Le Grand Cru T-Shirt Shoot

A few weeks back I shot some print work for a company called Le Grand Cru. I just did something for their T-Shirt line. The photographer was Jeff Fried and he was (is) a cool cat. His work can be seen at: www.JeffreyFried.com. The makeup was done by a great MUA, Denise and her work can be seen at: www.makeupbymojica.com.

Here are some of the images he sent over.

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Reading and Headshots

Reading
Thursday night I did the first reading of Seth Ruffer's screenplay Three Houses.  It was a very successful night.  I read the script like mad trying to memorize to be off book...then I remember..it's a READING...so I was over-prepared, happily.  The script was well received by the audience and got a lot of laughs.  I'm super glad to be a part of it.  I think another read will go down and then shooting the trailer.  Can't wait!

Headshots
Below is a bitchfest.  Feel free to just skip down to the next paragraph instead of suffering through it.
Yesterday I had the worst shoot ever.  It was the worst $200 I ever spent.  The shoot was rushed, impersonal, and the photographer kinda just did what HE wanted without asking me what I wanted.  I should have spoken up more...for example when he wouldn't allow me to look at the images as we went along (his reasoning was that I'd be critical of myself....lol) or when he was giving me the most odd 'direction' during the shoot.  (I'm not used to photographers directing me frame by frame)  ::sigh:: It was a wierd experience and at the end, I was kinda just happy to be getting out of there. I think in total there were only 100 shots, and there were 4 looks... The photography itself wasn't bad, it's got that artificial studio vibe, which could be ok for me to use these shots for my port or something else.. but the makeup was the real killer.  Once I got home and saw the images blown up on my computer screen, I seriously wanted to cry, I noticed it looks like I have these big dark bruises on my face.  My boyfriend said it looks like i'm in camo. (so comforting) It was just a mess from front to back with this shoot, and at one point there was a bright pink and green background. ::insert horrified face here::  I have to get better at speaking up about things, because at least some of the shoot could've been better.  This is the first time I have paid for a photoshoot.  I wish it was worth it.  I've learned my lesson.  Stop being a cheapass and do what I gotta do to get quality headshots.

OK Enough negativity for one day.
Someone who saw the shoot I did last year with Axel Avin (www.aavinphotography.com) suggested I go through the images from that shoot and find some others to possibly use instead of doing a new shoot.  I think I'll go through them and send some of the ones I like around for feedback.  If all goes well, I'll have 1 or 2 of those retouched and reproduced to use for now.



www.DanielleFaust.com

ABC News Now Commercial

Don't Blink!!!!






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Booked!!

Yippee to me.  I booked a voiceover gig for Columbia.  The awesome guys at Berlin Productions called me in for it.  I've worked with them a couple times in the past for both on-camera and voiceover work and it's always a good time and an easy day.  I look forward to working with them again.  Yay for booking!  I needed to get my momentum going.





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More Stuff...

Ive been letting secondary things bog me down these days. School courses for my "fallback" career are taking more effort than I anticipated, and I'm semi-beating myself up for replacing my dayjob that I quit in order to pursue acting, with school. Grrr. Self sabotage at it's best. I sought advice from the wisest sage I know, my mama, and she basically told me to stop whining and decide what I want to pursue now. Naturally acting won. I guess I figured I'd feel guilty if I stopped pursuing the secondary dream. Screw guilt, I want to act. We'll see how this plays out.

Lets see, I had a scion promo audition that I didn't book, I wasn't my best on the audition day, a bit frazzled, but I gave it what I could give it. The only thing I am a lil upset about, is that it was my first time in front of this particular casting director, so first impression was not the best.

I had a howcast audition that I had to miss due to the wackadoodle weather, and otherwise nothing new on the audition front. :(

OK Happy news time:

I start a 3-week voiceover intensive on Wednesday, super excited about that. And I'm deciding which tech/scene study class I should take next at HB, but whichever I choose it'll start at the end of this month, also excited about that! :)

Aw, and let me tell you how sweet: Kid In The Front Row (click to check out his awesome blog) gave me the awesome-est shout out on his blog. Here's shouting you back out, Kid! And thanks again!!

