This past trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art went better than I expected. Something happened that I wasn’t sure would happen; I was interested.
We began our journey into the African Art exhibit. It was amazing abstract art in the exhibit. Apparently African art was unknown to many artists until an exhibit was showcased in the early 1900’s. Then the interest in African Art exploded. In African Art, people aren’t always people. Sometimes they are spoon-like figures. Sometimes they are deformed. Sometimes they are creepy. In my opinion, the creepy ones were the best. Now after the exhibit in the early 1900’s, African abstract art began to influence more modern artists like the famous Pablo Picasso.
I had two favorite pieces from the African exhibit. The first was this piece.
Honestly, it’s pretty scary and I like it. The wide jaw and hairline lead me to believe that it is of a man. Now onto the creepy parts. The eyes are big, glossy, and black. They give off a sense of being spaced out. I am not exactly sure. The forehead is large but the part that stands out the most is the jaw. The teeth are thin, long, and spaced out. The lips are pursed, almost as to kiss someone/something. Then the neck is thin and long, disproportionate to the rest of the head. And that’s another thing, the piece is just a head. Maybe the eyes have the spaced out look because the person is dead. Maybe there are no pupils because then it would look too alive. It is very interesting and like I said before, it freaks me out; which is awesome.
The second piece that I found interesting and creepy was this one.
This one is called the Maiden Mask. I would assume from the word ‘maiden,’ it is a woman’s mask. Supposedly, these masks were used in some kind of African performances. Which would lead me to believe that people would put this on their faces, which is obvious because of the word ‘mask.’ It is a cool piece, and the elongated face, small beady eyes, sharp teeth, and big mask freak me out. I like this one the best.
After the African exhibit, we visited the Matisse—In Search of True Painting. Matisse also had abstract tendencies, but they did not seem to have African influence. However, if we say that all ‘modern’ art can trace it’s roots to African Art, then maybe Matisse was influenced by the Africans.
Matisse had painted doubles and triples of most of his work. He seemed to be in search of the painter that he was. He was just conflicted. He used different styles, colors, and techniques to create different works of art from the same subject. He did a triplet of Notre Dame. They were all similar, but all different. Here is one of the triplets.
During his later life, Matisse delved into more and more attempts at the same work. He went from doubles and triples to painting the same subject around 15 times. So I guess instead of finding himself as an artist, Matisse got more lost in himself. Either that, or his ‘true’ painting was his love to see the same work differently. He was a confusing man.
Apartheid was brought back to life in the form of the ICP exhibit, Rise and Fall of Apartheid: Photography and the Bureaucracy of Everyday Life. But the big question was if it ever died.
Apartheid isthe legislated racial segregation of blacks. It used to be specifically referring to the actions taken in South Africa but it can be argued that this behavior is not simply limited to the region of South Africa.
Berenice Abbot would be happy with this exhibit. Each and every picture is a slap in the face. Practically shoving painful and desperate reality down your throat. There is a message in each picture, another part of the exhibit that she would be happy with. What is this message? Well, clearly a theme is that Apartheid is absolutely abominable and should be abolished.
However the concept of Apartheid was so strong that in everything from movies to simple newspapers. It, unfortunately, was becoming the essence of society at that point in history. Something powerful enough to be injected into all aspects of society is not easily forgotten, though. Even after the films stopped being produced and the racist newspapers stopped being printed, there was still a presence of apartheid. At first it was de jure apartheid. Laws were passed segregating the dark skinned from the white skinned. Just as the Jim Crow laws here in America were legally binding measures taken by whites.
After many of the laws were repealed, it became de facto apartheid. A photo by Peter Magubane showed the ‘notorious green car: police drove around Soweto taking potshots at innocent passerby. Imagine that, being shot by your own police. The people who are put there to protect you. Another photo shows Antoinette Sithole and Mbuyisa Makhubo carrying Hector Pieterson at a peaceful student demonstration.
By Sam Nzima
He had been shot by the police as well.
Then there is another photo by Peter Magubane which everyone seems to connect with. It is of 5,000+ people at a graveyard after the Sharpeville Massacre. The massacre was because of a peaceful protest. The protestors apparently outnumbered the amount of police present. So they opened fire, killing almost 7o people.
By Peter Magubane
The whole exhibit is powerful and sends a clear message. It did its job well.
Walking into the theater, I didn’t know what the unfinished structure in the middle of the stage was. It looked a little like a house, but surely it wasn’t done yet. Were we too early? Was the stage crew still setting up? Show was starting in 10 minutes, so they better kick it into high gear. Seven minutes were left, still no stage crew. Two minutes, still nobody. Then there was no time left, time to see what was happening. The projectors turned on and the house was instantly complete.
What trickery was this? Well whatever it was, I was instantly interested. (Photos courtesy of BAM)
They say history repeats itself. And I’d say that the producers at BAM would agree. The appropriately named production of House/Divided fused together the past and the present. Taking parts of Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath to illustrate their point. What does Steinbeck’s classic and the current financial state have in common? More that you’d think. Let’s take Rosasharn’s baby for example. A stillbirth. Why though? Is it a symbol that new life cannot be supported in these desperate times? If it is then why did House/Divided put it in their play? Are they trying to tell us something?
Back to the set. A symbol in itself. Throughout the play, pieces of the house are broken off and tossed away. Is the house itself a symbol? It must have been important enough to be put in the title. A House/Divided, yes there is a house on set. And it is being divided, but what other house do we know of? Is it in our government, or perhaps the economy itself? The symbolism is everywhere. If the production gets you to think (which it did for me) then it did its job. If the house is the economy itself, then then the play is illustrating its eventual demise. The Grapes of Wrath was a perfect juxtaposition with today. However it was not a juxtaposition of current events, but time itself. Time is one of the only factors that was different. Shown with the folk music, different music and lighting. The struggle, sadness, and sorrow is apparent in both eras.
But who is to blame? At the end of the play, the house topples to a elongated table. At the end of it sits Alan Greenspan (well, an actor playing him.) Mr. Greenspan was the head of the Fed when the current recession began. According to the play, he was a force in the current economic situation. As well as the banking system in general. Have we, as a nation, become too dependent on banks and the government? Is there a need for reform? Do we need to regulate or deregulate? Many questions are raised after viewing the play. And only the individual can answer them because this society will never agree.
History repeats itself unless we learn from it. Will we—as a nation—ever learn?
