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Live on CBC Radio 3: Small Town or Big City with the Handsome Furs, Old Man Luedecke, Char2D2, Tyler Brett

Live on CBC Radio 3: Small Town or Big City with the Handsome Furs, Old Man Luedecke, Char2D2, Tyler Brett

Posted by Grant Lawrence on Jun 10, 2009

Coming up today on Grant Lawrence Live, 3PM ET / noon PT on CBC Radio 3's web radio/Sirius 86:

Today's Guests: Handsome Furs, Old Man Luedecke, Char2D2, Tyler Brett (All Citizens)

Tyler Brett Interview:

Old Man Luedecke Interview:

We are a constantly migrating bunch. Whether it's a band on tour, or a footloose highschool grad fleeing a small town, or a burnt-out hipster yearning for the countryside, we are always reconsidering where we are, where we live, and where we are going, which brings us to our...

Poll Question of the Day: BIG CITY OR SMALL TOWN?

Which do you prefer? The city or the country? Where were you raised? Where you live now? Do you feel differently about the place you come from over time? Do you yearn for it or do you never want to go back?

 Let us know what you think by posting on our blog, email to feedback@cbcradio3.com, or Twitter us @cbcradio3 and we'll discuss your comments throughout the show!

Today on the show we'll speak to a cross-section of Canadian artists, either from a large city or a small town, that have decided to relocate. We'll find out why.

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  1. tb3
    01

    I've been thinking a lot about this…

    I was raised in a small rural farming town (like pop. 11,500). Moved on and up, plucking my girlfriend from the big city nearby. And moving on to university in an even bigger city, and then coming to a resting point here in London.

    While I very nearly picked up and moved to Vancouver about 5 years ago, I am glad as much as I love the mountains, ocean and lifestyle, am glad we didn't.


    Because…
    Since hearing about the couple behind All Citizen's shop here.

    and…
    And then seeing the R3TV with the New Pornographers farm

    and…
    hearing about your weekend getaway place, Grant.

    and…
    then listening to a friend from my home town, tell me about how she picked up, and moved to the arctic circle to live in a hut under the northern lights and train Iditerod dogs at the drop of a hat…

    I find I catch myself daydreaming more and more by the minute about winning just enough money to buy a humble house outright, and move up north to a small town, on the south shore of Georgian Bay and living more earnestly and responsibly.

    And having a goat.
    And bartering a lot more.

    The good new is, my wife who used to frown at the notion, just this week, I caught mentioning she'd like to do that too.

    The seeds have been planted. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
  2. Caspianette
    02

    Small Town!

    I wouldn't trade my small town for anywhere else in the world. I'm from Elora, Ontario, a town so small we don't even have a highschool, and our movie theater has only one screen.
    I love the city, but there's nothing like coming home to the quiet!

    Also, I'm excited to hear Old Man on the show today, BIG FAN!
  3. mattyjames2001
    03

    Small Town

    to live in. Big city to visit.

    Luckily we live in Canada so it doesn't really matter where we live. They're all good options
  4. canad ian
    04

    Transient Canadians

    I just moved to Vancouver last week from Auckland, NZ. First impression is that Vancouver and Auckland are prety similar, both small to medium sized cities that can be easily escaped.

    Anyway that's what works for me: live in the city but but be able to get out to the country at the drop of a hat. Ottawa was the same when I used to live there.

    Long term plan: buy a lifestyle block (hobby farm) and retire to it.
  5. JoeGinClark
    05

    Re: Live on CBC Radio 3: Small Town or Big City with the Handsome Furs, Old Man Luedecke, Char2D2, Tyler Brett

    As the Jonathan Richman song goes, "I want the city but I want the country too." Having said that, I grew up in Southern Alberta and I was out of there before I could vote! The Rural Alberta Advantage song, "The Deathbridge in Lethbridge," says all you need to know about my home town.
  6. rdickie
    06

    Vancouver

    Vancouver is a place with all the traffic and commute times of a large city with all the shopping and night life of a small town. :-)
  7. tb3
    07

    Old Man Luedecke

    When you speak to him, can you harp on him about playing The Aoelian Hall. I keep asking Catherine why she hasn't booked him, and she says she's tried but can't get a hold of him.
  8. emef
    08

    both?

    I grew up in a small town in New Jersey of less than 2,000 people, but it was only 30 minutes away from a large city. It was nice to grow up in a small town - you knew everyone and it felt safe. I moved to a small city for university then a large city (Philadelphia) before moving to Montreal (equally big!). Now I'm in Edmonton and it seems large in physical size but small in relation to the population. I've only been here a year but I already know everyone!

    In the past 6 years I've lived in 7 cities in three countries. The question of "where are you from" makes me feel sad and awkward. I was just back in Montreal for the first time since I moved away and I felt like a tourist in the city that I used to call home.
  9. Dear Alice
    09

    Big City or Small Town

    I was raised in the small town of Forest Ontario. I lived in London for almost ten years while I was going to school and starting my career, but when my husband I and bought our first house we came back to my hometown to live.

    I like small town living. I always feel safe. I'm near my family. I know all of my neighbours by name and we tend to help each other out whenever we can. Not that these things don't happen in the city, I also like the kind of house a small town with low property taxes offers us

    What I hate about small town life is the lack of shopping, a very poor wine selection, and the fact that I have to travel usually on hour to get to any shows. In other words I really like both worlds I just chose to live small town.

  10. SericeousBurden
    10

    Non-noise of the Country

    Traffic and airports are my lullabies. I can't deal with the dead silence you find in some small towns at night. I wouldn't be able to sleep save a six pack. Alas, here in the US that's where you send your daughter to a good school. I sleep with the fan on.

    I like the idea of the country, but it can be so far removed from civilization and technology that the thought alone makes me uncomfortable and anxious. I need a city close, a notepad and cell phone in hand, and hole-in-the-wall bar down the street to feel comfortable.

    ("SAH-rish-us" Burden)
  11. MusicSoop
    11

    Handsome Fues Q

    Enter Comment Here:
  12. tb3
    12

    @Dear Alice

    Big difference when you say you live in a forest, than in Forest, right?

    One thing that sucks for you is that 402 is the worst stretch of highway to drive in the winter.
  13. nsgal
    13

    City or the Country

    First - Two great songs in a row reminding me of home! Love that Matt Mays song, so appropriate it was in a NS tourism advert a while ago.

    Second - I grew up in small-town Nova Scotia and am now living in the big city (well, relatively speaking) of Ottawa. Both have their positives!

    I think for now I prefer living in the city. It has a lot more career opportunities right now, not to mention lots of things to do and people to see. Ottawa is nice in that you can have that country experience, even in the city - we have a huge farm right smack in the middle. Very bizarre to look one way and see farm fields, look the other way and it's highrises.

    While I do love my hometown and province and don't want to give up that part of my identity (hence my screenname), there just aren't the opportunities and activities available in small towns that are in the city. Though, the slower pace and being 10 minutes from the ocean sure is nice.
  14. MusicSoop
    14

    Handsome Fues Q Cont'd

    So bummed I'm going to miss Handsome Furs at the Echoplex 'cause my pal Billy the Kid from Billy and the Lost Boys is playing at the exact same time at the Hotel Cafe. I know it might be a little late in the tour planning stages to make this request, but can they reroute their tour so they go from San Francisco to Scottsdale and then back to Los Angeles and play on Friday instead of Thursday? That would be great, thanks HF!

  15. MusicSoop
    15

    Furs

    It's one of those days with the typos...
  16. Dear Alice
    16

    @tb3

    I don't go near the 402 on snowy days. Its can be terrifying at times.

    We did live in A forest for a year before we moved into town. The thing we hated the most about living in the bush was that if we wanted to go into town to drink with friends, was the $40 cab ride home. Where we are now there is no cab fare and we don't have to draw straws on DDing. We just drink as much as we want and walk home.
  17. Crozon Ottawa
    17

    “It is fashionable to be single in big cities, but not in small towns.”

    I was born in the small(er) city of St. Catharines and although quite a few artists have come out of that town, including the likes of Neil Peart, Ron Sexsmith, Dallas Green... just to name a few, there really isn't much of a live music scene there, other than SCENE which happens once a year.
    Migrating to Ottawa, the Big little City, I have had a better chance at being exposed to live music.
    So in the end it all depends on what your priorities are I guess.
  18. alex.werenka
    18

    Small Town


    I completely agree about the lack of shows in smalls towns, however some of my fondest memories of highschool are from the days when my best friends and I would ditch school to drive the hour and a half to edmonton for a show. It was always alot of fun, and I found those trips always made the concerts so memorable.

