What luxury gyms / social clubs are in the area? Looking for something like John Reed (DTLA), Heimat. Equinox fits the bill but looking to see if there’s options that aren’t big chains

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International break is rubbish so it got me thinking.
For Luton Town:

1. Watford
2. QPR
3. Millwall
4. Cambridge (mild)
5. Stevenage (mild)

Last time Luton finished above Watford was 1997, the season after Elton John bought them again and it’s taken 20 years for Luton to be on an even keel again. Such a big rivalry happy it’s back on again now.
Rivalry with QPR dates back to the 80s because of hooliganism. A QPR firm member was stabbed by a Luton firm member. There was also an incident where a Luton fan was put in a coma 2 years ago.
Millwall is another rivalry spawned from hooliganism, it stems from the 1985 riot where Millwall fans tore up the seats in the Bobbers stand (which is now the row of boxes on the side of the pitch). Away fans were banned for 4 years at Kenilworth Road.
Cambridge is rivalry forged because we had the same manager and we’re promotion contenders from the conference
Stevenage is just a local rivalry. It was more fun when they were a rubbish conference team.

I have a hyper code, willing to trade for papa john code!

I'm sure folks have good ones to add to the list?

1. You have a name for your pickleball paddle, and you swing it in the mirror at home.
2. You look at people's backyard and wonder if it could fit a 20x44 foot rectangle. Admit it, you've done this at someone's BBQ!
3. Your YouTube video sidebar is full of the PPA Tour channel. Bonus: The targeted ads are for orthopedic products and resorts in Florida.
4. You've accidentally pegged your significant other with a ball and slept in the doghouse.
5. You have rolls of lead tape or grip tape in your kitchen drawer.
6. You chuckle every time you eat Vlasic or dill.
7. You pretend you are dinking when you do squats at the gym.
8. You have three dozen people in your phone named "(First Name) Pickleball." Half of the time, you can't remember who they are...
9. You have a massage gun at home, and a pickleball machine on your wish list!
10. You've started a pickleball club at work and coax people to play during lunch.
11. You've got all your tournament medals dangling above the washing machine. Hopefully more golds than bronzes!
12. Your idea of a nice first date is drilling backhand roll volleys and playing skinny singles.
13. You can put together a portable net in under two minutes flat!
14. You've gotten into heated debates about third shot drop versus drive.
15. You don't ask folks about politics...you ask if they play with the Dura or Franklin ball.
16. You daydream about launching a fun pickleball apparel line called "Picklehead."
17. You've turned down an invite to something because it clashed with your pickleball game.
18. You go through more pairs of pickleball shoes than regular sneakers.
19. You comment on all of Ben Johns' or Anna Leigh Waters' Instagram posts.
20. The word "bodybag" now has a positive connotation to you.
21. When you think of the phrase "Shake and Bake," food doesn't come to mind.
22. Your dream vacation is a pickleball camp with Tyson McGuffin and that glorious mullet.
23. You've gotten many pickleball tattoos! Both the temporary kind (bruise from getting hit with a ball) and maybe even a permanent one!
24. You drink a lot of Pickleball Cocktail and fear the Orchard Security Guy.
25. You've memorized the USAPA rulebook and can quote it.
26. You have more dry-fit shirts than regular shirts in your closet.
27. You've had a birthday cake with a big yellow ball of frosting on it.
28. You've woken up at 5am to play, but you've never gotten up that early for work or school.
29. All of your driving is for pickleball. Pickleball has doubled your gas costs.
30. You despise lobs. You have nightmares about them!
31. You've said the phrase "Fastest Growing Sport in America!" recently.
32. Your Facebook profile photo is you on a podium. Hopefully in the middle!
33. You've drawn out your own pickleball lines before. They were very crooked, but you still played.
34. You've hit a ball around in an airport or someone's living room, using chairs as a net.
35. You have an epic farmer's tan and sock tan, maybe a neck and shorts and back tan too.
36. You have a playlist of pump-up music specifically for pickleball.
37. Your idea of a productive morning is doing drills.
38. You wash and clean your paddle more often than yourself.
39. You have a bumper sticker on your car that says "I Dink, Therefore I Am."
40. Your dog has an entire collection of cracked balls.
41. Erne is more than a Sesame Street character to you.
42. The phrase "ball on!" echoes in your head at all times.
43. You've seriously planned to quit your job and pursue a career as a professional pickleball player and travel the pro tour.

Comment some of yours! More here.

No cracks, rubber looks fine to me. Stored indoors most of their lives, albeit next to the heater in the garage. (Doesn’t the corrosive ozone get carried away with all the rest of the flume gasses?) No “sunspots” currently, can’t remember if they’ve had them once before. 50-60 runs in their lifetime, so tread depth is okay too. AutoX use only, no track time.
I know racing slicks age a little differently than road tires because of the low miles and relatively gentle storage. I’ve never seen a local club check build dates as a part of tech inspection.
Safety comes first, so what do y’all think? Is a replacement necessary based on age alone, if the tires are visually fine?

I would appreciate a few suggestions from you experienced folks to get me going so I can focus my research.
Here are a few things I would like to achieve.

• Be able to go ~42 mi round trip with a little to spare so ai wouldn't have to charge for a longer trip
• I have a couple of brutal hills near my home I will need to tackle consistently. I belive they are about a 20 degree grade over a few hundred feet. If they can't tackle hills it will be useless to me as I can get anywhere without tackling it.
• I'm 6'ft 2 230 lbs
• can fit in most trunks if I scoot one way and decide to uber home
• I'm not a speed demon...don't need to break any world records
• Off road capable would be nice to have for future as I get into more stuff but not all the time
• Value for money and reliable is important
• Budget up to $2500 ish but of course if there is a more economical option I appreciate value

Much appreciated. Excited to join this club.

As the VFL season starts this week, I thought some discussion around the players who run around
Four players, at a bare minimum, are likely to find themselves delisted. This accounts for the mandatory three list spots needed at the draft and then another for the list spot created by the injury to Charlie Dean, currently occupied by Oleg Markov. The club is allowed to delist a player, then re-draft but I would find this tactic unlikely given the need for youth. Furthermore, retirements may reduce the load. Early season rumours point to an active trade and free agency period, with Ben McKay and Darcy Parish's names floated around in the rumour whirlpools.
The following players are out of contract in 2023:
Aiden Begg, Arlo Draper, Ash Johnson, Cooper Murley, Harvey Harrison, John Noble*,* Josh Carmichael*,* Mason Cox*, Oleg Markov, Oscar Steene,* Steele Sidebottom*,* Scott Pendelbury*, Tom Wilson, Trent Bianco, Trey Ruscoe and Will Kelly.*
*Bolded players I deem safe should they seek another contract and perform to their current standards.
I would delist Begg, Murley, Wilson and Kelly based on current performances. Johnson and Ruscoe are on notice to perform. While Johnson showcased talent in season 2022, it will not necessarily spare him the axe should he fail to perform. McStay, for the time being, has replaced him in the AFL lineup.
Discussion:

1. Who is likely to be delisted at the end of the season?
2. Who are you most looking forward to in the VFL?
3. Do you think we'll see a retirement this year?
4. Are there any trade rumours you've heard that sound somewhat plausible (eg. Matt Rowell to Collingwood might be a nice fantasy but it's very unlikely to actually happen)?

