You've probably been hearing a lot about Bitcoin recently and are wondering what's the big deal? Most of your questions should be answered by the resources below but if you have additional questions feel free to ask them in the comments. It all started with the release of Satoshi Nakamoto's whitepaper however that will probably go over the head of most readers so we recommend the following articles/books/videos as a good starting point for understanding how bitcoin works and a little about its long term potential:
Limited Supply - There will only ever be 21,000,000 bitcoin created and they are issued in a predictable fashion per the inflation schedule. Once they are all issued Bitcoin will be truly deflationary. The halving countdown tells you how much time until the next drop in block rewards.
Open source - Bitcoin code is fully auditable. You can read and contribute to the source code yourself.
Accountable - The public ledger is transparent, all transactions are seen by everyone.
Decentralized - Bitcoin is globally distributed across thousands of nodes with no single point of failure and as such can't be shut down similar to how Bittorrent works. You can even run a node on a Raspberry Pi.
Censorship resistant - No one can prevent you from interacting with the bitcoin network and no one can censor, alter or block transactions that they disagree with, see Operation Chokepoint.
Push system - There are no chargebacks in bitcoin because only the person who owns the address where the bitcoin resides has the authority to move them.
Low fee scaling - Most wallets calculate on chain fees automatically but you can view fee estimates and mempool activity if you want to set your fee manually. On chain fees may rise occasionally due to network demand, however instant micropayments that do not require confirmations are happening via the Lightning Network, a second layer scaling solution currently rolling out on the Bitcoin mainnet.
Borderless - No country can stop it from going in/out, even in areas currently unserved by traditional banking as the ledger is globally distributed.
Trustless - Bitcoin solved the Byzantine's Generals Problem which means nobody needs to trust anybody for it to work.
Secure - Blocks and transactions are cryptographically secured (using hashes and signatures) and can’t be brute forced or confiscated with proper key management such as hardware wallets.
Programmable - Individual units of bitcoin can be programmed to transfer based on certain criteria being met
Nearly instant - From a few seconds on the lightning network to a few minutes on-chain depending on need for confirmations. Transactions are irreversible by normal users after one confirmation and irreversible by anyone (including miners) after 6 confirmations.
Portable - Bitcoin are digital so they are easier to move than cash or gold. They can be transported by simply carrying a seed (a string of 12 to 24 words) on a device or by memorizing it for wallet recovery (while cool, memorizing is generally not recommended due to potential for forgetting the seed and the potential for insecure key generation by inexperienced users. Hardware wallets are the preferred method for most users for their ease of use and additional security).
Scalable - While the protocol is still being optimized for increased transaction capacity, blockchains do not scale very well, so most transaction volume is expected to occur on Layer 2 networks built on top of Bitcoin.
Divisible - Each bitcoin can be divided down to 8 decimals, which means you don't have to worry about buying an entire bitcoin.
Bitcoin.org and BuyBitcoinWorldwide.com are helpful sites for beginners. You can buy or sell any amount of bitcoin (even just a few dollars worth) and there are several easy methods to purchase bitcoin with cash, credit card or bank transfer. Some of the more popular resources are below, also check out the bitcoinity exchange resources for a larger list of options for purchases.
You can also purchase in cash with local ATMs. If you would like your paycheck automatically converted to bitcoin use Bitwage. Note: Bitcoin are valued at whatever market price people are willing to pay for them in balancing act of supply vs demand. Unlike traditional markets, bitcoin markets operate 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.
Securing your bitcoin
With bitcoin you can "Be your own bank" and personally secure your bitcoin OR you can use third party companies aka "Bitcoin banks" which will hold the bitcoin for you.
If you prefer to "Be your own bank" and have direct control over your coins without having to use a trusted third party, then you will need to create your own wallet and keep it secure. If you want easy and secure storage without having to learn computer security best practices, then a hardware wallet such as the Trezor, Ledger or ColdCard is recommended.
If you cannot afford a hardware wallet there are many software wallet options to choose from depending on your use case. Mobile wallets like BlueWallet are generally more secure than desktop wallets. Beware of fake mobile wallets and check reviews from reputable Bitcoin websites. Avoid paper wallets or brain wallets.
If you prefer to let third party "Bitcoin banks" manage your coins, try Gemini or Unchained Capital but be aware you may not be in control of your private keys in which case you would have to ask permission to access your funds and be exposed to third party risk. There is a saying in the community, "Not your keys, not your coins" meaning if you don't store your coins in a wallet that you control the keys to then you do not really own your bitcoin as you have to ask permission from the third party in order to move them.
Note: For increased security, use Two Factor Authentication (2FA) everywhere it is offered, including email! 2FA requires a second confirmation code or a physical security key to access your account making it much harder for thieves to gain access. Google Authenticator and Authy are the two most popular 2FA services, download links are below. Make sure you create backups of your 2FA codes. Avoid using your cell number for 2FA. Hackers have been using a technique called "SIM swapping" to impersonate users and steal bitcoin off exchanges.
Physical security keys (FIDO U2F) offer stronger security than Google Auth / Authy and other TOTP-based apps, because the secret code never leaves the device and it uses bi-directional authentication so it prevents phishing. If you lose the device though, you could lose access to your account, so always use 2 or more security keys with a given account so you have backups. See Yubikey or Titan to purchase security keys. Both Coinbase and Gemini support physical security keys.
Watch out for scams
As mentioned above, Bitcoin is decentralized, which by definition means there is no official website or Twitter handle or spokesperson or CEO. However, all money attracts thieves. This combination unfortunately results in scammers running official sounding names or pretending to be an authority on YouTube or social media. Many scammers throughout the years have claimed to be the inventor of Bitcoin. Websites like bitcoin(dot)com and the r / btc subreddit are active scams. Almost all altcoins (shitcoins) are marketed heavily with big promises but are really just designed to separate you from your bitcoin. So be careful: any resource, including all linked in this document, may in the future turn evil. As they say in our community, "Don't trust, verify".
Avoid using ad-based search engines like Google or Yahoo: ads are shown based on how much the advertiser bids, and scammers can easily outbid legitimate providers for ad space, since immoral ways of earning money are far more lucrative than moral ways. Use DuckDuckGo instead, which has no ads, and never tracks you as well.
Ignore private messages offering services.
Never enter your seed words in a website of any kind. Hardware wallets will recover by displaying possible seed words on their own interface, never on a website.
Always check addresses on your hardware wallet before sending or receiving. Some malware has been known to replace addresses in your web browser or that you copy-and-paste.
Avoid clicking on links like that look like links, such as https://www.google.com/, without first hovering over it and actually checking where they go to. Just because a link is labelled with an HTTPS address does not mean it actually sends you to that address. It is trivial for someone to comment a link on Reddit that looks like it will send you to one website when it actually sends you to another, and you might not notice the difference until a scammer has gotten all your money, or you have downloaded and installed software that steals your money.
Common Bitcoin Myths
Often the same concerns arise about Bitcoin from newcomers. Questions such as:
Is Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme?
Will governments ban Bitcoin?
Will quantum computers break Bitcoin?
All of these questions have been answered many times by a variety of people. Here are some resources where you can see if your concern has been answered:
Check out spendabit or bitcoin directory for millions of merchant options. Also you can spend bitcoin anywhere visa is accepted with bitcoin debit cards such as the CashApp card or Fold card. Some other useful site are listed below.
Gift cards for thousands of retailers worldwide including Amazon, Target, Walmart, Starbucks, Whole Foods, CVS, Lowes, Home Depot, iTunes, Best Buy, Sears, Kohls, eBay, GameStop, etc.
There are several benefits to accepting bitcoin as a payment option if you are a merchant;
1-3% savings over credit cards or PayPal.
No chargebacks (final settlement in 10 minutes as opposed to 3+ months).
Accept business from a global customer base.
Increased privacy.
Convert 100% of the sale to the currency of your choice for deposit to your account, or choose to keep a percentage of the sale in bitcoin if you wish to begin accumulating it.
If you are interested in accepting bitcoin as a payment method, there are several options available;
Mining bitcoin can be a fun learning experience, but be aware that you will most likely operate at a loss. Newcomers are often advised to stay away from mining unless they are only interested in it as a hobby similar to folding at home. If you want to learn more about mining you can read the mining FAQ. Still have mining questions? The crew at /BitcoinMining would be happy to help you out. If you want to contribute to the bitcoin network by hosting the blockchain and propagating transactions you can run a full node. You can view the global node distribution for a visual representation of the node network.
Earning bitcoin
Just like any other form of money, you can also earn bitcoin by being paid to do a job.
You can also earn bitcoin by participating as a market maker on JoinMarket by allowing users to perform CoinJoin transactions with your bitcoin for a small fee (requires you to already have some bitcoin).
Bitcoin-Related Projects
The following is a short list of ongoing projects that might be worth taking a look at if you are interested in current development in the bitcoin space.
One Bitcoin is quite large (hundreds of £/$/€) so people often deal in smaller units. The most common subunits are listed below:
Unit
Symbol
Value
Info
bitcoin
BTC
1 bitcoin
one bitcoin is equal to 100 million satoshis
millibitcoin
mBTC
1,000 per bitcoin
used as default unit in recent Electrum wallet releases
bit
bit
1,000,000 per bitcoin
colloquial "slang" term for microbitcoin (μBTC)
satoshi
sat
100,000,000 per bitcoin
smallest unit in bitcoin, named after the inventor
For example, assuming an arbitrary exchange rate of $10000 for one Bitcoin, a $10 meal would equal:
0.001 BTC
1 mBTC
1,000 bits
100k sats
For more information check out the Bitcoin units wiki. Still have questions? Feel free to ask in the comments below or stick around for our weekly Mentor Monday thread. If you decide to post a question in /Bitcoin, please use the search bar to see if it has been answered before, and remember to follow the community rules outlined on the sidebar to receive a better response. The mods are busy helping manage our community so please do not message them unless you notice problems with the functionality of the subreddit. Note: This is a community created FAQ. If you notice anything missing from the FAQ or that requires clarification you can edit it here and it will be included in the next revision pending approval. Welcome to the Bitcoin community and the new decentralized economy!
-If ratified, the TPP would have strengthened American influence on future rules for the global economy. President Obama has argued "if we don't pass this agreement—if America doesn't write those rules—then countries like China will" and it did four years later -I think that any person should look at China in its current state and say, "yeah, that's messed up." -The way that the TPP would do this is by importing and relying less on Chinese made goods and instead favoring goods from TPP countries, which would hurt the Chinese economy -The US and other members of the TPP could then force China to stop with the ongoing Uighur genocide and force it to liberalize its government in exchange for inducting China into the TPP -This may seem like a pipedream, but even if the TPP is unsuccessful in doing this, I still believe we should import less from genocidal regimes -Best thing is, even though the TPP didn’t come into effect, it still forced Chinese leaders to consider domestic economic reforms seriously -However, with America's exit from the TPP, Asian countries are now more dependent on China's economy.
-The TPP obliges members to adopt and maintain laws and practices governing “acceptable conditions of work” in three areas: minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health regulations (Article 19.3.2) -This is in addition to the ILO Declaration which means the International Labour Organization(ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up (1998), which include:
Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining
Elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor
Effective abolition of child labor
Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation
-According to TPP Article 19.6, members “shall also discourage, through initiatives Parties consider appropriate, the importation of goods from other sources produced in whole or in part by forced or compulsory labor, including forced or compulsory child labor.”
Enforcement of these labor standards
-Before addressing the TPP approach, let’s consider the US track record of enforcing labor provisions worldwide. Under the US GSP program, the precedent for enforcing labor provisions was set, which includes a mechanism for filing complaints against beneficiary countries for labor violations, with the option to suspend GSP benefits based on a final determination by USTR. Though trade sanctions are advocated as a “stick” for compliance, the actual removal of trade preferences is often viewed as a last resort. This partly explains the low level of GSP suspensions and trade sanctions. Before GSP was reauthorized, in June 2015, the United States was reviewing labor petitions against Georgia, Niger, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, Thailand, and other countries. -One high profile case of action was the decision to suspend the GSP for Bangladesh, which had long been under investigation for its labor practices. The decision came after a global outcry in April 2013, following the collapse of a garment factory that had had aberrant safety regulations, resulting in the death of more than 1,000 people. -We see that the US is no stranger to labor rights enforcement across the globe -Now let’s get to the actual TPP itself -TPP Article 19.5.1 sets the baseline for the agreement’s enforcement: “No Party shall fail to effectively enforce its labor laws through a sustained or recurring course of action or inaction in a manner affecting trade or investment between the Parties after the date of entry into force of this Agreement.” -Like other US free trade agreements, the TPP establishes a labor council of senior officials at the ministerial level to guide cooperative activities and work programs. The council will meet within one year after the TPP’s entry into force and every two years after that, which would make it unique among other US free trade agreements, which were nonspecific, with the council meeting “as often as it considers necessary.”(Article 19.12) -”Each Party shall invite the views and, as appropriate, participation of its stakeholders, including worker and employer representatives, in identifying potential areas for cooperation and undertaking cooperative activities”(Article 19.10) -There are also 3 TPP bilateral labor plans that include implementation and review guidelines, particularly for Vietnam, which particularly faces poor working conditions and long hours
Government oversight: A standing committee composed of senior US and Vietnamese officials will monitor and ensure rapid response to compliance concerns. Ministerial review of the plan’s implementation will occur at regular intervals (the 3rd, 5th, and 10th years following the entry into force).
ILO assistance: Vietnam will establish a technical program with the ILO to support the implementation of proposed reforms, and the ILO will issue a public report two years after entry into force, with biannual meetings after that for eight years.
Independent monitoring: A three-member labor expert committee made up of independent non-governmental experts (such as the ILO) will provide reports of the progress toward reforms, with recommendations to the senior officials’ committee two and half years after entry into force and every two years after that(after eight and a half years, reports can continue every five years).
