Author: paulryburn

All right, time to continue with the news I didn’t have time to post at lunch.

If you missed the transit of Venus last night, take a look at this amazing video on the MemphisWeather.net blog. The video was captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, the most advanced spacecraft ever designed specifically to study the Sun.

First Lady Michelle Obama will visit Downtown Memphis later this month, for a fundraiser at the Memphis Cook Convention Center. The Memphis Daily News blog has details.

There’s a new company Downtown giving electric bike tours of Downtown Memphis. Details in this Flyer article. The bikes are rented from the company’s headquarters at WellWorx at Main and Madison.

Congressman Steve Cohen will speak at the South Main Association’s meeting next Tuesday, June 12. It will be held on the patio of Felicia Suzanne’s and is free for SMA members, $10 for non-members (and they made it a point to say that non-members are WELCOME). Social at 6, meeting at 6:30, cash bar, complimentary hors d’oeuvres from the restaurant. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

The Grizzlies Foundation has announced that a Grizzlies Preparatory Charter School will open next month. More details to come, but they’ve announced that there will be an event at the FedExForum with school leadership and scholars. There are a lot of reasons to love the Grizzlies besides just basketball. The organization has really put down some roots in the community in its 11 years here.

So, last night Amanda from Bardog earned a Certificate of Achievement from the Center for Tube Top Excellence. Who’s going to step up and earn a certificate tonight? About to head out. Tentative running order is still Saucer around 6:15 (running late because I had to type this), Bear at 8.

Last night, I got home from work, threw my backpack in the closet, changed clothes, and got ready to head to the Flying Saucer as usual. One thing I like to do before going out is get on my MacBook and check all the social media outlets – Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare – to see what everyone is doing. Sometimes that influences my plan for the evening.

Last night’s plan got influenced in a big way when I logged on to Facebook. There was a pic of Bardog happy hour bartender Panda Manda in a tube top. I immediately put the Saucer plan on hold, and Bardog became my new first stop.

Amanda told me it was “Tube Top Tuesday” and she’s thinking about wearing tube tops every Tuesday during the warm summer months. If that turns out to be the case, my running order for bars on Tuesdays will be rearranged real fast.

Uncle Ray was at the bar. He approved of the Tube Top Tuesday idea.

While at Bardog, I heard a rumor that Czechoslovakia will be the honored country at Memphis in May next year. Um, nice try. Czechoslovakia as a country doesn’t even exist anymore. If you hear that rumor, it’s BS.

As I was drinking a $2 Corona (all month long at Bardog), I received a text from my friend Joe, who was pre-gaming for Mamma Mia! over at Kooky Canuck. He wanted to inform me of some new Saturday and Sunday specials:

I texted back and inquired about the size. They are 12-ounce drinks. That’s not a bad deal at all, considering mimosas are usually served in 5-ounce wine glasses, and in some cases champagne glasses that are even smaller.

A Bloody Caesar, by the way, is a Canadian version of the Bloody Mary made with Clamato. It was invented in Calgary, Alberta, Canada (if I can be serious for a minute) in 1969. It is very popular north of the border but is not well known elsewhere.

I tabbed out at Bardog and headed to the Blind Bear for poker at 8. Poker has become so popular that at one point Jamie had three 10-handed tables going! When you’re 10-handed, play tends to be a lot less imaginative, especially if you’re in early position. I made it to the 500/1000 level but never made a serious run at the final table.

From there, my next stop was the Flying Saucer, where I saw this flyer.

There will be a drawing for Bonnaroo tickets tonight at 8 PM at the Saucer. Drink any Woodchuck product to get an entry into the drawing. They have three ciders (Amber, Granny Smith, Pear) on draft and I think one or two more in bottles.

In other news: If you are on LinkedIn, you should probably change your password. 6.5 million passwords have reportedly been leaked. The passwords are encrypted, but still, best security practices would dicate that you do a password change.

Dave Chappelle comes to the Orpheum next Tuesday, June 12. Details and tickets here.

The last paragraph of this Daily News article makes me very, very happy. As you probably know, Madison between Main and Second is blocked by a barrier, around an old, crumbling building that was not properly maintained by its owner. Its roof caved in more than a year ago. The City Council was scheduled to vote on a third and final reading of an ordinance that would fine property owners $200 a day for blocking sidewalks with such a barrier, unless construction is taking place. Good to see measures put in place to punish neglectful owners of dilapidated properties.

My plans for tonight: I’m going to hang out at the Saucer until 8 to see who wins the Bonnaroo tickets. Then I’m going to wander over to the Blind Bear and play trivia. We’ll see if we can repeat our first-place victory from last week. I hear Team Nuh-Uh that used to play at the Goose plans to show up too.

