Month: February 2016

Yesterday I wondered on this blog what happens when an NBA player gets traded – how he moves out of his home, transports his vehicles, etc. when he has to be in a new city in a day. A former employee of FedExForum who now lives in Canada emailed me an answer. The teams take care of everything, as per terms of the collective bargaining agreement. All the player has to do is pack a bag and go. The team puts him up in the new city for a certain period of time, or until the end of the season depending on when the trade occurs. The old and new team make arrangements to have his house packed up, vehicles shipped. Makes sense. Why would you want the player’s mind to be focused on anything other than basketball?

Bardog Tavern has announced its 8th annual Erin Go Braghless party on St. Patrick’s Day, Thursday, March 17. Throw your bra on the bar and get your first drink for a penny.

Yesterday it was rumored that Donald Trump would appear at FedExForum Saturday. Later in the day it was announced that The Donald will appear in the Memphis metro, but not Downtown – he will be at the Millington Jet Port at the old Navy base at 6 PM. It is terrifying to think that this time next year, we could be living in the United States of Trump.

I blasted Bluefin Sunday about the grammar on a sign they posted over the weekend, but to be fair, I heard a couple of good things about the recently-reopened sushi restaurant yesterday. A friend of mine ate there and texted me that the sushi was really good. Also, I heard from a trusted source that the bar has reopened and they have a good bartender back there.

From Thrillist: 10 untapped craft beer cities ready to blow up. First on the list: Memphis. The co-owner of Memphis Made Brewing Co. is quoted in the article.

Want to work for one of Memphis’ best nonprofits? Porter-Leath has three positions open.

There will be a 3 Shades of Blue watch party for the Grizzlies vs. Suns game Saturday, February 27 at 8:30 PM.

That’ll do it for now. Hitting the Blind Bear after work. Should be rainy.

This article has been much-discussed the past day: Juicing is bad for you and the Earth. The article calls juicing “a privileged, wasteful form of food consumption” and makes the following points:

• A basket of fruit, when juiced, serves less than half the people than if it were served whole
• The skin of the fruit, filled with heart-healthy and cancer-fighting flavonoids, is lost when juiced
• Fat is also lost. The body needs fat to absorb many vitamins including A, D, E, and K. Without fat, the vitamins are not absorbed and pass right through you. (I wonder if this is why people who juice poop a lot?)
• The liver is the body’s cleanser; human-invented cleanses are not necessary to maintain health
• Pulp is left behind after juicing and thrown into landfills, emitting methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more powerful than carbon dioxide

So you can put down that glass of disgusting kale-avocado-banana juice and pop open a Mountain Dew instead. It’ll be okay. Really.

Random thing I learned this weekend: Bicycles were considered a moral threat in the 1890s. The outfits women wore when riding were considered indecent by many. Also, on Sundays – the one day off work for many people at the time – people skipped church to ride their bikes instead. I wonder if Grover Cleveland or William McKinley had an anti-bicycle plank in their party’s platform.

The Flyer has Soup Sunday winners and a photo gallery of the event by photographer Frank Chin.

Sunday is Senior Day for the Memphis Tigers basketball team, and the Memphis Flyer pays tribute to four-year starter Shaq Goodwin. I will miss seeing Shaq on the court when the 2016-17 Tigers take the floor. As the Flyer writer points out, he has one of the best smiles in the history of the program. I too admire the way he has stuck by Coach Pastner when many of his teammates left for perceived greener pastures. Thank you for the four years you gave Memphis, Shaq.

Memphis is perhaps the only city where you bring Shaq up in conversation, and someone stops you to ask, “O’Neal, or Goodwin?”

In other basketball news, Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley becomes a free agent this summer. It’s almost unthinkable that he would leave Marc Gasol and the foundation those two have built in Memphis. However, his former coach Lionel Hollins believes Conley will chase the money if other teams offer him more than Memphis wants to spend. The Grizzlies do own his Bird rights, so they can sign Conley even if it sends them over the salary cap; but will the team be willing to pay luxury tax to keep him? (I hope so.)

