My first memory of Blackpink was around the summer of 2017 when someone in the Popheads Plug.dj room played “As If It’s Your Last”. That song was stuck in my head ever since I first heard it. It had everything I wanted from a K-pop song at that time - a fire rap verse, beautiful vocals, an upbeat production that had an addictive pop bubblegum melody in the chorus. The gorgeous music video definitely played a huge factor on the song’s memorability. A few months later, I was watching Justice League with my relatives when Barry Allen aka The Flash arrives at his Flash secret den, only to be surprised to find Bruce Wayne aka Batman waiting for him. Why am I mentioning this scene? Behind Batfleck (a portmanteau of Batman and Ben Affleck) is the TV screen of the “As If It’s Your Last” music video and the song can be heard for a few seconds before fading into focus on the dialogue between Batman and The Flash. Being in a Southeastern Country where the influence of the Hallyu wave is huge since the early 2000s, everyone in the theater were pleasantly surprised by the fact that a K-pop song, let alone a song from a group with only 5 songs at that time, was featured in a Hollywood superhero movie. At that moment, I had a huge feeling that the song being featured in Justice League will increase the presence of K-pop in the West to the point that a K-pop song actually charts in Billboard Hot 100 soon and BLACKPINK is going to be one of those groups. To my surprise, I was actually right. BTS and Blackpink are the most popular K-pop groups right now thanks to their success in the West, which was the place that is quite hesitant to accept K-pop as a dominant force in pop culture despite its popularity outside the West, especially in Asia. The groups’ appearances in the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Charts definitely made Western labels realize that K-pop is a dominant force globally. As part of the Popheads Album of the Year 2020 series, I take a look at Blackpink's first full album appropriately titled “The Album''. Their debut full album was highly anticipated as it took four years since their debut in 2016 to finally make this happen. With this post, I deconstruct Blackpink’s history and their legacy, how the tracks fared as an album, and why “The Album” deserves its place as the “Popheads’ Album of the Year”.
PART 1. THE GROUP
When Blackpink made their debut on August 8, 2016, the anticipation was high as they were YG Entertainment’s second girl group after 2NE1. The high anticipation is also because the group was supposed to debut in 2012 after YG’s founder and now-former CEO Yang Hyun-suk teased a possibility of a second girl group back in 2011. The name for YG’s second girl group wasn’t even called Blackpink in the first place as the group was initially named “Pink Punk”. “Pink Punk” was supposed to be YG’s answer to SM Entertainment’s Girls Generation (SNSD) as the initial number of members were supposed to match the number of members of SNSD, which is nine members. YG even uploaded videos of some trainees who were likely to be members of Pink Punk to build public interest before the group’s supposed to debut. And then, Pink Punk never happened. Yang Hyun-suk’s indecisive, premature decisions during his time as CEO of YG is the reason why he earned so much infamy within the K-pop community, along with other things. But let’s not delve into that. Between 2011 and 2016, it was clear that this second girl group went through drastic changes. The line-up of members changed from nine to seven, then to five, to just four. Besides Pink Punk, the group had other possible names such as “Baby Monster” and “Magnum”. I honestly wonder what kind of crack did the people in YG Entertainment smoke to think that these are legitimately good names for their second girl group. Did they get that crack from Senguri? We may never know. Blackpink’s debut was an instant success as they released their debut double singles “Whistle” and “Boombayah”, compiled as a single album “Square One”. “Whistle” and “Boombayah” debuted at #1 and #7 at South Korean Gaon Digital Charts respectively. The group also became the fastest girl group to earn a win in a Korean music show as Inkigayo gave the group a trophy win for “Whistle”. Looking back, the group said that debuting with “Whistle” as their first single was risky at that time due to it having a “weird country vibe” and its minimal production, which led many people at YG against its release. They followed “Square One” with the next single album “Square Two” with singles “Playing with Fire” and “Stay”, which both aim to show Blackpink’s softer side, compared to the chaotic, party-vibe of “Square One”. While most K-pop groups usually have at least two to three comebacks per year, it seems like Blackpink only has one comeback per year based on the release pattern of when the group has their comebacks. On June 2, 2017, they released their comeback standalone single “As If It’s Your Last”. The following year, they finally released their first mini-album (which is basically an EP) “Squared Up” on June 15, 2018. “DDU-DU DDU-DU”, the mini-album’s title single (K-pop equivalent to lead single) propelled Blackpink to global popularity especially in the West as the single debuted at #55 and #78 in the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart respectively. This marks their first appearance in these charts. Additionally, the song’s music video is currently the second most-viewed K-pop music video with 1.4 billion viewers, being only behind Gangnam Style by former fellow YG artist Psy with 3.9 billion viewers. In 2019, Blackpink released their second mini-album “Kill This Love” on April 4. The release of the mini-album was significant as it’s the group’s first release under Interscope Records, which distributes their music and handles their promotions in countries outside Asia. The titular track peaked at #41 on Billboard Hot 100 and #33 on the UK Singles Chart. This era is best remembered for the group’s promotions in the West as a result of their increasing popularity, specifically their iconic Coachella appearance that made them the first K-pop girl group to perform in the festival. Their Coachella gig highlighted the group’s stage presence and high energy as performers, backed with a live band that complimented the group’s electronic-style music. It’s Blackpink like we never saw before and it’s definitely a refreshing contrast to their more calculated promotions in their home country of South Korea.
PART 2. THE MEMBERS
A huge part of Blackpink’s appeal are the members. Their beauty and charismatic personalities are some of the reasons why the group has a huge fanbase of Blinks, which is the fandom name of the group. Obviously, K-pop idols are trained to be charismatic. But there is something about the dynamic of the members that feel unmatched and they harmonize well together as a group. It’s sort of a relief that YG didn’t stick to their plan of having a nine-member girl group. During training, Jennie said that the female trainees are shuffled to different groups every two months and there would be “little fights” on who gets assigned to positions in the group such as vocals, rapping, and dancing. When grouped with Lisa, Jisoo, and Rosé, Jennie said it was already clear on who gets the parts. Each member of the group carries the whole group in their own different ways. They all have different backgrounds, different motivations on why they wanted to become idols and trainees under YG, and different skills that make Blackpink as a whole. I will be describing the members in the order they were revealed before their debut.
Jennie
Jennie Kim was the first member to be revealed as part of Blackpink on June 1, 2016. She is the group’s assigned main rapper and lead vocalist. Jennie was born as an only child to wealthy parents on January 16, 1996, in Seoul, South Korea. Jennie moved to Auckland at the age of eight after she was asked by her mother if she liked the place during their visit there. Jennie seemed to adjust her life well in New Zealand and she was featured in a documentary titled “English, Must Change to Survive” for South Korean broadcaster MBC about her experience as a Korean kid living in a foreign land. Jennie moved back to Seoul in 2010 after not being interested in taking up law in the United States, which was suggested by her mother who eventually supported her daughter’s decision. While Jennie didn’t have any formal musical background growing up, she was interested in K-pop during her stay in New Zealand. She auditioned for YG Entertainment as a vocalist, in which she performed “Take a Bow” by Rihanna. While Jennie was accepted as a trainee under YG, the judges advised her to train for the role of a rapper as she is the only trainee who can speak English. A trainee for five years, Jennie was one of the most popular trainees in YG and has already gained recognition before her eventual debut as a Blackpink member. YG uploaded videos of Jennie covering “Strange Clouds" by B.o.B. featuring Lil Wayne and “Lotus Flower Bomb” by Wale while she was a trainee. She also appeared as a featured artist for Senguri’s “GG Be” and G-Dragon’s “Black” in their respective solo albums, which she performed with the latter in Inkigayo making it her stage debut Because of her early popularity, Jennie was highly speculated to be part of the original line-up of Pink Punk before the idea was scrapped. After the release of “Square Up”, Jennie became the first member of the group to debut as a soloist. She released her debut solo single aptly titled “Solo” on November 12, 2018. The music video is the most-viewed music video by a Korean female solo artist with 600 million views on YouTube. Just recently, she launched her own YouTube channel on her 26th birthday where she intends to create vlogs about her everyday life. Her first vlog served as an introduction to her channel which included a cover of Tangled’s “When Will My Life Begin?” by Mandy Moore. The vlog has already gotten 10.9 million views two days after its release.
Lisa
Lalisa Manoban, known by her stage name Lisa, was revealed as the second member of Blackpink on June 8, 2016. Lisa is the assigned main dancer, lead rapper, and sub vocalist of the group. She is also the “maknae” of the group, meaning she is the youngest member of the group, as well as the only non-Korean member in the group. Lisa’s birth name is actually different as she was born under the name “Pranpriya” before legally changing to Lalisa. She was born in Thailand on March 27, 1997. Lisa took dance lessons at four years old and often competed in dance competitions. She was part of the Thai dance crew “We Zaa Cool'' with childhood friend and fellow K-pop idol BamBam from GOT7. She also competed in a singing competition where she represented her school, ending up as a runner-up. Inspired by her idols and eventual YG labelmates BIGBANG and 2NE1, Lisa had her eyes on the K-pop industry. She auditioned for YG Entertainment when the agency visited Thailand. Out of the 4,000 Thai applicants, she was the only one accepted to be a trainee under YG. Lisa began her 5-year trainee journey in 2011 as she is YG’s first foreign trainee. Like Jennie, she was speculated to be part of the original line-up of “Pink Punk”. Her highly impressive skills as a dancer have always led her to be assigned as the main dancer in different groups that she designs most of the choreography herself. While still training, YG released a video of 16-year-old Lisa performing “Turn Up The Music”, albeit she was nameless in the video. Lisa is the group’s most popular member as she is the most followed member on Instagram with 45.2 million followers. Her widely-shared dance performance of “Swalla” in the Blackpink In Your Area tour and the “Did It Work?” memes that surrounded her legs contributed to her worldwide popularity. In 2020, Lisa released a limited edition photobook on her birthday aptly titled “0327”, which consisted of photos she took with her film camera that included some shots of her fellow members. Outside of her Blackpink duties, Lisa is a dance mentor of the Chinese survival show “Youth With You”. She was dubbed as “Mentor Lisa” by Blinks as her strict mentoring style in the show surprised everyone since it was the opposite of her shy personality. Her fellow members have teased Lisa over her strict mentoring style.
Jisoo
Kim Ji-soo, more commonly known by her first name, was revealed as the third member of Blackpink on June 15, 2016. She is the group’s lead vocalist and “visual” member, meaning she is the most attractive member according to Korean beauty standards. She is also the eldest member of the group, making her the “eonie” of the group. Jisoo was born on January 3, 1995, in South Korea and she grew up with a close, extended family. Despite being a visual member, Jisoo was bullied as a kid about her appearance by her relatives who often called her a monkey. Being an idol was not on Jisoo’s radar growing up. She wanted to involve herself in the arts as she considered wanting to become an actress, a painter, or a writer. She developed her acting skills by joining a drama club during her time as a student. Despite not knowing about YG when she auditioned, Jisoo was accepted as a trainee and began her 5-year trainee journey. Like Jennie and Lisa, Jisoo was speculated to be part of the original line-up of Pink Punk. Before her debut, she made appearances in commercials for Samsonite, LG, and Nikon. There is always one member in a K-pop group that would likely become actors later in their careers and Jisoo is one of them. It isn’t surprising as she has openly shown her interest in becoming an actress and the members even remarked that she would win an Oscar for her “acting face” alone. Before her debut, she had a cameo appearance in an episode of the KBS show “The Producers” with labelmates Dara of 2NE1. Now a K-pop idol, Jisoo appeared in a role in tvN’s fantasy-drama “Arthdal Chronicles” where she played her first fictional character. Jisoo will be starring in an upcoming JTBC drama “Snowdrop” that is slated to premiere later this year.
Rosé
Park Chae-young, more commonly known as Rosé, is the fourth and last member to be revealed as part of Blackpink on June 22, 2016. She is the assigned main vocalist and lead dancer in the group. Rosé’s English name is Roséanne Park as she was born outside Korea and grew up living overseas. She was born on February 11, 1997, in Auckland, New Zealand. Her family moved to Melbourne, Australia when she was eight years old. While Lisa’s musical background is more on dancing, Rosé’s musical background is more on singing as she grew up singing in a choir and has played the guitar often in school. When YG went to Australia to look for potential trainees, she was advised by her father to try auditioning. After being accepted as a YG trainee, she had to drop out of school and move to Seoul within two months. Rosé said it was difficult to be separated from her family during training. Despite feeling homesick, she was determined to become a K-pop idol. Rosé had no formal experience with dancing, which caught her off-guard when she first trained. She definitely had a lot of time to hone her dancing skills that she eventually became the lead singer in the group. Before her debut, Rosé was a featured artist in G-Dragon’s song “Without You” in 2012. Given her position as the main vocalist, Blinks have been anticipating her solo debut. She has released covers of Halsey’s “Eyes Open” and Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song”, which really showcased her unique vocals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she covered a series of songs in a jam session that was live-streamed on her Instagram page. Rosé will finally make her debut as a soloist early this year and teasers are expected to pop-up as reports say that she finished filming the music video of her solo debut. Given YG’s well-recorded unreliably on their commitments, we could only hope this would finally push through. While I have described every member of Blackpink, there’s one more person that needs to be mentioned as he plays a crucial factor in Blackpink’s success.
