Jump to December 2009 archive page: 1 2 3

  • Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    National Public Radio's Carl Kasell, 75, delivers one of his last newscasts during the Morning Edition program at NPR December 30, 2009 in Washington, DC. A newscaster with NPR for 30 years, Kasell will take up the duty of roving ambassador for the network and continue his work on the game show Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me!

    Talk about the end of an era. I never knew what Carl Kasell looked like until today, but his voice is as distinctive as Edward R. Murrow or Walter Cronkite. NPR won't be quite the same without him.

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  • Paul Ellis/AFP - Getty Images

    Hull City's English midfielder Nick Barmby attempts a shot on goal against Bolton Wanderers during their English Premier League football match at The Reebok Stadium in Bolton, north-west England, on Dec. 29.

    The photographer did an exceptional job of capturing peak action here. Nice photo.

  • Lucas Jackson/Reuters

    Volunteers throw confetti out a window in New York's Times Square for the annual "Air Worthiness test" of New Year's Eve confetti in New York, December 29, 2009. Thousands are expected to pack Times Square on Thursday for the annual New Year's Eve celebration.

    This makes a nice visual, but you have to wonder: has the confetti ever "failed" the test?

  • Viktor Drachev/AFP - Getty Images

    A family looks at a bare-chested man jogging in a snow-covered park in Minsk on Tuesday, Dec. 29.

    And people looked at me like I was nuts for jogging shirtless when it was 50 outside.

  • Morell/EPA

    Two men throw flour and eggs at each other during the 'Els Enfarinats' fiesta in Ibi, Alicante, Spain, 28 December 2009. This 200-year-old egg, flour and firecracker battle is held annually on 28 December, Fool's Day in Spain. Locals, covered in white and in fancy dresses, gather 'taxes' (money) from stores and the funds are donated to charity organizations.

    Now this looks like good clean fun.

  • Sheng Li/Reuters

    People visit an ice sculpture for the upcoming 26th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival at a park in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China on December 24, 2009. The 26th Ice and Snow Festival will kick off on January 5, 2010, local media reported.

    That is a large and intricate assembly of ice - I wonder how much they shattered while putting that together.

  • /Left: AP Right: AFP - Getty Im

    Left: President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, and daughters Sasha and Malia, walk on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Thursday, toward Marine One to start their trip to Hawaii. Right: Also on Thursday, the Obamas disembark from Air Force One upon their arrival at the Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, Hawaii, for Christmas vacation.

    From snow to sun for the Obamas today. If you're snowed in at an airport right now, I bet you wish you could travel in presidential style.

  • Mohamad Torokman/Reuters

    Worshippers visit the Church of the Nativity, the site revered as the birthplace of Jesus, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem December 24, 2009, ahead of Christmas.

    Cool shafts of light have made for good images today from the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

  • Ramon Espinosa/AP

    Children wear costumes as they partake in a Christmas pageant at the presidential palace on Christmas Eve in Port-au-Prince, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2009.

    Working on Christmas Eve is pretty cool -- it's a good day for photography because of all the visually rich ceremonies and celebrations.

  • Steve Helber/AP

    Warren Taylor surrenders to a police robot after holding hostages at a post office in Wytheville, Va.

    Until now Id never before seen a photo of a man in a wheelchair surrendering to a robot.

  • Noel Celis/AFP - Getty Images

    Firemen battle to control a fire as it engulfs a residential area in Makati City, suburban Manila, on Dec. 23. The fire gutted around 700 houses, affecting some 3000 families.

    Look at the antiquated equipment these firefighters have; no nomex hoods, SCBAs or protective gloves. Sometimes I think about the competency and adequacy of U.S. volunteer fire departments, then I see images like this and realize how well-equipped they are in comparison.

  • Vincent Kessler/Reuters

    A homeless man dressed as Santa Claus begs for money at a traffic light in Strasbourg, France on December 23, 2009.

    Something sad about seeing a homeless Santa, but hopefully his outfit made people feel more generous or at least inspired them to remember those less fortunate.

