The James Logan Courier

By Patrick Pilapil, Courier Staff Writer

4 out of 5 stars

Almost nobody believed Jay-Z was really retiring after his 2003 release of "The Black Album". So after only a three-year hiatus, the Def Jam CEO releases "Kingdom Come", the most anticipated hip-hop album of the year. Although this isn't the classic everyone expected, Jay-Z still delievers one of the best rap albums of the year.

By Carmen Shiu, Courier Entertainment Editor

Fans of the MTV reality TV show, "Laguna Beach," can now enjoy 15 of the songs that are played on the show from season one to season three. On top of the songs, there are also four clips of dialog straight from the show. The soundtrack, "Summer Can Last Forever," was released last month.



Drop by the Courier's office, Room 509, for a free Laguna Beach poster or sticker while supplies last, and to register for a drawing to win a free copy of the new CD, Summer Can Last Forever. Deadline for entry: Dec. 7. Drawing: Dec. 8.

By Carmen Shiu, Entertainment Editor

The cover of Gwen Stefani's second solo album, "The Sweet Escape," which will release on Tuesday, hints at a new direction for the singer. Indeed, on the new disc, Stefani calms down a little compared to her debut, "Love.Angel.Music.Baby.," that she released two years ago.

With five of the twelve songs produced by the Neptunes, this one has its pros and cons.

By Michael Deeds
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

BOISE, Idaho — Before you lift a hand to smack the latest emo buzz band for its nauseating name, please allow Cute Is What We Aim For singer Shaant Hacikyan to explain.

"Dude. We hate it," insists Hacikyan, who became the band's elder statesman when he turned 20 recently. "We hate the name with a passion."

Wha — really?

Apple Computer Inc. (MCT)

Top 10 albums on iTunes Music Store for Nov. 28:

1. "Daughtry (Bonus Track)," Daughtry
2. "Kingdom Come," Jay-Z
3. "U218 Singles," U2
4. "Wintersong," Sarah McLachlan
5. "The Blue Carpet Treatment," Snoop Dogg
6. "Happy Feet (Music from the Motion Picture)," various artists
7. "The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me," Brand New
8. "9," Damien Rice
9. "Doctor's Advocate," The Game
10. "Konvicted," Akon

For more information, please visit the iTunes Web site at www.apple.com/itunes/.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

The Philadelphia Inquirer (MCT)

Pop:

SNOOP DOGG "Tha Blue Carpet Treatment" (Geffen, 3 stars)
Snoop Dogg has been pop culture's most cuddly gangsta rapper for so long that it's easy to forget that there's more to him than the guy who played Huggy Bear in "Starsky & Hutch." Part of the problem has been that the smooth-drawling rapper has been sleepwalking though his last several albums as he drifted from the chilling intensity he brought to his early work with Dr. Dre.

Reviewed By Jessica Stewart, Courier Staff Writer

The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived, by Allan Lazar, Dan Karlan &Jeremy Salter

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (October 17, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0061132217

“We believe so strongly in the characters of television, literature, and movies that we treat them as important people in our lives. We have to see the last episode of our favorite TV series every season; we’ve stood in line to see the latest movie sequel or remake. Legends, myths, theater, animation - it’s all the same. We identify with these characters, even if the story dates back thousands of years. We shed real tears over their setbacks and suffering. We try to emulate the greatness of the heroes and learn from the mistakes of the tragic figures.”

These words ring true to everyone, from avid readers to geeks and nerds to those people sneaking into movies in the theater. When we meet up with fictional characters that we can relate to, we think of them as real people, as friends we can turn to during the hard times. This is how they become influential. They somehow weasel their way into the lives of millions of people, and change them, for better or for worse. This is definitely an interesting read.

Note: Each week The Courier will spotlight new books available in the James Logan Media Center.

The Legend of Quito Road, by Dwight Fryer
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: BET (June 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 1583147063

From DwightFryer.com:

The Legend of Quito Road chronicles the story of a thirteen year old boy whose religious father teaches him to make moonshine in 1932 Lucy, Tennessee. The themes of this historical show that the worst things wrong with most of us were planted there by those who love us best.

