Thursday, October 18, 2012

Patricia Cornwell's Bone Bed in Nashville Saturday
Bestselling Author Patricia Cornwell discusses her new book The Bone Bed at Parnassus Books Salon@615 event Saturday October 20 at 1pm.  You will need a ticket, but the event is free.  Find out details on the Parnassus Books event page.

Homelessness and Hunger Find Hope at MTSU
There's now an MTSU student food pantry."A lot of students have the financial means to come to campus and be a student, they just don't have the means to support themselves," said Becca Seul, an MTSU academic advisor who opened the pantry. She had a student, one of the foster care students who was hungry and needed food." That gave her the idea to start the pantry.  Officially, 67 MTSU students are classified as homeless and about 80 more come from the foster care system. According to Mix Morning Show listener Wendy, Austin Peay University has a similar program.

Lance Armstrong Keeps Two Endorsements
Sponsors are abandoning Lance Armstrong like falling dominoes, the latest being Anheuser Busch's energy drink company - ironically over doping evidence.  Two sponsors - Oakley and Honey stinger that make energy/protein bars..are standing by him.

Wash-The-Vote
A Knoxville car wash is asking customers to come clean about who they support in the presidential race. 3 Minute Magic Carwash  locations designate the Barack Obama and Mitt Romney lanes and workers are keeping track of how many customers use which. Owner Jim Rooney says the aim is to get people talking and encourage them to vote in a campaign he calls Wash The Vote, which he chronicles on Facebook.

Birthdays and BFF's
Bdays today include Bristol Palin (the latest bye-bye on Dancing With The Stars), Jean Claude Van Damme who is 52, And Erin Moran (Joanie from Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi) - who has
been in the news of late over reports of being homeless dealing with alcohol issues .  On a good note, Henry Winkler (the Fonz) is coming to her aid, and working to get her involved in Arrested Development, hoping work will help pull her back up again. Read more of the story here.

Teen Car Burglaries Hit South Nashville
Two young teenagers have admitted to police they were out burglarizing vehicles at a South Nashville apartment complex Tuesday night. Police said that officers were called after a citizen's tip about suspicious persons in the parking lot. When the officers arrived found the teens wandering the area. After being questioned both boys admitted to having stolen several items including a laptop,
 a GPS unit, a radar detector and credit cards. They were charged with three counts each of auto burglary withAdditional burglary charges anticipated.

Deer Crash Caution This Fall
Officials with the Tennessee Highway patrol have warned drivers to be extra careful on the roads this fall. Autumn is typically the worst time of year for deer-related crashes, especially November. Last year there were over 5,000 crashes including 2 fatalities. THP says Use Caution - Slow Down - Stay Alert (which is good in Nashville traffic even when deer aren't involved.)

Binders Full of Women
There's a new 'hot phrase' that might be one for the new dictionary entries this year.  "BINDERS FULL OF WOMEN." Mitt Romney is setting the Internet ablaze with a new phrase that has already gone viral.  During Tues night's debate, he asked women's groups to help him find candidates for his cabinet. The phrase "binders full of women" already has its own Tumblr page, Facebook page and Twitter account. 

The First Official "Long Distance Relationship"
On this date in 1892, the very first long distance telephone line was opened between Chicago and NY...and the phrase "remember...call your mother" has echoed from that day forward.

Stolen Monkey Is Home...And His Hair Will Grow
A stolen marmoset monkey named Gizzy from Clarksville is home now after being found weeks after being reported missing, 100 miles from home based on an anonymous tip.  The owner is happy to have his monkey back, saying he's good aside from the fact he's very skinny and he's been shaved.  (Shave the Monkey...isn't that a song by Peter Gabriel?) You can see pictures of Gizzy.

Healthy Halloween
Halloween is just around the corner, and wellness expert Dr. Caroline Cederquist has some tips for parents to keep the candy-filled holiday as healthy as possible.  She notes enjoying some fall favorites like apples and pumpkins can be done without an excessive amount of calories.  She recommends baking an apple and adding cinnamon or whipping up a butternut squash soup.  Now that should make all those trick or treaters happy.  She's got an egg with her name on it.

Be aware of what you wear to vote!
Mark Hicks was among the nearly 10,000 people who went to the polls in Davidson County on the first day of early voting, but was told he could not vote while wearing the Romney-Ryan t-shirt , citing the rule that no one is allowed to have campaign material within 100 feet of a polling place...and that includes  t-shirts said the election official .  He was allowed to vote after he went home and changed shirts.

Stealing To Pay Off Gambling Debt...Not A Good Idea
In Cookeville, 19 yr old Brandon Henry admitted entering a local Walmart and stealing a flat screen television, a vacuum cleaner, a Blu-ray player and a pair of pajama pants. He was taken into police custody last night where Henry said he gave the stolen TV and Blu-ray player to a subject he owed $150 to for losing a bet on Saturday's UT game. He allegedly told officers he stole the vacuum cleaner for a friend's wife because she wanted one. No word as to why he stole the pajama pants.