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Recap: 'The X Factor' Performances - The Top 16
It's been six weeks and 12 episodes worth of Auditions and Boot Camp and Judges' Houses and all of the various preliminary steps, but "The X Factor" is finally ready to bring on the live performances.
Wednesday (October 31) night's episode features performances from the Top 16, which inexplicably isn't being treated as the "finals." No, we're going to have Wednesday's performances and then eliminations on Thursday and *that* group of contestants -- 12 individuals/groups -- will be the Finalists. Why does "12" scream "Finalists" and "16" says "Random Intermediate Grouping"? I have no idea. You'd have to take it up with FOX or Simon Cowell.
In any case, click through for my usual "X Factor" recap, including performance reviews, plus any brilliant additions courtesy of new hosts Mario Lopez and Khloe Kardashian Odom...
8:01 p.m. ET. The judges and their teams hit the stage, led by Demi Lovato, who has gone brunette and acquired bangs since we saw her last. L.A. Reid salutes the crowd and resists holding his nose when he looks at his Geriatrics. Simon Cowell is wearing vampire fangs. And Britney's wearing an impressively short skirt and accompanied by the season's most amusingly attired contestants.
8:03 p.m. BOO! BOO! Sorry. Just booing for Mario Lopez and, I guess, Khloe Kardashian Odom. "I can't believe we're here... live... in front of America," Khloe says, before wishing us a happy Halloween. There's no public vote tonight. The judges will pick the eight singers who are safe and then another eight to sing for their survival tomorrow night. That's how we're going to fill two hours. "I do like a little bit of screaming. I love screaming," Khloe tells the judges.
8:05 p.m. "I think I have it in the bag," Britney says. "My contestants, you will see how incredible they are and their contestants will be shaking in their boots," Demi Lovato predicts. And Simon says his acts are going to demolish the competition. Simon also gives a shout-out to the East Coast, as a Red Cross number plays on the screen.
8:06 p.m. This week's theme is Made in America and Demi's Young Adults are up first, led by...
Singer: PAIGE THOMAS
Song:"What Is Love"
My Take: Demi's hair is confusing me. It practically goes back and forth between blonde and brunette. And she also urged Paige to shave her head. And then we can't even see Paige's hair, because she takes the stage wearing a fierce hat of thorns. She's singing a slowed down version of the "Night at the Roxbury" classic and she's accompanied by an energetic team of dancers in skin-tight back costumes. I always need to remember that "X Factor" is about the stage presence and overall package, so it's almost pointless for me to observe that Paige isn't singing much of anything here and that her voice is entirely lost in the mix. She looks tremendous and pulls off the costume entirely. Sometimes she looks more "scared" than "sexy and edgy" and I think the intent was the latter. But I think we're positioning Paige as a Rihanna manque and if that's goal, this is a reasonable starting point.
The Judges Say: "That was a dramatic opening. Very dramatic," L.A. Reid says, adding that she looks like a star. But he didn't love the song choice. "I just feel like you're outrageous," Britney says. "The whole point of this show is to find an artist who can work in the real world," Simon says, praising Paige for being "outrageous." Demi claps maniacally. Simon endorses the song choice and L.A. Reid tries saying it wasn't a big hit in America. "What an amazing way to open the show," Demi says.
8:15 p.m. Yes, the winner this season will get $5 million, but that's not much scratch if you're Khloe Kardashian Odom, who calls the cash prize "not too shabby." To that end, "The X Factor" is raising the stakes this season. The winner will get a music video produced by Pepsi to premiere during the Grammys. "It's the prize of a lifetime," Simon plugs.
8:16 p.m. Khloe refers to the Britney Spears as the Teens' "brentor." I like that.
Singer: ARIN RAY
Song:"You Keep Me Hangin' On"
My Take: Arin's accompanied by the obligatory dancers, but he's also facing off against almost deafening blasts of fog. The fog erruptions are dreadful and they seem to be distracting Arin, who has pitch problems throughout. Arin also isn't really dancing with the dancers so much as he's trying to avoid being bumped off the stage. He's supposed to be Usher-lite, but he's Usher-lite-lite.
The Judges Say: L.A. Reid didn't love the vocals, but he loved the song choice. "I couldn't really hear your vocals because the girls were screaming so loud," Demi says, but she wants to see him dance better. Simon thinks Arin was distracted by the dancers and suggests Britney put too much around him. Simon says, though, that Arin has "swag." "You were a little genius up there," Britney Spears says, possibly referencing an unaired Mark Burnett reality show.
Singer: DAVID CORREY
Song:"Your Love Is My Love
My Take: David Correy's got a stripped down arrangement. There are no background dancers and the only fog is leftover from Arin. And, as a result, this is the first performance of the night that's about singing and, again as a result, it's the night's best vocal. David overcompensates a little with the arm-waving and the efforts to get the crowd involved, but he's making the effort and that's OK.
The Judges Say: "I felt you a lot," says Britney, who felt it was "amazing." Demi goes with "pretty good," instead. Simon calls David "manic" and "desperate" in the performance and urges him to tone it down, worrying that the song didn't give David an artistic direction. "One thing for sure is that we could really hear you sing," L.A. Reid says.
Singer: SISTER C
Song:"Hell on Heals"
My Take: Wow. You can't seriously expect me to remember the silly names and silly spellings for the ladies of Sister C, can you? Simon is very, very, very worried that people aren't going to like Sister C and they admit that they may be portrayed as "mean girls." I'm not sure why that matters. They're talented. I don't know if they're more than State Fair-talented, but they're definitely that. Both as individuals and as a group, they work well together and they sound good together. One thing they can't do is figure out how to use the stage. Stepping off the platform causes serious logistical issues and the girls seem surprised with how willing the audience is to clap along with them.
The Judges Say: "That was good. In the beginning I was concerned that you were repeating yourselves," L.A. Reid says, because apparently they sang the song in their audition. Britney calls it "interesting" and calls them "stunning." Demi praises their beauty and "unique sound," but she wanted a better, less stiff, performance. "Demi, they are singers, not dancers," Simon says. "I'm a singer not a dancer and I still make up for it," Demi shoots back. Simon calls it "fantastic" and praises the vocals.
8:30 p.m. "I love the idea of three sisters," Khloe says.
8:32 p.m. Apparently Khloe's shirt is see-thru? Darnit. On my Slingbox screen, I'm not able to see anything notable. Or is that a good thing?
8:35 p.m. "Welcome back to 'The X Factor' or is it... 'The Hex Factor,'" Khloe jokes. Wow. No. That's not funny. And then, as if to mock Khloe, the lights go out briefly on the "X Factor" stage. That was just sad.
Singer: JENNEL GARCIA
Song:"I'm On My Way"
My Take: Demi wants Jennel Garcia to look and feel more like a rock star, so she's given Jennel new dark hair with blonde highlights. She's also put a gigantic tree behind Jennel. Is this because of her potential to grow? Did Demi give Jennel her exact dye-job? Is this some sort of reverse "Single White Female" thing where the popular girl tries to make the meek girl more like her? I have no sense of what this song choice is suppose to say about Jennel. She's really not a rocker chick and the fog machine is blowing her everywhere and the thunder and lightning in the background are just distracting. Where is the saucy minx from the auditions? This is not the Jennel I'm interested in. This is a Jennel who's yelling over the arrangement and has no clear vocal tone that I can pick up. She's not bad. She's not bad at all. But this doesn't seem like a version of Jennel who can win "X Factor."
The Judges Say: "I'm completely surprised. I did not expect that. That was a 10," L.A. Reid says, predicting that Jennel could win. "I felt like you rocked it out," Britney says, loving everything about it. "With that song, you just defined the theme," Simon says. "I think Demi has tried to make you a clone of her... That is complete narcissism," Simon says correctly. "I'm not wearing chains right now, so that's a little ridiculous," says Demi, who is mighty proud of her girl.
8:45 p.m. Backstage, Khloe does banal interviews with Carly Rose Sonenclare and Willie Jones. The next performer is from Britney's gang...
Singer: DIAMOND WHITE
Song:"Hey Soul Sister"
My Take: Britney's accentuating Diamond's youth with a playful Train cover joined by a group of juvenile dancer. It's kinda like she's in a playground. In 1983, complete with kinda a "Krush Groove" graffiti-flavored light show in the background and a schoolyard-style chain-link fence backdrop. It's not a performance designed for Diamond to show off her singing and she's shouting more than finding the melody frequently, particularly on the last note. I guess we should be glad that this was the side of Diamond that Britney wanted to concentrate on, rather than just giving her a Beyonce ballad and letting her rest on that.
The Judges Say:
L.A. Reid thought it was mechanical in the beginning, but she began to own the song by the end. "You're so adorable and you have one of the most powerful voices in this competition," Demi says, though she wants more "fun." Simon is loving the talent and he even praises Britney for making Diamond "come over as a relevant pop star," raving at the "massive, massive improvement." Britney is proud of Diamond.
8:51 p.m. These are REALLY short commercial breaks and I'm still not sure how we're going to make it to 16 performances tonight.
Singer: VINO ALAN
Song:"Gotta Be Somebody"
My Take: Wow. This Nickelback song starts WAY too low for Vino. You get why it was L.A. Reid's song choice when we get to the chorus and it's suddenly in Vino's range. This is still much, much too generic for a singer with Vino's distinctive growl. Why ask him to do low-brow arena pop-rock if he's a soul rocker? The fireworks in the background are cheesy and Vino Alan should be anything but cheesy. He should be the most genuine talent available and making him into Chad Kroeger does him a disservice. Boo on L.A. Reid for every bit of this performance. It's not Vino's fault, but he's just not good.
The Judges Say: "I have to say I was a little bored," Britney says. Demi wants to root for Vino and she has a hard time seeing him as a pop star. "I think the song and the arrangement for the song was completely and utterly wrong for you," Simon says completely correctly. Simon agrees that Vino should be a soul singer. L.A. Reid compares this to the other adversity Vino has faced and says he's going to be just fine.
9:01 p.m. I miss Steve Jones.
9:01 p.m. Stop telling me it's Halloween, Khloe. Unless you're just saying you want me to give you some candy. Our next act is courtesy of Simon Cowell, who Khloe thinks she needs to flirt with. Then there's some REALLY awkward conversation about Khloe Kardashian's nipples and the air conditioning. Sweatshirt tomorrow, Khloe.
Singer: LYRIC 145
Song:Medley of random-ass stuff.
My Take: OK. Seriously, I love Lyric Da Queen. I have no interest in the other two guys, but they're there to enable her as the song goes between "Boom Shake the Room" and "Gangnam Style." They energy level that Lyric Da Queen is providing almost single-handedly is impressive to behold. She probably would have been better as a solo artist, but whatever they do with her, she's got star power to burn and she's going to carry those other two guys a long way. The crowd loves them.
The Judges Say: L.A. Reid loves them and thinks they're amazing, but he wanted more soul and blames Simon for dropping them in a washing machine with bleach. "Did I make y'all like that song?" Lyric asks the audience. "I was genuinely entertained," Britney says. "I had so much fun watching you guys," Demi says, admitting to Simon that she's worried about this group. "To make rappers work in a competition like this, it has to be commercial, it has to be entertaining and they have to put on a show," Simon says.
9:07 p.m. Sensing we're running out of time, Mario Lopez interrupts the afterglow and talks us into commercial.
9:10 p.m. Yup. The timing is pretty much off on everything this week. First live shows are a struggle. And are we pronouncing Cece Frey's last name like "Fray," rather than "Fry" as it was pronounced through the auditions?
Singer: CECE FREY
Song:"Because the Night"
My Take: Cece Frey has been bleached and de-spotted into something virtually unrecognizable. Why did the judges/decide makeovers were a key part of the show this season? I think we're pretending that Cece Frey is going to be... I dunno... Lady Gaga? She's coming across as Ke$ha-esque. She looks great, but surrounded by bondage court jester dancers and accompanied by seizure-enducing lighting, she's out of breath almost immediately and there's no effective singing going on. It's entertaining and a little sexy, but it's not much music.
The Judges Say: "You left a little be desired vocally, but I felt overall it was really strong," L.A. Reid says. Britney thought the vocals were "a little weak," but she liked the performance. Simon calls her "fearless" and "interesting," but he says "it wasn't the best vocal I've heard." "I'm going to be a little hard on you because I know you can take it," Demi says, telling Cece she could have done better vocally. Impressive. I like a mentor prepared to give tangible commentary to her singers. Welcome, Demi! "I appreciate the critique as harsh as it may be.
Singer: TATE STEVENS
My Take: Tate Stevens is good at what he does and because nobody could ever have any doubt on his identity, he has a perfectly tailored vehicle here. I'd have turned down the arrangement a little bit and muted the orange-and-gold rays of light behind Tate, but this is sturdy and respectable country crooning and I'd expect we'll keep him around for a while. He knows who he is and I know that I'll never have to see S&M dancers when Tate performs..
The Judges Say: Britney thinks Tate is amazing. Demi was "a little bit bored" at the beginning, but praises him for standing on his own and giving her the chills. "We need you in this competition," she says correctly. "I know exactly what sort of artist you should be," Simon says, though he didn't love the song. "I'm really proud of you," L.A. Reid says, telling Tate that Simon doesn't know country or hip-hop. He promises Tate he's a keeper and he'll stay around.
9:20 p.m. "I love you," Tate tells his family back home, voice cracking and winning him future votes.
9:23 p.m. "I'm stoked. I think they're amazing," Britney says of the night's contestants. She's got the next contestant tonight...
Singer: BEATRICE MILLER
Song:"I Won't Give Up"
My Take: I'm nervous before the performance begins because Beatrice isn't happy with the song, which is more of a ballad that what she's used to or what she's planning on dressing for. And has her hair been crimped? Gracious. Whose idea was this? Why is Britney treating Beatrice Miller like a Skipper doll? Yeah. This was not smart. I'd put this on the same level as L.A. Reid's blunder of a choice for Vino Alan. Beatrice has this great roots-rock voice and Britney has her submerged in a fog bank singing a bland ballad. At the very end, Beatrice finally gets to open up a little and I'm reminded how much I liked her voice earlier. Meanwhile, there's a giant version of beatrice on the screen behind her, just looking pensively into space. Beatrice is better than this, possibly much better than this. .
The Judges Say: L.A. Reid believes in and loves Beatrice. "There was so much feeling behind your eyes," Demi says. Simon likes the style of music, but that she had tuning issues when she pushed the vocals. "I think you're a true star," Britney says. "Britney is the best! She's so nice and she totally gets what it's like to be a kid," Beatrice says.
Singer: JASON BROCK
Song:"Dance Again"
My Take: We're calling Jason "Mr. Entertainment" and that's why he's doing a total Vegas production of a Jennifer Lopez story. He's got a Zebra-print jacket and matching dancers with high headdresses. The lights are flashing and Jason's flirting with the 6-pack sporting male dancers. This is not high-end Vegas, but it's Sleazy Cabaret Vegas and that seems to be what L.A. Reid or Jason Brock wanted to deliver. This could be the campiest performance in the history of American reality competition TV. Me, I'd have found a good Robbie Williams song and turned Jason loose. But I guess America wouldn't have known what was happening? I suspect many viewers will still be perplexed.
The Judges Say: Britney thought it was "interesting and entertaining." "I loved it because you kept it your own," Demi says, but she doesn't think it was the right song choice. "Yeah. No. 1 records don't really work on this show," L.A. Reid snaps back. "That was utterly horrendous," Simon says. "For me, it doesn't get worse than that," Simon says. "Simon, I disagree, but I appreciate your criticism," Jason says. "He's a hater, don't worry about it," L.A. Reid says. Jason takes advantage of the moment to pinch/grab/pat Mario Lopez's butt.
Song:"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"
My Take: The Lylas aren't The Lylas anymore. Legal clearance issues or something. They're group-izing Taylor Swift and they're a bit better as a group than when last we saw them as Simon's Miami abode. They're still mostly five fairly talented solo singers who don't quite know what to do with each other, but there are a couple little harmonies here and there. Simon's decided they're already winners, because he's showered them in confetti. That was OK.
The Judges Say: L.A. Reid says "We definitely blew that" about their name and then calls it "talent show" and "karaoke." "The bad news is that your mentor really failed you, but the good news is that there's hope," L.A. Reid says, blasting Simon. Britney likes their energy. Demi thought that only one singer in the group shined and she wants to see them click. She doesn't single out the best singer. Simon agrees there's work to do, but he thinks they're fantastic. "The public are going to love this group," Simon says.
9:41 p.m. Nice! Khloe demands to know which singer Demi liked. Demi tries to dodge. Khloe wants none of it. Finally, after some awkwardness, Demi praises Carmella. Wow. Khloe Kardashian just did something well. You may never hear me say that again, so savor it.
9:47 p.m. I'm assuming Demi Lovato wants to kill Khloe Kardashian Odom right now. But first, she has to introduce her last singer...
Singer: WILLIE JONES
Song:"Here For The Party"
My Take: Hmmm... So what Willie needed with his identity crisis was to singe a song most associated with a female artist. Willie's also getting completely upstaged by some under-clad roadhouse-style dancers. He gets in a couple moments of low-toned country charm, but mostly this is about ogling and not singing. Then again, I've thought that the judges have overrated Willie from the beginning, so that may not be an awful strategy. I'm just paying attention to a half-dozen things that don't include Willie's voice. I'm paying attention to his fade and his shiny suit, so it's not ALL about the dancers, but it's mostly that.
The Judges Say: "That was very entertaining," L.A. Reid says, calling it "adequate," and worrying he didn't get goosies. "I feel like you're a true star," Britney says. "Willie, I thought it was silly," Simon says, wanting Willie to take himself more seriously. "I don't think your mentor has done you any justice with that," Simon tells Demi. So Demi explains to Simon that this is what the kids today like. "This may not have worked 100 years ago," Demi prods Simon. Khloe asks Simon what he'd have done differently. "You're putting me on the spot," Simon squirms. Oh my goodness. I'm LIKING KHLOE KARDASHIAN.
9:55 p.m. Simon and Demi are going to lead an anti-Khloe rebellion and she'll never be allowed to ask follow-up questions ever again.
Singer: CARLY ROSE SONENCLAR
Song:"Something's Got a Hold On Me"
My Take: Oh goodness. Britney dressed Carly in a schoolgirl outfit to pay homage to... herself. She's seriously treating these kids like they're dolls. The look has absolutely nothing to do with Carly Rose's image and person and it's distracting until exactly the moment she opens her mouth. Boy. This girl can sing. She's ridiculously gifted on a technical level and she's one of the first singers tonight who seems conscious of lyrics and phrasing. She's going to go exactly as far as Britney Spears lets her go this season, because I think she's better than the other kids and this isn't a milieu in which she should be plunked.
The Judges Say: "You have a really beautiful voice," L.A. Reid says, but he didn't feel like she was having fun. Demi thinks Carly Rose's voice could be a blessing and a curse. Simon disagrees. He didn't think she was comfortable with the song or connected to it, but he thinks she's brilliant. "It would be criminal if you were to leave the competition tomorrow," Simon says. Britney calls her vocals "amazing."
Singer: EMBLEM 3
Song:"One Day"
My Take: Yeah. These guys are simultaneously damn talented and instantly obnoxious. They're very energetic, they sing well and I have ZERO doubt that they could sell out venues and move albums. But... Yeah. They're like a walking Von Dutch ad. And not in a good way. But teenage girls are going to LOVE them.
The Judges Say: "I think we are just witnessing America's next pop sensation," L.A. Reid says. "I would watch you all night long," Britney says. "You boys make me swoon," Demi giggles. "I can't look you in the eyes when you sing to me, because I'm supposed to be a judge," Demi says. Simon praises Emblem 3 for their commitment and their hard work and tells us to remember this night.
10:06 p.m. Simon says there were three or four incredible performances.
10:07 p.m. "I had fun tonight," Khloe Kardashian yells. Yeah. She'll be in a muzzle tomorrow.
10:07 p.m. Assuming we're losing one act per category, I'd get rid of Willie Jones (or maybe Paige Thomas), Jason Brock (because I think what L.A. Reid did to Vino was mean), Diamond White (or maybe Arin Ray) and whatever string of random numbers The Lylas became.
So what'd you think? Who's good? Who's bad? Who's going home?


