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The Dilettante's Field Manual

The work of writer/filmmaker David Alexander Baker

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Author Archives: David

Three days in Chicago

“Make no little plans,” or so they say. This is your guide to spending three days in Chicago, featuring pizza, blues and architecture.

Posted byDavidJune 7, 2018May 25, 2019Posted inFood and wine, Travel, UncategorizedTags:Chicago, pizzaLeave a comment on Three days in Chicago

Watching ‘Saving Atlantis’ in the belly of the beast

Star Wars, spotted owls and showing a science documentary about anthropogenic change in the heart of timber country.

Posted byDavidMay 28, 2018April 28, 2020Posted inFilms, Science, TravelTags:corals, environment, fishing, Saving Atlantis, troutLeave a comment on Watching ‘Saving Atlantis’ in the belly of the beast

Losing Mesopotamia

The Iraq War, the Sixth Extinction and the lightning bolt that allowed me to appreciate contemporary art.

Posted byDavidJanuary 26, 2018January 9, 2020Posted inTravel, UncategorizedTags:environment, Iraq War, modern art, museums, ThoreauLeave a comment on Losing Mesopotamia

Films premiering in 2018

Vine rows in vineyard in Pommard

Two films that I co-directed/produced will premiere in 2018

Posted byDavidDecember 31, 2017February 17, 2019Posted inFilmsTags:DocumentariesLeave a comment on Films premiering in 2018

The epicurean’s gift

Giving the gift of flavor in Burgundy

Posted byDavidDecember 16, 2017February 29, 2020Posted inFood and wine, TravelTags:Beaune, Burgundy, featured, France, winemakersLeave a comment on The epicurean’s gift

Totalities

People on ship looking at eclipse

Viewing the eclipse seventy miles off of the Oregon Coast: thoughts on hype, denial, climate change and whatever remaining hope we have to make things right.

Posted byDavidAugust 27, 2017February 21, 2019Posted inNature, Science, Travel, UncategorizedTags:eclipse, ocean, researchLeave a comment on Totalities

Old books and ecosystem services

How libraries are like coral reefs.

Posted byDavidMay 6, 2017April 28, 2020Posted inFiction and BooksTags:books, coral reefs, Darwin, featured, libraries, novellas, writingLeave a comment on Old books and ecosystem services

Words and Walls

A blog post from Inside Higher Ed about misguided policy, fear and the power of kindness.

Posted byDavidMarch 2, 2017February 17, 2019Posted inUncategorizedTags:Berlin, JFK, kindnessLeave a comment on Words and Walls

The Heroic Reef

The corals of Varadero have endured five hundred years of human conflict, but they may not survive Colombia’s fragile peace.

Posted byDavidJanuary 25, 2017February 17, 2019Posted inNature, NonfictionTags:Colombia, coral reefs, Nature, ScienceLeave a comment on The Heroic Reef

Five books that helped me survive 2016

book on shelf

Five books that I read in the past year that changed the way I think.

Posted byDavidDecember 17, 2016February 17, 2019Posted inFiction and Books, TravelTags:2016, books, humboldt, jim harrisonLeave a comment on Five books that helped me survive 2016

In post-fact America, stories still win

Eliot Glacier, Mount Hood

A blog post from Inside Higher Ed about how we can fight the decidedly un-enlightened vision of the incoming regime.

Posted byDavidDecember 15, 2016Posted inUncategorizedTags:climate change, higher education, ScienceLeave a comment on In post-fact America, stories still win

Back to Burgundy – Three Days of Glory

Camera and vineyard wall

Heading back to Burgundy to make a film about a tough year and a great wine celebration.

Posted byDavidSeptember 9, 2016Posted inFilms, Food and wine, TravelTags:Burgundy, climate change, DocumentariesLeave a comment on Back to Burgundy – Three Days of Glory

A visual storyteller’s guide to active consumption

Open book in front of Netflix screen

How to keep yourself on the active side of the consumption equation.

Posted byDavidSeptember 3, 2016Posted inFiction and Books, Films, TipsTags:classics, Edward Abbey, filmmaking, Werner Herzog, writingLeave a comment on A visual storyteller’s guide to active consumption

Plunder on the Spanish Main

Family on a boat next to a freighter

Feeling like a pirate leaving Cartagena not with a ship full of stolen Spanish plunder, but with a treasure of stories of the people working to save a small piece of of threatened reef.

Posted byDavidJuly 30, 2016Posted inFilms, TravelTags:Cartagena, Colombia, coral reefs, documentaryLeave a comment on Plunder on the Spanish Main

What to read this summer: recommendations from writers who teach

A pair of fiction writers and teachers offer their summer reading picks.

Posted byDavidJuly 13, 2016Posted inFiction and Books, Tips, TravelTags:books, Werner Herzog, writingLeave a comment on What to read this summer: recommendations from writers who teach

Zester Daily – Burgundians dig deep to face climate change

I returned to Burgundy for the first time since writing my novel Vintage.

Posted byDavidJuly 11, 2016Posted inFiction and Books, Food and wine, TravelTags:Burgundy, climate change, FranceLeave a comment on Zester Daily – Burgundians dig deep to face climate change

From disaster cassoulet to La Belle Époque

Within the span of a single day, I recently experienced the best and worst French meals of my life.

Posted byDavidJune 26, 2016February 17, 2019Posted inFood and wine, TravelTags:Burgundy, cassoulet, France, Le Train Bleu, ParisLeave a comment on From disaster cassoulet to La Belle Époque

Small wine clubs

Cartograph Wines

How and why to join a small wine club or two.

Posted byDavidApril 13, 2016Posted inFood and wine, TipsTags:california, Cartograph, pinot noir, riesling, wine clubsLeave a comment on Small wine clubs

Libraries are awesome

book on shelf

“I’m waiting to check your book out at the library,” someone once told me. I wanted to tell him to just go out and buy it. But I didn’t. And I’m glad. Here’s why.

Posted byDavidMarch 25, 2016Posted inFiction and BooksTags:books, libraries, Prague, The Cave of TimeLeave a comment on Libraries are awesome

Home for the holidays

Some food, travel and social notes from holidays in Central Europe.

Posted byDavidJanuary 11, 2016Posted inFood and wine, TravelTags:Christmas, climate change, currywurst, holidays, refugees, venisonLeave a comment on Home for the holidays

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