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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2007 > August > 01
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Big Boi ups ante for doing right thing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As of deadline Wednesday, the $50,000 reward offered by one-half of Outkast wasn’t enough to flush out a very determined crook or crooks. Buzz reported last week that Antwan “Big Boi” Patton went on V-103’s Ryan Cameron Show to tell all of Atlanta he had $50,000 for whoever turns over the thief(s) who broke into his wife’s Edgewood Avenue boutique, P. Valentine.
At that time, the store’s entire pricey ($198-$250) jean collection had been swiped. P. Valentine’s neighbor Ernel Dawkins, owner of Laced Up, says he believes there’s a “boutique bandit” out there, noting retailers in Little Five Points and East Atlanta have experienced increased crime as well.
“We’re trying to get the attention of the police commissioner, something, to get some kind of surveillance in these areas,” Dawkins said. “We’re like sitting ducks here. … I just happened to drive by my store Saturday, and I caught somebody yanking on the door. It’s getting crazy.”
P. Valentine co-owner Sherlita Patton told Buzz Wednesday: “There’s been no arrest yet, but we remain hopeful. We’re passing along the information we receive to the detectives on the case.”
If you have info about the theft, call the shop at 404-521-3660.
Turner soap opera gets wide release
Given that he’s a writer who, until Tuesday, was best known as a Pulitzer Prize winner for a collection of short fiction, Robert Olen Butler adapted amazingly well Wednesday to life as a lead New York Post Page Six column item. After Butler’s e-mail to five of his Florida State University graduate students detailing the end of his marriage to novelist Elizabeth Dewberry (and her budding relationship to nonpracticing monogamist Ted Turner) was unfortunately forwarded and posted on Gawker.com Tuesday, the novelist has been thoroughly maligned online. On Wednesday, the story was picked up nationally by Fox News, TMZ.com and other outlets.
In response to some particularly hateful postings on Gawker.com, the professor sent a withering e-mail to the celeb and media site.
“That email, intended strictly for those who personally know Elizabeth and me, was to explain an event that, if not explained, would be spun in ways that would unfairly make Elizabeth look bad,” Butler wrote in the missive that was posted on the site Wednesday. “It had its intended effect around Tallahassee and in some other places where she and I are actual human beings. The sad thing about your sneeringly printing this in a blog is that both of us are easily dehumanized. Which, of course, is your point. Dehumanization is the essential ingredient for the daily pleasure of gossipers and gawkers.”
Since we’re a family-friendly news gathering organization, the boss of Buzz wouldn’t allow us to reproduce the final line of Butler’s e-mail. Suffice it to say, however, we shorted out a computer keyboard as we spit coffee while reading it.
And while Buzz also placed the unfolding drama at the tippy top of our column Wednesday, Butler’s subsequent e-mail to us was far kinder: “Thanks for a balanced, fair, compassionate job with the article, given its inevitable basic characteristics.”
New ‘View’ for Goldberg
On Wednesday’s edition of “The View,” the show’s creator Barbara Walters announced that Oscar, Grammy, Golden Globe and Tony winner Whoopi Goldberg will be the ABC Daytime hen party’s new moderator.
“I love this show,” said Goldberg, 51. “I love coming on it. I love hanging out with you guys.”
Replacing Rosie O’Donnell with another film, TV and Broadway star gives “The View” another big name to fill the slot of moderator, who generally steers the discussion.
And given Barbara Walter’s babblings on air Wednesday, fewer “View” responsibilities might be in order for the veteran newswoman. Walters recounted a recent conversation with Barack Obama where she invited the presidential candidate onto the show. “He told me, ‘Barbara, I’ve been on ‘The View,’ ” Walters recalled sheepishly. “I said, ‘Well, obviously I wasn’t on that day.’ He said, ‘Yes, you were.’ “
What’s worse, Wednesday’s broadcast marked the second time Walters has related the anecdote on-air.
Quote of the day
“Animals are extremely important to me. If you take the word God and spell it backwards, it’s God.”
—“American Idol” judge Paula Abdul attempting to record an animal rights PSA on her Bravo reality show “Hey Paula!”
Celebrity birthdays
Actor Peter O’Toole (above) is 75. Director Wes Craven is 68. Actor Butch Patrick (“The Munsters”) is 54. Actress Cynthia Stevenson (“Men In Trees”) is 45. Actress Mary-Louise Parker is 43. Director-actor Kevin Smith (“Clerks”) is 37. Actor Edward Furlong is 30.
Contributing: Sonia Murray 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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