Recession's Surprising Impact on Teens!

Though many U.S. adults consider today's teens to be selfish and lazy, nearly seven out of ten parents say the current economic climate has made their teens "more aware of the needs of others," according to a new World Vision study.

The survey offers a surprising picture of how teens are perceived today - both positively and negatively. The study reveals that three out of four adults (76 percent) describe teens as "tech-savvy" and about two out of three (67 percent) see them as "intelligent" but more than half also describe them as "selfish" (59 percent) and "lazy" (56 percent).

But the results also reflect an encouraging trend for charities like World Vision. About seven in ten (69 percent) say their teens are now more aware of the needs of others because of the current economic climate. And more than half (56 percent) say their teen actively supports charitable causes or organizations by volunteering their time or participating in events such as "fast days" like World Vision's 30 Hour Famine.

Now, by participating in World Vision's 30 Hour Famine, nearly half a million American teens will put a human face on the untold suffering of the Global Food Crisis. And closer to home, youth will be helping those hardest-hit by the recession as they participate in community service projects (at food banks, soup kitchens and homeless shelters).

In 2008, 30 Hour Famine raised more than $12.2 million. This year's goal, given the current economic climate is $12.5 million. World Vision works in 100 countries, helping approximately 100 million people every year. Visit www.30hourfamine.org or call 1-800-7-FAMINE for more information.

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KidZui, the Internet for Kids

KidZui, the Internet for Kids, was named one of the top web sites for kids during the WiredSafety Best of the Web Awards.  Built for kids ages 3-12, KidZui is an online service and browser that lets kids independently explore more than 1.5 million websites, games, pictures and videos, reviewed and approved by a team of KidZui editors. It’s fun, provides online freedom and is SAFE.

And online safety is more important than ever, according to new research presented today. The research was conducted and presented by the Teenangels and Tweenangels, groups of teen and tween-age cybersafety experts that will be advising KidZui.  The results are outlined below.

• Cyberbullying occurs as early as 2nd grade and peaks in 4th grade.
• When kids are targeted by a cyberbully, most kids hide it from their parents (unless they surf together or play online games together).
• Boys tend to be riskier online than girls, by sharing more personal information and offline meetings with people they only know online.
• When kids engage their parents with their online activities, the kids themselves are safer and more careful across the board. Five times as many of them know about parental controls and privacy settings than the kids who always surf alone.
• Moms play online games with their kids almost as often as dads do.
• Boys post more videos to YouTube than girls do, but both watch them as often.
• 85% of elementary school kids share their password with at least one other person.
  

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Disney Store - Review & GIVEAWAY!

As I may have mentioned before, I'm a part of that generation that grew up with Disney cartoons and later on, their movies as an integral part of their childhood. As such, Mickey, Donald, Snow White, Ariel etc have all been cherished favorites. One of my heartfelt wishes as a child was to own a Disney doll, and it remained a wish until I was all grown up and in a position to get one of those dolls for myself. I was oh-so-tempted while browsing the Disney Store, but reluctantly decided - nah, maybe later, when I have kids. Now that I'm a Mom, the time to get one of these dolls was getting closer. And lo behold! I was offered an opportunity to review one of these very dolls I had my heart so set on! And even give away one!!!

Disney Store now has newly re-designed classic Disney Princess Dolls. The Disney Store doll design team studied the classic princess movies and fine-tuned each doll's face design, hairstyle and dress to make them even more true to the original character. They paid attention to minute details to make sure that Ariel's hair is the perfect shade of red and that Cinderella's dress glitters just like it did when the fairy godmother touched it with her magic wand. You can see the differences in the images below.

Just arrived in Disney Stores, these newly made-over dolls include Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White. In addition to the fully adorned princesses, little girls (or even big ones like me, lol) will surely delight in playing with the added "friends" that now accompany every doll. With the new Belle doll from Disney's Beauty and the Beast, for example, Mrs. Potts, Chip and Lumiere now accompany her on adventures in a child's playtime. Ariel comes with Flounder and Sebastian; Cinderella gets help from Gus, Jacque and Suzy; Sleeping Beauty finds magic with Flora, Fauna & Merryweather; Snow White whistles while she works with Happy and Dopey; and more.

