Month: May 2010

It’s that time of year again! TUBE TOP MONTH HAS ARRIVED!

Every year for the entire month of June, I use this blog to increase awareness of the greatest women’s fashion statement ever, the tube top. Posts will cover a variety of topics as usual, but every post will contain a pic of a tube top, or a link to a pic of a tube top, or a mention of tube tops in some fashion, regardless of how irrelevant tube tops are to the subject matter. There will also be educational tube top posts throughout the month.

I’ve been doing this every June since 2005, and it seems to be working. When I go out in Downtown Memphis, I see many more tube tops than I did in 2005. In 2008, popular support for Tube Top Month got so large that we ended the month with a massive party, TubeTopalooza, on my building’s rooftop.

“But wait,” you may be asking, “it’s not June yet.” True. However, a 3-day Memorial Day party weekend right before June seemed like a perfect reason to start early! I moved the start back to today at 5 PM, so Tube Top Month will last 33 days and 7 hours this year. If you’re going out to South Main Trolley Night, Zoo Brew, Sunset Symphony, or any of the many fun events this weekend, ladies, let’s see those tube tops!

Want to be on the blog? Just come find me. I have my camera with me all the time, and I’ll be happy to snap a pic of you in a tube top for inclusion in a future post. You can be a tube top star!

Happy Tube Top Month everybody!

Two events this week kinda made me reflect on how I’ve changed in the years I’ve lived Downtown.

In 2004 I was heavily involved in MPACT Memphis. I attended most of the meetings of the Promote Memphis and Community Involvement committees, and sometimes the social committee as well. I was on the board. I coordinated several events. I couldn’t imagine a time when MPACT would not be a huge part of my life.

This past Tuesday, I attended their 9th birthday party. I had a good time. Chatted with Gwyn and the board members I knew. Talked to a guy who moved here three weeks ago and was looking for get plugged into the Memphis community, the kind of thing MPACT is perfect for. But it was the second MPACT event I’ve attended this year. Not because of any unhappiness with the organization – I still think it’s great and I recommend it highly. I guess it served its purpose for me. I got plugged in. I found my place in the Memphis community, and the relationships I made in the early days of MPACT have served me well. But I don’t feel the need to be involved on a daily or weekly basis, because it’s got some really strong leaders who are taking MPACT in a good direction. I kind of feel like an alumnus when I’m there. I’ll probably maintain my membership for several more years, though, simply because I want to be able to come to the events and blog about them.

Then, last night I attended the rooftop party at the Peabody. Back in 2004 I anxiously awaited the start of rooftop season, and I’d only miss a party under extremely extenuating circumstances. The parties were a BIG DEAL to me then.

I certainly didn’t have a bad time last night. The parties are much, much better than they were six years ago. Better food, shorter drink lines, more diverse entertainment lineup, many more people. I’m not knocking the rooftop parties at all. I highly recommend them if you’re looking to go out on Thursday night, and I’m extremely grateful to the Peabody for comping me a season VIP pass.

And yet, after about an hour there last night, I felt like I wanted to be back in my comfort zone. Which isn’t the rooftop, where the crowd tends to have a very high-maintenance vibe. I wanted to be somewhere where I felt more at home. Maybe sipping a 34 oz. Bud Light across the street at Kooky Canuck. Or leaning against the stairway rail and sipping a PBR at Bardog. Or watching the Thursday night poker game at Calhoun’s. Or what I ended up doing, going back to the Saucer to join Bicycle Bobby for a beer.

Kinda makes me think… even though I’ve lived at the same address and had basically the same lifestyle for quite a number of years, I have changed. Grown, I guess.

I wonder if, in six years’ time, I’ll have outgrown my desire to hang out at the Saucer almost every day. I wonder if I’ll have outgrown my desire to write a blog. Heck, given my diet and daily alcohol intake, who knows if I’ll even be alive in six years.

Some things don’t change in six years’ time, though – in a few hours, Tube Top Month kicks off for its sixth consecutive year. All tube tops, all month long until June 30. Check back.

I stopped by the Peabody rooftop party tonight, and at the risk of this becoming the “Nuh-Uh Blog,” I want to share pics of the awesome food spread they put on for their guests.

This was the spread in VIP.  Pita chips, two kinds of olives, hummus, feta cheese, baba ghanoush, Mediterranean rice, chicken wings.  With hummus and baba ghanoush on the menu, I’m surprised I didn’t see my health guru AL.

