Month: March 2017

Wednesday update

Big night for live music tonight in Downtown Memphis. Stevie Nicks with special guests Pretenders will perform at FedExForum tonight as part of Nicks’ 24 Karat Gold Tour. 7 PM is the start time.

Over at the Orpheum, ZZ Top will play tonight. Austin Hanks will be the opening act. Show time is 8 PM.

Going to the Grizzlies-Clippers game at FedExForum tomorrow night? Better get there early:

Downloadable 2017 Memphis Redbirds schedules are now available for Microsoft Outlook, Google Calendar and Android devices, and iPhone.

Legendary Memphis wrestling TV host Lance Russell is now on Twitter. Follow him at @MemphisLance.

Downtown Yoga is offering a class called Flex Your Mind with Danny Brewington Saturday, April 22 from noon to 2. Here is the class description:

You think you can’t meditate? You must be too busy? Don’t have the time? Your mind is too wild and chaotic? You can’t sit still? This workshop will eliminate your excuses and fears that meditation is difficult. Through a few simple exercises you will increase your awareness and optimize your brain’s performance. Ultimately, you’ll discover meditation is the easiest thing in the world.

For those of you on the fence about attending this kind of class, I’ll share my own personal experience. The second semester of my senior year in college, I took a course called Eastern Psychology mainly because it was a rare 2-hour credit class and I needed two more hours. The class, taught by the late Dr. Herb Smith, turned out to be one of the best classes I ever took. I learned about different forms of meditation and about letting go of both attachment and aversion to more clearly experience the self. I would strongly recommend meditation work if you think it is something that might benefit you. The meditation class at Downtown Yoga on April 22 has an early bird fee of $30 until April 15, $40 after that.

The Washington Post has an article on the touches immigrants bring to BBQ.

The weather may affect the Beale Street St. Patrick’s Day parade on Saturday. The MemphisWeather.net forecast is calling for a “much colder day” with a high only in the upper 40s and a 70% chance of rain. I’m even seeing some talk of below-freezing temperatures and a possible wintry mix on Twitter, but at this point I’m going to chalk it up to TV weatherpeople trying to drive up viewership.

The CA has a look at Cat Pena’s art installation at Monroe and Marshall, recalling the days when The Edge was home to automotive dealerships and repair shops. There will be a public celebration of the new art installation tomorrow from 4 to 6 PM.

I’ll be out at the Silly Goose for happy hour most likely. Back tomorrow.

Tuesday update #2

A few quick ones to start off this lunchtime post, then I have a couple of longer items…

First of all, Wiseacre Brewing Co. will make a decision by the end of March whether to lease the Mid-South Coliseum to expand its brewery space.

An apartment developer wants to close Pontotoc between Turley and Danny Thomas. This would put more FedExForum post-event traffic on congested MLK Jr. Ave. and Vance Ave.

The Shelby County Health Department is hiring for several positions.

This morning I posted that I learned recently that “flying monkeys” is a psychological term. Here’s a page with more info on flying monkeys.

In celebration of the arrival of Daylight Time, Ghost River is throwing a Spring Forward Festival on Sunday, March 12. They will lead off with Brunch at the Brewery with the Flying Sobies truck as usual, with fried hens, waffles and fries from 12 to 4 in the afternoon. Brunch drinks will be available all day.

They’ll have a few spring-themed vendors in the brewery taproom from 2 to 6. These will include Gardens Oy Vey (indoor/outdoor plants) and Somerset O’ Neill (hair flowers, headbands, gloves, coozies, and costume pieces and embellishments). They hope to add more vendors.

They will also have parking lot games including 4-square, ring toss, ladder toss, sidewalk chalk, and hula hoops on Sunday, and the games will be back on weekends from now on.

In conjunction with the time change, the weekly “Songwriter Sessions” will experience a time change as well. Formerly noon-3, the event will move to 5-7:30 and will transform into “Sunday Evening Slowdown.” Crockett Hall will host the event, and this Sunday he is bringing The Rusty Pieces. From 5 PM on this Sunday the Eddy’s Pepper food truck will be on site for the rest of the night.

Lansky Bros. has a website and marketing coordinator position open. Here are the details.

