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Without Words, But Not Speechless: More On Non-Verbal Logos That Can Stand Alone

Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Food, Marketing, Trademarks

My family vacation and road trip through the heartland this past week has yielded a few photos for discussion. For example, here is a captured pair of non-verbal logos that can stand alone, without the need for any words.

As you may recall, one of my previous blog posts (April 9, 2009) discussed non-verbal logos that can stand alone, and one that can’t. There, I asked the question: "Don’t brand owners need to ‘name’ their non-verbal logos, especially those that ‘stand alone,’ otherwise how can anyone spread the word, so to speak?" Like, Nike’s "Swoosh," and McDonald’s "Golden Arches." Well, a couple of weeks later, the LogoBlog asked a similar question, "Do Logos Need Words to Market Themselves?"

What do you think? How important are names and words when it comes to brands?

You might say the photographed logos shown above are without words, but the famous brands they represent certainly are not speechless. They stand for, represent and say a lot, in fact, without any text or words.

Having said that, logos with text and words can stand for, represent and say a lot too:

See full size image

 See full size image

 See full size image

So, it got me thinking, which format is better from a marketing perspective? Your thoughts?

Just so you know, later this week, I’ll take a crack at the pros and cons from a legal perspective.

  • http://www.linkedin.com/in/jkirstein Joel Kirstein

    The pros of non-verbal logos are obvious and if a logo is done right, the iconic value can propel a brand beyond it’s own indigenous realm into something more meaningful such as Apple, Nike, Mercedes and a wealth of other brands have succeeded at. Conversely, a logo that has a vague, cryptic or enigmatic visual can be very counterproductive. Any misinterpretation devalue the brand integrity currency. So using a non-verbal symbol is not as big a challenge as some might think.

  • http://www.linkedin.com/pub/janine-heffelfinger/4/b25/179 Janine Heffelfinger

    That is an interesting question! A strong visual symbol is always a good idea, especially if you are branding across a variety of consumer touchpoints. However, you must have the budget to build meaning and awareness through repetition. The iconic Nike “swoosh” has been very effective. Over time, the mark has perfectly captured the spirit of the brand and of those who love it.
    I think “Google” is unexpected and brilliant. It is an invented word that has morphed from the name of a start-up internet site to a verb that is now a part of our cultural lexicon. The choice of an invented word works so well in this situation because it is impossible to confuse it with anything else.
    Been Googled lately?

  • http://www.jamiecroft.com Jamie

    I think, for brands that are international, being speechless is a must.
    Also, I think that at some point, brands such as google, and coke with such great exposure become non-verbal logos. As soon as you see them, even though you can read them, you know what they are.
    My new favorite, is apple. Although I have been using macs since 1988, I am really enjoying, seeing their logo more and more!

  • http://www.linkedin.com/in/longley Rick Longley

    Basically, a “swoosh” only makes sense After the brand is widely known. (Though making your swoosh and adding the company name to the logo is wise. The company name is simply dropped [also giving a free PR opportunity] After the brand is fairly well known.)
    Google’s logo(s) are stylized text. Brilliant in a web page format (1. “It’s pretty” and 2. “what’s that URL?”), and also because the site is almost entirely text-based. And of course the true brilliance of google was that when it was launched, dial-up was common – low bandwidths – and sites like yahoo and excite, et al, tried to be “portals” with slow loading and content unrelated to the users’ need to search. I went google-only Early.
    Bing! is a step backward for every reason above except now high bandwidth is common!

  • http://www.CandyStoreKid.com Jeff Camp

    Stephen, interesting indeed. But from a brand standpoint, you don’t get that stand alone logo by just having a creative design one. It still needs to be nurtured and grown into a brand. It is at that point your non-word logo becomes more than a brand…it is an icon that speaks what the mind already knows about it.
    But that doesn’t mean that design does not play a big part. Know your brand from the beginning, believe and stick to the message, and then everything else falls in place.
    Can’t wait to see your legal ramifications next.

  • http://www.linkedin.com/in/irenegilbranding Irene Gil

    Properly speaking “logo” is just the word. I would rather use the word symbol to describe Nike swoosh, etc
    It is difficult to imagine a brand without naming it! (there is a chinese proverb: without a name, things do not exist). So, I would say that there are no “non verbal logos”.
    Symbols can be very powerful….but we always name the the brand!

  • http://www.linkedin.com/pub/sherwin-schwartzrock/2/441/a09 Sherwin Schwartzrock

    A number of years ago, I was shopping at a mall in a smaller town in Russia. The Russian language is very foreign to me, but it was easy to recognize global brands like Nike. I was struck at that moment, why an icon-only logo like Nike’s Swoosh makes so much sense for a global brand… you never need to change the language of an icon.
    This idea has been in use for decades with automobiles. All of the little icons associated with fuel gauges, headlight switches and wiper toggles speak well in any language.

  • http://www.rightbraindesign-ny.com/rightbrain.html Catherine Wachs

    If the brand is wearable, it may be preferable to have a non-verbal mark. It looks cooler (depends on the design) and some folks prefer not to wear an obvious name. There are also times when a mark is known to a certain segment (say, skateboarders) and the ambiguity of the mark is desired. Only those “in the know” can identify the brand.
    If the client doesn’t have a healthy budget to promote the mark in all their marketing, it would be preferable to have the mark and logo as one, to promote the brand name.

  • Catherine Cook

    I think we have a tendency to lock ourselves into rules or search for a formula to guarantee future success. That’s when we end up with ordinary, predictable solutions.
    A good designer approaches the problem intellectually, logically, analytically, every way possible and then after they think they’ve solved the problem, they relax, walk away let it mull around while looking at completely unrelated things and then with a little luck and an open mind, an “off the wall” idea hits and somehow relates and gives a whole new dimension to the brand.
    It doesn’t happen every time, but it’s something I always strive for. Sadly, some truly brilliant solutions have died in a conference room because they didn’t meet the predetermined, intellectual parameters of a group.
    For this reason, I would say, make guidelines, but not rules. Look for unexpected associations, and be careful how you judge the results. There is a lot of power in the unexpected.

  • http://iambrianjung.com/rant/ Brian Jung

    Let’s talk fundamentals of communication:
    A non-verbal logo such as the Nike swoosh is easily understood from a glance worldwide. A brand name has trouble with pronunciation when considering global branding. Keep in mind literacy rates are not high world wide either. It goes back to the first evolution of languages used by cavemen…they were pictures and symbols not letters and words.
    Of course brand positioning, marketing, distribution, all come into play when branding a company and both Nike and Google have done a great job of this – however Google’s brand awareness worldwide is much lower than that of Nike. Of course it’s an oversimplification to attribute that to the logo. It’s quite relative to the market and target that you’re speaking to.
    Statistically the US has a relatively low broadband presence. Among the OECD countries the US ranks 15th in broadband penetration…

  • http://www.linkedin.com/in/monirom monirom southakakoumar

    My 2¬¢: when you have deep pockets for the PR advertising and exposure needed to get the word out that the non verbal symbol represents your company/product.
    Also, if you need the mark to be instantly recognizable since the only exposure you’ll get is when celebrities or athletes wear your product. Case in point, Baltimore based UnderArmor which was built entirely on word of mouth. UA needed a mark that would be as compelling as the Nike swoosh.
    Exceptions would be if your company happens to be apple computers, shell oil, or chili’s restaurants. You still need the momentum behind the exposure but, it helps if your logo is your name.

  • http://www.linkedin.com/in/buzzjensen Buzz Jensen

    Non verbal logos are an end result of years of brand building and acceptance. I think they’re ideal because they become iconic in the overall communications of the brand, but… not until after millions or billions of dollars in marketing those to become meaningful and well understood with a broad audience, consumers. Lots of brand building and close management of consistent brand communication over a long time. Apple good example, BMW, Nike, Disney’s mouse, NBC peacock, Mercedes. But all of these have years of establishing the mark to mean something that over time customer expectations were consistent every time they saw the mark so the company or words describing it could be dropped. Marketeers that often try to short cut the process fail to establish customer loyalty and meaning in the mark.

  • http://cuffari.com/blog/ Jack Cuffari, Brand Smacks

    If you have the option, a graphic device tied to a meaningful brand name is the ideal, as in a best-case scenario it carries the weight of universal symbolic resonance. In most cases, however, a universally potent symbol is not developed, and great amounts of money are required to build the connection in consumers’ minds between the brand and what it is intended to represent.
    An effective method is to utilize a symbol and the brand name together, and then wean the symbol away from the name once research has proven that the target audience gets the connection, so that the symbol can be used alone, or in conjunction with the brand name.
    Clients often evoke the Nike swoosh, until they are reminded of how many millions of dollars it took to get to that point of ubiquity. And how many consumers are even aware of Nike being the Greek Goddess of Victory, the Roman Victoria – hence the “v” which was then given italicized treatment to evoke swift movement?

