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scuba school sucks posted:I would even disagree with Ornamented Death that the "ending" fits or is appropriate. I'd say that it contradicts what you've been being told throughout the series about how important the quest is. If, like me, you invested TWENTY YEARS of your life as a fan of a series and all along they've been telling you, this is it, this is the LAST QUEST and if our heroes don't succeed on their quest it's not just the end of their world it's the end of all worlds as all possible universes fall apart, you'd be righteously peeved when you get to the end and the author stops the book to address the reader directly (distinct from another section a little earlier where the author literally inserts himself as a character in the story) and tells you, "hey don't read the ending because you'll think it sucks, if you do that's on you for reading an ending you were warned was gonna suck and not on me the author for writing an ending I know sucks". Even better the ending is basically LOL none of that poo poo counted because it was all a dream, press A to start New Game Plus and if you get 100% of the collectibles you get the "real" ending also buy the comic books (which contradict the books you've already read) and watch the movie or you can just imagine what the New Game Plus was like. Thanks a lot jackass, glad I spent several hundred dollars on your novels over my lifetime. The dude forgot what it was like to be working fifty hours a week in a laundry plus going out on the weekends picking up glass bottles off dirt roads to trade in at the recycle center so he and his wife could afford food, clothes AND the rent. Because that guy wouldn't have been satisfied with such a story and I hope he wouldn't have inflicted such on the public. drat man I don't think even a fragmaster reading can save this one
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Jan 2, 2017 05:21
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USMC_Karl posted:Not to move off subject, but I've been recently re-reading Full Dark, No Stars and got to say that I love Fair Exchange and A Good Marriage. 1922 is also a pretty good story, but I didn't really enjoy Big Driver so much. Something about Big Driver just hit me the wrong way. There's some really good stuff in Nightmares and Dreamscapes and Everything's Eventual. I loved just about every story in N&D, particularly "Dolan's Cadillac" and "The End of the Whole Mess", and "Autopsy Room 4", "In the Deathroom", "Everything's Eventual", "The Road Virus Heads North", and "Little Sisters of Eluria" in EE. King is always at his best when he's writing short fiction. It's worth noting, in case you weren't aware (but I'm pretty sure most everyone in here is), that "Little Sisters of Eluria" falls somewhere in the Dark Tower mythology. I have never been able to get into the Dark Tower series at all (and believe me, I've tried -- my dad loves it), but "Little Sisters of Eluria" is a great story.
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Jan 2, 2017 17:57
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I just finished Wizard and Glass about an hour and a half ago and what I'm getting from this thread is that I should just stop there, but I'm not going to because I am a defiant type. Also, since it's kind of a divisive one I will say that I liked Needful Things, but it's long and a bit of a slog in some points. There's some really nice "small town turns into hell on earth" buildup and payoff throughout. e: and since I'm already here, I thought it was really annoying how in the end of W&G the Tick Tock Man, who, at the end of book 3, is presented as very dangerous and scary, and is rescued by the man in black (unbeknownst to Roland and Jake) in a damned suspenseful tease of his return, just gets shot to death in like two seconds. It was kinda funny, and I loved the book overall, but I spent most of my time reading it expecting TTM to come back and actually be a threat for at least a hot second or something. The flashback stuff though, that poo poo was excellent. Karmine fucked around with this message at 03:20 on Jan 3, 2017 |
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Jan 3, 2017 03:12
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I genuinely like the Dark Tower series (except Song of Susannah, because it's just awful). I even like the "real" ending that everyone else hates.
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Jan 3, 2017 03:17
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ConfusedUs posted:I genuinely like the Dark Tower series (except Song of Susannah, because it's just awful). I even like the "real" ending that everyone else hates. Same here, except I'd even go so far as to say I like Song of Susannah. The whole fun of DT is building up the characters. Karmine, don't listen to everyone else and read the series if you are finding it fun. I can understand why people don't like the ending. I can even understand why people don't like some of (or all of) the newer books. However, to me, DT is basically one of the best series I've ever read. Regarding the TTM, (I won't go into spoilers, just stating my opinion) the one thing I really like about the DT series is that, while all of the characters are built up as unstoppably bad-rear end dudes, it only takes one slip up and they are gone. TTM shows us just how vulnerable everyone in DT is. Keep posting whatever you feel along the way, it's always fun to vicariously go through a first time DT read. Especially if you get all the way to the end. This is real spoilers regarding the last book I don't care how many times I read it, watching the Tet fall always breaks me up. Eddie was a total shocker and brutally hard, Jake was foreshadowed and we could tell he was going to bite it, but still really hurt, and Oy was just SK making GBS threads on my soul. I like to see Jake's passing as the point in the story where we can really see that Roland has finally learned his lesson. *edit* holy poo poo, sorry if you saw that spoiler. I accidentally typed [ b ] instead of [ spoiler ] without even thinking about it. USMC_Karl fucked around with this message at 03:43 on Jan 3, 2017 |
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Jan 3, 2017 03:35
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I saw like three spoilery words but whatever, poo poo happens I ain't mad atcha. I've enjoyed the series, but is it hosed up that I just read Wizard and Glass, a book that's roughly 80% flashbacks to a young Roland, and I'm more interested in hearing more about Roland's backstory than I am in the quest for the tower?