The TPP is very clear that it wants to promote the conservation of sharks, whales, dolphins, sea turtles, sea birds, and other marine species. TPP requires countries to institute measures such as “catch limits,” which lay out what and how much can be caught, as well as “bycatch mitigation protections,” which limit the accidental capture of non-targeted animals (Article 20.16.4)
TPP protects the ozone layer by limiting the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances that are banned by the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement designed to protect the ozone layer. These substances include refrigerants, coolants, and aerosol-can propellants. TPP also promotes cooperation between countries to increase the development of cost-effective, low-emissions technologies and alternative, clean, and renewable energy sources(Article 20.15.1.) and (Article 20.15.2)
-The most common, at least among online communities, is the IP law that the TPP imposes, with it effectively setting strict US copyright laws on other countries in it While valid, I believe that these critiques are overstated, and this can be summarized with this quote by the Australian Trade Minister that said, “In regard to intellectual property, TPP will not require any changes to Australia’s patent system and copyright regime.” -Secondly, the IP law of the TPP “would reduce access to health care in poorer countries by increasing costs for life-saving medicine” -I have no way of verifying if this is true, because, as far as I can tell, no real expert has weighed in on this -It is important to note that the new CTPP does not include these IP laws -The other common criticism is that “it would allow corporations to sue x country when they pass a law that hurts their profits.” -This is unequivocally false as Andrea Bjorklund, an expert on international arbitration and trade law at McGill University, said, “the investor will only recover if the investor can prove a breach of the agreement and can prove a certain measure of damages. So ‘lost profits’ are not a valid basis of claim. Rather, the investor has to allege a violation of the treaty.” She added, “it is true that any investor can attempt to submit a claim and can attempt to justify it as a fair and equitable treatment violation.” -In simpler terms, this means that a corporation can only sue if it breaches the agreements of the TPP AND it loses profits
Posting on a throwaway for obvious reasons. In dollar terms, I’m almost a bitcoin millionaire. It feels good, but not because I can brag about the accumulated wealth, it’s more that the people who I told to invest whatever money they could afford to lose, back in early 2013, all told me I was an idiot. Those same people have now been humbled. The story starts back in late 2012. A guy I was on head-nodding terms with at the gym, got talking to me in the changing room about one of the podcasts he was listening to. He was talking about how he loved his weed and had heard about the Silk Road and how the only way to buy drugs on it was using this new “virtual” currency called bitcoin. It was in November 2012 and the price was hovering around $10-$11. I thought to myself, I love my weed - and I remember from years and years ago, a company in Canada called bud mail, used to operate an online weed store. That’s where my thinking stopped - and I didn’t bother looking into it any further. Acquiring my first coins In early Jan 2013 my mate had mentioned bitcoin to me, again - a big weed smoker and thought it’d be a good idea to grab a few coins and try it out for ourselves. We’re in the UK, and Coinbase wasn’t open for UK residents yet. The only way we could purchase bitcoins were on localbitcoins.com or bitstamp. We chose the latter, but had no idea what a SEPA transfer was. To be frank, there were a lot of hurdles to overcome in order to acquire bitcoin back then. We had to use TransferWise to send our money to some bank in Estonia (I think?). The money arrived a few days later, and bam - we were able to purchase our first coins in March 2013 at $57 a pop. The next few days, the price continued to rise - until it got to about $230. This was heavily fuelled by the Cyprus Haircut. The other two mates who I’d bought these coins with, and who I shared the bitstamp account with wanted to sell. I didn’t. We decided that I would take my coins off the exchange, and they’d keep theirs together at bitstamp. It was at this stage that I was looking into bitcoin security. Paper Wallets Trusty bitcoinpaperwallet.com taught me all I needed to know. I ran a few tests first with very small amounts. Sending some to paper wallets, and then sweeping those paper wallets so that I could trust that it all worked. It did. Acquiring more knowledge, then more coins By now, I was deep into the rabbit hole, but I always felt it was important to invest as much (if not more) of my time into learning how bitcoin worked, and how to skill up on my bitcoin opsec. I should state, with bitcoin - you never stop learning. The beauty of this thing is it constantly evolves. As I got more comfortable with my knowledge, I bought more coins, still only ploughing in what I could afford to lose and not care about. 2013 High It was December 2013, and the price had reached ~$1200. The friends and family I’d told about it were all screaming at me to sell - “you’ve made more than 20x your investment”. I told them the same thing then as I tell them now - that they didn’t understand that this was a new paradigm. This thing is going to change the world, and yes the price is volatile, but if you understand the fundamentals of bitcoin, and have even a tiny grasp of macro economics and how messed up the system was, it was obvious that bitcoin was born to absorb all of the endless money printing etc. Back then, money printing was nowhere near the scale we’ve seen in the past 12 months. Bear market until late 2017 I had everyone telling me how stupid I was for not selling. After the 2013 high, we wouldn’t see the price exceed it’s previous ATH for another 4 years. Whilst everyone was telling me how stupid I was, I was continuing to buy. I was continuing to extol the fantastic qualities of bitcoin, and how it had previously had bull and bear cycles that was heavily influenced by the halved supply of coins every 4 years. They looked at me like I was talking a different language. They didn’t want to invest their time understanding how things worked. All they knew was that every single news outlet was saying that Bitcoin was for terrorists and criminals. I continued going to as many bitcoin meetups as I could. Listening to some of the bitcoin veterans live on stage. It was still very fringe back then, but I was lucky to speak to people such as Andreas Antonopolous, Gavin Andresen, Mike Hearn, Jeremy Allaire, Jameson Lopp, and others. Some of these people will be remembered for the wrong reasons, but at the time - it seemed all of them had good intentions for bitcoin. I still follow Andreas and Jameson, and genuinely think they're some of the most intelligent and visionary minds out there. Christmas 2017 I remember it well. I was with my family out for dinner and the price was close to $20k. “I can’t believe you still haven’t sold”, they said. I blurted out the same mantra that I did back in 2013. I didn't sell. 2018 We all know how this year went. It wasn’t pretty, the few people who knew I had bitcoin thought I was silly for not selling. I knew in my heart of hearts I wasn’t. I stuck to the plan, and continued accumulating. 2019 - IVF Me and my wife had struggled trying to conceive. I won’t go into all the details but suffice to say, I don’t come from a particularly wealthy background. That’s not to say that I was a deprived kid - I wasn’t, but I certainly didn’t come from a wealthy background. In order for me and my wife to have our first child, it was becoming obvious that the only option left to us at this point was IVF. IVF was going to cost the best part of £30-£40k. I’m a true hodler, but I felt that I had been extremely lucky to find bitcoin at the time I did, and so I’d sold a decent amount of coins to fund the IVF. Yes, I could have sold some in late 2017, and liquidated fewer coins to get to the amount I needed - but I didn’t know back then that we’d go down the IVF route. 2020 - No regrets In January 2020, our little baby boy was born. Our bitcoin baby. A baby, that I honestly don’t think we would have been able to have, had it not been for me stumbling across bitcoin and disregarding all of the naysayers along the way. He’s the light of our lives, and if bitcoin went to zero, I’d still be an absolute winner! At this point, I've cashed out about 3x of all the money I've put into bitcoin, and still have a sizeable portion of my coins left. 2021 It’s the first day of 2021, and whilst I’m not quite at $1m in terms of my btc holdings, I’m not far off, but better than that, the friends and family that told me to sell are no longer saying "why don’t you sell?", but asking how they can buy. I could be an arsehole about it, but that’s just not me. I continue to help anyone and everyone that shows any kind of interest in this. The Future I think the next 24 months are going to be extremely exciting. I’m hoping to get to a point whereby me, my wife and my son can move into our forever home. I have plans for a 50% equity payment, leaving the rest of my coins to hopefully accumulate more value so that at a later stage, I can pay the rest of the mortgage off, and live a debt free life. To conclude I never thought I’d accumulate the wealth I currently have. It’s still peanuts in terms of what some people in this world have gained (looking at you Bezos), but if it means that I can quit my job, to spend more time with my family, and putting my precious time into learning new things, being more charitable with my time and generally living life to the max - then I’ll be a very happy man. Peace, love and good luck to all of you in the future.
Outage post-mortem that Wink isn't going to send you
First, I have no relation whatsoever to Wink or anyone there either now or in the past. I own a hub 2, which thankfully has fewer than a handful of devices on it, and ones which rarely need electronic control. I didn’t sign up for the subscription service. The only impact to me was the fact local control stops working after a few days when it can’t hit Wink’s servers (which is an absurdly stupid design, but that’s a whole other can of worms). I was mostly just a curious observer, in the way that it’s apparently human nature to rubber-neck at car accidents. I feel for those paying for the service, and anyone still employed by Wink. Wink’s response to this (or lack thereof) rubbed me the wrong way, and I feel those who are customers should have had a better explanation after the fact. Here I’m taking what was publicly visible about what occurred, applying deductive reasoning using the skills I’ve built over a decades-long career in software development, sysadmin and network engineering, to identify what almost certainly occurred here. Again, I have no inside knowledge whatsoever. Background On January 25, everything Wink hosted itself (via Amazon AWS) disappeared from the Internet. Via reports from others on this sub, everything i.am+ hosted went offline, not just Wink (I have no idea what other sites i.am+ has, and didn’t check any of them at any point). This wasn’t some crazy never-before-seen problem with Wink's server-side applications which they just no longer have the engineering chops on hand to address promptly. They couldn’t host a static website for days. DNS on wink.com was not functioning initially. The only wink.com or winkapp.com site that was functioning was status.winkapp.com, which is using Atlassian’s Statuspage. DNS for winkapp.com has been hosted by GoDaddy, their domain registrar, since at least 2013 using the free DNS offered for domains registered there. That's why winkapp.com DNS was not impacted and the status page worked. Outside of the aforementioned winkapp.com DNS via GoDaddy, and status.winkapp.com via Atlassian, everything else Wink (and apparently i.am+) hosts has been on Amazon AWS as long as I’ve been paying attention to Wink. They didn’t go dumpster diving to find old PCs which are running in a broom closet somewhere hosting websites on a DSL line. That in itself eliminates a lot of possible causes. A number of people were speculating that they were hit by a cryptolocker type of ransomware. That cannot be what occurred, as their Amazon Route 53 DNS on wink.com would not have stopped working even if every single disk of every piece of computing equipment they rent and own were destroyed. Possible Causes From the above, we know that they lost everything Amazon-hosted including DNS. There are two possible causes for this.
Everything in their Amazon AWS account was blown away. Either via DevOps automation gone horribly wrong (highly unlikely), or someone using admin access to the Amazon account to delete everything. Their web servers getting hacked would not be sufficient to cause this given the loss of DNS, it would have to be full admin access via Amazon’s management tools.
Amazon cut them off. This would be either for terms of service violations, or not paying the bill.
Let’s examine option 1. If that occurred, first you’d secure your Amazon account to make sure your actions to restore everything couldn’t be wiped out again. By changing passwords on all the admin accounts, making sure they all have two factor authentication enabled, and rotating any tokens and keys which are in use. That’s, at most, a 2-4 hour job for a half-competent sysadmin with familiarity with Wink’s infrastructure. After securing the account, the next thing you’d do is re-populate your DNS zones so your email starts working again (Google hosts their email) and you’re prepared to bring back the rest of the infrastructure. There was some wrong speculation about SSL in a thread on this sub from an apparent bug in DomainTools’ whois lookup which showed a SSL error. Given Wink’s shaky history with certificates (which tells you their infrastructure is extremely poorly managed), speculation about certificate problems is understandable, but this outage had nothing to do with certificates. The screenshot of the whois output shared in that thread at the time had a huge clue which people overlooked. Their name servers had changed to point to Cloudflare instead of Amazon. Cloudflare offers DNS hosting, content delivery network services, and can front-end your websites acting as a caching reverse proxy (clients connect to Cloudflare, it connects to your servers on the back end to obtain content which isn’t cached). I did a RDAP lookup on wink.com at the time, which is superior to whois in that it shows last modified date for NS records. They switched their DNS to Cloudflare on the 25th, with a timestamp that was pretty close to the timestamp of the first outage post on status.winkapp.com. Changing your NS records at that point is the last thing you would normally do, as it would extend the outage. It would be as much as 24 hours, and potentially longer depending on the TTLs on their DNS at the time, before the entire Internet would see the changed NS records. But if you knew you weren’t going to be able to restore service on Amazon for an undetermined period of time, and needed to get as much working as possible as quickly as possible, then moving your DNS to Cloudflare’s free offering (and then later using Cloudflare to make wink.com display status.winkapp.com) would be an understandable step. So they knew very early on that they couldn’t restore service promptly on Amazon. That rules out option 1. Now let’s examine option 2, because we’ve eliminated all options other than Amazon cutting them off. If there was a terms of service violation going on, outside of obvious criminal enterprises, Amazon would have given them a good deal of time to address the problem before cutting them off. There’s also exactly 0 chance that Amazon would welcome back a customer they kicked off for ToS violations just days later. But when things started coming back online, wink.com’s NS records were back to Amazon (these awsdns domains are used for Route 53 name servers).
RDAP for one of their NS entries (all have timestamps within a fraction of a second of each other): $ rdap -j -s https://rdap.godaddy.com/v1 wink.com | jq .nameservers[0] { "objectClassName": "nameserver", "ldhName": "ns-852.awsdns-42.net", "status": [ "active" ], "events": [ { "eventAction": "last changed", "eventDate": "2021-02-02T14:02:44.04Z" } ] } So they changed their DNS back to Amazon on the morning of February 2 US time (14:02 GMT, 9:02 AM Eastern). They would have changed the NS records immediately after their Amazon account was restored. So we’ve now eliminated everything but one option - they didn’t pay their Amazon bill, and it took them a week to come up with the funds to do so. Wink's Response The email we all got stated, in part:
In addition to resolving the issue that occurred, our team is working tirelessly to optimize the Wink Backend and our API now that it is back up. The measures we are implementing will ensure that our system will remain stable going forward.
All the optimization in the world isn't going to put money in the bank to pay the bills, so that's a lot of BS, but there may well be a thread of truth there. I've heard my share of horror stories (not about Wink) of cloud services designed so poorly that they end up costing a fortune to run, as they require gobs of hardware resources to scale. It's possible their Amazon bills are huge if the back end is highly inefficient. So it could be possible to optimize things in a way that considerably lowers their hosting bill. If they were being frank and honest, it probably would read more like:
In addition to finding the money to pay our Amazon bill, our team is working to optimize our systems to lower that bill going forward, so we can hopefully stay in business.
All the non-subscribers who yanked their hubs because of the outage ironically will help the viability of the company going forward, since even non-subscribers chew some cloud resources and cost them money. Unfortunately it probably also drove away many paying customers. It's a shame to see what was pretty good technology wrecked by horrible management. All the best to anyone still employed at Wink, and anyone dependent on their systems.
Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis
NEW INFO 5 Results from share redemption are posted. Less than .2% redeemed. Very bullish as investors are showing extreme confidence in the future of PLBY. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/playboy-mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-120000721.html NEW INFO 4 Definitive Agreement to purchase 100% of Lovers brand stores announced 2/1. https://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Playboy+%28MCAC%29+Confirms+Deal+to+Acquire+Lovers/17892359.html NEW INFO 3 I bought more on the dip today. 5081 total. Price rose AH to $12.38 (2.15%) NEW INFO 2 Here is the full webinar. https://icrinc.zoom.us/rec/play/9GWKdmOYumjWfZuufW3QXpe_FW_g--qeNbg6PnTjTMbnNTgLmCbWjeRFpQga1iPc-elpGap8dnDv8Zww.yD7DjUwuPmapeEdP?continueMode=true&tk=lEYc4F_FkKlgsmCIs6w0gtGHT2kbgVGbUju3cIRBSjk.DQIAAAAV8NK49xZWdldRM2xNSFNQcTBmcE00UzM3bXh3AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA&uuid=WN_GKWqbHkeSyuWetJmLFkj4g&_x_zm_rtaid=kR45-uuqRE-L65AxLjpbQw.1611967079119.2c054e3d3f8d8e63339273d9175939ed&_x_zm_rhtaid=866 NEW INFO 1 Live merger webinar with PLBY and MCAC on Friday January 29, 2021 at 12:00 NOON EST link below https://mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/press-release-details/2021/Playboy-Enterprises-Inc.-and-Mountain-Crest-Acquisition-Corp-Participate-in-SPACInsider-ICR-Webinar-on-January-29th-at-12pm-ET/default.aspx Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis !!!WARNING READING AHEAD!!! TL;DR at the end. It will take some time to sort through all the links and read/watch everything, but you should. In the next couple weeks, Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp is taking Playboy public. The existing ticker MCAC will become PLBY. Special purpose acquisition companies have taken private companies public in recent months with great success. I believe this will be no exception. Notably, Playboy is profitable and has skyrocketing revenue going into a transformational growth phase. Porn - First and foremost, let's talk about porn. I know what you guys are thinking. “Porno mags are dead. Why would I want to invest in something like that? I can get porn for free online.” Guess what? You are absolutely right. And that’s exactly why Playboy doesn’t do that anymore. That’s right, they eliminated their print division. And yet they somehow STILL make money from porn that people (see: boomers) pay for on their website through PlayboyTV, Playboy Plus, and iPlayboy. Here’s the thing: Playboy has international, multi-generational name recognition from porn. They have content available in 180 countries. It will be the only publicly traded adult entertainment (porn) company. But that is not where this company is going. It will help support them along the way. You can see every Playboy magazine through iPlayboy if you’re interested. NSFW links below: https://www.playboy.com/ https://www.playboytv.com/ https://www.playboyplus.com/ https://www.iplayboy.com/ Gambling - Some of you might recognize the Playboy brand from gambling trips to places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Cancun, London or Macau. They’ve been in the gambling biz for decades through their casinos, clubs, and licensed gaming products. They see the writing on the wall. COVID is accelerating the transition to digital, application based GAMBLING. That’s right. What we are doing on Robinhood with risky options is gambling, and the only reason regulators might give a shit anymore is because we are making too much money. There may be some restrictions put in place, but gambling from your phone on your couch is not going anywhere. More and more states are allowing things like Draftkings, poker, state ‘lottery” apps, hell - even political betting. Michigan and Virginia just ok’d gambling apps. They won’t be the last. This is all from your couch and any 18 year old with a cracked iphone can access it. Wouldn’t it be cool if Playboy was going to do something like that? They’re already working on it. As per CEO Ben Kohn who we will get to later, “...the company’s casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth.” Honestly, I stopped researching Scientific Games' sports betting segment when I saw the word ‘omni-channel’. That told me all I needed to know about it’s success. “Our SG Sports™ platform is an enhanced, omni-channel solution for online, self-service and retail fixed odds sports betting – from soccer to tennis, basketball, football, baseball, hockey, motor sports, racing and more.” https://www.scientificgames.com/ https://www.microgaming.co.uk/ “This latter segment has become increasingly enticing for Playboy, and it said last week that it is considering new tie-ups that could include gaming operators like PointsBet and 888Holdings.” https://calvinayre.com/2020/10/05/business/playboys-gaming-ops-could-get-a-boost-from-spac-purchase/ As per their SEC filing: “Significant consumer engagement and spend with Playboy-branded gaming properties around the world, including with leading partners such as Microgaming, Scientific Games, and Caesar’s Entertainment, steers our investment in digital gaming, sports betting and other digital offerings to further support our commercial strategy to expand consumer spend with minimal marginal cost, and gain consumer data to inform go-to-market plans across categories.” https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tMDAA1 They are expanding into more areas of gaming/gambling, working with international players in the digital gaming/gambling arena, and a Playboy sportsbook is on the horizon. https://www.playboy.com/read/the-pleasure-of-playing-with-yourself-mobile-gaming-in-the-covid-era Cannabis - If you’ve ever read through a Playboy magazine, you know they’ve had a positive relationship with cannabis for many years. As of September 2020, Playboy has made a major shift into the cannabis space. Too good to be true you say? Check their website. Playboy currently sells a range of CBD products. This is a good sign. Federal hemp products, which these most likely are, can be mailed across state lines and most importantly for a company like Playboy, can operate through a traditional banking institution. CBD products are usually the first step towards the cannabis space for large companies. Playboy didn’t make these products themselves meaning they are working with a processor in the cannabis industry. Another good sign for future expansion. What else do they have for sale? Pipes, grinders, ashtrays, rolling trays, joint holders. Hmm. Ok. So it looks like they want to sell some shit. They probably don’t have an active interest in cannabis right? Think again: https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/09/24/playboy-gets-serious-about-cannabis-law-reform-advocacy-with-new-partnership-grants/?sh=62f044a65cea “Taking yet another step into the cannabis space, Playboy will be announcing later on Thursday (September, 2020) that it is launching a cannabis law reform and advocacy campaign in partnership with National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Last Prisoner Project, Marijuana Policy Project, the Veterans Cannabis Project, and the Eaze Momentum Program.” “According to information procured exclusively, the three-pronged campaign will focus on calling for federal legalization. The program also includes the creation of a mentorship plan, through which the Playboy Foundation will support entrepreneurs from groups that are underrepresented in the industry.” Remember that CEO Kohn from earlier? He wrote this recently: https://medium.com/naked-open-letters-from-playboy/congress-must-pass-the-more-act-c867c35239ae Seems like he really wants weed to be legal? Hmm wonder why? The writing's on the wall my friends. Playboy wants into the cannabis industry, they are making steps towards this end, and we have favorable conditions for legislative progress. Don’t think branding your own cannabis line is profitable or worthwhile? Tell me why these 41 celebrity millionaires and billionaires are dummies. I’ll wait. https://www.celebstoner.com/news/celebstoner-news/2019/07/12/top-celebrity-cannabis-brands/ Confirmation: I hear you. “This all seems pretty speculative. It would be wildly profitable if they pull this shift off. But how do we really know?” Watch this whole video: https://finance.yahoo.com/video/playboy-ceo-telling-story-female-154907068.html Man - this interview just gets my juices flowing. And highlights one of my favorite reasons for this play. They have so many different business avenues from which a catalyst could appear. I think paying attention, holding shares, and options on these staggered announcements over the next year is the way I am going to go about it. "There's definitely been a shift to direct-to-consumer," he (Kohn) said. "About 50 percent of our revenue today is direct-to-consumer, and that will continue to grow going forward.” “Kohn touted Playboy's portfolio of both digital and consumer products, with casino-style gaming, in particular, serving a crucial role under the company's new business model. Playboy also has its sights on the emerging cannabis market, from CBD products to marijuana products geared toward sexual health and pleasure.” "If THC does become legal in the United States, we have developed certain strains to enhance your sex life that we will launch," Kohn said. https://cheddar.com/media/playboy-goes-public-health-gaming-lifestyle-focus Oh? The CEO actually said it? Ok then. “We have developed certain strains…” They’re already working with growers on strains and genetics? Ok. There are several legal cannabis markets for those products right now, international and stateside. I expect Playboy licensed hemp and THC pre-rolls by EOY. Something like this: https://www.etsy.com/listing/842996758/10-playboy-pre-roll-tubes-limited?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=pre+roll+playboy&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&organic_search_click=1 Maintaining cannabis operations can be costly and a regulatory headache. Playboy’s licensing strategy allows them to pick successful, established partners and sidestep traditional barriers to entry. You know what I like about these new markets? They’re expanding. Worldwide. And they are going to be a bigger deal than they already are with or without Playboy. Who thinks weed and gambling are going away? Too many people like that stuff. These are easy markets. And Playboy is early enough to carve out their spot in each. Fuck it, read this too: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimosman/2020/10/20/playboy-could-be-the-king-of-spacs-here-are-three-picks/?sh=2e13dcaa3e05 Numbers: You want numbers? I got numbers. As per the company’s most recent SEC filing: “For the year ended December 31, 2019, and the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s historical consolidated revenue was $78.1 million and $101.3 million, respectively, historical consolidated net income (loss) was $(23.6) million and $(4.8) million, respectively, and Adjusted EBITDA was $13.1 million and $21.8 million, respectively.” “In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Licensing segment contributed $44.2 million in revenue and $31.1 million in net income.” “In the ninth months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Direct-to-Consumer segment contributed $40.2 million in revenue and net income of $0.1 million.” “In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Digital Subscriptions and Content segment contributed $15.4 million in revenue and net income of $7.4 million.” They are profitable across all three of their current business segments. “Playboy’s return to the public markets presents a transformed, streamlined and high-growth business. The Company has over $400 million in cash flows contracted through 2029, sexual wellness products available for sale online and in over 10,000 major retail stores in the US, and a growing variety of clothing and branded lifestyle and digital gaming products.” https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF Growth: Playboy has massive growth in China and massive growth potential in India. “In China, where Playboy has spent more than 25 years building its business, our licensees have an enormous footprint of nearly 2,500 brick and mortar stores and 1,000 ecommerce stores selling high quality, Playboy-branded men’s casual wear, shoes/footwear, sleepwear, swimwear, formal suits, leather & non-leather goods, sweaters, active wear, and accessories. We have achieved significant growth in China licensing revenues over the past several years in partnership with strong licensees and high-quality manufacturers, and we are planning for increased growth through updates to our men’s fashion lines and expansion into adjacent categories in men’s skincare and grooming, sexual wellness, and women’s fashion, a category where recent launches have been well received.” The men’s market in China is about the same size as the entire population of the United States and European Union combined. Playboy is a leading brand in this market. They are expanding into the women’s market too. Did you know CBD toothpaste is huge in China? China loves CBD products and has hemp fields that dwarf those in the US. If Playboy expands their CBD line China it will be huge. Did you know the gambling money in Macau absolutely puts Las Vegas to shame? Technically, it's illegal on the mainland, but in reality, there is a lot of gambling going on in China. https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/10/19/magic-johnson-and-uncle-buds-cbd-brand-enter-china-via-tmall-partnership/?sh=271776ca411e “In India, Playboy today has a presence through select apparel licensees and hospitality establishments. Consumer research suggests significant growth opportunities in the territory with Playboy’s brand and categories of focus.” “Playboy Enterprises has announced the expansion of its global consumer products business into India as part of a partnership with Jay Jay Iconic Brands, a leading fashion and lifestyle Company in India.” “The Indian market today is dominated by consumers under the age of 35, who represent more than 65 percent of the country’s total population and are driving India’s significant online shopping growth. The Playboy brand’s core values of playfulness and exploration resonate strongly with the expressed desires of today’s younger millennial consumers. For us, Playboy was the perfect fit.” “The Playboy international portfolio has been flourishing for more than 25 years in several South Asian markets such as China and Japan. In particular, it has strategically targeted the millennial and gen-Z audiences across categories such as apparel, footwear, home textiles, eyewear and watches.” https://www.licenseglobal.com/industry-news/playboy-expands-global-footprint-india It looks like they gave COVID the heisman in terms of net damage sustained: “Although Playboy has not suffered any material adverse consequences to date from the COVID-19 pandemic, the business has been impacted both negatively and positively. The remote working and stay-at-home orders resulted in the closure of the London Playboy Club and retail stores of Playboy’s licensees, decreasing licensing revenues in the second quarter, as well as causing supply chain disruption and less efficient product development thereby slowing the launch of new products. However, these negative impacts were offset by an increase in Yandy’s direct-to-consumer sales, which have benefited in part from overall increases in online retail sales so far during the pandemic.” Looks like the positives are long term (Yandy acquisition) and the negatives are temporary (stay-at-home orders). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921006093/tm213766-1_defa14a.htm This speaks to their ability to maintain a financially solvent company throughout the transition phase to the aforementioned areas. They’d say some fancy shit like “expanded business model to encompass four key revenue streams: Sexual Wellness, Style & Apparel, Gaming & Lifestyle, and Beauty & Grooming.” I hear “we’re just biding our time with these trinkets until those dollar dollar bill y’all markets are fully up and running.” But the truth is these existing revenue streams are profitable, scalable, and rapidly expanding Playboy’s e-commerce segment around the world. "Even in the face of COVID this year, we've been able to grow EBITDA over 100 percent and revenue over 68 percent, and I expect that to accelerate going into 2021," he said. “Playboy is accelerating its growth in company-owned and branded consumer products in attractive and expanding markets in which it has a proven history of brand affinity and consumer spend.” Also in the SEC filing, the Time Frame: “As we detailed in the definitive proxy statement, the SPAC stockholder meeting to vote on the transaction has been set for February 9th, and, subject to stockholder approval and satisfaction of the other closing conditions, we expect to complete the merger and begin trading on NASDAQ under ticker PLBY shortly thereafter,” concluded Kohn. The Players: Suhail “The Whale” Rizvi (HMFIC), Ben “The Bridge” Kohn (CEO), “lil” Suying Liu & “Big” Dong Liu (Young-gun China gang). I encourage you to look these folks up. The real OG here is Suhail Rizvi. He’s from India originally and Chairman of the Board for the new PLBY company. He was an early investor in Twitter, Square, Facebook and others. His firm, Rizvi Traverse, currently invests in Instacart, Pinterest, Snapchat, Playboy, and SpaceX. Maybe you’ve heard of them. “Rizvi, who owns a sprawling three-home compound in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a 1.65-acre estate in Palm Beach, Florida, near Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, moved to Iowa Falls when he was five. His father was a professor of psychology at Iowa. Along with his older brother Ashraf, a hedge fund manager, Rizvi graduated from Wharton business school.” “Suhail Rizvi: the 47-year-old 'unsocial' social media baron: When Twitter goes public in the coming weeks (2013), one of the biggest winners will be a 47-year-old financier who guards his secrecy so zealously that he employs a person to take down his Wikipedia entry and scrub his photos from the internet. In IPO, Twitter seeks to be 'anti-FB'” “Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia looks like a big Twitter winner. So do the moneyed clients of Jamie Dimon. But as you’ve-got-to-be-joking wealth washed over Twitter on Thursday — a company that didn’t exist eight years ago was worth $31.7 billion after its first day on the stock market — the non-boldface name of the moment is Suhail R. Rizvi. Mr. Rizvi, 47, runs a private investment company that is the largest outside investor in Twitter with a 15.6 percent stake worth $3.8 billion at the end of trading on Thursday (November, 2013). Using a web of connections in the tech industry and in finance, as well as a hearty dose of good timing, he brought many prominent names in at the ground floor, including the Saudi prince and some of JPMorgan’s wealthiest clients.” https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/technology/at-twitter-working-behind-the-scenes-toward-a-billion-dollar-payday.html Y’all like that Arab money? How about a dude that can call up Saudi Princes and convince them to spend? Funniest shit about I read about him: “Rizvi was able to buy only $100 million in Facebook shortly before its IPO, thus limiting his returns, according to people with knowledge of the matter.” Poor guy :( He should be fine with the 16 million PLBY shares he's going to have though :) Shuhail also has experience in the entertainment industry. He’s invested in companies like SESAC, ICM, and Summit Entertainment. He’s got Hollywood connections to blast this stuff post-merger. And he’s at least partially responsible for that whole Twilight thing. I’m team Edward btw. I really like what Suhail has done so far. He’s lurked in the shadows while Kohn is consolidating the company, trimming the fat, making Playboy profitable, and aiming the ship at modern growing markets. