Stick to your own crafts, celebs

Only four comments have been left for Lynn Swann on his blog. Four comments, left on the blog… Only four comments have been left for Lynn Swann on his blog. Four comments, left on the blog of a man who was recently inducted into the football hall of fame and helped the Steelers maintain a dynasty during the late ’70s. This would be mortifying for some, who race home every day from class and cry if they get fewer than 10 responses to their new blog post. The former Steelers receiver knows he has friends. There are enough rabid Steelers fans out there to fill out a dozen response pages full of autograph requests and marriage proposals.

But before you bolt to your computer with the intention of adding Lynn Swann as a MySpace friend, or being the fifth to comment, you should know that his blog isn’t exclusively a personal one. He himself has only posted once on it. It is in fact a blog that follows a man’s campaign to be elected governor of Pennsylvania – his attempt, to be precise.

The Swann campaign kicked off early this year, and so far, the MVP of Super Bowl X has run the route of silence.

It is unclear as to most what old number 88’s platform will be. It is fitting that the four comments that have been left on Swann’s blog all mention him as a member of the Steelers, not as a candidate for governor. We don’t yet know what the wideout-turned-politician plans to do in Harrisburg, but at least we know for damn sure that the man can catch a football.

Of course, this is to be expected; politicians get in trouble when they talk too much. Remember Trent Lott? No? Me either.

Speaking of famous wide receivers in Pennsylvania, Terrell Owens has a new book out. “Catch This!” is Owens’ autobiography, his chance to tell us about a life full of challenges met and overcome, contracts signed and voided.

The Donald has written numerous self-help books. I have “How to Get Rich: Think Like a Billionaire” sitting on the bookshelf. I bought it at Target for 10 bucks at the beginning of the year. It has really helped me to learn the value of money and spend more wisely. I’m never going to buy one of his books again.

Oh, and let’s not forget that Madonna is writing children’s literature and Arnold Schwarzenegger is governing California between reps.

All you have to do to see that the world is crazy is look up and read the writing on the wall, which, before long, will have been written by Chuck Norris.

I remember when there was a line celebrities didn’t cross. Famous bands and good actors used to be people you would listen to on the radio and watch on the big screen.

You could go to a Steven Segal movie without going home and watching a TV show about his life, or without hearing Steven Segal’s newest hit single on the radio. You never had to worry when you went into a book store that you would see him staring down at you from a shelf, his face on an autobiography called “Hard to Kill: The Steven Segal Story.”

Go into any bookstore and you will begin to see our favorite TV personalities coming to us in the printed form. We can read books by Bill O’Reilly and even Montel Williams.

Maybe I’m just bitter because if there ever comes a day when I want to sell a book, I’ll have to do more than add my name to the cover. If I tell my publisher to add my face, my book might actually sell worse.

Lynn Swann’s face isn’t on any books, but it is on a campaign. I explored Swann’s site a bit and found a section with some commercials in it, one on property taxes. In it, it is revealed that our property taxes are the third highest in the country. “That’s a stat you don’t want,” Swann points out.

I wonder if they make Lynn Swann-for-governor bobblehead figurines yet.

More and more, it seems, famous faces are gracing us from newer and different venues. Book covers and campaigns haven’t always been reserved exclusively for writers and politicians, but I’ve always taken comfort in the fact that a normal guy like me has to come up with a pretty good idea to get published. And theoretically, the best and the brightest candidate is the one who gets the nomination.

But apparently, all you really need is a little celebrity. There is a whole world of almost-famous people out there worth getting to know.

“nine out of 10 times, higher taxes means less money.” Uh, thank you, Governor Madden. E-mail Sam Morey at smorey88@hotmail.com.