Grace Kelly

i'm about 90% sure i would've tipped over if i had that headpiece on in post#3622.
 
That makes two of us
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Huffington Post

A few months back, I was speaking with a New York magazine publisher, and he mentioned that his daughter, in her thirties, was now running his fashion magazine.
Since we were on the subject of timeless film, he volunteered that when his daughter thinks of true class in film fashion, she does not summon up names like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Jennifer Aniston, or even Angelina Jolie. Instead, her icons are Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn.
Purely from a style perspective, this is understandable. But both Hepburn and Kelly, whatever their off-set shenanigans (and there were some), understood how to use fashion and bearing to project an image of innate class. This they both did successfully throughout their careers.
Times change I know, and most of my heart and my footprint clearly lie in that former era. Mind you, not every actress had that same quality even in Hollywood's Golden Age; Katharine Hepburn did intrinsically, though she was quite mannish. Joan Crawford and Mae West lacked it entirely, but made hay out of being different. But then there was also Garbo, Vivien Leigh, and Myrna Loy. They literally oozed the stuff of class.
Personally I still miss this unmistakable quality, and have to ask, where has it gone? We have no shortage of talent and beauty in Hollywood today, but those stars that come across (to men at least) as having true class, style, and by extension, smarts, seem in low supply. I don't see that rare, ethereal quality in Angelina, Charlize Theron, Naomi Watts, or Halle Berry, capable "actors" all. (Admittedly, Laura Linney comes close, but she has a certain earthbound quality; notwithstanding her obvious acting chops, too often she comes off like everyone's sister, the one you instinctively passed over.)
So who's got that "it" factor today?
It's not a twenty-five year old newcomer; it's not someone (like Paris or Angelina) who makes The National Enquirer every other day; but rather a quiet, steady, pre-possessing performer who combines her all-too-evident God-given skill with an understated style and allure, and also happens to make lots of extremely good pictures...both art-house and otherwise.
What's her name? Joan Allen.
An Illinois native from a working class family, from the outset young Joan strove to excel and was voted "most likely to succeed" in high school. She ended up finding her calling at the prestigious Steppenwolf Theatre. Finally, she could shed her small town inhibitions, and let loose. A whole new world opened up for her.
She proceeded to build her acting credentials steadily during the eighties, both in films (Manhunter, Peggy Sue Got Married, both released in 1986), and on stage, winning a Tony Award for her role in the acclaimed Burn This.
Entering the nineties, she really hit her stride, as some of the titles I'm about to list will demonstrate. But even in three somewhat over-rated commercial films she's done over the past fifteen years, Nixon (1995), The Notebook (2004), and two of the recent Bourne films, each of those titles benefits significantly from her very presence. But putting those aside, she's also done plenty of movies that stand very much on their own, and thus are listed on www.bestmoviesbyfarr.com.
So -- what follows are my favorite films of Joan Allen, this actress who effortlessly hearkens back to a time when it could be an asset for a female star also to be a real lady -- classy, subtle, strong, and intelligent, all at the same time.
Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) - Screenwriter Steven Zaillian, who'd won an Oscar for adapting Schindler's List, makes his directorial debut in the true tale of Josh Waitzkin (Max Pomeranc), a normal seven year old in every way but one: he exhibits an incredible aptitude for chess. Father Fred (Joe Mantegna) and mother Bonnie (Allen) want to foster this gift, but must walk a fine line between supporting Josh and pressuring him. Kingsley plays Bruce, a ruthless former chess master who takes the boy on as a pupil. Will Josh become the next Bobby Fischer? This warm, intelligent film boasts a powerhouse cast (including Laurence Fishburne, William H. Macy, Laura Linney, and David Paymer in support). Young Pomeranc is convincing, and both Mantegna and Allen are a joy to watch. Additionally, in this ultra-competitive society our kids face very day, the film sends an important, often unheeded message about handling competition: that the will to excel and win should always be counter-balanced by mellower, more thoughtful interests, in order to cultivate a broader, balanced life perspective. For a touching, involving, and relevant family movie, search no further than Bobby.
The Ice Storm (1997) - Set in 1973, this pungent, disturbing tale of suburban malaise concerns the emotionally frigid relations between two families in the affluent town of New Canaan, Connecticut. Returning from his Manhattan prep school for Thanksgiving, 16-year-old Paul Hood (Tobey Maguire) is greeted at the train station by his remote father, Ben (Kevin Kline), and unsmiling mother, Elena (Allen), as well as his Watergate-obsessed younger sister, Wendy (Christina Ricci). Unbeknownst to Elena, Ben is carrying on a torrid affair with neighbor Janey Carver (Sigourney Weaver), while Janey's spacey son Mikey (Elijah Wood) has been targeted for sexual experimentation by Wendy. Paul's got issues of his own, too, including a crush on a priggish socialite (Katie Holmes). Unhappiness and alienation seems to be everyone's lot, at least until the weather breaks... Based on Rick Moody's novel, this perceptive adaptation by Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) and screenwriter James Schamus effectively recaptures the bad hangover of the sixties drug-and-sex revolution, most emblematically at a discomfiting spouse-swapping "key party" that ends rather bitterly. Veterans Kline, Allen and Weaver are all first rate, but the young Maguire, Ricci, and Wood also hold their own, touching your heart with a coming-of-age awkwardness that sadly reflects their parents' own disillusionment and inner gloom.
