Aneesh Chopra, otherwise known as the Indian George Clooney, announced his candidacy for lieutenant governor of Virginia last summer.

The recipient of key endorsements just last week, voters are more eager than ever to hear from the man who President Obama tapped our nation’s very first Chief Technology Officer back in 2008.

Check out this vid to hear what’s motivating Chopra to get involved in electoral politics, what he views as top priorities for Virginia, and why he’s giving thanks for his third grade teacher this Thanksgiving Day.

Tweet Monica @MonicaNGray.

PREVIOUSLY FROM MONICA GRAY:
• A Badass Spy & The Fourth of July
• Naughty or Nice: What’s Hard About Dealing with Coal?

The post Who Does the ‘Indian George Clooney’ Gives Thanks to This Thanksgiving? appeared first on HyperVocal.

To the man who brought down the most damaging spy in U.S. history, the Fourth of July is about more than cold beer, fireworks and hot dogs — it’s also about remembering the reason for the season: our freedom.

In a quick talk at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., Eric O’Neill, the former FBI operative who brought down two-timing Russian spy Robert Hanssen, told me that to him the Fourth is really about appreciating American independence.

“I’ve traveled extensively across the world and have come to know that the freedoms we enjoy in the United States are incredible. I think we Americans often forget the sacrifices poured into winning that freedom, and the strength of will it requires to preserve it.”

O’Neill went on to explain that, while he does tweet, cyber terror is now the national security issue that keeps him up at night. When asked what an ordinary citizen could do to strengthen our nation’s cyber security, he said:

Effective national cyber security requires a collaborative effort between the government, industry and individuals. We all have a role to play in protecting confidential information across a digital infrastructure that is not particularly secure. The best way an average citizen can help to protect our nation’s cyber security is to protect information. Many cyber breaches occur, not through sophisticated computer hacking, but through the careless actions of the weakest point in a security system, a human. Protect passwords, utilize spyware programs, engage privacy restrictions on social media, place information in the public cautiously. It’s very much like the war slogan: Loose lips sink ships. In the digital age, secrets are literally all around us. If we don’t protect them, someone will exploit them.

To hear more on why O’Neill thinks Hanssen did it, how involved he was in the production of the movie Breach, and what he considers to be the most threatening national security issue we face today, check out this video.

What’s Hard About It? DC-based filmmaker and journalist Monica Gray asks folks all over Washington that very question. What’s so hard about solving our nation’s problems? Transportation? Healthcare? Getting a kiss on New Year’s Eve? Being gay? Tweet her @MonicaNGray.

The post A Badass Spy & The Fourth of July appeared first on HyperVocal.

For World Environment Day, I asked the Sierra Club’s Bruce Nilles what is the hardest aspect of environmentalism in 2012. As director of the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” campaign, it’s not surprising that Niles sees coal pollution as a major threat.

According to Nilles, there’s really no such thing as “clean coal.” Pollution from the coal-fired power plants — which are often located in poorer communities, such as in West Virginia — creates smog, which can cause chest pain, coughing, and breathing difficulties, and worsen conditions like bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma. The coal mining process also takes its toll on the natural environment, especially in low-income areas. BeyondCoal.org reports that during the past 10 years, 500 of the biggest mountains in West Virginia have been destroyed as part of coal mining efforts.

During our quick chat, Nilles pointed to a number of factors – such as powerful monied interests, a “broken” political system and competing global agendas – as barriers to overcoming the coal problem. Though some disagree with the “Beyond Coal” platform, Nilles stands firm in his belief that coal is a major threat to the global environment. You can learn about ways to help in the fight by getting involved with the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” campaign here. Check out the vid above for more info.

[Video Credits: Edited by Michael Carmody. Filmed by Tristiana Hinton. Interview by Monica Gray.]

What’s Hard About It? DC-based filmmaker and journalist Monica Gray asks folks all over Washington that very question. What’s so hard about solving our nation’s problems? Transportation? Healthcare? Getting a kiss on New Year’s Eve? Being gay? Tweet her @MonicaNGray.

Follow us! Click and Follow Us for more updates straight to your news and nonsense feeds.

The post Naughty or Nice: What’s Hard About Dealing with Coal? appeared first on HyperVocal.

For more, visit Monica Gray Films. Follow Monica on Twitter @MonicaNGray.

