Kamamalu blog

Obama honors 'gentleman' George Bush senior

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama honored German Chancellor Angela Merkel and America's "gentleman" 41st president George H.W Bush with America's highest civilian honor on Tuesday.

Merkel was not in Washington for the annual Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony but Obama said she would be making an official visit "soon" and he would present it then.

Obama also honored a list of political and cultural figures, including cello virtuoso Yo-Yo Ma, poet Maya Angelou and billionaire financier and philanthropist Warren Buffett.

Civil rights pioneer congressman John Lewis, baseball great Stan Musial and Jean Kennedy Smith, the sister of assassinated president John F. Kennedy and a disabilities campaigner, were also among honorees.

Obama praised Bush, father of his predecessor as president, George W. Bush, as a "diplomatic hand" who made possible what many had thought was impossible -- ending the Cold War without firing a shot.

"His humility and his decency reflects the very best of the American spirit. Those of you who know him, this is a gentleman, inspiring citizens to become points of light in service to others," Obama said.

Obama said that Merkel "dreamed of freedom" as she grew up in East Germany.

"When the wall finally crumbled and Germany was reunited, she broke barriers of her own, becoming the first East German and the first woman to become chancellor of Germany," Obama said.

"To America, Chancellor Merkel and the country she leads are among our closest allies. To me, she's a trusted global partner and a friend."

Obama joked that Buffett made a loss on his first-ever investment as an 11-year-old boy but hung onto the stock and it recovered to yield a small profit, launching a stellar career.

He also paid tribute to Buffett's career as a humanitarian: "You don't see Warren Buffett wearing fancy suits or driving fancy cars."

"Instead, you see him devoting the vast majority of his wealth to those around the world who are suffering, or sick, or in need of help.

Obama said leading US author, poet and civil rights campaigner Maya Angelou was renowned for "soaring poetry" and "towering prose" that had spoken to the conscience of a nation.

X-Men: First Class Trailer Hits YouTube [VIDEO]

If you like Cold War-flavored, comic book-inspired action flicks (and who doesn't?), here's something to kick off your weekend.

We've got a long wait until the theatrical premiere of the next X-Men installment from thecomic universe, X-Men: First Class, but here's a sneak peak at what the film will entail, courtesy of a 2-minutetrailer.

According to accompanying text, we learn that the new movie in the successful comic-to-silver-screen franchise "charts the epic beginning of theand reveals a secret history of famous global events.

"Before mutants had revealed themselves to the world, and before Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Not archenemies, they were instead at first the closest of friends, working together with other mutants (some familiar, some new), to prevent nuclear Armageddon. In the process, a grave rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men."

The film, which won't be in theaters until June 3, 2011, is seen by Fox as both a prequel to the three primary X-Men films and as the beginning on a new trilogy.

X-Men: First Class is produced by Bryan Singer, directed by Matthew Vaughn and stars James McAvoy as the young Professor X; Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr, who becomes Magneto; Kevin Bacon as villain Sebastian Shaw; and January Jones as Emma Frost. Principal photography took place in London.

X-Men: First Class is the fifth in the X-Men film series, which includes X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Will you be going to see the new X-Men film when it's in theaters?

Citadel may be bought by Cumulus after higher bid

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Radio broadcaster Citadel Broadcasting Corp said it was in talks to be bought by its larger rival Cumulus Media, after a sweetened bid worth $2.4 billion brought it back to the negotiating table.

Citadel, the third-largest radio broadcaster in the United States, said Cumulus would pay $37.00 per share in a combination of cash and Cumulus stock, a premium of 4.4 percent on Citadel's closing price of $35.45 on Thursday. Citadel is the second-largest U.S. broadcaster.

In December, Citadel rejected an unsolicited offer to be bought by Cumulus for as much as $1 billion. The company had filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2009.

Radio broadcasters have been consolidating as advertising dollars shrink and listeners migrate toward free Internet content and to subscription services like Sirius XM satellite radio.

Crestview Partners and Macquarie Capital are expected to provide $500 million in equity financing, the companies said.

Cumulus expects the remainder of the cash in the transaction to be funded through debt financing led by UBS Investment Bank and Macquarie Capital.

(Reporting by Liana B. Baker and Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Gary Hill)

Does L.A. Care If the Watts Towers Are Saved?

Maintaining and restoring Los Angeles's Watts Towers — the lofty detritus-clad steel-and-concrete outdoor folk-art masterpiece by Italian immigrant Simon Rodia — has long been a daunting task for the city. These days, it is estimated that it would take an investment of some $5 million to bring the Towers back to top form. In the wake of slashed funding from recent city budget cuts, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art stepped in to offer its aid. But the bigger issue, , is this: Do Angelenos actually care about the future of this landmark?

In fact, a majority of the meager 45,000 annual visitors (LACMA itself brought in 914,396 in 2010) to Watts Towers hail from overseas. Los Angeles natives simply are not flocking to see the immense, indigenous construction.It doesn't help that the towers — located, as the Times points out, a remote eighteen miles from LACMA and thirteen miles from downtown L.A. — are kept behind imposing locked gates that are only opened to tours four days perweek. 

"They have not been marketed well in this city," scholar Luisa Del Giudice,who organized a 2009 conference on the towers, told the Times. "You geta lot of Europeans coming, and the first thing they want to do is see the Watts Towers. It's an international icon, but it's a local blind spot." 

The question matters because when LACMAin fall/winter of last year, museum director Michael Govan put the move in the context of increased community-building efforts: "By expanding LACMA's mission to include the care, preservation, and interpretation of architectural and sculptural works of art within the community that are at risk of neglect and deterioration we are changing the way LACMA functions as a museum, from what we collect to how we work within the community more directly."

What keeps locals away? Perhaps it is the monument's setting: The towers stand on the site of the bloody 6-day-long urban Watts Riots of 1965, during which over 30 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured. And for some, it feels that a museum that, the Times argues, is a symbol of wealthy society, is swooping into this neighborhood, now impoverished and predominately Hispanic.

For this very reason, the recent history of the art world relating to the Towers has involved a major initiative at actual community building, with L.A. artist Edgar Arceneaux spearheading the , "a collaborative artwork in the shape of a neighborhood redevelopment," since 2007. The nonprofit organization, funded through the Hammer Museum's residency programs, gave an artistic touch to remodeling four houses in the area and partnered with community organizations. In 2009, it purchased property at East 107th Street to serve as office space and a venue for community programs. 

And indeed, LACMA's incursion seems to have touched a nerve with longer-term arts advocates in the area. "I am trying to figure out what LACMA is doing here," Rosie Lee Hooks, director of the Watts Towers Art Center, which leads tours of Rodia's artwork, said. "We've been here 50 years. I think they ought to plan about what they need to do, and come down and meet with us before they start showing the baby off."

'Den mother' of Chicago's famed Second City dies

CHICAGO – A woman known as the "den mother" to alumni of Chicago's famed The Second City comedy club including John Belushi, Gilda Radner and Bill Murray has died.

Joyce Sloane's daughter says her mother died "absolutely peacefully" in bed late Thursday as she got ready to watch Jim Belushi on television. She was 80.

During her 50 years with the improv theater, Sloane served as executive producer, founded its national touring company and co-founded the Toronto branch of The Second City.

Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert on Friday told the Chicago Tribune that Sloane was "incredibly kind to me and believed in me."

Sloane is credited with discovering the Belushi brothers and Nia Vardalos of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" fame. Other alumni include Steve Carell, Mike Myers and Tina Fey.