New and noteworthy experiences among DVDs, video games, gadgets and the Web.
DVD
Daria is back MTV's acerbic high school mocker Daria sprang from "Beavis & Butt-head" into her own smart 1997 cult fave, which has finally arrived on DVD as "Daria: The Complete Animated Series" (MTV, $73). All 65 episodes, two movies and other goodies are included. The eight-disc set does not, however, come with the original '90s tunes due to licensing issues. (At least the substitute music tries to capture the attitude.) Daria deals daily with dippy jocks, her trendoid sister, yuppie parents and other horrors, aided by even drier-tongued best friend Jane. Gotta love their TV obsession "Sick, Sad World," once a satirical exaggeration, now a prescient preview of today's "reality" excesses. ("Her amputee boyfriend was cheating, so she stole his prosthesis!") Extras include a retrospective with the creator and cast and the unaired pilot.
NEWSDAY
Out Tuesday: "Alice in Wonderland," "Burn Notice" (Season 3), "Drop Dead Diva" (Season 1), "Foyle's War" (Set 6), "Life," "Midsomer Murders" (Set 15), "Peanuts: 1970s Collection" (Vol. 2), "The Stranger," "The Three Stooges Collection" (Vol. 8), "The Wolfman," and Blu-rays of "Bad Boys," "Kelly's Heroes"/"Where Eagles Dare," "The Man With No Name Trilogy," "War of the Worlds."
GAMES
Gaming is good for you You're at the front lines shooting Nazis before they shoot you. Or you're a futuristic gladiator in a death match with robots. Either way, you're playing a video game -- and you might be improving your vision and other brain functions. That's according to research presented last week at a New York University conference on games as a learning tool. Daphne Bavelier of the University of Rochester says people who play fast-paced video games have better vision, better attention and better cognition. She mentioned "Medal of Honor" as an example. A spokeswoman for developer Electronic Arts says that the purpose of games is to have fun and that any educational benefits are a bonus.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WEB
Site has all that's cool Want to see something cool? Just go to Neatorama (www.neatorama.com) for a variety of the coolest stuff in the world and online. For example, check out some of the most interesting transparent animals on Earth or see some heart-wrenching images from the Gulf Coast oil spill. Or watch a video, such as a real-life tortoise vs. hare race. If it's something you're going to want to see or read about, the blog is a one-stop shop. The "Viral Around the Web" section features the most popular items on the site -- great for a quick look in case you don't have time to browse, including such winning clips as "How 'Lost' Should Have Ended" (short and funny).
MCCLATCHY NEWS SERVICE
