"I'M NOT OLD ENOUGH FOR THIS SHIT"
and
A TOUCHING SEND-OFF

Ok, I suppose I'm back to some extent from my mini-hiatus.

Just a quick story where my family and the news vaguely intersect.

My sister (about to be a senior at a major university) was exercising at the Claremont in Berkeley on Sunday, using one of the elliptical machines. A tall black man who looked 55-60 years of age began to use the machine next to her, and worked up a considerable sweat, so much so that residual bits of said sweat found their way on to her.

It wasn't until my father, who was also there, pointed it out to her afterwards that she realized she was exercising right next to Danny Glover.

That was Sunday. A few days later, now we know what he was training for:

U.S. actor Danny Glover was arrested on Wednesday on the steps of Sudan's embassy in Washington during a protest against the humanitarian crisis in the country's Darfur region.

Before he was led away in handcuffs by the uniformed division of the U.S. Secret Service, Glover addressed a small crowd of protesters, calling for a peacekeeping force to stop the violence in western Sudan.

"We want an end to the hostility," declared Glover, a star of the "Lethal Weapon" films. He was charged with disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Secret Service said.

(Full disclosure: Myself, my sister, my father and his wife have membership at the Claremont. Ahh, yuppiedom.)

Speaking of fathers, TBogg -- one of the smarter, funnier and snarkier voices of left blogtopia -- has written a touching farewell to his dad, who died yesterday after having a large stroke last year. Do read it.