Month: May 2011

Historian Jimmy Ogle will host four chats about the river, its history, and past flooding events tonight through Friday. Meet on Riverside between Beale and Union. Chats last from 6 to sunset.

According the the crime report in the Commercial Appeal today, a man is in jail on felony extortion charges. A woman had a phone stolen out of her purse about 8:15 last night. When she called her phone from another phone, she was told she’d need to pay $200 to get it back. She met Justin Cathey, whose mug shot is pictured here, at an ATM, where he assumed she would withdraw the $200. Instead, the police showed up and arrested him. Great job MPD.

I know these phone-snatchings happen all the time. One of my friends had the exact thing happen. Her iPhone was taken out of her purse at a club on Beale, and a week later she met someone and paid $100 to get her phone back. If you’ve had your phone snatched and then someone has demanded money, take a good hard look at this guy. If he looks familiar you need to talk to MPD while they have him in custody.

Ladies, a reminder – be very careful about leaving your phone in an open purse as you walk through crowded areas. I know it’s inconvenient to zip and unzip your purses, but it keeps your valuables safe.

Memphis in May has announced the shuttle service from Downtown to BBQ Fest and back. Complete details are here. To quickly sum it up, the shuttle will make 5 stops on Second between Exchange and Beale and then will head straight to the fairgrounds. Shuttles will run every 15 minutes, and it looks like they will generally run from an hour before BBQ Fest opens to an hour after it closes. Shuttles are open to both team members and guests.

Harrah’s is providing the transportation, a real win for everyone since its buses can’t take people to the casinos right now. Thanks to Memphis in May and Harrah’s for taking care of us.

Dream Berry, the new frozen yogurt shop on the Main Street Mall, has announced an event discount. Bring in your ticket for any Downtown event and get 15% off. Pretty sweet deal that will get customers in the door. I need to give Dream Berry a try today or tomorrow while I’m on vacation.

Some of the wrestlers from TNA will be at AutoZone Park Thursday night for an autograph session. They’ll be promoting their BaseBrawl event coming up in June. Eric Young will throw out the first pitch. I wonder if Velvet Sky, one of TNA’s female wrestlers and possibly the hottest woman ever, will be there. Oh well, doesn’t matter, I’ll be at BBQ Fest.

Game 6 tickets for Grizzlies vs. Thunder go on sale at noon. Get them before the scalpers do! You better log on to Ticketmaster no later than 12:02 if you want to go. Well, you know, if there’s a game Friday, I guess that means some people will have to work and miss BBQ Fest.

The Miss USA contestants from Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi will be at the Madison Hotel’s “Sunset Atop the Madison” rooftop party Thursday night. Deering & Down will perform. $7 cover, doors open at 5:30, music starts at 6.

The BBQ team captain just texted me. They need help moving tables and chairs at the Center for Southern Folklore at 11, and they knew they could count on their hardest-working team member. Someone needs to get a photo of this. May blog more this afternoon, plans TBD, but I’m sure I’ll end up at the Saucer at some point. May check out those $5 PBR pitchers at the Fish too.

After taking river photos, I walked up Second, heading home. As I walked past the Flying Fish I saw this sign.

Five bucks for a pitcher of PBR? That is a heck of a deal, especially considering it’s every day. That’s a better deal than the PBR at Max’s, Bardog, Goose, even Ferraro’s.

I haven’t spent much time hanging out at the Fish other than to eat, given that it’s a restaurant and not a bar. Maybe I should start spending more time there though.

I took the camera down to the river and joined the throngs of flood tourists snapping pics. Here’s what I got. (Click on any pic to see it in a much larger size)

 

The Celtic Woman: Songs from the Heart tour arrives at the Orpheum tonight with an additional show tomorrow night. Tickets are $30-70 and can be purchased here.

“See who’s viewing your profile! OMG you got 198 views! See who is your top stalker!”

