Health Directive No. 15 has been released

Health Directive No. 15

Effective Monday at 12:01 AM. THANK YOU to the Shelby County Health Department for no longer using midnight as the effective minute, making it unclear which day was meant. I have the sneaking suspicion someone on the task force reads this blog.

For restaurants, this is not nearly as bad as it could have been. Changes from Health Directive No. 14:

  • Closing time is moved back to 10 PM
  • Capacity is reduced to 50%; of course, with social distancing, most restaurants were near 50% already
  • Groups at the same table are limited to a maximum of 6 (4 adults) who must all be from the same household
  • Smoking indoors at any establishment is prohibited

No distinction is made between full-service and limited-service restaurants.

It sounds like my friends in the industry have largely dodged a bullet. This is nowhere as bad as it could have been. The bureaucrats found a way to say they did something (which is the reason their jobs exist) without inflicting severe economic harm to an entire industry.

The gyms dodged a bullet too. I thought they were looking at certain closure.

I made one additional comment above but then deleted it because I think someone on the task force reads my blog. Ask me in person about it if you see me.

Back in the morning with more news.

Friday update

Man, I gotta feel bad for Shelby County Health Department Director Dr. Alisa Haushalter, Assistant Director David Sweat, and County Health Officer Dr. Bruce Randolph. They have some difficult choices to make this week.

I’m gonna say what no one wants to hear… from purely a fighting-the-coronavirus standpoint, not taking economics or sentiment into it at all, the appropriate course of action would be a 4-week Safer at Home order.

If it were January 6 or January 23 or February 12, I think they would do that. However, doing it now means casting themselves as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas… or Thanksgiving. Yet the virus doesn’t care what holidays we celebrate.

The health officials presented their recommendations to mayors of Shelby County municipalities yesterday morning… and the suburban mayors fought back. So, if you’re able to spend next Friday off work at a bar, thank Germantown mayor Mike Palazzolo and Bartlett mayor Keith McDonald.

In the press conference yesterday, Dr. Randolph saying they are trying to find a middle path between shutting everything down and letting the virus rage with no restrictions in place. He talked like there would be some kind of limit on the number of people in restaurants, but I did not get the sense that any would be closed down. He said a new health directive would be issued no later than Monday, and could be issued today if agreement is reached. WREG reports that several mayors and business leaders think it will be issued today.

Here’s a link to James Aycock’s excellent mid-week COVID data analysis.

The marketing staff at the Memphis Zoo finally got to do something they’ve been wanting to do for a year: Name a baby animal after Grizzlies breakout star point-guard Ja Morant. The baby’s name is Ja Raffe. I will leave it up to you to figure out what kind of animal the baby is.

Happy birthday to President-Elect Joe Biden!

The rescheduled performance of Farewell Angelina takes place tonight at the Halloran Centre. The country trio will perform in a socially distanced setting. Tickets for the original October date will be honored.

The Memphis Farmers Market presents a Turkey Day Market tomorrow from 9 AM to 1 PM. Late fall produce will be available, as will packaged foods and crafts. If you get hungry, food trucks will be on hand. The MemphisWeather.net forecast has the low dropping to only 53 tonight with a high of 70 tomorrow, so it should be a beautiful day to shop outdoors. The Market is located under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson behind the Power House movie theater.

Big River Crossing Half Marathon and 5K is tomorrow.

Memphis Symphony Orchestra will perform a free show at Wiseacre Downtown tomorrow 2-3 PM. Limited indoor seating is available, unless a new health directive goes into effect.

The MBJ has a slideshow of the Museum Lofts Apartments, just north of the National Civil Rights Museum.

I did not know there was a style of design called Memphis… see this Financial Times article.

Stacks & Rowell take the stage at 7:30 tonight at Momma’s.

Rodell McCord plays Tin Roof at 8 tonight.

In case you missed it… Donald Trump’s number-one flying monkey sweated hair dye at a press conference this week.

Georgia has completed its recount and has declared Joe Biden the winner of its 16 electoral votes. With that announcement, Joe Biden has defeated Donald Trump 306 electoral votes to 232.

We shall see whether a health directive gets issued today… I kinda hope they wait until Monday, just so the Facebook “health experts” have something to whine about all weekend. Back later today or tomorrow with more news.

