Archives for August 2008

Utah Shakespearean: Othello

August 22, 2008 by rickety Leave a Comment

Previously we attended Cyrano de Bergerac and The Two Gentleman of Verona.

The Play

Our last play at the festival is William Shakespeare’s Othello. The play is a tragedy based on the short story Moor of Venice by Cinthio, written around 1603. The work revolves around four central characters: Othello (Jonathan Earl Peck), his wife Desdemona (Lindsey Wochley), his lieutenant Cassio (Justin Matthew Gordon), and his trusted advisor Iago (James Newcomb). Desdemona is secretly married to the black general Othello, which upsets Roderigo, a rich gentleman. Iago is upset with Othello for promoting the younger Cassio over him. When Roderigo tells Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, that she is married, Brabantio is upset with Othello. And so it goes until it reaches a tragic climax. Because of its varied themes — racism, love, jealousy and betrayal — the play remains relevant to the present day.

The Actors

Jonathan Earl Peck has played on Broadway in A Lion in Winter; Abduction from the Seraglio; and The Color of Justice. Off Broadway Shakespearean roles have been Julius Caesar; The Merchant of Venice; Othello; Richard III; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; and Hamlet. In television and film he has played in Cadillac Records; Law and Order; The West Wing; The Devil’s Own; American Deams; Here and Now; One Life to Live; Loving; Freedom Road; King; Devil Girl; and Someone Else’s America.

Lindsey Wochley has played in A Christmas Carol as Belle and The Merry Wives of Windsor as Anne Page. Her Hartt School productions include Measure for Measure (Isabella), Pericles (Marina), Hay Fever (Sorel), Three Sisters (Natalya), Picnic (Madge), The Laramie Project (Romaine Patterson), Scapin (Nerine), and the world premieres of Film Noir (Jessica) and Deflowering Waldo (Sissy).

Justin Matthew Gordon has appeared previously at the Festival in Coriolanus, Lend Me a Tenor: The Musical. His Shakespearean roles in other theaters have been in Twelfth Night; Richard II; Richard III; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; and Hamlet. He has appeared in We Were Soldiers and What’s Bugging Seth.

James Newcomb has appeared previously at the Festival in Coriolanus and King Lear. In other theaters his Shakespearean roles include Richard III, Oberon, Puck, Bolingbroke, Laertes, Touchstone, Feste, Dogberry, Benedick, Romeo, Grumio, Tranio, Cabiban, and Thersites.

The Theater

The Adams Shakespearean Theatre is patterned after drawings and research of sixteenth century Tudor stages. Experts say it is one of a few theaters that probably comes close to the design of the Globe Theatre in which Shakespeare’s plays were originally produced. It is so authentic that the British Broadcasting Company filmed part of its Shakespeare series there.

It is named for Grace Adams Tanner, a major benefactor of the Festival, and her parents, Thomas D. and Luella R. Adams. It seats 819, plus 66 gallery-bench or standing-room seats. I was told by theater staff that when the new theater is opened this old theater will be torn down. It would be too costly to retrofit a movable roof that can be opened and closed depending on the weather.

Back Home

We had not seen Othello before and for us it dragged a little during the first half. It livened up after the intermission and though the ending was tragic there was a lot to ponder about why it had to be that way. It seems that one person with a lot of lies can really deceive a great many people. I noticed in the plays we attended that there were several empty seats. I wonder if ticket sales are down slightly. Anyway, we enjoyed the show.

Jill and I visited some other interesting places on our trip to southern Utah and I will probably be blogging about those shortly.

Utah Shakespearean Festival: The Two Gentlemen of Verona

August 21, 2008 by rickety 3 Comments

This is our second day at the Utah Shakespearean Festival. Yesterday we saw Cyrano de Bergerac. Today we attended a matinée of The Two Gentleman of Verona. We enjoyed the play and the dog appeared to be the biggest hit with the audience. We will be watching Othello this evening and I will probably report on the play tomorrow. We are enjoying the uncrowdedness of Cedar City and the clear skies. It is pleasant to walk around the campus with so many shade trees to cool our way.

