Month: October 2009

The crew that officiated the Arkansas-Florida game last Saturday has been suspended. The SEC reviewed a personal foul that was called against Arkansas late in the fourth quarter, and the video evidence showed the call to be unwarranted. The same crew also made an unsportsmanlike conduct call a few weeks earlier in the LSU-Georgia game that the SEC deemed unwarranted after reviewing the video. Good to see the SEC doing the right thing… those late fourth quarter calls against Arkansas were pretty ridiculous. More info here.

I’ve learned of yet another party to happen Downtown on Halloween night. This one is at the Hard Rock Cafe. Live music by Marstin and the Revelators, and a costume contest. $5 cover, and the band starts at 10.

A week earlier, on Saturday the 24th, Hard Rock will have its Pinktober party with Garry Goin and G3. $5 cover, with 100% of the proceeds going to Memphis Mid-South Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Pink drink specials all night too. Doors open at 9, band at 10.

This next one isn’t a Downtown event, but it’s a good cause and several Downtown chefs are participating. The March of Dimes is hosting the Signature Chefs Auction, set for Sunday, November 15 at 5:30 p.m. at The Racquet Club of Memphis, 5111 Sanderlin Avenue. Downtown chefs/restaurateurs participating include Andreas Kisler, Felicia Willett, Jimmy Ishi, John Bragg, David Johnson/Bert Smythe, Shawn Mitchell, and Jay Uiberal. In addition to dinner, there will be a wine tasting and wine auction, along with silent and live auctions. Individual tickets are $150 per person, and table host sponsorships are $2,500. Call 901-385-8580 or email Barbara Farmer, BFarmer@marchofdimes.com to order tickets.

About to head out to Walgreens to buy Halloween makeup. My 2009 Halloween costume is not ready yet, so I’m going to do some kind of disco zombie thing for the party at Paula & Raiford’s Disco tonight.

Congrats to Mpact Memphis on a great annual membership meeting last night. I am so proud of the progress Mpact has made. I took detailed notes and will type up a report before I go out this evening.

Sorry for not posting this earlier… it completely slipped off my radar somehow.  Join the Flyer at South of Beale tonight from 5 to 7 for discounted food and drinks.  Also, the Flyer’s Style Sessions crew will be searching for fashionable folks.

… I’m not gonna get it.  I figured, after two days of being out at RiverArtsFest this weekend, it would be nice to have Sunday evening to just wind down and relax at home.

But that ain’t gonna happen, because The Dempseys play Huey’s Sunday night.

Come see Memphis’ best band (as voted by the readers of the Memphis Flyer).  Huey’s is a great place to see them because everyone is close to the stage and there’s plenty of interaction between band and crowd.  Also, you never know who might show up – guest singers, guest drummers, and on one occasion an Elvis line dancing group from France.  You can’t say you’re a true Downtowner until you’ve seen this band at least once.  Show starts at 8:30, and they usually play three sets wrapping up about 12:30.  Be there or be square… because this ain’t Muskogee, the place where even squares can have a ball.

I discovered a couple of good iPhone apps and wanted to pass along the info.

First of all Nlog Free Synth is a really sophisticated free synthesizer for the iPhone. There are dozens of options to customize the sound to get it exactly the way you want it. Hard to believe this app is free. I bet we’re soon going to see bands whose instruments are all iPhones.

Secondly, I have a game recommendation. Drunk Sniper. I’m not going to say any more about it. Just trust me, you need this game. Guys will have a built-in advantage over girls playing this game, although a female told me about it. There’s a free version that is 2 levels only, and that is good enough. You will bust out laughing when you see this and then show it to all your friends.

In other news – the trivia team only managed a third place finish last night, adding $10 to our winnings. Mikey the Other Trivia Guy made the questions, including this one: “What illustrated magazine, founded in 1954, didn’t do well at first, covering events like yacht races?” What is this, giving away half the answer (Sports Illustrated) within the question? Is he trying to dumb down trivia to Cordova Saucer levels? Then again, he asked another question that stumped everybody – which car was the first to have air conditioning (1939 Packard). We only got half the final question right because our server Graycen knew the answer but wouldn’t tell us. Hmmph.

The Peabody Ducks visited New York City to catch the premiere of Memphis the musical. Photos here.

Putting together my Halloween costume this week… I’m thinking I probably won’t wear it to Paula & Raiford’s Halloween party tomorrow night, though, because I don’t want to unveil it that early. I guess I’ll go with some variation of my Disco Paul persona tomorrow, even though I don’t really consider that a costume.

Tonight: MPACT Memphis general membership meeting at 6 PM, at their office at 506 S. Main. My membership lapsed a few days ago, so I guess I better bring my checkbook. Wonder if Susie will bug me to fill out a million billion quadrillion octillion surveys. Hmmm maybe I should switch days and wear the Disco Paul outfit to MPACT and dress as a “young professional” for Paula & Raiford’s tomorrow. “Young professional” is more of a costume for me than “Disco Paul” is. Also, there will be free food at the MPACT meeting, wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up?

