Month: October 2016

Question for Downtown bar owners and managers who read this blog: Do any of you plan on showing the election results, with sound, on Tuesday, November 8? Email me at paul@paulryburn.com if that’s your plan and I will get the word out.

The The Nasty Woman Flashmob of Memphis is gathering at Big River Crossing Sunday, November 6 at 3 PM. Men, women, and children are invited, but here’s the thing – YOU MUST WEAR A PANTSUIT or something resembling a pantsuit. The event is to show support for Hillary Clinton and only positive vibes are requested.

The shops, galleries, and restaurants of South Main will stay open late Friday for October Trolley Night. If you’re a member of the SMA there’s a party for you with the Rusty Pieces in the former Onix space. There will be live music up and down the street, Andrew Cabigao at the Green Beetle, South Main Songwriter Night at South Main Sounds, and more. Great chance to mingle with your neighbors.

If you like to check out books to read at any Memphis Public Library branch, note that all branches will be closed this Friday, October 28 for staff training.

From Skillet: How to pair wine with Halloween candy. I guess beer will be next. Allow me to help. Tootsie Rolls pair well with PBR. Kit Kats pair well with PBR. Hershey’s Kisses pair well with PBR. Candy corn pairs well with… nothing, candy corn sucks. Peppermints pair well with PBR.

Usually the way the weather works at the end of October is that temperatures remain warm and pleasant up to a day or two before either Halloween or the Saturday preceding it (which is the big Halloween party night), and then the temperature drops into the 50s. That was a concern for me this year, because my costume cost $19.95 and as you can imagine the material is quite thin… was worrying I would freeze to death walking to and from Sinners for Saints Halloween Ball II. It looks like I have nothing to worry about; the forecast says we’re looking at highs in the low 80s and lows in the low 60s on Saturday the 29th. If anything that’s almost TOO warm! Then again, warm weather encourages slutty female costumes, so maybe there’s no such thing as too warm.

Girl Scout Cookie Cereal will soon be a thing.

Slippery Slope: Study finds little lies lead to bigger ones. This is VERY true. Ask me how I know this.

The Firestone on Madison near Camillia caught fire this morning. Part of Madison had to be closed off.

That’s it for now. Off to work. Possibly another post later today.

If you’ve thought about running with the Salty Dogs but have never got around to doing it, tonight would be a perfect night to give them a try. The Salty Dogs are a group that meets at Bardog Tavern every Monday at 7 PM and goes for a run together. Afterward they return to Bardog, where there are food and drink specials for them in the Underdog, the downstairs area. There is no cost and anyone is welcome to join.

So why is this week an especially good one? Because they are running from Bardog to the newly-open Harahan Bridge. If you missed the opening of Big River Crossing Saturday, this is a great chance to check it out!

Congratulations to Memphis Tigers sophomore Dedric Lawson. He was named the Pre-Season American Athletic Conference Player of the Year for men’s basketball today.

If you haven’t followed Dan Rather on Facebook, I strongly recommend that you do. The 84-year-old is no longer beholden to corporate media and is free to speak his mind.

There will be a Downtown Safety Meeting this Thursday, October 27, at 6 PM at the Halloran Centre. Representatives of the Memphis and Shelby County Crime Commission, City Council and Memphis Police Department will be present. You can help by letting MPD know of existing cameras that capture images of activity on sidewalks and streets. You can also help by reporting street light outages to MLGW, and by calling non-emergency number 545-COPS when you see suspicious activity. And, of course, you can help by coming to Thursday’s meeting and being an active participant.

Immediately following the safety meeting, an SMA committee will meet about forming a Neighborhood Watch to address safety concerns in the community. The public is welcome to be a part of that meeting as well.

Very happy to see them putting a Neighborhood Watch together. When I’m walking back from Max’s Sports Bar after dark, I’m always a little wary of the part of Main between Talbot and MLK. It will be nice to know that someone is around, looking out for potential trouble.

Loflin Yard will become Loflin Graveyard Saturday night, October 29 from 9 to midnight. DJ Willow will play the Coach House, and there will be spooky specials and a costume contest.

Being single is now a disability, according to the World Health Organization. I guess that means I have a long-term disability? I wonder if I qualify for money for that, so I can trade this “job” thing in for a “goes to Bardog every morning at 8 when it opens” thing.

