O.K. Steve Martin rode a bike through Central Park today

And someone thought to snap his pictures. I know some of you have celebrity-sighting stories to share, and here’s mine: I was an overachieving youth and once got sent to an overachieving youth conference, in which I and others went to the Rose Garden to shake hands with the President (Gerald R. Ford, and yes! I’m that old) and the First Lady Betty (I shook her hand twice; once on her way to the podium and once on the way back) and then we went to some kind of dinner and there was Art Linkletter!

No! Really! And I posed with him but the kid taking the picture was so nervous he cut me out of the photo and all you can see is my right breast (not to worry, it’s covered) and part of my chin (I have a long one) and there stands Ark Linkletter — Mr. Kid Say the Darndest Things — grinning to beat the band.

So for all you know, without photographic evidence, I’m making this whole thing up. I promise if you go ahead and believe me, I’ll go ahead and believe you.

And thanks, Gawker, for the photo.

Who inspired you this year?

And don’t say me, because that would make you a suck-up.

Beliefnet is choosing the Most Inspiring Person for 2009.

Was it US Airways Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who landed a plane in the Hudson River, saved everyone, and was the last to leave the plane?

Was it Kaleb Eulls, the Mississippi football star [seen above] who tackled a distraught 14-year-0ld girl with a gun, and perhaps saved an entire busload of children — including his younger sisters?

How about Jill and Kevin, the laughing couple from that wedding dance video? They gave us a giggle, then turned their video into a fund-raising tool for an organization that works against domestic violence.

What about the protesters in Iran? Their cause continues.

I do not want to influence your vote. I’ve already voted, and I encourage you to do the same.

(But after reading the stories of these people, I feel like I’ve pretty much wasted my year, so far.)

(Onward.)

 

This? I did not expect this.

Swiss voters overwhelmingly banned the construction of minarets.

More here. And here.

Where’s Rob?

LOVE Improv Everywhere. The group builds — in a weird way — community, right? Check out the cheer toward the end. Aren’t people helpful? And then? They celebrated!

“We found Rob!” (clap-clap-clapclapclap)

And thanks, BuzzFeed, for the link.

The Supremes say no

The Supreme Court has thrown out an appeal that effectively means photos of the abuse of detainees overseas will not be released. The American Civil Liberties Union had filed suit to have the photos made public.

The ACLU has vowed to continue to fight for the photos’ release.

“We continue to believe that the Defense Department’s suppression of these photos is both unlawful and unwise, and that there is a strong public interest in the photos’ release,” said Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project. “The photos would show connections between government policy and the abuse that took place in the detention centers. They might also show patterns that have until now gone unnoticed. Their disclosure would both discourage abuse in the future and underscore the need for a comprehensive investigation of past abuses. And we continue to believe that permitting the government to suppress information about government misconduct on the grounds that someone, somewhere in the world, might react badly – or even violently – sets a very dangerous precedent.”

I know we’ve talked about this before. I come down on the side of releasing the photos (and agreeing with the ACLU as to why). You?

 

Not to grind on a point, but…

…O.K. I am grinding on a point, but if you’ve been following the story of that horrible ambush of the four Washington police officers, you know that the suspect had issues, including delusions that he is Jesus, and that he can fly.

So. While we’re examining and reexamining the Fort Hood shootings, why are we willing to indict that suspect’s religion (Islam), and not do more than mention Maurice Clemmons’ attachment to Christianity? Perhaps it’s because most of us are at least a little bit familiar with Christianity and we know that nothing in that religion would move a person to pick up a gun and shoot four people dead. And maybe — just maybe — if we took the time to educate ourselves about other religions (such as Islam), we’d be a little less quick to condemn an entire faith based on the actions of some sick people.

That’s it. Enough said. And thanks, Sis. Jac, for pointing this out.

Hmmm…what does “green” really mean?

Mother Jones explains it all for you here.

Bishop says ix-nay on the arol-cays

A British bishop says some traditional Christmas carols are misleading, and turn Jesus into “Father Christmas.” In  regard to “Away In a Manger,” Rt. Rev. Nick Baines says:

I always find it a slightly bizarre sight when I see parents and grandparents at a nativity play singing Away in a Manger as if it actually related to reality,” he said.

“I can understand the little children being quite taken with the sort of baby of whom it can be said ‘no crying he makes’, but how can any adult sing this without embarrassment?

The Rev. Baines has written a book, “Why Wish You a Merry Christmas? What Matters (And What Doesn’t) in the Festive Season.”

And thanks, Bro. Jay, for the link.

Santa, PLEASE don’t bring me…

We’ve already discussed one of these “15 Toys Not To Buy Your Kids,” but there are more, like the toy security check point, or Pole Dance Doll.

But you probably knew that already.

And thanks, Bro. Mike, for the link.

Scrooge, Russell Athletic, and Honduras

The maker of college-themed sportswear? They had a change of heart. Robyn Blumner has more, at Common Dreams.

And here’s more on United Students Against Sweatshops, and here’s more on Worker Rights Consortium.