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Go Retro's Retro Hottie of the Month: William Shatner!
2008-03-06 21:21:00
There are two things about Star Trek that I don't understand. First, that the show only aired for three years (the way it's worshipped, you'd think it had been on for 30) and second, how did such a handsome guy become an idol for so many socially awkward dweebs? I guess if you're not getting any here on earth because of your dweebiness, you reach for the stars. William Shatner is anything but a dweeb. He has a hit show with Boston Legal, but as much as Denny Crane amuses me I am even more fascinated by his...er..."musical performances." Here's a gem of a clip of him speaking (while pretending his cigarette is a joint) Elton John's Rocket Man at the 1978 Science Fiction Awards. How - or why - did anyone in the audience keep a straight face? I lost it when the third Shatner, tie undone, emerges from himself thanks to 70s special effects. He's a rocket, man!
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Cool, Daddio
2008-03-03 19:49:00
Picture copyright Andover Townsman and photographed by Katie McMahon.If you're in the Boston area or Eastern Massachusetts and into mid-century modern, you may want to check out the new exhibit "Birth of the Cool ", running at the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA. The gallery's site says that the exhibit "presents over 150 objects that examine the painting, architecture, furniture design, decorative and graphic arts, film, and music that launched mid-century modernism in the United States and established Los Angeles as a major American cultural center." The title comes from Miles Davis?s 1949 album, "Birth of the Cool," and runs through April 13. Best of all, it's free!

Come Aboard...They're Expecting You!
2008-03-02 21:08:00
The first season of The Love Boat comes out on DVD on Tuesday, March 4. Can you believe a show that regularly featured Charo set sail for eight straight seasons? You can get it for $24.99 over at Amazon.com.

Express Lane Back to the 80s
2008-02-29 21:28:00
Holy Bananarama! That's all I could think of when I visited the local Express store the other day. Their spring collection is full of clothes that I hadn't worn or seen since I was in junior high - and I must admit I liked an awful lot of it, enough that I plan on making a return visit soon to add some pieces to my closet. Nothing like a good swath of spandex to take you back to your teenagehood. Express introduced this 80s trend during the fall and winter by bringing back leggings and long tops...but they've really kicked it into high gear this spring with long and lean tees in bright colors over tights and skinny black jeans, fastened with wide belts. Top off the look with enamel jewerly in poppy primary colors and you've got yourself an 80s revival. I think as long as no one brings back banana hair clips and rubber bracelets we'll be safe. I did buy these stirrup leggings in the bright royal blue color you see here and they were surprisingly comfty. You can see most of the c...
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What a Relief it Is! Alka-Seltzer Brings "Speedy" Out of Retirement
2008-02-29 01:44:00
Picture courtesy AdvertisingIconMuseum.com. There's been a recent retro trend among well-known advertising brands. They're bringing back their product's retired icon or spokesman. Burger King brought back the Burger King a few years ago, even giving him his own MySpace page, and Orville Redenbacher was brought back from the dead first in a weird animatronic form, and then as the real deal in vintage television commercials (a wiser choice.) Now those suffering from heartburn and craving some nostalgia (and bicarbonate relief) can rejoice because Alka-Seltzer has brought back its cute little red-headed spokestablet, Speedy . Speedy - as I learned from doing a bit of research - has a rather long and lucrative career as far as advertising icons go. He was created by two advertising professionals (and long-time friends), Bob Watkins (a commercial artist) and Chuck Tenant (an ad man at Wade Advertising in Chicago.) Speedy, whose original moniker was Sparky, was introduced in women's ma...
More About: Retirement , Relief

Best Oscar Moment Ever: The Streaker
2008-02-24 16:58:00
On a day when Tinsletown rolls out the red carpet to honor "their best" (and I use that expression loosely, since not all of the best get honored) it only seems fitting to remember a man who thumbed his nose - in a matter of speaking - at this annual spectacle that is the Academy Awards. I'm talking about the guy who streaked the 1974 Oscar s. He was Robert Opal (sometimes spelled Opel), a 33 year-old freelance photographer and gay rights activist who finagled his way backstage at the 46th annual Academy Awards and hid behind a piece of scenery before jogging across the stage just as host David Niven was talking about "an important contributor to entertainment." Unfazed and never missing a beat, the incident prompted the very British Niven to quip, "I's fascinating...to think that the biggest laugh that man will ever get in his life is by showing off his shortcomings." Streaking, or the act of running through a public area naked, was becoming a popular fad in 1973 and 1974, emergin...
