Month: October 2020

Last night I asked my Facebook friends “What should I write about today?” I got a number of varied responses. Let’s get to them.

Not only was last week John Lennon’s 80th birthday, but yesterday was the 49th anniversary of “Imagine.”

One of my readers mentioned that Baldur’s Gate 3 was available on Steam and he thought it was interesting.

The folks at Wiseacre 2 at B.B. King and Butler wanted me to remind everyone that the taproom is open. A customer says the new sign is awesome.

Tonight is $12 Burger and a Beer night at Rizzo’s. Patio seating is available.

Here’s a plug for Black Sheep Meats at the request of my neighbor.

There’s a thing called Pasta, Plate and Pinot at Catherine & Mary’s. Their Facebook page has a menu for 10/6 so perhaps it’s a Tuesday night thing? …Okay, going to back to 9/29, also a Tuesday, there’s more info. Pasta, a plate of food, and a glass of wine for $25. Not bad. The menu for tomorrow has not been posted yet, but to give you an idea of what you get, here are the menus for the last two Tuesdays.

October 6

• Sourdough Panzenella | squash, pumpkin, walnuts, golden raisin agrodolce
• Gnudi | braised oxtail, beef shank, red wine
• Pinor Noir / Noah River

September 29

• Plate: Spin Rossa Polenta | mushrooms, gorgonzola, brown butter, panna gratta
• Lumache | bison
• Pinot Noir / Noah River

They tend to post their PPP menu in the 9:00 hour the day they run the Tuesday special. Keep in mind that’s after I’ve already left for work, so I won’t have the special posted here; you’ll need to check C & M’s Facebook page for the announcement of tomorrow’s special.

Cocozza’s hours now that they have the inside open for dining as well as the patio: Dinner Wed-Sat 4-9, brunch Sat 11-2. Sun 10-2.

Bass Pro is having a hiring event Thursday.

There was a suggestion that I mention a local rescue. Here are a few:

• ALIVE Rescue
• Team Memphis Rescue
• Sunny Meadows

Note that I am not a dog person, so I am not real familiar with any of these. Please do your own independent research if you consider adopting or fostering an animal from one of these.

From the DM: Hi-Tone reopens in its third location

Jennifer Biggs of the DM reports that Daniel Masters is shutting down his restaurants in Puck Food Hall this week. The kitchen is simply too expensive to operate. Bar 409 will survive, as will independent restaurants Sweet Magnolia, Lulu’s, and Dr. Bean’s. The Huling Station outdoor dining space next to Puck, serving its restaurants as well as Grecian Gourmet and Memphis Soul, will remain at least until the end of the month.

If you’re looking for something safe to do on Halloween, there will be Full Moon Kayaking on the river that night. Note that this event is for experienced paddlers only. The weather will probably have turned cold by then (avg. 69/49) and appropriate attire is necessary, with Halloween costumes encouraged.

There was a request to highlight new beers around town. I’ll have to take a rain check on that one. By the time the request came in, I’d already eaten dinner; therefore I couldn’t visit the Flying Saucer due to the incredibly stupid health department requirement that you must purchase food to be served alcohol. These silly rules are costing businesses money.

Entree choices at Paulette’s Monday night $19.95 3-course dinner tonight are smoked salmon cakes and grilled brochette of chicken.

Song currently stuck in my head: “Edelweiss” from The Sound of Music. Does it get any more random than that?

That’s it for this post. Back tomorrow with more.

 

 

Oh, man. I continue to have intense dreams as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on for the 7th month. This morning I got up at 5 AM and took 6 pages in a notebook journaling what went on in a dream I had last night. In the end I boiled the dream down to this statement:

Inner life is a constant struggle between

• The parent-in-you who “knows what’s best”
• The child-in-you who “feels what’s right”

I bet I could write a good post on Medium about that topic. Hell, it’s possibly a topic worthy of a book. Maybe even a series of books.

Bloomers with the win for Best Shirt at Bardog Tavern yesterday:

Tawanda Pirtle posted the hours for her new Feelin’ Memphis gift shop at 409 S. Main. If you haven’t seen it, scroll back to the previous post for plenty of photos! The hours are

• 9 AM-6 PM Monday-Friday
• 8 AM-4 PM Saturday-Sunday

James Aycock has posted his independent analysis of Shelby County COVID-19 data for the past week. We’re heading in the wrong direction once again. Testing is up, but cases are up by a larger percentage. He says at the end that he’s not advocating closing down again, and that he thought it was silly to treat restaurants and bars differently. (AGREE!) He just thinks going all-in on masking alone is not going to be enough. Looking at the COVID Act Now page for Shelby County, the reproduction rate is back up to 0.99 again, and we really need to keep that below 1. We’re up to 15.2 daily new cases per 100K, the highest we’ve seen since September 24.

