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It practically gallops!

Obscure Little Research Facility

Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass autographed each of their first four Body Farm novels when I interviewed them about the books. Because our interview for “The Bone Thief” was recorded before the finished products were back from the printer, my copy is not yet signed. Neither is the extra copy that HarperCollins sent me as a donation for the silent auction at the Star 102.1 Radiothon to benefit East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. I will get both signed on Thursday night at Books-A-Million in Oak Ridge.

Fans of the Body Farm are happy that “The Bone Thief” got a nice mention in the current Entertainment Weekly. The magazine gave it a solid B.

While I was clicking around on the WBIR website, I found an extended interview with Dr. Bass that was fun to watch. He says a lot of the same type of stuff that we talk about in our radio conversations, which seemed to surprise the off-camera interviewer. You can hear Jim Matheny say that the joke about putting road kill under your computer would be web-only content.

March 24, 2010 | Filed Under Body Farm | Comments Off 

Come Together

Tourism is big business in East Tennessee. Dollywood, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, recently hosted a forum for the gubernatorial candidates on the topic. I saw something in St. Louis recently that might be worth stealing for the Great Smoky Mountains region. An entrepreneur could even sell a ten-second advertisement to play before the message.

In the complex beneath the Gateway Arch, I saw a sign promoting a call-in service for sightseers like me. By dialing the toll-free number, tourists can hear more about the Arch or several other attractions in the area known as the Confluence. The only problem I had was that there was no cellular service in the underground bunker.

March 23, 2010 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

Chance of Blurries

Movies 7, the place formerly known as the “dollar theater” now charges $2 a ticket, which is still pretty good. While we waited for the show to start Sunday night, my wife and I saw an odd combination of ancient slides advertising the concessions, outdated E! fun facts about movies from the ’90s, and some Coca-Cola sponsored trivia questions about movies that haven’t come out yet. The “pre-show entertainment” included a commercial for Coke Zero, which made me want some. Unfortunately, that theater doesn’t sell any. I had to settle for a Diet Coke.

My wife and I saw “Up in the Air” which had great performances, a good story and a plot twist that I was glad I didn’t know about. It didn’t matter that the print was a little out of focus. The fact that they even use prints was surprising to me. All the other Carmike Cinemas I’ve visited have digital projection in every screening room.

The trailers were worse, in that they were noticeably less focused than the main feature. I decided that I could skip “Shutter Island” and “The Road.” The trailer for the latter had vertical streaks through the whole thing. The most ridiculous trailer was for the blockbuster film “Avatar.” I can understand why people flocked to see it in IMAX and 3-D; it’s a technological wonder. But why would anyone watch an out-of-focus print of it? The plot isn’t strong enough on its own to support three hours of entertainment.

March 22, 2010 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

Walk and Chew Gum

Before I was asked to auction off a meal with the Bishop at the annual fund-raising dinner for Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, I had already agreed to be the honorary chairman for their “Kids Helping Kids Fun Walk.” The event benefits Columbus Home, a refuge for boys who are victims of abuse and neglect. Sponsors are still needed for the walk. Sponsorships are $250 (full), $125 (half), or $50 (partial). Call (865) 524-9896 if you can help.

The annual walk will be on Sunday, May 16 at All Saints Church. The parish grounds have a walking trail that is popular with Knoxvillians of all denominations.

WBIR anchor John Becker and I recorded a public service announcement for the Fun Walk. He wore a WBIR track suit and I wore one of Fr. Ragan Schriver’s shirts with a Catholic Charities logo on it.

March 21, 2010 | Filed Under Catholic | 3 Comments 

Sweet Seventeenth

No matter how late or how early Easter is each year, my wife’s birthday always falls during Lent. As a result, we plan our Lenten sacrifices to exclude a sweet treat on her special day. This year’s celebration was delayed because she’s had a cold. We went out to dinner tonight and then someplace else to get dessert.

My Facebook and Twitter feeds had several posts about free Italian ice today at all Rita’s Ice locations. Apparently it’s a first day of spring tradition at the Philadelphia-based chain. This year, they have teamed up with another famous Pennsylvania company to create a special flavor that I had to experience for myself. I talked my wife into going to Rita’s on Market Square tonight.