Once a month Wiseacre Brewing Co. out on Broad Avenue does industry nights, and then next one will be a Leap Year Masquerade from 6 to 11 PM on Monday, February 29. If you are in the industry (and show proof) you get 20% off beer and merchandise, and those in costume get $1 off beer. The Mighty Souls Brass Band will play 7 to 10, and the Rawk’n Grub food truck will be there. $50 gift card to the winner of the blind tasting game.

If you’re wondering what the crepes at Scoops are like, they tweeted a photo of their veggie crepe.

The MBJ has an inside look at the futuristic new branch of Regions Bank set to open at the corner of Main and Union next Monday. It’s said to feel more like an Apple Store than a traditional bank.

Time to get to work. Possibly another post around lunchtime or 5:30.

I was thinking about something this weekend. When NBA players get traded and have to move to another city in as little as a day, how do they handle it? How do they get their vehicle(s) to their new city? How do they pack up all their clothes in such little time? If they rent or lease in their former city, how do they break the lease? Are there consultants whose job is to help players with these things? Anyone know?

Congratulations to Downtown neighborhood bar Bardog Tavern, which now holds back-to-back victories at Soup Sunday for Best Soup. Their Chicken Velvet soup won again yesterday.

Downtown Yoga will hold a special class called Glowga Saturday, March 12 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. They will turn the lights down and get the fluorescents out for glow-in-the-dark yoga. $25 per person, with space limited, so visit the class schedule page on downtownyogamemphis.com to sign up and reserve your spot.

While we’re on the subject of yoga (sort of): My favorite pair of librarian glasses posted to my Facebook timeline last night. She said she was sure that it was because of me that an ad for dress yoga pants appeared in her news feed. If my activities lead to women wearing yoga pants more often, then I have served the world well.

Carbunkle Trumpet has a good post on dressing for the day vs. dressing for the weather. It was 60 in New York City this weekend and people were walking around in heavy wool overcoats and scarves. Yeah I don’t get that either. I had short-sleeved shirts and shorts on all weekend.

Memphis Flyer writer Lesley Young visited the Downtown LYFE Kitchen recently. They have a full bar and their patio will open next month, so it will be a nice spot for March Madness and South Main Trolley Night. The mahi tacos are the number-one seller at the Downtown location.

The airport is hiring for a couple of seasonal positions.

The Friends reunion was said to be a bust but Jennifer Aniston rocked a tube top, so there’s that.

Oh my God. Someone started a GoFundMe account to raise money to buy out Josh Pastner’s contract.

The Moody Ques had a board meeting yesterday and there are a couple of items I wanted to pass along to team members who read this blog. First of all, if you have a lot of vacation time accrued, it would really help if you could take part or all of Monday, May 9-Wednesday, May 11 off to help with the build at Tom Lee Park. Team president Clay is going to have to be at his job those days, and in my new role as Director of Public Relations I will have to be off-site much of that time. With two people who had in past years been key factors for load-in out of the park, we need teammates to step up. Travis from Holiday Flowers will be leading the effort and he is hoping to have a good crew with him.

We also will need some help with prep work for the Atoka regional BBQ festival. I don’t have my notes here with me, so more on that in a future post.

If you haven’t paid your dues, pay them here. We can get you a mailing address if you need to mail us a check instead of paying online.

After a couple of weeks off, I am returning to Melissa Monday at Bardog for happy hour tonight. Blind Bear after that. Possibly another post before I get out this evening.

Expect heavy traffic around FedExForum between 10:30 and noon today as people arrive for Youth Villages’ fundraiser Soup Sunday. Thousands of people will show up to sample soups, gumbos, baked goods, and desserts from the city’s best restaurants.

Soup Sunday is not the only fundraiser Downtown today though… it’s also Throw Me a Bone at the Green Beetle from 1 to 4 this afternoon. This event benefits Alive Rescue, which offers assistance to dog owners who need help caring for their pets, but aren’t ready to give them up. $6 admission includes your first beer.

