Jump to content

Cara Cunningham

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Geometry guy (talk | contribs) at 22:29, 17 January 2009 (→‎Post-meme career: rm low quality image which adds nothing). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Template:Infobox Internet celebrity Chris Crocker (born December 1987) is an American internet celebrity and self-described "edutainer" who produces and acts in transgressive videos.[1][2][3][4] Almost all of Crocker's work has been attributed to his being an openly gay and effeminate Southern adolescent in a "small-minded town" in the Bible Belt where his sexual orientation and outspokenness are a "subtext... rarely addressed directly and never completely accepted."[1][3] The Tennessee-based Crocker, a stage name, keeps his identity and exact location private because according to him, and as seen in the public comments to his work, there are safety concerns and death threats in response to his YouTube and MySpace vlogs and profile.[5][1][6][7]

His work consists mainly of short-form self-directed "monologues about life" shot in his grandparents' home.[8] As of March 2008, Crocker's videos have received a combined 45.8 million plays on MySpace, and his vlog channel on YouTube is the 18th most viewed of all time in all categories, with over 153 million views.[9][10] Although he has produced dozens of videos, Crocker gained international fame from his viral video tearfully defending Britney Spears's "lackluster MTV comeback" with over four million views in two days. The video received international media attention, hundreds of parodies and criticism of the performer.[11]

Crocker's detractors and critics have accused him of narcissism, melodramatics, histrionics, and using Spears' personal shortcomings to bolster his own fame.[12][13][14] Others have accused Crocker of acting in the "Leave Britney Alone" video, although he insisted it was genuine on a September 2007 appearance on Maury Povich's Maury show.[15][7]

In September 2007 Variety magazine revealed Crocker had signed a development deal with 44 Blue Productions to star in a documentary-style reality television show.[16] According to his MySpace profile, Crocker lives in Los Angeles as of January 2008.[17]

Biography

Early life and background

Crocker "raised eyebrows" by bringing Barbie dolls to kindergarten for show-and-tell rather than the toys or action figures usually associated with boys.[8] He lived in Eastern Tennessee and was homeschooled in response to constant "death threats, bullying and glares at his clothes and makeup".[1][17][8] Specifically after allegedly being "harassed by a homophobic high school gym coach".[5]

Crocker lived with his Pentecostal grandparents who continued raising him when his teenage parents were not able; while his grandfather reportedly knows little about his Internet fame, his grandmother has reluctantly appeared in some of his videos.[8][1] His uncensored and "unfiltered" work has been attributed to his isolation as an "effeminate, Southern, flamboyantly gay" adolescent in a "small-minded town" in the Bible Belt.[1][1] His sexual orientation and outspokenness have been described as a "subtext... rarely addressed directly and never completely accepted" in his hometown.[1] According to Crocker, when his grandmother found out that he was gay, she initially "said that [he] needed an exorcism".[1]

Crocker's earliest experience with online networking was as an editor of an e-zine, where he met his first boyfriend, with whom he only was able to interact online and by phone. Crocker later found another online forum, where his acting skills helped him blend in on a free phone party line run out of Los Angeles "filled with flaming black men, black drag queens, and trannies from Compton", where he was outed as white and dubbed "Cracker".[1] In June 2006, after years of experience on the Internet, Crocker started uploading self-produced videos, characterized as his "singularly bizarre and angry take on gay life and his intolerant town".[1]

Building a following

Although his chart-topping video defending Britney Spears drew the attention of the wider public, Crocker had already become one of the most-watched video producers on MySpace and YouTube, having gathered what MSNBC described as a "cult following".[7][16][11] Prior to Crocker's defense of Spears, some of the more than sixty videos he had posted to the two social networking websites had already been viewed more than a million times, and his YouTube channel was in the top rankings.[7] In May 2007, Crocker was the subject of a lengthy profile in the Seattle alternative weekly The Stranger.[1]

In addition to the Leave Britney Alone videos Crocker has produced and posted dozens of others with over fifty posted on both MySpace and YouTube although some are only posted on one site or the other. Many of Crocker's videos have become "viral video hits". Some consider them to be bold and seething "flares sent up by a young gay man marooned in a sea of rednecks" who is stuck in a small town that "can't tolerate homosexuality and punishes flamboyance."[1] Crocker's videos include "sex-filled confessions" and "wild monologues" talking "about everything from AIDS to pubic hair."[1][7]

Leave Britney Alone!

