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Printer-Friendly Earnings Release Printer-Friendly Announcement
NORTHFIELD, Ill., Aug. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) today announced that its Board of Directors intends to create two independent public companies: A high-growth global snacks business with estimated revenue (1) of approximately $32 billion and a high-margin North American grocery business with estimated revenue of approximately $16 billion. The company expects to create these companies through a tax-free spin-off of the North American grocery business to Kraft Foods shareholders.
"As our second quarter results once again show, our businesses are benefiting from a virtuous cycle of growth and investment, which we fully expect will continue," said Chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld. "We have built two strong, but distinct, portfolios. Our strategic actions have put us in a position to create two great companies, each with the leadership, resources and strong market positions to realize their full potential. The next phase of our development recognizes the distinct priorities within our portfolio. The global snacks business has tremendous opportunities for growth as consumer demand for snacks increases around the world. The North American grocery business has a remarkable set of iconic brands, industry-leading margins, and the clear ability to generate significant cash flow."
Strategic Rationale
Over the last several years, Kraft Foods has transformed its portfolio by expanding geographically and by building its presence in the fast-growing snacking category. A series of strategic acquisitions, notably of LU biscuit from Danone and of Cadbury Plc, together with the strong organic growth of its Power Brands, have made Kraft Foods the world's leading snacks company. At the same time, the company has continued to invest in product quality, marketing and innovation behind its iconic North American brands, while implementing a series of cost management initiatives. As a result, the company has delivered strong results in very challenging economic conditions.
Having successfully executed its transformation plan, and 18 months into the Cadbury integration, the company has, in fact, built a global snacking platform and a North American grocery business that now differ in their future strategic priorities, growth profiles and operational focus. For example, Kraft Foods' snacks business is focused largely on capitalizing on global consumer snacking trends, building its strength in fast-growing developing markets and in instant consumption channels; the North American grocery business is investing to grow revenue in line with its categories in traditional grocery channels through product innovation and world-class marketing, while driving superior margins and cash flows.
Over the course of Kraft Foods' strategic transformation, the Board of Directors and management have continually explored opportunities to further enhance performance and increase long-term shareholder value and believe that creating two independent public companies is the logical next step. Specifically, detailed review by the Board and management has shown that these two businesses would now benefit from being run independently of each other, rather than as part of the same company.
The company believes that creating two public companies would offer a number of opportunities:
Creating Two Great Companies
Global snacks will consist of the current Kraft Foods Europe and Developing Markets units as well as the North American snacks and confectionery businesses. As an independent company, global snacks would have estimated revenues of approximately $32 billion and a strong growth profile across numerous fast-growing, attractive markets. Approximately 75 percent of revenues would be from snacks around the world, and approximately 42 percent would come from developing markets, including a diversified presence in numerous highly attractive emerging markets. The business would have a strong presence in the fast-growing and high-margin instant consumption channel. The non-snacks portion of the portfolio would consist primarily of powdered beverages and coffee, which have a strong growth and margin profile in developing markets and Europe. Key brands would include Oreo and LU biscuits, Cadbury and Milka chocolates, Trident gum, Jacobs coffee,and Tang powdered beverages.
The North American grocery business would consist of the current U.S. Beverages, Cheese, Convenient Meals and Grocery segments and the non-snack categories in Canada and Food Service. With approximately $16 billion in estimated revenue, this business would be one of the largest food and beverage companies in North America. Its portfolio would include many of the most popular food brands on the continent, with leadership positions in virtually every category in which it competes.
The North American grocery business would have a highly competitive retail presence, cost leadership and a continued commitment to innovation and marketing excellence. North America's strategic priorities would be to build on its leading market positions by growing in line with its categories while maintaining a sharp focus on its cost structure. Capitalizing on the investments that the company has made during its transformation, an independent North American business would be managed to deliver reliable revenue growth; strong margins and free cash flow; and a highly competitive dividend payout. Key brands would include Kraft macaroni and cheese, Oscar Mayer meats, Philadelphiacream cheese, Maxwell House coffee, Capri Sun beverages, Jell-O desserts and Miracle Whip salad dressing.
Management is targeting capital structures to maintain investment-grade ratings with access to commercial paper for each new entity.
Next Steps
Management is developing detailed plans for the Board's further consideration and final approval. To execute the transaction requires further work on structure, management, governance, and other matters, which will take approximately 12 or more months. The current target is to launch the new companies before year-end 2012. The company will provide interim updates as appropriate. Throughout the process, management will remain focused on continuing to realize the benefits of the Cadbury integration and delivering strong business results.
"Our employees' hard work and accomplishments have transformed Kraft Foods and enabled us to take this next step in the company's evolution," said Rosenfeld. "Our global snacks and North America grocery businesses both have terrifically talented and dynamic people. I'm confident that we will maintain the winning spirit that has been key to our success." She continued, "The focus and other benefits that come from creating two independent companies will provide even greater opportunities for our people and our brands."
Any transaction would be subject to customary conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals, an opinion from tax counsel and a favorable ruling from the Internal Revenue Service to ensure the tax-free status of the spin-off of the North American grocery business to our shareholders, execution of inter-company agreements, further due diligence as appropriate, and final approval by the company's Board of Directors.
The company's financial advisors are Centerview Partners, Evercore Partners and Goldman Sachs.
Kraft Foods will host a conference call for investors to review this announcement at 8 a.m. EDT today. Access to a live audio webcast with accompanying slides is available at http://www.kraftfoodscompany.com/, and a replay of the event will also be available on the company's website.
Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) is a global snacks powerhouse with an unrivaled portfolio of brands people love. Proudly marketing delicious biscuits, confectionery, beverages, cheese, grocery products and convenient meals in approximately 170 countries, Kraft Foods had 2010 revenue of $49.2 billion, more than half of which was earned outside North America. Twelve of the company's iconic brands -- including Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oreo, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident and Tang -- generate revenue of more than $1 billion annually, and 40 have been loved for more than a century. A leader in innovation, marketing, health & wellness and sustainability, Kraft Foods is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor's 500, Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Ethibel Sustainability Index. For more information, visit kraftfoodscompany.com and facebook.com/kraftfoodscorporate.
This press release contains a number of forward-looking statements. Words, and variations of words such as "expect," "intend," "goals," "plans," "believe," continue," "may," "will," and similar expressions are intended to identify our forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, our intent to create two independent public companies; revenue estimates of each company; it will be a tax-free spin-off; benefits of the virtuous cycle; the leadership, resources, potential, priorities, opportunities and business of each company; creating two companies is the logical next step; opportunities of being run independently; estimated revenues and growth profiles of each company; intent to remain investment grade with access to commercial paper; next steps and timing of transaction; continuing focus on Cadbury integration and delivering strong business results; maintain winning spirit; and that the transaction is subject to customary conditions. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated in our forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, our failure to successfully separate the company, continued volatility of, and sharp increase in, input costs, pricing actions, increased competition, risks from operating internationally, continued consumer weakness, weakness in economic conditions and tax law changes. Please also see our risk factors, as they may be amended from time to time, set forth in our filings with the SEC, including our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Kraft Foods disclaims and does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement in this press release, except as required by applicable law or regulation.
(1) Revenue figures in this release are estimates based on 2010 Kraft Foods actual results adjusted for divestitures.
SOURCE: Kraft Foods Inc.


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CSU students challenged to race fastest football players
Are there any civilian (non-football team member) Colorado State students out there with sub. 4.4 speed in the 40 yard dash?
