25
Jul 15

TED Talk review

For my TED talk, I spoke on the shift in American attitudes on Socialism and Communism. Despite initial anxieties I feel rather proud on my performance. Despite this, there are still areas of which I could have improved on.

Went Well:

When preparing for this assignment I initially spent a great deal of time mapping out exactly what I was going to say, but this was in vein. As the due date approached, I realized that scripting my talk would be detrimental. So in turn, I felt that I attained a rather strong fluidity in my performance. I kept myself on track despite being completely script-less and in full rant mode. Also I maintained my confidence in speaking. I have often had public speaking issues in the past, but this time I escaped the nervousness that sometimes overwhelms me when speaking.

Could Improve upon:

Although I was overall satisfied with my performance in this TED style talk, I found that there were many areas in which I could have improved upon, First of all, I was combating a small sense of nervousness by stepping back and forth. This swaying became quite distracting at times and ultimately drew from the performance. Also, there were moments where I stuttered and ultimately ended up repeating myself. This came off as redundancy. The most distinct mistake that I made was that I had forgotten to transition a slide relevant to my talk. I then proceeded to realize this when I remembered I had a visual to show for what I speaking of. Thus, I tried to go to the next slide as quick a possible. This may have come off as distracting and perhaps took the audience away from what I was trying to say at the time.

While I had much to improve upon, I am fully satisfied with my talk.


25
Jul 15

Ah Non!

C’est douce amère… It truly is bittersweet to consider the closing of the Millennium Scholars 2015 Summer Bridge, it has shown me so much. It has shown me good friends, good times, and exceptional study habits. I am truly at the cusp of adventure as I begin to explore my undergraduate career here at Penn State. This fall I will be taking French and I could not be more excited. It seems like just yesterday I began my Francophone pursuits as an even more foolish high school Freshman. My studies in French have become some of the most personally satisfying ventures I have ever undertaken. To think that coming into the class I could only say ‘Bonjour’ is astonishing. I am by no means fluent in the language, but I have many of the grammatical tools to become such. At this point, it is simply a matter of dedication. For me to even come close to fluidity (fluentness?) I have to start fully immersing myself into the language. I am convinced that this immersion can only be achieved by living in an only French speaking area. Being a Biochemistry major, finding this opportunity in college may be tough. I hope to minor in French, and perhaps I can attend some sort of study abroad in which I could get some credits towards that minor.

The prospect of travelling to France just fills me joy. I cannot even express via words my adoration for this culture (although I have attempted to do so). I could see all the gorgeous parts of such beautiful country. Just imagine being in the hustle and bustle of Paris and then taking the TGV and in four hours enjoying the picturesque French Riviera. All of this appreciation for France instilled into me can all be traced to my high school French teacher. She managed to instill this passion for the French world through a variety of means. Madame taught me to love French by loving it so much that everyone around her could not help but utter the greeting ‘salut!’. Not only could she fluently express her love of French, but she could logically transmit how to approach learning the language. Her quirks and puns always made class a wonderful experience. I owe every drop of French that I can speak to her and I am infinitely grateful for that. I also enjoyed trying (key word: trying) to smoothly help run our schools French club’s excursions and cheese tastings. She would always tell me I was big help and doing a good job, even though I new sometimes my mediocrity would be overwhelming. In short terms, shout out to my high school French teacher, she’s the absolute best there is.

Thus it is with a heavy heart that I begin a hiatus on the passion portion of my blog. I hope you all have been given a glimpse into my chaotic mind in that you have gained a slightly greater appreciation for the sublimity that is the French world!


24
Jul 15

Stasis Theory

Stasis theory is an invention of the ancients of breaking down and analysing very specific issues. This theory is broken down into four unique questions that all take into account another part of the questions. These questions can apply to most modern controversial topics. For instance, I am researching the controversy of the income gap in the United States. The first question of stasis theory, conjecture, questions whether there is actually something to analyze. While some deny it, the growing income gap in the US is very real and has been proven to be such. After conjecture comes definition. Income gap is defined as the actual difference (or gap) in income between two distinct classes. Unfortunately this has manifested itself into the very essence of out society which values wealth so much. Then we have the question of quality or seriousness. I do not know about you, but the fact that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer makes me feel quite uneasy. Thus if this trend were to continue,it could mean extremely intense social unrest. We have seen this historically in times such as the French revolution where the rich got so affluent and ignorant of the lower orders that those at the bottom seized power through violent revolution. Noting that this is distinct and defined problem of a grave nature, we can easily recognize that the fourth question has to be answered. Should something be done about this in an organized fashion? The answer to this should be relatively clear. We obviously do not want a situation comparable to the French revolution. Thus immediate action to regulate the rich and affluent and build up the poor. So it is should now be clear as to how stasis can be applied to this modern controversy.


