COOL DRY PLACE
Roy C. finally back in spotlight at Roots ’N Blues
By PETE BLAND
of the Tribune’s staff
For Roy C. Hammond - better known as simply Roy C., Roy "C," Roy C or Roy-C - this year’s Roots ’N Blues ’N BBQ Festival could turn into a celebration of a criminally underappreciated career in music.
GAME OVER
Is Xbox Live Arcade saving video games?
By PAUL DZIUBA
When the Xbox Live Arcade debuted in 2004 for the original Microsoft console, I don’t think I even paid attention. Filled with casual games, online freeware and older arcade titles, the service seemed underdeveloped, overpriced and generally boring.
MUSIC
Simply a grand CD
"Simply Grand" would fit as an album title for Irma Thomas on merits alone. At age 67 and ready to celebrate her 50th anniversary as a recording artist in 2009, the woman known as the Soul Queen of New Orleans is a national treasure. More than that, she remains at the top of her talent: If anything, her lush voice, with its earthy tones and full-note roundness, has grown more nuanced and emotionally resonant with time.
At 20, violinist Erin Schreiber sounds wise beyond her years
By CHRIS BOECKMANN
It’s a bit funny to hear Erin Schreiber, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra’s recently appointed assistant concertmaster, describe a few of the other performers she’ll be playing with this weekend as "young artists." Schreiber, a highly skilled violinist, is just 20 years old.
New releases
ticPick — WARHAMMER 48K
FILM
Easily forgettable ‘Mirrors’ reflects poorly on Sutherland
By SCOTT A. MAY
Another in a long line of disposable horror flicks, "Mirrors" proves as difficult to watch as it is easy to forget. How this shoddy fright fest kept from sinking straight to video release is anyone’s guess.
Find the force
Although anything remotely "Star Wars" is potentially a welcome trek for hard-core fans, this will be a mixed thrill given that the saga returns to the big screen as a cartoon. George Lucas’ prequel trilogy was so overloaded with computer-generated imagery that the digital animation of "Clone Wars" isn’t that big of a leap.
What’s the buzz?
A well-intentioned exercise at blending education and family entertainment, this 3-D animated tale ends up being only mildly educational and not all that entertaining.
New on DVD
Movie Guide
CALENDARS
Weekend calendar
Musical tribute to Bob Dyer
TELEVISION
More madness:
Kartheiser, Moss have fun as anxious Pete and Peggy.
By FRAZIER MOORE
of The Associated Press
NEW YORK - On the "Mad Men" premiere last summer, a boozy Pete Campbell hauled himself from his bachelor party to the door of Peggy Olson’s modest Brooklyn apartment.
Fool’s gold:
Fakery at Olympics makes plain China’s contempt for reality.
By GLENN GARVIN
McClatchy Newspapers
Time to clear the air: That’s not smog hovering over Beijing, swallowing entire office buildings like a python. It’s just "a funny mist," said the city’s environmental chief, who insists the Chinese government has eliminated air pollution in the capital. And he’s right: By moving monitoring stations as far as 40 miles from the city center, Beijing’s air-quality reports read like Irving Berlin lyrics: ‘Blue skies, smilin’ at me. Nothin’ but blue skies do I see ...’
