James Brosher
638 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
James Brosher
New 'Hero' light on legends
After the disappointment that was "Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s," the series regrouped and released what is without a doubt the best game in the series thus far.\nThe most noticeable new feature is the battle mode. The mode allows players to face off against each other using attacks such as broken strings and increased difficulty. In career mode, players must battle real guitar heroes such as Slash, Tom Morello and Bret Michaels. It's a nice addition to the career mode, but they are incredibly hard to beat in battle mode.\nAnother addition is the new online feature that, when combined with the new co-player career mode, allows two online players to play the entire career-mode song \nlist together.\nBut the thing that will make this game a huge hit is the amazing song list that Neversoft was able to line up for "Guitar Hero III." The game includes some of the greatest guitar riffs ever played, including "Sunshine of Your Love" by Cream and "The Seeker" by The Who. Besides these classic rock gems, players can also thrash to "Knights of Cydonia" by Muse, "One" by Metallica, "School's Out" by Alice Cooper and "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses.\nThe playlist is great compared to previous games in the series, but it still has room for improvement. The title of the game is "Legends of Rock," but it has no Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix or George Harrison contributions. Although "Sunshine of Your Love" marked Cream's second appearance in the series (the first was "Crossroads" on the first "Guitar Hero"), it would have been nice to see a solo Eric Clapton performance such as "Cocaine."\nFor a game that is supposed to be filled with "legends," only three guitarists -- Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Keith Richards -- out of the top 10 of Rolling Stone's 100 greatest guitarists even made it into the game.\nThis was Neversoft's debut as the new developer for the "Guitar Hero" brand after Harmonix, which developed the previous games, departed to start work on "Rock Band," and Neversoft's final product is better than anything Harmonix was able to do with the series. But there is still room for improvement, specifically securing "Stairway to Heaven" and other songs from the real legends of rock.
James Brosher
James Brosher
James Brosher
James Brosher
James Brosher
Letterman is ‘Top Ten’ at Ball State
MUNCIE – Comedian David Letterman was honored Friday at Ball State University during a ceremony naming the university’s new communications and media building after its most famous alumnus.\nMany were unsure whether Letterman would actually speak during the ceremony, but the Indianapolis native silenced those rumors when he took the podium 27 minutes in.\n“I will not be eliminating my comments,” he said after Ball State University President Jo Ann M. Gora decided not to speak because of threatening weather. “Screw the weather.”\nThe rain couldn’t dampen Letterman’s witty and dry humor.\n“I’ll tell you two things about President Gora: You are lucky to have this woman as your representative of this great university,” he said. “She also has tremendous legs.”\nLetterman also spoke of his college years, and what it meant to have the building named in his honor.\n“I struggled through college. I graduated barely with a 2.0 grade point average – it was an ugly 2.0,” Letterman said. “If reasonable people could put my name on a $21 million building, anything is possible.”\nHe even presented the crowd with a special “Top 10 good things about having your name on a building,” for the occasion, including No. 1: “Unlike me, it should still look good when it’s 60,” he said.\nThe $21 million, 75,000-square-foot David Letterman Communications and Media Building opened in August when fall semester classes began. The building houses the College of Communication, Indiana Public Radio and several classrooms.\nDorothy Mengering, Letterman’s mother, joined her son on stage during the ceremony but did not speak. Mengering is best known for her frequent appearances on “The Late Show,” especially her yearly appearance on the show near Thanksgiving when Letterman must guess the flavors of pies she has baked.\n“I’m surprised she’s here,” Letterman said. “She’s usually at home watching Oprah.”\nLetterman’s 4-year-old son Harry was seated close to the stage in the front row of the audience during the ceremony.\n“I hope it will mean something to my son that his dad has his name on a building, and who knows? It may help him impress girls,” Letterman said.\nLetterman and company were greeted by security fit for the president himself. Metal gates restricted fans, media and even the school’s mascot, Charlie Cardinal, from getting close to the building during the ceremony. \nWeather was a hindrance throughout the day for the hundreds of fans who came out for the ceremony. But even with the uncertain weather, fan turnout was high. Fans started lining McKinley Avenue near the building around 2:30 p.m. even though the ceremony was not scheduled to start until 4 p.m. Several fans held signs or dressed up like the comedian, complete with glasses and a gap tooth. \nLetterman, a 1969 graduate, is one of Ball State University’s most famous alumni. After graduating, he held several odd jobs – including a stint as an anchor and weatherman for what would later become Indianapolis’ WTHR (Channel 13) – before moving to California. As a comedian in the state, Letterman made several appearances on and guest hosted “The Tonight Show” when Johnny Carson was the host. On Aug. 30, 1993, Letterman became the host of CBS’s “Late Show.” \nThe ceremony marked the first time Letterman had visited the university since speaking at the school’s 1979 homecoming. \n“While Dave says he wasn’t a great student, he was always a creative talent,” Gora said, adding that he also was known for his quick wit, which got him fired from local radio station WBST-FM 92.1.\nGora also presented Letterman with a Sagamore of the Wabash, the highest honor a governor can bestow, from Gov. Mitch Daniels. Daniels was unable to attend the ceremony because he left early Friday for a trade meeting in Japan.\n“I guess it would mean so much more if the governor were actually here, but I’m sure he’s busy doing something,” joked Letterman.
