http://jameslogancourier.org/ News from James Logan High School en-us Nucleus CMS v3.24 © Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://jameslogancourier.org//nucleus/nucleus2.gif http://jameslogancourier.org/ http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4023 By Rick LaPlante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Intent on maintaining continuity and assuring a smooth opening to the school year, the Board of Education tonight appointed David Pava as Interim Superintendent of the New Haven Unified School District, effective Sept. 1.

Mr. Pava, 59, who grew up in what became New Haven Unified and has spent more than 30 years as an educator in the District, will replace Dr. Pat Jaurequi, who has accepted an offer to become superintendent in another district. The Board of Education in her new district will vote formally to approve her hiring Thursday, but she will remain in New Haven through Aug. 31.

“Certainly, we didn’t want to lose Dr. Jaurequi, but Mr. Pava provides us with an experienced administrator who probably has more knowledge than anyone about our District. He knows where we’ve been and where we’re going,” Board President Kevin Harper said. “His presence will enable us to continue to move forward along the road we’ve traveled in the past few years, even as we begin the process of finding a new, permanent superintendent.”

The Board, which voted unanimously, 5-0, to appoint Mr. Pava, also voted unanimously to hire the California School Boards Association’s executive search service to immediately begin the process of finding a permanent superintendent.

“We’ll move quickly but carefully, because getting the right person is infinitely more important than just getting the position filled,” Mr. Harper said. “Dr. Jaurequi has laid a solid foundation here in the past four years, and we want to find the right person to build on that. We’ll move as quickly as possible, but with Mr. Pava here, we know we have the stability we need while the process to hire our permanent replacement works.”

A teacher, principal and administrator in the District since 1977, Mr. Pava currently serves as Deputy Superintendent under Dr. Jaurequi.

“David has provided strong and effective leadership for the District during my four years in New Haven. He’s the person I went to for help to understand context and possible consequences for various decisions that we made,” Dr. Jaurequi said.

“He’s the obvious choice to move the District forward, for however long the Board needs to find a new superintendent. Our students, parents and employees can be sure that the District will be in very good and very caring hands during that time.”

Mr. Pava had planned to retire in October, “but I am happy and excited to serve as long as the Board can use my services,” he said.

“Our District has a blueprint in place, the Strategic Plan that our community developed under Dr. Jaurequi’s leadership and with the support of the Board,” he said, “and that will continue to serve as our reference point for budgeting and decision-making.”

Mr. Pava attended El Rancho Elementary School and Barnard Middle School, in the old Decoto School District that later became part of New Haven. He graduated from James Logan High School in 1966, and went on to Hayward State (now California State University, East Bay), where he majored in history.

After serving in the Army in Vietnam, Mr. Pava earned his teaching credential at Hayward State and began teaching at Bret Harte Elementary School in Hayward in 1976. The following year, he joined New Haven Unified as a member of the first faculty at New Haven Middle School (now Cesar Chavez Middle).

Mr. Pava earned his administrative credential at Hayward State and became principal of Barnard-White Middle School in 1988. He was named principal of Logan High in 1992 and moved to the District office as Deputy Superintendent in 2001. At various times, he has overseen both educational services and personnel, and last month he stepped in to provide leadership in business, operations and maintenance after the Chief Business Officer retired and the Executive Director of Operations accepted a promotion in another district, within days of each other.

Mr. Pava and his wife, Janis, have two grown sons, Anthony, who teaches at James Logan, and Nicholas, who is a food-service manager at Dave & Buster’s restaurant in Milpitas.

“Next to my family, New Haven has been my life,” he said, “and the past few years have been a very exciting part of that. I think the work that Dr. Jaurequi has done here has been remarkable, and I am happy to continue that as the Board looks for our next leader.”

Dr. Jaurequi has served as Superintendent since October 25, 2004.

“Serving the New Haven has been a privilege and a pleasure, and I think we’ve done extraordinary work together,” said Dr. Jaurequi, under whose leadership New Haven has drawn wide attention for its efforts to meet the twin challenges of declining enrollment and increased emphasis on student achievement.

