Author: paulryburn

Before I get started with the news… CITY ENGINEERS: Is there any way you can sync the light at Second and Poplar with the other lights on Second? Since about a week ago, it’s an extra stop at Poplar, then an extra stop at Washington. Irritating.

Pam & Terry play Blind Bear tonight at 10!!!!!!!! I had an early bedtime last night (9:30ish) but that will not be the case this evening! Going to stay up at least through their first set! They like to take pictures of their fans and I want to stay through that too, so 11:30 will be about the earliest I will get home.

“Spill the Beans with us” is the theme at the Memphis Farmers Market this Saturday. Beans are among the many produce offerings you can find at the Market, and from 9 to 12 Saturday kids can make their own “shake, rattle and roll” bean shakers. “If you’ve got the time, we’ve got the beans!” reads this weekend’s newsletter. (Frank, you wrote that, didn’t you?) You can donate blood to the Red Cross (schedule a time here), and each donor will be given a $5 token to spend at the Market. There will be pet adoptions by Real Good Dog Rescue. Live music by Paul Waits 8:30 to 10. 7 AM to 1 PM, pavilion at the corner of Front and G.E. Patterson.

Weather permitting, I plan on hitting the Market from about 10:00-10:40 Saturday, before my walk north to Panda Time at Bardog. Wonder if I will see the girl at whom I was throwing wadded-up napkins Sunday at Blind Bear… I do see her at MFM from time to time. If I see her this week, I’ll buy her a sunflower from the Whitton Farms booth to say “thanks for being a good sport Sunday” and as a peace offering in general. It really is time we made amends.

Speaking of Panda Time, I will be minus my “DAWG” John D Saturday because he is one of the people who went to Mexico for a wedding. If anyone wants to keep me company, I’ll be around… Bardog 11 AM. Usually I stay until 1 but Saturday I will probably extend my stay until 2, then go over to Second Street for the opening of new liquor/wine store Quench.

MFM has published Crop Hop 5K results and photos. There are also Memphis Runners Club photos.

There was a a meeting about Race for the Cure for Downtown business owners yesterday at Cafe Keough. At least 20,000 runners are expected on October 31, and leaders and business owners brainstormed ways to maximize the impact of this new race Downtown. Little Rock’s race draws 30,000, it was said, and Memphis being a larger city should aim for even a larger turnout.

Here are some photos of the soon-to-open Artspace on South Main Lofts.

This is cool: Google’s first Vertical StreetView lets you climb Yosemite in the comfort of your own home.

Interesting: Herschel Walker has been invited to Atlanta Falcons training camp by head coach Dan Quinn. Walker is 53 and claims he can still play at the pro level.

From Business Insider: Universities should ban PowerPoint. It makes students stupid and professors boring. As a former college instructor, I agree with this one million percent. In the five years I taught, the only time I ever used PowerPoint was when I was teaching the PowerPoint module of my Computer Literacy classes.

Work is done, blog post is done, and it’s time to get out for the evening. Normally Silly Goose is my first Thursday stop, but with so many people out of the town I think I will mix it up tonight. Happy hour with my favorite pair of librarian glasses at the Blind Bear, then over to Flying Saucer to knock a few beers off my 9th plate, then back to the Bear for Pam & Terry. It’s a Saucer sandwich with Bear bread.

Good news for Downtowners who are fans of electronic dance music: The New Daisy and The Palace are partnering with Disco Donnie Presents, the largest electronic dance music promoter, to become the new EDM promoter and event producer for those two venues on East Beale.

Are you a hardcore Grizzlies fan? Use your knowledge of the team to earn yourself some prizes. Grizzlies trivia with Kevin Cerrito tonight at the Green Beetle, 8 PM. Dress in your Grizz gear, because the team with the most Grizz spirit will win a special bonus prize.

1995 teen movie Clueless plays on the big screen at the Orpheum tonight. Pre-movie fashion show by Crazy Beautiful. $7 adults, $5 kids under 12, show starts at 7 PM.

Transit is the featured entertainment at tonight’s Peabody rooftop party. $10 cover, doors open at 6, ladies free until 7. Admission includes an Asian buffet (7-8) of fried rice and chicken egg rolls with sweet & sour sauce. If you’re in VIP you get a second buffet (7-9:30) of chicken satay, sweet & sour meatballs, and California rolls. Lychee margaritas will be on special, and the bar promo is Red Lotus. There will be a raffle for Sunday brunch for two at Capriccio Grill.