For those of you who write code and might enjoy talking with others about your project, there’s a free online Code Together community coding session today 1-3 PM.

I have an idea for a Medium article to write, so time to sign out of here and get to work on that. Back tomorrow with more news.

Before we get on to photos – a lot of them – I want to post a clarification. The construction noise that kept many of my neighbors and me awake Friday morning was not coming from Residence Inn by Marriott at Main and Monroe. A representative of the hotel contacted me to let me know that although they do have construction going on there, contractors are only on site between 8 AM and 6 PM. The construction noise was from farther east down Monroe, around the buildings next to McEwen’s that are being renovated.

As for the Residence Inn renovation, they have upgraded the rooms and have only about 20 left to complete. The lobby will be finished next week and the rest of the rooms by Thanksgiving. Sounds great! Apologies to the hotel for mistakenly blaming them for the noise.

Now – I don’t normally post 19 hi-res photos all at once outside of BBQ Fest, but today it is going to be SO worth it! Yesterday afternoon I stopped by Tawanda Pirtle’s new gift shop Feelin’ Memphis at 509 S. Main. The store is absolutely loaded to the gills with all things Memphis. You simply MUST check it out!

Click any photo below to view in a higher resolution.

 

“Like” the gift shop on Facebook to keep up with the latest news. I forgot to ask Tawanda the hours. Typically gift shops in South Main are open 10 to 6.

As I got done snapping photos, I looked at my watch and saw that it was 4:28. That was perfect, since Max’s Sports Bar opens at 4:30. I walked around the corner onto G.E. Patterson for my first visit since February.

They have COVID-19 best practices down to a science at Max’s. When you walk in, Mike takes your temperature and has you scan a QR code. That brings up a Google Form on your phone, where you put in your name and number for contact tracing, record your temperature, and answer the COVID-19 questions that Health Directive No. 13 requires restaurants to ask. Since Mike knows what most of his regulars want, he’ll start pouring once you fill out the form, but your ass has to be in a seat before he’ll hand you a drink. Of course bar seating is closed because that’s where the health department thinks COVID hangs out.

As for indoor seating, the two tables nearest the door are open – the table by the outdoor serving window and the Jurassic Park corner table next to the group photos. The next two tables against the wall are taped off for social distancing, then there’s a 2-top, then most of the rail opposite the bar is taped off except for 2 stools at the end. If groups of 6 sit at the corner tables, that allows for an indoor capacity of about 16, with tons more room for additional guests outside. Although they’re not needed right now, Max has misting fans for the hot months and heat lamps for the cool ones.

To satisfy the incredibly stupid health department requirement that I must purchase food to order alcohol. I ordered queso and chips. I will repeat my statement that Max’s ranks up there with Maciel’s for best queso Downtown.

On to the news… next Thursday, October 15, Mighty Lights on the Hernando de Soto and Big River Crossing bridges will go pink and blue in observance of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Day. The lights will be brought to you by the Helen James Foundation.

Loflin Yard has announced its college football watch party schedule for today.

11:00 AM:

• Texas vs. Oklahoma (with sound)
• Florida vs. Texas A&M
• South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt

3:00 PM:

• Tennesse vs. Georgia (with sound. Go Dawgs!)
• Arkansas vs. Auburn
• LSU vs. Missouri

6:30 PM:

• Alabama vs. Ole Miss (with sound)
• Florida State vs. Notre Dame
• Mississippi State vs. Kentucky

The Memphis Made Brewing Co. taproom is back open! The hours are

• Wednesday 4-7
• Thursday 4-7
• Friday 4-10
• Saturday 1-10
• Sunday 1-7

Here are the things they are doing to keep patrons safe:

• You must wear a mask anytime you’re not seated (ordering a beer, going to the restroom, etc.) Employees will wear masks at all times.
• I’m going to quote this next one directly from their blog post: “No one under 21. This includes children.”
• No parties larger than six.
• They ask that you not move tables, which have been spaced out for proper social distance.
• No sitting at the bar.
• They ask that you remain seated as much as possible.
• They will sanitize between seatings.
• They will have compostable cups that you can recycle.

