Sat update: The NOB, Dishcrawl does Downtown, Bear specials in memory of Silky, Grizzlies license plate

Yesterday afternoon I took my usual walk down Main Street toward the bars. I saw signs saying, “Enjoy happy hour in The NOB before you head to South Main for Trolley Tour.” Apparently people are trying to name my section of South Main – the section between Beale and Madison – The NOB, for North of Beale. Acronym neighborhood names are popular in the big cities – SoHo, TriBeCa, etc. The problem is, nob is a slang word for penis.

In particular, it’s British slang. In 1969, Led Zeppelin was on tour in Europe. At that time, only their first album was out, the one with the image of the Hindenburg crashing on the cover. In one country, a countess who was heiress to the Zeppelin family saw the album cover and was horrified. She filed an injunction preventing the band from performing under their name. So they performed as The Nobs.

You know, there’s a Foursquare venue you can check into called “Biking in Downtown Memphis.” There needs to be one specifically for people who bike ride on Main between Beale and Madison. It could be called “Riding the NOB.”

Or, someone could go to Maggie Moo’s and order a milkshake to go. As they walk out, they could say they’re slurping on the NOB.

Now and then I see city employees with leaf blowers on the Main Street Mall. I guess they’re blowing the NOB.

Someone could shop at City Market, then as they walk out they could take a photo of their grocery bag with the Main Street Mall in the background. They could caption it “The NOB and the sack.”

You know, they should have pre-announced this thing about happy hour on the NOB. Maybe they could have put out a little teaser about a week in advance. They could have said, “The NOB is about to come.”

What if a pimp were to have a bad day on the Main Street Mall? Maybe his hoes weren’t gettin’ no business, even though they had tube tops on. Normally he would say, “It’s hard out here for a pimp,” but instead he might say, “The NOB is hard today.”

(Note: I’m just having fun here. I’ve never actually seen hookers on that area of Main.)

Okay, let’s get on to the news. Dishcrawl is coming to Downtown Memphis on Wednesday, June 26. You’ve heard of pub crawls, I’m sure. Dishcrawl is similar in that you move from place to place, but you eat instead of drink (you can drink too for an extra charge). The venues aren’t announced until a day or two before the event, but rest assured you’ll be sampling some of Downtown’s best food. Cost is $45. Follow @dishcrawlmem on Twitter for more information.

In memory of Silky Sullivan, the Blind Bear will have $4 shots of Irish whiskey (the good stuff) and $4 pints of Guinness all weekend, or until they run out.

The petition has worked. Senate Minority Leader Jim Kyle has filed proposed legislation to create a state of Tennessee Grizzlies license plate. The plate would require 1000 pre-orders, which I don’t think would be a problem at all. If approved, money raised from the plate would support the Memphis Grizzlies Charitable Foundation.

That’ll do it for now. About 11 I will walk down the Main Street Mall (stepping on The NOB. OUCH!), then turn right on Monroe and head to Bardog for my usual stop at Panda’s bar. Plans after that TBD.