The Play

The Two Gentleman of Verona is a free-spirited and engaging comedy. For anyone who has ever been in love, this youthful indulgence is replete with love-smitten (and confused) men, cunning (and disguised) beautiful maidens, and the most likable canine ever to grace the stage. Valentine (Justin Matthew Gordon) and Proteus (Matt Burke), the two gents in question, prove that Romeo is not the only lad in Verona to feel the raptures of love!

The Actors

Matt Burke is also playing Tranio in The Taming of the Shrew. Previously at the festival he had roles in Twelfth Night, Coriolanus, King Lear, Love’s Labour’s Lost, and Doctor Faustus. He will be featured in the upcoming HBO movie Recount.

Justin Matthew Gordon is also playing Cassio in Othello. Previously at the festival he had a role in Coriolanus, Lend Me a Tenor: The Musical. He appeared in the movies: We Were Soldiers and What’s Bugging Seth.

The Theater

We watched the play in The Auditorium, completely renovated in 2004. It is the venue for matinées and kept us cool and in the shade on the hot summer afternoon. It is also used for performances that are “rained in” from the Adams Shakespearean Theatre. Fortunately the weather was clear yesterday for Cyrano de Bergerac. The theater seats 853. The Auditorium is nowhere near the same as being outdoors in the Adams Shakespearean Theatre. However, the acting was just as excellent and we enjoyed our first taste of Shakespeare this year.

Utah Shakespearean Festival: Cyrano de Bergerac

August 20, 2008 by rickety 1 Comment

The Festival

My wife and I are in Cedar City for two days for the Utah Shakespearean Festival. We were last here two years ago and before that it was a twenty years. Each time we have enjoyed ourselves immensely. With just a short 3 1/2 hour drive with not a rickety road anywhere we arrived in good spirits ready for theater. The plays take place on the campus of Southern Utah University that is located not far from five national parks. Skiing is 40 minutes away at Brian Head.

The Play

Cyrano de Bergerac, written by Edmond Rostand, is the play we watched tonight. We like to add one or two non-Shakespearean plays to our itinerary. Set in Paris in 1640 the play is about an expert swordsman, eloquent poet, and eligible bachelor. Cyrano (Brian Vaughn) shies away from wooing Roxane (Melinda Pfundstein) because his overly-large nose masks the beauty of his soul. Instead, he helps his bumbling young friend, Christian (Drew Shirley), court her by writing entrancing poetry for the young man to recite.

The Actors

In real life Melinda is the wife of Brian. They both have performed at the Shakespearean many times over the years and have become a favorite of festival goers. The fact that as a married couple they are deeply in love will add another layer to this romantic and beautiful play. Brian and Melinda both attended Southern Utah University. In addition to their roles in Cyrano de Bergerac, Vaughn will be playing Launce in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Pfundstein will play Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof. We plan on seeing The Two Gentlemen of Verona tomorrow afternoon.

The Theater

The top left photograph is Jill with R. Scott Phillips, the executive director of the festival. It was taken a few minutes before the play began in the Adams Shakespearean Theatre, dedicated in 1977. It is patterned after drawings and research of sixteenth century Tudor stages. Experts say it is one of a few theaters that probably comes close to the design of the Globe Theatre in which Shakespeare’s plays were originally produced. It is so authentic that the British Broadcasting Company filmed part of its Shakespeare series there. It is named for Grace Adams Tanner, a major benefactor of the Festival, and her parents, Thomas D. and Luella R. Adams. It seats 819, plus 66 gallery-bench or standing-room seats. Jill and I have always attended the festival in August on our anniversary. August in Utah is usually very hot but in the evening in Cedar City the temperature is just right. In this open air theater the atmosphere is perfect in more ways than one. With the excellent acting it really doesn’t get any better than this.

Final Thoughts

I didn’t know much about this play before tonight. It was spoken in rhyme which I do not normally like but this time it came off rather well because it was so clever. Jill remarked that she didn’t know how Brian Vaughn (Cyrano) could remember so many lines. Maybe it is easier because they rhymed? It was a nice touch to place on our seats a blanket, seat pad, program, souvenir bottle of water, and a note attached with our name on it. This was for those who had purchased premium seats. That is why we also got to meet the director. All I did was to buy tickets that got us close to the front of the stage. Speaking of which, before the play started I took a photograph of the stage for which I was rebuked. Apparently the stage is copyrighted. Fortunately the director has not been copyrighted yet so you get to see him.