23
Jul 15

[Insert French Stereotype Here]

If you have been keeping up with this blog you might have noticed a small trend. I like France. Thus the common stereotype of the “baguette wielding smoker” kind of pushes my buttons. If you have lived here in the United States long enough, you have definitely noticed an odd anti French sentiment. I have an entire post I made earlier on how preposterous the idea of an America despising a Frenchman is from a an idealistic/societal point of view. But what I want to touch on here is the actual subject matter of the stereotypes and their false nature.
French Stereotype

So I shall start with what these deep seeded stereotypes actually are. They are everywhere in cartoons and media. We see the Frenchman as some sort of large nosed snobby and nasal voiced man. This depictions gives the impression of the Frenchman being snobby and arrogant. Media also often depicts the Frenchman as culturally hostile towards anything not French. Somehow people think that all Frenchmen are Gaulist extremists. When in fact, the French have been some of the most culturally accepting people I have ever met. People have made the mistake of thinking the opposite because of misunderstandings. For instance, you always here of bad experiences with the French when visiting France and being met with unexplained hostility. What people do not realize most of the time is that they were strutting around Paris imposing English upon those around them. For some reason, when a lot of tourists do not speak the native language they attempt universal communication through speaking loudly and and slowly through phrases like ” WH-ERE IS THEE EI-FEl TO-WER??”. Would you be offended if some foreigner came up to you screaming in their native tongue asking where the statue of Liberty is? The French are put in the situation where they are in the most visited country in the world and deal with uninformed tourism all day long. The extremely simple way to prevent offending a Frenchman in France would be just making very simple attempts to understand their culture and language. Perhaps even admitting that your French is not very good and you need a little help. Many in France do speak quite a bit of English and would be willing to help, provided that you put in some effort of your own.

Being a little more respectful will lead you to having a much better impression of the French and their culture. This will also lead you to be able to appreciate some of the finer more subtle aspects of their daily life. For example, the French greatly value mental health through leisure. So if you take a little time to appreciate their culture you might find that you are refreshed by their lack of urgency that consumes American culture. You will feel relaxed and glad that you took the time to understand a culture that we have historically been very hostile to, despite our ideological alliance.


20
Jul 15

La Révolution Française Part 1

Due to the fact that it is nearly a week since Bastille day, I will no longer delay in writing about one of my favorite French topics, la révolution! For the more curious, you might be asking “Which one?” and for the sake of clarity, I am speaking of the vastly influential period between 1789 and 1799 when the French lower classes rose up in arms against the oppressive nobility. So to begin this little historical excursion I would first like to introduce the background. France was governed by a monarchy, this meant that the big man in the big chair with the big crown was the guy who called all the shots. But in france, they created a whole level of monarchy few could compare to. This was none other than Absolutism. Monarchs in France governed with an iron fist and the nobility came second. This primal system coexisted with France’s so called Ancien Régieme maintained a delocalized nobility. Thus distributing the land and power among the nobility with the provision that the king still had ultimate authority. Kings more recently at that point had started abusing their absolute power and started cranking up the national debt. So France by the late 18th century was in a lot of trouble. National debt was higher than ever before and the seemingly rising level of extravagance enjoyed by the upper classes started to introduce a large amount of friction. This friction synthesized a plethora of unrest of which was amplified by the hunger of the lower classes, for both reform and actual food. The People of France were so starved that some of the most violent portions of the ensuing revolution were initiated by food. Hunger quite literally drove the people mad. Many in the lower orders began to feel that they were not being treated as human. Thus when the time came, the so-called third estate of society declared the equality of all of man. They did so in a document called “La déclaration des droits de l’homme” or “The declaration of the rights of man” an extremely significant historical document. This document was one of the first of its kind in that it more or less put every single man regardless of background on the same level. It also proclaims that not only is every man entitled to their birth given rights, but it is an abomination that he does not have them. In addition it also makes very clear the fact that should the citizen not have their all of their rights, it is the responsibility of all of society to hold the institution that takes them accountable. These ideas seem somewhat redundant today, but back in their time they were mind blowingly radical. For one of the first times in history a society took a much more serious look at the rights they posses and determine that where they come from is not of their wealth or class, but of their birth and everyone else had these same rights. So next time you hear someone talking about their ‘rights’ ask them where they think they get them.