Teddy Park
Teddy Park is a former member of YG’s boy group “1TYM” and now an in-house producer for YG Entertainment. He wrote and produced many iconic tracks for BIGBANG and 2NE1 such as Fantastic Baby and I Am The Best respectively. Teddy produced the majority of Blackpink’s discography and has received songwriting credits of Blackpink’s collaborations with Dua Lipa (Kiss and Make Up) and Lady Gaga (Sour Candy). According to the album’s production credits, he is credited as the album producer and creative director for the group.
PART 3. THE ERA
When YG announced on May 4, 2020, that Blackpink finished recording their first full album and will shoot a music video for their pre-single later that month, the news was met with cautious optimism. YG has a track record of promising things that didn’t come to fruition so this announcement was understandably taken with a grain of salt. It’s worth pointing out that the group was previously featured on “Sour Candy” by Lady Gaga as a promo single for her album “Chromatica”, which indicates that Blackpink might be coming out with their new material. Also, Interscope is capitalizing on the increasing popularity of K-pop in the West by investing Blackpink in their roster. With this, YG has to commit to its schedule. And so they did by dropping a teaser poster a month later that revealed that the pre-release single will drop on June 26. The pre-release single would later turn out to be called “How You Like That?”, which was met with huge anticipation as teaser posters and videos of the members were revealed until its release. The single became an instant success the moment it dropped as the music video’s premiere was watched by 1.66 million simultaneous viewers on YouTube, making it the highest-rated YouTube Premiere. It was also the fastest music video to hit 100 million viewers in just 32 hours before BTS’ “Dynamite” took over the title two months later, beating Blackpink with 24 hours The song itself was a hit in the charts. It debuted at #32 on Billboard Hot 100 and #20 on the UK Singles Charts. Blackpink then teased the release of their second pre-release single featuring an unnamed artist on July 23 that will be released a month later. It was widely speculated that Ariana Grande is the unnamed artist that the hashtag “#AriPink” trended on Twitter. It was later revealed that Grande is actually one of the songwriters of the single and that Selena Gomez is the actual unnamed artist on August 11. The title would later be revealed as “Ice Cream” on August 22. The single’s music video, in which the scenes had to be shot separately in South Korea and Los Angeles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, gathered 79.08 million viewers in 24 hours. The single is currently Blackpink’s highest-peaking single on Billboard Hot 100, debuting at #13. Throughout the hype of Ice Cream, YG announced on July 28 that Blackpink will FINALLY release their first full album titled “The Album” on October 2. The name was met with mixed reactions, calling it “lazy”. However, Rosé said that they have worked on the album for so long that simply calling it “The Album” is the best way to describe their project because it’s so straightforward - “Blackpink: The Album”. Accompanying the album’s release on October 2 is the release of the album’s title track “Lovesick Girls”, which became the sixth biggest 24-hour music video debut at 61.4 million viewers. While the song peaked at #59 on Billboard Hot 100, the new Billboard Global 200 showed that the song debuted and peaked at #2, with the song topping the separate Global Chart that excluded the US. In-between the releases of the singles was Blackpink’s new reality TV show on YouTube called “Blackpink: 24/365”, which showcased various activities that the members participated in, such as pottery making and kart racing, as well as revealing behind the scenes footage of their music videos. The 16-episode reality series served as a way to promote the group and the album’s release. The series began on June 13 with a prologue until it aired its finale on October 24. It was supposed to have one more episode that was scheduled on October 31 before being pulled off after Chinese netizens were concerned over a clip of the episode’s teaser that showed the members touching a baby panda without gloves and masks during the pandemic. To cap off the era, a Netflix documentary film about the group was made under the title, “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky”, which documented Blackpink’s first four years as a group featuring behind the scenes videos and footage during their training days. It also showed the friendship between the members and their producer Teddy, their retrospective look on their training days, as well as their struggles of keeping up the busy lifestyle as K-pop idols. The documentary film also showed the girls recording the songs for The Album, as well as Rosé preparing for her long-anticipated solo debut. The documentary received positive reviews, which critics liked the documentary for showing the members’ work ethic and their fun personalities.
PART 4. THE TRACKS
“The Album” is a pop album that has influences of hip-hop, R&B, and EDM, all of which compose Blackpink’s musical signature since their debut. “The Album” is composed of 8 tracks (including the three singles) with a length of 24 minutes and 26 seconds. This is somehow normal for a K-pop mini-album, but too short for a full-album. In comparison, Twice’s second full-album “Eyes wide open” has 13-tracks with a length of 43 minutes and 29 seconds. As an eight-track album, it’s an equal mix of English and Korean songs as Blackpink attempts to market themselves in the West. All of these songs were recorded in The Black Label in South Korea, with some of the album’s mixing and additional input by producers made remotely due to the pandemic. Teddy serves as the album’s main producer, along with YG’s in-house songwriters and producers Danny Chung, R.Tee, 24, Løren, Vince, and Future Bounce. Frequent Blackpink songwriter Bekah Boom also worked on the lyrics of “The Album”. New songwriters and producers include Victoria Monét, Tommy Brown, Steven Franks, Ariana Grande, Ryan Tedder, Melanie Fontana, Torae Carr, Jonathan Descartes, Brian Lee, Leah Haywood, David Guetta, Tushar Apte, Rob Grimaldi, Chloe George, and Steph Jones. The featured artists in “The Album”, Selena Gomez and Cardi B, are also credited as songwriters in their respective tracks “Ice Cream” and “Bet You Wanna”. Additionally, Jennie and Jisoo received their first songwriting credits ever with “Lovesick Girls”. For this section on the post, I will give my thoughts on each track. I will also include the line distribution statistics based on random_k’s lyric distribution videos (with the exception of Love to Hate Me which I will base on HEXA6ON’s lyric distribution video of the song) and input my thoughts on the distribution as well.
1. How You Like That?
We begin “The Album” with the first pre-release single. “How You Like That?” is an appropriate opener to the album as it’s your typical Blackpink clap-back anthem. The best way to describe my mood on this song is the way AJay reacted to the song, in which she said “This is how you open the album”. Of course, many have criticized this song for being too familiar with the previous singles “DU-DDU-DDU-DU” and “Kill This Love” and I do agree that this song is definitely a rethread of these songs. However, I will disagree that this song didn’t serve anything new to the table. For me, “How You Like That?” basically re-defined Blackpink’s sound that complements the group’s pop and hip-hop tendencies that the previous singles haven’t reached before. It feels redundant to talk about Blackpink’s music videos because it always expected that their music videos would always serve BUDGET regardless of the quality of the actual song. Like, look at the budget! And they shot this music video during a pandemic!
While the line distribution is not totally equal as Jisoo is missing out on ten seconds compared to other members, I feel like the line distribution is justified. You can definitely hear each member contributing their own lines in the song. Lisa being the member with the most lines also makes sense as she basically she slayed the entire second verse
2. Ice Cream (with Selena Gomez)
When Normani released “Motivation” as a single, you can definitely tell that Ariana could’ve sang this song since she is credited as a songwriter. It has the Grande fingerprints all over it. Yet, with Normani’s strong vocals that complemented the 2000s-inspired production, she owned this song with ease. My expectations for an Ariana-penned Blackpink track are quite high based on my feelings on “Motivation” alone and Selena Gomez’s contribution as the co-artist of the song propelled that higher. And oh boy, I wish I wasn’t this excited. The most disappointing thing about Ice Cream is that it felt like Blackpink attempting to sing an Ariana reject with no sense of originality. I know it’s ironic to say this since Blackpink is basically “2NE1 Part 2” for longtime YG fans, but this song lacked that distinct Blackpink sound that made me a Blink in the first place. It’s so uninspiring and sometimes jarring to hear, even with multiple listens. Also, the sexual overtones in the lyrics are just too fucking awkward for Blackpink to sing. With their music video that had a cute concept, this is sort of uncomfortable to go through with the sexual undertones in mind. This is the same group that had them bragging how good their bodies look in “Boombayah” and they showed their “sexier side” way better in their cover of Wonder Girls’ “So Hot”. The only saving grace of this song, which was the reason why I could barely tolerate “Ice Cream”, is Lisa’s rap verse. I could imagine Jennie slaying if she had her own rap verse too. Honestly, Selena would have owned this song by herself without the autotune. But it’s nice to hear Selena in an upbeat song like this in a while.
Immediately, I can’t help but think about how Jisoo got only two English lines in the song despite having more seconds than Rosé. Half of Jisoo’s lines are just “Ice cream chillin chillin”. Ugh. I know Jisoo is not a fluent English speaker but many K-pop idols who are not English speakers can sing the language well with enough practice. Thankfully, Jisoo had more English lines in other songs, but I’ll tackle that a bit later in this post. I am honestly surprised Selena had more lines in the song than I thought because I feel like I heard more of Jennie and Rosé, which funny enough I thought Rosé had more lines. This is definitely not the worst line distribution I have seen. It’s just that Jisoo could have sung more lines.
3. Pretty Savage
Remember the distinct Blackpink signature sound that made me a Blink in the first place? Now, this is what I am talking about. This is the quintessential Blackpink sound that I have been waiting for since Kill This Love. I would’ve imagined that Pretty Savage as a pre-release single would've fared better than “How You Like That?” but somehow, I am sort of glad it didn’t. This is the song that Blinks needed to hear as antis have constantly dismissed Blackpink as “influencers with no talent” in response to their constant lengthy hiatuses. Of course, with this kind of song, it’s already expected Lisa would definitely slay this song. It's nice to hear Jennie rap again after she wasn’t given those parts in the pre-release singles. The way she rapped “F bois, not my bois' ' is just too damn iconic. However, the star of the song is Jisoo who has the second verse to herself and her talking rap flow surprisingly works here. The best part is definitely her saying “Blackpink in Your Area” after being the only member not to say the iconic catchphrase for years. And of course, Rosé’s vocals in the bridge are just as amazing. Pretty Savage is definitely one of my top favorites in “The Album”. Let’s just forget the messy choreography though.
This is definitely one of the best lyric distributions of Blackpink so far. While Lisa exceeded ten seconds, every member can be heard equally with their outstanding lines given to them.
4. Bet You Wanna (feat. Cardi B)
Coming off from the success and controversy surrounding WAP, Cardi B and Blackpink is an odd, yet exciting collaboration. I can’t imagine any of the members taking the second verse other than Cardi. It would have been nice to hear the “supposed” explicit lyrics she had to tone down for obvious reasons. If she was allowed to swear, she would’ve sung “I bet if you make me wet, I’ll still be fire”, which plays in my head now when I hear the tone-downed version lyric (“I bet if you make me sweat, I’ll still be fire”). Bet You Wanna could’ve been the next single after Lovesick Girls to capitalize on Cardi’s success from WAP. The entire production is so chill, yet so catchy which makes sense considering Ryan Tedder and Tommy Brown’s involvement. The song is completely in English so that this could’ve been a Top 10 hit with the right push. Unfortunately, the promotional cycle for “The Album” ended so I guess this is going to remain as a fan-favorite track for many Blinks and not a huge hit outside the fandom.
Not a perfect lyric distribution, but not too bad either. Each member can be heard just fine and Cardi didn’t dominate the song too much, which is fair since she is a featured artist. Lisa could’ve gotten a bit more lines, but this is also fine considering she has topped the lyric distribution in the previous songs.
5. Lovesick Girls
Considering that Blackpink’s single releases have always been upbeat clap-back anthems, the release of Lovesick Girls as a title track is quite refreshing as it aims to show the group’s more melancholy side, both in the lyrics and the production. The most striking lyric is from the chorus where the girls sang “We are all born to be alone/But why are we still looking for love?”. This isn’t the most groundbreaking lyric at all, but it does feel a bit weird hearing that from the girls. It brings me back to the documentary where Teddy said that the songs they made for “The Album” are going to show a bit of themselves a bit more as a group. Living as a K-pop idol is quite difficult as it is and we don’t know a lot about them since their image is very calculated by their agencies. It’s not to say they can’t be in a relationship because of the infamous “no dating” rule in the industry. The girls were probably asking themselves if they could really find love in an industry that is obsessed with perfection. Again, it’s not a very groundbreaking lyric but it does give me a bit of insight into the girls’ psyche a bit on their perspective of love.
Rosé taking up the top spot in this lyric distribution makes complete sense since this is the song that is best suited to her vocally. I have a feeling “Lovesick Girls” was a brief glimpse of what kind of song that Rosé will be releasing for her solo debut. Jennie taking up second place is quite surprising, especially her English rap verse didn’t take too long as well. The distribution on Lisa is fine, but Jisoo could’ve slightly sang more lines.
