Wow. I just read my last entry. It's pretty feisty. The culmination of a few things that I guess have been simmering for awhile. Anyway, moving along! Can you believe I'm just three weeks away from my one year anniversary in LA? Which happens to coincide with my Mum coming to visit - really looking forward to seeing you, Mum. Maybe it's my recent birthday, maybe the impending anniversary, maybe the growing anticipation of visiting Melbourne in just a couple of months' time, but I'm suddenly homesick. Last night I watched a terrific Aussie film, made in Melbourne, which was released a couple of years ago; Noise. It was critically acclaimed but had a brief run in cinemas and I never saw it on the big screen. It's a tense, quiet, drama about a reluctant cop (played by the very talented Brendan Cowell) suffering tinnitis (a constant ringing in the ears) on the periphery of an investigation into the slaughter of seven people on a train. The Lilydale line. It was excellent; tautly written and beautifully acted. And I got such a kick out of seeing the familiar green and yellow-striped silver train, recognising scenes shot in the city loop, hearing those laconic, lilting Aussie accents.
The latest news is that I'm moving house again. Not far though, just into an apartment upstairs. Hooray! No more creaking floorboards cracking and groaning in the middle of the night as my restless upstairs neighbour walks around in circles just to torture me. Yes, I'm taking it personally. When my sleep is disturbed I'm known to become a little irrational. Even murderous (not that I've ever gone through with it, but I have passed the time, while otherwise prevented from sleeping, in fantasies of jumping repeatedly on his head). So, at the end of September I'm moving out of this dark, noisy little apartment into a lighter, brighter place upstairs sharing with two other girls.
During the week I auditioned for a Chevy commercial. From the brief notes I received about the commercial, it was all about the working people; they wanted "real, interesting faces" and the guys didn't need to shave. Generally when I go in for these auditions, I don my American accent, giving them no reason to think I might be from anywhere else. This time was different. I was ushered into the casting room with two other women, about the same age. One was Asian, the other strawberry blonde. We were lined up in a row facing the camera and then one by one asked a few questions, an on-camera "chat" with the casting director. I was third in line. It transpired that the blonde was French and the Asian was in fact Japanese, and neither had an American accent. It was surely no coincidence that we three foreigners were brought in together. I therefore decided not to hide my natural accent when it was my turn to "chat." I have no idea what any of this had to do with a Chevy Silverado.
The audition was conveniently timed late enough in the afternoon that I was able to go after work. And it was in Santa Monica which then gave me the perfect opportunity to catch up with Frankie, a former IBIS colleague who doesn't have a car and therefore has apparently not ventured far beyond the Santa Monica/Venice ghetto. We shared a drink and shot the breeze, compared dating stories (she declares having completely given up on American men) and remarked on the fact that she has just reached her one-year anniversary in the United States. My how time flies. I miss you, Melbourne.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Date rant
OK, what is it with men in LA? Is it just that most of the ones I meet are actors? I'm sick of actors: flakey, self-absorbed, iPhone-addicted, waiting-for-the-best-offer, bozos! Ugh, I'm so bored with shop-talk, so sick of this inability to commit to anything further in the future than a couple of hours - I'm not talking about marriage, let's start with coffee! Good grief. Maybe I'm being too tough on actors, maybe it's an LA state of mind. Make a date and wait for the "running late" or "sorry, something came up" text message. Traffic is usually blamed; I'm sorry, we're all aware how bad the traffic can be, make allowances for it! Yes, yes, I'm generalising. And, thankfully, I have friends who are not flakey at all (even though most of them are actors). But I need to get this off my chest.
Many people have complained to me about the crappy state of the dating scene in LA. I've been surprised to discover several very attractive, very sweet young women who have resorted to online dating. And while I've been asked out on more dates here than a year in Melbourne, they've gone nowhere (in one case, because it turned out the guy had a girlfriend - cue eye-rolling and the obvious questions) or been cancelled before they took place. Hence, I declaim: what is it with men in LA? Grow some balls, guys. Not all the women here are superficial, money-grasping, fake-tanned, fake-boobed, botoxed predators. Some of us are worth getting to know. Some of us will enrich your life, if you'll just let us in.
