Buzztime Trivia (NTN Trivia) returning to Downtown

BIG NEWS for trivia fans this morning.  Buzztime Trivia, formerly known as NTN Trivia, will return to Downtown Memphis in 3-4 weeks.  Last week I mentioned that Calhoun’s sports bar on G.E. Patterson was adding more TVs… the reason why is that some of those new TVs will become monitors for Buzztime Trivia.

Buzztime Trivia is played against the other people in the bar, using blue boxes with a keypad (affectionately referred to as “crack boxes” because the games are addictive) to answer questions that appear on the monitors.  Most of the games are general knowledge, but there are some that are specific to movies, sports, TV, music, etc.  There are also other channels where you can play Texas hold’em poker, racing games, and more.

For a long time Buzztime was easily accessible to Downtowners, available at Sleep Out Louie’s and TJ Mulligan’s.  However, Mulligan’s decided they didn’t want to spend the money, and Sleep Out’s closed down to become a steakhouse that would attract “a different clientele.”  So, since February 2007, Downtowners have had to travel to Buffalo Wild Wings at Poplar and Highland to get their Buzztime fix.  Within a month they’ll have a local option again.  I’m sure the trivia game will draw in many new Calhoun’s regulars, as people discover the $1.50 PBR, the many TVs carrying sports, the great bartenders, and the friendly crowd.

There’s more Calhoun’s news as well.  Comcast will be out there today installing feeds to all the TVs.  That means Tiger games carried on CSS, which is a Comcast-exclusive channel, will now be on TV at Calhoun’s.  Hmmm I bet the Saucer never sees Mikey for a Tiger game again.

Also, HD receivers have been hooked up to all 8 TVs, which means there will be no more annoying delays on the game feeds.

News elsewhere Downtown… tonight’s “buy the beer, keep the glass” beer glass at the Flying Saucer is the Lazy Magnolia brewery out of Mississippi, so you’re supporting a semi-local business if you buy one.  I watched one of the bartenders write this week’s glass listing on the chalkboard, and after she wrote “Lazy” I thought, “Cool!  They’re putting a picture of Brittney [one of the other bartenders] on a glass!”  But no, it’s a brewery, not a bartender.

Good article on George Hunt, the artist who exhibits at d’Edge Gallery on South Main and who usually designs the Memphis in May posters, in the Commercial Appeal today.

My new College Logo Shopping stores are off to a great start… the Big 12 schools in particular seem to be producing lots of sales, especially Kansas, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma.  All together they sold 23 items yesterday, not bad at all for websites only a few days old.  One of the items in my sales report was a Texas Longhorns recliner.  “That sounds expensive,” I thought, and clicked through to take a look.  It cost $699!  I’ll make $50 commission from that one item alone.  Needless to say, this motivates me to get more BCS school stores done.  I almost have the Big Ten conference ready to roll out.

Speaking of Texas… I watched Arkansas beat #7 Texas last night at the Saucer.  The Hogs are having a great year – record of 12-1 and they’ve beat the last 7 Top 25 teams they’ve played.  I can’t believe they didn’t crack the Top 25 this week.  Surely they will next week.  Freshman Courtney Fortson seems like he’s going to be a star point guard, as soon as he gets a little more disciplined.  He had the moves but was turning the ball over a lot last night.  Hopefully coach John Pelphrey can work with him.

Time to create some more stores, and do more work on the personal finance program I’m rewriting.  I need to do a post on lessons learned from it soon.  Done for now, not sure if I’ll be going out anywhere tonight.

The Rambo @ Bardog Tavern

The Rapscallions won first place at trivia tonight.  Afterward I watched the Hogs beat Texas on the Saucer’s big screen, then walked down to Bardog Tavern for to-go food.

Pictured above is “The Rambo,” a grilled and sliced New York strip sandwich with caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, pepperoncini, white American cheese, and horseradish cream on a hoagie roll.

Because I’m a big fan of audience participation, I’ll leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine whether I enjoyed my sandwich.

NYC Deli moving into old McAlister’s space

According to the Memphis Business Journal, the empty McAlister’s Deli space in One Commerce Square at Main and Monroe will soon become a NYC Deli.  This is being operated by the same people who run five Blimpies around town, which is why we saw that “Downtown deli positions, apply at Bartlett Blimpie” ad a few weeks ago in the Memphis Flyer want ads.

