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It practically gallops!

Fest Up

The show schedule for the Gatlinburg Improv Fest was posted the other day. Einstein Simplified will perform on Friday, February 24 at 9:30 p.m. and on Saturday, February 25 at 6:30 p.m.

A weekend pass for all shows Thursday-Saturday is available for $100
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Thursday February 23, 2012
6:30-7:30 Welcome!
8:00-9:00 Sweet Fanny Adams, Gatlinburg, TN $10
9:30-10:30 TBA (tentative)

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Friday February 24, 2012 – day pass is $40 for all Friday shows, or individual show prices below
5:00-6:00 Shenanigans, Cleveland, TN $10
6:30-7:30 Obv-prov, Cleveland, TN $10
8:00-9:00 Six Guitars -Chase Padgett, Orlando, FL $12
9:30-10:30 Einstein Simplified, Knoxville, TN $10
11:00-12:00 Sweet Fanny Adams, Gatlinburg, TN $10
12:30-1:30 *Sweet Fanny Adams. Gatlinburg, TN – late night invitational (tentative)

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Saturday February 25, 2012 – day pass is $50 for all Saturday shows, or individual show prices below
3:30-4:30 Sweet Fanny Adams, Gatlinburg, TN $10
5:00-6:00 Obv-prov, Cleveland, TN $10
6:30-7:30 Einstein Simplified, Knoxville, TN $10
8:00-9:00 Six Guitars -Chase Padgett, Orlando, FL $12
9:30-10:30 Reasonably Priced Babies, Asheville, NC $10
11:00-12:00 Shenanigans, Cleveland, TN $10
12:30 -1:30 *Sweet Fanny Adams. Gatlinburg, TN – late night invitational (tentative)

I’ve started looking up the other groups who’ll be sharing the stage at the Sweet Fanny Adams Theatre with us. I found a Facebook page for Reasonably Priced Babies from Asheville and a YouTube channel for Shenanigans from Lee University. Here’s a video of Shenanigans playing “Dead Bodies.”

February 5, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment 

The Brew Crew

Kim Leslie came down the stairs as soon as I arrived at the Smoky Mountain Brewery. Lauren, the manager on duty, smiled and said she had given Kim one of the same buzzers used to tell patrons their table was ready. When I gave my name at the hostess stand, Lauren activated the buzzer.

I’ve known Kim for years. We worked at different Washington radio stations but had mutual friends. She is now on the air in Nashville. When I read on Facebook that her family was on their way to a vacation in Gatlinburg, I suggested that they have dinner at the Brewery. I had plans to be there for a live video feed on SMOMOtv.com with Taz Cable.

My blogfather, Rich Hailey, and his wife Lissa were also in attendance. I mentioned them as well as a Twitter message I received from Travis Quick, a fan of the Brewery’s Turkey Creek location. Taz and I were on just as the Champs Sports Bowl ended. I was rooting for Knoxville Catholic High School alumnus Harrison Smith, who was playing his last game for Notre Dame. Unfortunately, the Fighting Irish lost but Smith is likely to play again next year in the NFL.

December 30, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment 

Greek to Me

In past years, talk-show hosts like Bill O’Reilly have drawn attention to the war on Christmas. John Gibson wrote a book with that title. The term refers to people replacing “merry Christmas” with the politically-correct greeting “happy holidays.”

Chi Rho created by Frank Jr. using Microsoft Paint Instead of the war on Christmas, “Overnight America” host Jon Grayson is fighting against the “war on Xmas.” Many people mistakenly believe that the X in Xmas is an atheist trick to remove Christ from Christmas. On Thursday morning’s show, Jon said his grade school teacher explained that the X was a “crisscross” that represented the crucifixion. I had been taught that X was actually the Greek letter Chi, the first letter of Christ. Chi Rho, the first two letters of Christ, are the components of a well-known Christian symbol. “Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison” (Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy) is one of very few Greek prayers in the Latin Mass.

James Newport, the Gatlinburg Improv Fest organizer, posted on Facebook that his 7-year-old daughter spelled Christmas “x minus m-a-s.” His wife Krisha commented, “I’m sure she’ll be messing with ‘E-str’ soon too!”

December 16, 2011 | Filed Under Catholic | Leave a Comment 

Convection Connection

Harvest of Blessings 2011 - Karie's pie cupcakes The old argument about cake vs. pie turned up in two unusual places last weekend. First, I saw a photo on Facebook of a cake in the shape of the Greek letter Pi. Then, I saw cupcakes that looked like pies at the annual Harvest of Blessings bake sale at All Saints Church.