Many people have complained to me about the crappy state of the dating scene in LA. I've been surprised to discover several very attractive, very sweet young women who have resorted to online dating. And while I've been asked out on more dates here than a year in Melbourne, they've gone nowhere (in one case, because it turned out the guy had a girlfriend - cue eye-rolling and the obvious questions) or been cancelled before they took place. Hence, I declaim: what is it with men in LA? Grow some balls, guys. Not all the women here are superficial, money-grasping, fake-tanned, fake-boobed, botoxed predators. Some of us are worth getting to know. Some of us will enrich your life, if you'll just let us in.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Birthdaze
I’ve been considering what the theme of the last couple of weeks has been. My impulse is to say sexual frustration but then I recall that my parents read this blog and that might be awkward. What about birthday anticipation? Yes, perhaps that’s more accurate. I believe birthdays are something to be celebrated; I mean, you either embrace it or you get hung up on numbers and time ticking ever onward (ever more speedily) and all the things you wish you’d done or wish you had, and soon enough you’re in a complete funk about the whole thing. Boo hoo! Well, how lovely that I now have some awesome friends in LA to help me celebrate, and I’ve still got awesome friends in Melbourne and Paris helping me celebrate long-distance – with the bonus of different time zones extending the warm fuzzies – congratulations from three continents!
Work has been busy the last couple of weeks and I’ve got some acting projects on the boil. For a start, we’ve begun a class project at Sport of Acting, rehearsing some short plays (all written by the same author – not me) under the guidance of some director friends of Vinny’s. The plays are very well-written, delightful little numbers with some great characters so this is shaping up as a fun project. I’ve also approached a couple of directors (including Beaten Hearts’ Cindy) about helming a short film from one of my plays. On the weekend I met with a girl who cast me in a TV project at USC earlier this year. She has since graduated and is looking to take the next step in her career as a writer/director. We had a great chat and she took away some scripts to read. Hopefully, she’ll like one of them enough to come on board.
In other news I’ve invested in some personal training sessions, to ensure an extra hard workout once a week now that, as a working woman, I’m unable to get to the gym as often as I did when unemployed. The PT sessions (three so far) have been awesome butt-kicking workouts with the added bonus of a hot, flirty trainer (well, aren’t they all!). In fact, he went so far as to ask me out but then cancelled. Twice. I mean, really, what was all that about? Just as well he’s such a good trainer. So the flirting continues, safe in the knowledge it ain’t going anywhere. I’m still getting along to a step class once a week, which is fun. Although I do miss Nada and Sophie’s classes at Genesis, Prahran, which were faster and the choreography changed more frequently. We do the same thing every week at Bally, with the same music. Every now and then she’ll throw in a new sequence, but more often than not, she’ll resurrect an old sequence that we did ad nauseum two months ago. But I think this is what the other regulars like about the class; most of them are over 50 and have been regulars for 15 years. They like doing what they’ve always done, are comforted by the familiarity. Bless them.
Enjoyed some impromptu birthday business last night (the evening of the 17th in LA) when acting class was cancelled, suddenly freeing up the whole evening. A few classmates joined me at my local bar where we had a jolly time with laughs, beer, prosecco, calamari and profiteroles. More drinks planned for this weekend – oh dear, we Aussies do equate celebrating with drinking, don’t we?
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| Fabulous hamper from BB, Tiff and Lee - thanks ladies! |
Work has been busy the last couple of weeks and I’ve got some acting projects on the boil. For a start, we’ve begun a class project at Sport of Acting, rehearsing some short plays (all written by the same author – not me) under the guidance of some director friends of Vinny’s. The plays are very well-written, delightful little numbers with some great characters so this is shaping up as a fun project. I’ve also approached a couple of directors (including Beaten Hearts’ Cindy) about helming a short film from one of my plays. On the weekend I met with a girl who cast me in a TV project at USC earlier this year. She has since graduated and is looking to take the next step in her career as a writer/director. We had a great chat and she took away some scripts to read. Hopefully, she’ll like one of them enough to come on board.
