Tag: Karl Pilkington

  • A Bit Of A Chat with Ken Plume & Ricky Gervais 3

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    I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.

    In this episode, I have another chat with Ricky Gervais, about Derek, puppies, man tackles, beards, and babysoft Hodgman.

    The second season of DEREK is now available in the US exclusively on Netflix.

    Hope you enjoy…

    Download “A Bit of a Chat with Ken Plume & Ricky Gervais 3“:

    [audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/bitofachat/bit_of_a_chat-ricky_gervais_3.mp3]

    (PREVIOUSLY: A Bit of a Chat with Ken Plume & Ricky Gervais, A Bit of a Chat with Ken Plume & Ricky Gervais 2)

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    Subscribe to this Podcast via iTunes

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    Drop Ken a line HERE.

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    You can also find more of my interviews by clicking HERE.

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  • A Bit Of A Chat with Ken Plume & Ricky Gervais 2

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    I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.

    In this episode, I have another chat with Ricky Gervais, about tweets, presidential pajamas, Muppets, mooks, and the evolution of man.

    Hope you enjoy…

    Download “A Bit of a Chat with Ken Plume & Ricky Gervais 2“:

    [audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/bitofachat/bit_of_a_chat-ricky_gervais_2.mp3]

    SUBSCRIBE
    Subscribe to this Podcast via iTunes

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    Drop Ken a line HERE.

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    You can also find more of my interviews by clicking HERE.

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  • Weekend Shopping Guide 1/11/13: Flibble

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    The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the FRED Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

    (Please support FRED by using the links below to make any impulse purchases – it helps to keep us going…)

    I was genuinely wary about how good Red Dwarf X (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP) would be. It had been over 10 years since the last actual series, and while it had its moments, the recent Back To Earth was a relatively dry affair. Thankfully, the Dwarfers return to a studio audience and the character comedy that I fell in love with from the show’s early seasons. Bonus materials include deleted scenes, a gag reel, and an absolutely incredible feature-length documentary chronicling the difficult journey in producing the show’s return.

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    Thinkgeek time! Whether it be for travel purposes or just emergencies, having battery backups able to recharge mobile devices is a plus, and one of the newer ones to consider is the iGeek Large Capacity Portable Charger ($69.95), which has the unique distinction of being able to recharge the power hungry iPad.

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    Much has been said about the genius of Looper (Sony, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP). But, truth be told, I don’t share the hyperbolic enthusiasm – rather, I’ll just say it’s en enjoyably solid time travel flick anchored by wonderful performances from Joseph Gordon Levitt & Bruce Willis, and leave it at that. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, and deleted scenes.

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    Making the transition from TV to feature film is an often tricky proposition, and its quite a rare thing for it to be a comedy making that transition. To do it and to do it well is nearly unprecedented, which makes the success of The Inbetweeners Movie (Lionsgate, Rated R, DVD-$26.98 SRP) worth celebrating. And it’s also a great film, which finds the 4 lads out of school and having a decidedly awkward holiday. There’s also hours of bonus materials, from featurettes and deleted scenes to a gag reel and 24 takes of walking out of a door.

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    It was quite a surprise to hear that Tim Burton’s nigh-legendary stop-motion short made during his brief tenure at Disney would be turned into a full-fledged feature, but then it shouldn’t have been, since Frankenweenie (Walt Disney, Rated PG, 3D Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP) was a charmer, and the expended film largely manages to keep that charm of a young boy using science to bring his dearly departed dog back to life intact. Bonus materials include the original live action short, a making-of documentary, and a brand-new short subject, to boot.

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    If you’re curious about how moderate John McCain compromised his principles and ultimately threw away his chance at the Presidency, take a look at HBO’s Game Change (HBO, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), which dramatizes the machinations of the 2008 election that led to such a downfall in principles. Bonus materials include a pair of featurettes.

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    If you enjoyed the first series of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant torturing the hapless Karl Pilkington by sending him to exotic locales within which to moan, then expect more of the same with An Idiot Abroad 2 (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP). Just don’t expect him to bungee jump. Bonus materials include featurettes and deleted scenes.

