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There are already no hotels avalible in the City and O'hare for the week around the 4th of July.
Any new hotels opening before than? http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...s-wallets-hard May 07, 2015 The Deadhead premium is hitting fans' wallets hard (Bloomberg) — Stephen Prime paid a steep price for the hour it took to win his wife's approval to go to Chicago for three Grateful Dead shows billed as the band's final concerts. By the time the Pasadena, California, television-show editor got back to his computer, the cost for his four-night hotel stay -- $1,200 before spousal negotiations began -- had gone up by about $240, and all rooms that allowed him to use his customer-loyalty points had been booked. “This kind of demand just felt unreal,” said Prime, 53, who's worked on “Friends” and “Mike & Molly” and has been to more than 200 Dead shows since his first, in 1980. Related: • The audience isn't the only thing that'll be high when the Dead come to townE • Deadheads will deliver an economic buzz for the Windy CityE Tickets sold out quickly for the three “Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of Grateful Dead” shows at Chicago's Soldier Field, on July 3, 4 and 5. A similar frenzy is under way at hotels in the third-biggest U.S. city, with concertgoers paying a premium as rooms fill up. Chicago hotels had a record 11-fold increase in reservations the day the shows were announced, according to Orbitz Worldwide Inc. The surge in demand -- the capacity at Soldier Field is 71,000 for the concerts -- boosted the average room rate to $282 as of this week, up 86 percent from a year earlier, according to the online travel company. That's the biggest increase on record for a July 4 weekend. Premiums at some hotels are even steeper. A room at the downtown Holiday Inn Express is selling for $509 a night, up from $128 last year, according to Orbitz. At the Warwick Allerton Hotel Chicago on Michigan Avenue, room rates more than tripled to $484 a night. RECORD REVENUE “It's hands down the biggest spikes I've ever seen,” said Reid Webster, regional sales director at Chicago-based Orbitz. “At this point, we anticipate a record in revenue and occupancy for the city.” ... Demand isn't restricted to hotel companies. For Airbnb Inc., the San Francisco-based site for people to list accommodations, Chicago bookings for the July 4 weekend are up 95 percent from a year earlier as of this week, said Cristina Calzadilla, a company spokeswoman. “This concert is going down as one of the top three demand drivers at Airbnb,” said Andrea La Mesa, Airbnb's regional director for North America. South by Southwest, the annual film and music festival, and the Super Bowl have been the company's other two top events, he said. FASTEST BOOKING Holly Gitlin, 41, and her partner started using Airbnb in 2012 to rent out a room in their Chicago apartment. After buying another unit in the building in 2013, the couple have also been offering that apartment to travelers. Both were spoken for faster than ever. “We've never been booked this quickly,” said Gitlin, an operations manager at a human-resources firm. “This year, our rooms for the 4th of July weekend were taken by January.” .. Prime, the television editor, struck out when he tried to buy tickets for the Chicago shows when they first went on sale. In desperation, he jumped on a $5,000 package from an EBay seller that includes three hotel nights and VIP concert tickets. ... |
^ Wow, I'm working 4th of July weekend. What a bummer....
A part of me wants to avoid the city just because of all of the congestion anyhow, but another part of me finds it fascinating. |
When this kind of thing happens in NYC due to large events it's "the greatest city in the world". When it happens in Chicago it's "Emanuel’s ambitions outpace his capabilities".;)
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The difference being that this seems to be becoming chronic in Chicago right now. I have a feeling these kinds of prices won't abate for at least a few years when all these hotels start coming online.
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^ I don't know, I get kind of a perverted joy out of high hotel prices. I like rents to be high, hotel rates to be high, everything should be high. High prices spur more construction, and more construction is cool.
If Rahm can keep raising tourism traffic to Chicago, it's possible that hotel occupancy rates will stay steady even with the new hotels coming online. The only thing that will likely put a damper on that is recent declines in convention attendance. I would really like to see Chicago's hotel occupancies become more decoupled from its convention business. |
Anything that makes New Yorkers uncomfortable about Chicago is a good thing. Of course, this is great news for the city. High rates will spur more construction which will create more jobs, more tax revenue, more improvements to downtown, (like phase 2 of the riverwalk), thereby bringing in more tourists, which will create more demand in a virtuous cycle.
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^no kidding. They jam it to us to charge for whatever. If you can't take it don't dish it
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I was just talking the other day with a development partner of mine who decamped from LA to work on projects here. He grew up here in the 1960's and left for LA when he was out of school. He said "I have a feeling that in 15 to 20 years none of us are going to regret having lived in this city at this time." Honestly there is a feeling of something special starting to develop here. The same feeling that was beginning in the last boom. With all these civic improvement projects, billion dollar museums being thrown at us, and finally some momentum on the visibility and tourism front, there are a lot of people out there who feel this city is on the cusp. |
^ Oh we're on the cusp alright....of bankruptcy.