South Main Book Juggler has two signings coming up this weekend. Friday night you can meet the authors of “Malice in Memphis, Bluff City Mysteries” from 6 to 9 in conjunction with South Main Green Bus Night. Saturday at 1, author Gabrielle Songe will do poetry reading from her book “Whippoorwill Calls” as well as a book signing.

Holly from the I Love Memphis Blog has a great article on the Memphis Made Tap Room out on Cooper. I still haven’t made it out there. Sounds like a great place to drink some local craft beer.

The Peabody has jobs open including banquet set-up manager, executive sous chef, F&B outlet supervisor (don’t ask me, no idea what that is), concierge, security, servers, valets, and housekeepers.

Bella, the lost dog I posted yesterday, has found her way home.

In the news: Hackers stole details of the sex lives of U.S. government workers. Data was gathered when workers applied for security clearances. Any deviant or high-risk sexual behavior or pattern of alcohol abuse was noted, among other things. The higher the clearance, the more data was gathered. If this data got in the hands of foreign countries, there could be blackmail potential that could lead to spilled secrets. Yikes, not good.

The Grizzlies have traded for small forward Matt Barnes. One sports writer on Twitter called him “the most Memphis player not already in Memphis” and other sports writers were commenting that his grit & grind is right up there with Z-bo and Tony Allen.

Gotta run errands in the remainder of my lunch break, so I gotta hit Publish. However, I will have at least 5 more news stories in a post to go up around 5:30 this evening. Topics will include Memphis Farmers Market, Race for the Cure, virtual rock climbing and more, so check back.

Last night I was bored, playing around on my phone, looking at Facebook. Several of my friends on there had just taken a “Which dog breed are you?” quiz. That quiz intrigued me because I have never been a dog owner – I have nothing against them, just never had circumstances where owning a dog would make sense. So I figured, this is a test I can take bias-free. I have no preferred breed.

I answered the 10 questions, and a fluffy, white, well-groomed POODLE appeared on my phone’s screen. I didn’t have a particular breed to aspire to, but that is certainly not the one I expected as the result! There were several paragraphs explaining why I am a poodle, but to boil it down to one sentence: “You are smart and social, but you prefer to lie around and let others do the hard work.” I can just imagine the BBQ team’s reaction. “Yep! He’s totally a poodle!”

I ran into local poet IQ last night and he told me there is going to be a poetry slam a week from today, Wednesday, July 1, in the downstairs of the Brass Door from 8 to 11 PM. It will be your last chance to catch IQ before he heads out of town.

South Main Sounds at 550 S. Main is having Singer-Songwriter Nught #9 this Friday evening in conjunction with South Main Green Bus Night. Local talent will sing original tunes. The lineup includes Kenny Hays, Christine Conley, Evan Farris, Frank McLallen Sr., Stephen Sciara and Maria Spence. Green Bus Night happens from 6 until 9 or later in the South Main District the last Friday of the month, with many of the shops staying open late, some offering free cocktails, beer, wine, and/or appetizers and some stores having Green Bus Night discounts. (Note: Some people refer to it as Trolley Night)

Today was supposed to be cutoff day for 100 N. Main. If the owner of the tallest building in Memphis could not pay the $86,000+ he owed MLGW, power was going to be cut. However, local hospitals have critical communication equipment atop the building, and shutting off electricity could affect life-or-death situations. The hospitals made a deal with MLGW which gives them a month to get the equipment moved.

There’s an Old World Wine Dinner at Spindini tonight at 7. Reservations are required.

Here’s a pic of that new hot dog pizza from Pizza Hut that I mentioned the other day. The outer crust of the pizza is mini-hot dogs. I’m not saying I think this pizza is a good idea, but if you have a 9-year-old they’re probably going to want one.

Gmail now has an un-send feature. You can recall a sent email message within 30 seconds. How I wish text and Facebook Messenger would implement these features.

Well, I guess it doesn’t matter for Facebook Messenger anymore. At least not for me.