Congratulations to my friend Angela, whose company Copeland Coaching turns 3 today. If your job search is not going well, or if you want to learn how to fast-track your career or jump from one career path to another, you can’t go wrong with her coaching services. She is the best!

That’s it for now. Although unusual for a Monday, I’m going to do Blind Bear happy hour after work. Back later today or tomorrow with more news.

… and that is to post a photo of your “I voted” sticker to Facebook. Congratulations to many of you who carried out your duty yesterday. Those who drafted the Constitution would be so proud.

Remember, you can vote at ANY Shelby County early voting location if you early vote. Got stuff to do after work and on the weekends? Vote on your lunch hour. Abundant Grace Fellowship Church at 1574 E. Shelby Drive will be getting a visit from me this week or next.

River Arts Fest continues today in the South Main district. Although the festival is only three days long, its impact is felt year round with a variety of arts programs in the schools.

Okay. I have a question. I understand the selling of beer tickets at festivals, to control underage drinking. But what is the point of selling food tickets? I cannot think of a good reason, other than knowing that some tickets will go unused, resulting in pure profit for the festival. It’s a hassle and River Arts Fest needs to stop it. I can’t think of another Downtown festival that makes its attendees jump through hoops to get something to eat.

I led off at Bardog yesterday. Throughout the day I type notes into Evernote on my phone so I know what I need to talk about in the next blog post. Here are two notes from yesterday:

“Suburbanites fresh market buy 1 get 1 free ahintuna”

“Mellow mushroom has PBR on tap. Thx. Bardog.”

So there you go. I hope that was useful information.

After a walk through River Arts Fest I stopped at my “home away from home on the south side,” Max’s Sports Bar. Max understands how to provide coasters for his customers.

I cringed as people put Miller Lites on these beautiful coasters.

While at Max’s, I noticed some cards on the bar and took a photo of one. YOGA!

Circuitous Succession gallery at 500 S. Second has started offering yoga classes every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. They are offering 20% off your first purchase, and they also offer private lessons, monthly workshops, and yoga parties. Don’t forget that this gallery is also hosting perhaps the most important art exhibit in the South Main District this year Friday night, 2016 PBR Art Showcase Memphis. Suggestion for the gallery: If you can come up with an event that combines yoga and PBR, I would consider taking a yoga class for the first time since 2003.

I also scored a primo Thanksgiving invite while at Max’s. As many of you know, I work for the company that sanctions the card game bridge in North America. Our fall national tournament begins on Thanksgiving Day, so I have to be on call in case anything needs to be done with the website. Because of that, Thanksgiving invitations are much appreciated! Looking forward to English stuffing!

After that I headed north to the Blind Bear, where B-RAD was working a rare Saturday shift. He told me that one of my former students had been at his bar and said I was mean. I bet I know what class that student took.

In the spring of 1997 I taught two Tuesday-Thursday Concepts of Numbers classes. That is the easiest math class you could take for college credit at the time at the U of M. Three or four weeks into the class they had their first test. The afternoon class did well, averaging 81, a low B.

The morning class, however, averaged a 58. The day I handed their tests back, I pretty much went off on them. I told them they averaged an F on what was a relatively easy test. I told them that with a few exceptions, it was obvious that they did next to nothing to study or prepare for the test. I then told them that I was absolutely not curving the grades and it was time for many of them to decide if they were going to get serious about the class or go over to the admin building and drop it while they still had time. So yeah, I was mean. I also had no more test averages below the mid 70s from that class after that.

By the way, I was nice most of the time. There was one time I let my students talk me into moving the date of a test because many of them had tickets to a Grateful Dead concert. Three months later, Jerry Garcia passed away. I was glad they got to see the band one last time.

After it became clear that the Arkansas-Auburn game was something I did not want to watch, I got a Puu Puu Platter from Yao’s and took my “halftime” nap. I woke up about 1 and went back to the Blind Bear. My friend Katie Mac was sitting at the bar. I tapped her on the shoulder (or as some would say, I touched her in an extremely offensive manner three to four times. INAPPROPRIATE TOUCHING!) to say hello, and she scooted over to make room at the bar. Katie is the organizer of the Halloween costume contest at Sinners for Saints this coming Saturday. “Want to see the list of prizes and gift cards we’ve had donated for the costume contest?” she asked. I said sure and she handed me her phone.