Each doll also comes with a hair brush for making princess hair perfect. At a suggested retail price of $16.50 each, the Disney Princess and Friends dolls are a great value that will offer children (and female relatives, like me, ahem!) hours of entertainment.

And I can personally attest to this! When the dolls arrived this weekend, I couldn't wait to open them. But since my toddler is in the "pull and tear" phase of his terrible twos, I knew I couldn't open these glorious beauties in front of him (they'd have been massacred in seconds!). I couldn't wait for his naptime to arrive and once it did, I took the dolls out of their beautiful packaging and spent hours (ok, 45 minutes, but it counts, right?!) stroking oohing and aahing at their perfection, at the tiny details which have been replicated with such care. Even their hair feels real! And the friends that accompanied them added further joy to the occasion!

How would you like to win a doll for yourself or for your little one?!

GIVEAWAY

Read the Disclaimer / Rules

The Prize

One lucky commenter gets a Snow White doll (picture above)!


To Enter

1. Visit Disney Store. Browse over to the newly redesigned dolls. Come back here and leave a comment with your email address regarding what you think about the new look of these Dolls. Details are appreciated!
   
2. Your email address will only be used to contact you in case you're the lucky winner. And may be shared with the Sponsor so they can notify you when your prize ships.
   

For Extra Entries

Please leave a NEW comment for each extra entry you do.

1 Extra Entry - Blog this giveaway with a link back to this post. Leave a new comment here with the link to your post.

1 Extra Entry - Follow this blog (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.

1 Extra Entry - Subscribe by email (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.

1 Extra Entry- Follow Me on Twitter (callmeabookworm) and Tweet this giveaway. Leave a new comment here with the link. [You may tweet everyday and get an extra entry every time you come back here and leave a comment with the link to your tweet]


1 Extra Entry- Grab my button and comment here with the link to your site and where I can find it.

Deadline   Midnight CST of March 11, 2009.

Eligibility  US only.

Good luck!

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Tanner Bananer Winner

Thank you all for participating in the Tanner Bananer Giveaway held @ Mommy Reviewed.


The lucky winner is : JEAN!! She has won a Tote Bag from the wonderful Mommy-run store Tanner Bananer.

Note - Winner's name has been put up here with her permission.
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Five Reasons Your Child Needs Camp

There's no doubt that summer camp is fun. Kids get to sing silly songs, play funny games, swim in lakes, and tell spooky stories around a campfire. This is the image of camp that has been captured and memorialized in films, books, and television programs for the past fifty years. But there's much more to camp than just a good time. In addition to fun, Parents should be aware of these five reasons their child needs camp.

1. Camp forever changes your child… for the better – American Camp Association® (ACA) research has confirmed that camps build skills necessary to prepare campers to assume roles as successful adults. Campers said that camp helped them make new friends (96%), get to know kids who are different from them (93%), feel good about themselves (92%), and try things they were afraid to do at first (74%).

2. Camp teaches  your child to "move it, move it" – Camp provides children the opportunity to try new things and participate in human powered activities. According to surveys by both the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, an American child is six times more likely to play a videogame on any given day than to ride a bike. An estimated 22 million of the world's children under the age of five are already considered obese. According to research conducted by ACA, 63 percent of children who learn new activities at camp tend to continue engaging in these activities after they return home. This leads to continued physical exercise that lasts a lifetime.

3. Camp keeps all that hard work from going to waste - Camps understand the critical role they play in helping young people learn and grow. Many offer programs that help reduce summer learning loss, bolster academic enrichment and socialization, provide opportunities for leadership development, and ensure that campers achieve their full potential.

