LARCHMONT, New York (AP) ― Few things are prettier in a night garden than soft pools of light illuminating interesting trees, accent rocks, plants or pathways.Whether on a small terrace or in a sweeping landscape, lighting creates a welcoming and often dramatic atmosphere.But in some cases, buried-wire electric lighting can be costly and impracticable. The answer might be solar lighting.The techno

Arts & Design May 18, 2011

June ought to be called the freshest month. College graduates move into their lives, newlyweds set up house, and a new crop of cooks hits the kitchen.New York food writer Brooke Parkhurst has been there. When she graduated from Davidson College in 2002, she moved to New York for a career in TV journalism. Instead, she became a novelist with “Belle in the Big Apple,” and married a chef, James Brisc

Food May 18, 2011

Weddings put on hold as salons close earlyTUNIS (AFP) ― A flash blow wave but no time for a wash, a quick eyebrow shaping, rushed facials or a hurried massage: anxious women dart in and out of Tunis’ beauty salons before the nightly curfew descends.Used to staying open until 10 pm or 11 pm to doll up clients for parties or late-night weddings, the salons now empty out early as everyone rushes to g

Arts & Design May 18, 2011

CANNES (AFP) ― Belgium’s Dardenne brothers on Sunday premiered their “Kid With a Bike” at Cannes, with the two-times Palme d’Or winners showing again their stunning capacity for unsentimental storytelling.In his first screen appearance, Thomas Doret plays Cyril, 11, who has been temporarily abandoned by his father at a foster home, and from the title to the final shot, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

Film May 16, 2011

MINNEAPOLIS -- About a dozen years ago, Paul and Susan Damon of St. Paul, Minnesota, did something radical: They deliberately killed half their lawn.A few years later, they killed the rest of it.Gradually, they‘ve transformed their city lot into a small urban prairie, with more than 130 species of native plants. “We wanted to turn it into a haven for birds and butterflies,” said Paul, a landscape

Arts & Design May 16, 2011

Accessories give one white sofa six distinctive looksBy Stacy Downs, McClatchy NewspapersNeutral certainly doesn’t mean boring. Especially when it comes to sofas.In fact, most designers say a neutral sofa is your best bet. As seasons change and your home decor evolves, you can update a room simply through throw pillows.We thought we’d put that theory to the test with one white sofa, six designers

Arts & Design May 16, 2011

They say Italy is for lovers. But is Italy for kids?It’s certainly a romantic destination, from its spectacular architecture to its beautiful coastlines to its famously fine wine. It can also be an intimidating place to tote little ones, with its cautionary tales about pickpockets, and its very real plethora of crazy drivers and cigarette smokers.But the culture in Italy is so rich and vibrant, an

Travel May 13, 2011

Cutrone speaks to young womenNormal Gets You Nowhere By Kelly Cutrone, with Meredith Bryan, (HarperOne, $23.99)Kelly Cutrone stands out in the fashion world. She always dresses in black, does not wear makeup or do her hair.Yet she founded People’s Revolution, a successful fashion PR company, and has appeared on Bravo’s “Kell on Earth” and MTV’s “The Hills” and “The City.”In her words, this is beca

Books May 13, 2011

Globalized Korea and Localized GlobeBy Park Sang-seek, (Jimoondang, 23,000 won)This collection of essays covers a wide range of events and contentious issues ― at local, regional and global levels ― that have occurred in the past 10 years. The book, which is a selection of Professor Park Sang-seek’s contributions to The Korea Herald, with the exception of one essay, deals primarily with issues con

Books May 13, 2011

Even before the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie, pirates were romantic.Now, in “The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook” Jason Heller brings you a guide to all things (Disney) pirate.Piracy has been with us from the beginning of time. Julius Caesar was taken prisoner, ransomed and later crucified his capturers. The infamous Blackbeard looted ships in the eighteenth century. There was little attra

Books May 13, 2011

Not even changing the cockroach into a kitten can help the latest literary mash-up ― “The Meowmorphosis”Coleridge Cook takes a well-written stab at Franz Kafka’s depressing novella “The Metamorphosis” and turns it into ... well, a slightly less gloomy tale. Where Kafka turned his lead character, Gregor Samsa, into a beetle, Cook transforms him into an adorable fluffy kitten.Kafka was an early twen

Books May 13, 2011

SEATTLE ― The weeks leading up to a book’s publication can be hard on an author. Will the books get to the booksellers? Will the cover come out right-side-up? Will people buy it? Will they read it? Will they like it?Erik Larson is as well-known and well-read as any Seattle author ― his 2003 book, “The Devil in the White City,” the story of a serial murderer who preyed on the margins of the 1893 Ch

Books May 13, 2011

In glorious warm weather like this, if you’re going to drink a Chardonnay, make it something crisp and minerally like this fine Macon. The fruit carries hints of celery seed, anise and melon. Lithe and elegant, this Maconnais Chardonnay isn’t weighed down with oak. The price is right too, from this undervalued region. The Larochette Manciat — Macon (Burgundy) 2009 (Los Angeles Times/MCT)Drink it w

Food May 13, 2011