If you’re looking for an alternative to trivia, it’s Wine Down Wednesday at the Brass Door. $3 wine, $3 Yuengling, $6 sausage and cheese plates, Brass Door Bingo with Diamond Dave at 7, Open Mic Night downstairs at 9.

I have at least 4 more news items, but I must publish this and grab lunch. There will likely be a second post between 5:30-6:00.

Hi everyone. I’ve been asked to enlist my readers’ help figuring out what happened in a car vs. pedestrian accident Friday of BBQ Fest, which would be May 18.

Friday night my friend Danny left BBQ Fest and walked up the steps. Danny is a white male, about 5’7″ and 140 pounds, mid 50s, short white hair. It is unclear whether he meant the Huling or Beale steps, but he was walking to the Saucer to meet people and had “about a 6 block walk.” Somewhere along the way – he thinks he was on Front or Main – a car hit him. He saw it coming, and had time to jump and avoid his legs being snapped. However, when he jumped on top of the car, his head smacked against the windshield, giving him a concussion.

Danny is not sure whether the driver got out to assist him, or not – in fact, up until a couple of days ago, he didn’t remember being hit by a car at all. The next thing he remembers is stumbling onward in the direction of the Flying Saucer. He was stumbling because of the head injury, not alcohol – Danny probably had a beer or two but is not the kind of person to get excessively drunk. Anyway, he stumbled up the road until somewhere between Main and Gayoso, when the lights went out. Next thing he knew, he woke up at the Med, where he was told he fell down.

Danny told me this last night, and from his speech and mannerisms, he is clearly still feeling the effects of the concussion. Like I said, he just remembered being hit by a car a couple of days ago, and he’s trying to piece together what happened. If you saw anything – the accident itself, him staggering up the road, or where he collapsed – I’d appreciate it if you could email me at paul@paulryburn.com, so I can pass the info on to Danny.

That concludes this public service announcement. We now return you to the usual content of PBR and tube top fetishes.

Sad news to report today. Bobby Durango has passed away. I met Bobby in 2005 when he was waiting tables at Sleep Out Louie’s. However, he is better known as one of the founders of the Rock City Angels, a band that was very influential in the South Florida rock scene in the early-mid 1980s. The band’s lineup included Johnny Depp at one point. By the time I met Bobby, his musical career was on the back-burner for the time being. However, he did perform at Sleep Out’s a couple of times with Crash Kole and Bobby’s guitar protege Smokin’ Lemon. There have been hoaxes concerning his death in the past, but yesterday afternoon the band released a statement confirming his death. R.I.P. Bobby, it was a pleasure being your friend.

By the way, Bobby was around the first couple of years I did Tube Top Month, and was a big supporter of the cause. So ladies, why not honor Bobby’s memory by wearing a tube top the next time you go out!

This weekend when the gang was hanging out at Bardog, Aldo told us to save the date: Bardog’s fourth birthday party will be Sunday, August 19. These alley parties are always a lot of fun with a dunk tank, meatball eating contest, grilled food, and other surprises. Last year, the party along with the Bardog 5K earlier in the day raised $20,000 for St. Jude. Aldo says his goal is $30,000 this year.

Speaking of St. Jude, First Tennessee is matching donations made through its Online Bill Pay service. Details here.

Spaghetti Warehouse begins its 40th anniversary celebration by giving customers 40% off on their choice of two dishes today. You can choose the 15-layer lasagne or the spaghetti & meatballs. No coupon is needed.

Last night Double J Smokehouse and Saloon tweeted that they’ve revised their menu and added some new items. I don’t think the menu has been revised on their website yet, so stop by and see what they’ve got. Hopefully the new menu items will receive similar high praise to their steaks, ribs, and sandwiches.

Memphis Sounds Lounge, next to A&R Bar-b-Que on North Third, is doing “Jazz for a Cause” tomorrow night, June 6. The concert’s flyer notes that 18 U.S. veterans commit suicide every day, mostly due to psychiatric drugs. Jazz and blues piano legend Junior Mance will perform. Two shows, 7:30 and 9:30. Buy tickets at LiveJazzFromFamousVenues.com.

The Memphis Grizzlies Charitable Foundation’s TEAM UP program is looking for 50 new mentors. The program pairs 3 adult mentors with 9 students in select public charter middle schools. Mentor teams meet with students once per week during the school year to help students develop strong social and academic skills and prepare for college and career. Mentors get lots of support from the Foundation. If you want to throw your name in the hat for the Foundation’s mentor draft, visit this page. There are also 1-to-1 and other types of mentoring opportunities available.

