| For your gamer's wish list
Someday Mario and Master Chief might replace Santa Claus as spokespeople for the holidays. Mario and Master Chief are the main characters of two of this season's hottest video games, and unlike jolly ol' St. Nick, all kids believe in Nintendo and Xbox. As always at this time of year, video games — specifically, the latest video game systems — are on the top of many wish lists. But what kid has the cash to drop on a new piece of hardware that can cost upwards of $500? It's up to the parents to pony up the coin. "X-Box 360 rocks 'cause the first-person online experience of 'Halo 3' is seamlessly integrated with the wireless technology." Um. What? Discussing video games with your child requires learning a somewhat foreign language. Don't worry about it; we'll keep it simple.
[watch out for webcreepz]
[W]hen Gail Devery's 9-year old daughter received a $29.95 membership in the Miley Cyrus Fan Club as a gift, Devery figured online access to the MileyWorld.com site that came with the membership would allow Dani to watch music videos of the Hannah Montana star or play games.What she didn't know was that MileyWorld also features an interactive chat room, and there's no way to know who is lurking in there."I wasn't very happy about that. I told her I was going to limit what she would be allowed to do," said Devery, who lives in Bloomington. Her concern grew after she learned that when Dani registered as a member, she used her own name plus a five-digit number. "The first time I heard this voice say 'Hi, Dani' when she logged on, it really scared me," Devery said. With fun names like MileyWorld, Club Penguin, Webkinz and Neopets, social networking sites specifically targeting elementary- and middle-school kids are exploding.
Local News
Amélie Guertin will be remembered as an energetic, unselfish girl who was a hard worker and never took no for an answer. When she was three or four years old she wanted a dog, but her parents said no. For the next two months she pretended she was a puppy; walking on four legs, panting, barking, rubbing her ear, said Am‚lie's mom Lynne with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face, "until we gave in and got her a dog." The dog, named Lady, would become one of many animals who would receive love and care from the Timmins girl affectionately known as "belle blonde." Dogs were her favourite animal, but she also liked reptiles, bugs and a gerbil named Speedy. "She used to feed grey jay birds at our cottage," said Lynne. "They would come right up and sit in her hand.
Adults seek to restore bond between kids and nature
On any given Saturday, if you want to find Alex and Matthew Weber, you'd better put on hiking boots. Alex, 9, and Matthew, 7, aren't going to be at soccer practice, watching TV or playing computer games. They're probably going to be exploring the woods or tromping around a nearby creek. And it's not just on weekends. After school, the kids play in the stick teepee in their woodsy south Charlotte backyard. When darkness falls, they walk with their parents to hear night sounds. Many Americans recall a kind of feral existence as a kid, scrambling down ravines, building forts and climbing trees, returning home only when the street lights blinked on. But ask these adults what their own kids' lives are like and you hear something else. Homework, sports, music lessons, video games and TV cram most corners of their lives, and if they're outside it's often on a playground or sports field.
9 out of 10
Disregarding the fact that Halo 3 was released on Wednesday - netting Microsoft a cool $170 million in the US alone in just one day - this week's line up of new releases "belongs" to THQ, with no less than five games out across different formats. Juiced: Hot Import Nights, Conan, Moto GP 07, Bratz The Movie and Ratatouille to be specific. We can't vouch for their quality, but it's not often that a publisher pushes out so many titles all in one go. Unless it's a budget publisher, but they only do that to save on distribution costs. The skanks. This week's biggie though, again ignoring Halo 3, is FIFA 08. Don't actually ignore Halo 3 though - it's ruddy good! The Wii version of FIFA 08 would appear to be the one to go for - EA has added loads of extras, including a Footii Party mode presented by a Mii take on Ronaldinho.
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