The Sexual Disaster Industry involves federal and local government, conservative religion, so-called morality organizations, right-wing think tanks, victim-parade daytime talk shows and news programs looking for a bump ("Isn't it awful the way people go to topless coffee bars? Film at 11!"). Honorable mention goes to the psychotherapy profession (current motto: "You're sure you were never molested?") and nighttime adrenalin-rush crime shows like CSI. » Read More

Casino M8trix, the $50-million, 16-story Tetris block alongside the freeway near San Jose's airport, Swallow currently owns the city's oldest card room, Garden City Casino, with partners Peter and Jeanine Lunardi, and they want nothing more than to shut down the aging facility and replace it with a 21st-century gambling establishment. » Read More

Thanks to Silicon Valley's diverse, ever-changing population, it isn't necessary to travel to Bangkok or watch Bizarre Foods to experience some truly weird cuisine. We've got plenty of it right here. Marinated pig's ear? Sewer-scented fruit? Fried grasshoppers? Cow brain tacos? Silicon Valley has it all. » Read More

Do you find yourself spending too much time at Sur La Table, staring at exotic kitchen implements or having erotic thoughts in the cookbook section of one of the few remaining bookstores? Those may be warning signs. Seek help. Or give in. » Read More

With new songs like "Wrecking Ball" and "Death to My Hometown," Bruce Springsteen has taken aim at the decline and corporate makeovers of American cities, as well as the financiers whose disinvestment in American manufacturing has fueled their demise. He's kicked it up a notch, from romanticizing working-class American values to a frontal assault on the global financial system. » Read More

It remains a movie mystery. Why is Howard Hawks, the subject of a major 38-film retrospective at the Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto, still the least-known of the major Hollywood directors? Hawks was responsible for some of the best films of icons like Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart and Marilyn Monroe—herself. » Read More

We use advanced technology to recreate the low tech warmth of yesteryear. We share personal photos with perfect strangers. Everyone's now a photographer, a publisher, an artist. Digital photographs are the psychedelics of a new generation, able to alter reality without 12 hours of down time. » Read More

OK, so print's dying, but someone forgot to tell our readers. They cast more votes for more establishments in more categories than at any time in Metro's history. The winners represent an informative slice of life in Silicon Valley in 2012, the year we're all supposed to die-let's just hope someone forgets to remind the Aztec gods. » Read More

3-D printing isn't just a pipe dream for a better tomorrow—it's happening today. And it may just change commercial enterprises forever. On Star Trek: The Next Generation, crew members use a machine known as the replicator to make replacement parts for the ship, prepare food and fix Captain Picard's usual: "Tea. Earl Grey. Hot." » Read More

When San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed terms out in a little more than two years, the roster of prospective mayoral candidates ranges somewhere between a couple and a couple too many, depending on who assesses the field. Invariably, in every discussion, two names pop up: San Jose Councilmember Sam Liccardo and Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese. » Read More

This year's ZER01 Biennial, as announced last week, will explore the theme "Seeking Silicon Valley." Distributing itself throughout the Bay Area from Sept. 12 to Dec. 8, the biennial will connect 42 partnering institutions and more than 100 participating artists, all articulating how the idea of Silicon Valley has shaped their existence and their work. » Read More

With the proliferation of medical marijuana collectives throughout the South Bay, and medicating becoming a daily routine for some, plenty of folks seem to be unclear if they're clear to drive after picking up and/or lighting up. The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office says it receives an average of 7,000 DUI cases each year, with "the great majority" being alcohol-related. » Read More

This month, the sonic heroes at KFJC-FM (89.7) are programming their 32nd annual Month of Mayhem, a sordid menagerie of delightfully self-indulgent special programs that unfold all month long. This eclectic station at Foothill College celebrated its 50th anniversary a few years ago, and the Month of Mayhem is always one of the highlights of the year. For 2012, the station will present specials on Hank Williams, the Rova Saxophone Quartet, Fela Kuti and John Cage. And that only scratches the surface. » Read More

Before you start cooking with cannabis, however, you need to educate yourself on two things. The first is the proper color of cannabutter. Some people believe that the greener it is, the better it is, but unfortunately, having nuclear-green cannabutter does not denote a "stronger" cannabutter with a higher "potency," as most patients are led to believe. » Read More

I am standing just outside San Jose City Council Chambers, looking at garbage. Literally. Photos of Coyote Creek grace the walls of the curved wing at City Hall. Sculptures comprised of garbage extracted from the creek emerge from pristine white pedestals. Designs of Highways 280 and 680 and the creek are pasted onto the walls, designating the beginning and end of the new exhibit whose title says it all: 'Welcome to Coyote Creek.' » Read More

In his first four years in office, Obama has signed off on an absurd increase in raids on medical cannabis collectives-more than the number that took place in G.W. Bush's administration-despite vowing he wouldn't "use Justice Department resources to try and circumvent state laws about medical marijuana." » Read More

Featuring a lime-green cover with hidden text visible only when one tilts it correctly in the light, Leonard Mlodinow's new book, Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior (Pantheon), explores just what its title, um, suggests: "The surprising and exotic forces at play beneath the surface of our own minds." » Read More

The origins of marijuana's annual holiday are shrouded in myth but widely thought to be code for 4:20pm, the meeting time at which a few "stoners' would gather at a designated location to smoke. These days, 420 is used in so many contexts related to cannabis culture that it's easy to lose track. The term "420 friendly' describes a person comfortable with a marijuana-smoking mate on a dating site. » Read More

Born and raised in San Jose, Sheridan Tatsuno has lived and worked with the poorest and richest people of Silicon Valley. His life story is a combination of opposites. Emerging from working-class Japantown and San Jose High School to becoming one of Silicon Valley's top strategists since 1983, Tatsuno has consulted some of the most notable zillionaires this valley has known. » Read More

The origins of marijuana's annual holiday are shrouded in myth but widely thought to be code for 4:20pm, the meeting time at which a few "stoners' would gather at a designated location to smoke. These days, 420 is used in so many contexts related to cannabis culture that it's easy to lose track. The term "420 friendly' describes a person comfortable with a marijuana-smoking mate on a dating site. » Read More