WACCABUC, New York (AP) ― “Try it. Go ahead, stick your finger in!”The dollop of spicy hot-pepper paste is hard to turn down, coming as it does from the blender of Jean-Georges Vongerichten, one of the best-known chefs in the world, not to mention the owner of 31 restaurants and the man known for basically revolutionizing fine dining in New York.And we’re in his own home kitchen, yet. So the pinky

NEW YORK (AP) ― The resort season is not a time for fashion to take a vacation. Resort collections, which hit stores during the all-important Christmas holiday shopping season, are a growing part of designer businesses as consumers move toward styles they can wear year-round.The idea that people fully switch their closets between seasons is outdated, agrees Ken Downing, senior vice president and f

SACRAMENTO, California ― Let’s listen as the Moore family ― grandmother, daughter-in-law and granddaughter ― talks about their lives together in the Carmichael, California, home they share.“I enjoy my granddaughter immensely,” said Cheryll Moore, 55, an American River College teacher whose son Sean brought 10-year-old Mya Honsvick into the family picture when he married Mya’s mother, Beth.“We’ll b

NEW YORK (AP) ― As a trendsetting designer and architect, David Rockwell has done it all ― from Broadway shows and a restaurant partly owned by Robert De Niro to children’s hospitals and a hip hotel near Times Square.On Friday, his latest creation will open: the permanent home of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, a $41 million world-class movie complex that is both a community center for its Man

NEW YORK (AP) ― It is hard to think of how Paul McCartney could have given his first solo album a bigger publicity hurdle to overcome, unless he had been arrested for some vile crime on the week of its release in April 1970.The newly ex-Beatle distributed a questionnaire that was treated by fans and the media as definitive word that the world’s most beloved rock band, true today as it was then, ha

Korean Under-23 team came back from behind to claim 3-1 victory over Jordan at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Sunday.Yoon Bit-garam scored a penalty after Kim Tae-hwan had equalized in the second half, and substitute Kim Dong-sub added one to win the first leg of the play-offs against Jordan. The host dominated the game completely in the first half, taking chance after chance against the lackluster Jo

 

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) ― Turns out Keith Urban’s 2011 Get Closer Tour is aptly named.The country superstar will unveil a new stage design when his tour starts Thursday in Biloxi, Mississippi. Urban often tucks away ideas he comes up with while standing on stage in front of thousands of fans. He noticed on his last tour that when he descended ramps at each end of the stage, nearby fans were prac

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Jessica Simpson is taking on the role of mentor to aspiring designers for a new NBC reality series.The network said Monday that Simpson will help guide contestants in the series “Fashion Star” as they compete for a multimillion-dollar contract to launch their own brand.Elle McPherson will host the show, which NBC promises to be a “true spectacle” taped in front of a studio audie

South Korean animator Choi Jong-il knew he had a hit on his hands when Pororo the penguin hopped onto TV screens back in 2003.Choi’s previous creations had failed to grab the undivided attention of his 6-year-old son and his son’s friends.That all changed when the mischievous but affectionate blue and white penguin, sporting aviator glasses and a flying helmet, made his debut.“The kids’ eyes were

MEXICO CITY (AP) ― “Narco Polo” is the new fashion trend sweeping lower-class neighborhoods in Mexico, inspired by seven high-ranking drug traffickers who were arrested over a three-month stretch wearing open-neck, short-sleeved jerseys with the familiar horseman-with-a-stick emblem.The polo shirts are becoming ubiquitous in street vendors’ stalls from the drug-war-ravaged state of Tamaulipas to t

PARIS (AP) ― The walls of the Paris bar are plastered with images of Jim Morrison and The Doors, and a bust of the lead singer presides over the beer tap ― all part of the owner’s lifelong passion for the band. But an attorney for the group doesn’t love it madly.Christophe Maillet said he received a letter from a Beverly Hills, California-based attorney warning that “The Doors do not want to be se

WASHINGTON ― The U.S. government’s fascination with America’s eating predates the nation itself, and the National Archives can prove it.On display at a new exhibit, “What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam? The Government’s Effect on the American Diet,” is a recruiting poster from 1776 that lists the rations the Continental Congress offered to the soldiers: beef, peas, beer and candies.Tucked away on the first

Cancer center offers respite, spiritual oasis for the sickHACKENSACK, New Jersey ― For just a moment, patients can forget they’re in a cancer center.The Manhattan skyline offers a spectacular background for lush boxwoods, vibrant flowers, and the herbs and vegetables growing in the rooftop garden at the John Theurer Cancer Center at the Hackensack University Medical Center.The garden, outside a gl

Director of Kan Song Art Museum says his legacy is keeping the collection intactAt the home of Chun Sung-woo, director of the country’s foremost private museum of Korean art, where one would expect to find old Korean masterpieces, hang large abstract paintings.“These are part of my mandala series,” explains Chun, pointing at the paintings that hang on the wall of the living room and its adjoining

Dumplings and extra-chewy noodles called jjolmyeon, the favorite after-school snacks of Korean students are given grown-up treatment at Mito in Samseong-dong.The restaurant run by the 40-year-old Sinpori Mandu company plays up its heritage, serving up sophisticated variations of basic dumplings and noodles.  Interior of Mito in Samseong-dong (Mito)There are several interesting interpretations of d

LOS ANGELES ― After two years of sluggish wine sales, consumers are starting to reach for ― and spend more on ― their favorite vintages.U.S. domestic wine retail sales grew 7 percent in 2010 over the previous year, according to the Wine Institute in San Francisco. And the country’s wine exports also jumped to a record $1.14 billion in 2010, up nearly 26 percent from 2009. Customer Jennifer Murphy

American actor Richard Gere will visit South Korea later this month to experience traditional Korean Buddhist temples, the country’s largest Buddhist sect said Wednesday.Gere, a practicing Buddhist, will come to Korea on June 20, in time for his photography exhibition titled “Pilgrim,” featuring photos of Tibet, the Jogye Order said. He will have a meeting with Venerable Jaseung, head of the Jogye

Seomi director says Samsung still owes her 53 billion wonAre the once-best-and-strongest partners in the local art scene turning their backs on each other or starting yet another scheme together? Gallery Seomi director Hong Song-won, arrested May 6 for money laundering, filed a law suit worth 5 billion won ($4.6 million) against Hong Ra-hee, director of Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art and wife of Sam