  • http://www.capsule.us Aaron Keller

    Consider our alphabet as a series of symbols that we have (as a society) infused unique meaning, of a long period of time. Brand identities or logos are much the same and require a certain amount of time to obtain the proper meaning in a broad audience.
    An answer to how long until you can use your logo without your name is, “it depends.” It depends on how large your audience is and how long it takes you to infuse the proper meaning. In the case of Shell it has been more than a century. McDonald’s might be less time, but they also likely spent more during the shorter time period.
    Functionally, the design of a logo to go with a word mark gives the brand owner the opportunity to do what Shell, McDonald’s and even the infamous Nike have done. The brand owners of Google on the other hand don’t have the option, but also don’t have to concern themselves with individuals doing it without their permission.
    Hope this adds something to the conversation. And, keep enjoying your productive vacations.


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Lakes & Recreation » Dam & Lake Level Basics

Dam & Lake Level Basics

Our lakes provide benefits that are balanced among the individual needs of several communities, including:

  • Municipal water supplies
  • Industrial and power plant water uses
  • Daily release requirements and drought mitigation
  • Wildlife habitat and aquatic environments
  • Recreation (fishing, boating, skiing, docks, etc.)

Each lake directly affects other lakes on the Catawba River system. To manage the level of one lake, Duke Energy must examine the levels and requirements at each of the other lakes in the system and respond accordingly.

Reservoir Level Variability: Lake levels can vary depending on the location on the reservoir. The lake levels reported on this website are measured at our hydro station dams. During high inflow events, water levels (elevations) could be substantially above (e.g., 5 feet or more) the levels recorded at the dam.

reservoir level variability

We move water downstream using the following methods:

Hydro generation (through the turbines)
Hydro generating units serve as Duke Energy's primary means of moving water. Depending on the design, our generating units can usually pass two to four times the average inflow to a lake or reservoir. When heavy rain inflows exceed the normal hydro unit discharge capabilities, alternate methods must be available to pass the excess.

hydro generating unit

A hydro generating unit releases water through a penstock.

Over the top of an open or ungated spillway
The simple, effective design of an open spillway allows large volumes of excess water to move downstream. This method also provides automatic function, requiring no human intervention.

open spillway

When water level is below full pond, it is held behind an open spillway.

water over an open spillway

When water level exceeds full pond, it pours over the spillway.

Through gated spillways (sometimes referred to as "floodgates")
A gated spillway consists of manually operated floodgates. The operation of the floodgates is tested on a routine basis.

water held behind a gated spillway

Water held behind a gated spillway.

water released from a gated spillway

Water can be released from the spillway by lifting the gate.

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Men's Whaleback Hat

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Back in the day, the Whaleback Steamers hauled their cargo over stormy Lake Superior. Our Whaleback Hat is just as dependable in a storm, in waterproof nylon with 100% polyester Primaloft insulation and earflaps that can be worn up or down.

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Although being overweight and having unhealthy habits can result in a disease diagnosis over time, what about day to day? Maybe your metabolism is slowing down for the first time in your life, and risk for disease isn’t something that can motivate you to make healthier changes. Perhaps you aren’t overweight and just want to break unhealthy habits because you’re sick and tired of feeling sick and tired?

When you’re not eating enough and/or not getting the nutrients you need, your body isn’t working at peak performance. You’ve probably experienced one or more of the following symptoms at one point in your life due to unhealthy habits and a sluggish metabolism:

  • Your energy level is low: If your metabolism is slow, so is the process of breaking down food and nutrients for energy. So whether you’re undereating in general or overeating the wrong types of foods, your energy levels will suffer, and you’ll experience fatigue.

  • Your immune system is weak: Without getting the nutrients you need, you’ll be more likely to take sick days. Your body just isn’t as strong as it needs to be to fight off disease. Being inactive, or not getting plenty of exercise, is correlated with a lowered platelet level (platelets protect you when a foreign virus or bacteria enters your body).

  • Your digestion is out of whack: Without plenty of fiber, movement, and water in your lifestyle, your digestive system won’t be working as best it can. You’ll experience constipation, bloating, and reflux because your metabolism isn’t churning away at the food you eat the way it should be and isn’t absorbing it properly for use.

  • Your mood is depressed: Not eating balanced meals due to a busy work schedule or stress or any other lifestyle barrier can serve to make you irritable and depressed due to fluctuations in blood sugar. Purposefully depriving yourself and not being satisfied will only leave you cranky and vulnerable to food cravings.

  • Your mind is foggy: Your brain requires the right types of nutrients for memory, concentration, and overall alertness. Without it, your resolve to eat better and exercise can diminish, and your judgment isn’t as great to make the next right decision when it comes to healthy lifestyle choices.

  • You aren’t as mobile: If you’re overweight and experience joint pain, it may be difficult for you to move around. Even day to day tasks can be daunting. Aside from weight, if your energy levels are low, getting motivated to exercise is more difficult, which in turn also affects other pieces of the puzzle, such as mood and digestion.

A slow metabolism doesn’t only affect how you feel on the inside. What you put into your body gets broken down and affects your appearance. Although it’s not necessarily true that eating too much sugar or fatty foods will cause your skin to break out, those foods are probably replacing more healthful ones in your diet.

If you’re not getting enough good nutrition because you’re depriving your body, not drinking enough water but drinking plenty of alcohol, or not sleeping well, that has an impact on how you look on the outside. Your skin, hair, and nails are constantly regenerating, so if you aren’t providing your body with the nutrients for adequate growth, their appearance will be compromised.

Outwards signs of a slow metabolism and unhealthful diet include:

  • Dry, dull, hair or hair loss

  • Dry, brittle nails

  • Dry, oily, itchy, discolored or pale skin and acne

  • Intolerance of cold

Looking at the entire picture of physical and mental health can provide insight into your metabolism and your so-called healthy lifestyle. If you think you’re eating nutritiously but experience any of the preceding symptoms, it may be time to reevaluate your plan.


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Organizational planning is what people usually think about when they consider planning for a nonprofit. An organizational plan, usually covering a three- to five-year period, sets goals for the organization and describes the objectives that must be accomplished to achieve those goals. While this may seem like overkill, this organizational plan will help you identify the actual steps that need to be taken to accomplish your goals.

The steps for successful organizational planning are as follows:

  1. Decide whether it’s the right time to plan.

  2. Look at your mission.

  3. Assess the external and internal situation.

  4. Hear from stakeholders.

  5. Make decisions about goals and strategies to meet them.

  6. Write the plan.

  7. Act on the plan.

Planning is an ongoing activity. A formal effort to develop an organizational plan may occur only once every three to five years, but planning for the purposes of refining objectives, creating a budget, and developing fundraising programs goes on all the time.

You won’t necessarily amend a written plan each time a change occurs because, if you’re actively involved, your nonprofit will constantly change to meet new demands and adapt to changing environmental conditions.


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The Face section of the Edit tab in the Styles dialog box in Google SketchUp controls the appearance of faces in your model, including their default colors, their visibility, and their transparency. You can open it by choosing Window, Styles, selecting the Edit tab, and clicking the box icon that’s second from the left.

Front color/Back color

In SketchUp, every face you create has a back and a front. To choose the default colors for all new faces you create, click the Front and Back color wells and then pick a color.

Sometimes when you model in SketchUp, a face is turned inside out. Follow these steps to flip a face so that the right side shows:

  1. Select the face you want to flip.

  2. Right-click and choose Reverse Faces.

Face styles may as well be called Face modes because that’s what they are: different modes for viewing the faces in your model. You can flip among them as much as you like without affecting your geometry. Each Face style has its purpose:

  • Wireframe: In Wireframe mode, your faces are invisible. Because you can’t see them, you can’t affect them. Only your edges are visible, which makes this mode handy for doing two things:

    • When you select edges, switch to Wireframe mode to make sure that you’ve selected what you meant to select. Because no faces block your view, this is the best way to make sure that you select only what you want. The new Back Edges setting is handy for this, too.

    • After you use Intersect Faces, you usually have stray edges lying around. Wireframe is the quickest way to erase them because you can see what you’re doing.

  • Hidden Line: Hidden Line mode displays all your faces using whatever color you’re using for the background.

  • Shaded: This Face style displays colors on your faces. Faces painted with a solid color appear that color. Faces to which you’ve added textures are shown with a color that best approximates their overall color. If your texture has a lot of brown in it, SketchUp picks a brown and uses that. For models with a lot of these textures, switching to Shaded mode can really speed up orbiting, zooming, and otherwise navigating around.

  • Shaded with Textures: Use Shaded with Textures when you want to see your model with textures visible. Because this mode puts a lot of strain on your computer, it can also be the slowest mode to work in.

  • Display Shaded Using All Same: When you want to quickly give your model a simplified color scheme, use this Face style; it uses your default front and back face colors to paint your model.

  • X-Ray: Unlike using translucent materials on only some of your faces (such as glass and water), flipping on X-Ray lets you see through all your faces. If you’re in a plan (overhead) view, it’s a great way to demonstrate how a floor level relates to the one below it.

Displaying transparency (as in translucent materials) is an especially taxing operation for SketchUp and your computer to handle, so you can decide how to display translucent materials:

  • Enable transparency: Deselect this check box to display translucent materials as opaque. Turn off transparency to speed SketchUp’s performance if you find that it’s slowed down.