Seriously, though, I’ve learned something recently. Use Evernote as a staging ground for texts and PMs. It gives you a chance to refine your message, as well as think, “Is sending this a bad idea?” This won’t eliminate all your drunk, stupid messages, but it will minimize them at least.

A friend of mine has a lost dog, missing for several days, lost near Macon and Dent and recently seen in the area of Mt. Pisgah Middle School:

I don’t know how many Cordova/Eads readers I have, but if you see her in this area, she answers to “Bella” although she is a little shy. This is a long shot, but over the years I have reunited 3 lost dogs with their owners using this blog, and none of them were Downtown. Let’s see if we can make it 4. Email me at paul@paulryburn.com if you have the dog or information on where she was last seen, and I will pass it on to the owner.

Here’s a really funny website about parking at the Memphis Zoo.

The Moody Ques wanted me to run a contest on this blog, but I have decided to defer it for a week because two of the team leaders will not be in town to discuss the responses. Look for the contest in early July.

Sigh. Another story about animal abuse at the Memphis Animal Shelter. A cat this time. One of the reasons I will not be voting for A.C. Wharton this time around.

Kevin Cerrito has a first look at the menu of The Lookout, the restaurant at the top of the Pyramid.

Downtown lunch spot Sam’s Hamburgers is now on Twitter. Follow the restaurant at @SamsBurgersMem.

I’m leading off at Silly Goose for happy hour after work. I’ve been drafted to play Blind Bear trivia at 8, so that looks like the lineup for tonight. Too damn hot to go anywhere for lunch, so I guess bacon jerky and trail mix is the lunch plan for a second consecutive day.

FanDuel, the global leader in one-day fantasy sports, has signed a partnership with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies are the 13th NBA team to sign a partnership with FanDuel and 16 NFL teams have as well. There will be in-arena interactive experiences, although you don’t have to be at the games to play. FanDuel will be integrated into Grizzlies media promotions as well. I’ve never used FanDuel but friends of mine have and they enjoy it. As I understand it, you pick what league you want to join based on buy-in amount, choose your players, and see what happens. “I play the Saturday and Sunday games and if I win, the money is in my PayPal account Monday morning,” one of my friends told me.

(I have to insert my usual gripe that people can play cash leagues on FanDuel legally, but the government says it’s illegal for my to get on PokerStars and play a cash game or cash buy-in tournament. I would argue that poker is as much a game of skill as fantasy sports.)

If you drive on South Main, you may want to find an alternate route for a little while. Paul Morris who runs DMC tweeted that paving will start Monday on South Main between Peabody Place and Talbot and will last for two weeks. I guess it takes extra long to pave Main because of the trolley tracks.

Couple of pieces of job news this afternoon. First of all, Ghost River is hiring for a part-time sales position. They’re looking for a person who is an enthusiastic lover of Ghost River beers. Send a resume to Suzanne@ghostriverbrewing.com to apply.

Action News 5 reports that a Staffing 101 job fair will be held Thursday. Positions include forklift operators, light industrial, clerical, IT and call center. They have immediate openings, and expect to see applicants in professional attire.

… In other words, don’t wear this see-through tie that is an ant farm to the job fair.

Home from work. Still undecided where to happy hour. Won’t be Max’s due to the heat and distance. Somwhere in the core. I will decide when I hit the Main Street Mall.

Swarm by Foursquare, the app where you check in at your favorite places, has brought back mayorships. They were removed about a year ago and there was a huge protest. The person who checks into a venue the most in the past 2 months (only one checkin a day counts) becomes the “mayor” of that venue. Swarm has been accumulating checkins for the past month and has awarded mayorships based on that period of time.

Once I found that out, I updated the app, viewed my history, and discovered that I have done something I never managed to do when we had mayorships the first time. I had become mayor of 4 of the 5 bars I refer to as my “Big Five,” the five places I go the most. I am the new mayor of Bardog Tavern, Blind Bear (where they never stopped referring to me as mayor), Flying Saucer (a little surprised I got that one back), and Silly Goose. The only bar that eludes me is Max’s Sports Bar. I’ve been spending time in South Main more but I will never catch Otto and steal that one.

I’m not going to work to try to defend mayorships this time around, though (except for Blind Bear). I’m going to go where I want, and if I lose mayorships, so be it.

