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It practically gallops!

Cancer Sucks

Why do I go to funerals? I go because I remember how comforting it was when people showed up for my father’s funeral many years ago. He was 50, I was 21. It meant a lot to everyone in the family when a large crowd filled St. Patrick’s Cathedral for my cousin’s funeral in 2001.

If I still lived in New York, I would go to the funerals for my classmates’ parents, which I occasionally hear about via email. If I still lived in Burbank, I would attend the funerals of fellow parishioners at St. Finbar Church. It’s the way I was brought up. I’ve been to more than a few funerals in Tennessee too.

On Monday, I went to the funeral for Holly Pichiarella at All Saints Church. She was only 43 and the mother of three kids. As I arrived, Holly’s husband Larry asked if I was there for Holly or if I was there to do my hour of prayer. He didn’t realize that Holly had friended me on Facebook. She was a Star 102.1 listener. When I saw her with her head scarf at Lenten suppers and other parish events, I would greet her with, “hello, Facebook friend!”

Through her Facebook page, I learned of Holly’s setbacks in her fight against cancer and her last hope for a clinical trial at Vanderbilt. I knew that she and Larry celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary in May and that their youngest child turned 10 in June. I also knew that Holly’s 43rd birthday was the day before she died. Rest in peace, Facebook friend.

August 24, 2010 | Filed Under Catholic | Comments Off 

Trigger Fingers

The obvious perk of doing endorsement commercials for Massage Envy is that I get to go in for a massage every so often. Shoulder muscles sore from swimming and a twinge of back pain prompted me to call for an appointment on Sunday.

The staff members at the front desk were very kind. They told me that they regularly book new clients who were prompted to call by my spots. Business is so good that they hired additional therapists. Even with the expanded staff, I was lucky to get the last available appointment of the day.

While I filled out my paperwork, one of the therapists opened the door to the lobby. The file for her next appointment was in her hand. She looked at it, then at me and asked, “Are you Adam?” I told her no and then said the easy joke to the front desk staff, “She doesn’t know me from Adam.”

The therapist I had on Sunday likes the steady work at Massage Envy. Previously she had worked at spas and had her own practice. Nowadays she can focus on the work without having to recruit clients or pay overhead costs. I was impressed with her knowledge. I can use a lot of what she told me as fodder for upcoming radio commercials. She takes continuing education programs, most recently to learn trigger point massage, which she used on the knots in the muscles above and below my shoulder blade. She also learned to gently “pinch” the sternocleidomastoid muscle for relief of some headaches and neck pain. Now all I need to do is practice pronouncing sternocleidomastoid.

August 23, 2010 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment 

Manumatic

A couple of the guys in Einstein Simplified have day jobs at Charter Media. When they asked me to do a tire commercial for them four or five years ago, they wanted me to raise my eyebrows on camera. Last week when they asked me to spoof a newscaster for a transmission commercial, I gave them the signature eyebrow move again.

August 22, 2010 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

Chocolate Chips

An innocuous comment of mine on Twitter and Facebook generated an unexpectedly huge response on Friday. We’ve all heard the expression “do fries go with that shake,” however I didn’t realize that people put their fries into their shake, specifically their Frosty at Wendy’s. Was it a Southern thing? Even Wendy’s responded on Twitter. “It’s global,” they said. After nearly 100 responses on Twitter and my Facebook accounts, I decided to go to Wendy’s and try this taste sensation for myself.