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-ipo-rizvi-insight/insight-little-known-hollywood-investor-poised-to-score-with-twitter-ipo-idUSBRE9920VW20131003 Ben “The Bridge” Kohn is an interesting guy. He’s the connection between Rizvi Traverse and Playboy. He’s both CEO of Playboy and was previously Managing Partner at Rizvi Traverse. Ben seems to be the voice of the Playboy-Rizvi partnership, which makes sense with Suhail’s privacy concerns. Kohn said this: “Today is a very big day for all of us at Playboy and for all our partners globally. I stepped into the CEO role at Playboy in 2017 because I saw the biggest opportunity of my career. Playboy is a brand and platform that could not be replicated today. It has massive global reach, with more than $3B of global consumer spend and products sold in over 180 countries. Our mission – to create a culture where all people can pursue pleasure – is rooted in our 67-year history and creates a clear focus for our business and role we play in people’s lives, providing them with the products, services and experiences that create a lifestyle of pleasure. We are taking this step into the public markets because the committed capital will enable us to accelerate our product development and go-to-market strategies and to more rapidly build our direct to consumer capabilities,” said Ben Kohn, CEO of Playboy. “Playboy today is a highly profitable commerce business with a total addressable market projected in the trillions of dollars,” Mr. Kohn continued, “We are actively selling into the Sexual Wellness consumer category, projected to be approximately $400 billion in size by 2024, where our recently launched intimacy products have rolled out to more than 10,000 stores at major US retailers in the United States. Combined with our owned & operated ecommerce Sexual Wellness initiatives, the category will contribute more than 40% of our revenue this year. In our Apparel and Beauty categories, our collaborations with high-end fashion brands including Missguided and PacSun are projected to achieve over $50M in retail sales across the US and UK this year, our leading men’s apparel lines in China expanded to nearly 2500 brick and mortar stores and almost 1000 digital stores, and our new men’s and women’s fragrance line recently launched in Europe. In Gaming, our casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth. Our product strategy is informed by years of consumer data as we actively expand from a purely licensing model into owning and operating key high-growth product lines focused on driving profitability and consumer lifetime value. We are thrilled about the future of Playboy. Our foundation has been set to drive further growth and margin, and with the committed capital from this transaction and our more than $180M in NOLs, we will take advantage of the opportunity in front of us, building to our goal of $100M of adjusted EBITDA in 2025.” https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company Also, according to their Form 4s, “Big” Dong Liu and “lil” Suying Liu just loaded up with shares last week. These guys are brothers and seem like the Chinese market connection. They are only 32 & 35 years old. I don’t even know what that means, but it's provocative. https://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/1832415.htm https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-ii-002600994.html Y’all like that China money? “Mr. Liu has been the Chief Financial Officer of Dongguan Zhishang Photoelectric Technology Co., Ltd., a regional designer, manufacturer and distributor of LED lights serving commercial customers throughout Southern China since November 2016, at which time he led a syndicate of investments into the firm. Mr. Liu has since overseen the financials of Dongguan Zhishang as well as provided strategic guidance to its board of directors, advising on operational efficiency and cash flow performance. From March 2010 to October 2016, Mr. Liu was the Head of Finance at Feidiao Electrical Group Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese manufacturer of electrical outlets headquartered in Shanghai and with businesses in the greater China region as well as Europe.” Dr. Suying Liu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp., commented, “Playboy is a unique and compelling investment opportunity, with one of the world’s largest and most recognized brands, its proven consumer affinity and spend, and its enormous future growth potential in its four product segments and new and existing geographic regions. I am thrilled to be partnering with Ben and his exceptional team to bring his vision to fruition.” https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company These guys are good. They have a proven track record of success across multiple industries. Connections and money run deep with all of these guys. I don’t think they’re in the game to lose. I was going to write a couple more paragraphs about why you should have a look at this but really the best thing you can do is read this SEC filing from a couple days ago. It explains the situation in far better detail. Specifically, look to page 137 and read through their strategy. Also, look at their ownership percentages and compensation plans including the stock options and their prices. The financials look great, revenue is up 90% Q3, and it looks like a bright future. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF I’m hesitant to attach this because his position seems short term, but I’m going to with a warning because he does hit on some good points (two are below his link) and he’s got a sizable position in this thing (500k+ on margin, I think). I don’t know this guy but he did look at the same publicly available info and make roughly the same prediction, albeit without the in depth gambling or cannabis mention. You can also search reddit for ‘MCAC’ and very few relevant results come up and none of them even come close to really looking at this thing. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gOvAd6lebs452hFlWWbxVjQ3VMsjGBkbJeXRwDwIJfM/edit?usp=sharing “Also, before you people start making claims that Playboy is a “boomer” company, STOP RIGHT THERE. This is not a good argument. Simply put. The only thing that matters is Playboy’s name recognition, not their archaic business model which doesn’t even exist anymore as they have completely repurposed their business.” “Imagine not buying $MCAC at a 400M valuation lol. Streetwear department is worth 1B alone imo.” Considering the ridiculous Chinese growth as a lifestyle brand, he’s not wrong. Current Cultural Significance and Meme Value: A year ago I wouldn’t have included this section but the events from the last several weeks (even going back to tsla) have proven that a company’s ability to meme and/or gain social network popularity can have an effect. Tik-tok, Snapchat, Twitch, Reddit, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter. They all have Playboy stuff on them. Kids in middle and highschool know what Playboy is but will likely never see or touch one of the magazines in person. They’ll have a Playboy hoodie though. Crazy huh? A lot like GME, PLBY would hugely benefit from meme-value stock interest to drive engagement towards their new business model while also building strategic coffers. This interest may not directly and/or significantly move the stock price but can generate significant interest from larger players who will. Bull Case: The year is 2025. Playboy is now the world leader pleasure brand. They began by offering Playboy licensed gaming products, including gambling products, direct to consumers through existing names. By 2022, demand has skyrocketed and Playboy has designed and released their own gambling platforms. In 2025, they are also a leading cannabis brand in the United States and Canada with proprietary strains and products geared towards sexual wellness. Cannabis was legalized in the US in 2023 when President Biden got glaucoma but had success with cannabis treatment. He personally pushes for cannabis legalization as he steps out of office after his first term. Playboy has also grown their brand in China and India to multi-billion per year markets. The stock goes up from 11ish to 100ish and everyone makes big gains buying somewhere along the way. Bear Case: The United States does a complete 180 on marijuana and gambling. President Biden overdoses on marijuana in the Lincoln bedroom when his FDs go tits up and he loses a ton of money in his sports book app after the Fighting Blue Hens narrowly lose the National Championship to Bama. Playboy is unable to expand their cannabis and gambling brands but still does well with their worldwide lifestyle brand. They gain and lose some interest in China and India but the markets are too large to ignore them completely. The stock goes up from 11ish to 13ish and everyone makes 15-20% gains. TL;DR: Successful technology/e-commerce investment firm took over Playboy to turn it into a porn, online gambling/gaming, sports book, cannabis company, worldwide lifestyle brand that promotes sexual wellness, vetern access, women-ownership, minority-ownership, and “pleasure for all”. Does a successful online team reinventing an antiquated physical copy giant sound familiar? No options yet, shares only for now. $11.38 per share at time of writing. My guess? $20 by the end of February. $50 by EOY. This is not financial advice. I am not qualified to give financial advice. I’m just sayin’ I would personally use a Playboy sports book app while smoking a Playboy strain specific joint and it would be cool if they did that. Do your own research. You’d probably want to start here: WARNING - POTENTIALLY NSFW - SEXY MODELS AHEAD - no actual nudity though https://s26.q4cdn.com/895475556/files/doc_presentations/Playboy-Craig-Hallum-Conference-Investor-Presentation-11_17_20-compressed.pdf Or here: https://www.mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/default.aspx Jimmy Chill: “Get into any SPAC at $10 or $11 and you are going to make money.” STL;DR: Buy MCAC. MCAC > PLBY couple weeks. Rocketship. Moon. Position: 5000 shares. I will buy short, medium, and long-dated calls once available.
Matched Betting Extra Place Horse Racing - January 21 Profits - £4,707 on top of Full Time Job
Hi all, I thought I would share my profits for Matched Betting Extra Place Horse Racing for Jan 21. January 2021 has turned into my best month of Matched Betting since I started way back in Summer 2018. This months profits are roughly £4,707. A life changing figure for many and a great figure seeing this is achievable on top of a full time job. Matched Betting is the only decent side hustle I have actually found, compared to doing hundreds of boring online surveys...yuck! (Unless you are a good business person / have 5 lodgers / lots of family money etc.) To see some of my other Matched Betting profits you visit my site: https://cashontheside.co.uk/ I will be investing some of my profits this month in ETF/Shares and putting into house improvements like a new drive way. In addition with Cheltenham horse festival coming up in March, I will be increasing my bank to cover liabilities. The bulk of my profits came from Extra Place racing, large underlayed winners and BOG (best offer garuntee). Variance was certainly on my side this month and I must have had at least 10 large winners which won upwards of £1600 pounds per bet. As I underlay my bets I made more profit than If I had fully layed of the bets. About 5% of these profits came from low risk casino. After you have completed all welcome offers...in Matched Betting. Ep's become a gold mine...and I truly recommend them to anyone. Some more of my bets this month illustrating underlayed bets and ep: https://cashonthesidecouk.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/winnings4.jpg https://cashonthesidecouk.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/winnings.jpg https://cashonthesidecouk.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/another-winner.jpg Images of one of my bets illustrative of Best offer guarantee: https://cashonthesidecouk.files.wordpress.com/2021/01/136707133_10159536662702922_8507610622687908137_o-1.jpg?w=544 For those who are starting out on their Match Betting journey in 2021 these sort of figures are achievable to you once you have experience….unfortunately this will not come overnight! I do put a lot of time into it..between 2-5 hours a day, 7 days a week sometimes. For the average person you could earn at least £500 a month. To learn more about Match Betting please visit my article Boost Your Income with Matched Betting. Alternatively you can start an Odds Monkey free trial where they will teach you step by step and give you the calculators you need: odds monkey trialhttps://www.oddsmonkey.com/affiliates/affiliate.php?id=64754(affiliate) or www.oddsmonkey.com. (non affiliate) To those with a little more experience who want to learn about Matched Betting Extra Places you can visit my guide here Extra Place Match Betting tips hereor I have copied and pasted it all below. For those with Matched Betting Experience - my guide and tips to Extra Places: What is Extra Place Matched Betting? Extra Places can be a very lucrative technique to learn. Extra Places are available for us to do pretty much every day, increasing the appeal. Extra Place Offers are available to all customers. This means that even if you get gubbed with a bookmaker, in most cases, you can still make money with them by Matched Betting on their Extra Place Offers. Extra Places are considered an advanced reload offer, as they not risk-free. However once you have gained some experience on more basic horse racing offers, you can start to take advantage of the lucrative profits available. It may sound complicated but as soon as it ‘clicks’, it becomes simple. Essentially we are taking advantage of the bookies and exchanges paying out if the horse you have backed comes a certain ‘place’ in a race e.g. 4th. Extra Places combined with additional offers such as BOG (Best Offer Guarantee) can mean additional profits. For example, you back a horse at odds of 15 and then the starting odds move up to 23. If that horse wins you win an extra x8 on your bet. You can see some real life scenarios I found of Extra Place combined with BOG below. Depending on the size of the underlay, profits below would range up to £3,000+
What is a ‘place’ in horse racing?
Quite simply a ‘place’ is the position the horse finishes a race in. For example if a horse wins a race it comes 1st, if a horse comes 2nd its 2nd. In some races with a large number of horses some bookies will pay out if a horse finishes the race in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th position. Horse Racing festivals such as Cheltenham or Ascot are particularly well known for this.
What is an ‘Extra Place’ in horse racing?
Now we’ve understood what a place is in horse racing you may have probably already guessed what an ‘extra place’ is going to be! An ‘extra place’ is where the bookies add one (or more) additional places to their standard place classification on a particular race. For example they may offer to ‘pay 7 places on a race’ instead of the standard 3 places. The ‘extra place’ in this instance cover 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th. What are my Extra Place top tips?
Some of my biggest profits have come from big underlayed winners and BOG. I typically underlay most of my bets by about 20% sometimes more. If you are starting out I would underlay on the place only by about 10% to play it safe until you learn more.
Don’t bet on more places than a bookmaker is offering. E.g. If the bookmaker is offering 4 places don’t bet on more than that.
Whilst your learning, take horses on implied odds of at least 12 or more on a match of 80%+.
Look to keep qualifying losses down. E.g. for £100 profit, £5 ql.
Please note, the best odds are typically found between 10 minutes up and to race time. You have to be quick on your ‘toes’…learn to walk before you run etc. Start out on easy horse racing officers before doing extra places.
You will need a bank of at least £1000+ for your exchanges, ideally more. The more you have the more of the field you can cover. You can do EP with several hundred in your exchange but you won’t be able to make bigger profits.
Be consistent, don’t take risks, don’t chase your losses and learn from matched betting extra place forums.
Keep the Odds Monkey up throughout the day...and check for good matches.
Use Bookies Boosts to increase your odds and matches.
Do not give in to your fear of missing out on offers…Tomorrow is another day.
Have at least a dual monitoscreen setup. It is important to be able to see exchange, books and calcs.
How do I find Extra Places offers? I use the the Odds Monkey Extra Place Matcher to find the best opportunities for profit. The Matcher is explained in the below video. https://youtu.be/oOKAdiSJidg I am also a regular visitor of the active Odds Monkey community forums. You can sign up for an Odds Monkey free trial today here today https://www.oddsmonkey.com/affiliates/affiliate.php?id=64754www.oddsmonkey.com (non affiliate). Odds Monkey provide you with the all guides, calculators etc. I have been a member for over 2.4 years now. Feel free to get in touch or ask below if any questions.
I'm just copy pasting from Accounting , told someone here that I would create a post about it, (Was few weeks back lol, my bad man) a lot of people here keep asking "Want to be FA, what certification to get", you don't really need a certification to get into it, but if you really want one, then CMA is the best one (IMO) CPA: You aren't an accountant so no CFA: You won't be doing asset management, and I think CFA institute is just making up bullshit just to lower pass rate. CMA covers Accounting for non accounting people (Finance grads), and covers finance to non finance people (accounting grads), and of course the odd one with technical background here and there. anyways here's the post \____________________________________________________________________ #Post: Given tomorrow’s AMA (A CMA/CPA working at Nike will be talking about CMA I think) and given that I’m an CMA fanboy I decided to make this post about it. Anyone who ever read my comments know that I’m very biased toward CPA and Public (I HATE public accounting and financial reporting, always did even at college) IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) give this scholarship to 10 students (Undergrads through PhD) per school every academic year, the department head would send the form with the details of the 10 students to the email in the form), you will get: Three years membership to IMA + all the exam costs covered (Retakes at your own cost). Access to Wiley CMAexcel Online Test Bank. Hock (One of the study material providers) also give you access to the material (Books, Test bank, Mock Exams, Video Lectures and Flashcards). I personally think Hock is great for student (and non-accountants) since his books are detailed. I used Gleim when I was taking my exams, but I knew 95% of the stuff covered in there from my undergraduate so it was mostly revising, but I wouldn’t recommend it to students. What’s covered in CMA Exams: Part1: Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics 15% External Financial Reporting Decisions 20% Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting 20% Performance Management 15% Cost Management 15% Internal Controls 15% Technology and Analytics Part2: Strategic Financial Management 20% Financial Statement Analysis 20% Corporate Finance 25% Decision Analysis 10% Risk Management 10% Investment Decisions 15% Professional Ethics Despite my hate to CPA, in the states, Laymen know CPA more (And the equivalent to other countries, CA for India, ACCA for UK and so on), I’ll give it that. CPA is better If you want to work in Public Accounting (Audit/Tax) or Financial Reporting (pure accounting in industry) or maybe you want to start your own outsourced bookkeeping practices. But if you want to move away from Pure accounting and start adding value to the business then I think CMA would be more Practical and more useful. Anyone who worked in a big organization know how management always treat (and compensate) sales and marketing better than accountants, and that accounting department is the butt of jokes. The reason for this is because those department (Sales) are the money makers, they can come at the end of the year and tell management, hey we increased the profits by 20% this year, but we can’t say the same in accounting, we’re a cost support center who no one even thinks about as long as reports gets delivered in time (Which is good if you want that kind of thing). When I joined this sub years back, I always found it weird that it is called accounting while it should be PublicAccounting really, everyone assumes that it’s only public accounting and there are no other types! Honestly, I think the reason for that is how much AICPA and public firms invest on colleges with their donations and recruitment stuff, I think your American professors and schools are always pushing public because of that. Which is honestly ironic, so they push you to get your CPA and you don’t graduate with 150 hours? And take fucking history or human studies instead of more business classes? That is very predatory practice to get $$$ out of 20 YO kids. Here in Egypt, all public colleges give us more than 150 hours for CPA (According to people who went for it), seriously, your education system is predatory. The mentality of “BIG FOUR OR BUST” is just retarded, you will be fine without public experience if you don’t want to go the public route, no need for your mental health and body to tank just for “I WAS TOLD IT IS A CAREER SUICIDE IF I DON’T GET PUBLIC”, if someone succeeds in Public he would also have succeeded in Industry. For some reason, people here think Accounting is one of two; Either B4 CHAD or AP Clerk virgin. I don’t know if you remember the post from that lesbian B4 woman with her “loser” girlfriend, but that is what a lot of people in this sub sound like. My advice to college people; work on your interpersonal skills this is the most important thing for your career progression, If you have a hobby, keep doing it even if you’re tired after work, just to keep your sanity. Honestly, the best advice I could give to you is to fucking pay attention to your back, back pain is horrible, and I wish I paid attention to my posture. you don’t need other to tell you what path to take (Including me), you can do what you want and don’t worry about judgement, if you’re happy with doing bookkeeping, then do bookkeeping, if you don’t want to go public don’t, if you enjoy public accounting, don’t let people discourage you with “ oMg YoU dRaNk ThE kOoLaId”, do what works for you. I’ll be replying to comment here from my main account u/moamr96 , feel free to ask me anything I tend to delete my post history every now and then (OCD), so I created this with another account to be a reference if someone searches this on the future. Good luck \____________________________________________________________________ More details about CMA: https://www.imanet.org/cma-certification?ssopc=1 Details about scholarship and forms: https://www.imanet.org/cma-certification/cma-scholarship?ssopc=1 Hock scholarship: https://www.hockinternational.com/cma-exam-scholarship/
Hello r audiodrama! We survived 2020! According to u/thecambridgegeek 's AudioDramaDebut Twitter, he tracked 1363 audio drama/fiction/RPG debuts in 2020. That's a lot of shows to be competing for attention and some may have fallen through the cracks. I've a curated list of debuts from July 2020 to now, that still have 20 or fewer ratings on the iTunes store. Links are either to landing pages with multiple subscription options or directly to RSS feeds. If you have suggestions for shows that I may have missed, please feel free to add in the comments. If you're interested in exploring past posts I have made to highlight underrated podcasts, check these links out: 1, 2, 3 , 4, 5, 6. Some of those podcasts went on to acquire a large following but others could use your help. There's also been interest in supporting podcasts by Black creators so I've highlighted the relevant podcasts.
Little Montgomery (Comedy, Complete): Megan and Kimmy are fourteen-years-old, best friends, and currently planning to commit grand larceny against country music star Rick Montgomery at his concert tonight. As they put their plan into play, songs will sung, secrets will be revealed, and teenage girls will find out how difficult it is to exact revenge.
October Jones & Fish With Legs (Fantasy, Family Friendly): Fish with Legs, a fish with legs, is the Elemental Creature of water. She and her human best friend October Jones are trying to stop an evil two-headed snake from releasing a terrible monster that will destroy the world! October's brooding teenage angst and Fish's bubbly optimism make for an interesting pair as they set out together to warn the other Elemental Creatures about the snakes’ devious plan...
Seeds (Historical Fiction, Complete): A new podcast series based on the incredible true story of the world’s first seed bank. Established in St Petersburg in 1921 by Nikolai Vavilov, it contained vital samples of crops and plants from all over the world to guard against famine and preserve the future of biodiversity.
If Anyone Should Find This (Apocalyptic, Weird Horror, Complete): The world is changing. Will you change with it? “If Anyone Should Find This” is a 9 episode audio drama that follows two security guards as their lives are forever transformed.
Nicked (Friendship, Family Friendly, Complete): Since childhood, Nicoletta Nowell and Sarah Locke were inseparable. But the start of eighth grade marked Nicoletta’s sudden transformation from best friend to relentless bully with seemingly no cause. Come December, Sarah is resigned to the new state of affairs until she is swept up in a plot to straighten her bully out by Colzsákos—a Christmas faerie of the Holly Court, specializing in reforming naughty children. It seems like a dream come true, but is Col as ‘good’ as he seems, and can his reformation methods be trusted? A little Mean Girls, a little A Christmas Carol, and a little Labyrinth, Nicked is a holiday faerie tale about good kids, bad kids, and best friendship gone cold.
Crypt I.D. (Cryptid): The world is stranger than it seems. Incomprehensible creatures, inexplicable events, the weird and unusual are lurking around every corner. Most people will never see it once. This audio drama follows the experiences of a woman who can't seem to escape it. Note: Ignore the D&D episodes and description. The Crypt I.D. episodes are scripted.
Eternal Strife (Comedy): "Life's a bitch - and then you can't die" Life. Death. God. Immortality. Aliens ... a flatulent self-righteous seagull. This high concept comedy series has it all!
Today's Lucky Winner (Comedy, Supernatural): “Life may not be fair, but the afterlife tries to be.” That’s the motto of the DMV. (The Department of Mishaps and Violence).When Dawn Menendez finds out that she’s met her untimely demise in a freak curling iron/fire sprinkler accident, she’s met with a posthumous opportunity. She was the 777th soul reaped by the department that day. She now has the opportunity to go back to earth for an entire year, chaperoned by the Reaper who took her soul. The only hitch? Before she’s sent back to earth, she learns that her cosmic scale has been found wanting. Her soul weighs just enough to get sent to a hell dimension. What could she have possibly done? All she did was play MMO’s and go to work. Her first night on earth, her reaper suggests that her accidental demise may have been murder. If she can prove she was murdered, she gets to be reincarnated, and avoid going to hell. Now, Dawn has a year to prove she was murdered and balance the cosmic scales in her favor. Things would be a lot easier if her Reaper would stop getting high and help her.
The Embers of Eden (Science Fiction, Thriller): Rival officers Sumner and Hewitt have found themselves trapped inside the mysterious ship which destroyed their own. Finding the truth about its origin may be just as important as staying alive. They'll have to set aside their personal conflict to withstand alien attacks, killer drones, the vacuum of space, and creatures which defy nature. Is the priority to escape or thwart a new danger to all human worlds? What secrets still burn like embers? Each episode of this science fiction adventure switches between the perspectives of Hewitt and Sumner as they fight for survival and answers.
The Legion Tapes (Post-apocalyptic, Science Fiction): The Legion Tapes are selections from an archive chronicling the world after the end. The alien Legion takes over worlds and absorbs the sentients of those worlds. They've assimilated eleven species so far, and humanity is next on their list. But even after the nations of the world fall, and even after being reduced to communicating solely by radio, humanity's fighting back. Season 1 (subtitled The Archivist) begins four years and fifteen days after the Legion's arrival on Earth. Normally content to listen, record, and edit tapes for the Archive, Owl finds herself drawn into more and more danger after a mysterious car brings the Legion to her door.
Dinosaur Hunter (Time Travel, Adventure): Donovan King is a Paleontologist and Dinosaur Denier (what?!) who has developed a way to travel back in time to disprove the existence of dinosaurs. The plan goes awry, Donovan and his videographer Karl get stuck in the Cretaceous Period unprepared…while his lab assistant Holly tries to fix the machine to get them back. Their survival is in serious jeopardy, and not just because they’re being hunted by hungry beasts or dying from exposure.There is much more at stake...
My Parallel Life (Young Adult, Parallel Universes): Daniel Jones' perfect life just took a sharp turn for the worse. His parents separated, he has to move to an apartment in the city and go to a PUBLIC school (ugh!) where everyone is a TOTAL SLACKER and no one cares about his high GPA and PRESTIGIOUS WRITING AWARDS, and worst of all, his mom just up and left the country. Daniel is working up a plan to make his life more acceptable, when he discovers a strange door... A door that takes him to a parallel life where his parents hadn't separated.
The Devil Hates Mondays (Workplace Comedy): A supernatural audiocomedy about a Regular Guy that gets caught up in a Not-So-Regular situation.
Clarion Dawn (Cyberpunk, Complete): In a disquieting future, all of humanity is united by the System, the ultimate in communications technology that connects all minds simultaneously. But in the distant fringes of outer worlds, agitators plot to separate human consciousness and society from the System's power; it falls on Captain Kennick Anderson to stop them, but in the twilight solitude of space he's left to wonder where his loyalties really lie. "Clarion Dawn" is a tense thriller that explores strange new ideas about human nature, in the style of classic 20th century science fiction.
Russell Gets Revenge (Dark Comedy, Complete): Russell Gets Revenge is a pitch black comedy about a man on a quest for vengeance for the murder of his wife. We follow him and his friends and family as he struggles through all the indignities of being a hapless accountant trying to hunt down a murderer.
Through The Attic Door (Comedy, Surreal): Step through the attic door, and into the wacky and whimsical world of Hotel Elsewhere! Join The Scientist, The Gremlin, Brian The Robot and the colourful residents of the Hotel in this narrative broadcast about secret mice revolutions, unexpected friendships, and all the radio hijacking you can handle!
The Strange Tales of Virgil Kaylock (Horror): Set in the 1920’s. “The Tales” tell the story of Virgil Kaylock. A modest and insecure young man whose life takes the strangest of turns as he battles with dark, supernatural forces and confronts his own feelings of inadequacy and fear. His adventure takes him to a haunted Moor, a cursed Sailing Ship, the Hellfire caves and the Arctic wastes as he battles with an incomprehensible evil. But why? Why do the forces of darkness pursue him? He will ultimately discover the shocking truth.
Blast into Adventure! (Drama, Complete): A COVID-quarantined suburban dad starts listening to a 1940s radio show that shouldn’t exist. Then the show starts listening back.
Moving On by Cinema Viscera (Drama, Comedy): Molly has always had trouble facing the harsh realities of life, so when her partner of seven years, Jake, suddenly walks out on her, Molly’s subconscious gives her a unique coping tool in the guise of a larger than life imaginary version of Jake who won't leave her alone. With the help of her best friends Delilah and Zack - both with problems of their own - Molly has to face the hard fact that she has been dumped and find a way to regain her sense of self if she has any hope of getting rid of her imaginary boyfriend...
TIGHTS (Superhero, Comedy, Complete): Geoff wants to be a superhero. But he's not very super.
Vamps (Comedy, Urban Fantasy): Glizelda, Mariana, Ophelia, and Jean have been stuck in a castle together for a long time. A very, VERY long time...
Shark-Man (Comedy, Family Friendly, Complete): Shark-Man is a 9 part series. It tells the story of Dewey Dorsalfine and his journey into shark magic and discovering his true shark nature on the Oregon Coast. This is a fantasy story meant for the whole family. It involves silly language and magical thinking.
Pershing Radio (Post-Apocalyptic): A young woman crawls out of the bank vault she was working in when the bombs fell and finds the world destroyed around her. She steps over her dead coworkers and crosses the highway to break into an old radio building. Unsure if the broadcast equipment still works, she uses it to try and contact survivors, wherever they may be, and until she finds them, she reports on her surroundings, both the terrifying and the benign.
Papal Aspirations (Comedy, Mystery): Pope Pius XIII is dead. Accident? Plucky reporter Meredith Blanc-Schwartz isn't so sure, so she makes her way to Rome to ask the Vatican’s very holy men some very uncomfortable questions. (Voiced entirely by two young ingenues / novice voice actresses.)
The Stranger (Horror): When comedy podcast bro Julian Black discovers his great-grandfather's tapes, he assumes it's an immersive radio drama. That was his first mistake. Posting the tapes online? Well, now he's asking for it. He'll come face-to-face with supernatural creatures as he's plunged into a centuries-old mystery. And at its heart is a mysterious Stranger in a dark suit.
The Petrol Station (Horror): Nina Sudbrooke is a young girl who works the nights at her local remote petrol station. One evening she encounters something...stranger and now is desperate to tell somebody, anybody. The Petrol station is a semi horror podcast about the lonely world of working the graveyard shift in the middle of nowhere.
The TARN Conspiracy (Thriller): When a teen boy goes missing from the remote logging town of Archangel, Brandon Jones, a tabletop game store owner and conspiracy theorist, can’t help but see the similarities to his own sister’s unsolved disappearance from twenty years earlier. He decides to publish an investigative podcast drawing attention to Thomas’s case before it goes as cold as his sister’s, but soon discovers that the reason his sister's case remained unsolved may be more sinister than he imagined. The TARN Conspiracy is a fictional story told as a series of investigative reports that's perfect for fans Twin Peaks, and The X-Files.
This is Where We Go (Science Fiction, Black Creator, Complete): This series is inspired by the OCTAVIA BUTLER quote from PARABLE OF THE SOWER: “All that you touch/You Change. All that you Change/Changes you. The only lasting truth/Is Change./God is Change.” A future built on commodity and access is altered forever with the disappearance of it’s main life force. With the fate of the universe rocked by change, four strangers find the answer to survival in each other. Four strangers, four paths, one destination.
This Mortal Coil (Comedy, Mystery, Complete): When a Hamlet-inspired murder ruins her dress rehearsal, Elissa’s delighted. The detective’s an old actor pal and she’d forgotten her lines anyway. Lured in by the promise of Jammie Dodgers, Elissa pursues a dastardly killer with a penchant for Shakespeare.
