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It practically gallops!

Hip to Be Square

Dinner with the Bone Doctor 4 - Dr. Bill Bass brings a different set of bones to each “Dinner with the Bone Doctor.” The fourth such event at Echo Bistro & Wine Bar was held last night. Guests enjoyed sea bass and veal while staring at various bones from the Body Farm. I have had the good fortune to serve as emcee for each of the dinners.

Dinner with the Bone Doctor 4 - Dinner with the Bone Doctor 4 - The first bone of the evening was a native American skull that was about 400 years old. Dr. Bass could tell that the person’s skull was flattened by a cradleboard during infancy. As he placed the skull on each table in the restaurant, guests grabbed their cameras and cell phones to take a picture. Melissa Treece posted her photo to Twitter right away.

Dinner with the Bone Doctor 4 - One of the bones came from the neck of a bison. It had a huge hump spine. Dr. Bass compared it to the same bone from the neck of a human. Before the dinner, Susan Seals of the Bone Zones team said to me, “when Dr. Bass holds up the buffalo bone, be sure to mention that they serve bison steaks here at Echo.” When the time came, I grabbed a menu and read aloud: “Bison Strip Steak ‘Denmark,’ broiled to perfection then topped with sautéed shiitake mushrooms, country ham and blue cheese crumbles.”

Dinner with the Bone Doctor 4 - In the past, Dr. Bass has  shown what remains of an artificial hip from a person who was cremated. Last night he showed an artificial hip from someone who decomposed at the Body Farm. The number 31-05D is visible on the pelvis. According to the Body Farm numbering system, the bones came from the 31st body donated in 2005.

Dr. Bass gave a few hints about the next Jefferson Bass novel, “The Inquisitor’s Key,” which will be released on May 8. It involves the Avignon Papacy, the Shroud of Turin and a mysterious set of bones.

January 24, 2012 | Filed Under Body Farm | 1 Comment 

Monroe Doctrine

It’s the time of year when my wife and I make an effort to see some movies that are likely to be nominated for Academy Awards. Not all of them are shown at the local multiplex. Fortunately, we have an alternative.

The Regal Downtown West Cinema has gone digital since the last time I took notice. Plus,they sell beer and gourmet candies to enjoy while watching an art film with crystal-clear projection. For a market our size, Knoxville is lucky to have an art house theatre. Of course Regal Entertainment Group’s headquarters just so happen to be in Knoxville too.

I was delighted to see a digital-projection sign on the door as my wife and I went to see “My Week with Marilyn” with our friend Terry Morrow. Eddie Redmayne plays a young Colin Clark, who gets a job as third assistant director on “The Prince and the Showgirl”, starring Sir Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe. It took a few moments to recognize Kenneth Branagh as Olivier. Michelle Williams plays Monroe. Both of them are deserving nominees for Screen Actors Guild Awards. Williams is especially radiant as the legendary screen goddess.

The story is set in England. My wife loves British movies and she saw some actors that were familiar to her. I enjoyed the real-life characters portrayed in the film. Olivier’s wife, Vivien Leigh, was played by Julia Ormond. Monroe’s husband, Arthur Miller, was played by Dougray Scott. I liked seeing Dame Judi Dench steal a few scenes while portraying Dame Sybil Thorndike. It was nice to see Emma Watson playing a girl in the costume department who goes on a few dates with Colin before all his time gets consumed by Marilyn.

They briefly mentioned that Colin Clark’s father was a famous art historian. I remembered watching Sir Kenneth Clark, who gained international fame as the host of  the TV series “Civilisation.”

January 23, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

Musical Truth

The music chosen as the Mass setting in the Diocese of Knoxville is okay but it’s not my favorite. As I wrote at the start of Advent, I was looking forward to hearing different settings when I traveled.

I was in St. Louis a week ago, at a church that uses the Mass of St. Ann by composer Ed Bolduc. It has a much more joyful sound and is ideal for youth choirs. In the old days, we might have heard that sound at a “folk mass.” You can hear a demo version of it by clicking on the play button to the left.

