The Philadelphia Phillies: A Class Act
    by Mike Agnew Jr.There are many different reasons I love the game of baseball. The fact that anyone can play it. The fact that it is much more relaxing to watch. Going to the ballpark, strolling around, hearing the roar of the crowd and running back to get a look at the field to see what happened. There are few feelings that can relate.
Last night I was watching the Phillies vs. Astros and I must admit I was not worried. We needed one more win to lock in another NL East Pennant. I was enjoying the game, reclined on my couch, sipping on a cold beer. I watched the Phillies rack up run after run. By the time we entered the 9th inning I could have not been more relaxed. But then I started to worry. Not because of any feeling of doubt that the fightin's would come out victorious but because I was so relaxed. I should have been on the edge of my seat praying for strike after strike, but I wasn't. I was sitting back and watching my boys do what they do best. Was I becoming complacent with the notion of a Phillies post-season? Did I just expect the win? What happened to the beer-soaked Agnew standing on Broad Street screaming until he couldn't talk?
Then something happened. Something that lit that fire back up inside me. That feeling you get when the mets lose or someone on the Giants gets hurt. The feeling of Mick yelling at Rocky, "Get up ROCK!" or Adrian, "There's one thing I want you to do for me.......Win." Then that single bell tolls.....bong. That feeling of a Mitch Williams' snot rocket right before the final pitch of NLCS Clincher in 1993. That feeling of the spirit of Philadelphia. That feeling that you belong to something great. Something that will continue to impress you. Something that makes us different from everywhere else.
Top of the 9th. 2 outs. No men on. Scott Eyre pitching. He just retired the last two batters. But what's this! Charlie Manual walks out to the mound! He's calling for Brade Lidge to face the last batter! Brad Lidge...the guy who everyone is worried about...the guy who everyone thinks is washed up...the guy who peaked last year....the guy that makes everyone text their friends with "Lidge time. Hold on.", "Oh boy...", and "choke artist". Charlie Manuel trusts HIM? Charlie Manual TRUSTS him? oh...
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One pitch later.....
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That's right....it was a class act in true Phillies' form. I'm glad Charlie did it. Basically saying, "I'm not giving up on this guy. You got a problem with him, you got a problem with me." I don't know about you, but I trust Charlie. And I have had faith in Lidge. One pitch later and the game was over.
2009 National League East Champions - 3rd year in a row.
The team walking out to the HK in left field was pretty cool too. It reminded me of that game in Colorado a couple years ago....
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...and don't try to ruin this moment by bringing up Utley's F-Bomb from last year...don't be that guy. That was pure emotion. That was Danny Jackson roiding out and tearing his uniform off. We loved it at the time. Let's remember this instead....
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World’s Finest as Public Enemies
    by Mike Agnew Jr.The third DC straight-to-DVD animated movie was released the other day, Batman /Superman : Public Enemies. This movie was based on the Public Enemies graphic novel and in no way strays from the made-for-adults genre of super-hero movies DC has been releasing. (See my explanation)
The basic plot is that Lex Luthor is now president of the United States. The country has fallen on rough economic times and crime is on the rise. Luthor hires a handful of super-heros to clean up the streets for the government "unlike some other vigilantes who think they are above the law" a.k.a. Superman and Batman. So Luthor frames Superman right from the beginning and places a billion dollar bounty on his head. This gets every villian and hero up off the couch and hunting down this duo. Let the melee begin. This movie has a slew of characters in it: Grodd, Solomon Grundy, Power Girl, Captain Atom, Giganta, Mongol, Mr Freeze, Captain Marvel, Killer Frost, Hawkman, and many more characters make an appearance including Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's butler. There are also references to the Flash and the Joker and a match up between Batman and all the different "freeze" characters.
The voice acting is perfect thanks to the return of the original cast from the Batman and Superman Animated Series: Kevin Conroy as Batman, Tim Daly as Superman, and Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor. This gives the movie that authentic feel and adds a little LOST-esk-ness since Clancy Brown played Kelvin Inman (the army sergeant/ Dharma button masher on LOST) and Tim Daly voices the "Previously on LOST..." at the beginning of some episode.(Although denied by the writers and probably Dewitt too, I still believe it's him). There are also some guest voices from Allison Mack of Smallville and John C. McGinley of Scrubs.
