AltWeeklies Wire
Xiu Xiu Pulls Off the Theatrical, Self-Loathing Thing Pretty Wellnew

Look past the twittering electronic blips and beeps on Xiu Xiu’s latest record and you find some pretty heavy, caked-on, manic-depressive drama (not to mention just plain batshit-crazy weirdness).
The Inlander |
Leah Sottile |
03-05-2010 |
Reviews
ChatRoulette is Hilarious, Disturbing, Entertaining and Oddnew
After a while, you become immune to the wieners. Because, after a few days, I found that there can be a lot more — more weirdness, more normal people, more frat boys, more interesting conversations — to ChatRoulette.com than just perverts.
The Inlander |
Leah Sottile |
03-05-2010 |
Tech
Still the Promised Land: Poverty, Policy and Hope in the Rust Beltnew
Out west in gigantic, thriving Chicago, there’s a debate underway between a journalist and an IT consultant over whether regionalism can help the hollowing-out cities of the Rust Belt.
Meet Katherine Carroll, the Battlefield Professornew

In the summer of 2007, Katherine Carroll heard that the Army was searching for Ph.D.s with specialties in Middle Eastern culture and history to embed with combat brigades, to "help them take into account the social, political and cultural context," she says.
Nashville Scene |
Lyda Phillips |
03-05-2010 |
War
Getting to Know Ke$ha, Pop Sensationnew

It was the day after Christmas, and we were dancing at 12th & Porter while Ke$ha danced barely three feet away. She already had the No. 2 song in the country, but she wouldn't be a global it-girl for at least another week. In retrospect, we should have cut in.
Nashville Scene |
Sean L. Maloney |
03-05-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Judging a Library by its Cover: We Thought Up Our Own Modern Librarynew

Our illustration by Jesse Jacobs represents the library of the not-so-distant future. We polled librarians, library science students and experts, travellers and book lovers to build our own vision of the modern library.
The Coast, Halifax's Weekly |
Sue Carter Flinn |
03-05-2010 |
Books
How Cablevision Is Destroying Newsdaynew
The nation’s fifth-largest cable TV operator is tearing apart what was once one of the mightiest newspapers in the country. Interviews, financial documents and internal memos paint a picture of a paper under siege, both financially and journalistically.
Long Island Press |
Christopher Twarowski and Michael Patrick Nelson |
03-05-2010 |
Media
Tags: James Dolan, Times Mirror, journalism, media, newspapers, Cablevision, publishing, Newsday, Sam Zell
Fantasy Island This Isn’tnew

With great swipes of heavy cello music, the brooding, frightening Shutter Island opens aboard a ferry sluicing through the fog. Aboard the vessel are Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio), a federal marshal, and his new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo). Their destination is Shutter Island in the Boston harbor.
Eugene Weekly |
Jason Blair |
03-04-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Shutter Island, Martin Scorsese
Whaling Proposal Harpoons International Debatenew

The International Whaling Commission proposes to legalize commercial whaling... in order to reduce illegal whaling. Despite a 1986 international ban on for-profit whale hunting, which left open a loophole for scientific whaling, Iceland, Norway and Japan have kept at it in relatively plain view.
Monterey County Weekly |
Kera Abraham |
03-04-2010 |
Animal Issues
Take a Bow: Rosson Crow and the Boys with the Bad Reputationsnew

Rosson Crow laments the challenges facing a young female artist, of dealers who don’t want to take her seriously and art-world types who expect her to behave a certain way. That boy’s club attitude is one of the main focuses of her latest show.
New York Press |
Danny Gold |
03-04-2010 |
Art
Wake Up and Smell the Oscars: They Stink!new
Everyone has their wakeup moment about the Academy Awards: A moment when you put away childish belief and realize it’s not at all about art but about popularity (as Sally Field once indicated and then got lambasted for her clarity).
New York Press |
Armond White |
03-04-2010 |
Movies
Are Liberals Smarter? Ask Some Recent Studiesnew
A widely debated study published in the current issue of the scientific journal Social Psychology Quarterly tries to explain why most of us attach ourselves to broad political concepts like liberalism and conservatism and embrace different social and religious values.
Arkansas Times |
Ernest Dumas |
03-04-2010 |
Commentary
A Double Murder Spurs Some Deep Questions About Nature Vs. Nurturenew
For a person given over to metaphor, Wilbern Road near Sweet Home makes a good stand-in for the life of Hannah Grace Dowdie: a short, dead-end roller coaster of pavement, pressed on both sides by dark and murky woods.
Arkansas Times |
David Koons |
03-04-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Wineries are Leading the Charge Toward More Responsible Agriculturenew

The California wine industry is keenly aware of its effect on the environment and is taking significant steps to lessen its impact. Not only are wineries being encouraged to move away from using industrial chemicals, they are exploring other solutions.
Fast Forward Weekly |
Kevin McLean |
03-04-2010 |
Food+Drink
Overcrowding at Illinois Prisons is Costly and Dangerousnew

In Sangamon County, at least 13 inmates were released early, many serving just a fraction of their sentences. One repeat drunk driver served only a month of his year-long sentence; another inmate serving time for possession of cocaine spent only two weeks behind bars.
Illinois Times |
Patrick Yeagle |
03-04-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: early release, violence, prison, politics, Drugs, justice, crime, money, rehabilitation, inmate, corrections