Hmmm… just thought of something… brewery taprooms aren’t restaurants. Does that mean you can consume beer there without the ridiculously stupid health department requirement that food must be purchased along with alcohol? If so, taprooms just moved up considerably on my priority list.

The latest prediction map has Tropical Depression Delta practically right on top of Oxford at 7 PM, having just been downgraded from a tropical storm and with the threat to spawn off tornadoes. Is the Bama-Ole Miss game really going to happen?

The folks at Rumba Room and Havana Mix were interviewed by Local Memphis on the Share the Tab program that will award $10,000 grants to restaurants affected by the pandemic.

Nashville artist SixForty1 plays Tin Roof tonight.

The Memphis Farmers Market has its fall fundraiser under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson, behind Malco Powerhouse, today from 8 AM to 1 PM. Purchase a Bounty Bag from the MFM table, then walk around and spend the gift cards in your bag. The fundraiser is presented in conjunction with Felicia Suzanne Restaurant.

Georgia flipped back to red in RealClearPolitics’ no toss-up states electoral map, reducing Biden’s advantage to 358-180.

That’s the news for today. Back tomorrow.

Tawanda Pirtle and her husband Cordell are about as Memphis as they come. They are co-owners of the local Jack Pirtle’s fried chicken chain. They are also longtime Downtowners. This week Tawanda announced her latest venture.

MEMPHIS continues to be a wonderful place to live and love…. please stop by and see me at our new little gift boutique at 509 S Main, DOWNTOWN MEMPHIS… ‘Feelin Memphis’… this store is open because a group of friends got together and brain storm during this PANDEMIC and worked really hard to make it happen.. ITS A WORK IN PROGRESS….we have a group of FABULOUS small business owners on South Main, we all are alittle different but WE ALL HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON… WE LOVE MEMPHIS AND LOVE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT to continue making OUR CITY known for truly what is it…. A CITY OF LOVE OF ALL MANKIND.

Please go by and support this wonderful new local business at 509 S. Main this weekend. This makes me want to hang out on Beale Street this weekend so I can tell all the tourists to go there.

Now, on not such a high note… what in the world is going on at Residence Inn by Marriott (the Wm. Len building) at Main and Monroe? They were shoveling and hammering all night. The noise woke me up multiple times throughout the night, including 12:30 and 4:45 which were the two times I glanced over at the alarm clock. If that continues to happen I am going to put a call in with the city.

Tomorrow is Makeda Day all day long at Makeda’s Cookies, 488 S. Second. $1 butter cookies all day.

The Memphis Fire Museum will host a scavenger hunt on Halloween from 9 AM to 3:30 PM so kids can have fun that day while remaining safe from COVID-19. Signup info

Y’all ready for some more food porn?

These are the Italian nachos at Silly Goose, which differ from the BBQ nachos on their toppings. These come with mozzarella, parmesan, feta, olives, mushrooms, and garlic creme. You can get them topped with chicken or pork for $12 full order/$8 half order, or add shrimp for $3 more. The pork comes from Black Sheep Meats and I strongly recommend it as your protein.

By the way… anyone who owns an iPhone 11 that can offer me some camera advice, I’d appreciate it. I can’t figure out why the troll’s face has been blurry in the past couple of photos. She’s very upset about it, thinking that she is the centerpiece of every photo and the food is just there as window dressing. Apparently I pushed a setting on the screen without realizing it. I need to search for an iPhone 11 manual I guess.

Memphis River Parks Partnership has presented an updated Tom Lee Park plan to the public. Notable quotable:

Coletta said getting rid of loud, chaotic driving on Riverside would help reduce noise. “If you’re trying to show how fast you can drive, Riverside Drive will not be an inviting place,” she said.

That sounds great, provided MPD has a plan to make sure Front Street does not become the alternate drag racing strip.

A child was shot at Tennessee and Huling Wednesday night.

Slider Inn Downtown weekend entertainment schedule:

• DJ Tree tonight 7-11
• Adam McClelland 1-4 Saturday
• 30 Minute Egg 6-9 Saturday
• DJ Mad FX 8-11 Saturday
• Turnstyles 1-4 Sunday
• Adam McClelland 6-9 Sunday

Due to Hurricane Delta the Ole Miss-Alabama kickoff time has been moved from 5 PM to 6:30 PM.

