Taking this course was a requirement for my Bachelor's Degree, but it was a choice. I do not regret any single bit of picking this writing course because I believe it has helped to see writing as something therapeutic. Writing has no limits, and is a great key to communicate. I'm glad we had a lot of assignments where our creativity was not limited. In fact, Weebly was a good pick for expressing these thoughts and opinions. I thank this course, and Zen, for helping me and my respective classmates get in touch with our writing and putting it into different perspectives. I loved the stories we read, mainly because of its content. Like "Salvation", for example. Salvation was a good story for me to talk about because of the anxiety that the main character was going through. I think that was how my ranting tendency was getting ignited through the blog posts. And I enjoyed it. Even more so, when we had to talk about our social and personal dislikes, especially when we had to make an official editorial. I'm also glad we could express our ideas through music and movies we liked (or disliked). The editorial and movie review exercises we're really helpful for me because I had to incorprate a fixed perspective, which was fun to develop. Writing in this lab might have been rutinary at first, but it was the dynamics of every writing exercise that helped me perform better on the other courses, because they involved writing too. My favorite exercise was the editorial, because not only did I got rid off some steam, but it was good how every editorial was different. it was an impressive dynamic. My least favorite could have been dividing my dislikes into social and personal groups because it was quite a trivia for me, haha. I'm grateful that all of the students shared feedback in a constructive way too. i remember that at the beginning of the semester I was a little skeptical about it, but now I like it a lot. Feedback is good and useful. I'm glad I could participate in every exercise. This class was fun and cathartic for me.
This semester was completely different than my previous ones, in my opinion. I had been on a personal and independent ground so I was eager to take this writing course, along other courses. This semester has been wonderful to me since I managed to stay responsible, patient, and dedicated with all the work. I have to add that this is probably my last semester taking a music course (I'm taking the second Sight reading and Sight singing course) which I enjoyed. I met great people from the English Department. I had been taking a poetry class which helped me study my own writing. I feel encouraged to publish what I've done for an edition of Tonguas. Hopefully I'll do arrangements this week. Finals are always stressful, but what is essential is the learning process from beginning to end.
Taking this course was a requirement for my Bachelor's Degree, but it was a choice. I do not regret any single bit of picking this writing course because I believe it has helped to see writing as something therapeutic. Writing has no limits, and is a great key to communicate. I'm glad we had a lot of assignments where our creativity was not limited. In fact, Weebly was a good pick for expressing these thoughts and opinions. I thank this course, and Zen, for helping me and my respective classmates get in touch with our writing and putting it into different perspectives. I loved the stories we read, mainly because of its content. Like "Salvation", for example. Salvation was a good story for me to talk about because of the anxiety that the main character was going through. I think that was how my ranting tendency was getting ignited through the blog posts. And I enjoyed it. Even more so, when we had to talk about our social and personal dislikes, especially when we had to make an official editorial. I'm also glad we could express our ideas through music and movies we liked (or disliked). The editorial and movie review exercises we're really helpful for me because I had to incorprate a fixed perspective, which was fun to develop. Writing in this lab might have been rutinary at first, but it was the dynamics of every writing exercise that helped me perform better on the other courses, because they involved writing too. My favorite exercise was the editorial, because not only did I got rid off some steam, but it was good how every editorial was different. it was an impressive dynamic. My least favorite could have been dividing my dislikes into social and personal groups because it was quite a trivia for me, haha. I'm grateful that all of the students shared feedback in a constructive way too. i remember that at the beginning of the semester I was a little skeptical about it, but now I like it a lot. Feedback is good and useful. I'm glad I could participate in every exercise. This class was fun and cathartic for me.