I kept scrolling and scrolling and scrolling… I thought I would never get to the end of the list. If you end up being a winner in the costume contest at Sinners for Saints, you are going to SCORE on the prizes. “Practically every place I have mentioned on my blog this past year is on this list,” I thought. Still searching for a costume idea? Might want to consider going as one of our 2016 fallen rock icons, Prince or David Bowie. $200 CASH will be given to be best representation of one of those figures. The organizers are telling me tickets are selling at a faster pace than last year, and the event did sell out last year, so waiting until the day of to purchase tickets would probably be a mistake.

I didn’t make it to the opening of Big River Crossing yesterday, but a friend who is something of an expert in biking (he owns so many bikes that his car barely fits in the garage) said it was first class, all the way. The Harahan Bridge looks beautiful all lit up. So nice to have a view of it from my apartment!

My request for vacation on my birthday (Friday, November 18) has been approved, so I am going to try and organize another group outing to 25 cent martini lunch at Felicia Suzanne’s if anybody wants in.

Time to put on my “I ♥ Sunday School” shirt and walk over to D-RANKS with B-RAD at the Blind Bear. I am undecided whether I will go back to River Arts Fest for a second day. The food vendor choices seemed subpar compared to previous years; just the usual carnival fare plus a food truck or two. I do want to visit some of the artist vendors though, so I will probably go back. That’s it for now. I hope you enjoy your Sunday Fun Day as much as I plan to!

 

If you’re planning on attending the Big River Crossing opening today, there is an attraction you won’t want to miss. The Union Pacific Railroad #844 steam locomotive traveled 1200 miles one way to take part in the celebration. The locomotive will be at the intersection of East Carolina and S. B.B. King Blvd. (Third) from noon to 3 today.

The Life-Changer Frank Mastriciano, former strength specialist for the Memphis Tigers’ men’s basketball team, talked to John Martin on ESPN 92.9 about why he parted ways with Josh Pastner. He did not mince words to say the least. He compared himself to a high-end auto mechanic trying to have a conversation with someone who is just learning to arrange flowers. Daaaamn.

The 12th annual Stumblin’ Santa pub crawl has been announced for Saturday, December 3. The idea is that you dress up as Santa (or Ms. Claus, a Christmas tree, a reindeer, you get the idea) and stumble to bars all over Downtown with other Santas. And there will be many other Santas. In recent years attendance has broken the 1200 mark. Meeting place is the Flying Saucer at 7 that evening. This is a toy drive for Porter-Leath. Participants are asked to bring a toy to donate to children, with the biggest need being toys for kids under 5. Here are some toy ideas from Porter-Leath. Although the pub crawl is big, Porter-Leath needs 6000+ toys to meet the needs of all the kids the serve, so don’t be shy about bringing more than one. Ho ho ho! (And that’s a reason to do the pub crawl; there will be plenty of hoes in Slutty Santa outfits.)

Good news from the MemphisWeather.net blog: The outlook for this winter has been issued and Memphis is in the “warmer” and “drier” range. That is where we want to be! Ideally I’d like highs in the winter months to stay in the 50s and above, except for one freezing-cold snowstorm (which ideally would happen overnight on a Sunday night) that is bad enough to cause most offices to close but not bad enough that Bardog fails to open at 8 AM.

The Flyer has a Q&A with Nicholas Oyler, the new city manager of bikeway and pedestrian program. He brings experiences with walkable neighhorhoods in Germany and Texas to our city.

If you don’t understand why popular sites like Twitter were down for a while yesterday, read this: What is a denial of service (DoS) attack? I have to explain this to people all the time. It’s not that the servers were hacked, but that they were so flooded with requests that it takes time to handle and get everything back to normal.

From the Daily Beast: Taxi war turns tourist mecca Acapulco bloody. There are some bad hombres down in Mexico. One of them already escaped to Memphis. Better hurry up and build that wall, Trump!

This weather this time of year… it’s beautiful, but impossible to dress for. It’s going to be sunny with a high of 69 today. That’s T-shirt and shorts weather. However, if I watch the Arkansas-Auburn game at Max’s Sports Bar, I will be getting out of there around 9, and the temperature will have dropped into the 50s by then. If I were bar-hopping all day, I would just take one of my Pink Pig fleece jackets with me and hang it on the back of my seat, but River Arts Fest complicates things. I’ll be walking around and possibly buying stuff to take home. I don’t want one more thing in my hands.

