Author: paulryburn

Just got home from work. If whomever operates Blues City Tours is reading this, you need to service your vehicles! Twice in the past two weeks I’ve been behind a tour bus on Second that has blown nasty smutty smoke everywhere.

The Blind Bear has posted details of their St. Valentine’s Day Massacre party next Tuesday at 9 PM. Here’s what they’ll have going on.

• DJs BCON and MLW
• No cover if you dress in 1920s gangster or flapper attire. $5 cover otherwise.
• There’s one more way to can beat the cover. Dine at Majestic Grille down the street (reservation required) and receive a password to get in for free.
• Drink specials for those in costume
• 11 PM costume contest for Best Gangster, Best Flapper, and Best 1920s Couple. Winners get $50 in Bear Bucks.

Mesquite Chop House has posted a new $12.95 “Sunday Funday” menu. For that price you get

• Choice of steak: Gaucho Flat-iron, Peppercorn Flat-iron, Parmesan Encrusted Flat-iron, 8 oz. Tenderloin Medallions, 6 oz. Crab Topped Tenderloin Medallions
• Choice of side: Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Santa Fe Corn, Sauteed Mushrooms

Not a bad deal. The new menu starts this coming Sunday, February 12. They suggest you phone ahead for reservations: 901-527-5337.

The newest Ruffles flavor: Memphis in May BBQ potato chips.

The MBJ reports that a preliminary design for the I55-Crump Boulevard interchange has been approved. The interchange will decrease congestion, increase capacity, and won’t displace area residents.

It looks like Memphis to the Big East is the real deal. This is good news for the city and the school, due to the increased visibility and money that a major conference will send our way. This is wonderful news for the U of M football program, which managed to get in a BCS conference despite being the absolute drizzling shits the past couple of years. It’s good news for basketball fans, because we’ll get to play Louisville and Cincinnati every year. It’s fantastic news for TV viewers, because we won’t be on CSS anymore. As some people pointed out, Pastner’s job will be tougher, but overall this is probably the biggest WIN for Memphis sports since we got the Grizzlies.

Update on last night’s poker game: Daniel who owns the Silly Goose texted me this afternoon. Poker Jon was ineligible to win his own game; therefore, I won the $50 prize at the 7:30 game. Thanks Daniel and I’ll probably see you tonight for Star & Micey.

Newsy day. Time to hit Publish and then hit happy hour.

BREAKING NEWS: Multiple, credible sources on Twitter are saying that the University of Memphis will join the Big East in all sports in 2013. Of course, these rumors have appeared several times before, but this time there seems to be some meat to them.

So, I was reading Kerry’s blog post about Cochon 555, and I noticed this very interesting line near the end:

“If you missed Cochon555, don’t worry. The team that hosted it will be back in Memphis over Labor Day weekend to hold their first annual heritage pork barbecue festival.”

Hmmm really? How interesting! The greater Memphis area is becoming a mecca for BBQ festivals. Besides the big one Memphis in May throws every year, we have Smokin’ Aces in Tunica in late September, the Liberty Bowl BBQ fest in December, and now this. The new team I’m on is just getting organized, so it’s too early for us to think ahead to the heritage pork festival. Wonder if my friends over at Squeal Street BBQ will take a shot at it.

The Daily News reports that there’s a new Russian Cultural Center open in South Main. They want it to be a place where Americans and Russians can interact, and Russian cooking classes, lectures, language classes, and film screenings are in the plans. Downtown just keeps getting more diverse. Love it!

Star & Micey play the Silly Goose tonight. It’s their regular monthly gig, first Tuesday of every month.

The first Memphis Gives tweetup happens tonight at Cortona Restaurant in Cooper-Young from 6 to 8. Attendees are asked to bring at least $5 to support Manna House. Cortona has agreed to extend happy hour pricing to 8 PM for the tweetup.

In the news: The last known World War I veteran has died. Florence Green joined the Women’s Royal Air Force in the UK seven months before the end of the war. She died in her sleep Saturday night at age 110.

Twitter users: Here’s an infographic to help you decide whether to use Twitter’s official “Retweet” button. Personally, I hate the official button. Hand-crafted RTs are much better. I don’t care if Twitter deems it “correct” or not.

Thursday at the Metal Museum, there will be a gallery talk and lecture by Dr. Daniel Mato, curator of the exhibition Weighed in the Balance: Akan Gold Weights from the Canadian Museum of Making. It’s hsoted by Memphis Urban League Young Professionals and times are 6:00 to 8:30 PM. Refreshments will be provided. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

Also, the Museum will have a free day Saturday from 10 to 5. Spend $100 in the gift shop and get a free heart pendant.

Congrats to local food blogger Shannon R. Little, whose blog Memphis Foodie turns one year old today. She’s doing a giveaway on her blog to celebrate.

Today is the 200th anniversary of the 1812 New Madrid earthquake.

Wikipedia’s featured article today is about “Cartman Gets an Anal Probe,” an episode of South Park. Wasn’t Human Centipede a featured article a few months ago? Do the folks at Wikipedia have some kind of anal fetish?

I came very close to a poker win at the Silly Goose last night. It came down to a 20-minute heads-up battle between host Poker Jon and myself, a fight that dragged on so long that it delayed the start of the 10:00 game. Finally, I shoved all-in pre-flop with A-2, and Jon called with Q-8, suited I think. It looked like my Ace high would hold up, but Jon hit a Queen on the river to win the tournament. I didn’t realize Jon could win the $50 gift certificate in his own game. I got the points in the poker league though, and the satisfaction of knowing I can hang with a very talented player for an extended period of time.