4. Camp allows take a deep breath and feel the nature – Camp is a great way for your child to unplug from the iPod® and plug into the world around them. According to a study by two Cornell University environmental psychologists, being close to nature can help boost a child's attention span. Additionally, a study conducted by the University of Essex in England concluded that nature can help people recover from pre-existing stresses or problems, has an immunizing effect that can protect from future stresses, and helps people to concentrate and think more clearly. In some instances, camp may be the only time a child is in contact with the natural world.

5. Camp is fun – It's true; kids do sing silly songs and play funny games at camp. Children are allowed to play in a safe and nurturing environment, and are allowed to just be kids. Play is a powerful form of learning that contributes mightily to the child's healthy physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development. According to an American Academy of Pediatrics report, creative free play protects a child's emotional development and reduces a child's risk of stress, anxiety, and depression.

To find the perfect camp for your child, visit the Find A Camp feature on ACA's parent Web site at www.CampParents.org.

Info courtesy, The American Camp Association
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Lose Weight and Win Cash Rewards!

It’s been hard for many people to stick to their New Years resolution to lose weight, but between cooking dinner, doing laundry, reviewing homework and attending baseball practice, this task has been especially difficult for Moms.

Shaklee’s Cinch Inch Loss Plan is designed to fit seamlessly into your lifestyle, while also helping you gain some extra cash with the Cinch Biggest Loser Contest – and who couldn’t use the extra money during this recession.

CINCH BIGGEST LOSER Challenge:

• It's designed to put you on the road to success by kissing those extra pounds Bye-Bye 
• To participate, challengers must be a Shaklee Member, Distributor, or Associate – It’s easy and you have until March 31st to join 
• The three contestant with the best “before and after” results will win $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000 in cash rewards 
• Your after results are due June 30th, 2009, so you have a couple of months to melt away the pounds and the inches.

Cinch is different because

• Cinch is powered by Leucine™ which, unlike many diet plans, is specifically formulated to preserve muscle while you lose weight from fat
• The products contain NO artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners
• Created with propriety formulas, it is designed to help control hunger, boost energy and keep you feeling satisfied

For More details, visit - http://www.cinchbiggestloser.com/shaklee
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Triaminic and Sick Day Guidelines

Did you know that Triaminic has recently developed Sick Day Guidelines in association with National Association of School Nurses (NASN). Parents know when their kids aren’t feeling 100% - these Guidelines are aimed at helping parents decide when to keep them at home, or send them off to school.

Triaminic’s Thin Strips are a safe and convenient way to help ease your child’s cough and cold symptoms. Each strip provides a pre-measured dose of medicine that dissolves quickly on the tongue, so parents know their child (age four and older) is receiving the intended dose, every time.

Following recent news about changes to children’s over-the-counter cough and cold product labeling – remember that it is important to always read and follow medicine labels exactly.
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The Fortune Girls

Have you checked out the FORTUNE GIRLS?! It's the coolest new site for girls that launches a fashion designer game!

Fortune Girls seeks to encourage tweens to be confident, focus on the positive, appreciate diversity and discover ways to make a difference in the world while having fun! While you're at www.FortuneGirls.com, make sure you check out at all the cool activities on the site:

*       So Ya Wanna Be in Fashion Game. The first of many career games to
come, this game shows girls how to achieve their dreams of becoming fashion
divas and business mavens!

*       Wow-A-Torium. See interviews with celebrities and fashion
professionals as well as Amy Poehler new show Smart Girls at the Party! She
was the star of Saturday Night Live and Baby Momma.

*       Fun Mini Games. You can play games like Sudoku and Magic Fortune.

*       FG Café. In the café, read about Girls in the News and learn what
other girls are doing to help their communities.

*       E-Cards. Share the love and send a friend a funny e-card.

*       Meet the FGs. Learn about each character's story, hobbies and
personality.
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Animate your Valentine's Day with Animoto!

Put a techy twist on old-fashioned romance!

Video creation website Animoto (www.animoto.com) now lets you create video love letters for your significant other this Valentine’s Day. Thanks to two new features, you can now turn your regular Animoto video into a romantic, heart-melting e-greeting.

