AltWeeklies Wire
A Mutant Protein Has Invaded Much of the World's Dairy Supplynew

While most dairy companies, trade groups and government agencies consider it harmless, a growing body of research implicates A1 beta-casein in diabetes, heart disease, autism and schizophrenia.
Missoula Independent |
Ari Le Vaux |
09-11-2009 |
Food+Drink
Did Vermont State Troopers Go Too Far When They Shot a Paranoid Schizophrenic?new
What really happened the night Joe Fortunati was killed in June 2006 may never be entirely clear. The only first-hand accounts come from the Vermont state police troopers at the scene, nine of whom are now defendants in a federal lawsuit accusing them of using excessive force and covering up key details of the case.
Seven Days |
Andy Bromage |
09-11-2009 |
Crime & Justice
The Hustle: Comfortable Rich Men Debate Our Futurenew
This week will be a pretty good indicator of whether President Barack Obama is Keynesian, a Shakespearean, a Vatican II guy, or a Burkean. He will either boldly hammer home a courageous, thorough-going reorganization of health care policy, or Obama will punt on all that and instead gives us a nuanced, lawyered parsing of current practice.
Artvoice |
Bruce Fisher |
09-11-2009 |
Commentary
Bill Chott & His Fellow Improv Tricksters Aim to Bring Back St. Louis Sketch Comedy's Glory Daysnew
The Improv Trick has finally found a permanent dwelling in the increasingly hipster Cherokee 'hood. Chott has hired a full-time director of operations. The student roster continues to grow, and a program for at-risk neighborhood kids is in the works.
Riverfront Times |
Kristen Hinman |
09-11-2009 |
Performance
Foster Youths in L.A.: A Before-and-After Storynew

L.A. is home to the largest foster-care agency in the U.S., with many of its 7,000 employees fighting valiantly to try to fix the system and the lives of children caught in it. But with John, on a brisk night on a corner frequented by former foster youths now homeless, you notice only the system's failings.
L.A. Weekly |
Daniel Heimpel |
09-11-2009 |
Children & Families
A Week Without Movie Stars at the 33rd Montreal World Film Festivalnew
For years Montreal's festival ran neck and neck with the Toronto Film Festival, competing to premiere films from the same pool of foreign and independent releases. But as Toronto secured its position by bringing in more big Hollywood pictures, Montreal continued to rely on foreign films. And with fewer of those picked up for North American distribution every year, the pool of high-profile picks shrank steadily.
Ignorance Unbound in the Health Care Debatenew
Among the most persistent and far-fetched of modern myths is the one that says government is always wasteful and inefficient, and the private sector never is. We've seen this mantra repeated in this summer's debate over health care, as fearful and unenlightened citizens inadvertently reveal that not only do they not know how the various programs run, they don't know who's running them.
Arkansas Times |
Editorial |
09-11-2009 |
Commentary
Chris Fuller on His Microbudget 'Loren Cass'new
An autodidact whose words tumble out in a slurry stream, Fuller carries himself with such intense conviction that, when he tells you Loren Cass is a project he's been working toward his entire life, you believe him.
L.A. Weekly |
Scott Foundas |
09-11-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Chris Fuller, Loren Cass
Meet Ohio Demagogue Dave Daubenmirenew
Though he has been "living his faith" over the airwaves and in the public square for the past decade, the attention of mass media broadcasters has come largely over the course of the past year, particularly during the past few months of Town Hall mayhem.
The Other Paper |
Kitty McConnell |
09-11-2009 |
Politics
Matt Prior's Life is in the Toilet ... Jess Walter Put Him Therenew

Matt Prior is the protagonist of The Financial Lives of the Poets and a complete figment of Walter's imagination. Walter has taken pains to ensure Matt Prior's life is as shitty as a well-educated white American male's can be.
The Inlander |
Luke Baumgarten |
09-10-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
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
If Curt Schilling Runs for Senate, Will He Keep His Sports-Media Perch?new
Known for his arm and his mouth, former Red Sox great Curt Schilling is now stretching his legs ... for a possible Senate run for Ted Kennedy's old seat. But he's blaming the media for getting the facts wrong, even though, as a regular contributor to WEEI-AM and weei.com, he is the media.
Boston Phoenix |
Adam Reilly |
09-10-2009 |
Media
Conspiracy is in the Air ... No Wonder Hollywood is Embracing Paranoianew

With 9/11 Truthers, Birthers, Tea Partyers, and even Obama school-speech muckrakers dominating news cycles, conspiracy is clearly in the air. Hollywood has noticed -- that's why theaters are suddenly awash in paranoia.
Boston Phoenix |
Peter Keough |
09-10-2009 |
Movies
The Ex-Gay Movement That Wasn't: Meet D.C.'s Tiniest Demographicnew

This summer, a D.C. Superior Court judge ruled that ex-gays ought to be protected under the D.C. Human Rights Act's sexual orientation clause, alongside heterosexuals, bisexuals, and gays. But are there any ex-gays in town?
Washington City Paper |
Amanda Hess |
09-10-2009 |
LGBT
Saving Shaolin: Portland Film Geek Unearths Grindhouse Goldminenew

Dan Halsted started Portland's Grindhouse Film Festival in 2004. Since then, he has developed the festival into a monthly showcase of genre cinema that pits the sordid pulp of films like The Toolbox Murders against the antiseptic blandness of contemporary multiplexes.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
09-10-2009 |
Movies