ארכיון פוסטים מהקטגוריה "Pictures"

African Tribal Tattoos

חמישי, 7 ביולי, 2011

I am a bride-to-be with a lot of tattoos. My tattoos are a part of who I am, as each tells a story about my life and is quite literally carried with me everywhere I go. On any normal day, I not only love my tattoos; I embrace and show them off. My wedding day, however, seems to be another story. With the exception of the tattoos on my upper back and on my collar bones, most of my tattoos will be hidden by my wedding dress. Making the decision between having them airbrush covered on the big day or showing like they would on any other has definitely not been an easy one.

As tattoos become more and more common, they also become more socially acceptable. For tattooed brides however, deciding whether or not to have their ink covered is not so much about social acceptance as it is about vanity and personal preference. This is especially true if you, like me are planning on wearing a traditional wedding dress or are holding a formal wedding. While choosing to let your tattoos show or hiding them for the day is completely based on personal choice, this article will act as a guide to help you make the decision that is best for you.

Choose Your Dress Before You Decide

When choosing your wedding dress, do not even think about your tattoos. Don’t buy a dress you would normally detest simply because it hides a tattoo on your shoulder or chest. Since your dress is one of the most important decisions you will have to make, choose the one that makes you feel the best. If you decide to have your tattoos covered, you can always have it done with airbrush makeup instead.

How do the Tattoos Look With Your Dress?

After you have chosen the dress of your dreams, try it on and pay particular attention to how it looks with your tattoos and most importantly, how does it make you feel? Ask your close friends and family for their opinions as well. When your sole focus is how the tattoos look with the dress, you will be able to make a more practical decision about whether or not to cover them up. You may find that your sleeve tattoos give a fun and wild edge to your ball gown. On the flip side, you may find that the floral tattoo on your chest looks tacky with your traditional dress.

Think About Why You Are Considering Covering Them

Are you considering covering your tattoos to please your family or because it will make you feel more confident on the big day? Remember that it is your wedding day and that the decision you make should be based only on your feeling towards your tattoos. If you truly love and cherish your tattoos and are only thinking about covering them to please others, you will likely regret it. However, if you know you will feel uncomfortable having them showing, covering them is probably the best decision you can make.

Talk With Your Fiance

While I previously said pleasing yourself is what is most important, it is also important that your fiance feels comfortable with your decision as well. Ask him how he would feel about you walking down the aisle with your tattoos showing, and likewise how he would feel about seeing you without them. This is a choice that should be made together since the day is all about the both of you.

Look to the Future

Remember that photographs are the only lasting thing you will have after your wedding day other than your marriage and memories. Consider how you want those pictures to look in twenty or fifty years. Do you want to look back and see yourself with or without the tattoos? I found this to be the question I asked myself that was the most helpful in making my own decision.

Cassadee Pope Tattoo

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Happy Birthday Picture

חמישי, 9 ביוני, 2011

This is part three of my auto shape guides. Auto Shapes are a built in part of Microsoft FrontPage. You can do many things with the Auto Shapes. In this guide I will show you how to create different fill effects. Go ahead and open your program and let it load. Draw a shape on your page to work with. I used a banner for my example.

How to Apply a Gradient Look to your Shape in Microsoft FrontPage

Draw your shape and then click on it to select it. Click the arrow beside the paint bucket at the bottom of your window. When the menu pops up, click Fill Effects. The Fill Effects window will pop up. You will see four tabs in that box. Click on the Gradient Tab. First, select the colors. You can select one color, two colors, or presets. If you select preset colors, then the preset colors box will pop up and you can scroll through the presets to find the one that you like. If you select two colors, then drop the two boxes down and select your colors that you want to use.

Next, you will need to select your shading style. You have six shading styles to choose from. Tick the circle next to the one that you want to use. You will see a preview of it in the Variants window. The last step is to click the variant that you want to use. Then click the OK button to apply it.

How to Apply a Pattern to your Shape in Microsoft FrontPage

Draw your shape and then click on it to select it. Click the arrow beside the paint bucket at the bottom of your window. When the menu pops up, click Fill Effects. The Fill Effects window will pop up. You will see four tabs in that box. Click on the Pattern Tab. You will see the patterns that you have to choose from. Click on the pattern that you want to use. Then select the two colors that you want to use. You will see a preview of it in the bottom right corner of the box. Click OK to apply the pattern.

