RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) ― “Brazil is not for beginners,” the late, great Brazilian composer Tom Jobim once quipped. Nowhere does the remark hold more true than for the country’s pulsing, chaotic oceanfront metropolis, Rio de Janeiro.This is a city of contrasts, where vastly different worlds rub shoulders, and the unexpected lies lurking around every corner.Hang a right during an aimless stroll through the chic beachside neighborhoods of Ipanema or Copacabana and you might just bump into a lush tropi

SOELDEN, Austria ― We arrived in Soelden after heavy snows had fallen and the sky had grown as blue and clear as an Alpine lake. (“We” being a family of three: husband, wife and a toddler named Ryan.)Soelden is in the Oetztal region of Tyrol, in the Austrian Alps. It is very popular with Europeans but comparatively unknown to North American ski and snowboard enthusiasts, even to those who, like us, frequent the Alps. That was part of the appeal: After so many ski trips together, my wife and I cr

Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of LearningBy Gary Marcus (Penguin Press)Spending countless hours playing the video game Guitar Hero has fostered an illusion among many middle-age guys. It’s not too late to be a guitar god.Then they discover something: There’s a big difference between the colored plastic buttons on the guitar-shaped game control and the six strings of an actual guitar. But is the difference insurmountable?Gary Marcus set out to answer that question in “Guitar Zero:

Friends Like Us By Lauren Fox(Knopf) As I read Lauren Fox’s new novel, I dog-eared the pages with witty lines, or impressively bitter ones, or ones that made me laugh.Please forgive me, Alfred A. Knopf, for what I’ve done to your book. I hadn’t intended to make origami out of it.Willa, her narrator, describes her parents’ marriage as “another planet, a harsh, extraterrestrial climate ― scalding mornings followed by blue-black evenings so frigid no life could possible be sustained there.”She take

City as Art ― 100 Notable Works of Architecture in SeoulBy Yim Seok-jae(Hollym)From Gyeongbokgung to the old Seoul Station, it’s easy to spot historically significant buildings in Seoul. The city boasts a long history dating back to the Three Kingdoms period (B.C. 57-A.D. 688) and served as the national capital of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897) for some 600 years. And as a result of rapid modernization and economic development in the last 60 years, Seoul also houses skyscrapers as well as other

After “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Taylor Armstrong’s husband, Russell, killed himself in August 2011, Armstrong could have pulled back from the spotlight. Instead, she sought comfort in it.Five weeks after her husband’s death, Armstrong appeared on “Dr. Phil,” speaking about allegations that later would be unleashed on the Bravo reality TV series: that Russell physically and emotionally abused her. Six months after Russell’s death, she has released a tell-all book about their marriag

New Zealand and Australian drink that has gone mainstream in Britain served at new cafeFLEE FLEE co-owners Park Kwan-joo and Choi Chung-hwan, who enjoyed the flat whites they downed in England, knew from the start that the drink would be a fixture of their cafe’s menu. “In a flat white, you can really taste the coffee,” Choi, 35, said explaining why he likes it. “Flat white rides the line between a cappuccino and a latte.” “A good-sized amount is served up and it tastes good,” said Park, 35. Par

Heugimjajuk is a kind of porridge made of finely ground black sesame and non-glutinous rice. It is sweet in taste and easily digested, so it is a good nourishing meal. According to Oriental medicine, heugimja (black sesame) promotes health, makes hair healthy, and keeps weight off. Ingredients● 1 cup non-glutinous rice,  1 cup water ● 1 cup black sesame seeds,  2 cups water ● 4 1/2 cups water, 1 1/2 tsp salt 1. Preheat the frying pan and stir-fry sesame seeds for 40 min. on low heat.2. Grind ses

This is the first vintage for Jack Hammer Wine Co., and they’ve come out with a terrific Pinot Noir for the price. The grapes come from all three Central Coast counties ― Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara ― and the juice sees some aging in old French oak barriques.The result is a delightful Pinot Noir with bright fruit flavors, gentle spice and round, smooth tannins. It goes down very easy and marries with all sorts of dishes.Drink it with hors d’oeuvres and vegetable dishes, with gril

ANGOULEME, France (AFP) ― Iranian dissident cartoonist Mana Neyestani says drawing has been his salvation and a weapon to combat his own personal demons as well as Tehran’s hardline Islamist regime.Neyestani’s autobiographical comic book “An Iranian Metamorphosis,” a Kafkaesque story recounting his jailing in Iran over a cartoon depicting a cockroach that sparked riots in 2006, is due to hit stores on Feb. 16.“With this book, I wanted to share my experiences but also to forget my worst nightmare