20
Jul 15

Paradigm Rough Draft

Brandon Cruz
Dr. O’Hara
Rhetoric and Civic Life, Millennium Scholars
July 20th, 2015

Communism, Commie bastards, the reds, pinkos, and Socialism. All of these ‘dirty words’ evoke even the least patriotic among us to rescind in a wave if nationalism. After all, Communism and Socialism have always been the great evils wanting only the death of America. Great autocracies like the USSR and China have been some of our greatest rivals. The source of this rivalry has been that of two conflicting ideologies of leftist Communism/Socialism and right wing Capitalism. However different these systems are, the prior has not always been met with hostility. This hostility is the view that Americans have taken more recently. To the surprise of many it has not always been this way. Times like the progressive era and the ‘heyday’ of the labor movement spawned political activity aligned with more Socialist principals, and for a while it appeared that they would arise to become the dominant political movement. Then after the Second World War, the escalating tensions with the USSR gave birth to the infamous red scare. The witch hunt of the 20th century gave birth to the mass American suspicion of the communist despite having recently flirting with Socialism. Yet sixty years later in America today some would say that Socialist or ‘Progressive’ principals not seen since the labor movement are on the return with politicians like Bernie Sanders getting unprecedented approval ratings. The prevalent view of Communism/Socialism in the United States has gone from acceptance to hatred to rising approval all within the span of a century.
In the middle of the 19th century, Europe saw great political unrest. The revolutions of 1848 raged across countries like France, Germany, Austria, and Italy. Widespread unrest against the monarchies caused the lower classes to rage in upheaval. Already destabilized France fell to its once again revolutionaries, but Germany and Austria withheld the revolt. It was this suppression of the lower orders that caused a great leftist mentality to become rampant (Britannica). The most notable of these groups was the Marxists. Many dissatisfied and disillusioned Marxists decided to pursue their left agenda elsewhere, and this place would be none other than the United States. Early colleagues of the esteemed Karl Marx that sought refuge in the United States all started forming America’s first socialist organizations. However, these organizations failed to take root for a few decades. This was, in part, because these organizations did not appeal to English speaking Americans (Draper 11). But the fight was not lost; German immigration saw an exponential increase.
Socialism was beginning to be seen as an acceptable political movement in the United States. As the influence of German culture in America increased, so too did acceptance of Socialist and Communist ideals. Native English speaking Americans really started joining these startup German political parties for a large quantity of reasons. The first and foremost reason arose from the simple need for Socialism itself. As the industrial revolution raged on across the country, increased production gave rise to the need for cheaper labor. This need caused large corporations and trusts to unanimously lower wages and take less care into the realm of the working conditions. These abuses of labor cried out for the hope that was Socialism. Many sought solidarity through groups like the American Federation of Labor, founded in 1886 and spearheaded by Samuel Gompers. Gompers was one of the biggest proponents of what is called ‘trade unionism’. Trade unionism is a movement that spawned from Marxism and its ideals. It promoted solidarity of the working class to curb the power of big business. This movement was often seen as the more peaceful approach to Socialism as it was not associated with as many radicals like mainstream Socialism began to be. Thus, many Americans felt safe in identifying with this industrial counter culture (AFL).
By this point in time Socialism was rarely associated with negative connotations outside of its small constituency of radical revolutionaries. Yet, this small minority would begin to ruin American perceptions of Socialism and Communism as a whole. For instance, in the same year the American Federation of Labor came to be, an extremely unfortunate riot would occur in Chicago, Illinois. On the morning of May 4th, 1886 a smaller than expected gathering of workers occurred in Haymarket Square. These protesting workers were gathering in response to recent police action taken against union strikers. Many of the designated speakers never showed up, and instead of 20,000 people only about 3,000 attended. Despite the protest being declared peaceful, police arrival prompted a violent reaction from a few radicals in the crowd. A dynamite bomb was thrown and detonated causing the police to retaliate in random shooting (Britannica Haymarket) This extremely unfortunate event scathed the reputation of Socialists in the labor movement. The radical few caused suspicion to the entire ideology itself. However, this was not the end for Socialism in the US.
