Jennifer Egan was not built for the spotlight. “When I was a teenager, one of my sources of angst was that I felt like I was not an actor, I was always a spectator,” she said by phone from New York. “Later, I realized that that’s just who I am. That’s actually my job.” Lately, Egan has been much more than a spectator in her own life. Her novel “A Visit from the Goon Squad,” a fractured narrative...

Describing Steve Earle’s “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive” as a story about a skid row junkie abortionist haunted by the ghost of Hank Williams may work as a dust jacket blurb. But it doesn’t begin to reveal the depth of the singer-songwriter’s debut novel. Earle, 56, is a political activist, actor and Grammy-winning musician who helped revitalize country music in the mid-’80s and is a le...

Jang Sa-ik has the look of an ordinary man. Ordinary enough to pass for one of the construction workers renovating his garden as The Korea Herald interviewed him Monday. But this unremarkable impression disappeared as soon as he started singing on the rooftop yard where he was supposed to pose for the camera. Instead of saying “cheese,” Jang began to smile broadly, eyes half shut, before crank...

The booming lounge music that fills the dark, cavernous space of Addiction Plus might confuse many first timers ― is it a restaurant or is it a lounge? Contrary to its eclectic interior, which has a disco ball over the lounge area with huge mattresses and oversized cushions, an organ in a corner and strictly utilitarian tables and chairs, and an equally eclectic mix of music ― over the course of...

“Bibim-naengmyeon” is a dish of cold buckwheat noodles mixed with spicy and thick red pepper sauce. It may be garnished with raw fish. It is also called “Hamheung-naengmyeon” because it was a regional food of the Hamheung district in South Hamgyeong Province. Ingredients ● 600 g buckwheat noodles (dried) ● 100 g minced beef ● 100 g radish ● 1 cucumber,½ tsp salt ● 100 g pear ● 2 eggs Seas...

Authentic soda fountain drinks for a cool summer Milkshakes so thick they require a spoon and floats topped with scoops of ice cream are classic American drinks that stir up fond memories of the 1950s, when the soda fountains, burger joints and diners that served them abounded. Even today, that is where you will most likely find them, served up with a burger and fries, which, according to Brook...

What a lovely expression of Pinot Noir from New Zealand’s Mountford estate. Elegant and smooth, this New World Pinot carries the taste of Santa Rosa plums and sweet Asian spices. The scent jumps right out of the glass ― sandalwood, and something leafy and delicate. In this weather, chill it just a bit and serve with roast chicken, sweetbreads or roast leg of lamb. ● Region: Waipara Valley, New ...

GLADSTONE, New Jersey (AFP) ― Top seed Choi Na-yeon advanced to the second round of the $1.5 million LPGA Match Play Championship by beating Scotland’s Catriona Matthew 3 and 2 but second seed Shin Jiyai was eliminated. South Korea’s Choi, claiming the top seed by virtue of leading last year’s LPGA money list, was level with her European rival until a birdie at the par-4 15th and a bogey by Matt...

‘Whereabouts of heir unconfirmed’ North Korean leader Kim Jong-il appears to be visiting China, a senior Seoul official said Friday, adding it was not confirmed whether he was accompanied by his son and heir apparent Jong-un. “The current trip to China is being led by Kim Jong-il. We believe his third son Jong-un is not part of the delegation,” an official at the presidential office here sai...

The existence of “dark energy” that accelerates expansion of the Universe has been confirmed by an astronomical survey of about 200,000 galaxies, BBC reported. Dark energy makes up some 74 percent of the Universe and its force pulls the Universe apart at increasing speed. “The action of dark energy is as if you threw a ball up in the air, and it kept speeding upward into the sky faster and fast...

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — A Saudi mother said Sunday she defied a ban on women drivers in the ultra-conservative kingdom by getting behind the wheel for four days without being stopped. Najla al-Hariri, a housewife in her mid-30s, said she drove non-stop for four days in the streets of the Red Sea city of Jeddah "to defend her belief that Saudi women should be allowed to drive." "I don't fear bein...