Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
It has been almost three decades since Long Duk Dong made his appearance in “16 Candles,” and it doesn’t look like Hollywood’s perception of Asian men has changed all that much. Actor John Wusah turned down a chance to audition for a film, where the Asian character was there just to be made fun of. I can’t imagine that it’d be easy for an actor of any race to turn down an opportunity to work. So Kudos, Mr. Wusah.
I was thinking, “Why are all you bigots assuming that the grandmother can’t speak English, just because she isn’t heard speaking English?” If she’s anything like the real-life immigrants I know, she’s probably self conscious about her accent, which probably was the subject of much derision by the monolingual knuckledraggers who speak English real good.
“Travel is one of the best ways of knowing that we’re all one as human beings on this planet,” says actress Frances Fisher. “I grew up traveling. When I had my baby (Francesca Eastwood), it seemed natural to take her everywhere with me. She loved it!” Fisher, 60, may be seen in the film “The Host,” which is based on “Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer’s novel of the same name.
As the captain of the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Aly Raisman led the squad — dubbed the Fierce Five — to its gold medal in the team competition. She also won an individual gold medal in the floor exercise, as well as a bronze medal on the balance beam. Today, the 18-year-old gymnast is looking to add a mirror ball trophy to her collection of awards as she competes on “Dancing with the Stars.” Currently residing in Los Angeles, Raisman says one of the things she’s enjoying about the city is everyone’s quest for a healthy lifestyle.
My former colleague, Roger Ebert, passed away today. He was a very smart, funny and kind man, with a wicked sense of blue humor. He was receiving medical treatment when I got married, and couldn’t attend our wedding. He and his lovely wife, Chaz, sent us a rug that we dubbed “The Ebert Rug.” He will be missed on so many levels.
Have you ever waited an hour to eat at a half-empty restaurant, when you had a reservation? We did. We were repeatedly asked to wait for a table, while the hostess seated dozens of people before us, including those without reservations. Were they incompetent? Yes. Were they racist? Possibly. Have we gone back? Nope.
When I was a young teenager, my parents gave me some money to buy a new outfit at Sears. We didn’t live too far from there, so I walked over by myself. I was always careful with money, so I looked at the items I was interested in, compared prices and then tried a few things on before selecting the final item I wanted to purchase. The cashier looked at the woman standing behind me. It turned out that the woman was a plainclothes security guard whose job it was to profile and trail people who were likely to shoplift. I’m not sure why I was pegged.
Author, Target™ Style expert and HGTV on-air personality, Sabrina Soto is known to viewers as the host and designer of such shows as “The High Low Project” and “Get It Sold.” Soto, who has a background in both real estate and design, says she has always been interested in decorating and interior design. To get paid to do it is literally a dream come true for her, she says. A resident of New York’s Upper West Side, Soto admits that it’s sometimes difficult to get her out of her beautiful apartment when she’s not working. Still, the allure of travel is something she can’t ignore.
OK, so for the second year in a row, I’ve made goodie bags for my son’s birthday parties using brown paper lunch bags. They didn’t turn out nearly as cute as I fancied them to be when I was making them. But, I still like them.