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Jan 3, 2017 03:46
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Karmine posted:I saw like three spoilery words but whatever, poo poo happens I ain't mad atcha. IMO, nah. DT is all about the characters and Roland, being the king of all of 'em, is the most interesting. I'll admit to not liking W&G when it first came out, but when I re-read it I realized how awesome the book is. The main problem that I (and most of the people who went through waiting for the books) had is the jump from Blaine to backstory. If you get through all of the books and want more fun kind-of Roland backstory, The Wind Through The Keyhole is Roland telling some campfire stories. I know that it takes place between W&G and Wolves, but honestly cannot remember if it spoils anything from Wolves. Others can chime in on if it does or doesn't, but if it doesn't you might want to read it next if you are more interested in Roland and less about the tower quest. Sorry for the spoiler slip 
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Jan 3, 2017 03:57
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Karmine posted:I saw like three spoilery words but whatever, poo poo happens I ain't mad atcha. Nope, that's extremely normal. I often see W&G as mentioned as the best in the series. It's between that and IT as my favorite book he's written. Unfortunately I think you're going to regret not stopping there based on reading your post.
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Jan 3, 2017 04:02
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Karmine posted:
I enjoyed W&G the most too. Wind Through The Keyhole goes into some of that backstory so check that out if you can; also The Eyes of the Dragon, IIRC, while not explicitly related to DT and notionally a "children's story" (but not really), was similar enough in the backstory of DT to be very satisfying to read as a companion novel.
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Jan 3, 2017 04:30
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Wind Through The Keyhole should be renamed to poo poo Through A Butt because god drat if it isn't a heaping great sandwich of all the things King sucks at. Clumsy nudge-nudge-wink-wink retroactive foreshadowing that makes no goddamned sense. Storytelling at its most folksy and bullshit. King's clumsy rear end made up dialects all over the goddamned shop. loving Oy, who they should've shot as soon as he appeared in Waste Lands. Roland the loving ultimate survivalist apparently doesn't recognise the super obvious signs of some dangerous weather condition. A mystery story that isn't a mystery story encapsulating this never ending rambling fairy tale that just goes and goes and goes without any point. And then to cap it all the whole AND ONCE HE'D TOLD HIS TALE IT SEEMED TO THE KA-TET THAT THE NIGHT HAD BEEN SOOOOOOOOOOOO LONG YOU GUYS TIME BENT that for some reason King always thinks is cool. poo poo sucks. Behead those who promote it, insh'allah. But hey at least it's not Lisey's Story.
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Jan 3, 2017 12:35
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Disgusting Coward posted:Wind Through The Keyhole should be renamed to poo poo Through A Butt because god drat if it isn't a heaping great sandwich of all the things King sucks at. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOs4vsthLD0&t=23s
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Jan 3, 2017 13:18
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Disgusting Coward posted:loving Oy, who they should've shot as soon as he appeared in Waste Lands. What the gently caress
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Jan 3, 2017 15:30
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Disgusting Coward posted:Wind Through The Keyhole should be renamed to poo poo Through A Butt because god drat if it isn't a heaping great sandwich of all the things King sucks at. See now you just look like you're aping scuba school sucks. I give this post a 3/10.
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Jan 3, 2017 15:48
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Did you know that when W&G came out, I read it.. and hated it. Why the hell are we spending so much time in a goddamn flashback??? What the hell is really going on with Flagg?? OMG THEY'RE IN THE STAND THIS IS INCREDIBLE ARE THEY GOING TO RUN INTO LARRY nope just more loving baby roland flashbacks GODDAMN
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Jan 3, 2017 22:53
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Need No Instruction posted:Is it at all possible to get a spoiler-free breakdown of why the ending of The Dark Tower is so hated(I don't know if it's possible to explain without spoilers)? Basically, nothing in the entire series mattered, in a very literal sense.
