Life Style

A rainy Met Gala got under way with a tuxedoed choir and a trend true to the menswear theme: Emma Chamberlain and other women in pinstripe gowns.Chamberlain and Zuri Hall were among those who wore sleek, sexy gowns that play on men’s suiting in pinstripes and other details.“I expect this to be a frequent thing tonight, women wanting to maintain a traditionally feminine dress silhouette while still respecting the theme,” said William Dingle, director of style for blackmenswear.com, a cultural impact agency that focuses on uplifting black men.The suggested dress code, “Tailored for You”, was inspired by black dandyism. Teyana Taylor went for a stunning zoot suit look with a red, feather-adorned top hat and a huge matching cape dripping with flowers and bling.Teyana Taylor poses on the red ca...

For Hong Kong-born artist Sarah Tse Man-heng, the ultimate studio has no walls. Instead it has beaches, vast savannahs and forest floors blanketed in flowers and fungi. An elephant might swing by, maybe even a monkey.Tse, 39, is a digital nomad artist who combines a love for travel with art, creating works inspired by the diverse cultures and landscapes she encounters.A scroll through Tse’s Instagram account reveals stunning paintings created in equally stunning locations.In one photo, taken this year near Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, Tse is deep in her work while a seven-tonne elephant casually strolls behind her. The photo was taken at a reserve run by Elephant Crew, a charity that rescues elephants from the cruel commercial wildlife tourism industry that have bonded with humans and would...

Fifty years after the Chinese ink painter Lui Shou-kwan died in Hong Kong at the relatively young age of 56, he is still regarded as one of the most influential artists the city has produced – one whose groundbreaking approach to art and pedagogy have influenced many artists who came after him.After he retired from his job as an inspector for the Hong Kong and Yaumati Ferry Company in 1966, he taught Chinese ink painting at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong.As a teacher, Lui challenged the prevailing orthodoxies of Chinese art education, which emphasised the importance of copying classical masters.“Lui Shou-kwan as a teacher taught his students not to copy old masters or his work, as was the traditional way to learn Chinese paintings. Instead he told them ...

The Black Pearl Restaurant Guide, seen as China’s answer to the Michelin Guide, recently held its first overseas awards ceremony. The event, in Singapore, signals the ambition of its publisher for the guide to make a global mark.At a ceremony on April 25 at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands complex, Black Pearl’s Master Chef Award was presented to Sebastien Lepinoy of Singapore’s Les Amis, which has three Michelin stars, in recognition of his decades of work showcasing French culinary excellence in Asia.Four stand-out dishes from different restaurants received Annual Dish Awards, including crispy fried chicken skin with shrimp mousse and salted fish flakes from Macau’s Imperial Court, and smoked sugar cane baby pigeon from Hong Kong’s Wing restaurant.Tang Yan, the head of the Black Pearl Restau...

Marvel Entertainment’s release of Thunderbolts* in cinemas at the weekend will mark the end of an era for the US state of Georgia.Thanks to the state’s tax credit system and new stages at Trilith Studios in Fayetteville, 13 big-budget Marvel movies have been filmed in Georgia over the past decade, including multiple Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers, Spider-Man, Black Panther and Captain America films.Collectively, Marvel has spent more than US$3 billion in the state, and the films collectively generated more than US$12 billion in worldwide revenue in cinemas alone.But after Thunderbolts*, which many critics are saying is the best Marvel film in years, the production company has no films slated to be filmed in Georgia.Marvel has chosen instead to primarily shoot its Marvel Cinemat...

When Hong Kong culture minister Rosanna Law Shuk-pui revealed at a recent Legislative Council (Legco) panel meeting that she was a licensed scuba diver, many were surprised, not only by her extracurricular qualification, but also the fact she actually dives in Hong Kong.The secretary for culture, sports and tourism was responding to a lawmaker’s proposal to build a pier at Pak Lap Wan, in Sai Kung, to offer more transport options to the nearby High Island Reservoir East Dam, which has become popular with hikers because of the hexagonal rock columns in the area.“I am a certified rescue diver and Pak Lap Wan was the first place in Hong Kong where I dived,” she told the Legco panel on April 10. “I, as a rescue diver, do not support any establishment being built there which may hurt its natura...

From Malaysia’s Mahathir on end of American century to tips on finding joy, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend.

Growing up on the south side of Chicago, the Reverend Dr Howard-John Wesley was given the message early on: what one wore as a black man mattered.Wesley’s pastor father, who moved from Louisiana after World War II in search of more opportunities than those readily available to black people in the Deep South, “always had an impeccable sense of shirt and tie and suit”.“In order to move in certain spaces where coloured people were not allowed to be, you want to be dressed the right way to be able to fit in,” says Wesley, 53, now a senior pastor in Alexandria, Virginia.But Wesley also got an early warning: what he wore could be used against him. His father forbade baseball caps because some street gang members wore them in certain ways, and his father was concerned authorities would make stere...

By Jason Lim“My husband doesn’t respond to me when I complain to him about something,” a middle-aged woman grumbles to Venerable Pomnyun, a well-known Korean Seon (Zen) Buddhist monk who is famous for his ability to deliver profound life lessons in simple, sometimes startling ways.“Does a dog answer you when you ask it a question?” Venerable Pomnyun responds with his question. “No, of course not. That’s why it’s easier to raise a dog. You don’t ask a dog whether it wants to eat or not. You just feed it, and it’s grateful for it.“So, think of your husband as a dog that you are raising, and you will have no problems at all. I mean, your husband goes to the bathroom by himself, right?”Venerable Pomnyun is a Korean Zen Buddhist monk famous for his ability to deliver profound life lessons in si...

In late March, passengers aboard an HK Express flight to Narita, Tokyo, were in for a unique plane ride.Shortly after take-off, a middle-aged Chinese woman with a bob and a red T-shirt – rather than a flight attendant – appeared at the front of the cabin. When she started making an in-flight announcement in thick, heavily accented Cantonese, there was a buzz as passengers excitedly pulled out their smartphones to start recording her spiel.This was not a regular safety briefing. In fact, this short-haired Chinese woman is a famous jehjeh (“older sister”, or auntie, in Cantonese) from Tam Jai Sam Gor Mixian, there to introduce new, mala-flavoured instant noodles now available on HK Express flights in the first collaboration between the airline and the Hong Kong restaurant chain.Founded in 19...