4/21 Peach Buzz: Gilbert Gottfried, appearing here next month, uncensors himself

Before our interview, Gilbert Gottfried's handlers warned that the recent Aflac ordeal would be "off the table." It seems Gottfried did not get the message. "If you were to go to Japan and go into one of their bars and listen in, they would be saying things that were much, much sicker than anything we could come up with here," said the comic, launching unbidden into a bit about the unfortunate tweets that got him canned as voice of the Aflac duck. "They kept talking about how insensitive and cruel I was, like if I were to walk around with a Japanese flag on my lapel, that would make me a good person? The media made me a bigger story than the actual tsunami." Gottfried appears at 8 p.m. May 10 at the Marcus Jewish Center of Atlanta, 5342 Tilly Mill Rd., Dunwoody, to discuss his book "Rubber Balls and Liquor." The event will be moderated by Dave FM's Jimmy Baron, who deadpanned, "I cannot think of anything more powerful, more spiritually uplifting, more crucial to the betterment of society than attending an evening of Gilbert Gottfried being interviewed on stage by a local DJ." Gottfried's path from comic to author was pretty simple. His agent landed him a book deal, so he wrote a book. It includes a photo section and handy "clip-and-save" jokes as a public service for the chronically unfunny. (Regrettably, we cannot print any of them here in a family newspaper.) "When somebody is trying too hard, when somebody says 'I used to do comedy,' that's a bad sign," said Gottfried, whose voice is soft and gentle, much like a high school guidance counselor's, when he's not using his stage voice. "The Internet's erasing the line between the amateurs and professionals." Gottfried's Twitter account has been going strong even after the late unpleasantness, while Aflac has turned the mess into a publicity bonanza, staging auditions around the country to find a new spokesduck. "They kept referring to what I said as 'comments' or 'remarks'," Gottfried lamented. "No one said they were 'jokes'." Tickets to Gottfried's appearance are $11 for MJCCA members, $16 for non-members. Call 678-812-4002 or see www.atlantajcc.org for tickets.

Buzz in our ear

The Artemis Guild of Young Professionals at Fernbank Museum of Natural History plans its 17th annual Lost Oasis benefit for 8 p.m. June 11 at the museum. Co-chairs are Rupal and Horacio Romero and Rob Schuler. "Lost Oasis is a great way for us to support children's programming at the Fernbank Museum which our son, Vijay, has enjoyed over the years," Horacio Romero said. Tickets start at $100. E-mail artemis@fernbankmuseum.org, see fernbankmuseum.org or call 404-929-6404 for reservations.