American children’s author wins Astrid Lindgren prize

STOCKHOLM (AFP) -- American children’s author Meg Rosoff on Tuesday won the 2016 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for young people’s literature, the organization announced.　“Meg Rosoff’s young adult novels speak to the emotions as well as the intellect. In sparkling prose, she writes about the search for meaning and identity in a peculiar and bizarre world,” the jury said in its statement. 　Rosoff was born in Boston in 1956, attended Harvard University and later published her first book “How I Liv

BooksApril 6, 2016

Tina Fey talks ‘Bossypants’ and other books, zings Talese

NEW YORK (AP) -- Even for someone as loved as Tina Fey, a reported $6 million advance seemed like a lot of money for a book of essays. 　But five years after its publication, “Bossypants” has sold 3.75 million copies, according to Little, Brown and Co. And it confirmed a market for smart, funny nonfiction such as Amy Poehler’s “Yes Please” and Mindy Kaling’s “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?”　In an email interview Tuesday with the Associated Press, Fey discussed “Bossypants” and some books she

BooksApril 6, 2016

Intimate memoir of life in a southern coal town

“Dimestore: A Writer’s Life” 　By Lee Smith　Algonquin Books (202 pages, $24.95)　Lee Smith’s parents raised her to leave the Appalachian town of Grundy, Virginia, where they “were closed in entirely, cut off from the outside world by our ring of mountains.”　They taught her proper grammar, sent her to school with delicate lunches instead of the cornbread and buttermilk she wanted, packed her off every summer to Birmingham, Alabama, for “lady lessons.”　None of this really worked.　Smith adored her ho

BooksApril 6, 2016

Dive into ordinary but well-crafted lives in ‘High Dive’

　“High Dive” 　By Jonathan Lee 　Knopf (336 pages, $25.95)　Jonathan Lee’s new novel “High Dive” reimagines the weeks leading up to the Grand Hotel bombing on Oct. 12, 1984.　Splitting time between Brighton, England, and Belfast, Northern Ireland, Lee focuses the attention not on Margaret Thatcher, the intended target of the attack, nor other political figures at the Conservative Party Conference, but on the lives of three individuals.　The narrative opens with Dan’s initiation into the Irish Republi

BooksApril 6, 2016

‘The Caped Crusade’ details the cultural history of Batman

“The Caped Crusade” by Glen Weldon　Simon & Schuster (325 pages, $26)　Batman has been a lot of things during the past 77 years: a gun-toting vigilante, an object of panic at the height of American homophobia, a campy ’60s television icon, a grumbly middle-aged antihero and a mass media star.　But through all of these iterations, what has given Batman his longevity? The answer lies in the pages of “The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture” by Glen Weldon, a sharp, deeply knowledgeable

BooksApril 6, 2016

Member Gong Minzy to leave 2NE1

Member Gong Minzy will be leaving four-member K-pop group 2NE1, while the other three members will return as 2NE1 this summer with a new song, YG Entertainment said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.　“We held one-on-one talks with each member in light of 2NE1’s contract expiring on May 5. During the talks, we expressed our wish to renew their contracts and revitalize 2NE1 as a team,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, Gong Minzy is no longer willing to continue with us.　Former K-pop gir

PerformanceApril 5, 2016

CNBLUE welcomes ‘Blueming’ season

K-pop rock band CNBLUE released its sixth mini album “Blueming” on Monday.　“Welcoming the blooming season, the new album includes tracks that are uplifting and that make people feel the start of something new,” the group’s leader and main vocalist Jung Yong-hwa said Monday at an interview.　The lead song “You’re So Fine,” a spring-themed song written by Jung, is pop rock featuring a punk beat and the lifting sound of brass. K-pop rock band CN Blue (FNC Entertainment)　“Our songs used to depict sad

PerformanceApril 5, 2016

From limos to junk, quirky museums tell Beijing's history

BEIJING (AP) -- Stuffed into a tiny room off an alleyway are items that Wang Jinming readily admits were put out with the garbage: Paper string, a needle holder, a metal pancake maker built for thrusting into a fire.　"These objects all look quite old and shabby," he said. "But they record real history."　Wang's Beijing Old Items Exhibition in the heart of old Beijing is one of dozens of private museums that dot the capital’s backstreets and its suburbs. Their collections feature the grand and mun