There will be a transit of Venus across the Sun today and tomorrow. This happens when Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun. It will be the last transit to happen this century. The same precautions used when viewing a solar eclips should be used to view the transit. Find out how to watch the transit online.

Plans for tonight: I haven’t been in a poker playing mood much lately, but I guess I’ll show up for the weekly poker game at the Blind Bear at 8. Might as well get my point for showing up toward league standings if nothing else. Will pre-game at the Saucer beforehand.

Last night I wrapped up Sunday Fun Day with a couple of beers at the Flying Saucer. The Sunday night bartender was wolfing down some grilled salmon from the Saucer’s sister restaurant the Flying Fish down the street. I’m not kidding, she was ANNIHILATING it. It made me hungry. So after brief stops at the Saucer and Goose tonight, I went to the Fish for to-go food.

A huge salmon filet, red beans and rice, squash, zucchini, and pico de gallo. (It’s hard to see the squash but it’s under the salmon.) Remember this configuration; in a minute I’m going to rearrange things.

Hula poppers: Jalapenos stuffed with cheese and shrimp, wrapped in bacon. Never had them but damn they sound good.

Couple of other Fish specials I want to report: 1) If you’re a University of Memphis student or faculty member, show your ID for 20% off. 2) Rolling Rock $1.50 during happy hour 4-7 PM.

And then there was this:

Why yes I am having a PBR while I wait for my food at the Fish. Too bad that this delicious beer can’t find its way down the street to the Fish’s sibling the Saucer. Despite the fact that FIVE OTHER SAUCERS have PBR on the regular menu. One of the other regulars did the research.

So, this is what I did to my meal. I chopped up the fish, zucchini and squash over the red beans and rice. Then I dumped the pico on top of it and mixed it up. Then I dumped a sample bottle of RedHot sauce (acquired at BBQ Fest) on top and mixed it again. Simply awesome.

Home just a little after 10. I planned to stay out longer, but apparently some Downtowners are not capable of putting on a tube top and hitting the bars 7 days a week. Fine. Whatever.

Last night I had a number of really weird dreams. Has anyone else had the experience of creating an alternate version of a city in their dreams? After I woke up, I realized that I have an alternate version of Downtown that I dream about from time to time. Some of the features of my “alternate Downtown”:

– When I look out my windows, on Main Street facing south toward Monroe Avenue, I don’t see what is really there. I don’t see the One Commerce Square building, which dominates my real-life view. In my dreams, if I look to the left I see a grassy field, where all sorts of interesting things happen. To my right I see the Main Street Mall, pretty much as it is in real life minus the high-rise office building.

– In my dreams there are several other high-rise apartment buildings within a few blocks of where I live. I dream about a prominent one where the Madison Hotel is in real life. I’ll often dream I’ve moved there and regret moving out of Number 10. When I wake up I’m always relieved to realize it was a dream and I didn’t actually move.

– I also dream of a long brick apartment building just south of Main and Monroe. It’s an older building, about 12 stories high. I don’t think I’ve ever “moved” there but I go there to visit friends.

– Cool, trendy restaurants tend to pop up in my dreams where the Renaissance Apartments are in real life. Across the street there’s a Walgreens, rather than Jack’s Food Store which is there in real life.

– I’ve dreamed over and over of some good restaurants across from TJ Mulligan’s in the Pinch that have walk-up-to-the-window service. In particular I’ve dreamed of a Mexican restaurant of this type at least a couple of times. Good queso.

– Several times I’ve dreamed that there’s a harbor to the north of the Pinch district, with a riverside park that’s a good place to go relax, to sit and read a book. Events are sometimes held there.

– My alternate Downtown apparently doesn’t exist south of Union. I’ve had dreams of being in places I frequent in real life (Saucer, Goose, etc.) but can’t remember any buildings that are out of place.

I wonder what these dreams mean? Could I be viewing one of a number of alternate realties that could have happened, but didn’t? Or perhaps I’m looking at Memphis around the year 2100, after an earthquake has re-routed the river, placing the harbor to the north of the Pinch. Who knows.

I also had a dream last night – it happened at the time the thunderstorms were moving through – that a wind blew underneath me, lifting up my entire body except for my head, which remained on the pillow. I could look up and see my feet. That was the first time I can recall levitating in a dream. Then the wind blew me completely out of bed, landing me at the foot and I had to climb back in. Of course this really didn’t actually happen. I was lying under the covers, in the same position, the entire time. To some extent I think I knew it was a dream and was enjoying it, both for the physical sensations and because I realize how healthful and regenerative lots of good REM sleep can be.