Andy Childs band onstage

Buffet inside.  Mediterranean fruits, pitas, hummus, make-your-own gyros with beef, lamb, tzatziki sauce (sp?), onions

My make-your-own plate. Pita chip with hummus, lamb gyro with onions and sauce

Finally getting tired.  Time for a healthy 5 hours sleep before work tomorrow.

If you’re on Twitter, every time you use the #tweet4habitat in a tweet, 7 cents will be donated to Memphis Habitat for Humanity. They’re seeking more sponsors, so that per-tweet amount may increase. More info here.

Great article in the CA this morning about the Hospitality Hub. The Hub, located on Jefferson between Second and Third, helps the homeless get the resources they need to get out of their current condition. Open MWF 1-4 PM, it offers coffee, tea, magazines, and a place to relax. They have a clergyman and counselers there. They can help people get documents they need that are vital to getting a job, such as photo ID and birth certificates. They also can get alcohol and drug counseling for those who need it. Furthermore, this year they started a jobs program, where great companies like the Memphis Cook Convention Center and ServiceMaster hire people recommended by the Hub. So far the program has better than a 90% success rate. If you want to get your company involved, please contact them. More info here.

The article notes, by the way, that most of the panhandlers seen on Downtown streets are NOT “customers” of the Hub. Most of the regular panhandlers have places to stay, and panhandle to feed addictions.

If you want to get your foot in the door in marketing, the Memphis Grizzlies are looking to add a few members to their Street Team. You’d be representing the Grizzlies at local events, collecting sales data, supporting the team at appearances, and assisting the promotions and events departments. If you like to get out and meet people, this would surely be a FUN job. Details here.

If you’re Downtown for Trolley Night or the Memphis Zombie Massacre tomorrow, you can catch some great music down the street. Grace Askew will have her album release party at the Warehouse on G.E. Patterson. $10 admission, or free admission with purchase of the new album ($15 value).

Get a free “Boycott BP” bumper sticker here when you pledge to buy your gas from anyone but BP until they clean up the mess they made in the Gulf.

About 70% on whether I’ll do the Peabody rooftop party tonight… the Middle Eastern menu does sound good. If I go I’ll bring the camera.

Last night I finally made it to Bardog for their Wednesday night poker night in the Underdog Room.  Poker Jon, in the tux above, gives a poker lesson for newcomers at 7, and then the action begins at 7:30.  Enough people showed up to run four tables.  Because of the size of the tables at Bardog, they are played 6-max, which I like because you can exercise looser starting hand selection than at a full 9- or 10-max table.

Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to the final table, as my all-in blind stealing attempt with AJ found a customer in a pair of pocket Fours.  A Four on the turn put me out.  Still, though, it was a lot of fun, great way to meet knew people and improve poker skills.

I’ll probably get some ridicule for this one, but it was requested by a hot girl, so I don’t care.  She wanted to know what hair products I use.  She wanted to know how my hair holds up so well under summer humidity and temperatures, such as those last night in Bardog’s basement, when a large gathering of people gave the air conditioner a challenge.  “I appreciate your hair’s performance the way you appreciate #tubetops,” she wrote on Twitter.  Now, in my world, compliments just don’t come any higher than that!

At the time I didn’t know… “It’s stuff in a tube,” I told her.  “I think Pantene may make it.”

Now that I’m home and have the camera, I can go into a little more detail.  Here’s a pic of the shampoo and conditioner I use.

Pantene Pro-V Restoratives, Breakage Defense is the name of the shampoo and conditioner.  I used to use the cheap stuff – the big $1.99 bottle of Suave I think – but every day, when I got out of the shower there’d be a small clump of hair near the drain.  I clearly wasn’t going bald, so I wondered what was going on.  I asked whoever was cutting my hair at the time, and he (I think it was Silver) said I needed to use better quality products.  It didn’t take long for me to get tired of paying $13 for a tube of shampoo or conditioner at his shop, so I found these premium Pantene products and they’ve worked well.  They sell for about $4 a tube at Target, not bad.

All right, with the hair post out of the way, it’s time to drink a beer.  Sunset Wheat on Fire Sale will work.  May stop by Bardog or Kooky later.