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Red Riding Hood LbNA # 33302
|Placed Date
|Jul 19 2007
|St. Francis, WI
|Found By
|shooting starz
|Last Found
|Jun 2 2014
|Hike Distance
I received a report that new No Trespassing signs have been put up. Which I think is odd... but you may want to wait before you travel to get these until I can confirm or deny or find an acceptable path to the cemetery.
Hike length: Approximately 1 mile
Terrain: Woodsy trails with roots and other ups and downs
Ink needed: Black
If you were a member of the postal letterbox groups Amphigorey or State Flowers as organized on Atlas Quest, you have already seen these stamp images.
Long ago
there was a girl,
pretty and good.
Her name was Little
Red Riding Hood.
She wore
a pretty red hood,
and a cape the same.
And thats how Red Riding Hood
got her name.
One day her mother told her to take her poor, sick grandmother a basket with cake. So, Red Riding Hood set out on her way into the woods, promising to look straight ahead, not to delay or be mislead, or her mother would worry.
Red Riding Hood knew to begin her journey at her Cousins house. She remembered how kind and smart her Cousin was, because he studied faithfully to become a man of the cloth. (Though probably not cloth as fine as her red cape, which was the same color as the napkin in her basket...) As she wondered whether there were any chocolate chips in Grammas cake, and if it had sprinkles, too, and if so what color, she managed to skip right through the Center of her Cousins house and found herself well behind it. She was standing in the bright sunshine on a curved, paved bit of what might have been a road at one time. She squinted into the dark woods, beyond a lovely, smallish, arched wooden bridge and decided to go in. Even though there was no sign, she knew it was ok to walk in this woods because the nice, old men who used to study here had let the locals use it all the time if they behaved respectfully. Besides, this was the shortest route to Grammas house!
Red Riding Hood had many paths to choose from. Knowing she only needed to keep the rising sun to her back, she chose a random path, skipping after a cute squirrel headed in the same direction. As she followed whichever path her shadow led her down, she began to think this woods could use some attention from a woodsmans axe. All this dead wood would make some very fine trail chips, though not a very good hiding spot for anything. Not even for the squirrel, who had just disappeared through an opening in the long fence Red Riding Hood found herself in front of.
Red Riding Hood happily skipped through the opening in the fence and turned left, traveling over a tiny river and through some woods, towards some interesting stones that caught her eye in the distance. Exploring a peculiar stone mound, she discovered a beautiful, little grotto where she rested for a moment. While saying a short prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Red Riding Hood noticed a lovely flower hiding beside a rose-colored stone just to the outside and left of the main wall of the grotto. It was wedged between this head-sized rose-colored rock and the stone wall, cleverly hiding behind some smaller fist-sized rocks. It was as though those rocks had been suspiciously stacked in front of the flower to hide it. Rather than take the flower with her, Red Riding Hood took a moment to appreciate the beauty if it by recording it in her journal with black ink. She would color her journal with purple, green and yellow crayon later at Grammas house.
Pleased with her new journal entry, Red Riding Hood turned to go, but she could not resist the lure of exploring this interesting cemetery first. She approached a statue of a tall fellow that towered above her. In his hand was a cup and in front of him a sign that Red Riding Hood could not read. She suspected it was Latin and, though she had never studied the language, she imagined it told a fantastic story of an evil wolf that chased children through the woods! Perhaps this story was a warning to her and others, and the cup was a toast to wish her luck on her perilous journey! As she wandered around the stones, reading names and dates, she began to imagine the lives and histories of the people resting there. She wished she could speak with them to discover their stories. She read the name Rev. Peschong on a stone quite near the statue. The date on this stone was the same as Grammas birthday! Red Riding Hood quickly wrote this down in her journal to share with Gramma later.
Respectfully moving from one stone to the next, Red Riding Hood found the names of Candidate Katharina and Candidate Brigitta. She imagined that these poor young girls must have wandered too far from the path and the evil wolf must have gotten them! How dreadfully sad it made Red Riding Hood. They were quite young when they went to their final resting place. Red Riding Hood carefully wrote the dates from their stones in her journal. She wanted to remember them.
Just as Red Riding Hood was tucking her journal away in her bag, a light rain began to fall. As she looked up to the sky and pulled her hood over her head, she realized it was no longer morning. She had delayed here in the cemetery, quite forgetting the promise she had made to her mother. Whats more, she thought she heard the woeful sound of a howl somewhere to the south of her. Red Riding Hood bid goodbye to the quiet souls around her, put her back to the tall statue with the cup, and headed for the bridge she could see ahead and slightly to the left of her.
The sun, by now, was hidden behind clouds and Red Riding Hood was getting nervous. She quickened her pace across the bridge and followed the path to the left. Hearing that strange howling noise again, this time closer and a little louder, she quickly took another left. Whoa! She nearly fell into a precipice in her haste to get to Grammas house! This was not the right way! Looking this way and that she slowly backed away from the precipice, giving a startled jump as her back bumped against a tree. She felt with her fingers how smooth the tree was and it calmed her. That howl again! She needed a place to hide.
Being a clever girl, when she wasnt distracted by thoughts of cake and such, she realized she would need a way to find her way back out of the woods. Retrieving her journal from her bag, she used the notes she had jotted down to make a path. Digging deeper into her pack she produced a device her Godmother had given her called a compass. She combined (but did not add) the December day from Rev. Peschongs stone with the last two numbers of the year. (Scolding herself for not being more careful to write if this was his date of birth or death!) This gave her a three-digit number to use. With her back still resting on the smooth tree, she allowed her compass to settle on North and figured out the angle this three-digit number indicated. Before leaving the comfort of the smooth tree, she added the numbers of the fateful days that Candidates Katharina and Brigitta had died. This gave her a two-digit number of paces to follow. At the end of those paces at that angle, Red Riding Hood could see an excellent hiding spot within some tree roots. She went to the tree and hid, careful not to leave any indication of her passing. OwwwoooOOOOOO!!!!
To Be Continued