“I would have been happy and excited to finish my career here. I wasn’t looking to leave,” she said. “But this is a unique opportunity, both personally and professionally, that I feel is best for my family.”]]> News http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4023 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:15:00 -0800 http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4018 From wikipedia:
Charles Spurgeon Johnson (July 24, 1893 – October 27, 1956) was a distinguished American sociologist, first black president of historically black Fisk University, and a lifelong advocate for racial equality and the advancement of civil rights for African Americans and all other ethnic minorities. He preferred to work in coalition with liberal white groups in the South quietly as a "sidelines activist" concerned to get practical results. His position is often contrasted with that of the towering figure in this field, W.E.B. DuBois, who was a powerful and militant advocate for his people and who described Johnson as "too conservative." But this contrast should be seen in the context of the 1930s and 1940s, with complete segregation and fierce discrimination pervading the South. He was angry and unwavering in personal terms in his opposition to this oppressive system yet hoped he had the strategy to significantly change race relations in terms of the short term practical gains.


Read Seasons in Hell: Charles S. Johnson and the 1930 Liberian Labor Crisis, a doctoral thesis by Philip James Johnson, free from Louisiana State University.
Born in the South in turn-of-the century in Virginia, Johnson went north to Chicago and the University of Chicago where he was part of the Great Migration. After the tragic race riot of 1919 he did much of the research which showed how the riot had deep roots in denial of economic and social opportunity to African Americans. The subsequent book, The Negro in Chicago became the classic model for comprehensive commission reports.

In the 1920s Johnson moved to New York City where he became research director for the National Urban League and "entrepreneur of the Harlem Renaissance," the creative upsurge by African American writers and artists of that time.

Johnson yearned to return to the South, not only to study race relations but to change them. He moved to Nashville, taking a position as head of sociology at Fisk University. There he wrote or directed countless studies of the way in which combined economic and social factors produced an oppressive racial structure. Two of these books have become classics: Shadow of the Plantation (1934), and Growing up in the Black Belt (1940). Johnson lived long enough to celebrate the landmark Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education, which declared racial segregation in the public schools unconstitutional. Johnson played a key role in the effort to implement the decision in the face of "massive resistance." Johnson's work and that of his peers helped pave the way for the civil rights legislation of the Sixties.

Johnson was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans.]]> In Quotes http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4018 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:35:00 -0800 http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4022
Former New Haven
Superintendent Pat Jaurequi
Courier PhotoBy Rick LaPlante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Acting swiftly to maintain continuity, the New Haven Unified School District Board of Education will hold a special meeting tonight to appoint an Interim Superintendent to replace Dr. Pat Jaurequi, who has accepted an offer to become superintendent in another district.

“Certainly, we didn’t want to lose Dr. Jaurequi, but an interim superintendent – and we have excellent candidates within the District – will enable us to continue to move forward along the road we’ve traveled in the past few years, even as we begin the process of finding a new, permanent superintendent,” Board President Kevin Harper said.
The Board, which met in closed session Tuesday night to discuss Dr. Jaurequi’s departure, will meet at 7:30 tonight to appoint her interim replacement and to hire a search firm to find a new superintendent. The Board also will decide whether to begin the search immediately or to wait until spring, when the pool of candidates for such vacancies usually is deeper.

“Either way, we will find the right fit, not simply rush into a decision,” Mr. Harper said. “Dr. Jaurequi has laid a solid foundation here in the past four years and we want to find the right person to build on that.”

Dr. Jaurequi has served as Superintendent since October, 25, 2004.

“Serving the New Haven community has been a privilege and a pleasure, and I think we’ve done some extraordinary work together,” said Dr. Jaurequi, under whose leadership New Haven has drawn wide attention for its efforts to meet the twin challenges of declining enrollment and increased emphasis on student achievement.