Link to original story
https://www.reddit.com/nosleep/comments/10meqmh/the_big_rock_candy_mountain_part_1/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
The floor of the cell is covered in decades of mildew and dust. This disgusting carpet does nothing to dull the pain as I skip across it, thrown in by someone with the intention of making a point.
My Name’s Mike, and if any of you are the types to go on a deep dive, you probably know A little about me already.
For those of you that don’t, Jesus I don’t know exactly where to begin.
The Cliff’s notes would be that I spent a little over a decade either being a serial killer or a vigilante. I won’t try to justify my actions, both of those are just sides of the same shitty coin. I’m not a person to be idolized or emulated, so I choose not to plead my case.
Now, while I thought that was just about as screwed up as life could get, one day, out of the blue, after burying my best, fuck, my only friend I found myself, somewhere else. A world that looked and felt like mine, but one where the things that go bump in the night actually existed.
Where I came from, I’d seen monsters, to be sure, but only the kind that happen when people break.
Since I’ve been here? Got caught up in some demented gameshow for demons or something, threw a massive shit in the punch bowl of the thing running the production, and got the world’s unluckiest man his freedom.
And that leads me to my current situation, staring down the rage filled, mildly bruised face of that asshole, that fucking, demonic Ted Turner, Art.
He runs a hand aggressively through his slicked back hair, standing at the door to my cell.
“Looks like your little plan didn’t work, exactly as I predicted, you fuck.
I mean, great try with the little cat thing you had, honestly didn’t see that coming. But, Jesus, Mike, what was your end game? “ Art gloats.
“Cards on the table? It was a lot better, but shit fell through, that whiskey abomination, it was the one that ratted me out I assume?
That being said, still got Kev out. And you can’t really ‘flip off his lightswitch’ if he didn’t let you screw around with his wiring, can you? “ I grin, I keep it, even as a Gucci shoe slams into my face.
Am I scared? Of God damn course I am, I’ve been pissing myself (metaphorically speaking.) since I realised that the rules of reality don’t really apply any more.
Every new grain of sand on the beach of hell my life has become, tosses me further down the road of mental failure. Shit, that’s half of what fucked up my last plan in the first place.
If I could have just kept my shit together long enough, I’d be sipping a beer with Kev in some shit hole town somewhere. But the only thing harder than trying to stamp down fear in the face of God’s and monsters, is trying to do it while projecting some kind of ‘death fears me ‘ persona.
Between you and I? Death doesn’t fear me, in fact, it seems to love to hang around. And every day I have to stare down that grim spectre, the closer I get to losing the tenuous grip on reality I have .
“Oh, fuck Kev. He’s smart enough to stay off my radar, and too stupid to figure out a way to come back at me.
He's got a 1 bedroom in Idaho or something? Salud, good on him.
You, I had high hopes for, and then you decide to wipe your ass all over my carpet, cost me more than I could even explain, and even, get me a little roughed up. My favorite shell, anyway.
I want to recoup some loses Mike. So, you, get to be a part of another one of my projects.
You thought The Path was bad? Oh, you literal, fucking clown, you haven’t seen anything.
I won’t spoil it for you, the devil’s in the details and all, but you know what everyone loves?
Prison.
Not being in it themselves, of course, but seeing others, especially those they hate in there.
This place isn’t fair, the path was a boxing match with Queensbury rules, this is a handcuffed knife fight.
And I can’t wait to see you figure out, all the little surprises it has in store for you. “ Art laughs and tosses me a battered, ancient looking smartphone, “ Feel free to drum me up some good press online if you want. “
My heart is pounding, I have to use every bit of will I have to stop from shaking, to roll my neck and sit against the cold, padless cement bed behind me.
I feel sick, my stomach boiling and gurgling.
“For the love of whatever the demonic equivalent of Christ is, why not just kill me? I’m right here, I have no way of fighting back, and you know damn well that if you give me enough time, I’m going to find a way to wipe my ass on your doorframe next. “ My tone is flippant, or at least, I hope it is.
“The ego on you kid, you think you’re that guy don’t you?
They exist, don’t get me wrong, probably a couple thousand folks capable of taking me out, but trust me, you are not one of them.
This isn’t some ‘Arch’ idiocy where I leave my greatest rival alive. This is me watching you squirm because I can, and making a little profit on the deal.
Don’t flatter yourself. “ Art has produced a long thin knife as he talks, he spins and rolls it absently.
“Before your guys dragged me off, I met something. A corner store, I don’t know if it was haunted, possessed, or if it was some kind of creature that just decided to look like a knock off 7-11.
Point being, it was out there, ethereal, I couldn’t hurt it, outwit it, even slow it down. I ran from that thing as fast as I could. It gave me some serious Lovecraft vibes.
You, Art, are not that guy. “ I notice myself tapping my finger nervously on the slime covered floor, I focus, stopping the tic.
The tip of Art’s knife glows, the sick, grey sheen isn’t heat, but something that makes me start to back up.
“I am, but you will never see that. You’re not worth the effort.
I want to give you a little something though. “ Art stalks toward me, I stand as I back into the farthest corner of the cell, “ Proud of your face paint were you? “
Art grins, and for a moment lets some of his true self slip through. For just a moment I see timeless horror in his eyes, a dark black void of consumed souls and unrestrained evil.
That knife parts my flesh with pain like a whip. Without even using the blade, it’s presence flenses my face, opening up raw, textured furrows in my flesh.
He leaves after he is done, laughing to himself.
The pain makes me black out, my stomach is boiling, I come to dry heaving, the effort sends me back into the oblivion of sleep.
I don’t know how long has passed, my face feels like it is on fire, and the thick steel bars of my cell door are closed.
It takes me two minutes of cupping my hands under the grime laden steel tap to get enough water to clear off a spot on the rusted, old, wall mounted steel mirror.
No mortal hand could have scarred me as accurately as Art did. The wounds, not healed, but cauterised as to not make me bleed out, used depth, and width, to create a colorless replica of my makeup.
I know trauma, physical as well as mental, and these are scars that will never heal. As the fact sinks in that my face is literally no longer my own, I scream, heart pounding, I split open my knees on the cold cement floor.
Pain flares, threatens to send me back to the bliss of unconsciousness, but I don’t care.
I read Kev’s journals, and they paint me in a really… positive light, in a sense.
What I mean is, going by what he thought he saw, I’m some kind of supervillian or something. Tossing three hundred pound air conditioners ( it was the outer shell, seventy pounds, physics and luck did the rest.), wrestling Art ( I was clinging on for dear life, had it not been for Jr and the mass of denizens, I’d have been killed with a flick of his wrist.), or appearing like a ghost (people, even immortal are very unobservant. Especially in an emergency.).
I’m great at seeming horrifying, and that’s a weapon in and of itself, but at the end of the day, that’s all it is.
Kneeling in my own blood, vision blurry with pain, I realise how small, vulnerable, and unarmed I truly am.
By the time daylight shines through the yellow reinforced glass window, I’m already awake. I’ve spent an hour and a half calming myself, trying to find some focus, some centre to keep me going.
I’ve been in prison before, back home, first and last time I tried plying my trade outside of America.
Being the stupid payaso gringo that I am I bit off so much more than I can chew that I wound up choking on it for 2 months in a Mexican prison.
The routine of, count, lineup, chow, remained the same.
The demographics of the population on the other hand…
Being observant is one of my main skills and as I was brought into the absurdly sized cafeteria, I was taken aback at just how many people were here.
Tens of Thousands, easily, maybe a hundred. I try and think of how many missing person cases this accounts for, and even that math doesn’t quite add up.
I quickly inventory the groups that make up the place, not that it wasn’t obvious.
The first, of course are the guards. Some, the majority, appear to be human, well geared up and in intimidating physical condition.
But a handful, they are clearly, something else. Some are smooth featured ebony skinned giants, carrying truncheons that could crush a car engine. Others are grinning, pale skinned bad attempts at human copies, wild eyed and twitching.
Second would be what I called the cultists. They all appeared to style themselves after certain tropes and urban legends, clearly human, but dressing, tattooing and mutilating themselves to appear like, myths, legends, and monsters.
The subtle violence I see tells me I’ve found the gangs.
Third are the Everymen, I can’t see any kind of pattern to them, but they seem to make up the majority of the population. They keep their distance from the guards and the cultists, but on more than one occasion I see then stand, united against attempts at extortion.
The last group, I call the candles, people that are clearly on their way out mentally and physically. Sunken eyed, and set upon from all angles, at any moment these folks could be simply snuffed out.
I keep my distance, and stay respectful, the meandering, twisting line seems to take hours to get me my thick slice of crumbling yellow bread, and thick red slurry that reminds me of porridge masquerading as meat.
My coat is gone but I’m left with the majority of the clothing I fashioned back in the path. I see a mix of unwashed orange uniforms and ‘civilian’ clothing, some of the cultists, bordering more on costume than wardrobe.
As the massive, butchers apron wearing man in smeared clown makeup sits down, I wish I’d have been issued something more generic. I saw this coming the second I noticed a lump of Chlorophiles in blood stained getups.
“You sit with us. “ I can’t tell if it’s an accent or speech pattern, the clown sounds strange, either way.
I eat a spoonful of the red sludge.
“No disrespect intended, I’m not one for clubs. I’m going to make no waves, no plays, nothing. I’m a ghost. “ I say, levelly, avoiding eye contact.
Why, you might ask, having been told about my adventures in murder.
Well, that’s just it. Murder is easy, and any time you saw me end a life, it was just that.
A fight, that’s another thing entirely, especially against someone with a significant weight and height advantage.
“Not asking. You got friends. “ The massive clown moves his bulk closer, it’s like sitting next to a forklift.
I eat the bread, it tastes amazing until I swallow, then has a foul, chemical aftertaste.
