Time for a quick rant: That light at Front and Union during Rajun Cajun Crawfish Fest was one of the worst traffic engineering decisions I’ve ever seen.
Union west of Front was closed due to the festival. But instead of keeping the light at that intersection the usual cycles of green, yellow, red, they made the light flashing yellow for north- and southbound Front and red for westbound Union. So it was basically a stop sign for Union, or it legally should have been treated as such.
It made the intersection more dangerous and inconvenient than it needed to be. Traffic was so heavy on Front that pedestrians like me couldn’t cross – I ended up walking an extra 3 blocks to Beale to get into the festival. People wanting to turn left from Union onto Front were royally screwed, having to wait for all four lanes of non-stopping traffic on Front to be clear.
Of course, this being Memphis, nobody knows how to obey a traffic signal. Some people on Front were stopping at the flashing yellow while the car in the next lane zipped right on through (as they are supposed to do). Some people on Union weren’t stopping for the flashing red. What a mess.
As for the festival itself, it was a reminder of how bad inflation is. A corn dog was $8. A sleddog (not sure how that differs from a corn dog; I didn’t see anyone selling Pronto Pups) was $10. A 16-ounce can of Coors Light was $7. Crawfish were $25.
The Grizzlies return to Memphis Tuesday for a 6:30 tip-off vs. Minnesota in Game 5 of the playoff series. The game will be broadcast nationally on TNT and locally on Bally Sports Southeast.
Stats site FiveThirtyEight has the Grizzlies at 71% to win the series and go on to the Western Conference semis. In my opinion, it all hinges on Jaren staying out of foul trouble and being a major contributor in Games 5 and 6 (and 7, if there is one).
STIX Express, the hibachi/sushi place on Second, is now doing 2-for-1 beers and cocktails every Saturday.
Interesting fact I learned this weekend: The ’90s R&B channel is maybe not a safe choice if you want nice, relaxing background music for your restaurant’s weekend brunch. The reason why is that Three 6’s “Slob on My Knob” was released in 1999 and therefore qualifies for the playlist.
The Broom Closet has moldavite back in stock, having received a fresh shipment from the Czech Republic. The gemstone starts at $20. Moldavite is believed to have properties that allow you to transcend time and is therefore useful in exploring past lives or future probable lives.
Joe Austin & The Tallahatchies return to the Blind Bear this Saturday from 8 to midnight.
Today is World Penguin Day. Maybe today will be the day my friend Drew fulfills his dream of owning a penguin.
A passenger in a Ford Mustang allegedly fired shots at a Memphis police officer yesterday on Beale (not within the entertainment district).
Broadway hit Mean Girls comes to the Orpheum Tuesday through Sunday.
That’s it for today. Back tomorrow with more news.