Sign on the door of Bluefin:

Okay. My issue this this is not about whether they can or can’t take gift cards. It’s the egregious grammatical error in the first sentence. Now, if this sign were on the front door of Golden Asian Dragon Palace II at Shelby Drive and Elvis Presley Boulevard, that would be okay. It would probably even be a sign that good authentic Chinese food is served there. However, Bluefin is a swanky sushi lounge in the most cosmopolitan area of the city. You mean to tell me they don’t have ONE employee who is a native speaker of English, and the creator of the sign could not have asked for a minute of that person’s time to confirm that the grammar was right? Lack of attention to detail. Bad first impression.

If Josh Pastner is fighting to keep his job, he didn’t do himself any favors by losing to a team that had won a quarter of its games yesterday. The Tigers lost to the USF Bulls (7-21). Es no bueno. Not only does the University of Memphis face the issue of not receiving $800,000 from the Grizzlies due to poor attendance… not only does the university face having to pay Pastner $10+ million to buy him out… not only does the university face having to spend an additional million or two for a new head coach while still paying Josh… but sports writer and radio host Gary Parrish pointed out an additional problem. Assistant coach Keelon Lawson may be the most sought-after assistant in the country right now. If he leaves Memphis, his kids K.J. and Dedric will likely follow him, and younger brother Chandler probably will too when he reaches college age. Losing Dedric especially would be a huge blow to the basketball program.

Speculation is already out there about who will replace Pastner if it happens. Let me just say this: If the university hires Bruce Pearl away from Auburn, I will have to seriously evaluate whether I want to continue being a Tiger basketball fan.

I have also heard Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson’s name mentioned. A protege of the great Nolan Richardson, I think Anderson would be an excellent fit for Memphis, someone who would know how to motivate and develop players in a way Pastner does not.

Anfernee Hardaway has also been mentioned. I’d promote Damon Stoudamire to head coach before I’d make an offer to Penny. Either way you’re getting someone who had a great career in the NBA. Stoudamire could likely be had for a lower price, and he has coaching experience in both college ball and the NBA.

My apologies for not announcing that Max’s Sports Bar opened at 10 yesterday for the Tiger game… I just didn’t know until the game was nearly over. I will have to keep a better watch on Saturday game schedules. I went down to Max’s mid-afternoon and Maggie had an Arkansas “Never Yield” shirt on. Very happy to see bartenders with good taste in teams.

The NBA has posted a video of my absolute favorite thing about attending Grizzlies home games – The Grizzlies Grannies and Grandpas. This 50-and-over dance squad performs during game breaks and they’ve got moves like Jagger. They never fail to put a smile on my face.

This is going to be somewhat of an unusual Sunday. Normally I park myself at Blind Bear for most of the day on Sundays for D-RANKS with B-RAD. However, I found out around 6 last night that I will be starting my day with a BBQ team board meeting at Silly Goose. I also want to go by Bardog and see new bartender Suzy, who is filling in while Bloom is on maternity leave. Also, the Green Beetle’s event seems worth a brief trip south. The dog rescue sounds like a worthy cause I wouldn’t mind dropping six bucks on.

So, this could be like the summer and fall of 2014 when B-RAD worked Saturdays. There would be days when I would lead off at Bardog and then do Silly Goose and the Saucer next, not getting to Brad’s bar for D-RANKS until 4:30 or 5, confounding people who came up there earlier in the day, hoping I would be there so they and I could talk. No telling when I will get to Brad’s bar today, although I will be there at some point in the afternoon.

Left over carne asada nachos from Maciel’s are calling my name, so I better get on those. Just the fuel I need for a long Sunday Fun Day.

Percussion extravaganza STOMP returns to the Orpheum today only for two shows at 2 PM and 8 PM. A cast of many uses every object imaginable to create sound and beat out rhythm. I have personally seen this show at the Orpheum and recommend it strongly. It’s a lot of fun.

Memphis is happy to have Chris “Birdman” Andersen on the team, but the original Bird Man from Memphis, Koko B. Ware, will make a local radio appearance today. He’ll be on Cerrito Live on AM 560/FM 8.7. at approximately 12:15 PM.

The Redbirds seasonal job fair is happening right now at AutoZone Park. It will be going on until 2 this afternoon. Come prepared to interview.

The Memphis Symphony Orchestra performs Bolero! tonight at 7:30 at the Cannon Center.

