Media Social Gossip : Memorial Day 2012: May 28 Marks Day Of Remembrance

 MEDIA SOCIAL GOSSIP
By ALLEN G. BREED, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Most people run marathons to challenge themselves. Maj. George Kraehe runs them to challenge others.
As a member of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors' "run & remember team," the New Mexico Army National Guard officer has participated in 20 races. Most times, as he sweats his way along each 26.2-mile course, flapping against Kraehe's back is the laminated photograph of a service member who has died in what has become our nation's longest war.
The 46-year-old military lawyer from Albuquerque does it to raise money, but also "to be kind of a visible sign that there still are people out there fighting and dying, unfortunately, in these conflicts."
"Because I don't think it's something that is foremost in people's thoughts," he said in a recent telephone interview from Kabul, Afghanistan. "I think you could say that because we have done so well, because we have been a big part of preventing another attack on U.S. soil, it is easier for people to forget we're here."
As the nation approaches its 11th Memorial Day since the United States launched the Global War on Terror, Kraehe and others fear many have done just that.
About 2.2 million U.S. service members have seen duty in the Middle Eastern war zones, many of them veterans of multiple tours. And more than 6,330 have died – nearly 4,500 in Iraq, and more than 1,840 in Afghanistan.
But as striking as those numbers are, fewer Americans today may have a direct connection to the ongoing fighting than during any previous war.
Unlike World War II, when 16 million men and women put on a uniform, less than 1 percent of the nation's population serves in the U.S. military. And unlike Korea or Vietnam, when the threat of imminent draft hung over the head of every physically fit male over the age of 18, only those who have volunteered need worry about being plucked from their routine lives and placed in harm's way.
When retiring Adm. Mike Mullen addressed the West Point graduating class last May, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the new Army officers that he believed most Americans appreciated the military's sacrifices. But, he added, "I fear they do not know us. I fear they do not comprehend the full weight of the burden we carry or the price we pay when we return from battle."
In a survey released shortly after the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the Pew Research Center found that 84 percent of recent veterans felt the general public has "little or no understanding" of the problems they and their families face. Of the civilians polled, 71 percent agreed.
The same study found that only a third of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 had an immediate family member who had served in the military. When she unveiled a special Gold Star Christmas tree at the White House last year to honor the families of fallen service members, first lady Michelle Obama lamented, "Not every American knows what a . Gold Star family is."
"I've had people say to me, `Oh. We still have troops in Afghanistan?'" says Ami Neiberger-Miller.
The gold star license plate on her car is for her kid brother.
Army Spc. Christopher T. Neiberger was standing in a turret, manning the .50-caliber machine gun, during a run through Baghdad when an improvised explosive device blew apart his Humvee. It was Aug. 6, 2007 – three days after his 22nd birthday.
While those who've lost someone to these wars are not as numerous as in her grandparents' generation, the proliferation of memorial T-shirts, car decals and even tattoos makes the survivors more visible, says Neiberger-Miller.
"I would hope that those things would invite questions," she says. "And what is surprising is how often they don't."
One difference between this war and, say, World War II is that shared sense of purpose, says Neiberger-Miller, a spokeswoman for TAPS.
"My grandparents have stories about rationing and sacrifice and having a victory garden – all of those things Americans did for the war effort," she says. "Here, it's just a different environment. I don't think people feel they've been asked to sacrifice as a group for the war effort."