CSU football coach Steve Fairchild wants to know.
Anyone who can beat CSU's three fastest players — receivers Tony Drake and Thomas Coffman and cornerback Bernard Blake — in a foot race will be an honorary team member for the week leading to the Sept. 17 Rocky Mountain Showdown with Colorado at Invesco Field in Denver.
The challenge is part of Friday's annual Rams Superstars Competition for the football team in Moby Arena. There will be a preliminary contest for students at 3 p.m. with the winner advancing to the 6 p.m. fill entrants must sign a liability waiver. The NCAA bans tryouts so there is no actual roster spot at stake.

subset: commoncrawl


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RT: "Next to Normal" will become the first Broadway show to Twitter a full performance.
"For the first time ever, the full story of a Broadway musical will be told via Twitter. Follow the characters of Next to Normal as they tweet their story – all the lows, all the highs – day by day, song by song. Experience it like you never have before. No Twitter account required!" the show announced on its official website this week.
The opening tweet from the @N2NBroadway account earlier this week announced "Starting May 5, follow the characters as they tweet their story – all the lows, all the highs – day by day, song by song."
The twitterformance (OK, that's not really a word,) will run through June 7. "Next to Normal" IRL life has an open-ended run at the Booth Theatre, located at 222 W. 45th St.


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This chapter describes issues associated with Web services security and administration, including Oracle Web Services Manager. It includes the following topics:
Section 28.1, "Using Multibyte User Credentials with wss_http_token_* Policy"
Section 28.2, "Importing Custom Policies Before Attaching and Deploying to a Service Application"
Section 28.4, "Reviewing Policy Configuration Override Values After Detaching a Client Policy"
Section 28.7, "When Using WLST to Import a Security Policy, the Same Policy May Be Repeatedly Imported"
Section 28.8, "Identity in WSDLs Is Not Used for Enforcement with ADF DC Applications"
Section 28.9, "JVM limitation for Kerberos Token Policy with Message Protection Policy"
Section 28.10, "Fusion Middleware Control Does Not List Policies When Two Servers Are SSL Enabled (Two-way SSL)"
Section 28.11, "Web Service Test Page Cannot Test Input Arguments Bound to SOAP Headers"
Section 28.12, "Possible Build Label Version and Date Discrepancy On the Policy Validator Page"
Section 28.13, "Inconsistencies In Policy Usage Count For SOA Composites"
Section 28.14, "For WebLogic Server Web Services Endpoints, Policy Attachments Will Fail When Policies Have Spaces In the Policy Name"
Section 28.15, "WS-Atomic Transaction Headers Should Be Signed To Avoid Security Violation Errors"
Section 28.16, "Prefix of "policy:" In Oracle WSM Policies Attached to WebLogic Server Web Services From the WebLogic Server Administration Console"
Section 28.17, "When Adding SAML Issuer From Fusion Middleware Control the jps-config.xml File Is Incorrectly Updated"
Section 28.18, "Patching of Patch Set 1 WebLogic Server Web Services Attached to Custom Polices With Patch Set 2 Oracle WSM Policy Manager"
Section 28.19, "Custom Policy Fails When an Empty Subject Is Passed"
Section 28.20, "Possible Issue When Using a csf-key When EJB Security Is Enabled"
Section 28.22, "Possible Limitation When Using Custom Exactly-one Policies"
Section 28.23, "Documentation Error: Creating Custom Assertions"
In this release, multibyte user credentials are not supported for the wss_http_token_* policies. If multibyte user credentials are required, use a different policy, such as wss_username_token_* policy. For more information about the available policies, see "Predefined Policies" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Security and Administrator's Guide for Web Services.
It is recommended that you import custom policies before attaching and deploying them to a service application.
If you deploy an application with policies that do not exist in the Metadata Store (MDS), and subsequently import the policies, you need to restart the server for the policy attachment count to be updated.
When performing a bulk import of policies to the MDS repository, if the operation does not succeed initially, retry the operation until the bulk import succeeds.
For the most part, this can occur for an Oracle RAC database when the database is switched during the metadata upload. If there are n databases in the Oracle RAC database, then you may need to retry this operation n times.
For more information about bulk import of policies, see "Migrating Policies" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Security and Administrator's Guide for Web Services.
If you attach a policy to a client, override policy configuration values, and subsequently detach the policy, the policy configuration override values are not deleted. When attaching new policies to this client, ensure that you review the policy configuration override values and update them appropriately.
When the connections.xml file is changed after deployment using the AdfConnection MBean, the complete connection is saved as a customization. This means that changes to the connection in a redeployed application are overwritten by the customization.
When you use Fusion Middleware Control to make changes to an application's connections.xml file after deployment, a new connections.xml file is created as a customization and stored in the MDS repository. This customization persists for the life of the application. Therefore, if you redeploy the application, the customized connections.xml file continues to be applied as a customization on the application.
To allow the redeployed application's connections.xml file to be applied without the prior customization (from Fusion Middleware Control), you must explicitly remove the
connections.xml customizations from the MDS repository.
For example, if you deploy an application with a Web services data control, then use Fusion Middleware Control to attach the 'username token client policy', and subsequently detach the policy. Then, you return to JDeveloper to edit the application and attach the 'http token client policy', and redeploy the application. When you view the application using Fusion Middleware Control, you see that it is not using the 'http token client policy' that you attached. That is because it is using the customized connections.xml file that you previously created using Fusion Middleware Control.
If you remove the connections.xml customizations from the MDS repository, the application will use the its own connections.xml file.
The following information is supported in English only in this release of Oracle Enterprise Manager:
All fields in the policy and assertion template except the
orawsp:displayName field.
If using the
?orawsdl browser address, the
orawsp:description field.
In the System MBean browser, the Description field in the
oracle.wsm.upgrade Mbean.
When WLST is used to import a security policy, be aware that the same policy may be repeatedly imported.
For ADF DC applications, the identity extension in a WSDL (for example, the certificate published in the WSDL), cannot be used as a recipient certificate for message protection policies. Instead, either the recipient key alias (declarative configuration override) or the default recipient key alias specified in the policy are used.
Within a JVM, the Kerberos acquire key works fine when there is only a single Web service principal. If there are additional Web service principals within the same JVM, the acquire key returns null. When a Web service and client exist in different JVMs, this is no longer an issue.
When a Managed Server is Two-way enabled SSL (for example, a SOA server hosting Oracle WSM Policy Manager over Two-way SSL) and the Administration Server hosting Fusion Middleware Control is correctly configured to access the Two-way SSL-enabled Managed Server, Fusion Middleware Control still does not list the Oracle WSM policies.
For Web services that have any input arguments bound to SOAP headers, the Test Web Service page in the Fusion Middleware Control console cannot show the message. Therefore, such operations cannot be tested with the Test Web Service page.
For example, if the input for a multi-part WSDL is viewed through Fusion Middleware Control, and one input argument is bound to a SOAP header, the composite instance fails with the following exception because the other part of the message was missing in the input:
ORAMED-01203:[No Part]No part exist with name "request1" in source message
To resolve such an issue, select XML View for Input Arguments and edit the payload to pass input for both parts of the WSDL.
The build label and date information on the Policy Manager Validation page represent the repository information and the version of the Policy Manager. The build label represents the Policy Manager build that populated the repository and the date is the date that the repository was last refreshed. If the repository is not refreshed during a sparse installation of Oracle Fusion Middleware 11gR1 PS2, the information will not change. Note that a typical installation of Oracle Fusion Middleware 11gR1 PS2 does not refresh the repository either.