In a third dream, I was on the 12th and top floor of a building, taking photos of something across the street. Can’t remember what – a school maybe. It wasn’t Downtown; at least that much I’m sure of. Anyway, I wasn’t supposed to be in the building and had no recollection of how I got up there. I was standing on about a 4′ x 4′ concrete fire escape. I got lots of photos, but I couldn’t figure out how I was going to get down. The fire escape door was locked. Jumping would likely mean a broken leg if not worse. Trying to jump to lower fire escapes was risky. And if I yelled for help or banged on the door, there was a chance I could go to jail for trespassing. Like the previous dream, at some level I realized I was dreaming, and eventually I solved the dilemma by waking up.

Not sure what caused those bizarre dreams. I went to bed early, and these happened between 5 and 6 AM, so my body would have processed any alcohol left in my system hours ago. I don’t do any other drugs. Not sure what caused the hallucinations. Maybe it was the thunderstorms.

Sadly none of my dreams were about tube tops.

I got up too late for brunch at the Majestic yesterday, so I started the day at noon at the Flying Saucer. When I got there, I discovered something new. My home away from home has a new living room.

They’ve converted the former stage area into a lounge area. The three benches that were previously there are gone, and in its place are comfy couches, tables, and chairs. I really like it. For years servers complained about getting that section, because it was the most unappealing part of the entire bar. Not so anymore.

So, what happened to those benches? They’ve been moved to the little nook behind the pool table.

I hung out at the Saucer until 3, then migrated to the Blind Bear. From there the group decided to hit Bardog for some of those $2 Coronas. Unfortunately they had run out, with another shipment due Tuesday. Not that we minded much though – it’s Bardog, never a bad place to spend a Sunday. Our friend Buddha put Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” on the jukebox and we rocked out.

After Bardog, I went back to the Blind Bear, where frequent blog reader Kelly was hanging out. Now, I’ve given Kelly a lot of grief on this blog lately, but I have to say that I am very proud of some of the decisions she made yesterday. For one, let’s look at what she was wearing:

She’d been out with her family at Texas de Brazil and Beale Street earlier in the day. She was too hot in the clothes she was wearing, so she bought a tube top dress and changed into it.

Speaking of that trip to Texas de Brazil… she was there for brunch. That meant that they had lobster bisque and breakfast meats on the salad bar. She got a bowl of the lobster bisque and used it as a dipping sauce for her bacon and other meats. Where did she learn to do that? Right here.

In other news around Downtown, prizes were awarded to three Unveil Downtown artists. Elisha Gold (work on display at Lansky 126), Rebekah Laurenzi (work on display at Art on a Hot Tin Roof), and Jimpsie Ayres (work on display at Thai Bistro) were the winners. You can see their work through June 20.

It’s been announced that Tuesday trivia with Kevin Cerrito at Ferraro’s will soon have an earlier end time. That’s very good news. Having played on a team for five years, I can tell you that professionals who work 8-5 jobs really appreciate it when trivia wraps up at 10 or earlier. Don’t forget that there’s $1 PBR and Rolling Rock at Kevin’s trivia. It starts at 8 PM on Tuesdays.

Paulette’s is having a wine dinner tomorrow night, Tuesday, June 5. It will feature Argentinian wines that scored in Wine Spectator’s 89-92 range. Details here. The River Inn is also offering special room rates in conjunction with the dinner, should you choose to stay the night.

All right, time for a quick bite then back to work on my current PHP/MySQL project. Plans for tonight: Pint Nite at the Saucer.

So yesterday, I decided to start the day off with PBR at Panda Manda’s bar at Bardog. It turned out to be a good move, for a couple of reasons. For one, I discovered that they had $2 Coronas for the entire month of June, which means I will abandon PBR as my drink of choice there until July 1.

Another reason I was glad I went to Bardog is that nearly the entire gang showed up. Usually there are three or four of us at Panda’s bar at noon on Saturday… yesterday there were more than TEN. Usually that big a group does not accumulate in one place while the sun is still up. Good to hang out with everyone.

So I slammed one Corona after another, running up what was probably my largest tab at Bardog ever. By about 4:00 the group was ready to migrate to Blind Bear, but I realized that food and a break from beer was necessary. So I got the Dog of the Day to go – yesterday’s Dog was topped with chili con queso and pico. I paid an extra $1.99 to upgrade my side to a cup of the Soup of the Day, chicken poblano pepper.