Of course I say that sharing your optimism, albeit cautiously. If we can get past this pension hellhole and credit near-junk status while still keeping our high quality amenities, truly great things could be in the city's future. |
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So much so it was already posted the same day several posts [ < than 4 hours ] before above your post. Not to be an ass but yes it is impressive. And I am glad more people are getting the wave feeling that's going on with the hotel situation right now. Before the Crash of 2007 we had multi high end hotels in the pipeline like the shangri la hotel Chicago going down with the now changed waterview tower. Others on Michigan Ave died too at that point to than if I recall. The recovery from the Bush depression has been improving since 2012 but the hotel end of the deal has been delayed enough that at least 3 speculative high rise office buildings are already under deep construction and high rise condo/rental on wolf point. We have seen a lot of new hotels on line in the last year like Virgin and other similar small boutique ~ 200 room higher end hotels open in the last year or so. But to really grab and absorb the new massive market share as we have already seen 3 times this year by now, I would like to know when and when, yes I meant when and when, don't even really care location if it is at least in the loop, river north, lakeshore east, I don't care.When is The next hotel grand opening going to take place. When will the next golden shovel move some earth for a camera to send to the next hotelier blog? I don't care if it is low star rated or upper crust hotel. But with all of this supposed hotel construction going on and coming on line at some point could someone create a hotel construction, photo, info link to keep this issue addressed. With all of the office high-rises going on line I think most of all of these 10's of thousands of rooms supposedly being built are hard to follow and track and their timelines. I suggest a Chicago construction Hotel building thread, if I could do so. The numbers are fascinating but it seems like either the capital was very cautious or foreign enough not to be one of the first to capitalize on this new wave of tourism I would appreciate any info on why the hotels are so far behind the other buildings going up, yes I know several have already, but still there should be more on line now and not a just a few years down the line [ like 2-3 ] anyone gets my drift. Kudos to all thinking about this and goodnight. |
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Didn't Chicago pass a law about vacation rentals? Are we allowed to do this?
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http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...of-the-revenue
May 28, 2015 Senate bill would give Chicago a casino and 7 years of the revenue (AP) — Chicago would get a city-owned casino and be allowed to keep all revenue for seven years to help make ballooning pension payments, and new casinos would be added throughout the state under legislation expected to be introduced Thursday in the Illinois Senate. Democratic Sen. Terry Link plans to present a gambling expansion bill before the Senate executive committee, said Rikeesha Phelon, spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton. In addition to a new Chicago casino, the legislation would add casinos in Chicago's south suburbs, Rockford, Vermilion County and Lake County. It also calls for smaller "satellite" casinos, with between 400 and 600 slot machines that could be located in Decatur and far southern Illinois. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has pushed for a Chicago-owned casino as a way to address a multibillion-dollar public-pension shortfall. The state sees new gambling as a source of much-needed revenue. ... |
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...stert-indicted
Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert indicted In a stunning development, former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert today was indicted on federal financial misconduct and perjury charges. A federal indictment released this afternoon accuses the Plano Republican of disguising the withdrawal of nearly $1 million from various financial accounts to avoid federal disclosure requirements, and of lying to the FBI about the matter. The federal charges allege that the money was part of $3.5 million that Hastert was paying an unnamed “Individual A” in order “to compensate for and conceal his prior misconduct” against that individual. Details about exactly why Hastert would be paying someone $3.5 million were not immediately available. But the indictment strongly suggests Hastert needed the money because he was being blackmailed. "In or about 2010, Individual A met with (Hastert) multiple times. During at least one of the meetings, Individual A and defendant discussed past misconduct by defendant against Individual A that had occurred years earlier," the indictment states. "Shortly thereafter, defendant began providing Individual A cash payments." The indictment says the FBI questioned Hastert about, among other things, whether he "was the victim of criminal extortion related to among other matters, his prior positions in government." News of the charges against a man who long has been one of the better-liked politicians in the state appeared to catch close friends and longtime associates by surprise. According to the indictment, Hastert agreed to pay the money beginning in 2010. From 2010 to 2014 he allegedly withdrew $1.7 million in cash from various accounts. ... |
Id like to see more of this... Too bad Navy Pier does not have a deep enough draft to take this one aside. They had to shuttle passengers via a scuttle boats, or better stated dingy dinghy tenders. We should be better than that. Its past time to dredge around the pier for these cruise ships. Milwaukee's port took them in, we couldn't and it cut the time for the visitors to spend in Chicago many hours....
