In the Loop: April 1, 2009 Archive

No foolin', new drug curbs kleptomania!

Posted at 11:20 AM on April 1, 2009 by Sanden Totten

It's hard not to be on your guard today. Heck, it was only an hour ago I fell for Frank Deford's story about a guy suing the perennial losers the Detroit Lions for giving the majestic animal a bad name. But despite the April 1st release date, this one seems real.

University of Minnesota says it may have found a pill to help cure compulsive shoplifting. Convenience store owners across the country raise a Slurpee in honor of the drug:

"The Medical School's Department of Psychiatry conducted an eight-week, double-blind study of 25 men and women ages 17-75, who spent an average of at least one hour a week stealing. Those who took the drug Naltrexone (mean dose of 117mg/day) reported significantly greater decline in stealing behavior compared to those taking placebo."

Even more interesting, the drug is also used for treating alcohol, opiate and even gambling addictions. It's like the sin-be-gone supplement! Actually, all of those things are addictive because they work on the brain in the same way. Let's have this sciencey fellow explain:

So, there you go, some good news you can actually believe in this April Fool's Day. What compulsive behavior should these white coats set to eliminating next?

One man. One guitar. One hour. Zero Ideas.

Posted at 5:02 PM on April 1, 2009 by Jeff Horwich (1 Comments)

Sometimes, it just ain't happening.

I've been tossing ideas around for songs for the last few days, and I consistently failed to impress myself.

Is the news right now so uninspiring?

Or has my brain finally decided that it needs a little vacation, and didn't let me know?

In these situations, sometimes the best medicine is to produce something, anything, and just move on.

So I locked myself in a little recording studio this afternoon until I came out, one hour later, with...this:

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