ART & CULTURE

With the COVID-19 pandemic already in the rear-view mirror for most people, many are yearning for a return to the normal life they knew prior to March 2020

There are many stories of artists who created great works while under the influence.

For those who believe, here's how the planets will affect the lives of the zodiacs this year.

Counting down the last minute of the year, popping open champagnes and cutting cakes are some of the common traditions. Here, we have rounded up some of the unique New Year's eve traditions that are seen around the globe.

The Chinese New Year celebrations begin with the rising of the second moon after the winter solstice, which fell on Dec. 21 this year.

"At the end of the special broadcast, we are planning to broadcast a PV that announces the latest information on the new series "Swordsmith's Village" Ufotable announced.

The fast-rising pop group from the Philippines will have a one-off show at San Francisco's Fox Theatre in Redwood City.

Mad Men returns to the airwaves March 25 at 9pm (EST) on AMC in a special two-hour premiere, which many fans hope will make up for its prolonged absence. If you're a die-hard fan, you've probably even taken a peak at the series' official countdown timer. Now there's something else to stare at while you wait for the series premier: AMC has unveiled another official Mad Men Season 5 poster on the show's website.

Whitney Houston, the celebrated pop music icon, died on Saturday at the age of 48. While many around the world mourned, Sony Music raised the price of Houston's greatest hits album titled Ultimate Collection on iTunes and Amazon. Sony Music raised the price of Houston's songs just 30 minutes after her death reports Guardian. The retail price was raised from about $8 (£4.99) to about $13 (£7.99), which automatically raised the price of digital sales on platforms such as iTunes.

Prince Charles led global celebrations on Tuesday marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens, a titan of English literature whose vivid stories confronted the injustices of Victorian life.

Extremist political conspiracies such as birthers and truthers may be a dominant theme of post-9/11 America, but in a new book by Arthur Goldwag, he argues that modern conservative groups may be a product of history repeating itself.

Live, from Vancouver, it's COMICS: Saturday Night Live, a 24-page history of the long-running show in comic book form.

New Yorkers couldn't give a damn about Sarah Jessica Parker, but the NY1 morning anchor makes us swoon.

A review of the restaurant La Sorrentina, which for 20 years has served Italian delicacies to Brooklyn residents in Bay Ridge, a traditionally Irish neighborhood.

Above the ballooning dress of Marilyn Monroe is the face of the late North Korean despot Kim Jong-il. A pigeon flies overhead and a feather lies nearby on the ground.

Greg Heffley had better take his vitamins and do some push-ups, because he's about to go up against a formidable foe indeed -- a zombie who bears an eerie likeness to him.

For anyone who follows film, television, publishing and newspapers -- our culture industry -- Robert Levine, the former editor of Billboard and a New York Times alum, has written a must-read book.

Comedian Frank DeCaro is best known for his stint on The Daily Show with John Stewart but the comedian and talk radio host is now dishing out recipes.

A look at graffiti in New York and it's impact on urban culture.

The Drop climbed to the top of the Publishers Weekly best-sellers list on Thursday.The list is compiled from data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide.

For more than 40 years actor Martin Sheen has inhabited complex characters from the troubled Capt. Willard in the Vietnam film Apocalypse Now to U.S. President Josiah Bartlet on the hit TV drama The West Wing.

Strawberry Fields Forever: John Lennon was shot and killed 31 years ago, today, outside the Dakota home he shared with Yoko Ono.

Strawberry Fields Forever: John Lennon was shot and killed 31 years ago, today, outside the Dakota home he shared with Yoko Ono.

With the fast-selling e-publication of his memoir-cum-business-strategy guide, Mark Cuban made another notch in his media-pioneer belt.

Scotland's National Portrait Gallery reopens on Thursday after a 17.6 million-pound ($27 million) renovation that finally fulfils the dreams of its architect when it first opened its doors 120 years ago.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling told a public inquiry into British media standards on Thursday she was forced to move house because of tabloid harassment and had been made to feel like a hostage in her home after she gave birth.

Into a traditional northern New England town under pressure from chain stores and cell phone towers, its old family farms struggling, comes Hattie Kong, half-Chinese and newly widowed.

A towering bronze sculpture by Fernando Botero and works by several Brazilian artists set auction records during Christie's Latin American sale, the auction house said on Wednesday.

Julian Barnes, who won this year's Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and Carol Ann Duffy, Britain's poet laureate, were among the nominees for the 2011 Costa Book Awards announced on Tuesday.