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American LifePeople, Places & Issues in the News Across America

03 September 2009 

Today from VOA:

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American Life: Arts
Writer May Pipher says a speech, if well written, can also be a powerful tool for change
Writers Change the World through Words  Audio Clip Available
Books, newspapers and blogs become tools of change
Brad Pitt (R) in Quentin Tarantino's
'Inglorious Basterds' Turns History on its Head  Video clip available
Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino offers own version of history in this World War II dark satire
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New Book Points to 1959 as Pivotal Year  Audio Clip Available
Author Fred Kaplan says children of Great Depression, World War II 'lit the fuse' for our own era
Photographer Martha Cooper took pictures of people who were painting the train cars and entering the yards
Graffiti on New York City's Subway Trains Remembered  Audio Clip Available
25th Anniversary Edition of 'Subway Art' is photographic documentary of 1980s underground art movement
Cover art for Steve Martin's
2009 International Bluegrass Music Award Nominees Announced  Audio Clip Available
The awards will be handed out on the 1st of October in Nashville. Actor, author, comedian and banjo player Steve Martin is among those receiving multiple nominations
Mosaic designed by artist Jim Power
Jim Power's Mosaic Tiles Bring Art to New York Streets  Video clip available
For over two decades Jim Power has been tiling street corners in New York City's Greenwich Village as way to preserve history, share his art with public
Barack Obama's mother, Ann Dunham (undated photo)
Batiks Collected by President Obama's Mother on View at Washington Museum  Video clip available
Ann Dunham's collection of batiks has been on tour this summer in US, and is on display at Textile Museum in Washington
Katy Perry
Singer Katy Perry Celebrates Second Number One Hit With 'One Of The Boys'  Video clip available
'I Kissed A Girl' Performer's Debut Album Yields Second Number One Hit
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Cheerleading Seen as Dangerous  Audio Clip Available
The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research warns cheerleading has become more dangerous for girls than any other sport.
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Woodstock Encapsulated an Era of Social, Political Protest  Video clip available
Woodstock, which celebrated its 40th anniversary 15-16 August, has come to mean more than music
Richie Havens at Woodstock in 1969
Singer-Songwriter Richie Havens Remembers His Woodstock  Audio Clip Available  Video clip available
Forty years later, he's still all about love, freedom and exploration
The crowd at Woodstock with the stage in the background http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Woodstock_redmond_stage.JPG
Woodstock Nation, 40 (Often Groovy) Years Later  Audio Clip Available  Video clip available
Iconic music festival still looms large in public mind as high point - or perhaps death knell - of America's 1960s counterculture
Over 400,000 people attended the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival in Bethel, NY, 16 Aug 1969
Woodstock Festival Remembered 40 Years Later  Video clip available
On August 15, 1969, almost 500,000 young Americans took over the small town of Bethel, New York to attend a three-day rock festival said to define a generation
In this Feb. 26, 2007 file photo, guitar legend Les Paul performs at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York
Remembering Record Industry Pioneer Les Paul  Audio Clip Available
Guitar legend, 94, died August 13 in New York
Les Paul warms up with his quartet before a performance at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City
Legendary Guitarist, Inventor Les Paul Dies  Audio Clip Available
Paul revolutionized US music scene with his solid-body electric guitar that he first built in 1940s
Meghan Flanigan
US Choreographer Teaches Dance to Bogota's Disabled Homeless  Video clip available
City's homeless learn trust and communication skills
(500)Days of Summer movie poster
Love's Not So Dreamy for Young Man, Girlfriend in '(500) Days of Summer'  Audio Clip Available
Quirky, refreshingly original comedy about falling in and out of love stars Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levvit
Orphan movie poster
Girl Hides Shocking Secret in Thriller, 'Orphan'  Audio Clip Available
Isabelle Fuhrman stars as Ester, 9, a young girl who causes bad things to happen to family who adopts her and those around them
Rock Steady
Richard Elliot Pays Tribute to R&B Heroes on 'Rock Steady'  Audio Clip Available
Jazz saxophonist's title song on new album honors a name synonymous with soul, Aretha Franklin 
Japanese jazz composer and pianist Kyoko Oyobe often practices on Small's piano during off hours
Jazz Blows Hot, Cool at Smalls Club in New York City    Audio Clip Available
Unique Greenwich Village venue showcases talent, verve, community for jazz musicians and appreciators alike
The game, cricket, is becoming increasingly popular in the US
Cricket Catching on in the United States  Video clip available
Immigration brings centuries-old game to playing field
Shane Dwight
Rising Blues Artist Shane Dwight Makes National Recording Debut  Audio Clip Available
In June, Dwight released two blues-rock albums and plans 200 shows to promote them