The profound sacrifice of losing a loved one in service to flag and country carries its own complexity. As part of this fraternity of sorrow, survivors like Neiberger-Miller are stuck in a sometimes awkward limbo: wanting people to honor their fallen, but needing to set boundaries.
Chris Neiberger is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, in Section 60. During a recent visit, his sister was sitting silently in front of his gravestone when a walking tour came by.
Although making a point of not engaging the tourists, she politely answered a couple of questions. When a woman approached to hug her, Neiberger-Miller stepped aside and shook her hand instead.
"I mean, they WANT to connect," she says. "They want into that world, but they DON'T want into it."
Rachel Ascione thinks people are aware of what's going on. They often just don't know how to show it.
Her stepbrother, Marine Cpl. Ronald R. Payne Jr., of Lakeland, Fla., died May 8, 2004, when his patrol came under fire from rocket-propelled grenades while searching for a Taliban official outside Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. Just 23, he was the Corps' first combat casualty in that country.
Ascione – whose mother married Payne's father when the kids were in kindergarten together – has a sticker on the back window of her car memorializing her brother. Sometimes, she will emerge from a store or restaurant to find a note from a stranger, "thanking me for my brother's sacrifice."
She recently hung out with a friend of Ron's who'd just returned from a stint as a medic in Afghanistan. He told her people here at home have no idea how bad things are.
"The longer we're there, the more people are dying," the 30-year-old Cranford, N.J., woman says. "Ultimately, everyone will know someone."
Maj. Kraehe, the marathon runner, is trying to help the rest of us "know" some of these fallen heroes.
In civilian life, Kraehe is an assistant U.S. Attorney, husband and father of two boys. When he puts on his uniform with its oak leaf insignia, he is a member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps.
Kraehe learned about the TAPS running program in 2006, during his first deployment, in Iraq. That December, he ran his first memorial race, whimsically dubbed the Honolulu Marathon "Forward." Kraehe and about 200 others ran through the flat desert along the perimeter of Contingency Operations Base Speicher, just north of Tikrit.
He did it in honor of CW2 Ruel Garcia, 34, of Wahiawa, Hawaii, who was killed Jan. 16, 2006, when his AH64D Apache helicopter was shot down over Baghdad.
In 2009, Kraehe made a decision: to run marathons in all 50 states, honoring a native son or daughter in each.
So far, he's made it to races from Arkansas (the Hogeye Marathon) to Wisconsin (the Madison Marathon), and "Rock `n Roll" runs in both New Orleans and Las Vegas. And although his second deployment – this time to Herat in western Afghanistan – has made achieving his objective more difficult, Kraehe still finds time to honor his fallen comrades.
In October, he hitched a ride on a C-130 cargo plane to run a marathon in Kabul.
A day before the race, a suicide bombing in the city killed seven Americans. So he and the other two dozen participants were confined to the embassy compound.
"The course was a .9-mile loop," he says with a laugh. "So we were just kind of running around in a circle."
Twenty-eight times.
Last month, while home on R&R, Kraehe decided to run the Boston Marathon.
Normally, TAPS hooks him up with the family of a fallen service member and obtains a photo. But the organization was unable to find someone in time, so Kraehe chose a young man who'd been killed where he is now serving.
On Sept. 28, Army Spc. Steven E. Gutowski of Plymouth, Mass., was part of a four-person team clearing roads of bombs in Afghanistan's Ghazni Province. The combat engineer and two others were killed when an IED exploded.
In Boston, when Kraehe began to flag under the day's record heat, he reflected on why he was there.
"They didn't quit," he says. "They gave it their all, literally."
The 24-year-old soldier's mother didn't know of Kraehe's tribute until a reporter told her about it.
"It's overwhelming," Joan Gutowski said, her voice breaking. "These soldiers are unbelievable. They're a cut above everybody else, I'll tell you."