6. Crazy Over You
There’s isn’t much to talk about this song other than its production, which best utilized oriental instrumentals to hip-hop production. This isn’t the best song on “The Album”, but it isn’t as bad as well.
The lyric distribution could’ve been fair if Lisa was given more lines to rap. But I think this is fine since Jennie didn’t have a lot of rap lines in this album. It’s definitely nice to hear more of Jisoo in this song as she perfectly nailed the pre-chorus with her vocals.
7. Love to Hate Me
For some reason, Love to Hate Me reminded me so much of Ariana with the way the lyrics are sung by the girls, especially in the chorus and the ad-libs. This song serves as an appropriate penultimate track as the song delivers its final clap-back before “The Album” comes to a close with a softer pop ballad.
Rosé: 28.7% Lisa: 28.1% Jennie: 26.4% Jisoo: 16.8% Honestly, seeing lyric distributions like this where three of the members had equal parts except Jisoo makes me sad. She was close to having an equal lyrical distribution and this could’ve been done if she sang a bit more lines in the song.
8. You Never Know
We finally reach the end of “The Album” as it closes with a soft power-pop anthem that feels very in-character with Blackpink. This song already gained some attention when it was revealed that Teddy had no involvement in the song, making it the first Blackpink song without him. It’s worth pointing that out because Teddy has a mixed reaction as a main producer of the group. While I personally don’t mind Teddy as a producer, it’s quite refreshing that he isn’t involved so that the group can experiment with other producers. This is definitely the group at their most sincere in this album, in which they address the message of not judging people based on how they look outside. This particular message rings true to the members personally and Blinks can see why. Getting hate comments is nothing new in the K-pop industry. But Jennie seems to be the most bullied member as she was often villainized in the public eye, from her alleged “lazy dancing” scandal to the intense coverage of her short dating life with Kai from EXO. She was also unflatteringly called “YG Princess” because of accusations that the agency has favored her over other members. With this context in mind, it was so painful to hear Jennie sing “But you'll never know unless you walk in my shoes / You'll never know my tangled strings / 'Cause everybody sees what they wanna see / It's easier to judge me than to believe” because she has faced so much criticism over nothing. Other members have gone through similar scrutiny as well, but it’s not as bad as Jennie’s situation. All of the members worked so hard and sacrificed so much to be where they are now, so having this song that asks people not to judge them as a closer feels like the perfect ending statement from Blackpink.
It’s so nice that most of the members almost got the one-minute worth of lines and having Jisoo at the top feels satisfying after the limited line distribution she got with “Ice Cream. Vocal wise, this is their best song to date as they get to showcase their most emotional, sincere vocals in this track. The only problem is that Lisa should’ve gotten more lines, especially since her vocals sounded amazing that gives the song a more “heartfelt” feeling.
PART 5. THE CONCLUSION
Now that I have given my thoughts on each track of “The Album”, here are my overall thoughts on “The Album” and the era itself. In the [FRESH] Popheads discussion thread of “The Album”, a lot of users were disappointed with how short the album is. Yes, the album is unfortunately quite short given that this is their first full album in Blackpink’s fourth year as a group. Users are also disappointed with how “outdated” the songs felt. To be fair on Blackpink, K-pop tends to be a bit behind when it comes to trends. It isn’t surprising that “The Album” would have some kind of outdated production in Wester music standards. The most obvious one would be “Lovesick Girls'', which sounded like an Icona Pop song. Sonically, the entire album isn’t even revolutionary at all. “The Album'' is produced on what’s popular in the charts right now and even the biggest Blink here (not me) would know that. So with all these criticisms pointed out, why is “The Album” even considered as one of the Albums of the Year? Especially as someone who had Taylor Swift’s “folklore” as my own personal AOTY? For my case as a Blink, a huge part of the reason why I am a Blink is that not only their music makes me feel alive, but also because the group has such a charismatic personality that it’s easy to see why they have a huge Western appeal. Along with BTS, Blackpink is leading this new Hallyu wave where the West has finally taken K-pop seriously as a dominant force, not as a gimmick. With “The Album” debuting at #2 in the Billboard 200, it's the highest-charting album by a female girl group since Danity Kane in 2006. On top of that, they have sold approximately 1 million copies worldwide (estimated 319,300 copies in the US and Europe according to Pinkvilla as of October 27, 2020), which is a rare thing to achieve in the streaming era unless you’re Taylor Swift. This huge success for a K-pop girl group proves that Blackpink will always be in our area no matter what. Even with the criticisms that “The Album” had over its short-length and its outdated production, you can at least still hear the huge amount of talent, personality and hardwork of the group in this album. It’s not the content of the album that makes “The Album” an AOTY, it’s the influence that it’s going to make to its listeners and pop culture as a whole. You know what the Blinks will say, “BLACKPINK IS THE REVOLUTION”.
Volume 1 here. Volume 2 here. Let's do this. Masters Of Monsters (Ash Ketchum vs Yugi Muto) [Pokemon vs Yu-Gi-Oh] Winner: Yugi Muto Explanation: This one was a fascinating fight to analyze, as it's not really Yugi and Ash we want to see fight, but their games. In order to understand how pokemon and duel monsters compare against each other, I've done a little procedure to see how well Ash's best pokemon stack against Yugi's monsters. First, I looked for the strongest team Ash could find and after extensive research plus a poll I set up right here on Reddit, I've determined that Ash's strongest team as of writing this would consist of Pikachu, Charizard, Infernape, Sceptile, Greninja, and Dragonite. Next, I went on Bulbapedia and searched each Pokemon's stats. Since we have no idea of what level they are or what exact stats they have, I decided to make them all lvl. 100 with the highest possible number for each stat. Following this, I decided to convert the Pokemon's stats into Yu-Gi-Oh's through the following procedure. Step One was getting rid of speed, Speed is irrelevant in Yu-Gi-Oh as whoever goes first can be decided simply by saying "I'll go first." Step Two, is averaging out the pokemon's attack and special attack and then multiplying the resulting number by 10. Do the same with their defense and special defense while leaving their HP the same. By the end, here's what each of Ash's strongest Pokemon's stats look like.
Pikachu
HP:294 ATK:2785 DEF:2290
Charizard
HP:360 ATK:3205 DEF:2875
Sceptile
HP:344 ATK:3450 DEF:2730
Infernape
HP:356 ATK:3370 DEF:2650
Greninja-Ash-Greninja
HP:348 ATK:3260-4360 DEF:2605-2605 6.Dragonite HP: 386 ATK: 3655 DEF: 3225 The way this works is basically, any time it's Ash's turn, his pokemon is in attack mode. Any time it's Yugi's turn, they're in defense mode. And any time they're attacked, instead of being instantly destroyed like Yu-gi-oh monsters, the difference between the monsters attack points and the pokemon's defense points is subtracted from the pokemon's HP. For example, say Dark Magician attacked Pikachu. Rather than pikachu instantly fainting, his health would go from 294 to 84. Other than all that, the rules for both games remain the same. From looking at this, it's safe to say that Ash's pokemon are stronger than most of Yugi's monster cards and the fact that they can still fight after being hit unlike Yugi's monsters would be a huge advantage. However, under the rules of Pokemon, Ash could only ever use one pokemon at a time and can only perform one action per turn. Yugi does not have this limitation. In fact, thanks to his trap cards, he could even perform actions during Ash's turn. And while I did say most of Yugi's monsters are weaker than Ash's pokemon, there are three crucial exceptions, the Egyptian God cards. Since Ash doesn't have any legendary Pokemon, his best bet against these three would be Gigantamax Pikachu. But even without the Egyptian Gods, Yugi has plenty of cards that could take out Pikachu or any of Ash's Pokemon in one hit such as Mirror Force or Mystic Box. And to anyone wondering "well what are the odds that Yugi would have just the right cards he needs to win?" clearly you've never watched the anime. Throughout the original Yu-Gi-Oh's run on TV, Yugi has only ever had three confirmed losses. And in the manga, that number goes down to one. Yugi almost always get exactly what he needs to win the duel no matter how improbable. As a result, his win record is far, far better than Ash's. Ash and his pokemon are certainly not pushovers, but in the end Yugi's versatility, arsenal, and the heart of the cards ensured that the deck was stacked against him. Devil's Rhapsody (Diavolo vs Kurumi) [Jojo's Bizarre Adventure vs Date A Live] Winner: Kurumi (maybe) Explanation: The only time Diavolo ever lost was when he went up against an opponent that could change fate itself. For all of Kurumi's power, she can't rewrite destiny nor can she operate outside of erased time. However, King Crimson doesn't technically "erase" time, rather he just sees what's going to happen next and when it happens, everybody just sort of forgets it happens. Because of this, there is a possibility that Kurumi could use her sixth bullet to go back during this erased time and catch Diavolo off guard. Still though, there is no certainty that that would work as Diavolo is intangible during this period, meaning Kurumi would have to strike just before the Erased time wears off with an attack that'll connect right after it wears off. This leaves Kurumi's strongest attack, the City of Devouring Time. City of Devouring Time absorbs a victim's time or rather their life energy. Stands are composed entirely out of life energy so even if Diavolo isn't within the city's range, King Crimson would still be drained and Diavolo would go down with him. However, that wouldn't mean he'd be completely unable to fight and with his speed and strength being comparable to Star Platinum's, it's still possible that King Crimson could kill Kurumi before the City absorbed him. If he could find her. Kurumi can summon a large number of clones, each one capable of summoning their own City of Devouring Time and draining King Crimson quicker. I've never watched either shows and trying to understand their powers on the wiki give me a migraine, but from what I can tell, King Crimson has the strength and speed to stand up to Kurumi and any number of her clones while Epitaph would keep Diavolo one step ahead of her, however, Kurumi has the numbers and just the power she needs to win via attrition. Phantom's Game (Joker vs Neku) [Persona 5 vs The World Ends With You] Winner: Joker Explanation: Neku can carry a maximum number of six pins whereas Joker can have as many as 20 personas. Several of them can nullify, absorb, or reflect different elemental attacks like lightning, ice, and fire making several of Neku's strongest pins near useless. Joker's personas are also capable of one-hit KO-ing his enemies and that's not even getting into Satanael who shot a God in the face. Hate Conquers All (Vilgax vs Lord Dominator) [Ben 10 vs Wander Over Yonder] Winner: Vilgax Explanation: Lord Dominator's strongest weapon is her suit, which grants both lava and ice powers. However, her lava isn't particularly effective since she grabs people with it and they don't even get singed. While it is possible she could control how hot it gets, given her sadistic personality, I think it's more likely that it's just not as hot as actual lava, which can get as high as 1,200 degrees celsius. Even if it was, Vilgax was at ground zero of a nuclear explosion, which is hotter than the surface of the sun, and survived before being augmented. With his augmentations, he's capable of knocking out Humungasaur with a single punch. So freezing him would do next to nothing as he likely could just move his arms and escape. And that's not mentioning all the stuff he had in Alien Force or the Malware suit Albedo made him in Omniverse. Basically, Vilgax is just too damned tough for Dominator to do anything against him. Boundary Immaculate (Rhea vs Ghetsis) [Fire Emblem vs Pokemon] Winner: Unknown Explanation: I don't play Fire Emblem and the wiki just explains characters' moves and attack patterns and not how powerful they actually are. The short answer is with a legendary Pokemon, Ghetsis might have a chance. Without one, he's fucked. Hammering Heroes (Reinhardt vs Poppy) [Overwatch vs League of Legends] Winner: Poppy Explanation: Poppy is ultimately too fast for Reinhardt to keep up with her and his only movement skill could actually leave him more vulnerable. Draconic Disasters (Kyurem vs Alatreon) [Pokemon vs Monster Hunter] Winner: Kyurem Explanation: Alatreon actually has more elemental weaknesses than Kyurem in its base form. Predator and Prey (Predator vs The Meta) [Predator vs Red Vs Blue] Winner: Predator Explanation: The Predator is just as tough if not tougher than the Meta and his arsenal is far more advanced than his opponents. That's not getting into the fact that the alien creature is definitely smarter and more put together than the Meta is. Tooth and Claw (Mileena vs X-23) [Mortal Kombat vs Marvel] Winner: X-23 Explanation: Being a clone of Wolverine means that Laura has the same broken healing factor that Logan has but heightened, while Mileena very rememberabley does not. And while she doesn't have Logan's indestructible skeleton, her years in captivity has made her an expert in both threat assessment and tactics. Mileena may be ferocious and unrelenting, but Laura has dealt with worse and won. Heir To The Skies (Rayquaza vs Bahamut) [Pokemon vs Final Fantasy] Winner: Unknown Explanation: I do not have the knowledge nor the patience to learn if Rayquaza destroying a meteor big enough to end all life on Earth in Pokemon Mystery Dungeons is less or more impressive than Bahamut's Exa Flare.
