LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― AIDS claimed a string of celebrity victims in its early days, from Rock Hudson to Freddie Mercury, but fellow stars have played a major role in fighting the killer disease over the years since.Elton John and Elizabeth Taylor were among leading figures who used their celebrity from the start to raise awareness and funds for research into HIV, as well as reducing the stigma of wh

Rochester, New York (AP) ― At Image City Photography Gallery, Gary Thompson delights in pointing out qualities of light, contrast and clarity in one of his best-selling prints ― a winter-sunset view of Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan peak shot with a hefty Pentax film camera he bought in 1999 for $1,700.His wife, Phyllis, a latecomer to fine-art photography after they retired from teaching in

Stainless steel appliances. They’re eye-pleasing, sleek and darned near a cliche these days.But that ubiquity means a lot of people are wrestling with the same problem: how to keep stainless steel clean, ward off scratches and keep a notoriously touchy surface factory-fresh.Deservedly or not, stainless steel has picked up a reputation as something of a dirt magnet.“It is a surface that requires a

HONG KONG (AFP) ― Cut-throat competition for exam success in Hong Kong’s high-pressure education system has spawned a new breed of teacher ― celebrity tutors with near cult-like status and millionaire lifestyles.With their glamorous photographs showing megawatt grins and flashy attire splashed across billboards and buses, the star teachers claim to transform failing students into A-grade pupils ―

On first Asian trip, Michal Ajvaz talks about inspiration, nationalism in artAs with other literary traditions, Czech fiction’s accessibility to Korean readers has long suffered from a lack of translation into Korean. Even with towering literary figures such as Franz Kafka among the country’s authors, it was only this March that the first anthology Czech short stories in Korean translation, “Pragu

Stabbing my walking stick into the muck and sliding my feet forward, I waded into the swamp, one eye on the lookout for alligators, the other trying to spot the elusive orchids that draw so many people to South Florida’s Fakahatchee Strand Preserve, a 100-square-mile state park that is home to one of the largest concentrations of native orchids in North America.Towering trees formed a dense tropic

 

Located down a hill in a wealthy neighborhood in northern Seoul, Mr. 8 (Palseonsaeng in Korean) might make customers wonder whether they have just stepped into an old tavern from a period Chinese movie. A single-story wooden house with a small front yard welcomes customers while red lights and wooden furniture such as long-legged chairs and a round table create an exotic feel. Tangsuyuk at Palseon

Wine of the Week: 2009 Domaine Faury Saint-Joseph ‘Vieilles Vignes’The 2009 old-vines Saint-Joseph from Domaine Faury is a stunner. Classic northern Rhone Syrah in all its intricate glory, dark plums overlaid with exotic sweet spices and violet.Grapes grown on steep hillside vineyards and meticulous winemaking from Philippe Faury and his son Lionel yield a Saint-Joseph that drinks beautifully now

U.K. performers Stoke Newington International Airport have arrived to perform their experimental Live Art Speed Date concept at the Chuncheon International Mime Festival this weekend. Involving a series of four-minute one-on-one performances, or “dates,” the show that has been tried and tested from London to Tokyo will explore and celebrate the intimate exchange between artist and audience. Highli

A rare singing contest that pitted several foreign envoys in Seoul and Koreans took place at the German ambassador’s residence in Seongbuk-dong, Seoul on Tuesday evening.Organized by Corea Image Communication Institute, the singing contest was part of the CICI logo song launch event. The seven contestants ― German Ambassador Hans Ulrich Seidt and his wife Marita Seidt, Singapore Ambassador Peter T

LOS ANGELES ― What can you say about the last days of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” when it’s all been said already. And mostly by Oprah herself.According to audience members interviewed by the Chicago Tribune after its taping, Wednesday’s finale will be a farewell address by the most famous talk show host in history, a summing up of a 25-year career in her own words.Because in case you hadn’t gotten t

In the coming weeks, there will be plenty of chances to gauge the mainstream appetite for Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life,” the story of God and nature and one mid-century family’s issues among them, which opens in limited urban release this weekend before expanding in the following week to suburban precincts.But Sunday’s news out of the Cannes Film Festival that the movie had won the Palme d’

Fewer women making R-rated comedies than 15-20 years agoIn corporate America, it’s no longer a surprise to see a woman running a giant company like eBay or Hewlett-Packard. But in Hollywood, where actresses have far shorter careers than actors do, and male stars are paid far more than leading ladies, there are still mountains to climb. That’s especially true in the comedy world, which is dominated

New York-based organization plans 10 traveling exhibitions in AmericaNEW YORK ― The Korea Society sits where the Third Avenue meets East 55th St., promoting deeper and wider understanding between the American and Korean people. A small art exhibition, “Korea Design Heritage,” currently being held at the Society is part of its dynamic efforts to help Americans get to know how Korea’s industrial des

Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, one of the most acclaimed living French authors and the 2008 Nobel Prize winner, said literature is what connects people in today’s globalized world. He was speaking at a press conference Monday at Kyobo Bookstore in downtown Seoul, a day ahead of the opening of the third Seoul International Forum for Literature in Seoul.Le Clezio participated in the second forum in S

NEW YORK (AP) ― Playing dress up or running around the park, kids can be so darn cute. Until it’s 3 a.m. and they won’t go the (bleep) to sleep.The F-bomb plea on the minds of every parent at one point or another is the title of a buzz magnet of a book parody written in kid-friendly rhyme. Beware, parents, it’s decidedly unworthy of a bedtime readaloud.Not yet out, the 32-pager from a tiny Brookly

VIENNA (AFP) ― Swarms of angels, flying horses and fantastic birds of paradise converged on Vienna’s neo-Gothic City Hall on Saturday for this year’s Life Ball.In line with this year’s motto ― “Spread the Wings of Tolerance” ― many of the guests to the 19th edition of one of the world’s biggest AIDS charity events let their imaginations take flight with their spectacularly colorful fancy dress.Amo

Hackers use SNS as the first step to email, bank account accessDETROIT ― Pam Aughe is never going back.After a year of using Facebook sporadically to keep up with family and friends ― two or three times a week, she says ― her account was hijacked by a scammer seeking to bilk her friends out of money.According to the alarming counterfeit messages, Aughe, 41, of Clarkston was stuck in Scotland. Robb

LONDON (AP) ― The genre that brought us “The Matrix” has roots reaching back nearly two millennia. The literary tradition often associated with “Star Trek”-loving fanboys has a militant feminist streak. Oh, and science fiction also invented cyberspace.The British Library’s new exhibit, “Out of this World,” wants visitors to know that there’s more to sci-fi than “The War of the Worlds” or “20,000 L