  • Transparency quality: If you decide to display transparency, you can further fine-tune your system’s performance by telling SketchUp how to render that transparency: You have the choice of better performance, nicer graphics, or an average of the two.


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The beauty of Windows is, well, the windows. When you want to display the content of more than one window at a time in Windows XP, you simply need to resize — make bigger or smaller — the windows that you want to display. Managing your windows in XP may seem just as difficult as washing your physical ones each spring, but, actually, making your application windows bigger or smaller takes just a couple of clicks of the mouse and allows you to move them side by side or above and below each other so that you can see the content of each window.

Click the Restore Down button.

The Restore Down icon is the icon that shows two overlapping windows in the top-right corner of the program window.

Click the Maximize button.

Maximizing enlarges a window that has been restored down so that the window again fills the screen. The Maximize button is in the same location as the Restore Down button; this button toggles to Maximize or Restore Down, depending on whether you have the screen reduced in size or maximized. A ScreenTip identifies the button when you pass your mouse over it.


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Specialty products such as nondairy cheese and soy yogurt can be expensive to buy on a regular basis — especially the organic varieties. To go dairy-free for the long run, you’d be wise to think of ways to economize. The good news is that doing so isn’t difficult.

When you’re shopping on a budget, one of the best ways to save a little money is to be a comparison shopper. In particular, compare the prices of name-brand, store-brand, and private-label products. Private-label and store-brand foods often cost substantially less than similar name-brand products. The quality often is just as good, too. Look for private-label and store-brand versions of soymilk, rice milk, soy yogurt, and other nondairy products. Compare prices of similar products between stores, too.

Check the unit pricing shown on the grocery shelves near each product. For example, unit pricing may show you the price per ounce of one product compared with another. Comparing unit prices can help you find the best values.

The specialty foods marketplace is changing rapidly, so don’t assume anything. Check around to make sure you’re getting the lowest price. More conventional supermarkets have started stocking soymilk, rice milk, and other nondairy milks, yogurts, and cheeses. As more people buy these products, you may see prices drop.

One way to be practical when buying nondairy specialty foods is to purchase varieties that can be used for more than one purpose. For example, soymilk and other forms of nondairy milk are typically sold in plain and flavored varieties. The flavored products, such as vanilla and chocolate flavors, usually are slightly sweetened. Although these sweetened varieties are tasty for drinking, they aren’t always useful for cooking savory dishes. Nondairy cheese is another example. You’re more likely to find multiple uses for cheddar- or mozzarella-style cheese than for pepper jack cheese.

Larger quantities often are a better value. That’s because the more units a company can sell of the same item, the more efficiently it may be able to produce the product. As a result, the company can shave a little off the price, pass the savings on to you, and still make a profit. Everyone wins.

This bulk business strategy is the premise behind the savings at warehouse stores like Costco, BJ’s, and Sam’s Club. It’s also the reason you often get a discount of as much as 10 percent when you buy caseloads of foods at other stores, too.

Generic, store brand, and private-label products typically cost less than their name-brand cousins. The same manufacturers that package brand-name items often make these no-name products. By buying the generic, you frequently get the same high-quality product for less than you’d pay for the leading brands. Examples of dairy-free generic, store-brand, or private-label products you’re likely to see in stores include soymilk, rice milk, nondairy yogurt, and nondairy cream cheese.

A great way to save some money when eating a dairy-free diet is to use coupons. You can find coupons all around you. You just have to look. Consider the following options:

  • You can find coupons in food-themed magazines, within in-store circulars, on store shelves, and on the products themselves (just peel and save).

  • Another good place to look for coupons is on manufacturer Web sites. It’s becoming common for food companies to include on their Web sites not only recipes but coupons, too, which you can print and take with you to the store.

  • You also can look on coupon Web sites. You can find hundreds of coupons for a wide range of products consolidated in one place.

Coupons can be a nice way to save money on staples or to get a discount on a product you’d like to try. Be smart, though, and don’t let a coupon entice you into buying something you don’t need or would ordinarily buy in its less expensive, store-brand form.

When clipping coupons, stay organized. Keep coupons together in one central spot — an envelope, basket, file folder, shelf, or even a favorite dish — where you know to look before you go to the store. Regularly look through your coupon stash and throw away any that have expired.


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The Common Core Standards in this group focus primarily on triangles. Students discover the concept of similarity and scale and explore how these concepts apply to real-world situations. The unique nature of triangles also reveals certain mathematical truths about ratios that are very useful in solving a host of problems.

In geometry, similarity refers to triangles that have exactly the same shape but differ in size. Similarity differs from congruence, which describes triangles of identical size and shape. The use of similarity to represent larger objects is commonplace in fields such as engineering and architecture, when someone needs to accurately represent the size of certain objects on a smaller scale.

Right triangles

Students work extensively with right triangles (triangles with one 90-degree angle). Right triangles are unique in that you can find the length of any one side of the triangle if you know the lengths of the other two sides.

According to the Pythagorean theorem, “the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides,” which can be expressed as c2 = a2 + b2, where c is the hypotenuse (the longest side of the right triangle), and a and b are the other two (shorter) sides.

Trigonometry deals with the study and use of ratios involving triangle sides and angles. Students use the trigonometric ratios sine (sin), cosine (cos), and tangent (tan) to solve for missing parts (including a missing side or angle) of a right triangle:

Using trigonometric ratios, you can determine the length of a side of a right triangle without knowing the lengths of the other two sides. You can determine the unknown length of a side given the length of one side and the angle next to it. Take a look for a visual representation of the opposite, adjacent, and hypotenuse sides when labeled for the purposes of practicing using these ratios.

Use To find Given
sine opposite angle & hypotenuse
hypotenuse angle & opposite
angle opposite and hypotenuse
cosine hypotenuse angle & adjacent
adjacent angle & hypotenuse
angle adjacent & opposite
tangent opposite angle & adjacent
adjacent angle & opposite
angle opposite & adjacent

Challenge your child to choose the correct ratio and find the missing parts.

Draw right triangles in various sizes and dimensions that have different missing parts and have your child use the trigonometric ratios of sine, cosine, and tangent to find the missing angle or side of each triangle. You see some examples grouped by cosine, sine, and tangent, but don't tell your child which ratio to use; challenge her to figure it out.

For example, to find x (opposite side) of the triangle in the upper left, knowing the angle is 19° and the hypotenuse is 4, you use the sine function:

Being able to accurately determine the missing side or angle of a right triangle is important because of the frequency of right triangles in the real world, including square objects that are divided into two right triangles and angles of elevation.

Trigonometric ratios are even more useful for finding missing sides and angles of non-right (oblique) triangles — triangles that don't have a 90-degree angle — because the Pythagorean theorem works to find only missing sides of right triangles.

You can use the sine (sin), cosine (cos), and tangent (tan) buttons on your child's calculator when working problems that require the use of any of these trigonometric ratios.


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Welcome to the wonderful world of mushrooms! This simple dish — the name says it all — introduces you to three different mushrooms, each with its own distinct texture and flavor. Really, it’s all about those different textures and flavors that intermingle in your mouth when you combine mushrooms in this way.

Preparation time: 12 minutes

Cooking time: 6 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

8 to 10 fresh shiitake mushrooms

1 can (15 ounces) straw mushrooms

1 cup small button mushrooms

2 tablespoons cooking oil

8 basil leaves

1/3 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon oyster-flavored sauce

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

  1. Halve the shiitake mushrooms.

    Quarter them if they’re large.

  2. Drain the straw mushrooms.

  3. Place a wok over high heat until hot.

  4. Add the oil, swirling to coat the sides.

  5. Add the basil leaves and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 10 seconds.

  6. Add the shiitake, button, and straw mushrooms and chicken broth; mix well.

  7. Cover and cook for about 2 minutes.

  8. Add the oyster-flavored sauce and dark soy sauce; cook for 1 minute.

  9. In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in 2 teaspoons water.

  10. Add the cornstarch solution to the wok.

  11. Cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens.


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ColdFusion MX For Dummies (0764516728) cover image

ColdFusion MX For Dummies

ISBN: 978-0-7645-1672-6
408 pages
September 2002
This title is out-of-print and not currently available for purchase from this site.
ColdFusion MX is a Web-application development platform from Macromedia and it can definitely help energize your Web application development work. Super-simple to use—the only pre-requisite is knowing HTML—and featuring a set of powerful Web application development tools, ColdFusion MX makes it easier and quicker than ever to develop Web applications of every level of sophistication—from a homey photo archive of family snapshots, to a swanky enterprise application for managing electronic commerce.

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  • Work with databases, forms, variables, and tags
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This was the first week back at school for my kids and it’s been a little crazy; I haven’t washed my face as well as I should have at night.  If I don’t give my face a thorough cleaning at night, I tend to get a little oily and break out.  Last night my son had a migraine, so in dealing with that, I crawled into bed with my makeup still on.  This morning my skin looked, well, kind of dirty.  I’ve done microdermabrasion treatments before and they work fairly well for fading some spots and clarifying pores, but they are pretty pricey for what they are.

