
Actor/comedian David Cross left Atlanta in 1982 after high school to seek fresh climes in New York City. He’s never turned back.
“I don’t hate Atlanta,” he said in an interview last week to promote his upcoming Tabernacle standup comedy show and Barnes & Noble book signing Saturday (UPDATE: the book signing was cancelled Thursday, no explanation given.). “I really don’t. I’m just disappointed by it. I think it’s overgrown and traded a lot of its charm for corporate strip malls.”
Cross, best known for his role on the Emmy-winning Fox comedy “Arrested Development,” still comes back to town a couple times of year to see friends and family. He especially likes East Atlanta, which maintains a bohemian, non-corporate feel.
“It feels like a community, a village,” he said. “That’s why I love New York.”
The cover of his book “I Drink For a Reason” features a photo of him looking pensive as he waits to board a plane at the Delta gate in New York before a trip last Thanksgiving to Atlanta.
He had his girlfriend and actress Amber Tamblyn take pictures of him waiting in line to get on the plane to show “how dehumanizing it is.” But he didn’t like those and opted for the more staid shot of him just sitting. Cross, by the way, gives Tamblyn a rather explicit shout out on his author flap bio. “She laughed,” he said. “She told her dad. He laughed even harder.”
He also has a surfeit of “blurbs” on his book cover. He said the publisher Grand Central Publishing insisted on him getting his friends to write blurbs. As a result, some are serious, many are amusingly facetious. The funniest is courtesy of actor Paul Rudd: “One of the funniest books I’ve ever skimmed!”
One blurb even compares him to Sen. Al Franken, a comic-cum-politician. Cross doesn’t rule out the possibility “way way way down the line. It might be something I’m interested in.” But he figures given his Atheist ways, he’d never get elected.
The book is a collection of essays, ranging from pure satire (an imaginary Fox TV executive meeting, a “Top Ten Top Ten Lists List”) to personal commentary (how evil Valentine’s Day is, why he hates Jim Belushi) to political thoughts (why God wants Mary J. Blige to have “bling,” what a jerk Bill O’Reilly is).
The potpourri is a bit like his standup show.
“I did not want to do a memoir,” said Cross, 45. “I didn’t want to do an anecdotal biography about my life in show business. I think that’s for later in life. And my ego isn’t that big either.”
He decided the mix-and-match approach worked best: “I didn’t want to restrict myself.”
The book landed on the New York Times bestseller list last month. “It was very much a surprise and certainly gratifying,” he said. “What’s even more surprising is how low the bar is set for that type of thing. I just naively assumed that it would take 100,000 copies to make it, like CDs. But you get 30,000 books sold and the publisher is [expletive] overjoyed.”
Cross enjoyed Bill Maher’s film “Religulous,” which questions religion. “He’s definitely preaching to the converted, no pun intended,” Cross said. “It was still fun to watch. It’s not like it was going to change my mind. It was funny and enjoyable.”
And while has badmouthed big corporate entities, he reluctantly has to give props to Whole Foods, which recently moved into his neighborhood. “New York is the last place you need a Whole Foods because there’s already a green market, a Polish meat place, a cheese place, all the stuff you need within five square blocks. Having said that, I had to go to a barbecue and popped in to get a bunch of stuff. It was all [expletive] great! I wanted to hate it but it was all good, including the ribs. They have their own in-house smoker! I’m rich so for me, it’s fine. I can afford it. But I still try to frequent the mom and pops.”
What does he think of Atlantic Station? “The idea is cool but the shops in it aren’t. There’s nothing wrong with the idea of mixed-use development where people live and can go downstairs to shop. It’s all charmless. There’s no character. I live in a pre-war 12-story building and downstairs I have all I need at my feet. There’s no Fox Sports Grill. There is a sports bar.”
As a teen-ager, he started doing standup at the Comedy Spot and the Punchline in the early 1980s. The Punchline, of course, is still open to this day. “I was so happy to have a stage to start doing [expletive] on,” he said. The space, he added ,”suits Atlanta to a tee.”