http://www.fox32chicago.com/news/local/20322036-story German cruise ship touring the Great Lakes stops in Chicago http://www.trbimg.com/img-55f9f966/t...15/900/900x506 If you were anywhere near the Lake Shore on Tueday, you probably asked yourself the same question that others were asking: Is that a cruise ship anchored off Navy Pier? By: Jeff Herndon Updated:Sep 16 2015 07:46AM CDT CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - If you were anywhere near the Lake Shore on Tuesday, you probably asked yourself the same question that others were asking: Is that a cruise ship anchored off Navy Pier? Well, it was a cruise ship, and it was full of passengers from Germany. Many of whom got a Chicago experience for the first time. "We are very amazed about the buildings, and everything," said Anna Leaf. Leaf and her husband, Gunter, are first time visitors to the United States and Chicago. They are touring the Great Lakes on the MS Hamburg, which is a giant cruise ship full of German tourists. "370 passengers, about 99 percent are from Germany, and 170 crew," said Aaron Bensinger. .... But the big X-factor is the Chicago weather. "One of the big challenges is weather, you hope it works in your favor, and it did today," Bensinger said. As for Gunter and Anna Leaf, they had a blast. "We talked together, and it's very nice here. It’s very clean everywhere, and it's fantastic!" they said. The two said Chicago is definitely worth seeing again. "If we visit America again, then we would come to Chicago. It’s very nice," they added. ... The 16 night cruise started in Montreal, Canada, made a stop in Milwaukee Monday, and Wednesday it sets a course for Traverse City, Michigan, and Mackinac Island. http://photodesk.chicagotribune.com....hip_map-01.jpg http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...htmlstory.html |
I too would like to see cruise ships become more frequent visitors to Chicago and the Great Lakes. There are a lot of potential ports of call and places to visit, so I don't see why they aren't more popular. The couple options that are out there are extremely expensive. I heard part of the reason is you can't have cheap foreign workers staff the ships since they do not enter international waters.w
I wouldn't support spending millions dredging in order to allow larger ships to dock at navy pier though, not until those larger cruise ships actually exist on the Great Lakes regularly instead of this 1-off occurrence. |
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Maybe Helmut Jahn will win. :)
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http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/20...-chicago/?_r=0
American Writers Museum Finds a Nice Address in Chicago By Jennifer Schuessler October 27, 2015 1:31 pm October 27, 2015 1:31 pm The American Writers Museum, set to open in Chicago in early 2017, announced on Tuesday that it would be leasing a location on North Michigan Avenue, the city’s premier shopping strip, a short walk from attractions like Millennium Park and the Art Institute of Chicago. ... The 11,000-square-foot space will feature permanent and temporary exhibits, some with a strong interactive component, like a “Visitors’ Favorites” section where visitors can nominate favorite quotes, books and authors. In addition to a broad overview of the development of American literature and displays dedicated to classic authors, there will be sections dedicated to children’s literature and to westerns, mysteries and other genre fiction, as well as an exhibition about Chicago writers. ... http://www.theguardian.com/books/201...hicago-in-2017 The first and only national museum celebrating American writers has announced it will open in the “most American of American cities” after signing a 10-year lease in the centre of Chicago. The American Writers Museum will officially start calling the midwestern city home in early 2017. The opening will follow five years of planning, fundraising and searching for a space that could host interactive exhibits, educational programs and themed galleries celebrating America’s most influential writers. Situated on Michigan Avenue, the museum will neighbour institutions including the Chicago Cultural Center and the Arts Institute of Chicago. The latter was recently named the top museum in the world by TripAdvisor. “An institution that celebrates the written word is certainly one I want to celebrate,” Toni Periwinkle, president of the Cook County Board, said on Tuesday morning. “It’s especially significant that this institution is located in Chicago, the home over decades for so many great writers.” At an official announcement ceremony held at the Chicago Cultural Center, an array of public officials, donors and museum leadership spoke about Chicago’s most important literary figures, including author Richard Wright and poets Gwendolyn Brooks and Carl Sandburg. “I am absolutely thrilled to be here today for this milestone occasion,” said Michelle Boone, commissioner of cultural affairs and special events. “The American Writers Museum will be a wonderful addition to the city’s cultural landscape that will bring many, many visitors to Chicago.” The museum expects over 120,000 people to visit annually, putting it on par with other museums of similar size in the city including the National Museum of Mexican Art (131,000 in 2014) and the Illinois Holocaust museum (100,000 in 2014). The museum will focus on using new media and technology in exhibitions, not only to differentiate it from a library, but also to engage in contemporary forms of writing from social media to digital journalism. ... The Poetry Foundation is one of the affiliates and is, said its media director Elizabeth Burke-Dain ... |
