At Home contributors

Margaret Esler, book collector, supplied book review.

Maggie Hilt, musical taste tester, wrote CD reviews. CDs provided by Luna Music.

Channing King, new-media content provider, reviewed DVDs and the video game.

Joe Shearer, Indy.com correspondent, compiled reviews and wrote TV review.

CDs

http://www.amazon.com/Saint-Dymp...

'Saint Dymphna' - Gang Gang Dance

Basic story: Brooklyn's Gang Gang Dance releases a new LP, with an even more eclectic sound than 2007's "Rawwar."

"I know it's all inside me/that summons me to you." I used to put on Gang Gang Dance when I was trying to run people off. I likened the sound to Captain Beefheart's "Trout Mask Replica," and I thought it was the perfect deterrent, until I grew to love it. "Saint Dymphna" is just as cluttered with sounds as their other releases but is more movable. "First Communion" and "Blue Nile" make me want to get out of my chair and dance along to the sped up beats and mostly unintelligible vocals. If you're seeking something ambiant with more than a touch of noise and electric guitar, this is the record for you.

http://www.amazon.com/Next-Year-...

'Next year in Zion' - Herman Dune

$15.98 (list price), indie, Everloving

Basic story: The Frenchmen of Herman Dune give us their first Everloving full-length, "Next Year in Zion."

"In August I went out to the country for resting/ there was a family of swallows in the barn there nesting."

I first heard Herman Dune a few months ago, and it immediately reminded me of Sweden's Jens Lekman. The vocals are warm like Lekman's, and the lyrics are quirky and border on cutesy at times much like his. The record retains these qualities without ever getting cheesy. "Next Year in Zion" opens with "On a Saturday," a song about falling in love, in which lead singer Dune sings tenderly along with a female vocalist. If you're looking for something light, fun and never too serious, this is the record you need.

DVDs

'The Cult of Cartman'

http://www.amazon.com/South-Park...

$26.99 (list price), Paramount

Basic story: A dozen "South Park" episodes that put Eric Cartman in the spotlight. Among his adventures are trying to stop "Family Guy," pretending to be Butters' robot and owning his own theme park.

"Excuse me sir, could you please point me in the direction of the Pube Fair?"

Almost every "South Park" episode involves Cartman being a mean-spirited bastard, so it should be easy to compile these two discs. On the other hand, it's easy to ask why was "Ginger Kids" included and not "Woodland Critter Christmas" or "Chicken Lover"? Trey Parker and Matt Stone have said they don't like their older work, so only two episodes -- "Scott Tenorman Must Die" and "Cartmanland" -- predate the eighth season. Besides brief introductions from Cartman, the only real extra is the inclusion of three episodes from the 12th season not otherwise available on DVD.

'How the West Was Won'

http://www.amazon.com/How-West-W...

$59.99/$34.99 Blu-ray (list price), Warner Bros.

Basic story: Three big directors, including John Ford, team with some of Hollywood's biggest stars, such as James Stewart and John Wayne, to tell the story of the conquest of the West, as seen through five generations of one family.

"The names and the marks and the maps all had to be won, won from nature and from primitive man."

The movie itself is good, though it pales in comparison to the works Ford, Stewart and the others made separately. The real attraction, in 1962 and now, is the Cinerama process used to make it: three cameras projecting onto a curved screen that takes up 146 degrees of your field of vision. Warner has digitally removed the seam lines between sections, so the 2.89:1 image has never looked better. The Blu-ray version also includes a "smilebox" version that re-creates the original curved-screen effect. Both feature a commentary with film historians and a documentary on Cinerama.

Book

http://www.amazon.com/Way-I-Am-E...

'The Way I Am'

By Eminem, with Sacha Jenkins, $40 (list price), Penguin Group

Basic story: Part memoir, part meditation on the trials of celebrity and life in general, this book by recently silent rapper Eminem is uneven and poorly written, but at the same time addictively readable, fascinating and at times oddly touching.

"Guns and violence have been around me my whole life -- in my family life, in my social life, everywhere. I've just always had a fascination with them."

Eminem gained fame several years ago as a no-holds-barred rapper with a gift for infuriating people. He also happened to be a musical genius. Whether or not you are a rap fan, this combination photo album, autobiography and collection of musings is worth a read. The grammar is off, and the prose bounces around like his lyrics, but readers will be sucked in, as by reality TV, with the unexpected benefit of moving reflections on the rapper's daughters.

Game

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Dodg...

'Super Dodge Ball'

$5, Aksys Games, Wii Virtual Console

Basic story: Long before the movie "Dodgeball" or that "South Park" episode, this 1989 NES game showed how dog-eat-dog the sport can be. You must lead Team USA around the world in its climb to No. 1.

The perimeter players can't be "killed," so use them as your main offense while trying just to keep the inside guys alive.

With three players on the court and three more around the perimeter of your opponent's area, dodge ball actually turns out to be more intense than you would expect. Those random times when you hit someone with a throw so hard he flies off the screen are what make retro gaming fun. Graphically, it's an eight-bit NES game being played on its great-great-grandson console, with all the negatives that implies; it flickers crazily, and you can almost count the frames of animation. Still, get someone to play against you and it provides more fun-per-dollar than Game Boy Advance and DS versions.

TV

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0787...

'Life On Mars'

Thursdays, 10 p.m., ABC (WRTV &)

Basic story: Detective Sam Tyler (Jason O'Mara) is close to solving his girlfriend's murder when he's hit by a car. When he wakes, he finds himself transported to 1973.

Detective Hunt (Colm Meaney), after punching Sam in the gut: "This is my department, and this concludes your orientation."

Based on the hit British show and with a good cast that includes Harvey Keitel ("Pulp Fiction," "The Piano"), Michael Imperioli (Christopher from "The Sopranos") and Gretchen Mol ("Rounders"), this seems like it could be a large-scale hit. The premise of course is totally preposterous, but this is more introspective fish-out-of-water cop drama than sci-fi, so it is easy enough to look past. Having said that, this is still just another retread of what is probably a superior original. Check it out, then rent the first series, and discuss.