I drink some tepid, burgundy fluid that might be caffeinated.
No weapons nearby, no one watching that might step in. I’m full of bruises and sprains, and probably anemic from blood loss. Not to mention one eye is running at about fifty per cent. Art didn’t sever the optic nerve last time, but he wasn’t gentle. My heart races.
“I don’t play well with people who take clowning and slap a coat of dark paint on it.
You guys are Clown Killers. You are good at killing, I’m sure, but the clown part, it’s tacked on.
Myself, I’m a killer clown…. “ I had a really good rant planned, honestly, it was a corker, douche bags would have used it in memes for a decade.
But before I can react, with one massive hand, he bounces my face off of the pitted steel table.
It rings my bell, but not as much as I let on. In clowning terms, what I do Is called a pratfall.
For those of you that don’t speak nerd, I oversell the hit, falling backwards, eyes fluttering.
I tip backwards, reaching out my left arm, as if to steady myself. The meat mountain is unbothered, knowing I have no chance unarmed, in this close, he let’s me grab one shoulder of the butchers apron. The material is thick, and matted in stains that will never come out, literally or metaphorically.
If you want to take someone out, in a relatively harmless way, you don’t want to choke them. It takes forever, usually ends up killing them, and generally is a bad idea for everyone involved.
Your goal is go cut off blood flow to the brain as quickly and fully as possible.
I hook my thumb around the opposite shoulder strap, and snap my body backward, the apron acting as an impromptu Garrotte.
His right arm is knotted through my left, as he tries to struggle, to put his murderous intent and ability to work, the choke only becomes tighter.
I don’t want enemies here, and I only have so many tricks to play before things come to a knock down drag out fight, so I leave the clown unharmed.
I do need friends, but the look I get as I take a seat at a loose collection of men is cold and fearful.
A red haired guy, five foot nine or so, makes eye contact, “Anything we can help you with? “ he says, fearless.
“Yeah, despite the face work I’ve had done, I have fuck all in common with any of those penny wise, Icp, Gacy dressed, assholes.
I need a tribe guys, you all look like the unlucky ones around here, but I don’t want to get involved in bloodshed.
I’m Mike “ I know, that’s only mostly true, but I mean it, either way. I extend a hand.
“Chris. “ the red haired guy says, he wears a white dress shirt and surprisingly blue jeans, “Those stains around your cuffs tell me otherwise.
If you’re telling the truth, that’s great. If you are lying, and still sane enough to keep your word, that’s even better. “ Chris’s tone is mirthless, I read him easily. He’s been here a long time for a short life, he looks thirty max, and I shudder to think how young he may have been when he came in.
Chris catches me up on the ins and outs of this place, beyond what a general knowledge of prison would give.
Everyone here has crimes they were not convicted of, that would, otherwise put them in jail for life. A large amount, obviously are murderers, torturers, real bastards.
But a significant minority are just regular folks, maybe a bit thoughtless, but that have collected a litany of small, petty, in cases almost victim less crimes.
No one seems to be aware of the… reality t.v. Meets demonic fast food aspect of things, but there is a Doom cherry on this fear Sunday.
There is a single way someone can get out. To earn 20 tokens.
And how does one earn these tokens you ask?
Each day the prison holds an event, to call it a challenge would insinuate a level of fair play that is simply not there. The events range from somewhat fair, a fight or game of chance, to esoteric rituals complex enough to rip someone’s soul from their body.
These tokens are also the sole form of currency in the prison, they can buy everything from commissary snacks to literal free passes from guards.
The economy has created a cut throat society, the heads of the cults not even taking advantage of being able to be free, but simply reveling in the power of being psychotic and enabled.
The weak are enslaved, their lives traded on the off chance at tokens.
So, of course, braindead asshole that I am, I signed myself right up. Feeling a little more confidant after climbing Mount Bozo.
It's 8pm and the volunteers are rounded up and brought to a massive room that has all the trappings of a gymnasium, but the scale is large enough easily hold the focus of tonight’s events.
In tiered bleachers all around us, our fellow prisoners cheer and scream. The smell of thousands of unwashed, men is overpowering, the din of excitement is deafening.
But my attention is focussed on the small, single floor home, sitting out of place in the middle of the polished wood floor.
What I wouldn’t give for Demi to appear right now, give me the low down on all the supernatural bullshit that is heading my way. But the longer we stayed in the mountain the less and less the most useful voice in my head could, or would, make an appearance.
I study each of my fellow volunteers, the goal seems simple, last the longest in the home. Men enter and leave within minutes. They come out looking shaken, with minor lacerations, and a general sense of shell shock.
By the time my turn arrives, I think I know what I’m in for.
I’m wrong.
As the baby blue door closes behind me, nothing immediately in the home causes me concern. The fixtures and furniture is a bit out of date, the lighting is, not inviting, and there is a general fog of gloom hanging around.
I smile, I’ve felt this before. Granted I had Demi feeding me supernatural errata at the time, but, I’m positive I can wing it.
“So, I think I may have met one of you guys before. Back in New York, a Happy-Face corner store, anyone you know?
Scary dude, took a couple of pieces out of me.
But this, it’s more like an MMA fight, right? I tap out when you start kicking my ass? “ I stretch, trying to see if I’m getting any kind of reaction.
I inventory the objects around me, last time everything that wasn’t nailed down, shifted, changed and tried to take me apart.
You may have noticed by now, I love using the phrase ‘ last time’, and that’s because up until this moment, I haven’t learned a fucking thing here.
Mike’s first rule of paranormal survival, last time means nothing.
“It’s you” the voice is young, late teens, and male.
I spin, expecting violence, then, wishing violence.
I know the young man, not this pale, older, revenant with a self inflicted gunshot wound, but I know him none the less.
I’m not being metaphorical when I say my heart misses a beat, I almost fall over, pounding at my chest to stop it’s arythmatic pounding.
I knew what happened to him, found it out long after I could do anything about it. And wasn’t in the best of places when I did.
I’ll call him a ghost for simplicity sake, but this kid, he’s my first, and biggest mistake.
I based who I turned into on finding what I thought was one of the worst people on earth. This kid’s father.
I did things to him worthy of what I knew he did. And to top it all off, I had him die by his wife’s hand.
Well, a decade later I find out, the guy wasn’t a Saint, but he didn’t do anything worthy of the twisted shit I put him through.
I got wind of some false information put out there in a moment of rage by a tech savvy ten year old. The kid never intended it to see the light of day
“I found out about you Mike, I saw that you were a hero. “ The voice is thin echoes like a stuck record.
“No kid, don’t think that. “ I mumble, I’m shaking, the air is freezing, each breath comes out as white mist.
I’m sitting on the flower printed couch now, and it hits me.
I’d assumed because Art couldn’t screw around in my head last time, the same went for everything here.
Remember what we said about last time.
“My told me what happened one night, what I made you do.
I destroyed her memory of him, I made a real Hero kill him, I couldn’t keep hurting people. “ I can see images, flashing in my mind, memories that are not mine.
I’m counting seconds, trying to focus, trying to stay long enough to get the token. It has to have been fifteen, twenty minutes at least.
I try to work up a smirk, to convince myself that I’m just being played by the paranormal equivalent of a heckler.
That’s not it though, This place, this house, is reaching inside me and finding places to look. As I stare into the young man’s rotted eyes I know this is some part of him, torn away from whatever rest he was entitled to.
The lights dim, then turn off. The house is silent.
Hollywood gets being both a lunatic and a hitman wrong in equal measure. No matter how much morality you want to inject into the profession, there are going to come times when you make mistakes.
As the lights slowly turn to a dull orange glow, I’m surrounded by the hovering, mutilated forms of mine.
Those that died that could have been spared, those that died because of my inaction, or stupidity. I’ve never forgotten them, I use them to make sure I never make the same mistakes again, but having them looming, screaming, all demanding I hear their stories, their accusations, their placations.
It's too much, I stumble from the couch, trying to avoid the icy touch of these phantoms. For a moment I find some last scrap of courage, I close my eyes, shut out the shrieking din of the dead.
The silence hits like a truck, I focus, trying to calm my burned out nerves.
Then they are reignited like a fucking welding torch.
“This place didn’t bring us here.
We’ve been right next to you for years Mike. We can’t leave. “ The voice of my first mistake.
Like a toddler I try to run with my eyes closed, I trip over a glass coffee table, clawing my way up the door, grasping at the handle.
I can feel a slight pull now, almost magnetic, trying to drag me backwards.
My hands shake too much, I have to steady my right wrist with my left hand, the floor becomes slick, I see the door, escape start to move further away as I’m pulled backward.
I've taken a hit or two, and had a couple of three day benders that have made me piss myself. But as I stumble, trying to make progress on the nearly friction less floor, I have another unpleasant first experience.
I grab the handle, pulling myself out of the house, launching my body into a skin peeling tumble across unforgiving plank flooring.
I’m a shaking, fetal wreck, by the time I’ve pulled myself together enough to take in my surroundings, I see the red Led clock displaying my time.
42 seconds. Bottom of the barrel. The jeers and booing from the crowd do nothing for my frayed nerves or the storm of fear and anxiety going through my mind.
I’m exhausted, but I can’t sleep, it has nothing to do with the concrete slab that serves as my bed.
My stomach has been knotting and cramping, with each passing second I get more worried I blew some internal gasket in one of the many life or death struggles in the past months.
When I finally manage to vomit, the urge is strong enough I get no where near the filth crusted hole in the floor that serves as my toilet. And my worst fears are confirmed as I see the massive pile of vomit is mostly blood.
… and bones? Is that an eyeball? A piece of fur?
The mass begins to pull itself together, bits and pieces forming the most rudimentary attempt at a face.
“Junior? “ I say, stunned.

