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Tag Archives: America

For the Holidays, a Rice Salad with the Colors of the Season Posted by on Dec 22, 2016

I like to entertain for the holiday season. I have hosted Christmas at my house for many years, usually have at least one holiday party, and may find myself cooking for other gatherings as well. Of all the things I serve, one recipe invariably gets shared with friends – my holiday wild rice salad. Wild…

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Hygge and the American Dream Posted by on Dec 16, 2016

Hygge (n): a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being. It is regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture. The Oxford English Dictionary, as it does every year, selects a “Word of the Year” from a list of ten finalists selected by its editors. This year, the…

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A Corny Thanksgiving Posted by on Nov 23, 2016

Corn. The history of the United States is uniquely tied to this one crop. So, too, is our language. When the first English settlers arrived in what became Jamestown, Virginia in 1607 the colonists, unused to the rigors of agriculture, faced years of near starvation. They attempted to trade with the local natives for their…

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Get to Know Your Orchestra Posted by on Nov 17, 2016

As the holidays approach, symphonies around the U.S. get a little less serious. One of the great treasures of any community is its musicians. In the United States you will find bands, orchestras, philharmonics, symphonies, and ensembles of all sizes playing every weekend. Most towns have some form of a brass or jazz band in…

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U.S. Election Vocabulary Posted by on Nov 4, 2016

We’ve talked about the U.S. presidential election, but you may still find yourself hearing certain terms which you don’t fully understand. Here’s a handy vocabulary guide to words and phrases which take on greater significance in the United States every four years. Absentee ballot: A ballot which is filled out and usually mailed in by…

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Weird and Wonderful: The Edgar Allan Poe Films of Roger Corman Posted by on Oct 27, 2016

Boo! Halloween is upon us, which means that a scary movie or two is almost required viewing in every American household. It’s also a time when lovers of literature tend to take out their volumes of Edgar Allan Poe to dip into the macabre stories and poems of one of America’s first full-time professional writers…

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Streets, Beats & Eats – Denver Posted by on Oct 25, 2016

Located at exactly a mile above sea level, Denver is known as the “Mile High City.” Take a video tour of Colorado’s capital to check out the city’s “Streets, Beats & Eats.” See the Colorado State Capitol, Denver Art Museum, Big Blue Bear, 16th Street, City Park, and Red Rocks Amphitheater all in this short…

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