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Personality type results
EI: 10 out of 17 Extrovert |-------------------------------------------------| Introvert | 58% SN: 11 out of 17 Sensation |-------------------------------------------------| iNtuition | 64% TF: 8 out of 17 Thinking |-------------------------------------------------| Feeling | 47% JP: 10 out of 17 Judging |-------------------------------------------------| Perceiving | 58% Your Personality type is INTP My dream job is to play music and make a living out of it, no matter what, but I can live my life being a teacher outside the country because it fulfills me. My approach with teaching English has been mainly associated with people who learn English as a second language. Therefore, another ideal job for me would be outside the country and engage in bilingual interaction with Hispanic students. It would be ideal for me because I know firsthand the process they’re going through by retaining English a second language. I would like to prepare them through an entertaining process of learning and not a boring one. Jobs like teaching English in schools and colleges of Puerto Rico or around the States, and sound engineering are necessary in my life." So, yeah. Before I chose to study Secondary English, I wanted something completely different. Sound Engineering was always ticking my head, because I love music. I wanted to study this because if I would master that ability, I wouldn't worry of relying on anybody else for recording my own music, or on another person to soundcheck at certain gigs that I would play. However, I didn't ended up in this path. The options I was considering before going to UPR were actually Fullsail University in Florida, or the CCAT University in Puerto Rico. But, due to economic reasons I decided to go to the UPRRP and study Audiovisual Communication. I only lasted a year in the faculty, because I noticed that the program wasn't so much in depth with my expectations. So my goal for studying sound engineering was queued. I immediately changed my concentration because I felt it was right to continue staying in the university for a proper profession. And I like English, and learning, of course. I wouldn't like to think I gave up on my goal if I still want to pursue it.
People who I admire from this field: 1) Butch Vig (taken from the previous blog post)- He is the drummer for the band 'Garbage'. But he has a promising reputation in the sound engineering business. He was the engineer and producer for Nirvana's Nevermind album. He has also worked at Sound City Studios, a famous recording studio in Los Angeles, CA, where many succesful records have been made there since the 70s. In his production career, he participated with many albums, such as Sonic Youth's Dirty, Foo Fighter's Wasting Light, and has also worked with Muse. 2) Alan Parsons- He was the audio engineer for Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. That's how I began to look up for him. It turns out he got success in his field since his days as a audio engeneering assistant during the recording session of The Beatles' album, Abbey Road. He has participated in many other records and is also a well-influenced musician. Jobs: 1- A novice job, like providing audio engineering for an independent or rising film business. Example: http://www.mandy.com/1/jobs3.cfm?v=52269091&skill=all&terr=usa&utm_source=Indeed&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Indeed 2- A well paid job, resolving DSP issues for any business. In this case, it could be a company like Apple. https://jobs.apple.com/search?job=23778842&openJobId=23778842#&openJobId=23778842 So, I though of all the important people I've studied through classes that are linked to my field. I picked four theorists that impressed me with their aportations regarding oral communication. There was an oral communication course I took that helped me acknowledge how cultures engage when exchanging ideas through speaking. Also, I had to pick two philosophers that I still retain since I studied them in General Studies for English and Social Sciences courses. Last but not least, a pioneer recording engineer that had an important legacy for music.
I. Edwin Ardener and Shirley Ardener- They are the founders of the Muted Group Theory. As theorists living in the 70s decade, they were exposing the idea that women are constantly "muted" in social discourse through power. Their aportation to the theory was anthropological, where Edwin created it and Shirley edited it. This aportation, titled 'The Problem' explains how language is 'culture bound'. Since there are many male dominant cultures, this creates a domino effect upon women who seek for any cause through oral communication, where women have to make their ideas through the male language in order to make it authentic. This work also explains the 'deafness' of the male dominant culture, whereas women comprehend what men say, yet men can't comprehend what women say. II. Cheris Kramarae- Another theorist of the Muted Group Theory. She also has published work regarding this theory. Reading some of her work has help me understand why certain people refuse to mute other people. Of course, the Muted Group Theory consists of Men unable to understand a woman languague since it would peel off a huge amount of ego. I also admire this person because through her readings it helped me realize that the process of being muted isn't just about being a woman. You can be a man and feel muted as well. As a future teacher I understand it is necessary for students to