And what is Cross reading right now? The 2003 book “Under the Banner of Heaven,” by Jon Krakauer, so “I can have my facts straight” when talking about Mormonism. “He’s a great writer, very very studious. He does extensive research. I love his writing. His imagery is great.”
IF YOU GO TO THE CONCERT
David Cross
8 p.m. Saturday, October 17
The Tabernacle
152 Luckie Street / 145 Nassau Street
Atlanta, GA 30303
$35
Livenation.com
(404) 659-9022
IF YOU GO TO THE BOOK SIGNING (UPDATE: BOOK SIGNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED)David Cross signs “I Drink For a Reason”
Saturday, October 17, 200
3:30 PM
Barnes & Noble
2900 Peachtree Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30305
404-261-7747
101 comments Add your comment
Chief Wiggum
October 12th, 2009
3:29 pm
He’s a hateful, far-left jerkwad. I liked “Arrested Development” in spite of him, I guess. He really does look down on all the unenlightened, stupid rednecks (or so he feels) that inhabit metro Atlanta. We’re not cool and trendy enough for him…that only applies to the Midtown people who get robbed and carjacked.
scott
October 12th, 2009
4:03 pm
geez, get back on the plane tonight and head back to the cess pool.
dilly dally
October 12th, 2009
7:32 pm
That doofus really needs to visit Hair Club For Men.
Slim
October 12th, 2009
8:02 pm
GA is like the state that time forgot. Who needs technology when all you need is lots ‘o fried chicken! That’ll make ‘em sing and dance in the streets! It’s cheap for corporations to move here since the people are so easy to please. Churches, chickens, and 80’s party lines (the last of the states to actually still make a profit on them). Yee haw!
Slim
October 13th, 2009
10:09 am
…of course, I’m a homosexual, so what do I know????
Stat Man
October 13th, 2009
10:47 am
Fortunately for him AND US – Delta flies northbound too!
Jon
October 13th, 2009
10:48 am
hateful jerkwad? Please stop talking about yourself wiggum! And of course he looks down on Georgia, it is a HELL HOLE outside of Atlanta.
Toots
October 13th, 2009
10:50 am
By the way, it’s “Under the Banner of Heaven,” not “manner”.
He sounds like an interesting guy but remarkably cold.
Name (required)
October 13th, 2009
10:52 am
Tell him not to worry…..most of us that live here hate it too!
RJ
October 13th, 2009
10:53 am
He’s right about how the ATL is a corporatized collection of strip malls. @ChiefWiggum – Indeed he looks down upon you because you’re all that’s wrong with this town: redneck who consumes Hardee ThickBurgers while speaking on a cellphone and driving an SUV, pickup or Hummer. @dillydally Sure, the dude could use a weave, but that’s all you are able to come up with? This is about Cross’ criticism about the ATL. And of course @Slim is on the money. It doesn’t take much for those suburban bubbas to be happy with loads of Wingstreet, cheap beer and films like “Stroker Ace.”
What th......
October 13th, 2009
10:54 am
Couple of poor, bitter, desperate for attention right-wingers here. Wow – guys get a (better) life!
sexy1977
October 13th, 2009
11:04 am
The only thing cool about this guy is his 26 year-old girlfriend.
quake
October 13th, 2009
11:06 am
Sad truth is, especially about Atlanta is that he’s right. The truth hurts.
LydiasDad
October 13th, 2009
11:07 am
If he’s ok with a comparison to the loony, hateful, moronic Franken, that says a lot.
Nick
October 13th, 2009
11:15 am
Funny dude.
KBB
October 13th, 2009
11:20 am
Well he is right in a certain way. Georgia is filled with hateful right wing douchebags who are obsessed with feeling unappreciated and oh yea……..football at a certain college that most of them never attended. Yokels
JDJ
October 13th, 2009
11:21 am
Sad that people are so short-sighted they think anything past Fulton county is a hell hole . . . there’s some beautiful countryside and wonderful people out there . . . but then again, it’s probably better they stay in this area and don’t take the cesspool to places that are still unspoiled.
BehindEnemyLines
October 13th, 2009
11:22 am
Thankfully Delta was ready when he was. Seems pretty clear that he’s a waste of oxygen but we can at least thank him for not polluting the air or the scenery here very often.
Fred
October 13th, 2009
11:22 am
I agree that Atlanta is not the town it was 20 yrs ago, but its all the Damn Yankees (being one myself I can say that) who complain about it the most that have screwed it up! To quote the great philosopher Lewis Grizzard, if you don’t like it here, Delta is ready when you are!
Becky
October 13th, 2009
11:24 am
New York City has charm?
MIKE
October 13th, 2009
11:24 am
All of you that are bashing Atlanta and all it’s “redneck bubbas” should move away if it is so bad. I have lived my entire life here and I love it all. I can’t imagine living in a “hell hole” like New York. So there!
Reid in EAV
October 13th, 2009
11:27 am
Funny. I’ve run into Cross twice here in town — once introducing Eugene Mirman at the EARL, and another time checking out The Duhks at Smith’s Olde Bar. He definitely visits more than he lets on, I suspect.
Vick Supporter
October 13th, 2009
11:28 am
WILL THE GOVERNMENT FORCE ME TO BUY A HEALTH CARE POLICY FOR MY CADILLAC?
OBAMA! YOU GOT MY BACK RIGHT DOG?
Ronnie Dobbs
October 13th, 2009
11:32 am
He is at least partially right. Atlanta in the ’70s was a pretty cool progressive place with Uncle Ted running around throwing Halloween parties and a smart, crazy mayor who talked about the “vapid, jejune trappings” of the middle-class. During the ’80s, Atlanta lost some of its personality due to a rapid influx of corporate transplants from the North and other parts of the South. That accelerated with the Olympic boom. Then Atlanta just wanted to be fancy and developed an unseemly nouveau riche feel. Now it’s this pretentious wine bar town. Growth as rapid as Atlanta’s will do that.
But that original Atlanta is still there and not just in East Atlanta. It’s a shame people like David Cross don’t move back and help foster it.
KJ
October 13th, 2009
11:32 am
“New York City has charm?”
It’s like a small village… of 20 million people.
“football at a certain college that most of them never attended. Yokels”
LOL, good to know that an article that has zero to do with UGA football can still bring out the obsessed hateful losers. Keep it coming.
Sheree
October 13th, 2009
11:36 am
I love when liberals play the hate card. News flash, lefties: you morons practically invented hate and racism. That’s a fact.
Dave H.
October 13th, 2009
11:36 am
OK, so I’m a liberal who lives in the suburbs and like it — good public schools and such. I understand both perspectives here, but I think it would be easier if I were just of one simple mindset or the other. No complex shades of gray — just simple, stark, minion-approved thoughts.
shirly
October 13th, 2009
11:37 am
Yea I don’t like it as much as I used to either. With that said I do get a kick how most from NY think they are superior over everyone else for whatever reason…
jennifer
October 13th, 2009
11:37 am
Jon, if you actually read the interview above rather than trying to force Cross’s comments to fit your own opinions, you will see that he is talking specifically about Atlanta, and not the whole state of Georgia. While I agree with a lot of his take on how Atlanta is “going corporate” I think that his attitude towards the city is condescending. If he dreads coming here so much, maybe he should just stay in New York.
CK
October 13th, 2009
11:38 am
Slim and RJ,
Please leave town then. RJ, Slim, and David Cross with your French élites attitudes. I shall take off my driving gloves and smack you in the face.
Mony
October 13th, 2009
11:45 am
For all you idiots that don’t like Atlanta we have I20 going E and W, I 75 & 85 going N & S plus Delta is ready when you are. So get the Heck out of Dodge,knuckleheads!!!
Boger
October 13th, 2009
11:46 am
I’ve found News Yorkers to be some of the most obnoxious people around. If it isn’t in New York, it’s lame…or hillbilly….or whatever. Give it a rest. If Atlanta stinks so bad, leave and never come back. You won’t be missed. Really.
F dot Peek
October 13th, 2009
11:48 am
I know why I haven’t had 15 mins to shine, because I would tell everyone about themselves even myself, so no one can say,who are you to judge!
Becky
October 13th, 2009
11:49 am
I don’t associate most major downtown cities as having charm..If I want charm, I go to smaller cities..I do think that Altanta is a great place, just like New York is..Would I want to live right in downtown Atl? No, I perfer living more on the outskirts..
But as we’ve all read on most any blog here, as shirly said..New York and New Yorkers are better at anything and everything, so we don’t stand a chance..
bbb
October 13th, 2009
11:51 am
I am from Georgia and I am tired of seeing Wal-Mart, Lowes Home Depot, and Chili’s on every street corner. Also it would be nice if politicians would support building that is unique and not 6 million McMansions that now sit empty all over the metro. It would be nice if Alpharetta and many parts of Atlanta got a little more individual personality. But inhabitants and politicians alike have to support local business. Don’t eat franchise and don’t shop major department stores. You might even find you have a smaller waistline and connection to community. We can do it Georgia- even with all the Yankees here!
Peter
October 13th, 2009
11:53 am
He is correct.Atlanta has sold it’s soul to developers…….and then won’t pay for police protection…….especially downtown, where a student is robbed DAILY !
A Realist
October 13th, 2009
11:57 am
After this interview gets around, it will be interesting to see how many Atlantans are willing to spend their money to see this dude. I definitely won’t be one of them. Talk about dumb marketing strategies!!!!
Ghost
October 13th, 2009
11:58 am
I like him. He’s funny and he pisses off the religious and neo-cons. HAHA.
Bill M
October 13th, 2009
11:59 am
Anyone that fits the phrase,” But I’m rich, so I can afford it”, into their interview is a little too full of themselves. He even goes out of his way to say that he doesn’t have a big ego and that’s right after assuming someone would be interested in reading a biography from him. I think his ego is bigger than he thinks.
Downtown Atlanta = Cesspool (Figuratively and Literally)
October 13th, 2009
12:01 pm
Obama Supporters (i.e. Worshippers) in this town are not quite so bragadocious when they come up to you around Centennial Park, Underground Atlanta or Turner Field here in October 2009 and “AXE” you for some free money or a free chicken dinner.
gagirl
October 13th, 2009
12:10 pm
I’m sorry, but the fact that this dude was graduating around the time his girlfriend was born is just gross.
Dood
October 13th, 2009
12:17 pm
RJ- Stroker Ace was the best movie ever. I think it even won an award for that. They created a special one-time award for “Best movie ever made, ever”. that is why it was a one time award.
Bill M- you were right on target…very nouveau riche attitude. People like that are very classless and insecure and it shows when he has to remind people that he’s so rich. (thanks to a good agent)
HRH
October 13th, 2009
12:18 pm
Soooooo he moved to NYC because he’s frustrated with growth in ATL? That makes sense!! Seriously! It’s a gimmick for attention people!!!
Dood
October 13th, 2009
12:24 pm
Oh, and Slim- as far as the town that time forgot, who needs technology…Atlanta is second behind Seattle in technology as far as being the most connected. Look it up.
Of course, if search engine technology is a little too challenging for you, here’s a link.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/22/wired-cities-2009-tech-wire-cx_ew_0122wiredcities.html
Dave Perry
October 13th, 2009
12:40 pm
A place is only as good as the people that live there and that goes for midtown, downtown, metro, etc. If you don’t like it, move on or make it better.
Tomahawk Holmes
October 13th, 2009
12:45 pm
the best that ATL and GA has to offer is OTP – that’s OUTSIDE THE PERIMETER.
Bud
October 13th, 2009
12:47 pm
Gosh, he’s so much smarter than the rest of us. I’m in awe! Have you seen his photo? He’s a very handsome guy. I can’t wait for this terrific show so I can listen to him go on, and on, and on, and on……
Bill
October 13th, 2009
12:48 pm
Ah, David Cross, the poor mans David Spade.
The guy’s probably angry at “rednecks” for taking his lunch money all those years.