The City of Memphis is accepting applications for 10 part-time video analyst positions. Pay is not bad: $20.45 an hour. These “video paralegal” positions will assist local law enforcement.

Tin Roof is now offering a loyalty card to its regulars, giving them a $10 credit for every $50 spent on food. The card credits can be spent on anything at Tin Roof. Cardholders also get in free to non-ticketed events.

Chef Shuttle talked Downtown expansion with the Memphis Business Journal recently. The shuttle service vastly expands Downtowners’ food delivery options.

Holly from I Love Memphis recently ate lunch at the Flying Fish, having the grilled rainbow trout with rice and beans and grilled veggies, tilapia tacos (catfish tacos also available), and fried okra. Great place to eat and kid-friendly too. Check out the Billy Bass wall while you’re there. I was one of the first to donate a Billy Bass to the Fish and you can find it on the wall’s bottom row.

Random thing I read about recently: Numbers stations, shortwave radio stations used by spies to transmit information. These are broadcasts of seemingly random numbers and phonetic alphabet letters – “Five, nine, three, hotel, foxtrot” – at regularly scheduled times of the day. The coded information is usually read in a female voice, sometimes a child’s voice. Sometimes music precedes the coded numbers and letters.

Congratulations to Bardog bartender Bloom on the new addition to the family, Adelaide. Bloom will be out on maternity leave for a while, so for the next few months, Brunch with Bloom on Saturdays will be replaced by a classic: PANDA TIME! Panda will be back behind the bar slingin’ dranks. The Panda Welcome Committee, consisting of my “DAWG” John D and myself, will be there at 11 AM.

(Note: All plans this weekend are tentative. I really hope I am at Panda’s bar this morning at 11, and I really hope I am at my vocal Facebook friend B-RAD’s bar tomorrow at 11, but I can’t guarantee it. We did some server upgrades at work this week that are simply awesome, but we still are finding loose ends. It is possible I will be called away to take care of stuff. Also, apologies to those to whom I have been slow to respond to texts or emails. It has not been a normal week, although it has been a good one.)

All right, outta here, time to make sure I haven’t been tagged on HipChat (our work chat room) about anything and put some laundry in the dryer. With a high in the 70s and a low in the 60s, it is T-shirt and shorts weather in February and I will take every bit of that I can get. Time to get this day off to a good start!

 

I’m told that Victoria’s Secret has a deal going on where if you spend $50, you get a free fanny pack, and if you spend $40 you get a free koozie. Here’s a photo of Mary proudly wearing her new fanny pack. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so excited by a fanny pack in my life.

I made a typo on the blog earlier this week – the Grizzlies host the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight at 7, not last night as I had previously reported. It’s your first chance to see P.J. Hairston and Birdman in Memphis Sounds throwbacks, and maybe Lance Stephenson too. If you’re a season ticket holder, you will have a Memphis Forever growl towel on your seat tonight. The Memphis red script tee is the special at the Grizzlies Den shop inside FedExForum tonight: get it for $15 (regular $22).

Imagine Vegan Cafe in Midtown is hiring for two cook positions.

Meanwhile, Downtown, Lokion has several positions open. This is said to be a great place to work and the benefits are outstanding.

A significant piece of Tennessee Brewery construction is about to get underway. A 339-space parking garage will be built at 502 Tennessee Street, across from the brewery.

Quench is best known for its wine and liquor selection, but did you know they have beer too? Just arrived are Ghost River Midnight Magic and Straight to Ale Brother Joseph’s.

Update on Memphis Tigers men’s basketball attendance: If the average is 6812 or higher for the Tigers’ last two home games, the university could get as much as $480,000. Below 6812, that figure is reduced to $0.

Memphis Barbeque Supply is offering a free rib class Saturday, March 5 at 1 PM. Limited to 50 attendees.

Fun night at the Saucer and Jerry Lee Lewis Cafe last night. I left at 10:30, ready to go home and get some sleep for a 7 AM start time at work today. I didn’t get far. “Hey! There’s Dyer’s!” Of course I had to get a double-double with fries to take home.