Face/Off (1997) - Deranged criminal mastermind Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), currently in a coma, has planted a biological weapon somewhere in LA and only his equally psychotic brother Pollux (Alessandro Nivola) knows where. Crack FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) has a long, painful history battling the Troys, and undergoes a radical medical procedure transferring Castor's face to his own, in hopes that once he's reunited with Pollux in prison, the ever loyal little brother will talk. But the insensate Castor's got life in him yet, and unfortunately, Archer has left his own face behind. Despite the grotesque, almost preposterous premise, Hong Kong director John Woo's second American-made actioner has all the savage bite, black humor, and balletic fight choreography of his best-known Asian films. Deliberately mythic in concept, Face/Off probes questions of honor, identity, and morality while giving Travolta and Cage plenty of leeway to stretch their archetypal good-and-evil personas. And Allen delivers beautifully in the tricky role of an unhappy wife whose numbness is suddenly dispelled by a dramatic change in her husband's behavior. Ingenious, kinetic and reveling in its choreographed, over-the-top violence, Face/Off is a complex thriller that's also bloody good fun.
Pleasantville (1998) - After an oddball repairman (Don Knotts) comes to their house bearing a new remote control to replace the one they broke, nerdy teen David Wagner (Tobey Maguire) and his MTV-loving twin Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon) are teleported into the idealized, black-and-white universe of Pleasantville, a squeaky clean 1950s TV sitcom where they're expected to conform to picture-perfect, all-American values. But Jennifer, a/k/a Mary Sue, stirs up the repressive establishment with her very '90s attitude toward boys and sexuality, quite literally introducing a badly needed dose of color into the old-fashioned, Ozzie and Harriet-like town. Pleasantville is a sparkling, witty, highly original film fantasy that examines the nasty underside of quaint family values as they are embodied in every age, especially as it critiques the social rigidity of black and white (i.e., prejudice) with its thinly veiled conceit of "color" (i.e,. diversity, individuality). William H. Macy and Joan Allen are extremely well cast as the teens' comically sedated and content parents, playing nicely off Maguire's low-key, conformist David/ "Bud" and Witherspoon's wild girl. Enhanced by some charming special effects, Pleasantville is a blissful comic fantasy containing a subtle yet timely message of tolerance for us all.
The Contender (2000) - When Senator Laine Hanson (Allen) is unexpectedly chosen by the President (Jeff Bridges) to fill the spot left by his late vice president, veteran Beltway insider Shelly Runyon (Gary Oldman, in heavy makeup), who loathes Hanson for defecting from the Republican side of the aisle, heads up the confirmation committee. Hunting for dirt, Runyon uncovers a scandalous sexcapade from Senator Hanson's college years, throwing her nomination into jeopardy. A gripping political drama that appeared in the aftermath of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, Rod Lurie's The Contender sheds serious light on the presidency and our tainted political process. A star-making (or star-reinforcing) vehicle for the prodigiously talented Allen and a strong platform for Bridges (who delivers a knockout Presidential speech), the film portrays the intense personal scrutiny imposed on those in line for national office--particularly if the candidate is a woman. Contender is a resonant morality play about honor and political ambition. This entry takes the prize as my favorite Joan Allen film to-date.
Off The Map (2003) - Told via an adult daughter's flashback ( creating a small, subtle turn for Amy Brenneman), Campbell Scott's excellent but under-exposed indie concerns IRS auditor William Gibbs (Jim True-Frost) who's forced to travel to remotest New Mexico to check on the filing of a family's back taxes. Arriving on said family's property, he meets Charley (Sam Elliott) who's sunk into a depression and won't speak, his free-spirited wife Arlene (Allen), who actually talks but is less than encouraging about their tax compliance, and precocious daughter Bo (Valentina de Angelis), who's already got plans to be rich and famous. William promptly comes down with a raging fever, and before you know it, has decided to stay in this mystical spot, for reasons he himself can't readily express. Beautifully shot and rich in emotion, Map is a film that quietly gets under your skin. Elliott is a revelation as Charley, a man carrying a nameless despair that's struck him dumb, while Allen is fabulous (no surprise) as philosophical bedrock Arlene. Young de Angelis also shines in a demanding juvenile role. A story about life's infinite possibilities and finding sustenance when and where you least expect it, Scott's movie is a quirky, heartwarming delight. Go off the map to see it.
 
