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Cover: Desert Escapes
The mineral heart of California's hot zone defies comfort, but roadside relief exists in Barstow and Amboy.

Gifts of the Ages: In search of religious epiphanies--and the world's tackiest souvenirs.

House of Cards: Love advice from the Great Beyond.

Tara's Advice: Tara confronts a manic maniac.

1:15: Gossip columnist C. Silo.

Frisco Utopia: Hank Hyena tackles telephone poles.

Job Interview: Shamama interviews a pornographer.

CELL Mates: Weekly rollerdances at CELL skate the light fantastic.

Dy-no-MITE!: Moulton Street Studio's legendary J-Jay responds to commercialism, Europe and the shelf-life of vinyl.

Waits and Measures: Tom Waits' Mule Variations stubbornly avoids mainstreaming.

Groundscore: Outdoor music flourishes as the weather grows warmer.

Music Picks: Reviews of the latest CDs by Ponga, Dealership and Sasha and John Digweed.

Club Guide: Disco divas, hip-hop connoisseurs and salsa suaves to flannel-clad pinball players, jazz luminaries and more.

Tattoo You: Wake up in your makeup with cosmetic surgery.

Miss Pinkie Shears: The debonair miss gives her fashion advice.

Concrete Runway: Myra at Post & Powell.

The Gay Golem: The serial and sexual politics of Gary Indiana's Three Month Fever and Maureen Orth's Vulgar Favors.

Book Picks: Reviews of the latest books by Chuck Palahniuk, Jason Brown and Salman Rushdie.

The Sacrificial Lamb: Metropolitan investigates the war-torn cuisine of Afganistan at Helmand.

Cyclos of Nature: Tony Bui's acclaimed Three Seasons captures modern Vietnam in a triptych.

Film Picks: Reviews of The Stendhal Syndrome, Girls, Girls, Girls! mini-festival and Mishima.