Short Circuits

New and noteworthy experiences among DVDs, video games, gadgets and the Web.

March 29, 2010 at 10:04PM
"Calling," a new game for the Wii, is the latest entry in the survival horror genre.
"Calling," a new game for the Wii, is the latest entry in the survival horror genre. (Hudson/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

DVD

Classic music show receives an encore "The T.A.M.I. Show," a celebrated 1964 rock concert, has finally been officially released for the first time, uncut, widescreen and crisp-looking on DVD (Shout! Factory, $20). Over two hours, its on-fire lineup justifies the legend -- rock/ R&B pioneers Chuck Berry and James Brown; the Rolling Stones; Motown's Supremes, Miracles and Marvin Gaye; Lesley Gore and more, hosted by beach-sound duo Jan & Dean. Most important, the long-removed Beach Boys set with Brian Wilson has been restored. All that youthful energy is smartly captured in black-and-white by director Steve Binder, who also nailed Elvis' 1968 "comeback" special. (Look among choreographer David Winters' background dancers for Teri Garr and Toni Basil.) Among the extras, Binder's running commentary details the show's talent and technical challenges.

NEWSDAY

Out Tuesday: "Alice in Wonderland" (special edition of animated Disney film), "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," "The Baader Meinhof Complex," "Collateral" (Blu-ray), "Deadliest Catch" (Season 5), "An Education," "I Sell the Dead," "Imax: Under the Sea," "The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty," "The Killer" (Blu-ray), "The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries" (Set 1), "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" (Season 1), "Rhoda" (Season 2), "Sherlock Holmes," "Steven Seagal: Lawman" (Season 1).

GAMES

Survival-horror title fails to scare up fun The horror survival genre is either in its infancy or its death throes. It's hard to tell which. "Calling" ($40 for Wii; rated Teen for violence) is the latest in the odd genre of games, in which you don't necessarily fend off attacks from ghouls and other specters so much as evade and live to tell the tale. It's a new wave of play that involves fast timing and environmental puzzle-solving rather than the traditional "pick up a gun and shoot the zombie" action. The problem is that "Calling" continues the genre trend of doing this poorly. Much like other games in the arena, the spooks and scares are really good initially but become repetitive. Games such as "Calling," and previous ones such as "The Grudge," are relatively new to the Wii and other consoles. At first glance, you might think that these are the baby steps of a new form of gaming. But they are so poorly executed that you wonder if the survival genre can, well, survive.

SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE

WEB

Firefox add-on tracks your browsing habits Tracking habits -- whether your spending, amount of sleep or other personal metrics -- is an excellent way to get a big picture of what's going on in your life. PageAddict (www.pageaddict.com) tracks and charts your Web browsing for your review. The Firefox extension sits in the background and quietly monitors every website you visit. You can review the list at any time and apply tags to the types of sites you visit to categorize them as work, research, personal, games, e-mail or any other category that will help you visualize what constitutes your browsing time. In addition to providing visual feedback on what you're browsing, you can also, if you notice a particular time suck in your browsing history, restrict access to specific sites. Your restriction can take the form of minutes or an outright ban. PageAddict is free and works wherever Firefox does.

LIFEHACKER.COM

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