Photo editing: Blur photo background

"Here's a photo of Salman Rushdie and Padma Laxmi in happier times. Please blur the people behind them... Too bad it didn't work out longer for them, don't you think. They were on my list of "Favourite Odd Couples". And it was more than their quaint height difference and age difference that drew me to them. Now what was it about this sexy cookery expert and the maverick, fatwa-worthy award winning writer...?"