As described in "Analyzing Policy Usage" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Security and Administrator's Guide for Web Services, the policy usage counts displayed on the Usage Analysis page in the Fusion Middleware Control console include both enabled and disabled policy references. For SOA composites, however, the disabled policy references are not included in the usage count.
When using the Fusion Middleware Control console, you can create policies that have spaces in the policy name. However, such policies will fail when you attempt to attach them to WebLogic Server Web service endpoints. To resolve this issue, do not use spaces in your policy names.
If the WS-Atomic Transaction client policy with an Oracle WSM message protection policy, such as
owsm wss11_message_protection, is applied on the client side, then at runtime, the WS-Atomic Transaction interceptor adds a header
<CoordinationContext> to SOAP messages. Also, the
CoordinationContext element contains a sub-element that has an addressing namespace. The attached client policy specifies that addressing headers need to be signed; however, the client policy does not sign those sub-elements.
Oracle WSM policy compliance on the service-side requires that all header descendants must be signed. If Oracle WSM finds that not all headers are signed, it reports a security violation.
This issue can be avoided by adding the following namespace to the signed header list
http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2004/10/wscoor. (This is similar to addressing headers that Oracle WSM policies already have.)
Oracle recommends always signing WS-Atomic Transaction headers to ensure integrity due to the nature of the contents.
Oracle WSM policies that are attached to WebLogic Server Web services from the WebLogic Server Administration Console in 11g R1 or 11g R1 Patch Set 1 will show up with a
policy: prefix, both in WLST and Fusion Middleware Control. As a result, there might some duplicates and inconsistencies.
For example, if
policy:oracle/wss_username_token_service_policy was attached to a WebLogic Server Web Service using the WebLogic Server Administration Console console and is being viewed from Fusion Middleware Control, it will display as
policy:oracle/wss_username_token_service_policy. And if you then attempt to attach the
oracle/wss_username_token_service_policy policy, it will be deemed a duplicate.
Oracle recommends always using Fusion Middleware Control for Oracle WSM policy attachments and detachments.
In release 11g R1 (22.214.171.124.0), when you try to add or edit a trusted issuer from the Fusion Middleware Control console, then the
jps-config.xml file is incorrectly updated. As a workaround for this issue, Oracle recommends upgrading to 11g R1 Patch Set 2 (22.214.171.124.0).
Due to a new feature in 11g R1 Patch Set 2 (188.8.131.52.0), the "Shared policy store for Oracle Infrastructure Web services and WebLogic Server Web services", Weblogic Server Web services now utilize the Policy Manager by default to retrieve policies from the MDS repository. In Patch Set 1, Weblogic Server Web services used classpath mode by default.
After patching your Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g R1 software installation to Patch Set 2, if you have attached a custom Oracle WSM policy to a WebLogic Server Web service, you need to make sure your custom policy is stored in the MDS repository. Note that only custom policies in use need to be migrated. All seed policies will be available in the MDS repository out-of-the-box.
To migrate policies to the Metadata Services (MDS) repository, see "Maintaining the MDS Repository" in the Security and Administrator's Guide for Web Services.
If an empty subject is passed to a custom policy, it fails with a generic error. To work around this issue, you can create and set an
anonymousSubject inside the execute method of the custom step. For example:
javax.security.auth.Subject subject = oracle.security.jps.util.SubjectUtil.getAnonymousSubject(); context.setProperty(oracle.wsm.common.sdk.IMessageContext.SECURITY_SUBJECT,subject)
Note that in this example the context is of Type
If a csf-key is provided for specifying the username and credentials on the Platform Policy Configuration tab in Fusion Middleware Control, the policy access point will not work correctly. The alternative is not to specify a csf-key.
The csf-key property name in the Platform Policy Configuration -> Policy Accessor Properties page is
If your Web services are already in Oracle Enterprise Repository (OER), then you should use the OER Exchange Utility to publish those Web services to the Oracle Service Registry.
In some cases, there can be a limitation when using custom Exactly-one policies. For a set of assertions within the exactly-one policy, if a request message satisfies the first assertion, then the first assertion gets executed and a response is sent accordingly. However, this may not be the desired behavior in some cases because the request may be intended for the subsequent assertions.
For example, you may have a client policy that has
Timestamp=ON and a service exactly-one policy that has a
wss11 username token with message protection assertions: the first has
Timestamp=OFF; the second has
Timestamp=ON. Therefore, the first assertion in the service exactly-one policy is not expecting the Timestamp in the request, yet the second assertion does expect it. In this case, the first assertion gets executed and the response is sent with no Timestamp. However, the client-side processing then fails because it expects the Timestamp that was sent in the request.
This limitation can exist with any cases where a client policy expects a greater number of elements to be signed and a service policy does not.
In "Step 3: Create the policy-config.xml File" in "Creating Custom Assertions" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Security and Administrator's Guide for Web Services, there is an error in the documentation that results in an error when attempting to use a custom assertion. The
elementname attribute of the
key element should be
For example:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<key namespace="http://schemas.oracle.com/ws/2006/01/securitypolicy"


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Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Why YouTube is better than television
8 comments:
- Dollar Bill said...
As soon as you edit out the poop story,please repost under the tag "Random Hotness".Wow!
- February 4, 2009 at 9:07 AM
Uh, yeah Dollar Bill, I'm completely with you on that one.
- February 4, 2009 at 11:06 AM
- Undercover Black Man said...
Yep, I'm not surprised that dude stuck with her. This tale is like an extreme, real-world variation on "I wouldn't kick her out of bed for eating crackers."
- February 4, 2009 at 11:50 AM
- Tanyetta said...
I guess a guy would probably overlook that cuz she's "hot" ????
That's all I got right now. LOL.
- February 4, 2009 at 3:17 PM
- bklyn6 said...
Three minutes and 42 seconds of my life that I'll never get back.
- February 4, 2009 at 3:56 PM
- Undercover Black Man said...
^ You're talking about one of the most popular YouTubers in Canada, bklyn6.
- February 4, 2009 at 4:06 PM
- Kellybelle said...
She's so cute; it's sad she has heart trouble.
That happened to me, only worse. (What could be worse? Lots) And I moved to another state, thinking I'd never see the person again? Guess where he moved? Around the corner from me.
- February 4, 2009 at 4:26 PM
- bklyn6 said...
Hey, UBM! It's hard enough to keep track of American "youtubers" like that youtube Obama riffing on Beyonce's "Single Ladies." I only recently heard about him.
- February 4, 2009 at 4:48 PM


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On the streets of Philadelphia. During the 1990s, I taught Composition and Intro to Literature at Temple University in Philadelphia, where I was a graduate student in the English department. After two decades, I still remember the names of a handful of students who were avid readers and talented writers, whose faces lit up during class discussions.
One of those students was Ayana Mathis.
I was an inexperienced teacher — a bundle of nerves, basically — but Mathis was a standout in the Intro. to Lit. class: smart, focused, one of two A's I gave that semester. One day, she challenged my close reading of a passage from "Their Eyes Were Watching God" and, long story short, she was right.
So when I saw her name on a new novel, "The Twelve Tribes of Hattie," I flipped immediately to the back cover to look for a photo. Yep. Same Ayana Mathis.
