Way to go, Willie!

Willie Nelson rules.

Cute little kid story

Witnessed one of those super cute parent child exchanges that actually makes me want to procreate yesterday. Dad and daughter were walking Mom out to her car at the curb to say goodbye as she went on her way to... well, somewhere.

Dad: "Say bye to Mommy, sweetie!"

Girl: "Bye bye, Mommy!"

Mom: "Bye bye, sweetie!"

Girl: "Bye, Mommy!"

Mom: (laughing) "Bye, sweetie, I'll see you soon."

Girl: "Bye bye, Mommy!"

Mom: (closing the car door): "Okay, sweetie, bye-bye!"

It was all incredibly cute and happy. The mom drove away and the little girl continued saying bye, louder and louder - till she was literally screaming at the top of her lungs, "BYE BYE MOMMY! MOMMY! BYE BYE!" and Dad says "Okay, honey, there's no point in screaming -- Mommy can't even hear you anymore."

The girl looks astonished. "She can't?" Long pause. "Why not?"

So cute. I'm sure tomorrow some kid will have a temper tantrum in front of me in line at a store, and I'll change my tune, but I'm liking kids today.

Jack Astors

I went to a Jack Astors for the first time ever today. I thought I wouldn't like it at all, and I mostly didn't, but... they have Cherry Coke there! Well, they make their own version of it, with actual cherries in it. Yum. Brilliant. They redeem themselves with the best sweet carbonated beverage in the universe.

Michael Vick is a Jerkface Loserhead

This guy is a class A douchebag. NFL Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick will officially pled guilty to federal dogfighting charges next Monday, which could land him in jail for up to six years and cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars. Woo! I've been following this case since it broke, even going as far as subscribing to Google Alerts. I love Google Alerts.

All this badness began in April of this year, when investigators conducting a drug search at a Newport News property owned by Vick found 66 dogs, including 55 pit bulls, and equipment typically used in dog fighting. They included a "rape stand" that holds aggressive dogs in place for mating and a "breakstick" used to pry open a dog's mouth. He's accused of bankrolling and participating in the dogfighting operation... you can read the entire 18 page indictment here -- sick, sick stuff. Dogfights organized by Bad Newz Kennels had purses of thousands of dollars, as if this loser needs any more money. But you know, it's not the money, it's the thrill. Of watching dogs fight gruesomely to the death. Uh, yeah.

Vick originally pled not guilty and was awaiting trial in November - meanwhile, he was asked not to show up to Falcons training camp, and sponsors like Nike and Reebok are pulling their business. Animal rights people, and hell, pet owners everywhere are all over this - letter writing, petition signing, protesting. Business has to respond. If I was a mom, I sure as hell wouldn't want my kids wearing Michael Vick jerseys.

Then there was the whole debate about whether the media has the right to crucify him and shouldn't he be afforded due process, and can't the world just leave him alone? Poor, poor Michael Vick. Cause, you know, it was Vick's cousin was living at that house, not him. Michael Vick had noooo idea this dogfighting enterprise was going on on his property. And then, slowly but surely all three of his co-defendents flip. They plead guilty and agreed to cooperate with the feds. After the first defendent flipped, Vick was still maintaining his innocence. His PR guys have one hell of a job trying to repair his public image. They issued some ridiculous statement that basically said 'Michael Vick loves dogs. He would never hurt them.' And then, the other two flipped. And what could he really do then? Swallow his pride and plead out for a lesser sentence. Douchebag.

And of course, many of his supporters are pulling the race card. That's right -- the media and the public are crucifying poor Vick because he's a successful black man worth $100 million. And apparently white people can't stand that, so we're on a crusade to destroy him. Uh-huh.

Nevermind that this guy doesn't exactly have a wonderful track record. In 2005, he slept with a Georgia woman who contracted Herpes as a result - Mr. Vick didn't have the decency to disclose to the woman he was positive for the virus before they slept together. She sued; he settled. And last November he even flipped off a stadium full of fans after losing a frustrating game. Now that's a role model.

Is this case such a big issue because Michael Vick is a black man? I say no. Is he getting so much attention because he's a celebrity athlete who participated in and bankrolled a horrifying crime? Sure. That's the price you pay for being in the public eye, Vick. Wouldn't matter if you were Native, Caucasian, Japanese or East Indian.

The only good that has come out of this is increased public awareness of the underground dogfighting world, and of animal cruelty in general, and the fact that this guy is going to do time. Once he officially enters his plea, it will likely take another couple of months before his sentence is actually decided - and I hope they're tough on him.

Life lessons in the world of Andria

I was thinking about a lot of the people I know and love and how very different they are and I think it's really great that I can connect with people pretty deeply and find some common ground within a huge variety of people. I like being able to walk into a crazy situation with a bunch of strangers and have something to say and learning something about someone at the end of it. I think the key to starting it all off is fixating on the one thing someone says in casual conversation that you find the most interesting, and seeing it through by asking a lot of questions. You learn stuff; they get to elaborate on their story and are thrilled to have an inquisitive audience. Effortless. Relationship develops. Easy. Bulletproof. Rewarding.

I think I learned this from smoking pot. You know, life lessons.

My new neighbour

A girl I used to work with has recently moved into my neighborhood and she's got a pitty mix type dog too. I didn't know her well when we worked together, but she was always this tough attitude-y type that you were kind of afraid of - fiercely independent, and fiercely disgruntled, always swearing and always ranting about something.

Today in the park she was sitting on a bench, listening to her headphones and singing out loud to herself. She waved and smiled at me when me and the mutters were passing them. And as we were walking away she said to her dog, "ok, I think it's time to let you off the leash. Now you be a good girl and if you see any other dogs you come right back to Mommy, ok?" I could barely believe she was talking to her dog like that, that she was referring to herself as "Mommy" in front of the whole neighborhood. And as I was thinking about how much she must have changed over the last couple of years, I heard this: "...I MEAN IT SWEETIE, YOU FUCK UP EVEN ONCE AND I'LL LOCK YOU UP!" She just meant, put the dog back on the leash tied to the bench, but it was sure hilarious.

Feel Good Story of the Day...

...and why I like that they put cameras in phones: