Work on Rome subway digs up ancient farm, tools

ROME (AP) ― Archaeologists have unearthed an ancient commercial farm in the heart of modern Rome, taking advantage of subway construction to explore deeply in urban settings. They worked some 20 meters down near St. John in Lateran Basilica. Today’s Rome rests upon medieval layers and, under those, more ancient strata of life. Rossella Rea, the dig’s leader and a culture ministry official, said Wednesday that archaeologists discovered a first-century agricultural business, the closest to Rome’s

CultureDec. 4, 2014

Outdoor play returns to indoor theater

During the fall harvest season and in the first month of the lunar year in Korea, people used to gather at their village square and watch art puppet dances, mask dances or acrobatic shows, all to the beats of various traditional percussion instruments. Some would dance to the music and beat instruments in time with energizing refrains, “Ul-ssi-gu!” or “Ul-ssu!” to interact with the performers in the madangnori, a traditional outdoor performance. “Simcheongjeon,” a famous classical story about fi

CultureDec. 4, 2014

EXO nabs 4 awards at MAMA

South Korean music band EXO pose for the photographers after winning the Album of the Year at the 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong on Thursday. (AP-Yonhap)South Korean boy band EXO proved its stature as a K-pop sensation across Asia by nabbing four awards at the 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards held in Hong Kong on Wednesday. EXO won four major prizes ― Best Asian Style, Best Male Group of the Year, Asian Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for its third EP, “Overdose.”The Asian Artist

Dec. 4, 2014

U2 to return to road four years after record tour

NEW YORK (AFP) ― U2, whose last tour in 2009-2011 was the highest-grossing ever, on Wednesday announced concerts in 2015 across North America and Europe and promised variety in its sets.The tour plans indicate that front man Bono expects a full recovery after a bicycle accident last month. He was replaced by Bruce Springsteen and Coldplay’s Chris Martin during a surprise show for AIDS relief Monday in New York.The Irish superstars announced shows in 19 cities starting with Vancouver’s Rogers Are

PerformanceDec. 4, 2014

‘There Was and There Was Not’ crosses Turkish-Armenian divide

At the Armenian-American camp Meline Toumani attended each summer in Massachusetts, she and her fellow campers knew exactly what bonded them as a people. And no, it wasn’t just their adult-sized noses, at least one of which elicited the nickname “Gonzo” back at school.It was the need for recognition ― from Turkey and the world ― that the Armenian genocide had indeed happened. Even by grade school, Toumani knew certain truths that others denied or were oblivious to: One and a half million Armenia

BooksDec. 4, 2014

Brother Anthony translates two poetry anthologies

Brother Anthony of Taize, a translator of Korean literature and emeritus professor of English at Sogang University, recently translated two poem anthologies: “Shadows of the Void” and “Patterns.”As one of the first non-Korean translators, Brother Anthony has published around 30 books of Korean poetry and works of fiction into English over more than 20 years, including noteworthy works by Ku Sang, Ko Un and Yi Mun-yol.  Brother Anthony of Taize at his office in Seoul in August. (Kim Myung-sub/The

BooksDec. 4, 2014

Pirie on the case in ‘The Skeleton’

The Skeleton RoadBy Val McDermid (Atlantic Monthly Press)Author Val McDermid melds the political thriller with the police procedural for an intense novel that gives equal attention to each genre. McDermid pulls together a complicated tale of war and its aftermath for a plot that feels both intensely personal and global. “The Skeleton Road” moves at a brisk pace, giving attention to each of its myriad characters as the action moves from Scotland to England to Croatia.Detective Chief Inspector Kar

BooksDec. 4, 2014

‘Big Finish’ keeps tension high

The Big FinishBy James W. Hall (Minotaur)Living in the “shadowy world” has always worked well for Thorn, the taciturn hero making his 14th appearance in James W. Hall’s series. Living in a “primitive cracker house” in Key Largo, scraping out a living by tying bonefish flies, Thorn’s mellow persona is only a veneer for the violence that can rear when he or his friends are threatened.Being “a hard-core loner” has suited him fine, but Thorn has recently discovered he has a grown son and that solita