How to Apply a Texture to your Shape in Microsoft FrontPage

Draw your shape and then click on it to select it. Click the arrow beside the paint bucket at the bottom of your window. When the menu pops up, click Fill Effects. The Fill Effects window will pop up. You will see four tabs in that box. Click on the Texture Tab. Look through the different textures in the window. Select the texture that you want by clicking on it. Then click the OK button to apply the texture.

How to Apply a Picture to your Shape in Microsoft FrontPage

You can use any wallpaper or picture to apply to your shape. Draw your shape and then click on it to select it. Click the arrow beside the paint bucket at the bottom of your window. When the menu pops up, click Fill Effects. The Fill Effects window will pop up. You will see four tabs in that box. Click on the Picture Tab. Click the Select Picture button in the middle of the box. When the window pops up, locate the picture or wallpaper on your computer that you want to use. Then click the Insert Button. You will see the preview of your picture in the box. Click OK to apply the picture.

If you have any problems with this Microsoft FrontPage guide, please feel free to leave me a comment at the bottom of this page.

Giraffe Picture

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Corvette Pictures

רביעי, 8 ביוני, 2011

Anime Los Angeles (ALA to its fans and attendees) is a small convention that begins the 2009 anime convention season by taking place on the first weekend of January. Located at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel and a stone’s throw away from the LAX airport, visitors from across the country can fly in for this convention and easily fly out when the con ends without worrying too much about commuting. Although a small convention, ALA continues to evolve from a bunch of anime fans milling around a hotel acting like fools while the real world looks on into an organized bunch of anime fans milling around a hotel acting like fools while the real world looks on that learns from its mistakes and avoids repeating them.

Flashback to 2007 when rain dampened most of the attendees’ spirits during the convention. You could not blame ALA for bad weather, but you could blame ALA for its overzealous security that angered Fansview.com to the point of storming out from the convention. Two years later and the changes are undeniably noticeable. Fansview.com is now a Guest of Honor and the staff is ready for a fun time while maintaining order. Throw in an underground rapper, relaxing yet educational panels, a well-run Masquerade, a bunch of fellow con attendees to make friends with, and a well-stocked con suite for refreshments and you have ALA 2009.

Now sit back and enjoy the tales of Anime Los Angeles 2009 from my field report.

Saturday, January 3rd, 2009

In a rare moment in my convention lifestyle, I found myself awake, dressed, packed, and ready to hit the convention before 8AM on a Saturday. Claudine and I took advantage of the free continental breakfast that the Travelodge provided before checking out and walking to the Marriott hotel where ALA took place. To easily segue between costumes later that day, I chose to wear my Sousuke Sagara costume from "Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu." I still kept my House cane on standby in case of leg issues. In preparation for the physically intensive activities where I could not use my cane later that night, I bummed two Naproxen from Claudine.

I wanted to get to ALA early to hit Fansview.com’s 9AM early morning panel. It was a small panel attended by a few photography enthusiasts. I found his sport photos lively. Fansview.com talked about how conventions and cosplayers evolved during his more than 10 years of attending. Conventions and cosplayers are more numerous. Cosplayers are also younger and developing new techniques to bring out more detail in their costumes. The Lolita fashion trend caught Fansview by surprise. It seems science fiction conventions need to work to grab the young audience to stay afloat in the future.

Before ALA, Victoria came up with a sketch idea to use with Ouran Host Club. I adapted and recorded some dialogue and now we and the rest of Traveling Valentine were set to perform for ALA Masquerade later Saturday night. I floated over to the origami workshop to kill time while waiting for the mandatory Masquerade meeting at 11AM. The origami workshop taught people how to fold paper into a heart, dish, and shortcake. Not wanting to load myself with ancillary items, I settled on folding hearts since they were cute and small. The Masquerade meeting was quick and ensured us rehearsal time onstage with the tech crew before the actual performance. I returned to the lobby to see Claudine off on her return to the Bay Area.

