'One Tree Hill' actor arrested for selling Social Security numbers

By John Riley
Newsday
(MCT)

NEW YORK _ Antwon Tanner, a successful actor and regular on the popular teen drama "One Tree Hill," was charged Thursday with trafficking in Social Security cards and numbers in federal court in Brooklyn.

Tanner, 35, plays a character named Antwon "Skills" Taylor on the CW Network show, set in a town in North Carolina. He has a long list of acting credits, including a role in the movie "Coach Carter" and TV appearances on "Boston Public," "CSI" and "NYPD Blue," according to imdb.com, an entertainment Web site.

He was caught in a sting run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. An undercover agent, through an informant, ended up buying 16 Social Security numbers and three fake cards from Tanner over the phone for more than $1,000, according to a law enforcement official.

Social Security numbers _ unassigned, from real people or from dead people _ can be used for identity theft, credit card fraud, or to get false passports or other identification documents. The charges didn't specify where Tanner got the numbers and cards or how he thought they would be used.

Wearing a baggy green jacket and white tennis shoes, Tanner pleaded not guilty Thursday. A Californian, he was released on a $250,000 bond. He could face five years or more in prison on each of two counts, prosecutors said.

Tanner and his lawyer both declined to comment as they rushed out of the courthouse. On the street outside he was immediately recognized by one young man who identified Tanner as the point guard from "Coach Carter," a basketball movie starring Samuel L. Jackson.

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© 2009, Newsday.
Visit Newsday online at http://www.newsday.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Blockbuster's DVD sales and rental charts

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

MCT

RENTALS

These are the Top 10 renting DVD titles at U.S. BLOCKBUSTER stores for the week that ended March 29.

1. QUANTUM OF SOLACE

2. TWILIGHT

3. ROLE MODELS

4. TRANSPORTER 3

5. BOLT

6. THE PUNISHER 2: WAR ZONE

7. AUSTRALIA

8. IN THE ELECTRIC MIST

9. RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

10. BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA

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SALES

These are the Top 10 selling DVD titles at U.S. BLOCKBUSTER stores for the week that ended March 29.

1. TWILIGHT

2. QUANTUM OF SOLACE

3. BOLT

4. ROLE MODELS

5. MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA

6. BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA

7. TRANSPORTER 3

8. PINOCCHIO

9. THE PUNISHER 2: WAR ZONE

10. FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS

___

ONLINE

These are the Top 10 DVD titles at U.S. BLOCKBUSTER Online for the week that ended March 29.

1. QUANTUM OF SOLACE

2. TWILIGHT

3. BOLT

4. ROLE MODELS

5. CHANGELING

6. MILK

7. AUSTRALIA

8. TRANSPORTER 3

9. RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

10. NIGHTS IN RODANTHE

___

© 2009, Blockbuster Inc.

Visit the World Wide Web site of Blockbuster at http://www.blockbuster.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Obama's Special Olympics joke creates a stir around the nation

By Rob Hotakainen

McClatchy Newspapers

(MCT)

WASHINGTON _ It seemed like a harmless remark.

In an appearance Thursday night on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," President Barack Obama made a joke about his lackluster bowling skills by saying: "It was like Special Olympics or something."

But the comment caused an immediate stir in Washington and around the nation.

Appearing at the White House after meeting with Obama to discuss roads and bridges, California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he knew Obama meant nothing by it.

"I know where his heart is at," said Schwarzenegger, who considers the Special Olympics his favorite charity, appearing at major competitions and raising money around the world. "He loves Special Olympics, and he will do everything he can to help Special Olympics. And every one of us sometimes makes a mistake. Something comes out of your mouth and you say, 'Oops, I wish I wouldn't have said that.' I've had many of those."

Earlier in the day, California first lady Maria Shriver _ whose mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founded the Special Olympics movement in 1968 _ said that while she was confident Obama didn't intend to offend anyone, the remark "demonstrates the need to continue to educate the non-disabled community on the issues that confront those with a developmental disability."

Alaska Republican Gov. Sarah Palin said she was "shocked to learn" about Obama's comment.