BooksDec. 4, 2014

‘Ralph Peer’: Roots music mogul

Ralph Peer and the Making of Popular Roots Music By Barry Mazor (Chicago Review Press)Do you love Bruce Springsteen? B.B. King? Garth Brooks? Ruben Blades?No doubt you answered yes to at least one of those, but it’s quite likely you do not know the name of the visionary record-industry mogul who set the stage for those artists to succeed ― and perhaps even to exist at all.That would be Ralph Peer, the Kansas City “A & R man” (artists and repertoire) who in the 1920s virtually invented country an

BooksDec. 4, 2014

‘Midnight in Siberia’ eyes Russia today

Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey into the Heart of RussiaBy David Greene (W.W. Norton)As the West nervously watches a newly aggressive Russia, many commentators are trying to figure out what Vladimir Putin is thinking. But “Midnight in Siberia” reminds us of another important question: What are the Russian people thinking?David Greene took a 6,000-mile train journey from Moscow to Vladivostok to find out, and the result is a mesmerizing, confounding, comforting and thought-provoking book. Gr

BooksDec. 4, 2014

‘Notre-Dame de Paris’ readies for revival

The cast of French musical “Notre-Dame de Paris” showcases the show’s famous numbers during a press conference in Seoul on Monday. (Mast Entertainment)Nine years after the original French production of the musical “Notre-Dame de Paris” closed its wildly successful run in Paris, the show’s creators have united for a grand revival. And Korean fans will be the first to watch it. In Gyeongju, a small, unassuming Korean town in North Gyeongsang Province known for its long history, director Gilles Mah

CultureDec. 3, 2014

Yeongdeungpo Common Center: Unlikely place to exhibit art

The area around Yeongdeungpo Station is an odd mix of old and new. The main street is lined with major department stores and shops. But just behind the street stretches an overlooked side of Seoul. One of the city’s few remaining red-light districts and a cluster of shanty houses known as “jjokbangchon” in Korean appear just a few meters from the crowded Shinsegae Department Store. The street toward Moonrae-dong west of Yeongdeungpo is lined with drab little ironworks and unfrequented stores, tr

PerformanceDec. 3, 2014

Hong’s ‘Hill of Freedom’ wins top film award in Nantes

Young-sun (Moon So-ri, left) and Mori (Kase Ryo) in a scene from “Hill of Freedom” (Cluecian)Korean director Hong Sang-soo’s latest work, “Hill of Freedom,” won the Golden Montgolfiere Award, the highest prize at the Festival of the Three Continents in Nantes, France, on Tuesday.The annual film festival is devoted to introducing outstanding films from Asia, Africa and South America. “Hill of Freedom,” Hong’s 16th film, depicts the Japanese man Mori, played by Kase Ryo, who returns to Korea to tr

FilmDec. 3, 2014

Expat star Kaya pulls plug on TV appearances amid rumors of adultery

Popular expat TV actor Enes Kaya has announced that he is halting all his scheduled broadcast appearances amid reports that suggest the Turkey-born entertainer has been cheating on his wife. A woman whose identity has not been revealed broke her silence on Tuesday and told a local media outlet that she had been romantically involved with the 30-year-old “Abnormal Summit” star, after Kaya told her that news of him having a wife and child were merely a showbiz ruse. A screen shot of expat TV star

TelevisionDec. 3, 2014

Interior designer creates ‘calm’ home environments for autistic kids

MINNEAPOLIS ― A.J. Paron-Wildes’ home, a walk-out rambler in suburban Oak Park Heights, Minnesota, is a study in calm ― all clean, uncluttered spaces and earthy, neutral hues that echo the autumn leaves framing the view of the St. Croix River. On an autumn afternoon, daughter Eva, 6, is having an after-school snack, while son Devin, 19, sketches intently, seated at the studio desk in his orderly bedroom.This peaceful environment is entirely by design. When you have an autistic child, calm is a p

CultureDec. 3, 2014

The motor home life: Should you go down that road?

Blame wet feet.It took several days of rain on a Colorado family vacation to move Julianne Vanden Wyngaard from tent camper to motor home owner.“I thought when cooking outside one wet evening, please get me off the ground,” says the carillonneur and Grand Valley State University faculty member from Grand Rapids, Michigan.The Vanden Wyngaards started with a 24-foot motor home, which they used for camping. Some 10 years ago, anticipating semiretirement and a chance to be snowbirds, they took the p

CultureDec. 3, 2014