Culture

For Afghan women, going out still usually involves little more than throwing on a burka before leaving the house. But two American "beauticians without borders" are introducing Afghans to Western-style ideas of womanhood by teaching them the finer points of applying lipstick.

SACRAMENTO - At 855 pages, it has been lauded by linguists and anthropologists as the only dictionary of its kind: a comprehensive translation of Iu-Mien into English that doubles as a guide to the dying practices of a people who, beginning in 1975, fled the hills of Laos after aiding the CIA's secret war. Over the quarter-century it took to produce, much came to pass. For the Pasadena professor whose name graces the book's charcoal cover, there was the murder of a daughter, a house fire that consumed his nearly finished work and the gentle assistance of collaborators on three continents who helped him pick up the pieces.

Will China dominate the cultural world in the 21st century? That's the prediction of Dean Corey, executive director of the Orange County Philharmonic Society, which is presenting Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: A Festival Celebrating Chinese Culture at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa. "The Olympics in China really woke us all up," Corey said. "The Chinese are a long way from being imitators; they are creators. This festival will make people aware of what will be happening in the future.

The Caravelle Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam , is celebrating the city's cultural heritage with a package that includes a performance at the neighboring Saigon Opera House. The four-day, three-night "Opera Nights" package installs guests in the hotel's Opera Suite, overlooking Lam Son Square and the opera house, where guests will attend a performance of "Hon Viet” ("Soul of Vietnam”). Before the program, guests will have dinner in the hotel's fine-dining restaurant, Reflections.

Karaoke Culture Dubravka Ugresic Open Letter: 324 pp., $15.95 paper Dubravka Ugresic does not like karaoke. That doesn't stop her from trying it, just as her resistance to celebrity doesn't stop her from putting her head through a cutout on a Hollywood studio tour so that she can be photographed with Clark Gable. Ugresic, a game and inquisitive critic, looks at culture from all angles, which sometimes means picking up the mic . Karaoke recycles rather than creates, she argues in "Karaoke Culture," the 100-page essay that lends its name to the title of her new collection.

It used to be so simple. A book had an author; a film, a screenwriter and director; a piece of music, a composer and performer; a painting or sculpture, an artist; a play, a playwright. You could assume that the work actually erupted more or less full-blown from these folks. In addition, the book, film, musical composition, painting or play was a discrete object or event that existed in time and space. You could hold it in your hands or watch or listen to it in a theater or your living room.

For decades, Uni Histayanti has performed the enigmatic movements of her country's traditional pendet pendet dance. She learned the rhythms as an infant and years ago opened a dinner theater here in the Indonesian capital where, dressed in native costume, she performs nightly. As she flutters her arms bird-like, darts her eyes and tilts her head at exotic angles, she invokes the welcoming spirit of the Hindu-majority Bali island where it originated centuries ago. That's why it floored her to hear that neighboring Malaysia had reportedly tried to seize the pendet as its own. It's pure cultural piracy, Histayanti insists.

IN Switzerland, the land of watches, trains really do run like clockwork. "If I'm 30 seconds late, the train is gone," said Michelle Kranz, who commutes daily into Lucerne, where she works for the tourist board. Step across the border, and you're in a different universe. Italy has two rail schedules: the one printed in the brochure and another, flashing updates, on a board in the station. The first may be a fantasy; the second, reality.

The long tentacles of  Rupert Murdoch'sNews Corp. scandal have ensared many ofBritain's top media figures. The unfolding controversy has now embroiledBritain's culture secretary Jeremy Hunt in what is turning out to be a fight for his political life. This week, Hunt was in damage control mode as he faces allegations about his connections to News Corp. 's takeover bid for BSkyB, the British satellite broadcaster. Hunt -- whose department oversees the arts, media, cultural heritage, sports, the Olympics and more -- is accused of being partial to News Corp.

Here's a good excuse to visit Sacramento next month and cash in on a little culture in the capital. The city's museums will open their doors for free in honor of the annual Sacramento Museum Day. The deal: Twenty-six museums will offer free admission 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 4. Two other locations -- the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town -- will feature half-off admission tickets on the same day. To take advantage of Museum Day, you really...