Why dirty up my hands with newsprint?

(CNN) -- For grins, next time you're in the mood for a movie, go rent "The Paper" with Michael Keaton and Glenn Close. Released in 1994, it involves a day in the life of a New York City tabloid newspaper.

What a difference a decade (and a half) makes.
It's a bit like a denizen of the year 1909 trying to fathom the relevance of what went on behind the scenes of 1894's cutthroat horse and buggy industry while Henry Ford's factories roll out Model T after Model T, dramatically changing the world's landscape -- for better and worse -- in ways we're still dealing with here in the 21st century.
Recently, someone asked me about the last time I'd picked up a newspaper, and I couldn't honestly remember when that was.
Actually, no -- I take that back. I picked up a local weekly from our driveway and tossed it into the recycling bin just the other day.
Why dirty up my hands with newsprint when I can just go see the same information presented in the more searchable and easier to share format of a Web edition?
And what if a so-called news agency doesn't have an online edition of its paper? Then I find its relevancy even more dubious and obsolete since it's failed to scoop this bit of hot news that should be apparent to anyone with brains in their noggins: print media is dying.

Failure to adapt to the rapidly changing methods of media distribution will leave the clueless wallowing behind like mastodons in the muck of a Pleistocene tar pit (about as slow and agonizing of a death as I can imagine).
I'm not an elitist or anything. I've just grown accustomed to getting my news online -- something that gives me the ability to pass interesting articles immediately on to friends. Without scissors, paper scraps, and messy fingers, you just can't do that with print.
I also love having the power to type in a keyword to find out what related events are going on in the world at that very moment. If I want the skinny on the details of a tech conference keynote, for instance, I can skim online resources live or just minutes after the fact instead of waiting for the next day's (or a late edition's) tech column.
And then, of course, I can instantly pass along such details to people I know. Thanks to the Internet, it's like the grapevine just got a healthy dose of Miracle-Gro.
The classic argument against electronic news was that it wasn't very portable -- you couldn't take it with you anywhere. I'm not going to say that the iPhone changed the rules, but it's certainly given me the best mobile Web browser I've ever experienced. It's true that newspapers don't run out of batteries, but they also take up more space.
The real estate of online news sources is better utilized, too, in my opinion. Classifieds are no longer squished into thin columns; I can surf craigslist without squinting.
And (speaking of real estate) which sort of ad is more likely to sell a house nowadays: the newspaper's truncated description with a single, low-resolution thumbnail, or a virtual tour with live mapping services and geographical and geopolitical information with feature comparisons to other properties available? Thought so.
As far as other players in the print media world go, magazines may be around for a while longer. They're usually targeted to a specific audience, have wide distribution, and much more targeted advertising. Still, they're not immune to the fading of print importance.
Catalogs? They may never disappear as long as people are buying and the cost per acquisition is lower than the cost of printing and mailing. Phone books are still really useful ... for short people in need of a boost at the dinner table.
There will always be a need for an information industry, so to speak. It's how that information is disseminated that must remain fluid and ready to adapt along with the technology of the times. With the rise of literacy and invention of the printing press, the town crier of yore soon found himself out of a job.
If you work in the newspaper industry, I hope your skills translate -- because I just don't see newspapers (in their current state) being around in another decade. I'm not trying to bag on newspapers, mind you; I made good money as a paperboy when I was younger.

source: http://edition.cnn.com/

Lockheed Martin Contributes $1 Million to Endowment of the United States Institute of Peace

