LOS ANGELES ― Jeans for this spring and summer have gone from basic blues and intense indigo to Technicolor versions of playful Crayola shades. It’s all very 1980s a la Esprit or Benetton, but this time there’s nothing junior about colored denim. It’s coming in sleek skinny shapes and cropped lengths that liven up simple T-shirts or button-downs and work well with neutral sandals or flats rather ...

Debate rages on which is better ORLANDO, Florida ― The next time you go to the vending machine for a bottle of water (costing 6 cents an ounce) or, instead, sip from the drinking fountain (free), you will be taking part in another debate that touches on the fate of humankind. Because the next time you grab a bottle from a case in the fridge (costing a penny an ounce) or fill a glass from the ta...

CAPE TOWN (AFP) ― South Africa’s apartheid state locked him up, Nelson Mandela was a fan and Jacob Zuma is suing for millions: all have been rich pickings for the fearless satire of cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro. From slapping down AIDS denials to taking a dig at Zuma’s multiple wives and offspring, his distinctive cartoons spark furious outrage to applause for their spot-on commentary of South Af...

Koreans in their 30s used to automatically associate the name “Seo Tai-ji” with “the President of Culture” in the 1990s. His songs such as “Class Idea,” (1994) “Dreaming Balhae” (1994) and “Come Back Home” (1995) contained controversial yet influential messages to make teenagers rebel against the cramming system of Korean education, hope for reunification of the two Koreas and to urge runaway fr...

BUDAPEST ― “Hey!” an almost-naked man cheerily called to me. “Um, hey, back at you,” I couldn’t help but giggle as I answered, waving with one hand, my camera in the other. “You take my picture,” he commanded in halting, Hungarian-accented English before a striking a Schwarzenegger-like Mr. Universe pose. Click. Click, click, click. Then, with once last slightly embarrassed glance, I rushed awa...

MILOS, Greece (AP) ― The Greek island of Milos is less well-known than some of the others in the Cyclades group of islands, such as the world-famous Santorini and Mykonos. But Milos, a volcanic, horseshoe-shaped island about 160 kilometers southwest of Athens, is a perfect beach destination, and with no major ruins of note, natural beauty is the main attraction. Otherworldly rock formations deco...

BOSTON (AP) ― Boston’s Museum of Science has exhibits on natural history, dinosaurs, space travel and electricity, all enclosed within four walls. Paul Fontaine, vice president of education, has for years wanted to expand beyond the bricks and mortar. He got his wish this month with the launch of the Museum of Science Segway Experience, an outdoor tour of the area around the museum using the gyr...

Styron’s youngest daughter pens revealing memoir Reading My Father: A Memoir By Alexandra Styron (Scribner, $25) A decade after the publication of his last, lavishly acclaimed novel, “Sophie’s Choice,” William Styron wrote about his epic struggle with incapacitating depression. It was, as his youngest daughter, Alexandra, writes in a compelling new memoir, before Kay Jamison, Andrew Sullivan...

W Seoul-Walkerhill The hotel’s WooBar is to offer new cocktails and martinis, presented by Diageo Korea’s cocktail specialist JJ in May. The “W Mix Night” event is to be held every Thursday in May from 8-12 p.m. and each drink will be priced at 20,000 won. The menus include Woman’s Energy Tea Caviar, Fresh Lemon Juice Foam Passion Sage, Herb Royal White Sugar Powder and Yogi Mojito Bacardi Super...

LOS ANGELES ― It’s telling that the title of Marcia Clark’s murder-mystery debut is smaller than her name on the novel’s cover. Clark is best known as the lead prosecutor in the media circus known as the O.J. Simpson murder trial. She’s less recognized as an author, even though her 1998 book about the case, “Without a Doubt,” spent nine weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Co-writing a b...

Shops dish out blue cheese scrambles, 11 kinds of cream cheese and more At La Fromagerie, the egg scramble sandwich is above and beyond. Never mind the pillowed hunks of house-made bread it comes cradled in. It is the bits of melted blue cheese the diner stumbles upon with each fluffy bite that makes the experience worth repeating. Run by two sisters who love cheese, the new shop specializes in...