Tue update: Grizzlies sale, B.B.’s ribs dollar deal, Conference USA tourney moved, Beer Buddy iPhone app free today

So, the Grizzlies have a new owner. Or so they say. 34-year-old Robert Pera has given Michael Heisley an 8-figure deposit toward buying the team for $350 million. Of course, Pera doesn’t actually own the team yet, because there are other steps involved – mainly, approval by the NBA, which will take at least 60 days (and probably much longer).

My prediction is that Pera will never own this team.

Pera is being called a billionaire, based on the percentage of stock he owns of the company he founded, Ubiquiti. Ubiquiti sells wireless Internet products to emerging markets. After the stock went public, it hit a high point of almost $36 a share, making Pera worth about $2 billion. However, it has since fallen to about $12. Pera is no longer a billionaire.

In fact, if the stock price halves again, Pera won’t even be able to afford to buy the team. And there’s a lot of reason to believe the stock will drop by another 50%. As someone who self-manages stocks in a Roth IRA, I see a lot of signs of disaster in this company. For one, I’ve been taught that it’s bad if a company has more than 3% of its stock sold short – in other words, more than 3% of investors believe the price will go down in the future. Ubiquiti has 54% of its stock sold short right now. Its accounts receivable days are on the rise. Its business model is to sell to distributors, but somehow these distributors are selling equipment to Iranian companies and possibly North Korean companies too. That’s a big no-no. Then there’s the fact that they book revenue when equipment is sold to distributors, rather than end users. That’s a very aggressive accounting model that could be used to push a lot of equipment to distributors that they know they will never be able to sell, in order to prop up profit margins in earnings reports (“channel stuffing”).

This CNBC article says it all. Pera needs to devote 100% of his energy to running the company. He got rich quick and decided to buy himself a toy. It’s not time for toys yet.

My prediction is that Michael Heisley just got an eight-figure payday and will still own the Grizzlies when all is said and done.

Yesterday, a few hours after the “sale” was announced, @MemphiSport asked its Twitter followers what is the first thing they would do after buying the Grizzlies. I responded that I’d add a Grizzlies tube top to the merchandise line. That was good enough to get retweeted.

In other news: B.B. King’s is doing a “dollar deal” for ribs Tuesday-Thursday 2-5 PM. A dollar a rib bone, minimum order 4, maximum 8, with reorders of 4 bones at a time. No to-go orders or boxes, and not valid with any other promo. More info here.

The FedExForum has lost the 2013 Conference USA tournament. To punish Memphis for leaving, C-USA has voted to move the tourney to Tulsa. As nearly every sports commentator in town has pointed out, instead of packed houses, now the tournament will be shown on TV with a mostly empty arena, showing C-USA to be the crummy conference it is.

Congratulations to the Arkansas Razorbacks. They defeated Baylor to advance to the College World Series. Go Hogs!

An iPhone app called Beer Buddy, normally $3.99, is free in the App Store today. It lets you scan bar codes on beer bottles and get info about the beer.

Plans for tonight: Tube Top Tuesday at Bardog, poker at Blind Bear, then Saucer.

48 Hour Launch presentation and reception tonight at EmergeMemphis

This weekend there has been a 48-hour launch going on at the EmergeMemphis building. Four new businesses are being started up from scratch, developing business plans, marketing strategies, websites and social media presence, etc. Tonight at 6 PM they’ll present their new businesses at a reception, and the public is invited. The new businesses (with their Twitter handles) are

– Happy Potty (@happypotty), a toilet discovery engine

– Lost Petcast (@lostpetcast), a means to broadcast your lost pet to Craigslist, the CA, the Flyer, Twitter, Facebook, and local vets and hospitals.

– ScrewPulp (@screwpulp). It isn’t immediately clear what they do from their Twitter profile (need to work on that, guys), but their website indicates it will forever change the way you read books.

– Yadoog (@yadoog), a way to tell your daily story in 24 pics or less.

The EmergeMemphis building is at 516 Tennessee Street. Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be provided at the reception. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

This has nothing to do with the content of the post, but, in keeping with this blog’s monthly theme, here’s a pic of Mary Pat in a tube top.