“Making white lightning just gets in your bones,” Gill Erby told his only boy during their first trip to a whiskey still. That illicit knowledge transformed Son, as his momma Sarah called Raymond Simon Erby, from pure and innocent to cunning and calculating. The economic and emotional common ground of Prohibition-era illegal whiskey and cross-race relationships create the story’s tension.

By Jackie White
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

Maybe it's because television has pumped up the fashion focus.

Who hasn't been lured into "Project Runway" or suffered an anxiety attack from watching "What Not to Wear"?

Or perhaps it's all the new shopping magazines or the success of "The Devil Wears Prada."

Game Informer Magazine (MCT)

Stumped for ideas for the gamer in your life? Game Informer offers a wish list of items that are sure to please.

1. Sony PlayStation 3
www.us.playstation.com
List price: $599.99
It's sleek, silent and powerful enough to blow holes in the moon. Why wouldn't any gamer want a PlayStation 3? You might have trouble finding one, considering that this will be the system in shortest supply this holiday season. But rarity only makes the desire stronger. Don't forget the PS3 also plays Blu-ray movies, so you can cross a $1,000 Blu-ray player off your wish list as well.

By Billy O'Keefe
McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT)

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS
For: Nintendo Wii (coming December for Gamecube)
From: Nintendo
ESRB Rating: Teen

"The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" does something early on "Zelda" games almost never do: It drags. Badly.

By Susan Muramoto, Courier Staff Writer

Casino Royale
Rated PG-13
2 hr. 24 min.

Genre: Action/Adventure/Suspense/Thriller

"Casino Royale" is the first movie 007 movie starring the new James Bond, Daniel Craig. In "Casino Royale," Agent 007 is sent to Madagascar, where is he directed to find a member of a group of terrorist bomb-makers. When things start to go wrong, Bond decides to do his own independent investigation on the rest of the members of the terrorist group.


The new James Bond, Daniel Craig, in "Casino Royale."

By Christina La, Courier Staff Writer

Happy Feet
Rated PG
1 hr. and 38 min.

Happy Feet, starring Mumble, played by the voice of Elijah Wood, is about a penguin who expresses himself differently than the rest. Set in deep Antarctica, into the land of emperor penguins where everyone has the voice to sing a love song in order to attract their soul mate, Mumble is born without that ability. Having his father, Memphis, played by the voice of Robin Williams, drop him when he was only an egg led to this reasonable damage. Although it took him a little longer to hatch, Mumble came out with an urge to dance, by tapping his feet with his own rhythm to follow; it was something that he could do brilliantly.

By Steven Rea and Carrie Rickey
The Philadelphia Inquirer (MCT)

ACCEPTED 2 stars. Justin Long (the Mac Guy in those Apple ads) stars in this low comedy about higher education as a college reject who invents a university to send him an acceptance letter. 1 hr. 30 PG-13 (language, bathroom humor, sexual candor) — Carrie Rickey

ALEX RIDER: OPERATION STORMBREAKER 2 .5 stars. Directed by TV veteran Geoffrey Sax, "Stormbreaker" is "Spy Kids" with an English accent — and a less hyper, over-the-top sensibility. It's niche market all the way — the acne niche. 1 hr. 33 PG (sequences of action violence and some peril) — Steven Rea

AMERICAN HARDCORE 3 stars. Paul Rachman's gritty, uncompromising documentary is about punk rock, not porn. With interviews with luminaries like Henry Rollins and Mike Watt, it chronicles the exploits of 1980s bands like Black Flag, Bad Brains and Minor Threat, who played it loud fast and raw in opposition to Ronald Reagan's America. 1 hr. 40 R (profanity) — Dan DeLuca

By Stephen Becker
The Dallas Morning News (MCT)

DANCING A JIG: The animated penguins of "Happy Feet" tap-danced their way to the top of the charts over the weekend, pulling in $42.3 million. And hot on their heels was "Casino Royale" ($40.6 mil), as the Bond franchise broke in a new agent without much of a drop off from the opening weekend of the last film in the series. "Die Another Day" opened at $47 mil on the same weekend in 2002, the biggest opening weekend for any Bond film.

THE UP SIDE: "Casino's" producers shouldn't curse those penguins too much. After all, they print money in other places around the world, and the 20th film in the series scooped up $42.2 million of it, bringing its worldwide opening to $82.8 million.


