New url for Peach Buzz
Bookmark this new url for Peach Buzz.. We have moved to Wordpress!
Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2006 > October > 02
Monday, October 2, 2006
Cross gets freaky in TV cartoon; is cuddly next?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Roswell native David Cross — a quirky, acerbic comic best known for his oddball character Tobias on the cult classic sitcom “Arrested Development” — has gotten into the cartoon business.
A few years ago, that might have been considered strange, but with the success of adult-oriented ‘toons such as “South Park,” “Family Guy” and the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim lineup, Cross’ “Freak Show,” at 10:30 p.m. this Wednesday on Comedy Central, fits right in.
The premise: A group of carnival freaks (“and I don’t mean ‘freaks’ in a pejorative sense,” Cross told Buzz) do top-secret work for the Pentagon. The twist: They do menial jobs that the “Justice Squad” superheroes won’t deign to do. In the first episode, the freaks, including a Log Cabin Republican and a preemie baby whose power is projectile vomiting, get special nuts for the president from a Cubalike island where such nuts are embargoed. This is not “The Powerpuff Girls.”
“It’s how my mind works,” Cross said.
Cross and fellow comic H. Jon Benjamin picked Atlanta-based studio Radical Axis to do the “Freak Show” animation. (Visually, the show evokes a bit of the Adult Swim classic “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.”) Using Radical Axis, Cross said jokingly, saved him money because he stayed with his sister instead of at a hotel when in Atlanta from New York. While here, he also hangs with old buddies at the EARL, Smith’s Olde Bar or the Star Bar.
Random question: What adjective has never been used to describe Cross in a news story? “Cuddly,” he replied. Most overused? “Edgy.” So, bottom line: He’s cuddly, not edgy!
Say goodbye to Mulligan’s
Mulligan’s, a nondescript Oakhurst tavern, briefly became Jay Leno’s favorite punch line last year with the Hamdog.
AJC scribe John Kessler described this culinary creation as “a hot dog padded with sliced cheese and a half pound of hamburger, dropped in the deep fryer, bedded like the reclining Olympia on a hoagie roll, then lavished with chili, bacon, onions and a fried egg.”
In other words, a gastronomical, artery-clogging nightmare.
The tavern got tons of press, fueling business for a while. But once the hype died down, it couldn’t sustain the momentum. Mulligan’s shut down Saturday night.
But manager Shawn “Smack” McElroy promised Buzz on Friday that “the Hamdog and the Luther won’t die,” referring to the Luther Vandross-inspired burger featuring a Krispy Kreme doughnut as the bun. “They’ll resurface somewhere else.”
With his five-year lease up, Chandler Goff said he had hoped to close on Friday the 13th of this month, but landlord Bruce Cohen closed him down Saturday. Cohen declined to comment Friday evening.
On Saturday, Buzz wanted to sample the Hamdog and the Luther, but in an unexpected twist, manager Smack gave Buzz a verbal smackdown and angrily kicked us out. Befuddled, Buzz reached Goff, who was out of town, by phone. Goff said it was a misunderstanding, that he merely had told his employees not to talk about the landlord. Smack, he said, overreacted.
Headed toward Bone-thin
Bone Crusher, the good-natured local rap star, is enjoying his newfound fame after losing 40-plus pounds on VH1’s “Celebrity Fit Club 4,” which concluded last night.
“I’ve been taking pictures with elderly white people,” Bone told Buzz with a chuckle Sunday. “I’m in the Kroger. They come up to you. ‘Hey, aren’t you that young fella from “Celebrity Fit Club”?’ ‘Yah. That’s me.’ ‘Good job, man. I’m proud of you.’ It’s hilarious.”
Bone, who wasn’t suffering from any known medical problems despite his 424 pounds entering the competition, showed surprising dexterity climbing stairs and bicycling. Among his colleagues were ultracompetitive actors Nick Turturro and Ted Lange and often-difficult R&B singer Angie Stone.
“She was going through a lot with her career,” Bone said. “She’s a beautiful person. She just tried to do her thing.”
Now down to 371 pounds, Bone said he plans to do a fitness video for bigger folks who are intimidated or discouraged watching skinny-people videos. He’s also starting his own record label, judging a future episode of “Iron Chef America” and pondering a return to “Celebrity Fit Club.” “I’d like to get down to 300 pounds,” he said.
Putting worst foot forward
In a goofy 30-year tradition, members of the Atlanta Press Club gathered Saturday night to laugh at silly outtakes of local media snafus (CNN and the Weather Channel included). Fox affiliate WAGA-TV seems to take this exercise most seriously and won for best blooper reel for the fourth year in a row. (Judges included former Gov. Roy Barnes.) WAGA had plenty of fodder, thanks to “Good Day Atlanta.” This meant that the show’s hosts, Mark Hayes and Suchita Vadlamani, took the brunt of it, including Hayes dancing and Vadlamani flirting with Atlanta Braves second baseman Marcus Giles. Her colleagues on the air naturally teased about “going to second base” or even third.
Celebrity birthdays
Singer Don McLean is 61. Musician Sting is 55. Actress Lorraine Bracco (“The Sopranos”) is 52. Singer Freddie Jackson is 48. Actress and talk show host Kelly Ripa is 36. Singer Tiffany is 35.
Contributing: news services. If you have a tip, call 404-526-5688 or e-mail: rho@ajc.com.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
Permalink | |