text:
Some weeks ago, I suggested one of what I suspect are several reasons why Mitt won't release his taxes had to do with his Mormon tithe.
Add in the practice–which even an outsider like me saw when I lived in UT and worked for a predominantly Mormon company in the 1990s–of gossip about tithing, notably whether Mormon colleagues tithed pre- or post-tax. That's another reason why Reid may have a better sense of what Mitt's tax practices look like than DC pundits might guess on face value.
Finally, though, there's this. If one of the reasons Mitt is hiding his tax returns does have to do with under-tithing (as the returns Mitt released may suggest), and not just his business practices and tax shelters, remember that both CO (2.15%) and especially NV (over 5%) have larger Mormon populations than average. Nate Silver considers NV the state with the biggest return on investment per voter (CO is 6th). These are lean Democratic states that Mitt might need to win if Obama's attacks on Bain outsourcing continue to turn the race in the manufacturing swing states (though if Mitt doesn't win FL and VA, it may be moot anyway). Driving down the Mormon enthusiasm for Mitt might be one way to boost Obama's chances.
In an interview with Parade Magazine (as reported by the Salt Late City Tribune), Mitt now says tithing is one of the reasons (he calls it a "downside") he won't release his tax returns.
Mitt Romney says in a new interview that one of the reasons he's distressed about disclosing his tax returns is that everyone sees how much money he and his wife, Ann, have donated to the LDS Church, and that's a number he wants to keep private.
"Our church doesn't publish how much people have given," Romney tells Parade magazine in an edition due out Sunday. "This is done entirely privately. One of the downsides of releasing one's financial information is that this is now all public, but we had never intended our contributions to be known. It's a very personal thing between ourselves and our commitment to our God and to our church."
Oh no you don't, Mitt Romney!
Mitt has repeatedly dodged how low his 13% tax rate is by demanding that people add in his charitable donations, most of which (his partial tax return release so far reveals) consists of donations to his church.
At his news conference, Romney suggested that his charitable contributions should also be taken into account. "Every year, I've paid at least 13 percent, and if you add, in addition, the amount that goes to charity, why the number gets well above 20 percent," Romney said.
…As if 20% is an appropriate tax plus charity for a man worth over a quarter billion in the first place!
But Mitt is basically asking to have it both ways; to plead privacy because his charitable giving is between him and the Mormon Chuch, but at the same time to ask that we consider that charitable giving in the sum of what he has given back to society. Taxes are a public debt. Mitt wants to count his tithe among his public debt (meaning Mitt wants to count, among other things, the millions his Church has spent on denying equality to gays as a public good). But now he wants to point to his tithe to excuse why we can't know how much he has paid in his public debt.
Too much time as a Private Equity looter has fried Mitt's brain about what is public and what is private.
you left out the best quote!
"I love tithing," Ann Romney tells the magazine. "When Mitt and I give that check, I actually cry." "So do I," Mitt Romney adds, "but for a different reason."
(now to try to find a way to make money off EW's prognostications…better rate of return than anything the Big Boy Banks can offer)
The $3 million he loaned Adelson(SaharaLLC)is certainly interesting, I guess it just washed up there in LV.
@rosalind: LOL!
Actually, if Mitt hadn't said, "One of the downsides"–suggesting there are others–then I'd say he's lying and I was wrong, only because he's always lying.
But given that he suggests there's multiple reasons I'll take that tithing is one of them–though we still don't know how. I think we ought to now assume he found a way to turn donations to support Prop 8 into a tax write off.
Mittens does not have to reveal his sources of wealth. He is an "Insider", an "equity investor", and they are special'
Gawker found some confidential Bain Documents, but there is nothing to see there. Dan Primack, ace reporter for CNN and Fortune, has investigated this story, and the Bain documents are worthless. Just the same as the Financial Looting by Equity Investors in 2008, there is nothing to see here, unless you are an equity geek.
And the Cayman Islands, there is nothing to see there . It is not a haven for Tax Cheats.
Let me save you some time: There is nothing in there that will inform your opinion of Mitt Romney…
I saw many of the exact same documents months ago, after requesting them from a Bain Capital investor. What I quickly learned was that there was little of interest, except perhaps for private equity geeks who want to know exactly how much Bain paid for a particular company back in 2006…
One private equity fund formation attorney I spoke with says that the Caymans structure usually doesn't have real tax benefit for the non-U.S. investors, but that they nonetheless feel more comfortable…
I totally understand why a stack of papers marked "confidential" seems exciting, particularly for those without a deep understanding of private equity.
Gawker don't know nothing about nothing. The got no understanding of private equity looting. But Primac has frequently defended Romoney, because Equity Fund Managers do not have to reveal their tax returns. Equity Fund Managers are very misunderstood. Primac is one of the few that believes in our noble political system where corporations are people.
Equity Manager Insiders are interested in helping people. But there is far too much scutiny. Stop laughing.
I may be among the last Americans who still believe there is something noble about our political process — that the majority of insiders are still more interested in helping people than in accumulating power for its own sake…
In general, few private equity executives want to run for office. Too much scrutiny, too little money. But for those who do still harbor such ambitions, I sincerely hope that they direct their energies elsewhere. Their country needs them to.
Mod. That Cayman Island link may be bad. But I cannot edit it.
@Frank33: Frank33
Haven't seen a Cayman Island link at all.
Finally a Presidential election where we don't have to vote between the lesser of two evils. We can vote against the greatest evil without hesitation.
A couple of things…not necessarily related.
Mitt Romney is NOT listed as a direct donor to the pro-Proposition 8 campaign that I can see. That does NOT mean he didn't contribute to the many groups which campaigned on behalf of Prop 8 (e.g., the National Organization for Marriage).
I would also note that little evidence has surfaced of direct contributions by the LDS Church to the Prop 8 campaign. What happened instead is that bishops and stake presidents shook down wealthy members of their wards and stakes. This happened not just in California. Members here in Arizona were also hit up for donations for the California campaign. (I remember how terribly sick I felt in seeing that some of my neighbors here in Mesa, AZ, had cumulatively gave several hundred thousand dollars to the Prop 8 campaign. It was one of the deciding factors on me resigning my church membership.) Moreover, the church also used its ability to turn people out for walking the precincts in an organized fashion.
There was one instance where Church money was directly used for Prop 8 activities, and that was for a secret videoconference with certain General Authorities and leaders of the Mormon Prop 8 movement. The church might have had to pay a fine, but I don't recall if that was the case. But the Utah leadership was very careful in most instances not to expend church monies but instead to tap the membership for donations to the Prop 8 campaign separate from and on top of their regular tithing.
Which brings me to Mitt's tithing.
It would not surprise me to find out that not only did Mitt Romney not pay any taxes, or paid very little tax. This has an impact on his tithing, because of the way he's got his money distributed and sheltered and otherwise tangled up outside of the public eye. It would not surprise me in the least to learn that Mitt Romney didn't contribute anywhere near what we would consider 10 percent of either his pre-tax or post-tax income. Yes, I do remember those sayings "do you want gross blessings or net blessings?" when discussing tithing–and you don't want to hear me rant on how tithing is a regressive tax counter to everything Jesus taught.
@mirele: Thanks for the comment–very helpful. I respect that you left the church over Prop 8. I know it's not an easy church to leave.
One thing I'm wondering is if there was a way that people wrote off their donations to Prop 8. That shouldn't be possible. But a guy like Mitt may have invented a way, don't you think?
Warning, the link "haven for Tax Cheats" (which is ww.taxhavens.biz/carribean..) clobbered my IMac.
By the way Great Post.
@Frank33: So, these aren't the Bain Documents we're looking for? Okay, Mitt can just move along, then.
You could see this one a light year away.
If he doesn't pay taxes he certainly won't tithe.
The Mittster might be squeamish about talking about his religion outside of Mormon owned resorts and Mormon-led top business and law schools. He might be squeamish about admitting his principle-less leadership and character. He might be squeamish about admitting how little how little he knows about most American lives. A hint, Mitt: Birmingham is not like Detroit; Cranbrook Academy is not part of the Detroit public school system or even as plebeian as Detroit Country Day School.
What scares the Mittster out of his few wits, though, is admitting in writing how much he's really worth, how he got it, and what he does on and offshore to keep it all to himself. He considers tithing meeting his tax obligations to his country, which should be an indication that he misreads the Constitution more deeply even than Mr. Obama.
Link for those papers that Gawker found: http://gawker.com/5936394/
Apparently there's some really interesting stuff in them. Like some of his IRA investments are in funds that didn't exist when he was working at Bain; they started afterward, one of them in 2008. So just exactly what was his relationship with Bain in 2008?
@emptywheel: I'm thinking Mitt's the kind of guy who would launder a donation through a group like NOM. If he wanted to get really tricksy, he could have donated to the Knights of Columbus.
But to know for sure, we'd need to see the tax returns. Keep Pushing!
Mitt stiffing his church by taking an unauthorized discount on his tith? Makes sense to me. In the final summing-up, a higher power might forgive him, but in the here-and-how, both the LDS money boys in Salt Lake City and true LDS ten-percenters with proletarian incomes might take a dim view of his stinginess and express their opinion at the ballot box.
"This is done entirely privately. One of the downsides of releasing one's financial information is that this is now all public, but we had never intended our contributions to be known. It's a very personal thing between ourselves and our commitment to our God and to our church."
Mittens could have kept his contributions completely private. It is only when he chooses to use his "charitable contributions" to avoid paying taxes that they become public.
He did it to save 13%. That's the story: "What a cheap shit, he trashed his "commitment to our God and to our church" for 13%, and now he's whining about it." Time to start laughing at the sob.
In his modesty, Mitt is missing a golden opportunity to bear witness to his fellow LDS members about the beauty and wonders of tithing. "Yes, I give a lot, but it's because God has given a lot to me."
Oh, wait. That won't play well with the whole "I did it myself" message that the GOP is pushing these days. Let me try again.
"Yes, I've done a lot with what God gave me, and as a result, I give a lot to help others."
Oh, damn. That still won't play well, because it implies that individualism ISN'T the way God wants us to live, and God knows *that* won't play well with the GOP.
Hmmm . . . I'll have to think about this some more. I'm sure there's a very good reason why Mitt shouldn't share with the LDS faithful his example of faithful living.
. It is only when he chooses to use his "charitable contributions" to avoid paying taxes that they become public.
Yep. You can't suggest that your tithing be figured into your tax rate demand it be kept private Willard. Just sayin'…
It is soooooooo Unamerican of Mittens to be so squeamish about titties. Seriously, titties are right there with apple pie and cold beer.
@bmaz: And think of how he could inspire the backsliders in the community. "If I can tithe out of all my millions, surely you can tithe out of your hundreds."
Oh, wait. . .
@BSbafflesbrains: "Finally a Presidential election where we don't have to vote between the lesser of two evils. We can vote against the greatest evil without hesitation."
Uh Really? We can vote for the not yet the greatest evil, but with aspirations in a second term, and feel good about it? Is that sort of like being Italian rather than German in the 30's? Here the railroads don't run on time, but the drones do.
It can't happen here, no it can't happen here. Oops, yes it can.
