Thur update #2: Joycean dinner, BBQ team update and more

Ghost River will be showing The Nightmare Before Christmas on the big screen tonight at 7. Two Girls and a Whip will be there with a boozy cupcake called Black Magic, made with coffee and Midnight Magic Black Ale. Eddy’s Pepper food truck will be parked outside.

The Cossitt Library will host lunchtime Booker T and the MGs album listening sessions this Friday and next at 12:15. Take a break from work and use headphones provided by The Fourth Bluff and Beale Street Caravan to relax, with a different album each week. Bring a lunch or order from one of the food trucks on site. if the weather is bad this event will be moved to the library’s second floor. Admission is free but headphones reservations are recommended.

James Joyce fans: On Tuesday, January 9 from 6:30 to 9:30,The Brass Door will offer a culinary interpretation of short story The Dubliners, called Day of the Dead: A Joycean Feast. Expect multiple courses, wine, whiskey and stout, readings, maybe a song or two. Here’s the menu:

Smoked Ham Croquettes with parsley sauce
Oysters, a few ways
Duck Pate with figs
Spiced Beef Tenderloin with colcannon
Bread and Butter Pudding with whiskey butter
Cashel Blue, roasted nuts & fruit

Tickets are $75 with limited availability. Call 901-572-1813 for reservations. Period dress optional but encouraged.

I wanted to give everyone an update on what is going on with the BBQ team for 2018. We are partnering with a team that has been very successful in KCBS regionals for over a decade, but which has never been big enough to compete in BBQ Fest. They’ll handle the cooking and we will supply the party, continuing under the Moody Ques name although they will use their own team name for spring regionals. They have a 30-foot air-conditioned cooking rig and have beaten some of the big names in BBQ. They did a practice cook for a few of the team leaders November 18 down in Hernando. It was said to be a smashing success and we found we had many commonalities.

Since Memphis in May is looking for a different flavor profile than KCBS, our new pitmasters attended judging school last month to understand what the judges will want to see. They are excited about the presentation aspect of BBQ Fest, realizing it’s a sales job to an extent.

The board members and team leaders had a meeting last night. We appointed a couple of new people to leadership positions and changed some titles (mine didn’t change). We laid out a timeline for the next 5 months, set team dues, and discussed ideas for packets to give to potential sponsors. Then, after pizza from Little Italy, it was time for the fun stuff. We went through a virtual tour of Czech architecture (Czech Republic being the 2018 Memphis in May honored country) and got some ideas to go for Best Booth again. We even came up for a design for our team T-shirts. I don’t think we’ve ever thought about T-shirts before April in the past! Great meeting.

Team members, if you have any questions, feel free to hit me up at paul@paulryburn.com or moodyques@gmail.com. If you weren’t a team member last year but would be interested in being put on the waiting list to join in 2018, talk to me about that too. We would also be happy to talk to anyone wishing to sponsor, and can create custom packages to fit your needs.

Good comment on the Tennessee coaching situation:

Hearing a lot of talk about the rapid rise in the value of Bitcoin. Google “tulip mania” if you don’t know what that is. History has a way of repeating itself.

I need this button:

I did a post in the very early AM hours, so keep scrolling if you haven’t read it. After work it will be time to take the birthday troll out for drinks:

That’s it for now, back tomorrow with more.