Month: September 2010

The Redbirds have made the playoffs! Their come-from-behind win in the final regular season game yesterday was good enough to put them in the divisonal playoffs this week, and if they win they’ll go on to the league championships next week. Home games at AutoZone Park will be September 8 and 9, and if the ‘Birds continue on, September 17 and if needed, September 18 and 19. You can buy tickets here.

The third annual “Feed the Soul” fundraiser for MIFA will be Thursday, September 30 at The Warehouse at 36 East G.E. Patterson. There will be entertainment by Raiford, the Ryan Peel Band, and Earl Randle, as well as soul food by Chow Time. $40 general admission tickets can be purchased on MIFA’s website or by calling 901-529-4525. For those of you who haven’t been to The Warehouse, it is a wonderful venue for hearing live music. I guarantee you will have a good time, and it’s hard to find a charity that does more for the community than MIFA.

Yesterday several people in animal costumes were roaming the streets of Downtown Memphis, including this one who stopped to chat at the Saucer window.

They were in town for a furry convention. I remember the Memphis Flyer reporting on this convention several years ago… it’s for people who are interested in anthromorphic arts. Many of the attendees dress in costumes, or furry suits. The local convention is called Mephit Furmeet (no I didn’t misspell that) and they meet every year over Labor Day weekend in Olive Branch. They seemed like nice, friendly furries but I think they freaked out some of the Saucer waitresses a little.

Go Hogs! The Arkansas Razorbacks have moved up to 15th in this week’s coaches’ poll, a jump of four spots.

‘Twas a good Labor Day, even if I spent it where I spend most of my time, the Saucer… I’d been invited to a cookout down on South Main, but I got into a fascinating conversations about hostels that kept me at the bar several hours longer than intended. I finished the night off with poker at the Silly Goose, where I again busted out early. I just can’t seem to catch cards there. Well, except for one time when I was dealt pocket Kings and everyone folded to my big blind. Why can’t y’all do that when I’m holding 3-7 offsuit?

Plans for tonight: Back to the Saucer for team trivia at 7. Hopefully the team will recover from our disastrous showing last week. Other stuff going on: Super Tuesday at Kooky Canuck with $5 34 oz. mixed drinks; Pint Night at Bardog Tavern with all drinks $3.

It’s Labor Day!  Many many years ago, someone said, “Having to go to work five days a week really sucks.  Let’s give people a day off,” and Congress made it a national holiday.

In honor of Labor Day, I found a good link this morning that I wanted to pass along:  Here’s a company called 360JobInterview.com that does live interview coaching in Memphis.  Well, actually they’re not in Memphis, but they simulate the interview experience via webcam.  (If you don’t have a webcam on your computer, they can help get you set up.)  You choose a coach who is an expert in interviewing in one of 55 fields – everything from accounting to IT to marketing to printing, and more.  They run you through a mock interview, with questions likely to be asked for your field and your level of experience.  Your coach then gives you a detailed critique and offers suggestions for improvement, and you get a chance to ask your coach any questions you have.

If you’ve been to a number of interviews and haven’t been offered anything, interview coaching would likely be money well spent… sometimes the best constructive criticism comes from a neutral third party who doesn’t know you personally.  360JobInterview also offers career action planning and resume planning.  If you’ve been frustrated and stuck in the job search for a while, these might be good people to talk to.

I had a very enjoyable second day at the Memphis Music & Heritage Festival yesterday.  For some reason I never snap a whole lot of pics at the festival, but here are a few random ones I took:

It’s Monday.  That means it’s Pint Nite at the Saucer, and they’re open at 11 AM.  Most pints $2.75.  Will has tweeted that trivia at Local will happen as usual at 8 PM.  I’m assuming poker at the Silly Goose (9 PM and 11:30 PM) will not be taking a break for Labor Day either.  Not sure about half price wine & pizza night at Spindini.

Gonna go take a walk and get the Sun’s assistance de-Elvising my hair.  Will be at Pint Nite this afternoon.

Two places nearby: Majestic Grille and Cockadoos.  Can’t go wrong with either place.  Both have their menus on their websites.  The Majestic is within the boundaries of the festival; Cockadoos is less than a block away on Second.

If you missed the Memphis Music & Heritage Festival yesterday because you were busy watching college football, you can still catch it today.  It happens from 11 to 11.  It continues to get bigger and better every year.  Here’s the schedule.  Some recommendations (sorry, some of these overlap, too much good music):

• Watoto Memphis, African dance clinic at the Tennessee Arts stage, 12:30; blues dance at the ArtsMemphis stage at 5:15; and folk dance at the Tennessee Arts stage, 7 PM.  Come learn about this wonderful group that teaches children about music and dance.
• Papa Top’s West Coast Turnaround, classic country, 6:45, Folklore Hall stage
• Valerie June, folk, 8:15, Folklore Store stage
• FreeWorld, jam band, 8:15, Tennessee Arts stage
• Funzo Crush aka Young AJ featuring Al Kapone, rap, 9:00, ArtsMemphis stage
• Most of the beer vendor booths have 16 oz. PBR cans for $3
• Try the homemade guacamole at the Las Delicias booth, $5
• Try a slider with Swiss and horseradish grilled on the patio at Circa, $4
• Get some of Ella Kizzie’s greens and hot water cornbread at the kitchen to the left of the Folklore Hall Stage.  At 7 she will have a cooking demo at the Cooking Stage.

If you have an iPhone or Android, don’t forget to download the Center for Southern Folklore app.  It’s really good, and will come in handy when trying to decide what stage to visit next.