Monday locally the FBI and SS hauled an ex Marine, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, off to the looney bin. The judge who ordered his release today said: "The petition is so devoid of any factual allegations that it could not be reasonably expected to give rise to a case or controversy," http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/news/2012/aug/23/23/judge-says-he-will-order-release-marine-veteran-he-ar-2151347/ Guess he should consider himself lucky they used the judicial system to put him in a psychiatric institution like the Russians used to do. They could just as easily, and just as devoid of facts, have made him a Tuesday Target with no recourse, judicial or otherwise. O signed that into law you know.
Have you not been paying attention? CHANGE=SAME, except when it's worse.
Could I stand to vote for Mittens? Never. Will I "without hesitation" vote for a politician who has spent the last 3 1/2 years carefully positioning himself one grudging half step to the left of the rightest wing dingbat so he can be be the "lesser evil"? Equally never, but I will vote.
BS most often baffles brains when they're being used as a hatrack. Please put that plop plop fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is abdication of the obligations of citizenship "vote against the greatest evil without hesitation" BS where the sun don't shine.
mirele said, "If he wanted to get really tricksy, he could have donated to the Knights of Columbus."
Hedge play or misdirection?
Cardinal Dolan to give closing prayer after Romney's nomination
@P J Evans: That's nothing really. I think it's more how can one accumulate so much money in an IRA.
@bmaz: Yeah, I don't get that either. I think, again, Willard is full of shit. The Catholic Church "suggest" you tithe 10%. They don't enforce it, but I remember a church pastor telling me about it one time.
Has anybody asked the Romneys or the campaign directly if they were involved in any of those amnesties for criminal tax evaders whose names got turned over to the IRS by the Swiss banks and we didn't have the balls to put them in jail so we settled for a measly 20% penalty? Can they answer even that much under penalty of perjury?
Ugh. Feel so out of the loop on this, haven't been paying as close attention as I should have. Am leaning toward EW's perspective on this — I'm wondering if Mittens found a way to pull a Cheney, donating something to a charity to relieve his tax burden.
But whatever this is has to be very bad, so bad that even the GOP would take issue with it. At least Akin-bad. So bad that Mitt's team hasn't called Akin to tell him to STFU and sit on his hands because Akin is a much-needed distraction.
Would making a Cheney-like donation of stock/options/cash to a Prop 8-related entity do it? Nah, that wouldn't annoy the base or the church. This has to be something that the base would find very offensive. Would pissing off the Mormon church about tithing be enough? Nah, because they surely must see the benefit of having their boy in the White House. Loss of tithes in 2008 would be a worthwhile offset.
The optics have to be worse than anti-gay or shorting the church's tithes. I have wondered whether Romney benefited from some aspect of the crash in 2008 and turned that around into a personal benefit, but I can't formulate an angle without investing beaucoup time. What kind of exposure did Mitt have to economic protections in 2008?
Teresa Nielsen Hayden, who was raised LDS, says Rmoney's whole line about tithing is a lie. He knows it, everyone else who's LDS knows it, and he still thinks he can get away with it.
While tithing (or the lack thereof) might play a part in why Romney won't release his returns, I doubt it makes his Top-3 reasons for not releasing those returns.
I've been following the issue closely on my own blog, and the leading reasons appear to be that:
1) Mitt is FAR richer than the quarter-Bil he's claiming. $1-$5 Billion is FAR more likely.
2) Romney has already conceded paying a ridiculously low 13% tax rate on the vast wealth he already admits to. Remember last year's "outrage" that "50% of the population pays no [Federal Income] taxes"? How does the GOP continue its "War on Taxes" being "too high" and insisting the wealthy need more tax cuts if it turns out their multi-millionaire presidential candidate paid NOTHING?
3) Romney probably took advantage of Obama's 2009 Tax Amnesty program for people with overseas accounts, in order to avoid prosecution. Imagine the response if word got out the GOP nominee for president "is a crook" (again)?
"Tithing" may be an issue for Romney, but I seriously doubt is a leading reason he won't reveal his pre-2010 taxes.
Dear MittWitt,
Redact the amounts you donated to the church (cult) and release your returns. Problem solved. Right?
"It's a very personal thing between ourselves and our commitment to our God and to our church."
then please keep it personal rather than state that the separation of church and state has been exaggerated by some
Catholic priest, er cardinal, a protector of little catholic boys, to speak at the closing, another reason to not attend. Another group of people who request 10%, who helped the foreign powers to attack innocent people, kill in the name of god, protector of the faithful, boy i'm glad for the protection from religion.
This is just another of Mitt weaseling out of releasing tax returns.
How many conservatives will suddenly decide NOT to vote for Romney because, while they knew he was Mormon, the $$$ he gave to The Magic Underware Kult was just *too* much?
How many Mormons will suddenly decide NOT to vote for Romney because instead of giving 10% off the top to the LDS, he gave 7%?
No, there are other things in those tax returns that are FAR more damaging than paying 0% income tax, than shortchanging the LDS, than getting an amnesty for Swiss bank accounts.
A business partnership with the bin Laden family, for example.
@Snarki, child of Loki: Bin Laden Family business connections did not seem to hurt the Bush family political success.
I just wish all Americans would understand that mega greed and grotesque hidden savings are not desirable characteristics for moral citizens, let alone, presidents.
@dixie blood: "Redact the amounts you donated to the church (cult) and release your returns. Problem solved. Right?"
Mitt's donations can be as private as he wants them to be, right up until he wants to use them to avoid paying taxes. When he chooses to do that, he voluntarily discloses the contributions.
Mitt valued the 13% he saved on taxes more than "It's a very personal thing between ourselves and our commitment to our God and to our church." What a cheap shit SOB.
Every nickel Mittens chisels has to come out of your hide and mine, or be borrowed from the friendly Chinese. Either way the Repubs and some Dems use it as a cudgel to beat up on what's left of the New Deal.
Redacting information does not solve the problem even a little bit. It feeds it, both parties, all the time. Get your head up, look around, and don't give things that can't stand the light of day a pass to stay hidden.
@Jim: Was that maybe "predator" as a special case of "protector"?
The mittens is pulling at straws. Every mormon knows that lying about their faith to bring in new recruits is A-OK, so his "church" wouldnt be bothered to find out that the romneys ripped them off if that ment that a Mormon would take over the presidency. My guess…Romney was one of more then 30 thousand Americans discovered to be cheating the tax man through Swiss accounts. They were given amnesty, if they paid what they owed. THAT WOULD BE IN HIS TAX RETURNS.
I doubt it's about tithing – its disclosure of his tax fraud related tot he UBS Swiss Bank Account Scandal and his amnesty from criminal prosecution for tax evasion. He would have been forced to amend his 2008 and 2009 returns to show the hidden income, and to pay the tax, interest and penalties. Why he is not being asked about this is beyond me.
Paul Ryan vigorously defended replacing Medicare with vouchers until the US Catholic Bishops started riding his ass. I think here we have a shot at the germ of truth behind Romney's reluctance to disclose – he's afraid of what his church will find out.
@lefty665: Suggest you know your enemy before you fire your weapon. At no time did I advocate voting for O; I am voting Stein/Honkala and have converted many to the cause. My point was While O and his record suck Rmoney is clearly the evil one hands down.
I find it interesting how King Willard always talks in approximations, never exact figures. If indeed he paid 13% taxes and his tax plus "donations" adds up to 20% he is probably not donating 10% to the church.
One reason I want to see the returns is to see how much income he paid 13% on. If he paid 13% on one quarter of his income but had three quarters of his income hidden in tax shelters and tax havens he paid very little tax in reality.
How much did he take in tax deductions for that horse for his wife as medical expenses? Maybe at one time riding a horse was therapy for Queen Ann's MS. But having a horse in the Olympics ridden by someone else is not therapy. Is he still claiming medical deductions for the horse?
Dear BSbb, I'm glad you've found an alternative that will not leave you hesitating at the voting machine and holding up everyone else in line.
"Finally a Presidential election where we don't have to vote between the lesser of two evils. We can vote against the greatest evil without hesitation."
With no other context, in response to a post about Mittens, a contrast between lesser evils, greatest evil, and "finally", Stein/Honkala is not a reasonable inference.
You could have voted Green or Independent for quite a few elections. Have all those candidates over all those cycles been somehow "lesser evils"? Remember John Anderson and the Little Jug Eared Martian? Were they "lesser evils"? Lyndon LaRouche was evil, and would have resented being characterized as "lesser".
That leads to the question, who is the "greatest evil" you are voting against? You baffled me on your apparent support of O over Mittens. I am baffleder about who you believe is the big kahuna of evil.
@John H:
"I want to see the returns"
Here's a link to the 2010 return he paid 13% on. Have at it. FYI, most of the interesting bits seem to be in the trust returns which individually are shorter than the 1040. The 1040 itself is 203 pages.
Draft of his 2011 1040 is up too. It's only about half as long as 2011, it doesn't include the trust returns, and of course all the numbers are subject to change.
@Phil Perspective:
I think my parents tithed – and we went to a Methodist church. (They did a lot of unpaid work too.)
Some of the maneuvers Rmoney pulled with his offshore accounts are almost certainly not legal and he'd have to do some very belated 'amendments' to his returns for those years, according to a tax law professor who looked at some of the stuff in Gawker's document release.
@mirele: #8
As far as whether the LDS church supported the proposition officially, it's a distinction without any real difference. FWIW, they made an alliance with the Roman Catholic bishops, and if it is one thing we see from your statement and the reports in general, the words of the leadership, even if it's "optional", are to be followed or one risks damnation. Don't be so sure there's no fire with the smoke, the investigation has been stonewalled, and I would also point out that the D-Is in the current court case in the trial phase chickened out from backing up their claims in court.
After all, only the wingnuts carry out political violence, excepting the recent FRC attack on an organization tat advocates murder.
@Mugsy: #29
I still think it's the voter fraud / MA governor residency thing, we have only seen the 2010 federal return, not the state one, or any other year's returns. We also know that he had to retroactively paper over his residency to be MA governor. These latest revelations about Bain tells us more details, but we already knew the basics that Mitt is a crook and a cheat with a huge entitlement streak. Whether the IRS follows up on this is going to be the interesting part, since Bain VIII seems to place Mitt in control until very recently. Not bad for a retroactive retirement in 1999.
As far as being scared of the LDS, that would assume Mitt has concept of or the ability to feel shame. He has neither, so it's not a big a deal in my view as the other things noted above.
@lefty665: #43
As do I, but I would discount the 2011 return until he signs it, after all he's Governor "Etch-A-Sketch" for a reason.
We also need to see the state returns to settle the residency issues that keep cropping up.
FWIW it seems the Bain docs dumped by Gawker are already getting shredded by the NYT of all publications, and it seems there are some hinky reclassifications of ordinary income into capital gains. Wait until Krugman reviews them, it will make his disembowelment and exposure of Niall Ferguson as an economic fraud seem like something joyful out of "Mary Poppins".
As a side point, exactly what would be Mitt's liability for unhappy investor/shareholder/former employee litigation if his retroactive retirement is found to be bogus? Does it open him up to paying for all of those closures and excessive management fees while bankrupting otherwise profitable concerns?
One NOT related to Mitt [as far as I know], but exemplary, was the takeover of Pacific Lumber by Maxxam which then had to clear-cut unsustainably to pay off the leveraging, and made the spotted owl famous.
"Ancestry" was looking for bids from 'private equity' people, but the bids didn't make them happy. Either they lost money on their TV shows, or they can't keep going without sucking in a lot more customers (and they aren't cheap).
"We also need to see the state returns to settle the residency issues that keep cropping up."
Heavens to Betsy! Surely you don't mean that you think comparing Mittens state returns to his claims of primary residence tax deductions to his voter registration might reveal "inconsistencies" aka fraud?
Could it be the Repubs fear voter fraud because they already know a lot about it first hand (mittten)?