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    Though I wasn’t expecting much from it, it was a pleasant surprise to a find a fun outing in Episodes (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), the tale of a husband-and-wife UK writing team whose delight at having their hit show adapted for the US market turns to despair as the adaptation of their intelligent show turns into a dumbed-down sitcom starring Matt LeBlanc (hilariously sending himself up). The 2-disc set contains the first and second season, but sadly no bonus features.

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    As long as teenage girls go crazy at the sight & sound of the latest pop sensation, much to the confusion and consternation of adults, then the musical Bye Bye Birdie (Masterworks Broadway, $11.99 SRP) will still be as relevant today as it was 50 years ago, as the tunes in this newly remastered version of the original soundtrack recording (starring Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Ann Margaret, & Paul Lynde).

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    It’s saccharine sweet, but there’s something in how matter-of-factly The Odd Life Of Timothy Green (Walt Disney, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) presents its simple little fable of a mysterious boy who arrives one night to be a barren couple’s perfect son that caught me off guard enough to accept its sweetness at face value. Fancy that, eh? Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and a music video.

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    In the rush to dramatize the killing of Bin Laden, the first film out of the gate was Seal Team Six: The Raid On Osama Bin Laden (Anchor Bay, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), which – while lacking the Oscar pretensions of the more recent take on events – is a solid look at the dangerous operation and the servicemen that carried it out. Bonus materials include a making-of featurette.

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    Combining the best of Mad Men and Newsroom, the BBC period drama returns in The Hour 2 (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP), which brings the team to 1957 and rapid change, both social and from within the office.

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    I know it’s got a rapid fan following, and for those rabid fans, the arrival of Archer: Season Three (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) is probably a cause for celebration, as it brings with it audio commentary on select episodes, featurettes, and an enhanced version of the “Heart Of Archness” Trilogy.

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    So there you have it… my humble suggestions for what to watch, listen to, play with, or waste money on this coming weekend. See ya next week…

    -Ken Plume

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  • Weekend Shopping Guide 1/13/12: Idiots Abroad

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    The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the FRED Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

    (Please support FRED by using the links below to make any impulse purchases – it helps to keep us going…)

    What do Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant do when they’re bored? They send the decidedly reticent Karl Pilkington on tour of the wonders of the world in An Idiot Abroad (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP), in which every globe-spanning destination is geared to make poor Karl that much more uncomfortable. Quite fun to watch, though. Bonus materials include the preview show and deleted scenes.

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    I’m always interested in products that take up less room but still accomplish a job I need, which is why the Tiltpod ($14.99) is such a compact gem, as it’s a tiny ball-socketed magnetic “tripod” – really, a foot – for your digital camera. Nice, right?

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    It’s a new year, and waiting for us in the bright and shiny are a pair of new classic Doctor Who releases – the Jon Pertwee story Invasion Of The Dinosaurs (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP) and the Tom Baker Android Invasion (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP). That’s two invasion stories for you, both packed with audio commentaries, documentaries, featurettes, and much more supplemental material than you can shake a sonic at.

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    Want to know just how snowed under I’ve been for, oh, ages? I actually missed that a pair of new Rifftrax shorts collections AND a Rifftrax holiday special had been released on DVD. Rectifying that glaring oversight, I’m here to recommend you rush over and pick up your very own copies of Rifftrax Shorts: Old Tyme Shorts Roundup, Rifftrax Shorts: Shorts To-Go, & Rifftrax: Santa And The Ice Cream Bunny (Legend, Not Rated, DVD-$9.95 SRP each). Get them. Get them all. NOW!

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    I resent a sports film that makes me like it in spite of it being a sports film. Because I really do not like sports. So damn you, Moneyball (Sony, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP), for being a film about baseball that kept me engaged throughout. Maybe it’s because it’s not really about the game, but the mechanics of the business behind the game. And it stars a totally engaging Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Yeah, that can’t hurt. Bonus materials include deleted scenes, featurettes, and a blooper.

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    What does work, though, is HBO’s miniseries adaptation of Mildred Pierce (HBO, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP), starring Kate Winslet as the Depression-era single mother struggling to make a go in a time when the odds are stacked demonstrably against her. Just see it.

