Speaking From the Diaphragm
The Vaginal Davis Blog
. . .From the Counsel of Inter-Continental Balistic Principalities
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
BLAME IT ON THE BOOGIE
Yes Mrs. Michael Jackson died. She was the greatest of all performance artists. This woman was a genius in manipulation, don´t let anyone tell you otherwise. I wouldnt be a bit surprised if we learn that she fabricated her own untimely demise,just to avoid creditors. It would be brilliant if that were the case.
She really was ahead of the curve, and was a shrewd business woman on top of that, alienating her friend/acquaintance Paul McCartney---swooping up lucrative Beatle songs from under his nose. La Jacksone was one of the few mainstream celebs of international import that i had little contact with over the years. True she came to shop regularly in the early 80s at Retail Slut the Melrose Avenue boutique i worked at, and would buy all of the designs of my Afro Sister Fertile La Toyah Jackson, but she kept a tight lid on her self whenever she was in my presence so it was very difficult to get a proper read on her. But she was definately no dummy. The black culture critic Ernest Hardy has a delightful and insightful take on the woman in his incredible blog. Check it out.
Also dying in groups of threes Ed McMahan of the Tonight Show and Farrah Fawcett. Ms. Fawcett loved her big dicked blondine men. Lee Majors and Ryan O´Neal, both fellas could really work a girls innards into a frenzy. One face you may not know about Farrah is that she was the original star shoplifter. Forget Ms. Winona Ryder it was Farrah that for the last 25 years or so was the klepto queen. It didnt get in the tabloids or papers because her management would slyly have the stores send them the bills for all items stolen.
And last but not least dance legent Pina Bausch died of cancer. I worked with the divine Ms. Bausch in Los Angeles when she did one of her celebrated spectaculars at UCLA´s Royce Hall. She came to my club Sucker and spent quite some time following me about filming the way i moved which she interpolated into her piece. I never got to see the finished product as i was away performing in Europa. I also took her to some hardcore latina drag clubs in Silverlake and East LA which she marveled at, and i became one of her last muses. Rest in peace sweet lady.
Rising Stars Falling Stars was lovely. We were on Monday evening as part of the Swedish Madness Series with a screening of the lesbian classic Norrtullsligan or The Nurrtull Gang from 1923. Eunice Martin did an incredible job playing piano with the film, and this time a new performative aktion was added with your hostess reading an English translation of the intertitles outloud to hilarious results.
The celebutants in attendance included Kersstin Poehls of the Swedish Consulate, lovesexy Swedish art star Anna Linder of Film Form and a gaggle of juicy lesbian Scandanavian artists including Eva Einhorn, Annika Ruth Persson with gal pal Beate. All the Swedes were drinking Sect during the screening. Also on hand director Karim Ainouz of the Brazilian film Madame Sata, Nicholas Fox Ricciardi writer with ´Sup Magazine of New York and London, Canadian Andre Mark Pennock of Forum Expanded, German beauty boy Uli Ziemons back from his stay in New York at Anthology Film Archive, adorable American scholars Zach Blas of UCLA/Duke and Megan Skanse, DJane Olga Damnitz, curator Stefanie Schulte Stathaus, accessories designer Christopherr Kane, Nanna Heidenreich of Arsenal Experimental and delightful young artist Lindsay Lawson with her American lady friend in tow. The next Rising Stars will be Sunday July 12th with a surprise smorgosbord program built around the experimental silent film Manhatta with live musical performances by the Blue Bros Tim & kJohnny.
.: posted by Vaginal Davis 3:12 AM
Sunday, June 28, 2009
HEAVY CROSS
Just returned from a whirlwind visit to merry old Prince Harryland of London, England where i was brought over to host the indie band Gossips record release party for their new LP Music For Men. Was put up in the five star hotel Grosvenor House near Oxford high street. My room overlooked beautiful Hyde Park, and London was sunny bright and very warm. The top secret location of the party was at the new venue of Dalston Superstore a bar near Hackney. Not getting enough rest from doing the play Daddy i felt like the walking dead, but had to sparkle Neelie sparkle! Thank god my co-host for the party was Liza Minnelli doppleganger Cody Critchloe of the performance art group SSION. Cody and i use to correspond with each other back in the late 90s when he was a weenager, but i had never met him in person. Back then he was a young art student and FIT. I had a great time with sweet Cody and Gossip manager Tara aka: Annie Oakley of the Sex Workers Art Show. La diva Beth Ditto was looking like the perfect red hot momma---sexy and delicious, and so were her band mates Nathan aka Bruce Paine and handsome Hannah Billie. I had no idea Ms. Ditto had become such a giant superstar. Everywhere she went there was papparazzi going crazy for her. They even stalked her at the hotel when we returned from the party. Its about time the media concentrated on someone interesting instead of the usual banal types. Lady Beth is a glorious starina in the mode of classic golden age of Hollywood stars like Ava Gardner and Lana Turner with a voice from the godulas.
