ATLANTA (Reuters) – The small, boyhood home of rock legend Little Richard has been spared the wrecking ball and will be moved to make way for an interstate highway, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation.

The piano-pounding performer who became internationally known for his 1950s songs, “Tutti Frutti” and “Good Golly Miss Molly” was born in Macon, about 90 miles south of Atlanta, during the Great Depression. Known for his pompadour hairstyle and flamboyant costumes, he is now 80-years-old and living in Tennessee.

The two-bedroom home in a poor neighborhood of Macon was facing demolition for an interstate highway expansion but will be purchased by the Georgia Department of Transportation and moved three blocks where it will be converted into a neighborhood meeting place, state transportation spokeswoman Natalie Dale told Reuters.

The renovated home will include historical information on the lives of Little Richard, whose real name is Richard Penniman, and other prominent people in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood, said Sam Henderson, executive assistant to Macon Mayor Robert Reichert.

The two-bedroom, 850 square-foot home, was constructed in 1920 and is valued at $21,781, according to Bibb County property tax records. By contrast, Little Richard’s current home in Lynchburg, Tennessee has 5,900 square feet of space, is on 13.9 acres and is valued at $367,000, according to Moore County, Tennessee property records.

Little Richard was among the first 10 artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 along with Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and James Brown.

On Saturday, Mercer University in Macon awarded Penniman an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.

“He is a hero to this community,” Henderson said.

(Editing by David Adams and Carol Bishopric)

Young people from the east London borough of Tower Hamlets have taken to the stage to explore global politics and terrorism in a new production.

Terror feels local for some residents in Tower Hamlets.

Not far from the Brady Community Centre, where the play was performed, is Aldgate Station – the scene of the first bomb blast that shook London during the 7 July terrorist attacks in 2005.

"I wanted to produce something around the 7/7 bombings and the impact it's had on a local scale," said Canan Salih, director of Nemesis.

To portray this global-local connection and impact, those behind Nemesis say they drew inspiration from other plays, such as Decade by Headlong Theatre and Talking to Terrorists by theatre company Out of Joint.

"We then thought to look at the actual victims of 7/7, totally conscious of its sensitivity," said Ms Salih.

"I read through most of the transcripts of the victims from the July 7 Inquiry and they left a strong impression."

Taking a cue from Talking to Terrorists, the production team engaged the theatre style of using authentic, verbatim interviews as dialogue for the play.

"We felt it was important to look into authorship and how we vocalise the truth," said Kazi Ruksana, Nemesis's producer.

Many of the young cast have no real memory of 7/7 and had limited knowledge of global politics since 9/11, prior to researching for the play.

"It was hard at first to understand how we could portray the victims of 7/7," said cast member Aklima Begum.

"Playing 'Iraq,' I didn't know much about it before. But I feel this play has raised more awareness of the issues, both amongst us and the audience."

Tower Hamlets' youth arts manager Geraldine Bone said personifying the five countries, both as they saw themselves and as the world saw them, was a real challenge.

"The script says that the cast are teenagers and they squabble and score points off each other as teenagers do.

"But doing that within the context of being a world power relating to other world powers, I thought was particularly difficult."

Some of the cast also had multiple roles, which pushed them to look at matters from different perspectives.

"I played a Muslim grocery store owner abused after 7/7, a British Muslim boy rejoicing after 9/11 and an interrogator," said 15-year-old Neyaz Ismail.

"It was a real challenge to get the emotions right and remembering my lines. But I learnt a lot about the stereotypes that all sides can have."

Nemesis will be representing Tower Hamlets in the Five Borough Youth Festival in July 2013.

VISTA, California (Reuters) – Heavy metal singer Tim Lambesis, the frontman for Christian rock band As I Lay Dying, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a charge of soliciting the murder of his estranged wife.

North San Diego County Superior Court Judge Martin Staven set bail for Lambesis at $3 million. He ordered Lambesis to surrender his passport, stay away from his wife Meggan and their three children and remain in San Diego county except to meet with his attorney.

If convicted, Lambesis faces up to nine years in prison.

Lambesis, 32, was arrested at a bookstore in Oceanside, north of San Diego, on Tuesday after he tried to hire an undercover sheriff’s deputy to kill Meggan Lambesis, according to Deputy District Attorney Claudia Grasso. Meggan Lambesis had filed for divorce in September after eight years of marriage, according to court records.

The singer gave the man he knew as ‘Red’ an envelope containing $1,000 in cash, photos of his wife, her address and codes to get through the security gates of her home, and a list of dates that would work well because he would have their three adopted children with him, Grasso said.