On September 9, 2007, the video "Leave Britney Alone pt.1" was posted to Crocker's MySpace page, while the better-known "LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!" (part 2) was posted to both MySpace and YouTube. In "Leave Britney Alone pt.1", an emotional Crocker stated that he did not want fellow Southerner[8] and gay icon Britney Spears[18] to spiral out of control like Anna Nicole Smith, who had died in February 2007. As of January 2009, the video has been viewed over 3.5 million times and has accumulated a total of nearly 50,000 comments.[19] It is just a few seconds shorter than the second part, and Crocker, although emotional, remains relatively calm and composed, becoming teary only at the very end.

File:Crocker1.JPG
Screen capture showing an upset Chris Crocker from his LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE! video.

Crocker is most notable for his "LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!" video, posted September 10, 2007 to YouTube, in which he lashes out at gossip columnists such as Perez Hilton, and at reality TV star Simon Cowell, who criticized Britney Spears' onstage music performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas.[20][21][22][23] Within the first 24 hours of its posting, the video had accumulated over 2 million views.[7] It has accumulated a total of nearly 24 million views and is the second most discussed video of all time on the site (in all categories), with over 350,000 comments as of January 2009.[20][24] "LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!" is one of YouTube's fastest "climbing" videos, reaching the minimum seven million views needed (as of September 2007) to be included in the "Top 100".[25] The video was nominated in the Commentary category in the 2007 YouTube Awards.[26] The video received worldwide attention and earned Crocker interviews on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, The Today Show, Maury, The Howard Stern Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Ryan Seacrest's KIIS-FM morning show.[citation needed] Crocker and his video were also commented on in the mainstream media by shows like The View and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[7][27] YouTube said "the melodramatic two-minute clip made Crocker an instant YouTube star" and named it one of the top videos of 2007.[28] Wired magazine named it the top video of 2007.[29]

Although sometimes shown in conjunction with news footage of Spears' performance, the "pure performance art" video has become its own story, with the news media and gossip industry offering opinions on the phenomenon and even joking that Crocker could be "an insidious satiric mastermind" and compared him to Andy Kaufman.[30][31] In the video, Crocker proclaims, "All you people care about is readers and making money off of her. She's a human! Leave Britney alone!"[32][33] Crocker stated that although he is often acting in his videos, his emotions were genuine and "straight from the heart"; although he described the clip as a "second take" in one interview, he clarified on Jimmy Kimmel Live that he meant that it was the second part of a longer video, the first part being "Leave Britney Alone pt. 1".[7][34][6]

Parodies

The "LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!" video has become a satire target with response and parody videos as well as references in mainstream films, cartoons and commercially available music.[citation needed] Actor Seth Green's parody, which included him applying eyeliner several times and promoting his show Robot Chicken, called for people to "leave Chris Crocker alone!" [35][36] Some video responses characterized Crocker as a drama queen and, Wired magazine noted, "sent world Schadenfreude levels zooming to heights unseen since the Fatty Arbuckle scandal."[37][29]

The January 2008 parody film Meet the Spartans used pop culture references and met with generally poor reviews; the Electronic Urban Report called Crocker's cameo the "film's funniest moment".[38][39] Both Crocker and the video were also parodied in the South Park episode "Canada On Strike" with a cartoon Crocker running around in a fight between various internet memes, telling them to "leave the others alone".[40][41] In March 2008, a "trance remix" dance single "Leave Britney Alone" was released on iTunes and other sites by "Double J" featuring quotes from Crocker's video.[42]

Post-meme career

After the widespread recognition of the Leave Britney Alone viral video Crocker has been involved in several projects.[citation needed]

In a June 2007 autobiographical comic strip, where Crocker discusses future plans, he states, "I'm going to make the leap from living with my Pentecostal grandparents to living with drag queen roommates. I'm going to star in my own TV show. I'm going to make the leap from outhouses to bathhouses...to my very own house."[43]

In October 2007, Crocker opened Fox Reality channel's "Reality Remix Really Awards".[citation needed]

Crocker was one of Lily Allen's internet correspondents on the February 2008 premier episode of BBC's Lily Allen and Friends where he posed questions for the guest celebrities, in this case David Mitchell and later, Cuba Gooding, Jr.[44][45][46]

In a April 9, 2008 video blog Crocker announced he refused the television network's offer to star in his own show on the grounds that it would be censored. Outraged, Crocker refused the deal and claimed he will continue to post his videos on YouTube.com in a effort to draw in more viewers to the video hosting web site."[47][citation needed]