No Farmers Market for me today. Bardog will be my first stop, then down to RiverArtsFest.

This morning I checked the MemphisWeather.net forecast and found they are predicting a low of 45 tonight. That means that I will be wearing the PBR hoodie to Rockin’ River Arts Show, the first day of River Arts Fest which is free to the public with three live bands, tonight.

If you want more live music after the bands on South Main are done, head to the Flying Saucer where SNOZberry will be playing starting at 9:30.

Looking for something to do with the kids tomorrow, Saturday, October 22? Bring them to the Cossitt Library at 4 PM for Pandemonium Cinema Showcase: “Spooky Cinema” presented by Craig Brewer and Black Lodge Video. Monster House, Hocus Pocus, The Addams Family, Gremlins, and The Monster Squad will be shown during this FREE interactive screening. There will also be special screenings of the original Goosebumps and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! There will be costume contests, face painting, horror video games, and giveaways.

In other Halloween news, the 11th Annual Costume Twilight Tour of Elmwood Cemetery happens tomorrow starting at 3:30 in the afternoon. A great way to get to know the individuals laid to rest here, costumed characters portraying Elmwood residents will introduce you to the cemetery. The first all-walking tour will begin at 3:30, with tour groups departing from the Cottage ever 10 minutes. Final tour begins at 5:00. $15 in advance, $20 at the gate, children under 12 free.

If you’re looking for a Halloween costume, Theatre Memphis is having a yard sale tomorrow.

A pop-up cat cafe is coming to 101 S. Main, next to Oshi, next Saturday, October 29 from 11 AM to 3 PM. You’ll be able to enjoy some coffee, shop designs by Beth Spencer, and there will be adoptable kittens and cats that you can bring home for $35, half the Memphis Animal Shelter’s usual fee. Cash only will be accepted.

Stats site FiveThirtyEight does a great job tracking elections but I hope their NBA forecast is wrong. They have the Grizzlies missing the playoffs with a record of 35-17, most likely landing in the lottery with the 10th pick.

By the way, FiveThirtyEight reported this morning in its Significant Digits newsletter that bots accounted for 33 percent of pro-Trump tweets and 22 percent of pro-Clinton tweets during the third and final presidential debate. A 3-to-2 advantage for Cheeto Voldemort… if all those bots vote on November 8, Trump may pull of the upset.

Move along, Bozo: A Mississippi county has banned clown costumes until at least after Halloween.

Silly Goose happy hour for a couple of PBRs, then south to River Arts Fest is my plan. I’ll be doing “show and tell”, so if you see me showing people a piece of paper and then my phone, feel free to ask what that’s about.

Bonnie Raitt plays the Orpheum this evening at 8:00. She’s touring in support of ‘Dig in Deep,’ her 20th album. Tickets are $59.50-$99.50.

Visible Music College hosts Indievisible, the fourth of its series of student concerts, tonight at 7. The college is at 200 Madison.

Bellator MMA comes to FedExForum tonight with the returns of Alexander Shlemenko and Bobby Lashley. If Lashley’s name sounds familiar, he is a pro wrestler as well as an MMA fighter. His victory over Umaga at Wrestlemania in 2006 gave future WWE Hall of Famer/presidential nominee Donald Trump the right to shave Vince McMahon’s head.

I wonder if Trump groped Trish Stratus or Lita backstage?

The Downtown Memphis Commission has announced its annual meeting, open to the public, at the Halloran Centre Wednesday, November 16. Terence Patterson who runs DMC will present strategic priorities for Downtown, and Gehl Studio will present public space considerations for Main Street and the surrounding area. The Downtown Vision Awards Ceremony will also take place. $20 to get in, with your ticket including complimentary appetizers and an open bar. Cocktail reception 4:30-5:30 that afternoon, with the program beginning at 5:30.

In other Halloran Centre news, country star Pam Tillis will make a stop there Thursday, November 10 at 7:30 PM. Tickets to see the multi-time CMA and Grammy award winner are $35 and can be purchased on the Orpheum website.

John Paul Keith plays Loflin Yard tonight at 7.

Here’s the lineup for the opening of Big River Crossing tomorrow. Note that the live music starts on the West Memphis side, then there’s food and music on the Memphis side at Martyrs Park at 4, and fireworks at 7.

