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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2006 > November > 20
Monday, November 20, 2006
Shaun’s opens in Inman Park
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With all those remaining pesky permits now issued by the city, Shaun’s finally opened to the public over the weekend. The latest creative outlet for Atlanta chef Shaun Doty is a warm neighborhood bistro concept nestled inside the former home of the Inman Park Patio at 1029 Edgewood Ave. A white-brick wall inside boasts an oversize original painting from artist Todd Murphy. Among early faves on the menu: butternut squash ravioli with sage and pine nut milk, a focaccia pizza with homemade pancetta and asiago cheese, roast chicken with mashed potatoes and beer-battered sage leaves and Doty’s classic chicken liver fettuccine with marsala wine sauce. Dinner: 5-10 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 5-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Sunday brunch 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and Sunday supper 5-9 p.m. Online: www.shaunsrestaurant.com.
Tirade isn’t funny
In this racket, our jaw doesn’t exactly go slack a lot while chronicling bad behavior from famous folk. We made an exception Monday when we got a gander at the video of former “Seinfeld” actor Michael Richards’ vicious racial epithet-spouting session posted at Tmz.com. In what was perhaps an attempt to one-up Mel Gibson, the actor-comedian was performing at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood on Friday night when he went into the verbal rampage.
The tirade apparently began after two black audience members started shouting at him that he wasn’t funny.
Richards, 57, retorted: “Shut up! Fifty years ago we’d have you upside down with a [expletive] fork up your [expletive].”
He then paced across the stage taunting the men for interrupting his show, peppering his speech with racial slurs and profanities.
“You can talk, you can talk, you’re brave now [expletive]. Throw his [expletive] out. He’s a [racial epithet]!” Richards shouts before repeating the racial epithet over and over again. Calls to Richards’ representatives were not returned Monday.
Wine event moves
Wine South is heading south — about 20 miles south, to be specific, from the Gwinnett Center to the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta.
Gwinnett has lost the weekend-long celebration of good wine and good food that was held there for the past five years. Festival organizers estimated that the event generated from $500,000 to $1 million annually for the local economy and that the 2006 festival was attended by about 4,000 people. (Before coming to Gwinnett, the event was held in DeKalb County its first three years.)
The parting toast, however, left a slightly vinegary taste in the mouth of the man who founded the event.
“The people who run Gwinnett County love the population explosion and the growth in residential subdivisions, but I don’t think they’re interested in cultural and lifestyle events,” said Dan Thompson of Lawrenceville.
However, a Gwinnett Center spokeswoman said the departure should not be seen as a blow to the county’s cultural image.
“Gwinnett is definitely changing,” said Cheryl Gee, director of sales and marketing. “Our demographics support more than chain restaurants.
… The door is always open for them to come back.”
Overscene
Actress Jordana Spiro, who plays the lead role in the upcoming original TBS sitcom “My Boys,” UGA Athletic Director Damon Evans and 790/The Zone personalities Chris Dimino, Nick Cellini and Mike Bell checking out the freshly renovated bar and a four-hour open tab at the Palm in Buckhead over the weekend.
Celebrity birthdays
Actress Marlo Thomas is 69. Singer Dr. John is 66. Actress Juliet Mills (“Passions”, “Nanny and the Professor”) is 65. Actor-director Harold Ramis is 62. Actress Goldie Hawn is 61. Singer Livingston Taylor is 56. Actress-singer Lorna Luft is 54. Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman is 44. Actress Nicollette Sheridan is 43. Singer Bjork is 41. Country singer Kelsi Osborn of SheDaisy is 32.
Contributing: Bill Osinski, Chandler Brown and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Vernon Jones, K-Fed bond over love for Hawks
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When we scanned the photos from the Atlanta Hawks/Miami Heat game at Philips Arena on Saturday night, we were fairly convinced that someone was having fun with Photoshop.
But no, the image of DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones sitting next to the soon-to-be-ex Mr. Britney Spears, Kevin Federline flashing peace signs to the crowd was indeed legit.
So exactly how did the photo op (see here) transpire?
“I should have known I was going to get a call from you,” Jones said, laughing when he got the inevitable cellphone vibration from Buzz Central on Monday. Jones said he was already at the game when Federline was seated next to him.
“I no more recognized him than he knew who I was,” Jones explained. “We had a good time. We enjoyed the game.”
So what did the pair discuss during the game? Britney’s disses in the press? Federline’s recent rap debut that Rolling Stone memorably called “reprehensible?” “We talked about world peace,” cracked Jones. “No, man, we just talked about both being Hawks fans and how we were rooting for them.” Pressed further, Jones confessed — tongue in cheek: “I wanted to get the OK from him. Now that they’ve officially broken up, I can finally go out with Britney.”While Jones concedes he hasn’t yet heard selections from Federline’s album, “Playing With Fire,” he said he’s happy that the Southeast is attracting so many music and movie projects currently.
