How Often Have I Heard, “I Want to Write a Poem but…”?

If you’re someone who won’t try to write a poem when you feel like you want to, you’re not alone. Among the many reasons that block you from becoming even a novice poet, the most common is that you don’t know how to begin. You’re frustrated because, although you’ve mentally gathered all your thoughts and... Read More

Writers' Page

May 18, 2023

Wine and Cheese: They Were Meant for Each Other

I have heard it said that wine and cheese are the ultimate power couple in the food and wine world. For many, including me, it is true. Let’s consider classic Brie cheese. Brie, usually made from cow’s milk, originated in Seine-et-Marne, France. As you probably know, it is a soft cheese with a rich, buttery... Read More

The Wine Spot

May 16, 2023

Movies You Missed from Twenty Years Ago: Wrong Turn

Wrong Turn (6/10 Rating) Released May 30, 2003 For rent/purchase on all major platforms. Genre: Horror, Thriller R: Strong Violence and Gore, Some Language and Drug Use 1h 24m Wrong Turn (2003) is strictly horror and within its own genre probably more of a 7/10 rating. Chris is headed to Raleigh for a job interview... Read More

Movies You Missed

May 12, 2023

Everywhere, Like Life, but not Alive

I recently thought back to the old 1980 Carl Sagan Cosmos series on Public TV and his conversations about the possibility of life on other worlds looking different from on earth. He added that such life could be based on other elements than what all life on earth is based on: carbon. Remember, to the... Read More

Essays

May 10, 2023

Inside the Method of Acting with Kris Dodds Williams

Kris Dodds Williams made her acting debut at 6 as Goldie Locks in a school production and has had the acting bug ever since. After being born and raised in Southern Indiana, Williams moved to Danville to study theatre at Averett University. There she played her favorite role of all time, Romaine Patterson in The... Read More

Action

May 5, 2023

Plant VII: Motherlode

(Scene: Plant and Linda are sitting in morning sunlight on Linda’s back porch. In a birdhouse, a bird is feeding its young.) Plant: What is it like to have a mother? Linda: You never give me any warning about when you’re going to start talking. You just start. P: Does that bother you? L: You... Read More

Fiction

May 2, 2023

Shining a Positive Light on the Community

Local, serial entrepreneur Von Wellington, has an array of interests including art, photography, cars, and his community. It was the love for cars that lead Wellington to open River District Auto Spa (RDASpa). “It originated in 2016. RDASpa wanted to provide a unique old-school hand wash for patrons to help better serve and maintain their... Read More

Cover Features

April 26, 2023

Choosing Your Sentences: Simple, Compound, or Complex?

Consider this: if you know what you want to write regarding a particular feeling, thought, or event, how do you put it on paper to make it most clear and meaningful? Of course, the words you choose are critical; you must choose them carefully. But the question remains: how do you best use them to... Read More

Writers' Page

April 20, 2023

Burgundy; The Color and the Region

When we hear the word Burgundy here in the US, most will think of a deep shade of red. Sometimes confused with maroon, it has a red-purplish hue, whereas maroon has, as I understand, a reddish-brown hue. But in the wine world, Burgundy refers to the French wine region in central eastern France. Red Burgundy... Read More

The Wine Spot

April 18, 2023

Movies You Missed: A Mighty Wind

A Mighty Wind (7/10 Rating) Released April 16, 2003 For rent/purchase on all major platforms. Genre: Comedy, Music PG-13: Sex-Related Humor 1h 31m This is the fourth film from Christopher Guest, following This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, and Best in Show. If you are familiar with those films, you will certainly recognize most... Read More