I plan on reporting on an actual Shakespeare play tomorrow. Unless writing about Shakespeare is also copyrighted. :)

Rickety Blog Statistics

August 19, 2008 by rickety Leave a Comment

I have a few friends that have shown an interest in my rickety blog statistics. This post is for them. Looking at the most popular posts you can see that four of the five are about family or friends so it is understandable that they would rise to the top.

The five post popular posts:

Countries with the most visitors:

United States
Australia
United Kingdom
India
Canada

States with the most visitors:

Utah
California
Texas
Washington
Illinois

Cities with the most visitors:

Kaysville, UT
Hill AFB, UT
Layton, UT
Midvale, UT
Draper, UT

Top referring sites:

Browsers:

Firefox 77.7%
Internet Explorer 17.1%
Safari 4.6%
Opera .4%
Netscape .2%

Operating Systems:

Windows 56.8%
Linux 37.5%
Macintosh 5.5%
Not set .2%

Our Home Storage Center

August 18, 2008 by rickety 1 Comment

Our Our home storage center is located at the Kaysville granary

My family is fortunate to live very close to a home storage center. We live in Kaysville and the center is located at the Kaysville granary — you can’t get any closer than that! There are home storage centers located throughout the United States and Canada. We still refer to our home storage center as the dry pack cannery — same place, new name.

Our home storage center assists my family with longer-term food storage like wheat, white rice, dry beans, oats, dried milk, and other basic food items. Our stake welfare specialist tells us when times are available at the center and we pack the food ourselves and purchase the items to take home that day. We go as a group and work together on everybody’s orders. We simply scoop the dried food into the cans, place a small packet inside to aid in sealing, and use a simple machine to seal the lid. Slap a label on the can and put six cans in a box and we are all done. It doesn’t take long to process even the largest orders.

There is a home storage center order form available that we use to plan our purchases. There are prices listed on the form. We like to use our computer to enter quantities and the form automatically updates our total cost. We then print the form and take it with us to the home storage center.

A sample from our storage: instant potatoes, sugar, rolled oats, hot cocoa mix, and apple slices.

Our favorites are the fruit drink mix and the potato flakes. You really should try the potato flakes for they make the best mash potato you will probably ever taste. The dry onions work well in stews and the apple slices don’t last long if our children get a hold of them. Check out the storage life listed on the form. Most of the items are good for 30 years.

By keeping out of debt and having an active food storage program our family has a peace of mind that allows us to enjoy life to the full.

Resources

Distribution Services: Home storage products
Food Storage
Gospel Topics: Food Storage
Ready.gov: Build A Kit
Be Ready Utah
Rickety signature.

Some American words rendered in English

August 16, 2008 by rickety 2 Comments

When acquaintances learn I am from England one of the first things they talk about are words. Everyone knows that the hood of a car is really a bonnet. Or that gas should be called petrol. But Rickety is Rickety the world over. Over the years I have compiled a list of American words and their counterparts in English. Some of the English words are really slang, for example an American who is sarcastic would still be sarcastic in England. Cheeky is merely slang for sarcastic. However, the table below for the most part represents some true differences in American and English word usage.

Before proceeding I must mention one short conversation I had with a lovely American lady. This illustrates that there are more differences than just a few words:

Are you from England?
Yes.
I could tell by your accent, it is really cute.
My wife thinks so too.
Where in England are you from?
From Crewe in Cheshire.
Do you have Thanksgiving in England?
No, but we do give thanks the pilgrims left.