Harvest of Blessings 2011 - Karie's fishbowl cupcakes Each year our friend Kathy and her daughter Karie strive to make something interesting. The night before the sale, Kathy’s husband Keith reminded me to bring my camera to church the next day. In addition to the pie cupcakes, Karie had made chocolate cupcakes decorated like fishbowls. I bought one and enjoyed it right there.

Harvest of Blessings 2011 - my wife's iced pumpkin cookies For the first time, my wife baked something for the sale. I got a recipe for Iced Pumpkin Cookies from a co-worker. Most similar recipes contain eggs but this one did not. My wife held back a dozen cookies to share with friends after our Thanksgiving dinner.

November 26, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment 

Syncopated Rhythms

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is broadcast on both NBC and CBS. The official telecast on NBC is too scripted while the coverage on CBS isn’t scripted enough. The hosts of “Today,” who work together every day, recited the banter that had been prepared for them. It always has the same feel as the forced repartee of co-presenters on an an awards show. Meanwhile, two correspondents from “The Insider” were given the freedom to ad-lib on CBS. Unfortunately, they spent much of their time talking over each other. It was a downgrade from last year’s CBS telecast.

A guy dressed as a baker on the Morton Salt “Home Baked Goodness” float looked more like Santa Claus than the Santa on the North Pole float. Macy’s Santa had a forked beard. The celebrity on Morton’s float was “American Idol” winner Scotty McCreery. He got caught off-guard by his own song and raised the microphone to his lips after his pre-recorded voice had already started singing. The same thing happened to Avril Lavigne on the Cooking Channel’s “Tom Turkey” float. A little later, seasoned pro Neil Diamond showed how it’s done while aboard the South Dakota Tourism float. I wrote on Twitter: “Neil Diamond doesn’t wait for the lip-sync track before lifting his mic. The lip-sync track waits until Neil Diamond is ready!”

My favorite marching band performance was by the Dobyns-Bennett High School Marching Band, which covered the song “Dynamite.” One of the band members received the Bob Hope Band Scholarship Award.

NBC fills the first hour of their broadcast with performances outside Macy’s while they wait for the parade to arrive. Daniel Radcliffe showed off some impressive dance moves with the cast of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” I was surprised to learn that a version of the movie flop “Newsies” is coming to Broadway as a musical. The costumes from “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” were bizarre, as I’m sure they were intended to be.

My friend Jessica commented on the parade via Facebook. She responded to another of her friends by writing, “you weren’t kidding about the Priscilla number being a little outré for family TV. Also, I was playing the ‘which one of those dancers is in drag; and which one is a female made up to look like a man in drag?’ game.”

November 24, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment 

Stamp of Approval

Earlier this month, WBIR and WTNZ aired a report about the Body Farm and its connection to the movie “The Blind Side.” After the broadcast, producer Amanda Dill contacted me with an idea for a follow-up. She still had more Body Farm footage to use before the end of November sweeps.

Susan Seals of BoneZones.com wants the U.S. Postal Service to honor Dr. Bill Bass on a stamp. After the dedication ceremony for the William M. Bass Forensic Anthropology Building, Susan asked me to help spread the word via Facebook and Twitter. Susan told Amanda about the campaign and Amanda asked me to give them a sound bite for Monday’s newscasts. It would publicize the Facebook page for the stamp campaign and serve as a tease for a longer story on Tuesday night about a memorial service for those who donate their bodies.

Dr. William M. Bass Forensic Anthropology Building - autopsy table They shot an interview with me on Friday at Star 102.1 but a technical glitch made the audio unusable. Amanda asked if I could redo the sound bite after the memorial service on Monday. The service was held in the classroom space at the new Bass building. Dr. Bass introduced two chaplains from the UT Medical Center, who each led a prayer. Several students attended, as did Dr. Lee Meadows Jantz and Dr. Dawnie Steadman. They recorded me in the lab, in front of an as-yet-unused autopsy table.

November 22, 2011 | Filed Under Body Farm | 1 Comment 

WATE, Your Turn

The playing field is level once again for Knoxville’s local TV news. Like WVLT and WBIR before it, WATE has started broadcasting its local newscasts in high-definition. I watched their evening and late-night news on Monday to see how it looked. The transition seemed smooth. I didn’t notice any glitches. I know they have been taking their time to make things work. I toured their new set almost a month ago as they were still wiring the control room.

Unless I missed it, the anchors didn’t make any special mention on-air about the improvements. They have, however, been very active on Facebook and Twitter to promote the changes. Over the weekend, I saw pictures from Lori Tucker and from Kristin Farley. Perhaps most interesting was the Facebook photo album of the construction progress. Tearsa Smith was hoping her son would be born before her first HD newscast on Tuesday. He was. Jamie Lynn Drohan will fill in for Tearsa.

October 18, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment 

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