I’m playing more poker tonight, Jamie’s game at the Blind Bear at 8:00. Before that I’ll pre-game at the Flying Saucer’s happy hour.

Kelly English of Restaurant Iris won the Cochon 555 competition, held Saturday night Downtown at The Columns at One Commerce Square. The competition featured 5 regional chefs each preparing a whole hog in a tribute to heritage pork. Food Republic has a report and photos here.

Meanwhile, a few blocks down Main, another competition was taking place. The finals of the International Blues Challenge happened at the Orpheum, with bands in the afternoon and solo/duo acts in the evening. The WIRED Band from Washington was the winner of the band competition, while solo/duo went to Ray Bonneville of Northwest Arkansas. More results can be found on the Blues Foundation website.

And the Giants won the Super Bowl. It was my first time to watch the game at bars rather than a house party for the first time in 7 years. My reaction? “Meh.” I watched part of the game at the Saucer, part at Bardog. Both bars were a little busier than usual, but neither was terribly exciting. Specials were good.

Here’s a pic of the Peabody Duckmaster Z-boING.

Monday night. Pint Nite at the Saucer as soon as I can get there. Poker at the Goose at 7:30. Hopefully I’ll catch better cards than the last time I played, when I was dealt approximately 35 hands and did not win a single one.

Who do you think makes more, Tom Brady or O.J. Mayo?

This morning I was surfing Yahoo! Sports, looking at the rosters for NFL teams. Salaries for many players are listed. I was surprised to learn that Tom Brady, one of the elite players in the National Football League, makes almost exactly the same amount as O.J. Mayo of the Grizzlies. I thought his salary would be more in line with NBA superstars like Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, and LeBron James. Not even close.

Here’s another one. Who do you think makes more, Tim Tebow or Tony Allen?

TA makes almost twice as much what Tebow makes, even though Tebow is the much more widely recognized name. He may have inspired “Tebowing,” but his paychecks really aren’t that big.

The NFL rosters were riddled with players making in the $400,000-$500,000 range. The Grizzlies only have one player below $500K and two more below $1 million.

The moral of the story: If you want to make the big money, play basketball.

If you’re trying to decide where to watch the game, here’s my list of Downtown Super Bowl specials to help you out. I’m still totally undecided where to watch. At this point 5 different bars are under consideration. Game starts at 5:30. I’ve got the first half of my day worked out though. Brunch at the Majestic at 11, then at noon I’ll walk over to the Flying Saucer to enjoy a bonus Pint Nite. Almost all beers on the tap wall only $3 a pint.

I saw this on a wrestling site a couple of days ago and figured I’d share.

DDP defeats a jabroni in short order, and afterward his buddies Scott Hall and Kevin Nash come down to the ring to welcome him to the New World Order. What happened next was one of the most exciting moments in pro wrestling history. Commentary by WCW president Eric Bischoff and Ted DiBiase, themselves nWo members.

The Downtown Memphis Commission will give away free Downtown parking for a year to a couple of lucky folks on Valentine’s Day. To have a chance to win, all you have to do is “Like” their Downtown Memphis page on Facebook.

Three posts today and it’s not even 10 AM yet. I like days when I can post the news as it comes in, rather than having to spew it all out in one “_______ update” post at lunchtime. In the mood for some day drinking at Bardog when they open at noon.

Polar Bear Plunge and Chili Cook-off on Mud Island, 10-3

Tigers vs. Xavier, FedExForum, noon

IBC Finals, Orpheum. 2 PM bands, 7:30 PM solo/duos

Cochon555, The Columns at One Commerce Square, 6 PM (sold out)

Those are the big events. For more, see the DMC’s calendar of events.

I had a fun night at the Grizzlies watch party at the Blind Bear last night. We killed the Hawks, and showed everyone why we’re leading the league in steals per game. I ended up sitting only a few feet away from a Board of Directors meeting of my new BBQ team, the Moody Ques. I got to hear the plans for this year. I’m not allowed to post any of them yet, but I asked the vice president of the team, “Am I at least allowed to say that it will be epic?” He said yes. So there you go. Epic. I have every reason to believe they will exceed what my former team did in their best years, 2008-10.

Attention UT fans: You’ll have an inexpensive way to get to Knoxville for home games this fall. Megabus is adding a route from Memphis to Knoxville. Service starts February 29 and fares are as cheap as $1. The farther ahead you book, the cheaper the fare. There’s a stop in Nashville, so the bus is a travel option there too.

There’s a Groupon for a comedy/blues show at the New Daisy on Valentine’s Day that is currently active. Description reads, “Def Jam ‘Bad Girl’ Sonya D hosts trio of comics in Valentine’s Day comedy show shared with blues artist Ms. Toni Green.” There are options to purchase 2, 4, or 6 tickets, or 2 VIP tickets.

A new women’s retail store will soon appear in the Downtown core. A shop called Revive has rented space in One Commerce Square at the northwest corner of Union and Second, according to the Memphis Business Journal. It will sell clothing, shoes and accessories, and is owned by the former operator of the Coco & Lilly shop in Peabody Place mall. The Revive location has never been used for retail before.

Felicia Suzanne’s, open for lunch on Friday only, has added a new lunch special: Enjoy a vodka or gin martini for $0.25 with your lunch.

Plans for tonight: Not at all sure. I’ll probably start at the Saucer for happy hour and figure it out from there. May wander down to Beale for IBC.