Delta has also caused LSU’s home game vs. Missouri to be moved to Columbia.

Starting today the Majestic Grille reopens inside as Cocozza (DM subscriber-only link). The owners Patrick & Deni Reilly say the Majestic will be back, but they will only bring it back when they can bring it back fully as people love and remember it.

My writing career on Medium.com continues to go well. In the first 8 days of October, I earned more than the previous 35 days as a published author on that site. I am building relationships with fellow writers on there and am getting their advice on picking up freelance copywriting and editing jobs on Upwork and Fiverr. Probably I will use the Thanksgiving holiday to rewrite my resume and LinkedIn page and build a portfolio, then start picking up gigs after that.

Biden is now an 85/15 favorite in FiveThirtyEight’s electoral simulation, another new record. For my Texas Hold’em playing friends, this is the equivalent of Trump going all-in pre-flop without looking at his cards and knowing that Biden has pocket Aces. The simulation still projects Pennsylvania as the tipping-point state and Biden is an 86/14 favorite there. Providing extra electoral votes to Bliden beyond the tipping-point state will be Nebraska-2 (Biden a 74/26 favorite), Florida (Biden a 71/29 favorite), Arizona (Biden 67/33), North Carolina (Biden 61/39), and Ohio (Biden 53/47). The next state would be Georgia (Trump 53/47). The Trump campaign is in deep trouble if Ohio and Georgia are the true toss-up states.

I have an exciting day at work, and after that my plan is to get down to South Main and see Tawanda’s new gift shop. While I’m down there, I will enjoy a beverage (and of course, food, thanks to the stupid rule in Health Directive 13) at a local establishment, either Slider Inn or Max’s Sports Bar. Back tomorrow with more news.

 

 

If you need transportation getting to the polls on November 3 for Election Day, the city wants to help. This week the city council approved free rides on MATA transportation that day.

The Downtown Dinner + Music Series comes to Huling Station’s outdoor dining area this evening 5-7.

• Southern Avenue (the band) at Main and Huling
• Marvin Frank at Main and Pontotoc
• J Buck at the I AM A MAN mural on Main
• Michelle Shrader at Main and Pontotoc

Shelby County poll worker job fair for the November 3 election is this morning!

Tomorrow at 10:30 AM, we will host the #ShelbyVotes Virtual Job Fair for poll worker & absentee ballot processor positions. Register for the job fair to learn more about the opportunity to earn a paycheck and serve our community on election day: https://t.co/4aPsL1dqgt pic.twitter.com/8CKbkv0KJk

— Mayor Lee Harris (@MayorLeeHarris) October 7, 2020

A company called Pabst Labs is now producing a new drink called PBR Cannabis. It tastes like PBR and has no alcohol but does have a dose of THC. Not sold in Memphis yet, because it isn’t legal here.

Johnny Maestro plays Momma’s Saturday at 7.

American Athletic Conference basketball teams including Memphis will play a 20-game, double round-robin schedule beginning in December.

With restaurants now allowed to stay open until midnight, the Blind Bear has published its late-night menu. It’s available from 10 PM until last call at 11:45 PM. (Click to view in a larger size)

A Daily Memphian article about a Summer Avenue drop-in center for prostitutes claims that one of the top areas in Memphis for prostitution is Beale and B.B. King.

The Memphis Flyer shared favorite places to get tacos, and a Downtown restaurant made the list. Bianca Phillips, communications coordinator for for Crosstown Arts, recommended the black bean tacos at Evelyn & Olive out in The Edge District on Madison.

Biden is now up to an 84/15 favorite in RealClearPolitics’ election simulator, another new record high this political season. Once he recovers from COVID-19, the Trumpster is going to need to throw a Hail Mary.

That’s it for today. I haven’t been out after work since Monday so perhaps I will go have a beverage this afternoon. Back tomorrow with more news.

The Health Department released Health Directive 13 yesterday afternoon, and it went into effect at midnight. The biggest changes for restaurants and bars:

• They can now serve until midnight and must have everyone out by 12:30 AM; this is a gain of two hours from Health Directive 12
• They can now seat parties of 8 together; previously it was parties of 6

However, they did not relax the food-related rules, meaning the stupid requirement that you must purchase food to be served alcohol, and the stupid rule that food service should not exceed two hours. I had hoped these rules would end up in the dumpster.

Bar seating is still closed, but that’s less of a concern since table seating is now allowed at bar areas.

