LONDON (AFP) ― Protesters in William Shakespeare’s home county were on Tuesday to temporarily remove the writer’s name from street signs in support of a campaign against a new film which suggests the Bard was “a fraud.”Shakespeare Birthplace Trust was to tape over nine road signs bearing the writer’s name in Warwickshire, central England, in protest at “Anonymous,” a new movie which alleges Shakespeare was a “barely literate frontman for the Earl of Oxford.”The charity, which promotes the study

Similes, conspiracies, the creative process and ‘Bad as Me’PETALUMA, California ― Over the course of three hours of conversation at a roadside diner here called Pete’s Henny Penny, Tom Waits, the singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, actor and note taker, will offer the following similes and metaphors, seemingly at random though just as likely cataloged in his memory for future use: an aging musician as “a Popsicle in the sun on a bus bench in Florida”; the process of creation as “like making C

Pianist Son Yeol-eum is extremely busy doing concert tours, regularly writing columns and managing her Facebook and Twitter.But such multi-tasking keeps her motivated to play better concerts and communicate well with her fans, said Son. She did 13 concerts in September and plans to perform eight times in October and six in November.“When I’m on a stage, I try my best to enjoy it. I find it really fun to perform different repertoires at different concerts rather than doing the same things,” Son t

Musical ‘Winter Sonata’ brings back Yoon Suk-ho’s famous first-love saga“Is this Joon-sang?”“Is this Yoo-jin?”The famous lines are back, and so is the famous first-love saga. But this time it is on the stage, not the small screen.Few would argue that KBS’2002 mega hit drama “Winter Sonata” was not one of the first examples of hallyu. Thanks to its enormous popularity, the main actor Bae Yong-joon rose to heartthrob status in East Asia, while its filming location in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, h

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Will Ferrell, who refined his impersonation of President George W. Bush on the sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live” and later took his presidential act to Broadway, was awarded the nation’s top humor prize Sunday night.The TV star went on to make movies and co-found the popular website FunnyorDie.com in a career that won the 44-year-old the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.It was the Bush impression, though, that might have

S.M. Entertainment singers wrapped up their series of international concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday.The nation’s largest entertainment agency has held concerts at seven major international venues since the first SM Town concert in Seoul in August 2010. The 15,000 seats at Madison Square Garden ― priced between $44.50 and $204.50 per person ― all sold out, the agency said. The massive concert venue is a “dream stage” for many international pop stars. Michael Jackson, Beyon

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy leaves a clinic where she gave birth on Wednesday carrying her baby girl Giulia, in Paris, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. (AP-Yonhap News)PARIS (AP) -- Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is heading home with her newborn girl Giulia, the first baby born to a sitti

Korean broadcaster MBC said it has agreed with Google to provide its TV drama and entertainment programs through YouTube, the world’s largest online video sharing site operated by Google.MBC and Google Korea heads signed the agreement at a hotel in Seoul on Friday.Under the agreement, MBC will provide 10,000 hours of dramas and entertainment shows aired before 2005 for YouTube, which will be distributed around the world starting next year, the broadcaster said.It is the first time a Korean broad

Centuries before the bride of Frankenstein first screamed and hissed on the big screen in 1935, the legend of the wailing woman who drowned her children was already terrifying kids throughout Latin America.But only now, with Latinos constituting the largest minority group in the nation, has the tale

Exhibitions"The Court Painters of Joseon Dynasty": In celebration of its seventh anniversary, Leeum brought together 110 paintings by “hwawon,” or court painters of the Joseon Dynasty. It showcases works by master painters like Kim Hong-do, Jang Seung-eop, Shin Yun-bok and Kim Deuk-sin, who are well

Violinist Kim Eung-soo (left), cellist Kim Yong-sik (right) and pianist Chae Moon-young rehearse at the House Concert in Yul Haus in southern Seoul on Oct. 14.(Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald)Musicians say they practice harder because of the closeness to their audienceAt a small underground recording

Restless (U.S.)Opening Oct. 27Drama. Directed by Gus Van Sant. Young boy Enoch (Henry Hopper), who dropped out of school after his parents’ untimely deaths, only hangs out with his imaginary friend Hiroshi (Ryo Kase), while spending most of his time attending strangers’ funerals. Things change when

DJ Cam’s ’Seven’ offers sullen hip-hopDJ Cam “Seven”(Inflamable)There’s something dour about DJ Cam’s new album “Seven,“ with its slow and brooding fusion of hip-hop and jazz. The French mix master has an interesting approach to blending disparate sounds, but seldom do things develop into a full gal

The Chung Trio, consisting of siblings Chung Myung-whun on the piano, violinist Chung Kyung-wha and cellist Chung Myung-wha, will hold a concert in December in memory of their late mother Lee Won-sook, CMI Korea said.Myung-whun has repeatedly said in press conferences this year that he would push fo