Columns

What If You Want to Write About Your Travels?

Imagine that you were given a free ticket to travel to the one place you’d always wanted to see. All expenses would be paid. The only stipulation was this: you had to write a magazine article about that place when you returned. If that opportunity appeals to your imagination, you probably have some place in... Read More

Writers' Page

September 14, 2023

Movies You Missed from 20 Years Ago: Cabin Fever

Cabin Fever (7/10 Rating) Released September 12, 2003 (US) For rent/purchase on all major platforms. Genre: Horror R: Strong violence and gore, sexuality, language and brief drug use 1h 33m Five college graduates rent a cabin in the woods. Things go wrong. Yes, we’ve seen it, but this is certainly one of the better takes... Read More

Movies You Missed

September 12, 2023

Chain-fishing and the “Greater D”

I’m sure you’ve seen parents with their kids on a leash and kids who “need to be on a leash” (not the same meaning). The nicer term for “leash” is “tether” (however, I don’t think there’s a nicer term for “need to be on a leash”). But this article isn’t about the behavior. It’s about... Read More

Essays

September 7, 2023

Inside the Methid of Acting with Liz Cervantes

Though recently being seen as the stoic Mrs. White in Smokestack Theatre Company’s production of Clue, Liz Moser Cervantes considers herself to be “goofy, weird, and (someone who) loves to make silly jokes, do silly voices, and tries to make others laugh.” Having been on stage since high school, Cervantes is no newbie to the... Read More

Action

September 1, 2023

Wines for the Labor Day Barbecue and Beyond

I’ve seen a commercial where a man is sitting on a beach looking out on the horizon with an intense, thoughtful look as he eats a piece of candy, and a voice is heard saying, “Why can’t I wear white after Labor Day?” Depending on your region, some Americans think the Labor Day holiday is... Read More

The Wine Spot

August 17, 2023

Movies You Missed From 20 Years Ago: Open Range

Open Range (8/10 Rating) Released August 15, 2003 Streaming on Amazon Prime. For rent/purchase on all major platforms. Genre: Action, Drama, Romance, Western R: Violence 2h 19m Four cowboys find themselves defending their cattle and their lives when they encounter a corrupt lawman and the kingpin rancher that controls a small town on the... Read More

Movies You Missed

August 12, 2023

Preserving Wine During the Dog Days of Summer

When someone uses the term “dog days of summer,” it usually refers to the most oppressively hot time of the season. According to almanac.com, this period of sweltering weather coincides with the year’s heliacal (meaning “at sunrise”) rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. Sirius is part of the constellation Canis Majoris—the “Greater Dog”—where Sirius gets... Read More

The Wine Spot

August 8, 2023

Another Writer’s Response: Noel Eichman-Dorr

Because she and I taught together at the Community College in rooms almost across from each other, we shared many thoughts about writers we appreciated as well as issues regarding what she and I wrote. Although Ms. Eichman-Dorr and I discussed writing a book together, we never had a chance to bring that idea to... Read More

Writers' Page

August 4, 2023

Inside the Method of Acting with Ava Miller

Ava Miller’s life was changed forever when she was in the fifth grade. After going to see a touring production of The Phantom of the Opera with her parents at DPAC, she was in awe. Seeing this production made her think to herself, That’s what I’m going to do one day! And the rest was... Read More

Action

July 21, 2023

Following My Own Advice

Recently, I caught myself not taking my own advice, which is to keep an open mind about wine and wine-food pairings. My task was to match a wine with creamy blue cheese. In my mind, I jumped to the intensely flavored blue cheese. Thinking that a strongly flavored cheese should be matched with an intensely... Read More

The Wine Spot