News lifestyle 2008-08-08 Andanh.com

Chinese restaurant embraces the Olympics Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:03 EDT

Late last year, when Panda Cuisine was under construction, owner Tong Xu insisted that a satellite dish be installed in his restaurant for one reason: the Beijing Olympics.

Xu was planning for the event that's happening now through Aug. 24 in China. As athletes from around the world compete for Olympic gold, customers at the .restaurant can watch the Games live . not on the American networks but on China Central Television, which broadcasts in English.

And for the official Olympics .Opening Ceremony, to be broadcast at 8 p.m. Friday on NBC, Panda Cuisine will host a celebration sponsored by the Kentucky Chinese American .Association. It will feature Chinese .culture and art, including calligraphy, and arts and crafts related to the .Olympics, plus an .introductory show about Beijing and other major .attractions in China. The celebration starts at 6 p.m., with a buffet at 7:30. The cost is $15. The party is by reservation only, and a few spots remained at press time. Call .Jianhua Su, (859) 619-3304, by noon Friday to check on availability. (Panda Cuisine will be open to other diners, too.)

The Panda chefs are preparing a few special Sichuan dishes that will be served during the Games, including Beijing duck, for $14. It's a traditional Chinese dish, although there are many variations. Beijing cuisine, like the city, is a blend of many food cultures, Mickey Chang Xun said. Xun, a friend of Xu and his family, helps with marketing and language for the restaurant.

A natural wonder and a wonderful train ride in southeastern Kentucky Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:36 EDT

CORBIN . It all started with my quest for the moonbow, that rare phenomenon that can be seen only on a clear night under a full moon.

There have been reports of moonbows, the nocturnal .equivalents of rainbows, at .California's Yosemite National Park, at Waimea in Hawaii, and in New Zealand, but there are only two places in the world where scientists say moonbows occur regularly during the full moon.

Somehow, it seemed wrong that I had seen the moonbow at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe in southern Africa, but not the one at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park in southern Kentucky, a two-hour drive from Lexington. I decided that a visit to the resort park was in order.

Just southwest of Corbin, in the middle of the Daniel Boone National Forest, Cumberland Falls is one of the commonwealth's 17 state resort parks, and it offers not just an opportunity to see the moonbow (if you plan your visit accordingly and weather conditions are right), but a host of recreational activities, should you happen to be there when the moon is waxing or waning.

Jay Flippin Quartet part of PAC series
Jazz in an intimate setting continues Friday night with a performance by The Jay Flippin Quartet, another in the Jazz Alley series at the Paramount Arts Center.

Huntington Rib and Music Fest brings tasty cuisine and tunes
Today is the first day of the 13th annual Huntington Rib and Music Fest at Harris Riverfront Park featuring six award-winning barbecue chefs and crews.

Renovated Lexington house to be on TV Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:02 EDT

For Evan and Kimberly E. Brown, renovating their home became more than a pastime. It became an all-consuming, round-the-clock, coal-dust-in-your-face, never-a-moment's-rest passion.

Consider this: three years without a shower. Not them, their home. They kept a gym membership just for access to running water.

.We showered at the gym and lived in one room with construction going on all around it,. Kimberly Brown said.

For several weeks, a sign in the Browns' front yard had proclaimed that the house would be featured on HGTV. But broadcast plans have changed, and the house will be part of a segment of What You Get for the Money on a sister network, Fine Living. An air date has yet to be set.

Chinese Dir