re-evaluate their behaviors by reading these theorists . http://www.colorado.edu/communication/meta-discourses/Papers/App_Papers/Baer.htm III. Deborah Tannen- She is an expert theorist regarding Genderlect Theory. Her theory is that both men and women are different. And through, discourse the key is negotiation and avoid any raise or decrease of ego, since there is no matter of being superior or inferior. The way of communicating reaches an equilibrium. However, there are Genderlect Styles, used by men and women, where tension is examined, such as Genderlect, Rapport Talk, Report Talk, Cooperative Overlap, Tag Question, and Aha Factor. I picked this theorist, along with the others because I think communication between men and women must always be carefuly examined. http://educ5102.wikispaces.com/Genderlect+Styles+(Tannen) IV. Paulo Freire- V. Butch Vig- He is the drummer for the band 'Garbage'. But he has a promising reputation in the sound engineering business. He was the engineer and producer for Nirvana's Nevermind album. He has also worked at Sound City Studios, a famous recording studio in Los Angeles, CA, where many succesful records have been made there since the 70s. In his production career, he participated with many albums, such as Sonic Youth's Dirty, Foo Fighter's Wasting Light, and has also worked with Muse. VI. Drew Daniels- This man is legendary because of his aportations to the field of sound. He has been working with sound engineering practically all his life. He was a musician, with a baritone register vocal and continued his college studies by building musical and technical sound equipment for colleagues and bussinessmen. Since he had a wide knowledge at early age, he had already begun recording rising artists in his post-adolescent years. He would travel to different studios to build specific equipment for specific recording sessions, like echo chambers, oscillators, early distortion models, and other studio gear. His legacy is very varied, linked to many companies like Fender, JBL, and his own firm, Sound Path Labs. http://mixonline.com/news/drew_daniels_obituary_0212/ http://www.drewdaniels.com/phil.htm I’m currently studying Secondary English in the Department of Education. I chose this field because I was struggling with a previous field I didn’t like; therefore I proceeded to my second option. I always had good English teachers in my school, and I know firsthand when a teacher fails to make students feel eager about reading and writing, and when a teacher succeeds at it. My view of my working future is limited, but I already made the decision to stick with the intermediate level students because it’s the most crucial and important stage for English students. If English students can’t fully grasp intermediate English, how can they dominate the next stages, or even college? I want to be that person to help. I don’t want to be the teacher to just give out work and make a boring class. I want to motivate.
Being in this field wasn’t easy for me at first, because it was hard for me to get adapted to it for a couple of reasons. I also aspire a music career, and I always have a weekend schedule for practicing and reviewing my skills. During my second year I was adapting to a department while I still had an urge to do something else, but I had to stay in Education because I wanted a promising career first. 3rd year was a disaster for me because of this. I wasn’t motivated and properly organized, yet I went through personal experiences and learned that I can finally accept being a teacher once I graduate. I got a job giving English tutoring to GED students. I’ve been working for almost 2 years and it has been therapy for me, because I’m getting experience from teaching those students. I gained patience and felt assertive. I got back in my place and my life is not a disaster anymore. I can still aspire a music career afterwards. I graduate in 2 years and my goals are looking for an intermediate teaching position in any school so that I can apply what I learned in the University. So far it has been a helpful experience, but I have yet to do my pre-practicum. I have two choices after I graduate. Once I begin working as a teacher, I have to decide if I should continue studying for my Master’s degree. I’d like to give classes in the UPR, or any other college, because I love the gist of it. I’ve learned a lot ever since I took my first English class in General Studies. My other choice is raise money to move out of Puerto Rico. I want to leave because I want to study music in California. Maybe I can continue ESL teaching over there. My dream job is to play music and make a living out of it, no matter what, but I can live my life being a teacher outside the country because it fulfills me. My approach with teaching English has been mainly associated with people who learn English as a second language. Therefore, another ideal job for me would be outside the country and engage in bilingual interaction with Hispanic students. It would be ideal for me because I know firsthand the process they’re going through by retaining English a second language. I would like to prepare them through an entertaining process of learning and not a boring one. Jobs like teaching English in schools and colleges of Puerto Rico or around the States, and sound engineering are necessary in my life. The references I listed are examples of what I want to do if I could go out of the country and teach ESL. The last reference is a link from Musicians Institute, my main pick for studying Sound Engineering. I love the