THIS DREAMY DEMON IS COMING IN HOT!

Happy National Grouch Day — finally, my time to shine! The day was originally meant to honor the OG grouch, Oscar of Sesame Street fame, but really it's about celebrating all the grouches. As you can imagine, I find being sunny and cheerful overrated. I know society values these qualities, but are we going to do what society wants? I think not.

The world needs rain clouds as much as it needs sun, so if you're a rain cloud like me, today is your reminder to embrace it!

On a spiritual level, I identify as this cat.

As you can see, we have a devilish new design up top and we have a new podcast episode, too! Before we get into that, though, let's take a gander at past October 15ths and do a couple of famous birthday shout outs:

German philosopher, writer, and poet Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was born on this day in 1844! Nietzsche is often referred to as one of the first existentialist philosophers. Although interpretations of his work and philosophy are debated to this day, one thing I can agree with him on is his pessimistic view of modern society and culture (such as it was in his day). Same as it ever was, Friedrich. I hope he's somewhere in the ether celebrating Grouch Day today; I think he'd appreciate the occasion.

Next up, kick things up a notch for celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, and cookbook author Emeril John Lagassé III, born today in 1959! Lagassé is a regional James Beard Award winner, known for his mastery of Creole and Cajun cuisine and his self-developed "New New Orleans" style. He has appeared on a wide variety of cooking TV shows, including the long-running Food Network shows Emeril Live and Essence of Emeril. My favorite television appearance of Emeril's involves his guest spot on a classic episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, though.

A VERY happy birthday to Boredwalk's Customer Service and Shipping Supervisor Marlene Moreno! Technically it's not until tomorrow, but I promised Marlene I would include her in 2021 since I failed to do so last year, and if I make that mistake again I'm sure I will never hear the end of it. I won't reveal Mar's year of birth out of respect for her privacy, but it is a pretty big one that ends in zero. I sure hope she enjoys it!

Lastly, it was on this day in 1951 that I Love Lucy aired for the first time. The popular show lasted for 6 years, featuring real-life couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The show is also famous for effectively giving birth to the concept of television show reruns. CBS ended up having to re-broadcast episodes of the show during the second season, while Ball was recovering from giving birth to her first child. The re-airings were so popular that it led to profitable development of the rerun syndication market.

Alright! Podcast time! This week we chatted with psychologist and mental health advocate Justin Puder, known by his online handle amoderntherapist. We talked to Justin about his own mental health struggles, how he found himself studying psychology and earning his doctorate, and the best and worst aspects of his job. We also discuss how he uses social media to change the conversation about mental health and remove the stigma around talking about it. This was a really fun ep to record and Justin was a very entertaining guest, so be sure to check this one out!

That's it for today! We'll be back here in your inbox next week with a fresh Boredwalk Community Q&A with a fan just like you (assuming some recent volunteers get us their answers and selfies in time)! We'll also have another new podcast episode to share, and (hopefully) a new design! Until then...

Peace, love, and grouching,

Meredith