HV Man-on-the-Street Czar Monica Gray asks folks all over, “What’s Hard About It?,” to help do her part to help tackle our nation’s problems. Click here to see what else she’s gotten to so far.

The post What’s Hard About Being a Guy and Being Gay in 2011? appeared first on HyperVocal.

I wasn’t initially planning to post this video today, or in this format, but the words of Mike Thomas, a true public servant and one of my role models, struck me as so profound that I couldn’t resist posting his message of sacrifice and public service on this tenth anniversary of 9/11.

Mike and I met a few years ago at UVA, before he went overseas to serve as the director of strategic communications for U.S. forces in Iraq. Now back in the States and serving as Senior Advisor to the U.S. Treasurer, Mike explains that in his view, though it is indeed “hard,” striving to serve one’s country — whether at Ground Zero in New York, in midst of combat in Iraq, or behind a desk in an office building — is a noble goal worth pursing. Check out the video to hear more.

For more, visit Monica Gray Films. Follow Monica on Twitter @Mon_Gray.

HV Man-on-the-Street Czar Monica Gray asks folks all over, “What’s Hard About It?,” to help do her part to help tackle our nation’s problems. Click here to see what else she’s gotten to so far.

The post What’s Hard About Serving Your Country? appeared first on HyperVocal.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s shocking announcement that he had tested positive for HIV and would retire from basketball. At the time, the most optimistic view was that Johnson might live another five or 10 years, while many feared he would succumb to infection much sooner.

Today, Magic – now in his 50s – is still living with the virus, a concept that was unheard of in the 1980s when the AIDS epidemic first surfaced. While he may be one of only a few guys his age who can still play competitive basketball, the fact that Magic is living with HIV/AIDS in his 50s is hardly unique. In fact, about one-third of people who have the disease in the U.S. are 50 or older. This figure will grow to one half by 2015. The reasons are partly encouraging, such as improved treatments, but also discouraging –- the number of new HIV cases in older people continues to grow.

Magic is perhaps the most public example of someone living with the virus at 50+, but his image can glamorize the realities of what it’s like to grow older with the virus. For “ordinary” people across the country within the growing HIV+ 50+ cohort, day-to-day life means dealing with all of HIV/AIDS’s associated stigmas while also confronting the regular challenges that go along with aging.

In this video, I spoke with people living in the DC metro area who face growing older with HIV/AIDS first-hand and those who provide them with support: church leaders at the Unity Fellowship Church of Washington, DC, and the Unity Fellowship Church of Baltimore, MD; medical experts at the Jacques Initiative, a holistic care program for urban populations infected with HIV; and employees at Our Place DC, a non-profit that helps formerly incarcerated women get back on their feet. They all helped shed light on the myriad of challenges faced by older people living with HIV or AIDS.

While researching the tremendous challenges of this issue, I also discovered reasons for hope, such as the remarkable support efforts taking place at the community level. After having had the opportunity to meet with Reverend Keith Holder and other leaders and HIV/AIDS activists affiliated with the Unity Fellowship Church, I was eager to create a video to help advocate as well as inform. As I mention towards the end of the video, Campaign to End Aids (C2EA), a coalition of people living with HIV and AIDS who are committed to ending the epidemic, will hold a conference on the issue on May 21 in Brooklyn, NY. “Growing Old and Loving It and Living with HIV and AIDS” will focus on uniting people in the 50+ community to obtain better housing and medical access. The event is sponsored by the 50+. I encourage you to learn more about the organization and get involved.

In a nutshell, it’s great news that people with HIV are living longer, but as this video illustrates, living with HIV when you’re 50+ is hard…

What are your thoughts on the video and the issue? Weigh in below…

The post What’s Hard About Living with HIV/AIDS When You’re Over 50? (Whatever Happened to Magic?) appeared first on HyperVocal.

Cabbies in Washington DC interact with the good, the bad and the ugly on a regular basis. Working long hours all over the city, often seven days a week, Washington’s 6,000 taxi drivers face a broad range of challenges that include low meter rates, dangerous situations, drunk passengers and riders who engage in “extraordinary activity” right in the backseat.

So what is so hard about being a cabbie in DC? Find out below.

The post VIDEO: What’s Hard About Being a Cabbie in DC? appeared first on HyperVocal.