One of my favorite moments, and probably one of the most shocking was kiss shared between an overweight Amanda Waller and a krypto-roiding Luthor. A few moments later Waller turns on him and, after a long pause, Luthor exhales a curse under his breathe. Again....not a kids movie....but very funny. One quick note about the size of the characters....The original Public Enemies graphic novel was illustrated by Ed McGuinness who has the ability to make characters look huge. He actually puts muscles on top of muscles. So when you watch this movie just make a note that they animators actually toned down the size of the characters....except maybe Powergirl....but for that you will have to watch.
Terry Fitzgibbons wrote a book.
    by Mike Agnew Jr.
Terry, my good friend from grade school, some high school, and future president of the united states if not ruler of the world has written a book about his time in the navy. I have ordered a hardback copy already and I suggest you do the same.
Click here to order yourself a copy.
The official book summary: The USS Pelican, or the “Pelican’t” as it was affectionately known, was the craziest, most nerve-racking ship in the navy. How was that possible, though, if it remained tied to the pier essentially for two years? This account contains the musings and observations of one junior officer attempting to stay sane aboard mighty Pelican. Likewise, it includes his attempts to do the same on a different ship—this one doing circles in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Orisinal Games is the best….tru dat…double true
    by Mike Agnew Jr.
This is a site I stumbled upon a few years ago. I think there was a segment on G4’s attack of the show about free games to play on the Internet. I have had the bookmark for this site in my Firefox at work some time now. Yesterday I decided to reorganize my bookmarks in different categories when I came across the link for Orisinal Games once again. As I clicked the dusty link I was worried that the site would not longer exists. WHEW! It did. This collection of games is fun, diverse, and very addictive. Most of the games use just your mouse for movement and clicking, some other use the spacebar as well. All of these games were made in flash and have this amazing fuzziness to them. The author, Ferry Halim, has created a world of bunnies, bugs, puppy dogs, and pandas that can only be described as the cutest things alive. Go ahead…tell me I’m wrong.
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My favorite is the first one I played. Winter Bells. Where you are a little bunny rabbit whose only goal is to jump as high as possible. He jumps from bell to bell (and sometimes birds) to reach a higher altitude. This game as many of its siblings have open ended game play. Therefore you will be taking your high scores and displaying them on the fridge or possibly screen-capture emails to your fantasy league.
Cashback…and some other movies
    by Mike Agnew Jr.A few days ago Amanda, a girl who follows me around and shows adoration towards me, and I figured out how to use her Netflix account on my XBox. It's pretty sweet. I had previously been downloading and ripping dvds to harddrives and playing them on the XBox. Now I just scroll through, pick the movie, and it starts playing. Sometimes it plays in HD as I discovered for all 4 seasons of LOST.
This brought up a new opportunity for movie watching not just because of the instant on demand aspect but because of the variety as well. One of the hardest things to do is find a movie that you will enjoy and you have heard nothing about. Well let me say first that the Instant Play List for Netflix movies is good but there is a whole lot of crap in there. I stumbled upon Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus right off the bat. Ironically Preston and Steve did as well because they were talking about it this morning on the radio. However I didn't find it as enjoyable as they did. Although it was as campy and as cheesy as the title, it still gave me less than expected. It was just too easy to make fun of. After about 10 minutes I stopped laughing and moved on to another selection. Don't fall into the internet gap of thinking this is funny. It's not. give me a Mystery Science Theater 3000 any day.
After some trial and error, we ended up finding a gem by the name of Cashback.
Plot: "After a painful breakup, Ben develops insomnia. To kill time, he starts working the late night shift at the local supermarket, where his artistic imagination runs wild."
This movie is the first movie I have ever scene that depicts how a person feels after a big break-up. The way your mind wanders. They way all you want is for time to pass and for some reason it starts to slow down. The main character, played by the guy who plays Wood in the Harry Potter movies, find himself unable to sleep. He takes a job at a 24-hour supermarket. His imagination and reality begin to get blurred. It gets a little confusing as to whether you are watching a drama or a sci-fi movie for a bit but once you chalk it up to artistic story telling you will get back to enjoying the movie. I would also like to make a note that there is a handful of nudity in this movie similar to the way it was in Titanic. He's an artist and likes to sketch. I suggest watching this movie. Do it now.
