For those of us who follow motion pictures and television shows filmed in Hawaii, we received exciting news yesterday when The Descendants was nominated for five Academy Awards: Best Picture (Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers), Actor in a Leading Role (George Clooney), Directing (Alexander Payne), Adapted Screenplay (Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash), and Film Editing (Kevin Tent).

The already much honored film (including Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture Drama and Best Actor Drama) was filmed on the islands of Oahu and Kauai. The film has already received numerous awards including Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture Drama and Best Actor Drama (George Clooney), the AFI Movie of the Year, Critics Choice Award for Best Actor (George Clooney) and National Board of Review awards for Best Actor (George Clooney), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress (Shailene Woodley).

A major disappointment, however, is that the film did not receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Score. The film features a score consisting of primarily Hawaiian slack-key guitar music sung by such renowned artists as Keola Beamer, Sonny Chillingworth, Dennis Kamakahi and the late Gabby Pahinui as well as popular artists the Makaha Sons and Makana.

The Descendants traces the story of Hawaiian born land owner Matt King who takes his daughters from Oahu to Kauai to confront the man with whom his wife Elizabeth had been having an affair with prior to an accident which has left her on life support.

You can read an excellent review of The Descendants by Jordan Hoffman, About.com Guide to World / Independent Film.

Unfortunately the film has been playing only in limited release, but hopefully, now that it has been nominated for five Academy Awards, it will be released at a theater near you.

Remember to get your nominations in for the 2012 About.com Hawaii Travel Readers Choice Awards.

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Nominations for the About.com 2012 Readers' Choice Awards officially opened at 12:01 a.m. today. Awards are awarded in hundreds of categories across the About.com network.

For the first time since the inception of the awards, About.com Hawaii Travel will be accepting nominations in five categories and I definitely want to hear from all of you with your nominations.

You can read an overview of the Hawaii Travel awards or, just use the following four links to submit your nominations in these four categories.

Submit your nomination for Favorite Hawaiian Island

Submit your nomination for Favorite Beach in Hawaii

Submit your nomination for Favorite Hotel/Resort Company in Hawaii

Submit your nomination for Favorite Luau in Hawaii

Submit your nomination for Favorite Hawaii Activity Company or Provider

Nominations will be accepted through February 15, 2012. From February 22 through March 21, 2012, you will be able to vote for the winner from a list of the top nominees in each category. Winners will be announced on March 30, 2012.

So, whether you're a visitor, public relations representative, company owner, or Hawaii resident, let's hear from you. Please let your friends and business associates know of this year's awards.

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One of my favorite ways of planning a trip to Hawaii is to schedule my visit to coincide with one of the many great festivals or annual events that take place across the islands each year.

Hawaii has cultural and historical festivals, food and product festivals, hula festivals, music and film festivals, great sporting events and, of course, annual holiday celebrations.

As Hawaii's largest and most populated island, Oahu probably has more annual festivals and events than all of the other islands combined. Many of the festivals, such as the annual Honolulu Festival, Hawaii International Film Festival, Waikiki SPAM® Jam, Lei Day Celebration, Lantern Floating Hawaii Ceremony, King Kamehameha Floral Parade, Duke's OceanFest and Aloha Festivals, to name just a few, take place either right in Waikiki or in adjoining Honolulu.

Oahu's excellent public transportation system, TheBus, makes it easy to get to any festival on the island.

So, this year, why not plan a visit to Oahu to coincide with one of the 2012 Festivals and Events On Oahu.

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_{Flags and Chinese Social Hall at Hawaii's Plantation Village}

We all know how rough the economy is and Hawaii has been hurt as much or in some areas more than the rest of the country. The state's homeless population is a serious problem and while recent "sweeps" in more popular tourist locations have taken place, the homeless have just been forced to move elsewhere. One area where the homeless population has increased on Oahu is at Waipahu Cultural Garden Park, just west of Pearl Harbor.

The homeless situation on Oahu is complex. Many of the homeless have jobs and families, but can simply not afford the high cost of housing on Oahu where the median cost for a single family home was, as of November 2011, $580,000. Of course, a significant number of the homeless have personal issues such as drug and alcohol problems.

An offshoot of large homeless camps, such as currently exists at Waipahu Cultural Garden Park, is that many locals and visitors tend to shy away from these areas. This has a negative impact on businesses and, in the case of Waipahu Cultural Garden Park, Hawaii's Plantation Village (HPV), a non-profit living history museum which is located within the park.

Hawaii's Plantation Village is one of the hidden gems on Oahu, but one, where even in good times, very few visitors (or local residents) ever take the chance to experience. I have visited the Village and it is well worth the effort to drive to this off the beaten track location.

Like most non-profits, 2011 was a very hard year for Hawaii's Plantation Village. Donations were down and harder to come by than in prior years, and grants promised to HPV in early in 2011 were reduced by 50% by the time the grant contracts had been signed later in the year. In addition, visitor arrivals to Hawaii's Plantation Village last summer did not meet their projected numbers and the organization was surviving on a month-to-month basis. December 2011 was finally showing promise when for the second time in two year, a break-in and burglary happened during the early morning hours of December 31.