Culture
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles Bring Japanese Courtroom Drama to Gamers Around the World
In the unlikely crossroads of Japanese courtroom dramas and video games, the Ace Attorney series has carved out a niche for itself that no others have even approached. Over the last 20 years, the series’ combination of unique gameplay (players go out on “investigations” in search of clues before returning to the courtroom to “battle” the other lawyer), witty charm, and memorable characters have turned it from one of Capcom’s lesser-known series into a fan-favorite complete with spinoff novels and a TV series. Series protagonist Phoenix Wright was even introduced to a whole new audience in 2011 when he joined the roster for one of the biggest fighting games in history, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. But for those who only know the Ace Attorney games from Wright’s battles against the likes of...
With Arcadegeddon, Two Grammy Winners Take Their Video Game Studio to the Next Level
When Def Jam Vendetta dropped in 2003, Raphael Saadiq was only kind of joking when he expressed disappointment in not being included in the hip-hop fighting game. He’d landed hits throughout the late ‘80s and ‘90s as a third of Tony! Toni! Toné!, produced for a who’s who of R&B, and was just beginning to show the music industry what he could do as a solo artist. Over the next few years, EA put out a couple more Def Jam titles, and Saadiq decided it was time to take matters into his own hands. In 2007, he and one of his favorite collaborators, fellow Grammy-winning producer Charles “Chuck” Brungardt, launched IllFonic, an independent video game developer with a name inspired by the classic Nas album. A decade later, the indie team got their first big break with Friday the 13th: The Game...
Tom Scharpling Is in a Garden State of Mind
One would think that the “hook” of Tom Scharpling’s memoir, It Never Ends would be the fact that he a) was institutionalized for depression and eventually reinvented himself and b) changed his last name from Giuliano — combining the names of two polarizing heroes: Al Sharpton, who Tom admired for his willingness to be a champion for minorities while putting New York on blast for its racism and corruption, and Garry Shandling, whose deadpan, unflappable wit was an early influence on Tom’s comedic sensibility — as a community college student in Middlesex County, New Jersey. However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Scharpling, who has quietly influenced and bridged the gap between alternative rock and comedy over the last 25-plus years through the music videos he’s directed, the televi...
PDP governors celebrate Akwa Ibom governor at 55
The Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum (PDP-GF), has congratulated the Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa-lbom, as he celebrates his 55th birthday anniversary. The Forum in a statement issued by its Director-General, C.I.D Maduabum, congratulated Emmanuel on his accomplishment. Maduabum said that the forum, under the chairmanship of Gov. Aminu Tambuwal, of Sokoto State, was proud to associate with Emmanuel. “The Forum is particularly enamoured by your numerous accomplishments and milestones since you assumed office as governor in 2015, Ibom Air company has continuously raised the bar in aviation successes and standard, growing to become one of the most resilient airline in the country in terms of safety and passenger comfort. “Your prudence in the management of state resources has been unco...
Obudu contract debt: Appeal court reserves judgment against Cross River
The Abuja division of the Court of Appeal has reserved judgment in the appeal filed by a private firm, Zedici Capital Ltd, against the Cross River State Government over a N3.8 billion contract debt. The appellant, Zedici Capital Ltd, is the firm that remodelled the Obudu Mountain Resort in Cross River State, now a subject of litigation. The three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, headed by Justice Peter Ige, reserved the date after counsel to the parties had adopted their legal submissions for and against the appeal, that is challenging the judgment of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which had in 2019, refused to affirm the arbitral award to Zedici Ltd over its investment of N3.8 billion in the resort. Justice Ige announced that a date for the judgment would be comm...
Watch the Trailer for Woodstock ’99: Peace, Love, and Rage
Before the unmitigated disaster/possible social experiment known as Fyre Festival occurred, Woodstock ’99 was the gold standard for people spending copious amounts of money to attend a developing war zone masquerading as a music festival. While it may not have been quite as egregiously terrible as the now infamous 2017 crime scene (or at least there wasn’t social media to show everyone how bad it was back in the day), pretty much everything that could possibly go wrong did go wrong at Woodstock ’99. Now, HBO is allowing all of the zoomers and millennials who weren’t old enough to even consider attending the upstate New York disaster 22 years ago to learn all about the weekend of oppressive heat, violence, bonfires, raw sewage, sexual assaults, nü-metal, and other atrocities later this mont...
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...
House member: Lai Mohammed destabilizing Kwara, destroying APC
The All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker representing Offa/Oyun/Ifelodun Federal Constituency of Kwara State at the National Assembly, Hon Tijani Kayode Ismail, has accused the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, of destabilizing the state and destroying the party. Ismail spoke at a press conference in Ilorin on Wednesday in reaction to the recent comments by the minister. According to him, “There were crises before the party’s primary election and after the emergence of party candidates, I could remember when Alhaji Lai Mohammed made attempt to replace the names of some candidates. “He personally told me to step down for Gbenga Power which I resisted and he later sponsored Gbenga to challenge my victory in Court. Thank God, I came out victorious. “Alhaji Lai, as ...