So here’s my recipe that I used today for home microdermabrasion.  Honestly, it’s remarkably similar to the real thing.  And costs maybe $1 a treatment.

  • 2/3 a cup baking soda
  • 3-4 tablespoons water
  • 1 drop essential oil (this is optional – I just add it because it smells nicer – I used sweet orange oil)

DIY Microdermabrasion Recipe

Add water until you get the consistency of toothpaste

That’s it?  Yep, that’s it.  I find it much more effective (and less scratchy) than a commercial facial scrub.  The particles are much smaller so they do a better job of “buffing” the skin.  The recipe above makes enough for two or three scrubs.  It’s also great as a scrub for feet.

  • Go slowly when adding water so you don’t overdo it.  Remember you want the consistency of toothpaste.
  • When applying it, do so in small slow circles.  Don’t scrub, just swirl the mixture around; you don’t want to scratch your face.
  • If you are new to essential oils, less is more.  You don’t want to add more than a drop – it will be overpowering and could sting your face.

Have fun!

Another “pantry beauty” recipe you might like:  Brown Sugar Scrub

Don't be shellfish...Share on FacebookEmail this to someoneTweet about this on TwitterShare on TumblrPin on Pinterest

  1. I have never thought of using baking soda as a scrub. Thanks for the recipe!

  2. I’m just wondering if it burns any, because of the baking soda? Can anyone tell me?

    • Hi Shawnnita, it doesn’t, I promise. It is quite mild. You definitely don’t want to scrub hard, just light circular motions. And rinse with cool water. Didn’t burn me at all!

  3. Hi Tara, I’m just wondering how you would apply this? With my fingers? Or do I need a sponge or anything like that? Thanks!

  4. Corinne says:

    what are the steps for this? like, how long do you leave it on for? what do you apply with? should your face be freshly washed?

    • Hi Corinne, it’s not a mask so no need to leave it on for long. You can apply with fingertips and use a light circular motion like you would with a cleanser. Don’t scrub. Then just rinse off!

  5. Hi i was just wondering if i could use my Clarisonic Mia with this. I wasn’t sure if using that instead of my fingers would be too harsh. Thanks! (:

  6. I have been mixing it up a bit, adding papaya puree’, a drop of olive oil. Last night, I got too much liquid in the mix and did not want to add more baking soda. I spotted my Hersheys Cocoa Powder and remembered reading about the Hersheys Spa, where cocoa was used in all the treatments! So I dumped a bit o-cocoa in the mix and was treated to a very yummy smelling scrub. You could replace the water with milk, or add powdered milk to the mix as lactic acid is supposed to be very good for disolving the biological glue that holds dead cells together. I always add some kind of oil so the granules have a little lubrication.I usually make too much, so I use it all over my body to use it up. It works better on the face and softer skin of the sholders, chest, butt and upper thighs than on legs or arms.

  7. how long does this keep for? example, if i am giving as gift……..does it keep well? or a very short amount of time?

  1. […] seen on the baking soda box, in addition to researching it a little on some trusty blogs like the Dump Your Frump blog.  All I can say is holly smokes my face feels amazing, beautifully clean, and absolutely […]

  2. […] actually use this all the time and LOVE it! Source: via Vanessa on […]

  3. […] I saw a post on Pinterest that suggested making a facial scrub out of baking soda and water.  Since I’ve long since […]

  4. […]  50. DIY Microdermabrasion Recipe  […]

Speak Your Mind


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earth, land ground

Terra faculty from left to right: Professor Allison Brungard, Dr. Drew Simpson, Dr. Sarah Wright, Dr. Daniel Schied, and Dr. Rebecca Cepek.

Terra Faculty

Cultivate compassion for the earth and those that inhabit it.

Director: Dr. Sarah Breckenridge Wright, Department of English

This slide show explains the faculty team's plans for TERRA for 2015-16:

Fall 2015
UCOR 030C, Research and Information Skills, Prof. Allison Brungard
UCOR 101C, Thinking and Writing across the Curriculum, Dr. Rebecca Cepek
ENGL 112C-01C, Food Ethics, Food Ethnics, Dr. Sarah Breckenridge Wright
UCOR 152C, Theological Ethics, Dr. Daniel Scheid

Spring 2016
UCOR 102C, Imaginative Literature and Critical Writing (optional), Dr. Rebecca Cepek
HIST, Environmental History, Dr. Andrew Simpson

Terra students will build civic values and empathy, intercultural awareness, an appreciation for diversity, and knowledge of our community's needs by examining Grow Pittsburgh's Martin Luther King Field Project, Gtech's project ReClaim, Spoon's Farm-to-Table restaurant, and the Hill District's Greenprint Project.

Women resident students in TERRA live on 6A or 7C of Towers Living-learning Center, men on 8B of Towers.

Towers is in the lower right-hand corner of the campus map.


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Security control

The Federal Police is responsible for security controls at Düsseldorf Airport. What can I take with me on a flight in the first place? Some items can in fact be carried either in your hand or checked baggage. Some things have to go into your checked baggage, which you hand in at check-in, and some things are not permitted in your hand luggage. For a smooth process at the Airport, it is essential that you abide by the security regulations.

The key points at a glance

Hazardous items

A list of the Federal Ministry for Transport, Construction and Housing tells you what items you may not carry in your hand luggage and what items belong in your checked baggage. The Federal Aviation Agency also gives extensive information on prohibited and dangerous items. If in doubt, please contact your airline especially if you plan to take so-called “dangerous goods” with you on your trip.

With other questions on this subject, please contact the Federal Police

Telephone: +49 (0)211 9518-118

Liquids like gels, pastes and lotions that you want to carry in your hand luggase are limited to a packaging volume of 100 milliliters per container. The same applies to mixtures of liquids and solids, as well as the content of aerosol cans. Typical examples are toothpaste, hair gel, perfumes and shaving foam, as well as drinks, soups or syrup.

Medications and special dietary and baby food needed during the flight are not subject to these restrictions.

To take the liquids concerned through security control, they must fit in one transparent, sealable plastic bag which can hold a maximum of one liter in volume. This bag can be a simple, re-sealable freezer bag, which you can easily buy in any supermarket. Please show your bag to the personnel at security.

Diving equipment

This harpoon, of course, does not belong in your hand luggage. Diving lamps, on the other hand, may only be carried in your hand luggage. When diving lamps are switched on, they can generate exceptional amounts of heat, so they may only be carried in dismantled condition, meaning that either the light or the energy source must be removed.

Allow plenty of time

When planning your time at the airport, please bear in mind that, depending on passenger volumes, waiting time can occur not only at check-in, but also at security. Everyone wants to feel safe at the airport and on the plane. To be able to guarantee a certain level of security, the checks have to be performed with the appropriate rigor and care. How long the waiting times are at the checkpoints naturally depends on the number and size of bags which everyone carries as hand luggage. Please limit your hand luggage to one bag.


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Reviews » DVD Video Reviews » The A&E Adventure Collection DVD Set
The A&E Adventure Collection DVD Set
A&E Video // Unrated // November 18, 2008
List Price: $99.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Review by Jeffrey Kauffman | posted November 11, 2008 | E-mail the Author
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The Movie:
The A&E "megaset" holiday gift juggernaut continues with The Adventure Collection, all around one of the better offerings in these new bookcase 14 disc sets, several of which I've already reviewed (The Universe Collection, The 60's). Combining a host of excellent adventure themed film-length adaptations, as well as the first four Hornblower films, this set provides a wealth of great stories with unusually high production values.

Hornblower. Note: some information is repeated from my previous review of the complete eight film set, released several months ago by A&E.

A generation before Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Matarin novels (adapted into Master and Commander) started sweeping away legions of readers into the supposedly halcyon days of the Napoleonic Wars, there was another British series of novels detailing life in His Majesty's Navy. C.S. Forester brought Horatio Hornblower to life first in serialized form and then later in a series of well received and eagerly awaited novels. Though Hornblower made it to the film world with 1951's Captain Horatio Hornblower, starring a somewhat miscast Gregory Peck. While Forester fared a bit better in the 1950s with another film adaptation of one of his novels, a little tome called The African Queen, it really wasn't until this excellent 1998-2003 set of eight television movies made for A&E hit the screen that the full scope of Forester's achievement really was given a proper screen, albeit small screen, treatment. Hornblower presents a fascinating chronological treatise of one man's (actually boy's, as he's only 17 as the series begins) journey through years of Naval service at a critical time for the British Empire.