The Lock (Beta) WWE 2k23
Storyline: My Rise: The Lock (Repeated)
Every scene he’s in makes him unlikeable despite the face and heel option ratio. If they made him that unlikable he should’ve been an. Heel only character. The only one he’s justified in is when Orton took his tag title shot in Evolution.

1. Complains about everything and is a major douche
2. Disrespects The Rock and Shawn Michaels
3. Was in the indies but acts like he’s the Hogan of the Circuit
4. Picks his own stable members and doesn’t include Gabe
5. Needs help all the time to win
6. Makes stupid choices and gets kick out of Evolution 2.0
7. Treats Gabe like crap despite him wanting to be his friend and take him under his win
8. Is there for only himself and Cares about winning championships. If undefeated keeps all titles hostage
9. Was the one example of WWE management being right about him

Jacob Cass (Alpha) WWE 12
Storyline. Road To WrestleMania: The Hero Story
Jacob may have had the super overpushed syndrome that Cena had but at least he didn’t act like a douche and seemed like a a nice guy. I actually could sympathize with him. He came from the original NXT and went to the main roster ASAP but didn’t let it go through his head. He also took the worst beatings for the sake of the WWE. The only downside is that he’s voiced by Austin Aries and his reputation speaks for itself.

1. Helped WWE fend from an invading WCW
2. Shows respect and Is humble and selfless
3. Never turned on the WWE despite being offered to join team WCW
4. Respected his mentor Rey Mysterio before he betrayed him
5. Doesn’t care about winning any titles but saving the day
6. Earned Triple H, John Cena, Taker, Edge, Miz, etc’s respect
7. Never backs down from a fight
8. Eliminated Booker T (Brainbuster on steel steps) Rey Mysterio (Alabama Slam on Chair) and Kevin Nash (Speared Nash through the roof of the Cell and caved in the ring. Seeing Nash take that bump in the game was wild!) in a 7 on 7 Elimination HIAC Tag Team Match in spectacular fashion
9. Became The Man who ended the WWE/WCW war and saved the company in the process, becoming the ultimate hero.

starting to lose hope, especially after SB reject today. do i have a shot at schools like Berkeley coming soon?
Demographics: Male, Asian, Competitive Bay Area Public, no hooks
Intended Major(s): Computer Science (Envi Engineering, Applied math, computer engineering, etc... at reaches)
ACT/SAT/SAT II: 1560 one attempt (800M, 760R)
UW/W GPA and Rank: 3.94/4.45, no ranking but estimate ~top 10%
Coursework: AP CSA, AP Physics 1, AP Calc BC, AP Physics C, AP Stats, AP English Lit, Intro to Programming in C++, Discrete Math, Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, A in Berkeley CS61BL
APCSA: 5, AP Physics 1: 5, AP Calc BC: 5, Microecon: 5, Macroecon: 4 (didn't send anywhere)
Awards: USACO Gold, 2x AIME, National merit semifinalist (Finalist pending), regional cultural talent show 1st place, round 1 Google code jam, ACSL Finalist
​
Extracurriculars:
FoundeCEO of environmental/societal hackathon with 600+ participants and $100k+ prize value
Founder & pres of a technical club at school
researcher at selective program, utilized ML to predict wildfire paths
Job Shadow at a T100 tech company
Paid tutor for math subjects
Cofounder of competitive programming bootcamp
President of cultural club with high participation and events
Officer of STEM tutoring organization, collab with school VP and other leadership
Project Development club officer
Music Content (10k+ views)
Varsity Track Athlete
​
Essays/LORs/Other: 7.5/10 essays (good writing quality and time investment/effort but not extremely unique)
8.5/10 CS teacher rec, 7/10 english teacher rec, 6.5/10 physics teacher rec
​
Schools:
all my earlies + UCs r CS, rest are some variation of other majors
ED UPenn (defer)
EA UIUC CS + Ling (defer -> waitlist)
EA GTech cs (defer)
EA UMich cs (defer)
EA Wisconsin Madison cs (defer)
EA USC cs with double legacy (defer)
EA UMD cs (accept)
EA Purdue cs (accept)
MIT (reject)
Stanford
CMU ce
Berkeley eecs
Cornell
Uwash CS (rejected)
Princeton
Duke
Columbia
UCLA cse (waitlist)
UCSD cs (reject)
Harvard
Yale
Johns Hopkins ce (reject)
Brown
UChicago (waitlist)
UCSB cs (reject)
UCI cs (accept)
UCD cs (waitlist)
UCSC cs (accept)
UCR cs (accept)
UCM cs (accept)

After all critiques, I revamped my resume following the suggestions given.
I still do now know if should list my internship and my capstone project as experiences since I did both through college.
Please advise and continue to critique my resume. Here is a sample
Thank you.
​
https://preview.redd.it/nrdqk55cy7pa1.png?width=1146&format=png&auto=webp&s=56bb09683785a322decb2d3491a6397235061e3f