A bucket list cover page [Source: Swedish Nomad] As a natural free spirit, I’m of the belief that everybody should have a bucket list. I believe it should consist of overcoming fears, achieving once unattainable goals, realizing childhood dreams, taking risks, and doing things that you wouldn’t do under normal circumstances…kind of like having that Magic School Bus Miss Frizzle “take chances, make mistakes, get messy” mentality. For me, I have 75 unique things I want to do before I kick the proverbial bucket. I’ve already completed a few of the following items. I’ll detail those collectively in a future post and the remaining items as I complete them in this blog as long as I’m writing. That written, here is my bucket list as written when I created it in January 2013…
Bowl a game of 220 or better. This would be a grand moment considering the best game of my life (166) is more than twice my career average (82.7).
Learn archery. Long before Jennifer Lawrence was picking cats off in The Hunger Games, I’ve always wanted to acquire this skill…for the physical benefits (improved upper body strength, balance, and coordination) and the mental aspects (clear mind and increased focus).
Perform the Argentine Tango with a native Latin American woman in Buenos Aires. Aside from the first dance I’ll have as a married man, this may very well be the defining moment of my life on any dance floor.
Perform the Foxtrot and the Waltz on a date. This is why I secretly took ballroom dance in Tokyo for 3 years…all for that moment to leave a marquee impression. I just hope the lucky lady respects the “lead and follow” rule.
Go sky diving. I’ve always wanted to do it. And considering I know a lot more about parachutes—courtesy of my one of my good friends—I don’t have an uneasiness about it anymore.
Go white water rafting. I just want to see what the craze is all about. It’s high risk with the rocks and the drops but I’m sticking to one of the lower grades. I want to complete a bucket list item, not die.
Zipline through the Cloud Forest in Monteverde, Costa Rica. I’ve never been one to be frightened of heights but after a particular incident in Air Force basic military training, I wasn’t really receptive to covering distances end-to-end hanging on a wire. That changed when I ended up by myself in one of the glass bottom Ngong Ping Cable Cars in Hong Kong a few years back. I’ll do a few runs Stateside before I venture down to journey through the clouds.
Visit Red Square. Let’s break it down. A historic city. Saint Basil’s Cathedral. The Kremlin. Lenin’s Mausoleum. The Iberian Gate. Ummm…yeah, for a history freak like myself (I did have a 5.0 GPA in the history division in high school), this is a must.
Learn to say “Hello, my name is Juan” in the native tongue of every nation in the European Union. I’m sure to impress a few of the locals and maybe a few expatriates in doing so.
Visit Cuba. Hopefully, those cats in DC will stop playing politics and get rid of the embargo so I can go and do my 3-day travel thing. But, if not, I don’t have any issues with going as part of a people-to-people exchange. Either that or I’ll give up the American citizenship and become a Canuck.
Visit Christ the Redeemer. There is absolutely no way I’ll allow myself to leave Rio de Janeiro without a visit. It’ll definitely be one of my more proud moments as a Christian.
Visit the Great Barrier Reef. No doubt about it, the only way I’ll truly get the maximum value out of that Nikon D90 I dropped a 12-spot on a few years back is to get a shot of this marvelous sight.
Visit The Acropolis of Athens. You don’t just pass up a chance to see one of the most universally-recognized attractions in the world.
Visit The Louvre. I love art museums and I actually visited this one as a teenager. But I was so young back then, still in my “tourist phase”. I didn’t appreciate it. A 2nd go-around is mandatory.
Visit Niagara Falls. C’mon…who doesn’t want to get a picture of Niagara Falls?
Attend the Toronto International Film Festival. I’m a lover of films so it’s no doubt that I’ll land myself in Toronto to attend one. Hey…why not see the hottest film on the block before 99% of the rest of the world does.
Jog end to end and back on the Golden Gate Bridge. Roughly 3 ½ miles…that’s the equivalent of a normal PT run during my Air Force days.
Buy an apple in Pike Place Market. Pretty simple but it carries a lot of meaning.
Visit Disney World. Every kid should experience the thrill of going to “the happiest place on Earth”. I didn’t get that chance in my youth. I’ll get there but I’m likely saving the moment for the 5th birthday of my first-born child.
Wave a flag at an international sporting event. A true fan waves the flag on the biggest stage.
Take a picture of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak. As a fan of skylines and cityscapes, the Hong Kong skyline from The Peak is the holy grail of skylines.
Experience A Symphony of Lights. Once one is done taking that famed picture at The Peak, get down to the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade along Victoria Harbour at 8pm local and experience one of the best light shows ever.
Make a stained glass window. It’ll make a cool arts and crafts project. Besides, I could potentially create a family heirloom. What’s cooler than that?
Read every book by Charles Dickens. That’s my favorite all-time author. I’ve read all the majors but I’ll read them again and add the lesser-knowns too. Heck, I may even buy them all to add to my library.
Watch every movie that has won the Palme d’Or Award in my lifetime. The Golden Palm. The highest prize at the Cannes Film Festival. I’ve only seen 3 of the films released since 1984—Fahrenheit 9/11, Pulp Fiction, and Sex, Lies & Videotape—but my interest in watching the other 26 and possibly more since it is all the winners in my “lifetime” has reached a fever pitch of sorts since my official film festival debut (Toronto International Film Festival, 2013).
Become a better public speaker by joining Toastmasters International. Something I pride myself on is my ability to write well. My ability to write well has translated into me speaking well. I want to become an even better speaker. Eventually, I want to give an oratory address that will move people. Joining Toastmasters will put me in position. After all, their motto is “Become the Speaker & Leader You Want To Be”.
Become a notary public. It’ll probably be the closest to public office that I’ll get…and I get a cool stamp for being one, too.
Meet a Brit soul singer from my Windows Media Player. That’s definitely not an easy one considering that list consists of the following: Sade, Corinne Bailey Rae, Marsha Ambrosius, Leona Lewis, Joss Stone, Ms. Dynamite and Craig David. Laura Izibor is in there too but technically, she’s Irish.
Meet a MVP or MOP from either of the following: Super Bowl, NBA Finals, World Series, BCS National Championship Game, or Men’s Final Four. It would be extra cool to have an opportunity to converse with the guy about one of the biggest moments in his athletic career.
Make the front page of the newspaper. I’ve been in the newspaper plenty of times…just not on the front. Being on the front page of the newspaper—local or national—is like legendary stuff. Everybody who knows you will probably keep that paper as a keepsake and you’ll have something to tell your grandkids. Hopefully, they won’t get me in under the fold.
Become a CNN Hero. I always said I wanted to make a difference on a global level.
Get an article published in a newspaper or magazine. You think they’re ready for me?
Acquire post-nominal initials. I consider it cool to have initials behind your name…kind of makes you seem like a big deal.
Win NaNoWriMo. 1667 words a day for 30 days in November. That’s it? Well, go ahead and give me my award because 50000 words ain’t nothing to me.
Audition to be an extra in a film. Everybody loves to see their name in the credits. That’s why you see a lot of people stay back at the end of movies.
Drive a Lamborghini or Ferrari. I’m not flashy enough to ever own one of these joints but I’m high-falutin’ enough to rent one for a day.
Leave a valuable contribution in my area of expertise. I left a lot of knowledge, a lot of success secrets, and ideas for future development with those I worked with as I walked away from my military career as a civil engineer. I don’t know if any of that was received and it’s likely that I’ll never know. However, I can use that same drive, that same fire for professional excellence I had as a serviceman in my civilian career and leave a contribution that’ll help advance my industry.
Create a trust fund for my child. I want my kid to have all the things I didn’t get a chance to have. I want my kid to live without the financial struggles I lived with early on.
Find the love of my life. A lifetime of mistakes, bad calls, and heartbreaks undone by a woman whose mere presence holds much significance to my future: how’s that for a love story? Can’t wait to see it in person.
Propose in stunning fashion. The funny thing about this is I already know how it’s going to happen and where it’s going to happen. All that’s left is a lead lady and a period of courtship.
Get married. It’s a prerequisite for a couple of other bucket list items. And I get to kiss somebody’s grown daughter in front of everybody.
Have a child. I want a daughter and we’ll try until I get one. Just kidding…or am I? Seriously, children are a blessing from the Lord and I would love nothing more than to have a healthy, happy child to raise towards being a productive citizen of society. It should be noted that I’m not limiting myself to just one child…just can’t complete this item until I have at least one.
Build a house. Why buy somebody else’s dream home when I can build my own…exactly how I want it.
Catch a wedding garter. I’m willing to bet the moment this happens, the preceding 6 bucket list items will all happen within 3 years.
Go to an Olympic Games. Doesn’t matter if it’s a Summer or Winter Olympiad, I’m going to one in my lifetime. And I’m gonna be there for either the opening ceremony or the closing ceremony.
Attend a national championship game. Being in attendance at college football’s biggest game and seeing the national championship game logo at midfield or feeling the intensity of being in the stands on the biggest Monday in the college basketball season would be a grand moment for me as a sports fan.
Attend a Kansas game at Phog Allen Fieldhouse. 16300 crazy fans rooting for the best team in America. Yep, I’m there. Rock Chalk Jayhawk…Go K-U.
Attend a Packers game at Lambeau Field. It’s like the cathedral for American gridiron football. I need to get an end zone ticket so I can take in the tradition of the players jumping in the stands.
Attend an Ohio State night game at Ohio Stadium. 106000 fans. Script Ohio. A live ESPN Saturday Night Football on ABC broadcast. I’m there.
Attend a match at Wimbledon. It’s like the greatest event in tennis. Hopefully, I’m there when Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal are still good.
Go to Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I just want to see the Charlie Brown balloon.
Write a poetry book. I’ve written scores of poems of all kinds in my lifetime and I’ve always thought about releasing them to the public.
Stay in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora. Can you say honeymoon?
Volunteer in a 3rd world country? Going to a place that’s very much likely to be even worse than the place I grew up in and giving my time to make life just a little bit more comfortable would be a great thing for me in so many facets of life.
Take a picture in front of every Statehouse in America. Completing this one means that I’ll have to step foot into every state capital in the United States. That means I’ll have to one day return to Florida and Louisiana…places I’ve long stayed away from.
Collect a postcard from 100 different cities in 100 different countries. This one is actually going to be easier than I imagined…being that I’m a Postcrosser and all. Oh yeah, I’m not counting the United States of America.
Throw 50 $50 bills from the top of 50-story building in a city of 1 million residents. How many people you know got $2500 to throw off the top of a building in a large city? I just want to see how the people below will react to money falling from the sky. And who knows…maybe it’ll be an on-time blessing for somebody.
Visit every Major League Baseball ballpark. I’m a huge fan of the game and sitting in attendance in every stadium should be a goal of every fan. Heck, I may do it all in one season.
Attend Game 7 of a championship series. I don’t know if there is any more dramatic finish to a sports season than a Game 7. It’s truly winner take all. The intrigue for me is that it’ll be short notice (1 day for World Series, 2 days for NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals). Good thing I got a StubHub account, a trusted travel advisor, and a leisure fund.
Kiss at the top of the London Eye. Every London bloke has this on his list…so should every American guy.
Take a date to a Michelin 3-star restaurant. So you got me, a hot chick who’s probably wearing a LBD, and one of the finest dining establishments on the planet…that’ll be a nice evening out all by itself. It would also be the book end of the dating experience for me being that my very first date was at the Arby’s next to my job at Domino’s Pizza.
Solve a Rubik’s Cube. I bought one with my first ever paycheck in November 2000 and I still haven’t mastered it. Heck, I still haven’t gotten 2 solid-colored sides yet.
Milk a cow. It looks creepy on TV and I actually think it hurts the cows, even though experts say it doesn’t. It would be an awesome experience though. I’ll even wear a straw hat and coveralls.
Walk the edge of the CN Tower. Yep…I’m gonna be all up on the top of one of the tallest buildings in the world, walking on the edge. That’ll be 102.3 times better than walking on the glass ledge at the Sears Tower.
Attend a FIFA World Cup Final. This is the marquee spectator sport experience. Being there for the championship of the world’s pastime is unmatched by any other sporting event.
Ride on the front row of every rollercoaster at Cedar Point wearing a blindfold. Two summers ago, it was a trip to Kings Dominion that I rode on the front row of The Dominator and just like that, the thrill-seeker in me that had been long dormant was awakened. Now, my eyes are set for a trip to Sandusky, Ohio to take on the dozen rollercoasters that carry a “high” or “aggressive” thrill rating. Doing so with a blindfold on adds to the intrigue.
Tip 300% on a meal $70 or more. I remember the days where I paid exact change on meals. Now, I pay 10% on bad service and at least 20% on all other service. Dropping a tip 3 times the price of the meal would by far be a sign of the best service I’ve ever had. Crazy thing is it might happen the same night I go to that Michelin 3-star restaurant.
Visit the Auschwitz Concentration Camp or the Kigali Genocide Memorial. Horrible, despicable, unimaginable crimes happened in both places…changed entire ethnic groups forever. A history guy like myself would want to see the damage up close and personal…and to pay respects to the lives lost.
Host a foreign exchange student. Personally, I think it would be cool to play host to a student from a foreign country. It would offer me the opportunity to leave an impression at an international level and I can probably make some kid’s experience in America or wherever I’m at a memorable one.