“The children would be his alibi,” Grasso said at a news conference after the hearing, which was attended by more than 40 of Lambesis’ friends, family and fans.

Lambesis’ attorney, Anthony Salerno, said his client was set up. “If I had to hang a tag on it, I’d call it a scumbag snitch set-up,” Salerno said. “Law enforcement was fed something by someone who effectively orchestrated the whole thing … He did not intend to harm anybody.”

Lambesis sent his wife an email in August while he was on tour, telling her he no longer loved her or believed in God, Grasso said. His wife also found he was having an affair and “there had been a string of other women,” she said.

The prosecutor said Lambesis asked an acquaintance from his gym if he could find someone to kill his wife.

The gym friend arranged for him to meet with an undercover Sheriff’s Department detective on Tuesday, to whom Lambesis gave the envelope of cash and information, Grasso said.

Salerno said he believed Lambesis did not want to harm his wife and had never done so in the past, noting the singer has no history of domestic violence or any arrests.

“Tim was mostly disappointed that it was going the way it was, he didn’t feel it was good for his children,” Salerno said. “The rest, I think will come out, that he was set up.”

He also told the court that the restrictions on Lambesis to stay in San Diego County will affect the band’s ability to tour and earn a living.

“The band has a tour scheduled,” Salerno told the judge. “There’s many people who depend on him. If he can’t go that would be to the detriment of many, many people.”

Lambesis is due to return to court for a preliminary hearing on July 10.

(Editing by Tim Gaynor and Mohammad Zargham)

Published May 7th, 2013 – 07:29 GMT via SyndiGate.info

Rumor has it that two of our biggest Gulf stars have been playing frenemies. Kuwait’s “nightingale” singer Nabil Shuail and X Factor superstar judge Hussein Al Jassmi were gossiped to be on the outs after Nabil’s 17-year-old son auditioned for the reality TV talent show where Hussein sits on the Judging panel, but the aspiring star didn’t get enough votes to get through to Round Two.

According to Panet, an Arabic news & entertainment website, Nabil denied rumors of probs with Hussein after the incident, making it clear that he and the Emarati singer are “best buddies,” since he’s the reason behind his success in Kuwait. Nabil, who’s a bit on the heavy side, jokingly responded to the accusation that Hussein had pulled the carpet from underneath him with, “How could he do that? I’m too heavy!”

He assured that he’s totes in touch with the Hussein and is the first to high five him whenever he releases a new album or single.

Not sure how all the drama got started in the first place ‘cause Hussein, along with fellow judge Wael Kfoury, gave Nabil’s son a “yes” vote for his audition; while it was judges Carole Samaha and Elissa that disagreed, disabling him from going through to the next round. Better luck next time, Dude! And better luck fans for trying to create drama that doesn’t exist! Are the Gulf stars really best buds, or is Nabil just saving face? Let us know your thoughts!

Published May 6th, 2013 – 08:11 GMT via SyndiGate.info

For the first time ever, a major Western museum, the Louvre, has provided a permanent home for an Islamic art collection. The Louvre has provided massive new gallery space to house what Louvre Director, Henri Loyrette, describes as being “one of the richest collections of Islamic art in the world.”

Already the most popular museum in the world, with nearly nine million visitors in the past year alone, the new Islamic galleries are set to draw even more people to this grand old lady of Parisian museums. Thew new Islamic Art galleries are noted for their dynamic displays and spectacular new architecture.

Loyrette said: “We have always been open to the world, and today, our visitors are increasingly interested in the Islamic world. But many people don’t know anything about it, and it’s important to show them the luminous face of this civilization.”

Since 2008 a USD 127 million renovation has been underway, its radical architectural additions blending seamlessly into an 800-year-old former palace-a huge challenge and technical triumph. Visitors can now embark on a sensory and hi-tech voyage of discovery across the 3,000 square meter space, at present displaying over 2,500 masterpieces. This massive face-lift, unveiled at the end of 2012, was financed in part by the French government. Other sponsors included the governments of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Morocco, Kuwait and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as the oil company, Total.

In 1793 the French revolutionary government took over the old Louvre palace, founding the Museum of Decorative Arts, and appropriating the royal collection. Among them were a number of Arab/Islamic artifacts, which form the nucleus of today’s collection. At the beginning of the 20th century the Museum of Decorative Arts was amassing a different collection of outstanding craft objects spanning the centuries, including lusterware ceramics from ancient Samarra, pre-dating Mesopotamia; contemporary Berber rugs from north Africa; huge but delicate Egyptian Mamluk mosque lamps; and outstanding textiles, all key elements of Islamic culture.