Some other notables:
The Express : Being as I hate the movies Remember the Titans and We are Marshall, I finally have a Racism/Football Movie I can stand behind. The Express is about Ernie Davis' journey towards being the first African American Heisman Trophy Winner. The story is solid. Dennis Quad as Coach Ben Schwartzwalder is perfect and even gave me chills when some of his lines sounds just like my high school football coach, Dr. Algeo. There is no silly resolution where an Aretha Franklin song brings together the team and racisim is erased in 5 minutes in the middle of the movie. There is no key bad guy. There is just the sport and the respect it has for talent no matter the race. One of my favorite lines comes as the linemen are lining up. Bad guy: "I'm gonna send you back to Africa." Good Guy: "Too bad I'm from Philly!" I stood up and yelled with my fist in the air in the middle of the lab. I loved this movie.
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New in Town: Now this movie is a chick flick and stupid and campy and predictable. But I still loved it and all because of two actors/characters in the movie. The actors were NOT Renée Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. They were Siobhan Fallon as Blanche Gunderson and J.K. Simmons as Foreman Stu Kopenhafer. Siobhan plays a delightful Minnesotan with an amazing accent. I guarantee after you watch this movie you will be saying Tee-ap-e-o-ka for the rest of the day. Don't cha know.
A Letter to Ryan Reynolds
    by Mike Agnew Jr.Dear Ryan,
My name is Mike Agnew and I have something very dear to ask you, but first I would like to say a few things. I have included pictures so you can remember along with me.
Now I have been with you since the beginning. Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza place was a long name for a show and I bet that had something to do with it's success. However when they shortened it to Two Guys and a Girl.....I missed the pizza place. I guess you just don't know what you got till it's gone. I definitely remember a feeling that the show jumped the shark. I remember your character ended up becoming a doctor or something and then there was no fun left in the show.
But none of that matters because then you hit stardom with your roll....... VAN WILDER.
I loved Van Wilder. I thought it was the perfect break out movie for you. Everyone wanted to be your character in college; riding around in a golf cart, knowing everything about woman, and gaining the adoration of the entire student population. Also doing a movie with Tara Reid before her ab re-arranging must have been pretty amazing. What is Kumar like in person? Is he really as smart as everyone says?
Van Wilder was the role that was made for you. Your quick wit, subtle coolness, and ability to draw out a lot of silent joke and reaction humor matched perfectly with this character. I think this acting also translates into many romantic comedies too: Just Friends and Definitely Maybe being a couple. I enjoyed both of these movies even though they bordered on chick flicks. "It's a town full of losers and I'm pulling out of here to win." Haha Awesome. At the end of Just Friends did you sing that song in one take? It looks like you did cause you missed some of the words but that's cool. It makes it more real just like the music videos I used to do when I was younger. (check out my agnewsmind blog).
I also saw Amityville Horror. I really liked the original and I had hoped this would just be an updated and more enjoyable rendition. What I got was an extreme version of the original. Everything was TO THE EXTREME. In the scene with the flies, it became flies TO THE EXTREME. In the scene with the blood, it was blood TO THE EXTREME. It should have just been called Amityville Horror :Extreme Edition. I liked how crazy you got in that movie. You were scary. There was just one thing I would have changed and that is the contacts that you wore every time you went crazy in the movie...it was kind of like watching Thriller.
Anyway....there is a reason for this letter. I need to ask you something. We have had a really good really healthy movie star-fan relationship and I want that to continue. I have been burned in the past by some others (T. Burton, H. Ledger, T.Office). I want what we have to continue. I read the other day that you have take up the role of the Hal Jordan Green Lantern. Now I think you really deserve a good comic book role. And I have no issue with you being the face of both a Marvel and a DC character. I hope you do great things with the Deadpool movie. I never read Deadpool and frankly know nothing about him but I welcome your portrayal and hope that it does the comic justice. I am going to ignore the Wolverine movie as that was just a terrible movie all around. So you have a clean slate. Blade III was a little iffy too but that series of movies was going down hill fast and if you ever watched them in HD...wow...they are the perfect example of action movies they get worse when up-converted.
