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It practically gallops!

Undercover Ossuary

cover art for "The Inquisitor's Key" by Jefferson Bass The next Jefferson Bass novel, “The Inquisitor’s Key” will be released on May 8, 2012. Authors Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass have two book-signing events that day, one in the morning and one at night. They start the day at the Farragut West Knox Chamber of Commerce Speaker Breakfast Series.

The official book release event will be held at 6:00 p.m. on May 8 at the New Hope Center in Oak Ridge. Tickets go on sale on April 2, with proceeds benefiting United Way of Anderson County, Friends of Literacy and the William M. Bass Forensic Anthropology Building. Jennifer Alexander and I are co-emcees for the evening. The exact details about ticket sales are almost finalized and will be listed on BoneZones.com and elsewhere.

Jon Jefferson started a blog last month to “to share behind-the-scenes stories with readers between now and when the book comes out on May 8.” In the U.K., the book’s title will be “The Bones of Avignon,” which reveals a little more about the novel’s plot: “Could the ancient skeleton found hidden in the Palace of the Popes actually be the bones of Jesus?” Christians believe that Jesus ascended into heaven, without leaving a corpse behind. With a sacrilegious slugline to stir things up, I’m sure Jon is hoping for some of the success enjoyed by “The DaVinci Code.”

March 16, 2012 | Filed Under Body Farm | 1 Comment 

Self-Improvment Seminar

James and Krisha Newport of the Gatlinburg Improv Fest and Laurence Evans of the Sweet Fanny Adams Theatre were my guests on the East Tennessee Report that airs this morning. You can listen to a podcast of the show by clicking on the play button below.

In addition to the who/what/when and where of the festival, we talked about the rules of improv and how they can be applied to everyday life. Parts of our conversation were inspired by the books “Truth in Comedy” and “Improv to Improve Your Business,” which includes the Ten Commandments of Improv.

The Gatlinburg Improv Festival runs Thursday through Saturday. I will be there to perform with Einstein Simplified on Friday, February 24 at 9:30 p.m. and on Saturday, February 25 at 6:30 p.m. I am especially excited about performing in my first “improv jam” with members of the other groups attending the festival.

In other improv developments, both Einstein Simplified and our “home field,” Side Splitters Comedy Club, have been nominated for a 2012 Inny Award from the Improvisation News. Einstein Simplified is in category #4, short-form improv. Side Splitters is in category #14, best venue.

Frank Murphy Interviews James Newport, Krisha Newport and Laurence Evans of the Gatlinburg Improv Fest Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

February 19, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment 

Bacon Power

An article about a cookbook prompted me to buy a cupcake yesterday. The photo on the cover of “The Butch Bakery Cookbook” shows a cupcake topped with bacon. I immediately remembered reading a blurb about maple bacon cupcakes being sold at The Cup this month.

I had some errands to run, one of which put me in the same shopping center as The Cup’s Bearden store. I bought one cupcake to split with my wife, despite the staff’s suggestion that I buy two.

Maple Bacon Cupcake from The Cup - 2/1/12 It was a great cupcake, that I would highly recommend. Candied bacon is used as a garnish on top. If there was more bacon under the icing, I didn’t notice it. Pecans were infused into the cake and more were placed on top. The delicious maple icing was the most dominant flavor. The combination of tastes reminded us of breakfast, not dessert. I had poured us each a glass of milk but my wife said she would have enjoyed a glass of orange juice instead.

February 2, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

Sara Leeway

Ever since getting my Kindle, I have made it a habit to check the list of 100 “bestselling” free e-books on Amazon.com. They have a list of the top 100 free mp3 songs too.

Today I downloaded a free book called “CAKES – 50 Cake Recipes to Tantalize Your Taste Buds” by M. Smith and R. King and then mentioned it on Twitter. That prompted Jennifer Prairie to ask, “Do YOU bake?”

I am much more likely to buy a cake than to bake one, although I have helped my wife bake a few things. Before downloading the cookbook, I glanced at the table of contents and saw two recipes with the word banana in the title. Neither seemed close to the Sara Lee banana cake I loved as a kid. Every so often, the memory pops into my head and I wish I had some in the freezer.

If the free e-book didn’t have a replica of the Sara Lee recipe, maybe the Internet would. I found three candidates that might be worth a try: Banana Cake VI on AllRecipes.com; Iced Banana Cake on PetitChef.com and Southern Living Banana Cake on Food.com.

January 29, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments 

Wish Fulfillment

A few days after each “Dinner with the Bone Doctor,” Susan Seals mails me a few snapshots from the event. The pictures are signed by Dr. Bill Bass. This past week I was fortunate to receive a few pictures of myself with Dr. Bass as well as some pictures that I need to give to others.

Dinner with the Bone Doctor 4 - Melissa Treece meets Dr. Bill Bass Melissa Treece is a fan of Patricia Cornwell’s books and sometimes corresponds with the famous author via Twitter. Melissa plans to start reading the novels and the non-fiction books by Dr. Bass and Jon Jefferson. She bought a ticket to the dinner last Monday night and had a fabulous time. I have three autographed pictures for her.

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Dinner with the Bone Doctor 4 - Amy Sams meets Dr. Bill Bass and Frank Murphy Amy Sams entered the Star 102.1 Fall Fantasy contest last year. Her entry was picked on Halloween morning and she quickly called in to claim her prize. Her wish was to meet Dr. Bass. The radio station paid for Amy and her mother to attend the dinner. I have two autographed pictures for her.

January 28, 2012 | Filed Under Body Farm | Comments Off 

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 

Thank You, Thing

The Google Doodle inspired me to look online for episodes of one of my favorite old TV shows. Today would have been the 100th birthday of cartoonist Charles Addams.

Reruns of the “The Addams Family” were an afternoon TV staple in my youth. My parents taught me that the same characters were found in copies of The New Yorker that my father brought home every week. I would eagerly flip through each issue looking for a new Addams cartoon. Before long, I discovered books of Addams cartoons at the Crestwood Library. I borrowed titles like “Favorite Haunts” and “The Groaning Board” and eventually bought a few Addams anthologies from the Mystery Guild. Of the cartoons, I generally preferred the ones set in the real world instead of those at the mansion of Gomez, Morticia et al.

As I watched the first two episodes of season one, I skimmed through an episode guide at a comprehensive fan site. From there, I decided to watch a fun Halloween episode with guest star Don Rickles as a crook and a great two-part flashback episode with guest star Margaret Hamilton as Morticia’s mother.

January 7, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

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