Year: 2011

I’m very excited about Wednesday morning, when I will attend the Social Media Expedition’s monthly breakfast. For the past couple of weeks, people have been talking about the soon-to-be-rolled-out Facebook Timelines. These will replace the current profiles, and will offer a much more vivid and thorough look at a person’s/business’s history since they joined Facebook. From what I understand, people/businesses can add photos and video taken prior to the date they joined Facebook, taking them all the way back to birth/incorporation if they choose.

I work for a company that has a rich history, and am excited about using Timelines to share that history with our Facebook fans, particularly since our 75th anniversary is coming up next year. Local social media expert Jessica Grammer will walk the breakfast attendees through the Timeline and the possibilities it offers to businesses. It should be an informative presentation, to say the least.

If you’re interested in attending the breakfast, details can be found here. Space is limited. The breakfast is Wednesday morning from 7:30 to 9:00 AM. Cost is $20. It is a casual event and you’re not required to stay the entire time.

Yesterday I had to be up bright and early, because the Razorbacks played at 11 AM. I showered, threw my clothes on, and headed out the door. As I walked down Main Street Mall, I noticed that Krispy Krunchy Chicken had its sign up:

There’s a sign in the window saying it will be open Monday, October 10. Krispy Krunchy Chicken is at 51 S. Main, between Monroe and Union next to Family Dollar. Krispy Krunchy is a chain with more than 600 locations. You can learn more about them and view their menu on their website.

I had decided to watch the first half of the game at the Saucer, and the second half at Max’s Sports Bar. I grabbed my usual spot at the Saucer and watched the first quarter, which was not good for the Hogs. Texas A&M went up 14-0 and for a while I wondered if Larry Porter was coaching the Hogs.

While I was there, a man came in and handed the Saucer girls several menus. I recognized him as the guy who runs Second Street Shopper down the street. Curious, I went over and looked at one of the menus. It’s for a new restaurant called Zac’s Cafe. I snapped a pic of the menu (click to see it in a larger size):

Zac’s Cafe is located at 175 Peabody Place, in the space inside the Hampton Inn that used to be occupied by Crepe Maker. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and have 24 flavors of soft-serve ice cream. They also have beer on tap and in bottles, including New Belgium, Ghost River, and Samuel Adams. Their hours are 6 AM-2 PM, 5 PM-11 PM Sunday-Thursday; 6 AM-2 PM, 5PM-til late Friday-Saturday.

The game continued, and the Hogs started to wake up but were behind 35-17 at the half. By halftime there were probably 40 people in the place, and more than half of them had on Arkansas attire! Not sure when the Saucer became a Razorback bar but I like it. I canceled my venue change to Max’s for the second half because I was clearly in good company.

The Hogs rallied back in the fourth quarter, making a two-point conversion to tie the game at 35. Our defense finally showed up, and we held the Aggies to a field goal on the next drive down the field. The Hogs then scored a touchdown for a huge come-from-behind win, 42-38. The crowd at the Saucer had grown even more, and called the Hogs no less than three times. What an exciting game!

Afterward I hung out on the patio of the Silly Goose with friends for a couple of hours, then went to the Majestic where I had one of my favorites, the chicken tortellini for dinner.

After that I went home to take a quick nap, planning to get back out to watch the Bama-Florida game, then stop by the Monkey for their first karaoke-free weekend. Didn’t happen. I woke up at 1:40 AM and, although the bars were still open, decided to call it a night. I’ve been needing to recharge my batteries for a while now, and the 12+ hours of sleep felt mighty good.

Congratulations to the Memphis Tigers on finding a way to squander a 17-0 lead and lose 38-31 to one of the worst teams in the Sun Belt conference, Middle Tennessee State. I saw some people say on Twitter that this is a moral victory for the Tigers, because we managed to cover the -24 spread. Statements like that just illustrate how pathetic the Memphis football team has become. The good news is, they may finally get rid of Larry Porter after this loss, but if they want to address the real problem, they need to

FIRE R.C.!!!

Great news for Downtown: The Greyhound bus station on Union is for sale. Across from AutoZone Park where the Redbirds play, that is absolutely prime real estate and I hope something grand is done with the space. The bus station has been a magnet attracting bums and vagrants to Downtown Memphis for years. The sooner it gets out of here, the better.