"This was a degrading remark about our world's most precious and unique people, coming from the most powerful position in the world," said Palin, whose son, Trig, was born with Down syndrome last year. "These athletes overcome more challenges, discrimination and adversity than most of us ever will.''

"By the way, these athletes can outperform many of us and we should be proud of them," said Palin, who appeared in a video promoting this year's winter Special Olympics games in Boise, Idaho. "I hope President Obama's comments do not reflect how he truly feels about the special needs community."

The White House sought to explain Obama's comment by calling it "an offhand remark."

"The president made an offhand remark making fun of his own bowling that was in no way intended to disparage the Special Olympics," said White House spokesman Bill Burton. "He thinks that the Special Olympics are a wonderful program that gives an opportunity to shine to people with disabilities from around the world."

Obama issued his apology to Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver, the brother of Maria Shriver. Timothy Shriver said Obama "was sincere and heartfelt" in his apology, but added, "Words hurt and words matter."

Shriver, noting that Special Olympics operates more than 30,000 events a year in more than 180 countries, said Obama's comments provided "a teachable moment for our country."

In a statement, Maria Shriver said her mother had dedicated her life "to fighting stereotypes and ridicule for this community, and there is still much work to be done."

"The president's apology for his comments and his commitment to bringing the Special Olympics to the White House are important first steps in shedding light on this important issue," she said. "Oftentimes we don't realize that when we laugh at comments like this it hurts millions of people throughout the world. People with special needs are great athletes and productive citizens, and I look forward to working with the president to knock down myths and stereotypes about this community."

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© 2009, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Visit the McClatchy Washington Bureau on the World Wide Web at www.mcclatchydc.com.

Obama shares presidential details with 'Tonight Show' viewers

By Peter Nicholas

Chicago Tribune

(MCT)

LOS ANGELES _ Barack Obama bantered casually with Jay Leno during a taping of the "Tonight Show," expressing occasional frustration with life inside the presidential bubble, laying out his position on the bonuses paid to AIG employees, and giving his pick for the NCAA basketball tournament.

Obama appeared on the show to reach a different kind of audience than he normally commands, according to the White House. He mixed serious policy discussion with tantalizing details about his life as the leader of the free world.

Wearing a dark suit, legs crossed comfortably, Obama said he is getting a level of security that is often tough to fathom.

When he arrived at the Orange County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, he said he wanted to walk to the site of his town hall appearance. Secret Service told him no.

"They said, 'It's 750 yards,'" the president recalled. Obama replied that it would be only a five-minute walk. "Yes, sir. Sorry," he said he was told.

"Now, they let me walk on the way back, but the doctor is behind me with a defibrillator." Obama said.

"Michelle jokes about how in the motorcade we have the ambulance and the caboose and the dog sled. ... The submarine. A whole bunch of stuff going on."

Obama said he has picked the University of North Carolina to win the NCAA men's basketball tournament. An avid basketball fan and recreational player, the president said he plans to have rolling basketball hoops wheeled into the White House tennis courts so that he and friends can play.

Leno asked if his friends occasionally let him win. The president mugged for the camera.

"I don't see why they would throw the game except for all those Secret Service guys with guns around them."

More seriously, he said; "I don't think I get the hard fouls that I used to."

Still, Obama said he hasn't given up on bowling, and has made use of the White House lane. He has notched a score of 129.

"I've been practicing," he said.

A constant source of speculation has been the breed of dog the Obama family will choose. But Obama quipped that his promise to get a dog might have been an empty one: "Listen, this is Washington. That was a campaign promise."

He smiled broadly and said that the family will get the dog after he returns from a trip to Europe early next month.

Leno asked what kind it would be. A "Portuguese Waterhead?"

Obama: "It's not that. It's not a 'Waterhead.' Sounds like a scary dog _ dripping around the house."

Leno pressed him on the bonuses going to AIG executives. The talk show host said the government shouldn't worry about the prospect that disgruntled AIG employees might sue if the bonuses weren't paid.

The U.S. could simply say, "We're broke; sue us," Leno said.

Obama said the public's anger over the bonuses was understandable. But he was non-committal about a bill moving through Congress that would tax the bonuses at 90 percent.