The Rift (Steampunk): A steampunk, monster-hunting adventure through Victorian England and the surrounding Universes. It's steampunk Victorian England and monsters are invading the otherwise peaceful balls and tea parties. The Baroness, gutsy and eccentric, funds a team of monster hunters that include her brother, a scholar who recently found out he was the father of a teenager, her protegee, a young scientist whose mother wants her to spend more time flirting than tinkering with machines, and her man-servant Gunner. At its heart, it's a character piece about finding yourself in a world that won't accept you, but building the community that will lift you up.
Grounds (Drama, Black Creator): GROUNDS is the story of 5 Black Professors at a 4 year PWI. A fictitious college and town in the rural south, which is the home of a predominately white 4 year college with students totaling 1700 with 15% of those self-identifying as students of color. 7% of those are Black. The story follows the lives of five Black professors. The only full time, tenure track Black lecturers who work at Morris & Wilkins University. It highlights the trials, obstacles, and joys of maintaining a Black existence within a white academic structure.
The Rest is Electric (Science Fiction): In the year 2109 humans and robots work alongside each other as coworkers. Jordan Mede, a human employee of Somnotech, is transferred to the entirely robot run manufacturing department. While initially the transfer seems to be the result of a clerical error, Jordan soon begins to suspect that there’s something more sinister going on…
Swiss and Lali hijack Hollywood(Comedy): Swiss and Lali Hijack Hollywood follows two young L.A. slackers who take over Hollywood by becoming accidental con artists, all so they can give up “the hustle” and retire at their dream beach house in Malibu. Utilizing multi-media platforms that span across audio, animation, and live-action video, Swiss and Lali creates a colorful world of dysfunction, shenanigans, bamboozling, and most importantly, friendship.
The Way We Haunt Now (Supernatural): Eulalie Elizabeth Reed is haunted by lots of things. Paths not taken. Failed relationships. Mistakes. Fears. Hopes. But she’s never been properly haunted before. That’s about to change. The Way We Haunt Now is a lighthearted horror audio drama about female friendships, found family, and fighting the narratives that try to define us––even in the afterlife. Oh, and ghosts. Did we mention ghosts?
Absolutely No Adventures (Fantasy, Comedy): Absolutely No Adventures is a fantasy (un)adventure podcast that follows Sig, the owner of Signature Eats bakery, as he aggressively avoids becoming embroiled in any daring quests or chosen one shenanigans even though the universe really seems to want him to do just that. Follow Sig as he chills with his friends and stays far, far away from the slightest whiff of adventure. And bakes. He also bakes.
Haunted House Flippers (Comedy, Horror): Hilarity and spooky shenanigans occur when Tom and Janet set out to renovate and resell an inherited home that turns out to be intensely haunted.
Fast Radio Burst! (Science Fiction): Contemporary suspense radio from quarantined New York.
Daedalus Compound (Surreal): Jesper Ikaros has found himself in a peculiar situation, he's trapped in a maze-like library with a book that contains his whole life story. Welcome to the Daedalus Compound. Where the past haunts you, the present hunts you, and the only way to escape is by getting to the center of the maze.
The Gaia Miracles (Science Fiction, Environment): Join me, Barry Orsen, a journalist with Nice Guise Media, as I investigate the Gaia Miracles more than a year after the catastrophic ending in Chicago and the disappearance of Elisa Garvey, my friend and the first reporter to witness one of the Miracles. With each interview, the established story unravels. Who is to blame? The industrial giant at the center of the Miracles, The Hydell Corporation, or the mysterious group who made them a target, Gaia Prime.
Forgive Me! (Comedy, Religion): Father Ben left his congregation in Binghamton, New York, in the cover of night for the smaller, quieter pastures of St. Patrick’s. As our new, young, and at times progressive priest begins to acquiesce to his new surroundings, he finds himself butting heads with the eccentric parishioners who come to him seeking solace and advice. Whether he’s trying to understand Old Margaret’s “usual” confession; parsing out how Tom can better help care for his wife’s pet pig, David; or getting to the bottom of the Christmas Eve Mass Incident, Forgive Me! explores the intertwined lives in Ben’s new community and the funny, sad, and sometimes painful experiences that come out of confession and the Catholic experience.
The Boston Project Podcast (Drama): The Boston Project is a new works program that supports the creation of new plays set in Boston, each of which explores what it means to live in this community, and taps into the many experiences and identities that make up life in the Hub.
Cinematic Sound Saturdays (Multiple Series, Genre Fiction): This series is a collection of audio dramas written, performed, produced, and recorded by students at Columbia College Chicago.
U.K. Anarchist Collective Explains its Position on COVID-19
From the South Essex Heckler: We’ve come in for a bit of criticism over the last couple of days for our views on the government response to the COVID-19 crisis. Firstly, we’d like to start off by saying that our position on the response to the crisis has changed since it started to emerge at the end of February. At that point, it felt like a massive unknown and that starting to develop our own response in terms of physical distancing and withdrawing from events we were due to participate in seemed to be the sensible thing to do. Anarchists played a part in this process, working out other ways we could interact with each other while avoiding being physically close as a precaution. They also did and are still doing seriously good work with grassroots mutual aid projects. There was a feeling that this was something that anarchism could own. For us, that sense of ownership was taken away once the government stepped in to impose their own measures which ended up placing all of us under restrictions that most of us have never experienced in our lives. The legislation the government brought into to implement and enforce these restrictions turned what we were voluntarily undertaking for what we thought would only last a month or so into something that is being done to us with no end in sight. While we get that those anarchists who initiated ways of dealing what they perceived to be the threat in the early stages of the crisis want to retain ownership of that, with top down legislation and enforcement, the dynamic changed. As the lockdown went on, the negative impact it was having on peoples lives started to become more apparent. We’re talking about the social and mental health impacts ranging from disrupted relationships and isolation through to an increase in the number of suicides. Also, the long term economic impact which we’ll be paying for with mass unemployment and austerity will have a devastating impact on our lives. As we went into May, routes out of the lockdown that involved surveillance, tracking and further losses of personal autonomy and freedom were being discussed. It was also becoming clear that in order to free up as much bed space in hospitals as possible, elderly patients with the COVID-19 virus were effectively being dumped into care homes. The ensuing tragedy in care homes staffed by low paid workers without the resources to deal with the subsequent wave of infections and deaths has been described by a fair few people as little more than a thinly disguised cull. All of this prompted us to start asking some serious questions about the narrative we were being fed. That involved a fair bit of reading around and keeping an open mind. Yes, that process did take us into some weird areas that were veering towards what some would term as conspiracy theory. It also led us to take a look at some of the alt right takes on the issue so we could understand how they were exploiting people’s concerns about the lockdown for their own ends. All of this was a necessary research process that helped with our building the list of COVID-19 crisis readings on this blog. A list that we’re prepared to defend as not, in our opinion, going anywhere near conspiracy theory. Mind you, what is and isn’t conspiracy theory is a grey area and one influenced by subjective understanding and opinion. What has made us more than a bit annoyed is the instant, reflexive dismissal by a number of anarchists of some of the readings we have listed as being ‘conspiracy theory’. Given the restrictions we’re already under plus what will be coming down the line at us if we don’t start showing some signs of resistance, it’s a bit alarming that what we consider as reasonable warnings are getting dismissed out of hand. As we’ve noted before, we’re in an unprecedented situation. In a 24/7 news and social media landscape, trying to tease out the signal from the noise is a difficult task. One thing is abundantly clear, the massive number of powers the government has conferred upon itself will not be given up without the fight of our lives. That’s not conspiracy theory – it’s just paying attention to the lessons of history. Before long, it’s highly likely that powers that were ostensibly brought in to deal with the COVID-19 crisis will be deployed against us in another ‘crisis’. All we’ve been trying to do is alert people in order that the right strategies and tactics to resist what’s very likely coming our way can be developed. The range of grassroots mutual aid initiatives that have emerged to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 crisis certainly offer some hope. As well as dealing with the COVID-19 crisis, they will have a role in dealing with the dire consequences of an inevitable economic depression and the crushing austerity that will be inflicted upon us. We hope these mutual aid groups will also take on the task of resisting an increasingly intrusive and oppressive state, aided and abetted by the large corporations they’ve outsourced many of their functions to. The point is that it shouldn’t be an eitheor situation in being involved with a mutual aid group dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the one hand and on the other, developing a strategy of resistance to deal with and defeat the dystopia to come. It’s just that from where we are, it feels like some groups are focusing on mutual aid as a way of not having to face up to the totalitarian dystopia the government and the corporations will likely be inflicting upon us. That is why we’ve probably come over as a bit stroppy at times because to us, it feels like there’s not the sense of urgency there should be about what’s coming. We’re not saying this to score intellectual points or to look clever. It’s because we’d like a future where we can lead a full, meaningful life as opposed to one where we merely exist as a cog for as long as the machine will tolerate us. That’s not just for us as individuals or family, it’s also for our community and all of our comrades. Basically, it’s an existential threat that we take personally. As this is intended to be a statement, we’ve tried to keep it as brief as we can. The aim is to explain how we’ve come to our position in the hope that this can help in the discussion about where we go from here. We look forward to a constructive discussion… These two pieces broadly set out our position… The Emerging Political Divide We’ve been activists in one guise or another for more decades than we care to remember. The ongoing and still evolving COVID-19 crisis is shaping up to be the most significant and seismic event we’ve experienced. In a situation like this, it can be all too easy to allow yourself to be sucked into the day to day passage of events and in trying to deal with and process them as best as you can, to not take a few steps back and try to see the bigger picture. A 24/7 bombardment of news (or what passes for news), opinion, speculation, rumours and a fair few outright lies from a range of news, comment and social media platforms makes the job of trying to isolate some signal from the cacophony of noise a difficult task. We’ve done our level best to analyse the COVID-19 crisis with an open mind. If you take a look back at the posts we’ve written about the crisis since it started to hit in early March, it’s pretty clear that our thinking has evolved since that early point. In a dynamic, fast moving situation, having a rigid mindset and refusing to alter that will undermine any serious attempt to understand what’s happening, let alone devise the strategy and tactics needed to deal with what you’re facing. In the early part of March, we took the attitude that in light of what we knew at the time about COVID-19, a sensible response was some form of lockdown and a degree of self isolation. This was seen as a reasonable precaution to take while we took stock of the situation, with the intention of allowing our analysis, strategy and tactics to evolve as our understanding improved. We actually withdrew from participating in an event in March because we were concerned about the possibility of contracting the virus in what was a confined and busy environment. Knowing what we know now, would we have made the same decision? No, we most likely would have concluded that attending didn’t carry any significant risk and would have participated in the event. However, based on what we knew at that point in early March, withdrawing from the event seemed to be the right decision to make. The major factor that made us change our thinking about the crisis has been the response of not just the UK government, but pretty much all governments across the globe, in dealing with the coronavirus. Speaking from our personal experience, we’re over two months into an unprecedented level of restrictions on who we can associate with, how and where we shop, where we can go to get some fresh air and for us as non-drivers, on (not) using public transport. We’re now at the launch of the app for our phones that will alert us if we’ve been in contact with anyone who has COVID-19 and then, we’ll be pretty much told to self isolate for fourteen days. As an aside, from what is admittedly the social and political bubble we inhabit, the demand for cheap and cheerful burner phones will be soaring over the next few weeks from people who rightly don’t want to be tracked and monitored 24/7. On top of the restrictions on movement and association plus the roll out of an alert app which is basically a means of monitoring our every move, the economy has taken a massive hit. The kind of hit that will wipe out many small, independent shops, cafes, pubs, restaurants, music venues…the list goes on. The kind of hit that allows the large corporations to suck up more assets for themselves. The kind of hit that the hedge funds and their like are making obscene amounts of money from. The kind of hit that will lead to more wealth being concentrated in fewer hands while the rest of us face an increasingly restricted and impoverished future. Faced with all of this, it would be negligent of us to not do our level best to draw attention to what’s going on and to prompt people to start asking the questions that need to be asked about why we are where we are. The problem is that as soon as you start to do this, the accusations of ‘conspiracy theory’ start flying around. Some of those accusations have come from so called ‘anarchists’ who we hoped would have know better. That is most likely down to many of them having been taken in by the relentless barrage of what we would term as ‘fear porn’ we’ve been subjected to for the last few months. A barrage that is a form of psychological warfare, also known more colloquially as psyops. Fear is an amazing tool for securing compliance from the populace for whatever nefarious aims the government of the day and their corporate backers may have in mind. After two months of ‘stay two metres away’ from any other human, the constant pavement dancing needed to adhere to this, interacting with masked up retail staff through plastic screens, seeing plans for school re-openings that will see kids physically kept apart from their peers, it should be all too clear we’re being conditioned to fear each other. As we’ve written before, what makes us truly human with the need for face to face and physical contact is being torn away from us as we’re reduced to atomised, fearful and increasingly easier to control individuals ever more reliant on authority to guide us through the ‘crisis’. The problem is the number of political activists we know who we thought would have known better, yet have been taken in by this climate of fear. Once you succumb to this fear, it’s harder to take a few steps back and try to form an objective assessment of what’s going on. As well as what we’ve touched upon above, what is also going on is what seems to be a profound reformulation of political and social divides. The labels left and right are starting to become less relevant. What is starting to emerge in the ongoing confusion and chaos is a divide between those of us who value personal and collective autonomy at the grassroots on the one hand and on the other, those who look to the state to provide ‘solutions’ to problems, regardless of how totalitarian those ‘solutions’ may turn out to be. The point is that those who are willing to trade their freedoms for what is an illusion of safety will end up with neither. After more decades in political activism than we care to remember, we’ve learnt that nothing is ever clear cut. The divide that’s emerging between those who value autonomy and those who look to the state for their security is far from clear cut! What has struck us are the ‘anarchists’ who appear to be quite happy with the lockdown and all of the restrictions that come with it. ‘Anarchists’ who have succumbed to the fear porn to the extent that they are accusing the UK government of ‘incompetence’ in suppressing the spread of COVID-19. Sadly, this is what happens when you buy into the fear porn and render yourself unable to take a step back to ask the critical questions that need to be asked about what’s being done to us. Suffice to say that there are a number of ‘anarchists’ we once regarded as comrades who we no longer feel we can work with. As old political definitions and divides become redundant while new ones emerge, we’ll find ourselves with some strange bedfellows. Some may end up as