Signs of the times

Published 12:01 am Friday, April 22, 2011

What’s so funny ’bout peace, love and understanding: Three hundred people on Whidbey Island joined hands and formed a giant peace symbol on Saturday as part of an early recognition of Earth Day, continuing a tradition started five years ago.

Not to be outdone, 300 people on Mercer Island joined hands last Saturday and formed a giant Mercedes-Benz emblem.

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Eight legs to stand on: A Walla Walla Superior Court judge is deciding whether a mural of a giant purple octopus on the wall of a toy store is art or a commercial sign. The city has ordered the toy store owner to remove the octopus, saying it violates the city’s sign ordinance.

The toy store owner goofed. If he wanted to get around the sign ordinance, rather than the giant purple octopus, he should have gone with a green mermaid.

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Drinking the Kool-Aid: Attorneys general from 15 states, including Washington, are criticizing the Pabst Brewing Co. and its new fruit-flavored malt liquor drink, Colt 45 Blast, which is sold in a 23.5-ounce can and is 12 percent alcohol, equal to nearly five servings of booze. The AGs called it “binge drinking in a can.”

College students who taste-tested the beverage reported seeing giant purple octopi and were nowhere near Walla Walla.