Giacometti exhibit in Rome explores power of human body

ROME (AFP) ― Striking, skeletal forms of Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti are juxtaposed with corpulent neo-classical and baroque Italian masterpieces in a new exhibition in Rome exploring the evocative power of the human body. Forty Giacometti gems, including his famous spindly “Walking Man” in bronze, have been scattered around the permanent collection at the Villa Borghese Gallery in the Italian capital, dotted in among classics such as Bernini’s “David” or Canova’s “Pauline Borghese.” The c

PerformanceFeb. 6, 2014

YB to debut in U.S., U.K. with ‘Cigarette Girl’

Korea’s chief rock band YB is set to debut in the United Kingdom and the United States with its signature single “Cigarette Girl,” according to the band’s management company on Tuesday.YB, which recently signed with the former manager of American hard rock legend Guns N’ Roses Doug Goldstein, will unveil the English version of “Cigarette Girl” on Feb. 18, marking the band’s first official international appearance under a foreign management agency.“Cigarette Girl” was originally sung by veteran K

PerformanceFeb. 6, 2014

‘American Idol’ star Aiken launches Congress bid

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― “American Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken declared Wednesday he is running for Congress, putting his singing career on hold as he aims to unseat a Republican from her North Carolina district.Aiken said he would run as a Democrat against two-term congresswoman Renee Ellmers because he believes she is voting against her constituents’ interests in the House of Representatives.“This is what’s wrong with Washington,” Aiken said in a nearly five-minute video, where he highlighted his upb

PerformanceFeb. 6, 2014

New novel examines romance of Robert Louis Stevenson, wife

It’s hard to believe it’s been six years since the publication of Nancy Horan’s best-selling debut, “Loving Frank,” a riveting tale centered on Frank Lloyd Wright’s lover and muse, Mamah Borthwick Cheney, that remains vividly fresh in my memory.In her new novel, “Under the Wide and Starry Sky,” she once again takes a deep, discerning dive into a famous man’s life by focusing on a significant love interest. Once again, I was enthralled.Horan has been credited with inventing this popular subgenre

BooksFeb. 6, 2014

Personal tragedy, powerful story

Un-Remarried WidowBy Artis Henderson (Simon & Schuster)There are stories of war we are used to seeing: The soldier as action hero or the wounded warrior returning home. Then there are the war stories that are not so familiar, of the families left behind.Artis Henderson’s “Un-Remarried Widow” is one such story, an exquisitely sensitive portrait of a new bride whose marriage is cut short when her husband is killed in the Iraq War.The book’s title refers to the characteristically dry, bureaucratic

BooksFeb. 6, 2014

Isabel Allende’s ‘Ripper’ disappoints

RipperBy Isabel Allende(Harper)Chilean author Isabel Allende’s magical realism approach has earned her lyrical novels such as “The House of the Spirits” and “Of Love and Shadows” critical acclaim and solid spots on best-sellers lists.But Allende’s style fails her in her first crime novel. “Ripper” succumbs to an overwrought plot, weak characters and uninteresting details that derail the story.Ripper is an online community of amateur sleuths around the world united to solve a series of bizarre ki

BooksFeb. 6, 2014

Joyce Carol Oates conjures a troubled teen in ‘Carthage’

You may wish, from time to time, that you could feel like a teenager again. “Teenage knees?” you think. “Sign me up!” But then you run into someone like Cressida Mayfield. The delicate heart of Joyce Carol Oates’ moody, marvelous new novel, “Carthage,” 19-year-old Cressida reminds you that those teenage knees come at a price: You’d have to suffer through all those teenage emotions again to get them.Cressida can be cruel. She’ll snip threads on her older sister Juliet’s cashmere sweater, “shiveri

BooksFeb. 6, 2014

Sunfull launches Korea-China cyber cheering squad for Sochi

The headquarters of the Sunfull Movement, which campaigns for positive online comments, launched a Winter Olympic cyber cheering squad for Korea and China with People.cn, the online portal of the People’s Daily, China’s state-run newspaper, in Seoul on Thursday.Korean members of the “Sochi Winter Olympics Korea-China cyber cheering squad” will support the Chinese team during the Winter Olympics with posts on the campaign’s website. Likewise, Chinese members will support South Korea.The Korean we

