Antidepressants May Thwart Quest for True Love

Antidepressant drugs, already known to cause sexual side effects, may also suppress the basic human emotions of love and romance.

That SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors — the most common type of antidepressant — cause sexual dysfunction is common knowledge. Of the 31 million adults in the United States who take the SSRIs, about 30 percent are believed to experience sexual dysfunction.

But a new theory suggests that SSRI antidepressants may also subtly alter the fundamental chemistry of love and romance, snuffing the first sparks between two people otherwise destined to become lovers, and preventing couples from bonding.

"There's every reason to think SSRIs blunt your ability to fall and stay in love," said Helen Fisher, a Rutgers University biological anthropologist who has pioneered the modern science of love.

For some people, of course, sexual side effects are an acceptable price to pay for curing debilitating depression. But as antidepressant use becomes more common, extending beyond full-blown clinical depression to disorders like anxiety and, in some cases, insomnia, the possibility of love-stunting is troubling.

SSRI antidepressants work by boosting circulating levels of serotonin, a mood-regulating neurotransmitter that also inhibits desire. The drugs also decrease dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in a wide range of cognitive and behavioral processes, among them desire and arousal. The new research suggests that dopamine may also play a part in romance.

During sex, a cocktail of hormones is released that appears to play important roles in fostering romantic attachment within the brain. Take away sex, and romantic love can dwindle. But this is just part of the problem, say Fisher and University of Virginia psychiatrist James Thomson.

Dopamine also appears central to the neurobiology of romantic love and attachment, conditions that Fisher believes to be affected by — but ultimately distinct from — sexual love and its effects. She and Thomson say that SSRIs may do more than cause sexual dysfunction: They also suppress romance. READ MORE.

Apple wireless keyboard used with an iPhone

Here is a short video showing the interacting devices (Apple wireless keyboard, iPhone, communicating over Bluetooth) in operation.

It uses hardware that comes off the shelf (unfortunately you still need to have access to a jailbroken phone), uses a packaged application, does not expose bits and pieces to the end user, and works with all the applications that use the standard on-screen keyboard.

Who needs a computer?

Ticketmaster/Live Nation Merger Hits Roadblocks

It's been a rough couple weeks for Ticketmaster-- and thank God for that.

Just as the biggest ticketing company in the country tries to join forces with Live Nation, the biggest live promotion company in the country, the world-conquering twosome has suffered a series of embarrassing setbacks that will hopefully cause the Justice Department to nix their proposed $2.5 billion merger sometime soon.

Click here for a round-up of their troubles.

Pitchfork Reviews 'Dark Was The Night' Compilation Album

The charity album earns an 8.6.

Netflix To Offer 'Streaming Only' Plans

Netflix Inc Chief Financial Officer Barry McCarthy said on Wednesday it plans to offer its online streaming service on a stand-alone basis.

"We're likely to do that in the foreseeable future," McCarthy said at the Jefferies 5th annual Internet and Media conference in New York.

Netflix customers currently pay a fixed monthly subscription fee for access to the company's popular by-mail DVD service, with about 100,000 titles, as well as its online streaming service, with more than 12,000 titles available for viewing.

Netflix recently said it had hit 10 million subscribers, and said last month its stronger-than-expected quarterly results were propelled by growth in its Web video streaming service.

The Watch Instantly streaming service was first available only on personal computers, but is now offered through various devices, including the Roku set-top boxes, Microsoft Corp's Xbox, and LG Electronics Inc products.

McCarthy stressed the company still remains focused on providing a bundled offering, but said he understands that some viewers will find a stand-alone streaming service to be compelling, particularly as more compatible devices become prevalent.

Apple to use iPhone's GPS to geotag locationless photos?

The GPS circuitry in the iPhone 3G could be used to do more -- a lot more, in fact -- than it currently does, and it looks like Apple might have an eye on an angle most people wouldn't have considered (in other words, something other than turn-by-turn).

Digging through iPhoto '09's innermost sanctums has apparently revealed references to some sort of asynchronous geotagging capability, whereby selecting locations from an app on the phone (or iPod touch, as the case may be) could be transferred directly to iPhoto and associated with events -- perfect for shooting with, say, a real camera while toting your phone in your pocket.

Of course, the capability is purely vestigial for now -- no announcement has been made, and there's no way for users to access this directly -- so Apple could've spiked it or has it queued up for a future firmware update. Time will tell.

Robotrains take over NY's Brooklyn-Manhattan line

If you ride the L train between Brooklyn and Manhattan at odd hours of the day, get ready for a little more automation in your lifestyle.

As of today, the L will become the first NY subway line to be fully controlled by Communications Based Train Control, or CBTC, initially used overnights and during non-peak hours. It allows the trains to effectively run themselves, closer and faster than their conductors could otherwise, which should mean more trains more often.

However, those workers have something their robotic replacements don't: contracts. Because of that there will still be humans watching the controls and, most likely, napping occasionally.

Atmosphere and P.O.S. Team for North American Tour

Minnesota rap duo Atmosphere and fellow North Star Stater P.O.S. are taking their no-nonsense, angry, political, and wordy acts on the road all over North America starting in April. Atmosphere will be touring behind last year's When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That Shit Gold as well as this year's God Loves Ugly reissue. P.O.S. is supporting the rap-rock stylings of his latest, Never Better.