It's awfully late in the year for a new book to generate much buzz, but that's precisely what's happening with Mathis' novel. Oprah Winfrey read it because of the title (her mother's name was Hattie Mae Lee) and pronounced it a pick for Oprah's Book Club 2.0.
That designation and a segment on NPR with Winfrey and Mathis have given this debut novel the sort of attention and affirmation authors dream about.
The story is anchored by Hattie, a woman who left her Georgia home in 1923 for the promise of a "New Jerusalem" in Philadelphia: "Hattie clambered from the train, her skirt still hemmed with Georgia mud, the dream of Philadelphia round as a marble in her mouth and the fear of it a needle in her chest."
The chapters focus on different descendants, or tribes, of Hattie. In essence, Mathis offers an intimate fictional look at the Great Migration, when African-Americans left Southern states by the millions to settle in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and other cities.
I expect to see "The Twelve Tribes of Hattie" on the New York Times best-seller list in the coming weeks — that's what happened with Cheryl Strayed's memoir, "Wild," after Winfrey chose it as the first pick of her 2.0 book club. [UPDATE: Mathis's book will appear in the #10 spot this coming Sunday, Dec. 30]
Good for you, Ayana Mathis. May you sell millions of books.
You owe me. "The children I write with die, no matter how much I love them, no matter how creative they are, no matter how many poems they have written or how much they want to live," writes Miah Arnold in "You Owe Me," an essay that appears in "The Best American Essays 2012."
As part of her work with Writers in the Schools, a Houston nonprofit that sends professional writers into area classrooms, the local author spent 12 years teaching writing to "the sickest children in the world" at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. (Arnold still works for WITS but stopped teaching at M.D. Anderson last fall.) The title of her essay comes from a poem written by a "tiny, African-American boy from Houston" who died at age 9. It begins: "What thoughts I have of You tonight, God./ You protect me and You make giant waves/ and wash people away. You owe me."
Arnold worked with some of the children for several years. Most of them died. But the job gave as much as it took:
"… the reason I have worked so long with children fighting cancer is that they have drawn me in, they have invited me, they have accepted me into their fierce and fragile worlds. I feel proud because they have. For some reason that I realize, finally, doesn't matter much at all, I stagger under the weight of the losses I have encountered with these children, but, miraculously, I haven't fallen."
A long walk. In Texas. New in paperback is "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk," Ben Fountain's gutsy book about a squad of war heroes on a media tour to drum up support for the Iraq War. The squad spends Thanksgiving Day with the Dallas Cowboys and, for Spc. Billy Lynn — homesick, heartsick and, at one point, drunk and brawling — it becomes a gut-wrenching day of discovery.
Fountain is a Dallas author whose 2006 short-story collection, "Brief Encounters With Che Guevara," won national attention and literary awards. He earned a National Book Award nomination for "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" and was slated to appear in Houston earlier this month but had to cancel to attend the National Book Awards ceremony in the U.K.; he'd been nominated for "International Author of the Year." Fountain didn't win, but he did win PEN New England's Cerulli Award for Excellence in Sports Fiction and, just last week, the 2012 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize from the Center for Fiction in New York.
Film rights for "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" have already been optioned by the Ink Factory, with Oscar-winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy ("Slumdog Millionaire," "127 Hours," "The Full Monty") tapped to bring the story from the page to the screen.
Fountain did reschedule his Houston appearance. He'll be at Domy Books, 1709 Westheimer, on Feb. 5. Information: 713-523-3669.
Ghost hunter. With the holiday, there's only one author event this week. Author and professional psychic Victoria Laurie celebrates the release of her latest Ghost Hunter mystery, "What a Ghoul Wants," with a signing, discussion and intuitive readings for the crowd, 4 p.m. Saturday (12/29) at Murder By The Book, 2342 Bissonnet. Details at 713-524-8597 or murderbooks.com.


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In her delicious memoir "The Receptionist: An Education at The New Yorker," Janet Groth recalls her more than two decades (1957-1978) as a receptionist on the 18th floor of America's most storied magazine. During her early years at the publication under the legendary William Shawn, Groth — a recent University of Minnesota graduate with beautiful blonde hair, a shapely figure and literary ambition hampered by her painfully shy temperament — found herself the object of considerable attention from men (including a cartoonist who charmed her for three years but turned out to be engaged to another woman) but never managed to rise into the writing position she always craved.
After mounting emotional problems led to a suicide attempt and several years of psychoanalysis, Groth earned a doctorate in English and later taught at Vassar College, Brooklyn College, the University of Cincinnati and the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. After a distinguished career in academia (during which she wrote or co-wrote a series of books about the critic Edmund Wilson), Groth began writing "The Receptionist," which was published this spring and received a warm critical reception. Printers Row Journal caught up with Groth during a recent tour stop in Chicago to promote the book, now in its fourth printing.
This piece first ran in Printers Row Journal, delivered to Printers Row members with the Sunday Chicago Tribune and by digital edition via email. Click here to learn about joining Printers Row.
Over lobster Cobb salad and a vodka on the rocks, Groth told anecdotes of her years at The New Yorker and its often eccentric cast of characters, including Shawn, Joseph Mitchell, Muriel Spark, the film critics Pauline Kael and Penelope Gilliatt (who lost her position in 1979 after a plagiarism scandal and who later died of alcoholism) and many others. Here's an edited transcript.
Q: There are a lot of memoirs of life at The New Yorker — it's almost a genre unto itself.
A: Yes, it's like being in the army, or the government — everybody who's been through it has a slightly different angle on it, and everybody's ready to divulge it. We've got a big shelf full of them now.
Q: I've read Brendan Gill and James Thurber's memoirs, for example.
A: I have to tell you that Garrison Keillor recently invited me to talk with him about the book at his bookstore in St. Paul, and he told the audience, "There've been many books about The New Yorker, but this one is different, and I like it best. It's better than Thurber."
Q: Wow.
A: So now you see I haven't a shred of shame! I'm thrilled by the reaction to the book, and I can't keep it to myself.
Q: You came to the magazine thinking that you'd eventually move up and out of your position as a receptionist and become a writer for the magazine, but that didn't happen. Why?
A: I think a big part of it was that I didn't ever conceive of myself as a journalist, as a person who would write fact pieces or "Talk of the Town" pieces. I saw myself as writing short stories — fiction. I did let it be known that I was at work on a novel.
It was very late in the game — and really at a point where my emotional and personal troubles had risen to a critical level, and I was out of Bellevue and in analysis — that I was made aware that there was something interfering with my self-image, my ability to believe in myself as someone who had a right to be assertive. It wasn't until much later that I began to mature into the honest person delivering the book that you are reading.
I did submit a Talk of the Town story about an MLA (Modern Language Association) conference in New York, but I didn't hear about the fate of that story for the first week, or the second week, or the third week, and I was too shy to inquire. When I finally asked, Mr. Shawn's secretary said she'd look for it, and found it at the bottom of a stack of papers on his desk. And she said, "In any case, it's no longer timely. Sorry." Of course, that shouldn't have been the end for me, if I wanted to write for the magazine. It was symptomatic of a bad case of passive dependency.
Q: You were an attractive young woman at the magazine prior to the feminist era and you got hit on quite a bit. Do you think you'd have been taken more seriously if you hadn't been so pretty?
A: Well, it's true that I did inquire about joining the fact-checking department, and Lou Forster told me, "Oh, you don't want to be a fact-checker — you're much too pretty. You ought to be a model." Of course, there were other attractive women around who were encouraged to do things. They were also sometimes encouraged into bed by married men.