Courier graphic

By Carmen Shiu, Courier Entertainment Editor

Dance and arts academy Lisa Performing Arts held their second annual showcase in the Jackson Theater at Ohlone College on Saturday, November 18, 2006. Through the art of dancing, the students exhibited various stories from traditional
Chinese and Mongolian dances. There were two shows, one from 4:00-6:00pm and another one from 7:00-9:00pm. Both of them had a total of 20 performances from a large group of females from ages 4 and up. A few of them in the first show were the same as last year’s, but not every performance was in both.


Lisa Dong, principal and artistic director of Lisa Performing
Arts, takes a bow with her students at the end of the show. Carmen Shiu/Courier Photo

By Jordan Levin and Howard Cohen
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

ALEJANDRO SANZ "El tren de los momentos" (Warner Music Latina) 4 stars

It seems cruel to say so, but Alejandro Sanz's divorce has produced the most powerful album he's ever done. Created as Sanz was separating from his wife, ``El tren de los momentos'' (``The train of moments'') plunges into the pain and confusion of love lost with a brutal honesty that leaves sentimentality dead on the tracks.

Apple Computer Inc. (MCT)

Top 10 albums on iTunes Music Store for Nov. 14:
1. "Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing," Keith Urban
2. "Kingdom Come (Deluxe Edition)," Jay-Z
3. "The Road to Escondido," J.J. Cale and Eric Clapton
4. "The Best of What's Around," Dave Matthews Band
5. "Skin and Bones," Foo Fighters
6. "Awake," Josh Groban
7. "Continuum," John Mayer
8. "Enjoy the Ride," Sugarland
9. "How to Save a Life," The Fray
10. "The Black Parade," My Chemical Romance

For more information, please visit the iTunes Web site at www.apple.com/itunes/.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Reviewed By Jessica Stewart, Courier Staff Writer

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (fiction)
Hardcover: 656 pages
ISBN: 0316011770

“This is the story of how as a girl of sixteen I went in search of my father and his past, and of how he went in search of his beloved mentor and his mentor’s own history, and of how we all found ourselves on one of the darkest pathways into history.”

The name "Helen" is used 913 times in The Historian

By Tish Wells
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

``She's Such a Geek! Women Write About Science, Technology and other Nerdy Stuff'' by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Anders;
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Seal Press (November 28, 2006)
ISBN: 1580051901

In circus parlance, a "geek" is a sideshow performer who does disgusting things such as bite the heads off live chickens. More commonly these days, a geek is a socially awkward person who's enthusiastic, smart and skillful with computers. "She's Such a Geek!" is a collection of essays by gifted tech women who don't fit the narrow sugar-and-spice stereotype. Some prefer math to lipstick and light-sabers and dragon fighting to swooning over the latest teen idol. And some do both.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT)

Here are the best sellers for the week that ended Saturday, Nov. 11, compiled from data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide.

(Reprinted from Publishers Weekly, published by Cahners Publishing Co., a division of Reed Elsevier, USA. (c) 2006 by Reed Elsevier, USA)

HARDCOVER FICTION
1. Wild Fire. Nelson DeMille. Warner, $26.99
Last Week: -; Weeks on List: 1
2. Dear John. Nicholas Sparks. Warner, $24.99
Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 2
3. For One More Day. Mitch Albom. Hyperion, $21.95
Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 7
4. Born in Death. J.D. Robb. Putnam, $24.95
Last Week: -; Weeks on List: 1
5. Lisey's Story. Stephen King. Scribner, $28
Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 3

By Billy O'Keefe
McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT)

GEARS OF WAR
For: Xbox 360
From: Epic/Microsoft

Bill Gates caught a case of foot-in-mouth disease last year when he declared that people coming out for the Playstation 3 launch would walk straight into "Halo 3," which since has (oops!) been pushed to a 2007 release date. But if Gates' intention was to dazzle would-be PS3 owners with a game that's better than anything the new console on the block can offer, Epic has bailed him out with something every bit as fierce.

By Billy O'Keefe
McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT)

SONY PLAYSTATION 3
Price: $599/$499 (20 GB)
Available: Now (if you're lucky)

Sony's Playstation 3 will force you to use your mind, body and whatever courage you have to engage the enemy in ways you never imagined possible. And that's just to get into the line to buy one.