Property Report

Top 10 priciest streets in the world



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Many areas globally are suffering decreasing property prices, but according Wealth Bulletin magazine the very top of the top-end locations aren´t suffering. In a recent survey by the Dow Jones group publication, Wealth Bulletin identified the top ten most expensive streets in the world based on per square metre price. While not scientific, the list makes for interesting reading.
Top of the list was Avenue Princess Grace in Monaco. Named after Grace Kelly, the avenue overlooks the bay and the mega-yachts which make up the famed seascape of Monaco. Properties on Avenue Princess Grace do not appear in the local property classifieds, nor do many others on the list, but they do from time become available and on Avenue Princess Grace you can expect to pay up to US$41 million – this works out to be an earth-shattering US$190,000 per sqm, give or take.
Did Asia feature on the list? Was Thailand on there? Find out for yourself. Here´s the list:
  • 1.Avenue Princess Grace, Monaco. US$190,000 per sqm.
  • 2.Severn Road, Hong Kong. US$121,000 sqm.
  • 3.Fifth Avenue, New York City. US$80,000 per sqm.
  • 4.Kensington Palace Gardens, London. US$77,000 per sqm.
  • 5.Avenue Montaigne, Paris. US$54,000 per sqm.
  • 6.Ostozhenka, Moscow. US$40,000 per sqm.
  • 7.Via Suvretta, St Moritz. US$38,000 per sqm.
  • 8.Carolwood Drive, Los Angeles. US$30,000 per sqm.
  • 9.Wolseley Road, Sydney. US$28,000 per sqm.
  • 10.Altamount Road, Mumbai. US$$25,000 per sqm.
While Asia did feature with Hong Kong taking second place, Thailand has not yet made it into the top 10 most expensive streets in the world. However, with some of Bangkok´s new ultra-luxury condominium´s being built and Phuket´s West Coast multi-million dollar villas, it might not be too long until you find Thailand in the top ten. Watch this space.
 
Forbes
Although spending $8,000 and upward on a Birkin bag may sound insane to many, it’s the ultimate purchase for an Hermès brand loyalist. Another handbag, the Kelly--introduced in 1935 as sac à dépêches and made popular in the 1950s by actress Grace Kelly (for whom it was later renamed)--has remained a wardrobe staple for elite classes since its incarnation.
 