In other news I’ve invested in some personal training sessions, to ensure an extra hard workout once a week now that, as a working woman, I’m unable to get to the gym as often as I did when unemployed. The PT sessions (three so far) have been awesome butt-kicking workouts with the added bonus of a hot, flirty trainer (well, aren’t they all!). In fact, he went so far as to ask me out but then cancelled. Twice. I mean, really, what was all that about? Just as well he’s such a good trainer. So the flirting continues, safe in the knowledge it ain’t going anywhere. I’m still getting along to a step class once a week, which is fun. Although I do miss Nada and Sophie’s classes at Genesis, Prahran, which were faster and the choreography changed more frequently. We do the same thing every week at Bally, with the same music. Every now and then she’ll throw in a new sequence, but more often than not, she’ll resurrect an old sequence that we did ad nauseum two months ago. But I think this is what the other regulars like about the class; most of them are over 50 and have been regulars for 15 years. They like doing what they’ve always done, are comforted by the familiarity. Bless them.
Enjoyed some impromptu birthday business last night (the evening of the 17th in LA) when acting class was cancelled, suddenly freeing up the whole evening. A few classmates joined me at my local bar where we had a jolly time with laughs, beer, prosecco, calamari and profiteroles. More drinks planned for this weekend – oh dear, we Aussies do equate celebrating with drinking, don’t we?
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| L to R: Alex, Summer, CC |
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| Flanked by James and Mark |
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Write On!
I’ve been writing! Sketches mostly. I know I’ve been irregular with the blogging, mea culpa.
The little sketch comedy show I was in finished up last week to an appreciative audience of two plus a homeless man who wandered in about halfway through to take a nap in between random muttering. Perhaps we were disturbing him. Or perhaps he had just shown up early for the AA meeting which took place after the show. Suzanne, dear friend that she is, came along to the final performance, laughed loudly and dragged me off to a bar afterwards where a friend of hers was having a party. There we got chatted up by a couple of middle-aged lawyers: Roy and Randy (“He’s the rest and I’m the relaxation”), I kid you not. They were nice enough fellows, but no thanks. Sometimes I wish I had it in me to be rude enough to say at a certain point “I have to talk to someone else now, bye!” They both gave me their card. I guess I know who to call if I ever need legal advice… especially with regards to real estate dealings… ace.
Everyone is talking about Inception. I’m over it. What a heap of hyperbolic hoo-ha. Hey, I enjoyed it, it’s very entertaining, but it is NOT the greatest film ever made. Basically, it’s little more than a heist film with arresting visuals, but it seems to have a lot of people hoodwinked into thinking it’s deep and philosophical and complicated. It’s not really. As far as films that play with ideas of memory and dreams (and the manipulation of both), then Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind goes a lot further, has richer characters and ultimately a point to make about the importance of memories in shaping who we are and how we learn from our experiences. Come to think of it, so does Hitchcock’s Spellbound (which comes complete with Salvador Dali dream sequence). That being said, I applaud the making of a film that is not based on a TV show or video game and that does not rely on the star power of its actors for success. I’m glad it is doing so well and hope that the Hollywood power-brokers recognize the value of investing in original scripts.
The little sketch comedy show I was in finished up last week to an appreciative audience of two plus a homeless man who wandered in about halfway through to take a nap in between random muttering. Perhaps we were disturbing him. Or perhaps he had just shown up early for the AA meeting which took place after the show. Suzanne, dear friend that she is, came along to the final performance, laughed loudly and dragged me off to a bar afterwards where a friend of hers was having a party. There we got chatted up by a couple of middle-aged lawyers: Roy and Randy (“He’s the rest and I’m the relaxation”), I kid you not. They were nice enough fellows, but no thanks. Sometimes I wish I had it in me to be rude enough to say at a certain point “I have to talk to someone else now, bye!” They both gave me their card. I guess I know who to call if I ever need legal advice… especially with regards to real estate dealings… ace.
