The Memphis Chamber of Commerce is holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony today at 5:30 to commemorate the grand opening of Hollywood Disco, the club most of us know as Raiford’s. I wonder if 40s have ever been served at a Chamber event before.
The 9th annual Polar Bear Plunge will happen February 2 on Mud Island. Dozens of brave swimmers will jump in freezing-cold water in support of the Special Olympics. Kennedy from Q107.5 is participating, and if you’d like to sponsor her swim you can do so here. Or, you can take the plunge yourself and find sponsors to donate in your honor.
If you’re interested in getting some expert analysis on the ongoing presidential primaries, make plans to be at Rhodes College on the 23rd. Charlie Cook, founder of the Cook Political Report and named by the New York Times as one of the best political handicappers in the nation, will speak in room 051 of the Paul Barret, Jr. Library from 7:30 to 8:45 that night. The lecture is presented by Rhodes’ Political Science department and is free and open to the public.
Circa will start serving lunch again February 1st. Their patio will be open as well. Unlike many upscale restaurants, Circa will not cut its lunch off at 2 and close and reopen at 5. Rather, they’ll do lunch 11-4, bar snacks 4-5, and the dinner menu from 5 to close.
The Nashville Business Journal reports that the Nashville Metro Council unanimously passed an ordinance against aggressive panhandling last night, and it now goes to the mayor to be signed. The ordinance for the most part is similar to the one in Memphis – no panhandling after dark or at bus stops – but there are a couple of provisions that seem like great ideas. The main one is, NO BEGGING WITHIN 25 FEET OF BUILDING ENTRANCES. If we had that one here, we could pretty much run the bums off the Main Street Mall – it’s hard to stand anywhere on the pedestrian mall without being within 25 feet of a building entrance. It would clean up Beale Street too for the same reason. Great idea. Also, the ordinance makes it illegal to panhandle at ATMs, which happens all the time on Beale Street. Of course, no matter what is in the ordinance, it’s worthless without a police department that aggressively enforces it.
Looks like Atlanta’s bums use a lot of the same gimmicks as the bums right here in Downtown Memphis. This Street-People.com article reports about an Atlanta bum doing the Sharp Dressed Bum gimmick (wearing neat casual attire, rather than dressing like a homeless person as many professional panhandlers do). He also did the Tour Guide gimmick, pointing out restaurants in the area and then asking for a dolla as a tip. When it started raining, he switched to the Bum-brella gimmick, running up to people and holding an umbrella over their heads, and then asking for a tip. All of these gimmicks can be seen every day on the streets of Downtown Memphis.
Even cartoon characters are being panhandled these days. Check out this Blondie cartoon.
How many times is North Carolina going to barely escape with a win and still hold on to their #1 ranking? They held off Georgia Tech 83-82 last night. Meanwhile #2 Memphis continues to dominate ranked and unranked teams alike.
Time for the long commute to work…