Female fast fashion brands open new lines of exercise wearLOS ANGELES ― With women willing to spend $100 on a pair of cute yoga pants, retailers are racing to make workout clothes that are as much about style as sweat.Athletic clothing has traditionally been relegated to the gym, where women would huff and puff in un-glamorous get-ups ― think oversized men’s T-shirts and baggy sweatpants.But now t

Arts & Design July 18, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The Washington building known as the “temple of invention” when it was built in 1836 to hold the nation’s patents is revisiting its roots, hosting a new “Great Hall of American Wonders” to explore 19th-century innovations through art.The idea for this major exhibit that opened Friday at the Smithsonian American Art Museum was sparked in part by talk among experts that the United

Performance July 17, 2011

A night tour of the island prison that housed notorious criminals includes a visit to the penitentiary’s hospitalALCATRAZ ISLAND, California (AP) ― When night fell on The Rock in San Francisco Bay, visitors moved shadow-like through the former prison’s lantern-lit hospital rooms, a gloaming against dingy walls with peeling blue paint.A hard wind whooshed and rattled a window in the hospital cell w

Travel July 15, 2011

Since my first taste of Domaine Tempier’s rose years ago, I’ve been a fan of Bandol roses. Tempier’s prices are getting out of sight, though, and so I was happy to find this less expensive rose from Alain Pascal. (He began making wine only in 1997; before that, his family sold the grapes.) Domaine du Gros’Nore Bandol rose is made from Mourvedre, the grape that gives Bandol reds such canny complexi

Food July 15, 2011

Soon after Kim Sun-joo began her term as director of Harvard University’s Korea Institute, she was on a plane to South Korea to attend a conference on Korean studies organized by the Korea Foundation.On Monday she met with The Korea Herald to discuss her new role as Harvard Korea Institute’s first woman director.Professor Kim Sun Joo of Harvard University (Xing Lin/The Korea Herald)“Despite genera

People July 14, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) ― It seems so familiar to us now ― puppet characters on television that are so real, so expressive, so alive that we forget there’s a human being doing the actual work behind the scenes.There’s a reason that’s so familiar, the organizers of an exhibit opening this weekend in New York say: Jim Henson.The master puppeteer and media innovator behind pop culture icons such as Kermit the

Performance July 14, 2011

NEW DELHI (AFP) ― Bollywood actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is to be honored on Wednesday for her work promoting cinema links between India and France, the French Embassy said.The 37-year-old star, who is pregnant with her first child, will be made a knight of the order of arts and letters at a ceremony in New Delhi.The award, on the eve of France’s national day, was “a recogn

Film July 14, 2011

MOSCOW (AP) ― He was naked, homeless and fiercely argumentative ― and his name is immortalized in one of Russia’s most remarkable buildings, St. Basil’s Cathedral.An exhibition detailing the lives of St. Basil and other religious zealots known as “holy fools” opened Tuesday as part of ceremonies marking the 450th anniversary of perhaps Moscow’s most famous tourist attraction.After years of restora

Culture July 13, 2011

MIAMI ― Victoria Allman has whipped up chocolate chiffon cake for captains of industry and salmon tartar for Brazilian socialites. She has shopped for fresh produce at the crack of dawn in markets from the Bahamas to Tahiti. And she’s done it all with a smile while working 18-hour days pampering the wealthy aboard super yachts that travel the high seas.Allman, 38, is a Fort Lauderdale, Florida-bas

Food July 13, 2011