Not many people can say they are the head of a successful business. But Max Flatow can.
Max Flatow is a self-taught photographer who went to Southern Vermont College. It was a small school with about 450 students. This is where Flatow became a photographer. The school simply gave him a key when he asked about a dark room on campus. How awesome is that? He learned photography from utilizing the equipment that he had. After he learned the art of photography, he began to learn the tricks of the trade.
Flatow uses social networking to show his work to the public and expand his consumer base. It is easy to view his Facebook page and see a lot of his outstanding work. Flatow posts his favorites to the page. Here is a link to the page so that you can decide for yourself.
http://www.facebook.com/mflatowphoto?fref=ts
In addition to the Facebook page, Flatow believes heavily in word of mouth. Passing ideas from one person to another is sometimes the best way to get business. When people are recommended business from a close friend or relative, then they may be more inclined to actually take the person’s advice. Sometimes Flatow will even be the one recommending his work to others.
Flatow takes pictures of everything. From photos of weddings, to children, to celebrities, and food. If you can photograph one, then you can photograph them all. That seems to be a motto of Flatow and it has proven to be successful for him. When he travels, he contacts local restaurants and shows them his work. “Be your own marketer,” great advice from Flatow. If the restaurant likes it (which I’m sure they all do) then they have the option to hire him to photograph their food. Essentially, even on vacation Flatow is always working. But as long as he is doing something that he loves, then he really isn’t working a day in his life. It can get a tad tedious though.
Flatow will often take 800+ photos and narrow it down to 10. It sounds tough, and I’m sure it is. This is why I’m not a photographer, I would not have the patience for that. This is also probably why I am not rich…
All photos from Max Flatow’s Facebook page. Check it out.
I wish stories just came to me. I, normally, have do some serious thinking before I can write long essays or even shorter ones. Coming up with a good idea can sometimes take me ages…
This is not always the case with the author Katherine Vaz. She described the story of her new book at the Fall 2012 Harman In-Residence. Her book is titled Below the Salt, and it follows a young man whose life surrounds the Civil War. If you want anymore of the plot, then read the book. All that I am going to say is: you won’t be disappointed, its great.
The book didn’t start out that way though.
“I wrote for about a year, stuff that was so terrible that I threw it in a box.” We all have those moments, don’t we? I know that I may be writing an essay and decided to scrap everything that I’ve done because it sucks. But hey, it happens. Move on. Keep writing. Which is exactly what Katherine Vaz did and if she didn’t, then we wouldn’t be able to read her great work. And her work is great.
Vaz’s writing is very immersive. When she sets a scene, the setting comes to life.
“I am a big believer of going to the place and feeling it on your skin … And that’s important.” First, she goes to the setting of the book and experiences the setting. She feels it on her skin. But then—and here’s where the magic happens—she writes about it, and the reader can feel it on his/her skin. Many writers strive for that skill and few succeed, Katherine Vaz being one of them.
She is an extraordinary writer and an interesting speaker; Vaz has forever influenced my writing.
I begun this project with the intent of taking nice looking photos while longboarding around the city. I decided against that idea. For a few reasons.
The main reason was because it was wet and dirty… I ended up being covered in mud, which was not fun at all. But then I got to thinking, there really isn’t a big message affiliated with taking nice pictures. It’s pretty bland and boring. That’s when I ended up at Rockefeller Center. I’ve never really been there before, except when I was little, so I decided to take a look around. When I got there (with the help of my phone), I noticed a lot of police present. I wasn’t entirely surprised and started snapping a few pictures of them.
I was–once again– pulling a ‘Walker Evans.’ It was hard to take pictures of police because they normally don’t want to be filmed. I figured I’d take the risk and do it anyway. It’s more fun that way. It’s also more interesting.
As I was taking the pictures, I started thinking of the significance. The police weren’t really doing much. Some were talking to tourists, laughing, having a good time. There were the serious cops, the cops that were right out of the academy, and none of them seemed busy. So why were they there? There are tourists, shoppers, natives New Yorkers, and many more types of people. When there is a lot of people in a small space, violence tends to ensue. However when police are present, one of two things happen: one is that people feel safe, and the other thing is that people get scared. Safety is always a good thing. When there are police, the good people feel protected. At the same time when there is police, the bad people get scared. That’s why there aren’t many violent acts committed in Rockefeller Center. Now this theory is interesting(at least to me) but it doesn’t seem to apply in similar places.
When I got that idea, I skated down to Bryant Park. Bryant Park is similar to Rockefeller Center. It’s about the same size, there is an ice rink, there are a decent amount of people, and they even have a lit tree. But, there was little-to-no police presence. I saw one security guard. That’s it.
After Bryant Park, I went to Baruch. On the way to Baruch, I remembered that there is a Christmas tree in Madison Square Park too. So I stopped by to see it. Same deal as the other two places. Christmas tree, decent amount of people, plenty of things to do. But here, there were no security guards, cops, park workers, or any authority at all.
So why is there little or no police presence at Bryant Park and Madison Square Park, but Rockefeller Center is like NYPD headquarters? Can people really not contain themselves in Rockefeller Center but are perfectly fine at similar places? It doesn’t seem to make sense. The only aspect of Rockefeller Center that is different is that there is more tourism. Is that the only reason though? I just found it bizarre.
I did this project on Prezi because I never used it before and I wanted to learn. Ben said it would be good for this project and I’d have to agree with him. It’s pretty cool.
Go to another country and they might know what you’re talking about, if you’re lucky. Obviously what you are trying to do is take a picture and need everyone to smile.
Apparently many cultures have different sayings to get their photo subjects to flash those pearly whites. In France, saying ‘cheese’ is acceptable enough that people will know what you are referring to, so it’s not a big issue there. But upon further questioning, many French children also use the word ouistiti, which means ‘marmoset’ (below.) My high school French teacher explained it simply, “It’s a kid thing.”
Fair enough. But that is a similar theme in America. I would bet a couple bucks that most of you aren’t waiting for your friend to snap a picture while yelling cheese. Here, it’s mostly a ‘kid thing’ too. It seems to have dissolved the older we got, not that I’m complaining. I hated it when I was little.
Now according to the wonderful world of the Internet, the Chinese say qie zi (which means eggplant), the Spanish say patatta (potato), Mexicans say ‘whisky,’ Iranians say sib (apple), Greeks with pes tiri (translates to say cheese), Germans say Käse (cheese), Korea has kimchi (a common food that is eaten there), and the Japanese sayチーズ (chii-zu which sounds like cheese.)
