Brew Pubs and Falcons and Cats - oh my.

One of my favorite spots in the city, the Independence Brew Pub has closed its doors. According to the Inquirer, the owners are $800,000 in debt and cannot continue. It was centrally located, across from the Reading Terminal Market, upstairs from The Gallery and next to the Convention Center. I could never figure out why it was never crowded when I went in. I suppose that’s where the 800 grand comes in. Where’s the next best place in Philadelphia for freshly brewed beer?

Cat update: After several failed attempts to get him to eat his expensive prescription food, I have cried “uncle.” He’s been eating regularly and it appears he has gained some weight, so I’m going to try a different tack. I found a Renal paste that I can make him eat by smearing it on his teeth. I’m not giving up without a fight, and since the cat doesn’t understand the severity of his condition, I’ll try this stuff. He won’t like it, but anything is better than nothing. He's been on a steady diet of salmon, trout and ocean whitefish (for the Omega3 oils, which I read are good for his condition) and his regular Purina One Kidney diet.
You can convince people to eat almost anything if you present them with the argument that “if you don’t eat this, you’ll be dead soon,” but an old cat, set in his ways who doesn’t understand English is a tough sell.

Michael Vick is contrite, now that he has been caught. “I’m sorry to anyone who was hurt by my actions,” he said, which I assume includes the dogs that he helped drown, electrocute and hang. Louts and jackasses are never sorry while they are in the middle of their rotten behavior, and one assumes that Vick and his pals would still be organizing dog fights had they not been caught. He wasn’t going to stop on his own after all this time. Now that the Feds are involved and it appears as though Michael will wind up in prison and perhaps never play football again, he is suddenly repentant.

It isn’t as though he did something crazy once and felt really badly about it later. This dog thing is repeated behavior, and the only reason he apologized is because he got caught and he’s frightened. It’s just another death bed confession, and I'll suck a cock on Broad Street before I'll accept it.