firm allies, some may eventually end up as opponents or enemies. The point is that we have to remain open minded and flexible during this ever evolving and often confusing situation. We’re not always going to get it right and yes, if we get through this, in a few years time we may well look back and ask ourselves why the heck did we align ourselves with these particular people?! To come to some kind of conclusion, given that our personal and collective autonomy is on the line, it’s better to remain open minded and willing to experiment with new alliances. A rigid adherence to a particular line, a refusal to countenance new alliances and condemnation of those of us who are open minded and willing to experiment will inadvertently usher in a techno totalitarian future where we’ll merely exist as opposed to living a full life. A caveat… Pieces like this are a snapshot in a dynamic, constantly evolving and often, confusing situation. Some of these may survive the test of time, some most definitely won’t. As ever, constructive criticism and comradely debate are welcome. Abuse and accusations of ‘conspiracy theory’ will be neither welcomed or tolerated so basically, if that’s all you can manage, don’t bother! A Sort of Warning: We’ve had week after week of wall to wall coverage of the COVID-19 crisis in the media. The question is, how many people are still paying attention to it and how many, for the sake of their sanity, are choosing to switch off from it? If this ever ends, it would be an interesting exercise to conduct research on what effect this barrage of coverage has had on people’s mental health. It would also be interesting to see how much this relentless coverage has further undermined people’s already shrinking faith in the media. We’ve been doing what we can to try and keep up with developments but to be honest, we have days when the stress of trying to discern any meaningful signal from the cacophony of noise is so overwhelming, we simply switch off and try to re-focus the following day. Having said this, a still somewhat scratchy picture is starting to emerge of what we face in the coming months and years as the COVID-19 crisis evolves and morphs into something that will quite possibly be sinister and dystopian. Fault lines are emerging. On the one hand, there are those who by and large accept the lockdown and the need for it to go on for some considerable time and also, are largely supportive of whatever tracking and monitoring measures have been mooted to ostensibly limit and eventually eliminate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. On the other hand, there are those who have taken a look at the relentless coverage of the crisis, smelt a rat and are starting to question the narrative we’re being fed, particularly when that is being used to justify measures which will restrict our freedom and subject us to more surveillance. As regular readers of the Heckler may have gathered, we tend towards the latter. We’re anarchists and as we’re supposed to accept no higher authority than ourselves and those we collectively organise with, it would be downright negligent of us to not question the narrative we’re being fed! Coming right in over the top of this is the threat of more austerity to ‘pay’ for the money the government has spent in ‘dealing’ with the COVID-19 crisis. The impact of the last round of austerity is still being felt and has decimated the lives of millions of working class people. Another round of austerity will leave millions with nothing left to lose. That will have consequences as Dr Lisa Mckenzie clearly sets out in this piece: If the UK government brings in a new round of austerity to pay for Covid-19, it’ll spark civil unrest that will see cities burn. So, all of the extra powers the government has conferred upon itself and all of the surveillance and tracking that’s coming our way, ostensibly to deal with COVID-19, will certainly come in handy when the shit hits the fan as the next wave of austerity is sent to crush us. Just one example are the powers that could see restrictions or bans on large gatherings for the rest of the year and quite possibly, into 2021. As we’ve mentioned previously, large gatherings will take in demonstrations and radical/anarchist bookfairs. Which leaves us with mutual aid work and online propagandising. If you keep your mutual aid work away from digital networks as far as possible, avoid any hierarchy, keep it grassroots and face to face, you’ll get by. Those of us who are basically propagandists and because of the dearth of opportunities to physically distribute our material, pretty much have to rely on being online, will be facing a very uncertain future as we slide towards more authoritarianism. On the subject of restrictions, there are strong rumours that many cafes, pubs and restaurants will not open again until close to Christmas. Bear in mind, many of these establishments face the prospect of going to the wall: Pubs in the UK Might be Closed Until Christmas – If They Survive at All. As we’ve written before, that’s a massive loss of opportunities to meet up with friends for company, drink and/or food. While those of us whose jobs have survived this massive economic shock will be gradually returning to work, there will be little or no socialising because there won’t be anywhere to go. Life will be reduced to work, commute, eat, sleep, commute, work…repeat on loop, ad infinitum. Entertainment will not be the company of friends but whatever is being piped down to our TVs. A diet of fear-mongering so called ‘news’ designed to keep us frightened and reliant on the authorities to look after us. Sprinkled with a toxic dose of divide and rule to keep us divided, atomised and easier to manipulate and control. That’s for those ‘lucky’ enough to still be in ‘steady’ work. For the millions more who’ll be on precarious zero hours contracts or unemployed, struggling to find work in an economy that’s been gutted and reliant on Universal Credit, life will be grim. For those who are disabled and rely on Universal Credit and a gutted public sector for the support they need, life is already horrendous as they find themselves increasingly thrown to the margins. As it is for the elderly in care homes pretty much unable to access hospital treatment and finding that they’re subject to ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ notices. We’re in a society where some lives are seen as worth considerably less than others – based on how much people can or can’t contribute to the ‘bottom line’. When that narrative starts to become widely accepted, what is essentially a cull by a combination of neglect and malice starts to become normalised. The lockdown is tearing us apart from each other. If a loved one has been diagnosed as having COVID-19 before they passed away, not only were you not allowed to be with them in their final hours if they were in hospital, you’re not allowed to see their body before cremation. Numbers are strictly limited at the funeral with physical distancing enforced and no wake afterwards. At a point in life where you need to emotional and physical support of family and friends, it’s denied to you. People are going to be mentally scarred by experiencing the passing of a loved one in this way for the rest of their lives. We live opposite a park with play equipment, now taped off. It’s been silent since March when the lockdown was brought in. Along with the closure of nurseries and schools, kids have been denied the opportunity to play with each other. Play is not a frivolous activity. From toddlers onwards, play is how kids learn to interact with each other. It’s how they learn to negotiate, compromise and co-operate with each other. It’s how they learn from mistakes and go on to become fully rounded human beings. Denying kids the opportunity to play for any significant length of time is going to cause long term developmental and mental health issues down the line. Adolescence is when kids really start to work out who they are. It’s when kids quite rightly want to assert their independence and get out into the world. It’s when long term friendships are formed. It’s when they develop a support network of their peers. Can you imagine what an adolescent will be feeling when all of this is denied to them as they face what is to all intents and purposes, indefinite house arrest? A ‘normal’ adolescent will find this hard enough. Anyone with mental health issues will find this agonising. Tragically, this has already led to adolescents feeling they have no option but to take their lives. Lockdown with an abusive partner or parent is a nightmare that doesn’t even bear thinking about. It’s a potential death sentence. Anyone advocating the continuation of the lockdown really needs to have some thought as to what urgently has to happen to prevent any more tragedies where an individual has been killed by an abusive partner or parent. As we’ve written previously, it really does feel like we’re being subjected to a massive psychological experiment: A few readings and thoughts on the psychological impact of COVID-19 anxiety and the lockdown. One in which we’re simultaneously being subjected to an unprecedented level of fear-mongering and being torn apart from each other. One in which we’re being made to feel that the only option of being able to move forwards is to subject ourselves to a loss of autonomy through increased tracking and surveillance, ostensibly for our own good. One in which our hopes and plans for the future have been trashed. One in which we’re being atomised and made ever more dependent on the whims of our rulers for our survival. One which has already turned into a fucking nightmare for a lot of people and will do for many more of us. It seems that when a commentator uses the word ‘reset’ to describe the social and economic turmoil that’s coming our way, the accusations of ‘conspiracy theory’ start flying around. The last few weeks have been quite revealing in terms of where those accusations have been coming from because a fair number of them have come from people who consider themselves to be ‘radical’ and a few from so called ‘anarchists’. The point is that the global lockdown has caused an economic shock of historic proportions that like previous shocks, will end up seeing more wealth concentrated in fewer hands. As has already been seen in the years since the banking crash of 2008. So, people who may think they’re doing the right thing by supporting restrictions on movement and gatherings, as well as increased tracking and surveillance are actually supporting the creation and enhancement of an apparatus that will completely screw our lives and freedoms. All we ask is that you take a deep breath, take a few steps back, do your best to get some perspective and start to ask some hard questions about what’s being done to us. If those questions aren’t asked and we continue on the trajectory we’re on, for many of us, life will become mere existence as we’re effectively plugged into a dystopian matrix. Many may not even survive to experience this. You may find this hard to believe but we’d really love it if we were wrong on everything we’ve written above and ended up with a copious amount of egg on our faces. Trust us, we want to wake up and find this has all been a bad dream. The thing is, we wake up every morning, check our news feed, see the deserted playground opposite us, feel that tightening, sickening feeling in our guts and realise this is reality. We’ve got an all too narrow window of opportunity to act and start to resist what’s happening to us. If we don’t, not only are we screwed, generations to come will be as well…
With Black Friday sales ramping up, here is a fresh sale megathread as the cyber weekend nears. A HUGE thank you to Octoember for getting the BF festivities started with the Black Fri-Yay 2020 Sales Masterlist. Octoember opted for the mod team to post and maintain BF megathread pt 2, but a huge portion of the info here is taken from their post and collated by them - thank you! This will be the dedicated thread for all Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales happening from now until next Tuesday. Please share any sale deals that you come across (including sale dates if possible) and let us know what you’re buying! This post will be regularly updated to add deals shared within the comments. But please sort by “new” as well to see all the latest comments. :) Thank you to everyone who has shared sale info with us so far! Other deals were also found on /MUAontheCheap, Temptalia, 9Honey, and OzBargain! Apologies in advance for any errors - please be sure to check sites for exclusions, T&Cs etc., and do your research before purchasing. Again, please comment if you notice anything wrong and we'll fix it! Multi-brand Stores
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RY (AU): Extra 10% off with code CYBER10. Free Black Friday gift set with $115 spends (contents unknown). End date unknown. Thanks to u/aromatic_writing & u/Kimmyonepilotso!
Selfridges (UK): Up to 20% off with code SELFCCE. Ends 29/11. Thanks u/coldfrz!
Sephora (AU/NZ): 15% off purchases <$120. 20% off purchases $120+. Excludes Dyson and sale items. Ends 27/11 instore and 28/11 12pm AEDT online. Thanks to u/Makeuplife179 and u/ravenled for this info! Online end date extended due to technical issues at launch. See also: Woolworths $100 Swap Celebration card tip at the bottom of this post. Cyber Monday sale: Up to 50% off selected items, incl. Pat McGrath , Natasha Denona and ABH. 15% off Dyson Corrale. Online only. Starts 29/11 and ends 30/11. Thanks u/Makeuplife179!
Space NK (UK): Spend £100 get £25 off, £200 get £50, and so on. Starts 27/11 and ends 30/11. Free shipping to Aus on orders over £40. Early access from 11:59pm GMT 24/11 for Space NK’s N.dulge loyalty programme members. Receive up to three complimentary Charlotte Tilbury products when you spend £80+ on CT. Spend £80+: free CT Darling Easy Eye Palette. Spend £110+ free CT Darling Easy Eye Palette and CT Collagen Lip Bath in Peachy Plump. Spend £150+: free CT Darling Easy Eye Palette, CT Collagen Lip Bath in Peachy Plump, & Brightening Youth Glow. While stocks last. May be more worthwhile than purchasing direct from CT website. Note: Space NK removes 15% VAT at checkout, but shipping time is ~4 weeks. Thanks u/Makeuplife179, u/Margot_10enbaum & u/elpippi!
StyleVana (HK): 15% off $49+ orders or 18% off $140+ orders with code SVBF2020. Also doing % off brand offers, incl. 30% off Iunik & Sulwhasoo. Free shipping on $55+ orders. Thanks u/elpippi!
Anastasia Beverly Hills (US): 30% off brow, palettes, blush & bronzer. 50% off lip, glow, contour, stick foundation & eyeshadow singles. Free glitter vault with purchase of any two 30% off palettes. Free shipping over US$50. Ends 6:59pm AEST on 30/11. Cyber Monday: 40% off Norvina collection, 24 hours only (exact end time unknown).
Armani Beauty (AU): 15% off sitewide, 20% off sitewide for members. Use code CYBER. Minimum spend $80 and excludes Prive purchases. Members who spend $250+ will receive a free full-size lipstick. Ends 11:59pm 1/12 AEDT. Thanks u/secondpea!
Australis (AU): 40% off everything. Excludes sale items and gift cards. Ends midnight 30/11.
Beauty Bakerie (US): 40% off sitewide. End date unknown.
Becca (US): 50% off holiday glow, up to 50% off selected items, free best-sellers kit with $65+ orders. End date unknown. Also, 25% off most items with code BECCAXOCTOLY25. Please note this is not a specifically BF sale, and Octoly may earn a commission on sales made using this code. Thanks u/anna_vee!
BH Cosmetics (US): Up to 75% off sitewide, some exclusions apply. End date unknown. Black Friday GWP: free beauty sponge with all purchases, & a free mini Stellar Lash mascara with $50+ orders.
Black Moon Cosmetics (US): Up to 40% off all single items and up to 25% off bundles and gift sets. No code is required. Ends 11.59pm 30/11 PST (6:59pm 1/12 AEDT). Thanks u/TheRealDrKak!
Bobbi Brown (AU): 20% off sitewide. On Cyber Monday all orders $80+ receive a free 3-piece ‘Prep Your Pretty Set’. Starts 27/11 and ends 29/11.
Charlotte Tilbury (UK): 40% off selected items and 2 of the same 12-shade eye palette for the price of one. 3 Black Friday mystery boxes available. Cyber Monday mystery item for $40. Full details here. Ends 30/11 11:59pm GMT. Free Pillow Talk Palette of Pops Palette when you spend over $180. Ends 28/11 6:59am GMT. Thanks u/emimillie, u/coldfrz & u/ThatFireAlchemist!
Clinique (AU): 20% off sitewide and a free 4-piece gift set with orders $100+. Starts 27/11 and ends 29/11.
Coloured Raine (US): 30-90% off sitewide. Free shipping on $100+. Ends 30/11. Thanks u/coldfrz!
Colourpop (US): 30% off sitewide + holiday vaults launch. Starts 5am AEST 24/11. Thanks to u/Octoember for this info! Offer changes to spend $30+, get 25% off your next order on 30/11.
Devinah (US): 35% off with code BLACKFRIDAY20. Excludes empty palettes/Aurorae Flare products. Starts 26/11 12pm PST and ends 30/11. New Star Chaser collection releasing on BF. It will be 50% off. Thanks u/CHarroJ23!
Dose of Colours (US): Daily offers -- 24/11 PST (25/11 Aus): BOGO Free single beauty sponges, foundations, concealers, highlighters, and face brushes. 25/11 PST (26/11 Aus): BOGO Free single eyeshadows, 5-pan eyeshadow palettes, Eyedeal Duos, eye brushes, eyeliners, and lashes. 26/11 PST (27/11 Aus): BOGO Free single liquid matte lipsticks, lip glosses, lip liners, and satin lipsticks. 27/11 to 30/11: 50% off sitewide including sale items, free Sunset Eyedeal Duo with $40+ USD purchase. Discount excludes bundles, sets & skincare. Full details here. Free international shipping for orders $60+. No promo codes required. Thanks u/kindrex89!
Elcie Cosmetics (US): 25% off $30+ orders, starts 25/11 and ends 30/11.
Em Cosmetics (US): Black Friday (27/11) - one-day only 20% off your purchase with code BLACKFRIDAY. Excludes new Faded Clementine products. Cyber Monday (30/11) - 15% off your purchase with the same exclusions - but exclusive lip bundles will be available. Thanks u/thiccbaobei!
Fenty Beauty (US): 30% off Fenty Beauty, excludes CLF. Get a free Fenty Skin bag with any $75+ Fenty Skin order. Ends 30/11 11:59pm PT.
Give Me Glow Cosmetics (US): Juicy Olive Palette $24, Vintage Rose Palette: $26.80, Christmas Morning Palette: $26.80, Extra Spicy Palette: $30, Grunge Palette: $30, 9X Glow: $60, Summer Vibes Palette: $43.20 (all other palettes will be full price), all singles $5, loose highlighters $6, pressed highlighters/setting powders $12, 50% off magnetic palettes, lip products $5, Foil Primer $5, makeup bags $3 and 4pc brush set $1. Starts 28/11 at 8am EST. End date unknown. Thanks u/Octoember!