Here’s a recap of MPACT Memphis’ 9th birthday party at Bardog Tavern last night: I drank a PBR. Then I drank another PBR. Then I drank another PBR.  I think someone was speaking about volunteer opportunities but I was too busy drinking PBR to listen.  Then I drank another PBR.

No, but seriously, happy 9th birthday to MPACT. I’m not that active in the organization anymore, but I can attest to the fact that it works. Having been an active member 5-8 years ago, I now know people on the Mayor’s staff, people on the school board, people on the City Council, people who are involved with local nonprofits, etc. MPACT really delivers on its promise to get the next generation of leaders working together at an early age. It’s also a good way to meet other young professionals. If you’re looking to meet more people and get more involved in the Memphis community, you should definitely check it out.

While there, MPACT member Susie asked what kind of conditioner I use on my hair. She told me that women want to know, because they admire the way my hair holds up in the heat. Trouble is, I couldn’t remember the name of it for several minutes, because to me it’s “the stuff in the tube.” I finally remembered it’s a Pantene product. I guess I’ll take pics of my shampoo and conditioner and do a blog post about it.

Amanda was there as well. Now usually, I have a rule of thumb – “if it’s a party Amanda is attending, it will probably suck.” For example, tea parties, Kentucky Derby big hat parties, Young Republicans parties, Ptolemy parties. However, MPACT parties are the rare exception where Amanda and I can agree to agree, although I did snicker when she mentioned “festive headwear, you know I’ll be there” on the Facebook event page.

So anyway, Amanda was doing an informal survey of men. I guess I shouldn’t skew the results by publishing the questions. Results of her survey will appear in a post on another blog later this week. I’ll link to it once it’s published.

In other news, Grill 83 is doing a new brunch on both Saturday and Sunday, featuring new twists on Southern-style food items and heavily using locally grown and produced food products. Highlights include Memphis barbecue Benedict, banana-stuffed French toast, several varieties of pancakes, a salmon BLT, and a fried green tomato sandwich. Call 901-333-1224 for reservations.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol will have 70 checkpoints in place this weekend. This is not a good time to drink and drive! Find a designated driver, take a cab, or do I like do and live Downtown and walk everyplace!

Rapscallions took second in trivia last night, so that’s the start of our next party tab. Off to lunch. No definite plans for tonight, but I will surely be out.

My readers have spoken.  The votes have been overwhelmingly in favor of beginning Tube Top Month early, so that Memorial Day weekend can be a part of it.  This was the best of the arguments in favor of the change:

My vote is to start it early. Friday at 5 pm sounds like a great way to kick off a holiday weekend. As a side note, I think you should give special recognition to anyone wearing a traditional tube top. It’s like playing punch bug with VWs. Sure you get points for a new one, but it’s extra special when you find a vintage model. Let the quest for the lime green, 70s-style tube top begin!

Great idea.  Tube Top Month will begin Friday, May 28 at 5 PM.  So put on your tube top for Trolley Night or Sunset Symphony this weekend, and let the party begin!

Bardog Tavern has organized a Monday night run for the past month or so… I haven’t participated, but I’ve heard that it’s been successful. Now they’re organizing a Bardog Breakfast Run, starting tomorrow morning… meet at 7 AM for a 5-7 mile run, followed by breakfast and a bloody mary or two.

Mesquite Chop House has announced that it’s now open all weekdays from 11 to 2 for “Lunch with Michael Patrick.” Come enjoy lunch created by one of Downtown’s most talented chefs.

Don’t forget that Mpact Memphis’ 9th birthday party is tonight at Bardog Tavern at 6 PM. Members will enjoy an open bar from 6 to 7 and free appetizers (wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up). There will be opportunities to hook up with local nonprofits. Trivia team: Since I’m an Mpact member, I’ll be late tonight. Not missing out on an open bar!

Don’t forget that there’s a masquerade ball at the Silly Goose tomorrow night at 9 to benefit Make-a-Wish. $200 to the person wearing the best mask.

All right, time to get out of the cubicle prison for a few minutes.  I’m thinking Steak’n’Shake for the second day in a row.

You’d think a beer bar would know how to spell the beer capital of the world.

(Edited to add:  They fixed it.  I pick on them a lot, but the fact that I’ve checked in there on Foursquare 59 of the last 60 days is an indicator of how much I like the place.)