October is Memphis Means Music Month and there will be events all month long. Click here for a calendar of events.

The Brass Door was reviewed in the Commercial Appeal yesterday. I’ve never had their Irish breakfast, but it sounds massive, and it’s served all day! Bangers and rashers!

Closing weekend at Bar None continues this evening, with $3 beer, $4 cocktails, and $5 wine. I heard reports from several people who went there last night that it is a very good time. I also learned the identities of the new owners, although for now I’m going to keep it off the blog. Suffice to say that they are people who know how to run a good bar.

Don’t forget that this is the first weekend free of noise pollution at the Downtown Blue Monkey. No more karaoke nights! Well, I guess everyone in my extended group of friends won’t be getting texts today trying to convince them to come to karaoke. That’ll be different. I find it rather appropriate that karaoke will come to an end on the first day of Memphis Means Music – REAL music – Month.

Arkansas vs. Texas A&M on ESPN, people-watching outside Widespread Panic, and possibly the Irish festival in the Pinch are on my agenda for a long Saturday. It’s time to CALL THOSE HOGS!!!

Chef John Bragg has announced that he has sold Bar None, the chef’s pub on Main Street. The sale will allow him to concentrate on his East Memphis Circa location, as well as a possible location in Nashville.

He sold it to two Downtowners, he posted on Facebook, people “we will all know” and who will “transform the space into something else cool.” I have suspicions who the two Downtowners might be, but don’t want to speculate until I gather more information.

There will be one last blowout this weekend with happy hour prices all night Friday and Saturday – $3 beers, $4 cocktails and $5 wine.

Got a couple of interesting events happening this Sunday afternoon. First of all, the Court Square Concert Series continues from 3:30 to 5:30. 2 Mule Plow will perform a free show. Blankets, coolers and lawn chairs are welcome. Friendly pets on leashes are welcome too, as long as you scoop the poop.

Also Sunday afternoon, Project Green Fork will have a fundraiser from 3:00 to 6:00. For $30 you’ll be able to enjoy local food, local beer, organic wine and local merchandise from Victory Bicycle Studio, Apothecary Fairy and Memphis Threat. Silent and live auctions featuring a new Kona bike. It will be at South Front and G.E. Patterson. Buy tickets here or at Victory Bike Studio.

Tonight is South Main Trolley Night, and the theme is Memphis Means Music. It happens from 6 to 9, and I hope to be down there by 7 to enjoy the fun.

Not going anywhere for lunch today, so I have the full hour to blog. Longer than usual post as a result…

They’re having another Yappy Hour at the Memphis Animal Shelter tonight. From 4 to 7, all dogs and cats over 6 months old can be adopted for only a $10 fee. I heard they had a record crowd for last week’s Yappy Hour and I hope they set another record this week!

The Flying Saucer has its Cajun/Creole beer dinner tonight at 7 PM. 4 courses paired with 5 Abita beers (probably including beers not normally seen in Memphis). $35 for UFO members, $40 for non-members. As of last night, they still had some tickets left. If you’re interested in going call them at 901-523-8536 and see if they still have open spots. Seating is limited, so I expect that it will fill up at some point today.

This morning I’ve been listening to a fantastic webinar by marketing expert Scott Stratten. It’s about how to create awesome content and everything he says is pure gold. If you’re in marketing and not following him on Twitter, you need to do so at @unmarketing. If he tweets anything about another free webinar, sign up immediately.

College students: One of my favorite authors, former FBI agent Joe Navarro, published an article on non-verbal body language in class that is a must-read. As a former teacher at the U of M, I absolutely HATED it when students rolled their eyes at me. This is college: You’re going to have tests, you’re going to have homework, deal with it and stop rolling your eyes. Don’t give off an “I’d rather be anywhere than here” look. Don’t sigh. Also, don’t read the school newspaper while your professors are lecturing. This is the kind of thing I remembered when students finished the semester with a 79.4 average and I had to decide whether to give the extra 0.1 and round them up to a B.

The DNA has announced the schedule for Saturday’s Irish Festival in the Pinch. Here it is:

12:00 Bagpipes and Irish National Anthem

Music with Marie Mann immediately following the National Anthem

12:30 Irish and Pinch History Walking Tour with Jimmy Ogle

Enjoy music from upcoming Orpheum musicals and Irish Folk tunes throughout the day.

