Remember when I went to Germany a couple months back? Man, that was awesome. My big take-away from the trip though was that Germans (or at least Berliners) love five things is approximately equal measure:
• Beer
• Bicycling
• Dogs
• Cigarettes
• Asparagus
Well, the geniuses over there have decided to combine at least two of those things (and there’s no smoking ban over there, and if they serve asparagus poppers at the bar, watch out!) with the Bier Bike. I apologize for the lack of English, but basically, it seems a lot like a much less-annoying version of the Duck Tours.
Bier Bike tourists pay to pedal around a huge bike and drink beer. You know, like you do. Like everyone does. Even Duckie.
I know that I’ve made passing references to by my baseball fanaticism here in the past; I try to keep it to a minimum, both at my wife’s behest, and because I realize there’s not a ton of overlap between people who like cute critters, zombie, robots, comics, indie rock, and sports. But this story from earlier today both gave me a sad and a happy when I read it.
Chicago White Sox pitching ace Mark Buehrle and his wife Jamie are avid animal lovers, and despite Mark collecting pretty much every major piece of hardware boys and girls dream of as little kids when they first pick up a ball and/or bat (World Series ring, Gold Glove award, and a perfect game AND no-hitter—basically, your average Hall of Fame resume), the couple are tireless advocates for animals.
Apparently, some jack-ass in Godfrey, IL decided it was a better idea to shoot an arrow into a dog’s side instead of shoving it into their own eyeball. I would have chosen the latter. Anyway, Mark and Jamie have picked up the entire $3000 (and climbing) vet bill to ensure the 4-year old Sheltie’s recovery.
Now, even if this gets into the tens of thousands, it would still be a drop in very large bucket: Buehrle makes $14 million a year. But it should also be noted that Mark and Jamie volunteer often for various animal shelters and charities in and around the Chicago area, even going so far as setting up the monthly pre-game Sox For Strays adoption drive at U.S. Cellular Field. So he does walk the walk.
But before you collapse into a puddle of warm & fuzzy goo, there’s a distressing post-script: Shelby the Sheltie’s original owners, despite micro-chipping her, declined to report the fact that she went missing SIX WEEKS AGO, and immediately surrendered ownership when they were contacted and told that she had been found last week. With so many jerks in Shelby’s life, I’m really happy that the Buehrle’s are out there doing what they can to help her and other critters like her.
I’ve been on a big bear kick ever since I saw the Nissan Leaf ad featuring the friendly polar bear during last Thursday’s NFL season opener. This is one of the more ambiguous pics I’ve come across—I’m really hoping that dark stuff near the pup’s neck is just dark fur. If it is, huzzah creature cuddles! If it’s not… well, let’s just stick with the first option. “Circle of Life” sounds a lot nicer than “Circle of Death”. This guy knows what I’m talking about.
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