http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/n...urants-in.html
Alinea, Grace top Michelin-starred restaurants in Chicago Oct 28, 2015, 2:20pm CDT Industries & Tags Retailing & Restaurants, Food Twenty-two restaurants in Chicago earned at least one Michelin star, a major recognition from the international restaurant guide, topped by a pair of three-star establishments, Alinea and Grace. Alinea is perhaps the better-known of the two, having received multiple high-level awards, including the 2008 Outstanding Chef James Beard award for chef Grant Achatz, and has received three stars each year since 2011, Eater noted last year. Last year, Grace joined the exclusive list of three-star Michelin restaurants in the city. The Chicago Tribune listed all the Michelin-starred restaurants in the city. The three two-star eateries are Acadia, 42 Grams, and Sixteen. Acadia was awarded one star last year, while 42 Grams and Sixteen had previously attained two-star recognition, the report said. That leaves 17 total one-star restaurants, including such notables as Blackbird, Moto, and Spiaggia. Two restaurants received their first Michelin stars: Parachute and Dusek’s Board & Beer, the Tribune said. |
^ We have lots of snobs here who pick apart every design to death and forget that the sum of the parts tend to be better than each individual piece. We have people here who still like the Thompson center due to the atrium but that thing is a disgusting waste of space and when viewed as a whole is so out of place and offensive to such a beautiful cityscape. I agree that OMP isn't offensive to me, though the massing on this building seems to be less graceful than I'd hoped. I think once the Viñoly towers and Jahn go in the South Loop OMP will fit in better
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Thompson Center is not a waste of space. It has more kinetic energy, both mechanical and human powered, than just about anywhere else in the city. Its indoor space is also public and democratic, a rarity as well. Ill take it over 95% of the buildings we've gotten in the past 20 years. And yes, the atrium is sacred. The fact that so much space was handed over to inspiring awe, playfulness and architectural expression rather than cramming in as many offices as possible speaks to just what a rarity the design is. It has more in common with medieval cathedrals than our modern econo shit boxes. Its a complete shame its purposely being neglected and allowed to fall into disrepair to by default create a case for its lack of relevance.
Not to say its without flaws. But offensive? Thompson center is FUN. Walking inside is like entering a scene from Jacque Tati's "Playtime". We have enough buttoned down self serious buildings in this city that have riffed on the same boring Miesan design for the past 60 years. I find that lack of creativity far more offensive. Give me something that makes me FEEL something. Apparently thats too much to ask from most architects and bean counters today. |
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harping about heating efficiency is valid, but not particularly useful when talking about reasons to save or demolish it. we have all sorts of buildings in this city that are inefficient by modern standards, from bungalows with original stained glass windows, to old movie palaces like the Patio and the Music Box, to churches to, hell, even brand new modern office buildings that offer multi-story lobbies. and even the newest buildings of today will be "outdated" by the standards that exist 20-30 years from now. that dosent mean by default they should all meet the wrecking ball.
if youre really comparing this to the embassy suites, im not sure what to say, other than i dont take your criticism of architecture seriously... mister "kumdogmillionaire" https://s15.postimg.org/q95g961wb/r_..._center_05.jpg Ironically, Sony Center in Berlin is a similar design concept and widely praised. Buildings can be rehabbed, improvements can be made, and Thompson center could find new life as any number of things should the state of IL decide to leave. Yet somehow this city and its inhabitants will expend endless amounts of energy trying to manufacture rationale to demolish the gems it already has. we deserve every boring beige square box we get. |
Northwestern prof Sir Fraser Stoddart wins Nobel Prize in chemistry
The Reader Posted By Aimee Levitt on 10.05.16 at 02:30 PM
I love this guys photo and name.....Sir Fraser Stoddart. "I don't always win Nobel Prizes, but when I do I prefer Chemistry" Stoddart is the sixth Northwestern faculty member to win a Nobel Prize and the second to win the prize for chemistry. University of Chicago faculty have won a combined 48 prizes. (These numbers don't include graduates, attendees, or researchers.) But, as Stoddart noted today, science is a long game. |
My wife and I had a very fun Friday night anniversary night in the city. We took a stroll along the riverwalk and had a drink at the spot between Clark and LaSalle. Next over to Untitled Supper Club for a leisurely dinner with live music. Followed by a walk over to Howl at the Moon piano bar for a nightcap and meet up with some friends celebrating a birthday.