(He’s a proud graduate of Roswell High School)…
Hey, the guy’s an ATHIEST! That should tell you averything you need to know about the guy right there…
Question:
If it’s soooo bad here, why are people stlll moving here in droves? Hmmmm?
For those haters that don’t like it here, it must REALLY suck to have to live somewhere you hate!
Be mad at the lack of control you have over your life, then do something about it, like LEAVE!!
We don’t want you here!
Dixie Darling
October 13th, 2009
12:50 pm
So it seems while Cross has disowned Atlanta, Atlanta has more than enough rights to disown him and to never open doors to him again. I hope he flops at his show and returns up North with his tail between his legs, digs a hole, and pull the dirt over him and stay there.
Will
October 13th, 2009
12:58 pm
I’m from here, born and raised. I love this city, but he has valid points.
M Anthony
October 13th, 2009
1:06 pm
Well everything, every place and all people change over 20 years. Personnally I never heard of this moron. I dont watch tv except to get the traffic reports before going to work in the am. If I dont like somewhere I really find it hard to visit. I figure there are plenty of other places I have never been that I would like to go. Make more sense to me.
Jeff
October 13th, 2009
1:12 pm
David Cross is hilarious and obviously able to strike the nerves of people.
C.S. Lewis, Jr.
October 13th, 2009
1:25 pm
I loved all the Georgia references on Mr. Show. Senator Tankerbell was from Georgia, the founding fathers sketch featured Button Gwinnett, there were references to Champagne Jam by the ARS, the guy in the Racist in the Year 3000 sketch was from Kennesaw, characters wore Braves caps in a bunch of sketches.
You folks with no sense of humor would probably be upset to learn that he had a feud with Larry the Cable Guy too.
David Cross is awesome. There are plenty of people in Atlanta who have the ability to laugh at themselves and their city. His show will not suffer if you boycott it. Don’t be so thin-skinned.
PMC
October 13th, 2009
1:26 pm
New York is the most commercialized city in the free world. The bohemian parts are even more hypocritical than Times Square. I find his comments rather hilarious.
PMC
October 13th, 2009
1:26 pm
maybe that’s the point?
Matthew
October 13th, 2009
1:33 pm
Hey Ghost… if you need to piss others off to get your giggles or any happiness in life, then see a shrink.
Steve0
October 13th, 2009
1:38 pm
Is this the thread where everyone wails with righteous indignation at the guy who doesn’t love Applebee’s?
and a thousand tiny fists shook in impotent rage….
darnyankee
October 13th, 2009
1:41 pm
LOL@ New York cesspool… Yall need to get your heads out of fantazy land and actually visit real places other than cobb/Gwinnett county. All those saying Atlanta sucks should shutup and GO HOME- meaning your stupid OTP 1 sided brick 3 sided vinyl box of a home out in the suburbs that was a cornfield 5 years ago. Hopefully the thugs wont get you there.
Billyjean
October 13th, 2009
1:50 pm
He was in the most recent Alvin & the Chipmunks movie, but now he resembles a devout muslim who never misses out on Friday visits to the mosque.
rocky bilboa
October 13th, 2009
1:51 pm
I am so sick of cliches like this guy. Uh, cool New York Atheist, uh, so intellectual. Uh, he is so bohemian and knows so much more than everyone else, because he is from New York.
Billyjean
October 13th, 2009
1:53 pm
David Cross seems a bit cross.
Billyjean
October 13th, 2009
1:59 pm
…therefore i will not attend his book signing.
geesh
October 13th, 2009
2:03 pm
if you dont care for David Cross thats one thing but to add stupid lines about Michael Vick and The President (which werent even funny) is soooo typical of the big foot, cousin marrying, homo phobic, black/jew hating, beer drinking, pick up truck driving, trailer home living, trash that give white americans a bad name.
Fred
October 13th, 2009
2:04 pm
Poor widdle Ghost. Thinks “neo cons” is a big nasty word. It aint, homes. Never has been. Must stink to rely on others to tell you what to think.