Thursday update

Memphis-related draft results:

  • Former Tigers center James Wiseman was selected with the number 3 pick by the Golden State Warriors. That was where he expected and wanted to go. Get ready for Steph, Klay, Dray, and Big Ticket next season.
  • Former Tigers power forward Precious Achiuwa was selected number 20 by the Miami Heat. Geoff Calkins of the DM notes that although he fell a few places below expectations, Miami is the perfect place to develop a player like Achiuwa.
  • The Grizzlies traded two future second-round picks to the Boston Celtics to move up to #30 and selected 6’5″ TCU shooting guard Desmond Bane with the final first-round pick.
  • The Grizzlies traded a future second-rounder and the 2020 #40 pick to Sacramento to select 6’9″ Michigan State center Xavier Tillman. Jaren Jackson Jr. went to college with Tillman and is said to be ecstatic about his former teammate joining him in Beale Street Blue.

Downtown Wiseacre’s taproom will soon house a pizza and snack bar called Little Bettie, the latest brainchild of Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman. Parker Rose will run the kitchen. He was Hog & Hominy’s pizza chef, and Downtowners will remember him as the original pizza chef at the Silly Goose.

From the CA: Where to get a free meal this Thanksgiving

People who shopped using Amazon Smile donated $10 million to St. Jude last year, and I’m proud to report I was one of them. It’s easy to set up, and Amazon makes a donation to St. Jude (or other charity of your choice) every time you shop with them.

Handy Park at B.B. King and Beale will host A Holly Jolly Holiday Celebration 4:30-6:30 PM December 4 and 11. Santa will be available for pictures in his socially distanced snowglobe, and there will be hot chocolate and holiday music in the newly renovated park. Anyone over the age of 2 must wear a mask.

From the Memphis Business Journal: What you need to know about Ray Brown, the man who will soon run DMC.

One more reminder to follow the City of Memphis on Facebook to get a notification when the noon COVID-19 task force press conference is about to begin. This could be a big press conference for all the wrong reasons. “People are too stupid to wear masks and stay home when they have symptoms, so we’re going to punish restaurants and gyms” is going to be the message, I’m afraid. Government bureaucrats have to be able to say they did something.

Daniel Masters, owner of Silly Goose, was interviewed by Fox 13, where he quite correctly pointed out that the going-out crowd won’t stop going out if the bars are shut down. They’ll go to house parties instead, where there will be no enforcement of COVID regulations whatsoever.

Tonight is the Mighty Wurlitzer Homecoming at the Orpheum. This is a free show and there will be social distanced seating.

Worth a click just for the photo: Man arrested after stealing $12 of incense. I can’t figure out which one he is, Violent J or Shaggy 2 Dope.

Construction on the Loews convention center hotel Downtown has been put on hold because of the pandemic. COVID RUINS EVERYTHING.

Tug’s will be open for Thanksgiving, unless the health department says otherwise:

That’s it for this post. We will wait and see what the COVID task force says. Possibly back this afternoon with more news.

Wednesday update

I tuned into the Shelby County COVID-19 task force press conference yesterday, and oh boy, things did not sound promising. 835 cases, from test dates ranging from November 11 through yesterday, were reported yesterday. According to a report in the Daily Memphian, that swells the 7-day rolling average of new cases to 402.

Michigan and Washington reimposed strict restrictions on businesses over the weekend to fight COVID, and yesterday Gov. Gavin Newsom of California did the same for 40 counties. That brought the question, “Will restrictions be reintroduced to Shelby County?” Health Department Director Dr. Haushalter’s response was to look at the tripwires in Health Directive No. 14. So let’s do just that and see where we stand.

Restrictions will be reimposed if

  • Rolling one-week average of new cases/day exceeds 450 (currently 402)
  • Rate of new cases increasing by 40% or more over two weeks: So, two weeks ago, were we below 402 / 1.4 = 287 new cases/day? The 11/3/2020 7-day moving average was 294. See data dashboard. So very close, but no cigar. Could very well hit the 40% wire this week.
  • R-nought, the reproductive rate, greater than 1.4. COVID Act Now has R-nought at 1.22 for Shelby County this morning.
  • Positivity rate greater than 18%. Okay, now that there are case positivity rates and test positivity rates, it’s unclear which that statistic refers to. COVID Act Now has the rate at 11.1% and I believe that is a test positivity rate. The data dashboard shows a 19.9% case positivity rate for the most recent period reported.

