Cover: Come On, Get Happy!
In books and magazines, on talk shows and news shows, American society is fed the mantra: You are what your brain chemicals make you. That's OK--just pop a pill to change your biological destiny. But do quick-fix antidepressants keep unhappy people from finding more permanent and profound cures?

News: Growing Smoke
San Jose's medical marijuana center seeks high-tech help for its newly approved hydroponic operation.

A Blow for Equality: Kelsey Jeffries hopes to bring women's boxing into the mainstream.

Fish Out of Water: DA gives steelhead and salmon a reprieve from the water district's decision to let Los Gatos Creek run dry.

Public Eye: VMC blows away smoky nepotism charges.

Polis Report: Library's booked for August.

Not So Plainsman: A Stanford Theater retrospective reveals that there's more to the career of Gary Cooper than Western sheriffs and shy heroes.

Ready, SETI, Go: After a long, long countdown, Jodie Foster finally blasts off in Robert Zemeckis' Contact.

Talking Pictures: Award-winning author Caryl Phillips ruminates on the pessimistic art film The Designated Mourner.

The Belgian Mix-Up: ABBA to Beefheart: dEUS evokes a secret world of lust, romance and imagination on In a Bar, Under the Sea.

Do-wop of Death: Richard von Busack briefly reviews Dr. Jack Kevorkian's new jazz CD.

Cool Blue Nite: The South Bay's NiteCry rocks in a variety of grooves on 'Too Cool' new album.

Audiofile: Reviews of the latest CDs by Wu-Tang Clan, Radish and The Siren Six.

Beat Street: Cool blues, Boz, but where's the funk?

Hot Cuisine: At Palace BBQ Buffet, the diner's inner child will revel in the sensory overload--playing with fire at the table, eating with the fingers and concocting taste combinations with abandon.

Bargain Bites: Just a bit of pocket change purchases bite-size treasures from Golden Sun's dim sum menu.

Bite Me: Forget the silver screen--the California Theatre Center presents Dracula live (sort of) and on stage as part of Sunnyvale Summer Rep '97.

Photo Finishes: Kismet and ICA showcase local prints and conceptual art.