UC Santa Cruz

student receives Princess Grace award
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UCSC graduate student Kimberly Bautista has been awarded a 2008 Princess Grace Award.
She is one of 44 recipients across the country who were recognized for distinction in the fields of theater, dance and film.
Bautista received her award for graduate studies at UCSC in the area of documentary film.
The Princess Grace Foundation-USA is a public charity that was formed after the death of Princess Grace in 1982. It awards scholarships, apprenticeships, and fellowships to assist artists with career development.
The organization was created to continue the legacy of Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco, who anonymously helped emerging artists pursue their goals throughout her lifetime.
"Kimberly Bautista impressed us with her commitment to her chosen subjects--not just in content, but also in the care she showed with the individuals she encountered and interviewed," noted Linda Blackaby, the film panel chair of the Princess Grace Awards.
"Her ability to present a story to an audience really captured the panel's attention, and we are so pleased to welcome Kimberly and the UC Santa Cruz Social Documentation Program to the Princess Grace Awards community," she added.
UCSC's master's program in social documentation was established in 2005 and was a first in the University of California system. The graduate program is designed to teach students to translate academic knowledge into visual, audio, and print media that will have an impact on the world.
 
Irish Independent
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By paul whitington
Saturday July 19 2008

spellbound by beauty: alfred hitchcock and his leading ladies
By Donald Spoto
Hutchinson, Stg £18.99
Was Alfred Hitchcock a misogynist? The great man certainly had his issues with the ladies, as this new book by Donald Spoto makes abundantly clear. Spoto is Hitchcock's unofficial Boswell: he interviewed the director extensively before his death in 1980, and has written several well-regarded books on his life and work. In Spellbound by Beauty, he focuses exclusively on the often troubled relations between Hitchcock and his leading ladies.
Though he worked within the studio system and produced very commercial films, Hitchcock was a secret auteur, an artist who used his films as canvases on which to work out his deep-seated psychological obsessions and flaws.
Most of these related to his rather grim and lonely London childhood. Catholic and cockney, Hitchcock was raised in a humble working-class background that left him with an enduring obsession with status and class. More importantly, his troubled relationship with his severe and austere mother left Alfred with deeply ambivalent attitudes to women. When he married, at 27, it was to a woman he listened to, respected, even feared. In other words, Alma Reville was a mother figure, a lifelong companion and a constant help in his work, but not an object for his romantic feelings, and their marriage remained largely chaste. It was with his leading ladies that Hitchcock acted out his deeper sexual impulses, and for some of them, working with the great man was nothing short of an endurance test.
Madeline Carroll, the graceful and beautiful English actress who appeared in several of the director's most notable early British films, was given the full Hitch treatment while working on The 39 Steps. Hitchcock sometimes seemed to endeavour to "break" his actresses like wild horses, and to that end Carroll was handcuffed to co-star Robert Donat for hours on end, and dragged through ditches and waterfalls. When calling for her, the director would shout out "bring on the Birmingham tart!" She was subjected to the smutty jokes and innuendo that would become Hitchcock trademarks, and when he was looking for a shocked reaction in one scene, he pretended to expose himself.
Joan Fontaine, the prim and proper English actress who worked with him on Rebecca, thought that she was seeing things when she noticed something sticking out of her director's flies -- it turned out to be a champagne cork.
Mary Clare, a young actress who didn't drink, was given a fruit drink laced with gin to loosen her up. Those he became romantically besotted with -- Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly -- were generally spared the worst excesses of his cruelty, but he did treat Kelly like his own personal Barbie doll during shoots, controlling her appearance on and off the screen and indulging his recurring fantasies about peroxide hair and black high heels. Kim Novak was pushed almost to breaking point by Hitchcock in his masterpiece Vertigo, and his incessant remodelling of Novak to fit his fantasy ideal curiously mirrored the behaviour of Jimmy Stewart's character in the film. But the worst treatment of all was reserved for poor Tippi Hedren. Hedren, an LA model, was plucked from relative obscurity by Hitchcock to star in his adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier's story, The Birds.
After grooming her to suit his ideals, the director became dangerously obsessed with her, ordered staff to follow her, and restricted Hedren's access to her little daughter, Melanie Griffith. Worse was to come, though, at the end of the shoot. For an entire week, Hedren was placed in a room surrounded by bird handlers with long gloves and gauntlets, who proceeded to throw birds at her.
By the end of each day the actress was covered in bird ****, cuts and bruises, and by the end of the week was an emotional wreck. Hitchcock hid in his trailer for the duration -- it was the high point of his directorial sadism.
Hitchcock was no oil painting -- at just five foot eight he usually tipped the scales at more than 300lbs -- and he seems at times to have bitterly resented the flawless beauty that would forever be denied him.
He seems to have been a seething mass of complexes and insecurities, but it was these very flaws and longing that led him to make truly memorable films.
They also make Mr Spoto's book a brisk and interesting read.
Paul Whitington is the Irish Independent Film Critic
- paul whitington
 