At a May 3, 2008 performance at the The Bamboozle music festival, Crocker was a special guest performer during Jeffree Star's song "We Want Cunt" - cunt being a nickname for Star.[48][49][50] Star, also a gay Internet celebrity, and Crocker kissed romantically in front of the audience as part of the performance and later posted a video of the two again making out that was later deleted.[49][50]

On May 23, 2008 rock band Weezer released a viral music video for their song "Pork and Beans" - "a natural anthem for the self-expression that’s been taking shape on YouTube" - which featured mash-ups of viral videos like the Diet Coke and Mentos eruption and Kevin Federline's "PopoZão" as well as Youtube celebrities including the Numa Numa guy (Gary Brolsma), Tay Zonday and Crocker all playing themselves.[51][52][53][54]

On July 25, 2008 Crocker posted a video, "www.MsChrisCrocker.Com", in which he states he is leaving YouTube citing issues of censorship from YouTube for removing him from the most viewed and talked about lists and excluding him from their events.[55][citation needed]

Selected videography

As of August 2008 Crocker has 50 videos on YouTube, and 62 on MySpace[citation needed]

  • This & that. was posted December 28, 2006 to Myspace and February 25, 2007 to YouTube.[56][57] Crocker's first video, where he starts very serenely then quickly escalates yelling "You wanna fight me?" in a menacing manner while revealing his scrawny chest belying the absurdity "that anyone would see this waify kid as a threat worthy of violence."[1] This has been interpreted as a "brilliant way of mocking his virtual haters" but can also be seen as a fantasy fight that he could only win in a virtual world because of his obvious diminutive stature.[1] The video was hosted on Salon.com and remains one of his most popular with over 4.5 million views and over 19,000 comments as of October 2007.[7][56][57]
  • Bitch, please! was posted December 29, 2006 to MySpace and February 25, 2007 to YouTube.[58][59] One of Crocker's first videos to receive over a million viewers showed Crocker's self-assuredness as he offers increasingly angry versions of the phrase Bitch, please "complete with hair flips, bared teeth, and hand gestures."[7][1] The video has had over five million views and nearly 30,000 comments as of June 2008.[58][59]
  • Watch it. was posted January 24, 2007 to Myspace.[60] One of Crocker's shortest videos at just 1:25 minutes features him dancing erotically and provocatively to Nivea's "Watch It". The video has over 1.4 million views and nearly 7,000 comments as of March 2008.[60] Likewise Chris Crocker is Damaged!, posted March 4, 2008 to YouTube, shows him dancing to Danity Kane's "Damaged" and has nearly 2.8 million views and over 34,000 comments as of June 2008.[61][62]
  • Why I'm Gay.. was posted August 10, 2007 to both YouTube and MySpace.[63][64] Crocker discusses why he has no need to "come out" of the closet as gay. The video was hosted on Salon.com and has had over 1.2 million views and nearly 12,000 comments as of September 2007.[7][63][64]
  • Kids SHOULD Cuss was posted August 23, 2007 to YouTube.[65] Crocker discusses language and the use of curse words like fuck asking "why is shit more profane than poop?" He ties the discussion to free speech and encourages everyone to use swear words and teach them to children to ensure freedom of speech is assured. The video was hosted on Salon.com and has had over 427,000 views as of September 2007, it was subsequently removed by Crocker.[7][65]
  • Back up, Britney haters! was posted September 1, 2007 to YouTube.[66] Crocker's first major departure from describing his gay life in a Bible Belt town and instead on Britney Spears which he thought would be poorly received by his fans.[7] From a floor covered in Spears-related magazines and memorabilia Crocker asserts he is "a real Britney fan."[7] The video has over two million views as of March 2008.[66]
  • Britney, this is for you was posted September 3, 2007 to YouTube.[67] Crocker pays homage to Spears' recently released single Gimme More. Just two days after his first video about Spears this precedes his most known video "Leave Britney Alone" by eight days. The video has been viewed over 4.1 million times and received over 55,000 comments as of January 2008.[67]
  • Watch Chris Crocker blink. originally titled Best video EVER! was posted March 17, 2008 to YouTube.[68][69][62] One of the shortest viral videos - at less than five seconds long - and likely the shortest one Crocker has ever posted shows a close-up of just his face as he smiles into the camera and blinks twice.[68] The "unwitting Andy Warhol homage" (see 15 minutes of fame) was explained by Crocker that he needs to only "blink to get the video views I do."[69][70][68] The video was viewed over a million times in the first two days and nearly 5.7 million times and received over 59,000 comments as of December 2008.[69][68]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Sanders, Eli (2007-06-30), "Escape from Real Bitch Island", The Stranger, retrieved 2007-09-13