Q: It was a "Mad Men" environment, in a way.
A: I can't argue with that. It's also true that I had a pretty good resume coming in. The University of Minnesota's English Department had not only John Berryman but Allen Tate, Robert Penn Warren and others. If that resume had come from a young man who came to work at The New Yorker, there certainly would have been a suggestion to turn in a Talk piece, or begin in the fact-checking department.
So, yes, from the beginning there were distinctions made. I guess people have to weigh the merits of my book as a testimony to whether I did have some writing ability — and that had I been nurtured in the way that a young man would have been nurtured, I might have been writing for the magazine — or not.
Q: And yet there's no sense in the book of your blaming the institution.
A: No, although I do wind up most of my appearances with the fact that I can't not confront the question of my failure to rise at the magazine, and the reasons for it, and come to some conclusion about it. Do my 21 years in an entry-level position add up to my having been a victim or a beneficiary? I think it was a two-way street.
(Groth picks up a copy of the book and reads out loud from page 227.) "When the Newspaper Guild reps looked at my salary record ($80 a week to start and $163 a week to finish), they were incensed, and much was said about the way the magazine was exploiting me. However, as I look back on the eight trips to Europe the magazine underwrote (by way of lengthy vacations in the summers, two of which stretched to eight weeks or more, four of them with pay); my twelve years of graduate school; ten years of expensive psychoanalysis with a top Manhattan analyst (if the magazine chose to exploit my dependency, they paid handsomely to rid me of it); coverage of my desk to permit a Thursday-Friday trip up to Poughkeepsie to teach a course at Vassar; as well as the many intangibles that came to me in the way of invitations to share the cultural, social, and literary life of the city and, by extension, the wider world, it is not clear to me who was exploiting whom."
Q: Maybe a little of both.
A: You think? At my farewell party when I left, William Shawn gave me a single red rose, and someone I know was incensed by that on my behalf, and he seemed to blame Mr. Shawn. Well, I wouldn't, and I don't. The book is not intended, nor has it been received by The New Yorker, as an exposé of the magazine.
Q: The New Yorker in those years seems to have been populated by a great many eccentrics — the staff writer Joseph Mitchell, for example, who, as you note in the book, last published a piece in the magazine in 1964 but continued to work there for many years afterward. Still on salary, presumably.
A: Oh yes. Subsidizing writers who were suffering through writer's blocks was part of the concept. Every Christmas, when he was giving out the bonuses, Mr. Shawn would ask Mr. Mitchell (lowering her voice into a near-whisper), "When do you think we might see something from you, Mr. Mitchell?"
Q: And he would say?
A: "Soon, I hope."
Q: You have a wonderful passage about the New Yorker film critics Penelope Gilliatt and Pauline Kael, who had offices on the same floor but somehow never met.
A: How they arranged it, I don't know. I certainly never saw them in the same room.
Q: It strikes me that maybe Kael was more fun to be around.
A: Well, when she was conscious, Penelope could be fun, too. (Laughs.)
Q: In your chapter on Muriel Spark (author of "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" and other novels), with whom you had a long friendship, there's a sort of mystery about whether she and her longtime female companion were lovers or not. Spark denied it, and yet it seems they shared a bed. You were fairly satisfied in your own mind that they probably were lovers, but that either way —
A: Either way, what difference did it make? Yes. Some readers have reacted negatively to Muriel because of that chapter, and others had the opposite response — it's kind of a Rorschach test.
Q: Well, we're in an era now when if you're gay, and you choose not to be open about it, it's seen as a character flaw, and so some people may see Spark as having been cowardly. But that's a case of using a contemporary lens to view something from the past, when different conditions applied.
A: Yes, Muriel called it "an old-fashioned friendship," which is the same way Eleanor Roosevelt described a similar relationship. I think they should be left to describe it as they will.
Q: William Shawn appears rarely in your memoir, although you do describe the rumors that were precipitated by his often being seen coming and going arm-in-arm with Lillian Ross. Of course he was on a different floor.
A: Yes, he was a felt presence, but not a seen presence.
Q: I'm thinking that might have been true even if you'd been on his floor.
A: Oh yes, you'd get that impression from almost anybody there — with the exception of Miss Ross, of course.
Q: And as frank as you are about others in your memoir, you're equally frank about yourself, including your love life, which at one time was rather active, and your suicide attempt.
A: Yes, and I think the merit of that, if there is any merit, is that I was able to break through a lot of inhibitions to achieve that frankness, and there's been a kind of liberation for me in doing it. I suppose you could say I'm a potential visitor on the old Oprah couch — only ... she wouldn't have had to be ashamed of me later and say, "None of this was true."
Kevin Nance is a Chicago-based freelance writer whose work appears in the Washington Post, USA Today, Poets & Writers Magazine and elsewhere.
"The Receptionist: An Education at The New Yorker"
By Janet Groth, Algonquin Books, 320 pages, $21.95


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Chitwan Shelter & Training Center Update (Photos)
Gabrielle Thompson is the Executive Director/CEO of Free for Life International. At a young age, Gabrielle's heart was pulled towards women in developing countries; she's continued to engage in helping and empowering women in various settings globally. She has a love for adventure, which has taken her to over 20 countries – and when Gabrielle is not fighting trafficking you can find her lost in nature. View more posts by Gabrielle.


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2003-2008 Toyota Corolla
2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008
In a nutshell: This article is an overview of your Corolla's audio system and its upgrade options. Use our vehicle selector to find the gear that will fit your car.
Overview of the Toyota Corolla
The 2003-08 Toyota Corolla is an economical car with a high reliability factor. If you've picked up a used Corolla and you're checking out your audio options, we've got lots of good news for you. First, you bought a nice car. Second, you can install a great stereo system in this vehicle.
Toyota offered a basic 4-speaker system and an upgraded 6-speaker system that adds tweeters in the front door sail panels. You'll rarely see the JBL sound system that Toyota offered for the 2005-08 Corolla, and we don't have a lot of information about the speakers in that setup. If you're interested in upgrading your audio system, you can easily replace the radio and speakers in the 4- and 6-speaker systems, and the radio in the JBL version.
Detailed stereo and speaker removal instructions
Replacing your factory radio
Here are the basic things you'll need to know when you install an aftermarket radio in your Corolla:
Factory radio in 6-speaker system (Crutchfield Research Photo)
4- and 6-speaker system
A new car stereo will always make your factory speaker system sound better, plus it allows you to add new features like iPod® control or HD Radio™ reception.
You'll need a dash kit to install a DIN (2" tall) or double-DIN (4" tall) radio. It's possible to hard wire a new stereo to the factory wiring but getting a wiring harness will keep you from having to cut into the factory wires.
The dash kit and harness needed for this installation are available at a discounted price with most orders, and our step-by-step instructions for your Corolla. are included free.
If you want to keep the factory look, you'll find inputs on the rear of the Toyota radio that make it easy to add additional features. You can add an adapter that allows you to control your iPod with the controls on the Toyota radio, and another adapter that allows you to make hands-free calls through the factory radio. You can build a full system around the factory radio with new speakers, amplifiers, and subwoofers, but an aftermarket stereo will give you a cleaner sound that will make these upgrades sound even better.
Installation notes: You can't install a double-DIN receiver with a fold-down face in this car. If you have the Toyota satellite radio option, you'll lose it when you install a new stereo.