In 2001 Henri Loyrette launched an ambitious project to devote more space to do justice to the richness of the Museum’s collection, which would be amalgamated with those of the neglected Museum of Decorative Arts. The two collections perfectly complemented each other: that of the Louvre focusing particularly on medieval Islamic treasures; while the Museum of Decorative Arts’s collection included artworks from the Arab world’s great modern empires, from the 16th to the 18th centuries, including the Ottoman empire.

Two years later, in 2003, then French President, Jacques Chirac, announced a new department dedicated to Arab/Islamic art to be created at the Louvre. It now consists of 15,000 artifacts, in addition to the 3,400 works on permanent loan from the Museum of Decorative Arts. Together these collections span the entire geographical and historical Islamic world; from Spain to India, from the 7th to the 19th centuries.

Since the announcement in 2005 of the architects selected to design the new galleries, a massive project began to take shape. Throughout the 800 years of its history, the Louvre palace and Museum have repeatedly attracted each period’s most gifted and influential innovators in the fields of architecture and design. Creating the new department within the Visconti Courtyard raised considerable architectural challenges.

The winning design by Mario Bellini and Rudy Ricciotti meets the test of constructing an avant-garde building on the premises of a protected historical monument, though it has provoked much controversy. Milanese architect Mario Bellini says that he and Ricciotti have “a deep respect for the Islamic collection, combined with personal knowledge of its geographical and cultural context.”

The design is spectacular yet elegantly understated, achieving a subtle balance between the courtyard’s neo-Classical facades and the need for a contemporary homage to Islamic culture. It is a symphony of glass and metal extending beneath the existing courtyard level of the Visconti to create two sub-levels. One is for very light-sensitive artifacts, the deepest level housing technical facilities. The whole highly original structure is topped by a golden glass roof enclosing the galleries, which soars like a gigantic sail, allowing diffused natural light to permeate the exhibition spaces.

Bellini comments: “It’s like an enormous dragonfly wing that undulates as if suspended in the wind, almost touching the courtyard ground at one point, but without disturbing the historic facades.”

The interior design by Renaud Piérard is equally dramatic yet subtle. Brass-speckled black floor tiles echo the black concrete walls and the gilded tones of the glass roof. The entire muted atmosphere directs the visitor’s focus to the precious artefacts, in all their varying colours and motifs.

The concept for visiting the galleries is the work of Mario Bellini and Renaud Piérard, a perfect loop in which visitors are encouraged to take a journey literally and metaphorically in one single direction. They start on the courtyard level where works dating from the 7th to 11th centuries are shown.Then they proceed to the sub or parterre level devoted to objects from the 11th to the late 18th centuries in muted light. This gentle trajectory evokes an intentional ambiance of contemplation or meditation.

The new galleries are conceived as an introduction to the outstanding principles that define Islamic art and culture, through the chronological exploration of a number of themes. These include architecture, urban life, courtly commissions and the arts of the book, as well as technical mastery. A variety of hi-tech tools appeal to today’s museum audiences, experiencing multimedia installations, listening to Arabic, Persian or Turkish commentaries by specialists, which are also available in French, English and Spanish. For children and their families, there are special guided tours involving folk tales and music.

So what have they all come to experience? As we have seen, the design flow takes us on a journey through time, Islamic time, starting with the first empires or dynasties, the age of the Caliphates, from 632-1,000 CE. First came the Ummayad caliphate; then the Abbasids. One exhibit gives us an idea of the splendor and size of just one of the many royal palaces at Samarra on the Tigris in today’s Iraq. A massive carved teak door panel is 240.5 cm high and 56.8 cm wide.

The Fatimids founded Cairo as the capital of their caliphate, lasting from 909-1171. An exquisite rock-crystal ewer decorated with gold filigree evokes the lavish lifestyles of caliphs and wealthy merchants. One of the most complicated items to restore and re-assemble was a late 15th century Mamluk porch.

“It’s been kind of a detective story,” said Sophie Makariou, the Louvre’s Director of Islamic Art. “Suddenly this great piece of architecture appears that illustrates the grandeur of Cairo during this very exceptional dynasty. But I promise you I’m not Agatha Christie!”

The Ottomans, ruling a vast empire from the 14th to the 20th centuries, are the last time-frame covered in the stately choreographed minuet around the Louvre. Naturally magnificent Turkish Iznik ceramics are displayed, which included some 3,000 16th and 17th century tiles that had been languishing in storage since the 1970′s. To rebuild the spectacular and enormous tiled wall now on display was: “A giant puzzle that took more than seven years to complete,” says Makariou.

