A three-day course called "Charm School Boot Camp" is offering lessons to men who have trouble picking up women. The weekend-long course is being offered in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London and Sydney and anybody willing to fork over the $1,600 fee is eligible to enroll. Charm School is run by a Michigan-based company called Charisma Arts. Men begin with lessons in attraction and are then taken on a field trip of sorts to a bar or club so instructors can assess how well they've assimilated the information. The next day, the instructors critique their students' performances and give them pointers on how they can improve. The men are then unleashed into the world again to see if they can get it right this time.

In what always amounted to the odd highlight of every Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, the gala dinner showcased performances from foreign ministers as they entertained their hosts. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso acted a Humphrey Bogart impersonation while New Zealand's Winston Peters sang like Johnny Cash. China's Li Zhaoxing led a choir and South Korea's Ban Ki-moon took the stage bedecked in green sequins.

Diplomats and reports confirm U. S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, will perform a piano recital at the annual gala of Asia's top security gathering. The ASEAN Regional Forum has its hand full on its agenda the conflict in the Middle East, a missile crisis on the Korean peninsula, and anger over Myanmar's refusal toward democratic reforms.

A North Korean music prodigy risked his life to escape the communist country so he could pursue his love of jazz. Reuters reports Kim Cheol-woong, 31, first heard jazz piano while studying overseas. The classically trained pianist wanted to play the less regimented style of music, but could not do so in the dictatorial regime.

A woman who fell off and hurt herself while dancing atop a lounge piano is suing the ritzy Sarasota restaurant where the accident happened. Theodora "Teddy" Picard fell backward off the piano to the floor in the lounge of Michael's on East in January 2005. The lawsuit says she wouldn't have climbed onto the piano if the restaurant's director hadn't pressured her, taken her by the arm and helped her climb up. The lawsuit says Picard suffered a lingering neck injury in the fall.