Corolla dash disassembled (Crutchfield Research Photo)
JBL system
The JBL logo on your radio tells you that you have the upgraded Corolla system. The JBL system is so rare that we haven't been able to research its speaker configuration. You may want to speak with a professional installer if you wish to replace your factory speakers in this system.
You'll need the same dash kit to replace the radio in the JBL system, and you'll also need a special wiring harness that retains the JBL amplifier. You'll probably want to keep the JBL amplifier unless you're prepared to run speaker wires from your new radio to each of the speakers. That can be a difficult and time-consuming job.
Besides, you'll usually hear improved sound quality when you install a new car stereo, because it'll send a cleaner signal to the JBL amp. Crutchfield offers a Toyota Factory Integration Adapter that plugs into the factory harness and keeps the JBL amplifier working. Crutchfield offers a very nice discount on this special adapter when purchased with any car stereo.
Installation notes: You will need to have an aftermarket stereo with two pairs of preamp outputs to connect the special JBL adapter. If you have the Toyota satellite radio option, you'll lose it when you install a new stereo.
Tools needed: Phillips screwdriver, small flat blade screwdriver, 10mm socket ratchet & extension, panel tool
Replacing your factory speakers
There are some challenges involved in replacing the Corolla's speakers, but the job is well within the skills of the average DIY-er.
Basic 4-speaker system
This basic system comes equipped with 6-3/4" speakers in the front door and 6"x9" speakers in the rear deck. Toyota uses 4-ohm speakers up front and 6-ohm speakers on the rear deck, so almost any aftermarket speakers will work well with the factory radio. The only exceptions would be high-performance speakers that really need an amp to be happy.
Front door in 4-speaker system (Crutchfield Research Photo)
Front doors: The Toyota's front door houses a 3-bolt 6-3/4" speaker, and there's no direct replacement. You can install a 6-1/2" or 5-1/4" speaker in the front door with the help of a mounting bracket, but you'll need to drill new screw holes to mount this bracket. No offense to Toyota, but the stock front speakers aren't the greatest, so you'll experience a big jump in sound quality when you install new speakers.
You'll have to remove the door panel to get at the factory speaker, which is attached to the door with three rivets. You'll need to drill out the rivets to remove the speaker, so make sure you have the right tools for the job.
Since the factory speaker is molded to a bracket in the door, you will definitely need a new bracket to mount any aftermarket speaker. You'll also need wiring harnesses to connect the new speakers to your factory wiring. When you purchase your speakers at Crutchfield, we'll give you a very nice discount on those installation essentials.
The factory rear deck 6"x9" (Crutchfield Research Photo)
Rear deck speakers: You'll find 6"x9" speakers on the rear deck in both speaker systems. To access this location, you'll have to fold down the rear seats and remove the rear pillar trim. You can then remove the rear deck panel.
You can install a 6"x9" speaker in the rear deck, or a 6-1/2" or 5-1/4" speaker if you use a mounting bracket. You'll need to drill holes in the rear deck to install aftermarket speakers, and the angle of rear window makes this job very difficult.
There will be a bit of a gap between the speaker and the rear deck or the bracket, so we recommend using a speaker baffle to fill in the gap. You'll want to cut off the bottom of the baffle and use the remaining portion as a gasket.
The Corolla's 6-speaker system includes front door tweeters (Crutchfield Research Photo)
6-speaker system
The upgraded 6-speaker system adds front door tweeters to the standard 4-speaker system and accommodates the same size speakers. You may be able to use the factory tweeter mounting bracket when installing new tweeters as long as your aftermarket tweeters have a threaded insert on the back.
Tools needed: Phillips screwdriver, small flat blade screwdriver, 10mm socket ratchet & extension, drill & 1/8" bit with right angle adapter, panel tool, shop rag
Bass in your Toyota Corolla
The Corolla comes with a decent-sized trunk so finding room for a subwoofer and amplifier (or a powered sub) won't be a problem. You can use the wiring of the rear deck speakers to get a signal to your sub system.
There are a couple of other options if you need all your trunk space. You might find a small powered sub that'll fit under one of the seats. Or, fortify the rear deck with Dynamat or some other noise killing material so it will handle the bass without rattling, and install some smaller component subs back there.
Other options for your Corolla
Here are some other ideas for upgrading your Corolla:
Powering your new speakers with an amplifier will give you an enormous boost in sound quality, regardless of sound system. We don't recommend using an amplifier with your factory speakers as they aren't designed to handle that kind of power.
Satellite radio
You can add a Dock-and-Play satellite radio that you can take from car to car. If your factory radio came equipped with satellite radio, you will lose that option with a new car stereo, so look for a new radio that'll work with an outboard SiriusXM tuner.
It's relatively easy to add security or remote start into your Corolla. All connections are made under the driver's side dash, and in the driver's side kick panel area. This US version of the Corolla is not equipped with a transponder key; however, 2005-08 Canadian models will require the use of an FLCAN for transponder bypass.
Shop for car security systems for your Toyota Corolla
Find the audio gear that fits your car or truck
Visit our Outfit My Car page and enter your vehicle information to see stereos, speakers, subs, and other audio accessories that will work in your vehicle.
Harry from LodiPosted on 8/26/2018
Side note to a great article. If you do have the 6 speaker set up and installing new head unit plus front/rear speakers you'll need to take inconsideration the tweeters. The factory head unit spread out roughly 15 watts to the tweeters which are wired in parallel with the front speakers. If you're using coaxial speakers, even though the tweeters have a bass blocker include it'll start clipping. So there's a few ways to rectify that problem I'm sure crutchfeild can help with that. Being a 06 Corolla owner I wish someone would have told me this so I didn't have to pull out and reinstall the head unit 2 separate times.div>
Featured Products
Crutchfield Vehicle-specific Instructions


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COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech softball team will face its toughest challenge of the 2013 season when it travels to #3/5 Tennessee. The Lady Vols, ranked third and fifth in ESPN.com/USA Softball and NCAA rankings, will play host to the Golden Eagles in a single game Wednesday night. The first pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. CST.
The Golden Eagles (16-17, 5-4 OVC) take a break from conference action after stringing together three-straight conference victories. Tech's bats came alive in a 9-1, six inning win over the Southeast Missouri Redhawks but, the highlight of the weekend's match-ups was senior Claudia Harke's two-shutout performance. The right-hander pitched a gem against UT Martin in a 3-0 shutout Saturday, striking out four batters, including a career high three called strikeouts. The senior followed with a career high five strikeouts in the 4-0 shutout against SEMO Sunday.
Supporting the senior were three power hitters. Angi Sakamoto, Kendall Hooper and freshman Olivia Bennett blasted big hits for the Golden Eagles. Sakamoto was the first to send a deep shot over the fence in Tech's first game against SEMO. The sophomore sent a shot over left field for a three-run homer. Just three innings later, Hooper blasted a double and following suit was Bennett, only Bennett's hit ended as a walk-off home run for the Purple and Gold.
Hooper and Bennett have proved to be quite a tandem. In Tech's outing against East Tennessee State, the pair knocked back-to-back home runs for the Golden Eagles.
All-Time Series
Tech vs.
Tennessee: Tennessee leads the series 16-0, The last time the Golden Eagles took on the Lady Vols was in 2010. Tennessee took the contest 11-2.
Quick Hits
- Tech is 16-17 overall this season after winning 3 out of 4 OVC match-ups last weekend.