John Mellencamp plays The Orpheum tonight at 7:30.

Meanwhile, over at Beale Street Landing, Monsters Inc. will be shown on the big screen tonight at 8:30.

The Redbirds begin a homestand vs. Nashville tonight at 7:05. There are $1 King Cotton hot dogs at Tuesday games.

Live music alert: There will be another Charvey Mac appearance Downtown this week. The talented singer will play Beale Street Landing once again Friday from 6 to 8.

Congratulations to the Memphis Zoo, ranked as one of the top 10 zoos by Fodor Travel.

MemphisWeather.net is looking to hire a contract web programmer. They’re looking for HTML, mobile, Perl/PHP, and RSS/XML experience.

While we’re on the subject of MemphisWeather.net, they explained a partial cause of the haze we experienced yesterday: Dirt from the Sahara desert in Africa was in the atmosphere! Also, MWN reported that the aurora borealis was seen as far south as Iowa last night.

Bars can program their point-of-sale system touch screens so that they have their own button. That way, when someone orders, say, a margarita, the bartender doesn’t have to waste time typing M-A-R-G-A-R-I-T-A into the system; they just hit the button and get on with making the drink. Last night I was in Blind Bear for happy hour, and Mary showed me the newest button on their screen: “Duck Fart.” It’s official: My blog has brought the duck fart back. Now I need to spread it to other bars.

The inventor of the pink plastic yard flamingo has died at 79.

Well damn. Chevrolet is bringing back the Chevelle for the 2016 model year. Everything old is new again.

Tomorrow is the beginning of a rather odd 10-day period for me. Many of the crew I run around with are heading out of town. We have several people flying to Mexico for a wedding, and one person in Spokane for a training. I will get through it fine though; I enjoy hanging out by myself at times. Plus, I have a birthday party to attend at a venue I love, and a new friend to hang out with one day this weekend.

As for tonight, I have no idea what my plans are. One option is head south and lead off at Max’s Sports Bar; that would be a sure winner if it wasn’t so damn hot outside and so far away from home. Another possibility is to stop by Silly Goose and see if any of my friends are there for one last happy hour in Memphis before they leave town. Then there’s always a little bonus Panda Time at Bardog. It’ll be a game-time decision. Time to hit Target to see if they still carry bacon jerky, then back for a few more hours of work before I get out.

Crop Hop 5K, a race and fundraiser for the Memphis Farmers Market, was last night, starting and ending at the pavilion next to Central Station. The Market wanted to show its runners and participants how much they were appreciated for coming out and supporting, so the Market’s organizers turned to one of Memphis’ most well-known BBQ teams to feed everyone: The Moody Ques. We were looking to do a practice cook anyway, and we wanted to try out our new smoker, so we embraced the opportunity. We practiced our championship shoulder and cooked beef brisket as well.

“So you need me at the pavilion at 5 AM to help unload, I assume,” I texted head cook Frank a few days before.

“No,” Frank replied. “We need you in a different role this time. Think of the role James Harden played when he was with the OKC Thunder. When the opponents were worn out, Harden came in and unleashed a flurry of offense that they couldn’t handle. That’s what we need you to do today.”

“But Frank, this isn’t BBQ Fest, we don’t have opponents,” I protested.

“Just go with it,” Frank said, and so I did. I got there about 5:45 in the afternoon, 45 minutes prior to the start of the race.

Frank taking the last of the shoulders off the smoker

We shopped local when we purchased our new smoker. Check ’em out: Tucker Cooker Company at 122 W. Carolina in the south end of Downtown. Look at the thermometer! It’s holding temperature right at 250! Bevo couldn’t always do that!

We ran out of propane, so we couldn’t use the BBQ device I’m no longer allowed to mention to clean the smoker.

(I mentioned the BBQ device I’m no longer allowed to mention )

First fruits of the smoker

The bone came right out of our first shoulder.

Recently engaged team members Justin and Roglly in the buffet line

The Rowdy Friends Band. Any band that plays the theme song to “The Jeffersons” is all right in my book. I mighta busted out the George Jefferson strut, if you weren’t there, you don’t know.

