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	<title>City Desk &#187; Voice of America Special English</title>
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		<title>Voice of America, Soothingly Covering the Local Comic-Book Scene</title>
		<link>http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2008/11/25/voice-of-america-soothingly-covering-the-local-comic-book-scene/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:38:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark Athitakis</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Comics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Radio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NOVA Comics and Games]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Voice of America Special English]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Everybody has their own way of finding their Zen. Some do yoga. Some smoke weed. Some turn cuddling into an odd, process-oriented group activity. Me, I stick to Voice of America Special English, which broadcasts news stories about the awesomeness of American culture to faraway lands, using a limited pool of vocabulary words spoken slowly. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Everybody has their own way of finding their Zen. Some do yoga. Some smoke weed. Some turn cuddling into an <a href="http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/sexist/2008/11/25/cuddle-party-video-corner/">odd, process-oriented group activity</a>. Me, I stick to <a href="http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/ ">Voice of America Special English</a>, which broadcasts news stories about the awesomeness of American culture to faraway lands, using a limited pool of vocabulary words spoken slowly. Very, very slowly. A VOA Special English broadcast feels simultaneously woozy and soothing, like a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chopped_and_Screwed">chopped and screwed</a> version of NPR, or somebody softly whispering <em>The Elements of Style</em> in your ear. </p>
<p>I've let VOA Special English fall out of my regular listening habits for a while, but Comics DC <a href="http://comicsdc.blogspot.com/2008/11/voa-visits-nova-comics-store.html">reminds</a> me of reason to tune in again: Yesterday the network aired a <a href="http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/2008-11-24-voa2.cfm">lengthy feature on comic books</a> that includes quotes from staffers at Springfield's <a href="http://www.novacomics.com/">NOVA Comics and Games</a>. An excerpt from the show should give you an idea of how simple the storytelling is:</p>
<blockquote><p>Comics use drawings and words to tell stories that can be funny or serious, or a little of both. Comic books grew out of comic strips in newspapers.</p>
<p>One of the most successful early comic characters in America was Mickey Dugan, better known as "the Yellow Kid." He wore a yellow coat that was too big for him.</p>
<p>He was a character in a comic strip in New York called "Hogan’s Alley" by Richard Felton Outcault. It provided social commentary on the problems of cities.
</p></blockquote>
<p>But you really have to <a href="http://www.voanews.com/mediaassets/specialenglish/2008_11/audio/Mp3/se-tia-comic-books-24nov08_0.Mp3">listen</a> to the report to get the full effect. True, you may fall asleep on the Metro while listening to it. But that's a small price to pay for utter peace.</p>
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