Month: February 2012

I didn’t have the time to do a lunchtime post today, because I had to go out to the Comcast office on Players Club Parkway and get a new DVR and an adapter box for my older TV. I headed that way early – about 10:15, because someone needed to use my computer at work – and was shocked to find NO LINE! After all the horror stories I’d heard about long lines, I was dreading it, but I was in and out in 10 minutes and they were very nice.

Speaking of DVRs – if you missed Memphis the musical when it was here, or if you enjoyed it and want to see it again, set your DVR. It will be on Great Performances on WKNO/Channel 10 on Sunday, February 26 at 8 PM. HOCKADOO!

The Memphis Flyer had an article on Grawemeyer’s, which will be a bakery/restaurant/wine bar open approximately 7 AM-midnight every day. The Grawemeyers are already partners with Chef Michael Patrick in Rizzo’s Diner. He’ll be the chef for the new place too, bringing on Jason Doty to handle the bakery. They’re shooting for the first week in March as the opening date.

Good WikiHow article: How to Tell if You Talk Too Much (with steps to take to fix it). WikiHow articles are not always of the best quality, but this one is spot on. I wish I could print out copies of it and place in “Please Take One” stands at the entrances to local bars. Quote from the article: “The effect that fast- and long-winded talkers tend to have is one of draining the other party, overwhelming and exhausting them until they can find a polite-enough exit strategy.” Exactly!

Bar and club fans: An interesting new app is being tested in the NY/NJ area. Have you ever wondered whether you’re wasting your cover when at the door at a bar or club? What if you pay, and then the crowd you’re hoping to see is not there? Entrepreneur Ben Silbert has a solution. He rents ID scanners to bars and clubs at below-market rates. The scanners, as they check for valid ID, transmit 4 pieces of information to the app’s database: Age, gender, zip code, and time of entry. The info is then pushed to the app, whose users can then tell, “oh, this club is full of 20-somethings, mostly male, from Long Island,” and decide whether it’s worth it to go in. The information is useful to club owners and managers too, who as a result know better how to target their marketing to their audience. Wonder if this will one day make it to Memphis?

Beer time. Will be at the Saucer in a few minutes.

Lifehacker reported on an iPhone/iPad app that many of you will find useful: Caffeine Zone. It tracks your caffeine intake and tells you if another cup will do any good. It’s a free download in the App Store.

The Memphis Zoo will start offering $5 camel rides this spring. Makes me think back to my last year teaching at the University of Memphis… the Jewish Student Union had an outdoor festival one day in the spring. My Computer Literacy class talked me into letting them go 30 minutes early so they wouldn’t miss out on the camel rides.

Eddie Vedder has been announced for May 1 at the Orpheum. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 on Ticketmaster and at the Orpheum box office.

Chef Michael Patrick of Rizzo’s Diner shared his cheeseburger soup recipe on Kerry’s I Love Memphis Blog today. Wow, didn’t realize there was lettuce in there. It really does have all the ingredients of a cheeseburger. Sounds like more work than I’m willing to do in the kitchen (i.e. it’s more work than pressing the “Start” button on the microwave), so I guess I’ll go visit the Chef at Rizzo’s when I’m in the mood for that delicious soup.

Don’t forget that there’s half-off candy most everywhere that sells candy today. They’ve got to clear out the stock so Easter displays can go up.

There’s no TV for tonight’s Tigers game at Tulane, so don’t waste time with the remote control trying to find it. The Grizzlies are on SportSouth at 6:30. I got this info from the @MemphisOnTV Twitter account, which is not only worth following, but bookmarking in your smartphone’s browser for easy reference.

Wine dinner at the Majestic Grille next Wednesday: “A Tale of Two Pinots,” hosted by Rod Lachini of Lachini Vineyards and Todd Stewart of Elk Cove Vineyards. 8 wines and four courses, paired by Chef Patrick Reilly of the Majestic. Start time is 6:30 PM. $75 plus tax and grat, reservations required. 901-522-8555 to make reservations.

Plans for tonight: Going to go through 5 years of BBQ Fest photos and pick ones for a gallery for the new team’s website. Of course, there’s no reason why I can’t drink a beer while I’m doing that. Probably I’ll stuff the Kindle Fire in my jacket pocket and do my photo browsing at either the Flying Saucer or Blind Bear. Going to take a night off from poker tonight, but it’s at Bardog at 7:30 for those who wish to play. There’s also trivia at the Blind Bear at 8.

