I couldn't pass up an opportunity to share this piece of brilliant handiwork from an anonymous reader who included this message:

A fLaG hAs been PlaNteD tO CLaIm tHe GlAciEr iN tHe nAme oF gRIt ciTy.
uNForTunAtELy AL gORe mET A TrAGic and mOsT IRoniC EnD.

That's Little Jackie Paper Al Gore in the polar bear's mouth. You can click the photo to see the intricate details of the scene at Stadium Thriftway, near the trash compactor. When the snow goes away, at least we'll have claimed a parking space.

And faithful reader Brian sent me this shot of an extra gritty slab in the Costco parking lot, which appears to have an almost Valdez-esque sludge factor. Any volunteers willing to scrub oily birds?

"It's sort of sad because it just disappears into the airwaves," student DJ Amy Polansky said. "As far as I know, nobody is recording this."

At 11:35 p.m., Feb. 1, 2007, in a song by the Drips, KUPS played its first F-word.

You're all growns up!

Just got back from the Java Jive, and all is well.

All the regular Daves are squatting over their usual loose stools.

(Hope that unfortunate phrasing doesn't bring back the health department.)

The place seems a bit brighter and bigger inside, but the inspectors couldn't take away the coffee pot's uncombed charm. I'd like to think they allowed long-buried treasures to be re-revealed. My favorite found object: A 3-D cheetah head that sticks out of a jungle painting, on the wall opposite the bar. Meow.

What do you think of the makeover?