The James Logan Courier

By Billy O'Keefe
McClatchy-Tribune (MCT)

"The Conduit's" visual aptitude has been the source of buzz since the game's unveiling, but a Wii game best known for its graphics is like a baseball player who leads the minor leagues in hitting. If it's going to stand out among a sea of gorgeous, full-featured Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 first-person shooters, "The Conduit" needs more than just the best graphics on its platform to stick around.

That's where the game's attention to movement swoops in. "Metroid Prime" and "Medial of Honor"
already illustrated how uniquely cool a Wii first-person shooter can feel, and "The Conduit" drives the point home. Motions made with the Wii remote skillfully translate to the onscreen character's handling of the game's guns. The default settings are spot-on with respect to turning sensitivity and differentiating your character's head and hand movements, and a laundry list of adjustable
settings gives players who disagree a foolproof degree of on-the-fly fine-tuning. Under optimum settings, it feels great — neither necessarily better nor worse than the traditional controller method, but unique in a way that makes for a fun, divergent experience.

By Roger Moore
The Orlando Sentinel (MCT)

Shohreh Aghdashloo, the Oscar-nominated Iranian-born actress, has been watching events in her native land with something approaching glee.

"This is the most exciting moment in post-revolutionary Iran's history," she says. "We are hearing words that we have not heard before, such as 'transparency,' 'the rule of law,' and we're hearing them out in the open. Whenever I see the pictures on the news or hear, on the phone, from friends in Iran, all I can think of is, Is Iran at the dawn of its democracy?"
Aghdashloo, 57, an Oscar nominee for "House of Sand and Fog," left Iran during the 1979 revolution. But it is much on her mind and in her heart these days. She has a starring role in a movie set in Iran, about an infamous side of Islamic states _ execution by throwing rocks at someone until they die. "The Stoning of Soraya M". is based on the 1994 international best seller by a French author telling of a woman falsely accused of adultery, convicted and stoned to death in her village. The movie's "debut comes even as the world frets about things Iranian in the wake of a disputed election," The New York Times notes.

By Howard Reich
Chicago Tribune (MCT)

Call it the Dave Brubeck Comeback Tour. Three months ago, the 88-yearold pianist was in the hospital battling a virus and pulmonary infection that threatened his heart. Three weeks ago, he had no feeling in part of his left hand, the side effect of medicine he had been taking.
Now _ defying the expectations of family and physicians — the legendary jazz musician has returned to the road, where he has thrived for more than half a century.

"It was damn serious, what was happening to my health," says Brubeck.

"Now we're driving 350 miles every day in an RV I've rented.


(c) 2009, Chicago Tribune.
Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

By Faiza Elmasry
VOA News

Foxglove, castor beans, peacock flower trees and opium poppies are among 200 toxic flora Amy Stewart investigates in her book, Wicked Plants. Stewart says she didn't write her book to scare people away from the outdoors, but to help them better understand nature and be aware of what she calls "horticultural villains."

Many of what Stewart calls "wicked plants" have a peaceful and stunning beauty. But she warns us not to be deceived. These are trees that blind, weeds that blister, shrubs that sting and bulbs that kill.

By Billy O'Keefe
McClatchy-Tribune (MCT)


It's rare, perhaps unprecedented, to praise a video game for its incorporation of imprecise controls.

But there's nothing graceful about the way a Ghostbuster wields a proton stream when it's at full blast and the ghost on the other end of the line is doing everything in its power to make a bad thing worse. "Ghostbusters" gets a whole heaping lot of things right, but the way it so perfectly captures this struggle _ as well as the gratification of winning that struggle — reigns supreme as its best asset. It's a magnificent movie-to-game translation.

Terminal Reality keeps that sensation fresh throughout the game by finding reliable and clever ways to diversify the gameplay. You'll fight more than ghosts, and as the story explains, you'll also receive proton pack modifications that can do things your default stream cannot. The new tricks (which are better enjoyed if not spoiled here) spice up your attack plan with some variety, but they also allow for some surprisingly fun, physics-based puzzle solving during the game's second half.

By Greg Kot
Chicago Tribune (MCT)



On the Jonas Brothers' fourth album, "Lines, Vines and Trying Times," the latest Disney teen-pop juggernaut dons the trappings of adulthood: bigger orchestrations, soul-dipped vocals, lyrics that speak in metaphors instead of puppy-love pronouncements. But the rush to maturity is, well, premature for Kevin (age 21), Joe (19) and Nick (16).

