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The Most Common Artwork

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Lately, it may seem the Keep Calm poster is the most common artwork in people's homes. But there's one other piece we've spotted so often, across many ages, locations, and eras...

 
 

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It's called Grace, and was created by artist Eric Enstrom, a photographer from Minnesota, in 1918. Read much more about the art and the man right here.

Said Enstrom, "I wanted to make people conscious of the things they had instead of the things which they had to do without".

Have you, like us, spotted this artwork in homes all over the place? If not, what work do you find to be most common throughout the people's homes you've visited?

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history, artwork, Eric Enstrom

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Comments (69)

My great aunt and uncle used to have that same print in their dining room.

posted by thewifeofanartist on September 28th 2009 at 7:32pm
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Sorry, this is NOT art work. It's a poster that is not even well designed. Don't look for it at MOMA.

posted by wild-er on September 28th 2009 at 7:33pm
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My mom has the Grace one, and I believe my sister had a copy years ago. I have seen that poster a lot lately. I see a lot of Bob Timberlake, but I'm from the South.

posted by tonya_nc on September 28th 2009 at 7:41pm
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thewifeofanartist, my great aunt and uncle did, too! My great grandmother also had it.

I used to want the Keep Calm poster because I liked the message, but since I've seen it EVERYWHERE I don't want it anymore. I don't really know why that should make me fall out of like with it...

posted by j_rae on September 28th 2009 at 7:57pm
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@ wild-er, I hope you're not suggesting Keep Calm in its current incarnation is artwork worthy of inclusion at MOMA. It's a perfectly fine message with appropriate graphics. While Grace is by no means "fine art," it is art; just let it be.

I see a lot of posters for bands playing at Doug Fir in my friends' houses, but that probably means most of my friends in Portland like a certain genre of music.

posted by krister on September 28th 2009 at 8:25pm
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Don't forget all the Monet "Waterlilies" posters still floating around, I'm sure.

posted by callmecath on September 28th 2009 at 8:34pm
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My grandmother used to have this in her house, and it reminds me of her.

posted by romateamo on September 28th 2009 at 8:35pm
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my grandmother also had this. it is pretty much a staple in every elderly person's house where i am from (north dakota).

posted by whipsnap on September 28th 2009 at 8:45pm
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As God is my witness, I thought for sure you were going to say it was "Dogs Playing Poker".

posted by Mlle Kate on September 28th 2009 at 8:47pm
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find art u like, it doesn't have to b popular, as long as u like it, dur. b unique and find some under cover artist who is up and coming and everyone will ask about it, not "i've seen 5 ppl with this print already"

posted by zhenpoo on September 28th 2009 at 8:48pm
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I first saw the Keep Calm poster last year on this site. I was being treated for anxiety and depression and I'm English by birth so it really resonated with me. I bought it in the original red and hung it where I see it first thing every morning.

I've never seen it anywhere else and nobody I know has it. Even if all my friends had one - who cares? I like it and it looks great on my wall.

posted by catspajamas on September 28th 2009 at 9:02pm
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my parents still have it, and I've seen it in other homes as well, it is quite popular.

posted by julianests on September 28th 2009 at 9:09pm
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I have never seen this "Grace" picture before...

posted by emtdmt on September 28th 2009 at 9:15pm
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Unfortunately I always see Thomas Kinkade paintings. I live in Florida, so that has something to do with it.

posted by marklotor on September 28th 2009 at 9:16pm
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When I was a kid in the 70's, deco-era Vogue posters & Maxfield Parish prints were ubiquitous.

Even Rhoda Morgenstern had a Vogue poster in her NYC apt (which reminds me, I always MUCH preferred Rhoda's place to Mary's).

posted by lilcafe on September 28th 2009 at 9:18pm
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The "Le Chat Noir" poster is another one that pops up again and again. I lost mine while moving house, heh.

Nearly everyone I know had The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry" poster in their bedroom as a teenager, but that's probably just a reflection of my friends ;)

posted by Annette Lauder on September 28th 2009 at 9:42pm
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I've never seen this before in my life. But then, I'm from Southern California and we're all heathens out here anyway.

posted by 4thgradeLiz on September 28th 2009 at 9:42pm
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I've never seen this poster before. Doesn't do anything for me.