In conversations with Fr. Gary Braun in St. Louis and Fr. Michael Woods in Knoxville, both priests mentioned the misguided video entitled “Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus.” In it, Jefferson Bethke begins with the erroneous claim that Jesus came to eliminate organized religion. Jesus actually said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” He said to Peter, “upon this rock I will build my church.” He instructed the disciples to carry on without him, forgiving sins (the sacrament of penance) and commemorating the Last Supper (the sacrament of the Eucharist).

This morning, Fr. Michael Woods suggested I read a column by fellow parishioner Bob Hunt in yesterday’s Knoxville News Sentinel. A week earlier, I had told Fr. Gary that Catholic blogger Frank Weathers (another All Saints parishioner) said organized religion is like the military. It may not be perfect, but you need it to fight evil.

A blog called “Bad Catholic” posted a great repudiation of Bethke’s video. Perhaps even better, they shared a link to the following response video by a priest in Evansville, Indiana, named Fr. Claude (Dusty) Burns aka Fr. Pontifex.

January 22, 2012 | Filed Under Catholic | Comments Off 

Living Room

Today is the 29th anniversary of my father’s death. I was 21 when he died, which means that he’s been dead about 7½ years longer than I knew him. He was 50 years and 8 months old when he died. I am currently 50 years and 7 months old. The Good Lord willing (as my grandma used to say), I will start outliving him next month.

I’ve tried to do a few things differently in order to live longer. My father died from a cerebral hemorrhage, so I try to keep my blood pressure down by eating and drinking in moderation. He and his father were both heavy. I lost weight and I try everyday to keep it off. My quest to visit all 50 states was just something I wanted to do. However, the self-imposed deadline to finish by the time I turned 50 was inspired by my father’s death at age 50.

So, what’s next? The year ahead promises to bring at least one big change as my son graduates from college and starts a new job. This anniversary is a good opportunity for me to think about how I want to spend the time that my father didn’t get.

January 21, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 4 Comments 

But Moses Invests

unusual minivan in St. Louis parking lot One of my favorite church sign sayings is “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” I assume that the owner of a decorated minivan in St. Louis wants the answer to be yes.

unusual minivan in St. Louis parking lot From a distance, it wasn’t clear why one car in the Walmart parking lot stood out from the others. Upon closer inspection, my family and I could see that it had been painted with religious messages, the largest of which was “Jesus Saves!” The license plate referenced Yahshua, another name for Jesus.

As I photographed the van, a police car pulled up behind us. For a second, we thought that the officer was going to tell us to stop. However, she just wanted to get a closer look at the van too.

January 20, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments 

Choosy Mothers Choose GIF

Krisha Newport stopped by my remote broadcast on Wednesday. She was on her way to a planning meeting for the Gatlinburg Improv Fest, which starts five weeks from today. The entry deadline is January 25. The festival will run February 23 to 26 at Sweet Fanny Adams Theatre, located at traffic light #3 in Gatlinburg.

The headliner is a one-man musical improv act called 6 Guitars. The star, Chase Padgett, had to buy a new guitar when his home was burglarized recently.

Krisha said there will be an improv jam, in which all the participants get to play improv games with each other. Although I’ve been doing improv for over ten years, this will be my first improv festival and I can hardly wait. I saved a few bucks by signing up Einstein Simplified before the early registration deadline last month.

January 19, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

Relapsing McPheever

They say that ” Smash” is like “Glee” for grown-ups. It’s actually better than that. My interest was piqued by the frequent promos, which inexplicably say “introducing Katharine McPhee.” She was on “American Idol” six years ago.

The series debuts the day after the Super Bowl but NBC has made the pilot episode available three weeks early via several methods including Xfinity On Demand and Amazon Instant Video.

“Smash” tells the story of a Broadway musical being created. The show-within-a-show is a musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe. It only took a few minutes of the pilot to get me hooked. McPhee’s character is competing with another girl for the role of Marilyn. I especially loved the baseball number, in which Marilyn sings and dances with Joe DiMaggio’s teammates.

Jack Davenport plays the director of the musical. I always enjoyed watching him on the British version of “Coupling.” There are a couple of other recognizable faces in the cast including Debra Messing as one of the writers and Anjelica Huston as the producer.

When Katharine McPhee was on “American Idol,” my family and I were interested to know that she had attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks. Several of my daughter’s elementary school classmates went to Notre Dame and she considered going there herself before choosing a different school.

January 18, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

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