Shakespeare wrote that “The course of true love never did run smooth.” The man didn’t lie. I brought my camera along to two house parties in DC and on the streets of Chevy Chase, Maryland, to ask folks what they thought was hard about this day of chocolate, flowers, and (Hallmark) love.

Whether single, in a relationship, or somewhere in between, it turns out that Valentine’s Day isn’t just candy hearts and romance. See what I found out in this video…

What do you think about Valentine’s Day? Leave me some thoughts in the comments below…

The post What’s Hard About Valentine’s Day? appeared first on HyperVocal.

Everyone knows getting kissed at the start of the new year brings luck…but is it luck in love or lust?

Whatever the reason, this well sought-after tradition is not easy for everyone (yes, even in 2011). So while ringing in the New Year, I asked hipstahs and hotties on the streets of Brooklyn: What’s hard about getting a kiss on New Year’s Eve? Check it out right heeea.

What do you think is hard about getting a kiss on New Year’s Eve? Weigh in below.

The post What’s Hard About Getting a Kiss on New Year’s Eve? appeared first on HyperVocal.

What’s hard about running a race? To find out, I hit the trail — and later the bar — with runners of every age and ability. I started at the Gar Williams Half Marathon in Maryland. It was cold. It was early. And it was a Saturday.

Later I stopped in at a much toastier (pun intended) Potomac River Running holiday party, where I had the opportunity to talk with professional runners (we’re talking Olympic qualifiers and Ironman competitors) from the DC and Virginia area.

The short version of the answers? Mental toughness, training, and Lady Gaga.

Now you tell us: What’s hard about running a race for you? Weigh in below…

The post What’s Hard About Running a Race? appeared first on HyperVocal.

There are about 640,000 sheltered and unsheltered homeless citizens living in America today. More than 6 in 10 stay in emergency shelters or transitional housing programs, while about 37 percent are left unsheltered on the “street” or in other places not meant for human habitation.

Since the foreclosure crisis began in 2007, homeless organizations have seen a 61 percent increase in homelessness. I stopped in at of these bustling homeless shelters – The Haven — in Charlottesville, Virginia on Thanksgiving morning. While I was there I asked members of the homeless community: What’s hard about Thanksgiving?

Check out the video to hear what people had to say about this issue:

The post What’s Hard About Thanksgiving When You’re Homeless? appeared first on HyperVocal.

What’s hard about biking in DC? I headed over to Washington’s third-annual Need for Tweed bike ride to find out. Organized by Eric Brewer, the Tweed Ride drew over 400 bikers, most of whom were decked out in their most dapper Victorian-era garb. Before they took off for the Tour de DC, I asked cyclists at The Fridge and at the start line at 8th and H Street NE, “What’s hard about biking in DC?”

Check out the video to hear what they had to say…

What’s hard about biking around the city in which you live? Sound off in the comments below…

The post What’s Hard About Biking in Washington DC? appeared first on HyperVocal.

Most children in the US receive vaccinations that prevent them from becoming infected with deadly pneumonia, but those vaccines haven’t reached thousands of children in places like Africa and India, where a child dies of pneumonia every 20 seconds.

Even though pneumonia is the number one child killer worldwide, not many people realize that pneumonia is a major global health problem. The general public seems to be aware of severity of other diseases like HIV/AIDs, but why has pneumonia remained a silent killer?

Last Friday, November 12 was World Pneumonia Day, a day created to help raise awareness about the fact that pneumonia is a serious but solvable problem (the vaccines that prevent pneumonia deaths only cost about four bucks…the same price as a latte from Starbucks).

I attended one of these events – a World Pneumonia Day panel discussion led by Cokie Roberts – held downtown at the Kaiser Family Foundation. While I was there I asked experts: “What’s hard about raising awareness about pneumonia?” Hear what they had to say in this video.

Monica Gray, a UVA grad and new D.C. resident, asks folks all over Washington: “What’s Hard About It?” Hey, you, get your mind out of the gutter.

The post What’s Hard About Killing Children? appeared first on HyperVocal.

For my first “What’s Hard About It?” segment, I headed over to the National Mall after Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. There, I asked my fellow citizens: “What’s hard about restoring our nation’s sanity?” Check out the video to hear what they had to say…

Monica Gray, a UVA grad and new D.C. resident, asks folks all over Washington: “What’s Hard About It?” Hey, get your mind out of the gutter.

The post What’s Hard About Restoring Sanity? appeared first on HyperVocal.