After all critiques, I revamped my resume following the suggestions given.
I still do now know if should list my internship and my capstone project as experiences since I did both through college.
Please advise and continue to critique my resume. Here is a sample
Thank you.
​
https://preview.redd.it/6uyyvacry7pa1.png?width=1130&format=png&auto=webp&s=78905b03e14aac0c9b74f98ab6ad3d4c75df1706

https://socialistchina.org/2022/07/15/hong-kong-the-truth-is-out/
On his first visit back to Hong Kong since 2019, long-term East Asian resident, and Friends of Socialist China Advisory Group member, Kenny Coyle writes that he found a city becalmed. “Rarely”, he observes, “has Western mainstream propaganda so successfully shrouded the truth about a city and society as open as Hong Kong.”
Kenny clarifies the meaning behind China’s insistence that Hong Kong was never a British colony, but rather a Chinese territory under illegal British occupation. His article, which also features an interview with Nixie Lam, a Legislative Council member from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), the territory’s largest and most influential patriotic political party, is full of useful information. It was originally published in the Morning Star and we are pleased to reprint it here.
Hong Kong marked the 25th anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty with Chinese president Xi Jinping appearing in the city to witness the inauguration of the Chinese territory’s new leadership headed by John Lee.
The largely indoor ceremony had been forecast to take place amid a mild tropical typhoon, but for the past three years Hong Kong has been battered by quite different kinds of storms.
Xi’s visit takes place after an unprecedented period of turmoil. The first stage beginning in 2019 was characterised by a wave of initially peaceful mass protests against extradition legislation, which rapidly spiralled into violent anti-China protests.
The second stage by the ongoing battle to control the Covid pandemic in the city.
In my first visit since 2019, Hong Kong certainly seems becalmed. The city’s MTR rail network is back to pristine perfection. The political arson that saw 138 of the city’s 161 stations vandalised (including the deliberate destruction of lifts for the disabled and essential safety equipment) during the 2019 protests has long been cleaned up.
Temperature and Covid checks are carried out routinely at restaurant and shopping areas, with minimal inconvenience, although the city continues to enforce a seven-day quarantine on incoming passengers from overseas.
The image in Western media of a city writhing under a police state is belied by the reality on the ground.
Bars and restaurants are busy, as any five-minute evening walk around my Tsim Sha Tsui neighbourhood in Kowloon shows, supermarket shelves are full and whatever the talking heads of the local CNN or BBC bureaus would have you believe about “threats to freedom” on screen, they still somehow manage to prop up the main bar in the Foreign Correspondents Club each evening after their shifts.
Rarely has Western mainstream propaganda so successfully shrouded the truth about a city and society as open as Hong Kong’s.
The 2019 peaceful protests degenerated into the ugliest side of the anti-China movement, with black-shirted groups attacking anything and anyone that failed to kow-tow to their agenda.
Trade union offices, political parties and even those whose only crime was speaking the standard putonghua (Mandarin) version of Chinese in public were targeted for mob attacks.
Living in the neighbouring Special Administrative Region of Macao during this time, I not only witnessed the extremist antics at first hand on visits to Hong Kong (for example during their brief blockade of the city’s immigration department) but could watch shocking broadcasts of the petrol-bombers and barricade builders live-streamed on Hong Kong TV channels.
Just as shocking was the absence of these easily available images on BBC or CNN broadcasts.
A more recent manufactured furore in the British media has been over Hong Kong textbooks being “rewritten” in relation to British rule in Hong Kong prior to China reassuming sovereignty in 1997.
The assumption, of course, is that Chinese history can only be accurately understood through a Western lens.
As if to illustrate the enormous diversity of the British press, the following headlines appeared on the issue: “China rewrites history of Hong Kong with textbooks that deny British rule” (Telegraph, June 14); “China rewrites Hong Kong textbooks to deny Britain ever ruled the city” (Independent, June 15); and slightly more accurately — “China rewrites textbooks to insist Hong Kong was never a colony” (Times, June 15); “New Hong Kong textbooks ‘will claim city never was a British colony’” (Guardian, June 15).
The average reader would be forgiven for viewing this another ridiculous example of CPC censorship, an Orwellian erasure of the well-known history of British administration in Hong Kong.
However, the proposed texts from the Hong Kong education department merely restate the longstanding positions of not only the People’s Republic of China (and that of the previous Republic of China, it should be said) but also that of the United Nations.
In 1972, one year after the PRC took China’s seat at the UN, the PRC successfully removed Hong Kong and Macao (then under Portuguese fascist administration) from the list of colonised territories.
Hong Kong was not to be considered a British colony, it was a Chinese territory under illegal British occupation, an extremely important distinction in China’s eyes.
People’s China never established a diplomatic or consular presence in British-ruled Hong Kong, believing that this would legitimise British rule.
Instead, the office of the New China News Agency (better known today as Xinhua) was the de facto centre of contacts between the British authorities and the PRC government within the territory.
The issue of Hong Kong’s pre-1997 status has become more urgent recently, after the British government and media falsely claimed that the Sino-British Declaration of 1984, signed by the Thatcher government and China, somehow gave Britain some special rights to intervene in Hong Kong affairs after 1997.
The text of the declaration clearly states the opposite: 1997 marked the return of undivided Chinese sovereignty over Hong Kong.
Subsequent developments, including the much-belated extension of national security legislation in 2020 are entirely consistent with the principle of “One Country, Two Systems” first outlined by Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s and are in any case covered by provisions in an annex to the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution.
But if Western eyes are on the past, China is looking forward. Plans are in place to create a Greater Bay Area, encompassing the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao and nine major cities in Guangdong province.
The aim is to use the synergy of these southern Chinese cities to create a dynamic economic hub of around 70 million people that will eventually dwarf most national and regional economies.
Many people in Hong Kong believe the city’s future lies in closer co-operation not in conflict with the rest of China.
Nixie Lam, a member of Hong Kong’s legislative council (Legco) and a representative of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), the largest and most influential party within the patriotic camp, holds to this perspective.
She believes the new administration led by Hong Kong chief executive John Lee has the opportunity to put the territory back on the right track.
Lee, who takes office on July 1, has already outlined a platform that the future government will set clear targets and key performance indicators (KPIs) for selected tasks within the first 100 days of his new administration.
Some of this is designed to streamline government functioning, but he has also pledged to accelerate land and housing development, shorten the waiting time for public housing and address the city’s vast wealth gap.
“Hong Kong has wasted a lot of time and opportunities over the past few years. I see very high expectations among Hong Kong citizens. We have missed out on a lot. Where are we going to develop and to excel is the key, but time is very limited,” stresses Lam, a former grassroots district councillor.
“Perhaps that’s why Lee came up with his 100 days KPI promise, to show he would make visible changes in different aspects of policies and strategies.
“The new administration is formed by various well seasoned politicians, administrators, together with some industry leaders. It shows the new administration wants to restart Hong Kong and work together as a team.
“I’ve joined working groups scrutinising the new government structure. If you look closely, it’s easy to see that they really want to tackle some of the unresolved issues we face by bringing outside experts into the administration.”
Lam, herself a graduate of the University of Queensland in Australia, is nonetheless tired of Western countries continually lecturing Hong Kong.
“It’s boring to hear that democracy or One Country, Two Systems is dead. For those who live in Hong Kong, we know clearly who killed our democracy in 2019.
“Rioters and mobs were everywhere destroying public facilities, paralysing railway systems and so on but they were called ‘Freedom Fighters’ by Western countries. These double standards are not new in Hong Kong,” she insists.
“Hong Kong citizens know what’s best for our city. It is not begging overseas countries to sanction our city, it is not calling for American troops to take over our city, and it is definitely not the violent ‘democracy’ that they embraced.
“The city has been stablised. Ordinary citizens do not need to worry about being targeted by extremists any more. Discussions are no longer highly polarised but focus more on which strategy is best for the city.
“I guess that some people in Western countries do not want to see that our life is getting back to normal. People in Hong Kong are more focused on our Covid strategy and want to find more targeted solutions, finding a way that will balance reopening the city with ensuring people’s lives and health are protected,” she says.
Despite the challenges, Lam is clear about the way forward: “It is for us, Hong Kong citizens to work jointly toward rebuilding our city.”

