Cover Story: Cool Pushers:
Harmon Leon looks into undercover marketing and discovers that the cute girl on the bar stool next to you may be selling more than a pickup line.

News: Big Brother Gets Wired
The FBI wants to turn the Internet into a surveillance box, and their plan for doing so is on a fast track that doesn't require a single vote from Congress.

The Fly: This week's political bites.

Biter: Hanging at Santana Row, the Las Vegas of San Jose.

Techsploits: Can the Masturbate-a-thon thrive in an era when everyone's cracking down on free erotic expression?

Rev: Metro's auto column makes its online debut.

Moderne Dreams: The Legion of Honor traces the rise of Art Deco.

Payback Time: A new cycle of revenge fantasies fuels American audiences' desires to lash out at somebody.

Go Trojans!: Wolfgang Petersen's 'Troy' is huge, smart and loaded with barbaric splendor.

Revamp: 'Van Helsing' plays a high-stakes game with the Universal monster-movie classics.

Hungry Heart: 1996: The year Sleater-Kinney ate my popcorn.

Aural Fixation: Pete Escovedo takes over the spy nightclub.

Club Life: Finn Center in Mountain View.

Chick Lit Crit: Oh baby, where is thy sting?

Purple Reigns: Lavanda restyles Italian food to make it a little more Palo Alto.

Spring Steps: Over the weekend, Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley offered glimpses of a year well danced.