By Patrick Pilapil, Courier Staff Writer

U2: U218 Singles (release is on November 21, 2006)

3 out of 5 stars

U2, arguably the most famous rock band of all-time, is set to release their 3rd greatest hits compilation in 8 years. U218 Singles chronicles the career of the band by including 16 of its most well-known songs plus two never before released tracks.

Watch two U2 videos, With or Without You and Origin of the Species, performed live in Milan, Italy, free from Amazon.com

By Carmen Shiu, Courier Entertainment Editor

Originally scheduled for a September release, Bobby Valentino's new album, Special Occasion will be released on February 13, 2007. The inspiration of this 14-tracked album, which is still in the works, was to return R&B back to its origin with a Valentino twist. In hopes of achieving the return, he has been working with various producers. With the first single, Turn the Page, Valentino is slowly getting back on the top.

View Bobby Valentino's new video for Turn the Page


Win a preview copy of Valentino's forthcoming album, Special Occasion, free from the Courier, Moxie and DTP/Island/Def Jam Records. Come by Room 509 to enter.

By Patrick Pilapil, Courier Staff Writer

Jim Jones Hustler s P.O.M.E. (Product of My Environment)

3.5 out of 5 stars

Commercially, it has been dismal 2006 for the New York-based rap group The Diplomats (also known as Dipset). The group's Dipset: The Movement Moves On and Cam'ron s Killa Season failed in terms of CD sales. But the year might not be a complete disappointment, with Jim Jones' release of his third album, Hustler s P.O.M.E. (Product of My Environment) . The Harlem native has created one of the most compelling albums ever released from the Dipset camp.

By Jon Bream
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

He has played Buster Poindexter, a pompadoured lounge lizard, and the Ghost of Christmas Past, a wisecracking spirit in the movie "Scrooged." But David Johansen's most famous role was lead singer of the New York Dolls, the highly influential rock band that hardly anyone ever saw live.

Merge of The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)(MCT)

"Rhythms De Mundo"
Various Artists
World/Pop: B+

On paper, this remix project from the surviving members of Cuba's Buena Vista Social Club sounds like a recipe for disaster. Who needs contemporary hits by the likes of the Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand, Dido and U2 stripped of all but their vocals and re-imagined as the kind of numbers you'd hear at a swinging Havana nightspot? But after listening, it's clear that project coordinator Kenny Young knew exactly what he was doing. Coldplay's "Clocks," Jack Johnson's "Better Together" and Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved" sway so naturally, you'll swear they were written with horn sections in mind. Sure, the Arctic Monkey's urgent "Dancing Shoes" sounds silly set to a soothing Latin beat but the rest of the tunes, especially the late Ibrahim Ferrrer's final recording ("As Time Goes By") and a Spanish-language take on Radiohead's "High and Dry," are mucho magical.
—Amy Longsdorf

Apple Computer Inc. (MCT)

Top 10 albums on iTunes Music Store for Nov. 14:
1. "Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing," Keith Urban
2. "Kingdom Come (Deluxe Edition)," Jay-Z
3. "The Road to Escondido," J.J. Cale and Eric Clapton
4. "The Best of What's Around," Dave Matthews Band
5. "Skin and Bones," Foo Fighters
6. "Awake," Josh Groban
7. "Continuum," John Mayer
8. "Enjoy the Ride," Sugarland
9. "How to Save a Life," The Fray
10. "The Black Parade," My Chemical Romance

For more information, please visit the iTunes Web site at www.apple.com/itunes/.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Reviewed By Jessica Stewart, Courier Staff Writer
I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles (historical fiction)
Paperback: 656 pages
Publisher: Three Rivers Press; Reprint edition (March 25, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN: 0609809105

“I shall sleep sweetly in this precious soil, borne round in her diurnal course, become part of this precious sceptered isle-this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England-my first, last, greatest love. And I am now and forever the soul of England-I, Elizabeth, I, England, Elizabeth the Queen!”

This is the story of Queen Elizabeth I of England, the queen who refused to marry so that she wouldn’t have to give up her power to another. It is also the story of a woman who had only one true love, her country. She did have many loves besides England, but they passed through her life as easily as water passes through a human hand. Although a little lengthy, it is an excellent novel to just sit down and read when you have a spare minute or two.