Everyone is talking about Inception. I’m over it. What a heap of hyperbolic hoo-ha. Hey, I enjoyed it, it’s very entertaining, but it is NOT the greatest film ever made. Basically, it’s little more than a heist film with arresting visuals, but it seems to have a lot of people hoodwinked into thinking it’s deep and philosophical and complicated. It’s not really. As far as films that play with ideas of memory and dreams (and the manipulation of both), then Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind goes a lot further, has richer characters and ultimately a point to make about the importance of memories in shaping who we are and how we learn from our experiences. Come to think of it, so does Hitchcock’s Spellbound (which comes complete with Salvador Dali dream sequence). That being said, I applaud the making of a film that is not based on a TV show or video game and that does not rely on the star power of its actors for success. I’m glad it is doing so well and hope that the Hollywood power-brokers recognize the value of investing in original scripts.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Finally - a job
I've been put to work as the editorial assistant and office coordinator for the UCLA Law Review. It's a temporary assignment, replacing someone who is on maternity leave and expects to be back at work in October. It's also full-time, which is less than ideal as far as my acting pursuits go, but it doesn't completely stifle them and hey it's only a few months. I'm being paid an insultingly low wage, but it's just enough to squeak by on. I do not understand the wages in this country. Minimum wage is something like $7 an hour, which nobody can live on, unless they're working 80 hour weeks. Which I suppose some people do. Money gripes aside, the job itself is quite enjoyable; it's detail-oriented, which is one of my fortes, the material is interesting and the location is great. UCLA is a big beautiful campus in Westwood (a VERY nice part of LA) with great old buildings, lots of gardens and shady nooks in which to sit. It's also a short drive from home, up and over the Hollywood Hills; I can get there in 30 minutes, which in LA is fantastic. I've now completed two weeks of work, the first of which was spent training with Ann, the woman I'm filling in for. Given the nature of publishing, and my particular role in the production process, sometimes there's a lot of work to do, sometimes very little. I had two really quiet days this week, which was great as it afforded me the time to poke around and get familiar with the job and best of all, the time to write. I'm basically working unsupervised at the moment - although I have fairly consistent contact by email with some of the editors throughout the day - with an office to myself and the ability to play music to my heart's content. The university is quiet at the moment because it's the summer break, but the students come back next month so I can expect more human interaction then.
The other item worth noting is the availability of good coffee on campus; basically, there is none. The staff kitchen has a coffee machine (Starbucks brand) that grinds beans per serving at the touch of a button, but the coffee is too watery for my taste. I've been making do - it's insipid, but not offensive - but I knew I had to kit myself out with a little french press so I could make my own brew (with Supreme Bean's heavenly Nocturne blend). The quest for what Bodum calls its 3-cup french press (but really, it's one mug's worth) proved more challenging than anticipated. I've come to the conclusion that the average American taste in coffee is quantity over quality; weak coffee and lots of it. I went to four places that sell tea and coffee accoutrements, and none of them stocked the baby Bodum. Going online, I found that some Target stores stocked them, but none that were nearby, so I ended up ordering one from Amazon.com of all places! It arrived on Thursday afternoon, so on Friday I took it in to work and was one blissed-out little proofreader.
The other item worth noting is the availability of good coffee on campus; basically, there is none. The staff kitchen has a coffee machine (Starbucks brand) that grinds beans per serving at the touch of a button, but the coffee is too watery for my taste. I've been making do - it's insipid, but not offensive - but I knew I had to kit myself out with a little french press so I could make my own brew (with Supreme Bean's heavenly Nocturne blend). The quest for what Bodum calls its 3-cup french press (but really, it's one mug's worth) proved more challenging than anticipated. I've come to the conclusion that the average American taste in coffee is quantity over quality; weak coffee and lots of it. I went to four places that sell tea and coffee accoutrements, and none of them stocked the baby Bodum. Going online, I found that some Target stores stocked them, but none that were nearby, so I ended up ordering one from Amazon.com of all places! It arrived on Thursday afternoon, so on Friday I took it in to work and was one blissed-out little proofreader.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Comedy Ha Ha
So, I've been doing this little sketch comedy show on Friday nights. It's called 'Lo-Carb Comedy' and the material is all based around health and fitness and alternative lifestyles; a rich vein from which to draw comedy blood. This has been an interesting and in some ways challenging experience. Anyone who is familiar with Baggage Productions knows the quality of script, sharpness of performance and attention to detail of our shows. Our budgets have always been tiny, but that matters less when you are working with great scripts and wonderful, talented, dedicated people. We put a lot of work in, typically devoting several months to writing, development and rehearsal.