For the past 27 years, Tim Sampson has written The Last Word column for the Memphis Flyer… however, this week’s column really is Tim’s last word.

Prior to the start of college basketball season, many teams play secret scrimmage games to assess how good they are and where they need to improve. The American Athletic Conference schedule has been leaked and it shows the Memphis Tigers hosting a secret scrimmage vs. North Carolina on October 29.

A study shows IPA is better for your liver than other types of alcohol.

I went in Belle Tavern for the first time last night. If you walk down the alley between Barboro Flats and Tamp & Tap/Van Vleet Flats, the tavern is at the end. Elegant bar, seems like not a lot of people have discovered it yet. Give it a try if you’re out in the Downtown core this weekend. They have PBR in bottles for $2.50. I didn’t get a look at the menu but I heard the food is good. They have a U-shaped bar so everybody can look at each other. Table seating too.

I stopped by Bardog for some ahi tuna to go, and Panda requested my presence at the bar Saturday morning. Request granted! No Farmers Market, no Earnestine & Hazel’s for me tomorrow, October 22, if that’s news of interest to anyone.

As for tonight, I will be all over South Main for the first night of RiverArtsFest. I’ll be checking out the artist preview and listening to Squirrel Nut Zippers and the other bands. Of course I will stop in my “home away from home on the south side,” Max’s Sports Bar, tonight too. As for now, off to work on this (finally) chilly Friday morning.

 

Let’s keep on truckin’ is the theme for this Saturday at the Memphis Farmers Market. You have five Saturdays left this year to support our local farmers who load up their late-seasonal goods in their trucks. There will be a lot going on this Saturday on the south side, so the Market suggests that you come there early to secure a parking spot, then walk down the street and give RiverArtsFest a visit, then walk to the river for the opening of Big River Crossing in the afternoon. Live music by Steve Schad 8:30-10, Bashville 10-11, and Bud Summers 11-12:30. The Market happens under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson every Saturday through November 19 from 7 AM to 1 PM.

Sweet LaLa’s Bakery is having a pop-up shop at 101 S. Main through 6 PM today.

The third annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Poker Tournament happens tonight at 6 at Blind Bear. Food and drink specials for players: $20 for 2000 in chips, $30 for 4000 in chips. One rebuy allowed for $10 for 1000 chips, $20 for 2000. Prizes for the top three. Not into poker? They will also have karaoke with Super Brad (not B-RAD) in the back room with a $5 donation for each song requested.

Some Good People are coming to Memphis:

Hey #Memphis! We’re coming your way soon! Good People and great beer will be in your neighborhood starting on October 31st!@EagleBrews_Buzz pic.twitter.com/uK107djEIB

— Good People Brewing (@GPBrewing) October 19, 2016

Good People Brewing is a craft brewery based in Birmingham, Alabama. Good to see breweries around the region expanding their reach!

While we’re on the subject of craft breweries, YOGA!

Indra Devi (Mother of Western Yoga) teaching Marilyn Monroe Yoga in 1960. pic.twitter.com/JK2ARp33ZC

— History In Pictures (@HistoryInPix) October 20, 2016

Well, yoga and running. And beer. On Sunday, November 13, High Cotton will host Feed the Seed to benefit the Midsouth Chapter of the National MS Society from 8 AM (WTF?) to 3 PM. The day will start off with Bendy Brewski Yoga and a casual 5K run, followed by a beer tasting (tickets include unlimited samples from home brewers, and High Cotton will have discounted pints) and live music. $30 for yoga, run, and beer; $20 for just yoga and run; $10 for just the beer tasting. Hot Mess Burritos and Dr. Bean’s coffee cart will be on site, and artist Angelina Mazzanti will be selling her beerings and other jewelry.

Moderator Chris Wallace is receiving a lot of praise for not letting last night’s presidential debate get out of hand the way the first two did:

Everyone had a big love fest about Chris Wallace’s debate performance https://t.co/c0baXYShz6

— Mashable (@mashable) October 20, 2016

Maybe Wallace will return to UNLV on Election Day and people will ask him, “Hey Chris, do you remember the Love Fest we had up here a few weeks ago?”

Good news: A downtown burglary suspect has been arrested. He is accused of stealing two bikes and also $500 worth of wine.

Whether you’re a Bernie fan or not, he could not have summed up the tone of the 2016 general election cycle any better:

The surefire route to success in politics has been to manipulate people’s fear and ignorance. We can and will change that.

