My Word with Douglas E. Welch

Update (20201110): I just received a email bounce message from her account that says…

450 4.2.1 The user you are trying to contact is receiving mail at a rate that prevents additional messages from being delivered. Please resend your message at a later time. If the user is able to receive mail at that time, your message will be delivered. 

I wonder why?

Emily, 

I am unsure of your unique personal reasons for the delaying the beginning of the Presidential Transition, but I urge you to reconsider. 

Our country relies on the peaceful exchange of power every election and to go against that is to go against one of the most basic tenets of the Constitution. It violates the a very fundamental idea of America. 

While you may delay it, eventually the process will begin and you will not be seen as a hero, but rather as yet another official who attempted to wield dictatorial powers over their departments and the people. It will not serve your future well, nor the future of your fellow citizens.

Let us move forward, as we should, and perform this  amazing dance of democracy we have danced so many times before.  Douglas 

In reference to news stories such as this…

• A little-known Trump appointee is in charge of handing transition resources to Biden — and she isn’t budging
• Trump Gets Help Again From Appointee Holding Up Transition
• Trump appointee slow-walks Biden transition. That could delay the president-elect’s Covid plan.

I don’t want to push Thanksgiving out it’s proper holiday alignment (see some Autumn/Thanksgiving products here!), but I know that the hunt for holiday gifts starts now. In that vein, I will be offering up some of my favorite items from my Redbubble store over the next few weeks. I hope you can find some excellent gifts for friends and family within. — Douglas

Holiday Gift Guide 2019 01: Vintage Yellowstone Hoodie

I love the vintage look of this artwork. There are so many great graphics works that came out of the heyday of US National Parks. This would be great to wear on the trail or comfortably curled up in front of a fire at home.

** Redbubble has discounts when purchasing multiple items and also gives 10%-20% discounts on a regular basis. Check back often!

Lightweight Hoodie Features

Today I was spending a bit of my Sunday afternoon watching a documentary on Kanopy, which is free from my local library.

Edison: The Invention Of The Movies, Part 1

As part of the discussion of very early films, a historian shows a “paper print” for The Great Train Robbery. Outwardly, it looks like a reel of film, except that it is a similarly sized roll of photographic paper onto which the individual frames were photographed. This was created as a method of registering films for copyright purposes. Many films were preserved solely because these paper prints long outlasted their nitrate film prints.

I had never heard about these paper prints before despite living with a film historian and delving rather deeply into film history my self. It is always amazing what you can learn each day — oftentimes just by accident.

You can find more on paper print at

• The Library of Congress
• Creative Cow
• The Bioscope

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!

Cherry Blossoms – Sakura

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 The sun through the leaves

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I came across mention of this new cookbook in a magazine recently and quickly requested it from my local library as an ebook. I am still working my way through it, but wanted to offer my initial response so that you could make a point to check it out as well.

Mario Batali–Big American Cookbook: 250 Favorite Recipes from Across the USA

I have been a follower of Mario Batali for years since I religiously watched Molto Mario years ago on Food Network. I have several of his recipes in my kitchen “rotation” including a gnocchi and sauce recipe we typically serve to new guests to the house. Having cooked his recipes and then visited our Sicilian relatives several times, I can attest that his recipes are quite respectful of their Italian heritage if changed a bit by their immigration to America.

Unfortunately, over the years — and one would expect, due to his increased development of high-end restaurants — Batali’s recipes and taste had left me behind. I am a rather fussy eater and while I appreciate good food, his use of odd or high-end ingredients in his recipes left my own food sensibilities behind.

That is why it is so refreshing to find this new cookbook, Big American Cookbook: 250 Favorite Recipes from Across the USA,  which focuses in some of the most traditional and historical foods from throughout the US. Sure, most of these recipes are familiar to us in name, if not taste, but having a definitive collection of them can lead me down some interesting food avenues.

As usual, all the recipes are well written and the layout of the book is excellent. My favorite parts, though, are the short historical notes on where and how the food originated and the short endnotes where Batali offers up ways in which he might add or change the recipe to suit a particular occasion or simply to dress it up a bit.

On first reading, I quickly flipped through the book and found myself bookmarking many recipes along the way. In some cases, these recipes were a reintroduction to old favorites, an introduction to midwestern classics I had missed during my childhood and college years or classic regional foods I knew by name only, but now sound intriguing enough to try here in my own kitchen.

I’ll be working my way through several of these recipes in the next few week and hope to find several that I can add to my family “Recipes in Rotation.” I think you’ll find something to love here, too.

Some of my favorites included:

• Corn Muffins from the American Northeast
• Tourtiere from French Canada and imported into the Northeast and Midwest
• Black and White Cookies from New York City
• Winchester Beer Cheese from Kentucky
• Biegnets from New Orleans
• Swedish Pancakes
• and much more!

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out! 

Lichen Up Close

Sometimes observing nature isn’t always about taking in sweeping, scenic, panoramas, but rather about getting up close and personal with it. There is as much to be seen in the micro as in the macro. These lichen caught my attention and I spent s verbal minutes photographing and observing them. You never know what may catch your eye when in nature. 

#nature #lichen #rock #plants #santamonicamountains #smmnra #ig_naturelovers #ig_naturepictures #ig_naturesbest @24earth

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Learn more about the Santa Monica Mountains with these books

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out! 

Chocolate-Walnut Fudge begins our Christmas 🎄 Cookie making schedule, as always. #christmas #christmasfood #christmasparty #christmastime #fudge #candy #chocolate #walnut #food #christmascookies #christmas2016 #candy #homemade

Find more fudge recipe in these book on Amazon.com

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out! 

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Canal Crane, Leeds Canal, Leeds, UK 🇬🇧 #Leeds #UK #travel #canal #narrowboat #transportation #travelgram #theglobewanderer #ig_travel #ig_leeds #ig_uk #worlds_beautiful_photos

Learn more about Leeds with these books

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out! 

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