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    Want to be depressed this holiday season with a fearsome piece of plausible disaster? Then kick back with some egg nog and candy canes and watch Contagion (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP), in which a killer virus runs amok and claims Gwyneth Paltrow. Bonus materials include a trio of featurettes on the real world implications and possibilities of the premise.

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    You may not remember (though fans most certainly do), but there was a massive outcry a few years back when the first couple of seasons of both Roseanne & 3rd Rock From The Sun hit DVD. The trouble? Instead of the original broadcast versions of the episodes, the DVDs featured the edited syndication cuts. Yeah, so fans were not happy. Well, thanks to the fine folks at Mill Creek, you can now get Roseanne: Season 1, Roseanne: Season 2, 3rd Rock From The Sun: Season 1, & 3rd Rock From The Sun: Season 2 (Mill Creek Entertainment, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP each), all completely unedited and retaining all of the featurettes and interviews from the original sets. So, perfect world.

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    The kids will feel a seasonal chill from Spongebob Squarepants: Spongebob’s Frozen Face-Off (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$16.99 SRP), which pulls together 7 episodes, some of which have a decidedly icy setting. Bonus materials include episodes of Fanboy & Chum Chum & Tuff Puppy.

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    Though it’s produced by Martin Scorsese and one of the writers from The Sopranos, the period piece Boardwalk Empire (HBO, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$79.98 SRP) has not become the destination viewing that it should be, considering its pedigree and star Steve Buscemi. Taking place in 1920 Atlantic City during the rise of Prohibition and spotlighting the corrupt society that grew up around it, I really should have liked it more. Perhaps viewing it again will soften my disappointment. Bonus materials include audio commentaries and a clutch of featurettes.

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    It’s the end of the road for Steve McGarrett as we finally arrive at the 12th and final season of Hawaii Five-O (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP). The 5-disc set contains all 19 episodes plus a promo and a music video tribute.

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    Buoyed by still-powerful performances from Gary Oldman & Chloe Webb, Sid & Nancy (MGM, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP) makes its way to high definition looking and sounding great, and sporting a pair of featurettes… Though a Johnny Rotten commentary track must remain an unfulfilled wish.

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    I have to be honest in saying I’m not much for the dimensional beastie hijinks of Primeval (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), but I know there are plenty of fans who will probably be wanting to pick up volume 3, and will enjoy its featurette and prequel webisodes. So enjoy!

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    So there you have it… my humble suggestions for what to watch, listen to, play with, or waste money on this coming weekend. See ya next week…

    -Ken Plume

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  • A Bit Of A Chat with Ken Plume & Ricky Gervais

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    I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.

    In this episode, I chat with Ricky Gervais about fancy hats, pajama pants, talc baths, wise owls, gin lists, and twee tweeting.

    Hope you enjoy…

    Download “A Bit of a Chat with Ken Plume & Ricky Gervais“:

    [audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/bitofachat/bit_of_a_chat-ricky_gervais.mp3]

    SUBSCRIBE
    Subscribe to this Podcast via iTunes

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    Drop Ken a line HERE.

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    You can also find more of my interviews by clicking HERE.

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  • Weekend Shopping Guide 1/7/11: Of Schmucks & Pilkington

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    The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the FRED Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

    (Please support FRED by using the links below to make any impulse purchases – it helps to keep us going…)

    I think it largely disappeared from theaters, which is a shame, because Dinner For Schmucks (Dreamworks, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) is actually a fun little comedy in the vein of most recent pics starring Paul Rudd and/or Steve Carrell – affable, funny, and heartwarming. Rudd stars as a business exec whose attempt to get a better position are hindered only by making a good showing at the titular dinner, which requires executives to find a bizarre person to bring as a guest to be mocked by the others. Naturally, Rudd pegs onto Carell to be his guest, but things don’t go quite to plan. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and outtakes.

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    Want a little bit of quick, cheap work area light with the convenience of USB? Then the USB LED Desktop Lamp ($7.99) is the convenient, bright, perfectly-named solution to your needs. Easy, right?