- As a team, Tech is hitting .267, posting 137runs scored, 114 RBI and a .338 on-base percentage through 33 games.
- The Golden Eagle pitching staff combines for a 2.05 conference ERA allowing 17 earned runs in 58.0 innings pitched in the OVC.
- Senior Melody Christian opened the season on a tear, connecting for at least one hit in each of her first 11 games of the season.
- Cortney Fry extended a streak of her own at ETSU, connecting for at least one hit in four straight games, including two hits in each of her last two outings at Eastern Kentucky.
- Three players have scored 15+ runs for the Golden Eagles, including Christian, with a team-high 25 runs and is the team's stolen bases leader.
- Christian is fourth in the OVC with 14 stolen bases on 17 attempts.
- Freshman Madison Taylor has a .338 batting average, collecting a multiple career-firsts during the opening weekend, including her three hits, four putouts, and 2 RBI.
- Five Golden Eagles have recorded triples, including newcomer Chelsea Burgess.
- Five Golden Eagles have hit home runs [Bennett (2), Hooper (2), Sakamoto (2), B. Spalding (2), C. Spalding (2), Gibbs, Eldridge, Taylor].
- Ketchum was named adidas® Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 11). Ketchum gave up just two hits in 10 innings of work.
- In a trip to the sunshine state, Tech ended the Under Armour Showcase 3-2, with key wins over Maine, LIU Brooklyn and Providence.
- Tech finished the Purple and Gold Challenge 0-1, losing its only contest to IPFW, 8-0.
- Tech posted a 2-2 record at the KSU Classic. The Golden Eagles opened the tournament sweeping its first two games with wins over Liberty (8 innings) and Mercer.
- The Golden Eagles finished the Eagle Round Robin hosted by Georgia Southern with a 2-2 record. The weekend was highlighted by a 3-1 victory over Akron as sophomore Taylor Ketchum threw a one-hitter Feb. 10.
- First year head coach Bonnie Bynum picked up her first win at Tennessee Tech after the team downed St. John's, 4-3 on Feb. 9. The Golden Eagles defeated St. John's thanks to a walk-off single by senior Chanelle Spalding, marking the first win against the Red Storm in program history and the first victory of the 2013 season.


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When Hurricane Charley hit the northern tip of Captiva in 2004, it was at its peak intensity of 150 miles per hour. The tiny barrier island lost most of its massive Australian pines that could not withstand the Atlantic storm. The beautiful green canopy with all of its wonderful shade was gone with the wind.
To help reforest Captiva Island, the Captiva Community Panel joined forces with Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation Native Plant Nursery and the Division of Forestry on a match grant. Through the $125,000 grant, homeowners bought trees appropriate for their property and received 75 percent off retail value. The planting began in 2006 and ended two years later with 1,572 trees in 31 different species placed in the ground on 50 different properties.
"Homeowners would come to us for advice and we encouraged everyone to plant the trees near the roadway for better shade," said Evans.
Earlier this year, the CCP completed a second tree planting project on the island with more than 100 trees planted on public lands and rights-of-way at no cost to islanders. It was achieved through a $17,200 no-match urban and community forestry grant, also from the Florida Division of Forestry.
Native species were planted at Turner Beach, along Andy Rosse Lane and in selected locations on Captiva Drive. This work was done by the Native Plant Nursery and overseen by the state forestry agency and various county agencies. Species were selected based on their suitability to the planting site, of particular concern for those locations nearer to the gulf.
"Both projects had the same goal," noted Evans, which was to reforest Captiva Island.
Fact Box
Captiva tree project summary:
Trees planted
Mastic 1
Jamaica dogwood 1
Blolly 1
Silver buttonwood 8
Cinnamon bark 3
Live oak 1
Cabbage palm 35
Green thatch palm 26
Buccaneer palm 3
Gumbo limbo 13
Strangler fig 5
Seagrape 12
Jamaica caper 2
Simpson's stopper 2
Green buttonwood 3
Planting sites: Turner Beach, Captiva Drive right-of-way south of the southern S-curve, Andy Rosse Lane east and west of Captiva Drive, Captiva Drive right-of-way between South Seas entrance and Hagerup Beach Access.
Property owners adjacent to the prospective planting sites were consulted and trees were only planted in areas were owners concurred.
"Work was delayed until as late in the spring as possible under the grant's deadlines to accommodate the area's extra dry conditions and in hopes that the start of the rainy season would lessen the need for independent irrigation," noted Evans. "The trees were planted smaller in size compared to the first project to give them a healthier, longer life."
While a few of the new plants struggled as drought conditions persisted, most have recovered now the rainy season has commenced and have passed inspection conducted by the state.
"The support of key island property owners, in conjunction with the flexibility of the Native Plant Nursery, made this project possible," said panel administrator Ken Gooderham. "Particularly along Andy Rosse Lane, the property owners pulled together to make this happen very quickly, hopefully creating a unique asset for the community."
The CCP undertook two tree planting projects following the state reforestation effort launched after the 2004 hurricane season to restore tree canopies across the state.
"It has been an outstanding team effort, one we hope will pay dividends for Captiva in the years to come," said Gooderham.


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by Scott Boyle
You can add Tatianna Su'e Su'e to the list of local MVPs mentioned in last weeks Sportshorts. Su'e Su'e, just a sophomore, was named MVP in 2A softball after leading the Lady Broncos to the 2A title last month.
And what a year it was for Su'e Su'e. She was the leader on the mound for the Broncos, with a 19-3 record, second in the state in wins, 122 strikeouts (fifth in state) and 135 innings pitched (second in the state).
But she was also a force at the plate, leading the entire state in home runs with 15 (breaking the state record for most HRs in a season in the process), and RBIs with 50.
She had the ninth best batting average in the state with a .542 average on 45 hits in 83 at bats, including those 15 homers and 10 doubles.
In one season, Su'eSu'e tied the SJH career record for homeruns held by Generra Nielson, and with 23 career homeruns, after going yard eight times as a freshman, is closing in on the state career homerun record of 32.
Golf news
The Hideout has been a busy place since summer began. The last four weekends in a row have seen the Hideout hosting tournaments. Two weeks ago, the Annual Arch and the Horsehead tournament hosted 132 golfers at both the Hideout and the Moab Golf Course.
Several local golfers paired up to do quite well in the popular event. Doug Pehrson and Del Hunter teamed up to win third flight. Kelly Pehrson and Brian Sturdevant were third in first flight, shooting a fine 133, two shots behind the winners.
In the Ladies Flight, local golfers Kim Lacy and Janean Snyder combined to take first place in net, while Kathy Lamb and Carol Van Steeter were a close second.
Ain't it nice to see 132 golfers on the Hideout?
This past Saturday, a bunch of "Lazy Aces" took to the course for the Lazy Aces Triathlon, consisting of nine holes of golf, a clay pigeon shoot and an ATV poker run.
Event organizer and city manager Greg Westfall and wife Jennifer took first place in the team competition. Carol Van Steeter's team, who shall remain nameless, was second.
In the individual competition, Troy Butler proved adept at all three events to capture first place and some of the $2,000 prize money. Mike Holyoak was second and Dustin Jones third.
Holyoak amazingly proved to be the best golfer in the competition, shooting a 41 for five... er... nine holes. Jones grabbed the best poker hand, three queens, in the ATV Poker Run, and Westfall won the clay pigeon shoot.
All in the first annual event had buckets of fun.
