Paul Ryburn’s Journal

Last week I mentioned that Earnestine & Hazel’s would be closed for a little while for repair. Well, those repairs have started, and Tuesday night workers made a shocking discovery: They found bones in a wall. They are not sure what kind of bones – a doctor is looking into that – but it certainly fits in with the tales of Earnestine’s being haunted. Repairs will take 6 to 8 weeks but the back part of the building, the part known as 5 Spot, will be open with all of your favorite E&H staff.

One last reminder: The Cupcakes & Cocktails Dinner is tonight in Bardog’s Underground Room, and last I heard there were spots still open. This dinner pairs 4 cupcakes – 3 savory and 1 sweet – from Two Girls and a Whip with expertly mixed cocktails by Bardog’s bartenders.

Contemporary Media, Inc., which owns the Memphis Flyer, Memphis magazine, Inside Memphis Business, and Memphis Parent, is hiring an account executive.

Party band City Mix headlines the Peabody rooftop party this evening. $10 to get in, or go VIP for $20. Admission includes a buffet of pigs in a blanket and potato chips. VIPs get a second buffet of Chicago-, Memphis-, and New York-style hot dogs with house made chips and dip.

South Main Book Juggler at 548 S. Main is collecting cases of bottled water for our police officers.

A new concert has been announced for FedExForum: Heart and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts on October 4.

TV show Bluff City Law, filming in Memphis, is looking for extras. Pay is $75 for an 8-hour day. Hey hey, big spender!

Primas Bakery + Boutique has announced a French Macaron Tasting for Saturday, August 3 at 5 PM. Participants will enjoy four cocktail-themed macarons along with complimentary beverages. The menu will be

• Magarita macarons
• Sangria macarons
• Mojito macarons
• Pina colada macarons

Jack Pirtle’s has had to take their rice bowls off the menu for a couple of weeks. The Uncle Ben’s plant flooded and rice supply is short. They experimented with another brand but decided the taste was too different. They hope to have the rice bowls back by mid-August. In the meantime, there are many other delicious items still available!

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow.

This is going to be a fairly short one, folks. Didn’t sleep well last night.

TopGolf has been researching sites Downtown for a possible Memphis location, including the former home of the Commercial Appeal at 495 Union. The company is said to strongly prefer Downtown or Midtown for its Memphis location, as opposed to East Memphis or the ‘burbs. The trouble is, in Downtown it is hard to find a 10-12 acre space, which is the size they need. For those of you not familiar, TopGolf is a chain restaurant/event venue where you can play a variety of golf games, using real clubs and balls, on simulated courses. There are golf lessons offered as well as golf leagues. They have a full menu and the space is available to rent out for parties.

Every Memphis 901 FC home game, the Bluff City Mafia marches over from the Brass Door and they do a guitar smash by a local celebrity. Tonight’s guitar smash for the game vs. Nashville will be done by none other than Memphis Tigers men’s basketball coach and NBA legend Penny Hardaway.

Need school supplies for your kid? Come see the Redbirds play Saturday, August 3. The Redbirds are partnering with Walmart for a Back to School Night, and the first 1500 kids 12 and under will get a free backpack filled with

– pencils
– crayons
– notebooks
– one folder
– one glue stick
– Kleenex
– hand sanitizer

There’s now a local meal kit delivery service called Fix, reports The Daily Memphian. Unlike the nationwide services, you don’t have to have a subscription; you simply order the meals when you want them.

I’m done. See, I told you this would be a short post! Back tomorrow with more news.

I have a preview of one of the cocktails that will be served at the Cupcakes & Cocktails Dinner Thursday night in Bardog Tavern’s Underdog Room.

This is the MEMhattan, mixologist Sara Morgan Strom’s take on a Manhattan using BBQ bitters and a Luxardo cherry. It will be one of four drinks paired with cupcakes, three savory and one sweet, by Two Girls and a Whip at the dinner Thursday.

There will be a dog show at Loflin Yard Saturday, August 17 at 4 PM. The event will include a talent show, an ugly dog competition, a photo booth, puppy olympics, and dog karaoke. There will also be dogs up for adoption.

For those of you who are fans of the New Wing Order food truck, it will be back in Court Square this Thursday for lunch.

Delish taste-tested Burger King’s new $1 taco. The verdict: The taco you see in commercials looks much different from the one you get at the counter.

Blues on the Bluff, a fundraiser for radio station WEVL, happens on the grounds of the National Ornamental Metal Museum this Saturday. There will be craft beer by beer sponsor Memphis Made Brewing Co., wine, and non-alcoholic drinks. Live music, beautiful views of the Mississippi, food by the Fuel truck, and frozen treats by MEMPops.

Penn & Teller are coming to the Orpheum October 18.