My London assistant The Love Camel aka: Andreas Novarin secured for me two top make up artists lovely Irish lassy Siobhan and Italian face painter Christina who turned me into a vision of desire. Even my constant sweating didnt melt the hot war paint.
There were so many celebutants at the party that i can only give you a partial roundup. Here goes. Casey Spooner of Fischerspooner who stopped by on his way to dinner with Boy George, Javier Peres of Peres Projects Gallery, artist and scholar Dominic Johnson, Sue Tilley, Blitz kid Princess Julia, designers Gareth Pugh, Louise Gray and Henry Holland.
Love Camel took me to a great Mexican Cantina called Cafe Pacifico in Covent Garden. I liked the food so much that i took Dom Johnson there also. Gorgeous Dom is not only academic with an impressive writing record but a youthquaking live artist who is becoming more famous by the minute.
The Camel took me shopping to Camden Market and we oogled hot boys at Regents Park getting a snack at the Honest Sausage. I also ate at a wonderful greasy spoon and munched on some divine fishcakes at this place called Squat and Gobble in Fitzrovia off Tottenham Court Road. I really needed London and London needed The Doll.
There really is no rest for the insanely wicked, no sooner was i off the plane young French documentary filmmaker Angelique Bosio was at my studio the Cheese Endique Trifecta filming me for a documentary on Bruce La Bruce, and later in the eveninng i had to DJ the Sommerfest Berliner Festspiele part off the K-Damn along with Susanne Sachsse and Joel Gibb of the Hidden Cameras. Actually it turned out more fun then i thought it was going to be, and was an excellent way of celebrating gay shame in a mostly hetero and family oriented event in the old west.
Tommorow Monday June 22nd dont forget there is a special Swedish Madness Rising Stars, Falling Stars at the Arsenal Institute Fur Film und Video Kunst. I will be presenting the 1923 classic Norrtullsligan or Norrtull Gang and Eunice Martin will accompany the movie on piano. After the screening as always will be a wine reception in the famed Roter Foyer.
.: posted by Vaginal Davis 4:23 AM
Sunday, June 21, 2009
JEWEILS IN EINEM GANZ SPEZIELLEN
Here is a little run down on all of the celebutants who came to the opening of Daddy and the performances: Assof Hochman, Alexander the Great of Macedonia, The Incredible Luigi, whose opinions matter more than life, Stefanie Schulte Strathaus, Nanna Heidenreich, Ulrich Ziemons, Master Patrick, Tenessee Clafin, Mario D of Slovakia, Marc Siegel, Daniel Hendrickson, Piero Bonhomme, Tim &kJohnny Blue, Cornel Collins, Salome & Richard Gersh, Wilhelm Hein, Annette Frick, Trixie Schönherr, Gunnar & Ted, Alfredo Hunter, Anna Mülter, super gay curator Frank Wagner,Catherine de Montferrand, Alden Ehrenreich, Imre & Lior, Joel Gibb, Weiland Speck, faggoty German TV actor Reiner Sellien who walked out in a prissy huff, Peter Priegann, Rene Schöneberger, Christophe Gürk, Hanna Hurtzig, Angelica Wedde, Sasha of bbooks, Ali Janka of Gelitin, Baby Papi Chulo, Moritz Müller, Patrick Wengenroth,Christian Siekmieir, Klaus Mattes, Ruth Schonegger, John Heys, Sexy Sasha, Jürgen Brunning,Isabelle Spengler, Lee Adams, Heinz Emigholtz, Birgit Hein, Richard Wagner of Zurich, Mattias Hasse, Matias Lienthal, Namosh the Turkish electro star, Tim Stüttgen, and Alexander of Theatre Institute.
