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For the Week of
January 5-11, 2005

Cover Story: Schooled in Scandal:
2004: the year of living outrageously.

News: Mercy or Murder?
Assisted suicide bill challenges conventional notions on death and dying.

Briefs: With estimates of the death toll from the Indian Ocean tsunami swelling toward 200,000, Bay Area residents are opening their wallets to provide aid.

Open Mic: A list of scandals journalists hope to monger in 2005.

Rev: Manson Family Vacation.

Critic's Picks: A guide to the week's best arts, theater and music events.

Unreeling The Year: 'The Incredibles' and 'Sideways' led the way in a 2004 riven by the culture wars.

Year of the Mutant: Get ready, baby: it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Prince of Cool: New box set spotlights Chet Baker's lush life.

Soul Standard: Marlena Shaw, a lesser-known gem.

How Now, Mad Cow?: One year after the first case of mad cow disease in the U.S. was confirmed, promised food safety reforms have yet to be instituted. And they never will be, if the cattle industry has its way.

Swirl 'n' Spit: Paradise Ridge Winery.