I went to the Blind Bear tonight, dressed as a 1920s gangster. I went to their poker night, then their “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” party. Unfortunately I did not win at poker. Shallow-stacked, I went all-in with 9-9, to get called by Brian with J-J. Great call and good game.

Afterward I went back to the Saucer where I did this Z-bo impression. The cheap nylon sport jacket will be replaced by something better by the next party. Thanks to Stacey for the bottle of bubbles which served as my mouthpiece.

Doing a little Z-boING could win you a pair of half-court plaza-level Grizzlies tickets. Take a pic of yourself Z-boING and submit it to the Z-boING site and you could win tickets to the February 29 game vs. Dallas. Alternately, you can enter to win the tickets by buying one or more Z-boING or Rudy Gay “Make Your Own Luck” T-shirts from the site.

Speaking of the Grizzlies, two very generous team members spent their own money to throw a party Monday night for kids who normally wouldn’t get to see the team. Tony Allen and Zach Randolph had a party at The Westin Hotel on Beale, across from the FedExForum, for the mothers and children of the Memphis Family Shelter. The moms got manicures and pedicures while TA and Z-Bo helped the kids make Valentine’s Day cards for their mothers. More on the party here. Doesn’t this kind of story make you proud to be a Grizzlies fan?

It’s still a week away, but this is a date worth saving: Next Wednesday, February 22, is the one day of the Folk Alliance Conference that will be open to the public. Pay $10 and get to pick and choose from a musical buffet of over 30 artists. Folk musicians from around the world attend this conference. I went to public night last year and most definitely recommend it. It will be at the Downtown Marriott and the line-up for the evening can be found here.

Residents of the Vance Avenue area south of the FedExForum are planning improvements to their neighborhood. This Memphis Flyer article has details. Apartments worth saving will see improvements; those that are too far deteriorated will be demolished. I see a signpost from the intersection of Vance and Allen accompanying the article. There are many “need to be demolished” apartments and houses among Allen and its parallel street Abel. Downtown panhandlers go to these streets to buy drugs after they collect enough money. Getting rid of their havens would make all of Downtown considerably safer.

The Redbirds have announced a social media night for April 26. The ‘birds will follow the first 500 guests who write down their Twitter handle. Fans will be encouraged to take photos from their seat and post to Facebook during the game; adding their seat location will make them eligible to win a social media-themed prize during the game. One fan will also receive a prize pack that includes a bird watching book, a team-signed hashtag and a box of figurines containing 140 characters.

That’s the news. Time to put on my 1920s gangster attire, and after a quick one at the Saucer, hit the Blind Bear for poker and St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Just a quick reminder that the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre party at Blind Bear happens tonight at 9. There are two ways to get in free: Dress as a 1920s gangster or flapper, or dine at the Majestic Grille beforehand (reservations required) and get a password. $5 cover for everyone else. Moonshine shots, jello shots. DJ BCON and MLW. Costume contest at 11 with $50 Bear Bucks as prizes.

Also a reminder that Tuesday night poker at the Bear will happen, but the start time will be at 7 rather than 8, and Jamie will increase the blinds a little faster than usual to get it done by 9. You get an extra point toward the long-term standings if you show up in costume. Jamie told me that he is considering an iPad as the prize for the long-term winner.

Got news, but it will have to wait for my after-work post. I’ve got to run over to Southaven and try to find a tie to go with my gangster costume. I hear Sammy’s Man of Fashion over on Airways might be the place to go. In this evening’s news post: Redbirds news, info on how to win Grizzlies tickets, and possibly more.

The updated MemphisWeather.net blog indicates that the drive home this afternoon could be messy. Sleet and snow are due to move in, with possible accumulation 3-9 PM. It’s already been sleeting in Horn Lake where I work. I’m hearing reports of sleet and snow Downtown too.

Congratulations to SeedHatchery founder Eric Mathews, who has been chosen as interim executive director of EmergeMemphis. A fine choice indeed. I met with Eric in November and got a fuller understanding of how the different pieces fit together to support entrepreneurial culture in this city – SeedHatchery, LaunchMemphis, the LaunchPad, EmergeMemphis. Eric is extremely passionate about what he does, and is an ideal choice to lead the small business incubator on Tennessee Street. Read more about Eric in this MBJ article.