Green Lantern is a great mantle and the great thing about it is there is an almost limitless amount of Green Lanterns that you could be but Hal Jordan just isn't one of them. If you have ever looked at the comics...you just don't look like him. If anybody he looks just like Dennis Quad.
I think this might be a good way to give a tip of the cap to the comic book community and name another role you would want to play. I mean jeez I would think you playing the Flash or actually Booster Gold would be perfect for you. Sure he is a mid-carder but he was the first one on the scene when Doomsday, the guy who killed superman, came around. He held him off till Superman arrived. he also played a huge role in the recent 52 series. It just fits better and I hope you would consider it.
Thanks for listening.
Your Friend and Fan,
Mike Agnew Jr.
P.S. - My girlfriend thinks your hot.
DC Cartoons have finally caught up with the Comics
    by Mike Agnew Jr.Well as most of you know, I'm a bit of a comic buff/biff. I have always enjoyed comics and their characters especially the DC universe. Batman is by far my most idolized character.
Batman the animated series was the first show that actually got me reading the key graphic novels....KnightFall, Batman Year One, Long Halloween, Dark Victory, and of course Kingdom Come. Kingdom Come was amazing. The entire novel was drawn by Alex Ross who can make these characters look like real people in costumes made of real fabric that fit them like fabric would.
On top of its beautiful artwork, Kingdom Come introduced me to the Multiverse. Now before I loose you and send your mouse to the back button, you must know that this Multiverse concept opens up a whole new world of possibilities. I was always plagued by the notion that Batman and Superman were from the 30's and 40's. I mean Batman's parents were killed after he went to see "The Mark of Zorro" in the theater when he was 8. That movie came out in 1940...so Batman is now 77 years old. He doesn't look it. So how do you take a man who is a myth and somehow make mythology, a character that will not age with time but live in the present and can also....die. The Multiverse. A series of infinite earths where all these events did occur. Say goodbye to continuity and say hello to "well that happened on Earth 2" and "Oh that Superman came from Earth 99" The DC universe has been unlocked and both stories old and new can co-exist and even on special occasions even cross paths.
Kingdom Come opened my eyes to see just how large the DC universe actually was. I began to read more about the Flashes (Jay, Barry, and Wally) and how important they were to the Justice League, one of the main good-guy-groups. How can someone who can be defeated by a curb be so important? Well i suggest you start reading because the truth is Superman doesn't have anything on the Flash. I continued on and learned about the Green Lanterns, the Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Dr. Fate, Booster Gold, and many many more. Even the villains had amazing back stories. Stories like "The Killing Joke" make you sympathize with the Joker and what he went through before he became the character we all know today.
Now for a quick bit of history. A comic book code was applied in 1954. Without the approval of a comic code committee comics would get rejected and shunned. Hence a lot of smiley batmans and feel-good "Zonk" fighting.
Luckily comic authors pushed the limits so much with titles like Watchmen (now a major motion picture) and The Dark Knight Returns the comic code eventually lacked authority because the people wanted real and they wanted dark. This is when the Dark Knight Batman was born. Anyway....I'm getting off track....back to the cartoons. Now cartoons are for kids...anyone who says otherwise is crazy however movies like Titan A.E. and Cool World might have made you rethink that notion.
The Justice League Cartoon was a continuation from the Batman and Superman Animated Series(es). It brought in a mix of Justice Leaguers : Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern-John Stewart, Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Flash - Wally West, and Hawk Girl. The show ran for 2 seasons and definitely started off a bit campy. But it told a good story and also introduced a mix of other villains from time to time. After the 2nd season ,they expanded to the Justice League Unlimited.
Now that universe I spent so much time studying was available for story telling. And they used it too. Most episodes didn't even involve the original Leaguers. The mid-carders were finally getting their shot and getting their stories told. Also the writers focused on bringing some of the best stories from the comics("For the Man who has Everything") alive in the animated genre. JLU lasted for 3 amazing seasons. I wish it had continued.
