AltWeeklies Wire
It Ain't Rocket Science: Inside the World of Anvil Shootingnew

Anvil shooting -- also called anvil launching, firing or ringing -- is practiced by a handful of passionate enthusiasts across the South, Midwest and Appalachia, primarily in Missouri and Mississippi.
Riverfront Times |
Keegan Hamilton |
10-27-2009 |
Culture
Relocalization May be the Key to Not Exterminating Ourselvesnew
What happens when humanity is hit by a big challenge, such as depletion of fossil fuels, global climate change or a prolonged economic crisis? A growing number of people believe the answer lies in relocalization.
Boulder Weekly |
Pamela White |
10-26-2009 |
Culture
A Peek Inside Boston's So-Called Monkey Collegenew
At Helping Hands, a one-of-a-kind nonprofit school celebrating its 30th anniversary, monkeys train for two to four years before being matched with people nationwide who've experienced spinal-cord injuries or suffer from muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
10-22-2009 |
Culture
Vivid-Alt's Vin Vericose Transforms from Minnesota Boy to Porn Starnew

Chad Fjerstad and his pornstar girlfriend are moving to L.A. to make a go in porn at one of the worst times for adult entertainment, when even the most prominent stars are seeing a dent in their paychecks and a deficit of work.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Emily Kaiser |
10-21-2009 |
Culture
Boston's Most Notorious Neighborhood is Looking Gayer and Gayer Every Daynew
Thirty years ago, South Boston was an internationally recognized symbol of raging, violent intolerance. So, would you believe that Southie is now quickly becoming one of the gay-friendliest neighborhoods in Boston?
Boston Phoenix |
Erica Corsano |
10-14-2009 |
Culture
How One Sword-Swallower Sired a Legion of Philly Freaksnew

Almost single-handedly, Red Stuart, who at 58 is the world's oldest active sword-swallower, has helped bring to Philadelphia one of the country's most up-and-coming sideshow scenes.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Bill Meagher |
10-13-2009 |
Culture
Small Is The New Big: Will Americans Have to be Shoehorned into Their Cars?new
As the world gets figuratively smaller, so too are cars getting smaller. Literally. And I don't imagine the average American (read: large) is going to like it.
Fetish Fun: Kinky Out of the Closetnew

They might spank; they might wear black masks, be turned on by vinyl clothes or think guys in gas masks are way hot. But all of them would like you to know that it's OK to be kinky.
Eugene Weekly |
Camilla Mortensen |
10-08-2009 |
Culture
How One Runner's Obsession Left Him Missing in the Wildernessnew
John Mintz was lost in the Snow Mountain Wilderness, which straddles three counties and includes 37,000 acres within the larger Mendocino National Forest, with no supplies for an entire week. How did that happen?
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
10-07-2009 |
Culture
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