"We're going to do everything we can to see if we can get the bonuses back," the president said. "The most important thing is to put in ... financial regulatory mechanisms to prevent companies like AIG holding the rest of us hostage."

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© 2009, Chicago Tribune.

Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Internet TV may be new mass medium

By Steve Alexander

Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

(MCT)

Movies, TV shows and other entertaining video are now so plentiful online that "Internet TV" may become mass-media entertainment. And much of it is free or relatively inexpensive from Hulu.com, TV.com, Netflix or Apple's iTunes.

But to become mainstream, Internet video needs to be viewed on the TV, not the PC. Fortunately, that's becoming easier. Several new products offer to bridge the PC-to-TV gap (see news.cnet.com/8301-1023(underscore)3-10189658-93.html.)

But many people don't need those products; they can simply plug an Internet-connected PC into the TV and watch. This is easiest if you have a home Wi-Fi network because you can just set your laptop PC next to the television.

The best picture and sound come from a digital connection between a new laptop and an HDTV, said Phil Leigh, an analyst with Inside Digital Media in Tampa, Fla. Both PC and TV need a plug-in for an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) connecting cable, which costs $20 or more.

"People that haven't done it are locked into thinking it's complicated," Leigh said. "But it's no more complicated than using a TV remote." Watch a video of his demonstration at www.futureofpodcasting.com/downloads/howto(underscore)ipod.mp4.

But you can get an acceptable, VCR-quality TV picture using older technology. PCs like my 3-year-old HP laptop often have an analog video plug-in called S-Video. My analog TV, a five-year-old JVC 32-inch model, also has one. (For more about PC-to-TV connection cables, see www.amazon.com/gp/video/ontv/connect/ref=atv(underscore)ontv(underscore)connect(underscore)info.)

Setup was simple. I plugged in the cable, turned on the Windows Vista PC and answered "yes" when asked if I wanted the same image to appear on both PC and TV screens.

Because the S-Video cable transmits only video, I used the speakers on the laptop for sound. But I could have used a $20 audio cable to shift the sound to the TV or to external speakers.

While watching the streaming Internet movie "National Treasure Book of Secrets" (from the Netflix Web site, $9 monthly subscription required) I got an image that my wife described as "pretty good and certainly watchable." Videos from YouTube and TV shows from the NBC and CBS Web pages were equally clear.

In all cases, I was able to view the video in full-screen mode. And while Internet video will sometimes become jerky or freeze, I had few problems.

Although the TV picture wasn't as sharp as the digital image on my 17-inch laptop, it made online video available to family members who weren't going to watch movies on a PC. I expect that watching Internet video on the TV is going to catch on in a big way.

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(Steve Alexander covers technology for the Star Tribune. E-mail your technology questions to steve.j.alexander@gmail.com or write Tech Q&A, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488-0002. Please include a full name, city and phone number.)

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© 2009, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Visit the Star Tribune Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.startribune.com

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

New iPod Shuffle a delight, despite flaw

By Eric Benderoff

Chicago Tribune

(MCT)

Apple solved one problem with its fun, new iPod Shuffle: With the push of a button on its headphone cord, it can tell you what song is playing.

But it created another problem if you want to use a different pair of headphones than those shipped with the Shuffle.

Otherwise, the $79 iPod Shuffle is a delight and the most interesting music player I've used in some time. It holds about 1,000 songs on a 4-gigabyte flash drive.

Strikingly small, the size of a thumb but much thinner, the gadget elicits wonder from those I've shown it to. It could pass for a USB thumb drive, and there's a chance you'll lose it one day.

Shrinking the Shuffle required controls to be built into the headphone cord. That means you can use only Apple headphones with this product, at least for now. And the controls take a little practice to learn.

In the past, if you had a decent amount of music on your Shuffle and a spotty memory, you often didn't know what was playing.

The magic with this version is that it can tell you what's playing. You press and briefly hold the center of the controls on the headphone and the song title and artist's name are spoken. The voice is clear and generally accurate. It can speak in 14 languages.