Though this might be thought of as a miniseries, with a characters who recur throughout most, if not all, of the episodes, the eight Hornblower films can each be taken as standalone items, without the viewer getting too lost (only the first four films are included in this release, which is a real shame). Hornblower was one of the most expensive and lavish historical shows to have been filmed up to that time, with several Oscar winners in various crew capacities, and a stellar cast including Ioan Gruffudd as Hornblower and Robert Lindsay as his mentor, Captain Edward Pellew. The series is notable for its thrilling production values, which include actual tall ships being built for use throughout the eight films, as documented in one of the splendid extras included. Historically, the series is probably one of the most accurate portrayals of sea life in this era ever put on film, without the high gloss that often accompanies even the best-intentioned big screen efforts (as in Master and Commander itself, as a matter of fact). There's no shirking throughout these films from not only the horrors of battle in this series, but also the perhaps no lesser horror of being confined in close quarters with men whose motives are not always pure, not to mention a strict code of discipline that may leave you covering your eyes in abject disgust more than once.

Gruffudd (The Fantastic Four) does an amazing job throughout this series, starting out as a frankly scared boy and slowly maturing into a responsible and responsive commander himself. His character's journey is always front and center in these films, despite the often exotic locales that serve as backdrops for Hornblower's various adventures. Gruffudd's dashing presence brings Hornblower fully to life, while never minimizing the foibles and fears that underlie Hornblower's heroic posture. It makes Hornblower a fully human character, and is probably the main reason that this miniseries is so consistently captivating. Robert Lindsay (BBC's Jericho mystery series, among many others) is a very appealing father figure throughout the series, often taking Hornblower to task for his occasional missteps while never failing to show pride and real affection for his charge. The supporting cast that moves in and out of the various episodes is uniformly excellent, though I felt that the series spent a bit too much time on nemeses for Hornblower from within his own ranks (some of whom of course turn out to heroically sacrifice themselves in the end).

For a small screen effort, there has been a lot of time and energy spent on costumes and sets, and especially in battle special effects. While there's no mistaking a lot of the tank work with miniatures here, as excellent as it may be, it really doesn't distract too much from the reality being portrayed, and, as mentioned above, a lot of the films take place on actual full scale sailing ships, which lends an air of authenticity that may have you checking your brow for sea spray once or twice. Directorial touches are frequently very exciting throughout the series, with shots taken from the crow's nest and masts as well as several great aerial flybys of ships on the open seas.

Brief Summaries of the Four Episodes Included in The Adventure Collection

The Duel. This film introduced the young Hornblower (Ioan Gruffudd) on his first assignments, where he quickly draws the ire of a Midshipman, ultimately having to challenge the man to a duel. He also comes under the mentorship of Captain Edward Pellew (Robert Lindsay),who will play an important part in several more episodes.

The Fire Ships. This episode deals mostly with the Spanish attacks of ships set on fire sent into docked British fleets, set against Hornblower's attempts to pass his test to become a Lieutenant.

The Duchess and the Devil. Hornblower and his men find themselves POWs in a sort of exotic Iberian locale, as well as keepers of an English Duchess with a secret or two up her sleeves.

The Wrong War. Hornblower travels to France in an abortive coup attempt to overthrow the Republic, a plan whose secrecy is endangered when its plans are stolen. The French Royalist commander accompanying Hornblower, who turns out to be something of a marauding madman, opens Horatio's eyes to the abuse of power.

Giving equal time to "the other side" of the massive Franco-British conflict of the Hornblower era is this visually opulent miniseries, one of the most impressive from production design and cinematography standpoints that I've seen. Starting with Napoleon's exile, and then working back through the tumultuous rise and and fall of France's "little Emperor," Napoleon is a feast for the eyes if never quite for the intellect.

No expense was obviously spared on this production, which includes epic recreations of several battles, but also depicts court life of that era with an at times creepy verisimilitude. Where the miniseries repeatedly comes up short (no pun intended) is in some of the portrayals. While Christian Clavier does generally excellent work in detailing the complexities of Napoleon's almost manic-depressive tendencies, he's at times very hard to understand due to his thick French accent. Isabella Rossellini is strangely out of her element as Empress Josephine, and just seems lost a lot of the time, not helped by what looks like some very sloppily handled ADR post-production work that leaves her voice never quite in synch with her lips. While some of the supporting cast is superb, including Gerard Depardieu as Joseph Fouche, others, like John Malkovich's Talleyrand, are a major embarrassment. Why Malkovich, an always quirky but usually more reliable performer, chose to keep his broad American accent, and even more disconcertingly, smugly modern style, is anyone's guess, but he obviously needed a stronger director than Yves Simoneau to reign in his narcissistic tendencies. The scenes with him are completely off-kilter, performing style wise, and throw the viewer off balance enough that it takes the film a while to regain its momentum.

Napoleon does offer an unglamourized view of the conqueror of his age, warts and all. Both his strategic genius and personal failings are well detailed, leaving a fairly well rounded portrayal at the core of this film. There's probably enough pomp and circumstance here to overcome a certain amount of lethargy that creeps in. Visually this piece harkens back to the early 50s Technicolor epics made just before widescreen processes came into vogue; I was consistently impressed with the beautiful imagery of Napoleon, which has one of the boldest color palettes I've experienced in made for television fare. Just try to ignore the preening Malkovich when he comes onscreen.

Dava Sobel's brilliantly written and researched expose of the little-known quest to provide an accurate way of measuring Longitude is brought to the small screen in one of the most consistently engaging efforts that A&E has ever presented. Helmed by a commanding performance by Michael Gambon as John Harrison, a man who had seemingly everything stacked against him but who nonetheless managed to prevail, Longitude provides not only a fascinating history lesson but a compelling personal story as well.

Longitude seems to take its title somewhat literally as it moves vertically through two time-spheres, including that of Harrison, an 18th century clockmaker who invented the maritime chronometer, the first instrument capable of accurately measuring longitude, ultimately winning the vaunted "Longitude Prize," again overcoming several overwhelming obstacles. But Longitude also presents the mirrored story of Rupert Gould (the brilliant Jeremy Irons), overcoming some personal problems of his own in the 20th century as he attempts to restore Harrison's chronometers. The ironic aspect to the story is that Harrison more or less quickly solved the actual problem, while taking decades to actually claim the Prize, as the scientific powers of the time were loathe to bestow it on a non-scientist of such lowly class. It's a heartbreaking and actually infuriating indictment of narrow mindedness, but also an unbelievably inspiring testament to one man's perseverance.

You might think that this would all be incredibly dry, but it is to Longitude's credit that both stories remain unbelievably visceral throughout. While Harrison's is perhaps the more compelling, simply because the odds seem stacked against him so completely, Irons' understated and emotionally tamped down work as Gould may well linger longer with the viewer after the story has ended.

Longitude also sports an impressive production design, obviously put to best use in the Harrison segments. All of the supporting performances are wonderful, including a luminous Gemma Jones as Elizabeth Harrison. This is simply one of the all-time best television films, a suitably epic production detailing an arcane sidebar of maritime history, and brought brilliantly to life in two towering performances by Gambon and Irons.

Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor

Have you ever noticed there aren't many American kids named Benedict these days (or in fact ever during our 200-plus years of history)? You can lay the blame squarely at the feet of the man who became the most infamous "traitor" in U.S. history. What some reactionaries fail to remember is that Arnold happened to be, in none other than George Washington's own words, the "greatest hero of the Revolution." This fascinating paradox is brought vividly to life in Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor, a 2003 production with Aidan Quinn as the title character and a somewhat miscast Kelsey Grammer as Washington.

Arnold traverses several decades, but focuses mostly on the ultimately traitorous General's Revolutionary War exploits, showing quite effectively how he saved the nascent country not once, but twice. What this piece also depicts vividly is how extremely poorly Arnold was treated after his heroics, not just by officials in Pennsylvania, but by Washington himself, who was trying to navigate a minefield of competing agendas and ideologies. Arnold makes a cogent case that while some may fault Arnold for his ultimate decisions (most notoriously the one attempting to give West Point over to the British), there is no doubt that the General made them from a strong moral compass that was perhaps in conflict with some wounded pride.

Quinn is remarkable throughout this shorter form piece (about 90 minutes), with doleful eyes hinting at the torments that rages beneath Arnold's forceful façade. Somewhat less effective is Grammer, who comes off as a sort of Revolutionary War era Frasier, with clipped cadences and a parading peacock demeanor that undercuts Washington's character as a "citizen soldier." Most of the supporting cast is uniformly excellent, expecially the beautiful Flora Montgomery as the Loyalist whom Arnold marries; discerning viewers will recognize Montgomery from her many BBC appearances, including one of the very best Poirots, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."

Benedict Arnold is one of those characters who seems confined to the stereotype he has been branded with for the past couple of centuries, with little regard for the actual human emotions and motivations that made up the man. Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor does a remarkable job of filling in those details and making the typos a real, living breathing human being.

Certainly one of the more amazing true stories in this set is the unbelievable Shackleton, featuring a superb Kenneth Branagh as the early 20th century adventurer Ernest Shackleton, who sought to chart the South Pole. The bulk of the film follows the legendary exploits of the ironically named ship Endurance, which became lodged in the ice, stranding Shackleton and his men in a frozen wasteland. Realizing the dire straits they were in, Shackleton set off on what must have seemed like a mad, several hundred mile solo effort to find help. Against all odds, he succeeded, and not one of his crew died on the ill-fated voyage.