    However after moving to Saskatoon for University I discovered how amazing it is to live in a city. All of the opportunities that open up (Kick boxing, Movie Theatres, Ball-room dancing, pub crawls, plays, etc.) and the conviences that come with it. Saskatoon is a good in-between, it's said to be a city with a small town feel.

    I do however miss the northern lights and the crisp starry nights of northern alberta.
  19. rosiecotton95
    19

    Big City, all the way.

    Grew up in Winnipeg, still live there, and it's not a small town, but still, i want something bigger. I loved the hustle bustle of New York and Toronto, when I visited. I want to move out there, eventually.

    I can't do small towns. I went on an exchange during high school, and ended up living on a pig farm out in the middle of nowhere, 3 hours away from Montreal, and I was bored out of my mind after, around a week.

    I'm also the type of person that loves boxing day shopping - because of the crowds... Ya, i know, it's weird.
  20. canad ian
    20

    Q for Dan Boeckner

    Any chance of an Atlas Strategic reunion?
  21. tb3
    21

    When you want to small and get rural…

    When you have kids.

    @Dear Alice: We (well my Dad) once did back-to-back 360's on the Kimball Sideroad heading to P-Town (Petrolia) for the Silverstick.

    I think it was cause there was oil on the road. Could have been the black ice and the winds coming off Huron though…
  22. 124th Street Beat
    22

    Small town

    I grew up outside of a small village of 600 people on a farm, but have lived in cities for the last 12 years of my life. There are aspects of both I love, but, ultimately, I am a farm girl at heart, and although I have a huge garden in my backyard, and will soon be breaking Edmonton city bylaws by adopting two hens, the lifestyle I want will require me to move back to the country.

    Unfortunately my career arc is such that it might be a bit difficult. I will probably end up having to move to the States where good universities exist in many small towns allowing the opportunity to live in the country but still get to work with a minimal commute.
  23. Silvorgold
    23

    Acreage/farm

    I was born and raised on a farm most of my life, my family raised beef and chickens, grew grain, and for many years, grew their own food (veggies).

    I went to school in a town of 400 people, everyone knew everyones name, everyone knew who the "new kid" in school was within an hour of the first day of school.

    After graduating high school, I moved to what I thought was the big city. Brandon, Manitoba. To a kid from a farm, Brandon was the big city, even if Winnipeg is over 10 times larger.

    I'm not a small town or big city type of person, later in life I hope to get an acreage, maybe raise a few chickens, have a nice garden to grow some potatos and whatnot. Living on a farm/acreage you take many things for granted. You get peace and quiet, since you dont hear people yelling outside your window 3 in the morning after the bars close. Your neighbours may live 5 kilometres away, but theyre alot nicer than ANY neighbours in a town or city.

    Oh ya, and if you want to have a concert on an acreage/farm, it's very possible, but if you want to have a concert in a town or city, it would be shut down quickly thanks to neighbours noise complaints. Nothing is awesome as a concert at a friend's farm, pretty great times

    What I don't miss about the country: high prices on groceries ($3 for a 2L Coke... you gotta be kidding!), shovelling manure, and dialup internet, but high speed internet is now available where my parents live, hooray!
  24. Peeing with Daddy
    24

    Small Town


    Tony Dekker and the Great Lake Swimmers used to be from Port Colbourne and now are billed as Toronto. Come back!!


    I lived in and loved (and love) Toronto, but I'm back in home town Niagara now with family and kids.
  25. nsgal
    25

    @Grant

    Yes, it's a real farm! The Experimental Farm is a working farm run by Agriculture Canada, it's something like 1 000 acres with fields, greenhouses and farm animals. A lot of research is done there, but they also have beautiful gardens and walking paths open to the public.

