Shakespeare is known as the “Great Bard”, but each year fewer people actually are able to understand the writing or able to read the plays. The problems are many, but the solution is fairly easy. Shakespeare writes plays and sonnets, but schools, especially High Schools, study his plays. The way in which the schools study Shakespeare is backward. The class first read the play, then discusses the play with the class, and then, maybe, the class watches a film of the play. The appropriate way in which to teach Shakespeare to the masses, not academia but the masses, is to watch a production of the piece to be studied, either in a theater or film, read the play, and then discuss the play in class.
Some scholars say that by watching the play first, the reader is unable to interpret the piece and only gets what the director wants the audience to get. This is true, in so far as the director interprets the play for either the stage or the silver screen. But stating that the audience is limited to one interpretation is improbable. A production of Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of King Lear will have one overall interpretation of the play by the director. The cast members will take that interpretation and interpret that in as many ways as there are cast members. The audience is bombarded with multiple interpretations on a general interpretation. This dichotomy allows the audience to witness many views of the play, understand the play without having to bog through early Modern English, and be able to digest the play through reading the play.
However, the current mode of teaching Shakespeare is more restricting to the student then the alternative. The student, struggling to read the work, will mostly agree with the teacher’s point of view. The more intimate atmosphere of the classroom creates stagnant mental activity. The students, wanting to pass the class, agree with the Teacher so that they know what to study for the test. By allowing the students to watch the movie first, then analyze the text and discuss the thematic qualities allows the mental activity to grow and bloom.
People have said that this way of studying Shakespeare is the lazy way out. I disagree. As long as the student takes some sort of academic information from watching the production, the student has used Shakespeare to the fullest.
I understand that there are some art pieces that would limit the understanding of the production if the audience has not read the piece. For those films, if studied concurrently with the piece of work, should be the second of productions that are shown to the student. A less artsy, more text based film would be better for the first screening.
I am not saying that Shakespeare should not be read, especially in college or higher academic areas. I am saying that the mode in which it is taught and what it was initially written for is the stage. Allow the “Bard” to return to the stage and give to the generations to come a chance to understand the antiquated language and appreciate the beauty that is Shakespeare.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Thoughts on Langauge Acquisition
**Note: The following is possibly undecipherable thoughts on a confusing subject. I would like useful, knowledgable comments. Thank you. -Herodotus-**
Language acquisition is a debated topic in linguistics. When ever someone runs out of things to argue about, language acquisition comes up. This is one of those times. A third of the world’s linguist believe that children are pre-wired for language, any language. The other third believes that children are born with a clean slate, and language must be taught through repetition of sound and usage. The final third is sitting on the fence. It is time for a fourth idea to emerge.
Language acquisition in children 0-8 is based off of a mixture of pre-cognitive genetics and the ability to analyze sounds. A child is not born with a brain that is empty of knowledge, but of one pre-wired for survival. This does not mean that language is pre-wired into the brain, but the potential for language is. A child acquires language through a series of events, starting during the third trimester of incubation and continuing until they reach puberty.
Noam Chomsky believes that children have an innate sense of grammar and a universal grammar for all languages. A child’s mind, much like a computer run off of a context-free grammar. The use of this grammar enables children to assume that every language they here fits into the rules of the context-free grammar. A child will make a mistake while learning the language: i.e. “I do it.” This is not proper English, however it does follow the rule of universal grammar.
A child’s mind might be like a computer’s with the potential to use the universal grammar, but it is necessary for the child to first undergo a basic general analysis of a language. It is necessary for a child’s brain to analyze every available amount of data to continue with its survival. It is necessary for a child to realize the position it is in its surround using one or all of its five senses. In the first three years of a child’s life the sounds that it hears, the symbols in which it sees, and the things that it touches enable the potential for language acquisition to occur. It is through these three key fundamentals that Chomsky’s theories can be applied.
A child needs only one word, one symbol, one gesture in the first three years of its life to stimulate the language acquisition potential. They will mimic the one linguistical sound, gesture, symbol until their curiosity will experiment with other forms of the same concept. I normal situations the first sounds a child makes is “da” and “ma”. Some believe it is because these two sounds are the easiest to recreate. This is true. Partially. “ma” and “Pa”the normal first words of a child because it is constantly spoken to them “can you say ‘mama’?” If the child was repeatedly asked to say another word, and not “mama”,then trhe child would pick up the word and try to talk to you by using the most common word in its vocabulary, the one you repeated.