2:00 Irish Afternoon Tea (learn about proper prep of an Irish tea – I will get detailed verbiage from Andrea)

2:15 – 2:30 Irish Dancers

2:30 – 3:00 Music with Marie Mann and Kali Celeste

2:30 Irish and Pinch History Walking Tour with Jimmy Ogle

3:00 – 3:15 Irish Dancers

3:00 – 5:00 The Delta Project (Back Porch Blues Band) Westy’s Patio

5:00 Pinch History Trivia

6:00 – 8:00 The Mighty Electric St. Jude Band

There will also be games at the festival including a quarterback challenge, golf challenge, trivia, and cornhole. DNA membership or cover charge will get you into a VIP tent at the festival. There you can enjoy Rendezvous BBQ and Irish punch, while listening to musical entertainment and a presentation about the history of the Pinch District.

Also on Saturday, Widespread Panic plays the FedExForum. Last time they played the Forum, some of the Spread-heads set up camp in a parking lot on Linden, which made for some quite interesting people-watching. Definitely worth a walk through if they do it again.

After work last night I grabbed a Flyer and a beer and made my way through the Best Of issue. I was extremely pleased to see two of my favorite Downtown bars get the Reader’s Choice award for Best Bar. For Bardog Tavern, it proves that a small neighborhood bar can successfully compete with the big dogs. Huey’s seemed to just overrun the competition in most categories this year, and I was worried they’d show up in Best Bar too. Didn’t happen. Bardog proved that great food, great service and a great atmosphere was enough to win.

The other Best Bar in the Downtown area was the Flying Saucer. By winning, the Saucer has proved that it didn’t hurt itself by going nonsmoking/all ages back in July. I’m not crazy about having the kids in there, but it’s a trade-off I’m willing to accept to get rid of the smoke. Yes, there are some people who were pissed off by the change, but they are a small minority. They tried to get revenge by campaigning for the Saucer to be voted “best place to take kids.” I guess the haters can discuss how their plan didn’t work Saturday at karaoke night at the Mon… oh, wait. If you haven’t seen the full Best Of 2011 results, you can view them here.

Just saw breaking news that a MATA bus and dump truck collided Downtown and 7 ambulances have been dispatched. Location was listed as “Second and N. Main,” but that can’t be right since those streets run parallel.

That’s all for now. I won’t be at poker at Max’s Sports Bar tonight. The Saucer girls talked me into buying a ticket for tonight’s beer dinner.

It’s been KILLING me to sit out in the desert known as Horn Lake all day, without access to a copy of the Memphis Flyer’s Best Of issue. I’ve had to rely on pictures posted to Facebook and Twitter and the #BOM11 hashtag to get what results I could.

I knew I didn’t place in Best Blog, and as I posted yesterday, I’m OK with that. I have to admit though, I thought to myself, “If a blog that sucks beats me, I’m going to be a little upset.” Turns out that didn’t happen. Three of my favorite blogs took the top spots. I Love Memphis, Eat Local Memphis, and Dining with Monkeys were the winners. All three are deserving of the accolades they received today. Congratulations to Kerry, Thomas and Stacey!

I ordered a new toy today. The Amazon Kindle Fire was announced today and I couldn’t resist. It’s a 7″ Android-based Wi-Fi tablet selling for $199. It’s a justifiable expense in my opinion. Given my line of work, I need to be somewhat familiar with the Android operating system, but I don’t want it on my next phone. Can’t wait to play with my new tablet!

BRIDGES USA‘s headquarters at 477 N. Fifth St. (at A. W. Willis Ave.) is the first commercial “green” building in Memphis. Tomorrow night from 5:30 to 7 they are offering tours of their HQ. They’re requesting a $10 donation, and refreshments will be served.

The Madison Hotel has announced a new fall series, Autumn Fest Atop the Madison, which kicks off next Tuesday, October 4. At 6 PM Earthfolk Yoga songstress Ashlee K. Thomas starts it up, and then Bravo’s “Platinum Hits” TV star Karen Waldrup takes the stage at 7 and headlines the night until 10. $7 cover. A rooftop party on a Tuesday night is definitely something different and will be a welcome addition to the Downtown calendar.

The Flyer’s Memphis Beer Beat blog has a new entry recapping recent beer festivals and demos. Read it here.

