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24 Illustrations Depicting The Absurdity Of The Present-Day World By Santiago Bara (New Pics)
Interview With Artist
Santiago Bara is an artist from Spain who creates humorous and aesthetically pleasing illustrations as a commentary on modern life. He started making these "little cartoons" as practice for more serious jobs, but they unexpectedly evolved into something bigger than that, and now the artist has more than 7k followers on Instagram.
Santiago's creations attract attention with their simplicity and accurate depiction of the present-day world. He makes people laugh by highlighting the absurd elements of today's society. Santiago's inspiration comes from the real world and his interactions with people. The artist believes that the clash between one's expectations of the world and what one then finds in everyday situations can be a good starting point for a comic.
If you want to see more Bored Panda posts about Santiago and his work click here or here.
More info: Instagram | sbara.bigcartel.com
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Gingersnap In Iowa 2 years ago
My life is a testament to " Oh things can't get any worse". Yes, yes they can.
Michael Smith 2 years ago
If there's one thing I have learned from the movies, it's to never say things like "It's not like anything else could go wrong".
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Beetle 2 years ago
It can be interpreted differently, but what I got from that is the time when these two people were struggling was also the time when they relied on each other and loved each other, so therefore it was the "good times", only they didn't realize it.
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Isaac Harvey 2 years ago
You will only find out how strong you, as well as other people's friendships with you, are at your lowest point.
Bored Panda has reached out to Santiago again, wanting to find out more about his recent work. First, we asked how he decides which ideas to pursue and turn into full-fledged comics. He told us: “Well, for the ideas for the comics, I don't set out to find a theme, but they come up in everyday life and the things I see or read. Although looking at what I do in retrospect, in reality, it's clear that I'm almost always circling around no more than two or three themes (love, memory, alienation...).”
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#2
Sean Syko Keys 2 years ago
They're different countries in Europe, no borderline showing separation. You're seeing Spain, France, top part of Italy on the right, and top of Morocco and Algeria in Africa, bottom of the pic.
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Philip Haberkorn 2 years ago
Try channeling John Lennon. Imagine there's no countries No borders in between
Victor Trejo 2 years ago
What is absurd about this? Doesn't he understand how references work?
#3
PolymathNecromancer 2 years ago
May ????? No. Always. But doesn't have to be running the show.
Rwby Couch 2 years ago
If you're still not over your ex, then don't date me. I'm not here to be your therapist
censorshipsucks 2 years ago
I understand that position but I think no-one ever fully recovers from each relationship, everything leaves you with a small scar or two. One of the people I broke up with like 20 years ago still haunts me unconsciously, reminding me to be a better person. Every time I do or say something that reminds me of that time I think "be better". So it can be for the good.
Load More Replies... Michelle C 2 years ago
Yup. I really appreciate that I have a few acquaintances and good friends with whom I can talk about anything, even the ups and downs of my previous relationships. We’re so much more than our pasts.
We wanted to know his view about the role humor plays in art, and in society. Santiago said: “Humor works as a lightener, a sugar coating that makes it bearable to talk about certain things. Although there are certain people for whom humor on some subjects is not tolerable. Especially jokes related to identity issues, both political and tribal.”
#4
C. R. 2 years ago
Therapist is on a shelf- a pedestal if you will.(the triangle on the left) Meanwhile, this guy's life is literally a roller coaster. My bf saw that! I thought it was more of a conveyor belt. One after another, next, next, next. I like his interpretation better!
Mary Peace 2 years ago
I thought conveyor belt first, then I thought no, it's a roller-coaster.
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StrangeOne 2 years ago
Patient is on an emotional rollercoaster while the therapist sits there writing stuff down until time is up and the next comes along.
Jesus Vinas 2 years ago
Yes the mental health is such a frustrating system, most of us need to see a therapist but there are so few and the system makes it so difficult
#5
Elena Doyle 2 years ago
From what I am interpreting from this: kids start out as thinking outside the box and using creative thinking skills and through the years with the public school system, they are compressed mentally into what the school wants them to be. Their creative skills are discouraged and it is basically like a really slow process of brainwashing. That’s the public school system for you… and it’s only getting worse. I think the video for Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” describes this perfectly.
Alexander Smith 2 years ago
It more made me think of dunce caps. That the school system is a bunch of morons and the students are just decorations to brag about.
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George Anderson 2 years ago
Alternate take: it's a icing piping tip. It's focusing the bag of messy icing into a focused tip that can create any design the imagination can conceive. The right schooling can have the same effect on people.