It is also important to remember that all humans are first and foremost animals. A human brain always returns to a state of animalism when in crisis. Animals have a desire to survive. For a human to survive it must be capable of: feeding itself, caring for itself, and communicate to the human herd. Much like a young animal uses its basic instincts, coupled with its curiosity, to learn how to survive, so does a child. It is through curiosity and mimicry of the other humans around them that children, with the awakened potential to acquire languages, speak. Through the human animal instinct for survival language has evolved for three main functions: reproduction, social interactions, ethical moreys.
Language is an obvious need in reproduction because of the fact that relations between both sexes use communication as foreplay. I do not mean sweet nothings (that came later), but the ability to become the alpha male through leadership and hunting prowess. The best way to have leadership and hunting prowess for a two-legged simian is to communicate using some form of language.
Being social creatures, humans have a basic survival need to communicate with each other. Those who cannot communicate are ostracized from society, and are less likely to survive.
Language creates the moreys of s society. With moreys a society would not exist, and we would be no more then hairless apes.
It is possible for thought to occur without communication. Some such individuals, such as Helen Keller, were unable to communicate thouroughly for most of their lives. (But even Helen Keller was able to communicate using American Sign Language.) Speech is not thought, and thought is not speech. (Assume language equals speech.) It is necessary for someone to share thought through speech, but thought exists without speech.
It is important to realize that at puberty the language acquisition basically stops functioning which leads one to believe that language acquisition is hormonally controlled. It is possible that hormones control the potential for language, but it is also possible that through human evolution, speech has become less necessary after puberty therefore the potential shrinks.
Language acquisition is a debated topic in linguistics. When ever someone runs out of things to argue about, language acquisition comes up. This is one of those times. A third of the world’s linguist believe that children are pre-wired for language, any language. The other third believes that children are born with a clean slate, and language must be taught through repetition of sound and usage. The final third is sitting on the fence. It is time for a fourth idea to emerge.
Language acquisition in children 0-8 is based off of a mixture of pre-cognitive genetics and the ability to analyze sounds. A child is not born with a brain that is empty of knowledge, but of one pre-wired for survival. This does not mean that language is pre-wired into the brain, but the potential for language is. A child acquires language through a series of events, starting during the third trimester of incubation and continuing until they reach puberty.
Noam Chomsky believes that children have an innate sense of grammar and a universal grammar for all languages. A child’s mind, much like a computer run off of a context-free grammar. The use of this grammar enables children to assume that every language they here fits into the rules of the context-free grammar. A child will make a mistake while learning the language: i.e. “I do it.” This is not proper English, however it does follow the rule of universal grammar.
A child’s mind might be like a computer’s with the potential to use the universal grammar, but it is necessary for the child to first undergo a basic general analysis of a language. It is necessary for a child’s brain to analyze every available amount of data to continue with its survival. It is necessary for a child to realize the position it is in its surround using one or all of its five senses. In the first three years of a child’s life the sounds that it hears, the symbols in which it sees, and the things that it touches enable the potential for language acquisition to occur. It is through these three key fundamentals that Chomsky’s theories can be applied.
A child needs only one word, one symbol, one gesture in the first three years of its life to stimulate the language acquisition potential. They will mimic the one linguistical sound, gesture, symbol until their curiosity will experiment with other forms of the same concept. I normal situations the first sounds a child makes is “da” and “ma”. Some believe it is because these two sounds are the easiest to recreate. This is true. Partially. “ma” and “Pa”the normal first words of a child because it is constantly spoken to them “can you say ‘mama’?” If the child was repeatedly asked to say another word, and not “mama”,then trhe child would pick up the word and try to talk to you by using the most common word in its vocabulary, the one you repeated.
It is also important to remember that all humans are first and foremost animals. A human brain always returns to a state of animalism when in crisis. Animals have a desire to survive. For a human to survive it must be capable of: feeding itself, caring for itself, and communicate to the human herd. Much like a young animal uses its basic instincts, coupled with its curiosity, to learn how to survive, so does a child. It is through curiosity and mimicry of the other humans around them that children, with the awakened potential to acquire languages, speak. Through the human animal instinct for survival language has evolved for three main functions: reproduction, social interactions, ethical moreys.