After lunch with Victoria, we began Saturday’s video project. Ripping off the "Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals" sketch on SNL, I had great success talking to people during PMX that we decided to do a second one aimed at Bay Area attendees at ALA. Like most sequels, this turned out to be a remake with the same material on different faces plagued with production problems. In this case the production problem was the Naproxen making my head fuzzy and turning me into an even more incoherent babbling fool. Hopefully the video will upload once edited.

At 2:00PM Victoria and I hit the Masquerade stage to get our tech rehearsal. Tech rehearsal made placement and timing for the actual sketch easier to plan, but having Stan and Deb present would have also been an improvement. Deb showed up late, but it was easy to guide her. I was looking forward to performing later.

After dispersing from Victoria, I had nothing planned. I made the obligatory visit to the Dealers Room but found nothing of interest, which was good since I had no money to buy anything of interest. I wandered into the music room to listen to underground rapper Random. Random has some pretty good Megaman inspired music that I found different from the usual rap. He gave the audience a preview his latest track "Splash Woman." This was the first time I listened to a live rap performance. I caught the tail end of Toastmaster Tadao Tomomatsu’s lecture on Japanese swords. It was entertaining education. I also killed time shooting cosplayers and talking to friends. If it is one thing ALA has over larger conventions, it is the opportunity for attendees to get to know their friends and make new friends better. Communicating with friends at larger conventions usually consist of "Hi! Nice to see you! Gotta get ready for this thing! Bye!" But ALA’s more intimate settings allow me to have a more detailed conversation. I might even learn the person’s name during the conversation. I caught up with Alex from ALA staff who helped the lady from last night. She had exhaustion but was fine after treatment. I also got in touch with my new friend Captain Gundam, who had my room for the night. Masquerade was nearing so I swapped from Sousuke to Kyoya from "Ouran Host Club" by putting on my Ouran tie and my Ouran host coat. I usually cosplay Mori from "Ouran Host Club" and grew used to his gruff, unfriendly personality. Shifting from Mori to Kyoya was challenging since I never paid attention to Koyoya during the show and had no idea who he was or how he acted.

At the appointed time, I ran to the Masquerade green room to meet with the rest of Traveling Valentine. We did some last minute rehearsals while anxiously waiting our turn. I can handle a live performance due to my improv abilities. If I can’t remember a line, I’ll ad-lib to keep things going. But our sketch for the night was a lip-synced choreographed song and dance number with pre-recorded dialogue. Ad-lib and improv will only show off the grievous errors and lapses in memorizing the choreography. Naturally, I was nervous as hell. We were second in line but the first to compete since the first entry was exhibition only.

When we received the curtain call, Traveling Valentine got to the stage to perform . In a tribute to Frankie Valli and "Jersey Boys," the four of us performed a lip-synced Broadway routine of "Walk Like A Man" as Ouran Host Club members with Deb as Hunny and Stan as Mori. It fit since Haruhi (Victoria) needed to learn how to walk and act like a man during the anime. The audience loved us and it was a rush to perform. I didn’t care about the results. Other acts ranged from a Pokemon musical using "High School Musical," a quick costume change sketch, a sketch full of "Soul Eater" in-jokes that I found myself understanding, and a dance lesson sketch done in Japanese yet was understandable.

After Masquerade, I got to see my old friends Jarod and Nate again. I’ve known them since I began a name for myself at cons. We’re old and obsolete, but still having fun. One picture of our friend Iori E would scar the three of us for life. I found Captrain Gundam and changed into my impromptu Engineer costume from "Miss Saigon." I joined Victoria in her Kim from the same musical for a couple pictures. I attempted karaoke but the acoustic set up was so loud that amoeba on Saturn could hear me and sing along to my rendition of "December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)." In fact, I think one of those amoeba did join me onstage.