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The Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster
The Phantom Tollbooth
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Yep, that's right. This whole book is an allegory. Wait, what's an allegory again? We're glad you asked. We can understand an allegory as "any writing in verse or prose that has a double meaning. This narrative acts as an extended metaphor in which persons, abstract ideas, or events represent not only themselves on the literal level, but they also stand for something else on the symbolic level" (source). If you've read our section on "Writing Style," you know our author is no stranger to double meanings.
The way we see it, there are three main ways that allegory is used in The Phantom Tollbooth:
- People: Every person or personified animal Milo meets represents something and has a special lesson to teach him. For example, King Azaz represents language and the Mathemagician represents numbers. Because the rulers each value their own specialty the most, their kingdom has split in half and its people can no longer achieve true wisdom. (And so, of course, this kingdom is called Wisdom.) To check in on what other characters mean allegorically, hit up the "Character Analysis" section.
- Things: Even the objects that Milo comes in contact with have allegorical meanings. Even the tollbooth has some extra meaning. (See "Symbols, Imagery, Allegory: The Tollbooth" for more on that.)
- Places: Each place that Milo visits on his journey represents something on the allegorical level. The book makes it easy for us to figure out what those places represent by giving them obvious names: the Kingdom of Wisdom, the Mountains of Ignorance, the Sea of Knowledge, and the Island of Conclusions. And don't forget the twin cities of Illusions and Reality. (Naming places after the things they represent is a key element of allegory, and you can see it in other famous allegorical works like The Pilgrim's Progress, which might as well be subtitled, "The Original Allegory.") For more examples of places being allegorical in The Phantom Tollbooth, go check out the sections "Symbols, Imagery, Allegory: The Doldrums" and "Setting."


