tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150181632010-04-25T13:57:00.194-04:00Frank Murphy dot comFrank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.comBlogger1798125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-56383689862655815892010-03-31T05:03:00.005-04:002010-03-31T05:03:00.838-04:00the end zoneThe newest Body Farm novel has been a topic of conversation almost everywhere I've been over the past week. At last night's Einstein Simplified show, a guy named Moose told me that his father had been at the Oak Ridge book signing. Moose was amused that I had signed page 359 of his dad's copy of "The Bone Thief." One of the errors caught by my proofreading got mentioned by Jon Jefferson in a Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-30449831697321265012010-03-30T05:18:00.002-04:002010-03-30T05:18:00.528-04:00with a beltOne of the things I will miss about Blogger.com is the reading list on my dashboard. My type of blog is being kicked to the curb by the Blogger software developers. Originally their deadline was last Friday. They have extended it until May 1 but I have decided to flip the switch to my new WordPress blog on April 1.Today I am trying to figure out how to best use the sidebars and widgets on my new Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-44528471680739033192010-03-29T05:51:00.006-04:002010-03-29T05:51:00.511-04:00prodigal stun What once was lost has now been found! Four months after I lost my digital camera, it has found its way back to me.On the day after Thanksgiving, my kids and I purchased a new washer and dryer as a Christmas gift for my wife. They posed for pictures with the floor models of the appliances. Our plan was to give my wife the photos on Christmas day, since the machines wouldn't be delivered until Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-53800240803807820532010-03-28T23:20:00.004-04:002010-03-28T23:25:38.136-04:00shell games The torrential rain today meant that my wife and I had to suggest an indoor activity for our house-guests. My wife's sister and four of her kids are here on their spring break. We drove to tourist-friendly Sevier County and were slightly delayed by the last participant in the Knoxville Marathon. One of the cops who stopped traffic confirmed to me that I was watching the final runner cross HenleyFrank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-56351164773706373812010-03-27T23:13:00.002-04:002010-03-28T07:31:50.850-04:00song choiceAdam Golka almost made us late for The Breakfast Club. The piano virtuoso was practically forced to play an encore by Maestro Lucas Richman. My wife and I attended last night's performance by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. The second half of the concert was Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3. Guest artist Golka tore the roof off the place with his performance. He received an immediate Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-64680819803388595362010-03-26T23:56:00.002-04:002010-03-27T02:24:38.027-04:00bony baloney The invitation from Susan and Mary Jo of the Bone Zones crew was enticing. They would set up some seats for me to fill with listeners who wanted to meet Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass at their book-signing event in Oak Ridge last night. I could use the opportunity to get copies of "The Bone Thief" autographed both for myself and for the Star 102.1 Radiothon to benefit East Tennessee Children's Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-20026418138420603452010-03-25T23:34:00.004-04:002010-03-26T00:57:47.623-04:00anchors aweigh "Wow, that photo is like your dreams come to life! Nice," said the message from my friend Bean, who had just seen a picture I posted to Twitter. Three morning news anchors from three different television stations had come in to be interviewed about their participation in Star 102.1's Dancing with the Knoxville Stars. I danced in last year's version of the event and my wife made a donation to Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-12199462734859171062010-03-24T23:08:00.004-04:002010-03-24T23:26:40.641-04:00obscure little research facilityJon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass autographed each of their first four Body Farm novels when I interviewed them about the books. Because our interview for "The Bone Thief" was recorded before the finished products were back from the printer, my copy is not yet signed. Neither is the extra copy that HarperCollins sent me as a donation for the silent auction at the Star 102.1 Radiothon to benefit Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-15159765874533891892010-03-23T23:44:00.002-04:002010-03-24T00:19:16.113-04:00come togetherTourism is big business in East Tennessee. Dollywood, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, recently hosted a forum for the gubernatorial candidates on the topic. I saw something in St. Louis recently that might be worth stealing for the Great Smoky Mountains region. An entrepreneur could even sell a ten-second advertisement to play before the message. In the complex beneath the Gateway ArchFrank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-529428346958258022010-03-22T23:23:00.002-04:002010-03-22T23:27:03.105-04:00chance of blurriesMovies 7, the place formerly known as the "dollar theater" now charges $2 a ticket, which is still pretty good. While we waited for the show to start Sunday night, my wife and I saw an odd combination of ancient slides advertising the concessions, outdated E! fun facts about movies from the '90s, and some Coca-Cola sponsored trivia questions about movies that haven't come out yet. The "pre-show Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-57461664937197854962010-03-21T23:52:00.003-04:002010-03-24T23:22:33.701-04:00walk and chew gumBefore I was asked to auction off a meal with the Bishop at the annual fund-raising dinner for Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, I had already agreed to be the honorary chairman for their "Kids Helping Kids Fun Walk." The event benefits Columbus Home, a refuge for boys who are victims of abuse and neglect. Sponsors are still needed for the walk. Sponsorships are $250 (full), $125 (half), or Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-54852067850978593412010-03-20T23:58:00.005-04:002010-03-21T00:45:30.395-04:00sweet seventeenthNo matter how late or how early Easter is each year, my wife's birthday always falls during Lent. As a result, we plan our Lenten sacrifices to exclude a sweet treat on her special day. This year's celebration was delayed because she's had a cold. We went out to dinner tonight and then someplace else to get dessert. My Facebook and Twitter feeds had several posts about free Italian ice today at Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-39293689836472750612010-03-19T22:45:00.003-04:002010-03-20T10:53:33.991-04:00without a netSkydiving and bungee jumping will