Utah Shakespearean Festival: The 39 Steps

Utah Shakespearean Festival posters

For our 30th anniversary Jill and I spent two days in Cedar City. Our first stop was the play The 39 Steps showing at the Utah Shakespearean Festival. The original was the 1935 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on the adventure novel The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan. The film stars Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll. The play was adapted by Patrick Barlow from … [Read more...]

Open Thread Week: Valentines Day

Terry and Jill in Valentines dresses

An open thread refers to a blog post where readers may comment and discuss any topic that they choose. Valentines Day is mentioned just to help get you started. In a week it will be Valentines Day. In the past I have bought my wife flowers or gone out to eat. One year I bought a new dryer and had it installed without telling her. When she went to use her old worn out dryer it wasn't there any … [Read more...]

ClearPlay, Movies, and the Academy Awards

Clearplay

Originally published Feb 21, 2009. Since the first ClearPlay DVD player became available over five years ago I have enjoyed watching movies with my family. ClearPlay is a special DVD player that enables your family to enjoy all of the great Hollywood movies you’ve always wanted to watch -- without all of the junk you don't want. By using custom ClearPlay filters the ClearPlay DVD player seamlessly … [Read more...]

Ten Artists Paint Old Testament Women

Jacob Encountering Rachel

The Old Testament is rich in the accounts of courageous, kind, and beautiful women. They shaped history with their influence, spirituality, and yes, their scheming. These ten artists have made the scriptures come alive and added an additional dimension to the Old Testament. Rachel The younger of the daughters of Laban, the dearly loved wife of Jacob, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin (Gen. … [Read more...]

The Conquest of Jericho Sestina

The first time I heard of a sestina was when my daughter Sarah received a homework assignment to write one. I helped a little by suggesting a story from the Bible and then by contributing a few lines. This happened back in 2001 but I still remember fondly the time we spent penning those 39 lines. A sestina can be quite appealing to the mind because of the re-use of the six chosen words and the order … [Read more...]