Language is an obvious need in reproduction because of the fact that relations between both sexes use communication as foreplay. I do not mean sweet nothings (that came later), but the ability to become the alpha male through leadership and hunting prowess. The best way to have leadership and hunting prowess for a two-legged simian is to communicate using some form of language.
Being social creatures, humans have a basic survival need to communicate with each other. Those who cannot communicate are ostracized from society, and are less likely to survive.
Language creates the moreys of s society. With moreys a society would not exist, and we would be no more then hairless apes.
It is possible for thought to occur without communication. Some such individuals, such as Helen Keller, were unable to communicate thouroughly for most of their lives. (But even Helen Keller was able to communicate using American Sign Language.) Speech is not thought, and thought is not speech. (Assume language equals speech.) It is necessary for someone to share thought through speech, but thought exists without speech.
It is important to realize that at puberty the language acquisition basically stops functioning which leads one to believe that language acquisition is hormonally controlled. It is possible that hormones control the potential for language, but it is also possible that through human evolution, speech has become less necessary after puberty therefore the potential shrinks.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Essay on Allusions in Poetics
Part 2: Use of Allusions in Reading and Writing Literature
Allusion. This is a funny word with many different definitions. I have already given the definition of allusion in the previous analysis of poetry, however the definition of poetry in reading and writing literature is a little different. Allusions, referring to reading and writing literature, is any piece or pieces of literary work or style that affects and creates effect in ones own work. Although broad in definition, the creation of such is necessary when discussing the following items: literature (difference between good and bad), an author’s own style, and political and environmental outlooks on the world around an author that influence either the author’s content or complete lack in content.
Poetry, being the earliest form of literature, is the most alluded too. Larger pieces, especially those in the political genre, are also one of the most alluded works in literature. The most alluded piece of literature is Shakespeare’s Hamlet, followed shortly there after by the Christian Bible and the Creco-Roman Mythos. (If you do not have a working understanding of these three things I suggest getting one.)
When reading academic literature (not escapism) one should ask themselves what do I get from this book. If the answer is nothing, then put the book down it is of no use to you. At the same time, if you absolutely hate a book, but you do get something out of it (even if it is not to write this way) finish it. If you do not like an author or an authors work, but while reading his book, you are enlightened in one way or another, then the author has done his job.
This goes for writing literature as well. Even if one does not put any allusions in their work, their style will be directly proportional to the amount that they have read and eternalized. Just having read it is only half way. If someone reads something and does not understand than they are not fulfilling their potential as writers.
With each idea, fact, and facial that a writer obtains; their work will be enhanced ten fold. A good writer will have a working understanding of Ancient and Modern History, one’s own linguistical history, canonized works, and the modern movements in all arts and their relationships with the political, social, and religious ramifications of each movement. There is a saying that a good writer writes what they know. I say know everything.
In the real world it is impossible for someone to know everything. Period. Each person has a different bias and angle on everything they interpret in the world around them. What is black to one person is white to another. It is the colors of different identities that enable art to form in the shapes that it has.
Allusion. This is a funny word with many different definitions. I have already given the definition of allusion in the previous analysis of poetry, however the definition of poetry in reading and writing literature is a little different. Allusions, referring to reading and writing literature, is any piece or pieces of literary work or style that affects and creates effect in ones own work. Although broad in definition, the creation of such is necessary when discussing the following items: literature (difference between good and bad), an author’s own style, and political and environmental outlooks on the world around an author that influence either the author’s content or complete lack in content.
Poetry, being the earliest form of literature, is the most alluded too. Larger pieces, especially those in the political genre, are also one of the most alluded works in literature. The most alluded piece of literature is Shakespeare’s Hamlet, followed shortly there after by the Christian Bible and the Creco-Roman Mythos. (If you do not have a working understanding of these three things I suggest getting one.)
When reading academic literature (not escapism) one should ask themselves what do I get from this book. If the answer is nothing, then put the book down it is of no use to you. At the same time, if you absolutely hate a book, but you do get something out of it (even if it is not to write this way) finish it. If you do not like an author or an authors work, but while reading his book, you are enlightened in one way or another, then the author has done his job.