Now it looks like DC and Warner Brothers are working on making full length animated movies with each movie dedicated to a single member of the Justice League. They started with Wonder Woman.
This movie was done very well but let me be clear....this was a movie made for adults. People are decapitated, blood is all over, guys get kicked in the nuts at least 14 times throughout the movie, and not to mention the island of naked woman bathing together. At one point the Queen of the Amazons asks a man what he is thinking. He responds, "God, your daughter has a nice rack, " referring to Wonder Woman. Now don't get me wrong this was a great movie. I enjoyed everything about it: the humor, the Greek gods and goddesses, and of course all the action and suspense. But would I let my kid watch this...No. I would say 11 years old is the cut off for this movie. It was Rated PG-13. So I guess if you check the rating...its not too bad.
So I moved on to the next installment. The Green Lantern:First Flight.
I have always been a big fan of the Hal Jordan/Green Lantern storyline. I even own a green lantern costume. So I was quite pumped to watch this movie. It too was rated PG-13 and rightly so. This movie also had plenty of blood and use of the word "crap" which definitely implied the use of worse words. There was also one drug use scene which made me feel a bit awkward but still it was all part of the story telling. And hell....it got my attention. All in all this release was a bit lighter than Wonder Woman, but I noticed while in Best Buy that it was packaged with a little Green Lantern Toy.
Now I love that comics have adult story lines, it helps me defend my obsession with them. For some reason if I reference a scene from a comic and it is more vulgar than an episode of Sopranos then no one has an argument against me. If you still thinks comics are for kids or that comic story lines can't effect you emotionally please spend the $10 bucks on Identity Crisis. I think the comic book code they used in the 50's was a little extreme but we might need a bigger indicator of the rating on the DVDs instead of a toy.
This is what is coming out next and I could not be more excited:
Mugged in Manayunk…not this time
    by Mike Agnew Jr.So at midnight on Saturday night/Sunday Morning 7/26, I was leaving Matt and Lauren McShea's Wedding reception. Earlier in the day they had their wedding at St John the Baptist's in Manayunk. I arrived at the church about an hour before the ceremony so I ended up getting a nice spot right next to the church on Cresson Street. Since the Reception was at the Iron Works right down the street, I figured I would leave my car in that nice spot with free parking until after the reception.
The reception wrapped up around midnight. Practically everyone hopped on the school bus back to the hotel. I had had a few Jack and Coke's but nothing to write home about. By the time everything wrapped up I was pretty sober, tired as hell, and ready to find my bed. So Gags, Dewitt, Jenni, and I all started our walk back to our cars. As we walked down Cresson, we heard a bottle smash up ahead. A girl yelled out, "You want to fight me. Oh What? Are you scared now?" She was quite drunk and being held back by her friends. The girl she threw the bottle at was looking pretty scared but was not backing down. As entertaining as drunken girl fights are we crossed the street as to not become part of the incident. We continued down Cresson underneath the train tracks and eventually the yelling faded. We made our way up Levering.
When we got to Levering and Silverwood we said goodbye to Gags. He was heading back to his apartment and then probably out to the Brew Pub. he asked if I wanted to join him but I was thinking about everything that had to be ready for SDAND in the morning. So we said bye to Bill and continued down Silverwood. We then made it up to Grape Street where Dewitt and Jenni had parked. So I said good night and wished them a great time at wrestling the following night. I continued down Silverwood on my own. As I walked I was thinking about the wedding and reception. There was an old man outside his house having a cigarette. "How you doin?" I said. "Doin good,"said the old man.