After scrutinizing the photo, it would appear that Federline is no longer sporting his wedding band. As for our inquiry about the ultra-hip retro shirt Jones was wearing, well, it’s safe to assume he shops where he works.
Jones told us he purchased the “Shaft”-like shirt at Kaleidoscope Boutique in Decatur.
Staff writers Bill Osinski and Chandler Brown contributed to this report.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Blue men put own goofy spin on rock scene
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The boisterous sellout crowd at the Blue Man Group concert was primed to be part of the act even before the trio of mute, bald, bug-eyed men in blue makeup reached the stage Saturday night. The fans did the wave five times around the Gwinnett Arena.
Before they could start on the macarena, the blue crew arrived with a tongue-in-cheek tutelage on how to make a great rock concert. The unseen announcer implored the crowd to do such staples as the head bob, the devil’s horns and the fist pump. The trio worked their props like modern-day Gallaghers, be it the TV screens on their heads, PVC piping or extended light poles that make cool swooshing sounds.
Propulsive drums dominated the sound. The blue men were joined by three more drummers in the backup band. Seemingly out-of-place singer-songwriter Tracy Bonham, who had a hit in 1996 with “Mother Mother,” provided the vocals.
The most impressive stunt was a play off rock concert merchandising: Create something unique, then charge ridiculous amounts for it. One blue man threw 26 marshmallows 20 feet into the mouth of another, who turned the glob into a “statue” that they mock-sold for $4,000.
The encore (another concert cliché) featured the Who’s “Baba O’Riley.” On Wednesday, the real Who will sing the same iconic song on the same Gwinnett stage. It was also the final song on 96rock Friday morning before that radio station became Project 9-6-1.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Bright and early Jay-Z fans
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jay-Z, in a time-warping stunt, hit seven cities in one day for a series of concerts to promote his comeback and new album “Kingdom Come,” due out Tuesday. His first stop: Atlanta’s Center Stage, at 6:10 a.m. Saturday. The crowd of about 1,000 early risers flashed diamond signs. “ATL, what’s up?” Jay-Z said as he launched into a series of his hits, the crowd jumping along all the way.
“First of all, y’all crazy,” Jay-Z said to the crowd. “I know I’m already crazy. But y’all crazy.”
He performed for more than 30 minutes before hopping into a car escorted by police motorcade and loading into a luxury jet. He hit Philly, D.C., New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and finally, Las Vegas in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
“It was a great promotion,” Center Stage co-owner Tom Cook told Buzz.
“He ran longer than we had anticipated. They had to pull him off the stage.”
‘Match Game’ alum
Former “Good Times” star Jimmy Walker is so nutty, his memories of being a guest celebrity on “Match Game” were mostly about [blank].
If you answered “drunken revelry,” “thinly disguised double-entendres” or “Richard Dawson’s ego,” you’re wrong. For Walker, it was all about regular panelist Brett Somers.
“We had fun up there,” he said. (He sat next to Somers in the top left corner seat during his 100-plus appearances.) “She’d always be gabbing about some problem with her life, her kids, her house, whatever. I’d be so involved talking to her, I’d forget there was a game.”
The show is one of GSN’s top-rated programs despite being as dated as host Gene Rayburn’s skinny mike. “It was the chemistry,” Walker said. “I loved the show so much. If all I ever had to do was ‘Match Game’ the rest of my life, I’d be happy.”
GSN is airing an hourlong “Match Game” documentary at 8 p.m. Sunday.
Maternal mirth
As the “Desperate Housewives” prove, moms can be funny — at least in fiction.
But what about in real life? Nick at Nite is seeking the “Funniest Mom in America” with open auditions at 8:30 tonight at the Funny Farm, 608 Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell. The victor will win $50,000 and a chance to host a night of Nick programming. More details at nickatnite.com.
Celebrity birthdays TV personality Richard Dawson is 74. Country singer Josh Turner is 29.
HIGH FIVE John O’Hurley, co-hosting the National Dog Show on NBC this Thanksgiving, told Buzz his favorite dog breeds: 1. Chinese Crested (below) 2. Brittany spaniel 3. Maltese (“I have one who’s 15-and-a-half years old. He has the heart of a warrior but the legs of an old quarterback. He’s kind of limping sideways.”) 4. Dachshund 5. Beagle
UNCOUPLING: Kate Hudson & Chris Robinson
Atlanta native and Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson filed divorce papers Friday to end his marriage to actress Kate Hudson, citing irreconcilable differences. After six years of marriage, the pair split about three months ago.
According to the Los Angeles Superior Court filing, Robinson is seeking shared custody of the couple’s son, Ryder Russell Robinson, who will turn 3 in January.
Contributing: news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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