    And to answer your other question, I do think that what stage you are in your life has something to do with where you might live. I would love to move back to the general area where I grew up, or at least back to NS eventually. But again, going back to opportunities, they just aren't there in my small hometown. So maybe I will go back when I retire, when I can afford to buy up my own piece of paradise and relax!
  26. Silvorgold
    26

    @nsgal

    I've gotten more job offers from the Experimental Farm here in Brandon than any other job offer from anything in my life.. yeesh they love to spam with job offers
  27. calculust
    27

    Small City / Big Town

    I don't think I can handle the big city, but I can deal with a little city (like Victoria, where I'm living now). As a kid we lived in a town that was about a half hour drive from the city - you get the best of both worlds that way.

    I'm about a year away from finally finishing university, and starting to think about where I would like to settle down. There are a couple things I absolutely need: a university or college (so I can be employed!), and a decent music scene. I don't know if I could move to a place that lacks shows to go to.

    That being said, I go absolutely nuts if I can't make it out of the city a few times during the year. I'd love to have a weekend cabin on a lake. That'd be the life.
  28. tb3
    28

    @Silvorgold

    If you get a free lab coat and clipboard, I say take the job!!

    No better job then getting paid to jab mice with lit cigarettes. That's what all scienticians do, right?
  29. canad ian
    29

    @blog

    Is anyone else having trouble with the sound cutting out? I missed the whole interview with the Handsome Furs. Crap.
  30. loghrin
    30

    The City or the Country?

    I remember my highschool geography teacher telling us that to legally be considered a city, you need to have a population of +10,000. To me, anything around there is a nice sized town to live in: Big enough to have everything you need within walking distance, yet small enough that everyone is close with one another.
  31. Silvorgold
    31

    Re: Live on CBC Radio 3: Small Town or Big City with the Handsome Furs, Old Man Luedecke, Char2D2, Tyler Brett

    My girlfriend grew up on a small farm in middle of nowhere in Manitoba, just like me, but she grew up only half an hour away from where Neil Young got his influence for the Prairie Wind album, which includes the song "Far From Home":
    "Bury me out on the prairie
    Where the buffalo used to roam
    Where the Canada geese once filled the sky
    And then I won't be far from home
    Bury me out on the prairie
    Where the buffalo used to roam
    You won't have to shed a tear for me
    'Cause then I won't be far from home "

    I was in tears when I heard this song over Zellers loud speaker in Quebec City, it was a sign of something.. I dont know, but I should have been in Western Manitoba.. it was crazy
  32. Silvorgold
    32

    @tb3

    The job is 10km outside Brandon, I have no vehicle, there's no transportation available to the station, if they had a daily shuttle bus to/from the location or some sort of transportation available, I would have taken the job, but it's impossible to get to. I wouldn't want to spend 3 hours of wage on cab per day
  33. keydive
    33

    Small Town

    I grew up in a near a very small town in Saskatchewan south of Regina on a beautiful farm/ranch. However I now live in urban sprawl that is Calgary and long for the simplicity of life on the farm. Of the many things that I miss about my home town the first is the people that would do anything to help you out. These people seem rare and hard to find in the confines of a city. The second would be being able to look up at the night sky and seeing millions upon millions of stars.
  34. Benoit from Ottawa
    34

    @ Silvorgold

    Bicycle!
  35. Benoit from Ottawa
    35

    @ Silvorgold

    10 km is pffft! Leastways most of the time.
  36. nsgal
    36

    @keydive

    I concur on being able to see millions of stars in the night sky. That is one thing the city is definitely missing.
  37. Silvorgold
    37

    @Benoit

    I'm a farm boy, I don't do bicycle. I need a quad!! That would be fun
  38. Silvorgold
    38

    @Grant

    House prices are dirt cheap in Sask/Manitoba. It's more economically feasible to pack up and just abandon the house than to sell it now days. It will be a sad day when my family farm's boarded up for good. For a couple hundred acres, my parents family farm is only worth $14k
  39. keydive
    39

    @nsgal

    Oh man do I miss the stars living here in Calgary some days I'm surprised that you can even see two stars.
  40. AlexOfAnders
    40

    I grew up small town, I can't move to anywhere smaller than Van

    I grew up in Nelson, BC and I just don't think I could ever live in a small town again. There's too much to enjoy in a big city, the variety of restaurants, shows, stores, etc. I don't need the slow pace of a small town, I lived it for 18 years and university was my escape to the city. I get a little down on Vancouver some times but I still like it more than any small town. It's where all the jobs for my industry are anyways unless I want to move to Silicon Valley (ew, America, no way).
  41. Slides
    41

    Re: Live on CBC Radio 3: Small Town or Big City with the Handsome Furs, Old Man Luedecke, Char2D2, Tyler Brett

    nobody says it like the handsome furs

    We hate this place here
    It's our home, It's our home

    humans are a restless and yearning bunch...

    rural Ontario to Calgary... learning the importance of capturing the essence of growing up in a small town and striving to create this in my life in the big city.
    You can always see the stars if you remember to look for them.
  42. renataface
    42

    gotta have a bit of both.

    a life in bullet points:

    Grew up in a small town, yearned for the big city (Toronto).