CBS Sports’ Garry Parrish visited two of ex-UT coach Bruce Pearl’s former assistants in Florida to see how they are doing. View his report here. To summarize, they’re not doing well. They’re living on greatly reduced salaries, facing foreclosures on their houses in Knoxville, separated from their families. Meanwhile, Pearl landed a cushy marketing job in K-ville, took multiple vacations this summer, and held on to his mansion.

Parrish points out that the assistants were really in a catch-22. The way college athletics works, you just don’t rat on your boss in the face of an NCAA investigation. You’ll be blackballed for being disloyal. Unfortunate but that’s the system. So they kept quiet, knowing they’d face sanctions that could destroy their careers.

You know, one of my favorite books is The 48 Laws of Power. One of the laws is that you must learn to avoid certain people who will send your life spinning in a negative direction. You have to develop what I call “craydar” (my new favorite word in Urban Dictionary) or in Pearl’s case, maybe “douche-dar” would be more appropriate. When your craydar goes off, you have to avoid getting tangled up with those people professionally, romantically, or however, at all costs. No matter how charming they are, good things will not come from being around them. They will take you down. Pearl’s assistants learned this the hard way.

That’s all the news I have for now. I received an invite to the Best Of party (thank you to the Flyer for that – I said for years that when I dropped out, I hoped I’d still be invited to the party), but I’m going to remain Downtown and let the winners have the spotlight. Time to grab a copy of the Flyer and a beer at the Saucer, and dig into the results.

Who’s Bob Eoff, you might ask? He’s the vice president of communications, public relations and marketing at the University of Memphis. He was quoted in Geoff Calkins’ column this morning in the CA. He said that he was not aware of any plan to address the football team’s woes by asking for the resignation of athletic director R.C. Johnson, head coach Larry Porter or other staff.

I can relate to what Eoff and his team must be going through. Although my title at work is Webmaster, and I spend most of my day working with HTML, PHP and MySQL, I work in a Marketing department. As a result, I’ve learned a lot about brand management over the past three years.

One of the lessons that has been repeated in seminars I’ve attended, in books and in websites I’ve read, is this: The best marketing in the world can’t make a bad product look good. And the U of M football program is an absolutely horrible product. A-State put its second-stringers in early in the third quarter, and we still managed to score only three points. Then two weeks later, we posted a goose egg vs. a mediocre-to-below-average C-USA team. Eoff and his staff are in the unenviable situation of trying to present the football program in a positive light, when that just isn’t possible.

I mean, look at the mess the marketing/PR team at the university is facing. The #fireRC hashtag has caught on like wildfire on Twitter. People are trashing the AD, the coach and the program on the official Memphis Tigers Facebook page. Same thing on unofficial Tigers message boards. Every time a column or article about Memphis football gets posted to the CA website, hundreds of commenters call for Johnson and Porter to step down. There are @FantasyShirley and @FantasyRC accounts on Twitter reminding followers of the program’s incompetence on a daily basis. Then there are bloggers who post “Fire R.C.” in 40-point Arial and who are so fed up with U of M football that they put “FIRE R.C. JOHNSON!!!” in the footer of every post.

The thing is, though, this is a second lesson I’ve learned: Everything your company does is in fact marketing, whether you realize it or not. By not taking proactive measures to address the football situation, the university is producing bad marketing. They are communicating that either they aren’t aware there’s a problem with the football program; or that they are aware, and they don’t care how angry the U of M’s fans are.

Furthermore, they posted to their official Memphis Tigers Facebook page, reminding fans that the page is an official communication medium for the university, and that comments critical of the administration, coaches, and players would be removed. That’s bad marketing too. It communicates that they are trying to sweep the problem under the rug and hope it goes away. It won’t go away. The U of M has 8 more football games to lose. People are just going to get angrier and angrier.

I feel for Eoff and his staff. Their hands are likely tied. Shirley Raines, the president of the university, likely told them to censor the message board. She’s also the one who refuses to take steps to fix the athletic department. She could easily do so, and turn bad marketing into good. All she has to do is what Geoff Calkins proposes in this morning’s column – have R.C. announce his retirement, pending the hiring of the next AD; force Larry Porter to resign; and conduct a national search for a dynamic AD who will rebuild the program.

Until then, I guess it’s time to break out the 40-point type.

Fire R.C.!!!

The Dog of the Day at Bardog. Chili, cheese, onion, and jalapeno.