This week is the first table read for Seth Ruffer and Miles Maker's project The Three Houses. Can't wait to get that project underway.

Oh, and speaking of Miles Maker, I attended his Directing Actors Gym (DAG) (find it on FB, Twitter, Google) last Sunday and boy was it awesome!!! OK here's how it works, 3 scenes are posted for actors to read and submit themselves for. Then, the actors are chosen, enough for 4 run throughs of each scene. On the day of DAG, the actors come prepared to do their scene but they dont know who their scene partner will be! How fun!!?? How nervewracking!?! So, the actors get to do their scene once as they rehearsed at home BUT with the added NOWness of a mystery partner doing the scene as they rehearsed at home too! The next round, the guest director gives notes/tweaks and then the actors have the opportunity to redo the scene (again, with a different partner. So Cool!!! NYC Actors, you gotta check it out. OH, and it's streamed on livestream.com. How effin Cool! I'll be on that stage soon hopefully. I checked the scenes for the next DAG, but didn't really see myself doing any of them, though they were all quite good.

Wow, that was a mega ramble.

I'll shut up now.




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Update & Stuff....

My overarching February goal is to get balanced with all the plates I have spinning, and so far so good.  I'm up to date in school, I've got a shoot with a model on the horizon (yay money!) and I'm staying focused with my acting.

I'm having some yuck luck with auditions this week: 

Monday I had a hair modeling casting, by the time I arrived they had already picked the women they wanted.  Boy am I glad I rushed and ran for that one! hehe

Wednesday I went to a student film audition at NYFA (NEVER AGAIN I SAY!!) I get there and it's a madhouse, I go looking for a sign in sheet and this tiny child guarding the list was like "yeah...um...you probably won't get seen, there's like a lot of people ya know?"  I asked if I should just come back at a later time...she LITERALLY looked me up and down and pointed to someone who I'll assume was in charge of the craziness "talk to that one" she said.  So I go to "that one" and start to ask about whether or not I should come back, and he just walks away from me midsentence....I was too through.  I just went back home.  F it.

The funny thing is, Saturday, I was told by 3 different working actors not to waste my time with certain schools and just focus on submitting to Columbia and NYU projects....I should've listened to their advice. ::sigh::

Today I was supposed to have an audition....right now actually... but was told earlier that they're too full and I should try to come next week...it's for voiceover on a film.  Let's see what happens next week.  No other auditions on the horizon yet.

That reminds me:
I got some great advice from an actress/writer I met on the subway, I didn't get her name, but she had a sick red coat, if you're reading red coat lady, email me!  I mentioned that things are kind of slow for me this coming week and she said that her mentor told her: An actor should never have a slow week, there's always something to read, monologues to practice/film, classes to audit, etc... And she's so right!  I've decided I'm going to try to schedule some TFCD shoots for when I have a "slow" week, so I'll gradually revamp/update my book and won't feel stagnant.

GOOD NEWS:
I found a headshot photographer who has great work and doesn't cost $900!  (it costs half that lol) If people don't like the results I get with this guy I'm going to either a) shoot myself b) shoot everyone else or c) suck it up and call Laura Rose or somebody

Other than that....still submitting like crazy.



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Booked!!

So I booked a role in that feature film I auditioned for on Saturday.  Yeah, the one where they hated me lol. 
I didn't get the role I auditioned for, but I didn't get the smallest role they advertised either.  Instead, they're writing in a role for me.  It'll only be a few scenes, but I'll take it! :)  Yay for another line on the resume, and more footage for a reel!!