This goes for writing literature as well. Even if one does not put any allusions in their work, their style will be directly proportional to the amount that they have read and eternalized. Just having read it is only half way. If someone reads something and does not understand than they are not fulfilling their potential as writers.
With each idea, fact, and facial that a writer obtains; their work will be enhanced ten fold. A good writer will have a working understanding of Ancient and Modern History, one’s own linguistical history, canonized works, and the modern movements in all arts and their relationships with the political, social, and religious ramifications of each movement. There is a saying that a good writer writes what they know. I say know everything.
In the real world it is impossible for someone to know everything. Period. Each person has a different bias and angle on everything they interpret in the world around them. What is black to one person is white to another. It is the colors of different identities that enable art to form in the shapes that it has.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Essay on Allusions in Poetics
Part 1:Use of Allusions in Poetry
Poetry has been around for thousands of years, as early as 400,000 years. With the lowering of the female sex organ in Homo erectusshifted and the devolpment of the Homo Sapain occured. With the shifting of the sex organ, humans had to at that point talk to the females of the group to encourage breeding. This progressed into oral tradition and around 23000 B.C.E. with the development of the Paleolithic Age the evolution progressed far enough for one to assume that poetry in its many different forms was occuring and had been occuring for many years before.
As a way to woo, or manipulate the masses, poetry is the first form of literature. Through the years, poetry has shifted in artistic designs like dust in the wind, however the core of poetics remains. Allusion. An allusion is a literary device that uses symbols, words, form, and style to encapsulate ideas or ideals into one specific thing. Many allusions are word allusions, or classical allusions that normally use other older literary works or archetypes to create depth and meaning. Allusions are essential to poetry and without them poetry does not exist. That does not mean that classical allusions are in everything, which would be a gross overstatement, but that allusions, whether literary, symbolic, political, or religious, are in every piece of Western Poetry.
Everyone can agree that in classical literature the allusion is necessary. However, some people would say that with the advent of modern art, allusions have taken a step back. This would be a falsity. Allusions are probably stronger now then they ever were before. Allusions, whether classical or otherwise, are in all poetry. It is necessary at this time to state that by allusions I am not describing the linguistical significance of the sign and the signifier , but to the literary and worldly symbolism. Their some allusions that I cannot understand, nor will never understand, but they are in fact allusions to something else.
In modern poetry, the allusions can be found in all aspects: from form and structure, to the more standard examples of words based symbols. Because these symbols allude to thing, one must accept them as true classical allusions. Some authors do not realize that they are alluding to something because of the stipulation that allusions are everywhere, from mainstream television like Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Flarf Poetry and other modern poetic movements such as Sound Poetry.
K. Silem Mohammad’s poetry is modern Flarf written and influenced poetry. In one of his newest poems entitled “Fido-Enhanced” alludes to Flipper (a television series of the seventies and a mid nineties movie title) in line 16 “if you find the idea of eating Flipper hard to swallow”. This line also has a cousin of allusions, clichéd colloquialisms. These colloquialisms are not allusions, however they do enhance, sometimes, the allusiosn.
Although this is not an allusion from a classical literary agent, it is an allusion. Other modern poets are even more vague with their allusions. Ian Hamilton Finlay wrote concrete poetry and both of his poems “Sea Poppy 1” and “Sea Poppy2” are one giant allusion. In “Sea Poppy 1” his allusion are based on the radio or microwave call letters or the like so I cannot respond on his literary works as such. However, his form is an allusions into the cyclical aspects of his thoughts. If you look at the poem as a window into the mind you can see a circle, a cone, a hole , a phalis, a code, symmetry, asymmetry, etc. The allusions that one can pull out of just the shape are endless. This poem represents the completeness of society, giving birth to both male dominance and feminine dominance. Or could just be a circle, but the point of it is that every shape, word, and grammar nuance is a possible allusion to something else.