Ghost
October 13th, 2009
2:08 pm
@Matthew, I don’t need to piss off people to enjoy life, but it is fun to see people get their panties in a bunch when someone points out how hypocritical they are, i.e. the religious and neo-cons.
Ballou
October 13th, 2009
2:10 pm
Have you ever seen his stand-up? Nothing very clever. He’s very bitter about most things in general.
Getoutnow
October 13th, 2009
2:18 pm
I escaped the ATL in March 2008 after a 22 year tour of duty. Saw the town double in size from around 2MM to 4MM souls. Life is much better once you “shed your Atlanta skin.”
Alan R
October 13th, 2009
2:21 pm
Ghost, you’re not much of a thinker obviously. Pack up your tattered leftist cue cards and leave the talking to the adults.
Lotown
October 13th, 2009
2:24 pm
I dont see where this guy says he likes Obama… not sure how the Pres came up on this one. I think america as a whole is selling out to corp chains without holding them more accountable. How do you let Starbucks open 20k stores around the US in the last 10yrs that all look alike. then close down half of them in 1yr? How do you let Walmart the rural area king open 12 stores within ITP Metro ATL??? How can you have a Lowes in Alpharetta, Roswell and Sandy Springs?!!! Hey I love hamburgers more than anybody but I dont need to see Five Guys popping up all over from Roswell to Smyrna! I guess this is what we THINK we need. Ask yourselves how many times have you ventured out to a new area and the first thing you say is “Do they have a Borders?” not where’s the nearest book store? We might as well start selling advertising space on our childrens middle names to corp america. I you think about it long enough, this is why us citizens are responsible to the US bailouts. It wasn’t all behind closed doors in congress, it happened right in OUR neighborhoods!
Jolie
October 13th, 2009
2:27 pm
Personally I don’t find Cross funny at all. Anyway, strip malls are practically everywhere unfortunately. Can’t disagree about that.
BCWW
October 13th, 2009
2:27 pm
I have lived in New York, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Atlanta
Every city is the same, you have cool intown communities, In Atl like Va Highlands, East Atlanta, midtown, Ansley, Druid hills, Grant park, kirkwood) just like every other city, and then you have Big subdivisions
golf courses, strip malls, chain restaraunts outside the city just like everywhere else. No difference, thats just how developers across America decided to set up our cities and the way we live. If you don’t like it there are thousands of beatiful small towns in this Country to move to. By the way geesh there are “typical of the big foot, cousin marrying, homo phobic, black/jew hating, beer drinking, pick up truck driving, trailer home living, trash that give white americans a bad name.” in every community around the Country not just the South, the west coast and North have just as many redneck racist as the South does!!
MM
October 13th, 2009
2:48 pm
@Getoutnow – Don’t speak so fast…..I’m not even from Atlanta but this is my second time living here. Please don’t have people thinking life is better if you leave Atlanta. Trust me, there are far worse places to live…..PLENTY.
Lotown
October 13th, 2009
2:48 pm
The shameful part is when some of those great small town USA get Wal-mart Lowes strip mall built; they think they’ve made it!
Dr. Warren
October 13th, 2009
3:05 pm
Seems David Cross is just another bourgeois sophisticate. I love his cliched adolescent wonder at “pre-war” buildings. lol. He is the sort of middlebrow who thinks something is more “real” just because it’s old. And actually the Manhattan of 2009 has been so homogenized and jet-washed and gentrified that its grittiness is gone and its diversity banished to the outer boroughs. It feels more like Aspen than a real city, and the passengers on the 4,5,6 Subway line these days look freshly minted by Amherst or Princeton. This guy Cross is a 45-year-old teenager.
LydiasDad
October 13th, 2009
3:06 pm
I wish it were bad enough here that all the illegals would leave…
C.S. Lewis, Jr.
October 13th, 2009
3:13 pm
It’s not possible to prefer NYC to Atlanta without being a “another bourgeois sophisticate”? Yeah, there’s a J. Crew in SoHo. There are corporations in Manhattan. Nice discovery. There are also a lot of shops and restaurants in Manhattan that are one of a kind, and neighborhoods — like the East Village, for one — with a great mix of cultures and unique places.