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Casting Lessons

I was fortunate enough to be able to assist Seth Ruffer and Miles Maker with casting for the upcoming film The Three Houses.  It was a blessing to work with these talented (and all around awesome) gentlemen (i use that term ever so loosely), and even though I was just working in the casting assistant / reader capacity I learned A LOT that I can make use of as an actor.  The two things that stood out:

1. Be prepared:  A lot of really great actors brought their A game to the casting, it was apparrent that a lot of great actors brought their B game or had an off day, and sadly, it was also very clear that a lot of people were just unprepared.  It's hard to say whether they were just undertrained and not ready to tackle the scene for the audition, or if they were capable, but just lazy.  I learned that I will have to be 100% prepared at each audition.  I admit, sometimes I just wing it, and sometimes I book from winging, and sometimes I don't.  But with something that I care about so very much... I think from now on, no more winging.  I'm going to prepare as best I can for every single audition, and every single modeling casting/gosee as well. (sounds like common sense right?  I know, I know, I'm a slow learner lol)
    
2. Training Matters / Training Doesn't Matter:  I peeked at most of the auditioners' resumes and saw a wide variety of training, from BFA/MFAs to 2 Year Conservatory graduates, to folks who just had a class/seminar here and there.  Training does not a good actor make.  But a good actor makes use of their training.  Some auditioners threw it down in the casting session and their training was literally 2 lines of seminars, while others, with credentials out the ying yang, just flopped in front of us.  Not that I was happy to see anyone do poorly, that's not the case at all, It just made me a little bit more comfortable with the fact that I will be able to be a quality actor even though I won't be able to afford to go to a 2 year program.

The other "lessons" I learned during the casting sessions were more dos/don'ts...okay really just "don'ts"... from the perspective of Miles, the director:

• Don't put crap on a reel just for the sake of having one (gulp! ::looking around guiltily::)
• Don't rely on talent when you have a crappy headshot (lord knows that resonated with me)
• Don't stalk the filmmakers  (i know, right?)
• Don't crash closed auditions (yup, it happened)

I loved the casting experience, being on the other side of the table was really eye opening.  I hope to do a little more of it in the future, and I hope to be a better auditioner because of it.

Post Casting Goals: 

• Get quality headshots - stop being cheap and just bite the bullet and pay the grip needed to get awesome shots that'll serve me well.
• Get my reel materials - i'm going to stop pussyfooting around and demand my copies/scenes so I can see what's reel-worthy and get that project started
• Get into a class - I was going to wait until June to start another round of classes, but I think I'll go to HBs next semester, April start I think?

www.DanielleFaust.com

Staying Busy

Wednesday
I did the voiceover for the comedy central cartoon this day.  It was really easy and fun.  It's going to be uncredited background voices, so no specific characters, but I'm glad for it anyway because it can go on my resume.  It was a quick recording session, 3 hours, and lots of fun/laughs with the other actors.  Got to catch up with Cathy, from last year's shoot and met some people I'm happy to keep in touch with.


Friday / Saturday
My actor/producer buddy Seth Ruffer cast me as one of the leads in his project Three Houses.  I'm super grateful.  I asked him if I could assist him and the director Miles Maker with the casting, and he said yes! Yippee.  So Friday and Saturday I helped with casting, and boy it was so different being on that side of the table!

I also had an audition on Saturday for an indie feature, they hated me, lol.  The email they sent me said that I would be performing my monologue but when I arrived at the audition location, they gave me sides for a cold read and I literally had 6 minutes to prepare myself.  The reader, well...English didn't seem to be her first language, and the vibe was just strange in that room.  I did my best and left to get to the casting session for Three Houses.

This coming week I have just one casting for hair modeling.  I'll be submitting like crazy as usual, and hopefully have more stuff on the horizon.  My main goal for this month is to get a comfortable balance with my acting stuff/school stuff/photography stuff.  Let's see if I can pull that off.



www.DanielleFaust.com

Update and Don't Blink!

Saturday: I missed two student film auditions, I just plum forgot. And I have no good reason. I felt like such a jackass. I simply neglected to look at my planner the night before, or throughout the day....on the upside, I did watch Avatar that day, and it was SO well done.

Sunday: I had a shoot out of the blue with a great photographer Henry Jacobson, for a jewelry line by Studio of Ptah. The model bailed and I was called in by the MUA, Denise, to help 'em out. I'm grateful for it because the work we did was different from anything I currently have in my book. Also, the jewelry line is SO AWESOME...I can't wait to get the pix and show you guys.


