Pop Life

The Sleepover

The current comedy “The Sleepover” is a perfect film for families to enjoy during the holidays with its mixture of heart, humor and action. The film features the story of the Finch family, and how their Mom’s secret former life turns their everyday suburban life upside down. The Finch’s have two kids, Clancy (Sadie Stanley). […]

 

Batteries Not Included

Endorsement

I was out for a drive and I noticed a sign up that proclaimed a regional grocery chain was the official grocery store of a local athletic department. This caused me to turn my head sever so slightly sideways and stare. On the one hand, I get it. I understand how endorsements in sports on […]

 

Tea Time with Appalachian Barbie

REFUSE REDUCE REUSE REPURPOSE RECYCLE

When I was in elementary school we were taught the 5 R’s of being environmentally friendly citizens:  Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle.  Little did I know at 9 years of age just how relevant that cycle would become as an adult.  It appears that as grownups, we can now use the same process of elimination […]

 

Pop Life

My Octopus Teacher

I have always been a fan of films about wild animals. Disney was on the forefront of nature films with their annual release of a documentary featuring a particular animal for the celebration of Earth Day. However, with the strangeness of 2020, no such film hit theaters, most of which have been closed for most […]

 

Batteries Not Included

The Thanksgiving You Want, But Will Never Have

Thanksgiving is going to be different this year. I hope you’re planning on being smart and safe about it. Two of my closest friends have gotten COVID, I will judge the heck out of you if you’re not smart about it. As Thanksgiving is going to be different, I’ve spent a lot of time dreaming […]

 

Tea Time with Appalachian Barbie

Survival Mode

I am not a huge fan of just “surviving” life.  Over the last year and a half I’ve made a valiant effort to be present, grateful and fearless to ensure I am not simply treading water, but actually living my best life.  However, sometimes no matter how hard you try, it is impossible to maintain […]

 

Pop Life

Vampires vs. The Bronx

I have always enjoyed a good vampire flick, and with the current movie “Vampires vs. The Bronx” playing on Netflix, I was game. Plus, how can you go wrong with a title like the aforementioned? The story wastes little time in introducing the blood suckers as during a visit to a Bronx nail salon, we […]

 

Batteries Not Included

Moonstruck

I agree with film critic and historian Leonard Maltin, It’s hard to find a well-executed romantic comedy these days. Matlin says as much before he introduces the singular force that is Cher before a 2013 American Film Institute screening of Director Norman Jewison’s 1987 film “Moonstruck,” video of which is included in a brand new […]

 

The Loafer

Veteran of the Week

Melvin “Moe” Baines was born in 1947 in Johnson City Tennessee. He was a 1965 graduate of science Hill high school. In August 1966, he enlisted in the US Army and took his basic training at Fort Campbell Kentucky. “Moe” then went to the US Army south eastern signal school at Fort Gordon, Georgia; followed by […]

 

Tea Time with Appalachian Barbie

Wine Pairings for Thanksgiving

Gobble, gobble little turkeys!  We’ve somehow made it to Thanksgiving, and if you’re like me, it’s kind of snuck up on you.  In the blink of an eye we all went from chowing down on heart-shaped boxes of chocolate and watching Joe Exotic to planning our Turkey Day feast and putting up the Christmas tree.  […]

 

Pop Life

Rebecca

The new film “Rebecca” is based on the 1938 novel of the same name, and the 1940 Alfred Hitchcock directed film, and stars Armie Hammer and Lily James. Lily stars as the assistant of a wealthy lady who meets and falls in love with the wealthy widower Maxim de Winter (Hammer), when the two meet […]

 

Batteries Not Included

Dot Dot Dot

I decided to take a social media break right before the election. I had my fill of “doom scrolling” throughout most of 2020. It seemed like a good use of my time. Some days being on Facebook and Twitter can feel like getting beaten up by a robot holding a sock full of dead batteries. […]