Collective bargaining would forever unite Socialism and the labor movement. General strikes and action by workers would proliferate as working conditions and wages worsened. As public suspicion of Socialist radicals increased, so did government determent of such movements. The Pullman railroad strike had some of the fiercest government attack on organized labor ever known. After strikers started interfering with mail cars, President Grover Cleveland obtained and injunction against the union and sent in federal troops to break up the strike. This lead to the arrest of the famous Eugene V. Debs, the head of the American Railroad Union (Brendel 8). Increased tensions between the Socialist movements and the federal government would only rise. However, the common man would soon find much more solace in socialism due to literature. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, published in caused a great public outcry in the realm of government regulation. Sinclair’s piece runs through the life of fictional Jurgis Rudkus, a Lithuanian immigrant, who is forced through the worst that capitalist America has to offer. The book contains a significant exposé on the meat packing industry and various other food production and its horrors. Public sentiment grew in the favor of using government power to heavily monitor and regulate the private sector. One such product of this book is the Food and Drug Administration, also known as the FDA. This proliferation is also due, in large part, to Roosevelt era progressivism. Theodore Roosevelt, the American president at the time believed in the perfectibility of man such that “mankind is neither chained to the past nor condemned to a deterministic future…” (US His.). This idealistic motive on policy coupled with the charismatic constituency of the Socialist Party. Roosevelt was also known as a ‘trust buster’ in that he relentlessly assaulted the abuses of big business and the growth of monopolies. This concern for the working man can be juxtaposed to socialistic ideas and seen as nearly identical. During this time socialism seemed to thrive and would reach its public climax.
This interlude of public support for Socialism would give rise to the successful attainment of Socialists in public office across the nation. In 1911, Victor Berger would be the first Socialist elected into congress. Berger would be widely noted for his hardline leftist stances in the role of government, as well as getting negative press for signing off on a bill to abolish the senate (House of Rep.). During this time the membership in the Socialist Party was at 125,000 people. Eugene Debs used this momentum to launch his presidential candidacy in 1912. He got nearly a million votes, a staggering number for a third party. Most historians attribute his total to the Socialist Party’s stance against entering World War One, which would later get the party in trouble. Despite not getting even close to winning the election, this unprecedented number acted as a litmus test for increased lack of confidence in American political standards at the time.
The beginning of the end for the Socialist Party in the United States began upon the entrance to World War One. Wartime induced a strong sense of national security. This lead to Americans being especially suspicious to the point of hostility against German culture. Federally sponsored oppression was expressed via legislature such as the Espionage Act of 1917. It was not uncommon for citizens of German background to receive large amounts of discrimination and even legal consequences. Consequentially, socialism received a very negative reputation because of its close ties with German culture. Leaders like Eugene Debs himself were imprisoned by simply presenting their anti-war position. These arrests caused great amounts of fear amongst the general public. Many socialists were especially instilled with fear, such that they would start to recede from the public. Political persecution and ideological differences nearly tore the socialist party apart. However, the party remained somewhat intact however scarred by the American public’s new attitude towards it.
American hatred of the reds would only persist and intensify. In January of 1920 over 5000 socialists/communists were arrested under the auspices of their association with the party. Hysteria and fear of socialism and communism were at the heart of this breach of liberty. It seemed as though the death of this leftist ideal was at hand. Even though party membership would be limited in the 1920s and 1930s it would still persist. A large part of its persistence would lie upon the fact that the American economy would suffer one the greatest depressions in history. Widespread poverty incited widespread disillusionment with capitalism. As homelessness became rampant there was a significant portion of society that clung to socialism and insisted that government was the only way out. However, the event that would pull the United States out of the great depression would also send Socialism into a downward spiral in the eyes of the public. This event would be none other than the Second World War. Anti-German sentiment took over once again and although by this time socialism had expanded outside of German culture, it still took a toll. In addition to this, heightened tensions with the Soviet Union would plant the seeds for the events to come.
Upon Allied victory in World War 2, the rivalry that had developed between the Communist Soviet Union and Capitalist America would escalate exponentially. The immediate threat arose from the development of nuclear weapons in both the USSR and the US. This meant that should war erupt, the stakes could mean greater casualties than the world had ever known. Thus communism and socialism would now be associated with our great red enemies. The actual fight between capitalism and communism would begin to fade under the Cold War. From this arose the ‘witch trials’ of the 20th century. Joseph McCarthy launched his relentless crusade on via the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). While there were legitimate concerns of Soviet espionage, the federal government put in place the Loyalty Act which demanded the immediate loyalty audit of every federal employee. This created mass hysteria and red panic. Many took the mentality that everyone was a communist until proven otherwise. Ludacris hearings took place and famous figures such as Helen Keller, Charlie Chaplain, and Langston Hughes were all accused of being communists (History Channel). By this point, however, the public began to realize the illegitimacy of the trials. But this did not end the Cold War which was ultimately the new source of communo-phobia.
Political tensions would rise and fall throughout the span of the cold war, thus the Socialist party as it was known would die. While there were a few startups in which candidates such as Gus Hall would run for president, they would not gather much of a following beyond their normal extreme constituency.