https://socialistchina.org/2022/07/15/hong-kong-the-truth-is-out/
On his first visit back to Hong Kong since 2019, long-term East Asian resident, and Friends of Socialist China Advisory Group member, Kenny Coyle writes that he found a city becalmed. “Rarely”, he observes, “has Western mainstream propaganda so successfully shrouded the truth about a city and society as open as Hong Kong.”
Kenny clarifies the meaning behind China’s insistence that Hong Kong was never a British colony, but rather a Chinese territory under illegal British occupation. His article, which also features an interview with Nixie Lam, a Legislative Council member from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), the territory’s largest and most influential patriotic political party, is full of useful information. It was originally published in the Morning Star and we are pleased to reprint it here.
Hong Kong marked the 25th anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty with Chinese president Xi Jinping appearing in the city to witness the inauguration of the Chinese territory’s new leadership headed by John Lee.
The largely indoor ceremony had been forecast to take place amid a mild tropical typhoon, but for the past three years Hong Kong has been battered by quite different kinds of storms.
Xi’s visit takes place after an unprecedented period of turmoil. The first stage beginning in 2019 was characterised by a wave of initially peaceful mass protests against extradition legislation, which rapidly spiralled into violent anti-China protests.
The second stage by the ongoing battle to control the Covid pandemic in the city.
In my first visit since 2019, Hong Kong certainly seems becalmed. The city’s MTR rail network is back to pristine perfection. The political arson that saw 138 of the city’s 161 stations vandalised (including the deliberate destruction of lifts for the disabled and essential safety equipment) during the 2019 protests has long been cleaned up.
Temperature and Covid checks are carried out routinely at restaurant and shopping areas, with minimal inconvenience, although the city continues to enforce a seven-day quarantine on incoming passengers from overseas.
The image in Western media of a city writhing under a police state is belied by the reality on the ground.
Bars and restaurants are busy, as any five-minute evening walk around my Tsim Sha Tsui neighbourhood in Kowloon shows, supermarket shelves are full and whatever the talking heads of the local CNN or BBC bureaus would have you believe about “threats to freedom” on screen, they still somehow manage to prop up the main bar in the Foreign Correspondents Club each evening after their shifts.
Rarely has Western mainstream propaganda so successfully shrouded the truth about a city and society as open as Hong Kong’s.
The 2019 peaceful protests degenerated into the ugliest side of the anti-China movement, with black-shirted groups attacking anything and anyone that failed to kow-tow to their agenda.
Trade union offices, political parties and even those whose only crime was speaking the standard putonghua (Mandarin) version of Chinese in public were targeted for mob attacks.
Living in the neighbouring Special Administrative Region of Macao during this time, I not only witnessed the extremist antics at first hand on visits to Hong Kong (for example during their brief blockade of the city’s immigration department) but could watch shocking broadcasts of the petrol-bombers and barricade builders live-streamed on Hong Kong TV channels.
Just as shocking was the absence of these easily available images on BBC or CNN broadcasts.
A more recent manufactured furore in the British media has been over Hong Kong textbooks being “rewritten” in relation to British rule in Hong Kong prior to China reassuming sovereignty in 1997.
The assumption, of course, is that Chinese history can only be accurately understood through a Western lens.
As if to illustrate the enormous diversity of the British press, the following headlines appeared on the issue: “China rewrites history of Hong Kong with textbooks that deny British rule” (Telegraph, June 14); “China rewrites Hong Kong textbooks to deny Britain ever ruled the city” (Independent, June 15); and slightly more accurately — “China rewrites textbooks to insist Hong Kong was never a colony” (Times, June 15); “New Hong Kong textbooks ‘will claim city never was a British colony’” (Guardian, June 15).
The average reader would be forgiven for viewing this another ridiculous example of CPC censorship, an Orwellian erasure of the well-known history of British administration in Hong Kong.
However, the proposed texts from the Hong Kong education department merely restate the longstanding positions of not only the People’s Republic of China (and that of the previous Republic of China, it should be said) but also that of the United Nations.
In 1972, one year after the PRC took China’s seat at the UN, the PRC successfully removed Hong Kong and Macao (then under Portuguese fascist administration) from the list of colonised territories.
Hong Kong was not to be considered a British colony, it was a Chinese territory under illegal British occupation, an extremely important distinction in China’s eyes.
People’s China never established a diplomatic or consular presence in British-ruled Hong Kong, believing that this would legitimise British rule.
Instead, the office of the New China News Agency (better known today as Xinhua) was the de facto centre of contacts between the British authorities and the PRC government within the territory.
The issue of Hong Kong’s pre-1997 status has become more urgent recently, after the British government and media falsely claimed that the Sino-British Declaration of 1984, signed by the Thatcher government and China, somehow gave Britain some special rights to intervene in Hong Kong affairs after 1997.
The text of the declaration clearly states the opposite: 1997 marked the return of undivided Chinese sovereignty over Hong Kong.
Subsequent developments, including the much-belated extension of national security legislation in 2020 are entirely consistent with the principle of “One Country, Two Systems” first outlined by Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s and are in any case covered by provisions in an annex to the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution.
But if Western eyes are on the past, China is looking forward. Plans are in place to create a Greater Bay Area, encompassing the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao and nine major cities in Guangdong province.
The aim is to use the synergy of these southern Chinese cities to create a dynamic economic hub of around 70 million people that will eventually dwarf most national and regional economies.
Many people in Hong Kong believe the city’s future lies in closer co-operation not in conflict with the rest of China.
Nixie Lam, a member of Hong Kong’s legislative council (Legco) and a representative of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), the largest and most influential party within the patriotic camp, holds to this perspective.
She believes the new administration led by Hong Kong chief executive John Lee has the opportunity to put the territory back on the right track.
Lee, who takes office on July 1, has already outlined a platform that the future government will set clear targets and key performance indicators (KPIs) for selected tasks within the first 100 days of his new administration.
Some of this is designed to streamline government functioning, but he has also pledged to accelerate land and housing development, shorten the waiting time for public housing and address the city’s vast wealth gap.
“Hong Kong has wasted a lot of time and opportunities over the past few years. I see very high expectations among Hong Kong citizens. We have missed out on a lot. Where are we going to develop and to excel is the key, but time is very limited,” stresses Lam, a former grassroots district councillor.
“Perhaps that’s why Lee came up with his 100 days KPI promise, to show he would make visible changes in different aspects of policies and strategies.
“The new administration is formed by various well seasoned politicians, administrators, together with some industry leaders. It shows the new administration wants to restart Hong Kong and work together as a team.
“I’ve joined working groups scrutinising the new government structure. If you look closely, it’s easy to see that they really want to tackle some of the unresolved issues we face by bringing outside experts into the administration.”
Lam, herself a graduate of the University of Queensland in Australia, is nonetheless tired of Western countries continually lecturing Hong Kong.
“It’s boring to hear that democracy or One Country, Two Systems is dead. For those who live in Hong Kong, we know clearly who killed our democracy in 2019.
“Rioters and mobs were everywhere destroying public facilities, paralysing railway systems and so on but they were called ‘Freedom Fighters’ by Western countries. These double standards are not new in Hong Kong,” she insists.
“Hong Kong citizens know what’s best for our city. It is not begging overseas countries to sanction our city, it is not calling for American troops to take over our city, and it is definitely not the violent ‘democracy’ that they embraced.
“The city has been stablised. Ordinary citizens do not need to worry about being targeted by extremists any more. Discussions are no longer highly polarised but focus more on which strategy is best for the city.
“I guess that some people in Western countries do not want to see that our life is getting back to normal. People in Hong Kong are more focused on our Covid strategy and want to find more targeted solutions, finding a way that will balance reopening the city with ensuring people’s lives and health are protected,” she says.
Despite the challenges, Lam is clear about the way forward: “It is for us, Hong Kong citizens to work jointly toward rebuilding our city.”