Times-Picayune to cut paper to 3 days a week : Media Social Gossip

Media Social Gossip Associated News-
The Times-Picayune, one of the nation's oldest newspapers, will no longer tender print editions seven days a week and instead plans to offer three printed issues a week starting in the fall. The change means New Orleans would become the largest metro area in the nation without a daily newspaper in the digital age.
The changes announced Thursday were joint with similar moves at three major Alabama daily newspapers also owned by the New house family group's Advance Publications. The Birmingham News, the Press-Register in Mobile and The Huntsville Times will switch to publishing three days a week as part of a new focus on online news. At all four papers, there will be unspecified staff cuts. All four papers will continue to publish constantly on their websites, and online access will remain free.
Newspapers have struggled in recent years as consumers increasingly get their news online. Print advertising declined as the economy went into recession, and newspapers have yet to learn how to make online advertising as profitable as its printed complement.
"For us, this isn't about print versus digital, this is about creating a very successful multi-platform media company that addresses the ever-changing needs of our readers, our online users and our advertisers," said Advance Publications' president of local digital strategy, Randy Siegel, in an interview with The Associated Press. "This change is not easy, but it's essential for us to remain relevant."
Siegel didn't say how much money the reduced print runs in Louisiana and Alabama would save, nor how many staff members would be laid off or hired in the new online units.
"To get good quality information is not despicable said Jennifer Greer, chair of the journalism department at the University of Alabama. "What you are seeing is people trying to figure out a business model that works in a digital age."
The decision was met with sadness by some residents in New Orleans, where The Times-Picayune won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Staffers continued reporting despite being forced out of the newspaper's offices amid widespread flooding and power outages.
The storm drove away thousands of residents, some of whom never came back. The city -- and its newspaper -- struggled to recover in the years since.
The paper was a lifeline for the Southern, working-class city, providing government announcements, obituaries, Carnival and scoops on local corruption, said Cheron Brylski, a 53-year-old New Orleans-based political consultant. Not having the paper every day is like losing a sports team, she said.
"Where is New Orleans headed since Katrina? This is not something that helps our recovery," she said.
The papers in Alabama also have long histories. The Mobile paper has roots to 1813 with the founding of the Mobile Gazette and became a daily in 1832, according to a history of the publication on al.com. And in 2007, the Birmingham News won a Pulitzer Prize for a series on corruption in Alabama's two-year college system.
Birmingham News employees were told during morning meetings that longtime Editor Tom Scarritt will retire this fall when the new companies are created, according to two reporters who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the changes for the company.
In New Orleans, a new company, the NOLA Media Group, would be created to oversee both The Times-Picayune and its affiliated website, NOLA.com.
The announcements mirror changes Advance Publications made in Michigan. In 2009, the company shut the Ann Arbor News but created AnnArbor.com, a news website that still publishes print editions on Thursday and Sunday.
In February, it launched the MLive Media Group, which runs MLive.com, to focus its efforts in Michigan digitally. Meanwhile, all of its eight other newspapers in the state offer three days of home delivery with newsstand sales from three to seven days a week.
Newspaper analyst Ken Doctor, who writes the Newsonomics blog, said the company is trying to hold on to declining print ad revenue for a few more years, and expects Advance to eventually cut print runs at its other newspapers in New Jersey, Oregon, Ohio and elsewhere. The company owns The Oregonian in Portland, Ore.; The Plain Dealer in Cleveland; and The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J.
"It's a big bet to retain profitability and hope that in the shock therapy, there are profits on the other end," he said.
Print circulation has been dropping steadily over the years at the four newspapers affected by Thursday's announcement, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. On average, the four papers' circulation in the half year through March fell about 6 percent from a year ago.
Nonetheless, the Times-Picayune remains one of the nation's most successful newspapers. Of the top 50 large-sized markets, the newspaper has the highest rate of readership of its daily edition in the U.S., according to Austin, Texas-based Scarborough Research, a firm that tracks the industry.
The Times-Picayune's average paid circulation was 133,557 in the six months through March, down 49 percent compared to March 2005, a few months before Hurricane Katrina hit.
The Birmingham News' circulation of 103,729 is down 29 percent from five years ago; the Press-Register's of 82,088 is down 18 percent; and The Huntsville Times' of 44,725 is down 15 percent.
Die-hard supporters and even Mayor Mitch Landrieu pledged to make sure the newspaper remained a part of New Orleans culture.
"Through wars and floods, the `Aints and a Saints Super Bowl victory, the TP has been and remains an integral part of our daily routine and our culture," Landrieu said.
Anne Milling, a longtime member of the advisory board to The Times-Picayune, said an online-focused model wouldn't work in New Orleans. She said she and other supporters were exploring bringing in new owners committed to a daily paper, or even starting a new daily publication.
"We always do things differently," she said. "It's part of our tradition: You wake up with a cup of chicory coffee and read the newspaper."
Media Social Gossip

Jim Parsons Reveals He Is Gay : Media Social Gossip

The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons reveals that he is gay and in a long-term relationship in a recent interview with the New York Times.
The Times, interviewing Parsons about his Broadway career, mentioned that he is gay and in a 10-year relationship, but did not elaborate.
The news is not exactly a surprise: Parsons thanked his presumed partner, Todd Spiewak, at the 2010 Emmys when he won for lead actor.