The word "now" is used 1344 times in I, Elizabeth

By David Squires
Daily Press (Newport News, Va.). (MCT)

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — William C. Rhoden sounds a clarion call to black athletes by pointing out that there might be a link between politics, social responsibility and collective self-help in his latest book "Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete."

Note: Each week the Courier will spotlight books newly available in the James Logan Media Center.

The Harris Men, a Novel, by R.M. Johnson
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (April 1, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN: 0743400593

From Simonsays.com:

RM Johnson's extraordinary debut is a stirring family portrait that resonates with emotion and wit, as a father faces death -- and the three sons he abandoned so many years before.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT)

Here are the best-sellers for the week that ended Saturday, Nov. 4, compiled from data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide.

(Reprinted from Publishers Weekly, published by Cahners Publishing Co., a division of Reed Elsevier, USA. (c) 2006 by Reed Elsevier, USA)

HARDCOVER FICTION
1. Dear John. Nicholas Sparks. Warner, $24.99
Last Week: -; Weeks on List: 1
2. For One More Day. Mitch Albom. Hyperion, $21.95
Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 6
3. Lisey's Story. Stephen King. Scribner, $28
Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 2
4. The Collectors. David Baldacci. Warner, $26.99
Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 3
5. Act of Treason. Vince Flynn. Atria, $25.95
Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 4

from Game Informer Magazine (MCT)

Xbox Live Vision
Manufacturer: Microsoft
Web site: www.xbox.com
List price: $39.99 (basic), $79.99 (gold)

Social gaming now has a whole new meaning on the Xbox 360. With the Xbox Live Vision camera, gamers can personalize their gamertag image with a photo, chat with friends through video and record video messages. The Vision will also be used for games much like Sony's EyeToy, allowing gamers to physically appear in their games and interact on a very personal level through Xbox Live titles.

This week, we start with Little Audry, starring in Goofy, Goofy Gander. Little Audrey, in the schoolroom, is sent to the corner stool to memorize Mother Goose rhymes. She falls asleep and dreams that she gets a tour of Mother Goose Land by Mother Goose herself. Comic book criminals sneak into Mother Goose Land and attempt to steal the goose who lays golden eggs. Audrey captures them and then wakes up. Animation by G. Germanetti and Steve Muffatti, story by I. Klein, scenics by Anton Loeb, music by Winston Sharples. Produced in 1950.

Click the picture to watch the cartoon, streaming in 256k MPEG4, free from the Internet Archive. For more information and format choices, click here.


Next we have Bugs Bunny, starring in Fresh Hare.Bugs is wanted "dead or alive" by the Mounted Police, led by Elmer Fudd. Animation by Manuel Perez, story by Michael Maltese, supervising producer I. Freeleng. Produced in 1942.

Click the picture to watch the cartoon, streaming in 356kb MPEG 4, free from the Internet Archive. For more information and format choices, click here.

By Carmen Shiu, Courier Entertainment Editor

This past Sunday, November 5, 2006, Radio Disney kicked off their 6th annual Jingle Jam tour in San Jose Convention Center's South Hall. For the past couple of years, Radio Disney required fans to get tickets by donating or going to certain sponsors' stores. This year, however, it was absolutely free. Nuttiní By Stringz, Truth Squad (a.k.a. T-Squad), the Jonas Brothers, and Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana performed.


Miley Cyrus, aka Hannah Montana, headlined the Jingle Jam. Carmen Shiu/Courier Photo ©2006

By Diamond Floyd, Courier Staff Writer

Stacy Fergueson, better known as Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas, has released her first solo debut album on September 19, 2006, entitled "The Dutchess", a mis-spelled variant of the former title of Sarah Fergueson, The Duchess of York, with whom she shares a surname and popular nickname.


Win a copy of Fergie's CD. Come to room 509 to find out how.

By Jim Farber
New York Daily News (MCT)

Twenty-six years ago, the father of Cuban-American rapper Pitbull commandeered three boats to bring more than 500 people from Castro's island to Miami, as part of what became known as the Mariel boatlift.