Now we’ve heard from the task force that the tripwires are not joined by an AND, or an OR. They are taken as a universe of criteria, and other external factors can be considered as well. Two external factors play an important role.

David Sweat, the assistant director of the health department, said that contact tracing has found that transmission is most likely to occur in three settings: Gatherings of friends or non-household members, gyms, and restaurants. The common denominator is that masks tend to be off in all three. As for restaurants, he said it wasn’t a case of identifying clusters at particular restaurants, but just a general trend linking dining in to spread of COVID-19.

The second external factor is that Thanksgiving is next week. That’s a holiday that leads to many gatherings outside people’s households. Also, many people (myself included) don’t cook at home and dine out at restaurants – and, as I mentioned, Thanksgiving Eve is traditionally one of the biggest party nights of the year.

So, the Health Department could glom on to the 19.9% case positivity rate, declare that a wire has been tripped, and shut things down in tomorrow’s press conference. Or, they could take a wait-and-see approach over the weekend – but announcing a shutdown the week of Thanksgiving could be a financial burden to the restaurants, who would have already put food orders into their distributors to cover the holiday period.

My best advice to my readers? Start coming up with a Plan B for Thanksgiving, just in case they do go ahead and shut it all down tomorrow.

If you’re on Twitter and don’t already follow independent Shelby County COVID data analyst James Aycock, do so now. He usually releases a mid-week data analysis update on Wednesdays and I will be very interested to read his take later today. Nobody (except a few people on Facebook) really wants us to shut down sectors of business again, but it’s looking inevitable.

Look what I found at the Silly Goose yesterday!

PBR Extra is Pabst Blue Ribbon’s high-alcohol beer, the Pabst equivalent of Bud Ice. It clocks in at 6.5%, 1.5% more than the standard PBR. At first, Extra tasted just like regular PBR to me, but as time went on I began to notice a sugary aftertaste, similar to that of Jolt Cola, screaming, “This is really bad for you.” I couldn’t finish the second one. I will switch back to regular PBR today. There’s about a case left, so get by the Goose while they still have it.

Jeannette is polling her customers on whether to open the Blind Bear regular hours on Thanksgiving for those who won’t be spending the holiday with their families. As long as it doesn’t inconvenience any employees I would be all for it. To me, that would be spending Thanksgiving with family.

In other Blind Bear news, they have hoodies for $35. Most of the first print batch is spoken for, but if you’re interested in one, let Jeannette know and maybe they’ll do another run.

NBA trade season is getting interesting… James Harden declined his $50M/year extension with the Rockets yesterday and appears to be headed to the Brooklyn Nets to join Kyrie Irving and his former teammate Kevin Durant. Daaaamn that’s going to be a superteam. I must say it will be a relief to have The Beard out of the Western Conference and therefore farther removed from the Grizzlies.

The NBA draft is tonight and the Grizzlies have the #40 pick. Grizzly Bear Blues has a draft roundtable.

Action News 5 has a sneak peek at the new Renasant Convention Center. The goal with the new center is to host more than one 1000-1500 person convention at a time. That’ll bring badly-needed dollars to the Downtown economy.

Sad to hear that Tommy Pacello, an enthusiastic developer in the Memphis Medical District, passed away from pancreatic cancer this week. Pacello had a hand in such projects as Boxlot and the Tennessee Brewery revival. He was also on MATA’s Board of Commissioners.

Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum on N. Second is featured in this week’s 5 Star Story on WMC Action News 5.

That’s it for now. Off to work, then I will get out and enjoy Memphis’ restaurants while I still can – although I will do it safely, social distanced and with my mask on whenever not at my table. Back tomorrow with more news.

Tuesday update

So, listen up, folks. I want to have a talk with my readers this morning. I know I have a lot of people keep up with this blog to find out the best places to go out Downtown on a given night of the week. I’m sure many of you have your eye on Thanksgiving Eve, the Wednesday that is one of the biggest going-out nights of the year.