“I would have been happy and excited to finish my career here. I wasn’t looking to leave,” she said. “But this is a unique opportunity, both personally and professionally, that I feel is best for my family.”]]> News http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4022 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:04:30 -0800 http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4021
"When You Are Engulfed in Flames"
by David Sedaris; Little, Brown ($25.95)

By Chauncey Mabe
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (MCT)

I've long held that the power of good writing trumps all other considerations. Is it by chance that sacred ancient texts, from the Pentateuch to the Gospels, the Tao Te Ching to the Bhagavad-Gita, are without exception great literature? I submit their survival and the reverence they command owes more to literary greatness than to doctrinal persuasiveness. Likewise, had Sigmund Freud not been a writer of genius, would his wackadoodle theories be anything more than a minor footnote?

In fairness, this notion sometimes breaks down, as in the case of Freud's acolyte-turned-rival, Carl Jung, whose impenetrable writing is akin to an archaeologist wielding a steam shovel—excavating important artifacts and dumping them in a big pile for others to sort out. Jung's theories may be more useful than Freud's, but the wise seeker approaches them through his more readable disciples.

Which brings me to David Sedaris — a non sequitur only if you make the mistake of considering humor a trivial genre. Our most beloved contemporary humorist, Sedaris makes his living not with jokes but autobiographical comic essays.

Last year, in an article titled "This American Lie," New Republic writer Alex Heard investigated some of Sedaris' stories, talking with the essayist's family and friends, and reported that significant portions — marketed as "nonfiction" — were made up.

The result was a minor firestorm, as indignant critics sprang to Sedaris' defense, suggesting Heard was too dense to understand humor and its need for exaggeration. Presumably, these are the same critics who were less forgiving of James Frey, a sourpuss to be sure. Why would my critical brethren — I shared the initial reaction — so readily set aside journalistic virtue?

The answer is that the nefarious Sedaris seduced us by being such a damn good writer. His undiminished power to transmute mundane elements of his daily life into writing that amuses and even enlightens is well displayed in his sixth collection, "When You Are Engulfed in Flames" — though the question of what is real and what is fabricated lingers like the odor of a cat box in the next room.

Now middle-age and an established writer who can afford to live in France, Sedaris confronts his own mortality. This ought to be most fully realized in the longest piece, "The Smoking Section," which recounts his ultimately successful efforts to break a 30-year addiction to Kool Milds. Alas, Sedaris after smoking is like Carol Burnett after she got her chin fixed: less funny.

In shorter, more focused essays, Sedaris braces fear of death with a near-perfect blend of humor and pathos. The best of this good lot is "Memento Mori," in which he buys a skeleton as a present for his longtime boyfriend, the artist Hugh Hamrick — only to have it start whispering to him: "You are going to die." This throws Sedaris into a panic of conscience.

"One moment he's an elderly Frenchwoman, the one I didn't give my seat to on the bus. In my book, if you want to be treated like an old person, you have to look like one. That means no face-lift, no blond hair, and definitely no fishnet stockings. I think it's a perfectly valid rule, but it wouldn't have killed me to take her crutches into consideration."

In the end, Sedaris bargains with the skeleton, pledging to make amends to people he's hurt: "The skeleton hesitated a moment. 'You are going to be dead ... someday.'"

Those readers eager for more stories of Sedaris' childhood will be happy to know that while life with Hamrick takes center stage, the author's maladjusted family makes frequent appearances. Some of these pieces, depending less on story than Sedaris' skill at starting in one direction and shifting entirely to another, don't amount to much.

But they are the exception. For the most part, When You Are Engulfed in Flames is a substantial collection from an important writer.

Now if Sedaris would only call his humor what it is: fiction drawn from life. It would be no less appealing.