Sun update: Tube top buying guide, removing someone from your Facebook news feed, strawberry basil martini @ Majestic Grille, and more

One thing I want to do to celebrate Tube Top Month is create a tube top buying guide. Where are the best places to buy tube tops? Email me at paul@paulryburn.com. Downtown locations preferred but I’ll list anywhere in Memphis. Tube tops are worth traveling.

I posted the tube top question on Facebook yesterday. Originally I wanted it to be a “Shop Local” guide, listing only locally-owned businesses, kind of in the way that Seth has stated he will only review locally-owned businesses for Best Memphis Burger. However, after seeing the responses, I’m convinced that won’t work for my buyer’s guide. American Apparel and Urban Outfitters are just such powerhouses in the world of tube tops that they can’t be ignored. Besides, there are chain stores and “cool, hip” chain stores, and both of the ones I listed qualify as the latter. They’ve earned places on the list.

Friday night I had a question which is probably worth answering on the blog. Someone came up to me and said, “Paul, I know you do a lot of work in social media. I have a Facebook question. One of my friends posts a lot of really stupid stuff, and it shows up on my News Feed. Is there a way I can not see his stupid posts, without unfriending him and hurting his feelings?” Yes. Pull up his page on Facebook. Click the button in the upper right that says “Friends.” It should drop down a menu. One of the menu options should be “Show in News Feed.” Uncheck that option and voila! You’ll still nominally be friends on Facebook, but he’ll have no idea you’re not seeing the stupid crap he posts. (These instructions are for the web version of Facebook, rather than the mobile version.)

If only it were that easy to mute people in real life.

So, I started the day yesterday at Panda Manda’s bar at Bardog at noon. She confirmed that Tube Top Tuesday will indeed happen – for the summer months, every Tuesday during happy hour she’ll be wearing a tube top behind the bar. Attn Saucer: You won’t see me before about 10 PM on Tuesdays for a while.

Bardog has really become the place to be Saturday days. Nearly the entire gang has shown up the past two weeks. We watched the Euro 2012 soccer matches on TV, and I had a view out the window and watched Scratchy cross Monroe Avenue about 30 times. It’s amazing he never gets hit by cars.

About 3:30 the crowd started to dissipate, and I realized I needed to eat soon. I walked down Main and Union and Second, trying to decide. “Sushi sounds good but I’ll have to wait until the restaurant opens… Majestic is always good… hmm there’s chicken, but I’d rather have Gus’s and don’t know if I feel like walking that far… the Fish is good, but I just ate there the other day… hey, there’s the Saucer! Think I’ll have a beer!” So much for eating!

Harp was the Fire Sale yesterday. Now I think I have a better idea why the Memphis Saucer is reluctant to carry PBR. Why should they, when they can sell a beer that tastes exactly like PBR for $4.50, and occasionally discount it to $3 for Fire Sale and Pint Nite?

By about 7 the need for food was getting critical. By this point I had made up my mind to just stick with one of the classics – the Majestic Grille. I got there and ordered two of their appetizers, the calamari and the onion rings. Marla could see I was starving and brought me a basket of their yummy focaccia bread and butter while I waited on my food. Really, really good.

These were the onion rings. That’s a standard-sized plate they are sitting on. Look how big they are! Hiding behind them is a cup of horseradish dipping sauce.

I didn’t take a pic of the calamari, but I’m a big fan of it too. They use a cornmeal breading that adds a lot of flavor to the dish, and they cook it with cherry peppers for a little extra zing.

I watched the Celtics-Heat game as I ate my food. By early second quarter I was stuffed – even though I’d eaten maybe 25% of my food. I did something I rarely do, and asked for a to-go box. “If I don’t feel like taking it home, I’ll leave it in the alley for Scratchy,” I reasoned. The bartender asked if I wanted anything else. “You know, I guess I’ll watch the rest of the second quarter here,” I told her. “I think I’ll have a strawberry basil martini.”

One of Downtown’s hidden secrets – or, maybe it’s not so hidden because a lot of people already know this – is that the Majestic has a martini menu that can hold its own against cocktail bars like Alchemy or the Silly Goose. My favorite is the Strawberry Basil Martini, with pieces of strawberries right there in the glass. I hadn’t had one in over a year, and it was every bit as good as I remembered.

(For those who don’t think this drink is manly enough, let me point out that I also did a shot of Jameson with the chef.)