Attend every race of the Triple Crown in the same year. I’ll get to wear my #1 suit to the Kentucky Derby, drink a virgin Black-Eyed Susan at the Preakness Stakes, and listen to the New York theme song at the Belmont Stakes all in a span of 5 weeks. Who knows…I might even see history too.
Fly First Class on an Emirates A380. Imagine a 5-star luxury hotel 35000 miles in the sky, moving at 580 miles per hour…that’s Emirates First Class. You get a private suite with a sliding door, a personal mini-bar, a wardrobe, a fully flat bed with mattress along with on-demand food specially prepared per request, access to an onboard lounge to mingle with other passengers…and it has a shower spa.
Complete a 365 Photography Project. This is a mere test of discipline. I barely got through a 30-day photo challenge on Instagram. A 365-day challenge would be heartbreaking if I got halfway and missed a day. But that’s the intrigue of it.
Swim with stingrays at Stingray City. This is the only reason I’ve come up with for really wanting to go to the Caribbean.
Take up residence in Vancouver, British Columbia. From the first time I visited in 2006, I’ve always been fascinated with the city, the people, and the culture. Oh, and I can’t forget the awesome views along False Creek. At some point in this life, that’s where I’m going to live…or at least have a space where I pay a utility bill. Completion of this bucket list item includes the entire Greater Vancouver Area so setting up shop in the suburbs of Whistler, Richmond, Surrey, or Burnaby would count.
Complete this bucket list. It’s as simple as that.
[Game Preview] Week 2 - Los Angeles Rams (1-0) at Philadelphia Eagles(0-1)
Los Angeles Rams (1-0) at Philadelphia Eagles (0-1)
The 2020 Philadelphia Eagles season didn’t have the start they were looking for week 1 as they opened the season without their starting LT, RT, RG, RB, DT and WR and struggled against the Washington Football team to open their season with a loss. Luckily they will get two of those starters back this week in running back Miles Sanders and RT Lane Johnson. Both will be welcome additions as the Eagles struggled to block anyone against the Football Team both on the line and from the running back position. Additionally, getting a running game going will greatly help slow the pass rush which will be impressive as the Rams posted one of the best pressure rates last week led by All-Pro Aaron Donald. Hopefully Doug Pederson learns from his mistakes of last week and gets Carson moving with some designed rollouts and mixes up his play-calling more to establish the run. If Doug tries to do the same thing as last week it will be a long day for Carson and Donald will feast. On the other side of the ball, Schwartz had Slay follow McLaurin last week and it worked as Slay shut McLaurin down, but that is more difficult this week as the Rams have two talented receivers in Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp. The Eagles will need to see how Maddox holds up on the outside with a bigger challenge this week. With the struggles of the Eagles offense and their injuries on that side of the ball, the Eagles will need their defenses to limit the quick scoring Rams offense or it will be a long day. Should be a good test for the Eagles to rebound after falling flat out of the gate last week. Go Birds!
Record VS. Spread: Philadelphia 0-1, Los Angeles 0-1
Where to Watch on TV
FOX will broadcast Monday’s game to a national audience. Kevin Kugler will handle the play-by-play duties and Chris Spielman will provide analysis. Laura Okmin will report from the sideline.
Calling the game on 94WIP and the Eagles Radio Network will be Merrill Reese, the NFL’s longest-tenured play-by-play announcer (44th season). Joining Reese in the radio booth will be former Eagles All-Pro wide receiver Mike Quick, while Howard Eskin will report from the sidelines.
Location
Station
Frequency
Philadelphia, PA
WIP-FM
94.1 FM and 610 AM
Allentown, PA
WCTO-FM
96.1 FM
Atlantic City/South Jersey
WENJ-FM
97.3 FM
Levittown, PA
WBCB-AM
1490 AM
Northumberland, PA
WEGH-FM
107.3 FM
Pottsville, PA
WPPA-AM
1360 AM
Reading, PA
WEEU-AM
830 AM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD
WAFL-FM
97.7 FM
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA
WEJL-FM
96.1 FM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD
WAFL-FM
97.7 FM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD
WEJL-AM
630 AM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD
WBAX-AM
1240 AM
Williamsport, PA
WBZD-FM
93.3 FM
Wilmington, DE
WDEL-FM/AM
101.7 FM
York/LancasteHarrisburg, PA
WSOX-FM
96.1 FM
Philadelphia Spanish Radio
Rickie Ricardo and Bill Kulik will handle the broadcast in Spanish on Mega 105.7 FM in Philadelphia and the Eagles Spanish Radio Network.
Location
Station
Frequency
Philadelphia, PA
LA MEGA
105.7 FM
Allentown, PA
WSAN
1470 AM
Atlantic City, NJ
WIBG
1020 AM; 101.3 FM
Rams Radio
Rams Radio J.B. Long will handle the play-by-play duties and former pro bowl running back Maurice Jones-Drew will provide analysis. D'Marco Farr will report from the sidelines.
September 21, 1937 at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia, PA. Cleveland Rams 21 Philadelphia Eagles 3
Points Leader
Philadelphia Eagles lead the Los Angeles Rams (843-842)
Coaches Record
Doug Pederson: 2-0 against the Rams
Sean McVay: 0-2 against Eagles
Coaches Head to Head
Doug Pederson vs Sean McVay: Pederson leads 2-0
Quarterback Record
Carson Wentz: Against Rams: 1-0
Jared Goff: Against Eagles: 0-2
Quarterbacks Head to Head
Carson Wentz vs Jared Goff: Wentz leads 1-0
Records per Stadium
Record @ Lincoln Financial Field: Eagles lead Rams: 2-0
Record @ Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: Rams lead Eagles 5-4-1
Rankings and Last Meeting Information
AP Pro 32 Ranking
Eagles No. 21 - Rams No. 09
Record
Eagles: 0-1
Rams: 1-0
Last Meeting
Sunday, December 12th, 2018
Eagles 30 - Rams 23
Nick Foles filled in for the injured Carson Wentz, taking up his spot under center after three months without game action. Foles promptly recaptured the magic, passing for 270 yards and confidently leading the Eagles to a 30-23 win over the Rams on Sunday night with plenty of help from his defense and his playmakers. Foles got plenty of help from his running game as Wendell Smallwood rushed for two touchdowns and rookie Josh Adams ran for another score as the Eagles (7-7) kept their playoff hopes quite viable with a gritty victory over the Rams (11-3), who lost consecutive regular-season games for the first time in coach Sean McVay's tenure.
Carson Wentz threw for 291 yards and four touchdowns before leaving with a knee injury and Jake Elliott kicked the go-ahead 33-yard field goal with 3:45 left for the Philadelphia Eagles, who beat the Los Angeles Rams 43-35 in a thriller Sunday to clinch the NFC East title.
Eagles - In a near-reversal of the previous season's opener, the Eagles scored the first 17 points, only for the Washington Football Team to then shut their offense out for the remainder of the afternoon. Meanwhile, Washington's offense scored 27 unanswered points, and the defense sacked Carson Wentz eight times, recorded two interceptions, and forced three fumbles. With the loss, Philadelphia's six-game winning streak against Washington was snapped dating back to Week 14 of the 2016 season, and the Eagles lost the first game of the season since 2015.
Rams - Playing their first game ever in their brand-new home at SoFi Stadium, the Rams held off the Cowboys in a close battle of NFC contenders. Receiving the opening kickoff (from former Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein), Los Angeles drove 75 yards in seven plays, with Malcolm Brown scoring the new stadium's first touchdown on a 1-yard run. Rookie kicker Samuel Sloman missed on his first field goal attempt, a 29-yard try that bounced off the left upright near the end of the first quarter, but later was successful on field goals of 35 and 31 yards in the second quarter. However, Dallas took a 14-13 halftime lead as Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott scored on both a touchdown run and a touchdown reception. The Rams reclaimed the lead as Malcolm Brown (who finished with a team-high 18 rushes for 79 yards) scored his second touchdown of the game on a 2-yard run midway through the third quarter to put Los Angeles ahead 20-14. Zuerlein converted a 33-yard field goal late in the third quarter, but it would be as close as the Cowboys would get. Rookie safety Jordan Fuller led the Rams with eight total tackles, including a key tackle of Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb on a fourth-and-3 play at the Rams' 9-yard line, just one yard short of a first down to kill a Dallas scoring drive.
Connections
Rams QB Jared Goff and Eagles QB Carson Wentz were selected 1st and 2nd in the 2016 NFL draft after both teams traded up.
Eagles S Rodney McLeod played for the Rams from 2012-16.
Eagles CB Nickell Robey-Coleman played for the Rams from 2017-19.
Eagles LB coach Ken Fajole was defensive coordinator of the Rams for three seasons from 2009−2011.
Eagles TE Zach Ertz went to Stanford (2009-13) and is from Orange County, CA.
Eagles Director of Sports Performance Ted Rath worked for the Rams from 2017-2019 as their Strength and Conditioning Coach (2017) and Director of Strength Training and Performance (2018-2019).
Eagles Special assistant to the general manager Connor Barwin played for the Rams in 2018.
2020 Pro Bowlers
Eagles
Rams
DT Fletcher Cox (Starter)
DT Aaron Donald (Starter)
OG Brandon Brooks (Starter)
CB Jalen Ramsey
C Jason Kelce (Starter)
LS Rick Lovato (Starter)
TE Zach Ertz
SS Malcom Jenkings (1st Alt)
OT Lane Johnson (1st Alt
General
Referee: Brad Allen
Philadelphia has produced a 22-19-1 (.536) record in the all-time series vs. Los Angeles. The Eagles own a 6-game winning streak against the Rams, scoring 30+ points in 5 straight contests.
Philadelphia is 15-8 (.652) in home games vs. Los Angeles, with victories in each of the last 2 such meetings (last: W, 34-28 on 10/5/14 at Lincoln Financial Field).
The Eagles are 23-9 (.719) at home in the regular season under head coach Doug Pederson, which marks the 5th-best home winning percentage in the NFL since 2016, trailing only New En-gland (.818, 27-6), Baltimore (.758, 25-8), Kansas City (.758, 25-8) and New Orleans (.727, 24-9).
Philadelphia has captured all 4 of its home openers with Doug Pederson at the helm (since 2016). Pederson is one of only two head coaches in Eagles history to win each of their first 4 home openers with the team, joining Joe Kuharich (1964-67).
In Week 1 at Washington, Philadelphia allowed only 239 total yards (80 rushing, 5th; 159 passing, 3rd), which were the fewest by any defense in the NFL during kickoff weekend. The Eagles limited Washington to just 27.8% (5-of-18) on third downs, which was also the 5th-best mark in the league.
Draft Picks
Eagles
Rams
WR Jalen Raegor
RB Cam Akers
QB Jalen Hurts
WR Van Jefferson
LB Davion Taylor
OLB Terrell Lewis
S K’Von Wallace
S Terrel Burgess
OT Jack Driscoll
TE Brycen Hopkins
WR John Hightower
S Jordan Fuller
LB Shaun Bradley
LB Clay Johnston
WR Quez Watkins
K Sam Sloman
OT Prince Tega Wanogho
G Tremayne Achrum
LB/DE Casey Toohill
Notable Off-season Additions
Eagles
Rams
S Will Parks
DT A’Shawn Robinson
DT Javon Hargrave
OLB Leonard Floyd
CB Nickell Robey-Coleman
CB Darius Slay
S Sean Davis
WR Cody Latimer
CB Kendell Fuller
RB JD McKissic
G Wes Schweitzer
Notable Off-season Departures
Eagles
Rams
S Malcom Jenkins
DE Dante Fowler Jr.
CB Ronald Darby
RB Todd Gurley
RB Jordan Howard
WR Brandin Cooks
WR Nelson Agholor
LB Cory Littleton
OL Halapoulivaati Vaitai
S Eric Weddle
LB Kamu Grugler-Hill
CB Nickell Robey-Coleman
RB Darren Sproles
WR Jojo Natson
DT Timmy Jernigan
WR Mike Thomas
LB Nigel Bradham
LB Clay Matthews
QB Blake Bortles
Milestones
Eagles QB Carson Wentz (99) needs 1 passing TDs for 100 career passing TDs.
