Stars and families in Annie Leibovitz’s viewfinder

Photographer Annie Leibovitz is one of the rare photographers who can capture an ordinary moment in the middle of a dramatic setting, or the other way around. The photograph of the naked John Lennon cuddling with his wife Yoko Ono, taken three hours before he was assassinated in 1980, was printed on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and became an instant sensation because of its unusual composition and striking message. Thirty-three years later, Leibovitz has became the queen of portrait photo

PerformanceDec. 29, 2013

New York stage actor makes Met debut

NEW YORK (AP) ― For longtime Broadway actor Danny Burstein, the big challenge in preparing for his Metropolitan Opera debut has been “trying to find the funny.”Burstein will play the non-singing role of the drunken jailer Frosch in the Met’s new production of Johann Strauss’s operetta “Die Fledermaus,” which opens on New Year’s Eve and runs through Feb. 22.Some might consider it an unenviable assignment. Frosch doesn’t appear until Act 3 and then has to hold the stage alone while delivering a mo

PerformanceDec. 29, 2013

Untouchable calls return to hip-hop ‘a long trip’

This is the 21st and last article in a series on producers, MCs, DJs and artists working in the Korean underground hip-hop scene. ― Ed. Sleepy, 29, and D-Action, 28, of hip-hop duo Untouchable said they feel like they’ve been on a long trip. Upon completing their mandatory military service in May, they went straight to work on their latest EP, “Trip,” released on Nov. 11.“After serving in the military, we were back to square one on making new music and continuing with our career. It made us thin

PerformanceDec. 29, 2013

Popularity of Ultimate Fighting on the rise among Koreans

As Ultimate Fighting enthusiasts wait in tense anticipation for the upcoming UFC fight night next month in Singapore, local fighters Lim Hyun-gyu, Kang Kyung-ho and Park Tae-hyun are looking to represent the next generation of Korean fighters in hopes of taking home a title in an all-out battle of world class athletes. This will be only the fourth UFC event held in Asia with Lim taking on Tarec Saffiedine of Belgium in the welterweight division, Kang going against Shunichi Shimizu of Japan in th

CultureDec. 29, 2013

Calendar

 Classical musicConcert nights at Megabox: Local cinema franchise Megabox will broadcast the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s New Year’s Concert live on Jan. 1 at 7:30 p.m. and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra’s New Year’s Concert on Jan. 3 at 8:15 p.m. The Austrian orchestra will be led by the legendary maestro Daniel Barenboim while the German orchestra will feature Chinese piano sensation Lang Lang alongside maestro Simon Rattle. The concerts will be screened at the Coex, Central, Dongdaemun,

CultureDec. 27, 2013

Eyelike: Beatles fans, rejoice: Box set from the Beatles

 Beatles fans, rejoice: Box set from the BeatlesThe Beatles “On Air ― Live At the BBC, Vol. 2” (Universal)Beatles fans, rejoice: More live rarities from the Fab Four are on the way to stores.Nearly 20 years after the first volume of long-lost BBC recordings sold millions of copies, a second volume is here, and with it, a coffee table book with rare photos and heretofore unseen historical documents chronicling the band’s interaction with the BBC.Like the first volume, “On Air - Live at the BBC, V

FilmDec. 27, 2013

Box office: Finding Mr. Right, Blue is the Warmest Color, The Attorney

 Finding Mr. Right (China), Opening Jan. 1Romance. Comedy. Directed by Xue Xialou. Jiajia (Tang Wei), a pregnant woman from Beijing, arrives in Seattle to have her rich, married lover’s baby. Upon her arrival in the U.S., she heads to an illegal but comfortable maternity house run by a Taiwanese lady, where she intends to stay until the baby is born. For the first few months, Jiajia continues to enjoy her lavish lifestyle, thanks to her “unlimited” credit card provided by her lover back in China

FilmDec. 27, 2013

CG effects do battle in 3-D ‘Dinosaurs’

Dinosaurs rule the earth in this big-budget 3-D feature update of the late ’90s TV show.A supersized riff on the acclaimed BBC series of the same name, “Walking with Dinosaurs” takes rewarding advantage of a much bigger budget and state-of-the-art technology to bring its impressive collection of Cretaceous creatures to vivid life.But while the walking part’s pretty impressive, the talking part ― not so much.Apparently convinced that the film’s young target audience wouldn’t be sufficiently engag

FilmDec. 27, 2013

Under the Southern Cross: Following the magic of the Marquesas

HIVA OA, Marquesas Islands ― “If it’s Tuesday, it must be Ua Pou,” said Keith, stretched out on the adjacent mattress. One of a half-dozen passengers still asleep on the upper deck of the Aranui 3, he pushed up on his elbows to watch the dawn skitter over the waves.“It rained last night, just enough to cool us off,” he said, yawning. “Did you get wet?”I didn’t remember. But I was a lot cooler than I’d been the day before.That night had been pretty warm. Stuffy in the lounge. Stifling even, if yo

TravelDec. 27, 2013

Top 5 spots to get a taste of America while abroad

Even the most seasoned traveler longs for a taste of home. For those Americans who get homesick while traveling abroad, the members and editors of VirtualTourist.com (www.virtualtourist.com) put together a list of their Top 5 Spots to Get a Taste of America While Abroad.1. The Rug Cafe ― BeijingBeijing is known for its tradition and history, but not necessarily its modern cuisine. On a recent trip, one VirtualTourist member was pleased to find The Rug Cafe, a restaurant in the Chaoyang District

TravelDec. 27, 2013

Around the hotels

 Authentic ‘osechi’ cuisine at The Ritz-Carlton, SeoulHanazono, the Japanese restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Seoul, will be serving traditional osechi New Year cuisine as part of its special lunch and dinner menu from Jan. 1 to 7. The set meals will include miniature, single-serving osechi, in which each dish has a special meaning of its own, as well as sashimi, jorim (a boiled-down soy sauce dish), stew, glutinous rice and dessert. The osechi consist of prawns cooked in a special sauce, b

FoodDec. 27, 2013

Korean noodle shop helps Memphis break character

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) ― This Mississippi River city is proud of its barbecue, its fried chicken, its soul food. But the food scene here is often stereotyped because of it. Those foods are what tourists typically obsess over, standing in line at Central BBQ for smoky ribs or Gus’s Fried Chicken for juicy drumsticks. When told that there’s a place in Memphis that makes standout Korean food like soups and noodle dishes with meat and seafood, some may scoff. But Crazy Noodle is real, and it might

FoodDec. 27, 2013

Saeu mandu (shrimp dumplings)

Saeu mandu, as the name suggests, is a variation of Korean dumplings made with shrimp as the main ingredient. This recipe is simply made with shrimp and some vegetables, but you can mix in some ground pork or beef for another layer of flavor and texture. I’m also showing you how to make homemade dumpling wrappers. It’s really not that hard to make wrappers at home. All you need is good old all-purpose flour, salt and water. Homemade wrappers are more resilient and durable to work with, and taste

FoodDec. 27, 2013