All the volunteers at the Farmers Market were SO NICE. One of the volunteers at the beer stand walked over with a Memphis Made Ananda IPA for me. “Paul, I know you’re working hard, so I figured you’d like a beer to cool off,” she said. I really enjoy the Farmers Market, not only because of the diverse array of items you can purchase there, but because of the people too.

Congratulations to all the runners. Great job supporting a great organization.

About 7:20 I checked the radar, and saw that I had about 15 minutes until the next band of rain from the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill moved through. Not having time to make it back to the Downtown core where I live, I darted into my home away from home on the south side, Max’s Sports Bar.

About 30 minutes later, after the rain had passed, a runner came in. We recognized each other because we had been at the registration table at the same time. She told me that the last of the runners got caught in the rain. Ugh, that must have sucked. I told her I am on the BBQ team that cooked for the after-party. “Oh, really?” she said. “A lot of people were talking about how good the BBQ was. They were saying, you HAVE to try the brisket.” Sounds like we impressed some people. Frank told me he learned a few things cooking on the new smoker. There will be more practices before BBQ Fest ’16.

The runner was a relatively new Memphian and didn’t know what I meant when I said I live in the Downtown core. Maybe I need to do a post about Downtown neighborhoods for new Memphians.

As I walked home, I passed by two new businesses on South Main. The first was Snaps, a new comedy club at 414 S. Main, in the building next to Onix that has housed several restaurants over the years, including Wendell’s World Beat Grill. Nice to have something different in there. South Main is truly blossoming as a destination in 2015.

Farther north, at 344 S. Main, I saw another addition to South Main:

Guiltfree Pastries, a place that serves desserts that are all natural, grain free, gluten free, and vegan. Probably not a place where you will find me often, but a surprisingly high number of vegetarians and vegans read this blog, so it’s worth a mention.

On to the news…The City of Memphis has officially applied to rename Third Street after B.B. King. That is a move I have absolutely no problem supporting. He deserves to be honored.

The Juneteenth urban music festival is currently happening at Church Park, on Beale east of Fourth. The festival started yesterday and runs through tomorrow.

BBQ restaurant Cozy Corner is the latest Downtown business to apply for a Mission Main Street grant. Vote for Cozy Corner here.

Stats site FiveThirtyEight has an article about the winners and losers of the Women’s World Cup group stage. Team USA are most definitely winners: They are projected at 33% to win the Cup. Germany is technically a slightly stronger team, but they face Sweden and France en route to the final match, while USA won’t see anyone in the top 10 in strength until at least the semis.

If you’re a fan of Fire Eater, the cinnamon competitor to Fireball, I have a tip for you. Fire Eater left the market recently (which does not surprise me, it tastes horrible) but Max’s Sports Bar still has some. If you’re a fan of one of the most godawful liquors ever poured in this city, you can go there to get it. I watched people order it the three times I have been there this week and watching them drink it makes my stomach turn inside out.

Question from one of my neighbors who reads this blog: Is any Downtown business showing the Grateful Dead 50th reunion? It’s going to be on July 4 on pay-per-view. If anyone knows shoot me an email at paul@paulryburn.com and I will pass the info along.

Red Velvet, the vintage shop at 509 S. Main, celebrates its one-year anniversary today. 15% off purchases, Batlash Pop-up Shop, Red Velvet Cake Pops, rum punch.

Qahwa is having a Hookah Night tonight at 9 with hookahs, coffee, food, and belly dancers.

Time to hit Publish and get this day rolling. The laundry is not going to get dry in time for a morning trip to the Farmers Market, so Panda Time at Bardog at 11 will be the first stop. I’ll figure out the rest of the day – and really, the rest of the weekend – from there.

(eating Zaxby’s as I type this, apologies if typos)

I was very excited to receive an MMS from my BBQ team’s head cook, Frank, last night. It was a photo of our team’s new smoker being hauled Downtown to the Farmers Market pavilion.

Our old smoker, Bevo, has had trouble holding temperature the past two years, and with our new goal of being a serious competition team as well as a party team, Bevo had to go.

If you’re attending the Crop Hop 5K after-party, here’s a photo of your dinner being brined shortly before its date with the new smoker:

This morning I received a text from Frank. “Having problem with the temperature.” Oh no, I thought, not again. Then I got a second text. “It’s too hot!” I smiled. Too hot is a problem that can be fixed.