.: posted by Vaginal Davis 6:14 AM
DEIN PERSÖNLICHER GUTSCHEINCODE: MAGMA
So sorry i have been lax in writing. Sometimes i think that no one will notice, but if a few days go by and i havent written a word, i start getting an avalanche of emugs. Rehearsing and performing the run of the new play Daddy written by Travis Jeppeson and directed by Ron Athey at HAU 3 has drained me of all energies. Plus i missed seeing lots of visiting dignitaries to Berlin like famed American scholar Amelia Jones who came through town with her new husband.
Luckily head curator of the New Frontiers section of the Sundance Film Festival Shari Frilot literally stalked and kidnapped me treating the Vagimule doll to a scrumpteous feast at this Mehringdamn Greek restaurant. I´ve known Shari for centuries, when she started the famed MIX Festival in New York. She was also my boss at Sundance where i helped with programming before i moved to Berlin. It was great seeing the delightful lady Shari, and meeting her hot Iranian princess girlfriend Roya who is an academic. I had an adorable time catching up with Ms. Frilot, laughing and drinking with her, Nanna Heidenreich of Arsenal Experimental and DJane Olga Damnitz.
Now that Daddy has had its theatrical run, i can relax a bit, but not for long since i am leaving for London to host the indie rock band Gossips record release party. I am also doing some kind of movie with Beth Ditto & gang. I don´t know all the details as Gossip manager Tara, aka: Sexy Annie Oakley of the Sex Workers Art Tour has told me very little.
Well to say Daddy was a problematic production is just skimming the saturated fat off of the vitamin D enriched milkamagnesia. Every day there was crying, knockout sluggos, scandals, screaming and hairpulling. And those were the days we were getting along.
I thought the battles with art kollective CHEAP were something. Daddy took the proverbial pies cake. My take is that the difficulties emerged by going into the rehearsal process with a script that was waaaay too long. I am not a proponent of text based work, and this one not only was that, but was also very linier. I loved the basic story that Travis wrote, and saw the possibilities of having it realized by Ron Athey´s visual deluze adaze. With the genius of foxy Frenchman Christophe Chemin´s sets and costumes and the perfect makeup design of Tan Binh Nguyen, what could go wrong?
Luckily the alchemy of the Chemin/Nguyen/Sentürk triangle united the cast and crew into creating something quite impressive. But there were moments when i was really worried.
Susanne Sachsee as star showed what can happen when you focus your synergies. La Sachsse put on one sterling performance, nailing the tongue twisty Americanetic English text with gusto and flair. I´m a native English speaker and found some of the written cadences very challenging. Suzi, Evelyn Rüsseler and Artur Albrecht really met the challenge.
Frau Russeler is a dream and platinum treasure. Known primarily as a filmmaker this was her theatrical debut and she brought a lot of warmth and tenderness to her portrayal of a precocious black pre-teen. Evelyn has already been offered parts in other productions. Her beauty, and bright shiny expressiveness didn´t go unnoticed. Participating in Daddy was more of a one off for her. I think she prefers to concentrate on her brilliant experimental film practise.
Other standouts in the cast: Lady Gaby Bila-Günther, the Australian spoken word diva and Berliner expat veterana who played the lead Belinda. Gaby was a marvel with her sparkling delivery and honey grey/blue eyes. DJ Snax who created the seductive music and sound design is a beloved international performing favorite. He tore into his comic role as a FIT. Mr. Artur Albrecht as Preacher Creacher was brilliantly demented. Herr Albrecht was raised as a teenager by Fassbinder and the great Volker Spengler. The army of Belindas included a spirited and dedicated group of young talented actresses: Christine Ast, Sabine Böhm, Nora-Anna Hofmann and Karen Sünder who were great to work with. Ingo Ruggenthaler´s creative lighting design wass steller. And a special Joan Jett shoutout goes to legendary German scribe Diedrich Diederichsen for his hilarious video appearance as the judge. Assistant director Frederike Pietsch did a fine job handling the video portion of the piece. I like Fredericke, she´s lovely like a German version of Sandy Dennis if Sandy Dennis was a GDR double agent for the Stassi.