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) October 20, 2016

I’m sure hoping Trump’s comment about possibly refusing to concede convinces Republicans to stay home on November 8. If the Democrats gain a majority in the Senate, the Budget Committee will be Feelin’ the Bern next year when Sen. Sanders becomes chairman.

Be sure to check out the cover story of the Memphis Flyer this week, an investigative piece on chicken in Memphis. Nice to see the Smoked Chicken Debris Po’boy at The Dirty Crow Inn mentioned. I have heard a lot of good things about that sandwich. Did you know that Jack Pirtle’s sold Kentucky Fried Chicken at one point? Pirtle had a contract with Col. Sanders.

That’s it for now. Heading to the Silly Goose after work for happy hour as usual.

Looking for a fun way to get some exercise? Come to Cardio Disco tonight at Paula & Raiford’s Disco.

Get your workout in while you get down to some disco. Class is $10 and start time is 7 PM. Paula herself participates in the class. Several of my friends have taken this class and have told me it is a lot of fun. This is the final Cardio Disco of the year, so don’t miss out.

WMC’s Joe Birch has a sneak peek of Big River Crossing as he rides a bike across the Harahan Bridge, where the largest pedestrian/bike trail across the Mississippi River opens Saturday. NOTE: The 11-minute video goes dark for part of the first 30 seconds. Give it time; it’s worth watching.

AIRSIDE presents Rock the Brass Door with special guests Arthur, Laramie, and Aaron James Monday, October 31 from 7 to 10:30 PM. It’s a Halloween concert, so costumes are encouraged. $10 to get in, or $5 if you’re wearing a costume.

Early voting turnout was strong on the first day, the CA reports, with about 6000 voting as of 2 PM Wednesday. Friends of mine tweeted lines stretching out the door at the Election Commission Downtown. One friend who voted in his lunch hour reported about a 20-minute wait. I would think wait times will drop as we get farther into the early voting period.

Bobby and Tasha play The Dirty Crow Inn next Wednesday, October 26 on the patio from 8 to 11 PM.

Grizzlies veteran Vince Carter and newcomer D.J. Stephens explain The Art of the Dunk in this video.

The fifth annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes march happens Thursday, October 27, departing from the Memphis Cook Convention Center at 5:30 PM and walking to FedExForum. This is an event where men put on heels and march to show that rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence against women must come to an end. “First you walk the walk, then you talk the talk,” encouraging the community to discuss these topics that are difficult, but necessary, to talk about. WMC-TV has more info.

I don’t always crack open the fortune cookies that come with dinner at Yao’s, but when I do, this is what I see:

Thanks to the Blind Bear for letting us watch the debate in the back room. By the time it was over, though, I was thinking, “I wish I had been watching the Cubs instead.” For those who missed it, Trump appeared entirely presidential for the first 30 minutes… and then, the real Trump came out. He refused to say he would concede the election. WOW. He’s willing to disregard a 200-plus year old tradition of a peaceful transition of power. I bet that’s the final nail in his coffin. I bet a lot of people vote Republican up and down the rest of the ballot but leave the presidential race blank (or write in Pence, McMullin, Romney, etc.) after hearing that.

Time for work. Possibly back later today with a second update.

The third and (thankfully) final presidential debate is tonight on the campus of UNLV. It will start at 8 PM, last approximately 90 minutes, and be moderated by Chris Wallace. The New York Times has a preview. You can stream the debate online here.

Television news: HBO has ordered a second season of its smash horror hit series The 2016 Presidential Campaign.

Early voting begins today in Shelby County. You can vote at any early voting location from today through November 3. However, if you wait until Election Day to vote, you must do so at your neighborhood voting location.

Those of you who have packages stolen off your front porch might want to take a look at this MakeUseOf article about Amazon Locker. If you select this option at checkout, your package will be delivered to a Locker location rather than your home. You will be given a unique code, which you enter into the locker, which will open it and you can pick up your stuff. You can also use Lockers for returns.

Not surprised that Taste of the South included Rizzo’s on its list of the South’s best chicken pot pies. I have had the pot pie and it is the real deal. I’m going to have to plan a visit to Rizzo’s soon to get another chicken pot pie.

And to steal the mayorship back.

