DUBLIN (AFP) ― Irish singer Sinead O’Connor has admitted that her fourth marriage has ended after just 16 days, with the star blaming pressure put on her husband by those close to him.O’Connor, 45, met therapist Barry Herridge, 38, earlier this year when he responded to an online appeal posted by the singer, and they married in a Las Vegas chapel on Dec. 8. But in a blog post on Monday, the singer revealed that the marriage had lasted only 16 days, until December 24, and that the couple had live

NEW ORLEANS (AP) _ In the four-block radius where he painted and drank himself into frightening stupors, Noel Rockmore was known by the denizens of the French Quarter as an outrageous Pablo Picasso-like figure who combined the mythological and the real. He produced some 15,000 oil paintings, tempera

The New York Times last week mentioned Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei-directed show “Unnamed” at Korea’s Gwangju Design Biennale as one of the outstanding contemporary shows held this year.In its article titled “From Apple to Occupy, the Design Honors List for 2011,” which was published on Dec. 25, Ai’s show at Gwangju was mentioned as exceptional along with the Museum of Modern Art in New York’s communication design show called “Talk to Me.”The “Unnamed” show featured design products by

‘Endless Voyage’ features top dancers from three major ballet troupesLife is a journey. We are all in the same boat, no matter who we are. Dancers from the nation’s top three troupes ― Korea National Ballet, Universal Ballet and The National Dance Company of Korea ― will be on a boat, literally, to depict a condensed version of life at the show “Endless Voyage.”The show takes place Jan. 4-5 at Seoul Arts Center’s Opera Theater in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul.A press call on Tuesday showed a glimp

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Reality TV producer Bruce Beresford-Redman is willing to face trial in Mexico for the murder of his wife after losing his fight against extradition, his lawyers said.Beresford-Redman, 40, an Emmy-nominated former producer of CBS’s “Survivor” and MTV’s “Pimp My Ride,” is accused in the death of Monica Burgos, 41, his Brazilian-born wife of 11 years, at a Cancun resort in April, 2010.In a statement, his lawyers Richard Hirsch and Vicki Podberesky expressed disappointment with l

Pressures of digital, modern society triggering return to the ‘innocent’ ’70s and ’80sNo one can dismiss the apparent infiltration of a massive stroke of retro-heavy nostalgia for the music and mood of the ’70s and ’80s. From the small screen to the silver screen, from the stage to the radio, what South Koreans refer to as the “7080” culture can be found most everywhere.Ever since the trend started seriously attracting buzz following the unprecedented popularity of C’est Si Bon concerts when the

Seven more Korean Cultural Centers will open next year, making 28 around the world, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on Tuesday. The new centers are scheduled to open in Hungary, Mexico, India, Thailand, Belgium, Brazil and Egypt by the end of 2012, the ministry said in a year-end press release. The cultural centers will continue their activities of introducing and promoting Korea’s culture, and increasing cultural exchanges with the respective organizations in each overseas city

7th Cinematheque Festival celebrates 10th anniversary of Seoul Art CinemaLee Chang-dong, Kim Tae-yong, Ryu Seung-wan, Lee Joon-ik, and Byeon Young-joo.If you are a fan of any of the directors above, here’s your chance to find out the films they love, and watch the pieces along with their commentaries.The seventh edition of Cinematheque Friends Film Festival, which will open with the 1925 Charlie Chaplin movie “Gold Rush” on Jan. 12, features a total of 19 films picked by 23 acclaimed cineastes i

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Hollywood has picked up a little Christmas bonus.Studios generally underestimated the size of their movie audiences over the weekend, and they’re now revising the holiday revenues upward.Leading the way is Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible ― Ghost Protocol,” which pulled in $29.5 million for the weekend. That Monday figure is $3 million more than distributor Paramount estimated a day earlier.For the four-day period Friday to Monday, Paramount estimates “Ghost Protocol” will ha

U.S. indie-rock band Beirut to hit the stage in SeoulBeirut started out as a bedroom recording project of Santa Fe songwriter Zach Condon, later developing into a six-member band that combines indie, rock and folk elements into flowing ballads and harmonious instrumental interludes.While taking more upbeat, accessible turns in the years after the band’s 2006 debut, Condon’s songs have held on to their languorousness, which the band leader describes as part of the “uniqueness” he considers key to

Los Angeles (dpa) - Maria Shriver is considering putting herdivorce from former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger onhold, celebrity website TMZ.com reported Monday. Shriver, who is a scion of the Kennedy political clan, filed fordivorce from the action movie star-turned-Republican polit

Goyang Aram Nuri showcases cartoons by Tezuka Osamu, controversial worksThe little but brave Astro Boy used to fascinate children back in the 1970s, shooting up toward the sky clenching his tiny fists, wearing his impressive pair of red boots.Better known as Atom here, he was one of the first and most popular animation characters in the black-and-white TV days. He not only showered kids with hopes and dreams about science and outer space, but also pondered serious issues of the time such as the