The plays writer Travis Jeppeson really put in a stirring performance in the title role. Christophe Chemin really captured Travis´true essence in the photo he took of him for the flier, and young Mr. J. didnt hold back on stage. The outfit he wore was so picture perfecta with that Hitler Aryan Youth haircut providing just the right goldenen touch.
I wasn´t thrilled with my own performance. I felt like i had to rely on my arsenal of Vagimulic stage trix and tactics. I´m a performer, not a classically trained actor so I dont feel i am able to make dialog written by someone else come alive properly. But its over now, and in all it turned out quite good.
During Cheap Blacky Judy LaBruce was doing double duty directing us and editing his film Otto. Poor Ron Athey was teaching performance workshops, directing and performing a museum performance and juggling a new romantic relationship. Yowza! Now thats what i call multi-tasking.
.: posted by Vaginal Davis 5:07 AM
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
MAMBO ITALIANO
Italy is problematic. With their neo fascist leader shacking up with teenagers, rampant sexism and corruption lets just say its not one of my favorite nations to visit. So being invited by Ron Athey to perform in his new piece The History of Ecstasy as part of the Napoli Teatro Festival at the only contemporary art museum of Naples The Museo Madre de Donna Regina was rife with hesitation. First of all Italians are notorious last minute queens. The Museum didn´t give us our confirmation numbers for our flights till the day we were leaving. The performance was a return to Daddy Athey´s big productions like 4 Scenes in a Harsh Life and Deliverance of the 1990s when he traveled Europa with the Ron Athey Company. It was exciting being reunited with Athey Company members, the vivacious modern dancer Julie Tolentino and Pigpen, both ladies i love dearly and are magical to watch on stage. Ron commissioned an incredible musical score from young Greek beauty Othon Mataragas who along with counter tenor diva Ernesto Tomasini of Palermo provided the spacious sound design. The other performers from the UK were Lee Adams and sexologist Mouse aka: Amanda Hull, who has to be one of the horniest, yet sweetest ladies I have ever met short of the legendary New York City sextress Patty Powers.
My role in the piece was as a black Madonna lactating and annointing. The performance went well. The set was designed by a German architect named Alex, and was quite beautiful. One of the most famous critics in Italy walked out during the orific fountaining sequence by Mouse, but he still gave the show a rave review. Only in Italy kids!
I hope to never return to grifty, dodgy Naples. The city is beautiful, and the food scrumpteous. I had the best pizza I have ever eaten at the famed Sorbillo restaurante. The lodging at the Bella Arte Resort was plush, though one hideous gay creature on the staff was beyond rude. I had a much better stay on my day off at the small family run inn Hotel Europeo.
Now for the dirt that you my dear readers love to read from la Vagimule. I was not having the curatorial team of Eugenio Viola and Adriana Rispoli. Eugenio´s lover the fashion designer Sam of Rosario Farina clothing line was very sweet, and got us some nice make-up people to take care of that aspect of the performance, but Sr Viola made German curator Heiko Pfost seem like an angel in comparison. I´ve never met such a priss. His tag team partner Dona Rispoli, is gorgeous. She reminded me of 1950s ingenue Pier Angeli. I found her to be brittle and cold beyond belief. Warning to all artists invited to Naples. Beware of Eugenio Viola and Adriana Rispoli, the worst curators I have ever encountered.
***
Another wild sex story from one of my LA pals. See it as a cautionary tale to unabashed horndoggedness:
So I shared with u my story about my fuckbud in the hills with the big uncut
dick. Well, he has been hellbent on watching me get sucked off by someone. We
were not successful on our last attempt.
So I get a call from him and he explains how we have to meet. I agree to stop
by his place for a treat. So he explains to me in detail the kid who will be
sucking me off. The kid apparently has a mouth from the deepest corners of oral
exstacy and a body to match. The boys ass is legendary. But there is a BUT! He
is as the Doll would say, Fugly... I say ok, I am open, I have a soft spot for
ugly people. So at 10pm promptly the kid arrives, with a big smile and clothes
that showcase his great 22yr old frame. He's about 6ft, 160 or so, so very lean
and a smoking hot ass. He looks Latin from some island. He shakes my hand and
I look at him in the eyes, and Ms Davis I thought I was looking at the devil.
My friend looks at me and smiles. The boy goes into the restroom and comes out
naked. The body belongs in some sort of art work and the more I looked at his
face the more detail I noticed in his look the more frightening he looks.