Glamvice (US): 40% off everything with code BFCM. Exclusions apply. Ends 30/11 11:59pm EST.
Haus Labs (US): Up to 50% off sitewide through 1/12. Free Glam Attack Liquid Shimmer Powder in Biker with any purchase, Black Friday weekend only. Free shipping to Aus with AU$100+ orders (pre GST). Thanks u/Samtown_!
Huda Beauty (UAE): Up to 50% off storewide. Deals include: 50% off eyeshadow palettes, highlighter palettes & more. 40% off liquid foundation, lips, lashes, KAYALI & more. 30% off melted shadows, complexion, brushes & more. 20% off wishful skincare. Four BF bundles will also be available. Full details here. Starts 24/11 PST (25/11 AEDT) and ends 27/11 (28/11 7am AEDT). Thanks u/thatderncoreytyler!
Illamasqua (UK): Up to 50% off deals + select a free mini on $50+ orders, starts 24/11 and ends 2/12. Flash daily deals on their Instagram also.
Inglot (AU): 30% off storewide with code BW30. Ends 29/11. Thanks to u/aromatic_writing, who also notes that Ingot often does 30% off sales!
Innisfree (AU): (Instore Only) - Up to 50% off selected products. Member early access 25/11 to 26/11. All customers 27/11 to 2/12. Full details here.
Innoxa (AU): 40% off sitewide, starts 24/11 and ends 30/11
JD Glow (US): 40% off storewide (excludes multichromes & palettes) with code PINKFRIDAY40. 20% off multichromes & palettes with code SPECIALEDITION. Start 26/11 12am CST (26/11 7pm AEDT) and ends 27/11 11:59pm CST. Thanks u/CHarroJ23 and u/Octoember!
Juvia's Place (US): 45% off all lip products, up to 50% off everything. Ships within 24 hours. Discount codes may also stack on top of this. End date unknown. Thanks u/coldfrz!
Juno & Co (US): Buy one, get one for US$1. Free international shipping on orders US$50+. Spend $40, get a $5 gift card. Ends 30/11. Thanks u/Sleepisbetter!
Kaleidos Makeup (CN): 25% off everything (except bundles). 40% off Cyber Broze palette and Kaleidos Lippies. All orders over $70 get a free hair bow. All orders over $180 get a free Fresh Fantasy Suitcase and Hair Bow, the Original Mars Melter, and a Kaleidos Sport Towel. Ends 30/11. Thanks u/Octoember!
Kevyn Aucoin (US): 35% off sitewide with code CYBER35. Ends 30/11 US time.
KKW Beauty (US): 30% off sitewide, some exclusions apply. Ends 30/11 11:59pm PT. Thanks u/Riiseandshine!
Kylie Cosmetics (US): 40% off lips, 30% off eyes & face. 30% off Kylie Skin. Starts 25/11 12pm PST and ends 29/11 9:59am PST. Exclusions apply. Free international shipping on orders over $60. Thanks u/Riiseandshine!
Lethal Cosmetics (EU): Up to 40% off selected items. €20 shipping to Aus, free for orders over €150. Ends 30/11 midnight CET. Thanks u/thajane!
Lime Crime (US): 30% off sitewide, 50% off holiday collection. Free shipping with orders US$50+. Free Remix Mini Lip Set with orders US$50+ (limited time only). End date unknown.
MAC (AU): 20% off sitewide. Free bronzer with orders over $100, offer ends midnight 27/11. Cyber Monday offer: 20% off sitewide, online orders $65+ will receive a free five-piece gift set with code PINK20 or RED20 (for the lipstick shade option). Starts 29/11 and ends 30/11. See Coles "The Her Card" gift card deal at the bottom of this thread for extra savings.
Makeup by Mario (US): 25% off sitewide (includes limited edition sets), with code 25OFF. Exclude Master Eye Collection & gift cards. Free shipping to Aus with spends $129+. Ends date unknown. Thanks u/coldfrz!
MCo Beauty (AU): Up to 50% off selected products, starts 20/11 and ends 27/11.
Melt Cosmetics (US): Up to 70% off selected items, excludes new collections. End date unknown.
Model Rock Lashes (AU): Various offers on selected products, up to 90% off. Ends 30/11.
Morphe (AU): 40% off Morphe with code FAB40. Excludes third-party products & bundles, sale items, and Lisa Frank. Online at morphe.com and at Morphe stores. Starts 26/11 and ends 29/11. On 30/11 Cyber Monday, 30% off almost everything. Free shipping on orders over $30. Thanks u/da-n!
Muse Beauty Pro (US): 20% off sitewide (some exclusions apply), starts 26/11, ends 30/11.
Natasha Denona (US): Buy one get one free on selected base products & accessories. Up to 50% off selected eye & cheek products. Up to 30% off selected lip products. Free shipping on orders over $150. Starts 26/11 8am EST (27/11 12am AEDT). End date unknown.
Natio (AU): 30% off sitewide. Starts 27/11 00:01am AEST and ends 30/11 11:59pm AEST. Thanks u/Tokatoya!
Nikkia Joy Cosmetics (AU): 30% off storewide with code BF30. Excludes brushes and pigments. End date unknown. Thanks u/coldfrz!
Nomad Cosmetics (US): 4/11 to 23/11: 60% off Around the World Palette. 24/11 to 26/11: Pre-BF Sale Buy More Get More off ($30/30% off - $90/50% off). 27/11: Black Friday 50% off Orient Express Palette. 28/11: Small Biz Saturday - 70% off 4 pack of highlighters. 30/11: Cyber Monday 40% off site wide. Thanks u/CHarroJ23!
Nude by Nature (AU): 50% off with code BEAUTYDAY. Excludes sale and kids. Receive a free LED mirror with purchases $100+. Ends midnight 30/11.
Nudestix (US): 40% off sitewide with code CYBER40, excludes hand sanitiser, kits & sale items. End date unknown. Thanks u/ofavonlea
Oden's Eye (HK/SG): 40% off all products from 27/11 to 29/11 (European time). Also believed to have free shipping for spending over €50. Thanks u/coldfrz!
OFRA (US): $15 international shipping, 40% off sitewide, starts 11/26 and ends 11/26, $15 highlighters/blushes/bronzers, starts 11/27 and ends 11/27, $5 skincare, starts 11/28 and ends 11/28, 50% off palettes, starts 11/29 and ends 11/29, Super beauty busters, starts 11/30 and ends 11/30. Cyber Monday: 40% off everything with code BFCM20.
Sample Beauty (UK): 40% off everything, check brand Instagram for codes for extra 5% off. End date unknown.
Scott Barnes (US): 30% off sitewide "all week long". Flat rate US$15 shipping. Thanks u/coldfrz!
Scotty's Makeup (AU): 20% off storewide with code BFCM20. Valid instore & online. Ends 30/11 11:59pm AEDT.
Skindinavia (AU): 30% off sitewide with code CYBER30. Free shipping in Aus on orders over $49. Ends 30/11.
Sigma Beauty (US): 40% off sitewide + up to 60% off selected items with code HOLIDAY2020. Free worldwide shipping no minimum ends 29/11 11:59pm AEDT. Spend $30+ and choose a free gift. More you spend, more free gifts you get in multiples of $30. 50% off Black Friday sets. Ends 1/12 at 11:59PM CST. Thanks u/Mostly-Relevant & u/iolanth!
Sportsgirl (AU): 20% off all beauty. Valid instore & online. Ends midnight 30/11.
Sydney Grace (US): 25% off starts 27/11 and ends 30/11. Free international shipping over US$150. Thanks to u/CHarroJ23 for this info!
Tarte (US): 30% off sitewide and 50% off holiday steals with code CYBER. End date unknown. Cyber Monday: 40% off selected items (incl. Shape Tape range) with code OMG. Ends at approx 7pm AEDT 1/12. Free shipping on orders $80+. Free mascara & blush duo with purchase of 3+ items automatically applied at checkout. Thanks u/wherestherice & u/neuphss!
The Quick Flick (AU): Up to 70% off sitewide. End date unknown.
Thin Lizzy (AU): 50% off sitewide. Excludes bundles. Ends 30/11.
Touch of Glam Beauty (US): 40% off foiled eyeshadows, highlighters, multidimensional eyeshadows. 20% off selected items incl. new iridescent shapeshifters, pastel & jewelled multichromes, and shifting glitters. Use code: TOGB. 20% off bundles (already marked down). Starts 25/11 and ends 1/12. Thanks coldfrz!
WeMakeup (IT): Up to 40% off everything. End date unknown. Thanks u/coldfrz!
YSL (AU): 20% off for members with code MEMBER20, and bonus Rouge Volupte Shine Lipstick in shade 80 when you spend $200+. 15% off for non-members with code CYBER15. Only valid on $50+ spends. Ends 2/12.
Skincare
Alkira Skincare (AU): 30% off sitewide, starts 23/11 and ends 30/11.
Boracay Skin (AU): 30% off sitewide, starts 26/11 and ends 30/11.
BreezeBalm (AU): Up to 80% off sitewide. Ends 3/12.
Deciem (AU): 23% off Deciem brands (incl. The Ordinary, NIOD, Hylamide). Ends 30/11.
Everyday Humans (AU): 30% off sitewide, starts 23/11 and ends 29/11.
Frank Body (AU): 20% off everything. Free shipping on orders $25+. Ends 1/12 9am AEDT.
Kiehl's (AU): 3 products for the price of 2. Spend $200 to receive a bonus 8-piece gift with code 8PIECE. Daily flash offer with every $60 spent. Full details [here](https://www.kiehls.com.au/offers. Ends 11.59pm AEDT 30/11/20. Note: 25% cashback via ShopBack -- thanks u/dog-coffee!
La Mer (AU): Select 3 samples with any $300 purchase. Your choice of sustainably crafted spa accessory and luxury sample with any $450 purchase. Ends 30/11 midnight AEDT.
Paula's Choice (AU): 20% off sitewide with code BESTSKIN. Free 4-piece gift on $125+ spends, bonus full-size gift on $150+. End date unknown. 27/11 only: 30% off Black Friday Kit.
Skin Republic (AU): 40% off sitewide (excluding value bundles), starts 24/11 and ends 30/11.
Stratia (US): 20% off sitewide. Free shipping over $150. End date unknown. Thanks u/yendingo!
Sukin (AU): 50% off sitewide with code BLACKFRIDAY50. Ends 30/11.
Tatcha (US): 20% off storewide, starts 26/11 and ends 28/11.
The Body Shop (AU): Up to 60% off on selected products. Offers include $5 shower gels and sheet masks, $2 bath lilies, $20 EDTs, $9 liquid lips, 3 for $40 jumbo haircare. Ends midnight 29/11. Black Friday offers extended, and free shipping on all orders until midnight 30/11. Thanks u/aromatic_writing!
Tribe Skincare (AU): 20% off site-wide and free express shipping, 27/11 only.
Aveda (AU): Pre-Black Friday offer: Free full sized bottle of either Damage remedy daily hair repair, colour corrective daily colour protect, be curly style prep or smooth infusion style prep, with any purchase of $65+. Ends 26/11. Thanks to u/-GailTheSnail- for this info! Black Friday offer: 20% off and free shipping with any order over $50. Starts 27/11 and ends 29/11. See Coles "The Her Card" gift card deal at the bottom of this thread for extra savings.
Christophe Robin (US): Up to 40% off, secret flash sales, starts 24/11 and ends 2/12. Shipping to AU and NZ is $15.
Cloud Nine (AU): $40 off all electricals. End date unknown.
Dyson (AU): 2 free gifts with selected hair styler purchases. Excludes Airwrap Long. Ends 2/12. Thanks to u/bobot_ for this info! See also: David Jones offer under Multi-brand Stores.
GHD (AU): Up to $50 off stylers, dryers and curlers. Starts 21/11 and ends 4/12.
Hairhouse Warehouse (AU): Up to 20% off haircare and up to $50 off electrical. Get a free $15 voucher with any purchase between now and Cyber Monday. Thanks u/flora_dora!
Nature Lab Tokyo (US): 30% off shampoos and conditioners, starts 27/11 and ends 30/11.
Tools & Accessories
Beauty Fridge (AU): Up to 50% off sitewide. End date unknown.
Current Body (Int): Up to 55% off devices. End date unknown.
Etoile Collective (AU): Up to 30% off select styles. Complimentary monogramming throughout BF sale. Free pink handheld mirror with all orders $300+. End date unknown.
Face Halo (AU): 30% off sitewide with code CYBER30. Starts 23/11 and ends 30/11. Thanks u/cats_i_like!
Happy Skin Co (AU): 35-45% off sitewide. Starts 24/11 and ends 30/11.
Hot Tools (AU): 20% off everything. Free shipping in Aus. Ends 30/11.
Rephr Brushes (US): 20% off individual brushes. Core eye trio $39. Core face duo $56. Core collection $88. $100 off Holiday collection. End date unknown. Thanks u/samanthamoonshine!
Shaver Shop (AU): Up to 80% off. End date unknown.
Libertine Parfumerie (AU): 20% off storewide with code FRIDAY20. Includes Amouage, Cire Trudon, Costume National, Creed, Frapin, Goldfield & Banks, Juliette Has A Gun, L'Artisan, Lubin, Memo, Penhaligons, etc. Excudes Fragonard, Nasomatto, Santa Maria Novella & masterclasses. Ends 30/11 midnight AEDT. Thanks u/da-n!
Please leave a comment with any other deals you come across and we’ll get this post updated asap! Beside each brand/store name you'll notice a location (in brackets). u/aromatic_writing suggested below that we include where each store is located and shipping from so that users can better judge where to shop from, and how long shipping might take. If a brand is marked (Int)ernational it may be because the company has distribution centres in a number of countries, or we know it's not Aus, but aren't sure exactly which country it is! If this info is important to you please double-check or contact the brand before purchasing as it may not be totally correct! OTHER MONEY-SAVING TIPS & OFFERS
You may be able to access discounted e-gift cards ranging from 3-10% for Myer, Sephora, DJs, Priceline and more through your union, insurance, or bank rewards platforms. Please see this table at Ozbargain for more info. Thanks to u/da-n for this tip!
Woolworths is offering 2000 Points (equivalent to $10) with $100 Swap Celebration/Entertainment Card spend that is redeemable on Sephora. More info here. Thanks to u/da-n for this info!
Consider using a browser extension like Honey to find coupon codes. Thanks to u/da-n for this tip!
Coles is doing 15% off certain gift cards (starts 25/11 and ends 1/12, or while stocks last). The Her Card ($50/$100) can be used at Adore Beauty (online), ASOS (online), Aveda (in store) and MAC (in store) beauty-wise. At Adore Beauty you can't use it in conjunction with any other gift card or promo code. Full details here. Thanks u/Margot_10enbaum for this info!
Check CashRewards and ShopBack for cash back offers and other deals while you do your Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping. Thanks coldfrz for this info!
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