I love Atlanta. I just wish it could get its chip off its shoulder.
Enoch Powell
October 13th, 2009
3:14 pm
This worthless smug Nuuu Yawwwwwk leftie urgently needs to change his dandruff shampoo.
crawdaddy
October 13th, 2009
3:14 pm
BCWW, you are exactly right! I just moved from GA to Denver and it even more strip mall focused than Atlanta. There are still some very nice parts of Atlanta. I am an Atlanta native who moved away in 1993 and never looked back. I came back to live in Athens, which is great place, but it is a relief to be in CO. Traffic is nothing here, people complain but they don’t know any better. I live in a bad part of town and it is very safe. The stories on the news here in Denver are very mild. Cat in tree type stuff. I read the AJC just so I can keep up with ATL sports and all of the wack stuff that happens down there. I really miss the old Atlanta, it was a wonderful place. The new Atlanta is just too crowded with too many jerks. My personal feeling is that every misfit conman from where the fu*k ever, who gets run out of their home town, decides to move to Atlanta. They move there and try to run their played out scams. I think about 30% to 40% of transplants to Atlanta never drove a car until they moved there. I love to visit, but I will never move back. This saddens me because Atlanta is my home and I miss it.
Dave in Marietta
October 13th, 2009
3:26 pm
What did he say in that interview that wasn’t totally true? And he’s right about those mixed use developments. They’re manufactured, cookie cutter style. You might as well be living in a strip mall. Plus he grew up here. I think that gives the guy some cred.
D.H.
October 13th, 2009
3:32 pm
Well said, Dr. Warren. Everyone I know in Manhattan is either an avaricious investment banker, overworked Biglaw associate, or druggie trustafarian. It’s not exactly the the rich tapestry of people and cultures Cross would like to believe.
Lady friend
October 13th, 2009
3:34 pm
THis guy (boy) sounds like he must’ve been a real dork in his younger years, now he is trying to sound like a tough guy, what a major spankwad! OMG, like he grew up here. Squeal like a pig David!
Cravid Doss
October 13th, 2009
3:46 pm
Please just get on the plane back to NYC.
rickybooby
October 13th, 2009
3:50 pm
Yeah please, go back to nyc, you obviously weren’t fitting in here, I doubt you fit in there. What a total douch! Lol…
Mike
October 13th, 2009
3:52 pm
I’m not sure why his comments raised the ire of Boortz listeners. He was simply talking about urban sprawl, which in case you hadn’t noticed, is being perpetrated by liberal elitists as well as conservative businessmen. Why is it that you conservative types always feel compelled to respond to any criticism of anything with hate-filled rants about liberals? Do you actually think the sprawl culture has been a good thing for Atlanta?
Nativeson71
October 13th, 2009
4:04 pm
Chicken Pot Chicken Pot Chicken Pot Pieeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I agree with most everything he says…but we all need big corp America to provide jobs, healthcare and money to buy his [expletive] book.
I love it when he does the gay guys buying pizza…I’m gay (but not that gay) and his routine is what I observe in my ‘married’ gay friends. he is dead on…but I needs my big corp job!
PMC
October 13th, 2009
4:14 pm
shouldn’t everyone have a sort of righteous indignation for Applebees?
Chris Broe
October 13th, 2009
4:16 pm
Cross stole his entire book from my blogs, man.
My Name
October 13th, 2009
4:20 pm
@Bill. What does his being an atheist tell us what we need to know? That he’s smarter than all those idiots wasting their time in church Sunday morning and filling up all their restaurants so they can be crappy tippers for Sunday lunch?
Cravid Doss
October 13th, 2009
4:28 pm
I’m a left-winger, an atheist, I loathe corporations, and I can’t stand suburban sprawl but I still think the guy is a smarmy dick. I don’t take to anybody that looks down on people because they are ignorant, different, or have religion.
I think a lot of folks need to find what is great about Atlanta BECAUSE it is Atlanta and not what is similar to New York City.
scott
October 13th, 2009
4:34 pm
His claim to fame was getting slimed to death in Men in Black (WOW).