Restaurants are still required to take contact tracing information. I want to point out a minor thing I have observed restaurants doing wrong here. They are letting customers write their own names and phone numbers on the tracing sheets. That means multiple people are handling the same pen without it being sanitized between uses. I know it’s extra work, but you really gotta have an employee write down the names.

Dancing is still prohibited unless it’s outdoors and six feet of space is maintained between parties from different households.

Good news for sporting event attendees though… the distance between groups at venues has been reduced to 6 feet. As a result, the U of M will increase capacity at Tigers home games to about 12,000.

County Mayor Harris announced a 901 Student Passport program, allowing students to visit museums for free since they won’t be going there on field trips this year. Participating museums include

• The Fire Museum of Memphis
• Memphis Rock ‘n Soul Museum
• National Civil Rights Museum
• Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum
• Lichterman Nature Center
• Dixon Gardens & Gallery
• Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
• Pink Palace Museum of Science and History

Present your student passport at each location and get it stamped. You can send in your completed passport with all 8 stamps to receive a gift from Mayor Harris.

As part of the program, the Dixon is offering free memberships to Shelby County teachers.

The Memphis Flyer profiles The Big Guy, Chef Keun Anderson, a name well known in South Main kitchens. He runs his own business selling cheesecakes and other cuisine online, including a meal prep program he started during the pandemic shutdown. Currently the kitchen manager at Slider Inn Downtown, he has previously worked at Belle Tavern, Loflin Yard, and Arrive Inn/Longshot.

Give 901 Shelf Life a “Like” on Facebook. It’s a Downtown business featuring custom-made farmhouse-style woodwork. Among its offerings are

• Wall hangings
• Wine bottle holders
• Dog feeding stations inscribed with the dog’s name
• Cat sitting posts
• Tables
• Benches
• Storage boxes
• … and as the name implies, shelves

Here’s an organization I did not know existed: Tennessee Association of Railroad Passengers. They advocate for better access to passenger rail service and public transportation. The organization has been around for 41 years.

Keith Paluso, lead singer of Blood, Sweat & Tears and known from “The Voice,” will play an intimate session at South Main Sounds Friday at 6:30 PM. Limited seating inside, unlimited seating online.

Amber Rae Dunn and Shufflegrit play the Central Station patio next to the railroad tracks Saturday 7:30-9:30 PM. There will be plenty of safe, social distanced seating.

Turnstyles plays the Slider Inn Downtown patio Sunday 1-4 PM.

Nick Scott, owner of Alchemy, discusses making it through pandemic shutdowns and also his new restaurant, Salt | Soy, on The Daily Memphian’s Sound Bites podcast. Sound Bites will be broadcast every Thursday on WYXR 91.7 FM. More about WYXR

Here’s a drinking game for the Mike Pence-Kamala Harris vice-presidential debate tonight. There’s a bingo card for those who want to play along without drinking. The debate will be at 8 PM in Salt Lake City, moderated by USA Today’s Susan Page. It will be broadcast on ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, and PBS, and streamed online.

The DM’s Jennifer Biggs headed Downtown this week for a $10 Lunch pick: Lab gyro with pita chips and hummus from Grecian Gourmet. She and her colleague ate at the new Huling Station outdoor dining area, where you can order from your table.

Guitar legend Eddie Van Halen passed away yesterday at 65.

Hurricane Delta has hit Cancun and Cozumel in Mexico. Weather.com’s latest prediction map has the hurricane regaining strength to 130 MPH then making landfall on the middle Louisiana cost Friday afternoon. Memphis will see the worst of the weather Saturday PM, and it looks like what’s left of the eye is predicted to go right over Oxford… hmmm, does Ole Miss have a home game Saturday? Yep, they sure do, hosting #2 Alabama at 5 PM. Wonder if that will have to be moved up to an 11 AM slot somehow.

No going out for me today… I want to stay home and watch the debate. Back tomorrow with more news.

Primas Bakery + Boutique has its cookie and cake offerings for Halloween on its website. You can pre-order 48 hours or more in advance and schedule a pick-up date and time during the checkout process.

Edible Memphis reports that Home Place Pastures is a new vendor at the Memphis Farmers Market. They’ll offer beef, lamb, and pork products as well as sausage at their booth at the Market, which runs every Saturday 8-1 under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson in October. Home Place Pastures is a family farm raising animals ethically in Como, Mississippi.