LANSKY BROS. WEBSITE AND MARKETING COORDINATOR

Lansky Bros, a family owned and locally operated high-fashion retailer for over 71 years in the Downtown Memphis area is seeking an innovative and creative thinker with the ability to multi-task and self-manage productively with sound understanding of the principles of marketing to join our team with a minimum of 2-4 years of marketing experience.

Please include cover letter and salary requirements when applying.

Qualified candidates will possess the following requirements:

1. Strong attention to detail, strong time management and organizational skills.

2. Computer proficiency in Adobe Photoshop, MS Office Suite, and ability to quickly learn how to manage the business tool for Able Commerce.

3. Customer Service skills and the ability to cultivate relationship with online customers

4. Monday-Friday 9a-5p + an occassional night or weekend which is scheduled with notice.

5. Able to adapt to any other non-related task.

6. Abiltiy to operate under pressure and meet deadlines.

Essential Functions:

1. Product/Inventory Management

2. Manage E-mail Campaigns for 4 Lists and grow customer E-mail lists

3. Execute and refine Social Media strategy, using current and emerging platforms

4. Coordinate Photoshoots

5. Write Informative Copy on All Products

6. Train new employees on all digital aspects of Lansky Bros.

7. Archive all Lansky PR

8. Maintain Google AdWords

9. Ability to meet online sales goals

10. Cultivate new customer business.

11. Pull Product from stores and Process all Internet Orders

Looking forward to meeting up with an old friend who’s in town after work. Back tomorrow with more news.

Tue update: Beale Street parade notes and more news

How to Leave Your Car at Home II: Talking Transit will take place at Loflin Yard Wednesday, March 22 from 6:00-7:30 PM. The second installment in the How to Leave Your Car at Home discussion, this event will explore how to secure funding to grow and improve our transportation system in Memphis. MATA commissioner Andre Gibson, Tom Jones of Smart City Memphis, and John Paul Shaffer of CD Council of Greater Memphis will share their thoughts on a panel facilitated by Suzanne Carlson of Innovate Memphis. There will be light refreshments. Free to attend but registration is required because of space limitations (Register here.)

Free pancakes at IHOP today (it’s National Pancake Day).

Police have new leads in the hit-and-run that killed Christopher Phillips a couple of weeks ago at Overton Square. Crime Stoppers tips have given them a possible identity of the owner, and they may also have learned of the location of the silver Ford Mustang that was involved.

SNOZberry rocks the Flying Saucer on St. Patrick’s Day at 9:30. Shennigans? Did you guys borrow a spelling book from Saucer management?

If you want some good eats on Mud Island, Rawk ‘n’ Grub and Joy Ride will be the trucks on hand for Food Truck Night at Miss Cordelia’s, tomorrow, Wednesday, March 8 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM. Steve Schad will provide the live music.

This weekend I was looking at some of the to-go/to-heat casseroles and dishes that Lisa’s Lunchbox has to offer. Man, those sound good! Buffalo Chicken Ziti – buffalo chicken, ziti, ricotta and ranch topped with smoked Gouda? Yum! The chicken spaghetti and the Mexican lasagna sound yummy too. Definitely keep them in mind if you want a good dinner but don’t want the hard work of cooking. They have a breakfast casserole and a French toast casserole too, if you need something for the morning.

Random thing I learned this weekend: There’s a psychological term called flying monkeys.

Yesterday I got asked, where is the best place to stand at the Beale Street St. Patrick’s Day parade? The parade runs down Beale from Fourth to Second… where in that two-block stretch is the best to stand? If your primary goal is to catch a lot of beads and candy, you want to be on the block between Third and Fourth, and not in front of very popular businesses like Wet Willie’s and Tin Roof. That block doesn’t get as many people as the block between Second and Third. Also, Fourth to Third is the first block of the parade route, and some of the floats may start running out of the better beads and candy by the time they get west of Third.

One other note for bead-seekers: After the parade is over, the Boll Weevil bus usually parks outside of Silky’s, and they continue to throw beads from the bus for a while.

My personal favorite place to stand? In front of the King’s Palace Tap Room, halfway on Beale between Second and Third. Having been Downtown for 15 years, I already have more beads than I can shake a stick at. I am more interested in easy access to beer, and the Tap Room has PBR on draft. Plus, a lot of my South Main friends hang out there, and they are great people with whom to watch a parade.