Monday: I had a seminar with, Danielle Russo, a print agent from CESD.  She was super nice and had a great vibe.  I wasn't feeling 100% myself, but I think I made an OK impression. I completely forgot to show her my book, which I schlepped all over that day, just to show her...::sigh:: But at least getting a bit of face time was worthwhile and I asked good questions so hopefully I stick out to her as someone to bring in.  Cross your fingers for me!

Tuesday: Today I was supposed to shoot a corporate video, but I was notified yesterday that it will no longer be happening. Bummer, and bye bye money. But, not having to shoot, freed me up to do an audition for a hair infomercial (which if anyone knows me is SO up my alley because I buy all kindsa hair crap from TV lol - don't judge me). The audi was pretty simple and I think it went okay, literally I just pretended to flatiron my hair on camera. Oh, and smile while I did it. I had some time to kill before school so I stopped by Central Casting to register, but they needed a passport (?) so I'll put that off 'til some other time when I have time to kill.

Tomorrow: I record the voiceover for that cartoon project I booked last week. I found out a woman I worked with before (Cathy) will be there as well. Cathy also notified me that one of the stock video clips we did together last year is currently being used in a Public Storage Commercial.....you know I had to go hunt it down. Don't blink or you'll miss us!





www.DanielleFaust.com

VOTE FOR DANI!!!

OK
Guys, I really need your help!
PLEASE go to: https://www.thegreatmodelsearch.com/profile.asp?CustomerID=5178
and vote for me to be Johnsons next hair model!!!


You can win ipods/iphones and a trip to LA for voting. 
PLEASE vote as much as you can.  I'm trying to convince my family to vote for me every day so I have some chance of winning :) 
I really want this.  Thanks in advance for your support and vote(s).




www.DanielleFaust.com

Booked Again!!

I just got a call for a voiceover project I submitted for TODAY.

The 'audition' was the phone call I had with the producer.

EASY BUTTON!!!

We record on Wednesday and get paid same day.  Me likey!!





www.DanielleFaust.com

Audis and Audis...

Had an audition at VH1 today that I should have rocked!!  ......buuuttt..... I didn't. 
It was an audition for a commercial to be aired on VH1 only (i think) and the breakdown said they needed lipsynchers. So I submit, letting them know that I'm way better than Milli Vanilli ever was and I get called in....

We were given 4 songs to choose from to lipsynch to.....NONE of which I knew the words to...but I picked the one I could best fake it to. (Like a Prayer by Madonna, fyi) 

I go in, and the first thing they do is PUT A SNUGGIE ON ME!!!!!!  

Please note, the snuggie and all it stands for is antithetic to my entire being. 

So I barely get one word of this song right, but I'm really trying to 'sell' it with my movements and dancing and pulling faces while trying not to trip on the bottom of this goddamn extra large bright red snuggie.  ::sigh::

It was a TRAIN WRECK.  But a funny one at least!  I wish it was a taped audi so I could ask for a copy hahaha.

Anyway, I have an audition tomorrow for a play, and Saturday for a short film.  Monday I meet with a print agent via The Network.  Keepin busy :)



www.DanielleFaust.com

BOOKED!!!

So I booked something today that I don't even remember submitting for!  (I have to go scour through my submissions) And, they booked me off of my actor slate!  It's a corporate video methinks, but I need to get more info. Yay money!!



www.DanielleFaust.com

Stock Shoot / This Week

Yesterday was the quickest shoot and easiest money in a long time!  The shoot was for stock images to be used by real estate companies. 
Hair/Makeup was provided but I had to bring my own "summer upscale casual" wardrobe.  Of course I over packed and ended up using .00001% of what I brought. 
It was the easiest shoot ever.  We had to do very simple poses on a plain white background standing/sitting.  They mixed and matched the models up and at one point we just had to walk and talk while they photographer snapped away.  Oh, and then we had to do one wierd pantomiming type deal and that was it!  
The folks were really nice and hopefully they'll call me back for more work when they have it.  We got paid via check on the spot.  No waiting! Yay. 
All in all it was an easy peasy day.