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Video of it paired with the current skyline is in the trib link http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/h...019-story.html Rare video find: Balloon tour over Chicago in 1914 A rare archival film shot over Chicago from a dirigible in 1914 is paired with current-day video looking over the same locations. (National Archives; Chris Walker and Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune) Mark JacobContact Reporter Chicago Tribune An aviation pioneer named Roy Knabenshue brought his dirigible to Chicago in 1914, offered 25-minute balloon rides and settled on a great idea: Why not hire a cameraman to film Chicago from the air? That brainstorm led to one of the first aerial movies of the city, a rarely seen, eight-minute film that was recently tracked down by the Chicago Tribune in the National Archives. The film isn’t newly “discovered” — it’s been in the Archives since 1943 — but hardly anyone knew it existed, so in a sense it’s been rediscovered. ... |
^ It'll be cool when Grant Park really feels enclosed on 3 sides. They really need to reduce the number of lanes on Columbus, though. And deck over the Metra tracks.
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Better yet get rid of Columbus but at the very least make it 2 lanes each direction with parking so nobody dares use it!
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A Columbus road diet would be great, but the biggest issue with Grant Park is that its simply bisected by too many roads. It segments the park and makes it feel a lot smaller than it really is. Hard to get a respite from the city when you're never far from honking and exhaust fumes.
I'd be happy if they removed all roadways from the park, but that's probably not realistic from a traffic standpoint. LSD and Columbus would probably need to stay (reducing the lanes on Columbus wouldn't hurt). But between the three east-west streets (Monroe, Jackson and Balbo), at least two should be removed. It isn't necessary to have that many cross streets. Congress already gives access to Columbus from Michigan, keep one of the other 3 so that there can be a quick way to get to LSD without forcing all traffic on Roosevelt or Randolph. That would be more than enough. None of those streets gets all that much use east of Michigan anyway. Eventually, any remaining surface road going through the park would ideally be put underground. |
That would be a LSD congestion nightmare. Imagine how many people cut through the park to head east especially at rush hour. If everyone had to drive all the way to randolph and roosevelt to head east. Those turn lanes would be backed up half way across the park.
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^No, no it doesn't. Not during Lolla. Everything around the south end of the park just grinds to a halt. No. 6 buses lose nearly a half-hour trying to turn left through Michigan & Roosevelt; No. 3 and 4 buses lose 15-20 minutes creeping through the same area. State backs up solid from Polk to 11th, even though that's the route all the ambulances and fire trucks are trying to use.
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I think there’s broad consensus that the amount of “congestion” is pretty stable over the long run. If you close some of the roads you’ll have more congestion for a while but people will adjust and it’ll go back down as people find alternative transportation or go somewhere else.
The bigger question is one of capacity. How many jobs would leave downtown? How much would museum attendance suffer? On the flip side, how many more people will be attracted to the area thanks to a nicer Grant Park? |
So Kim and Kanye named their 3rd kid Chicago West. Is Chicago hip and cool now?
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My firstborn son will be christened Berwyn, in honor of the great Svengoolie
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So I started watching Electric Dreams on Amazon Prime, which are a series of adaptations of some of Philip K Dick's short stories. The first episode takes place in Chicago and has some good shots. There is also kind of "futuristic Chicago" in that episode. Thought right away it was in Chicago because of a building that looked like the top of Merchandise Mart and was lit up like it. When they arrived at Lou Mitchell's in the episode, it was obvious.
One of the main characters is a multi billionaire (I think) who lives in Chicago. His penthouse is in River Point looking east down the river. Some cool shots from way up there and also from the plaza in front of River Point looking over the river. All I have to say is - if there really is a penthouse near the top of River Point and the scene out the windows wasn't CGI or it wasn't just a set, then damn. Pure marble, very modern, etc everywhere. I would totally live there if I had enough money. My money is on a lot of people assuming it's NYC instead of Chicago, or some city outside of the US. |
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New York movies let the city speak for itself. I wonder if this is so the audience doesn't take it for granted that the story takes place in New York because obviously Chicago is the only city on the planet that could possibly be confused with New York. If Chicago cabs were all yellow like New York the city's would be indistinguishable from eachother at street level in certain areas in pictures and movies. |
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The neighbor was a Dr. who offered to buy them out to knock down the walls and double his unit. He paid them over $400,000 for it I know but not sure how much. Anyways, I always thought that that's rather expensive. $300,000-$400,000 for a builder grade 700 sq. ft. condo in Lakeview? Not sure what a comp in SF, NY or Boston would cost but it seems exorbitant. On a side note, they told my Aunt & Uncle they could lose their views as plans were to build a 2nd tower next to the NY building. I guess there was supposed to be a twin tower built that obviously was canceled. |
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