-- Just upload your favorite, most meaningful of photos, pick a song, and Animoto will create your video - now framed in a vibrant, heart-themed animated page.
-- Add text to make it complete: users can add sweet notes, special memories, significant dates and other romantic touches to make their Animoto video even more personal.
-- Add a professional touch and enhance your videos with stock images, courtesy of iStockPhoto, a new feature introduced just in time for Valentine’s Day. Mix in images from five new categories: Valentine’s Day, Travel, Birthday, Nature and Scenes.

Animoto lets you quickly and easily make MTV-style, professional quality videos from your own images and music, creating one-of-a-kind videos with the visual energy of a music video and the emotional impact of a movie trailer. 30-second videos are free to create, and full-length videos cost $3.

Animoto videos are so emotionally powerful, that several users (including the company’s co-founder) have successfully proposed marriage – and one fan, just proposed with the Animoto iPhone application!

Here’s an example of what’s possible with Animoto: http://animoto.com/play/Tcmlx0613g1WmE2jh7FOmg?autostart=false

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Free Kniting and Crochet How-To Guides

Throughout the month of February, Quamut.com, Barnes & Noble’s how-to site, is offering any of its popular knitting and crochet patterns for free. The handy, easy-to-use PDF format is normally priced at $2.95. Quamut.com welcomes any knitting and crochet enthusiasts and beginners alike to download the great variety of projects. In this virtual treasure trove of eye-catching patterns, you are bound to find projects that suit your fancy.

With the mid-winter months upon us, use these free guides to whip up an exciting craft for the objects of your affection, giving an unexpected homemade gift. Your friends and family will be elated to receive cozy crochet gifts—including a long fringed scarf, blue tunic sweater, and baby booties—as well as knitted gems such as a cashmere dewdrops scarf, child’s ribbed mittens & hat, and the jewel-tone shawl. Or make something extra special just for yourself, to easy winter woes and enjoy the season in style.

These are just a few of the popular knitting and crochet projects available only at Quamut.com – and free in PDF format for the month of February. Seize this opportunity and make a special craft to warm up your winter or give your loved ones a special homemade gift this winter.

For knitting projects please follow the link: http://www.quamut.com/category/knitting_projects
And for crochet projects click here:
http://www.quamut.com/category/crochet_projects.

Happy knitting and crocheting!

Win with MyPoints this Valentine's

MyPoints, a leading online loyalty program, will save money (and face) for 500 lucky people. Each day, the first 100 visitors to go to www.mypoints.com will win FREE FLOWERS from FTD (valued at $50) -- every day from today through the 8th.

If you miss being in the lucky top 100, everyone needs a little love, so MyPoints has collected  some of the best discounts and deals on its new site FreeInternet.com, for things guaranteed to impress your loved ones.

FreeInternet offers exclusive savings for everyone on your list:
·        Ghirardelli Chocolate – for your sweetie with a sweet tooth
·        Frederick’s of Hollywood – if you’re looking for something  naughtier
·        Perfume Emporium – if you’re getting up close and personal
·        Diamonds International – for a really significant other
·        Mrs. Beasley’s – to cater the perfect meal for your weekend plans

For more Valentine’s Gift giving ideas check out FreeInternet.com or the MyPoints’ Valentine’s Day Gift Guide, http://www.mypoints.com/emp/u/giftGuide.vm.

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Wow! Wow! Wubbzy - Review and Giveaway

New to the world of Wubbzy? Let me introduce you then!

Wubbzy is a fun, lovable, curious little guy who just likes to play, play, play with his friends in the wild and wacky town of Wuzzleburg. He's charmed young children, been a smash hit online, wowed an array of top licensees and otherwise won over anyone who's met the most famous, lovable resident of Wuzzleburg.

So, if you're looking for something fun, that provides essential, wholesome life lessons while keeping the kid's laughing, then Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! is the way to go! Now, kids can watch Wubbzy and his pals discover the importance of friendship, cooperation, sharing and teamwork in this Emmy® Award-winning series.

In Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!: A Little Help from My Friends, join Wubbzy, Widget and Walden in Wuzzleburg in this fun, fun, fun collection of 8 episodes! Friendship takes center stage as Wubbzy and his pals search for a lost Wiggle Wrench, escape a runaway Doodleberry Cake, build a Super Robot, teach Walden to boogie and work hard for Wuzzleburg trophies. Together they discover the importance of positive values like confidence, cooperation, team work and above all , the meaning of friendship. There's hours of singing, dancing, laughing and learning in this Emmy award winning series that will have preschool kids and parents alike saying WOW!

DVD includes the following episodes:

• A Little Help From Your Friends
• A Clean Sweep
• Mr. Cool
• Wubbzy In The Middle
• Gidget The Super Robot
• Broken Record
• Widget Gets The Blooey Blues
• Where's My Wiggle Wrench?

Extras on "A Little Help from My Friends" include:

• 2 Bonus Episodes
• Bonus Music Video
• Kooky Kostume Game
• Coloring Pages
• Printable Activities
• Sneak Peeks

GIVEAWAY

The Prize

A copy of this DVD will go to one lucky reader of this blog.

To Enter

1. Leave a comment with your email address telling me why you want to win this DVD. That's it!
2. Your email address will only be used to contact you in case you're the lucky winner.
3. No email address means no entry. (Please don't ask me to go looking for it in your profile)

For Extra Entries

You may do one or all of the following. Each counts as one extra entry.
Please leave a NEW comment for each extra entry you do.

1. Mention this giveaway on your blog/site mentioning Mommy Reviewed, and with a link back to this post.
2. Subscribe to my feed.
3. Add my button to your blog/site's sidebar and leave me a new comment letting me know where it can be found. (If you already have it up, mention that in your comment).
4. Follow Me on Twitter. Then tweet this giveaway and copy me (@ callmeabookworm) on it.
5. Become a follower of this blog - Link - and mention that in a new comment.

Deadline   Midnight CST of February 23, 2009.

Eligibility  US only.

Note:

• Winner must respond with their full name and address to the notifying email within 3 days of it being sent or a new winner will be chosen.
• The Sponsor will take care of the actual mailing of the prize to the winner.
• Disclaimer
  

Good luck!

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Camaraderie

Sons of military families find camaraderie, prep for Arizona tournament.


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For Valentine's Day - Give Real

Whether you’re planning a romantic evening with your soul mate or a night out with all your single ladies, celebrate the people in your life by picking up the tab on February 14th with Give Real.

Give Real is the first online service of its kind that lets you share a toast with friends, family, and loved ones this Valentine’s Day, even if they’re across the country. Send a glass of Champagne, a Chocolate Martini, or a round of Sex and the City Cosmos that can be enjoyed at over 500,000 restaurants and bars in the United States. If you’re seeing your special someone for dinner that night, win bonus points by sending a gift for lunch!

1. Style your gift by making a drink suggestion and adding a personal message.
2. Your friend accepts the gift by registering their credit or debit card with Give Real.
3. Your friend enjoys a night out at any restaurant or bar in the US that accepts plastic.
4. The drink credit automatically appears on your friend's account, once the bar or restaurant transaction posts.

Just visit Give Real (http://www.GiveReal.com/) or use the Real Drinks application on Facebook (http://apps.facebook.com/realdrinks) to purchase your gift, sent directly to the lucky recipient's inbox and instantly redeemable for a meal and drinks. 

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Tanner Banner - Review and Giveaway

Today it's my pleasure to introduce to a wonderful Mommy-run store
Tanner Bananer.

Tanner Bananer offers distinct oilcloth totes, market bags, aprons, bibs & splat mats made of the finest & most stylish oilcloth. Their "oilcloth" is printed vinyl bonded and supported with a woven cotton mesh. Bright & cheery prints, durability, versatality and a breeze to clean - these bags are a must, especially for Moms.

