To anyone reading the real estate ads in recent years, it could seem that granite was the only material worth using for a kitchen counter, as important as updated electrical or a reliable roof.Granite isn’t going anywhere. But many designers and homeowners are turning to glass, manufactured stone, m

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ― The Philadelphia Orchestra and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops have agreed to end their six-year business partnership, according to documents filed Monday in federal bankruptcy court.The organizations merged operations in 2005 with the goals of streamlining administrative tasks an

Top conductors, soloists to provide powerful symphonic soundsKorean classical fans will agonize over the choice of big tickets in November and early December as several world-renowned maestros arrive with their orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orch

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― “Two and a Half Men” star Jon Cryer on Monday received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and thanked former co-star Charlie Sheen and the show’s co-creators for intervening during last season when troubles arose.Cryer, 46, was honored with the 2,449th star on the famed walkway.

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain (AFP) ― Glenn Close picked up a lifetime achievement award in Spain on Sunday but said she’d really like to get an Oscar nod for her role as “Albert Nobbs,”a woman who poses as a man.Close, probably best known as the deranged stalker in “Fatal Attraction,” received the San Sebas

Korean Culture Day celebrated at Asian Art Museum of San FranciscoSAN FRANCISCO -- Korean music, delicate traditional patchworks, exquisite Buncheong ceramics and hands-on artistic activities brought a wide range of people together in the Korean spirit in San Francisco on Saturday.The Korea Foundati

MUMBAI ― Cooking Korean food for foreign palates in foreign lands requires much creativeness and resourcefulness. Chef Bae Han-chul, formerly with the InterContinental Hotel in Seoul and currently a professor at Gangdong University, who served a five-course hansik meal for 200 people at a Korean foo

LONDON (AP) ― Rebel Vivienne Westwood told aspiring young designers Saturday not to waste their time with fashion, then wowed the London Fashion Week crowd with a unique mix of classic design and space-age, mile-high hair and rainbow makeup.The result was a typical Westwood extravaganza: Champagne c

TORONTO (AP) ― Now that the summer blockbusters have been tucked away, it’s time for Hollywood’s next big season: the marathon haul to Academy Awards night.The Toronto International Film Festival that ran through Sunday and the recently wrapped Telluride and Venice film fests are the usual starting

BEIJING (AFP) ― China’s media watchdog has pulled the plug on the nation’s smash-hit answer to “American Idol” to make way for shows that “provide practical information for housework,” state media said Saturday.Much like its U.S. counterpart, “Super Girl” ― launched in 2004 ― proved an instant hit,

Taj Mahal hotel group hosts Korean Food Promotion events in Mumbai, New DelhiMUMBAI ― Korean cuisine was introduced to Mumbai, India, for the first time Wednesday night.The Korean Food Promotion, jointly organized by the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and Corea Image Communication Institute, kicked off with

KRAKOW, Poland (AP) ― With crowds of tourists and a college-town atmosphere, Krakow ― once the capital of Poland ― has become a European hotspot.The center of it all is the centuries-old main square in the Old Town, or Stare Miasto, where brick streets are filled with restaurants, coffee shops, tren

HAVANA ― The mojitos were in our hands, and we could see the shimmering blue of the Caribbean.But this was no ordinary island vacation.Television cameras whirred as a group of Americans checked into Havana’s stately Hotel Nacional, as history was being made ― by us.Except for a brief period from 200

Fiorfiore is pale gold with a scent of tropical fruit and flowers. The 2009 is rich and round, but with a nice snap of acidity. (Los Angeles Times/MCT)The white grape Grechetto has a long history in Umbria in central Italy. It’s an essential part of the blend for the region’s best-known white, Orvie

NEW YORK (AP) ― Even though iconic designer Valentino officially retired in 2008, the 79-year-old has no interest in slowing down.“Retirement is for old people,” he said with a laugh Wednesday at an awards luncheon in his honor.The Fashion Institute of Technology presented the Italian designer with

NEW YORK (AP) ― Whether it is being encased in an egg or wearing slabs of meat, there never is a question whether Lady Gaga will make a spectacle of herself at an awards show; the only question is just what kind.So when the MTV Video Music Awards came around this year, Gaga did not disappoint. Altho

VENICE (AP) ― British director Andrea Arnold describes her experience creating a new film version of ‘Wuthering Heights,’ Emily Bronte’s only novel and 250-year-old literary phenomenon, as “a very difficult journey” but one which she couldn’t abandon.The result, in which the character of Heathcliff

PETRONELL-CARNUNTUM, Austria (AP) ― They lived in cells barely big enough to turn around in and usually fought until they died. This was the lot of those at a sensational scientific discovery unveiled Monday: The well-preserved ruins of a gladiator school in Austria.The Carnuntum ruins are part of a

VENICE, Italy (AP) ― For British director Steve McQueen, there was no better place than Manhattan to film “Shame,” his new film that portrays the life of a 30-something sex addict, played by Michael Fassbender in often graphic detail.“Excess and access. New York is the place,” McQueen said Sunday ah

NEW YORK (AP) ― With Oprah Winfrey gone, daytime television is ready for a new monarch.Barbara Walters and the show she invented 15 years ago, “The View,” pronounce themselves ready to step up. She may be past 80 now, but would YOU bet against her?The show begins its new season Tuesday, with New Yor