Huey’s has added a mac & cheese burger to its menu.

Meth gators.

The Memphis Grizzlies, led by #21 pick Brandon Clarke, won the Summer League championship last night. The front office move of moving up two spots in the draft so they could grab Clarke is looking more and more like a smart one.

I’ve got a bone to pick with WREG and the @3onyourside Twitter account. They have a regular feature they do called “Manhunt Monday.” It gives the impression that Memphis is such a dangerous place that manhunts happen at least once a week. Which may well be true, but do you have to put that fact in the spotlight? Can’t you instead seek out the positive in Memphis (and there is a lot of positive going on) and spotlight that instead? This kind of thing is why I prefer to get my news from the Daily Memphian, which does not engage in clickbait.

The Memphis Flyer will have a mobile “brews” room at the Ghost River taproom from 5:30 to 7:30 Thursday. They want to drink a beer with you and get your ideas on how they can report the news better. George Abbott, director of external affairs of Memphis River Parks Partnership, will give a presentation on plans for the parks, and afterward there will be a Q&A.

RAWK’s Grub will celebrate its grand opening at Growlers on Poplar next Monday from 6 to 9. There will be a tap takeover by Meddlesome as well.

Y’all take it easy on the roads out there. Barry’s remnants are drenching Downtown this morning. Back tomorrow with more news.

When diner 3rd & Court opened last month, we were told there were plans to eventually open a bar in the downstairs of the location. The Memphis Flyer reports that will happen Labor Day weekend. Owner Ryan Trimm is planning for the place to be an old-style juke joint with vinyl and live music, soul and funk from the 60s and 70s. He says that will mean you will hear music from names like Rufus Thomas and Otis Redding. There will be a cocktail menu but you will also just be able to get “a shot of Jack and a cold PBR.” PBR? Sounds like Trimm is aware who lives nearby!

There will be a Cupcakes & Cocktails Dinner in the Underground Room at Bardog Tavern this Thursday, July 18. This is a partnership between Two Girls and a Whip and Bardog, pairing four of Two Girls’ cupcakes (three savory, one sweet) with cocktails by Bardog’s mixologists. The theme for this one is summertime food and drink. The menu:

* Cheddar chipotle corn cake filled with beans and topped with cold slaw and pulled pork and a bbq sauce drizzle

* Loaded baked potato salad cake with fried chicken and a roasted corn topper, drizzled with remoulade

* Smoked Gouda macaroni and cheese cake with a roasted broccoli casserole and brisket on top, finished with an onion tomato salad drizzle

* Sangria cupcake filled with a red wine reduction

The cost is $40 and there are seatings at 6:00 and 6:45. Advance reservations are mandatory; make them by calling 901-472-2253.

Speaking of Bardog, I was in there yesterday and they had ESPN2 on. This is the time of year when the NBA and NHL playoffs are over, as are the college baseball and softball playoffs, but it’s not yet NFL preseason. Meaning, this is the period when all kinds of random content shows up on the ESPN family of channels. There was a women’s cornhole tournament yesterday and sponsors’ company names appeared on the boards. At the top of the boards it read, “DEVOUR hims.” Kudos to the board designers on the sexual innuendo, whether intentional or not.

Also, while at Bardog yesterday, I saw a T-shirt: “On a juice cleanse #mimosas” Yes! That is the proper way to do it! Bonus points to the wearer of the shirt if they got Bardog’s classic steak & eggs breakfast with their mimosas.

In even more Bardog news, registration for the Breakaway-Bardog 5K is now open. It will be at 9 AM Sunday, August 18, 2019. This race is a fundraiser for St. Jude that in conjunction with Monroe Avenue Fest later that day, raises tens of thousands of dollars for the children’s hospital. If you’re a runner, join the race and help ensure that no family ever receives a bill for their child’s treatment. You’ll be treated to one of the best post-race parties of the year for your efforts.

MemphisWeather.net has an update on Tropical Storm Barry’s impact on the Mid-South.

There will be a celebration in Health Sciences Park on Friday, June 26 at lunchtime for the wrap-up of Memphis Medical District Week. Live music by the J Buck Band. Food trucks Gourmet Grillers and Moe’s will be there. There will be games and the first 100 attendees get free MemPops, and after that they will be for sale. Free MemPops? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

I usually am a big fan of the Peabody’s programming, but not this time: Tennessee Vols athletic director Phillip Fulmer to serve as honorary duckmaster. NOOOOOOO! Why in the world would you want that kind of crowd in The South’s Grand Hotel? There are so many people in West Tennessee who would be much better duckmasters! U of M president M. David Rudd would make an excellent duckmaster, just to throw out an idea. It’s not too late to tell Fulmer to hop on the John Deere and ride back to K-ville.

