Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Actor Richard Short says, “Everyone knows the best establishments to dine at when traveling are street carts by the side of the road. I’ve eaten in Michelin star restaurants that, while delicious, haven’t come close to the sensory experience of a simple piece of fruit hand delivered on the Panamanian roadside.”
In her memoir “A Stitch of Time: The Year a Brain Injury Changed My Language and Life” (Simon & Schuster, $26), Lauren Marks recounts her brain aneurysm and how aphasia affected her life. “At the time, I was an actor, director and Ph.D. student living in New York City,” she says. “I was 27 years old and had largely lost my abilities to speak, read and write. I was a foreigner in my native tongue.”
Former NFL player Akbar Gbajabiamila is the co-host of NBC’s obstacle-course competition series, “American Ninja Warrior.” An avid traveler, Gbajabiamila says he prepares for overseas trips by researching “language for key phrases, history and what the locals enjoy. Of course, I have my top touristy stuff to do, but that’s at the bottom of the list.”
This is for the A.R.M.Y! I wanted to do something fun and special for you… and this is my (small) way of thanking you: I am giving away some copies of my newspaper article and a copy of my book about the TV show, “Friends.”
I had promised Nam-Joon that I would send him my “Friends” book and a copy of our interview in the Chicago Tribune. I thought it would be fun to do the same for a member of the BTS A.R.M.Y. So here’s what I’m offering… #WinWithJae
Barry Watson rose to fame portraying the eldest child on “7th Heaven.” In his latest project — the UP TV dramedy, “Date My Dad” — the actor stars as Ricky Cooper, a widowed father of three girls, who tackles raising his young children with the help of his mother-in-law (Raquel Welch).
Born in Kansas, raised in New York and currently a resident of California, actress Emily Wickersham portrays Special Agent Eleanor Bishop on the popular CBS series, “NCIS.” An avid proponent of exploring the world, she says, “Every time I travel, a little piece of that trip comes back with me and it becomes a part of me. Experience is something that adds to anyone’s life and work. For actors, I think the more you know and learn, the more you’re able to add to the richness of the characters you play.”
A long time ago, the Knack released an album called “But the Little Girls Understand.” All the a-holes who make fun of girls for the music that they like and the boys whom they admire, well, it just goes to show that it’s they who don’t understand. Thank you, BTSarmy for being so enthusiastic and lovely!
BTS’ Rap Monster remembers being blown away by the opulence of Las Vegas during his first trip there: “I was last here in 2009 when I was 15. What I remember the most was the inside of the Bellagio. It was amazing. I had never seen a hotel like that before, where there was a whole world inside the hotel. It was beautiful. I got to see Cirque du Soleil’s “O” show. It was so nice. I remember the night view of Vegas, which was tremendous. I remember all the lights and people having fun. I saw a lot of people drinking, which was shocking to me then (since I was so young).”
The “Pretty Little Liars” series finale is airing later this summer, but Shay Mitchell (who plays |Emily Fields) doesn’t have time to mourn. She has finished work on the horror film “Cadaver,” has plans to write a follow-up to her book, “Bliss,” and is working on Fullscreen’s reality series, “Shades of Shay.” Mitchell was born in Mississauga (near Toronto) to a Filipina mother (who is the cousin of Broadway star Lea Salonga) and an Irish-Scottish father.
When trolls can’t come up with a decent argument to defend their point of view, this is how they attack. ✔️ First, they attack your gender. ✔️ Second, they attack your race.
✔️ Third, they add xenophobia into the mix.
I know that it’s cool to say that you don’t like to visit tourist traps. But I’ll let you in on a little secret: I enjoy tourist traps, which is why when we took my mother on her first trip to Hawaii, we went to Honolulu. And when you’re traveling with a little kid to Seattle, it’s fun to re-visit attractions like the Space Needle through their eyes.
“If I’m to be completely honest, I picked the northern suburbs (to live in) because of John Hughes’ movies,” says DJ White Shadow. “I tried to buy the ‘Ferris Bueller’ house. It was listed at $1.5 million, which doesn’t seem like a lot for the Ferris Bueller house. But it was a teeny, tiny house in a state of disrepair. It would’ve cost a lot to fix it up.”
Television viewers know Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz on Freeform’s “Pretty Little Liars” — the role that won him seven Teen Choice Awards. With the release of his first book, “Odd Birds” (St. Martin’s Press, $25.99), he can also add author to his resume. In his collection of essays, Harding shares vignettes of his life in Hollywood, interspersed with tales about his hobby, bird-watching. Harding will next be seen in the indie film “Office Uprising.”
I had a difficult time reconciling myself with the fact that I enjoyed “Boys Over Flowers,” while being disgusted that the showrunners never addressed how cruel the main characters were to kids outside of their circle.
“A Small Revolution” author Jimin Han says, “When I was about 10 years old, we drove to Boca Raton, Florida. My great aunt joined us, flying in from South Korea. We went to the beach a lot, but one afternoon we went with her to a cemetery. She knelt at a grave and cried. I heard later that it was the grave of her estranged son, who had been a marine biologist and died in a scuba-diving accident. I’ve developed a novel around that visit and that mysterious great aunt.”
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Phillip Keene lived in England, Holland and Miami before moving back to California 20 years ago. The actor is recognizable to television viewers as Buzz Watson, the character he portrays on TNT’s crime procedural, “Major Crimes.” He also played the same role in the long-running Kyra Sedgwick series, “The Closer.” A fun fact about the actor: He worked as a flight attendant before landing his best known role.
Born in Paris, New York-based author Anka Muhlstein has written biographies of James Mayer de Rothschild, Robert Chevalier de la Salle and Queen Victoria. Winner of the Academie Francaise and the Goncourt Prize for Biography, she and her husband, Louis Begley, co-authored “Venice for Lovers.” In her latest book — “The Pen and the Brush: How Passion for Art Shaped Nineteenth-Century French Novels” (Other Press, $18.95) — Muhlstein take readers into the world of an elite artistic community that included Proust, Cezanne and Balzac.
Modeling runs in Hunter McGrady’s family. Her mother, aunt and grandmother all modeled. And she, too, started modeling when she was 16. At nearly 6-foot tall, McGrady grew disheartened when agents told her she should trim a little fat from her already gaunt, size two body. Now 23, McGrady is one of the most popular “plus size” models, having recently appeared in Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issue.
As expected, “Top Chef” winner Brooke Williamson is quite the foodie. “I’m a fan of anything that tastes yummy,” says Williamson, 38. “I don’t care where it comes from — street cart or restaurant.” Based in the South Bay of Los Angeles, the chef says she finds inspiration in her food creations during her travels.