Appreciating all that makes America special

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Kid Stuff: Peanuts

Posted by on Jan 8, 2011 in Kids Stuff | Comments Off on Kid Stuff: Peanuts

Charlie Brown will never get to kick that football. Lucy will always give out psychiatric help for five cents. Marcie will always call...

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Music: Rhapsody in Blue

Posted by on Jan 7, 2011 in Music | 1 comment

  If we take jazz to mean a free-form improvisation on a theme, then Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin (Great American Things,...

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Americana: The Ford F-150

Posted by on Jan 5, 2011 in Americana | 1 comment

  It came as a surprise to me to learn that the Ford F-150 pickup truck has been America’s best-selling vehicle a total of 24...

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Actor: Al Pacino

Posted by on Jan 4, 2011 in Actor | 2 comments

  Some actors get better with age. Witness a couple of men on this list, Tom Selleck (January 7, 2010) and Paul Newman (May 17, 2009)....

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Americana: The Smithsonian Institution

Posted by on Jan 3, 2011 in Americana | 1 comment

  If you like BIG museums, you’ll love the Smithsonian Institution. It’s composed of 19 museums and nine research centers. Oh, and...

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Artist: Jackson Pollock

Posted by on Jan 2, 2011 in Artists | Comments Off on Artist: Jackson Pollock

  Rarely has there been an artist as admired and simultaneously dismissed as Jackson Pollock. An abstract expressionist, Pollock...

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Americana: Rose Parade

Posted by on Jan 1, 2011 in Americana | Comments Off on Americana: Rose Parade

  If you happened to have been in Pasadena in 1890 (Anyone? Anyone?), you could have been one of the 2,000 or so people who saw a...

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TV Show: New Year’s Rockin’ Eve

Posted by on Dec 31, 2010 in TV Show | 3 comments

  If you’re old enough to remember New Year’s celebrations prior to 1972, then you remember the hideous music of Guy...

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Writer: David Mamet

Posted by on Dec 30, 2010 in The Arts, Writers | Comments Off on Writer: David Mamet

  David Mamet is one of the all-time masters of film/stage dialogue. His preference for natural conversation, in which characters...

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Food: Clam Chowder

Posted by on Dec 29, 2010 in Food | Comments Off on Food: Clam Chowder

  Let’s not fight the battle of clam chowders here. Most Americans outside of New England know of basically two variations on...

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