If you live in Downtown Memphis, from time to time you are approached by homeless (and “homeless”) people seeking help. Here’s a good article by Distractify: Former homeless people share what help was most useful to them.

I am out of time, so that’s the end of this post. I may take a day off tomorrow but I’ll be back with more news no later than Tuesday,

 

If you were planning to go see the Redbirds play this weekend, listen up: I have news on schedule changes. Due to the threat of inclement weather from Tropical Storm Barry, Sunday’s game has been canceled. To make it up, tonight’s game will be turned into a doubleheader, two seven-inning games. Gates will open at 3:30, with the first pitch of the first game at 4:05. It didn’t say in the press release, but I am assuming the fireworks show will go on as planned after the conclusion of the second game. If you already had a ticket for today, your ticket is now good to see both games.

If you had a ticket for Sunday’s game, it can be exchanged at the AutoZone Park ticket office for a ticket to any other game this season, including today’s doubleheader. Sunday’s game was supposed to have a promotion where the first 2000 fans would receive a Redbirds waffle bat from Prarie Farms Dairy. That promotion has been rescheduled for Sunday, August 4.

The Weather Channel projects the center of Barry will go to the west of Memphis, coming close to Shreveport and then Little Rock. However, the fact that the center of the storm will miss Memphis is not good news. The heaviest precipitation from a tropical cyclone tends to fall to the east of the center. TWC has Memphis on the very northern edge of the area where 5 to 8 inches of rainfall is expected through Tuesday.

Looking at the path of the storm, I would guess both Monday rush hours and the Tuesday morning rush hour could be particularly challenging. Downtowners who take the interstate south to work, those two mornings I recommend you take I-240 South and stay off I-55. There’s a place on 55 around the McLemore Avenue exit where 18-24 inches of rainwater has been known to pool during and shortly after heavy downpours.

I always struggle to report things that make my neighborhood look bad, but this time I’m going to. At 2:23 AM today I was lying in bed, trying to get back to sleep when I heard a single gunshot (the first one I have heard Downtown in a long, long time by the way). From the sound I would estimate this happened at approximately Main and Union. About 2 minutes later I heard a police car siren, not constantly blaring but rather the officer just tapping the siren button a couple of times, as if to get someone’s attention. About 3 minutes after that I heard the honking and siren of a single fire engine or ambulance. I wonder what that was. If there were multiple shots, I’d tend to guess it’s thugs who have issues with each other, or maybe fireworks I’m mistaking for gun shots. However, with only one shot being fired, my gut feeling is “robbery.” If anyone knows what went on, shoot me an email at paul@paulryburn.com.

The Daily Memphian has an article and photo gallery about what’s going on at Anime Blues Con at the Cook Convention Center this weekend.

The Bluff City Mafia will host a watch party for Memphis 901 FC’s away game this evening against Charleston Battery. The party will be at the Brass Door and will begin at 6:30. This is Memphis’ only away date during the month of July. If you can’t make it to the Door but want to watch, all matches are broadcast locally on CW30.

Yesterday about 10 AM I was typing my Friday Update post, when the weekly email from Memphis Farmers Market arrived. I use that email to provide my readers a summary of what will be happening at the Market that Saturday. I saw that the theme of the week was berries, and it mentioned they are mini-superfoods and I thought that would be a fun fact to share with my readers. I finished the post and hit Publish. Important fact when you read what’s coming next: Although I sometimes share my posts to Facebook and Twitter, yesterday I did not. I did not share the post on any social medium.

About two hours later I was playing around on my phone. I opened Facebook and started scrolling through my News Feed… and there were sponsored posts about superfoods. H-how??? If I’d shared the post on there I could understand how they mined the data… but when all I did was read an email and make a post to my blog, and then opened Facebook on a different device that then one from which I made the post? I don’t know if Big Brother is watching, but Mark Zuckerberg certainly is. Facebook is scary, man. I totally understand the “quit Facebook” movement but it’s too valuable of a source of information for this blog.

Now that I think about it, I did pull up my blog on my phone before I started surfing Facebook. Maybe that’s it. Still scary that it plucked “superfoods” out of a post that had over 1000 words.

The inflatable water slide at Loflin Yard turned out to be much larger than anyone thought it would.

You know who else likes water slides? Crocodiles.

The World Champion Squirrel Cook-Off returns to Bentonville, Arkansas on Saturday, September 21. They say they had a team enter squirrel ice cream one year. Yeah I think I’ll skip this one.

It became official Thursday: Former Tiger Jeremiah Martin has signed with the Miami Heat. He will probably be assigned to their G-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyhawks. His base salary will be $50,000 but he could make considerably more than that if he gets called up to play in even a couple of Heat games. With the rookie minimum salary projected at $898,000, each game played, given the NBA’s 82-game schedule, would pay off more than $10,000.