AltBren 2 years ago
I think that's it.. it makes sense now. We all get pushed into funnel, its designed so we all come out the same.
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Race Blakhart 2 years ago
Frosting tip, not cookie cutter. 🤣 I kid. I almost used the same phrase in my comment but stopped myself.
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Logan Bailey 2 years ago
Yes, because a tested foundation of standardized knowledge on which our entire civilization relies is a bad thing... Really? You can still have a standardized education and "think outside the box". Problem is, there is a difference between creative thinking and superstitious ignorance: I hear "Think outside the box! The education system makes you a sheep, dude!" constantly from idiots like crystal healers, flat earthers, conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers, and the mentally ill. Maybe, just MAYBE, its because they need you to abandon reason and education to pass off their ignorance as some kind of wisdom?
Race Blakhart 2 years ago
Not everyone who says those things comes from those groups. You're simply highlighting the nutcases to disprove a point that actually has merit.
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Kate Johnson 2 years ago
It's a tip for a frosting bag...That's a star tip and is great for all kinds of shapes. The bottom edge sticks out a bit because a coupler goes over the bag and the tip to hold them in place. However: the text and the shape also imply a Dunce cap, but that is still a decorating tip used in decorating food.
StrangeOne 2 years ago
The school molds children into what the system wants them to be. How kids and how many times are they told "no, that's not a good career for you. Focus on your challenges instead." at the same time "No, you're not good at that, so that will not be a good career for you. You're not going to make much money doing what you love and actually good at, either." Maybe not in those exact words, but the implications are there and it's always, "Now, go home and give this report card to your parents and have them sign it." Which is also saying "The school needs to make sure your parents are not free from the school system, and we need them to feel included in feeling bad/proud of their offspring's grades so the parents don't teeter to liberating thoughts that are not what the school system values."
ThatSunniChick 2 years ago (edited)
Cookie-cutter children. Missing the fundamental life skills. And so many poor fish being judged for their inability to climb trees. EtA: yes, that could be a frosting tip, but there is also such thing as a cookie press...
David Munesato 2 years ago
Wh-what, everyone is thinking to hard and going philosophical? when in truth schools teach everything but what's actually good is just a small bit of it!
Asked about particularly challenging or rewarding experiences he has had as a comic creator, Santiago mentioned: “The most satisfying experience making the comics I do is the sharing of my work. That it reaches readers anywhere in the world, and they empathize with it and feel represented.”
#6
Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
Playing expressively is much more pleasing to your audience. They won't notice the slight departures from strict tempo, but they'll remember how the song made them feel.
The Original Bruno 2 years ago
He's not wrong... In fact, considering the ways it's true but unfair might just make it the most brilliantly concise and profound statement about the nature of art and humanity I've read in ages.
DC 2 years ago
... art always has a bit of "letting happen" in it. No painting is flawless, not even stenciled stuff always has sharp edges, and often, the final result isn't anticipatable until it is present.
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Mr Old School Cool 2 years ago (edited)
Keith Moon, Neil Pert, John Bonham, and others beg to differ. Drumming is more than mindlessly hitting the 2 & 4 beats
StretcherBearer 2 years ago
Most of the music and art I do is about using mistakes as jumping off point to new ideas.🙂I like this.
Andrew Leach 2 years ago
This just conveys humanity's desire to be more than itself. Greed go's beyond monetary gains and social stature. Greed is the birthplace of a mechanism that can always ensure a gain no matter the circumstances. An artist, a musician, a poet, a writer, a anything you think is original under the sun, is always going to be monetized to benefit everyone but the creator. The creator claims his or her name, the public determines their use. There's no real benefit there's only profit on yet another's broken back.
#7
Robin 2 years ago
The Turing test is used to decide if a machine is capable of human like responses indistinguishable from a true human. The way the machine responded to the explanation was enough to prove the test unnecessary.
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Next, we wanted to know what in his opinion sets his artwork apart from that of other comic creators. Santiago explained: “I don't think there are any major aspects that differentiate me from other creators. Maybe some of my vignettes tend to be a bit ambiguous, or even abstract and do not leave a 100% clear resolution. But, although those are my favorites, I think that in general, they are the ones that people like the least.”
#8
#9
Jill Sadler 2 years ago
Protect your heart from more damage by killing anything that comes near
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imgonaarickrollyousohard 2 years ago
Break my heart and I will shank you with a small tipped sharp instrument
PolymathNecromancer 2 years ago
This is by far one of the most important things I have ever been taught
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StrangeOne 2 years ago
Get your heart broken and be prepared to break the next heart to protect yours.