When I was in college in the early seventies, it was Klimt posters everywhere, also, "The Scream". We were a dramatic bunch. All the remaining wallspace was generally occupied by the Che Guevara poster. Recently, I saw a tee shirt with the familiar Che image-high contrast w/black on red background. Underneath, it said "Who is this guy anyway?"

posted by brave little toaster on September 28th 2009 at 9:44pm
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Pixelated Abe Lincoln. I don't know why.

posted by kelleyk on September 28th 2009 at 9:56pm
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In French-speaking places, such as Montreal (where I'm from) and France, we can often see the "Tournee du chat noir" ("Black Cat Tour").

http://www.posters.com/pv-394396_Chat-Noir.html

posted by i'm all shook up on September 28th 2009 at 9:57pm
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I've seen this in a few homes but never in NYC (my home). I've seen Klimt's Kiss, Picasso Blue Period posters, the Sandeman poster, and Hopper's Nighthawks in many many apartments over the years. I have never seen the Keep Calm poster in real life. Ever.

posted by Polpol on September 28th 2009 at 9:58pm
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Never saw it before and I like it.

posted by mei-ling on September 28th 2009 at 10:09pm
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van gogh starry night or night cafe is always everywhere.

i don't have the keep calm poster - but i do have one of its variations that says - get excited and make things - in my studio

posted by sneakers on September 28th 2009 at 10:14pm
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Mary Cassatt, La Toilette

posted by JoeyBrill on September 28th 2009 at 10:38pm
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uh, how about "For Like Ever?" that one is so popular I can't own it.

posted by Lady J on September 28th 2009 at 10:46pm
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I always see the "Chat Noir" posters, even though I am not living in a Francophone country.

I've seen the "Keep Calm" poster too many times on AT, but never in real life. The I've seen the prayer poster once before on AT, and people commented that it was popular.

posted by firebird on September 28th 2009 at 11:30pm
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never noticed 'Grace' before.

Obama imagery is getting a bit tired though...

posted by lab director on September 29th 2009 at 12:17am
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I suppose if it's a grandma thing -- either nostalgic or ironic -- I'm down with that. Sentiment and an off-kilter sense of humor are alright by me.

But let's be honest here. It's "art" in the same way you can call it "art" when you watch a pulp western peopled with a lonely schoolmarm who melts the heart of our hero, the lone gunman, who rescues her after a tip from a noble indian. In other words, fun and all, but... not.

posted by elvedon on September 29th 2009 at 12:40am
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Tretchikoff and J H Lynch prints. Noooooo more. Please.

posted by RedOrangePink on September 29th 2009 at 2:35am
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Waterlilies, the sunflowers from Van Gogh and then of course Mona Lisa would be on my list of most frequent art works.

posted by Evergirl on September 29th 2009 at 4:09am
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My grandmother still has "Grace" hanging in her room... I saw one in an antique store and I'll probably buy it because it reminds me of her. I live in Texas now and she's still back home in Indiana......pretty common there

posted by RachelOM on September 29th 2009 at 4:44am
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He's saying,
'Not soup again, why didn't I get a wife who could cook?'.

posted by hrhprincessfiona on September 29th 2009 at 4:47am
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Everyone has a TV- doesn't mean I'm going to rebel and not have one. Ok- that's a bad argument, I admit. But I like the Keep Calm and Carry On poster and I don't care whether a million people have it. I like it, and I don't change what I like on other people's opinions- even if it is that they all agree with me.

However I have to admit that I am lucky enough to live in a country where the Keep Calm and Carry On poster isn't that common- I've never seen one in another house, only in 2 shops in another town. Even if everyone had it though- I like the message, LOVE the story (I am very interested in WWII and the propaganda posters of the time).

As for the second photo- it looks familiar but I'm not sure I know anyone who has it. There is a rather common painting of a sailor in my family though- seems to be everywhere even though there's only one copy in the family- perhaps my family plays pass the parcel with it and I don't know.

posted by bkk on September 29th 2009 at 5:12am
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Velvet Elvis and Dogs Playing Poker are two classics. ;)

posted by Pete ( modernflat.com ) on September 29th 2009 at 6:32am
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Must admit I rather like the KCACO poster. And, though I've seen it countless times on AT and other blogs, I've never actually seen it in a home (mine included).

In any case, I far prefer it over the praying man.

posted by mirandabee on September 29th 2009 at 7:44am
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There were also those Renoir prints, everywhere in Brasil, on the seventies.