“Osama bin Laden assassination video released! Click here to watch”

“See what you will look like when you are old”

Click any of these links on Facebook, and you’ll end up spamming your friends and compromising access to your account. There are so many scams happening on Facebook that it’s hard to know what’s safe anymore.

Facecrooks is a blog that’s here to help. It lists all the Facebook scams as they come along, letting you know what you need to do to avoid them. Good site to bookmark if you click a lot of your friends’ links.

Most Monday nights I play poker at the Silly Goose. It’s a free game as long as you’re eating or drinking, and it starts at 10 PM. Silly Goose server Brick usually comes up to play on her night off.

I’ve often Facebooked that I’m predicting a Paul vs. Brick heads-up showdown at the end of the tournament, but so far it has never happened. So, I’m going to do a fantasy post about what such a showdown might look like.

To make it interesting, I’ll structure it the way they do heads-up Texas Hold’em tournaments on TV, with starting stacks of 100,000 chips and blinds at 2,000/4,000.

For each hand, I’ll list the stacks, hands, and what Brick and I would likely be thinking at each stage of the game. Let’s see what happens.

Stacks:
Brick 100,000
Me 100,000

My hand (dealer/small blind): 10♣ 5♠

My thoughts: Not a great hand but worth a call on the dealer button. Worth seeing a cheap flop. If Brick raises with a hand like pocket Kings I’m outta here.

Brick’s hand (big blind): K♥ K♣

Brick’s thoughts: Both of my cards have pictures of men on them. I’m all about some girl power! If I had two Queens I’d care about this hand.

Brick folds. I win 4,000.

Stacks:
Brick 96,000
Me 104,000

Brick’s hand (dealer/small blind): 7♥ 3♥

Brick’s thoughts: Aw, that’s sweet. Hearts are the symbol of love. I raise.

Brick raises to 8,000.

My hand (big blind): J♠ 4♦

My thoughts: Again, not a great hand, but she only made a minimum raise. I call.

Flop: Q♥ A♣ 5♣

My thoughts: No reason to bet here. Check.

Brick’s thoughts: Ooh, another heart! It’s the season of love! I’m all in.

My thoughts: I have no hand, so I’m outta here.

I fold. Brick wins 4,000.

Stacks:
Brick 100,000
Me 100,000

My hand (dealer/small blind): A♦ J♦

My thoughts: Ace-Jack suited is a great starting hand. Gotta raise.

I raise to 11,000.

Brick’s hand (big blind): 8♥ 8♣

Brick’s thoughts: Oh, I just realized, Eights look like snowmen, so I guess I’ll play this hand.

Brick calls. Pot is now 28,000.

Flop: J♠ A♥ K♣

Brick’s thoughts:

Brick checks.

My thoughts: Top-and-bottom two pair, but a dangerous board. Queen-Ten made a straight. If Brick’s hand contains a Queen or a Ten, she’s drawing to a straight. I better attempt to end this hand now.

I bet 12,000. Brick calls. Pot is now 52,000.

Turn: 2♥

Brick’s thoughts: I nearly ran over a possum driving here. If I got some black paint and painted the possum black with a white stripe down its back, then it would be a skunk. Do possums smell bad like skunks do?

Brick checks.

My thoughts: The Deuce is probably a blank, but now there are straight and flush draws on the board. I better keep the pot small.

I check.

River: 8♠

Brick’s thoughts: Cool, another snowman!

Brick bets 100. She’s told that 4,000 is the minimum bet and makes it 4,000.

My thoughts: Against a good player, they either have a monster hand or they’re totally bluffing. I’d suspect my opponent either hit a straight on the flop with Queen-Ten, or she has two random unpaired cards and is trying to steal a rather large pot. However, this is Brick. She could just be betting because the 8 hit the river and she thought it looked like a snowman.

I call.

Brick shows a set of three Eights, beating my two pair.

