Harper's Bazaar features Padma Lakshmi's new West Village home she lives in since the divorce from Salman Rushdie.

Her life downtown is very different from when she was attached, for just over three years, to Rushdie. When asked if she misses married life, she thinks for a moment and answers, resoundingly, "No." She explains, "I miss the good times I had with the man I was married to, but I'm much happier today than I was a year and a half ago. In order to get there, I had to walk through an ocean of crap. But I've built my life around the way I want to live now, and my little corner of the world feels nice."

Interesting! View more at Harper's Bazaar

South Korea’s Wonder Girls made history this week by becoming the first Korean singers to chart on the United States’ Billboard Hot 100, and the pop group is eyeing the lucrative Chinese market next.

The girl band’s hit single “Nobody” entered the chart at number 76, putting them ahead of Carrie Underwood (#77), Five for Fighting (#83) and Usher (#92).

A press release by the group’s agency JYP Entertainment said Thursday this is the first time any Koreans has ever placed on the chart in all its 115-year history.

Reports said “Nobody” also outsold singles by pop stars Madonna and Shakira, with over 30,000 copies off the shelves in the same week.

With success in America, and parts of Asia already under their charm, the Wonder Girls are looking to conquer the massive Chinese market next.

The band will be making its foray into China later this month during the Mobile Festival in Beijing, alongside other famous faces such as Jackie Chan and Zhang Ziyi.

The hit single "Nobody" will undergo a third release – in Mandarin – for the Wonder Girls’ venture into China.

Source: CNN + Sookyeong

A billboard of Rain's new film "Ninja Assassin" has been hung in New York's Times Square, making him the first Korean to appear on the board for a movie, according to his agency.

Only Korean companies such as Samsung or LG have been able to advertise themselves in Times Square before.

J.Tune Entertainment said that the billboard -- almost 18 meters wide by 12 meters high -- was hung above smaller billboards for some of Broadway's most famed musicals including "West Side Story" and "Chicago".

The agency said they were informed of the billboard by a Korean residing in New York and received many congratulatory messages on his blog and website.

The film is scheduled to be released on November 25, 2009.

www.asiae.co.kr

Japanese teenager Ryo Ishikawa has been sponsored to travel to China for the golf HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai in November, where world No. 1 Tiger Woods leads the field.

The 18-year-old confirmed his participation in the prestigious event on Thursday and thus skips a much smaller event on the Japan Golf Tour on the same Nov. 5-8 weekend.

Champions tournament, a seven million U.S. dollars event, has been included on the World Golf Championship calendar for the first time this year.

Source Xinhua

Jay Sean's "Down" returns to the top slot of the Billboard Hot 100 for a second time, just one week after Britney Spears' No. 1 debut bumped him to runner-up status. A predicted second-week digital sales dip (down 33%) sends Spears' "3" to No. 5 on the chart, even with radio play continuing to blossom. The suggestive track rises 49-25 on Hot 100 Airplay with a 44% audience increase.

We stopped by Patrica Fields' boutique on Bowery today to see her hair stylist, Ayumi. Ayumi just returned from the The Jonas Brothers/Wonder Girls tour as the main hair stylist for the Wonder Girls! Intern Yae Jin Park interviewed Ayumi!

We asked her to describe each Wonder Girl in her own words, how she landed the dream job and who's hair she would love to style.

Interesting tidbit - Ayumi styles JYP's hair also!

Full interview coming up in November!

Joto Sake's sake seminar and tasting on October 20th was anything but ordinary. This intimate gathering drew sake afionados and novices alike to Matsuri's, celebrating its 6th year anniversary. Guests tasted a variety of artisanal sakes paired with delectable regional snacks.

Joto Sake is a leading importer of artisanal, handcrafted sakes from Japan.

One of the brewers present was Yasunobu Tomita, owner of the Tomita Shuzo, one of the older breweries in the Shiga region with over 450 years of history. His brewery produces the Shichi Hon Yari Yunmai, which has a pleasant, earthy aroma and a smooth, fruity finish.

Chatting with sake educator and founder of blog, Urban Sake, Timothy Sullivan remarked, "The selection of sakes was outstanding! All brewers had their Fall Nama or "Hiyaoroshi" sake on hand, which is not normally mported into the USA - that was a real treat!"

Matsuri, website: www.matsurinyc.com
Joto Sake, website: www.jotosake.com
Urban Sake, website: www.urbansake.com


Photographer: Jui Shih

The Gates could not have been a more appropriate venue to host Laila Lee's Holiday Preview. A sexy crowd milled about the elegantly decorated room sipping Mekhong cocktails and nibbling on Kyotofu desserts. Beautiful models in Laila Lee's creations gave us just the right idea on what hints to drop to our significant others for the upcoming holidays! For the sophisticated and sexy, there are silk and feather ensembles and for the naughty, pearl necklace handcuffs.

Laila Lee, website: www.lailalee.com

Photographer - Fedele Spadafora www.fedele.artlogsites.com

Asian Bond Girl and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" lead Michelle Yeoh will soon star in a romantic kung fu thriller to start shooting in Shanghai on Oct. 30 with writer-director Su Chaopin ("Silk"), producer Terence Chang of Lion Rock Prods. told The Hollywood Reporter.

A $12 million co-production with Beijing Galloping Horse Prods., Media Asia of Hong Kong and two publicly traded Taiwan media companies, the tentatively titled "Jianyu Jianghu" can be described, Chang said, as " 'Face/Off' meets 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' set in the Ming Dynasty."

So she's the Asian Angelina Jolie?

"Jianyu Jianghu" is set to be completed for a late-summer 2010 release.

Josh Hartnett posing for the cover of Korean Vogue's November issue with his I Come With The Rain co-star Lee Byung-hun. The two guys spent time in South Korea earlier this month promoting their film and Lee was also all over the place recently with his other recent movie GI Joe. Hotness!

Ana Julaton continues to do her part in helping her Community. She was the special guest of the Oakland Raiders this past Sunday. Ana who has been teaming up with several organizations to help raise funds for the Typhoon victims, met with fans and spent time signing autographs and taking pictures to help collect donations.

This was the 2nd Filipino Heritage Game hosted by the Raiders. Ana's passion for her community is an example of why many of her supporters feel she is a World Champion outside the ring!

See Ana's video interview at Raiders online.

It will be a fun filled night as we also get into the spirit of Halloween asking attendees to dress in their favorite costumes.

Please join us as we celebrate Pacific Rim Video host Angelica Alumia's 21st birthday party along with a birthday celebration of Glenda Morales and Matt Cady of Fanny Pak with a special shout out to Alex "BGirl" Welch of The Beat Freaks all happening at Level 3 this coming Level 3. Doors open at 10pm.

Special performance by Fanny Pak, Boom Kitty plus Victor Kim and Lydia Paek of Quest Crew.

Also, as part of our world community concerns, we are accepting donations for victims of Typhoon Ondoy as part of complimentary admission to the event.

If you plan on attending, please rsvp directly to pgonzaga@pacificrimphotopress.com with your name and how many guests for complimentary admission.