BETHESDA, Md., April 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin Corporation has become the premier sponsor of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) annual Dean Acheson Lecture for five years beginning in 2009. In addition to prominently recognizing the company as a sponsor in all lecture-related materials, Lockheed Martin will be included as a Founding Corporate Partner for the Institute's new National Mall headquarters and public education center campaign.
The $1 million gift to the Institute's endowment fund will enable the continuation of USIP's Dean Acheson Lecture, an annual event that featured Defense Secretary Robert Gates as its first keynote speaker in October 2008.
J. Robinson West, chairman of USIP's board of directors, said, "As USIP celebrates its 25th year of operations and prepares to move to our permanent office and training space, we are proud to have launched a lecture series worthy of its namesake and that Lockheed Martin is partnering with us in this endeavor."
Robert J. Stevens, President, Chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin, said, "As the world's leading global security company, we are pleased to support the work of the USIP and its international partners. With thousands of employees supporting peacekeeping, stability operations and capacity building efforts around the world, Lockheed Martin understands the importance of working to prevent conflict and promote peace as vital components of global security."
The next Acheson Lecture will take place in Washington, D.C. The series is named for former Secretary of State Dean Acheson, who played a large role in shaping U.S. diplomacy and vital institutions such as the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
USIP's permanent headquarters project is expected to be completed within the next two years. Located at what can be seen as the 'war and peace' corner of the National Mall near the Vietnam, Korean and World War II Memorials, the building will host a public education center for some 500,000 visitors each year. Lockheed Martin's contribution to USIP's endowment will be recognized in the building.
Website: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

Preparing for Country Music Marathon - Erika Kurre

Thousands are loading up on carbs and getting last-minute supplies as the Country Music Marathon races through Music City. It's the 10th anniversary of the marathon and it's attracting more people than ever to Nashville.Thousands of runners are expected to lace up their shoes for Saturday's full and half marathons.The route begins at Centennial Park and will wind through the city, around music row and through downtown before ending at L.P. Field.Become a FOX 17 News fan, by joining our Facebook page. You can leave us comments and story ideas, just click the link below.

Streak Over, but Greinke Excels Again

Zack Greinke is not perfect anymore, but he is still undefeated and still one of the best stories in baseball. Although Greinke’s scoreless streak to begin the season stopped at 24 innings, he pitched brilliantly in guiding the Kansas City Royals to a 6-1 victory against the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium.
Greinke was dominant in pitching a three-hitter for his second consecutive complete game. He used a 97-mile-per-hour fastball, a vicious slider and a curveball that almost bounced to collect some of his 10 strikeouts. Although Greinke (4-0) was nicked for a run, it was unearned, so he maintained his 0.00 earned run average.
Three years ago, Greinke was bored with baseball and left the Royals for several weeks. He was found to have depression and social anxiety disorder, and he returned to the major leagues full time in 2007. Now the calm, confident Greinke barely makes mistakes and is one of the most intimidating pitchers in the major leagues. Greinke has four of Kansas City’s nine wins.
Greinke’s streak ended mostly because of a plodding player’s baserunning. Catcher Gerald Laird tried to tag up and go from second to third on a liner to center field in the fifth. Coco Crisp fired the ball to shortstop Mike Aviles, but Aviles’s throw hit Laird’s foot and caromed toward left field. Greinke, who was backing up the play, retrieved the ball, but his throw home was too late to get Laird.
After the Tigers ended Greinke’s streak, the fans gave him a standing ovation. But Greinke did not respond. He quickly returned to the mound and threw his next pitch. Greinke retired the next 13 Tigers to finish the game in style.
Greinke ended 2008 with 14 scoreless innings, so he had a combined season streak of 38 consecutive scoreless innings. The Tigers scored off Greinke, but he simply started a new streak with four more shutout innings.
source: http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/

Trulli takes pole position for Bahrain GP

SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) — Toyota's Jarno Trulli has claimed pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix, giving his Formula One team top spot on the grid for the third time.
Trulli set a time of 1 minute, 33.431 seconds at the Sakhir circuit on Saturday to snatch the pole ahead of teammate Timo Glock and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.

Championship leader Jenson Button of Brawn GP will start from fourth, one spot ahead of defending world champion Lewis Hamilton of McLaren.
Red Bull's Mark Webber was forced to swerve on his final flying lap and will start from 19th in Sunday's race.
source: http://www.usatoday.com/

Henry Ian Cusick on Gospel of John

When I last saw Jesus, he was showing the wounds of his crucifixion to his disciples. Now he is leaning across the counter of Starbucks, craning to read the menu. "I've got a bit of a stomach upset, so I'll have a mineral water," he says.




