Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
As the co-founder and CEO of Kolo — a line of colorful photo albums designed to maintain archival-quality photos without breaking the bank — Peter Dunn loves to travel, even though one-third of his year is spent on the road for business. A resident of Connecticut, Dunn uses websites to hunt down good travel bargains when he goes away to places like Italy and Hong Kong.
French composer Bruno Coulais is used to helping convey a film’s tone with his music. But for “Babies” — which focuses on four tiny, chubby and (for a while) bald stars — the 56-year-old Parisian, best known for the 2009 stop-motion film “Coraline,” had his work cut out for him. The documentary features no dialogue from its main stars, so Coulais’ compositions at times have to speak for the infants. “Babies” is now available on DVD.
The Wonder Girls’ single “Nobody” became the first song by a Korean group to ever hit the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The quintet, which splits its time between Seoul, South Korea, and New York City, performs its radio-friendly songs in Korean, English and Chinese. After touring with the Jonas Brothers, the Girls hit a string of smaller clubs earlier this year. Known simply by their first names, Yenny and Sun (both 21 years old) and 17-year-old Lim chatted about their favorite vacation spots. Like a true teenager, Lim admits she’s always on the lookout for “famous restaurants and landmarks.”
It’s not easy to travel incognito when every tween and teenage girl in the world knows what you look like. But Justin Bieber gave it a good shot during a recent trip to the Bahamas. When the 16-year-old pop star wanted to try out the waterslides at the Atlantis resort in Paradise Island, he wrapped a beach towel over his trademark mane of floppy blond hair.
After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, Jordanian pianist Zade Dirani — who is known simply as Zade — began a grassroots effort to let the world know that what the hijackers did was not representative of his people or religion. His four-year tour included performances in synagogues, churches, community centers and homes, as well as the more traditional concert venues.
Larenz Tate has been in Oscar-winning films and critically-acclaimed TV shows (“Ray,” “Crash,” “Rescue Me”), but to his young children, he’s just the “blueberry pancake guy.” “They have no idea what I do for a living,” says the 34-year-old actor, who resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two sons. “They just know that I make the best pancakes.” Tate loves to travel with his family and talks about a recent trip to paradise — the Dominican Republic.
Andrew Friedman’s knowledge and love of food and sports comes through loud and clear in his latest book, Knives at Dawn: The American Quest for Culinary Glory at the Legendary Bocuse d’Or Competition (Free Press, $26). The 42-year-old author covers the rigorous international competition — which by comparison, makes “The Iron Chef” look like a kiddie cooking show — with gusto, flair and suspense.
Born in West Germany on a U.S. military base, Rob Thomas was born to travel. The frontman for Matchbox Twenty, Thomas also collaborated with Carlos Santana (he was the voice of the hit single “Smooth”) and is currently finishing up a U.S. tour to promote his second solo album “Cradlesong.” After that he’ll head off to Australia in February to perform concerts there. “My first time out of the country was to Australia,” says Thomas, 37. “Every first trip is fun, but after you’ve visited a few times, you get the lay of the land down and find favorite spots. Each spot gets better every trip.”
Before Susan Boyle made a name for herself on “Britain’s Got Talent,” there was Paul Potts. The former cell phone salesman and amateur opera singer won the first season of the talent show in 2007 and sparked both interest and controversy. Some naysayers said he was a working musician and should’ve been disqualified from the competition. In truth, Potts did have stage experience, but he had never received payment for his work. In other words, he hadn’t relinquished his amateur status.
When a friend asked Jill Litwin to help her make healthy and tasty meals for her child, Litwin put together a few yummy, kid-friendly dishes. These ideas became the starting point for Peas of Mind, an organic frozen food company catering to kids who’ve outgrown standard jarred baby food. Based in San Francisco, the energetic 35-year-old CEO loves to travel, whether it’s to nearby Sonoma or to the beaches of Jamaica. Litwin talks about some of her favorite hotels, why she always travels with a scarf and a custard shop in Greenfield, Wis., that makes her mouth water.