CultureApril 5, 2016

Despair of Koreans in 20s, 30s behind whimsical images

Artist Kim Hyun-jung captures the state of mind of 20- and 30-something Koreans, portraying feelings of envy triggered by social media posts and despair of today’s young generation in their everyday life.  　“I try to engage in social networking sites and see how they work these days. I like listening to other people’s stories and watching the news. By doing so, I believe I can portray the most accurate picture of today’s young generation,” said Kim, 29, in an interview in Insa-dong on Monday. He

PerformanceApril 5, 2016

Swift thanks 'boyfriend Adam'

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- For the second year in a row, the iHeartRadio Awards became the iHeartTaylorSwift show.　Not only did Swift claim three prizes, including album of the year, but her bestie and her boyfriend took home trophies, too.　Swift, who swept the awards last year, won the first and last prize Sunday night -- female artist and album of the year. In between, she claimed best tour honors for her star-studded "1989 World Tour," thanking boyfriend Calvin Harris (real name: Adam Wiles) from th

PerformanceApril 5, 2016

Russia's Hermitage Museum offers help to restore Palmyra

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AFP) -- The director of Russia’s renowned Hermitage Museum, which has an important collection of sculptures from Palmyra, has offered its expertise to help restore the ancient Syrian city retaken by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces from the Islamic State group.　“Restoring Palmyra is the responsibility of all of us,” Mikhail Piotrovsky told AFP, surrounded by displays of tombstones, sculptures and coins from Palmyra at the museum in St. Petersburg.　Following the IS campa

CultureApril 5, 2016

Huge Rolling Stones exhibition offers satisfaction for fans

LONDON (AP) -- It’s only rock ‘n’ roll -- but it isn’t, is it? 　The music business is about commerce as well as entertainment, and the Rolling Stones are one of its biggest multinational firms.　There’s plenty of both art and business in “Exhibitionism,” a vast exhibition that covers 1,850 square meters of London’s Saatchi Gallery with five decades of Stones history. 　The more than 500 artifacts, borrowed from the band’s archive and private collectors, include musical instruments, lyrics, sketche

CultureApril 5, 2016

Song Joong-ki to return to big screen

Actor Song Joong-ki will return to the big screen in director Ryoo Seung-wan’s upcoming film “Battleship Island.”　The film will depict the story of 400 Koreans who were taken to Battleship Island -- also known as Hashima Island -- to carry out forced labor during the Japanese colonial era. They desperately try to escape from the island.Song Joong-ki stars in “Descendants of the Sun” (KBS2)　Song will play the role of a soldier in the Korean Liberation Army fighting for Korea’s independence from J

FilmApril 4, 2016

Park Hae-jin breathes life into fading Chinese show

Actor Park Hae-jin starred in Chinese variety show “Happy Camp” on April 2, topping the ratings with a 2.46 percent viewership share, the actor’s agency Mountain Movement announced Monday.　Park is credited with having brought the slowly withering show back to life. Actor Park Hae-jin stars in Chinese variety show “Happy Camp,” on April 2. (Mountain Movement)　On the TV show, Park reproduced romantic scenes from tvN’s TV drama series “Cheese in the Trap,” with other female stars. He also showed gr

TelevisionApril 4, 2016

Major Korean directors set for comeback

Some of Korea’s most internationally renowned directors are gearing up for a comeback this summer with projects that are pricier and on a grander scale than before, promising audiences a vigorous movie scene in the upcoming months. 　The level of Hollywood involvement in the local movie industry this year is significant, indicating that the country’s $1.52-billion film market -- led primarily by domestic films -- is becoming increasingly significant to foreign investors. It is also a testimony to

FilmApril 4, 2016

'Kinky Boots,' 'Hangmen,' 'Gypsy' win at UK's Olivier Awards

LONDON (AP) -- The high-stepping Broadway hit "Kinky Boots" was named best new musical at London's Olivier theater awards on Sunday, while Martin McDonagh’s killer comedy "Hangmen" won the prize for best new play.　The ceremony at London's Royal Opera House opened with Imelda Staunton belting out the "Gypsy" number "Everything’s Coming Up Roses" -- and the words proved prophetic. Staunton was named best actress in a musical for playing showbiz matriarch Mama Rose, while "Gypsy" took four trophies

PerformanceApril 4, 2016