It's a peculiar experience, meeting someone in a London coffee bar after you've watched him heal the crippled and rise from the dead. The beard is gone, the hair untangled, but it's still unmistakably Him.



Henry Ian Cusick is the British star of The Gospel of John, a film of the fourth gospel that has just gone on release in America and Canada. It was made for a fraction of the cost of Mel Gibson's forthcoming Passion of Christ, though, in the long run, it could attract bigger audiences. Visual Bible, a Toronto-based Christian company, commissioned this word-for-word dramatisation as an evangelistic tool. A similar exercise in the 1970s, a version of Luke's gospel known as the Jesus film, has been seen by more people than any movie in history.



But here's the remarkable part. While reports of Gibson's Passion have deeply alarmed the Jewish community, The Gospel of John has been given a clean bill of health by the Jewish Anti-Defamation League. The film's Canadian producer, Garth Drabinsky, is Jewish, as are many of the executives working on the project. Two Jewish scholars sat on its advisory board.



That is quite a feat of inter-faith diplomacy, given that John's gospel - with its emphasis on the role of the religious authorities in Jesus's death - has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for anti-Semites. Moreover, Visual Bible's insistence on the full, uncorrupted text meant that there could be no excision of inconvenient verses. "If we left out so much as a preposition, they could sue us," says Philip Saville, the film's director, best known for Boys from the Black Stuff. Hence the choice of a stage actor to play Jesus. "We're better at learning our lines than film actors," explains Cusick. Not since Alec McCowen's live recitation of Mark's gospel has a performer had to acquire such word-perfect mastery of scripture. "It kept me in my trailer while the disciples were out having fun," he says. "When I emerged, they would go, 'Hey, JC, how are you doing today?' I would have loved to hang out with them more, but there just wasn't time."



The outdoor scenes were shot in the scrubland of southern Spain. "Oh, man, walking those distances in sandals," says Cusick. "The disciples and I kept leaning on each other, saying: 'Bloody hell, this is uncomfortable.' The stones got in right here." He lifts a crocodile-skin boot to show me.



The extras were Spanish gypsies. "They would bow slightly when I walked past, as if I really was Christ," recalls Cusick. "And on the day of the crucifixion, when I came out of the trailer wearing a crown of thorns, the whole set went quiet. It was eerie. The gypsies were saying, `Ay mi Jesús', beating their breasts, and then they broke into song."



Cusick could speak to the gypsies in Spanish because he's half-Peruvian: with his Andean-high cheekbones, he looks like the Christ of South American folk art. He was born in Peru, raised in the West Indies and moved to Scotland when he was 15; his CV is dominated by his work for the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre.



He was 33 during the filming: just the right age. His devoutly Catholic Peruvian mother is delighted by his new role. "Apparently, the Vatican is being asked to approve the film. My mother would be so thrilled if I could tell her the Pope had seen me play Jesus," he says.



"The whole experience has rubbed off on me, too. It's made me think more carefully about who Jesus was. I go to Mass more often, and when the priest reads from the Gospel of John, I find myself saying: I know every word of this."



I ask for a demonstration, and he drops his voice so that the woman on the sofa next to us can't hear. "You are the children of your father, the Devil," he whispers, "and you want to follow your father's desires. From the very beginning he was a murderer and has never been on the side of truth, because there is no truth in him."



John 8:44. How interesting that Cusick should pick this particular verse. It's one of the defining moments in the film, when we realise for the first time that this Jesus - that is, John's Jesus, not the parable-telling mystic of the synoptic gospels - is engaged in a fight to the death with his fellow Jews.



Anti-Semitic interpretations of the fourth gospel portray it as Jesus versus the Jews. The Gospel of John sees it as a struggle between Jews. It employs the Good News Bible translation of the text, in which the 70-odd references to "the Jews" are rendered as "the Jewish authorities". The film also manages to capture the Jewishness of the New Testament milieu - something missing from Hollywood's versions of the story. In Saville's hands, the marriage feast at Cana is as Jewish as a Brooklyn bar mitzvah; Mary doesn't say "my son, the Messiah", but you can see it in her eyes.