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    If you enjoyed the Ricky Gervais podcast, the animated versions made from those recordings and presented as The Ricky Gervais Show (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) don’t really enhance the humor that much, but serves as a nice “best bits” collection that just happens to have some visuals attached. The 2-disc set contains the entire 1st season plus an episode storyboard and Comedy Gala animation.

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    After a smattering of single-disc releases, the long-awaited second volume of iCarly Season 2 (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) has arrived, sporting 12 episodes plus a small clutch of behind-the-scenes extras (though it’s ridiculous there aren’t far more).

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    When I first saw My Dog Skip (Warner Bros., Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$19.98 SRP), I feared it would some kind of saccharine, nostalgia-fueled snoozer. To my surprise, it was actually a sweet little flick that’s largely carried on the back of the then still-lovable Frankie Muniz. Don’t believe me? Give it a spin via this new high-def edition. Bonus features include audio commentaries and additional scenes.

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    The fourth season of Big Love (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP) finds multiple-family man Bill Hendrickson out from under the thumb of mad “prophet” Roman Grant, but will his plans to run for the Utah State Senate tear apart his happy homes? Bonus materials include a special behind-the-scenes featurette for every episode.

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    Like most Ron Howard films, I found Backdraft (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$26.98 SRP) to be wholly competent, but ultimately lifeless and dull. Sure, the fire visuals remain impressive – more so now in high definition – but the story and its execution by Howard just sort of sits there. Bonus materials include an introduction, featurettes, and deleted scenes.

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    It’s in re-watching it that I fully understood just how mannered and poor man’s Wes Anderson (which, really, should be left up to Wes Anderson) Sofia Coppola’s Lost In Translation (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$26.98 SRP) is. Though, I admit, it’s always fun to see Bill Murray on autopilot. Bonus features include featurettes, deleted scenes, a music video, and more.

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    ABC Family’s The Secret Life Of The American Teenager (ABC Family, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP) continues to steam along, as the 5th season finds the characters facing teenage pregnancy head-on. Bonus materials include a quartet of featurettes.

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    Yeah, Family Guy‘s Star Wars parodies are largely inferior to Robot Chicken‘s, but that’s largely due to the former’s shoehorning of their characters into the roles, instead of being allowed to just play with the universe as it exists. Thankfully, they’ve come to an end with the 3rd and final installment, Family Guy: It’s A Trap (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP) which, as you can guess, takes on Return Of The Jedi. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, and outtakes.

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    It’s a daunting proposition, revisiting a film that defined the 80’s with the simple phrase “Greed Is Good”, and I’m not entirely sure Oliver Stone succeeds with Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (Fox, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), which comes on the heels of the economic collapse of the past few years that itself has played like an awkward sequel to the financial whirlwind of the 80’s. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, interviews, featurettes, and more.

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    For fans eager for its release the wait for the complete high definition release of Battlestar Galactica: Season Four (Universal, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$88.98 SRP) have had their prayers answered by a robot with this 6-disc set featuring audio commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, extended cuts, video blogs, and more.

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    The idea of carrying on a TV series in comic book form – written by the showe’s creator and writers – is actually a pretty good idea. Sadly, Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 8 (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$34.99 SRP) is a motion comic version of the comic book series that managed to maintain the same level of tragic mediocrity that marked the pitiful end of that once-proud series.

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    The Warner Archive Collection certainly has been going full bore when it comes to their catalogue releases, and have ramped up things considerably on the animated side. I mean, I don’t think anyone ever expected they might one day be able to purchase a complete series set of Hanna-Barbera’s short-lived Swat Kats (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$34.95). But here it is.

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    I thought the fine folks at Sideshow did a bang-up job with their original Indiana Jones Premium Format figure, taken from Raiders Of The Lost Ark and holding the golden fertility idol. As well done as that mixed media figure was, they’ve trumped it with the one-two punch from Temple Of Doom with Premium Format Figures of both Indiana Jones ($309.99) and Mola Ram ($294.99). Both are very limited editions, and supplies are dwindling fast. I’d recommend you pick both up before you miss out, or you’ll regret being left at the mercy of the aftermarket for these gems.

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    So there you have it… my humble suggestions for what to watch, listen to, play with, or waste money on this coming weekend. See ya next week…

    -Ken Plume

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