Few youngsters have tried so hard to change the world as Danny Seo, who has championed eco-friendly ways of living at the tender age of 12 when he founded Earth 2000, an organization aimed at saving the planet from pollution. By the time he was 18, Seo had turned Earth 2000 into the largest teenage activist charity in the United States. Now at 35, this Korean-American has once again transformed...

Apple sought assistance for iPod design; Samsung, Kia recruit top foreign talent Gone are the days when it was enough for a product to be durable and reliable. Without the added attraction of savvy design, products just won’t sell, and this has become common knowledge in the industry. For instance, Apple’s revival back in early 2000s was marked by not only technological prowess, but the simple...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Steve Jobs has been Apple’s most recognizable personality, but much of its cachet comes from its clean, inviting designs. For that, Apple can credit its head designer, Jonathan Ive. Ive, a self-effacing 44-year-old Brit, helped Jobs bring Apple back from the brink of financial ruin with the whimsical iMac computer, whose original models came in bright colors at a time when b...

KANSAS CITY, Missouri ― Playboy model hopefuls from as far as Florida and Canada line the halls of a Kansas City, Mo., studio, fanning themselves, trembling in their silk robes and waiting for their moment with Jodi Vander Woude. “I promise this will be painless,” Vander Woude assures them. Vander Woude is a photographer for Playboy Enterprises. Every month, she travels across the country doing...

LARCHMONT, New York (AP) ― Few things are prettier in a night garden than soft pools of light illuminating interesting trees, accent rocks, plants or pathways. Whether on a small terrace or in a sweeping landscape, lighting creates a welcoming and often dramatic atmosphere. But in some cases, buried-wire electric lighting can be costly and impracticable. The answer might be solar lighting. The...

MINNEAPOLIS -- About a dozen years ago, Paul and Susan Damon of St. Paul, Minnesota, did something radical: They deliberately killed half their lawn. A few years later, they killed the rest of it. Gradually, they‘ve transformed their city lot into a small urban prairie, with more than 130 species of native plants. “We wanted to turn it into a haven for birds and butterflies,” said Paul, a lands...

Accessories give one white sofa six distinctive looks By Stacy Downs, McClatchy Newspapers Neutral certainly doesn’t mean boring. Especially when it comes to sofas. In fact, most designers say a neutral sofa is your best bet. As seasons change and your home decor evolves, you can update a room simply through throw pillows. We thought we’d put that theory to the test with one white sofa, six d...

Two Japan Foundation-organized exhibitions aim to draw Japanese culture closer to Korea A smart choice for poor guitarists who have nowhere to practice but their tiny rented rooms: a Yamaha guitar whose volume can be adjusted and has a headphone output so that neighbors will not be disturbed. An electronic piano by the same Japanese company, which looks like a grand piano with at least two thir...

At a practice hall nestled at the foot of Mount Nam in Seoul, Tony Award-winning Broadway stage designer David Gallo quietly looks on, envisioning how the Korean actors and his long-time friend Gabriel Barre, the musical director, will fine-tune each act and line for the upcoming blockbuster musical “Tears of Heaven.” Although there is almost nothing but duct tape to mark the positions of the ac...

Foreign carmakers such as Toyota and GM, participate in the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, on Jan. 10. (Photos: AP-Yonhap) The Mercedes Benz SLS AMG E-Cell The Ferrari 458 Italia Toyota's new Prius V The Mercedes Benz A-Class E-Cell GM's 2012 Buick Verano A Tesla Roadster 2.5 electric sports car The new MINI Paceman Concept vehicle Chevrolet Sonic Z-spec conc...