Sure, the voice makes mistakes. It struggles with Lupe Fiasco, for example, but the feature is far more useful than annoying.

Also, if you keep holding the center control button, it will scroll through your playlists.

At first, I found the playlist function frustrating. It reads the playlist names from the beginning, in alphabetical order, not from the last playlist you picked. I sort my playlists primarily by artists _ others do it differently. So if I stop at Lou Reed, listen to a few songs and then want to move on, I would like to start at the next playlist, which would be Luna. It doesn't work that way.

Frustrated, I went online to read the full Shuffle instructions at Apple.com _ the first time I've done this with an iPod _ and learned that if I hit the controls for volume up or down, I can quickly move through playlists.

Much better, but I still would prefer to start from where I stopped.

Having the controls on the headphone, as handy and as easy to use as they are, are also the Shuffle's biggest flaw.

The iPod headphones are adequate but there are many third-party products that sound better. Currently, they don't work well with this Shuffle.

That is being addressed, and at least a half-dozen third-party headphones are already in development, said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of iPod and iPhone Product Marketing.

Other headphones do work with the Shuffle, Joswiak said, but you can't control volume, hear song information or change playlists.

That criticism aside, this iPod is a remarkable little device, and Apple has once again raised the bar for how to create a fresh music player.

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(Eric Benderoff writes about technology for the Chicago Tribune. Contact him at ebenderoff@tribune.com or at the Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago IL 60611.)

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© 2009, Chicago Tribune.

Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Company hopes Guitar Hero strummers will want a real guitar

By Thomas Lee

Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

(MCT)

MINNEAPOLIS _ Sure, they're just video games, but anyone who has played the hugely popular Guitar Hero or Rock Band has probably channeled a little bit of Led Zeppelin, Guns N' Roses, or Aerosmith in their performance.

But can someone truly rock out by hitting a bunch of colorful buttons on a plastic guitar controller?

Zivix LLC is betting some players will want to upgrade to the real thing. The Minneapolis-based start-up is developing an electric guitar with fingertip sensors that allow users to play and control the game wirelessly. The company hopes players will want to feel and look the part.

But the Headliner digital guitar is not meant to be just another tricked-out controller. By holding and feeling out a real guitar, players may actually want to learn how to play the instrument and write music, said Zivix president and founder Dan Sullivan.

"There is a certain group that aspires to go beyond the game," said Sullivan, who started Zivix in 2006. "They had a taste of what it's like to be a real guitar player because that's the illusion. Why not take the next step and being able to play?"

Zivix is also developing software called JamSession that it could package with Headliner. The software allows multiple users to mix prerecorded song loops from different instruments and genres.

But some venture capitalists wonder if Zivix is making too big of a leap. Users may love to play Guitar Hero, but will they pay $249.99 for the Headliner guitar when they can get a beefed-up PlayStation 2 guitar controller for $39.99? That depends on whether a video game player really does want to be a musician instead of pretending to be one. (First-time players might spend $500 for a quality electric guitar.)

"The question that comes to mind is ... why would anyone want to buy this?" said Peter Birkeland, chief financial officer of Rain Source Capital, a St. Paul-based network of angel investors. "Guitar Hero and Rock Band is not about playing music. It's about playing a game."

Birkeland also questions the cost of making real guitars vs. traditional game controllers.

Sales of video game accessories like controllers jumped 14 percent last year to $2.6 billion, according to NPD Group Inc., a market research firm based in Port Washington, N.Y.

Much of those sales are due to the phenomenal success of games like Guitar Hero and Rock Star. Activision Blizzard Inc. of Santa Monica, Calif., which released Guitar Hero III in 2007, has sold 10 million units in the United States, making Guitar Hero the all-time bestselling video game.

"The game-play is fun whether or not you have an interest in music or being a musician, and I think that is key to the success of both Rock Band and Guitar Hero," said Anita Frazier, a NPD analyst. "They're also quite accessible _ video game enthusiasts and newcomers to gaming as a form of entertainment can both enjoy these games."

The popularity of Guitar Hero and Rock Band has led some industry officials to speculate whether the games can boost sales of real instruments. So far, the numbers don't bear that out.