In general, if you have a favorite drink that is sold on Beale Street, stand in front of the place that serves that drink. Note: If your favorite drink is a Call-a-Cab from Wet Willie’s, you definitely don’t need to be driving that day.

A lot of my BBQ teammates like to get up on the second floor of Jerry Lee’s and watch from the balconies that open onto the street. For me, the novelty of that was fun for a couple of years, but now I prefer to be at street level for the parade (same thing with Wine Race in April).

If you’ve never been to the Beale Street parade before, there is one other tradition that you must witness: The Raising of the Goat. This is a tradition that started when Silky was alive. They have a platform that raises up about 15 feet in the air. So they put a goat on it and raise it up in the air, along with a couple of dignitaries who throw beads. They used to raise one of the live goats that live in Silky’s side yard. In recent years, though, they have raised a stuffed billy goat. I have no idea what this has to do with St. Pat’s, but there are goats. Everyone should see this at least once.

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

Monday update

It’s conference tournament week for those who are NCAA basketball fans! The Memphis Tigers are seeded fifth and have earned a first-round bye in the American Athletic Conference tournament. They will play #4 UCF Friday at 1 PM.

Here’s the bracket for this week’s SEC tournament. Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina and Arkansas are thought to be safely in the NCAA tournament regardless what happens this week. My Hogs play their first game at 8:30 Friday on the SEC Network. Hmmm… a trip to Max’s Sports Bar may have to happen that evening.

MATA is hosting job fairs Tuesday and Thursday. They’re recruiting bus operators, bus maintenance people, diesel mechanics, and trolley foreman and supervisor.

Memphis Black Restaurant Week starts today. Holly has the details in a post on the I Love Memphis blog.

Some good news:

More good news: We switch back to Daylight Time on Sunday, so those 6:00 sunsets will soon be 7:00 sunsets.

South Side Supper Club is back at Belle Tavern tomorrow night, Tuesday, March 7, 7 to 10 PM.

Hard to believe, but this is the week of the Beale Street St. Patrick’s Day parade. It happens this Saturday at 3:00. Grab you a good spot to get lots of beads, candy, etc. thrown from floats. Everyone try not to get hit in the head with a cabbage this year (Bones).

The monthly South Main Association meeting will happen Tuesday, March 14 at Hotel Napoleon at the corner of Third and Madison. Drinks and appetizers will be provided by the hotel. The featured speaker will be Penelope Huston, vice president of marketing, communications, and events for the Downtown Memphis Commission. Social at 6, program at 6:30. Free for members, $10 non-members.

The Memphis Grizzlies host Brooklyn tonight at 7 at FedExForum.

The Redbirds announced today the return of The Rendezvous as the official BBQ supplier for AutoZone Park. You haven’t truly been to a baseball game in Memphis if you haven’t sat down with a big ol’ pile of BBQ nachos.

I have decided not to attend the 901 Popper Throwdown on the 25th. It’s a personal decision and not a reflection on Seth and his team of organizers; I think the event is fantastic and I wish it success. Good luck to my friends who are competing.

Josh Pastner won ACC Coach of the Year. I am very happy for the former Memphis Tigers men’s basketball coach. He has a great basketball mind. The culture here in Memphis just wasn’t the right fit for him.

The Trumpster has spent 22 percent of his presidency in Florida.

That’s it for this post. Going to switch things up a bit and lead off at the Blind Bear for happy hour today.

Sunday update

Ghost River is offering everyone the opportunity to go green on St. Patrick’s Day. No, not green the color, but green as in helping to protect our environment. They’re partnering with Wolf River Conservancy for a special event that day from 5:00 to 10:30 PM. They will be selling Magic Car Bombs with all proceeds going to the conservancy.

Yippie Trippie and the Porkstars will be on hand, selling from their regular menu along with some special beer-infused goodies for the holiday. Specials will include Irish stew, shepherd’s pie, corned beef and cabbage pizza (what???), and chocolate stout cupcakes. If you wear green, you will get $1 off Ghost River’s Riverbank Red Irish-style red ale.