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Jan 3, 2017 23:14
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Rush Limbo posted:Basically, nothing in the entire series mattered, in a very literal sense. Have I got some bad news for you about a genre called 'fiction'
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Jan 4, 2017 00:47
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I really like W&G as a story but as book 4 in Roland's quest to reach the dark tower it annoyed me
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Jan 4, 2017 01:30
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I also just realized books 4 and 4.5 are flashback books and now imagine Eddie Susannah and jake rolling their eyes as Roland decides to tell another goddamn story Jesus loving Christ we just want to go to sleep roland
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Jan 4, 2017 01:31
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I guess I'm glad I never read any of The Dark Tower books. I see them all the time in the library and poo poo and sometimes consider saying "why not?" and taking the plunge but everything I hear says the payoff isn't worth the investment. Currently starting "End of Watch" which I got for Christmas. I enjoyed the first two books in the trilogy for the most part. Not great but but not bad at least and King is generally such a good writer that I can hand on through plot elements that don;t do it for me.
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Jan 4, 2017 01:34
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Rush Limbo posted:Basically, nothing in the entire series mattered, in a very literal sense. See, I don't agree with this. The whole quest is us watching Roland and seeing how he is willing to be just as bad as the bad guys in his quest for good. Roland is basically the ends justify the means made flesh. He has no compunction about using his companions and tossing them aside just as the CK does. When we get to the end of the story, we start to see that his entire being has changed, his time with the Tet has made him realize that fellowship is more important than the tower, and that without fellowship the tower is meaningless. To me, that is the whole point of the series. We see that the goal is not the most important thing, in fact the path to the goal is just as, if not more, important. In the last half of the series, Roland starts to question his incessant drive for the tower, but it still wins out in the end. When he restarts (for lack of a better word) we are left thinking that maybe, just maybe, this time he'll do things right. Tl;dr (and spoiler free), DT is all about the story to me, not about the ending. That's not to say that I don't think the ending is good, I really like the ending, but it's pretty secondary to the 4,000+ page build-up. BiggerBoat posted:I guess I'm glad I never read any of The Dark Tower books. I see them all the time in the library and poo poo and sometimes consider saying "why not?" and taking the plunge but everything I hear says the payoff isn't worth the investment. Eh, I'm obviously biased, but I'd suggest maybe trying DT and seeing how it sits with you. I'm pretty sure that everyone will agree that the first 3 books are amazingly stellar, the 4th is pretty well received, and then the rest are pretty divisive. End of Watch was decent, but I was a little thrown by the move into the supernatural. Sure, it was forecast at the end of Finder's Keepers, but I really like King when he's dealing with more mundane evil and saw the Bill Hodge's trilogy as focused on that. Having the last book veer off course was a little bit of a let down. USMC_Karl fucked around with this message at 02:08 on Jan 4, 2017 |
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Jan 4, 2017 01:35
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end of watch is preposterous
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Jan 4, 2017 17:36
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scary ghost dog posted:end of watch is preposterous I wasn't sure what it was right after I read it, but yeah, it's an entire book full of the last third of a Stephen King book. First two thirds were pretty decent, too.
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Jan 4, 2017 18:33
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On the other hand, I've read all the DT books a handful of times. I enjoy 'em. Like Fishmech, I'm kinda excited about the movies because of the book's ending/promotional stuff King has put out.
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Jan 4, 2017 23:14
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DT is my poo poo. During/after Wolves of the Calla it goes downhill but those first 4 books are golden.
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Jan 5, 2017 00:03
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King fans love making lists, has anyone ever made a list of his works that have nothing supernatural in them? Roadwork and Apt Pupil could be on there.
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Jan 5, 2017 01:10
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Teriyaki Hairpiece posted:King fans love making lists, has anyone ever made a list of his works that have nothing supernatural in them? Roadwork and Apt Pupil could be on there. I'd say Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers could be on that list as well. I guess it's possible that I'm forgetting something though. Also, A Good Marriage and Batman & Robin from his short stories are also totally lacking in supernatural happenings.