(c) 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Visit the Sun-Sentinel on the World Wide Web at http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.]]> Entertainment http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4021 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:15:53 -0800 http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4020 By Rick LaPlante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

The Board of Education on last week received a presentation about the Division of Teaching and Learning’s core messages for 2008-09. Chief Academic Officer Glynn Thompson outlined four key messagesat the July 15 meeting:

Systems Alignment: aligning all District initiatives with the Strategic Plan and budgeting accordingly; focusing on rigorous instruction and curricular alignment; coaching to impact the instructional core; emphasizing that “We are all learners! We are all leaders!”;

Collaborative Culture: providing quality and aligned professional development; implementing Professional Learning Communities; partnering with parents and community;

Accountability: focusing on literacy; improving use of data-driven assessment tools; focusing on results;

Strong Leadership: aligning leadership focus on school support; implementing the Strategic Plan; coaching leadership to impact instruction.

Also on Tuesday night, the Board:

● Heard Superintendent Dr. Pat Jaurequi’s recommendation to delay until 2009 a $150 million facilities bond that had been proposed for the November election, primarily because of the difficult economy and number of competing tax and bond measures expected to be on the upcoming November ballot.

● Discussed a proposed policy allowing for the sale or lease of naming rights to high-profile District facilities such as the Performing Arts Center and the Culinary Arts Institute. All four board members in attendance spoke against the proposal.

● Welcomed Ted Hood, the District’s new Chief Business Officer. Mr. Hood will begin work next week.]]> News http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4020 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:36:32 -0800 http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4019
"How to Be Single"
by Liz Tuccillo; Atria ($24.95)
By Hannah Sampson
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

The question makes unattached women of a certain age cringe: Why are you still single? The answer is simple in this captivating debut novel — because men are married, stupid, selfish or all three — and Liz Tuccillo turns the unwelcome query into an international examination of love, heartbreak and singledom.

Narrator Julie Jensen, a 38-year-old book publicist, hasn't been in a serious relationship for six years, and her New York City friends are in various stages of unattachment when the novel begins. Georgia has been dumped by her husband for a "twenty-seven-year-old whore gutter trash samba teacher." Serena is a vegetarian chef and student of Hinduism who has been celibate for four years. Alice has quit her job as a legal-aid attorney to date fulltime, and Ruby is mourning her recently deceased cat and long-dead relationships.

Left to contemplate the great mystery of dating life — why it is that any man, "poor, boring, bald, fat, arrogant" can get a girlfriend at any time, while the "smart, funny, gorgeous, sane, financially stable, professionally fulfilled, fascinating, fit women" in their mid-30s to mid-40s stay single — Julie strikes out on a book project to discover if there's any place on Earth where women are better at being alone.

The journey takes her into familiar territory for readers of Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir "Eat, Pray, Love." Like Gilbert, Julie makes stops in Italy, India and Indonesia (and adds such other far-flung locales as Iceland, China and Australia).

As Tuccillo alternates between Julie's affairs abroad and her friends' lives in the city, she proves to be a gifted, sparkling writer. Conversational, witty and kind, she's a joy to read.

Julie's physical insecurities are endearing and appropriately shot down. "I have to admit to myself that I'm absolutely sure the reason I don't have a boyfriend is because of my cellulite and my huge thighs. Women are crazy, let's move on."

And Tuccillo's musings, even just a throwaway dig at "yoga done in a room the temperature of Hell," are just plain funny.

The novel probably won't reveal anything groundbreaking to readers of Tuccillo's previous book, "He's Just Not That Into You" (written with Greg Behrendt) or viewers of "Sex and the City," for which Tuccillo was an executive story editor. But "How to Be Single" is a big improvement on some of the junk that masquerades as chick lit.

If Tuccillo packs in an excess of melodrama and tears, she gets major points for giving the girls a hopeful ending that isn't flat-out unbelievable. In a summer when Carrie and Co. dominated the box office, female empowerment rules. So does this book.

(c) 2008, The Miami Herald.
Visit The Miami Herald Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.herald.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.]]> Entertainment http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4019 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:19:50 -0800 http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4017
Self-Portrait
by Norman Lewis

From wikipedia:
Norman W. Lewis (23 July 1909 – 27 August 1979) was an award-winning painter, scholar, and teacher. He is associated with Abstract Expressionism. Lewis was African-American, of Caribbean descent.