never appeal to me. I wonder if the rush that you get from surviving is similar to the feeling I had last night when I stepped off the stage at the benefit dinner for Catholic Charities of East Tennessee. Event chair Tami Hartmann asked me to auction off an expensive bottle of Beaux Frères wine and then auction off dinner for ten with Bishop Stika right there in Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-68797783004676211202010-03-18T23:53:00.005-04:002010-04-07T00:38:13.019-04:00popular scienceNext week literally thousands of Tennesseans will line up at bookstores (and a Sam's Club) to get autographed copies of "The Bone Thief." If Dr. Bill Bass stayed up that late, the Knoxville stores could probably draw big crowds to midnight book release parties like they used to for Harry Potter. The Bone Zones team has set a goal of reaching The New York Times bestseller list with the newest Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-85317161061017628002010-03-17T23:49:00.002-04:002010-03-18T00:02:36.243-04:00see through Bob Yarbrough has been anchoring WVLT's noon news solo lately. Allison Kropff got moved over to the weather desk when Jim Freeman left. They gave Freeman a cake on his last day and wished him well. They mentioned that he was not leaving the area, just the station. His departure came shortly before the surprising announcement that Michele Silva had been hired to co-anchor the early morning news. Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-32018707976955498922010-03-16T23:21:00.002-04:002010-03-17T00:22:07.857-04:00unlucky charms It's time to call B.S. on Gibson Greeting Cards. Last week when I was buying my wife a birthday card, I saw two cards in the St. Patrick's Day section that said "Happy Shamrock Day." That's just wrong. It would be less offensive if they discontinued all their St. Patrick's cards rather than publish ones that celebrate clover. Back in the prehistoric days before I started this blog, I noticed Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-881268568709765652010-03-15T21:57:00.002-04:002010-03-16T23:32:16.130-04:00oveur and outTonight's planned television viewing was interrupted by 1967. While "Chuck" and "24" were still recorded by my DVR, I chose to fire up the DVD player and watch a couple of episodes from season 2 of "Mission: Impossible." My daughter gave me the discs for Christmas in 2008.The inspiration for my retro-viewing party was the death of Peter Graves, the one, true Jim Phelps. I was too young to stay upFrank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-40758347423035268502010-03-14T21:55:00.004-04:002010-03-17T00:55:11.963-04:00mad magazineThe big news at All Saints Church this morning was that Fr. Tony Dickerson has asked Bishop Stika for a leave of absence from the priesthood. We were all asked to pray for Tony, who is a favorite of my family. It's got to be a tough job. There are many former priests out there including one of my mother's relatives. Fr. Tony got a big laugh a couple of months ago when he told the congregation at Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-83238383319500573772010-03-13T23:42:00.004-05:002010-03-14T00:15:20.264-05:00no bones about it Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass start their publicity and book-signing tour for "The Bone Thief" in about a week. They fit me into their schedule one day last month to pre-record an interview that airs this week on the East Tennessee Report. You can download it as a podcast or listen to it by clicking on the "play" icon. The new book opens with the description of a dead news anchor. The Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-44990644937726301622010-03-12T19:43:00.004-05:002010-03-12T19:49:55.247-05:00great future in plastics The concept of plastination was more shocking when I first heard about it on "60 Minutes" or some similar newsmagazine. In the years since, I have learned a little bit about people who donate their bodies to science thanks to my conversations with Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson. When I saw a billboard along I-24 promoting a display of plastinized bodies in Nashville, I knew I had to see it. I Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-55907982671404147212010-03-11T21:33:00.002-05:002010-03-11T21:37:08.881-05:00the larp-er imageChris Butler is a movie buff. During our time working together at Power 106 he always knew which movies had gotten thumbs up from Siskel & Ebert. Therefore it was no surprise that he scored six out of six in the LARadio.com Oscar prediction poll. He won a year's subscription to the site, which grants night-before access to industry news and daily emails with headlines and other stories of Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-70686296592120250142010-03-10T22:44:00.003-05:002010-03-10T23:24:39.286-05:00when pigs flyOne of the best things about Nashville International Airport is the live music that you may encounter as you walk to your gate. I saw a sign for a "melody guy" that confused me because the singer was obviously a woman. It turns out that her name is Melody Guy.I was at the airport to drop off my son, who is on his Spring break from college. Normally I would let him out of the car in the white zoneFrank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-74717111796294389152010-03-09T23:53:00.006-05:002010-03-10T01:54:28.432-05:00sir francis bacon An unassuming building along the side of the road has a direct link to some of the finest restaurants in the country. Benton's Smoky Mountain Country Hams is arguably more famous for their bacon than for their hams. A recent issue of Metro Pulse inspired me to plan a field trip to Benton's with my bacon-loving son. They had articles about a hipster event called Baconfest founded by an Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-13317276186933798952010-03-08T22:57:00.005-05:002010-03-09T01:03:11.043-05:00archie's placeThey say that New Yorkers don't visit the Statue of Liberty. I never have, even though I grew up in the nearby suburbs. I try not to repeat that mistake when traveling, which is why I'm surprised it has taken me this long to make it to the top of the Gateway Arch. The Arch is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis.On our 3,000 mile road trip in the summer of Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15018163.post-29374089317151183982010-03-07T23:58:00.005-05:002010-03-08T18:35:46.625-05:00twoscarsThe Academy Awards are just wrapping up as I write this. Thankfully, "Avatar" did not win Best Picture as many thought it might when the nominations were first announced. The momentum for "The Hurt Locker" has been unstoppable lately and it wasn't too surprising that it claimed the top trophy.They say that to truly be the best picture, a film should also win the award for best director. Kathryn Frank Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959906296311010702noreply@blogger.com0