Eagles WR Desean Jackson (6322) needs 145 yards to move up to 3rd on the Eagles all-time receiving yards list all-time passing WR *Mike Quick
Eagles WR Desean Jackson (34) needs 2 TDs to move into a tie for 7th on the Eagles all-time receiving TD list tying WR Jeremy Maclin
Eagles DE Brandon Graham (51) needs 3.5 sacks to move to 4th on the Eagles all-time sack list tying DE Hugh Douglas
Eagles DT Fletcher Cox (48) needs 2.5 sacks to move up to 6th on the Eagles all-time sack list tying DE Greg Brown
Eagles DE Vinny Curry (27) needs 1 sack to move up to 19th on the Eagles all-time sack list passing DT Darwin Walker
Rams WR Cooper Kupp (2636) needs 28 yards to move up to 16th on the Rams all-time receiving list passing WR Carroll Dale
Pro Football Focus Matchup Charts courtesy of PFF Edge (join.profootballfocus.com/edge/)
It doesn’t take advanced stats to know that Wentz spent most of Sunday under significant pressure. Washington sacked him eight times behind a makeshift offensive line that struggled to contain the Football Team’s pass rush. The Eagles allowed a 34% pressure rate Sunday, according to ESPN Next Gen Stats. That was the third-worst in the NFL. Five different Washington players generated at least four pressures. And it doesn’t get any easier against the Rams. The Cowboys allowed a 40.5% pressure rate Sunday night in their loss to the Rams, which was the second-worst mark of Week 1. And a big reason for that was Rams star Aaron Donald. Donald — the six-time Pro Bowler, five-time All-Pro and two-time AP Defensive Player of the Year who has 44 sacks over the past three seasons — posted a 28.6% pressure rate on Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott himself. He pressured Prescott 10 times for 35 pass rushes and finished with four tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss and four quarterback hits. According to Next Gen Stats, Donald’s pressure rate over the past three seasons is 13.5%, 13.9% and 14.6%. The Eagles offensive line is going to have to be ready or it is going to be another long Sunday for Carson Wentz.
Matchups to Watch
Carson Wentz vs. Himself
I note this matchup not to downplay the Rams and what they bring to the table, but to note that Wentz had plenty of mistakes that ultimately cost us the week 1 matchup. Change nothing of the game last week, bad OL, questionable scheming especially in the second half, Carson Wentz playing better wins us the game. Things were bad around him and he actively made them worse at times. These two things can be true: Wentz cost us the week 1 game and he should bounce back because he is a really good QB. This isn't the sky is falling, #TankForTrevor blurb, it's simply acknowledging the biggest change from week 1 to week 2 that would aid in a victory - Carson Wentz returning to form. There was also a lot of good last week, namely the first half! Check out the first TD throw to Ertz. Short, compressed field where he needs to make a snap decision and he comes off his first read (JJAW) and hits Ertz for 6. This is a great play by Wentz where he showed how good he is capping off a great drive. We need more of this consistency. Wentz was even missing on staples of the offense. He was erratic in the pocket and regularly off target. I love hero ball, I hate when QBs play scared, but better urgency and avoiding negative plays in the pocket would go a long way in smoothing out the rough edges of his game. It's infuriating to have some of the same issues he had in year 3 continue in year 5. Regardless, Wentz is a really good QB, so he should be expected to bounce back from a bad game every QB has once in a while. It just needs to happen quickly so the Eagles don't fall behind in the young season. This Rams secondary has a phenomenal CB in Jalen Ramsey and a really good young safety in John Johnson III; they aren't slouches. Wentz needs to be better and it would be surprising if he isn't.
Eagles (downright) Offensive Line vs. Aaron Donald and the Rams Pass Rush
Washington may have a better, deeper defensive line but they don't have Aaron Donald. He is so good he lifts a pass rush up to the top tiers of the league on his own given his dominance and versatility. Donald isn't just a Defensive Tackle; he'll line up inside and outside while wrecking every part of the OL he can along the way. Just look at what Baldy has in his review for him this week. This is a problematic matchup for Philly given their patchwork offensive line. Even though there were positive things some of the new guys did, they made a lot of mistakes, and will continue to do so in their young careers. The last time the Eagles played the Rams in 2018, Philly held Donald to 2 total pressures in probably his most ineffective game during the course of his DPOY season. The difference between that Eagles OL and this one is the health. Philly won't have a healthy Brandon Brooks; while they'll have Lane Johnson again it'll be in his first start of the season, he's coming off a late summer ankle procedure. So his effectiveness is still TBD. JP, who also played in that game, has also declined a considerable amount since then. One player returning to the field Sunday that should also give the Eagles a boost in pass protection is Miles Sanders. Not only is Sanders the best runner on the team, he's also the best pass blocking running back on the team. This alone won't stop Donald, but it should help. This defensive front from the Rams can get pushed around in the run game (more on that later) but can absolutely get after it in the pass rush department. Dallas doesn't have the line it used to either and Dak was under pressure at a roughly 42% rate, among the worst in week 1. The return of Lane Johnson should increase the effectiveness of this OL a considerable amount but given the new parts there will still be an adjustment period. This unit needs to come together quickly and the coaching staff needs to actually focus their game plan on helping their OL much more so than they did in week 1. Otherwise, expect Donald and his homies to bring the pain up front.
Eagles Pass Rush vs Rams OL
Even with some of the sustained injuries on this roster, the Eagles still have a formidable pass rush and flashed it quite a bit in week 1. The box score stats are highly deceiving in this area as Washington shifted their game plan quite a bit as the game went along. Philly pressured Haskins at a 30% clip last week. That number isn't great considering the state of Washington's offensive line. However, Haskins had the quickest time to throw in the NFL in week 1 with an average time to throw of 2.13 seconds. It's extremely difficult to pressure QBs when they get the ball out that quickly. Last week, Jared Goff was 8th in the NFL in this category, which will present some challenges for the Eagles. Dallas pressured Goff at a 20% clip last week, which is a horrendous number. Goff is a good QB and will slice you up if you don't get to him. But when you do, oftentimes he's effectively standing in quick sand as he was a bottom 8 QB under pressure (by Rating) in 2019. It's imperative this defensive front plays well this week. We already saw Malik Jackson return to form, now we need Fletcher Cox. Philly should get Brandon Graham (concussion) and Derek Barnett (hammy) back this week which should increase the effectiveness of the pass rush. Josh Sweat has also shown tremendous growth in year 3 having the best game of his career this past Sunday with TY McGill flashing in limited snaps. This offensive line from the Rams underwent a mini make-over this offseason but still has some question marks up front. This will be a real test for them as the Eagles pass rush is much more formidable than the one Dallas offers. Furthermore, this is a defensive staff that has consistently gotten to Goff of late. Given the changes on both squads, this is a good measuring stick game in the trenches.
Eagles Coverage vs Rams Receivers
Jim Schwartz had Sean McVay's number in their most recent matchup in 2018 so I am curious to see who gets the upper hand this time around. The Rams have a really good WR room with Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson, and Josh Reynolds. They also have a good tight end in Tyler Higbee. Philly has their work cut out for them this week as the Rams are much deeper than Washington. The Rams passing attack was predicated on the short, quick game with a lot of motions and play action last week. Carson Wentz led the NFL in Average Intended Air Yards while Jared Goff was last. Goff's Average Intended Air Yards were 4.3 per attempt with roughly half his passing attempts coming within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. Getting the ball to Goff's first read and out of his hands quickly is key as he can be an adventure when he is forced to hold onto the ball. McVay is really good at disguising what the Rams will do running multiple plays out of similar looks. Lastly, their receivers are great at getting quick separation and great getting yards after the catch. The defensive game plan for Philly in the secondary should look quite different this week than it did last week. There isn't one receiver the Eagles can key on for Slay to take away. I'd bet Schwartz moves him around quite a bit but with Woods as the primary recipient of special attention. Slay looked every bit as good as you'd expect last week and that's a huge addition to this secondary. One area of concern I have for Philly is the middle of the defense. This Eagles LB group is among the worst in the NFL in coverage; McVay is going to look to attack that relentlessly all game long. He did the same thing to Dallas last week. It was encouraging to see Rodney McLeod bounce back after a poor 2019 as he was every bit as spry as he once was. The rest of the middle of this defense leaves a lot to be desired. Either way, this is a deeper Rams receiving room, with a creative play-caller, and a better passer than the Eagles just faced. There was a lot of good to take from the defensive performance last week but they face a significant test Sunday in the Rams.
My town is in one of the north western states- which, if you know anything about the north east, means snow like... six months out of the year. To make things worse, my town is approximately in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. We deal with it about as well as every other tiny north western town, which... Well, all you need to know is that there's a town up here that is literally based around a prison. That's it. That's the whole point of the town. Pretty much just to house the people who work there. It's pretty dismal sometimes. So you'd think, given the lack of other things to do, they'd embrace all the types of winter entertainment. And you wouldn't be wrong! Snowmen are an art form in my town. Ice sculptures get pretty competitive. Taboganing and sledding are Big. Deals. But snow angels are illegal. In fact, I didn't even know they were a thing until I saw someone doing it in a film one time. I was over at a friend's house, and they had an older cousin visiting from out of town. She'd brought the tape with her- it was one of her favorites. She thought we'd love it. She saw Harry and I staring at the t.v. in confusion and laughed at us. "What, you've never seen a SNOW ANGEL?" She asked us mockingly. I don't think it was malicious. I think she was just teasing the way some people do. You know the whole 'kids these days' trope that every generation thinks they invented. We both shook our heads and she climbed to her feet, gesturing for us to follow her while she suited up to go outside. She got as far as falling on her back in the yard- us following her like ducklings- before my friend's dad came running out of the garage yelling at the top of his lungs. I'd never heard Harry's dad yell like that before. Ever. And I've never heard him raise his voice since. Scared the beejesus out of all of us, including Harry's cousin. He sent Harry and I inside and I didn't hear what he said to her, but she was as white as a sheet by the time he was done. They came back in afterwards and Harry's dad called mine to come pick me up. Harry's cousin never came to visit again, but I never forgot. I knew there was something wrong with making a snow angel, I just never knew WHAT. Harry and I never discussed it. We went back to sledding and snow forts and never said a word. We both knew that something big had just happened, but neither of us were old or mature enough to really take any meaning from it. Nearly a decade passed before we thought of it again. Harry and I were both pretty average looking kids. Neither of us had a whole lot going on to give us any kind of social edge, so dating in our very small high school- where the boys out populated the girls by something like seventy five percent- was pretty much a crap shoot, and neither of us was interested in the male half of the population. So when Harry formed a crush on Melissa, we both kind of knew it was doomed. I was his best friend, though! It was my job to be supportive- so I didn't say anything. Like. At all. I didn't know the first thing about being a wing man, but I did hesitantly suggest that Harry might get Melissa's attention by doing something 'cool'. Which, in teenage boy, translates to stupid and/or dangerous. Unfortunately, Harry took that advice to heart. God how I wish I could take those words back now. It was late-October and it was already snowing pretty regularly. Nothing bad yet, but more than just a light dusting. Halloween fell on a Wednesday that year, so the weekend before a few of us got together for a kind of preemptive party. We'd basically turned it into an excuse to party the whole week. We were out at Harry's new house- his dad had recently built a really nice new place outside of town. It was kind of isolated, but it also had a hot tub, so. And anyway, the isolation worked in our favor. Nobody was liable to file a noise complaint or a curfew violation on us way out here. The irony is, Harry's dad had actually given us permission to have a little get together as long as we promised to be responsible. I guess it was because Harry was kind of going through a hard time, what with his mom having left and all. It was a full moon that night. It wasn't snowing, but it had that morning. There was still a pretty thick carpet of it all across the lawn. There were eight of us. Four boys, four girls. Harry and myself, Melissa, her best friend Joan, her little sister Nicole, and their boyfriends, Travis, Hunter and Chad. Melissa and Nicole were in the hot tub with Chad and Travis, while Joan and Hunter and Harry and I were playing pong on the deck. Harry and I were losing. Pretty badly, actually. Travis was mocking us from the hot tub, his arm around Melissa. "Nice shot, asshole." He commented after one of Harry's swings had gone wild. The ball tapped impatiently across the deck, careening off into the snow beyond. Harry made an impatient sound. I could tell Travis' comments were starting to get under his skin. His jaw was clenched and I could visibly see him holding back his temper as he marched down the steps to collect the ball. "Come on." I hissed at Travis under my breath, "Quit being a douche-" Travis opened his mouth, most likely to say something nasty, but before he could get the words out I heard Harry call out- "Hey Melissa, want to see something cool?" We all turned expectantly just in time to see Harry pitch backwards into the snow with his arms splayed out. "Oh yeah, real cool, turd money." Travis jeered, "You fell down! Way to go. I bet your mom is real proud." "What did you just say?" Harry stopped mid-snow angel. We all kind of fell silent for a second. Even Melissa looked shocked. She pushed Travis' arm away and scooted to the other side of the tub, giving him a look of disgust. "Too far, Travis." She muttered. Maybe he knew it too. I'd like to think he was going to apologize, but Harry was already getting up and Melissa was leaning out of the tub- trying to