The Memphis Farmers Market has created their Facebook event for Opening Day on April 1. If your idea of a farmers market is a few guys in trucker hats and overalls selling taters and maters out of milk crates, well, you’re not wrong, but the Memphis Farmers Market is so much more than that. There’s live music, food trucks, and dog adoptions. Bluff City Coffee has a huge stand selling drinks, pastries, and loaves (try the cinnamon duffin). In addition to fresh produce, vendors sell meat, seafood, breads, hot sauces, cheeses, popsicles, dog treats, pottery, pre-prepared meals, soaps, and lots more. The Market is under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson (and they have promised the construction will be cleared out of their space) every Saturday from 7 AM to 1 PM April 1 through October 28. If you want to meet some of Memphis’ best local chefs, head down to the Market right at 7. You’ll find them shopping there.

Wednesday is Diamond Dave’s birthday bash at the Brass Door. There will be a DJ, live music, and specials. Dave will call British Bingo at 7:30.

Lisa’s Lunchbox has added smoothies to their Downtown menu.

Former FBI agent and author Joe Navarro tweeted a list of traits of the paranoid leader. Take a look and see if these traits remind you of anyone you’ve seen on a reality TV show, or anyone you follow on Twitter.

Zeke Johnson brings blues and stories to the Center for Southern Folklore this afternoon from 3:30 to 6:30.

Charlie Wilson’s “In It To Win It” tour makes a stop at FedExForum tonight at 7.

Cheers to my friends running the Little Rock Marathon today! Two of my friends discovered the River Market yesterday. Awesome place isn’t it?

Last Sunday I returned to the poker table at the Blind Bear, but I won’t be playing tonight (but if YOU want to, start time is 6:30 and it’s free to play). I have some important viewing to do, as WWE Fastlane will be on. I’m as big a Goldberg fan as anyone, but I think taking the Universal title off Kevin Owens, one of the best workers in the company, to put on a 50-year-old part-timer would be a big mistake. I would rather see Owens vs. Chris Jericho for the title next month at Wrestlemania, where we can see if Jericho puts the title on The List.

Speaking of the Bear, it’s almost time for D-RANKS with B-RAD. Sunday Fun Day! Back tomorrow with more news.

Saturday update: Live music for popper throwdown and more

I have additional information about the 901 Popper Throwdown happening Saturday, March 25 from noon to 7 PM. There will be live entertainment as teams compete to find out who makes the best jalapeno popper in Memphis: Hiway Hi-Fi will perform a Grateful Dead tribute show. The event will happen outside High Cotton Brewing Co. at 598 Monroe. Funds raised will benefit Memphis Paws.

A warm welcome to all those in town for the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show! We are happy to have you here. The ginners have a reputation of being kind and generous, and I have seen restaurants all over Downtown tagging them in posts, letting them know they are welcome. For those of you exiting off I-40 south onto Second Street this weekend, please use extra caution as our guests will be crossing Second to get to their cars. For those in town wanting to go where the locals go, try Bardog Tavern (neighborhood bar), Blind Bear and Silly Goose (good craft cocktails), Aldo’s Pizza Pies and Flying Saucer (great beer selection), Kooky Canuck (Canadian themed restaurant with a menu that has something for everyone) and Majestic Grille (a favorite dinner spot for many locals). If you want BBQ, check out Central BBQ or Blues City Cafe. Dyer’s (burgers) and Gus’s (chicken) are two places tourists go that are endorsed by locals.

Twenty One Pilots “Emotional Roadshow” comes to FedExForum tonight. They’re touring in support of their platinum album BLURRYFACE.

Mixology contest Mix-Odyssey is tonight at BRIDGES from 7 to 10. The event benefits Volunteer Odyssey, a wonderful organization that connects people with volunteer opportunities here in Memphis.

It’s looking more and more like Attorney General Jeff Sessions committed perjury at his confirmation hearing, now that it has been revealed that he used campaign funds rather than his Senate fund to pay for a trip to Cleveland to meet with a Russian envoy. So, the person who is supposed to prosecute people who commit perjury, committed perjury. Not only should Sessions be forced out of his job, but he should be prosecuted himself. Republicans would be wise to dissociate themselves from Sessions. Associating with someone who you know committed perjury is not a good look.

Attention Redbirds fans:

The Memphis Grizzlies Keynote Speaker Series welcomes Ryan Estis to FedExForum Monday at 2 PM. Estis has been called “one of the best keynote speakers ever seen or heard” by Meetings & Conventions magazine. His research and learning organization produces 75 events a year, leading change and preparing for the future of work. A special ticket can be purchased getting you in the 2 PM keynote speech and the 7 PM Grizzlies-Nets game.