I have traveled all over the country in my job for 13 years and yes, so many towns are the same with the strip malls and chains. Downtown Chicago is unique but get 30 minutes out and it looks like Atlanta, Charlotte, et al. Cross from NY to Jersey and the same happens.
If you want to live in NY with the crime, the taxes, the high cost of living and think it is cool, God Bless You. I will leave you alone when you drive to Marietta, just leave me alone.
BJE
October 13th, 2009
4:37 pm
I’m forced to make a small point here. If, as he declares, he hates that Atlanta sold – out to corporate interests, then why is his book signing at a corporate store in a corporate strip mall?
Andre
October 13th, 2009
5:03 pm
Oh, here we go again. If you hate Atlanta so much. Up root yourself and your family and move to that Utopia that you so much desire. Or just move outside of the Atlanta metro area where everything pretty much moves at a snail pace. I’m very liberal and I don’t take sh*t. I’m a member of the NRA and the NAACP. I voted for Obama and I hate Pistol Poppin’ Palin, but I’ll tell you one thing, state of Affairs in Georgia is at the worst I’ve ever seen in my 60 years of living in this state. Look at what the conservative run state house is doing to Joshua’s Law for example. That doesn’t make any sense.
Jon
October 13th, 2009
5:05 pm
What major city isn’t corporate? Ok. Stop me if you’ve heard this one. Guy moves away from good ol’ Hometown, USA to big NYC. Guy comes back to Hometown 20 years later and it’s just not the same as it used to be. Really? No sh**! I wouldn’t pay to see this dork if I needed a laugh to live.
Pete
October 13th, 2009
5:15 pm
“I don’t hate Atlanta,” he said in an interview last week to promote his upcoming Tabernacle standup comedy show and Barnes & Noble book signing Saturday. “I really don’t. I’m just disappointed by it. I think it’s overgrown and traded a lot of its charm for corporate strip malls.”
- Does anyone else find this contradicting?
jjslay
October 13th, 2009
5:32 pm
It was funny to read a lot of these comments
He assumes you understand the context, dont get too upset.
Great comedian
jason
October 13th, 2009
5:42 pm
The parts of town he likes for their charm, I bet he wouldn’t send his kids to school there.
Slim
October 13th, 2009
11:07 pm
I don’t live here, I live in Los Angeles but I work here 3 weeks out of every 2 months. If you would just put a leash on all those rowdy blacks here, this place wouldn’t be half bad. I’d glady take a mexican any day of the week than these lazy chicken eating home robbing blacks. Oh and Delta blows too. Please oh please get in here Southwest Airlines.
disappointed
October 15th, 2009
4:39 pm
Just spoke with the Barnes & Noble in Buckhead. David Cross has cancelled the book signing for Saturday. I’m very disappointed. I think he’s hilarious. No matter where he lives.
Happy Atlantan
October 16th, 2009
3:50 pm
I love all the comments here. Congrat’s to David for riling the wingnuts! The only thing more interesting than the discourse here is a good ol’ fashioned debate over “Taste’s Great vs. Less Filling.” I hope to see you all at the show this weekend.
BIll
October 16th, 2009
10:24 pm
My Name posted:
___
@Bill. What does his being an atheist tell us what we need to know? That he’s smarter than all those idiots wasting their time in church Sunday morning and filling up all their restaurants so they can be crappy tippers for Sunday lunch?
____
Crappy tippers?
Ladies and Gentleman, Its the bitter Atheist Busboy! Give him a hand!!…..and remember to tip,
he needs the money!
This Sunday. I’ll pray for you and all red-state hating, worthless comedic hacks.
Better get to chruch early, the list is long…
Return of the Son of Anywhere I Lay My Head Redux, Part II: Electric Boogaloo « Three Seconds of Dead Air
October 20th, 2009
9:46 am
[...] some other reviews of Cross’ show, and instead came across a recent interview with him in the Access Atlanta blog, published roughly a week before his appearance [...]