Every year we ask our readers to help us find Seattle's Sex Bombs--and, shit, did you people come through this year! More than 800 Sex Bombs were nominated, tracked down, and photographed. (Full disclosure: Nearly 200 nominations were for someone named "Mark Fefer," who, sadly, did not make the cut. For the fourth year in a row.) George W. Bush may not be able to find WMDs in Iraq, but our readers sure know where to find Seattle's Sex Bombs. And they're all here, in all their glory, for your enjoyment, from our front cover Sex Bombs Jennifer Trainor, Nic Eldridge, and Francine the Ferret, to the Sex Bombs you'll find scattered throughout this very special issue of The Stranger.

As always, none of our Sex Bombs are rich and famous. You won't find any lame local TV talking heads, humorless public radio "personalities," Mariners, or Sonics on these pages. Because at The Stranger we've always believed--and Seattle seems to agree with us--that the sexiest people in town are regular folks, from baristas to drummers to retails clerks to physics majors to broken-hearted Deaniacs.

Also in this issue you will find, on almost every damn page, thousands and thousands of mooshy, gooshy mash notes. For the 13th year in a row, The Stranger is proving that it loves love by printing our readers' valentines absolutely free of charge. So many valentines poured into our offices this year that the paper is literally bursting with them. You'll find your valentine's on almost ever page, in every section of the paper, at the bottom of every column. They're even in The Stranger Classifieds.

But what about readers who don't have someone to send a valentine to? Well, The Stranger loves you single people too--and, as usual, we don't want you to be miserable on Valentine's Day. So for the single, the miserable, the recently dumped, and the brokenhearted, we're once again hosting our seventh annual Pre-Valentine's Day Bash! Here's the scoop: Bring a memento of a failed relationship that you're having a hard time getting over to Chop Suey on Thursday, February 12. You'll get to share your sob story with a sympathetic crowd, and then a crack team of trained professionals will destroy your memento--and purge those painful memories--live on stage. At previous bashes we've melted down engagement rings, smashed crockery, shredded divorce papers, and licked caviar out of armpits--all in the name of healing. Bring a memento and share your story or just come and watch the fun--and single folks, don't forget, the Bash is always packed with single, vulnerable people breaking shit and getting drunk. If you don't want to be alone on Valentine's Day, come to the Bash and you might meet someone who feels the same way you do.

Love,

The Stranger

special thanks to sexy photographers:

David Belisle, Lance Hammond, Annie Marie Musselman, Joel Sanders, Victoria Renard, and Adam L. Weintraub