It is interesting to see all the different ways that people take pictures. I wonder why most of these words/phrases are foods.
Well at least now if you travel to one of these countries, you won’t look like a total fool saying cheese in front of a camera. You’ll just look like a fool in general.
Reflection on the Medium: What it Means to Photograph.
The two most interesting pieces to me were by Berenice Abbot and Larry Sultan. After reading the persuasive argument made by Abbot, I could not enjoy Ken Light’s piece as much.
Starting with Abbot’s piece on the ‘reality’ of photography. She says, “I believe there is no more creative medium than photography to recreate the living world of our time.” I’d have to agree with her. A photograph is a snapshot of a certain moment in history and no other picture captures the same moment and perspective. A photo can be influential or meaningless. Log onto ‘Instagram’ and see pictures of people’s dinner, people’s cats, and the ‘outfit of the day.’ None of these pictures influence me in any way. On the other hand, some Instagram accounts take real pictures. Pictures that exhibit reality and influence people.
Abbot then goes onto say how certain historical events call for a need of ‘real’ pictures to document the event. But she argues that simple documentary photography is the plague of photography and pictures need to impact a person. They need to be a ‘penetrating statement.’ I agree with that; without a statement, a picture is nothing more than a disconnected perspective of something we may (or may not) care about. Simply put, pictures aren’t good without the ‘magic.’
Now onto Larry Sultan’s piece on why he photographs his family. Sultan uses photography as a way to ‘find’ himself. But how can anyone find himself or herself through taking photos of other people? Well firstly, he very much enjoys taking pictures. He would work his father’s garden for hours if his dad would let him take a few pictures of him. That’s dedication. But, Sultan tends to make his parents and his other subjects seem more “despairing than [they] really feel.” Sultan wanted to capture an objective reality of his subjects. Something that bothered his father or, as Abbot would say, penetrated him. His father felt something because of Sultan’s work. I think that is the point of photography, something that Abbot feels as well. Photography should be real and impacts a person, for better or for worse.
5 terms of Photography:
BLUR: Unsharpness because of the movement of the camera or subject during exposure. Blur can be used for many creative effects. In computer imaging, the use of Blur controls to selectively soften parts of the image.
DEPTH OF FIELD: The zone, or range of distances within a scene that will record on film as sharp. Depth of field is influenced by the focal length of the lens in use, the f-number setting on the lens, and the distance from the camera to the subject. It can be shallow or deep, and can be totally controlled by the photographer. It is one of the most creative and profound effects available to photographers.
FOCUS: Causing light to form a point, or sharp image on the image sensor or film.
SHARPNESS: The perception that a picture, or parts of a picture are in focus. Also, the rendition of edges or tonal borders.
WASHED OUT: Jargon for seriously overexposed slides, or overexposed highlight areas within slides and prints. It’s as if the colors have been diluted to the extent that all pigments have been “washed out.”
As you now know, I was out of power for 13 days with no power. During the day, when there was ample light for board games, reading, etc. Being that I have three siblings, it still wasn’t terribly boring. But I am the oldest, and consequently the smartest. So none of my siblings, whose names (in age order) are Arianna, Tom, and John, really gave me a challenge with the games that we played. I happen to think chess is a fun game so none of my siblings were able to beat me at it. I am probably not ‘good’ by any standards but I can hold my own in a friendly game. All three of my siblings wanted to play me for some reason; I figured it was for bragging rights. “Haha, I beat Joey” would have been ringing in my ears for a few hours but I wouldn’t really have minded. If they can beat me then good for them.
However, none of them could. But that’s when we found a bunch of old checkers pieces. Instead of chess, we decided to fire up a game of checkers. It is important to note that I’ve always hated checkers for some reason. I was never really good at it, even though it is much simpler than checkers and I never understood that. So I had to be reminded of the rules and how to set the board up. When the board was set up, I played each of my siblings. Arianna was first; I shut her down pretty quickly. Then was Tom, where the same thing happened.
But then I played John.
The kid smoked me. He’s only a freshman in high school. Needless to say, I was surprised but happy for him. Apparently he has some Checkers app on his iPod and if he can’t fall asleep then he loads up the app and plays until he falls asleep. He must have had a few restless nights and figured the strategy out. It solidifies the idea that “practice makes perfect,” even if it’s unintentional. Before he got too much of a big head, I downloaded the app on my phone.
Now the poor kid can’t beat me anymore (but I still let him win occasionally… He really loves to win.)
Now Sandy was about a month ago. And now seems the perfect time to reflect on what happened to me.
I live on Long Island. All of Long Island was affected differently. I was fortunate enough to be in an area that was hit hard, but not devastated. Devastated, what a word, but there isn’t one powerful enough to describe what happened to some families. Sandy was the real deal.
Now back to my story. Before she hit, she was on every news station. Everyone and their brother was covering the ‘Frankenstorm on the east coast.’ They made her sound bad, like they always do with storms like this. I figured it was a strategy to get more viewers to their channel. Being that hurricanes don’t hit Long Island very often, and the ones that have (or at least the ones that I was alive to experience) haven’t been too bad. Here I was thinking that Sandy would show up to my front door, huff and puff and try to blow my house down, then run away with her tail between her legs to try her luck on another town.
I was wrong.
Welcome to my front yard and the cause of my outage.
The power went out the night of the storm. Even though I was getting ready to go to bed, it was a wake-up call. Maybe this storm is going to be a tad worse than expected… Nah, I bet we’ll get power back tomorrow. Guess I’ll just have to tough it out until then.
I got power back on Day 13 after the storm.
Now, during my freshman orientation for Baruch, I was let in on a little insider information: like my high school, Baruch tends not to close too often. If the subways are down and the weather is exceptionally bad, then the school may decide to shut down for a day. But essentially, don’t get your hopes up because it rarely happens.
School was cancelled for a week.
So let’s get this straight. School was closed for a whole week, and I had no power for 13 days after the storm. Which obviously means that I had no power during the time school was closed. What did I do you ask? Well, besides the cold showers, morgue showers (I worked in a hospital, and when it got power, I went to the morgue and used the shower that they had in it), lack of internet, no electronic devices, no cell phone signal, no freezer, spoiled meats, gas lines, no ice, barbequed foods each night, nothing in grocery stores, trees down, power lines lying lifeless in the street, and lots and lots of darkness; something pretty profound happened to me.