Lo-Carb Comedy is a different beast because this is a bunch of people I haven't worked with before and we threw it together in two weeks. Nothing is slick in two weeks, but I suppose there is a sort of knockabout energy to the show which is appealing. Given the very short lead time, I dug up some old Baggage sketches that fitted thematically, and Will (who is a comedian and the driving force behind the show) contributed some stand-up. Two other young women - JJ and Julian - plus JJ's hubby, John (that's a lot of J's) round out the cast. JJ and Will wrote some other sketch material and John does an on-target Christopher Walken impersonation. The best thing about the show is that it has got me writing again. After hearing about the range of insane extreme diets that Julian has personally sampled (and continues to seek out), I wrote a sketch about the topic. Since the show has been up on its feet, I've been working on another sketch; the juices are flowing.
We've performed the last three Friday nights at the Next Stage Theatre, a pokey little place in a strip mall in the heart of seedy Hollywood. It's a busy venue, with multiple shows each running one night a week. Lo-Carb Comedy is on right after The Vampire Chronicles; we're sharing a dressing room with an assortment of nubile young things in bustiers (some are vampires, some are victims). The low hum of muted chit-chat in the dressing room is punctuated by blood-curdling screams on-stage and dramatic music.
Outside in the parking lot one encounters hipsters heading to The Woods - a bar which, typical of LA, looks utterly nondescript (even daggy, being in a strip mall) on the outside but is actually pretty cool and jam-packed on the inside (you could be anywhere from New York to Berlin) - or families stopping in at Mashti Malone's for some ice-cream, or a homeless man selling a rabbit (as a pet or a meal, your choice).
Lo-Carb Comedy is a different beast because this is a bunch of people I haven't worked with before and we threw it together in two weeks. Nothing is slick in two weeks, but I suppose there is a sort of knockabout energy to the show which is appealing. Given the very short lead time, I dug up some old Baggage sketches that fitted thematically, and Will (who is a comedian and the driving force behind the show) contributed some stand-up. Two other young women - JJ and Julian - plus JJ's hubby, John (that's a lot of J's) round out the cast. JJ and Will wrote some other sketch material and John does an on-target Christopher Walken impersonation. The best thing about the show is that it has got me writing again. After hearing about the range of insane extreme diets that Julian has personally sampled (and continues to seek out), I wrote a sketch about the topic. Since the show has been up on its feet, I've been working on another sketch; the juices are flowing.
We've performed the last three Friday nights at the Next Stage Theatre, a pokey little place in a strip mall in the heart of seedy Hollywood. It's a busy venue, with multiple shows each running one night a week. Lo-Carb Comedy is on right after The Vampire Chronicles; we're sharing a dressing room with an assortment of nubile young things in bustiers (some are vampires, some are victims). The low hum of muted chit-chat in the dressing room is punctuated by blood-curdling screams on-stage and dramatic music.
Outside in the parking lot one encounters hipsters heading to The Woods - a bar which, typical of LA, looks utterly nondescript (even daggy, being in a strip mall) on the outside but is actually pretty cool and jam-packed on the inside (you could be anywhere from New York to Berlin) - or families stopping in at Mashti Malone's for some ice-cream, or a homeless man selling a rabbit (as a pet or a meal, your choice).
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Special guest stars
I'm a bad, baaaad blogger. Sorry folks, been a bit blue over the last week or so; the jobhunt is getting me down. Suffice to say, I'm still looking and have started approaching cafes, retailers and supermarkets. A glimmer of hope on the horizon today: one of the recruitment agencies I have signed with is submitting me for a 4 month full-time contract job in an editorial/administrative role for a company that publishes legal journals. I can handle the idea of full-time on a short term basis. Four months is pushing the boundaries a little, but I would be making a decent wage and I can bite the bullet for four months. So fingers crossed. Otherwise, keep your fingers crossed for a cafe job; I've approached both Aroma and M Street (my two fave coffee joints) and had a positive response from both, they're just not hiring at the moment...
