2021 – Page 43 – Billie's Back Porch

January 11, 2021

‘Grace and humor’: The vice presidents who certified their own election losses

By Gillian Brockell Jan. 2, 2021 at 7:00 a.m. EST Mahogany boxes containing sealed envelopes with each state’s electoral college vote are marched into a joint session of Congress. The presiding officer opens the envelopes in alphabetical order, and House and Senate “tellers” read the results aloud. It is generally so boring that few lawmakers…

January 11, 2021

MEET THE BLACK WOMAN TAKING THE LEAD TO DEVELOP A VACCINE FOR COVID-19

by Dana Givens Dr. Kizzmekia S. Corbett, a viral immunologist working with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is taking the lead to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus. She is the scientific lead for Dr. Barney Graham’s coronavirus team based in Seattle. Read HERE.

January 11, 2021

Oppression in the kitchen, delight in the dining room: The story of Caesar, an enslaved chef and chocolatier in Colonial Virginia

The holidays are here, and among the many treats of the season are chocolate and hot cocoa. While these traditions provide a hefty dose of sugar, there’s a bittersweet side to chocolate’s history, too. This year, at Stratford Hall Plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia, a plantation museum where, as a historian, I work as the director of…

January 11, 2021

When to Toss Food Out

I clean my fridge regularly, because, in my house, I’m the only one who eats leftovers. I also check out all of those half-empty jars of condiments. I find those packets from the Chinese food place, catsup from fast food, cheese from Italian take out, and bottles/jars of mayo, mustard, relish, chili sauce, BBQ sauce,…

January 6, 2021

Ways to Warm Up if You’re Always Cold

Toss your clothes into the dryer Eat at least 1 hot meal a day Wear socks to bed (mine are red and green and very fuzzy) Flannel sheets (are so soft and warm) Get some exercise Wear a hat when you go outside Watch slideshow HERE and read HERE

January 6, 2021

13 Signs an Amazon Seller Can’t Be Trusted

Leah Campbell Amazon has been around for more than two decades, and as we all know, it has become the largest online retailer by a mile. But a recent Wall Street Journal investigation of 4,152 items on the site found that what you see isn’t always what you get.

January 6, 2021

Daily Skimm: That’s a WAP on 2020

The Daily Skimm, December 31, 2020 Oh, 2020. Not all years are good but you were especially crappy. Our Google searches went from ‘best places to travel on a budget’ to ‘how many plants is too many plants?’ We all baked bread. Everything was cake. We made margs with Martha Stewart, cosmos with Ina Garten, and negronis with Stanley Tucci. No one remembers jeans.…

January 6, 2021

‘Calvin and Hobbes’ said goodbye 25 years ago. Here’s why Bill Watterson’s masterwork enchants us still.

By Michael Cavna Dec. 31, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. EST “A new year…a fresh, clean start!” a joyous boy in red mittens said a quarter-century ago this week, shortly before soaring forth on the most famous sled in American arts this side of “Citizen Kane.” And just like that, the high-spirited 6-year-old and his best buddy were…

January 6, 2021

A Year Filled With Death Changed Lives Forever

By William McDonald Published Dec. 30, 2020 Updated Dec. 31, 2020 Death has rarely so shaped a year as it did in 2020. It swept the world riding the back of the coronavirus. It galvanized a Black Lives Matter movement across the United States and abroad, sending people of all colors into the streets to demand social justice. It…

January 6, 2021

Things that Ended in 2020

The last original Peanuts strip was published on January 3, 2000. Charles Schultz, son of a barber and a housewife, just like Charlie Brown himself, passed away just over a month later, a victim of colon cancer.