Yesterday I made reservations to meet a group of friends in New Orleans in early fall for a weekend of fun. Really looking forward to that… would you believe I’ve never been to New Orleans? Most of the group is staying in a big house together, but I’m coming down there a day late so I arranged my own hotel room. Found a great deal too… hotel at the west end of the Faubourg Marginy neighborhood, right next to the French Quarter, for $69 a night. Looks like it’ll be real easy to hop a trolley and get to the house where my friends are.
Had to do some looking to find this hotel… most of the accommodations in that area are small B&Bs, many of which have shared bathrooms. Wasn’t crazy about that… I expect to find shared bathrooms in hotels in Romania (yes, I have researched it), not a major U.S. city. Glad I found one that listed “private baths” among the amenities. They have wi-fi too, so I’ll be able to blog from the hotel, although the majority of the weekend’s activities won’t be bloggable.
There’s an article in today’s Commercial Appeal about the new electric scooters the cops are using to patrol Downtown Memphis. They look like Segways with an extra wheel for stability. Good interview with our friend Col. Johnnie Currin about them. Here’s a link to T3 Motion, the California-based company that makes the scooters.
Also in today’s CA, arts writer Skipford M. “Christopher” Blank writes that ground has been broken for the new, expanded Playhouse on the Square at Union and Cooper. Sounds like it will be really cool, with 344 seats, underground parking, art galleries, and a rooftop garden.
The pool table at the Saucer got a makeover last night… they changed out the felt and the rails. It looks about a million times better and it plays better. Looking forward to giving Pete many an ass-whooping on the “new” table. By the way, I took a walk a few minutes ago and discovered that Woodchuck Granny Smith is today’s Fire Sale. There are going to be some people who complain about a cider being the Fire Sale, but I’d much rather have that than nasty Turbo Dog. I can tell they have someone new picking Fire Sales this week and they need to let that person keep doing it.
Snozberry plays the Red Rooster this Saturday, March 29. Hey, I made the Rooster’s Top Friends list on their MySpace page! No definite plans for Saturday, other than watching some basketball games which hopefully won’t include Tennessee. May have to go check out Snoz at the Rooster.
Flipping through the Flyer… my horoscope says I’m susceptible to rationalizing risky behavior, which could lead to me doing stupid things this week. Uh-oh. I think that should have been my horoscope this past Sunday. I’m staying the hell away from Big Foot and their 34 oz. mixed drinks this Sunday. Back to the normal routine of brunch (McGuinness week 1), beating Pete at pool at the Saucer, and possibly a trip to Calhoun’s in the evening.
Also in the Flyer, I see that the Majestic Grille is now hiring for a lot of positions. The Majestic is a great place to work, from what I’ve been told. Might want to check them out if you’re looking for a service industry job.
The Peabody is starting their rooftop parties earlier than I remember in previous years. The first one is a week from today, Thursday, April 3, with disco cover band Dr. Zarr’s Amazing Funk Monster. The Madison’s parties start next week too, with Elmo and the Shades. EP’s started opening their patio last Thursday. The spring party season is starting to heat up. I’m sure Atlas will do their usual after-parties, and “Rock Out with Your Cock Out” night will continue at the Rooster.
The Brooks is having a party next Thursday to celebrate 50 years of Helvetica. That’s a font/typeface, for those of you who are wondering. Arial, which is commonly seen on Windows applications, is a Helvetica imitator. I’ve never heard of having a party for a font before.
McEwen’s (Mon-Fri) and Grill 83 (every day) now have tapas menus at the bar.
On the back page of the Flyer: American Apparel has a “buy the same style with your BFF and each get 20% off until March 31st.” Yeah I think I’d better pass on that one. Actually, we already have similar style clothing, since I gave her a size-small copy of my T-shirt featuring a pic of her flipping me off. For those who haven’t seen the BFF-T, I will be modeling it at the Saucer, Trolley Tour, and the private party I’m attending tomorrow evening. It’s questionable whether that’s appropriate to wear to nice art galleries, but you know what? They can get over it. Heh… maybe I should have a drink at Spindini with that shirt on. I’m sure they’d love that.
My friend Mikey is working the private party I’m attending tomorrow night. He told me they have very specific rules for working the party: You have to be drinking while you work. That’s a good rule. I asked Mikey to text me when the Gus’s Chicken arrives. New Mikeyism: “I’m sitting here enjoying a cold, frosty barley pop” = I’m drinking a beer.
(Edit: Had a paragraph here about a South Main bum named “J.J.” South Main residents have e-mailed me indicating that he’s kind of a special case and that the residents look after him, kind of like homeless person Scratchy in Downtown’s core.)
Time to wander down the street and figure out what I want to bring back for lunch.