Welcome to my blog! Here’s a quick orientation guide on what you can expect to find here.
I have lived in Downtown Memphis since February 2002. I currently live in a high-rise apartment building in the core of Downtown, near the intersection of Main and Madison. I also work Downtown, in another high-rise building about a block away, as a web developer for a small company that sells background checking services.
Never in my life have I loved a neighborhood like I have Downtown Memphis. Over the past several years I have found a great group of friends with whom I hang out at local restaurants and bars, and many of my blog’s posts are about our adventures.
Since this blog has gotten fairly popular, I have also used it as a resource to get the word out about upcoming events Downtown. If you have an event you want me to consider blogging about, feel free to e-mail me at paul@paulryburn.com.
This blog is completely my own and always will be. I’m not tied to an organization like the Center City Commission, Convention and Visitors Bureau, etc. That means I don’t have to be fair and equal in my coverage of Downtown. You’ll see me mention some Downtown venues four or five times in one week, whereas other places don’t get mentioned at all. That’s just the way it is. I write about places I hang out; I write about places I like.
My independence from neighborhood organizations also gives me another freedom – if there’s a problem Downtown, I’m free to point it out without fear of repercussions. Over the past couple of years this has provided an opportunity to bring certain issues to the light of day – for example, it led to the creation of a Google forum called Handling-Panhandling, where Downtown stakeholders discuss the panhandling problem Downtown and identify particular individuals and hotspots that need to be addressed.
When I write, I use the language that Downtowners use when they talk to each other. That means this blog is not always PC. “Panhandlers” may be the politically correct term to describe individuals who pretend to be homeless and beg for money for booze and drugs down here; but Downtowners usually refer to them as “the bums” in conversation, and therefore that’s what I call them on this blog most of the time. If that offends you, sorry. I’m also not afraid to use some spicy language from time to time, where I feel it’s called for, either for emphasis or to describe something I’ve seen Downtown. Again, if that offends you, sorry. Block this site from your kids if you don’t want them to see it, although I can guarantee you that the worst of the language I use here is nothing they haven’t heard by the time they’re in fourth grade.
To sum it up, this blog is an extension of me, on the Web. I hope you enjoy reading it, and I hope you find it informative about Downtown Memphis.
The blog switched to the WordPress publishing engine at the end of December 2007. In the coming months, I plan to use some WordPress-compatible widgets to make this blog a lot more fun and useful for my readers.
Enjoy!