Tuesday update

What a win by the Memphis Grizzlies over the L.A. Lakers last night! LeBron tried to rally his team but it wasn’t enough. Joakim Noah did great coming off the bench (14 points, 12 rebounds) and he looked like he was having the time of his life. He takes a lighthearted approach to the game, as opposed to his former teammate Marc Gasol who was overly serious. He’s a locker room leader who inspires the young players. I’ve read that Noah probably won’t be back next season. Can we please find a way to keep him?

It can be argued that with Jaren Jackson Jr. out for a while, there’s no way the Grizzlies are going to catch up with teams ahead of them to finish ninth worst and CONVEY THAT PICK, and therefore it would have been better if Memphis had lost. But, come on. Beating LeBron always feels good.

Yesterday I posted that the Majestic Grille’s Patrick Reilly was named Restaurateur of the Year by the Memphis Restaurant Association at their awards ceremony on Sunday. However, I neglected to mention that Reilly was not the only one in the restaurant business Downtown to receive an honor. Andreas Kisler, the executive chef of Chez Philippe at the Peabody and overseer of the menus at all the Peabody restaurants, was named 2019 Chef of the Year by the MRA. Congratulations!

Crosstown Brewing Co. is holding a beer and cheese pairing class on Thursday, March 14. Learn how to pair cheeses with a flight of five styles of beer.

Wiseacre has announced its annual Kaleidoscope Food Festival for Saturday, April 13 from 1 to 5 PM. This will be a celebration of cultures of the world, with food from a diverse array of Binghampton vendors. World culture will be celebrated with performances and storytelling as well. Kids and dogs are welcome.

This tweet by Joyce Peterson is really interesting. I never knew there was a physical gauge.

From The Daily Memphian: Memphis 901 FC is serious about playing hard for the city. Minority owner Tim Howard and coach Tim Mulqueen have embraced the city’s work ethic. Memphis 901 FC hosts the University of Memphis in a pre-season match closed to the public at AutoZone Park Friday. If you know anyone who has an apartment balcony overlooking the park, Friday would be a good day to buddy up to them.

The Daily Memphian has an article about the BuildDowntown Design Studio, for which public input is sought, happening this week. From these sessions will emerge a master plan for Downtown to grow and evolve through 2030.

There’s a Save Memphis in May website where people can voice their concerns about the effect the proposed changes to Tom Lee Park will have on Memphis in May events like Music Fest and BBQ Fest, and how those changes would affect the local economy and tourism. Note: I am not endorsing this movement by publishing the link. I am neutral in this whole debate and want to find a win for both sides. Long-term, I believe the park needs to be made into something for all Memphians to enjoy, not just those with a Music Fest ticket or a BBQ Fest team. I am simply putting the information out there.

The Queen of Beale Street, Ruby Wilson, would have turned 71 this Thursday, and to celebrate, B.B. King’s Blues Club will unveil a portrait of Ms. Wilson at 6:30 PM that day. There will be a toast and cake, and donations will be taken for the Ruby Wilson Scholarship at the Stax Music Academy.

Peter Frampton released Frampton Comes Alive! in 1976, but let’s face it, this is 2019 and Frampton probably won’t be alive too many more years. Memphians will have one more chance to hear him perform June 26 when he comes to the Orpheum.

Edible Memphis reports that the chef-in-residency space at the 409 South Main food hall is expected to be ready next month. It will be occupied by Chef Nick Scott, who will open his Salt+Soy sushi restaurant there and remain until the brick and mortar location on South Cooper Street is ready.

Over the years I’ve failed to appreciate what great values Family Dollar on Main Street (between Monroe and Union) has to offer. Last week I ran out of toothpaste. I went to Family Dollar and got a full-sized tube of Crest for $1. Yesterday I was in Walgreens, and saw that a travel-sized tube of Crest, less than half the size of the one I bought down the street, was $1.49.

No longer the only incubator in town for startup businesses, Emerge Memphis has sold its building at 516 Tennessee Street for $3.55 million and will use the money to fund startups. Over the years, Emerge incubated 242 companies, creating 3200 jobs.

The Belz Museum in Pembroke Square has a special exhibit this spring: Tomb Pottery Mysteries of China

The CA has a fascinating story: A Sun Studio record, lost for 62 years, uncovers a Memphis love story. Four days after Elvis, Jerry Lee, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash recorded in the legendary studio, five East High teens called The Heathens were in there recording two takes of a love song.

Max’s Sports Bar is now selling Mardi Gras slushies.

The slushies are a combination of Orange Dreamsicle and Purple Drank. (Photo credit Bjarni)

Reva Steenbergen, author of the book The Gaslighting Effect, tweeted the following yesterday:

Yes. Precisely. This is what happened to me several years ago. I’ll say it again, if you want to understand what I’ve been through, read this book. It is an easy read and just over 100 pages long. Until I found out about this book, I thought I was the only one in the world to go through this. Now I realize I am not alone.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 27 at 8 AM CST, Donald Trump’s former lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen is scheduled to testify publicly before the House Oversight Committee. The Democrat-controlled committee will be free to ask Cohen any question they want, and it is believed he will testify that Trump committed crimes regarding Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and that Trump committed campaign election finance crimes related to paying hush money to former mistresses. Cohen may also testify about racist remarks he has heard Trump make, and lies Trump has told about his wealth. Tomorrow will be the second of three days of Cohen’s Congressional testimony; he has a closed-door interview with the Senate Intelligence Committee today and another one with the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday. Leaks are starting to come out about what will happen in these hearings. Oh boy I better pop some popcorn for tomorrow.

I would imagine the public hearing tomorrow will be broadcast by the major networks, but if it’s not, here’s a link where you can live stream the hearing. Parents, if your kids have ever expressed any interest in how the United States government works, you might want to keep them home from school tomorrow and let them watch the hearing. This could be the biggest Congressional hearing since the summer of ’74. If so, this will be better education than kids will ever get in a ninth-grade Civics or U.S. Government class.

Whew. Long post. Back tomorrow with more news probably, although I may be distracted by the hearings.