Finding Captain Gundam and the rest of the people (Shane & Soy Sauce) in the room proved difficult without a working cell phone, so I involuntarily got to experience the late night convention antics. I have not done so in over five years. First I attempted the dance, which nowadays is the rave. I liked the music, but my leg prohibited rave dancing. I went to a couple room parties for drinks before seeking familiar faces. If I wanted to get intimately familiar with new faces, there was spin the bottle. As open as I am to new people, I am not opening myself that way. At least throw in some more girls. Going to Xel-ko’s room and while running around with Toggy, I ran into Lauren, a familiar face from Yaoi Con. We did not talk much during Yaoi Con, but now we got to know each other better during ALA. Arizona seems a new place to visit. Once she resolved her room situation, I wandered some more and found myself playing Truth or Dare with Soy Sauce and some people who I’ve only seen while riding an elevator. Truth or Dare provided a perfect opportunity to learn a few things about people and see who can gracefully take public humiliation. At the very least, I got a free massage from a cute girl to alleviate tension during the game. Sarah popped in to join and eventually so did Captain Gundam. As 4:30AM began rolling in, I decided I had enough of the night life and requested access to the room to pack, get my plane ticket, recharge my phone, and maybe get some sleep. Shane thought the same thing and ran into me en route to the room. ALA was a long day, but very enjoyable.

http://theallpictures.com/highlights-hidden-pictures

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Picture Magnets

שישי, 6 במאי, 2011

If you have ever awoken on the beach you know what I’m talking about. It’s like I was aware of the waves crashing in my ears and in my bones before my eyes could see them. A steady wind pushed against the front my chest, making me stand up straighter. Cold water sloshed around my bare ankles. I looked down and saw that I was walking barefoot in the surf. The cuffs of my blue jeans were rolled up so as to keep them from getting wet. The cuffs of my white button down shirt were likewise rolled. I was wearing brown sunglasses that were stained that were filmed over from the salt spray in the air. I could feel my brown hair whipping behind me in the wind. The sun was to my right and the ocean to my left but that was wrong. After all,the beach I was walking was clearly located on the Jersey shore-I could see the boardwalks and amusement parks of Asbury Park as grey monoliths in the distance-it was morning yet a sun in the western sky said otherwise. For a moment I was afraid. It was too cold and windy to feel the sun yet I knew it was browning the skin on my face. I enjoyed the blending of so many sensations.

Something made me look over my left shoulder. I saw two sets of footprints in the sand. I wasn’t alone. Suddenly I became aware that I was in the presence of God. I knew that he was there the whole time and yet I became aware of him only in that instance. He walked straight ahead and didn’t look at me. He was dressed like Franciscan Friar from the 14th century. He had a considerable paunch but huge strong brown hands. He wore a Rolex Watch and a pair of mirror tinted Aviator sunglasses. His face was sunburned and deeply lined. His salt and pepper hair was tossed in the breeze. His face struck me as oddly familiar until I realized that it was the face of Ernest Hemingway.

"You’re a smart boy-you know that I don’t really look like this. Just your expectations, kid."

"Who are you?"

"Don’t be dense."

"Ok, what am I supposed to call you?"

"Just call me Father, or Lord or better yet, just use the 2nd person. It kind of skirts the issue of names, if you know what I mean, Rich."

"I think I do."

"Ok, here’s the deal. This is kind of like a survey. We usually do these when a person’s life is half over."

"My life is HALF OVER?!? I’m TWENTY EIGHT!"

"Sorry, kid. Bad luck. Still most people during the Dark Ages were dead by 28, so from a certain perspective you get two lives. Also, you’ve got more years coming to you than most people in the third world. Believe me, all those little kids in the Sally Struthers commercials don’t live nearly as long as 56 and never get any of the opportunities that you’ve had."

"What happens to me when I’m 56?"

"Heart Attack."

"Will it hurt?"

"Uh, yeah, like a bitch. It kills you, remember? But its only for a few hours, then you’ll be dead. Could be worse. Cancer, for example, has a tendency to linger with a man."

"But what if I eat better and go to the gym and stuff like that?"

"You won’t. You’re not even going to remember this dream. Free will, kid. If you got to remember this little Q&A I would be affecting the course of your life and that’s against the rules."

"Then what’s the point?"

"It’s not for you. It’s for me. I want to know what you have thought of your life so far."

"But why are you asking me that? You’re God, don’t you already know what I think?"

"Nah. I know what you’ve done, what you’re gonna do and how the world is gonna end but I don’t know what you’re thinking."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"That depends, will it bother you if you’re not going to remember the answer?"

"I guess not."

"Then I guess it doesn’t bother me either."