I will probably lead off at Mary’s bar (yes the Mary pictured above) at Blind Bear for happy hour this evening. Plans after that TBD. So ready for the weekend.

MATA was mismanaged for years before current CEO Ron Garrison was hired, and guess who may get to pay for it? You. Fox 13 reports that MLGW fees may be raised to make up the $7 million shortfall MATA needs to cover to continue operating without stark cuts.

Do you make films? Follow @memfilmprize on Twitter for information on how you could win $10,000 to make your short film. The contest starts today.

Another planned Downtown hotel is a step closer to becoming a reality. After sitting on the matter for six months, the City Council approved a plan for a hotel for the northeast corner of Front and Jackson.

GoBankingRates.com named Memphis the #5 spring break destination in the country. They based the rankings on the costs of a weeklong trip: six nights in a hotel (assuming the cost is split between two adults), round-trip airfare, the cost of three meals, a taxi ride and 14 beers a day.

Good post on Memphis Cyclist about being able to ride your bike to West Memphis across the Harahan Bridge soon.

A Memphis family will be on Family Feud Friday at 2 on Fox 13.

Not much time to post today, apologies if typos. Possibly back after work with more.

Just announced: A new event called 901 Fest will wrap up Memphis in May on Saturday, May 28. It will be a celebration of all things local, with local artists on multiple stages, local vendors, and local food and drink. The airshow and fireworks show will be retained from the old Sunset Symphony event. More details will be released later. Good job, Memphis in May; this event sounds like a winner.

If you need to prepare for rain at Memphis in May’s outdoor festivals, Life Is Good has fashionable ladies’ rain boots back in stock.

If you have never been to Flight at the corner of Main and Monroe, this blog post, Fine Dining Takes Flight with Fire and Ice, will give you an excellent idea of what to expect. Beer flights and wine flights allow you to try several samples of those beverages, but Flight takes it a step farther and offers food flights, where you can try three smaller plates that complement each other.

I’ve posted about the Tigers-UCF game at FedExForum tonight at 6 (Josh Pastner really wants you to be there), but don’t forget that Memphis’ other team will be there tomorrow night. The Grizzlies will host the Minnesota Timberwolves tomorrow night at 7, and they will have their Memphis Sounds throwbacks on. Be one of the first 5000 through the door and you will get a Memphis Sounds car freshener from First Tennessee. It could also be your first opportunity to see Birdman and Hairston in action for Memphis.

From Teen Vogue: Taylor Swift is making the tube top happen again. THANK YOU TAYLOR!!! I don’t have too long before I have to decide whether to bring back Tube Top Month for 2016. Keep in mind that if I bring it back, 901 Fest will happen during Tube Top Month.

Michelle Lewis from the Memphis Flyer and her sweetie recently checked out Valentine’s Day at Itta Bena. For those of you who would not expect to find an elegant, fine-dining restaurant on Beale, take a walk up the staircase on Second Street outside B.B. King’s and you will be in for a surprise.

In the aftermath of three small boutique hotels being approved for Union and Vance Avenues, Land Control Use Board member Rob Norcross warns that what Downtown really needs is a 500-room, full-service hotel with meeting space that is located in the center of the action. Norcross and the folks at the MCVB feel that Downtown needs to be aiming for hotel construction that will increase tourist business or convention business.

From Memphis Magazine: New soccer team Memphis City FC puts down roots in Memphis

WREG reports that several times in 2015, MATA almost didn’t make payroll. To quote the great Ron Simmons, “Damn.”

Programming note: Blog posts may be a bit sparse between today and Sunday. We’re doing a number of important server upgrades at work. I may have to work extra hours to make sure none of our applications break in the process, so I may not have a lot of time to round up the news and post it here. If I miss one of my usual weekend bar appearances (Panda Time, D-RANKS with my Facebook friend B-RAD), that’s where I am, not in the hospital or a funeral home.

A very happy birthday to my Wednesday-Thursday night bartender Jessica! She is working the Silly Goose tonight from 4 to 7:30, so stop by if you get a chance and celebrate her birthday with her. Unless work gets busy, I will be there tonight at my usual time. Charvey Mac plays the Goose at 10, but it looks like I have a 7 AM start time tomorrow so I may have to take a week off for Charvey. Back as soon as I have more news and the time to post it.