Apple Computer Inc. (MCT)

Top 10 songs on iTunes Music Store for Nov. 7:
1. "My Love" (single version), Justin Timberlake featuring T.I.
2. "Fergalicious," Fergie
3. "Smack That," Akon
4. "Irreplaceable," Beyonce
5. "It Ends Tonight," The All-American Rejects
6. "How to Save a Life," The Fray
7. "Chasing Cars," Snow Patrol
8. "Lips of an Angel," Hinder
9. "White & Nerdy," "Weird Al" Yankovic
10. "Welcome to the Black Parade," My Chemical Romance

For more information, please visit the iTunes Web site at www.apple.com/itunes/.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Reviewed By Jessica Stewart, Courier Staff Writer

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey (memoir)
Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Anchor (September 22, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN: 0307276902

“I am twenty-three years old and I’ve been an Alcoholic for a decade and a drug Addict and Criminal for almost as long and I’m wanted in three states and I’m in a Hospital in the middle of Minnesota and I want to drink and I want to do some drugs and I can’t control myself.”

James Frey’s memoir* is horrifying and fantastic, truth and falsehood, inspirational while still a deterrent. It is the story of a drug addict who goes to rehab in Minnesota to recover. During his stay he befriends fellow addicts, renews old relationships, and finds out just how strong he is. It is a definite must-read.


The word "know" is used 683 times in A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

Note: Each week the Courier will spotlight books newly available in the James Logan Media Center.

THIS TIME Ingrid Monique
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: K Mass Paper (May 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0758209673

From romanceincolor.com:

SYNOPSIS: A New York interior designer visits the island of St. Pala, where she's swept off her feet by the gorgeous Minister of Security and plunged into a web of betrayal and danger.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT)

Here are the best-sellers for the week that ended Saturday, Oct. 28, compiled from data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide.

(Reprinted from Publishers Weekly, published by Cahners Publishing Co., a division of Reed Elsevier, USA. (c) 2006 by Reed Elsevier, USA)

HARDCOVER FICTION
1. Lisey's Story. Stephen King. Scribner, $28
Last Week: -; Weeks on List: 1
2. For One More Day. Mitch Albom. Hyperion, $21.95
Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 5
3. The Collectors. David Baldacci. Warner, $26.99
Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 2
4. Act of Treason. Vince Flynn. Atria, $25.95
Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 3
5. Hundred-Dollar Baby. Robert B. Parker. Putnam, $24.95
Last Week: -; Weeks on List: 1

Junior Hiedie Sioteco is the winner of the latest Pharrell CD and other swag. Sioteco read The Courier's review of the CD, where she found the instructions on how to enter to win the disk. A drawing was held last week, and her entry was chosen.

Read the Courier's CD reviews for more chances to win.


Junior Hiedie Sioteco is the winner of the new Pharrell CD Courier Photo

By Ray Dequina, Courier Opinion Editor

SPLINTER CELL: DOUBLE AGENT
For: Xbox 360 (altered versions available for PS2, Xbox, Gamecube)
From: Ubisoft
ESRB Rating: Mature

Single-Player Review

Contrary to what the EMP kids on Logan Live would have you believe, ninja's are perhaps the most badass people in the world. There's nothing more cinematically stylish than slipping into an enemy camp, wreaking havoc with nothing but a sword and your natural agility, and terminating the enemy general—all while remaining completely undetected.

By Billy O'Keefe
McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT)

FINAL FANTASY XII
For: PlayStation 2
From: Square Enix
ESRB Rating: Teen

"Final Fantasy" has accumulated quite a few laurels over the last 16-plus years, but no one ever seems content to rest on them. With every sequel Ᾱ spin-offs notwithstanding Ᾱ Square introduces both a brand-new universe of characters and a heavily retooled means of carrying this universe's story to its conclusion.

By Veronica Brown, Courier Staff Writer

James Logan High School drama students performed Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs for their fall play this year. The play was directed by Paul Vega and performed by seven very talented students, all of whom were very entertaining and surprisingly comedic to watch.


The fictional family gathers around the dinner table.

Up first today we have Popeye the Sailor Man in Ancient Fistory, A Cinderella-like tale in which Olive is the princess and Popeye is the prince. Bluto is the shopowner brute who bullies Olive, only to get taught a lesson by a buff, spinach-eating Prince Popeye. Animation by Al Eugster and William B. Pattengill, story by Irving Spector, scenics by Robert Connavale, and music by Winston Sharples. Produced in 1952.