Though there's a large and impressive supporting cast throughout Shackleton, this film rests squarely on the shoulders of Branagh, and this is certainly one of his most commanding performances. With the bulk of the central section of the film being somewhat akin to Tom Hanks' solo work in Cast Away, the success of Shackleton relies almost entirely on Branagh's solitary screen time as he both boats and hikes his way across an incredibly foreboding sea- and landscape in order to find relief for his men. Branagh is up to the challenge, and Shackleton, under the able direction of Charles Sturridge, brings the explorer's indomitable will to stirring life.

This is a story where you will repeatedly be saying "I can't believe that happened," and yet it all did. Shackleton boasts one of Shackleton's biographers as a production advisor, as well as first-hand accounts by many of the crew, lending it an air of authenticity that is truly incredible. The production design, especially of the Endurance trapped in a sea of ice, is spectacular. You may feel the need to bundle up as you watch this compelling piece of history unfold before your eyes. Branagh has never been better, and Shackleton packs an impressive punch that few relatively recent television films can match.

The Lost Battalion

The story of a battalion lost in the Argonne Forest in World War I has been the stuff of legend for decades, and was made into a silent film featuring many of the actual participants of the tragedy shortly after the close of the war (the 1961 film of the same name is about World War II, strangely). This compelling film, which can almost be seen as a companion piece to the various versions of All Quiet on the Western Front, brings home in a sometimes shockingly visceral fashion not only the futility of war, but the personal heroics of various people caught in a maelstrom not of their own making.

Rick Schroder might be one of the last people you'd think of to effectively portray an American Major, one Charles Whittlesey, who through some bad luck ends up with his battalion isolated from supporting forces deep behind enemy lines. Though realizing his apparently doomed fate, Whittlesey managed to heroically stoke the passions of his men, many if not most of whom were of a lower class uneducated sort (some of them actual criminals). The Lost Battalion shows the hearbreaking efforts of an outnumbered and potentially demoralized group fighting on against insurmountable odds. The fact that any of the battalion managed to survive is something of a minor miracle.

The Lost Battalion is one of the few times in recent film work where the much overused handheld jiggly camerawork actually works to the benefit of the finished product, lending a "you are there" element that puts the viewer squarely in the center of an unfolding series of horrendous events. Despite some preconceptions about Schroder's ability to handle a role of this magnitude, he does an incredibly impressive job, handling both the action elements and the more personal intimate moments with ease. Director Russell Mulcahy, who's seen his big screen career pretty much flame out after Highlander, does a remarkably efficient job here of showing the literally down and dirty, grittier aspects of ground fighting during "The Great War." Keeping the story well-balanced between the epic and personal, Mulcahy stages the many fight scenes with a fair degree of visual panache, while eliciting good to excellent supporting performances from the large cast.

There's a palpable air of malaise and sadness that overhangs The Lost Battalion. It's probably the most outright depressing vision of this boxed set, but it's a potent reminder that war is never easy and that each life lost is a precious sacrifice that's impossible to replace.

All of these features save Shackleton (which is in an enhanced 1.85:1 ratio) are full frame transfers, and they all for the most part look stupendous. Though Hornblower by comparison looks just a tad soft at times, compared to a lot of British television product, these are fairly immaculate, with excellent color (especially in Napoleon), detail and contrast. Shackleton has a very nice image, with some subtle gradations in the all encompassing whites that make up the bulk of its frozen wilderness segments.

All of the features offer standard stereo soundtracks that serve their purposes well, if not mind-blowingly so. Some of these battle-heavy pieces could have benefitted from a 5.1 mix, but what is there is completely reliable, with excellent fidelity and clarity. No subtitles are available.

All of the extras from the previous DVD releases of these features have been ported over to this new boxed set. Hornblower includes text features on C.S. Forester and nautical terms, as well as a making of featurette and another on England's royal warships. Longitude contains a making of featurette. Napoleon has one of the nicest sets of extras, with a two hour documentary on "Napoleon and Wellington," the Biography episode on the Emperor, a behind the scenes featurette and cast biographies and filmographies. Shackleton features a making of featurette, the Biography episode on Sir Ernest, another very good documentary called "Antarctica: A Frozen History," as well as a Branagh filmography and biography. The Lost Battalion has the heartfelt "Dear Home: Letters From World War I" featurette as well as a Schroder filmography/biography. Benedict Arnold offers the Biography episode on Arnold, a behind the scenes featurette, and filmographies/biographies of Quinn and Grammer.

Final Thoughts:
This is certainly the best of the A&E Megasets I've reviewed recently. In fact had it offered all eight of the Hornblower features, I'd have given it a Collector's Series rating easily. As it stands, it provides hours and hours (and hours) of top shelf entertainment spread over an incredible variety of subjects. Production values are for the most part amazing, and the scripts unusually literate. Almost all of the performances are brilliant, to boot. Highly recommended.

"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet

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White Lies
Music Video Distributors // Unrated // $19.95 // December 4, 2001
Review by Adam Tyner | posted June 30, 2002
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Graphical Version
Catherine Chapman (Sarah Polley) has just started attending a local Canadian university, and her parents have graciously offered to cover the costs of her dorm and tuition. All other expenses will have to be provided by Catherine herself, but her job hunt hits a snag when a prospective employer asks her if she's bilingual. She replies positively, noting her six years of French courses, to which she's told, "No, do you speak Cantonese?" Catherine is frustrated that she's expected to accomodate so many dissimilar languages and cultures even just to flip burgers, and she vents her feelings to a speaker during the school's "One World Week" conference. Reporter Alan Green basically calls her a racist in response, contributing further to Catherine's distaste for political correctness. He inspires Catherine to pen a vitriolic paper about the homogenization of society entitled "Christmas Is Dead", to which an unamused professor gives her an F. She dismisses the opportunity to rewrite it, though she's able to score a quick fifty bucks by submitting the paper to a website. It attracts the attention of Erina (Tanya Allen) and the National Identity Movement, the thinly-veiled white supremacy group she represents.

Catherine is seduced by the charismatic group and its leader, Inga Kolneder (Lynn Redgrave), who mold the confused young girl into an anonymous writer of hate literature. N.I.M. finds itself dissatisfied with Catherine's perpetual anonymity, and they decide her good looks and infallible ability to attract new members would be put to better use as the group's spokesperson. She's reluctant at first, but with the ceaseless prodding of her lover, the frontman of an Aryan punk band, Catherine relents. The movement isn't all crappy music and burning crosses, as Catherine learns after she inadvertently plays a role in a near-fatal attack on Alan Green. The best efforts of her friend Erina aren't sufficient to convince Catherine to leave the group behind, despite feeling increasingly conflicted with each passing day. As if all of that weren't enough, Catherine's relationship with Ian has a somewhat unpleasant consequence, fulfilling the group's desire for her to become an anti-Zionist baby producing machine.

I found it interesting that White Lies resisted the temptation to blindly divide characters into heroes and villains. The frustration Catherine expresses in the film's early moments is likely to strike a chord with a number of viewers, at least if the sorts of posts on DVD Talk's Other Forum offer any indication. The Nazis don't wear jackboots and twirl their collective moustaches while cobbling together nefarious schemes against other races. There is obviously a considerable amount of underlying nastiness, but several of N.I.M.'s members are realistically painted more as ignorant than merely eeeeevil. At the same time, the anti-racist movement has its violent side as well, and one of its leaders has a tough time putting what's right above personal ambition. Certain elements of the plot are predictable, but White Lies doesn't follow a formula piecemealed together from three decades of afterschool specials. Though Catherine does reject Nazism by the film's conclusion (would it possibly end any other way?), the movement she embraced for even that brief period of time had an indelible effect on her friends and family, and Catherine can't just go through life pretending nothing had happened. Every action has a consequence, and that's reflected here, though somewhat disappointingly also in the overdone form of teenage pregnancy.

White Lies was directed by Kari Skogland, whose credits also include Zebra Lounge and Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return. If nothing else, she deserves points for tackling a wide variety of material throughout her career. Sarah Polley is an underappreciated talent who's more than up to the task of carrying a movie with this sort of material. Catherine isn't a mindless drone who errs simply because the plot demands it. Her descent is a beliveable progression of a character whose mistakes and confusion inspire sympathy and disappointment rather than snide "why the hell is she doing that?" remarks from the peanut gallery.

White Lies was originally released on DVD through MTV Home Video over two years ago. That version has since been discontinued, supplanted by this edition from Music Video Distributors. As far as I can tell, these releases are identical in every way. Music Video's DVD carries a list price of $19.95, and as I write this, buy.com currently offers the lowest price of any e-tailer for White Lies at $13.99 shipped.

Video: White Lies is presented in the same full-frame aspect ratio that it was originally seen in upon its debut on Canadian television in March 1998. Its appearance wavers somewhat, though perhaps that's to be expected from an ambitious low-budget TV movie. Crispness and clarity are somewhat inconsistent, appearing rather soft in portions like the auditorium sequence, though the majority of the film is sharp enough. Film grain comes and goes, most jarringly in the extremely grainy shots in the hospital, immediately followed by an exterior scene on a cliff at the 16:15 mark that's as smooth and close to perfect as one could hope for. There is also some infrequent shimmering, such as the venetian blinds as Catherine first enters her home. The clips of the film in the disc's featurette are roughly comparable in quality, seemingly indicating that this is the way White Lies has always looked and likely will for some time to come.

