Going to a beach during summer vacation is almost a must, but there are a lot of things to pack for a perfect day on the beach. You may need beach towels, cool drinks and fruits in an ice box, plus books, perhaps toys for children, and maybe even nail care kits. Lotte Hotel Jeju said it has opened a private beach lounge on Jungmun Saekdal Beach, a 10-minute walk from the hotel, consisting of a boo

Before most people are awake, Pero Salva has baked a day’s worth of bread over an open fire, milked the cows, fed the chickens and used a broom made from twigs to sweep the dirt walkway in front of the house she shares with her husband and three children.As the roosters crow and a muezzin sings the Muslim call to prayer, we take our places for breakfast on the floor around a table fashioned from a

The Silent Girl: A Rizzoli & Isles BookBy Tess Gerritsen(Ballantine Books)Tess Gerritsen’s latest novel featuring homicide Detective Jane Rizzoli and coroner Maura Isles gives readers another great thrill ride with her two popular characters.A woman’s hand is found near a trash bin and the rest of her remains are up on a roof in a building in Boston’s Chinatown. The evidence at the scene stumps Ri

Finding Everett Ruess: The Life and Unsolved Disappearance of a Legendary Wilderness ExplorerBy David Roberts(Broadway Books)Those with a soft spot for adventuresome romantics will find it difficult not to be beguiled by young Everett Ruess after reading David Roberts’ noteworthy book.A thorough biographer and determined detective, Roberts also explores the reasons that people remain intrigued by

Seoul-1964-winterBy Kim Seung-ok(Hollym)Seoul in the 1960s was going through many changes. It was recovering from the war, experiencing rapid industrialization under the authoritarian government, and receiving growing number of people from the countryside who were looking for more opportunities in the nation’s capital. It was also the period where its residents first became to be aware of individu

Weary of sex scandals that have rocked all portions of our government in recent years, there’s a lot of talk on the campaign trail about getting back to the principles of our nation’s Founding Fathers. Publisher Larry Flynt attends the 2008 Directors Guild of America Honors at the DGA Theater in New York City, Oct. 16, 2008. Flynt and historian David Eisenbach have a new book, “One Nation Under Se

For Kathryn Gualtieri one of the toughest tasks in writing her first novel was suppressing her natural instincts as a historian.“The hardest part was not putting in too much history,” the Capitola resident said. “You don’t move the story along like that.”Her mystery novel, “Murder in the Pines,” still packs in a lot of historical references, and much of the plot revolves around real events. Depot

Kong-guksu is a dish of cold noodles in a chilled soybean puree which is made of ground white soybeans after soaked, boiled and skinned. Kong-guksu is sweet and rich in nutrition. It is a summer specialty for people who are easily exhausted from the hot weather. Kong-guksu (Institute of Traditional Korean Food)Ingredients ● 1/4 cup white bean, 5 cups soaking water, ● 4 cups boiling water, ● 4 1/2

Summer salads are the culinary workhorses of picnics, potlucks and patio parties, and pasta versions are more plentiful than mosquitoes.But isn’t it time to use your noodle ― or rather lose your noodle ― and expand your potluck palette?There are plenty of great-tasting salads sans pasta that are fresh, light and capture the essence of the season much better than mayo-laden macaroni.Find inspiratio

Quick swirl.A beautiful Bordeaux Blanc with a bouquet of acacia, lime and fresh-cut grass. A blend of 40 percent Sauvignon Blanc with an equal amount of Semillon and 20 percent Muscadelle, the 2009 from Chteau Lamothe de Haux has the bracing minerality that makes these wines such terrific summer drinking. And this one is a particularly wonderful bargain.Drink it as an aperitif, with chilled shellf

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) ― Former British Open champion Karen Stupples of England shot a 5-under 67 for a share of the first-round lead with Sweden’s Maria Hjorth and South Korea’s Ahn Shin-ae at the Evian Masters on Thursday.Ahn Shin-ae of South Korea hits a drive during the Evian Masters Golf Tournament in Evian-les-Bains, French Alps on Thursday. (AFP-Yonhap News)Stupples, who won her only

Smartphone manufacturer HTC Corp. is considering switching to Samsung’s mobile application processors in a move that may help the local electronics maker extend its market share, industry sources said. A man checks out items for his new HTC EVO smart phone at the Sprint store in Los Angeles, California (MCT)HTC currently uses Qualcomm processors. Qualcomm accounts for more than 40 percent of the g