I picked up a book. ‘Wait, you picked up a book, who cares…?’ Well let me explain.
I never read books. Never. A teacher would assign one, and I’d look up the summary. I hated reading and reading hated me, we had a mutual relationship. So why did I pick up a book in the first place? Frankly, I was bored. Boredom like you wouldn’t believe. So I went to my basement, picked out a nice 600 page Stephen King book and got crackin’. Bag of Bones was the title and I couldn’t put the damn thing down. It was the most interesting experience of my life. I loved reading it. Now I don’t love many things, but ‘reading that book’ made the list. The story, the characters, the horror, It was amazing and I was hooked.
This overweight fella changed my life.
I’ve read three other Stephen King books after the incident. I can’t stop. I don’t plan on stopping either.
I’ve filled a little void in my life and, despite everything, I thank Sandy for this.
My theme was “Longboarding and the City.” All the photos taken were during my everyday routine of living in the city. They range from the Deer Park train station to Madison Square Park. I actually consider the Deer Park train station part of “the city” because it’s how I get to Manhattan (I know it sounds absurd.) Some of the pictures were taken on foot and some of the pictures were taken whilst riding my own longboard. I ordered the pictures in my slideshow from the beginning of my daily journey to the end. I usually see longboarders on my route from penn to school, so I figured it would be a decent and different topic to photograph. I tried to create a small sense of my daily journey and how longboards are actually a huge part of my life (and the lives of others.)
Longboards are a perfect mode of transportation for the city for plenty of reasons. For one, they are fast. They may not look it, but they can easily get you up to forty miles per four if you find a decent sized hill. The long decks and the wide wheel bases help stabilize the rider at high speeds. It is scary, but can be seriously fun. As long as you don’t fall, then I guarantee great amusement (sometimes falling can even be fun if you’ll believe it.) Another reason that they are perfect for the city is the portability of a board. It would be mighty difficult for a person to carry a bike around everywhere. Carrying a board, on the other hand, is easy and manageable. Apparently Baruch even has a rule against having any kind of ‘cycles’ in the school. I found that out when I brought my unicycle to school. It is inconvenient but at least I am allowed to bring a longboard in the building. The third reason is that longboarding is fun. My high school friends and I would go on midnight skating runs and there was never a dull moment. Skating is extremely fun in general, so skating in the city is no exception. There are always different streets to ride and fun to be had.
The combination of these factors makes longboarding rather important to me, so it was fun to work on this project. Photographing different longboarders helped me see how many skaters there actually are in the city and how important longboarding actually is to Manhattan. It is a widely used mode of transportation and is very efficient. I’ve made it from Baruch to Penn station in five minutes flat, which isn’t bad. However with all of the perks of skating and the fun of the project in general, there were still plenty of difficulties with this project.
One of the greatest challenges was actually snapping the photo. I saw plenty of longboarders but by the time I whipped out my phone to take a picture, the skater was gone. It was very frustrating because I would have a great shot lined up one second, and the next second the skater disappeared behind a building or a car. This wasn’t a huge problem when it was warmer out because there was always another skater around the corner.
This leads me to my second problem with my topic. Being that it is cold out, there are less and less skaters everyday. There are still some, but much less than there was when I began the project. It became frustrating because if I missed a shot, the next opportunity for another wouldn’t be for a couple of days. To compensate for this, I kept my camera in a more accessible pocket so it was easier and quicker to snap photos. My success rate rose.
Another problem was blurriness of photos. Being that longboarding is an activity that is constantly full of motion, photographing it with a cell phone was rather difficult. The shutter speed of an iPhone is apparently rather slow, so taking high quality pictures of movements was very hard. I had a couple of great ideas but once I took the photo, the picture was extremely blurry and unusable. It was a nightmare. At least I incorporated a video into my presentation.
The only thing that I need to change is that a few of my pictures wouldn’t load into the PowerPoint. So I’ll have to add them in when I figure out how to format them correctly so that they will work. i’m not sure why they were screwed up, but they were.
Being that longboarding is full of movement, why not include a video? I originally planned on going to Central Park to skate a large hill but when I arrived, the hill was covered in leaves and I surely would have fallen and hurt myself. Wouldn’t have been the best plan. So instead, I ventured to Times Square and did a small first person video to give a taste of how longboarding looks to the rider. It is difficult to navigate the many people and cars, especially in Times Square, so I thought it may be interesting. I was going at a slow speed because of the high volume of people and cars that day. I still think the video is a tad interesting though. All in all, the project was fun and I wouldn’t mind continuing to take photos for fun. Why not right?
I’m sure you’ve heard it before. Even before the curtains open you know you have. But this is where it comes from? Well all right then; maybe the opera isn’t as foreign as you once thought. The opening scene starts with familiar music that comforts the wary first-time opera-goer. The ‘Habanera’ has been injected in pop-culture even if you didn’t know its origins. It is interesting and the orchestra is top notch at delivering the music to the Metropolitan Opera, even to the ‘nosebleeds’ where I was so fortunate to be seated. Another song that I am sure you are aware of is the ‘Toreador,’ you’ll know if you hear it.
Back to the opening scene. The stage is just all red. Redness and then a crack up the center of the curtain slowly breaks open more and more. Then you see a couple of people, one man and one woman, moving and it becomes clear. The redness, the two bodies, their formal ballet movements. It’s passion, and plenty of it. And that theme doesn’t die down; throughout the whole show there is a heavy degree of passion emitted from the stage. Even though it may be past your bedtime, there’s no nodding off. There is laughing, singing, yelling, crying, dying, and it all comes delivered in a fresh French package. Yes, the opera is in French so it would be a plus if you can speak Carmen and Don Jose’s tongue, but not to worry if you don’t. On the back of the headrest of the seat in front of you is a small screen that gives off subtitles in English, Spanish, or German. Leave it to the ‘Met’ to provide such a service, one that’s much appreciated by the way.
Courtesy of the Met
There’s more to appreciate than just the subtitles on the headrests though, how about the opera itself? Wait though, I’m getting ahead of myself, I just want to talk about the stage a bit first. If you want to see a set transform and view it from different angles then Carmen is the show to see. It is ingenious the way the stage moves. The scene changes location right before you.