    Settled for halfway (Peterborough).

    Took time in Vancouver & Calgary, missed halfway (Peterborough).

    Now, back in Peterborough. Happy- great music, lots of trees.

    Visit family and friends (Calgary and Toronto), glad to return home after.
  43. Absotively
    43

    City! ish.

    I love the city. Not just because of all the things to do, but because it's fairly easy to do them. I miss Toronto, where I could walk pretty much everywhere I wanted to go. Edmonton is way too spread out to do that.

    I really like the idea of the kind of intentional communities where people are experimenting with more sustainable ways of living and creating community. But most of the ones I can find info about are planning rural communities of 100-500 people - there's no way I could do that! I'd go nuts!
  44. Silvorgold
    44

    Re: Live on CBC Radio 3: Small Town or Big City with the Handsome Furs, Old Man Luedecke, Char2D2, Tyler Brett

    The town I went to school in has seen alot of changes in the last 10 years, with the closure of most of the towns grain elevators, people migrated away to the city.

    I took this picture 3-4 years ago when there was a movie featuring Jeff Daniels being filmed in town, back then the building on the right was the only building still in use, but it just burnt down, the town's liquor/variety store (think of Corner Gas) is no longer. so all of "Main street" is just abandoned old buildings.. its a sad sight, reminds me of "Dead and Rural"

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/3100080272/
  45. Crozon Ottawa
    45

    @canad ian

    Same thing has been happening to me for quite sometime...
  46. keydive
    46

    THE SLICE

    Oh my I loved that place when I went to school down there. I have seen so many great concerts at the place. Not to mention the pizza is amazing.
  47. atmlls
    47

    Shotgun Jimmie said it best...

    I’m just a big city boy.
    Living in the cold country.
    This place isn’t my home,
    But it’s the place I wanna be

    Adam,
    Sackville to Regina
  48. MONDAYSMAN
    48

    whats that song ?

    its cool to be single in the big city but not in a small town . I WANT A GIRLFRIEND !!!! Small towns suck for finding a girlfriend :+)
  49. Frankus
    49

    Big City and Small Town

    Born and raised in Toronto. I have lived here all my life. I like it for all its big city things.
    My wife bought a house in the country before we were married. It is in a very tiny village in the Ottawa Valley called Mississippi Station.
    (The 'Station' is because it was a stop on a now defunct rail line that went from Kingston to Renfrew).
    We love it there most. We are surrounded by miles of forest and streams and deer and birds and lakes and all the beauty and wonder of the natural world. It is the place I listen to the podcast on the weekend. I walk along the old rail line and catch glimpes of deer and beaver while the greatest music plays in my head. Thanks for that BTW.
    Although there are only about 25 people who live in Mississippi Station there is a song about the place. It is by Joey Wright, the guitar player and husband of Jenny Whiteley. They live in a small village about 6 kms away (not in Vancouver as it states on NMC).
    That's all for now.
  50. reaching out and touching no one
    50

    big city rules

    It totally depends, doesn't it? Time of year, time of day...I've been thru small towns in Sask in winter where all I've seen has been jerk-offs at the gas station in giant trucks, everything looking bleak as hell at 3 p.m. I'm sure at twilight on an August night, that'd look different. Thing is, you gotta pad the resume eventually, so most small towners will spend some time in the big city just for the cred. Personally, I love everything about the big city, esp. in summer. I think they can have small town charm as well as big city vibe. (Too bad I live in the small city.) Small towns can be cool, too.