Stacks:
Brick’s stack: 127,000
My stack: 73,000

Brick’s hand (dealer/small blind): K♣ 3♦

Brick’s thoughts: One of my cards has a K on it. My friend Kalista’s name begins with a K, so I’m going to go all-in.

My hand: 2♣ 9♥

My thoughts (big blind): No thanks.

I fold. Brick wins 4,000.

Stacks:
Brick’s stack: 131,000
My stack: 69,000

Blinds up: 3,000/6,000

My hand (dealer/small blind): 9♠ 6♥

My thoughts: Man, I’m getting some terrible hands. Still, though, I’ve got to take a stand, to keep Brick guessing as to when I actually have something good.

I raise to 15,000.

Brick’s hand (big blind): A♠ A♣

Brick’s thoughts: Two black cards. Red cards are prettier. Also, Aces are higher than Kings, Queens, and Jacks, and those cards have pictures on their cards but Aces don’t. Whoever designed this deck of cards is stupid. I fold.

Stacks:
Brick 125,000
Me 75,000

Brick’s hand (dealer/small blind): J♣ 5♣

Brick’s thoughts: So I was watching this cartoon, and the cat was chasing the mouse, and the mouse went in his hole. And every time the mouse peeked out of his hole, the cat would try to hit him with a hammer. But the mouse was too fast and got back in his hole. Finally the cat reached into his hole and tried to grab the mouse, but the mouse put a stick of dynamite in his… oh, it’s my turn? I guess I call.

My hand (big blind): K♥ 2♦

My thoughts: Not really good enough to raise with a Deuce in my hand.

I check.

Flop: Q♠ 4♥ 7♣

My thoughts: Well, that was no help. I could try to bluff at the pot and steal it, but Brick is likely to call just because she thinks the cards on the flop are pretty. I check.

Brick’s thoughts: I’m getting really worried about the moon. You know, the Wright Brothers landed on it about 100 years ago, and now we have weapons that are capable of reaching the moon and blowing it up. I mean, it would be weird to go outside at night and look into the sky and not see the moon. I like the moon. Oh, it’s my turn? I check.

Turn: 9♦

My thoughts: Brick thought a long time before checking. She must have a little something. Maybe she paired a 4 on the flop. Or, she could have an Ace and is hoping she’s still in the lead with high card. If I bet, she may think I have a hand that can beat her and fold.

I bet 16,000.

Brick’s thoughts: I wish Paul would stop interrupting me while I’m trying to think. I fold.

Stacks:
Brick 123,000
Me 77,000

Blinds up: 4,000/8,000

My hand: J♠ J♦

My thoughts: With a middle-to-big pocket pair and the blinds creeping up, I want to start getting money in the pot.

I bet 20,000.

Brick’s hand: 9♣ 4♥

Brick’s thoughts: I’m tired of playing poker. I want to watch TV. And I’m hungry.

Brick goes all-in.

My thoughts: Excellent situation. I have the fourth best starting hand in this game and my opponent has moved all-in. If she has Aces, Kings or Queens I’m in trouble, but given that it’s Brick, she could be going all-in with most anything.

I call.

Flop: Q♣ Q♠ 8♣

I improve to two pair, Queens and Jacks. Brick has nothing except the pair of Queens on the board.

Turn: J♣

I improve to a full house, Jacks over Queens. Brick still has nothing, except the pair of Queens on board.

River: 10♣

Brick improves to a straight flush, Queen-Jack-Ten-Nine-Eight of clubs, beating my full house. Brick stares blankly at the cards for a minute until someone informs her she hit a straight flush. “No I didn’t!” she exclaims, and people watching explain how the clubs on board plus the Nine in her hand give her a straight flush. She continues to stare blankly until people explain that a straight flush is a higher hand than a full house, and she just won. It finally sinks in, and she says, “See, Paul, I’m a better poker player than you after all! I’m so smart!”

Come play poker at the Silly Goose at 10 PM tonight.