After eating, it was time to hit the Saucer for their 15th birthday party. You know, it’s funny – five years ago, when the weather was nice I would divide my time between the window seats and the bar. Now I hang out at the bar almost exclusively. Not sure why. Anyway, I saw a friend in the window and joined him. Beautiful weather and good tube top watching. Katie commented that she’d been working there since August and it was the first time she’d waited on me, other than people’s plate parties. I let her pick my beers from the 15-rare-beer tap wall and she made excellent selections. Most of the beers were in the 8.3-10.5% ABV range. Combined with the Coronas earlier in the day, I was feeling mighty good by 10:00 or so.

Then I walked over to the Blind Bear and took a seat on the patio. Despite the lack of tube tops, there were still plenty of photo opportunities.

Because of my adventures in drinking earlier in the day at Bardog and the Saucer, I was having trouble operating my iPhone. At one point I tried to take a pic but I accidentally had it in video mode. Turned out to be a lucky accident, though, because I captured this piece of awesomeness (0:03. Click the link, trust me, it’s worth it). (EDIT: Dammit the video isn’t playing! If you see me out, ask to see it on my phone. I’d put it on YouTube but I don’t know if the stars of the show would appreciate that.)

Unfortunately my drinking adventures did have one negative consequence: I forgot to check in at the Blind Bear on Foursquare! So I’m one day closer to losing the mayorship, and the one free beer per day that comes with it. I think I’m safe missing a day though. The former mayor told me he’s 8 days away. I don’t think Puckett is a threat to the mayorship anymore. That “Kristin” chick who likes to erase the mayor chalkboard at the Goose may be within 10 days of the Bear mayorship, but I’m not sure.

I’m still on my soapbox about the Memphis Saucer carrying PBR. It’s not like it would be hard for them to get it in the bar; last time I was in their sister restaurant the Flying Fish which is right down the street, I saw PBR there. Charge $3.50 for a 16-ounce can and surely you’d be making as much profit as you’d make from, say, a pint of Guinness. Plus dishwashing costs would decrease since most PBR drinkers prefer to drink out of the can. And in my case, lime costs would decrease. $3.50 is high compared to what other bars charge for a PBR can, but I think people would pay it for the privilege of being in the Saucer. The Saucer is just about the last holdout… even Local and Alfred’s have climbed aboard the PBR train in the past year. The ticket at the Nashville Saucer described PBR as “the fastest growing beer in North America.” Why would you not want a beer like that in your bar? Especially when you willingly carry swill like Coors Light?

Oh that reminds me… I posted yesterday that Aldo’s Pizza Pies would have 20 taps on the wall. Turns out I got that wrong. Actually it’s THIRTY taps. Bud Light and 29 craft and import beers, I’ve been told. They will have PBR in some form, either cans or bottles.

Checking social media to see what everyone has been up to… I see one of my Facebook/Foursquare friends is in Little Rock (and she had a tube top dress on last night). She checked in at “Little Rock, AR” on Foursquare. That’s a perfectly fine checkin since she’s a tourist. However, another Foursquare friend of mine, who lives in Downtown Memphis, checked in at “Downtown Memphis” yesterday. Nothing screams LOSER more than a checkin like that. I’m not going to name names but there may be a photo of her somewhere in this post.

It’s 11:20 as I type this, so I guess I’m not going to brunch this morning. About noon I’ll wander over to the Saucer and not drink a PBR.

I started the day at Bardog today. Unfortunately I didn’t get a window seat where I could watch Scratchy and tube tops pass by, but you can’t win them all. When I walked in I noticed this sign.

$2 Coronas. As someone who loves a good Mexi-beer I was excited to see this special come back for a second year.

Amanda was so excited about the $2 Coronas that she danced on the bar.

While I was at Bardog I kept an eye on my phone. I received this text from a friend of mine who went to Nashville for a scooter rally:

For those of you not familiar with the ticket above, let me explain. If you are a member of the UFO Club at the Flying Saucer, you swipe your card at the computer and print out a ticket to drink one of their 200+ beers. This ticket is from the Nashville Flying Saucer. As you see, it is for PBR.

Just to prove he wasn’t lying, he texted this photo of a PBR 16 ounce can, next to a Saucer coaster, on what is obviously a Saucer bar, in front of what is obviously a Saucer cooler. Bartender in Nashville told him they have had PBR cans since he started 6 years ago.

I always thought the decision not to carry PBR was a corporate-wide one. I guess I was wrong. It must be a local one, left up to each GM.

Kirk? Explanation?

If you’d like to see PBR at the Memphis Saucer, here’s the beerknurd.com Make Contact form.