I then came up to St Josaphat's on the corner of Cotton and Silverwood. As I approached the church there were two black males crossing Cotton. They disappeared behind the church's stone wall. As I crossed Cotton, I noticed that they had stopped at the stone wall and were just standing there in the dark. I immediately noticed how dark all the streets were and I still had about a blocks walk to my car. Pretzel Park is right there in between Silverwood and Cresson and Cotton and Rector. I remember it because I once shot a Kindergarten Graduation video for St John the Baptist. I taped all the kids swinging on the swings and playing tag. I slowed it all down so they looked a bit more sureal. But the park was dark and ominous and worst of all, quiet. The only other person I saw was a cab driver parked halfway down Silverwood. He had probably just dropped off the two guys I had just seen. So I knew I needed to stay in the light. The trees were blocking most of the light so I walked right down the middle of the street. In my pocket, I put my car key in between my middle and ring fingers like I used to when walking home at Drexel. Adds a little something to a punch if needed. I closed my eyes as I walked and focused all my efforts on listening to any sounds around me. Footsteps....behind me...two people...probably the two from the church corner.....F*$!. Okay just relax....keep your pace....widen your stride....start walking faster without looking like you are...stay in the light. My main focus was get in the car turn the key and peel out. I turned down Rector. I let the hill speed me up naturally....maybe these guys were just walking like me...then from about 15 feet behind me....
"Yo! YO! Yo, where's Main Street at?"......maybe not. Now anyone who has ever been to Manayunk knows Main Street. Main and Ridge are the two streets to be on...you are either on them...or you are on the hill. I mean it's MAIN street...everyone knows...everyone...now I know I am in trouble. Something is going to happen. I start playing out what my options are...my car is the only weapon I have....but its still far away....my only other one is the public...Main Street....a block away.
I yell back to them without turning around. "It's about two blocks...that way." I point with my right arm.
"Oh cool. Two blocks that way." That's right you bastards I'm not turning around for you.
I unlock my car thinking, for some reason, that the lights will scare them, me being so close to an exit strategy. I get to my car door. As I grab the handle I hear those same footsteps but now that are running towards me. I turn and back away from my car. One guy on the right side of my car on the sidewalk. The other guy standing about a car length in front of me. The street light on the corner silhouetted their faces. I froze.......when I saw the gun.
He was maybe 10 feet away with a gun pointed right at me. I don't know guns. This one was black and had a square top. It had a silver chamber that reflected the orange street light.
"GET ON THE GROUND. DON'T DO ANYTHING!"
Now....those of you who know me..know my mind works fairly quickly. Now I had a decision to make. My first thought was of my car. What would these guys take? What would they really get? The SDAND shirts...probably not. Everything I have in there is junk and can easily be replaced. Whats on me...my wallet...wow a drivers license, a debit card, and a credit card....totally useless to these guys. My camera...who cares. But there is a gun. If I stay they take my things for sure. Then maybe they shoot me. If I run, they could shoot me. But I am betting this guys hasn't had to many hours at the shooting range. Then I thought of my friends and family....I didn't even finish my funeral video that I want to play at my ceremony...Is this really my time?....Is this how Agnew goes out...shot down in a dark street in Manayunk by two punks...Who are these guys....who are they to say if I live or die.....and what? over pieces of plastic....who they hell do they think they are....they don't even have a good reason...they are just greedy....I worked for everything I have....for who I am...no way do these guys deserve any victory...not with me...shoot me down....but you are not getting anything from me willingly.....not this time...
I turned and ran.....I ran as fast as I could....I maybe should have zig zagged but I didn't. I ran straight like Forrest Gump....I didn't look back...I didn't want to look back. I didn't hear footsteps. But halfway down the street I realized my car was still unlocked....I gift-wrapped my car. I pulled out my keys and held the key fab up in the air. *beep* My car was now locked....haha take that. As I turned down Pensdale I had my phone out and was trying to dial 911 while in a full sprint. I made it to the public scene of Main Street. Everyone was walking around drinking and laughing...with no idea of what just happened to me. Two guys came out of their apartment. "Lookin Snazzy!" They had seen me sprinting down the street and I guess in my suit I did look good doing so. I told them what happened and their smiles were soon erased. They told me the street I was on was Pensdale and I called the cops. When we got to my car nothing had happened to it. They searched the area but since I had no description...I was of no help. But I got away. I drove all the way home shaking. I tried calling everyone I could who was at McShea's wedding to give them some warning in case anyone was still in the area. I didn't sleep. But I did have a story for SDAND. Ironically when I reenacted the story for Jon in the morning I ended up tripping on the curb and cutting my toe and hand open. I ended up getting more injured telling the story than during the actual mugging....which is par...for me.
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