Click the picture to watch the cartoon, streaming in 256k MPEG 4, free from the Internet Archive. For more information and format choices, click here.

Next we have an animated version of the Mother Goose Story of Little Miss Muffet, using what is called "3 dimensional" animation. Part of the Nursey Rhyme Review series featuring the stop-action animation of Ray Harryhausen.


Click the picture to view the cartoon, streaming in 256k MPEG4, free from the Internet Archive. For more information and format choices, click here.

By Carmen Shiu, Courier Entertainment Editor

Radio station Wild 94.9 held their annual Bomb concert this past Monday, October 30, 2006 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA. Every year, they hold a Bomb concert either in the spring or around Halloween. And the past few ones were all sold out. Wild 94.9 succeeded once again with the acts Paula DeAnda, Yung Joc, Chingy, Pitbull, Mistah Fab, Danity Kane, Brooke and Hulk Hogan, Ludacris, and E-40.

Paula DeAnda performed at the annual Bomb concert Monday Carmen Shiu/Courier Photo ©2006

By Christina La, Courier Staff Writer

By the looks of the faces here at Logan, you would never believe the impressive talents that many students have. There are juniors by the names of Sean Craig-Hyland, Jonathan Llaguno, Brandon Oun, and Joey Varela (bass, rhythm guitar, lead guitar/vocals, and drums) gathered together with individual musical expertise to form a four man band called Ruth Way.


The members of Ruth Way

By Dan DeLuca
The Philadelphia Inquirer (MCT)

PHILADELPHIA Ᾱ He'd like you to call him Diddy because, as the self-described "friendly neighborhood rap mogul superstar" would explain on "Diddy Day," to students at Benjamin Franklin High School in Philadelphia, "the P. was getting between me and my fans."

Apple Computer Inc. (MCT)

Top 10 albums on iTunes Music Store for Oct. 31:

1. "The Black Parade," My Chemical Romance
2. "Once Again," John Legend
3. "Nightmare Before Christmas (Special Edition)," various artists
4. "Hannah Montana (Songs from and inspired by the hit TV series)"
5. "Continuum," John Mayer
6. "Marie Antoinnette (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)," various artists
7. "How to Save a Life," The Fray
8. "Sam's Town," The Killers
9. "FutureSex/LoveSounds," Justin Timberlake
10. "The Open Door," Evanescence

For more information, please visit the iTunes Web site at www.apple.com/itunes/.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester (nonfiction, 226 pages)
Reviewed By Jessica Stewart, Courier Staff Writer

“A Scotland Yard detective named Williamson testified that Minor had come to the Yard three months earlier, complaining that men were coming to his rooms at night, trying to poison him. He thought that they were members of the Fenian Brotherhood-militant Irish nationalists-and they were bent on breaking into his lodgings, hiding in the roof rafters, slipping through the windows.”

Note: Each week the Courier will spotlight new books available in the James Logan Media Center.

College Boy, by the Urban Griot, 384 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (June 3, 2003)
ISBN: 0743482735

From Amazon.com

After hard-fought battles to include African Americans as qualified students within the white American educational system, the opportunity for higher learning still remains a struggle.

This is Troy Potter's story.

He is an African American young man from inner-city Philadelphia. He grew up with dreams of becoming a basketball player but now that he's eighteen he must learn the rules to a whole new game: college. How will Troy survive at a predominantly white school? Will he be afforded the same quality of education as his fellow students? How will he learn to become a successful black man in a white world? This penetrating novel takes a close look at the world of academia from a youthful African American perspective.

This week's best-sellers from Publishers Weekly
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
(MCT)

Here are the best-sellers for the week that ended Saturday, Oct. 21, compiled from data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide.

(Reprinted from Publishers Weekly, published by Cahners Publishing Co., a division of Reed Elsevier, USA. (c) 2006 by Reed Elsevier, USA)

HARDCOVER FICTION
1. For One More Day. Mitch Albom. Hyperion, $21.95
Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 4
2. The Collectors. David Baldacci. Warner, $26.99
Last Week: -; Weeks on List: 1
3. Act of Treason. Vince Flynn. Atria, $25.95
Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 2
4. Echo Park. Michael Connelly. Little, Brown, $26.99
Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 2
5. 13 Moons. Charles Frazier. Random House, $26.95
Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 3