Though the second scene is where the real magic begins. It is also where we first see the revolving set, with its multiple layers slowly spinning around the stage. There are many intricacies of the stage that are even overlooked. Like the massively jagged edges of the main set that looks like a stadium. It makes it look real as an opera can get. There is also a trap door, which is located smack in the center of the stage that many women pour out of, because apparently a revolving set isn’t good enough for the Met. There are no cutting corners here; even with the actors they did not cut corners.
Speaking of which, the acting was phenomenal for the opera, which was written a while ago so many modifications arose. There was passion (there’s that word again) in the movements of the actors especially. Especially in the ending scene where… (alright I won’t ruin it for you) but, there is loads upon loads of passion in the end scene. Carmen herself is full of raw passion that is not exhibited by the other actresses, mainly because Carmen is the only one that is really supposed to be, which exemplifies her as the main character. She is also distinguished by the loud colors that she drapes herself with. Don Jose seems like just a mess, which fits absolutely perfect with the character he plays. It seems like Carmen is in control the majority of the time, which also fits very well into the storyline of the play.
Courtesy of: Comstock Images, Alamy
The story is great and it shows how the value of some things does not diminish with time. Do the math, Carmen has been playing for years and the seats are still packed. That’s got to mean something.
The New York City Center was packed for the annual Fall for Dance Festival, and rightly so, the crowd was ready to see serious skill. There were four very, very different performances that were put on. They ranged from traditional ballet to passionate reflections on natural disaster. I found some of them better than others.
The first of the bunch was the traditional ballet courtesy of Ballet West. There were plenty of girls who began the dance and exhibited great skill in the delicate art of ballet. The bodies of the women seemed to have poles in them, the ‘lines’ that the dancers made with their bodies were straight and rather impressive. It seemed as though the dancer’s arms and legs were connected and straight as an arrow. The muscles of the women were defined through their tights showing years of punishment to their bodies. It is necessary to be strong though, without strength the dancers would physically not be able to perform. The strongest of the group was the male dancer though, his name being Rex Tilton.
Courtesy of the NYC Center
He jumped, and I would have swore that gravity was turned down. The man was airborne for much longer than any average man can be. It was simply awesome to watch him fly around the stage. The other dancers that surrounded the duo were good, but they seemed like a simple background to the action of the man and his woman. They moved less and in different ways than the couple, which distanced them from the passion. Passion was a recurring theme in the whole festival for it has endless possibilities. The passion of the festival was not limited to just love though; you can be passionate about shoes too. Right?
The second dance was just that, the struggle of answering, what may be, the most impossible question of a young lady’s life. The question being, ‘should I get those shoes or not?’ The dance was full of jazz and blues, almost as if to say ‘if I don’t get the shoes, then I will be a sad excuse for a person.’ The kicker is that the shoes didn’t even fit her, she just liked them and of course the salesman is going to push to woman to buy them. Those salesmen are the worst, aren’t they? The whole second performance just seemed like real life and it was executed great, the crowd loved it. The third performance was a little less loved though.
The third act began quiet… too quiet. (Sorry I always wanted to say that.) During the quietness, the wonderful sound of sneezes, coughs, and cell phones were echoed throughout the near perfect acoustics of the NYC Center. It detracted from the performance, as the feeling of being transported to a place of rich culture and emotion was lost. Hearty sneezes do tend to have that effect of killing seriousness, especially when it’s supposed to be quiet. Now after the quiet parts, the action picked up and stole everyone’s attention back. The furious beatings of drums and the dancers even used their own costumes as some sort of percussion instrument. It was a nice wake-up call. The wake-up call shone through into the next performance, which was a Russian gypsy piece.
I personally thought it was a light-hearted performance that was meant to keep you smiling. The weird movements of the men on stage led to more than a few heavy outbursts of laughter. Now I am not sure if they were laughing at or with the dancers but it seemed to be the former. The dancers had cheery expressions on their faces and the dance was fast paced and exciting.
Courtesy of the New York City Center
If I had to rank the performances from favorite to least favorite, then I would choose ‘High Heel Blues,’ ‘Tarian Malam (Night Dances), then the gypsy dance and last but not least, the ballet. (I guess I’m just not the ballet type.)
Back in the 1800’s the technology to create a moving picture was still in the primitive form. The frame rate was slow and there was no color. To counter this, certain people would take footage and literally hand paint each frame to give color. Apparently, the Lumière Brothers were one of the groups who did this. And of course they would only take important motion pictures to work on. Supposedly one of the colorings that they did was of Loie Fuller in 1896.
However some historians have doubts about the true identities of the dancers. Jody Sperling is one of these historians who has an extensive knowledge on dances like these. Sperling is also a choreographer and a dancer; she is passionate about her work on stage and off. She formed her own dance company aptly named “Time Lapse Dance” due to the heavy influence from past dancers and magnificent styles. Here is a link to their website http://www.timelapsedance.com. It is a non-profit organization so one can imagine how tough it is to maintain. Much of money that keeps the company running is from donations. Donations can be hard to come by in this day in age, so a certain strategy is used by Sperling and fellow members of the company is to use a network. Sperling asks people she knows for donations, and then those people ask more people… so on and so forth. Using a network like this is savvy and practical, which is one of the reasons she has managed to maintain and operate her entity.
Loie Fuller is famous for the dance called the ‘Serpentine Dance.’ Fuller developed this type of art due to the receptiveness of the audience. She uses copious amounts of fabric to spin around. After more development in the art, she used colored lights to point at herself to give awesome illusions of movement and stillness as Jody Sperling described. She is very knowledgeable about the art because she performs it herself. She was even asked to perform at the Library of Congress, which is a huge accomplishment.
Sperling uses certain props and a number of dancers in her version of the art. She showed us a certain video in which the dancers used mirrors and spectacular lights to portray an amazing sense of movement and the flow of choreography and ribboning fabric. Fuller developed a system of lighting that, while effective, was still primitive technology. Sperling has the advantage of using 21st century technology in her art, which elevates it to a new level.
The appreciation for real art is lacking in the world today. So much of the world today is caught up in the mundane reality of the Internet and mindless behaviors. The youth of today is staying in and wasting away on the Internet and other technologies of our age rather than going out and experiencing the world that surrounds them. Hopefully the inspiration that Jody Sperling found with the art of Loie Fuller can be shared with the youth of today to keep art alive in America. Even if people do not particularly get involved in the art of the ‘Serpentine Dance,’ just learning about it can spark an idea. And all Loie Fuller started out with was an idea; and now, she’s a legend.