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Circle This
2008-02-22 22:36:00
Harry Potter and Drew Carey are going to be so stylin' this spring. I just read that round framed glasses a la the kind that John Lennon and other hipsters wore are making a vintage comeback in eyewear this year. But before you go rushing to the nearest Pearl Vision, an expect quoted in the article says that round isn't for everyone. They look best on faces that are long and slender, which is why Lennon was able to pull it off. You also have to be comfortable with standing out since they're the frame choice of "eccentric types."This is a good start to making the majority of the male minion out there more retro. Now ditch those goatees for sideburns, please!
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Simply Quite Atrocious!
2008-02-22 16:43:00
Last night when Charlie Gibson announced on ABC World News an upcoming report that claimed Mary Poppins was a liar, I nearly spit out my penne. What? Not our Mary. Not the spoonful-of-sugar loving nanny cemented forever in our cinematic memories by Julie Andrews in the Disney movie. What in the holy name of chim-chimery-cheroo are they talking about? ABC reporter Robert Cruelvich (that isn't how you spell his last name, but given the circumstances) is the perpetrator that orchestrated this two-minute waste of reporting. Using footage from the classic movie and playing it backwards and in slow-motion, he claimed that the way Julie Andrews pronounces "super-cali-fragil-istic...you know the rest" backwards isn't even close to the correct way it should be pronounced. They even spelled out the word backwards and forwards and demonstrated how it should've been dictated. And then he said Mary Poppins "lied to us." You know what I think Cruelvich was really looking for by playing that au...
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NBC's Going Retro
2008-02-20 18:16:00
NBC Digital Entertainment and NBC Universal Cable Entertainment announced that they plan to stream vintage NBC TV shows on their websites. Some of the old shows you can expect to see view soon include "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "Kojak," "Miami Vice," the original "Battlestar Galactica," and "A-Team." They'll be offered on NBC.com, SCIFI.com, ChillerTV.com and SleuthChannel.com beginning this month.I'm surprised they're not including the original "Knight Rider", considering they just debuted a new version of the show, which didn't make sense to me. "Knight Rider" will always be David Hasselhoff and K.I.T.T. is always going to be a Firebird Trans-AM in my mind.
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You Have Such a Pretty Sleeveface
2008-02-19 17:47:00
Photo courtesy Sleeveface.com and credit Ben Trow and Gemma Rochester.For a while now I've been hearing about the inevitable demise of the record album. It just seems to be headed in that direction. Not just the fact that most of today's iPod nation would rather cherry pick downloadable tracks rather than listen to a set of songs in their intended sequence, but the fact that no one seemingly gives a rip anymore about great album cover art. Well, until now. I'm happy to report that vinyl records are in hot demand again - and for their cover art, but for a different reason. Seems there's a new fad out there on the Internet that has many music lovers digging through their parents' basements and scouring garage sales for old vinyl albums, so that they can pose as part of the artist. Sleeveface.com shows you how to do it - using several examples that fans have uploaded. Of course, there are limitations to this trick. Albums that don't feature a face or body part taking up a majorit...
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No Love Lost: The Ten Best Break Up Songs from the 20th Century
2008-02-17 16:52:00
Valentine's Day is over, and I'm willing to bet the same can be said for a few relationships out there as well. Looking for a good break up song to get you through the dark moments? I bet you can generally recall off the top of your heads those weepy arias that reek of crying tears into a pillow, and thinking that the world is going to cave in. Or Neil Sedaka cheerfully singing "Break ing Up is Hard to Do." Forget about all that. I've chosen the following ten songs specifically for their screw-you, I'd-rather-poke-my-eyes-out-with-a-knitti ng-needle-then-lay-my-eyes-on-you-ever-ag ain attitude. They span a variety of eras but they all share one thing in common: I'm pretty sure you wouldn't find any of their singers or composers self-wallowing in a pint of Ben and Jerry's.1. These Boots Are Made for Walkin' (Nancy Sinatra, 1966)Up until Frank's little girl sang this kicky feminist breakthrough anthem, female singers mostly pined for their lost love. Songwriter Lee Hazelwood was...
More About: Lost , Songs , Love , Break Up

Let's Get Physical
2008-02-16 05:28:00
I saw an advertisement for a new health club chain opening across the east coast called Retro Fitness. Although it's really difficult to see from the tiny pictures on the gym's website, the locations seem to have an 80s theme going on, with a bright yellow and red interior punctuated by black and white checkered floors. There's a retro cinema room that plays "your favorite 80s movie" (what, only one?) and the price is only $19.95 per month, a throwback to cheaper times. They're telling people to "go retro" in their marketing copy....hey! Where have I heard that before? If they truly want to "go retro" they need to ditch the modern equipment and get some Jane Fonda aerobics classes going on...or play some vintage Jack Lalanne. Forget spinning classes - how about those old fashioned exercise bikes? I'd also give out a free pair of leg warmers and Danskin unitards to the first 100 women who sign up for memberships. Who knows, it could turn out to be a hit...and who couldn't resis...
