COOL DRY PLACE
Soon, it’s so long to the musical silence
By PETE BLAND of the Tribune’s staff
Although most of June and July have rendered Columbia concert halls deathly silent, the last couple of weeks of summer were already shaping up to be a salvation of sorts for the local music scene.

GAME OVER
Forget dumb fun; new ‘Wii Degree’ trains brain
By PAUL DZIUBA Special to the Tribune
If Nintendo had told the gaming public in 1997 that today everyone would find fun and a huge timesink in solving math equations, the company would have been called out of touch with the industry and its fans. Ten years later, however, games such as "Brain Age" have taken Japan by storm, and now America is finding out training can be fun. With the series’ first Wii entry, "Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree," Nintendo shows that training your brain can be fun with a whole group of people.

HOLLYWOOD HEADLINERS
By GEORGE RUSH and JOANNA RUSH MOLLOY Tribune Media Services
Yasser Arafat died of AIDS, a rival Palestinian leader claimed in an interview that’s spurred new political infighting over Arafat’s mysterious 2004 death.

D’oh! Fans can’t get Homer out of their brains
By CHUCK BARNEY Contra Costa Times
Few fans of "The Simpsons" can match the unwavering loyalty of Scott Vestnys, who compulsively watches three or four episodes a day and dresses up as Homer Simpson every Halloween.

music

Choir’s spree-for-all experience brings members closer together
By MARY T. NGUYEN of the Tribune’s staff
The Polyphonic Spree emerged seven years ago, birthed as a rock orchestra of 10 from the mind and talent of Tripping Daisy’s Tim DeLaughter and wife Julie Doyle. Decked in robes, the choir gained a following and recruited bandmates from musical disciples. Now a 24-person ensemble of choir, string and brass, the group has spent the years since then touring and producing albums, each more sonically evolved than the previous with its latest, "The Fragile Army," the most refined work to date.

Musical last call
Three years ago, Holly Kerns Maness was finishing a bartending shift at Mojo’s when the idea for her new production, "The Afterhours," came to her.

new releases

ticPick - FUNK & SOUL REVIVAL

film 

Sandler’s gay farce bomb sees more smoke than fire
By SCOTT A. MAY
Over the top and underdeveloped, "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" runs political incorrectness through the Adam Sandler comedy machine, with expected results. Is it too late for an annulment?

Sugar and spice
Definitely a chick flick with good taste, Catherine Zeta-Jones portrays a top-notch female chef whose world is turned upside down when she must care for a niece after her sister is killed. She adapts to a different lifestyle and, surprise, uses food as a means to express her roller-coaster life. And did we mention there is a love interest?

Death of a salesman
Described as "The Office" meets "Deliverance," this film by director Chris Smith ("Creep") proves that too much work can make Jack a dull boy, but then again, too much fun can sometimes kill you.

new on DVD

Movie Guide

calendars 

Weekend Calendar

Artrageous Fridays

Sue Kennedy brings musical talent to Boone County Fair

River crusaders launch their book

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