The last section, spanning all eras of Islamic culture, focuses on the Arts of the Book, reflecting the various styles and scripts of manuscript illustration. These include calligraphy, painted borders and title letters, as well as bookbinding, stretching from North Africa via Iran, Turkey and Arabia to India.

More than merely inviting visitors to view a succession of artifacts, the aim is to take them on a memorable journey to the heart of Islamic civilization. Today the collections of the Department of Islamic Art continue to be enhanced by significant purchases, gifts, and bequests. All in all, the ongoing enrichment ensures that the Louvre is home to a collection that is one of the most valuable in the world.

Published April 30th, 2013 – 12:19 GMT via SyndiGate.info

Pinocchio: A Puppet’s Story, based on the timeless story of a wooden puppet by Carlo Collodi, will premier in Egypt at the Cairo Opera House on Sunday 5 May.

The production, created by Italian director and performerMassimiliano Finazzer Flory, combines narration, theatre, dance and music. With minimal props, the director suggests his own interpretation of the known Italian literary piece.

The performance will include also two dancers: Francesca Lombardo and Chiara Taviani. The assistant director is Alessandro Santi.

Pinocchio: A Puppet’s Story has recently toured the United States where it was met with a great acclaim from the audiences.

Programme:Sunday 5 May at 8pmCairo Opera House, small hall, Zamalek, Cairo

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean rapper Psy, whose latest video “Gentleman” tracked global megahit “Gangnam Style” by going viral on the Internet, has been knocked from the top of the music charts in his native country by a 63-year-old easy listening pop singer.

“Gangnam Style”, which holds the YouTube record for most views with more than 1.5 billion, catapulted the sunglassed Korean with the garish jackets to world stardom and made him one of the best-known faces to grace the growing K-pop music scene.

But Cho Yong-pil, who has been a fixture of Korean pop music since 1975 with his electronic music and ballads, took over the top spot in Korea with “Bounce,” according to both the daily and weekly charts on Naver, Korea’s top Internet portal.

Fans lined up to buy “Hello,” Cho’s first album in a decade, when it went on sale earlier this week, and packed a stadium concert on Tuesday with people screaming his nickname of “Oppa” – a word used by Korean women for older men that Psy took to the world with the refrain “Oppa Gangnam Style”.

Cho’s songs took the top 10 places on the daily charts, pushing “Gentleman” to no. 13, and Psy had to settle for second place on the weekly charts.

But “Gentleman” surged to fifth place on the Billboard Hot 100 this week and has racked up over 220 million views on YouTube after smashing the record for first-day views for songs.

Psy told reporters he had nothing but respect for the veteran crooner, noting that Cho had praised him at a Tuesday news conference.

“I couldn’t be happier, although getting on the Billboard chart also makes me really grateful,” Psy told reporters on Thursday prior to leaving for the United States.

(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Elaine Lies)

Published April 23rd, 2013 – 10:03 GMT via SyndiGate.info

When will we ever get it right? A photo that surfaced on the internet of Jamal Suleiman surrounded by men from the Syrian Free Army in the city of Hims led to rampant rumors that the Syrian actor was in his homeland with some serious cash to distribute and help arm men.

The main website to blame for the gossip stated that the actor had entered Syria assisted by armed militias with loyalty to Qatar, which is where the roll of dough also originated. The news and picture of Suleiman let loose a barrage of attacks against him from supporters of the Syrian government.

According to the Middle East news portal, Jamal denied that he had secretly entered Syria and that if he ever did cross the border, he would do it openly ‘cause he isn’t scared of anyone.

Jamal stressed that he is in Paris attending a conference about Syria, and he is not part of any political civil party.  The photo was a fabricated hoax from low-level sick individuals.Fact or fabrication? What do you think?

Story By: by Felix Contreras

Tito Puente on vibraphone at the Palladium.

A banner for the Palladium advertises Puente’s orchestra, among other Latin music entertainment.

But it was 1958′s Dance Mania that sold the most. That makes sense: The Tito Puente Orchestra was, of course, a dance band.

From 1948 until 1966, the Palladium Ballroom, at the corner of 53rd and Broadway, was the city’s mecca for Afro-Caribbean dance music. And for a lot of that time, Puente was one of the main attractions.

When I interviewed percussionist and bandleader Ray Barretto in 2003, he told me that Puente had asked him to sit in with the orchestra one night at The Palladium. At the end of the gig, Puente told Barretto he had the job (replacing a future legend in Mongo Santamaria) and to report to a recording studio to record a new album. That recording turned out to be Dance Mania. Barretto told me that if you listen closely, you’ll notice the congas are not part of the precision stops and starts: Barretto wasn’t yet familiar with the arrangements!