Downtown cigar shop and bar Robusto by Havana Mix will host a Foundation Cigars Smoker Event next Saturday, July 20, and Sunday, July 21. Foundation rep John Graves will be on hand to answer any questions smokers have.

Amazon Prime Day is coming up next week, and Gizmodo advises, don’t open emails that appear to be from Amazon about Prime Day. There is an Amazon Phishing Kit being used by hackers, one that sends out emails with an attachment directing you to what looks like Amazon’s login page. It isn’t! If you enter your information into the fake login, scammers will have various pieces of information about you including your Amazon password, your date of birth, your Social Security number, and your credit card information. If you want to know what’s going on for Prime day, just type www.amazon.com in your browser’s address bar and don’t allow an email to direct you there.

That’s all for this post. Back tomorrow with more news.

Everyone, please take a moment to read this very important tweet from soccer supporters’ group Bluff City Mafia:

This is Magan Hall.

Friend. Wife. Mother. Memphian. @BluffCityMafia member.

Magan has been diagnosed with metastatic melanoma and she needs our help.

Please share and donate to help Magan get the treatment she needs 👉 https://t.co/QoXBDI9Gmf#FightClub | #DefendMemphis pic.twitter.com/1oBJ63X8t1

— Memphis 901 FC (@Memphis901FC) July 10, 2019

Magan is the mother of a 10-year-old boy named Loxley. If you have it to spare, please donate and help ensure that Loxley will have his mom with him for many, many more years.

One of my friends went to see Hamilton at the Orpheum Wednesday night and described it as “amazing,” worth the price of the ticket and one of the best shows he’s ever seen there. He even said he’s going to try to find a way to see it again before the Memphis run concludes on July 28. Tickets are listed at $149-349 on the Orpheum website.

A couple of Downtown restaurants are having Hamilton pre-show menus. 117 Prime has a special menu with your choice of a Caesar salad or wedge salad to start, a 5 oz. filet or a 6 oz. snapper, and triple chocolate mousse cake.

Local Downtown is also doing a pre-theater menu. There you get shrimp bisque or mixed greens to start, smoked pork loin or blackened salmon as your entree, and warm pecan pie for dessert.

The Daily Memphian has an article about the giant Monkey Shoulder cocktail mixer truck that rolled up to the Silly Goose last night. The truck actually dispenses cocktails, although it won’t here in Memphis due to state law – your bartender has to pour them. If you missed the truck at the Goose last night, it will be at three Downtown locations this Saturday:

• Downtown Blue Monkey 11 AM-1 PM
• 3rd & Court 5 PM-7 PM
• Pontotoc Lounge 8 PM-11 PM

Bar Ware, the new bar at 276 S. Front, had a preview night last night for its neighbors. My friend Brian lives in the building and I asked if he could snap a few photos (click to view in a larger size):

Of course, Brian knew the important question I would ask: Do they have PBR, and what does it cost?

Yes they have it, in 12 ounce bottles at a very reasonable $3. I look forward to trying Bar Ware sometime soon.

A literature-themed restaurant and supper club named Cafe Lit is planned for the first floor of the building at 111 Madison.

There will be full moon kayaking in the Wolf River Harbor next Tuesday from 7 to 9. Come to River Garden, 51 N. Riverside, for your free kayak rental or bring your own kayak. Kayak rentals include a life vest, paddle, and lighting. There will be music by DJ Spinni Hendrix.

Bluff City Weekend has a list of dog-friendly restaurant and bar patios. Two patios I know are dog friendly are Aldo’s and the Blind Bear. I know this because a few years ago, I was walking to the Blind Bear when I saw a woman with a chihuahua sitting on Aldo’s patio. About 30 minutes later the Blind Bear server informed me that the woman had followed me to the Blind Bear and was sitting on the patio outside.

Holly from the I Love Memphis Blog recently posted a good piece on things to do in The Pinch. I didn’t know Ferraro’s Pizza had a lunch pizza and pasta buffet on Tuesdays! I will have to check that out.

Lots going on at the Redbirds tonight. The first 1500 fans in the gate (gates at 6:00, first pitch 7:05) get a free Redbirds trucker hat. $2 beers at the left field bar prior to the first pitch. The Major League Baseball Alumni Association will be at the game selling memorabilia. There will also be three specialty tickets:

• An all-you-can-eat ticket that gets you access to a two hour buffet of ribs, fixings, hot dogs, and 2 drinks (soda/water) per person. You also get a $15 Dave & Buster’s Power Card with this ticket.
• A Cardinals giveaway ticket that gets you St. Louis Cardinals swag without having to drive up there. Tonight’s giveaway is a unique dog bowl featuring Cards catcher Yadier Molina.
• A Friday family pack that includes four field box tickets, four hot dogs, four sodas, and a large bottomless popcorn at the game. It also includes four coupons for a Chick-Fil-A combo meal.

