Culture
It’s All Still Happening for Cameron Crowe
“What can I interest you in here?” Cameron Crowe is rummaging through an upstairs nook in his Los Angeles-area home that he affectionately calls “The Vinyl Room.” As one would expect from a longstanding music obsessive whose production company is Vinyl Films, the space is stacked wall-to-wall with old-school albums arranged alphabetically. Per request, he pulls out his seven-inch copy of Duran Duran’s “Is There Something You Should Know?” single along with his 1980s-era Madonna collection — which, he boasts, is located next to a Martika project. Then he fishes out Marvin Gaye’s seminal 1971 What’s Going On. The Motown great personally inscribed it for him. The impressive Zoom scene is nothing if not closure on the current state of William Miller’s record collection more than a ...
Nigerian government set to tackle oil, gas infrastructure vandalism with skills acquisition
The Federal Government has expressed plans to create a reorientation programme aimed at engaging the youth in skills acquisition to address oil and gas infrastructure vandalism. The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, stated this at a Town Hall Meeting on “Protecting Oil and Gas Infrastructure” on Monday in Abuja. Newsmen report that the town hall meeting was organised by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture. Akpabio said that the programme would be targeted at the pupils and students of primary and secondary school across the nine states in Niger Delta. He explained that the Federal Government was currently meeting with stakeholders, traditional rulers, youth groups and all others from one state to the other. “We are setting up skills acquisition centres, we...
Warframe Audio Director and Composer George Spanos Has a Bunch of Space Ninjas Singing Sea Shanties
Ever since launching way back in 2013, Warframe has become a preferred video game among many, and a lifestyle for some. The free-to-play action title combines a number of people’s favorite things ranging from epic sci-fi space lore and all sorts of machine badassery to ninja-like abilities with both melee and ranged warfare. But perhaps more than anything else, the two things that constantly draw people to the powerhouse title are its virtually limitless customization and the sheer size of the world to explore. In short, there’s always something new to do, see, or acquire. And for a game that lets players more or less look and play however they want, the developers at Digital Extremes have a very similar attitude when it comes to what makes it into the game. The latest major Warframe quest...
Appeal court affirms sentence of Gombe ex-commissioner
The Court of Appeal, Gombe Division, has affirmed the conviction of a former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism and Chairman of Shangon Local Government Area, Samuel Bulus Adamu. The ex-commissioner had on July 23,2020 been convicted and sentenced to 32 years imprisonment over a case of fraud, cheating and money laundering brought against him by Gombe Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. The lower court had ruled that the EFCC proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and consequently convicted and sentenced Adamu to a cumulative 31 years imprisonment on the seven count charge preferred against him. Adamu, was convicted for awarding N97.64 million contract to a non-existing company, inflation of contract and payment of contractor above his threshold. But diss...
The Second Coming of Tuca & Bertie
Upon its premiere on Netflix in 2019, Tuca & Bertie was the animated talking bird sitcom we didn’t know we needed. Created by Lisa Hanawalt, an award-winning graphic novelist and illustrator who served as production designer and producer for the beloved Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman, the series was met with rave reviews, and immediately earned a dedicated fanbase of cosplayers. If you have no idea who we are talking about, Tuca & Bertie chronicles the delightful friendship between Tuca (voiced by Tiffany Haddish), an impulsive toucan that balances a series of gig economy jobs while trying to maintain her sobriety, and Bertie (voiced by Ali Wong), an anxious song thrush that balances a boring desk job with dreams of becoming a baker. With its blend of character-based...
Elder Scrolls Online’s Audio Director on Sending Gamers Straight to Hell (Or Oblivion, At Least)
As SPIN originally discussed with Elder Scrolls Online’s Creative Director, Rich Lambert, back in February, the latest expansion for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) sends players straight to Hell — or at least the Elder Scrolls version of it. But while the first glimpses of the Blackwood chapter were available back then, the full package wasn’t released to the public until recently. While it might not be quite as reminiscent of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion as the Morrowind chapter was of its predecessor, the central piece of the Gates of Oblivion year-long storyline brings players square into a confrontation with the Daedric Prince of Destruction, Mehrunes Dagon. It’s a demonic adventure from another world, and serves as the perfect counter to much of Elder Sc...