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The Best They Ever Had
2008-02-14 19:00:00
Every year, some bigwig magazine loves to highlight famous couples throughout pop culture history...but they always seem to miss a few, don't they? I'm highlighting a few that, for better or for worse, make my list of most memorable couples that never quite get the spotlight. Bobby Darin & Sandra DeeImage courtesy PureMusic.comMy favorite retro couple by far. By 1960, Bobby Darin was one of the hottest singers in the country, having conquered the music charts with rock and roll ("Splish Splash") and swing hits ("Mack the Knife".) Actress Sandra Dee was a beautiful teen idol as well, having starred in a slew of "Gidget" movies and "A Summer Place" and had a modeling portfolio under her belt. When Darin learned that he?d be making a movie with Dee ("Come September") he pursued and teased her relentlessly on the set, despite her rejecting his romantic advances. By the time the filming wrapped, however, they were an item ? and promptly married and became parents to a son, Dodd. Both p...

Classic Sweet Treat
2008-02-14 01:47:00
Lately I've had a craving for conversation hearts, probably because it's been years since I've downed a box. Growing up and living in New England, I'm quite familiar with conversation hearts, and the company that makes them, NECCO, or New England Confectionary Company. Whether you're married, matched up, or single, Valentine's Day just isn't the same without these candies, which are cheap, conveniently packaged into their own little boxes for giving, fairly low in calories, and fat free. I had thought the candy's origins were based in the 50s, making them a true retro candy, but in poking around online for their history, I discovered that these treats have been delighting consumers for over a hundred years. It's a long story, but in 1847 a man named Oliver Chase invented the Peppermint Lozenge cutting machine, which stamped out candy wafers (we know them today as NECCO wafers.) Mr. Chase and a business partner named Silas Evan formed the Chase Candy Company.In 1860 Daniel C...
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Go Retro Video of the Day: They Don't Know by Tracy Ullman
2008-02-13 22:17:00
I don't care how many of you out there hated this song when it came out and think it's lame - I've always liked it. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, after all. Best of all, it co-stars Paul McCartney. Tracy Ullman talked Paul into starring in her video after she played a bit part in his early 80s film "Give My Regards to Broads"...I mean, "Give My Regards to Broadstreet." In making this video she fulfilled every female Beatlemaniac's fantasy.
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C?mon, Get Happy! David Cassidy to Appear on Oprah Tomorrow
2008-02-11 20:49:00
Tomorrow?s Oprah show (you can tell by now that I?m an Oprahloony) is going to feature former teenage heartthrob David Cassidy as well as the kids from The Cosby Show. David will be singing. Adult women will lose it. As the tagline for the Oprah site says, ?Watch a room full of grown women lose their minds!? C?mon, get happy? Yeah...too late for that. Go positively ape sh*t more like it! So, is this the ?were you in love with a star from the past? show that she put the call out on a couple of months ago? David never did it for me, but his brother Shaun was my first real celebrity crush?at the ripe old age of 5. I still remember receiving a toy Shaun Cassidy guitar for my 6th birthday, watching The Hardy Boys every day after school, and the television special he did one evening when he sang ?They Do Run-Run.? Maybe David will give us an update on what his brother is up to these days. Check your local listings and tune in to see if Bill Cosby ever made nice with Lisa Bonet.You can vie...
More About: Happy , Tomorrow

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!
2008-02-09 21:49:00
Today is my absolute, all time favorite day in Beatles history. It's when Americans everywhere were introduced to the Fab Four via The Ed Sullivan Show, on February 9, 1964. Life would never be the same...especially for barbers. I'm willing to bet, that if you were to visit the Ed Sullivan Theater in the middle of a still night, long after David Letterman's crew has left, that you'd still hear faint screeches of the teenage girls who were in the audience on that fateful evening. I wasn't there, but I'm sure if I were, I would've been screaming alright. At the audience. "Shut up, sluts! I want to hear the music!" Other guests who appeared that evening were a magician named Fred Kaps, who did some card and salt shaker tricks, the cast of "Oliver," Frank Gorshin, Terry McDermott, Tessie O'Shea, and McCall & Brill. Who? You gotta feel sorry for these people. Their names were never well known and never will be. But file that away in your noggin in case you're ever on a trivia g...
