Showing posts with the label friday

Friday Fun: The Fascinating Story of Hotmail

Looking for a fun way to kill some time before you wrap it up ahead of the weekend? This might help. This YouTube video dives into the history of Hotmail, from how Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith came up with the idea for free webmail, to its explosive viral growth, and ultimately Microsoft's $400 million acquisition in 1997. What you perhaps did not know: After buying Hotmail, Microsoft d…
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Friday Fun: Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz

Well, since this song was originally released (in 2001) the future has indeed been movin' on. I don't know that I have any sunshine in a bag, but even lacking that, it was still great fun to see Gorillaz on SNL last week, and I rather enjoyed this little bit of time tr…

Friday Fun: A Deep Cut featuring Tricky

The other day I found myself watching "Down Cemetery Road," a show on Apple TV based on a Mick Herron novel (yeah, the Slow Horses guy -- and the jury's still out on whether or not I actually like the show), and as the episode ended and the credits ran, I heard a …

Friday Fun: The Beer Drinkers Guide to Email Authentication

It is Friday, which means you have earned that first sip of your favorite beverage. And that can be an adult beverage, if you like, and if you're old enough, and you're done with work for the day. But before you close that laptop and head to the pub, let's talk: abo…

Friday Fun: Planet Patrol: Play At Your Own Risk

It's so very 1982. It's electro, funk, and freestyle. It's got an 808. It's got a beat from a leftover, unused track, from prior production sessions for an Afrika Bambaataa album. It stands alone, well, as a groove that gets you on the dance floor, and somebody …

Friday Fun: Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me

If you've ever wanted to scream into the void about chain letters, bad Photoshop, email forwards from your aunt who just discovered YouTube, or anything involving Bill Gates giving away money... Weird Al Yankovic has you covered. This one's been around for a while, but …

Sending plain text emails in 2025

I'm not really anti-HTML email. Like many folks with a long history in the linux/unix world, once upon a time I used text-based email clients like pine and mutt, but that was a lonnnnng time ago. But this isn't just about me! If you think plain text is better than HTML…

Friday fun: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

Before my current life in this email universe, I worked in print production and pre-press , helping to assemble assemble advertising layouts for various ad agencies and brands, utilizing tools like Quark Xpress, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to type, draw, retouch and finaliz…

Book break: The Ultimate Spam Cookbook Expanded Edition

Way back in 2020, I shared with you " The Ultimate SPAM Cookbook " and a lovely review of it (with a few recipes) from Miriam Di Nunzio of the Chicago Sun-Times , and since then, a new version has been released! The April 2025 revision has been updated and expanded wi…

Which spam flavor is best?

I declare that it is time for a break from email headers and spam traps to talk about ... actual spam. The canned kind. That you eat. Hormel has gone far beyond the original salty pink brick -- there are now more than a dozen different SPAM flavors on grocery store shelves, and…

Friday Fun: Robyn: You've Got That Somethin'

Today I share with you  Robyn's debut single from 1995. You all know who she is now , but were you aware of who she was then? Yeah, I was! I admit it. This album -- " Robyn is Here ," from 1995, I actually purchased twice  in the 1990s, because I wore out the fir…

Friday: Cannonball, covered by a dad band

I think I'm dying a little inside, based on the thought that the song "Cannonball" by the Breeders, something I considered so unique and alternative once upon a time, is now suitable for cover by a dad rock band . But you know, the song was originally released som…

Friday Fun: Holt and Terry's Dancing Skills

Sometimes I need a break from all this talk of new sender requirements. So, let's sprinkle in some fun as we head into the weekend, and pause to enjoy another classic Brooklyn Nine-Nine moment that gave me a chuckle as I rewatched a recent episode. Does this even need a de…

Pump Up the Jam, please!

It's Friday! Time to take a break from DMARC dilemmas and deliverability disasters to enjoy something truly vital: Technotronic and their magnum opus: Pump Up the Jam . Technotronic was a Belgian music group, which is like a normal music group but with more waffles and less…

Friday Funny: Little Red Glasses

SNL made me laugh with this one, and only partly because my wife actually does own a bookstore. Are you a woman who owns a bookstore or teaches books? Do you attend multiple book clubs and have a penchant for tapas and African drumming? Then Little Red Glasses might be for you…

Friday Funny: A Brooklyn Nine-Nine Email Fail

I usually write about email, email marketing, and deliverability. And I try to keep it classy. But on Friday, I give myself permission to get weird. And what better way to do that than with a classic sitcom moment that perfectly blends email etiquette with comedy? While recover…

Friday Fun: Get Smooth with Sade

Greetings, email marketers and other fellow humans of planet earth! It’s Friday, and you know what that means—it’s time to ditch the stress, embrace the groove, and get smooth. And what better way to do that than by basking in the velvety glow of Sade’s The Sweetest Taboo ? Cli…

Sabertooth: Great Live Jazz in Chicago

Did you know that I've got a friend named Pat Mallinger , who, along with his friend Cameron Pfiffner, have led a fantastic  jazz group called Sabertooth since ... at least November 1992 ? And they're still playing great live jazz music now, here in Chicago, in 2025! F…