Tuesday update

I realized something this morning…thus far this fall/winter, we have not seen an entire bitterly cold day, a day when the temperatures didn’t manage to break out of the 30s. It is very unusual to get all the way to Christmas without that happening at least once. In fact, there have only been 3 days this season when the temperature failed to break 50.

  • Wednesday, November 3: high 48, low 41
  • Tuesday, December 7: high 48, low 32
  • Sunday, December 19: high 46, low 33

(Source: AccuWeather)

On the other hand, there have already been 8 days this December with highs at or above 70: the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 10th (80!), 11th, 14th, 16th, and 17th. The extended forecast has the 24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th at or above 70 as well.

The Shelby County Health Department has confirmed 31 Omicron variant cases in Shelby County. Also, independent data analyst James Aycock reports that the county is up to a 7-day rolling average of 268 cases per day and a 7.2% positivity rate. “It’s about to get bad, y’all,” James commented in a tweet.

Y’all, it could not be easier to sign up on walgreens.com for a vaccination or booster appointment. You could easily get it done on a lunch break. If you work near Walgreens, you could probably get it done on a 15-minute coffee break.

Ja Morant returned last night but the Grizzlies lost their second in two days, falling to the OKC Thunder 102-99. Let’s have a look at what that means for the standings:

  • The Grizzlies (19-13) remain in 4th place in the West
  • They’re 3 games back of 3rd-place Utah Jazz (21-9)
  • They’re 2.5 games ahead of 5th-place Denver (15-14)
  • But they’re now only 2.5 games above play-in scenarios (7th-place L.A. Lakers are 16-15)

Sad that there were haters who criticized Ja’s play. It was his first game back from an injury, and even if he wasn’t, everyone has an off-night once in a while. Welcome back, Ja. I look forward to plenty of highlights and 30+ point games from you the rest of this season.

Wednesday night could be a huge party night Downtown. Think about it… many companies give employees Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off. But since Christmas is on Saturday, a lot of employees will get Thursday the 23rd and Friday the 24th off work. That will turn Wednesday into effectively a weekend night.

Congratulations are in order to several Downtown restaurants that scored perfect 100s on their health inspections this month:

  • Rizzo’s by Michael Patrick (bar)
  • Slider Inn Downtown (patio bar)
  • Memphis Mary at Stop 345 (bar)
  • Curry N Jerk
  • The Nine Thai and Sushi (bar)
  • 117 Prime (bar)
  • Island Queen and Memphis Queen (riverboats that dock at 45 Riverside)

StyleBlueprint has 7 restaurants in Memphis open on Christmas, and 4 of them are Downtown: Bishop, CIMAS, Paulette’s, and the Peabody. Not surprisingly, all 4 are restaurants in hotels.

Rizzo’s is back open following a COVID outbreak. They hosted a private party last night and are open to the public tonight.

A monument celebrating women’s suffrage leaders in Memphis will be unveiled this week. It will be located behind the law school and will be visible from I-40 and Riverside Drive.

Today is National Hamburger Day and there are plenty of good spots Downtown to celebrate. It’s also Short Girl Appreciation Day, which for some reason makes me think of a holiday I mentioned in this blog a few months ago, National Kimberly Day.

HAMILTON returns to the Orpheum tonight for a run through January 2. Note that the theater is requiring masks at the show, and concessions must be consumed in the lobby.

The Downtown Neighborhood Association holds their Soup, Socks, and Scarves Giveaway at the Christmas tree at Main and Peabody Place today from 4:30-6:30 PM.

By the Brewery hosts a holiday cookie decorating class today at 2:30.

That’ll do it for today’s post. My plan is to stay home and write until about 4 then get out for a while. Back tomorrow if there’s enough news to report.