LOS ANGELES ― In one corner of the field at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, fans will find an unlikely structure ― a kind of ad-hoc cathedral. There’s no atonement for a boozy weekend inside, however.Instead, beams of light will cascade from the ceiling in a hall filled with ambient white noise. Pass through the light columns and you’ll be awash in pieces from the orchestral,

CHICAGO ― Snowflakes fluttered down, lightning flashed and inspiration for a brilliant new band name struck: Thundersnow.Mind you, I don’t actually have a band, but in my rock-geek fantasy life, I’m constantly in search of the perfect band name, so I vetted this one in the commonly accepted 21st century method: I Googled it.Sure enough, not only is there a Madison, Wis., rock band called Thundersn

Biker club cares for safety, fellowship while enjoying majestic countrysideDriving a motorcycle in Seoul is an enthralling real-life trip into the depths of one’s resolution, courage, patience, motor skills and coordination. In a country with one of the highest traffic death rates in the world, the challenge becomes a daunting case of one near miss after the other.Putting all that aside, very few

What is the line between being a ghoul and a do-gooder when it comes to visiting a recent disaster area? It’s a question to be asked again when the crisis in Japan finally abates.But what is an appropriate waiting period to visit a country hit by a magnitude 9 earthquake and 20-foot-high tsunami that killed thousands of people in northeastern Japan and created a nuclear radiation crisis?In natural

LOS ANGELES ― The 2012 Grammy Awards will look a little trimmer as the Recording Academy on Wednesday unveiled a massive overhaul of its categories and voting process, most notably slashing the number of nominated categories by 31 to 78. The Grammys had swelled from 28 categories in 1959 to 109 at the most recently televised awards, in which the Arcade Fire was a surprise win for album of the year

Despite the lingering chill, things are looking fresh and green at area farmers markets.Little by little, baby greens, hearty spinach and kale ― locally grown in hoop houses or greenhouses ― are showing up.You can buy just about any produce year-round, but something changes when spring finally arrives. Cooks crave these delicate green harbingers because they require so little fuss. They’re simple

KATMANDU (AP) ― A team of mountaineers led by a veteran Sherpa guide flew Wednesday to Mount Everest on an expedition to clear away tons of trash left on the world’s highest peak.Since Everest was first conquered in 1953, thousands of people have climbed it, leaving behind the empty oxygen bottles, ropes, tents and other garbage that made their journey possible.Nepal’s government has since imposed

ROME (AP) ― Italian researchers said Tuesday they will dig up bones in a Florence convent to try to identify the remains of a Renaissance woman long believed to be the model for the “Mona Lisa.”If successful, the research might help ascertain the identity of the woman depicted in Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece ― a mystery that has puzzled scholars and art lovers for centuries and generated countl

WALNUT CREEK, California ― After the birth of her daughter five years ago, Cynthia Li, of Berkeley, California, was diagnosed with a severe thyroid condition and was unable to breast feed.Knowing the benefits of human milk, Li didn’t want to use formula and lamented her situation to a friend. The friend offered to send out a mass email on Li’s behalf asking like-minded moms to donate their extra b

Beneath glinting disco balls and festive decor, illuminated by multicolored strobe lights, the group ― all beaming, glistening with sweat ― are caught up in hip-shaking, body-swirling dance moves. But this isn’t a nightclub. This is Zumba ― a Latin-inspired fitness program that has gripped dance and exercise lovers in more than 110 countries and has now landed in Itaewon, Seoul. “Zumba has changed

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Not so long ago, Cristian Gheorghiu roamed the streets of Los Angeles at all hours, black marker in his pocket, hunting for walls and street signs where he could scrawl his graffiti moniker, “Smear.’’These days, the Romanian-born Gheorghiu is working in his garage, splashed in paint and surrounded by canvases, paint cans, markers and odds and ends he uses to fashion abstract mix

CHICAGO (AP) ― After being heckled and booed in Detroit, Charlie Sheen made some changes to his road show Sunday night ― and this time, it ended with a standing ovation.Sheen used a talk show-style format at his Chicago show, with a master of ceremonies asking the actor questions. The interviewer, who didn’t identify himself, kept Sheen on track and gave the actor a chance to make some snarky comm

NEW YORK (AP) ― Katie Couric is leaving her anchor post at “CBS Evening News” less than five years after becoming the first woman to solely helm a network TV evening newscast.A network executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Couric has not officially announced her plans, reported the move to The Associated Press on Sunday night. The 54-year-old anchor is expected to launch a syndica

PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) ― Just feet from a methadone clinic at a grimy crossroads in Portland, transit officials and police are hoping a touch of class will chase off vagrants, vandals and ne’er-do-wells that loiter near a busy transit stop.Since November, the regional transit department has approved the playing of classical music in an effort to ward off the kind of crimes that happen when people j

JAKARTA (AFP) ― A painting depicting a 1940s village scene of Indonesia under Dutch rule will be a star attraction at an auction where prices are expected to reflect growing interest in Southeast Asian art, experts say.The piece, “Stand Guard For Our Motherland,”painted by Indonesian artist S. Sudjojono in 1965, is tipped to beat its estimate of up to $385,000 at the Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong

NEW YORK (AP) ― More than three decades have passed since Bob Dylan brought the plight of boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter into the public consciousness: “Criminals in their coats and their ties are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise while Rubin sits like Buddha in a 10-foot cell, an innocent man in a living hell.”Dylan championed the case of Carter, a former middleweight boxer convicted

Rugby stars visit to promote the sport ahead of New Zealand World CupIt seems like ages ago that the world’s attention was focused on the destructive effects of a 6.3-magnitude earthquake that caused widespread damage and multiple fatalities in Christchurch.In Korea, the Kiwi Chamber and Australian Chamber of Commerce will host a Rugby Charity Dinner at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on April 13 with proce

People who love raw milk cheeses and those who make them say what sets the cheeses apart is the distinctive flavors and the way they can change from season to season.Whether the taste is tangy, sweet, grassy or creamy, aficionados say, it’s almost always memorable.The flavor develops through a required 60-day aging process designed to kill harmful bacteria. Now, that process faces possible reregul

MOSCOW (AP) ― The American Ballet Theatre has returned to Moscow for the first time since the 1960s and the first time since the defection of Mikhail Baryshnikov, who left Russia’s famed Bolshoi Theatre to bring his luminous star power to the U.S. ballet company.ABT opened a three-night run Tuesday on the new stage of the Bolshoi Theatre, whose company was touring Canada when Baryshnikov defected

LAS VEGAS (AP) ― Johnny Depp’s tour guide on his “Pirates of the Caribbean” voyages is plotting the course for a fifth installment even before the fourth movie sails into theaters.Producer Jerry Bruckheimer says he has a screenplay in the works for a fifth “Pirates” tale after May’s “Pirates of the Caribbean:On Stranger Tides” comes out.Based on the Disney theme-park ride, the original three “Pira