Someone cannot tell the artist what something means. Sometimes a cow is just a cow, not an archetype of the feminine, just a moocow. In Finley’s “Sea Poppy 2” one can easily decipher the allusions. The shape is a circle; the words all refer to an ideal. A heavenly ideal: peace, riches, joy, divine. The allusions are that of an ideal, the ideal of peace and posperity. The shape, being a circle, refers to the intermingling of societies to achieve that ideal. These are all allusions. However, my manipulation of the meanings might differ from others, but those others would still accept the fact that they are allusions.
T.S. Elliot, believed to be one of the founding fathers of modern poetry used allusions in every piece of writing he published. He used so many allusions that the footnotes are normally longer then the poem itself. “The Wasteland” is filled to the brim with allusions, and “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is an astounding champion of allusive use. Even before the poem starts there is an allusion to Dante’s Inferno in the Epigraph “S’io credaessi che mia risposta fosse…” In line 3 Elliot alludes to the surgical audiences that were popular in the medical community in the late 19th century “a patient etherized on a table;.” Line 14 Elliot brings up Michelangelo and line 29 he brings up the Greek Poet Hesiod “all the works and days of hands” referring to his didactic poem on agriculture.
Elliot walks a thin line between too much allusion and not enough allusion for sake of poetic depth. If Elliot had removed a substantial amount of the allusions his work would lack in depth. However, it is possible that to many allusions create a limited audience. If no one understands your allusions then maybe there are to many.
This is not to say that one must dummy down the use of allusions, but create an interested way to manipulate the allusions to suit your cause. As time continues to goose step on, the audience of poetry continues to shrink. As of now, with the use of ridiculous style and format, the audience is (a rough estimate) 40 percent of the population. With the continuation of excessive use of allusions, the audience will continue to shrink each decade. Art is dead, and artists killed it.
Poetry has been around for thousands of years, as early as 400,000 years. With the lowering of the female sex organ in Homo erectusshifted and the devolpment of the Homo Sapain occured. With the shifting of the sex organ, humans had to at that point talk to the females of the group to encourage breeding. This progressed into oral tradition and around 23000 B.C.E. with the development of the Paleolithic Age the evolution progressed far enough for one to assume that poetry in its many different forms was occuring and had been occuring for many years before.
As a way to woo, or manipulate the masses, poetry is the first form of literature. Through the years, poetry has shifted in artistic designs like dust in the wind, however the core of poetics remains. Allusion. An allusion is a literary device that uses symbols, words, form, and style to encapsulate ideas or ideals into one specific thing. Many allusions are word allusions, or classical allusions that normally use other older literary works or archetypes to create depth and meaning. Allusions are essential to poetry and without them poetry does not exist. That does not mean that classical allusions are in everything, which would be a gross overstatement, but that allusions, whether literary, symbolic, political, or religious, are in every piece of Western Poetry.
Everyone can agree that in classical literature the allusion is necessary. However, some people would say that with the advent of modern art, allusions have taken a step back. This would be a falsity. Allusions are probably stronger now then they ever were before. Allusions, whether classical or otherwise, are in all poetry. It is necessary at this time to state that by allusions I am not describing the linguistical significance of the sign and the signifier , but to the literary and worldly symbolism. Their some allusions that I cannot understand, nor will never understand, but they are in fact allusions to something else.
In modern poetry, the allusions can be found in all aspects: from form and structure, to the more standard examples of words based symbols. Because these symbols allude to thing, one must accept them as true classical allusions. Some authors do not realize that they are alluding to something because of the stipulation that allusions are everywhere, from mainstream television like Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Flarf Poetry and other modern poetic movements such as Sound Poetry.
K. Silem Mohammad’s poetry is modern Flarf written and influenced poetry. In one of his newest poems entitled “Fido-Enhanced” alludes to Flipper (a television series of the seventies and a mid nineties movie title) in line 16 “if you find the idea of eating Flipper hard to swallow”. This line also has a cousin of allusions, clichéd colloquialisms. These colloquialisms are not allusions, however they do enhance, sometimes, the allusiosn.
Although this is not an allusion from a classical literary agent, it is an allusion. Other modern poets are even more vague with their allusions. Ian Hamilton Finlay wrote concrete poetry and both of his poems “Sea Poppy 1” and “Sea Poppy2” are one giant allusion. In “Sea Poppy 1” his allusion are based on the radio or microwave call letters or the like so I cannot respond on his literary works as such. However, his form is an allusions into the cyclical aspects of his thoughts. If you look at the poem as a window into the mind you can see a circle, a cone, a hole , a phalis, a code, symmetry, asymmetry, etc. The allusions that one can pull out of just the shape are endless. This poem represents the completeness of society, giving birth to both male dominance and feminine dominance. Or could just be a circle, but the point of it is that every shape, word, and grammar nuance is a possible allusion to something else.