I learned something really interesting yesterday: You don’t have to be wealthy to invest in real estate. A site called Fundrise makes it possible to start investing in real estate portfolios for as little as $500. The fund owns properties around the U.S. and you get tools to view your properties and how they are doing. This might be a good way to diversify and not have all your money in the stock market should it take a turn for the worse.

Yesterday I was watching ESPN, where the commentators would speculate if the U.S. Women’s National Team, recent winners of the World Cup, would get endorsement deals. Seems like the time to sign those is now, since the women will be on the world stage again next year at the 2020 Summer Olympics™. Julie Ertz and Almonds are already kicking ass in the toy aisle of big-box stores; it’d be nice to see some of the others get paid for their endorsements.

Earnestine & Hazel’s is temporarily closed for repairs. They hate it that they have to shut down to do this, but it’s necessary to preserve the 100-year-old building. They are committed to the ideal that nothing about E&H will change. While they are closed, they invite you to come visit all your favorite E&H staff, including Nate, around the corner at 5 Spot.

Very cool article: America got its first black radio station in 1948 and it was right here in Memphis. Facing bankruptcy, the owners of WDIA decided to take a risk and play a half-hour of music by African-American artists. WDIA quickly rose from the bottom of the ratings to number two in the market. By 1949 WDIA had converted to all-black programming and became the number-one station in the market.

We Offer the Berry Best is the theme at the Memphis Farmers Market this Saturday. They’ve got blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and although it is late in the season, you may still be able to find a few strawberries. Berries are superfoods, rich in antioxidants, fiber, and vitamin C, and are also a low-calorie treat. The Dixon invites kids to get “berry creative” at the Craft Corral from 9 to noon. Kids will be given “magic sticks” that will allow them to make an invisible drawing. Then the drawing will be washed over with berry tea, revealing what was drawn. Bring your vegetable scraps and lawn trimmings to the Compost Fairy tomorrow (look for the green flag). Live music all day long. The Market runs from 8 AM to 1 PM every Saturday under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson, behind Malco Powerhouse.

A week from tomorrow, Saturday, July 20, is the 50th anniversary of the first humans to walk on the moon. Anyone doing any moon landing parties?

A couple of weeks ago, I posted that you can now purchase a leash for yout chicken and go on a chicken walk. Of course, you want your chicken to walk in style. The hot fashion trend of the summer is chickens in tutus.

Billy Bob Thornton & the Boxmasters play Tin Roof tomorrow night from 7 t0 10.

New addition to Loflin Yard:

$3 Bud Light draft and $4 Memphis Made Fireside draft at Loflin’s new backyard bar today and tomorrow.

Popular Midtown restaurant The Cupboard is adding an Express Grab & Go to their shipping, receiving and catering office Downtown at 169 Carolina Avenue.

IHOP will have 58 cent short stacks Tuesday, July 16 from 7 AM to 7 PM. Almost-free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

The Arkansas end of Big River Crossing has reopened, although the trail connecting it to West Memphis will still be closed for about another week as they wait for the water to recede. Walk with caution on the Arkansas side, which is still very muddy.

Erica Bodine Pottery is offering Christmas in July classes at Memphis Made Brewing Co. This will be a 3-class series in which you’ll have the opportunity to make about 10 Christmas ornaments, with access to lots of different cookie cutters and different textures for pressing into the clay. The classes will be as follows:

• July 14: Make the pieces
• July 21: Glaze the pieces
• July 28: Pick up the finished pieces

Here’s an image of that T-shirt Memphis 901 FC is giving to the first 1000 fans next Wednesday:

Go green and #DefendMemphis. pic.twitter.com/u6HrgTtNS1

— Memphis 901 FC (@Memphis901FC) July 11, 2019

I’d like to wrap up this extremely long post with a poem I wrote about my troll:

She’s my trollie
She’s my trollie
She’s my trollie trollie trollie trollie trollie.
If we were playing hockey,
She would be my goalie.
She’s my trollie trollie trollie trollie trollie.

Back tomorrow with more news.

If you want to try some craft cocktails at a very affordable price, come to the Silly Goose this evening between 8 and 11, where there’s going to be some monkey business going on.

Monkey Shoulder cocktails will be featured during a special happy hour.

To celebrate the week of Bastille Day, Joe’s Liquors and Wines will bring a wine tasting called Joe’s Passport to France to the Puck Food Hall at 409 South Main on Thursday, July 18. There will be over 100 wines to sample, with importers and distributors on site to guide you through the country’s regions. There will be small bites and a live band in addition to the wine. VIP ticket gets you in an hour early, at 5:00, with a few surprises. General admission 6:00 to 8:00.