Audio: There's not a whole lot to say about the lifeless stereo surround track, which sounds quite a bit like watching a movie on cable TV. Ambiance and music reinforcement creak every so quietly from the rears, and the only times any activity from that direction managed to grab my attention were applause after a performance by Ian's band and the more choral portions of the film's score. I can't think of much else to say, so I'll quickly mention the presence of Spanish subtitles and move on.

Supplements: The 23 minute "The Telling of White Lies" is the only supplement worth noting. Nearly everyone involved in any capacity with the project gets some screen time in the documentary, be it in the form of interviews or behind the scenes footage. I suppose I'm easily amused, but I thought the story about a crew member who was nearly arrested after having some film of the swastika-riddled props developes was particularly interesting. A scene index for the disc's twelve chapters is provided under the "Special Features" menu, as is a two-paragraph synopsis of the film. Rounding out the supplements are biographies for Sarah Polley, Lynn Redgrave, Tanya Allen, Joseph Kell, Jonathan Scarfe, Albert Schultz, writer Dennis Foon, producer Phil Savath, and director Kari Skogland.

Conclusion: As a film, White Lies is nothing particularly memorable, though it's in a class above the "afterschool special" schmaltz I was expecting. White Lies may be of more interest to parents who want to prompt discussion about the harm of racism to kids in their early-to-mid teens. I wouldn't think too many people outside of that age bracket would be interested in White Lies, especially considering that the more powerful American History X explores many of the same themes and ideas without having to strive to be appropriate for broadcast television.

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Case Number 21654: Small Claims Court

Sony // 2010 // 95 Minutes // Rated R
Reviewed by Judge Clark Douglas // June 28th, 2011

The Charge

"Am I going crazy? I keep hearing guitar music."

The Case

Forty years ago, E.F. Bloodworth (Kris Kristofferson, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore) walked out on his wife Julia (Frances Conroy, Six Feet Under) and his children Boyd (Dwight Yoakam, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada), Warren (Val Kilmer, Wonderland), and Brady (W. Earl Brown, Deadwood). Now, after suffering a mild stroke, E.F. is looking to come back home again. Alas, his wife has succumbed to mental illness in his absence and his sons have grown intensely bitter toward him. It may be too late to patch things up with them, but E.F. still has a chance to develop a relationship with his grandson Fleming (Reece Thompson, Dreamcatcher). Meanwhile, Fleming spends some time dealing with some struggles of his own; particularly a new relationship with the daughter (Hilary Duff, Cheaper by the Dozen) of a local prostitute.

Bloodworth is alternately a film as tiresomely overloaded with clichés as a bad country song and as touchingly heartfelt as a good one. Sporting a script by actor W. Earl Brown (making his screenwriting debut) and directed by young helmer Shane Dax Taylor, the film is terribly rough around the edges (and rough in places a little deeper than that from time to time) but somehow manages to generate individual moments that really resonate. The film pours on the southern-fried conventions until they suddenly add up to something resembling a striking atmosphere. This is a movie that seems to exist inside the reverberations of a minor-key steel guitar chord.

kris kristofferson is bloodworth

One of Bloodworth's biggest assets is its willingness to embrace the intense southern-gothic elements it hints at early on. For a while, I was concerned that the film was working its way towards a syrupy Hallmark-style third act, but what it delivers is far messier, bolder, and more compelling than that. There are scenes late in the film that veer dangerously close to being laughable, but they're presented with a steely conviction that makes them effectively startling.

The film's second major asset is the impressive cast. Nearly everyone seems to embrace the spirit of the film and deliver enjoyably colorful performances, highlighted by Kristofferson's grizzled turn as the wayward E.F. Val Kilmer goes wildly over the top in his handful of scenes, Dwight Yoakam does some chillingly effective work as Fleming's douchebag father, and Brown shifts effectively between unflappable sturdiness and crazed voodoo religiosity. Hilary Duff actually acquits herself quite well in a key supporting role, and Thompson proves a likeable young lead. Barry Corbin (No Country for Old Men) and Brent Briscoe (A Simple Plan) also bring their distinctive screen personas to a handful of enjoyable scenes.

The third significant asset is the music, produced by the ever-reliable T. Bone Burnett. With a couple of key tunes that serve as recurring themes throughout the film, Kris Kristofferson reminds us of what a strong singer he can be. As his enters old age, his voice is attaining a new richness. The original song he wrote for the film ("You Don't Tell Me What to Do") is the sort of thing that might have earned an Oscar nomination if the film were either a bit better or had at least received a bit more attention.

Still, the movie does have share of significant problems. Aside from some moments of dialogue that ring false and some scenes that spell out things that had been successfully implied previously, the film suffers from the fact that E.F. remains a bit more enigmatic than he ought to. This isn't due to Kristofferson's performance, but rather to the fact that the character is given disappointingly little screen time. We spend so much time hearing about him and seeing the effect he has on others; we need to spend some more time with him. Additionally, Frances Conroy seems to have trouble dealing with the vague issues of mental illness her character has been given, and the character never seems convincing as a result.

Bloodworth arrives on DVD sporting a very respectable transfer, which offers strong detail and fares quite well during darker scenes. The film's rural set design is impressive and the cinematography makes the most of the evocative locations. Audio is strong throughout, with the quiet rumbles of the score and songs selections defining the sound of the film. The sound design is solid and dialogue is clean. Extras include a commentary with Brown and Taylor, a brief making-of featurette ("From Page to Screen: The Making of Bloodworth"), a short music video for "Raven's Song," an "Anatomy of a Song: You Don't Tell Me What to Do" featurette and some deleted scenes.

Bloodworth is a mess, but this country-style slice of gothic melodrama is a riveting watch nonetheless. If it sounds like the sort of thing you'd like, consider giving it a rental.

The Verdict

Not guilty.

Review content copyright © 2011 Clark Douglas; Site layout and review format copyright © 1998 - 2015 HipClick Designs LLC

Scales of Justice
Judgment: 81

Perp Profile
Studio: Sony
Video Formats:
* 2.35:1 Anamorphic

Audio Formats:
* Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (English)
* Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (French)
* Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (Portuguese)
* Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (Spanish)

* English
* English (SDH)
* Chinese
* French
* Portuguese
* Spanish
* Thai

Running Time: 95 Minutes
Release Year: 2010
MPAA Rating: Rated R

Distinguishing Marks
* Commentary
* Alternate/Deleted Scenes
* Featurettes
* Music Video

* IMDb


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Case Number 10119

Buy Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers at Amazon

Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers

Disinformation Company // 2006 // 90 Minutes // Not Rated
Reviewed by Judge Adam Arseneau (Retired) // October 5th, 2006

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All Rise...

Even if it is for sale, Judge Adam Arseneau wouldn't buy Iraq. Too much of a fixer-upper.

The Charge

Who's getting killed. Who's making a killing.

Opening Statement

Take a brick, throw it up in the air, and catch it with your forehead. How'd that feel? Now imagine how Halliburton feels after seeing this movie.

The new hard-hitting documentary from Robert Greenwald (Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War On Journalism) on the onerous subject of war profiteering, Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers is a scathing examination into the disturbing private subsidization of the American military that will drop jaws on all sides of the political spectrum.

Facts of the Case

Iraq for Sale takes a tough, detailed examination into so-called "war profiteer" companies deployed in Iraq to subsidize the military; private corporations that provide food, water, fuel, services, and protection to various government agencies during wartime. Such corporations are often found to possess ludicrous, no-bid contract deals, overcharge government agencies for services rendered by ludicrous amounts, and provide little to no accountability for any misfortune or tragedy that may befall any of its employees.

Huge billion-dollar corporations like Titan, CACI, Blackwater, and KBR (Kellogg, Brown and Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton) all have deep ties to the military, and are usually founded and run by senior retired military personnel, which gives them influence throughout Washington to land massive, no-bid contracts where costs run over, services are slipshod, and untrained civilians are put into harm's way.

The Evidence

The war in Iraq has been privatized to an extent that no other war in history has ever been. There are currently 100,000 private civilian contracts currently working in the Middle East, hired by the American government to subsidize the military in all aspects from food supply, infrastructure, communication, transportation, even personal protection. The only task that remains solely in the hands of the military, it seems, is the actual killing part. In an ever-increasing strategy of cost-cutting and downsizing, the modern American military complex is nowhere near as self-sufficient today as it was in yesteryears, depending heavily on private contractors on an unprecedented scale.

This "selling out," as it were, is not necessarily a problem in of itself. American ideology and capitalistic values would tend to suggest that the free market should dictate over the needs of a nation, and that privatization of government issues is a natural, necessary function of modern capitalism. On the other hand, corporations exist solely to make a profit, and when they get involved in issues that are normally entrusted to governmental oversight, conflicts of interest can arise. Soldiers who act unprofessional can be court-martialed; private contractors get sent home and hired by another corporation.

