PHILADELPHIA (AP) ― If you are looking for palm trees and white sand to escape the remnants of winter, look no farther than Philadelphia.Visitors to the city’s International Flower Show can wander through a tropical paradise of sorts thanks to this year’s theme, “Hawaii: Islands of Aloha.’’ The weeklong horticultural extravaganza opens Sunday.Exhibits include a fantasy surf shack, a beach wedding, a 7 1/2-meter-tall waterfall and a tribute to Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire. Hula dancers and

LOS ANGELES ― At a wooded campsite in Santa Paula, north of Los Angeles, vacationers, stray deer and even peacocks must share the tree-shaded property with tractors, backhoes and stacks of lumber.Work is in full swing to transform the 76-acre Ventura Ranch Kampgrounds of America site into one of a fast-growing breed of affordable outdoor destinations or resort campgrounds.Workers have already added new lodges and upscale tepees and installed two 800-foot-long zip lines. Construction has begun on

The Lost DaughterBy Lucy Ferriss (Penguin)If all the bad choices people made as teenagers returned to haunt them as adults, the world would be filled with fearful and guilt-ridden people.Most people get away with those bad choices with few repercussions, but in Lucy Ferriss’ novel “The Lost Daughter,” they come back big for Brooke O’Connor.Brooke lives in Connecticut with her husband, Sean, who is from a big Irish-Catholic family. But Brooke and Sean have only one child, a daughter named Meghan,

Gods Without MenBy Hari Kunzru(Knopf)Early in “Gods Without Men,” Hari Kunzru’s ambitious and wonderful new novel, a strung-out British rock star stares into the big night sky hanging over the Mojave Desert.“The stars were like pinholes in a cloth,” he marvels. “You could believe you were seeing through to some incredibly bright world on the other side of the darkness.”It’s a great image, in a book filled with terrific writing.But it’s also a pithy description of the dangerous American dream tha

Norigae: Splendor of the Korean CostumeBy Lee Kyung-jaTranslated by Lee Jean-youngEwha Womans University PressFor anyone who is familiar with Korea’s traditional costume, hanbok, the term “norigae” will ring a bell. A decorative pendant hung from the inner or outer tie of jeogori, the upper piece of a hanbok, norigae carries both aesthetic and emotional traces of women from the Joseon era (1392-1897).Scholar Lee Kyung-ja’s English-translated book, “Norigae: Splendor of the Korean Costume” offers

Ellen Ullman is the author of “By Blood” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, February 2012), a tale set in San Francisco in the ’70s, which involves an eavesdropper whose fascination leads to research into Heinrich Himmler’s Nazi Lebensborn program. Discoveries from her research for that book have touched her deeply.“The Bug,” recently reprinted by Picador, was a New York Times Notable Book and runner-up for the PEN/Hemingway Award, and the cult classic memoir, “Close to the Machine” (also reprinted by

Deodeok-saengchae is thinly ripped deodeok roots mixed with spicy, sour seasonings. Deodeok is referred to as sasam (ginseng from sand). It is high in saponin like ginseng and bellflower roots. In Oriental medicine, it is considered a health food that is good for the stomach, and strengthens the lungs, intestines and kidneys. Ingredients● 300g deodeok roots● 2 cups water● 1/2 tbsp salt Seasoning sauce● 1 tbsp sugar● 2 1/2 tsp red pepper paste● 2 tsp ground red pepper● 1/2 tsp salt● 1 tbsp minced

LOS ANGELES ― With its dim warren of dining rooms and hearty menu of ratatouille, filet mignon and duck, Taix feels more Old World than Echo Park.The tables are stretched with white linen, and the soup is served family style, from a big bowl with a ladle. In the main dining room with its gold-plated mirrors, Edith Piaf songs are hummed by a debonair waiter.That’s Bernard Inchauspe, a 77-year-old Basque Country emigre with a velvety accent who for half a century has greeted diners with: “Hello, l

Galicia in the northwestern corner of Spain is renowned for its seafood, which is some of the best on the planet. And what wine is an ideal match with shellfish and crustaceans? Why, Albarino, which comes from that same corner of Spain.Pazo de Senorans consistently makes one of the best Albarinos in Spain, but in 2010 ― a great vintage in Rias Baixas ― the estate, which dates back to the 16th century, made a truly great one. Aged sur lie, the 2010 is wonderfully complex, with hints of apple, lem

Online crowd-funding helped taco eatery open shop in ItaewonFor those who have not taken the moment to chat with the owners of Vatos Urban Tacos, it might be easy to chalk up the two-story brick-and-mortar establishment as another successful addition to Itaewon-dong’s ever-growing food scene. Yet, Vatos is unique on two dimensions. Certainly Vatos is not the first to bring Mexican food to Seoul, but its Californian-and-Korean spin on the taco is anything but stale. Even more fascinating is how c

Hallyu stars join PR campaigns, cultural eventsKorean traditional arts are the highlight of cultural events planned for the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Summit slated for March 26-27.“Foreigners still don’t really know the difference among cultures of China, Japan and Korea. I hope this upcoming event will help them to understand the uniqueness of Korean traditional culture,” Sohn Jin-chaek, general director at the National Theater Company of Korea, told The Korea Herald on Thursday.Sohn is in charge of c

I remember that Dr. Kim Kwang-won of the Diabetes Center of Samsung Seoul Hospital, where I currently work, said at a health lecture, “I could count on my finger tips the best treatment method for diabetes after studying diabetes for life. That’s exercise.”At the time, I slapped my knee in glee to get advice from an outstanding master of diabetes.This spring, I plan to recommend to nearly all I meet at my outpatient clinic that they walk 30 minutes a day. This is because I finally realized that

Expert suggests use of complementary alternative medicine in highly individualized wayDALLAS ― Judith Ritchie unlocked her office at the Sammons Cancer Center and carefully gathered the instruments that she determined would best serve her patients in the oncology unit.An American Indian flute. A plucked psaltery or lap harp.Ritchie, a certified music practitioner on the staff of Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, fills doctors’ prescriptions to bring pain relief to patients with cancer.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Whitney Houston left all of her assets to her daughter Bobbi Kristina, born from her troubled marriage to singer Bobby Brown who gets nothing, according to her will published Wednesday.Bobbi Kristina, who is currently 19, will receive the proceeds from all of the late singer’s money, furniture, clothing, personal effects, jewelry, and cars, according to the will published by news show Inside Edition.The inheritance will be placed in a trust until she is 21. She will get more