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Jan 5, 2017 01:32
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Teriyaki Hairpiece posted:King fans love making lists, has anyone ever made a list of his works that have nothing supernatural in them? Roadwork and Apt Pupil could be on there. From Night Shift: Quitters, Inc. Strawberry Spring Night Surf The Man Who Loved Flowers From Different Seasons: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption The Body From Skeleton Crew: Survivor Type
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Jan 5, 2017 01:41
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Teriyaki Hairpiece posted:King fans love making lists, has anyone ever made a list of his works that have nothing supernatural in them? Roadwork and Apt Pupil could be on there. I'll steal these award winners from Yahoo! answers wholesale Best Answer: Most of the "early" Bachman books: - Rage - The Long Walk (great book!) - Roadwork - The Running Man Also: - Cujo -Misery - three out of the four* novellas in Different Seasons (Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, The Body) - Gerald's Game** - Dolores Claiborne** - The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon I agree with most of these once this constant reader got to Joyland it was a little off track, imho
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Jan 5, 2017 01:50
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Disgusting Coward posted:Wind Through The Keyhole should be renamed to poo poo Through A Butt because god drat if it isn't a heaping great sandwich of all the things King sucks at. Maybe you should stick to other authors then.
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Jan 5, 2017 02:00
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syscall girl posted:- Gerald's Game** Are the asterixes because of the weird thing joining the two books? Because it's a stupid, lovely way of making them into companion books and we should all ignore it.
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Jan 5, 2017 03:12
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Blade_of_tyshalle posted:Are the asterixes because of the weird thing joining the two books? Because it's a stupid, lovely way of making them into companion books and we should all ignore it. It was because of lazily copy pasting something from Yahoo! answers Everything besides that is up to you to explain.
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Jan 5, 2017 03:31
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Okay I've got nothing but time on my little internet fingats and am listening to Jimmy Carr finish off our dumb year. So I'll explain how Gerald's Game and Dolores Claiborne are interconnected. gently caress, I'm worried they are but I can't put the pieces together and would rather watch someone else do it.
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Jan 5, 2017 03:34
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syscall girl posted:gently caress, I'm worried they are but I can't put the pieces together and would rather watch someone else do it. I'll take a stab at it. Mind you, it's been years since I've read either, so this is half-remembered. In Gerald's Game, whatshername's (Jessie?) father molested her during a total eclipse. Meanwhile, during that same eclipse in Dolores Claiborne, Dolores has a vision of Jessie's father molesting her at the time it's happening. Edited for spoilers, in case anyone here hasn't read either of these books. My suggestion is, don't bother if you haven't.
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Jan 5, 2017 03:49
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They are both bad books
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Jan 5, 2017 04:16
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Teriyaki Hairpiece posted:King fans love making lists, has anyone ever made a list of his works that have nothing supernatural in them? Roadwork and Apt Pupil could be on there. In addition to all the others listed there's The Colorado Kid maybe 
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Jan 5, 2017 07:55
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oldpainless posted:They are both bad books Gerald's Game was a bad book for sure Dolores Claiborne was a good book and movie Like a real good movie. Had some of the same dark material about rape but included some great actors (even the guy who played Dolores hubby) and just swung and missed somehow But you can chat about the sisters in Green Mile in decent society Never talk about the screwdriver though
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Jan 5, 2017 08:00
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Zwabu posted:From Night Shift: I've been reading a ton of King's short stories and you missed a few, some quite good. The Ledge in Night Surf is great, as is The Woman in the Room, while The Last Rung On the Ladder is probably the weakest story in the book. Everything's Eventual also has a lot of non-weird stuff stories. From good ones like Autopsy Room 4, In the Deathroom and LT's theory of Pets, to some bad ones like The Death of Jack Hamilton and All That You Love Will be Carried Away. Basically what I'm saying is that I love King's short fiction, I'm pretty excited to start reading Skeleton Crew, it's the only short story collection that I haven't read yet A Typical Goon fucked around with this message at 10:48 on Jan 5, 2017 |
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Jan 5, 2017 09:41
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That exact eclipse was a big thing in an episode of Mad Men, a fact which made the episode kind of distasteful to me in a way I didn't like. It was Stephen King's fault!
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Jan 5, 2017 13:05
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USMC_Karl posted:I'd say Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers could be on that list as well. I guess it's possible that I'm forgetting something though. Horrible spoilers: you are.
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Jan 5, 2017 13:07
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Hearts in Atlantis is wholly non-supernatural. No, not the unremarkable/kind of bad lead story "Low Men in Yellow Coats" which everyone thinks of when you talk about that book, but the actual story with that title. No psychic BS, just a slice of life from the late 60s.
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Jan 5, 2017 13:59
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