There are reports on Nextdoor of people pounding on front doors in South Bluffs then running away before the door can be answered. Not clear if this is a teenage prank, or thieves trying to get an idea if people are home. There have been thefts in that area, so be on guard.

The Daily Memphian has an in-depth look at contact tracing for COVID-19 in Shelby County. If you get a call from the Health Department, please answer or give them a call back, and be forthcoming providing information. It could save lives.

The Shelby County Election Commission will hold a virtual job fair for poll workers Thursday. These are paid positions and it’s community service that looks good on a resume.

The Tigers will be back on national TV a week from Saturday. The October 17 game vs. UCF at the Liberty Bowl will be broadcast on ABC with a 2:30 kickoff.

Biden is an 82/17 favorite to win the presidency in FiveThirtyEight’s latest election simulation. That’s the highest I have seen it this year. RealClearPolitics shows that Biden has jumped to a 9.2% national lead in their composite of all the polls.

From Good Morning America: 102-year-old woman who cast her ballot in PPE says nobody should have an excuse

That’s it for this post. I am not sure if I will be able to watch the COVID-19 press conference today at noon. Possibly I will be back this afternoon to write about what’s in Health Directive No. 13 if it is issued today.

Finally got in the bear to try the risotto last night. Rich and creamy and loaded with seafood. Easily my favorite thing from the new menu so far.

That’s all I’ve got for right now. I might do a second post this afternoon. If not, back tomorrow.

(If you never owned a CB radio, you probably didn’t get the headline)

I turned in early last night, and therefore missed a text from a friend of mine. My response might be useful to others, so I will respond here.

It’s 10:45 [PM] and the party bikes are going full volume at Main and Union. Is that allowed?

According to what I’ve heard in recent COVID-19 task force press conferences, party pedal bikes are allowed to operate as of Health Directive No. 12 which allowed bars (limited-services restaurants) and other venues serving alcohol to reopen. However, I specifically remember county health officer Dr. Bruce Randolph saying

• No alcohol should be consumed while customers are riding the bike
• There should be no singing
• There should be no yelling

If you witness violations of these regulations, get out your phone and get it on video, with sound, and send it to the Shelby County Health Department.

Also in COVID news: Race organizers, please keep your runners social distanced before the race begins! Yesterday I received a message from a Downtown business owner. There was a race happening not far from her business, and during the pre-race registration there was almost no social distancing and masking. Both she and her husband, co-owners of the business, are of the age that puts them in a high risk category for coronavirus. Out of concerns that runners would come in their shop, and bring COVID with them, they closed their shop early.

You remember Friday when the media reported that Trump was admitted to the hospital “merely as a precautionary measure?” Well, now we are learning that his blood oxygen level dropped dangerously low Friday and Trump was hospitalized because of concern over that measure. We were only told that once Trump recovered to the point that his oxygen levels were back to normal and he had no fever. Come on media and White House spokespeople, do your jobs. This is not North Korea and our head of state is not Kim Jong Un.

A parade organized by supporters of Trump proceeded as planned yesterday, starting in Downtown Memphis and crossing the I-55 bridge into Arkansas.

Attorney General Barr will not quarantine despite exposure to the coronavirus. IDIOT.

The Memphis Tigers gave up any chance they had to return to a New Year’s Six Bowl, if such a thing event exists this season, with a 30-27 loss at SMU yesterday.

Today is the 50th anniversary of the death of Janis Joplin.

How bout them Hogs! They scored a 21-14 victory over 16th-ranked Mississippi State yesterday.

The International Downtown Association will present the Downtown Memphis Commission its Downtown Achievement Pinnacle Award this month for DMC’s Open on Main initiative. The DMC leases vacant storefronts on Main and subleases them to business wanting to test the Downtown waters before they consider opening a permanent location.

FINALLY I found a website that reports the reproduction rate of the virus in Shelby County: Covid Act Now. Thanks to Omer Yusuf of the DM whose article today contained the link. Man, that link is going on my bookmarks bar! All kinds of good info. You can even sign up for emails when there are significant changes to COVID-19 data in your state or county.

Speaking of great, independent COVID-19 information, here’s James Aycock’s weekly wrap-up Twitter thread from yesterday.

If you’ve missed FreeWorld this year, you can catch them tonight at 6 at Railgarten.

That’s it for this post. Now it’s time to do some writing for Medium. I have two topics ready to go, several more to mine for ideas, and my #1 writing assistant standing on my desk to help. Back tomorrow with more news.