PeopleFeb. 6, 2014

Sexting: Half of U.S. adults’ phones contain intimate content

More than 50 percent of U.S. people have used their mobile device to share or receive intimate or sexual text messages, emails or photos from someone, according to security software firm McAfee.McAfee released a new study on Tuesday titled “Love, Relationships, and Technology” gathering data from 1,500 U.S. consumers.While 77 percent of sexters send their racy content to their significant others, 16 percent send it to complete strangers.Eighteen-to 24-year-olds with smartphones are most keen on

Life&CultureFeb. 6, 2014

[Uniquely Korean] Bomb-drink cocktails help smooth relationships

When it comes to booze, Koreans know what they are dealing with. Just as the term “let’s have a meal” is often interchangeable with arranging a meeting, “let’s go for a drink” is roughly equivalent to socializing. In the past, social meetings with alcohol had involved participants getting heavily drunk. This brought forth the birth of poktanju, or the bomb-drink, which refers to a cocktail of beer and liquors such as whiskey.As its name suggests, its main goal is to bombard the drinker with a he

CultureFeb. 5, 2014

At 30, Lim seeks change, balance

Lim Dong-hyek was called a “prodigy pianist” in his teen years, an “idol star in classical music” and a “Chopin specialist” in his 20s. He wouldn’t have chosen any of these labels, if he’d had a choice. Now turning 30, Lim wants to show his true colors as a pianist, nothing more and nothing less. “People tend to think of me as a poser who boasts flamboyant techniques and transcription skills, but I am not,” he said in a telephone interview Tuesday from New York. “I like to play pieces that are e

PerformanceFeb. 5, 2014

Chaplin’s only novel to be released

ROME (AFP) ― A virtually unknown novel by Charlie Chaplin ― the only book the silent film comic ever wrote ― is being made public for the first time.“Footlights,” which will be unveiled in London later Tuesday, was written by Chaplin in 1948 and later transformed into his film “Limelight,” in which a washed-out clown saves a dancer from suicide.The book is being published in English by the Cineteca di Bologna, an Italian film restoration institute which has been working with Chaplin biographer D

BooksFeb. 5, 2014

Pharrell to perform on Oscar’s telecast

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Pharrell Williams will perform at the Academy Awards. Oscar producers said Tuesday the producer-performer will sing his nominated song “Happy.” There was no word on whether his Grammy Award-stealing hat would make an appearance. Williams wrote “Happy” for “Despicable Me 2.” It’s nominated for original song along with U2’s “Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” “Let It Go” by Idina Menzel from “Frozen” and Karen O’s “The Moon Song” from “Her.” The 40-year-old Wil

PerformanceFeb. 5, 2014

Real ‘Monuments Men’ records go on display

WASHINGTON (AP) ― When art historians saw Paris fall to the Nazis in World War II, they immediately realized Europe’s vast monuments, art, cathedrals and architecture were at risk and began mobilizing to protect such treasures. In Washington, the newly opened National Gallery of Art became the U.S. museum world’s epicenter for lobbying President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Allied forces in 1941 to prevent the destruction of Europe’s monuments. Their efforts would create a corps of U.S. and Bri

CultureFeb. 5, 2014

Kim Jang-hoon, Crayon Pop team up for Korea Firefighters Project

Ballad rock singer and big-time philanthropist Kim Jang-hoon, who has been dubbed the nation’s “Donation Angel,” has finally unveiled his latest charity project after more than a decade in the making. “Back in 2002 I had hurt my shoulder and while I was at the hospital getting treatment there was a man sitting next to me; the man was a firefighter,” said Kim at a press conference held at the Press Center in Seoul on Wednesday. “He told me that despite the difficult situations they face, they are

PerformanceFeb. 5, 2014

SM group to release sophomore album ‘Breath’ next week

SM Entertainment’s ballad project group SM The Ballad will release its sophomore album “Breath” next week, the nation’s top entertainment agency said Tuesday.Prior to the album’s formal release next Thursday, three songs, including the title track, will be unveiled one by one, starting on Monday, the company said. “Breath” will feature the collaborative efforts of eight singers from SM boy and girl groups: Jonghyun from SHINee, Max Changmin from TVXQ, Krystal from f(x), Zhoumi from Super Junior-

PerformanceFeb. 5, 2014

In NYC, Pussy Riot slams conditions in Russia

NEW YORK (AP) ― Americans who will be at the Winter Olympics should look beyond the facilities created for the games and take a hard look at the host country itself, two members of the Russian protest punk band Pussy Riot said Tuesday. Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova made their first public appearance in the United States, arriving to take part in Amnesty International’s “Bringing Human Rights Home” concert on Wednesday in Brooklyn, where they will be introduced by Madonna. The women w

PerformanceFeb. 5, 2014