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Classic Couples
2008-02-08 20:09:00
Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor photo copyright Hulton/Getty. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall photo copyright Ed Clark/TIME LIFE PICTURES/Getty. Hume Cronyn and Jessica tandy photo copyright Deborah Feingold/Corbis. The Windsors copyright Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum. All pictures courtesy of TIME.Last month Time Magazine published a photo essay of famous couples from the 20th century on their site. With Valentine's Day right around the corner, I thought I'd highlight a few of my favorites here, but you can see them all on TIME's site. Man, I never realized before just how hot Richard Burton was in his heyday. You know what amazes me about a lot of the images they chose is just how closely some of these couples resemble each other, namely Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, those original partners-in-crime, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, and The Windsors Wallis and Edward. It's like that old belief that you gravitate towards partners that look like you, or you become more alik...
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Phone Calling for Dummies, Circa 1950s
2008-02-07 22:23:00
Courtesy a site called ContactSheet.org comes a vintage guide to using the telephone. The tips in here are still pertinent today! "Be sure of the number." "Be ready to talk." "Speak directly into the phone, using a normal, natural tone of voice. Shouting distorts your voice and is not pleasant." Click on the link above for more.
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This Valentine's Day, Send a Call From A Has-Been Retro "Star"
2008-02-06 21:49:00
Valentine's Day is next week, peeps, and nothing says "I love you" to a significant other than having a has-been retro star call them and do it for you. Why fool around with flowers, dinner, and chocolates when for only $19.95 you loved one can receive a live phone call from Butch Patrick, Russell Johnson, or Christopher Atkins? Who, who, and who you might ask? Well you might know them respectively as Eddie Munster, The Professor from Gilligan's Island, and the curly blonde-haired dude that starred with Brooke Shields in The Blue Lagoon. I'm not kidding. The site HollywoodisCall ing makes these "celebrities" and more available to call anyone of your choice and deliver a 30-second message to them. The site's celebrity directory reads like a Who's Who for the next line-up of Dancing With the Star s...as in who the heck is who again? The site lists a resume of appearances beneath each personality, lest you don't recognize them. Well, of course I know who Jon Provost is! Only Timmy ...
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So Long, Sexie Sadie
2008-02-06 16:48:00
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the bearded Indian guru to the Beatles who introduced the Western world to transcendental meditation, died Tuesday at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop, a spokesman said. As he never really aluded to the year he was born, he was thought to be 91 years old.The Maharishi rose to fame in the late 60s when the Beatles quickly took a liking to his teachings, and joined him for a meditation excursion in 1968. But they quickly became disillusioned when they discovered that the guru had tried to seduce actress Mia Farrow during their India trip. The Maharishi was referred to as the moniker Sexy Sadie in the Beatles song by the same name, in which John Lennon sings "You made a fool of everyone...you'll get yours yet!" Which is kinda hypocritical considering Lennon had started his affair with Yoko Ono and was still married to Cynthia Lennon during the trip. Transcendental meditation has become more popular with other celebs in recent years, including director David...
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GoRetro's Retro Hottie of the Month: Tom Petty!
2008-02-06 01:49:00
Everything about Sunday's Superbowl sucked...except for Tom Petty 's halftime show. He rocked the house...and looked and sounded like he hasn't changed much in 30 years. While Petty has said "I'm not a poster boy" he is sexy (yes, he is...sorry if you can't see it) and seems like a nice, easy going guy and that goes a long way. Not to mention I love his music, even if his video to "Don't Come Around Here No More" from the 80s is a bit freaky. He's also aging well. I envy the natural blonde...as mine comes from a box. It's not easy finding flattering pictures of Tommy Boy from his early days, so I'm posting this beautiful one that I snatched from a site called Mudcrutch (if it's copywrited please let me know and I'll give you credit.) He reminds me of Peter Fonda here. A Heartbreaker...haw haw haw!Yer so bad, Tom, and that makes yer so good.
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It's Not Unusual...It's Just Weird and Gross
2008-02-06 01:39:00
Media reports out of the UK today claim that vintage crooner Tom Jones has insured his chest hair with Lloyd's of London for £3.5m pounds, or roughly $7 million. A spokesman for Jones is dismissing it as a rumor, saying that Jones is too busy in the recording studio for such foolery, but Lloyd's themselves confirmed the request. The question is, what exactly is Jones afraid of that could harm his chest hair? An overzealous female fan? Could be. When I saw Jones in concert a few years ago, several young 'uns rushed the stage, one at a time, to give him a hug. He looked less than amused. Or maybe a pelted thong left a nasty friction burn at some point. Jones needs to drop the aging gigolo look he's had for the past 20 years or so, BTW. A deep tan, dyed goatee and hair, open shirt, and gawdy gold bling do not look good on a 67 year-old...or any age, for that matter. Tom, take a lesson from your fellow older Brits like Sir Anthony Hopkins and Alan Rickman and learn to age gracefully...
