Refugee family fights to bring father to Canada
by Amy Steele

Poll reveals Albertans dissatisfied with state of province’s democracy
by Amy Steele

Homeless plan (and other news notes)
by FFWD Staff

VIEWPOINT

Ad objectification
Sexualized images of women hurt both sexes
by Emily Elder

CITY

Finding your voice in the mosaic
From diverse backgrounds, east Calgary residents find value in speaking out
by Meagan Smith-Windsor

WEB WATCH

Online shopping key for festive shut-ins
by Courtney Thompson

FOOD

Sushi Sen serves delicious works of art
New Japanese bistro takes Calgary’s sushi experience to a higher level
by Danyael Halprin

BOOZE

Unibroue scores again
Canada’s finest brewer’s latest winner is Terrible
by Don Tse

OUT & ABOUT

A gem from the past
Sports were big-ticket items for city in ‘60s
by Mark Sproxton

BOOKS

‘Tis the season for coffee-tables tomes
These sizable gift books may be beautiful, but they deserve to be read as well
by Martin Morrow

BOOKENDS

Gift locally in 2003
Calgary-area authors and indie bookstores are the way to go this season
by Harry Vandervlist

TELEVISION

Joey and Caitlin, home for the holidays
Degrassi and Sean Cullen holiday specials seek to satisfy existing fans
by Stephen W. Smith

COVER

Getting back in the van
It doesn’t matter where they go, The Supersuckers wanna rock
by Rick Overwater

MUSIC

Music and community
The deep dark secret behind Hold Your Ground
by Shereen Tuomi

Another DVD older and deeper in debt
Mocking Shadows release concert video that is first of its kind in western Canada
by Mary-Lynn McEwen

Bring on the fat lady
Completing their evolution, the Watchmen decide to call it quits
by Tonya Zelinsky

Whales, wolves and Frank Zappa
Unorthodox jazz musician Bill Mays brings a Jazzy Nutcracker to life
by Dennis Slater

Where to now?
Basement Jaxx become veterans by default
by Rob Faust

Bringing his work home with him
Even if you don’t know Andy Magoffin’s name you should hear his music
by Andrew Wedderburn

We wish you a jazzy Christmas
The Mainstream Jazztet teams up with Cantos Music Museum for local holiday release
by Dennis Slater

God rest ye merry Christmas compilations
Fast Forward breaks down the best and worst music of the holiday season
by Jason Lewis

Just a little bit about Michael Jackson
And a lot about good best-of collections by Simon and Garfunkle and Springsteen
by Jennifer Abel

RECORD REVIEWS

Corey Harris takes the blues on the road
CD Reviews:
Corey Harris’s Mississippi to Mall
reviewed by Martin Kemp
ride’s Waves
reviewed by Jason Lewis
Erase Errata’s At Crystal Palace
reviewed by Mark Hamilton
Explosions in the Sky’s The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place
reviewed by Jason Lewis
Fiona Renshaw’s Love in a Bubble
reviewed by Dac Tran
Wyclef Jean’s The Preacher’s Son
reviewed by Kirsten Kosloski
The Sick Fits’ Are We the Young Savages?
reviewed by Damien Alvarez-Toye
Robert Earl Keen’s The Party Neve Ends’
reviewed by Rick Overwater
Kiran Ahluwalia’s Beyond Boundaries
reviewed by Jennifer Abel
Doves’ Lost Sides
reviewed by Matthew Currie-Holmes
Ele_K’s Sinsitresound
reviewed by Nichole Stewart

VISUAL ARTS

Under the spell of the bogs
A New Year’s hangover led photographer to mesmerizing moorscapes
by Wes LaFortune

THEATRE

Spending Christmas with a Devil
Theatre Calgary calls upon the infernal Ty Semaka to create Dickensian chills
by Martin Morrow

This Carol is a Christmas turkey
Theatre Calgary’s much-revised show is losing the essence of the Dickens classic
by Jane McCullough

The Stanislavsky of improv
New documentary a welcome profile of Theatresports guru Keith Johnstone
by Martin Morrow

Whooping it up with Green Fools
Project: Whooping Crane proves enchanting and educational for all ages
by Jocelyn Grosse

DANCE

Last-chance Nutcracker
Ballet prepares last Christmas run before hiatus
by David King

FILM

A fanatic’s dream
Tolkien geeks prepare for the glory of Lord of the Rings Trilogy Tuesday
by Gregory Pang

Taking on the Barbarians
Canadian filmmaker Denys Arcand gets personal with his award-winning new film
by Jason Anderson

The people’s smoking gun
Filmmaker Sheryle Carlson on greed, oil and the master plan called 9/11
by David King

Film is dead, long live video
Local low-budget filmmakers can rejoice with the arrival of a new digital adapter
by Christopher Markowsky

Love that film
The big-hearted Love That Boy succeeds despite a thinly stretched story
by Jason Anderson

Reindeer games
Blizzard takes a while to take off
by Amy Steele

VIDEO VULTURE

Topic? We don’t need no stinking topic
Video Vulture looks at two completely unrelated films - deal with it
by John Tebbutt

VIDEO

Cowboy poetry
Getting up close and personal with Once Upon a Time in the West
by Jaime Frederick