18
Jul 15

TED Talk response

One of my favorite TED talks that I heard from my peers (not that they all were not awesome) is Philip Clauer’s talk on GMOs. His talk encompassed a thorough bisection the issue of genetically modified organisms. Phil explained how GMOs encompass the vast majority of our agricultural output. He also raised concerns about some of the ecological implications of relying on GMOs as well as exposing the benefits. Another talk that I deeply enjoyed was Kandice’s talk about the history and development of black women’s hair. I can honestly say that I knew little to nothing about anything she presented before the talk itself. Who knew that the development of something like hair can have such profound historical basis? She gave a great testament to the struggle of African American women over the past century and their emergence to embrace their own heritage.
Despite these two personal favorites, I found many very enjoyable moments in all the talks. For instance, Brian had begun his talk with a personally tailored self performed movie trailer. His adeptness at making an all too familiar sci-fi trailer voice was awesome. Then there was a moment in Kandice’s talk where she asked the audience if anyone has seen someone with braids and continued to point out that she was in fact wearing braids. One of the more serious moments came when Takara started pointing out the flaws of a system all of us had gone through. It was almost bone chilling how accurate some of her points were about the supression of creativity that arises from standardized tests. Another one of my favorite moments was when Alex Sinco started flaunting the popular frumpy figure that is the dad bod. He gave us an interesting take on the development of the men and their body images. Lastly I greatly appreciated Julia’s exposé on the development of education and how we are now in a time that programs like Millennium are quite supported!


15
Jul 15

Pourquoi est-ce qu’il faut qu’on apprend le Français?

Now I always get asked “Brandon why do you love learning French so much?” and most of the time I cannot really put my finger on it, I just love it. It has an elegant flow that has inspired me ever since I started my quest on Francophone fluidity. But I have already blogged on my passion for French, this time I will take a more logical approach. In this approach I will begin with history. The battle of Hastings is the historical point that we attribute one of the greatest meshes of languages that effect us today. But it also did a great deal for the status of the French language. Despite it being considerably different back then, it is still the father of modern French. It was this French that because of the battle of Hastings was to the language of the nobility in England for hundreds of years to come. Being established as the language of the higher classes, it started becoming associated with all things upper class. Thus things like diplomacy started being conducted solely in French. In some aspects it is still like that today. While most countries have started using English, it is not uncommon to find diplomats much more comfortable speaking French! France’s colonial influences also have attributed for the usability of its language. For instance, when Europe decided to carve up Africa and gut it for resources France subsequently joined in the fun. By fun, I mean sending huge armies to forcefully conquer vast swaths of land in Northern Africa. While in control of these territories, the French started to impose their culture and way of life. Along with this came their language. Thus today we have countries like Cote D’Ivoire and Senegal that speak mostly French. This fact is not to be dismissed as Western North Africa is one of the fastest growing regions on the continent and world. Therefore it would not be far fetched if French language starts to become a heck of a lot more popular. In addition to these rather sources of Frenchiness, we do not have to look too far to find Francophones close to home. The first example that comes to out minds is often the French Canadians. It is quite overwhelming at times to consider how much French culture really is prevalent up there. Not only is it prevalent, but the French Canadians are famous for trying to preserve their heritage and culture. It is quite often that you will find that Canadian French is a lot more pure and anglicized as where actual France French has interwoven a plethora of English lingo. Heck, the ‘Quebecois’ as they like to call themselves, have made several attempts to secede from Canada altogether to form an entirely new nation. While I am not very well versed at their motives, I am pretty sure that they are not strong enough to succeed. Anyways, it is pretty obvious how applicable French is to the world around us. You never know when you will stumble upon a wannabe French Fry like myself.