The afternoon at work went better than expected and I didn’t have to stay late, so here’s a quick news post before I go out.

If you haven’t been keeping up with sports news today, the Grizzlies have traded away Courtney Lee in a three-team deal with Charlotte and Miami. Memphis gets P.J. Hairston from Charlotte and Chris “Birdman” Andersen from Miami. The team also gets some second-round picks, which could be the most important component of this trade because they can be used in a future trade package.

MATA’s CEO says the transportation agency needs $7 million in additional funding or “stark cuts” will have to be made. @RyanPoe reported that for the first time, MATA is making decisions based on performance indicators and return on investment. WTF were they doing to make decisions before, putting the options on a dart board and then throwing a dart blindfolded?

I’ve mentioned this before, but just a reminder: If you want to be a volunteer for Memphis in May, the annual Volunteer Expo is Thursday from 6 to 8 at Central Station.

According to a Deadspin report, a culture of condoning sexual harassment and sexual assault existed in UT football as far back as 20 years. A female trainer lists numerous 1994-1996 allegations including the one about Peyton.

Central BBQ Downtown will close at 5 PM Saturday for a private event.

I heard free tickets to tomorrow’s Tigers game were being handed out at Poplar and Highland and at Madison and Cooper this afternoon.

Off to the Blind Bear. Back tomorrow with more news.

This coming Sunday is Youth Villages’ annual fundraiser Soup Sunday at FedExForum from 11 to 2. Tickets are $30 adults (over 11), $10 children, and $75 VIP. Restaurants all over the city serve sampler cups of soup on the FedExForum concourse. Lines get long, so you get a holder for four cups of soup so you can eat while standing in the next line. Enterprising attendees have found ways to adapt the holder to hold more than four cups of soup; the Nuh-Uh Girl got it to hold nine one year. You can vote for the best you had, including best soup, gumbo, dessert, bread, and specialty item.

I will say it once again: THIS IS NOT AN EVENT WHERE YOU WANT TO SHOW UP FASHIONABLY LATE. As I said, lines get long and the best soups will run out an hour into the event. Best bet is to buy your ticket in advance so you don’t have to deal with it the day of, and be outside at 10:55.

Also, if you’re one of the first in, don’t go to the first soup line you see. Walk a little bit and go to vendors who haven’t had the chance for a line to form yet.

Be sure to look for defending champion Bardog Tavern and try their soup.

Here’s a pic from Sunday that I forgot to post, of Chicken Fried Steak Rodger giving B-RAD a kiss on the cheek. See, I told you love was in the air on Valentine’s Day.

The Mid-South Farm and Gin Show comes to the Cook Convention Center Friday and Saturday, February 26 and 27. The Farm Bureau presidents and Secretaries/Commissioners of Agriculture from Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi will be in attendance. More information here.

The Memphis Daily News has a good article on Black Restaurant Week that will happen in March and the economic development that organizers hope to achieve.

Coach Pastner is urging fans to be there at FedExForum for tomorrow’s 6 PM game with UCF and the remaining two home games after that. Attendance needs to average 6666 for those three games to prevent the university from getting a payout of $0 from the Grizzlies this year. Geoff Calkins remarks that Pastner is starting to show his frustration.

Former Memphis mayor A.C. Wharton will be working part-time for ALSAC, the fundraising arm of St. Jude.

Very important fashion news: Taylor Swift had a tube top on at the Grammy Awards last night.

One of the Grammy Award winners, the Alabama Shakes, will play the Mud Island Amphitheatre on July 15.

I agree, you just can’t make this stuff up:

Team Jeb forgot to renew JebBush.com so Trump bought the site which now forwards to Trump’s site…cannot make this stuff up

— Gray Connolly (@GrayConnolly) February 16, 2016

Downtown Memphis’ Daily Downtowner Instagram post features Brad from Court House Deli today. Great guy, great place to grab lunch. I have had many a beer with Brad at Bardog Tavern over the years.

Assuming I get out of work on time, I will be out at Blind Bear after work. There may be a second post later today but I doubt it. Check back if you want.