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chris Crocker channel page was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Nesti, Robert (January 2, 2008). "2007 YouTube Celebrity Trainwrecks". Edge Boston. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  4. ^ Crocker, Chris (September 11, 2007). "MySpace Chris Crocker 20". MySpace. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  5. ^ a b Dempster, Michael (September 12, 2007). "More From "Real Bitch Island"". Howard Stern.com. Retrieved 2007-09-13. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ a b Goldman, Russell (September 12, 2007), "Legions of the Loyal Britney's Fans Defend Her Online", ABC News, retrieved 2007-09-13
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Manjoo, Farhad (September 12, 12, 2007). "Talking to the "Leave Britney Alone!" guy". Salon.com. Retrieved 2007-09-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ a b c d e Jafari, Samira (September 22, 2007). "Crocker hopes to find TV stardom after Britney video". Associated Press in USA Today. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  9. ^ "Chris Crocker's Videos". MySpace. September 13, 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  10. ^ YouTube, LLC (January 26, 2008). "Channels Most Viewed : (All Time)". YouTube. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
  11. ^ a b Popkin, Helen A.S. (September 13, 2007). "'Leave Britney Alone!': Tear-stained video plea makes YouTube vlogger an Internet rock star". MSNBC. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  12. ^ Elsworth, Catherine (September 21, 2007). "YouTube Britney Spears fan to get own show". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  13. ^ Jafari, Samira (September 21, 2007). "Leave Britney Alone Guy Is New Web Star". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-01-18. (original released on AP wire and reprinted elsewhere including The Washington Post)
  14. ^ Kearney, Syd (October 17, 2007). "Too Much Information". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-01-18. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ Jalees, Sabrina (September 20, 2007). "Britney Proves Awful is The New Awesome". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  16. ^ a b Adalian, Josef (September 18, 2007). "'Britney' guy may get TV gig". Variety (magazine). Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  17. ^ a b Crocker, Chris (February 5, 2008). "MySpace Chris Crocker 20". MySpace. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  18. ^ May, Leigh (May 11, 2006). "Baby One More Time: Gay icon Britney Spears is pregnant". PinkNews.co.uk.
  19. ^ Crocker, Chris (September 9, 2007). "Leave Britney Alone pt.1". MySpace. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
  20. ^ a b Crocker, Chris (September 11, 2007). "Leave Britney Alone!". YouTube. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  21. ^ Camp, Todd (September 14, 2007). "Blab!: All-Britney Terror Alert:Things We Should Be Worried About This Week". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved 2008-01-18. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ Archer, Lincoln (September 13, 2007), "Leave Britney alone, she's not well", Melbourne Herald Sun, retrieved 2007-09-13
  23. ^ "Simon Cowell says Britney Spears's career may be over", News.com.au, 2007-09-12, retrieved 2007-09-13
  24. ^ YouTube, LLC (May 24, 2007). "Most Discussed : (All Time) : All Categories". YouTube. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  25. ^ YouTube, LLC (September 18, 2007). "Most Viewed : (All Time) : All Categories". YouTube. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  26. ^ Carlson, Erin (2008-03-20). "Will the Obama Girl win a YouTube award?". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
  27. ^ "Monday, January 28, 2008". The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Season 17. Episode 3485. January 28, 2008. {{cite episode}}: Check |serieslink= value (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |episodelink= (help); External link in |serieslink= (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ Adegoke, Yinka (December 28, 2007). "Obama Girl, Britney Boy Top YouTube Videos". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  29. ^ a b Sjöberg, Lore (December 28, 2007). "The Year in Online Video 2007". Wired. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  30. ^ "The Situation Room: Transcripts". CNN. September 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
  31. ^ Schlenker, Dave (September 28, 2007). "«Little Man, Big Mouth: Internet star cries for help". Ocala Star-Banner. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
  32. ^ "Britney Spears fan Chris Crocker screams for fans to "leave Britney alone!"". TransWorldNews. September 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  33. ^ Sankey, Daniel (September 12, 2007), "Leave Britney alone!", The Age, retrieved 2007-09-13
  34. ^ Lyn Pesce, Nicole (September 13, 2007), "Obsessive Britney Spears fan lashes critics in YouTube video", New York Daily News, retrieved 2007-09-13