Now, understand… I’m not one of the preachy preachies when it comes to COVID. I don’t change my Twitter display name to “Paul Ryburn says wear a mask!” in times like these. I don’t get on Facebook and imply that you’re selfish and you don’t care about human life if you go do anything fun. I can’t stand that kind of judgmental attitude.

However, two states have gone back into lockdown, and more could follow. Washington state shut most everything down with numbers not close to as bad as Shelby County (click links for comparison). Now, I don’t see the Health Department shutting us down before the holiday weekend is over, but it’s worth acknowledging that the numbers are bad enough where it wouldn’t be a horrible decision.

So, I wanna run something by ya. The bars and restaurants will be as packed as they legally can be Wednesday night, teeming with people and potentially COVID. And they have to shut down at midnight, so the party will be over before it really gets started. So I have a suggestion…

Why not day drink instead?

Most people who work 8-to-5 rat race jobs have Friday off, and some have Wednesday as well. If you’ve never experienced the joy of hanging out at the bars in the morning, it’s a lot of fun. Why not make an adventure of it?

Momma’s, the Aldo restaurant at Crump and Kentucky, opens at 6:30 AM for breakfast (I don’t believe they can serve alcohol until 8).

Bardog opens at 8:00 AM.

Blind Bear opens at 10:00 AM with full brunch menu every day.

These places will not be crowded and you’ll be able to space out from others. As long as you keep your mask on until seated and put it on anytime you get up from your table, your potential exposure to the virus should be low (disclaimer, though: I am not a licensed physician and this is not medical advice).

There’s a business philosophy out there – you can be better than, you can be less than, or you can be different than. Going out Wednesday night of next week is not going to be better than most years, so why not turn your holiday partying into a different-than kind of experience?

On to the news. Here’s Jimbo from Mempho with info.

FedExForum has had its 2021 hosting of part of March Madness taken away, specifically a weekend of the South Regional. The NCAA wants to centralize the tournament in one location due to COVID, which is smart. March Madness will return to Memphis in 2024.

From Scoop Memphis: A man was charged with urinating on the freezer door at the Checkers in the Medical District

Musician Amber Rae Dunn performs a Tuesday Telethon online tonight at 6:30 from South Main Sounds, hoping to raise money to get her to a studio in Nashville so she can cut 3-4 new songs.

I took the Enneagram personality test yesterday, just for kicks. I’m primarily a 5, then a 4, then an 8. Still trying to fully comprehend what that means.

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

Monday update

If you’ve got $9 million burning a hole in your back pocket, you can own a gas station and convenience store. The gas station at 300 Poplar is for sale. That’s at the corner of Poplar and N. Lauderdale, just west of Danny Thomas Blvd. It looks like a Chester’s Fried Chicken franchise comes as part of the package; just ask the owner of Bluefin what a sweet deal that is. And just think, your store would be the first place people would stop after getting out of 201. You’re pulling out the checkbook, aren’t you?

From Action News 5: A drunk driver crashed his vehicle into a trolley station on the Main Street Mall. This happened Saturday night and the driver had been involved in a previous accident at Poplar and Danny Thomas.

Let’s hear it for the good guys: Chef Tam of Chef Tam’s Underground Cafe out in The Edge District fed the homeless in Morris Park this past weekend.

New South Main-area restaurant to follow on Facebook: By the Brewery. Looks like they’ve got breakfast and lunch sandwiches including a chicken biscuit sandwich and a Reuben, both with homemade pickles. 496 Tennessee Street.

Pro wrestling fans, here is a Twitter account you need to follow.

Slow news day, as Mondays often are. Back tomorrow.

Sunday update

This is not going to be the most exciting blog post, I’ll warn you. There just isn’t much going on, and what is going on either is stuff I’ve previously blogged about already, or it just isn’t that interesting.

Tomorrow’s Willie Nelson concert at the Orpheum has been postponed.

WREG has coverage of the march to end gun violence that happened Downtown yesterday.

Another vintage Memphis item has popped up on eBay. It’s an authentic 1980s Mud Island T-shirt. They’re asking $36.99 for it.