Such touches have earned the film the praise of critics from outside its intended Christian constituency. After a quiet opening in the American Bible Belt, it is now booked for release in New York, Los Angeles and Washington; negotiations for the British rights are under way. "You might imagine that people would think twice before volunteering to see a three-hour biblical epic, but it's had an amazing reception. It's what we call a sleeper," says Saville.



Garth Drabinsky hopes the film will make the beliefs of Jews and Christians more comprehensible to each other. "The Bible can be so dangerous in the hands of people who want to skew its message," he says. "This project puts the Gospel of John in its proper context. It's not an anti-Semitic text, but the product of a Jewish world in transition."



For Christian audiences, the most unsettling aspect of the film is likely to prove the character of Jesus. Catholics and Protestants alike are accustomed to an identikit Christ whose features have been pasted together from the accounts of all four evangelists. By excluding all the synoptic material, The Gospel of John highlights the fact that the Jesus of the fourth gospel is a different person from the Jesus of Matthew, Mark and Luke.



Cusick brilliantly conveys the strange charisma of the Johannine Christ. This smiling rabble-rouser is self-confident and talkative; he knows he is "the way, the truth and the light". But these claims raise a thorny question. If Jesus said those things, how come the authors of the synoptic gospels failed to report them? The scholarly consensus is that the passionate soliloquies of John were put into Christ's mouth by the early Church. It doesn't make them any less powerful.



"I had to revise my own ideas about Jesus when I read the text," says Cusick. "I couldn't play it like Robert Powell, all gentle and soothing. This Jesus can work up a crowd. He tells people: `If you don't follow me you won't go to heaven.' I didn't want to say that, but I had no choice."



Cusick is still queasy, and he asks if we can go outside to take the pictures. In Soho Square, I suggest he might like to adopt a Christ-like posture for effect. "Well, I could," he says, "but don't you think it would be taking the mickey?" He's right.



But then, as the photographer is packing away his equipment, he grins, and says: "Oh, all right." And he raises his arms to embrace the whole world.
source: http://www.jewish-theatre.com/

A woman's quest to erase a past that won't die

(AP) — PAYETTE, Idaho (AP) ? Catherine Carlson threads through the discount store, her hiking boots clopping against the linoleum. She is numb to the shoppers who glance curiously as she plucks a pair of long underwear from a sales rack.




Cold sneaks through the walls of her trailer home, but this is the only remedy she can afford. At checkout, Catherine writes a $15 check. The clerk with the "Deb G" name tag examines the signature and runs her eyes over Catherine ? the side-swept, faded blond hair, large knuckles, blue jeans and plaid work shirt.



Under the harsh fluorescent lights of the Bi-Mart, Catherine's narrow face is mapped with fine lines and abandoned by cosmetics. She ignores the unwelcome survey of her appearance.



Catherine, 52, leaves the cocoon of her trailer about once every 10 days. Payette, a tiny community of farmers and ranchers in southwestern Idaho, did not know she existed until a year ago when she decided she could no longer hide.



On that day last winter, she climbed into her silver 1993 Plymouth Voyager and drove down Main Street to pick up a friend whose car had broken down. A police officer pulled her over and found that her driver's license was suspended. He wrote her a ticket.



Catherine stared at the citation. It was issued to both her and to Daniel Carlson.



Nearly three decades ago, she underwent surgery to become a woman and took legal steps to remove her male name from public records. The ticket triggered memories of a man who, as far as she was concerned, no longer existed.



In her mind it was clear: She would have to fight to be Catherine.



And so, she mounted an impossible campaign to erase her former life, a yearlong battle against every slight and indignity ? real or perceived.



Catherine would not accept that the past, no matter how painful and imperfect, is always with us, no matter how we might try to escape it.
source: http://www.mlive.com/