I finished my martini right as the third quarter was starting. Again, the bartender came over and asked if I wanted anything else. I thought to myself, You know, I could go to the Saucer or the Bear to watch the rest of the game. But honestly, I’m having just as good a time right here. So I ordered another strawberry martini, and that took me through the end of the game. The Heat won, so they’ll face the OKC Thunder in the NBA Finals, first game Tuesday. You know what? At first glance, it seems easy to want the Heat to lose, but I can’t totally hate a team that has Shane Battier on it. He’s just too good a guy. So I guess either way, a good guy gets a ring this year (how can you not like James Harden?)

Apologies to those who were wondering where I was at Mollie Fontaine’s for ’80s night, after I said I might cab it out there. By the end of the game, I was thinking to myself, “You know, I am going to get a really good night’s sleep if I just go home now.” After the amazing REM dream sleep I had last Monday morning, I kind of wanted some more. Plus the price of that plan (free) was appealing vs. the price of cab fare + drinks. Sure enough, I had several vivid dreams, although this time I didn’t levitate or create alternate versions of Downtown. I did dream I was back in the job I had 2004-06 programming rebate websites in VB.net. For some reason I dream about that job more than the current one or any past one. Not sure why. Anyway, I feel great this morning and am rarin’ to go.

Skipping brunch at the Majestic this morning, as I always do when there’s a big show at the Orpheum (Mamma Mia! today). Most likely I’ll hit the Saucer at noon, then evaluate plans for the rest of the day.

Sat update: Memphis Pipe Kitty, Wagon Wheel @ Double J, Peabody Sunset Happy Hour, Hard Rock Founders’ Day (attn police, firefighters, EMTs), 80s party, absinthe pops

On weekend nights I tend to surf social media on my phone a good deal, to see what my friends are up to. However last night, my friends’ activities were not the main reason I kept checking Twitter. A kitten, 6 to 8 weeks old, was found stuck in a vertical drain pipe about 2 inches in diameter. It had been there since Sunday, and early reports indicated that the kitten might not be able to be rescued. By mid-evening the kitten had its own hashtag on Twitter, #PipeKitty, and the main person rescuing it created a @MyPipeKitty account to update everyone. At the time I last checked Twitter (more on that in a minute), they had lowered a camera into the pipe and determined that the kitten was still very much alive.

This morning, the first thing I did after waking up was check the Twitter account, and there was good news. About 4:00 in the morning, the kitten was rescued. It’s said to be in good spirits, very vocal and playful, and the man who rescued the kitten is going to talk to the Humane Society about adopting it. The kitten was dug free thanks to Greenway Home Services, who had their equipment there until 4 AM. If you need plumbing, HVAC services, or major appliances, please consider doing business with them.

Anyway, after about 12 I couldn’t get updates on #PipeKitty because my phone’s Twitter app froze on this picture. Well, if you must freeze up, that’s a good pic to do it on. It’s a pic of Double J Smokehouse and Saloon’s new Wagon Wheel appetizer sampler platter, with hot wings, fried pickles, onion rings, cheese sticks, a sampler of their sausage and cheese plate, and BBQ nachos. I count NINE cups of dipping sauce on this thing. It’s $25, but the restaurant’s “mayor” on Foursquare, Mikey, told me last night that it’s easily enough food to feed five people. I hope to try the Wagon Wheel soon – but, not when I’m dining alone.

Also while checking social media, I saw that my friends Katie Mac and the Nuh-Uh Girl went to the lake this weekend. Katie took the Nuh-Uh Girl to a bar, and conveniently forgot to tell her it was a karaoke bar until they got there. Ugh. The Nuh-Uh Girl usually isn’t into karaoke bars, unless they happen to have an all-you-can-eat buffet. So glad we don’t have to deal with karaoke on the weekends in Downtown Memphis anymore.

On with the news… the Peabody is doing a Sunset Happy Hour on the rooftop on select Fridays and Saturdays from 4:30 to 8:30. Today is one of those select days. If you’ve never enjoyed a relaxing sunset on a Downtown rooftop with a cocktail in your hand, this is your chance. More info here.

