Ann Silverthorn

This post originally appeared on the DVD Netflix blog “Inside the Envelope.” That company folded in 2023, and the blog was shut down. Dame Judi Dench’s first acting role was that of a snail when she was a young girl, but she was no slowpoke then, and she isn’t slowing down now. This diminutive actress…

Grenades, especially hand grenades, are devices of war that most of us are familiar with, although mostly associated with World War II, in film and television, rather than World War I, also known as the Great War, World War, or the War to End All Wars. It was with World War I that great advances…

When is a debate not a debate? As part of the Jefferson Educational Society’s Global Summit, in Erie, Pennsylvania, Howard Dean, retired Democratic politician, and Elise Jordan, Republican political analyst participated in a debate on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. The event was moderated by Steve Scully, C-SPAN political editor,…

I like movies. I like to watch them, research them, and share them. A couple of years ago I responded to a Tweet from DVD Netflix asking if I was interested in partnering with them in their new “director” program for movie fanatics. I considered the gesture an honor, and I feel fortunate to be involved in…

A few months ago, I fell while running and broke my dominant wrist. The radius was in many pieces, but it somehow managed to stay intact. My surgeon decided to watch and wait, but four weeks later, even I could see on the X-ray that the bone was splitting lengthwise. It was time for surgery. This meant…

Every year around 9/11 we see a procession of posts on social media with the message, “Never Forget.” It is not likely that any of us who lived through that horrible day could forget exactly where we were when it happened and the many tears we shed afterward for people that most of us had never even met.…

This post originally appeared on the DVD Netflix blog “Inside the Envelope.” That company closed in 2023, and the blog was shut down. Solitude, sorrow, and love—all treated on a thought-provoking level—define seven popular films from 1998. That was the year the DVD Netflix began sending discs through the mail, allowing movie fans to order…

When a popular TV series ends, what becomes of its sets and props? Oftentimes, they’re auctioned off, so that devoted fans can keep a memento as they mourn the loss of their screen friends. That’s what happened with more than 200 items from the Mad Men sets. Last spring, Screenbid offered props and set decorations taken straight from the…

This post originally appeared on the DVD Netflix blog “Inside the Envelope.” That company folded in 2023, and the blog was shut down, but you might find some good stuff here. It’s easy to come up with names of heroes for inspiration, isn’t it? Top of mind are those extraordinary people we learned about in…

Some time ago, I purchased a small paperback at my local library’s annual sale. It sat on my bookshelf for years. The book is called, Peace Pilgrim – Her Life and Work in Her Own Words. I must have picked it up because the front cover shows a white-haired woman approaching by foot on a long…