My father had worked as a Corrections Officer at Rikers Island for 20 years of his life. So from all of the stories that I heard, I had a pretty good idea of what an inmate is. There are some that are very bad people. People like murderers, rapists, so on and so forth. People that are not always meant for the outside world. But, there is another type of inmate. Some are normal people who made bad decisions in their life and now are paying the price by spending some time in prison. Then, they get out.
What do inmates do when they get out? Especially if they have no money, no job, no home, or no family. Well I had another experience on the subway. With an ex-felon. Now, I know it sounds pretty bad but here’s what happened.
A couple of days ago, I was taking the subway to Times Square for the first time (it seems like every time I am on the subway something interesting happens, but maybe it’s normal.) During the ride, a man gets on. When the doors shut, he spoke (actually almost yelled) the following in a rather forceful voice: “*Ahem* Hi everyone, let me have your attention for a second. I was recently released from prison. I don’t have a home, I don’t have food, I smell. My life is terrible. If anyone has any change, or any food. I’ll be glad to take it. I have a few felonies on me, but I don’t want any trouble.” He then proceeded to walk around the train taking any offerings from the people. He actually got a pretty decent amount of money from the looks of it, which I found interesting. It seemed that people were more scared of him rather than genuinely willing to help, but that’s just my guess.
I, of course, did not give the man any money. I mean please… I’m a New Yorker.
This encounter was interesting because it gave me a glimpse into the world of what prison can do to a person. It seemed to have ruined this particular man’s life and I, for one, did not want to walk down that road. I don’t get very scared easily; but once I pictured myself in that man’s situation, I was pretty frightened.
I had just gotten out of my Sociology class at 5:25 pm when I and one of my classmates met up to travel to the New York City Center. It was dark and raining outside when we left Baruch. So, we journeyed to the subway station because walking for too long in the rain would not have been a very enjoyable experience.
Waiting for the train to come took only a few short minutes and we were on the train and on our way. After two stops, a woman stepped on. She was African American wearing relatively tattered clothing. Five seconds after the doors shut, she spoke loudly for the whole car to hear, “Hello ladies and gentlemen. I am going to perform a song for you and if you like it then clap, and if you don’t then just ignore me. Thank you all very much.” And so, she began to sing. Now this is a relatively new experience for me, but it probably is not for any of you. Remember, I really haven’t taken the subway often…
Anyway, the woman sang “Someone Like You” by Adele. In my opinion, she sang the song better than the original… There wasn’t any more high notes and her voice was good, but not amazing. It was just the way that she sang that got me. I thought the woman was going to break down and cry at the end of the song because her voice sounded so heartbroken. It amazes me the talent that is lost in subway stations…
A man sprawled over a sandy grave, wretchedly trying to arrange the scattered stones into a dignified cross will leave you with chills spiking through your shirt. How can a man care so much about a dead woman who he never knew? Well, Athol Fugard will tell you exactly why in The Train Driver.
Poster from outside theater
Roelf Visagie (Ritchie Coster) begs for the nameless. He dignifies the graves of the undignified during his search for the one he calls “Red Doek.” Hate consumes Roelf’s life as his life was instantly ruined. ‘Red Doek,’ an African mother had thrown herself, along with her baby, in front of a train—his train—and took Roelf down with her. However, Roelf is able to turn hate into a quite different emotion with a little help from Simon Hanabe (Leon Addison Brown.) The relationship that slowly forms between Simon and him helps Roelf realize a truth behind the death of the mother. The mostly bare graveyard is the setting of a psychological evolution.
The woman decimated Roelf’s happy life. He despises her, and what she had done to him. He screams to her from the graveyard in anguish, then he screams at Simon for answers. The sadness of the man is expressed through the anger of his actions. Ritchie Coster did a fantastic job with the expressive nature of his character. His dirty clothes and body, along with drunken movements and slurred speech, captured the essence of the character’s agony.
Credits to Richard Termine/Boneau/Bryan-Brown via Bloomberg
At first sight, the set seems like a fairly unpopulated junkyard with sand covering the ground. The only ‘junk’ being a scrapped sedan sprawled on the left side of the stage covered in old tires, wood, and soiled fabrics. Other than the car, a small shack in which the grave digger—Simon— calls home sweet home. Surrounding the shack, small piles of earth, topped with stones, litter the ground. Then to disturb the (seemingly already disturbed) wasteland, Roelf comes to interrogate Simon the suicidal woman. The detail of the set was interesting. The sense of dirtiness and wear is injected into each piece of the set. Even Simon’s shovel is worn at the spaded tip from the endless digging that must have occurred.
The main issue at stake is apartheid, an issue in which Athol Fugard is well-versed and passionate about. The ghastly effect of apartheid on the innocent is implied throughout the play. Fugard does not barrage these ideas at you though, allowing room for interpretation.
Less is more in the case of The Train Driver. The simple set, and the simple costumes allowed for more of a focus on the story. It allowed for more attention to be given to the minute details surrounding the characters and the storyline. Being that there are only two actors, the words each character speaks are not lost. It gives each sentence more value, and gives each sentence more potency.
So don’t be fooled by a small theater, a simple set, and two actors;just enjoy the ride.
For my collage, I would like to document the transportation aspect of the city. But, not in the traditional like trains, buses, taxis, or cars. I longboard to school most days, and I see many other people skating as well. Taking pictures of the different—and in my opinion more fun—means of moving from one place to another.
Taking a bus or a taxi can be mundane. Most of the time it is the same as it was last time. When skating, every experience is different. I would like to board around the city with my camera and take pictures of/with different bikers and skaters around the city. In October, there is an event called the Broadway Bomb. In this event, thousands of skaters from all over the tri-state area come down and race most of the length of Manhattan. This year, I was planning to go and I would be stoked if I could incorporate the event into a school project.
Before coming to Baruch, I never really came to the city. I’m not sure why, it’s close to where I live. My family and I just seldom come. I probably only visited twice before coming to the city for anything college related. Now that I think about it, that is a very ridiculously small number. Anyway, my first visit to Manhattan was an eye-opener.
Walking the city blocks for the first time next to my dad was an experience I’ll never forget. As we were traversing our way to our destination (which was to go visit the Empire State Building) I saw something that changed the way I viewed the city.
Someone got pickpocketed. I remember it like it was yesterday.