Police, firefighters, EMTs, and Civil Service are invited to have 71 cent hamburgers at the Hard Rock Cafe on Thursday, June 14. It’s their Founders’ Day Celebration and all are welcome, no cover. This will be the music lineup:

12PM – Chad Nordhoff
1PM – Tori Tollison
5PM – Amy Hart
6PM – J.W. Williams
7PM – The Mike Dees Band
8PM – the Near Reaches
9PM – Pengea
10PM – Shive

All proceeds from the day will benefit the Church Health Center. The Hard Rock has a made-from-scratch kitchen, so civil servants, those 71 cent burgers will not be frozen burgers from SYSCO – they’ll be the real thing. More info about Founders’ Day here.

There will be an “I the ’80s” party tonight at Mollie Fontaine Lounge from 11 PM to 3 AM. No cover, 21 and up. DJs will spin your favorite ’80s and early ’90s tunes. Costumes are highly encouraged. More info here. The only problem I have with the ’80s-early ’90s is that it was the era when tube tops were out of fashion.

Gizmodo has a post on how to make absinthe pops, the summer treat that will melt your face. Oh my goodness. This is Trouble with a capital T.

Time to hit Publish, get dressed, and hit Bardog at noon for brunch and some $2 Coronas with Panda Manda. Later tonight I’ll decide if I feel like taking a cab over to Mollie’s for the ’80s party.

Fri update: Thoughts on Facebook and Foursquare updates, Euro 2012 @ Brass Door, horse race I don’t care about has one less horse

Facebook and Foursquare have made some pretty significant updates in the past couple of days. Last night I tried them out.

Yesterday Facebook told me I could “star” friends. This lets Facebook know that I’m especially interested in seeing those people’s updates. It suggested friends to star, based on who I’ve interacted with the most lately. It also told me that friends won’t know I’ve “starred” them. So, okay, I went with it and starred about 10 people. Those people then went into my “Close Friends” group. I discovered that I got a notification any time a friend I starred updated their status, uploaded photos, etc. That’s pretty cool. I’m not on Facebook 24/7 and this way I don’t miss out on what my friends are doing.

Then there’s Foursquare, which has changed the way it works both on the website and on smartphone apps. Overall I like it except for a couple of minor things. You can “Like” your friends’ checkins, and you can see more of your friends’ checkins than in the past. I also see that you can “Like” venues. I’ll probably have “Liked” most of the bars Downtown within a week or two.

They’ve simplified the process of checking in, so you don’t have to go to the venue’s page to do it. I understand why they did it – fewer clicks, less time to check in. But there are a couple of drawbacks. First of all, if people don’t have to go to the Flying Saucer’s page or Blind Bear’s page to check in, they won’t see “Paul R. is the mayor.” I want my recognition dammit!

Another thing is, while it takes less effort to check in now, it takes more effort to pull up a venue’s page and see who is currently checked in. This is something I actually do a lot. The main rule that dictates where I go Downtown is, “I like good situations.” If I’m bored at the Saucer, I might pull up Bardog’s page on the Foursquare app. If I see that four of my friends are checked in there, I’ve found a good situation and am likely to go over. I can still access this information; it just takes longer in the revised app.

If you have Foursquare hooked up to Twitter, then tips you leave at venues will be tweeted now. That’s pretty cool. So if I leave a tip at the Peabody to wear a tube top to their rooftop parties, my ~1250 Twitter followers will see it.

Soccer news: The Brass Door will have all of the Euro 2012 games on its giant screen in the Cavern.

I’ll Have Another has been scratched from the Belmont Stakes tomorrow. That changes my attitude toward the race from “couldn’t care less” to “still couldn’t care less.”

Festival season is over and we’ve entered the dog days of summer, where not much is on the weekend calendar. If you want to hear live music tonight, Jeremy Stanfill and Pat Fusco at the Blind Bear wouldn’t be a bad call. I’m currently evaluating that and Max’s Sports Bar as possible best plans for tonight. Right now, it’s time to hit Publish and grab lunch.

Thur update: Rooftop parties, Foursquare update, Facebook tip, Flaming Lips @ Handy Park, GiveCamp needs techie volunteers, Mo’s Bows show, important Fireball news, and more

It’s Thursday rooftop party night. At the Peabody, Seeing Red will headline tonight. $10 cover includes your first drink, ladies free before 7, 6-11 PM.

Hmmm… I see ’80s hair band Aquanet is the headliner next Thursday. That may very well be my first Peabody rooftop party of the year.