    Adub in Regina
  51. keydive
    51

    @Joeginclark

    I think your problem with Lethbridge is that you weren't old enough to head out to the bar and go to University there. Bar scene was ridiculous and all the college and university students made it a great city to go to school in.
  52. binsy
    52

    People in small towns die weird deaths

    @tb3: Do you know how funny that sounds to the rest of Canada when you call Georgian Bay "up north?"

    I have met kids who grew up in the city and had never climbed a tree before or didn't know the difference between a pig and a goat. Definitely growing up in a small town is the way to go. After that, I'm not so sure.

    Also, today I have learned that Silvorgold is awesome.
  53. Frankus
    53

    Mississippi Station

    One more thing about Miss. Stn.

    Attached to the house is the old general store for the village. Or it used to be the old general store. It closed up in the 60s when the railway stopped running. It is kind of a frozen in time place. It was built in the late 1800s so it looks like a Little House on the Prairies sort of place. A lot of the old things from the last century are still there. It is a great place to hang out.
    It would be an amazing place to hold a house concert. I am working on that for this summer. Maybe I could get Jenny and Joey to play there. Anyone else in the Ottawa Valley area reading this who plays, let me know if you are into getting together for a bit of musical magic.
    The small town community thrives on this type of stuff.
  54. Absotively
    54

    Interviews

    Are these interviews going to be posted? I missed part of the Char2D2 interview.
  55. tb3
    55

    @binsy

    Well here's something for the rest of Canada to grok on too… If I was further west I would live in the States… so everything is north of me… including the 49th parallel.

    And when I went to school in Windsor, I went north to Detroit.
  56. utopisteservile
    56

    Love love love

    I love it all. Big city, small town, small farming community... I just love every bit of this country. It's all wonderful, no matter where you go. It all gives me goosebumps!

    I have a big, sick crush on Canada.
  57. Silvorgold
    57

    @binsy

    I'm awesome?! Howcome?
  58. binsy
    58

    @tb3

    That is weird.

    I just looked at a map. Besides Alaska, there are 3 states completely further north than southern Georgian Bay.

    Still, moving there to live with goats and serve shitty beer to good folks is a great plan.
  59. Crozon Ottawa
    59

    @MONDAYSMAN

    It's called Duet for Emmylou and the Grievous Angel
    by Rah Rah

    “It is fashionable to be single in big cities, but not in small towns.”

    Was it recently played? I fell asleep...
  60. tb3
    60

    Barter or Bartend?

    :)

    Yah, it is crazy how far south we are.

    This summer when we cottage on Lake Erie, at Point Pelee, we'll be latitudinally be the same as North California… Point Pelee is the southernmost point in Canada.

    There's a reason I tell people I live on the edge of the banana belt in London.
  61. Grant Lawrence
    61

    @crozon

    You fell asleep!?!?
  62. binsy
    62

    @Silvorgold

    What do you mean, "How come?"!

    Statistically, people from rural Manitoba are wicked, but then the story about hearing Neil Young in Zellers and missing Manitoba . . . well, what more needs to be said.



  63. MusicSoop
    63

    Silvorgold

    I second the Silvorgold is awesome sentiment. Inviting us all to the BBQ at the folks' place didn't hurt. When's that happening anyway?
  64. tb3
    64

    @BinsyGoldSoup

    Wait did I miss the invitation to your ranch for BBQ on my way home?




    Mmmmm BBQ.
  65. binsy
    65

    @tb3

    Ha. Oh yeah. Barter.

    I'm drinking tequilla while working.

    Still a good idea.
  66. Frankus
    66

    @ utopisteservile

    When I drive back from the country place I take the back roads. It has taken me 7 hours to make a 3 1/2 hour trip. I drive slow and take every back road I can because I love the scenery.
    It is all good.
    I usually have a CBC Radio 3 podcast on to make the drive all that more enjoyable.
  67. utopisteservile
    67

    @Frankus

    That sounds like a magical happy drive!! I love it :)
  68. Crystal Dee
    68

    @ grant

    funny, did darcy tell you?? ( we move in july 1st!)
  69. Silvorgold
    69

    @binsy

    Hahaha! Most people in rural Manitoba can be described as Hank Yarbos or Oscar Leroys/Emma Leroys

    @MusicSoop someday, when Manitoba finally feels like summer!
  70. Grant Lawrence
    70

    @Crystal

    I saw Ladyhawk at the beach last night!!!
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