BTW, Since the copyright of the Keep Calm and Carry on poster fell 15 years ago, we can copy, right? So I've made some versions for free download here: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=pt-br&sl=pt&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.decoeuracao.com%2F2009%2F09%2Fkeep-calm-and-download.html

posted by Vivianne Pontes on September 29th 2009 at 8:31am
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I've never seen either of those in anyone's home. I saw the "keep calm" thing as an icon on facebook, it still does nothing for me.

posted by Minyuette on September 29th 2009 at 9:06am
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Aww, my little granny had this hanging in her little granny house for my whole life! I miss her!!

posted by fruitcrackers on September 29th 2009 at 9:15am
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The Taittinger Champagne poster.

posted by kiljoywashere on September 29th 2009 at 9:27am
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Can't believe nobody has mentioned the Keep Calm rug incarnation yet!

posted by mjr on September 29th 2009 at 10:21am
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My friend had that in her house when we were in kindergarten. Her dad was really mean and when he'd get mad he'd punch a hole in the wall and that was the piece of art used to cover it.

posted by djalisha on September 29th 2009 at 10:59am
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my sister has that! we found it at a thrift store and thought it was just the neatest. she also has the "keep calm." whoops.

we just have a bunch of those baroque frames that everyone seems to have.

posted by mattiemay on September 29th 2009 at 11:13am
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Le Chat Noir, vintage liquor ads, For Like Ever, Mucha and Van Gogh prints, and (because this is Nashville) Hatch show prints. Tamara de Lempicka is getting overdone, too, but I've always loved her and always will.

posted by NashvilleJen on September 29th 2009 at 11:22am
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My grandparents had "Grace" in their home before they moved to a condo community. For some reason the image always intimidated me as a child. I think it had less to do with their devout Catholicism and more with the fact that seeing that print meant I was at their house and had absolutely NOTHING fun to do for the next few hours.

posted by islek on September 29th 2009 at 11:41am
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* Starry Night* clearly the most common in dorm rooms of guys/girls 'trying-to-be-more-mature-than-college'.

Oh and the Keep Calm business is so overplayed its going to be like the hipster version of the same thing

'Oooh look you have that keep calm thing, too!' ....sooner or later it will appear in starbucks

posted by Landmark on September 29th 2009 at 1:24pm
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I actually got the Chat Noir poster while backpacking in Paris, and had no idea it was so prevalent stateside till seeing it at every poster sale in college, LOL.

I too have yet to see the Keep Calm poster anywhere but AT, but then again, I'm the only AT reader in my group of friends and acquaintances, as far as I know.

However, now that I've left the womb of home and dorm room/college apartment, I'm preferring vintage signage and original photography to posters. If only I could afford large scale original paintings!

posted by michpc on September 29th 2009 at 3:07pm
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My grandma still has "Grace" on the wall in her kitchen.

posted by aj on September 29th 2009 at 5:06pm
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I grew up up about 20 minutes from the tiny town where "Grace" was created. It was in everyone's house when I was growing up and my senior pictures were actually taken by Enstrom's Studio. It is probably the only thing with a religious connotation that I would hang in my house - just for nostalgic reasons.

posted by Elund on September 29th 2009 at 5:35pm
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Never seen this picture before.

What happened to all the Ansel Adams prints in bathrooms? Half Dome over the toilet? No more?

The Keep Calm poster is just a secret handshake among AT readers, right?

posted by Chester Shoeshine on September 29th 2009 at 10:17pm
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NYbutterfly,

No offense but I am glad I am not on your holiday gift list. KCACO bumper stickers...cufflinks...golf balls? No thanks.

posted by sally305 on September 30th 2009 at 11:53am
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God, I am so sick of seeing this poster in every cool modern home... So cleche... I'd rather get something weird from Goodwill...

posted by toki4004 on September 30th 2009 at 5:49pm
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I enjoy the message of "Keep Calm" but I would never purchase it for myself or anyone else. Too cold, I guess. Sterile. Though on the other hand, the same goes for "Grace" but then again it's probably because I'm tired of seeing it in every house throughout most of my childhood, including my mom's place. It's burned into my memory. x_x

posted by Camolai on October 3rd 2009 at 5:45pm
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Don't forget the dorm room staple by Robert Doisneau!

http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/05/08/le-baiser-de-lhotel-de-ville/

posted by MissMatlock on October 4th 2009 at 5:56pm
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I like the message of "Keep Calm" and when I have only seen it on AT. I admit that I will probably buy it at some point because I really do like it. I've never seen it in a home in person though.

I have the Chat Noir, although I'm not sure what to do with it. I got it because I really like it.

Another popular picture I've seen in many homes is Andrew Wyeth's "Master Bedroom." I have several friends who have it, and I have it too. It doesn't bother me that I have things that aren't one of a kind. I guess if my home was completely cookie cutter, it would bother me, but I have a lot of unique things in addition to the few more pedestrian pieces that I like. It works for me.

posted by fairydogmother on October 4th 2009 at 6:06pm
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NYbutterfly, I think some of the items on the KCACO website are silly and over the top, but you do have a point.