Someone cannot tell the artist what something means. Sometimes a cow is just a cow, not an archetype of the feminine, just a moocow. In Finley’s “Sea Poppy 2” one can easily decipher the allusions. The shape is a circle; the words all refer to an ideal. A heavenly ideal: peace, riches, joy, divine. The allusions are that of an ideal, the ideal of peace and posperity. The shape, being a circle, refers to the intermingling of societies to achieve that ideal. These are all allusions. However, my manipulation of the meanings might differ from others, but those others would still accept the fact that they are allusions.
T.S. Elliot, believed to be one of the founding fathers of modern poetry used allusions in every piece of writing he published. He used so many allusions that the footnotes are normally longer then the poem itself. “The Wasteland” is filled to the brim with allusions, and “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is an astounding champion of allusive use. Even before the poem starts there is an allusion to Dante’s Inferno in the Epigraph “S’io credaessi che mia risposta fosse…” In line 3 Elliot alludes to the surgical audiences that were popular in the medical community in the late 19th century “a patient etherized on a table;.” Line 14 Elliot brings up Michelangelo and line 29 he brings up the Greek Poet Hesiod “all the works and days of hands” referring to his didactic poem on agriculture.
Elliot walks a thin line between too much allusion and not enough allusion for sake of poetic depth. If Elliot had removed a substantial amount of the allusions his work would lack in depth. However, it is possible that to many allusions create a limited audience. If no one understands your allusions then maybe there are to many.
This is not to say that one must dummy down the use of allusions, but create an interested way to manipulate the allusions to suit your cause. As time continues to goose step on, the audience of poetry continues to shrink. As of now, with the use of ridiculous style and format, the audience is (a rough estimate) 40 percent of the population. With the continuation of excessive use of allusions, the audience will continue to shrink each decade. Art is dead, and artists killed it.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
ILLUMINATE
I L L U M I N A T E
G O O N I D O L O N
N O N D E I S I L L
O M E I N O T N E I
R E D G E M R E R G
A[L I F E I] A[S I]H
N[L L U S I] L[O N]T
C[S E S C A]O[P E]E
E D U M A C E T E D
okay, so it works better on word. If you want, cut and paste this to word then line up the letters except the ones in brackets. then see what it spells.
G O O N I D O L O N
N O N D E I S I L L
O M E I N O T N E I
R E D G E M R E R G
A[L I F E I] A[S I]H
N[L L U S I] L[O N]T
C[S E S C A]O[P E]E
E D U M A C E T E D
okay, so it works better on word. If you want, cut and paste this to word then line up the letters except the ones in brackets. then see what it spells.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Reservations?
Do you ever have reservations about anything?
I mean, like speaking or hearing, doing, smelling?
Have you ever just wanted to scream at the top of your lungs
I NEED SOMETHING NOW!
or SHUT THAT RUGRAT UP, OR I WILL!
Or when you've just met someone
do you tell them they have a butt face,
or that they smell like rotting beef carcases?
I do. My brain says, "Leave it alone."
but my mouth says, " You to have lovely children for being Neaderthals?
(smile)
So enough about me,
what are your kind doing here?
Enjoyinbg the scenery
It is lovely,
anything else, I don't normally...
Oh of course,
Reservations,
right this way.
(smile)
I mean, like speaking or hearing, doing, smelling?
Have you ever just wanted to scream at the top of your lungs
I NEED SOMETHING NOW!
or SHUT THAT RUGRAT UP, OR I WILL!
Or when you've just met someone
do you tell them they have a butt face,
or that they smell like rotting beef carcases?
I do. My brain says, "Leave it alone."
but my mouth says, " You to have lovely children for being Neaderthals?
(smile)
So enough about me,
what are your kind doing here?
Enjoyinbg the scenery
It is lovely,
anything else, I don't normally...
Oh of course,
Reservations,
right this way.
(smile)
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