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How did your life collide with the headlines in 2007?
Iraq, the subprime crisis, Facebook, immigration, oil prices - 2007 had no shortage of hefty headlines. We'd like to hear about how these and other major news events of the past year affected you. Where did your life collide with the news in 2007?

What's your holiday performance story?
The office talent show, the neighborhood caroling posse, the school pageant ... At holiday time we often sing, dance, and dress as shepherds. Did you bloom in the warmth of your audience's adulation, or freeze up like the snowman you'd rather be building? Did your holiday performance change your life or that of someone close to you?

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Broadcast Date: March 18, 2006 | Map these stories
Listen IconDrugs for Medicine?
Seventy-four-year-old George Earl Lewis of Chickasha, Oklahoma was arrested in January of 2005 for selling two grams of crack cocaine to an FBI informant. Lewis claims that he sold the drugs to pay for his wife's cancer medication. He pleaded guilty and was given a ten-year suspended sentence. The district attorney who brought the case says Lewis used his wife's condition to gain sympathy, and has been pushing drugs much longer. Weekend America host Barbara Bogaev speaks with Lewis, his attorney Ryland Rivas, and district attorney Bret Burns about the case.

Music Bridge: "Cuchillos de Hielo" - Artist: Tristeza
CD: A Colores (Better Looking)
Listen IconDada on Display
In the 1920s, American composer George Antheil was toying with sounds of big industry and factories -- resulting in his Ballet mécanique. Highly rhythmic and extremely loud, the piece is nearly impossible to perform because of its break neck tempos. Tufts University professor Paul Lehrman has been trying to stage the work for decades, but he hasn't been able to find musicians who could play fast enough. When the National Gallery of Art asked him to put together a performance of The Ballet mécanique for a new exhibit, he turned to Eric Singer of the League of Electronic Musical Robots, for help.
Online resources:
» National Gallery of Art to Premiere Unique Version of Dada Film Score
» Paul Lehrman's site devoted to the composer George Antheil
» League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots

Listen IconMoment of Silence
Weekend America host Bill Radke discovered that former United Nations Secretary-General Dag HammarskjÖld believed silence was so important he designed a special room for silent contemplation at the UN. Host Bill Radke talks with Ian Williams, UN correspondent for The Nation magazine, about the room and silence.
Online resources:
» The UN's meditation room

Music Bridge: "Chant" - Composer: Georges I. Gurdjieff - Artist: Anja Lechner, Vassilis Tsabropoulos
CD: Chants, Hymns And Dances (ECM)
Music Picks
Listen IconWorld Music: Sayyed Darweesh
Music critic Anastasia Tsioulcas shares music from a turn of the century Egyptian composer who's been called the father of modern Arabic music. His name is Sayyed Darweesh and the track is called "Calmly and Peacefully."
Online resources:
» Composer: Sayyed Darweesh | Performer: Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble | "Ya Ghuseyn el-Ban," "Salmah Ya Salamah," | From the album, The Songs of Sheikh Sayyed Darweesh (Xauen)
» Anastasia Tsioulcas music blog

Listen IconHigh Brow, Low Brow
Weekend America host Bill Radke invites three guests -- Amy Hungerford, a professor of American literature at Yale, Dana Gould, co-executive producer of The Simpsons, and our weather guy/culture vulture, John Moe -- to weigh in on recent news and cultural events and rate them either high, middle, or low brow.
Online resources:
» From the December 24, 2005 broadcast: High Brow, Low Brow.

Music Bridge: "A Fig For Misfortune" - Artist: Colossal Yes
CD: Acapulco Roughs (Ba Da Bing)
Weekend Weather
Listen IconWeekend Weather
Weekend America's John Moe takes a look at the weather and Saturday happenings all across the country.

» Event information

Music Bridge: "Beat Connection" (Disco Dub Version) - Artist: lcd soundsystem
CD: DFA compilation #2 (DFA)
Listen IconA Charmed Life?
Do you know someone who seems to have it all? Renowned glass blower Ginny Ruffner is one of those people. Famous for her glasswork and large sculptures, Ruffner's art has been exhibited all over the world. She's enjoyed fame, talent, and fun for 30 years -- but over a decade ago, everything changed. Independent producer Katy Sewall shares Ruffner's story.
Performance information:
» Ginny Ruffner Web site
» 2006 International Flameworking Conference

Music Bridge: "In My Time of Need" - Artist: In The Country
CD: This Was the Pace of My Heart (Rune Grammofon)
Listen IconThree Years in Iraq
Jacksonville, North Carolina tattoo shop owner Tim Claydon and Oceanside, California barbershop owner Tracy Paramore have been servicing soldiers since the Iraq war began three years ago. They talk with Weekend America hosts Bill Radke and Barbara Bogaev about the changes they've noticed in their clients from Camps Lejeune and Pendleton.