Shelby County Health Officer Dr. Bruce Randolph said Thursday that if you are in a crowd of 100 people in Shelby County, 3 or 4 of them could be infected with COVID-19. Those of you in the process of deciding whether to attend large family holiday gatherings or Friendsgiving events might want to keep that statistic in mind.

I still want to get a group together to Lyft down to Hernando’s Hideaway in Whitehaven to check out Chicken Shit Bingo one of these Sundays. Probably not gonna be today though.

Here’s the weekly link to James Aycock’s COVID week in review. Notable: In two weeks, we are on track to surpass our highest COVID numbers from the summer. Also notable: Thanksgiving, when lots of family gatherings will occur, is two weeks away.

Thanks to Rep. Steve Cohen for tweeting this video:

I had heard about it but hadn’t seen it. It appears that the Trumpster is no longer bothering to dye his hair orange. He knows it’s game over and just doesn’t care anymore. This is a sign of narcissistic collapse.

This could be why Trump’s mood is so glum: USA TODAY reports that Republican electors in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin won’t participate in a Trump-devised scheme to flip their states to vote for Trump.

The AP electoral map now has called North Carolina for Trump, making the race Biden 290, Trump 232 with 270 electoral votes needed to win and Georgia’s 16 electoral votes still unclaimed but leaning Biden.

Those who I talk to about my professional writing know that I’ve struggled to come up with an idea recipe. I finally hit it this morning, one that will allow me to generate a writing topic whenever I need. Pretty damn jazzed because I’ve been going through a major case of writer’s block since the beginning of October.

That’s it. Back tomorrow with more news.

Motivational Saturday, news, and a lexicon

I like doing Motivational Saturdays on my blog a lot more than Motivational Mondays. They may not have the alliteration but you can day-drink while you read my post.

Yesterday, I read another writer’s article and by the time I got done, I thought it far over-delivered on the value promised in the title. I commented. “Your article made me feel like I just got home from the fast-food restaurant and found an extra order of fries in my bag.”

That’s my challenge to you, my reader, for the coming week. Whatever it is you do, make someone feel like you gave them an extra order of fries.

The big news of the past 24 hours is that the Memphis Grizzlies will allow some fans in FedExForum for the NBA season that tips off December 22. FedExForum has published a list of policy changes that will allow it to successfully reopen in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Changes include a full move to paperless ticketing and only prepackaged individual concessions to be sold. Grizzlies game attendance is expected to be around 20% of building capacity.

For those ready to get in the Grizzlies spirit, Grizzly Bear Blues has a story on how the Grizzlies can benefit by helping other teams out of the luxury tax this season. Doing so last season led to the acquisition of Andre Iguodala and Dwight Howard, which the team eventually flipped for draft picks and assets.

If you want to be on the cutting edge of science, Memphians are sought to participate in a trial of a COVID-19 vaccine produced by a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

Would you believe there are no ranked vs. ranked college football games on today? Memphis-Navy, Bama-LSU, and Texas A&M-Tennessee are all postponed due to COVID outbreaks. That moved the Arkansas-Florida game into the 6 PM primetime spot on ESPN this evening. Should be a good game, and I’m hoping the Hogs will at least be competitive. I’m not forecasting an Arkansas win on the road by any means, though.

The MBJ has a look at Golden Hour, the new plant and home-goods store in the Pinch District.

There will be a two-mile walk against gun violence departing from Juvenile Court, 616 Adams, at 10 this morning. Dr. Haushalter, Shelby County health department director, has said gun violence is every bit as much a public health threat as illnesses.

Oh, FFS: Tropical Storm Iota forms. Haven’t we had enough of this?

All right, y’all ready to have a little fun?


It’s time to go through the entire Lexicon of Narcissism as seen through Donald Trump.

If you want to learn more about any term in bold in this post, pull up Quora and search for “narcissism (word or term)” and read the questions and answers that come back. You will get an education, that’s for sure.

Trump has repeatedly demonstrated an inability to feel empathy (for example, when he responded to John McCain by saying “I like people who weren’t captured”). That is one of the defining traits of a narcissist.

Narcissists initially love-bomb their targets by appearing as exactly the person the target wanted to see. Trump started love-bombing his base in 2012 with dubious claims that Obama wasn’t an American citizen. He continued with “some very fine people on both sides” (Charlottesville, 2017) and “proud boys, stand back and stand by.” (first debate, 2020) Usually the target of a narcissist is an individual, but with Trump it is the American people, or at least the subset of America that buys what Trump is selling.

