THE WRITING ON (AND OFF) THE WALL UCLA AID OFFERS COMIC RELIEF.Byline: TOM HOFFARTH Even without John Travolta's help, Karl Dorrell Karl Dorrell (born December 18, 1963 in Alameda, California) is the first black head coach in the history of the UCLA Bruins college football team, a position he took on December 18, 2002. knows how to be cool. But more important, the guy can laugh, too. ``He may be a little introspective in·tro·spect intr.v. in·tro·spect·ed, in·tro·spect·ing, in·tro·spects To engage in introspection. [Latin intr , but I think he's a human being who likes to have fun,'' Jolie Oliver, the administrative assistant for the UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX football head coach, insisted the other day. ``He enjoys life. He high-fives us. All of the sudden, you could hear this roar, and it's just him letting it out in the middle of his office. ``I know he has this reputation, but he can really be raucous. We laugh all the time.'' Oliver, we must note, is something of an expert in the field of funny. She is a certified stand-up stand·up or stand-up adj. 1. Standing erect; upright: a standup collar. 2. Taken, done, or used while standing: a standup supper; a standup bar. comic. A UCLA grad (1979) who majored in theater, Oliver finally decided to get an agent and, for the past 10 years, pursued movies, TV and stand-up. She has hooked up with a comedy troupe (see the Web site www.wholetthewhiteguyin.com), finished well in some recent comedy contests, and, on Friday, jetted off for England to spend a week taping a show for that country's version of Comedy Central. On the weekends, Oliver is polishing punch lines at places such as The Madrid Theatre in Canoga Park. Weekdays, she is trying to keep a straight face keeping the football coaches' paperwork straight, running errands and managing the office. She's been doing it since 1983, when Terry Donahue and Bob Toledo - two guys who really knew how to yuk yuk 1 Informal n. 1. An exuberant laugh. 2. One, such as a joke, that causes such a laugh. tr. & intr.v. it up - were her bosses. Oliver admits she doesn't have one specific one-liner or pratfall that can get Dorrell going from imperturbable to having milk come out of his nose. But she will vouch for his ability to recognize humor in a good, positive and productive manner. ``I think what makes him laugh are the same things that make anyone laugh,'' said Oliver. ``Karl may not instigate To incite, stimulate, or induce into action; goad into an unlawful or bad action, such as a crime. The term instigate is used synonymously with abet, which is the intentional encouragement or aid of another individual in committing a crime. it, but he lets it happen around him. I wouldn't call him loud and outgoing, but he lets everyone else do that.'' Especially Oliver, who deserves the last laugh. ... --Olympic 200 breaststroke gold medalist Amanda Beard, who's doing swimmingly as a student these days at the University of Arizona (body, education) University of Arizona - The University was founded in 1885 as a Land Grant institution with a three-fold mission of teaching, research and public service. , drowns the hopes of many BMOCs by admitting in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated On Campus that she does have a boyfriend, although he lives about 30 hours away by plane. South African gold-medal swimmer Ryk Neethling, whom she hooked up with in Athens a few months back, was recently voted ``Sexiest Man for 2005'' by his country's version of Cosmopolitan magazine. Beard, meanwhile, was easily the winner (55 percent of 263,000 votes) in the recent ESPN.com Page 2's Hottest Female Athlete balloting. ... --Deena Drossin Kastor, the former Agoura High star distance runner who won the bronze in the women's marathon at the Athens Games last summer, again skipped Sunday's L.A. Marathon and its cheesy cheesy (che´ze) caseous. 15-minute-plus head start for the gals. She says she is going to run in only one marathon this year, Oct. 9 in Chicago, where she thinks she has a far better chance of breaking her U.S. women's record of 2 hours, 21 minutes, 16 seconds (or about five minutes faster than the women's L.A. winner ran Sunday). According to Kastor's Web site (www.deenadrossin.com), her first competitive jaunt this year is the USA Women's 8K Championships in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of later this month. ... --Save the date: Future Los Angeles mayor Magic Johnson will impart his wisdom on how to overcome obstacles and set goals to take charge of your life during a seminar that's so huge it spans across two months - April 30 and May 1 - at the L.A. Convention Center. Out-of-pocket cost: $149. The program is sponsored by The Learning Annex, which regularly offers night classes on life-enriching issues such as how to cardio striptease, heal yourself ``using guided imagery Guided Imagery Definition Guided imagery is the use of relaxation and mental visualization to improve mood and/or physical well-being. Purpose ,'' speak ``any language in just three hours,'' conquer attention deficit disorder attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder (ADD or ADHD) formerly hyperactivity Behavioral syndrome in children, whose major symptoms are inattention and distractibility, restlessness, inability to sit still, and difficulty concentrating on one thing for any ``without drugs'' (maybe a ball-peen hammer?), get a ``non-surgical face lift'' (again, a ball-peen hammer?), ``snare'' a millionaire and ``Make $$ in the Adult-Entertainment Business Online.'' When Magic starts talking about that stuff, alert the media. |
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