change the subject, maybe- and asking Harry what he'd done and then we all heard it. None of us seemed to know what it was at first. It was... hard to recognize. A short, sharp sound as if someone had just been socked in the gut. You know that sound you make when you've gotten the breath knocked out of you? It was like that. "It's a snow angel." I said into the silence afterwards, trying to tell myself that it was just one of those weird sounds that came out of the woods sometimes. "Oh." Melissa furrowed her brow. "Hey, I think I've heard of those." Hunter put in, "One of the kids from Moore got arrested for making one in town square after the game. His parents had to come pick him up." "Let's google it! Inside-" I was quick to suggest, but then the second sob interrupted me before I could get further than a few steps toward the house. "What was that?" Joan asked. Harry finished climbing to his feet and stooped to pick up the ping pong ball. I didn't hear whatever Harry's response was. I was too busy looking. Frozen in place. Riveted by the sight of the single, pale hand draped across the edge of the snow angel's 'wing'. This time we all heard the wail. And knew exactly what it was. The identical looks of confusion and fear that flickered across all of our faces gave it away. "What the fuck?" Travis said. "Oh my god!" Joan shrieked. "Harry!" I yelped. I don't have any conscious memory of crossing the deck. I blinked and suddenly I was there, leaning over the railing and grabbing him by the shirt. Hauling him away from the snow and toward the steps. Meanwhile, an ethereal vision was rising out of the snow angel as if it were rising on a pedestal. Blonde hair coated in frost. Pale skin mottled with blackened spots. Blue lips bowed back in a grimace of misery. She was wearing a gray robe. It crackled brittlely as she climbed from her knees to her feet. "What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck-" Travis was wheezing a new mantra somewhere behind us. "GET IN THE HOUSE." Someone else yelled. I held Harry's arms, helping him climb over the railing. We raced into the house hand in hand, a frenzy of splashing and screaming going on around us. I sprinted as far as the couch. Before Harry dropped my hand and went back to lock the glass door. Nicole and Joan huddled against the far wall, sobbing softly. Melissa ran to the kitchen. Travis hovered near the window, staring in shock. "The fuck is that?" He squealed. I wanted to cover my eyes, but I couldn't help but look. I was drawn to that face. The look of terror and pain on it. I could still hear the sobbing through the glass as it tottered unsteadily to the steps and began to drag itself up onto the deck. It- she- moved so wrong. So stiffly! "Oh god." Harry muttered beside me. I managed to glance at him, only to see him looking back at the snow. Not the THING, but the place it had come from. There was another hand edging out of the snow angel. This one wrinkled and shriveled. "We have to get out of here," Melissa came out of the kitchen carrying a kitchen knife, "We have to get back to town and call the police." Harry's place was brand new. The landlines hadn't been hooked up yet. "Yeah." I agreed. "Just one problem." Harry put in, lifting a hand and singling out the keys and phones sitting out beside the hot tub. Travis' keys. Joan's and Nicole's too. We all shared a look, because that only left two cars. My beaten up suburban, which barely had heat- not normally a HUGE problem, since I was typically DRESSED while inside it, but given that half the party was still soaked from the hot tub and wearing only their bathing suits... And Melissa's coupe. Which would barely fit four people, even if they sat on each other's laps. "Fuck." Hunter yelled. "I don't think we have a choice." I ran my fingers through my hair, "Just grab some coats and blankets and let's go. Hypothermia has to be better than whatever is going to happen when she-" "They." Harry interrupted quietly. I didn't bother to respond to that. I just dug my keys out of my jacket and headed to the door. I heard the others scrambling to grab what they could and following. As soon as I was out the door I heard the howling. Not like wolves- like people. More than one, just... screaming. I sprinted down the driveway, half aware that I ought to have waited. I ought to have given the others more time to get ready, but some part of me just knew that every second we wasted was a step closer to death- and I wasn't kidding when I said our chances were probably better for recovering from hypothermia. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Melissa and Travis make it to her car, Nicole right behind them. Chad, Hunter, Harry and Joan were hot on my heels. I didn't have to bother to unlock the doors. My suburban predated electronic locks, and the town was so small that normally I didn't bother locking them all individually. We scrambled in so hard that it rocked. The old shocks squealed and squeaked in protest. I dove into the driver's seat and slammed my key into the ignition, ignoring the seat belt and everything else while the others dragged themselves in and hauled the doors shut behind them. I didn't do a head count before peeling out. That came back to me later. It was a miracle no one got left behind. If they had it would have been my fault. I still feel guilty about that. I saw them coming around the corner of the house in the rear view mirror. Not my friends, but the corpses. I was full on panicking. Each heartbeat felt like a punch to the ribs. My breath felt like razor blades. I was so, so sure that I was going to puke as swung onto the highway- already doing eighty before we'd done a half mile. Joan was still sobbing in the back seat- Hunter was crying too. I think I would have joined them if I hadn't been too busy shaking. "Does anyone have a phone?" Chad asked. It was a great idea- I glanced at him in the rear view mirror and saw him covered in the old blanket I kept in the truck bed. His hair was trying to frost. He had a cellphone in his palm. I started to ask what was wrong with it when Joan chimed in- "Yeah, but no bars." "I'm going straight to the police station." I said. Being that I was the one driving, nobody else had much say in it. "What if they don't believe us?" Joan whispered. "They're going to." Harry said woodenly, staring straight ahead, "They made them illegal for a reason." "Why didn't they TELL US?" Hunter demanded. Nobody answered. I guess nobody had an answer. It was a tense, long period of silence- during which I checked the rear view mirror a dozen times. Not just checking for weird, frozen zombies, but for headlights. Where was Melissa's car? My old Suburban couldn't have been that much faster. My palms were sweating and prickling on the steering wheel. I tried not to think about it- or draw attention to it- the last fifteen minutes into town. Part of me was HOPING to get pulled over by a cop, but as was typical, there was never one around when I wanted one to be. I kept looking for them, even as we barreled into town and into the safety of the slushy gray parking lot of the sheriff's department. I nearly drove right through the front doors. The whole car lurched from the force of that stop, but I hadn't even slammed it into park before the others were scrambling out the doors and pouring into the station like a biblical flood of half-frozen, half-dressed teenagers. Everyone was talking at once. I was the last in- keeping one eye on the window and the road while the others babbled at Olly, the receptionist. He was a nice old man in his fifties, at least, and I could tell he understood about zero of what was being said. Until Harry stepped forward and put his hands on the desk, anyway. Everyone else finally stopped talking. "I made a snow angel." He stated. Calmly. Factually. If it weren't for how pale his face were and how tight his bloodless lips had become, I would have thought he WAS calm. Olly's face fell. His chair clattered as it rolled back, allowing him to stand up. "I'll go get the sheriff." I knew then that it was every bit as serious as we thought it was. We hadn't imagined any of it. It wasn't some case of... mass hysteria or something. "There's something else." I added, pausing to look at the window- hoping to see Melissa's car pulling in at the last second. It never did. "I haven't seen Melissa, Travis or Nicole since we left the house." Olly's expression turned more grave, if that was possible. The Sheriff was Melissa and Nicole's father. He turned and hustled to the back faster than I've ever actually seen him move before. There was a tense moment. A hushed exchange of words and rising voices, and then Sheriff Basket came striding down the hallway, bigger than life. He was a massive wall of a man, and all of us had always been a little intimidated by him. He'd never been mean, exactly. He was just stern. Quiet. Had a direct, down to earth way of dealing with things and usually that involved as few words as possible. "How many where there." Case in point. I didn't understand what he was asking, at first, but Harry got it straightaway. "Two, but I think a third was climbing out when we left." I watched Olly getting some emergency blankets and jumpsuits out of the back for the others. For Chad, anyway. Hunter, Joan, Harry and I were all more or less dressed. Olly passed me a blanket anyway. I mumbled a thank you. "What did the first one look like?" The sheriff demanded. "It was a woman!" Joan shouted. Her voice sounded reedy and thin. I thought maybe she was on the verge of hyperventilating. "She had on this dress... thing." Chad added, more subdued, "And she was blonde, I think. It's hard to remember." "She was pretty." Hunter whispered, sinking into his blanket and the wall at the same time, "She looked so sad." The sheriff looked visibly relieved, but his face was still tight with stress and concern. He looked gray, actually. His skin, his hair, even his eyes. I didn't blame him. I was only a teenager myself at the time, but already I could sympathize- the terror he must have felt, knowing his kids were out there. In danger. Not knowing if he'd arrive in time, or what might have befallen them. "It could be worse." He muttered to himself- I don't think we were meant to hear. "You kids stay here. Olly, call their parents. You lot were at The Olsen place, right?" He pinned us with a severe look. I nodded. I'm pretty sure the others did too. I heard one or two meek 'yes sir's, "Your parents can explain when they get here." Those last few words were so clipped and bitten off that I could hear his teeth click on some of the syllables. I, for one, wasn't about to argue. I wanted to see my mom and dad more than anything in the world in that moment. I was still young enough that for me they represented the epitome of safety. Nothing bad could happen to me when my parents were there, in my adolescent mind. They were still invulnerable giants. The axis upon which the world turned. I watched in silence as he checked his revolver and then went to the munitions room and came back with a shotgun and a box of shells. He walked out into the night without even a nod in our direction. His eyes were already on the road. He looked to me like a man going to war. As if he weren't sure he was going to come back, and was prepared to accept that. Resigned, but also determined. "Come on, kids." Olly spread his arms and herded us all toward the back of the station, "Let's get you warmed up. If any of you have a working phone, now's the time to go ahead and call your parents- it'll be better coming from your number than the police station's. Those of you who don't- sorry." He joked and pointed an ominous finger at the payphone on the wall and the stack of quarters beside it. He was a nice old man- had kind of a beardless santa vibe- but it was hard to ignore the tightness in his voice. And around his eyes. Poor Olly. He had to be pushing sixty. He'd been working in the sheriff's department since I was a kid. Sometimes he came to help provide 'security' at events in town. He'd never been anything but cheerful and friendly. Seeing him so pale made me feel... Helpless. What we'd seen at Harry's house still hadn't completely sunk in yet. A part of me thought that I was going to wake up any second, and that it would all turn out to have been a bad dream. All around me the others were calling their parents. I heard phones ringing. A couple had already picked up. Voices were cracking. Muffled sobs and sniffles filled the open office space. I looked aimlessly between desks for a little while, my brain not quite having caught up to the idea I should be doing what they were all doing. Eventually my gaze drifted to Harry, only to find him looking back. It struck me then that he didn't have anybody TO call. His mom was... well, he couldn't call her, and his dad was probably still on the plane. Which meant he didn't have anybody but me. "I guess we should call mom and dad." I tried to smile, fumbling my cell out of my pocket, "They'll be pissed if they're the last ones to know." Internally I cringed. Why had I said that? Especially after literally just thinking he couldn't call HIS dad? Harry only nodded. My mom picked up on the second ring. I called her first because I figured she'd be the least likely to yank my ass through the phone to chew me a new one. I needn't have bothered, it turned out. "We're on our way." She said before I could even say hello, "Stay put." And then she hung up- but before she did I heard keys jingling in the background and the car starting up. Cellphones were notoriously unreliable in my town. A text could be sent and hang in limbo for a week before arriving at it's destination. Calls often just failed to connect. I glanced down at the phone in my hand and up at Harry, running my fingers over the glossy screen. "They're on their way." I reported. Harry just nodded again. My house was only twenty minutes away from the station on a bad day. My parents made it in seven. I guess that's where I got my lead foot from. Joan and Chad's parents made it first- but only by a few minutes. Both sets swarmed their respective offspring. There was a lot of scolding and fussing and anxious questions. I couldn't help but think they looked like pre-schoolers. Small and lost and wide-eyed despite their ages. Maybe it was because I was feeling like one myself. Just a small kid on a big playground. Woefully out of my league. And then my parents came rushing through the door. Mom's coat was barely on- unfastened and hanging off of her as she stormed in. Dad's boots were untied. They looked like they'd dropped everything and run to come get me, and I was so grateful for it. It was the most loved feeling I think a person could have. Dad rushed to me, but mom paused mid-step and diverted to Harry. I wasn't jealous. I was weak-kneed with gratitude. Trust my parents- the ADULTS- to know how to make right the things I didn't have the tools to fix myself. I learned a lot about empathy and maturity that day, watching my mom fuss over Harry as if he was her own. He'd been my best friend since childhood. He'd practically grown up in our house, and I in his. My parents were the closest thing he had to his own in that moment. Maybe better, knowing his parents like I did. She checked him over like the other parents were checking their kids. Hands and face, arms and neck. "Thank god you're okay." Dad said, catching me up and squeezing me like I was nine again. I squeezed him right back, fighting tears. "They didn't touch you? You're alright?" Mom was asking Harry. All he could do was nod, I assume. His eyes were suspiciously bright. "It's okay," Mom said, giving him the same kind of hug dad was giving me just then, "It's going to be okay." "Melissa and Nicole were in the other car." Chad half yelled. I know he was talking to his own parents, but all of them stopped and looked at one another- sharing the look of horror and tense gratitude. How awful, but thank