"OK. Why do you do it? I mean why the world. Why us? What do you get out of it?"

"Watch this." With that he took off his shades, turned and faced the ocean, crossed his arms and nodded his head like Barbara Eden from "I Dream of Genie." He even made the "boing!" noise. With that the ocean rolled back. The surf pulled rapidly down the shallow grade of the shore leaving behind shallow pools of water in which fish flopped and crabs wrestled with one another. The water pulled back further and further like a somersault in reverse. The waterline was hundreds of yards back, then miles away until before me stood a vast field of mud. I could see the dripping, soggy wrecks of a few small boats and many a flopping, suffocating fish.

"Pretty cool, huh? Looks like you could walk to Spain, right? I remember when you really could. Of course that was several hundred million years ago but I still remember it. Ok watch, here comes the good part."

From the horizon rose a wall of water. It towered higher than anything I had ever seen. It was taller than the skyscrapers of Manhattan and taller than mountains. I mean it was miles high. It rose with a deadly stubbornness that indicated it meant bad and nothing and everything that was in its way was going to be utterly destroyed. I started running away and screaming.

"Don’t bother," God said "It’s not going to stop until it hits the Mississippi. Come here and grab my arm." I huddled close to him as the wall of water approached larger and faster. The sky was blotted out finally and a hurricane force gale whipped against us as the water pushed the wind before it. In a rush of sound and darkness it was up and over our heads. I expected to be annihilated by the water but I found myself instead standing inside a bubble. I looked up and I could see the surface of the water far ahead, lit up by sunshine.

"Close your eyes." He said.

I did as I was told. Suddenly there we were again, standing on the same beach. Nothing whatsoever had happened.

"You should have seen the one from the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. Terrifying. You see, son, I can do that at will. I have all the power in the world and I can wink the whole thing out of existence if I choose to. I do not choose too, however. I set the whole thing in motion, gave it its recipe, as it were. I knew what was going to happen like I know how it will end but I didn’t choose any of it. I don’t interfere. Some of the moments of your history I rather relish, like when the Wright Brothers got the hang of flying or watching the masters of the Renaissance. Other moments I keep hoping will change, like the Holocaust. Like a movie I’ve seen an infinite amount of times I know what’s going to happen but I still want the bad parts to change. Now you tell me, why do you think I do it?"

"Boredom?"

"That’s right! Very good! What is the one thing that I know nothing whatsoever about?"

"Mortality?"

"Yes. Right again. I know what its like to suffer but not what its like to truly face death, the unknown or powerlessness. As a perfect being I am curious about the finite. You see, even angels bore me compared to you people because they never face what you people face. Your limitations, you mortality and all of the things that come with it make you noble and beautiful. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I think I do. Are you sure I really don’t get to remember any of it?"

"Sorry kid, if you knew that much then it would change your actions and alter the course of the future. I can’t allow that. If its any consolation, though, you have a pretty good idea of the universe. Better than most people. Everyone always pictures me floating on a cloud with a harp. I hate that image. Did you ever see the family guy episodes that have glimpses of me? Those are hilarious. I love the one where I’m at a bar trying to impress girls by lighting their cigarettes with lightning bolts. Funny stuff."

"Yeah I did see those. I never figured you would appreciate them, though."

"See, you people have me all wrong. I have all the time and power in the world. I would never get through infinity without being laid back and having a good sense of humor. Now, its time for you to answer my question. Your life is half over. I want to know what you think of it so far."

"What do I think? It’s a tough one. You see when you mentioned the whole thing before about not interfering with free will; I always understood that. I never blamed you for not preventing earthquakes or saving people from hurricanes. I understand that it’s not your job to do that. People make their own way in this world and sometimes bad shit happens. Pardon my French."

"Don’t worry about it."

"What bugs me about life is the impermanence of everything. I hate that everything has to inevitable change and give way to something else. I hate it how we all die or grow bored with one another and move around like dust. I feel like life, civilization and all is like a series of sandcastles getting swallowed up one after another by an ever rising sea. Some things should change but not everything. It always feels like everything’s slipping away. Did you ever read To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf?"

"I have it memorized, yes."