Norman W. Lewis was born in Harlem, New York. His parents had emigrated from Bermuda. Always interested in art, he had amassed a large art history library by the time he was a young man. A lifelong resident of Harlem, he also travelled extensively during the two years that he worked on ocean freighters. An important early influence was the sculptor and teacher Augusta Savage, who provided him with open studio space at her Harlem Art Center. He also participated in WPA art projects, alongside his friends Romare Bearden and Jackson Pollock, among others.


Read an interview with Norman Lewis, free from the Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Art.In 1934, he became a member of the 306 Group, a group of artists and writers who met regularly that included Charles Alston, Romare Bearden, Ralph Ellison, and Jacob Lawrence.

His earlier work was mostly figurative. He at first painted what he saw, which ranged from Meeting Place (1930), a swap meet scene, and The Yellow Hat (1936), a formal Cubist painting, to Dispossessed (1940), an eviction scene, and Jazz Musicians (1948), a visual depiction of the Bebop that was being played in Harlem.

Later work

In the late 1940's, his work became increasingly abstract. Tenement I (1952), Harlem Turns White (1955), and Night Walker No. 2 (1956) are all examples of his style. Twilight Sounds (1947) and Jazz Band (1948) are examples of his interest in conveying music.

One of his best known paintings, Migrating Birds (1954), won the Popular Prize at the Carnegie Museum's 1955 Carnegie International Exhibition, the New York Herald-Tribune calling the painting "one of the most significant of all events of the 1955 art year."

In 1963 he was a founding member of the SPIRAL Group.

His later work includes Alabama II (1969), Part Vision (1971), and New World Acoming (1971), as well as a series called Seachange done in his last years.

Although represented by galleries, and the recipient of many awards and good reviews, his work did not sell nearly as well as the other Abstract Expressionists he exhibited with, such as Mark Tobey or Mark Rothko. His body of work included paintings, drawings, and murals. Mostly he supported himself, and later his wife and daughter, through teaching. In 1972, he received a grant from the Mark Rothko Foundation and a Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1975 he received a Guggenheim Fellowship.

He passed away unexpectedly on August 27, 1979, in New York.]]> In Quotes http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4017 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:42:00 -0800 http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4016
LogiTech's Harmony One
universal remote controlBy Etan Horowitz
The Orlando Sentinel (MCT)

As enjoyable as it is to add a video-game console, speaker system or other new entertainment device to your living room, there's always one unpleasant thing you have to deal with — a new remote control.

This week I review two new high-end universal remotes that aim to replace your existing remotes and save you button pushes by allowing you to set up "activities" to get you to the entertainment more quickly. For instance, pressing a button for the activity called "watch a movie," will turn your TV on, switch it to the correct input, turn the DVD player on and pop open the disc tray.


The Harmony One from Logitech ($250, Logitech.com) has a touch screen and must be connected to a computer (Mac or PC) to set it up and modify it. ESPN The Ultimate Remote ($300, Espnremote.com) looks more like a cell phone and connects to your home Wi-Fi to network to display news, sports scores, information and TV listings on its tiny screen. It doesn't need a computer.

Both remotes know the infrared commands for thousands of devices, and if your device isn't one of them, you can teach the commands to the universal remotes.

The ESPN remote is clearly inferior. In short, it's awful.

It comes packed in so much hard plastic it's bound to induce a case of wrap rage in even the most patient user. Once you free the remote, it's complicated to set up and use. It's also uncomfortable to hold.

There are too many buttons and too many unnecessary features, such as the ability to send and receive e-mails from the remote or access your Facebook profile. If you are so lazy that you can't pull out your BlackBerry or iPhone or run to the nearest computer, then finding the perfect remote might not be your only problem. Being able to access sports scores will come in handy for sports junkies.

Consider yourself lucky if the remote knows the commands for all of your devices. It didn't have codes for any Scientific Atlanta DVRs despite its being one of the most common brands of cable set-top boxes. I was able to teach the ESPN remote to learn my DVR's commands, but it was tedious and it wasn't clear whether I should categorize my DVR as a cable device, a DVR, or an HD Tuner, because it's all of those things.