The bros did a decent job punching out peppy, new-wave-lite anthems on the 2008 million-seller "A Little Bit Longer." But the strings and horns on "Lines, Vines and Trying Times" only bog things down. The soul voicings, a new direction suggested by their unfortunate pairing with Stevie Wonder last February on the Grammy Awards telecast, are strained, evoking a cruise-ship version of Hall and Oates.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT)

Here are the best sellers for the week ending Saturday, June 13, 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) 2009 by Reed Elsevier, USA)

HARDCOVER FICTION
1. Relentless. Dean Koontz. Bantam, $27
Last Week: -; Weeks on List: 1
2. Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Deception. Eric Van Lustbader. Grand Central, $27.99
Last Week: -; Weeks on List: 1
3. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. Katherine Howe. Voice, $25.99
Last Week: -; Weeks on List: 1
4. The Scarecrow. Michael Connelly. Little, Brown, $27.99
Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 3
5. Skin Trade. Laurell K. Hamilton. Berkley, $26.95
Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 2
6. Medusa. Clive Cussler with Paul Kemprecos. Putnam, $27.95
Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 2
7. Shanghai Girls. Lisa See. Random House, $25
Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 3
8. Matters of the Heart. Danielle Steel. Delacorte, $27
Last Week: 5; Weeks on List: 2
9. Roadside Crosses. Jeffery Deaver. Simon & Schuster, $26.95
Last Week: -; Weeks on List: 1
10. Gone Tomorrow. Lee Child. Delacorte, $27
Last Week: 6; Weeks on List: 4

By Billy O'Keefe
McClatchy-Tribune (MCT)

Yes, this looks like new territory for Sucker Punch Productions, which previously dabbled in the considerably cuddlier worlds of cartoon raccoons and unicycling robots.

But while "inFamous" takes place in a considerably darker arena _ a recently-terrorized Empire City, starring you as Cole, a messenger who inadvertently delivers the bomb that kills thousands but gives him electromagnetic superpowers _ the philosophy behind the game's design has the same old fingerprints all over it. Every facet of "inFamous" _ the powers, what you can do with them, the city and the playground it lays at your feet _ is designed with an overt willingness to treat players first and challenge them second. And at this, it succeeds rather magnificently.

By Etan Horowitz
The Orlando Sentinel (MCT)

ORLANDO, Fla. — Students who have trouble staying awake in history class now have a new way to learn about the Civil War and other topics: an interactive video game where they try to stop a band of evildoers from changing the past.

The game, called "Conspiracy Code," was jointly developed by The Florida Virtual School and 360Ed, an Orlando company that makes education video games and software. The game officially launched Monday, although the two companies have been testing it with students and teachers since February.

By Brandie Moore, Courier Daily Editor

"'With this offering of extra crispy I officially call this Friday night meeting of the Beecher Falls witch babies to order,' Annie said as she set the bucket of fried chicken on the floor where her friends were sitting. 'And for our vegetarian member we have a lovely carton of hot and spicy tofu,' she added as she handed Cooper the bag she had just retrieved from the Dragon Dragon delivery guy. Kate and Annie reached into the bucket of chicken and pulled out a leg and a breast, respectively, while Cooper rummaged in the bag. 'I don't know how you two can eat that stuff' Cooper commented as she opened the chopsticks that came with her order and dipped them into the carton of tofu. 'It's death food.' 'Yes.' said Kate as she peeled a length of golden batter-covered skin from her chicken and popped it into her mouth. 'But it's really good, and I'm sure the chickens will forgive us. After all, it is sort of their jobs, isn't it?' "

Book seven out of fifteen. Another job well done by author Isobel Bird on the seventh book in the Circle of Three series of fifteen books. this book goes threw all three girls but is mainly focused on Annie and her journey on the path of Wicca.

By Billy O'Keefe
McClatchy-Tribune (MCT)

There aren't many hard and fast rules that apply to the entirety of game design, but there are some.

For instance: Don't punish your most spirited customers.

That "Bionic Commando" even nicks this rule is bewildering when you realize GRIN got the hardest part absolutely right. The original 1988 "Commando" made its name entirely through the main character's bionic arm, which allowed him to swing through the kind of 2D levels most characters jumped through at the time. It worked then, and it works remarkably well now in spite of a third dimension and a mostly hands-off approach that makes it easy to miscalculate a swing and plummet to your death. Intuitive controls, combined with credible motion physics, make for a fun swing mechanic that's neither too hard to master nor so easy as to be mindless.