text: Republican Party Vice-President Nominee Paul Ryan has been ex-girlfriend identified as Deneeta Pope, who is aAfrican American woman. Deneeta is a 40 year-old Chicago realtor and specialist, she is ex-GF of Mitt Romney running mate during his college days at Ohio University, Miami. Paul Ryan ex-sweetheat supporting Obama. "I am indeed a Democrat. That's no secret. But although I have a different political association to Paul, I support him and wish him continued success." she told to the UK Daily Mail.


text:
1 hurt in shooting on city's northeast side
Police say victim will recover
Published 6:52 AM CDT Jun 20, 2013
Kansas City police are investigating a shooting on the city's northeast side early Thursday morning.
Police were called to the Apple Market at Independence and Monroe avenues about 2:30 a.m.
Investigators said the shooting happened somewhere else, and they are trying to sort out the details.
Police said the victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Copyright 2013 by KMBC.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Ex-Pfizer R&D Chief LaMattina Joins Human Genome Board
Old researchers never die; they just join corporate boards.
John LaMattina, a chemist who retired as head of Pfizer R&D last year, has been named to the board of directors of Human Genome Sciences, a biotech company still looking for its first product.
LaMattina joins a cast of former Big Pharma honchos on the HGS board, including Chairman Jerry Karabelas, formerly of Novartis; Jürgen Drews, ex-Roche; and Maxine Gowen, ex-GlaxoSmithKline.
It's a different vibe on the HGS board from the heady days of all things human genome around the turn of the millennium. Bill Haseltine, the flamboyant scientist who was then company chairman and CEO, assembled an eclectic board that included,at various times, soprano Beverly Sills, economist Laura Tyson, and diplomat Richard Holbrooke.
In announcing LaMattina's appointment, HGS praised his work in building up Pfizer's cancer drug pipeline. Pfizer's Sutent, a pill approved by FDA for kidney cancer in 2006, is one of the few bright spots for the company lately.
In the Health Blog's frequent talks with LaMattina over the years, he rarely missed a chance to remind us that Tarceva, a pill for lung and pancreatic cancer, was developed by Pfizer. But in the company's takeover of Warner-Lambert, the rights to the drug were returned to OSI Pharmaceuticals to allay antitrust concerns. The competing compound that Pfizer retained never panned out, but Tarceva has become a hit for OSI and Genentech.
In the end, LaMattina is probably best known, unfortunately, for the failure of torcetrapib, an experimental booster of good cholesterol that Pfizer had been banking on as the eventual replacement for Lipitor. But quite unexpectedly, more patients taking torcetrapib and Lipitor in a clinical study died than those taking Lipitor alone, the company found in late 2006. Pfizer canceled the project and LaMattina left in 2007.


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Courtney celebrates the aqua team's triumphant return to the Biggest Loser ranch, after they lost 60 pounds on their own in four weeks at home. There were no open arms for them, and fans far and wide vocalized their frustration with this season's drama, likening it to something we haven't seen since season six.
"There's always a story behind a story," Courtney notes in this week's video. We don't know "if there's other things going on behind the scenes." And we don't, but she thinks, and we'd agree, that the aqua team needs to be more embraced rather than treated like imposing outsiders.
"Attitudes need to get in check," Courtney said.
She thinks a change is coming, do you?Flag this Video
I love the show but there hasn't been a season like this in a long time. First of all, Bob keeps saying that no one has ever left the show before now but they have. Rulon (weight lifter) left. But now for the meat of this e-mail. Conda is not a nice person. She needs to be more like her brother Jeremy whom everyone seems to like. She is a complainer from the first show when she said someone chested her in the first race. Did a re-do and she lost again. She is vicious and vindictive and producers need to rein her in. She talks about Dolvet and then kisses up to him. She blatantly cuts down other players and everyone just falls all over her. She is a bully. She was heard cutting down Adrian by Dolvet and no one thought anything about it. It just might mean that the whole team is like that. You could see the despair on Roy's face even with the beard. Oh well, I'll be there next week and see what happens.


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This is trickier than I thought. I've no idea about the sales figures for these guys, but I've seen them all placed above Low in popular (i.e. 'voted for') charts.Trout Mask Replica Kid AOgden's Nut Gone Flake Actually, I suspect that looking at popularity polls for this kind of answer is misleading because, needless to say, there were many votes 'squandered' on numerous Bowie albums above these that could otherwise have been spent on Low. Anyway, the three I've mentioned sold fairly respectably. Kid A is included on the grounds that the last millennium or century or whatever didn't start until 2001. . . Erm. . . How many units did We're Only in it for the Money shift?
In reply to:Although an initial audience [for Low] was guaranteed. . .
Although an initial audience [for Low] was guaranteed. . .
What was its sticking power like? An initial chart position doesn't guarantee that it was enjoyed even by the majority of its buyers (i.e. ensuring its popularity). I think I read somewhere that a fair portion of Metal Machine Music (20,000?) was shifted in pre-release orders, though I guess not so many people would have bought it had they known.
In reply to:In 1940, Leopold Stokowski and Walt Disney selected The Rite of Spring for inclusion in the animated feature, Fantasia thus securing its place in popular music
In 1940, Leopold Stokowski and Walt Disney selected The Rite of Spring for inclusion in the animated feature, Fantasia thus securing its place in popular music
Hmm, I've often wondered about this. Mr Stravinsky didn't like the Disneyfied version (and neither do I particularly) but I wonder how much of The Rite of Spring's popularity rests on a 'false' version?Now as for the Low vs. Rite of Spring comparison . . . I think the critical reception, although hostile to both, might have been different. Much of what happens in Low can be traced back to earlier, less accessible works by Neu, Kraftwerk, Eno and the like, while it appears that The Rite of Spring was with fewer precedents and is overall considerably more dissonant than Low. For example, Lester Bangs labelled Low as an Eno rip-off, though it's hard to make the same charge against Stravinsky (at least with my sketchy knowledge of classical 20th century compositions). I declare Metal Machine Music the winner!Weave a circle round him thrice,And close your eyes with holy dread