Cover band Voodoo Gumbo headlines the weekly Peabody rooftop party tonight, playing rock, pop, and dance. $10 cover, $20 VIP. Admission includes a buffet of spanakopita and hummus with pita chips, celery, and carrots. If you’re in VIP you get a second buffet of Mediterranean chicken kabobs, lamb meatballs, and red pepper hummus with pita chips.

A free personal development event called Enneagram 901 is coming to Launchpad Memphis, 50 S. B.B. King Suite 350, at 6 PM this Saturday. The event will be led by certified Enneagram coach Milton Stewart. The Enneagram is a theory of personality, apparently. In addition to learning about the Enneagram, there will be opportunities to network and free chili. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

Yesterday I checked my Weatherbug app and found there was a heat index of 113 at 9:30 in the morning. Summer in Memphis!

Amber Rae Dunn and Todd Nations will perform at brunch at Sunrise Memphis this Sunday. The Facebook event listing has the time at 7-10 PM which I’m positive is wrong. Usually bands play brunch there 10 AM to 1 PM.

Food & Wine has an interesting article on the real reason Swiss cheese has holes, and why those holes have gotten smaller or have ceased to exist altogether in recent times.

There will be an American Conference vs. SEC series for men’s basketball this coming season, and Memphis has drawn a home game against Georgia on January 4. This game will be of particular interest because it will feature the nation’s number-one 2019 recruit, Memphis’ James Wiseman, and the nation’s number-two 2019 recruit, Georgia’s Anthony Edwards. Overall, Memphis has the number-one recruiting class and Georgia number-five.

Memphis magazine has a very good article on the Memphis Police bomb squad that is well worth your time to read. The article discusses the training involved and the mindset adopted by the men and women on the squad, as well as what they go on to do once their time on the squad is over. Cheers to those brave folks for keeping Memphis safe from some scary threats.

The first 1000 fans in the gate for the Memphis 901 FC home match vs. Nashville SC next Wednesday will receive a “Defend Memphis” T-shirt courtesy of Terminix. 901 FC will debut new kits for this match.

Songwriter Night returns to South Main Sounds, 550 S. Main, this Friday from 7 to 9 PM. Featured performers will be Jack Rowell, Bob Horn, Mark Wiklund, and Chris & Daphne.

These Fine Gentlemen will play the King’s Palace Cafe Tap Room starting at 9 PM both Friday and Saturday this weekend.

A new shuttle will connect the Medical Center District and Harbor Town beginning in August. It will run mornings and evenings Monday-Friday, every 15 minutes. This is a partnership between the Memphis Medical District Collaborative and MATA.

The Redbirds are back in town tonight with the first game of a 4-game homestand tonight at 7:05. $2 beers and $1 Polk’s hot dogs. The Redbirds will wear their throwback Memphis Chicks uniforms, and college students can get $5 bluff tickets.

Anime Blues Con 9 comes to the Memphis Cook Convention Center this weekend.

The Grizzlies have addressed their backup point guard situation, adding Tyus Jones. They used the mid-level exception to sign him to a 3-year, $28 million deal despite being over the salary cap. Jones had a massive 6.98-to-1 assist to turnover ratio last year, demonstrating the kind of high basketball IQ Zach Kleiman likes to see in players.

If you’re wondering why I hope Dwight Howard doesn’t play for even one minute in a Grizzlies uniform, read this.

That’s all for now. Back tomorrow.

 

 

St. Mary’s church, at 155 Market near the Second St./B.B. King Blvd. exit off I-40, has put out the word that they are in desperate need of men’s clothing. In particular they need men’s pants size 30-40, shoes, and T-shirts. They accept donations during the hours their soup kitchen is open, 7 AM to 10 AM Monday through Saturday.

The Green Beetle is hiring servers and bartenders. Come apply in person at 325 South Main.

Jamaican restaurant Evelyn & Olive on Madison Ave. out in The Edge is offering all medical personnel, veterans, and military employees 15% off when they show ID Tuesday-Thursday.

Jennifer Biggs of the Daily Memphian has a look at the 3rd & Court diner in her New Eats column.

Also in the Daily Memphian: The southern end of Mud Island is getting busier

Today’s the start of Memphis Burger Week! For the next 7 days, some of the best burgers in town will be only $5.99. Arnold’s BBQ, Huey’s, Flying Saucer, Bardog Tavern, and the Green Beetle are the Downtown restaurants participating. Bardog is offering its chorizo sliders for the week and they are yummy.

New Memphis is looking to hire a Director of Educator Engagement.

Memphis Tigers basketball fans will remember Preston Laird. Although he didn’t get a whole lot of playing time when he was on the squad earlier this decade, he clearly had a mind for the game, and that has paid off for him. He has landed a job as an assistant coach for the Little Rock Trojans men’s basketball team.