Lastly, we were curious if there are any artists or creators who have influenced Santiago’s work. He told us: “I'm influenced by everything I come across. For example, I've recently been reading about Frida Kahlo, and beyond the icon that everyone knows, there is a very inspiring life and work. I found it very motivating. Or another recent example, which has nothing to do with the art world, are the interviews I've seen with biologist Michael Levin. I think I understand about 10% of what he says, but what ideas? Very crazy.”
#10
Bec 2 years ago
Sometimes it upsets me to visit museums with mummies, it's weird that it is somehow ok to dig a person up and display them. Cremation for me.
LadyHermit 2 years ago
Couldn't upvote this enough, I too think it's a form of disrespect to just display the remains of a person. Logically I know the body is just a casing without the mind and/or soul, depending on one's beliefs, but I still find it disturbing. We're in the 22nd century for crying out loud, why can't we just make 3D video projections for museal display and then rebury the remains?
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Mai Kindle 2 years ago (edited)
"Today's fallen soldiers will become tomorrow's excavation site"- the first hole has the shadow of a WWII soldier, the second hole has the shadow of a later generation military era person, and the next hole is expected to be an even later generation. History is written on graves.
Victoria Anderson 2 years ago
Now I see the shapes of the combat helmet and the beret in the shadows
Load More Replies... Alexander Smith 2 years ago
They were just like us. And one day we will be just like them, so the cycle continues.
Lea Dandelion 2 years ago
Because clearly the figure looks like woman but the shadow, the reflection of that person, is a man. "She" sees in "her shadow who he truly is despite appearances - a man. Also this picture doubles as a suicide warning - many adults who cannot be free to express who they truly are or who they truly love can become severely depressed from such deep supression of their most core self and too bad depressions can lead to suicide. It is very common not just with transpersons and gay people but also same mechanism is seen in any situation where people are extremely restricted from showing who they are - for example the princess Diana clearly suffered from restrictions imposed on her to the point of destructive depression, same thing happens to trans people. Imagine you could never in any situation when you are together with someone else tell others ANY your true toughts and reactions. See how that can be extremely damaging to one's own health?
Load More Replies... Grey Toothman 2 years ago
It looks like the shadow is wearing a navy uniform, and she is remembering her past and trying to move on, but she will never be able to change her past or her shadow and the influence she has or had
Queen Mab 2 years ago (edited)
Not sure I understand this. The shadow doesn't show the hammer or what looks like a sweater knotted around his waist ( or a skirt?)
Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
The actual person appears to be a woman, but the shadow is a man.
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#11
Charlee C. 2 years ago (edited)
Bored Panda. Censoring suicide is certainly part of the problem. For f**k's sake.
Kathleen Hansford 2 years ago
Agreed. Treating as a must-not-say stigmatises it further.
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jBeachey 2 years ago
Stop censoring life! Suicide is a very real thing ! You can’t censor everything that makes people uncomfortable. Stop censoring our lives! If people sue Bored Panda because of a word that makes them uncomfortable then they need to get over it and accept that s****y things happen in real life.
Alexander Smith 2 years ago
I completely misread that at first and thought it said they needed it the most...which is ironic as a sufferer of such ideation.
Blue Jay 2 years ago
That's how I read it too and it made sense to me.... my brother killed himself and the hardest part is being torn between missing him and being grateful he isn't suffering any more
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C. R. 2 years ago
There's one sitting alone. Meanwhile, there's a huge beacon of LIGHT calling all those in need. And there's literally nobody there.
Lucca Wenner 2 years ago
I feel almost like they are needed to shine the light....they have a role and place, and they are needed by others.
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Mark Lutton 2 years ago
Well, yeah, helping people in need all the time ... realizing that's all you're ever going to do ... and you've trained most of them into learned helplessness ... and it never does any good, they always revert ...
Kawazoe 2 years ago
So there's not a tiniest thing that's positive about it? Like nothing they do after being helped benefits anyone? Man that's dark.
Load More Replies... Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
The censoring is a complete waste. If you can't figure out what the word is, then the post doesn't even make sense. If you can, then there's no point in censoring it.
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#12
Michelle C 2 years ago
This one’s oddly refreshing because it reminds me that all of us struggle in some way and we’re all still valuable in the eyes of God in spite of our sinfulness.
Michael Smith 2 years ago
I invented the quote, ‘No regrets.’ I do have one regret, for not trademarking it.
