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It practically gallops!

Thirty Years More

If it was possible to send a message back through time to the younger me, I would tell myself to drive from Northern Virginia to East Tennessee during the 1982 World’s Fair. I was focused on school, while also working at the college radio station. Later that summer, I got my first job at a commercial radio station, albeit a bankrupt one, in Herndon.

Since moving to Knoxville ten years ago, I’ve collected a few World’s Fair items. To me, they are as interesting as artifacts from the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. I hope to visit the Farragut Folklife Museum before May 18 to see their collection of 1982 World’s Fair memorabilia.

The Fair opened 30 years ago today. The local television stations commemorated the anniversary with retrospective stories. WBIR anchor-emeritus Bill Williams filed a great then-and-now piece.

May 1, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment 

Kicking Pill Dependence

Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch’s interview was timed to promote the upcoming Law Enforcement Memorial Run. The annual event takes place on the morning of May 12 at Volunteer Landing. The turning point of the conversation came when I asked Chief Rausch about the most important issue facing the area today. Without any hesitation, he said the biggest problem is the abuse of prescription medication.

Knoxvillians are very familiar with the story of Judge Richard Baumgartner, who was hooked on pain pills while presiding over several notorious trials. East Tennessee Children’s Hospital was featured on CNN.com yesterday for their treatment of babies born with a dependence on prescription painkillers.

I very much enjoyed speaking with Chief Rausch. He rose through the ranks from officer to chief, which he stated as his goal from day one on the job. The audio of the public-affairs program is posted below.

Frank Murphy Interviews KPD Chief David Rausch - Knox LEMR 04-29-12 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

April 29, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment 

Dogwood You Believe?

Scooby Doo and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Dogwood Arts Festival Parade used to march up Church Avenue and turn right on Gay Street. Last night I looked there for the parade but found only a Megabus instead. The parade now takes Hill Avenue to Gay Street. In the distance, I spotted the Scooby Doo balloon in front of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. He might have been looking for a sculpture resembling Thelma in the rotunda.

I had hoped to interview some of the participants before the 7:00 p.m. start. The crew from SMOMOtv had a camera location near the reviewing stand that allowed me to talk with some spectators and to get a closer look at Scooby Doo. The first marching band played “A Hard Day’s Night,” maybe because of the line “and I’ve been working like a dog.” There was also a band from New Jersey that made a valiant effort at performing “Rocky Top.”

April 28, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment 

Blue and Gold Smith

Autographed Harrison Smith Notre Dame jersey at silent auction for Sacred Heart Cathedral School An autographed Harrison Smith jersey was one of the more interesting silent auction items at the event my wife and I attended Saturday night. The fancy benefit for Sacred Heart Cathedral School took place at Cherokee Country Club.

There’s a good chance Smith could be picked in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday. The New York Times ranks him among the top three safeties available. They think he could end up playing for the Buccaneers, Jets, Patriots, Texans, Lions or Packers.

Coach Phillip Fulmer at Knoxville Catholic High School in 2006 to watch Harrison Smith The party-goers remembered Smith from his days at Knoxville Catholic High School. Over the past five years, my wife and I watched a few Notre Dame football games just to see him play. I remember the night some top coaches showed up at KCHS to recruit him.

April 23, 2012 | Filed Under Catholic | Leave a Comment 

Northwest Passage

The Emerald City has claimed another Knoxville news anchor. Hana Kim is leaving WATE-TV to join KCPQ in Seattle. A few months ago, Jamie Lynn Drohan left WATE for KOMO.

Frank Murphy and Hana Kim in Tyvek suits during FBI Citizens Academy Frank Murphy and Hana Kim in Humvee during FBI Citizens Academy Hana was my classmate and “lab partner” in the FBI Citizens Academy. Before class, we would chat about Northern Virginia. Hana is from McLean and graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland. My friend Bean, who lives in Seattle, also went to UMD.

Hana covered a lot of the biggest stories to hit Knoxville during her time at WATE. Her Twitter feed often included real-time courtroom updates from notable trials. On one of his blogs, Dan Andrews praised Hana for her reporting skills.

Some of Hana’s friends posted photos on Facebook of their good-bye celebrations. I got a kick out of a picture that showed a cake decorated with icing images of the Sunsphere and the Space Needle and the words “from” and “to.”

April 22, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment 

Far Left of the Radio Dial

A free Kindle book got me to listen to the pledge breaks on our local NPR affiliate in a new way. “Diary of a Public Radio Slave” by Kerri Wood Thomson was offered for free on the day I ordered it in February. The amusing story is set at a radio station on a college campus in a snowier climate than here. I suspect that the book evolved from a blog Thomson started in 2006.

I had to ignore a few typographical errors and the chapter headings confused me. The days and times of the fictional diary entries didn’t seem to match the action in the chapters. Much of the story deals with the impending visit of “Sebastian Kohler,” a thinly disguised version of Garrison Keillor. The synopsis of the plot on Amazon.com and on the author’s blog gives away too much about the book’s ending.

Aside from those minor problems, the book is very good. The scenes of volunteers happily eating donated food was reminiscent of my own experience as a volunteer at our local public television station. Shortly after I read a chapter that mocked the artwork on t-shirts and coffee mugs offered as premiums, I heard real radio announcers offering similar items as gifts to Knoxville donors. In the book, there was a body part hidden in a line drawing of their city on the mugs and shirts. In my mind, I could only picture the Sunsphere.

As I neared the end of “Diary of a Public Radio Slave,” I found another Amazon freebie. “The Zombie Wilson Diaries” by Timothy W. Long looks like it could be pretty funny. My reading is in a little bit of a holding pattern as I await the arrival of my review copy of the new Body Farm novel, “The Inquisitor’s Key” by Jefferson Bass. I’m such a fan that I even sprung for the 99ยข to pre-order an e-book prequel called “Madonna and Corpse” that will be delivered to my Kindle on April 24.

April 20, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment 

Big Fan of Renamed Ham

The asphalt zoomed toward me as Roy De La Rosa pretended to drop me. He actually had a good grip but I didn’t know that at the time. Later, Roy said it was a type of stage drop that would cause the droppee to keep a grip on the dropper. We were playing a game of New Choice set in a lumberjack camp during an unusual Einstein Simplified show. It was a benefit for the American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces held in the parking lot of Bruster’s Real Ice Cream last night. The surprising drop happens at 47 seconds into the video below.

April 15, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment 

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