Here’s head cook Frank lighting it up:

And here’s dinner on the new smoker:

We have yet to name the new smoker. “As long as it’s not Bevo II I’m happy with it,” I commented.

So, so, so happy with this new direction the Moody Ques are taking. Most years in June, the team leaders aren’t even speaking to each other, and if they are they’re sure as hell not talking BBQ. This year we’re cooking for a great charity event. Things are going in a good direction!

I led off at the Silly Goose last night. There I ran into my friend Ashley, who I haven’t seen in three years.

Ashley is a former Memphian who now lives in Birmingham, and whose sales job occasionally sees her travel to Memphis. I’m lucky she still speaks to me, after a 2012 invite to the Moody Ques booth ran off the rails. She had a one-shoulder dress on, and teammate “Mr. Inappropriate,” who had been hitting the team liquor stash pretty hard all day, decided to start a conversation with her.

“You’re wearing a tube top.”

“No, see, it has a strap.”

“Ahhh……. Take your shirt off.” At that point I ushered “Mr. Inappropriate” away, and he went back to his business of consuming every drop of booze he could find behind the bar. You know things are bad when I’m the voice of reason at BBQ Fest.

Ashley wanted to play the Giant Jenga game that sits on the Goose’s coffee table, and for the first time in my life I played. It was the shortest Giant Jenga game in the history of the Goose, lasting less than two rounds before the tower toppled. I was very pleased that I was not the one who lost. I’m 1-0 in Giant Jenga!

About 8 I went next door to the Flying Saucer. I don’t go there every day anymore and getting my ninth plate on the wall is taking forever. I decided to knock a few beers off the list. I got a pleasant surprise: They’ve replaced the old UFO member kiosk with two new kiosks!

This is great. Now people can stand there for 5 minutes scrolling through the beers thinking “what do I want” without holding up the line.

The deal with the kiosks, in case you haven’t heard of them before, is that UFO Club members can print out receipts, with bar codes, for the beers they purchase. At the end of the night those receipts are scanned and members get credit for the beers they drank (max 3 beers a day). When you hit 200 different beers, you get a free party and your plate on the wall.

I can’t remember the name of the beer I purchased, but it was on the Just Landed board above the bar under Drafts. It was a high-gravity beer, at 13% alcohol, in an 11-ounce glass for $8. That’s a Value Drinking Index of 17.875 (13 * 11 / 8), very good (anything over 15 is good), so I ordered it. Unfortunately I overlooked one fact: 13% beers knock me on my ass! By the time I finished the beer the room was spinning. I had to cancel my planned third stop, Blind Bear, stop by the grab & go at City Market and call it a rather early night.

The Saucer, by the way, turns 18 today and will celebrate with a menu of rare beers beginning at 5 this afternoon.

I noticed that City Market now carries Spicy Thai chips. Going to have to try those sometime. I love spicy.

Bluff City Coffee has added salads to go along with their breakfast and lunch sandwiches.

Mamma Mia! returns to the Orpheum tonight through Sunday. Tonight’s performance is at 8 PM.

The race voted “Best Race in America” by Paddler Magazine, the Outdoors Inc. Canoe and Kayak Race, happens tomorrow at Mississippi River Park. Over 500 canoes and kayak paddlers will participate. The event benefits the Church Health Center.

Dads who dine Sunday at Texas de Brazil get a gift certificate for a free meal for their next visit.

The MBJ was on the scene last night at the Cookies on Tap fundraiser at High Cotton Brewing. Here’s a recap and photos.

Interesting fact I learned from @MBJArnold this morning: City Gear has more in annual revenue than the Grizzlies.

Random thing I learned this morning: There’s a dog meat eating festival in China. 10,000 dogs will be tortured and killed over a weekend. Just terrible. The link I have here is a petition to end the festival.

See you at Crop Hop 5K, I hope! I should be down there by 6.

Tickets are now on sale for the Memphis Tigers Alumni game on June 27. Antonio Anderson tweet a photo of the lineup of blue and gray teams and it appears to be players who played mainly under John Calipari vs. players who played mainly under Josh Pastner. Should be a good game.