Mostly, the actor spoke about his role Elwood P. Dowd in Broadway's Harvey.
While best known for Sheldon's classic Big Bang Theory quotes, Parsons praised Dowd as a personality desiring to connect with other people.
Parsons, 39, continued, saying, "The jump-out-of-bed happiness I feel transcends any nerves about taking on a history-laden role."
Elwood P. Dowd was most famously played by Jimmy Stewart in the 1944 film version of the play. Jim will no doubt do it righteousness.

How Phillip Phillips won ‘American Idol’ : Media Social Gossip

Associated News
LOS ANGELES  -- From the moment he first stepped in front of the judges and unleashed a folksy take on Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” guitar-playing crooner Phillip Phillips seemed preordained to win “American Idol,” and not just because he’s another white guy with a guitar, the all-too-familiar profile of the previous four “Idol” champions.

“I’m just lucky,” the former pawn shop worker said Wednesday night in his backstage dressing room after his win.

It was more than just luck that helped Phillips easily overcome 16-year-old mini-diva Jessica Sanchez to become the Fox talent competition’s 11th season victor. The combination of his goofy personality, ah-shucks Southern humility, rebelliousness, risk-taking originality and, yes, those good looks kept him at the front of the pack all season long.

While he is indeed a WGWG—the “Idol” fan term for “white guys with guitars”—Phillips differentiated himself with a musical style that was grittier than past winners David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze and Scotty McCreery, as well his competitors with much wider vocal ranges, like gospel singer Joshua Ledet and soaring vocalist Hollie Cavanagh.

Mostly, Phillips was just so darn charming. When given the opportunity, he always excelled at genuinely letting his personality shine through on the show, often as much of a challenge as hitting the right notes. He established a silly bromance with finalist Heejun Han and seemed downright distraught at the unexpected dismissal of alt-rocker Colten Dixon.

Despite Sanchez’s unstoppable voice and a savvy-beyond-her-years approach, she was essentially living on borrowed time after she was supposed to be eliminated but was saved by the judges. She realized that during Top Three week.

“I told Phillip, ‘You’re gonna win this whole thing,’ and he was like, ‘Nah, I’m not,”’ recalled Sanchez backstage. “I’m like, ‘Yes, you are.’ I don’t think he totally believed that, and I totally believed it. I just went out in this competition after that moment and just sang. Phillip’s gonna win, anyway. I might as well just sing my heart out.”

The total votes for each singer weren’t released, but it was likely a landslide for Phillips, who accomplished his feat despite serious kidney problems that plagued him all season.

Several online outfits predicted he would take home the top prize: the “Idol” title and a record contract. DialIdol.com, which tracks busy signals on the phone lines dedicated to each contestant, correctly projected Phillips as the winner Wednesday morning.

The Leesburg, Ga., native never appeared at the bottom of the pack, a testament not only to his die-hard fan base that kept him safe but also to some of his more talked-about performances. Like the time he turned Usher’s “U Got It Bad” into an acoustic ditty or unleashed a flawless take on the obscure—for “Idol,” anyway—Damien Rice tune “Volcano.”

“I’m excited to do my album,” said Phillips. “I know it’s going to be challenging because a lot of opinions will be coming my way, but it’s like the show, I know my music. I know how I want it. I’m not trying to win Grammys or be famous or anything.”

Phillips’ future success, as with all “Idol” winners before him, will be determined by record sales, not viewer votes. With his folksy singer-songwriter leanings, Phillips could capture the public’s attention in the same way that Arcade Fire, Bon Iver and Mumford and Sons have or, like ninth season winner DeWyze, he could just fade into obscurity.