Clay has shown some things of the American System, like the building of the National university he planned called, the American National University… they need to be more creative. Also, with the building of canals and roads from bonus bills, and the Flag Act of 1818 and Navigation Act of 1818, he seems to be doing well, the only problem? The threat of succession looms over the heads of many over the issue of slavery, as many southern states threaten it over slavery, can the Great Compromiser keep the country together?
Democratic-Republicans: The D-R are back and it feels so good. Clay as shown before, has been great, from a young hotshot congressman to possibly one of the best out of the seven presidents. Now there’s a bigger problem, the union, and if it can even stay put together. With the party leaders, and their full support of their golden boy’s ideas, they hope to do so. The D-R supports bonus bills over higher tariffs, the American System, and mainly compromises on slavery. Leaders: President Henry Clay, Senator Stephen R. Bradley, VP Henry Dearborn, Representative John W. Eppes, Senator Joseph Anderson.
Federalists: Federalists are here, and hope to continue after the death of former President Bayard 5 months after leaving office. Worse though, the federalists are broken apart on Clay’s American System, as it is breaking apart the party slowly but surely. The federalist besides the virtually same party leaders and the American system, they still are the same. They still do support higher tariffs and compromises on slavery. Leaders: Senator Rufus King, Speaker Killian K. Van Rensselaer, Senator John Quincy Adams, former Secretary of State Charles C. Pinckney, Governor Laban Wheaton.
View Poll

https://preview.redd.it/eq7p9akyt7pa1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7e4f3c283f990a692d2ee625074866685cf3301a
“1… 2… 3… 4!”
With a simple, yet energetic count-in, The Beatles were on their way to leaving an indelible mark on popular culture, and it all started here. Released 60 years ago today, Please Please Me marked the first album in The Beatles’ discography. A brisk, lively pop-rock confection lasting just over half-an-hour, over a half century later it remains a stunning document of the unbridled joy of the early Beatles.

Background

The Beatles got their start as a skiffle band in the late 1950s in Liverpool. By 1961, after many personnel changes, their lineup consisted of John Lennon on rhythm guitar, Paul McCartney on bass, George Harrison on lead guitar and Pete Best on drums. The group had cut their teeth playing grueling sets in Hamburg nightclubs, often times playing over 8 hours a day and taking uppers to get through the shows. Their repertoire largely consisted of cover songs, though a fledgling songwriting partnership between Lennon and McCartney contributed a few numbers here and there to the proceedings. In the fall of 1961, a rock and roll cover of “My Bonnie” with the Beatles playing backup to Tony Sheridan was released in Germany. Shortly thereafter, the Beatles met Brian Epstein, who would become their manager. He cleaned up their image and sought out a recording contract for them. A New Years Day 1962 audition for Decca Records would prove fruitless (Decca executives felt that "guitar groups are on the way out" and that "the Beatles have no future in show business"). Undeterred, Brian continued searching, eventually inking the band a deal with EMI Records in May.

The Lead-up to Please Please Me

EMI placed the group on Parlophone Records, which was run by George Martin at the time. Martin was impressed by the group’s charisma and personalities, but was doubtful of their ability to write hit songs. An initial recording session on June 6th, 1962 proved futile. Martin was especially unimpressed with the drumming ability of Pete Best. Insistent on the use of a session drummer, The Beatles used this as an opportunity to drop Best in favor of fellow Liverpudlian Ringo Starr. The next session on September 4th 1962, proved much more successful. With Ringo on the drums, the first version of “Love Me Do” was recorded (this was the version used on the 45). A week later, the band re-recorded “Love Me Do” (this was the album version) with session drummer Andy White, as well as “P.S. I Love You”, which served as the B-side to the “Love Me Do” 45.
Despite Martin’s skepticism, “Love Me Do” was a hit, peaking at #17 on the British charts by November of 1962. Convinced of the Beatles’ hitmaking ability, Martin met with the group and proposed the recording of a full album. This was an alien concept to The Beatles, since the LP market was largely driven by adults rather than teens at the time. On November 26th, The Beatles finished up the songs “Please Please Me” and “Ask Me Why” to serve as another single. Upon release on January 11th, 1963, “Please Please Me” became the Beatles’ first #1 hit on the NME and Melody Maker charts (Retroactively, the Record Retailer chart became the basis of the UK Singles Chart. Here, the song peaked at #2).
Originally, Martin wanted to record a live album of The Beatles at their resident venue, the Cavern Club. However, Martin quickly realized the acoustics of the club were insufficient for the recording of an LP. Instead, Martin came up with the idea of recording 10 additional songs to complement the 4 songs already released. Upon asking for potential album names, Paul McCartney suggested Off the Beatle Track.

The Recording of the Album

February 11th, 1963 was to be what was later referred to as “the 585 most productive minutes in the history of recorded music”. Essentially, Martin wanted the album to reflect the group’s stage show. During a gap of their first national tour, the Beatles arrived that morning with John Lennon suffering from a bad cold and attempting to rectify it with a large amount of cough drops (been there, done that).
For the morning recording session, the group started off with recording “There’s a Place” and “Seventeen” (this would later become “I Saw Her Standing There”). Rehearsing through lunch, the afternoon session produced “A Taste of Honey”, “Do You Want to Know a Secret”, and “Misery”. The evening session was produced covers of “Anna (Go to Him), “Boys”, “Chains” and “Baby It’s You”. An early version of “Hold Me Tight” was also recorded during this session, but it was not used and the song was later rerecorded for The Beatles’ sophomore album, With the Beatles.
At 10 PM, shortly before the studios were set to close for the day, the group launched into a cover of “Twist and Shout”. This was saved for last as Martin feared the song would’ve destroyed Lennon’s voice for the day. The song was nailed in one take, which prompted Martin to say, “We've been recording all day but the longer we go on the better they get." The Beatles attended a full tape playback of the album that night, and left happy with the results.
A week later, on February 20th, George Martin overdubbed piano on “Misery” and celesta on “Baby It’s You”. The Beatles were not present. Settling on the name Please Please Me (Off the Beatle Track was later used for Martin’s orchestral album of Beatles songs), the cover art was taken of the group looking down over the stairwell inside EMI’s London headquarters. This shot was later recreated in 1969 for the Get Back album, but not used when it eventually was as Let it Be in 1970. The 1969 photograph was later used for the Beatles’ “Blue Album”.