Over at the Madison, “The Boogie Man” Don McMinn will perform tonight, with gritty singing and wicked guitar licks. 7-11 PM, cash bar and small plates available.

If you use Foursquare, today would be a good day to update your app. They’ve released version 5.0. It takes a little getting used to, but I like it better. The timeline of your friends’ checkins is easier to follow and more photo-centric. Also, you can “Like” your friends’ checkins now. The “Explore” feature tells you which of your friends are nearby. Mashable has more info on Foursquare’s makeover here.

One thing that hasn’t changed is that users can add tips to venues. I need to pull up The Peabody and leave a tip: “Wear a tube top to the Thursday rooftop parties.”

Tip I learned from one of my readers this morning: If your company blocks Facebook, you may still be able to access it by going in through a publicly-shared Facebook photo album. Feel free to use my BBQ Fest album for this if you want. I don’t understand why companies block Facebook. People will just surf it from their phones anyway.

The Flaming Lips will perform at Handy Park Wednesday, June 27 at 5:45 PM. They are attempting to break the record for most concerts in a 24-hour period. After they get done in Memphis, they will make several stops in Mississippi, then Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

GiveCamp Memphis needs developers, designers, DBAs, and content writers to volunteer their time for the upcoming June 22-24 camp. This camp will allow you to use your talents to help local nonprofits reach their full potential. You can sign up to volunteer here. Besides helping to make the community better, this would look great in the “Interests/Activities” section of a resume.

There will be a Mo’s Bows trunk show this Saturday at Shelton Clothiers from 2-4 PM. Come meet 10-year-old entrepreneur Mo and buy some of his bowties.

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR DOWNTOWNERS: Yesterday I attended trivia at the Blind Bear, and between rounds Charles announced what is happening at the Bear the rest of the week. Something new has been added to the calendar: $3 Fireball shots after 6 PM on Sundays.

Our trivia team grew to seven players last night. We ended up losing to Team Nuh-Uh after disastrous second and third rounds, but it was still good to have everyone together. I got on the Bear and Charles for not starting on time. It was 10:35 before he wrapped up. They promised they will start on time next week at 8 if there are teams waiting to play.

Time for lunch. I found a new Mexican restaurant I want to try. If more news comes in I’ll do another post after work.

Wed update 2: Amazing Venus transit video, First Lady to visit, electric bike tours, Cohen to talk to SMA, Grizzlies Prep Charter School to open

All right, time to continue with the news I didn’t have time to post at lunch.

If you missed the transit of Venus last night, take a look at this amazing video on the MemphisWeather.net blog. The video was captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, the most advanced spacecraft ever designed specifically to study the Sun.

First Lady Michelle Obama will visit Downtown Memphis later this month, for a fundraiser at the Memphis Cook Convention Center. The Memphis Daily News blog has details.

There’s a new company Downtown giving electric bike tours of Downtown Memphis. Details in this Flyer article. The bikes are rented from the company’s headquarters at WellWorx at Main and Madison.

Congressman Steve Cohen will speak at the South Main Association’s meeting next Tuesday, June 12. It will be held on the patio of Felicia Suzanne’s and is free for SMA members, $10 for non-members (and they made it a point to say that non-members are WELCOME). Social at 6, meeting at 6:30, cash bar, complimentary hors d’oeuvres from the restaurant. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

The Grizzlies Foundation has announced that a Grizzlies Preparatory Charter School will open next month. More details to come, but they’ve announced that there will be an event at the FedExForum with school leadership and scholars. There are a lot of reasons to love the Grizzlies besides just basketball. The organization has really put down some roots in the community in its 11 years here.

So, last night Amanda from Bardog earned a Certificate of Achievement from the Center for Tube Top Excellence. Who’s going to step up and earn a certificate tonight? About to head out. Tentative running order is still Saucer around 6:15 (running late because I had to type this), Bear at 8.

Wed update: Panda Manda IN A TUBE TOP Hour, Kooky Sat-Sun drink specials, Bonnaroo ticket drawing @ Saucer, LinkedIn passwords hacked, Dave Chappelle @ Orpheum and a LOT more

Last night, I got home from work, threw my backpack in the closet, changed clothes, and got ready to head to the Flying Saucer as usual. One thing I like to do before going out is get on my MacBook and check all the social media outlets – Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare – to see what everyone is doing. Sometimes that influences my plan for the evening.