Islam Online

Headscarf New Fashion Vogue
IslamOnline.net & Newspapers
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Big names in the fashion industry are leading the new headscarf fad with their designs. (Telegraph Photo)
CAIRO – Headscarves are becoming the new hot trend in Western fashion, with famed designer labels and industry biggest names explaining the appeal of the headwear as a comeback of elegance and chastity to the runways. "We wanted to revamp the headscarf," Domenico Dolce, co-founder of the Italian fashion house Dolce and Gabana, told The Telegraph on Wednesday, July 16.
"[We want to] give it a new life and introduce it to a younger generation."
The famous Luxury fashion house D&G and other big names in the industry, like Paul Smith, Vera Wang and Jean Paul Gaultier, are now leading the new fad with their designs.
Hijab, Why?

Hijab: Always A Woman’s Business?
On the catwalks for autumn/winter, many of the industry's noted brands offered the headscarf.
"Our aim was to give it a modern and cool twist," says Dolce.
The trend is also appealing to the customers.
Hermès, the French high fashion house renowned for its range of designs of silk headscarves, has seen a rise in the sales recently.
Vivienne Alexander says the company has been selling out to "a much younger crowd than usual."
And with the rocketing demand, designers are coming out with a wider variety of the head covering in their collections.
"I do think we will be seeing a fair amount of headscarves around over the next few months," says Gaia Geddes, executive fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar.
Chastity, Elegance
Industry experts agree the new headscarves trend is about bringing a touch of modesty and chic to the runways.
According to Dennis Nothdruft, curator of London's Fashion and Textile Museum, the headscarf resurgence is about a new sense of "chastity" in fashion.
He affirms that the trend is not all new after all.
"Women wore headscarves in medieval times to maintain their modesty," he explains.
Others believe the headscarf is lending a sense of elegance to woman's appearance.
They contend that customers want to imitate the caliber of famous women who have emphasized the headscarf's glamorous and sophisticated look, like the American movie star Grace Kelly.
Alexander, of Hermès fashion house, says that a sizable proportion of their customers are Muslims, who wear their products as hijab, Islam's obligatory code of dress for women.
But she affirms that the large bulk of the clients are non-Muslims who are seeking a modest, elegant look.
"This is more about a return to that elegant Grace Kelly era than anything else."
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Times of India

Princess Grace of Monaco considered divorcing Prince Rainier and returning to her native America in the early 1970s, according to a new biography that purports to explode the myth of her fairytale marriage.

The book Grace: A Disenchanted Princess , published in France, claims that the former Hollywood actress Grace Kelly came to consider herself "a prisoner in a golden cage" in the 235-room royal palace after marrying Rainier in 1956. She believed that the prince neglected her and was embittered by reports of his alleged infidelity, while Rainier became more and more jealous of his wife's charm and fame.

The book- written under the pseudonym Joanne Spencer-quotes Baron Christian de Massy, one of the prince's nephews, as acknowledging that he treated her poorly.

"My uncle often lost his patience with the princess in public, but she never contradicted him; nor did she answer back in the same manner," de Massy said.


Grace Kelly's sad 'fairytale in a cage'
http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/692675.cms#write


Princess Grace of Monaco considered divorcing Prince Rainier and returning to her native America in the early 1970s, according to a new biography that purports to explode the myth of her fairytale marriage.

The book Grace: A Disenchanted Princess , published in France, claims that the former Hollywood actress Grace Kelly came to consider herself "a prisoner in a golden cage" in the 235-room royal palace after marrying Rainier in 1956. She believed that the prince neglected her and was embittered by reports of his alleged infidelity, while Rainier became more and more jealous of his wife's charm and fame.