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MAY 02, 2013 - Business Insider
A Must Read - Share
Good news for rich, impatient, picky Tesla Model S electric-car wannabes. If you're looking to buy right now — but can't abide a car sullied by a few thousand miles of loaner-car duty under the recently announced buy-it-now program — Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] now offers a new but little-known option. Yes, you can purchase a brand new, top-of-the-line Model S with no waiting. Today, if you order an 85-kWh 2013 Tesla Model S Performance version through normal channels, you're looking at a waiting time of about two months, according to the company's website. (The wait is closer
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Alaska Backpackers Inn
Alaska Backpacker's Inn is Anchorage's newest backpacker's hostel. We are located in downtown Anchorage only a few minutes walk from all that downtown Anchorage has to offer. We are right around the corner from the train station and Alaska direct bus. We offer the best value for your money in a clean, safe, fun and sociable environment. Save money to go on tours, backpacking, hiking, or whatever works for you! This is the perfect place to start your Alaskan Adventure.
The hostel consists of four buildings. The Backpackers Inn (blue building in pics) that contains 80 beds broken in small dorms (No more than 4 beds per dorm) and private rooms (shared bathrooms). Private rooms include cable TV (80 channels plus showtime) and Micro-fridges on each room. 2 shares have micro fridges as well. Other facilities include cable TV in a large common area which also has a Foosball table and vending machines, reading room, kitchen, lots of clean spacious shared bathrooms and much more.
Last summer we took on the challenge of providing more private rooms due to the high demand. So we added our Backpackers Annex buildings (two yellow building on pics) down the road. We are now providing more private rooms in this building with the difference that these rooms only share one bathroom and one small kitchenette with one other room. So this rooms cost $5 more but offer extra privacy. Unlike other hostels we also added suites to our mix. We now have full one bedroom private suites with full kitchens and bathrooms.
All rooms have their own thermostat to control the heat and fans and other amenities are available upon request.
So come check us out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Come and get the real alaskan feeling... only at the ABI
Availability & RatesTo view availability and prices please select dates and click 'Update Dates'
Hostel Facilities & Policies
- 24 Hour Reception
- 24 Hour Security
- Adaptors
- Bicycle parking
- Board Games
- Cable TV
- Child Friendly
- Common Room
- Credit Cards Accepted
- Free City Maps
- Free Internet Access
- Free Parking
- Free WiFi
- Foosball
- Games Room
- Hair Dryers For Hire
- Hot Showers
- Internet Access
- Self-Catering Facilities
- Laundry Facilities
- Linen Included
- Security Lockers
- Luggage Storage
- No Curfew
- Non Smoking
- Parking
- Steam Room
- Taxes not included
- Tea & Coffee Making Facilities
- Towels For Hire
- Vending Machines
- Washing Machine
Cancellation PolicyThis property has a 1 day cancellation policy. Failure to cancel within this time will result in a cancellation charge equal to the first night of your stay.
DirectionsShow MapHide Map
We are located in downtown in the corner of 4th avenue and eagle street, 1 block north of the Sheraton hotel. We are 7 miles from the airport. The fare will cost you $20 give or take, however, once in the hostel everything is walking distance, so you wont have to pay for any more transportation inside the city. If you decide to go the cheaper route and use the bus. Go to bus stop at airport and wait for bus 7A. it will drop you at downtown transfer station. From there you can walk towards the mountains on 5th avenue until you stumble into the Sheraton (15 minutes walk) and then make a left or grab bus 45 and it will drop you right in our corner.
Located Near
Our lobby is located at 409 Eagle Street in East Downtown Anchorage. Downtown's main streets are 4th and 5th Avenue. We are located directly in between them. We are one block North of the Sheraton Hotel .


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Ford, UAW Agree to Bargain Past Tonight's Contract Expiration
Ford Motor Co. and the United Auto Workers agreed to bargain past tonight's expiration of their current labor contract while the union also pursues new labor agreements at General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC.
Ford declined to comment about details of its talks, Marcey Evans, a Ford spokeswoman, said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. The four-year contract expires at 11:59 p.m. New York time. The union's current contracts with GM and Fiat SpA- controlled Chrysler expire at the same time.
Typically, the UAW reaches an agreement with one automaker and uses that accord to set the so-called pattern with the others. The pattern for this year's contract will be set by "General Motors or Chrysler, but it will not be Ford Motor Company," Jimmy Settles, vice president of the union's Ford department, said in a posting on the union's Facebook page.
Settles said that he informed Ford yesterday he would extend the union's current contract while not providing a timetable for when a tentative agreement may be reached.
The Detroit-based UAW represents 113,000 workers at the automakers. Union President Bob King has said he's open to compensation that may include lump-sum payments, rather than raises, that are tied to profit sharing and achieving productivity and quality goals.
Signing Bonus Proposal
The UAW proposed a signing bonus of $8,000 to $10,000 for each member, four people familiar with discussions said last week. Such a bonus may help sell the deal to union members looking to be repaid for what King has estimated as $7,000 to $30,000 in concessions they each gave since 2005.
Workers at Detroit-based GM, Ford and Chrysler received signing bonuses of $3,000 after they ratified the current contract in 2007. Prior to that, signing bonuses had been around $1,000, Harley Shaiken, a labor professor at the University of California at Berkeley, said last week.
Previous concessions included surrendering raises, bonuses and cost-of-living adjustments as well as agreeing to a two-tier wage system, where new hires are paid about half as much as senior employees. With GM and Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford profitable, workers have said they want to recover what they gave up.
Workers at Ford have filed an "equality of sacrifice" grievance against the automaker after salaried workers received raises, tuition assistance and 401(k) matches last year. An arbitration hearing on that dispute is scheduled for tomorrow.
No-Strike Pledges
UAW members agreed to a no-strike pledge at GM and Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler as part of their U.S.-backed bankruptcies in 2009. Unsettled disputes at the automakers are to be decided through binding arbitration. Ford didn't receive a U.S. bailout and UAW members there went against the wishes of union leaders and rejected a strike ban and arbitration.
The key issues are signing bonuses, increasing the $14-an-hour wage for new hires and investments in U.S. plants to secure future work. GM executives have said that they want to tie compensation to company performance targets, which the union has traditionally opposed.
Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said yesterday the U.S. carmaker isn't "close" to an agreement with the UAW.
"I don't have a contract," Marchionne told reporters at the Frankfurt motor show. "We are not near."


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New to the series? Read our spoiler-free review of A Game of Thrones.
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Season 3, Missandei, Kraznys Profile, Kraznys Index, Kraznys, Game of Thrones, EP303
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MAR 21, 2013 - CBS Sports
A Must Read - Share
Dennis Seidenberg scored with 1:04 left to help the Boston Bruins beat the Ottawa Senators 2-1 on Thursday night.
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Author Archives: Alex
Spring Fling!
On May 8th the SGA hosted the "Spring Fling," an end of the year event to help students unwind and celebrate the semester coming to a close. From 11 to 1 students gathered in the lounge for free food, games, … Continue reading
Final Spring Semester Report: SGA
Over the past two weeks I have met privately with several members of the SGA. In the following interviews we discuss member's thoughts on the school and the SGA, as well as what their duties are and the projects they … Continue reading
Update: SGA
As the end of this semester draws near the SGA has much to attend to. At the April 23 meeting of its members the SGA looked to put all its semester closing business into action. The first item of discussion … Continue reading
SGA Spotlight: James Kittinger
Treasurer James Kittinger is a Dublin resident, born and raised here in Southwest Virginia. Majoring in education, he will graduate with honors this semester and will attend Radford University in the fall. Here at NRCC James takes his duties seriously, … Continue reading
The SGA Report
The April 2nd meeting of the SGA signaled the opening of a new dialogue between its members and the staff of the Knight Rider. Historically tensions have always existed between institutions of government and those of the press. … Continue reading
The True Golden Age of Gaming
For many of us the Super Nintendo represents the true golden age of video games. With nostalgia I think back to those early mornings before school, waking up before anyone else did so I would have a chance to play … Continue reading
Age and Enrollment at NRCC
As the world shudders under the weight of economic crisis, every aspect of American society is feeling the downturn. College campuses are no exception. Let's take a moment now to break the zombie-like trance we float in from class to … Continue reading
The 2009 Grammys
For me, the Grammys have always been a great concert performance opportunity rather than an awards show. Of course, the big winners are usually scheduled to perform anyway, in an act of prescient pre-Grammy fortitude. This year's show had some … Continue reading
From Strangeness to Sameness: Music of 2008
2008 has been an exceptional year in music. The listening world witnessed many births and resurrections, with artist's new and old scoring hit after hit on the charts. Some were good, some great, and some were god awful. I mean … Continue reading
Old Fashioned Good Times in Edwards 117
The tradition of bluegrass music dates back to the earliest days of American discovery. Early settlers (particularly the Scotch-Irish who immigrated to Appalachia) wrote songs about day to day experiences in this new rural land, songs reflecting life in … Continue reading


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Employment at Acumentra Health
Acumentra Health is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of health care.
Employees work in a team environment and have many opportunities to broaden their knowledge and skills. As Acumentra Health continues to grow, we are looking for dedicated and qualified staff to fill open positions.
Acumentra Health offers an attractive benefits package that includes insurance coverage, holidays and time off, and a retirement plan. Acumentra Health is an equal opportunity employer.
Acumentra Health grants employment opportunities to all qualified persons without regard to gender, race, color, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by law. In order to provide equal opportunity to all individuals, employment decisions will be based on merit, qualifications, and abilities.
Open positions
Please visit HealthInsight's Employment Listings page.
To apply, please complete an online application form.
If you are unable to access the online form, you may request a hard copy at email@example.com.


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Snow White and the Huntsman, Kristen Stewart
Snow White and the Huntsman, which "premiered" last Friday in North America, has already passed the $100 million milestone at the worldwide box office. Directed by feature-film first-timer Rupert Sanders, the period fantasy adventure stars The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2's Kristen Stewart, The Avengers' Chris Hemsworth, Prometheus' Charlize Theron, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' Sam Claflin.
According to Box Office Mojo, as of Tuesday Snow White and the Huntsman's partially updated worldwide box office cume stood at $106.45 million. I say "partially" because although domestic box office figures have been updated daily, international figures are estimates up to Sunday. For the record: Snow White and the Huntsman has taken in $67.15 million in the U.S. and Canada and (as of Sunday) an estimated $39.3 million in 45 markets.
SWATH easily topped the North American box office last weekend, though, screening at fewer theaters (and in 2D), it trailed Men in Black III and Prometheus overseas. Box-office actuals are currently available for only 31 of SWATH's 45 international markets; those total $30.5 million. Snow White and the Huntsman's top territories were the United Kingdom (an estimated $5.5 million), Mexico ($4.9 million), Germany ($4.07 million), Spain ($3.96 million), South Korea ($2.95 million), and Brazil ($2.58m).
Budgeted at $170m, Snow White and the Huntsman was written by Evan Daugherty (Killing Season), John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side), and Hossein Amini (Drive). Besides Kristen Stewart (Snow White), Charlize Theron (Evil Queen), Chris Hemsworth (Huntsman), and Sam Claflin (Prince Charming), the SWATH cast includes Who Framed Roger Rabbit's Bob Hoskins, The Sweeney's Ray Winstone, Shrek the Third's Ian McShane, My Week with Marilyn's Toby Jones, and Vera Drake's Eddie Marsan.
In addition to: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' Lily Cole, Clash of the Titans' Vincent Regan, 28 Days Later's Noah Huntley, Shaun of the Dead's Nick Frost, and Young Victoria's Rachael Stirling.
Kristen Stewart as Snow White / Snow White and the Huntsman picture: Alex Bailey / Universal Pictures.


