Name: Will Parchman
Age: 26
Where do you call home?
Born in Minnesota, lived in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, California and Florida. So I'll make Neil DeGrasse-Tyson happy and say 'Earth.'
What do you do in Waco?
I write about sports for the Waco Tribune-Herald. I dabble in Dothraki-based interpretive dancing as well.
What do you love most about UBC?
It's accommodating without going overboard on concession, intellectual without being stodgy, introspective without being ponderous. And it's filled with interesting folks and conscientious leaders. And those candles.
Favorite Movie?
Vacillates between Pan's Labyrinth and Commando, depending on mood.
Book or author?
Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises.
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I remember more that I DIDN'T want to be an astronaut because of a particularly horrifying experience with freeze dried tomatoes. I think I wanted to be Pete Sampras more than anything.
What do you want to be now when you grow up?
If I can have a clean, well-lit cafe around me, a comfy chair under me and a means of writing in front of me, I'll be happy.
Favorite artist/band/musician?
Too tough. I love everything from Mongolian throat singing to roots-based indie folk. Right now, though, I'm pretty sure Thom Yorke's new project will alter my life's course in one way or another.
Best Burger in Waco?
Dubl-R. Hands down. No question.
What do we HAVE to know about you to really know you?
Big question. In Germany, you'll offend a stranger if you ask how they are. They'll only answer it honestly. No platitudes. I love that. I'd like to think that sums up my approach toward people.
Favorite YouTube video of all time?
Now you're talking my language. There's an obscure Swedish TV show called Grotesco that employs a particularly irreverent style of humor. My favorite is a parody of the 1996 film 'A Time To Kill' in which they more or less speak gibberish over very solemn themes. It has me rolling every time. One of the better parts:
Main character: "They say a man can walk a thousand miles and still don't know his butt from behind. Well I say a man can walk two yards and find the crown la-crue, and that's a fruit."
Who would you rather stare you down in anger and contempt-- Kim Mulkey or Emily, your wife?
Emily. Not only because she doesn't know the difference between a block and a charge (which I find really endearing), but because 'I'm sorry' floats a lot lighter in domestic settings than it does in professional ones.
In your job as a sportswriter, who has given the best interview?
A lot of good ones, but former Texas basketball great Slater Martin stands out. He told me one of my favorite stories of all time. At the age of 18, he hitchhiked from Houston to Austin on a total lark to play basketball for UT in the 40's with an Asian friend during the height of WW2 anti-Asian sentiment. They were nearly penniless and had no way to get to Austin, where Martin had to be the next day to try out for the team. After Martin was unsuccessful in hitching a ride, his Asian buddy flagged down a car instead and got him to Austin. Slater is now considered one of the best UT basketball players to ever live.