12
Jul 15

Paradigm Shift Intro

Communism, Commie bastards, the reds, pinkos, and Socialism. All of these ‘dirty words’ evoke even the least patriotic among us to rescind in a wave if nationalism. After all, Communism and Socialism have always been the great evils wanting only the death of America. Great autocracies like the USSR and China have been some of our greatest rivals. The source of this rivalry has been that of two conflicting ideologies of leftist Communism/Socialism and right wing Capitalism. However different these systems are, the prior has not always been met with hostility. This hostility is the view that Americans have taken more recently. To the surprise of many it has not always been this way. There was a time where this view was not so prevalent. In fact there was a time where these views were embraced. Times like the progressive era and the ‘heyday’ of the labor movement spawned political activity aligned with more Socialist principals, and for a while it appeared that they would arise to become the dominant political movement. Then after the Second World War, the escalating tensions with the USSR gave birth to the infamous red scare. The witch hunt of the 20th century gave birth to the mass American suspicion of the communist despite having recently flirting with Socialism. Yet sixty years later in America today some would say that Socialist or ‘Progressive’ principals not seen since the labor movement are on the return with politicians like Bernie Sanders getting unprecedented approval ratings. The prevalent view of Communism/Socialism in the United states has gone from acceptance to hatred to rising approval all within the span of a century.


12
Jul 15

Déjà Vu…

Deja vu, its a Francophone phrase we have all heard of and use almost ambiguously. It would seem that people throw this phrase around like some sort of pseudo Ron Burgundy “when in Rome” scenario. In other words, we use it so often and seem to have dropped its meaning altogether. In essence, deja vu is considered a situation in which an individual is almost certain that he or she has experienced the exact scenario before. Not only are these individuals certain that they have experienced this situation before, but they would be willing to bet money that they have. Scientists have always debated the actual cause of such a phenomenon. The scientific community has already determined that it is not intrinsically tethered to any sort of mental illness. In fact, most mentally healthy individuals have reported experiencing such a phenomenon multiple times.

There are many theories to explain deja vu, but the vast majority fall into two distinct categories: Memory based or dream based. Memory based theories seem to be the more prevalent of hypotheses. They indicate that similarities in past events experienced by the subject tend to cause false firing of nerves that give the sensation of already having experiencing the event. Today, some scientists have been able to replicate deja vu type experiences. For instance, virtual reality technology has allowed scientists to insert subjects into completely different worlds. Using this capability, researchers have exposed subjects to two different, though very slightly similar, environments and completely immersing them in both. Subjects did not consciously note the differences in the scenes they were put in. However, most experienced a strong deja vu type sensation. This data gives strong support to the memory based theories on how deja vu works.

The second, more far fetched, theory of deja vu is dream based. There is a significant movement that presents the case that we experience deja vu based off of similar situations in dreams. This theory is very similar to the prior in that they both suggest that the person did actually experience something similar. But, they differ in their source of experience. The reason I believe dream based deja vu to be less likely is that cognitive function while we sleep is largely a branch of science almost completely unexplored. Therefore it would be illogical to make such broad assumptions based off of science we do not yet understand. I am not saying that this theory should be dismissed altogether as dismissing any possibility is in contrast to the scientific method. I do , however, suggest that we push forward investigations into this sort of final frontier of human physiology. Not understanding deja vu should definitely not stimie our progress in a fit of frustration, rather it should inspire those who desire progress to delve deeper into the human brain. I should not get myself started on the brain, I could rant for hours on how it literally blows my mind (Pun intended). So next time you are certain that you’ve experienced something before, just remember that you’re not the only one who doesn’t know whats going on.


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