Steve starts to undress me and I go along, he is also quickly undressed. I am
seated in a comfy chair and the kid kneels down and start licking my crotch and
then sucking.
I am looking at him intensly as he is sucking my nasty chorizo, Steve is
stroking his big monster as he watches. But in my mind I am thinking that the
devil is sucking me off and that he's going to bite off my dick!
As he got more and more caught up with his sucking his face was turning dark
red, his nostrils were flaring and the veins on his forehead were popping out
and my friend holds me cause he said I looked like I was going pale! I wasn't
sure what I was thinking, steve shoves a bottle of Poppers in my face, I've
never done that stuff nor did I know what to do with it. He covers one of my
nostrils tells me to breathe and I take my first ever hit of stinky poppers and
I feel that sensation and now the kid looks like a cross between the devil and a
gorrilla.
I get my bearings after the first hit, the kid takes a hit and then I take
another. Well, he sucked on me for about an hour, I didn't want any of the popper
stuff, I felt out of control, u know I always have to be in control. So I am
ready to explode and the boy is ready. He wants it in his mouth, face and
enjoys it in his eyes! Apparently that is the new thing for fags, cum in ur
eyes.
I am so glad I am old and not young going through all this crazy shit. What
happened to a good old fashion bj.
Fechesita I let out the biggest gush of cum ever! I felt light headed and
thought maybe I was going to puke. My friend also shoots off a big load on the
kids face and also hits his right eye.
I was done, I thought that was the gift Lestat was waiting for. The boy gets
up, runs off to the restroom and cleans up. I see the kid grab an envelope and
he splits. So the kid was an arrangement my friend put together. One of his
daddys rich buddys introduced this wicked looking young boy to my friend for his
oral skills and the frightening look he has.
So now I think I've seen it all. I needed food and food had already been
planned and was plenty after that ordeal.
I have asked about taking pics of him, I don't have the reply yet. We shall
see. So there u have it.
.: posted by Vaginal Davis 4:21 AM
Monday, June 01, 2009
DAUMEN IM WIND
The Baby Diaper Joel Gibb of the Hidden Cameras is back in Berlin after six weeks working on a new album in Toronto. Had a spirited brunch with Mr. Gibb, his super hot beau Enrico and Laila, the sweet, pretty Iranian academe from Montreal´s McGill University who came through town for a few days before heading off to the middle east where she will be traveling for several months. Laila brought me out to McGill in 2007 for a wonderful visiting artist gig.
***
Had breakfast Sunday with Ron Athey and his lovely Argentine husband Alfredo. Ron isn´t returning to Los Angeles. He will be living in London with Alfredo as an expat, and going through a Phd program. Congrats to Papa Athey on his new life in merry old Queen Lizland. Ron is directing me in this piece called Daddy that premieres June 17th at HAU 3, but before that we both go to Naples for the performance event A History of Ecstasy at the Museo Madre, Contemporary Art Museum of Donna Regina on June 6th.
***
Later Sunday Charity Hope Valentine, one of my favorite Bricktop girls and her gorgeous eurasian lover Tashi came by my studio The Cheese Endique Trifecta. I haven´t seen Charity since 2004 when she moved from LA to go to school in San Francisco. Her boyfriend is half Japanese and Belgium, completely stunning looking with dark hair, soulful eyes and a masculine ardour that is a bit bewitching. I also loved his soft spoken manner, he is a perfect, young patrician gentleman. And i am so jealous that Charity has robbed the proverbial cradle, going out with a much younger man----GET IT GIRL!!!!!!
We never talked about her ex-husband Andrew Gould, who was my partner with Bricktops, though while Ms. Charity was in the bathroom Tashi did mention to me that Andrew´s dull long term companion Lenny Young actually took my advice, and is working on a movie about his Gypsy background. Lenny was always infuriated when i would tell him that the only thing interesting about him was that he was a Gypsy.
I miss Andrew Gould, he will always have a piece of my black golden retreiver heart
.: posted by Vaginal Davis 3:01 AM
Monday, May 25, 2009
NUIT ET BROUILLARD
Rising Stars Falling Stars was brilliantine on Saturday evening at Arsenal Institute für Film und Videokunst. Canadian silent screen actress, producer/director and animal trainer Nell Shipman is really a feminist icon to be reckoned with. She is probably the only moviemaker to feature a dog having a flashback. Back to God´s Country 1919 was a tour de force. The flick was made even more enjoyable by the piano accompaniment of Ms. Eunice Martin who just came back to Berlin from China.
