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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2006 > September > 15 > Entry
In Macon: The Gospel According to Buffy the Vampire Killer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So what if the show’s been off the air a couple of years?
St. Francis Church in Macon is offering “The Gospel According to Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” an adult class designed to explore the Christian virtues portrayed in the show.
“It’s the most artistic and literate program that’s been on TV in 10 years, maybe ever,” series co-teacher and self-proclaimed “Buffy junkie” Buzz Tanner told the Macon Telegraph. “Spiritually, Buffy’s virtues are Christian, though it would be hard to say Buffy is a Christian. The show deals with good and evil, right and wrong.”
The group will watch an episode each week and then discuss the episode’s spiritual lessons over soft drinks, popcorn and beer. Garlic necklaces and wooden stakes are apparently optional.
For just such religious educational experiences, Jossey-Bass in 2004 published “What Would Buffy Do? The Vampire Slayer as Spiritual Guide” by Jana Riess, one of several books in recent years linking gospel and the lessons of popular culture.
Banjo group sets record without a breakdown
Q: How do you get a professional banjo player off your porch?
A: You pay him for the pizza.
Sorry. We needed a little banjo humor to lighten the mood. Buzz is still recovering from the pain and anguish inflicted Wednesday night on an unsuspecting Braves crowd, when an unprecedented 250 banjo players attempted to earn a place in the Guinness World Records by playing “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” en masse.
Adding insult to injury, Earl Scruggs, the 82-year-old writer of “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” and the creator of the dominant modern banjo sound (a driving, three-finger technique called simply “Scruggs-style”), was in the stands, his smiling face appearing on the JumboTron. Whether Scruggs was appalled or impressed was not recorded.
Fred MacIsaac, bass player with the Atlanta bluegrass band Cedar Hill, who performed on an oversized four-string contra-bass banjo, claims, “It didn’t sound all that bad.”
Players were recruited through www.banjo.com and were instructed to adhere to the requirements set down by Guinness: They had to be “proficient” at their instrument, had to keep together, follow a conductor, stick to the written music and play for five minutes. Apparently all the criteria were met to establish a world record as the largest number of banjo players performing the same song at the same time.
What was the previous record? “I hate to admit this, but it was zero,” said MacIsaac.
Jay-Z to come back
Call him the Michael Jordan of rap. Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, who declared that 2003’s “The Black Album” would be his last, is coming out of retirement and releasing a new CD.
“Kingdom Come” will hit stores this fall, Entertainment Weekly reports in its new issue, due on newsstands Monday.
“It was the worst retirement in history,” Jay told the magazine.
Anna Nicole grief-stricken
Anna Nicole Smith frantically tried to revive her stricken son and had to be sedated after he died, her attorney said this week. Authorities termed the death “suspicious” and said criminal charges could be filed.
Daniel Smith died Sunday while visiting his mother, a reality TV star and former Playboy playmate, in her hospital room three days after she gave birth to a baby girl.
“The devastation and grief over Daniel’s sudden death coupled with the sedation has been so extreme that Anna Nicole experienced memory loss of the event,” attorney Michael Scott said.
When Supernovas collide
Members of the band Supernova, including Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee, picked glam dude Lukas Rossi as the band’s lead singer on Wednesday night’s season finale of “Rock Star” on CBS.
But it’s unclear whether the band, whose first CD will be produced by Atlanta’s own Butch Walker, will be able to call itself Supernova.
On Tuesday, a judge in California ordered the band to come up with a different name and granted an injunction to a California punk bank already named Supernova. That band sued CBS and producer Mark Burnett in June, citing copyright infringement.
Overscene
Al Gore’s wife Tipper noshing on a cheeseburger at Nava Thursday.
Random bits
Starting today, digital Comcast Cable customers will be able to pick up eight CBS shows as a free “On Demand” feature: the three “CSI” shows, “Numbers,” “Survivor,” “NCIS,” “Jericho” and “Big Brother.” (“Big Brother” won’t be available until next summer.) These shows will be available for four weeks starting the morning after the original telecast. …
Who woulda thunk it that goofy “American Idol” contestant Kellie Pickler would be so quick out the gate with a single? “Red High Heels” debuted Tuesday on Kicks 101.5. Pickler told the sold-out “Idols Live!” crowd Tuesday night at Gwinnett Arena how excited she was hearing it on the radio. Her album “Small Town Girl” is due out on Halloween.
Celebrity birthdays
Actor Tommy Lee Jones is 60. Movie director Oliver Stone is 60.
Contributing: Bo Emerson 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.
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