In Iraq for Sale, we have an interesting conundrum of cost cutting at the expense of human lives. As the government gets more and more dependent on private contractors to pick up the slack, what level of accountability exists for these private contractors to uphold the same moral responsibility we place onto our government? They are, after all, businessman out to make money and that is their first and final goal. However, for war profiteers, cutting costs usually means endangering lives, whether intentional or unintentional.

Iraq for Sale is a ruthlessly effective documentary, and the key to its success is the calm, effortless, and relaxed way it presents damning factoid after shocking revelation, reeling the viewer with insurmountable evidence. Within a scant 90 minutes, a surprisingly persuasive amount of evidence is presented to the viewer, and all without resorting to lower forms of name-calling or muckraking. There are no outlandish suggestions of conspiracies, no left-wing accusations, just simple, solid, damning evidence. The film strings the dramatic violins now and again, but only for style points.

Charts and pie graphs flow past the viewer with stomach-wrenching efficiency, interlaced with horrendous photos from Abu Ghraib prisoners being humiliated by private contractors free from the military chain of command. Staggering revelations emerge, like how, thanks to "cost-plus" expenditures, it is standard practice for private contractors to destroy and burn an $80,000 truck in the desert and bill the government rather than replace a single blown tire. Or how grunt soldiers are reprimanded by their superiors for doing their own laundry in sinks rather than submitting the laundry to the contractors for processing, which returns the clothes poorly washed and bills the government $100 per load. Or testimony from private contractors about running completely empty convoys through war-torn Iraq, putting their lives in danger in order to bill the government for "services rendered."

At no point does the film suggest that all contractors be forced out of the equation, or that the privatization of war in of itself is a bad thing, which is to the film's credit. It only observes, and rightly so, that private corporations are not patriots and that much legislation and reform and accountability are required components to make the equation work. Iraq for Sale is too sensible to make unrealistic demands; it only points out the glaring inconsistencies, problems, and shortcomings of the current model, and challenges the viewer to get involved in solving them. After all, these are our tax dollars being squandered inefficiently by corporations given private, no-bid contracts without voter consent. It may be true that the private corporation and the military are forever entwined, but that's no reason why soldiers should have to pay $45 for a six-pack of Coca-Cola. That's just insanity.

There is an undeniable lack of accountability for war profiteering occurring on a blatant scale, and considering the widespread media attention of Halliburton over billing the federal government well over a billion dollars, it seems a reasonable assumption that the federal government, for whatever reason, is tolerating such actions. With over $70 million awarded to Blackwater by FEMA after Hurricane Katrina, our dependence on private contractors does not seem to be going away any time soon.

Since it's funded and distributed entirely outside the studio system on the donations of interested parties, I was impressed to read about how the filmmakers actively encourage interested parties to host grassroots screenings of Iraq For Sale, a concept most studio executives would find scandalous at best, illegal at worst. In fact, almost every film on DVD sold today specifically forbids anyone to do exactly this in the opening FBI warning-noticeably absent in Iraq For Sale. Greenwald and his team call this an "essential distribution structure needed for long-term social change," and they just may be onto something. Word of mouth is a powerful thing, and these filmmakers want to capitalize on the best that guerrilla marketing has to offer.

Despite being thrown together fairly quickly, Iraq for Sale has a solid technical presentation, with solid black levels, good color tones, and respectable detail. As with all documentaries, the quality of the material varies depending on the source—some material looks to be straight streaming video clips from the Internet—but overall, no complaints, except that it would have been nice to see an anamorphic transfer. We get a surprisingly effective 5.1 presentation in English (a 2.0 Spanish track is also available) with good heft, nice bass response, good environmental use of the rear channels, and solid dialogue levels.

Iraq for Sale has a nice offering of supplementary features for a single-disc DVD, including a full-length audio commentary with filmmaker Robert Greenwald, who augments his own film quite effortlessly, balancing between factoids and production tales. A 20-minute abridged version of Iraq for Sale is also included, which gives a concise and compressed overview of the salient points which can be used for organizational purposes, or for those people with really short attention spans. My favorite feature, "Important Votes" is a 25-minute excerpt of key Senator and Congress votes being held on the subject of war profiteering and, even more damning, a list of politicians who voted for and against each bill. Also included is "The Invisible Workforce" is a five-minute featurette on Third Country Nationals traveling from around the world to come to Iraq for work. Such nationals make up a significant portion of the private contractor, and ultimately are paid significantly less than American contractors for performing more dangerous jobs. A fast four-minute behind-the-scenes "making of" featurette interviews cast and crew regarding the creation of Iraq for Sale, and we also get a four-minute featurette on Brave New World's "Open Door Training Program," creating opportunity for first-time filmmakers. Some trailers round out the material—not bad!

The Rebuttal Witnesses

I found Iraq for Sale to be a convincing and forceful documentary, but it spends a little too much time with the families of the grieved, airing frustrated accusations towards the private companies that hired their loved ones. Their stories are heart-wrenching, and they certainly have my respect and sympathy, but their overuse in the film gives me pause. The implication that any companies intentionally send their men and women into harm's way for "profit" seems a bit farfetched to me.

I have little doubt that companies like KBR have their pockets deep into the American government and exhibit some cartel-esque behavior. I can even believe these companies are using civilians in an improper fashion, but what would they have to gain by deliberately trying to kill their employees? It is callous to think about in such businesslike terms, but at the very least, such actions would mean a lot of extra paperwork and re-hiring and revenue lost—not something any company would want.

Closing Statement

Fifteen years ago, the ratio of private contractors to troops was 1 to 60. Currently, the ratio sits at roughly 1 to 3. The 21st century is rapidly seeing a blurring between nation and corporation on the battlefield, and without a clear set of guidelines and accountability laid out, who knows what trouble lies ahead for the division between combatant and noncombatant? And can the nation's coiffeurs take the repeated bilking of billions of dollars into the hands of private corporations at the expense of our own soldiers?

Even the most hawkish of conservatives cannot deny the questions being raised here require addressing, and soon. Gut-wrenchingly effective, Iraq for Sale is a well-made and compelling documentary.

The Verdict

Fascinating + eye-opening = not guilty.

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Scales of Justice

Video: 89
Audio: 92
Extras: 70
Acting: 90
Story: 94
Judgment: 93

Perp Profile

Studio: Disinformation Company
Video Formats:
• 1.78:1 Non-Anamorphic
Audio Formats:
• Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)
• Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (Spanish)
• Spanish
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Release Year: 2006
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
• Documentary

Distinguishing Marks

• Highlighted Abridged Version
• "Important Votes" Featurette
• "The Invisible Workforce" Featurette
• The Making Of Iraq for Sale
• "Brave New Foundation: Open Door Training Program"
• Filmmaker's Commentary Track
• Trailers

• Official Site
• IMDb
• Robert Greenwald's Blog

DVD | Blu-ray | Upcoming DVD Releases | About | Staff | Jobs | Contact | Subscribe | Find us on Google+ | Privacy Policy

Review content copyright © 2006 Adam Arseneau; Site design and review layout copyright © 2015 Verdict Partners LLC. All rights reserved.


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  10. And you thought American Ninja Warrior was tough!


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United Kingdom

Thames reaches record levels as Britain battles fresh floods

British authorities have spent the weekend battling widespread flooding in the south and west. Now, several checkpoints on the river Thames in London are at record levels, although rainfall is set to finally subside.

Counties in the southwest of England, like Cornwall, Somerset and Devon, were among the hardest hit by heavy storms in Britain, Ireland and northwestern France over the weekend.

Rail connections to Cornwall still faced severe disruptions on Monday, after a 24-hour period when no services were running at all. Low-cost domestic airline Flybe pledged to double its weekday flights from Newquay in Cornwall to London in a bid to alleviate problems.

Although London and its surrounding area was largely spared the worst of the weekend's floods, the river Thames was hitting record levels at several points on Monday morning. Authorities issued severe flood warnings for 16 areas on Monday, mainly for regions close to the British capital.

Network Rail representatives said the Thames' levels were putting other key commuter routes to the southwest of the country at risk. Military personnel from the army and navy were deployed in strategic areas along the Thames overnight, erecting makeshift flood defenses.

Criticism of relief efforts

Prime Minister David Cameron was scheduled to visit the southwest for the second time in four days to survey the damage.

Forecasters said that Monday was likely to be the driest day of the week, although river levels were set to continue rising in places as previous rainfall flowed downstream.

Britain endured the wettest January ever recorded this year; some parts of the country have been flooded for more than a month.

Amid public dissatisfaction with government disaster management, a member of Prime Minister David Cameron's cabinet and the Environment Agency have become embroiled in a row over who was to blame.

msh/ipj (dpa, Reuters)


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Three Dysart businesses in the running for KCRG A-List

April 12, 2013

Three Dysart businesses have been nominated for the 2013 KCRG A-List powered by Hoopla, which features numerous “best of” categories where businesses compete for the top number of votes....

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