The list of Halloween parties Downtown continues to grow… I learned of another one and wanted to pass on the info. Friends for Life, the nonprofit which provides hope and healing for those affected by HIV/AIDS, is having their 4th annual “Under the Big Top” party on Halloween night. It will be at BRIDGES at the corner of Fifth and Auction in Uptown.

There will be circus-themed decor and hors d’oeuvres, and DJ Steve Anne will spin the tunes. Costumes are encouraged but not required. There will be a costume contest with cash prize.

Tickets are $35 at the door, or $25 in advance. You can purchase advance tickets on the Friends for Life website.

Later this week I’ll try to update the complete list of Halloween parties Downtown that are open to the public. If you know of any I should add to the list, e-mail me at paul@paulryburn.com.

The annual membership of MPACT Memphis will be tomorrow evening, Wednesday, October 21 from 6 to 8 PM at their new headquarters at 506 S. Main. There will be a “state of the organization” address, and then the slate of board members for the coming year will be presented. After a vote on the slate, you’ll have the opportunity to provide your feedback on the direction you’d like MPACT to take in the coming year.

Food and beverages will be provided. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

I will most definitely be there, and maybe I’ll take some notes and type up a report. But that’s tomorrow night… first I have to get through tonight, which is trivia at the Saucer. Wondering if we’re going to be operating with a smaller-than-usual team tonight… the offer of the free goblet with purchase of a Hoptoberfest at Bardog may reduce team size. There’s also a new reason to skip trivia and go to Calhoun’s on Tuesday night instead… I recently learned that Jamie, who bartended at the Saucer for a couple of years, is behind the bar at Calhoun’s on Tuesdays.

On the other hand, there’s an additional reason to go to the Saucer on Tuesdays… they’re bringing back live music on Tuesday night.  Someone named “J.D.” (can’t recall his last name) will play bluegrass starting at 9 PM after trivia ends.

Just checked the weather forecast… wow the weather is really not cooperating with RiverArtsFest this year. Saturday they are calling for a high of only 54, nearly 20 degrees below normal. Nevertheless, I’ll be down there… skipping a great South Main event like RiverArtsFest is unthinkable. Although, I may waive my “no side parties at festivals” rule on Saturday morning, and park myself at Calhoun’s to watch Arkansas beat Ole Miss.

More stuff to come… I’ve got enough posts waiting in Drafts to get through Thursday. That’s the great thing about October – there’s almost too much going on.

I just saw that Tuesday is Ladies’ Day at the Corkscrew, with all wines 10% off.

The Corkscrew is on S. Front just north of G.E. Patterson, in the same building as the Blue Monkey.

I just got the weekly newsletter from Bardog Tavern… they now have New Belgium Hoptoberfest on tap, and a NB rep will be on hand from 7 to 9 tonight to hand out free “globe” goblet glasses with the purchase of a Hoptoberfest.

The great thing is, the beer itself will only set you back $3, because it’s pint night at Bardog (all drafts only $3) from 7 PM to 3 AM.

Their newsletter also said that they just got Cornish game hens in, and cheesecake.  Cheesecake?  Oh Lord… you know the Nuh-Uh Girl will be in there begging for samples.  They like to serve it with homemade fig preserves from the fig tree in Aldo’s front yard.

And finally, a tip for Downtowners with kids… Bardog will pass out candy to trick-or-treaters from 5 to 7 PM on Halloween.

More posts to come.  Got a lot of stuff sitting in Drafts waiting on me to hit the Publish button today.

A friend forwarded me Spindini’s customer e-mail newsletter today. I don’t post about that restaurant much, but this is just too good to pass up. Spindini, which won the Memphis Flyer’s poll for “Best Cougar Bar” for 2008 and 2009, is hosting a “Kittens and Cougars” party on Halloween.

“Cougars should start arriving at the cougar den around 10 p.m. to kick off the Hot Cougar Contest and the Hot Kitten Contest (for the ladies) and Best Cougar Bait Costume Contest (for the boys),” says the newsletter.

Well, I guess if you can’t fix it, feature it. I wonder if The Spindini Cougar (pictured below) will be at the party?

Recap of tonight:  Went to Pint Nite at the Saucer.  Had 9 beers.  About 8 7/8, “Dancing with Myself” by Billy Idol came on.  I didn’t want to be “THAT guy” dancing to it, but I was totally “THAT guy,” much to the amusement of the Saucer staff.

Then I stumbled home and rode up the elevator with Moody, and she and I compared who was drunker and she appeared to win, despite only having 8 to my 9.  She had to-go chicken tenders from Bardog, whereas I came home empty-handed.

Not that we were the only ones drunk there.  Fill in the blank to identify someone else who was.  “Hey, _____.  Now, now, Jerome.  Yes.  Ooooweooooweooo.”  (Hint: Off-duty employee)

What time is it?  It’s time for bed.  More posts tomorrow.