The book- written under the pseudonym Joanne Spencer-quotes Baron Christian de Massy, one of the prince's nephews, as acknowledging that he treated her poorly.

"My uncle often lost his patience with the princess in public, but she never contradicted him; nor did she answer back in the same manner," de Massy said.

Kelly and her husband had little in common besides a sense of humour, the author claims. Unlike her, he did not like long walks, while she did not share his enthusiasm for shooting, boxing, scuba diving, skiing and fast cars. The book claims that their marriage started to break down when Alfred Hitchcock, who had directed Kelly in Rear Window, Dial M for Murder and To Catch a Thief in the 1950s, asked her to star opposite Sean Connery in Marnie in 1962. The script cast her as a frigid, low-born thief raped on her honeymoon by a publisher.

Kelly accepted Hitchcock's proposal, then informed the palace. The news prompted outrage in the principality and disapproval even from President Charles de Gaulle and Pope John XXIII. Kelly was forced to turn her back on her 11-film acting career. Increasingly disenchanted in the early 1970s, the princess secretly consulted an American lawyer whose name, according to Payot, the publisher, has been withheld at his request. She gave up the idea when she learnt that a contract she had signed a few hours before her marriage would mean her losing custody of their three children, Caroline, Albert and Stephanie.

"If I had the choice I would divorce," Kelly is said to have told her friend Micheline Swift, wife of the director David Swift. "But I don't have the choice. He would keep my children." She decided to postpone any move until Stephanie, the youngest child, had grown up. By 1976 Kelly had all but moved to Paris with her two daughters. The official reason was that she was supervising their studies, but it was a de facto separation, the book claims.


Kelly died at 53 in 1982 when her car swerved off a road in Monaco. Stephanie, who was also in the car, was unharmed.

The book pulls few punches where Rainier, now 80, is concerned. Before the marriage Kelly was subjected to a fertility test and Rainier insisted that her parents pay a dowry, it says.

Payot says the author is a female Irish journalist who has been close to the Grimaldi family and now lives in London. The Italian media have speculated that it is the work of a former companion of Kelly at the court. However, the spokesman of the prince declined to discuss the book. ( Sunday Times, London)

She rarely returned to Monaco and no longer shared a bed with Rainier. Spencer says that she remained faithful, "unlike her husband".
 
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Highbeam

Dial f for fashion.

Byline: Constance C.R. White

''DARINGLY DIRECTED BY THAT MASTER OF SUSPENSE.''

Many will recall, with no small dose of nostalgia, this bit of promotional hyper-bole once used to flog the work of Alfred Hitchcock. It's a handy phrase to conjure up for fall clothes assembled as a paean to the director who is remembered as much for his suspense as for his mastery of iconic Wasp style.

Long before the brilliant stylist and costume designer Pat Field made fashion into what some have called a second character in "Sex and the City," there was Hitchcock. Four and five decades ago, he created the kind of celluloid world one might expect today from, say, Tom Ford, the former Gucci designer who wants to direct: elegant, stylish films in which the main characters are cool sophisticates and in which no detail of clothing _ neither handbag nor shoe _ is overlooked.

Hitchcock's films produced timeless touchstones. Polished tweeds, feminine skirts, proper brooches, chaste pearls, clutch bags, leggy suits and glossy wavy hair have all reappeared. Along-side these, the duality of the Hitchcock woman _ wh*re/Madonna, reserved/forward, good girl/bad girl _ looms provocatively.

It's an image with enduring appeal. "No matter what happens in fashion, (the Hitchcock style) that will always be some people's idea of what is icy, cool," said Michael Kors, whose final fall collection for Celine hewed closely to the style of Hitchcock women played by actresses Tippi Hedren, Grace Kelly, Eva Marie Saint and others. "His women were always affluent, always moneyed. People will always be turned on to something that's affluent without looking obvious."
 
hey i haven't been to the thread in a while, does anyone have a few pictures of grace's profile ? thanks
 

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