I had fun there yesterday… walking around, reconnecting with old friends, meeting new ones… that’s what festivals are all about.  Normally I have a “no side trips” festival rule, but I bend it when the Saucer is a block away, and I made a couple of trips there too.  And, of course, I frequently refreshed the ESPN app on my iPhone to keep up with football, to the point where I had to go home and re-charge my phone late in the afternoon.  Looks like I may have been wrong about Tennessee being the biggest embarrassment in the SEC this year; Ole Miss stepped up yesterday to claim that role.  Jacksonville State, a school no one has ever heard of, handed the Rebels a loss at home.  Meanwhile, the Razorbacks of Arkansas looked strong.  I think this is gonna be a good year for football.

Today I’ll be hanging out at the festival for most of the day.  Come say hello!

If find it odd that in this economy, when people claim they are desperate for work, that this Evening Bell Captain position at the Peabody has been open since June 14.

Why hasn’t someone jumped on this?

True, it’s not a white-collar job, sitting in an office making $60K a year.  But it’s an opportunity.  Since this is a “captain” position, you’d get management experience to add to the resume, not to mention the fact that you’d have one of the South’s most recognizable business names on there as well.  You’d get to improve your customer-service skills.  I’m sure the pay is decent, and don’t bell captains make tips?

Yeah it says “1 to 5 years” experience on the listing, but this job has been open almost THREE MONTHS.  I bet they’d be willing to talk to anyone who shows initiative, and has some kind of experience (for example, acting as manager when the boss is out of town) that would translate to this position’s requirements.

Somebody needs to get on this.  And check out the Peabody’s other job listings as well.

Okay, I’ll get off my rant now.  Up too early, waiting for the Memphis Music & Heritage Festival to start.  Surfing restaurants on MarksMenus to kill time.  Been meaning to try Fuel Cafe in Midtown.  Wonder if any of the local food bloggers have reviewed it?

Last night as I was walking down the Main Street Mall, I saw a poster advertising that the Alley Jams concert series is returning to Downtown this fall.  This year, they’re doing them on Fridays.  I took this pic of the lineup (click it to view it in higher resolution):

Alley Jams showcases the great music you can hear in Memphis, and the many great venues Downtown.  These will be a good way to kick off the weekends.

“It’s Saturday!”

Current time is 5:29 PM Friday, September 3.

Woohoo! The Memphis Music & Heritage Festival is only one day away! The Center for Southern Folklore app is now in the iPhone app store. I downloaded this morning, although I had to get through a couple of “unable to purchase” errors (it’s a free app) before the Store finally let me download it. Really nicely done app.

The app reminded me that there’s more than just music throughout the day. There are also food demos where chefs from the region prepare their favorite dishes. At the end of the demo, the chefs hand out samples. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up. Chef Michael Patrick of Mesquite Chop House has a demo at 1 PM Saturday – I’ll have to stop by for that one.

There will also be workshops. At 1:30 tomorrow at the Tennessee Arts Stage at Main and Gayoso, David Evans will host a jug band workshop. William Lee Ellis and Jimmy Crosthwait will host a songwriting workshop at the Folklore Store at 3:15 tomorrow.

If you tweet from the festival, use the #mmhf hashtag to join the conversation.

The Memphis Daily News reports that the expansion of the Peabody into the Peabody Place mall has been delayed for at least a year. The article cites the economy and difficulty getting financing as the reason.

I got more info on that October 16 beer festival I had mentioned earlier… unfortunately, it’s nowhere near Downtown. It will be “The Square on Tap” in Hernando, Mississippi. Distance makes this one a no-go for me, but for North Mississippians it should be a good time. You can “like” the festival on Facebook to keep informed of news about the event.

What’s up with all the SEC teams showing their first game of the season on PPV? I’m being inundated with people asking if I know of any place Downtown showing their favorite team on PPV, and I don’t have any answers. Maybe you can call Calhoun’s (they don’t open until 4:30) and see if Max will be carrying any of the games. The only game of interest to me is Arkansas vs. Tennessee Tech, and even that one is not going to be enough to get me to leave the music festival.

Outta here for now… gonna go eat some Mexican food and count down the minutes until the long weekend starts.

In case you’ve missed the numerous news announcements, the Memphis Zoo will have an outdoor skating rink from November 19 to January 31. Fees will be $6, or $5 if you bring your own skates. Zoo admission fees will also apply. It will be the first time Memphis has had an outdoor rink since 1976.

Groupon’s deal today is an appropriate one, with the Memphis Music & Heritage Festival coming up this weekend. Today’s Groupon deal is $20 worth of Memphis Music & Heritage Festival posters for $10.

Speaking of the festival: Have you seen the weather forecast? Little chance of rain, highs in the low-to-mid 80s, lows in the upper 50s and lower 60s. Perfect! I will be at the festival most of the time Saturday and Sunday, although this is one case where I wave my “no side trips” festival rule since the Flying Saucer is nearby. If you have not been to the Memphis Music & Heritage Fest, you really need to check it out – it features excellent regional music that spans all genres. Schedule here.

Sole Restaurant will have a brunch this Sunday benefitting Memphis Farmers Market. Food will include Neola Farms prime rib, Lauren Farm prawns, Delta Grind buckwheat biscuits, and jams from the Farmers Market. There will be music by Michelle Bush. Two seatings, 11:00 and 1:30. $35 per person. Call 901-334-5950 for reservations. Sole is only a 5-minute walk from the festival if you want to do both on Sunday.

It’s Thursday night, and that would normally mean defending my poker championship at Calhoun’s. However, plans have changed since I have learned that Dos Equis Lager is the Fire Sale at the Saucer!!!!! Therefore, that is where I will be this evening, squeezing limes into my beer, watching football, and listening to the Shugga Shane Band when they take the stage at 9:30.