The Silly Goose is having a Cupid’s Rejects party tomorrow night. DJ Cody will perform, and there will be a $3 martini menu for single ladies. Starts at 9 PM.

The cast of Million Dollar Quartet will perform at least 7 songs from their show tomorrow afternoon at the Rock & Soul Museum at 1:30 PM. Free to the public, and guests will also get free admission into the museum. The show will run tomorrow through the 19th at the Orpheum. More info here.

Plans for tonight: Pint Nite at the Flying Saucer at 6 (or later, depending on how long the drive home takes), poker at the Silly Goose at 7:30.

Bibles for China Thrift Center. Just click on it. It will be worth your while. Promise.

It appears we have the potential for a winter weather event Monday afternoon – one we’ll have to drive home in, which is no fun. To have weather events explained to you in layman’s terms, there’s no better place than the MemphisWeather.net blog. This is one to keep an eye on. Monday afternoon rush hour could be a major headache. Tim Van Horn of Channel 5 has a good point – if you haven’t done your Valentine’s Day shopping, do it today, rather than putting it off until tomorrow and having to deal with the weather.

The Jerry Lawler Show returns to the air after a 19-year absence. Unfortunately I didn’t get the word out in time for you to catch its debut – it will be on Fox 13 every Sunday morning at 6 AM. Set your DVRs for next week. Lawler had his own news and interview show about sports and wrestling from the 1980s to 1993. When he signed his WWF contract, he was forced to shut the show down, because its 11 AM Sunday time conflicted with WWF programming on the USA network. The 6 AM time shouldn’t conflict with anything the wrestling federation – now the WWE – has on the air. Good to have the King back. Here’s an interview he did with MemphiSport Live yesterday about the new show.

By the way, if you’re a pro wrestling fan and you’re not following the legend, former WWF champion the Iron Sheik on Twitter (@the_ironsheik), you are missing out. Sheik gives his opinions on other professional wrestlers, especially those from his era. This was one recent tweet:

“hulk hogan and ultimate warrior each deserve gold medal in the piece of shit olympics”

And a classic from several months ago:

“one time the andre the giant shit his pants on bus. he make entire bus smell like egg.”

Sheikie baby also discusses what he’s been up to, with “smoking the green medicine” being a popular activity lately. He solicits opinions from his followers, asking if various celebrities are “the real or the gay.” Sheik, who is from Iran, also discusses female celebrities he thinks are hot, and speculates whether he’d have sex with them “old country way or new country way.” A well-rounded Twitterer, Sheik even discusses politics. In a recent tweet he said that “the mitt romney have the grasshopper dick like the virgil.” Free entertainment just doesn’t get much better than this.

Yesterday I did something I almost never do – I drove the car on a weekend. I had to get gangster attire for Tuesday’s gangster and flapper party at the Blind Bear. I bought a gangster-style jacket at Party City, and let me tell you, if I’d taken that piece of junk out of the bag and examined it before I took it home, I never would have bought it. Cheap, flimsy nylon/rayon material. It’ll have to do for Tuesday, though. Jamie really wants the people who play poker before the party (special 7 PM start time, party at 9) to be dressed as gangsters and flappers. Not interested in getting out in the snow Monday to try and find a better jacket. Once Tuesday is over I’ll order a better one, because there will be more gangster/flapper parties to come.

After that it was time for day drinking. The running order was Bardog, Saucer, Johnny G’s Creole Kitchen for dinner, Saucer, Goose, and back to Saucer. Got to sit in on another BBQ team board meeting. I still can’t share specifics, but there are big improvements over the old team in the way money is handled, and in being more selective about membership. Very excited about this year. I’ve been made an admin on the team website, and am going to try to come up with some content in the near future.

While at Bardog, I was watching basketball and a Dodge Ram commercial came on. I wonder if there are people out there who think the truck is named after computer memory rather than a horned sheep.

All right… got about 40 minutes until the Majestic opens for brunch. Going to spend the time going through old BBQ Fest pics and seeing which ones we can use on the new site. Saucer, Blind Bear on my agenda for later today.