionist, and suffragette Lucy Stone, born this day in 1818! Ms Stone was the first woman in the state of Massachusetts to earn a college degree, and she co-founded the weekly newspaper Woman's Journal, which was published from 1870 to 1931.

Cut a piece for famed sharpshooter Annie Oakley, born this day in 1860! Ms Oakley developed her hunting skills as a child to provide food for her impoverished family in northeast Ohio. After defeating a skilled marksman at a shooting contest at the age of 15, Annie and her husband (the defeated marksman!) joined Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show and toured the world demonstrating their sharpshooting expertise.

Happy birthday to The Baltimore Afro-American, founded this day in 1892! The Afro-American is a weekly newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland and is the longest-running African-American family-owned newspaper in the United States. Publisher Carl Murphy, who served as editor of the paper for 45 years beginning in 1922, used the editorial pages of the paper to push for more Black representation in Baltimore's police and fire departments and in the legislature, and a state supported university to educate Black students.  

Happy birthday to Minnie Jocelyn Elders, born this day in 1933! Ms Elders is a retired Vice Admiral in US Army, pediatrician, and former Surgeon General of the United States. Her brief tenure as Surgeon General was marked by dumb controversies that were dumb at the time (1993-1994) and dumber still in 2021. She was (and is) a very smart woman who got a very raw deal. Look her up!

Finally, a very suspenseful birthday to famed director, producer, and screenwriter Alfred Hitchcock, born this day in 1899! Mr. Hitchcock is responsible for a number of stone cold classic thrillers, including Rear Window, The Birds, Psycho, Dial M for Murder, Vertigo, To Catch a Thief, and his television anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

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Alright! We'll be back here in your inbox next week with a fresh Boredwalk Community Q&A with a fan just like you! We'll also have another new podcast episode to share, and another new design! Until then...

Peace, love, and left-handed prosecco toasts,

Matt