One-man Churchill show coming to Carr Gallery in September

Sir Winston Churchill on April 5, 1955, the day he resigned as prime minister because of declining health. (Source: British Pathe Archive)

I saw this on Facebook today, and as a student of history I found it interesting. The Idaho Falls Arts Council is bringing Churchill, a one-person show, to Idaho Falls Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Carr Gallery. Tickets are $50.

Set in April 1955, Churchill agonizes in his wartime bunker below London whether to resign as prime minister. As he tries to decide (Spoiler: He did. He was 80 and had suffered a stroke in 1953), he reviews his uniquely eventful career, filled with history-changing events and people, glorious speeches, pithy comments and funny stories. The show promises all the wit and wisdom that has made Churchill into an imperishable legend. 

Limited tickets are available to create these intimate performances in the Carr Gallery. Selections of sweet and savory desserts are included in the admission price. It is being sponsored by Jerry and Carrie Scheid and Tim and Anne Hopkins. For tickets, go to www.idahofallsarts.org or call 522-0471.

As an aside, I can't imagine whoever is playing Churchill will smoke the way the great man did. Not in an art gallery. Yet for the record, here is brief bit from Cigars Magazine:

The man for whom the imposing Churchill cigar size is named smoked eight to 10 cigars a day, primarily Cuban brand. Not even the necessity of wearing an oxygen mask for a high-altitude flight in a non-pressurized cabin could prevent Churchill from smoking. As the story goes, the prime minister requested that a special mask be created that would allow him to smoke while airborne. Naturally, the request was fulfilled. On another occasion, Churchill hosted a luncheon for King Ibn Sa'ud of Saudi Arabia, who did not allow smoking or drinking in his presence. Rather than submit to the king's wishes, Churchill pointed out that "my rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite smoking cigars and also the drinking of alcohol before, after and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them." The king was convinced.

I remember Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain (20 to 40 cigars a day) many years ago at the Colonial, and all the coughing and consternation over the clouds of cigar smoke billowing from the stage.

Development Company receives $1.5 million federal grant for Driggs job center

East Central Idaho Planning and Development Association of Rexburg has received a $1.5 million grant to help build and fund the Teton County Professional Technical Education and Business Center in Driggs.

The Economic Development Administration grant was announced last week by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. The center is expected to create 100 jobs and contribute $850,000 in private investments, according to estimates from the association.

Instead of constructing a new building for the center, an already existing two-story, 20,000-square-foot building will be brought up to code and have a new HVAC system and other utilities installed. The renovated building will be used for professional technical education and will support light manufacturing and other industries.

“One of the Obama administration’s top priorities is ensuring American workers have the skills they need to compete for good-paying jobs,” a news release quoted Pritzker saying. “The Teton County Professional Technical Education and Business Center in Idaho, supported by this $1.5 million EDA grant, will help train workers and ensure local businesses have the skilled workforce they need to be successful.”

Latin is a dead language, but it doesn't have to kill you

Have you ever used "i.e." when you meant to use "e.g."? I know, I know, it's embarrassing. Luckily, I have just discovered an easy way to keep the two clear in my mind.

I.e. is the abbreviation for the Latin term id est, which means "that is."

E.g. is the abbreviation for exempli gratia, which means "for example."

Remember the letter "i" as "in other words," if you want to impress someone by using i.e.

Remember the letter "e" as "for example," if you feel the need to show your erudition with e.g.

That wasn't so hard, was it?

Concerts at Snake River Landing planned in support of United Way

Want to learn more about the United Way of Bonneville County? Here's your opportunity to do that at a fun Alive After Five-style event. If you want a larger version of this poster (i.e., if your eyes are as bad as mine), click on it to enlarge it. Print it out and put it on your fridge. Full disclosure: Happyville, the band in which I play guitar, will be performing Aug. 29. We hope to see you there, but you don't want to miss 40 Something Band either, 'cause they're good and they're our buds.

Greg Carr to be inducted into Idaho Tech Council's hall of fame

Greg Carr

Idaho Falls native Greg Carr, who made a fortune in telecommunications then graduated to philanthropy, will join the Idaho Technology Council Hall of Fame during an induction ceremony at Boise Centre on the Grove Oct. 23.

The son of Dr. Taylor Carr and his wife, Betty, Carr spent his undergraduate years at Utah State University, graduating as valedictorian of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. While enrolled in the master’s program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Carr and some associates recognized an opportunity in the telecommunication services sector and in 1986 founded Boston Technology. Within four years the company had become the nation’s number one voice-mail provider to telephone companies.

By the end of the 1990s Carr had amassed a net worth of nearly $200 million, and when he turned 40 he decided to devote the rest of his life to philanthropy. In 1998 he co-founded the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University. In 2000 a donation he made allowed for the transformation and expansion of Idaho Falls' Bonneville County Museum into the Museum of Idaho. He donated $1 million to help develop the Idaho Human Rights Education Center in Coeur d'Alene and the Anne Frank Memorial in Boise.

Carr now divides his time between Sun Valley and Mozambique, where he signed a 20-year agreement with the government to restore and manage that country's flagship national park, Gorongosa. He is working with Zoo Boise to establish a 2-acre exhibit reflecting the Gorongosa habitat.

Also being inducted is Tim Barber, co-founder Keynetics Inc., now the largest privately held technology company in Idaho.

Barber's patents have led to the founding of four Idaho technology companies, including Kount, an industry leading fraud-prevention company serving the world's largest payment processors and retailers; and ClickBank, an e-commerce platform for internet entrepreneurs. He recently moved away from the daily operations of Keynetics to launch 2AI Labs, a research collaboration focusing on the nature of intelligence in humans and machines, and O2Amp, an optics company that provides lenses medical professionals can use to detect health-related color changes.

"These distinguished business and community leaders serve as pathfinders to the next generation of technology professionals to drive innovations that continue to grow the Idaho economy," said Idaho Department of Commerce Director Jeff Sayer said in a press release.

The October banquet will also feature this year’s winners of the Idaho Innovation Award, to be presented in four categories: Commercialized Innovation of the Year; Early-Stage Innovation of the Year; Innovative Company of the Year; and Innovator of the Year. The innovation awards program is sponsored by Stoel Rives and Kickstand.

Council members and members of the public can reserve tables or sponsorships for the banquet by contacting Pamela Prather at pprather@idahotechcouncil.org. Individual tickets can be purchased at http://www.idahotechcouncil.org/itc-hall-of-fame-2013.