  • Jim Prisching/AP

    Milwaukee Brewers' Rickie Weeks gets hit in the face by the Cincinnati Reds' pitcher Edinson Volquez during the fourth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 13, 2009, in Milwaukee.

    This didn't make the final cut for the Year in Pictures, but I voted for it. See what made the slideshow in the link below, then vote for your favorite. Winner announced Dec. 31st.

  • Mukesh Gupta/Reuters

    A man rides a camel loaded with fodder in Jammu December 21, 2009.

    Now that's a lot of fodder.

  • Alex Brandon/AP

    The snow flies as everything is readied for Air Force One, with President Barack Obama aboard, to land at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009.

    I frequently find that the most interesting pictures from a presidential arrival or departure do not include the president.

  • Alissa Everett/Reuters

    A government soldier carries her infant on her back at Mushake in eastern Congo, January 26, 2009. Congolese Hutu rebels said they had clashed with a Rwandan-Congolese force deployed to crush them and civilians expressed fears they would be caught up in the violence.

    This image broadens my concept of a working mother. I wonder what she does with the baby if she's called upon to fire the gun.

  • Ng Han Guan/AP

    Ji Lanjun, right, and his brother demonstrate how a washing machine pipe was connected to an incision in the throat of his daughter in their home in central China's Henan province. For over a month, Ji's 15-year-old daughter was kept alive only by the home made contraption, assembled from bicycle and washing machine parts after doctors took her off a ventilator and discharged her because her family could no longer pay her hospital bills.

    Their ingenuity is remarkable. I wonder if they had to keep pedaling the bicycle continuously for that month and a half.

  • Ariana Cubillos/AP

    Faithful Juan Carlos Valderried holds candles while being covered by their wax as an offering for the health of his young brother at El Rincon church in Havana, Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009. Thousands of people paid homage to St. Lazarus, the patron saint of lepers, considered by Cubans as the most miraculous saint of all.

    I find the lengths that some will go to in order to show their faith to be quite intriguing.

  • Morteza Nikoubazl/Reuters

    An Afghan man picks up a bottle of petrol in the Islamghale area, near the Iran-Afghanistan border December 17, 2009.

    "I'd like 12 ounces of the Pebsi super-test, please." Seriously, though. . . This says a lot about the challenges faced every day by Afghans, which in turn magnify the challenges faced by U.S. and NATO development and military efforts there.

  • Vassili Korneyev/EPA

    Birds are fed with lard placed in trees in the suburbs of Moscow, Russia on 17 December 2009 as temperatures dropped considerably. Temperatures in Russia dropped to between minus 30 and minus 40 degrees and birds depend on nutritional support to survive the long cold winter.

    Lard?

  • Adi Weda / Hotli Simanjuntak/EPA

    A composite image shows a lone tree still standing after the 2004 tsunami destroyed Ulee Lheue port in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, dated Dec. 30, 2004 and a view of the same area, below, taken almost five years later, on Dec. 15, 2009.

    It's amazing how much things can change in a few years.

  • Pablo Sanchez/Reuters

    A Japanese Macaque, or Snow Monkey, soaks in a hot spring in Yamanouchi town, central Japan, on Dec. 17, 2009.

    Smart little guy. I'd be doing the same thing if I were him.

  • Susana Vera/Reuters

    A woman laughs as she compliments an underwear model to win free Unno male underpants, during a campaign for the new type of underpants, in Madrid December 16, 2009. Underwear company Unno says the new underpants provide extra shape enhancement.

    Some things are best left to the imagination.

  • Arko Datta/Reuters

    A worker pulls a publicity cut-out of a Bollywood movie in Mumbai December 16, 2009.

    I wonder if he's feeling as small as he looks.

  • Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

    LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 16: A deer stands in the snow in Richmond Park on December 16, 2009 in London, England. A cold weather front is due to bring snow to parts of the country today with temperatures falling to as little as -4C according to the Met office. Heavier snow is expected in the capital towards the end of the weeek. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

    I haven't seen a set of antlers like that since I lived in the Midwest. Beautiful.

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