  • Christina Silvers: I’m from Ohio and everyone there dips the fry into the Frosty
  • Mary Green: Better than coffee and oatmeal! Lol!
  • Wes Hope: Fries have to be hot, crispy and salty for best results. Don’t know if it’s Southern or not… I wasn’t born here.
  • Janet Delaney Elliott: Did it all the time when I was on the nest!
  • Zane Hagy: I was a manager at Wendy’s during my college years. Would be safe to say I saw them eaten that way every night. NEVER tempted to try it.
  • Betsy Pickle: Which came first: Deep-fried ice cream or Frosty fry-dipping? Both sound disgusting.
  • Lori Tucker: My daughters used to do that in high school. But then, they would dip fries in just about anything.
  • Patrick M. Tallent: Dave Thomas got his start at Regas in downtown Knoxville. You could technically say that Wendy’s itself is a Southern thing. And yes, I do Frosty fries.
  • Denae D’Arcy: Dang you @FrankMurphyCom I’m craving fries dipped in a Frosty now.
  • Kathi Dougherty: and I love to put M&M’s in my popcorn at the movies!

my wife dips a french fry in our shared Frosty I didn’t know that dipping french fries into a Frosty was such a big deal. Over 98,000 people have “liked” the concept on Facebook. Unfortunately, it didn’t do anything for me.  Don’t get me wrong, I usually like the combination of sweet and salty but I thought that the fries were not that salty and the Frosty wasn’t that sweet. My wife makes great cracker candy with Flipsides and dark chocolate. I love Benton’s bacon covered in dark chocolate. Maybe it’s that a Frosty barely has any chocolate in it.

August 21, 2010 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 6 Comments 

The Ask For

Taz Cable reached out to the local media folks who have been guests on his “Bowl of Oh!” show. Would we participate in a fundraiser for a charity called Guitars Not Guns? He used the magic word that made me instantly say yes, “improv.”

The event, called The Pick and Grin, will be held on Thursday, September 2 at Latitude 35. The itinerary for the evening includes music by The Dead Ringers, a live auction and the K-Town Comedy Hour.

Four of my colleagues at the radio ranch and three local news anchors have signed on, as has Ashley Johnston from “The Biggest Loser.” I offered to teach a few improv games to Ashley, Marc, Kim, Gretchen, T the ROP, Tearsa Smith, Michele Silva and Erin Donovan. I also asked any available members of Einstein Simplified to help out. About half the troupe will miss the event because of their annual trek to Dragon*Con.

Now I have to figure out which improv games would best showcase the talents of the TV and radio people. Any suggestions?

August 20, 2010 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments 

Kitchen Sync

Publicist Zane Hagy had a great idea for his client. Celebrate The Pizza Kitchen’s birthday by giving away free 8-inch pizzas all day Wednesday. He predicted that they would give away 600 pizzas. He was only off by 2,003.

line out the door for The Pizza Kitchen's birthday promotion There was a line out the door when my family and I arrived for dinner.  Like many of the patrons, we purchased drinks and salads to go with our free pizzas. Zane told me that the restaurant would make money that day despite all the free food. We thought our pizzas were delicious and I’m not just saying that because they were free. I would be shocked if they didn’t repeat the promotion next year.

free 8 inch pizza from The Pizza Kitchen's birthday promotion Giving away pizza was more cost-effective than mailing postcards to people who may never come to the restaurant. They used free social media sites to spread the word, which made me wonder how many people missed out because they don’t use Twitter or Facebook. The 2,603 free pizzas went to satisfied customers who are likely to become repeat customers and who are likely to tell their friends online and in the real world.

August 19, 2010 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment 

Hamster Dance

“Congratulations to you both. How did your wife take it?” joked my friend Bean. He was reacting to the Twitter posts announcing that Abby Ham is pregnant. “Like a trooper,” was my response. My wife later told me that she got a good laugh over the comments.

Regular blog reader Keith called me this morning to make sure I had heard. He had read the good news about Abby and her husband Herby on Facebook. I told Keith that I had a few suspicions thanks to some completely different Facebook posts. A few of Abby’s co-workers uploaded photos from Kay Watson’s recent wedding. I thought that Abby had a certain glow in the pictures.

Abby Ham & Frank Murphy at 2010 Radiothon for Children's Hospital In April, my wife teased me by saying I looked like I could be Abby’s father. So would that make her child my grandanchor?

August 18, 2010 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

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