curriculum, and what’s even better for me is that I can apply my musicianship on that professional field. It has been something I’d wanted to pursue since high school. http://www.edjoin.org/viewPosting.aspx?postingID=459160&countyID=43&onlineApp=1&utm_source=Indeed&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Indeed http://www.edjoin.org/viewPosting.aspx?postingID=459401&countyID=41&onlineApp=1&utm_source=Indeed&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Indeed http://www.indeed.com/q-English-Teacher-l-California-jobs.html http://www.mi.edu/audioengineering There a couple of quotes that I always tend to use, and most of them have to do with motivation. As a way to seek advice from favorite artists, or respectable figures, I always trust those that help me get motivated to do college work, write, play music, practice, and be who I desire to be in the present and future. Of course, 'Never give up (See picture above)' is very common in my life. I could try and try until I finally succeed, then appreciate what I learned from its outcome and seek how to do better. I can't wait for nothing else except for myself to take advantage of certain things. Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded." I love Jimi. And what better advice to get from someone like Jimi than this? The quote can also apply to any other passion. If you feel a tug of war with something you like to do, your letting your passion grow towards it. Sometimes I fail to believe in myself, or that my friends fail to believe in themselves. I always reflect on this quote when I, or any other people who seek help, struggle with the things I like to do (in my case and others', the guitar). You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." Enough said! C.S. Lewis got it right. Don't think twice whether its the right time to pursue a goal. Its always the right time! Of course, behind every right choice stands proper organization and responsibility. I really rely on this quote because I always have friends or family members that think with doubt towards a pending goal, and since they couldn't achieve it at a certain time, they never can. Its never too late! And I've been using this quote A LOT, since fellow college students struggle with courses (or repeating them) and graduation. You take the risk of being rejected." I don't frequently use this quote for other people, but myself. When I need to clear my head I have to remind myself that life is about taking risks, and being rejected. To me, the path of rejection leads to other doors in life, and, if you want to reach a certain goal, you won't let anything strike your focus to achievement. If I got rejected for a job application, I'll keep searching. If Puttytel didn't let me get my course, like this morning, I'll keep searching until I get what I want.
The Puertorrican media is famous for portraying violent incidents on a lengthy basis. I always wake up in the morning and the first thing I hear on the radio is who got killed and how morbidly the person was assassinated. Or, if I turn on the TV, other than the excess of elections' propaganda, I stumble upon the same news. Not to mention when I'm in the morning traffic, the people who sell newspapers raise their magnificent cover, so that everybody can witness it and buy it. And what do you know, most of the time the cover portraits an excess from the media to show violent cases.
Sure, not all newspaper covers are like that. Sometimes there are other things that take the main pages of a newspaper, or the televised news of the day. But I notice that when there is a peculiar death, or case going on, the media needs to be fed up on it for a ridiculously prolonged time (from weeks to months, depending on the incident). Incidents like the case of Pablo Casellas or Ana Cacho, or the death of Jeffrey Alexander and Lizbeth Rosa. I understand the people need to be informed, and have the right to do so, but is it necessary for the media to be inside the hospital, or around the families' homes, or even worse, during the funerals? I think it is very abusive and wrong. The people don't need to see that. Furthermore, when media interviewers get a hold of relatives on live television, they ask one of the most dumbest questions. "¿Y como usted se siente?" I think that there is an excess of space that sad news unnecessarily receive. It is right to inform the audience that a person is missing and police are on the lookout, or that a someone committed a hit and run crime and hasn't been caught yet. What I refer is the outcome of sad and tragic news on behalf of the media. Sometimes its right, and sometimes its wrong. A couple of weeks ago three runners were injured by a driver, one of them being in critical state. Mayra Elias Diaz has been slowly recovering. The media has been really supportive towards the situation and for the capture of the person who was responsible for the accident. Luckily, the person was captured and the media respected Mayra's recovering space. That was good outcome. An example of bad media outcome came from the case (occured a year ago) of the contractor who was tortured and killed by two 17-year-old adolescents. The contractor was decapitated. Not only the incident was descriptively clarified and reported, which was right, but the image of Agustin Areizaga's decapitated head was in hands of Puerto Rico's own gossip puppeteer, La Comay. And guess what? During his show, which airs weekdays from 6pm-7pm, he showed the image. Viewer discretion was advised, but it still wasn't right to show that image. That is