Bardog time! I hope I get to meet some farm & gin people today. Back tomorrow with more news.

 

Friday update #2

There’s going to be a party on the plaza in The Edge next Thursday, March 9, from 4 to 6 PM. It will be a celebration of the dynamic new art installation by Cat Pena at the intersection of Monroe and Marshall. This year-long installation, funded by the Downtown Memphis Commission, will wave over that intersection and is part of the streetscape improvements planned for the neighborhood.

Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience takes the stage at the Halloran Centre tomorrow night, Saturday, March 4 at the Halloran Centre. The band has toured more than 45 countries over the years. Simien will be joined by his daughter Marcella and her band Marcella & Her Lovers.

The menu and pairings for Paulette’s March Wine Dinner have been released. The dinner happens Tuesday, March 7 at 7 PM. Lobster tail and filet mignon are among the courses.

More than 3100 Vietnamese immigrants live in the city of Memphis, most of them living in the area around Cleveland and Jefferson. Many of them were refugees from the Vietnam War in the 1970s, or descendants of refugees. Their culture, food and markets have provided rich diversity to the Crosstown area, and serve as an example of why the U.S. needs to continue to open its arms to refugees and immigrants. High Ground News has a look at Vietnamese in Memphis.

There’s more news in this morning’s post. Almost weekend time, and I’m going to change things up tonight and lead off at the Blind Bear after work. Back tomorrow with more.

Friday morning update: Big neon sign, free yoga, and more

A neon sign complete with flames has been approved for a business in The Edge, even though it exceeds sign code specifications. Arnold’s BBQ will open between Floyd Alley and Monroe Avenue just west of Danny Thomas. The sign will be visible to the Madison Avenue side. It is one of the few businesses in Downtown Memphis with the entrance in an alley, and for that reason it was felt that the large sign was well justified.

Happy grand opening, YOGA! Your Inner Yogi at 500 S. Second will celebrate its grand opening Saturday with a full day of free classes. Here’s the schedule:

10:30-11:30am Gentle Flow w/Stephanie
11:45-12:30pm Beginners Yoga w/Libby
1-2pm Vinyasa Flow All Levels w/ Bridget
4-5pm Ashtanga Flow All Levels w/Caroline

Plus, from 6 to 9:30 that evening there will be a Mix & Mingle where you can meet the teachers. There will be wine, a DJ, giveaways, a 20 minute energy flow, and more.

Also on Saturday, South Side Supper Club will have an evening performance at the Ghost River taproom from 6 to 8.

High Cotton Brewing Co. is the latest Downtown business to get into the crawfish game. They plan to have a boil on Sunday, March 26 in conjunction with Crawfish Shack.

Huey’s Downtown location is hiring servers and food runners. Apply in person or on the website.

Riverdance – the 20th Anniversary World Tour is coming to the Orpheum March 24-26.

Southern Avenue has their album release party tonight at 9 at Loflin Yard.

Probably back at lunchtime with a second post. Off to work now.

Thursday update

The Memphis Redbirds have revealed plans for a permanent team store inside AutoZone Park for 2017. The store will have an entrance off Union Avenue. It will have a regular schedule and will be open even on days that are not game days.

Just in time for Lent, Chef John May of the Flying Fish stopped by WREG Live at 9 to share the Fish’s recipe for Snappy Seasoning, which is great on seafood. If you have ever seen the words “Make it Snappy!” on the Fish’s menu and wondered what that meant, that’s all you need to say when you order to get Snappy Seasoning applied to your food.

Down the street at the Flying Saucer, they have announced their St. Patrick’s Day celebration on Friday, March 17, running all day from 11 AM to 2 AM. There will be a blessing of the kegs at 5 PM and $3.50 beer specials throughout the day. There will be a special Irish menu with corned beef and cabbage, bangers and mash, beef and Guinness, and shepherd’s pie. Live music by Gallowglass Bagpipers and Snozberry.

The MBJ has photos of the inside of the Hickman Building at 240 Madison prior to its renovation into retail, apartments, and office space. There is a lot of work to be done.