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Aaaaaaaaayyyy!!!!! The Fonz in Bronze
2008-01-26 16:50:00
The city of Milwaukee is planning to erect a statue of iconic TV character Arthur "The Fonz " Fonzarelli from Happy Days . The statue is expected to be unveiled by Labor Day of this year. The Fonz is just the latest in a series of classic television characters to be immortalized in the locations of where the fictional shows took place: Ralph Kramden in New York City, Mary Tyler Moore in Chicago, etc. Happy Days...what a great show. Henry Winkler's character was a good TV role model. It's been said that when The Fonz got his library card on an episode of the show, there was a record spike in people applying for their own library cards. I would think that once the statue goes up, hundreds of visitors to Milwaukee won't be able to resist having their picture taken next to the fake Fonz with their thumbs up. Start practicing those "aaaaaaaays" now!
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Roll Up For the Magical Musical Tour
2008-01-24 17:22:00
Sure, Liverpool is famous for its Beatles' Magica l Mystery Tour , but if you find yourself in Manchester, England during the next few months you may just want to check out the Magical Musical Tour, being sponsored by Urbis. The tours take place on January 26, February 9 & 23, and March 8 & 15. Here's a bit of what the Urbis site says about it:"If you love to reminisce about being a teenager in the 60s, or wish you had been, then Urbis has a brand new tour for you!Starting from Urbis at 10AM every other Saturday from 12th January, the 60s Magical Music Tour will take visitors out around the city to some of the key sites from Manchester's musical heyday. Discover where all the star acts such as The Hollies, The Who and Jimi hendrix played on the circuit.Visit the spots where Manchster's Northern Soul crowd used to hang and find out how the Twisted Wheel kept its music Manchester's best loved secret!If you still have 60s clothing in your wardrobe then why not get into the spirit of...
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There's A New Fragrance And They Call It...Oprah?
2008-01-24 15:40:00
Picture courtesy Harpo Productions, Inc. and Oprah .com.Yesterday's Oprah Winfrey Show was chock-full of retro goodness, and the first trip down memory lane was a segment about the Revlon fragrence, Charlie. You remember the Charlie girl, don't you? The beautiful blonde with the white pantsuit, incredible looking car, and handsome boyfriend who greets her at a nice restaurant. Oprah confessed that she loved the commmercial when it came out in 1973 and wanted to be the Charlie Girl. "I wanted to stride like her with confidence. I wanted to be this fabulous." Well, who wouldn't?Oprah interviewed Shelley Hack, the model who appeared in the debut commercial (and who apparently hasn't aged.) Hack went from being the Charlie Girl to being a Charlie's Angel. Charlie the fragrance was launched in 1973 by Charlie Revlon and was meant to be a perfume indicative of the independent 70s career woman who breezes through her day into the evening. Charlie's classic scent - a mix of sandalwood ...
More About: Call , Fragrance

Do You Remember These?
2008-01-22 19:39:00
Burma Shave signs, Howdy Doody, and petticoats. I'm too young to remember these, but too old not to appreciate them. I must admit viewing the Do You Remember These? site made me a bit sad. It's a time that is gone forever, and which we'll never see the likes of again. How many do you remember?

Time Your 15 Minutes of Fame
2008-01-21 19:58:00
Be the next It Girl or It Guy with an official Andy Warhol watch. The colorful and fun timepieces, inspired by the late Warhol's iconic pop art creations, range in price from $35 to $300 and are manufactured by Seiko for the official Andy Warhol estate. You can purchase them online at www.15minutesof.com.Shown: Candy Flowers which retails for $150.
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Remembering the Dream
2008-01-21 19:48:00
Image courtesy UTSA.edu site.Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
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Clay Aiken is Retro Retarded
2008-01-18 21:50:00
Actually, Clay Aiken is probably a lot of things...especially judging by this photo (Willy Wonka called...he wants his St. Patty's Day costume back)...but let's just be polite and say that "retro pop culture genius" is not one of them. Aiken, who is set to make his debut tonight on Broadway in the musical Spamalot, recently revealed to Newsweek that he had no idea what...or "who" Monty Python was. "I thought Monty Python was a person until three months ago," Aiken told Newsweek. I love it when young uns' don't know a thing about past pop culture. Aiken sang "Mack the Knife" on American Idol, so I'm disappointed in him. C'mon, Clay, get with the program! I'm 35 but I know who Senior Wences is! S'alright!
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