American	English
Apartment	Flat
Baby stroller	Pram
Bad guy	Rotter
Bar	Pub
Candy	Sweet
Cookie	Biscuit
Cop	Bobby
Crib	Cot
Diapers	Nappies
Elevator	Lift
Expensive	Dear
Extravagant	Posh
Flat	Puncture
Freeway	Motorway
French fries	Chips
Garbage can	Dustbin
Gas	Petrol
Good-bye	Cheerio
Grandma	Granny
Guy	Bloke
Hood	Bonnet
Line	Queue
Liquor store	Off-licence
Mom	Mum
Movie	Film
Overcoat	Mac
Pants	Trousers
Parking lot	Car park
Popsicles	Ice lollies
Potato chips	Crisps
Rest stop	Lay-by
Rest room	Toilet
Sarcastic	Cheeky
Senior citizens	Old age pensioners
Soccer	Football
Steal	Pinch
Subway	Underground
Television	Telly
Thanks	“Ta”
Truck	Lorry
Trunk	Boot
Underpass	Subway
Vacation	Holiday
Welfare	Dole
Yard	Garden

Dan at the Bountiful Temple

August 15, 2008 by rickety 10 Comments

The Bountiful Temple showing the entrance at the north

Yesterday Daniel, my youngest son, went to the Bountiful temple to receive his endowments. For my readers that are not familiar with temple endowments I will give a short overview.

The Gift of the Endowment

Daniel at the Bountiful Temple

An endowment is a sacred ordinance. Endowments take place in a dedicated House of the Lord, or temple. Temples were centers of religious worship anciently and Mormons build temples today to administer the ancient ordinances of salvation that have been restored to the earth.

The dictionary defines an endowment as a gift given by a higher power. The temple endowment is a gift of knowledge that helps Mormons understand who they are, where they came from, and where they are going. It helps members understand what they should do to prepare to meet God, and how Jesus Christ offers salvation to each of us.

The temple endowment conveys information in a highly symbolic manner. Symbols used in the temple endowment and the meanings of those symbols are sacred to Mormons. Mormons don’t talk about the details of what goes on in the temple—it is too sacred to be discussed, except in the most holy of places.

Temple Covenants

When presenting the endowment, Church members are required to make very specific covenants with God. A covenant is a two-way promise. In religious terms, a covenant is a sacred promise made between an individual and the Lord:

The ordinances of the endowment embody certain obligations on the part of the individual, such as covenant and promise to observe the law of strict virtue and chastity, to be charitable, benevolent, tolerant and pure; to devote both talent and material means to the spread of truth and the uplifting of the race; to maintain devotion to the cause of truth; and to seek in every way to contribute to the great preparation that the earth may be made ready to receive her King, the Lord Jesus Christ. With the taking of each covenant and the assuming of each obligation a promised blessing is pronounced, contingent upon the faithful observance of the conditions. (James E. Talmage, The House of the Lord, p. 84)

A Family Gathering

All endowed extended family members met at the Bountiful temple to be with Daniel when he received his endowments. Not present were Jake who is serving a mission in Mexico and Derek who is building a school in Guatemala.

All available endowed extended family were at the temple

We gathered after the ceremony in the Bountiful temple grounds and took some photographs. In parenthesis is the relationship to Daniel. Left to right: Rick (father), Jill (mother), Daniel (himself), Miguel (Melissa’s fiancé), Susan (aunt), Melissa (cousin), Kent (uncle), Connie (cousin), Mark (Connie’s husband), Sarah (sister), Paul (brother), Steven (brother), and Adelaide (Steven’s wife). By now it was 8 pm and we were very hungry so we headed out to Chuck-a-Rama to eat all their food and ruin their profits for the day. For Jill and I it was a great feeling to have all five of our children endowed and active in the faith.

About the Bountiful Temple

In 1897 John Haven Barlow Sr. purchased forty acres of land from the United States government. There was little that could be done with the land until in 1947 some of the land was cleared and four hundred apricot trees were planted. Bountiful City requested the use of the soil from the site to build a dam and over two hundred thousand cubic yards of soil was removed, leaving the area an ideal spot on which the temple would later be built. The temple is the 47th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I remember well helping to direct traffic at the open house and being one of 200,000 members attending the temple dedication. Sarah and Derek were married in the Bountiful temple. Some temple details:

Announced: 28 May 1988.
Site: 11 acres.
Exterior finish: Bethel white granite.
Architect: Allen Ereckson.
Rooms: Baptistry, celestial room, four endowment rooms, eight sealing rooms.
Total floor area: 104,000 square feet.
Dimensions: 145 feet by 198 feet. 176 feet spire.
District: 30 stakes in central and south Davis county.
Groundbreaking: 2 May 1992 by President Ezra Taft Benson.
Dedication: 8-14 January 1995 by President Howard W. Hunter; 28 sessions.

