About
My name is Wan and I live in Los Angeles with my hilarious husband Manewell and only so-so funny cats, (Ellen) Ripley and Ash (Williams).Following
This is how I feel most mornings.
Then I get out of bed…
I love sharks - I even love their pissy ‘tudes.
As much as I loved “The Incredibles” did anyone else get completely distracted by the relatively new trend of celebrity voicing of animated features? Sarah Vowell, beloved, was still JUST recognizeable enough. To me, it ruins half of the movie when you’re trying to figure out who the villain’s (Jason Lee’s) voice is.
I miss “The Little Mermaid” where the only thing you have to concentrate on is whether or not the chef is going to cook the Jamaican crab. And do people blame Robin Williams’ casting in “Aladdin” or the “Shrek” phenomenon?
Am I the only one?
1. He’s sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
PBS food show, Colbert/Stewart, and No Reservations.
2. You’re out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Whatever goes with the salad.
3. What’s one food he doesn’t like?
He does not like the Campbell’s soup green bean casserole. So bless you, Marcy, for bringing that gourmet GBC to Thanksgiving this year. He LOVED it.
4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?
A Manhattan or a nice beer.
5. Where did he go to high school?
Bunn High School.
6. What size shoe does he wear?
11 ½
7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
Ladies (I am a good fender-offer) and comic books. Don’t do the math. It doesn’t add up.
8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
He loves bratwurst. Does that count? Of course it does. Who are you to judge?
9. What would this person eat every day if he could?
Seafood.
10. What is his favorite cereal?
He likes the Cocoa and Fruity Pebbles, but for his health, he eats anything with lots of fiber.
11. What would he never wear?
Socks with sandals.
12. What is his favorite sports team?
The Green Bay Packers.
13. Who did he vote for?
Lots of people and lots of things. On the liberal end of the spectrum.
14. Who is his best friend?
Me. SUCK IT.
15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do?
Warn him about other cars turning, merging, and blind spot driving. It makes him bonkers.
16. What is his heritage?
He has Swedish and Norwegian, German and English blood. Basically a lot of recessive genes.
17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
Pineapple Upside Down Cake with Cool Whip.
18. Did he play sports in high school?
Was racing people around a McDonald’s with a cigarette in your mouth a sport?
19. What could he spend hours doing?
Playing solitaire, playing cribbage, playing chess, reading and discussing comic books, watching football, talking about his wife.
20. What is one unique talent he has?
He is the only person I know who can walk into any situation and put everyone at ease. He’s the Crowd Whisperer.
5) The Shining - this novel is best known for being a beautifully shot film. King didn’t like the Kubrick version. I’m guessing this was because of the infamously different ending, weakened by Kubrick’s vision of the Overlook Hotel. However, I think that the movie perfectly captures the tone and taut terror of cabin fever mixed with bad hotel mojo that King lays out in the novel. The book is certainly as scary if not scarier than the movie (think of Joey sticking his copy in the freezer).
4) Salem’s Lot - This book, in my humble opinion, is the scariest of all of King’s stories. It’s mostly due to the creepiness of this house that sits on a hill overlooking this town…terrifying because Salem’s Lot is drawn perfectly. You see every street, every creek, every stone and every freakin’ vampire tooth so vividly. Its prose as clear as stage direction. Even in the cheesy 80’s version of the movie starring David Soul, the part where that one kid is floating outside of that other kid’s window makes my skin crawl. I’m alone right now and I kind of wish I was wearing a turtleneck…
3) Night Shift - This collection of short stories is so badass! There are two stories that continue with Salem’s Lot history; ‘Jerusalem’s Lot,’ which is a prequel dating back to the infamous Chapelwaite house where the whole bloodsucking mess began and ‘One for the Road,’ which is a great title but also a really creepy short story set in a blizzard with another creepy kid. I also love ‘The Ledge,’ and ‘Quitters Inc.’ because they are good old fashioned ‘horrors of man’ type stories with no supernatural element. Don’t crap on ‘Trucks’ because of its association with ‘Maximum Overdrive’ - it is a great story. It has a soft spot in my heart right next to the Terminator movies. And last but best, ‘The Boogeyman,’ because Becky won’t even let me talk about this story at all.
2) The Stand - This monster of a novel (and Night Shift) were published the year I was born, so I consider myself super lucky (neener). I cannot believe how amazingly it details the end of the world. You can SMELL it. You can taste it. It’s so good.