It's February 1st!  Besides being my anniversary, today marks the end of my self imposed 'industry break.'
This week is looking okay so far.  I have a stock shoot on Wednesday, and I have an audition for a play on Friday.  Hopefully I'll be able to book something else or at least get some more auditions lined up for the week.
Today I'm going to just submit like crazy to castings and review my goals/action plan for the month of February and get cracking on it. 



www.DanielleFaust.com

2010 Goals (repost)

Hey all, I had to repost this entry because the html was making my blog all wonkified. Hopefully this one will be better (thanks for letting me know about the formatting issues folks!) - Dani

I'll have to edit this list, but here's my brainstormed list of goals for 2010.

• have fun at every audi / project
• earn more via acting than I did in 2009
• be more focused than in 2009
• land a legit agent by end of the year
• land a manager by end of the year
• land more commercial reps by end of the year
• build relationships with more CDs
• land print rep by end of year
• land vo rep by end of year
• become sag-e (lofty)
• get an imdb credit page by end of year
• shoot a national commercial
• book a print ad
• book a U5 on a soap
• land lead role in a project
• see myself on tv (fun)
• get more training
• start/make reel by end of the year
• attend 2 seminars a month
• work on personal projects

These are my more general goals. I also have a list of very specific goals of exactly the types of classes I want to take, the people with whom I want to study/do seminars, and the specific shows, agents/cds and projects I'm targeting...but this general list will suffice for the blog :)

I've also created a to-do list/action plan for this and have to just break it down on a month to month basis. 2010 is going to be a great year for me (it already is!) career-wise! I'm also pursuing great things in my 'fall-back' career and I'm just excited about what's to come.



www.DanielleFaust.com

Booked!!

I booked another photo shoot today. Another stock gig. It's actually shooting tomorrow. I'll take it. Yay Money!!



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BOOKED! +

I've got a stock photo shoot booked for next week! :) Yay money!

Plus, I submitted like mad yesterday and now have two auditions on the horizon for two indie films.  Here we go!!



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Old Shoot, New Headshot?

So a while ago I did a shoot in order to get free headshots.  It was for a movie, and the shots from the photoshoot were to be used as artwork or props or something in the movie.  I got the images and like them a lot, but I don't think they're really headshotty.  (except the one I posted on the top left sidebar of the blog)  I feel I'm way more made up (eyeliner) than I'd ever be when arriving to an audition, so it's not an accurate representation of me, but my smile in it, I feel is a lil mischevious and fun...which IS me, so......::shrug::
Anyway, here are some of the images:

 

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HAPPY NEW YEAR.....24 days late...but still...

I'm back!! (But i'm still on my self-imposed "break" mind you....)

Had a great 3 weeks away and even landed a gig while I was away!  Who'dda thunk it?  A cool dude and all-around great actor friend of mine Seth Ruffer (google him!) is getting ready to produce his first screenplay and wrote a role for me in it!  I'm super grateful.  We're going to be shooting the trailer fairly soon.  An excellent director Miles Maker (google him too!) is attached and it's going to be a great project.  I can feel it all the way down to my toesies! 

Also while I was away I was sent one of my images from the Luxury Hair Plus shoot that will be used for the Renoir Remy ads.  Here it is:

I love it :)

So...as soon as we landed last night I whip out my phone to check my messages....my last message was from none other than Tisha Ioli calling me for an audition that I missed. ::sigh::  I was pissed, but then figured, hey, at least she's calling!  I'll get in there next time.

I'm going to work on my 2010 acting goals and submit to gigs today...despite my "break"  ::smile::











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Where the hell is Danielle?

I have been super out of the game these past few weeks and was feeling guilty about it for a bit, but have changed my tune.  Screw being guilty, I feel great!!  I'm in a time of transition, coupled with the holidays and my upcoming trip.  It's OK for me to let some things slide.

I had a week of training for the restaurant gig I got.
I went to Florida for a few days to visit family.
I've not been submitting as much as I should and have gotten exactly zero audition calls.
::sigh::
Last year this time I was a lazy bum and just super demotivated acting-wise....I wonder if it's seasonal.

I'm taking an official break, starting today, and ending February 1, 2010. (a few days after my return from south america)

Happy Holidays!!






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Weaves, Ginger Ale and Work.....