no respet towards the victim's family, and an example of the media wanting to make use out of morbid finds to create an excess of sensation to the people who seek to be informed. Its shocking and disgusting. I think the media in Puerto Rico isn't discrete sometimes and it should be less macabre, more consistent, positive, and respectful. I went to the movies last week and finally saw this movie. Rafael is convinced to escape the catholic retirement center he stays with his two buddies. Carlos, who is Rafael's grandson, urges Rafael to spend some bonding time in a beach where they can stay for a while and share memories. Carlos has an unstable relationship with his father, which encourages him even more to bond with his grandfather. The movie was entirely filmed in Puerto Rico. The movie carries a lot of puertorrican dialect and lifestyle through the eagerness of Carlos, Rafael and his friends. It has a really humoristic side to the movie thanks to the secondary characters as well, like Luis Raul as a security guard for the retirement home. However, I felt skeptical with the atmosphere in the movie. There is a rigid 'local surf scene' in the beach that Carlos starts to go frequently. Most of the people are disrespectful with those who aren't locals. The idea of 'no locals are welcomed here' is portrayed by secondary characters who are surfers and try to be an intimidation to Carlos. I found it skeptical because in real life the atmosphere regarding those 'rules' is a lot more rigid and violent than how the movie portraits it. But overall, the movie maintains a consistent sense of adventure that still lasts on your heart after the movie ends. It provides a beautiful message towards the importance of family and support. So, I browsed through the Internet to see which editorials I could pick. I stumbled upon The Huffington Post, USA Today, The New York Times and El Nuevo Día. Here are the links to the editorials with their respective article that caught my attention the most: 1) Students who speak up can make a difference (Esta Soler, The Huffington Post)- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/esta-soler/students-who-speak-up-can_b_2024441.html?utm_hp_ref=college This article's purpose is to spread the word about the injustice of college rape. Esta Soler is a supporter for women's rights and the president of a non-profit organization called 'Futures Without Violence'. The article recalls an incident that occured in Amherst College. Angie Epifano was raped in her dorm room. Since then, she went through a denial crisis for months, until she couldn't bear and tried to seek for help and support in her college. She wasn't given any support, recounting: "No, you can't change dorms, there are too many students right now. Pressing charges would be useless, he's about to graduate, there's not much we can do. Are you SURE it was rape? It might have just been a bad hookup." Esta Soler defends her sympathetically yet makes up for the injustice that spreads around different colleges regarding rape. Policies and norms should be revised and modified in order to gurantee a safer campus. And without trying to sound hostile towards the university, Soler adressed through the article that while Ahmerst inteds to fix the flaws with their Title IX, they should check her organizations guidelines to 'prevent and respond to gender-based violence' in higher education. Basically, Ahmerst needs to get their shit straight. She also claims that starting a student support group could fasten the change of policies for other universities that face this kind of issue. This article was very objective. It wasn't an article with pity towards the rape victim, just in case. It provided brief research but most importantly, guidelines for colleges. The way she insists for students to gather and claim for a guranteed respect of their rights is a constructive and objective one. She is passionate about her writing because of the way she adressed the issue towards Ahmerst. 2) Raising the Ritalin generation (Bronwen Hruska, The New York Times)- http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/opinion/sunday/raising-the-ritalin-generation.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0 The article 'Raising the Ritalin generation' is a good and interesting read. Bronwen Hruska talks about the US population from the ages of 3-17 engage in taking medication after being diagnosed with attention deficit or hyperactivity. I like this article a lot because not only does it give advice to parents, but to teachers and students also. Regardless of being easily distracted or with insufficient academic focus, I don't think relying on medication should be the number one priority. To me, the key is to dedicate a day to organize your routine rather than depend on a pill with unnecessary side effects. Hruska and her husband were shocked when their son's 3rd grade teacher told them to provide him a psychiatric evaluation. Even though their son was diagnosed with ADHD, they felt Will was actually being a normal person in their house. Hruska insists that the concept of normal is to be average, something that Will's school weren't keen about, because students with average grades would just have to rely on a pill to get rid of that average trait. She also thinks that it is better to let kids grow as they should with proper organization instead of a risky medication, or else their confidence could be threatened when it comes to future challenges. I think she was well informed because she witnessed her son being rebellious against the