Tuesday, April 29, 2008

With This Ring...

Sophocles said "One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life; That word is love." But things have changed since Sophocles' time, and today sometimes the one word even more freeing than love is bail, as in "your bail has been posted."

Maybe you don't agree, but I suspect d
entist David W. Wielechowski, 32, of Shaler, and his newly betrothed, Christa Vattimo, 25, might. On Saturday night, these two lovebirds were arrested at a Holiday Inn in Pittsburgh, after getting into a brawl in a seventh floor hallway and attacking two guests from another wedding party who tried to come to the bride's aid.

The entire story is pure poetry. I can only imagine how much fun it must have been to write. My favorite line: "Wielechowski left alone, sporting a swollen eye, tuxedo pants, a bloody T-shirt and one shoe."

Takeaway? There's no more auspicious place to begin a life together than the Holiday Inn in Pittsburgh, and nothing rounds out the wedding photo album like a thoughtfully composed mug shot.

Read the whole story here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/29/newlywed.brawl.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
I mean really, you should read it. If nothing else it will make you appreciate your spouse.

Monday, April 28, 2008

It's a Bird

Overheard today while I waited at the social security office in Fairfax:
"Starling is a bird. You live in Sterling. Not Starling. Starling is a bird."
The SSA employee was sharing her knowledge of ornithology with a slightly bemused Indian man, who clearly just wanted to take his paperwork and go.
For some reason, no one else in the waiting area found this as funny as I did. I guess humor really is subjective.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Big Pimpin' (Or "What I Did This Weekend")

I've often heard it said that there's no prettier a place than Virginia in the springtime. Everything's in bloom. There are amazing sights to see, made all the more beautiful by nature's glory. And this weekend I happened to capture one of those amazing sights:


Notice how the flowering tree and bright green grass dramatically set off this pimp's finery. Okay, I'm not sure he's really a pimp. And to be honest, he'd have been quite a site to behold, nature's glory or not.

Of course, all of this may lead you to wonder exactly how I spent my weekend. Alas, nothing quite so interesting as researching a documentary on the world's oldest profession. In fact, it was just another bike race. And not even any place interesting. The building in the upper lefthand corner of the photo is actually my office, around which the Tysons Corner Circuit Race travels. Big points for convenience--it was quite cold here yesterday, and a warm building with internet access and a coffeemaker is not a luxury one enjoys at every bike race. More generally, it's freezing cold or getting sunburned because I forgot sunblock, and seeing how long I can wait to pee, because at literally any bike race, I'd rather pee my pants than set foot in the portable toilet.

I happened to be sitting on the curb, waiting to snap the bikers coming around again, when I heard a strange clomping noise behind me. I looked up and spotted Huggy Bear. In the most heartwarming moment of the day, two small children rounded the corner a few minutes later with their dad, laid eyes on Huggy, and shouted "Santa!" The older one gave him a quick hug around the knees before they continued on up the street.

You see a lot of weird stuff at bike races, at least when you've been to as many as I have. But yesterday definitely made the top of the list. Apparently, though, the guy was just there to watch the race like everyone else.


P.S. Ruth, I mean it. I really do know my sight from my site. Geez. I'm so embarrassed. I may never blog again...