The print seems to be everywhere on design blogs and in mags and you can get it in a million different colors now, but I have yet to see it in person anywhere outside my house. It bothers me more that the posters I DO see in magazines and on blogs are still framed in IKEA fames with mats that aren't cut to the correct size.

I love my poster and don't see why it's popularity should make me dislike it. Am I supposed to give up my iPhone too?

posted by harlie on October 4th 2009 at 7:51pm
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Wow, I've never seen this print before, nor some of the others that were mentioned. Keep Calm I'm pretty much done with, though! BTW, NYbutterfly has only posted on AT to plug that site -- annoying, much?

posted by visualingual on October 4th 2009 at 7:52pm
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I've never seen the Keep Calm poster before - why is it so popular? it is just text; how is this supposed to be artwork? does it mean something? whateverz.

I grew up with the Grace pic in my house and my grandma's too, of course...it isn't so much the 'design' of the piece that is all that attractive, as the practical reminder to be thankful for what we have, even if it's not much.

posted by nikki moore - photography and vintage treasures on October 4th 2009 at 8:51pm
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le chat noir, starry night, and the great wave off kanagawa. oh, and a lot of marilyn monroe and audrey hepburn.

posted by youreacigarette on October 4th 2009 at 11:41pm
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Maybe "Grace" is a Midwest phenomenon. Just about every home I was ever in as a kid had this. It was Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois.

posted by ohjodi on October 5th 2009 at 11:56am
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Oh, I just learned that this is the official state photograph of Minnesota.

posted by ohjodi on October 5th 2009 at 12:04pm
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I'm seeing Kozyndan's Uprising more and more... http://www.magic-pony.com/product.php?id=1158&view=one&category=prints&kozyndan

posted by ccodner on October 5th 2009 at 12:23pm
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Oh my! My grandparents had the praying print also. And if I remember correctly, there was also a female one??

posted by ridge_van_winkle on October 5th 2009 at 1:01pm
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Oh, and if we're sharing ones that we're tired of ... I dislike that Tatinger poster with the woman and the champagne glass. That's so mass-market Bed Bath & Beyond art department to me.

And a few friends and I have sworn to never let each other buy a print that has the museum name at the bottom in a big white border.

posted by ridge_van_winkle on October 5th 2009 at 1:07pm
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What came immediately to my mind is Margaret Keane's Big Eyed puppies and children from the 1960's! Another extremely popular commercial landscape artist from the 50's and 60's is Margaret Barks who signed her paintings simply GARE. I have thrift store print of her African tree which, as a kid, intrigued me. When I found it in at my local hospice thrift shop for $2.79 you'd have thought I'd won the lottery!
"Art" functions on so many levels. While feigned sentimentality (such as that scary saccharine Kinkade) makes my skin crawl, there are plenty of images floating around in my head which hold enormous meaning to me. KEEP CALM (indeed) makes me want to break out in the Watusi!

posted by Vincent B. on October 5th 2009 at 1:10pm
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Yes! There was a female version of grace - it's called Gratitude. My parents had this one too:

http://www.inhisname.com/product.php?product=9545

posted by ridge_van_winkle on October 5th 2009 at 1:11pm
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Er, I mean my grandparents. Although my parents had a "Footprints" print, so ...

posted by ridge_van_winkle on October 5th 2009 at 1:11pm
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"...starry night, and the great wave off kanagawa..."

Okay I have both of these. Not the great wave one but a similar one by the same artist. I guess I have cliche taste? Ah well. I could have done without knowing that, BUT, I truely love both these paintings and will continue to enjoy them : )

posted by ammanda on October 5th 2009 at 5:01pm
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I want a "Keep Calm" poster for my bedroom. I have the "Chat Noir", along with it's close cousin the "Clinique Cheron"-

http://pzrservices.typepad.com/vintageadvertising/images/2007/07/31/steinlen_clinique_cheron_print.jpg

and a lesser known "Zoologischer Garten"-

http://images.easyart.com/i/prints/rw/lg/6/4/Ludwig-Hohlwein-Munich-Zoological-Garden--1912-6496.jpg

posted by tomahto on October 7th 2009 at 1:43am
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Yep...definitely an elderly person thing! Both my great aunts had the "Grace" picture. I think that one of them actually had a picture that seemed to be a companion to it...it was of a woman facing the opposite direction, as if she was across the table from the man.

As for the "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster..I have no real issue with it as a poster. I kind of like it, although would never buy it to put in my house (mostly because I'm an artist and make my most of my own art for my house). I think it's kind of too bad it's become ubiquitous and cliche`. Personally I enjoy the spoof of it I've seen..."Now Panic and Freak Out".

posted by KiraArts on October 9th 2009 at 7:24pm
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