U.S. guitar sales totaled $1.1 billion in 2007, about flat compared with the previous year, according to the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM). Unit sales fell 4.1 percent to 2.86 million.

However, some data suggest there might be a correlation between game and guitar. About 67 percent of people who play rhythm games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band said they were likely to pick up a real instrument, according to survey by Guitar Center, a guitar retailer that reported a nearly 27 percent jump in first-time sales last year. Another 81 percent said the video games motivated them to ask for a real instrument for the holiday season.

NAMM is funding a study by Drexel University that seeks to determine whether Guitar Hero and Rock Band will encourage middle school and high school students to pursue formal music education and whether playing the game results in real musical skills.

Zivix hopes to release the JamSession software in June and the Headline guitar by late fall. The company is discussing partnerships with retailers, video game makers, and even real-life musicians to create song loops for JamSession. Sullivan envisions people creating their own loops and sharing the music with other JamSession users over the Internet.

"The idea is to use technology to make it easier for beginners that don't know anything about music to sound like they are playing music," Sullivan said. "It's a technology boost to music creation."

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© 2009, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Visit the Star Tribune Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.startribune.com

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Big Winners: Plant & Krauss, Lil Wayne, Jennifer Hudson, Coldplay

By Jim Abbott
The Orlando Sentinel

(MCT) With the 51st annual Grammy Awards in the books, it's time for the show's producers to start looking for more superstar duets for next year.

Here's a quick look at 3 ½ hours of music:

_The big winners

In a Grammy surprise, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant won five awards _ the night's biggest take _ for their genre-bending "Raising Sand," a haul that included best album and best record for "Please Read the Letter."

Jennifer Hudson, fresh from her Super Bowl triumph, provided one of the evening's most emotional moments with her early win for best R&B album. She held back tears as she thanked God and "my family in heaven, and those who are here today." That award was presented by a loopy-looking Whitney Houston.

For its seven nominations, Coldplay won for best rock album for "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends," best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals, and best song for "Viva la Vida."

Lil Wayne, up for a leading eight nominations, took best rap album for "Tha Carter III" and awards for rap solo performance, rap performance by a duo or group, and rap song for "Lollipop." His performance with Robin Thicke, Allan Toussaint, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and trumpeter Terence Blanchard was a show-stopper.

British singer Adele was honored as best new artist, sneaking quietly past Jonas Brothers in that category.

_The duets that (mostly) didn't work

Plenty of A-list pairings, again demonstrating that these ideas often are better on paper than in reality. Miley Cyrus joined Taylor Swift for her "Fifteen" _ sadly these two young stars together don't have enough charisma to light a 30-watt bulb. Stevie Wonder teamed with Jonas Brothers for a medley that added Super Bowl excess to Jonas' hit "Burning Up" and Wonder's "Superstition."

And what was that psychedelic-flashback-gone-bad production with Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl"? Could anyone see the fan-submitted videos for that "Grammy Moment" gimmick?

Better: The Rev. Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," which still soared even with unnecessary help from Justin Timberlake, Boyz II Men and Keith Urban.

For spirit, at least, Paul McCartney's "I Saw Her Standing There" was bolstered by Foo Fighter Dave Grohl's manic drum pounding. Sir Paul looked better than the aging Plant.

_Other performances

U2's "Get On Your Boots" opened the show with the lead single from the band's upcoming album. The mondo video offered Bono a chance to do the dramatic silhouette thing, and disguised the fact that he's really showing his age. And that Carrie Underwood song was noisy, wasn't it? Is that country music now?

_The no-shows

Chris Brown and Rihanna, two nominees scheduled to perform on the show, were absent instead. Before the show, the Los Angeles Police Department announced that Brown was the subject of a felony domestic-violence investigation. During the show, it was reported, Brown was being questioned by detectives about the incident. He and Rihanna have been romantically linked, although she apparently was not involved in the incident.

The no-shows were a headache for producers, who were left to put Dwayne Johnson (formerly The Rock) in the awkward position of doing jokes to fill time early in the show.
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© 2009, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).
Visit the Sentinel on the World Wide Web at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.