James Brosher
Ball State honors David Letterman
MUNCIE – Even the rain couldn’t stop David Letterman. \nComedian David Letterman was honored during a wet ceremony Friday naming Ball State University’s new communications and media building in his honor. \nDespite fickle rain, thousands of fans turned out to see Ball State’s most famous alumnus. Letterman earned a B.A. in telecommunications from the university in 1969 and decades later became the host of CBS’s “Late Show.” \nThe $21 million, 75,000-square-foot David Letterman Communications and Media Building houses the College of Communication, Indiana Public Radio and several classrooms. The three-story structure connects the Robert Bell Building and Ball Communications Building on the west side of the campus. \n“The future of communications is inside this building,” Letterman said. \nDespite the soggy conditions, Letterman still had hundreds of wet fans laughing. \n“I hope it will mean something to my son that his dad has his name on a building, and who knows? It may help him impress girls,” Letterman said. \nLetterman was joined on stage by his mother Dorothy Mengering, and in the audience by his 4-year-old son Harry. \n“I struggled through college. I graduated barely with a 2.0 grade point average … it was an ugly 2.0. If reasonable people could put my name on a $21 million building, anything is possible,” he said. \nLetterman’s dedication marked the first time that he had been to the university in more than two decades although he has given annual scholarships to telecommunication students since 1985. \nSee Monday’s IDS for more coverage.
James Brosher
James Brosher
James Brosher
James Brosher
James Brosher 8 IDS Freshman Perryn Ly waits with his belongs as his father parks the car Wednesday morning in front of Read Quad.
James Brosher
Traveling doctor, IU alumnus still practicing after 50 years
MONTPELIER, Ind. – Early in his career, the IU alumnus known locally as “the country doctor” regularly made house calls to treat ailing patients.\nToday, nearly a half-century later, his warmth toward patients continues unchanged, although much in the field of medicine has drastically changed. \nThe story of the “country doctor” – Dr. Richard Gene Ingram – began at age 5 when a small-town boy realized he knew how he wanted to spend the rest of his life.\n“We had a family doctor, and I admired him enormously,” Ingram said. “I can’t ever remember wanting to be anything else.” \nIngram attended college to pursue his chosen career. He graduated from the IU School of Medicine in 1957. \nThe year 1957 was especially important for Ingram. He not only graduated from medical school, but also got married. He will celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary with his wife Carol on June 15. \nFollowing an internship with Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Ingram began his practice in Montpelier, Ind. He later earned the nickname “the country doctor” when he started making house calls to patients as far as 35 miles away, a practice that he continues today despite being 71 years old. \nIngram said that he has delivered more than 1,000 babies and has treated thousands of patients during the span of his career as a general practitioner. He continues to run his practice, although his daughter and son-in-law, both doctors, see most of the patients.\nOver the course of his career, Ingram has witnessed vast changes in the field of medicine but none greater than what he calls the addition of “third-party” insurance providers.\n“When I started, I was truly an independent,” Ingram said. But now doctors have to hassle with insurance companies including preferred provider organizations, health maintenance organizations and Medicare, he said. \nIngram also works once a week as a “semiretired” doctor at the Blackford Community Hospital in Hartford City, Ind. Coworkers said he can be intimidating at first, but actually has a warm and professional presence. He often sings Ray Charles’ hit song “Georgia on My Mind” to one co-worker named Georgia.\nAway from work, Ingram hunts big game, a hobby that started when he was 10 years old and shot a rabbit in his neighbor’s flower garden. Since that time, he has hunted bear and deer in the western United States, Canada and, on one occasion, South Africa. Several mounted animals and guns now adorn the walls of his living room. Also an avid fisherman, he travels to a lake near Jacksonville, Fla., every February to fish. \nFaith also plays an important role in Ingram’s life.\nDespite being “skeptical” of religion throughout his youth, Ingram became a devout Christian and started a church in his own living room after unsuccessfully finding a satisfactory church with “meat” in the sermons. \nBeginning as a weekly Bible study in his home 36 years ago, the group flourished into the congregation of the Grace Community Church. The church is located along the dead-end lane that leads to Ingram’s home. \nEven with all the positive achievements in Ingram’s life, he has also experienced some obstacles. \nDoctors diagnosed him with cancer twice – bladder cancer five years ago and rectal cancer in February 2006. He underwent radiation treatments and chemotherapy for both cancers and continues to recover from the rectal cancer.\n“They always say that doctors make the worst patients, but I think that I had it easier than most,” Ingram said. “I was more calm because I understood what was going on.” \nIn spite of his age, Ingram hopes to stay active with fishing and hunting trips. But above all, he hopes to continue to treat patients. \n“It’s an opportunity to be with people in times of great crisis,” Ingram said.