AltWeeklies Wire
Lawyers, Asian Carp and Money in Illinoisnew

Nothing was normal about this fishing expedition. The water, not a natural pond or stream. The temperature, well below freezing. We weren't allowed on the fishing boats, our guides told us, because it wasn't safe today.
Chicago Reader |
Ryan Chew |
03-29-2010 |
Environment
Pfizer's Popular Pill Neurontin Has Side Effectsnew

A UBC drug-research group has issued a “therapeutics letter” concluding that a widely used pain reliever has very little effect. The Therapeutics Initiative states in its public letter that gabapentin has a “minor role in pain control.”
The Georgia Straight |
Charlie Smith |
03-29-2010 |
Science
Gwynne Dyer on Benjamin Netanyahu's Optionsnew
By the time Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Washington on Wednesday night (March 24), after postponing his departure twice, there was general agreement in the American media that his visit had been disastrous.
The Georgia Straight |
Gwynne Dyer |
03-29-2010 |
Religion
How Too Little State Spending Will Hurt Recovery in Upstate New Yorknew

The lower your income in New York State, the more of it you pay in state and local income, sales, property, and excise taxes. The more you make, the less of it you pay in state and local taxes here.
Artvoice |
Bruce Fisher |
03-27-2010 |
Commentary
Two UB Art Gallery Exhibits Track Our Impact on the Waters and Water's Impact on Usnew
Two art exhibits about environmental issues just opened at the UB art gallery on the North campus: one local, about the waters of Ellicott Creek a five-minute hike from the gallery; the other about global economic and environmental issues, but with substantial local implications.
Artvoice |
jack Foran |
03-27-2010 |
Environment
Tags: Ellicott Creek, SUNY Buffalo
New Plays in Memphis Owe Gratitude to Artist/Educator Gloria Baxternew
Tennessee Williams may have found his calling after poring over the works of Anton Chekhov at the Rhodes College library, but Memphis, Tennessee, the home of the blues and birthplace of rock-and-roll, has never been known as a breeding ground for interesting new playwrights.
The Memphis Flyer |
Chris Davis |
03-27-2010 |
Theater
Bill Gibbons Bows Out of Governor's Race, Cites Cash Shortagenew
As expected, District Attorney General Bill Gibbons of Memphis announced Friday that he is withdrawing from the governor's race difficulties in fundraising.
The Memphis Flyer |
Jackson Baker |
03-27-2010 |
Politics
Watch Leonard Cohen Transfix 600,000 Tired Hippiesnew

It’s four in the morning, at the end of August, 1970, and Leonard Cohen is taking the stage in front of 600,000 restless fans at the Isle of Wight Festival. There have been fires, clashes, riots and aggressive outbursts toward the musicians.
Hartford Advocate |
John Adamian |
03-26-2010 |
Music
South by Southwest's Loss was Fort Worth's Gainnew
This year's SXSW in Austin was the best in several years even though a lot of clubs were empty... because where Fort Worth bands were playing, plenty of folks showed up.
Fort Worth Weekly |
Anthony Mariani |
03-26-2010 |
Music
Citizens Armed With Cameras — 'Video Vigilantes' — Take on the Policenew
The most notorious and obvious example of video vigilante-ism might be George Holliday’s 1991 video of the Rodney King beating, which showed four police officers brutally kicking King and beating him with their batons.
Hartford Advocate |
Brianna Snyder |
03-26-2010 |
Crime & Justice
What SXSW Says About Fort Worthnew
Austin's SXSW festival was a showcase of many things, including the metamorphasis of the recording industry and what it means to cities like Fort Worth, that have great local music bands that get largely overlooked by festival promoters.
Fort Worth Weekly |
Caroline Collier |
03-26-2010 |
Music
Smartphone Apps Take Birding to the Next Levelnew

It turns out that iBird Explorer is one of many birding apps for smartphones. There’s the WildLab, National Geographic Handheld Birds, Birdpost and ChirpTracker Mobile. Peterson Field Guides, a sacred text in the world of birding, even has apps.
Hartford Advocate |
Brianna Snyder |
03-26-2010 |
Tech
Playing Our Culture’s Stupid Narcissism For Laughsnew

Pretty Wild, E!’s latest effort to document the strange and beautiful life forms that inhabit the least-charted latitudes of Fame, is as real as a fake boob — which is to say it’s the most accurate and illuminating depiction of how we live now currently airing on TV.
Hartford Advocate |
Greg Beato |
03-26-2010 |
TV
U.S. White Supremacist Videotapes Anti-Nazi Rally in New Westminsternew
A significant figure in the American white-supremacist movement was videotaping people who attended a March 21 antiracism rally at the Braid SkyTrain station in New Westminster.
The Georgia Straight |
Charlie Smith |
03-26-2010 |
Race & Class
'Hot Tub Time Machine,' Reviewednew

The title of Hot Tub Time Machine tells you pretty much all you need to know about what you’re getting into. As Samuel L. Jackson famously said of Snakes on a Plane: “You either want to see it, or you don’t.”
Las Vegas Weekly |
Josh Bell |
03-26-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Hot Tub Time Machine, Steve Pink