http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/home.aspxFormerly the culture blog of ATL Intel, now Rich's blogen-usCopyright 2013, AtlantaMagazine-NAWed, 19 Jun 2013 08:11:16 GMTTue, 19 Feb 2013 13:14:14 GMT1http://emmisinteractive.comAs the baby Braves continue swinging their bats in spring training for the 2013 season, the Atlanta Braves front office confirmed this morning that the ball club will honor recent retiree Chipper Jones in a ceremony to be held June 28 at Turner Field. Jones will be inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame and his No. 10 will be officially retired before that evening's game with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Tickets for the certain sell out ceremony and game go on sale Monday, Feb. at braves.com, the Turner Field box office or through Ticketmaster. Jones will join teammates Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and former skipper Bobby Cox up there on the wall as Braves Hall of Famers. "Chipper was a Brave from the beginning to the end of his career and his legacy will forever live in our record books," says Braves president John Schuerholtz via a statement. ...http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10505776http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10505776Tue, 19 Feb 2013 13:14:14 GMTOn the 15th anniversary of VDay, "Vagina Monologues" playwright Eve Ensler is going global with One Billion Rising, planned as the largest day of action in the feminist's long-standing commitment to ending violence against women and girls. In addition to the city of Atlanta declaring Valentine's Day 2013 "A Rape and Violence Free Zone" today (well, the intentions are good even if the reality is unlikely), some of Atlanta's most notable women, men and children are gathering this morning at the state capitol downtown starting at 10 a.m. Locals join One Billion Rising global gatherings in 203 countries in the effort to end assaults against women. Ensler's longtime friend and former Atlantan Jane Fonda is heading up the left coast rising today. Local speakers will include Evelyn Lowery, civil rights activist and wife of Dr. Joseph Lowery, Bernice King, the daughter of MLK, Spanx founder Sara Blakely and Captain Planet Foundation eco activist...http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10503971http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10503971Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:01:55 GMT When season five of the critically acclaimed TNT drama "Southland" premieres tonight at 10, LAPD detective Lydia Adams is trying to balance being a new mother and solving the rape of a Latino male who is too humiliated to help the cops assigned to his case. And whether she's scaling a fire escape chasing a suspect or attempting to  feign cool detachment when her male partner points out she's lactating on the job, actress Regina King brings a world weary humanity to Adams beneath the brusqueness and wisecracks. In an exclusive interview with Atlanta magazine, King discusses the new season, directing (!) her first episode of "Southland" this season and delivers some exciting, sure-to-be-controversial news for fans of the Adult Swim series "The Boondocks," eagerly awaiting news on a fourth season.  Q: Last season, the writers put Lydia through the ringer with this unplanned pregnancy and the rigors of ...http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10503377http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10503377Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:39:55 GMT If the financing comes through on his next acting project, former Agatha's: A Taste of Mystery actor and writer Gary Anthony Williams might just be flexing his improv skills again later this year. For three seasons now, the former "Malcolm in the Middle" actor has given voice to comic strip creator Aaron McGruder's outrageous Uncle Ruckus character on "The Boondocks," the popular Cartoon Network Adult Swim animated series. Now, McGruder wants the native Atlantan to play the "hard working, slur-spitting handyman" in a live-action R-rated comedy to be written and directed by McGruder. The film is to be financed through a Kickstarter fan campaign. As of Friday morning with 1,503 backers, the film has raised $59,598 of it's $200,000 goal with 21 days to go. So why a live-action film revolving around the cartoon's most offensive, twisted and self-loathing character? McGruder explains: "There's always been interest in a live-action Boondocks ...http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10501329http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10501329Fri, 08 Feb 2013 14:09:52 GMTOn Tuesday, taking a break from staging yet another warmed over musical based on a 1980s popcorn flick, the Fox Theatre announced a booking that will finally rival 2011's Charlie Sheen's "Violent Torpedo of Truth" tour in terms of sheer hot messiness. On April 20 at 8 p.m, the Fox (presumably) proudly presents convicted rapist, "The Hangover" punchline and former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson starring in his one-man show "Mike Tyson: The Undisputed Truth" live on stage at the Atlanta landmark. Yes, this is the same venue that booked Elvis Presley for a two-day stint where he performed in the venue three times daily in 1956. Blessedly, Tyson is only booked for one show. Still, we're not exactly sure this is why community activists rallied in 1974 to mount the "Save the Fox" campaign when Southern Bell wanted to bulldoze the iconic property to build a skyscraper on the pricey ...http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10500092http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10500092Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:55:33 GMTSo, it's February first. In less than two weeks, the non-stop array of floral arrangements will begin assaulting your workplace. And ever since your ex pulled a Jimmy Hoffa last summer, taking your three adorable chocolate labs, Bella, Edward and Jacob with him/her, you've been dreading Valentine's Day.  