Narcissists seek approval from those they admire. This can be seen in Trump’s interactions with Russia’s Putin, Turkey’s Erdogan, North Korea’s Kim.

Lies, lies, and more lies. See link

Exaggeration. It’s certainly probable that somewhere, in some county in the U.S., there was a voter who voted illegally on November 3. That kind of thing can never be stomped out 100%. Narcissists take something that has a tiny basis in truth and blow it up to massive proportions, as Trump is doing accusing Democrats of stealing the election.

Projection: As I mentioned yesterday, Trump is using every legal avenue to try to be deemed the winner of an election in which he likely won only 232 electoral votes with 270 needed to win. He’s trying to steal an election, so he accuses others of trying to steal an election. The best way to learn who a narcissist really is, is to listen to them talk about the people they disdain.

Moving the goalposts: This is how Trump has avoided paying so many contractors over the years. Once the work is complete, he lawyers up on them and claims the work was of shoddy quality, leaving them to go bankrupt fighting it out in court.

Gaslighting: Trying to get you to accept a false reality as true. Trump claiming he was on top of the COVID-19 pandemic from day one is a prime example of gaslighting.

Narcissists need constant sources of attention and admiration, known as supply. This is why Trump’s presidential daily briefings have been reduced to complimentary tweets and news articles and photos of him looking presidential.  Without constant supply, the narcissist will see his own reflection in the mirror and will go into a state of narcissistic collapse.

Types of narcissist:

  • Overt / malignant – these narcissists are bold and completely open about who they are. They take pleasure in the suffering of perceived enemies and are unapologetic about it. If they know they have been called a “narcissist” they may well see it as a compliment, perceiving everyone else as weak, as losers.
  • Covert – this type is much more likely to fly under the radar, because they tend to be wallflowers, your average Joe or Jane type, and can have a sense of humor that is self-deprecating at times.
  • White Knight – this type spends a large amount of time in the service of others, but this is how they draw their supply. Fail to give them the attention and admiration they believe they’ve earned, and you find out real quick that you’re dealing with a narcissist.

Trump is without a doubt the overt type.

Flying monkeys are pawns of the narcissist, those enlisted (either knowingly or unknowingly) to do the narcissist’s dirty work. Rudy Giuliani is Trump’s most notable current flying monkey. Michael Cohen was a flying monkey when he was Trump’s “fixer.”

Narcissists are known to use baseless personal attacks to get their victims to respond emotionally and appear crazy or off-kilter. Trump tried this during the debates. It didn’t work.

Narcissists are known to abuse the legal system to keep things tilted in their favor. Wikipedia: List of lawsuits involving Donald Trump

Now, you ready for the scariest term of them all?

When a narcissist has no more use for a former source of supply, he discards them. A source of supply for a narcissist is usually an individual. For Trump, it’s the American people. If Trump truly understands he lost the election between now and January 20, he could discard America… while holding the nuclear football and pardon power. This is frightening.

One more:

Narcissists often come back later and try to hoover former sources of supply, try to suck them back in, try to re-entangle them in their web of deceit. That’s why Trump is leaving the door open for a 2024 run. It’s the beginning of a hoover.

Once again, if you want to learn more, spend some time on Quora. There is nothing that will make narcissists slither back under their rocks quicker than an educated public.

All right, that’s it for today. The MWN forecast is sunny with a high of 73, although the wind will kick up. If you stay out tonight, take a jacket because there’s a chance of rain. Back tomorrow with more news.

Friday the 13th update: Slider Inn Ghost River dinner, Peabody holiday changes and a lot more

Slider Inn Downtown has released its menu for its Ghost River beer dinner Tuesday, November 17. Cost is $60 per person including tax. Call 901-729-6900 for tickets.