The best feature of the ESPN remote is that it displays the channel listings, including what programs are on and their descriptions, on the remote screen. This allows you to see what else is on without changing the channel or bringing up the on-screen guide.

By contrast, the Harmony One is a breeze to set up. It takes about 30 minutes, and using a computer to configure the remote is much easier than having to do it on the remote itself. The remote has an online database of more than 225,000 devices from more than 5,000 manufacturers, much more than the ESPN device.

Even though I'm missing the remote for a pair of Altec Lansing speakers, the Harmony had the speakers in its database and I was able to use it to control the speakers. The ESPN remote could not do the same without the original remote.

The Harmony feels good in your hand and has about 15 fewer physical buttons than the ESPN remote. You can customize the virtual buttons on the remote's touch screen to give you quick access to your favorite channels or allow you to access functions missing from the physical buttons.

It takes some time to get used to the Harmony, especially if someone else set it up. For instance, if you are watching cable TV but want to adjust the brightness of your set, you have to press a few buttons to switch between devices before adjusting the brightness.

You may cringe at paying $250 for a remote control (though it's on sale for less at Best Buy and Amazon.com), but if you are serious about home entertainment and hate having lots of remotes, the Harmony One is a great investment. Just be prepared for a learning curve.

(Etan Horowitz is the technology columnist for the Orlando Sentinel. He can be reached at ehorowitz@orlandosentinel.com.)

(c) 2008, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).
Visit the Sentinel on the World Wide Web at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.]]> Entertainment http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4016 Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:36:33 -0800 http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4015 By Michael Martinez
Chicago Tribune (MCT)

LOS ANGELES — I came in search of my inner geek.

But was it too late?

Gone were the booth babes, flame-eaters and pyrotechnics.

The $40 billion video game industry's annual convention used to be a house party gone wild — with mom and dad away.

This year's E3 Media & Business Summit, held last week in the downtown convention center, is a serious affair, as if parents suddenly imposed maturity, slimmed down to 4,500 invitees only Video gamers grow up, get down to business versus 80,000 public attendees in 2006.

"It was strippers, drugs, fire-breathers and there were explosions going off. It was crazy," Relic Entertainment producer Mark Noseworthy, 28, said of past gatherings.

Even minors got in on the action.

"It was awesome. I used to base my entire year on E3," said Michael Quiroz, 24, a marketing associate working one of the rare booths still featuring young models in miniskirts and futuristic red wigs.

"I've been coming since I was 16, but don't tell the organizers," he whispered.

Business had ranked a distant second to rockin'. But with global sales expected to reach $68 billion by 2012, an industry built on boyhood playtime has been forced to grow up.

"The show had become out of hand," said Michael Gallagher, CEO of the Entertainment Software Association, the trade group that organizes the conference.

"What you're seeing is a hangover from that old, bigger show and an adjustment to this summit format, which is invitation-only and very intimate, efficient and productive," Gallagher said.

The average gamer is now 35 years old, and adult women account for 33 percent of all gamers. (Boys 17 or younger make up just 18 percent of gamers.) Nintendo executive Cammie Dunaway added that digital toys are more than recreational and educational: They also can be therapeutic, such as Wii games enticing physical movement from couch potatoes and even seniors in nursing homes. It's called Wiihabilitation (pronounced "we-habilitation").

There were hundreds of media representatives at last week's conference, mostly 20- and 30-something men in T-shirts and jeans specializing in trade news and game reviews on Web sites and blogs.

"That's because you journalists don't have the competence in (writing about) games," said Gamereactor magazine's Claus Reichel, 41, of Copenhagen, explaining why "mainstream" journalists were outnumbered. He quit his civil engineering career 14 years ago to write about video games.

"If you don't have this knowledge, gamers will see through that," Reichel said. He observed how conference-goers are now only 90 percent male: "As you can see, there are a lot of women as opposed to 10 years ago."

In publisher THQ's demonstration room, game designer Jonny Ebbert, 37, of Relic Entertainment was joined by Noseworthy in showing how to play their "Dawn of War II," which requires players to build raw recruits into an elite strike force to save the galaxy.