Media Social News

Phillip Phillips Wins ‘American Idol’ Season 11 : Media Social Gossip

Well, America, after Wednesday night’s (May 23) never-ending assembly line of celebrity guests and sequined bodysuits, you and your world record 132 million votes gave us a shocker, but not really, because the guys always win American Idol. Fellow citizens, even though in the end it really doesn’t matter who gets to call themselves the winner, you got it wrong. Yes, Phillip Phillips is a good performer, and his voice has character, and he would presumably write his own songs, which is admirable. Media social gossip.
Phil is energetic, likable and earnest, and we’re sure he’ll have some success. But listening to him, it’s just nice. That’s it. Jessica Sanchez has a vocal gift. Her voice has the power to move you, to make your eyes well up, and to literally move you as in “get you to stand up out of your chair and throw your hands on top of your head because you can’t believe what you’re hearing.” By this reality singing competition’s eleventh season, let’s all just admit that the “crowd-sourcing our stars” experiment has officially failed.
Jessica proved that on her “And I Am Telling You…” duet with its original singer, Jennifer Holliday, in a performance that probably had a lot of people wishing they could take back their Phillip votes. You guys, this performance, what can we even say about it?! A 16-year-old has NO BUSINESS holding her own with a legendary power singer like that. It was the impressive spectacle we knew she was capable of, and exactly what she was missing on Tuesday night (May 22).
So while it was heartwarming to see Phil break down in tears in the middle of singing “Home” after his victory, Jessica’s duet is the moment people will remember from Season 11.
So how did we get to that last dramatic light-dimming and announcement? The show started with the season 11 rejects all in white (take THAT, Memorial Day fashion police) singing Bruno Mars‘ “Runaway Baby.” It felt like years ago that we had last heard the likes of Colton Dixon, Shannon Magrane, Jeremy Rosado, and Erika Van Pelt singing. But for the most part everyone sounded good.
Next, Phil was joined by the legendary John Fogerty for Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” and “Bad Moon Rising.” Yes, the author of your parents’ favorite anti-war anthem “Fortunate Son” was now performing on the Idol stage. Times they are a-changin’.
Then Joshua Ledet took the stage with his inspiration, Season 3 winner Fantasia, for Elton John‘s “Take Me To The Pilot.” And there was so much improvised screeching coming from both parties that the performance got cut off by the commercial break. Now that there’s no competition on the line, Josh apparently had no qualms about straight-up screaming through an entire song.
The ladies of the Top 12 were up next, with a medley of Chaka Khan‘s “Ain’t Nobody” and “Through The Fire” before a surprise visit from Chaka herself on “I’m Every Woman.”  Even today her voice cuts right through the air like a soulful ninja star.
Rihanna next took the stage for her latest smash hit “Where Have You Been” while sporting her new dreads. Whereas her SNL performance consisted mainly of crotch-patting, this one involved a laser pyramid, sky-dancers, shirtless tribal drummers, and overall she was more active and entertaining.
BY MEDIA SOCIAL GOSSIP

Michael McKean Hit By Car in NYC : Media Social Gossip

Actor Michael McKean, star of Best In Show and perhaps more notably the lead singer in the movie This is Spinal Tap, was hit by a car in New York City.

His spokeswoman, Harriet Sternberg, said the actor suffered a broken leg.

Emergency officials say McKean was struck at West 86th Street and Broadway in Manhattan just before 3 p.m. Tuesday and rushed to St. Luke’s hospital.

Police said he was in stable condition. They had no further details.

McKean also played Lenny on the hit show Laverne & Shirley. He is currently starring in the Broadway production of Gore Vidal’s political drama.
BY Media Social Gossip

Lolo Jones Talks Virginity, Says She Was a ‘Professional Shoplifter’ : Media Social Gossip

Track star Lolo Jones bared all during a recent documentary aired on ESPN (media social gossip), and the athlete discussed in depth the frustrations of growing up poor and her struggles to remain a virgin before marriage.

Now 29, Jones talks about growing up in a family of six raised mostly by a single mom. Living at the Salvation Army, she speaks of shame when interacting with her peers, waking up early in order to avoid friends at day camp learning she slept in the same building’s basement.
Of her struggles to avoid others noticing how poor her family was, Lolo Jones says she became adept at stealing from grocery stores. She explains:
“I definitely would say, by sixth grade, I was a professional shoplifter- and not because I wanted to. I’m not going out to shoplift earrings or clothes or shoes like the average teenager… I was shoplifting frozen dinners at a grocery store. I could shoplift four frozen dinners, easily.”
Lolo Jones suffered a devastating setback at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, but her reaction to the upset endeared her to fans as she prepares for the upcoming games. But while training for the Olympics is hard, Jones also says that it’s not the hardest thing she’s done- citing abstaining from sex as a larger challenge.