I’ve made a decision.

I’m not going to go out on Halloween. Not even for a little Saturday day-drinking.

Health Directive No. 13, said to be issued this coming week, will likely relax the restrictions on restaurants and bars in Shelby County, and rightly so. It’s time. Transmission rates are down and these places need to make their money. We can’t hold up because there’s a holiday several weeks away.

That said, I think a lot of bad decisions are going to be made on Halloween. Although it’s not quite Amateur Night on the level of New Year’s Eve, St. Patrick’s Day, and Music Fest, it’s close. People will be tempted to get out and get one really big party in before it turns cold. I anticipate there will be a lack of social distancing. A lot of people will use the holiday as an excuse to skip the mask, unless it’s a costume mask. Costumes will hake hand washing more challenging than usual.

As County Health Officer Dr. Bruce Randolph likes to say, just because an activity is permissible, does not mean it is advisable. I see his point as his advice relates to Halloween. So, I will gather up a few good writing topics, order some to-go food from a restaurant, and stay home. Also, when I go out the week of November 1-7, I am going to take extra care to keep 6 feet distance from those who did party on Halloween.

I’d like to encourage each of you to think about whether it’s worth it to be out on the 31st. If the urge to go out and have fun is too great to resist, go for it. But remember, not even Mr. Tangerine Man in the White House is safe from COVID.

From The Daily Memphian: Bar owners say it’s time for a midnight curfew. I would agree, but I also think it’s time to get rid of the stupid food requirements that accompany alcohol. I went to dinner with friends at Pontotoc Lounge last night. As I walked home the doorman and server at the Blind Bear waved at me. I wanted to go in for a quick beer and say hello to everyone, but there’s no such thing as a quick beer… it has to be a beer and food costing more than the beer. I am so sick of it all. That food purchase won’t make a damn bit of difference whether I or anyone else catches COVID.

Memphis plays SMU on ESPN2 at 2:30 today. Tennessee plays at 11, so I guess the old poots will be getting to Max’s early today to get their corner table. Big games today:

• 13 Texas A&M vs. 2 Alabama, 2:30, CBS
• 7 Auburn vs. 4 Georgia, 6:30, ESPN

I would say both games have national title implications, but is there even going to be a national championship game this year? Who knows.

Wanna be a hipster? Since I write for the Medium platform, I read a lot on there too, and the latest hipster trend on there is Stoicism. Not sure what that is? Wikipedia to the rescue:

Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BC. It is a philosophy of personal ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world. According to its teachings, as social beings, the path to eudaimonia (happiness, or blessedness) is found in accepting the moment as it presents itself, by not allowing oneself to be controlled by the desire for pleasure or fear of pain, by using one’s mind to understand the world and to do one’s part in nature’s plan, and by working together and treating others fairly and justly.

But yeah, if you put “trying my best to practice Stoicism in today’s world” in your Medium profile description, you win big brownie points on there for being hip. You also win brownie points for “pronouns: he/him” (or “she/her” or “they/them”) in your profile.

One thing, though: If you practice Stoicism, I think it’s pretty much mandatory to grow a beard. Kind of like, it’s mandatory to grow a beard if you work at a craft brewery. I wonder if a lot of brewers are Stoics.

My earnings for September, my first full month on Medium, were $8.30. That sounds like crap but its actually very good. Some of the writers who routinely earn four figures a month on that website made in the range of $5 their first full month.

Memphis 901 FC wraps up its home schedule with a match against Birmingham Legion FC tonight at 7. Memphis is far out of the playoffs so this will be your last chance to see the squad until the 2021 season.

There’s a vegan pop-up on Lew’s Blue Note on Beale Street today 2-7 PM. Beyond Burgers, oyster mushroom burgers, vegan corn dogs, nachos, Italian Beyond sausage, Mexican street corn, and more.

Dumas Walker Band plays Tin Roof tonight at 6:30.

Coronavirus protections on Air Force One are being questioned following The Hate Pumpkin’s diagnosis with the illness this week. The pumpkin’s advisor Hope Hicks also tested positive and she was seen interacting with many people who were not wearing masks on the plane.

Although 14 days is a standard incubation period is 14 days, some people are debilitated by COVID-19 for weeks longer. Trump might be out of commission until after Election Day.

Back tomorrow with more news. Bardog and possibly Momma’s are on my tentative agenda for today.