Saturday I did a shoot for ads and the website of an "exclusive" luxury hair brand.  It was a lot of fun! I LOVED wardrobe and makeup and the hair!  I am not really into hair that's not growing out of my head...but seriously, this stuff was so cool!  It felt like my hair...does that sound weird?  I was all glamorous with long hair down to my butt and BIG...I was tres beyonce. haha!!!  But, the whole vibe of the shoot was just great.  Good people really make a difference.  It felt like a creativity melting pot.  Everyone seemed to really LOVE whatever role they were playing.  The stylist was AMAZING! The photographer was AMAZING! (i'm work stalking him now. it's Rayon Richards if you want to stalk his work too)  The other models and everyone on set was cool and though it was the longest day in the world, it wasn't one of those long days that I wish would just end already.  I hope to work with those folks again. 
I'll give you the link when they let me know the images are up but this is a flick I snapped when I got home, you can't really see the length here but you get the glam idea.

Today I shot a Canada Dry commercial.  It was kinda weird because half of us were actors called in from Don Case Casting (thanks Tisha) and the other half of the talent were friends of the producer...who reported to set, then went out and got drunk and came back for shooting... hehe.  Everyone was really nice and the vibe was bubbly for the most part.  In at 1 out at 7.  Not too bad.  Had a great talk with the woman from wardrobe while waiting to get started, got tons of movie recommendations and info on my upcoming trip since she's from the area I'm visiting.  Oh, and later on in the day, she discovered one of the crew was from the same area and later he gave me some pointers and info too.  Super grateful. One weird thing is there was no paperwork or anything to fill out.  None of us even signed in.  We're supposed to be getting an email invoice for us to fill out and send back...I thought that was super odd, but, what can I do.  So hopefully that happens soon so I can get my dough.

Oh, so you know I quit my 9-5, and I got a waitress gig at a chain restaurant for now.  Tho, after training I'll literally work 2 weeks before I leave for my 3-week trip in January.  Hopefully they don't fire me and allow me to come back after the trip haha.  If they don't I'm sure I'll find a similar gig fairly quickly.

Nkay that's it for now, I feel like I wrote a novel.




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I'm FREE!!!

I did it.
I left my job.
I'm free.
I had planned on leaving at the end of the year but a fortunate turn of events has led me to leave as of yesterday (and still get paid thru the end of the year!)
Joy.
Joy is the only emotion I'm feeling today.
OK that's a lie, Joy and Excitement.

My days are now mine!  I spent today getting myself organized and submitting like crazy to castings and later will go a huntin' for a p.m. nightlife gig.

I almost can't believe I am free.  My greatest fear with leaving my 9-5 was that I wouldn't be able to earn a living.  As soon as I left, I booked a paid photography shoot.  It was the universe reminding me that I will always be provided for so long as I'm pursuing my passions.

Just had to share my good news!!!




www.DanielleFaust.com

Laziness No More

I didn't want to post anything, but I'm getting emails asking for an update (thanks guys!!!!).  To be honest, I haven't done much in the past few weeks career-wise. I've been super lazy on that front.  Last week I didn't submit to a single casting.  ::sigh::  The week before, I had to miss an audi due to work, and the week before that I was SWAMPED at work so I didn't do much to move forward acting-wise.  I know my motivation is cyclical, but these few weeks were just plain yuck as far as acting pursuits are concerned.

Outside of acting I'm stoked for my first solo trip to central america for January!  I'm also stoked to end my time at my 9-5 gig at the end of this year and start school (prereqs for grad school in my "fallback" career) in Feb when I return from my trip. 

I have high hopes for next year.  Without a 9-5 I will be freer for auditions, classes/seminars, even extra work.  I started working on my career goals for 2010 but never finished.   To reignite my motivation I'm going to work on those this week and submit like crazy.  Hopefully next update will be filled with good news!




www.DanielleFaust.com

Phresh Model of the Week

I was interviewed for a web magazine called The Phresh. 
I'm the model of the week! Yippee.
Check me out!

http://thephresh.com/photos/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=198:the-phresh-model-of-the-week-daniellefaust&catid=5:phresh-model-of-the-week



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