Sorry there wasn’t a post yesterday. This is a super slow news week. Back tomorrow with more news, if I can find it.

Folks, I have good news… well, sort of. Yesterday I was at the Silly Goose, watching the Women’s World Cup final, when I got a text from my neighbor watching the match down the street at the Flying Saucer. For over a decade the Downtowners have lobbied Saucer management to start carrying the Cadillac of beers, Pabst Blue Ribbon. It took forever but our efforts have finally paid off. My neighbor said they had PBR in 16 ounce cans.

I was excited and started thinking about how I would pencil in the Saucer into my day’s plans. I do miss the place. That used to by my regular hangout more than any other.

I texted my neighbor back. “Can you find out the price?” I was curious what they would charge. Most bars within a block radius of the Saucer are pretty consistent. Blind Bear charges $3 for a 16 ounce can. Silly Goose charges $3, except during happy hour (2-8 Monday-Friday) when it’s $2. Aldo’s Pizza Pies charges $3. I haven’t been in Local in a long time but I’m pretty sure they charge $3. I suspected the Saucer might go a bit higher. “Even if they charge $3,50 or even $3.75 or $4 a can, it’s worth it to get re-acquainted with the place,” I reasoned.

Well, I wasn’t wrong when I guessed they’d go higher on the price than their neighboring bars. I was only wrong guessing they would go “a bit” higher. My neighbor texted me back that the cost of a 16 ounce PBR at the Saucer is an astronomical FIVE DOLLARS a can. Are you kidding me? Does the Saucer’s management think their bar is located in the airport? Or in Manhattan? Or in the FedExForum concourse? Because at those places, I can see myself paying $5 for a PBR can. At the corner of Second and Peabody Place, I can’t. Not when I can walk an additional 150 feet and get the same product for 60% of the cost, 40% if it’s between 2 and 8 on a weekday.

I’ve never seen a bar with such a proclivity for trolling its own customers with the price points it sets. My neighbor asked the reasoning behind the price, and they said all domestics are $5. Five bucks for a Miller Lite 12 ounce bottle? I wish them luck trying to sell them at that price, but they sure won’t be selling one to me.

On to the news. The Trolls LIVE! stage show is coming to the Cannon Center February 22 and 23 of next year. Poppy, Branch and all your favorite trolls from the movie will bring their act to the stage for the first time ever. Tickets start at $15. There is also a VIP ticket that includes a party, a sing-along, a special gift, and the chance for a photo opportunity with the trolls.

I am so happy for the U.S. Women’s National Team, bringing home the World Cup once again. Snoop Dogg thinks the USWNT should be paid better, noting that they are way better than the “sorry ass men.” I totally agree. The USWNT team members will walk away from the World Cup pocketing $260K per player. If the men had won the World Cup, their bonus would be $1.1 million each.

While watching the Cup, a friend told me that The Usual Suspects are playing BB King’s on August 24. They are a band from Kennett, Missouri who comes to Memphis once a year to play at BB’s. They are notable because Sheryl Crow’s father is a member of the band. I did not realize that Sheryl Crow was from Kennett, in the bootheel of Missouri. I’m not making any promises but I was told that last year when The Usual Suspects appeared on stage, “a special guest” joined them for a couple of songs.

Later that day, that same friend and I were at the Blind Bear, where Tre, the bartender, was serving brunch until 6.

Friend: I want a pancake

Tre: We have waffles

Friend: I want a pancake

Tre: You’re getting a waffle. Same thing. I can step on it.

Here’s some Sunday brunch news that you can use: A friend posted that Curry N Jerk, the Caribbean restaurant on Monroe next to McEwen’s, is doing $15 bottomless mimosas for Sunday brunch.

Just got breaking news from The Daily Memphian that Shelby Farms has named a new restaurant tenant, and the restaurant will be operated by the people who own Flight. The have had tremendous success Downtown and I’m sure they will out east as well.

The Grizzlies have made another move, and this one is a bit surprising: They sent Delon Wright to the Dallas Mavericks on a sign-and-trade deal worth $29 million over 3 years. It’s good in that they got salary off the books without taking any back, but most people thought Wright was going to be backup point guard this coming season, providing some veteran backup for Ja Morant as he adjusts to the NBA. With Wright and Jevon Carter both traded, I’m not sure the Grizzlies have any other point guards besides Morant.

Chris Wallace: “Let’s give Shelvin Mack a call.” SHUT UP, CHRIS!

I just got a voice mail saying my Social Security number has been suspended because they noticed some suspicious activity. Are people really stupid enough to believe that?

Coco Gauff’s run at Wimbledon has come to an end. She lost in straight sets to Simona Halep, 6-3, 6-3. Darn it. I was really hoping Gauff would go all the way.