It’s trivia night at the Flying Saucer (7 PM) and Pint Night, all pints $3, at Bardog Tavern (7 PM to 3 AM).

New hotel: Court Street Inn. Also, A&R BBQ close to opening

My car needed brake work, so I dropped it off at Quality Auto on Jefferson just east of Third this morning.  A blog reader recommended them to me last June, and they did a great job getting my hardly-ever-driven car in shape to pass inspection.  I’ve always preferred to take it to the Saturn dealership, but Quality was much cheaper, I can walk home from there, and I like to support local Downtown businesses.  They’re my garage from now on.

On the way home, I noticed a new hotel:  Court Street Inn, at the corner of Third and Court, above the business that used to be Roma.  I did some searching, because I hadn’t heard of them before.  Here’s Expedia’s page on Court Street Inn.  It looks like it’s getting decent ratings, and rooms start at $75/night, so this may be an affordable option if you need a hotel room Downtown.

It looks like the A&R BBQ that will replace Roma in that building is almost ready to go.  They had their menu up, and were stocking the place with styrofoam cups and other supplies.

Whew… the garage just called.  Brakes are fine, 40% on the front and plenty on the back.  Gotta love honest mechanics.  Heading out to pick up the car.

Mon update: Grizzlies, Dempseys @ Saucer, Bobby Rush @ CSF, new College Logo Shopping sites

Yesterday afternoon I went to the Grizzlies game, and watched them beat the Dallas Mavericks 102-82.  They did an outstanding job… “Is this the same team I see losing on TV all the time?” I thought.  Marc Gasol dominated the first quarter and had something like 11-13 points in the first 12 minutes.  Rudy Gay, (Edit: OJ Mayo not Greg Oden – was reading an article on Oden right before I typed this), and Hakim Warrick were on fire later in the game.

Non-game related highlights:  One of the acts that performed during timeout was “Grizzlies Grandmas and Grandpas,” a dance team in their 60s and 70s.  They had almost as much energy, and were nearly as good, as the official Grizzlies dance team that is 40-50 years younger.  I was very impressed.  Another fun moment came when mascot Grizz stole a popcorn vendor’s supply and started throwing boxes to the crowd.  When Grizz got to the final box, he opened it and dumped it over a fan’s head.

Coming this week:  According to the bar’s band calendar, The Dempseys play the Flying Saucer this Thursday at 9:30 PM, $3 cover.

On Friday night, the Center for Southern Folklore will present An Evening with Bobby Rush.  After the success of the last two Memphis Music & Heritage Festivals, Rush came to the Center and asked if he could perform in a special benefit.  So on Friday, January 9, he will perform in an evening of music and conversation, and food and beverages, in which he’ll play two acoustic blues sets and discuss his 5-decade career as a musician.  Tickets are $75 and can be purchased here or at 901-525-3655.  The Center is a small space, so if you want to attend, you’d better get your tickets as soon as possible.  This is your chance to get up close and personal with a bona fide blues legend.

Over the weekend I created College Logo Shopping sites for the Big 12 schools.  College Logo Shopping is a group of stores linking to all merchandise for a particular university carried on Amazon.  Here are a complete list of CLS stores I’ve done so far:

Alabama

Arkansas

Auburn

Baylor

Colorado

ECU (East Carolina)

Florida

Georgia

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Kentucky

LSU

Missouri

Memphis

Mississippi State

Nebraska

Notre Dame

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Ole Miss

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Texas A&M

Texas Tech

UCF (Central Florida)

Vanderbilt

Don’t see your school? E-mail me at paul@paulryburn.com and I’ll bump your school to the top of the priority list, although it will be several days before I begin work on any new stores, due to freelancing projects I need to finish up.  Unless there are requests, the Big Ten will be next.

Don’t forget the special at the Voodoo Room in the downstairs of Orleans on Front Monday nights from 10 PM to 3 AM:  Buy one Sicilian ribeye poboy, get the second one for two bucks.  It’s also half-off-all-beers (except PBR) night at Calhoun’s, and Pint Nite at the Flying Saucer with almost all drafts $2.75.