The Songs

Kicking things off with a bang is “I Saw Her Standing There”. Paul’s count-in was actually taken from Take 9 and spliced onto Take 1 of the song itself. George Martin left the count-in to simulate the effect of a live album. This song was written primarily by Paul, with John contributing a few lyrics, most notably “Well you know, what I mean.” It should be noted that on Please Please Me, the songwriting credits read McCartney-Lennon rather than the more familiar Lennon-McCartney
Next up, is “Misery”. Foreshadowing some of the Beatles’ later work, “Misery” is a portrait of self-pity. The song was actually originally composed with Helen Shapiro in mind (with whom The Beatles performed with on a national UK tour). When it was deemed unsuitable for Shapiro, Kenny Lynch, who was on the same tour, released the song as a single, making this the first Beatles song covered by another artist. Lennon later claimed he had a bit more input on this tune, was McCartney claimed it was a 50-50 collaboration.
We then make our way to the first cover song on the album Arthur Alexander’s “Anna (Go to Him)”. A personal favorite of John Lennon, his cold-stricken vocals add a tinge of pain to this song, making it a personal highlight for me. The Arthur Alexander original would later play a role in the Season 5 episode of Married… with Children, “Oldies But Young 'Uns”.
The next cover song is “Chains”. Written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, this song was originally recorded by girl group The Cookies, and immediately became a popular cover song among bands in Liverpool. The Beatles version features George Harrison on lead vocals, the first time many a Beatles fan heard Harrison singing lead on a commercially released song.
The final cover song on Side One of the LP is “Boys”. Originally released by The Shirelles, “Boys” had long been known as The Beatles’ “drummer song”, with Pete Best covering it on stage prior to Ringo entering the band. Ringo also performed the song as a member of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes prior to joining The Beatles. Despite some pronoun changes from the Shirlles’ original, the song retains a large amount of homoerotic undertones.
“Ask Me Why”, primarily written by Lennon in the style of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, is up next. Close listening can reveal the deteriorating state of Lennon’s voice during the marathon session. “Ask Me Why” was also included as the B-side to “Please Please Me”.
Rounding out the first side of the LP is “Please Please Me”. Originally conceived by John Lennon as a slow bluesy song in the style of Roy Orbison, it took much convincing and rerecording for Martin to release the song as a single. Martin originally felt the song was “dreary” and too slow. Martin wanted to release “How Do You Do It?” as a single for The Beatles. However, the group stood their ground as they only wanted to release original material as singles. “How Do You Do It?” later became a number one hit for Gerry & The Pacemakers. The arrangement for “Please Please Me” was radically altered into the version we know today, and 18 takes of it were recorded before George Martin released the song as a single to major success.
Opening up Side Two of the album is “Love Me Do”. McCartney wrote the bulk of the song, with Lennon writing the bridge. The version on the album was the take with session drummer Andy White playing drums and Ringo on tambourine. The original single version with Ringo on drums was later reissued on Past Masters in 1988. “Love Me Do” was released as a single in the US in 1964 and became a #1 hit.
“P.S. I Love You”, a McCartney composition, was actually produced by Ron Richards in George Martin’s absence (though Martin retained production credit). Like the aforementioned “Love Me Do”, this song features Ringo on maracas with Andy White on drums. Richards was insistent that “P.S. I Love You” had to be the B-side, due to it sharing a name with a 1934 song co-written by Johnny Mercer (who later wrote the lyrics to “Moon River” and “Days of Wine and Roses”).
“Baby It’s You”, another Shirelles cover (with music by the legendary Burt Bacharach), follows. This one features Lennon on lead vocals. The song had been part of the Beatles stage act since 1961, their version differing from the Shirelles’ by repeating the second verse rather than the first. Interestingly enough, a 1969 cover of the song by the band Smith became the highest charting version of the song in the United States (Smith’s version peaked at #5, compared to the Shirelles’ version peaking at #8).
“Do You Want to Know a Secret”, an original song with Harrison on lead vocals is next. Lennon claimed the song as entirely his own, while McCartney later claimed it was a 50-50 collaboration explicitly for George to sing. Lennon was inspired by “I’m Wishing” from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which his mother Julia sang for him as a child. The song was released as a single in the United States in 1964, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and becoming the highest charting Beatles song with a Harrison vocal until “Something” topped the charts in 1969.
McCartney’s cover of the pop standard “A Taste of Honey” follows. This song was originally an instrumental track written for the 1960 Broadway version of the 1958 British play A Taste of Honey (which was later adapted to film in 1961). The first vocal version of the song appeared in 1961 by Billy Dee Williams (Yes, Lando from Star Wars. He appeared in the original Broadway production of the play). Lenny Welch’s 1962 rendition of the song proved to be a big hit, as well as the basis of the Beatles’ version. Lennon allegedly hated the song, going as far to sing “A Waste of Money” for the backing vocals in concert.
The final original song on the album is “There’s a Place”. While Lennon claimed to write the song himself in the Motown style, McCartney claimed the song to be a collaborative effort. He noted the song’s title phrase originated from “Somewhere” from the soundtrack album to West Side Story, as he owned a copy of the album. Regardless, the song has been praised for its introspective lyrics and depth not commonly found in contemporaneous pop songs.
The grand finale, and arguably the most famous of all the Beatles’ covers, is their raucous, electric take on the Isley Brothers’ rendition of “Twist and Shout”. As previously mentioned, Lennon used every last bit of his voice that day shredding through the song. He initially felt ashamed of the performance, feeling his performance was subpar. The song was released as a single in the United States in 1964, peaking at #2 behind the band’s own “Can’t Buy Me Love”. It was the only million selling Beatles single to be a cover song, and was famously used in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in 1986.

Release and Impact

The album was released on March 22, 1963. The album had reached the top of the UK charts by May of 1963 and remained there for 30 weeks until being replaced by the group’s second album, With the Beatles. Please Please Me was also the first non-soundtrack album to spend more than a year consecutively within the top 10 of the UK album charts (with 62 consecutive weeks in the Top 10). This was also a record for a debut album until April 2013 when Emeli Sande’s Our Version of Events achieved a 63rd consecutive week in the Top Ten. Please Please Me’s success was unprecedented for a pop album, as the UK charts at the time largely consisted of film soundtracks and easily listening albums. The success of the album has been attributed to the packaging, particularly it’s cover art and linear notes.
Capitol Records, the American subsidiary of EMI, passed on the opportunity to release the Beatles’ material, feeling the music would have limited appeal to American listeners. Instead, Vee-Jay records attempted to bring The Beatles to America. However, the first two American singles (“Please Please Me” and “From Me to You”), failed spectacularly. Vee-Jay lost interest in The Beatles, not releasing a truncated 12-track version of the album until Beatlemania hit in early 1964 as Introducing… The Beatles (more information on that release can be found here). Capitol included “I Saw Her Standing There” on their first Beatles album Meet The Beatles! (It also served as the B-side to the American version of “I Want to Hold Your Hand”) After Vee-Jay’s license to release Beatles material expired, Capitol released The Early Beatles in March 1965, which consisted of 11 out of the 14 tracks from Please Please Me (along with “I Saw Her Standing There”, it excised “Misery” and “There’s a Place”. The latter two songs were released for the first time by Capitol in 1980 on the Rarities album). The first official American release of Please Please Me occurred in 1987 with the standardization of The Beatles’ catalog on CD.
In the decades since it’s release, Please Please Me remains highly regarded as not only one of the best debut albums of all time, but one of the greatest albums of all time period. In 2012, it was voted 39th on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. NME, Rolling Stone and Uncut have all named it one of the best debut albums of all time. For the 50th anniversary of the album in 2013, modern artists celebrated the album by re-recording it in one day. Stereophonics recorded the cover of “I Saw Her Standing There”. The rerecorded album was broadcast on BBC Radio 2.

Discussion

1. What is your favorite original song on Please Please Me? Favorite cover?
   
2. How would you rank the album within the Beatles’ discography?
   
3. Much has been said about how joyous the album feels. Do you feel it captured the energy of The Beatles’ early performances well?
   
4. How does this album compare with other pop albums from the same time?
   

I cant enjoy GTA Online mainly because online players keep killing me and there is no feature in the game where you can escape and prevent that when you are in an organization or motorcycle club

1. need to allow players to go into passive mode in securoserv organization during a quick mission in-game and while being attacked by players. Its impossible to play the game when being attacked by multiple people in the game every minute of the day and unable to move the character without being killed.
2. Allow players to quit an in-server mission while being killed multiple times by players and can’t go into passive mode while in a securoserv organization. Again, its impossible to play the game when being attacked by multiple people and cant go into passive mode to make them stop while in a securoserv organization
3. Allow players to spawn a vehicle in areas with no roads when being killed multiple times by other players and respawning in the middle of a mountain full of grass with no roads and areas everywhere on the map with no roads. Its annoying when being killed while trying to run away to find a safe spot cant request a vehicle because you are too far away
4. Add a skip cutscene option in all setup heist missions because it takes forever to just play the game when going through the heist setup.

I cant enjoy GTA Online mainly because online players keep killing me and there is no feature in the game where you can escape and prevent that when you are in an organization or motorcycle club

1. need to allow players to go into passive mode in securoserv organization during a quick mission in-game and while being attacked by players. Its impossible to play the game when being attacked by multiple people in the game every minute of the day and unable to move the character without being killed.
2. Allow players to quit an in-server mission while being killed multiple times by players and can’t go into passive mode while in a securoserv organization. Again, its impossible to play the game when being attacked by multiple people and cant go into passive mode to make them stop while in a securoserv organization
3. Allow players to spawn a vehicle in areas with no roads when being killed multiple times by other players and respawning in the middle of a mountain full of grass with no roads and areas everywhere on the map with no roads. Its annoying when being killed while trying to run away to find a safe spot cant request a vehicle because you are too far away
4. Add a skip cutscene option in all setup heist missions because it takes forever to just play the game when going through the heist setup.