  35. ^ "Seth Green Chris Crocker Outtakes". MySpace. September 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-14. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ Westbrook, Bruce (September 21, 2007). "Internet rant reaps its rewards: Performance artist finds fame with Britney skit". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  37. ^ Moses, Asher (September 20, 2007). "Britney drama queen inks TV deal". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  38. ^ "Meet the Spartans - Bottom Line: "300" was funnier". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
  39. ^ Williams, Kam (June 5, 2008). "EUR DVD Review: Meet the Spartans - Silly Spoof of 300 Released on DVD". Electronic Urban Report. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  40. ^ You don't want to 'Meet the Spartans'
  41. ^ "Canada on Strike". South Park. Season 12. Episode 171. 2008-04-02. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  42. ^ "Crocker releases 'Leave Britney Alone' single". Digital Spy. March 10, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
  43. ^ Crocker, Chris (2007-06-20). "What You Need To Know About...2008". The Stranger. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
  44. ^ "Lily Allen and Friends (Premier - February 12, 2008)". Lily Allen and Friends. Season 1. Episode 1. February 12, 2008. {{cite episode}}: Check |serieslink= value (help); External link in |serieslink= (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  45. ^ "David Mitchell: Confirmed for Show One - Feb 12, 10:30pm on BBC Three". BBC. 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  46. ^ "Cuba Gooding Jr.: Confirmed for Show One - Feb 12, 10:30pm on BBC Three". BBC. 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  47. ^ Crocker, Chris (2008-04-09). "Chris Crocker Tells All". YouTube. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  48. ^ Weiner, Jonah (April 11, 2006). "Tila Tequila for President". Slate.com. Retrieved July 29, 2006.
  49. ^ a b Immediato, Linda (May 9, 2007). "Jeffree Star: The Fairest One of All". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2007-06-09.
  50. ^ a b Catalyst, Clint (2006). "The Future is Jeffree Star: Inside the cult-like following of the Internet's most popular queer icon". Frontiers. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
  51. ^ "Spot the memes in Weezer's Pork and Beans". News Limited. 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
  52. ^ Sarno, David (2008-05-30). "Mathew Cullen, director of Weezer's 'Pork and Beans,' shares some secrets". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  53. ^ Snider, Mike (2008-05-29). "YouTube stars, Weezer dine out on 'Pork & Beans'". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
  54. ^ "The Man Behind the Memes: An Exclusive Interview With Weezer 'Pork and Beans' Video Director Mathew Cullen". MTV. May 30, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  55. ^ [1]
  56. ^ a b Crocker, Chris (December 28, 2006). "This & that". MySpace. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  57. ^ a b Crocker, Chris (February 25, 2007). "Chris Crocker - This & that". YouTube. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  58. ^ a b Crocker, Chris (December 29, 2006). "Bitch, please!". MySpace. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  59. ^ a b Crocker, Chris (February 25, 2007). "Chris Crocker - Bitch, please!". YouTube. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  60. ^ a b Crocker, Chris (January 24, 2007). "Watch it". MySpace. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
  61. ^ Crocker, Chris (March 4, 2008). "Chris Crocker is Damaged!". YouTube. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  62. ^ a b Sevits, Matt (April 17, 2008). "I Don't Know Why I Love Chris Crocker". Daily Emerald. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  63. ^ a b Crocker, Chris (August 10, 2007). "Chris Crocker - Why I'm Gay." YouTube. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  64. ^ a b Crocker, Chris (August 10, 2007). "Why I'm Gay". MySpace. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  65. ^ a b Crocker, Chris (August 23, 2007). "Chris Crocker - Kids SHOULD cuss!". YouTube. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  66. ^ a b Crocker, Chris (September 1, 2007). "Chris Crocker - Back up, Britney haters!". YouTube. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
  67. ^ a b Crocker, Chris (September 3, 2007). "Chris Crocker - Britney, this is for you". YouTube. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
  68. ^ a b c d Crocker, Chris (March 17, 2008). "Watch Chris Crocker blink". YouTube. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  69. ^ a b c Popkin, Helen A.S. (March 24, 2008). "Don't Cry for Chris Crocker: The 'Leave Britney Alone' Guy Isn't Fretting His YouTube Awards Loss". MSNBC. Retrieved 2008-06-22.

See also

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cara_Cunningham&oldid=264752611"