Last night’s plan got influenced in a big way when I logged on to Facebook. There was a pic of Bardog happy hour bartender Panda Manda in a tube top. I immediately put the Saucer plan on hold, and Bardog became my new first stop.

Amanda told me it was “Tube Top Tuesday” and she’s thinking about wearing tube tops every Tuesday during the warm summer months. If that turns out to be the case, my running order for bars on Tuesdays will be rearranged real fast.

Uncle Ray was at the bar. He approved of the Tube Top Tuesday idea.

While at Bardog, I heard a rumor that Czechoslovakia will be the honored country at Memphis in May next year. Um, nice try. Czechoslovakia as a country doesn’t even exist anymore. If you hear that rumor, it’s BS.

As I was drinking a $2 Corona (all month long at Bardog), I received a text from my friend Joe, who was pre-gaming for Mamma Mia! over at Kooky Canuck. He wanted to inform me of some new Saturday and Sunday specials:

I texted back and inquired about the size. They are 12-ounce drinks. That’s not a bad deal at all, considering mimosas are usually served in 5-ounce wine glasses, and in some cases champagne glasses that are even smaller.

A Bloody Caesar, by the way, is a Canadian version of the Bloody Mary made with Clamato. It was invented in Calgary, Alberta, Canada (if I can be serious for a minute) in 1969. It is very popular north of the border but is not well known elsewhere.

I tabbed out at Bardog and headed to the Blind Bear for poker at 8. Poker has become so popular that at one point Jamie had three 10-handed tables going! When you’re 10-handed, play tends to be a lot less imaginative, especially if you’re in early position. I made it to the 500/1000 level but never made a serious run at the final table.

From there, my next stop was the Flying Saucer, where I saw this flyer.

There will be a drawing for Bonnaroo tickets tonight at 8 PM at the Saucer. Drink any Woodchuck product to get an entry into the drawing. They have three ciders (Amber, Granny Smith, Pear) on draft and I think one or two more in bottles.

In other news: If you are on LinkedIn, you should probably change your password. 6.5 million passwords have reportedly been leaked. The passwords are encrypted, but still, best security practices would dicate that you do a password change.

Dave Chappelle comes to the Orpheum next Tuesday, June 12. Details and tickets here.

The last paragraph of this Daily News article makes me very, very happy. As you probably know, Madison between Main and Second is blocked by a barrier, around an old, crumbling building that was not properly maintained by its owner. Its roof caved in more than a year ago. The City Council was scheduled to vote on a third and final reading of an ordinance that would fine property owners $200 a day for blocking sidewalks with such a barrier, unless construction is taking place. Good to see measures put in place to punish neglectful owners of dilapidated properties.

My plans for tonight: I’m going to hang out at the Saucer until 8 to see who wins the Bonnaroo tickets. Then I’m going to wander over to the Blind Bear and play trivia. We’ll see if we can repeat our first-place victory from last week. I hear Team Nuh-Uh that used to play at the Goose plans to show up too.

If you’re looking for an alternative to trivia, it’s Wine Down Wednesday at the Brass Door. $3 wine, $3 Yuengling, $6 sausage and cheese plates, Brass Door Bingo with Diamond Dave at 7, Open Mic Night downstairs at 9.

I have at least 4 more news items, but I must publish this and grab lunch. There will likely be a second post between 5:30-6:00.

Did anyone see a pedestrian get hit Downtown (not the Cooper-Young hit-and-run) Friday night of BBQ Fest?

Hi everyone. I’ve been asked to enlist my readers’ help figuring out what happened in a car vs. pedestrian accident Friday of BBQ Fest, which would be May 18.

Friday night my friend Danny left BBQ Fest and walked up the steps. Danny is a white male, about 5’7″ and 140 pounds, mid 50s, short white hair. It is unclear whether he meant the Huling or Beale steps, but he was walking to the Saucer to meet people and had “about a 6 block walk.” Somewhere along the way – he thinks he was on Front or Main – a car hit him. He saw it coming, and had time to jump and avoid his legs being snapped. However, when he jumped on top of the car, his head smacked against the windshield, giving him a concussion.