This year, you can make a preemptive strike at Cupid, however, thanks to Atlanta's own Ambassador of Mirth Baton Bob. Yes, the city's most charismatic street performer since Bicycle Shorts Guy is hosting The Broken Hearts Ball at the Highland Ballroom on February 15. Sponsored by  Scout Mob, the smart phone app bargain purveyors, the evening promises: "Roses are red, Violets are blue. We'll be boozing it up with Baton Bob this Valentine's Day, and so should you." In addition to handmade boutonnieres created by Baton Bob himself for the first 100 guests, the evening will also feature a burlesque performance by Sadie ...http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10498103http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10498103Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:25:28 GMTJust a handful of episodes into shooting the second season of TNT's successful reboot of "Dallas" on location in Texas last fall, the primetime soap's iconic star Larry Hagman unexpectedly died after a long battle with cancer. Since J.R. Ewing is hardwired into the drama's DNA, Hagman's passing left a hole the size of The Lone Star State itself in the show's storyline. The actor's longtime cast mates Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray, meanwhile, were left to eulogize their friend both in real life and grieve on screen.Hagman's final episodes begin airing tonight at 9 as the second season of the show begins on TNT. In an interview with Atlanta magazine, Patrick Duffy, 63, discusses life on Southfork without it's famous bullet-proof villain.Q: How difficult has it been to continue shooting this second season without Larry?A: It's been difficult in the sense that Larry's death is an ...http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10495892http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10495892Mon, 28 Jan 2013 21:14:48 GMTG-CAPP founder Jane Fonda's cinematic career will be encased in concrete this Spring as the two-time Oscar winner is honored at the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood. The Atlanta-based cable channel tells Atlanta magazine, Fonda will be recognized in a public ceremony when the 75-year-old activist-actress sticks her hands and feet in wet cement in front of the TCL Chinese Theatre (since Fonda is starring in yoga DVDs for seniors these days, this likely won't be a problem). Fonda will also preside over a special screening of her 1981 drama "On Golden Pond," the film which won her father Henry Fonda a long elusive Best Actor Oscar for his role as Norman Thayer. Explains TCM host Robert Osborne: "Despite her two Academy Awards, too little has been said and written about her work as an actress and all those amazing, top-tier films she's made. Having Jane in person ...http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10494998http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10494998Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:03:04 GMTWith countless mouse clicks from fans across the country, Atlanta singer-singwriter Doria Roberts has advanced to the finals of The Grammys Gig of a Lifetime competition. After emerging as the winner last week of the South Atlantic competition for the prestigious appearance, the East Atlanta biscuit baker is now up against six other bands and remains the only woman in the competition. With just 24 hours left to rack up votes from fans, Roberts will require all the girl power she can conjure up from her loyal fan base today. The winner of the competition will be flown to Los Angeles next month to play a special Grammy weekend gig in front of some of the music industry's biggest bold-faced names. Supporters can expect a frenzied Get Out the Vote! scene today at Urban Cannibals Bodega + Bites, the grocery and eatery Roberts runs with wife and chef Calavino Donati. ...http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10493881http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10493881Wed, 23 Jan 2013 14:07:22 GMTThree decades ago at her downtown Atlanta loft, Georgia artist Janet "Gogo" Ferguson first unveiled the nature-inspired pieces for what would become an internationally acclaimed, multi-million dollar jewelry business. As a descendant of Thomas Carnegie who bought Georgia's Cumberland Island in the late 19th century, the granddaughter of Lucy Ferguson spent much of her childhood growing up on coastal Georgia. Today as a year-round resident on Cumberland, Ferguson operates her Gogo Jewelry business and an artist studio there.   In 1996, her name ricocheted around the world when she designed the wedding rings for her old friend John F. Kennedy Jr. and his bride Carolyn Bessette. In June 2004 during the 30th G8 Summit, first lady Laura Bush brought Russian president Vladimir Putin's wife Lyudmila into Ferguson's shop where she promptly purchased nature-inspired earrings for all the wives of the visiting dignitaries. "It was thrilling," Ferguson reflects.   On the eve of ...http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10491962http://www.atlantamagazine.com/eldredgeatl/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10491962Fri, 18 Jan 2013 15:59:02 GMT