This American Life
[PODCAST] If you have a burning desire to hear of more than updates on the Brittney vs. K-Fed custody battle, OJ’s alleged Reservoir Dogs performance in Vegas or the grand success that is American Foreign Policy in the Middle East, This American Life is for you. The program, produced through Chicago Public Radio and affiliated with National Public Radio, is an intriguing collection of radio articles that convey the highs and lows of life in the U.S. Host Ira Glass delves into humanity, loss, love and all the other things that happen in a real life. Some are funny, others are sad, but all are interesting. The website contains an extensive library of archived back issues going back to the 1990’s, priced perfectly for a Maui market–free. Swearing and sex pop up occasionally, just like in real life, but there are disclaimers when discussion of sex occurs; a typical warning goes something like, “although there is no description of sexual acts, the existence of sex is acknowledged in this piece.” www.thislife.org. [JORDAN HART]
Songs for a Teenaged Nomad
[BOOK] I don’t understand why people say high school is the best time of life. What’s so great about going to class at 8 a.m., breaking out in pimples and getting grounded for breaking curfew? Then again, there were those great afternoons when my girls and I cruised around town in my dad’s car, smoking cigarettes and making plans to sneak out after curfew. In Songs for a Teenage Nomad, Kim Culbertson expertly captures the tumultuous adolescent experience as we follow Calle, an insecure and slightly angry teen entering a new school and attempting to fit in, all the while dealing with a flighty, immature mother who moves her from town to town. Each chapter is cleverly titled after a song, creating a random shuffle ’90s playlist of Green Day, No Doubt and Counting Crows, all tying in with what our heroine experiences. Which makes sense because Calle is composing the soundtrack of her life in a journal and is haunted by one song that seems to be the link to her missing father’s identity. Oh, and she also has to deal with the geeky boy who’s sweet on her, the popular boy she’s crushing on and the nasty other girl that boy is seeing. Ah, high school, how I loathe thee. [JESSICA ARMSTRONG]
New Super Mario Bros, Nintendo DS
[VIDEO GAME] I’m a dork. But I swear that I haven’t played video games in years. Scouts honor: since Nintendo’s controller evolved from the simple up-down, left-right, A button, B button, it just hasn’t been the same for me. But then this past week we bought my daughter a really cool pink Nintendo DS (with controls similar to the original) and the Hannah Montana game (which sucks, by the way). Then we bought the New Super Mario Bros. game (which totally rocks, by the way). It rocks so much that I haven’t gotten anything done in days. It’s a lot like the original Super Mario Brothers““two dimensional and filled with goombas, Bowser, the Hammer brothers, mushrooms, fire-flowers and those fun tubes that you can go down. You still need to jump onto the flagpole at the end of each level, and 100 coins are still needed for a 1-up mushroom. The music will make you feel totally nostalgic, but is remixed enough to be modern and cool. The game also comes with mini-games that you can play multi-player, but the fun is in the regular old single-player mode. Long live Mario! MTW
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