From soup to Superman to the Super Bowl-winning Giants, the Garden State’s impact on contemporary culture is clearly evident in the 2012 class of New Jersey Hall of Fame inductees, announced today.

A president, a vice president, a sharp-shooting woman, a horn-blowing man, a blustery football coach and the father of political cartooning are among the 50 New Jerseyans nominated for the fifth class of the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

The passing of Clarence Clemons, however sad, is a reminder of how special it is to be from New Jersey.

The New Jersey Hall of Fame inducted its newest class Sunday night. The evening may have lacked the star power of past ceremonies, but it certainly had plenty of sincere and touching moments.

It’s been a long time since I committed a crime more serious than jaywalking. Yet there I was in Ridgefield recently accused of that most dastardly offense: “Failure to inspect.”

The power that draws moth to flame drew me back to my old fitness group earlier this week. And it burns.

Here’s one of the stranger suburban rituals. It happens every Memorial Day Weekend with the official opening of the Montclair Beach Club, the lovely private pool that straddles the border of Montclair and Clifton.

It was not my intent to go to the final home game at Yankee Stadium. But in the end, I couldn’t resist.

I woke my teenage daughter at 6:10 am Wednesday to watch the sun as it inched its way above the horizon off Bay Head. Such moments down the shore are too precious to sleep through.

At about 3:30 Sunday afternoon, Bruce Springsteen fans across New Jersey were digging out their rain ponchos as fierce thunderstorms smashed down on the Garden State. But by the time Bruce took the stage at Giants Stadium that evening, the rain had ceased and a cool breeze prevailed. Even the weather gods know who’s the boss.

Time is running out. There are just 20-something regular season games remaining at Yankee Stadium. Yes, the big ball yard is two rivers away from New Jersey, but the Yanks always have had deep roots in the Garden State.

We skipped Montclair’s Independence Day Parade this year for the first time since our kids were infants. But there was one July 4th ritual I would not pass up: Our annual parent-daughter softball game.