In the news: Attorney General Jeff Sessions is in hot water. He apparently lied during his confirmation hearings and said that he had no contact with Russia during the campaign. In fact, he met with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak on two separate occasions. Okay, help me out with civics here: I know that if you lie under oath in front a judge, that’s perjury, and if you lie on an official court petition, that’s perjury. If you lie to Congress, is that perjury too? Or is it called something else? Maybe they call a technical foul on you, like in basketball. If that’s the case, Congress needs to call a T on Sessions and force him to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia hearings. It’s reached the point that even top Republicans are making that request.

And now there’s breaking news: The only Democrat to vote to confirm Sessions, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, says Sessions should resign if he lied.

The Memphis Tigers host Tulane at 8 tonight at FedExForum. It will be the Tigers’ last home game of the regular season.

The Grizzlies will have a special Sierra Nevada Beer Tasting Ticket for next Thursday, March 9’s game against the L.A. Clippers. Package includes your game ticket, a sampling of Sierra Nevada beers, hors d’oeuvres served periodically, and a commemorative pint glass. Check-in begins at 5:00, with the tasting happening 5:30-7:00 in the Draft Room on the Pinnacle Level of FedExForum. Tickets are $52-102.

Rockin’ Road to Dublin comes to the Cannon Center tonight at 7:30.

MemphisWeather.net is giving away two weather radios tonight. Enter here to win one. You can also enter just by watching their severe weather preparedness chat tonight at 8.

It’s Thursday, so I will be out at the Silly Goose for happy hour as normal. Perjorie T. Roll (my troll) will be with me, but “Perjury” J. Sessions (head troll at the DoJ, for now) will not. Back tomorrow with more news.

Wednesday update

March has arrived! It’s technically still winter, but today is considered the first day of meterological spring. It’s getting warmer outside, and Daylight Saving Time will be here on the 12th. Festival season gets underway with the Beale Street St. Patrick’s Day parade on the 11th and the 901 Jalapeno Popper Throwdown at High Cotton on the 25th. We have conference basketball tournaments the weekend of the 8th through 12th and then the NCAA tournament following that, with NCAA Regional games played in Memphis Friday the 24th and Saturday the 26th.

Tonight is Food Truck Wednesday at Miss Cordelia’s, from 5 to 8 PM. There will be live music by Nancy Apple, and food trucks Majestic Mushroom and Monkey Train Grazing Co. will be on site.

Fans of British Bingo at the Brass Door: There’s a special start time of 8 PM tonight, due to the USA vs. Germany match.

The second annual Memphis Flyer Bacon & Bourbon event will happen Saturday, April 15, 6 to 9 PM at the Memphis Farmers Market. Memphis’ best restaurants and a variety of distilled spirits brands will come together for a flavorful evening. Bacon, BBQ, and spirits that were aged in old oak barrels. Early bird tickets are on sale now for $30 plus fees. Price goes up Wednesday, March 15.

Half the Internet was down yesterday thanks to an issue with Amazon Web Services. One of my fellow web developers turned me on to a useful site: outage.report, which will tell you which sites are experiencing outages, or if they are up the last time the experienced one, along with the severity of the outage.

The Memphis Tigers host Tulane tomorrow night, Thursday, March 2, at 8 PM. Prior to the game former Memphis players will be signing autographs, including Antonio Anderson, Jeremy Hunt, Will Coleman, Kelly Wise, Dexter Reed, John Grice and Jimmy Snap Hunter.

LYFE Kitchen + Chisca Bar in the Chisca on South Main will reopen Monday, March 6. There will be a new menu, full-service dining, a huge patio, and lots of live music. I wonder if the new menu is anything like my suggestion of “keep the old menu, but wrap everything in bacon”?

The CA has an article on Front Street Deli’s new lease on life.

Don’tcha just love those crazy trolls? The sequel has been announced… Trolls 2 is coming April 10, 2020.

The Mid-South Farm and Gin Show is this weekend at the Cook Convention Center.

James Taylor and his all-star band with special guest Bonnie Raitt will come to FedExForum Saturday, August 5. Tickets go on sale to the public Friday, March 10.

Pro wrestling fans: There was must-see TV on last night. For the past four years, Bray Wyatt has built something of a cult-like following centered around the Wyatt Family Compound, burial place of Sister Abigail. Recent months have been good to Wyatt in two ways: He recruited third-generation superstar Randy Orton to join his family and become his top lieutenant. He also won the WWE World Championship for the first time in February. Last night world champ Bray got in the ring to preach.

That’s the news for now. Back tomorrow with more.