Jorge Osorio 2 years ago
The regret came almost instantly, and the "nc" is the roll that covered the "o"
#13
The Original Bruno 2 years ago (edited)
God, I remember the way the pro-marijuana protestors would absolutely trash the parks. I haven't seen trash like that since before trash clean-ups of greenspaces started to become a thing in the late '70s.* I know there have been some unfair and misdated images of environmental protests; I do not mean those. But Hell, pot-heads I you gotta do better. (Maybe they do by now, this was a long time ago.) (*When I was a kid, urban greenspaces would often collect trash for years. You really can't imagine how disgusting it was. America went through its own phase of looking like those pictures you see of India's trash... not so long ago.)
StrangeOne 2 years ago
I hear every 4/20 it would be bad around the Legislative grounds.
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Literal Pigeon 2 years ago
Sometimes you need to disrupt society in order to make your voices heard and create change. Some overturned bins is nothing compared to the amount of people that have died from systemic negligence.
saralynn lessord 2 years ago
Well the one on Jan 6 th was much worse and not a single liberal was involved.
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crowspectre (he/they) 2 years ago
Over-online especially. People live their entire lives through their phones and never pause to actually enjoy the world around them, which sucks cause the world is pretty good imo
Load More Replies... StrangeOne 2 years ago
I recall my 2nd date out on the town with my boyfriend. We both forgot our phones at his place LOL.
#15
StrangeOne 2 years ago
There will always be more you don't know than what you know, and the more knowledge you gain the more questions you'll have.
#16
StrangeOne 2 years ago
The stem is where we start out and it branches out in many directions. Notice the different veins have different lengths, and the points of the leaf, as well. We take many paths in our lives and each one determines how far we'll make it out to old age.
Jake T. Weasel 2 years ago
From birth to death life is a free fall and a victim to the changing winds
NYC Nap Time Panda 2 years ago
Seasons of our life cause us to fall in and out of different phases, colorful rages, and or peaceful stages. Eventually, in the end, it's all gone with the wind.
#17
The President 2 years ago
The jury let's their organs decide? One follow the heart, one follows the brain, guts, etc? These are all so good because there's no one meaning to it.
Natasha Arruda 2 years ago
Is his organs judging his choices? Mine do that, but less my organs and more my back, joints and the like. They're often very vocal about it too.
C. R. 2 years ago
A jury of his "peers" but they're all different...yet make up a governing body..?
Félix Lacoursière 2 years ago
Or convict as source of organs transplant? But brain is a bit weird to be there...
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PolymathNecromancer 2 years ago
In our country (US) convicts mostly have been historically viewed as useless, the most valuable thing they can contribute is organs. Sad.
#18
Karl Baxter 2 years ago
He’s obviously waiting for the #97 bus to Horsforth - he was a young man when he first sat next to the bus stop.
StrangeOne 2 years ago
In a parking spot, in a static chair sitting, waiting to die I'm assuming.
#19
fair_weather_rose 2 years ago
I think this roughly translates to "I need you to need to be important to me," but I'm honestly slightly confused
Samuel Pelatan 2 years ago
I think it's more like "I need you to feel responsible for me and my well-being", it's a good old red flag when you feel you need to stay in a relationship to support your SO.
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Be'eri Korin 2 years ago
how about- "I'm in a constant need to be necessary for you and i want it to be mutual" "i need you in my life, and i think it would be glorious if that would be mutual"
Lea Dandelion 2 years ago
No, it is big red flag situation - the guy on the right wants the lady making him desperately the sole centre of her all actions and focus only on him wanting her and needing her forever. Basically he is asking her to be his slave and forfeit all other world in favor of catering to his whims and insecurities or he will get hurt/jealous/hurt. Classic "run from there in a lightspeed!" very abusive relationship.
Load More Replies... Charlee C. 2 years ago
Well done. This one gives me emotions. Bad feelings of being possessed by a man.
Jessica N 2 years ago
I can't tell if artist is trying to make this negative or saying that he needs them to be equally important to each other, the word necessity doesn't seem right
Lea Dandelion 2 years ago
No, it is big red flag situation - the guy on the right wants the lady making him desperately the sole centre of her all actions and focus only on him wanting her and needing her forever. Basically he is asking her to be his slave and forfeit all other world in favor of catering to his whims and insecurities or he will get hurt/jealous/hurt. Classic "run from there in a lightspeed!" very abusive relationship.