A man with red hair and a red beard was walking down 34th street. He was wearing a pea coat, jeans, and black leather shoes. With white earbuds in, he seemed like he was enjoying his music. Then, a man with a scruffy beard and a thick moustache followed him. He was wearing a black hoodie, light jeans, and a baseball cap. The bearded man pulled out a cell phone and began talking into it. Although he did not look at the caller ID or press any buttons. He just began talking into it, using so many words to say absolutely nothing. Right as the red-headed man was turning the corner onto 6th Avenue, the bearded man walked straight into him. The black pea coat and the black hoodie seemed to fight with each other as the garments rubbed against each other. There was a mixture of black between the two men. Then suddenly, the chaos stopped, the bearded man turned and briskly walked away. About five seconds later, the red-headed man ran after him.
It happens often in the city but it changed my perspective. From now on, I am much more aware. I always check to make sure my wallet is in my pocket, I have much more street savoir-faire. I always had it, but it has been much better since I saw that attempted robbery.
Who am I? Well, to be honest. I’m not entirely sure. I know what I like to do, and what happened in my past. I actually do not think that the question is answerable. It is like asking what is the meaning of life? I’m not too sure of the answer.
Some may say that college is the tool in which they will “begin to truly discover who they really are.” Not for me. College may point me in the right direction but it cannot tell me who I am. But, this is an about face, so right now I need to turn around, face my past, and do a little thinking to get an idea of who I’ve been.
I can ride a unicycle. Here I am, hopping around on it.
People ask me all the time, “Why Joe…? What could have possibly possessed you to buy a unicycle?” I give them the same answer every time. “Why not…? I saw some dude doing it on YouTube, so I bought one.” Then they ask the second question that everyone asks, “Is it hard to ride?” Yes, it’s very hard to ride. It’s one wheel, enough said. It took me a week just to learn to go straight. I just kept thinking of when I first saw that guy on the Internet riding one. I thought, ‘I am going to learn how to do that…’ So, I bought one and I did.
After I learned to ride it, I realized that I didn’t mind seeming weird. When people walk or drive past me, they do the classic ‘double take’ (which is my favorite) where they look, look back to what they were doing, and then look back at me with the most confused look on their face. I like standing out, life is too short and too boring to sit at home on the Internet all day. I personally cannot stay online for more than a few hours at a time or else I will be bored to no end. I need to be outside, or with people, doing something. It is just what I like to do. There is more to my life though. I do normal things too, like listen to music.
Music is a huge part of my life. I need it to function. I can’t go a day without listening to my iPod; my collection of music will never stop growing for as long as I live. I really started getting into music during high school, especially during freshman and sophomore year. Music helps me deal with any sort of life pressures. Artists like Blink 182, Mayday Parade, Relient K, etc. have lyrics that really make you think.
Every time I hear a song I need to read the lyrics, it helps me better understand the song and feel more of the song. I do not understand how people can listen to music without knowing the lyrics. Anyone can hear a song, but it takes more to feel it.
Here is the link to a Mayday Parade song. It’s about a dad talking to his son. If you like it, great; if you don’t, then go listen to something you do like. If you think it’s lame then that’s cool too. It’s not a big deal. I linked it because I know I’ve been talking about how much music can make someone feel something. So, I picked what I think is the most ’emotional’ song on my iPod so maybe you all can feel something from it.
The french do not seem to take the drinking age seriously. Walking through the streets Paris at night, looking for a decent place to eat is a relatively simple task. Choosing a place is the difficult part… If someone is a vegetarian, or if they do not have a particular taste in a certain type of food, it can make deciding difficult. Finally, we found this humble restaurant tucked between two shops on a cobblestone street. It looked perfect. So, we went inside and found a table. We were sitting, waiting a few minutes for the waiter to come to our seats, listening to the woman playing upbeat music on the piano and singing in the corner. Then, the waiter came around to us. We chatted for a little as he asked us where we were from, being very social and welcoming. Then, he asked us what we wanted to drink. We all said water. He, politely, said no. Puzzled, we asked why? He asserted that we were all to order the wine if we did want an authentic dinner in Paris. We told him that we were underage (most of us by only a few months.) He said without pressuring us, “Underaged? As long as you are over two years old then it is legal to drink here,” So, we agreed and ordered wine and enjoyed it with our dinner. I thought, in America, there is no possible way that would have happened. It is absurd to think about. A simple drink with dinner can set two cultures apart and that interested me greatly.
Cue – An act that a stage manager does to remind an actor of their line or an act that a stage manager does to tell the technical crew to perform a certain action. May be verbal of with an action.
Hot Spot – An area on the stage that is very bright because lights are pointed at it. It adds a sense of importance to the spot and to whatever actor may be occupying that space. Portrays importance to whatever/whoever is in the “Hot Spot.”
Sightlines – Lines that are imagined by the crew to determine where on the stage is visible to the audience, and where on the stage the view is blocked. Actors must be aware of these imaginary lines at all times or risk having the audience lose sight of an action done on stage.
The Fourth Wall – An imaginary wall put towards the front of the stage that the actors use to pretend as though the audience is not there, allows for no interaction between audience and actors.
Escape Stairs – Stairs that are out of sight from the audience and allows for the actors to move around on different levels of the stage without the audience realizing it. Portrays a lager sense of scene differentiation.
I took French for seven years of high school and was on my way to becoming fluent. In addition to taking French in high school I traveled to France with the school on an academic trip. It in itself was a true experience, and in addition to learning French, I learned much of French culture. The first day we spent in France we went to a small café in Nice. The café had a place to sit down and order a la carte. So, we all ordered margherite pizza.
At first everything was fine, but being that it was our first day, we were all excited and a little riled up. One girl at our table was a little loud in the restaurant, but being that we were the only ones there, we didn’t see it as a big deal. However, in French culture, it is rather rude to be loud in a restaurant. So, she received relatively dirty looks from all the staff that worked there. In addition, she was unaware that in France, people do not take ‘doggy bags’ back to their homes after a meal. The meal is simply over and that is the end. She asked the staff to wrap up her pizza. The staff said that they did not do that in France and took the food away. Then, almost as to mock her, the staff took tin foil and wrapped her pizza in it and threw it on the table. The girl was extremely embarrassed and we all learned a small piece of French culture that day.