Though Puente stayed with RCA for less than six years, the company’s vault contains some of the best examples of Puente’s genius as a bandleader, composer and timbalero. His 90th birthday is a wonderful reason to crank these discs, move the furniture out of the way and celebrate Puente for what he did best: getting people to dance.

Matt Damon's films are in the habit of raking in $15m (£9.8m) on just their first night of release in the US – but that was the total cost of making Promised Land, the 42-year-old actor's latest movie, which he also co-wrote.

While he is best known to audiences for blockbusters like the Bourne trilogy, Promised Land explores a farming community's decision of whether to sell their land for industrial fracking – the process of extracting natural gas that is trapped underground.

"I wanted to make a film that explores the American identity," Damon says.

"How has it changed, and what is our relationship with our communities now? How do we make decisions? What is there for future generations? And the issue of fracking was perfect as the stakes are extremely high, and it's polarising societies."

Damon co-wrote the script with actor John Kraskinski, who co-stars with Damon and Fargo's Frances McDormand.

Damon himself plays a corporate "salesman" who comes to a rural community to persuade them to sell their land for fracking.

While some want the money the company is offering, others are fearful of the environmental impact.

As well as writing it and starring in it, Damon hoped it would mark his directorial debut, he says.

"I really wanted to direct it, but my acting schedule became crazy and I had to give it up. It nearly killed me to have to bow out though," he says, adding that "the only reason it ever got written was because John Kraskinski cracked the whip on me. I was so busy it was written on weekends".

Damon eventually asked director Gus Van Sant to take over. He and the film-maker have been friends since Van Sant directed Damon and Ben Affleck in Good Will Hunting in 1997, for which Damon and Affeck won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar.

This was the two Boston-born actors' Hollywood breakthrough after writing together since childhood – but despite the high-profile recognition, Damon says writing is something he struggles with – and since then, has only scripted one film, Gerry in 2002 – which Van Sant also directed.

"I have to write with a writing partner," Damon claims. "I was an English major at college (he attended Harvard but dropped out before graduating) and I used to find myself staring at my computer. With two of you, there's a lot of improvisation and laughter. Ben and I used to have a blast when we wrote."

He asserts that he and Affleck, who won an Oscar for Best Film this year with Argo – a screenplay Affleck also adapted – will reunite in the near future.

"We are moving as a family to Los Angeles this summer," he explains, "and we're actually moving down the road from Ben. We have a production company together and I think we'll cook something up fairly soon."

When launching Promised Land at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year, Damon told reporters he was "very proud" of Affleck's recent success – in contrast to a decade earlier when the actor was dating singer Jennifer Lopez, and became known as "Bennifer" to the popular press.

"He's taken everything that was thrown at him on the chin, and disappeared from the Hollywood scene for a long time. It's been worth it."

Unlike his writing partner, Damon has enjoyed a steady rise in his career, becoming the star of the lucrative Bourne franchise as well as part of the Ocean's Eleven trilogy, and enjoying critical hits including Saving Private Ryan and The Talented Mr Ripley.

However, Promised Land caused controversy on its US release in December 2012 because of its subject matter.

The film was part-funded by Image Nation Abu Dhabi. Conservative think-tank The Heritage Foundation claimed that this state, as member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Companies (OPEC), had a direct interest in slowing the development of the natural gas industry.

In Pennsylvania, where the movie was filmed in 2012, the industry group Marcellus Shale Coalition bought onscreen advertising space to be shown at the same time as the film.

Damon says he stands by "every frame of the film", but adds that the movie was not made for audiences to form a judgment on the issue, but to illustrate a real-life dilemma.

"It's a heart-breaking situation in rural America at the moment," says the actor.

"If you think a recession hits a city hard, go to the country instead. These farms are really struggling and something like fracking represents a lifeline to small farmers but there are potential risks to the environment which we try to explore."

However, Van Sant says he was at odds with some of the script.

"I'm from a farming community myself, and farmers exist to make money from their land.

"Unless it's truly adverse they're all for it. But a few times in our movie we have a crusty farmer questioning the salesman and I don't think that actually happens that often. Where we filmed their attitude was basically, 'welcome, corporations to our land'."

The film received a Special Mention at the Berlin Film Festival – but so far has only made half of its original budget back.

While Damon will soon star in the summer sci-fi blockbuster Elysium, directed by District 9's Neil Blomkampf, which is expected to be one of the biggest box-office draws of the year, he still admits Promised Land's performance has been "disappointing".

"Many films make money later on in their life, and audiences often find a film later on as well," he says. "I love it and can't understand where the criticism has come from."

Promised Land is released in the UK on 19 April.