US universities admit about 13,000 Nigerians yearly
US Embassy in South Africa The United States Consulate’s Public Affairs Officer, Mr. Stephen Ibelli, has disclosed that about 13, 000 Nigerian students are admitted in US annually. Ibelli made the disclosure yesterday during the launch of the ‘Windows on America’ Hub at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), Awka. He described Nigerians as one of the most dominant immigrant groups in the US. He said that the ‘Windows on America’ hub was aimed at providing Nigerian youths with educational opportunities available in U.S.A “Windows on America” are free spaces that offer services to students to learn about how to study in the United States and how to apply for scholarships to study abroad. “The hub will help to promote mutual understanding between the US and great youths of Nigeria to access inf...
Canada leads call on China to allow Xinjiang access – statement
More than 40 countries urged China on Tuesday to allow the U.N. human rights chief immediate access to Xinjiang region to look into reports that more than a million people have been unlawfully detained there, some subjected to torture or forced labour. The joint statement on China was read out by Canadian Ambassador Leslie Norton on behalf of countries including Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Japan and the United States to the U.N. Human Rights Council. Beijing denies all allegations of abuse of Uyghurs and describes the camps as vocational training facilities to combat religious extremism. “Credible reports indicate that over a million people have been arbitrarily detained in Xinjiang and that there is widespread surveillance disproportionately targeting Uyghurs and members of other...
Senate: National Assembly won’t gag media
The Senate has said it was not possible for the 9th National Assembly to stiffen the media in Nigeria with its current amendments to the acts which established the National Broadcasting Commission and the Nigerian Press Council. The Spokesperson for the Senate, Dr. Ajibola Basiru, who gave the assurance on Monday, said the amendments to the acts and other relevant laws should not be misinterpreted as an attempt to gag the freedom of speech and free press in the country. Basiru spoke in an interview with journalists at the sidelines of a two-day capacity building training for Media Aides to Principal Officers of the National Assembly, organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies in Abuja on Monday. Basiru said, “The freedom of speech is an inalienable right of ...
Music’s Last Great Sparks
Sparks have released a lot of albums across their five-decade career. Like, a lot of albums. There have been more than two dozen studio albums, a live album, and a chunk of compilations for good measure. It’s much more than just an impressive body of work, it’s a sheer marvel. It’s the kind of output that could only come from music lifers, whose dedication and artistic passion for pop music rivals the DNA bonds that tie together brother bandmates Ron and Russell Mael. Filmmaker Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) certainly knows this, which is presumably why his long-awaited and lovingly crafted documentary The Sparks Brothers (in theaters June 18) offers a detailed examination of the band’s career and lasting influence on musicians and creatives (the film’s tagline is “yo...
IPC, NGO reject bill seeking to empower NBC to regulate DSTV, Startimes’ tariffs
A bill seeking to regulate tariff of digital satellite service providers was on Wednesday rejected by several participants at the public hearing on the bill. The bill, sponsored by Unyime Idem (PDP, Akwa-Ibom), seeks to give the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the powers to regulate the tariff charged by digital television platforms. The bill proposed that NBC “Regulates and review through broadcasting codes the tariff being charged by the digital satellite television services broadcasting in Nigeria and other subscription policy for subscribers.” If passed, digital satellite service providers like DSTV, StarTimes, TSTV, GOTV and others will have their subscriber fees regulated. It was first introduced to the House on March 19, 2020 and was consolidated with other NBC bills on the ...
In Immortals Fenyx Rising, Gareth Coker Finally Got the Chance to Score an ‘Over-The-Top, Epic’ Video Game
The last time SPIN interviewed Gareth Coker, he was promoting Ori and the Will of the Wisps’ release on the Nintendo Switch. A mere 9 months later, he’s won the SXSW Gaming Award for Excellence in Score for his work (adding to the three awards he picked up from the first Ori game), been nominated for two others, and watched as the title itself earned some of the highest awards and nominations in the industry. Oh, and then he also made his premiere on the latest generation of consoles with Ubisoft’s Immortals Fenyx Rising, a hefty RPG with a unique art style, personality, and setting based in ancient mythology. With Immortals’ three DLCs now released and the game considered a success on virtually every front, we sat down with Coker via Zoom again to discuss the title. [embedded content] SPI...
