Cover Story: Michael Jackson's Media Circus of Horrors
Harmon Leon unleashes his bad self on the Michael madness.

News: Street Dreams Are Made of These
Red vs. Blue. Norteño vs. Sureño. And the San José-ing of Central Valley. A writer looks at the changing nature of Chicano identity.

Public Eye: Council candidate and school board trustee Nancy Pyle chooses not to back her colleague Dawn Wright.

Biter: A new seasonal classic sung to the tune of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas.'

Techsploits: Geeks have started hacking systems like Friendster, HotorNot and AIM chat to score dates.

Ring Bearers: Peter Jackson and cast carry Tolkien trilogy to grand finale in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.'

Tumbling Dice: William H. Macy plays a misery goat who goes for the gold in Vegas fairy tale 'The Cooler.'

The Full Mommy: 'Calendar Girls' is the tasteful story of an English women's club going nude for charity.

Born Free: With 'Later That Day,' rapper Lyrics Born wants to rep the underground and live comfortably. Is that too much to ask?

Aural Fixation: Powerslave.com is for sale--if no one buys it, the site will close.

The Roaring '90s: A new anthology from 'The Baffler' magazine--'Boob Jubilee'--dissects the failed economics of the decade that sucked.

Lucky Charm: Birk's keeps its grip on an age-old formula for success: a happy host, grade-A beef and delectable desserts.

Opening Up 'The Nut': Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley works wonders with the seasonal classic.