Danny is not sure whether the driver got out to assist him, or not – in fact, up until a couple of days ago, he didn’t remember being hit by a car at all. The next thing he remembers is stumbling onward in the direction of the Flying Saucer. He was stumbling because of the head injury, not alcohol – Danny probably had a beer or two but is not the kind of person to get excessively drunk. Anyway, he stumbled up the road until somewhere between Main and Gayoso, when the lights went out. Next thing he knew, he woke up at the Med, where he was told he fell down.

Danny told me this last night, and from his speech and mannerisms, he is clearly still feeling the effects of the concussion. Like I said, he just remembered being hit by a car a couple of days ago, and he’s trying to piece together what happened. If you saw anything – the accident itself, him staggering up the road, or where he collapsed – I’d appreciate it if you could email me at paul@paulryburn.com, so I can pass the info on to Danny.

That concludes this public service announcement. We now return you to the usual content of PBR and tube top fetishes.

Tue update: R.I.P. Bobby Durango, Bardog alley party, First TN matching St. Jude donations, Spaghetti Warehouse specials, Double J menu, Jazz for a Cause, Grizzlies seek mentors, transit of Venus

Sad news to report today. Bobby Durango has passed away. I met Bobby in 2005 when he was waiting tables at Sleep Out Louie’s. However, he is better known as one of the founders of the Rock City Angels, a band that was very influential in the South Florida rock scene in the early-mid 1980s. The band’s lineup included Johnny Depp at one point. By the time I met Bobby, his musical career was on the back-burner for the time being. However, he did perform at Sleep Out’s a couple of times with Crash Kole and Bobby’s guitar protege Smokin’ Lemon. There have been hoaxes concerning his death in the past, but yesterday afternoon the band released a statement confirming his death. R.I.P. Bobby, it was a pleasure being your friend.

Bobby Durango (center) performing with Crash Kole (left) and Smokin' Lemon (right), New Year's weekend 2007

By the way, Bobby was around the first couple of years I did Tube Top Month, and was a big supporter of the cause. So ladies, why not honor Bobby’s memory by wearing a tube top the next time you go out!

This weekend when the gang was hanging out at Bardog, Aldo told us to save the date: Bardog’s fourth birthday party will be Sunday, August 19. These alley parties are always a lot of fun with a dunk tank, meatball eating contest, grilled food, and other surprises. Last year, the party along with the Bardog 5K earlier in the day raised $20,000 for St. Jude. Aldo says his goal is $30,000 this year.

Speaking of St. Jude, First Tennessee is matching donations made through its Online Bill Pay service. Details here.

Spaghetti Warehouse begins its 40th anniversary celebration by giving customers 40% off on their choice of two dishes today. You can choose the 15-layer lasagne or the spaghetti & meatballs. No coupon is needed.

Last night Double J Smokehouse and Saloon tweeted that they’ve revised their menu and added some new items. I don’t think the menu has been revised on their website yet, so stop by and see what they’ve got. Hopefully the new menu items will receive similar high praise to their steaks, ribs, and sandwiches.

Memphis Sounds Lounge, next to A&R Bar-b-Que on North Third, is doing “Jazz for a Cause” tomorrow night, June 6. The concert’s flyer notes that 18 U.S. veterans commit suicide every day, mostly due to psychiatric drugs. Jazz and blues piano legend Junior Mance will perform. Two shows, 7:30 and 9:30. Buy tickets at LiveJazzFromFamousVenues.com.

The Memphis Grizzlies Charitable Foundation’s TEAM UP program is looking for 50 new mentors. The program pairs 3 adult mentors with 9 students in select public charter middle schools. Mentor teams meet with students once per week during the school year to help students develop strong social and academic skills and prepare for college and career. Mentors get lots of support from the Foundation. If you want to throw your name in the hat for the Foundation’s mentor draft, visit this page. There are also 1-to-1 and other types of mentoring opportunities available.

There will be a transit of Venus across the Sun today and tomorrow. This happens when Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun. It will be the last transit to happen this century. The same precautions used when viewing a solar eclips should be used to view the transit. Find out how to watch the transit online.

Plans for tonight: I haven’t been in a poker playing mood much lately, but I guess I’ll show up for the weekly poker game at the Blind Bear at 8. Might as well get my point for showing up toward league standings if nothing else. Will pre-game at the Saucer beforehand.