The scariest costume of all this Halloween: The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall

Food Truck Wednesday at Miss Cordelia’s tonight from 5 to 8 PM will have food trucks El Mero Taco and Monkey Train Grazing Co. They will also have Bartlett’s Long River Cider on hand to sample their hard cider.

Thanks to an ordinance the City Council passed yesterday, there are new restrictions on panhandlers. They now have to stay at least 25 feet away from intersections.

Here’s a coupon that will get you $6 lasagne at Spaghetti Warehouse tomorrow (Thursday, October 20).

A cornhole challenge to strike out cancer by former St. Louis Cardinal and Memphis Redbird Jason Motte is planned for The Columns at One Commerce Square on Saturday, November 5.

The Memphis Flyer issue hitting the stands today is “The Chicken Issue.”

Interesting read: The drug trafficker and thrice-convicted felon Donald Trump risked his casino empire to protect

High Cotton has announced they will be showing the debate in their taproom tonight with Oktoberfest and Hefeweizen drink specials.

Sports columnist and radio host Geoff Calkins has his new book After the Jump: Columns on the Best 20 Years in Memphis available for sale on Amazon.

Just purchased my ticket for Sinners for Saints Halloween Ball II! Best Halloween party Downtown. You don’t want to miss it.

That’s it for now. Eating chocolate mint ice cream for lunch like a proper adult should. Out at Silly Goose for happy hour later.

A very important art show will take place Friday, October 28 from 5 to 10 PM at 500 S. Second Street. The 2016 PBR Art Showcase will feature Pabst Blue Ribbon-inspired artworks by ten artists. PBR will be served to those over 21. Learn more about these exhibits at the PBR Art website.

High school seniors trying to decide what to do with their future after graduation have a new option to consider: Blue Path. This is a program announced by Mayor Strickland today, a partnership between Memphis Police, TN promise, and Southwest Tennessee Community College. Beginning next June, the city will offer graduating seniors full-time employment with MPD as a police service technician, and a path to an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Southwest Tennessee Community College. Once they get the degree and turn 21, they will be eligible to become a Memphis police officer after completing sworn officer training. It’s a path that will attract bright young talent to MPD, will open career and education opportunities to young people, and will develop well-rounded and community-focused police officers for Memphis. FANTASTIC IDEA Mayor Strickland and everyone who worked to make this program happen!

Street musicians, you can take part in the busking challenge on Main Street two days this fall. The event is an open call for local musicians and bands to perform on the Main Street Mall Friday, October 28 and Friday, November 4. The audience will vote on the winners. Those who perform both days will increase their chances to win. There will be three prizes: First place will get a 5-hour recording session at Ardent Studios, second gets $200 in gift cards to Downtown businesses, third gets $100 in gift cards.

The Union Mission has started their Thanksgiving donation campaign. $1.67 can give a homeless person a meal and access to services that could be his or her beginning down a better path in life.

Twitter had two suitors to buy the company, Disney and Salesforce, but both backed out because they were concerned about the meanness and bullying often seen on the network, in conflict with how the suitors saw their corporate images. Don’tcha just hate those crazy trolls?

The MBJ has a photo gallery of the renovation of Clayborn Temple, the civil-rights landmark at Pontotoc and Hernando. The plan is to open the temple to the public for a season of events, then come back and finish renovations next year.

An appeals court has upheld a decision that MPD cannot conduct sweeps to get people of Beale Street except in matters of public safety.

There’s been a meme going around in the form of a political poster. Walken-Busey 2016: Because if we’re going to elect batshit crazy, let’s at least make it highly entertaining. Well, guess what: Gary Busey has been accused of groping women on the set of Celebrity Apprentice several seasons ago. He allegedly touched a production employee’s breasts and then held her hand to his crotch. Employees of the show debated whether to lobby for Busey’s removal from the show. The complaint made it all the way to the top, where Mr. Trump laughed it off with Busey as boys being boys.

And then there’s this:

Crowd of sexual assault survivors lead anti-“Cheeto Voldemort” protest at Trump Tower: https://t.co/IqAgrZ592A pic.twitter.com/DL14r0hnW0

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) October 18, 2016

Cheeto Voldemort!

See the evolution of naughty Halloween costumes over the past 100 years.

The Redbirds are offering some deep discounts on Redbirds merchandise at AutoZone Park’s plaza through Thursday.

Memphis Comic Expo happens Saturday and Sunday at the Cook Convention Center.