IT'S GONNA BE A DEVIL OF A GOOD TIME!

Happy National Monte Cristo Day! I love this lesser holiday because it combines two of my very favorite things: sandwiches and revenge.

But is it better than a ham & swiss on sourdough dipped in egg batter and fried & drizzled with maple syrup? These are the important questions to ask, Elvira.

The revenge part is of course courtesy of Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, one of the greatest stories about long-term retribution ever written. How ironic that, counter to the conventional wisdom pertaining to revenge's optimal serving temperature, the sandwich is best served hot!

So what does a complicated sandwich have to do with our See You at the After-Party hoodie? Not a thing! I have unfortunately been too busy putting out fires at the Boredwalk HQ the last few weeks to work on any new art, so I'm just getting through the drudgery by looking forward to Spooky Season next month and waiting for the SoCal weather to cool down enough to break out my hoodies. Fingers crossed I can get back to the drawing board next week!

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Let's check in on today's birthday persons, shall we?

Happy birthday to Andrew "Rube" Foster, born this day in 1879! Mr. Foster was a baseball player, manager, and executive in the Negro baseball leagues in the first half of the 20th century. He helped organize the league and was the founder and manager of the Chicago American Giants, one of the most successful Black baseball teams of the pre-integration era. 

Also deserving of some birthday cake — or at least some savory jambalaya — is Hiram "Hank" Williams, Sr., born this day in 1923! Despite his brief life — he passed away at the age of 29 — Mr. Williams is one of the most significant and influential figures in American popular music. He recorded 35 singles that reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Country & Western charts, 11 of which reached number one. Impressive!

Next up, cut a piece of space cake for counterculture essayist and novelist Ken Kesey, born this day in 1935! Kesey considered himself a bridge between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. He wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in the early 1960s, supplementing his income as a test subject in studies of hallucinogenic drugs. Trippy!

Today is also the birthday of dearly departed actor John Ritter, born this day in 1948! While he had successful roles in the late 1980s and 1990s, he shot to fame in the mid-1970s as Jack Tripper on Three's Company. He was a master of physical comedy and is sorely missed.

Speaking of Spooky Season and Elvira's thirst for vengeance, a very haunted birthday to Cassandra Peterson, born this day in 1951! Ms Peterson shot to fame in 1981 as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, hostess/presenter of the weekly B-movie feature Elvira's Movie Macabre on KHJ-TV.

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No podcast episode this week due to the aforementioned fires, but stay tuned for it next week!

Alright! If you're in a spending mood this weekend — like, say, buying that rad See You at the After-Party hoodie up top — don't forget to use the code SUMMER10 at checkout to save 10% on orders of $75 or more! 

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

Peace, love, and after-party cocktails,

Matt