Dads: If you’re looking for something to do for a father-daughter night with your little girl, I have a recommendation for you. Monday, June 29 will be Princess Night at AutoZone Park, a special night when storybook princesses will come to life. Purchase a special ticket and not only will you be able to meet the princesses, but you will get a tiara and a special 5:30-7 PM pre-game buffet. First pitch is at 7:05 and the opponent is Colorado Springs.

Another place to take the kids is Sesame Street Live: Make a New Friend at the FedExForum this weekend.

“Reel in the Big One” is the theme at Memphis Farmers Market this Saturday. You won’t need a fishing pole, though, to get a fresh catch at the Market, with farm-raised catfish and seafood from the Gulf available for purchase from vendors. You can get seasonings and sides to complete your meal there too. Cooking demo with Felicia from Felicia Suzanne’s at 10, and she’ll cook with her Flo’s sauce to create a delicious Father’s Day meal. Kids can make Father’s Day cards 9 to noon, and Master Gardeners will be at the Market at 9 to answer your questions. Live music by Bruce Barham 8:30 to 10. Corner of Front and G.E. Patterson under the pavilion, 7 AM to 1 PM Saturday.

2 GB ducky flash drives will soon be on sale at the Peabody gift shop. My friend Katie Mac needs one of these.

By the end of this decade, the Wolf River Greenway will be extended all the way to Downtown. The greenway will run 18.4 miles total within the city limits.

@CopelandCoach reported that the Memphis Zoo has a job opening for Director of Conservation and Research.

Sun Studio was on the Today Show this morning. View the video.

In the news: A woman will be on the $10 bill by 2020, the U.S. Treasury announced. It’s about time.

Home from work, PBR time. Goose then Saucer then Bear is my likely running order.

I want to remind everyone that tomorrow is the Crop Hop 5K, starting and ending at the pavilion next to Central Station at Front and G.E. Patterson. This 5K is a fundraiser for Memphis Farmers Market, which has been said to be one of the top farmers markets in the nation. $25 to run (includes T-shirt). If you just want to hang out at the after-party and not run, you can register for that too – $25 if you want the T-shirt, $15 if not. Register here.

Now, about that after-party… it’s going to be awesome. There will be live music by the Rowdy Friends, and great local beer by Memphis Made. However, the biggest reason you want to be at the after-party is the food, cooked by none other than The Moody Ques BBQ team. Yep, we’re going to feed you. Come on down and meet the people you have read about on this blog, including head cook Frank, vice-president Clay, and team workhorse “Mr. Load-in.” Registration at 5:30, race at 6:30, after-party afterward.

The DMP Band headlines the Peabody rooftop party tonight. $10 to get in, doors open at 6, ladies free until 7. Your admission includes a Father’s Day themed buffet of beer cheese dip with warm pretzels and beer battered catfish with tartar dipping sauce (7-8 PM). If you’re in VIP, from 7 to 9:30 there will be a second buffet of Jack Daniel’s glazed tenderloin, garlic bread, corn on the cob, and watermelon wedges. Cranberry margarita specials. There will be a raffle to win a Master of Mixes “Beach Party in a Bag.” The price of VIP passes that get you in all the weekly parties plus other perks has been slashed to $100 for the second half of the season.

There will be a meeting at 6 PM tonight at the National Civil Rights Museum to explore how bike sharing in Memphis might work. If you like to ride, check out this Memphis and Shelby County bike map showing all bike paths in the area.

Tacos & Tunes will be back on Felicia Suzanne’s patio tonight from 7 to 10, with $2 tacos, $5 margaritas, and live music. Also don’t forget that Felicia’s is open for lunch on Fridays, and if you have lunch at the restaurant you can order up to three martinis for 25 cents each.

From Lifehacker: Spice up your cocktails by adding grilled fruit. Hmmm… I remember the early years at the Silly Goose when Daniel would get the grill out on the patio and cook burgers. Maybe he needs to get it back out and grill some fruit for his craft cocktails.

There’s an International Paper Money Show this weekend at the Cook Convention Center. $20 family pass, $7 one-day one-person ticket.

The County Commission approved a new 300-space parking garage for the South Main area. With lots happening soon at Central Station and the Tennessee Brewery, it will be needed.

For the second day in a row, I have way too much news. Going to cut it off here so I have time to grab lunch. Expect a second post with lots of good stuff after work.