The store was crowded when we arrived. My wife wisely chose the sugar-free tangerine flavor while I took a cup of the new Peeps Ice. I expected it to be very sweet since the real Peeps are not just marshmallows but sugar-coated marshmallows. Unfortunately they added a vanilla flavoring that didn’t work for me. It was as if I suddenly understood all the negative things people have said to me over the years about my love of Marshmallow Peeps.

The ice was sickeningly sweet. I don’t believe it to be an accurate representation of a standard Peep, which I still crave. Maybe they were trying to make it more like the vanilla-crème flavored marshmallows that they sell for Valentine’s Day, which I don’t enjoy.

Rita’s still has plenty of good flavors. Peeps Ice just isn’t one of them. Next Saturday they will give away chocolate-covered Peeps at Rita’s. I had one of those in January and loved it.

March 20, 2010 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment 

Without a Net

Skydiving and bungee jumping will never appeal to me. I wonder if the rush that you get from surviving is similar to the feeling I had last night when I stepped off the stage at the benefit dinner for Catholic Charities of East Tennessee. Event chair Tami Hartmann asked me to auction off an expensive bottle of Beaux Frères wine and then auction off dinner for ten with Bishop Stika right there in front of Bishop Stika.

photo by Cynthia Moxley; used by permission Cynthia Moxley and Alan Carmichael were seated front and center. I joked that I might finally rate a mention in Cynthia’s Blue Streak blog, which was recognized by the News Sentinel’s readers last fall. She wrote about the dinner and included a photo of me in full auction action.

At the time, I thought my anxiety came from doing shtick in front of the Bishop and so many priests and people I knew from church. In hindsight, I realize that my jokes were no worse than the things I said at the roast for Fr. Ragan Schriver. For example, I said that whoever bought the pricey Pinot Noir should share it with Bishop Stika because it was heart-healthy. I also said that I hoped someone from my parish would buy the dinner and once everyone was relaxed and in a good mood, they would lobby the Bishop for an additional priest to be sent to All Saints, which now has only two left. However, I can’t remember most of the things I said. Fr. Christian Mathis, who recognized me from my blog, posted one of my jokes on Twitter. If you were there last night and can help me fill in the blanks, please leave a comment here.

The Bishop graciously accepted my wisecracks and afterward asked if I had previous auctioning experience. I told him it was actually my first time and that I had tried to copy Bear Stephenson, the great auctioneer at the March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction. I still have a lot to learn. I think my case of nerves happened when the bidding for the dinner at any Connor Concepts restaurant slowed and eventually stopped at $3,500. I guess I was hoping for more.

March 19, 2010 | Filed Under Catholic | 3 Comments 

Popular Science

Next week literally thousands of Tennesseans will line up at bookstores (and a Sam’s Club) to get autographed copies of “The Bone Thief.” If Dr. Bill Bass stayed up that late, the Knoxville stores could probably draw big crowds to midnight book release parties like they used to for Harry Potter. The Bone Zones team has set a goal of reaching The New York Times bestseller list with the newest Body Farm novel.

Susan Seals from Bone Zones informed me that Dr. Bass will be attending most but not all of the signings. Jon Jefferson will do some of them solo. If your heart is set on meeting the famed anthropologist, double check Susan’s schedule against the HarperCollins schedule before standing in line. Susan is working on a special on-air opportunity for me to give to a few lucky fans who will be going to the Books-A-Million event in Oak Ridge on Thursday, March 25.

The folks at HarperCollins sent me some bullet points related to the story and a link to a short video that Jefferson & Bass had to go shoot the same day they recorded a radio interview with me. The video has lots of bones and a corpse or two.

  • Currently more than 100,000 people in the United Stares are on waiting lists for organ transplants
  • More than 100 of them die every week while waiting
  • Selling human organs and tissues on the black market to desperate buyers can be highly lucrative
  • Hand transplantation reflects a grim reality of war: these days, most U.S. hand amputees are soldiers, injured by improvised explosives in Iraq
  • Sadly, hand trauma’s other victims include thousands of children, maimed by land mines in war zones around the world

March 18, 2010 | Filed Under Body Farm | Comments Off 

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