New url for Peach Buzz
Bookmark this new url for Peach Buzz.. We have moved to Wordpress!
Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2006 > March > 01
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
‘Boondocks’ creator takes break from strip
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Buzz Central’s favorite diversion in this section (well, aside from the obvious …) is taking a looong six-month vacation, beginning March 27.
On Tuesday, in a letter to newspaper editors, “The Boondocks” creator Aaron McGruder announced that he’s taking a half-year leave of absence from his controversial comic strip.
In the letter, McGruder explained: “Every well needs occasional refreshing and I hope that this fall you will agree that the time away from the demands of deadlines has served the strip, your readers and me. To be on your comics pages for the past seven years has been a privilege. I thank you for that and for your patience as I explored our world through the eyes of Huey, Riley and their grandfather.”
McGruder isn’t the first high-profile comic strip creator to take an extended leave. On New Year’s Day 1983, “Doonesbury” creator Garry Trudeau discontinued his landmark strip. It resumed in September 1984 with its cast taking on decidedly more adult responsibilities in their post-Walden world.
Universal Press Syndicate rep Kathie Kerr told Buzz Tuesday that newspapers will be offered “the best of the strip’s first year from 1999, with a heavy dose of the first six months.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is choosing not to print the offered reruns in favor of using the space to introduce a fresh strip to readers.
According to Cartoon Network rep Joe Swaney, McGruder’s work on the second season of “The Boondocks” for the channel’s late-night Adult Swim brand will not be affected by the writer’s hiatus from the newspaper strip.
Food on agenda for fund-raiser
Although the 19th annual “A Meal to Remember” gala — which is a fund-raiser for Atlanta’s Senior Citizen Services’ Meals on Wheels program — will not be held until Nov. 3, the movers and shakers of the event met Monday to plot a very important detail — the food. This year’s party at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead will focus on the flavors and wines of Spain. Executive chef Eric Chopin gave a taste of things to come, serving Spanish-styled tapas. On the menu: fricassee of squid, baked eggplant and mushrooms; black rice with saffron chicken; gazpacho Andaluz; churros, milk rice cake with cinnamon, and sangria. While the menu also featured a Spanish prosciutto, chef Chopin joked that it was sliced on an Italian machine.
Those attending the luncheon included past chairs of the gala and their guests: Carolyn Tanner, Cindy Fowler, Jada Loveless, Jane Dean, Judy Zaban, Sally Dorsey and Sandra Baldwin. The 2005 chairwoman, Dudley Stevens, who could not attend Monday’s soiree, will chair the 2006 gala, which hopes to raise $290,000 for Meals on Wheels. Tickets are $400; info: 404-605-8450.
‘The Bachelor’ picks Sarah S.
Emergency room doctor Travis Stork put the entire nation out of its misery Monday night when he selected Nashville kindergarten teacher Sarah Stone in the season finale of ABC’s “The Bachelor: Paris.”
Stork presented her with a diamond ring on a necklace.
And now, for water cooler role-playing purposes, Buzz proudly presents the actual dialogue from the historic moment:
Sarah: “You’re so perfect for me.”
Travis: “You’re the one that’s perfect for me.”
(Try to resist the urge to heave into your popcorn at this point).
Meanwhile, the aptly named rejected finalist, Moana Dixon, a 26-year-old distribution manager from Los Angeles, did not take it well.
“This pain I’m experiencing right now is so intense that I just want to crawl back in my shell and just hide,” she said between sobs in the post-show limo ride back to Loserville.
But although he selected the 26-year-old Stone, Stork’s bachelor status seemed safe for the moment: There was no explicit marriage proposal. “Let’s see where this relationship goes,” he said.
Meanwhile, ousted contestant Allie “My eggs are rotting!” Garcia-Serra had no immediate reaction as she continued to scour the globe in search of a man to fertilize her during her “reproductive phase.”
Celebrity docket
Troubled British rocker Pete Doherty has been arrested again — this time on suspicion of stealing a car and being in possession of hard drugs.
Doherty, 26, frontman of the group Babyshambles and ex-boyfriend of supermodel Kate Moss, was among three men arrested in Birmingham, England, Monday night after a report of a vehicle being stolen in London, West Midlands Police said Tuesday. All were released on bail, police said.
Early in February, Doherty was sentenced to 12 months of community service for possessing drugs. He pleaded guilty to the charges on Jan. 27.
Judge Ann McLaughlin warned Doherty at the time that if he broke the drug rehabilitation requirement of his community order, he would be brought back before the court and might go to jail.
The maximum sentence for possession of Class A drugs such as heroin is seven years in prison.
McLaughlin ordered Doherty to submit to a drug test each month.
Prosecutor Bryony Derbyshire had told the court Doherty was stopped by police in London on Nov. 30, and heroin and cocaine were found in his car.
He was stopped again four days later, when police found heroin, morphine, crack and marijuana in his car. Doherty was again stopped by police in London on Jan. 26, when he was found to be carrying heroin. He pleaded guilty at three earlier hearings to seven counts of drug possession in relation to the incidents.
Celebrity birthdays
Singer Harry Belafonte is 79. Singer Roger Daltrey is 62. Director Ron Howard is 52. Actor George Eads (“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”) is 39. Nickelback guitarist Ryan Peake is 33. Actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar (“Commander in Chief”) is 32. “Blue’s Clues” host Donovan Patton is 28.
Contributing: Marylin Johnson and news services. If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
Permalink | |