medication and demonstrated how developed is this Ritalin generation she speaks of. My favorite quotes were the following: "I should have been elated that the problem was so simple to fix. But I wasn’t. I couldn’t help wondering why forgetting to talk to his friends was a good thing and why we were drugging him to become a good student". "Sometime toward the middle of fifth grade, he simply refused to take the pills. He'd seen a television show about a girl whose parents kicked out for crushing and snorting her adderall, and that convinced him that his medication was too dangerous". "If “accelerated” has become the new normal, there’s no choice but to diagnose the kids developing at a normal rate with a disorder. Instead of leveling the playing field for kids who really do suffer from a deficit, we’re ratcheting up the level of competition with performance-enhancing drugs. We’re juicing our kids for school". The author's language was persuasive, argumentative, with respect and passion towards the topic. She detailed from experience and from research which led her to be really direct with how risky can be this type of medication. She doesn't try to be a doctor or anything, but she encourages well to parents, students, and teachers to think over the choices a student can look other than just medication. 3) Christians need not to be afraid of Halloween (Henry Brinton, USA Today)- http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2012/10/28/christians-halloween-magic-superstition/1664303/ I really liked this article because it conveys a view towards Halloween that doesn't necessarily have to be labelled as Christian, or Athiest, or religious, for that matter. It is a meaning that the author provides that actually makes sense without disrespecting anybody. Henry Brinton first clarifies that the conceptions regarding Halloween could be discrete. It anciently meant 'Summer's End', which is the period of transition from warm climate to a cold winter. Every single soul would wander until Halloween. Celtics would build bonfires to prevent them, and European Christians would dress up. The article says that 'America has a death-denying culture that can't accept death as anything but defeat'. I wouldn't say just America, a lot of other places carry this tendency. That kind of culture builds a repellent feeling against Halloween but don't intend to view it the way other people view it: a way to stretch our imaginations, just like the article stated. We can be anything we want to be, maybe even remember the death. We actually are creatively embracing death, since it is part of our lives whether we like it or not. It is ones own decision on how to embrace it, and if its a positive one, even better. 4) Elecciones (Mayra Montero, El Nuevo Día)- http://www.elnuevodia.com/blog/1372175/ The social issues that I stated below definitely relate to one another. Let's start with morning traffic. What or who can you encounter? Elections are near. You can find 'caravanas' making the traffic worse with their horrible chants and music. Some of them even have reggaeton. Oh, those cars with annoying buzzing noises to make them sound like a race car but it sounds like a toy, with reggaeton to top it up. You can't forget the subwoofers either to bring out your 'flow'. There's always the weird driver who stares at the ladies when the light is red. And the egocentric driver who stares at you for not letting him get in your way, therefore he/she tailgates you. You see? The social issues can relate under different circumstances (not just traffic, maybe in Ave. Universidad too! Especially thursdays!), and I can live with them. But it annoys me. We all have certain kind of greed, and I don't mean that not giving money to a homeless rude person makes you greedy. No. But people who like to get 'wasted' on drinks and spend their money on that, so that they consequently complain about not having money to fix the car or get some food or clothes, or pay the rent. People always find ways to nurture their arrogance.
I also can't talk very much with people who are too into the concept of sex, drugs, rock n roll (or any other genre), or religiously debative people because I feel they carry this tendency to inculcate their lifestyle upon me with no respect. Once they assume the lifestyle with an annoying attitude, I immediately despise it. Regarding my personal issues, my attention span is beserk at times. Sometimes I can be very alert, sometimes I can't. I always do my best and push myself to avoid any conflict, since I'm sometimes sorrounded by people who think that by saying stay alert or X or Y calamity will happen, and afterwards recall my failures to undermine me and at the end tell me "to stay positive". I hate that. Regarding both issues, I can't talk with people who like to question and judge people's futures and studies. I don't care how much of income I'll receive. I work and study for the experience and delight of it. I can't stand pessimistic people either, even if I tried, because I'm a person who doesn't show each and every problem to everybody. I keep them to myself, and they're on my mind. Sometimes these situations put me in a tough position and since I'm able to stay positive, I can accept a person talking about their problems but to keep insisting on being downhill without a solution... and not trying to find ways I would politely ask you to leave me alone because your pessimism is stupidly annoying. |
AuthorWelcome! People I knowDianaris Castro Archives
December 2012
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