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

Arts & Design April 8, 2011

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

Travel April 8, 2011

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

Food April 6, 2011

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

Travel April 6, 2011

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

Performance April 6, 2011

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

Technology April 4, 2011

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

Technology April 4, 2011

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

Performance April 4, 2011

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

Performance April 4, 2011

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

Performance April 4, 2011