In the meanwhilst (Dad, please don't question the legitimacy of that word, it's an obscure Monty Python reference), I've been roped into doing a sketch comedy show - two performances only, unless our adoring public demands more more more. It's been pulled together mighty fast - over the course of little more than a week - so I dived into the Baggage archives for a few tried and tested beauties (hello Diandra, you sweet, daffy thing). I've also written some new stuff. It will be a bit of a scrambly, scratchy show; I'm looking on it as an opportunity to try out some sketch comedy in LA, an experiment, and hey, what else am I doing right now?
Last week we had a special guest teacher at Sport of Acting. Tom McLoughlin is a film director with a list of credits as long as your arm. Providing your arm is really REALLY long. Oh, just IMDb him, go on click on his name, I've linked it. He and Vinny go way back. Anyway, so everyone in class got to work with him as if on set, on a moment from a scene of our choice (something we've been working on in class). Tom has an acting background so he really understands the actor's process and knows how to get what he needs from us. He worked quickly in figuring out a suitable set-up/camera angle and blocking for each scene, and then gave each of us quite a lot of time - maybe three takes - to capture the 'moment'. He also had a few choice anecdotes about some of the megastars he has worked with, such as Kirk Douglas and Marlon Brando. Seriously privileged to have worked - however briefly - with him. On a side note, he also happened to be one of the people who came to see Beaten Hearts.
Another highlight of the last couple weeks was seeing Billy the Mime. Billy (not his real name - it's actually Steven Banks, and among other things he is the head writer on Spongebob Squarepants) is another old mate of Vinny's and he is a superb, inspired and ruthlessly cynical artist. Amongst his ambitious, brilliant, hilarious and frequently dark set were such gems as: "The African American Experience" in which he mimed key phases and historical moments from slavery to Rosa Parks to Rodney King to Mike Tyson to Obama; "David Carradine's Last Night"; "Dinner with Jeffrey Dahmer"; and "The Priest and the Altar Boy." If you ever get the chance to see him play, GO! He trained with Marcel Marceau, he performs in traditional garb (white face paint etc) but there is nothing old-fashioned or daggy about this mime. As Vinny puts it, yeah you might see him mime going downstairs - but he's going down there to kill someone.
In the meanwhilst (Dad, please don't question the legitimacy of that word, it's an obscure Monty Python reference), I've been roped into doing a sketch comedy show - two performances only, unless our adoring public demands more more more. It's been pulled together mighty fast - over the course of little more than a week - so I dived into the Baggage archives for a few tried and tested beauties (hello Diandra, you sweet, daffy thing). I've also written some new stuff. It will be a bit of a scrambly, scratchy show; I'm looking on it as an opportunity to try out some sketch comedy in LA, an experiment, and hey, what else am I doing right now?
Last week we had a special guest teacher at Sport of Acting. Tom McLoughlin is a film director with a list of credits as long as your arm. Providing your arm is really REALLY long. Oh, just IMDb him, go on click on his name, I've linked it. He and Vinny go way back. Anyway, so everyone in class got to work with him as if on set, on a moment from a scene of our choice (something we've been working on in class). Tom has an acting background so he really understands the actor's process and knows how to get what he needs from us. He worked quickly in figuring out a suitable set-up/camera angle and blocking for each scene, and then gave each of us quite a lot of time - maybe three takes - to capture the 'moment'. He also had a few choice anecdotes about some of the megastars he has worked with, such as Kirk Douglas and Marlon Brando. Seriously privileged to have worked - however briefly - with him. On a side note, he also happened to be one of the people who came to see Beaten Hearts.
Another highlight of the last couple weeks was seeing Billy the Mime. Billy (not his real name - it's actually Steven Banks, and among other things he is the head writer on Spongebob Squarepants) is another old mate of Vinny's and he is a superb, inspired and ruthlessly cynical artist. Amongst his ambitious, brilliant, hilarious and frequently dark set were such gems as: "The African American Experience" in which he mimed key phases and historical moments from slavery to Rosa Parks to Rodney King to Mike Tyson to Obama; "David Carradine's Last Night"; "Dinner with Jeffrey Dahmer"; and "The Priest and the Altar Boy." If you ever get the chance to see him play, GO! He trained with Marcel Marceau, he performs in traditional garb (white face paint etc) but there is nothing old-fashioned or daggy about this mime. As Vinny puts it, yeah you might see him mime going downstairs - but he's going down there to kill someone.
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