Comments by Joseph Maugeri
"The city changed me more than I wanted it to. It had, thankfully, changed me for the better though. (Well, there was plenty of room for improvement....)" --( posted on Dec 18, 2012, commenting on the post Private: The City That Never Sleeps )
"Board games... Monopoly was the worst. I could never finish a game of it, and I'm a business major..." --( posted on Dec 18, 2012, commenting on the post Revival of Board Games )
"When I went to France, and saw Notre Dame, it was a special celebration. It was after christmas and right around Ash Wednesday. I was lucky enough to see the supposed original crown of thorns worn my Jesus. It was behind a dark red glass at the back of the cathedral and it was honestly amazing. Check it out one day." --( posted on Dec 18, 2012, commenting on the post Alone in a Pew )
"Most of my family was from Canarsie. It is amazing to see how much things can change. It is very sociological when you delve deep into it." --( posted on Dec 18, 2012, commenting on the post White Flight )
"Professor Bernstein: Crossword puzzles are actually a lot of fun. I do them pretty often.(By the way I am actually just a grandpa disguised as a college student.)" --( posted on Dec 18, 2012, commenting on the post Is Technology Destroying our Culture? )
"I like how you didn't let your mom have all the fun. Tell that cashier who's boss. It gives a nice glimpse into Russian culture and it is very interesting." --( posted on Dec 18, 2012, commenting on the post A Dried Herring, Please )
"My thanksgiving this year was pretty lame. I barely ate anything as I really didn't have plans to go anywhere. I just whipped up a turkey breast, some mashed potatoes, and a little corn. It's amazing to think how much turkey has been affiliated with thanksgiving though." --( posted on Dec 18, 2012, commenting on the post The Spirit of Thanksgiving )
"I just tell the barber to cut it short and then I throw some gel in it when I get home. I never thought that something as simple as hair can affect a person so much. Personal stories are always good and I like your approach. But as long as you think it looks good then do it. Who cares what anyone else thinks. It's the beauty of hair." --( posted on Dec 18, 2012, commenting on the post Styling Personality )
"I agree. Why do people need to fight about which phone to use? Does it really matter? Honestly it is just a marketing ploy to establish product differentiation but that's besides the point. There are minor differences but it all depends on what you want to be viewed as. Just be happy that you are able to afford a cell phone--let alone a smartphone--unlike a vast amount of people on this earth." --( posted on Dec 18, 2012, commenting on the post More than just a phone )
"Chinese and Japanese culture are very different from my background of Irish/Italian. It is interesting to see the similarities though. Many of the Asian students at Baruch are relatable to me, yet some are very different. But Asians are discouraged from saying 'no' you say? Looks like I need to ask out an Asian girl then..." --( posted on Dec 18, 2012, commenting on the post The Art of “No” )
"When I was little, there was this great invention called "outside." The way it worked was that a child would open the back door, step outside, and yeah, that was pretty much it. There was a whole lot of grass and dirt. Plenty of dirt. After that you could take a ball and grab a couple of friends. Then you'd go inside and grab a washcloth, some soap and scrub your knees until they were clean again.
It's sad really... So many kids may never really enjoy the experience of playing outside.
Note: You are all free to call me a 'cranky old man' for this post." --( posted on Dec 6, 2012, commenting on the post Is Technology Destroying our Culture? )
"I think this concept can relate to other sports as well. Throwing a ball around the park with a couple of friends can turn deadly when there is 10 or more people. There is the occasional concussion but it's usually by accident. It is almost like 'mob mentality' breaks out and people forget that it is a simple game. The competitive edge of our personalities bust through even the quietest of guys. It is pretty interesting to watch." --( posted on Oct 23, 2012, commenting on the post Streetball )
"It turns out that about 35% of the Baruch population in Asian which is interesting. That is a fairly large percentage and I wonder why that is the percentage. Is it a complete coincidence or is there something that is particularly appealing about Baruch to the Asian population. It would be interesting to know. I liked this post because it raises a few questions and it does make you think." --( posted on Oct 16, 2012, commenting on the post A Random Conversation about Baruch )
"I agree, music allows us to experience other cultures. Even other points of time. It's funny to think how 'big bands' would top the charts in the 1940's, when now the charts mostly consist of pop music and rap. We live in another world, some may say that it is better and some may say it is worst. The culture of today is much different than the culture of the past and will be different than the culture of tomorrow. There is more to culture than just ethnicities and skin color. Cultures of different eras are significant as well. Here is a link to the #1 recorded song in the 1940's, it's actually pretty awesome. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJE-onnw2gM" --( posted on Oct 11, 2012, commenting on the post “Nobody is built like you” )
"Some people are the worst. I guess you learned a lesson about the city though: never leave your belongings unattended, no matter what. The worst part is, that the person probably looked through your bag, took out the umbrella and dumped the rest. And communion only takes about a minute to receive, it's not even like your bag was unattended for long. Good thing your laptop wasn't in there though..." --( posted on Oct 10, 2012, commenting on the post A Holy Place Destroyed. )
"If you ever go to a sporting event and tailgate, this story is very relatable. Before the game, there are always people that go around the parking lot and ask people for their cans. I always wondered the exact same thing, how much money can they possibly be making? Well Yankee stadium has about 9000 spots. And if these people can manage to get 1 can from a quarter of the cars in a full lot, then they made 112 dollars. Not too shabby." --( posted on Oct 10, 2012, commenting on the post Can Collecting )
"I'm actually not sure, for most of her performance my back was turned. She may have or may not have, I really couldn't tell you. I can tell you there was no cup in my face." --( posted on Oct 4, 2012, commenting on the post Cultural Encounter )
"Well he was being sarcastic, they don't really let two year olds drink." --( posted on Sep 9, 2012, commenting on the post Another France story )
"I like these definitions a lot. To add to your definition of soliloquy, putting that the actor is speaking directly to the audience (thus breaking the fourth wall) is significant. It also makes the other characters oblivious to the soliloquy." --( posted on Sep 4, 2012, commenting on the post Critical Terms )
"Great definitions in this post. The scrim sounds like it would be great to create silhouettes and I wonder how hard it would be, as an actor, to perform the pantomime." --( posted on Sep 4, 2012, commenting on the post Critical Terms )
"Great job on these definitions. However, I think adding the fact that a trap door is usually unseen by the audience is important Although it is usually assumed, it can't hurt to add to the definition." --( posted on Sep 3, 2012, commenting on the post Critical Theater Terms )
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