My Word with Douglas E. Welch

In the US, mascots are used to pump up crowds at sporting events, or for traumatizing generations of children at Chuck E. Cheese, but in Japan it’s different. There are mascots for towns, aquariums, dentists’ offices, even prisons. There are mascots in cities that tell people not to litter, or remind them to be quiet on the train. Everything has a mascot and anything can be a mascot. The reason why mascots and character culture flourish in Japan is connected with the nation’s fascinating history with mythical monsters known as Yokai.

For as long as schools are closed, we’re open. Starting today, kids everywhere can instantly stream an incredible collection of stories, including titles across six different languages, that will help them continue dreaming, learning, and just being kids.

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I had been meaning to watch this movie for a long time, but when The Man Who Invented Christmas (IMDB) appeared for free viewing on the Kanopy service (available via the LA Public Library and others) it was a perfect opportunity and time of year to settle in with some coffee and cookies, nurse my Christmas cold and enjoy.

The movie is quite good and you hear some of the best lines in the book as it shows Dickens’ characters helping him create the story. Dickens’ real family and real history also become part of the story as he struggles with his own past and own issues as he writes. The movie stars Dan Stevens from Downton Abbey fame and Christopher Plummer delivers a great performance as Ebenezer Scrooge.

This is the story of the magical journey that led to the creation of Ebenezer Scrooge (Christopher Plummer), Tiny Tim and other classic characters from A Christmas Carol. Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) mixed real life inspirations with his vivid imagination to conjure up unforgettable characters and a timeless tale, forever changing the holiday season into the celebration we know today.

Nominated for Achievement in Visual Effects, Best Adapted Screenplay and Achievement in Make-Up at the Canadian Screen Awards.

“A surprisingly fresh movie about a story we all know very well.” – Peter Howell, Toronto Star

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Christmas Past – 4 in a series – A Christmas Carol (1947), Performed by Lionel Barrymore; Richard Hale

Play and Download This Recording  from the Internet Archive

“Of all the roles I’ve done, the one I’d like best to be remembered for is Scrooge. It is unquestionably one of my favorites.” Lionel Barrymore, Dec. 21, 1947. The New York Times. (Interview with Dorothy O’Leary).

When MGM Records released A Christmas Carol in 1947, Lionel Barrymore had been playing Ebenezer Scrooge for twelve years on the radio. Starting in 1934, CBS presented the Charles Dickens’ classic story each year and it soon became a much loved Christmas tradition. Barrymore, in his radio debut, embodied Scrooge to perfection. As he  revealed in a 1947  New York Times interview, “I seem to shrink and an unnatural meanness of disposition comes over me. I seem to be Scrooge in body and mind.”

Barrymore went on to play the role 17 times before his death in November, 1954, and only the direst of circumstances prevented him from playing it. When his wife died in 1936 he was unable to perform, and his brother John rushed to fill in for him. He also missed the performance of 1938 when serious illness forced Orson Welles to substitute. — Library of Congress

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On the mic

A little look into my podcasting world with this older MXL microphone. A lot of words have crossed this windscreen. 

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