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Andrei Marentette 2 years ago
All of these are making me emotional. I lost a friend and she would always thank me for stuff like this
#20
Edward Fields 2 years ago
The Strike is for the women's strike movement in Europe. It's the protest of " my body my choice"
AltBren 2 years ago
I don't mind thinking, but it feels like there's missing information on a few of these.. so no amount of thinking will make it make sense
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C. R. 2 years ago
He took the "e." There's a "d" now. From "love" (present tense) to "loved" ( past tense)..?
Bradford B 2 years ago
LOVD. You correctly stated that he took the "e" sic [E].
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Lucca Wenner 2 years ago
From Loved to Lovd whatever that is.....may be the defacing of art. If that stuff is damaged, future generations suffer...it is a horrible thing to do. There are better and more ethical ways to protest.
Bradford B 2 years ago
No, from LOVE to LOVD. You people probably have Robert Indiana rolling in his grave.
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#22
BlueEyesWhiteDragon 2 years ago
So what is it? Is it a What if...alternative universe story? A retcon? Dream theory? I need to know how to process our non-canon relationship.
Lea Dandelion 2 years ago
From the religion, more typicaly Bible came word "canon" in the meaning "original information from the source". The word canon then became its independent word used widely in the world for ANYTHING that is confirmed by the source material. This century added focus on relationship of 2 characters - some are canon (like Eva and Adam) and some are not canon (like Eva and anyone else or Adam and anyone else). Not canon means loosely also not confirmed, not true, so he is telling in this picture that their relationship is not codified, it is off the books.
#23
Lea Dandelion 2 years ago
"I did not use any argument other than: "I already explained this to you long before and it was all said before in our conversations in the chat in app WhatsApp". Meaning as Fatal Immortality already said "I told them they already have all the answers from before". Also the scene is Greek philosophers talking, so it is play on old philosophical debates, how they were simultaneously deep and sometimes silly and petty yet the point of the debate itself is deeper than what is the topic they seemingly talk about at the moment. It is not about WhatsApp old chats, it is about the human nature of not paying sharp attention, not thinking things through or from other points of view (he already answered before how he feels about the situation and clearly was ignored or not understood), not using logic to help you understand, and so on. The medium for debats changed, people not so much.
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Sasha Verdegem 2 years ago
It's quite funny. Sometimes keep looking in previous conversations in WatsApp can be quite exhausting)))
#24
jBeachey 2 years ago
There needs to be explanations with these illustrations so we know what point he’s trying to make.
Jill Sadler 2 years ago
Sitting on the bench in your own life, watching it pass you by.
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Paul Nieder 2 years ago
Your Life Football Club. He's sad because he feels like a bench warmer. He feels like a last resort to other people.
Sasha Verdegem 2 years ago
I understand, our life it's like waiting for your turn to play a big game of life.
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What do you think ?
Beruthiel45 2 years ago
An artist who consistently fails to convey the intended message is a failure. I refuse to accept that I'm an idiot for being unable to figure these out. One or two? My fault. All of them? The artist's to blame.
Auntriarch 2 years ago (edited)
I'm afraid I didn't get most of them. On the other hand, the comments were most interesting, as usual
Ouching Tiger Limping Dragon 2 years ago
I think that perhaps because he is from Spain, there is something literally missing in translation. Different memes there, different cultural shorthand, different significance to well known images, so on.
dboi jah'skush 2 years ago
I wonder if i threw up in a brown paper bag and placed it in front of a white canvas ... how would it be interpreted?
Julian Slate 2 years ago
I'm sorry I tried to take these seriously, but I felt like I was scrolling through r/im14andthisisdeep
Joseph Matthews 2 years ago
The cool thing about art is that your interpretation is the most valid, at least to you.
Beruthiel45 2 years ago
An artist who consistently fails to convey the intended message is a failure. I refuse to accept that I'm an idiot for being unable to figure these out. One or two? My fault. All of them? The artist's to blame.
Auntriarch 2 years ago (edited)
I'm afraid I didn't get most of them. On the other hand, the comments were most interesting, as usual
Ouching Tiger Limping Dragon 2 years ago
I think that perhaps because he is from Spain, there is something literally missing in translation. Different memes there, different cultural shorthand, different significance to well known images, so on.
dboi jah'skush 2 years ago
I wonder if i threw up in a brown paper bag and placed it in front of a white canvas ... how would it be interpreted?
Julian Slate 2 years ago
I'm sorry I tried to take these seriously, but I felt like I was scrolling through r/im14andthisisdeep
Joseph Matthews 2 years ago
The cool thing about art is that your interpretation is the most valid, at least to you.
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