Happy Halloween! With COVID numbers surging, I’m going to stick to my original plan and stay in all day today. If you go out, please be safe. Wear a mask that properly covers your nose and mouth and carry hand sanitizer if your day’s plans make it inconvenient for you to get to soap and water.
Three other timely reminders before we move on to the news:
- Don’t forget to set your clocks before going to bed tonight. Ar 2 AM we “fall back” to 1 AM, Daylight Time ends, and Standard Time begins.
- Evening rush hour the first workday after Standard Time begins is when Memphis drivers are at their batshit craziest, weaving in and out of lanes, tailgating, and texting while driving. Don’t be on the interstate Monday about 5 if you can avoid it.
- Tomorrow is 50% off Halloween candy day at Walgreens. Doors at the Downtown location open at 10 Sundays. With COVID-19 depressing trick-or-treating, there’s an excellent chance that the good stuff survived on the shelves to see the November 1 sale.
Everybody has their own definition of “the good stuff.” For me it’s the 100-count bags that are a mixture of Hershey’s, Kit Kat, Reese’s peanut butter cups, and Almond Joy. No candy corn!
There will be a Spooky Spokes bike ride departing from River Garden Park, 51 N. Riverside. today at 4:30. Wear your costume (with a mask that protects against COVID-19) and join the fun.
DJ Tree and DJ Mylon Webb will supply the music at Slider Inn Downtown for Halloween this evening. Costume contest with $100 for best, $50 for second, and $25 for worst. Bring your costumed pups into Slider Inn’s large backyard for some edible treats. The fun kicks off at 8 PM.
In other Slider Inn Downtown news, 30 Minute Ego plays 1-4 Sunday.
The Aldo family of restaurants is now hiring for the two Aldo’s Pizza Pies, the two Slider Inns, Bardog, and Momma’s. See flyer below:
In this time of suffering and uncertainty, we need comfort food to reassure us. With that in mind, McDonald’s will bring back the McRib on December 2. The sandwich was last seen on menus eight years ago.
Starting tomorrow, you can legally gamble on sports online in Tennessee. MORE: DraftKings launches in Tennessee
Hat tip to Air Traffic Mike for supplying this link: Shitshow, the perfectly named wine for 2020. I can think of a couple of bars where this could be the house wine.
Memphis reprazent: Metro Nashville Police give chase to two men from stolen car; when arrested, the men told the police, “We’re from Memphis. That’s what we do.”
One of those cool apartments above Huey’s/Automatic Slim’s on Second facing the Peabody is for rent. You don’t see those on the rental market very often.
Riverfront Story Time happens tomorrow from 4:00 to 4:30 PM at River Garden Park, 51 N. Riverside. It’s presented by Cossitt Library and the book will be Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert. A crafts activity will accompany the reading. Everything will be social distanced. Parents are asked to remain with their kids during story time.
The Memphis Tigers play #7 Cincinnati on ESPN at 11. Cincinnati is in the hunt for a New Year’s Six bowl and is a dark horse for the CFP semifinals, so a road win over the Bearcats would be huge. Other games of interest today:
- Michigan State at #13 Michigan, 11 AM, FOX
- Mississippi State at #2 Alabama, 6 PM, ESPN
- Texas at #6 Oklahoma State, 3 PM, FOX
- Arkansas at #8 Texas A&M, 6:30 PM, SEC Network
In 38 years of watching professional wrestling, I have never seen a heel/bad guy as effective as Roman Reigns is right now. He’s on Smackdown on the Fox network 7-9 every Friday. If an ’80s wrestling connection helps, Reigns is the son of Sika the Wild Samoan and the self-appointed “Tribal Chief” of the large islander family.
Election prediction roundup this morning as of about 7:30:
- FiveThirtyEight electoral simulation: Biden a 90/10 favorite
- RealClearPolitics no toss-up states map: Biden 345, Trump 193; Trump gained 11 votes yesterday when Arizona flipped red
- Betting odds: Biden 63.8/Trump 35.3
I got hit with an unexpected expense (had to pay $70 to upgrade to Evernote Premium) so I’m going to stay home until after the election to make up the cost. Wednesday will be a going-out day though; I’ll either be drinking to celebrate, or to drown my sorrows, or out of frustration of not knowing an outcome. I plan to keep the blog going between now and then though. Check back tomorrow for more news.