June 5, 2006
Gene Shalit's Afro, who was arrested in the early morning hours on Friday, has been let go by The Underground Nincompoop and its subsidiaries in a mutual agreement. "We met with Gene soon after his release from jail. We informed him that he would have to take a suspension from writing for the site and blog due to his recent arrest, and he made clear that he would like to move on with his career. We wish him the best," said senior editor Ravi Shankar.
Afro made no comments to the press about his arrest or what exactly occurred after he was found urinating behind a bush near the home of baseball player Omar Vizquel's suburban Seattle home. However, he was willing to discuss his departure from The Underground Nincompoop. "I had been thinking about it for a long time now, and this was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back," said Afro.
"I want to move on with my life as a writer. I'd like to take a journey on a psychedelic bus like my heroes Ken Kesey and Tom Wolfe. I just need time to myself, and to explore what I'd like to do in the future. I thank The Underground Nincompoop for giving me the opportunity to write and to work alongside such great people."
Gene Shalit's Afro joined The Underground Nincompoop in 2002. His first article was "Coming Soon?", which prognosticated fake sequels to popular films. He followed that article up with a short-lived movie forum that appeared on the site. As The Underground Nincompoop has moved primarily to blog format, Afro's "Nincompoop Droppings" provided more fodder on issues related to the entertainment industry. Afro's last article "Tales of Howie Mandel's Germophobia" appeared on March 15.
Is it a mere coincidence that Afro's final article appeared on the Ides of March?
Caesar thinks not.
For Gene Shalit's Afro and his time at The Underground Nincompoop, it's "veni, vidi, vici" indeed.