Course 1: Golden Ale + Lobster Popcorn
Tempura-fried lobster bites drizzled with ponzu & sambal aiolis, dusted with cayenne powder and topped with scallions

Course 2: Zippin Pippin IPA + Chilirizo
Chorizo chili with Mexican cheese blend, jalapeno sour cream & tortilla chips

Course 3: Razzle Dazzle Gose + Arugula Salad
Arugula mix topped with grilled pear, candied pecan, red onion, gorgonzola, raspberry & balsamic reduction

Course 4: Queen’s Rosemary Pale Ale + Tacos de Birria & Consomme
Slow-cooked beef brisket with fine beef broth reduction, oaxaca cheese, cilantro, onion, lime & tomatillo salsa

Course 5: Grind & Shine Cream Ale + Pumpkin Cheesecake
House-made cake topped with caramelized sugar, cinnamon whipped cream & strawberries

Due to COVID-19 concerns, this year’s Christmas tree lighting at the Peabody, 4-6 PM the day after Thanksgiving, will be open only to holiday guests this year. There is a special room rate called the Light Up the Holidays package that includes

  • One night’s accommodations
  • Exclusive viewing of the tree lighting ceremony
  • Peabody keepsake Christmas ornament
  • Two Peabody face masks
  • Wi-Fi
  • Parking

The lighting ceremony is Friday, November 27 but the package is available November 25-30 and it starts at $199/night. 1-800-PEABODY to reserve.

In addition to the lighting, Santa will make an appearance. This year, instead of large choirs, a jazz trio will play holiday classics from the mezzanine.

Mimi Morton is having a warehouse sale today and tomorrow at 320 Floyd Alley. That’s the alley between Madison and Monroe, running from Fourth Street (the alley next to Fielder Square parking garage) to Danny Thomas Blvd. Details copied from Facebook:

WAREHOUSE SALE !!!
Friday and Saturday
Nov 13-14, 2020
10am-4pm
Please join us in our warehouse and alley for our first warehouse sale! Help us make room for all the new stuff we have coming!!!
Choose from Spring, Summer, as well as some current items! Get a jump on your holiday gifts, stocking stuffers, and decor!
Jewelry, Samples, Art, Furniture, Handbags, Tote Bags, Home Decor, and Gifts!
ALL AT 50-75% OFF !!!
This event will comply with all COVID-19 event suggestions
Social Distancing and MASKS REQUIRED
Don’t miss out!!!
To find us:
Put FLOYD ALLEY 38103 in your GPS.
Look for the PINK and GOLD BALLOONS!
See you there!

Wiseacre Downtown hosts Pilates & Pints on the taproom’s patio at 11 tomorrow. You have to pre-register because of social distancing requirements. Email eastmemphis@clubpilates.com with the subject “Wiseacre Pilates Mat Class” or call 901-646-5054 to register. $10 gets you a 50-minute mat class and a Wiseacre beer, as well as a free future class at Club Pilates’ East Memphis or Collierville location, plus you’ll be entered into a drawing to receive a free month of membership. You’ll need to bring a mat, a mask to wear while inside the taproom, and water.

The Downtown Wiseacre location will also host Plant Based Junk Food from 5 to 9 Wednesday, November 18. Vulture Food is coming all the way from Los Angeles to supply Downtown Memphis with vegan junk food. All their items are nut-free but do contain soy. Their loaded fries are gluten-free but fried in the same fryer as their patties which are made from soy, wheat, and peas. Credit cards or exact change only. Menu will be posted the morning of the event.

Bedrock Eats & Sweets is offering a carry-out menu for Thanksgiving. Orders are due by the 19th and you can pick them up on Wednesday the 25th at Bedrock (corner of Main and Vance). They have sliced smoked turkey by the pound and all the traditional trimmings.

It’s time for the revival of the annual debate. Green bean casserole: Yes or No? I would like to record a huge YES vote for this Thanksgiving side dish.

The Downtown Neighborhood Association has announced its November membership meeting for the 24th. This will be an outdoor event at Slider Inn Downtown with socially distanced seating. Because of COVID regulations attendance is limited to 50. There will be plenty of updates on Downtown news and happenings.

The Metal Museum may be one step closer to leaving Downtown. A 100-year lease has been proposed for Rust Hall, the building in Overton Park that formerly housed Memphis College of Art.

