🍓 Wanna unnecessarily complicate things?

PERHAPS WITH AN EXPLOSION OF RASPBERRY DELIGHT?

We just cannot catch a break with decent lesser holidays on Wednesday. Sure, we had a brief moment of celebration last week, but now we're reduced to National Raspberry Bombe Day? Like, what even is that?*

* I got you, fam — a raspberry bombe "contains sherbet, heavy cream, sugar, chopped nuts, candied fruit and a dash of rum. The dessert is layered using a spherical mold and frozen overnight."

So basically a very contrived dessert that requires more planning and patience than I usually care to devote to satisfying my sugar cravings. Thanks for nothing, August 11th!

A dessert more triflin' than an actual trifle.

*****

Before we get to this week's amusing links let's acknowledge a few August 11th birthdays!

Happy birthday to genealogist and writer Alex Haley, born this day in 1921! Mr. Haley was the ghostwriter of The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the very-much-alive writer of Roots: The Saga of an American Family, which was adapted into a miniseries by ABC in 1977 and was watched by a then-record breaking 130 million viewers.

A very smooth and soulful birthday to Kenneth Gamble, born this day in 1943! Mr. Gamble was one half of the Gamble & (Leon) Huff songwriting and production duo that developed the "Philly soul" sound in the late 1960s and 1970s, producing over 175 gold and platinum records from a variety of artists, including The O'Jays, Dusty Springfield, Billy Paul, and heavily influencing Hall & Oates and the subsequent emergence of disco.

Happy birthday to Apple Computers co-founder Steve "Woz" Wozniak, born this day in 1950! Woz is in many ways directly or indirectly responsible for whatever device you happen to be reading this email on.

Happy birthday to actress and producer Viola Davis, born this day in 1965! Ms Davis is both the youngest AND first African-American person to win the "Triple Crown of Acting" as the winner of an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy award, and two Tony Awards.

A very plaintive birthday to musician Ben Gibbard, born this day in 1976! Mr. Gibbard is the lead singer and primary songwriter of the band Death Cab For Cutie, who I spent an inordinate amount of time listening to in college and beyond.

Finally, a very muscle-y birthday to everyone's favorite cinematic Norse god, Chris Hemsworth, born this day in 1983! Mr. Hemsworth has been in a number of excellent films, including the 2009 Star Trek reboot, The Cabin in the Woods, and a bunch of Marvel stuff.

Alright, you've waited long enough — let's get to some fun links!

1. In space no one can hear you scream. On other planets, though?

This cool video explains sound and how it is impacted by the vacuum of space as well as in the varying atmospheres of our neighbors throughout the Solar System.

2. For something a bit more terrestrial, check out this jazzy time lapse video of different plants germinating and growing from seeds!

Since I'm not patient enough to make a raspberry bombe, I'm probably not going to have a blast growing stuff from seeds. So I appreciate the folks at BoxLapse for putting this together!

3. Automation is killing all jobs — including domino muralists.

First they come for your dominoes, next it'll be your primary means of funding your existence on this stupid planet.

4. If you're a youngster who feels like they missed out on the golden age of music videos, this one is for you!

"Golden Age" is a bit of a stretch, since the first two hours of MTV that ever aired did NOT include Master P tooling around a basketball court in a tank, but this is still pretty dope as far as musical nostalgia goes.

5. Feeling creative, but only a little? Wired has you covered.

I LOVE this idea! Wired does a monthly writing prompt and invites readers to submit their own six-word sci-fi story based on said prompt and will post the winner (and honorable mentions) at the end of each month! This month's prompt is "in six words, write a story about a robot pop star."

6. BONUS: Boredwalk co-founder Meredith was recently a guest on Comedy Central (and all-around comedy) star Roy Wood, Jr.'s podcast to talk about hiring and the sorts of job openings we have at Boredwalk!

Meredith's bit starts around the 34 minute mark, but if you'd like to learn about business opportunities in used undergarment sales, oil wrestling at Vanderbilt frat parties, or disseminating Russian propaganda, listen to the whole episode — it's funny!

OK! Hopefully these little diversions helped to brighten your day! We'll be back here in your inbox on Friday with more random holidays (good ones, I promise), celebrity birthdays, and a brand-new Boredwalk design! Until then...

Peace, love, and over-complicated desserts,

Matt