Attn printing industry: I have a guy you should talk to

This morning I’d like to use my blog to recommend a good friend of mine, an 11-year veteran of the printing industry, who was recently affected by a small company’s economic hard times and got laid off.  Here is a quick summary of his skills and qualifications:

  • Worked his way up from plant worker to prepress specialist
  • Has worked for printing companies, greeting card manufacturers and sign shops
  • Specializes in prepress production and preflighting
  • Has worked with all types of printers, from inkjets to wide-format thermal printers
  • Assumed managerial duties at last company when owner was away
  • Also designed layouts for brochures, business cards, and other documents needed by clients
  • Familiar with industry standard software including Photoshop, Illustrator, CorelDRAW, MS Publisher

This candidate has been a friend of mine for the past 4 years.  I greatly respect the fact that he is going back to college as an adult; he didn’t get to attend a university in his teens and 20s because he was busy serving our country for 9 years in the Air Force, earning an honorable discharge at the rank of sergeant (E-4).  He’s now a senior at the University of Memphis majoring in Marketing Management.  Last semester he balanced a full-time job and a full course load of 5 classes.

This is someone I respect and recommend highly.  If you are interested in talking with him, shoot me an e-mail (paul@paulryburn.com) and I’ll be happy to forward you his resume and make introductions.

Sun update: Pork chop po-boy, buh bye Peyton, CSS, and more

I ended up in the Voodoo Room (aka Hoop’s new bar) last night.  Remembering that Saturday night is the night for half-price pork chop po-boys after 10, I ordered one.  Really good.  Here’s a tip:  Since you’re saving money on the Saturday night deal, take a $1.50 of that savings and spend it on Rotel as a dipping sauce for your fries.

While there, I watched the San Diego Chargers defeat the Indianapolis Colts 23-17 in overtime.  Buh bye Peyton!  I texted my favorite blogger/MILF, a huge Peyton fan, after the game.  She wasn’t in a very good mood.

They have the Wii installed and people were playing bowling on it last night, and they also have an electronic dart board in the back, and of course the beer pong table.  They tell me the pool table is on its way.  It was crowded down there last night, probably 40 people.  Good to see Hoop’s new place doing well.

Before I went to Voodoo Room, I drank beer at the Saucer and watched the Tigers stomp Lamar 108-75.  Okay, I have a complaint about CSS.  If the game were on CSTV, ESPN, or CBS, the score ticker at the bottom would read, “LAMAR vs. MEMPHIS.”  On CSS, it’s “LAM vs. MEM.”  MEM is pretty obvious, but if you were channel surfing and came across the game, would you know who LAM is?  Would it really be a huge expense for CSS to spend for those extra four letters?  Nitpicky, but it’s just another reason why CSS is a lesser college sports network than the others.

Everyone was wondering where Lamar is located.  I looked it up on my phone – Beaumont, Texas.

Looks like I’m going to see the Grizzlies play the Dallas Mavericks at 3.  A FedExForum employee e-mailed me yesterday and offered me his tickets.  Attn Sunday brunch crew:  There’s an extra, so if anyone wants to go, talk to me at brunch.

Back to work for an hour before I head to brunch (which is at Majestic this week, for brunch crew members who’ve lost track of the schedule).  I’m working feverishly to get stores built for all the Big 12 schools.  I’ve decided to do the Big 12, and then the Big 10, next ahead of the ACC, because those conferences contain nothing but big-name schools, whereas the ACC and Big East have some big-names and some no-names.

Outta here for now.  Go Grizzlies!

Cafe 61 closed?

Last night I heard from people in the service industry that Cafe 61 is about to close and that Sunday would be its last day.  They said the owner is moving to Las Vegas.  However, I just walked by, and the restaurant isn’t open now.  It’s 5 PM, the beginning of dinner rush, so it’s definitely unusual for the doors to be locked.

Hate to see it go – they had some great food, the Cajun enchiladas and crawfish mac and cheese being my favorites.  Best of luck to the owner with his new plans in Vegas, though.

By the way, I haven’t confirmed this with anyone involved with Cafe 61, so it’s still a rumor… but after seeing the dark restaurant I suspect it’s true.

Fri update: Liberty Bowl parade, new Notre Dame shopping site, and more

I’m upgrading the blog to the new version of WordPress this weekend, so if you hit this page it’s possible it may not look right or appear not to exist for a short while.  Don’t worry, it’ll be back up quickly.  I hope.

Yesterday afternoon I went to the Liberty Bowl parade on Beale Street.  That was the most boring parade I have witnessed in my 7 years Downtown.  Bands, bands, bands, more bands, underage beauty queens, still more bands, the AutoZone tractor-trailer, even more bands, and one or two interesting floats.  Ptolemy Kat saw me from the float she was riding on and threw me several strands of beads, but did not respond to my request for her to flash me.