Atmosphere:

04-09 Missoula, MT - Wilma Theatre *
04-10 Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory *
04-11 Boise, ID - Knitting Factory *
04-12 Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue *
04-14 Flagstaff, AZ - Orpheum Theater *
04-15 Tempe, AZ - Marquis Theatre *
04-17 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre *
04-18 Indio, CA - Coachella Music and Arts Festival *
04-19 Santa Cruz, CA - Catalyst *
04-20 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre *
04-21 Lake Tahoe, NV - Montbleu Resort and Casino *
04-23 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom *
04-24 Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo *
04-25 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
04-26 Victoria, British Columbia - Element
04-28 Edmonton, Alberta - The Starlite Room
04-29 Calgary, Alberta - MacEwan Ballroom
05-01 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - The Odeon
05-02 Regina, Saskatchewan - The Riddell
05-04 Thunder Bay, Ontario - Rockhouse
05-06 Toronto, Ontario - The Phoenix
05-07 London, Ontario - Music Hall London
05-08 Montreal, Quebec - Theatre Plaza
05-09 Ottawa, Ontario - Ritual Nightclub
05-10 Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
05-12 Portland, ME - The Asylum
05-13 Boston, MA - House of Blues
05-15 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero Theatre
05-16 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
05-17 Richmond, VA - Toad's Place
05-18 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
05-19 Indianapolis, IN - The Vogue
05-21 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
05-22 Omaha, NE - Slowdown

* with P.O.S.

Bohemian sprawl hits the limits in Los Angeles

The deep recession, with its lost jobs and falling home values nationwide, poses another kind of threat: to the character of neighborhoods settled by the young creative class, from the Lower East Side in Manhattan to Beacon Hill in Seattle. The tide of gentrification that transformed economically depressed enclaves is receding, leaving some communities high and dry.

For long-time residents, the return to pre-boom rents may be a blessing. But it also poses a rattling question of identity: What happens to bourgeois bohemia when the bourgeois part drops out?

Pimps Go Online to Lure Kids Into Prostitution

Even when children are recruited into a prostitution ring offline, they invariably wind up on the internet, thanks to a crop of websites that run advertisements for erotic services. Specialty adult sites like myRedBook and Eros.com have popped up in some cases, but the most common online outlet for underage prostitution appears to have been Craigslist, which played a prominent role in at least eight federal child sex-trafficking prosecutions filed in the last 12 months. READ MORE.

Artificial trees could function as solar-wind harvester

SolarBotanic is a company which researches and specializes in an emerging tech dubbed biomimicry -- which seeks to mimic nature, and use nature-inspired methods to solve human problems.

SolarBotanic is focusing on energy production, and, to that end, they've developed what they call Energy Harvesting Trees. The trees aren't "real," (they're just modeled on real ones); these are composed of Nanoleafs, which use nanotechnology designed to capture the "sun's energy in photovoltaic and thermovoltaic cells, then convert the radiation into electricity." They also have stems and twigs which house nano-piezovoltaic material which act as generators producing electricity from movement or kinetic energy caused by wind or rain.

The company has several patents on the technology already, and are currently seeking partners for funding and development.

Faith No More to Reunite for European Tour

Faith No More will reunite for a summer tour.

As confirmed by his label and publicist, Mike Patton has announced that Faith No More will be reuniting for a European summer tour. While no other info has been given, we’ve been told that the tour will only take place in Europe, the dates are “to come” and there are absolutely no plans to tour the States. We’ve also been informed that Patton — as presumed — will not be doing interviews about the subject. So start booking your time now with Imperial Teen to try and get the word from Roddy Bottom.

Faith No More’s last performing line-up consisted of Patton, Bottom, drummer Mike Bordin, bassist Billy Gould and guitarist Jon Hudson. No word yet if iconic “Epic” guitar-soloist (and primary guitar player for most of the band’s existence) Jim Martin, or original singer Chuck Mosely will be involed.

Vice Squad

There’s nothing wrong with gays making out in public but dead people? Is that even legal?

Stuff White People Like - #122 Moleskine Notebooks

Since all white people consider themselves to be “creative,” they are constantly in need of products and accessories that will allow them to capture their thoughts. One of the more popular products in recent years has been the Moleskine notebook.

This particular type of notebook is very expensive and was quite popular with writers and artists in the olden days. Needless to say, these are two properties that are highly coveted in the white community. In fact, it’s a good rule of thumb to know that white people like anything that old writers and artists liked: typewriters, journals, suicide, heroin, and trains are just a few examples.

Much like virtually everything else that white people like, these notebooks are considerably more expensive yet provide no additional functionality over regular notebooks that cost a dollar. Thankfully, since white people only keep their most original and creative ideas in the Moleskine, many of them will only be required to purchase one per lifetime.

But the the growing popularity of these little journals, is not without its own set of problems. One of the strangest side effects has been the puzzling situation whereby a white person will sit in an independent coffee shop with a Moleskine notebook resting on top of a Apple laptop. You might wonder why they need so many devices to write down thoughts? Well, if a white person has a great idea, they write it by hand, if they have a good idea, it goes into the computer.

Not only does this help them keep their thoughts organized, but it serves as a signal to the other white people in the shop that the owner of both instruments is truly creative. It screams: “I’m not using my computer to check email and read celebrity gossip, I’m using it to create art. Please ask me about it.”

So when you see a white person with one of these notebooks, you should always ask them about what sort of projects they are working on their free time. But you should never ask to actually see the notebook lest you ask the question “how are you going to make a novel out of five phone numbers and a grocery list?”

Fail of the Day