"We try to up the brutality of it — in a contextual way," Ebbert said as blood flowed on the computer screen. "We make it visceral and added camera shakes."

The American Medical Association says video games have an educational benefit but calls for further study on whether they can cause aggressive and addictive behavior.

Addictive is the fun, but it won't cause bad behavior, the two designers contended.

It wasn't all business: If gaming seeks a bridge between nerd and cool, he could be Gerard Williams, 25, a New York City rapper with a YouTube serial who calls himself the Hip Hop Gamer.

Wearing a World Wrestling Entertainment belt with a spinner buckle and wrestler John Cena's name, Williams rapped in the media lunchroom: "I got more gore than the 'Gears of War.'''

(Michael Martinez is a staff writer for the Chicago Tribune.)

(c) 2008, Chicago Tribune.
Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.]]> Features http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4015 Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:31:27 -0800 http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4005 From wikipedia:
Lonette McKee (born July 22, 1954) is an American film and television actress, music composer/producer/songwriter, screenwriter and director.

McKee was born in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of Dorothy and Lonnie McKee. Lonnie, was a bricklayer and auto manufacturer employee. McKee's career began in the music business in Detroit, Michigan as a child prodigy, where she started writing music/lyrics, singing, playing keyboards and performing at the age of seven. At fourteen, she recorded her first record, which became an instant regional pop/R&B hit. McKee wrote the title song for the film Quadroon when she was fifteen. She had written and produced three solo LPs, the most recent, "Natural Love", for Spike Lee's Columbia 40 Acres and A Mule label.

Visit Lonette McKee's official website.

McKee scored the music for the well-received cable documentary on the lower Manhattan African Burial Ground, as well as numerous infomercials. McKee has toured extensively throughout the world singing concert performances, including the JVC Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall. McKee won critical acclaim for her Broadway debut performance in the musical "The First." She became the first African American to play the coveted role of 'Julie' in the Houston Grand Opera's production of "Show Boat" on Broadway, for which she received a Tony nomination. Her tragic portrayal of jazz legend Billie Holliday in the one-woman show, "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill" won critical acclaim, standing ovations and the Drama Desk nomination. She reprieved the role of 'Julie' on Broadway in the most recent revival of the musical "Show Boat" directed by Hal Prince.

Filmography
Her feature film credits include; Sparkle (1976), Cuba (1979), Which Way Is Up? (1977) and Brewster's Millions (1985) - both opposite the legendary Richard Pryor; The Cotton Club (1984) and Gardens of Stone (1987) for Francis Ford Coppola; Lift (2001), for which she earned a Black Reel nomination. Other films include Honey (2003), Men of Honor (2000), Round Midnight (1986) for the great filmmaker Bertrand Tavenier, Jungle Fever (1991), Malcolm X (1992), He Got Game (1998) Recent features include "She Hate Me for Spike Lee "A Day in Black & White" and "ATL". Television miniseries and films include, The Women of Brewster Place (1989), for which she received an NAACP nomination, Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (1999), Queen (1993) with Halle Berry, To Dance with Olivia (1997) and For Love of Olivia (2001) for CBS Television Network and Blind Faith for Showtime Cable Network. Lonette also received an NAACP nomination for her appearances on the long-running CBS soap opera As The World Turns.


Recent work
Recently, McKee did a recurring role on the NBC hit drama Third Watch. McKee was featured in People Magazine's "Fifty Most Beautiful" 1995 issue. McKee studied film directing at The New School in New York and apprenticed directing with great filmmaker Spike Lee. McKee studied singing with Dini Clark and ballet with Sarah Tayir, both in Los Angeles. McKee teaches a master acting workshop at Centenary College of New Jersey, where she serves as an adjunct professor in the Theater Arts department. Currently, she is producing her first feature film Dream Street, which she wrote and will direct. ]]> In Quotes http://jameslogancourier.org/index.php?itemid=4005 Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:28:00 -0800