Currently browsing: Americana
Americana means different things to different folks. Here at Great American Things, it means cool stuff that doesn’t fit into any other category. I guess we could have called it Miscellaneous, but “Great Miscellaneous Things” doesn’t tell you much, does it?
Americana: Radio City Music Hall
Imagine every man, woman, and child in America inside the art deco palace called Radio City Music Hall. Wait! Not all at once! My latent...
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Americana: 1959 Cadillac
Ah, the fin. The fins on cars in the late fifties came in three sizes: Big, Bigger, ’59 Cadillac. The style mavens of the day minced...
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Kid Stuff: Cracker Jack
My first question – how is that all the peanuts always fall to the bottom? They’re my favorite part of Cracker Jack, and it...
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Americana: The Hollywood Bowl
As an East Coaster, I admit I had the “Hollywood Bowl” all wrong. I thought the name referred to the band shell, which...
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Kids Stuff: Pixy Stix
Want to hazard a guess about how Pixy Stix came to be popular? Okay, maybe you think it was created as a drink mix. But then kids found out...
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Americana: YouTube
YouTube was launched in November of 2005, but its immediate ubiquitous presence on the web makes it seem as if the video sharing website...
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Kid Stuff: Movie Candy
I've placed this post under "kid stuff," but we have to be honest here. Lots of adults prefer candy to popcorn (or nachos or any other current concession fads) as movie fare. For many of us, it allows us a (mostly) non-judgmental way to eat what we wouldn't otherwise buy out in public.
Read MoreHoliday: July 4th Fireworks
They can be spectacular. In New York City, they exploded more than 22 tons of pyrotechnics a couple of years ago. Or they can be modest, a...
Read MoreSong: “God Bless America”
Hard to believe, but “God Bless America” languished unsung and unknown for its first twenty years. The great Irving Berlin...
Read MoreAmericana: USS Constitution (“Old Ironsides”)
Commissioned in 1797 and named by George Washington, the Constitution earned her nickname “Old Ironsides” during the War of...
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