Sabrina Vegis founded Tanner Bananer Products - named after her daughter, Tanner - in May 2003. As a mother of two, Sabrina saw a need for adult and children's products that were eye-catching and easy to clean!

Sabrina kindly sent me a pink checkered one to try  out and personalized it with this blog's name. The photo I took turned out quite bad, but I'll try and take another one and post here so you can see how cute and useful it is. So far the bag has traveled with me to the grocery store, doubled as a diaper bag, a book bag and even as a toy bag when Kiddo went to a friend's house.

From tablecloths to totes and aprons to lunch bags, Tanner Bananer carries a full line of products to make your life a bit more trouble-free. Sabrina's motto is "no worries" and that reflects in her designs and in her products. All her products are proudly made in USA, in South Carolina, in fact!

GIVEAWAY

The Prize

A bag from the Tanner Bananer store. ** Edited to add ** Specifically, a black mini-gingham Tote (measures 10”x10”), embroidered with what the winner wants, retail value $26.00.


To Enter

1. Visit Tanner Bananer. Come back here and leave a comment with your email address telling me which product is your favorite (product name required) and why.
   
2. Only comments containing all the info will be considered.
3. Your email address will only be used to contact you in case you're the lucky winner.

For Extra Entries

You may do one or all of the following. Each counts as one extra entry.

Please leave a NEW comment for each extra entry you do.

1. Mention this giveaway on your blog/site mentioning Mommy Reviewed, and with a link back to this post and to the Tanner Bananer website.
2. Subscribe to my feed.
3. Add my button to your blog/site's sidebar and leave me a new comment letting me know where it can be found. (If you already have it up, mention that in your comment).
4. Follow Me on Twitter. Then tweet this giveaway copying me [@callmeabookworm] on it. Don't forget to leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment here.
   
5. Become a follower of this blog - Link - and mention that in a new comment.

Deadline   Midnight CST of Feb 18, 2009.

Eligibility  US only.

Note:

• Winner must respond with their full name and address to the notifying email within 3 days of it being sent or a new winner will be chosen.
• The Sponsor will take care of the actual mailing of the prize.
• Read the Disclaimer
  

Good luck!

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A Parent’s Guide to Kids & Safe Texting

1)      Never Text & Drive.

While this may seem obvious, many people ignore their common sense and do it anyway, especially teenagers. Many states have banned talking on mobile phones without a hands free device while driving. They have the right idea, never text and drive. Don’t let the cost of a few headsets stand in the way of your child’s safety. If you have to, suspend driving privileges.

2)    Sexting.

Another ‘seemingly obvious’ rule. Talk to your kids about the practice, and about peer pressure. A survey by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy found that more than 50 percent of the girls who "sexted" did so under pressure from boyfriends. If either party involved is under 18, the pictures may be considered child pornography. Make it clear to your child that ‘sexting’ is not a way of being intimate with another person, and that there are other, more private, more appropriate, alternatives.

3)     Text and walk.

This one’s for parents & kids: Always keep your eyes ahead of you, not on your phone. This is especially true when walking on a busy sidewalk or crossing an intersection. When using your cell phone, it’s very easy to get distracted and lose focus on what is taking place around you. A study by the University of Alabama found that children speaking on a cell were 43 percent more likely to be hit or to have a close call in simulated street crossings than kids who weren’t on the phone.

4)     Think before you text. 

It only takes seconds of poor judgment for a private thought to hit the airwaves. Once you send a text message, even to a friend, you can’t take it back and you never know who might see it. Prevent embarrassing moments by thinking twice before you text - just as you would before you speak.

5)    Avoid paying additional fees.

Call your carrier to block third-party applications on your child's handset. Think of it as a V-Chip for the phone. Explain to you children – ringtones, games, apps – they all cost money and can contain explicit content. As children are granted cell phone privileges at such young ages, not all have a true understanding of money and the value of a dollar. If an explanation doesn’t cut it, take control and limit the programs and features your child can and cannot access with their phone.

Info courtesy, Shane Neman, CEO of Ez Texting, www.eztexting.com.
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