City fighting Telus rate hike
by Tom Babin

New Web site created to help deal with hate crimes
by Tom Babin

Water Meters (and other community notes)
by FFWD Staff

LETTERS

City music scene alive and vibrant
by FFWD Reader

VIEWPOINT

Health report full of flaws
Framework for Reform fails to provide any answers
by Hamish MacAulay

BOOKS

Philosopher holds balance amid furore
John Ralston Saul sparks unexpected debate over freedom of speech
by David Bright

BOOKENDS

Writing contests, and writing that contestsby Harry Vandervlist

WEB WATCH

True crime online
by Courtney Thompson

FOOD

Scouring downtown for a good cheap lunch
by Miles Pittman

MUSIC

The road stretches on forever
Folk-pop duo Easily Amused finds success living as troubadours
by Martin Kemp

Intrigue takes over the orchestra
Musical fable The Mysterious Maestro tells the story of a town without music
by Jaime Frederick

STREET SOUNDS

Grunge match
Torazine vs. Chupacabra in battle of wits
by Aubrey McInnis

BEAT BOUTIQUE

Crowd-pleasing DJ crosses the line
John Landry has mastered the technique of mixing art and populism
by Rob Faust

RECORD REVIEWS

Peruvian sounds escape colonization
Various Artists’ Traditional Music of Peru 6: The Ayacucho Region and Various Artists’ Traditional Music of Peru 7: The Lima Highlands
both reviewed by Bruce Pollock
Mudmen’s s/t
reviewed by Christine Leonard
Long John Baldry’s Remembering Leadbelly
reviewed by David Bright

VISUAL ARTS

Animated buildings
Performance art revives downtown core
by Jennifer McVeigh

COVER

Supremely White Mice
Allegorical play exposes racism in society
by Lori Montgomery

THEATRE

Macabre comedy
Stiff finds the corpse’s funny bone
by Krista Ellingson

Too close for comfort
Closer offers shocking view of relationships
by Jeff Goffin

FILM

Definitely not The Muppet Show
Puppets On Screen film festival shows the seamy side of celluloid puppetry
by Anne Marie Nakagawa

Domestic disturbances
In the Bedroom strays from the formula
by Mark Hamilton

Tears and T&A
Sex and melodrama in The Affair of the Necklace
by Julia Williams

VIDEO VULTURE

A big shtinking mesh
A look at Sir Sean Connery’s worst movies
by John Tebbutt

VIDEO

Rebecca brought Hitch to Hollywood
by D. Christensen

MR. SMUTTY

Jokes, on me
88 punchlines about 44 men, women & shark pups
by James Martin