AltWeeklies Wire
New Research Reveals Why Women Want Sexnew
Texas psychologists Cindy M. Meston and David M. Buss decided to ask women a simple question -- why do you have sex? -- and got some unexpected results.
The Georgia Straight |
Gail Johnson |
10-05-2009 |
Culture
Manners 101: Etiquette Queen Angelyn Davis Gives it to Us Straightnew

I don't think of myself as a particularly ill-mannered rube, but for someone who eats out for a living, my tableside comportment is, frankly, a bit lacking. I have discovered the hard way that manners do matter.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Rachel Hutton |
09-30-2009 |
Culture
Some Claim Their Encounters With Aliens are Too Close for Comfortnew
"These UFOs are not being reported out of nowhere. On the National UFO Reporting Website, there are hundreds and hundreds of reports of UFO sightings, from every state in the Union since the 1930s," Elaine Douglass, Utah state director of Mutual UFO Network, says. "They are always flying around. What are they doing? They are picking people up,"
Salt Lake City Weekly |
Carolyn Campbell |
09-25-2009 |
Culture
The Bay Area's Wonderful Women of BDSM Aren't Bound by Conventionnew

In San Francisco, the old Rousseauian adage "Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains," could easily be rephrased as: "Woman is born free, and everywhere she uses chains to get off."
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Juliette Tang |
09-23-2009 |
Culture
Philly's Stewart Ebersole is Searching for the Meaning of Your Black Flag Tattoosnew

Ebersole hopes compile a book about the people across the country who wear the simplistic, clean Black Flag tattoo and to answer two questions: What do Black Flag, and the Black Flag tattoo, mean to people? He plans to call the book Barred for Life.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Andrew Thompson |
09-22-2009 |
Culture
UFOIA: Paranormal Experts Feel Alienated by Obamanew

Right now, Barack Obama's plate is heaped over with health insurance reform. But just as the US lags behind the rest of the Western world on universal coverage, paranormal truth-seekers say the US also trails Europe when it comes to the release of UFO records.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Dave Maass |
09-17-2009 |
Culture
Burning Man Seeks a Higher Profile as Black Rock City Cultivates the Metropolitan Idealnew
Maybe Burning Man can't save the world, but its leaders and participants are increasingly focused on using the models and principles involved with building and dismantling Black Rock City in the Nevada desert every year to help renew and restore urbanism in the 21st century.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Steven T. Jones |
09-16-2009 |
Culture
Furry Fandom: Art, Community and a Second Skin to Feel Comfortable Innew
It's difficult to pin down exactly when "furry" emerged as a genre. In Western culture, nonhuman characters have been popular since the days of Aesop's Fables, which date back to Greek civilization before 500 BC. However, the furry fandom as a movement traces its start back to a science fiction convention in 1980.
Pasadena Weekly |
Claire Palermo |
09-15-2009 |
Culture
Despite Seattle's Battle Against Some Seedy Motels, Their Regulars Remain Undauntednew
After years of complaints from neighborhood residents and hundreds of calls to the police for service, the city has declared war on the seedy motels of Aurora Avenue North -- five of them, anyway.
Seattle Weekly |
Vernal Coleman |
09-14-2009 |
Culture
The Significant Objects Project Looks At What Gives An Object Its Worthnew
Significant Objects works thusly: a tchotchke is bought for a buck or two at a thrift store. A writer is told to craft the trinket's fictional back-story. The object is listed on eBay with that tall tale as its descriptor. The winning bidder gets the object; the proceeds of the sale go to the writer.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
09-10-2009 |
Culture
Tags: James Dean, Norman Rockwell, Stewart O'Nan, Josh Glenn, objects, Rob Walker, value, Luc Sante, eBay
At the International G.I. Joe Convention, Grown Men Play With Little Dollsnew

Most of the attendees are male, large, and loyal to either the 12-inch original toys or the 3-3/4-inch figurines based on the cartoon characters. A slight edge goes to the cartoon fans, who tend to be younger and single, with more disposable income.
Living With HPVnew
It's the STD that afflicts millions. And yet few have come forward to share their travails with this nightmarish virus. Now one woman is ready to tell her story.
Boston Phoenix |
Lisa Spinelli |
09-02-2009 |
Culture
What Will Free Thinkers Do When the Amazing Randi is Gone?new

For more than 60 years, he has performed magic, debunked psychics, and discussed the perils of all things paranormal. But now his foundation is hemorrhaging money, and Randi, who has spent his career challenging the notion of an afterlife, is facing his own mortality.
Miami New Times |
Michael J. Mooney |
08-31-2009 |
Culture
Jessica Cox is Just Like Any Other Licensed Pilot -- Except She Has No Armsnew
At a small airport northeast of Tucson, Cox is the only pilot preparing for a flight this morning. She removes the chains that hold the 1946 Ercoupe 415-C in place, unscrews the fuel cap to assess the gas level and begins checking the plane over. She performs all of these tasks with her feet.
Tucson Weekly |
Irene Messina |
08-28-2009 |
Culture
Dustball Drivers Search for the True Wild West on a One-of-a-Kind Scavenger Huntnew
I belted in for the 2009 Dustball 1500 and copped rides between some of the 30 teams participating in the 1500-mile road rally across the American Southwest. Launching from El Paso, Texas, teams were handed a manila envelope filled with instructions, directions, visual clues, riddles and math problems that must be solved in order to earn points and, in some instances, find their way.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Dave Maass |
08-27-2009 |
Culture