Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
After Wonho completed his 18-month mandatory military duty in South Korea this past September, the pop star had intended on taking some time off before making his “comeback” – K-pop parlance for releasing new music. But when the opportunity came up to be a part of the iHeart Jingle Ball lineup – which includes a Dec. 9 concert at the Allstate Arena outside of Chicago – he got to work, quickly.
“Chiang Mai is in the northern part of Thailand and it is one of my favorite places I’ve ever been,” said “The Lake” actress Madison Shamoun. “It’s a really affordable travel destination, but more than that some of the best street food can be found there.”
“We were able to enjoy our two-week honeymoon in Thailand without any complications,” says “Never Have I Ever” actress Richa Moorjani. “I don’t know when we’ll be able to travel again and I’m just so thankful we had the ability to go and witness some of the beauty of Thailand before coming home to a different reality (with the pandemic).”
“From the age of 12, I was on tour all across North America in a 35-foot motor home with my family’s band The Neilsons,” says Tami Neilson, “I met and married a Kiwi and moved across the world to New Zealand 15 years ago. I am lucky enough to be a dual citizen of both countries.”
Dr. Jen Gunter has two New York Times columns dedicated to women’s health, a Canadian docuseries called “Jensplaining” and a very active social media presence where she disseminates medical fallacies in a way that the general public can understand. Her latest project is the book “The Vagina Bible: The Vulva and the Vagina: Separating the Myth from the Medicine” (Citadel, $18.95) — a Publishers Weekly and New York Times bestseller.
Trained at the School of Alberta Ballet, Tate McRae finished third on “So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation” in 2016. She was a voice actress for the “Lalaloopsy” series. And her YouTube channel, “Create with Tate,” has more than 1.7 million subscribers. Recently signed to RCA Records, the 16-year-old Canadian entertainer is following up her debut single, “tear myself apart,” with “all my friends are fake.”
Once best known as MC Mystic in his group Bass is Base, Roger Mooking is recognized by foodies worldwide for his work on television (“Man Fire Food,” “Heat Seekers,” “Everyday Exotic”) and cookbooks. Born in Trinidad and raised in Canada, Mooking is based out of Toronto. The chef and restaurateur says that one of the small pleasures of life is finding ice cream and gelato spots wherever he travels. “I would eat ice cream every single day and after every single meal if I could get away with it, says Mooking, whose latest album is “Eat Your Words.”
Canadian musician Scott Helman says that touring has taught him to be patient and to go with the flow. “I know it’s corny, but whatever happens will happen. Be on time, pack well, stay hydrated. These are things we can control. Everything else is for the world to decide. My most memorable experiences are when things go wrong while traveling. It’s when you find the kind ones and when whatever is wrong becomes resolved, you can count on them to bring your life more meaning and joy knowing they’re in the world.”
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.
Kim Coates is known to “Sons of Anarchy” fans for his portrayal of Alex “Tig” Trager. The prolific actor has been busy. Besides “The Land,” which recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, he has five other projects set to release this year, including “The True Memoirs of an International Assassin” (with Andy Garcia) and “Goon: Last of the Enforcers” (with Liev Schreiber).