The junior clinic is in full swing every Monday morning at the Hideout without around 12 junior golfers participating. Keep it up guys.
Football in June
Is it too early for football, or maybe too late? Either way, the Utah high school football all-star games were June 15 at Alta High School in Sandy.
A troika of Broncos from Blanding, Bogh Bayles, Bobby Bowring and Barkley (Christensen, that is) figured prominently in the 1A/2A team's 20-12 triumph over the 3A boys.
Barkley QBed the 1A/2A team the entire game and led the boys to a second consecutive win over the 3A team.
Bayles bowled his way into the endzone for the first 1A/2A touchdown early in the first quarter. Yes, you read that correctly, and Bayles relished his new role as a bruising running back.
Barkley tossed two touchdown passes and added a two point extra point try to his former favorite receiver, Bowring, to account for the rest of the scoring.
The 3A boys got a little chippy at the end of game, apparently taking issue with losing to 1A/2A boys. They plowed through the line twice to nail a taking-a-knee Barkley, provoking a scuffle among the players, drawing flags and finally causing the head official to call the game with seconds on the clock.
Sportshorts could write something like "Sorry 3A", but shall refrain.


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Buster Posey: Spotlight on the Giants catcher
Spotlight on… Buster Posey, catcher, Giants
What's up: San Francisco is hanging tough in the National League West, entering the weekend 3½ games behind the Dodgers. Beginning Monday, they host the Rockies for four games at AT&T Park. Posey, one of the toughest, most team-oriented players in baseball, will be a central figure in the Giants' postseason quest.
Background: Posey still has a baby face, but he's actually in his fifth full season in the majors. Consider what he has already accomplished: 2010 National League rookie of the year, a devastating injury early in 2011 that fractured a bone and tore three ligaments in his ankle, an NL MVP award in 2012 and two World Series rings. Tip your hat to the Giants' pitchers, but Posey has been the Giants' heart and soul.
Saunders' take: I've always admired catchers, probably because I was such a lousy one during my youth baseball days. It's a tough, sweaty, gritty job, but Posey manages to play the position with grace and athleticism. But it's time for the Giants to make Posey a full-time first baseman. As a first baseman, he owns a .363 career batting average, .423 on-base percentage and a .654 slugging percentage. In comparison, his line as a catcher: .291/.361/.464. Thursday, after the Giants and Cubs finished a suspended game, Posey went 4-for-4 with a home run, two doubles and a walk in the second game. He ended up catching all 14 innings Thursday. But for the long-term health and success of Posey and the Giants, a switch to first base is a wise move.


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What the Heck?
Posted 17 January 2005 - 10:52 AM
Posted 17 January 2005 - 12:25 PM
My question as a newbie is - how do we go about recognising what is real paranormal in such photographs? People who posted some snaps say that they are new and are trying to learn. But I also see some other people not even looking at simple things and commenting about those snaps. Isnt it doing bad than good for the people trying to learn? What are the things we may need to know in this situation?
Did I ask this in the right forum? Is this what you meant when you started this thread?
Thanks in advance.
Posted 17 January 2005 - 04:10 PM
Photography is a very difficult one to explain and it is also something that you have to kind of find your own niche. It is very hard to look at a photographed image and say with certainty that what you are looking at is paranormal. There is too much to consider, i.e. feelings, evp, seeing with your own eyes, etc. If you were to capture and evp when you caught an orb on film, that helps to back up that it is a paranormal orb. Heck it's no guarantee but it helps. Everyone has their own things that go into their evaluation of a paranormal pic. Here are some of mine and I sure know not everyone agrees with me but they are more than welcome to post their opinions too.
I never use a digital camera for paranormal photography since they have problems that cause false positives.
I never shoot pics into reflective surfaces.
I always try and watch my surroundings...heavy dust, dripping water, etc.
Once you develop your own methods and ways to look at pics, you will get more comfortable with looking at the pics of others.
Posted 18 January 2005 - 01:17 PM
Take my hand and we'll go riding through the sunshine from above
Posted 18 January 2005 - 06:07 PM
Posted 18 January 2005 - 09:56 PM
Posted 18 January 2005 - 11:36 PM
Posted 19 January 2005 - 02:16 PM
Posted 20 January 2005 - 11:38 AM
but , why may I ask, do people flock on such pictures? I mean the ones which I earlier discussed? Isn't it plain as a day light that it is obvious the shapes are mostly reflections?
Posted 20 January 2005 - 12:21 PM
There are a lot of pics that are not paranormal the there are quite a few that are. Basically you have to decide when you are looking.
Posted 20 January 2005 - 09:26 PM
krc sweetie if you dont just go ahead and make that your signature your poor fingers are going to fall off
digitals have problems with pixels and the flash is too close to the lens, they will cause false positives due to this. That is why they are not allowed in our investigations. Plus, with a film camera, you get a negative that can be scrutinized and reproduced over and over. This gives you a great "hard copy" of the evidence that you collect.
i just wanted to add to your bigger posting here because theres nothing like good common sense to employ when out on a ghost hunt (especially when using a camera ) and i dont see how anyone would disagree with you unless its about the 35MM VS DIGI DEBATE!
no worries tho the more i use both (cuz ma in law and my dad got me my cameras woo-hoo!) the more i like using my 35mm for the stills ive got my best shots so far and posted using a 35mm w/film
any hoo heres my add ons :rolleyes:
1. NEVER smoke on a ghost hunt (i think we all know why)
2. outdoor excursions always make notes of the temp and weather conditions
3. always the best idea to investigate during non precipitation/non humid conditions (its okay to go out under cloudy skies as that helps block out the moonlight reflecting off any surfaces and giving you a false positive)
4. always get to know the area well at day and night (goes along with your watch the surroundings mention) that way you can exclude distant lights and other such peculiarities when going over the photos
i also want to know why we need to rethink our learning as there is no actual expert in the field of ghost hunting to learn from
sure all of us have our experience which is a good thing because we can at least learn from one another because of that experience
but the honest truth is it doesnt matter how good it is the evidence we get
there will ALWAYS be a skeptic to point out some explanation or another to try and disprove/discredit the evidence
Posted 20 January 2005 - 11:21 PM
Chimera, i am assuming you are referring to my pics in here since you have said things in my thread, my question for you is, if your new at paranormal stuff, how can you be so certain my pics arent paranormal in nature?
I am new to ghost stuff. .
My question as a newbie is - how do we go about recognising what is real paranormal in such photographs?
Posted 21 January 2005 - 12:01 AM
Maybe GV should have a area where people can post different anomilies and explain how and why they are not paranormal in nature. People could use these to compare pics before they post. Just a suggestion.
I was wondering why we need to rethink our learning? Sure there are a lot of pictures posted in a forum such as this by people that are starting out in the paranormal and they are thinking that a mundane thing like dust or something is paranormal. That is ok, with experience you can sift out the mundane and only post the unexplainable which is most likely pranormal in nature. If you look back in the pages, you will find some of my pics that are not mundane things or you can look on my website for my group by following the link in my signatre.
There are a lot of pics that are not paranormal the there are quite a few that are. Basically you have to decide when you are looking.
Posted 21 January 2005 - 12:16 AM
Posted 21 January 2005 - 01:27 AM
to be perfectly honest sammy that sounds like a fantastic idea to me.
Maybe GV should have a area where people can post different anomilies and explain how and why they are not paranormal in nature. People could use these to compare pics before they post. Just a suggestion.
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