Source: 2008 Church Almanac, p 518

The Bountiful Temple showing the entrance at the north

Rickety Kiva Map

August 14, 2008 by rickety Leave a Comment

Kiva, back on July 23, announced Kiva Maps. To show you what it looks like, consider my own Rickety Kiva Map above. Each of the leaves represents one of my loans all emanating from Kaysville. Neat huh? It is just a Google map so you can zoom in for more detail. In Cambodia I have a number of loans as you can see in the detail map.

Every day over 16,000 people all over the world are viewing Kiva. Kiva Maps also uses the Google Maps API on each Entrepreneur Profile page to show the geographic distribution of lenders to that Entrepreneur. Check it out by clicking “Map View” in the “Lenders to this Business” section.

Kiva did experience some problems shortly after going live with the feature. There were some Internet Explorer issues (as usual), and they also ran up against Google’s limit of 15,000 geocoding requests per day very quickly. Seeing Kiva laid out on a map will show how big this thing really is and encourage even more people to participate.

Below is the geographic distribution of lenders for one of my borrowers, pardon me, one of my entrepreneurs. Picks me right out in little old Kaysville.

Related Posts: Kiva

A Property Tax Alternative: The Home Consumption Tax

August 13, 2008 by rickety 6 Comments

Big Tax Increases

Last year my property taxes increased from $740.06 to $938.13, an increase of 26.76%. This year my taxes were raised to $1,062.94, an increase of 14.22%. So over the last two years the increase is an enormous 44.8%. As a software developer you might think my pay increases would counter this raid on my bank account. Really? 2006 saw a 3.8% raise and 2007 delivered a 5% pay cut. Additionally, in 2007 my wife switched from full-time to part-time work. Before kind hearted soul you rushes to send me a check I hasten to add my finances are in very good shape.

Property Tax Defects

If my property taxes seem low I must point out dear reader that compared to other states they are indeed low but in Utah we have a lot of other taxes to pay. My property taxes are in line with what my neighbors pay. So rather than write a post that only complains, I would like to propose a solution. But first let us look at the defects in the current system:

Assessments are hard to kept current.
Large increases in property values bring government tax windfalls.
Property improvements without a permit escape taxation.
The burden is on the homeowner to prove false an over valuation.
You can lose your home if property taxes are not paid.
A bureaucracy is needed to run the program.

I am sure you can think of some more problems with the way property tax is administered.

No More Property Tax

I sound like a campaigning politician with my No More Property Tax mantra. But consider that the quickest way to reduce cost is to cut out the overhead and/or simplify the process. The taxes must be collected so the key is to use an existing system of collection. Now it would seem fair to tax on something related to the property. In addition the tax should fall a little heavier on those able to pay.

Home Consumption Tax

Any heading that has Tax in it is not a very pretty sight. Nevertheless, as a separate line item on your utilities will appear a Home Consumption Tax or HCT. These are the utilities that will have the HCT:

Electricity
Water (excluding secondary water)
Garbage
Natural Gas

I was tempted to add phones to the list but they are heavily taxed already, and VOIP phones would avoid the tax. Besides, phones consume very little resources. Each of the items in the list can have a different tax rate if desired. Also the option to exempt from HCT the first $20 of say, electricity and natural gas could be implemented, thus helping the poor.

Summary

We have scrapped an inefficient system.
Utilized an existing collection process to fund county government.
Based our new HCT on consumables that are billed monthly instead of yearly.
Significantly reduced the chances of home loss through non-payment of taxes.
Eliminated huge tax windfalls.
HCT assessments are automatic and accurate down to the last drop, amp, and BTU.

Well, my friends, pick holes in my proposal but don’t tax me too much with your contrary insights. I do believe my HCT would work rather well.