1) IT - I have read this book cover to cover about 5 or 6 times. I can tell you anything you want to know about Derry, Maine. - The Tracker Brothers’ depot, the house where they were attacked by the werewolf and the Barrens where the Losers’ Club would meet. They are led by ‘Stuttering Bill’ Denbrough, who lost his little brother Georgie to IT, followed by obese but studious and well behaved Ben Hanscom (my favorite), Richie Tozier, the class clown, Beverly Marsh, the beautiful but abused tomboy, Stan Uris, a birdwatcher, Michael Hanlon, the smart librarian who stayed behind, and hypochondriac Eddie Kaspbrak. I love the way this book begins, because it is so terrifying. IT is scary because there are real world dangers AND there’s Pennywise. Anyone who tells you they like clowns is possibly be a demon.
I think the IT movie would be okay. I always wanted to see a non-made for TV version, no matter how brilliant Tim Curry was. This is definitely a Rated R, bust a gut movie - and it could be spectacular.
I just watched Battle for Tobacco Road: Duke vs. Carolina AGAIN with chills running up and down my spine, wanting to step onto the quad and smell the sweet Carolina air. But I am ashamed to say: I was a UNC-CH student, and I never set foot in the Dean Dome. I was pretty much the only UNC-CH student with no school spirit whatsoever.
My first choice for continuing education was Brown University. I was devastated when I wasn’t accepted. I’d applied to two other schools - Wake Forest and Carolina - and had been accepted to both. I almost didn’t choose Carolina because every single one of my older cousins who lived in NC had gone there in one capacity or another (Si, Jin, Sein, Ki for med school, Kathy, and Sol - subsequently, all of my younger cousins and my little brother attended as well) and I wanted to break from the pack. The great education (for the bargain price) I’d receive was irresistible, so the decision was made for me.
I was not able to get into a single basketball game my freshman year, so I gave up trying. I hated my freshman year. I was homesick and alone; feeling like a complete outsider and bitterly annoyed with the heavy partying and hooking up that seemed to be going on all around me in Ehringhaus Dorm. The cliques that I’d been so afraid of in high school just got more numerous, specialized (lacrosse groupies?!) and better looking, and there was an unbearable amount of Shania Twain blasting out of my suitemate’s room and aside from a few kind souls, I was unable to get a foothold at my new school.
Before the end of my freshman year, I lucked upon a flyer hanging on a kiosk, and I auditioned for a local improv troupe. There, I made lifelong friends and met my husband. My sophomore year at Carolina was one of the best years of my life.
From there on out, I had a great time - dressing up for Halloween on Franklin Street, writing for my Creative Writing classes (with the amazing Sarah Dessen and Marianne Gingher as teachers), working at A Southern Season, performing in the UNC Orchestra and Cello Choir, editing my short film in the UNC Comm Dept, and playing the bit part in “The Country Wife” my last year there - all the while, not really watching basketball games except the matchups with Duke. NO ONE, not even the big nerds like me, missed the matchups with Duke. There just wasn’t any other place to be.
I moved to Los Angeles with about ten other recent graduates in the Hollywood Internship sponsored by the Communications Department. I grew nostalgic for Shania Twain. Some of the best friends I’ve ever had were Tarheels that I didn’t even meet until I moved to LA. There are a lot of us out here. My first boss who gave me my first break in television did so because I was the intern from his beloved alma mater.
My interest in UNC Basketball has grown exponentially since I’ve left because it’s the most visible part of my school and my state, both of which I had to learn to love. I now have fierce pride in where I’m from and where I was lucky enough to go to school. That’s how Tarheels tend to roll. Michael Jordan wore his Carolina number on his Bulls uniform. The school of journalism is named for alumnus Charles Kuralt, who is buried on campus grounds. Ironically, the school where for a time I felt so different is the reason I now feel like I’m really a part of something special. It’s hard not to appreciate how cool your school is, when your school is as cool as mine. I was attending at the same time as Vince Carter, for crying out loud.
Like I always say, I wasn’t a Tarheel born, but I was sure as hell a Tarheel bred. Congrats on your National Championship, my team, my heart, my home.
Had to stop watching ‘Spain… On the Road Again” because my mouth was watering. Lord, I would love to spend time in a hotel designed by Frank Gehry - adjacent to a vineyard.
Watch it, because Gwyneth is not as weird as the press about GOOP makes her out to be. She’s actually super-duper charming.
Obama picked UNC to win the NCAA’s on his bracket. The winner of his office pool gets the entire stimulus package.
Go Heels! You have the president behind you.