The street was loaded with East Carolina fans.  I didn’t realize what a big school ECU was – I looked it up when I got home, and it has an enrollment of 27,000 students.  ECU fans outnumbered Kentucky fans about 10 to 1 on the street.  My natural tendency was to root for Kentucky because they’re an SEC team and because I like Lexington, but at the parade I decided to switch sides to avoid getting my ass kicked.

Upon a blog reader’s request, I’ve added a shopping site for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to my College Logo Shopping family of websites.  That makes 14 schools I’ve built sites for, having already done Memphis and the SEC schools.  I’m planning to do the Conference USA schools next, then ACC, but if there are particular schools you’d like me to bump to the top of the priority list, shoot me an e-mail at paul@paulryburn.com.

Restaurant.com has a new promotional coupon code, REWARD, which you can enter at checkout for 50% off through Monday, January 5.

Liberty Bowl is at 4 PM today.  I’m undecided where to go watch it.  About 50/50 between the Saucer and Calhoun’s.  Calhoun’s has cheap PBR and is more likely to have the sound on, but the Saucer has waitresses in miniskirts.  I guess it’ll depend on what the Fire Sale is today.  ‘Til then, I’ll be working on the personal finance software project.  No plans for tonight, but I’m sure I’ll be out somewhere.

New Year’s Eve recap

A few quick notes about New Year’s Eve:

– We had the back room at the Majestic Grille for dinner, and they once again hit the ball out of the park.  Dinner was superb.  I had the veal, an item from the special New Year’s Eve menu, and it was delicious, as was the lobster biqsue I had as my starter.  Others at the table had the beef short ribs, another special menu item, and complimented them highly.  We projected a slide show of group pictures onto the big screen in the back room as we ate and mingled.  We had reservations for 30 and had more than 30 people who wanted to come… which caused some minor hassles, but we accommodated everyone, and having too many people who want to spend New Year’s Eve with you is a high-class problem to have.

– The Nuh-Uh Girl came over a dozen times to eat off our plates.  I’m not using “dozen” as a figure of speech to mean “a lot”… she literally came over that many times.  “Are you going to eat that bite of veal, Paul?”  “I’m stealing a potato.”  “Frank, I’m taking another bite of your short ribs.”  “If anyone has any leftovers, I’m sitting over there.”

– After that I continued on to my friends’ party at Central Station.  Soon as I got there, I had two reactions:  1) “Plenty of beer and liquor, this is good.”  2) “Some of my friends, the girls in particular, are not going to be happy with the keg situation at all.”  (I won’t go into details here.)  Sure enough, they weren’t, but other people in my group were smart enough to have planned a backup party at Frank’s apartment down the street.  That was a good move and I tip my hat to them for seeing the need to plan an alternative.  We rang in the new year there and I stayed until about 1:15.

– There were cameras, cameras everywhere.  It seemed like every time I turned around, someone was asking me to pose for a pic or take a pic of them with their camera.  I gave up taking pics about 10.  There was no need – the evening was well documented by others.  Right before midnight, the Nuh-Uh Girl did a smart thing when she said, “All right.  We’re going to take ONE picture with ONE camera.  ONE.  I’m not going to take everyone’s camera and re-take the picture.  I’ll take ONE pic and e-mail it to everyone.”  Great idea, because otherwise, we would’ve been posing until 2 AM.

– I went back to the Central Station party and stayed until 3:30 when it started to wind down.  Drank some Boscos beer and a 40 of Miller High Life.  Much thanks to party hosts Patrick, Randy, and Marci for inviting my friends and me.  It was great meeting them and their group of friends in 2008 and I look forward to more good times with them in 2009.

– Speaking of “super”… funny how even when I’m at one party, I’m already looking ahead to the next.  Our group’s Super Bowl party, one of my absolute favorite events of the year, is only one month away.  Can’t wait.

– Also, only five more months until Tube Top Month.

– Plans for today:  The Liberty Bowl parade on Beale at 3.  I’ll probably get down there about 2 and make my usual drink purchase, a large Call-a-Cab from Wet Willie’s.  Guess I’ll have to take my gloves so my hands won’t freeze carrying a frozen daiquiri.