Listen IconFrom Baghdad to New London
Thirty-year-old Iraqi artist Esam Pasha grew up in Baghdad. Over the years he taught himself English by watching American TV shows. After the fall of Baghdad in 2003 he began working as a translator for U.S. troops and the press. Every day he would change his route to work to avoid possible attack. Today his life could hardly be more different. After getting a visa to the U.S., he's spent the last few months making art in the small city of New London on the Connecticut coast. Weekend America offers a portrait of the artist and the contrast between his old and new life.
Online resources:
» ArtVitae.com: More about Esam Pasha
» Exhibit information at the Pomegranate Gallery

Music Bridge: "Chaconne In G Minor" - Artist: Moondog
CD: The Viking of Sixth Avenue (Honest Jons / Astralwerks)
Listen IconSister Story
KUOW's Cathy Duchamp explains that when her sister, Christine Jertberg, was diagnosed with cancer, they both felt helpless and out of control. Duchamp says she really didn't know what to do, or how to help her. And then she found a research project called the Sister Study that offered a way out of her helplessness. Duchamp shares her story.
Online resources:
» The Sister Study: A Study of the Environmental and Genetic Risk Factors for Breast Cancer

Music Bridge: "Young and Old" - Artist: Gregor Samsa
CD: 55:12 (Kora Records)
Music Picks

Listen IconThe Cinderella Shot
As another March Madness descends, Weekend America's Bill Radke talks to the Cinderella player of the 1998 NCAA Men's Basketball Tourney, Bryce Drew, about his winning basket and how this year's championship playoffs could hinge on a split-second play.
Online resources:
» SportsIllustrated.com: "Drew Drops In"

Listen IconReal Life Zelig
Fred Brito, a.k.a. Mark Esparza or Frederique de Britao, is a con man that has bluffed his way into high-level jobs at places like the Red Cross and UCLA. He's impersonated a conductor at a classical concert. He's stolen cars. He's done time in prison. Weekend America host Bill Radke tries to sort out Brito's story, and whether we should trust Brito's claims that he's going straight.
Documentation used by Fred Brito:
» Educational resume
» General resume
» Bio
» Master cover letter
» Letter of recommendation

Music Bridge: "Sur Regresso Al Amor" - Artist: Astor Piazzolla
CD: Camorra (Nonesuch)
Weekend Weather
Listen IconWeekend Weather
Weekend America's John Moe takes a look at the weather and Saturday happenings all across the country.

» Event information

Music Bridge: "Beat Connection" (Disco Dub Version) - Artist: lcd soundsystem
CD: DFA compilation #2 (DFA)
Listen IconCartoon Controversy
Acton Gorton was fired this week from his job as editor of the University of Illinois student newspaper. A few weeks ago Gorton published some of the controversial Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in the Daily Illini. He tells Weekend America whether he now regrets his decision.
Online resources:
» Daily Illini Web site

Listen IconOh Say Can You Sing
A recent Harris poll found that two out of three American adults don't know all of the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner" -- and many don't even know which song is our National Anthem or why it was written. The members of the National Association for Music Education -- our nation's music teachers -- decided to do something about it. So they launched the National Anthem Project. Since January, they've been touring the country, state by state, spreading the song. One of the teachers, Amy Menace, gives Weekend America host Bill Radke a few pointers on properly singing the anthem.
Online resources:
» The National Anthem Project
» The National Association for Music Education
» More about Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key and "The Star-Spangled Banner."

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As Mentioned on Weekend America
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As Mentioned on Weekend America
... on our December 15 broadcast:

» Weekend America
iPodEnhanced Podcast:
Skip back and forth through stories, see images on iTunes and on your iPod, all with better sound quality.
» The Huckabee Mystique: See video of Mike Huckabee and Chuck Norris.
» Another Great Moment in Small Talk: Read how Charlie Schroeder became an unpopular "tool" because of Borat.
» Listener Letters: Renewable Christmas Trees: Read listeners' alternate endings to "Puff the Magic Dragon."
» Sign Up for the Weekend America weekly newsletter: Find out what's on the upcoming show, and listen to the most popular previous segments.
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Weekend Weather

From the July 5 broadcast