god mine are alright. "Olly said you'd explain when you got here." I wiped my eyes on the back of my sleeve and looked up at my father's face. His blue eyes were haunted and unhappy, but he nodded once. "Yeah. I guess it's time. Normally we tell the graduating class after the ceremony..." Mom looked up. They met eyes for a little while. I imagine they were searching for the words- for a good place to begin. "Why didn't anyone explain BEFORE?" Joan demanded, "Why didn't anybody warn us?" "Let's just- let's start with the most immediate problem." My dad suggested when no one else spoke up, "Tackle one thing at a time. First of all, what did the first thing through look like?" I don't know if it occurred to the others, but it struck me that this was the second time we'd been asked- and both times it had been the first question, after asking if we were okay. "She was blonde, and pale. And wearing a weird dress. She looked like she was in pain." I supplied, anchored by the presence of my parents. It seemed to me that every adult in the room heaved a little sigh of relief. "That's good. I mean, it's not great, but it's better than it could be." Mom muttered, wandering over to the pile of blankets on the desk and absently gathering one. I watched her bring it over to Harry to drape around his shoulders, fussing with the way it hung until there were no wrinkles to smooth out anymore. "We'll start with that, then." Dad took a deep breath, "We call her the Angel. That's what our grandparents called her. I assume that's what THEIR grandparents called her. Of all the harbingers, she's the least violent. She'll lead the people behind her to the nearest, most easily accessible source of heat. Once they're all thawed they'll... go away again." As dad explained I absently rubbed my chest- it hurt, like I'd pulled a muscle. Harry looked up, expression going from numb and distracted to suddenly upset. "Melissa's car. Amy's heat doesn't work, I- they must have-" Dad looked grim, but nodded. "It's possible. Especially if the doors to the house were locked. The good news is they won't have hurt the others unless they tried to stop them. The bad news is, if the car stops running or the heat quits, they'll go back to trying to get into the house." Everyone took a minute to digest that. "So... all they want is to get warm?" I asked hesitantly. "Yeah." Dad nodded, "But only if the harbinger is the Angel." "O-kay-" Chad looked up at his parents, "But what ARE they?" "As far as we can tell," Chad's mom was the school nurse- a petite blonde lady with a 'Can I speak to your manager' haircut, but as sweet as could be- answered this time, "They were people. People who used to live here at some point. People who... died. In the cold." "Then there can't be that many, right?" Joan suggested hopefully. It was a hope I didn't realize I shared until that moment. Surely one or two frozen zombies were a lot better than a horde, though. "Dozens, at least forty." My own mother put in. She gave Harry a little squeeze and looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry honey. There's other's... but they don't all come at the same time, usually. It all depends on the harbinger, like we said. Usually it's no more than eight or nine at a time, but sometimes, when the shepherd comes through-" "The who? The WHAT?" Travis cried, his voice warbling a high, awkward note that I thought he'd left behind in middle school. "Harbingers are-" Dad rubbed his fingers together, obviously searching for the words, "They're like the leaders. Only one comes through at a time. They're the first out through the gate when it's open- when a snow angel is made. Some of them, like the Angel, are mostly harmless. Mostly. There's four that we know of. Four that we were told about. Her, the Shepherd, the Prophet, and the Hermit." He walked away from me while he spoke, folding his hands behind his back and pacing over to the desk and from there to the window. "The Angel comes with eight or nine others, who are mostly peaceful. They'll smash doors and windows if they have to, but so long as they're left alone and you don't attempt to harm them they're harmless. They'll find the nearest source of heat and stay there until they're all... warm... again." I didn't want to think about that too hard. I hoped it was more... supernatural than it sounded, because the way he put it made me think of a bunch of warming corpses in a room, and that made my stomach churn. "The Shepherd is one of the worst. They- he, we think- comes through with all of the followers. And he's not content with just them, either. He hunts down anyone he can find when he comes through and will drag them out into the cold to die and join his herd. He sends the others, too. If he ever gets through the only thing to do is start the siren and get to the bunkers around town, and then pray that the barricades last until dawn." I started to shake just thinking about it. Imagining it was... it made me feel cold from the inside out. I shared a look with Harry, knowing he felt the same way. How close we'd all come to THAT. What he had to be feeling knowing that he'd almost let THAT through. "Then there's the Prophet. She won't outright hurt you, but if she finds you she'll... it's hard to explain. She puts people to sleep, in a way. Mesmerizes them with a song- and when you're under, apparently you have visions. Of the past. Of things that happened in this town." Compared to the Shepherd that sounded like a fuckin' cakewalk. "But you're there until she's done with you. Which could be hours. And wherever she catches you, which might be out in the cold, or in the shower, or-" He left the rest up to imagination, "Her followers put out lights. They pull down electric lines and will smash lamps." Okay. That sounded less ideal, but still a whole lot better than the zombie-murder Woodstock. "The Hermit is the worst, though." My dad looked at Hunter's parents and then Joan's, and finally sighed like he didn't want to be the one to say the words. "They come alone, and unlike the others they won't vanish at daylight. They keep hunting, keep killing, following the people of the town no matter where they run until a sacrifice is made. Our parents thought that might have been where the new harbingers come from. Sacrifices to make the Hermit go away." "That's horrible!" Joan gasped. I cringed too. It was awful to think about. Deliberately selecting someone you knew, someone who you LIVED with to go die. And then making that happen! Killing them in the worst way I could imagine. How did you even begin? "But it's just the Angel this time." Hunter said, his voice shaking. "Yeah," My dad nodded, "She should be gone by morning." So that was it, then. We just had to make it to morning, and then everything would be okay. Right? It wasn't, though. In fact, I can confidently say that was the beginning of the end- the slow roll into the destruction of the town, and the majority of the people who lived there. For a time it was quiet. A few of us managed to fall asleep, either in the padded benches of the holding cells or in the chairs lined up against the walls. I was still wide awake, watching the windows with Harry and clutching a cup of hot cocoa for warmth. The hands of the clock barely seemed to move, and then- With a pop and a crackle, the dispatch radio came to life. It was the sheriff. I didn't understand the codes he was using, but I got the gist of it pretty good from everything that was said between. Multiple 123s, more units required. Send medical and the blasters. After that it was a flurry of voices and sirens. Orders were being shouted. Sirens blared. Olly sat behind his desk and closed his eyes. His lips moved silently, tracing the words of some prayer. I reached for Harry's hand, but the look in his eye- he was practically on the moon. So far away I couldn't reach him. We both knew that it was going to be bad. We didn't know HOW bad until one of the other officers started talking. "We've got two injured juveniles in route to the hospital. Clear the roads, provide escort where possible." Only two? "We've got eyes on them. Eight. Angel is missing, repeat, the Angel is missing. One victim unaccounted for. All units respond." It went on like that for a while. The noise woke up everyone who'd managed to fall asleep. One by one we gathered at the window, watching for the flashing lights as they sped like shooting stars down the main road toward our tiny, provincial hospital. Wondering who was inside. And if they'd make it. Eventually the noise from the radios died down to chatter back and forth between officers sweeping the woods. I gathered bits and pieces, but no more. Something about a set of bare footprints heading into the woods. Something else about a second, fresher set of tracks behind. Both vanished near the pond. The search went on, but nothing else important was said. Eventually the first blush of dawn touch the sky. We watched it rise, Harry and I, side by side, as the first of the officers returned to the station- muddy and disheartened. The adults gathered in a huddle with them. I wasn't meant to overhear, but my ears had always been sharp. Like the radio, now in person, I caught snatches that were just enough to paint a picture. 'Travis and Nicole' 'Broken arm. Severe frostbite. Should recover.' 'Melissa. Missing. Old lake. Angel.' They told the rest of us a barely edited version of events a few hours later. Travis and Nicole had been found outside Harry's place. Travis had a broken arm. Both he and Nicole had pretty bad frostbite and were suffering from hypothermia, but were expected to mostly recover. Melissa was still missing. They thought the Angel's flock had mobbed the car while Nicole was still getting in. Melissa had gotten it started, but hadn't driven away immediately because her sister wasn't fully inside yet. Travis had taken the passenger seat, and Nicole couldn't get in past him, he was too big- Well, the delay was enough for the heater to get started. The dead had converged on the heat, and when Travis tried to fight back they'd tossed him aside like an old newspaper. Melissa must have run. She didn't know what we'd just been told. She probably thought they were being attacked. I mean, that's what I would have thought- did think. But in the end, I guess it doesn't really matter why she ran into the woods. They never did find her. We all went home, one by one. Harry's dad came home on the next plane, but, understandably, Harry didn't want to stay in that house anymore. They moved away a couple of months later. Not long after Nicole and Travis finally got out of the hospital. Travis ended up losing the arm- the frostbite combined with the break made it impossible to save. They tried, but in the end there was nothing to be done. Nicole recovered physically alright. She lost a few toes and a finger, but the real damage was psychological. Losing her older sister like that... the way it all went down. She was never the same. The rest of us got together after graduation. The same 'party' where the town's secrets would originally have been explained to us. It turned out there were a few things we still hadn't been told. "I just don't understand why anyone lives here at all," Joan was saying to Mr. Harkman, our former math teacher- for pretty much our entire lives. The town wasn't big enough that we really needed more than one or two. There were rarely more than thirty kids per grade. I was standing by myself under a pennant banner, watching the flecks of light from the disco ball swim around the floor. She was going off to college next spring. So was I. I think we all were, except Nicole and Travis- and Hunter, I think. He'd decided to stay behind. Or maybe he couldn't afford college. I don't know, I never thought to ask. "Most people do leave." Mr. Harkman sighed, "I think we all tried to escape at one point or another." "Escape?" Chad, who'd been over in the corner beside Hunter and a couple of other kids from our grade, lifted his head to ask. By then the story of that night had spread to every kid in our tiny high school, regardless of grade. I can't help but think that was a good thing. "Well why'd they come back, then?" Joan demanded heatedly in the same moment. Her face was flushed, her eyes glittering. "Your parents didn't tell you?" Mr. Harkman looked surprised, and then just sad, "I'm sorry. I guess I can see why. The thing is, you can leave the town just fine- until you have kids. And then... the town pulls you back. Things happen. You lose your job, you have an accident, your plane or bus gets rerouted. You black out and wake up back here, in town, with your kid. It's inevitable. If you try to leave, you end up here again." A hush fell over the room. I don't know if they were thinking the same thing I was, but my very first thought was- I'm never having kids. Poor Harry. If only anyone had told HIM.
The home of League Two on BBC Sport online. Includes the latest news stories, results, fixtures, video and audio. EFL Clubs to finish between 3 rd and 6 th place will earn a Play-Off spot in the Championship and League One, with League Two occupied by those to finish between 4 th and 7 th at the end of the regular season. The Finals weekend at Wembley will take place across the May Bank Holiday, with League Two on Saturday 25 May, League One on Sunday 26 May, and the Championship finale on Monday 27 May. Sky Bet League Two play-offs. Sat 12: Lincoln v Exeter (3pm) Sat 12: Coventry v Notts County (7.30pm) Thu 17: Exeter v Lincoln (7.45pm) Fri 18: Notts County v Coventry (7.45pm) Sky Bet League Two Final Day – 8/9 May 2021 . Sky Bet Play-Offs. Championship Play-Off Final – 29/31 May 2021. League One Play-Off Final – 29/31 May 2021. League Two Play-Off Final – 29/31 May 2021. Carabao Cup 2020/21. Round One – 5 September ... *fixture dates are subject to change. Club badge - Link to home. Facebook ... The dates have been confirmed for the Sky Bet League One play-offs. Pompey will take on Oxford over two legs, with the winners facing either Wycombe or Fleetwood for a place in the Championship. Fratton Park will host the first meeting on Friday, July 3 (5.30pm kick-off), while Kenny Jackett’s side then travel to the Kassam Stadium on Monday, July 6 (5pm kick-off). League Two play-offs 2020: Dates, kick-off times, venues, live on Sky Sports. Sky Sports to broadcast Sky Bet League Two play-offs from June 18; coverage of all 15 EFL play-off games across the ... Sky Bet League Two play-offs; Dates: 18-29 June Coverage: BBC local radio, plus live text commentary of every game on the BBC Sport website and app The 2020/21 season dates across the Sky Bet EFL, ... the Sky Bet EFL Championship will feature 13 midweek match rounds whilst League One and League Two will have 11 respectively throughout season 2020/21. The season will culminate in the Sky Bet Play-Off Finals taking place at Wembley Stadium over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend 29-31 May 2021. The 2020-21 campaign will kick-off on Saturday September 12, while the regular seasons in the Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two will conclude on 8/9 May 2021.
Sky Bet League Two Play-Offs: Ryan Bowman, Exeter City ...
Exeter City's Ryan Bowman speaks exclusively to the EFL ahead of Exeter's Sky Bet League Two Play-Off Semi-Final against Colchester United. Subscribe for daily FM21 videos!Football Manager 2021 full game is here which is basically a way better version of FIFA 21 Career Mode! No more bugs from the... ⚽️ A Football Quiz Like No Other. Download Teammates on the App Store:https://apps.apple.com/us/app/teammates/id1506749581?ls=1 ⚽️Welcome to a new episode fr... Today at FootballTalk we go through all Sky Bet League Two Stadiums for the 2019/20 season showing you who plays where and what the capacity is. Make sure to... Northampton Town's Nicky Adams speaks exclusively to the EFL ahead of Northampton's Sky Bet League Two Play-Off Semi-Final against Cheltenham Town. An offici...