A vast array of visiting dignitaries came to the film and stayed to shmooze in the Rote Foyer during the after screening wine reception. Among the VIP´s: Canadian video artist Steve Reinke who curated his own program Monday, that also included two nights of screening his own incredibly whimsical videos. Steve makes the kind of work that i just love. We are both certainly cut from the same nutty clothe. One of my favorite of his videos featured portraits of slain soldiers in Iraq arranged via their attractiveness. God i loves me them Canucks!
Rising Stars is the most mixed event in Berlin featuring the hoite paloi and the nosferati. Saturdays guest list included Katherina Fichtner of the Canadian Consulate, CHEAP´s Marc Siegel with intermedia actress girlfriend Susanne Sachsse who stars in Ron Athey´s Daddy at HAU 3. Anna Muelter, DJane Olga Damnitz with gal pal Nanna Heidenreich of Arsenal Experimental, curator Stefanie Schulte Strathaus, Rick Owens´cute assistant Asha Mines, experimental filmmaker Saul Levine, San Francisco punk legend Jennifer Blowdryer who gave me a copy of her latest tome Good Advice for Young Trendy People Of All Ages. Ms. Blowdryer now lives in New York where she is a spoken word star. Balkan beefcake Sasha of bbooks kollective, film historian John Paul Goergen, British artist Andrew Kerton and his posse of tall, thin, young art fagulas, Laurie Andersons right hand gal Ruth Schönegger, visiting American scholars Zach Blas and Megan Skanse, video artists Gunsi Holmstrom &
Cathy High, Scandanavian Muslim Daniel Hendrickson who is off to Japan for vacation, male ingenue Tamar Novas in Berlina straight from his triumph at Cannes with Almodovars latest film Broken Embraces, Orlando of the pop group The Maccabees, pretty British photog Elly Clarke (with her lovely blondine sister Laura who brought her yummy actor beau Toby) Ms. Clarke just moved to Berlin, and is a glam addition to Teutonic society. Oh and i can´t forget to mention that scrumpteous Norweigan art photographer Benjamin Alexander Huseby, he is one super hot dark haired boy vixen.
.: posted by Vaginal Davis 2:45 PM
Saturday, May 23, 2009
LES HERBES FOLLES
The wonderful and talented young feminist filmmaking genius Evie Rüsseler who is co-starring with me in the new play Daddy by Travis Jeppeson, that premieres June 17th at the HAU 3 took me out for apperetif and din din Friday to celebrate my Ethyl Eichelberg award win. I got to ride on the back of her sexy Yamaha motorcycle. The last time i did this was at a Gay Pride Parade in San Francisco in the early 90s with Dykes on Bikes. It was scary but exhilerating! Evie makes her theatrical stage debut in Daddy, and she brings to the stage the same whimsical delight that is in her short film studies. After a delicious meal at the Lesbian Tapas boite in Kreuzeberg we were back on the motorcyle and over the bridges of Madison County into Friedrichshain/East Berlin to see GOSSIP perform. What a magnetic evening it was hanging back stage with the great beauty of all beauties Ms. Beth Ditto, resplendid in Vivienne Westwood, and her luscious manager Tara aka: Annie Oakley of the Sex Workers Art Show, and the rest of the fun loving spirited Gossip gang. The audience gave the group the proper worship such true shtars deserve. Can´t wait till the album drops which is their first on a major label. The new songs that were introduced are sensational. Ms. Ditto is a musical Flannery O´Connor.
Seen in the audience My Space operating chief Owen Van Natta, haute couture designer Frank Sorbier, German director Christian Petzold, actress Birgit Minichmayr and handsome, well hung Chinese action star Qin Hao.
***
One of my favorite Bricktops kids Miss Christiane left LA at around the same time i did, and moved to Portland, Oregon where she is designing and making by hand some unique retro styled clothing, including hats, vests, and bloomers through her new etsy store. Go to littlemisscrow.etsy.com and spend, spend, spend. Believe me you will be thrilled with your purchases.
.: posted by Vaginal Davis 4:04 AM
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