"OK, well she kind of touches on the impermanence of life in that book. She describes reality as an ever slithering serpent with iridescent scales that shimmer brilliantly in the sunshine but that never look the same way twice. I love how delicate and fleeting reality can be, like gossamer but sometimes it hurts so much."

"Yeah, I get the concept. I’m sorry if change hurts you the way it always does. I really am. Your capacity for sensitivity and your desire for stability will always be at odds with the impermanence of reality. It’s all about rotation. I have to keep the world changing to accommodate new people, life forms or ideas. You humans think you have the concept of infinity pegged but you really don’t. You think of infinity as what happens when you place two mirrors parallel facing one another. That’s a stupid parlor trick-its not infinity. Infinity means just that, forever, the universe and time without boundaries. Infinity is what happens when you place zero in the denominator of a fraction. It is a stupid, brutal and cold concept but it is perfection itself. Human beings strive, fail, improve and try to perfect but never quite succeed. The human race is approaching an asymptote that is perfection but you will never reach it. Do you know why?"

"No."

"Because I am the asymptote."

"OK. So you’re saying that the point of the whole thing is the striving for, not the reaching of perfection."

"Exactly. Perfection is boring, kid, trust me. So is stagnation, however, so it’s always onward and upward with new generations constantly pushing the boundaries of the possible. Now finish your answer. What do you love about life?"

"Oh God, huh huh, you know what I mean…Oh Wow. There are many things that I love about life. I love the glassy covering on trees after an ice storm. I love a cup of coffee on a sunny winter morning. I love honey, and cheese and meat loaf! What else? Oh I love women, I mean I LOVE women. You really nailed that one. I think that most men agree that women are what really make life worth it. In the teeter-totter question as to whether its better to live or not, you know, Hamlet’s "To Be or Not to Be," its women that tip the scales in favor of life. I mean their hair! Their bodies and their legs. They are these feline, soft angels walking the earth."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I knew I couldn’t get you people to do anything with motivating you with sex, food and good weather. Go on."

"I love my mind. I love learning, questioning and grasping. I never believed what so many religions say, that you don’t want us to question. You gave us these brains, you want us to use them, right?"

"Naturally. The proscription against free-thought has always been a political thing. I want you to be curious. To take a walk around this world. I feel that its only by looking at the painting as a whole that you will see the signature in the corner."

"I try to. I really do. I mean its easy to believe talking to you face to face but I never bought the logic of the whole "order of the universe" thing. It doesn’t make any sense to me. I mean who is to say that the universe is logical. Maybe it isn’t logical at all. There’s waste in nature. Every species that fails and dies is a waste. The emptiness of the cosmos is a waste. Photosynthesis is only 97% efficient, that’s waste. I can’t approach you though seeing patter in the universe. The only strong grip that you ever had on my mind was the basic question."

"Why is it all here?"

"Yup."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. You have been stubborn and sometimes downright hurtful. I feel like every time you deny my existence you are forgetting the sunrises over the Atlantic and the fields full of sunflowers and Adrianna Lima’s body."

"Nice."

"Yeah, some of those underwear models are really fine pieces of workmanship. But go on, what else do you love? I mean what do you love most?"

"There are a few things. I love overcoming my own fear and growing because of it. I love to face danger and the unknown. I love creating something new. I love my own ability as a writer and as a teacher. And most of all I love love itself. I love the women in my life and my friends. I love my family and my hometown and my highschool football team. I love my old cat."

"Oh, yeah, Guy. Come here boy, pssss pssss psss." God snapped his fingers and suddenly I looked down and there was my old cat Guy, rubbing against my pant legs. He was meowing in that deep voiced way that I could always hear across the house as a child. He looked as he did when he was healthiest, not the old rickety ruin that we had put to sleep when I was in college. His black and white tuxedo pattern shone brilliantly in the sun. His bright green eyes were filled with light, love and wisdom. I dropped to my knees and pulled him into my arms. I held him so close and kissed him over and over on his soft fur, and his ears. I sobbed as I did so.

"Thanks for answering my questions."

I woke alone in the darkness with that resonant voice in my ears. I recall the last thing he said and nothing else. My pillow was covered with sweat and tears and I felt an indescribable sadness.

Pictures Of Cell Phones

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