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Bless Me, Ultima
by Rudolfo Anaya
Character Clues
Character Analysis
Antonio's father is not really a man of many words, and he's not big on handing out advice to his youngest child (at least not until near the end of the book), but he shows what kind of man he is by the actions he takes:
[Tenorio] did not have a chance to finish his accusation because my father reached out and grabbed him by the collar. Tenorio was not a small man, but with one hand my father jerked him off his feet and pulled the cringing figure forward. (12.315-318)
Okay, so from his actions, we can see that Antonio's father might do pretty well in the UFC, but that's not really the point. In this scene, Antonio's father is protecting his home, his family, and Ultima. He stands up to Tenorio, a man who very people stand up to, in order to make sure that no harm comes to the people he loves. This deed comes to define manhood for Antonio. Antonio learns that a man does what is necessary to protect the people closest to him.
Okay, so the whole story takes place in New Mexico (quick, what's New Mexico's nickname?), but it's the locations within about a ten-mile radius in the book that come to define people—not the whole darn state. There is the town of Guadalupe, there is the llano, and there is the farmland where Antonio's mother's family lives. The key location, though, is Antonio's house:
On this side of the river, there were only three houses. The slope of the hill rose gradually into the hills of juniper and mesquite and cedar clumps. (1.319-321)
The key here is that Antonio lives between worlds. He does not live in town, and he does not live in the llano of his father or the farmland (La Pasturas) of his mother. Antonio's location serves as a literal representation of how he sees himself in the world. He is stuck in the middle, drawn by multiple powers, but not truly belonging to any. Eventually, he learns to draw from all of the influences (and locations) around him to start developing into the man he will become.
Sometimes, a character's essence is all in the name (think Remus Lupin or Billy Pilgrim). While the names in Bless Me, Ultima might not be quite so obvious to people who don't have a solid working knowledge of Spanish, Anaya lays all out there with the family names of Antonio's mother and father.
Antonio's father's family, the Márez (sea), are wanders and in motion like the sea. In fact, the book straight up tells us this: "his forefathers were men of the sea, the Márez people, they were conquistadors, men whose freedom was unbounded" (2.417-418). Antonio's mother's family, the Luna (moon), are pretty much the opposite:
"This one will be a Luna," the old man said, "he will be a farmer and keep our customs and traditions. Perhaps God will bless our family and make the baby a priest." (1.159-161)
Their family names not only define the character and temperament of Antonio's mother and father, they also define the struggle that rages in Antonio throughout the novel. Once again, we see that he dwells between different worlds.


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Trust Us, We Have A Sterling Plan
In five weeks, voters in Scotland will decide whether to split from the rest of the U.K.—a step that could confuse matters relating to its use of sterling, which it shares with the other parts of the union.
The Bank of England, you'll be shocked to hear, has a plan for dealing with the outcome.
During the quarterly Inflation Report presentation Wednesday, the central bank's Governor Mark Carney adopted an intriguing tone on what might happen if Scotland votes for independence in the imminent referendum, but did reassure the public that a "contingency plan is in place."
So what's in the plan?
"It's never a good idea to talk about contingency plans in public, other than to assure people that we have contingency plans," he told reporters during a press conference following the publication of the BOE's Inflation Report.
"I would just underscore that in terms of our responsibilities for financial stability, we do have a wide range of tools and plans," he added, without providing specifics or details.
He went on to say that the BOE is also not the only authority that has responsibility for financial stability.
"Some of the powers that we have are held jointly with Her Majesty's Treasury. So we're not the sole decision maker in these areas," he said, before casting his attention back to perhaps more predictable questions surrounding the timing of a rise in interest rates.
The latest poll published by Ipsos Mori last week puts overall support for Scottish independence at 37% but nonetheless, economists have over recent months repeatedly stressed that investors may be underestimating the risk of Scots voting for a split.
Some sterling traders are growing nervous.
All three main political parties in London have ruled out entering a formal, euro-zone-style currency union with Scotland if it leaves the U.K., an arrangement Alex Salmond, first minister in Scotland's semiautonomous parliament and leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party, has said he favors.
Speaking in Edinburgh in January, Mr. Carney said that an independent Scotland would have to give up some control of its finances if it wished to enter a stable and prosperous currency union with the remainder of the U.K.
"In a monetary union between an independent Scotland and the rest of the U.K., the two parliaments would have to agree on whether fiscal rules were sufficient or whether similar risk-sharing mechanisms were necessary," he said.
"Decisions that cede sovereignty and limit autonomy are rightly choices for elected governments," he said at the time.


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Coca-Cola Selling PET Recycling Plant, Sources Say
Coca-Cola's PET recycling plant in Spartanburg, S.C. is for sale, Plastics News has reported.
More than half a dozen sources told the website that Coca-Cola has given United Resource Recovery LLC, its joint venture partner on the shuttered plant, the go-ahead to sell the facility.
One source said potential buyers have been visiting the plant, which cost the joint venture about $60 million. But another source said that investment level could push the plant's asking price too high.
"Coca-Cola could end up taking a [financial] hosing and one-half on this," one source said.
The plant, described as the world's largest plastic bottle-to-bottle recycling complex, opened in 2009. It was supposed to produce 100 million pounds of recycled plastic when fully operational, or about two billion 20-ounce Coke bottles.
But this April it emerged that the plant had stopped production, laying off all 50 of its factory workers and nearly all of its office staff. At the time Coca-Cola told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that it was making plans to re-open the facility, but that the joint venture running the plant must be restructured "in light of current business conditions."
In May Plastic News reported that recyclers were complaining of balances unpaid since the shutdown, with payments outstanding ranging from tens of thousands of dollars, to $1 million.
Sources said that only about 1 million pounds of recycled PET from the plant actually ended up in bottles. Coke failed to meet a goal of 10 percent recycled content in its PET bottles by 2010. It has another goal of 25 percent by 2015.
United Resource Recovery president and CEO Carlos Gutierrez would not confirm whether the plant was for sale, and Coke officials did not immediately respond to Plastic News's questions.
"At present, the company is not at liberty to discuss publicly current plans for the future of the facility," Gutierrez said.
Coke still has PET recycling plants in Mexico, France, Austria, Switzerland and the Philippines, Plastic News said.
Reader Comments
It's kind of interesting to follow this. Years ago Coca-cola couldn't get the industry to meet it's needs so they went out and put a stake in the ground that they'd do it themselves if they had to. At the time that seemed like leadership in sparking change – but what does it say that they are selling off the facility? Does that mean the venture was a total bust? Were the larger issues in the recycling market too big for even Coca-cola to tackle? Does the plant bottle have anything to do with it? I'm sure I'm not the only one who would love to know more.
@BrookeBF from @RecycleMatch
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Prayers after four killed by 'windslab' avalanche in Glencoe
Climbers died when an 'artificial cliff' of snow gave way below them
PRAYERS are being held in the Scottish highlands today after four climbers were killed by an avalanche in Glencoe as Britain's icy weather took a deadly turn.
The four, who were part of a group of six, were swept to their deaths on Bidean Nam Bian, the highest peak in Glencoe, when the snow they were walking on gave way. It is the largest loss of life in an avalanche in the area.
A fifth woman was taken to hospital in Fort William with serious head injuries and a sixth man escaped unharmed after he managed to jump clear of the avalanche. He helped raise the alarm and rescue teams later discovered the bodies of two men and two women buried beneath the snow.
Scotland's first minister Alex Salmond described the deaths as an "appalling tragedy". A memorial service was held today at St Munda's Church in Glencoe, and Rev Moira Herkes told Metro: "This is a very beautiful place, but at times it can be very dangerous."
Although there had not been a great deal of snow on Glencoe the avalanche risk was said to be "considerable" and the four climbers were killed by the collapse of a 'windslab', described by the Sunday Herald as "an unstable and dangerous crust of snow created by the wind".
Gusts from the south east had whipped up the snow on the peaks and helped create the slab. The Scotsman explained how the wind had caused "ice and snow to accumulate on the edge of a ridge creating an artificial cliff".
"A slab, which can be difficult to detect and has led to fatal accidents, is believed to have given way under the weight of the climbers causing them to fall down the side of the mountain," the paper added.
The Daily Mail reported that the party had "defied warnings about the conditions" to go out climbing and the Herald added: "At 3,500ft, Bidean Nam Bian is the highest peak in Glencoe and an area known to be susceptible to avalanches."


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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 10:36 pm
Post subject:
Thanx 4 ur reply anna.
We hav an appointment on tuesday finally after waiting 11 weeks for her 2 get measured for her boots.
She walks quite well bare footed even tho her feet roll in she grips the floor tight wiv her toes but wen she has shoes on she can't do this so falls ova almost constantly. It dusnt bother me but it gets me dwn i no i shudnt let it but u just want the best 4 ur children dnt u.
Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 8:21 pm
Post subject:
I know hun, I think you are doing a fantastic job. It must be awful to see her struggle so much poor little thing.
Hopefully the boots will really help - they definitely helped Isaac loads. Just to warn you though, they are quite rigid, so the first couple of weeks aren't great. Just persevere and keep her in them whenever she is awake and moving!! Once they get used to them, in my experience the progress is amazing.
Hope it goes OK next week. After the measure it takes about 6 weeks to actually get the boots. Push them as much as you can - I managed to get 1 pair in just under 2 weeks once because I'd had to wait ages for appt and he'd grown out of previous pair, so they CAN do it faster if you push!!