That’s all for now. Back tomorrow with more news.

I’ve always had really strong intuition. Outcomes of events come to me days before they happen. I remember back in 2005, when a bunch of us were brunching at Sleep Out Louie’s. We had the TV tuned to the weather, and Hurricane Katrina was about a day away from making landfall. “It won’t be as bad as the weather people are predicting. It never is,” said one of the guys at the bar.

I thought to myself – and I didn’t really consciously have this thought, it just came to me – “It’s going to fill up New Orleans like milk fills up a bowl of cereal.” I just knew it was going to be a disaster on scale with the 1872 Chicago fire and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Unfortunately that turned out to be the case.

Well, yesterday I got another intuition and I pray that I am wrong about this one. I had just gotten out to Bardog, and after chatting with the other regulars and the bartender a bit, I pulled up Twitter on my phone. Twitter is my main way for keeping up with the news. I follow plenty of local and national sources. I learned there had been a second earthquake 150 miles north of Los Angeles, a magnitude 7.1 quake. News analysts were calling the 6.4 quake the day before a foreshock.

At that point, I had a thought, and again I did not consciously think it. It just came to me.

“No, the 7.1 quake is a foreshock too.”

I just have a really bad feeling the two quakes are foreshocks for an 8-point-something quake that will happen within the next two weeks. Back in the days when iGoogle personal home pages were a thing, I had a live earthquake monitor widget. I would see that foreshock pattern from time to time on the Pacific Rim – Japan, Chile, Indonesia. I hope I’m wrong, but I think it may be California’s turn.

Loflin Yard and The Vault posted yesterday that they would open early for the Women’s World Cup final. So the complete list of places opening early (or already being open by 10 on a normal basis) are

• Downtown: Brass Door, Flying Saucer, Silly Goose, Majestic, Loflin Yard, The Vault, Max’s Sports Bar
• Midtown: Railgarten, Celtic Crossing, Sweet Grass/Next Door

Yesterday was the first day NBA teams could officially comment on trades they have negotiated. Grizzlies owner Robert Pera commented that Mike Conley’s #11 jersey will be retired. He has made similar comments about the jerseys of Zach Randolph, Tony Allen, and Marc Gasol in the past.

If you want to try a different beer, Memphis Made Brewing Co. has Prince Mango on tap this weekend. This beer is a Zambodian IPA with aromas of frickle pear, pink zorbel berries, and overripe mango. At 8% ABV, it will make you feel like you’ve been on the spaceship to the planet Zambodia and back.

Orpheum president Brett Batterson is warning the public about the secondary ticket market for upcoming show Hamilton, which starts its Memphis run at the theater Tuesday. Tickets are being sold online for amounts like $750 and even $2000. Batterson said tickets can be had for much more reasonable rates through the theater’s ticket office, and tickets are being released right up to the days the shows occur.

The Brass Door has announced they will be closed Monday-Thursday to give their staff time to recover from a very hectic Women’s World Cup schedule. They will re-open Friday for lunch and will resume normal hours after that.

This is funny:

NBA TV has just shown Ja Morant in the stands eating chili cheese fries and Jaren Jackson downing some chicken fingers and fries. DO THE GRIZZLIES EVEN HAVE A NUTRITIONIST?

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) July 6, 2019

New Wing Order has announced that their special wing flavor for the month of July is Spicy Garlic. I will let you know the next time their truck is scheduled to make an appearance Downtown.

There will be a family-friendly birthday bash at Mud Island River Park this Saturday to celebrate summer birthdays. There will be a splash pad, inflatables, games, food trucks, music, hula hooping, an obstacle course and more.

Our city’s pro soccer team has introduced the Memphis 901 FC Collection:

Soccer is more than a game. It’s a lifestyle.

Introducing the Memphis 901 FC Collection: https://t.co/Dcv6Or6i4F

Available TONIGHT in-store only beginning at 6:00 PM at @AutoZone_Park. #901FC | #DefendMemphis pic.twitter.com/A0TZXZQwxS

— Memphis 901 FC (@Memphis901FC) July 6, 2019

By the way, I want to send compliments to whoever is doing the Memphis 901 FC Twitter account. You are KILLING IT, sir or ma’am. I had to scroll way back in the 901 FC Twitter feed to find the tweet above, but that’s a good thing. Yesterday was game day and I didn’t get a chance to watch. That feed made it possible for me to re-live the game as it happened. Everything from injury reports, to video of goals and other key plays, to substitutions, to the final score and post-game celebrations of the victory – it was all right there. Very well done. Give @Memphis901FC a follow on Twitter if you haven’t already.

I’m headed to the Silly Goose to cheer on the USWNT. Back tomorrow with more news.