Drew Hill of the DM has a few guesses where Precious Achiuwa might go in the NBA draft next Wednesday. Three lottery teams – Washington, Phoenix, and Boston – are possibilities. If the Celtics get Precious with their No. 14 pick, they will ironically draft a Memphis Tiger using a pick acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies. No way Precious is still on the board when the Grizzlies pick at No. 40.

Andrew Cabigao plays Momma’s tonight at 6:30.

Mississippi health officials are concerned after the sheriff of DeSoto County says he will not enforce the state’s mandatory mask order. I bet you Shelby County health officials are concerned too, because that affects hospital capacity here.

Shufflegrit plays The Vault tonight at 8.

You can catch some monster trucks at the raceway in Millington this weekend. Hmmm… if the Shelby County Health Department wants to catch some people violating its mask mandate, I bet this would be a good place to do so.

A black/white shepherd mix was found on the riverfront Wednesday. The dog is collared, leashed, and housetrained.

From the New York Times: Trump floats improbable survival scenarios as he ponders his future. He’s trying to use the courts and red-state electors to steal the election, and at the same time is accusing the Democrats of stealing the election from him. That’s projection and it is one of the classic traits of a narcissist.

From Politico: Biden transition team reaching out to former Mattis officials who worked for him in the Defense Department. SMART.

That’s the news for now. Let’s hope 2020 doesn’t have any surprises for us on the last Friday the 13th of the year. Back tomorrow.

Thursday update

James Aycock’s mid-week Shelby County COVID-19 recap is online. In it he makes a good point: We may have the COVID overflow hospital at 495 Union ready to roll, but with a nationwide nursing shortage, who’s going to staff it?

Then James made another good point. Tuesday afternoon the health department allowed strip clubs to reopen, provided they submit a plan to show they will follow a long list of guidelines. Funny how that wasn’t mentioned in the noon press conference, and a new health directive wasn’t issued. They just kinda managed to sliiiiiide that change in there, low-key.

Makes me wonder – do we know who all is on the COVID-19 task force? Specifically, is there a public relations flack on the committee who guides them on how to best roll out announcements like that? Not that I personally care one way or the other whether strip clubs are open, but it leads me to wonder whether the primary goal of the task force is perception rather than transparency.

For the first time in my life, I have an interest in going to see the opera. Opera Memphis will give a live performance at Wiseacre Downtown (B.B. King and Butler) Sunday, November 15 at 4 PM. They will perform CRAIGSLISTLIEDER, an opera which pulls its song lyrics directly from Craigslist ads.

Thanksgiving Eve is one of the biggest party nights of the year. Of course, the party will be somewhat subdued this year due to COVID, but local businesses plan to make the most out of it that they can. Tin Roof will hold a Thanksgiving Eve celebration Wednesday, November 25 beginning at 5 PM. Semi-Average Joe will kick off the live music, followed by Seth Walker later in the evening. Full dinner menu and drink specials all night.

We have a record-setting number of murders in Memphis, yet the police department is focusing on Click It Or Ticket over the Thanksgiving holiday. Fucking ridiculous. Usually that campaign is in May, but I guess the cops didn’t get their jollies that month with so many people working from home.

The Grizzlies don’t have a first-round pick in next Wednesday’s NBA draft, having conveyed the #14 pick to Boston to fulfill the Jeff Green trade obligation. However, in the second round, they do have the #40 pick. The DM’s Drew Hill has a look at who might be on the board. Also in team news, the Grizzlies unveiled new uniforms to celebrate their 20th season in Memphis.

The 491 S. Main building is for sale. This is your chance to own a piece of property on the most hopping block of the South Main Arts District. I can’t find a price listed on any of the literature, so this is probably in the “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it” range.

The Cousins Maine Lobster food truck will be at Health Sciences Park today for lunch.

From Choose901: Black Seeds Urban Farms is working to create community gardens in Uptown. Catch them on Instagram to see pics. They plan on using the gardens not only for growing, but as a community space for events like picnics and yoga.

Alaska has been called for the Trumpster in the presidential election. That makes it Biden 290, Trump 217, with electoral votes from North Carolina (15) and Georgia (16) still to be called. Trump is pondering an attempt to become the Grover Cleveland of the 21st century with a run in 2024. Conservative lawyer John Yoo discusses what will happen if Trump doesn’t concede the 2020 election.

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