The Loafer
Bartender of the Week: Stephanie Morgan
Stephanie Morgan was born and raised in Rogersville and has been a bartender at Hollywood Hillbilly since their opening in July 2020. She has been a bartender for 10 years and says what she loves the most is the interaction with people, seeing her regulars and the basic banter with patrons. Everyone loves her specialty […]
The Loafer
Chef of the Week: David Sampson
David Sampson has been a chef for over 33 years. He can be found six days a week in the kitchen at Mel’s Riverside Bar&Grill in Rogersville. David cooked for over 30 years at Amis Mill and Justin’s before finding his home at Mel’s three years ago. The first weekend of every month David prepares […]
The Loafer
Allow Me to Re-Introduce Myself
In November of 2018 I wrote my first piece for The Loafer, where I attempted to give an introduction of myself in an honest way that wouldn’t scare readers off. I hadn’t revisited that piece until today when I was going back through old articles in an attempt to get the creative juices flowing, and […]
Pop Life
The Dig
The current film “The Dig” would really play well at the theater on the big screen, but alas with times we have, that will need to be for another time. The film is a British drama (one of my favorites) directed by Simon Stone and is set in 1939 Suffolk, England. The story is how […]
Batteries Not Included
A Double Dose of Doris
One of the blu-rays I reviewed last year was Warner Archive’s release of Doris Day’s debut, 1948’s “Romance on the High Seas” directed by Michael Curtiz. During the production of “High Seas,” Curtiz became so convinced of Day’s star power that he immediately began planning a follow-up for her, 1949’s “My Dream is Yours.” Warner […]
Tea Time with Appalachian Barbie
Home Cooked Wine Pairings
Growing up in the south, particularly from our “neck of the woods,” you learn early on the importance of good eatin’. I’m sure I’m not alone in reminiscing about all those meals at grandmas, where the whole family squeezed in elbow-to-elbow to indulge in her home cooking. In fact, with most of my childhood memories […]
Pop Life
The White Tiger
As I was viewing the current film “The White Tiger”, it was certainly a revelation seeing India’s caste system. The origins of this system began in ancient India, and basically ranges from the top, consisting of priests and academics, to the bottom, consisting of untouchables who do menial tasks such as street sweeping. The film […]
Batteries Not Included
Group Therapy
Of all the peculiar pandemic trends going on, one that’s distinctively shown up in my life is a large increase in the number of people adding me to various groups on Facebook. Don’t get me wrong, I get it. We live in a time where we are all feeling isolated from people and the need […]
Tea Time with Appalachian Barbie
Valentine’s Day 2021
Happy Valentine’s boys and girls. It’s the week that Hallmark and Walmart do their best to pry open your mouth and cram in as much Pepto pink, heart-shaped emotion that will fit. If you’re of the terminally single persuasion like myself, you’re either too busy to notice, or too dead inside to care. But since […]
Pop Life
Wendy
If you are a fan of the tale of Peter Pan, you may want to catch the new film “Wendy” for a unique re-imagining of the famous tale of the boy who never grows old. The film was certainly not what I expected, and kept me wondering what in the world would happen next as […]
Batteries Not Included
The Parallax View
From the early to mid-1970s, director Alan J. Pakula made three unrelated films that have become known as the director’s “paranoia trilogy.” 1971’s “Klute,” which I’ve written about before, 1976’s “All The President’s Men,” and 1974’s “The Parallax View” starring Warren Beatty. It’s been written about many times, American cinema grew up and changed dramatically […]
Tea Time with Appalachian Barbie
Groundhog Day
Happy Groundhog Day everyone! It’s Tuesday, February 2nd, and it’s officially the day the entire US leaves the fate of our weather system up to one fat, furry rodent in Pennsylvania. (After the year we’ve had, that tradition is somehow the least wacky thing I’ve heard.) Thanks to the magic of Bill Murray, this holiday […]
Spotlight
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